𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ✓

ʙᴏɴᴜꜱ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ

𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆...
━━━━━━━━━

𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐘, his oversized hoodie draped over her body to warm her. She pulled it tighter around her, inhaled his scent to savor it, as if she were afraid she'd lose the memory of it again. But she knew she wouldn't.

New York lay in busy darkness, traffic buzzing as it always did, the lights of the surrounding skyscrapers and the moon in the cloudless sky reflecting in the huge window behind her, where she knew he was probably standing, smirking to himself before eventually making his way to her side.

"You look so beautiful," his familiar, raspy whisper sounded from behind her, making the little hairs in her neck stand up in a shiver. Her lips curled up all by themselves, and she kept her gaze on the plane in the sky, a blinking light, reminding her of a shooting star somehow.

"James," she breathed, giggling like a teenager when he wrapped his arms around her from behind, his nose buried in her blonde hair, drawing in a whiff of her coconut shampoo she knew he loved.

"Hi," he mumbled back, pulling her close. "I love you."

Grace grinned so hard her cheeks cramped. It was amazing to see how often he told her those three words now, how easily they flowed off his tongue. Every morning, in bed, when he cuddled up on her, his scruff on her throat as he peppered kisses down it, and every night, when they were about to fall asleep in messy sheets and sweaty skin.

"I love you," she whispered back, turning around in his arms. "What time is it?"

"Four more minutes," he informed her, taking in the beauty that was her face to him, his eyes soft as they roamed over the few freckles on her nose, her pink lips, her long lashes.

"Okay," Grace nodded, pushing herself up onto her tiptoes to kiss him. He tasted like whiskey and strawberries, a combo so unexpectedly divine she thought she might become addicted to it. His grip tightened around her back, holding her flush against him, and she fit his body like a puzzle piece meant for this.

"I brought champagne out," he muttered against her lips, and they both briefly looked over to the windowsill, where two flutes of bubbles waited in the East Coast cold. Grace noticed how her boyfriend was merely in a t-shirt, black and tight around his arms, and some jeans, dark wash and hugging his thighs perfectly.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked quietly. A siren flashed through the December air, the horn howling through the night. The sound didn't disrupt the bubble the two were in. Since Mai's wedding and the fateful kiss, they had been going out again, finding themselves in inappropriate situations in public places more than once, and had eventually decided to officially begin dating again. With James still working at NYU and Grace having found a job in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's management office, it had been perfect.

James shook his head in reply to her question.

"I'm fine, Doll. I promise." He pressed another whiskey-kiss to her mouth and proceeded to pepper pecks down to her throat. Enjoying the sensation, Grace tilted her head back slightly, giving him better access to let him indulge her with this sweet bliss. Forgotten was the approaching midnight, even for just a minute, before he found her lips again, pulling away with her lower lip wedged in between his teeth ever so gently. The moan she let out resulted in him letting out a throaty groan, like he was deflated that he would have to wait just a few more minutes to continue this.

"Two more minutes," he muttered after taking a glance at his phone, "I can't wait to spend this following year with you, Gracie. This, and hopefully all of them that are to come."

Wide-eyed, she stared him in the icy blue eyes she adored so much, her lips agape.

"James, are you—"

"Oh, no," he interrupted her, a chuckle on his lips. "Not yet, Doll. Not just yet."

Relieved yet slightly disappointed, she grinned up at him, gazing at him through her thick lashes, which she knew drove him insane. She also knew doing this would most likely end up with her knees on the stone tiles of the balcony, his hand fisting her hair as he would let out strings of cuss words and groans. The thought made her guts tingle in desire.

"Okay," she chuckled, "So you were just being all cheesy."

He playfully rolled his eyes, his smile not fading whatsoever.

"That's the alcohol talking," he teased, nudging her nose with his, "And my love for you, of course."

She laughed, her heart swelling in her chest while he stepped back to retrieve the champagne glasses, handing her one. Grace marveled at how small the flute seemed in his huge hands, which still were decorated with his signature platinum rings she loved to feel pressing into her flesh.

"I love that I'm the only one getting this side of you," she smiled softly, making him grin so wide his eyes narrowed, little wrinkles appearing beside them.

"There are a lot of things of me that only you get, sweetheart," he muttered huskily, his voice low as if someone could hear. "But only if you're a good girl."

A shiver flashed down her spine and she bit her lower lip, the tingle in her lower stomach piling up into an urge she needed to be handled, a.s.a.p.

"Not only then, and we both know it. I got you wrapped around my finger, Professor."

He swallowed heavily at the old nickname. Even though she was no longer his student, it obviously did things to him that she would enjoy the perks of later on.

"Thirty more seconds," he announced, ripping himself out of the haze. They stepped to the edge of the balcony, their flutes then resting on the ledge of his rooftop terrace. The skyline of New York lay in its usual beauty right in front of them like their shared future did, and they both knew.

"Ten," Grace whispered, gazing at her watch, "Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three."

"I love you, Grace Williams," James spoke over her countdown, pulling her to him just as midnight hit, the sky illuminating in thousands of blinking colors as he captured her lips in a hot, desperate kiss, just like he had captured her heart all those years ago.

Fireworks exploded right above them, flickering blues and reds and oranges, but they only had eyes for their one true love standing right in front of them, grinning like teenagers in love.

"I love you too, James Bucky Barnes," Grace smiled against his lips, her hands in his hair. "Always have, always will."

━━━━━━━━━━━
♡𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒆♡

-

A/N: happy new year, guys! it's one a.m. on the first of january right now and i'm at home with covid, and this idea just popped into my head. hopefully, if your new year's eve wasn't great either this time, this bonus chapter could cheer you up. it's been an amazing year, see you in 2023!