I'll Protect You, I Promise

Doritos and Tequila

"Bucky?"  Steve muttered. He was still asleep, but all the warmth that surrounded him had disappeared.

Bucky sat up on his knees. "Shh, I'm right here." He grabbed a blanket and threw it over him. He kissed Steve's forehead and retreated to the bathroom.

He turned the shower on. He didn't get in right away, though. He turned to stare at his reflection in the mirror. It wasn't the sad broken person he was so used to seeing. There was a faint trace of a smile and the eyes looked alive. It wasn't what he had expected, but it was good to see himself as human again.

The mirror started to fog, sending a warning to Bucky that he should get into the shower. The warm water felt nice. It was refreshing, even though it burned. That was the thrill of it. To anyone else the water would seem almost cool, but to someone who thought icy water was normal warm water was like hellfire.

He made an effort to shower quickly. Between the water hurting his skin and the time letting his mind wander where he didn't want it to go, showers weren't the best. When he got out there was little steam on the mirror, but he could hear the soft snores from Steve.

Good, he's still asleep. The man thought. He knew Steve could sleep through anything, but there was never a time not to be careful.

He wrapped himself in a towel and tiptoed to the bedroom to find clothes. He decided on sweatpants and old t-shirt. He had no need to get dressed up, after all, they had already had dinner.

There was a soft click that Bucky into defence mode, but he realised that it was only Tasha opening the door.

"Hello, losers!" She announced, holding a grocery store bag up in the air. 

Bucky ran out of the bedroom to shut her up, but Steve had already woken up. "Hello, Nat," Steve said groggily as he sat up.

Bucky gave her the death glare but held a seemingly normal conversation without holding any kind of tone with her. "What did you buy?"

She gave an innocent smile and placed the bag on the dining table. "Tequila, shot glasses because you guys don't own any, and some different chips. Doritos, normal potato chips, and tortilla chips."

"Why did you get 4 shot glasses?" Bucky asked as he rifled through the bag. "There's only three of us."

Steve frowned, "You invited someone, didn't you?"

"Well," Nat explained, "It just so happens that I ran into a very sad bird-man in the store, so I invited him."

"Sam's coming over," Bucky asserted, "great."

Steve got up and hugged Bucky from behind, "Be nice."

Bucky complained, but he knew it was no use. He was Steve's friend and Nat already invited him. Sad bird-man explains him perfectly. 

The doorbell rang.

"Dammit," Bucky groaned.

Nat went to the door, shooting him a look before opening it. She put on a smile and opened, "Come on in, Sam."

"Thanks, Natasha," Sam said as he stepped into the apartment.

Nat closed the door. "Who's ready for shots?"

"Um, Nat?" Steve questioned, "You sure?"

"We can all hold our liquor." She stated, "And you all need to loosen up, so..."

Sam put his hand up, "I was promised Doritos, but if shots are involved, shouldn't you have some fun with it?"

"I like the way you think," Nat said, patting Sam on the back. "How about never have I ever?"