Work Text:
It started when Bucky made the mistake of believing he could have a normal night. He should have remembered normal nights weren't granted to people who have been one of America's Most Wanted.
Regardless, that didn't mean he didn't have rights. He didn't fucking lose an arm for this shit.
A throat cleared from behind him. Loudly. "Hey, buddy, you gonna order or just stare at the damn menu all night? I don't have time to wait around for you to pick one of the few options you have. Hurry it up."
Bucky turned around slowly, his mind coming up with twenty different retorts, mainly one involving the fact that there were precisely forty six options alone if you didn't count combos. Always think of the combos. "Listen, lady, I ain't gonna be much longer, so why don't ya - "
He paused, mouth opening and closing like a fish. His shock at her beauty was as swift as a punch to the gut, painful and embarrassing for an assassin of his caliber to be blindsided by. He'd blame it on the modern conditioning he was starting to get into. Bucky pictured impatient people as Gremlins nowadays, and that was a development all thanks to Sam and Redbox. This woman was, well, much better looking than any of those post-pubescent Mogwai things.
The day had been warm - perfect spring weather - but, the night was cold. Bucky was curious about the midriff baring red top she wore. And the red pants. Actually, he wanted to know why all the red, in general. Her natural presence was eye catching all on its own. She certainly caught his eye.
"You got somethin' to say, man?" Big, dark brown eyes stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. He had a couple times before, but that wasn't like now. Now, he was just a stunned idiot gawking at a dame like it was the first time he'd ever seen one.
Several. Number one on the list was that he didn't have her name and number. "Uh, no. Sorry." He quickly turned back around, trying to get over the fact that the most attractive woman alive was standing right behind him, and she probably thought he was an idiot. Smooth, Bucky... So smooth.
"T-Ten piece chicken finger dinner, I guess..." He ignored the clicking of a specific red heel on white tile. "Can I get extra ketchup, too, please? And a coke?"
The cashier nodded, pressing buttons as he whistled softly. The teen told him the total and held out a hand to take the money Bucky passed over. Bucky stepped off to the side of the counter to wait for his order, allowing the woman behind him to order next.
Almost as if to rub in the fact that he was slow to order, she rattled off her order with far more certainty than he had. "Cheeseburger basket. Pickles, lettuce, mayo and ketchup on that, please. Oh, and a Pepsi. Thank you." She had the money out, down to the exact coin, and handed it to the cashier as soon as he looked up from the register.
She turned around, looking right at him.
For a moment, Bucky panicked. She was coming right his way. Oh, no... Oh, no, no, no! What if she mentioned what just happened? Shit, what do I do? Do I ignore her? No, she'll think I'm even more of an ass. I've gotta, gotta...
"Listen, I'm sorry for snapping at you."
Oh. Huh. Huh?
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey, buddy, you gonna order or just stare at the damn menu all night? I don't have time to wait around for you to pick one of the few options you have. Hurry it up." Admittedly, that wasn't her most gracious moment. She wasn't going to win any awards for her behavior as a citizen of New York - or maybe she would considering the fact that she didn't flip him off to boot. Still, Misty couldn't help but think she was blowing things out of proportion.
It wasn't her fault Luke and Danny decided that they were going to get her involved in busting a drug trafficking ring, therefore making her day much, much longer than it needed to be. However, it was her fault that she decided to repeatedly become hostile in this dingy fast food place at 3:00AM with a stranger.
Yikes. An apology was in order here. "Listen, I'm sorry for snapping at you," Misty said, biting her bottom lip and continuing to anxiously tapping her foot.
He stared at her for so long, she could do nothing but examine the features she hadn't paid any mind to earlier. He looked scruffy, like a razor to the face didn't sound appealing this week. It was a good look on him, especially matched with his all black attire. Yeah, on one hand, he looked like he was probably gonna mug the nearest corner store, but on the other hand, he was thick. Misty liked her men thick.
"S'okay." Damn, his voice was deeper than she expected. "I was takin' kinda long. You in a hurry?"
"I was just lookin' to get home ASAP, you know? It's been a long one."
"Oh." He nodded slowly, a couple locks of his brown hair that fell loose from the low bun of his bobbing along. "What do you do? Um, if ya don't mind me asking, that is."
"I'm a detective."
The corners of his mouth curled up as if he had a secret. "I'd rush some fool takin' up my investigation time, too. Sorry, again, ma'am."
"I was actually on my way home from a long day of work. And the name's Misty. Detective Misty Knight." She held out her right hand, smiling at up at him. It was a lucky break that he wasn't the type to rub in the fact that he was right. That would've just been a whole new argument between them.
Once again, he was staring. It made her realize she was offering her bionic arm out to him, and some people got weird about that. Well, if he had a problem with her -
Wait, why's he taking off his gloves? She watched him curiously, gasping at the sudden reveal of a gleaming silver hand.
Instead of shaking her hand, this man took it into his metal hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. All Misty could do was stare down at him in shock. Looking up at her, lips still hovering close by, he murmured, "Sargeant James Barnes. But, please, call me Bucky."
And then he winked.
That smooth motherfucker winked.
"Nice to meet you," Misty managed to said, her voice cracking a little. She was sure she looked stupid as hell as she grinned victoriously. It wasn't everyday a man kissed a girl's hand and didn't come off as sleazy. "Sargent, huh?" Must have lost his arm on duty.
"Yes, I did." He shrugged. "I can't say I've met too many detectives," Bucky stated, slowly releasing her hand. And that was true. He was usually trying to elude detectives as The Winter Soldier, never wanting to leave a trace of his presence for the world to go nuts over. "I'm impressed."
"Yeah, most people are impressed by my job until they hear about all the paperwork I fill out daily."
"Same here. Reports are the worst. The life of an Avenger..."
An Avenger?! Misty stared up at Bucky in awe. "Holy sh- "
"CHICKEN FINGER DINNER!"
There was honestly no reason for that to be yelled. They weren't standing more than ten feet from the counter. Regardless, Bucky excused himself and went to collect his food, dropping a couple dollars into the tip jar.
Just as he was about to head back to Misty, another bellow was let out. "CHEESEBURGER BASKET!"
Misty smirked as she sauntered up beside him. "We meet again," she joked, grabbing the plastic bag holding her takeout tray. "I can't believe I got to meet an Avenger." She smiled at him, giving a two-fingered salute, and once again, Bucky was panicking on the inside. He just wanted her to stick around for a little while longer.
As she pulled the door of the establishment open, she was stopped by a, "Hey, Misty!"
She turned.
"You got work tomorrow, doll?"
The way he said, "doll," so casually had her cheeks feeling warm and a pleasant tingle running down her spine. "No, and if I do, I'm not gonna show up." No amount of pleading from her friends could make her drag herself into the office after the long night she had.
"Then...ya wanna hang out with a slow-poke for a while?"
She could stay out a little later. "Where are we goin'?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Are we even allowed to be up here?" Misty asked, wiping a tear from her eye after calming down from a joke Bucky told.
"Yeah, definitely," Bucky answered without missing a beat. He stretched his arms out at his sides, gesturing to the quiet rooftop that occasionally caught bits and pieces of the city below. "It's not like Stark's got the best security system in place."
Misty snorted. "Stark Tower, that house in California he gave the Mandarin his address to, and Ultron... Yeah, that man needs to invest in a good security system." She took a bite of her burger, glancing over her shoulder at the view of New York.
She could see why someone would live in an ugly tower like this if it meant getting a look at this view everyday.
"Ya sure ya don't wanna sit somewhere that ain't, uh, dangerous as hell?" Bucky asked, looking up at her from his spot in a lawn chair in front of her. Why there was a lawn chair on top of one of the most famous industries in New York, Misty did not know, but he looked damn cute when confused.
Misty slowly kicked her legs back and forth, contemplating sitting down next to Bucky in the green lawn chair that was all set up with a fluffy blanket and everything. Nah. If she got too close, she couldn't guarantee that she'd keep her cool. He was looking too fine, and she was feeling him too much to get caught up. "I'm good, Silver."
"Hey!" Bucky stood, holding his plate in his right hand as he flexed his left arm. "Ain't no way you can say this ain't cool!"
"What?" She shrugged. "Of course I can!" Misty leaned forward and stole a couple fries from him, putting them on her plate. "I mean, have you seen mine?" She mockingly flexed her right arm. "Wayyyyyyyy cooler."
"I'm just sayin'..." She stole another fry off his takeout tray, being careful not to lean over too back when he playfully swatted her hand. She didn't want fall off the railing she sat on. It was a long way down. "In the Olympics, these colors mean somethin'."
"Yeah, sure, Detective." He meant to sound annoyed, but she had some ketchup on the bottom of her lip, and it matched the color of her suit. "Stop stealin' my food - you've got your own!"
"Yours tastes better," she replied, licking her lips.
Bucky nearly choked on his chicken fingers.
"You okay!"
"Yeah, I'm good!" he croaked, determined more than ever to get her number before they parted ways. "I'm taking your Pepsi though, smartass."
"You meant to say cute ass, But I'll let it slide." Dammit, Misty! Stop catching feelings for this white boy!
"I think I'm the cute ass here."
Easier said than done.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Bucky smiled down at the selfie Misty took with a criminal she captured. The guy was half frozen against a brick wall, glaring at the camera while Misty smiled. She captioned it with, "I'm cooler than you." He saved the picture to his gallery and made it his new lock screen.
"Another text from Misty?"
Bucky looked up to see Sam leaning over the back of the couch, curiously peeking at his phone and in full Cap Falcon gear. "Yeah. Look! Isn't she cute?"
"Oh, my god," Sam groaned. "This is the thousandth picture you've shown me this month of her, and not once have you followed up with saying anything about another date."
"Another? We haven't even had a first!"
"I beg to differ." Sam handed the shield over to Bucky so he could place it on the coffee table. He flipped over the back of the couch, settling in the small space Bucky wasn't taking up. "Sneaking her up to the roof to eat and try to one-up each other is basically a date."
"Really?" Bucky wasn't really good at this stuff. "So... If I asked her out, she wouldn't get annoyed and stop talking to me?"
"You guys have been sexting for two weeks."
"Yeah, but, that could've been, like, platonic sexting."
"I'm done!"
"Wait, Sam! How did you know we're sexting?! SAM!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey, Bucky, how you doin'?" Misty said after picking up the phone that night.
"Go out with me!"
Uh, huh? "What?"
"Oh, sorry, doll. Meant to say, go out with me, please."
Misty quickly closed her office door before doing a little dance, overjoyed that things were being taken up a notch. "A date, huh? Sure, sure," she finally answered, trying to sound as casual as possible. She leaned against her desk as she listened to him respond.
"Nice moves, Misty. Next time, you might wanna close your blinds for full privacy."
All Misty could do was stare out the small window that showed the reception area, seeing Bucky standing there holding a bouquet of roses. He grinned at her, his phone pressed between his shoulder and ear so he could blow her a kiss.
"I think I'm cooler than you now, doll."
"Shut up and give me my flowers."
"Ask nicely and I'll throw in a kiss." He winked.
She was a sucker for a wink.
"Give me my flowers, please."