"Morning, Bucky!" Sam greeted the brooding brunette from the island counter as he watched him enter the kitchen.
He received some kind of grunt in response. Sam wasn't offended though, that was just Bucky's usual response.
"Bad night?" He pushed, his eyes following Bucky's movements.
"Most nights are a bad night, Sam." Bucky sighed, getting some coffee to sip while he started making breakfast.
"Therapy isn't helping?" Sam asked before drinking from his glass of orange juice. Bucky didn't discuss his sleeping problems with him, but having worked at the VA and being a veteran himself, he didn't need Bucky to explain him.
"Don't wanna talk about that." Bucky grunted, furrowed his brows as he focused on putting two slices of bread on the toaster. He knew Sam was only trying to help and, deep down he appreciated it, but he wasn't comfortable discussing his problems with him.
"Coffee… I want coffee…" Sam's eyes followed the zombie voice entering the room to find you dragging your feet towards them still in your pijamas, eyes half closed.
"Good morning to you too." Sam chuckled.
"Morning…" You answered as you rubbed your eye and approached your favorite super-soldier.
Bucky put a cup of coffee in front of you without a word and your whole face lit up, smiling at him and mouthing a thank you.
He smiled in return, taking the toasts out and putting them on a plate.
Sam smiled to himself in the background, watching the interaction.
"Is this for me, Buchanan?" You asked, taking the plate from his hand with an innocent smile.
"Sure, you can have them." Bucky sighed in resignation, but smiled back at you regardless.
He went to put another batch of bread on the toaster for himself while you sat on the counter, next to him, spreading some butter on your stolen toast.
"Why didn't you stay last night?" You asked Bucky in a lower tone, not wanting Sam to hear it, who seemed focused on his phone.
Bucky had left your room as soon as you had fallen asleep, not wanting to impose. You had invited him in to watch a movie, not to sleep there and he was afraid he'd have a nightmare.
Had he been more selfish, he would've stayed there just to watch you sleep, to bask in the comfort of your touch, of your closeness. You had fallen asleep mid movie with your head on his shoulder and soon after that you had curled against him with an adorable sigh, wrapping your arms around his like you would a pillow. A soft, sad smile appeared on his lips. He had wished to spend more time with you, but it was time for him to leave.
He carefully got out of your hold to get out of bed, replacing his arm for an actual pillow. His hand hesitated for a second but he indulged himself and gently caressed your cheek, brushing a strand of hair out of your face. After that he turned off the TV, tucked you in and left.
He was about to respond when Sam, who was well aware of Bucky's crush, intervened.
"Hey, Buchanan, you never make me breakfast." He said teasingly, earning a small chuckle from you.
"Don't call me that." Bucky warned him, calmly getting his toasts and turning to face him, leaning against the counter.
"Why not? She always calls you that."
"My girl can call me whatever she wants."
Not expecting to hear that, you choked on your coffee, your blood rushing to your cheeks.
Bucky went still mid-toast buttering when he realized what he had said. He felt his face get impossibly warm and his mouth dried in an instant.
Sam's brows almost flew out of his face, his mouth dropping in shock.
An awkward silence fell between them. No one knew what to say next. Your mouth moved, trying to find something to say but no actual words came out. And that was it for Bucky.
"I-I'm… late. For uh... training." Bucky stuttered, dropping his plate on the island counter in front of Sam and storming out of the kitchen, his eyes looking anywhere but you. He could feel you staring at him as he left the room.
"I'm… I'm gonna go to…" You awkwardly told Sam, pointing behind you to where Bucky had disappeared.
Sam simply nodded, moving a hand to urge you to leave.
"Bucky wait!" You pleaded as you ran after him but he didn't stop. He couldn't. He wasn't ready for this conversation and possibly face rejection.
You huffed and picked up the pace so you would catch him before he got into the elevator.
"Can you please stop?!" You grabbed his hand, forcing him to stop and turn his body towards you.
If he would've wanted to, you wouldn't have been able to move him. But he sighed in defeat and allowed you to make him turn around, looking down to his feet.
"I don't know wh-"
"I want to."
"Huh?" Bucky's eyes finally met yours, confusion written on his face.
"Your girl. I wanna be your girl, Buchanan." You offered him a shy smile, your hand squeezing his as reassurance.
"You do?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Sure, Sam had told him multiple times you liked him and there were moments where he was pretty sure you did. But he couldn't help having his doubts.
You quickly nodded, still smiling while your free hand reached for his cheek, your thumb stroking his stubbled skin.
Bucky leaned into your touch, placing his metal hand on top of yours to keep it there.
"This was not how I wanted to do this. I wanted to buy you some flowers, do something nice…" He sighed before explaining, freeing his flesh hand from your grip to place it on your jaw. He licked his lips as his eyes dropped to yours.
"You can still do that." You assured him, your fingers snaking to the back of his neck, threading with his hair and pressing your body against his.
Bucky's hands then went to your waist, holding you close. "So… How 'bout tonight?" He asked with a smile of his own.
"Tonight's perfect." You nodded and bit your lower lip, all giddy and excited.
"Then… I'll come get ya at 7." Bucky was getting impossibly close, your eyes fluttering shut in anticipation. You felt his nose brush against yours and your lips parted slightly, inviting him to kiss you.
But then you felt him pull away and you opened your eyes to give him a confused look, watching him slowly walk backwards with a satisfied grin on his face.
"Are you really gonna leave without kissing me?" You exclaimed, your mouth falling open with your surprise.
You heard Bucky's chuckle and watched him shake his head as he started walking back towards you to grab you by the face and crash his lips against yours, your hands gripping his shirt. Even with the initial intensity of the kiss, his mouth slowed down, caressing your cheeks as your lips brushed lovingly against each other's, savoring the moment.
When you two finally pulled away, you licked your lower lip, taking in Bucky's appearance.
As if he wasn't handsome enough already, he was all smiley with rosy cheeks, kiss swollen lips and starry eyes. And now that you had seen it, you hoped you would see that look on his face every single day.
"See ya at 7." He breathed out, stealing a quick kiss from you before turning around to catch the elevator, leaving you there.
smiling so hard your cheeks hurt.
You couldn't wait for tonight.