NOTES: HOLY CRAP! Talk about a Christmas miracle...

Guess what? My computer is back! I've never been so happy in my whole life! Thank you all so much for the kind comments and the support. Most of all, thank you all for your patience.

I hope you enjoy this piece of goodness.

Sadly I had no time for re-reading or beta-reading this, so I have no idea of what you may find in there. Let me know if something is too terrible.

Chapter 3

"Darcy?"

She jumped a foot in the air, because she didn't hear his footsteps and had not been expecting him. Probably that was why she forgot for a second all her previous thoughts and turned to him. "Fuck, James! What have we talked about not making any noise? Do you want to give me a heart attack?" She demanded angrily, hand on her chest.

Bucky –or James, as he preferred these days -, who was standing just one step out of her tiny kitchen, grinned just a bit, before he became serious again.

His face reminded Darcy immediately of their predicament. She knew she should say something –anything –fast, but there was nothing coming to her head.

She was worried sick that one night of too many margaritas would destroy a friendship that hadn't been exactly easy to begin with, but that meant a whole fucking lot to her.

She could remember perfectly well the day that Steve brought him back from God knows where. James hadn't been exactly kicking and screaming, but to Darcy it seemed that the only thing keeping him from doing just that was his supernatural level of self-control.

Self-control that had been completely absent last night, Darcy thought at the same time a wave of pure heat licked through her.

"James…" She started dragging his name, because she had no fucking idea of what she should say next.

"Just please…" He said suddenly, his voice so controlled, his body so rigid that Darcy knew he was one step away from just snapping. "Please, tell me I didn't…" The words seemed to choke him. "Tell me I didn't force you."

Darcy forgot all about being ashamed and advanced four big steps until she was right in front of Bucky, hands cradling his face. "No, James! Don't even think about that. You did not force me." She said firmly. "Do you understand that?"

"You had too much to drink." He replied through clenched teeth.

"Do you remember me pushing you in my bed?" She asked, because seriously, she had not been that drunk. "Do you remember me holding your head between my legs while I screamed something along the lines of 'don't stop'? Because I do and that was consent. Enthusiastic consent, I might add."

His face –which had been guarded during the beginning of their conversation –went a bit soft and by the end of Darcy's tirade there was this tiny smirk on his lips.

Darcy felt victorious for about ten seconds, until he said "Oh trust me, doll, I remember that." And his voice was all husky and… Oh man.

Darcy cleared her throat and took a step back, feeling her face warming up. Bucky's eyes followed her with interest.

"I'm glad we cleared that up." She said looking at everything but him.

Bucky took on step in her direction. "I think there's something else we need to clear up." He said, his voice still serious, but something in his eyes…

Oh man…

"W-what?" She asked, cursing herself and him for the slip on her voice.

Bucky arched a very expressive eyebrow.

When he had first arrived Bucky only talked to Natasha and Steve. He tolerated Sam and Bruce well enough, but Tony's and Thor's exuberant manners seemed to rattle him.

Darcy saw the wounded look in his eyes and decided then and there that she would befriend him at all costs. She started by bribing him with food, without ever talking to him. She would cook for him –homemade food was a great comfort, her mother would say –and with time she learned to take his small gestures as signs of thank you.

Darcy was, by now, a master in understanding Bucky only by small gestures and looks.

The way he was looking at her right now? That was a huge ass clue that she was in deep, deep trouble. And it was also hot as hell.

"James?" She called nervously, her heart beating so loud she was sure he could hear it.

"My only doubt at the moment is…" James said, his expression serious, but his eyes twinkling in amusement, "Why are you so nervous now, if you were so confident last night?"

"Cause…" Darcy swallowed dryly. "We're friends." She really didn't want to have this conversation now. Or ever.

Bucky hummed affirmatively, like he could see what worried her, but not exactly why.

"And I don't want this to… Mess it." Darcy finally managed to say.

"Why would it?" Bucky arched a brow.

"Because - in my experience -that's what happens." She admitted with a sigh. "People have sex and it screws everything else."

James seemed a bit surprised by how serious she was about this. He scratched his nape –a clear sign that he was lost. "I haven't thought of that." He finally said.

"I don't want to lose us, James." She confessed in a small voice.

"Hey doll, don't be like that." James asked, cradling her face between his hands. "You aren't about to lose anything." He assured her.

"You don't know that!" She protested. She kind of felt like she was about to hyperventilate. "What if you're okay with this now, but not tomorrow? What if I become clingy? What if I'm pregnant?"

James rolled his eyes. "I think you're overreacting, doll." He informed her. "I'm pretty sure I'll still be okay with this tomorrow. You aren't clingy, and I'd be fine if you were. And you aren't pregnant, you crazy person! We used protection."

"Those things fail!" Darcy whined.

James sighed. "Darcy…" He seemed lost for a second. "What do you want? Do you want space? I can give you space."

"No!" Darcy cried. "Space is always the beginning of the end."

James was looking very confused now and Darcy felt like an idiot. "I'm sorry." She sighed. "I know I'm not making any sense and I'm sounding too dramatic. I'm sorry."

"Darcy…" Bucky chuckled and hugged her, pulling her against his chest. "Don't worry about those things. Whatever happens after today, even if you are pregnant –which you are not – we'll deal with it together."

"Why do you have to be so perfect?" Darcy groaned against his chest.

"Perfect?" His voice was incredulous. "Did I make you bang your head against the headboard last night, doll? I'm very far from perfect."

She hadn't banged her had last night, thank you very much. She already thought that James was perfect way before that.

"You're joking, right?" She said before she could stope herself. She separated herself from him, just enough to be able to look at his face. "Do you remember how much time you spent last night making me scream? Or how you treated me like a goddess the whole time?"

"Yeah, but…"

"And it's not only about yesterday!" She forged on, because she had been keeping a lot inside her and now she just wanted to say it all. "You have been a fucking gentleman with the whole 'doll' thing and putting up with the movies I like, opening doors for me, and helping me carry stuff, and buying me chocolate, massaging my feet after a long day at work, even though…"

Darcy stopped talking and took a step back. Now she was a bit confused. Why the hell had Bucky been so nice to her all the time when she was just…

She looked at him and Bucky was there looking at her patiently, like he was just waiting for her to come to some kind of obvious conclusion.

What conclusion?

Oh!

Oh…

"Oh…" She finally got it.

James had a small grin on his lips, a very small one, but on him it was the same as a gigantic smile. "Yeah."

"So this has been some kind of… Courtship?" She asked.

Bucky groaned. "That makes me sound like an idiot."

Darcy had to hold in her own grin. "You aren't an idiot. You're cute."

Bucky seemed offended by the word "cute" until he processed Darcy's smile. "So… You don't have a problem with that."

"Not really." She shook her head, a grin on her lips.

Bucky took a step in her direction. "So… Can I take you out for dinner tonight?"

"Isn't this a bit backwards?" She teased, taking a step back. "Normally dinner comes before sex."

"Is that a 'no' for dinner?" He teased back, taking another step in her direction.

Darcy's back hit the fridge. "You can pick me up at 7."

He braced his hands against the fridge, caging her in. "It's a date."

They stood there for a second, grinning at each other like fools.

"So…" Darcy dragged the word. "Are you about to fuck me against the fridge?"

Bucky's smile was downright sinful. "Oh yes, I am."

His hands fell immediately to her waist and pulled her against him as his mouth crashed with hers.

Fuck, that man had a talented mouth, he kissed like a dream. James kissed like he was putting everything of him on it, all open mouthed and full of teeth, like he wanted to eat her up. A girl could get used to shit like this.

His hands grabbed her ass and squeezed and Darcy mewled against his mouth, pressing her body more tightly against his, feeling his erection pressing against her belly. She raked her nails against his scalp and James growled –actually growled! –against her mouth.

He pushed her shorts and panties down her legs impatiently and Darcy didn't even stopped kissing him to kick the two things away.

As soon as her legs were free, James hoister her up by her thighs and pressed her more firmly to the fridge.

And what almost fucking killed her in that moment? Things were hot and heavy and they were one minute away from fucking, but he made sure to position his right arm –the flesh and bone one –in a way that it would prevent her head of banging against the fridge.

Goddamnit! If she wasn't in love before, she sure as fuck was now.

With some maneuvering and pushing they managed to get James's pants down to his ankles. His grip on her thigh got tighter and then he entered her in one single hard stroke.

Darcy was pretty sure she heard angels singing.

Her arms were already around his shoulder, she managed to sink her fingers on his hair and grip it tight, because apparently he really liked it.

The fridge jostled with each thrust of James's hips and, in the back of her mind, Darcy was thinking she would have to apologize to her neighbors later.

Their mouths were connected the whole time, one kissing melding into the next, until it was impossible to separate one from the other. The heat was unbearable and, at the same time, not enough.

Darcy could feel her orgasm building deep inside herself, but she still wasn't prepared to when it came crashing down, making her whole world resume to James and the fact that he was still fucking her.

When she came she had ripped her mouth from his to breath and now James had his forehead on her shoulder. "You look gorgeous when you come, doll." He grunted by her ear.

"James…" She whined and it was all he took. James came right after that.

She was afraid of putting her feet down, because she wasn't sure her legs were going to hold her. James, however, just held her there, putting his forehead against hers.

Then the most amazing thing: he opened a grin, such a boyish, happy grin, that Darcy's heart soared. "So…" He was breathless and gorgeous. "Is Italian okay for our date?"

She grinned back. "It's perfect."

NOTES: Darcy & Bucky is pure love, definitely one of my favorite pairings.

So, who do you think is gonna be next?

Let me know what you think.

I wish all of you a magic Christmas. Blessings on you and your family and beloved ones.

See you all next year!
xoxo