Mr. Metal is in my apartment.

In my living room.

And my god is he good looking.

He was tall, much taller than me, and his long dark nearly reached his very broad shoulders. Stubble lined his squared jaw and those blue eyes of his were peering right into me. I felt breathless, staring at this man who I had spent the night with and I barely knew his name. I tensed when I realized that he had actually spoken and I had been too busy staring at his unnervingly handsome face and captivating blue eyes to hear what he had said.

"W-What?" I stuttered forcing myself to focus.

"I said I brought your ID," he held it up in his flesh hand so I could see it. "It's how I knew where you lived. You must have dropped it when we were-," he broke off suddenly glancing at Iris who was watching this awkward interaction with crossed arms and great amusement. He cleared his throat and finished. "When you left the compound."

"Oh," I took a hesitant step toward him, reaching out and taking it as he offered it. "Thank you. You didn't have to…I mean- thank you." I felt flustered. And I did not like it. Get it together Jade.

"It was no problem," he said shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.

The awkward tension in the air was even thicker as silence fell and I could only continue to stare. What was I supposed to do now? Apologize for slipping out without saying goodbye? I had never had a one night stand before and to my understanding you didn't really see your one night stand again. He definitely wasn't supposed to show up in your apartment looking like a snack when you were wearing your favorite fuzzy penguin pajamas that your mom had given you as a Christmas gift and your hair was a hot mess.

"Well this is awkward!" Iris piped up as the silence carried on. If looks could kill she would have dropped dead instantly as I shot daggers at her. She smiled innocently. "I am going to go in my room to finish studying and put my headphones in…so you guys can talk."

My heart sped up as I watched her offer Bucky a wave and turn for her room after passing me a wink. She couldn't just leave me with him! She put a hand up over the side of her face to block her mouth from Bucky's view and mouthed something that looked a lot like "fuck him". She cannot be serious. I scowled at her and she smiled wider. I watched her disappear down the hallway and into her room, the door closing loudly. Im going to kill her. I turned back to Bucky, catching his blue eyes still on me, a hint of a smile on his lips. I nervously wrung my hands.

"Is she your sister or…?" He questioned.

"No, Iris is my best friend and roommate. We've been friends since we were kids so she may as well be my sister," I chucked nervously. God why is this so awkward?

"Oh… she's… nice," he commented with a nod.

"Yeah and has zero filter," I added.

His head tilted slightly and he looked at me curiously as though he didn't understand the reference. "Zero filter?"

"Oh… I just mean that she says whatever she wants whenever she wants with zero regard for how it might affect others," I elaborated. I felt surprised that he didn't understand the reference. How old is this guy?

He nodded again. "Oh. Right. Zero filter."

I was laughing softly again because I had no idea what else to do.

"So I was wondering," Bucky cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "Do you…do you want to..?"

My eyebrows rose as he trailed off. "Do I want to…?" Die of awkward tension overload right now? Yes, promptly please.

He looked at me hesitantly. "Go get something to eat?" I saw his shoulders tense. "With me?" He added in unnecessarily.

I froze at the question, feeling my face fall into surprise. This was definitely not one night stand standard procedure. I didn't even know the guy, even though he had seen me naked already and we had had sex, three times apparently. And while he seemed nice enough from what I could gather from being sober and around him for 5 minutes, I had just ended a long term relationship and definitely was not looking to date any-.

"She would love too!"

I jumped at the sound of Iris' voice bellowing from the hallway, turning to find her peeking her head out of her bedroom. I sent more daggers her way and gave her a 'what the hell' look. She shrugged in return, that annoying amused smile still on her face. So much for her putting in headphones. I looked back at Bucky, who was fully smiling now, it brightened his whole face, made his rugged looks a little softer. God he's handsome.

"Yes, I would love too," I couldn't very well say no now, that would be rude and he'd come all this way to bring my ID. "Just give me a minute to change? Don't think you want to be seen with me in my Mr. Flipper pajamas."

His blue eyes looked downward, taking in my bottoms before that smile turned to a sly smirk and his shoulders came up in a shrug. "I think they're cute."

I felt my cheeks flame. Mr. Metal is a bit of a flirt. "Thanks…uh…just have a seat and I'll be right out."

He nodded and took a seat on our old coach which groaned loudly under his weight, he looked startled for just a second before smiling at me sheepishly. I turned on my heel and headed down the hallway to my bedroom, not surprised at all to already find Iris in my room going through my closet with a frown.

"Your clothes are so unsexy," she shook her head. "I'll get you a dress from my closet."

"No. Don't. And have I mentioned that I hate you and I need a new roommate?" I brushed past her reaching into my closet for a pair of jeans and a casual top to accompany it that made her roll her eyes. I started stripping quickly.

"You don't hate me you love me. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have met Mr. Metal and got dicked down like you needed and now you have an opportunity to do it again and remember it this time," she grabbed a different top from the closet, a low cut black one that would definitely show too much cleavage and took the other out of my hands to replace it. I frowned at her, but put it on anyway. Fighting her was pointless at times. "You're welcome."

"You mean for the second night in a row, I am a caught in a situation that is not the norm for me, with a man that I don't even know, when I am not looking to date, because of you," I growled at her pulling on my jeans.

"Look, you need to be dating so you can stop pining over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Iris shrugged. "Mr. Metal can help you with that via his penis."

I rolled my eyes walking into my bathroom and pulling my hair from it's pony tail, I had no time to put effort into it and started to pull it up into a bun. "I am not sleeping with him. I'm being nice because he returned my ID and is saving me a trip to the DMV. We're gonna go eat. I am going to let him down easy and I am coming home. I am not looking for a relationship or casual sex."

Iris sighed leaning in the doorway. "Fine, suit yourself."

I had fully expected her to say no. Honestly, I had expected her to kick me out of her apartment the moment she had seen me. What I had not expected was to find myself sitting in a nearly deserted diner a short walking distance from her apartment, in a booth across from her after ordering breakfast for dinner, something that seemed silly and I had no idea you could do. Apparently she was a regular here, the staff greeting her by name when she came in and sat down in 'her' booth, asking her where Iris was, and who I was. 'Just a friend' she had said rather quickly, offering me a nervous smile, a blush on her cheeks. And so here I sat about to eat pancakes, eggs, and bacon, with a beautiful girl at almost 8:00 pm and wondering just what the hell I was doing. I didn't know what the end game was here, I highly doubted she would want to date me once she knew the real me and was I ready to date? Just because Steve thought so didn't mean I was. I had too much baggage, and the threat that HYDRA would come back for me was always in the back of my mind. How could I put anyone in that kind of danger-.

"Bucky?"

I blinked. My head snapping up to find her gazing at me with an arched eyebrow. She must have said something. I had gotten lost in thought. "Yeah?"

"I asked if your name was really Bucky?" She repeated curiously.

"Oh. No. It's uh…it's James," I answered putting my elbows on the table and crossing my arms.

She seemed surprised by that answer. "So how do you get 'Bucky' from James?"

"You don't," I replied. "You get it from Buchanan which is my middle name."

"Oh," she said a smile crossing her lips. "So you're James Buchanan Barnes?"

Hearing her say my full name made my heart skip a beat, something that was so foreign it made me a little uncomfortable. But I liked how it sounded coming from her lips. I felt a smile on my face matching her own. "Yeah, I'm James Buchanan Barnes."

She nodded, absorbing that information. "I like it. It's a strong name…Can I call you James?"

I hesitated. Nobody, but my mother had called me James, but for her I found myself saying, "Yes, you can."

Her smile widened a bit and I found mine growing to see hers doing so. She tucked a loose curl that had strayed from her bun behind her ear and shifted in her seat. "Well I'm Jade Marie Johnson," she offered touching her chest. "Since we're sharing full names."

"I like your name," I admitted.

She was blushing again, her eyes falling as though keeping my gaze was hard. "Thank you."

This is actually okay…she hadn't run screaming from the building or anything. She was smiling, engaging, blushing. Maybe I wasn't so bad at this.

She took a deep breath, looking up at me tentatively. "James, about last night…"

Uh oh. "I'm sorry," I said quickly cutting her off. "If I hurt you or did anything weird or… made you uncomfortable. I haven't been with anyone since…" I trailed off I didn't want to tell her who I really was, or who I had been. I didn't want to scare her off. "Well I haven't been with anyone for a long time so I'm… rusty when it comes to all of this."

She leaned in towards me shaking her head with a slight frown. "You didn't hurt me…well I don't think you did… I really can't remember a thing about last night. And you clearly didn't make me uncomfortable judging from the multiple condom wrappers I saw I think I would have stopped you if I didn't like something and not let you do it a second or third time…"

I resisted the temptation of letting a proud smile cross my face. "Well good… and if I'm being honest I can't remember anything either."

"It's a little unsettling to sit across from someone who has seen you naked and remember nothing about it," she admitted with a small laugh.

"Yeah, it is," I agreed.

"But what I was going to say before is that I don't normally do…that…"

"Me either."

"And if I'm being honest too I'm not really looking for anything relationship wise."

I felt a little relief, suddenly the pressure seemed to alleviate. "I'm not really either. My buddy Steve kind of forced me into this."

She gave a relieved sigh and laughed a little again. It was like music to my ears. "Well you see how Iris is. She practically threw me into your arms."

I laughed, genuinely. It felt good. "Some friends we have huh?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "So… how about… we just be friends then? No expectations or obligations or anything from last night. Just friends."

I hesitated again. I didn't really have friends. I had Steve and people I knew, but again for her I found myself nodding. "Yeah, friends sounds good."

I felt a weight lift from my shoulders almost instantly. He was cool with just being friends, meaning no pressure and no obligations. We could just be friends with no expectations. Friends who had seen each other naked and who had, had sex multiple times, but friends. Luckily neither of us remembered the nakedness or the sex so it lessened the awkwardness of the situation just a fraction. I knew Iris was going to be upset, she had made her irritation with my unwillingness to date, get laid, and 'move on from that douchebag' quite clear. But even though Bucky and I had already had sex, even though the man was a walking snack, even though I found him charming and when he smiled (something I was certain he didn't do very often, because every time he did he looked surprised himself for a just a second) I felt my heart flutter, I was still not ready to date. My disastrous ending with Patrick was still too fresh.

"So my new friend James, what's your super power then?" I asked him after our food had arrived and silence had fallen over us.

He looked up at me, a fork full of eggs poised in front his mouth. "My what?"

"You're an Avenger right?"

"Not…exactly."

"So you don't have a super power then?"

"Not…really, no."

"Oh…but you live at the Avengers compound?" I finished cutting up my pancakes into messy squares.

"Yeah, well that's because of Steve."

"Is your super power the-," I broke off and nodded at his metal arm.

He looked down at it and shook his head. "No. It's just…a replacement for the arm I lost."

I felt like a jerk suddenly for bringing up something that was obviously a sore subject and steered the conversation away from it. "So…what do you do then?"

He looked uncomfortably hesitant, like he didn't want to tell me. Then a hint of a smile played at his lips and he scooped up more eggs with his fork. "If I tell you then I'll have to kill you."

"Ohhh so it's top secret then?" I asked playfully. I got the feeling that it really wasn't something he wanted to share.

He nodded, a smile spreading across his handsome face. "Exactly."

Okay then metal armed mystery man. He didn't have to tell me. No obligations or expectations. Just friends. "Fine, don't tell me then," I taunted with a smile taking a bite of pancakes.

He wiped his mouth with his napkin and changed the subject. "And what do you do Jade?"

"I'm a nurse. I started out doing trauma in the emergency room, but that got too…heavy…so now I work in pediatrics."

"Pediatrics…meaning you work with kids right?"

"Yeah. Do you like kids?"

He hesitated again, he did that a lot, as though he had to carefully think about everything that he said to me. "Yes. I do."

"Do you have any?"

He shook his head quickly. "No. No kids."

"Do you want to?

Again, he paused, his eyes looking downward before he shrugged. "Maybe? In my line of work attachments aren't exactly a good thing."

"You mean in your top secret line of work?" I asked teasingly trying to lighten the mood that suddenly seemed very tense with all my nosy questions. Am I flirting with him?

He chuckled. "Yeah, my top secret line of work."

"You're a real mystery man, James," I lifted my glass of water to my lips and sipped it looking up at him through my lashes. Oh this is definitely flirting.

"I guess so, Jade." He smiled again and this time it reached his eyes putting an extra spark in the blue and I felt a blush in my cheeks.

Stop flirting with him, Jade. You're just supposed to be friends. JUST FRIENDS.

We finished our meal with more small talk and without any uncomfortable silences. She told me about her parents, who lived in Maine, and who she regularly visited and talked too. She told me about how she had met Iris, who was studying to take the BAR exam and become a lawyer, in grade school and how they had instantly become friends and had been nearly inseparable ever since. She told me about how much she loved her job and the kids she worked with. And I sat there quietly, eating up every word she said, nodding to show I was listening and enjoying seeing her eyes light up as she spoke, feeling a warmth in my chest. I let her do most of the talking and she let me, not asking me too many more questions about my past which I was thankful for because I didn't want to tell her. I didn't want to see that look of fear in her eyes when she realized I was the Winter Soldier, that I had murdered people, that I had done terrible things. I liked her and I wanted her to like me. I didn't want her to know I was a nearly 100 year old super soldier and ex brain washed assassin who could be triggered into a killing machine with a simple set of words.

Before I knew it we were outside, circling the block around her apartment building for the 4th time because it seemed she was in the middle of a story whenever we reached the buildings door and we both looked at each other with a silent 'one more time around the block wound hurt' look before continuing our walk. When we reached her door the 5th time her story was finished and I was admittedly disappointed when she came to a stop looking at me timidly.

"Well…this is me…for the 5th time," she chuckled.

"Yeah it is. Did you want me to walk you to your door?" I asked looking up at the building.

She shook her head. "Oh no, it's fine. Those stairs are really hard on the knees," she tucked that stubborn loose curl behind her ear again, something I found ridiculously cute. "I'm sorry I rambled so much."

"Oh no, doll, don't be," I said brushing her statement off with a wave. "I like listening to you talk."

She was blushing again, her eyes down before she was looking back up at me with a small smile. "I had a good time, James. I'm glad that we're gonna be friends."

I could hear Steve's voice in my head, remembering the words he had said to me as I was leaving the compound. 'Don't be afraid to put yourself out there Buck! At least ask for her number'. I still couldn't believe how our roles had been reversed, at one point it had been me with the never ending possibility of dates and coaching him on how to pick up women: and now he had a girlfriend, Sharon Carter, and it was me that needed the coaching and he was trying to set me up. It was embarrassing.

I cleared my throat and prepared to put myself out there and for the inevitable rejection. "Me too...maybe we could do this again sometime…as friends…" I added quickly.

To my surprise she nodded. "Yeah, I would like that…give me your cell."

I frowned at her. "My what?"

She looked up at me dumbfounded. "Your cellphone…you have one right?" She laughed. "Don't tell me you are the only guy on the planet without one."

She means your portable phone Barnes, that thing Steve gave you. Way to let her know how ancient you really are, I scolded myself pulling out the small electronic rectangle from my pocket. I had only taken it because Steve insisted I needed one. I still barely knew how to work the damn thing. I handed it to her, feeling a nervous smile on my face as her thumbs moved quickly on the screen and then she was handing it back, looking down I saw her name and number on the screen.

"I saved my info in your contacts…so text me…" she shrugged casually.

Text her? What the hell does that mean? I would have to ask Steve later, if I let on that I didn't know what 'text me' meant then she'd know I was an old man for sure. "Okay, I will…text you…" I tried to smile like I knew what the hell I was talking about.

She looked a little confused, but nodded and smiled, surprising me again when she came towards me, her hand coming to rest on my chest. She used me as a brace, rising on her tip toe and brushing her full lips across my stubbly cheek with a chaste kiss, coming dangerously close to my lips. I tensed, but also felt something stir inside of me, something that had heat flooding me and my heart stuttering in my chest. I felt my eyebrows go up, unable to hide the surprise as I watched her drop back down to her heels, blushing and grinning.

"Goodnight James."

She turned quickly before I could think of anything to say, entering the building before disappearing up the stairs to her apartment.

"That sounds a lot like a date."

I sighed and covered my face with my hands. "I know! It wasn't supposed to be. We agreed to be friends and I was going to use that as an opportunity to just ghost him and I don't know what happened."

"And it sounds like you might be going on a second date."

I frowned at Iris, watching her eat my left over pancakes that I hadnt finished, sinking further into the couch. "We agreed to just be friends," I repeated.

"Friends that are dating apparently," Iris smirked.

"I thought we both had been clear. And then I was flirting and giving him my number and kissing his cheek-."

"Uh, Jade, news flash: Mr. Metal is hot. I don't blame you for flirting and stuff. I mean drunk you had your tongue down his throat after knowing him for like twenty minutes so sober you is being real reserved."

"I don't want to date. Dating is complicated. I don't need that in my life right now especially not after Pat-."

Iris held up her hand stopping me. "Don't you dare mention He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named right now. You just had a good time with a new and very different man and we are focusing on that. You like Mr. Metal don't you?"

"Well…yeah…he's good looking and once he comes out of his shell he's pretty charming, kinda mysterious though. He wouldn't tell me what he really does with the Avengers and the man had one contact in his phone and it was Captain America, but over all he's decent."

"Good then you're gonna keep being 'friends'," she paused to accent the word with air quotes and a dramatic roll of her eyes so I knew just how ridiculous she found it. "Keeping going on 'not dates that really are dates' and just see what happens. Maybe you and Mr. Metal will decide to be more than friends and boink again. But if anything he'll be a nice distraction from that douchebag you-know-who."

I sighed. "Fine. If he does text me. I'll text him back."

"Good," Iris smiled proudly. "Apparently there's hope for you yet."