Prompts: "Just get it over with"/Treading Water/"Take my coat"
Clint/Bucky
This may be the least whumpiest chapter for a Whumptober I've ever written, but I thought y'all could use a little cuteness after the heaviness of the last several chapters.
"I've got the perfect idea for Halloween costumes," Clint said, gulping down coffee cup number 2.
"No," Bucky said as he cracked eggs over the bowl for the pancake mix using only one hand.
"Damn, I still don't get how you do that. Whenever I try, I get more shell in the batter than egg."
"Gotta have the right touch." Bucky motioned Clint around the bar. Clint jogged over to Bucky, who took his empty coffee mug and sat it on the counter. "Here." Bucky took an egg from the carton and handed it to Clint. "Use your dominant hand."
"Both of my hands are outstanding," Clint murmured, trying to sound sexy but failing miserably.
Bucky shook his head, stifled a chuckle, and placed the egg in Clint's left hand. "Hold the smaller end of the egg with your thumb and index finger. Use your middle and ring fingers to press the other end against the heel of your palm." Bucky put his fingers over Clint's, leaned into his ear, and nipped his right earlobe. Clint sucked in a breath, concentrating on not crushing the egg. "You're shivering. Cold?"
"Shut up, Barnes," Clint murmured. "Just get it over with."
Bucky smirked, and before Clint knew it, Bucky pinned him against the counter. "Ready for the next step?" Clint nodded, not sure if Bucky was still talking about cracking the egg or not. "Crack the center of the egg against the bowl," Bucky said, continuing to speak in the low, sultry voice that he knew drove Clint insane. He put gentle pressure on Clint's hand, helping him to break the egg. "Now, bring the egg over the bowl." Bucky moved Clint's hand over the bowl. "Use your thumb and first two fingers to separate the egg halves and hold the back half against your palm." Bucky moved Clint's fingers to allow the yolk and egg white to slide into the bowl. He then took his hand away, and Clint put the broken shell in the trash bowl with the other eggshells. "Good boy," Bucky whispered. Chills traveled along Clint's spine. Bucky always had that effect on him. "I knew you could do it."
Clint came to his senses and remembered what he'd originally told Bucky. He turned around and put his hands around his boyfriend's waist. "Was this all a distraction to not talk about my stupendous idea for our Halloween costumes?"
"What makes you think that?" Bucky asked, rubbing his stubble against Clint's clean-shaven face.
"You broke an egg with your left hand, which you never do because you don't like to take a chance of getting egg between the plates."
"Can't I just enjoy making breakfast with my favorite guy?"
"You can unless it's only to cause a diversion. I'm not called Hawkeye for nothing." Clint playfully shoved Bucky away. "Now, I'll take Lucky out while you finish making us breakfast, and when I get back, we'll talk about my idea for the best Halloween costume idea ever." Clint patted his cheek, then walked over to get Lucky's leash off the hook.
"Take my coat," Bucky said. "You left yours at the tower." Clint waved in acknowledgment, clipped the leash to Lucky's collar, grabbed Bucky's coat, then left the apartment. "I hate when he figures out my motives." Bucky returned to making breakfast.
When Clint returned, Bucky had set their plates on the kitchen table. Clint let Lucky off his leash, and the dog hurried to sit next to Bucky. "Hey, Lucky. How was your run this morning? Did you see your favorite girl?"
"Yep," Clint washed his hands, then sat at the table next to Bucky. "Little Miss Butt Wiggle was there waiting for him. They sniffed each other, then ran around. I think they're in love."
"Should we be planning a doggy wedding?" Bucky got up to get fresh cups of coffee for each of them. What had his life become? Was he truly talking about dogs getting married? Bucky didn't think the world could be any stranger, but it proved him wrong at every turn.
"Nah, I think Lucky likes his freedom. Don't think he's sure she's the one for him yet." Clint crammed half a pancake in his mouth, his face resembling a chipmunk's, with his cheeks puffed out.
Bucky shook his head, never tiring of Clint's quirks. When they first started meeting each other during the night, when their nightmares would overtake them, they talked a lot about their upbringing. Neither one of their families were well off, so they learned to eat anything thrown in front of them and not to waste food. Bucky figured that's why Clint seemed to inhale his meals. Well, that and Clint had learned to eat quickly on a mission, never knowing when he'd have to move. "Have you heard from Natasha?"
Clint nodded and guzzled some orange juice. "Yeah, she called while I was out with Lucky. She got back late last night."
"Mission successful?"
Clint shrugged. "If you count the helicopter crashing and her having to tread water until the Quinjet came to pick her up." Clint leaned back in his chair. "I should've been there."
"Clint, doll, you're just getting over major surgery. Gunshot wound to the stomach, remember?"
"I know." Clint crossed his arms across his chest. "I'm her partner, Bucky. If I would've been there to fly the copter, it wouldn't have crashed."
"You don't know that. Let's focus on the positive. Focus on the fact Natasha made it back and completed the mission. That's one less HYDRA and Red Room base the world has to worry about."
"I know. I hate not being able to be out there with her."
Clint's loyalty was one of his traits Bucky adored. Like himself, it took time to learn to trust someone, but once Clint trusted you, you had a friend for life. In Bucky's case, though, he ended up with much more than a friend. With Clint, he had someone with shared experiences, someone he could talk to about things Steve would never understand. "I'm sure she hates it, too, but she'd hate it even more if something would've happened to you if you would've gone before being medically cleared. Plus, it gave us time to be together. We had a deal, remember? You could recuperate here in Bed-Stuy if I stayed to watch over you. Otherwise, you'd be stuck in the tower, and I'd probably be on a mission."
Clint nodded. "You're right."
"Damn right, I am," Bucky smirked.
"You don't have to be so obnoxious about it," Clint grumbled but was smiling behind his coffee mug.
Bucky stood and took Clint's coffee mug from him, putting it on the table. "Why don't we go upstairs, and I can show you how right I am."
Clint shot up out of the chair. "Sounds good to me, then I can tell you all about our Halloween costumes."
As they went upstairs, Bucky shouted, "Oh, hell no! I'm not wearing that!"
