Chapter 3

Taylor's POV

Since it's become too cold to do our morning runs Steve, Bucky, and I now workout in the gym in the mornings with Natasha and Clint when he is in town. After training one morning we all go up to breakfast and I sit down in between Bucky and Tony. Natasha gives me a knowing glance and a smirk and I glare at her while Steve just snickers. The two of them keep teasing me about my little crush on Bucky and it's getting on my nerves.

"Hey guys." Says Tony excitedly.

"What?" I ask.

"We are going ice skating tonight."

"What?" Ask Natasha.

"Ice skating Natasha." Repeats Tony.

"But people." Groans Bruce.

"I'm with Clint." Says Bucky.

"I rented it out." Says Tony.

"You rented out the Rockefeller ice skating rink?" Ask Steve.

"Yes Capsicle, I like privacy."

"Oh my gosh." I smirk. "It could be fun."

"Thank you Taylor."

"What could be fun?" Ask Sam.

"Ice skating." Says Tony.

"Sure why not." He says sitting down.

"That's two..." Says Tony.

"Fine." Says everyone else.

I meet everyone else in the garage at six and we all pile into cars and go. Once we get there I grab skates and sit next to Natasha to put them on. I catch Bucky looking at me and I smile at him.

"Would you two stop making goo goo eyes at each other and just admit you like each other." Whispers Natasha.

"Nat stop."

"Steve says he won't shut up about you." she smirks.

"I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"Mhm." Smirks Natasha getting up.

I finish up putting my skates on and walk up to Bucky who is just standing there. "You good Buck?" I ask.

"Uh yeah, fine."

"Come on." I laugh grabbing his hand and pulling him on the ice with me.

He laughs as I pull him with me. I notice Natasha, and Steve looking at us so I let go of his hand and turn around to look at him.

"Just follow me." I laugh.

"I think I might fall." He laughs back.

"You'll be fine." I smile. "Come on."

The two of us keep going around and I laugh as Natasha shows off to the boys. Tony and Pepper are being their cute usual self, holding hands and staying together. Steve is more just watching from the side with Sam so when Bucky and I pass them we pull them out with us. Bruce is watching everyone, something about not being coordinated and is also taking pictures. As I'm skating around in front of Bucky I trip and almost face plant until he catches me. He straightens me up and looks at me.

"You okay?" He ask softly.

"Yeah." I smile. "Thank you."

"Your welcome..."

I stand up all the way and look at him. "Sorry." I laugh slightly looking down. Why do I always get so shy around him?

"It's okay." He laughs.

"I'm kind of a klutz."

"I hadn't noticed." He smiles.

"Oh thanks." I smirk.

"It's one of the reasons why I like you...I mean...uh...you know. What I was trying to say is...I don't know." He says getting flustered. I almost can't believe it myself.

"Hey Bucky?"

"I'm sorry Taylor I just..."

"James." I say cutting him off.

What?"

"I like you too you big goof." I smirk. "Like...a lot actually. Nat, Steve and Clint won't stop teasing me."

"Wait...really."

"Yeah." I smile shyly. "Didn't know how to say it."

"Me neither..." He smiles looking at me.

"I just I don't know..."

I'm cut off by his lips on mine and I smile. When he breaks away I laugh. "About time Barnes." I smirk. That's when I hear everyone else.

"Took you two long enough." Yells Natasha.

"Yeah about time guys." Laughs Steve.

"I was getting about ready to lock you two in a room." Says Tony.

"Seems like they are more in touch than we are." I laugh.

"Maybe." He smirks.

"Hey lovebirds lets go get dinner." Yells Sam

"Two seconds birdbrain." I yell back. "Lets talk when we get back." I smile.

"Sounds good." He smiles back.

We all head out to dinner and I keep getting looks from Natasha, and Steve but I try to ignore them. Once we get back to the tower Bucky comes up to my floor and I laugh as Koda runs to him before me.

"Well at least we know that dog likes you." I smirk.

"It's a good start." He laughs walking back towards me. "But I kinda want your approval."

"Well you already have it Buck."

"I feel as though this is heading in the opposite direction of talking."

"I'm okay with that." I smile wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him. Just then my phone rings and I groan. "Seriously." I complain walking over to grab it, it's Laura. "Hey." I answer.

"Is there a reason my husband won't get off the phone with Natasha until she agrees to pay him?"

"Um what?"

"A bet the two of them had. Something about you and Bucky…"

"Laura if you wanted to know don't use their stupid bet as an excuse." I laugh. "But can I talk to you about it tomorrow…I'm a little busy."

"Oh I am so sorry Taylor. Yeah call me tomorrow."

"Okay, Love you, tell my brother to mind his own business."

"Not likely." she laughs. "Bye."

"Bye." I hang up and look at Bucky who is smirking. "What?"

"Nothing, I just think it's funny how everyone seemed to know how we felt before we did."

"I've never been good with feelings…"

"And that's okay." he smiles kissing me again. When he pulls away he smiles at me. "Would you maybe want to go out to dinner tomorrow night?" He ask nervously.

"I would love to." I smile.

"Good..."

"So I'll see you in the morning for training?"

"Yeah...goodnight Taylor."

"Goodnight Bucky."

The next morning I train with the team minus Bruce and Tony who are busy working on some new project and then we all eat breakfast together. Once breakfast is over I run to a few meetings and finish up some paper work I was late on before calling Clint.

"You had a bet?" I ask as soon as he answers.

"Well hello to you too." he laughs. "It was just between Nat and I."

"Yeah and you lost."

"Thanks for the reminder. What are you up to?"

"I am cleaning up the apartment and then I need to get ready to go out."

"Is he taking you on a date?"

"If you must know…yes."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know yet, I'm sure it's going to be great whatever it is though. How are the kids?"

"Why are you changing the subject?"

"Can I not ask about my niece and nephews?" I laugh.

"They are good, they miss you."

"I'll come out when things slow down a little more." I sigh. "And Laura is good?"

"Yes." he laughs. "We are all good."

"I miss you."

"I miss you too, I'll let you go though so you can get ready. Love you sis."

"Love you too, I'll call tomorrow."

"Sounds good, bye."

"Bye."

I hang up with him and go into my room throwing on jeans and a sweater before braiding my hair to the side and touching up my makeup. I pull on a beanie and throw on some boots before grabbing my coat and heading out to my living room. I smile when I see Bucky out on the patio playing fetch with Koda despite the snow. I open the door and laugh.

"Isn't a little cold to be playing fetch?"

"He didn't think so." laughs Bucky following Koda inside. He leans down and gives me a quick kiss and I smile. "You look nice."

"You clean up nicely as well." I joke. "So where are we going?"

"How do you feel about a little trip to Brooklyn?" he ask.

"I would love to." I smile.

"Okay…I hope you like pizza."

"You know I do Barnes." I laugh grabbing his hand…not his metal hand. He still gets uncomfortable when I touch his arm.

The two of us make our way to the subway and take it all the way to Brooklyn before getting off. Even though it's lightly snowing outside I love walking. The suns gone down by now but its not too cold. The lights from the shops and apartments give Brooklyn a whimsical feeling at night…at least thats what I think. We stop in front of a pizza shop and Bucky opens the door for me. Once we sit down I smile at him.

"I'm going to assume you have a story for this place."

"Steve and I used to come here on our birthdays every year. It was our special treat cause we couldn't afford to eat out all the time."

"Its cute."

"Food is good too…or at least it was back in the day."

"Im sure its wonderful."

We order after a few minutes and once we are done ordering I catch Bucky deep in thought.

"What?" I ask.

"I'm realizing there isn't a whole lot we don't know about each other…unless you want to get into deep dark secrets." he smirks.

"Maybe later." I laugh. "So what else did you and Steve used to do down here?"

"The better question is what did we not do." He laughs. "I saved Steve's ass several times."

"Seems about right." I smirk at him. "Do you miss it?"

"I mean yeah...apart of me wishes that I could have just died but I feel like this is my second chance."

"I personally love having you around."

"Your not too bad yourself." He smiles. "So what about you and Clint, what were you like as kids?"

"About the same as we are now." I laugh. "He was the pestering yet over protective bother and I was the annoying, stubborn little sister. I will give him this though, he always took care of me."

"How did he meet Laura?"

"There is this bar that he and I used to go to every time we would go out there after a mission. She started working there I would say a year and a half after we started working for Shield. They started talking and hit it off. Before I knew Clint was going out to the farm anytime he wasn't needed up at HQ. Any free time he had was spent with her. I loved her the first time I met her. They got married a year after meeting and next thing I knew they had Cooper…and then Lila, and now Nathaniel. He balances everything out well."

"Do you get to go out there a lot?"

"I mean not as much as I would like to but I see them a lot. I always go out there for holidays, so does Nat."

"It sounds nice."

"I'll take you out there sometime, you would love it." I smile.

The two of us finish up dinner before walking around for a little while. We find the building where he grew up, I can't believe it's still there. It starts to snow again while we are out so we decide to head back. While we are waiting on the subway I grab his hand and smile at him.

"Thank you for tonight, I had a lot of fun."

"Your welcome, I had a lot of fun too."

I stand on my tip toes and kiss him and I can feel him smile against my lips. Once I hear the subway approaching I stop but he smiles at me.

"I could get used to that." he laughs as we get on.

"Me too." I admit shyly.

Once we get back to the tower I kiss him goodnight before heading up to my floor. I find Natasha sitting in my living room with Koda.

"Hi." I say setting my stuff down.

"How was it?" she ask getting up.

"I had fun." I smile.

"And…"

"I mean what do you want me to say."

"What did you guys do?"

"He took me to Brooklyn and we ate at this pizza place that he and Steve used to go to as kids and then we walked around."

"Thats cute." she smiles. "Steve said he was really excited about tonight."

"So was I." I smile. "I had a lot of fun, I didn't really want it to end."

"You two are just too cute." she laughs. "Almost as cute as Clint and Laura…have you told him about your past at all?"

"Cause that's so easy to work into a conversation." I laugh bitterly. "I mean he knows that my parents died when I was 17 but that's about it."

"I'm not saying you need to tell him right now just…if this gets serious I would tell him."

"You know I don't like talking about it."

"He deserves to know."

"I know." I sigh. "I know and I'll tell him just not yet."

"Okay...Steve and I are leaving for a mission tomorrow."

"For how long?"

"A week as of now, it could go longer."

"Alright, I'll have to find someway to stay entertained." I smirk.

"You'll be fine." She laughs.

Natasha leaves a few minutes later and I head to bed after working on some paperwork. I have a nightmare about my dad that night, something that hasn't happened in a while. I usually call Clint when they happen but instead I just lay there. I fall back asleep after a little while but it's a restless sleep. When my alarm goes off I'm exhausted but I get up anyway. I suggest going on a run to Bucky and Sam and they agree. I meet them in the lobby and both of them look at me funny.

"What?" I ask.

"You look exhausted." Says Sam.

"I'm fine." I say brushing it off. "Let's go."

"Okay..." Says Bucky.

About halfway through I just stop running and sit down by a tree. I'm too tired for this. Why do I always have to be so stubborn? Someone sits down next to me and I open my eyes to see Bucky.

"Where is Sam?" I ask.

"He had to head back for a meeting...you okay?"

"Fine..."

"You can talk to me Taylor." He says.

"No I know, it's just not something I want to bother you with."

"Come on." He says standing up.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to breakfast and your going to tell me about it."

"Bucky..."

"Please."

"Okay." I smile.

Bucky and I walk a few blocks to a small breakfast place despite the snow on the ground and we sit down in the back. Once we order he looks at me.

"So what's on your mind?"

"I just didn't sleep well last night?"

"Why not?"

"I uh...was having nightmares about my dad."

"Your dad?"

"Yeah...there is some stuff with him I haven't told you about yet. I actually don't really talk about it at all. I mean Natasha and Steve know but that's it."

"He and your mom died when your were 17?"

"Yeah. I tell people it was a drunk driving accident and I mean it's not a lie but my dad was the drunk driver. He ran the car off the road. He didn't tell my mom he had been drinking and so she got in the car with him."

"Oh my gosh." He sighs.

"He got laid off of his job when I was 12 and never got back into things. He started drinking and he would yell at us a lot. He uh...hit me a few times but Clint usually took the punches for me. He was verbally abusive too. It got to be too much for me my sophomore year of high school so I started to go to parties. I would do that all weekend, anything to stay away from the house. Then I would go to school during the week and then hide out in my room. It was like a never ending cycle. I started drinking to forget my dads drinking problem, I was a mess."

"So when they died..."

"Clint moved back into the house and helped me finish high school. He had already started Shield training but Fury let him take some time off to help me. I stopped going to parties, I stopped drinking. I didn't have good enough grades to get into college though so I decided to try out Shield. The rest is history."

"I'm sorry Taylor."

"I mean it made me who I am today. Clint and I are closer because of it. It's just...hard sometimes."

"So what got you thinking about it last night?"

"Nat was encouraging me to tell you about it actually." I say smiling at him. "I trust you, I don't trust a lot of people. I just didn't know how or when to tell you."

"I trust you too." He smiles. "Almost as much as Steve." He smirks.

"I'm flattered." I smile.

"Thank you for telling me that Taylor."

"I was never going to keep it from you. This would be one of those secrets we were talking about last night." I laugh.

"I really did have a good time last night." He says.

"I did too, thanks for finally taking me too Brooklyn."

"Your welcome."

"What do you say to you and I having a movie night tonight? I'll make dinner and I can try to get you caught up on some stuff."

"I'd like that."

"And I'm sure Koda would love to play fetch with you." I smirk. "It's funny, he doesn't like a whole lot of people but he has liked you since day one."

"What's not to like." He smirks.

Bucky and I finish our breakfast and then head back to the tower. I go up to my floor and clean up before running to the store to grab stuff to make dinner for us. I start in dinner and Bucky comes up not too much later.

"Smells good up here." He smiles sitting down.

"Eh you know, I dabble in cooking." I smirk.

"You always make good stuff."

"Thanks." I smile.

"So what are we watching?"

"Have you seen Star Wars yet?"

"Uh no...it's on the list though."

"Ok, we can watch that then, if it's okay."

"Of course."

Once I finish dinner the two of us sit on the couch and start the movie while eating. We get through the original three and I laugh as Bucky keeps asking me questions.

"So Darth Vadar is Luke and Leia's father and they are brother and sister and they had no idea?"

"None at all."

"But Vadar knew?"

"Yeah."

"And he cut his sons hand off?"

"Yeah...you know what though."

"What?"

"Your metal arm is way cooler."

"I do agree with you there." He laughs.

I lean over and kiss him and he smiles against my lips. When I break it off and runs his hand through my hair and smiles at me.

"Do you think we are moving too fast?" I ask butting my lip.

"Do you?"

"I asked first."

"We might be but I can't help myself."

"Me neither."

"Well then that answers it."

At some point the two of us are laying down on the couch watching another movie and when I turn over my shoulder I see Bucky asleep. Instead of waking him up I just turn the TV off and then fall asleep myself. I think I'm falling in love with him.

Bucky's POV

When I wake up in the morning I feel something pressed against me. It takes me a minute to remember it's Taylor. I then realize that I actually slept through the night, that doesn't happen often. I notice Taylor starting to wake up and she then turns over and smiles at me.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Really well actually. That's the first time I haven't had a nightmare in a while."

"Good." She smiles. "What's the plan for today?"

"I haven't gotten that far." I laugh.

"You want to go train?"

"Sure."

We spend a few hours in the gym and then I go down to the range to shoot some guns. Taylor is next to me shooting her bow and I stop to watch her. She shoots a few more before looking at me.

"Why did you stop?"

"Cause I like watching you." I smile.

"Do you want to try it?"

"Uh sure..."

"Alright I bet you can't hit the bullseye."

"Oh really." I laugh. "And what if I do?"

"Then I'll take you out to dinner."

"Sounds good to me...and what if I don't?"

"Then you take me to dinner."

"So either way we are going to dinner?"

"Why do you think I did this?" She smiles.

I go stand next to Taylor and she hands me her bow. She then hands me an arrow and I get ready to shoot it. I see her smirking at me and I just roll my eyes before releasing the arrow. It's hits dead center and I turn now smirking at Taylor.

"But...wait...what?"

"I'm sorry did I forgot to mention that I'm pretty good with a bow?"

"You play dirty Barnes."

"Oh really? How can I make it up to you?"

"I can think of a few ways." She smirks wrapping her arms around my neck. She stands on her toes and kisses me. Her kisses make me forget everything...in a good way. I could do this all day. "Dinner?" She ask breaking it off.

"Or we could just keep doing this, this is good."

"Dinner first, I'm hungry."

"Well where would you like to go?"

"You choose, I'm just buying."

"You choose. I chose the other night."

"Do you like burgers, like really good burgers?"

"Of course, is there beer involved?"

"How could there not be. I go to this place by Lincoln Center all the time with Sam, Nat, and Steve. I need to take you."

"Sounds good, how about I meet you on your floor in 45 minutes, I need to get cleaned up."

"Ok, sounds good."

I go up to what is now Steve and I's floor and head to my room. I hop in the shower before pulling on jeans and a red long sleeve shirt. I pull on some boots and a leather jacket before fixing my hair and heading up to Taylor's floor. Taylor is in jeans, boots, and a sweater that I have to say looks great on her. She is just putting in her coat when I get up there.

"Hi." She smiles giving me a kiss.

"Hi." I smile. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's take the subway."

"Okay."

I grab her hand and the two of us walk out of the tower and to the subway. Once we get to the restaurant they give us a table in the back, there is no one back there and it's nice.

"I like having half the team out of the tower." Smiles Taylor.

"Why is that?"

"Cause it gives me more time with you."

"That's a pretty good reason." I smile.

"So I uh...have a question for you."

"Shoot." I say taking a sip of beer.

"Tony has his annual Christmas party coming up and I was wondering if you...you know maybe wanted to be my date?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you?"

"Well I mean...I didn't know if you were going and..."

"Taylor?"

"Hm..."

"I would love to go with you." I smile.

"Okay." She smiles.

The rest of dinner is fun, I find myself not wanting the night to end but eventually we both decide we need to go to bed. I go up to my room and change into some sweatpants before climbing into bed. I fall asleep not too long after and think I'm in for another peaceful night of sleep... Boy was I wrong. The next thing I know I'm in the corner of my room breathing heavily. I've knocked down my lamp and a glass cup. My blankets are on the floor and I think I stepped on some glass.

"Mr. Barnes?" Ask Jarvis. "Shall I get someone?"

"Taylor..." I say barely above a whisper.

"She is on her way up sir."

A few minutes later Taylor walks in and comes and sits in front of me. "Bucky?" I don't know what to say to her. "Bucky your foot." She says as the lamp in the corner turns on.

"I broke a glass." I whisper.

"Can I clean this up for you?"

I just nod my head. Taylor goes off and comes back after a minute with a first aid kit. I sit there motionless as she picks the glass out of my foot before bandaging it. She then gets up and cleans everything up even going as far as to remake my bed. Before I know it she is sitting in front of me again.

"Come on let's get you back in bed." She says holding her hand out. I get up and we both get on my bed. I lay my head in her lap and she plays with my hair.

"I'm sorry I woke you up." I whisper.

"Always wake me up." She says. She then places her hand where flesh meets metal...she has never seen it before. I tense for a minute but relax after she presses a kiss to my head. "Let's get back to sleep."

"Will you stay?"

"Mhm." She smiles.

The lights turn off again and we move so the my arms are around Taylor. Her hand grabs my flesh one and I smile a bit. For the first time in a while I'm starting to see the light at the end of what I thought was a never ending tunnel.