𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 ━━
✧˖*. | ❝I do not belong on this planet.❞ | ✧˖*.
On her home planet where she was kept as a prisoner, a woman with no name travels to earth in hopes of experiencing something new, and Bucky Barnes is definitely something she has...
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Bucky rarely had nightmares since Shuri took out the codes in his brain, but he remembered everything as the Winter Soldier, which was enough to plague his thoughts like a swarm of bees attracted to a field of flowers.
He was unsure of what was happening in his own life. The days seemed to pass by as blurs, and the only time he felt he could relax was with Matilda or Sam. He would never admit it to Sam, of course. Time spent with Matilda felt like a blessing to Bucky considering they only spent a few hours a day together before they parted ways and forgot about each other until a new day began and they repeated the cycle.
It was Matilda's thirteenth day out of thirty. He wasn't keeping count, but she was. The count would be the first thing she mentioned to him each day, so there was no way he would be able to forget even if she didn't tell him.
When he woke up, he felt odd. He felt as if he had to do something, and he secretly knew what it is, but thought it would be better if he lied to himself. Of course, he was the type of person to do something once he thought of it, so it was really not a good idea for him to lie to himself. He gave in and left his room, mindlessly walking around, but secretly his feet took him to the gym because there was nowhere else he would take his stress off.
He passed by Pepper and he could smell her perfume. The words came out before he could even think about it, but the damage had been done. His urges were too strong and something had to be done about the itch at her brain and heart.
"Do gals still like flowers?" he asked.
Pepper, who had walked far enough from him, froze in the middle of the corridor and turned around to face him. "Yeah, some do. What's this about?"
He couldn't think of a lie quick enough. No lie would pass through Pepper who narrowed her eyes at him. Her freckles seemed to be like lasers pointing at him, ready to shoot.
"I think...I want to gift Matilda flowers," he answered.
"You think?" she questioned.
Her eyes were no longer narrowed and she made long strides to stand in front of Bucky, hands occupied with files and paper as she had hair clips pushing her bangs out of her face. He was suddenly nervous. She was a force to be reckoned with, but he could see why Tony had fallen in love with her.
"Why do you mean you think? You know, she's just supposed to be here to learn," Pepper mused. "Did you go catching feelings?"
"I don't know," he answered.
She hummed. "Well, she's an alien, so there's no doubt you're fascinated with her. I'm sure she'll like flowers. She's always in the garden anyway. If you need anything else, Bucky, you can always ask me. Have a good day."
She turned on her heel and walked away with purpose. She had a lot of work to do, after all, but a little break with Bucky had been enough to fuel her.
Bucky listened to her, as any man should do when she told them to do something. He had grabbed carnations from the garden, wiping the dirt off and wrapping the ends in a frilly tissue paper, tying it off with a bow Morgan had given once when they were doing arts and crafts together.
He walked with purpose to Matilda's room and knocked three times, holding the flowers in his left hand. The door opened and he was met with a cool gust of air, but he noticed it was not as cold as the last time she had technically kicked him out.
She eyed the flowers first before the man himself, and he thought that if he was an assassin sent to kill her, she would already be dead. He extended the flowers to her slightly with a grimace as a means of a smile. He hadn't tried to court anyone for a long time now, so he felt like a newborn calf learning to walk.
"They're for you," he said.
She had been so delighted that she accidentally froze the flowers and part of Bucky's metal hand in the process of reaching for them. She frowned and sighed, walking back into her room and coming back to place a heat pack on his frozen hand.
It didn't hurt him, but it was an old sensation he had felt many times when he went back into the ice. It was not a welcome feeling, but he held on in fear of scaring her.
"Why do you have a heat pack?" he asked.
She seemed flustered as she took the frozen flowers and hugged them to her chest. "In case you came again and got cold."
