#seeing the prompts were upside-down and shell i immediately thought of this little piece and i wanted to try my hand at recreating it

[anastacialyart]

05.02.23 || Have the skaters become more frugal this year?

[valkyrieofsmut]

Salvator

Bucky x Avenger!OFC

Descriptions:  Bucky finds a half dead kitten on a mission an brings it home, Dawn helping him nurse it back to life and keep it hidden from Tony. Over time, he has started coming out of his shell, and realizes some feelings that he didn’t know he had. So, did he save the kitten, or did the kitten save him?

Types: Fluff, a bit of romance, NO smut!!!

Prompt: This is a gift for my Secret Santa-ee, @rivertam-art I hope you like it and merry Christmas!!!

Warnings: Fluff- like, so much fluff...

Words: 6242

A/n- Note at the end...

Masterlist

Story!

The gunfire was deafening, shattering any semblance of silence.

Bucky pushed the limp body of an unconscious enemy soldier from him, an unnoticed shiver moving through his spine in the freezing weather.

Snow fell around them, covered the ground, filled the area, up to Bucky’s knees, sticking to his tactical pants, his boots, his hair, all over him. The shiver caused him a moment’s hesitation, which caused him to miss the large piece of scrap metal flying through the air toward his head.

Twenty minutes later, Bucky’s eyes snapped open. A disturbing quiet filled the air.

Silence.

Nothingness that filled the air, audibly and visually.

Darkness surrounded him, until his eyes adjusted enough to focus on the light fluffy flakes falling straight down on his body and face.

He didn’t feel cold.

Bucky closed his eyes, accepting the darkness, waiting for it to devour him. It had been a long time, but he was at peace- he was ready.

His ears adjusted and Bucky heard the slight, nearly silent, swooshing that didn’t quite break the silence. The sound of snow falling- of nothingness. Emptiness.

A tiny sound broke through the silence. It came again. And again. It was quiet, but still a complaint. It cut through the quiet and made Bucky open his eyes. The tiny, sharp complaint radiated from a single point, but echoed off of whatever obstacle was around what was making the noise.

Bucky pushed himself up, pulled himself from the ground, stood and stumbled through the piles of snow.

He had to stop the noise. He had to stop the little plaintive sound that was stopping him from relaxing into oblivion in this God forsaken place far from home.

Snow kicked up around him as he stumbled, sending sprays of white up into the blackness around him. The noise got a little louder the closer he got to it, but the vast emptiness around him told him that he was alone.

Still alone.

Always alone.

His breath puffed out in a cloud in front of him, and he stopped, seeing a dark spot- a little hollow next to a bush. The noise was coming from the spot, and Bucky looked down, seeing a glimmer in the dark.

“Mew,” came the tiny sound again. Bucky looked down, stock still except for his breath clouding around him. A small, dark, matted thing was there, one little leg poking out as the shivering, wet, freezing bundle of fur tumbled forward, landing nearly on it’s face. “Mew!” It cried, looking up at Bucky.

There were no tracks, not even old ones. It was alone. It was crying for help, begging for him to help- asking him to save it…

But he was destruction.

He was also abandoned and going to be on his way out. He couldn’t help the ragged little thing. There was nothing he could do for it- except make it quick and painless.

Bucky’s gloved hands scooped up the shivering little blob of wet fur, holding it up to his eyes. A wide, pink mouth surrounded by sharp little teeth opened as a squeaky mew left it.

Begging for help.

Begging for life.

Begging for love.

Warmth.

Bucky could give what little warmth he had to the kitten, his last, dying warmth. He opened his coat, unsnapping, buckling, and zipping what he needed to, opening the flap a sliver, feeling the freezing air hit his warm chest. He tucked the little wet bundle against him, looking down and watching it huddle against him and mew.

“Hey, Bucky, there you are!” Dawn called, her feet crunching through the snow. Bucky looked up to see the form coming toward him. “Are you ok?” She asked. Bucky turned and looked at her, his hands around the now only slightly open line in the front of his coat. “Aww! Look at the little thing! It’s so tiny!” She reached toward him and touched the lump in his coat.

Bucky was a little stiff, but the more Dawn fussed about how cute the little bump on his front was, even though she couldn’t really see anything, the more relaxed about her knowing he felt.

“C’mon Bucky,” Dawn said, her hand going to his arm, seeming to spread warmth from it though there was no way he could feel it with her gloves and his coat in the way, “we gotta get you two to the jet. Get you two warmed up.” Bucky mostly closed his coat, keeping as much warmth inside as he could, and he noticed that you really couldn’t see any lump or anything from the kitten.

Bucky sat in the back, away from the others, and Dawn came back to him, bringing a clean, dry shirt she pulled from her go bag, pushing it into his coat and rubbing it a little roughly over the kitten.

“What’re you up to over there?” Clint asked suggestively with a smirk.

Dawn raised a brow and looked at him. “I shoved some snow down Bucky’s jacket, and now I feel bad about it,” she told him.

Clint shook his head and walked away.

Dawn watched him go, then took the kitten from Bucky’s jacket, making a jolt of electricity shoot through him as her hand brushed his chest. She held the wet little body in the shirt, rubbing the shirt on both sides of it, drying it off, and making it move around a little, more alert. Long, mostly dry fur stood out around the kitten in tangled spikes, but it was moving, and Dawn pulled a small scrap of fabric around it, bundling it up and tucking it back into Bucky’s coat and closing it.

Bucky watched her, his eyes following her movements. “Why did you do that?” He asked softly.

“To make sure the kitten’s blood was flowing,” she answered, just as softly, “it’s something you have to do sometimes when they’re born, too.”

“I meant lie to Clint,” Bucky told her.

“Oh,” Dawn said, looking up to him, then adjusting his coat a little. “Tony would probably freak out if he knew you were bringing some strange animal home.”

Bucky nodded as he thought about that. “True. Same could be said for you.”

Dawn smirked up at him. “Are you calling me an animal?”

“No,” Bucky shook his head, “me.”

Dawn lifted a brow. “Strange as you may be, you are not a stranger. And you’re not an animal.” Bucky looked away. “Bucky,” she said, trying to get his attention, saying his name again as a warning so that he looked at her. “You’re not an animal.”

…    …    …    

Bucky sat in his room, a place that no one other than Steve had entered since he moved into it.

The tiny kitten was against his chest, held there by his shirt. His body ran warm, ever since the serum, and he hoped that it would help the little body warm up and recover.

There was a knock at his door and Bucky froze, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders and crossing his arms to better hold and hide the lump. He opened the door and saw Dawn standing there as though she were carrying contraband; a plastic shopping bag on her arm, trying to look inconspicuous as she looked around.

“Hi!” She said sweetly as she looked up. She peeked into the room and looked around. “Can I come in?”

Confusion pressed into Bucky’s brow as he leaned away from the door, making enough room for her to enter. Why had she knocked on his door?

Dawn walked over to his bed and sat down, setting the bag beside her and opening it. “I brought some things.” Bucky went to the bed and sat next to her, looking into the frail looking plastic. She grinned up at him and held out a hand for the kitten. “Where is it?” Bucky silently opened the blanket and took the small, also frail looking, kitten from his shirt, putting it in her hand. “Poor baby… looks like it’s not doing very well…”

“I tried to feed it,” Bucky told her, for some reason feeling like he needed to defend himself. “It wouldn’t eat.”

“Feed it what?” She asked, glancing up at him.

“Tuna…”

“Ah, well… he,” she said as she held it up and lifted it’s tail, “is too little to eat tuna.”

“How can you tell it’s a he,” Bucky asked, surprised by her knowledge.

Dawn turned the kitten and rubbed her finger over his nose, then down to rub over his body. “Boys look like a colon, girls look like a semicolon,” she shrugged. “Anyway, he needs milk.” She handed the kitten back to Bucky and dug around in the bag, pulling out some things and going to his bathroom, talking to him as she walked. “He’s still a little cold, but it makes sense if he hasn’t eaten in a while. Keep him close to you while I get this all set up. He should be warm enough to eat.” The water ran for a bit, and when she came back through the door, she had a towel over her shoulder and was holding a tiny bottle upside down and watching the bottle drip onto her wrist.

Bucky silently watched her, seeing her nod and then stick the bottle in her bra between her breasts, making him blush. She sat next to him and pulled the towel across her legs. “Ok, let’s check him out.” Bucky handed the kitten to her, and watched her shift everything around to get it comfortable before pulling the bottle out of her bra and holding it for the kitten. “Come on, little guy,” she tried to encourage him, but the kitten wouldn’t take the nipple, no matter how she held his head. “Ok,” she said simply, laying back on the bed, grabbing Bucky’s pillows to prop herself up so she could still look down at the kitten. She pulled the towel up onto her belly and chest, holding the bottle and kitten near each other, letting a drop of the milk get on the kitten’s closed lips. The kitten licked his lips and realized what was happening. He immediately went for the nipple, latching on without Dawn having to do much.

Bucky realized that he was staring down at her, and laid next to her, trying not to look intimidating while watching the kitten suckling. “Why lay down?” He asked.

She shrugged. “More surface area for the kitten to lay on; you don’t have a table, and we can’t go out to the kitchen. Warmer up here, too.” Bucky’s hand drifted closer to the little bundle of fur that she had started brushing with a toothbrush. The kitten started kneading her, it’s little eyes closed and toes working against the towel covering her as it seemed to smile around the bottle’s nipple. “So, have you named him yet?”

Bucky’s eyes shot up to hers, but she was still watching the kitten, making sure to keep him at the correct angle, on his belly with his head up, brushing his fur to detangle it and encourage him to keep feeding. “It’s only been a day.”

“Yeah- and?” She asked.

Bucky just looked back to the kitten, pulling his hand back and turning to look up at the ceiling, sitting up after a moment as he started to feel vulnerable. “I haven’t thought about it.”

Silence surrounded them until Dawn broke it softly. “Little kitten,” she hummed as she stroked him with the toothbrush. “Petit chaton… petit sauvetage… Safe now. Loved now…” {little kitten, tiny rescue}

Bucky couldn't take his eyes from her, watching how gentle she was with the kitten. When it was done eating, she changed the towel to over her shoulder again and laid the kitten over it, thrumming her fingers along the kitten's back, tiny little tapping until he let out a few small sounds that Bucky would guess were the kitten version of burps.

Dawn smiled at the kitten and brushed her finger over his nose before turning and handing him to Bucky. “So, three or four times a day, that much,” she told him, pointing at a line on the bottle, “just follow the instructions, keep the bottle at about forty five degrees, it'll be fine. He'll let you know when he's done.”

“How do you know all this?” Bucky asked.

She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. “I had a cat who had two litters of kittens when I was little, and after seeing the miracle of birth, I decided that I wanted to be a veterinarian for a while.”

Bucky was a little surprised to hear that she was so caring as a child, but then it made sense; she was still a very caring person.

…    …    …    

Dawn rolled over from her phone, looking up at the ceiling. “What?” She asked.

“Mr. Barnes is calling for you.”

“From where?” She asked, sitting up.

“His room,” FRIDAY answered.

“Alright, let him know I'll be there in just a moment.” She stood from the bed and straightened herself out before heading to Bucky’s room.

The door opened nearly immediately when she knocked. “He won't stop mewing,” Bucky told her.

Dawn’s brow twitched, and she stepped into the room, moving toward where the kitten was sitting on the bed, mewing miserably at them. She could see how concerned Bucky was about the kitten, though he was hiding it pretty well, and she didn't think she'd ever seen him so concerned about anything, other than maybe Steve, before.

“Every time I put him down, he cries, but I have to go train with Steve. He gave me a few days off due to nearly freezing to death, but I have to go today,” he told her as he stepped next to her.

Dawn picked the kitten up and held him against her chest, but he immediately tried to climb over her shoulder to get to Bucky. Dawn giggled and leaned close enough that his chest touched the back of her shoulder, and the kitten jumped across onto him. Dawn felt shivers wiggle in her stomach at the touch, unaware that Bucky had the same wiggles. “He just wants to be on you,” she said, her giggles getting louder when she turned around and saw the kitten burrowing against Bucky's chest. “So cute!” She murmured.

Bucky looked up at her with a worried expression. “What do I do?”

“I'll watch him, you go train,” she answered.

“What if he just keeps mewing?”

“It'll be ok,” she told him.

Bucky set the kitten in her hands when she held them out, and he climbed to curl up against her chest, right over her heart. Bucky didn't realize that's where the kitten was before, but now that he saw it on her, he realized that the kitten laid over his heart, too, something he always seemed to forget existed.

.

When Bucky returned, he found the two of them cuddled up on the bed, the kitten tucked against her chest, under her arm. He actually felt his lips lift in a smile at the tender scene on his bed.

…    …    …    

Bucky opened the can of can food, tossing the can and the lid in the bathroom garbage after emptying it into a small bowl. The kitten ran from where he had been waiting to ambush Bucky, hidden behind the pillows on the bed, pouncing on the floor next to the bowl and sniffing at the food before rubbing against Bucky's leg. Bucky sat on the floor and stoked the kitten's back, giving a scratch, and he climbed up and settled himself against Bucky's chest, giving him no choice but to hold him- over his heart.

There was a knock at the door and Bucky looked up nervously, worried about who was there. “Who is it?”

“It's me,” Dawn called through the door.

“Come in,” Bucky answered, and she did, smiling when she saw the kitten on his chest.

“He really likes it there, huh?” Bucky shrugged. “Well, come on, we need to go out; presents and stuff,” she told him.

“I- I can't leave him here,” Bucky told her.

Dawn chewed the inside of her lip for a moment, then asked, “he hasn't stopped crying when you leave after three weeks?” Bucky shook his head, his hand covering the kitten protectively. Dawn held back her chuckle, but couldn't stop the grin. “You're his Sauveur,” she told him. “He doesn't want to leave you behind, or you to leave him behind.” {Savior}

Bucky grimaced at the kitten, but followed Dawn's suggestion and bundled up a bit, keeping the kitten in his coat, cuddled against his chest.

No one noticed or commented, and it became the norm; Bucky carried the kitten with him, hidden under a sweater and his jacket or coat wherever he went, except when he left him with Dawn when he had to train.

Finally, Christmas eve morning came and the tower was full of the sound of laughter as Wanda made cookies with Vision's help, trying to explain to him that just because the recipe said this much, it didn't always end up being exactly right, and Tony and Bruce talked about the experiment they were working on to make a special, super amazing Christmas tree.

“But, is it going to be done before Christmas?” Dawn demanded.

Tony waved his hand at her. “Not if you keep distracting me. How am I supposed to get anything done when everyone comes to me with their problems? Can no one live without me?” He asked, his face turning to the ceiling as though in despair, and Bruce snorted in laughter.

“You love it, and you know it, you big attention vacuum!” Dawn told him.

“Wait, wouldn't that mean that there is a lack of attention here?” Bruce asked, waving his hand in a circle in Tony's direction.

“No, I mean that he sucks it all up!” Dawn insisted, her hands going to her hips.

Tony smirked at her. “You know it, babe!”

Dawn noticed Bucky where he had stopped, pondering the tightening in his gut at the endearment, and declared, “I'm going to get a freaking Christmas tree, Bucky's going to help me bring it home- and there's nothing you can do about it!”

Tony smirked over at the two of them as she headed toward Bucky. “Ok, but don't cry when our tree is better!”

“I won't, because you won't even have a tree!” She called back to him, slipping her arm through Bucky's and leading him to the elevator.

“We'll see about that!” Tony called back.

The kitten poked his face out of Bucky's coat and Dawn giggled, petting his nose before Bucky urged him back into his coat. “Let's get lunch first, I'm starving,” Dawn suggested, and Bucky smiled, following her through the door and out into the cold, snowy weather.

.

Bucky was worried about if anyone found out about the kitten as they walked around, but Dawn just bit her lip to hide her smile and fed him a piece of chicken when he stuck his head out at the restaurant, and most of the people wandering around either didn't notice the tiny kitten face poking out of his coat or they awwed and asked to pet him.

.

Bucky was sure that his face was stuck in a permanent smile by the time they got back to the tower.

He hauled in the huge tree that Dawn had picked out, and they spent the night decorating it after everyone else had gone to bed.

“Just the star left, or angel,” Dawn said, looking at their hard work.

Bucky bit his lip and looked at her, knowing that back in the day, before Hydra, he would have made a comment on her not fitting on the top, and that would usually lead to a kiss, and suddenly, he wondered whether he wanted to kiss her, or if he was just remembering his past self.

“Do you think the kitten will stay there long enough, or jump down?” She teased, and he realized that she had done the same thing, but with the kitten, and he smiled, pulling the kitten from his coat and going to hand him to her, but the kitten jumped and in a panic of dropping him, Bucky's hand landed on her shoulder, with the kitten, who had then proceeded to flail and get him, and Bucky's hand, tangled in her hair.

They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Bucky looked up and saw the mirth on Dawn's face, feeling his heart swell at it's sweetness.

They went to bed, and Bucky couldn't help but smile as he thought about the smile on Dawn's face.

.

The sun hadn't even started over the horizon when Christmas music started blasting out of the speakers in the tower, the lights flashing red, green, blue and white.

There was a mass grumbling as everyone got up and made their ways to the common area.

“Damn it, Tony!” Nat yelled over the music, throwing a pillow and hitting him in the head. Steve was not happy either, but he was much more polite about it, and Clint was aiming an arrow at Tony.

“I thought we discussed that we weren't doing this?” Bruce grumbled as he rubbed his eyes. Dealing with Tony could be so wearing some days, even this early in the morning.

The music and lights stopped- of course Tony never want to drown himself out. He just smiled his “give me all your funding” smile, the one he used at fundraising events and the like, dressed immaculately in a perfectly tailored suit, hair perfectly quaffed. “And then, after you went to bed, I decided I was!” He told Bruce. “Everyone gather close! And smiiiileee!” He called out, giving a reputation making smirk to a wall. Everyone else turned to see what he was looking at, and jumped at the flash that came from the spot on the wall.

“Tony- you ass!” Natasha snapped, her hand shooting forward to smack him in the back of the head.

Bucky turned and went back to his room, his eyes scanning for Dawn, but not seeing her. He hurried, knowing that the kitten would be crying; he'd had to quickly set him down to run out and knock some sense into Tony for his stupid stunt and how much it was upsetting the kitten. He opened the door and saw Dawn sitting on the floor, dragging a jingling cat toy across the floor around her.

“Sorry, I was coming to see you, but he was crying,” she told him when she looked up at him with a smile.

Bucky felt warmth fill him at her smile, and it was reflected on his face. “S’ok, doll.”

Dawn showed him the tiny little stocking she had gotten for the kitten and filled with presents.

The kitten was busy jumping all over the little mouse filled with catnip when Dawn looked up at the window and gasped in delight. She climbed from the floor, Bucky catching her as her sleeping foot tried to trip her on the way to the window, and looked out next to her when she peeked through the shade.

“Whatcha lookin’ at, doll?” He asked.

“It's snowing!” Bucky looked over at the ecstatic look on her face, smiling in her radiated joy. “God- the city is so loud... I wish there was somewhere quiet we could go and listen to the snow,” she murmured.

The way her face fell a little made a strange yearning to see it again fill him. “I know a place,” he told her quietly.

“You do?” She asked.

Bucky chuckled as a small smirk crossed his lips. “You forget how long I've lived here; I know where everything is, and where it use to be.”

Dawn smiled again, but it wasn't the same smile; happy, laughing, but lacking the same wonder and amazement. “Let's go, then!” She declared.

.

They got bundled up and headed out to the spot Bucky had meant, walking through the streets, eventually heading through a park and ending at the edge of a river. They turned and headed along the frozen bank, her following him down the small trail cut through the snow. He stopped and Dawn was so busy watching her feet that she ran into him, and he had to catch her so she didn't fall in the snow.

“Thanks,” she said with a bright smile. Bucky continued on, this time with her holding his hand, so she didn't fall. “It's a pretty popular place, huh?” She asked.

“Just to me,” Bucky answered, stopping and letting her see the patch of clean ground under the edge of the bridge they'd come up to without her paying much attention.

There was a large concrete block there, and Bucky gestured for her to sit first, sitting next to her with a polite space between them. After a moment of silence as they looked out over the banks on both sides of the river and the river, it was quiet enough that they could hear the soft sound of snow falling. Silence floated around them, but it was a comfortable silence that Bucky found himself often looking over to Dawn in, his heart swelling with warmth at the joyful look on her face. He realized that he was staring and quickly looked away, but noticed a shiver wrack through her body.

“I should have brought a blanket,” Bucky murmured.

“It's ok, you didn't think of it. Neither did I,” she shrugged. “If I was smart I would have brought my own space heater, like the kitten did,” she chuckled.

Bucky felt his cheeks heat, and his hand went to his coat, unzipping it and holding it a little open. “I think he'd be ok with sharing,” he murmured softly, looking down, unable to meet her gaze.

“Are you sure?” She asked, biting her lip.

Bucky looked over to her, and saw the hope mostly hidden in her expression. Bucky’s cheeks warmed a little more, and his lips turned up in a smile as he looked back to the ground. “He's not saying no…”

Dawn scooted closer to him, ducking under his arm and huddling against him. “He's so lucky to have such a good protector,” Dawn said, her gloved fingers reaching out to brush over the little kitten’s nose where it was poking out of his coat.

Something was making Bucky’s guts twist up in knots, something that he suspected had to do with the warm body leaning against his side. He tightened his arm around her, using the excuse of keeping her warm.

.

It was freezing outside, so they only stayed out for a couple of hours, heading back through the snow, Dawn holding Bucky's hand the whole way this time, not wanting to trip over nothing in the fading light.

It was dark when they made it back to the tower, and the smell of delicious food was filling the whole floor when they arrived, and they saw that Sam had joined them, standing in the walkway between them and the team's rooms.

Bucky lead the way, quiet as usual, and the others were talking amongst themselves, laughing and setting up the food on the counter.

“Finally, Tinman, where've you been keeping Dawn's light all day?” Sam joked offhand, looking back to Tony as they shared a laugh.

Bucky didn't know why Sam teasing him made his jaw clench; he usually shot it back at him, but bringing Dawn into it changed things.

There was a tiny rumbling against Bucky's chest, and his brow quirked in confusion at the strange sensation.

Dawn rolled her eyes as she followed Bucky past the others, but he froze in his tracks as a tiny hiss sounded from his chest. His eyes darted down to see that his coat was still a little open, and that the kitten was looking out through the space. He quickly zipped it the rest of the way up, but Sam had heard.

“Dude- did you just hiss at me?” He asked, his face twisted in humored confusion.

“No…” Bucky answered quietly.

“Hiiiiissss,” Dawn hissed at Sam from behind Bucky’s shoulder. The three men looked at her in shock.

“Really?” Tony asked sarcastically with pivot of his neck. Dawn glared at him as she hissed again. He rolled his eyes back at her, taking an olive and popping it in his mouth.

“Your eyes are going to stick that way one day,” Dawn snarked at Tony.

“Then I'll be a gif,” he snarked back, rolling his eyes again playfully.

.

A week later, Steve stopped Bucky as he headed to the shower after training. “Hey, Buck… are you avoiding me?”

Bucky looked up at the hurt in Steve's eyes in surprise. “No, no way. Why would you think that?”

“I was just wondering, I haven't seen you around for a while, except for training…”

“Naw, Steve, I'm just… just hanging around with-”

“Dawn,” Steve finished for him, and he actually looked a little better.

“Yeah…” Technically it was true; he had been spending a lot of time with her and the kitten.

“So, you finally decided to do something about being sweet on her, huh?” Steve asked, more at ease knowing that his friend was just being his old self, enjoying the company of a pretty woman, and not ignoring or avoiding him.

“I'm not sweet on her,” Bucky mumbled, but his cheeks heated.

Steve grinned, slapping him on the shoulder. “Sure, Buck, sure.”

Bucky watched him walk away with a grin on his face, his own brow crimping in confusion and denial.

.

“It's new years eve eve,” Dawn said as she made a red point of laser dart around Bucky's room, the now larger and obviously long haired, gray tabby kitten darting after it. “You really don't have any plans?” Bucky shook his head. “No girlfriends vying for your time?”

Bucky shook his head again, feeling a little apprehensive at asking, “You?”

Dawn smiled at the kitten, a little sadly. “Well… There's this guy I like,” Bucky felt his stomach drop, “but, I don't think he even realizes that I'm a woman.”

“Sounds like an idiot,” he mumbled, and Dawn laughed.

.

Later, as Bucky was headed out to get a sandwich, Tony looked up from where he was messing around with a piece of tech at the table. “You and Dawn going to kiss tomorrow?” He teased.

Bucky turned to him, a look of confusion on his face. “What?”

Tony smirked. “It's new years eve tomorrow. You finally going to kiss Dawn?”

Bucky lifted a shoulder and tilted his head as he turned away. “She has some guy she likes.”

“Uh-huh,” Tony nearly chuckled.

“So she wouldn't want to kiss me.”

“Wow. Did they take out all of your brain? I thought they only took out the bad parts.”

“What?” Bucky snapped in irritation.

“Just asking-”

“Why? Why are you even asking this?” Bucky demanded.

Tony lifted a brow at him, leaning back in surprise at his anger. “You think she doesn’t like you?” Bucky clenched his jaw, turning to walk away. “Hey, Toy soldier- she hissed at people she knew were going to make fun of her for it to hide the fact that you were smuggling a kitten around in your coat.” Bucky froze, shocked at hearing it put that way. “If there was anything that was a more obvious sign that someone liked you, I don’t know what it is,” Tony told him, taking a drink from his glass of disgusting green, mushy looking liquid.

Bucky turned back to look at him, squinting at him as he tried to determine if he was being honest. “Wait- what did you say about a kitten?” He suddenly asked, his face falling and losing color as the entirety of what Tony had said hit him.

Tony smirked. “That kitten you carry around in your jacket. You think I didn’t know?” Bucky’s brow twitched. “You really thought you could get away with having a kitten here, in my house, carry it around- in your jacket- without me knowing?” Tony laughed, taking his time as he sipped his drink, then swallowed and continued, “I’ve known the whole time.”

“If you knew, why didn’t you say anything?” Bucky demanded angrily, and

Tony shrugged with a smirk. “I just thought it was amusing to watch you go through so much trouble trying to hide it.”

Bucky growled quietly to himself, turning and storming away back to his room.

When he got back, he saw Dawn right where he’d left her; on the floor, bouncing around a toy on a string for the kitten to chase. “Dawn-” His voice failed him when she looked up. “Will you- I know a good place that we can sit and watch the fireworks tomorrow night… Do you want to come watch the new years fireworks with me tomorrow night?” Bucky asked, his heart starting to speed up in his chest.

“Sure,” she answered- so simply, as though there weren’t a million and one reasons that she wouldn’t want to come watch the fireworks with him.

.

Bucky lead the way down the path toward the bridge, holding her hand to keep her upright in the dark.

“This glow stick necklace is not helping as much as I thought it would,” Dawn commented, the smile lifting the corner of her lips audible in her voice. Bucky smiled, too, feeling his stomach churn as they neared the concrete block. He spread out a blanket and held her hand as she sat down, then spread another blanket over them. It was thick, heavy, something made to withstand the freezing night air. They cuddled close together as Dawn quickly checked her phone. “Ten minutes. You timed it pretty well,” she told him, giving a smile that her glowing necklace lit up.

The warmth from her body felt like it was burning into him, heating him up and making it feel more homey.

“So… When you said that there was a guy that you liked…”

“Yeah?” Dawn asked.

Bucky bit his lip, unaware of how crazy it drove the woman in front of him. “Anyone I know?” He asked. 

Dawn chuckled. “Yeah.”

“It’s not Salvator, is it?” He asked, trying to inject some humor to deflect from his nervousness.

Dawn arched a brow. “Who?”

“Salvator, the kitten��”

Dawn’s grin deepened. “Well, I wouldn’t mind giving him a kiss, but I don’t think he’d return it,” she said, tilting her chin down to the edge of Bucky’s coat where the kitten was bundled and leaning forward. Salvator poked his head out and bumped his nose against her lips, blinking and nuzzling her.

Bucky felt a pit in his stomach twist around- some feeling he hadn’t felt for a long time- and fluttering in his heart- what was that?

“Awww!” Dawn cooed.

Jealousy, that was the feeling that he hadn’t felt in such a long time-

“Nevermind, I guess-” Dawn lifted her head to look at Bucky, but her sentence was cut off as her eyes met his.

“Doll, can I kiss you?” He whispered, his lips already a hair's breadth away and still getting closer.

“Yeah,” she whispered back.

Their lips met and the fluttering in Bucky's heart grew, filling it full to bursting with winged insects that had no logical hope of surviving the freezing temperature outside.

Affection- that's what the feeling in his heart was; deep, longing, caring affection.

Love.

The kiss dragged on, letting them acquaint themselves with each other, until they had to pull apart for oxygen. Bright, multicolor light flashed around them as the echoing booms filled the air. “Wow, that was some kiss, doll. Got me seeing fireworks. I thought they said that only happened after really great sex,” Bucky teased.

Dawn bit her lip and blushed. It was silent for a moment as they smiled and cuddled against each other, basking in each other’s presence. “Is Salvator a Romanian name?” Dawn asked.

“No, or at least, not how I mean it…”

“No?” Dawn asked.

“No. It's a Romanian word, like you might name a pet Spot or Fluffy...”

“What does it mean?” She asked.

A huff if laughter made it out through Bucky's nose. “Savior…” He mumbled, obviously embarrassed.

Dawn suppressed her snorts of laughter the best she could. “That's so cute; naming him savior… as though he saved you instead of you saving him…”

“Yeah,” Bucky murmured, the rest of his comment except the word ‘him’ unheard. He was looking down at how her hands were setting on him, his arm and knee. “Can I ask you a question?” He asked.

“Will you kiss me again?” She bargained. Bucky grinned and leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on her lips. “I guess that answers my question,” she hummed in content.

“And, I think, mine,” he added softly.

“Oh yeah?” He nodded. “What was your question?” Dawn insisted.

“If that guy you like is me…” His voice was soft against her lips, a bit raspy and rough, as though unwilling to leave his lips at the chance of rejection.

Dawn's grin widened. “Yeah, Buck,” she tried not to giggle.

“Good. That means I don't have to make anyone “get lost”,” he murmured back, his lips paused against hers to whisper before he kissed her again.

A/n- So, @rivertam-art... I hope you liked it, I didn’t have much idea of anything actiony to write for the season. I wanted to give you something good (felt a little bad that they sent you, someone who doesn’t like nsfw/smut to someone that that’s their speciality... lol), but I was really worried if you’d like it (still am, honestly lol), but didn’t want to give too much away about what was going be in it over anon ask. I was mainly inspired by the pics of kittens and cats on your dash.

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