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lovelybarnes · 2 years

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sushi and fun mugs- b. barnes

pairings: bucky barnes x reader, sam wilson, steve rogers, random ocs and duck variant quack warnings: people misjudging bucky, reader being upset about it, somewhat short about: request! bucky is super quiet and intimidating and everybody is parting like the red sea whenever he's around yet there's *this one agent* who does everything to make him feel included and loved. everybody thinks she's being delusional for trying but, is she? part two

“how do you think he takes his coffee?”

“black.” genevieve leans back in her chair, lips puckering as she thinks, eyes thinning. “pure black. no milk, no sugar—he probably just chews on the beans.”

you send her a look and ignore her reponse. “i think he’d take it with sugar. lots of it.”

genevieve’s nose wrinkles, meeting your eye in incredulity. “he doesn’t seem like the type to have a sweet tooth,” she tells you. “sugar fuckin’ turns to… like salt or something in his mouth.”

shrugging, you jut out your bottom lip thoughtfully, cocking your head to catch a glimpse of the man in question through the captain’s office window. bucky barnes sits silently at the table, listening to steve as he talks and ignoring the quips sam wilson seems to be making. you see him roll his eyes twice after sam manages a chuckle from steve, not reacting when he’s nudged with a playful elbow.

“i disagree,” you respond finally. “i think he’s plenty sweet.”

steve and sam finish up the conversation with a single word from bucky, beginning to get up and leave the conference room. a moment after they’ve opened the door, bucky parts his lips with a silent sigh and stands as well, turning in time to catch your stare.

you smile at stunning blue beneath tense eyebrows, lifting two fingers in an enthusiastic wave. bucky manages a rigid lilt of his lips back at you.

“see?” you say to genevieve, who sends you a grimace.

“he looks like it’s physically paining him to have to interact with you.”

with a final glare her way, you move away from her desk, spinning when you hear sam’s voice nearby.

“hey, sam! steve,” you greet. sam returns your grin and musses up your hair while steve settles with a controlled smile and a nod.

“how’s my favorite agent? still kicking ass?” sam asks.

“i just finished up that mission two days earlier than planned, so… yeah,” you brag with a wink. “how’re sarah and the kids?”

“good. she went on a date yesterday, still gotta see how that went. jim and jody start school again next week, so they call to complain about it whenever they can. somethin’ about superhero uncle privileges.”

you suck air in through your teeth and stare up at him guiltily. “they bring up good points.”

“that’s the problem!” sam exclaims, eyes flickering to something off to the side. “someone needs me. talk to you later.” he pats your shoulder before taking his leave.

you turn to steve, bouncing on your heels excitedly. “how’s your cat?”

steve laughs before replying, already slipping his phone out from his back pocket. “she’s doing great. already stealing my socks.” he shows you his phone’s screen, faint smile on pink lips as you eye the orange cat over pairs of mismatched socks, disappointed frown on its snout as it stares into the camera.

“oh, that’s love,” you praise with a clap. “and art class? monday, right?”

“yup. surprisingly relaxing.”

“i told you,” you pester before catching movement on bucky’s end. he steps out, and the agents that had gathered in front of the office to talk to the other avengers silence, beginning to dissipate. you frown, able to see bucky’s indifference but not having it in you to mimic it yourself.

you bend to grab a mug of coffee you’d prepared earlier, giving steve a friendly smile and a tilt of the drink. “be right back.”

you weave your way to bucky until you’re next to him, cheeks pulled as you offer him the large teal mug, index finger over the bump of the ceramic octopus’ eye, pinky grazing one of the tentacles at the bottom.

“hello,” you say.

bucky stares at you. “hi.”

“i made you coffee.” you shake the drink a little. “i hope you like it, it’s completely based on my assumptions.” you chuckle lightly at yourself. “if you don’t, it’s fine.”

bucky’s eyes continue to bore into you, but you don’t falter, continuing to smile with the octopus mug in hand. slowly, his fingers reach to hook around the handle, pulling it to his chest.

“thank you.” he’s gruff as always, but there’s a note of surprise sewn in that you find interesting.

“no problem,” you quip, beginning to head back toward your desk, but you stop yourself, pointer finger in the air as if you’d recalled something. “oh! some of the other agents and i are ordering in from this sushi place that’s supposed to be really good. would you like to join us?”

you can feel genevieve’s stare as you offer it, catch the confused part of bucky’s lips as he mulls it over in confusion.

“...really?” he says finally, shifting on his feet somewhat suspiciously.

you giggle. “of course! we’d love to have you there.”

there’s another brief pause of his intense staring and your intense beaming before he clears his throat. “sure. why not?”

“great! it’s at the conference room on the third floor, see you there!”

bucky isn’t left with much of a response as you turn and walk over to the incredulous look on genevieve’s face.

bucky’s grumbling in the elevator next to sam, shuffling his feet as he concentrates on the lowering numbers above the elevator doors, made out of bright white dots underneath smooth glass. sam stares at him, watching him clench his jaw, ocean irises stormy.

“you’re really gonna eat with ‘em?”

bucky grunts in response, rolling his shoulders.

“now, why the hell would you do that?”

he sniffs, tongue swiping at dry lips. sam brightens, dark, squinted eyes widening in annoying realization, mouth pulling into an understanding grin. bucky groans when he says your name.

“‘shoulda known,” sam says, a lilt to his words that makes bucky huff a little sigh.

“she asked.” is bucky’s explanation.

“i ask you for things all the time,” sam complains, stubbornly shoving his hands in his pockets, lips in a wobbly thin line.

bucky feels the wait between five is three is longer than it should be.

“s’what? i gotta be a pretty girl and make some coffee for your grumpy ass?” sam asks. the doors part and bucky exhales in relief, stepping through them but sam’s not finished. sam’s never fucking finished. “is that how i get you to stop eating my fuckin’ ice cream? do some paperwork?” he calls.

bucky flips him the bird, searching for the conference room and your bright smile.

he spots it a few paces away through the window, licking his lips again when he catches your eye. his opportunity to ditch this entire thing is out the window the moment you send him an excited wave with chopsticks between your fingers.

you’re the only one who’s seen him until he pushes open the door and all eyes turn to him, conversation dying on every tongue once soaked in teasing jests. bucky looks around the room, nose twitching. the tension is palpable and he thinks he should leave.

then you cheer his name, bouncing off your seat to wrap your fingers around his bicep, tugging him to the chair next to yours. he spies eyes widening and thinks the agents are being a little dramatic. “i didn’t think you were coming,” you admit.

“‘told you i would,” he reminds gruffly, scanning shocked features. “did they know i was?”

“what? oh.” you wave a hand dismissively at your coworkers. “the more the merrier. paula invited her yoga instructor once.”

it’s still tense, chopsticks frozen around sushi as if unsure what to do next, but you’re either oblivious to it or you don’t care, chattering on with explanations about the different types of sushi available.

“help yourself,” you finish, setting a plate down in front of him. “what were you saying, toby? about last night’s yoga?”

toby eyes bucky uneasily, biting down on his bottom lip uncertainly. “uh. just saying how much of a weirdo this instructor was.”

everyone nods stiffly.

“right! now i’m glad i didn’t take you up on your invitation,” you laugh. “my dog makes a great yoga buddy, though, so it worked out.”

“yeah,” patricia pipes up hesitantly, eyes still flickering from bucky to you. “how is quack?”

you beam so brightly you put down your food. “he confuses the sit and roll over commands, so if i tell him to sit, he’ll roll over, but if i tell him to roll over, he lays down. not sure why but i love him anyway.”

“what’ll make him sit?” bucky asks, all knitted brows and gruff voice.

“down,” you reply, then raise a finger. “but also, strangely enough, if i say the word ‘duck.’”

bucky grunts, shoving one of the pieces of sushi you recommended to him into his mouth.

the silence that follows is long and uneasy.

“my hamster died yesterday,” genevieve blurts suddenly. you send her a confused look as the other agents say their quiet apologies.

bucky chews slowly. “sorry for your loss.”

“thanks,” genevieve replies. she clears her throat. “i should go… train. for the… mission.”

“right,” patricia says, standing too. “yes. we’re very dedicated agents, sergeant.”

bucky wrinkles his nose and she shifts awkwardly. “...sir.”

toby packs up, too, sending your pout a quick smile. “i’ll see you later,” he offers, inhaling sharply before he ducks his chin at bucky. “um, it was… very nice eating with you, sergeant bucky barnes, sir.”

they scramble away, leaving only you and bucky in the conference room.

bucky tenses his jaw as you frown.

“think that was because of me, doll.”

“no!” you argue. “there really is a mission. at some point.” a sigh. “i’m sorry, bucky—”

“why? you didn’t do anything, sweetheart. i’m just saying that you should’ve probably expected that—”

“if they knew you—”

“they don’t like me, they’re not gonna know me.” bucky pops a pieve of sushi into his mouth as you look at the door disapprovingly.

“it’s not that they don’t like you,” you contest. “it’s just… you’re so angry all the time—”

“that’s just my face, sweets, i’m not angry.”

“maybe,” you pause. “smile a little.” at his grunt, you poke his side. “just sometimes. as a peace offering,” you tease, then grin brightly as if to show him what to do.

he glowers at you for a moment before sighing, swallowing his food. “fine.” he tries it, lips twitching up into a strained smile.

you wince, patting his cheek gently. “thank you for trying, baby.”

“what? you don’t like my award-winning smile?” bucky jests, beginning to eat again.

“i like it when it’s real,” you retort, tapping his nose with your finger. “you have a very pretty real smile, bucky.”

bucky’s features set again, but his cheeks pink. “thanks, sunshine.” he runs his tongue over his teeth. “sorry you’re stuck eatin’ with me.”

you humph disdainfully. “i love eating with you. and today’s gossip wasn’t even that good, bucky, don’t even worry about it.”

“really? nothing about joanie’s date?”

“nope.”

“what about genevieve’s email admirer? toby’s secret child?”

“hasn’t messaged in a week, is his cat, i think.”

“well then. i guess we’d be the best gossip today, huh?”

“we’d always be the best gossip, bucky, please,” you condemn.

“we probably are. little sunshine eating with the big bad wolf. they’re probably sayin’ i’m taking your food or something.” bucky laughs.

you beam, cocking you head at him.

“what?” he asks.

“i told you your real smile was real pretty.”

bucky grunts, leaning over to press a kiss to your hair. “sunshine, you’re really ruining my reputation here.”

“you like it,” you badger.

“i do,” bucky hums, scanning your face with quick blue movements. you’re so bright and pretty, light in a way that makes him feel dirty for daring to kiss his shadows over your sunshine. he growls in frustration, catching the concerned knit of your brows before he dives to kiss you. “i really do.”

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