Doll. // Bucky Barnes X OC

FORTY-TWO

It's been a month since Bruce gave Steve an antidote for the pills that Sharon gave him. He did as Bruce said and took a dose every day for the 7 days he was told. He has yet to see Melany, but Bucky has been keeping tabs on him.

Bucky feels bad for giving Steve so much shit, which he should. He should've listened to Mel; she could tell something was wrong and instead he saw her as naïve and being too empathetic. He needed to show her that he was sorry, rather than him just repeating it to her like he has been. She keeps telling him that it's alright, and she's glad that Steve is better, but something just feels off to Bucky.

Everything with Steve put them in a sore spot. They haven't been fighting, just ignoring each other. When he walks into a room, she finds something to distract herself with or walks out as he passes. When they go to bed at night, he hears a soft mumble of an 'I love you' as she turns away from him. There's been times where he notices her fiddling with her engagement ring, but she's too busy ignoring him to notice his observations.

Now, he was standing in the kitchen in sweatpants as he heard her feet pad down the steps. He stayed turned toward the stove as he fiddled with some eggs in the pan as she padded past him and to the coffee pot. She was wearing his shirt and her hair up in a bun. The curve of her ass peaked out just enough from under his t-shirt, giving him a view of her panties as she got up on her tiptoes to grab a coffee mug.

"Good morning." She gave him a small smile as she poured herself a cup.

"Morning." Bucky replied, looking over at her. She leaned against the counter as she looked at him, slowly taking a sip of her coffee. "What?"

"I miss you." She said, looking down.

"I'm right here, doll." He said, holding out his arm for her to come to him. "I'm sorry." He said as she padded toward him, wrapping her arms around his bare torso.

"Stop saying that." She groaned, smiling softly. "How is he?"

"He's good. Talked to him this morning." Bucky replied, kissing her head. "Hungry?" He asked, grabbing her a plate.

She nodded. "Yes." She smiled as she rounded the bar top and took a seat as he placed down her plate. Eggs, toast, and bacon.

After a few minutes of listening to each other chew, Bucky spoke. "Do you want to see him?"

"Are you okay with that?" Melany asked, looking up at him.

"You don't have to ask me that, doll. If you want to see him, then we can go." Bucky paused before continuing. "They're out of his system."

"How did that work again?" Melany asked, furrowing her brows.

"The pills boosted his dopamine – what your brain releases when you look at someone you love, something you like, whatever... and when he saw you it would send him into overdrive basically." Bucky responded.

"Right." She sighed, standing up with her plate. He took it from her and placed it in the sink before she could move. "He's not going to try anything if you're there, though, Buck."

"What're you saying?" He asked, looking over at her with a raised brow.

"I'm saying..." she sighed, running her hands over her face. "We can go together but I don't think anyone else should be in the room when I see him."

"You're kidding, right?" He asked, chuckling slightly. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter as she rounded the bar top to stand directly in front of him.

She shook her head. "You can be outside the room, just in case."

Bucky hung his head, sighing deep. "Fine." He said after a moment, looking up at her.