Glass
You woke up unable to move, probably because of the metal arm slung over your stomach. You could easily lift it off you but it would be like moving when you have a kitten lying on you. You looked over at Bucky, his short hair sticking up in odd spots and his lips parted. He rarely had nightmares when you stayed with him. You watched his eyes move slightly under his eyelids and his lips moved a fraction.
“Bucky,” you whispered, turning on your side carefully. He moaned incoherently and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“(Y/N)…” he mumbled. Your heart echoed through your body and you froze. “They’ll catch us… shhhh.” You frowned. What was he even dreaming about? “I’m cooler than him…. Hhmmm…. He’s a hot dog.”
“What the hell,” you whispered, raising an eyebrow as Bucky’s eyes flickered open.
“Oh, hey,” he murmured, blinking a few times. “Did you say something?”
“Nope,” you smiled, wriggling out from under his arm. “Do you want to go out for breakfast?”
“Sure thing doll, let me have a shower first,” he said, groaning as he stretched. You smirked and rolled out of the bed. “Care to join me?” He winked at you.
“It’s a bit early for flirting, Barnes,” you said, rolling your eyes. You ruffled his hair and made your way down to your own room. You hopped in the shower quickly and brushed your teeth. It was pretty cold out but you weren’t bothered to dry your hair so you just got dressed and threw a hat on over it. You were about to jog down to Bucky’s room when a white blur whizzed past you, almost knocking you off your feet. You stumbled back and steadied yourself against the wall. The blur stopped and Pietro stood in close front of you, a smirk on his face.
“Good morning,” he said, his thick accent laced heavily into the two words. You had forgotten to ask Steve where the twins were from.
“Oh, hey Pietro, what can I do for you?” you asked cheerily, smiling brightly.
“Would you like to get something to eat before training?” he asked almost innocently, seeming slightly less cocky.
“Oh, I’d love to but…” you began before looking up and seeing Bucky just a few metres away. He turned and walked away from you, head down slightly. “I’m sorry, I’ve already made plans with Bucky, maybe some other time, I’ve got to go,” you rushed out, patting him lightly on the shoulder before running after Bucky.
“Bucky? Bucky, come back!” you called after him as he walked into his room, shutting the door behind him. You sighed and knocked gently. He opened it a second later, his face completely blank of emotion.
“Go with him,” he said simply, his blue eyes hard and icy.
“I… Bucky, firstly, I was the one who asked you to go for breakfast; I wouldn’t cancel five minutes later, and secondly, I’d rather go with you anyway,” you said with a small smile, leaning against the door frame indifferently. “My my, is the great James Buchanan Barnes jealous?” you teased, poking him in the chest. “That’s two days in a row, it’s like an epidemic!”
“You like me being jealous, huh?” he smirked, gripping your finger tightly like a child. “Is that not old fashioned these days? I could beat a guy up for you if you want, lay my coat over a puddle, like we used to do.”
“I’m very much capable of beating the crap out of any guy that I want, and I have legs, I can jump,” you grinned, poking him again with your free hand. “But thanks for the offer, I’ll beat up a guy for you too Buck.”
“Well doll, you are just too kind,” he mock swooned.
“I know how to treat a man, now come on, let’s get breakfast,” you said, pulling your finger out of his grasp and holding his hand properly, dragging him out of the room. He locked his fingers with yours and slowed you down. You walked out of the tower, taking your time, discussing mission tactics along the way. People commuting to work pushed past the two of you, rushing with looks of panic on their faces. Tourists, businessmen and women, families, couples, everyone had a story of their own, but you were perfectly happy with yours.
“I want a doughnut,” you whined, just as your stomach growled. “Shhh, don’t interrupt me,” you chided, patting it softly. Bucky laughed and shook his head.
“What about in there?” he said suddenly, pointing down an almost obscure alley with a small café at the end.
“As long as they have doughnuts,” you grumbled, following him down the shadowed avenue and into the dim café. The blinds were drawn on the windows, but inside was illuminated by a dozen strings of fairy lights hanging from the ceiling and on the walls. Tea lights flickered on low down tables, each with small jars filled with wild flowers. A giant chalkboard was mounted on one wall, with the menu scrawled in neat, thin writing. Opposite it was a long counter painted purple, with muffins and pots of coffee beans littered across it.
“Wow… This place is so cute,” you whispered, gazing around the room in awe.
“Can I help you?” a sweet voice said, seemingly out of nowhere. A short girl with long, red hair appeared from behind a veil of beads with a huge smile on her face. She was quite adorable in your opinion, wearing dungarees and navy converse.
“Um, Bucky what do you want?” you asked, turning to the super soldier beside you. He shrugged and scratched his head. “Oh wait! Do you have doughnuts?”
“We certainly do,” the girl chirped, practically leaping over the counter and pulling out a plate of doughnuts from the bottom shelf. You grinned and followed her over to the counter.
“Bucky look… chocolate filled,” you murmured, eyes wide. Your mouth began to water and you pointed at the one closest to you. “Can I have that one please, and a hot chocolate?”
“Sure thing!” the girl exclaimed, her face lighting up even more.
“Can I get a coffee, doll?” Bucky asked, leaning an elbow against the countertop, a smouldering look on his face.
“Yeah, no problem,” the girl replied, barely giving him a second glance. You snorted and pushed Bucky’s shoulder as she went behind the beaded curtain again.
“Rough day, Barnes, can’t catch a break can you?” you teased as he frowned. He slid into a booth that was adorned with cushions and you slipped in after him. A sweet smell of vanilla and cinnamon hung in the air and you yawned, leaning against Bucky.
“Maybe she… y’know…” Bucky whispered in your ear, “plays for the other team.”
“You can say gay and lesbian,” you laughed, just as the spritely girl skipped into the room with hot chocolate and a doughnut on one plate and a coffee in her other hand, her wavy hair bouncing behind her shoulders.
“Here you go!” she said, grinning from ear to ear, her cheeks flushed. She slid the coffee over to Bucky swiftly and placed your plate and cup in front of you. “Enjoy,” she smiled. She shuffled off behind the veil of beads once again and the two of you were left alone.
“Looks like she has a thing for you,” he remarked, sipping his coffee casually.
“I doubt it,” you said with a small smile, playing the foamy marshmallows on your hot chocolate. You gulped down some of it but stopped, remembering what Bucky said earlier. “Who’s a hot dog, by the way?”
“What?” Bucky almost choked on his coffee. He coughed roughly and looked at you.
“You were sleep talking, you said ‘I’m way cooler than him, he’s a hot dog’ or something like that,” you giggled, watching his face turn red.
“Um, I can’t remember,” he muttered, looking into his coffee. “Did… did I mention anything else?”
“Oh, just my name,” you teased. He swallowed thickly and nodded slowly. “Do I often feature in your dreams, Barnes?”
“I could ask you the same question,” he smirked, attempting to regain some of his cool.
“Well, I did once dream that you were a dog and I was a cat but we lived underwater and then Steve was a huge whale and ate us, so we had to live in his stomach. It was okay though because then he swallowed a hamster version of Bruce and he hulked out and clawed us out,” you replied simply, taking a bite out of your doughnut. You felt Bucky staring at you and you paused before looking up at him. “Oh, chocolate.” You scooped some chocolate that was dripping from the doughnut and wiped it on his nose.
“Gosh, and I’ve always wondered why some people can’t see the elegant, classy side of you,” he said sardonically, before attempting to lick it off.
“That’s an attractive look for you,” you joked, watching him struggle, making a fool of himself, except he wasn’t, because you couldn’t help watch how endearing and cute he looked.
“I’m sure you can do better, doll,” he said, finally giving up.
“I can try.” You leaned up quickly and licked the chocolate right off his nose. He burst out laughing as you pulled away with a giant grin. You leaned against his shoulder, barely able to breathe with laughter. When you finally caught your breath, you turned to see him staring at you, a soft smile on his face.
“How hasn’t someone stolen you from me yet?” he murmured, his eyes hooded and his voice husky.
“I didn’t want them to,” you whispered, letting your hand fall onto his.
“Me neither.” He laughed, a small, quiet one, almost breathless, inviting. You could just nearly taste his coffee. There was a loud smash and you flinched, whipping your head around to see the waitress shaking, staring at shards of shattered glass that sprinkled across the floor.
“I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed, her face redder than her hair, her hands trembling as she tried to gather up the pieces. You climbed out of the booth effortlessly and knelt down beside her.
“Are you okay?” you asked gently, gathering up the larger fragments of glass into your palm. You felt Bucky hover behind you, suddenly aware of the tension in his body. You could feel him wanting to help but didn’t want to risk exposing his arm, putting his left hand in his pocket.
“I’m just such a klutz, I’m really sorry I disturbed you!” she rambled before you reached out with your free hand and touched her shoulder.
“Hey, take a deep breath, don’t worry about it, nobody got hurt, we’re all fine, it’s okay,” you soothed, meeting her gaze. Her round, brown eyes shone with tears that had yet to fall, but she gave a weak smile and nodded, opening her mouth slightly and breathing in. “Good, you can give those to me and you can get a sweeping brush or something for those small parts.” You nodded towards the shards in her hand and she carefully poured them into yours, standing up straight and hurrying behind the veil of beads.
“I’ll never get used to seeing you so calming and soothing,” Bucky said suddenly. You turned to him and smiled, leaning over and dumping the glass into a nearby bin. “Despite you using that to… you know… bring me back.” You squeezed his hand briefly and turned to see the waitress walk back in again.
“What’s your name?”
“Lily,” she murmured, sweeping brush and pan in hand.
“I’m (Y/N), and this is Bucky,” you said as she looked up at the two of you.
“I-I know, Avengers, right?” she asked shyly. You barely even got a word out before she started talking, fast. “You guys are amazing, I mean, you’re an inspiration to everyone out there, just as strong, probably stronger, than two super-soldiers, than a god,” she gushed, gesturing the brush at you.
“I never really thought about it that much… thank you, Lily, that means a lot to me,” you said elatedly. You turned to Bucky and grinned. “This is amazing!”
“It’s about time you realised your worth, doll,” Bucky assured you, looking uncharacteristically chilled out. You just blushed and looked back at Lily. You glanced at the clock on the wall behind her and swore under your breath.
“Damn, we’ve got to go, it was really great meeting you, we’ll definitely be back,” you said, pulling out forty dollars and putting it on the counter.
“Wait that’s way too much,” she protested, looking at the money.
“It’s a tip, kid, get used to it,” you laughed, grabbing Bucky’s hand and pulling him out of the café, running down the street. Your mind was spinning, there was warmth in your heart and stomach: being recognised by Lily, the things she had said… the near kiss with Bucky. Everything was a blur but although you made it back to the Tower in time for training, all you could think about for the rest of that day was those three things.