#ow3

“Barnes, wake up!” you shouted, shaking his arm. His blue eyes fluttered open, his pupils dilating, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness of the sun that had now made its full appearance in the sky.  The rays were already beating down on your exposed skin. Shade was a must for your shelter, if you didn’t want sun poisoning.

“Wha-What?” he stammered, taking his fingers and absentmindedly running them through his short, thick chestnut hair.

“We gotta figure out a way to get the fuck off this island. Now, get up,” you said, grabbing him under the elbow and helping him to his feet. He was like a ton of bricks, his balance unhinged as he almost fell over on top of you.

“Sorry,” he chuckled, righting himself. “Still have sea legs.”

“What do you propose we do?” you asked, doing 360 degree turns around, hoping something helpful would pop out in plain sight.

“I’ve never seen Castaway,” Bucky joked, laughing at his own joke.

“This isn’t funny,” you scoffed back. “And what kind of decent person hasn’t seen the movie Castaway? I can’t stand you more and more every second.”

But that wasn’t entirely true. He didn’t need to know that, though.

“Okay,” Bucky said standing up, putting his hands out in reasoning. “I saw on a survival show once, that they built a boat out of palm leaves and stuff like that.”

“That would be useful,” you replied, putting your hands on your hips. “If we had a knife.”

“True. Okay, okay. What if we spelled out help in rocks along the beach and made a huge bonfire. That way, if any planes, helicopters or even boats come around, they’ll see our signal.”

For once, his idea was sound. It may not help you out right this second, but it could if help decided to come your way. It was better to be safe than sorry.

“We need to find food and fresh water before we do anything,” you cut in. “Or we won’t survive.”

“You’re right,” Bucky said, pulling on his shirt that had dried overnight over his head, messing up his hair. “Let’s go search those woods back there. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a run off and some fruit. I’m starving.”

You were too, your stomach feeling as if it was touching your back. Your brain thought of big elaborate breakfasts, filled with eggs, toast, pancakes, and tons of bacon. Shaking your head, you tried not to think about it, the possibility of never having any of those things ever again weighing heavy on your psyche.

“God, I could go for a huge, juicy hamburger right now,” Bucky said, licking his lips has he turned back to you, your feet grudgingly following behind him in the hot sand. You wanted to punch him.

“Shut the fuck up, Barnes,” you spat. “I just stopped thinking about bacon.”

“Oh man, bacon…”

The both of you trudged through the hot sand, sweat pouring down your necks and faces. There was silence between you for quite some time, for fear of snapping on one another. Suddenly, Bucky stopped you, putting his arm out so quickly you ran into it.

“What the hell?!”

“Shhhh,” he whispered. “Listen.”

You heard it almost immediately, except you weren’t sure if it was the distant waves or a new body of water.

“It sounds like a spring,” he whispered lower, for fear that being loud would scare the fresh water away.

“Okay,” you breathed back. “Are we gonna go check or just think about it for awhile?”

For the first time, Bucky looked back and shot you a menacing glare, his brows furrowing, sweat beading down his forehead. You couldn’t help your heart catching in your throat. Even a sweaty, miserable mess, Bucky Barnes was disgustingly attractive. You put up your hands in defeat, and continued to follow him in the thick mess of palm trees. Maybe the sound you both were hearing was an illusion, a trick of the distressed brain. You prayed silently for the latter.

Finally, Bucky parted the palms and miraculously, a small stream was running over large, shiny rocks. You both exhaled a sigh of relief, one less thing you had to worry about flowing right in front of you. The body could last weeks without food, but water was essential to survival.

“Do you think it’s far enough in that it’s fresh?” you asked, knowing this water could still be salt ridden.

“It should be,” Bucky replied, kneeling down and swiping a finger in the water. He brought it up to his lips and licked off the liquid, his face procuring a wide smile as he looked back at you. “It’s fresh.”

“Thank God,” you said, leaning down and cupping a handful into your palms, letting the cool, delicious liquid run down your dry throat. It felt and tasted like heaven. Bucky dove into the pool of water that was collecting at the bottom, popping his head back up for air. There was a huge smile on his face, and you couldn’t help but to smile back in return. It was infectious.

“Come on in, Y/N,” Bucky coaxed, splashing the water around him. “It feels amazing.”

“Why, so you could try and drown me? One less mouth to feed and all that.”

Bucky looked at you and arched his brow, rolling his eyes before splashing you.

“Shut up and get the fuck in here already.”

You crossed your arms, but didn’t stop smiling. He had that effect on you and it drove you insane. Standing up on the rock you looked down, your feet tingling with anticipation. Finally, you held your nose and jumped, crashing into the cool water and feeling pebbles brush against your toes as you touched the bottom. You vaulted yourself back up and gasped for air, Bucky’s laugh filling your ears.

“Feels great huh?” he asked, his sparkling blue eyes fixed on you.

“Incredible,” you replied, trying to look anywhere but at Bucky. “You think there’s fish in here?”

“I’m sure. But we need a way to catch them,” Bucky sighed, running his fingers through his wet hair again. You had the sudden urge to kiss him right on the mouth, but also to punch him in his stupid face. “I saw some crawfish down there we might be able to catch. It’s not much, but it’s something.”

You couldn’t help it. You were staring at him now, and he was staring right back, his icy blue eyes piercing your soul. Redness crept up your cheeks as you looked down at the water, trying not to make things more awkward than they’d already become. Bucky reached across the water and took your hand in his, linking your fingers together. You felt a spark run through your body as your hands made contact, the urge to kiss him growing stronger and stronger. It made you mad and you bottled it down. Now was not the time.

“Come on,” Bucky said, squeezing your hand. “Let’s go find us some breakfast.” He winked before he started to swim, dragging you behind him. With every pull of his hand your heart swelled larger, as did the love you had for him. Your heart still wanted to kiss him, even though your brain told you to fuck off. You couldn’t help but wonder, as he pulled you under water with him, his hand latched around yours, if he wanted to kiss you too.