You're My Home // Bucky Barnes// The Winter Soldier

Chapter 42

It's been two weeks since we were all in the pool and things have been calm. Bucky and I have been trying to spend as much time as we can since he does have a lot of work to do with Shuri and it's not so easy when either Tony or the rest of the team is around every corner. We almost got caught messing around like three times now. Also having to deal with me hanging out with Cole...Bucky doesn't like it obviously but he understood I had to.

This week however I haven't seen much of him. He's been with Shuri almost all day and when he's finally done he seems to be out of it and upset. I want to ask him if he's alright, I want him to be able to talk to me about it but I don't want to push.

"You know it doesn't really help being distracted in your own thoughts when someone is attacking you," Nat protests after knocking me down.

She's been talking to me and telling me the best way to avoid being tackled but I've been so in my thoughts I wasn't even paying attention.

"Sorry," I say as she lends me a hand.

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing just worried about bu-buying Stacey something!" I say overtly loudly covering the mistake I almost just made.

"You're worried about buying Stacey something?" She asks looking at me suspiciously.

"Yeah she- it's a special thing that she got today at her job and I wanted to get her a gift and I'm not sure what to get her," I say quickly.

"What did she get at her job?"

"She...she got a raise!"

"Huh...that's..good for her. So you're trying to get her a present? I can help," she says smiling seeming to have bought it.

"Oh no it's fine I'm sure I'll think of something."

"Nonsense, I'll help you. We can go to the mall...maybe tomorrow?" She offers after pondering a day.

"Uh..sure," I say with a smile.

"Alright, I'm gonna go clean up," she says smiling and walking out of the training room.

I start mentally cursing at myself.

Damn it. Why couldn't I think of anything better?!

I decided to call Stacey.

"Hello?" She says cheery.

"Can I come over?" I asked in a hurry.

"Um wh-sure yeah."

"K I'll be there in fifteen," I say hanging up and rushing to shower.

I hadn't told Stacey about Bucky and I but I thought it's now or never really before Nat probably comes with me to give her the present we ultimately might get or ends up congratulating her at some point on some made up raise.

***

I showered, got dressed and went to the garage to take one of Tony's cars. I left him a note on the counter in his room letting him know I went to Stacey's real quick and I'd be back in a sec.

"Hey," she says after I knocked.

"Hey," I breath out.

She let me in and I sat down in her small kitchen to finally tell her what's been going on. She lived in a pretty small apartment a couple five to ten minutes away from the tower. We hadn't talked as much since she was also busy with work. She would occasionally be around hanging with Bruce but they'd be doing their own thing or sometimes they would leave for dinner. She ended up giving his idea on a relationship a chance and it's been going good other than her being too busy sometimes to be around him but he didn't seem to mind, he understands and she appreciates it.