The Mimic

134

"So... What's it like without your metal arm? Does it feel weird?" Peter asked awkwardly, trying his hardest to start up a conversation with Bucky whilst y/n was in another room. 

His time to leave and pick up MJ was nearing closer, and Peter was one big bundle of nerves. From the constant rambling to the anxious hand movements, there was no way of calming him down. It was like he'd had around ten cups of coffee. It was quite sweet to see, really. He wanted everything to be perfect for MJ. It didn't matter that they spent almost every day together. This was different. This was a dance, not just random conversations in the school hallways.

Bucky raised his eyebrows with a chuckle at the random question. He finished pouring himself a glass of orange juice, setting the carton back into the refrigerator before turning to face the nervous kid. "Of course it feels weird. I still go to use it from time to time, but I'm happy that it's gone. That arm did far more bad than good." He shrugged, strolling back into the living room with the glass in his hand. "Plus, it's going to be harder for them to catch me. They're looking for a man with a metal arm." He grinned. It was nice to see Peter all dressed up in the suit that y/n had bought for him, but he was sure that y/n was far more excited for the dance than Peter was.

Peter was frozen in place in the middle of the living room, as per y/n's instructions. It almost felt the same as the time that the team banded together to prepare him for that party, but of course he wasn't going to mention it. The Zemo incident had been a dark time for everyone. He took a shaky breath, turning his head away from Bucky's gaze to stare at himself in the dim reflection of the television. "I just don't want to mess this up." He admitted after a few moments of silence. He'd been working himself up for this moment for so, so long. "What if I step on her toes during the slow dance? Oh my god, I-"

"Stop talking for a second, Pete. Let me give you some advice." Bucky interrupted with a fond smile. He set his glass of orange juice down on the coffee table with a sigh, sitting down on the couch opposite from where Peter was stood. He never thought that he'd be giving advice to anyone, especially Peter, but the kid needed it. "You may think that dances and formal things like this will be life-or-death for a relationship, like one bad move will ruin everything, but you're wrong. Yes, it'll definitely be a nice moment, but this dance isn't going to be end of your relationship if it goes wrong. You hang out with her almost every day, why would this change anything?" Bucky asked with raised eyebrows. He was leant forward with his elbow rested on his knee, almost sat like a father would. "I felt the same when I first started dating the crazy person that dragged me here." He chuckled, motioning toward Peter's bedroom that y/n was currently sifting through. He could hear her mumbling to herself, and that just made him smile even more. "The best thing that you can do is be yourself. You're yourself when you speak to her every day, so it shouldn't change tonight. It's weird to say, but big things like this won't be the highlight of your relationship. When you think of things you love about her, you don't think of a school dance. You think of the way she smiles, or the way she laughs when-" Bucky cut himself, a bashful smile appearing on his face as he looked away from Peter and toward the bedroom door. He'd gotten carried away and started talking about y/n. He never actually vocalised it to anyone before, usually he just kept it in his head. But that wasn't the point. Tonight it was about Peter. He took a sharp breath, sitting up a little straighter as he focused back on the topic. "Look, you get what I mean. Don't stress about tonight. Whatever happens, you'll have an amazing time. And if you want to ditch, we'll be staying in the apartment." He grinned reassuringly, surprised that he was actually being genuine with Peter and not teasing him.

However, before Peter could respond, y/n suddenly burst out of the bedroom. She had several different tubs of hair gel piled up in her arms, and a few different options for ties and bow ties draped across one of her shoulders. "I have some options! I wasn't sure what gel actually worked on your hair, so I grabbed them all. Unless you don't want your hair to be styled? It's all up to you. I think it looks pretty nice all floppy, but it's not my choice." She rambled, completely oblivious to the genuine conversation that Peter and Bucky had been having. "I also have some different options for your tie! Oh, and I grabbed some bow ties just in case." Y/n hummed, dumping everything down onto the coffee table. She stood up straight with a sigh, brushing herself off a little before she finally looked over at the pair who were both staring at her. A nervous smile appeared on her face, glancing over at Bucky for some support. "What? Have I got something on my face?"

Bucky shook his head with a laugh, yet the loving look in his eyes didn't disappear. "No, no. You're fine, Doll. Keep prepping Peter for his dance, we haven't got much time left before he needs to leave." He reminded with a smile that only seemed to widen when y/n went back to fussing over Peter. The advice that Bucky had given to Peter was something that he'd created on the spot, but now that y/n was stood right in front of him, he'd realised how true that advice was.

The small things about y/n were perfect to him. He'd been around her enough to know exactly how she was going to react to things, yet every single time it made him smile. Even if it felt impossible, Bucky found more and more things to love about y/n every day.