Lost and Found - Bucky Barnes x OC

We're...friends

Frankie found herself zoning out in the garage midway through replacing a tyre.

She thought of James. Or Bucky, as she now called him. Not to his face though, she wouldn't allow him that satisfaction.

She thought of their night together. She thought about the passion, his fingers on her body, how he felt inside her, her soreness a reminder of where he'd been. She thought about them falling asleep together last night, waking up entwined that morning – the feeling of his warm breath on her neck when her alarm had rudely interrupted them.

She thought about how hard it was to leave his embrace, to shower and drag herself to work despite Bucky's protests. She briefly thought about calling in sick, but couldn't leave Dan and Freddie in the lurch as Mondays were always so busy for them. 

Bucky had settled for another lingering kiss goodbye at the door instead. She wondered now what she'd be doing if she had played hooky – they'd probably still be in bed now, dozing or gearing up for another round together. She smiled wistfully. With Bucky's late night visit and their bedtime extracurriculars she'd barely slept. But her tiredness was worth it.

'You good, Frank?' said a voice, breaking the spell.

'Mmm?' she asked turning to find Freddie, who was looking back at her with a cocked eyebrow.

'You've been holding that tyre for a good few minutes now' he chuckled.

Frankie exhaled and snapped her eyes back to the task at hand. 'Yeah. Sorry. Slept badly last night...feeling a bit out of it today' she replied, smiling. 'I just need some coffee and I'll be fine. Early night tonight!'

Freddie returned to the vehicle he was working on. 'You gotta look after yourself, Frankie' he said protectively.

'Like I said, a big coffee and I'll be fine' she laughed. 'You worry too much'.

'Frankie' called Dan's voice from the front of the shop. 'You have a visitor'.

As she moved to see who it was she suddenly caught a glimpse of Freddie's expression in the split second before turning around. His face had quickly darkened with anger, his fists screwed up tightly at his sides. She furrowed her brow, following his gaze to see what had upset him so much.

Bucky.

He was walking towards her smiling, a takeout coffee in each hand. She felt a fluttering in her stomach when she saw him.

'Who let you in here?' she teased, returning his grin.

'Exactly my question' Freddie barked sternly from the side of her. Frankie suddenly remembered their last interaction, her butterflies switching to nerves.

'I thought you might need a helping hand today' replied Bucky, passing her one of the coffees. 'Got time for a quick break? Hey, Freddie.'

'That's so thoughtfu-' she began to say, before Freddie interrupted.

'Why are you here? How did you know she was tired?' Freddie asked inquisitively, folding his arms in front of his chest.

Bucky started 'Well I-we...'.

'It's OK Freddie' Frankie interjected calmly. 'James and I buried the hatchet. We're...friends' she said hesitatingly.

'Well I wouldn't go that far' Bucky smiled. 'And look, man, I know I owe you an apology for how I acted when I was here before. That wasn't cool, I didn't behave well. I'm sorry.' he told Freddie earnestly.

Freddie nodded stoically, moving back to where he was working. 'Right. Thanks' he said quietly, eyeing Bucky with suspicion.

Frankie smiled awkwardly, desperate to ease the tension. 'Yeah I can take a quick break, James' she said a little too breezily, gesturing with her coffee. 'Shall we have these in the office?'