Bring Me Home // Bucky Barnes

Chapter XLIII - This Moment

"Oh God." The disgruntled groan from behind startled them both as they tore apart, shocked that they were no longer alone. Breathless and flushed at the familiar tone of feigned outrage, Elizabeth instinctively buried her face into Bucky's chest as she laughed. Her cheeks warmed as she giggled, her embarrassment creeping in, fighting for dominance against the raging fire of pure, undeniable joy.

"I feel like I've just walked in on my kid sister with my best friend," Steve moaned as he turned away from them, looking up at the sky and away from the embrace he walked out on, slight discomfort registering in his mind as a heavy blush marred his skin.

Her face still pressed close to Bucky's chest, breathing in the familiar heady scent of his skin, Elizabeth couldn't help herself. Her giggles gave way to joyous laughter as her words came out muffled and barely intelligible. "Shut up Steve."

Bucky grinned as she spoke, her breath tickling against his chest, his hands still resting in the dip of her waist and his chin placed softly against her head as she leant against him, his heart thumping against his chest with adrenaline, excitement, adoration. He pulled back slightly, moving his hand to gently push her chin up, allowing him to stare into her eyes as he smiled confidently. Hidden beneath the depths of the dark brown was a colour that had quickly become his favourite colour during the war. The tiny specks of fern green glistened with elation as she stared up at him, her lower lip caught between her teeth as she tried to control her urges to reach up and kiss him again and again and again.

"Oh you're going to have to get used to it Rogers," he sighed, shaking his head slightly as he winked at her, his nose scrunching and his eyes dancing over every tiny detail of the way she looked at him; from the softness of her eyes to the easy grin, to the way that even as she pulled her gaze from his eyes to his lips - lips that had just been pressed against hers in blissful devotion - she held back as if she were afraid he would slip away from her once more.

Steve turned to them, intrigued by the gentle hush of Bucky's voice and the smirk he could hear in the lilt of his words. He watched as Bucky gently traced his fingers along Elizabeth's jaw, his thumb connecting the spattering of freckles across her cheek. He watched as Bucky's eyes searched hers with curiosity and hope and a spark of understanding and his jaw dropped.

"Wait." Steve stepped forwards, pointing at Bucky and then at Elizabeth before snapping back to Bucky as the two of them reluctantly turned their faces to him. "This isn't -? You don't -? Oh my God. You do, don't you?" A face splitting grin erupted as he watched Lizzie's tears begin to fall again, this time softened by the relief and delight that washed over her face as her attention returned to the sea of blue staring down at her again.

"Hey Doll," Bucky teased, his arms winding around her waist again as he pulled her closer to him, "I didn't look as confused as Steve does this whole time, did I?" He grinned as she chuckled, leaning in to softly kiss the apples of her cheeks, kissing away the streams of tears staining her skin, before faintly pressing his lips against hers. He sighed as she pulled his face down to her, deepening the kiss, laughing against his lips.

"No James, you were much cuter." She mumbled. "A little grumpier at times. But cute." As she spoke she could feel his smile, before he playfully bit her lip, pulling away for a second to drink in the sight of her there; safe and alive in his arms. His chest tightened as he thought back to that final memory. The one he had let them take willingly. The one that broke him. He felt the splinter of pain as he thought back to the fight on the train. How frail and small and devastatingly broken she looked as he held her against him, as he tried to protect her, as he promised her he would return.

Elizabeth watched as his eyes clouded with the grey skies of storms brewing. His smile twisted into something uncertain, something painful, and her heart squeezed as she stroked the stubble of his jaw, waiting for his eyes to soften, to return to her - to the moment, before pushing up on her tip-toes to kiss him softly. Soon tenderness gave in to passion and she melted in his arms. She fed him her adoration, her comfort, her love as her kiss became more desperate. She wanted him to feel how much she needed him. She wanted him to know how much she loved him. She needed to show him it was all okay now.

Steve cleared his throat and laughed, unsure of what to do, staring at his feet. "Yeah, I'm still here guys." He chuckled as Bucky waved him away, a signal Steve had been so used to as a teenager; a signal that was buoyantly lighthearted and simple. "Okay, I'm leaving. Glad you're back Buck... I'm just going to go - well - anywhere but this roof actually." He shook his head as he walked away, still grinning as he basked in the joy of his two best friends.

Closing the door behind him, Steve stepped back into the building and stopped. Without knowing it, without realising, he had been carrying a weight he was unable to let go of; a weight that had pulled him out of comfort, that had stung him with guilt and worry and grief. He marvelled at the magnificence of its lifting and he allowed himself a moment to just breathe it all in. To process it.

He heard her before he saw her, all too accustomed now to the light, confident footfall of Natasha Romanoff to miss her entrances and exits, and he moved towards her instinctively. As she bounded around the corner he pulled her to him, planting a soft kiss against her lips eliciting a small gasp of surprise before she kissed him back.

"Mr Rogers, what if someone saw?" Nat grinned as she pulled back.

"Then let them see," Steve shrugged, wrapping himself around her as she glanced down the empty corridor.

"As tempting as that may be Cap, and trust me, I am all for not hiding this," she signalled between them with her finger as her other arm rested against his shoulder, her hand on his neck, "I was actually coming to get Lizzie." She tried to peel herself out from Steve's arms, a playful smirk on her lips as he traced his eyes over her body, appreciating the way she felt in his arms.

"Yeah, Lizzie's going to need a while. She and Bucky are just getting -" he paused as he searched for the right word or phrase, grinning when it finally came to him - "reacquainted. Give her ten." He leant in to kiss her again.

"I can give her ten," Nat laughed, pulling Steve away from the door and back down the stairs, heading for his room.

*

Their kisses had slowed and Lizzie found herself resting against Bucky's chest as he pulled her down to the bench behind them, his arms wrapped comfortably around her as she leant into him, breathing him in with her eyes closed.

His hand toyed with her hair, watching as the mid-morning sunshine caught on the reddish undertones of the dark waves tied back from her face, his fingers twisting ringlets as he smiled softly.

They remained in silence, wordlessly providing comfort for each other in the bitter sweet breeze, as their minds both dipped in and out of memories and moments that had been pushed aside for too long. Elizabeth allowed herself to revel in her hope for the first time since his return; to finally feel peace. Her mind wandered to the night on the jet. The way her heart had felt calm as Steve sat beside her, holding on to her hand as they plummeted towards the ice, as the wind whipped through shattered windows, as Peggy's pleas clung to the silence around them, as she closed her eyes and swam in seas of cerulean, lapis and azure. The oceans of his eyes had calmed her then and they sent her heart soaring now.

Bucky softly entwined his fingers with her own as she nuzzled in against him, his mind completely removed from the anger that had coursed through his veins as he watched her with Pietro, and he let peace seep into him as he felt the softness of her skin against his palm. His heart squeezed as he reminisced. He had spent countless hours watching her work; admiring how gentle she was with each of the wounded; how easily her fingers seemed to work their magic, fixing up the men and piecing the broken back together. He chuckled to himself as he ran his fingers over the back of her hand and she pulled back to smile up at him.

"What?" Lizzie's eyes made his heart sputter.

"Lizzie," Bucky grinned, "you're a goddamn doctor?"

When she smiled he couldn't breathe.

"Yes, I am." She raised an eyebrow playfully, grinning at him as she did so. "And you have a metal arm James. A lot has changed."

He nodded slowly, thoughtfully, as she lay back against him, her feet tucked up as she melted into his arms. "You're right. A lot has changed." He planted a soft kiss on her head, lingering for a moment as he contemplated the sentiment. A lot had changed, but not everything.