Chapter 2: Fire alarm

I sniff and shiver, holding my bare arms together. Of course some little brat just had to play the villain and pull the fire alarm for the whole building. I stand outside the building, next to people from the apartment and shiver more. Just great, on the day that it's below zero degrees Celsius (aka. temperature where water freezes). Perfect timing brats.

Apparently, someone also set their kitchen on fire. Another reason why this whole thing was taking longer than it ought to be. I grumble, rubbing my arms, wanting to go back in the comfort of my room. Suddenly, something soft and quite heavy falls on my back and shoulders. I blink and touch what was put on me… a… a jacket? I turn around and see Bucky with crossed arms looking at me curiously. "It's freezing, man, you take it," I say, about to return the jacket.

He shoots me a look. "I'm fine, wearing long sleeves." He gestures to his arms, and I also note that he's wearing gloves. How prepared can one be? I still furrow my brows in worry, "You sure?" He nods and crosses his arms. I pull the jacket closer to me and fit my arms in the sleeves. I giggle softly at how big it is compared to me. The end of my fingers doesn't even reach the end. It wasn't exactly the warmest jacket, but it helped plenty. I snuggled in his jacket, trying to keep myself warm.

I sniff again and suddenly, I'm hit with a new scent. It's… a weird mix. It's almost non-existent, but there a small aroma of coffee… and metallic. It's nice.

I hug myself with the jacket and we both stare at our building. "Apparently some kid set the alarm off and someone set their kitchen on fire," I informed him and he hummed in response. I let out a frustrated sigh. "It's a bit annoying. At least it could've been for a better reason." At this, Bucky raises an eyebrow and looks at me. I shrug, but also nod.

"I mean, there could've been a super hero versus super villain fight. But no, we just have a brat and a burnt kitchen." Bucky falls silent at what I said but I pay that no mind, concluding it was his non talkative demeanor acting. Bucky mentally praises himself that even if his neighbor didn't realize, he should be good. There was a small fight, just like how I somehow said, with him. It was nothing big and he quickly took care of it, but the guy he was fighting, the enemy, apparently had some fire powers? And the enemy set the room above his on fire. It was a good thing he set the fire alarm five minutes prior and that no one saw what was actually happening.

He takes a moment to actually look at me, as I stuffed my face in his jacket. He noted my shorts and long socks, both of which were amusingly avenger themed. He hadn't realized that I was a fan, but he supposes it makes sense. Everyone seemed to love the avengers.

He blinks when I suddenly have a violent shake. "I'm sick." I state to myself. I knew I had a weak immune system, but god dammit. Bucky furrows his eyebrows ever so slightly. He looks around and sees people are still waiting around. Perhaps everyone has waited enough?

"We can go back in." He states. I look up at him and shrug, "You sure? They're still doing stuff." He nods and gestures me to follow him with his head, "It's just a burnt kitchen like you said. Nothing to worry," I smirk at his usage of my quote and nod, falling into step next to him. We weren't stopped while going in so we took that as a good sign and started to walk up the stairs.

"Avengers?"

I blink and look at him. "What?" Avengers? Are they here? Holy- I swear, if Stark is here- "You're a fan." And suddenly it hits me. I am wearing a god forsaken Iron Man shorts. I mentally weep and try to tone down my blush. How many times will this man unintentionally embarrass me?! "I-uh, yeah. Heroes are cool and all, y'know. Saving the world." That was so lame. I don't think a person can get lamer than that.

"You-uh, you like the avengers?" Great one Anna. Yes. Because people don't like the avengers, aka. the saviors. He stays silent for a while before he hums. "They're not bad."

A smile cracks on my lips and a giggle slips through my lips. He sends me a confused look making me giggle a bit more, "Sorry, sorry. It's just… you're so casual about it." He looks a bit amused and he shrugs again. A comfortable silence falls on us until we reach our doors. I slip his jacket off me and hand it to him, "Thanks again. I'd be freezing if it weren't for you!"

'Except that I am the reason you had to wake up and be out on the cold' Bucky thinks to himself. He accepts his jacket before nodding his head to me, "No problem. Good night." "Good night Bucky." He turns around and heads towards his door. "Oh, by the way!" I blink.

Oh no. Oh no, why did I say that, why do I do this to myself? He turns around and I mentally weep. Why do I do this!? It just slipped out. But now it's too late. I try to pull a lazy smile on my lips, even if Bucky can very much tell I'm getting extremely nervous. "I-uh, want to know you better. Wondered if you wanted to eat at mine some day?" There's a silence and I just want to cry at how awkward and lame I am. I try to focus somewhere else other than his face. On the other hand, Bucky has the best poker face he ever pulled while he is just flabbergasted.

"…Sure."

SCREW MY AWKWARDNESS, IT WORKED! Bucky's lips twitch upwards at the look on my face. He puts the weight on one leg and crosses his arms. "Day after tomorrow?" He couldn't do tonight or tomorrow, Steve said he had to work with his in the avenger tower. I grin and nod, "Perfect by me! Drop by around seven then. You allergic to anything?" He shakes his head and I grin even more, "Great! Your casual Saturday dinner is mine. See you then, Bucky!"

I hear him chuckle, "See you." He opens his door just as I open mine and I close right after. I wait for a second before punching the air. Hell yes!

Chapter 2 donneee, slightly shorter than chapter 1 but chapter 3's gonna be longer :)
I got, um, at least 10 chapters semi-done. So, expect me updating regularly.

Tsuki

25 - May - 2018