To say you were nervous going back to the apartment was an understatement. You weren't sure if pushing people on Bucky was the best thing, buy you wanted him to feel comfortable in the tower, and around Tony and Bruce. That way, he wouldn't feel so awkward when the time came that he did want to venture off your floor. The packages for Bucky arrived just as you got back, so you pulled them in, finding Bucky and Steve on the couch watching the History channel.
"Oh honey! I'm home!" You yelled, carrying one of the boxes into the kitchen. Steve laughed and got up, gesturing to the box, Bucky following after. "What's that?" He asked you.
"Oh, just some stuff for Bucky." You said, opening the box. This one had shirts and pants in it. "I ordered him some clothes and basic stuff I thought he would need." Bucky came over and peered into the box. "Ally, you didn't have to do this."
You shrugged, sliding the box over to him. "Of course, I did, what else were you gonna wear? Keep stealing Steve's clothes out of the dryer?" Bucky sent you a pointed look. "Hey, it's no big deal. Also, not a big deal, but Bruce and Tony are coming down here for dinner." Bucky froze and looked over at you. "Hey, it's okay, they just want to meet you. It's not gonna be a big thing, just take out and maybe a movie. Is that okay?" You asked, placing a hand on his arm. He looked down at your hand and relaxed slightly. He gulped and nodded.
"Okay. Well, you boys can get the rest of the boxes, I'm going to relax" You told them. You saw Steve mouth 'boxes?' to Bucky and you giggled, heading into your room. Pulling your laptop out, you plopped on the bed, and started doing research. You tried typing in Strucker, and he came up in Shields files. He was known Hydra, and was listed as doing experiments, which you already knew.
His base of operations was in Sokovia. Maybe if you could get the scepter and have Tony not make a murder bot. That would be great. Then Sokovia wouldn't be destroyed and Ross wouldn't want the Accords.
A knock on the door brought you out of your thoughts. "Come in!" You yelled. Bucky poked his head in. "Hey. You got a minute?" He asked. You smiled and nodded. "Of course." He stepped in and closed the door behind him, leaning against it. "Tony…his last name is Stark isn't it." You nodded, knowing where he was going to go with this.
"I…killed his parents." He whispered. You got up and walked over to him. "Bucky, no. That wasn't you. I know that, and Tony knows that too. Hey, look at me." You told him softly. He looked up at you and the pain and guilt in his eyes was enough to break your heart. "I promise you, we're not gonna stop until every Hydra base is destroyed. I don't care how long it takes. They're going to pay for what they did to you. Okay?" He nodded, eyes filled with tears.
"Can I…is it alright if I hug you?" He asked slowly. "Oh Bucky, you don't ever have to ask that. You always can." You held your arms, giving him all the control. He slowly stepped closer to you, trying to take deep breaths. He only wrapped his flesh arm around your middle, and while you weren't scared of the other one, you didn't want to push him. You knew he was afraid of it. You knew he hated it.
He let out a ragged breath and you noticed he was shaking. God, when was the last time someone touched him like this? Were you the last one? You doubted he was given praise of any kind with Hydra. Rubbing your hands up and down his back, you felt his arm tighten around you. "It's okay, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Not anymore. Do you trust me?" You asked.
He pulled away and rested his forehead on yours. Closing your eyes to calm yourself from how close he was to you, holding your breath. "I don't really remember you. I just get bits and pieces. But I know enough to know that I feel safe with you. I haven't felt safe in a very long time." You nodded, pulling back to look at him.
"Everything's gonna be okay. Don't worry about tonight alright? It's gonna be fine." He nodded and left your room. Laying back on your bed you closed your eyes. You wanted your Bucky back so desperately, but you knew that he would never really be the same. He had to learn how to live with himself and Winter, even after all of Shuri's programming. You wiped the tears that fell and took a deep breath. Bucky needed you to be strong. You had to be.
Your phone buzzed and you grabbed it, smiling when you saw Clints name pop up.
Hawkey: A blonde drops off her dress to the dry cleaners
The lady says, "Come Again!"
The blonde says, "No, it's toothpaste this time."
You busted out laughing, almost dropping your phone on your face.
You: That was hilarious. Okay, okay. I got one for you.
You: "Give it to me! Give it to me!" she yelled, "I'm so wet, give it to me now!" She could scream all she wanted to. I was keeping the umbrella.
A couple minutes went by before your phone buzzed again.
Hawkey: Oh my god. That was amazing. Ugh I miss you and your stupid jokes. Lol.
You: Well maybe you and Nat should come back to the tower. Lol You may actually need to soon. I'm gonna have information on a Hydra base to go over with Tony.
Hawkey: Just let us know.
You: Oh, also, tell Nat I found Barnes…
Hawkey: Are you okay? Is HE okay?
You: No, but he will be.
Making your way back into the kitchen, you started grabbing plates and silverware from the cabinets for dinner. You noticed Bucky sitting at the island with his notebook. "Would you like to help me set the table?" You asked. He looked up at you and nodded, taking the silverware. He walked behind you, setting the forks down after you had set the plates down. He stopped when he heard the elevator.
"Miss Allison, Sir and Dr. Banner are requesting entrance to the floor."
"Thank you, Jarvis, please let them in."
Steve went to help them with the food and you turned to Bucky who was stiff, gripping the back of the chair. "Hey. It's okay. If it gets too much, they can leave okay? Promise." He nodded and helped you finish.
"Have we even used this table since we've lived here?" Steve asked as he set the Chinese take out boxes down. You shook your head. "No, I'm pretty sure we only eat in front of the tv like lazy people." You threw back. He laughed and stuck his tongue out at you, which you reciprocated.
You smiled at Bruce and Tony and nodded for them to come closer. "Tony, Bruce, this is Bucky. Bucky, this is Tony Start and Bruce Banner."
"It's nice to meet you Bucky." Bruce said.
"Same, nice to meet you." Tony got out. You knew this was going to be hard, but it was progress. Bucky nodded at both of them. "Thank you for letting me stay here." He said softly. Any weirdness Tony had towards Bucky was gone when he saw how broken the man looked. "No sweat, any friend of Buttercups here is a friend of mine." You rolled your eyes and glared at Tony."
"Hey, don't look at me like that buttercup, we had a deal." Tony said smirking. You all sat down and there really was enough food to feed an army, which you kind of had. You were glad Thor wasn't here or there would be even more boxes. You grabbed beers for everyone, and Bucky sat down next to you, unsure of what to do. He leaned in next to you and whispered. "I don't know what any of this is, I've never had it." God how many more times can my heart break today?
"Oh okay...well this is Kung Pao Chicken, it's kinda spicy and it's got veggies in it. Then there's Sweet and Sour chicken, which tastes just like it sounds, there's Orange Chicken which is my personal favorite. You've also got noodles, white rice and fried rice. When the whole team is here we literally have some of everything, but we just like this stuff." You told him smiling.
"You're forgetting the best part Ally." Steve said from across the table. You looked around and raised an eyebrow. "The fortune cookies!" He yelled, throwing one at you. Your mouth dropped open as you threw it back. "Jerk." You said laughing. You watched out of the corner of your eyes as Bucky got the same things you did, fried rice and the Orange Chicken, but twice as much as you had on your plate.
Nobody really said much during dinner, just talked about your days. You didn't want to bring up mission stuff in front of Bucky in case it would be too much, and you also didn't want to bring up and future stuff because you weren't sure if he remembered that part about you. The boys helped putting all the food away and you headed to the living room to pick out a movie.
Tony and Bruce took the chairs, so that left the couch for you, Steve and Bucky. You sat in the middle, patting the seat next to you for Bucky. He seemed hesitant at first, but sat down anyway.
"So, buttercup, what movie do we have the pleasure of watching this evening?" Tony asked, smirking as you cringed at the nickname. "Well, I was thinking of a classic, and since we have the Science Bros in our presence tonight, I though this one would be perfect. Weird Science." Tony groaned and Bruce smiled.
It was hard to concentrate on the movie because you kept touching Bucky. First it was your leg, then it was your arm. He was so warm and you missed how he felt pressed up against you. Steve must have noticed you were holding your breath because he leaned in next to your ear. "Are you okay?" He whispered. You nodded slowly, never taking your eyes off the tv.
Tony and Bruce headed out after the movie, and you told them you would be up to the lab sometime tomorrow. You told the boys goodnight and flung yourself on the bed, hoping you were able to sleep.
You got back to the hotel, and Bucky walked you up to your room. You turned to him and smiled. "I had a lot of fun tonight Bucky, thank you." He smiled back at you, and you were relieved you were leaning against the wall. He really needed to stop looking at you like that.
"You're welcome. So did I. Also, I like your real hair better." You chuckled, and carefully pulled the wig off, shaking your purple hair out. Bucky took a strand and wound it around his finger. "Much better." He whispered. You realized just how close he was to your face and you took a breath in. His lips hovered over yours. "Is this okay?" He asked you. Everything in your brain was telling you to say no, to stop him. Because you knew where this was headed. You knew you would fall head over heels in love with Bucky Barnes and then you would lose him. That didn't stop you. You nodded and his lips connected with yours, and you were done for. His hand went behind your neck, his other around your waist. Both your hands were tangled in his jacket, holding on for dear life.
He pulled away after a minute or so, resting his head on yours. "Wow." He said. "Yeah." He gave you one more soft kiss, before letting you into your room. You shut the door behind you, closed your eyes and giggled. You actually giggled.
You shot awake, covered in sweat, glancing at the clock. Three thirty. "What the shit." You mumbled. You jumped into the shower, a cold one, and changed into some shorts and a t-shirt. Knowing you wouldn't get back to sleep, you ventured out into the living room, to find Bucky sitting on the couch, watching some late night talk show. He turned his head, probably hearing you, and his brow furrowed. "Hey, did I wake you?" You shook your head, grabbing a blanket off the chair and sitting on the opposite end of the couch. "No, it's okay, just couldn't sleep, you?"
"Nightmare." You nodded and glanced over at him. "I'm sorry, you know, whenever you have a nightmare, you can always come wake me up you know? To talk or whatever." He nodded and looked back at the tv.
"What are you even watching? Do you mind?" He shook his head and you grabbed the remote, turning on some Big Bang Theory. You loved this show, and you even heard Bucky chuckle a few times. Before long you found yourself sleepy again, so you laid down, putting your head next to Bucky's leg. You felt Bucky's flesh hand push some hair out of your face after you closed your eyes. You smiled and were back asleep before the next episode.