Crying to the Sky // Bucky Barnes

Chapter 17: Not just three small words

I sigh as I fold my dress from the night of Tony's party. The fabric brushes against my fingers and I place it in to my suitcase. I had finally found a place in Brooklyn, a small flat with one bedroom, a kitchen, living room and a bathroom. It is a little cramped but it should be fine.

I am brought out my thought by the sound of my door creaking open. I turn, Bucky is standing sheepishly in the doorway, "Hey." He says, shuffling slightly and lingering in the dark doorway.

"Hey." I reply softly, not wanting to wake Steve up as it is pretty late. I turn around completely, sitting down on the bed. Bucky's blue eyes land on my suitcase, he then looks down towards the ground sadly. I smile a little, "Hey, don't worry, we'll see each other often... Our apartments are just a few streets away from each other."

He shifts his weight back and forth between both of his feet before walking over. He sits down next to me and buries his face in my shoulder and neck. He has been lost with who to go with. Either way, he would see us both often, just one more than the other. He turns his head so the side of his head is leaning against my shoulder, a look of deep thought on his features.

"I... I love you." He says, quietly. A hint of insecurity and anxiety in his unsure voice. He closes his eyes and buries his face into my neck again.

"Hey..." I pull back slightly, my hand gently pushing his head up by his jaw, encouraging him to look at me. Once he is looking in my eyes, a fear of my reaction of his confession clearly conveyed in them, "I love you too." I say, reassuring him.

He leans in, kissing me slowly but passionately. A few tears leak out of my eyes due to that being the first time I have ever heard those three words directed at me.

We pull away, in need of air and he scans my face. His eyes then dart away, but are drawn back to my eyes only seconds later, "I'm coming with you."

His decision firm and clear, hardly a doubt in his voice. I pull away slightly  and face him properly in surprise, he looks back at me, such a different look held in his gaze than the broken man I met nearly a whole year ago. Instead of confusion and uncertainty in his blue eyes, there is a glint of confidence and a pool of deep blue trust.

"Are you sure?" I ask, giving him the chance to change his mind. I hope he doesn't but this is his decision, and it's a big one.

"Positive." He whispers shortly, closing his eyes and giving me a peck on the lips. He looks away for a second, "I mean, Steve will only be a few streets away and I'm pretty sure we got the bigger apartment."

"...No, we didn't."

"Well, we can just steal his and he can have ours."

I laugh, "We can't steal an apartment, Bucky!"

"We can try!" He laughs along with me. My grin hurts my cheeks as I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. It's one of those hugs that are so tight, you can hardly breath, but you love every second of it anyway. We pull back, still inches apart as he takes both my hands and whispers, "I need you to promise me something..."

"Anything..." I say seriously, expecting something important.

"Can we make pancakes when we move in?" He grins loosely.

I nearly snort at the anti-climatic promise he is eagerly watching me for conformation for. I nod, attempting to keep a straight face, "Of course."

"Then I better get packing." He jumps up, letting go of my hands and darting over to the closet filled with his clothes. He starts roughly folding them and throwing them in an old backpack.

Later on, while eating dinner that Steve made for us, He notices Bucky's change in attitude. For the last few dinners, Bucky had been lost in thought and quiet during dinner times. But today he is smiley, the weight of the decision on his broad shoulders has been lifted and thrown into the ocean. He wolves his food down as Steve gives him a look.

"Am I missing something?" He asks, looking suspiciously at Bucky then over at me.

"I decided to move in with Josie." James informs him, continuing eating.

"Finally!" Steve throws his arms in the air, "You were getting a bit too worried about it, Buck."

We continue eating, chatting occasionally. I go to mine and Bucky's room as it is Steve and Bucky's turn to wash up the dishes. After ten minutes of packing more, my case is full and zipped up. I hear Steve talking in the kitchen along with the splashing of water.

"You haven't taken her on a date yet?" He asks, a hint of surprise laced in his tone.

"I just haven't found the time to ask her yet." Bucky replies, I can almost hear the shrug in his voice.

"No, Buck, you are nervous." Steve accuses, "It's almost like we've swapped bodies. You used to be smooth when it came to women, suddenly it's me giving you advise."

"Well... Where would we go? I don't really know what she likes..." I can hear how lost he is in his voice.

"I don't think she does either, something tells me she's never went out on many dates, you know, considering she was a bomb." He reasons lightly, his assumption about my love life accurate; I have never been on a date, "Take her to a nice restaurant or somewhere fun like... A library."

"A library?" Bucky judges, wondering how a library could possibly be fun.

"She likes books right?" He asks, slightly unsure of himself.

"Yeah, but I don't think she would want to do that on a date." Bucky states.

"Well... Why not just ask her where she wants to go then?" He suggests.

"Um... I suppose I could..." I can hear the uncertainty in his voice. I decide it's about time I step in.

"Um... You guys done with the dishes?" I call, opening the door and walking through the living room and to the small kitchen.

"Nearly, why?" Steve asks.

"I thought, maybe I should show Buck where he is going to be living soon." I turn to James, who's eyes light up.

Before I know it, we are taking a bus to near our new apartment. We huddle together slightly, hands in our jacket pockets as a cold, late Autumn breeze chills through us as we walk round a corner.

"So..." Bucky starts, sounding awkward and unsure of where he is going with this conversation, "I was wondering... If we- I mean- if you... Would like to go out sometime... Together- with me?"

I giggle at his flustered question, not in a mean way though, "Of course, I would love to go on a date with you, Bucky."

"Thank God- I mean, great! Where do you wanna go?" He asks eagerly.

"This isn't all about me, you know." I say, "It has to be something that you would like to do too; I don't want you getting dragged into doing something you don't want to do just because I like it."

"I... Uhh..."

"Steve tells me you used to go on countless dates back in the 40s, so what's so different now?"

"Well... Back then it was all a little..." He pauses, searching his head for the right word, "I guess you could say that it was old fashioned. We would go dancing and go out to diners and drink milkshakes. Very... Retro"

I laugh lightly at Bucky's use of the word. I then think for a moment, "Well, I don't know what it's like to go on a date." I admit.

"Really?" He asks, surprised.

"Yeah, so why don't we do that?"

"Do what?"

"Go dancing. Go to retro diners. Drink milkshakes. Whatever you used to do." I list, "Honestly, I don't know any better. And I know you are not exactly used to modern day stuff, so we can try new things as well."

"You really wanna go dancing?" He asks, his eyes glinting.

"Well... I don't really know how to dance. But there's a first time for everything, right?"

Bucky grins, "I can teach you."