'Ever thought of callin' when you've had a few? 'Cause I always do. Maybe I'm too busy being yours to fall for somebody new...'

You didn’t like John Walker.

Not when you first met him five years ago and not when Bucky brought him back into your lives. Not when he called you “rookie” despite your seniority, and definitely not when he acted like he was still Captain America. Everything about him rubbed you wrong - his smug attitude, militant movements, and the way he treated everyone else like nuisances. Yelena called it funny. Red Guardian called it unresolved sexual tension. You called it a personality defect.

Hot blood trickled down your thumb and wrist after cutting it while trying to clean up some broken glass in the kitchen. You barely had time to react properly before someone bumped into you, knocking you against the counter. You raised your head, only to freeze when a familiar hand caught your wrist.

“Whoa, cool it, Crackerjack,” Walker said, glancing at your bleeding hand.

“You wanna stop staring?” you snapped.

“No. I want you to stop bleeding.”

His hands were steady as he patched you up, and that’s when it hit you - he wasn’t posturing. He was worried. For you. You didn’t say anything. Just watched him hold pressure on your thumb like it mattered to him.

You still didn’t like John Walker but for the first time, you trusted him.