Home Is Where The Heart Is

Warnings: angst, fluff

Summary: Just because you're brought back to him doesn't mean you're going to stop doing what you love. You tried to make a life for yourself by going to college for fashion design. You want to keep normalcy even though you're far from it.

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Then

After promising yourself you'd read more this year, you decided to read a few chapters every night before bed. You were sitting in the comfortable reading chair your grandma let you have when she got sick. She used to sit on this thing and read to you all the time, now it was your turn to sit and read to her. The only noise was coming from the TV where you put on a YouTube video of rain sounds. It wasn't raining but with that video, it felt like it. You picked up your glass of wine and took a small sip just as you finished chapter five.

Someone knocked on your front door loudly, causing you to spill your wine in shock. Only a few drops but if you let the stain sit, you were never going to get it out. Who could be knocking at your door this late at night? You set the wine and book down before you walked to the front door. You peered through the peephole but it was completely black which meant that whoever was on the other side was covering it.

"Who is it?"

"Bucky."

You practically ripped the door off the hinges once you heard his voice. He was leaning against the door frame, blood all over his clothes. He was hurt and if the blood didn't tell you that, his pained expression did. Bucky came crashing inside but you caught him before he could fall to the ground. He was a very heavy man but you did your best to hold him up. You didn't care if blood got on your clothes.

"Bucky, are you okay? Shit, I should take you to a hospital."

"No hospital," he shook his head.

"Bucky..."

"I said no," he said again, this time a lot firmer.

"Fine. Come on." You dragged him to your bedroom and let him lie down while you prepared to take care of him. "Don't move."

You ran into your adjoining bathroom and grabbed whatever you could find that might help him before rejoining his side on the bed. When you did, he had his shirt off. Even with all the bruises and cuts, he still looked like an angel to you. An angel marred by humanity. An angel with black wings. You sat next to him on the bed and used gauze to start cleaning the blood off his skin.

"What happened to you?" He refused to answer you. It was always like this. This wasn't the first time he's gotten hurt like this. "Bucky, please tell me what happened to you." You pressed the gauze against one of his wounds and he hissed in pain, causing you to wince as if you were the one who was hurt. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry," he sighed. "I'm sorry for showing up like this."

The more you took care of him, the more tears welled in your eyes.

"You're always getting hurt," you sniffled. "Where do you go? What do you do?"

"Let's just say some men I talked to didn't like what I had to say. It got physical."

"Where are they?"

"Right where I left them," he chuckled.

Once his wounds have stopped bleeding, you carefully cleaned them with a damp rag and some antiseptic.

"Are you going to tell me what you do for work?"

"No," he said quietly.

"Do you not trust me?"

"If you can believe it, you're one of the few I trust right now."

"Do you not love me?"

He reached up and caressed your cheek. You leaned into his touch and closed your eyes slightly.

"It's because I love you that I can't involve you in this."

You bandaged his wounds as best as you could, and while you were throwing everything away, Bucky got comfortable in your bed. You joined his side and slipped underneath the covers. You carefully laid your head on his chest, the part that didn't hurt.

"You know I worry about you, right?"

"I wish you wouldn't. You don't need to worry about someone like me."

You smiled and kissed the tip of his nose delicately.

"I worry about the people I love."

Bucky gripped your jaw gently and kissed you. Bucky was definitely keeping secrets from you but you decided to put that on the back burner for tonight. That night, all you needed was Bucky.

Now

You're enjoying a quiet morning eating breakfast in the kitchen when your phone goes off. It's a message from an unknown number. You look at the chef to see her engrossed in her duties, and you pick up your phone to see who could this message be from.

UNKNOWN: Hey, it's Gio. I'm hoping I made a good enough impression for you not to forget me already.

YOU: Hey, Gio! No, I didn't forget you.

GIO: Good. Look, I wanted to check in on you after everything that happened at school with the shooting. You've been gone for a while

YOU: Yeah, I needed a week to calm down after all that. I'm okay, though.

GIO: Glad to hear it. Are you going to be in school today?

You bite your lip nervously. Bucky wouldn't like it if you stepped one foot outside this mansion without him. Fuck that! He's not the boss of you! He can't keep you prisoner here. Go to school if you want to go to school.

YOU: Yes, I am.

GIO: Cool! I look forward to seeing you in class :)

You finish breakfast before heading upstairs and getting dressed. There is a reason you're in college. There's a reason why you're taking fashion design classes. You're not going to let someone like Bucky take that away from you. After getting dressed in something warm, you head downstairs. You're looking at your phone so you don't see Bucky before you run right into him. He grips your shoulders to prevent you from falling, and you look up at him in shock.

"Sorry."

"Where are you going?"

"School."

"You can do school here."

"Not for the classes I need to be in person for, and since you wrecked my car, I need to leave now to catch the bus."

Bucky's jaw ticks in anger or annoyance, you're not sure. You can practically see the cogs turning in his head. He rolls his eyes at losing his inner battle.

"Fine, I'll take you to school."

"With no bodyguards. I don't need Sam and Steve lingering in the classes like weirdos."

"Only if you promise not to run."

"I thought you liked chasing me." Bucky smirks slightly but decides against saying anything else. You finally have time to see what he's wearing and your mouth waters when you see his very loose gray sweatpants that hang low on his hips. No! Bad girl! Don't think about that! But he's so delicious and you really do miss the way his body feels against yours. Don't make me smack you. Fine. "I'll wait by the car while you get dressed. There's no way you're leaving the house wearing that."

"Yes, ma'am," he smirks.

God damn it. He leaves while you wait by one of his cars. You're not sure which one he is going to take since he has about a million of them inside his garage. He joins your side wearing a three-piece suit. He must be going to the office today. You're not sure if you prefer him wearing sweatpants or in a suit. Sweatpants. Definitely sweatpants. No shirt. Obviously.

He picks the Range Rover and you climb into the passenger seat. He never lets you drive now or when you two were dating. He often claims that you always have been and will always be his Passenger Princess. Not that you minded much because it gave you the opportunity to stare at him. Ahem. Admire. Apparently, there's a difference.

"Lose something over here, pisică?" he smirks. You snap your eyes forward and pretend like you aren't admiring how good he looks. You look in the mirror and see another black SUV trailing behind that no doubt has Steve and Sam in. "What are you going to school for?"

This is a safe topic to discuss and you relax in your seat.

"Fashion design. I really want to start my own line of clothes."

"I remember you were saying something about that," he smiles.

"Well, I only just started college. It's a few classes while I get my general out of the way, but I like it."

Bucky pulls up to the side of the campus where your first class is. You're not sure what to say. You look at your phone to see you have forty-five minutes before your class starts.

"Thanks for the ride."

You're about to get out when he stops you.

"What time does your last class end?"

"Three."

"I'll pick you up then. Right here."

"Okay," you whisper.

You leave the car but the feeling of his eyes on you doesn't go away. You're about half a football field away from him when you turn and look at him. He's still staring at you so you scurry off with a blush. He chuckles and pulls away from the school, deciding to trust you that you'll be there when he picks you up. Your first two classes go by without a hitch and your third class is your favorite–Fashion Design 102. The classroom is set up like a lab with desks that can only fit two people. The walls are covered with fabrics, the ground splattered with paint, and a bunch of mannequins are scattered about. Gio sits at one of the long tables and smiles when he sees you.

"Rayne!"

Oh, yeah. You told him your name is Rayne. Since Bucky found you, there's no reason to keep that secrecy. You take a seat next to him and blush slightly from embarrassment.

"My name isn't Rayne. It's Y/N. I was going through stuff when I told you my name, but I'm okay now. I'm sorry I lied to you."

Gio chuckles in amusement. "It's no problem. I know a bit about running from your past. I get it. I like Y/N better, anyway."

"Thanks."

"Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah. I needed time to process what happened."

"Again, I get it," he nods.

There's no way you're going to tell him that what happened was because of you. All you want to do is focus on your design class. Gio is interested in designing men's clothing which you know he will be good at. All his sketches are amazing. The professor has people teaming up to create an article of clothing so naturally, Gio asked you to be his. Before you can start designing, you have to have sketches.

Gio wanted to make a suit while you wanted to make a dress. You two compromised and you're making a dress. He's picking the color and fabric while you two create the design.

"So, what's your deal?"

"With what?" you chuckle and continue sketching.

"You're gorgeous, there's not secret about that. You're funny and very smart. Last I remember, you don't have a boyfriend, right?"

Bucky immediately comes to mind. If you were to tell Gio no, he'd kill him for sure. Technically, you never broke up with him. You just ran away. Gio sees the look on your face and chuckles in amusement.

"It's complicated, I guess. Like I said to you before, it wouldn't be fair to you if I couldn't give you my all, you know?"

"Yeah, I do. Friends?"

"Yeah, friends," you smile.

The class ends once you finish the design on sketches. You only have three classes but the fashion one takes two hours. Bucky pulls up to the meeting spot exactly at three and looks for you. He sees you walking with a man taller than you. He looks younger than Bucky and leaner than him. He still has muscle but not nearly as enough as Bucky have. You're leaning into his side with a smile on your face, laughing at something he said. Bucky tries to let it slide that he's standing so close to you but when Gio pulls you into a hug, his blood boils. He honks his horn and you jump away from him in shock.

"Sorry, that's me. I gotta go," you chuckle nervously.

"I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah."

You walk over to Bucky's car and get in the passenger's seat with a frown on your face. Bucky has a grumpy smile on his face and you roll your eyes as you put your seatbelt on.

"Don't give me that look. I'm allowed to have friends."

"Friends don't touch your ass when they hug you."

"He wasn't."

"Do you remember what happened to that man in my meeting?"

He doesn't have to say the words for you to know what he means. You whip your head toward him and glare as hard as you can.

"Don't you fucking dare. If you do, I will leave again, you'll never find me, and we're done."

Bucky is silent for twenty minutes before smirking.

"Are you saying we're not done now?"

You can't stay mad at him. You want to be pissed at him but then he says shit like that and makes you fall for him even more. The rest of the car ride is spent in silence except for the light stream of music coming from the speakers. Bucky pulls up to his mansion and escorts you inside. The first thing you see is a trail of rose petals leading from the door to the kitchen. You gasp when you see the table set for a romantic dinner for two. Candles, flowers, hot food, and alcohol.

"What is this?"

"I figure I owed you dinner after everything."

"You didn't have to do all this."

"I know. I wanted to." Your stomach flips upside down and your heart swells in happiness. "Plus, I slaved over the stove all day for you."

As happy as you are, you can't help but feel sad. Bucky have proven he can be this sweet and good man, so why the hell is he in the most dangerous business? He's messing with your head and you're not sure what to think. Don't think. Just be in the moment. All your problems will still be there tomorrow morning. Right. Be in the moment.

That's what you do, and you and Bucky have a nice dinner where your problems slide into tomorrow and nothing else matters but you two. After dinner, Bucky walks to you to your room as if he's walking you home after a date. You know what happens after a date. Bucky did the same thing after every one of yours, so you're not sure what's going to happen here. You stop outside your room and look into Bucky's blue eyes.

"Thank you for dinner. It was delicious."

Bucky reaches out and cups your jaw. You part your lips and he runs his thumb along your bottom lip. He cups the other side of your jaw and pulls you toward him. He kisses you desperately and grips your hair to keep you in place. It's been so long since you've felt his lips on yours and it's making your knees weak. He slides his tongue into your mouth to meet yours and licks every inch he can. By the time he is pulling away, your brain is numb.

"Goodnight."

"Night," you mumble.

It doesn't matter how hard you try to stay away from him. You can't.