'They are at it again.' Ainslee sighs, watching her boyfriend laugh and joke around with the beautiful, Russian redhead Natasha.

Ainslee has nothing against Natasha, really, she is an amazing woman. She just hates how in every group setting, Bucky abandons her for Natasha. Sure, they have a lot in common and there is a history between them. But Natasha is not his girlfriend, she is. If he is just going to spend all of his time with the other woman then why is Ainslee even around? It is obvious that he could care less either way.

She gives another sigh, rubbing her temple.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The thick accented voice of Wanda Maximoff comes from her right,

"Hi Wanda. I am fine, just feeling a headache coming on. I think I am going to head home. Will you let Bucky know?" she steals a glance at her boyfriend, "That is if he even notices or cares that I am gone."

"Sure, feel better Ainslee." Wanda answers, giving the older woman a hug.

As Ainslee leaves, Wanda can feel the hurt and sadness rolling off of her in waves. She moves her stare over to Bucky and Natasha, shaking her head. Wanda feels bad for Ainslee, she does not deserve this type of treatment. It is just a matter of time before emotions boil over and Ainslee cannot take anymore; and there is no way for this to end on a good note. Someone is going to get their heart broken.

When Ainslee arrives home, she changes into more comfortable clothing and curls up in her couch. She turns on the television finding some random show to distract her and to keep her thoughts from moving back to Bucky. She knows that if she gives herself the time to think about him then she would end up in an emotionally dark place, and she just is not going to do that to herself. So instead, she forces her mind to shut off and drowning out all thoughts with pointless television.

She is unsure of how much time passes, but she is brought out of her trance by a knocking on her door.

"Who is it?" She calls out.

"It's me. Open up."

Bucky's deep voice comes from the other side of the door. Ainslee opens the door, stepping to the side to let him in.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, going back to her seat on the couch.

"Wanda said you weren't feeling well…"

She looks at the clock on the wall, "And so you rushed over to check on me two, almost three, hours after I left. Wow, you really do care don't you?"

He eyes her with a perplexed look on his face, "What is wrong with you? Where is that coming from?"

She just shrugs, not bothering to look at him. Ainslee continues to watch television, practically ignoring Bucky's presence.

Bucky turns off the t.v, "Hey, look at me. Lee, what is going on with you? You have not been acting yourself all night."

"And how the hell would you know?!" she snaps, jumping off the couch to face him. "How the hell would you know I have not been myself when you were so far up Natasha's ass I couldn't tell where one ends and the other begins!"

Bucky quickly follows, "What are you talking about?"

Ainslee does not know if he really is that clueless or just in denial.

"You cannot be serious Bucky. You spent the whole time that I was there with Natasha. Every time there is some kind of gathering and you invite me, I am left alone and you are off with Natasha."

"So I have to spend all of my time with you?! I cannot talk to my friends anymore?! You are just jealous."

"That is not what I am saying Bucky! I like Nat, I am not jealous of her. My point is that every time there is some type of get together with the other Avengers and you invite me, you leave me to go be with Natasha. It has not just happened once, but every damn time! And it is not like you leave to go off with Steve or Sam or Clint, it is always Natasha, just her. If you want to spend all of your time with Natasha why even have me around? Better yet, if you would rather be with Natasha, why are you even dating me?"

Her voice trails off, it hurt to say that out loud. Worry fills her at what his response might be.

"Oh don't be ridiculous! There is nothing between Nat and I. It is all in the past. You are overthinking everything. We are just friends, and it is easier to talk to her than you because she understands more than you do. You are not an an Avenger, you cannot even fight so how could you possibly understand what we talk about or how could you even help me out after a tough mission like Natasha can?" Bucky barks out.

Ouch. That, that really hurt; Ainslee can feel the tears sting her eyes. Bucky does not seem to realize that what he said cut her to the core.

"Is that how you really feel Bucky?" she asks, "That I am basically useless and offer nothing to help you? I thought that because I wasn't a part of that world, being with me was an escape. To have someone not tainted by violence and death. At least that is what you told me. I guess that was not true."

"Ainslee, that is not what I meant."

"So what did you mean?"

He lets out a loud groan, running his hands through his hair in aggravation.

"You are twisting my words. Sometimes it is just nice to talk to someone with similar experiences that I do. Someone with a similar past as I. Natasha and I are just friends. That is it, nothing more, so stop trying to make it seem like there is something else going on!"

She stands there watching him, listening to his words, hearing how his voice changes when he talks about Natasha. She can hear how defensive he is becoming. But more than that she hears how he almost sounds disappointed in saying they are just friends. Ainslee shakes her head,

"Who are you really trying to convince James? Me or yourself that there is nothing going on between you two?"

"Ainslee, please."

"If there was ever a situation where you had to save either Natasha or I, who would you save? If either of us were hurt, who would you go to first? Knowing that Natasha is trained to handle any situation you put her in, and I am not, who would you go to?"

Bucky voice gets caught in his throat. He is so thrown off by her questions he does not know what to say.

She closes her eyes to hide the tears, and turns away from him, "I do not want to make you pick, or try and tell you to stop being friends with Natasha because I am not the petty type and I really do like her. But I need to know where you stand in this relationship or if there even is one anymore. I think that maybe it would be best for you to leave now James. I need some time alone, and I think that you need to do some thinking for yourself."

"Ainslee…"

It does not escape his notice how she called him James. She never calls him James, not even when she is mad at him. He watches her walk to her room, shutting and locking the door behind her. He sighs, running his flesh hand down his face. It does not seem they will be getting this resolved today, so he may as well leave.

Bucky exits her apartment with a heavy mind and a heavy heart. There is no way that what she said had any truth behind it. Nothing was going on between Natasha and him, they were simply friends. That is all there is to it. Ainslee is simply making things up out of jealousy. He will give her a few days to cool off and then they will talk. Bucky convinces himself that Ainslee is just jealous and she will come to her senses in a few days. She will see that Bucky is not in the wrong. He just needs to give her a few days.