"How did your arm get like that?"
"A hidden Nazi organization gave me it in the 1940's after I lost my real arm takin' a swan dive off a train up in some mountains..."
--
In which Bucky Barnes hides from his past in Beacon Hills, getting drowned in...
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TWO MORNINGS LATER, Bucky's eyes fluttered open to the soft chirping of birds outside. His metal arm is hot underneath his blanket covered torso. But, unlike his arm, the spot on the bed next to him is cold and neatly made, which raises the question; where did Derek sleep? But the even bigger question is; where is Derek?
As Bucky stands to his feet he takes a deep inhale of the stale motel air and feels his lungs expand with the sweet scent of food. With a loud gurgle from his stomach, he walks over to the dingy coffee table to see a plastic bag with Chinese characters printed onto it. Without a moment of hesitation, Bucky rips into the bag and begins to devour the savory food.
He's whipping the stray bits of fried rice and smeared grease off of his face when he hears footsteps outside of the room. His skin prickles with anxiety and he instinctively has his back against the wall and the curtains pushed aside. He lets out a quiet sigh of relief when the stranger walks past and he drops the curtain.
As the day continues on Bucky's mind wanders to the questions he should have asked himself yesterday. Why are his senses so much stronger than before? His hearing, his sense of scent are all amplified to such an extent that he can't explain, not even with his history with HYDRA. He spends the day pacing in his small room while he becomes tenser and tenser. The uncertainty of his "current condition" was one reason but there was another reason he couldn't uncover. He doesn't even notice the sun had set until he hears the roar of a car pull into the motel parking lot.
But this time he recognizes the sweet scent of Derek and feels no instincts to hideaway. Yet, he is anxious none the less, his pacing getting faster as he hears Derek's footsteps and heartbeat approach the door. His only chance at answers is also his only chance at sleeping under a roof.
Bucky decides he's paced enough and finally sits down onto the bed just as Derek opens the door. Bucky's blue eyes shoot to Derek's own, the sweet scent bringing some calm to his heart.
There's silence for only a moment before Derek speaks. "I know you have questions..." he says softly, his feet carrying him to sit beside Bucky, "and I can answer them, on one condition."
Bucky's eyes never left the man sitting beside him, watching the way his lips moved as he spoke. From anyone else, the words "on one condition" would send him into defense, but something inside of him told him that Derek wouldn't harm him.
"What is it?" Bucky's replies softly, his shoulders still slightly tense as his eyes trail across Derek's face.
He hears Derek swallow and his heartbeat quicken before he speaks, "I need you to trust me," he says as his eyes drop down to his lap, "because things have gotten so complicated and I don't know how to un-complicate it. I don't have enough answers and I don't—"
