Chapter 28: Bad Fishing Analogies

It wasn't that Dominic was a bad guy, not really. He just talked too much during movies. And got too rowdy at the pub. And considered everyone's food his own. And interrupted Mika whenever she was talking. It was the last one that pissed Bucky off more than anything.

It started out slow - he'd be there one weekend night, maybe two. He was always gone by Monday. But then he started coming around on Thursday nights, and not leaving until Monday. And then, it seemed like he was there more often than he was not. The good thing was, at least they seemed to have adjust their schedules so that he no longer heard anything explicit through the walls. Except for, of course, the intermittent arguing. He'd been putting off learning how to use the music application on his cell phone, but with the drama going next door, he made quick work of it. Once he was sure the fighting never turned physical, he figured he should give them their privacy.

Hans and Elena, of course, continued to voice their concerns loudly and often. And he understood where they were coming from, somewhat. But Mika was also voicing her concerns, most of which seemed to be how upset her friends were with her. It hurt her, he realized, that they were not supportive of whatever this relationship was. And the less supportive they were, the more time she spent with Dominic. He didn't understand why they didn't see this vicious cycle. So even though he really didn't like Dominic, he did like Mika, so he tried his best to spend time with them. Drama did not concern him. He had few friends in this world, and wanted to maintain them.

Across the apartment, his phone buzzed on the countertop. It was a longer vibration than usual (thank God Mika had finally turned off the ringer), meaning someone was actually calling him for once. Very few people had his number, and even fewer called. It was all about these text messages nowadays, apparently. Nicoletta's name shone from the screen, which surprised him; usually if she contacted him, it was either to show him a picture of a cute animal, or to ask him to tell Mika to answer her phone. With his brows furrowed, he swiped the screen to answer it.

"Hello?" he said, trying to control his heart rate and breathing. Just because she was calling instead of texting did not mean there was something wrong.

"Hello, darling! How are you?" she sang in German. As affectionate as Mika was, her sister was even more so. He smiled, even though she couldn't see him; he barely remembered his own younger sister, but he liked to think that she was as sweet as Nicoletta.

"Good, dearest. And you? Is everything okay?" he couldn't stop himself from asking, his brain switching as he used the other language. If something was amiss, he needed to know immediately so he could rectify the situation.

"Well, I was hoping you could tell me that." she said, her tone hesitant. It made him more nervous. "Mika's mentioned Dominic a time or two recently. I assume you've met him?"

"I have." Bucky said lowly, and he was unable to hide the distaste in his voice. He was hoping he could at least keep his tone neutral, but he couldn't hide his true feelings from her. She made an understanding noise.

"Right. So I have to ask, is Mika okay? Things have been busy the past few weeks so we've been playing telephone tag. I'm just, you know, worried is all." she explained, chattering away. It seemed the rambling was a Corsof family trait.

"Nothing seems terribly wrong." he responded, trying to keep everything neutral. The last thing he wanted was to somehow turn Mika's sister against her as well. "Hans and Elena are not happy."

"Has Elena told you the whole story? I'd be surprised if she hadn't." she asked, and from her voice he could tell the 'whole story' wasn't pretty.

"She's given me the highlights." he answered. He expected Nicoletta to know just as much information about the relationship as Elena, but he did not want to take the chance at divulging anything that was supposed to be kept in confidence. Besides, Mika's business was her own. He would not go spreading rumors; he would present the only truth he had first hand. Mika had been quieter than before, and her smiles didn't seem as bright. She was late almost every Saturday morning, seeming tired and hungover. He knew she liked to go out and partake, but when he saw her in the pub now it didn't look like she was having fun, especially after seeing how joyful she was on her birthday. "I cannot speak to if things are different this time, but I do know she seems different than before he returned."

Nicoletta heaved a heavy sigh, and in his mind's eye he could see the sad expression on her face. "Every time I think she's finally let him go, he somehow finds his way to weasel back into her life."

"If everyone thinks he's so horrible, why does she go back to him?" he asked, finally vocalizing the question that had been plaguing him for weeks. He couldn't trust Elena or Hans' opinions; they were too hot-headed, too dramatic. And while Nicoletta was certainly in tune with her emotions, he felt he could trust her opinion. Plus, she probably knew Mika the best out of all of them.

She gave a dry laugh before responding. "You'll have to ask her, I can never get a straight answer."

"What's your hypothesis, then?" he questioned further. Now that he was talking to her, his curiosity was piqued. This time, her laugh was an amused one.

"It's still gossip, even if you use the word 'hypothesis.'" she said, still giggling. He rolled his eyes, but remembered she couldn't see him. Luckily, she continued with her answer. "I honestly don't think she means to. I think she thinks it's gonna be just a nice catching-up, or a one time thing. But he can be charming and funny when he wants to be...as well as a little bit manipulative. And she knows better, she does. But sometimes it's easy to fall in with what's familiar."

He thought of his habits before he met Mika, how he had the same schedule and regiment every day. He was so resistant to her friendship at first, so averse to changing his routine. He could certainly understand sticking with what was familiar. He hadn't considered it with interpersonal relationships, but it made sense. You stuck with the people you knew. After all, he knew he used to get into fights all the time for Steve, who had been like a brother to him. Granted, Steve was not a rude and insufferable jackass, but Bucky could understand the sentiment all the same.

"That makes sense." he conceded, figuring that would be the end of the conversation. But Nicoletta proved him wrong.

"What we need to do is find her someone better." she said, which confused him. Why was it their job to find her a romantic partner? The choice was ultimately up to her. "You know, someone funny and smart and who treats her right. Someone who will support her and love her like she deserves."

"You are aware I have approximately two and a half friends besides you, right?" he said lowly, and though he phrased it as a joke, he was very serious about it. Mika and Hans were his friends; Elena...it varied by the day. And how much alcohol she'd had. Nicoletta gave a loud sigh on the phone.

"Dumbass." she said before laughing at her own joke. He gave a low chuckle as well.

"You're not the first one to call me that recently." he said, though he still didn't understand what they meant by it. He didn't ruminate on it long, as he figured they would explain it to him one of these days. Or, he may just let it go as one of life's great mysteries.

"Seems there's a running theme in that building then." she said, and he figured she was referring to her sister. "Alright, well, I'll stop bothering you about Mika's love life. Please look after her for me, won't you?"

"Of course I will. Are you visiting soon?" he asked. The question came easily, and he didn't even feel like he was having to pretend to be polite.

"Not until the end of November, so just another what, six weeks?" she replied. "Oh! I found this wonderful new coffee the other day. I'll bring you some, you must try it."

"I look forward to it." he said with a laugh. Nicoletta was always so excited about life. How he wished to have her positivity. "Have a good day."

"You too!" she replied. They exchanged goodbyes and he ended the call, staring at his phone for a moment longer afterwards. If even Nicoletta (the most positive person he knew) was worried, perhaps he should be a little more wary, a little more concerned. He'd been sitting on the sidelines when it came to Dominic, but perhaps it was time for him to become a little more active in this scenario. Hans and Elena certainly meant well, but Nicoletta? He trusted her more than either of them. And if she had a bad feeling about Dominic, then he would listen to her.

The conversation followed him the rest of the day, and he found himself almost hoping that the two of them would come to the pub that night. All the observation he'd done over the past month or two told him the relationship was dysfunctional at best, but it didn't seem harmful. Then again, he wasn't exactly an expert on relationships these days. His shift seemed to go slower today, and he was frustrated that he couldn't pick out their voices amongst the many out on the floor. When the clock finally ticked past ten, he quickly cleaned and organized everything for the next day, leaving the packages of leftovers for himself and Hans in the refrigerator. He filled his cup of coffee, and with a sense of a mission he stepped out into the pub.

The usual suspects were in their corner, the conversation more lively than usual. He slipped through the crowd, glad that Elena spotted him and moved over in the booth, giving him room to sit across from the subjects in question. Everyone made their hellos as he joined them, and the momentary warmth at the welcome distracted him from the matter at hand. Mika even reached across the table, squeezing his fingers and giving him an affectionate smile despite the glare from Dominic. Oddly, Alexei was also giving her a suspicious look from the corner of his eye. He filed that tidbit away for later.

"Bucky, mate, we have excellent news." Jonas said, reaching across Elena and clapping him on the shoulder.

"Maria's finally realized that she deserves better?" he quipped, settling into the seat as the laughter ran around the table.

"No!" he replied, as if his joke wasn't funny. Maria patted his arm in a consoling manner, and Bucky noticed a new piece of jewelry shimmering on her hand.

"Well Bucky, you already turned me down, so I'm afraid I had to settle for him." she said, laughing at her own joke as Jonas tried and failed to shake her off his arm. He then turned his sights on Bucky.

"That's rude, but I'll ignore it, because we're getting married!" he said, no longer able to hide the grin on his face or the excitement in his voice. Maria's smile was massive as well, and she took a moment to kiss his cheek as their friends cheered again. Bucky smiled, lifting his coffee in a toasting gesture towards them.

"Congratulations. Every happiness to you two." he said, taking a sip from his drink before setting it on the table.

"It's on New Year's Eve, so make sure you clear your schedule." Maria said, giving him a stern look and a wag of her finger. He held up his hands in defense.

"I don't know. I'm very busy and social. You know this." he replied, earning a laugh from the couple.

"Well pencil us in, we'd love to have you there." Jonas added, and Bucky nodded in response. New Year's Eve was still a couple months away; he either had enough time to ready himself for a wedding, or to think of a good excuse to get out of it. The chatter resumed amongst the friends, and he was glad to have the attention moved away from him. He moved his eyes at random between everyone at the table, pretending to be interested in the conversation. Mika was actually participating, but Dominic kept talking over her, even more so than usual. He watched as it kept happening over and over until she was talking less and less. This wasn't the first time he'd noticed this, but it was the first time it seemed so obvious. He wondered if anyone else saw it too.

"Think that could be us someday?" Dominic murmured to Mika, so quiet that Bucky could only hear it thanks to his advanced senses. He gestured over to Jonas and Maria, where Maria was admiring her new hardware. Bucky couldn't stop his eyes from flitting over to them, looking away as soon as he spotted Mika looking at him. From his periphery, he could see her smile, though her body did not display amusement.

"Not hardly." she said, her tone very dry. He moved sharply away from her for a moment, and it was killing Bucky not to look directly at them.

"What?" he asked, and while he tried to sound hurt, Bucky was not sure it sounded genuine. She sighed, shaking her head.

"Let's not talk about this right now." she said. Even her voice didn't sound as lively as it once did, but perhaps he was just imagining that. Dominic moved closer, putting his arm around her shoulders and his face close to her. Since he was using his peripheral vision, he couldn't tell if his lips were at her ear or her neck.

"We could go home then…'talk' about it." he said, his tone suggestive and his sentence left hanging with an unspoken question. Mika shrugged him off, moving away from him and pushing his chest with her hand.

"Stop it. We're here to celebrate Jonas and Maria." she said lowly, and he could tell that she was irritated. Dominic did not heed her mood, instead trying to move close to her again.

"Exactly. We can go and celebrate love and happiness and-" she interrupted him by pushing him away again. Dominic paused, and Bucky actually held his breath as he waited for his response. He leaned towards her once more. "C'mon, love, don't be like this-"

She pushed him again. "Stop. It's not about us right now. Besides, I need to go to bed at a decent hour, I have to get up early tomo-"

"Right, right, you have to get up early for your precious gym time." he said, his exasperation briefly shining through before he covered it up again. He smiled, smoothing his face into its usual charming facade. "If that's the case, all the more reason for us to leave now."

He could see her resolve waning, but not because she wanted to go. It seemed more like she just wanted him to quit pestering her, and leaving was the only option she could see. This was it. This was when he needed to step in, intervene. Sure, it had been over seventy years since he'd been in any sort of relationship, but he knew she wasn't just playing a game or flirting. She did not want to go, but she was tiring of saying no. She needed outside assistance, reinforcements. He knew plenty of men like Dominic, back in the day. And there was only one way to distract them from women - free alcohol.

"Next round is on me. Shots?" he said, standing up and looking for affirmation from each person in turn. They all agreed with much enthusiasm, though Mika gave him a curious look. Jonas and Maria requested vodka, which he absolutely abhorred, but would stomach for the sake of saving Mika's night. He went to the bar, asking Hans for an entire bottle and eight shot glasses. The bartender gave him an odd look, slowly pulling out what he requested. "What?"

"What's your plan here?" he asked in return, though he continued to place everything on a tray for him. He'd never seen Hans so suspicious of him. He gave a nonchalant shrug, though his nerves were buzzing and his mind whirring as he tried to plan for every possible outcome. He was trained to adapt during missions, but flying blind like this was not ideal. It would have to do.

"Not sure yet." he replied honestly, picking up the tray and bringing it back to the table. He was met with more sounds of jubilation as he arrived and passed out the glasses, breaking open the bottle and pouring the round.

"But you hate vodka." Mika pointed out as he filled the glass in front of her. He shrugged, prepared to answer that it was for Jonas and Maria, not him. Of course, Dominic had to get his two cents in first.

"That's just cause he's a little bitch." he said in a matter-of-fact manner. The table was quiet for a moment, surprised at his aggression. Dominic wanted to believe that he was in charge, and if Bucky pushed back too hard, then things would get out of hand. Yes, he knew exactly what kind of man he was. And exactly how to handle him.

"Lived off vodka and potatoes for a couple months once. Haven't cared for it since." he said, raising his glass and shifting the attention before he could respond. "To Jonas and Maria."

The group echoed a 'cheers' before taking back the shot. Bucky bit back a grimace; he hadn't had vodka since 1988, and after tonight he was never going to have it again. He lounged against the back of the booth. Of course, the vodka would have no effect on him besides mild annoyance, but Dominic didn't need to know that.

"Figured you're a bit of a lightweight. We never see you drink anything but coffee." he remarked. Good, his attention was away from Mika. Step one complete. Now to keep his attention.

"Alcohol doesn't do much for me." he said with a shrug, gazing cooly at him. It was technically the truth. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mika staring at him, but he didn't dare look away from her companion. He needed him to take the bait.

"Well, let's have another then." he said, leaning forward and filling the two glasses in front of them before offering the bottle around. Their friends mostly all declined, and Bucky could see that most of them felt uneasy. Alexei was the only one who accepted another shot.

"Maybe let's not." Mika said, laying her hand on Dominic's wrist. He shook it off. Good, he was biting.

"It's just one more." he said, his eyes going to Bucky. There was a glint of a challenge behind them. Bring it on. "Unless you think your BFF here can't handle it."

Bucky let his eyes shift over to Mika at that point. He couldn't tell if her expression was confused or intrigued - or perhaps it was annoyed, and he just wasn't reading it correctly. She kept her eyes on his as she said confidently, "I'm sure he'll be just fine." The corner of her mouth quirked up in a smirk, and as he grinned back at her, it felt like it did before Dominic arrived. Dominic looked between him and Mika, and his expression showed that he clearly did not like this exchange. Bucky picked up the glass in front of him and held it up for a moment before downing its contents. His annoyance grew; vodka was the worst. Dominic gave him a triumphant smirk, and he replied with another shrug. He was not the one who would be having trouble in the morning.

Bucky leaned over and asked Jonas and Maria a question about the wedding planning, effectively turning the conversation back to them. And while Dominic kept his eyes on him, at least the rest of their friends were enjoying their time again. The bottle of vodka stood proudly on the table between them, its contents slowly diminishing as Dominic kept up the unspoken challenge. Each time the glass in front of him filled, Bucky easily drank it, his attention never faltering from the other people at the table. And while he sat, dutifully socializing, his opponent became drunker and drunker. His exclamations that were loud an hour ago were now slurred mumbles, and he couldn't hide the anger in his eyes as his competitor appeared to be fine. But as Dominic got more upset, he noticed Mika did as well. She kept trying to stop him from pouring more, but he shrugged her off and ignored her protests. She looked to Bucky to stop as well, but how could he? If he stopped, then Dominic would want to leave, and the whole point was to give Mika this time with her friends.

"Okay seriously, that's enough." Elena chimed in as Dominic went to reach for the bottle again, his hand falling short. It took a moment for his eyes to find her, and another few moments for him to scoff.

"We gotta have a winner." he slurred, and next to him Mika's face turned red in embarrassment. Elena leaned against the table, her expression beyond annoyed.

"You've lost." she said shortly, her patience beyond thin. Mika pressed her lips together, her gaze falling to her lap. She was uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. For the first time that night, Bucky realized his plan may not have been a good one. Dominic let out a loud pfft noise, his spit spattering across the table.

"Not technically." he said slowly. Mika put her hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe we should leave now." she said quietly, trying to be discreet. He threw her hand off of him, his eyes half closed and his face slack for a moment as the dizziness hit.

"I don't wanna leave." he said in a childish manner. He tried to lean close to her, but instead collapsed against her. She made a disgusted face, pushing him upright again as he stage whispered, "I'm this close to winning."

"Here. Let me end this." Bucky said, reaching for the bottle. Mika gave him a hard look.

"Bucky…" she said, a warning in her tone. He gave her a half smile, trying to show that everything was going to be okay. Her expression did not change. He filled the glass in front of Dominic, who looked like he was going to be sick just by looking at it. Then, instead of filling his own glass, he lifted the bottle straight to his lips and drained the last third of it, his eyes never leaving the man's across the table from him. Dominic's jaw dropped as he watched, his disbelief evident and Bucky lightly sat the bottle back on the table. He was quiet for a long moment before saying,

"I think I'm going to throw up." He got up, stumbling around the pub before he found the front door. Bucky looked from the closing door across the table to Mika, but she did not look happy, or grateful. No, her expression was pissed, and maybe a little disappointed.

"Thank you. Now I get to go deal with that." she said shortly, sliding out from the booth and going outside. Bucky was confused; he'd gotten her what she wanted. She wanted Dominic distracted, and she wanted to stay with her friends. But as his sensitive ears picked up the sounds from outside, he realized that he may not have considered the long term ramifications of his actions.

"My new hero." Elena said, patting his back and grinning. He turned to her, wincing slightly.

"I may have fucked up." he confessed, making her burst out laughing.

"Oh, you did, royally. But it was worth it to make that asshole suffer." she replied. With Dominic gone, the air around the table felt lighter, and Bucky realized how much they disliked the man. They all loved Mika, but did not make a move to go help her outside. With a sigh, he stood up from the booth, confusing Elena. "Wait, where are you going?"

"To clean up my mess." he replied with a heavy sigh, leaving them and going out the front door. Dominic and Mika were a half a block away, with him leaning against a lamp post and vomiting onto the pavement while she rubbed his back in a comforting manner, even though her face was turned away so as to not see or smell the situation in front of her. He purposefully allowed his boots to make noise on the pavement, alerting her to his arrival. She turned to him, and when she saw who it was, her face hardened into an angry expression.

"Come out for round two? Maybe with everclear this time?" she asked coldly. Oh yea, he messed up big time. He felt his cheeks warm, the heat creeping up the back of his neck as well as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at the concrete. He deserved that.

"Came to help." he said quietly. She positively swelled in anger, her eyes so fiery that he actually took a step back.

"Help?!" she exclaimed. Next to her, Dominic tried to sit down precisely where he'd been sick moments before. She grabbed him by his shirt, directing him to the other side of the lamppost. She made sure he was seated and leaning against the metal pole before rounding on him again, marching up to him and crossing her arms over her chest. "What were you thinking, Bucky? Can you - oh my god - can you even get drunk?"

"Technically, no." he admitted. He didn't know why he was surprised that she put two and two together; with his regenerative capabilities, the alcohol was metabolized too quickly for him to feel its effects. It was one of the worst part of his enhancements, if he was honest. Her eyes somehow got even wider, even more burning.

"Then why would you start that? You knew exactly what you were doing - I knew exactly what you were doing. You were the one-" she paused, suddenly choking on her words for a moment. Her eyes were glassy in the moonlight, and he felt like a Bowie knife was shoved between his ribs and he realized he was making her cry. Again. "You were the one person that was still on my side. I needed you, I was counting on you. And you…"

"You didn't want to go." he pointed out, though his excuse sounded feeble even to his own ears. He was the most feared assassin in the past century, and Mika had reduced him to a scolded child.

"What?" she asked, her voice quiet and disbelieving. It was in this moment that he feared he had screwed up beyond repair.

"You didn't want to go with him, didn't want to…" this time he was the one leaving the sentence hanging, as he couldn't very well admit that he could overhear his horrendous attempts at seducing her earlier. He saw the muscles clench in her jaw as she shut her eyes for a moment, trying to control her anger.

"I appreciate your concern, but that is between him and I." she said, her voice cold. This wasn't like her at all, and it made him uneasy. This was not what was supposed to happen. This was not how this was supposed to go. He shifted his weight, trying to recover in any way.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to look out for you." he said, his voice quiet. Wrong thing to say.

"'Look out for me'? Well thank you for that, Bucky, because now I get to spend my night either trying to get him to his apartment, or taking him to the hospital for alcohol poisoning." she spat out. She was sensitive, defensive. He hadn't taken that into account earlier, hadn't considered how Dominic's state would affect her. The last time he'd miscalculated this badly, he had been punished severely. And while physical torture was not eminent from this interaction, the pain in his chest was almost as bad.

"Let me help." he said, gesturing towards the man slumped against the post. He wanted to apologize again, but knew that it would do them no good. She held up a hand, effectively staying his movements. A couple tears slid onto her cheeks, and she brushed them away angrily.

"I think you've helped enough tonight, Bucky." she said lowly, her voice wavering with emotions. "You can go now."

He stood there for a long moment, but she turned away from him and went to check on Dominic. The other man was either groaning or crying, Bucky couldn't tell. With a sigh, he took off walking back towards their apartments, leaving her behind despite every instinct telling him to stay. She did not want him there, did not want his help. You've helped enough. He'd gotten too cocky, thinking he finally understood social cues and mores. But he did not know enough.

The next morning, Mika wasn't late for their time at the gym. She didn't show up at all.


Oooooh man. This one hurt to write, honestly. I hope y'all liked this chapter, cause it was definitely a tougher one to write for me (what can I say, I thrive on fluff and struggle with conflict). Thank you so so so much to everyone who took a moment to fave or review, I really can't express how much I love and want to hear your thoughts on this story!

Happy Birthday to Steve Rogers! Speaking of which, if you also adore Steve Rogers, you should check out the story Reality in Motion by notcarlsjr. It's my fave Steve story, and is also a wonderful slow burn. Have at it!

Thank you again for reading, please let me know what you thought!

-XM