A New Start

Chapter 10

Nat would come and go from your room every so often and ask you how the "Winter Smoulder" was doing. 

You always rolled your eyes at her, and she winked at you. 

"All I am saying is that he never looks at anyone else like he looks at you. He watches you" Nat smiled. 

"He watches you when you're not looking and was a bundle of nerves while you were on that surveillance mission with Sam" she added. 

You didn't really think about it until Nat said it. 

Why would he be nervous for my mission with Sam? 

You brush her off to being your good friend who happens to be a master spy. She is the best at reading people and can sometimes do her job even when she's not supposed to be.

The truth is, Bucky is quickly becoming one of your closest friends. You guess if you really thought about it, Nat was right. He would always gravitate towards you at the compound in social settings, probably more so than Steve at times. 

He would seek you out for movie night so you would have to sit next to him, have meals next to each other, and he even accompanied you on a few of your Sunday morning hikes where you would talk and laugh about something that Clint did or Steve said. He even knows how you like your coffee and brings you a cup every now and then without you even asking for one.

He seemed to open himself up more to you, and you would catch glimpses of what his personality was like back when he and Steve were young. You enjoyed his thoughts on new technology, the fact that he was fascinated by astronomy, science fiction books, and technology in general. 

If you're not mistaken, he seems like kind of a nerd which makes you smile. 

You always had a soft spot for nerdy guys. 

He doesn't seem as close with anyone else apart from Steve but let's face it, everyone else is a little quiet around him, and unsure because of his past.

It was a typical Monday morning, so you threw on some workout gear to head to the gym for some training. When you opened your door, you saw that Bucky's door was open, but he was no where to be found. You got to the gym and found Nat and Steve in deep conversation. This can't be good as you thought to yourself. 

"Morning guys" you found a mat and started stretching. 

"Morning Livy" Steve and Nat both said at the same time.

"There is an upcoming mission we will be preparing for" Steve announced. 

"We leave later on tonight"

"Oh?" 

You continued doing your warmup stretches. 

"Just me, Nat, and Sam are heading out for it. Basic surveillance, possible new terrorist threat, large operation, but nothing too major that the three of us can't handle. Clint went back to the farm and Wanda and Vision are heading out with Bruce to Vienna so you and Bucky will stay back and assist with comms and satellite intel if we need it. Tony is making his way back here at some point but could be delayed in DC for a few extra days" Steve added

"Oh, ok" you got up from the mat. 

"How long do you think this mission will be?" you asked as you were climbing on the treadmill. 

"Probably a week to 10 days" Nat replied. 

She must have seen your face as she winked at you. 

You looked down and fumbled with the buttons on the treadmill, eventually starting it. 

Wait, you thought, if everyone is gone, that leaves Bucky and you alone at the compound. 

Like alone. 

With Bucky. 

A hint of butterflies fluttered in your stomach, so you quickly rammed the buttons on the treadmill to get it to work harder.

That night, the three took off in the Quinn jet leaving Bucky and you alone at the compound. 

"Well, that's that then" 

Both you and Bucky headed back to the main living area. You could feel him close behind you, but you didn't turn around. Because it was after supper, you didn't feel like hanging around in the living room and watching bad TV or a lame movie that you would fall asleep watching anyways, so you headed to your room.

Bucky must have gone to the gym as he seemed to disappear when you got to the elevator and went up to your room. You threw on some jammies and chose one of your favourite books to lose yourself in and cuddled on your big comfy blue chair. You must have dozed off in the chair because you awoke to a slightly sore neck. You rubbed your neck and cursed the fact that you weren't in your bed, you could hear Bucky across the hall having one of his nightmares.

You got up, grabbed a bottle of water, and went across to his room. 

This nightmare seemed like it was a bad one. The level of stress he had on his face and sweat he was covered in seemed extra significant as you proceeded to wake him up slowly. 

"Shh" you held his hands. 

His eyes darted open, and he sat up facing you, inches from your face. Usually at this point he hugs you for a minute and lies back down on his bed, so you were prepared for it but this time, he just sat up and grabbed your face in his hand and stared into your eyes.

He seemed to be searching them for something but couldn't figure out what. You smiled at him while putting your hands on his broad shoulders. He let go of your face and lied back down on his bed. 

"Another bad one?" you asked while you were adjusting the bedding around him. 

He just lied there staring at you. 

"Drink this" you handed him the water. 

He took it but didn't drink from it. 

"Livy?"

"Yes Bucky?" you said with raised eyebrows. 

"Can you lay here with me?" he asked softly looking down at his bed. 

"Sure thing Bucky".

He moved over to make room for you, and you snuggled into the blankets. He then wrapped his arm around you, so your head was resting on his chest. He was still a little damp from his nightmare, but he was warm and surprisingly soft. You tucked your arm next to him and your other arm rested on his chest. He held you tight so you could hear his heartbeat and feel his breathing on the top of your head.

It felt right being this close to Bucky. You rubbed his chest with your free hand to calm him down then he grabbed your hand and held it in his. The metal hand felt oddly comforting. It was cool yet soft at the same time. You were getting sleepy as your eyes were starting to feel heavy. 

As you started drift off, you could have sworn you felt a light kiss on your forehead, but you were too tired to react. 

You smiled slightly as you could feel him beginning to fall asleep again.