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"It's not you, Bucky," she began, hanging her head as she folded her napkin into her lap as she stared at her hands. "I'm just not ready for a relationship right now. I thought I could handle it, but being here with you, on Valentine's Day.."
Her voice faded away as Bucky watched her with her purse as she pushed herself away from the table, shaking his head. This was the third year in a row someone had dumped him at this table in this restaurant on Valentine's Day. It was starting to feel like maybe the No Mad Restaurant was not the good luck charm he thought it was.
"I'm so sorry, Bucky," she said, offering him a half-hearted smile taking a step back from the table. "I wish I was ready for this, I really do."
"Don't worry about it," Bucky sighed, shaking his head as he forced a smile to his face. "I'll be fine. It happens every year, especially when they find out about the arm." He drummed his thumb against the metal and watched as worry appeared on her face. "Go on, doll. I'll be fine. Happy Valentine's Day."
"You too, Bucky," she replied, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she spun on her heels, making her way towards the door. She never looked back, and Bucky honestly couldn't blame her.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, laughing to himself as he waited for the waiter to swing back by the table so he could get his check. Scrolling through his contacts, he landed on Hermione's name.
"Bucky, we're both supposed to be out on dates. Why are you calling me?" Hermione chastised. He knew she was shaking her head on the other end of the phone as she enjoyed a pint of Rocky Road ice cream.
"If you're supposed to be on a date, why did you answer me?" he teased, looking down at the half-empty glass of wine sitting in front of him. "Was he a dud, or didn't he show?"
Hermione's sigh on the other end of the call brought a smile to his face as he settled down in the chair, awaiting her answer. They had been best friends since she had moved to New York, and he knew Hermione better than he knew the back of his hand.
"He showed up," Hermione paused, taking a deep breath, "this time. Although I almost wish he wouldn't have. I don't know how I'm supposed to date and get to know people in New York if they won't talk about anything other than my time in London. I moved here to get away from the glitz and the glamour to living a simpler life."
"Well, doll, that accent of yours is rather intriguing and is bound to bring up quite a few questions," Bucky replied, looking around the restaurant for the waiter. "Do you want me to bring you dinner from The No Mad?"
"Wait, what happened to your date?" Hermione piped up, ignoring his comment about her accent entirely. "Why are you calling me in the middle of your date?"
"She caught a glimpse of the arm," Bucky sighed, gritting his teeth. "So dinner, or is that pint of Rocky Road going to hold you over for the night?"
"Dinner would be lovely," Hermione replied, her voice saddened at the mention of his arm. "She didn't even give you a proper chance."
"They never do," Bucky said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll order dinner to go and be over soon. So put that Rocky Road back in the freezer."
"You're grumpy when you get dumped," Hermione laughed. Bucky rolled his eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me."
"Put the ice cream away, and I'll see you soon," he said, pulling the phone away from his ear and hanging up before she could get another snarky retort in. Flagging down the waiter, Bucky placed his order and paid his bill before leaving the table to wait by the bar. At least there, he could enjoy a few beverages before walking over to Hermione's apartment, and some other happy couple could have the table.
. . . . . . . .
Hermione fiddled with the edge of her blanket nervously as she waited for Bucky to arrive. She had freshened up her makeup and pulled her sweater dress back out of her closet, not that Bucky would even notice. Even though she knew he only thought of her as a friend, Hermione wasn't going to let her outfit go to waste. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and let out a sigh. He should be here any minute.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, there was a knock at the door. Hermione jumped up from the couch, tossing the blanket aside, and made her way quickly to the door. She stopped a step or two away from the door and took a deep breath, brushing her hands over her dress to press out any wrinkles, and fluffed her fingers through her hair. Grabbing hold of the doorknob, Hermione pulled the door open slowly and smiled when she saw Bucky standing on the other side of the door with a bottle of wine in one hand and a to-go bag from the No Mad in the other.
"Hey there, handsome," she said, ushering him inside as she reached for the bottle of wine only to have Bucky pull it away from her as he shook his head with a laugh.
"Are you talking to me or the bottle?" Bucky asked, raising a brow as he stepped inside and kicked the door closed behind him. He walked over to her kitchenette and set the bag down on the island.
"Both?" Hermione asked, shrugging her shoulders with a smile as she followed him over to the kitchen and took a seat on the stool at the island. She watched as he made his way around her cabinets with ease, almost as though he lived here.
Bucky shook his head with a laugh as he spun around and placed two wine glasses on the counter in front of her. "I supposed that's okay. Are you hungry, or did you fill up on ice cream?" he asked, grabbing the corkscrew and opening the bottle of wine before pouring them each a glass.
"I mean, I could eat," Hermione replied. "I didn't eat that much ice cream. She left before you got to order, didn't she?"
Bucky nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, no one wants to hear the story of the arm. They just assume the worst. Tell me about your date. Where'd he take you for dinner?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "We didn't even make it to dinner."
Bucky cocked his head to the side as he handed her a box of food. "Why not?"
"All he seemed to care about was London. He didn't want to get to know me," Hermione said, taking the box from him and grabbing a fork. She hopped down from the stool and made her way to the sitting room, and set her food down on the coffee table. She curled her feet underneath her as she took a seat on the couch and draped the blanket over her toes. Patting the empty spot on the couch beside her, she motioned for Bucky to join her. "Come over here."
Bucky laughed, making his way over to the couch to join her. "You know, I can't figure out for the life of me why someone wouldn't be interested in getting to know the real you," he said, glancing up at her out of the corner of his eye.
Before Hermione could open her mouth to reply, there was a knock at her door. She looked at Bucky with a furrowed brow before pushing herself up from the couch and made her way over to the door. Hermione pressed up on her tiptoes to look through the peephole and saw a bouquet on the other side. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Bucky smiling into his food. She rolled her eyes and pulled the door open.
"Hermione Granger?" the man behind the bouquet asked.
"That would be me," she replied, reaching out to take the bouquet from him.
He nodded his head. "Happy Valentine's Day, miss. I hope you have a wonderful day."
Hermione watched as he hurried down the hall away from her door, pushing a cart full of flowers. She chuckled to herself as she stepped back into her flat and began examining the bouquet for a note. She kicked the door shut with her foot and walked into the kitchenette, and set the flowers down on the counter to get a better look.
"Ah-ha!" she exclaimed, pulling the note out from between the stems of a rose and a lily. Hermione unfolded the note with a large smile on her face.
"Read it out loud," Bucky said, his arm draped over the back of her couch as he watched her fumbling with the piece of paper.
Hermione looked up at him and rolled her eyes. "I know they're from you," she huffed, sticking her tongue out at him.
"How could they possibly be from me?" Bucky said, taken aback by her accusation.
"Because it's what we do every single Valentine's Day since I moved to the states," Hermione explained, skimming over the note as a big smile pulled at the corners of her lips.
"What do you mean?" Bucky replied, pushing himself off the couch and walking over to join Hermione in the kitchen. He leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at her, a smile pulling at his own lips as well.
"We both have miserable dates that never work out for Valentine's that never want to know our story and dump us before the entree, or we kick them out before we even get to the restaurant," Hermione began, rubbing her finger along the edge of the card refusing to look up at him. "You call me from the restaurant, knowing full well I'm curled up on my couch with a pint of Rocky Road and offer to bring me dinner."
Bucky laughed, nodding his head slowly. "Okay, so where do the flowers come in?"
Hermione's eyes shot up at him and narrowed. "I'm getting to the flowers."
Bucky held his hands up in surrender and smiled. "Go on then, doll."
She rolled her eyes and held the card up to him. "Then, about twenty minutes after you get here with dinner, there's a knock at my door, and I am greeted with a beautiful bouquet from my secret admirer."
"And you think that the admirer is me?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow as he squared up to Hermione and rested a hand on the counter beside her.
"I don't think anything," Hermione replied, turning to face him as she lowered the card from his face. "I know my Valentine's Day admirer is you, Bucky."
"And what are you going to do about it?" Bucky asked, moving his hand from the counter to Hermione's waist.
Before Hermione could respond, Bucky leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her closer. Hermione's arms wrapped around Bucky's neck as she pressed up on her tiptoes to deepen the kiss.
They stayed wrapped up in one another's embrace for a few moments before Hermione pulled away.
"Finally," she teased, looking up at him with a soft smile on her face. "I've been waiting for you to do that for three years now, Buck."
"You could have made the first move," he teased, nipping at her lower lip before kissing her once more.
"Yes, but I like this much better," Hermione replied, pressing up on her tiptoes to capture Bucky's lips in a passionate kiss once more.