Bucky, "Wait. Are you jealous?"

She was walking down the streets with Bucky and conversing idly when her name was called.

"Corinne?" A male voice called out hesitantly.

She turned around, name of the owner of the voice on the tip of her tongue. Who was it?…

A man with brown hair and blue grey eyes was smiling at her.

"Josh!" She exclaimed in delight, about to excitedly run towards him. Broad shoulders blocked her way, though. She looked up at Bucky in confusion.

It seemed that he was in full Winter Soldier mode. He was tense and alert, accessing the new person with a startling intensity.

It hasn't been too long since he started talking to other people again, so she understood his behavior. Josh was a stranger, and a possible threat. So, the soldier was an unmoving, protective barrier in front of her.

"Hey, it's okay." She said gently. He reluctantly took his gaze away from Josh and to her. Corinne smiled reassuringly. "Josh's an old friend."

He stared at her for a couple beats before nodding slowly.

She passed by him and grinned at the confused Josh. At the sight of her, he seemed to forget about Bucky and opened his arms. They hugged joyfully, and Josh settled an arm around her shoulders when they separated, tugging her to his side. The two made small talk amiably.

It didn't take long for Josh to bring his attention back to Bucky. "So, Corinne…I'm guessing this is your boyfriend? Pretty protective." He raised a brow teasingly.

Corinne tried to ignore the heat that rose in her cheeks. She found the store window beside her suddenly very fascinating. "We're not, um, together."

Josh laughed. "Great!" She saw Bucky stiffen out of the corner of her eye. "Then you'll say yes to a date this weekend?"

"Oh." Her eyes widened as she swung her head around to look at Josh. They had been good friends in high school, even going to prom together, but this was…abrupt. She was at a loss at how to respond, finding it especially difficult with Bucky right in front of her for some reason.

"She's busy." Bucky spoke up. His voice was darker than usual. His eyes met hers when she looked at him, surprised. Something was being reflected in them.

"That's…not a problem!" Josh recovered, shrugging nonchalantly. "Next weekend, maybe? Corinne?"

"She's busy that weekend too. And all the other weekends." A confident smile suddenly appeared om his face, and Corinne watched with shock as Bucky seemed to transform. His stance was relaxed now, but in a self assured way. It reminded her of the Bucky she had seen in the black and white films that had been shot before HYDRA.

"Doing what?" Josh challenged.

Bucky casually raised his hand to run it through his hair. The metal glint of his hand was obvious and drew Josh's eyes to it. It whirred as he did so, almost in warning of the strength it possessed. "Going on dates with me."

Josh sputtered, clearly intimidated now. He looked at Corinne for confirmation.

Well then.

"Sorry Josh," she smiled abashedly, "it isn't an official thing, so you know…"

"Seems pretty official to me." Josh chuckled nervously and detached himself from her. He waved at the two of them. "Nice talking to you, anyway. Text me sometime," he flinched at something behind her, "uh, or, not. Bye!"

Corinne watched amusedly as Josh hurried away. She faced her scowling friend, charming pre-war Bucky gone. Through months of friendship, she knew that he was still on edge but less cautious now.

"Thanks for the save-could have been awkward. I didn't even think he had it in him." She nudged his shoulder, and continued going the way they had been going before the interruption.

He gave a shrug that was way too rigid. "You looked comfortable."

After that, he was silent as he walked beside her. Which was actually pretty normal, she couldn't hold it against him, but she had an inkling it was more this time.

She observed him carefully and thought about what she saw. He was now walking much closer to her, almost to the point of touching. Her mind went back to the way he acted, comparing it to her past significant others…

"Wait a minute. Are you jealous?" A laugh threatened to bubble out of her. This all could have been just the winter soldier mentality ingrained in him, but the notion was still amusing.

Her heart skipped when he didn't smile and his eyes kept looking forward. His jaw was set as he glared at the streets.

"Do you…" Her breath caught in her throat as he spoke. "Want to go out on Saturday?"