CHAPTER EIGHT

"You and I are more than you and I because it's we."

― E. E. Cummings

January 1943

War was on the doorstep, a constant threat looming in the shadows, something that everyone feared and most people wanted to stop. It had spread from Europe, taking over almost every existing country on the globe. The Germans were the cause, announcing their disagreement with the natural order of things by invading Poland. It didn't stop there, and it was up to countries like America to tell the Nazis 'no'. It inspired a lot of things. Hope, courage, and in Addy's mind, idiocy. Terror was another symptom, sweeping every street as a violent gust, reaching every corner, all except for Rendez-vous.

Over the years it had become a much more popular establishment, taking in more and more regular customers which wished to experience the ever expanding collection of alcohol, great food, enjoyable entertainment, and kind waitresses. Though, perhaps it wasn't the kindness of the waitresses that drove most of them to set foot in the bar. Gladys had been deemed most popular as she flirted with every soldier that came into the bar and claimed that she was simply thanking them all for the care they were giving to the country.

Addy wasn't as loveable, her behaviour towards all the rowdy soldiers that came in was decent and nothing more. She took their orders, served their drinks, but that was as much as she chose to engage with the groups of men that always became more extraverted when there was more of them around.

On that particular night, things didn't look any different, a new group of customers wandered in and found their seats nearest to the small stage that housed the female singer for the night. Their rude comments were instantaneous, aimed towards the entertainer and then onto the two barmaids working that night. Alice was helping out behind the bar as the night shift began and she'd remain there until things calmed down so she could ensure her employees didn't get overwhelmed. Gladys and Addy were the two employees that had to exit the bar and communicate with the patrons, making sure their drinks were refilled and that their souls were merry. Gladys took care of the latter, acting as a good enough camouflage for Addy so that she could collect their empty glasses and drink orders unnoticed.

Once she returned to the bar after collecting eight empty beer glasses, the strawberry blonde let out a tired sigh. Her night shift had only just begun, yet the loud and needy patrons were wearing her out almost immediately with their unnecessary comments and expressive movements.

"Don't let any of the customers see you making that face," Alice commented from beside her friend, taking the glasses off the side Addy had placed them on and beginning to wash them in a sink.

"What face?" Addy's eyebrows scrunched together as she questioned her boss, not realising that she'd naturally formed an expression that was very forthcoming about the way she felt towards the soldiers.

Alice pointed her hand over towards Addy's face, accidentally throwing soapy water across the strawberry blonde's upper half. "The 'I don't care if you're protecting our country and saving lives whilst putting yours at risk, that doesn't mean you can do whatever the hell you want'."

"I mean, it's not like my face is wrong," she defended, turning up her nose proudly whilst the scowl she'd been unaware of stretched even further.

Addy's views on the war differed from most others, mostly due to her background with unnecessary violence. That was how she viewed the current war, as unnecessary, as blind people fighting the blind. She hated war, able to sense the emotions and futures it bred and none of them nice. There was only a small amount of courage, overpowered instead by the desire to win by any means necessary. Even if it meant drowning Mother Earth in crimson waters.

And she could never understand exactly what they thought they were winning, the only result from the war that was logically possible was a death toll in the millions, how could any victory be worth that?

It was hard to share that view with others when the whole country was pulling together to assist in the war, the line between civilian and military blurring as everyone seemed to play some sort of roll. All around New York there were posters encouraging people to join the war, and on every street there seemed to be some sort of set up for people to sign-up and throw their lives away. The women weren't required as much for the army work, though Addy knew many who wished to help out as much as the men, but their work belonged in the city, doing everything that the soldiers who had gone away could no longer do. She supposed her job was a part of the war effort as well, unluckily for Addy, she just so happened to be in a profession that's latest goal was to keep the soldier's happy when they were on their home shores, even if it meant putting up with unruly behaviour.

She knew Alice was of a similar mind-set to the rest of the country as well, so it would have been a hopeless act to try and argue her own point of view. Meaning, when Alice continued to stare at her disapprovingly, Addy had no choice but to stretch out her lips and wipe away her frown. "Okay, fine, I'm sorry, I'll put on my best smile," she huffed as she widened her lips, baring her teeth in an odd show of joy that insinuated her mind wasn't completely put together.

"That's what you call your best smile? Where's the sparkle and the charm?" Gladys joined the two of them behind the bar, eyeing up the strawberry blonde like she was deranged. Addy certainly looked it.

Her smile fell flat, a bitter jealousy fouling her fake grin though she managed to disguise it as simple offence. "I must have left it at home," she quipped, sounding especially grumpy but neither Alice nor Gladys were offended by her tone of voice, they never were. She'd only just really started to come out of her shell with the pair. Bucky's effect on her having grown, his personality melding with hers, making her much more vibrant, her opinions no longer locked away in her very own Pandora's box, surrounded by chains. The chest was beginning to peak open, the true question was, was it a good thing or not? Addy was still working on figuring that out.

"You're a true dream to work with," Gladys joked, her comment accompanied by a much more alluring smile than the one Addy was able to configure, being utilised as a disguise for her passive aggressive comment. She gave a slight sniffle, absent-mindedly rubbing at her apron as she moved further away from the bar and closer to the back entrance, Addy remaining completely unaware of her co-worker's motives until she spoke. "I need to use the bathroom, can you give these drinks to that table over there, maybe leave your smile behind the bar when you do."

Of course, because Gladys was already at the door, leaving the bar, Addy was given no time to build up an argument before Gladys was out of sight. The strawberry blonde rolled her eyes at her co-worker's behaviour but didn't allow her displeased mind-set to get in the way of her grabbing a hold of the piece of paper her co-worker had left on top of a serving tray which listed all the drinks everyone wanted. Beers, of course, eight of them. Personally, Addy wasn't a huge fan of the drink, nor it's overwhelming stench, but it was something she'd had to get used to quickly considering the requirements of her career at the time. It only took her a few moments to get all the glasses prepared and ready, then she set off to the table, alone.

Of course, she made some precautions before approaching the table. She went through her usual ritual (created a year ago in order to keep herself calm and composed in stressful situations whenever Bucky wasn't around) of breathing in for four seconds, holding the air in her lungs for seven seconds before exhaling it through the stretch of eight seconds, repeating these actions three times or more as she'd learnt that it caused an autonomic nervous system shift from a sympathetic state to a parasympathetic response, meaning that the breathing exercise stopped her body from panicking and made her body and mind more soothed. That wasn't what really helped though, it was only the first step, the true cure to her anxiety was remembering James and the way she felt around him.

Always calm, always safe. Like not even God could touch her, certainly not a rampant group of mortal men. It wasn't just the assertion that Bucky would always protect her which blossomed the kind of courage a knight facing a dragon might need, it was also the sense he gave her that she had far more potential than she realised. He made her believe in herself and her own abilities. It was why she'd started to become so much more open with her co-workers. She still had a long way to go, but Addy knew it would have been an impossible stretch without James taking every step with her.

Keeping in mind that James believed in her so therefore she had to believe in herself, Addy filled the gap between where she was stood and the table full of rambunctious men, the strawberry blonde becoming immediately suffocated by what felt like hands roaming over every part of her, reaching underneath her clothes, wrapping around her throat. It appeared once everyone at the table turned to face her and eye her up. With shaking hands, she attempted to ignore all the attention being focused onto her whilst placing the drinks down on the two tables the soldiers had combined together. But those hands she felt over her body should have told her that they weren't going to let her get away that easily. "Oh, hello," one of the men closest to her greeted, "I haven't noticed you before."

"I, uh, I've got your drinks here." She felt like it would have been rude to not respond but she still didn't want to engage in a proper conversation with any of them, especially not the man at her side whose intentions were made very clear by the position his lips were resting in. She guessed it was supposed to be a smile meant for charming her but there was something wicked about the thin wiry line crooked on his oval face, the same way a barren tree at midnight loomed sinisterly outside a child's window.

"Aw, she's shy," the man beside her announced, bringing forth from the table a roar of condescending coos, the stranger proceeded to reach out a hand, wrapping his arm around her back so he could grab her waist tightly. The touch physically pained her, the groping motion like a jolt of electricity, far more tortuous than the exciting sparks which would flow through her body whenever James would touch her. The strawberry blonde had to bite down on her tongue to prevent the screeches begging to escape, her entire body going rigid and tense to stop her from lashing out at the customers. "There's no need to be shy around us, sweetheart," the stranger flirted and once more the table let out sounds of agreement.

"I'm not shy, I've just got other customers to see," Addy excused through gritted teeth, doing everything she could to keep her ardent emotions internal whilst also attempting to make her discomfort clear to them all. It felt like the line between being polite and being rude was invisible in that situation.

Her pushing him away only seemed to steel his determination more as his hand tightened around her waist, beginning to draw her even closer to his body, forcing Addy to hold onto the table so she wasn't tugged on to his lap. "Well, after you see to them how about you come back over here, I'd love to get to know you."

"Um, excuse me, can you please not do that?" Her words felt meagre, her voice barely loud enough to be heard over the music playing but it was like her anxiety was clutching her throat and squeezing it so tight barely anything could get out. She didn't know how to defend herself, as much as she wanted to.

Thankfully Addy didn't need to rise to the challenge in that moment, not then.

Something, or someone, took a hold of the hand still sealed around Addy's waist, breaking apart the locked grasp with ease before discarding the hand as though it held the same worth as a wet rag left to the wilderness, tainted by dirt and grime, it's use lost in the past. The strawberry blonde whipped her head around at the same time that the soldiers all turned, the nine people all moving in sync to stare at the new arrival. There were two differences between Addy and the soldiers, the first one being that Addy was looking to the man that had saved her with a gratefulness sparking in her eyes, unlike the hatred darkening the storm clouds in all the soldiers' eyes, and the second difference was that Addy was able to recognise the prince who had come to rescue her, the damsel in distress.

"Didn't your mother teach you how to respect a lady?" Bucky questioned the soldier who'd put his hand on his favourite strawberry blonde, all of his joking tone lost from his words as a storm, darker than any of the annoyance in the soldier's eyes, rumbled at the back of his throat, the thunder promising to bring with it lightning that would strike them all down.

"I don't think this conversation or what my Mama taught me is any of your business," the soldier spat back to Bucky, standing up and making the space even tighter for Addy.

Unconsciously Addy leaned closer to Bucky, welcoming his soft touch as he replaced the stranger's greedy clasp on her waist with a comforting hold of his own, acting as ice on a burn. It was so much better being able to feel his sense over simply imagining it. It overpowered every other sense because she allowed it to, refusing to acknowledge anything else. There was anger, of course, that was his present and though it did concern her, Addy always ended up searching for the one constant in the sense James gifted her. Even after knowing him for almost four years, it had remained, and she could never tell whether it came from his past, present or future. The strawberry blonde had long abandoned trying to figure it out, letting go of her desire to know everything for just a moment so she could experience untold warmth like the eternal flame all the God's hungered for. It was like a fullness, not just in her belly, but in every empty space both physically and metaphorically. It was euphoric, like the universe knitted into her bones and embers of galaxies transformed her irises into life. It was a connection deeper than any sense she'd felt before, like when connecting with him she found all the stardust remains that had gotten lost in her creation, perhaps if she wasn't blinded by the feeling of being whole, she would have questioned why he acted as some sort of fitting puzzle piece to her heart, and perhaps she would have also noticed that what he was to her, she was to him.

James did a suggestive tug on her waist, requesting that she move to stand at his side rather than between the two squabbling men. He hadn't needed to ask, once she'd moved to stand beside him, the brunet began to speak again, words swimming in malice. "It was my business last night, tell your 'Mama' I said hello."

There had been many occurrences in her life where Addy had seen her mother moving to hit her but never reacted, somewhere along the line she had become placated with the beatings, simply accepting they would happen and succumbing to the fear of the unknown results of what would happen if she didn't fight back. Yet in that moment, as Bucky finished his words and the soldier registered what had been said, when the soldier's arm began to rise, there was no doubt in her mind that she needed to leap into action to protect her friend despite never even being able to protect herself in the past. Without even thinking about her movements she stepped in between the two men once more and stretched one hand out to place it against each of the opposing males' chests, not quite sure how she would fight against him if he made to attack.

"Wait, please," Addy sounded, her words coming out as uncomfortable as she felt. "He didn't mean anything by it, he's clearly had too much to drink. Speaking of which, how does a free round sound to all of you?" It was a simple maths sprinkled with a dash of hope, they all clearly enjoyed the beer and they were only on their second round when usually they stayed for ten, so it was likely the offer of alcohol would calm them down.

The soldier's stare was fixed on Bucky who met it unaffected, Addy was actually quite grateful for it as at least the attention was no longer on her. "We'll take the drinks and him being kicked out of here, we're soldiers, fighting for your country, have more respect!" As the soldier shoved an arm into Bucky's chest the table let out another chorus of agreements, their mouths beginning to drip when Bucky responded by taking a step closer, ready to fight his opponent with all the confidence that he would win.

Addy turned back to face Bucky, pressing both of her hands against his chest to try and keep him from instigating some sort of fight that was far too much of a risk for the both of them, his life and her job both on the line (though of course one was deemed slightly more important). It was getting harder for Addy to keep a calm mind as panic slicked over her thoughts like oil. Her plan of free drinks hadn't worked and only encouraged more of the men to stand up and try to join the fight. There was no way Bucky would be able to combat all eight of the men even with her help. She had no fighting capabilities whatsoever. Things were starting to look grim as she was incapable of thinking up a plan and divorcing herself from her feelings which made it even more difficult for her to process her disarrayed thoughts.

"If we were kicking people out because of their behaviour, you guys would have been gone a long time ago." Their hero arrived with a skip in her step and a wave in her hips. "Luckily for you guys I like my men loud, now did my friend here say something about a free round? Why don't you go get that, Addy, and take your friend with you before any more fights occur?" Gladys looked over to the strawberry blonde and sent her a sour look which none of the patrons were able to see, showing that she didn't enjoy returning to such a mess when she'd left the customers in perfectly fine conditions. Addy returned the stare with an apologetic one, relieved that Gladys had stepped in when she did, saving her from having to watch as her best friend got beat up in an alleyway whilst she was too useless to do anything about it.

There was also anger. She tried to ignore it, but her perception on emotions was sometimes too clear so she felt the fizzle around her beating heart like simmering hot water. She shouldn't have been so defenceless, so useless, such a damn coward.

"Thanks," she mumbled to Gladys, not allowing even a second to pass before she'd grabbed a hold of the empty tray and Bucky's hand, making her way back to the bar. The strawberry blonde didn't even look at him until he was seated at the bar on the opposite side to her, his hands clasped together and his eyes cast downward, the grown man sat like a child waiting for punishment. "You're in big trouble," she commented as she slammed the first glass onto the tray, hard enough to make a sudden sound, gentle enough not to damage the glass.

Though he'd demonstrated guilt in his behaviour, Bucky tried to jump to his own defence, unclasping his hands and throwing them theatrically into the air, "how am I the one in trouble, I was just trying to protect you?"

Addy knew that fact so she was more lenient, unable to abandon her indignation completely as he'd cost her a lot of money. Of course she would have to be the one paying for all the beers. "Oh, careful, you're starting to sound like one of those soldiers."

"Ha," Bucky laughed falsely, making a statement rather than releasing a joyous chuckle. From behind them the group of men began to laugh boisterously making Bucky turn his head and sharpen his eyes.

Addy noticed his movements and sighed, "they weren't any harm, I could sense it." But he didn't believe her, which made a lot of sense as she had been lying.

"Addy, I know your mother always-"

"This has nothing to do with her," the strawberry blonde responded bitterly, immediately knowing where her friend was going with that particular sentence, the brunet most likely about to bring up how she didn't have to put up with people's ridiculous behaviour towards her, but she didn't need to hear it. Addy was well aware of the fact that she shouldn't have to deal with abrasive behaviour aimed towards her, that all it would take was curled fingers and sharp words to fight back, but that knowledge didn't stop her body from freezing every time she could feel emotions in a room turning to anything other than the usual glee. It was tiring, always having to fight against her body's instinct, Addy had thought Bucky had learnt to understand that part of her.

He did most of the time, all the time really, but sometimes it became frustrating watching her be demeaned by her own hands when he practically prayed at her alter every night. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought her up," James apologised, the guilt returning as she smashed another glass down on the tray.

"It's not like she's some topic to be avoided either though," she said defensively, not wanting Bucky to feel like he had to step around her. Addy liked the comfortable spot they'd found themselves in and didn't want it to disappear. He was the only one she'd allowed to get so near to her and from doing so she'd received limitless results, a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, the sense of being wanted, and the ability to return that. It had all helped her take steps towards becoming the person she wanted to be, no longer the tiny child in a tiny apartment packing a tiny bag, but a person with the ability to fit into a society that had always seemed so complicated. A person with the ability to have friends.

Bucky nodded in agreement with her, trying to recreate the safe space he'd created for her thus far by ridding his body of any signs of annoyance. It wasn't even her he was angered by, it was the soldiers, Addy's mother, all the men that had joined in with her mother's cruelties and anyone that turned a blind eye to the damage being done to her as a child. "Where is your mother now?" He asked, doing as Addy had suggested by staying on the topic of her mother whilst asking a question that wouldn't be too domineering for her to answer.

Gladys wandered over then, grabbing the tray Addy had filled with eight beers meant for the soldiers. She sent out another glare towards the pair for causing trouble where there was only supposed to be glee before retreating away. Bucky wasn't affected by the look, having figured out the waitress' distaste towards him early on in Addy's and his developing relationship. Of course, he hadn't been able to figure out the things Addy's sense had told her. Like how Gladys' dislike for the man came from a place of jealousy, the spoilt waitress angered by the fact that she wasn't the centre of attention to everyone in the bar anymore. Addy was only supposed to be in the background making her job easier, like a shadow.

Addy sent her co-worker another grateful smile though Gladys hadn't bothered looking back at her after sending a swift and effective glare Bucky's way. Once the waitress had made her next exit - returning to the table and immediately beginning to flirt with them all, choosing to stand closest to the one who had earlier grabbed at Addy - the strawberry blonde turned back to face her friend, sending him a lazy shrug. "Last I checked, in Europe with someone called Romeo."

He let out a laugh before speaking, and Addy knew exactly what he was going to say as it was a joke she'd already said to Alice when she found out, it was too easy of a joke not to make. "Has she started calling herself Juliet yet?" He quipped proudly, believing himself to be original.

Addy tried her best not to roll her eyes too obtusely, "of course." It wasn't a lie as she was able to recall her mother's last postcard clearly:

Hello Adelaine, not that you ever ask, but I'm doing fine, Romeo is treating me well (I now have a beautiful diamond ring on my finger and a necklace to match) and he's taken to calling me his Juliet. I love him very much. From Mommy x

The postcards were all the same, her mother showing off about her life and taking no interest in her daughter's, Addy had gotten into the routine of only ever skimming them before throwing them into the bin. If she bothered to give it all of her attention then Addy would only start taking more hurtful meaning from every word used, drawing conclusions from invisible connotations that her mother had never intended to create.

"She does know that the story ends in death, right?" Bucky continued to joke.

Addy cocked her head to the side and Bucky would have been lying if he said he was unaware of the movement, all of her quirks had been memorised by him including the way she'd always cock her head when she was trying to make a sarcastic statement. She was adorable. "I don't think she can read, to be honest."

"Well, everyone has their faults," Bucky noted.

"Some more than others," Addy made a little dig but it was made a little less harmful by the small smile contorting her lips, making her teeth appear.

He held up his hands, smiling back, "okay, look, I'm sorry, I'll give you the money back."

Noticing that Gladys was beginning to side-eye her, Addy took that as a sign that she needed to start doing more work and start doing less chatting with her best friend. Luckily for her, Alice had left some glasses to dry on the side so she grabbed a rag and began drying them manually. "You need to get the money first."

She expected him to return with some guilty response like he had after their fiftieth not-date when he'd been unable to pay for his own food and drink, saying then that he would pay her back as well but he'd been struggling to find a job that would last more than a few months so she hadn't actually expected him to. The not-dates had lessened since that moment as money was becoming more of a struggle to achieve for all three of their little posse, Addy was the only one lucky enough to have a secure job because the person who owned the bar was her best friend and pseudo-mother.

"Well, I just so happened to get employed the other day, I'm good for my money now," he announced, bouncing in his seat slightly as though he'd been waiting to let that information slip for quite a while and now that it was out in the open his excitement was only building.

The reveal had gained Addy's full attention for a short moment, her hand that was rubbing the side of a pint glass pausing as she looked to him raising both of her eyebrows. "What job is it?" The tone of her voice had been completely accidental, it had only meant to be an enquiry but all the words came out blistered with surprise and a little bit of disbelief.

"Well there's no need to say it like that, it's nothing shocking, I've had plenty of jobs." He fell back limply in his seat, his bottom lip escaping so he could send a pout her way that hit her bluntly in the heart, like a log battering ram into her chest.

"That's the thing James, you've had plenty of jobs," she argued, not meaning to insult him further, only trying to justify her earlier incredulity. "So, what is it? Office? Bar? Garbage?"

"Field work," he answered plainly.

"Like, a farmer?" Addy continued to pursue and really the brunet shouldn't have been so surprised by her behaviour, he'd known her inability to not let things go when she was curious and seeking out the truth, her perseverance the most formidable thing about her, Bucky had simply hoped that for once she might not want to know something.

"I'm not here to talk about my job," he responded, having no other choice but to not-so-subtly change the subject in order to save the particular conversation of his new job for a later date. Her eyebrows set in a straight line as she became even more eager to find out the truth, but Bucky's behaviour changed too, he sat straighter in his seat and avoided her eyes, forcing a wide smile meant to disguise his fidgety disposition. "I'm here to tell you that I've found Steve another date."

"But he doesn't want a date, in fact, the last time we went on a date- I mean, he went on a date and we were also there, um, that last time, he yelled at you for making him go on another. All he wants right now is to go to war and fight and be an idiot." Addy's views on Steve had been like a rollercoaster, the two really could never get on like a house on fire but neither of them actually gave the friendship a chance. Steve was always being protective of Bucky, trying to make sure that Addy didn't break his already chipped heart, whilst Addy was just shy and didn't really know how to approach someone who gave off the sense that Steve did. He was kind, she knew that, but he always seemed to be holding a dagger and it always seemed to be pointed in her direction. Then when the war came about and the news of Steve's desperation to join the army and do something came about, Addy's distaste for him grew, her mind unable to comprehend any reason why a person would want to go and join such a violent event. She also didn't like the idea of any of her friends joining the war, she didn't want Steve to go and waste his life, and she didn't want Bucky to go either, thankfully he'd showed no signs of wanting to join after she'd given him her explanation on why it was the stupidest possible thing a person could do (it was important to note though that after she had told him, the brunet had gone deadly silent).

"He doesn't want a date, but he seriously needs a date," Bucky argued back, ignoring her request to stop setting dates for Steve not for the first time. If he stopped setting up dates for his best friend then that would also mean no longer having the opportunity to go hang out with her in romantic settings.

She began to shake her head, looking down and deciding this conversation topic required a more serious mind-set so she put down her dry glass as well as the rag, resting both hands on the bar and staring deeply into Bucky's eyes. "You're really not listening James, what he needs is for you to stop meddling in his romantic life."

"Bucky," he corrected, "and come on Addy, I promise he'll like this one. She's a real spitfire this one, the exact same as Steve."

"That's not a good thing!" She immediately clamped her hand over her mouth, not meaning to raise her voice so much but thankfully Gladys and the soldiers were being so loud themselves that none of them seemed to notice her frustrated outburst. Lowering her voice to a quieter octave she started to speak once more, "you're supposed to be some sort of connoisseur of women, you should know better. Steve needs a woman that can stop him from making stupid decisions. Like how I do for you."

His heart fluttered as she recognised the benefit she did for him, normally her scarred self-esteem would cause her to believe that he only ever did things for her, so it was nice to see her identify something she did for him without him having to tell her whilst arguing against her aforementioned self-hatred. "Well, I think this girl is still worth a try," he nodded his head assertively with his words.

"Fine," she sighed, "but it's your funeral."

"You sure it's not our funeral?" He leaned forward, finally revealing the purpose of his visit and he didn't look at all guilty for the way he'd curved the conversation to reach that particular point. When she stared at him blankly it only made his perseverance even more ferocious, he raised his hands once more, gesticulating as he provided his first argument that he'd of course prepared beforehand. Trying to go on not-dates with Addy had certainly helped him exercise his plotting abilities. "You've gone on every other date, why is this one any different?"

"Because I'm as tired as Steve is, we've been on hundreds by now and not one of them has stuck. Gladys still hasn't forgiven me for that night." A shiver shimmied down her entire body as she remembered that night which occurred exactly eleven months ago. She was surprised that Steve had even managed to forgive Bucky after the train wreck that was Gladys and Steve's first (and last) date, it had literally ended in a fire.

Bucky held out both palms in a stopping motion. "Okay, but, wouldn't you rather be there to make sure that this girl is actually a good match for Steve? Plus, it means you'll get to spend more time with me, huh? I know you couldn't possibly turn down that offer. What do you say?"

Addy had realised along the way that Bucky was pretty good at bargaining and arguing to get what he wanted, making winning a very difficult achievement. There wasn't much about Bucky that she disliked, but that was certainly one of the things on her list. Even if she did manage to make it through all of his points he'd prepared the night before, he'd end up just using the puppy-dog eyes and they made her even more weak than any debate he could bring up, it was what she liked to call his 'ultimate weapon', only ever to be used during emergencies. And as he'd made his points in that moment, she could see his blue eyes begin to widen and sparkle. He was persistent and cheeky, a very bad mix, the kind of overpowered mix that guaranteed victory, at least when facing Addy who constantly just wanted to make him happy.

"I say, that you're a meatball," it wasn't full surrender, she was far too proud of herself to do such a thing but the answer was still clear from her words. She'd given up the battle, placed her weapons down and kneeled on the floor, he was the winner.

"And you're an absolute doll!" He cheered, immediately leaning over the table to attach a peck on the top of her forehead. Both of them paused at the abrupt motion, the act (even though simple) had never been performed before for either of them, but it had been a burst of emotion that carried Bucky's body like torrential waves would, he'd really had no control over his actions. In his mind, the action was always something inevitable because he'd always wanted to do it, heck, he'd wanted to do a lot more than just kiss her on the forehead. And for Addy, she was surprised by it but not displeased. His touch had become less foreign to her. Every bit of contact still brought with it a burst of emotion like a newborn star created in her veins but it had stopped scaring her so much. There was the primal fear before any act, but enduring it always ended up being more different. She liked the small gesture.

But because of her body freezing and her brain trying to process what had happened step-by-step, Bucky wasn't able to read whether or not there had actually been any joy in what he'd did so he stumbled backwards into his seat, his hands falling awkwardly down into his lap so they weren't anywhere near Addy. "It's at the end of the week, and we'll be going to Stark's Expo which I think you'll actually really enjoy, it's got science and… stuff." He listed everything quickly, throwing things messily together in a string of words so they'd be able to move on swiftly.

"Sounds amazing," Addy responded, not really knowing what she was calling amazing as it was hard to tell what Bucky was pointing out as the most exciting part. She did like 'science and... stuff' though. "Alright, you sit and wait here whilst I go into the basement for a quick minute." Addy didn't actually have anything to do in the basement, she just needed to calm down her heart again so that she'd be able to talk to him without stumbling over her words, she figured James needed the same courtesy as well.

As the strawberry blonde turned and began to leave, Bucky looked down and laughed at his own behaviour, though it was always slightly cringe-inducing it was always amazing whenever Addy was able to make him so nervous, she was the only one who'd ever been able to do such a thing to his courageous exterior. It's why he was so sure in the following statement he made, one he couldn't resist saying despite her having already left to the back room: "I'll always wait for you."

As Addy began to step down into the basement she was met by Alice who was returning from changing a barrel beneath the bar. "Is Bucky here?" She asked, sure that she'd seen the familiar love-sick brunet wandering into the bar before she'd left to replace the barrel. Addy nodded, biting down on her lip as she was reminded of the kiss on the head she'd received from him. "Of course he is, I don't even need to ask do I?" Alice chuckled, referring to the fact that he was in the bar almost every night so that he could see Addy.

The strawberry blonde heard the suggestion in her friend's voice and immediately moved to dismiss it, "we're just friends Alice."

"Of course you are," she responded, her tone dismissing and the smile on her face a beacon of proof that she didn't believe Addy's words. The strawberry blonde sighed, pushing her way past her boss to get further into the basement where she could be alone for a few moments. It was hard for someone like her, someone who didn't believe in love and romance and the fluttering of hearts, to deal with the responses she always got whenever Bucky did things like that, because they always showed her she was wrong.

A/N: HELLO EVERYONE! I have good news, I should be starting to update twice a week now with the help of the AMAZING OfSeashellsandStars who has become my beta. I was aiming to update wednesday but work and sleep are things I sadly must do now. But yeah, the days I'm AIMING for are Wednesday's and Sunday's, so keep an eye out :)

To LoveFiction2019, that's totally understandable though, there's a lot that goes on in TCIS, I can't even remember what part two was about ;)

To Assbitch67, I KNOWWWWW I WANT TO WRITE THEM BEING FLUFFY BUT I CAAAAAAAAANNNN'T! DAMN PLOT! I miss Mia too, but hey, we've got like three months before she returns! ONLY THREE MONTHS!

To OfSeashellsandStars, thank you for both your kind words and being hella helpful with beta-ing!

And a big thank you to everyone that just read the chapter!