Untangling a Memory

Day off

"Here seems like a good spot." Natasha gestured to a place in the grass that looked over the rolling hills that led down to a small lake. "Toss me the blanket?"

Bucky watched Natasha set up the large cotton blanket, placing her shoes and the backpack on the corners to keep it from blowing around. The day was warm and perfectly breezy, a great afternoon for a picnic and spending time outdoors with no particular agenda.

Both Bucky and Natasha were looking forward to a day of lounging around. They had gotten into a more structured schedule of training recently and Natasha had started to do some work for Steve again, albeit things that she could do that didn't require her leaving Wakanda. She still hadn't decided about whether she wanted to return to the mission, so she stalled by helping to sift through intelligence they had gathered. Natasha hadn't brought up the subject with Bucky, since she wasn't sure what she would tell him either. If Steve had told Bucky that he'd asked her about Natasha returning to the field, Bucky had been polite enough not to bring it up.

While Natasha had gone back to doing work for the team, Bucky had been busying himself. He still wasn't ready to jump back into missions, even if it was just from a distance. Occasionally, Natasha would ask for his thoughts on a particular item, but she seemed to understand his position on work and respected his space. So, Bucky focused on other hobbies, like working on new recipes, reading additional books that Natasha gave him, and learning from Shuri when she had projects she could show him. He liked having jobs to do that didn't involve spying, attacking, or killing.

But this day, Bucky and Natasha had reserved as a day just to relax. Natasha had told Steve that she was busy (even if she chose not to specify with what) and Bucky had let Shuri know he'd visit her later in the week instead.

Even though neither were likely to admit it, Bucky and Natasha were both looking forward to getting some time together. While Natasha had been recovering, they had spent almost all their waking hours in each other's presence, so this had felt like a significant drop off. Bucky would make jokes with Shuri, but he didn't get same response as he'd get from Natasha, with her signature smirk and bright eyes. Natasha would be working on something and suddenly miss having his calming demeanor and intense gaze.

As Natasha settled into a good spot, Bucky sat down next to her and began unpacking the backpack. While Natasha had spent the morning in the gym, Bucky had been in the kitchen preparing a surprise lunch and snacks. He'd wanted to make something special for their day off, so he'd made prosciutto, fig, and brie sandwiches, with a balsamic glaze and arugula. To go with it, he had made fresh-squeezed lemonade, and cut veggies and homemade hummus for when they got hungry later. Natasha's eyes went wide and her mouth watered at the site of everything he'd brought.

They spent a long while eating the lunch, quietly munching away, just enjoying the food, the views, and each other's company. Natasha and Bucky smiled at each other the whole time, occasionally smirking or breaking into soft chuckles at nothing except each other. This is what they had missed as they had worked on their separate projects during the preceding days.

Once they had finished their food, Natasha laid back on the blanket, eyes closed, knees bent, hands on her full stomach. Bucky sat next to her, crosslegged, eyes flickering between the view to Natasha and back.

"You've missed me, Barnes, haven't you?"

Bucky laughed, his mouth pulled up at the corner. "Well, of course. Only so many people are willing to put up with me."

A smirk spread across Natasha's face. "That's what I thought."

"How about you?" Bucky's tone was a little more shy, while still playful.