Yes, yes, I know, I suck majorly. I'm a horrible person and a terrible updater. But, to be fair, it hasn't been that long since I updated TBM.

Pleeeeeeeease review!


Somehow, Liza had managed to lure Barnes out of his room and into the kitchen, dropping a steaming mug of coffee in front of him, black, just how he liked it. He eyed her nervously and took it. "Jesus, Barnes, I didn't poison it, just drink the damn coffee."

He pursed his lips and glanced up at her. She was obviously attempting to look absolutely terrifying, hair piled messily on top of her head, dark bags under her eyes, her old warmup tee from her high school volleyball team, llama pajama pants, and unicorn slippers. Nevertheless, he gave in and wrapped his hands around the ceramic. She nodded and took the seat across from him.

"Alright, listen. You have been avoiding me like the plague for weeks now, and- no, Barnes, let me speak- I don't need to know why." She held her hands up in an obvious surrender. "That's not my business. I just need to know whether you're gonna go all Winter Soldier on my ass, or anybody else's ass for that matter, if I take off for a week."

Bucky sighed and swirled the coffee in his mug. "Where?"

"I can't tell you that." He frowned. "It's classified."

"How the hell did you come across classified information?"

"You think I can run Hotel Barton without learning a thing or two? You're not the only badass at this table." That marked the second ever time her resident assassin truly laughed, head ducked, shoulders shaking as he tried to muffle his chuckles. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No, no, Barton, I swear I'm not laughing at you-"

"You are!" She cried, leaping up and pointing, laughing herself, almost unable to control it. He gave her that irritating little smirk that pulled up one side of his mouth more than the other, not that she noticed, and looked up at her, looking blessedly happy for the first time in weeks.

"And just what are you going to do about it, dollface?" She sighed and shook her head, trying her best not to let him see just how attractive he was when he called her doll. Hoo, lawdy, this man was an absolute dream.

"I just might kick you out, or worse...stop cooking your meals." Bucky had the good sense to look worried.

"Matter of fact, I oughta do just that for the way you've been treating me lately." Now he had the good sense to look ashamed of himself. "Just in the world were you thinking?"

He sighed and took a sip of coffee. "I was thinking that I'm dangerous, Barton, and you ain't been nothin' but good to me and I don't want to see you hurt."
"If," he sighed, searching for the words, "if they find me, they will find you. And if they find you, they will make me kill you and I won't even know what I'm doing. And even if they don't, who's to say whether I'm completely sane? Or who's to say I won't wake up one morning and have no idea who you are and kill you on accident? You see where I'm coming from?"

She sat back down and wrapped her hands around her mug, trying to leech off of the warmth it radiated.

"I do see where you're coming from, but I just wanna tell you that that's literally all you had to say and we could have avoided this whole mess. Bucky, I am not afraid of you." He fixed her with a look. "Alright, those eyes of yours can be a little intense, but I know that under all those rippling pectorals is this cocky little son of a gun from Brooklyn who loved nothin' more than dancing and dames."

"Now how in the hell-"

She waved his question aside. "I did my homework and may or may not have given the Good Captain a phone call. Oh, keep your skirt on, I didn't tell him anything. We just had an amiable chat and you happened to pop up in conversation."

"Now, reason number two why I am not the slightest bit afraid of you: you know that I happen to share a last name with one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, or whatever they're calling themselves these days,"

"The Avengers," he supplied.

"Yeah, that. Well, we're cousins. And since I get invited over every once in a while for dinner or movies or the occasional girls' night, I've done my damndest to wriggle my way into their hearts too, and it's working. So I know that backup is only a phone call and a glance that-a-way." She gestured vaguely in the direction of Avengers Tower.

Her roommate gave her an appraising once-over and shifted in his chair. "Well, it would seem that I've underestimated you."

"Apology accepted." She chirped, trying to lighten the mood. He smirked.

"Whatever floats your boat, Barton."

"You think you got it in you to call me Liza?"

"We'll see."

She grinned into her coffee. It wasn't much, but it was a start.


I'm doing my best. Please don't hurt me.

Blue xx