I do not own Captain America anything.
Except the digital copies. They are all mine. Mine, I say! ;)
I Am Machine
As Long As It Can
"I have to go get Simon from school soon."
Amelia was sitting up this time, the bare curve of her back to him.
He liked that she didn't try to cover herself up. That she was just as she was.
And with him.
"Okay."
That she trusted him so completely. And he wasn't going to break that trust again.
"Are you staying somewhere or . . . do you want to stay here or . . ."
Bucky also sat up from his relaxed repose, interested.
"Can I come with you?"
And Amelia shrugged.
"It's across town. About thirty minutes on the Metro. How do you feel about that?"
Bucky didn't even hesitate.
"I don't mind it. What about Simon? Do you think it would upset him?"
Amelia tilted her head, musing it over.
"Um, I'm not sure. He liked you. I don't know how he'll react honestly. If he does freak out, they've got a calming area in the room for him. We can figure it out."
Now she tilted her head to the other side.
"Or he might just be happy to see you and not freak out at all."
She turned her disheveled head back toward him then, chin grazing her shoulder.
And shrugged.
"I really don't know. It's up to you what you want to do. But you're welcome to come with me if you like."
Bucky absentmindedly stroked the length of her spine, raising goosebumps that he smiled at.
"I'd like to go if you don't mind."
Amelia shifted, stroked his scruffy jawline fondly.
"No, of course not. I'd love it."
He kissed her bare shoulderblade.
"Okay then, I'll go."
Amelia beamed.
"Okay, well, let me get a quick shower and then you can jump in!"
Bucky leaned in closer, nuzzling her neck, wanting fingers caressing the curves of her body that were perfect to him.
"Mmm, we could shower at the same time."
Amelia scoffed, a little breathlessly.
"No, we'd never leave!"
They laughed together then, shared a few more playful kisses.
And then Amelia pulled herself away from Bucky Barnes' enticing embrace. With some effort, it seemed.
And went to take her shower.
Bucky remained, laying back again, unadorned, half in and half out of the rumpled sheets.
This was exactly where he wanted to be, here with her.
And later, in a different capacity, with her and Simon.
He just wanted to be a part of them.
At least for a while. For the time he had.
Until that cellphone Steve had given him went off.
And he had to go.
It was unorthodox to his previous understanding of coupledom.
But it was the best he could do under the circumstances.
And better than he could ever remember.
Amelia seemed accepting of it.
He figured he could trust her to talk to him if her feelings changed.
And him the same.
So Bucky laid a hand on his chest, the chest Amelia liked so much to stroke and kiss.
Stared at the ceiling.
And smiled.
It was, of course, out of his comfort zone.
Lots of people. Trapped on the Metro.
No immediate exit points.
He still got ill at ease to a certain extent in such situations.
But the Winter Soldier couldn't overtake him anymore.
And Bucky Barnes was through running.
So he focused in on the good things.
The patient mother cooing and rocking her fussy baby ahead of them.
The withdrawn teenager nodding his head ever so subtly to the music emitting from his earbuds.
And, of course, Amelia Watson.
Sitting next to him.
Alternating between gazing out the window.
And back to the newly returned man by her side.
Resting her head on his shoulder from time to time, cuddling up comfortably into his side.
They didn't talk much. A little.
Here and there, in Romanian of course. Amelia would point out certain things, identifying them, offering up an interesting antedote.
Mostly Bucky just listened.
And enjoyed her presence.
Amelia didn't know how Simon would react to the reintroduction of Bucky Barnes into their lives again.
She could tell he had missed the man's presence during the year and some months he had been gone.
Not so much at first.
Bucky not been a daily companion.
Amelia, determined to keep the friendship relaxed and unencumbered and casual, had seen to that.
Resolving to retain her independence, his independence.
And for all that, she had still let herself grow emotionally attached.
Apparently, reserved little Simon had as well.
After several weeks, he had taken to carrying the penny with him wherever he went.
Often gripping it in his little clenched fist for hours at a time.
Refusing to let go.
Refusing to put it down.
Using only one hand for tasks, seeming unconcerned, accepting it as the new norm.
Even holding it as he slept, fingers tightening when she gently tried to pry them open.
Her up late at night, Googling 'penny poisoning'.
Relieved to only be faced with pages and pages of what to do if your dog swallows a coin and how to make him poop it out again.
Resigning herself to hoping Simon would eventually put it down. Not holding her breath.
Because Simon was her child after all.
And very stubborn.
And now, just as Simon was learning to walk the penny across his knuckles (he was up to two sometimes) and Amelia had stopped crying in her sleep more often than not, Bucky had returned.
She had tried to tell herself she hadn't immediately jumped his bones.
They had talked. Bucky, mostly.
Caught up on current . . .
Remind me to thank Ms. Maximoff for fixing that scrambled egg brain, sweetie.
. . . events.
Then she had jumped his bones.
Several times.
He hadn't seemed to mind.
She tingled at little at the residual sensations of their bodies moving together, fitting deliciously, perfectly to one another.
Him not jumping up and running immediately . . .
Oh no, not . . . not . . . emotional intimacy!
. . . away afterwards.
Her not suddenly suffocating in guilt and regret and . . .
Call me, maybe?
. . . uncertainty.
And now here they were. Feeling their way along an untraveled path she currently refered to as 'So My SO's a Super Soldier, Now What Do I Do?'
And all the potential issues . . .
Does your bionic arm have good cell reception? My WiFi gets so blinky.
. . . associated with that.
As well as the fact that he would at some unknown point be leaving again to go off and fight alongside his friend.
Which would be a challenge to their new lives when it happened.
She had decided after careful consideration it could be termed as military deployment.
Army guys fighting the good fight or whatever.
He could die, be maimed, anything.
But he was also a super soldier and pretty tough to kill. So she figured that would only allow him to get himself into more dangerous than normal situations.
But if any man were going to be worth the trouble, worth the worry, worth the concern, Bucky Barnes was it.
She didn't know how long their peaceful togetherness would last.
As long as it can, I guess.
I'm really gonna have to show Bucky The Matrix.
I wonder if he even likes movies?
Maybe now we'll have a little time to find out.
She raised her head from his shoulder, unconsciously giving him The Big Adoring Eyes when he glanced over at her.
Causing him to smile gently.
And kiss her lovingly on the forehead.
Sappy, sappy, sappiness, huh? I know but they deserved it, I think.
And no, no sense of foreboding here with the 'as long as it can'. It's just a healthy way to view life, I think.
So, thanks to brigid1318, OnYourLeft107, Sassiebone, Char, Apg, Redhead2000, eileanskye, Ruby Rosetta Red, and tamarabvillar for your reviews.
Next up, another reunion you might have been waiting for. :)
And the last chapter.