Since [Y/N] didn't care what they watched, she told Bucky to choose the movie. It was the evening and his company that mattered to her and she would watch anything, as long as she could enjoy happy Bucky for some longer. She hadn't seen him that relaxed in a long time. The last time, she believed, was the night Bucky, Steve and her sat together in Steve's room and played board games. The two men took turns telling stories from their childhood and youth and repeatedly revealed embarrassing stories from the other. It had been an evening full of laughter and taunts. Fortunately, the selection wasn't too big, so Bucky decided on the movie Jigsaw. Not entirely altruistic, to be honest. A horror movie was the perfect opportunity to get a little closer to his date. But unfortunately Bucky had forgotten about the fact that she was something like an Avenger and horror movies didn't really scare her. After all, their own lives have been like horror movies for a while. Quite apart from the fact that he didn't really understand the movie.
Bucky rests his arm on the armrest between them and leans over to [Y/N]. "I feel like I've missed something" he whispers when another scene is playing that alludes to something and he feels her movements as [Y/N] giggles.
"You haven't heard of SAW, have you?"
"How should I?" Bucky mumbles, regretting his choice of movie.
"That's a whole series of horror movies that this one is based on."
"Great..." Bucky mumbles sarcastically and reaches for some popcorn in frustration that [Y/N] is holding.
"Everything ok?" she asks, who of course notices his change of mood.
Bucky averts his gaze from the screen to look at her and cannot suppress a smile. Although he had managed to watch the only movie whose history one needs to know, he still has this wonderful woman next to him and he can feel all of his frustration vanishing. "Everything's fine" he replies and places his arm on the backrest behind her back. [Y/N] smiles gently at him and then turns back to the screen.
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When they leave the cinema and walk back to their home, [Y/N] and Bucky are holding hands. Bucky had placed his right hand on her back when they left the cinema hall and let his hand wander to her left side and almost naturally grabbed her hand. A smile appeared on her lips when she felt his touch and she tightened the grip around his hand.
Whilst walking and talking, Bucky loosens his grip and opens his fingers until they both intertwine their fingers. He listens to her words and his gaze wanders from her face to their hands for just a tiny moment but he can't ignore how good it feels to hold her like that and for the first time in weeks, he feels at full peace.
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A good 30 minutes later they arrive back at the medical center. It's getting late and Bucky looks nervously at his watch while they wait for the elevator. He doesn't want to arrive at the apartment and have everyone's eyes on them but if they're unlucky, their friends are still awake. Still holding hands, both enter the elevator and [Y/N] presses the button that takes them to the top. Only then does Bucky release his hand and puts his arm around [Y/N] from behind to pull her closer to him. It wasn't until she felt Bucky's warmth that she realizes how cold she is now, even though it's not that cold outside. She rests her head on his shoulder, which brings another smile on his lips. He lovingly strokes her side with his fingers while his gaze follows the light that shows the changing floors. Only when the elevator comes to a hold, he lets go of her. But when both enter the apartment, everything is empty. Nobody is in the kitchen and there are no lights on in the living room either. Bucky has to smile slightly because Steve has probably made sure that nobody would bother them, but maybe everyone is already in bed. His gaze wanders to [Y/N], who is bracing herself on the banister and takes off her shoes. Her feet probably hurt after all these hours on these heels that Bucky is sure were Natasha's idea. With a smile, [Y/N] waits for Bucky at the foot of the stairs, the shoes are now dangling in her right hand.
On the way up to their rooms, their arms touch more than once, so that Bucky grabs her hand again until they arrive at [Y/N]'s room. "Thanks for accompanying me home" grins [Y/N]. Their hands are still intertwined so that they are still standing close and she feels Bucky's breath when he grins and gently strokes his thumb over her hand.
"My pleasure."
Silence envelops the two as they only look into each other's eyes, their hands still in touch. "It was a really nice evening" [Y/N] thanks him in a low voice.
"It really was" replies Bucky in an equally lowered voice. Once again it becomes quiet and [Y/N]'s thoughts go crazy. It seems to be the moment that decides what significance the evening had for Bucky. They started out on a date between friends to practice. Then Bucky suggested making it a real date, but if it was a real date, now is the right time for a kiss. But if she interprets too much into the evening and kisses him first and the evening wasn't that serious to him, she risks their friendship. Her pupils twitch as she looks at Bucky and waits to see what will happen next. However, he averts his gaze and looks at their hands and his thumb, which continues to gently run over her skin. He likes this sight so much that he has to smile again without even realizing it. "Have a good night" he murmurs softly while looking into her [y/ec] eyes again and [Y/N] feels the disappointment that feels like a knot in her stomach. She becomes very slack, knowing that they're just friends after all.
"Goodnight, Bucky" she replies and gives him a gentle kiss on the cheek before turning away from him to head inside. Bucky watches her and sees her put her hand on the doorknob before she hesitates. He looks at her in confusion when she turns back around to join him. "You said that I deserve this date. But you were wrong. I think we both deserved tonight. You're always blaming yourself for your actions, yet you work so hard to move on. You deserve every feeling of normality and happiness. We both deserve it, Bucky. And I'm glad I got to spend tonight with you. Thank you very much for taking me out tonight."
He can just look at her. At her hair, which curls are slowly dissolving, her gentle smile on her lips, the glitter of the evening lights in her eyes and feels the warmth and tingling that her words trigger in him. She makes him feel like there's just the two of them. His right hand wanders to her face as he longs for her touch and her eyes look at him expectantly and understandingly. And then he just pulls her face closer and they both part their lips before they meet for a passionate, yet slightly reserved kiss.
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When [Y/N] wakes up the next morning, she turns directly to the side and looks with a smile at the man who is lying next to her and is still deeply asleep. He looks so peaceful that [Y/N] feels a deep satisfaction. And he looks so beautiful. His dark eyelashes, which sometimes twitch briefly, his nostrils that move slightly when breathing and his face, which features are completely relaxed. [Y/N] moves very carefully out of bed to not wake Bucky and takes a pair of sweatpants and a shirt from her closet before sneaking into the bathroom. She uses to the toilet, quickly takes off the red dress to slip into the more comfortable clothes and wipes the rest of the make-up off her face. She ties her hair, which curls are only discreetly recognizable, in a loose ponytail.
"How was your date? You came home pretty late" she hears a female voice shortly before she gets back to her room and turns around, startled. Natasha stands in front of her, coffee in hand and a curious look on her face. [Y/N] hopes that Natasha hadn't seen her walking into the bathroom in her dress. Who knows what that woman would think, if she did.
"Wasn't a real date" she remembers her friend. "The evening was nice."
"Did he pay for dinner?"
"For movie and popcorn."
"So a date" grins Natasha. "Did you kiss?"
"Of course not!" [Y/N] lies indignantly. While she doesn't like being dishonest with her friend, she doesn't want to tell anyone about last night until she has spoken to Bucky. "Natasha... I'm still pretty tired, we'll talk later, okay?" [Y/N] tries to excuse herself.
"I want to know everything then."
Although [Y/N] was only a few minutes away, Bucky is already awake and looks at her with a smile when she enters the bedroom. [Y/N] notices that she is a bit more nervous right away. The protection of night and darkness have passed and in front of her lies the man she made out with last night, wearing nothing but his jeans. She remembers the images of last night. Images of Bucky pulling her close, how he whispered that the night should not end yet, how they lay in her bed, kissing. Her whole body tingles at the memory of the feeling of his lips on hers and his fingers on her skin as he caressed her arm, her back, her side until they both fell asleep.
"Good morning" she greets him gently and heads to the bed because she has the feeling that her legs are about to fail.
"Morning" mumbles Bucky, still slightly sleepy, his smile not fading. When he sees that [Y/N] does not lie down next to him, but just remains sitting, he lifts his hand and caresses her arm before he increases his pressure a little to pull her towards him. "Come here, doll."
"Doll?" asks [Y/N] with a raised eyebrow, but has to grin while Bucky pulls her down so that they lie next to each other. There it was again - doll. He'd used the word last night and she hopes Bucky doesn't notice that the new nickname gives her goosebumps. There is certainly no worse nickname for a woman. Doll is just so objectifying and grading, but [Y/N] knows that Bucky would never think that way and the nickname sounds anything but bad from his mouth. "We should get up. Steve will surely be looking for you. They'll notice."
"No way" Bucky replies and begins to stroke her arm while his left arm pulls her closer to him.
"No way?" she grins again, their faces just inches away now.
"Let's stay in bed."
"All day?"
"Yes" Bucky replies dreamily. "Let's enjoy this a little longer."
"We're going to get hungry."
"It doesn't matter. I'm not hungry yet" Bucky says, smirking at [Y/N] challenging and her grin turns into a giggle as she begins to put her arm around Bucky and caress his right arm. In doing so, she begins to draw small patterns with her fingers. Bucky seems so peaceful, so relaxed. She couldn't refuse him any wish in the world right now.
Bucky's fingers travel from her arm up to her face and his thumb begins to brush her cheek as he takes in her beauty. The morning sun bathes her face in delicate colors, in her eyes he can see the same tiredness that he still feels too, although both have slept more peacefully than ever before. He knows that at some point he has to get up and reality will catch up with him again, but right now he would like to enjoy these wonderful feelings for a little longer. Yet, there's a hint of doubt about their actions last night that he needs to clarify. "Nothing will change between us once we get up, will it?" he asks carefully, looking deep into her eyes.
[Y/N] smiles gently at him while she continues to caress him and hides the bit of confusion she's feeling. She doesn't even know what he thinks would change between them or what the kiss last night meant. In the end, she responds with the most honest answer she can give him. "You will still be Bucky and I will still be [Y/N]. And I will always be there for you."
"Good" Bucky replies affectionately. "Because there is something that you absolutely have to do for me."
"What would that be?" she asks curiously and Bucky pulls her face to his and presses a loving kiss on her lips. She reacts immediately and kisses him back, trying to remember the feeling of his lips on hers forever.
"Stay with me in bed for today. We can face life tomorrow" he groans. Without waiting for an answer, he kisses her again. Carefully he parts his lips and [Y/N] does the same. His tongue lovingly licks her lips to ask for permission, just like he did last night and [Y/N] opens her mouth, only to let their tongues dance together a few seconds later. She feels Bucky's smile and the grip of his left arm around her tightens so that he can pull her closer to him and with one elegant movement he turns her onto her back and leans over her while they continue to make out.