Rings (Bucky Barnes x OC soulmate AU)

Chapter 4 - Microwave Mission

Bucky stared into his freezer stocked with frozen dinners. He'd avoided eating them, having heard from others that they weren't very good, but that day he didn't feel like making anything. Since he got away from HYDRA he'd been trying to eat well, but since Clara invited him to her apartment the week before they had been eating treats almost every day. His body felt tired and stomach tight, but he knew he needed to eat something.

Something simple.

When he moved into the apartment with the help of Sam, the two had gone grocery shopping. Sam insisted he get some frozen foods "for when you feel like doing nothing." This was that occasion.

After taking one off the top of the stack, he closed the freezer and set it down, leaning over and resting his forearms against the cool counter surface to read the instructions on the back. It seemed simple enough, and he knew how to work a microwave.

He followed the instructions and put the food in the microwave. When he pushed the number two, nothing happened. There were no buttons, so he assumed it was touch-sensitive, like his phone. He tried again - still nothing. Using his other four fingers on his right hand, he tried over and over again, but the microwave didn't do anything. He knew it was working because the clock was on, so why didn't it work?

Bucky sighed and took a step back, pulling out his phone. His finger hovered over Clara's name, wondering if he should bother her with this or not. They didn't know each other well, and while Clara seemed to trust him completely, he was still a little wary of her.

I'm steady he decided to try and call Sam. They argued at first, but Sam was a good person and Steve had trusted him a lot, so Bucky decided he would also. He waited while the phone rang, but Sam didn't answer.

Great. He would have to call Clara then. After tapping her name (she had given her number to him the night before) he transferred the cellphone to his metal hand and ran the other one through his long hair anxiously. She soon answered though, and his nervousness went away when he heard her voice.

"Well well well," Clara said, sounding joking and confident, "if it isn't my favorite soldier. How are ya, Bucky?"

Favorite soldier? What did that mean? He hesitated, not sure how to respond, but eventually answered, "Great. I have one question."

"I might be able to help you out."

"It's about the microwave..." He glared at the machine that held his lunch captive. "It's not working."

His frustration must have been funny because she snorted in laughter. "What do you mean?"

Bucky explained what had happened moments before.

"You sure? It's plugged in, right?"

"Yes, it's plugged in."

Clara hummed. "I'm going to video call you. I can't tell what the problem is or what you're doing. Hold on." A few seconds later there was an option for him to accept the video, which he did, and soon Clara's face appeared. She wore glasses (Bucky was certain he never saw her wearing them) and, when she looked at him, smiled and waved. "Okay, now at the top of the screen there should be a little camera with arrows in it. Tap on that." Bucky found what she was talking about the camera flipped around a few seconds later. The camera was now looking at the floor. "Okay. Show me what you've been doing."

Bucky moved the camera to the microwave and tapped the number two. When the microwave turned on his mouth fell open. "What - it wasn't working before!" he insisted.

Clara couldn't hold back her laughter. "I know how you feel, Bucky. The same thing happened with my first car. Never seemed to work when I drove alone, but as soon as my dad was around it was just fine." Then she smirked, and looked straight into the camera. "Or someone just wanted to talk to me."