Let Go: Winterwidow

Part 2: Roses

Bucky watched Natasha storm out of the gym with a sinking feeling in his gut. He rubbed the back of his neck guiltily and considered if he should follow her, but he decided better and turned back to his bag. He unhooked it from the ceiling and strode over to the closet, setting it inside and closing the door softly.

"I'm such an idiot..." he muttered to himself, grabbing his back and exiting the gym. 

He walked along a couple blocks, heading back to his apartment when his phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw that his girlfriend, Celestine, was calling. He sighed and answered, bringing the phone to his ear.

"Hey Buck Buck!" her voice chimed. "Where are you baby?"

Bucky blushed at the pet-name. "Heading back to the apartment, why?"

"Are you near a florist by any chance? I just don't think the flowers we have will do for the kitchen AND the living room."

Bucky groaned in frustration. Celestine was trying to become an interior designer, so she constantly demanded new things for Bucky's apartment since they lived together. Bucky still considered it his home though, but he never said anything about it. 

"Thanks honey, you're the best!" Celestine make a kissy sound from her side of the phone and hung up before Bucky could reply.

Bucky shoved the phone back into his pocket and made a slight adjustment in the direction he was heading, turning the corner and crossing the street to a small florist shop. He walked in and looked around, sighing again. Celestine could be a lot of work.

He sifted through numerous bouquets of flowers, trying to find ones that matched the picture that Celestine had sent him. White roses. Not too hard right? Well, all he could find were pink, red, and even yellow roses. He picked up his phone and dialed Celestine's number again.

"Hey, so they don't have white roses," he said as he picked up some red ones that in his opinion would look better.

"Oh darn," her voice sounded disappointed. "That's a bit of a setback."

"I've got some nice red ones," Bucky said hopefully, to which he heard a scoff. "I think they'll look lovely with your design-"

"Um, no. I want white roses. Don't get me red ones, go to another florist and don't come back until you have what I need!"

Bucky opened his mouth to respond when she hung up again. He looked down at the red roses and scowled as if it was their fault he had been shouted at. The color was familiar to him somehow, like he'd seen that red before. But where?

He searched his mind as he found himself paying for the bouquet of red roses. His thoughts wandered back to the conversation he just had with his girlfriend. Celestine could get really frustrated and flustered when she was working, so not getting her what she wanted could really set her off. That was one flaw about her that he just couldn't bring himself to like. He never wanted to bring it up to her because he was afraid that would send her packing, and she was his first "serious" relationship, so he didn't want to give that up either.

He glanced down at the red roses he was carrying out of the shop. The fiery red was so familiar for some reason... why was it so familiar? He walked down the street, not really having a definite destination. He wasn't in the mood to face Celestine at the moment, so he didn't want to head back to his apartment right away. He took random turns and kept his eyes trained on the flowers as if they were a compass.

Since his gaze was down, he didn't notice that he was walking straight towards someone, and ended up crashing into them. 

"Oh my- I'm so sorry!" he said as he wrapped his free arm around her waist to keep her from hitting the ground. She wrapped an arm around his neck to balance and looked up at him questioningly. "N-Natasha?"

She spat some fiery red hair from her mouth. "The one and only."

Bucky opened his mouth to say something when he noticed the position they were in and blushed. He stood up quickly and misjudged his speed, bringing her a little too close for comfort, so he hasilty broke away from her and hid the roses behind his back.

"V chem delo?" Natasha asked in Russian. Bucky's head perked up slightly and he blushed harder, cursing his red cheeks as he met her soft eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he replied in Russian. He looked down and thought about how the roses had reminded him of her beautiful hair. "I'm sorry about earlier..." his grip tightened around the roses slightly, "I didn't mean what I said~"

She brushed some dirt off his shoulder and smiled at him. "Stop being such a dork," she switched back to English. 

He looked up, relieved at her forgiveness. "We're still friends, right?"

Something in her eyes changed, but she hid it well and nodded. "Friends."

Bucky smiled and stepped a little closer, admiring her eyes. She smiled back and raised an eyebrow, glancing at his arms. "What are you hiding Barnes?"

Bucky slowly brought out the roses. They were a bit mashed because of the collision, but otherwise they looked alright. Natasha's smile wavered slightly, but she kept it bright on her face.

"Aw, you're so sweet to get your girlfriend some roses," she said softly. "Such a good boyfriend, aren't you?" 

He laughed sheepishly and looked down at them, making a decision inside his head. "They're... they're not for Celestine..."

Natasha cocked her head and gave him a mildly confused look. "Who then? No one just goes out and buys roses just for the fun of it," she laughs softly.

He looked back into her eyes and extended his arm, offering the bouquet to her. "I got them for... for you," he said carefully, "they reminded me of your pretty hair."

Wow, smooth, he thought to himself bitterly. He didn't dare meet Natasha's gaze after that stupid line, and went back to staring at his feet. To his relief, she gingerly took them from him and smiled.

"You shouldn't have," she leaned up and kissed his cheek, "you're the best. Thank you."

Bucky turned just as red as the roses and couldn't stop himself from grinning. He returned the gesture and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes before stepping away. 

"I'll see you later," he said with a wave. 

"I'm counting on it Barnes," she replied and continued on her way, hugging the flowers close to her heart and smiling to herself.

Bucky had a skip in his step as he made his way back to his apartment as he thought about the events previous. Whenever he was with her, he couldn't stop smiling. She could make him laugh so easily, and... and she was gorgeous... and kind... and she understood him better than anyone...

No Barnes, he scolded himself as he walked down the street, she doesn't want you. You have a girlfriend... you have to love who you've already got, right? Right. Just let go of the feelings that you've had for her for years... you have to let go.

The skip in his step soon faded as he crossed the street and finally arrived at his apartment.