Bucky had no desire to go to sleep. Instead he sat up in the chair for a while, watching as Evelyn dozed off. She had curled into a ball on the sofa, her hair fanning around her and her eyes firmly shut. She had made a few soft snores and Bucky had watched on in entertainment before he moved to his feet. Shrugging out of his leather jacket, he left it on the chair that he had made his home and tossed his leather gloves on top of them. He flexed his metal hand, dropping his fingers to curl around his hips.

He wandered around her apartment, not wanting to be nosy but needing to move. Her kitchen was all modern with oak kitchen cupboards and a small island with a breakfast bar. She was tidy, he could give her that. Everything had a place. He looked to her stove and saw that she had a cookbook stand, a book open on a recipe for some kind of pasta bake. Wandering back the short distance to the living area, he looked around it. She had a TV on a cabinet against a wall, bookshelves surrounding it.

Glancing at her books, he looked at the variety of them. His lips arched as he saw that there was a biography on Steve in her shelves. Pulling it out, he looked down to his friend before wandering to the window and peering onto the street beneath, ensuring that everything was quiet. Closing the curtains slowly, he kept the book in his hand as he picked up another photo frame from the shelves next to the window.

There were four photos, all of them in different printed frames. He recognised Evelyn easily, looking down to her first and then taking in the other faces in the frames. One photo was clearly from graduation. There were two other women stood next to Evelyn, wearing their caps and gowns and beaming as they tossed their degrees into the air. One was shorter than Evelyn and had a round face, a short brown bob framing it. Her eyes were wide and her lips plump as she smiled. The other woman was taller and stood in the middle. She had flowing curly blonde hair with really long legs. She had a blue fitted dress on from what he could see underneath her gown. She was smiling as well, but not laughing as much as the other two. He suspected that she could be Lisa, the lawyer in London. She looked like a lawyer.

Bucky vaguely remembered she had told him about Maria who was her other friend and married. Looking at the next photo, he deduced that he had guessed their identities correctly. Maria was wearing a wedding dress and was stood in what looked like a hotel room. She was demurely looking behind her as Lisa and Evelyn adjusted her gown. Clearly the shot had been candid, but the three women were looking at each other with such love and adoration that he knew how that he felt. He had looked at Steve the same way.

The other photo was Evelyn in New York with an older man and woman. They flanked her and the Statue of Liberty sat in the background. He could tell they were on a boat. He knew that they had to be her parents judging from the way Evelyn looked like a mixture of them. Her father was tall with broad shoulders and greying hair, his arm around Evelyn's shoulders. Her mother was smaller and smartly dressed in a pantsuit with short, curly brown hair. It was the same shade as Evelyn's.

And the final photo was Evelyn crouched behind an older woman with white hair that was in a perm. The old woman was in a wheelchair and a cake with two numbered candles in it. The woman was ninety. Bucky assumed that she was her grandmother.

Once he had finished looking at the photos, he moved to the bathroom, dropping the book on the coffee table as he passed. He washed his face with cold water and looked around. The suite was all white and modern, a fancy shower going over the long bath. She had bottles of lotions and everything else dotted around in different crevices and Bucky wondered just how much stuff she needed in a bathroom.

Turning the light out, Bucky walked back into the living room and turned the lamp on in the corner and switched the main light off. He settled back down, picking the book up and flicking to the first page, seeing what else he could fact check about his oldest friend.

….

Evelyn felt warm, but at the same time she felt shivery. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She kept her eyes tightly closed and remembered the feeling of Bucky. She remembered his strong arm holding her round her waist. She remembered pressing herself to his side, feeling the muscles even beneath his clothes. He had been so strong. He had been so warm. And he had kept her close. Not that she had complained.

But it had to have been a dream. Why would Bucky be holding her? He seemed more like the type of guy who kept his distance. And then Evelyn slowly came back to earth. As she woke up, she felt a pounding in her head and she groaned lowly, moving a hand to her forehead.

"Good morning."

Peeling one eye open, she could see that the sun was streaming in beyond her curtains. She winced at it and perched herself up on an elbow, a blanket falling down her lap. Looking to the side, she saw Bucky sat there in her armchair. He had a mug in his hands and she wondered if he had found her coffee or herbal tea.

"What…what happened?" Evelyn wondered, looking down and seeing that she was still in the clothes from last night. "I got drunk, didn't I?"

"I think wasted would be more accurate," he responded and took a sip from her mug. "I got you back home and thought that it might be best to stay here and make sure you didn't slip into unconsciousness or…you know, choke on your own vomit."

"Oh God," Evelyn complained and moved to sit up straight, her hands going to her head. As she placed pressure on her hand, she winced and looked down, seeing that her knuckles were red. "I…did I hit someone?"

"Oh yeah," Bucky said and chuckled at the memory of that guy looking so pathetic once Evelyn had hit him. "Do you not remember anything what happened?"

"Stop," she complained, "it's all coming back to me slowly."

He watched on with intrigue as she finally spoke, but she kept her head bowed, her face buried in her hands. "I knocked a drink on him," she muttered. "He insulted me, didn't he? What did he call me?"

"Something that meant he deserved to be punched," Bucky said, not comfortable with repeating what he had called her. "If you didn't punch him then I would have."

Evelyn looked over to him, about to thank him before she looked horrified. Groaning loudly, she shook her head. "I vomited in the street!" she snapped at him. "You had to drag me home and I almost vomited on you. Shit."

Bucky smirked and placed down the herbal tea. He had felt particularly adventurous and had made himself a mug before sitting back down. Leaning forwards, he clasped his hands together and shrugged, trying not to make her feel any worse than she clearly was feeling. "I've seen worse," he promised her. "And it was my fault. I kept ordering us drinks when I should have known that you're not like me."

"It definitely was your fault," she agreed with him on that. "My head is pounding."

"Let me get you some water," Bucky said to her.

He went to the kitchen and filled up the glass. Moving back to her, he didn't realise that he was holding the glass with his vibranium arm. As he bent down to pass it to her, he mumbled once she took it from his grip.

"Sorry."

"For what?" Evelyn asked, chugging the water back.

"I took my gloves off and I know that this-"

"-Are you about to apologise for having a metal arm?" she asked from him and he sat down in the chair once more. He nodded once and Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Bucky, you don't need to hide it. I know you wear them gloves all the time and I suspect it is to blend in. And if that makes you comfortable then fine, but around me you don't need to hide."

Bucky listened to her and she wondered if he was going to say something to her. Instead he remained mute, uncertain of how he should respond to her. Now was not the time to start talking about how he felt. Instead he simply stood up and reached for the gloves, pulling them on.

"I should go," he told her.

"Did I do something wrong?" Evelyn asked and he looked down to her, shaking his head as she watched him, clearly worried. "I didn't mean to-"

"-You did nothing wrong," Bucky interrupted. "I'm just not used to this…to people accepting me. I think it will just take time."

Zipping up his leather jacket, he shifted from one foot to another before speaking again. "I spent close to seventy years under HYDRA's control. They told me who I was and what I had to do. They controlled everything about me. I don't really remember what it is like to have someone concerned about me or just want me to be…happy…except for Steve, but I never got as much time with him as I would have wanted."

Evelyn nodded, her mouth drying out. "I understand," she promised him. And she did understand. She couldn't resonate with him, but she could understand what he was saying.

"Still want to be around me?"

"Don't do that," Evelyn urged from him. "Don't try and push me away because as stubborn as you can be, Bucky, I can be just as stubborn. And I like you."

Bucky nodded, swallowing hard before he saw her stand up. She stepped forwards and made the first move. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto him and he stiffened before loosening up. He wrapped his own arms back around her waist, holding onto her.

"You should rest," Bucky said, changing the topic.

"What are you doing today?"

"I have stuff," he lied to her, knowing that she really needed rest and not be concerned about him. "I'll give you a call later on, okay?"

"Promise?" she asked from him.

"Promise," he responded.

He stepped back and a part of him longed to move his hand and run it down her cheek to tuck her hair behind her shoulder. But he didn't. Instead he stepped back and walked to the door. "Take care, Evelyn."

"You too, Bucky," Evelyn whispered and she saw him go, longing to know what was going on in his mind.

…..

Bucky did call her on the Sunday night. She had admitted that as soon as he had left she had gone for a bath and brushed her teeth, wiping the grime off of her from the night before. She had changed into her pyjamas and had climbed into bed and spent the day napping. She watched TV later in the afternoon and contemplated cooking dinner, but the only thing she wanted was dry toast. It was while she was eating that when Bucky called her. He asked her if she was feeling better and she apologised again for being so messy.

They made plans to meet up later in the week one evening. She had managed to persuade Bucky to join her to watch this new film on the Wednesday night. Bucky had walked by her apartment block every night since, convincing himself that there was still someone watching her. He never saw someone, but he had a bad feeling. He constantly had a bad feeling.

"So," Rebecca drawled to Evelyn as they almost finished work later that evening. They were the last two in the office, Rebecca staying later than normal to finish off some transfer request. "How was your date with the man old enough to be your great-grandfather."

"Don't call him that," Evelyn said, twirling her pen in her fingers and looking at the younger woman, "and it wasn't a date. We just hung out."

"Whatever," Rebecca rolled her eyes, "how was it anyway?"

"I would say fine," Evelyn said and groaned at the memory, "but I got so drunk that I spilled a drink on a guy who proceeded to insult me. I punched him and Bucky ended up having to walk me home where I almost vomited on him numerous times."

Rebecca's eyes widened and she wondered if Evelyn had just made that story up. But the seriousness of her expression told her she hadn't. And so Rebecca started laughing uncontrollably. She doubled over, having the lean against Evelyn's desk as she completed the motion. Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"Glad you find it entertaining," Evelyn drawled.

"Are you actually being serious?" she demanded from her.

Evelyn held her hand up. It was still sore, but it was nowhere near as red as it had been the other night. Rebecca leaned back against the desk and folded her arms over her chest. "Shit," she said.

"Yeah, exactly," she replied. "Anyway, I am meeting him tonight so clearly I haven't scared him off. I figured nothing could be worse than that, right? What else could be worse than almost vomiting on him?"

"I mean, there probably are things," Rebecca mused, "just give me sometime to think of them."

"Please don't," Evelyn begged her.

"So do you fancy him?"

"Are we back to this again?" Evelyn wondered and she logged out of her computer and stood up. She began packing her things away for the evening and Rebecca shrugged, moving to grab hold of her things as well. "He is just a friend. Besides, I don't think he would want anything more. I think he just wants someone to talk to and someone who he can confide in."

"And what do you get from this?"

"What do you mean?" Evelyn pulled her hair from underneath the collar of her coat, and bent down for her satchel, draping it onto her shoulder and folding her arms.

"Well, when was the last time you actually got laid?"

"Rebecca!" Evelyn snapped at her.

"Come on," Rebecca complained, "don't tell me you don't think about him like that because I have been in that exhibit and if he looks exactly like he did in the 1940s then I would not blame you for having those thoughts."

Evelyn shook her head, but her cheeks tinged red. Rebecca zipped up her duffel coat and pointed to Evelyn as she saw the colour staining her face. "Ah-ha!" she snapped as though she had caught her. "I knew you couldn't resist. Spill. Come on, tell me."

"It's nothing."

"Clearly it isn't."

"I mean…he…I remember him holding me and walking me home and…but…maybe it has been too long since I have…" Evelyn said and Rebecca rolled her eyes, pulling her backpack onto her arms.

"You're dithering," she whistled lowly.

"I mean, objectively, yes, he is very attractive and I swear he was slightly flirty-"

"-Evelyn."

The two women stopped talking and Evelyn turned to the side to see Dominic enter the office. Rebecca groaned under her breath as he turned his gaze to her, his eyes roaming over her almost as though he were judging her silently.

"Rebecca," he spoke in a drawl, "may I speak to Evelyn alone?"

"I'll catch you tomorrow, Evelyn," Rebecca said and she swept from the office.

"How can I help?" Evelyn wondered. "I was just on the way out. Can we walk and talk?"

"Certainly," Dominic nodded.

He was still wearing his coat and carrying a briefcase in one hand. He walked by her side as he began speaking, peering down to her and watching her with intrigue. He wondered if she had any idea what she was getting herself involved with. He doubted it.

"I have had contact with John Walker and his unit," Dominic told her, leaving the office. "They have sent over some NDAs that we need to sign before he can begin his research. I hope that you understand that the research they will be doing is highly secretive."

Evelyn's brows pinched together. "They want me to sign a non-disclosure agreement?"

"This is the army, Evelyn," he said to her. "They just need to ensure that all of their bases are covered. I told John that it would not be a problem. He is looking forward to starting work with you."

"No, it's not a problem," Evelyn said as they came to the main entrance and she saw Charlie at the desk. He stood up as she approached, tipping his head to her as she beamed at him and waved. "Hey, Charlie."

"You heading out on time?"

"I have plans," Evelyn said to him.

"I see," Charlie winked and moved to unlock the door. "Have a good night, Evie, sir," he said and Evelyn squeezed his arm as she walked by, but Dominic ignored him completely.

Once they were on the top steps of the museum, Dominic reached out to grab Evelyn's arm. "Plans tonight?" he asked her.

She frowned and vaguely remembered how Bucky had taught her how to throw a punch. "Personal plans," she nodded her head, preferring not to disclose.

Dominic kept his hand on her arm and peered down to her, looking at her with a narrowed stare as she tried to escape from this situation. She had no desire to be near him. There was something not entirely right and she didn't understand what it was. Why was he acting like this all of a sudden? She couldn't explain it.

"Shame," Dominic said. "I always thought that you were the type to put your job first. Why do you think you are in charge of one of the most famous exhibits?"

Evelyn clucked her tongue against her teeth. "With all due respect, I work hard at my job."

"I do not doubt it," Dominic said, "but there is still room for progression, Evelyn. Running more exhibits…working your way up. I just need to know that you are dedicated to your job."

He moved his hand from her arm and tucked her hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger too long for her liking. She pushed his hand from her face and took a step back.

"I am dedicated, she responded.

"Then perhaps you can prove it."

"Hey!"

A sudden voice interrupted the conversation and Evelyn turned around to see Bucky rushing up the steps. His jog was quick, but it looked effortless. As he approached her, he moved his hand out without thinking, taking hold of her hand firmly in his. Evelyn felt him squeeze her fingers tightly as he looked down to her, his face serious.

"You okay?"

"Fine," she lied to him and Bucky looked over to the man in front of him.

"Hi," Bucky said, a tense smile on his face. "I'm James."

"Dominic," the man responded. "I'm Evelyn's boss."

"Oh," Bucky said, "right."

"So this is your personal plan this evening?" he asked from her.

"Yeah," Evelyn said. "We should get going."

"Of course," James said and he gave her hand another squeeze before eyeing Dominic up once more. "See you round," he said to her boss, having no intention of telling him that it was a pleasure to meet him. No way would those words leave his mouth.

"Evelyn," Dominic spoke, "think on what I said."

But Evelyn was already walking away. Bucky followed her, giving Dominic another stare before directing his attention to her. She was walking quickly and Bucky kept up with her easily, but he could see that she was staring straight ahead. He kept hold of her hand as she rushed, her cheeks turning red and he swore he saw her eyes water.

"Evelyn," Bucky spoke her name softly, "come on, talk to me."

"I…I don't know…I can't…" she struggled to speak and Bucky turned to move down the side of the museum so they were out of sight as he planted Evelyn in front of him, hands going to her shoulders and holding onto them firmly as he saw her try to gather her breath.

"Hey, hey," he said, trying to calm her, "it's alright. You're alright."

"I don't understand," she said to him, shaking her head. "He's always been offish with me, but never…he's never said anything like he just said. And I heard him. I heard what he said. I knew that he was implying something. He had to have been. How could I misunderstand?"

Bucky stepped closer to her and ran his thumbs along her shoulder, trying to soothe her.

"Tell me what he said?"

"He asked me if I took my job seriously," she said, trying to recall the conversation clearly. "He said that I worked hard, but I could move up eventually if I showed how dedicated I was to the job. He wanted me to prove it…"

She trailed off and Bucky's jaw clenched and his teeth ground together. "I'm going to kill him." He said to her.

"No," Evelyn said firmly, moving her own hands to his upper arms to stop him from even thinking of moving. "No, I am going to deal with this. I need to talk to someone about this. He's not running me out of my job. He's not doing this to me."

"Okay," Bucky agreed with her, seeing how that would be the more rational way of behaving. But Bucky lost all sense of rationality when it came to Evelyn. "So what do you want to do?"

"Tomorrow," she gulped, "I'll ask for advice from the guys in the office and I'll make a complaint or talk to HR…something…"

He saw her take a deep breath and she turned her gaze up to him, watching him as he tried to form a coherent thought. "You were there," she said to him.

"I said that I would meet you outside the museum," he reminded her.

"But you came up to me."

"Hey," Bucky said, "I know that you can handle yourself. I've seen you throw a punch, but after what you told me about him last time I wasn't leaving you alone."

Evelyn gulped and nodded. "Thank you," she said to him.

"You don't need to thank me," he said to her and saw that she had finally managed to calm her breathing. "Now talk to me, are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?"

"I just feel…sick," Evelyn said. "And I just want to go home. Can we go back to mine this evening? Order food and just stay in?"

"Yeah," Bucky said to her. "Come on."

He took her bag from her shoulder, holding onto it for her instead. She watched him drape it over his body and she began insisting that she could carry it, but he told her it was fine. Noticing how she folded her arms over herself, Bucky wondered if she was cold. He draped an arm cautiously over her shoulders and she looked up to him.

"Too far?" he questioned from her.

"No," she said honestly.

"Alright," Bucky said and ran his hand along her upper arm to keep her arm.

He knew what he was going to do that night when he returned home. He was going to find everything out that he could about Dominic Jones. Something about the man didn't sit right with Bucky and he would ensure that he got to the bottom of it. But for that moment in time, the girl under his arm was his main concern.

….

A/N: Thanks so much for everyone who has reviewed. More to come soon! Do let me know what you think!