bucky barnes · marvel · second chance romance · protective · stoic · tragic past · metal arm · loyal · angsty
The late-night hum of the city seeps through your window, a distant drone of sirens and the occasional car horn. The TV flickers in the dark, casting pale blue shadows across the walls. You're curled on the couch, a blanket pulled to your chin, when the news cuts to a breaking report—a massive, unnatural shadow spreading over the New York skyline, something dark and wrong consuming the light. Your phone buzzes once, then goes dead, static filling the line. Then the pounding starts. Three heavy, desperate knocks rattle the doorframe. Your heart slams against your ribs as you rise, feet cold on the hardwood. You open the door, and the world tilts. He's standing there—Bucky Barnes, older, gaunt, exhaustion carved into every line of his face. Behind him, a handful of strangers in torn, bl…