Masquerade

15- Safe

TW: Mention of Sexual Assault

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Walking down the street, your phone rings and you see Bucky calling you. "Where are you?" He asks as soon as you answer.

"Hello to you too," you say.

He sighs and you fight back a giggle. "Hello. Where are you? You went for a walk an hour ago," he says.

"I'm like, two blocks away. Calm down will ya," you scoff.

"I was just making sure Hydra didn't get you. Sorry for worrying about you," Bucky says.

"I forgive you," you say with a smirk.

"Try to hurry, I don't wanna have to send a search party out," he says.

"I'll see you in like five—ten minutes," you say.

"Okay."

"Bye."

"Bye."

You hang up and put your phone back in your pocket. A group of seven or eight men approach you and force you in an alleyway. "Can I help you?" You ask.

The next few things happened in a blur. You tried to scream, but one covered your mouth. Eventually, your kicks and punches were enough for you to pry yourself away and run back to the hotel.

One chased you up the stairs and you started knocking rapidly on your hotel door, too scared to find your key. The feeling of a hand on your ass makes you gasp. Turning around, you land a solid right hook to his jaw, just as Bucky opens the door.

"Wow, what's going on?" Bucky asks as he pushes you behind him and stands between you and the guy. "I don't know, she just punched me," he says with a thick accent.

"You grabbed my ass," you say.

Bucky punches him square in the face. You grab his arm and pull him inside. Closing the door you lock it and Bucky tries to open it. "Stop Bucky, please," you say with tears streaming down your face.

"Let me hit him," Bucky says as he tries to get you away from the door without hurting you. "Bucky," you sob and he gives up when he sees how upset you are.

"Hey it's okay," he says as he tries to touch you, but you hit his hands away. "Please don't touch me," you say.

"He's not gonna hurt you anymore," he says.

You slide down the door to your feet and hold your knees against your chest. Bucky sits next to you and fights the urge to open the door and go after the guy. Just as he's about to stand up to do it, you lean your head on his shoulder and he knows he can't leave now.

Instead, he sits there as you wrap your arms around his arm. "It's okay," he whispers as he presses a kiss to the top of your head. This is the first time Bucky's ever seen you like this. Truly upset about something and you have every right to be.

He's seen you cry before, but those are usually tears of anger or frustration. Especially when you're dealing with Tony. Bucky always teased you, but he knew when to stop, or what to say if you were about to cry to put the focus on him instead.

"C'mon baby, it's okay," he says as he gently picks you up and walks over to the bed. You grab a pillow and hold it against your chest tightly. Bucky stands at the edge of the bed and thinks about what to do.

He ends up settling on a dance. You watch as he skips around the room and twirls. Slowly, your sobs turn into giggles as you watch the man before you make an absolute fool out of himself.

An idea pops in Bucky's head and he grabs his phone. The song "Be my Baby" by the Ronettes starts playing and Bucky grabs you off the bed.

You shake your head at him, but he's already dancing with you. "C'mon doll, you've never danced with me before," he says.

"For every kiss you give me... I'll give you three," he sings as he grabs your waist and tilts to the left, then right. You laugh and grab his shoulders as he dances with you around the room.

"You know I will adore you... 'til eternity," he sings as he dips you back.

You squeal when he picks you up and spins in a circle. He sets you down, just to grab your hand and spin you in a circle around yourself. You grab his shirt and steady yourself as the room spins. The sound of him laughing brings a smile to your face and you laugh too.

The thought that maybe, just maybe, you care for him, or even like him, lingers in the back of your mind as he continues to sway around the room with you. Keeping you in his arms. Safe and sound.