blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

the one with the aftermath

     "He did what!?" Gen and Rose's high-pitched squeals vibrated through the cellphone, resulting in Lily dropping it from her hands in surprise. Lily had broken the news to the two about the actions taken by Mr. James Buchanan Barnes just hours before in her kitchen. The way his calloused hand and cool prosthetic rested against her pale cheeks, holding her face as though it were a fine piece of china that would break if he applied too much pressure. Followed by the pressing of his petal-soft lips to her own, creating undeniable friction between the two not even Lily's deflective tendencies could deny. All over a cup of coffee.

"Okay woah, let's relax there," Lily sighed while finishing zipping up the flower-patterned muted coral skirt she had slid on above her white lace tank top. Her hand gripped onto a cropped red cardigan that hit just below the waist of the high-cut skirt. A cute and simple outfit that encompassed the true aesthetic of Lily Osborne. One that the girls on the phone disapproved of. Speaking of which, "It was just a kiss...it doesn't mean anything, right?"

Two conflicting parts of Lily seemed to have been raging war in her mind. On one hand, she prayed and hoped that the kiss meant nothing to him. That it was simply a heat of the moment sort of thing. The tension and adrenaline of the night had welled to a head in Bucky and he made an impulsive decision that didn't mean anything. It was just a kiss. Nothing more. Nothing less. But on the other hand, Lily secretly wished that the kiss was out of some sort of romantic feeling. That he had kissed her because the slight crush that Lily had on the man out of time was reciprocated. And that he felt the same way that she did. But honestly, she wouldn't believe that if someone wrote it in the sky out of the smoke from a plane. Mostly because she herself didn't believe it was even remotely possible. A guy like that liking a girl like her? It was a cliche trope but she never thought in her wildest dreams he would even look at her in a way like that.

"You should totally ask him," Rose chimed in, seemingly shooing someone away. Lily had figured the two were sitting in the kitchen at Gen's cafe, munching on pastries as they awaited even more juicy gossip from Lily. But they would be sadly disappointed because the kiss was really the only news that Lily had. But it wouldn't stop them from hoping, "He seems like an honest guy. He already kissed you and you kissed back, what's the worst that could happen?"

After a few more minutes of back and forth between the three girls, Lily hung up her phone to focus on fixing the mop of golden hair atop her head. It was only 9 o'clock in the morning, and after the events that had transpired the night before, Lily didn't expect to see Hunter come in to her room or down to the main floor for another while. Bucky, however, Lily didn't know if he was wandering around her home, or if he had taken off somehow. If the avengers sent someone to pick him up or something. But, after leaving the soft curls be and dancing across her shoulders, Lily would soon come to learn that answer to her confusion before.

Sitting at the birchwood dinner table sat Bucky Barnes and Lily's son plowing down on some frosted flakes while laughing over something. Lily stood on the landing of the stairs, heart growing even larger than it already was. It felt as though the beating organ inside of her may explode at the drop of a hat if she kept staring at the beautiful moment in front of her. A beaming smile on her son's youthful face and a mirrored one on the stubble-covered and worn face of the Winter Soldier. Neither boy had spotted the blonde staring longingly at them from the staircase, and she prayed silently that they didn't. Instead, she slid her phone out of her skirt pocket and took a quick picture, wanting to relive the moment a million times over if she could.

"Mom!" Hunter exclaimed when Lily's feet hit the bottom of the stairs finally. He shot from his chair and curled his slim arms around the waist of his mother. Lily smiled gently as she bent down to rest a kiss on his forehead before turning to the older man who too seemed to watch in bliss at the interaction. A similar expression to the one Lily wore just moments ago.