RAISON D'ÊTRE ( bucky barnes ) 一 under editing

FIFTH

RAISON D'ÊTRE
FIFTH

WHEN THE WINTER SOLDIER speaks, Rome nearly jumps in her spot, eyes wide as she whirls around to face him. She's not fully used to hearing him speak, but it's not like she'll ever complain. For one, at least he's talking to her now; actually talking, not with just grunts and the occasional hmph. And second, well... she quite likes the sound of his voice. It's got just the slightest accent to it, one that nearly makes her swoon. However, she has to stop herself from thinking like that. Pierce had made himself quite clear 一 don't get close. But she doesn't want to, wherein lies the problem. Rome wants to know him, to talk to him and get to know him more. She can't explain it, either because they're the only other people the two can stand in a place like this, or if they're both kindred spirits.

"Are you okay?" he asked. His voice came out as just above a whisper.

Rome had just stepped into his room, shutting the door behind her with a click, when she heard him. "What?"

"I heard what happened yesterday."

She stood rooted to the floor, lips parted slightly. She looked away from him, making sure her hair acted as a curtain to hide the wound from him. Her cheek had indeed bruised overnight, the slap from yesterday making her cheek a bright red that she couldn't cover up. And of course, because HYDRA was very specific with which spells she had access to, and because she couldn't call on specific spells like that off the top of her head, she couldn't heal or hide it. Rome nodded to herself, walking over to the bed. "I'm fine," she said, brushing him off and sitting on the bed. Still, she kept her face ducked, and in doing so, her eyes locked on to the book she'd left yesterday. The beige book sat near the pillow, and she picked it up, combing through the pages. "Do you remember where we left off?"

Something warm touched her cheek and she nearly flinched. A sound of surprise, something that sounded similar to a gasp, flew past her lips. Rome turned, surprised to see that it was the Winter Soldier. He had leaned close to her, his hand reaching out to push her hair behind her ear. Gently, he grabbed her chin and tilted her face towards him. She nearly blushed, instead avoiding his gaze as he examined the red skin. Her eyes traced each of his features 一 to the stubble growing across his chin and jawline, to the gorgeous blue of his eyes. The soldier's touch was gentle as one of his fingers ghosted across her cheek, and she could feel the calluses of his skin.

"Hey." She grabbed his attention, speaking in a voice as gentle as his touch, and she reached up to grab his hand. "I'm okay," she whispered, "see? I've endured... much worse than Pierce. Trust me." She could tell that he didn't like that response, especially because she'd suffered worse than a slap to the face. But Rome couldn't tell him all she'd gone through 一 the death of her uncle and cousins, the curse her mother had placed on her, the torture she'd gone through at the hands of HYDRA. She couldn't tell him of the thousand years worth of pain, no matter how much she wanted to tell him.

It felt strange for him to hear those words 一 Trust me. He's the Winter Soldier, the ghost weapon of HYDRA. He doesn't do trust. But this was Rome 一 the girl who'd read to him and told him stories just to try and see him smile and who was doing everything in her power to help him. For some reason, she was so different to anyone he'd ever met, and he felt a connection with her. He nodded his head, slowly retracting his hand and dropping it into his lap.

She smiled at him and continued to flip through the pages. "Now, again, do you remember where we are?"

∞ ∞ ∞

The next six days had been spent reading their book; well, it was more like Rome had read to him and he intently listened. With them only seeing each other for a handful of hours, she was actually surprised that by the end of the week, they'd reached the last chapter of the book. Like before, the Winter Soldier didn't hear anything that Rome had been reading. The words had just gone in one ear and out the other. He had just kept his eyes locked onto her being, admiring her as she read.

To anyone with eyes, it was obvious that he felt something strong and deep for her. It was damn near impossible considering she'd come in every day for the past two months, smiling at him with that heartwarming smile of hers. She wasn't like the others; she treated him as if he was human, with a beating heart, not a machine or a weapon. And it was obvious to him that Rome found comfort in talking with him, in coming to his room every day. It didn't really matter to him that he didn't know her past or where she'd come from or what events had transpired for her to have fallen into HYDRA's hands, because she was here now at his side. Whether he felt love or adoration for her, that was unknown to him, but there was something in him that told him he had to protect her. He didn't know why he had thought that, but he was sure it was because she meant something to him.

He liked the way the fluorescent lights hit her dark green eyes, making them nearly shine almost like gold. He liked the way her hair fell in her face and the feeling that made him want to brush it back, and how its golden color reminded him of the sunshine. He liked the way her smile lit him up inside. He thought it was adorable the way she played with her necklace, a habit that she did when she was nervous or bored. He liked her hands 一 they were small compared to his and calloused, different in ways that his was.

"Soldier," a voice said, "is something wrong?"  It was Rome's voice that snapped him out of his thoughts. When he blinked, her eyes were holding a questioning and confused look. She had adjusted herself so that she was fully looking at him.

"No," he said. He shook his head and sat up, his back straightening.

Rome placed the book down beside her, making sure to dog-tag the page as she shut it, then scooted closer to him. Their shoulders brushed against one another. "Are you sure?" she asked softly, tilting her head in a questioning manner.

The Winter Soldier looked up and into her eyes. He gave a brief nod and tried to look away. But failed. They continued to look at each other, not wanting to look away.

Their faces got closer as they continued to stare, their breath just hitting the other. Rome looked down at his lips then back up at his icy blue eyes with him doing the same. Everything Pierce had told her earlier that week had flew out of her head as quickly as he had said it. There, she didn't care if he was supposed to be HYDRA's saving grace and their secret weapon. The witch never saw him like that; no, she saw him as real. Slowly, Rome placed a hand on his cheek.

Then the door flew open.