peace [bucky barnes]

10

"That was delicious," Bucky groaned, patting his full stomach as he slumped back on the stool. "So good."

Eden grinned from beside him, stabbing her fork into the last remnants of her pasta and shoving it into her mouth. "I'm glad you enjoyed."

"Seriously, Eden, it was great." He looked at her with sincere eyes, watching as her cheeks pinkened. "I can't remember the last time I had a decent home cooked meal, it was like heaven."

"You don't cook much?" She asked, turning on the stool to face him. Their knees touched, sending a jolt through her body, warmth spreading where they were pressed against each other. A coy smile spread across her cheeks, the wine she'd drank making her a lot bolder than usual, while Bucky blushed and glanced away.

"Nope, not at all. Spent so much time away that I never really learned to."

"Well, you're always welcome here if you want a lesson. It's a lot easier than you think."

He raised a brow at her, that intrusive voice in his mind peeking out from the corner it had hidden in most of the evening, defences rising. Despite how hard he tried, he couldn't stop his brain from starting up again, revving its engine like an obnoxious motorcycle and overtaking all the good things in his focus. Biting down on his lip, his knee jigged up and down, sending Eden's attention straight to it as his chair shifted.

"Why are you so nice to me?" He finally asked, placing a palm on his knee to still the movement, trying to calm the alarms going off in his head.

Eden stopped with her wine glass pressed to her lips, a gentle frown crossing her features. Just by looking at him, she could tell something was up, the anxious bouncing of his knee and his downcast eyes giving him away completely. "What do you mean?"

"You, you're... you're just so nice," Bucky explained, his eyes meeting the countertop while his hands played with the stem of his glass. "We barely know each other and you've been really sweet and you're offering to help me with cooking already. Why?"

Silence lingered between them as Eden paused, gaze settled on him while her heart ached with sympathy. She watched him, his gloved fingers twisting his wine glass on the counter, staring at the marble with his brows drawn together.

"Bucky, I don't know what to tell you, I just thought it would be cool to teach you how to cook." She looked at him with the softest of smiles, practically feeling the walls being raised inside him as he kept his head down. "I like being nice to people, what do you get for being an asshole?"

He didn't respond, keeping his eyes glued to his glass. Eden filled with sadness for the guarded man beside her; it was so clear to her how frightened he was, how he'd built up this exterior to protect what was underneath. Most people wouldn't want to dig deeper, but Eden had an urge to help people regardless of whether they wanted it or not, hence her career path. Bucky intrigued her more than anyone she'd ever met before; when his steely persona slipped and showed her some of that witty, sensitive, gentle giant, unveiled his true character to her, she knew she had struck gold. Even though the battle to get to know him might be hard, she was willing to do it just for the glimpses into the man she'd already seen.

She reached out across the island, resting her hand on his arm and squeezing ever so slightly. The gesture made him finally look upwards, face trying to remain stoic while his eyes gave away his fear, panic swimming through the blue.

"Look, I don't know what happened to you, or why you're in therapy, and to tell you the truth I don't want to know. But it's obvious to me that you've been through a lot, and you aren't used to people treating you well," Eden spoke delicately, maintaining his eye contact with sincerity laced through her words, the wine giving way to true honesty. "I promise you I have no ulterior motives, I'm not trying to get anything from you - I just think you're cute and I like talking with you and I want to be nice to you, that's all."