Bucky closes his eyes as he walks out of the apartment building, breathing in the cold morning air. He and Aurelia had ended up falling asleep on the couch watching Beauty and the Beast and he has no doubt that everyone at the Tower has picked up on his absence. He had woken up before her and he had put her in her bed. When he went to leave she had woken up and told him to be safe on his journey home before she fell back asleep.
He shakes his head and puts his helmet on, getting on his motorcycle and making his way to the Tower. He doesn't bother going as fast as possible as he knows that there'll be traffic despite it being only six in the morning.
He rolls around the thought of dating Aurelia in his head. He likes her, he knows that. He likes the fact that she's not afraid of him even more. However, he's still broken. He still wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes, screaming out as his past haunts him. He still disconnects from reality sometimes, but luckily the soldier doesn't come out. He doesn't have to worry about him ruining things for him.
So why is he so hesitant? It's obvious that she likes him, too. It's so plainly clear with the way she flirted with him during dinner and the fact that most of her attention was focused on him. Not to mention the fact that it was him she called when she was getting attacked, not Steve or Sam.
So why the hell is he afraid? He doesn't know. He blinks a few times as the Tower comes into view, realizing that he's been on auto-pilot for the past forty or so minutes. The private garage opens for him and he knows it's Jarvis' doing. It's been two years since being brought to the Tower and he's still uncomfortable with the fact that someone is monitoring him all the time. Even if it is an AI-he has to remind himself.
He shakes his head and grabs his helmet out of sheer instinct even though he knows that there's a very very low chance of it getting stolen. It's just habit. He makes his way through the Tower and up to his apartment. It sits on the same floor as Sam's and Steve's and he mentally curses as he knows that they'll be cooking in the communal kitchen as they always do.
Maybe if I'm quiet enough and take the back hallway... he starts to think, freezing as someone behind him speaks. "He's alive!" Sam says loudly, easily drawing the attention from what he and Steve are cooking to him. "How was your date? And spending the night? Naughty boy." Or maybe not, he finishes the thought.
His shoulders slump and he turns towards the dark-skinned man, sending him a glare. "Leave me alone, Sam," he mutters, walking over to the couch and putting his helmet on the coffee table. He'll put it in his room after breakfast. "I don't bother you when you spend the night at a gal's place."
"Oh, so you went back to her apartment?" the man teases, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. He glares at him and grabs a mug and pours himself some coffee. He pours a little bit of milk in it and maybe a little too much sugar in it, but he doesn't care.
"We didn't have to go back," he defends himself. "We decided to order in and watch some movies. And no Sam we did not 'Netflix and Chill', we watched Disney movies. Disney movies Sam. You know, the kind for kids?" He continues scowling at the man who's still looking at him suggestively. "Anyways," he says, rolling his eyes. "I know better than to bed a dame after the first date."
"So it was a date," Steve jumps in, raising an eyebrow as he moves some pancakes to one of the larger plates. Bucky snorts. Why do you gotta be so domestic, Rogers? "Did you have fun?" Bucky's lips tilt up in amusement at his friend. Definitely still the same Stevie, he thinks in a mutter.
"Yes mom," he says sarcastically, rolling his eyes and helping with the bacon. "We 'had fun'." He pauses for a moment, thinking about what happened at the end of the first movie. Mulan, was it? "For the most part..." The last part is in a mutter and he should have known better than to say something like that in the presence of the mother hen.
Steve sets down his spatula and turns to him with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back on the counter. "What do you mean 'for the most part'?" he asks, gaining the attention of Sam. "What happened, Bucky?" He breathes through his nose heavily.
"There was a little... incident with one of the movies," he says, flipping over some of the bacon and adding some more. He knows he should probably just tell Steve what happened straight out, but he knows he's going to worry. That's what he does-he reminds himself with a sigh.
"Bucky..." Steve warns, causing him to tense up and turn the stove off. This might be a longer conversation than I originally thought and I don't feel like burning some bacon. He sighs. Fine.
"You know that one movie that you guys watched a few weeks ago? Mulan?" he asks, getting a nod from Steve and Sam. "Well... You know the ending scene on the roof of the palace...?" The two of them squint their eyes in concentration, clearly having to think about what part he's alluding to before both of their eyes widen.
"Oh, shit, Buck," Steve says, making him raise an eyebrow at his use of a curse word. He knows that his friend still doesn't like cussing of any kind. "Are you okay? Did you get a flashback?" He should get a 'Mother Hen of the Year' Award.
"I was perfectly fine," he stresses, gesturing to himself. "Relia however, forgot about the firework part and she apparently hasn't seen the movie since before blowing her leg off. It's safe to say that I spent nearly an hour calming her down from a panic attack and a flashback."
The two men look sympathetic at that and he turns around, turning the stove back on to finish cooking the bacon. "Is she okay, man?" Sam asks after a few moments, helping him plate some of the bacon. "If you want, I can call her? See if she wants to come into the VA and talk about it? How'd you manage to calm her down?"The concern is clear in his tone and he's amused to find out that the man's already worried about the girl despite knowing her for a little over a day.
"I'll text her about it," he says. "I told her to text me when she wakes up." He brushes off Sam's raised eyebrow. "I couldn't really do much other than hold her and tell her that it's okay and that she's safe throughout the flashback. The thing lasted over ten minutes. After that, I managed to get her to focus on my heartbeat because she couldn't even her breaths with that breathing technique you taught me a while ago. I think the cold from my hand," he raises it and wiggles his fingers, "helped ground her. I ended up having to take my shirt off so she could feel my heart and she rested her head on my shoulder." He shrugs the shoulder, remembering the feeling of her clammy skin on it.
Sam claps him on the shoulder. "Smart thinking with the heartbeat. Not all people know how to match their breaths and it could have easily turned into her passing out from oxygen deprivation. Are you sure she's okay, though?" Bucky's lip twitches in a smile.
"Yeah," he says, tossing the skillet into the sink to clean later. "We finished our movie and pizza and then we watched two more movies before falling asleep on her couch." He rolls his shoulders. "She needs a better couch." Sam snorts a laugh as they all move the food to the dining table.
They eat in silence for about five minutes before Steve starts up. "So... You had a date?" He sighs and rolls his eyes.
"Yes, Steve," he says, rolling his eyes. "I had a date." He pushes down the warmth in his ears knowing that he'll be mercilessly teased by Sam no matter what if he saw it. Steve smiles warmly at him.
"That's good," he comments. They eat in silence for another few minutes, and then, "So, all you did was watch movies. In her apartment. On her couch?" He grins shamelessly. "And Disney movies? Nothing else?"
"Is that so hard to believe, Rogers?" he chirps, drinking the rest of his coffee and standing from the table, picking up his plate to clean. He doesn't need to look back at Steve to know that he has a dry look plastered on his face.
"Yes, actually," Steve says, standing up as well. "Bucky Barnes does not just leave a dame without some form of a kiss. And despite everything that's happened, you are still that Bucky Barnes." He huffs and rolls his eyes. He'd say that he's a different person now, and while he somewhat is, he's still mostly the same Bucky from the forties.
"She's not like those gals from back then, Stevie," he says, washing off his plate. "This dame. This girl. She's different. She's not just a way to have fun like those other girls were. I don't want to ruin this." He thinks for a few moments.
"And why're encouraging me to kiss her after barely knowing her?" he asks, raising an eyebrow as he dries his plate and silverware. "I remember that you were the one tellin' me to not kiss dames after the first date. What's changed?" Steve raises an eyebrow and he waves his hand around. "Other than the last seventy years."
"I don't know," he finally says, cleaning his plate. "I just find it odd, I don't know? I know we've both changed a lot since back then, but you still remind me of that man that would go out dancin' with a girl on each arm. Of the man who'd have any dame he wanted." He tilts his head to the side and thinks it over.
"I'm not really that man, anymore," he says, leaning on the counter. He realizes that Sam's left, probably to give them some privacy. "I know I'm still him, but some things have changed. I don't really trust people like that anymore. I don't feel like I'd be that open anymore." Steve nods his head and sighs.
"I know, Buck," he says. "Just, try not to be too blocked off around her, okay? I know we barely know the girl but I know you're sweet on her. And I know she's sweet on you, too." Bucky grins at that. It's nice to know that he's not the only one to realize it.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that, punk," he says, punching him lightly in the shoulder. Steve grins back at him and claps him on his shoulder.
"Jerk."
