Dove on Fire (Bucky Barnes)

Chapter Ten

(Smutty)

Clementine's P.O.V

"You know Karli won't quit"

Bucky clasps his hand around Sam's as they smile at each other, Bucky nods with a small shrug "you call me when you've got a lead, I'll be there." They let go of each other's hands and Bucky tosses his backpack over his shoulder, his jacket hanging through the loop.

"Not necessarily as a team"

"Nope"

"We're not that good"

"Definitely not"

"We're professionals."

"Definitely"

"And, uh, we're partners"

"Co-workers" Sam corrects, I watch them with my arms crossed over my chest. "But we're also a couple of guys, with a mutual friend" Bucky adds with a shrug of his shoulder "friends now gone" Sam states raising his brows at Bucky.

"So we're a couple of guys. Perfect" Bucky declares with a nod "and how do I fit into this bromance? I mean I totally ship it" I pipe up with a teasing grin. Bucky rolls his eyes at me "let's not overcomplicate it, alright?" Sam says with a grin, he slings his arm over my shoulder "thanks for the help guys, really, I appreciate it." Bucky pats Sam's back with a smile "of course" he beams, I chuckle and pull away from Sam "anytime Sammy." Bucky turns to me "let's get going." he breaths as he walks ahead, I give Sam one last smile before following Bucky towards my car.

Bucky tosses his backpack into the back seat before opening the driver's door "what are you doing?" I ask with my hands on my hips, Bucky pulls his sunglasses out from his back pocket and slips them over his eyes "I'm driving" he states, smirking as he slips into the driver's seat. I roll my eyes with a huff as I get into the passenger seat "you can drive but wait until you hear my music, I hope you like Beyonce."

.....................

After a long drive and three stops at Starbucks, we arrived in Brooklyn. Bucky drove around the city effortlessly, his metal hand on the wheel while his flesh hand rested on his thigh tapping to the music. Occasionally he would reach over and pinch the side of my thigh, his way of asking if I'm okay. He's done it for as long as I've known him, he'd gently pinch instead of using words and I'd nod back at him. Bucky pulls into the parking lot of a big apartment block, he parks up and turns to look at me "this is it" he mumbles gesturing to the building. I smile at him "I like it, come on we should get some dinner."

"It's not much, I haven't really thought about furniture yet" Bucky mumbles again as I follow him down the hall to his apartment, he unlocks the door, his shoulders tense. The apartment is bare and spacious, with just a couch and tv in the living room, and basic kitchen appliances. Overall it's a beautiful space and it smells exactly like Bucky "I love it" I say turning to look at him. Buckys frown fades into a sigh of relief, he leans back against the island separating the kitchen from the living room. I move to stand in front of him, Bucky hesitantly reaches out and grips my leather jacket, and pulls me into his body.

We haven't spoken about how long I'll stay with him, whether it be for the night or until we get a lead on Karli. This was all new to us and Bucky is still making amends, I don't want to slow down his recovery. I push my thoughts aside and glance back up at him with a grin.

"We should get you a coffee machine though, you drink a lot of coffee" I tease my palms resting on his broad chest, he chuckles tilting his head back. "We can get you some of that caramel syrup stuff for your macchiatos" he suggests as walks over to the couch and drops his bag down. I stare up at him in awe "I know it's your favorite, Steve wrote about it in his book" he adds quickly as he glances away from me. My heart hammers against my chest at the thought of waking up next to Bucky and having coffee in the morning together, how normal it could be.