Chapter Text
Bucky's hands seem to grip on me tighter, but not in a way that hurts, more that he will put himself in front of me if I'm in harms way.
As he steps back further his eyes see what his height didn't allow before, "why is your neck red?"
His eyes are looking over all of me, looking for any other injury, he grabs my wrist in his hand and I didn't realise Pietro had such a tight hold until I see the red ring around it.
"Eden, why are your neck and wrist red?" His voice is raised slightly, it's panic racing through him, I can see it in the way his face changes, his nostrils flare, his jaw tense.
I swallow, I'm scared, but it's not of Bucky, it's of what I think he might do if he knew it was Pietro that hurt me.
It's as though he reads my mind when I blink hard, he's past me and out of the room so fast he could almost challenge Pietros speed himself.
When I chase after him I have to run to keep up as he reaches my room before I do and walks back out before I can get to him, Wanda and my dad have clearly taken Pietro elsewhere, I know Bucky wouldn't be walking out if he was still in there.
"Bucky! Please calm down!" I grab his arm but he's pure rage, he runs past me and down the stairs, I don't know where he's going and I can't keep up with the speed he has.
"STEVE! NAT!" I don't know where they are or if they can even hear me but I shout them still, hoping they can do more to stop him than I can.
Pietro can be punished for hurting me, but I won't allow Bucky to cause himself any trouble defending or protecting me.
Steve appears at the bottom of the stairs before Bucky can reach the ground floor and he grabs both his friends arms, Steve looks at him then me, "what's going on?"
I don't have words, what do I even think Bucky is going to do? Steve looks at my neck then at Bucky who when I reach him looks frighteningly like images I've seen of him before... as the Winter Soldier. Images that, as I'm reminded of, I become scared.
"Buck?"
I hate the way Steve looks at him, confused about his anger, his behaviour, my neck, my worry, it almost makes me angry myself, it seems to click only a second later as Steve realises it isn't his friend that made these marks on my skin.
"Pietro?" Steve frowns, looking at the ground, trying to understand why he could've done this, I know because I had the exact same look on my face when I was stood outside my room after finding my father and sending him to Wanda.
At the mention of his name Bucky grunts and tries to push through his friends grip.
I can see the way Steve has to use force to stop Bucky from pushing past him.
Nat runs out a door to the right and the momentary distraction allows Bucky to slip from Steve's grasp and he's down the hall before I can register what's happened.
The three of us run after Bucky, but I realise we're too late as we enter the training room and Clint and my dad are holding him between them, Steve joins the pair as Bucky's super soldier strength is just a little too much for them.
I don't know what to do, tears are streaming from my face, and I don't even realize I'd been crying, I'm stood firmly in the door way, his anger is terrifying me because I know despite his wrong doings, Wanda will still allow no real harm to come to Pietro, and she can do a lot more damage to Bucky than his anger is allowing him to comprehend or consider.
"Bucky will you look at her!" Nats voice is piercing and demands attention of everyone in the room.
I can barely take a breath as sobs wreck my body, I'm not even sure why I'm crying so hard, I'm not a crier, and yet these last few weeks I've cried twice, it's almost embarrassing.
The group of them all turn and look at me, but anger surges through me suddenly as Bucky's angry face looks at me, he takes me in and his anger disappears, instead of fighting to get to Pietro he's pushing them off to get to me.
He reaches me and pauses, "I'm sorry."
I can't control the heavy breathes that wreck havoc on my chest, I feel like any words that escape me will choke me.
"Eden?" My dad walks towards us and looks between Bucky and I.
Looking at the concern on his face as he looks from me, his daughter, to this once angry and now full of sorrow man, my knees weaken beneath me and I step into my fathers arms, burying my face in his chest just to stop them all looking at me for a second.
His arms don't embrace me straight away, I wouldn't expect them to, since I can remember I've never hugged my father, it isn't something we've ever done, having him by my side for photos at his birthday party is as close as we've ever gotten.
I hear people in the room leaving as I finally feel his arms wrap me up in them.
"Sargent Barnes, why don't you take Eden to her room?"
What? Why?
I look up at my father, frowning and concerned, but he just gives me a reassuring smile, "I'll be up soon."
I look at Bucky, he's looking at me as though I'm made of glass, he puts his hand out to me and it's almost like I'm passed between these two men who I am still struggling to comprehend my feelings for in the most different of ways.
"I'm fine." I say and walk past his hand. I can't bare to let him hold my hand when I'm this angry with him.
I walk through the hall, past Clint, Steve and Natasha, they say nothing. I walk up the stairs and to my room, I allow Bucky to follow me, it feels like that first day I met him as he walks behind me and grabs my door handle before I can do so myself.
Words are clouding my mind, I want to scream at him, I want to cry, and yet I want to allow him to hold me and never let go.
Bucky shuts the door behind him as we enter my room. I stand in the middle of the rug, between the bed and the desk, turned away from him, I rub my palms against my face and squeeze my eyes shut, holding in my temptation to scream out my frustration.
Finally I face him, and he's stood waiting, nervous, against the door.
I've never seen Bucky nervous and I have to admit, it's slightly endearing.
I step towards him and he seems to tense up, I try to smile as I shake my head at him and hold out my hands, he closes the distance between us in two strides and encloses me in his arms as if he'll never get the chance again.
"I'm sorry Eden, I'm so sorry. I don't ever want you to be scared of me." He speaks into my neck and I can't help but let out a breathy laugh against his chest, I pull away and hold his face in my hands, my eyes scan him, I can tell he genuinely believes I was scared of him.
"Bucky! I wasn't scared of you, I was scared for you."
His eyebrows pull together, confused, he doesn't understand.
"Wanda is Pietros sister, no matter what he does. If you went in there trying to kill him, you would be dust-"
My choice of words, my dream, I feel sick. I have to swallow down the bile that's came up my throat, tears fill my eyes again.
"Hey hey, I wouldn't of killed him." He holds my own face and wipes the tears as they fall down my face. A cheeky grin pulls at Bucky's lips.
"Don't smile at me!" I pout. His eyes soften as he looks down at my lips.
"Are you so sure I'd never hurt you doll?" That cheeky grin of his, I'd do anything to see him smile at me like this every day.
But is now the right time to tease me? When I have tears rolling down my face? Or maybe he just thinks taking my mind off the subject onto something else is a good idea, either way my mind is now falling straight in the gutter.
I stand on my tip toes, my mouth close to his, my breath low and steady, "I think you would if I asked you to."
He looks me dead in the eyes, he's just slightly turning red.
He laughs and shakes his head at me, "and you think I'm dangerous?"
We both laugh, as if we're both finally able to breathe easy, our foreheads resting against each other. I close my eyes for a second before opening them and looking at him while I take a deep breath, Bucky's blue eyes have me mesmerized as he looks at me.
"I think Tony may know you're more than just watching over me for work."
Bucky smiles at me and laughs through his nose softly, "he does."
Uhhh, I beg your pardon Mr Barnes?
I receive a laugh at my shocked reaction, "he told me on the jet home, 'if you can love her and protect her at the same time, I trust that she'll always be safe.' so I think he knows something at least."
Words fail me, how could he possibly know anything is going on when I don't even know myself if there's something between Bucky and I?
I wreck my brain with questions and I can only think of one indicator, but I have to be sure.
"Does he know you gave Pietro a black eye?" I feel my jaw tighten with nerves and Bucky nods.
"Does he know what Pietro said to you?"
Bucky shakes his head, "I made everyone on that jet swear not to tell your father." I frown at him, I don't understand why any of them would agree to that, and then as he seems to read my thoughts yet again and explain, it dawns on me.
"Wanda agreed on Pietros behalf, because what your father would to do him would be far greater than any damage I could do."
"And Steve?"
"Steve agreed because he knows that too," he smiles to himself, "and he has too much respect for both father and daughter to never repeat those words ever again."
My curiosity peaks in again, "and those words? What were they?"
Bucky bites his lip, he pulls away from me and stands back.
My eyes darting over his facial features, watching to see if he'll give anything away.
He was the winter soldier, he won't give you anything.
But my subconscious is wrong, Bucky does let on things with his facial expressions, and I have myself wondering if he does it purposely because he knows I'm searching for those small signs like when his jaw tenses or his eyes narrow.
But now there's nothing. He's just looking at me dead pan, there's not even a little nostril flare.
I step towards him and he moves backwards away from me.
"Bucky?" I feel my heart beat rising, he looks away from me and at the wall.
He doesn't want to repeat it, but I don't understand, there's nothing I can think of that is so bad he couldn't tell me.
I step closer again and this time he allows me to close the distance. My hands are on each side of his face and I make him look at me, his pure blue eyes are sad as I've ever seen them.
"I can't say those words to you, not like that."
The curiosity is starting to annoy me now, they were said about me and I deserve to know.
"I will think no less of you for repeating what he said, it is not truly you saying them Buck."
He closes his eyes and speaks
"Ona prinimayet eto kak shlyukha."
"And that means what?"
Bucky grits his teeth and clicks his neck to the side before licking his lips, now the nostrils are flaring.
"Bucky! What does it mean?"
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.
"She takes it like a whore."