Red Thorn

Chapter 28

December 2016

"What about a necklace?" Bucky asked, he was beginning to run out of ideas, everything he suggested Red would say no, well actually, she would simply just shake her head. And sure enough, that was exactly what she did. "Why not? Girls love jewellery, don't they?"

Red stopped in her tracks, one eyebrow raised.

"What?" he asked, following suit.

She didn't answer.

Bucky pointed a gloved finger at her. "You are...infuriating."

Though she didn't say a word, her eye roll spoke a million of them.

"Do not roll your eyes at me, young lady," he scolded, sounding like a frustrated father. "And no, that's not all I've got. I'm just trying to stay polite because we're in public."

Red cocked her head to the side ever so slightly, glancing around them.

"I'm not embarrassed, and I'm not throwing a tantrum," Bucky told her, undeniably impressed by how well he could understand her silence. "People just don't take too kindly to men shouting at women, even if they are a major pain in the ass."

A flash of silver caught his eye.

"Well they don't know that you're an assassin do they?"

Another.

"That's what you think, petite," Bucky smirked, he wasn't sure why or how, but he knew that nickname would get to her. "Only you keep refusing my offers to prove you're the best."

Without sparing him a second glance, Red continued down the road.

"Oh come on, Red." A frustrated sigh and a couple of minutes later, Bucky was weaving through all the tourists that had come to see New York at Christmas to catch up with her. "I was only teasing."

Nothing.

"Is it always going to be like this?" Though she didn't say a word in response, Bucky could almost hear her asking him what he meant. "This dance we do. The second we start building bridges you pull away and burn them down. Steve said it's about trust, that's why you still wear your mask around me and don't talk very much which I understand, but this is clearly not about trust."

Red furrowed her brows, a silent, "And why not?" written amongst them.

"Romania, Tony, Ross, Wakanda, Tony again, the book," he stated, listing off just some of the things she had done for him. "The only other person who has fought for me like you is Steve, and even then I'm not sure you haven't fought harder. So what is it?"

There was a moment of silence, of hesitation, then Red glanced over Bucky's shoulder. It was subtle, hardly even noticeable, but it was enough to catch his attention. The supersoldier turned around, trying to see whatever it was that Red might have seen, but when he turned back again she was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit!"

*

Natasha grabbed Steve by the arm, turning him to face her so she could get a good look at him, trying to determine whether or not his confusion was genuine. "Wow..."

"Wow what, Natasha?" Steve asked, furrowing his brows.

"It's adorable."

He sighed in frustration, a lot of their conversations seemed to end up with him asking her questions that never got answered. "What is?"

The redhead continued on her way, an amused smirk on her lips. "How oblivious you are."

"Oblivious to what exactly, Romanoff?" Steve fell into step besides her, tossing his paper cup into a nearby rubbish bin as he did. "And don't avoid the question this time."