Alright y'all, here's the next chapter. Bit of an emotional roller coaster, but who doesn't need a little drama every now and then, eh?
Disclaimer: You know the drill!
After breakfast, Mila and Natasha were in the training room, Bucky nearby and occasionally offering tips.
"Not bad, Sparrow." Natasha was mildly impressed with how well Mila was able to keep up with her. "Honestly I'd expected you to be further behind after your little vacation."
Mila blocked three hits from Nat, cracking a half smile. "Not sure if that can be considered a vacation."
"Did you take the leap?" Pulling back, Nat gave the dirty blonde a little room to breathe as she tried to process the question.
"The leap?" Blue eyes glanced over at Bucky before she realized what Natasha meant. "Oh, you mean after a long, strenuous jog through the jungle, did I jump off a cliff? Yep, yes I did. That… was an interesting day." Catching Bucky's temple flare, Mila grinned.
The doors across the room opened, and Mila turned to see Steve entering the room, Candy trotting behind him.
"Oh my God, Candy?!" Hurrying over to her friend, Mila enveloped Candice in a tight hug, shaking with excitement.
"Surprise!" Candy pulled away and looked her friend up and down. "Mija, you look…" Her voice trailed off.
"I know, don't worry. I'm fine, and Nat is determined to kick my ass until I'm back in shape." This earned her a nod of approval before she stepped aside and looked back at Natasha. "What is she doing here, though?"
"She's our unassuming special guest!"
Before anyone could react, Bucky chortled, causing all eyes to fall on him.
"You can't be serious." He was startled by the look of shock from Mila, allowing himself to glance between the others before his gaze settled on Natasha. "She's a civilian. I thought you were bringing in someone with formal combat training." He looked at Candy, who stood with her hands on her hips and pursed lips. "Honestly, what have you had, a kickboxing class or something?"
Steve stifled a chuckle while Mila hissed at Bucky, but Candy suddenly grinned.
"Yeah, I took a class or two. I might even remember what I learned, if you want to see?" She moved to the middle of the mat, raising a brow.
Bucky caught the knowing look in Steve's eyes, but moved towards the dark-haired woman nonetheless. "I think I have an unfair advantage."
Candy nodded, looking down at her feet as she seemed to struggle to find her position. "Yeah, I mean, am I even putting my feet correctly?" When Bucky moved toward her to show her how to fix her footing, she landed three hard blows to his chest, stunning him. The fourth blow was blocked by his metal arm, and he stared down at her in shock as she twisted under and flipped him onto his back. "Oops." She smiled down at him, releasing his arm as their onlookers erupted into laughter.
Bucky hurried to his feet, wondering how he hadn't seen that coming. "What… was that Krav Maga?" She gave him a nonchalant shrug, dusting her hands off before bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Why didn't you just say that you had combat training?!"
Mila couldn't stop snickering as she moved over to pat her best friend on the back. "Candy loves to show off, don't take it too personally."
"You knew she could do that this whole time?"
Nodding, the dirty blonde shrugged. "Heads up, she knows her way around a gun, too."
Natasha patted Bucky on the back before clapping her hands together. "Alright, fun's over -don't worry, Barnes, I have it on video-" she smiled at his frowning, "I need to get these two into some serious shape so, gentlemen, take your leave!"
Mila scurried across the room and caught Bucky's arm as he made to leave, dropping her voice to a whisper so the others couldn't hear her.
"You're not mad, right?"
"Mad? No! Impressed, and more than slightly embarrassed." His gaze met hers, and instantly he yearned to back in his room with her.
"Okay, good." She cracked a smile, slipping her hand down his arm and grazing her fingers against his for the briefest moment. "I do enjoy seeing you on your back, though." She watched him struggle to keep a stern face, but caught the small dimple at the corner of his mouth hinting at a smile.
"Don't you have training to do?" He gave her a playful nudge before watching her turn to walk back towards the others. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Candice was watching them closely.
Some hours later Mila and Candy were sitting on Mila's bed, catching up about the previous months and enjoying the simplicity of each other's company.
"What about the diner? That place is going to burn down without us!"
"Oh, don't worry. Steve dropped by to see me, and of course I was practically fired for even thinking about turning him down on his offer to 'work with the Avengers.'"
Mila laughed, not finding that very hard to believe.
"Sooo…" Candy started as she laid back, propped up by her elbows. "You want to tell me what happened with Table-Seven, or… no?"
Blue eyes widened slightly, and Mila furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
"Come on, don't play coy with me." She gave Mila's thigh a playful kick. "I was certain he would have ravished you right there on the training room floor if we hadn't all been in there."
The pair laughed and the dirty blonde's face flushed. "Oh, no!" She groaned, covering her face with her hands as their laughter reverberated off the bedroom walls. "That obvious, huh?"
Candy scoffed. "Uh, yeah! I mean I knew you were attracted before, but good God, Mila! I was getting hot and bothered just watching you two exchanging looks."
A groan erupted from Mila's lips as she fell over onto her side, pulling a pillow towards her so she could bury her reddened face in it. "You have no idea how far back we go." She adjusted herself for story time, fidgeting as she sat back up and scooted closer to Candy so she could whisper in the hopes that Bucky's hearing wouldn't pick up on it. "Okay, so, one of the many things that I was forbidden to speak of back in Wakanda was my past. Remember how I told you that I hand-picked Bucky for the Winter Soldier program?"
Candice nodded, sitting up and eagerly listening to the hushed words.
"Well, I picked him because he was American, and my plan all along was to train him so that he could help me eventually escape. I had this whole secret code, and we ended up becoming friends, and we had all these secret rendezvous…" Her chest tightened in excitement. "I… I genuinely fell in love with him, Candy."
"Jesus." The brunette pushed some hair behind her ear, eyes wide with anticipation. "And this is, what, 80 years ago?"
Nodding, Mila continued. "We had plans. Legitimate plans! To run away to the U.S., he thought Steve could help us, I-I would have followed him anywhere. I wanted to follow him anywhere."
"And then they wiped you, yeah?"
There was a brief pause as she thought back to that fateful day. "Something like that… We, um," shifting, she looked down at her hands and picked at her fingernails, "we actually did try to run. But Hydra caught us, and they made Bucky… Do something awful. Then they wiped my memory, and his. All they left was a memory that had me convinced I wanted him dead."
Candy was frozen, afraid to ask what he'd done that could make her despise him so.
"When he eventually got his own memories back, he and the rest of the world had been given word that I was dead: killed during a mission or something." She finally looked up and sighed. "And then I found him in the diner, and he was convinced that it wasn't me because I didn't look the same, and my name was different, and now here we are."
"But," the brunette shook her head, "you remember him now? And all of your past?" She received a nod in confirmation. "So you're in love with him again?"
Blinking, Mila realized she hadn't thought about that. Through all the nightmares and memories playing in her mind, she hadn't had the chance to process her feelings that deeply.
"I-uh…" She stared wide-eyed at some invisible space on the wall. "Holy shit."
Candy erupted in laughter, pushing Mila by the arm to break her from her trance. "Calm down, Sparrow. I'm not surprised, even if you didn't have a history with him. You've spent nearly every waking moment with him for the last three or four months. If you weren't half in love with him after that alone then I'd be concerned."
"Oh no, no wait! What if I slip up and say it?!" The thought horrified her, as she was certain it was far too early for that. Was it love? She'd been so certain that she loved Nate, and that felt nothing like this. Bucky was familiar and safe. He felt like home to her. She groaned. "What if he's just in it for the sex and I embarrass myself? I mean, he's not exactly the PDA kinda guy. We had to hide everything back then, so I can't think today would be different. As far as I know we're just coworkers and fuck-buddies now."
"First off: stop overthinking. I thought super soldiers were supposed to be all calm and collected all the time? Secondly: if you're that concerned about it, why don't you just ask for clarification? Like, 'hey Bucky, before railing me again can we-" She was quickly silenced when Mila swung a pillow at her, hitting her directly in the face and knocking her over in a fit of laughter.
"It wasn't like that!" Mila's body ran hot, and she pushed the memory from her mind so she could continue hitting Candice with a pillow.
Candice exclaimed defeat, and only then did Mila relent her attack.
"Fine, fine! Sorry," she breathed through laughter. "Then what was it like?"
There was a brief pause, Mila's features shifting as she felt her heartbeat quickening. "Um… it was…" Averting her gaze, she laughed nervously. "Okay, it was like that! But it started out very slow and romantic!" Her cheeks burned as Candy let out a series of 'oohs' and 'ahhs', following them with mocked moans which only earned her more hits from the pillow.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it!" She caught the pillow after a swing, pulling it from Mila and hugging it closely to her. "In all seriousness-" The pair settled down and she put a hand on Mila's shoulder. "-I ask this as your friend and confidant: was he big? He was totally big, wasn't he?"
As if Mila's face couldn't get any redder, she once again collapsed on the bed and buried her face into the comforter. "Ahh!" Her scream was muffled, but still effective. When she rolled over and looked up at Candy, she found her friend's green eyes boring into her. Reluctantly, Mila nodded once, maybe twice, earning a howl from her friend before clapping her hands over her mouth. "Shhh! He's in the room across the hall!"
Candice pushed her hands away, feeling like she'd been waiting for this conversation for years. She had never seen Mila glowing like this, nor had she ever been interested in talking about her sex life with Nate. It was obvious that Mila was in a much better place even if her world had been turned upside down. She laid down next to her friend, inching closer and propping her head up on her elbow so they could continue in whispers.
"Like painful or-"
"No!" Mila folded her hands over her stomach, fingers pinching at the fabric of her tee-shirt as she thought back on the experience. "I mean, it was a little shocking at first, but not in an uncomfortable way. He wasn't hitting my stomach or anything, but… it wasn't just average. And, I- I just- I can't remember in all my life ever being with anyone who made me feel like that." Her head rolled to the side and she smiled giddily. "I mean, it just… whoa! Ya know?" She found herself itching for his touch again, the memory taunting her while she wished she could be with him at that very moment.
Candy nodded, lips pinched together briefly as she fanned her friend with her hand. "Damn girl, pull yourself together!" After a moment she began fanning herself. "Screw that, now I'm horny."
Mila laughed loudly, rolling into her friend as Candy voiced loudly that she needed to excuse herself.
"I gotta go find Steve, I won't be back later." Jokingly pretending to get up, Candice thought of another question. "Wait!" Holding her left hand up, she wriggled her fingers. "What about the metal arm?"
Mila let out a chortle. "What about it?"
"Was it cold?"
The dirty blonde shook her head with a laugh. "No, not like you would think. Besides, it's a part of him, which he only has because of me. Honestly I barely noticed it was there." Her skin tingled in places where he'd held her, the stark contract of smooth metal versus his calloused hand causing chills of excitement. "You'd be surprised how easy it is to forget that he's part bionic."
"I bet." Candice chuckled, startling when there was a knock on the door.
The two sat up quickly, and Mila easily jumped over her friend, off the bed, and hurried to the door to pull it open.
Steve was standing on the other side, smiling kindly. "Evening ladies."
Candy flipped off the bed and grabbed her shoes, skipping past Mila and up to Steve.
"Looks like my ride's here!"
Mila was confused for a moment. "Are you not staying?"
Candy tilted her head slowly, gesturing towards Steve as the man's cheeks flushed.
"I actually have a room… Upstairs…"
It took her a few more seconds before Mila caught on, "Ohh… Right. Okay then. You two crazy kids have fun! And I'll see you tomorrow." She waved at the pair as they turned and headed down the hall, Steve shyly taking Candy's hand in his own before disappearing around a corner.
Smiling for her friend, the dirty blonde slipped into her room for a shower and a change of clothes before crossing over to Bucky's. She emerged into the room to find him folding clothes on the bed with his back to her. Mila paused momentarily and eyed the red marks on his exposed back, mostly healed already but there were still small signs of her passion lingering on his skin.
"You can actually come in, ya know?" He threw her a glance over his shoulder and caught the smile playing on her lips. "What?"
Shaking her head, Mila closed and locked the door, moving across the room and sitting on the bed just beside his folded clothes.
"Just didn't think about the fact that you don't heal up quite as fast as I do."
His eyes narrowed at her in suspicion and followed her as he placed his clothes in the duffle bag atop his dresser. "What do you mean?"
She giggled lightly, pointing towards him. "Your back."
When the realization hit him, Bucky couldn't help but grin. "They'll be gone by tomorrow. Remember, I wasn't born with superhuman abilities, so of course I'm not quite as cool as you."
"I wouldn't say I'm 'cool' but I'm definitely pretty badass."
He moved over to stand in front of her, taking her face in his hands before leaning down and kissing her softly. "I-" his voice broke through numerous kisses. "Think- you're- extremely- badass."
Her heart fluttered as he released her, focusing back on his clothes while she bit her lip and admired his shirtless form. A quiet moment went by before she even realized he was packing.
"Wait, what're you doing?" She sat forward slightly, squashing the panic that tried to rise up in her chest.
"We're moving." He nonchalantly went about meticulously packing the duffle bag, oblivious to Mila's anxiety.
"Moving where?"
Catching the shifting tone of her voice, Bucky turned to look back at her. "Upstairs. You didn't get the memo?" She shook her head, and he almost felt guilty. "We have space up in Avengers Tower. It's not really a tower, per say, but it's the housing unit they all stay in. Basically it's a giant mansion attached to the base."
She let out the breath she'd been holding, silently scolding herself for immediately thinking the worst. "Wow, that's nice of them."
"Yeah, Nat and Steve felt we aren't as much of a security risk anymore, so we've been upgraded."
Mila didn't buy that, and after a brief pause, she chuckled. "Candy pouted to Steve about how far away I was." Bucky wasted no time nodding and laughing. "Ah, okay, that makes more sense! Should I go get my stuff, then?" She stood and took a few steps, caught by Bucky's arm.
"No," he pulled her into him, caressing her cheek with his left hand before leaning down to kiss her softly.
Pushing onto her tiptoes to deepen the kiss, Mila rested her hands on Bucky's bare chest. Heat traveled to her core, and she cursed herself for having no control over how quickly her body reacted to his touch.
His right hand pressed against her back, Bucky lowered it and selfishly gave her buttocks a slightly-more-than-gentle squeeze. A quiet moan from her caused him to twitch, pulling back from their kiss and tracing his thumb over her bottom lip. "You've really got to stop making those kinds of noises or I can't be held responsible for what I do to you."
Mila parted her lips and looked up at him with a smile. "I don't intend to stop." She caught sight of something red poking out from his duffle bag, and before he could stop her she snatched the infamous red hat from its hiding place, side stepping out of his reach and pulling the tattered hat onto her head. "I can't believe you have this with you! It's mine now, I've claimed it as my own."
Bucky loved that Mila was settling into her old ways and her personality was starting to really shine, but he didn't like the fact that with that came her reflexes and, in turn, her ability to out-maneuver him. He looked her over, wanting to demand the cap back as it had sentimental value, but he had to admit it looked much better on her. So good, in fact, he subconsciously licked his bottom lip as he reached for her.
"You really will be the death of me."
With a laugh, she took his hand and pulled herself into him and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "I like this scruff you have going on," she scratched at his chin, "looks almost like a beard."
"Yeah? You like it?" He leaned down and rubbed the coarse hair on her cheek, earning a squeal and a laugh all in one.
"Ew, I don't like it anymore! Get it off of me!"
A loud knock sounded from the door, and Mila escaped his grasp, slinking under Bukcy's arm and hurrying to open the door.
"Hey," Natasha smiled briefly before her gaze fell on the red baseball cap, "uh… oh God, are there two of them now?"
"No!" The dirty blonde faked a few model poses with the hat on her head. "I just decided to give it a go and honestly, I think it works."
Nat shook her head. "Sorry, but the only place that hat belongs is in a trash can. On fire. Buried deep beneath the Earth." After a laugh, she nodded towards Bucky. "He tell you that you're getting an upgrade?"
"Oh yeah, the tower or something?"
"Yep, you two ready to go, or do you have unfinished business to attend to." She sneered, earning a scoff from Bucky but a laugh from Mila.
"I'm ready, I need some windows in my life. Not that I don't appreciate the comfy bed, but damn it is cryptic down here."
The redhead took her friend's arm and led her back to her own room, allowing Bucky to put a shirt on and gather the remainder of his things.
"Honestly, I had no idea we were leaving, but my stuff is still all packed up from my trip from Wakanda." Mila grabbed her singular bag, hoisting it over her shoulder before stepping back into the hall.
"Don't worry," Nat patted her arm, "we have tons of better clothes up in the tower. Honestly I've been waiting to move you up there for a while, we just had to be sure you weren't a security risk."
"I get it. I'm just glad we were finally able to prove it."
"We?" Natasha was confused.
"Yeah, me and Bucky."
"He's had a room up in the tower for a while now. He requested to be down here."
Mila didn't understand. "Wait, I thought you guys were keeping him down here because he wasn't technically part of the team."
"He's had the room since he came here. Originally he asked for a room down here because he felt more comfortable in isolation, whenever Steve was gone, but when you arrived he said…" it then dawned on the Black Widow what the entire misunderstanding was. "Oh… You really didn't know?" A nervous chuckle escaped her lips. "You two are something else, honestly it's torturous."
Mila guffawed. "What do you mean?!"
Bucky exited his room and approached the two, stopping as the pair looked at him.
"What did I do now?"
Nat rolled her eyes at him although she was smiling. "I can't believe you. Come on, let me get you upstairs before the crew sits down for dinner."
Mila and Bucky exchanged a look before following her to the elevators.
"Hey," Mila whispered, "why didn't you tell me you had a room already in the tower?"
Bucky glanced down at her, shifting uncomfortably before whispering back. "Because if I had, you would have insisted that I stay up there."
"Well, yeah!" She paused when Nat glanced back at the two. "You didn't have to stay down in the dungeons."
His temple flared slightly, and he cleared his throat quietly. "I wanted to be wherever you were." He watched her cheeks flush before straightening up as the elevator doors opened and the trio exited.
Mila fell behind a few steps, processing his words as her heart fluttered. He looked back at her, slowing his pace to match hers and eyeing her curiously. Flashing him a small smile, Mila took a few big steps to catch up with him and pushed the thoughts aside.
Arriving in Avengers Tower was more than slightly overwhelming. Calling it a mansion wasn't quite doing it justice, and Mila would have marveled at the structure if she hadn't just been to Wakanda. Natasha told her of the hangar built underground that housed too many vehicles to count, and the gymnasium with reinforced walls for training. But the most spectacular room in the building was the open kitchen and dining room, elevated above a living room that could clearly double as a club. Bucky disappeared briefly before returning, sans duffle bag, as Natasha and Mila made their way to the dinner table.
The table itself -currently holding a spread of a white pasta, salad, and mixed vegetables- could sit at least 20 people, but a majority of the chairs sat empty. Steve and Candy were already seated, the brunette with a glass of Rose and still somehow looking elegant even dressed in workout clothes. Across from them sat Clint, and at the head of the table; Tony.
Mila felt his eyes on her as she took the seat to Candy's left, who immediately offered to pour her a glass of wine.
"Oh, um, I'm actually okay with just water."
"This is nice, right?"
Mila nearly snorted as she removed her hat. "You should see Wakanda."
A scoff erupted from Tony and he rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, next time I build a billion-dollar compound I'll ask T'Challa for blueprints."
Freezing momentarily, the others at the table silently looked between the two before Bucky's voice broke the silence.
"Back off, Tony." He stated flatly as he took a seat on Mila's left.
"Or what, Robo-Cop?"
Under the table and out of view of the others, Mila reached over and grabbed Bucky's hand, giving it a light squeeze. His gaze fell on her, features shifting before he sat back.
She wasn't sure if he would approve of any sort of physical affection in front of others, so Mila was careful to take her hand back swiftly as soon as Bucky seemed more "calm."
"Why don't we all just try to get along while we eat, hm?" Natasha sat down beside Clint, throwing Tony a warning look before gesturing to the food. "Everyone dig in!"
The remainder of dinner was uneventful, with Tony and Bucky both on their best behavior. Candy was enjoying herself, having always flourished in social settings, and Steve genuinely seemed to enjoy her company. Mila couldn't help but smile at the idea of Candy being with Steve. It seemed fitting that her best friend and Bucky's best friend would end up together. Actually, it was almost too surreal.
"This is it." Bucky pulled her from her thoughts as he opened a bedroom door, revealing a large open room with a king sized bed and a private bathroom. The walls were a light gray, a large window on the Northern wall facing the outer training grounds, and a big desk and bookshelf packed full.
Mila entered the room first, noticing it wasn't just an all-white room with basic necessities; even the bedding had coloring -albeit black and white stripes- and there was an armchair in the corner by the window with a book splayed open on the seat. "This looks occupied."
"Yeah," Bucky followed her in, "it's my room."
She stopped in her tracks. "Wait, I thought you were taking me to my room?" It was only then that she recognized her duffle bag resting atop the dresser. When she turned to look at him, he looked almost pained.
"Sorry, I just assumed you'd be okay with staying here."
Her eyes widened and she felt suddenly guilty. "No, I am! I just thought you'd want your own space. And I didn't think you'd want everyone else getting the wrong impression?"
Once again, Bucky Barnes was at a loss for words. He took a few long seconds before allowing himself to reply, voice as gentle as he could make it. "We've basically been living together for months now, if I wanted my own space, I would have told you so." Nervously running his hands through his hair, he exhaled a deep sigh. "I'm not sure what 'the wrong impression' would be."
Her chest was tight from an overwhelming feeling of dread. "A-about us. In the same room. People might think…"
His brow furrowed. "That we're a couple?" She nodded hesitantly, and he was overcome with a sense of disappointment.
Mila watched as his facial expression shifted, eyes darkening. It was as if he withdrew into himself. Panic welled in her chest and she wanted to say something, but she didn't know what.
"It's fine," he stated flatly, forcing what was almost a smile, "they won't get that idea. You just get settled in." He turned abruptly, the urge to hit something increasing as he headed down towards the training grounds.
Left alone in the room, Mila walked over to the dresser and set his red hat down, straightening out the worn fabric before taking a seat on the edge of the bed and staring blankly at the wall.
The door to the room clicked open, and she sat up, highly disappointed when Candy and Natasha entered the room.
"Oh."
The two women looked at each other before Candy raised a brow. "Oh? Oh?!" She said in mocked surprise. "That's how you greet your best friend who came all the way out here just for you?"
With a sigh, Mila dropped her head into her hands and bent over, elbows resting atop her knees. "I'm sorry, I just- I don't know what to do."
"Oohh." Nat quickly shut the door behind her, pushing into the room and leaning her back against the dresser so she could look down at Mila. "Let's just get this straightened out real quick."
Candy sank down next to Mila on the bed, gently rubbing her back. "Talk to me, mija. Are you having dark thoughts, or memories, or what?"
Raising her head, Mila looked at the other two with a brow raised. "What? No. I mean, yeah I'm always having dark memories, but I'm dealing with those."
"So, you're not feeling overwhelmed or like you're not yourself?" Nat's voice held concern, but she was also getting confused.
"Guys, what the hell? Do you think I'm about to go all Winter Solider and just fuck shit up?" The pair nodded in unison, only causing Mila to roll her eyes. "This has nothing to do with any of that!" A silence fell over the three before Mila finally continued. "I asked Bucky if he was sure he wanted me to share his room because I didn't think he would want anyone to get the wrong idea about us… And then he- he just left!"
Nat looked upon the dirty blonde incredulously. "Are you a fucking idiot?"
Candy blurted out in laughter, almost doubling over.
"Mila." Nat pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled deeply. "We all know you two are sleeping together, literally. He asked for you to be in here with him. And besides that, there's so much insane sexual tension between the two of you, if anyone didn't think that you were already fucking, then they're a lost cause and don't even deserve to have an opinion on your relationship anyway."
Mila looked over at Candy, "Did you tell her?"
"She didn't have to," Natasha continued. "Seriously, we all took bets on how long it would take you two to just get it over with." A smirk played at her lips. "I won."
Candy, having calmed down her laughter, patted her friend on the back. "I'm sorry, sis, but sometimes I really wonder about you."
"Okay," she rolled her eyes, "I'm sorry that I have no idea what's going on inside his head and I feel so guilty sometimes, and I don't want him to feel obligated-"
"To bang your brains out?"
Blue eyes darkened as they landed on Natasha. "That's unnecessary."
The Black Widow was unphased by the threatening tone of the blonde. "I've been around him for a while, and I'm telling you: there's nothing obligating him. I wasn't kidding when I told you women had thrown themselves at him. If there was a Guinness world record for 'swerving' women, Bucky Barnes would be the unrivaled record holder. The way he is with you isn't out of guilt or empathy or whatever you're worried about. It's because-"
The door opened and the room fell silent, all eyes on Steve as he wandered in only to stop when he realized he was interrupting.
"Uh, sorry. I was looking for Bucky."
"He left." Mila gave a light shrug, gaze dropping to her hands in her lap. She didn't have to say much else, as he was already backtracking from the room.
He found his metal-armed friend punching holes into what looked like a third punching bag. The previous two victims lay to the side, half deflated with sand covering the floor. This looked all too familiar to him, and he smiled kindly.
"Honeymoon phase over so quickly, huh?"
Bucky pulled his fist from the bag, opening and closing his fingers as Steve moved into his line of sight.
"She was concerned with people 'getting the wrong impression' so clearly there is no honeymoon phase to be in." Hearing a chuckle from his friend, Bucky just narrowed his eyes.
"Look, Buck, I've known you my whole life. You're not exactly the most vocal when it comes to this stuff, at least not anymore. Did you ever actually tell Mila how you feel?"
Bucky growled, "I thought it was pretty obvious!"
"Okay," Steve sighed, "You've been out of the cryo-freeze and had your mind pieced back together for a while now. You've had time to think back on your past with her. She's still trying to figure herself out. She clearly remembers what you two had, but do you really expect her to not be insecure after what happened with Nate?"
Clenching his jaw, the Winter Soldier remained silent for a few long seconds.
"Just tell her, in your own words, how you feel. Stop throwing these surprises at her and thinking she is going to just figure it all out." Giving Bucky a pat on the shoulder, Steve flashed him another smile. "I think she'll react better than you anticipate."
When had the pair of them become so different? Bucky remembered being the suave ladies man who could smile and have women falling over his feet, and Steve was always so focused on doing the right thing he didn't really pay any mind to women. And now here they were: Steve was easily romancing a would-be model, and Bucky couldn't figure out how to just tell a woman that he had feelings for her. Things were far simpler back in the 1940's.
"Where we're from, if you do certain things with a woman, it means you're together."
Steve chortled. "Bucky, where we're from televisions had four channels and weekly groceries cost less than $50."
"God, what happened to me?"
"Awe," he patted Bucky's shoulder, "don't worry, I'll be here to teach you the ways of wooing women."
Bucky scowled, hands on his hips as he shook his head. "I hate this."
After practicing what he was going to say and embarrassing himself -Steve thought it was endearing, but Bucky didn't really care to hear that- he made his way back to his room.
Mila was in bed under the covers, staring into the darkness of the room as she feared that Bucky wouldn't even return. Nat and Candy had managed to squash some of her fears, but at the back of her mind there was that voice of doubt whispering how wrong she was, his screams from the past echoing from the depths of her worst fears. She heard the bedroom door open, and she sat up quickly, pushing the comforter down as the lights turned on.
Upon entering the room, Bucky found Mila in the bed, looking at him with a wild desperation in her eyes. Immediately he forgot everything he'd practiced with Steve, and very nearly turned back around to find his friend and just force him to say it.
"Hi." Her voice was weak as Mila pushed the comforter off, climbing to her knees so she could sit up taller. "I'm sorry." His silence didn't give her any reassurance. "You're… brooding again…"
As if pulled from a trance, Bucky closed the bedroom door, silently turning the lock as the Avengers had a bad habit of interrupting, and then moved further into the room. "I-uh, don't verbalize things well. I mean I'm bad with my words."
A quiet chuckle escaped her lips and she nodded lightly. "Me too, clearly."
Clearing his throat, Bucky stepped to the bed, extending his left hand to her and exhaling a sigh of relief when she took it before scooting across the bed on her knees to kneel in front of him.
"I never got to tell you what you meant to me back in Siberia, and then I missed out on a lifetime with you that I can never get back."
Mila could hear his words, but her heart was pounding so loudly that he was practically drowned out by the sound of blood pumping in her ears. Being nearly eye-level with him, all she could do was hold her breath expectantly.
He wrapped his free hand around her waist, fingers pressing firmly against the fabric of her t-shirt. With his other, he pulled her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the inside of her palm, afterwards rubbing his thumb across it.
The breath she'd been holding was released, and she traced the fingers of her free hand up his arm to rest on his shoulder.
"Mila," he finally met her gaze, "I want people to see us-" The words stuck in his throat, but a reassuring nod from her gave him the bit of courage that he needed. "I want them to get the right impression about us, and what we are."
She bid back a smile, hoping her face wasn't blatantly obvious. "A couple?"
It sounded like music to his ears, and he nodded. "I want all of you. If it wasn't obvious after the other night, then it's obvious now." They both let out a light laugh.
"I just," Mila leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his, "I didn't want you to feel obligated."
"The only obligation I had was to be a gentleman. You made it difficult, with your constant wriggling and intentionally torturing me at night." She erupted into a fit of giggles, and he felt himself smiling. "I had to make sure you wanted this, too. I couldn't do anything until you remembered our past because I had to be sure: once I had you, I couldn't bear the pain of losing you all over again."
She slid her hand from his shoulder to the back of his head, entangling it in his hair as she held him tightly. "For being bad with your words, you're crushing it right now, Sergeant Barnes." She pulled back only enough to look him in the eye, admiring his smile for a few seconds. "Are you going to kiss me now, or do I have to start ordering you around again?"
A wicked grin crossed his lips as he slid his right hand under the fabric of her shirt. "I like it when you order me around."
"Yeah?" She raised a brow and glanced past him at the light switch. Leaning closer, she whispered against his ear, "Turn off the lights… and get in bed." She felt his fingers biting at her skin when she nipped at his earlobe, earning a low growl from deep in his throat.
"Mmhm," Bucky let out a half chuckle, half growl as he released her and backed away towards the switch. "You play a dangerous game, little Sparrow."
Mila bit her lower lip as her body itched in anticipation. Upon releasing her lip, she smiled coyly. "A game I don't intend to lose, Sergeant." She watched him reach for the switch, breath hitching in her throat as soon as the room went dark and she was pulled into a fiery kiss.
Thanks for reading! Next chapter will come soon!