REMEMBER ME (BUCKY BARNES & NATASHA ROMANOFF)

6. FAMILY

"So, you and Buck, huh?" Nat said, wiggling her eyebrows at you.

Your face burned as you tried to distract yourself by tying the laces on your ice skates. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Nat raised a brow, smirking like she knew you weren't being honest. "Is that so? Because, if I remember correctly, he was practically tripping over himself when he asked if you were going ice skating with us later."

"He's just...awkward, I don't know. But it doesn't mean anything."

Except, you wished it did. Everyone told you that Bucky was different around you—good different, they always said. But...you weren't convinced. Ever since you joined the team, it seemed like Bucky was just unsure of where to place you in his life. Steve, Nat, and Sam all had places as his best friends. Peter was the one he would treat like a little brother. Tony was the one he would go out of his way to annoy. And so on, and so forth. Everyone had a role. Everyone except for you.

You liked Bucky. You weren't quite sure when it started, but there was something about the man that drew you to him. It almost felt like he would be the kind of person who could understand you. You'd heard about his past, whispers from the agents who were always too scared to make eye contact with him. They always said that it was better to stay away from him, that he was dangerous. But, every time you were near him, you just wanted to cradle his face in your hands and tell him that everything was going to be okay.

But every time you were around him, he gave you nothing. No smiles, no laughs, no conversation. It was as if you weren't in the room. Granted, he didn't leave the room like he would with others. He would stare, though. And, if you let yourself look back at him for long enough, you'd almost say that there was a sort of warmth there.

So, you wouldn't say that Bucky didn't like you. But you also wouldn't say that he did.

That is, until he came into the kitchen this morning, staring at you a little harder than usual. He stood a little closer, holding his mug a little tighter. When you finally asked if he needed something, he blurted out, "Are you going to the ice skating thing tonight?"

Natasha, who was in the process of pouring a bowl of cereal and bore witness to the whole ordeal, swore that he was asking you out. You weren't convinced.

And yet, you couldn't deny the butterflies fluttering in your tummy as you told him, "Yeah, I am. I'll see you there?"

And here you were, circling the rink with Nat, waiting for him to make his appearance. "He was asking you out," Nat insisted.

"I think he was just trying to be nice, Nat. I don't think it meant anything," you said as you made another lap, shivering slightly.

"Hey, are you cold?" Nat asked, her brows furrowing together as she looked you up and down. When you shook your head, trying to deny it, she gave you a pointed look, unraveling her scarf from around her neck. "You should know better than to lie to your best friend."

"It's fine, it was just a cold breeze!" you still tried to deny, trying to pull away as she wrapped her scarf around your neck. When it was tied, Nat gave you a satisfied smile. You looked down at the scarf, trying to ignore the way tears pricked at your eyes. "I—thank you, Nat. I'll give it back when we get back to the Tower."

"Keep it. You're family. What's mine is yours." When she saw the tears well up more, she said, "We'll talk about this later, okay? 'Cause here comes your prince charming."

She grabbed you by the shoulders, spinning you around. And there he was. Skating right up to you, a shy smile on his face. Nat gave you a small push, the skates doing the rest of the work as you slid up to Bucky.