✔𝚮𝐞𝐥𝐥𝛐 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 ➳ 𝚩𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝚩𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 47: 𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝛐𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐩

𝐉𝛐 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝚩𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 both walked down the stairs as quickly as they could after getting dressed and fixing up their appearances. It was just in time too as the sound of wheels crackling against gravel came from out front. She walked over to the batter and started on it, while he sat back down by his work papers.

Peggy came in with a quick hello but immediately went back outside to keep working on the house. Bucky and Jo shared a glance and a smile before continuing with their individual things. Wanda came down not too long after and when noon came around everyone was out of their rooms.

She could tell Bucky was keeping an eye on her. She had said she was going to tell Tony after all. Delaying it wasn't an option either, and she couldn't distract herself with the cookies any longer. Jo sent the mousy-haired man a strained smile and walked past him out to the porch. Wanda, Pietro, and Tony were sitting out on the grass, smoking both weed and cigarettes. The rain had ceased for the time being, but it didn't look as if it would stay away for long.

"Tone? Can I talk to you?" Jo spoke up, and the black-haired man peeked up.

"Sure thing," he calmly said and stood up, stomping on the rest of his smoke as he trotted up the few steps. "What is it?"

"Can we go upstairs real quick?" She asked, biting nervously down on her lip.

He wasn't going to yell at her, she knew that much, but he would probably give her that disappointed look, silently asking what the fuck she was thinking. That look was worse. Mostly because he never judged what she did, but this? It was different.

"Lead the way," Tony said.

Jo turned on the balls of her feet, striding up the stairs and into his room. It looked the same as always, knick-knacks and techy-things littered everywhere. She closed the windows in case Peggy or Steve would be able to hear them.

"What's got your panties in a twist?"

"Dude, shut up," she huffed and slapped his shoulder. The bag of white powder was lying on the desk, but she peeled her eyes off it. "Wanted to give you the lowdown."

"Go ahead then," Tony said and flopped down on his bed.

"You were right," she started with a sigh and pulled out his chair. "Me and Barnes- we're- uh... a thing?"

"You don't fucking say," he replied with his most deadpan expression, rolling his eyes as far back as he could. "That's all you wanted to tell me?"

"Sorry for not telling you sooner. I know not telling you that stuff is kinda uncool of me," she said and let her head fall back while she stared up at the ceiling and swung from side to side on the chair.

"You're being careful, right?"

"Are you asking me if we're using condoms?" She laughed while trying to imagine the bag of coke was much further away than it actually was.

"Hope you're still on birth control, at least. But I meant with him. It's Barnes," Tony spoke and grabbed a ball from his bedside table, throwing it mindlessly up into the air and catching it again.

"I was... then I figured out I loved him. Turns out he loves me too."

Tony stopped what he was doing and sat up, watching her intensely with those reading eyes again.

"That's not being careful, Jo." His voice was tense.

"No, but we work together," she replied with a shrug. "I dunno, Tone. It's intense as fuck. Hell, at first I couldn't stop crying because of how much it was."

"That doesn't sound healthy," he scoffed and shook his head.

"Maybe not. Maybe we won't last... but I hope we will," she said as a large smile drew on her face. "You know-" He might laugh at her for saying this. "- the other day, lying in bed, I felt my heart beating for the first time in a what feels like forever. Really beating. Being has never been that easy before."