THE FADING FALLEN ● Bucky Barnes X OC ● 18+ ● ENGLISH [COMPLETE]

Chapter 27

∼⋄∼⋄∼ ○❖○ ∽⋄∽⋄∽

After dusk fell, Bucky had made himself a campfire.

Actually, he hoped to get a clear head here. Only unfortunately, Emilia kept ghosting around in it over and over again.

This feeling... as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest, torn into small pieces and burned before his eyes. Only an empty shell would remain. There was no other way he could describe it.

How she lay there, off the edge of death, with the beeping machines and tubes. She was pale. Pale as if all the blood had left her body.

Her cheek was cold as he gently brushed it. He could only hope. That was all he was capable of.

These emotions were still forgotten new territory for him after Hydra's long influence. And yet it felt as clear and real as it ever had.

He blamed himself - although it was irrational.

When not even the Winter Soldier's skills could do anything to protect her, how could he, as James Barnes, anyway?

With the fire crackling in front of him, he stared into the flames.

They were dangerous. Just as dangerous as this woman was to him. And yet, he couldn't help but think of her.

Her soft skin beneath his fingers. The little dimple on her cheek when she smiled. Those piercing eyes that struck him deep in the soul. Her unwavering fighting spirit and the incredible bullhead she always had to get through the wall.

Bucky didn't notice at first how he smirked as he continued to look into the fire. It reminded him a little of her open silky hair falling over her bare shoulders in Wakanda's sun.

'Stop that!'

Irritated and surprised at how absorbed he was in the image, he shook his head.

'She'll leave when it's all over.'

He was getting warm. And it wasn't because of the heat of the campfire.

Sighing, Bucky started moving and walked toward the glistening water.

∼⋄∼ ○❖○ ∽⋄∽

The closer she got to the large clearing, the more she clung to the jacket she held in her folded arms.

Along the way, some of her anger had dissipated as she listened to the evening sounds of nature. From a distance, Emilia could already spot the fire blazing under the starry sky.

When she arrived there, she couldn't spot anyone. She risked a glance inside the hut, but even the sparse dwelling was empty.

A few oil lamps illuminated the interior. On one side, in the flickering light, Emilia could see a small table with a wooden bowl of fruit and a few bottles of water.

Opposite the entrance was a simple sleeping cot that looked quite uncomfortable.

In contrast to the sitting area, which consisted of several cushions and blankets. Underneath, a typical South African woven bamboo mat flashed out, providing space for about four people.

She turned and walked back to the campfire, placing the jacket on the flat log in front of it.

The half moon allowed her to see the lake ahead. For a moment she let her gaze glide over the reflecting surface.

Until she spotted a dark silhouette on the riverbank before it, and her pulse quickened. The outline was all too familiar to her.

Bucky heard the approaching rustle of grass and turned.