BOND | Bucky Barnes

Pretty Bucky, walkin' down the street

"You've finally made the transition from the Soviet hitman image to the modern man image," Sam observed with admiration as he walked into the store with Bucky, who had a short haircut.

"I can't wait to show it off to your sister."

Sam pulled out his phone, opened "Pretty Woman," and grinned at Bucky. "We're going shopping to this song."

"What song is this?"

When Bucky heard the lyrics, he rolled his eyes. Sam, on the other hand, was chuckling with delight. "Come on, pretty girl, walk! Don't tell me you've never seen this masterpiece of a movie!"

"I only know The Hobbit from today, this is the first time I'm hearing this song."

"When did you read it?"

"I read it when it first came out, in 1937, you jackass."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Don't get all cranky. You don't look so intimidating with that short hair."

Bucky gave him a piercing look. "Excuse me?"

"Oh god! I'm sure this is the same look the Grim Reaper gives people when he approaches."

Bucky shrugged. "Maybe. I've walked toward plenty of people with this look while killing them."

When they entered the store, girls who giggled at hearing the song came to help them. They dragged Bucky inside and, at their polite request, started playing the song throughout the store. While Bucky was rushing back and forth from the fitting room trying on clothes, Sam was enjoying a glass of champagne. When Tony entered, filming Bucky on his phone, everything finally made sense. At first, Bucky couldn't understand why Sam had brought him to such a fancy place. Escaping the girls' clutches, he approached the couch where Tony and Sam were sitting, throwing grapes into each other's mouths and trying to catch them. "Why did you invite Tony?"

Sam grinned. "You didn't really think this was all my idea, did you? I texted Tony when we left the house."

"You..."

Tony chirped, "Buck..."

"Only Steve gets to call me Buck."

And Elena, if she wants to. Actually, she could call you anything, you wouldn't mind. Once, when she called you "Tin Soldier," it turned you on.

As Bucky cringed at the ruthlessness of his inner voice, Tony spoke again. "Alright, cranky kid. Don't make a big deal out of it. I've got a lot of money—so much that I don't even know how much. And I love buying gifts for my friends."

"Why are you here?"

"Because..." Tony rubbed his hands together. "I want to see Captain America and the Winter Soldier fight over a girl."

Bucky turned to Sam with a look of disbelief. "You told him?"

After finishing their shopping with a lot of banter, they left the store. As they got into the car, Tony and Sam had already made a bet on Steve and Bucky.

* * *

"Let's be quiet, Bucky might be sleeping." said Elena as she smelled the peonies in her hands, waiting for Steve to unlock the door.

"I'm starting to think you like those peonies more than me. You didn't even leave them at home." Steve grinned. "Bucky's not home. If he were, he'd have opened the door and probably shoved a gun in our faces."

Elena had been smelling the flowers the entire way to the restaurant, and when they arrived, one of the waiters she knew offered to keep them in water until they left. She happily accepted. When they were leaving, they even let her take the flowers with the vase. Sure, being famous had its perks, but she wasn't abusing it. After all, the waiter who made the offer had two younger siblings who were receiving full scholarships from Elena's education foundation. One way or another, she always found a way into people's hearts.