I thought I saw the Devil this morning
Looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
With a warning
To help me see myself clearer
"You know I don't feel comfortable coming back home, Ma." Bucky repeated semi-patiently into the phone as he paced his apartment.
Christmas break was coming up and Bucky had been planning on staying on campus just to avoid going back home. Don't get him wrong, he loved his family… but they were too intense when it came to weaseling out any and all things he has done, will do, or even plans on doing.
If Bucky valued anything, he valued privacy – which was of absolutely no concern to his nosy Mom and Dad. What made it worse was the fact that he held onto so many secrets, he had to be on constant guard whenever he was around his family, which was damn near impossibly exhausting.
He flinched slightly when Natasha wisped past him. Bucky didn't think he'd ever get used to the way she stealthily made her way around.
"James, you haven't come home for two years." He could hear the hurt in her tone, but he'd set his resolve and he couldn't buckle, "I don't care if you come alone or if you bring a boyfriend, girlfriend, guinea pig, anything. I just want my son to be home with his family on Christmas."
Damn it. It was almost as if he could see his hardened resolve disintegrating into sand through his fingers, "Ma-" He was looking for an excuse. Any valid excuse to get him out of this situation, "Okay, I'll be there." Well, that certainly wasn't what he'd meant to say.
His Mother's excited squeal on the other line burst through, "George! He's going to come for Christmas break!" She yelled to his Father, "Oh, honey, I can't tell you how happy that makes me. You can bring as many guests as you like. Even if they are all guinea pigs."
Bucky smiled despite himself, "Alright, Mom." He conceded, running his fingers back through his hair, "I've gotta go. School stuff."
"I'll see you soon."
Hanging up the phone felt like defeat. Everything that he'd said he'd accomplish with this phone call had failed miserably.
Now he was doomed to his fate… but maybe he wouldn't have to be alone.
Bucky swerved around, seeing Natasha sitting at the kitchen table pulling apart a croissant with her fingers, "Hey, Tash-"
"You know good and well I'm going to visit family in Russia for the break." She spared him a sympathetic smile that turned wicked a moment later, "Why not ask Steve if he wants to join you?" Bucky fixed her with a glare. She knew that Bucky had a not-so-secret crush on Steve Rogers. "He never leaves on break."
Bucky huffed, stalking over to try to snatch her pastry, but of course he wasn't fast enough for Natasha's cat-like reflexes, "One day." He warned, eyeing her plate before heading back to his room.
He flopped back onto his bed, staring at the crack in the ceiling that he hoped wasn't getting bigger.
How weird would it be to invite Steve to come home with him over the vacation? Sure, they've been pretty good friends since freshman year, but he wouldn't go so far as to say they'd be able spend an entire three weeks together nonstop.
Not to mention how random it would be for Bucky to just invite-
Bucky's phone dinged with a new message from none other than Steve Rogers. He swiped the screen to unlock it and read the text.
So… just got a weirdly cryptic text from Nat telling me that I needed to talk to you about what OUR plans are for X-Mas break…?
"Damn it, Natasha!" He yelled, slapping a hand over his eyes in embarrassment.
"Text him back, dumb ass." She replied, and damn her he could hear the smirk in her voice. Did she enjoy torturing him?
Bucky let out a frustrated grunt, flipping over and pressing his face into his pillow. If he weren't so scared of her, he'd chuck his phone out at her.
His phone tinged again and he was hesitant to read the message, but of course curiosity – and lack of oxygen – forced him to lift his head and look at his phone.
If you're using me to get out of going to your folks place for break like last time, then we'll have to make some sort of "loners on campus" meeting where we all eat pizza and watch Netflix for the entirety of the break.
Smirking, Bucky typed out a response, pressing send before he could lose his nerve.
Actually, I somehow got convinced into going up to spend the break with my parents. Don't ask how because I don't even know what happened myself. Any way you'd want to spend three weeks stuck with me and my family in New York?
Steve texted back almost immediately with-
NY, NY!
Followed by-
That sounds great! When are we leaving?
Bucky blinked, reading and rereading the message again and again. He was sure Steve just wanted a chance to get away from campus for a little while and it had nothing to do with him.
Either way, Bucky flushed as he typed out a reply.
We leave Saturday morning. You can spend the night Friday because we're going to have to leave early.
Steve sent a 'thumbs up' emoji back to him.
Bucky smiled to himself as he got up and walked back into the kitchen where Natasha had abandoned half of her croissant and was flipping through channels on the TV in the main room.
"So, you're a completely uninterested third-party that just so happens to send text messages to spur communication between the other two parties."
Nat raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow, "I cannot confirm nor deny that a text was sent from my phone to one of the other two parties you speak of."
Bucky let out a short laugh, "You're going to be a great agent one day."
From personal experience, Bucky had little respect or faith in any form of law enforcement or military authority, but he knew that Natasha would be able to make a difference and reform wherever she chose to go.
"I think you'd be a good spy." She said conversationally, changing the channel once more, "You're pretty damn good at hiding shit from everyone, even yourself."
Ignoring the strange pit in his stomach at her words, he decided to combat it with sarcasm, "Wow, that was really deep Tash." He said quickly, grabbing his phone for what seemed like the millionth time that day, "Now, thanks to you, I have to call my Mom and tell her I'm bringing a guest."
Natasha laughed as she finally settled on a show and sunk down into the couch cushions, "Have fun."
Bucky grumbled to himself as he dialed the familiar number. His Mom picked up on the second ring, "Please tell me you aren't trying to back out now. I've already been making arrangements and –"
"I'm not trying to bail, Ma. Calm down." He cut in, knowing he'd have to listen to a ten-minute rant for something that wasn't happening, "I'm just letting you know I'm bringing Steve along, if that's okay. I know you said that I could bring a –"
"I knew it!" His Mother exclaimed, "He's bringing Steve, George!" She sounded far too excited…
He could hear his Father's voice in the background, "Bucky's secret boyfriend Steve?"
Secret boyfriend? "No, wait-"
"Yes!" Oh shit, "I was wondering when you'd bring him here! You spent every other break with his family, it's only fair that we get to meet him!"
"Ma, he's not-"
He literally couldn't get a word in edgewise, "Don't worry sweetie, we won't scare him off. I'm so excited! I've got to go call your Aunt Addie and tell her the news! Talk soon, bye, bye!"
"MA!" His Mom hung up the phone before he could say another word.
Well shit.
This is my first attempt at writing Stucky!
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update. It'll kind of depend on whether anyone is reading! So be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think!
Song lyrics at the top: I'll Be Good by Jaymes Young