And Then I Wrote Marvel

Plum (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Look at those beauties. We picked them ourselves.

You were walking into the kitchen at the compound, looking for a snack, when you were met with Bucky arranging five or six boxes of plums in the way that would take up the least amount of space. "Woah, Buck, I knew you got teased about plums, but I didn't know that the rumors were true. How many do you have there?" you teased.

"I don't know. A couple hundred, maybe? But they're small," he justified.

"Dude, seriously? What are we even going to do with all of them?"

"I've been looking up recipes. They're really good. Here, try one." He held out a red plum to you. They were really small. This one was one of the bigger ones, and it could fit comfortably in a circle made by your thumb and index finger.

You took the plum cautiously and washed it off. Bucky watched you expectantly as you raised it to your lips. You suddenly felt really awkward, and dropped your hand. "I can't do this when you're looking at me like that!" you exclaimed.

He began to laugh. "Okay, okay. Look, I'll get one of my own." He grabbed himself a black plum and took a bite out of it. His face puckered. "Those are more sour than the red ones. They're not bad, just not as sweet."

"Duly noted. Where did you get these?"

"You're stalling, (Y/N), I can tell. But Sam knows a guy with some plum trees. He said that he didn't want all of them, and that if we wanted some, we could go pick them," he supplied.

"Bucky Barnes, Plum Picker. I think you have a future in the industry."

"Nah, it's Steve that has a future in fruit picking. You should have seen him."

"So Steve went with you? Who else was invited to your plum picking party?"

"Ooh, plum picking party. Try saying that five times fast. Plum picking party, plum picking party, plum...I guess it's not that hard. Never mind," he dismissed. "It was just Sam, Steve, and me. Now eat your plum."

"Not with you watching me like the stalker we all know you are."

He brushed off the ridiculous comment with one of his own. "Aw, is the poor baby nervous?"

"Barnes, I swear, I will hurt you."

"(L/N), sweetheart, you're all bark and no bite."

"Wanna prove that, jerk?" You punched him in the arm, but he appeared not to notice.

Instead, he asked, "Is there a fly in here? I think one might have landed on my arm."

"Yes, it's me in the act of flying away." You turned on your heel and walked out the way you came in.

"(Y/N), no, wait! I'm sorry!" he called after you, but it was too late. You weren't coming back.

You didn't go very far, despite what he thought. Now that you were alone, and away from prying eyes, you were ready to take a bite of what Bucky swore was one of the best things he'd ever eaten.

Or were you?

No, no you weren't. You were alone, except for FRIDAY and the security cameras, but you still felt super uncomfortable with putting it in your mouth. Maybe it was because you'd never had a plum before? Ha! You couldn't fool yourself into thinking that. You knew why you couldn't bite into it.

Your crush on the illustrious James Buchanan Barnes was getting you all flustered again.

You and Bucky were best friends. The lighthearted banter and genuine care for each other that made up your friendship would stay if you two ever did begin a relationship, and would just make it that much stronger. Everything would be the same, but at the same time, everything would change.

You liked the way things were between you, and you didn't want to let anything break it.

You took a bite out of the small plum on a whim, and were surprised with what you had been missing out on for so many years. "Woah!" you shouted. "Oh my gosh, these are amazing!"
--
"(Y/N), no, wait! I'm sorry!" he called after you, but it was too late. You weren't coming back. "Ugh," he grunted, dropping his face into his hand.

Steve entered then, snatching a red plum out of a box and washing it off. "What's wrong, pal?" he asked, taking a bite and leaning against the counter,

"Why am I such a failure with women?"

Steve was a bit taken aback with this exclamation, but laughed anyway. "I didn't know that you had a thing for her."

"Steve, let's be honest. Who wouldn't?" he asked rhetorically.

Steve shrugged in agreement. You were beautiful, perhaps not classically, but you still drew eyes. "Fair enough," he replied. "But Buck, you have to remember that this ain't the 40's anymore. People are a lot different now than they were then."

"Yeah, but I can still go out and have girls that have never met me before hanging all over me. Some things really haven't changed."

"(Y/N)'s a lot different than them. She sees you for you and not your outside," Steve reasoned.

"That's why I like her so much. She's so down to earth some of the time, and when she's not, she's way up in the clouds," he chuckled.

Steve laughed, too. "There is no in-between. That's why everyone likes--"

"Woah!"

Steve was interrupted from your shout from the hall. "What was that?" he wondered aloud.

"Oh my gosh, these are amazing!"

"She must have finally eaten that plum I gave her," Bucky smiled.

Your footsteps came closer to the kitchen, and Steve backed out the other way. "I'll just watch from afar."

You walked into the kitchen calmly, although you were very excited about these plums. "Are all plums like this?" you asked.

"These are the best ones I've ever had," Bucky responded honestly. "Have you need had one before?"

"No. I guess that my standards have been set pretty high, then. I'd hate to be disappointed with other ones." You tossed the pit into the trash can. "But now, I understand why you picked so many."

"I mean, you're definitely still allowed to tease me, but I have the right to tease you back," he claimed.

"I won't deny you that," you agreed. You caught Bucky staring at you with a look of concern on his face. Your cheeks burned red as you asked sheepishly, "You okay over there?"

"You have something on your face," he lied, but you didn't pick up on it.

"Oh! Where?"

"Um, right below your nose."

You wiped the skin between your upper lip and your nose, then asked, "Did I get it?"

"Not quite." You dragged your hand across the area again, but Bucky laughed. "You're not getting it. Here, let me help."

You stepped over to him, and he leaned his face nearer in order to see better, or so you thought. You both were very aware of how close you two were. He brushed his thumb over the top of your lip, and then...

He swiftly pecked your lips with his own, then ran off quickly, saying, "Got it!"

You stood still, stunned for a second. He'd really just kissed you.

"What was that?" you shouted incredulously. "Bucky, get your sorry butt back here!"