The three patrons sit at the bar at Izzy's and slowly consume and enjoy the sushi in front of them. As Lauren uses her chopsticks to transport a piece of sushi into her mouth, Yori shows a headline from the paper to Bucky, who reads the words that are a little ironic for him. The waitress handles dishes from the other side of the bar and takes notice to the food in front of them.
" You guys didn't order the usual, huh? Feeling a little adventurous?" She asks.
Bucky stays silent, but Yori leans in and speaks quietly.
" You should ask her out," He says.
Lauren chuckles as she takes a sip of her drink, meanwhile Bucky furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head.
" He would like to take you out on a date," Yori says as he leans forward, " Maybe to bingo or a night of pinochle?"
The waitress smiles while Bucky stares nervously. Lauren's eyes flicker between the two while remaining silent.
" I'm really sorry about him," Bucky confesses.
" Why are you sorry?" She asks as she wipes the counter, " I'm game."
" Tomorrow night, then?" Yori asks.
" Tomorrow night's great," The waitress says, " Just maybe not pinochle."
" What's wrong with pinochle?" Bucky asks.
She smiles and deflects the question.
" I have a shift, but if you wanna come back here, I should be done around 10:00."
Their meal continues, but this time, Bucky's eyes go over to the woman sitting next to him. He watches as she skillfully uses the chopsticks to delivery the fish covered with fish into her mouth. She glances up at him, and arches her eyebrow as if to ask 'what'. He doesn't respond, but instead tears his gaze away from her.
" Nakajima-san, o kaeri sa sete itadakimasu (Mr. Nakajimi, allow me to walk you back to your home)" Lauren says with a cleared throat.
The elder smiles and graciously accepts her offer. As he stands up, Lauren opens her wallet and pays for the bill, along with a generous tip of 25%. Bucky looks up at her in an attempt to argue, but as soon as his eyes meet hers, he simply forgets how to speak.
She lives up to her promise and escorts Yori back to his apartment, along with Bucky. Yori walks into his home, leaving the two superheroes out in the hallway alone. Bucky's hands shoved into his jacket pocket as the silence fills the air like a gas. Their eyes meet, and Lauren gives him one of her breathtaking smiles.
" Let me know how the date goes."
And with her words, she departs, despite Bucky's longing for her presence. With a sigh, Bucky opens the door to his apartment.
Lauren begins her walk back to her home, despite her ability to teleport to anywhere in the world in a second. She enjoys the walk, it clears her head, which most New Yorkers would disagree with.
Her heels click against the sidewalk as she walks within a crowd of both local and out of towners. She pays them no mind and lets her body take her along the familiar street, but a ringing in her pocket finally draws her attention. She pulls out her phone to see 'CLINT' on her screen with a contact photo of him high on morphine. She chuckles from the photo, but answers the call and puts the phone up to her year.
" Hey, Hawk," Lauren says.
" Hey, Sabrina," Clint says, " How are things going?"
" Things are... going," She says, " Sam's with family in Louisiana. I just checked up on Buck in Brooklyn."
" Still in that insane apartment?"
" It's not insane."
" 5 grand a month is insane, Lo."
" Not when you have money from Stark."
Clint chuckles, but then his tone is saddened.
" Any news on Wanda?"
And Lauren's breath gets hitched in her throat.
" No... wherever she is, she's off the grid. Doesn't want to be found."
He sighs.
" Have you found Yelena?"
" Nope. I don't have the same connections Nat did, so it's gonna take more time."
" You can't like, I don't know... look into a crystal ball or something?"
" If I could, I would," She chuckles, "Tell the kids I say hi."
" Will do."
The next day at 10pm, sure enough, Bucky arrives at the restaurant with flowers in hand. He hands them to Leah as she finishes up with her work. She gets out battleship and beers, and the two share what started out as a fun night.
" When your husband dies, you're a widow. When your parents die, you're an orphan. There's not really a word for someone who's child dies... because that's like the worst thing that could happen."
Her words hit close to home for Bucky, too close. He abruptly leaves the restaurant and marches towards the apartment of Mr. Nakajima, but when he answers the door and Bucky sees the memorial for his son, he can't do it. Bucky can't tell him the truth.
Instead, he leaves back to his own apartment. Once inside, he presses his back against the front door and stares up at the ceiling. With a deep breath, he pulls out his phone and calls the one person he can think of. The only person.
" Hey, Buck," Lauren says.
His heart jumps from the sound of her voice and the use of the nickname.
" Hey, um... I-I really need you... right now... i-if it's not too much trouble--"
" I'm on my way."
She hangs up the phone, and within a few seconds, there's a knock on his door. He opens it to find her standing in the hallway. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion, which she finds amuzing.
" Magic," Lauren says.
Bucky nods, but is obviously still not used to her powers. He steps to the side to let her in the apartment, to which she looks around the barren room. One living chair, one dining chair, one table with one tv and a blanket resting on the floor. Her eyes wonder around, then settle on Bucky where she gives him a sympathetic look.
" What's wrong?" She asks.
Bucky bites the inside of his cheek and swallows loudly. She sees his body signs, his nerves, his anxiety, his pain, all things that are all too familiar for her. She sees past it and sees him on the verge of a break down.
Bucky stumbles with his words, but his breathing gets more rapid as his walls begin to drop. All his training, all his conditioning, all he's been forced to be for the past 90 years slowly fades away and reveals one James Buchanan Barnes.
Lauren steps forward and gently brings her hands out to cup his face and bring his attention to her to calm him down. He looks down into her green eyes and feels the warmth from her hands. It brings him a strange sense of calm, and a sense of overstimulation, and that sends him over the edge.
Bucky breaks down into a sob and collapses onto his knees. Lauren is on the floor with him in seconds and wraps her arms around his large frame. He cries into her embrace, hands resting on her back and head resting on her chest. His sobs rack through his body, but she's there. She's there for him. She holds him and allows him to cry. She stays completely silent, but keeps him in her embrace.
Soon, the sobs start to falter, and Lauren begins to gently stroke his hair to guide him to a calmer state. And sure enough, the sobs leave Bucky's body. He sniffles and leaves her grasp, but as soon as he does he longs for her touch. He wipes his nose and looks into the eyes of the woman in front of him, in pure disbelief that he cried.
" Magic?" He asks.
" Nope," She responds, " All me."
Bucky gives her a slight smile, then lets out a deep breath.
" Thank you," He says.
She nods appreciatively.
" How was the date?" Lauren asks.
" It wasn't a date," Bucky says.
" Did you bring her flowers?" She asks.
" Well--"
" Then it was a date."
Bucky goes to argue, but the words never leave his mouth. She's right, it was a date, just not with someone he wanted to date.
" You hungry?" She asks.
" Starving," He responds.
" How about this, you find something to watch, and I'll make us something to eat?"
" Sounds good."
The two then separate and go on their respective assignments. Bucky fiddles with the TV trying to find a movie and Lauren uses the limited food available to cook them pasta with garlic tomato sauce.
She brings out two bowls and two forks into the living room, then notices a logistical problem. One chair.
" Here, you take the chair, I'll take the floor," Bucky says.
But, Lauren does not listen. She simply scoots the chair away with her foot, leaving room for both of them to sit on the floor together.
They sit down with a bowl of pasta in their lap as the movie begins to play. As soon as the food hits Bucky's tongue, he's amazed at the delicious flavors.
They soon finish their pasta and put the empty bowls to the side as the movie continues to play. Closer to the end, Lauren tilts her head and rests it on Bucky's shoulder. He looks over to her from the sudden contact, and tries his very best to hide his smile.
The movie comes to an end, and Bucky looks down once more to see Lauren fast asleep on his shoulder. Very carefully and very gently, he repositions her so her head lay on his lap, then reaches over to grab the single blanket and drapes it over her body. He rests his head against the cool wall and closes his own eyes in order to sleep.
And in all honestly, he could fall asleep anywhere, but especially with the comfort that he's not alone.