Fire and Ice, Sugar and Spice

Chapter Twenty-One~Preperations

"Thank you. I feel the same, only you as a sister, of course." He corrects himself quickly. I smile and chuckle at his words. "Victoria feels the same, you know. You've already become family here." We stop dancing as his words hit me like a freight train. I take a second, then just give in and hug him.

"That means...thank you." I'm at a loss for words, but it doesn't seem to matter to him. He returns the hug. When we part I kiss his cheek and he laughs, the goofy sound making me grin.

"Come on, we've got to get you to bed or else you won't get up until noon tomorrow." He teases and gets ready to walk over to the door. I stop him with a hand on his arm.

"First, most twenty something year-olds do that. Second, I can't sleep without him, so...I'll just stay here. You go be with your fiancé." I pat his shoulder to send him on his way. The eyebrows of concern show up and now I start shoving him towards the door. "I may be like your sister, but I can take care of myself. Get out." I say as firmly and nicely as I can. He goes now, but not without throwing me one more concerned look. Shaking my head, I go over to the treadmill and just start running. I run for as long as I can until weariness bites at my bones. I stumble back to my room and crash into my bed, falling asleep from sheer exhaustion.

* * * * * * *

I wake up to find a small foldout table set up with breakfast organized on it sitting beside my bed. After blinking a couple times and cracking my neck, I get up painfully and sit on the edge of my bed. A glass of orange juice, a stack of pancakes with syrup, silverware, napkin, and a small flower sit on the little table. A note sits in front of the glass all folded up nicely. I grab it and unfold it gently, reading the words curiously. 'Don't work yourself too hard.' Is all it says. No signature. "Huh." I eat the food with pleasure, then go to the bathroom to turn on the shower. I do and turn to the double sinks to brush my teeth, but hesitate when I see Bucky's tag laying on the counter. When I moved up here I accidently put it with my Twizzlers. It was sticky, so I washed it then set it out on the counter to dry. Sighing, I pick it up and reattach it to my necklace. I point at myself in the mirror and make a business face at myself.

"Today, you get back that asshole man named Bucky Barnes." I waggle my finger at my reflection, then get naked and get into the shower. I shave everything possible and make sure to use the shampoo that smells the best to me. There are at least ten different kinds in here. Once I'm dry, I put my hair up to keep it out of my face. I dress in loose, stretchy pants, a tank top, and a loose sweatshirt. When I walk back to my room I grab my dress and put it in the bathroom and shut the door. The steam will make sure that it has no wrinkles for the party tonight. Once that's done, I jog down the stairs until I'm at the kitchen/living room. Coffee is my go to, but it's blocked by a handsome man in a navy shirt and low-hanging sweatpants. Grinning, I go over to him and go up on my toes to kiss his cheek. "Morning, handsome." He turns to look at me in surprise. "Could you pour me a cup too?" I ask sweetly, smiling happily.

"You do realize it's past twelve in the afternoon, right? What did I say to you, Liya?" Steve scolds me from the bar, sliding onto a stool. I shrug and wink at him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Thanks for the breakfast platter, by the way." I thank him, but he just looks confused.

"I didn't set out any platter for you. Sorry." He looks at Bucky who seems like he's trying not to be noticed. Steve grins. "I did tell Bucky you were working too hard, though." I turn towards James as he hands me my cup of coffee, made exactly how I like it.

"You did, huh? Well, he's a sweet boyfriend for thinking of me." Steve smirks at me, catching on, as Bucky stops on his way to the couch. I hide my smile by taking a sip of my coffee. Victoria appears behind Steve as she wraps her arms around his waist. Steve takes her hand and kisses it, then turns around and whispers in her ear. She beams and walks to the couch, bumping Bucky in the process.