Chapter Twenty

                                    

                                          
Bucharest, Romania
                          
You and Bucky had been staying at a small hotel in Bucharest for a few days. You had spent a lot of the time on the phone to George. Despite only being gone for four days you missed George. That was a given, like leaving your child, but it was best. Bucky was trying to make amends, so he could sleep easily. Even though no one held him accountable for the things that he did as the winter soldier. But Bucky was like that. Kind-hearted and sweet, always hoping to make the situation better.
                          
However, this meant that his nightmares had worsened. The screams louder than before. He would grab your hand and hold you close as he tried to stop shaking. And the next morning, you would wake up to the bed empty and Bucky gone. He refused to talk about them with you. Instead he held out silent prayers that they would stop. Completely go away. That if he did this, the pain would stop. 
                          
It was an early morning in Romania, the sun shone through the curtains. Bucky had thrown open a window, letting a warm breeze into the hotel room. You were sat on the freshly made bed, checking your social media accounts. Bucky had left to clear his head, after another nightmare. 
                          
The hotel door opened, and Bucky reappeared. “How are you feeling?” you asked him, treading lightly on the subject of his nightmares. 
                          
“Okay,” said Bucky. Lies. Very obvious lies. 
                          
You nodded though, careful where you stepped. Bucky smiled at you, “I love you,” he said, sitting on the bed, “I, want to show you somewhere, is that okay?” 
                          
“Yeah,” you said, getting up from the bed. Bucky changed his outfit into something more casual. He tied his hair back into a bun that sat low on the nape of his neck, before adjusting a black baseball cap on his head so it hid his face. You raised your eyebrows, but only slightly. “Where are we going?” 
                          
Bucky didn’t respond, instead handing you your sunglasses. You put on your jacket and tied your hair back. “Buck, where are we going?” 
                          
Still no response. Bucky took your hand as you closed the door to your hotel room behind you. Silently, you walked out of the hotel and onto the street. They were busy, and loud. Bucky pulled you tighter into his side as you made your way down the street. At the end he turned down a small alleyway, it wasn’t wide. So you walked behind Bucky. Still close to him though, you had no idea where you were going.
                          
Bucky rounded another corner, the alleyway slightly wider. You walked close into Bucky’s side, he wrapped his arm around your waist, his metal arm. He waited a few seconds before he let his hand rest on your hip. You said nothing, instead resting your head on his shoulder. 
                          
You stopped abruptly outside of an apartment complex. It looked old, one window was smashed through and the colour on the bricks was fading. The door to the stairwell was chipped, the handle falling off. Bucky twisted it, so that the door creaked open. A steep stairwell, with what looked like millions off stairs stood in front of you. It was cold, and the only light came from the window above. Bucky took off up the stairs and you followed him. 
                          
He walked up the stairs quickly, as you followed breathlessly. After about, what felt like twenty sets of stairs, but was probably only about five or six. Bucky stopped outside an apartment. The door was a faded red, and the apartment number was falling off. What had been a golden handle was now a faded rust colour. Bucky opened the door, and walked inside. And you followed. Looking around as you walked inside. 
                          
The wall on your right was painted green, the one on your left red. And the far wall had a faded flower wallpaper. There was an old mattress on the floor, and even older blankets thrown on top of them. What was left of a kitchen connected to the far well. Bucky picked up a piece of paper, old newspaper, from on top of the fridge. “Did you used to live here?” you asked, stood in the center of the small apartment. 
                          
“When I escaped Hydra,” said Bucky quietly, “Steve found me here, first time over, and brought me to the tower,” Bucky kept facing away from you, “Later that day, I met you,” 
                          
You bit your lip to stop a smile from creeping through. “And you were this, beautiful, intelligent woman who was stood in front of me,” he said, his breathing shaky, “And you saw me, and something in your face fell when you saw what had happened to me,” you could recall the whole interaction like it was yesterday. The tears pricked at your eyes, “But most of all, you were always kind to me, even though I was an assassin, who had hurt people for decades,” 
                          
“Buck-”
                          
“You saw me,” he said, turning to face you, “And I somehow managed to get you to fall in love with me,” his cheeks stained with tears. Third time in four days he’d broken down. Your heart couldn’t take it. “I’ll never ever understand why you settled for me, when you could have had anyone,” 
                          
You ran towards him, wrapping your arms around him. You both cried into each others shoulder. “James Buchanan Barnes,” you said shakily, “You don’t give yourself enough credit, you’re perfect, I don’t need anyone but you okay? Okay?” 
                          
Bucky nodded into your shoulder, “I love you Y/N,” 
                          
“Love you more,”  
                          
Bucky wiped his eyes, “I’m sorry,” 
                          
“Don’t be,” you said, taking his hand, “Come on, where to next?”
                          
Bucky let a small smile creep on to his face. He was so lucky to have you, “Washington,” he stated. You nodded. The Washington DC attack from Hydra had been on the news everywhere, The Winter Soldier had been there, attacked Steve, Nat and Sam. Or tried to. Kind of. You didn’t know the whole story. And you didn’t need to. That was in the past. That wasn’t Bucky Barnes. 
                          
“Then let's head to Washington,” 


                          
Authors Note ❤️: I'm very sorry if this chapter made you cry. I'm almost at 1k followers and the billionaire's daughter has almost 340k reads? Um tysm i love you all <3
                          
Also tfaws. Episode 5. I'm so hyped for next week's episode but also its the last one :(