The Soldier and the Wolf

Chapter 23

2016

"Do we have to go out? I'm actually very comfortable in this place for once and I don't wanna get up." Bucky had just finished putting on a red long-sleeved shirt and was now putting on his jacket and gloves. I watched from the armchair as brushed his hair out of his face.

"You may not need anything, but I do. C'mon it'll be quick." He was looking around for something, and I lifted my arm up in the air to reveal his hat.

"Looking for this?" I asked him and he turned around and saw his baseball cap. I stood up and handed it to him. "Fine, I'll go. But only because it's a nice day out and those newspapers are really getting in the way of seeing the clear, blue sky." I sat upright in the chair and put on my converse. Bucky sat on his bed and did the same with his shoes. We stood up at the same time, and I held my hand out towards the door. "Ladies first." I teased and Bucky smiled and playfully punched my arm. I followed him out the door and we started to make our way down the stairs.

"So what do you need exactly? Like I'm not complaining or anything, I just wanna know what is so important that can't wait for the weekend."

"Well, it sure sounds like your complaining. I just want some food, that's all. I'm getting sick of all those candy bars and pre-made meals or wherever, so I thought why not go out?"

"Okay, okay. I'll give you that. New question: when are you gonna feel confident holding hands with me in public?" Since my birthday last year, Bucky and I...well we weren't dating, but we weren't "just friends" either. We were more like friends with benefits and weird aspects. Anyways, it what you say is "complicated". I'm about 99% sure Bucky isn't comfortable with the whole dating aspect, and to be honest, I wasn't sure how I felt about it either. Like I liked him, a lot, it seems, but I wasn't sure if I was ready. He probably wasn't even sure if he was ready. So we both decided after that night that we would take it very slow. We weren't going to rush into anything because we both barely knew what we were doing. It wasn't completely awkward between us, thankfully, but I noticed that whenever we would start to get close like we did on the roof, Bucky would pull back or hesitate because he seemed unsure of himself. It was disappointing because he didn't have the same trust in himself he did when on my birthday. He crawled right back into the depressing hole of his. But I couldn't complain, right?

"It's not that I don't want to. It's just...it's hard getting used to. Like dating is the last thing on my mind."

"But we aren't just friends either?"

"No, we are more in the middle."

"Friends with benefits, then?" I proposed to him. He looked back at me and shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess...I guess that works. But not dating. It's way too soon and I don't think now would even be a good time."

"Well, when is a good time? Like I don't want to rush into it either, you probably know a lot more than I do, so I should probably listen to what you think is best, but I'm just curious." Bucky was silent for a moment. He was thinking of an answer.

"I don't know. I just know it isn't now." It was silent the rest of the way as well as the walk to the usual marketplace. I'll admit I made it a bit awkward now that I think about it, but I was just curious.

       "Alright, I'm just gonna, walk around for a bit, if that's okay with you?"  Bucky had his hands in his pockets and stared straight out. A few cars drove by until he walked towards the market without aging anything. "Alright, then, see you later." I looked around awkwardly before walking along the sidewalk of a few buildings. I went in a few stores to kill time, but at that point, I have been in this market so many times there wasn't anything interesting to look at. In the end, I guess I did buy a leather jacket. Something new compared to that hoodie I would always wear. I was walking back to where I would meet Bucky, and then I heard something from the TV display in the electronic store that made me stop and rush back to the display. Though I couldn't speak Romanian, I was around the language long enough to finally be able to translate into English. I stood in front of the TV, and on the screen was a clip of a building on fire. The Tab said: