Yelena Belova: ex-assassin, former spy, and arguably the best MCU character this is. In her attempt to get reintegrated into society, she's going on a date. Nothing too serious yet, more of a reading-the-terrain sort of deal. And it's with Bucky.
Currently, Yelena's living in an apartment in New York. Bucky goes up to her room, which is pretty high up, to get her. He knocks on the door. "I'm here to pick you up!" He calls.
"Who is it?" Yelena's muffled voice responds from within the apartment. "Is this a scam? Or a prank? Identify yourself."
"Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes," Bucky chuckles. "Are you always this paranoid?"
"Oh. It's you," Yelena says. "I'm getting ready."
"What is it with girls and taking seventy years to get ready?" Bucky asks.
"What is it with boys and harassing girls for not moving at the speed of light?" Yelena replies.
"I'm not harassing anybody!" Bucky says, playing along.
An old woman walks by, hears Bucky say what he just said, and walks faster.
"Will you just hurry up?" Bucky asks as the door opens. Naturally, he sees Yelena wearing jeans and her Coldplay T-shirt, because that's what she was wearing earlier. "Long time no see," Bucky teases.
"Verrry funny," Yelena responds as they head downstairs.
"What were you doing at the store with Strange?" Bucky questions.
"Wouldn't YOU like to know," Yelena replies.
"Fair enough," Bucky concedes. "But why would you still be 'getting ready' if you're wearing the same stuff from earlier?"
"I would think less about my outfit and more about the fact that you're noticing and remembering what women are wearing," Yelena responds. She responds so fast it's as if this response was pre-loaded
in her brain.
"So, you like Coldplay?" Bucky asks.
"Are you kidding me—? They're the best!" Yelena answers.
Bucky shrugs. "All I know is 'Viva La Vida'."
"Isn't that all anybody knows?" Yelena replies.
"Not gonna argue with that," Bucky says as they come outside to the New York streets.
"Sooo, where are we going?" Yelena asks. "Somewhere expensive?"
"We could just walk around the city," Bucky says. "Maybe get some hot dogs or something. Nothing too fancy. If you want."
"I have never before had a hot dog," Yelena replies, implying her agreement. "Why would anyone cook a dog, though?"
"No, not literally," Bucky corrects. "It's—"
"I know," Yelena interrupts, chuckling at herself. "You Americans are way too serious. You need to lighten up, have some fun, you know? Sarcasm!"
"When we joke, we make it obvious," Bucky replies. "And besides, if you're not American, then what are you?"
"I'm not sure," Yelena says. "I've always considered myself Russian, but I guess I'm not really sure what nationality I am."
"There's a hot dog stand, straight ahead," Bucky points out.
"I'm not getting anything with mustard on it," Yelena says. "I'm not doing anything to risk ruining my brand-new shirt."
"What about ketchup?" Bucky asks.
"I'm an ex-assassin, so I've cleaned blood stains before," Yelena explains. "Cleaning the red from a ketchup stain should be no different."
After getting hot dogs, they head over to Central Park to walk through and hang out.
"This is peaceful," Yelena comments. "It represents the quiet in the heart of a brainwashed assassin who knows that she has been brainwashed but can do nothing to alter her current state of mind."
Bucky is visibly shaken. "Is this another joke?" He asks.
"Does it SOUND like one?" Yelena replies.
Playing it safe, Bucky changes the subject. "You ever been on a date before?"
"Once," Yelena recalls. "It wasn't really a date, though. It was more of an assassination. I went out with an ex-senator and pretended to be really into him. I invited him into my 'home' after the date and
promptly murdered him. That one is not a joke, and you can't tell anybody. Swear?"
"Don't worry, I won't," Bucky says. "I've only been on one date in the last seventyish years, too. That one didn't go so well. We mostly just talked, but we're better off as just friends. We're not into each other like THAT."
"Are you into ME like that?" Yelena asks, sadistically putting Bucky on the spot.
Bucky thinks for a moment. "If I wasn't, would we be on a date?" He responds.
"Correct answer," Yelena says.
"What's the wrong answer?" Bucky asks.
"Anything resembling a no," Yelena says.
"Are you getting bored?" Bucky asks. "If you are, we could hit up a movie. Could be fun."
"I'm game," Yelena agrees. "What's showing?"
"No Time To Die, Free Guy, The Last Duel," Bucky rattles off movies.
"Let's see No Time To Die," Yelena says. "I can relate to the main character because he and I both have un-American accents."
Not long after, Yelena and Bucky find seats in a semi-packed theater to see No Time To Die. After getting popcorn, they go to their seats. Yelena is on the left, Bucky on the right. As the lights dim and the theater gets quiet, there is a distinctive crunching sound as Yelena eats popcorn.
CRUNCH
Chew chew
Dig dig
…..
CRUNCH
"Start the movie!" Yelena calls out with her mouth full.
"Calm down," Bucky assures, "they'll start it soon."
CRUNCH
"Hey! Eat quieter!" Someone calls.
"Mind your own business, Wong!" Yelena calls back.
As the movie starts, the noise from the speakers cancels out the popcorn and they can actually enjoy the movie.
A few minutes into the movie, Bucky decides that now is the time to make his move. He stretches his arms outwards and fakes a yawn, putting his left Vibranuim arm around Yelena as he brings it back down.
Almost instinctively, Yelena pushes Bucky away, making sure not to spill popcorn.
"Sorry," she whispers once she realized what she did. "The last time a guy put his arm around me, I spent three days in a Sokovian prison before being broken out."
"That's okay," Bucky whispers back. He plots to try again later, deeming it wise to give Yelena some recovery time.
Later on in the movie, Bucky tries again (this time without the fake yawn).
Yelena flinches when she feels Bucky's arm around her, but she knows he's just trying to be nice, maybe even romantic. She doesn't do anything about it and lets his arm stay there around her. After a minute or two, she uneasily slowly leans towards him, resting her head on his upper arm. The Vibranium, while hard, is surprisingly not uncomfy to lean against. Through her nose, Yelena breathes a sigh of comfort, for the first time feeling a different kind of love, that kind of love only reserved for select relationships.
They stay like that for the rest of the movie, neither flinching at any violent or action scenes that come hand-in-hand with James Bond movies.
After the movie, Bucky walks Yelena back to her apartment, discussing the movie most of the way.
As they head up the stairs, Yelena says, "I had a really good time tonight. It was fun to go on a date for real."
"Yeah, I had fun, too," Bucky replies. "We should do this again sometime."
"Yeah, totally!" Yelena agrees. "We should go on another date."
"Where do you wanna go next time?" Bucky asks.
"We could see a play," Yelena thinks out loud. "Or a musical. It's fun to see other people faking their lives."
"Then let's do it," Bucky offers. "Same time next week?"
They reach Yelena's door.
"Yes," Yelena says, "same time next week."
They stand outside the locked door for a moment, both trying to look the other in the eyes but neither succeeding. It's like this for a moment that feels like an eternity.
"I should probably go inside now," Yelena finally says.
"Okay," Bucky replies quietly. He leans down and kisses Yelena's right cheek and then quickly walks away.
Yelena opens her door quickly, goes inside, and shuts it by leaning against it. Leaning against the door, she puts her hand on her right cheek, smiling. Then, she screams so loudly that the people two rooms down could hear her:
"YEEEEEEEESSSS!"