Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2;
Bucky groggily opened the door to his apartment, fumbling with the keys for a good few minutes. He spent all day helping Sam down at the VA; after seeing the horrific amount of paperwork and patients, Bucky silently vowed to never be that late again. With a triumphant grin, he went through the door. Bucky didn't even bother turning on the lights, he knew his apartment like the back of his hand.
He also knew there shouldn't be a strange woman sitting on the island of his kitchen.
Bucky could make out the faintest grin in the dark, the woman clumsily got down.
"Long time no see Barnes", she purred.
He almost dropped the bag in his hand. He knew that voice, he heard it laugh at it's own corny jokes, he heard it talk passionately about it's job as the assistant of an astrophysicist, and much to his dislike, he heard the lecture it gave him on the pros and cons of watching porn.
"Darcy?"
She smirked, "The one and only."
Now that she was closer, Bucky could really make out her appearance.
She wore grey sweats and a blue hoodie, her dark hair was in a dishevelled ponytail; her glasses magnified her coy green eyes. But her lips were just as he'd remembered them: dark red lipstick, perfectly applied.
"My, my, my Barnes, your looking good, love the new hair. How's Bucky jr?"
"Darcy", he choked out. "How did you get in here?"
But he knew the answer to that question. As kids Darcy always got him into trouble, vivid memories flashed as he'd remembered breaking into stores after dark, sneaking into clubs and the like.
She pouted, "Really Bucky? No "Hey Darc, good to see you again, I missed you", or anything?"
He sighed, "Of course I missed you! But we made plans to meet up, and I'm almost certain they didn't include breaking into my home."
"Oh yeah, sorry about that", the grin on her face contradicting her words. "You've got a really nice place", she ran a hand over the kitchen counter. "Calcutta?"
"Marble"
"Nice"
"Darcy, what the actual fuck? Why-you know what? I'm not even surprised. I'm tired and have no fucking energy for this-"
"What's with that look?"
"What fucking look?"
She walked towards him, her eyes analysing. "That one", then her face lit up with realisation.
"You met someone, didn't you?"
Most people wouldn't have sounded as surprised as Darcy did, or wouldn't even care for that matter, but it made Bucky's heart swell with affection knowing that even after all this time, Darcy cared.
Bucky was, and still is, a charming and charismatic man. But it shouldn't have come as a surprise that Afghanistan and Iraq took a great toll on him, dimming his once bright personality. He never regretted enlisting; he knew becoming a sergeant would come at a price. He spent years following orders, being efficient and effective, but it seemed that all his training when out the window when there was a dick involved.
Bucky sighed again, more fond instead of irritated, and gestured to the kitchen seats. "Come on and sit down, I'll tell you all about him."
"You got any ice cream?"
He huffed out a laugh, "You know I do".
***
"Hey-sorry, excuse me, coming through"
After spending almost 4 hours searching for some fruit and veg, Bucky finally made it out of the hellhole people called a grocery store. He had no idea as to why the queues were so fucking long, and it soured his already agitated mood.
He came home quickly and collapsed on the couch. Trying not to swear at little kids took a lot more energy than he expected.
Bucky lazily searched for some fruit to eat and turned the TV on.
"Thank you Bob, up next the Avengers-"
Ugh. It was the news. It was always the fucking news.
Bucky hated it with a burning passion, because it was essentially a group of well-dressed men and women discussing something incredibly morbid and depressing. But a nagging feeling told him to keep watching.
Bucky knew who the Avengers were, everyone did, and he'd grown a little more interest in them after Captain America came out as bisexual almost a year ago. He'd found it hilariously ironic that the man who was the symbol of patriotic goodness and dignity wasn't straight.
"-Save thousands of people once again as a terrifying creature wreaks havoc on the city of Manhatten"
He immediately shot up from the couch. What?
"As you can see in this next clip, fellow Avengers Black Widow, Hawkeye and Captain America defeat the savage beast"
True to her word, Bucky watched in silent awe as the video showed the 3 Avengers kicking ass. Then he watched as Captain America took of his helmet, his suit in tatters and covered in blood, running towards endangered citizens; that was when Bucky got a closer look at him.
He was tall and extremely well-built, his muscles flexed as he carried frightened children.
His blond hair was endearingly chaotic; despite the streaks of grime, his face was unbelievably handsome. Everything about him was eerily familiar: the little bump on the bridge of his nose, his lips, his deep blue eyes-
"Amazing isn't he?"
"Yes indeed Joan. Steve Rogers, famously known as Captain America-"
Wait. Steve?
Bucky stilled, realisation washed over him like a bucket of cold water, and he dropped the plum in his hand.
Now it all made sense. The way he looked when he realised Bucky didn't recognize him, the way he smiled at Bucky's ignorance, the way he held him, protective and nurturing and almost lovingly for god's sake.
Bucky had made out with none other than Captain fucking America.
Oh god, Sam was gonna get a kick out of this.