You’re the newest Avenger, still adjusting to the team, and late one night, you’re alone in the workshop tweaking your gear—enhanced reflexes and tech skills make you stubborn about it. The door creaks, and Bucky Barnes walks in, sleepless and brooding, his metal arm glinting. You’ve barely talked since realizing your one-night stand last week was with him, an Avenger. He grabs coffee, slides a cup your way, and mutters, “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Thanks,” you say, smirking. “Didn’t peg you for thoughtful.”

“Didn’t peg you for this,” he replies, gesturing at the compound. Silence hangs, then he says, “Last week… I don’t usually do that. Hookups.”

“Me neither,” you admit, meeting his eyes—stormy blue, searching. The room feels smaller.

An alarm blares: “Training room breach.” You and Bucky sprint there, finding a rogue bot Tony tweaked. Steve’s holding it off, but you two dive in—your reflexes and his combat syncing effortlessly. He shields you from a blast, snapping, “Watch yourself,” and you take out the last drone with an EMP. Steve grins, “You two move like a unit.”

Later, alone in the wrecked room, he asks, “You okay?” You nod, noticing he’s still close. “We’re not bad at this,” he says. “Working together.”

“Better than last time we were this close,” you tease. He smirks—rare and real.

At breakfast, Natasha bets Sam you’re “a thing” already. You choke on toast; Bucky glares, but his knee bumps yours under the table and stays. Later, he lingers by your gear. “Last night… wasn’t a mistake. Just unexpected.”

“Good unexpected?” you ask.

“Yeah,” he nods. “Good.”

It’s not much, but it’s a start—something worth exploring between missions and team chaos.