"The Wrong Side of Every Door" by stars_inthe_sky (T)
My Buckynat Secret Santa gift for buckynatashas over on Tumblr :)
Title: The Wrong Side of Every Door
Author: stars_inthe_sky
Characters/Pairing: Natasha Romanoff/James "Bucky" Barnes, Liho
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 3,302
Disclaimer: I own nothing, including a cat.
Warnings: Kitty's got claws, comic's got angst.
Summary: On coming and going, seeing through the dark, and learning to land on your feet. Or: Five times Liho got in the way, and one time she didn’t.
“Nat?”
Natasha looks up from the pot she’s stirring. “Hmm?”
“When did we get a cat?”
She whirls around to look at Bucky, who’s sitting in his usual spot on the couch and absently petting a black cat that has settled on his lap. The animal seems to be debating whether to stay put or not but loses resolve with every stroke of his hand. Natasha blinks in surprise; the comings and goings of their lives aren’t exactly conducive to caring for pets, and neither of them has ever had much interest in having one anyway.
“She doesn’t have a collar, and I couldn’t feel any tracker implants, either,” Bucky says. “So I’m guessing stray, but…assuming this isn’t some nefarious enemy plot, how on Earth d’you think she got in here?”
Satisfied if he is that the cat isn’t an immediate threat, Natasha turns back to her risotto. “Open window in the bedroom? It was pretty hot last night.”
“I closed that when I got up, though. And locked it.”
When she glances back at him, Bucky has shifted to lie down across the couch, and the cat has rolled onto her back to allow him to scratch her stomach. “Balcony?”
“Also closed and locked,” he replies, gesturing with his free hand. His new friend cranes her neck, eyes following the length of his arm as if suspicious of its use for anything besides petting her.
“So is the front door…” Natasha trails off, mentally reviewing the list of every vulnerable entrance point to their apartment. She can tell Bucky’s doing the same, and they’re both coming up short. Turning off the stove, she scoops dinner into a bowl to cool off and plops on the couch atop Bucky’s legs. The cat promptly loses interest in him and turns her attentions to Natasha, who can’t help smiling just a little when she elicits a purr from the little creature.
[Read on AO3 here]
Title: The Wrong Side of Every Door
Author: stars_inthe_sky
Characters/Pairing: Natasha Romanoff/James "Bucky" Barnes, Liho
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 3,302
Disclaimer: I own nothing, including a cat.
Warnings: Kitty's got claws, comic's got angst.
Summary: On coming and going, seeing through the dark, and learning to land on your feet. Or: Five times Liho got in the way, and one time she didn’t.
“Nat?”
Natasha looks up from the pot she’s stirring. “Hmm?”
“When did we get a cat?”
She whirls around to look at Bucky, who’s sitting in his usual spot on the couch and absently petting a black cat that has settled on his lap. The animal seems to be debating whether to stay put or not but loses resolve with every stroke of his hand. Natasha blinks in surprise; the comings and goings of their lives aren’t exactly conducive to caring for pets, and neither of them has ever had much interest in having one anyway.
“She doesn’t have a collar, and I couldn’t feel any tracker implants, either,” Bucky says. “So I’m guessing stray, but…assuming this isn’t some nefarious enemy plot, how on Earth d’you think she got in here?”
Satisfied if he is that the cat isn’t an immediate threat, Natasha turns back to her risotto. “Open window in the bedroom? It was pretty hot last night.”
“I closed that when I got up, though. And locked it.”
When she glances back at him, Bucky has shifted to lie down across the couch, and the cat has rolled onto her back to allow him to scratch her stomach. “Balcony?”
“Also closed and locked,” he replies, gesturing with his free hand. His new friend cranes her neck, eyes following the length of his arm as if suspicious of its use for anything besides petting her.
“So is the front door…” Natasha trails off, mentally reviewing the list of every vulnerable entrance point to their apartment. She can tell Bucky’s doing the same, and they’re both coming up short. Turning off the stove, she scoops dinner into a bowl to cool off and plops on the couch atop Bucky’s legs. The cat promptly loses interest in him and turns her attentions to Natasha, who can’t help smiling just a little when she elicits a purr from the little creature.
[Read on AO3 here]