Evelyn yawned loudly when she woke up the following morning. They had one more day in Florida before they returned to D.C. and Evelyn's parents had insisted on taking them out for a meal on the final night. She had wondered where else she could take Bucky that he would appreciate as much as she did, but as things stood, she was happy just laid in bed next to him that morning, nestled against his side, hand toying with the chain of his dog tags as he brushed her hair with his fingers, running his limbs through it and staring down to her as she kept her eyes closed. He knew she was awake, but this was what Evelyn enjoyed. She enjoyed staying in bed, just dozing.

"I want to get married," Evelyn mumbled and Bucky's brows rose on his forehead while he looked down to her.

"Kinda hoped you did considering you said yes when I proposed," he responded to her and she shook her head, moving to drop her chin onto his chest so that she could look up at him.

"No, I want to get married soon…I don't want to wait…I don't want to spend months wedding planning," Evelyn responded.

"Where has this come from?" Bucky wondered, brushing her hair from her face with the back of his hand as he did his best to understand what she was thinking. She moved then, hoisting herself up and moving to drop a leg either side of his lap as he moved to sit up, resting against the pillow behind him against the headboard.

"Everything that's happened…Karli…Zemo…Verity," she said, "all of it has made me realise one thing…and that's that I don't want to be without you. I don't want to wait to get married. I want us to start our life together."

"We can start it together, Evie, we don't need to get married to do that," he responded with a shake of his head at her, his hands moving over to her thighs and clasping onto them. "Are you saying this because you're scared?"

"Scared?"

"I would get it, Evie," Bucky said to her. "Everything that has happened in the past few months has been scary and I get why you might want to rush into things because of that…because life is too short…whatever…but I'm not going anywhere and you're not going anywhere. We're fine."

Biting down on her bottom lip, Evelyn shrugged her shoulders to him and he continued watching her as she looked down. She kept her gaze down on her lap for a moment before peering back up to him.

"What about if it just put everything in perspective?" Evelyn wondered instead and Bucky leant back, his hands still stroking along her thighs as she moved a hand to his chest, running her fingers along the grey material. "What if everything that has happened has just put things into perspective and made me realise that the only thing I truly want is to be with you. I want to spend time with you…I don't want to spend months planning a wedding…I want to spend months planning trips for us to go on…decorating a new apartment…finding great places to eat."

"Always with the food," he mumbled, but his lips picked up at hearing her.

"I want to do that."

"You're serious?" Bucky asked from her.

"I'm serious," she echoed back. "We both agreed we didn't want a big wedding and you said the other night that you would prefer a smaller wedding."

"I just don't want you to feel like you are making the wrong decision," he said.

Evelyn scoffed. "What? By marrying you? I mean…you could be right," she teased him. "I could always go and see if Carl still thinks we're endgame."

His gaze darkened for a moment and he flipped her underneath him, hearing her shriek loudly and then begin to laugh as he pinned her down, his hands holding onto her wrists as she let him fall in between her legs. Bending down, he kissed her slowly, the motion deep and full of emotion before he bit down on her lip and caused her to yelp.

"My parents are next door," she warned him.

"Then you shouldn't try and make me jealous," he warned her.

"You get jealous?"

"You think I don't?" he responded to her. "Why would I not get jealous? I'm a man, Evie. I'm a man who is just helplessly in love with a girl who insists on teasing him at every given moment and making him jealous."

"Well, if it's any consolation," she drawled out, her gaze softening as she brushed her fingers through his hair, "you have nothing to be jealous about. I agreed to marry you…so, all teasing aside, yes I'm sure that I want to get married. I don't want to wait."

"This is your final chance to back out," Bucky warned her, "because once we say those vows that's it."

"Till death us do part, I believe," she said and he bent down, his lips close to hers as he spoke again.

"Till death us do part, sweetheart," he echoed back to her and kissed her once again.

Moving his hands to the hem of the top she wore of his, he began tugging on it as Evelyn tried to lift her arms to help him. He moved to kiss down her neck, trailing over to her collarbone and causing her to moan his name. He was halfway through getting his top off of her before a knock on the door stopped him in his tracks.

"Evelyn, breakfast is ready," Sarah's voice called in. "And be thankful your father is out for his run. These walls aren't soundproof, sweetie."

"Mum!" Evelyn complained and Sarah walked away, her laugh echoing through the hallway as she headed back downstairs.

Flopping back onto the bed, Evelyn tugged the top further down her body, covering herself up as Bucky's lips arched and she nudged him in the ribs with a finger, prodding him. "It's not funny," she told him.

He shrugged. "Is a bit," he retorted to her. "It kind of makes me feel like a teenager again."

"Oh?" Evelyn questioned, rolling him off of her and sitting up. "Did you sneak many girls up into your bedroom when you were younger?"

"A gentleman never kisses and tells," he said to her and he swore he saw a flicker of something pass over her face. His smirk remained on his face and she moved from the bed, standing up and heading to grab hold of her pyjama bottoms, shimmying into them and then grabbing her socks. Bucky propped himself up with his elbows, looking over to her and arching a brow.

"Wait," he said. "Are you jealous?"

"You're not the only one who gets jealous," she admitted to him. "Ridiculous, isn't it? We're both grown adults. We shouldn't be getting jealous about anything."

"I don't know," Bucky said, hands going behind his head. "It's pretty attractive whenever you get defensive and possessive…like that time you had a go at Walker for what he did."

Evelyn shook her head. "I can't believe that gets you going."

"I didn't hear you complaining that night," he responded and Evelyn flushed a deeper red as Bucky chuckled at the sight of her. He moved upwards when she flung his top at him.

"We should get dressed and head down," she said to him.

"You might want to wash your face with cold water. You're blushing terribly."

She gave him a snarky smirk before heading into her bathroom and he heard the running of water. He chuckled again and moved from the bed, pulling his clothes onto his body. She came back out after a moment, tugging her hair into a ponytail, his top tucked into her pyjama bottoms before she reached for her college sweatshirt that was in the chair in the corner.

"Hey," Bucky said to her, moving to catch her around the waist. "If it makes you feel any better…you've no reason to be jealous. You're my girl, no one else ever came close."

Her lips arched upwards and she moved a hand to rest on the side of his wrist, holding it tightly in her grip and standing on her toes to kiss him. Before he had a chance to move her back to the bed, her mother yelled again.

"Evelyn! These waffles are getting cold!"

Evelyn reluctantly pulled away from Bucky and rolled her eyes at her mother's voice. Bucky smirked and nodded his head, hands dropping to his hips. "Best go down there before she gets annoyed," Evelyn mumbled. "Come on."

….

"You cannot be serious?!"

Evelyn had grown used to that question over the course of the past week. Ever since they had returned to D.C., she had begun wedding planning. She had been the one who had been organised, needing to have lists and timescales telling her when to do things. Bucky had been in charge of getting his own suit and he still had to find a best man. He knew who it was going to be, but he knew the amount of teasing that he was going to have over it.

"Deadly serious," Evelyn responded as she sat at work one afternoon after handing out the invites for Jennifer and Martin. "We're getting married in four weeks."

"How on earth are you putting together a wedding in four weeks?" Jennifer wondered. "How did you find a reception? Or even a church?"

"There was a cancellation at the church," Evelyn said. "And the reception is at the Italian around the corner from my apartment. I know the owners and they agreed to close the place just for us. I've got my parents flying in from Florida…Lisa and Maria have agreed to bridesmaids…and so has Rebecca here."

"I did," Rebecca said with a smile. She had been shocked when Evelyn had initially asked her to be a bridesmaid, but then Evelyn had reminded her that she had done so much for her. She had been a constant in her life and had helped her during everything.

"And Charlie…I invited him, but he still feels guilty," Evelyn sighed. "It's not the same without him here at work either. I took him a bottle of whiskey and he practically broke down…we both did."

Evelyn continued swinging on her chair, seemingly unable to sit still. Her mind was racing. She had to be honest about that. She knew that she had to phone the bakery up to give the final cake decorations. She had catering all sorted. She still had to pick up her wedding dress and the bridesmaids dresses still had to be altered. They were also due to go for a practice run at the church one evening.

"I'm sure he just needs time," Martin said, looking up from his own computer. "I think you both do."

"He's worried that you came back to work too soon," Jennifer said to Evelyn who scoffed and shook her head.

"No…I'm fine," she promised them.

"Really?" Rebecca piped up, holding up her cup of coffee to her lips. "Because you don't need to hide from us, Evelyn. We know that it can't be easy…with what happened here."

Evelyn gulped for a moment and shrugged her shoulders. She looked down onto her desk and tucked her hair behind her ears before speaking, her tone light and gentle as she looked between them. "I struggle going into the exhibit," she admitted to them and Rebecca placed her cup down. "I just remember what she did…the things she said…and I don't want to feel like that. I just want her out of my life for good."

"It takes time, honey," Jennifer said, moving by her desk and squeezing her shoulder as she went to the printer. "But you're a strong girl. You've had to be a strong girl…and you will move on…"

"I know," Evelyn said, nodding over to her.

"You know that I'm happy to walk you home too, right?" Martin spoke to her. "I mean, the kids are now at after school club so I don't have to rush home anymore."

"Thanks, Martin," Evelyn smiled to him. "But I'm good…honestly."

"She usually has that attractive fiancé of hers waiting outside anyway," Rebecca said, trying to make the tone lighter before Evelyn rolled her eyes at her. "Besides, the two of them are usually so invested in sticking their tongues down each other's throats that they barely notice anything."

"It was one time!" Evelyn snapped.

Rebecca had walked by them the other day and she hadn't even heard her call her name. It was only when she pulled back and saw her stood on the step did she startle, wondering what she was doing there before she groaned at her face. She looked at her with entertainment and Bucky chuckled, noticing her blush ferociously before he put her down.

"Yeah, and with a man like that how can you blame her?" Jennifer wondered.

"I'm going to check on something before you two start gossiping about my love life," Evelyn said and moved to her feet. She picked up her clipboard and headed out to the sound of Jennifer's laughter.

Heading over to the exhibit, Evelyn stepped into it. It was relatively quiet, what with the museum due to close in another hour or so. She was still working on the Isaiah Bradley exhibit, an area cordoned off for it that was currently being designed. She stood beneath the banners of the Howling Commando's on her way into the exhibit. Peering up, she looked to Bucky. Her gaze always went to Bucky. She remained silent as she thought back to that night. Looking to the ground, she half expected to see the crushed locket on the floor still.

"Hey."

Turning her head over her shoulder, she saw Rebecca stood there. She crossed her ankles together, her skinny jeans emphasising her legs. Adjusting the white blouse she had tucked into them, she looked over to Evelyn as she cradled the clipboard against her stomach, crumpling the fitted orange dress she wore with her brown brogues.

"I'm okay," Evelyn promised her.

Rebecca shrugged. "Just figured you might like some support," she said to her.

"You didn't need to-"

"-I wanted to," she interrupted.

There was silence then for a moment and Evelyn looked back at the banner above them. "There was a moment when I thought that she really was going to kill me…and all I could think about was how it would destroy him," she said and Rebecca glanced up to Bucky. "He's lived with all of this guilt for so long and I didn't want to add to that. I never wanted to add to that."

"You didn't," Rebecca said and she reached out, taking hold of her by the hand and squeezing it, the two of them standing on the spot and simply staring at the exhibit. "And he's going to be outside waiting for you…and she's gone, Evie…you have people around you who love you. People who want to help you through this."

Evelyn nodded and turned to look to Rebecca.

"Come on," Rebecca smiled. "Let's go and check on the new display together."

Rebecca squeezed her hand tightly and they both began walking further into the exhibit together.

….

"Can I get this straight? You, Bucky Barnes, are getting married in four weeks' time?"

"Correct."

"And not only are you calling to ask me to attend, but you're also asking me to your best man?"

Bucky sighed, standing outside of the museum and waiting for Evelyn. He had his duffle bag on his shoulder that contained a clean change of clothes along with her clothes. They were flying out to New York as soon as Evelyn had finished work. Bucky had continued ticking names off of his lists, giving people closure whenever and wherever he could. But Yori was proving to be difficult. That was why Evelyn had insisted on coming with him for the night. He had told her that he would be fine, but she reminded him that he didn't need to be fine.

So, on the way to the museum to meet her, he called Sam. He had to bite the bullet eventually, he knew that much.

"I can always rescind the offer if you keep questioning me," Bucky warned him.

"Oh no," Sam responded. "You're not rescinding anything. Can I make a speech?"

"Absolutely not."

"Come on," Sam complained. "Let me make a speech."

Bucky sighed loudly, looking around as people walked by him. "So long as I can vet it first."

"Don't trust me?"

"Absolutely not," he repeated.

"Fine," Sam said to him. "And you're serious about this? You really want me to be your best man?"

"I…I always imagined, growing up, that Steve would be the one by my side. He'd probably have been even more nervous than I was," Bucky said, earning a chuckle from Sam at the thought. "But I always knew that he would be by my side. And since Steve's gone…there's only one other friend whose constantly been by my side…given me advice…helped me to move on. And that is you, Sam. So, yeah, I want you to be my best man. Besides, Evelyn also thinks the world of you."

"And you know I adore her too," Sam responded. "And what you said…I mean…I get it, man," Sam said. "And I'd be honoured to stand by your side, in all seriousness."

"Good," Bucky said, "and you need to get a suit, by the way."

"I can do that," Sam assured him. "And write my speech."

"Christ, am I going to regret this?" Bucky muttered.

Sam laughed again. "Oh, most certainly," he said, "but I'll be there. Stay in touch, Buck, okay?"

"I'll call you later," Bucky promised, hanging up as he saw Evelyn come out of the museum. She had her satchel over her shoulder and was bounding down the steps. She was smiling widely as she approached him and he wondered what had her so happy. She stopped on the bottom step and reached out, wrapping her arms around his neck as he caught her waist and she leant forwards, practically falling into his grip from the step. His lips arched upwards. "What's gotten you so happy?"

"In four weeks' time we will officially be married," she said in cheerful tone.

"Indeed, we will be, Mrs Morris-Barnes," he said to her.

"And then we get to fly out to England and break the news to my grandma that we got engaged and married before you even met her," Evelyn said and she climbed down the step, moving to pick his hand up inside of hers. They continued walking towards the metro station. "My mum also mentioned that she isn't overly thrilled about that, but she's too old to travel here for the wedding."

"So, she'll hate me then," Bucky clarified.

"Nah," Evelyn said, "she'll be fine, don't worry about it."

"Sure?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine. Besides, her other granddaughter, Caitlyn, got married without even inviting her and the wedding was in England…literally half an hour away from where she lived. Then again, she didn't invite half of the family. It caused quite the family drama."

"And this won't?"

Evelyn shrugged. "Considering I'm inviting no family except my parents then I doubt it," she responded to him. "Besides, I'm not going to get married in England, not when everyone we want to invite is here. Speaking of, did you ask Sam yet?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I was just on the phone with him before you left. He said yes."

"Excellent."

"But he did threaten to make a speech," Bucky warned her and Evelyn chuckled at hearing that, nodding her head and shrugging.

"I guess that should be funny," she said to him. "You know that he's just going to make a number of jokes at your expense though, right?"

"I imagined that would be how it went down," Bucky complained. "But I can live with it for ten minutes."

"You sure?"

"If it keeps him happy then whatever," Bucky said. "Besides, I'm hoping I'll be too distracted to care."

"You're never too distracted not to be teased," she said, reaching up and pinching his cheek in her grip. "Anyway, have you had a chance to check on the flight? Is everything still running on time?"

"Last time I checked we were good," he promised with a nod of his head.

"And you?" she asked him. "You okay?"

"He's…I only have three more names on the list," Bucky said to her and she gave his hand a squeeze. "When that's done then maybe I can let go."

"You can," she promised him, leaning up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "I know it."

…

Evelyn and Bucky had spent the night in New York. Bucky had been toying with the idea of going to find Yori the following day, but he had spent most of the evening pacing in the hotel room, barely touching the food that they had ordered from room service. Evelyn had sat on the bed, leant against the headboard and watching him as he moved around before she told him to go and find Yori that night. He wasn't going to settle. That much was pretty clear and obvious. Bucky checked if she would be okay and she promised him she would be fine, waiting for him to come back.

He had been gone for a little over an hour and Evelyn had taken a bath in that time, changing into one of the tops that she wore of his to bed. She was sat up in bed, flicking through the TV channels when he returned, shrugging out of his leather jacket and looking over to her.

"Everything okay?" she checked with him.

He gulped, but nodded, pushing his boots from his feet and moving to the bed. He didn't bother changing, only just pulled the duvet back and climbed into bed. Evelyn reached out, wrapping her arm around his shoulders as he moved his arm around her waist, burrowing his face into the gap between her neck and shoulder. This was what Bucky did whenever he needed comforting, which usually was a very rare occurrence. But Evelyn didn't mind. In fact, she preferred this. She preferred him showing her emotion or even silently telling her that he wasn't too proud to admit that he needed her.

"Thank you," Bucky whispered and she moved a hand through his hair, parting the soft locks with her fingertips.

"You don't need to thank me," she promised him. "I told you that I would always be here, didn't I?"

"But tonight…I…it was harder than I thought…he…he has closure…but I can't come back and see him again," Bucky responded. "But I didn't have a choice, Evie…I never had a choice."

She squeezed him tighter to her then, closing her eyes and dropping her chin to rest on the top of his head. She felt a tear fall down her cheek and she struggled to remain composed as she felt his body shake against hers and she clung onto him, knowing that was the only thing that she could do.

"I've got you," she whispered down to him. "Bucky…I've always got you."

He said nothing and she didn't know how long they sat there for, but she would hold him for as long as he needed. She kept on stroking her hand through his hair before she felt him shift, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. She picked his head up, her hands holding his cheeks as her thumbs wiped the tears that had fallen there.

"I love you," he said, his voice hoarse and she smiled sadly to him.

"I love you too," she replied and bent in to kiss him on the cheek. "Always will."

He went back to resting against her side then, closing his eyes as she kept her arm around him. He remained silent, his mind replaying his conversation with Yori as Evelyn remained silent too. She kept her grip tight on him, but it slowly slackened as she began to doze off. Bucky moved then, shifting as she grumbled to him, saying that she was fine. He said nothing, instead dragging her down the bed until she was on her side. He reached up to peel his top off and push his jeans off, dropping them on the floor by the bed. He was back in an instant, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and pressing her back flush to his chest. He felt her pick up his hand and kiss the back of it, seemingly unbothered that it was his vibranium limb. She kept his hand nestled tightly against her stomach as she drifted to sleep and he tried to let himself do the same thing.

Bucky was the first one to wake the following morning. They were due to fly back to D.C. later that day. He headed out onto the streets, leaving Evelyn sleeping after brushing her hair back from her face and letting her lay in. She stirred slightly in her sleep, but she didn't wake. When she eventually did open her eyes, she reached over to the other side of the bed and hit the empty space next to her. He was gone. She sighed and sat up, having expected him to perhaps have gone for a walk that morning. Evelyn sat up in bed and reached for her glasses, slipping them onto her nose and running her hand through her hair, tossing it over her shoulders. She yawned loudly at the same time that the door opened to the hotel room.

"Hey," Evelyn smiled over to Bucky, noticing him carrying two takeaway cups and a brown bag. "I just woke up."

"I thought it would be best to leave you to sleep in," Bucky said to her and headed over to sit down next to her on the bed. He placed the cups down onto the bedside table and dropped the bag in her lap. "And so I went out and picked up pastries and some hot drinks."

"You're amazing," Evelyn said, moving over to kiss him on the cheek before reaching into the bag. "How did you sleep, anyway?"

Bucky shrugged his shoulders. "I slept," was all that he offered her. "But I did go and pick something up for you…"

He moved into the inside pocket of his jacket and Evelyn's brow furrowed. She pulled off a piece of the croissant and popped it into her mouth, eating it as Bucky opened the box up. Evelyn's eyes widened and she moved a finger over the locket that was sat in the box. Her mouth gaped and Bucky's lips arched at the sight of her.

"Bucky…how…" she stammered.

Bucky chuckled. "Remember I told you about the jeweller in New York who I went to years ago to get that gal I dated jewellery?"

"Yeah."

"Well, his son took over the business. He doesn't remember me…he would only have been a baby when I was in there…but I sent him a photo of the locket that I had bought you from a photo of us. I got him to work some contacts and he found one exactly like it…got the same inscription and everything. Just wanted to come here and pick it up especially."

Evelyn continued to smile at the sight of it. He picked it up out of the box. "Can I?"

"Yes," Evelyn said, nodding her head ferociously. He pulled her hair out of the way and over her shoulder. He dropped the locket around her neck and clasped it for her. She moved a hand over it, looking down to it and turning her gaze back over to him. "It's beautiful…you never had to do this."

"Yes, I did," Bucky responded and placed a kiss on her shoulder. "I know how much it meant to you and…it was my first Christmas present to you."

"It's sweet of you," she said, leaning back against him and resting a hand on his thigh. She took a moment to let her fingers continue running over it before she felt Bucky's hands slip around her waist, resting on her stomach. "You know…we still have an hour or so before we have to check out."

"What are you suggesting?"

"I'm sure you can use your imagination…"

"Really?"

"Hmm," she murmured suggestively, "I heard that room service does the best salmon and poached eggs breakfast," she said and Bucky laughed as she smirked over to him and he shook his head, motioning down to the bag of croissants.

"So I buy you breakfast and you want more?"

"The reviews are really good."

"You're such a tease, sweetheart," he mumbled to her.

"Still love me?" she asked, the usual question they both asked each other.

"Always."

….

Heading back to the airport, Bucky had insisted on passing by Izzy's, the restaurant where he always went with Yori. Evelyn had told him that would be fine and that they would have time. Walking past the restaurant, Bucky paused and peered into it. Evelyn remained stood by his side, the duffle bag on Bucky's shoulder and his free hand holding onto hers. She remained where she was, giving Bucky time to process what he was seeing.

Peering into the restaurant herself, Evelyn saw a man sat at the bar, conversing with a woman who was pouring him a drink. They were both laughing at something he had just said, her hand going to his shoulder gently. Evelyn looked up to Bucky's face, noticing how he was looking at them, his gaze soft and almost full of longing. She remained silent. She kept looking away, giving Bucky his privacy.

Bucky watched as Yori laughed with Leah, his chest aching. He had given him closure and that was enough. He was not doing this for forgiveness. He was doing this to help people move on and that was enough for him. Leah's gaze flickered over to Bucky outside of the restaurant and her lips remained upturned. He lowered his gaze for a moment before meeting hers once more, only a corner of his mouth turning upwards before she nodded once, almost silently telling him that she understood.

Bucky moved his gaze away from her and turned to look down to Evelyn. She looked back up to him, smiling and squeezing his hand. "Okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded and went to wrap his arm around her shoulders, smiling down to her as the pair of them walked away and Bucky left Yori behind, feeling some semblance of peace for the first time in a long time.

….

"Do not come in here!"

Bucky had walked into the apartment and had called out for Evelyn, wondering where she was. She was supposed to home by now. He had gone and done what he had to do. He had finished crossing the names off in his book. He had told everyone he had to what he had done…what he had been forced to do. He had left the book with his therapist, needing her to see that he had moved on. He had changed. He was Bucky Barnes.

And he had wanted to go home and be with his fiancée. He had wanted to tell her that he had finished. He wanted to tell her that he was looking to the future now. They were going to move onto the future and look forwards, no more looking back. But then Evelyn had shouted at him not to come into the bedroom as he turned the door handle and pushed it open slightly.

"Evie, what are you doing?" he asked her.

She pushed the door shut firmly before he could open it any further. "I told you not to come in here," she snapped at him, her voice terse. "Bucky, I'm being serious."

"What is going on in there? Are you naked? You know I've seen you-"

"-I'm trying on my wedding dress," she interrupted him.

"Oh," Bucky said after a moment. "And…can't I get a peek?"

"No!" she exclaimed and he could hear her banging around in the room and he wondered just what she was doing before she came back to the door and pulled it open, wearing one of his old shirts and her pyjamas bottoms, adjusting the drawstring around her waist. Peering up to him, she stood on her toes and kissed him chastely. "I can't believe you asked to see it."

"I just wanted a preview."

"You're not supposed to see it until I come down the aisle," she said.

"Didn't have you down as a traditionalist."

"And I thought that you were," she retorted. "You know, seeing the bride before the wedding brings bad luck…seeing her dress…"

Bucky shrugged as she bypassed him and headed to the kitchen and reached for the glass of water she had been drinking. "I figured that a lot of things that I would have done aren't traditional," Bucky responded, pulling his jacket off and leaving it over the chair in the living area before moving to the kitchen and sitting down on the bar stool at the breakfast bar. "We moved in before we got married…we've been living in sin…"

"I'll be amazed if we don't burn when we enter the church in a week's time then," Evelyn joked with him and his own lips arched upwards before she moved over to him and went to sit down next to him at the breakfast bar. Leaning across, she moved and pecked him on the cheek. "So…how was your day?"

"Good," Bucky nodded at her. "I finished it, Evie."

Her eyes widened and lit up. Bucky continued smiling as she moved to clasp hold of his cheeks, holding them tightly in her grip and leaning in, kissing him with as much force as she could muster. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the moment with her, his own hands going to hold onto her upper arms. She pulled back after a moment and rested her forehead against his.

"How did it feel?" she asked him.

Nodding once, he thought about the words that he wanted to say to her. "I…I feel like I have done everything that I can do," he said to her. "I've given people answers…told them that I had no choice…and that is all that I can do. It is the only way I can make amends."

Evelyn nodded. "I'm proud of you," she said to him. "And don't go shrugging me off and telling me that I don't need to be because I am, Bucky. I'm so proud of everything that you've done."

"Evie," he said and she prodded him in the shoulder.

"See? You're trying to shrug me off…and you're going all bashful, but you should be proud. I mean it."

"I…I don't know how I feel…" Bucky responded. "I just feel like I can move on and maybe I'll have peace now."

"You deserve it," she responded and moved to kiss him once more. "You deserve it so much, Bucky."

"Come here," Bucky urged from her, moving to grab hold of her by the waist, hauling her off of her stool as she perched in his lap, arm going around his shoulders so that she could steady herself. She rested her head by his shoulder as he kept his arm around her, his other hand going to rest on hers on her thigh. "So…we need to discuss something."

"What's that?"

"Sam's speech," Bucky said to her and she laughed at that, keeping her head burrowed against his shoulder and neck. Bucky looked down to her, thinking about how perfectly she fitted there. "He's refusing to show me it in advance and apparently he's on his fifth draft."

"Well, it is the priority of the best man to embarrass the groom," she warned him. "And I'm afraid that I gave him a lot of ammunition to do that."

"I still need to get you back for that," he said to her, his fingers tickling into her sides and causing her to laugh at the movement. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and she squirmed around in his grip.

"I look forward to it," Evelyn replied. "But in all seriousness, it will be fine. He will do a great speech and everything will be great, I promise."

"We'll see," he mumbled, not entirely convinced that would be the case, but he wasn't going to argue with her on it. "So, what else do we have to do for the wedding?"

"Nothing really," Evelyn shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean…we have the rehearsal a couple of days before…the cake is being delivered to the restaurant. The food is all ordered and paid for. I have my dress…Lisa, Maria and Rebecca are picking their dresses up tomorrow…seriously, having a quiet wedding has been amazing. I haven't felt any stress at all. Maria, when she got married, she had a wedding planner and everything."

"Why would we need that when we have you? You're the most organised person I know."

"Better than being unorganised," she said to him. "Besides, I told you when I met you that I wasn't spontaneous."

"I remember," Bucky recalled. "I think you said that the most spontaneous thing you had done was eat oysters."

"And I still maintain that they're disgusting," she said to him and he chuckled at hearing her, kissing the top of her head. "But everything is organised and ready to go. We just need to get down the aisle and then we're heading out to London for a few weeks."

"Before that, there is somewhere we have to go," Bucky said to her and she peered up to him, arching her brow up at him.

"Where is that?" she wondered from him.

"Sam has invited us to a cookout down at the boat," he said to her. "I told him that we would be there. It's on the Saturday before we head to London on the Monday."

Evelyn nodded her head. "So…we fly back to D.C. on the Sunday and then out to London on the Monday? Talk about jet-setting." Bucky laughed at her.

"I guess so," he agreed.

"We'll have to have everything packed for London before we go to Louisiana then," she responded to him. "Which means that I'll have to make sure everything is ironed and washed before I finish work, or I could-"

"-You're right," Bucky interrupted her. "You really aren't spontaneous."

"There's a lot of planning when it comes to travelling," she warned him. "And you know that I don't pack light."

"It'll be fine," he said to her, stroking her hair over her shoulder, his fingers tangling into it and brushing through it. "Besides, I'm looking forwards to it…but what does someone bring to a cookout?"

Evelyn shrugged at that. "I don't know," she admitted to him. "I've never really been to a cookout. We could pick something up on the way there? There's bound to be a bakery or something? It would feel rude turning up with nothing."

"That's what I was thinking," Bucky agreed with her on that one. "And I was also thinking that we need a proper honeymoon."

"What is London?" she wondered from him.

"Something we had planned before I even asked you to marry me," he responded to her. "So, we need something that we can consider our honeymoon. Is there anywhere you want to go? Because I have been thinking…and looking…"

"Really?" she questioned from him and he nodded his head.

"I was in Italy for some time during the War," he said to her, feeling her kiss his neck once before resting her head back on his shoulder. "We were all there…the Howling Commandos…and we just got drunk…joked…recuperated from a mission where we'd gotten some injuries. I went for this walk one day while they all slept off their hangovers. I took this trail and ended up looking out over this lake and I just sat there, thinking about how idyllic it was. There was no one around and I just walked around. It's probably changed a lot since then, but I've always wanted to go back and see it and…I want to share that with you."

"It sounds beautiful," Evelyn whispered against his neck and he dropped his chin to the top of her head.

"It was," Bucky said. "The boys teased me when I got back and told them about it. They accused me of going all soft and poetic."

Evelyn laughed at that. "I can imagine," she said.

"You have no idea," he responded coyly to her. "So, you're up for it? Because it is our honeymoon so I don't want to-"

"-I'm up for it," she interrupted before he could start thinking about her not wanting to go or making excuses and telling her that they could do what she wanted. "It sounds perfect and, to be honest, so long as I'm with you…we're together…I'm happy."

"You soppy romantic," he mumbled down to her.

"Only for you."

"Glad to hear it," he replied to her.

….

A/N: Two more chapters to go! Do let me know what you think!