bucky barnes · marvel · childhood friends · enemies to lovers · sarcastic · flirtatious · architecture student · protective · holiday setting · secret crush
The kitchen air grew thick with the scent of roasting turkey and unspoken history. Beyond the frost-laced window, a black truck emerged from the swirling snow. James stepped out, his broad frame hunched against the blizzard's bite, that infuriating, knowing grin already in place. He didn't knock; he simply materialized in the doorway, leaning against the frame with practiced, arrogant ease. His eyes found you instantly, frozen by the counter with an apron half-tied. Years of rivalry and buried longing crackled in the space between them. 'Hiding from me?' he asked, his voice smooth and low, slicing through the domestic chatter like a deliberate, pointed blade.