Bucky slowly made his way up the stairs in Clint's house, running a hand through his hair as he did so. He headed down the hallway, only stopping when he came to Marlena's door. He pushed it open slowly, careful not to wake his sleeping fiancée. The room was growing dark, as it was nearing dusk. Marlena had been fast asleep for hours, and normally he would have woken her up, but he was aware of just how horrible she felt due to the day's events; he knew sleeping would do her and her body some good.
He kicked his shoes off and padded quietly over to her bed where she lay before laying down himself. Bucky's blue eyes fell upon Marlena's face, which was lit up by the dim light inside the room. Bucky couldn't help but smile to himself as he gazed at her. Her face was free of makeup, just as Bucky preferred; her skin was fair and free of flaw, at least in Bucky's opinion it was; light freckles covered the entirety of her face, though it was difficult to make them out from afar.
Bucky was thankful. He was so thankful for Marlena—so thankful to have her in his life. Marlena made Bucky feel complete, regardless of how broken he was, how broken he always would be. She helped ease the pain he was sure he would feel for the rest of his life; she made him feel as if he belonged; she made him feel like him. There was no one else in the world—no other female in the world—that Bucky could ever see himself being with. He knew he belonged with Marlena; he could feel that he belonged with Marlena, and it gave him comfort knowing that she was the only one for him.
Bucky watched as she continued to sleep, raising a hand to move a stray piece of hair that had fallen in her face. He let out a sigh as he ran the pad of his thumb over the soft skin of her cheek bone, his blue eyes seeming to glow with an endless amount of love and admiration for the small girl laying in front of him.
"Bucky?" she spoke quietly, her voice still slightly hoarse from the incident earlier.
"Mhm."
Marlena's eyes remained shut as she reached out for him, and Bucky smiled before pulling her closer. She rested her head on his chest as she normally did, her grip around his upper torso tightening in a protective notion. Bucky wrapped his arms tightly around her body, holding her as close as he possibly could. Laying in bed with her proved to be Bucky's favorite part of the day, and it was the same for Marlena. The two just enjoyed being together—being close to one another.
"Are you feeling better?" Bucky asked as he ran his hand up and down her covered back.
Marlena let out a small groan and shook her head. "If anything, I feel worse."
"You definitely sound worse," Bucky sighed. "Maybe you shouldn't speak, Mar. That may help the healing process."
"But I can't talk to you if I stop speaking," she muttered.
Bucky chuckled. "Mental communication."
She opened her eyes and looked up at him, her eyes brightening automatically at the sight of him. "We both know I'm too lazy to hold a mental conversation, even with you. I think I'll stick to the verbal aspect of speaking if that's okay with you."
"And what if it's not?" Bucky teased, a smile on his face as he looked down at her.
Marlena simply smiled and pulled herself up just enough to press a kiss to his lips before laying back down. "Think you could continue doing that thing where you rub my back?"
"Hmm, you're so needy," Bucky replied before moving his hand to her back, placing it under her shirt to continue his previous activities.
"And you're the best," Marlena breathed out as she got comfortable again.
Bucky merely chuckled in response and situated himself in a comfortable position in bed, his hand moving up and down her back gently. The two lay in silence for several minutes, and Bucky was sure she had fallen back to sleep until she spoke again five minutes later.
"I wanna go home, Buck," she said, her voice almost a whisper.
"I know, baby," Bucky replied. "Why don't we do that here in the next few days? I mean, Tony left a few hours ago to take Pietro up to the compound, and Sam and Steve were planning on leaving early in the morning to go back to Wakanda before heading back up to New York."
"I'm perfectly okay with that. It can't be tomorrow, though, because Clint asked me and Wanda to watch the kids while he and Laura went out. It's part of the reason why I reacted the way I did when Tony said I had to start working on fixing you," Marlena explained.
Bucky smiled at the though of Marlena watching Clint's children. "That should be an interesting endeavor to witness."
Marlena chuckled. "Oh, it's quite interesting to experience. Cooper and Lila. . .they're a handful."
"And Nathan just likes to throw up on you, doesn't he?"
"You really did read that journal, didn't you?" she muttered as she craned her head to look over at him.
Bucky nodded, a frown pulling onto his face. "I did, and I'm so sorry you spent so long feeling the way you did. If I would have known just how horrible me being gone would have affected you, I never would've left. I'm so sorry, Marlena."
Marlena smiled and placed her hand on the side of his face, moving her thumb slowly across the scruff of his skin. "It's okay. I have you back now, and that's all that matters to me. Just please don't leave me again. . .please."
"You don't have to worry anymore; I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did," Bucky said quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I love you so much, Marlena Claire."
"I know you do." Marlena sighed in content as she draped her arm back over his abdomen, "And I love you just as much, maybe a bit more."
"I highly doubt that, but I'll let you think whatever you want," Bucky smiled, his thoughts regarding his and Marlena's very spontaneous engagement running through his mind. "You can even think about the fact that you are my fiancée now, as well as the fact that I'm so damn happy because of it."
Marlena smiled widely and turned over, pulling herself onto Bucky's body. She lay in between his legs with her head propped onto his chest with her hands. "How happy?"
"Exceedingly," Bucky answered, rubbing her arms with his hands. "You see, doll, this is the life I've always wanted. Back in the forties, after Steve became Captain America, I decided that instead of dating multiple girls every week, I wanted to settle down with just one. I knew I couldn't have that until the war was over, though, but for me the war never ended. I thought Hydra had ruined everything for me—my ability to feel love, my ability to find love, my ability to get married and have a family. I used to think that there was no one on this planet capable of loving someone like me—someone so damaged, so dangerous, and just so. . .undeserving."
Marlena wiped away a fallen tear as she listened to him speak. He had never spoken to her about anything regarding how he felt about that particular aspect of his life, and hearing him speak about it now broke her heart. Bucky was damaged, that much she would admit, but he was far from dangerous and far from undeserving. "Bucky," she forced out, her voice strained slightly.
"No, no—let me finish." His voice wavered with emotion, but he continued speaking regardless, his hand running through Marlena's hair as he did so. "And then I met you, Marlena; you were so beautiful, so innocent, so witty, so bright, and so funny; it felt so good to have someone like that in my life after being trapped in a life of darkness for so long. That's one of the reasons I fell in love with you so quickly.
"I was so scared, though, Marlena. I was absolutely terrified that you could never feel for me what I felt for you, and at the time I wasn't sure what it was, but I needed you to feel the same way about me as I felt about you. It wasn't until we danced that night at the Stork Club that I knew you did, and I can remember being so happy because of it—so relieved. It didn't take me very long after that to figure out that you were the one for me—you were the person that was meant to give me the opportunity to love and to be loved, the opportunity to get married, the opportunity to have a family. You're my person, Marlena Elisabeth, and I am so, so thankful to have you."
Marlena leaned up where she lay, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears that had fallen from Bucky's eyes. "Hey, it's okay—don't cry, Buck."
Bucky let out a sigh and sat up further in his spot, wrapping his arms tightly around Marlena and hugging her closer to him; he never wanted to let her go. "I just love you so much, and the thought of being able to call you my wife one day soon. . .I'm just so happy."
"I'm happy, too," Marlena said with a smile on her face. "I've always wanted to settle down and get married and have kids, and the fact that I get to do that with you means so much to me and more. You're my person, too; you always have been and you always will be, James Buchanan Barnes. I love you more than I've ever loved anybody—more than I ever thought I could love anybody. There's nothing and no one that will ever be able to change that, love."
"I'm gonna hold you to that, Marlena," Bucky said. He smiled and leaned down, pressing a loving kiss to her lips.
"How do you feel about a movie night, baby? Just you and me," Marlena suggested as she looked up at him, her hazel eyes bright with admiration for the man she loved.
Bucky raised a brow, "Depends on what movie."
"You can pick," Marlena chuckled. "Clint has an entire collection downstairs; I'm sure you'll be able to find something you like."
"And I assume you want popcorn?" Bucky chuckled as he got off of the bed.
Marlena smiled and nodded at him. "Don't forget the white ched—"
"I know what to do, sweetheart." He winked at her before heading out of the room, leaving Marlena alone to ponder over the glorious thoughts of her wonderful fiancé. Despite the stress of dealing with Pietro and the problems pertaining to the rest of her life, as long as she had Bucky by her side, she knew she would be more than okay.