I Don't Need New Friends

6. The Big 3

"What's the plan for today?" Sam asked between bites. "More boring nerd stuff or are we actually doing something good?"

"You seemed to enjoy yourself just fine yesterday, Captain Selfie." Zoe rolled her eyes. "How busy do you want to be? Or I guess, more importantly, what kind of food do you want later?"

"Oooooh, that's my girl! What do you think, Terminator? We thinking sushi? Korean BBQ? More tacos?" Sam grinned with a mouthful of food, making Zoe laugh.

"Not exactly thinking about dinner, seeing as we are still eating breakfast, birdbrain." Bucky mumbled through a mouthful of pancakes. "What do you like to do, Zoe?" He was interested in figuring her out a bit more. He was also relieved that any residual tension from last night had evaporated and they were back to having fun.

"Nope, not deflecting that easily, Barnes. You guys are guests, I live here. What are the things you can't do at home?" Zoe asked. "Anything you're itching to try?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with him." Sam shook his head in disbelief. "What would you do today if we weren't here?"

"Well..." Zoe thought. "I'd maybe grab a late lunch at Grand Central Market, it's this place downtown with all these different restaurant stalls, so you don't have to choose just one type of cuisine. Plus, it happens to be right near the Bradbury Building, where they filmed parts of 'Blade Runner', and I've always wanted to check it out. Then, if you wanted to see some art or architecture, it's not far from the Disney Concert Hall, which is a pretty cool building, right across the street from The Broad and the Museum of Contemporary Art..." She saw Sam's eyes glaze over at the sound of museums. "...Or, we could pack up some junk food, grab lawn chairs, and go watch a movie in a cemetery in Hollywood tonight?"

"Say what?" This got Sam's attention. "Like, a graveyard? For real? It's a thing? Is it legal? You've done this before?"

"Yup. It's actually really fun. Everybody picnics and they project a movie onto a high wall. I can see what they're playing if you're interested." Zoe smiled hopefully. "James, would you be okay with something like that? It's totally okay if you're not. I know not everyone loves their adoring public like Sam here. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

Bucky smiled at her concern, who does that for someone they just met? He liked her so much already. She was being really understanding about his situation. "That actually sounds kinda cool. What's the movie tonight?"

"Oh! One of my favorites! Have you seen 'Shaun of the Dead'? It's not actually a horror movie..." Zoe explained, looking at her phone.

"I don't mind horror movies." Bucky answered. "It's this guy who freaks out." He pointed at Sam with his coffee.

"It's not a horror movie. There's some zombies, but it's actually more of a comedy." Zoe added. "Sam's not likely to scream like a little girl during the couple of jump scares." She smirked.

"Sure, make fun of Sam! See what happens the next time your ass needs saving!" Sam shot back. "And I do not scream like a little girl!"

"Uh huh, whatever you say. Remember when we watched 'Jaws' in the pool at the tower? And Nat bumped your leg? What kind of extremely manly scream would you call that?" Zoe teased. "Didn't know your voice went that high, Samuel."

"Not cool, Zoe, that was some primal fear shit." Sam snapped back.

"You guys used to watch movies in the pool at the tower?" Bucky asked, amused and a little jealous he missed so many good times.

"Movie nights were almost as mandatory as those awful parties if you were around." Zoe smiled. "We had way too much fun when you weren't busy blowing up the big three."

"Oh god, not you too..." Bucky rolled his eyes.

"What? Intergalactic war, demigods, or bad tech?" Zoe looked confused. "Did I miss something?"

"No, but Sam's big three sounds more ridiculous." Bucky shook his head. "He says it's aliens, wizards, and robots...and don't ask him about the difference between wizards and sorcerers...it's just hats, apparently."

"Which is exactly what she said, just with bigger words! Damn!" Sam chuckled. "What else is there, Battlebot? I'll wait." Sam crossed his arms and looked at Bucky expectantly.

"Do we really need anything else?" Bucky retorted. "That's already more than enough."

"You're also forgetting regular war, Thor's entire extended family, global warming, all those pseudoscience motherfuckers and good old fashioned biblical plagues." Zoe rattled off.

"Does Thor's family count as aliens, gods or both, you think?" Bucky asked, genuinely curious. He liked having someone on his side to annoy Sam.

"Remind me to never ask you two nerds anything ever again." Sam shook his head.