Blue Eyes

A very awkward dinner

The walk home was quiet as Bucky held Louise to his side while keeping an eye on his surroundings. He was stiff and serious never once looking at her until they reached the doors of the avengers tower. Once the doors closed behind them the tension seemed to drain from Bucky's face and shoulders. They reached the lift and he hit the button before turning to face Louise with a serious expression. "I have to tell Tony" he sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. "No" she blurted out slightly sharper than she had intended, "absolutely not, he'll make a huge deal out of it and turn me into rapunzel." He needs to know Doll" Bucky exhaled and she shook her head refusing to look at him. "No Bucky you cannot tell Tony, I'm serious about this". "I'm sorry doll I gotta" he tried to reach for her shoulder but she pulled it away and huffed out a breath. The doors opened and she slammed the groceries on the counter while Bucky called her name over and over again. She stalked to her room and flung the door shut behind her, tears forming in her eyes as it banged against the frame. She knew she was being irrational but Bucky didn't know Tony like she did, ever since the accident Tony had become way more over protective and if he found out about this she'd be put on house arrest. She went to the bathroom and splashed cool water on her face the cold water calming her frayed nerves slightly. The bed seemed very inviting as Louise threw herself onto it and as she did an immense wave of guilt flowed over her. "God I'm a bitch", she sighed and decided to apologise to him at dinner and definitely not before. She got up and checked the hall before she went back to the kitchen and sorted through the ingredients. Louise began on the meat before peeling carrots parsnips and potatoes and flinging them into a pot for the oven. "Jarvis" she called out and  jumped slightly as the AI answered back. "Yes Ms Scott" "Do you still have the playlist I created the last time I was here?" she asked. There was no answer but immediately the sound of Footloose started playing through the kitchen and she smiled widely as she began to wash up.  Louise was obviously in a world of her own and suddenly the song changed to I've come down with love and her face flushed as she giggled. "I've been stopping at green lights, got lost on my way home, I'm sleepwalking at night" I spun around and found a very amused looking Bucky chuckling at her. "Jarvis stop the music" she yelped and the room became quiet. "Well that was quite a show" he smirked, sauntering towards her, before he could get another word in Louise began to speak. "Bucky I'm so sorry I yelled at you I didn't mean it, it's just Tony's really overprotective-." "Yeah I found that out this morning" he rubbed the back of his head and she froze. "What did he say" she whined, and Bucky laughed at the horror blossoming on her face. "Nothing Doll, its fine" he walked closer again but stopped a few paces in front of her. She was about to ask him what he was doing when he opened up his arms,  immediately she  stepped into them and wrapped her own around his neck. "No apology needed, Louise oh and I didn't tell Tony but you have to tonight or I will" he mumbled and she pulled away slightly. "That's not fair" I whined, "oh that's very fair" he pulled her close again. "Well" she said pulling away quickly trying to diffuse the tension;  she turned back to the counter and tried to continue cooking. "I need to finish this cheesecake" Louise began busying her hands with the filling. "Here let me help" Bucky moved to stand directly behind her and she shuddered as she felt heat roll off his body in waves. "Okay fine, take this" she shoved a bag of digestive biscuits under his nose, "and smash them with this" she then handed him a rolling pin. He turned from her and because she was a complete perfectionist when it came to food she didn't turn from watching him. There was no warning, just a gleam of silver and a bang that echoed throughout the kitchen, the biscuits were most definitely smashed. He turned to face her with a look of pride on his face but it melted into a look of horror as he took in her shocked expression. Now she thought that that was perhaps the coolest thing ever but Bucky had other ideas about what the look on Louise's face meant. "I'm sorry Louise I didn't mean to scare you" Bucky sighed and looked down at his feet. Bucky was a person who didn't strike her as being an overly vulnerable person but in that moment he looked like a lost child and she couldn't take it. "Hey, come on you" Louise smiled softly and moved closer to him trying not to feel hurt by the way he backed up. "James Buchannan Barnes" she snapped and his head shot up at the sound of his full name. "You didn't scare me" Louise blushed and moved a step closer to him and then took another when he didn't back away. "In fact that was pretty awesome" she giggled as a relieved look passed through his eyes. "It's just I really don't want to push you of all people away and I was afraid if you saw me destroy something you'd head for the hills." she snorted, then giggled and that's when Louise began to laugh uncontrollably, she laughed so much she could feel tears well up in her eyes. "Bucky you destroyed a bag of biscuits I asked you to destroy not my dog" she took in his perplexed expression and quelled her laughter. "Listen, I think your arm is amazing not just because its metal and but because it's a part of you love okay" she reached up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders pulling him down to her height. "If I wanted to run I wouldn't be here" she whispered into his ear and she felt him shiver and hold her closer.

"Well" Louise pulled herself away and looked up at him "you have a cheesecake to help me finish" she booped him on the nose and turned around to continue with the filling. After the cheesecake was in the oven she hopped up onto the counter with a glass of water and smiled. "Mission accomplished soldier" Louise took a sip of water and looked down at her watch not wanting to burn the cheesecake. When she looked back up Bucky was standing in front of her looking down right edible with a sly smirk on his face. "Barnes what are you up to" she folded my arms in front of her and watched as he began to talk. "I feel like I'm due some compensation, that was a very difficult mission after all" he took a step closer, and Louise panicked ready to jump of the counter when an arm grabbed her waist. Now she had no idea why she was running, sure she knew what Bucky wanted and she wanted it too, but it all seemed to too soon. Louise looked up and Bucky was right in front of her smiling softly down at her, she found herself lost in those clear blue eyes and leaning closer when they both heard a throat being cleared. Louise pulled away and hopped off the counter before looking to see who had interrupted, thankfully it was just Steve, she didn't need Tony to have another reason to hate Bucky. "Was I interrupting something?" Steve smirked and she shook her head, "no everything's just normal" Louise smiled too widely.

Eventually Tony came down and Pepper followed suit. As soon as she saw Louise she wrapped her arms around Louise's back and squeezed her tight. "Tony told me what happened and if there's anything you want to talk about girl to girl you know we can" she mumbled into Louise's ear and Louise blushed at what she was insinuating. They sat down to dinner and Bucky wasn't one to be deterred. He ignored the glare Tony was obviously directed at him and sat beside Louise. He gave her a pointed look as she went to dish out the dinner. She sighed and decided the only way to stop the oncoming guilt trip was to tell Tony. "Okay so something happened today and you have to let me finish before you say anything" she gave Tony a look and he rolled his eyes but nodded. "So I went shopping for ingredients today and I saw Dylan" Tony opened his mouth but Lousie shook her head. "He didn't interact with me he just watched and followed, which means he knows I'm here." "Why didn't you say anything earlier and why were you out on your own any ways!" Tony yelled and the vein on his neck looked like it was ready to pop out and strangle her. He slammed his fist on the table and Pepper grabbed his arm in an effort to calm him down. Louise jumped out of her seat , before Bucky grabbed her  hand under the table and stroked it softly. "I wasn't on my own, Bucky was with me" she realised her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth. Tony's eyes darkened even more, "that doesn't make me feel any better" he growled turning his eyes to Bucky, who seemed to shrink a little in his chair. "Tony come on would you honestly have been happier if I went on my own" she questioned. He leaned forward ready to argue before he thought about it and sat back crossing his arms like a petulant child. "I thought so. Listen the whole reason I didn't say anything was because I don't want you to treat me like rapunzel." Tony looked at her in shock before regaining a little composure He sat in thought for a few moments before he was ready to answer. "I can't promise I won't be over protective but this is your home now honey and I won't keep you a prisoner here". Louise let out a sigh of relief,  she let go of Bucky's arm and stood up. Tony met her half way around the table and she sighed into his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. The rest of dinner went off without a hitch, Tony told a couple of stories and made Louise laugh until her  stomach ached. Afterwards Louise went to clean up but Pepper stopped her immediately. "You made dinner honey, go get some rest I'll call you in the morning and we'll go for a walk in the park." "Sounds great" Louise agreed earnestly, if there was someone she loved more than Pepper aside from Tony she had yet to find them. Louise waved goodnight to Bucky who smiled and waved back before she walked off to her room. She lay in her bed and as she fell asleep a grin appeared on her face and it stayed that way until she drifted off.