The Number One Rule

Chapter Twenty-Three

"I can not believe you convinced an ice-cream shop to name a flavor after me for a month," Y/N chuckled as she finished off the last spoonful of said ice-cream. "I'm literally the flavor of the month there!"

"Eh, still don't think it does you justice," he shrugged nonchalantly, grabbing her hand after throwing away their empty cups. The two continuing their walk around downtown.

"How so?" she giggled, bumping her shoulder with his.

"You're more than a flavor of the month," he smiled devilishly to her. "You're flavor of the year," he winked.

"Good God!" she bursted out laughing. Bucky's face breaking into a face-hurting grin of his own at the sound of it. "Someone get me some chips for that cheesy line!"

"Hey it was romantic, not cheesy!" he pouted in a child-like manner, but broke after seeing her laugh more.

"Sure thing, Casanova," she patted his forearm, before fully leaning her weight into him. He smiled kissing the top of her head before swinging their arms gingerly. "What do you have planned next then, Mr. Romantic?"

"Well, we did the 50's dinner experience," he listed.

"Great spot. Always wanted to go there and I'm surprised I hadn't until today," she nodded.

"I will gladly take you there a hundred more times, doll," he winked down at her. "Hmm, we did the ice cream shop and stopped by mom's shop so she could smother you and gift you that new book she's been dying to give you."

"I will be running out of room on my bookshelf within the next day if I keep getting books at the pace that I am," she let out a big exaggerated breath.

"Ok, so maybe our next stop should be the furniture store?" he joked.

"Haha, very funny. I think my 500 square foot apartment would hate me for adding yet another thing that doesn't fit," she scrunched her nose at him.

He couldn't help but stare at the motion and smile at her, even if she had turned her focus back to the street ahead of them. He studied her as they walked. She was taking in her surroundings while nestled into his side. Their hands interlocked and her eyes wondering the city streets in fascination as if she hadn't walked it a thousand times before.

"Well there was actually a vintage store a few blocks back I was considering for the last stop if you have some energy left in ya,-" but he paused when he looked back and she had froze in her step. His hand slightly getting jerked from his momentum going forward and hers stopping completely. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked concerned, seeing what was close to terror in her eyes.

Before she had a chance to respond, he followed her eye line. At first, nothing popped out to him in a suspicious way, but once he did land eyes on what she was seeing, his hand tightened around hers. His body instinctively straightening and going in front of her in protection.

"That son of a bitch," he muttered in a dangerously low tone. Fun date night Bucky had completely vanished in a second and was replaced by an almost murderous one.

Y/N had managed to snap out of her trance soon enough to pull Bucky back to her, enough that he didn't march forward.

"Hey, don't," she said urgently, tightening her grip on him again. "H-He hasn't seen us. Let's just turn around and go..."

The anxiety in her voice was clear, only making Bucky want to charge forward more to the man in front of them for having that effect on her.

"Buck, please. Just leave it," she begged when she didn't see him ease. "It wouldn't do any good for anyone. Just- Come on let's go."