#buckymel

"I'm going to the bathroom, be back in five." Mel unclipped her seatbelt and was halfway out of the car when Bucky spoke up, his hand covering hers on the dashboard.

"Be careful, okay, in and out, we're laying low, remember?"

"Yes, yes I know, very secret spy stuff. Sure. You want snacks?"

"Mel, we're laying low, no buying snacks. We have food."

Bucky pointed to the cool box he'd packed and stowed in the footwell of the backseats and Mel rolled her eyes.

"Fine."

It was not fine, she was getting a slushie whether Bucky said she could or not. He wasn't the boss of her.

They'd been on the road for hours and hours, she needed the sugar to keep her awake and, more than that, she needed to remember that there were fun treats in the world and not just Valentina breathing down her neck or superheroes telling her she had to be quick.

She returned to find Bucky sat in the open trunk of the SUV, the door providing some shade from the afternoon sun.

And Bucky found her drinking from an enormous cup of what looked like anti-freeze.

"Melissa."

"James."

"We agreed no snacks."

"It's not a snack, it's a drink."

"Is that wiper fluid? Do I need to call poison control, we don't have time for the emergency room so you'll have to just die quietly in the back."

"Noted." She took another slurp, closing her eyes and she sucked around the wide straw, and Bucky pointedly looked away.

He was struggling to look at her as it was. The way her long lean legs stretched out in the car, the narrow curve of her waist when he'd helped her after the attack, the lacey little cami she revealed when she took off the serious black sweater she always wore. And now, this oversized shirt hanging from her shoulders and her lips tight around the straw.

It was entirely too much.

"Do I need to sort something out in there? Did they have CCTV?"

Mel shivered, playing it off as brain freeze, but god did she love his tough-guy Thunderbolts voice.

"Nah, it's some mom and pop outfit, guy was in the back watching football anyway."

"Good."

Bucky opened the cooler and pulled out two neatly wrapped foil packages, one with an 'M' on in Sharpie.

Mel opened it suspiciously to find her favourite club sandwich inside, just how she liked it.

“You cut the crusts off," she said, slightly confused.

“You hate them," Bucky mumbled around a bite of his own, large, sandwich. As if that explained anything.

"I do…but how do you know that." She took her own bite, it was delicious, her eyes closing as she moaned at the taste of real food. She'd never admit it, but Bucky was right, she was sick of mediocre fries and cheap gas station burgers, this was heaven.

Bucky watched her, pupils wide, and hoped she hadn't sensed his fascination with the way she made that happy noise while she ate.

"We had that interview a few months back, they brought catering and you only ate the middle of the finger sandwiches, so I made a guess."

"Wow…you remembered that?"

"Considering I had my mind wiped and that I'm an old man, as you like to tell me, I have a fairly good memory."

He did, didn't he. Mel had noticed he was very thoughtful when it came to her and it gave her butterflies as if she was a teenager with a crush.

"What's this blue thing you were so desperate for anyway?" He asked, eyeing the now melting drink out of the corner of his eye.

"Slushie! Have you never had one?"

This was why Bucky liked Mel, she always seemed excited about sharing something new with him. The gentle mocking that followed was acceptable, mostly because she had such interesting and varied tastes.

"It's like crushed ice and syrup, do you want to try some?" She offered him the cup and wiggled it around, "it won't bite."

"Not sure I need anymore anti-freeze in me." He joked and Mel stuck her tongue out, now blue from the food colouring.

"Your tongue is blue."

She kept her tongue out and tried to look down at the same time, Bucky held back a laugh.

Mel glared back, "and I was going to share my slushie with you as well," she pouted.

"Yes, very scary, eat up we need to get going."

"I'm terrifying, actually." Mel took another bite of her sandwich, watching Bucky tidy up around her. He looked up and gave her that soft smile that had been appearing more and more lately.

"Terrifying." He agreed, "you ready to get go?"

"Sure." Mel balled up her sandwich wrapper and tossed it into the trash like a basketball. "Score!"

Bucky was still looking at her, soft eyes and gentle smile — the butterflies were back.

They both settled back into the comfortable seats of the Thunderbolt's SUV.

"Do you have any slushie left, I wanna try it." Bucky asked, checking the paper road map he'd insisted on bringing.

"Nope, it was too delicious."

"Hmm," he looked at her again, and his eyes flicked down to her blue tongue, the tip sticking out from between her lips as she concentrated on tidying up her.

"What?"

"Just —" he lent across the centre console, cupping the back of her head and pulling her closer. His lips met hers and she gasped, his tongue sliding along hers. It felt hot compared to the ice she'd just chugged and she shivered, leaning into his touch.