The man with the gloves [bucky barnes ff]

43

Bucky's POV

"I can't believe you made me come here."

"That bad?"

"Not bad. Just... I don't know. I miss you." I confess in a low voice because I don't want anyone else hearing. I told them I'd be right back after making a phone call but their house isn't that big and Lauren's oldest daughter is too curious.

"You miss whom?" A voice speaks from behind.

Speaking of the devil. "Isla, I'll call you back in a bit."

"Okay. Just remember that this is good for you. And remember that I'll be back in a few days for New Years."

"Can't wait. And tell Gen I said hi." I say when I hear her voice in the background. I hang up and turn around to Alice. Alice is Lauren's oldest daughter.
She's somewhat around fourteen and looks exactly like her great-grandmother, my sister Rebecca, when she was young.
Except, my sister wasn't nearly as curious and annoying. "Are you spying on me?"

"Afraid I might discover something I shouldn't?" She furrows her eyes and flips her head back. "You're weird."

"Sure, I am the weird one. Not the fourteen year old kid who spends her entire day in front of a magic toaster."

"It's a notebook. You're just old."

Well, I technically am over a hundred years old.

"Besides," she whispers. "that magic toaster told me some pretty interesting things, uncle James. Or do you prefer uncle Bucky?"

My breath hitches. "How- what, how do you-"

"I'm fourteen. Not dense. You show up here for Christmas, my mother claims you're this distant relative that no one ever heard about. You keep wearing those gloves and every time we ask you a personal question there's panic in your eyes. One would be stupid not to look you up online."

"So, what do you want to me to say how?"

"Does my mother know? Who you really are? That you're the winter soldier, I mean." She clarifies. I look at her closer and all I see is Becca. She even has those small curls that show when she doesn't brush them out. Becca always used to do that. She hated her curls. I thought they were beautiful.

"Yes."

"And she still invited you?"

"Obviously."

"My mother does have a saviour complex. That might explain it. I can't believe you are friends with Captain America. Or were." She sits down next to me on the bench. We're in the garden and there's loud music and chatter coming from inside.
It is even more packed than I had assumed. There are Sarah and Ben, my sister's children. Ben never married and didn't have children himself but Sarah did. A daughter named Lauren. And Lauren has three children. Three really annoying children. Alice and Aidan are twins and around fourteen. Their younger brother Liam is still a baby.
There are also a few other relatives, cousins, aunts and uncles from the fathers' sides.

"We were, yes." I shortly answer.

"So lucky. He was so hot. I would've loved to work with him."

I turn my head and raise a brow. "You're fourteen."

"So? He was still hot." She speaks. "Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"None of your business." I know Isla told me to be nice and not my usual self but people who ask too many question. Except for Isla. She's the only exception.

"Was that your girlfriend? You have a girlfriend? Does she know?"

I nod.

"Do you have a picture of her?"

"I am not going to show you a picture of my girlfriend. Stop being so curious. Didn't your parents teach you that that is rude?"

"Come on, show me a picture. I wanna see her. I'll leave you alone afterwards." She begs. I groan and take my phone out. I know Isla posts many pictures on social media platforms but since I don't know how those works I show Alice a picture I secretly took of Isla when she was watching a movie. She looked so beautiful in that moment that I had to capture it. "That's your girlfriend? How did you pull her? She's super hot."

"She is." I smile when I look at the picture.

"How long have you been dating?"

"Couple of weeks."

"Aw. So you're in the honeymoon phase. That's so adorable." She pinches my cheeks making me slap away her hand. "I still don't understand why someone like her would date you. I mean no offence but you're this grumpy grandpa without a job or income who wears gloves because he has a metal arm and who doesn't have any friends. And she's, well, she's hot."

"Yeah, you mentioned that last part."

"Now now, don't get all homophobic with me."

"Homophobic? Me? I-"

"I am just joking, bucket." She grins at the nickname.

"Never call me that again."

"Okay, bucket."

"Alice." I warn her. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to take me seriously. She bursts out in a heavy laughter and keeps making up other nicknames including bugs bunny, Buckingham palace and my personal favourite ladybug. "You're really annoying. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"That's the only thing people tell me, Starbucks."

"Enough with the nick names." I laugh. I have to admit. She is fun. Fucking shit. It's Christmas, I'm at a family gathering and my only friend is a fourteen year old girl who keeps making fun of my name. If I wasn't depressed before I sure as hell am now. "Why are you out here?"

"There are babies sleeping on my bed in my room so I can't go there. I wanted to write a E-Mail to a friend."

"E-mail? Really? I thought I was old fashioned."

"It's a bit more complicated. I don't have his number. I don't even have his name."

"What?"

"Okay, so. There's this video game. It's super shit now but it was pretty cool a few months ago. It was basically this game where you shoot everyone dead. You would've loved it." Her eyes widen. "Sorry. Too soon? Anyways. And you could form teams and I was in a team with this guy called Huntsman2001 and we started becoming friends. But then the game got boring and we started chatting and sometimes when we don't chat we just write each other emails. It's cool, you know? I can tell him everything and he tells me everything."

"You think that's safe?"

"Spare it. My father gave me that whole Internet safety talk a while ago."

"I am just saying. How do you know it's actually someone your age? Maybe it's some perv."

"I wouldn't know. And he would never be able to find me. That's the thing. We don't tell each other personal stuff. For all I know he could be living in the Netherlands on a flower field. He'd never ask me for personal information and I'd never give it to him." She explains.

"Just be careful, kid."

"Always, Winter wonderland." She speaks. "Oh, come on. At least it doesn't have anything to do with your real name."

I turn my head away so she doesn't see the giant smile on my face. She might be annoying. And she might make want to kill her at times. But for some reasons she's not nearly as terrible as I thought at first.

"So. Question. Does that arm ever get rusty? And if so. Do you go to the gas station and just use engine oil?"

I take it back.
I hope Isla is at least having more fun.