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

79.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴏɴɢ: ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴍᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴀʟʟᴡᴀʏ - ʜᴀʀʀʏ ꜱᴛʏʟᴇꜱ

"𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐩?"

~ 

"EXPLAIN IT AGAIN,"

Valerie sighed as she stared at the rapid handwriting in her notebook before setting it down on her countertop. She took a sip of her tea as Sam awaited her response.

"Putting him in scenarios we've been in before seems to trigger memories. My clothes help. So, if I can keep emulating situations that seem meaningful to him, maybe we can pull this off."

"How do you decide which memories are meaningful?"

"So far they've both been pretty sexual memories," She deadpanned. "Shouldn't surprise me but it does,"

"He's got that dawg in him,"

Her brows furrowed. "What?"

"He's got that--you never heard that before?"

"Sam, I don't pretend to know half the things you talk about,"

"Yeah, ditto," He nodded to her notebook. "It's why we work,"

"I appreciate you listening anyway. It's been hard to deal with this alone and I don't think Bucky would appreciate the whole team knowing the ins and outs of this experiment when he comes back,"

"It's so weird to hear you talk about him like he ain't next door,"

"He's not," She softly said. "Not fully, anyway."

"You'll get him back. Just put on some lingerie,"

Her cheeks heated as she slugged him in the arm, earning a small 'ow' from his smirking mouth. After a few minutes, he left her unit, leaving her in silence. It would be difficult, but in order for this plan to work, she needed to keep doing what was working. She reminded herself of that as she stood in front of his door and knocked softly twice.

It took a few moments for him to open it, but once he did, she wished she could say she was surprised.

"I can't believe you never get cold," She muttered.

"We're not scheduled for a session," He only said.

"I know, but I was wondering if you'd like to do an impromptu session. It's okay if it's not a good time,"

"Now?"

She shuffled awkwardly, maintaining her eyes on his face. "If you're not busy, yeah,"

"What would I be busy with? I have no mission,"

"Right, um, yeah. Now,"

He began to exit through the door frame, but she put her hand out to stop him. For a second, her palm came into contact with his chest, the warmth of his skin sending her nerves into orbit even from the faintest of touch.

"But you know the rules,"

He rolled his eyes so hard she thought they might get stuck there. She waited outside his door until he returned with a black t-shirt on. In silence, they walked over to her unit where she held the door open for him, watching as he took it all in. He looked at her skeptically as when he previously asked to see her apartment, she declined. Some part of her mind didn't like the idea that she was now saying yes, but she needed to trust her gut.

"This is my unit," She broke the silence. "Make yourself comfortable,"

"It's different than mine,"

"Yeah, I decorate a bit differently than him,"