Avengers/X-Men One Shots - The Blood/White Phoenix Saga

AOS 3: The First 'I Love You'

Sorry about that emotional rollercoaster in the last two chapters!! :( This one's a lot fluffier, I promise. Back to Bucharest for our beautiful babies, WinterPhoenix!!

Bucky Barnes' POV 

It was always cathartic, having Adelaide next to me. The evening weather was warm, the moon was shining, the stars were alight, and she was cuddled into me, with a blanket around her shoulders. 

'I love the stars,' she said. 'I always want to have more nights like this.' 

'So do I,' I said softly. These nights, sitting on the roof of the apartment hotel in Bucharest, Romania that I lived in, that Adelaide visited once every two or so months, were like a dream come true. With these nights, I could forget about HYDRA, forget that I was ever a monster and a killer with a metal arm, and just get lost in the arms of my girlfriend. She always felt the same, and told me as much. I'd never felt too comfortable sleeping next to her, and that in itself was always a challenge. I loved her, never gotten around to saying it. What?! you exclaim. The Bucky Barnes, always good with women, doesn't know how to say 'I love you' to a girl he likes? Yeah, yeah, don't judge. I hadn't done it in 70-odd years. 

'Are you okay?' she asked, sweetly. 

'Yeah. Just want to hold this. Us. As long as possible.' I leaned forward slightly to sniff her hair. Something about that strawberry smell drove me crazy - and grounded me at the same time. A couple years ago, I would never have been able to feel this love, never would have thought it possible. But tonight... tonight would be a good night to finally tell her I loved her. 

'Why do you keep sniffing my hair?' she asked. 'It's vaguely weird.' 

'Sorry,' I said, backing off. 'I'll stop if you want me to.'

'I mean, I find it cute, but why? I've just never understood why you do it.' 

'The smell. It's - arousing. But also grounding, in a manner of speaking.' 

'Strawberry arouses you?' 

'No, not in that way. It's - yeah, kind of.' She giggled at this. 'It just smells good. It's welcoming and warm, like you.' 

'Oh, honey, I wasn't always like that.'

'I know that. But you are now.' She smiled and interlaced her human fingers with my metal fingers. I froze slightly, tensing at the still-unfamiliar contact. I knew she did it to ground herself, too, but also because she knew I needed to stop hating the arm. So we sat there, for a good five minutes, with her holding my hand in hers, staring at the stars. She moved and I heard her yawn audibly, at which time I spoke again. 'Are you tired?' 

'A little. What if we just fell asleep up here?' 

'Nah, too exposed.' 

'It's been years. No one's gonna come looking for you.' 

'I know. I just can't be at peace for so long. I mean, this is the longest I've ever stayed in one place.' 

'Yeah, and look at you now. You've come so far. Yeah, you still look over your shoulder, and you're generally afraid of everything, but you're nice, you don't have nightmares as often, and you've developed a lot more hobbies - other than sparring.' 

'The nightmares going away is because you're here. They start up again when you're not here.' 

'But you know how to manage them better.' 

'If calling you ten million times is called managing, then I suppose it works.' 

'Hey, whatever floats your boat. Look, the good thing is, you're getting better. Yeah, the words and the trauma are still there, but they're there for me too. We are both there. We are both in the same boat. And we're okay, right?' 

'Yeah, I guess we're okay.' She reached up to cup my chin gently, looking into my eyes. 

'I love you,' she said in a small voice, moving around to get comfortable so she could look into my eyes better. A lump began to form in my throat when she said this. 

'You do?'

'Always have and always will, Bucky Barnes.' My breath stilled. I couldn't think about saying it back. What if I didn't? What would she think of me then? We hadn't even kissed yet. 

'I don't know what to say, Adelaide. I - I love you too. More than anything. More than life itself. I love you.' She leaned forward, and before I knew it, my lips were captured in hers. Tasting, feeling the kiss. It was as good as I thought it would be. A sweet first kiss. When we broke apart, I heard her let out a breathy chuckle. 

'You're a good kisser. Are you sure you've haven't practiced much since the 40's?' 

'Нет (No),' I replied softly in Russian. 'Единственная девушка, на которой я когда-либо практиковался, это ты, красивая (The only girl I've ever practiced on is you, beautiful).' 

'Мы оба знаем, что это ложь, красавчик (We both know that's a lie, handsome).' I let out a nervous laugh and she giggled too, leaning against my chest, snuggling in, letting out a deep sigh.