run to you - bucky barnes

fifteen

Marci followed a few feet behind Bucky as he walked up a dusty old staircase of a rundown apartment building. The paint on the walls was faded from the sun and the floorboards creaked with every step. But since he was hiding, she didn't think he'd be able to find anything better. Every few seconds his pace would slow and he'd look back at her. Whether he was checking if she was still there or looking to see if someone was following them; well that she wasn't sure of.

Moments later, Bucky removed a key ring from his pocket and unlocked the door to his apartment. He stepped in, holding the door for Marci. He locked his eyes with hers as she stepped through the door way, his lips formed as small smile but it still looked forced. A shaky breath escaped her lips as her eyes disconnected with his and glanced around the room. It wasn't what she expected to say the least. Yet by how the stairwell looked, she couldn't say she was surprised.

The apartment was very small, it was all one room aside from a bathroom that hid along the back wall. The walls seemed to be falling apart as the paint was chipped and pieces of wallpaper were barely holding on. The room was dark and gloomy because the windows were covered in newspaper, preventing outsiders from looking in. When Marci saw the lone mattress on the floor, that's when her heart started to hurt. It sat alone and empty of blankets and pillows showing obvious signs that it hardly ever got used. But there was a couch that sad adjacent with a kitchen table that showed more sign of use.

"So," Marci's voice was quiet as she spun around to face Bucky once more. "How long have you been here?" She questioned.

Bucky released a deep breath before he spoke. To say he was nervous was a complete understatement - which was a completely new feeling for him. He knew she'd have questions, but so did he. "A while."

"You know, your definition of 'a while'  most likely differs from mine." Marci didn't mean for her words to come out sounding harsh, but her attitude was apparent.

Bucky ran his flesh hand through his dark locks while his body moved to lean against the wall. "A few weeks," he crossed his arms over his chest, "Longer than I've been anywhere else in these past few months." Marci just nodded, not knowing what else to say. Though the silence didn't last for long. "How did you find me?" Curiosity flowed from his words like a river.

"I figured you'd wanna know that," Marci's voice was laced with pride. It still amazed her that was able to pull this off. Honestly, she completely doubted herself but the countless hours she spent staring at camera footage really paid off.

She shrugged her backpack off of her shoulders. As she bent down to pull out the photo from inside of it, Bucky's body became noticeably tense. "Relax," she gave a smile. Once her fingers grasped the picture she walked it over to Bucky. "This is how I found out that you were in Romania. I honestly had no idea where in Romania you'd be, but I saw you walking down the street." She paused for a moment, while he took the photo from her. "If I believed in God, I'd say it was a sign from the big guy, but I think it was just me being in the right place at the right time."

He stared at the photo, it took him longer than he would have liked to find the almost insignificant detail that lead her to him. A glimmer of a metal wrist. His metal fingers unconsciously formed a tight fist at his side while his flesh held held the photo tightly. He didn't notice, but Marci did. Almost as if acting on instinct she reached out and placed her hand atop of his bionic one. Marci hadn't realized what she had done until the coolness of the metal met her burning skin, creating a contrast that almost felt comforting, fire and ice. His eyes wandered down to the metal to skin contact, his breath hitched in his throat. How she was not afraid - that was something that he didn't understand - especially after the last time they spoke.

"You don't need to worry, James." She squeezed his hand a little harder, this time completely aware of her actions. Though she didn't know if he could even feel it, she didn't retract her touch. His eyes still remained fixated on their hands. "I didn't tell Steve. Him and Sam don't know that I'm here or that you're here. You're safe with me, I promise."

He removed his gaze from the small act of affection that she had shown and shook her hand off. He turned his body away from her, not before seeing her face fall. "You shouldn't be here." Marci felt her stomach clench at his words. Her face no longer held the comforting gaze that Bucky yearned for.

"What?" Her voice came out barely above a whisper. Without his enhanced senses, he wasn't sure if he would have heard her.

He turned back around as he began to speak, "I could hurt you again," memories flashed in his mind of the night in Marci's home. He knew that although his memories were slowly returning, he was still completely capable of those horrible acts whether he wanted to preform them or not. "Or worse, I could kill you."

Marci was quick to respond, "You're not going to kill me. Don't say things like that."

"I almost did last time. What makes you think that I've changed? Huh? I'm still a monster. I've still killed tens of people, and those are only the ones I remember. Who knows? The list could be a lot longer and I sure as hell don't want to add you to that list." During his rant he stormed toward her, towering over her petite frame. He chest bounced up and down as his breathing became more sloppy.

"Listen to yourself," Marci laughed. "You know damn well that the Winter Soldier killed those people. Hydra did that to you just like they did this to me," she took a step back and raised her arms so they were hovering around her midsection, ignited in a small blaze. "Don't think that you're the only one affected by this. You came to me asking for help and by the looks of it, you're gonna damn well need it. So put your big boy pants on and let's go kick some Hydra ass."

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I said I was going to update once a week, that didn't happen whoops