Saved - A Bucky Barnes love story

Dinner

Together with Morgan i made a delicious pasta casserole. We made enough casserole so that the others can also have something of it later. About five minutes before the casserole is ready, i ask Morgan to tell Peter that the meal is ready. While she goes to get Peter i set the table for the three of us. "That smells great," says Peter as he sits down at the dining table. "I hope it tastes as good as it smells" i say while i fill the two plates. When i too have taken something we sit together and eat. I notice that Peter is amazingly calm. Maybe it's up to me? The fact that he doesn't know me? I'm glad when Morgan breaks the silence at the table. She proudly tells Peter what you did during the day today. Peter nods in between and answers just enough for her to keep talking. As soon as Morgan's plate is empty, she looks at you and says, "That was so delicious. Can I go to my room to play now?" "Sure," i say, and then she jumped up and disappeared. Peter seems somehow sad. It's probably not my place because we don't really know each other, but i'm still trying to talk to him. "Everything ok Peter? You're so quiet the whole time." "What? Um, yeah, why shouldn't everything be okay?" "Well, you hardly ate anything and you haven't really talked much since you came out of your room. You don't have to tell me what's bothering you if you don't want to. But I like to listen to you when you want to talk." Peter sighs and then starts talking. "There is this girl at school. She is smart, funny and beautiful. I would like to ask her if she would like to go out with me. To the cinema or something." This is so cute. I can't remember ever being asked on a date in the classic style. I smile at him encouragingly when I say "does she like you too? What's stopping you from asking her?" "I think she likes me. We're both on the decathlon team. I guess I'm just scared that she'll say no," he says sadly. You know from personal experience that there are worse things than hearing someone say no. "Just try. It would be her fault if she said no. And believe me Peter, a no won't kill you." "I'll at least think about it" now Peter seems more relaxed and less sad. We finish eating and Peter helps me tidy up and clean up. "Thanks Michelle, that was really delicious. Where did you learn to cook so well?" I think back to the time at the orphanage where I learned to cook. "I learned that in the home for orphans. We had an elderly supervisor there who thought it was important that we learn it. I'm really grateful to her for that." When I mention that I grew up in the orphanage, I can see that Peter is embarrassed about the question. To reassure him I say "don't worry, everything is fine. It's now easy for me to talk about the time there." "Sorry, I wouldn't have asked if I had known. Can I ask what happened to your parents?" We sit at the kitchen table for a while and I tell Peter about my time in the orphanage. To my surprise, he gets up at some point and hugs me, "now you have us. We can be your family now if you want us to." I'm so surprised and overwhelmed by his reaction that I return the hug and blink back tears. At some point Peter will go back to his room, he probably still has things to do for school tomorrow. As I look at the clock, I realize it's time to put Morgan to bed. I go into her room. "So little one, bedtime." "Will you read me a bedtime story?" "Sure. But now your teeth are being brushed and you are changing, yes?" While Morgan is getting ready, I open her covers and lower the shutters. After brushing her teeth, she jumps into bed, pulls the covers over her and looks at me expectantly. "Ok, what story do you want to hear?" She pulls a book from under her pillow and hands it to me. The little witch, the title of the book tells me. I start with the first chapter and try my best to perform different voices for the different characters. I can see her eyes keep closing and she struggles to stay awake. I close the book and put it on her bedside table. I wrap the blanket more tightly around her and stroke her hair. "Sleep well Morgan." "You too. I love you Michelle," she says sleepily. My heart opens at her words. "I love you too, little one" you give her a kiss on the forehead, turn on her night light and leave the room. On the way to my room I stop by Peter for a moment and also wish him a good night. He's still absorbed in his school books. In my room I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth and swap the sweatpants that I am still wearing from last night for a simple gray nightgown with thin straps that is made of cotton. I turn on the TV and sap through the channels trying to find anything that gets my attention. Unfortunately without success. but then the idea occurs to me that I could watch the second Harry Potter film now. Yesterday I slept more than half of it. I turn on the movie and snuggle up in bed. I don't know if I'm imagining it, but I mean that the pillow still smells like Bucky. This smell makes me feel at home. This time I actually manage to watch the entire film. Then I switch to Trash TV and set the timer on my TV so that it goes off automatically in an hour. As I turn to the side to fall asleep, I look back over the day and am happy and satisfied when I finally fall asleep.