Part One
They were called in early that morning. Probably another board meeting or someone got fired again. Either way…Bucky grumbled as he got up early enough to be at the university on time for this early thing.
When he arrived, he assumed everyone was there. He didn't count…the university had fifty teachers.
The university president, Mrs. Penny, approached the podium. "Good morning. I know it's early, and I won't be long. As some of you may have noticed, Mr. Kepler has recently resigned."
Bucky knew it…the old man was…well, old, and had been starting to slack off.
"Luckily, we have a replacement, from a prestigious university in Russia. I hope she will feel welcome."
Heels clicked on the tile floor as the replacement stepped up to the podium. "Hello." Her voice was warm, if a bit lower than most women's, with an expected Russian accent. "My name is Liron Ruskin."
Bucky had been doodling in his notebook, meaning he was the only one not looking up at the podium; but when she spoke, he raised his head.
She was nothing that he had expected; about his age, and drop-dead gorgeous. Shiny blonde hair pulled back in a modest bun, stunning electric blue eyes, her pencil skirt, blouse, and tights all black…he couldn't help but stare for a bit, and his lips curved in a little smile as he looked back at his notebook.
After the woman had introduced herself, Mrs. Penny went back to the podium.
"Thank you, Miss Ruskin; but now it is time to prepare for classes. You all can introduce yourselves when it is convenient. Thank you."
The rest of the professors stood and left, but Bucky stayed for a bit before making a beeline toward his new colleague.
When he reached her and she straightened from looking in her bag, he blinked a little at the fact that they were exactly eye-level with each other. A quick glance at her shoes…low heels…she was tall.
He smiled. "Hi."
She smiled back. "Hello."
"I'm Barnes. James Barnes, but people call me Bucky." He extended a hand. "Welcome."
Miss Ruskin shook his hand. "Thank you. What do you teach?"
"History."
She nodded.
Bucky smiled. "You seem really young to be a professor."
She chuckled. "So do you. I'm thirty-two."
He hummed. "I'm thirty-seven."
Miss Ruskin nodded, then picked up her bag. "Would you happen to know where the Slavic and Anglo-Saxon Mythology classroom might be?"
He nodded. "I can show you."
She smiled. "Thank you, Professor Barnes."
"Please, just call me Bucky. Professor Barnes makes me sound old." He joked.
"In that case, you can call me Liron."
He smiled back. "Good. It's this way."
Liron followed him silently, her heels clicking on the floor.
He stopped at a door. "Here ya go."
"Thank you Bucky." She went in and started setting up for her class.
Bucky stayed by the door, one hand in his pocket. "You want any help?"
Liron looked up. "I believe I'm good. Thank you."
He smiled. "Okay. If you need anything, I'll just be down the hall."
She smiled back and returned to setting up.
Liron powered up her laptop and hooked it to the projector, displaying the first slide of her PowerPoint. Since it was the first day of term, she and her students were just going to be introducing themselves and they were to be learning a few of the very basics.
After class, once all the students had left and she was closing down, she accidentally dropped her pen.
Just as she managed to grab it, a knock sounded on her door. She tried to come up too fast, and hit her head. "Ой." Rubbing her head and pen in hand, Liron emerged, and blinked at the sight of Prof…Bucky. "Oh. Hi."
She set her pen down and smoothed back the stray hairs that got in her face. "Did you need something?"
He was smiling. "You okay?"
She nodded. "Да...I mean yes."
"How was your first day?"
"Not too bad. I think I'm going to have to give a few of my male students a lesson on where their eyes are supposed to go, though. How was your day?"
"It was good. Same ol' same ol', I guess."
She nodded.
"Want me to walk you out?"
"Sure." She finished packing up, then headed to the door.
Liron kept track of the corners and turns as Bucky led her to the front door, then smiled. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Hey, um…I was wondering…would you like to go out with me? Say…tomorrow?"
She blinked in surprise, then shook her head. "I'm busy. Sorry."
"Oh…" His smile faded a little. "Well…maybe some other time, then?"
"Maybe. Have a good evening, Bucky." She got in her car.
"You too." The smile was back, and he shut her door for her.
Several weeks passed, and Liron continued to deflect Bucky's advances, yet seemed content to flirt subtly. It was starting to drive him crazy.
One day, he managed to catch her as she was returning from wherever she went for lunch.
"I'm not going to stop until you agree to go out with me or actually say you're not interested."
She turned. He smiled a little.
"C'mon, I promise I'm not as boring as you may think, despite what I teach."
"Oh, history isn't boring. But that has nothing to do with it. You barely know anything about me, and I know barely anything about you."
"And a date is the perfect way to get to know each other."
She bit her lip, and his eyes fixed on the movement for a moment. He felt warm. Damn him, he was trying to get a date to talk with her, not…grr. Focus, Barnes.
"Tell ya what, if you go out with me, I'll let you pick where we go. And if you don't like the date, I'll leave you alone."
She released her lip. "Some other time, perhaps. I have plans tonight."
Bucky groaned internally and headed to his classroom, then turned around and walked backwards. "We're not finished, you and I."
Liron's angelic laugh followed him through the door.
Several minutes later, Bucky told his class to behave while he went out for a moment, setting up the camera on his computer to record them just in case.
He passed Liron's class on the way to the breakroom, and pause for a moment.
Her eyes were alight, and she was pacing a little in front of her desk, gesturing animatedly. Bucky watched, smiling. It seemed like her students were hanging on her every word, but a few seemed more preoccupied with…other things about her. One in particular, a blond boy, was outright staring.
Bucky frowned, and got two coffees instead of the one he had planned on, making the second from how he vaguely remembered seeing her do it a few days before. That done, he returned and knocked on the door to her classroom. She looked over, and he lifted up the cup of coffee for her. She gave him a 'one moment' gesture, then went back to teaching. Bucky waited.
Liron finished her lecture, then pulled up a video and slipped out.
"Is that tea?!"
Bucky laughed as she took the cup he handed her. "No, it's coffee."
She nodded. "Thank you."
He smiled and sipped his. "You know Frank was staring at you."
"I know."
"Oh, okay."
She sighed happily as she took a drink of her coffee, and Bucky chuckled.
"I should get back. I'll talk to Frank if you want."
Liron smiled. "Thank you."
"Do you want me to? Or do you think you can take care of it?"
"I can take care of it, but I appreciate the offer."
Bucky nodded. "Okay. See you in a bit."
He returned to his class, missing Liron's little smile.
All of his students behaved, while he was gone, which was a little unusual, but he did not question it.
That evening, once he had finished grading the papers he had handed out a week before, Bucky quickly grew bored. So he decided to drop by the club. He hadn't been in quite a while, since it wasn't his usual type of venue, but that was the only thing he could think of at the moment.
He took a seat at one of the booths and ordered something to eat.
An act was announced, and he looked up. Something was familiar about the woman on the stage, but he couldn't place it. Unlike most of the acts the club put on, this woman was in pretty normal clothes; black pants, boots, leather jacket, and a red shirt that matched her lips. What he could see of her blonde hair was down, but all he could see of her face was those lips. She had a microphone in one hand.
The woman started to sing just as his food arrived…she had a familiar voice. His brows furrowed. Where had he heard that before?
Later that night, as he left, he accidentally bumped into someone. He turned.
"Oh, I'm sor-" The woman he had bumped into froze. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Liron?!"
"That is my name, yes."
"What are you doing here?"
"I was singing, then I had a drink, now I'm leaving." So that's why that one singer was so familiar.
"But…you work here…of all places."
"I don't work here. I just sing sometimes."
"Well you were just singing so you technically are working."
"I'm not paid, so no I'm not. I just like singing. And there's no need to threaten to tell Mrs. Penny. She knows."
Bucky's brow arched. "Really? And I wasn't planning to tell her."
Liron nodded. "Yes, she knows. She actually suggested this place to me."
His eyes grew wide. "Is she here?"
"No."
"Good. That would be too weird for my liking."
She chuckled, and he smiled.
"So…since you aren't busy anymore…how about that date?"
She snorted. "Do you know what time it is?! I'm going to go home and go to bed."
"Oh c'mon, it's a Friday night."
Liron sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Please?" He pouted a little.
"Try again later. I really am tired."
"Let me drive you home then."
"Why are you so set on this? Because if it's only because you want me in your bed or vice versa, then you're no better than those students of mine that gawk at me while I'm teaching, and have the exact same chances as they do of getting a date with me: absolutely none. Good night."
She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm gently and pulled her back. "Is that what you think of every man that you meet? If so then you're wrong. When I first saw you, I just had to get to know you. You were so beautiful, and seemed so interesting. I'm trying to make an effort because I genuinely want to get to know you. Just a date and that's it. No fooling around or anything unless you say so. I don't want to treat you like some one night stand. I want to treat you how a woman should be treated."
Liron pulled her arm from his grip. There was a long moment of silence, and then she sighed.
"I apologise."
Bucky rubbed the back of his neck. "I should apologise too."
She smiled wryly. "Apology accepted. Now I really must go home. Good night."
"Can I drive you there?"
"How would you get back here to pick up your car?"
"I actually walked. It's not that far from my house."
"Oh."
"So…may I?"
She bit her lip. "…I suppose."
He grinned. "Finally, you're letting me do something for you!"
She chuckled. "Don't let it get to your head."
Bucky laughed. "Lead the way."
She did so, and he blinked.
"That's a small car."
"Yes. Fuel efficient." She pulled out her key ring, a little black snowflake and cross dangling next to the keys. "Catch."
She tossed it at him, and he caught it, unlocking the car. Rock music in Russian starts up when he turned it on once they were in, and he laughed a little. She turned it down as he backed out, then followed the directions she gave to her apartment.
"This is?"
She nodded. "Yes. Thank you Bucky."
"You're welcome." He smiled. "Well…see you Monday then?"
He offered a hand and she took it. …hers were so small…
"See you Monday."
On Monday, it rained. By the time Liron got from her car to the school, she was completely drenched. She got a cup of tea from the teachers' lounge, and started getting her class set up.
After a bit, Mrs. Penny knocked on her door. "May I talk to you, Professor Ruskin?"
Liron nodded. "Of course."
They entered the hall.
"Have you seen Professor Barnes?"
"Not since Friday."
"If he comes in, tell him to come to my office."
"I will."
Mrs. Penny left, and Liron read over the project she was to assign again.
Several minutes later, partway through her lecture, she happened to glance over and see Bucky arriving to his classroom. She excused herself for a moment, and got his attention.
"Professor Barnes, Mrs. Penny would like to talk to you."
He nodded, and she returned to her class.
Classes pass, and lunch comes. Liron ate in her classroom.
Bucky ate in one corner of the lunch room with the students, because he felt like it. A few students were whispering, and he caught 'Barnes' and 'Ruskin' in one of their sentences. He furrowed his brows in confusion and glanced at them.
It was a back of mostly girls, and they had one notebook between them, taking turns scribbling something. He frowned, but counted it as nothing.
They giggled. Bucky kept eating.
"But what if, what if-?!"
"Shh!"
He looked over again. They whispered more, and he tried to listen as he went back to eating, but they were too quiet. He finished his food and went to throw away the scraps. The little group kept whispering.
Bucky walked over. "What are you doing?"
They jumped and slammed the notebook closed. "Nothing."
He laughed. "Whatcha got there?"
"Just…"
"Something for Professor Ruskin's class."
He nodded slowly. "Mmhm."
They nodded back.
"Then why are you trying to hide it from me?"
"Because…she said no-one's supposed to see it until it's done."
"I think she just meant your classmates…may I?"
They looked at each other. He raised a brow.
They looked back at him. "No."
He shrugged. "Suit yourself."
They went back to eating, one of them sitting on the notebook.
Bucky returned to his classroom.
At the end of the day, he saw Liron just as she was leaving.
"Hey."
She looked over. "Здравствуй...sorry, hi."
He chuckled. "Hello. Hey, are you doing a project?"
"A project?" She frowned.
"I saw a few of the girls and they had something. They wouldn't let me see and said it's a project you assigned."
"I didn't assign any projects."
He nodded. "Okay."
She frowned again, and her tongue darted out to lick her lower lip.
"It's probably just like a secret journal about their crushes…I wouldn't get too worked up about it."
She nodded, and he smiled.
Liron smiled back. "I'm singing again Friday."
Bucky's smile faded to confusion. "And you're telling me because?"
"You seemed interested enough last time." She shrugged.
Bucky smiled again. "I was…and still am."
Liron nodded. "There you have it, then."
His smile widened. "Alright. I'll see you then."
She smiled back. "Да. Now, if you'll excuse me, lunch is ending."
He nodded, and they both returned to their classrooms.
Friday came quickly, and Bucky went to the club straight after school ended. This time, it was early in the day, so not crowded yet.
He headed to the bar and smiled at the bartender.
"Hey."
"Hi."
"What would you like to drink?"
"Mmm…what's the special?"
"Frozen mudslide."
Bucky tilted his head. "What's that?"
"Vodka, coffee liqueur, and Irish cream with ice and chocolate syrup."
He hummed. "That sounds good. I'll have one."
She smiled "Coming right up."
"Make one for yourself too." He grinned as he ran his eyes over her back.
She laughed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm on duty and engaged." Her hand rose for a moment, displaying a ring on her wedding finger.
Bucky's smile did not fade and he raised his hands as if in surrender. "I'll back off then." He toasted her once she gave him the drink. "Congrats to you."
"Thanks."
He took a sip, and his eyes widened. "This is very good."
She chuckled. "Glad you like it."
Bucky smiled again, and the bartender smiled back, then went to help another customer.
The announcer tapped his microphone. Bucky looked over.
"The first act of the evening is Тень, singing 'Castle' by Halsey."
That sounded interesting.
"Here." Bucky handed the bartender an extra $500 when he paid for his drink. "For you and your fiancé."
She stared. "I…"
Bucky laughed. "It's okay, keep it. Say it's a wedding present from your favourite customer. Besides, this is usually one of the nights that I end up throwing away my money, so it's better I give it to you."
"…okay. Thank you."
He smiled. "You're welcome…excuse me. I'm gonna go watch the singer." He stood. "Have a good night."
After grabbing his drink, he walked over and slipped into an empty booth facing the stage.
Liron came out in a sweeping silver robe tied tight around her waist, a little microphone by her jaw, probably so she could use both hands for…whatever.
Bucky grinned wide.
The music started, and she looked up, her face in bold silver and black makeup. She began to sing.
"Sick of all these people talking, sick of all this noise; tired of all these cameras flashing, sick of being poised…"
Bucky's brow rose. Huh.
"Now my neck is open wide, begging for a fist around it…" One of her hands came up and clenched before her. "Already choking on my pride, so there's no use crying about it…"
He took another sip of his drink.
She let the robe drop, revealing a high-collared black dress with no back, and stepped forward, squaring her shoulders. "I'm headed straight for the castle, they wanna make me their Queen; and there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying that I probably shouldn't be so mean...I'm headed straight for the castle, they've got the kingdom locked up; and there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shut…"
Bucky chuckled a little.
"Oh; all of these minutes passing, sick of feeling used; if you wanna break these walls down, you're gonna get bruised..."
He tipped his drink back, draining it.
"Now my neck is open wide, begging for a fist around it; already choking on my pride, so there's no use crying about it…"
Bucky tapped his foot. Liron sang the chorus again, bowed, and left the stage to the sound of applause.
The announcer announced the next act.
Liron came out a few minutes later in a black leather jacket and jeans. He waved at her to get her attention, and she waved back before pointing at the bar.
He joined her there. "Hi."
"Hi." Liron smiled at the bartender. "One honey cider, please."
The bartender smiled back and got it.
"What's that?"
"Smirnoff Wild Honey vodka, apple juice, and cider."
"It sounds strong. I'll have one too."
Liron grinned. "It is. Sure you can handle it?"
The bartender chuckled a little as she handed them their drinks.
"Thanks Selene."
Bucky laughed. "I'm sure." He sniffed the drink; it smelled like cider and honey…duh. He sipped a little.
Liron chuckled and took a gulp of hers.
Bucky coughed a little. "Wow, that's very strong."
Liron laughed.
He kept drinking, slower this time, then started chugging it. His co-worker quirked a brow and downed the rest of hers in one swig.
Bucky burped loudly, then laughed.
Liron made a face. "Брутто."
"Sorry."
"You're forgiven."
He smiled, an expression she returned.
"So what's up?"
"Not much that you would be interested in, I think."
"I'll listen." He smiled.
"I'm writing a book."
"Cool, what kind of book?"
"Fantasy; based on Norse Myths."
"That's cool."
She smiled. "Thank you."
"Mmhm." He smiled back, and watched as she tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.
Liron stood. "I should probably be getting home."
"Aw…but we were just getting to know each other." Bucky turned on the puppy-dog eyes. "Pwease?"
Liron laughed. "Fine."
He did a fist pump, and she snorted. He laughed.
"I think that drink was a bit strong for you, Bucky."
"Why do ya say that?"
"You're pretty tipsy. I can see it in your body language."
He stuck his tongue out. She shook her head.
He looked at the bartender. "Gimmie another one of those."
The bartender looked at Liron, who shrugged. "If he passes out, I'll carry him."
Bucky frowned at her. "Even if you could carry me, one that would be weird, and two I'm 5'11, almost two hundred pounds of mostly muscle, and you'd be carrying dead weight. So if you're going to be carrying and end up thinking I'm too heavy, don't just leave me in the middle of the parking lot."
"I'm stronger than I look."
He smirked and wiggled his brows, innuendo evident in his voice. "Bet that comes in handy."
"Yes, it does."
Bucky snorted as he sipped on his second Smirnoff Wild Honey. "Anyway, all that to say, I don't want to be left out in the parking lot again."
"I'm not that much smaller than you are."
"You're not going to question the 'again' part?"
"Nope."
He blew a raspberry. "What a shame. That would have gotten you access to how much of a 'bad boy' I was in college."
"No thank you; 'cause then I'd have to tell you something about my college days."
"Well, why don't ya?" He smirked again.
"I'd rather not."
"Why not?" He had a cute pout.
"I have my reasons."
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." He batted his lashes at her.
"Stop giving me that look."
He giggled. "What?"
"Batting your lashes at me will not convince me to tell you anything."
He smirked again. "How could I convince you?"
"You can't."
"I can think of a few ways." His hand covered his knee; she slapped it.
"Don't."
He pouted. "Meanie."
"You, mister, are drunk."
He stuck his tongue out at her. "You have no idea."
"Just stop pressing me about my childhood."
Bucky sighed. "Alright."
"Thank you."
"So whatcha wanna talk about?"
"Why'd you choose History?"
"I like it. I like the WWII section mostly. The fact that it wasn't just Hitler that wanted world power and destruction is fascinating. A secret group formed, named HYDRA, was growing right under his nose. There has been evidence that HYDRA was actually real. And even more discovery has been found in the arctic area about a person that was a legend. The finding of Captain America. It's really magnificent. And then the story about the Howling Commandoes is possibly my favourite. I mean, the people Captain America was working for were putting together expert soldiers to help him out, but he decides to go and make his out team. And I mean, these would have been the last people to have been picked for his team.
"You got a French bomb expert, a Chinese American, two American men that one could speak French, German, and other languages fluently, a corporal in the British army, and then a back-alley kid that was Captain America's friend since childhood. And they just...wow. They were an amazing group. Took out almost all of HYDRA, and no one could stop them."
Liron smiled. "That's fascinating."
Bucky smiled back. "Mmhm. Why do you like the Norse side of mythology?"
"It's interesting."
"That's it?"
"No, but I'd rather tell you where you're not drunk; if you want to actually remember it."
He chuckled. "Alright."
She smiled again.
"You have a nice smile."
"Thanks. So do you."
His tongue darted out to lick his lips before he laughed. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Bucky finished his drink, and the alcohol quickly went to his head, blurring his thoughts and slurring his words. He glanced over and got caught by her eyes. "Wow…your eyes are…beau-ti-ful…"
She blinked. "Thank you."
He smiled loosely and nodded his head. "Mmhm."
Her returning smile was dazzling.
"I like you. A lot."
"Oh?"
He grinned and nodded dramatically. "Mmmmhmmm."
She chuckled. "You're funny."
He snorted. "Tell me something I don't know."
His hands ran through his hair, messing it up terribly. She got out her phone, possibly to check the time.
"Oh c'mon, the last thing I want you to do is run off without me." Bucky snatched Liron's phone and put it in his pocket.
"Hey!" She tried to grab her phone back and ended up overbalancing. Suddenly their faces were less than an inch apart.
Bucky gasped dramatically. "Wow…you look so much better this close."
Liron started to pull away; he grabbed her arms and pulled her into a kiss. Oh…she tasted amazing…he sighed against her lips, smiling, and kissed her passionately.
Then her hands pushed on his shoulders, breaking the kiss and knocking him off his stool. He hit his head on the way down.
"Ow. What the hell?!"
Her face was blank. "You need to go home."
"I kissed you 'cause I like you, damn it!" He rubbed his head and sighed. "That hurt."
"You're drunk, Bucky. You're going home."
She hauled him to his feet.
"Even being drunk gets the truth to come out."
"Or causes things to happen that shouldn't."
"But they were what I was thinking."
"That doesn't mean they should happen."
Bucky's lips turned down in a frown. "I thought you would have liked it…" His hand came up to cup the back of her neck, but he forced it back down. "I can walk."
"You are drunk, as I said. If I did like it, it would not matter. And I'm not letting you get hit."
She steered him out of the club to her car and got him in.
"Where do you live?"
"In - Neverland."
"I can't make my car fly."
She felt him roll his eyes.
"Seriously."
"I didn't mean it."
"I know. Where do you live? I'm not taking you to my apartment."
He mumbled as he started to zone in and out. "I already told you."
"No. you told me you live in Neverland."
"Yeah."
"I told you, my car can't fly."
He dozed off.
"Barnes!"
A hand hit his cheek, and he jolted, hitting his knee against the dashboard. "Ah!" He held it.
"Wake up."
"Oh shut up!" He snapped at her.
"I need to take you to your home. I can't do that if I don't know where it is."
"Just drop me off wherever you want. I don't care." He curled up against the seat and closed his eyes.
Liron sighed and just took him to her apartment. He was still passed out when they arrived, so she just tossed him over her shoulder and carried him inside, dropping him on the couch. She covered him with a blanket, put a bottle of water by the couch, then went to bed.
In the morning she arose at her usual time and started heating up some breakfast. Shifting sounds came from the couch.
"There's water by your head."
His voice was hoarse. "Liron?"
"Good morning."
"Why am I…what happened?"
"You refused to tell me where you lived so I could take you there; so I just brought you here. Yes, it's dark and a little gothic; I did that on purpose."
"Oh…"
She nodded.
He groaned as he sat up.
"Careful."
"Gee thanks."
"Do you like pirozhki?"
"What?"
"Pirozhki. Do you like them?"
"I have no idea what that is."
Liron turned around, stunned. "What?"
"Yeah."
She stared at him. He stared back.
"Okay, that needs to be fixed."
He chuckled a little, and she smiled before putting another pirozhok in the microwave, humming a little as they heated up.
"Mind if I put on some music?"
"I don't care."
She nodded and hooked up her phone to the speaker system. Soon a Skillet cover by the PanHeads Band started playing. Liron sang along, grinning.
The song changed, and she just hummed again as she took the pirozhki out of the microwave, putting plates on the table.
Bucky sat across from her and sniffed his. It smelled…okay.
Liron took a bite and hummed happily.
Bucky pulled his open. "It looks like seaweed."
"It's beef."
His nose wrinkled, but he took a small bite. His eyes widened, and she chuckled.
"Wow, it's good."
"Of course it's good." She scoffed playfully.
They ate and had seconds. When they were done, Liron nodded at the door.
"You should probably go get clean clothes and stuff."
Bucky looked at what he was wearing. "What's wrong with these?"
"You wore them last night. Do you want to look like you're doing the Walk of Shame?"
He laughed. "Maybe I do. It would give the impression that I did it with you, wouldn't it?"
She scowled, voice sharp. "That is all you want, isn't it?"
Bucky stopped laughing and crossed his arms. "We've been over this already. As much as I would like to get you in bed with me, I would much rather just have you as my girlfriend."
"Go home, Barnes. I don't want to be anyone's girlfriend." She stood and turned her back to him.
"But why? I like you a lot. I'm crazy about you."
"I don't want to be anyone's girlfriend."
He pouted. "Have you ever been a girlfriend?"
"Yes."
"How many times?"
"Doesn't matter. All ended badly."
He frowned. "I'm sorry."
"Mm."
She braced her hands on the counter, shoulders tight.
"Hey, you okay."
"Go home."
He frowned and looked at his hands. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Just go. Please."
"Tell me what's wrong."
"Why?"
"Because I…I worry about you."
"Why? You barely know me."
"I know enough. Plus like I said, I like you."
"Hmph. What do you know?"
"I know that you have great taste in music."
"Thanks. But that's not much."
"And I know your age, what you like, you're Russian, you're my type, you're beautiful. And that's all I got so far because we haven't had a proper date yet."
"You're very determined, aren't you?" She turned around.
Bucky smiled. "Yep."
Liron chuckled wryly.
"So…what do you say?"
"Was that you trying to ask me out?"
He bit his lip and nodded.
She laughed. "Try again another day, дорогша."
Bucky sighed and ruffled his hair. "You're very stubborn."
"Yes I am."
"Will there ever be a time you'll say yes?"
"Perhaps."
His eyes brightened. "Really?"
"Perhaps."
Bucky grinned. "Alright." He tossed her her phone after putting his number in it. "Here you go."
"Thank you."
"I'll talk to you later then." He smiled.
She nodded. "Пока."
He left, typing her number in his phone as soon as he could so he didn't forget.
On Monday, he arrived before she did and left a box of chocolates and a note on her desk.
When Liron saw them, she smiled and read the note.
'Date? ~ Bucky'
She laughed and turned it over, writing on the other side. 'You're silly. ~ Liron'
The bell rang, and the students flooded in.
She got the attention of one. "You have Professor Barnes' class next, yes?"
The student nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"Give this to him for me, please?" She handed her the folded note.
"Yes ma'am."
"Thank you."
The lesson began, and the bell rang too soon in Liron's opinion.
One of Bucky's students burst into his classroom.
"Whoa, slow down there, Quicksilver." He chuckled.
She handed him the note.
"What's this?"
"From Professor Ruskin."
"Oh. Thank you." He looked at it and smiled.
At the end of the day, Bucky ran up to Liron as she was heading out. "Hey!"
She turned. "Hey."
He smiled. "I liked your note."
She returned the expression. "Good. I had one of the chocolates; it was excellent. I saved the rest for later." She tapped her bag.
"Good. So um…would you like to go out to dinner with me?"
For a moment he thought she was going to consider, but then her thoughtful look turned to a smile.
"Not tonight." She put a hand on his shoulder for a moment. "However, I'm very interested in how you knew I like dark chocolate best."
