Entwined | Bucky Barnes *On Hold*

Chapter Six

~Bucky's POV~

I was sat on the sofa, head in hands as I waited for Amelie to come home. I hadn't heard from her since she'd arrived at the bar, and I knew it was highly likely she was drowning her sorrows in drink. She was incredible, but drunk Amelie was the clumsiest person I knew. I was well aware there were other people there, and they were all looking after one another, but they were probably drunk too.

My coffee was half drunk, and growing cold from its position on the table. I was wide awake, but couldn't think of much else to do. I had learnt the alphabet in sign language, and could recite it in any order. I made a few more cards for D'Arcy to use at school, and made a batch of brownies using Amelies recipe.

I heard a soft padding of footsteps approaching across the room, and I twisted my head to the side to see D'Arcy walk slowly towards me. Her arms were wrapped around one of her soft toys, and she nuzzled it against her skin.

"Are you okay sweetheart? Why are you up?" Her body was shaking as she walked closer, and I could see her tired eyes blink slowly as her long hair hid the rest of her face. "D'Arcy?"

I sat up, opening my arms as she ran the last few steps towards me, launching herself into my lap. Her arms wound tightly around my neck, and her small body pressed against my chest. She sobbed silently, her tears wetting the top I was wearing.

I rubbed my hand up and down her back, and gently teased her hair back from her face. She sniffed loudly, and I could slowly begin to feel her breaths return to a more regular pace. "Do you want to tell me what's happened doll?"

She pulled her head back, small fingers rubbing at her eyes as she slumped against my chest. I wrapped one arm securely around her waist, then leant forward to grab a small notebook and pen from the table. The lamp next to us was already flicked on, and so she could easily see what she was writing.

'Fire.' Her writing was scrawled, and the word was covered by a tear that rolled down her cheek, splashing onto the paper.

I tightened my arm around her, holding her closer to me, to try and give her some security. We still didn't know the full truth and details surrounding her parents death, and therefore didn't know whether she was there at the time. But if she was suffering from nightmares about the fire, then it was highly likely she was.

"What else happened?" I murmured by her ear, hoping that if I spoke softly she would feel more comforted.

Her shaking fingers slowly fanned down my arm as she fumbled with her pen. Her breaths were ragged as she attempted to write, but in the end she drew a stickman holding what looked to be a large gun. I felt my entire posture change, becoming tense and hard as D'Arcy bubbled into a sobbing mess in my lap.

I had no idea how to help. With Amelie we would discuss the nightmares, curled in one another's arms before having a kiss and a cuddle and eventually falling asleep. D'Arcys speech was already less complex than mine and Amelies, and so she may not have been able to communicate her exact feelings, and that's before I counted in her being mute.

So I went for the second option that I used to calm down my wife from her panicked nightmares. A film. Hopefully D'Arcys sleep deprived body would relax in front of Disney, and she would sleep well for the rest of the night. She had had a busy day at school all day, so she should be tired enough to need the sleep now.

I reached for the remote, and scrolled through one of the streaming services that Amelie had helped set up within weeks of us first moving here. Down at the kids section, was one of D'Arcys favourite films. Monsters Inc.

She was absorbed the moment the monsters came on screen, and as they continued moving around and joking with one another, her body slumped further and further down my body. She ended up sprawled on the sofa covered by a blanket, as I got up to make another mug of coffee.