"It's so messy," June groaned. Her nose crinkled in displeasure.

"Talk less and eat quicker," Bucky exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

"Are you tired of hearing me talk?" June exclaimed in mock anger.

"Only when you're bitching about your ice cream melting all over your hands." June stuck her tongue out, but took Bucky's advice and began eating her ice cream with more focus. The pair walked on the Brooklyn Bridge, the sun high in the sky. She got off work earlier than normal and asked Bucky to get ice cream and go on an adventure. "Can't believe you've been here this long and never walked the bridge."

"I've skipped a lot of touristy things. I've never seen the Statue of Liberty. No MOMA or Broadway shows."

"But you've been to Central Park?"

"Yes, I've been there."

"Coney Island?"

"Nope."

"I'm taking you sometime. Everyone needs to go to Coney Island. I haven't been since I was a lot younger but it was great."

"You make yourself sound a thousand years old, Buck," June said, rolling her eyes. "We have to be close in age."

Bucky inwardly cringed. "Twenty-nine."

"See! Told ya, I'm twenty-seven. Don't make us sound or feel ancient."

"Eat your ice cream, doll."

They fell into a comfortable silence as they made their way across the bridge. The plan was to get to the other side and find somewhere for lunch.

Bucky's arm darted out and pulled June into his side as someone on a bike rushed past them.

"Geeze, you've got like crazy good hearing! Do cats have really good hearing? I wanted to say cat hearing but I can't remember if they have good hearing or not."

"I think they have decent hearing but not anything amazing," Bucky shrugged. "Can't say for certain though."

"So, what do you do for work that allows you to have all this free time at weird hours?"

Bucky inwardly groaned. He made a point to not spend too much time with people outside of the Avengers because there were too many questions that were just part of normal conversation in getting to know another person. He didn't even really like spending that much time with the Avengers.

"I do security stuff."

"Vague," June laughed. "I'll let it slide though. I'm just going to assume you do some really cool shit that's top secret and if you told me you would have to throw me off the bridge and that would be a bummer."

"Good. Throwing you off the Brooklyn Bridge would be a huge pain in my ass. Too many witnesses. I would have to lure you elsewhere and toss you off some other, way less cool bridge." Bucky relaxed and remembered that part of June's appeal has been that she doesn't pry when he gave vague answers. He didn't know how long that would last, it was only natural that she would want to dig deeper at some point. He figured he might as well enjoy it while he could until it became a problem.

"And if I'm being thrown off a bridge I deserve to be tossed off a cool one," June said, matter of factly.

"Definitely."

"You look… Sunburnt?"

"I've been out in the sun," Bucky answered obviously.

"As always, you're incredibly forthcoming, Robocop," Tony said, pouring himself a glass of scotch. "Very detail oriented. We totally know what you spent the day doing."

"You sunbathing down on the beach?" Sam asked.

"Warming up your cold heart?" Natasha tossed out.

Bucky groaned. "I'm going to leave and never come back to these 'family dinners.'" He put air quotes around family dinners, a term that had begun with Pepper but Tony fervently shoved down all their throats.

"Enough," Steve warned. Bucky almost felt bad that Steve was so nervous about him disappearing. Almost. But there was a part of him that still felt it to be such an instinct that he wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't just disappear one day when being a person in society felt like too much. "Did you get a hobby? Are you playing recreational sports?"

Bucky sighed. "I walked the Brooklyn Bridge today."

"You're leaving something out," Natasha accused. "Now why would you leave something out about walking the Brooklyn Bridge?"

"Nothing newsworthy. All is quiet on the super hero front," Tony said as he dished some of the pasta Pepper made on her plate.

"Maybe he just wanted to walk the bridge, have some peace and quiet," Pepper suggested. Bucky appreciated that she often tried to shut the other Avengers down. Even though Steve did the same thing it was more endearing from Pepper. He didn't feel like she did it out of a place of nervousness or fear.

"I'll just get F.R.I.D.A.Y. to scan the cameras in the area," Tony suggested. "Mystery can be easily solved."

"Sometimes I'm with the group of you and find that it was easier being on the run from every world government," Bucky grumbled.

"You're going to hate this less if you just tell us," Steve said, passing Bucky the bread.

"I walked the Brooklyn Bridge with someone I met. She's a bartender at this place I go sometimes to read. We didn't think about sunscreen. I didn't even know that I could get sunburnt."

"Whoa, you got a girl?" Sam exclaimed dramatically, solely to get on Bucky's nerves.

"She's a friend."

"Note how quickly the sunburn heals," Bruce said. "I've never thought about super soldiers and sunburn. Interesting."

"What bar does she work at?"

"We should all visit."

"Do you think she's pretty?" Natasha asked.

"Aw leave him alone," Peter spoke up. "He'll tell us when he's ready."

"Barnes will never be ready!"

"Have you two banged yet?"

"I'm done answering questions about this. I'm perfectly content to not say another word the rest of this meal," Bucky said, having had plenty of their commentary.

"Leave him alone," Pepper chastised. "You all know he'll sit here in silence, if we're lucky. He might just leave."

"I'm going to rename this place from Avengers Tower to the Blackhole of Fun," Tony grumbled. Bucky smirked, finding pleasure in the others' irritation.

Conversation soon moved elsewhere and the group had an enjoyable dinner together. Steve and Bucky walked back to their apartment building after dessert and a round of some game Peter had brought over. They talked about a recent mission Steve went on and the weather, the run they would take in the morning and that Sam would meet them at their place and the three of them would leave from their building. Once Steve and Bucky were at their front doors, directly across the hall from each other, Bucky turned and leaned against his door.

"I know you wanna stick your big nose in my business. Go ahead."

Steve smiled. "No, you can tell me about this girl when you're ready. Just makes me wonder if some of the old Bucky is coming back."

Bucky shrugged. "I just know I am who I am now. Night Steve."

"Night Buck."

Bucky walked into his apartment and locked his door. He sighed to himself, wishing Steve understood the divide he'd created in his mind about who he was and who he is was pointless. While he made himself a cup of tea to drink before bed he toyed with the idea that maybe he shouldn't go into the bar for a few weeks, put a little distance between himself and June.