Betrayal - A Bucky Barnes Fanfic

Chapter 27

The Cure was blaring loudly through her small flat while Ava was enthusiastically preparing her famous spaghetti. She looked at the clock – time was running out again. If she hadn't gotten up so late in the morning, she wouldn't be in such a hurry now. In an hour, Steve, Natasha and James would show up here, even if Ava wasn't quite convinced yet that James would actually come. At least she only had to take care of the food. She had already applied some simple make-up and the outfit choice didn't seem so difficult this time either – you could never go wrong with the little black dress. While her sauce bubbled away and Robert Smith sang his heart out, Ava set the mood by spreading red, white and blue napkins on the table. She didn't think much of the Fourth of July, but she still wouldn't miss a party.

A loud knock jolted her out of her preparations. She thought of the neighbour above her who liked to complain about noise and was already bracing herself to be grumbled at by the tall, middle-aged man that her music was too loud when her breath caught. James was standing at her door in a tight-fitting shirt and jeans. Half an hour early.

"What are you doing here?" shouted Ava over the loud music.

"I thought I'd help you get ready," James replied just as loudly. Ava just looked at him perplexed and James grabbed her by the waist, gave her a quick kiss on the mouth and disappeared into the flat. Still surprised, Ava closed the door and followed James down the short hallway to the kitchen where she turned down the music.

"How did your research go yesterday?" asked James, looking at her research wall still hanging behind the dining table.

"Not so good, Wanda lost the data." Ava remained deliberately vague. She trusted James, but she didn't feel like talking about her failures right now.

"I'm sorry about that," he replied, turning to face her. With one step he closed the distance between himself and Ava and Ava's heart immediately began to beat faster. He looked down at her with his steel blue eyes and took her in his arms. Tension spread across his face and Ava wished she could look inside his head to find out what was going on inside of it.

"I need to talk to you about something," he said in a serious tone. Ava's mind immediately wandered to worst case scenarios – Was he breaking up with her? Was he now telling her that this was just a casual thing for him? Or was he finally admitting to living a double life and really being a father with two kids and a wife, which is why she could never go to his flat?

"I think something's burning," James said with a wrinkled nose to Ava's surprise and all at once her focus was back on dinner.

"Oh God, my sauce!" she groaned, breaking free from his embrace. She immediately turned off the stove and looked at the sauce carefully. It was a little burnt, but seemed to be salvageable. Relieved, she turned back to James, who just looked at her in amusement.

"What?" she asked with a smile.

"I admire your passion for sauce."

"Don't deflect and tell me what you wanted to talk about instead," Ava replied with a more serious tone. But before James could reply, there was a knock at the door.

"Lucky you," Ava said to James, who looked tense.

Natasha pulled Ava into a tight hug before she had even fully opened the door. Behind her stood Steve, smartly done up in a suit, staring nervously at the floor.

"This one's for you," he said to Ava as Natasha finally released her from the embrace and went ahead into the flat. He handed her a bottle of champagne. Ava didn't know much about champagne, but the bottle looked expensive. How much does a police IT specialist earn?, Ava asked herself and thanked Steve.