The next Saturday started much the same as the week before. Ella woke to a text from Natasha, asking if Ella was free. She was ready to talk about whatever had happened between her and Steve.
Over the last week, things had been tense, conversations with the two of them around were punctuated by uncomfortable silences. At lunchtimes, they had both been making an effort to avoid each other. Their lack of communication meant most days Bucky, Sam, Wanda, and Ella ate as just the four of them, all confused and worried. Every time they'd tried to speak to either of them they'd been shut out. So Ella was relieved Nat was finally up for talking. One down, one to go, she thought to herself.
Ella quickly texted Nat back, letting her know she'd be right over before calling Bucky as they had a study date planned. She was supposed to be heading to his house early to give themselves the whole day together, knowing full well they would end up distracting each other and getting less work done than they were aiming for. She wandered around picking up books and stationery and packing them into her bag, phone precariously tucked between her ear and shoulder, as she rescheduled her plans with Bucky.
"I'll come to yours as soon as I'm done," she promised. "I'm sorry though, I have no idea how long I'll be. If there's crying involved it could be a while."
"That's okay, just let me know," he replied, smiling to himself as he heard Ella's phone clatter to the floor and the faint sound of her muttering 'oh shit' in the distance.
"Sorry about that," Ella laughed to herself once she picked up her phone, "you're the best by the way."
She blew him a kiss and hung up before heading downstairs. She made herself a slice of buttered toast, wasting no time by bothering with a plate, instead just eating over the sink. She brushed her hands clear of crumbs, collected an apple from the fruit bowl, and searched the house for the rest of her family. Steve traipsed down the stairs, still in pajamas, as she made her way through the hall.
"Morning," he greeted. He looked her up and down, taking in the bag slung over her shoulder. "Where you off to?"
"I'm going to see Nat," she replied with a sad smile, following him into the living room where she spotted her parents. "Are you up to anything today?"
"Might go out later," Steve replied in a sullen voice as he dropped down onto the couch. "So can you leave me the car?"
"Sure." Ella nodded.
Ella shared a look with her mom, both of them were worried about him. They couldn't say for certain but it seemed like he was more than a little heartbroken, making Ella wonder how long his feelings for Nat had been growing, hidden away.
She quickly said goodbye to her parents before heading out, leaning over the back of the couch to give them both hugs.
"I don't know what time I'll be home, so don't worry about making enough dinner for me."
"We won't wait up," Joe joked.
Ella walked to Nat's, leaving Steve the car as he'd asked, and collected Wanda along the way. The pair of them chatted on the way there, mostly complaining about their school workload and the fact neither of them had made a dent in the English essay due next week. They agreed to a coffee-shop study session later in the week if neither of them made any headway and the two of them arrived at Nat's house not long later.
"This feels strangely familiar," Ella joked by way of a greeting as Nat opened the front door. Is this the second or third weekend in a row?
Nat rolled her eyes, not finding Ella's attempt at humor at all amusing. The three of them made their way into the living room and sprawled out on the plush couches. They skirted around the subject of Steve for as long as they could, waiting until Nat was ready. But finally, she brought him up and they started talking.
Wanda and Ella were full of sympathy for Nat. She had welled up as she spoke about how much she hated the idea of seeing Steve every day and having to think about all the could-haves, all the possibilities that never got a chance to live out. But they all knew that the worst part was that they agreed not to try partly in case it ruined their friendship, but they haven't spoken to each other in a week. It had somehow ended up as a lose-lose situation.
"I shouted at him and said I wished he'd never told me," Nat said softly. "He looked so upset, like a kicked puppy or something."
Ella and Wanda grimaced, both of them knew that saying something had been a big deal for Steve, it suddenly made a little more sense why Steve had been so down all week.
"He'll be okay, Nat," Ella reassured her friend, "maybe just stick an olive branch at some point, and don't worry, I'll have a word with him if he doesn't accept it."
"He will though," Wanda interjected. "It's Steve."
With that, Nat turned the TV on, flicking through the channels until she gave up and put Netflix on. It looked like they had another Saturday afternoon of movies ahead of them. Ella sat through one film and lunch, kindly made by Nat's dad. But she started to get fidgety during the second movie. She kept checking her watch, knowing she was running out of day to see Bucky.
"I'm sorry, I said I'd see Bucky today and it's getting late, is it okay if I go?" She asked the girls.
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Uhh...fuck you and your happy relationship," she joked.
Ella shot Bucky a text to say she was heading over before pulling her sneakers on and collecting her bag. She did her habitual pat-down of her pockets making sure she had everything.
"Right," Ella started. "Call if you need anything tomorrow, and for the love of God please talk to Steve as soon as you can, I can't stand him moping around the house for any longer."
"Yes, boss," Nat quipped dryly in return, earning a giggle from Wanda.
"Love you guys," Ella sang as she headed out into the hall, ignoring Nat's mock grumpiness.
"Love you too," they both called back to her.
She opened Nat's front door, fiddling around with her headphones, putting them in for the walk to Bucky's, but when she looked up she spotted a familiar car out on the street. Bucky?
She grinned, shoving her headphones back into her pocket as she jogged to his car.
"What are you doing here?" She asked once she'd flung the passenger side door open, beaming over at him despite her shock.
"Well," he started, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, "I figured I'd get a bit of extra time with you if I picked you up."
Ella dropped her head back against the headrest, overwhelmed by her blossoming emotions.
"You really are the best, you know that right?" She asked rhetorically. Bucky just laughed in reply, he wasn't sure he'd call himself the best but he was trying, and he was very glad Ella was noticing.
When they got to his house they snuck up to his room, it was the first time Ella had seen it and as Bucky had done a few weeks before, she took her time to look around. The navy walls and dark furniture should have made the room feel small, but the bay window bathed the room in light. His room looked out over the backyard, all you could see were the evergreen trees lining the perimeter.
"It's very you," she commented, noticing the piles upon piles of books on his desk. She smiled as she spotted the framed Back to the Future poster hanging on the wall. "You weren't kidding when you said you loved this movie," she said, gesturing towards it.
Bucky laughed, embarrassed. "In my defense, that's very old."
Ella wrapped her arms around him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck as Bucky rested his chin on her hair.
"I don't really feel like studying," she whispered.
"Me neither," he agreed, pushing Ella down onto his bed where they both stayed for the rest of the evening.
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