The Coffee Shop Girl ~ Bucky Barnes

Chapter 13

Katia smiled as she sat back and listened to the bustling noise around her. It had taken half an hour for Clinton to return after his ordeal, but his entrance was in no way quiet. Personally, she felt he was being a bit dramatic, after all dangling him out of the window for her own entertained wasn't that bad...right?

She had taken a seat next to Natalia when her assistance with the pancakes was done and she had left Bucky to sort them out properly, enjoying the scent of warm pancakes that was wafting throughout the room. She and Natalia had held a conversation for a while before they fell into a companionable silence. Katia had not even realised that Steve was there until he offered an arm to help her move to the table when breakfast was ready.

Brushing a long strand of hair away from her face, Katia listened to Clinton almost shouting at Anthony about how salt and vinegar crisps were better than prawn cocktail ones. She wasn't entirely certain how they had made their way to that topic, but he was debating it rather too enthusiastically for something so trivial. Clinton was like that, she thought absentmindedly to herself, he cared about the little things as much as the big. It was entirely possible that he didn't even like salt and vinegar crisps and it was just that Anthony had made the mistake of bringing up prawn cocktail and received an earful for his trouble.

"What are you thinking about?" Came a familiar voice and Katia gave a soft smile, turning to face the red headed woman she knew was sitting next to her.

"I forget how much I miss this," She said, gesturing around the table. It may have been louder than she liked, but that was what life was like around Anthony Stark. He was so used to living life in the fast lane that it pleased her immensely to hear the chatter of the people he had made his family, even if he didn't quite realise that's what they were to him.

Natalia gave a hum of agreement and a few seconds of silence passed before Katia heard another voice from her other side and she swivelled to face the new speaker.

"Why haven't you moved in?" Steve asked and Katia nodded her head thoughtfully. It wasn't the first time she had been asked that question and she was certain that it wouldn't be the last.

"She didn't want to." A voice interjected before Katia could even open her mouth to answer the question and the table fell suddenly into a sort of silence. Though the interspersed noise of a fork tapping against a plate or a glass clinking slightly as someone knocked against it remained, the chatter ceased almost immediately, everyone suddenly dropping their own conversations to pay attention to this one.

Katia allowed the silence to continue for a few seconds, tucking another curl of hair behind her ear before she spoke.

"Anthony's right, I didn't want to." She confirmed, though the silence did not end at her response. "I like my own flat and I appreciate having time to myself every once in a while, which seems pretty much non-existent in this place."

"Plus, she can't handle being around us for long periods of time," Clinton interrupted, the grin clear in his tone. "We're just too fabulous."

"You keep telling yourself that, Clinton, you keep telling yourself that." Katia grinned despite herself, rolling her eyes for effect. "Besides, you couldn't be around Sera for long periods of time, let's be honest."

Clinton gave an audible shudder and Katia smirked. "That cat is a monster."

"She's not a monster," Katia objected. "She just objects to certain individuals trying to make her chase her own tail when she wants to sleep."

"But she would be so fluffy and funny," Clinton whined and Katia shrugged.

"Maybe you should try telling her that, see what happens to you."