Elevated

Nora and Bruce spent the week running numbers late just about every day. Nora didn’t mind, she was too excited about what they were finding. Bruce did insist that she get out of the lab at some point though, so she started walking Luna the couple blocks to the coffee shop for lunch. Usually the elevator was empty, but sometimes it wasn’t.

“Hi Sam, hi Bucky.” Luna lurched through the doors and sent Nora in after her.

Bucky crouched to pet the dog, like he always did. Sam reached to scratch her ears, “What’s up, Nora?”

Nora shrugged and surveyed the red numbers as they counted down, “Just heading to the Spruce for lunch.”

“The cafe by the bank?” Sam asked. Nora nodded, “I love that place, mind if we join?”

“Sure.” She glanced at Bucky where he had stopped petting Luna, and turned his head very slowly to look at Sam. He didn’t stop looking at Sam. Nora glanced between them, sure that there was some sort of silent argument happening that she didn’t get. Maybe Bucky was like Bruce and didn’t drink coffee.

“Hey,” Sam said suddenly, “Does it help?”

She shot him a confused look, “Does what help?”

“Bucky,” He waved at the man who had begun to frown, “Being able to peel the doors open like a sardine can.” His tone was joking and Bucky’s frown twisted into something confused.

“Oh. Yeah, it actually does.” She glanced at Bucky’s very strange expression and explained, “Y’know, if we get stuck again. But like-“ she mimed knocking, “knock on wood, I’d really rather not.” The doors slid open and she stepped forward into the lobby. Sam followed, and Bucky more slowly after him.

Together they crossed the lobby and stepped out into the city air. Bucky, who had been on Sam’s right, moved around Nora to the outside of the sidewalk as they turned towards the coffee shop. She glanced at him. He wore the same expression as usual. She really couldn’t tell if he liked her or not. He didn’t have a lot to say and she didn’t know if that was normal for him or because she made him uncomfortable somehow.

Nora half-tripped and caught herself. Both Sam and Bucky shot a hand out to catch her, Sam’s hand wrapping around her upper arm and Bucky’s falling just shy. She frowned down at her untied boot, “Hold this,” She shoved Luna’s leash into Bucky’s hovering hand and crouched down to fix her shoelace. “Okay, let’s go.” Bucky didn’t immediately hand the leash back to her, so she figured he didn’t mind as they started down the sidewalk again. Sam was looking at her with interest. “What?”

“Nothing,” He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets, “How’s work going?”

“Oh way better.” She answered, nodding, “Stark got us a new Coolidge Machine cause ours was possessed by the devil.” Bucky, beside her, snorted. Nora glanced at him and grinned, “I’m serious. Stark tried to fix it and couldn’t, which is bizarre cause didn’t he make that crazy suit in a cave?” Sam gave her a weird sort of look, “Anyways now we can actually get readings that make sense, but I do think the tower might be haunted.”

“You’re joking.” Sam said flatly, “Aren’t you a scientist?”

“Yeah but a Norse God lives like, eight floors from my lab. Ghosts don’t seem so far-fetched.”

“Right.” Sam said, like he was mocking her. They crossed the street among a wave of other people, “Better get you a Ouija board. You can find out.”

“No way,” Nora shook her head, “Those things are asking for trouble. Stark’ll come in and flip it and open a portal to hell or something.”

Sam laughed, “Did he get you a new phone too?”

“Oh yeah,” Nora pulled the new phone from her pocket and waved it, “I thought about not using it because he’s so bossy, but it’s really nice. I could calculate all kinds of crazy data with it. Bet he’ll be crushed when he realizes I only use it to text Darcy and read yelp reviews of restaurants near my house.”

They crossed the street again. Bucky touched her elbow gently and she took the hint, sidestepping closer to Sam as a biker rode by on the outside of the crosswalk. The little shop came into view and Nora ducked onto the patio. She held out her hand to Bucky for the leash. He glanced at her hand, then at her face, “You wanna wait outside with her?”

Bucky seemed to chew on her question for a minute, then said, “Alright.”

“Kay. What do you want?” She waved vaguely at the shop. Sam was standing near the door, looking back at them.

“Dunno,” He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand and considered the tables briefly before sitting in an empty chair with his back to the brick wall beside the shop window.

“Alright,” Nora said. She patted Luna where she had sat down by Bucky’s knee and wandered towards the door which Sam pulled open for her.

The shop on the inside was nice after being in the chilly fall air. There were neat rows of little round tables and warm string lights around the outside walls. There were a handful of people ahead of them in line, but it moved quickly, “What kind of coffee does Bucky drink?” She asked Sam as they approached the front of the line.

“No idea.” Sam answered, “Never seen him drink it.”

That explained the weird look about going to the coffee shop, “Tea?”

“Nope. Doesn’t drink that either.”

Nora frowned at the board, “Hot chocolate?”

“He isn’t five.” Sam answered with a laugh.

Nora gave him an annoyed look, “You’re not giving me a lot here. You’ve got no idea what your friend likes to drink?” Sam shrugged.

Nora gave it her best guess. She ordered and Sam paid for the three of them. They killed a minute by the counter and took their drinks outside. Bucky stood the second he saw them in the doorway and walked to meet them, so Nora figured he didn’t want to stay. He didn’t hand her Luna’s leash, but she handed him the cup of coffee, “Sam’s useless. He had no idea what you wanted to drink. I got you a mocha, and I got a chai, so if you don’t like it we can trade.”

Bucky looked at the cup of coffee in his hand like he didn’t know what to do with it, but Nora decided that if it wasn’t the right thing that was Sam’s fault not hers. She sipped her own latte and started back towards the tower. Again, Bucky put himself on the outside of the sidewalk next to her and Sam walked on her other side with his two-sugar coffee.

She watched out of the corner of her eye while Bucky took a sip. Then she rounded on him, “Is it okay?” He looked moderately surprised at her and nodded. Nora shoved her cup at him anyways, “You wanna try my chai and see if you like it better?” Bucky looked like he definitely didn’t want to do that, but then he shuffled his cup to the hand with Luna’s leash and took hers to have a sip. She scrutinized his expression but couldn’t remotely tell if he liked it or not. He handed her back the cup. “Well?”

He cleared his throat but his voice still came out low and gravely, “It’s fine.”

Nora clicked her tongue unhappily, “Ah well. Try again next time I guess.”

Sam tried to interrogate him the second they stepped off the elevator back into the lounge.

“She’s nice, right? You think she’s nice?”

Steve looked up from his book and furrowed his eyebrows, “Who’s nice?”

“Nora.” Sam answered then continued, looking at Bucky as he flopped into an armchair with his coffee cup in hand, “She said you made her feel better about the elevator so she obviously likes you fine.”

“What?” Steve asked, bemused.

“She likes that Buck could peel the doors open if they got stuck. Why’d you keep the leash? She just needed to tie her shoe.” He looked intensely interested, a not-quite grin on his face.

Bucky flexed his hand. He knew the answer, but he wasn’t going to fucking tell Sam.

“Alright, how’s the coffee?”

Bucky looked at his cup. That one seemed harmless, “Fine.”

“And how was her coffee?”

That one was less harmless. Bucky scowled. He turned to get back on the elevator leaving Steve looking confused, and Sam triumphant. Bucky really wasn’t sure what Sam was fishing for, but he seemed to think he was getting it.

Bucky rode the elevator two more floors and locked himself in his apartment. He sat on the couch and held his coffee cup in both hands. He did think Nora was nice. He didn’t think she should like what he had done to the elevator doors; it was proof that he was dangerous. Too strong, unpredictable. But it made him feel warm anyways.

He didn’t give the leash back because he liked the dog. She reminded him of when he was a kid, when he had a pet and was a person. The crowd was stressful, pressing around them as they walked down the street, but holding the dog’s leash he felt anchored. He hadn’t wanted to let her go, and Nora didn’t seem to mind.

He thought about her handing him her coffee cup.

He wasn’t willing to examine that one too closely.