Gravity - B. Barnes

-3-

Bucky pulled up to Kat's apartment the next morning, parking his motorcycle out front and resting it on the kickstand. As he pulled his helmet off, he glanced up at the building where Kat and Sam were waiting for him. He was running late, as he had debated skipping altogether, feeling awkward at the invitation, unsure why Kat had invited him when she had only met him the night before. He wasn't good with people, and he just knew he'd embarrass Sam...and himself. And then there was the lingering fear that she would discover who he was, that he would scare her and she would never speak to him or Sam again, that his past would catch up with his present, as it had so many times before.

He sighed, got off his motorcycle, and walked up to the door, buzzing the apartment marked "KJ" with his gloved hand, noting it was the only one with initials instead of a last name. Bucky had debated on not wearing the gloves, as Sam had assured him last night that Kat wouldn't care about his past, but Bucky wasn't ready for that. Besides, this would likely be the last time he would ever see her. Once Sam left, she would have no reason to see him.

A moment later, the door buzzed and Bucky entered, climbing the stairs to the 4th floor, and wandering down the hall to the door marked 4D. Before Bucky could even knock, the door swung open, and Kat's beautiful face greeted him with a smile. Her hair was pulled up into a high pony tail, flecks of flour in her hair, on her face and shirt. She wore an old band T-shirt, a knot tied at her hip to snug it to her waist, and a faded pair of jeans. Bucky's breath caught in his throat for a second, the feeling of home warming him before he shook it off, noting the music wafting out from the apartment that Bucky couldn't place.

"James! Welcome! Come on in." She stepped aside, allowing him entrance before closing the door and turning off the music.

"Thanks." Bucky entered, taking in the small but tidy apartment, brick wall and two windows behind the television. A short hall with two doors likely led to the bedroom and bathroom. The kitchen was a mess, as she was in the midst of cooking, and Sam sat already digging into his pancakes and coffee at the table.

"Hey, man, I hope you don't mind, I started without you." Sam spoke around his mouthful of food.

"It's fine." Bucky pulled out a chair and went to sit but paused. There were only two chairs at the table, and Sam was occupying the other. He looked to Sam for guidance, and Sam nodded for him to take the seat, so he did.

"These are my special custom pancakes, James, so what do you like? Plain? Chocolate chips? Banana? Blueberry? I've got just about anything you might want. So what'll it be?"

She turned to face him, one hand on her hip as she leaned on the other one against the counter.

"Uh, whatever you suggest is fine." Bucky gave her a tight smile, still uncomfortable with the situation.

"Oooh. Chef's choice. Nice call." She winked at him and turned her back to him to prepare the food.

"You hit a lot of traffic?"

Bucky looked at Sam, knowing he'd been caught for being late. He gave Sam a sour look. "Not much."

"Hm. You don't happen to want to save me from this UN meeting, do you?"

Bucky scoffed. "Not even a little."

"I can't believe I know someone who's testifying before the UN. It's so cool!" Kat spoke from the kitchen, the sound of batter hitting the pan mixed with her words.

"It's a pain in the ass is what it is." Sam sipped his coffee and leaned back in his chair.

Kat laughed. "Oh come on, you don't think it's even a little bit-Ah!" She hissed in pain, having caught her wrist on the pan as she flipped the pancakes, and Sam jumped to his feet as she moved to the sink to run it under cold water. He moved to her side but she nodded her head over her shoulder. "Sam, the pancakes. Take them off or they'll burn."