First Meeting: Bucky Barnes
Reader's POV:
It was grocery day. Not just any grocery day, but the grocery day just before Christmas. You had to get all of the ingredients for the stuff you promised to take to Aunt Jan' s house for Christmas dinner.
All of the various sugars and spices, molasses, and flour for gingerbread, butter cookies, and spiced cranberry scones were all ready plunked into your cart, and now you were headed for the produce section for the fruit needed for Christmas scones and fruit salad. You quickly found the apples, oranges, and bananas needed for the salad and turned to finding the cranberries for scones.
You soon spotted them. Right next to a imposing figure that made you nervous from halfway across the room. He was tall and broad-shouldered; the hoodie he wore did nothing to hide the fact that he was very well built. However, the shaggy hair, scruffy five o'clock shadow, and ball cap pulled low over his eyes gave him a dark vibe.
Maybe your family did not need scones this year. Maybe you could do...apple ones. Yeah. Wait...Nope; cranberry is Grandma's favorite. She will be devastated if there are not any spiced cranberry scones. It's a really good thing you love her so darn much...
You swallowed your fears and head straight for the cranberries. You can see the tall, dark, and scary man beside you out of the corner of your eye. He was very carefully selecting...plums? Who eats plums anymore? Why would he be getting plums?
Shaking your head, you quickly grabbed the cranberries you came for, but in your distracted state, you did not fully notice everything around you. As you pushed forward to head to the checkouts, someone hurriedly shoved past you, knocking into you forcefully and causing you to lose your grip on your cart.
You began to topple over with a little "oh!" of surprise. However, a strong arm around your waist and another across your shoulders stopped you from falling into a wall of carrots, celery, and lettuce. Looking up in shock, you found your savior.
It was man the man from before, his plums laying on the ground beside his momentarily forgotten grocery basket.
"You alright, miss?" He asked quietly, revealing a faint Brooklyn accent.
You looked back up at him, and this time you were met by a pair of concerned blue-gray eyes.
"Y-Yeah...yeah, I'm okay..." you stammered back.
Very carefully and gently, he righted you, waiting to remove his arms until he was sure you could stand by yourself. He muttered something that sounded Russian as he glared at the back of your assailant' s head.
"Thank you...for saving me," you said softly, recapturing his attention.
"Pleasure to be of assistance, ma'am." The smallest of grins turned the corners of his lips upward. His piercing eyes softened as he refocused on you.
"Does my hero have a name?" you asked, feeling emboldened.
The faint sparkle in his eyes faded as he lowered them and ducked his head, mumbling something about "not a hero."
"Of course you are-" You were interrupted by the approach of a tall blonde man who was just as muscular as your savior. He looked a bit familiar, but you could not place how you would know him.
"You find it all, Buck?" He asked, then noticed you. His gaze darted to his friend. "Eveything okay?"
"Buck" glanced back at his abandoned basket. "Yeah."
"And this is?" The blonde looked at you.
"_," you quickly supplied. "Your friend was just being a knight for an oblivious damsel-in-distress."
"Oh?" He looked at Buck.
"Some jerk knocked her over," Buck shrugged back. "I just kept her from getting bruised up by the vegetables."
A smirk played across the blonde' s face. "Oh, if that's all."
"Yes, that's all, Steve," Buck defended.
"Then, why don't you give the lady's hands back and let her finish her shopping," Steve answered.
You and Buck looked down to find that, at some point, your hands had found their way into his. One was warm and gentle; the other was felt hard under the black leather glove encasing it. He suddenly jerked them away, shoving them into his hoodie pocket. His head was ducked once more, and a faint blush colored his face.
Sensing his discomfort, you decided to take your leave. "We'll, thank you again for saving me from falling into the carrots, Buck," you smiled at him, hoping to ease his embarrassment.
He mumbled something back.
"Sorry?"
"It's 'Bucky'." His gaze darted up to you for a moment. "My name is Bucky."
Your smiled grew. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bucky." You offered your hand.
A shy but genuine smile spread across his lips. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss ." He gently took your hand and placed the ghost of a kiss on back of it. This time it was your turn to blush. He slowly backed away, letting you fingers slip through his as he turned to retrieve his basket of fruit and follow his friend.
Your hand felt cold and empty, and a strange sense of loss bloomed in your chest.
Little did you know, he felt exactly the same.