March 2018, Wakanda
"Here, happy birthday."
Bucky looked up from his book just in time for a packet of Oreos to hit him square in the chest as Jasmine flopped down beside him, lying on her back and crossing her ankles as she stared up at the ceiling of the little hut Bucky was currently calling his home.
"Oh, wow, thank you Jasmine. What a thoughtful gift and what a beautiful, gentle way to hand it to me."
"You're the one always saying you don't want a fuss."
"These better not be crushed."
"Bite me, Barnes," she stuck her middle finger at him and Bucky snapped his teeth together, making her snort. "After hitting that brick wall you call a chest? They've probably disintegrated. Eat the dust and enjoy it. It's the last thing you'll probably ever get off me because the second I catch up with your idiot best friend, I'll end up in jail for murder."
Bucky tried his hardest not to laugh. "What's he done now?"
Jas rolled on to her side, propping herself up on her elbow and resting her cheek in her palm. "You ever been in love, Bucky?"
"Uh," Bucky scratched at the scruff in his chin. "I don't know. Maybe?" he frowned, trying to think back.
There had been a girl; he had just turned 17, she'd been a friend of Steve's and Bucky had been smitten with her. He had thought that he was in love with her back then, with the pretty girl with the dark hair and bright eyes whose name he couldn't quite remember but whose face he would never forget.
"Well, it sucks."
Bucky rolled his eyes as Jas' defeated tone and he shuffled closer to her, holding out the packet of Oreos. She shook her head no, and he shrugged as he opened the packet with his teeth and shoved a whole cookie into his mouth. "You gonna tell me what Steve did, or are you gonna leave me hangin'?"
"He's annoying," Jas groaned, rolling back over onto her back and throwing an arm over her eyes. "I'm just… frustrated."
"…Sexually?"
"Shut up," Jas slapped at his thigh. "I miss him, is all. I wish he'd care a little more that he hasn't seen me in person in, what? 18 months?"
"He cares, Jasmine."
"Yeah well he's got a real funny way of showing it."
"He's trying to keep you safe; that's how he's showing it."
Jas pointed a finger at him. "I like it better when you're on my side."
"Yeah, and I like it better when you're not raggin' on my best friend when all he's trying to do is protect you," he scoffed, and Jas frowned at him. "What? Steve and I talk."
"Yeah? Maybe Steve should try talking to me for a change, instead of brushing me off and, apparently, running to you to bitch about me."
"You're being ridiculous," Bucky chuckled. "He doesn't bitch about you-"
"Shut up and give me a cookie," Jas held her hand out and Bucky did as she asked, placing an Oreo in her palm. She took a bite and chewed on it thoughtfully, glancing to the side and letting her eyes run over Bucky's profile as he continued to read his book. "Sorry for being such a downer on your birthday."
"It's okay, I've had enough of 'em. You can make it up to me next year," he grinned over at her and Jas smiled, nodding her head and wiping her hands on her jeans, the pair of them blissfully unaware that next year wouldn't come for one of them.
Jas stayed quiet, keeping her eyes on Bucky and watching the way his eyes darted across the page, the way his hair fell in front of face, how he tried to blow it away with the corner of his mouth and failed, the same piece of hair just falling in exactly the same place.
"You need a haircut."
"I like it long."
"It's getting in your face all the time."
"Okay. I'll add it to my to-do list."
Jas narrowed her eyes. "Can I braid it for you?"
"You gonna paint my nails, too? Do my eyebrows?"
She whined pathetically. "Okay, fine," she huffed, kneeling up and shuffling behind him, her hands on his shoulders. She felt him tense underneath her fingertips and she winced. "Sorry, I- is this okay? Can I at least tie it up for you? I should have asked first, instead of just assuming-"
"It's okay," Bucky whispered. "You can tie it up, if you want."
There was a beat of silence. "Do you want me to tie it up?" Jas asked, running her fingers through his hair and smiling at the way he sank against her immediately, his head falling backwards. "Well, well, well…" she hummed. "Bucky Barnes likes people playing with his hair. Who knew he was such a softie."
"Shut up," he flicked at her wrist. "Feels nice."
"Imagine how nice it'd feel with a professional hair person doing it."
Bucky snorted. "A professional hair person?"
"Well, I don't know," Jas pulled his hair from in front of his face. "You wanna go to a hairdresser, or a barber? Not sure a barber would play with your hair, though. A hairdresser probably would because, not to be sexist, but it would more than likely be a woman."
"Why would a hairdresser play with my hair?"
"Because she's a woman."
"That… doesn't make sense," Bucky laughed quietly, his eyes closed so he couldn't see the smirk on Jas' face.
"She'd find you attractive," Jas told him simply. "You're a bit of a catch, Barnes. I hear people talking when I go into town to buy your cookies. People are intrigued by you, and it helps that you, y'know. Look like that," she gestured vaguely. "With those eyes and that jawline and the whole… you know. Hotness thing."
"Hotness thing?" Bucky raised his eyebrows, and Jas tugged gently on his hair.
"Shut up."
"I wouldn't want anyone else to play with my hair, anyway," he admitted quietly. "Feels nice 'cause it's you."
"James Barnes, are you flirting with me?" Jas teased, and Bucky's eyes snapped open.
"You call me hot, and I'm the one flirting?" he tilted his head slightly and she groaned, putting her hands on either side of his head and straightening him up before she gathered his hair in her hands again, tying it into the neatest bun she could manage. She turned his head to the side, leaning around him to get a better look and fixing some of the tendrils around his face that were too short to tie back.
"There," she whispered, her eyes scanning his face. "Perfect."
Bucky's lips twitched. "Yeah?"
"Best I can do with a hair-tie and no comb, but you'll do. Still as handsome as ever," she beamed, poking at his cheek. "Hey, we need to take another birthday selfie!"
Bucky was already shaking his head before Jas had finished speaking. "Oh no. Not another one."
"It's a tradition-"
"Doing something one time does not make it a tradition-"
"Bucky," she whined. "C'mon. Please? For me? I loved keeping a record of my friends birthdays! I promise I won't tell anyone, it can just be our little secret."
He heaved out a sigh. "You're a menace, you know that right?"
Jas cheered quietly, taking it as a win as she pulled her phone out and wrapped her right arm around Bucky's neck, holding her phone out in front of them and pausing. "You're gonna smile this time, right? You looked ridiculous last year."
"Thanks," Bucky smirked, remembering how shocked he had been the year before when Jas had pressed her lips to his cheek. "It's still on your wall though, isn't it?" he asked, but he already knew the answer.
"It sure is! Right between a picture of me and Sharon at her last birthday party, and a picture of me, Steve and Nat at some party Tony threw just before we got attacked by killer robots," she told him. "Now shut up and smile, Barnes."
He didn't know how it happened; he'd only turned his head to speak to her, and suddenly his lips were on hers and he was kissing her. Bucky was going to pull away - he meant to, really, he did - but Jas's arm that was still around him tightened ever so slightly. He saw her lowering her phone out of the corner of his eyes and he brought his hand up to caress her cheek.
The second his fingertips touched her skin, Jas' eyes shot open and she put as much distance between them as was possible in the small room.
"I'm sorry-"
"No it was my fault," Jas shook her head quickly. "I went to- I was just- you know, like last year?" she stammered. "And then you turned your head and- it was an accident. I'm- I'm so sorry, Bucky. I didn't mean to."
Bucky couldn't stop his heart from deflating slightly. Of course she didn't mean it; how could she? Why would she when she had someone like Steve? He swallowed his disappointment, giving her a weak smile.
"It's alright," he reassured her. "It was just one of those things. Could have happened to anyone. I'm- we can just forget about it. Never talk about it again."
Jas didn't reply at first, choosing instead to send him a nod as she slid down against the wall she was leaning against, pulling her knees up to her chest as if she was putting a barrier between them. Bucky cleared his throat nervously, and Jas rested her chin on her knees as she watched him carefully.
"Was that your first kiss since 1943?" she whispered, and Bucky's cheeks flushed.
"Yeah."
"Well in that case, I'm glad to be of service, Sergeant Barnes. I'm a huge supporter of our troops," Jas saluted him, and he responded by flipping her off. She bit down on her lip to hide her grin and covered her mouth with her hand. "I, uh… You won't tell Steve, right? Because it was just an accident. You won't say anything to him?"
Bucky threw a cookie at her. "I won't say anything to anyone."
"Okay," Jas nodded her head, picking the cookie up from wear it had fallen on the floor and wiping it on her jeans before taking a bite. Bucky stared at her incredulously. "What?" she asked, crumbs flying out of her mouth. "Five second rule. I wiped it, it's fine."
"I have a whole packet-"
"Last year you yelled at me for eating one of them-"
"I didn't yell at you-"
"-and now you're just offering 'em up, no questions asked," she shook her head, and Bucky rolled his eyes. "Who, uhm," Jas cleared her throat, avoiding Bucky's eyes as she drew invisible shapes on the floor with her finger. "Who did you think of, before? When I asked if you'd ever been in love. You got this faraway look in your eyes."
"I'm not sure," he admitted quietly. "There was- I was seventeen, I think. There was a girl. I don't remember her name - my memory ain't what it used to be, you know? But she was pretty. I think back then I probably thought I was in love."
"Only thought?"
Bucky shrugged. "I was a kid. Didn't know anything about the world yet."
Jas smiled sadly. "That's the best kind of love, Bucky. That's pure, untainted love that hasn't had a chance to be ruined by any of the horrible stuff a lot of people have to deal with," she told him, and he hummed thoughtfully. Jas pressed her lips together, thinking over her next sentence before she spoke. "I bet she loved you."
"Why?" he scoffed.
"Are you kidding me?" Jas raised her eyebrows. "I've seen the pictures of you back in those days, Barnes. Heard stories from Steve about how much of a charmer you were. There was no way she wasn't in love with you. Probably cried herself to sleep every night when things ended - I bet you broke that poor girl's heart, Bucky."
He huffed. "I don't think I was half the heartbreaker Steve makes me out to be. I wasn't- I don't think I was the kind of guy to string a girl along. I think I just wanted the kinda love my parents had when I was growin' up. Isn't that why everyone wants?"
"Jesus, no," Jas snorted, her hand quickly covering her mouth and her eyes widening. "I'm sorry, that was so rude. It's just… Not everyone's parents had an epic love story, Bucky. Mine are… I mean, I love them because I have to, and I get along alright with my dad, I guess? But my mom… Man, she's so- overbearing. Controlling. Everything has to be done her way or no way and if she doesn't approve of your choices you're basically dead to her. The only reason she hasn't disowned me yet is because she liked being able to say her daughter was dating Captain America. Now she gets to brag that I'm half working for Fury, half working for Iron Man. My dad only ever put up with her for our sakes when we were kids, and now I think he's too afraid to leave. Been with her so long he doesn't know anything else, and he's not a fan of change."
"That sounds… awful," Bucky frowned, and Jas nodded in agreement. "She should be proud of you, Jasmine. You're… incredible."
Jas blushed. "Shut up. She was so close to disowning me when I introduced her to my first girlfriend-"
"What?"
"Oh, yeah, it's a whole- I like girls," she waved a hand dismissively. "Not a big deal. But I introduced Sharon to my parents and my mom freaked-"
"What?" Bucky's eyes bugged out of his head. "You- you and Sharon? Sharon Carter, Sharon?"
Jas grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. Sharon and I dated for a little while. When we first joined SHIELD and before I met Steve, obviously. She was… God, I was so fascinated by her. She was incredible; she was the top of our class in like, everything, and she worked so hard. She didn't tell anyone she was Peggy's niece because she knew she had to get to where she wanted to be on her own merits, and she knew what people would say about her if they found out. I almost collapsed when she told me, and when she took me to meet her. That was incredible, to get to sit down and talk to Peggy Carter about her life. She told me all about Steve, and you and the others - this was years before the Alzheimer's took complete hold of her - and I loved every single second of it. Sharon's whole family were so accepting of me, but my mom hated me dating a girl. Like, really hated it. Tried to make me choose between Sharon and my family, but my Grandpa - I'll introduce you to him one day, you will love him, he's a huge fan of everything Captain America - put his foot down and told her to stop being an idiot. That I was her daughter, his granddaughter, and if she tried to make me choose then he'd take my side."
"…I can't believe you and Sharon were a thing."
"Sure," Jas snorted. "Open my heart, spill my life secrets to you and all you can focus on if that fact I kissed Sharon a whole bunch of times."
"Does Steve know you and Sharon were a thing?" Bucky asked curiously, and Jas shrugged in reply. Bucky grinned. "Can I be there when you tell him? Can I be there when you tell Sam-?"
"I'm not gonna announce my dating history just so you can get your kicks, Bucko," Jas leaned forwards and flicked his forehead. "Shut up and eat your cookies."
A/N: When I say I didn't know how to end this chapter pls know that I literally spent days agonising over it, and I'm still not entirely happy with it lol aksjhf I'm a bit nervous to post this chapter because of their ~accidental kiss but here we are.
Also a bit nervous because of the revelation Jas dated Sharon, which will be mentioned again if when I get around to writing fatws!
Let me know what you think! :)
Becca
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