Response to reviews:

nana723 - Thank you so much for the review. I'm glad the slow burn is good for you! Thanks for giving support about my mum, your comments meant so much to me. 3

AngelfromBeyondBelow - I'm glad you liked the training and how I write, that's so kind of you. About the slow burn and the history, I just thought it would be right considering all the stuff they've been through, yeah! What you said about my mum and results was lovely, thank you

dream2bawrtr - I get so hyped for your reviews! I love you! Yeah, my mum's doing okay, much better than before. I'm so glad you loved it. Yeah, the sparring was kinda cute ;) I'm so happy you feel that way about my writing. Honestly, you are one amazing reviewer. Thank you!

LilleyBelle - Playful banter is on the up :P Thank you so much for your kind words about my mother by the way, I really appreciate it! 3 Your review made me smile very much!

fitzsimmons27 - Thank you so much for always reviewing. You are always so lovely!

Witch of evil - You love my story with your heart? OH MY GOODNESS! I love you with all my heart! I really glad you liked my story so much. I honestly love your review! 3

AidenKelly - Thank you so much. I really appreciate your support. You are wonderfuuuuuuuuuulllllllllll! Cute profile picture by the way ;P

AUTHORS NOTE: I know this is shorter than usual. I promise that the next one will be longer. I am really sorry, I just felt like the ending was right.

James POV

As soon as I heard the click from across the roof, my head shot round to see who was intruding on our moment, my body tensing. Wanda immediately sat up, obviously alert to the door opening as well. It was Steve. Of course it was Steve.

He tentatively looked around the door, spotting us both on the bench. As he walked towards us, I stood up, automatically stepping in front of where Wanda was sat, feeling this urgent need to keep her behind me. "What?"

"I..." he began, briefly pausing to look at the way I was positioned in front of her. "I just came to see if you were okay,"

"I'm fine." I was fed up, annoyed with acting like it was okay for him to do this. I didn't want a personal watch dog all the time. Steve, more than anyone, should've known that I could look after myself. I looked after him for the whole of his teenage hood as well as myself.

"Bucky, I ju-"

"DON'T CALL ME BUCKY!" I shouted, angrily striding towards him. I was at my limit with him. I wasn't the best friend that he once knew, I can hardly remember that person. I was different to the memory he had of me, something that obviously disturbed him. I could see the fear in his eyes, the disappointment, and it made me feel shit about myself all the time.

I blinked when I realised how close I had actually gotten to him, my hatred blinding my willpower to stay still. "My name is James and I don't need a bodyguard," I said in a much calmer voice, but through gritted teeth. I looked at the floor for a few seconds, taking a few breaths to relax me before heading for the elevator. I heard quick steps behind me that I could tell were too light to be Steve's running steps and didn't mind that Wanda was coming after me.

She got to the elevator just in time before the doors shut. I knew they should've opened as she came towards me, but I'm glad JARVIS let her in before shutting the doors to keep a certain someone out. As soon as they shut, I had Wanda's arms wrapped around my middle, her hands smoothly stroking up and down my back. Her hold was loose, but still made me feel held by her. However, I wasn't concentrating on that, I was concentrating on how loud my breathing sounded in the near silent elevator.

I relaxed, Wanda's hands helping me for the most part, and my breathing quickly went to it's normal rate again. "I'm sorry, he's...always checking up on me and sometimes I can't stand it," I said, hoping she would understand where I was coming from.

"He's only looking out for you," she argued and I sighed, pulling away from her hold. Her hands stayed close to me, resting on my hips with the most hesitant of touches.

"And I'm aware of that, but are the morning calls really necessary? The constant hourly check ups? Assessing me while I train you? As well as that..." I shook my head, feeling embarrassed to say what I was going to. "when he tells me that it's 'okay not to understand things'.".

"Maybe I should talk to him," I shook my head, but she persisted. "Then what alternative? I know you don't want to talk to him, so what else do we do?" I wanted her to be wrong, but I knew that she was talking reason as always. That was ironically one of the things I liked about her.

"I'll talk to him, ask him to leave you alone for a few days," she offered, moving her arms away from my hips to place them on her own. "It's a good alternative to having him bug you."

The elevator doors opened and she was first to walk out, brushing past me gently as she did. "It would make him feel better if you said that you could report on what I was acting like, reassuring him that I was okay," I said as I followed her into the living room. She stopped where she was and turned back to look at me, a small smirk gracing her lips.

"You agree with me?" she asked with a smug tone of voice. She looked pleased with herself, like she had accomplished something incredible. It was adorable. Fuck, she was adorable.

"Maybe," I teased quietly, not looking at her eyes as the thoughts went through my head. I felt shy, but also angry. I nearly snarled at the feeling of compassion in my chest, the feeling being so foreign. My cheeks felt hot as I heard her walk away, towards the sofas. I didn't know if it was from embarrassment or anger.

I shook my head and walked towards where she was sat, legs crossed neatly with her hands in her laps, her beautiful soft fingers interlocked. "Can I ask you a personal question?" she asked, her voice very soft and harmless. She turned her head to the side, watching her watch me as I came to sit next to her.

"Go ahead," I replied, relaxing into the corner of the sofa and leaning my arm against the arm rest. Everything was so soft nowadays and I had gotten used to sinking into all the furniture.

"Did you have any...relationships before HYDRA change you? If you don't mind me asking," she questioned in a hesitant voice. I felt a smirk pulling at the corner of my lips.

"You want to know how many people I've slept with?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that," she said, blushing slightly. I didn't know why I was blushing. I didn't feel embarrassed, but in another way I did.

"I slept with five women before I was sent off to the army," I frowned, thinking over my memories, before shaking my head. "Wait, three before, two during and then...I don't really know how many after that, but I can't remember any experience I ever had with any of them. Doing anything this time around would be like doing it for the first time."

It was like a blank canvas for me, completely. Sex was foreign and the idea of...doing it genuinely scared me. How could I trust someone that much to touch me, let alone have sex with me? I was one messed up person. "What about you?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck as I glanced over at her. She looked at me sceptically and I smiled at her. "If you don't mind me asking."

She chuckled slightly, but looked nervously at the floor, her eyes shifting around the floor. "If you really want to know, I haven't slept with anyone."

Wanda POV

I was embarrassed. Most people lose their virginity at eighteen. I wasn't much older, but it still felt like I was different compared to everyone else.

"Waiting until after marriage?" he questioned and I shook my head.

"No, I just haven't found the right guy yet," I said, leaning back against the cushions of the sofa. Pietro wouldn't let me out of the house that much, let alone speak to a guy of all people. We didn't even have friends who were girls there. Well...I didn't.

"Oh okay," he replied, looking out at the window to give him something to do. Our conversation came to a silent lull as I stirred the pasta. I didn't need to but I had nothing else to do and we couldn't just stand there.

"Can I ask you something else?" He turned his head at me and frowned for a second, before letting it dissipate. I even wondered afterwards as to whether I had imagined it.

"Yes," he said, looking nervously at me. I smiled to reassure him that he wasn't in trouble, but he only seemed to relax a little. I could tell by the way that his shoulders relaxed and his jaw became less tense, only the small things. There was still an aura around him that made him seem not quite relaxed.

"Hugging me in the way you did on the rooftop, did you see that from a movie or something?" I asked boldly, making sure I didn't hesitate or sound afraid of the question in the hope that he wouldn't be. His face didn't change, the man seeming emotionless, but soon his expression morphed into one of intense thought. He was obviously focusing on his past.

"I had a memory come back to me. A girl in my apartment was crying for some reason and that's how I held her. It just felt..." He cleared his throat and I realised that he wasn't actually going to finish his sentence.

"Right?" I asked, supplementing something for him to finish his sentence with.

"Yeah," he answered absentmindedly.

"Okay," I responded quietly. It was just a memory.

"I'm sorry if I overstepped. I didn't take joy in holding you like that if that's what you're wondering," he replied anxiously, almost sounding robotic in the process. Didn't take joy in it?

"You didn't take joy in it?" I asked curiously.

"No, apart from that I was glad that it stopped you from being upset and was a comfort to you, ma'am." For some reason, the addition of 'ma'am' made his sentence made him sound more Brooklyn than ever.

"Me too." I said, watching as his eyes flickered from my eyes to the floor to the window and then back to me and then back to the floor again. The tension between us felt so awkward and I was racking my brain to think about what could settle it. "Have you ever played Monopoly?"

James POV

We had been playing this game for the past two hours and some how I was winning. I didn't know how, the only sign of that being from the sad pout Wanda had on her face.

She rolled and moved her ornament, which she had chosen to be a shoe, to the 'GO TO JAIL' square. She groaned and moved her token across to the appropriate space.

"That's five times that you've landed there, isn't it?" I asked, smiling at her with fake innocence. She glared at me, but I could tell from the small upturns of her lips that she wasn't actually made.

"James Buchannon Barnes, I hate you so damn much right now," she said and threw the dice at me. One of the clinked against my metal arm and dropped onto the board.

"Ow," I deadpanned, picking both die up and rolling them in my hands. I couldn't help but smile at how cute she was being. She was stubborn and obviously didn't like losing. Was she like this with all games or was it just Monopoly?

"Maybe if the dice hurt you that much, it should be your new sparring partner,"

"I've got a good one already," I told her, hoping it would make her feel better for not beating me in training to day. I hoped that she wouldn't take it personal. Not many people did beat me when it came to sparring.

I saw her cheeks tinge pink as she took fifty pounds from her money and placed it in the middle, forfeiting her turn in order to get out of jail. I inwardly cheered as I realised I was finally getting the hang of the game. I also inwardly cheered at making her flush, but I didn't know why I cheered in my head about that.

As I took the dice, I saw the embarrassed look on Wanda's face turn into a shy one as she held her knees to her chest and kept her eyes on the floor.

"What's wrong, Wanda?" I asked, trying not to get distracted by the number of W's used in the interrogative. Her eyes flitted up to watch me and I smiled, in which I hoped was a soft smile so she wouldn't feel threatened.

"You think I'm a good sparring partner?" Her voice was quiet and shy and I tried not to smile at how sweet she was being. There was something about the way she looked so innocent that made me want to tell her that everything was fine and that there was nothing wrong with her, even though I knew she thought otherwise.

"You're great," I said, nodding to show I was serious. "Nobody beats me, so don't take it personally."

I immediately regretted saying what I did as she glared at me, before lifting her face away from the cover of her knees. "We'll see about that," she said, crossing her legs and placing her hands in her lap.

I chucked and shook the dice in my hands, trying not to think about how cute she was when she tried to act big.

2 hours later

"My God, you're still here?" Me and Wanda had been in the living room for the past four hours, trying to beat each other at Monopoly. How was the game lasting this long? I looked up at the person who had asked the question: Tony.

The billionaire and I didn't have the best relationship, especially since he found out the truth about who really killed his parents. However, he did eventually understand that I was under the influence of HYDRA's programming and couldn't control my actions. After Steve and I fully explained the situation to him, he seemed to cope a lot better with the situation, especially after I shared how close Howard and I were during the war time.

The game went on for a further five minutes before I looked at how much money each of us had left. I was going to win. I knew that it was based on luck but I still had a 500 dollar bill on my cash stash. So, I decided to do something that would probably save my life and make Wanda feel better.

"I'm done," I said, putting my hands up to plead my innocence. "I can't do this anymore, you win."

Wanda stared at me in surprised, her hair slightly tasseled from where she had been playing with it every now and again with her fingers during parts of the game. "What?" She asked, looking gobsmacked that I had actually submitted.

"You win," I said simply, holding out my hand to shake hers. She still look amazed as she shook mine, mouth open slightly as she stared.

As she pulled away, she put her hands in the air and shouted "FUCK YEAH!"

My eyes went wide at Wanda swearing, something that I had never seen her do before, but I couldn't help but laugh at the girl. She was fantastic. A perfect mixture of funny and serious at the perfect times.

I looked over to Steve who had been observing our game for the past hour while he sketched something. His eyes were wide, almost shocked that Wanda had used such a rude word. I hadn't minded him being there, even after the argument we had that morning.

"Wanda!" He scolded and she couldn't help but laugh when she looked over at his serious face.

"Sorry," she said, laughing to herself, not looking sorry at all. She turned to me and I tried to ignore the curious look she had on her face as I started packing away the multitude of hotels we had placed on the board. "What happened to 'nobody beats me'?" Her voice went deep and rough when she repeated the words I had said many hours ago.

"Is that supposed to be an impression of me?" I asked skeptically, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. I didn't actually sound like that, did I?

"Just answer the question," she replied with a smirk.

"Wanda Maximoff, you are the first to beat me," I admitted, smiling at her as I folded up the board and put it in the box. She took the box from me and stood up.

"Woah that is something to put on my CV," she said, walking to put the box back in the games cupboard on the other side of the room.

"Good game?" I knew Steve was trying to sound innocent with his question but it wasn't working. I had known the guy for too long and even though we weren't on best friend terms, I still knew his question meant a lot more than it seemed. I was angry at him still for earlier, but decided to put it behind me. I would deal with it later. I was good at compartmentalisation.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at my fellow super soldier. He laughed and closed his sketch book, putting his thumb over the top cover.

"I just mean that you two seem to be getting along nicely." It didn't sound suggestive, but I saw the cheeky look in his eyes. He was checking up on me, again. I sighed and decided to answer his question regardless. Something about me felt forgiving for the jerk, but I didn't want him checking up on me after our game. Wanda would talk to him and it would all be okay.

"Yeah, Wanda's..." I took a long time to choose the right word so that Steve wouldn't be too suspicious of our relationship but also wouldn't think we were getting too close. Wanda and I were friends, that was all, and I wouldn't want Steve thinking any different, especially if that thinking lead to giving me a different partner. "...good." I settled on finally. Good was...good.

I looked curiously at his sketch pad, finding a sudden interest in that instead of talking about mine and Wanda's relationship. It felt too personal to discuss with anyone else. "What were you drawing?"

He shrugged, picking up his coat, and I knew he wouldn't answer my question seriously. "Oh nothing," he said with a smirk. "Just two bored idiots playing Monopoly."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically and he chuckled as he walked towards the kitchen, leaving me in the living room by myself as I awaited Wanda's return. Thinking about it, I wasn't sure it Wanda was even coming back from putting the game away. Surely she wouldn't just abandon me after that?

My queries were answered when she bounded through the door with the biggest grin on her face and came to sit down next to me on the sofa. "You look happy," I told her, noting the way her grin hadn't stop since she had re-entered.

"I just beat the unbeatable," she said as a response and nudged my shoulder, making sure not to be too rough with me even though she could be. I tense slightly as she slipped her hand into my own, her slender fingers making their way around my palm.

"Was your conversation with Steve okay?" she asked. I took a breathe as I felt her thumb stroke my skin. Her fingers were ticklish against my skin, my hand shaking slightly from her touch. I felt her eyes on me, but I was focusing too much on the way her hands held mine.

"Yeah, but he was checking up on me still. Is it still okay for you to talk to him later?" The words came out rapidly, like I had no stop button until I reached the end of my question. I was too focused on our hands to focus on my words.

"Yeah, I told you it's fine," she replied, her fingers squeezing my hand tightly. I felt my heart flutter in my chest and immediately stood up as if it were an automatic reaction. She looked up at me with concern.

"We should probably...go and do some more training," I suggest, feeling my jaw become tenser as I spoke. She huffed a laugh and shook her head, pulling a fake sad face. I struggled to not smile at the amusing sight. I liked her playful side.

"I agree, but my muscles do not," she said, dramatically. She pushed her face into the sofa cushion and groaned, letting her body dramatically fall off of the sofa and be dragged down to the floor by gravity. She was splayed out, like a starfish, on the ground and I couldn't help but smile at her.

She was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. As she opened her eyes, I walked round so I was standing in between her legs. "Let's get some food instead then," I offered, also offering her my hand to help her up and she smiled, extending her palm for me to take.

I grasped onto it and lifted her up, a little too quickly as she stumbled forward slightly. One of her hands immediately went to my chest to stop her from toppling any further forward. "Thanks," she mumbled as she pushed away from me and started to walk towards the kitchen. I subconsciously smiled to myself and followed her out of the room.

Hey, I know this is short. It isn't because I've done it late - I just thought it was a nice place to end really.

For those who were interested, my mum has made a lot of progress. Her left hand side has dramatically improved after the limited time her body is supposed to heal, so my mother has literally conquered the impossible. We are moving to Brighton as I am going to Sussex University soon, which is exciting! Cannot wait to go! We are all moving out there in order to be close to family for mum's sake. Thank you for all the wonderful support.

Please give me a review for this chapter if you want, I always appreciate them and reply back to what you have said. Thank you muchly. YOUR REVIEWS MAKE ME SO HAPPY!