On the corner of an old gas station just outside the city, Bucky found a box. Someone had scribbled “free kittens” on it and other than an inch of rainwater from the ongoing downpour, there was only one kitten left. A dirty, soaked, shivering ball of white fur. Without giving it much thought, Bucky scooped the little squeaky creature, wrapped it in a spare t-shirt he kept in his backpack, stuffed it inside his leather jacket and set course for home.
But first, there was one place he figured would be a good place to find out how to even take care of his new friend.
He’s never been in the local library, despite living in the same neighbourhood for the better part of the past two years, but between a busy few weeks at work and a long journey to visit his sister, he forgot to pay the internet bill. The library was his best option until that inconvenience was settled.
He couldn’t see anyone at the reception desk when he came in, and after awkwardly looking around to see if any employees were in sight, he noticed a little buzzer taped to the counter separating the reception desk from the rest of the room. “Press for help” it said, and damn did Bucky need help, when he felt the little kitten squirm in his pocket. He better hurry up before the little thing gets hungry and starts loudly demanding food.
“You work here?” Bucky sputtered out the moment you - the cute neighbour he’s had a massive crush on since the day he moved in the building- walk up to the counter and you shush him, as he didn’t even realise just how loud he was.
Despite knowing you for so long, flirting with you every single time the two of you saw each other, it somehow escaped him to ever even ask what was your job. For some reason the idea that you worked just like everybody else didn’t even cross his mind. And even if it did, he would’ve never guessed you were a librarian.
“Where else would your local crazy cat lady work?” You chuckled and leaned your arms against the counter.
Bucky scoffed. “You’re not crazy, you only have one cat.” Midnight was the name of the little demon you adopted, which loved to attack Bucky’s shoes whenever the two of you would chat at your doorstep.
“Oh? When does crazy start then?” That playful glint in your eyes that he loves was back again.
“Hmm…” Bucky leaned against the counter, as casually as he could. “I would start to worry at ten.”
Your eyebrows shot up in amusement. “Still got some wiggle room there then. So, uh, what brings you here?”
“I need a book about kittens.”
You scrunched up your nose in confusion. Bucky had half a mind to jump over the counter and just kiss you right there in front of everyone. He was a total goner when it came to you.
“Kittens? You don’t have cats.”
“I do now. Found this tiny girl next to a gas station earlier and took her with me.” That surprised you. Not that you didn’t know Bucky was a big ol’ soft teddy bear, but his personal style still fooled you sometimes.
“Oh. That’s.. that’s very sweet of you.” You never thought of your hot biker neighbour as a cat person, hell, as far as you’re aware he’s never had a pet. You always found it endearing when he tried to win Midnight’s affection with snacks, little did he know Midnight absolutely loved him. The reason you always knew Bucky was coming home was because your cat has developed a habit of screaming his head off the moment he hears Bucky’s bike in the parking lot outside your window. Maybe you’d spill that secret one day but for now you decided to be a good librarian and point him where he needed to go.
You pointed towards the back of the room, where you’d spent hours before, when you first got Midnight. “You should go have a look at the pets section then, last row on the left. There’s a few books about cat care and kittens there.”
“Thanks, gorgeous.” He gave you one last blinding smile and went in the direction you pointed him.
Still grinning about the nickname he often called you, you went back to sorting things around the reception desk, which always ended up being a complete mess. You wanted to hurry up and get it done before you make your rounds putting books back in their place. You hoped to see Bucky again before he left, so you decided you would start from the pets section.
About half an hour later, after the reception area has been sorted out, you pushed your trolley towards the back of the room. You didn’t see Bucky leave so you figured he’d still be around somewhere. And sure enough, you found him with his nose in a book he had picked out.
Bucky was quite a sight, as usual. Black, worn leather jacket, a hoodie underneath which you happily recognised as the one you had gifted him at Christmas. His dark jeans weren’t as tight as usual, which was a shame, but they still hugged those muscular thighs nicely. His usually slightly messy hair was in a tiny bun at his nape, revealing the pretty thorns he had tattooed on his neck. Your fingers ached to touch the skin there, but you couldn’t just walk up to a person and touch their tattoo, right? Right.
Bucky was so engrossed in the book, he didn’t hear you approach him and stand behind him, and luckily he wasn’t aware of your drooling either.
“You can take books home, you know.” You whispered, you didn’t want to scare him too much.
“Oh!” Bucky still jumped a little, he really hasn’t noticed you at all. “Hey, I was just reading this part I found interesting.” He gave you a sheepish grin. “Will you check me out?”
Oh, there was no way you’d pass such an opportunity, workplace be damned.
“Don’t I do it every day?” You smirked and leaned against the bookshelf next to him.
Normally you weren’t that forward with people, but Bucky always made you feel comfortable. Flirting with him came so naturally, sometimes you wondered why has neither of you made a step forward before. Maybe because the game was just too much fun.
Bucky dipped his head and laughed quietly.
A light pink blush spread over his cheeks and down his tattooed neck and you swear you could just melt into a puddle.
He swiftly closed the book and put it back on the shelf, then closed the distance between the two of you. He had to admit you’re quite a sight today - standing there dressed in all black, a smirk on your pretty lips and a cocky tilt of your head. Bucky always felt the urge to kiss you whenever he saw you, but right now? He was seconds from dipping you and kissing you breathless.
“You’re really sexy when you get cocky, ya know.” He murmured. You looked at him like you were thinking the exact same thing as him. You lifted your hands to his jacket and slowly slid them down to his waist.
“Am I?“ Bucky swore his knees shook when you slid your hands inside his jacket and your fingers danced on his ribs for a moment before you pulled him closer.
There goes his reputation of being the neighbourhood’s scary and cool biker. Not that he cared much about that, especially not when he was finally this close to kissing you. Somewhere in the back of his head he wondered if it was a good idea to make out not only in a public place, but also in your workplace, but you didn’t seem to mind at all, with your bottom lip between your teeth and your warm hands under his jacket. He didn’t even realise how cold he was until you touched him.
Bucky felt brave now that you were being so forward with him, he grabbed you by the hips and pulled you close, eliminating any distance between the two of you. You let out a tiny squeak of surprise but quickly took advantage of the close proximity and pressed your lips against his.
You felt more than heard the rumble in his chest as he leaned into you and kissed you back. His lips were still a bit cold from being outside in the rain and you could smell the raindrops drying on his leather jacket. His palm was incredibly warm when he lifted it to hold the back of your head. No matter how much you fought it, you couldn’t help the pleased hum that escaped you when you felt his tongue slide over your lips, asking for more access.
Bucky shifted slightly to deepen the kiss and you felt something warm and solid slide over your upper thigh, and of course your nasty mind went straight in the gutter.
“Is that a cat in your pocket or are you that happy to see me?” You murmured, your lips touching his just barely.
Bucky froze immediately. He completely forgot! “It’s um… It’s a cat. I am very happy to see you though.”
“Wait..” That’s not the response to your joke that you expected. You opened your eyes in surprise - you didn’t even notice closing them in the first place - and stared at him. As if on cue, a tiny meow came from his pocket and you let out a breathy laugh. “Did you bring your kitten with you?”
“Couldn’t just leave her on the bike.” He shrugged and pulled away just enough to take out the tiny white fur ball out of his pocket. You were amazed that his pockets were deep enough to comfortably fit a kitten. Menswear, huh?
“Oh my god, come here sweetie!” You cooed at the kitten, which didn’t seem to mind being handled by strangers and immediately curled up against your chest. As he watched you petting the kitten, Bucky felt like he was about to melt into a puddle in the middle of the isle.
“Did you name her yet?”
“Yeah, Alpine.” Bucky smiled, rubbing a finger under the cat’s chin and her purrs got so loud it was hard to believe they were coming out of her tiny body.
You looked so lovingly at Alpine that Bucky almost thought about giving her to you because it was such a cute sight, and he was sure you were more capable of taking care of her anyway, but he really liked that little trouble maker.
Suddenly a bunch of teens walked inside the isle, which you vaguely recognised as the kids working on some project. You turned away and hid Alpine against your chest so no one saw her and you acted like you weren’t making out with your hot neighbour just a minute earlier. Bucky instinctively took half a step away and straightened his back, trying to look like he wasn’t about to suck your soul out of your mouth against a bookshelf.
You cleared your throat in an attempt to appear normal and grabbed the two books Bucky chose. “These are a good choice, there’s a lot about feeding and possible health issues, since she looks pretty young.”
You both awkwardly stood there, waiting for the kids to leave. When they finally did, Bucky carefully took little Alpine and hid her inside his jacket this time. He pulled you closer again and kissed you, short and sweet.
“Can I visit you if I need help?”
You chuckled. As if he wasn’t always welcome in your apartment. “You can visit me even if you don’t need help.”
“In that case, how does tonight sound? Take out and wine?”
“Mm, such a romantic you are.” You pecked his lips once, twice, three times, until his own pulled up at the corners and was leaning into you again.