Evelyn had been on the phone for the past hour while Alistair, Sarah, Bucky and Sam sat outside. Sam and Alistair had been discussing sports, Bucky pretending to take an interest as Sarah rolled her eyes whenever her husband got animated. Evelyn had called Lisa and Maria, telling them what had happened before talking to Rebecca, Jennifer and Martin from work, insisting that she was fine and she was sorry that they had to have the day off. She had then called Mary, Charlie's wife, checking up on him. Mary had been apologetic for what had happened, telling her how Charlie was eaten up about luring Evelyn to the museum.
But Evelyn understood. She held no grudge against him. In fact, she didn't want him to think about it again. She told Mary that and said that she would visit Charlie when she was back in D.C. She had decided to take some time off from work, wanting to stay in Florida with her parents for the rest of the week. Thankfully, work had been sympathetic, telling her to take as much time as she needed.
"That's everyone called," Evelyn said, moving out from the kitchen and seeing them all sat on the plush outdoor furniture. Sam had taken the armchair, Alistair sat in the one next to him. Her mother sat at one end of the L-shaped sofa while Bucky took the other end.
Pushing her glasses further onto her nose, Evelyn placed her phone on the table and collapsed down on the seat next to Bucky. He had to admit that he was still slightly uncertain when it came to how handle himself in front of her parents. He was usually so cocksure and certain of everything, but there was always something about parents that unnerved him. But Evelyn didn't care. She was already slumped against his side, giving him no choice but to lift his arm and let it settle around her shoulders as she folded one leg over the other.
"How is everyone?" Alistair wondered from his daughter.
"Maria and Lisa freaked out," Evelyn said. "Jennifer and Martin were also freaking out…Charlie feels guilty…oh, and Rebecca said that she would have had your balls if anything had happened," Evelyn said, peering up to Bucky and smiling as he chuckled at that and nodded his head. Evelyn looked back between her parents and shrugged. "It's Charlie who I'm most concerned for."
"How is he?" Sarah wondered, knowing about her daughter's friendly relationship with the security guard.
"He's stable and awake," Evelyn nodded her head. "But I just want him to know that I don't blame him for what he had to do. His wife was being threatened and I can't even begin to imagine how that must have felt…he was in an impossible position."
"Poor man," Alistair said, nursing the glass of whiskey in his hands and peering down into its depths.
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "I don't think anyone would know what to do in that position."
"I wouldn't know what to do," Evelyn agreed with that. "Anyway, I'll deal with everything when I go back to D.C."
"When is that?" Sarah wondered from her daughter.
"Well," Evelyn said, realising she hadn't had this conversation with Bucky yet. Looking up to him, she moved a hand to his thigh, resting it there before he placed his own hand on top of it. "I was thinking we could maybe stay the rest of the week and fly back at the weekend? I have nothing with me though…no phone charger…none of my usual clothes…or my purse…"
"None of that matters," Sarah said, delighted at the thought of her daughter being able to stay for another few days.
"I'm happy with staying," Bucky promised her, knowing that this would be good for her. Some time with her family was what she needed at that moment in time.
"Sure?"
"Sure," he echoed back.
Nodding her head, she reached out and took hold of the glass of white wine her mother had poured her. She took a sip of it, the taste fresh on her pallet as Sarah and Alistair continued speaking.
"And you have clothes here, right, sweetie?" Sarah checked with her daughter.
"And as for money, don't worry about that," Alistair waved his hand nonchalantly. "We can cover anything you need and your flights back home…besides…perhaps it might be nice to spend these days just at home?"
"Just relaxing?" Sarah asked him.
"Why not," he shrugged back. "I can call work and take them off, what with semester being over and no teaching."
"And I can do the same."
"You don't need to," Evelyn said to them.
"We want to," Alistair said with a shake of his head. "Unless that is too much? We don't want to get in the way if you had plans?"
Evelyn scoffed at that and shook her head, her hair bouncing around her shoulders. "I only just decided to stay. I've had no time to think of plans, but I might take Bucky to some of the usual haunts I always visit when I come back."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "When she says that, Bucky, she means that she is just going to take you to all of the places where she loves to eat," she commented and Evelyn looked up to him, shaking her head back and forth.
"I have other places," she responded, "they only say that because every time I come back home I insist on going to this ice cream store at Vero Beach. It does this amazing lemon ice cream that I swear you can't get from anywhere in D.C."
"And she has probably tried everywhere," Alistair said and Sam looked between them all, seeing how nice it was. It was clear that Evelyn was close to her parents. It was equally as clear that they adored her just as much as well. He missed his parents. He would be lying if he said he didn't. He wished that they were still here to see what had happened to him, hoping that they would be proud.
"How's the whiskey, Sam?" Alistair asked as his daughter rolled her eyes at him and he smirked, turning to look to Sam instead.
"It tastes delicious, Mr Morris," Sam said.
"Alistair, please," he responded with a wave of his hand. "It's pretty nice, I have to say. It came all the way from a distillery in Scotland that we visited…oh…when would it be, Sarah?"
"It has to be at least twenty years ago," she said with a shake of her head. "Evelyn was only nine or ten, I think."
"Was that the time she insisted we take her around those old houses?"
"Yes," Sarah said, nodding her head.
"Didn't fight with the tour guides, did you?" Bucky teased her and she nudged him in the ribs as Sam heard the exchange and arched a brow, an amused expression on his face.
"What's this about fighting with tour guides?" he wondered.
Bucky, Sarah and Alistair laughed while Evelyn groaned loudly at them. Sarah took the lead, resting her elbow on her knee and leaning forwards, her wine dangling in her other hand in front of her. "Well, Sam," she said. "When we were in London many years ago, Evelyn got into an argument with one of the tour guides at the Natural History Museum."
"She got the date wrong and wouldn't admit it!" Evelyn snapped loudly.
"But she was so insistent," Alistair continued. "She would not back down at all. Instead, she kept on arguing."
"And people were just staring."
"So she's always been stubborn, huh?" Bucky teased again and it earned him another nudge in the stomach, Evelyn turning her head over her shoulder to throw a glare up to him, not appreciating him involving himself on this ganging up of her. He laughed and squeezed her hand that was holding his, silently assuring her that it was all in jest.
"She always has been," Alistair said. "I assume it's something that you've picked up on, Bucky."
"Oh, most certainly," Bucky said.
"I am not that stubborn," Evelyn defended herself.
Sam laughed as Bucky arched a sceptical brow at hearing her say that, defending herself.
"Evie, I know that I'm only your friend, but even I can't deny that you are horrendously stubborn."
"I can honestly list about fifteen occasions when you have refused to back down on something off the top of my head," Bucky said to her and she rolled her eyes up to him, taking a sip of her wine as he continued speaking, his lips upturned. "And that's just off the top of my head," he reiterated.
Before they could continue the conversation, the doorbell rang and Alistair sprung to his feet, Sarah following him. "That should be the food," Alistair said.
"You three stay here, we'll fetch it and dish up. We opted for Chinese and just ordered a selection," Sarah said.
"Can't wait," Sam said to her with a smile, watching them go before he turned to Evelyn. "Your parents are sweet, Evie."
"They insist on embarrassing me at any possible moment," Evelyn complained, "but, yeah, they're great."
"Speaking of, your mother did promise to show me all of your baby photos while you were on the phone," Bucky said to her and Evelyn groaned loudly, looking up to him as he smirked down at her. "Hey, everything about me is in a museum for everyone to see. How embarrassing do you think that is?"
"Yeah, but your baby photos aren't there, are they?" she responded. "Besides, in every exhibit you look ridiculously handsome, you know that. You're so photogenic it's beyond annoying."
"Don't tell me you stare at my face all day and get no work done?" he continued taunting her.
"Yes, all I do is go and sit and swoon over your face," she said dryly and Bucky chuckled before she patted his hand. "And then I come home and I actually see your face and realise that age has most definitely not been kind."
"Ouch," Sam said loudly and Bucky's brow rose on his forehead.
"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" he asked from her and she laughed as he placed his glass down and he moved both arms around her, his fingers tickling up her sides as she squirmed around in his grip, trying not to drop her glass of wine before he relented, her laughter dying down and he dropped his lips to the top of her head. "We all know you're lying, anyway."
"Whatever," Evelyn said nonchalantly. "Sam, are you staying the night before heading home?"
"I am," Sam said with a nod. "Your mom…sorry, mum…offered me the guest room for the night. Figured I'd get a good night of shut eye before going back home to see Sarah and the boys."
"You looking forward to heading home?"
"Yeah," Sam said with a nod. "As much as I love the adventure, I enjoy downtime too."
"I get that," Evelyn said and sipped on her drink before shaking her head. "Actually, no I don't. I hate anything even remotely adventurous. We've had enough adventure to last a lifetime, I think," she said, glancing back up to Bucky who nodded his head. He could agree with her on that.
"But, you know," Bucky said to Sam, "if you ever need my help then you know where to find me."
"I assume that will be D.C.?" Sam checked with him.
"We think so," Bucky said, nodding his head. "We're talking about looking for a new apartment when we eventually get married…just need to set a date and actually get things moving."
"Don't talk about wedding planning when mum is so close," Evelyn warned him. "I swear she had bionic hearing when it comes to the wedding. She's already asking me when we are picking a date and sticking to it."
"So you don't know when you want to get married?"
"Well, we had thought a winter wedding might be nice," Evelyn shrugged, "but then Bucky made an excellent point that if the weather is so bad it might be difficult to get anywhere…so it might be spring."
"Or next week," Bucky said and Sam almost choked on his whiskey before Evelyn spun around to look up to him. He shrugged, looking down to her. "What are we really waiting for? We both agreed we don't want a big wedding…what's to stop us just doing this sooner rather than later?"
"Inviting people," Evelyn responded, "I haven't even begun looking for a dress. You need a marriage licence. Plus we need a place for the reception. Do you even own a suit? Have you even picked a best man? I haven't asked Lisa, Maria and Rebecca to be my bridesmaids yet. And then there is the cake!" she exclaimed. "We haven't even talked about the cake."
"Yeah, we did," Bucky responded, "I said sponge, you said chocolate and threatened not to marry me if I didn't compromise."
"Cake is a big deal," Sam interjected and Evelyn waved a hand out to him.
"Thank you," she said.
Bucky shrugged again. "Fine," he said, "perhaps next week is a little too premature, but why are we talking about next year? That's ages away. Why can't we just get married sooner rather than later?"
"Sounds like someone is desperate to tie you down, Evie," Sam said and Bucky chuckled as Sam turned his stare to him. "Scared she's going to do a runner, Buck?"
"Never," Bucky replied, "but life is too short, especially when you get to my age."
"Very true," Evelyn agreed with him on that. "I mean, you're old enough to have great grandchildren already."
"I heard grandchildren," Sarah's voice suddenly returned. She carried two plates filled with food and left them down on the table and turned to Evelyn. "There's not something you want to tell us, is there, Evie?"
"No, mum," Evelyn deadpanned.
"Well, there's still time," Sarah said. "I want to be a young grandmother, Evelyn. You know that."
"Christ," Evelyn complained and Bucky's lips arched. "Mum, we're not even married. Besides, we're enjoying just…you know…being together…there's no rush to add children into the mix."
"Well, whenever you're ready," Sarah said, "no pressure."
"Funnily enough, we didn't feel any pressure," Evelyn said.
"Pressure for what?" Alistair's voice joined them.
"Nothing," Evelyn and Sarah said at the same time, having no desire to discuss such things with her father. Bucky continued smirking and they settled into a routine of talking as they ate, picking at the food on the table. They laughed and joked, predominately at Evelyn's expense, but she didn't mind so much. As the sun set and the night turned cool, Bucky picked up the blanket on the arm of the chair, draping it over Evelyn's shoulders as Sarah went to fetch a jacket and Alistair grabbed a jumper.
It was about midnight by the time they went inside, Evelyn and Bucky tidying the plates up and placing them in the dishwasher. They had one more nightcap in the kitchen before heading to bed. Sam said that he would quickly go and call his sister before getting some sleep while Alistair and Sarah confessed they were exhausted. Evelyn and Bucky were the final two to leave the kitchen, Evelyn locking up and turning the lights off as they went upstairs to her bedroom.
Closing the door to her bedroom, Evelyn barely had time to move into the room before Bucky was behind her, tugging on the zip to her jumpsuit, his lips running down her neck. "You forced me to have a cold shower earlier," he mumbled against her skin as her glasses fell down her nose and Bucky heard her chuckle as he manoeuvred her into her room towards her bed. "So I fully intend on making up for lost time."
"Do you now?" she questioned him.
"Oh yeah," he said.
"We'll have to be quiet," she warned him.
"That'll be a challenge for you, sweetheart," he mumbled against her neck. "But you'll have to just try."
"So cocky," Evelyn complained and he pulled back, kissing her chastely for a second before looking at her.
"Still love me?" he checked.
"Always."
….
Evelyn was the first one to wake up the following morning. Bucky was laid on his front, one arm dangling out of bed and the other down his side, his cheek turned into the pillow and his lips parted. His dark hair was a mess on top of his head, sticking up at different angles. Evelyn's lips arched at the sight of it and she moved a hand into it, brushing her fingers through it. She had pulled one of his red tops on in the middle of the night after getting slightly chilly before returning to bed, Bucky groggily waking up and pulling her back to him.
She stayed in bed, just staring at him as he slept and she wondered when the last time he had slept so soundly had been. He was usually the one who was always up and awake before her. He was the one who was always first in the kitchen, making breakfast. He didn't do lie ins too well, not unless they involved breakfast in bed or talking, but not sleeping.
Evelyn left him in bed, kissing him on the top of his head as she padded into the bathroom, grabbing her pyjama bottoms on the way and her bed socks. Slipping into them, she washed her face and tugged her hands through her hair before heading downstairs to see if anyone was already awake.
The only person there was Sam, still dressed in the clothes Bucky had leant him. He was standing by the coffee machine, leant against the worktop. "I hope you don't mind, but I was just making a pot of coffee," Sam said to her.
"Make yourself at home," she waved nonchalantly and headed into the kitchen, filling the kettle up with water and then placing it on the stove. "Did you sleep well?"
"Like a baby," Sam confirmed with a nod of his head.
"I'm glad," she said to him and reached into a cupboard for the tea bags. "So, what's your plan now?"
"Well, I booked a flight back to Louisiana," he said to her, arms folded as he continued to lean against the worktop, the coffee machine whirling behind him as Evelyn dropped a tea bag into a mug and stood across from him. "So I'm going to head to the airport in another couple of hours."
"Need a ride?" she asked.
"I don't want to put you out."
Evelyn scoffed. "Sam, you literally saved my life," she said to him. "I think the least I can do is give you a lift to the airport. Besides, what are friends for?"
"Then that would be great," he responded at the same time another voice entered the kitchen.
"I wondered where you were."
Bucky had pulled on a pair of jeans and a grey top, slipping on the tiled floor in his socks as he padded on further into the room. He raked a hand through his hair, yawning widely as Evelyn watched him with an amused expression.
"I thought that I should leave you to sleep," she said.
"Hmm," he said, still waking up slowly before pointing to the coffee machine. "You making coffee?"
"Sam is," Evelyn said.
"Enough for two cups?"
"I would imagine so," Sam responded.
"Great," Bucky replied and stood next to Evelyn, the three of them falling into comfortable conversation as they drank their drinks and Evelyn began to think about making a start on her breakfast.
Her parents joined an hour or so later, both of them claiming sore heads from too much alcohol. Evelyn had laughed at them, reminding them that they had been the same at the engagement party and were going to give Bucky the wrong impression of them being party goers if they continued going. Sarah rolled her eyes at her daughter as Alistair chuckled, eating the pancakes that Bucky had made with some of Sam's help.
Sarah and Alistair said goodbye to Sam once Evelyn had changed into fresh clothes, thankful that she always left some at her parent's house. She tugged on the short denim summer dress, pulling her hair into a ponytail before reaching for her sunglasses, knowing that she might need them if she was driving to the airport. Slipping on her white trainers, she grabbed her phone and dropped it into the pocket of the dress.
The drive to the airport was pretty quick, Sam sitting in the back and talking about what he was going to do when he returned home. Evelyn told him that she would be in touch about the exhibit when she was back at work. Bucky had continued to stare out of the window, looking at the sights as they passed by. Dropping Sam off at the airport, Evelyn checked that Sam's flight was on time. Thankfully, everything looked like it was running smoothly.
"Looks like you're all good," Evelyn said to Sam, adjusting her glasses on her nose and peering at the departure's board.
"Thank your parents for the suitcase," Sam said to her, picking it up out of the boot of the black Mercedes. "I'll return it when I can."
"Well, you couldn't exactly get a flight just carrying the suit," Evelyn said. "Although when they scan that thing they're going to wonder what the hell is in it."
Sam chuckled at that as Bucky remained resting against the closed passenger door, arms folded over his chest. Evelyn held the car keys in her hand, her own arms wrapped around her waist as Sam stood in front of the two of them.
"So," he said, "I guess I'll be seeing you around."
"You're welcome to stay anytime you're back in D.C." Evelyn said to him, moving forwards, arms going around his shoulders to hold onto him as he wrapped his own arms around her waist.
"And you know that you can come on out to Louisiana," he responded. "Besides, Cass and AJ constantly talk about both of you. They want to know more about Captain America and they want to see Bucky punch something."
Evelyn laughed at that and nodded.
"She's the brains, I'm the brawn," Bucky shrugged, stepping closer to Sam and moving a hand to his shoulder. "And if you need any help, you know where I am."
"Right where you should be," Sam responded with a nod of his head. "Take care, Buck."
"You too," Bucky responded with a nod. "And thank you…for everything."
Sam smiled over to him as Bucky glanced down to Evelyn, seeing her tuck her hair behind her ear. She moved her gaze up to him and smiled back. Sam slapped Bucky on the upper arm.
"Don't mention it," he said. "Right, you two enjoy your time in Florida. I'll be in touch."
"Bye, Sam."
"See you later, Cap," Bucky said.
Sam chuckled and raised a hand to wave goodbye before turning around, taking his suitcase into the airport and looking around. Evelyn went back to the driver's side of the car and pulled the door open. Climbing in, Bucky copied her movements and reached for his seatbelt as she put her keys in the ignition.
"Fancy a walk?" she wondered from him.
"Sure," he responded. "Where you thinking?"
"Well…I say a walk," she said and indicated to pull out of the drop-off bay. She checked the mirror before going, grabbing the parking ticket to place in the machine to open the barrier. "I was more thinking that I really want ice cream."
Bucky chuckled at that as she rolled down the window and put the ticket into the machine, driving off once the barrier was lifted.
"So, we get ice cream and go for a walk?"
"Hopefully it should be quiet," Evelyn said. "And the beach is really nice."
"Then sure, but I didn't bring my wallet," Bucky responded. "And as much as I do love you, I don't know if I love you enough to steal you ice cream."
"In that case, why am I marrying you?" she wondered from him and his lips continued to arch as she pulled out onto the highway, the engine revving as she pressed down harder on the gas pedal.
"Well, we've established it's not for my money," he said. "I guess it must be for my charming personality and handsome good looks."
"I don't even know if it is for that," she joked back to him. "But luckily for you I asked my dad for a loan. I'll pay him back when we're back in D.C."
"We're like a couple of kids scrounging off of your parents," Bucky said to her.
"Technically, it's just a loan," she responded to him.
"My parents used to moan whenever they loaned me money," Bucky said to her, staring out of the window while she kept her gaze on the road. "Mom always used to ask me what I'd spent it on…usually was pointless stuff whenever I was out with Steve. One time…I remember I blew it all on this gift for this girl. Her name was Mary. I must have been about sixteen and I'd just gotten my first job, but I didn't have enough to buy her this ring I'd seen."
"A ring?" Evelyn asked from him.
"Yeah, figured because she was turning sixteen I should get something nice, you know?" Bucky said and Evelyn wondered if she had ever heard him speak so openly about his past relationships before. "Anyway, she was quite fancy. I mean, her parents were wealthy…I got her the ring in the end, promised the jeweller I could pay it off in instalments."
"And what happened?"
"Never saw her wear it," Bucky said with a shrug. "Heard her talking to her friends though, complaining that it hadn't come in some fancy green box with a white ribbon around it."
"Did you guys split up?"
"No," Bucky deadpanned, "I actually married her…kind of forgot to tell you about my secret one-hundred and six year old wife."
"Shut up," Evelyn said, managing to move a hand from the wheel so that she could hit at his arm. He chuckled at her and shook his head.
"Yeah, we split up," he said. "She ended up going off with some guy who worked on Wall Street who her parents approved of. I remember my mom telling me not to be sad…that a girl like her would never be satisfied anyway. She always said I deserved better."
Evelyn bit down on her bottom lip, heading into the outside lane before she spoke. "What do you think your parents would have thought about me?"
Bucky looked to her. She let her gaze turn onto him for a moment before it went back to the road. "Mom would've loved you," Bucky said to her. "Don't get me wrong, I think she'd have some words to say about us living in sin for the past year."
"I bet."
"But she'd have thought that you were great," Bucky said. "She was a strong woman. She had to be raising five kids…she didn't suffer fools lightly, but she had a heart of gold. She always did whatever she could for us. She…I think you'd have been scared by her to begin with."
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah," Bucky continued, "as her only son, she never thought any girl was good enough who I brought back. She'd have been protective, but she'd have warmed up to you. How could she not? She'd have seen that you were also stubborn…but that you were also kind…made me happy…happier than any other gal I've been with before."
"And your father?"
"He'd have loved you too," Bucky said with a nod of his head. "He would have taken to you instantly, especially when you do that cute thing when meeting new people…your voice goes all high and you laugh at whatever they say. If you laughed at his lame jokes then he'd have adored you."
"Do I really go high pitched?" she asked Bucky and his lips arched.
"Oh, yeah," he said with a nod of his head. "And my sisters would've terrified you. They were pretty full on. If you think the questioning that Maria and Lisa gave me was bad then you'd have freaked out over my sisters."
"Seriously?" she asked.
Bucky chuckled. "You'd have been fine," Bucky said to her with a pensive gaze off to the side. "You would have gotten on with them…you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because you're pretty great and they'd have seen that," Bucky told her, moving a hand to her knee, squeezing it for a moment and she flashed him a soft smile in his direction. "Besides, you'll be a Barnes soon enough."
"Evelyn Barnes," she tested it on her tongue. "Can I ask you something about that?"
"Don't want my name?" he asked her.
"No, of course I do," she said firmly, "but would you object if I kept Morris as well?"
"Barnes-Morris?" he wondered.
"Or Morris-Barnes," she responded. "I haven't decided yet, but I've been a Morris my entire life and it…I kind of want to keep it as well as take your name. You're not upset, are you? Because I can ditch it completely if you'd rather."
"No," Bucky said with a shake of his head. "If you want to keep it then you keep it."
"You sure?"
"Positive," he said. "Besides, you'll still be my wife, right?"
"Until death we do part," she sang over to him and he nodded his head, his own lips quirking at the sound of that. He quite liked it.
…
Evelyn had insisted on having two flavours of ice cream, unable to pick between lemon and strawberry. Bucky had opted for chocolate, the two of them walking down the beach as the shore lapped on the sand. It was pretty quiet, giving them plenty of space to roam on the sand.
"I've been thinking about heading to New York," Bucky admitted to her, finishing off the cone as Evelyn moved a thumb to his chin, pushing off a stray bit of ice cream. She went back to licking her own ice cream, her tongue wrapping around it as she waited for Bucky to continue talking. "I have to go and see Yori eventually and he's one of the last names in my book."
"When do you want to go?" Evelyn wondered.
"Sometime next week," Bucky responded. "I'm not expecting forgiveness because this isn't for me. Everyone I've spoken to so far…they…well, they would react how I would expect them to react. But they have closure. I don't want sympathy or forgiveness. I just want them to have that."
"You know that…what you're doing for them," Evelyn said, holding her ice cream in front of her, "you're giving them the truth and perhaps they might never forgive you or accept what happened, but this helps them move on. It helps you move on too."
Bucky nodded once. "I just wish things had been different," he whispered. "Well, I used to wish things had been different…there were days when I wondered what would have happened if I hadn't fallen off of that stupid train."
"What would you have done?" she wondered from him.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Gone back to Brooklyn," he said to her. "I'd always considered staying in the army, but I'd have gone home to my mom…she'd have insisted I find a nice girl to marry. I'd probably have settled down, had kids."
"Do you wish that had happened…instead of all of this?" she asked, gesturing around with a hand.
Bucky shook his head. "Do I wish that I had never been taken by HYDRA…become the Winter Soldier? Every damn day," he said to her and she barely even realised that her ice cream had started dribbling down the side of the cone, melting in the warm sun. "But if going through all of that…meant this," he said, finally standing still and looking down to Evie, "then maybe I can stop thinking about the past and what would have been and be grateful for what I have…because no girl in the '40s ever compared to you."
Evelyn moved up, kissing Bucky and wrapping an arm around his neck as he bent down to meet her halfway, his own lips moving against hers. His hands cupped hold of her cheeks, holding onto them in his grip. It was only when she jumped away did he wonder what had happened before he saw her hold up the hand she held her ice cream in.
"It's melted everywhere," she said. "Shit."
Bucky continued smiling at the sight of her as she lifted her hand up and he noted that the ice cream had gone all over her hand. She started licking the cone to get the melted ice cream as Bucky reached for the serviettes he had taken from the counter, moving to take hold of her hand as she took hold of the cone with her other hand.
"What is it with you and ruining romantic moments?" he wondered from her.
"This isn't my fault," she responded with a shake of her head. "Blame the sun."
"In that case, you're off the hook," he deadpanned.
"Really?"
"No," Bucky said and finished off wiping the ice cream from her, stuffing the serviette back into his pocket, not caring that it was used. "Besides, I wasn't finished."
"Well…I'll make it up to you," she promised him.
Bending down, he took hold of the bottom of her hand that held the cone, his own mouth closing over the ice cream as he took a bite out of it. Evelyn's eyes widened as he stood up straight, finishing off the bite and licking his lips.
"You just ate the last of the lemon!" she snapped at him.
"You said you'd make it up to me," he responded.
"Yeah…but my way didn't involve you finishing off the last bite of my favourite flavour," she retorted and bit into the cone, finishing it off. "So, we're going to go and get another scoop on the way back."
"You're serious?"
"Deadly," she responded. "But if you've already cashed in on me making it up to you then my debt is clear."
She began walking away, but Bucky took hold of her by the wrist, pulling her back to him. Shaking his head back and forth, he dropped an arm to wrap around her waist, hauling her back to him as she laughed and pretended to struggle.
"Oh no," Bucky said with a shake of his head. "I don't think so. You're not getting away that easy."
"Really?"
"Really," he echoed back and bent down to kiss her again.
His lips continued moving over hers as Evelyn wrapped her free hand into his hair.
"Evelyn? Evelyn Morris?"
Evelyn pulled back from Bucky who wanted to groan audibly, but kept the noise down. Evelyn's back arched as he kept his arm around her and she narrowed her gaze, looking down the beach to a tall, skinny man who was approaching. Her eyes widened when she recognised him and she stepped out of Bucky's grip.
"Carl?" she checked.
Bucky wondered where he had heard the name Carl before. And then he remembered the conversation he had heard between Patricia and Catherine at their engagement party.
"I thought it was you," Carl said with a chuckle. "How have you been? How are things going? I didn't know you were back in town."
"I'm good," Evelyn said, "and we're just back visiting my parents for a few days…oh…Carl…this is Bucky."
"Hi, man," Carl said, offering Bucky his hand. Bucky took hold of it and shook it.
"Hey," Bucky replied.
"Your mom said that you were engaged," Carl said to her.
"Who hasn't she told?" Evelyn wondered. "But yeah, we got engaged a few weeks ago, didn't we?"
"We did," Bucky confirmed, arms dangling by his side as he rocked back and forth on his heels.
"That's amazing," Carl said and Bucky eyed him sceptically. Something about his tone didn't sound right. Were all of Evelyn's friends so false? Of course, except for Maria and Lisa who Bucky knew loved her more than anything. "And I saw you on the news as well…when Captain America, well…Walker…arrested you."
"I wasn't being arrested," Evelyn said with a shake of her head. "There was just a misunderstanding, nothing else."
"I see," Carl said. "And of course…we all know who you are, man," Carl said, nodding to Bucky, his long blonde hair falling into his eyes as his brown gaze focused on him. "Knew it would take some kind of guy to pin this one down."
"Well, he's great," Evelyn said before Bucky could speak and he wondered exactly what the history of these two were. Bucky knew that she had dated during college, but nothing had ever stuck. She had told him that she had dated someone when she had come back to Florida, and Bucky suspected this was the guy, but she had told him that nothing had ever been serious before.
"You know," Carl said to her, "there had been a time when I had wondered if you'd ever settle after you left home," and then looked to Bucky. "When we were dating, I always thought that we might be the endgame."
"Seriously?" Evelyn asked, unable to stop herself.
Carl placed a hand to his chest and leant back, mocking injury. "You wound me, Evelyn, was I that bad to date?"
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I just didn't think we were that serious. Besides, we were young."
"Not that young," Carl said, hands going into his jean pockets. "And you were the one who insisted we broke up when you got your job in D.C."
"Everything turned out okay though, didn't it?" Evelyn responded. "I mean, you're still here and I bet you've moved on, right?"
Carl shrugged. "Dated around," he responded with a sniff, "working at one of Florida's top law firms kind of means that you don't get much time to try to find someone to settle down with."
"I'm sure you will," Evelyn responded. "It just takes time to find the right one."
"Guess so," he drawled back to her and Bucky swore he felt some kind of tension then that he would bring up with Evelyn when they were alone. "Anyway, I should let you go. You showing Bucky the sights?"
"Well, I've shown him the best ice cream shop in town," she reiterated.
"I know exactly where you've been. Are you still obsessed with that place? I swear it was the only place you want to go to when we dated."
"Can't get ice cream like that in D.C." She shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway, I'll see you later, Carl."
"Yeah, take care, Evie…and you too, Bucky. Good to meet you…look after this one, alright?"
The way he said it was in a tone that Bucky didn't entirely like. But he nodded his head and moved a hand to the small of her back. "Intend to," he said firmly and Carl chuckled, nodding once and then stepping away, continuing on his walk down the beach, pushing his earphones back in and playing on his phone.
"Was it me or was that guy totally not over you?" Bucky wondered from Evelyn.
She shrugged. "I think he's over me," she responded. "I'm surprised he thought we were endgame."
"Why?"
"I couldn't wait to break up with him," Evelyn admitted and they began walking on the wet sand, Bucky moving to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "I tried to break up with him three times before I even got the job in D.C. Even when I got it, he insisted we try long distance and I told him that there was no chance I was going to do that."
Bucky's brow furrowed. "How do you fail to break up with someone three times?"
"I don't know!" Evelyn exclaimed to him. "Each time, he managed to persuade me it could work."
"And you didn't tell him no? You? My stubborn girl?"
"I wasn't great at the relationship thing," Evelyn shrugged. "But it all worked out for the best, didn't it?"
"I'd agree with that," Bucky said and he bent down, kissing her quickly.
"Besides, don't tell me you weren't a heartbreaker when you were younger."
Bucky shrugged. "I don't know about that," he responded. "I dated around for a while, but you already know that."
"I know you dated around," she echoed back to him. "But I don't anything about them. I don't know what they were like…or what you were even like. Come on, humour me, tell me what it was like to date 1940's Bucky?"
"Surprisingly like it was to date 2020's Bucky," he replied. "I don't know, I guess I was more care free in the 1940s. Then again, none of the relationships that I did have started out with my girlfriend being kidnapped and used against me."
"Does make it easier to be carefree when that doesn't happen," she agreed with a nod and he let out a dark chuckle. "But I have my theories on what you were like. I've seen archive footage of you…I mean, I spend my day basically staring at your face in the exhibit."
"And it's not even my exhibit, sweetheart." He teased her.
"You feature heavily," she deadpanned to him.
"Go on then," he urged her, bumping against her side. "What was 1940's Bucky like to date?"
"I bet you were cocky," Evelyn said with a thoughtful nod. "I bet you were also such a flirt, not much different from now, maybe," she continued. "But I also imagine you had that lopsided smirk that you gave the girls when you met them or picked them up…held their hand…danced…and I bet that you had so many smooth lines."
Bucky chuckled. "I don't know if they would sound so smooth now," he said to her. "But, to be honest, when Steve had the serum, it was him everyone looked at. He was the one who suddenly got every woman's attention."
"To be fair…he had that charm about him," Evelyn shrugged.
"Ouch," Bucky moved, "way to wound a guy, Evie."
"I never said that I was attracted to that," she responded to Bucky. "I'm just saying that objectively he has that look about him that makes you think he'd be sweet…take you to dinner…walk you home and charm your parents."
"And I don't have that?"
"Oh, you have it," Evelyn promised him. "But whenever I saw you in the museum you looked more like the heartbreaker type…the guy that would take you out and never call you back, leaving you pining over him until you went out and saw him with another girl."
"Good job that we don't judge people by looks, huh?" Bucky asked from her.
"I'm just saying that's what I thought when I saw your face in the museum," Evelyn defended herself. "And then I got to know you and realised that you were none of those things."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, wouldn't be marrying you otherwise, would I?" she teased him and he smirked at that.
"Guess not, sweetheart," he responded and bent down to kiss her once more.
…
"Evelyn, can you please set the table?"
Evelyn had been showing Bucky around the house a bit more considering the last time he had visited she had only shown him the main reception rooms. It turned out that there was a study, a snug room and an annex with a bedroom and a bathroom. They had then gone outside, standing on the top of the lawn as Evelyn pointed out over the lake, telling them about their neighbours before her mother shouted.
"Back in a minute," she said to Bucky, squeezing his arm and heading back inside to grab the place mats. Bucky held onto the beer bottle and wandered down to the lake as Evelyn debated with her mother over what place mats to use.
Bucky kept on walking, his mind drifting as he thought about what he intended to do in New York, his memories going back to the last time he had been there.
"So, what was she like?"
Bucky looked over to Leah as he sat on a bar stool in Izzy's later that night after she had told him she was game for a date. He had made it clear that this wasn't a date, however. He didn't want to lead her on or make her think his intentions were anything other than friendly. And so he had gone along, wondering if perhaps he just needed someone to talk to.
"Evelyn," Bucky spoke her name. It still sounded strange falling from his lips.
"Evelyn," Leah responded, finishing off putting the glasses she had just washed onto the shelf above the counter. "What was she like?"
"She's…it's going to sound cliché, but she's kind," Bucky said. "She's funny. She's stubborn. She's…well…she's great."
"So why did you guys break up?"
Bucky remained silent and Leah saw some kind of pain flicker across his face.
"Sorry," she said to him. "I don't mean to pry."
"It's fine," Bucky said, "I came here tonight so I kind of expected you to have questions."
"Just tell me to mind my own business and I will," Leah promised him with a gentle smile. "It's just the way you talk about her makes me wonder why you even broke up in the first place. Usually, in my experience, when people break up there's a lot of resentment."
"No resentment," Bucky confirmed. "And we broke up because she deserves better than me."
"So…she broke up with you?"
"I left her," Bucky said, taking a sip of his beer. "She was the one who wanted to keep things going, but she deserves someone better than me. I come with a lot of…baggage," he chose to say to her. "And she doesn't need that in her life."
"I don't know," Leah said with a shake of her head, sipping on her own beer for a moment. "If she was willing to deal with your baggage then she sounded prepared to me."
"Perhaps," was all that Bucky could offer in response. "I just think that eventually she'd realise I wasn't worth it."
"You put yourself down a lot," Leah responded. "And I don't get why. I've seen how you are with Yori. It's sweet. You know, when his son died, he went through a lot. They always say that losing a child is hard…harder than anyone could imagine. A parent should always go before their child, right?"
"Bucky!"
Snapping out of his daydream, Bucky turned his head over his shoulder to see Evelyn moving back down to him, her cheeks flushed. "I've been calling your name for ages," she said. "Where was your mind?"
"Yori," he said to her, not bothering to try and hide it.
She moved to take hold of his arm, giving it a tight squeeze. "We can look at flights to New York, if you want?" she said to him. "For sometime next week?"
"You don't need to come, Evie," Bucky said to her. "I've done this before…"
"And each time you've done it, you've been in D.C.," she reminded him. "I know that eventually you're going to have to travel further afield to find those names in that book, but you don't need to go alone."
"I do," he said. "I can't expect you to follow me around the country, Evie. You have work…a life…and I can do it."
"I know that you can," she promised him, "but what I'm trying to tell you is that you don't need to be alone after you've done it."
"And I won't be," Bucky said, moving to take hold of her waist, holding onto it tightly as she ran her hands along his upper arms. "Because I know that you'll be at home waiting for me. So long as I have that, then it will keep me going."
"You're sure?"
"Positive," Bucky whispered and bent down to kiss her once more.
"Evelyn, could you please put him down and come and help me with the salad?"
Evelyn groaned as Bucky smirked, laughing softly against her lips as they pulled apart. They looked up to where Sarah stood, a sly smirk on her face as she gave them a wave and turned to go back inside, laughing to herself.
"Go on," Bucky said, "by the sounds of it this salad is pretty important."
"A very important salad," Evelyn said, "well, it better be if it means I have to leave you down here."
"Agreed," Bucky said, "but I'll be waiting."
"I could be a while," she teased him, taking hold of his hand and walking backwards, their arms extended as Bucky remained on the spot.
"Try not to be."
"Are you saying you wouldn't wait for me?" she taunted him.
"Sweetheart, I'd wait for you. Already done over a hundred years, haven't I?" he commented.
"See, such a flirt with those lines," she said.
He grinned. "Only for you."
"I'll hold you to that, Mr Barnes," she said and dropped his hand as her mother shouted her again. Turning her head over her shoulder, she threw Bucky another smile and he returned it. Once she was inside, he turned back to the lake, his mind going back to Yori and wondering just how the man would react when he discovered the truth. Bucky only hoped that it would bring him some kind of peace.
...
A/N: So only two/three chapters to go before the ending! Let me know if there is anything you want to see before things are wrapped up. Love reading your comments!