The pair both order a hot chocolate and while they’re waiting for their order they look around the cafe. I feel their eyes hoover on me for a few elongated seconds before moving on.
My phone vibrates and I glance at it. Seeing it’s a text from Clare I pick it up and open the message.
Police are on their way.
I look up at Bucky and he nods, somehow able to read my expression.
“Are you sure that’s them?” I hear one of them whisper.
“No. I’m not. That’s the entire reason we’re in here, Jack.”
I tilt my head slightly to the side, taken off guard by the use of their name. I glance at them out of the corner of my eye, trying to identify which one is Jack.
“Tyler, hush!” the one I’ve now identified as Jack snaps. “Someone's gonna hear you.”
Bucky gives me a questioning look. “Well, now I know both their names,” I murmur, shaking my head slightly at their stupidity.
“So your cousins. Tell me about them,” Bucky murmurs, distracting me drastically.
I give him a confused look which he returns with a meaningful eyebrow raise. Right. Chatting. “Skye is three years younger than me and Leo is seven years younger than me.”
I pause for a moment, thinking. “Skye is the more outgoing of the two but Leo is super nice and funny. Also, I’m pretty sure on some level Skye might hate my guts. It’s a level very very low down though.”
“Why?”
“Well… seen as I lived with them for about three years my aunt was taking care of me. I guess Skye thought that I had become “the favorite child” and she’s continued to hold that against me.”
The two boys get their order and sit across the cafe from us but in a location where we’re easily in their range of sight.
“How are we supposed to figure out if it’s him?” the one named Tyler asks quietly, leaning toward Jack a bit.
Jack glances, not so subtly, at us before looking back at Tyler. “I don’t know yet.”
“We could just yell ‘Hail Hydra’ before we run out to the car,” Tyler suggests.
My breath stops for a few seconds and everything goes black and silent before my sight comes back. I pop my ears and draw in a thin, shaky breath.
“This is very not good,” I mutter, trying to loosen my hands from bending the material of my empty cup.
Bucky is watching me, looking very concerned since I had probably gone completely pale.
“Bad idea. Also, talk quietly,” Jack mutters.
“Twinkie,” Bucky murmurs, searching my face.
I shake my head quickly and glance out the windows. It seems as if I blink and police cars materialize out of thin air, stopping outside of the cafe.
I can’t help but glance at the two boys to see them looking with horror out at the police cars before glancing over directly at me. This time I meet their gazes and the color leaks from their faces.
Five police officers come into the cafe and Clare hurries out from the back room to meet with them. “I need to go,” I whisper, the room starting to spin.
Bucky stands quickly and comes over to help me up. “I’ve got you,” he murmurs as things fade into black for a few seconds. “You’re okay.”
The steady humming of the heater is the only noise to greet me when I wake up. I look around quickly and pick my phone up from my nightstand to check the time.
2:04 a.m.
I groan and collapse back onto my pillows. What the hell happened?
I sit up again and pull off my jumpsuit, relieved Bucky didn’t try to change my clothes. I pull on a sleeping shirt, which is just an old, worn, faded t-shirt, and a pair of sweatpant material shorts.
I put the jumpsuit away and walk to the bathroom. I splash some cold water on my face and lean my elbows on the counter, pressing my head into my palms.
A gentle knock sounds on the door going into Bucky’s room and I look up quickly. Shuffling over I slowly open the door to find Bucky, leaning against the door frame.
“Are you gonna tell me what happened after I passed out?” I ask quietly.
“Are you gonna tell me why you passed out?” Bucky responds, raising his eyebrows.
“I don’t know why I passed out,” I say, which is only partially a lie.
Bucky stares down at me for a moment before letting out a small huff. “The kids were arrested and the police said the car belonged to some rich guy who’s been involved in some shady stuff in the past.”
My eyebrows pinch together momentarily. “One of the reasons I passed out was because I was having a small anxiety attack in part because one of the kids said-…” I trail off, not wanting to say it in front of him after all he’s been through.
“Said what?” Bucky asks, pushing off of the doorframe.
I shrink back a fraction as he tenses. I avert my eyes before whispering in a rush, “They were trying to figure out a way to get our attention so one of them said they should yell Hail Hydra before running out to their car.” I squeeze my eyes shut and lean away from him, preparing for an outburst.
I flinch when the cold metal of his left-hand touches my shoulder. “Astrid, please stop looking like you’re preparing for me to start yelling at you,” he says in a pained whisper.
I peek open one eye and then the other, my entire body still tense and ready for an outburst. “I think I’m gonna pass out again,” I breathe out, the room starting to tilt.
Bucky steadies me, placing a hand on both my upper arms. “Are you sick?” he murmurs, looking concerned.
“I don’t even know at this point,” I murmur, my head tipping forward. My forehead lands on his chest and I scoot closer to him. “You’re warm,” I murmur sleepily.
“You need to go back to sleep,” Bucky says gently. He swiftly picks me up and carries me back into my room. He lays me down and pulls the covers up around me before placing his forearm on my head.
“You have a fever,” he mutters, which I barely register as words since I’m already starting to drift off.
“But I don’t want to be sick,” I whisper, the words squishing together.
“Go to sleep, Twinkie,” Bucky whispers.
~~~~~~
I'm sorry but the end of this chapter is soooo cute in my opinion.