I am never drinking again .
I was suddenly conscious and quickly decided that I did not want to be. My head was pounding with an intensity that let me know that I was past hungover, I was hungover and nauseous and regretting waking up. I kept my eyes closed and prayed that I drifted back into darkness where I didn't have to deal with the nausea or my throbbing skull or my sore body.
What the hell did I do last night?
It didn't matter. I'd deal with it later. I was going back to sleep now. It was my day off. I could just sleep the hangover from hell away. I rolled over carefully, mindful of my throbbing head, snuggling into the pillow and stretching out my limbs to-
I jerked when I felt some cold and hard beside me. There was a piece of metal in my bed, when there definitely should not have been one. I blinked my eyes open, come face to- metal arm? I froze, following the length of the arm, starting at the relaxed fingers, up the forearm over the bicep accented with a red star, to its owner. The large, and very naked, long haired man with the sheet barely covering his pretty nice ass, laying face down in my bed.
Oh wait, this is not my bed.
My bed was queen sized, with soft white sheets and a blue comforter and way too many pillows. This was a much larger bed, king sized, with deep red sheets, a black comforter that was bunched up at the foot of the bed and just two pillows
I sat up slowly, careful not to disturb my bed companion or my head, taking in the sight of the large room that we were in.
It was a mess.
Clothes, mine and his I assumed, were strewn across the room, a lamp lay broken on the floor, the chair meant for the desk sat against the opposite wall was toppled over, small composition notebooks scattered around it on the floor, the items on the desk askew and knocked over.
Did someone come in here and rob the place while we were passed out?
I looked back down at my bed companion.
The stranger.
More importantly, who the hell is this guy?
I tried to recall the chain of events that had led to me ending up in bed with this stranger. A stranger whose face I still couldn't see hiding under his long hair, but I could tell worked out cause holy muscles Batman . I came up with a big fat blank.
The last thing I could recall was clocking out of work, going home to find my roommate already dressed for a night out on the town and listening to her beg me to come along. I had refused, adamantly, and yet here I was, naked in a stranger's bed, hung over like I was back in college and it was a regular Friday night, with no idea where I was or who I was with.
I have got to get out of here.
I eased out of the bed with ninja like finesse. I didn't want to wake the stranger, the last thing I wanted was to deal with an awkward morning after, where we had to pretend like we remembered each other's names and would see each other again. I tiptoed around, first retrieving my under garments from the foot of the bed, my skirt from under the desk, my blouse from behind the nightstand, and my heels from behind the couch. I pulled on my clothes, quick and quiet, and then had to get on my hands and knees to search for my clutch, which I found under the bed, thankful that my phone, keys, money and cards were still inside.
My phone buzzed as I pulled it out, alerting me to the twenty text messages that I had missed during my drunken night. All of which were from my best friend and ranged from encouragement and praise to worry and panic, starting at two am with the most recent one having been sent five minutes ago.
Iris| 2:00 am| I saw you slip out with that hunk of man meat ;) I am so proud of you!
Iris| 2:03 am| BE SAFE. Condoms. Condoms. Condoms.
I rolled my eyes.
I was a very responsible person... Usually. I wouldn't have unprotected-
I hesitated.
I couldn't remember the previous night. How the hell would I know that we had been safe? I looked up from my phone, frantically scanning the rooms floor and nightstands until I saw the evidence of the use of protection, a ripped and empty foil packet, sitting atop the nightstand on his side of the bed. Three of them actually. I blinked. Damn . I felt both relieved and impressed by the faceless stranger.
Iris| 3:39 am| I'm at Brandon's. Call me when you're on the way home so I know he didn't chop you up into bite sized chunks!
Iris| 3:40 am| Wait, am I drunk or did he have a metal arm?
I stifled a chuckle. Yes. The stranger -and apparent sex machine- did have a metal arm. What an odd box to check off the 'I've had sex with someone who had' list. Metal arm. Check.
Iris| 8:00 am| Jade?
Iris| 8:13 am| I'm going to assume you're still passed out from hopefully amazing sex. :p
Iris |9:05 am| I swear if you are dead...
Iris| 9:29 am| YOUR MOTHER IS GOING TO KILL ME IF YOU DIED BECAUSE I LET YOU GO HOME WITH A FINE ASS METAL ARMED STRANGER.
Iris| 10:02| DAMMIT JADE ANSWER YOUR PHONE
There were ten missed calls in addition to eight more texts that followed.
I checked the time. It was almost noon. Shit . I was going to go home to one panicked and irritated roommate.
I jumped to my feet, making my head pound harder and the soreness in my body, specifically my hips, flare up. My clutch fell from my hands as my hands instinctively shot up to my aching skull, sending the contents of it scattering across the floor. I froze, eyes darting to the stranger who didn't even budge.
Well he's a heavy sleeper. He hadn't moved an inch since I had woken up. I paused to watch him, waiting to see the rise and fall of his back, signaling that he was in fact still alive, as concern entered me.
I grabbed my belongings, shoving them into my clutch and bolted for the door, clutch and heels in hand, opening the door and tiptoeing out backwards to make sure that he didn't wake. I shut the door quietly-.
"Oh hi...I didn't realize Bucky had company."
I went still at the oddly familiar voice behind me, turning to find-.
"C-Captain America?"
He stood directly behind me, dressed in jeans and a red shirt, that was probably one size too small because no one's muscles should stand out that much. Even not dressed in his trademark Captain America suit, I knew who he was, I had seen his posters and videos of him many times, there was no way I wouldn't recognize him.
He smirked sheepishly. I blushed.
"Call me Steve, please. And you are?" He extended a hand.
Doing the walk of shame in front of none other than Captain America himself apparently.
I took the hand that he had offered, shook it once and let it go. "Jade. My name is Jade. And I am going," I said quickly.
I sidestepped past him as he looked at me with a puzzled smile and realized suddenly where I was.
I was in the Avenger's compound.
What gave it away was all the Avengers staring at me from the shared living room. I recognized them all immediately, the black widow was sitting on the couch, relaxed and comfortable in her casual clothes, a book in her lap, a surprised, but amused smile on her face. Hawkeye and Falcon were standing near the large pool table at the back of the room, pool sticks in their hands, large teasing smiles on both their faces. I had a feeling that...what did Captain America call him? 'Bucky' would be getting teased about this as soon as he awoke from his alcohol induced coma.
"Oh my god it's the Avengers," I blurted before I could stop myself. My face flushed with embarrassment.
A few 'hi's' rang out although I wasn't sure from who. I was too busy dying of embarrassment.
"Uh...nice to uh..meet all of you...h-have a good day," I stuttered, avoiding their amused looks and turning on my heel and walking as fast as I could without running to the elevator doors.
I reached the elevator, pushing the button repeatedly until there was the familiar sound of a ding that sent a wave of relief through me. Then the doors opened and I was staring at a surprised Tony Stark.
Oh dear god it's Iron Man .
The surprise quickly left his face and was replaced with a sly smile, his eyes surveying me with a slow appraisal. He reached out to hold the elevator door open, stepping back to let me in.
"Hello there, which Avenger did you...visit?" He asked with a knowing look, stepping out of the elevator, still not removing his hand, keeping the doors from closing.
"Umm..."
"Umm? Wasn't aware we had an Avenger named 'Umm'," Stark chuckled, clearly amused by my embarrassment.
"Bucky?" That sounds like a question, Jade . I cleared my throat and spoke again. "I was here with Bucky."
Stark's face fell. "Manchurian Candidate? You were here with him?"
I felt an eyebrow raise. Manchurian Candidate?
"Tony leave her alone," came a voice from behind him. "I'm sure she wasn't expecting to meet the whole team this morning."
It was the black widow and I wanted to hug her. Yes, please, let the damn doors close. So I can go die of embarrassment in a cab .
Tony scoffed. "This isn't the whole team. Thor and Bruce aren't here. Plus, I am just wondering how a beautiful girl like her is doing the walk of shame away from Barnes' room," he replied in disbelief.
The black widow approached, removing Tony's arm from the doors herself, offering me a friendly smile. "Excuse the men here. Some of them have no home training or manners apparently," she shot Tony a glare. "It was nice to meet you, Jade. You have a good day too," she finished with a wink.
The elevator doors started to close, much to my relief and the last thing I heard from Tony Stark was, "Excuse me Natasha, I am very well trained."
***
I am never going drinking with Thor again.
My head was killing me and I was certain death was on its way to take me. Groaning and cursing under my breath, I rolled over in bed, instantly regretting doing so as pain shot through my skull. There was no way I was removing myself from my bed any time soon. Pulling my pillow from behind my head I put it over my face, blocking my eyes from the bright light threatening to drag me completely from unconsciousness before I was damn good and ready.
Beside my bed, someone cleared their throat.
I startled, moving the pillow to let my eyes snap open to see Steve standing over my bed with a smirk. "Christ, Steve, announce yourself would ya'?" I grumbled, sitting up slowly and holding my aching head. "What are you doing in here?" I added when he did nothing, but chuckle.
"Checking on you. Rough night?"
"That is the last time I drink anymore of Thor's asgardian alcohol," I ran a hand through my long hair with a heavy sigh. "So much for not being able to get drunk."
I had apparently gotten beyond drunk. I had been plastered. I had underestimated Thor when he had told me that Asgardian alcohol wasn't for mere men, it was for the mighty 'gods'. Cockily stating that I was no mere man, I was a super soldier for god sake and could handle it, I had foolishly partaken; and with the regular alcohol from the bar he had dragged me to, combined with my continuous drinking from his personal flask I was in hangover hell.
Admittedly it had been nice after such a long time, to drink my problems away, but the consequences were going to kill me.
Or at least that's how I felt.
So much for super soldier enhanced healing against the likes of Asgardian alcohol.
"Your company just left," Steve continued ignoring my comments.
I blinked.
"Company?"
Bucky Barnes did not have company. I hadn't had 'company' in decades. And I wouldn't bring anyone back to the compound, not when they could be subjected to Stark constant jabs and Steve's borderline parental hovering.
But from the looks of my room, taking in the fact that it looked like a tornado had run through it, my clothes from last night strewn across the room, my lamp broken, and my journals which were normally neatly stacked on the desk all over the floor around it; A tornado had come through here. A sex tornado I assumed.
"Yeah, a woman of course, young, pretty, curly hair, brown eyes, bout this tall," Steve put his hand to his chest for a measurement. "Said her name was Jade. I know I told you to get back out there, but I didn't think you would. I'm proud of you, Buck."
He beamed at me with an almost father-like pride.
Jade ?
I tried to think back to the previous nights events, trying to picture this woman that Steve was describing and coming up with a blank. I didn't remember anything.
What the hell do Asgardians put in their alcohol?
"Was she...okay?" I asked timidly.
Steve arched an eyebrow. "Was she okay? You mean did she run screaming from the room in terror?"
"Did she look hurt?" I elaborated with a sigh.
Steve shook his head in bewilderment. "Well, she was definitely embarrassed coming out to a room full of Avengers. Stark made some comments to her of course once he found out she was here with you, but overall she was walking normally and looking healthy. Why do you ask that very odd question?"
I felt a little relieved at that and had a sudden irritation with Stark. "You know I haven't been with anyone since..." I motioned to my metal arm. "I hope to god I didn't hurt her."
"Buck, she looked fine," Steve assured. "Did she leave a number?"
I shrugged, looking around the room again for a note or anything and seeing nothing.
I did take in the three empty condom wrappers on my nightstand.
Wow
I suddenly felt smugly proud.
"Honestly, Steve, I can't remember her face or anything from last night for that matter."
Steve's eyes caught something and he was bending down, picking up what looked like a small slim card and offering it to me. "Well maybe this will help jog your memory."
It was her ID. It must have fallen out of her bag or something. She was beautiful, with honeyed skin, curly dark hair and bright brown eyes. She had a nice smile. She looked normal. What could have possibly possessed her to go home with a guy like me?
"I should mail this back to her. She'll need it," I commented setting the ID down on the nightstand.
"Mail it?" Steve laughed. "Take it to her! It'll give you an excuse to go see her. Clearly, you guys were into each other and maybe you can take her on a date."
I gazed at Steve incredulously. "Who is going to want to date this?" I waved my metal arm at him.
He gave me a 'not this again' frown.
"Besides I am sure she was as drunk as I was. That's the only way she would have gone home with me," I continued. "She snuck out of here without waking me up, she doesn't want to see me again."
"You don't know that. Give yourself a chance for Christ sake, Bucky," Steve rolled his eyes. "Take her the ID. Be a gentleman. Ask her out for coffee."
"Why are you so dead set on this?"
"Cause you've been out of the ice for months now and you need something more in your life than me and missions. Take the ID to her. Ask her on a date. Captain's orders," Steve replied walking to my bedroom door.
I snorted. "If you think for one second I am going to listen to you just cause people call you Cap-."
He turned back to me with a warning look that I had seen before and made me fall silent. It was a much more intimidating look now that he was 6 foot and 220 pounds of serum enhanced muscle, and not the small guy from Brooklyn who had been 5'4 and maybe a buck-forty wet.
"Bucky," he said simply.
I relented without a fight. He wouldn't let this go. Steve was annoyingly determined like that.
"Fine. I'll take it to her and ask her out alright? Happy?"
"Estactic," Steve answered with a smirk.
***
"While I am very proud of you for breaking out of your celibate shell and scoring some hot man meat; I am extremely disappointed that you didn't follow basic best friend one night stand safety etiquette. Meaning you text me the address you're at, the name of the man you're with and then send follow up texts post coitus and on your way home to let me know you're alive!"
I was holding the phone an arms length away and I could still hear Iris talking loud and clear. Once she had finished her motherly, and very loud, rant I put the phone back to my ear.
"I was so drunk that I don't remember what happened last night," I sighed putting my head against the window. "I don't remember the guys name. Where were you to stop me from this very bad decision? I had to do my walk of shame with the Avenger's team as an audience."
"You basically just disappeared! Said you were going to get a drink and then I look over and you're talking to the metal armed guy and Thor -one of the Avenger dudes so no surprise about your audience- and I am too impressed to think 'wow I should stop her'. I thought I'd let you branch out! And then a little later I looked again and your tongue was down metal armed guys throat and you both seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it. I know you haven't been with anyone since Patrick so-."
"Christ Iris, when you saw me with my tongue down the man's throat would have been a perfect time to step in! You know that's not me."
I tried to imagine that moment, but hadn't seen the mans face so it was all coming up blank. Shoving my tongue down a strangers throat was definitely not in my character. It had taken me ages to get up the courage to ask Patrick out and that 5 year long relationship had recently ended in disaster.
"I just wanted to see you have some fun and-," she paused and I could imagine her doing that little shrug she did when she had no further argument. "Well you looked like you were having tons of fun with Mr. Metal."
Mr. Metal . I rolled my eyes. "Well you can't be mad at me for not following 'Best friend one night stand safety etiquette' when you allowed me to go off in an inebriated state with strangers!"
"Oh please, one of them was an Avenger. I knew you weren't in that much danger. But can we move on to more important things?"
"More important things? Like what?"
"The sex , obviously, hello! How was it?"
I put my face into my palm. "Goodbye Iris," I growled before hanging up.
***
I trusted Steve more than I trusted anyone. He'd always been the voice of reason in our friendship. He hadn't led me astray once.
But I was certain this was his worst idea yet.
I stood outside of the apartment complex that was listed on Jade's ID. The sun was close to setting and while I had wanted to bring the ID as soon as possible to just get it out of the way, Steve thought it would be a brilliant idea to wait till close to dinner time to use that as an excuse to take her out.
And so I stood outside the apartment building in my best jeans and a dark blue shirt and black leather jacket over it and my heart pounding so hard I was sure it was going to burst right out of my chest. I walked into scary and dangerous situations every week for a living and this was what got my heart pounding in fear.
I wasn't good at this, not anymore, not since... well not since I'd lost my damn arm and had been turned into a brainwashed assassin. The last time I had been on a date was in 1940-something and back then I had two arms and was a normal guy who didn't know about 50 ways to kill someone in a second and could sleep through the night without waking up screaming in a cold sweat with the lingering feeling of warm blood on my hands.
Yep. This was definitely Steve's worst idea ever.
I went inside anyway, fueled by knowing that Steve wasn't going to let up unless I did this, and found her apartment. I took the stair case up to the third floor and stopped outside of her door, giving myself an inner pep talk filled with lies about how I could do this and it wouldn't be awkward. I expected her to say no to my asking her out and that would be okay. I could atleast get the satisfaction of telling Steve 'I told you so'.
I knocked carefully with my metal fist.
I could hear footsteps and laughter approaching the door and it opened rather abruptly. I didn't hear the turn of a lock.
A young woman stood there, the same honeyed skin as Jade's, a pretty face, long braided hair, smiling nervously, but she was definitely not Jade. She looked nothing like the photo on the ID.
Was I at the right apartment?
Recognition crossed her features and her smile widened. "Well if it isn't Mr. Metal."
Mr. huh? "Excuse me?"
"Jade! Someone's here for you!" She ignored me, calling over her shoulder before beckoning me into the apartment with a wave of her hand.
I stepped in cautiously, finding myself in a nicely decorated living room and spotting the woman I had spent the night with, but had no recollection of, rising from the couch.
She was dressed in a tank top and fuzzy mint green pajama bottoms that had penguins wearing scarves on them, her curls were pulled back into an unkempt ponytail, and she held a bowl of ice cream in her hand. Plain vanilla by the smell of it. Her eyes scanned me from head to toe and back up, widening when she realized who I was.
My heart skipped a beat when her eyes locked with mine.
"Bucky?" She breathed in disbelief.
Hearing her say my name sent an unexpected throb through me that was accompanied by a flash of memory, one of her beneath me, face contorted in pleasure, my name coming off of her lips in that breathy voice echoed in my mind. I tensed and realized that I had been silent too long. It was bordering on creepy.
Say something Barnes, for god sake!
"Uh...hi..."