Entwined | Bucky Barnes *On Hold*

Chapter Fifteen

~Third Persons POV~

David felt something in his bed. Something wiggling, with hair that brushed along his face. He twisted his head to the side, mumbling under his breath when the movement suddenly stopped. The action of everything turning still seemed to jolt him from his half asleep daze, and he blearily blinked at River who was trying to creep out of the bed without him knowing.

Since the night Jeremy had arrived at the Barnes home, and rearranged the room sharing, David and River had been sleeping in the same bed. At first it was a spoken agreement: every night he would ask then double check that they weren't crossing a line, but in the recent days the pair slowly slid next to each other in the bed, leaving the squeaking camp bed unused and pushed to the side.

It was a feeling both of them relished. They had found safety, security, in sharing such a close proximity with one another. They were growing intimate, but neither verbally addressed what had been happening.

Instead, every morning, River would sneak out of the room and into the shower before David woke up.

It always left him feeling a little hurt, and with his rising suspicions that she was actually his soulmate, the anguish only grew each day.

But then they would smile at each other during breakfast, and chat in the late afternoon as dinner was being cooked. They would silently watch television with each other in the evenings, then hold each other as they fell asleep.

And the cycle repeated itself.

He sighed as he watched her moving, and she suddenly froze. Slowly, she tilted her head back, weakly smiling at his scruffy bed head and stubble on his face that was growing longer each day.

"Good morning." She whispered carefully, taking care for her voice to not break louder than a whisper. "Did you sleep okay?"

He nodded as he stretched, bending his back and reaching above his head like a cat who'd just woken from a nap. "I always do here." He commented.

Rivers cheeks flamed, and she felt the now familiar prickling on her left wrist. The ocean waves hadn't grown any larger since she'd met David, but they'd both been experiencing the same tickling sensation. It acted like a ticking clock, counting down the days, minutes, seconds, to them confessing to one another.

She pointed at the door, as she edged to the side of the room where she'd kept her clothes neatly folded. Amelie and Bucky had tried to convince her to put her clothes in the wardrobe and chest of drawers in the room, but River didn't want I overstep her welcome. She was already staying here indefinitely, but something was stopping her from 'moving in'.

She quietly believed it was because her ex hadn't let her have her own possessions. It was taking her a long time to come to terms with the fact she was independent now, and could own things.

She picked up a pair of jeans and a black top. "I have a shift at the bar," she sounded incredibly nervous, it had been many long weeks since she'd worked behind the counter. "I should probably get changed."

David leapt to his feet, his voice laced with apologies as he shuffled around the edge of the bed to the door. "You stay in here - I need to get Owen up and moving anyway... take all the time you need." He offered her an encouraging look as he slipped through the door onto the landing.

Bucky was sat against the wall, stroking the growing kitten in his lap. "Do you like that Brian?" He scratched the purring cats head as she stretched lazily in his arms. "You cutie pie."

"You think I'm cute?" David teased him as he lifted his hand to knock on D'Arcys bedroom door. "Why thank you."

"Cuter now you've got that beard going on," Bucky gestured to his own, "the ladies like it."