Day 9
Thursday started with the ninth Christmas present. Bucky awoke with a buzzing sound. He squinted at his alarm clock and saw that it was nine. He'd slept in again, but without the nightmares. After watching Holiday Inn with Bruce, they ended up seeing The Christmas Carol and then Bruce downloaded Miracle on 34th Street onto Bucky's laptop. He didn't end up leaving Bucky's apartment until past two in the morning, not that Bucky minded.
As Bucky opened the door, he shook his head at what he saw. A gingerbread house, just like his mother used to make. He lifted it up to get a better look at it. He paused trying to decide what to do. A part of him wanted to devour it for breakfast, but another part wanted to keep it as a sweet decoration.
He spent about ten minutes staring at it on his kitchen counter.
He ended up eating the entire thing.
00000
Despite spending time with Bruce, Bucky couldn't quite force himself to go to the lab. He knew that he was avoiding Darcy, but he thought it was for the best. He went to the gym and worked out, spending a good twenty minutes on every single machine there, barely working up a sweat.
He came back and showered and changed, eating some leftover shawarma for lunch. It wasn't quite as good as the night before, but it was a sight better than the microwave meals that were sitting in his freezer.
After lunch, he turned on the television, switching once again to the old movie channel. He ended up watching Some Like It Hot and laughed more than he expected to. It didn't hurt that Marilyn Monroe's curves reminded him of Darcy.
Around two in the afternoon, he was feeling bored and listless. He knew he should just grit his teeth and go to the lab, but he couldn't make himself. He was just about to start on a John Wayne movie when there was a sharp knock at the door.
When he opened the door, he blanched when he saw Darcy. She stood there, looking smaller and paler than he'd remembered, wearing a long gray cardigan that went down to her ankles. It reminded Bucky of a fuzzy bathrobe. Her arms were wrapped protectively around herself and she looked unbearably vulnerable.
She gave him a tentative smile. "I texted you like three times. I even called you. Twice. The only person I ever call is my mom. I finally had to ask JARVIS where you were."
"Sorry. I haven't charged my phone in days," Bucky said more abruptly than he meant to. He was sure that his phone was stuck under some couch cushions at the moment.
"We kind of seemed to hit it off and then . . . nothing. I mean, if you're not . . . if you changed your mind . . . I understand," she said quietly.
Bucky's eyes widened at that. She thought he didn't like her. Nothing could be farther from the truth. "I hurt you."
She shrugged offhandedly. "You knocked over a chair. It's not the worst thing in the world. You need to get some perspective."
He was surprised that she was taking everything in stride. "What do you mean?"
She rolled her eyes. "What I mean is that I've been through two full-on alien invasions. The Destoyer in New Mexico and the Dark Elves in England. People actively trying to end my life. I'm a lot tougher than I look. Do you think I even give a second thought about falling out of a chair? I've had worse injuries trying to get into my skinny jeans," she scoffed. She waved at the back of her head. "This was nothing."
Bucky swallowed hard. "You don't get it. I can't be that guy anymore."
"What guy?"
"The ladies' man who swept women off their feet. I'm broken, Darcy. The things that I've seen. The things that I've done. I can't pretend to be the old Bucky any more."
She shook her head. "I don't want you to be anyone other than who you are. Right here. Right now. I never knew the old Bucky. But I think the new Bucky is pretty amazing."
"You do?" he asked
She nodded. "I do. Now, put on your coat. We're going out."
"Where?"
"To get you to focus on something else."
00000
"An animal shelter?" Bucky asked as he looked around the squat gray building Darcy had brought him too. The automatic doors opened to a large lobby with Christmas decorations hung from every conceivable surface. There was a smiling older woman at reception and the place reverberated with the din of barking dogs.
Darcy nodded as they walked towards the desk. "It's not like my life is really conducive to owning any kind of a pet at the moment. I mean I've lived in New Mexico, Norway, England, New York. Who knows where I'll be next week? So, I get my animal fix here. I volunteer once a week, socializing the cats and dogs."
"Socializing?"
"Yeah. I take the dogs on walks and the cats . . . well, I pretty much let them tear my sweaters to shreds. But, I get to cuddle them, too. If they let me." She waved over to the receptionist. "Hi, Rosa. I brought a friend. I want to show him around. He's interested in volunteering."
"I am?" Bucky asked.
"He is," Darcy said firmly to the receptionist. "How can we help?"
"Well, we've got a ton of kittens in Room 8. Just turned four months old." Her face turned sour and she shuddered. "We rescued them from a hoarder."
"Room 8. Thanks," Darcy smiled at Rosa, giving her a wink. "C'mon," she said to Bucky.
Bucky dutifully followed Darcy. As a kid, his parents struggled to feed their kids, so a pet was out of the question. But, a friend in the apartment next door had a cat to keep down the mouse population and Bucky had to admit he'd always envied that.
Room 8 was enclosed in glass and set up like a living room with a small dark brown loveseat and speckled blue and brown rugs on the floor. At least a half dozen black and white kittens roamed around the room, playing on various cat towers or chasing each other.
"So . . . uh . . . what do we do?"
Darcy sat down and patted the cushion next to her. "Just sit on the loveseat. If a kitten comes up to you, you pet it. At this point, we're just getting them used to being around people."
Bucky nodded and sat down next to her, so close that their knees touched. "So you do this every week?"
"Animals don't care if you're smart. Or dumb. Or pretty. Or ugly. Or if you have superpowers. Or if you're just normal. They love and accept you as you are."
"You're not just normal," Bucky insisted.
"I'm not?" She raised an eyebrow at his vehemence.
"You're incredible."
"That's high praise coming from an Avenger," she quipped.
"It's true," he said firmly.
A tuxedo kitten began to rub its head against Bucky's leg and looked up at him. "What does that mean?"
"He likes you. Go ahead. Pet him."
Bucky reached down with his right hand and slowly caressed the little kitten's sides as he purred, while Darcy giggled.
"What?"
"When he does that, he's also marking his territory. You're his human."
Bucky gave a snort of laughter. "So he owns me now?"
She shrugged. "It's what cats do." Her expression turned serious. "Are you coming to the lab tomorrow?"
"Do you want me to?"
"Yeah. I really do."
"I'll be there," he promised.
Author's Note- Has anyone seen Kat Dennings instagram account? She is so sweet with animals.
Thanks again for all of your sweet reviews. They are the ONLY reason I have the motivation to write a story over 12,000 words in the month of December. I do have to apologize. My goal is to individually respond to every single review and comment. However, today I was completely slammed and, quite frankly, overwhelmed. I had two options. I could either update or respond to your reviews. I hope you're alright with me choosing to update. Tomorrow, I promise to respond to every single review!
