The Risk Of Loving You | Bucky Barnes

17. Back in time

"Can you stay the night?" I ask Bucky when he takes me home. "Please, it's going to be so hard tomorrow to spend the day so close to you without being able to kiss you or hold you against me."

I wrap my arms around his neck and lower his face to mine.

"All right, I'll stay." He smiles and places a chaste kiss on my lips. "You know you're pretty good at convincing me, sweetheart."

We sit on the couch with the leftover cookies we baked yesterday.

"That reminds me, I found that song you told me about." I scroll on my phone until I find what I'm looking for. "It's different from what I usually listen to, but I like it."

I connect to my speaker and press the play button. A late-thirties jazz rhythm fills the room.

"In your day, did you dance to this?"

"You want me to show you?" He offers me a hand which I take with a smile. "Ma'am."

He moves his body to the beat and spins me around. I look at his feet and quickly give up trying to follow suit. How does he even do that? He teaches me some swing dance moves with incredible patience while I can't stop laughing at my poor skill.

He pauses and looks at me with an irresistible smile before his hands cup my cheeks. Then he kisses me. At that moment, I realize I could spend all my evenings dancing in his arms.

Cheeks on fire and drained of energy, I drop into the couch. He sits next to me and I cuddle up to him.

"How do you feel about tomorrow?" I ask, my fingers playing with his dog tags.

"I'm fine. I wasn't particularly close to everyone, but I'll never forget how some of them welcomed me and even stood up for me when everyone thought I was guilty. Not to mention they've done a lot for the world."

"What about Steve? Have you seen him since he gave Sam the shield?"

"He hasn't been around since. At least, not to my knowledge. I guess he's in some alternate reality that his time travel has created. And no, he's not on the moon."

"But how did he manage to get back?"

"Probably the same way he left. Using Pym particles."

"Sounds familiar. Isn't that what Scott used on his trip to the Quantum Realm?"

"The tiny guy told you about that?" He lifts a brow.

"Yeah, we had quite a chat when we were at the compound."

"I saw that."

"You saw that?" I repeat, turning towards him and pointing a finger at his chest. "You weren't even paying attention to me, you spent all your time with Sharon."

He glances at my finger and breaks into an amused smile.

"What's so funny?"

"Did it bother you?"

"Actually, what bothered me was you ignoring me."

"Trust me, it wasn't that easy."

"You were pretty convincing, you know."

"It would be impossible for me to do it again. I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes off you."

"Don't try to fool me with that look."

"What's wrong with my look?" He asks with a winsome grin.

"I thought we were talking about Steve." I sigh, turning to hide the smile that threatens to spread across my face. "You think he'll come tomorrow?"

"I don't really see how he could have received the invitation. Besides, he's very old now, traveling mustn't be an easy thing."

"Aren't you the same age as him?"

"Well, maybe not anymore. It's hard to keep count."

"But you're pretty well preserved, don't worry." I reply, kissing his cheek. "Anyway, he seems like a nice guy. I would've loved to get to know him."

"You two would've gotten along very well." He nods, looking somewhere off into the distance.

"You miss him, don't you?"

"He was my best friend, almost like a brother, and the first to support me after Hydra. I miss him, but I'm glad for him. He deserved to be happy and live with the love of his life." He says, staring intensely at me.

I rest my head on his chest and his fingers play with my hair.

"And you, you haven't left anyone in the past?" I dare to ask.

"My family. The young James full of ideals and innocence, too."

"You think he would've noticed me?"

"He certainly would. He would've taken you dancing or to the Stark expo before he left for the war, fresh and full of enthusiasm."

"Then I would've been heartbroken when you never came back."

"And maybe one day I would've come back from the future to find you. "

I look up at him. "You would have done that for me?"

"Right now, I don't know any other place in the universe I'd rather be than with you. So yeah, maybe I would."

"Bucky..." I'm touched by his words. So much so that my lips express out loud what my brain had not yet assimilated. "I love you."

His gaze doubles in intensity. I almost feel the corners of his eyes moisten. Without adding a word, he kisses me passionately, turning my mind upside down again.

I let my fingers run through his hair and down his back, brushing against the skin revealed by his slightly upturned shirt. His hand slides along my hip, making me shiver.

Breathless, we put an end to this moment of passion and tenderness and stay in each other's arms. No words are needed, we know when to stop to respect each other's comfort.

"We should go to sleep." Bucky whispers.

"Are you going to sleep on the floor?"

"Are you going to join me again?"

"If I have to, yes."

"What you did that night... that means a lot."

"You're not alone, you know. You have me, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm afraid you've got yourself in trouble, by the way. It's too late now, you're stuck with me."

"I can live with that." He says, tightening his embrace.