One Night Stand (A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction)

Cold Showers

I came back to consciousness slowly, blinking as I looked up at a ceiling that I didn't immediately recognize. I felt my brow furrow, still struggling to gain my bearings and remember just where I was when it all came rushing back to me. Going to see Jade, the men who tried to take her, getting shot, running, making it to the motel, passing out.

Oh god, Jade!

I sat up quickly, groaning at the pain in my side where my gunshot wound was, pausing when I saw Steve standing at the foot of the motel bed I was laying across, a finger to his lips. I frowned. When the hell did he get here? I glanced at the clock seeing it was almost 3 am. How long have I been out?

"Jade is sleeping," Steve said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed near me, nodding towards the kitchenette.

I turned, looking over my shoulder to see her sitting in one of the chairs, her arms folded on the table and her head resting on them. She looked peaceful surprisingly, considering that she had spent the past few hours running for her life and apparently saving a man she barely knew. Even though I was still experiencing pain, it was a dull pain now, like a sore muscle after an overly strenuous gym activity, nothing like the sharp ache that it had been, meaning that she had gotten the bullet out, stopped the bleeding, and taken care of me. Lifting my Henley I confirmed my theory, seeing the stitched wound already beginning to heal. So much for be being Bruce Willis.

"How long have I been out?"

"5 hours according to Jade. She was pretty shaken up when I got here," Steve continued softly. "She thought you were going to die. Had no idea how you were even still alive. I eased some of her fears without telling her too much, got her to relax enough so that she could rest her eyes for a bit, I told her I'd stay and watch you of course. She was afraid to go to sleep in case something happened to you, but she looked exhausted."

I felt my stomach sink at the thought of her worrying about me, angry at myself for passing out and leaving her alone and scared and thinking I was dying. "She called you?" I asked looking to Steve.

"No, I got an alert that someone accessed the safe house and called you. She answered and told me what happened and I came as soon as I could," Steve answered. "I see now why you didn't want to date. One date with you and someone shows up to kidnap her."

I huffed. "Yeah thanks for encouraging me to go to her place instead of just mailing the ID, it's working out swimmingly." Sarcasm dripped from my tone.

"I just thought that after all this time and all that you have been through you should be able to start living your life, Buck," Steve sighed. "You deserve to be happy. You deserve to love."

"What I deserve and the reality of my situation are two different things," I scooted to the edge of the bed and put my feet on the floor. "We have to find that bastard that tried to take her. I think he's like us, because I shot him right in the chest, I know I hit him and he still came after-."

"No," Steve interrupted, making me frown at him. "You don't have to do anything besides stay with Jade. Keep her safe. Natasha, Sam, and I will take care of the guy that came after her. In fact Natasha is already working on it. Tomorrow I'll arrange for you both to be moved to the compound, the safest place for the both of you, and then you'll lay low."

I gawked at him. "So while you go after this man who is after me and Jade, I am just supposed to sit at the compound and wait?"

Steve nodded. "That's exactly what I want. It keeps you and her out of the line of fire."

"Yeah and puts you right in it!"

"Luckily, I was made just for that. I got this," Steve assured.