Scary Love | Bucky Barnes - [COMPLETED]

9 - The One and Only

Inside the house, Bucky—who was reading a random book from the bookshelf—almost jumped in surprise when Medusa turned on all of the lights in the house and started warning about an intruder. He ran towards the front door and prepared himself to fight whoever was going to break into the house, but he found nothing. There was nobody in the backyard also. He was still wary; even a few minutes after Medusa finally stopped alerting and dimmed the lights back to a soft glow.

He decided to stop reading to be extra careful and prepared. The metal-armed man sat on the dining table near the back door, fists clenched. It was really quiet and the only thing he could hear was the sound of his own breathing.

Not very long after that, he heard the sound of a car approaching. He almost recognized it as Lily's car, but he didn't want to be so sure yet. He could've left right then, but he wanted to see the girl for the last time. He waited and waited—until he heard the sounds of keys jingling and the front door unlocking.

"Bucky? I'm home," he sighed lightly when he heard the girl's familiar voice. "Where are you?"

He stood up from the dining table as Lily walked into the room. "Why are you always sitting in the dark?" she chuckled. "Medusa, turn on the lights, please."

She threw all of the shopping bags on the table and rushed forward to hug the frowning metal-armed man. "I'm sorry. I got carried away and..."

"It's fine," he whispered, feeling glad to have her in his arms. His tense body managed to relax for a bit. "Everything's fine."

She thought that was rather weird for him to say that, but she just shrugged it off. "Look what I bought you. A couple of sweaters, T-shirts, pants, and—ahem—underwear," she took them all out to show him. "Also this backpack," she lifted a black backpack excitedly. "I got a bunch of notebooks for you as well. My grandmother—who died when I was a teenager—had Alzheimer's, so she used to write down important stuff and memories on her notebook. I only bought like three so that your backpack won't be very heavy, but I think you're gonna need more later. Try to write things down, alright?" She smiled warmly as she put all of the black, medium-sized notebooks into the backpack.

"I bought some fresh ingredients too, since I thought we should have a nice dinner tonight," she added, trying not to say for the last time. "Is that alright with you?"

Bucky froze and stumbled upon his words. He didn't know what to answer, so he just nodded. He felt a bit odd because no one had ever cared for him this much. The man stared at her adoringly as she folded the clothing items in a very meticulous manner and stuffed them all into the backpack.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she finally noticed after a few minutes, and Bucky's innocent smile made her blush. She tried to play it cool by making herself busy—preparing the ingredients to cook for dinner. She planned to make Chicken Parmigiana with a side of baked potato wedges and fresh cherry tomatoes. She didn't really cook that much, but it was among the things she cooked frequently.

Bucky kept watching for the whole time she was cooking. Her movements were fast and she knew her way around the ingredients; and as a food lover himself, he was eager to try it out. He wouldn't care even if it doesn't taste good—he was still very happy. He couldn't even remember the last time someone cooked a meal for him.

Soon enough she was finished; and as always, they sat across each other on the dining table. Lily already heard from Bucky that he doesn't drink, so she poured a bottle of fancy sparkling water for both of them. It didn't take long before he started eating. They ate in silence; each was busy with their own thoughts and feelings.

All of a sudden, Lily got up and ran towards her bedroom. "Wait here," she merely said to answer Bucky's questioning gaze. She returned with a Polaroid camera in her hand.