Elevated

On Saturday, Nora’s phone rang. She was pretty used to it being her dad on the line and she flinched like the thing might explode, before reading the ID and realizing it was Clint. That was pretty weird. He’d never called her. He had her number and had texted her twice but not in several weeks.

“Hi Clint,” She was laying on the couch in her apartment and patting Luna absently.

“Hey.”

Nora expected that he would continue to say whatever he’d called for, but he didn’t. After a long stretch she prompted, “What’s up?” Clint continued to say nothing. Nora squinted at her fireplace, “Okay, I’m hanging up.”

“No!” He said loudly. Nora could hear him taking a slow deep breath, “I just- I wanted to see if you wanted to come to that diner with me and Bucky tomorrow.”

Nora’s heart thumped in her chest. She didn’t want to do that. She wasn’t sure how she was going to make it through coffee on Monday as it was. But- “You want me to invite Darcy, don’t you?”

There was silence. Then a very quiet, “Yes.”

Nora had forgiven Clint for the weirdness with Steve but she took the opportunity anyways, “Because you have a massive crush on her, right?”

More silence. She thought he might hang up on her, but then, “Yes.”

“Okay. What time?”

So, Nora woke up Sunday morning, walked Luna, and then got ready for breakfast at the diner. She yanked on her coat and made sure that her collar was straight and her hair was free of it before she left her apartment. She didn’t think she could handle Bucky’s hand on her neck again without crumbling and that would be pretty embarrassing after she’d given Clint a hard time about his crush on the phone.

The diner, which was five blocks from the tower, was only three blocks from Nora’s apartment. She took deliberate slow breaths the entire way as though that would keep her from blushing when Bucky inevitably gave her one of those soft, lingering touches.

The building had a red awning and a sign that said ‘Diner’. It had a single huge window at the front, and a glass door. Bucky was a few paces from the window. He had his hands shoved in the pockets of his coat and one leg kicked up against the brick of the building he was leaning on. He didn’t tend to lean and the sight was intensely interesting to Nora. Something flipped in her stomach as he turned to look at her. Immediately his foot dropped to the pavement and he stepped forward, extracting his hands from his pockets.

“Nora.”

“Hi Bucky,” Nora greeted, “Are Clint and Darcy here?”

“Inside,” He answered. He pulled the door open for her and ushered her through with a hand on her back. Nora felt the burn of it through her coat.

The inside of the diner was as generic as the outside. Like someone had drawn it for a flashcard. It had a checkered floor and a long u-shaped counter across one side. There was a half dozen small tables and some red-cushioned booths. Darcy and Clint were at the last booth, both sitting on the same side and facing away from the door, though Clint had turned his body so he could see the entire building.

“Hi Darcy, hi Clint.” Nora greeted. “Thanks,” she muttered to Bucky who had, frustratingly, helped her out of her coat. Her face burned. He slung it on the little hook at the end of the booth. Nora did her best to ignore the significant look Darcy shot her as she slid into the seat. Bucky sat beside her and immediately stretched an arm across the vinyl behind her. He scanned the diner.

“How’s it going Nora?” Darcy asked. It sounded to Nora a bit like, ’did you tell him?’

Nora shrugged, “Alright. I got in the dumbest argument with my neighbour this morning.”

An extremely elderly woman appeared at the edge of the table with a fistful of mugs and a coffee pot. She filled them all saying to Clint as she surveyed the rest of them, “I didn’t know you had friends, dear.”

“He doesn’t,” Darcy answered, grinning.

The woman cackled, “What can I get you?”

Nora blinked at her. The woman hadn’t given them any menus. Clint caught her confusion and said with a wave, “Diner food.” Then to the woman, “Pancakes, bacon, two over easy.”

Darcy looked as confused as Nora felt but said, “Same.”

“Uh,” Nora glanced at Bucky, who was frowning. She patted his knee under the table, “French toast with sausages and strawberry waffles with bacon. Please.”

It was a total shot in the dark but the old woman nodded and zipped off to Clint’s shout of, “Thanks Doris.”

Nora frowned at him, pulling a mug of coffee closer and dumping sugar and cream into it. She slid it towards Bucky then started on a second mug, “This place doesn’t have a menu?”

Clint watched her, his eyebrows scrunched together, “I dunno. I’ve never asked.”

“I can’t believe her name is Doris,” Darcy muttered, glancing towards the service window behind the counter.

“I’m actually not sure it is,” Clint said. They all shot him curious looks, “She just looks like a Doris.”

“Clint!” Nora said, “You just wandered in here, ordered without a menu, and started calling a woman you didn’t know Doris?”

“Yeah,” He said, looking confused, “Is that weird?”

Darcy laughed.

Clint did an extraordinarily good job of not letting on to Darcy that he had a massive crush on her. Nora was a little jealous. She was sure she wasn’t doing half as well. Nora told them about her neighbour who thought she shouldn’t have a dog, despite her dog-friendly building. Bucky was suitably annoyed. Darcy told them a story about her old landlady who tried to steal her elderly cat. Clint told them how, every Thursday for a month, he tailed a man he was sure was a mob-boss and turned out to be an optometrist.

The food, when it arrived, was delicious. Nora waited for Bucky to try the French toast then offered him a bite of her waffle. She asked if he wanted to trade. He did, but then they traded back the sausages and bacon. Darcy and Clint both watched the entire interaction like they were nuts. Nora ignored them. If Bucky cared, it was impossible to tell.

“What’s with the booth thing, Bucky?” Darcy asked sometime in the middle of their meal, “Clint said you’d have to sit there.”

Bucky had taken a second at the start of their meal to cut up his entire waffle so that he could eat using only his left hand and keep his arm slung across the back of the booth behind Nora. He had said almost nothing the entire time. Nora glanced at him as she sipped her coffee. She wasn’t sure he was going to answer.

Finally, he said, “Need to see the place.”

Nora considered that, “Is that why you like the table by the wall at the Spruce?”

“Yes.”

She looked from Bucky to Clint, with his awkward sideways posture, “Do you need to see the room too?”

Clint glanced at Bucky, then nodded, “Not as badly.”

“Is that a superhero thing?” Darcy asked, her tone dry.

“No.” Clint answered. He hesitated, then said, “More of a soldier, spy kind of thing.”

“Makes sense,” Nora said, lifting her mug again, “Tony doesn’t give a crap if he could see the whole room or not.”

Bucky scoffed.

When they all stepped out onto the sidewalk again it was nearly noon. Darcy asked, “Getting a cab Nora?”

“No,” Nora answered, “I live a few blocks that way,” she pointed.

Darcy’s eyebrows shot up. Clint gave her a confused look, “Seriously?”

“Uh-huh.” She answered. Bucky was looking at her, clearly having clocked Clint’s reaction and not understanding the reason for it.

“Isn’t this neighbourhood really expensive?” Darcy asked.

Nora reached up to twist a lock of hair around her finger, “Um. Sort of.”

Darcy’s curious look morphed into outrage, “How much is Tony paying you?”

“Not- uh, not much more than you. I don’t think.”

Darcy stared. She was obviously doing some complicated mental math. Aloud she said, “I have got to see your apartment.”

Nora continued to twist the lock of hair. She wasn’t sure she’d ever had a visitor in her apartment. All her friends lived at the tower so inviting them over seemed like a pain and she’d never invited a date back to her place. She found she was a little embarrassed, “Alright, we can go.” She glanced at Clint and Bucky, “Are you guys coming too?”

“Absolutely,” Clint answered.

They walked together the three more blocks to Nora’s apartment. Bucky walked on the outside of the sidewalk and only had to steer Nora out of the way of one biker. When they came up to her building Nora waved at the doors and announced, “This is me.”

“You’re joking.” Darcy muttered.

Nora knew what she was getting at. The building was ridiculous. A massive black-granite high rise. There were a pair of doormen at the front who opened the huge double-doors as Nora started up the steps, “Hi Jack, hi Phillip.” Her friends followed her into the lobby, Darcy muttering the whole way at the marble floors and massive chandelier. Nora never took the elevator up to her apartment, she was only on the fourth floor, but she didn’t mind riding it with Bucky so she stepped in and hit the button for her floor.

Nora unlocked her front door and held it open for her friends to enter. Bucky knelt in the threshold to pet Luna, who may have never been more excited, but Darcy stalked immediately to the middle of the room and said aloud, “What the fuck?”

Nora didn’t think that reaction was entirely fair. It was, after all, very similar to Jane’s apartment. The living room was big with a gas fireplace that split the space at the start of the dining area. The kitchen had a huge marble island, and stainless-steel appliances. The wall was almost entirely windows that looked out over a small park. At the far end of the living room with its big plush rug and comfortable brown couches, was a pair of bookshelves mostly covered in scientific journals. She’d never quite managed to make her TV not look silly in front of the window.

Darcy wandered off towards the hall, presumably to inspect her bedroom. Clint was slowly plodding towards the kitchen.

Nora fidgeted, twisting a lock of hair as Clint disappeared into the pantry. Bucky stood and took a step towards her. Gently he took her hand and tugged it free of her hair. Then, just once, he twisted the same lock of hair around his own finger before letting it fall. Nora felt like she’d been struck by lightning. Bucky was searching her face with his very blue eyes and she was sure he could see everything. Her face felt hot and her heart raced against her ribcage.

“Okay,” Darcy announced loudly, emerging from the bedroom, “How the fuck do you afford this place?”

They took a cab back to the tower because Darcy announced that she was done with walking. He and Clint said goodbye to her and stepped off the elevator on the ninety-fifth floor, while she continued up to her apartment. Clint began badgering him immediately.

“What did you say?”

Sam and Steve both looked up from their spots at the island. Steve had a newspaper and Sam had his phone. Bucky was certain they were both reading the same thing.

“C’mon man, you gotta tell me!”

Bucky was positive he didn’t need to tell Clint anything. He rounded the island and dug in the cupboard for a mug as Sam asked, “What happened?”

“I watched him the whole time,” Clint said, waving at Bucky’s back in frustration as he poured a mug of coffee, “Then I left the room for five seconds at Nora’s place and when I came back, she looked like he’d asked her to run away to France or some shit! What did you say?”

Bucky wondered if Nora would like France better than Italy. He dumped sugar in his coffee and went to the fridge for cream, “Nothin’.” He did his best to match what Nora had done to his mug at the diner and had a sip. He frowned at it. He could have sworn it was right, but it definitely didn’t taste the same.

Steve made an annoyed sort of sound, “He said that after he danced with girls too, but they always wanted to go home with him.”

That was true but Steve was still making him sound like a cad. Bucky shot him a glare.

“Help me out here,” Clint begged, leaning on the counter beside Sam, “Darcy won’t even look at me twice and you’ve got Nora blushing every time you touch her arm.”

Bucky looked at Clint, then at Sam who looked mystified. He waved at Clint with his mug, “Help him.”