Bucky made it to to LaGuardia in record time, he thought, all the while hoping it was the airport Loki was waiting at. They hadn't really discussed much but Loki's flight time, so he was taking a risk riding out to the airport nearest the university without being sure. He had already made the decision that if he had to purchase a ticket just to meet the student at his gate, he would do it. He had money in his account; he was saving it for his own shop, but this seemed like a worthy reason to use it.

After parking his bike in the closest spot he could find, Bucky ran into the nearest terminal, blue eyes frantically searching flight listings. His stomach twisted because he couldn't find London anywhere on the list. Unless his eyes were playing tricks on him. So, frustrated, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called Loki.

It rang a few times before he finally heard Loki's voice come through, sounding almost amused. "James?"

"Where are you?" he asked, nearly breathless, with no preamble, no greeting of hello.

Loki, predictably, scoffed, likely thinking Bucky was some special kind of an idiot if he wasn't aware of where Loki would be at that moment. "I am at the airport," he answered almost sarcastically. "Remember? I had a flight to catch tonight."

"Which airport?"

"LaGuardia. Why?"

"Yes," Bucky hissed quietly, but triumphantly. "Okay, where in LaGuardia are you?" There was dead silence on the other line and Bucky had to pull his phone away to make sure it hadn't disconnected. The numbers were counting down the length of the call so, with a little frown on his face, Bucky brought the phone back to his ear. "Loki? You there?"

The mechanic heard the intake of a breath and what sounded very much like a weary sigh, and when he spoke, Loki's tone had changed. "Where are you?"

"Uh…" Thrown off by the question, Bucky's eyes darted around for a sign he could point out to Loki. "U.S. Airways terminal? I'm at the front entrance."

"Stay there."

"No, just—" The telltale click of the line disconnecting sounded in Bucky's ear, and the mechanic pulled the phone away from his ear again, seeing that Loki had indeed hung up this time. He stuffed the phone in his jeans pocket, and glanced around, trying to decipher which direction Loki might be coming from. He didn't move from his spot, as Loki directed, but he did circle around, blue eyes conspicuously searching for a tall raven-haired man, as the minutes passed.

"James."

He spun around, grinning before quickly suppressing it, trying to gauge Loki's reaction. "Hey…"

Loki approached him, viridian eyes rolling a little as he did, chuckling. "I knew you would turn up and do something like this."

Bucky pursed his lips, feigning all the casualness, while his insides beat to the rhythm of a samba. "Do something like what?"

"Like show up here, looking for me." His smile faded, his eyes dropped to his feet, and Bucky stepped closer. The mechanic drew up short when out of the corner of his eye he saw Loki's hand lift slightly, palm up, as if to ward Bucky off, but then fell away. "Did I not tell you I am not fond of goodbyes?"

"I know what you said." Loki flicked his eyes up and Bucky had to swallow because it made his stomach do a flip. "How much time you got?" he questioned softly.

With his eyes still on Bucky, Loki reached into the pocket of his cardigan and pulled out his cell phone to glance quickly at the screen. "About a half hour. Though, it will take me a third of that to walk back to my gate."

Someone bumped into Bucky and nicked the back of his leg, prompting him to grab hold of Loki's wrist and pull him to an area with less foot traffic. Reluctantly, he released Loki's wrist.

"James," he nearly sighed. "Please tell me you are not going to make this one of those moments."

Anxious, and fretting that he had made a mistake coming here, Bucky tugged at the collar of his button-up shirt, then unnecessarily adjusted his pants. "What moments?"

Loki smirked, halfheartedly. "The one at the end of the movie. When one half of the couple realizes they simply cannot live without the other and rushes to stop them before they leave on their plane-slash-train-slash-bus or…whatever. And win them over with the perfect, heartfelt declaration of love."

Bucky's lips twitched and he shrugged a shoulder boyishly. Shit, was he really doing that? "Never watched a movie like that."

"Liar," Loki muttered through a grin.

The mechanic chuckled, rubbed at the back of his neck. Just get it out, Barnes. "Look…the truth is, I wasn't gonna do this. I…I was prepared to let you go and probably spend the rest of my life thinking about that one awesome weekend I spent with a really good-looking guy named Loki."

Going stone-faced, Loki straightened. "James…"

"No, let me finish," he rambled, stepping even closer to Loki now, but keeping his gaze low. "I've never…I don't usually…" He sighed, frustrated by his sudden shyness and inability to put his words together. "Deep down I know this never works. Not for me, anyway. But it's the first time I've wanted it to." Barely moving his head, Bucky lifted his eyes to Loki's and dipped a finger in the 'V' where Loki's cardigan sweater stopped mid-torso.

The student's brows rose and came together.

Bucky had to swallow back his fear. "So. I just wanted to—before you left—"

"Don't," Loki suddenly whispered.

"—I wanted you to know—"

"Please stop."

"—No, I want—"

"James." Bucky went still. "Stop talking. Just be quiet…" A pale, long-fingered hand fell to Bucky's wrist; the other lifted to pinch the bridge of his own nose.

"Loki…"

"You little shit." Loki clumsily, quickly chuckled, so Bucky wasn't very offended, but he did hear the slight catch in Loki's voice. "Gods, why did you come here?"

"I had to tell you." He decided to leave out the whole long explanation of Steve encouraging him and how he had moped for the majority of the day since Loki walked out of his apartment. He glanced down at the tight grip Loki still had on his wrist. Giving his own a twist, he had their hands resting palm to palm, lacing his fingers with Loki's.

The move seemed to put a dent in whatever struggle Loki had left. A quiet sigh escaped him, even as tears filled his eyes. Bucky gave their linked hands a tug, and Loki resisted; weakly, but another, sharper tug and Bucky was pulling him into a hug, slipping his arms under Loki's, pressing his hands to the student's shoulder blades to urge him closer. Giving in, Loki buried his face in Bucky's neck, and he held the mechanic tight. He made a soft noise, muffled by Bucky's collar, that the mechanic wasn't sure was a laugh or a sob.

Before he could decipher it, Loki was pulling back. "I know not why I am here. I fought so hard to get out of there. Now I am going back. And for what?"

"Your project," Bucky answered unnecessarily, reaching up to swipe at a tear rolling down Loki's cheek. "You'll do great, Loki. And you'll be great. I'm sure you're not the same kid that left, right?"

Loki shook his head and caught Bucky's hand before he could pull it away, holding it against his chest. Bucky lifted his eyes to Loki's, surprised at himself that he hadn't shied away from the affection they were displaying. Loki must have sensed this and Bucky saw those pale red lips tilt up just a notch before Loki was leaning in to peck at his own lips.

It wasn't enough.

Another quick twist of his hand and Bucky's hand was free; free to cup Loki's face between both of his hands, holding him in place, kissing him longer, deeper. His heart was racing, his stomach was doing somersaults. And he swore he heard a wolf whistle from somewhere behind Loki. He'd never kissed anyone in public like this before—at least, not so out in the open. Dark alleys, shaded corners, abandoned parks…

The significance of the kiss was not lost on either man.

Slowly breaking the kiss, Loki rested his forehead against Bucky's, his breath coming fast as he tried to calm himself. "I…should start back."

"Stay with me."

He hadn't meant to blurt it out; he hadn't even known it was a thought in his mind. Bucky breathed in, shakily, holding his breath as the seconds stretched between them, his still buzzing lips twitching when Loki cupped his face this time, breathing a small laugh, and kissed him, hard.

"You've no idea how much I want to," he murmured after breaking the kiss.

It wasn't a punch to the gut; it was more like a swift kick to the windpipe. Bucky visibly deflated, and forced himself to nod.

"But…"

"You don't have to," he mumbled.

"No. I do. Because…I want to stay, James. Very much. Which is both thrilling and frightening for someone like me." Loki let his hands fall to Bucky's shoulders, squeezing, subtly nudging the mechanic's nose with his own. "It's just…this may be the only chance for my project to be heard. I cannot let this opportunity pass. All the work I've done…"

Bucky tensed, remembering what that 'work' entailed. "Right. Of course." He took a step back and removed Loki's hands from his shoulders. "You should go. You don't wanna miss your plane."

Loki watched Bucky closely, surprised—and a little hurt—at the sudden change in the man who had presumably come to make a Hail Mary attempt at getting the student to stay. And then realization dawned. "It is finished, you know," he said slowly. Bucky barely looked at him, but his dark brows lifted in question. "My project. Now that I have to put together the final results…" He shrugged and slipped his hands into the pocket of his cardigan. "I no longer have the time, nor the need, to continue…researching."

Bucky knew exactly what Loki was inferring, of course, but it was little comfort when Loki would be in another country, thousands of miles away, for two goddamn years. He parted his lips, unsure of what he wanted to say, really, but an announcement for a flight to London interjected.

Loki's eyes drew upwards at the announcement, then gradually lowered again. "That would be my flight," he said softly.

"Yeah."

Black brows drew close together, frustration mixing with hurt in green-blue eyes. Instantly, a thought came to Loki's mind, and both emotions cleared away. "I have something for you." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small packaged envelope. "I was going to send it back to you when I arrived over there, but…you're here, so." Loki held out the envelope.

Bucky looked at the offering, then Loki, before he finally took it, turning it over. "What is it?"

"Open it when you return home," he answered through a soft grin, stepping forward to cup one hand at Bucky's cheek, and gave him one last lingering kiss. "And think of me, James."

"Loki…" His name was a desperate whisper as Bucky grabbed hold of that hand, gripping onto it tightly as Loki trailed his fingers over Bucky's cheek, down his chest. Finally, Bucky released them as Loki pulled away, but he remained frozen where he was, blindly watching Loki until he disappeared, his eyes stinging with unshed tears. Once the tall figure was out of his line of vision, Bucky sucked in a breath, steadied himself, pivoted on his heel and left.


Bucky returned to his apartment, letting Steve know by text that he had decided not to head back to the party after returning from the airport. Thankfully, Steve understood.

As the sky grew darker outside his window, Bucky sat motionless on his sofa, a cigarette dangling between his fingers, occasionally making its way to his mouth, staring at the envelope Loki had given him. He wasn't sure he wanted to open it. He didn't have a clue as to what could possibly be in it. And, frankly, he had held off the tears this long; what if this brought them on? And they couldn't stop?

Stop being such a little bitch, he told himself.

Taking one last drag on the cigarette, Bucky sat up and stubbed it out in the ashtray on the table and picked up the envelope, measuring its weight in his hand. Blowing out the smoke from the side of his mouth, the mechanic admired his name and address—and just how in the hell did Loki manage to find that?—written in Loki's fancy script in the middle of the yellow envelope, before he ripped it open. He peeked inside, but was unable to see anything, so he tipped it over, holding his free hand out to catch whatever was in there.

A small smile bloomed across his lips when a tiny cassette cartridge and a recorder landed in his palm. Another sealed envelope, a letter, slipped out to land between his feet. Having an idea what was on the cassette, he slipped it into the recorder anyway, sat back on the sofa and gently tore the seal of the envelope, pulling out a two-paged letter.

"Sorry to say, you didn't make the cut," the note began. He could practically hear the sarcasm in Loki's voice right then and there, and chuckled softly. "At least not for this project.

I know not what magic you possess, Mr. Mechanic, but it is safe to say, I am entranced. I will not ask you to wait for me; it would be unfair to you, and rather uncharacteristic of me. But I will ask you to hold on to my phone number. I cannot say for sure it will be working once I've landed in England, but perhaps from time to time you could give it a ring, and see if anyone answers. And if not, maybe you could simply leave a message…

Take care of yourself, James. Do what you must to open Bucky's Bodacious Body Shop (and I still want my royalties). Believe me when I tell you anyone would be proud, and should consider themselves quite lucky, to call you 'theirs,' archaically possessive as that might be. There is a deep kindness in you, darling James, a sensitivity that I, personally, both lack and admire. And you possess the quiet fierceness of a warrior. Don't ever lose that.

Only time will tell if we meet again one day. In the off chance we don't, I want you to know that you will remain a happy memory for me of my time in New York—of which, I have few. Thank you. I will miss you…

And one more thing: stop being so bloody serious all the time, would you? Smile more. You have a beautiful one.

Regards, Loki."

Tucking the letter back into the envelope, Bucky set it aside and quietly listened to the conversation between he and Loki that first morning after, coming from the recorder. Loki's words did bring a slight sense of comfort to him. Still, he would have preferred the student hadn't gotten on that plane, and instead came back to his apartment with him.

But, if there was one thing James "Bucky" Barnes didn't do, it was dwell on the past. Though, he wouldn't declare Loki his past; not yet. He would, however, deal with Loki's departure as best he could, and hope the next two years didn't drag on. Pulling out his phone, Bucky rose and wandered toward his bedroom, calling Loki's number.

As he expected, it went straight to his voicemail. With a grin curving his lips, Bucky stretched out across his bed, relishing Loki's voice in his ear, and waited for the beep.


A/N: Epilogue coming soon...

xoxo