4.4 | Trigger ✓

07 | семнадцать

Dakota stared at her innocently. "Have I...?"

"Made love to the broken man over ninety with a metal arm?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure his winter-soldier can't be contained with ultra-thin condoms either," Sam added, meeting Natasha's closed fist in an exaggerated fist-bump.

Dakota rolled her eyes at them good-naturedly, trying and failing to keep a straight face. "I'm going to get breakfast," She said, plucking Bucky's note neatly out of Natasha's hands and stuffing it into the pocket of her jeans. "Text me your orders!"

"And get more chocolate milk on your way back," Natasha chirped brightly, heading over to the counter and rummaging through her bag. She strode over with a nondescript silver bracelet. "We all need weapons. If you press the button at the side, it fires out an electroshock that should be more than sufficient to subdue a man twice your size," She murmured, clipping the bracelet firmly around Dakota's wrist before the latter could even blink. Then she stepped back after tugging several times on the bracelet to make sure that it was latched tightly enough. "The word means beautiful, by the way."

"What?"

"Красотка," Natasha returned, her lips quirking up in her signature smirk. "That's what Romeo wrote in the letter."

"Oh," Dakota blinked as realisation swiftly dawned on her. She smiled and nodded at the redhead, who was by now shoving herself up on the counter and leaning over to steal the bag of crackers that Steve was snacking on. "Thank you."

"If you want to thank me, don't forget my chocolate milk."

Dakota shook her head in mirth and bid the others goodbye. Bucky hadn't told her where he'd headed to, but she suspected it would be the café. True enough, she found him waiting in line. He'd pulled his jacket hood over his head; his shoulders hunched as he tried to look inconspicuous.

It wasn't entirely possible. With his distinct, sharp features and broad shoulders, he was already attracting the unwanted attention of several women around. The three young girls sharing a table near the front of the café shot him occasional glances, before ducking their heads down, whispering and giggling with flushed faces when he shot a sharp look their way. But it was the woman waiting in line behind him that seemed to throw him off completely, and Dakota watched in amusement as the lady attempted to start a conversation with him several times, only to purse her lips in blatant disappointment whenever he simply shook his head and turned back to the front again.

Dakota stepped forward and slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow. He froze, then relaxed as he turned to her. His lips quirked in a faint smile and he tugged her close.

"It's been hell without you, моя любовь," He whispered, his breath hot on her skin.

She laughed, even as his words sent a shiver down her spine. "It's only been an hour. Two, tops." He dipped his head to capture her lips, but she caught the glum expression on the woman behind them, and pressed her palm against his chest. "There're people staring."

"People these days still care about that?"

"Sometimes. The woman behind us seems interested in you," she added, with a low whisper. "Try not to break her heart, okay?"

He shot her an incredulous look, before he shook his head in amusement, gazing down at her with a smirk playing on his lips. "You're breaking mine, doll," He murmured fondly, "I might not be up to date with twenty-first century dating rules after being stuck in cryo for so long, but I can tell from the way you're holding on to me that you want to be kissed just as much as I want to kiss you. And anyone else, interested women waiting in line or not, can easily fu – "