"Ellie?" Bucky asks.
"Jaime?" She responds.
It sounds like him but did she really do it? Did she really break through to him?
"It's me," he whispers.
She flings herself into his arms. She couldn't bear to see him like The Winter Soldier. She's so relieved that she was able to break through to him. She should've never doubted him because she's seen time and time again how strong he is.
He hold onto her like a drowning man on some drift wood.
How could he have forgotten her for even a second?
It's been eight years since he last saw her and she's just as beautiful and amazing as she was when he left.
"I'm so sorry I left you, you have to know I never wanted to leave you," he murmurs into her hair.
"I know, love," she says.
He pulls back and looks at her.
"Are you happy?" He asks.
Her happiness is always what's been important to him. He knows she must have gone through hell when she thought he died.
"I'm happy," she whispers.
"I saw you with your kids. You sang them our song," he says.
He knows she's married but there's a large part of him that's really glad she never let him go completely.
"The song always brought me peace so I always hoped it would bring some to my children," she says.
"What're their names?" He asks.
"Steven Anthony... and James Buchanan," Lizzie says.
He freezes because he can't believe that she actually named one of her children after him. He needs to know what that means.
"Do you love him?" Bucky asks.
She knows that they aren't talking about the twins anymore.
She can't tell him that she married future him. She hates that she has to hurt him because she knows whatever she says is going to do that.
"Yes," she whispers.
There's a question he desperately wants to ask but no matter the answer, it's going to be painful.
"Do you still love me?" He asks.
"I'm always going to love you," she says honestly.
She will always love Jaime. She loved him when they were just kids and she'll love him when they are old and gray and every stage in between.
He's her Jaime, but he isn't her husband. Her husband is at home with her babies worried sick or possibly grieving if Steve thinks she died.
As he looks at her, he thinks of all the things that could've been. He knows that she'll never go for it but he has to ask. He doesn't want to go through the rest of life wondering about what if's.
"If I asked you to run away with me, would you?" He asks.
He can see instantly what her answer is from her expression. Maybe if she didn't have the kids, she would agree but she would never abandon her children.
"I know it was a long shot but I had to ask. I'm so glad you're happy and you got a family, I just always thought it would be with me," he says.
Lizzie has tears flowing down her cheeks. She hates seeing him in pain, she always has.
"I'm so sorry," she says.
He reaches up and wipes off her cheeks with his thumbs. He pulls her into an embrace and rests his lips on the crown of her head.
He closes his eyes and revels in the feeling of having her in his arms again. He breathes in her scent and pretends that nothing else in the world exists but him and her.
"I love you, Ellie. I'm never going to stop. Even when they make me forget you again, you'll always have my heart, it's always been yours," he says.
She rips out of his arms so she can look at his face.
"You're not going back," she says.
"Ellie, I have to. If they don't hear back from me then they will come for you and your family. They will leave you alone if I tell them you don't know anything," he says.
She can't bear the thought of them turning him back into the empty man that he was. She refuses to let him see that kind of torcher again.
"Then we will run," she says.
"Ellie, you have two infants and how are you going to convince your husband to go on the run to protect your dead fiancé?" He asks.
She knows Jaime will run with her if she asks. He's been on the run before, he'll be able to do it again. It will be hard with the twins but she knows they can do it.
She knows Steve will do anything to save him and he'll be able to convince Peggy. They can all run and he will never have to endure Hydra again.
"I'll figure something out just please don't go back there," she says frantically.
He leans forward and presses his lips to her forehead.
"Some day I might get away but I have to go back for now. I have to protect you and you have to protect your kids so you have to let me go," he says.
He can see her brain working overtime to try to find a solution. She is always so good with coming up with solutions but he knows that there is only one way this ends.
"Letting you go has been one of my biggest failures in life. I can never seem to do it," she says.
He always heard people say that life isn't fair and he can say he wholeheartedly agrees. It's not fair that he met the love of his life and now gets torn from her at every opportunity.
What did he do to anger the universe that made him get this horrible ending?
He feels like he was a good man. He doesn't know if he's a good man anymore after everything that hydra has made him do but it wasn't by choice.
At least he had her for many years before he lost her. He was already lucky enough to have her for a short time.
He wants to hate her husband for getting the life he always wanted but he can't. He took care of her when Bucky couldn't. He made her happy and gave her a family. He can't hate anything that makes her happy.
"Am I horrible for wanting you to hold on to me?" He asks.
"I could never think you're horrible. We are special to each other. My husband knows that," she says.
He's surprised that her and her husband have talked about him. How did she convince him to let her name one of their kids after him? He must really love her. He knows if he was the father of her children, he'd let her name them whatever made her happy.
Well, he'd probably protest a bit if she wanted to name their kid Riley.
He looks down at her and soaks in everything that she is. She is just perfect in his eyes. He hates that he has to say goodbye to her again but he knows he does.
There's one thing in that moment that he desperately wants. He knows it's beyond selfish to ask but he needs to.
"I know I shouldn't ask you this but can I kiss you? I just want one thing to hold on to in the years to come," he says.
She knows it's not right to kiss someone who isn't her husband, even if it is just his past self. However, she can't bear to see any version of him in pain. He is going to go back into hell for her and her family so the least she could do is give him something to hold on to.
She'll apologize profusely to Jaime when she gets home but she knows he will understand because he was him once upon a time.
She gives a small nod in consent.
He cups both sides of her face with his palms and strokes his thumb across her cheekbone.
He moves in slowly and lets his lips hover in front of hers for a long moment before softly kissing her lips. The kiss feels so good, he almost regrets asking for it because it will be that much harder to let her go again.
He pulls back from the kiss and rests his forehead against hers. They both keeps their eyes closed and he memorizes the moment.
"Thank you," he says.
He notices the rain has stopped. He was hoping the storm would take a long time to pass but apparently it was only a couple hours. He knows he's lucky he got the time he did but he wishes he had more.
He can feel himself starting to breakdown at the thought of another goodbye so he distracts himself by planning.
"Alright, let's get you home," he says.