Misguided Ghosts {A Bucky Barnes fanfic}

Chapter Twenty-Three

The nightmares Bucky was having were getting worse for some reason. They were more frequent and violent. Some nights he would wake up and blankly stare at the wall, other nights he would break down and sob into my chest. Tonight was one of those nights. Bucky's face was buried in my chest, his shoulders shaking from the sobs escaping him. I rubbed my hand up and down his back while shushing him.
"You're okay. I'm here," I whispered. I gently stroked his cheek as I hummed a soft song.
"Wanna talk about it?" I questioned after a few minutes.
"They took you. They took you away from me. They hurt you...a-and I couldn't stop them," he sobbed.
"They won't take me from you. I promise." I pushed back the hair out of his face and dried his tears with my thumb.

I tiled his head up so his eyes locked with mine, and I planted my lips against his softly. He rested his head against my chest again, and I carried on the soft tune. It wasn't long until he had fallen back asleep, his metal arm tightly wrapped around my waist as if he was afraid that I wouldn't be there when he woke up. I ran my fingers through his hair that had started to grow out again.

These nightmares he was having were beginning to take its toll on me as well. Seeing him in a broken state that I thought we had cured was painful for me to see. I quickly remembered that we would be leaving for St. Lucia in just a couple of hours, and I was hoping that this getaway would benefit Bucky.

Sleep never returned to me, for I was worrying about Bucky. He didn't have any issues for the rest of the night, yet I still worried. Morning came quickly and I woke Bucky.
"Time to head out to paradise!" I said cheerfully. He yawned and stretched as I got out of bed.
"What time do we need to be at the airport?" He asked groggily.
"Eight thirty. It's seven now," I informed him.
"Fifteen more minutes," he grumbled, turning onto his stomach. I giggled and crawled back onto the bed. I began to rub his shoulders and back making him moan in satisfaction.
"Well now we can't go," he mumbled with a smirk.
"Let's get ready." I kissed his right shoulder before getting off of him.

The flight to St. Lucia was pretty loud with all of us on the private jet. I'm surprised Bucky slept through most of it. I shook him awake, and he smiled at me sleepily.
"We're here B!" I whispered with a wide smile. He followed me off the jet into the awaiting car that, thanks to Stark, was only accompanied by the two of us. I stared out the window in awe at all we past.
"Buck this place is beautiful! I'm so glad I get to be here with you," I stated, breaking my gaze from the window to look at him. He smiled softly before leaning in to kiss my lips.

We pulled up to the Jade Mountain Resort and walked into the lobby. After getting our room keys, I followed Bucky into the elevator. Upon opening the door to our room, my mouth gaped open.
"Holy shit," I mumbled upon seeing the room. It was gorgeous, spacious, and had our own private infinity pool.
"This is insane." I turned around to face Bucky, and loosely wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Why don't we make ourselves at home?" Bucky suggested with a smirk. I squealed as he picked me up and rushed me over to the bed. We both chuckled as he dropped me into the mattress, and he crawled on top of me.

I sighed while my eyes closed as he began softly kissing my neck. He quickly stripped off my t-shirt, and his lips met mine.
"Damn," he mumbled against my lips when there was a knock at our door. I chuckled, but continued kissing him, wrapping my legs around his waist. There was another knock, louder than the first, causing Bucky to growl.
"Ignore it," I whispered. I ran my tongue across his bottom lip slowly resulting in him to moan into my mouth. The third knock was a very loud pounding against the door. I broke away from Bucky's lips while giggling softly at his annoyed expression.
"Go answer it," I whispered, pecking his lips before rolling out from under him to slip on my shirt.
"What?" I heard him ask harshly after opening the door.
"We're gonna go explore a bit of the island if you guys wanna come," Clint stated.
"Sure let's go," I replied, walking up behind Bucky and taking his hand in mine.
"But we were kinda...busy," Bucky whispered in my ear and I smirked at him.
"We have a whole week to be busy," I replied.

We all met up by the pool before heading out onto the beach. I smiled as I watched my friends interact with one another. Bucky held his hand in mine and swung our arms back and forth. As we continued down the shore making jokes with one another, I noticed Coulson walking towards us with a woman with him. I immediately stopped walking which caught Bucky off guard.
"Hello everyone. I thought I'd introduce to you a special person who will be joining you this week. This is-"
I cut Coulson off. "Karma." Or Xi'an Coy Manh which is her given name.
"What are you doing here?" I spat, narrowing my multi-colored eyes at her.
"Coulson invited me. Said I should start to fit into the group," she replied with a smile.
"And why is that? Why do you need to fit into the group?" I questioned, glancing at Coulson.
"Her powers are extraordinary."
"She has the same powers I possess. I just know how to handle them," I hissed.
"Exactly why you will be her mentor," Coulson stated. "I invited her because I figured you'd like to get to know her better before your work began." I looked back at her with pursed lips.
"Fine." I began to walk down the beach alone with my arms folded across my chest.

"Rose!" Bucky called out for me. I refused to turn around or stop.
"Hey what's wrong?" He asked once he caught up to me. He gently turned me towards him and ran his hands up and down my arms.
"I don't want to talk about it," I grumbled, rubbing my eye with my hand. He sighed deeply and stooped down so he could look me in the eyes directly.
"I love you," he whispered after a while. A small smile began to form on my lips, and I pressed my lips against his.
"I love you more."

Later that night after I had prepared for bed, I sat on a chair on our balcony bathing in the moonlight as I stared out at the inky waves. I hadn't noticed Bucky had come outside until he picked me up and placed me on his lap after he had sat down.
"Wanna talk now?" He said in a low voice.
"I don't want her to be here. I don't trust her," I stated, referring to Karma.
"Why?"
"I had been in SHIELD for a little over two years after I was recovered. I met Karma, and was intrigued by her mind controlling abilities. We were alike, but j had never met someone who could match my powers. After telling Nick, he suggested we bring her in. After that, her mind was completely closed off to mine. Then one day she decided she was going to try to manipulate my mind, but you know me; I'm always twelve steps ahead of everyone else.
"She was using other people to get what she wanted by controlling their minds. I haven't trusted her since." A silence hang between the two of us as Bucky let my words sink in.
"Well there is a possibility that she has matured," he said causing me to scoff.
"Don't let her ruin our time here, okay? We came here to relax and spend uninterrupted time together." I looked back at Bucky and nodded.
"Okay." He softly kissed my shoulder then carried me inside.
"Let's get some sleep." I cuddled into his side as he set me down, and ran my hand across his exposed chest.
"Night Ro," he whispered as my eyes began to close.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I'm sorry this update is so short and shitty. I've been so busy between school and working two jobs. Life is kicking my ass!! Hope this was okay for now. I really want to get back into writing regularly.
Madie xx