The Other Stark - Bucky Barnes x OC Romance

Chapter 38

Theo woke up to daylight shining in the room, but she could tell it wasn't morning anymore and Bucky wasn't there. She sat up and wrapped the sheet on the bed around herself before walking out into the penthouse.

"Buck?" She called out, but he didn't answer.

"FRIDAY, where is Bucky?" She called out.

"Mr. Barnes is in the elevator on his way up now, Ms. Rogers Stark." The AI responded.

Before Theo could thank the AI the elevator dinged and a smiling Bucky stepped out with Christian's cart.

"I was hoping you'd still be in bed when I got back, I grabbed our lunch so you could sleep." He admitted. Bucky rushed over to her and wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her softly. Theo wrapped her arms around his torso, the sheet around her now only being held up by their bodies pressed together.

"I just got up" she said, smiling up at him. Bucky rubbed her back lightly and leaned down for another kiss. "Good, you still didn't sleep for very long though" he said.

"I can tell, I'm still tired. But I have to go to the lab today, I haven't written my mission report from Russia...and then Siberia" she admitted, her smile fading quickly.

"You don't need to do that today. It hasn't even been a week." Bucky argued sweetly, tightening his grip on her. His left hand rubbed her back lightly while his right hand rested at the top of her ass.

"I need to type it out before I forget the details" she sighed, laying her face against his chest.

"Then I'll go with you. After lunch, you should eat something first." Bucky said. He let go of her and led her to the balcony, sitting her at the bistro table before collecting lunch and bringing it to her.

"Buck I'm not in the mood to eat" Theo admitted, pushing her food around the plate with her fork without taking a bite.

"No wine yesterday, not hungry today. Are we already testing Bruce's theory?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

Theo smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. "No, I still have my IUD in. I'm just overthinking having to put that week into writing.." she admitted. "It wasn't that bad, I don't know why it's weighing on me so heavily."

"Theodora you're forgetting I went through the same thing that you did, it was that bad. But I was a super soldier, I can't imagine how much worse that was for you" he sighed. Bucky felt like this was his fault, his comms not working is what got her taken.

"It was only a week" she said under her breath, hanging her head low. Bucky got up and kneeled down in front of her, taking both her hands into his. "Is that why you're brushing this off? You don't want to talk to me about it because I did it longer?" He asked, staring up at her. Theo didn't answer or look up from their hands.

Bucky reached up and held onto her face gently. "Doll, it doesn't matter how long I went through it, you can always talk to me. Always" he reassured her. He started stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "You can act brave for the team but you don't need to do that for me"

"I don't feel right complaining about a week when you suffered for 70 years, Buck" she finally admitted.

"This, us, isn't gonna work if we're not comfortable talking to each other about the hard stuff, Theodora." He said calmly, still stroking her cheeks with his thumbs.

"James I know I can tell you anything. I just feel guilty being upset. I know I shouldn't be, but I can't shake it. That was easily the most painful thing I'd ever felt in my life. I was convinced I screamed so hard that I wasn't going to be able to talk ever again. I think I even chipped a tooth biting down on that guard. And they only did it to me twice, you endured decades. It's like when a mother is in labor and the father complains that the couch in the room is uncomfortable." Theo said, finally relaxing into his touch.