Chapter Text
A cold gust of wind made the little bells over the door jingle as a new customer entered and Bucky shivered from the sudden cold. He’d just brought a new batch of Christmas cookies from the kitchen in the back which was considerably warmer but with Natasha’s break starting in two minutes he’d have to stay behind the counter for now. Bucky preferred working in the kitchen of his small café if he was being completely honest. Sure, he liked people, loved making his customers happy, but baking just relaxed him and he’d always loved being in his own little world while creating the most delicious pastries. Brushing a few loose strands of hair from his face with the back of his right hand, Bucky looked up when Natasha nudged him with her elbow and nodded over to the door.
“Fuck,” Bucky breathed just when the man that had just entered his café looked up from the display counter and directly at Bucky.
“Well, I’m off to my break, see ya in fifteen,” Natasha said with a wink and disappeared into the backroom before Bucky could protest.
Great. Just his luck that the guy would come in exactly when Bucky couldn’t hide in the kitchen. And why was he so early? He forced himself to smile even though he knew it had to look forced. “Hello, how can I help you?”
“Hey. Uh, I honestly don’t know what to get today, all of this looks great. Any recommendations?” the man – Steve, if Natasha was correct and judging by her spy-like abilities she probably was – asked.
Bucky looked down at all the pastries. “Depends on what you like, the gingerbread and the fruit cake are great, the Christmas stollen only got out of the oven half an hour ago and is still warm and…”
“What’s your favourite?” Steve interrupted softly.
“I, uh, my… My favourite?” Bucky’s stutter earned him a smile and he cursed himself for reacting like this, but damn, this guy had slowly been driving him insane since he’d come into his café for the first time at the beginning of fall.
“Yeah, I mean, I can trust a baker’s personal recommendation, don’t you think?”
“Um, I guess…” Bucky hated that his cheeks were growing hot.
After a moment of awkward silence the guy probed, “So?”
“So…? Oh, right, the… the cookies. These ones,” Bucky gestured at star shaped Christmas cookies to his right. “You should try them. They’re amazing, it’s a new recipe. Mostly icing sugar, a lot of nuts and cinnamon.”
Leaning closer, the man peered at them, then smiled up at Bucky. “I’ll take half a dozen, then. What’re they called?”
“‘Zimtsterne’ which means cinnamon stars. They’re German, I found the recipe recently and just had to try them. I love trying new stuff,” Bucky explained, proud to deliver a complete sentence without stumbling over his words. “Can I get you anything else?”
“A large coffee to go, please.” With a glance at his watch, he seemed to consider something. “No, actually, I’m gonna have it here. I’m early for once.”
Bucky had noticed as much, he usually came in almost half an hour later than today. “Oh, uh, sure. Just take a seat, I’ll bring your order right away. Won’t take long.” Which was true since there were barely any customers frequenting the café at the moment – it was too late for most of the folks that had breakfast here and not yet lunchhour.
Glad he wouldn’t have to directly look at the guy anymore for the moment, Bucky turned to the coffee machine, pressed a button, squeezed his eyes shut and took a slow breath. Jesus, he really needed to get this stupid crush on a man that was practically a stranger under control. But damn him if he could resist those stupid blue eyes and that muscular built.
The beep of the coffee machine pulled him out of his thoughts. He took the mug and placed a small plate with cookies on a tray, added the mug, milk and sugar and made his way to the table near the window.
“Here you go.” Bucky smiled shyly.
“Thank you.” The smile he got in return sent his heart racing. God, he was ridiculous.
The soft sound of the bells reminded him of where he was and it saved Bucky from staring at the man for too long. He abruptly turned and headed back behind the counter to greet one of his favourite customers. “Good morning, Miss Carter.”
“Darling, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Peggy?” the old woman asked with a fond smile. “Do you have anything new and exciting for me?”
“I believe I do. You just have to try these.” Bucky took a single cinnamon star and handed it over the counter.
“They’re delicious,” a voice at the other end of the small room piped up. Bucky and Peggy both looked over to see Steve grinning at them, a half-eaten cookie in his hand.
“Well thank you for your opinion, dear, I’m sure James here really appreciates it.” Peggy smiled back and took a bite, sighing at the taste. “They really are. Would you wrap up two dozen for me?”
“Of course. Is there anything else you would like to try?”
“Not today, thank you. But I’d like a cup of that hazelnut cappuccino of yours.”
“On it.”
While Bucky was putting the cookies into a bag, Peggy leaned over the counter and murmured over the noise of the coffee machine, “And who is this lovely young gentleman over there?”
“A rather new customer,” Bucky shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. “Don’t know much about him.”
“That’s a shame, dear.” Peggy took the mug that Bucky handed her.
Bucky laughed quietly as he set the bag with the cookies on the counter. “Why don’t you go over and talk to him then?”
“If I were fifty years younger I just might. But I think he is more of your type anyway.” The smug glint in her eyes told Bucky she wasn’t joking, not really, and he actually blushed.
“See, I’m not the only one who thinks it’s obvious,” Natasha announced from behind Bucky. “Hi, Peggy.”
“Oh hello, dear. So how long has this been going on?” the old lady asked curiously, looking from Bucky to Natasha and back.
Natasha crossed her arms and smirked. “What, you mean the staring at him from the kitchen because Bucky here’s too chicken to come out or the actually talking to him part?”
“I’m not… Y’know, never mind, you don’t believe me anyway. I gotta go check on the cookies in the oven. As always it was lovely seeing you, Miss Carter.” With that, Bucky hightailed back to the kitchen, ignoring Natasha’s chuckling and the old woman’s “It’s Peggy!”.
He opened the oven door and peeked at the pastries, then switched the oven off and pulled the baking sheets out. Leaning against the counter, he ran a hand over his face. This thing he had for the blond guy was absolutely ridiculous and it needed to stop. Bucky just hoped the Christmas break would help him get his mind off of him because dammit, he really didn’t need this kind of distraction.