Friends with Fire // Bucky x Oc (Discontinued For Now)

• 18 •

To my left, there’s a fireplace and doorway into a kitchen and to my immediate right there’s a set of stairs leading up to what appears to be a closed-in area overlooking the living room. Beside those stairs, closer to the middle of that wall, is a small set of stairs leading up to what I find to be a hallway.

In front of me is a set of glass doors and floor-to-ceiling windows showing off the closed-in patio. The only thing I can see since it’s dark is a firepit with some chairs and tables around it.

I notice one of the chairs is occupied but can’t figure out who’s sitting in it. “Who’s that?” I ask, nodding in the direction of the person.

Rogers walks back over to where I’m standing and squints slightly out the window. “Wanda,” he says after a few seconds.

My eyes narrow slightly, remembering my first encounter with the young woman. “Hm,” is all I say before turning away from the glass. I stop short, stunned by the staircase. “I swear. Everything in this place is meant to impress people,” I mutter.

“It’s Tony Stark. Would you expect anything less?” Rogers says, sounding as if he’s come to terms with this years ago, which he probably had. “Stairs or elevator?” he asks, looking at me.

I’m irritated by how much I have to tilt my head to look at his face so instead glance behind me at the elevator. I blink a few times, my brain struggling to process the fact that there’s an elevator. “Why is there an elevator?” I ask, turning back to Rogers.

One side of his mouth quirks up in a small smile. “There’s a lot of floors in the place.”

“It only looked like three from the outside,” I counter, raising my eyebrows slightly.

Rogers lets out a small laugh through his nose. “There are three levels above ground,” he says.

“How many floors are there then?” I exclaim, throwing my hands up.

“Six,” Rogers says evenly.

I give him an incredulous look. “Six?” I mutter in disbelief. “There’s no way.”

Rogers shrugs. “As I said. It’s Tony Stark.”

We stare at each other for a few seconds before I quickly look away. “Elevator,” I decide, circling back to his original question.

He nods and starts down the hall, away from the staircase. I glance back out at the firepit before hurrying after him.

Upon pressing the elevator button the button lights up momentarily and something scans Rogers’ face before the elevator dings. He glances at me as he steps in. “Security measures,” he says simply.

I step in after him. “Was my expression that obvious?” I mutter. The elevator rises for a few seconds before opening again. We step out and walk down one of the two hallways until reaching one of the many doors.

“I’ll let you get yourself settled. We can talk in the morning,” Rogers says, placing my bags down. “Also, if you need anything, the AI, F.R.I.D.A.Y should be able to help you with most stuff.”

“AI?” I ask.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” Rogers says.

“How can I help you Mr. Rogers?” the same robotic voice from much earlier asks, making me jump.

“Oh. That thing,” I mutter, more to myself.

“Where is Tony?” Rogers asks the AI.

“Currently, Mr. Stark is in his lab. Would you like me to send him a message?” the AI asks.

“No. Thank you though,” Rogers responds.

“That’s extremely strange,” I murmur.

“It does take some getting used to,” Rogers admits. “Well. I’ll leave you to it,” he says, giving me a brief smile before walking back toward the elevator.

I face the door for a few seconds but can’t bring myself to open it. Instead, I glance down both ends of the hall, admiring the lights on the walls and how the dark wood of the floor accents the grey-blue of the walls nicely. Finally, I push open the door and my eyes, once again, go wide. This place is meant to be impressive. Holy shit.

The walls are a color I’d describe as dark slate blue. The massive king-size, canopy bed, taking up a good portion of one of the walls, is dark green with the curtains on the canopy an almost black shade of blue. The wood floors are a dark grey and any wooden furniture is a very dark red-ish brown color.

The wall in front of me is mostly floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the forest. In the far left corner are a sofa and a few chairs around a table. On that same wall, across from the bed, is a bookshelf and desk with a few potted plants.

To my immediate right there appears to be a bathroom and on the other side of the bed I can see another door that leads into, what I’m assuming, is a walk-in closet.

“I can die happy now,” I murmur jokingly, confused by my overflow of emotions. I step inside, place the shopping bags down and close the door behind me, still taking in the room.

I note that there aren’t any overhead lights in the main bedroom area, and the only light comes from the multitude of lamps spread throughout the room. In the bathroom, I can see a light above the sink, but there are also a few smaller lights.