Sunrise | Bucky Barnes x Reader

Coney Island

"Oh good, the gang's all here!" Tony's voice filled the kitchen as he sauntered in to be met with seven tired faces.

It was Coney Island day, a team field trip in celebration of Bucky's progress so far. The destination was his choice and not that Bucky had told you but the third goal that he eventually came up with was to have fun. Good old, unadulterated fun. Which was probably something he hadn't experienced since the World's Fair back in '43.

You found yourself a seat at the breakfast bar, a second cup of coffee in hand. It may have been Bucky's choice of destination but you were on Tony's schedule and he'd insisted on an early start. Steve and Bruce were early risers anyway so it was no problem for them, as were Natasha, Sam, and Wanda on a good day - that wasn't today though, by the looks of it. You on the other hand liked your bed far too much. And Bucky took decent sleep whenever he could get it and he clearly hadn't got it last night.

"Please tell us again why you insist on us leaving the compound at 7am?" You asked, draining your coffee in record time in an effort to wake up.

"Because I said so. Now, are we all ready to go? We'll take the minivan, make it a proper family outing. Ándale, ándale!" He ushered everyone out to the garage and you hung back, placing your mug in the dishwasher. When you turned back to leave, you jumped at the sight of Bucky waiting for you.

"Jeez, Buck. Scare the living daylights out of me why don't you."

"Sorry. Listen, can we talk later. About the other day and what it... means. For us?" He asked, falling into step with you as you made your way out to the garage. He seemed impatient, his voice tinged with an unfamiliar edge. And you didn't blame him, you'd been putting off the conversation again, making yourself seem too busy because you were scared. The main reason being that you were pretty sure you'd never felt this strongly for anyone before and that had only spurred on the little voice in your head that told you you didn't deserve it. Add that to your very obvious reluctance to talk on the way home and now you were just avoiding it altogether.

As you approached the minivan, you turned to Bucky with an apologetic smile. "Let's just enjoy the day, Buck. We'll find a moment to talk. I promise."

You gave his arm a squeeze before clambering into the van. The only seats left were at the very back and you squeezed your way past the others, sinking into the leather closest to the window. Bucky quickly followed behind, slamming the sliding door closed a little too heavy-handedly and Steve turned with his brows furrowed.

"You okay?" He mouthed, to which Bucky just gave him a curt nod and parked himself in the seat beside you. Inside, his mind was reeling. He wouldn't enjoy his day until he had some clarity and the fact that you were delaying the inevitable was, quite frankly, pissing him off.

____________

"What. Is that?" Bucky asked, staring up at the towering structure with awe etched onto his features.

"That's the Thunderbolt," Sam responded, side-eying you as if to question whether Bucky was alright.

"That's not the Thunderbolt... the Thunderbolt was a rickety wooden thing that definitely did not go that high." Bucky stammered, his head still tilted back as he walked, disorientating himself slightly and making him stumble into you.

"Times change, pal." Steve laughed, clapping him on the shoulder before jogging ahead to meet up with Nat and Tony.

You wandered the rest of the boardwalk with Bucky on your left and Sam on your right, Bucky silently took it all in, a childlike smile on his face that you'd never seen before. Sam commentated the entire walk no matter how many times you told him to shut up.