Branded For Ruin

Part 6

            

Bucky tried to catch Alpine as he scurried away quickly. What had gotten into him?

"Alpine!" Bucky shouted as he chased after the fast feline. "Alpine, wait!"

He quickly reached down to snatch his cat, but Alpine jumped away, and the pink balloon bounced off Bucky's head. Scrambling back up, Bucky ran in the direction of his pet, his balloon serving as a beacon for people to move out of the way. Hearing his companion hiss, his speed picked up. Bucky's eyes darted toward you and his cat, then to the man who was by you.

"Y/n? Is this guy bothering you again?" Bucky asked, a glare settled on his features as he looked at Mark.

Before you could respond, Mark pushed his cart full of things toward Bucky before bolting down an aisle. Bucky was about to take off after him, fists clenched, but you stopped him.

"Don't! Mark's just a jerk." You said as Bucky let out a breath.

"I told him to leave you alone."

"I know. It's just...nothing. Were you doing anything? If not, I would like to spend a bit more time with you." You said shyly. "If you want to that is."

Bucky smiled as he picked up Alpine. "I'd love that. "

"And who's this little guy?" You asked reaching out toward Alpine. "Can I?" You knew some people didn't like others petting their therapy animals, so you thought you'd ask.

"Of course." Bucky replied as your fingers wove its way into the cat's fur. "Alpine. Y/n. Y/n. Alpine."

"Hi, Alpine. You're such a good kitty, aren't you? Yes, you are." You said with a higher pitched voice as the cat began to purr.

"Uh, you can just talk to him normally." Bucky said scratching the back of his neck. "I do anyway. He seems to understand pretty well. He knows simple commands and stuff."

"Really?" You said with a smile. "Which ones?"

Bucky's cheeks tinted in embarrassment as he responded. "He can get my meds and stuff. Or if I get in a really bad situation, he knows how to dial 911."

"Oh my gosh. That is so cool! Why are you embarrassed about that?"

"I don't know." He mumbled. "People just get edgy around people with service animals."

"Well, I think it's cute." You said as alpine purred a bit more.

Bucky's breath hitched. You thought it was cute? You were probably just talking about Alpine, right? Not him? Sure, he liked you, and he might have only been seeing red when he saw Mark by you again, but that was normal friend stuff, right? You did look really cute right now, and Alpine seemed to like you. That was a good sign.

"Hey, I, uh, noticed your talking a bit more than usual."

You fiddled with the hem of your shirt. "Um, yeah. I don't know, I just feel comfortable around you. I hope that doesn't sound weird or anything."

He smiled. "Not at all. Glad I could be of some comfort."

"Nice balloon, by the way. Never thought I'd see a tough guy like you with a pink balloon, but I like it."

The tips of his ears turned pink, and he held Alpine a bit closer. "Yeah. I was feeling a bit childish today. If you're not doing anything, I would love to have you over. I make a mean Frito pie."

Did he really just say that? Gosh, he's an idiot. Why would you want to have dinner with him? He mentally slapped himself for suggesting such an offer.

"Frito pie?" You asked with a small head tilt.

"Yeah, it's a Southwestern thing, but it's really good. It's chili and cheese and chips an' stuff. 'S good." He muttered now focusing his vision on the shiny tiles of the store.

You both stood there for a couple awkward moments before you said something.

"I've never had it before. I think it would be nice."

Bucky's head shot up and his eyes widened. "Really? Th-that's great. Does 7 work? I could text you the address of my apartment. O-or I could come pick you up. It doesn't really matter to me, but—"

"You could just text me the address." You said cutting off his adorable rambling. "I should get there okay."

Alpine climbed on his shoulders and Bucky ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Yeah, that's good."

He fumbled with his phone as he tried to get it out of his pocket. He didn't know why his heart was beating like crazy and his palms were so sweaty. Finally tugging it out from his pocket, he handed the sleek black iPhone to you. You took it with a soft smile and went to type your number in.

"Wow, you sure have a lot of contacts on here. A whole three people." You said as you typed on yours. "There, now you have four."

"Thanks." He breathed before he began typing away on his phone. A moment later, your phone pinged, and you fished it out of your pocket. You added his contact with a grin and added his name with a white cat emoji.

"I, um, gotta go. I left my cart in the other aisle and...yeah. Until tonight." Bucky said as he set Alpine on the ground and scurried off.

Once he and Alpine got into another aisle, he looked at his furry companion. Alpine gave him "the Look" and Bucky furrowed his brow.

"Don't give me that look." Bucky said as Alpine meowed and pawed toward the direction they had just come from.

"No, Alpine."

Alpine stared back at him, and if he hadn't had similar conversations with his cat before, he might have been intimated. After staring at each other for a few more moments, Bucky broke.

"Okay, fine. I like her. Happy now?" Bucky asked as he grabbed the cart.

Alpine meowed and rubbed up against Bucky's legs.

"I'll take that as a yes."

~~~~~

You freaked out as soon as you entered your house with a couple grocery bags. You were having dinner at Bucky's house tonight. Dinner. Alone. With a handsome man. And his cat. Your senses seemed to be coming back to you, because your mind started spinning in a frenzy about the hundreds of possible outcomes, most of which ended horribly. Seeing the lights on Charles car pull into his driveway, made you remember you had dinner with him tomorrow. What was happening to you? Your therapist would be thrilled for sure, but wow. It was nerve-racking to say the least.

After putting away the rest of the groceries, you leaned against the counter with a sigh. What were you even going to wear? Should you bring something for him? Did he expect you to bring anything? You pinched the bridge of your nose with another sigh. It's been so long since you've had to worry about these types of things.

You plucked a bottle of water from the fridge and chugged about half of it before you twisted the cap back on. The best thing to do was to just go with the flow and hope for the best. The only problem was that you had no idea what the flow even was.

"Welp. Guess I'm winging it."