Chapter 1
Rebekka shoots up from her bed startled. Her neighbour is being loud again, like almost every night of the last three weeks since she moved here. She groans and looks at her phone.
2:36am.
Another groan comes out of her mouth and she lets herself fall back into the pillow, swinging her arm over her free ear.
The landlord had promised her that the building was quiet and everyone would be nice and respectful. And most of the time that was true, but when it comes to her next door neighbour she isn't really sure. She hasn't talked to him at all yet. Once, when he came out of his flat at the same time she exited hers, she had smiled nicely and said hello, but he had just nodded once, with that typical resting bitch face, that he always wore, so she stopped trying. She doesn't need to make an effort with someone who clearly doesn't want to make friends or even be a good neighbour.
The reason she came here is that, after the Blip, she wants to get her life back together. Everything at home is different now. Her sister, who used to be younger than her, is now two years older, her job is gone, her mother is married to another man, who she doesn't know at all and her cheating ex boyfriend is married to a girl she thought was her friend once.
Here in New York she doesn't know anyone, but she has a job as a technical assistent in a company that builds cars and can start fresh.
One day, she just comes home from a little tour with her motorcycle, she meets an old man she's seen around the building a few times already. She's pretty sure his name starts with an N and he lives on the same floor as she does. He's carrying a few shopping bags that all look way too heavy for him, so she quickly walks up to him and asks if he needs any help.
"Oh, that would be very nice. Thank you, young lady!", the old man says, nodding. He hands her two of his bags and she smiles sweetly, gesturing towards the last bag in his hands.
"I can take that one too. I really don't mind." But the man shakes his head.
"No. I can take this one myself. I won't let a young lady such as yourself carry all my bags for me.", he tells her and they start walking towards the elevator. The numbers above the doors signal them, that it is currently on the highest floor and not moving.
"We'll take the stairs. Come on.", the man says after a minute and starts walking towards the staircase. They're two stairs up, when someone suddenly comes up beside the old man. "Mr. Nakajima! Let me help you with that!", the person says and when Rebekka looks up she sees that it's her neighbour. She didn't recognize his voice, since she's never heard him talk before. The old man beside her smiles a little and hands the other man the bag.
"Thank you. The young lady here already offered to take the other two.", he says, pointing at her. She smiles at the two of them. Her neighbour takes the bag from Mr. Nakajima and they continue walking up the stairs.
When they arrive in Mr. Nakajima's flat he tells them to set the bags down in his kitchen. After doing as they were told both of them turn to leave the flat. "Wait, wait! Have a cup of tea, please. As a thank you.", Mr. Nakajima says.
And who would say no to that?
So, they end up sitting at the man's small kitchen table, each with a cup of steaming hot green tea and Mr. Nakajima makes smalltalk with Rebekka, asking her where she's from.
"Plymouth. Born and raised.", she tells him and the old man makes a slightly surprised face.
"Why would you leave such a nice town?", he asks. Rebekka takes a sip from her tea before she answers.
"I'm trying to go on with my life... after the Blip.", she says and suddenly her neighbour finds his voice.
"You were wiped too?"
She looks at him a little surprised and just nods, humming a confirmation. He doesn't say anything else, but goes quiet again, making her frown slightly.
"And what do you do here?", Mr. Nakajima asks then, getting her attention again.
"I'm working as a technical assistant.", she informs him.
"Oh, where? That's an untypical position for a woman, isn't it?"
She smiles and shrugs. She's used to this reaction, getting it almost everytime she tells someone about her job. "I work for Audi. And yes, it's untypical. Almost all my colleagues are male.", she says friendly.
Mr. Nakajima nods and smiles sweetly. She decides she likes him. "And have you made any friends here yet?", he continues his questioning. "Not really. But I've only been here for about three weeks, so I'm optimistic.", she chuckles.
When they finish their tea Mr. Nakajima brings them to the door and says his goodbyes. Rebekka's surprised when he suddenly turns to her neighbour and asks him if he'd 'be there on wednesday, like every week' and the guy nods.
"I'll be there.", he confirms and Mr. Nakajima smiles at him before closing his door.
The two of them don't change another word, while walking to their own flats, but the man nods at Rebekka once, before disappearing into his space.
That's when she notices she still doesn't know his name.
After that day he suddenly seems to take notice of her. He holds the elevator for her, holds doors open, when she's behind him and he even offers her his cab once, when she comes running out of the building, waving for one. And then, about a week later, he suddenly speaks.
She's just coming home from a long day at work - her boss insisted she finishes her project a day earlier than originally planned - and can't wait to get to her flat, order some takeout and watch TV, when she spots him in the elevator. And, as always, he holds it for her.
"Thanks.", she says, also as always, not expecting anything back from him.
"Bucky.", he then suddenly says, totally surprising her. She rises her eyebrows and gives him a surprised sideway glance.
"Huh?", she asks. He licks his bottom lip, obviously nervous, and then looks at her.
"My name.", he starts again, "My name is Bucky."
She raises her eyebrows again and nods slowly. Well, that was awkward... But okay, now he has a name.
"Ah...", she says and then, when he looks at her a little expectantly, she adds, "Rebekka Lewis."
He nods and she thinks she sees something that might count as a smile on his lips. The bing of the elevator signals them, that they've arrived on their floor. When the doors slide open Bucky lets her step out first. They walk to their doors silently.
"It was nice to meet you, Rebekka.", he says and she turns in her doorway to smile at him.
"You too, Bucky."
A few days later Jason, her best friend since fourth grade from Plymouth, comes to visit and brings some last boxes of hers with him.
"And did you make any friends yet?", he asks, stirring his coffee with an investigating look on his face. Rebekka shrugs.
"There's a cool girl at work. We have lunch together all the time.", she tells him and he nods.
"Okay. So you have not gone completely rogue?"
She chuckles and shakes her head. "Guess I have not.", she says.
"And what about that annoying neighbour of yours? Does he still wake you up every night?", he asks. Rebekka sighs and smiles.
"Sometimes.. But I've gotten used to it.", she shrugs, while checking the receipt their waitress had just put down on their table. She sees how the girl checks out Jason, while cleaning a table near them and chuckles.
"What?", he asks before emptying his cup and snatching the receipt from her hand, "Let me take this."
Rebekka shrugs, still grinning. "The waitress is checking you out.", she informs him.
She couldn't hold it against the girl. Jason did look great. The blonde quiff, that always looks a little shaggy, his deep blue eyes and his sharp jawline could make any girl swoon. The only issue is: He is bisexual. At least he says he is. In reality he's more gay than bi, for he only sleeps with a girl once in like, three years. But you would never guess, if you didn't know him.
"So?", he asks, raising an eyebrow and turning his head. He winks at the waitress and the girl quickly looks away, her cheeks turning slightly pink. Rebekka shakes her head at him. "The poor girl.", she scolds him, but he just smiles innocently and chuckles.
Back at the apartment building they take the elevator to her floor. When the doors open they stand face to face with Bucky. He looks surprised for a second, but then his usual frown reappears on his face and he steps aside to let Rebekka and Jason step out.
"Hello.", Bucky says.
"Hey.", she answers and he nods once, like he always does. She smiles shortly and then pulls Jason with her, so he'd stop staring at her neighbour.
"Who's that?", he hisses, looking back over his shoulder.
"My neighbour.", she mumbles. "Shut it.", she adds, when Jason opens his mouth again to say something else. He makes an offended face, but keeps quiet.
"Am I allowed to talk now?", he asks once they're in her flat. Rebekka rolls her eyes and nods.
"Thank you.", Jason says. "You didn't tell me your annoying neighbour was this hot!"
She rolls her eyes again at his accusing tone, but grins a little at his statement. For the rest of the evening, while they unpack the boxes he brought, he won't shut up about Bucky, always asking questions.
"What's his name?" - "Bucky."
"How old is he?" - "I don't know."
"Does he play for your team?" - "I don't know."
"Does he have any social media?" - "I doubt it. I once
saw him with this really oldschool flip phone.."
And so on...
One day, when she comes home from work she meets Bucky in the elevator again.
"Your boyfriend seems nice.", he suddenly says and she looks up at him in surprise and confusion. He never says anything else than "Morning", "Evening" or "Hello" (notice the missing 'good' in front of the first two?) and caught her totally off guard with the statement.
This is why all she replies with is a dumbfounded "Who?". He furrows his brows slightly at her response.
"The man that's been staying with you for the last few days...", he says slowly. And that's when it dawns on her.
"You mean Jason?", she chuckles and he shrugs with a confused face.
"If that's his name..."
She laughs and shakes her head. "He's not my boyfriend.", she says. "We've been best friends since pre school and he prefers his partners more on the... male side." Buckys eyes widen as he realizes what she means. That's the most emotion she has ever seen on his face.
"Oh!", he mumbles and she nods with an amused grin on her face.
"Yep..."
And then, another week or so later - Jason left two days ago - she runs into Bucky again.
This time it's in the hallway in front of their flats. She went out with Alexis, a friend she made at work, for drinks and was now rustling around in her bag for her keys, stepping out of the elevator. She groans and suddenly looks up, when she hears a door open.
It's Bucky and he seems to be on his way to bring out his trash, she guesses upon seeing the bags in his hands.
"Hi!", she says, making him look up in surprise. She never greets him first, but she's tipsy and had a fun evening, so it just slipped out.
"Hello.", he says and furrows his brows, when he sees her searching around in her bag, groaning again.
"Is something wrong?", he asks and she looks up again, taking a deep, frustrated breath.
"I can't find my keys...", she sighs, now in front of her door. In a last, desperate motion she squats down and turns her bag upside down, emptying its belongings onto the floor.
"Uhm... Can I help in any way?", Bucky asks, making her look up at him again.
"Uh... No, not really. Unless you have a key-detector or something...", she tells him and goes back to rummaging through her stuff.
"I don't.", he states.
"But... thanks, Bucky.", she adds quickly, when he turns to walk away. He was trying to be nice and helpful, after all, the least she could do was thank him for it.
"Not for that..", he says and then leaves her to it, stepping into the elevator with his trash bags. "Night.", he says before the doors close and she nods and smiles quickly.
When he comes back she still hasn't found her keys and is starting to become even more frustrated.
She rummaged through all the things in her bag twice while he was gone, even looked inside her wallet and checked the bag for any holes in the inner lining. She also looked through all the pockets in her jeans and jacket for the third time.
Nothing.
Now she was sitting on the floor with her knees pulled to her chest, back against her door and her head resting on her crossed arms on her knees.
"Hello again...", she sighs, lifting her head, when Bucky steps out of the elevator, looking as brooding as ever.
"Oh. Didn't find your keys?", he asks, putting the phone in his hand away.
"Nope..", she states, popping the P at the end.
"Do you, uh- Do you wanna come in, maybe? I could make some tea..", he offers, pulling out his keys.
She looks at her phone - almost 11 p.m. - and nods.
"Yeah... Why not?", she accepts and gets up from the floor.
He looks slightly surprised, but doesn't say anything else as he opens his door and holds it open for her to step in.
"Thank you.", she mumbles.
She looks around, taking in his flat. He doesn't have any decoration, pictures or anything else, really. All she sees is an old coat check with a heavy leather jacket on it, a single armchair (not even a couch), a single wooden chair, a small TV, a side table and some kitchen gadgets. She wonders about the blankets and pillow she spots on the floor next to the armchair, but tries not to think too much of it.
"How long have you lived here?", she asks. The question just slips out. He closes the door behind himself and walks past her.
"Almost six months.", he tells her and she raises her eyebrows.
"Oh, wow..", she mumbles, more to herself, and steps further into the empty flat. And Jason said she hadn't settled in.
"Uhm.. sit down.", he says and waves his hand towards the armchair, while walking into the small kitchen space.
She complies and takes out her phone to text Alexis, her friend from work, and ask her if she had seen her keys anywhere.
"What tea do you want?", Bucky asks from the kitchen and she looks up at him.
"Whatever you have is fine.. Unless it's black tea.", she tells him and he nods, going to work.
Alexis texts back almost immediately, informing her that she thinks she saw the keys on her desk at work earlier and Rebekka sighs and facepalms herself.
"Shit..", she swears under her breath.
'Okay, thanks...' she answers and then tries to think about a solution to her current problem.
She can't go back to the office to get her keys, since it would be closed until tomorrow morning, but-
The sound of a kettle going off suddenly startles her and she looks over to the kitchen, where Bucky's now pouring steaming water into two mugs.
"You still use a tea kettle?", she blurts out in surprise. He must be older than he looks.
She notices he's also still wearing the gloves that always cover his hands. 'Maybe he has some kind of disease..', she thinks and shrugs it off.
"I'm oldschool..", he shrugs and comes over, handing her one of the mugs and pulling the single chair closer, sitting down himself.
"Yeah, I noticed.", she nods, pointing at his phone on the kitchen counter. He looks at it and nods too.
They sit in silence for a while and Rebekka takes a careful sip of the hot tea. "Do you need anything else with your tea? Sugar or something?", Bucky asks and she shakes her head, smiling.
"No, thank you.", she says and blows into the mug.
"Does anybody have a spare key to your flat..?", he then asks, coming back to the reason she was even in his flat. She thinks for a moment.
"The janitor should have one, according to the landlord.. But I don't have the number. And I doubt he's still here at this time..", she then tells him and takes a small sip from her tea. It's really good - and very hot, still.
"I have his number.", Bucky offers, "And I also know that he keeps the spare keys here, so you could be lucky.."
Her eyes light up slightly and she sits up straighter. "Could you maybe call him? I, uhm... Well, I don't know him and I-", she tries to explain, but Bucky is already nodding.
"I'll call him, no problem.", he says and stands up.
She watches as he flips open his phone and dials a number slowly, with a concentrated face. While he's talking to the janitor Rebekka sips her tea and looks around the room, trying to find any kind of a personal touch, but failing.
He has no pictures, not a single item that could be counted as decoration or anything personal and she strongly believes he's sleeping on the floor.
"Alright. Thank you again.", Bucky says after a while and ends the call.
She looks at him expectantly and he nods. "He keeps the keys in his office downstairs. The night watch should have a key.", he tells her and she starts smiling widely.
"That's great! Perfect! Thank you!", she says happily, but then she frowns. "Where exactly is his office downstairs?"
Bucky nods for her to follow him. "I'll show you. Come on."
So she stands up and follows him out of his flat. They take the elevator downstairs and ask the night watch for the key, which he hands out to Bucky.
In the janitors' office they look for the locker the man had described to Bucky. When they find it the key to her flat is right at the front, attached to a tag with her last name and the number of her flat on it.
"Oh, thank god!", Rebekka exclaims, grabbing the key and releasing a relieved breath. "Thank you!"
In her still tipsy state she whirls around and hugs Bucky quickly, obviously surprising him. He freezes for a moment, then pats her back awkwardly with one hand and she quickly steps back again, releasing him.
"Uh.. sorry..", she mumbles and he nods once, not meeting her eyes.
They stay quiet all the way back up to their floor and he just says his usual "Night.", before he steps into his flat, closing the door quickly behind him.
After that night she starts to greet him more often, surprising him most of the time, when she does. She also initiates some small talk, asking about his day and the weather, but it's still mostly her that does the talking. And then, the wednesday after, she meets him with Mr. Nakajima in the lobby of the apartment building, after just coming home from work.
"Ah, Ms. Lewis. Hello!", the old man greets her and she looks up from the text from Jason she was reading to smile at him and Bucky.
"Hello!", she says and Bucky does this little greeting head nodding thing she notices he does so often, instead of talking.
"Coming home from work?", the other man asks and Rebekka smiles and nods.
"Yes."
Mr. Nakajima looks at Bucky like he expects him to say something, but the younger man stays quiet. He then looks back at Rebekka and seems to think about something for a moment.
"We're going to my favourite japanese restaurant.", he says and Rebekka smiles. "Would you like to join us?", he then adds, surprising her. She raises her eyebrows and notices Buckys almost same reaction.
"Oh! Uhm... I- don't know, if-", she stutters.
"Oh, please. I'm paying today!", Mr. Nakajima chimes in and Rebekka nods slowly.
"Uh, okay. But I can pay myself, Mr. Nakajima!", she tells the old man, who waves his hand and shakes his head.
"Please. I insist. And call me Yori.", he says and starts walking. Rebekka nods and follows him and Bucky outside.