Fire and Ice, Sugar and Spice

Chapter Five-Pancakes

*Akilina's POV*

I feel like the heat in my cheeks is just always there now. It's permanent, unchanging, at least as long as James Barnes is near me. Thankfully the cafeteria provides a slight distraction from the constant sex magnet that is Bucky. Eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, all of this goes in my Styrofoam container with a splash of syrup. I feel James's eyes on me and he copies me, just with about four times the amount of food. Without even asking, I start heading back to the room. Bucky's chuckle follows me and every door I come to magically opens, so I know he's alright with my choice. Once again, we sit on the floor in my room and eat together.

"So? What's the verdict? Are pancakes or waffles better?" I ask playfully, trying to keep my word to be more relaxed around him. After swallowing, smirking, and looking up at me, he points to a sliver of pancake he hasn't eaten yet. My eyebrows go up. "Pancakes, really?" I affirm. He nods.

"They're fluffier. Plus, I remember making pancakes for Steve when we lived together." James smiles at the memory and continues stuffing what food he has left into his mouth. I hum in interest.

"You've got to tell me about that. Seems like you both must have had a crazy time together." I wonder aloud and his smirk grows. Obviously, I'm right. I'm not sure if I can even handle the stories of the shenanigans of Captain America and his best friend. But hey, I'm a sucker for punishment. "What story did you just think of?" I ask, eager to see him smile more.

"Well, Steve's mom was a great cook. She could turn anything delicious and that was an ability Steve never learned from her." He pauses to smile wide, then continues. "It wasn't long after his mom died. The punk finally agreed to let me help him out. We started living together. Now, his mom would make him pancakes, these great, fluffy pancakes with cinnamon in them." He groans, remembering the taste of them and my eyes widen. This is the most I've heard him speak since meeting him. Other than him reading the poem. "I guess he was missing her and decided to try to make some for the both of us. I walked up behind him and got a pancake, a hot and rubbery pancake, on my head." I laugh, absolutely loving the picture. He smiles when I do. "Steve doubled over, laughing his ass off. And then I couldn't even be mad anymore. It was the first time he had laughed since his mom's funeral..." Bucky trails off, face bright and happy, eyes shining from the memory.

"That's really sweet, James." I tell him, pleased he's sharing things with me. "Did you like living together?" I ask him another question. I don't want him to stop talking. He smirks.

"Steve's a little shit, but I loved it. Helped me keep an eye on the little punk." He says gruffly and makes me laugh again.

"I'd pegged Steve for a troublemaker." I say and he nods emphatically. I laugh and he smiles at me, little wrinkles appearing at the sides of his eyes. Finally, I finish my food and stand to clean up, but Bucky beats me to it. He cleans everything as I jump on my bed, sighing at the fluffiness. Bucky's eyes flick up to me and I struggle to keep my breathing normal at the sight of him still in his tight tank top. The muscles strain against the fabric and as my eyes travel up his body I sigh, this time for a whole new reason. When I meet Bucky's eyes his eyebrows go up, noticing I just checked him out. "Uh, c-could you turn the T.V. on for me?" I try to cover my transgression and get a chuckle from Bucky. I guess it wasn't that smooth. James opens the cabinet and turns the T.V. on for us, then comes over and sits on the bed with me. James hands me the remote happily. He does leave a few inches of space between us which I frown at. I flip through the channels lazily and stop when familiar theme music hits my ears. "Oh, this is it. This is what you've been missing." I tell James, clapping along when the people on T.V. clap.

"What? What is this?" He asks, confused. The title comes on the screen and I smile.

"It's called Friends and it's awesome. Just watch, you'll love it. If you don't, I don't think we can be friends." I tease and feel his eyes on me, seeing if I'm joking or not. Without thinking about it I put a hand on his thigh. His thick and muscled thigh. Geez. "Kidding. Just kidding James, of course we're friends. It doesn't matter what you like or don't like." I assure him. As soon as his face calms I retract my hand before my face turns red as a tomato. After saying that though, I notice he moves a little closer to me and relaxes back into the pillows a little more. I laugh throughout the whole show and hear James chuckle a couple times, so I count it as a success. Another episode comes on after that, then another. I find Bucky and I slowly gravitating towards one another, until my head is on his shoulder and his cheek is on my head. After a couple more episodes I find my eyes closing and my body taking over Bucky's personal space. A few seconds away from sleep I feel Bucky trying to move away from me. Instantly, my hands that have migrated around his chest ball up the cloth of his tank top. "No." I say firmly, my leg that's wrapped around his tugging him back on the bed as I forbid him to leave. He freezes.