Weren't you the one that told me to try and live normally? Hypocrite.

[ there is no bite. no bitterness to her words. instead, they pull at the corners of her lips.

bucky's words, though — "but i like having you here," — they tug at her heartstrings. make it so that it skips a beat, then sets on an irregular pace and a feeling in her stomach that she can't quite place. perhaps it's because no one's ever said those words to her before (it's different with nat; they show their affection in a roundabout way), but maybe it's actually because it's coming from someone that means something to her.

she doesn't mean to, but she focuses her breathing and mimics his in an effort to swallow the lump in her throat before it even begins to form.

it takes a second for her brain to process that he's asking her on a proper date, and when it finally registers, she has to bite back a smile. ]

Do people like us even do dinner anymore? [ she couldn't hold back a snarky remark, though, but she rolls onto her side, much like she did before she passed out the night before, and faces him. ] Don't answer that. Yes. I would like that.

[ she lets out some kind of relieved sigh, no longer containing her grin. ]

If you waited any longer, I probably would have asked you out myself. Just saying.