the team doctor || bucky barnes (EDITING IN PROGRESS)

70.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴏɴɢ: ɪᴛ'ꜱ ɴɪᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ - ᴛᴀʏʟᴏʀ ꜱᴡɪꜰᴛ

"𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩?" "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?"

~ 

VALERIE STIRRED SOFTLY. 

Her hand slid across the sheets, roaming the space and attempting to make contact with skin. She sat up briskly once she realized the man-shaped space was completely empty. She looked around, rubbing her eyes gingerly as she swung her legs around the bed. She stepped into her slippers before standing up to walk towards the kitchen. 

Sunlight hit her before she could cover her eyes, quickly coming to the realization that it was early enough for the sun to be level with her floor-to-ceiling windows. 

"Morning," She heard. 

"What the hell are you doing up?" 

"I should ask you the same question," Bucky chuckled. "There's coffee," 

"It came?!" 

She fast-walked, eyes still crusty from sleep as she placed her hands on the brand new machine on her countertop. Bucky watched with amusement as she fidgeted with the settings, grabbing her a mug from the cabinet. Her eyes didn't leave the machine as she held her hand out, much like a surgeon might reach for a tool from their assistant. 

"How did it come so quickly?" She finally turned towards him. 

"I paid for two day shipping," He nonchalantly sipped from his mug. 

"I didn't think it was possible to love you even more," She squealed. "Which setting should I try first? Am I in the mood for espresso? Cappuccino? The possibilities are endless--"

"Dork," Bucky cleared his throat. 

"Oh, whatever. You're just jealous that you're no longer my favorite thing in the apartment," 

His head whipped over. "A coffee machine took my place?" 

"It provides me with instant happiness in the morning," 

"What about yesterday morning?" He leaned toward her, causing her to get caught against the counter underneath him. "That was some happiness for you to wake up to," 

"Mm," Her eyes fluttered close at the thought of how he woke her up. "Close second,"

"Second?" 

"Try harder?" She offered, smiling as she turned back towards the machine, pressing a few buttons before it began to whirr. 

"I can't believe my ears," 

She laughed absentmindedly as she ruffled through the fridge. "We're running low on food again," 

"I know, time for another grocery run. I was going to go, but I still don't feel great about leaving you here,"

"This complex is so safe. You'd only be gone for an hour," 

"I know, but--" 

"Bucky," She gave him a look. "We can't live every single day like this. It's been weeks, maybe they just gave up?" 

"You hear yourself, right?" 

She shrugged. "I just know that at some point, we can't just stay holed up in here anymore. What if the team is taking care of it? And they just have no way of telling us, since we can't use phones anymore." 

"It's a big risk," 

"You ran out for coffee the other day," She pointed. 

"The coffee place is below the building." 

"Still!" 

He sighed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll think about it." 

"Great. Now, did we decide which coffee table we wanted?" She asked, laughing when she earned a groan from him. "What?" 

"I'm at the end of my rope with decorating. I trust whatever you decide," 

"No, you said that about the wall art and you hate them." 

"They're freaky," He deadpanned. 

"They're abstract. And this is my point," 

The coffee machine beeped, leading Valerie to stand up and grab the mug once again. As she poured her shot of espresso in, she caught a glance of the mug Bucky chose. It was a mug Sam had given her as a joke from a tacky tourist stand in Central Park. She pursed her lips before walking back over to the set of matching chairs in the living room. 

"We really need our couch," He commented. 

"It's coming any day now," She replied before raising an eyebrow at him. "Did you pick the mug on purpose?" 

"No, what mug is that?" 

"Sam gave it to me." 

He curtly nodded. 

"Are you still avoiding that topic?" 

"He voted against you, a lot of them did." 

"It was handled super poorly, you're right. And I don't know who besides Sam voted against me, and I probably shouldn't know. They were just doing what they thought was right," 

"It was still fucked up, Valerie. To think of you as some useless, defenseless person when for months, they've been praising you for how strong you've gotten--"

"Hey," She took his cheek in her hand. "Why are you so worked up about this?" 

He took a deep breath. "I get angry when they don't see what I see. Someone incredibly capable,"

She smiled, gazing into his eyes, witnessing them soften before her, "At one point, you didn't see my strength. It took you some time, so it'll take them some time too,"

"You're right," 

"Always am."

He scoffed. "Alright, now." 

"So, you gonna go to the store? Since I'm 'incredibly capable'?" 

He shot her a look, scowling at her grin. "Well played.

"Thank you, thank you," 

They had a slow morning, showering together and eating breakfast before Bucky got ready to leave. He made her recite his phone number about a dozen times by heart before leaving, reminding her where the emergency pager was if she didn't have her phone in her hand. 

At first, the apartment felt weirdly empty with him gone. However, she trusted in the fact that he would be back soon and she was safe in their apartment. She began to relax, doing a crossword from a book he ordered her, and drank the rest of her coffee. She searched for more coffee tables on an iPad, texting him a few links despite his response of 'you pick.' 

Right as she was about to go back to her crossword, she was startled by a knock at the door. Running through a few scenarios in her head, she thought of who it could be. The front desk didn't let anyone up the elevator unless it was a delivery, and the only delivery they were expecting this soon was their couch. She smiled, thinking of how surprised Bucky would be to come back to that surprise. 

She walked over to the door, undoing the bolt quickly. Had she slowed down a bit, maybe the voice in her head would've stopped her faster. 

"We've been waiting for this couch to get here!" She said as she swung open the door. 

However, on the other side of the door, there was no couch. And the men dressed in black definitely were not movers. 

<> 

the dramatics of the last line have me loling

WERE SO BACKKKK this was short but yall already know theres action coming when i give u a tiny chapter with a big cliffhanger