Chapter 5. Progress

Content warning: Brief sexual content.

The text from Hope said to come for breakfast before 9:30. Since Bucky gave her flowers the day before, he decided to change it up and stopped at a display of plants at an outdoor vendor on the street. The man asked him some questions about if it was for a loved one or just a friend.

"A friend who might be more," admitted Bucky. "We were kind of prickly around each other at first, but we toned down the animosity because our mutual acquaintance is important to both of us. She's an artist, so maybe something that she can paint."

"Barrel cactus," said the man, looking over his selection then picking one up, a silvery green one with bright pink flowers. "It's easy to take care of, needs minimal water, lots of sun, and the blooms are very pretty for something so prickly."

"I'll take it," said Bucky, grinning at the prickly reference.

As he carried it up the steps of the brownstone, he reflected on how much better he felt today than he did the day before. The conversation after the concert had helped their friendship as they both spoke of things that were private before. Then there was that kiss. It had been very nice and although he declined her invitation to come in for a drink, he knew that a repeat of the kiss could have led to something they weren't quite ready for. The door opened and Hope put her hand out to him.

"I need you," she said, excitedly, without further explanation.

Pulling him into the house, he barely had time to close the door as he was dragged into the kitchen. Then she let go of his hand and pointed to a lower kitchen cabinet.

"What?" he asked, putting the cactus on the kitchen counter.

"I've got it cornered inside but I can't ..."

Gingerly, he opened the door to the cabinet, then kneeled down, looking inside the darkened interior.

"I don't see ..."

A small grey bundle of fur came barreling out with a yowl, making Hope shriek as Bucky fell backwards. His left hand was faster than whatever it was, and he grasped it firmly in his hand to see a small kitten, spitting and thrashing away.

"Where did you come from?" He looked up at Hope. "Get me a towel to wrap it in."

He held it firmly, without letting it sink its teeth into any other part of his body. Hope approached with the towel, and he directed her to lay it over the kitten. Carefully, they got the small creature wrapped up in the towel and he held it up, examining the only visible part of it, the head.

"It was in the yard," said Hope. "I could hear the neighbour's dog snarling at it from the other side of the fence. As soon as I opened the door, it ran inside. Took me forever to get it into that cupboard because it sure wasn't interested in me holding it."

"Its heart is just beating a mile a minute," said Bucky. "I don't think it's very old. Hardly weighs anything."

"Maybe some food will interest it," she suggested, opening the fridge door, then she opened her phone and looked it up. "Says to try some rice or plain chicken, even a bit of tuna. Not milk. I can give it some egg."

Quickly, she whipped an egg up and heated it in the microwave then broke it down into small pieces. Putting some on a spoon, she placed it near the kitten's mouth, smiling when it stopped spitting and smelled the food instead. With a little growl, it took some of the egg and chewed it. It did the same thing several times, eagerly eating the egg on the spoon.

"It must be feral," she said, "and lost its mother. I would take it to a shelter but if its really wild it won't have a good chance of being adopted."

"I'll keep it," said Bucky, impulsively. He looked at her. "There was a time people thought I was feral. Plus, it can't hurt my metal hand or arm."

Every time she thought she had Bucky figured out he did something that surprised her, and this certainly did.

"Are you allowed to have a pet at your place?"

He shrugged. "I've seen other cats sitting in the windows and heard a dog barking a few times. I'll have to get this one checked out, I guess. It likely has fleas or worms."

She looked again at the small kitten, seeing its eyes drooping closed.

"Probably. Is it purring?"

He slowly grinned, then nodded. With some food in its belly the little creature was certainly calmer than it had been. Carefully, he sat on a chair with the bundled-up kitten in his lap, gently scratching its head. Hope began making breakfast, smiling as she glanced at him from time to time. This was a new side to him, an attractive side. Cats were perceptive; at least that's what she heard.

"After breakfast the pet store should be open," said Hope. "We can pick up some flea wash, a litter box, and some food."

"I don't know," he stated. "I can see the fleas on it right now. I think I should give it a bath right away and see if I can get rid of some of the fleas sooner."

She looked closer, noticing the fleas on the kitten's head. Opening her phone's browser, she looked up what would work.

"It says dish soap can take care of the live ones, but you'll still need a flea wash to kill the larvae and eggs." She looked up at him. "Do you want to wash it while I make breakfast? I'll give you a bag for the towels as I'll have to wash them right away."

She brought more towels and some facecloths from the linen closet for him, plus a plastic bag to put them in, then made up a large bowl of soapy water with some dish soap, placing it in the sink. Just as he was about to start Hope thought of something.

"Wait." She smiled sheepishly. "It might not be very cooperative. Maybe you should take your shirt off, so it doesn't get wet."

Bucky grinned at her. "You sure you're not just trying to see my body?" He became serious. "I have scars, and my shoulder and arm are vibranium. It is a bit unusual looking."

"That's okay," she replied softly, then she grinned right back at him. "I'll do my best to control myself."

He handed the kitten to her while he pulled his Henley shirt off. She glanced at his arm but said nothing as he pulled the T-shirt off as well, laying the two garments over the back of the chair. Despite her attempts not to react she was shocked at the scarring around the shoulder insert, which had a distinctive pattern on it. The pattern, replicated on his arm, fascinated her and she looked him in the eye.

"Does the pattern have any significance? It's quite artistic."

"I never asked," he replied, glancing at it. "You think it's nice?"

"Yeah," she nodded, smiling at him. "The whole thing is impressive."

"So is the rest of you," she thought.

She handed the kitten back to him, keeping the towel and placing it in the bag as he grasped it firmly by its scruff, immobilizing it. Turning the tap on, he held the kitten under the stream, then dipped a facecloth into the bowl of soapy water and began washing the dirty fur. It meowed a few times but seemed resigned to the process. He shook his head as the fleas seemed to come en masse out of the kitten's fur, trying to escape the water. For such a little creature it sure had a lot of fleas. It took some time to clean everything, as he kept going until he didn't see any more of the critters.

"This kitten is white," he mentioned, as he wrapped it up in one of the clean towels, gently rubbing the fur. He lifted it so that he could check its eyes. "Blue eyes."

Hope came over to see for herself. Smiling, she looked up at him, taken by his own blue eyes which seemed to stand out at this particular moment.

"You didn't notice if it's a he or she, did you?"

He unwrapped the towel enough to check. "Female. Do you want to hold her while I clean the sink?"

"I can clean it," offered Hope.

"My mess, my responsibility."

After rewrapping the kitten up, he placed her in Hope's one arm. She continued cooking with one hand, which the kitten seemed interested in, while he cleaned the kitchen sink. At one point, she dropped a spatula then noticed the tiny cat didn't respond to the loud sound. Picking up the spatula and putting it on the counter, Hope grabbed her phone and looked up white cat with blue eyes traits.

"Hmmm," she murmured. "Most white cats with blue eyes are deaf. It's a genetic thing connected to the gene for white pigment. She likely couldn't hear the dog snarling at her. I wonder if it chased her out of the yard and that's why it was terrified. She seems fine now."

Bucky rinsed the sink, then pulled his T-shirt on, before putting his hands out for the kitten. He scratched it behind its ears, then smiled as it began purring. As Hope placed the food on the table, he placed the bundled-up kitten on his lap. They sat and ate, occasionally smiling as the kitten's purrs grew loud enough for them to hear. It was then Hope noticed the cactus.

"Was that for me?"

"Yeah, I gave you flowers yesterday so I figured a plant that you could maybe paint would be in order. It's flowers are pretty, but it is prickly as well, which kind of reminded me of when we met." He shrugged. "It seemed a good idea at the time."

"It does have pretty flowers, and I was kind of prickly to you." She got up and brought it back to the table, examining it. "I like it, thank you."

"You're welcome."

They finished eating, quickly cleaning up the dishes and headed out for the pet store. The kitten seemed content to be in Bucky's arms as they walked, looking around with interest. When they entered the store, she squirmed a little, but he held her a little firmer and she sneezed, then settled down. After speaking with one of the staff, they found the flea treatments and chose some kitten food for her. By the time they were done Bucky carried a large shopping bag with the flea treatment, a flea comb, food, a litter box, litter scoop, bag of cat litter, several cat toys, a scratching post, and a bed. The kitten, wearing a collar with a bell, was carried by Hope in a cat carrier, which she didn't like but it was easier to transport her, and Bucky would need it when he took her to the veterinarian. They walked the few blocks to Bucky's apartment. For a brief moment, in front of the door, he felt anxious then he turned to Hope.

"It's a small place," he said. "Just one bedroom."

She smiled. With a sigh he unlocked the door and allowed her to enter first. Closing the door behind him, he placed the bag on the coffee table and watched as she took in the living room / kitchen area.

"It's cute," she said. "I like it. Is it quiet?"

"Mostly," he answered. "It was pretty barren for a while, but your mother convinced me it would never feel like a home unless I had some accessories. She gave me a care package."

"Seriously?" giggled Hope. "She gave all of us a care package when we had our first place. That's awesome."

"It was a nice gesture." He gestured to the small hallway. "The bedroom and bathroom are there."

She looked inside the door to the bedroom then came back out.

"It's nice." She pulled the flea treatment out. "We should bathe her again and comb through her fur to get the larvae out. What are you going to call her? Please not Snowball or Frosty."

"I don't know," he answered. "I'll have to think about it."

After reading the flea treatment instructions Bucky got everything ready first, then took his shirt off again, getting a grin from Hope. While he bathed the kitten and used the flea comb through her fur, Hope set up the litter box, placing it in the corner of the living room as it was the most open and accessible spot. She put the bed and scratching post in front of the window, then looked at the placement of all three.

"You know you could get a screen or something to put in front of the litter box so it's not visible to your guests and maybe a footstool to elevate the bed so she can sleep in the sun and look outside. I think Mom might have a screen somewhere and a footstool or small table in the basement that she'd let you have. If she doesn't, I can make you a screen using framed paper or fabric fastened over stretcher frames. I can even paint something on it ... instant art."

"You would do that for me?"

"Yeah," smiled Hope. "I made some in college. My roommate liked them so much she bought them from me."

He smiled back at her, feeling touched with her offer. She put the towel that had been wrapped around the kitten in a plastic bag to take home and launder, then cleaned out the cat carrier, in case any flea eggs or larvae had fallen from the fur. By the time she finished that Bucky was done and wrapped the kitten up in one of his towels, rubbing her gently. Once again, she purred, seeming to enjoy the attention.

"There we go," said Bucky, placing her on the floor.

He washed out the sink while watching the small feline explore his apartment. When she used the litter box then curled up in the bed, he gave Hope a meaningful look. He was now a cat dad.

"I guess I should get home," said Hope. "It was a good morning. Thank you for the cactus."

"Thank you for breakfast."

He approached where she stood, then ran his hand through his hair, undecided about whether to hug or kiss her. Slowly, he placed his hand on her waist, then lightly drew her in. With no resistance offered he lowered his lips to Hope's and kissed her. As her arms enclosed him, he deepened the kiss, then pulled away slowly.

"If you keep kissing me like that, I'm not sure I can resist you," she said quietly, looking up at him with doe eyes.

He smiled, then rubbed her upper arms lightly. "I didn't think you were resisting me. If it gets too much just tell me to stop and I will. I won't want to, but I will."

She swallowed and nodded. "Okay," she squeaked, then coughed, as she blushed a little. "Will I see you this week?"

"I hope so." He kissed her cheek then bent close to her ear, his warm breath tickling it. "You're welcome to come over here, anytime."

Sensing how she reacted to that he smugly let her go, then gazed at her as she gathered her things. For a moment, she stood by the door before she opened it and left. He went to his window, watching for her to appear on the sidewalk. When she searched for his window he waved, noticing her smile before she waved back. The kitten, already moved to its bed below the window stretched, with a little meow.

"She likes me," said Bucky, looking down at his new roommate. "I think I might just have a girlfriend."

A yawn from the kitten was its response, and he bent down to scratch behind her ear.

It was a good thing there was a little breeze as Hope walked back to the brownstone. She needed it to cool down after that moment when Bucky breathed close to her ear. His breath did something to her that she hadn't felt for a while. For a guy supposedly out of practice he knew exactly how to make her flustered. As she entered the house, she stopped at the kitchen and picked up the other towels, then headed down to the basement to put those that had been used on the kitten in the washing machine on a hot cycle. She would have to clean that kitchen cupboard out as well, maybe spray it with something to kill any fleas that got off the kitten when she had it trapped.

While she was down in the basement, she looked for anything that could be used as a folding screen but didn't find it. She did find an old round footrest that maybe could be used to put the kitten's bed on. She snapped a picture of it and texted her mother.

Hope: Bucky needs a footrest. Found this in the basement. Can he have it?

An answer came back in moments.

Mom: Sure. If it's in the basement, it's good to give away. Are you up to meeting Tom? We were thinking he could come back to New York with me, but I don't want to push it if you're not ready.

Hope: I would like to meet him. Bucky said he's a nice man. I trust his judgement.

Mom: You must have had a good time at the concert. You sound positive.

She thought over that comment for a moment, knowing it hadn't started out well, but they managed to make it up to each other.

Hope: It ended up being a good evening. Tell you more when you get home tomorrow morning. Love you.

Mom: See you then. Love you.

She carried the foot stool up the stairs, leaving it by the front door. Quickly, she emptied the cupboard of the pots and pans that filled it, checking to see if she could find any evidence of fleas. Just to be on the safe side, she loaded them all in the dishwasher and set it on a sterile cleaning cycle. Then she vacuumed out the cupboard and found a can of bug spray, spraying the inside thoroughly. When that was done, she grabbed her purse and headed for the art supply store to get something to make Bucky a folding screen to hide the litter box. On her return to the house, she sent him a text.

Hope: what is your favourite thing to look at?

Bucky: a beautiful woman

Hope: I'm talking landscape or scenery

Bucky: ocean, with soft curling waves and sea birds on the shore

Hope: Okay. I've got a footstool for you and Mom said you can have it. I'm painting you a screen then I'll assemble it.

Bucky: I can hardly wait. Picked a name for the kitten. Alpine. She climbed up to the top of my kitchen cabinets. Not sure how she did that. With her white colour and the fact that she's a climber it seemed to suit her. I think you're right that she's deaf. Going to try to teach her sign language.

Hope: you know ASL?

Bucky: I know a lot of languages. Maybe on our next date I can share some with you.

She smiled. They had talked about a second date. Even though they had suggested seeing each other during the week there was nothing wrong with asking him over sooner.

Hope: How about tonight? Come over to watch a movie?

The three dots showed up, then disappeared, then appeared again.

Bucky: 6:30 okay?

Hope: Perfect. Pizza alright?

Bucky: sounds great. I like lots of meat on mine. See you then.

He showed up at 6:25, bringing a pair of fancy cupcakes with him. The man was just like her mother said. He didn't come empty handed. Offering him a beer, Hope poured herself a glass of white wine as they sat on the couch waiting for the pizza.

"Tom is coming back with Mom," she said, smirking at the rhyme. "She wants us to meet."

"I think you'll like him," said Bucky. "He's a very thoughtful man." He sipped his beer. "Was the footstool by the door the one that I can have?"

"Yeah," she replied, looking over towards it. "It's old but big enough to put Alpine's bed on it so she can look out the window." She coughed. "You have your choice of movies. Bull Durham, a baseball movie about love, Raiders of the Lost Ark about an adventurous archeologist, and Ocean's Eleven, the newer one about a Las Vegas casino robbery, just because I like George Clooney."

He grinned at her last admission, but didn't choose it explaining he watched it with her mother. He chose Raiders of the Lost Ark. Before it started, the pizza arrived and Hope answered the door, taking it from the delivery guy. After each taking several slices onto a plate, she started up the movie. Bucky was soon drawn into the old fashioned plot. He enjoyed the music in it, and liked how they tried to make it like one of the adventure serials he watched in the theatres when he was younger. When it ended, he picked up their plates and took them to the kitchen, rinsing them and putting them in the dishwasher. Hope brought his empty pizza box, along with her smaller pizza that still had a couple of pieces left.

"I enjoyed that," he said, leaning against the counter. "It was fun."

"It was," replied Hope. "There are several more Indiana Jones movies, but I personally think the third one about the Holy Grail is as good. We can watch it another time, but I like this one the best."

He took her hand in his and pulled her closer. "You seem to know a lot about movies," he murmured.

"I was alone a lot," she replied. "Jack was on the road three weeks out of the month." She placed her hand on his chest over where his dog tags were under his shirt. "Are you still in the army?"

"Not exactly," he answered, reaching for the chain, and bringing them out. She looked closely at them. "When I turned myself in after the Battle of Earth I was issued new dog tags, since my original ones were taken by Hydra. Who knows where they are now? I was kind of in limbo because officially I was listed as Killed in Action in 1945, then declared a hostile agent after Steve Rogers found me in 2014. So, I had to prove who I really was. It helped that Steve vouched for me. These dog tags were an acknowledgment that I was officially James Buchanan Barnes, Sergeant, Serial number 32557038, born March 10, 1917, in Shelbyville, Indiana. We moved to Brooklyn when I was a baby. The R. Barnes was the last living relative on record, my sister Rebecca, except she was married to a Proctor and she moved to Tampa after she retired, so they got that wrong. They're proof that I exist, so I wear them. I'm still waiting on back pay and damages because of the HYDRA infiltrators in the army and government that knew of my existence and kept it secret. Because of my specialized skills, I am subject to recall in exceptional circumstances, like a Thanos type individual who threatens our existence."

"Have you seen your sister?"

He smiled. "Yeah, several weeks ago. I had a great time visiting her. She's 94 years old but as sharp as when she was a girl."

"That's good that you got to reconnect with her." She frowned. "I'm so sorry that I was rude about your time with HYDRA. I had such a big chip on my shoulder over the mistakes I've made in my life, and I took it out on you. You didn't deserve that."

"I've been known to be a jerk. Not that I'm saying you were. I know you've been hurt several times, and it does something to a person. It makes them ... cynical and sarcastic, and reluctant to trust others." He ran his hand over her hair, tucking it back behind her ear. His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "You can trust me, Hope. I don't ever want to hurt you."

She looked him in the eye for a moment, then back at his chest before whispering his name. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her. All he wanted at that moment was to feel his lips on hers, his arms around her, wanted to hold her in an embrace that hopefully said more than his clumsy words ever could. It seemed that Hope felt the same, as she kissed him back, with one hand pressing into the middle of his back while the other ran up into his hair at the back of his head, her fingers gripping his skull like she was hanging on for dear life. Neither was aware of how long they were pressed together like this, but when they did end the kiss, she pulled him towards the living room and onto the couch.

It was like being in his 20s again, as he slotted himself between her legs, running his hand up her leg and squeezing the soft rounded flesh of her cheek over her jeans, while pressing his hips against hers, his erection becoming harder. For a few moments more there was a frantic attempt by Hope to pull his shirt off. She ran her hands over his chest under his shirt, before running them up the skin of his back as he began to do the same. Then a thought planted itself in Bucky's mind and refused to go away, growing like a viral weed until he pulled away and looked down over this beautiful woman underneath him, both of them breathless with desire.

"Wait," he gasped. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this, not here."

She stopped immediately, looking up at him, not quite believing what she was hearing.

"Say again?"

"I want to do this, in as many ways possible but I can't." He raised himself, removing his hand from under her shirt. "I can't do it here, in this house, not if I want to look your mother in the eye ever again."

Hope groaned and let her body relax, then pulled herself up to an upright position.

"Let me get this straight. You want to have sex, you want to fuck, but you can't do it because you're friends with my mom?"

"We can do it anywhere else, but I can't do it on her couch or anywhere in the house because it's her house, her sanctuary, and she has a security system installed that has a camera in this room. She'll see us and wonder if part of us is still left behind on any of the surfaces if we... you know." Hope huffed, irritated. "Don't do that. I never did it in the house of a girl I was seeing. It was disrespectful to her parents, and you can call me old fashioned, but I still can't do it, especially not after how much your mother has helped me. I'm sorry, Hope. I'm so sorry."

He got up from the couch and adjusted himself, before heading to the door.

"Bucky, wait!" she called, hurrying to him, and putting her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, too. I promised myself that I wouldn't do this. I wanted to do this right. Does she really have a security camera inside?"

He nodded, then showed her where it was in the living room. With a sigh, she slumped against the wall as he looked at her with regret.

"If she checked in on her phone from Boston, she would have seen us live ... and I had to stop. I don't think you would want her to see us in that position, would you?"

"No, you're right, I wouldn't." She smiled, then laughed a little. "Thanks for stopping us before we got out of hand. You really are a great kisser. Did you get a lot of action before?"

He dropped his head and smiled shyly. "Yeah, I was popular. Never got anyone in trouble though." He ran his hand through his hair and onto the back of his neck. "I really like you and I do want a relationship with you. We have to be smarter about this, especially if diving right in causes issues for either of us." He caressed her face gently. "When we do get there, it will be worth the wait. I promise."

Hope pressed her hand on top of his, smiling at him. He kissed her again, a short chaste kiss, then he picked up the footstool and waited for Hope to open the door for him. At the bottom of the steps, he looked up at where she still stood in the doorway.

"Goodnight, Hope," he said.

"Goodnight Bucky."

She watched until he was out of sight, then closed and locked the door. After turning off the lights she went up to her room and opened her nightstand drawer, looking at an object inside. With a sigh, she picked up the vibrator, undressed and laid on the bed in the dark. Then she pictured Bucky being with her, remembering the brief moment when she felt his hardness pressing into her, and how good his hands felt on her skin. As she relived the way he kissed she felt the surge inside her as she came. How she wanted him, even more now than before. Even though she knew her reasons for taking it slow were good, she almost wished she hadn't voiced them. The wait will be worth it. He promised. That was going to have to hold her until a time when they were both ready to take this to another level.