Like Me Better

Um... What Just happened?

Mia's POV

Why did I agree to this? I hardly know Bucky! I should be curled up in bed with Nightshade drifting off into unrestfull sleep right now. I thought to myself. Yet here I was riding on the back of Bucky's motorcycle, my arms wrapped securely around his waist and my cheek pressed against his back.

Bucky quickly reached the little mom and pop joint he loved going to. It was quiet and had an old-time charm to it. He turned the bike off and helped me dismount. Following behind me, Bucky opened the door to the dinner, giving me a small smile. Picking a booth in the back, I sit with my back to the wall, giving me a clear view of the door and the rest of the restaurant.

"Uh... do... do you mind if we uh... switch seats?" Bucky awkwardly asks. Scratching the back of his head, Bucky slowly looks at me, unsure of what my reaction will be. Instead of a confused look, I smirk at him with an amused look.

"Huh... took longer than I expected." I respond, licking my bottom lip. I catch Bucky off guard, causing a puzzled expression to appear on his face.

"I... uh... I'm sorry, what?" Bucky asks me, completely confused. He sits across from me, scratching the top of his head unsure of what to do. Just then, the waitress comes over to take our drink order.

"Well, hey there, Bucky. This is a first for ya. Since when do you sit on this side?" The waitress asks, batting her eye lashes heavily at Bucky as she gently brushes his shoulder. She hasn't paid me any mind at all. Bucky grimaces at the waitress, trying to be polite as he catches me, rolling my eyes.

"Uh, since my friend accidentally took my side of the booth." He awkwardly responded, gesturing to me with a smirk. I flash him a look, telling him I am clearly not amused as the waitress then asks if he wants his usual. Nodding, Bucky asks, "Rae, what would you like?"

"A Strawberry, banana smoothie, please." I quickly give the waitress my order. Nodding slightly, the waitress walks away going to get our drinks.

"Anyways," Bucky says, turning back to me quizzically, "what do you mean?" It took longer than expected?" Bucky asks, still confused. I smile, chuckling to myself.

"Jason... Jason was the same way. If ever we went to a restaurant or anywhere you sit down at, really. He always had to sit where he could manage all exit routes, and he could see anyone coming in." I respond quietly as I grab the sugar container organizing the sugar packets. After a moment of silence, I stand up and motions for us to switch seats.

Bucky quickly gets up and switches with me. He's still at a loss of what to say to me when the waitress brings our drinks, black coffee for Bucky and a strawberry, banana smoothie for me which she spills on the table a little bit when she put it down. I give a hollow smile to the waitress as she takes Bucky's order and then turns to me in annoyance. I place my order quickly and then go back to staring at the table.

Bucky sits there, staring at me intensely. Surprisingly, his intense staring doesn't bother me at all. "What do you... what do you miss most about him?" He quietly asks me. Wondering if he should even be asking anything about my family at all.

I immediately look up at him, surprised, I look at him debating his question. Just as Bucky opens his mouth to suggest forgetting he asked, and I answer him.

"There's a lot to miss about Wonder Boy." I reply in a whisper. "But honestly, I miss just seeing how much he loved the kids. He changed so much from the time of us getting together to becoming parents. He didn't want kids, but they quickly became his whole world. Mine, too, of course."

I let out a shaky breath. Quickly wiping away a tear. I pull my sleeves down over my hands more and crosses my arms, rubbing them some. Looking up, I see Bucky looking back at me with a guilty expression on his face. Gently, I reach across the table and hold onto both of his hands in my tiny ones.

"It's ok, Bucky. It's nice to talk about them again, something I know I should do in therapy, but I just can't." I smile at him, but I think he sees how it doesn't reach my eyes like it once used to. "I will never stop missing and grieving them. I know that they'll always be a part of me. I just haven't gotten to that point where I can live like normal while still missing them. It's taking longer than everyone expected, I guess."

Gently squeezing my hands back, Bucky looks at me with a tenderness in his eyes. "Hey, it's ok to go at your own pace, ya know? I'm still trying to figure out this time." Bucky tells me. I'm rather surprised he's opening up to anyone, let alone someone he hardly knows. There it is again, that strange connection I feel to him. It's been there since the very first time I met him.

"So... what do you miss most about the 40's Mr. Grump?" I ask with a shy smile. Caught off guard once again by her, Bucky grins at my nickname for him.

"I don't know... It's definitely not the food. Everything tastes better here. I like that I don't have to save Steve from whatever fight he was too hard-headed to back away from. I guess my sister Rebecca and the music. Today's music doesn't really make sense." Bucky responded. It was easy to talk to him. We didn't try and force each other to talk or anything really.

I nod my head once and quickly pulled my hands away as the waitress brought our meals, placing Bucky's plate of pancakes down alongside another plate of crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and extra crispy hashbrowns in front of him. Meanwhile, she all but threw my plate of a supreme omelet with loaded hashbrowns and white toast in front of me.

Bucky watches the waitress throw the plate down and turn with a beaming smile towards him. "Anything else I can get for you, handsome?" She asks.

Bucky glances over at me as I silently start to eat my food. "Uh yeah, um..." Bucky clears his throat sitting up straighter. I look up at him, curious as to what he's up to. "You can apologize to her for treating her like crap. Then you can give us a different waitress for the rest of our time here."

The waitress blinks at him, processing his words as I look at him in stunned silence. "I'm sorry, what? You want me to apologize to her for what?! I've treated her just like any other customer." The waitress looks at Bucky with an appalled look on her face.

"Bucky, it's fine. I don't plan on coming back here again anyway. The food is great but this..." I pointed between the two of us. "This is just a one-time thing. Thank you. But we're fine. You can go now." I tell the waitress, who scoffs at being dismissed.

Bucky smirks at me, nodding his head, and begins to eat. We finish our meal in silence, occasionally glancing up at each other. A smile plays on both our lips as we have a silent conversation only answering in expressions as we eat.

When the time comes, Bucky insists on paying the bill and drives me back to the compound on his bike. I would be lying if I said I was ready for this to end already. The hard truth was, I was, in fact, enjoying myself. I noticed Bucky took the long route back to the compound. It seemed he, too, wasn't ready to end our outing.