AN: So, I tried to veer off the beaten path for this next chapter, tried to get a little more into the development of their relationship, because I got a little criticism for the quick way I did it the first go 'round. However, I'm not too big on this type of development, so I'm not sure how this will turn out. Hope it goes okay!
Anyway, here's the chapter of romance building.
"WRITING."
"SIGNING."
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After careful consideration, I decided to head back up to my room to get some more unpacking done. As much as I wanted to explore New York, I knew it could be dangerous to wander around without knowledge of the city. I would have to wait until Clint or Natasha would take me sightseeing, maybe Darcy if she was up for it. Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice where I was going until I ran into a wall. When said wall steadied me and kept me from falling, I looked up and saw Bucky looking down at me in amusement, Steve by his side.
"Where are you going, doll?" He asked and I blushed at the term of endearment. I am only going to be their friend. I am only going to be their friend. I repeated the mantra in my head as I wrote out my response to his question.
"Back up to my room. Why?" Bucky shook his head.
"No you're not. You're coming with me and Stevie to go sightseeing." I blinked in surprise at his assertion and he used my hesitation to drag me towards the elevator, Steve hot on our heels.
"It's best to just go with it. Besides, what's a trip to New York without a little sightseeing?" Steve asked warmly and I shrugged, uncomfortable. While I was okay with being their friend, I hadn't realized that I would be spending so much time with the soldiers. It would be harder to wrench myself away from them if I got too close to them. Bucky seemed to sense my hesitation because he turned me to face him, eyes stern.
"You can't explore New York alone, correct?" I nodded unsurely. "And Natasha and Clint are nowhere to be found, correct?" I sighed and nodded again. "Then who better to show you around New York than us?" I didn't really have an argument for that. And I really did want to get out and see the sights. I was just afraid of screwing up. Natasha's warning that I wouldn't last long rang through my brain. Still seeing my hesitation, Bucky's face closed off, a mask slipping into place. The sight of it made me want to cry. I didn't mean to hurt him with my indecision! "Unless, of course, you just don't want to go with us." My eyes widened and I vehemently shook my head, immediately beginning to write out my response to salvage the situation.
"No, no! It's just I'm sure you have better things to do than show me around the city. I don't want you to feel like you have to show me around, just because I'm Clint and Natasha's daughter." Bucky eyed me, as if to see if I was really telling the truth. I hoped he found nothing but sincerity in my eyes.
"You sure it's not because you're afraid of me?" He asked quietly. Steve shifted and wrapped his arm around Bucky's shoulder in comfort.
"Buck…"
"No, it's okay if she is. I wouldn't blame her." I watched the exchange in confusion.
"Why would I be scared of you?" I wrote timidly and the two men in front of me stared. I shrunk back under their gazes.
"You don't know about my… history?" Recognition dawned on me as I realized he was referring to the time he spent as the Winter Soldier. I wanted to facepalm. How stupid could I be?!
"No! I mean, yes, I know your history, but no, I'm not afraid of you. If I'm not afraid of the Hulk, why should I be afraid of you?" I put my hand on his arm in comfort before going back to writing. "I promise I'm not scared of you. You've been nothing but nice to me. If you really want to take me sightseeing and don't feel like it's an obligation, I would love to go see the sights. I'm sorry I made you think otherwise." I bit my lip and looked up at both of them expectantly, waiting for them to read my note. Steve finished first, sending me a blinding smile. Bucky looked from me to the note and then back before his shoulders that had hunched in tension eased.
"I'm glad you aren't afraid of me." He said quietly and I couldn't help but throw my arms around him as best I could, giving him a hug. There was a moment of shock from the both of us, I could tell by him freezing up and I quickly started to move back, blushing furiously. I had just wanted to prove that I trusted him, I hadn't even thought about whether or not he would welcome physical contact. Before I could move far though, he wrapped his huge arms around me and squeezed gently, returning my hug. I stepped back after a few more seconds and bit my lip looking down at the ground. Steve and Bucky chuckled at my awkwardness.
"Well, if we're going to go sightseeing, we might want to press an elevator button." Steve suggested and I realized that we had been standing in the unmoving elevator this whole time. I blushed an even deeper shade of red and pressed the ground floor button, finally feeling the elevator descend. As we entered the lobby I had a sudden thought and paused. The two soldiers noticed my absence by their side and glanced back to find me.
"What's up, Angel?"
"Is it even a good idea for you guys to go out? Won't you get swarmed by rabid fans or something?" They laughed and shook their heads.
"Nah, the people of New York have started to get used to us. We may have to deal with a few autographs or something usually, but today we'll just ask them to excuse us since we're on touring duty."
"If you're sure…"
"We wouldn't go out if we weren't. Don't you worry about us, doll. Let's worry about where we're going to go. Any ideas?"
"Where do you guys think we should go? You're the tour guides. What's our itinerary?" I teased, grinning cheekily as Steve laughed.
"Well, we could go to the Statue of Liberty. You know, start out your sightseeing with a bang." Bucky suggested and I tilted my head in consideration.
"I don't know, Buck. That might be a bit much for her first real trip out to New York."
"Anything will be 'a bit much' to someone who wasn't born and raised here. Besides, Angel here is the daughter of the Widow and the Hawk. She can handle it, right?" I laughed and nodded, enjoying the fact that they weren't just excluding me from their conversation.
"Are you sure? That's one of the major tourist attractions, so there will be a lot of people." Steve cautioned and I smiled.
"I'll just stick close to the two of you. I'm sure it'll be fine."
"So, to Lady Liberty?" I grinned, excitement seeping into me. My first real trip out!
"To Lady Liberty!"
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I stared up in awe at the gigantic Statue of Liberty. She was even more magnificent than I could ever begin to describe. I couldn't get over the sheer enormity of the statue and all it stood for. It was incredible to be able to experience. Even surrounded by fellow tourists taking pictures and jostling for the best position in front of the Lady, I still felt like it was worth the hustle and bustle. I turned back to the super soldiers, who were right behind me, both studiously ignoring all the cameras that were aimed in their direction and not the statue. They truly were saints.
"I can't believe that I'm actually in front of the Statue of Liberty! I never thought I would ever see it up close and personal like this!" I was practically bouncing in my excitement, much to Steve and Bucky's amusement. Bucky rolled his eyes, but I could tell from the mischievous glint that it was all in good fun.
"Tourists." He muttered and I stuck my tongue out at him.
"You're the one that insisted on showing me around New York. Let me embrace my inner tourist!" Bucky snickered but raised his hands in surrender when I shook my finger at him.
"Alright, alright! Pushy! Anyway, are we almost done here? I'm getting hungry."
"You're always hungry." Steve pointed out, earning a jab in the ribs from Bucky's elbow.
"So are you!" I raised my pad of paper and swatted them both, gaining their surprised attention. I blushed but decided to ignore how comfortable I already felt with them and began writing.
"Okay, enough children! We can go eat after I get a picture in front of Lady Liberty."
"Okay, do you want one of us to take the picture for you?" Steve asked as I wrestled my phone out of my nonexistent pocket. Damn you women's jean designers! I shook my head and gestured for them to come stand by me. I figured that if I really was going to fall for the soldiers – which already seemed inevitable – and then have to walk away from them, I was going to at least have some pictures to remember them by. They looked confused but did as they were told, coming to stand on either side of me. I positioned the phone, trying to get the best angle where I could see all of us and the statue. Finally understanding what I was doing and realizing the difficulty with our differing heights, Steve gently picked me up with one arm so that I was basically sitting between the two of them. I was blushing hard and couldn't help but notice the envious glares many of the females in the area were shooting at me. Deciding that, for my own sanity, I would ignore the sweet gesture, I repositioned my phone before taking the picture. I looked at it to make sure it was good and smiled happily when I saw that it had turned out perfectly.
"Nice shot. You'll have to send that to us." Steve complimented as he carefully set me back down on me feet.
"Sure, just give me your numbers and I will. Do you want to head back to the tower to eat? In return for helping me out in the city, maybe I can help you get updated on the twenty-first century. Darcy mentioned that you still need help with that." I wanted to slap myself. What was I doing? I already knew this was going to end badly for me, and here I was, offering to spend more time with them! I must have really hated myself. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound I guess.
"Yeah, Darcy used to be in charge of that, but I think her version of 'pop culture' is a bit skewed by her personal tastes." Steve grumbled as he took my phone and began programming his and Bucky's numbers into it. "There you go."
"Well she must have done something right, you know how to use a cellphone." They scoffed.
"That wasn't because of her 'teachings,' that was because we read the instructions." I stared at them in slight horror.
"Wait, you read the entire phone manual?!" They nodded. "Oh good lord, you two need some serious help if you had to resort to that to learn."
"Probably. We never really got caught up on pop culture. I mean, we have the basics, we can navigate in this century, but it's still frustrating sometimes." Steve mentioned as we began making our way away from the statue.
"Yeah, I never understand Stark's references. The other day he called Clint 'Legolas'. What does that even mean?" I gaped at them once again, shocked by their lack of knowledge.
"Okay, first thing on the list of movies to watch is Lord of the Rings. Come on, we're going to go watch them. Like, yesterday." I grabbed both of their hands and began tugging them along, not really registering that I was holding their hands.
When we got back to the tower, I immediately sat them down in front of my TV and had JARVIS put on the first movie while I made enough popcorn to feed an army. I knew the super soldiers had a fast metabolism, so I figured that even with the popcorn they wouldn't ruin their dinner. We got through the first one and about half of the second before JARVIS informed us that dinner was being served. We went upstairs together, chatting about what we had seen so far of the movies and I couldn't help but laugh at their enthusiasm to watch the rest of the movie and start the third one. As we entered the common room, Natasha and Clint eyed me knowingly, but I elected to ignore them. I knew that I was setting myself up for heartbreak, but I knew that this way would be better for them.
And, after all, wasn't putting your soulmates first the right thing to do?
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AN: I hope this was okay! R&R my lovelies!