It's Forbidden

Bartender

Tony announced the name of the game they had been talking about. Truth or dare. And Aspen knew something would go down because there was never a dull moment, with her alone. But including the avengers and Nat's shenanigans, she knew it would get interesting. And with the sibling rivalry tension between her and Steve and the romantic tension between her and Bucky, the room felt electric.

Steve looked to Aspen and then to the female bartender. He looked at Bucky and back to Aspen and started smirking. "Bucky that bartender was checking you out." Steve said. He said this while looking at Aspen. So everyone knew what was going on. Shit was going down and the game hadn't even started yet.

He said that to Bucky to upset Aspen, make her angry. More angry than she already was. He was pushing her buttons. She gave him a look that could kill and looked to Bucky for his answer. Bucky looked at Aspen and gave her a small smile, letting her know, he had no intention of giving the bartender any kind of attention. He didn't even look at the bartender. "No she wasn't." Bucky said.

He said it still looking at Aspen. Who gave him a small smile. He put his hand on hers on her thigh subtlety because he knew her heart rate was high and she had anxiety. She squeezed his hand back before they let go of each other before anyone could see. "Yea she was." Steve tried to insist, but Bucky didn't care. He just shrugged and finished his drink. He kept his eyes on Aspen and made sure she knew she was the center of his attention.

Natasha sees the rage growing in Aspen and she turned to Steve. "Steve shush. You're ruining the game." She tells him. Even though the game hadn't started yet. She had a plan but she didn't want Steve or Aspen to explode before she got to fulfill it. Tony decided to take the first turn and he chose Steve as the first victim of this game.

"Steve truth or dare." He asked. Steve smiled and looked to Tony. "Truth." He says smugly. As if licking truth was some sort of win in itself. But it wasn't. Tony smirks and looks at Aspen and Bucky, then back to Steve. "How come you always get mad at Aspen and Bucky?" He asked. Everyone on the team had picked up on it, and they all wanted to know what his deal was. Why they bugged him so much. Everyone was wondering why them being friends made him so angry. Why he was so uptight when it came to them. Steve was the one who brought Bucky and Aspen's feelings to one another in the first place.

Aspen scoffs at Tony's question and laughs to herself. "Because he's an ass." Aspen says. Steve looks at Aspen with pity, like there was something pathetic about her and it drove her nuts. At this point, it was just a sibling fight and everyone there was in the crossfire. "Am I wrong?" Aspen asks after Steve hadn't answered. The entire team looks between them.

They waited awkwardly for Steve to answer or for something to happen. Bucky just sat and looked to Aspen. Trying to read her. He didn't want to intervene. He didn't want them to think he was picking sides because he was both their best friends, but it was different with him and Aspen. He didn't know what to do. He was new to this. So he watched like the rest of them.

"Yes you are." Steve says. "I want to protect you both." Everyone is silent, waiting for the next thing to happen, but Sam speaks up. Obviously getting tired of the situation at hand and just wanting to continue the game he was sure would be fun. "Okay okay." He said. "Truth or dare Nat." He asked looking to Natasha. She laughed and took a drink of her martini. "Truth." She said. She knew better than to pick dare with Sam because he always dared something insane.

"Who do you think is the most attractive person in this room?" Sam asks her. She knew he would pick a stupid question or something that would possibly create some sort of bias or something so she chose the safest answer she could think of. And she did it with a satisfied smirk on her face. "You obviously." She said, proud of her answer. Aspen laughed at Natasha because she knew exactly what she was doing.

She chose to tease her and Sam. "I think he said truth Nat." Aspen said. She was joking and everyone knew it. They all joked with each other. And her feeling like she could joke with the team, made Bucky feel sort of at ease. Because she was starting to fit in. And not feel so shy or uncomfortable, she didn't feel so different or out of place. And he was happy for her.

"That was just mean little Rogers." Sam says to Aspen. He has a serious face and tone in his voice until he finishes his sentence and he smiles. Thor looks at the bartender after she hands them all another round of beers and decides he was in team Steve. He wanted to push Aspen to her breaking point to see what was actually going on with her and Bucky and to get answers. "I think she is checking you out Barnes." Thor says referring to the bartender.

"Bucky I'm telling you, you should go on a date with that bartender." Steve says. And he looks at Aspen who's looking at Bucky. "I'm not interested." Bucky says. Aspen tilts her head and scoots a little closer to him but not close enough for anyone but him and her to notice. Their knees now brushed against one another's.

"And why is that sergeant?" She asked Bucky. He smirked and shook his head to her. "You don't get to know my secrets little rogers." He tells her, mocking Sam and teasing Aspen. "I am not little anymore James." She whispers to him. And for a moment they forget they aren't the only ones in the room.