More than a gift

Doll, I was thinking

About a month before her birthday Bucky started acting a little weird. Elena didn't think much about it at first. Sometimes he got a little tense and fidgety. After Hydra and everything he'd been through that was understandable. The deal they had was as long as he didn't shut her or Steve out she wasn't worried.

He wasn't shutting either of them out so she didn't have any reason to worry, yet. Although he was having a lot more quiet discussions with Steve. She noticed that they would stop talking sometimes when she came into the room and give her strained smiles. Still, Elena wasn't worried. Her birthday was coming up and figured Buck was planning a surprise or something and didn't want her to know.

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Out of the blue one morning three weeks before her birthday, Bucky said. "Doll, I was thinking. Maybe we could spice things up a bit. You know, in the bedroom."

Raising her eyebrows at him in surprise over her book with a piece of bacon halfway raised to her mouth Elena paused. She put her book and the bacon down to give him her full attention. "What do you mean, spice things up?"

He raised his right hand to rub the back of his neck. Something he only did when he was nervous or stressed. "Well, I mean is there anything you want to do that we haven't done before?"

She laughs lightly. "Bucky, I'm very happy with our sex life. Where is this coming from? Is there something you're wanting to do?" She curiously asks. Bucky continues to rub the back of his neck blushing a bit, but doesn't say anything.

Worried and not knowing where he was going with this she says. "James, I can see you have something on your mind. Spit it out."

Normally she doesn't usually call Bucky by his first name, but there were exceptions. Those being when he's pissed her off, they're having a serious talk or when they're in bed. Sometimes she needed to be firm with him and saying his first name was a way of doing that to let him know now wasn't the time.

He doesn't say anything for a minute making her worried that maybe he thinks they're lacking something in the bedroom. Elena felt like she was fairly adventurous when it came to sex. She was the one who had shown Bucky there was more to sex than just gentle love making or the occasional romp in the backseat of a car. Paranoid doubt began to creep into her mind that he's gotten bored with her in the bedroom.

Bucky pushed his food around on his plate with his fork not looking at her as he spoke. "I don't think we're lacking. Just curious if there was anything else you wanted to try."

She looked at him in confusion for a moment then she remembered the conversation with Natasha and Wanda. Had they said something to him or had he overheard them talking? Trying to come across casual she asked, "Did Nat or Wanda say something to you?"

Looking up from his plate Bucky's forehead crinkled with confusion clear on his face. "No, why?"

"No reason, forget about it." Picking up her bacon she quickly shoved the rest of the bacon in her mouth. This way she doesn't have to talk for a minute while she chews. Finished with her breakfast, Elena took her plate to the sink and rinsed it off before putting it in the dishwasher.

"I have to meet Sam and Clint for training. I'll see you later, okay." She gives Bucky a quick kiss and rushes out of their apartment and right into Steve.

"We have to stop meeting like this Stevie or I'm definitely going to break my face on your muscles." She says with a laugh as she rubs her forehead. He laughs with her as he sets her back on her feet. "Sorry, Elena. I wasn't expecting someone to be rushing out the door as I was about to come in." Stepping around and past him, Elena turned to walk backwards so she could still face him as she talked.