crevices of your soul ✿ B. Barnes

5. bathroom singers

"So," she began, her fork sinking into the fluffy pie and meeting the porcelain plate underneath with an audible clattering sound, "About your situation, do you need me to contact Steve? Or Sam, maybe? They'd be worried."

"You know them?" He looked at her with surprise plastered all over his structured features.

"Well, I wasn't supposed to." She admitted honestly, "Steve moved into the apartment upstairs and he tried to keep it a secret because - you see, fangirls, er, swarm up. But when I found out that a new neighbor moved in upstairs, I sent them my homebaked red velvet cake as a greeting. And the next thing you see, Sam Wilson is banging at my door yelling 'however could a mere mortal have made that."

Bucky seemed amuse but his mouth was already full with food to respond. She smiled and took this as her cue to proceed.

"After that they came downstairs often. Whenever the two felt like having a nice homemade meal. I'm guessing they don't have it all that much with all their outdoor 'classified work'. They also come to play board games or cards. But I've to keep my lips sealed" she ended it with a little giggle.

She felt all the previous tension release from Bucky's shoulders when he found out that Steve trusted her. Then a thought struck her immediately,

"That reminds me, I should tell your friends about your condition. I'm sure they won't be happy to find out later that I didn't tell them when their best buddy was practically burning with fevers and getting panic attacks." She suggested, her tone quietly asking for his consent before doing so.

"Can't." Bucky just shrugged, keeping his focus on the glazed sandwich on his."Mission. 'guess they're out of town, raiding some enemy bases. Be back in three days."

"Ah. Superhero business." She nodded in quiet acknowledgement, "that's nice."

"Well, the avengers. How are they?" She asked in a quieter, more inquisitive voice.

She didn't want to ask but she wanted to test the waters and draw a boundary where the sensitivity of the subject got him uncomfortable.

"They're—" Bucky thought for a moment, "weird like me. Don't think they like me. Stark—"

Then there was a weird pause and she got her answer in the moment, "but," she quickly changed the topic, "you gotta admit Thor is pretty cool."

Bucky nodded quickly in agreement, "Very flashy. He loves his entrances."

She nodded, smiling that his one worded answers had morphed into sentences. He was opening up and it felt like a Christmas present that made her giddy inside.

Then his ocean eyes rose to meet hers again could she could have sworn they sent a chill down her spine and made her nervous like a college interview morning.

"You're always smiling." He said with a slight tilt of his head, his face still blank as ever but still quietly amused.

"Yeah, force of habit. Sorry." She smiled again; even wider now.

He turned his face towards the window, staring at the raindrops pattering against the glass pane, quietly averting his eyes from her, "I wouldn't do it so much if I were you."

A frown made its way on her face, "why's that?"

"I think people would pay you for it." He said, "to see your smile."

And then she noticed the slightest tilt on his lips, for the first time this evening, and it made her heart jump.

"Is that a compliment?" She chuckled softly.