Hallowed (B. Barnes)

Chapter Five

Bucky comes out of his shell the longer he spends around Sydney. He talks more. Asks questions more. He's even started laughing a little. Today he stands outside of Sydney's apartment knocking on the wooden door. Shifting nervously on his feet. He wants to do something nice for her. She's been nice to him the last month. The month since she called him out, the month that a friendship has grown. They both keep their secrets and they both just....enjoy the companionship. It's been so long since he had a friend like this. Just someone to talk to. Someone who is there for him because they want to be, not because someone is paying them, or because they have to. And he likes her. The door opens and Sydney blinks taking him in. she groans a little.

"It's 8am" she comments leaning in her doorway, still half asleep and if it isn't the most adorable thing he's ever seen. "On a Sunday, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to thank you" he offers, arms laden with groceries. "For..." he shrugs a little. "For being nice to me when you could have...." she yawns and presses her hand to her mouth. "I urm...thought I could cook for you......brunch...." she raises an eyebrow lowering her hand.

"You want to cook me brunch?" she asks him, he nods. Her eyes shift slightly, softening. She sighs and leans up. "Alright" she motions for him to enter, heading up the stairs. Bucky lingers in the doorway a moment. She turns to him on the stairs, waiting for him. "But FYI, brunch tends to be at about....11..so" he blushes a little. He just got excited. He had planned on waiting, on sleeping in a little, but he was awake early and just carried on with his plans as if it were later.

"Okay, so breakfast..." he counters stepping into apartment, kicking the door shut behind him. He tries to ignore the face she's only wearing a pair of shorts and a vest top and the fluffiest socks he has ever seen. She jogs up the stairs and he trails behind her slower. Letting her adjust her apartment, he can hear her moving things around before he reaches the top of the stairs. He sees why she feels the need to tidy up, there are clothes everywhere, books scattered on table tops, empty mugs and glasses. He raises an eyebrow.

"Sorry, it's such a mess" she apologizes picking up her shoes and a few items of clothing from the floor. "I wasn't really expecting company....ever" he knows she doesn't talk to anyone else. It's him. He's the only friendly contact she has. She talks to the guy that owns the bar and rents her apartment but they're not friends. She talks to patrons at the bar when she works but none of them are her friends. She has Bucky as much as he has her. Bucky glances down as he stands on something. Can feel fabric under his foot. He pulls his foot back and swallows a little. He's been doing his research and these...items came up. Bra. It's a bra. Of course there were bras back in his day but nothing like this. There were only there to hold them into place, but nowadays, nowadays appearance matters. This one is black lace that's barely there. So different from anything women would have worn in the 1940's. She snatches it from the floor chuckling embarrassed.

"I didn't see anything" Bucky quickly tells her, she smirks a little and points to the kitchen. He nods and heads that way with the groceries. Sydney finishes clearing up, throwing her clothing onto her bed before joining him as he unpacks the bags.

"Okay" she breathes out. "If you're cooking, let me make coffee" she offers, he glances to the fancy modern coffee machine on the counter and cocks his head with a frown.

"If you have that thing why do you go out everyday?" he asks, she moves to the machine.

"So I'm not stuck in here 24/7" she nods to the apartment before grabbing two mismatched mugs from the cabinet. "And I wouldn't meet handsome cute stalker boys" he looks to her as she smirks back at him.

"Handsome and cute?" he asks her. "Is there such a thing?"

"I don't know" she shrugs. "Have you seen you?" he blushes a little as he clears his throat looking away and pulls carton of orange juice from the bag. "You're not used to someone complimenting you, are you?" she asks him quietly.

"No" he whispers. "It's....it's been some time" he admits. She turns so her back is against the counter and she faces him.

"I can call you pretty again, if you want" she offers, he lifts his eyes to hers. "Get you used to it"

"I'd rather you not lie to me" he points out.

"Do you really believe that it would be a lie?" she asks watching him work. "Who you are..." she starts.

"What I am.." he interrupts. "It's not pretty" he answers.

"Who you are and what you are is not always the same thing" she argues, he sighs a little. "What you are is a man that can be intimidating" she admits. "Especially when you're in one of your moods and you...kind of....strut down the street in those chunky ass boots" his lip twitches into a semi smile. "But...who you are is....timid" he cocks his head. "You can be sweet and sensitive, and just a little awkward" she looks to the breakfast and smiles. "Polite and generous...." Bucky watches her say these things about him. "Thoughtful"

"Really?" he whispers, she looks to him.

"Would someone not all those things turn up on my doorstep at 8 am on a Sunday to make me breakfast just to say thank you because I was simply being your friend?" he bites his lip and then shakes his head. She sees he is still struggling to believe her. "Whoever you were before we met, James" he looks back at her. "It doesn't matter" she adds, he looks down. "It's who you are now, this man that I know, that's who matters to me" she shrugs and grabs a blueberry from the punnet on the counter and then pops it between her lips. Bucky can't stop staring at her. He really wants to believe her. He does. But what he has done. Who he was. It's unforgivable.

...........

Bucky tucks his hands in his pocket stood on Sydney's doorstop, the sun having long set behind him. He'd spent longer talking with Sydney then he expected. It's just so easy with her. All day. They'd eaten brunch then she'd offered a movie, which turned into two and dinner. They talked. He laughed. A lot. She's got a sweet sense of humour. Sarcastic even. He finds it adorable. He clears his throat and shifts on his feet.

"Do you think..." he starts nervously. "And try not to let my intense vulnerability become any kind of a factor here" he quickly adds, she smiles a little. "But do you think it would be okay if I asked you out? Sometime? Maybe?" he asks her quietly, his nerves eating away at him. He doesn't even know what possessed him into asking her. These last weeks have changed him. Hopefully for the better. And he knows it's because of her. He likes her. She's beautiful. Makes him happy. Gives him space from the nightmares in his mind. Makes him feel....human. Sydney stares at him softly.

"Yeah, maybe..." she answers, Bucky looks to her surprised by her answer. He nods and then smiles.

"Okay..." he whispers and then nods. "Okay, maybe I will..." he tells her, they share a look.

"Goodnight, James" she tells him warmly, he nods.

"Goodnight" he whispers and waits till the door closes to leave, to cross the street to his own apartment. But he can't stop smiling like an idiot.

.............

Sydney smiles leaning back against her door. She doesn't know what compelled her to accept his asking of her to ask her out. She likes him. He makes her smile and laugh and he's her friend. Her only friend. Maybe going out with her only friend is actually a bad idea. But he makes her feel....human, which she hasn't felt in a very long time. She can try. She can try to be human and go on a date with a nice man. She pushes herself away from the door and heads up the stairs. Her heart all a flutter in her chest. Bucky's influence on her. It hasn't stopped all day.