Recipe for Romance: A Bucky Barnes Story

6: Good Intentions

Sadie turns to shut off the machine. Then she's crossing her arms and looking from my best friend back to me. "I just got back from work. I was pissed, and Laurie always said if you're pissed you may as well put it to good use and get a workout in." She pushes away from the treadmill and sighs. "I don't even fucking like running," she mumbles to herself.

"No one likes running, really," is my lame reply. But it's making her smile now, so it can't be that bad. "What's pissing you off?"

"More like who," Sadie reacts with a scoff. "He's my boss, actually. And a grade-A douchebag." She pushes some loose hair out of her face. "I think he's still mad about me getting this gig. He keeps mortifying me in front of the staff—which I can handle," she says. "But then tonight, goddamn it, he made me walk around to all of the tables that'd been served ravioli so that I could apologize for the sloppy work of my pastry brush. I didn't even do anything wrong; I didn't change anything in my routine from the day I started working there nearly a year ago." She plants a soft kick to the side of the treadmill. "Then his punishment was to have me stay four hours after my shift ended so I could hand-scrub the grease stains off of the storage room floor. The fucking storage room!" She laughs softly. "So anyway, he's just trying to make my life hell."

I'm knee-deep in reciprocated anger when Steve's voice breaks through my deep concentration on Sadie's slightly scowling face.

"And you're still working there because...?"

"Because I need his signature on my internship docs in order to graduate," she sighs. She sits down on the bench nearest me before pushing her cheeks into her hands and resting her elbows on her knees. "And if I piss him off too much he'll just tear the credits to bits. Then I'll have to start over somewhere else and intern for another 12 months." She gives her pretty head a soft shake. "I know I just need to get over it; I only have a few months left. But it's just so frustrating, you know? My mom's told me my whole life to never let anyone talk to me like he does; but I'm supposed to just sit back while he calls me names and throws my dishes around."

"He throws things?"

"Oh all the time. Dupont's very volatile."

I clear my throat, hoping that the words actually come out. "What does he call you?"

Sadie blinks, probably taken aback my by sudden interest in her work drama. She shrugs and then moves to rub a hand up her bare arm. "Umm, nothing too out of the ordinary. He calls most of us idiots and jack-offs. Today I was a "garbling transient", apparently." She chuckles dryly. "If only I could say what I really think about him."

I can feel my fists clenching. My body's grown warm. I turn my head away and try not to feel as angered as I do now.

"Do you want us to talk to him?" Steve sounds pretty damn pissed, too.

Sadie quickly rises to her feet. "No, no, it's okay. Thank you, but it's fine." She smiles as if trying to prove her point. "I'm a big girl. I can ignore the bully for the next few weeks. But thank you."

I glance over my shoulder at the sand bag. Then I'm turning back to Sadie. "This guy doesn't sound stable," I say. "Do you know how to defend yourself?"

"Oh he wouldn't..."

"He might," I interrupt. She only blinks. "You never know."

"Buck's right. You shouldn't put it past him."

"Oh, well, I don't know..."

"Bucky can show you a few pointers," Steve interjects this time. I scowl at him, but he only smirks. "Can't ya, Buck?"

"Right, I can—uh, I can do that."

Sadie raises an eyebrow. "You don't sound so sure of that, James."

"He's good. Just shy, remember?" Steve chuckles. He comes over to Sadie and wraps one arm around her and the other over me. "Bucky's the best self-defense trainer you could ever have. He taught me everything I know."

I grunt, "Now that's a bit of an over exaggeration..."

"Nonsense!" Steve shouts. He's walking us towards the door. "But tonight it's late. You both should get to bed, and then tomorrow—"

"What about tomorrow?" Sadie's head tilts slightly more to one side.

"Well," Steve says once we've reached the hall. "Bucky's gonna show you how to kick some ass."

Sadie looks up to me at my taller height. "If you're sure?"

I open my mouth, but Steve beats me to it.

"Totally!" He gives her a gentle shove towards the elevator. "Now get to bed, kid. It's late and Stark's gonna want breakfast in the morning."

She chuckles. "Right, right. Okay, well I'll see you both tomorrow then."

"You know it." Steve grins.

Then we're watching her disappear around the corner. When she's gone and her shadow fades from the wall, Steve's turned to me with a shit-eating smirk.

"You're welcome," he sings.

"For—for what?" I stammer.

Steve's head falls back as he cackles like a goddamn fool. "You know what!" He makes for the stairs now. Seeing that I'm slow to follow he jogs back and shoves me forward. "Come on! You've gotta get your beauty sleep before tomorrow rolls around. Wouldn't wanna make sweet Sadie wait, do we?"

I scoff. "I fucking hate you."

Steve's grinning proudly. His chin tilts to the ceiling as we begin to climb the staircase. "No you don't!" He jogs out ahead of me—starting a race.

I curse the rotten punk under my breath. Only once he's out of sight do I allow myself a small smile.