Masquerade

20- Loud Noises

Bucky sat in the bathtub. Once the two of you got back, you demanded that he takes a bath because he was too weak to stand. So now, he's sitting in the bathtub, hair white and soapy.

"Doll!" He calls. You walk in the bathroom and he weakly smiles at you. "Are you done?" You ask as you walk closer to him. He nods and you wash the soap from his hair before helping him stand up and wrapping a towel around his waist.

You help him walk out of the bathroom and he collapses on the bed. Looking out the window, you see how badly it's raining. The sky is practically black from how dark the clouds are.

"You need to get dressed," you say, focusing back on Bucky and not the weather.

"Do I though?" He asks.

"If you want me to take care of you, yes," you say.

He rolls over so he's on his back and winces at the pain. You kiss his forehead as he help him get dressed.

Once he's wearing clothes again, you help him get all the way on the bed. He holds the blanket close to him and looks at you. "What?" You ask.

"Cuddles?" He asks as he sticks an arm out to you.

Rolling your eyes, you get in bed next to him. He rolls on top of you and presses his head against your chest. "Why did you come looking for me?" He asks.

"You're my mission partner. I kinda need you," you say. He sighs and looks up at you. "That's understandable," he says.

Thunder roars outside causing you to jump. Let's just say loud, sudden noises have never been your favorite. "You're okay," Bucky says.

"You're the war veteran, loud noises should scare you more," you say.

"After hydra, loud noises seem minor," Bucky says.

You roll your eyes, but squeeze Bucky's arm tightly when another round of thunder happens. He rolls over and holds you against his chest. Using his right hand to smooth your hair back and his left to rub your back.

"It's okay. It won't hurt you," he says.

You cling to him as the weather continues to scare you. Every part of you is visibly shaking and Bucky tries his best to comfort you. Your breathing become heavier and heavier as tears weld in your eyes. "I won't let anything bad happen to you," he says. You sob softly against him.

"The night we met I knew I, needed you so. And if I had the chance I'd never let you go," he softly sings. You relax a bit in his arms, but as more thunder roars outside, you become tense again.

"So won't you say you love me. I'll make you so proud of me. We'll make 'em turn their heads every place we go," he sings as he holds you tighter.

As he continues to sing the song softly, you find yourself falling asleep in his arms.

—

"So, you gonna tell my why loud noises scare you?" Bucky asks the next day.

You look at him and shrug as you pull your knees to your chest. "When I was a kid, my father went crazy and tried to kill me and my sisters. I was right next to the gun when he fired it and killed my older sister. Ever since then, anytime I hear a loud noise, I think about that moment in my life," you say casually and fall silent.

Bucky walks up to the couch and crouches down in front of you, wincing in pain as he does. "You should sit down, you're in pain," you say as you start to stand up to help him, but he tries to sit you back down.

"Let me speak," he says and you sit back down. "I'm sorry that happened to you. No one deserves to go through that. On the fourth of July, I made fun of you for staying inside when the fireworks were going off. I had no idea—"

"Bucky it's fine. The only other person that knows is Sam," you say.

"If I knew about this—"

"But you didn't. Honestly it's fine. It's all in the past. You make fun of me, I make fun of you. That's what people do when they hate each other—"

"I don't hate you, y/n," Bucky says cutting you off.

"You don't?" You ask.

"No. I hate how you can twist my words around and use them against me. I hate how you can make me feel like an idiot. I hate that you can piss me off. I hate how you make me want to rip my hair out. I hate that I'm stuck with you for this mission because every time we go out, all I can think about is protecting you. I can barely focus on walking, or breathing because you're the only thing on my mind. I hate that I can't hate you," he says.

"So... you do hate me?" You ask extremely confused.

"No y/n. I love you."