Doll. // Bucky Barnes X OC

FORTY-ONE

The kitchen was quiet except for the low hum of the coffee machine and the sound of Wanda's spoon gently tapping porcelain.

Melany was staring at her own hand. Not absentmindedly. Deliberately.

Natasha noticed immediately.

"You're analyzing your fingers like they're classified intel," Natasha said without looking up from her mug.

Melany startled slightly and dropped her hand into her lap. "I am not."

Wanda's eyes flicked down to her hand, then back up to her face. A slow smile spread across her lips.

"Oh," Wanda breathed.

Melany's face warmed. "Don't."

"Don't what?" Natasha asked, suspicious now.

Wanda leaned forward, elbows on the counter. "Tell her."

"There's nothing to tell," Melany insisted, which was exactly how everyone knew there was.

Natasha set her mug down with deliberate calm. "If this is mission-related, I need to know. If it's not mission-related, I want to know more."

Melany hesitated.

Then exhaled.

"We had a conversation," she said carefully.

Wanda's eyes widened slightly.

Natasha leaned in. "What kind of conversation?"

Melany swallowed. "Future. Commitment. What that means for us."

There was a beat of silence.

Then—

Natasha blinked once. "Oh."

Wanda slapped her hand over her mouth, already vibrating with excitement.

"And," Melany added quickly, before she lost her nerve, "I measured my finger."

Wanda made a sound that was half gasp, half squeal.

Natasha tilts her head.

"He found it, didn't he?"

Melany presses her lips together for a second before nodding.

"Yes."

Wanda's eyes widen. "You told him?"

"No." She exhales softly. "He told me."

Natasha's brows lift. "Meaning?"

"He just... said it. Later that night." Her voice drops slightly at the memory. "We were talking and he looked at me and said, 'I found the string.'"

Wanda leans forward. "That's it?"

"That's it."

"But how did he find it?" Wanda presses.

Melany shakes her head. "I don't know. I must've left it somewhere stupid."

Natasha studies her carefully. "And what did he look like when he said it?"

Melany doesn't answer immediately.

"Serious," she says finally. "Not teasing. Not cornered. Just... steady."

Wanda softens. "Did you think he'd be upset?"

"I didn't know what he'd be." She shrugs lightly. "It felt vulnerable. Like I'd skipped ahead without asking."

Natasha crosses her arms. "You measured. You didn't propose."

Melany huffs a quiet laugh. "Still."

Wanda tilts her head. "What did he say after?"