Sunrise | Bucky Barnes x Reader

One Step At A Time

The next week flew by. Between packing up your apartment and working through the handing over of Sunrise to your deputy, Alex, you barely found time to eat or sleep. Or work on your plan for Sergeant Barnes.

You knew you were going to take it slow at first. You were hoping it would work best if you got to know each other with some hang-out time, without the pressures of getting him back out into society. It was going to be a slow process, but you were prepared for it. More than you were when it was thrown at you a week ago, anyway.

The last of your boxes had been moved into your new room at the Avengers compound and Steve had informed you of a welcome dinner that evening so you could catch up with the people you knew and meet the people you didn't.

You hadn't seen Steve after the night he cooked you dinner. He left the next morning with a lingering kiss, knowing it would probably be the last for a while, and had spent the rest of his week preparing the room next to Sergeant Barnes' ready for your arrival. It was unoccupied, but Tony had used it for storage - as if he didn't have enough spare room in the giant compound for unused gym equipment.

Hanging the last of your clothes in the wardrobe, you stood in the middle of the room and looked around. It could do with some personality but other than that it was pretty cosy. You'd brought most of your own home furnishings, your fluffy rug lined the hardwood flooring and the bare walls were waiting for all your art prints to be hung, hopefully that would fix the personality problem.

"You ready?" Steve poked his head around the door just as you slipped into a knitted cardigan and you made a mental note to adjust the AC when you came back up for bed. Nodding to Steve, you followed him out into the hallway and down to the communal kitchen.

Everyone was sat around a large oak dining table, you recognised most of the faces but there were a few new ones since you'd last visited.

"Y/N's here!" Nat jumped up from her seat and danced around to where you were stood, throwing her arms around you with a grin on her face. Once she'd finally released you from her death grip of a hug, you waved over to Bruce and Tony.

Towards the end of the table, were Sam and Wanda, the Avengers' newest recruits. They were the only two you hadn't met before and Steve led you round to greet them, pulling a chair out for you next to Wanda before seating himself on the other side of you.

After a brief introduction with the two new faces, you worked out pretty quickly that you and Sam would get on like a house on fire. And as a piping hot dish of lasagne and a plate of garlic bread was placed down in the centre of the table, you looked around at your dinner companions. There was someone missing but no empty chair.

"Where is he?" You asked, your voice low as you spoke into Steve's ear.

"He's not too keen on family dinners at the moment. I'm hoping you can change that."

Your heart dropped a little at the thought of him being alone while you all enjoyed each other's company. Excusing yourself from the table, you asked Steve where to go and set off in the direction of the compound's gym.

Might as well get the ball rolling.

You heard his fists hitting the punchbag before you even entered the room, his breathing shallow as he grunted through his workout. Hovering in the doorway for a moment, you took in the sight before you. Shirtless and sweaty, his long hair stuck to his forehead and his metal arm reflected the bright lights of the gym as he hit the bag again and again. You added aggression to your mental notebook as something to work on, though he clearly already had a good outlet for it. When he took a breather, you took it as your cue to make your presence known.