Soft Blues

Chapter 2

Steve and Natasha had selected an inconspicuous blue minivan and Bucky had graciously, and unnecessarily, set up a makeshift bed in the back for me. I curl up in one of the blankets, trying to regain some strength.

"We'll stop and I'll grab you some medicine, but absolutely no metalbending, you hear me? You need to sleep."

I stared at the ceiling of the van and rolled my eyes in mock annoyance.

"Fine," I muttered. The van started up and began chugging along, and eventually the movement rocked me to sleep.

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I woke up to the dim lighting of a gas station outside the windows. Sitting up, I realized no one else is in the van with me. Damn it. Another ambush?

Quietly, I crawled to the back of the van and pressed my ear to the trunk door. I don't hear anything, which is seriously bad.

I quickly opened the trunk and hopped to the ground, preparing to take down the ambushers. Instead, I see Steve, groaning and holding his head. He'd walked right into the opening trunk.

I can't help it. I laugh.

"Nice one," he mutters with a grimace.

"Sorry, Steve! I thought you guys had gotten kidnapped or something," I answer between laughs.

"I'm insulted!" Natasha says from behind me. She's got three bags of snacks, and throws them in the back. I look around for Bucky, but I don't see him. Nat notices me searching and grins.

"Loverboy is in there getting eighty different kinds of medicine for you." Steve snorts at that and I roll my eyes at him.

"I should probably go get him, huh?"

"He might buy the whole store if you don't," Steve remarks, and I punch him in the arm.

The bell overhead jingles as I open the door, and I'm suddenly glad to get away from the chilly air. The adrenaline rush from the false alarm had left my body already, and I was missing those blankets. I walk past the isles till I spot Bucky deliberating between two cold medicine bottles.

I squeak my shoe on the floor so as not to startle him as I approach. He turns and immediately frowns at the sight of me out of the van.

"Bucky, you were taking so long we thought you were buying the whole store." I tease, eyeing his basket full of various cough drops and cold medicine.

"Very funny. There used to be just one kind of cold medicine, and now there's so many different kinds. Daytime stuff, nighttime stuff, tylenol, mucinex, alka-something, and then there's twenty different cough drops. I used to just grab Mum's bottle of Dr. Shoop's," He complains, watching me put back all but two bottles of Mucinex and a bag of honey lemon cough drops.

"Bucky, you do realize that most of the medicine back then could kill you. It had, like, opium and chloroform and stuff in it," I tell him, grabbing the basket and walking out of the isle.

"Well, I'm still alive, aren't I?" He retorts, taking the basket from me before darting down another isle. I snag some gummy worms and five cans of watermelon Monster and place them on the short conveyor belt. I glance around the store for Bucky, but he's still getting whatever it is he's looking for.

"Lookin' to stay up late, babygirl?" I whirl around to face the greasy cashier eyeing me up and down. I grin sarcastically and begin tightening his cheap chain necklace. There's barely enough metal in it for me to manipulate, but I do. He keeps hitting on me as the necklace slowly shrinks towards his neck, and he's just about to realize it when Bucky comes up behind me, basket full of salads and protein bars. He slides an arm around my waist as he slams a fifty dollar bill on the counter.

The sleazy man gulps as he eyes Bucky's threatening prosthetic still on the counter top. I begin loading the rest of my purchases into the basket as they have a staring contest. I slip my hand into Bucky's, making sure he doesn't draw his gun on the now cowering cashier.

"James."

The use of his first name catches his attention and he slowly walks away, his arm returning to my waist. We don't bother returning the plastic basket as we leave.

Unable to leave without one last taunt, Bucky kicks over a stack of newspapers. I bit back a smile at his childish antics as the dirty glass doors closed behind us. He's still glaring, but I rest my head on his shoulder and he relaxes.

"I had that, you know. I was just about to choke him with his own stupid chain."

"I know, doll, I know. I just-, the way he looked at you, like you were some horse at an auction or something. Like someone like you would ever even-, I had to do something, you know?"

"Thanks for defending my virtue," I say solemnly, looking up at him. He rolls his eyes at me and I laugh again. He squeezes my hip lovingly as we approach the van.

Steve and Nat are already waiting in the van with the back door still open, so we toss the basket in and hop in behind it.

"Took you guys long enough," Natasha pipes up as we turn onto the main road. Buck just grunts and pulls a blanket over me.

"The cashier started hitting on me and big guy over here nearly bit his head off," I replied, and Bucky pinches me in return. I grin cheekily at him, leaning over to kiss his cheek. He ducks back in to softly kiss my lips. I run a finger over his stubble, grinning into the kiss.