Welcome to the Neighbourhood

Chapter 5

A tiny bit of punching in this one (no blood or extreme violence)

That night Bucky stomped around Brooklyn trying to clear his head.

He had been blindsided by Dylan's admission that she thought he was attractive. He kept replaying her flushed face as she fumbled over her words, watching him intently. She'd only ever been hostile to him, looking at him with annoyance at best. The idea that she could admire how he looked blew his mind.

He had called her beautiful in return and he wasn't lying. She was. He thought about her soft features, her full lips, her deep brown eyes - always fiery and vibrant. He thought about the gentle curve of her waist and what it might be like to wrap his arms around it. How it would feel to nuzzle into her neck....

She annoyed him like nobody else on the planet, but he couldn't deny that she was striking.

She was also a pretty good writer. Her books weren't his thing but she did them well. He had initially bought a copy of the Daisy series just to mess with her, but had to admit he was surprisingly charmed once he started reading. It was also interesting to reconcile the headstrong, stubborn Dylan with her doe-eyed, optimistic characters. He was intrigued to learn if Dylan was always cynical despite her career choice, or if something had hardened her along the way.

Still, to write the way she did, Bucky had a hunch she was more of a romantic softie than she let on.

He remembered her stillness as he wrapped her knee, her eyes watching him thoughtfully as she winced at the stinging. Aside from the awkwardness with the sweater on the fire alarm night, it was the only glimpse of vulnerability he'd ever seen from her, and he recognised her clear discomfort at him witnessing that. In that moment he'd felt a strange urge to protect her, to look after her, keep her safe.

Not that she needed it.

None of it mattered anyway as she clearly hated his guts.

Bucky walked by a strip of bars and restaurants, the streets outside were heaving with partygoers and passers-by. In the air was a low hum of inebriated chatter as people smoked, laughed and queued to get into their respective venues.

As he weaved his way through the crowd a familiar voice cut through the busy gatherings, snapping his attention to where it came from.

He turned to see Dylan arguing with a burly man. She was seething, her face contorted with rage as she prodded aggressively at the man's chest and snarled at him.

Bucky sighed. Here we go.

As he headed over he could make out more of the heated conversation.

"Back off, creep" Dylan sneered in the wide man's face. "Touch me again and you'll lose your hand". She was slurring slightly, and Bucky instantly recognised that the flames of her anger had been fuelled by liquor.

"Relax, Princess. Don't hurt yourself" the man scoffed, laughing mockingly.

"You fuckin' -"

Bucky placed a gloved hand on Dylan's shoulder and held the other up in front of the man.

"Hey, what's going on here Dylan?" he asked calmly.

Dylan sighed with exasperation as she realised who it was. She narrowed her eyes and sloppily pushed Bucky's hand away.

"It's fine, Barnes. And none of your business" she growled. "Why are you even here??"

The man chuckled again. "This your boyfriend, hon? He here to save the day?"