Howard had invited Clara to lunch that day, and she gladly accepted. They spent a good portion of the afternoon talking and laughing. Clara enjoyed how easy it was to talk to Howard. By the end of lunch, Howard had offered Clara a job as his assistant. Clara accepted and the two parted ways, each with a large grin on their faces. Clara wanted more than anything to get to Bucky's place and tell him the good news.
She entered the apartment using the key hidden on top of the door frame that Clara, might I add, had to jump very high to reach. Clara spent the rest of the day reading a book she found on a shelf in Bucky's living room called Gone With the Wind. Clara was sure she had read it once in grade school.
Later that day, Bucky finally arrived home from work. He was tired, but excited to see Clara again. He was very intrigued by the smaller girl. She had this aura around her that naturally drew people in. With Clara, people felt safer. It was very peculiar.
Bucky opened the door to his apartment and smiled when he saw Clara bundled up on the couch in a blanket with a book in her hands. Her head was slightly leaned against the couch cushions and her eyes slowly drifted closed, but wold snap back open occasionally. Clara had dark circle under her eyes, worrying Bucky slightly.
"Hey," Bucky greeted as he approached the girl, causing her to jolt awake suddenly. Bucky sat next to her and took the book from her small hands slowly. "Are you alright?" Clara nodded and smiled tiredly.
"I'm fine, love. No need to worry about me," She tried to reassure him. Bucky tried to ignore the light fluttering in his chest as he eyed her carefully; she looked exhausted.
"Did you sleep last night?" He asked suddenly. "Yes," She answered, all too quickly. Bucky sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Clara.." She crinkled her nose a bit at the scolding tone and furrowed her brows. "Don't lie to me." Clara sighed and leaned her head on the sofa cushion.
"I was just up thinking and then didn't realize what time it was until the sun rose. Then, I got you into bed and my day went on from there. It's just a bit of sleep lose, James. I'll be fine," She told him. Bucky, deciding she needed sleep, grabbed her hands and lifted her off of the couch.
"James, what are we doing?" She asked. Bucky said nothing, only led her to the bedroom. "Really, James, I think I'll be okay." Bucky shook his head and moved the covers back and fluffed up the pillow. He then went back into his closet and took out navy green tee shirt. Bucky turned around and passed it to Clara silently and went back to looking in the closet. He pulled out another shirt and a pair of pajama pants.
"James-"
"You and I are getting some sleep. I'm only staying to make sure you actually sleep instead of staying awake all night," Bucky interrupted. He walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Clara sighed and took off her clothing, leaving on her undergarments and slid the shirt over her head.
"I'm decent now, James." Bucky exited the bathroom in his baggy pajamas and plopped down on the bed. He scooted over so Clara could lay down and patted the bed. Clara glared at him.
"I'm not a dog, Barnes." Bucky sent her a look and she sighed in defeat and laid in bed next to him. They both laid with they're backs facing each other. Even though they were a decent distance apart, Clara could feel the heat radiating from Bucky's body. It felt inviting, but Clara knew that it would be over stepping her boundaries. Clara closed her eyes as she tried to get some sleep, but she couldn't.
On the other side of the bed she could hear Bucky snoring slightly. Clara found it quite adorable, his soft snores. Clara turned to face him, looking at his dark silhouette in the dully-lit room. Clara felt herself getting sleepier and sleepier. Eventually, the darkness consumed her entirely.
Clara woke up to the sound of the shower running that morning. She yawned tiredly and glanced at the clock. It read 6:30. Clara glared at the door Bucky was behind and mentally cursed him for unintentionally waking her up. The shower stopped and a few moment later Bucky walked out with a towel wrapped around his waist. Once Clara caught sight of his toned abdomen, she immediately turned away with a small blush. Bucky chuckled deeply as he ran a hand through his damp hair.
"Something wrong, Ridgewell?" He asked as he rummaged his closer for some clothes.
"Nothing at all." Bucky smiled a bit as her cute morning voice, mixed with embarrassment and fluster.
"I have to shower this morning, so I do hope you didn't use up all the hot water," Clara said as she climbed out of Bucky's bed reluctantly.
"You got a date or something?" Bucky asked as he turned around to look at the small girl. "No, a job." Bucky's eyes went wide as a grin grew upon his face.
"That's great! Why didn't you tell me?" He asked as he walked over. Clara shrugged, trying to keep her eyes trained on Bucky's face. He could tell it was hard for her to do so since she kept glancing ever-so-often at his chest.
"I was going to, but then you insisted we go to bed. Howard Stark offered me a job as his assistant," She explained.
"The Howard Stark? You know he's a flirt, right?" Bucky asked, jealousy rising in his throat.
"He was rather nice to me yesterday." Bucky glanced down at her worriedly.
"Just be careful, yeah?" Clara nodded, only then noticing the close proximity between her and Bucky. She cleared her throat and backed away.
"I should go shower. I have to leave by 7:00 to meet Howard," She said, then walked into the bathroom. Bucky watched as the door shut and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. When she had referred to Howard by his first name instead of 'Mr. Stark,' something lit inside of him. Bucky knew it was jealousy, he just didn't want to admit it.
Clara closed the door and leaned against it as she breathed heavily. She had been so close to Bucky it was terrifying, but a good terrifying, like skydiving or kissing somebody for the first time. Bucky's Icy blue eyes gazing at her with a mix of emotions clouded her thoughts. She could practically sense jealousy radiating off of the brunette boy.
Clara shook these thoughts out of her head, knowing they were extremely dangerous to the mission. She needed to prevent Bucky from becoming an elite HYDRA assassin, not fall for the man. Clara sighed and leaned off the door and headed towards the shower with only Bucky on her mind.
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Fun.
