The Soldier and the Waitress

Chapter Seven

 After Rebecca's visit, Angie kept thinking about what she was going to say to Bucky the next morning when he came in for his daily coffee. Should she apologize for giving him the cold shoulder? Should they just proceed on like it never happened? No. Angie needed to apologize. He looked very heartbroken when she was very cold towards him so she knew that she needed to apologize. As Angie ran through the possible scenarios in her head and possible ways of how to start the conversation, she was finishing her shift and getting ready for her next audition.

She still had his jacket. The jacket that he gave her on their date to keep her warm. She didn't know why she still had it, truthfully. Sarah had seen it and was quick to ask about why Angie had a man's coat over her shoulders and if the jacket had something to do with the fact that Angie was in a rush to leave so soon after dinner. Angie gave a short answer only to satisfy Sarah since she wasn't in the mood for Sarah's nosy questions. Having Bucky's jacket before... their misunderstanding made her happy. Then when she got angry with him, she shoved it as far back into her closet as she could and chose to forget it existed. After Rebecca's visit, she decided she would need to find it so she could return it to Bucky.

Slipping her own coat over her shoulders before sweeping a loose hair away from her face, she left the diner after her shift. She walked along the street as she hummed her favorite show tune to herself. She wasn't sure if she'd sing it at her next audition. But her mind was something other than her audition. Her mind was primarily on her mysterious regular. Angie had begun to really consider the words she would say to Bucky. She wanted him to know that she was sorry. She shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. But she didn't know what she was going to say yet. She hoped the words would just come to her.

She didn't work the following morning but she knew he would be there. She would come to the diner, she would talk to him and hoped that he would forgive her. She wanted him to forgive her. Though... she would understand if he didn't want anything to do with her. However, she wanted to amend things. She planned on coming to the diner early in time to see Bucky so she could apologize.

She walked alongside the road to the hotel when she saw a familiar figure, walking towards her. Angie knew that she would recognize him anywhere. She walked up to him and hesitated before speaking up. "Bucky?" she asked, her voice sounding quite small and timid compared to her normally confident and outspoken voice. She internally cursed herself for her lack of confidence or at least how it appeared. She was usually so composed, so put together. She never let anyone see her walls down. But she cared for him too much. She hesitated before she took his hand and swallowed slowly. "Bucky, I'm so sorry. I talked to Rebecca and she explained everything and I am so sorry that I jumped to conclusions but it's just because..." she trailed off and Bucky studied her for a moment.

Bucky was surprised that she had approached him. Not that it bothered him because he spent days trying to figure out how he was going to approach the topic. He was just surprised she wanted to approach him as much as he wanted to approach her. "Angie... I'm sorry," Bucky said, squeezing her hand. "I should've told you that I have a sister," he took a deep breath and tucked his finger under her chin to lift her head. "I care about you so much," he delicately moved his hand to tuck a loose hair behind her ear. "So much that it almost scares me," he said.

Once Bucky moved his hand from her chin, her head dropped immediately again but she looked up to him again. "She sought me out, ya know? She explained everything and... I want you to know that I won't jump to conclusions like that anymore..." Angie let out a breath and threw her arms around him to hug him tightly. "I don't want to lose you," she said quietly. "Because... I care about you too... More than I've ever cared about anyone..."

The hug threw Bucky off guard and it took him a second to regain his composure before he hugged her back tightly. "I don't want to lose you either, Angie. I wanted to talk to you when I would come into the diner but... I... I don't know," he said quietly and held onto her longer than he probably should have. He let out a breath before hesitating to slowly pull away from the hug as if he were afraid to lose her. When he eventually did pull back, he gently put a hand on her cheek. "We're going to make this right, okay? I'm going to take you to dinner and we're just..." he trailed off and hugged her again.

Angie hugged him back and shook her head. She pulled away and took a breath. "We're gonna figure this out," she said.

Bucky looked at her and nodded. "We're gonna figure this out," he agreed quietly, gently putting a hand on her cheek and studied her with an expression barely readable to Angie. "Can I take you to dinner? Please? I want us to start this right and I want us to have a proper date. I loved the cider but I want something a bit more formal."

Angie looked at Bucky, resting her hand on his with a short nod. "Yes... Yes, I would like that a lot," she pulled him again in a tight hug and exhaled deeply. "When do you want to take me?" she asked quietly, her face buried into his shoulder. "I'm free Friday night," she said against his shoulder, unable to bring herself to let go. Being back in Bucky's arms made her feel safe. "I'll bring your jacket back, once I find it," Angie said quickly, pulling her head back slightly just so she could look at him when she told him about his jacket.

Bucky's expression changed from being unreadable to a gentle smile and he let out a slight chuckle. "You don't have to do that. You can keep it," he said and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "I can go with one less jacket. And I'll pick you up at seven on Friday..."

Angie was shocked by the short gesture. She took a deep breath and cupped his face in her hands. "Seven sounds good..." she said quietly. "James, I've missed you so much and I am so so sorry," she admitted and trailed off. When Bucky had told her his full name, she always liked his first name better. It felt natural to call him that.

Bucky closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers, relaxing at the sound of her voice and he liked the way she said his name. He hadn't heard someone call him that in a very long time. No one called him 'James' anymore and he preferred it that way. But when Angie used his name, it felt different. But it felt different in a good way. "I've missed you too, Ang," he said quietly. "That's why I want to make things better. However I can."

Angie nodded and she pursed her lips. She pulled away. "We'll start with dinner," she decided and took a deep breath. "Would you... are you too busy to walk me home?" she asked after a moment's hesitation.

Bucky studied her for a moment and nodded, offering his arm. "Of course. I would love to," he agreed.

Angie's smile widened slightly as she took his arm and walked with him to the Griffith Hotel. They didn't talk much on the walk, choosing to enjoy the company of each other for the first time since their first date. When they arrived to the Griffith Hotel, Angie smiled slightly at him and pulled her arm away to go inside. "I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked, slightly hopeful that he would say yes.

So when Bucky did confirm that he would see her tomorrow, her smile widened and she quickly said goodbye to him before she went inside.

And when Sarah had asked Angie why she was so happy, Angie merely shrugged innocently as she went into her room.