Attachment Theory - Bucky BarnesxOC

Part 44: off to the races

Bucky and Steve walk into the kitchen giggling. Alice tilts her head as Bucky slides into the seat next to her and Tony starts to dish up food. His cheeks are pink and he's beaming.

"Hi," he purrs, nuzzling into her neck. His voice is soft. "I love you."

Alice feels warmth flood her cheeks.

"I love you too. I heard you yelling for me," she laughs.

"Sorry," he whispers. "We had some–"

"Ah!" Steve pipes up, shaking his head.

He and Bucky snort with laughter while Natasha rolls her eyes. She already told the whole kitchen what happened, so everyone is just waiting for Bucky and Steve to actually confess. Neither of them do. Alice can already tell that Bucky is sobering up. His movements are getting more fluid and the flush is beginning to fade from his cheeks. It's amazing how little time it takes. She envies him. He never gets hangovers. She grabs some sushi rolls and puts them onto his plate.

"What's this?" Bucky asks with wide, curious eyes.

"You've never had sushi?" Pepper asks with a smile.

Bucky shakes his head.

"It looks good."

"It is good, Buck," Steve assures him. "Remember when we used to have to boil everything?"

Bucky grimaces.

"Yeah," he rasps. "Unfortunately, I do."

"Nasty," Sam whispers.

Steve and Bucky nod in agreement.

"Well, this is a hell of a lot better than boiled potatoes or whatever the hell you guys ate back then," Tony quips. "Try the tuna."

Alice offers him some tuna sashimi and sets it on his plate. Watching Bucky try new foods for the first time is adorable, and watching him use chop sticks is interesting. For a guy who flips knives, his skills could use some improvement. She taught him how to use them, but he's not great with them - other than the fact that he can twirl them in his fingers like drumsticks. He does it to impress her. It works, and it's pretty sexy.

The whole table watches him struggle and Sapphire puts her chin in her hand, staring at him as he pokes the sashimi, fumbling the chopstick a little before picking it up and popping it into his mouth. Natasha's winks at Alice, who giggles. She wishes Natasha was around more often.

Bucky's eyes go wide as he chews.

"Is it supposed to melt?"

Everyone at the table nods, overjoyed at his reaction. Even Tony is smiling.

"That means it's good," Bruce laughs.

Sam and Sapphire nod as Bucky swallows and reaches for another piece.

"Holy shit. That's really good."

Alice beams, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. She loves watching him discover new things. His joy is vicarious and his curiosity is the sweetest thing about him.

Alpine trots into the kitchen and sits down next to him. Tony has started to come around on her when she attacked Steve's calf the morning he and Tony left for Wakanda. He took a video of it on his phone. Bucky grabs a piece of tuna and offers it to her. Alpine gobbles it up and purrs softly. Alice has told him not to indulge her too much, but he never listens, and Alpine knows she's his achilles heel.

They eat quietly for a while. Steve takes a sip of water and clears his throat, looking at Tony. Alice frowns.

"What's going on?"