One | Steve Rogers

34

The three patrons sit at the bar at Izzy's and slowly consume and enjoy the sushi in front of them. As Lauren uses her chopsticks to transport a piece of sushi into her mouth, Yori shows a headline from the paper to Bucky, who reads the words that are a little ironic for him. The waitress handles dishes from the other side of the bar and takes notice to the food in front of them.

" You guys didn't order the usual, huh? Feeling a little adventurous?" She asks.

Bucky stays silent, but Yori leans in and speaks quietly.

" You should ask her out," He says.

Lauren chuckles as she takes a sip of her drink, meanwhile Bucky furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head.

" He would like to take you out on a date," Yori says as he leans forward, " Maybe to bingo or a night of pinochle?"

The waitress smiles while Bucky stares nervously. Lauren's eyes flicker between the two while remaining silent.

" I'm really sorry about him," Bucky confesses.

" Why are you sorry?" She asks as she wipes the counter, " I'm game."

" Tomorrow night, then?" Yori asks.

" Tomorrow night's great," The waitress says, " Just maybe not pinochle."

" What's wrong with pinochle?" Bucky asks.

She smiles and deflects the question.

" I have a shift, but if you wanna come back here, I should be done around 10:00."

Their meal continues, but this time, Bucky's eyes go over to the woman sitting next to him. He watches as she skillfully uses the chopsticks to delivery the fish covered with fish into her mouth. She glances up at him, and arches her eyebrow as if to ask 'what'. He doesn't respond, but instead tears his gaze away from her.

" Nakajima-san, o kaeri sa sete itadakimasu (Mr. Nakajimi, allow me to walk you back to your home)" Lauren says with a cleared throat.

The elder smiles and graciously accepts her offer. As he stands up, Lauren opens her wallet and pays for the bill, along with a generous tip of 25%. Bucky looks up at her in an attempt to argue, but as soon as his eyes meet hers, he simply forgets how to speak.

She lives up to her promise and escorts Yori back to his apartment, along with Bucky. Yori walks into his home, leaving the two superheroes out in the hallway alone. Bucky's hands shoved into his jacket pocket as the silence fills the air like a gas. Their eyes meet, and Lauren gives him one of her breathtaking smiles.

" Let me know how the date goes."

And with her words, she departs, despite Bucky's longing for her presence. With a sigh, Bucky opens the door to his apartment.

Lauren begins her walk back to her home, despite her ability to teleport to anywhere in the world in a second. She enjoys the walk, it clears her head, which most New Yorkers would disagree with.

Her heels click against the sidewalk as she walks within a crowd of both local and out of towners. She pays them no mind and lets her body take her along the familiar street, but a ringing in her pocket finally draws her attention. She pulls out her phone to see 'CLINT' on her screen with a contact photo of him high on morphine. She chuckles from the photo, but answers the call and puts the phone up to her year.

" Hey, Hawk," Lauren says.

" Hey, Sabrina," Clint says, " How are things going?"

" Things are... going," She says, " Sam's with family in Louisiana. I just checked up on Buck in Brooklyn."