"You look stunning," Bucky complimented. I smiled embarrassedly and glanced down.

I owned exactly one dress that Tony and Natasha deemed appropriate for a Broadway show—a spaghetti strap blue thing with a shawl to keep my arms warm and my shoulders covered that fell to the floor and was too long so I had to wear heels to keep it from dragging. "Thanks," I muttered, blushing, as I pushed my hairbrush through my mane of hair. I edged past him into the bathroom and put on my fancy makeup. I hated makeup—it was itchy and I was a big fan of rubbing my eyes without turning into the Winter Soldier when he had raccoon eyes.

Not that I'd ever tell Bucky. Not like that at least.

We left my apartment after calling goodbye to Gran and took a cab to the theater. Inside we were seated—in pretty prime seats to be honest—and waited for the show to start. Bucky sat on my right so that strangers wouldn't bump into his arm since that tended to startle or freak out all parties involved, but he took my hand in his metal one. I smiled at him. There was a glove covering his hand so the only evidence that his arm was entirely prosthetic was the small band of chrome that occasionally peeked out from between his glove and the sleeve of his black suit jacket—though that could be mistaken for a watch.

"So what do you know about this play?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged. "Honestly, not much. I've heard it's really good and most people love the music."

"So it's a musical?"

"Yeah."

After reading through the program and quietly talking about our pre-show thoughts, the house lights dimmed. Bucky reached across our bodies and took my other hand in a gesture of "She's mine." Apparently he noticed that the stranger sitting on the other side of me kept looking at me too. The stranger obviously hadn't noticed my wedding ring.

The overture started and a wave of clapping swept over the audience. I smiled. I loved theatre. Especially musicals. The environment was so different from the rest of the outside world.

The first actor slid silently out onto the dark, empty stage. No one was really paying attention except Bucky and I—so when the spotlight suddenly flared on and the first actor belted out the first note, a complete silence fell over the audience. It was full of excitement and anticipation.

Part of me found it really difficult to pay attention to the play while Bucky was holding both of my hands and sort of leaning on me. I could practically hear his heartbeat. I rested my head on his shoulder in order to sort of see through the heads of the crowds because I was so much shorter than the average person. Bucky's head nudged mine playfully. "Having trouble seeing, Cass?" he teased. I narrowed my eyes.

"Shut up," I retorted quietly. Bucky smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and nuzzled the side of my head, giving me a cheeky kiss on my cheekbone.

We didn't say much else—unless one of us had a sarcastic comment about the motivations of the characters—until the intermission. Then Bucky turned to me and held me close so the guy on my other side would stop looking at me. "Enjoying the show?" he asked, keeping his Vibranium arm protectively around my back. I smirked as I noticed his eyes narrow at the guy on my other side.

"I am. The music's good but the characters could do with a little more development," I answered. Bucky chuckled. "So why April second?"

"What?"

"Why April second? We told Gran we got married on April second."

Realization dawned on his face. "Oh! Well, I thought if we said April first she'd catch on that we weren't actually married."

I smiled. "April Fool's Day," I muttered. Bucky nodded.

"Yeah. And I didn't want to be too obvious, but not too unobvious. I didn't want her to think we'd been married for long so she'd believe you when you told her we had to keep it quiet because people were still after me," he explained.

"Clever."

He smirked. "Thanks."

The lights in the house pulsed, signaling the intermission was ending. Bucky traded me seats so he was sitting next to that stranger and I was sitting behind a slightly shorter person—making it easier for me to see. "What about your arm?" I whispered when he insisted. He shrugged and sat down. I eased into my seat, still giving him a concerned look.

"Well, if that guy keeps giving you those eyes, I might need it free to take him out," he breathed in my ear, teasing but also serious.

Music started playing and there was more clapping. Bucky smiled at me and wrapped his flesh arm around my shoulders. I gave him a small grin in return and shifted my attention to the stage. The play was more than halfway over—which was good because my eyelids were feeling the pull of sleep. Why was the performance so late at night? Why couldn't Tony have sent us to a matinee? A few questions leapt through my mind before the action of the musical resumed with an opening musical number.

When it was over and the curtain call was done, we made our way out of the crowded venue and onto the brisk streets. It was slightly chilly for mid-May and when I shivered Bucky wrapped his suit coat around my shoulders.

"So, cab or subway?" Bucky asked. "Because there's no way we're walking home. It's too far and you're too cold."

I shrugged. "You pick. Subway's cheaper but I know you don't like the crowds much."

"Yeah. We're taking a cab."

He signaled one and we got in. I passed him his suit coat back as we entered the warmer atmosphere of the car. Bucky told the driver the apartment building address and the yellow car started off through the streets. For several long moments Bucky sat with his metal arm around my shoulders, looking down at me contemplatively. "Okay. You're thinking about something. What is it?" I asked, turning my face to look up at him.

"Are we going steady now?" he wondered. "I mean, technically can we say we're… dating?" I pursed my lips in thought. "Like, when your grandmother leaves and this whole charade is over, can I still introduce you as my gal—I mean, my girl?"

Old-fashioned lingo aside, I bit my lower lip, still looking up at him. "Um… I don't know," I answered honestly. "Maybe we should save that conversation for after Gran goes home."

It could have just been because it was dark, but Bucky looked crestfallen. "Oh… okay."

"I just—" I cut in, trying to cheer him up. "I just think that for now we should keep it as simple as possible. I don't do 'complicated' very well and I don't think either of us need to deal with that on top of everything else going on this month. I'm sorry. I really wouldn't mind talking through it, but I don't think now is the best time."

I barely caught his nod as the cab drove under a streetlight. "I know what you mean," he said. "I understand. And you're probably right. We'll wait to talk about that until later."

The cab pulled up at my building. Bucky ignored my protestations and paid the driver. We both piled out and slid inside. He offered me his arm in the empty elevator and escorted me down the corridor to the apartment. I put the key in the lock and moved to turn it when he tugged me back towards him.

"For the lovely evening," he offered, leaning down and giving me a kiss. It caught me off guard but I kissed him back, sliding my fingers into his overlong hair—messing up the way he'd slightly gelled it back for the evening out. I felt his metal arm between my shoulder blades and his normal hand cupping my jaw. His mouth was soft and his hair tickled where it brushed my cheeks. I smiled slightly against his lips before tilting my head to the side a bit more and shifting up onto my tiptoes—even in my high heels—to kiss him better.

The door to my apartment opened to reveal Gran in her satin pajamas and pink cotton bathrobe, one hand on her hip. Bucky and I broke away and blushed. "Are you two going to stay there all night or are you going to come in before the cocoa I made you gets cold?" she asked sassily.

End Note: Thank you all so much for your continuing response to this story! I'm astounded that so many people love it so much!

Guest Review Responses (that I've unintentionally neglected): To "Bree": Thank you so much! I'm glad you feel like you can relate to Cass! I was just trying my best to make her seem like a "normal human." Know what I mean? And I totally want to be loved in the same way these two "love" each other! It's so cute! To "Guest": This is really worth rereading? Several times? OH MY GOSH! I was thinking maybe once or twice (even though I reread it a lot more than that trying to find errors), but that's amazing! Thank you thank you thank you! To "gandalf537": Thank you! I'm glad it's still cute! I'm trying!