"hey, pretty girl," bucky's voice was instantly recognisable, so turning in your seat you weren't surprised to see him entering the kitchen.
"hey," you tightened your lips into a sweet smile. bucky was always nice to you, sometimes kind of flirty but you liked it. besides, it was more than you could say for his relationships with most of the avengers.
the day was red hot, you had all the windows open and still you were sweating like a pig. that's why bucky had to walk in to see you sat at the island in the kitchen area, frozen peas sitting atop your head and a lolly ice hanging out your mouth.
"lolly ice?" you offered, removing yours from your mouth to make the offer. he shook his head, pursing his lips to stop himself from laughing at you. you knew you looked stupid but you were sweaty, and this was helping.
"you look pretty hot," he commented. he wandered over to the fridge but his eyes travelled to where you sat only in shorts and a spaghetti strap top. he gulped, quickly shifting his eyes away before you could catch him staring, sticking his head in the fridge to cool down. "literally," he mumbled.
you nodded, absentmindedly as you spun in your chair again, your eyes following his every move. you wondered how he looked so put together when it was so hot. "tony's got someone working on the ac."
"i don't know why he doesn't do it himself," you hummed in agreement.
"yeah— he calls himself a tech genius but can't even fix the air con— make it make sense," he chuckled a little along with you. it was one of your many shared interests, making fun of tony.
finishing your lolly ice you slid off your chair, removing the peas from your head and walked to the bin to recycle the stick. bucky was crouched down in front of the fridge still, his backside standing between you and the bin. "uh— 'scuse me."
bucky glanced over his shoulder, seeing you hovering above him waiting for him to budge. straightening himself up again, he leaned against the fridge, blocking your path still and his arms folded across his chest. "password?"
you rolled your eyes, cracking a small laugh at his behaviour. "stop, just let me through."
"i'm serious," the forming smirk on his lips said otherwise. "what's the password, sweetheart?"
the pet name rolled casually off his tongue, like it was just as common for him to call you this as your own name. which is why it didn't shake you. you were an expert when it came to bucky and his flirting at this point, you just had to not play into what he wanted.
"fine, be that way," you flung the lolly ice stick over him, landing it in the recycling bin.
you smiled knowingly and he shoved you lightly. "cheater," he mumbled with an amused smile, grabbing a beer from the fridge and catching your shoulder as he walked passed you.
you liked to tease bucky when he would flirt with you, by not playing into it, he tended to just give up quicker.
sometimes you thought he might be serious, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but you also knew you weren't ready for that conversation. you also didn't want to embarrass yourself by assuming he actually liked you in the first place. it was complicated, at least, it was for you.
"you know, you should wear this more often," his voice rang through your ears, goosebumps running down your neck. you could feel him standing behind you, hardly much distance between the two of you now.
you turned to face him, finding yourself practically nose to nose. you gulped with the newfound closeness and lost your words for a second, your lips parting slightly and nothing coming out. his eyes moved down to your lips, noticing your blunder as a small smile came onto his face. he was always looking for little hints that you felt something back, that his efforts weren't being completely lost.
