Catch Me

Intro

You're walking past the living room when you notice that someone is in there. Abandoning your quest for a sandwich, you enter the room and find Bucky with his metal arm under one of the couch cushions. You don't even have to ask what he's looking for. "Lost your earphones again, huh?"

"I didn't lose them," he mutters while dropping down to the floor to look under the sofa. "They've just been misplaced."

You cross your arms over your chest and chuckle. "If you say so."

Bucky abruptly stands up from his position on the floor and fixes you with a hard glare. Most people would probably cower under the scrutiny, but not you. You and Bucky have been butting heads for eight months; a rivalry that began the moment you joined forces with the Avengers. Those eight months have been filled with nonstop arguments, snide remarks, and an overabundance of scowls pointed in each other's direction.

"What's your problem?"

"My problem?"

His jaw is clenched when he says, "Who cares if this is the second time I've lost my earphones?"

"Third."

"Excuse me?"

You step further into the room and place both hands on your hips. "This is the third time you've lost those earphones."

"Well I always find them, don't I?"

"Yeah and it always takes you at least three hours. I bet I can find them before you."

The grimace on his face fades away, only to be replaced by a mischievous smile. The sight makes you uneasy. "Well if you're so sure of yourself, how about we make this interesting?"

"What are you talking about?"

"We'll turn this into a proper wager." He taps his chin thoughtfully. "If I find the earphones first, you have to go on a run with me bright and early every morning for a week." Before you have an opportunity to interrupt, he adds, "Without complaining."

You hold back a shudder as Bucky smirks at you. He knows how opposed you are to avoidable physical activity, waking up early and not being able to complain about either thing.

As Bucky rhythmically taps his foot on the floor, you brainstorm something he'll have to do if you win. At first, all you do is draw blanks, but then inspiration comes in the form of the show you were just watching. "If - I mean when you lose, you're going to spend a full week catching me, no matter what."

Bucky's lips turn downwards in an adorable frown as he tries to make sense of your statement. "Catch you?"

"Yup. Basically I'll throw myself at you and you have to catch me. If you have anything in your hands when that happens, you've got to drop it. Holding me is your number one priority."

"Where did you even get that idea from?"

"This show I watch." You hold back a laugh as you think about the episode of Brooklyn Nine Nine where Terry drops his coffee mug to catch Jake. "So, do we have a deal?"

"Deal." The two of you shake hands, properly sealing your bet.

"Alright, when I say go, we both start looking. Whoever finds it first is the winner."

Bucky nods in approval and waits for the signal that'll lead to the commencement of your contest. You count down from three and say go, watching as Bucky quickly sprints out of the room.

There is a major difference between your search tactics. Bucky acts first and thinks later whereas you're the opposite. Instead of running around the large Avengers Tower like a chicken without a head, you use logic. Finding Bucky's earphones is all about retracing his steps and figuring out when you last saw him with them.

Your search begins in the conference room. A few days ago, Steve chastised Bucky for having an earphone in while you and Natasha were receiving instructions on how to infiltrate a building. You had started cracking up, much to Bucky's annoyance.

After a sweep of that room turns up empty, you head to the gym where you know Bucky spends a lot of his free time. The facility is unoccupied and you take your time walking past all the machines you know Bucky uses. When that search also yields no results, you force yourself to stop and really think about Bucky's routine. You close your eyes and think about what else he does during the day when it hits you.

The past few times that you happened to be in the kitchen after one of Bucky's workouts, he would take off his earphones and place them on the counter. Last time, Tony came in and instructed him to move them away from where people make their food. That's when Bucky placed them on the top of the fridge.

With excitement flooding your veins like a shot of adrenaline, you decide to run up the four flights of stairs up to the kitchen. Once you arrive, you stand on your tiptoes and run your hand along the top of the fridge. A triumphant laugh escapes your lips as your fingers come in contact with the object that has sealed your fate as a winner.

"FRIDAY, where is Bucky?"

"Mr. Barnes is downstairs in the gym."

"Thanks FRIDAY." You skip to the elevator and bounce up and down once the doors close in front of you. You cannot wait to see the look on Bucky's face when he realizes that he lost.

When you enter the gym, you find Bucky frantically searching under a bench press you had checked under twenty minutes ago.

"Hey Bucky, guess what I found." He reluctantly turns in your direction and mutters a soft 'fuck" under his breath when he sees you holding his earphones. "I hope you're ready for a week full of catching me."