A Bolt from the Blue

Chapter 17

Steve and Bucky walked out of the cinema. They had both made it a point months ago that going to the movies at least once a month was to remain one of the few routines they should keep from their past lives. Things had changed though. All movies were in color now, often and more than necessary in 3D, and they relied more on action-packed, bomb-exploding scenes than an elaborated storyline.

"So what did you do yesterday?" Steve asked, hands in his pockets.

"She took me kickboxing," Bucky answered. A smirk played on his lips. "She knocked me out like one or two times. Perhaps even three, not that I would know for sure."

Steve smiled. "It's great," he said. "I'm glad things are going well between you two."

Maria Hill and James had been dated for several weeks, although he couldn't exactly tell for how long considering he had found out about their relationship not so long ago.

"Does she know I know?" he asked.

Bucky's cringe gave his answer away before he said anything. "Well, not exactly."

Steve sighed. "I thought we talked about this. You ought to tell her. If she finds out on her own she'll –"

"-probably knock me out a fourth time. Yeah, I'm aware." Bucky cut him in. "Don't worry, I've been dropping hints, you know, like suggesting to let you in the know."

"And?"

James slightly pursed his lips together. "She's warming up to it...slowly...I guess."

Steve rolled his eyes, not because of Hill's reluctance to being introduced to him as the girlfriend, but because his best friend's mind-blowing incompetence paired up with an extreme lack of enthusiasm.

"She said she's waiting for the right moment. Maria is not the type to mix professional and personal life. I mean, she's barely recovering from breaking her number one rule with me."

"It doesn't matter," Steve said as a way to put an end to this conversation. "I guess letting it drag on for a bit longer isn't a problem."

"You're just scared you'll blurt it out yourself," Bucky said. He seemed to process his own words then pointed firmly his forefinger at him. "By the way, don't," he added in a warning tone.

"Are you seriously putting this on me?" Steve exclaimed.

"We all know you're a lousy liar. She's going to crack you open like an eggshell and you're gonna drag me with you."

"That is...absolutely not true," he snorted, a deep frown on his forehead. "I can keep it together."

They both on the sidewalk, Bucky gave him a blasé, stern look that seemed to carry years of past experiences and grudges then he resumed walking.

A few days later, after a jog cut short by unexpected rain, Steve came back home and headed to the kitchen for a morning coffee. The first few sunrays had barely cracked through the sky and the quietness in the apartment suggested James was still asleep. The evening before, after getting a text from Maria, he had dashed out for an improvised late date night which also meant bailing out of their morning jog.

Slightly leaning on the kitchen counter, he opened the newspaper and skimmed the headlines. His reading was interrupted by little, muffled footsteps walking up the corridor. He looked up and unexpectedly came across agent Hill, hair loosely tied into a messy bun, yawning as she entered the room and stretching up, wearing Bucky's favorite baseball team large t-shirt. Wearing nothing other than his favorite baseball team t-shirt.

A heavy silence that seemed to last an eternity (and a half) ensued as they both made eye contact. Maria's groggy expression soon turned into one of sheer horror as she came to the realization that not only the kitchen wasn't unoccupied, but that she had come face to face with the person she least wanted to see in this outfit.