Chapter 2

Not a date

He's so tired that night he doesn't even bother to eat something or change his clothes; he just falls on the bed and starts to close his eyes, when his phone rings. Bucky growls at it and is already mad at the person who's stealing his time to sleep from him. He's seriously thinking about not answering when he sees the number. Of course it has to be her.

He picks it up with another growl.

"Hello, Red." Bucky says and he can't help but let the words out with a huff.

"Hi, gorgeous." He hears her laugh. "I can tell you're in a good mood."

"Well, I was about to sleep, when someone decided it was the perfect time to call me," Bucky rolls on the bed trying to keep himself awake, but his eyes keep on closing every few seconds. So he lets out a pained moan and sits on the bed. He seriously hates Nat right now.

"I'm your friend. I just wanted to know how you're doing," Nat tries to sound serious, but he knows she's grinning from ear to ear; she's really enjoying herself at the moment.

"I'm fine," Bucky assures her. He knows she always worries about him and she has reasons to be worried, but he doesn't want to talk about his life now.

"Sure," the woman huffs and Bucky knows she doesn't believe him. "So, did you finally find your special someone?"

"I don't need to be in a relationship to be happy," his reply comes out a little bit defensive and aggressive; he knows his annoyance is not directed at her, but at himself because Bucky suddenly discovers himself thinking about the hot blond guy he just met.

"Of course not, darling. But believe me, the company is good sometimes," she says and she doesn't sound bothered by his words. She still has that amused tone dancing in her voice.

"Yes, I know," he concedes and bites his lip when the image of the handsome man appears on his traitor thoughts. Bucky shakes his head trying to erase that of his mind.

"Tell me… how was your day?" Nat continues; she sounds very happy for some reason.

"Well… Darcy didn't kill me, which was really nice," he remembers the glare his boss gave to him when he arrived to the cafeteria. She's kind and a good manager, but if she gets mad, well she can be truly frightening sometimes.

"She loves you and you know it," Nat reminds him and Bucky has to agree with her; Darcy is like a sister to him and he's aware that she sees him like family. "But tell me… what did you do to angry her?"

"I arrived one hour later and she was already panicking because the clients were impatient and mad. And when she saw me, she basically growled at me." He blurts out, laughing.

"Seems like you deserved it," Nat comments. "But the question here is why did you arrive late?"

Bucky curses under his breath; he regrets immediately saying that, of course Natasha would want to know the reason and he doesn't feel ready to talk about the hot guy.

"I had a problem. I just… It's not really important, actually," he knows his voice is betraying him and he also knows Natasha is a very well trained spy and she can tell when he's hiding something.

"Are you sure? I mean… nothing special happened to you this morning?" She insists and Bucky's sure if they were talking face to face she would be smirking at him.

It's almost like she knows.

"Are you spying on me again?" He asks before he can stop himself.

"First of all I already apologized for that one time and I told you I had to do it, I couldn't trust you till I knew you weren't a serial killer or something," she explains with a huff, but her words are not harsh. "And second of all I promised I wouldn't do that again and I keep my promises, you know that."

"Sorry… I didn't mean it."

"Don't worry, you're lucky you're handsome and I can't get mad at you," Bucky rolls his eyes at the comment but can't help the smile that appears on his face. "Now, spit it out! What happened?"

"Nothing," he replies too quickly.

"Right. Well, when you are ready to tell your best friend, you know I'm all ears," he's relieved to hear her say that, at least she won't insist on that.

"Thanks, Nat."

"Speaking of your job and don't get me wrong please, you know I love Darcy, but you seriously think of working at that cafeteria for the rest of your life?" The woman asks.

Bucky huffs, because he knows exactly where this is going.

"There's nothing wrong with being a barista," he replies.

"I know, but you're a Sergeant, you're a soldier first and Fury is really interested in a guy with your abilities, says SHIELD needs more people like you."

"You talked to him about me."

"Of course I did."

"You know I appreciate the offer, Nat–"

"Here comes a 'but', am I wrong?"

"But I like my job and I'm not planning on quitting it soon," he continues as she didn't say anything. "Besides… I don't think I'm prepared to return to that kind of life."

He hears her sigh.

"I understand," she lets out and she sounds sincere. "But… Have you considered what will happen if you meet someone with that kind of lifestyle?"

"Well I already have a friend who's a spy and it hadn't affected me, so…" he jokes.

"No… I mean… what if you get involved with someone who's constantly risking his life? Maybe a hot soldier–"

"I highly doubt it," Bucky interrupts her. "I'm not interested on having a relationship right now, Nat. Besides, I don't think many people would be into an ex-soldier who's as fucked up and broken as I am."

"Stop it. Don't you dare speak about yourself like that again, you hear me?" She spits and he knows she's really annoyed this time. "If you say something like that again, I'm gonna go there and kick your stubborn ass."

Bucky sighs, but he doesn't want to argue so he doesn't protest.

"Okay, okay. I'm handsome and perfect and anyone will be lucky to have me, you're happy now?"

"I'd be happy if I knew you mean it," she says and he laughs.

"Well, as much as I love to hear your voice I really want to go to sleep right now."

"Fine, I'll let you rest, soldier. But don't you think this conversation is over." Nat warns.

"I know I'm not that lucky." He replies, before hanging up.

The big news spreads all over the world the very next day. Bucky knows at the same time Darcy has forgiven him, because she's the one that tells him. He's making two cappuccinos and he's finishing decorating them, when Darcy shakes him by the shoulder and almost ruins everything.

"Hey, careful!" He protests, glaring at her.

"Look at this!" She shows him her phone, ignoring him. "Captain America is alive! And he's so so hot! Just look at him!"

"What?" Bucky blinks at her, confused. "Darcy, he died 70 years ago, he can't be–"

"The government found him a month ago in the ice and they managed to get him out and wake him up. He didn't age and God bless America for that, he's gorgeous!"

"Darcy you can't believe everything you read on the Internet, you know."

"I'm not an idiot… but this is not a conspiracy theory that you find in a very suspicious blog, no… this is all over the news," she explains and takes Bucky's chin with his hand to force him to look at her phone's screen.

She's right. He reads the article quickly; everyone's talking about it on the social media, especially on twitter. And then… he sees a photo and almost drops the cups of coffee he's holding.

Captain America is the guy he met. It's his guy.

"Bucky? You okay?"

He blinks at her and he realizes he's looking at the image like an idiot.

"Yeah… I just got distracted."

Darcy smirks.

"You like what you see, huh? I told you he was hot!" She laughs. Bucky frowns at her and turns around before she can notice the blush on his cheeks.

Bucky sighs, well at least he's sure now that he won't see him again. He's definitely out of his league.

It's been a entire week since the last time he saw him and Steve would be lying if he says he hasn't missed him, because God know he has… and it's ridiculous how much he did.

He notices the sign that says 'closed' but enters anyway when he realizes the door is not locked yet. He's glad the only two people that remain in there don't notice him, because that gives him the opportunity to look at Bucky.

And he does. He looks at him like he's trying to learn every single detail of his face and body by heart. And he realizes his memory doesn't make him justice; he looks more stunning than he remembers. But this time's worst for him, because he has the opportunity to see a different kind of smile on his face; it's beautiful and relaxed and kind that Steve feels himself weak at the knees. The thing is… that smile is not directed at him nor is the laughter he hears seconds after and the one he wants to hear for the rest of his life.

God help him, he's really into deep.

Only then he notices the pretty girl with dark hair that's standing next to Bucky, who's currently looking at her with a tender look on his face and Steve can't help the wave of jealousy that consumes him. But he feels guilty about it immediately; he has no right to be jealous, Bucky's not his. He's not his and though he knows it he still prays that she's not his girlfriend, he also hopes with all his might he likes men.

The girl's eyes land on him and of course she recognizes him.

"Oh my fucking God!" She squeaks and startles Bucky when she does it. "Captain America is here!"

The man turns around quickly and Steve can help but smile at his shocked expression. He looks adorable.

"Hi, Bucky."

He blinks at the hot guy, no… he blinks like an idiot in front of Captain America. Bucky's sure this is some kind of cruel joke the universe is playing on him. He's sure the guy doesn't come here just to see him, there must be a coincidence. He probably just wants a coffee or something.

"Look, Captain… I'm sorry to say that–"

"Please don't say that," he interrupts and he looks pained which makes Bucky even more confused. "Just call me Steve."

"Steve," Bucky tries and blushes when he sees the man grinning at him from ear to ear. "Well… as I was saying we're closed, but if you want to come back tomorrow for–"

"What the hell, Bucky?" Darcy glares at him. She looks at him like he has lost his mind. "He's Captain America, he won a fucking war! Of course we're going to make an exception for him."

"Actually, I didn't come here for coffee," Steve says and Bucky can tell he's amused.

"No? You want apple pie, hot chocolate? Anything you want, handsome," she winks at him and Bucky resist the temptation to facepalm himself.

"No… I mean," he continues, flustered for some reason. He looks at Bucky in the eye and his face turns bright red. "I came to see you, Buck."

"Me? What? Why?" He blurts out. His heart beats harder at the new nickname and he knows his face must look comical because of the confusion.

"I was hoping I could take you out to dinner tonight," Steve says. He looks hopeful and scared at the same time.

What? Bucky's almost petrified and tries to remind himself that Steve's not talking about a date; it's definitely not a date, he probably just wants to thank him for what he did the other day.

"Of course he accepts!" Darcy cuts in before he can react properly and hits him with his elbow.

"Yeah… Yes," he answers and Steve practically beams at him.

"I'll be waiting for you outside then. It was a pleasure to meet you…"

"Darcy," she tells him and shakes his hand. Steve looks at Bucky again before walking out of the cafeteria.

"Why didn't you tell me you know Captain America?" She almost yells at Bucky when Steve's out of sight.

"I wasn't… It was just an accident, I didn't know I was going to see him again," he starts babbling. "It was not a big deal, okay? Besides, I didn't know he was Captain America till I saw the article on your phone. I didn't even ask him his name when I met him."

Darcy frowns at him and crosses her arms on her chest. But then she just huff and rolls her eyes.

"You know what, it doesn't matter right now. You can… no, you're going to tell me everything tomorrow." She pushes him to the door. "I'll take care of the rest, you can go now."

"I can't let you–" Bucky starts to protest but she shakes her head.

"You can and you will. You're date is waiting for you!" Darcy insists.

Bucky feels his cheeks warm, but tries to ignore it.

"He's not my date! It's not a date, Darcy! He's just… being nice."

Darcy rolls her eyes and smirks at him.

"Whatever you say, handsome. Now go!" She opens the door and basically kicks him out of there.

He feels the temptation to return and tell her one thing or two, but he forgets everything when he sees Steve in his brown jacked, standing close to his bike. Of course the guy has a motorbike, just to make things worse to Bucky, just to look sexier and…

He shakes his head and tries not to droll in front of him.

It's not a date, he reminds himself. Steve approaches him and looks at him with a big smile on his face.

"Where are we going exactly?" Bucky asks, trying to shake the nervousness out of his mind.

"It's a small restaurant, not fancy, but I assure you they make the best burgers you'll ever eat, I promise," he says. "But if you prefer to go somewhere else–"

"Actually that sounds perfect," Bucky says and feels more relaxed. He even returns the smile.

Steve nods and gets on the bike and Bucky sits behind him. He wants to put his hands around his waist, but decides not to and puts them on Steve's shoulders.

"I think it'll be better if you put your hands on my waist," Steve suggests and turns his head around to look at him.

And he smirks. Bucky's so confused that he just does as he's told. Does he…? No, Steve's not flirting with him, because it's not a date.

"Ready?" Steve asks.

"Yeah," no, he's definitely not ready.