James Bucky Barnes, the former soldier, doesn't think he's got any gentleness left in him. But Grace Juniper Cunningham, the former child prodigy, strongly disagrees.
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"𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯."
"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴�...
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My personal rock bottom was seeing Taylor Swift staring up at me from my shirt on Bucky's bedroom floor. I couldn't look her in the eye.
I darted out of his apartment at the first second that I was presentable while he was in the bathroom.
When I made it to supposed safety, Nat was sitting on the couch with her eyebrows raised, reminding me very much of my mother.
"You know I never judge you, right? I think you're a smart woman, capable of remarkable feats of science," she said, and put her hands up in exasperation. "But did you really just hook up with Barnes in that Taylor Swift shirt?"
"That sounds like judging to me."
"I mean..."
"How did you know we hooked up?"
"Your hair's a mess."
"Joke's on you. It looked like this before I went over there."
"Is the joke really on me, then?"
"No," I said dejectedly. I slumped onto the couch next to her and she patted my shoulder.
"Why are you back so soon? Did he do something to upset you? 'Cause I've just been waiting for a reason to throat punch him."
"No. I ran for it while he was in the bathroom."
"What? Why? I thought you liked him."
"Yeah, but he doesn't want a relationship, so I needed to draw boundaries. I couldn't stay in there."
"Nothing wrong with that. Maybe say goodbye next time. That's how I do it, but then again I'm sentimental."
"You have casual sex expertise to share?" I asked, hoping for advice.
"Yeah. When you've got a lot of sexual tension with someone, sometimes the only way to break it is to bang one out. Then you leave immediately. Steve and I do it, like, once a month. It's really helped our professional relationship."
"Steve and you do what?"
"We bang one out. Same thing you just did."
"You're talking about Steve Rogers?"
"Yes."
"Nope. I don't believe it. There's no way he doesn't have feelings for you."
"I'm telling you, it's purely professional."
"He's probably carrying an engagement ring around every day."
"Do you want tea?" She got up, clearly trying to change the subject.
"Can I be a bridesmaid?"
"We're not getting married, but if we did, you wouldn't be invited," she said. "Tea?"
