Everything the Light Touches

Chapter Eleven

a/n: hi friends! i am so sorry that it has taken so long for this chapter to come out but here we are! this chapter is a little shorter than my normal 3k+ chapters (its 2k+ this time lol), but i'm hoping to update soon! hope you enjoy, love you ALL! <3

There was once a time, when you were younger, that your friends would have to practically force you and Bucky Barnes apart. Like physically push you away from each other. Whether it was before you started dating, when you were connected at the hip, or afterwards when you never went anywhere without him. Steve complained about it for a bit once the three of you started getting closer. Then Sam when he began to 'infiltrate' your friend group. Natasha had never complained about you being close to Bucky but she had complained about Bucky being close to you, especially when the two of you had sleepovers together. But never in a million years did you once think there would be a die when George Barnes would stand in front of you and practically beg the two of you to bring back the same level of PDA you once had.

The air around you and Bucky had grown tense as George spoke. His parting words, "I know this will be hard after everything that has come to light recently, but you need to act like you're the sixteen and seventeen year olds that fell in love, once upon a time, all over again," had the two of you unsure what to do next. It wasn't until the door to Bucky's penthouse shut behind his parents that the silence seemed to break, briefly. The echo of the door shutting reverberated throughout the apartment as you and Bucky sat across from each other in awkward silence. His knee was bouncing, his hands tapping out some rhythm on his legs as he looked anywhere but you. Meanwhile, you were picking at your hands and damn near forcing yourself to not bite your nails.

You waited a moment longer before opening your mouth to speak on the topic that had just been thrown in your lap, when something completely different jumped into your lap instead. Literally.

A small white cat with bright blue eyes looked up at you and meowed almost inquisitively, as if she was asking what you were doing here. Your own eyes must have widened comically because you heard Bucky chuckle from his spot on the couch across from you. Your head snapped up at the sound and you saw him watching you almost...adoringly. Nope. Nope Y/N. Not adoringly. This man is an asshole. He doesn't adore anyone.

"Alp, what did we say about jumping in people's laps without asking first. It's not polite," Bucky tsked from his spot as he stood and took a cautious step towards you. The cat seemed to almost respond with a mew before facing away from Bucky and nuzzling into your lap. You sat there for a moment, mouth agape, looking from Bucky to the cat and back again. He stood in front of you, dopey half smile on his lips yet again, and watched as the cat in your lap started loudly purring and kneading your pants.

"That's Alpine. She's uh...she's my cat, so she'll be around if that's okay," Bucky stated, rubbing the back of his head with his hand as he huffed out a nervous laugh, "And she's a damn good judge of character."

It was your turn to huff out a laugh as Alpine seemed to meow in agreement with Bucky before turning those big blue eyes up at you again. You'd always wanted a cat when you were younger but your parents had absolutely refused. Your mom seemed disgusted by the fact that there would be a litter box in her house and your dad had claimed allergies, though a part of you had always wondered if he was lying to you. Looking back on it now, it wouldn't surprise you if he was. That thought was enough to wipe the laughter from your lips as you sank into the memories of your parents' betrayal.

Bucky and Alpine both must have noticed a change in your mood, an ever so slight descent into sadness because Alpine began furiously nuzzling and kneading your lap and Bucky cleared his throat to speak again.

"She's really good at reading people. Swear she almost attacked Sam when Nat brought her into Underworld," he was trailing off again, seemingly lost in thought, and that was the moment you decided to speak up with hopes that you could gain a little control on the situation that George had presented you with before leaving.