Bucky watched as rays of sunshine peeked through the trees. Dawn was always one of his favorite parts of a day on a mission. It was a piece of beauty that he could see that couldn't be stolen from him. They could take his memories, his mind, his body, even his soul. But they couldn't take this away.
Not the art of the natural world. He had grown to truly love nature under Hydra's care. To be out in an open space and not caged underground somewhere like he was most of the time. He had escaped them and had no plans of going back.
But they had broken him. The question that remained was he the kind of broken that could be fixed, or the one you threw in the trash. He had a feeling he might be the latter of the two. So with no way to redemption then why not end it?
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the side door of the SUV open and watched as Lucy scurried out of the car, toilet paper in hand. He couldn't help but smile. She was a strange one.
She went behind the same oak as before. Bucky clocked the area making sure there was no threat to her when she was in such a vulnerable position.
He heard her shuffling as she came back from around the tree and headed back to the car. She slowed before she reached and looked up into the tree he was in.
She searched for him; he stayed perfectly still, curious if she would be able to spot him without the help of movement. She was perseverent though and finally did spot him. She waved and motioned toward the car. He gave her a nod. He wasn't sure if she saw it or not, but she turned away and moved back to the car, climbing in.
He checked the area once more, surprised that no one had shown up last night. He didn't believe in luck which meant hydra might have a more elaborate plan they were putting in place.
Bucky climbed down with smooth movements, dropping down from the eight foot high lowest branch landing with the quiet grace of a panther.
He moved towards the car with his quiet natural stealth. He opened the back without thinking about it and heard Lucy squeak. He looked at her confused until he realized he could see her bare back. She was facing away from him clutching a blanket to her chest, to cover some of her nudity.
Bucky would have blushed, or been embarrassed except for the tattoo that covered her back. He put his knee on the floor of the trunk of the car and leaned forward unthinkingly to trace a finger down one of the folded wings she had on her back. They were angel wings that went from the top of her back all the way down to the dimple just above her ass. They were done in black and white and greys. They were highly detailed and accurate. The muscle definition at the attachment point between and slightly below her shoulder blades was exquisite. The elbow part of the wing was what brushed the top curve of her shoulders. He could almost picture the wings opening using that elbow joint to spread out and lift her aloft. The feathers then trailed down her back in an almost cascading waterfall effect. His fingers followed that waterfall all the way down to the last feather which ended at the curve of her ass.
The sound of Lucy clearing her throat pulled Bucky out of his trance. He snatched his hand away as if it had been burned.
"I guess you like my tattoo." Her voice was hesitant from nerves at the somewhat awkward situation they were in.
"It's..." he was at a loss for words.
When she turned to look at his face, he realized his silence had been too long. "It's nice." he finished lamely. He wanted to smack his forehead with his metal palm. What the fuck was that? The tattoo was much better than nice; it was breathtaking. He couldn't figure out how he hadn't noticed it before this moment.
"Thanks," she said after another awkward silence. "I got it when I graduated high school. My parents were very opposed but...I always thought it would be cool to be able to fly under my own power. Part of that feeling came from not having a soul mark until just a couple weeks ago. It was my way of saying fuck you to the universe. If you don't want to give me a soul mate that's fine, I'll just carry myself."
He nodded in understanding. "It reminds me of a fallen angel." he murmured.
"I never thought of myself as one, but I guess with all the trouble I've been causing the last few days, it makes sense."
He grunted before turning his back to her. She deserved as much privacy as he could give while she changed.
He heard her shuffling on clothing behind him. He didn't move until she was sitting beside him on the edge of the open trunk. He looked over to see she wore sweatpants and a t-shirt. The casual outfit looked good on her.
"So what's the plan?" She asked when he remained silent.
"Two-hour nap for me then we hit the road. Stay in the car while I sleep; it's safer." She nodded and climbed back in.
"Bucky?" She asked tentatively, as he laid himself down in the makeshift bed, after closing the trunk.
He grunted to let her know he was listening. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands over his belly.
"Is there any way we could stop at a library or used book store at some point?"
He cracked an eye open and looked at her questioningly.
"It's just kinda boring to be riding in a car all day." She was fidgeting, moving restlessly on her knees, sitting about a foot from him. She had her hands clenched in her lap. She was holding them so tightly that her fingers had gone white.
"We will be stopping in Atlanta for some things; we can find a used book store there."
She unclenched her fingers and gave him a relieved smile.
He closed his eye again and resettled himself, instantly dropping into a light doze.
*****