Bucky's Roommate

Chapter 9

"Alright." Adel's mother, Claudia Bowman, clapped her hands once and stood from her chair, smoothing down her dress. "I think it's time we got some food to eat. Matthias, come help me bring some down for everyone."

The teenager sitting on the spare bed snorted. "You're asking the guy with no taste buds to help you pick out food?"

Adel scowled at the boy. "You know, I liked it better when you were scared of me, Marcelo."

Marcelo grinned and waved him off. "That was years ago, I'm over it."

"Marcelo has a point, though." The man leaning on a wall spoke up, looking up from the article he was reading on his phone. "Matthias can't taste anything, so it doesn't make sense that he would be the one to bring us food."

"I have taste buds." Adel protested with a pout. "Everything just taste like ash."

"So the Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, 'Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. Genesis 3:14."

Adel threw his hands in the air. "Stop quoting the bible to win arguments, Michael! I hate you enough as it is."

Michael smirked, tilting his head. "Quoting the bible is my job, Matthias. I'm a priest."

Adel's eyes flashed with something, catching Bucky off guard, and Bucky thought it might have been anger. "Don't quote it at me."

"No antagonizing Matthias." Claudia spoke up with a frown, looking at the two with disappointment. "I am having him help me get some food because, despite his lack of... taste, he knows everyone's preferred meals."

"Can I have pudding?" The seven year-old that was playing cards with Marcelo said, grinning widely.

Claudia sighed. "Juliette-"

Juliette frowned severely. "My name's not Juliette! Call me Lux!"

Adel tilted his head. "How long have you been going by Lux now?"

"We've been going to church recently with Mama." Marcelo began to explain after Lux looked at him for some help. "They were talking about the Lord and Light and she thought the word Lux reminded her of you."

The college student stood there in stunned silence for a moment before he turned away, heading towards the door. "This is too cute to process. I'm out of here."

Bucky looked at Lux, who was pouting at the door, and smiled. "He loves it, I promise. I think Lux is a great name."

Lux made to move forward before she stopped. "Do you... Can I hug you? It's okay if you don't. Uncle Matty doesn't like hugs either."

"I like hugs." Bucky confirmed, holding his arms open. He grinned when the girl launched herself at him, her arms wound tight around his torso.

"You give nice hugs." Lux confessed, her voice small from where it was muffled in his shirt. "Nice and warm. I bet Uncle Matty's feels just like this."

The soldier looked down at her, his expression soft. "When you find out, let me know, okay?"

She shook her head before glancing up. "What if he hugs you first?"

"If Ad- Matthias is going to give anyone his first hug, I can't imagine that it would be anyone but you. You're going to be the best of us all, Lux. I can feel it."

After a few more minutes of talking to Adel's family, Bucky excused himself to go find his roommate because he was sure that he would need help carrying food for everyone (if he did end up going to the cafeteria). Before he could turn down the first hall, his arm was grabbed and he was tugged around a corner until he was facing Adel, who looked disgruntled.

"Did they tell you anything about me?" Adel demanded to know, glaring at him through his glasses, though Bucky knew it wasn't directed at him.

"Nah, not really. I talked to Lux more than anyone else when you left. Why?"

"I can't stand Michael." The Latino spat the man's name like it was cursed.

Bucky tilted his head, carefully not mentioning the fact that his roommate had yet to let go of his wrist. "Isn't he your cousin?"

Adel made a vague gesture with his free hand. "Technically, they're all my cousins."

"Technically?"

The shorter male shrugged and appeared a bit uncomfortable. "Look, I was adopted, alright? My mom isn't my mom and my sister is just a girl I met years ago." He pointed towards the hospital room the soldier just left. "I don't claim Michael, though. I fucking hate him."

"Why do you hate him?" Bucky asked, deciding not to talk about the adoption news. It wasn't that it was all that surprising, anyways. Some people were adopted while others weren't. Adoption wasn't anything new that Bucky hadn't known about before. "He didn't seem like he was trying to be mean."

Adel made a disgusted noise, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I know he wasn't but he just- Ugh, he just fucking quotes shit that isn't even right!"

"Like the dust thing?"

"What? No, that-" The Latino cut himself off as if he didn't mean to continue speaking. "Whatever, come on, let's go help mom with the food. She'd kick my ass if I just walked off after arguing with Michael. I always get yelled at for it."

Bucky grinned, finally twisting his wrist a bit to grab onto Adel's hand, shaking it lightly between them. "It's okay. You can just tell her that we got lost."

Adel stared at their hands for a moment before he looked up and grinned at the soldier. "Sounds good to me. C'mon, Chulo, let's go."

"What does Chulo mean?"

"It's not important." There was a distinct pause. "Never mention it to my mom."

"Why not if it's not important?"

The Latino sighed heavily, turning down another hallway. "Spanish nicknames hold more meaning than English ones in my family, Bucky Bear. If my mom heard what I've been calling you and Winter, she'd never let it go."

"But I don't even know what you call us."

"Like I said, it's not important."

"Alright, fine. This just means that I have to give you one, too."

Adel turned his head a bit to study him, his eyes unreadable for a moment, before he nodded. "Alright but nothing cheesy. English nicknames suck ass."

Bucky was silent for a moment, taking in everything Adel had confessed to him since he had left the hospital room. "Don't worry, it won't be cheesy. Maybe. Probably."

"That's not instilling confidence in my, Chulo, but whatever. Look, there's my mom." Adel pointed to where Claudia was grabbing coffee, half a dozen cups sitting on the counter in front of her as she carefully filled them. "Mom, need some help?"

Claudia sighed in relief when she heard her son's voice, her shoulder's losing their tension. "Thank God you're finally here. How does Marcelo like his coffee again?"

"One cream, five sugars. Splenda."

As she searched for said ingredients, Bucky turned and grabbed the container of sugar packets, holding it out to her. It was only when she stared down at his hand did he realize that he had used his prosthetic. He tensed, waiting for her to say something about but, just like her son, she seemed to disregard it in order to focus on her current number one priority.

"He said five sugars."

Bucky shrugged, lightly shaking the container towards her. "You can use the others for the other cups, I don't know."

Claudia smiled, carefully picking out the number she needed from the container. "Thank you, James." The look she gave him made him realize that she meant more than just the sugar packets.

"I-Um- You're welcome, ma'am." Bucky stammered, his cheeks glowing a soft pink, and he ignored Adel's questioning look. "It was nothing."

-

translation(s):

chulo- cutie