Bound To You (Bucky Barnes X OC)

Brothers

After finishing his coffee and changing for the day, Bucky sat on the couch waiting for Jade. He could smell the scent of her body wash waft from the bathroom as she opened the door. The sweet floral scent permeated the room and he took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of her filling his apartment. She stepped into the living room wearing dark jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black bomber jacket.

"Hey, I just need to grab my gear and I'll be ready to go." Bucky walked towards his room to grab his backpack as she pulled on a pair of mid-top converse.

"It's all good, Buck. I'll just catch a cab."

Bucky stopped and spun to face her.

"Why? That literally makes no sense, Jade. There's no point in doing that when we're going to the same place."

"There is a point to it. I don't want you to feel like you have to drive me to work. You don't have to do any of this."

"I know I don't have to, but I wanted to."

"And I'm grateful for that, but I don't want to take advantage of your kindness. In fact, I'm going to start looking at listings for apartments today, so I won't be in your way for too much longer." Jade said.

Bucky felt his stomach drop at the thought of her leaving so soon.

"You are annoyingly stubborn, do you know that? You are not in my way. Believe it or not, I actually like having you here."

"Tell me if you feel the same in a few days." She nervously chuckled.

She had been on her own for so long before meeting Steve that accepting help from others always made her feel like a burden. Bucky sighed and then grabbed her face in his hands. Jade looked up at him wide eyed.

"Stop. Don't do that. You are not in my way. It's nice not being alone for once. Especially when I get to be with you." His thumbs slowly stroked her cheeks. "Look, I know you can take care of yourself, but everyone needs help once in a while. You helped me more than you could ever know, so just think of it as me returning the favor. You are welcome here as long as you want to be here. And I'm driving you to the compound. I'd feel like a really shitty friend if I let you take a cab when I'm going to the same place. We leave in ten, okay?"

He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and then headed to his room to gather his training gear. Jade watched him until the door closed then released the breath she was holding. That man was going to be the death of her. He was gentle and willing to do anything for those he cared about. She imagined that part of his personality hadn't changed since the forties.

Bucky came out of his room a few minutes later and saw Jade washing their cups from earlier.

"What are you doing? They could have waited."

She turned around wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"You know, part of me staying here includes me cleaning up my messes, right?"

He rolled his eyes, but laughed as she grabbed her bag from the couch.

"Besides," she started, "I figured I could make myself useful while you were grabbing your stuff."

"Come on, sugar. Steve will kill me if I'm late for training again." Bucky said, guiding her out of the apartment.

"You know, it's a pretty nice day. We could take my bike." Bucky said, looking over at her as they exited the building.

"Oh, uh, yeah. If you want."

"You scared?" Bucky grinned at her.

"No! I-I've just never been on a motorcycle before."