You know how I said I might be writing a short Bucky Barnes fic? Well that's once again being put on hold so I can write random Bucky fluff.
"Excuse me, Miss, but I appear to be in the wrong place. Is this the Stark ball?"
You looked over your shoulder at the familiar voice pretending to be a stranger. "Clint." You grinned wide at the sight of him, barely glancing him up and down before going in for a tender but quick hug.
"You look wonderful." He said as he took a step back to get a better look at your dress. You, more than comfortable with Clint looking at you, even turned your body so he could see the sides.
You hated wearing dresses ninety five percent of the time. You had a few casual dresses in your closet, but they were never worn. You didn't have the time or energy to be constantly adjusting them all day, so you usually stuck with pants and plain shirts.
There was no way you were going to be able to shop for a dress on your own. It was a very formal event hosted by and for the Avengers and anyone they decided to invite. You knew the paparazzi was going to be there, and you knew most of the attention was going to be on the team, not their medic. You didn't feel obligated to worry about out shining everyone; in fact, you didn't what that at all.
Natasha seemed to have other plans, however.
"How about this one?" She pulled another long, eye catching dress from the rack. "It's beautiful and just your size."
"I don't know—" You started, prompting the redhead to sigh. This had been the fifth dress you turned down, and she had quickly grown tired of your modest and, in her words, 'ugly' selections.
"You're trying it on." She demanded, waving the store worker over.
"Nat—"
"We've already been here for twenty five minutes and you haven't given any suggestions a chance." Apparently even the stylish Natasha got tired of shopping when it was this tedious.
"Fine." You begrudgingly followed the worker to the dressing room.
At first you were hesitant about the lack of worry for the high prices of a dress you were going to be wearing once, but as soon as you were all dolled up and ready for the dance, you couldn't help but appreciate Tony's offer to buy whatever you wanted. You were accustomed to a middle class life, only recently being introduced to some luxuries thanks to living at the Stark tower with the rest of the Avengers. Money was never a priority, but damn did it look good.
Your ideas about not wanting to draw too much attention seemingly went out of the window when it actually came down to it. The dress was stunning—a navy blue gown that hugged and accented your curves with lace sleeves that stretched a third of the way down your arm. Your bust was beautifully incorporated with an almost Victorian style embroidery that happened to match your sleeves.
Needless to say, you were the 'mysterious woman accompanying the Avengers' caught in a few press photos.
And now the party had just barely begun, but you and Clint seemed to be the first few to arrive after the coordinator of the event. The funniest part was that you had ridden with three Avengers, Steve, Sam and Wanda, but neither of them were in sight. Likely still being bombarded with questions outside.
You had taken to sitting at the bar, enjoying some sparkling cider as to not get tipsy too early on. You chatted with Clint for a full ten or so minutes before people finally started showing up. There were a few new faces—mostly friends and family of the Avengers—but for the most part, everybody knew each other because they had worked together for… God knows how long. And now you were part of that crowd. You could hardly believe it.
Since your date didn't seem to be arriving until later on, you turned your back to the entrance, instead facing the bar and having a polite conversation with the bartender. You were overly cautious of your lipstick and foundation when taking drinks.
You were pulled from trying to read the back of a liquor bottle to keep yourself entertained by a booming voice and a sudden large presence at your side. "My lady!" Thor's tone was quite surprised, and you saw that his features matched when you turned to look up at him. "I almost didn't believe it was you, Y/N."
Gee, that was wonderful to hear.
"Um… it's me." You weren't sure how to respond. Was it so surprising that you cleaned up nicely? Well, maybe, considering Natasha had to help with most of the preparation.
"You look marvelous!" Your eyes naturally scanned Thor's outfit as he complimented you, eyebrows threading together.
"Thank you, Thor." Was he always this nice to you? Perhaps, but certainly never this… flirty. "Natasha helped." A smile graced your red lips but shock covered your features when he grabbed your hand and brought it up to his mouth to kiss the back of it. His blue eyes looked up at you through blonde lashes, and you could see a smirk forming on his lips.
You had never had the back of your hand kissed before, and you felt honored it was coming from the God of Thunder himself. He remained silent as he stood straight again but he made no attempt to move, instead leaning against the bar and looking at you.
You were about to break the silence when another voice came in from behind you, also catching Thor's attention. It was Tony approaching the bar and asking for a sparkling cider immediately. You briefly thought about how thankful you were he wasn't drinking alcohol right away but you were pulled from your mind when he acknowledged you.
As he turned from the tender and got a glance of you, his eyebrows rose in surprise. "Woah, doctor. When did you get so… formal?" You could tell he was at least trying to be modest in his passes at you.
Now you were left pondering just how weird this was for people to see you in such nice attire—like you actually made a full on effort to look good. At first you were confused and even a little offended that Thor and Tony both hardly acknowledged your apparent 'beauty' before today. A few quips here and there, sure, but nothing like this.
Then again, maybe it was a bit flattering…
"Thanks?" You were still confused, and you finished off your class of cider and looked away from both of the males now looming over you. Once again, you were about to break the awkward silence that had fallen over the three of you when Tony chimed in.
"You look stunning tonight." He moved around Thor to stand closer to your seat. "I'm glad I didn't give you a price range."
Compliments from Tony Stark were not unheard of, but you couldn't help but blush slightly. You had almost forgotten about Thor's presence until he barely pushed Tony off to the side.
"Who have you come with, my lady?" He looked around for any other men nearby. "Why are you sitting all alone?"
"I'm actually wa-"
"I could be your date if you need one, darling." Tony's offer was upfront and accompanied with one of his signature smiles. However, you looked up to see clear annoyance on Thor's features.
You definitely had a date, and it was neither Thor nor Tony, but the temptation to egg them on was just too great to pass up… You'd allow this banter for at least a little while longer. You'd get annoyed (or embarrassed) and leave eventually.
"I haven't even gotten a chance to answer Thor's question." You smirked, now turning in your stool so your back was rested against the bar counter. You crossed one leg over the other, thankful the dress fit just right so it didn't constrict the movement.
"Indeed, you did not." Thor side glanced at Tony, who rolled his eyes and set his drink down.
"C'mon, who would you rather dance with? The man who's party this is, or this demi-god that's trying too hard?"
'Neither, honestly.' You thought to yourself, inner laughter bringing another smile to your lips. Even if you didn't have an actual date, you doubt you'd choose Tony or Thor to go with for the rest of the night. If anything, Steve or Clint would be your first choices, but both were taken. Hell, you'd pick Natasha over these two any day.
You raised your brow at the question, looking to Thor expectantly. He was already on his way to responding, because not even a second later he retorted.
"Let the lady speak." He demanded in an annoyed and booming voice before he turned a softer stare to you. "Need I remind you of who is worthy to wield Mjolnir?" Thor didn't have his hammer nearby, but it's not like you needed convincing. You knew he could use it, and were amused by his attempts to impress you.
"Pffft, please. Are you a genius billionaire?" Tony rolled his eyes again. Despite liking the attention, you were starting to get worried. You didn't want to be the cause of a long term fight between the two, considering it's easily avoidable. You decided to speak up.
"Boys, I do actually have a date." You saw their faces drop. "He hasn't arrived yet." Tony looked annoyed again, and Thor followed suit.
"He's late. A beautiful lady such as yourself deserves better. Someone who is more of a gentleman." Thor tried to argue for you still.
"Please, Shakespeare, it's not like you're the only romantic." Tony's remark had you chuckling softly. He surprisingly made no further attempts at making you his date. He had learned when to stop, apparently. "Say, where's Jane?"
That was apparently a low blow, because Thor frowned and looked at Tony. Now you had to chime in and stop them before a fist fight occured.
"Woah, okay, that needs to stop." You shook your head, reaching for another glass of sparkling cider. "Neither of you are going to be my dates tonight, but thank you for the flattery anyways. Please don't start fighting."
There was a calm that fell over them at your words, the men quickly realizing how immature it was to be fighting over a woman, of all things. Another long moment of silence passed before Thor spoke again.
"Who are you waiting for, Lady Y/N?" The question was innocent and genuinely curious. Tony started looking around the ballroom for the single man you might've been waiting for.
"Who do you think?" You were sure nearly everyone at Stark Tower at least had an idea of what was going on, but the blank look on their faces said otherwise. You laughed and shook your head. They had bigger things to worry about than your love life.
Just then, the door to the dance hall opened again, ushering in a few more latecomers, including your date. An exited smile now graced you lips as you saw him, and you stepped off the stool and set your drink down.
"That's my cue. It was nice talking to you two." And you weren't lying—you couldn't recall holding both Tony's and Thor's attention for that long before. You walked away without hearing their goodbyes, towards your date who was standing awkwardly towards the front entrance.
"Bucky!" You caught his attention right before reaching him. Without thinking about the people around, you grabbed both of his hands and leaned up to kiss his cheek before moving back to admire his outfit. A suit that fit tightly but wonderfully around his large frame, and, low and behold, he made it navy blue like you had asked. You liked matching him. It wasn't necessarily old fashioned, but the handkerchief folded in his front pocket and patterned tie tucked neatly underneath his jacket hinted at his 30's-40's origin.
"You shaved." You grinned even wider and reached up to caress one of his smooth cheeks. The man chuckled softly, placing a soft and caring hand on your upper arm. His clean face and pulled back hair only completed the classic look.
"Yeah, I thought tonight was a good enough occasion. I didn't want my stubble ruining the outfit." He explained in a soft tone, leaning down to finally kiss your cheek back.
"I'm just glad you didn't cut your hair. I love it long." You purred as you barely stepped in closer to gently wrap your arms around him. He wrapped his real arm around your shoulders and kissed the top of your head.
A moment later, he pulled you away to look at your own outfit. Despite the coordination, neither of you had seen each other's attire prior to this moment. The only reason you chose such an eye-catching gown was to look good for your date. Everyone else's onslaught of praise was just noise.
"And you look as beautiful as ever, doll."