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"Come on, let me take you out to a nice dinner," he asks, sauntering over to you. You stiffen as he wraps his arm around your shoulder. You gently take the hand that's on your shoulder and peel it away from you, trying to laugh off the uncomfortable moment.
Bucky's getting really tired of this. This is not John's first attempt at flirting with you or even asking you out- the man just couldn't take a hint.
"Does he always stare like that?" John asks.
"Yes," you chirp over your shoulder. You're facing the outside of the car- letting your hand flow in the wind and over the vast fields- leaving trail of wildflowers as you all ride past them.
"You get used to it," Sam replies simultaneously, equally unhappy at being in a car with John. Both he and Bucky don't like the way John's staring at your ass as you're kneeled on the seat watching the scenery.
"So what about you?" John asks. That's when you turn to face him, stopping the trail of flowers.
"What about me?" you smile, sitting down on the seat.
"Got somebody waiting for you at home?" John asks, to which Bucky rolls his eyes. You ignore him, knowing he's in a bad mood.
"I've got all of New York waiting for me," you beamed.
"Well, I'd like to see you- outside of work, I mean."
"Aww.." you coo, placing your hand on John's shoulder. Bucky's almost out of his seat when you touch him, then he hears you reject him. A nice rejection, but still a rejection. "That's very sweet of you, John, and it's very flattering, but I think we should focus on being great coworker and friends. I really do appreciate your offer, so thank you."
Sam's head jolts, looking between you, John, and Bucky. "I think that was the nicest rejection I've ever heard. Can I ask you out next?"
You turn to Sam and laugh. "You're so funny, Sam."
"I didn't even hear a 'no' that time. Barely even stung," Sam tells a completely unamused Bucky.
"You know, I love the enthusiasm and the-the-the... uh..." you trail off, trying to find the right word.
"The tenacity?" Sam offers.
"Yes! Thank you, Sam!" you point at Sam. "The tenacity. I'm truly, really very flattered but I don't think we'd be a good match, John. I'm sorry- I hope we can be friends."
"Seriously I don't know how she does it," Sam mutters.
"How she's nice to him?" Bucky offers. "I don't know either- I want to wring his neck."
"Do you now?" Sam asks wryly.
"I do- she's trying to be nice, but apparently he can't take a hint."
"Interesting," Sam mumbles, slowly nodding his head.
"Nothing interesting about it, Sam," Bucky grumbles, taking another long sip from his beer.
"Oh, I think it's very interesting," Sam snickers. "I wonder what changed your mind."
"Nothing changed my mind, I can just very clearly see he's making her uncomfortable. And if he keeps this up she won't want to help us anymore- it's for the good of the mission."
"The good of the mission?" Sam asks with an eyebrow raised.
"Yes, the good of the mission."
"You're jealous," Sam declares.
"I'm not jealous."
"You're jealous," Sam confirms.
The sidebar is broken by John's next comment. "Come on, I know you and Steve Rogers had a very warm friendship. Why don't you give the new Captain a chance?"
You shake your head, taking another step back. "Steve and I were just friends."
"Well can't we be friendly too?" he asks suggestively, reaching out to grab you again.
"Alright, I've seen enough," Bucky says, standing up to get in between you and John.
"I already told you to leave her alone. Take a hike," Bucky says, pulling you closer to him and away from John.
"Oh, I see... You moved on to the best friend," he says, looking straight at you.
There's a blush on your face that Bucky does not miss, it's interesting that this entire conversation is happening you're completely unaffected except when someone suggests you and Bucky are together. He makes a mental note of that. "It's not like that."
"And if it is?" Bucky asks simultaneously, taking another step towards John. "She's not interested. Any night- in fact, she'll be busy every night."
"Every night?" you mouth, unsure of what to do.
"With who? You?" John laughs in disbelief. "She wouldn't go for a guy like you. She's just playing hard to get."
Bucky turns into you and you don't even have a chance to react before he cups your face and presses his lips to yours. You gasp into his mouth, but he doesn't let you go. Your hands find the nape of his neck and for a moment it all stops. And then he pulls away. "Does that look like someone playing hard to get?"
"I, uh, I should, um..." you stammer, not bothering to finish your excuse before leaving the room.
You're sitting on the edge of your bed, staring at the vacant wall and contemplating life when you hear a faint knock on the door.
"Doll? Can I come in?" Bucky asks. And you try to contain the flutters in your stomach. Bucky calls all women 'doll' there's no reason to think anything more of it. Everything's exactly the same, nothing's changed just because you two kissed. It's all exactly the same, you tell yourself.
"You can come in," you say, your voice still raspy.
He walks into your room and takes a seat on the edge of your bed, right next to you. He's also trying very hard not to think about the fact that he's on your bed. "Hey, look I'm sorry about before, I didn't mean to upset you."
"You didn't," you blurt, then you take a moment to recollect yourself. It's just Bucky, you tell yourself. It's not a big deal, you talk to him all the time. "It's fine, James. I'm not upset. I'm perfectly fine."
"Well typically people don't bolt out of a room when they're perfectly fine."
"I just- I've never done that before," you mumble.
"Done what?"
"That," you emphasize, trying to get your point across.
When he finally understands, it takes everything to tame the smug grin on his face. He was your first kiss. "That was- that was your first kiss? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"
You can't even look at him with the way your face is burning up right now. "Yes?"
"How?" he asks with so much disbelief that it almost sounds like he's demanding an answer. "I just- I mean...I mean look at you! You're so...And you're so- How?"
"How?" you ask, chewing on the inside of your cheek. You shrug, trying to play off the embarrassing admission. "I haven't had the most normal life, James. It just never happened."
"Ever?"
"Go ahead, you can laugh! It sounds ridiculous: a fully grown woman, an Avenger never been kissed. Go ahead, laugh!" you say, standing up from your bed and throwing your hands up in mild exasperation.
He takes your hand pulling you back to your bed. "It's not ridiculous and I promise I won't laugh."
"You won't?" you ask.
"No. Promise."
"Pinky promise?" you ask holding out your pinky. He sighs dramatically, but takes your pinky anyway.
"Maybe I should've said 'yes' to him," you say, mostly thinking out loud.
"Do you want to go out with him?" Bucky asks, trying to hide his jealousy.
"No, John's..."
"He's?" Bucky urges.
"I don't want to be mean," you mumble.
"He's not here and I'm not going to tell him. Please?"
"Only because you asked so nicely," you sigh. "He's- he gives me the ick."
"He gives you the ick or he's icky?"
You scrunch your nose and nod. "He's icky."
"I didn't know you could be so cold-hearted. Icky..." he trails off laughing. "That's not the word I would have used."
"There's a lot of mean and icky in this world already. I don't like adding to it," you admit.
"You're a better person than most. A better person than me at least. That's what I don't get, you're probably the nicest person I know. There's never been anybody?"
"Like I said it's always just been me. I mean I've been on my own since I was a literal infant. I spent a long time in a cell- just locked away for the first 20- something years of my life. And when Nick Fury found me, I jumped into the Avengers. And don't get me wrong, I love the team, it was great. But it's always just been me," you shrug. You ignore the fluttering in your stomach as Bucky intently listens to your every word. "You know sometimes I like to pretend that I do have parents. That the reason that place had me as a baby was that they stole me out of my home or something. And they've been looking for me this whole time, and some morally ambiguous, sarcastic, charming brunette will come and sweep me off my feet. And then we'll go adventures and we'll find my family...I know it's silly and childish, but it's better than the reality of life."
"It's not silly," Bucky offers, silently thinking about your fantasy. "Wait, isn't that the plot to 'Tangled'?"
You laugh and now that you think about it- it sort of is. "I knew there had to be a reason I love that movie so much." He laughs for a moment, then it's quiet. "I want you to know that it's not true. Me and Steve- it wasn't like that."
"That's none of my business," Bucky quickly assures you. He's not all that sure he wants to hear about you and Steve, especially if it's anything like what John suggested.
"I know, but I want you to know anyway," you shrug. "He was my friend. He just...he understood what I was going through."
"Understood how?" Bucky asks, genuinely curious.
"We were both dropped into a world we knew nothing about. There's a lot that we learned together. I just wanted you to know that because..." you stop, feeling the warmth growing on your face.
"Because I stole your first kiss?" Bucky finishes for you.
"No," you immediately shake your head. "Because I've never liked anyone the way I like you," you quietly admit.
"I'm sorry I stole your first kiss," Bucky whispers, leaning in closer to you.
"What if I want you to have the second one too?" you whisper back, slowly moving closer to Bucky.
"No, no, no, no. No!" Sam bursts into the room. "Hell no! I've been trying to get you two together for months- John Walker doesn't not get to take this from me!"
"Were you eavesdropping?" Bucky demands.
"You two don't get to take this from me! This is where I draw the line."
"I'm going to kick your ass if you don't get out!" Bucky shouts, and you settle into your seat with a playful smirk on your face knowing they're going to bickering for quite some time about this.