Bucky stared at the door for a while, before he frowned.

"You're welcome," he said, before he headed back to his apartment.

This was the first time he had talked to his neighbor. He had already seen her a few times before but he had never spoke to her, nor her to him. Only David talked to him. The man was a curious one be he was no threat to Bucky.

He locked the door, behind him, before turning on the TV to watch the news channel. This had become a habit to him, since he had left the states. People were looking for him – no, not for him but for the Winter Soldier but he wasn't that man anymore. He was trying to find his true identity: some of his memories had been unlocked because of Steve Rogers. Yet, he was still pretty messed up and until he could figure out his life, it would be better for everyone – including him – if he kept a low profile for a while.

He thought back on his neighbor's reaction: why had she reacted like that? His paranoia was telling him that she might knew him, that she might be a spy but his reason was calling him a fool.

Bucky had noticed the way her eyes had widened, when she had turned around. And how she had quickly entered her apartment? That was suspicious. It was like she had just figured something out about him.

Paranoia won this time. The former soldier decided to keep an eye on the young woman, and if she'd turned out to be a threat then he would improvise. The woman didn't look like the type to work with HYDRA or the government. However, it would be the best to not judge a book by its cover. Sometimes, the most innocent looking thing could turn out to be the most deadliest one.

"And another successful mission for the Avengers -"

The voice of the anchorman broke Bucky out of his thoughts, and he stared at the TV screen. He took the remote before increasing the sound volume up.

"Today, some of the world's most powerful heroes had succeeded in saving twenty people from a wrecking ship near the coast of Haiti. Another normal day in the lives of the Avengers…"

He turned the TV off, sighing. James Buchanan Barnes was also a hero once, but the Winter Soldier had managed to destroy him. Could he become the man he used to be again?

Reason laughed at him. How could he consider being a hero?

(* * * *)

Selene realized that she might have overreacted a little before her neighbor. She could have just thanked him in a more nicer, or invite him for a beverage to try to get to know him – after all he was her soulmate. She didn't know his name, for God's sake!

"Well, that's a good start." she said out loud.

The young woman needed to think fast about the current situation. She had once promised herself to not trap her soulmate in a life with them, if the person didn't want. If her soulmate agreed to be part of her life, then she was saved but if they didn't want to live the rest of their life with her, then she would just let them go.

Fate might have been cruel to her, but she wasn't like this.

Selene's mother and dad had fallen in love with each other before even knowing that her dad was her mom's soulmate. The latter had been lucky. It had been love at first sight and Selene also wished to live this kind of love. However, times had changed and nowadays all that mattered, for most of people, was to have a healthy and wealthy life.

What were the odds of her soulmate living next door? The Universe was telling her things. She didn't know what to do next, but firstly she wanted to know his name.

An idea sprouted in Selene's mind and she turned off the TV. She decided to cook something for her neighbor. She could pass it off as a late welcoming gift and she would also apologize for her strange and cringe behavior. She had almost slapped the door on his face. The woman cringed at the memory.

She settled on baking chocolate chip cookies, she had found an old recipe from her grand mother who used to be a pastry chief. Half an hour later, the smell of chocolate filled the apartment as the chocolate chip cookies were baking in the oven. As they were cooking, Selene washed the used dishes while humming along a Taylor Swift that was playing on the radio – she had previously switched on.

After a while the cookies were ready and she got them off the oven, being careful to avoid getting burnt. So far it was looking good and Selene smiled warmly at the idea of her soulmate eating them. The woman put them on a fancy container and put it on her table. She just needed to fight gather the strength to cross the hall and to go knock at his door.

She took a deep breathe before gabbing the chocolate chip cookies. She wouldn't be able to achieve anything if she was scared all the time. All she had to do was to walk to his door, welcome him with her gift and thank him. Her priority was to learn his name. This wasn't something difficult to do, was it? Anxiety laughed at her.

She left her apartment and walked straight to the man's door before knocking on it. 'It's now or never,' she thought.

Selene heard a muffled sound and then, she heard footsteps coming towards her. The door suddenly opened, startling her a little and she stared at the man in front of her.

'Wow, he's so beautiful,' she thought, as she watched him entirely. She wasn't a fan of guys with long hair but it suited him very well – adding to his charm.

"Hi! I'm your neighbor, Emma." She told him, as she tried her best to avoid sounding excited. She noticed that he was looking right her, suspiciously, before glancing behind her from time to time. Selene frowned. "Anyway, I'm sorry for bothering you but I made some cookies."

He sent her a quizzical look. "For me?' She nodded, and he eyes the delicious pastries before looking back at her.

"I made a lot of them, so I don't mind sharing. I'm also taking advantage of it to apologize if my behavior had seemed off earlier so…"

Selene handed him the chocolate chip cookies with a smile, but she hoped that he didn't notice the way her fingers were shaking. "Also welcome to the building! I hope you'll have a great time."

Her smile was so convincing and contagious. Bucky also really liked the way her eyes were sparkling.

"I'm James." he said, as he took the cookies.

Selene noticed that he was wearing a glove on one hand only. Was he hiding something? He seemed ok though.

"Thank you."

She gave him a faint smile. "You're welcome. Hope to see you around James."

The woman loved the way his name sounding on her tongue. Still smiling, she waved him goodbye before turning around. She had decided to go for a walk in order to get some air. Her cheeks were so warm and hot, one could cook an egg on them.

Bucky watched her until she went down the stairs before entering back in his flat. He was smiling without realizing it, Emma seemed to be a nice person. He came to realize that she did all the talking and she wasn't bothered by his silence. The ex-soldier glanced at the pastries, considering tasting one

'What if she was sent to poison you?' Paranoia told him, still clawing at his mind.

'She looked friendly, you need kind people around you.' Reason argued.

Reason won.