Work Text:
Yelena's nose crinkled as she read the instructions. "I don't think that goes there."
Bucky looked up in exasperation. "You don't think which goes where?"
"That leg, on that side of the desk." She pointed.
He frowned. "Where should it go?"
"Wait." Yelena held the paper close to her face, then far away, then close again. "Oh." She turned it around in her hands. "You were holding these upside-down."
"Only when I handed them to you."
"Well, when it's oriented right, that leg goes there." She pointed. "And you have the wrong end attached. I told you we didn't need a drill. Look, they give you all of the necessary pieces!"
Bucky glared at her. "Every home repair job requires a drill."
"This isn't home repair, this is desk construction. Actually it's desk repair now because you screwed it in the wrong way." She paused. "At least you get to use your drill to unscrew it. Enjoy the fun."
"Your sarcasm is not appreciated."
"My sarcasm is why you love me."
"No, I love you because... wait." He paused. "Why do I love you again?"
She pushed his shoulder hard enough to make him put out his arm to keep his balance. "You love me because I can kick your ass in fifteen different ways."
"Oh, yeah, now I remember." He grinned at her and turned back to the desk. He picked it up, spun it around, and examined the leg.
"Showing off your super strength again?"
"My ego requires it. You're right, there are holes already drilled here."
"I'm right? There's a huge surprise."
"Don't rub it in."
"Only if you say it again."
He grimaced. "Oh lovely Yelena, how very very right you were. Oh, how I should have listened. Now I will suffer for eternity. Or at least ten seconds while I get these screws out." He proceeded to un-drill them.
"Need me to hold it so that it doesn't--" The leg fell to the floor with a clatter. "--do that?"
"I meant for it to do that."
"I see."
He squinted up at her. "Why don't you, ya know, help?"
She raised an eyebrow. "I am helping! I'm directing you. And also you said you didn't want help."
"That was just because you dropped the hammer on my hand."
"You mean the hammer we don't need, on the hand made out of indestructible metal?"
"It hurt my feelings." He flipped the leg over.
"Aww, my poor little Winter Soldier." She ruffled his hair. "I'll wax and buff your hand later."
"Um, no." He flipped the leg again. "Where did the hole go?"
"That sounds familiar."
He looked up at her with narrowed eyes.
She looked down at him with perfect innocence. "Whaaat?"
"If you think I can't find a hole, I can prove you wrong right now."
"As fun as that would be, we promised we would finish this first. Come on, we bought it two weeks ago!" She snapped her fingers a few times. "On the double, soldier!"
He shook his head. "I used to be so good at this. What happened? I wonder if it's my hand."
"There's nothing wrong with your hand. You're just out of practice at... building stuff."
"Yeah." He sighed. "Creating things is so much harder than destroying them."
She knelt down next to him and took his hand. "Very wise."
He raised her hand and kissed it. "Are you sure we can't take a quick break?" He gave her a half-grin.
"Ohhhhh, no, not with the sneaky side smile, you're not getting me this time." She stood back up and folded her arms over her chest. "You're going to build that desk. You're going to build it to proper specs. And you're going to build it so it's sturdy enough to hold both of us when you fuck me on top of it."
He stared at her for a second, and then saluted. "Yes Ma'am!" He flipped the leg again and positioned it against the underside of the desk.
"You've got it wrong again."
He laughed. "Get your oh-so-accurate ass down here and help me, okay?"
She sighed and sat down. "Fiiiiiiine. Give me that."
With her assistance, the leg was soon attached.
"Don't screw the bolts in all the way," she said.
"I thought you wanted it sturdy."
"You don't tighten them until all four legs are on, so you can make sure they're even."
He looked indignant. "I would never attach a leg unevenly."
"Would you please be serious? It's four o'clock already."
"Okay, okay." He reached for the remaining legs. They attached each one, and then tightened the bolts. Bucky did most of the tool work while Yelena held things in place and gave instructions. After a few minutes, Bucky looked at her and said, "It's kind of sexy that you're so good at this."
She smiled. "It's completely unsexy that you're so bad at it."
He frowned. "Hey!"
She laughed. "I'm kidding. Actually it's very sexy that you trust me to tell you what to do without being all... well... macho about it."
"Hey, I can take orders from a woman. Especially one with such gorgeous eyes."
"You're not getting me on that desk until it's finished."
He shrugged. "Worth a try. Gimme the flat board. It's the brace, right?"
"See, you're getting it!" She handed him the long, flat bracing bar, and he screwed it into place. She chuckled.
"What?"
"You should probably stop tightening those with your left hand. You might crack the wood."
"There's an innuendo there that I'm not clever enough to make."
She rolled her eyes. "Something about wood and cracks?"
"Exactly."
"How about, when I give you wood, please don't split it in half."
"Ouch." He winced.
"Maybe not the best innuendo."
"Okay, we're totally connected and screwed in tight." He raised his eyebrows a few times at her. "Let's flip over."
She laughed. "Much better."
They stood up and he flipped the desk upright. He looked at the remaining pieces. "There's still the shelf that goes on top."
"Oh." She considered that for a moment. "That would get in the way."
"Of what?" He asked, smiling.
"Oh, just get over here."
The soldier complied.