Always There (Stucky One Shots and Short Stories)

Trust--Modern Pre-Serum

  I trust Bucky completely. So when he leaves me in the locker room with a kiss and a "be right back", I trust that he'll be right back. I know, though, that with Bucky, "be right back" can mean any amount of time between thirty seconds and fifteen minutes. At the moment, I know he's probably taking extra laps, so I start to change out of my phys. ed clothes; this might be one of those fifteen minutes times. And I'd be okay with that, if I was alone in the locker room. I'm not. Definitely not that lucky.

"Hey Rogers," I recognize the voice of Gilmore Hodge, and if Hodge is here, then so are his lackeys. Shit. "What're you getting dressed for?"

And immediately, I know where this is going. My mind and heart both start racing as I try to think of what my best move would be. I could make a break for it, like a coward. No, they'd catch me before I could even make it to the door. I could ignore them and continue getting dressed. That might work for a while until they get pissed off and have a go at me anyway. Or I could stand up to him, maybe act like I'm not terrified, and buy some time. This is starting to look like my only option, so I take a deep breath, and before I turn around, I make sure my jeans are done up properly and my belt is on as tight as I can get it.

"What do you want, Hodge?" I ask, giving him a cold stare. I have the perfect eye colour for the cold stare - a sort of stormy blue-grey - but I don't often put it to my advantage. I lock eyes with him and grab my t-shirt from where it's sitting on the bench before moving to slip it over my head. It's fairly big on me, and comes down far past the waistband of my jeans, so if nothing else, it'll at least slow him down.

"I think you know." He grins, and part of me just wants to slink away from him. But I know that if I show weakness here, they'll keep coming after me. I'll be an even easier target than I already am.

So I stand my ground, clenching my hands into fists at my sides. I know I have a limited amount of time before things escalate and someone clamps a hand over my mouth. My pride is trying to convince me that I don't need to call for help, but I'm outnumbered four-to-one, and even one of these guys out-muscles me. Let's face it, I need all the help I can get. But a cry for help can wait, at least for a little while. I know Hodge won't get into trouble unless he actually does something, so really, I'm setting a trap with myself as bait. Yeah, Steve, great idea. "You're not getting anything without a fight." I snarl, glaring whole-heartedly up at Hodge.

"Oh, because that's going to be so hard." He smirks at me and crosses his arms, nodding his head at one of his henchmen.

This guy is burly and looks pretty stupid, so I figure I can probably outsmart him. I dodge the hand that moves to grab me and feign a punch. While he moves to block a punch that doesn't come, my foot goes flying up, hitting its target right between the thug's legs. I know it's a low blow and I almost feel bad about it, but it is kind of an emergency. I may not regret this, but I am having sympathy pains. Needless to say, this guy is down for the count and I give Hodge a look as I crack my knuckles.

He nods at his remaining grunts and they come at me at the same time. There's nothing I can do. One of them pins my arms down and I have just enough time to yell for help before the other one clamps his hand over my mouth. I'm fighting them as much as I can, but they're much bigger and stronger than be and I actually start panicking. I know I've done all I can and I should be proud. But I don't want to wait here like a damsel in distress until Bucky comes and rescues me again. But if Bucky doesn't get here in time, Hodge is going to...he's going to rape me. I'm not just fighting his henchmen any more. Now I'm also fighting tears and a full-on panic attack.

Hodge is grinning at me, it's an evil grin and my stomach turns. "You're going to enjoy this, Rogers." He says as he reaches for the hem of my shirt and slips his hand up and under.

I know I have one chance at this, and I can't mess it up. I bite the hand holding me silent, and I bite it hard. The guy yells, but to my surprise, doesn't hit me. "You can't make me." My defiant words are directed at Gilmore Hodge himself.

I see him curl his hand into a fist and I know he has every intention of knocking me out and making a quick job of it. But his fist never hits me. Instead, I hear a voice that makes me want to cry with joy.

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!" Bucky drags the last remaining guy off of me and follows up with a sound punch.

"You're late." I gasp with a forced smile as he slugs the other guy a good one, practically knocking his teeth in. Bucky gives me a look, and I know this isn't something to me joking about. I guess this is just my way of coping.

Hodge almost looks like he wants to take Bucky on but seems to think better of it, because he makes a break for it, fumbling at the door handle. He leaves all three of his lackeys behind, but Bucky helps them find the door.

And in an instant, my boyfriend's demeanour changes from murderous intent to an almost motherly, protective attitude. "They didn't do anything to you, did they?"

And now I'm crying, from a mixture of panic, shock and relief. I shake my head because I know words would just fail me, and he holds me tightly to him. For a brief moment, I wonder what he would have done if they had done something, but I shake the thought quickly; I'm sure he would have either hospitalized or killed every one of them.

"Why didn't you run?" Bucky asks, his voice shaky. "If you hadn't called for help, I wouldn't have known." He continues, kissing the side of my head as if thanking God that he got here in time.

I take a deep breath to calm myself before replying. "You said you'd be right back." I say with a half-smile that he can't see. "I trusted you to come at exactly the right moment, like you always do."