𝐈𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 - Bucky Barnes

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐲-𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞

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❝ 𝐍𝐚𝐡, 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥. ❞

THEY WORKED ON the boat all day, doing task after task, one step at a time. Thaea tried to help Sarah organize things, but eventually she just got in the way, so she helped with the man-power. She helped the boys lift things in and out of trucks and the boat, occasionally shocking a group of young men when she easily carried six propane tanks in for the barbecues. 

"Think Karli's gonna throw in the towel?" Bucky asked Sam as they used buckets to remove water from the inside of the boat.

"I think she's gonna double down." Sam replied, frowning.

"Any idea how to stop her?"

"I got Joaquin working on something."

"Well, Zemo says there's only one way." Bucky replied. Sam scowled. Thaea walked over and jumped down from the dock, handing the two each a bottle of beer. They sat around quietly for a moment, drinking and watching the sea. Thaea could have fallen asleep listening to the waves crash against the shore. Bucky stood up, putting his bottle on a crate on the boat, tapping Thaea's shoulder, making the girl open her eyes. "We've got a long drive tomorrow. We should get a hotel room. Crash, you know?" He said. Thaea nodded, rubbing her eyes.

"So you're just gonna set me up like that?" Sam asked, shaking his head. Bucky and Thaea both exchanged a look.

"Well we don't want to make it weird for Sarah and your family." Thaea said, frowning. She had a feeling Bucky wanted to leave for reasons other than the fact that they had to drive all the way back to New York. They had both already received quite a few strange looks from people watching them work. Not that she blamed them.

"Just stay here." Sam insisted. "The people in this town are the most welcoming people in the world. They don't care if you wear small t-shirts," Sam said, pointing to Bucky and making them both laugh. "Or if your blood happens to be blue. Or if you have six toes, or your mom's your aunt, if you-"

"Okay, I get it." Bucky said, grinning. "I mean, you know, the people are nice." Sam chuckled.

"But don't you two start making out in my sister's living room. Or she's gonna get Carlos to cut me up and feed me to the fish for inviting you." Sam warned them, making both Bucky and Thaea go completely red.

"Okay, we're gonna go." Bucky replied, moving to the side for Thaea to step through. She did so hurriedly, trying to hide the pink of her cheeks. Bucky turned around and made a face at Sam, who only laughed at the two of them.

-

Thaea and Bucky both awoke to the sounds of Sarah's kids playing in the kitchen. The rooms were right next to each other, so there wasn't any way they would have stayed asleep with all the noise. Bucky sat up off of the floor, the air mattress underneath him completely deflated. He didn't seem to mind so much. Thaea sat up from the couch directly beside him, rubbing her eyes at the bright morning light.

"Hey." Bucky called. The boys both froze, the shield in Cass's hands stopping midair. AJ whispered loudly for his younger brother to put it back, and they both ran into the other room. Thaea's heart warmed at the smile on Bucky's face. It slowly faded as he stared at the shield, half inside the case and discarded on the floor. Thaea turned to stare at it, and she frowned, turning back to Bucky.

"You really didn't have to sleep on the floor." Thaea said quietly, drawing Bucky's attention away from the shield. He shook his head.

"It's fine. I've slept in a lot of worse places." Bucky said, brushing it off. He stood, stretching his back before sitting beside her on the couch. Besides, where would he have slept? The couch was barely big enough for Bucky to sleep on his own, never mind Thaea with him. Even though his heart skipped a beat when the picture popped into his head. His heart raced faster. "Thaea?" He asked quietly. She turned to face him, and he was distracted by her face. The dark, beckoning lashes brushing against her cheeks, the sparkle her eyes had when she smiled, the fullness of her lips. He never acknowledged his thoughts about it until now, but he thought she was really beautiful.