And now it's time to begin the next chapter. I'll be honest, this one kinda stumped me a little. I was originally considering following their first real date, considering how the last chapter ended, but I couldn't really figure out what I wanted to do with that.
So, I decided to move around a bit more, and instead show some time jumps instead as their relationship continues to grow. Also, I'll be honest, I'm not sure how much longer this story is going to go on for as some of my spark for writing it is gone, so that's part of the reason why there are a few skips. But enough of that, let's just dive right in, shall we?
Disclaimer: Really, you should all know the drill by now.
"Is this really necessary?" Bucky called out from the living room of Amelie's apartment, while she was in the bedroom with the door closed. "It's not like I've never seen you undressed."
"Oui, and that's exactly why you're staying out there." Amelie replied through the door. "If you came in here right now, we would never leave the room."
"You know all you're doing is making it more tempting, right?" The ex-Winter Soldier replied with a cheeky smile on his face. "And don't pretend you wouldn't enjoy that."
Amelie's muttered response was all Bucky needed to chuckle as he acquiesced and waited for her, all while musing over the past few months. Ever since he and Amelie had started dating, he really felt a lot more alive in a way that he hadn't been since the 40s.
It didn't matter what they were doing, either going out together to enjoy the sights of this world and beyond, or staying home to watch movies and enjoy more intimate activities, just being together felt incredible, and he knew Amelie felt the same as well.
"Well, how do I look?" Shaken from his thoughts, Bucky turned to see what Amelie was wearing and his jaw practically fell to the floor.
She was wearing a blue dress that reached down to her ankles, with an intricate design that was woven through the fabric. Her hair was done up in a bun, and she used make up to cover up her tattoos. Combine that with the wide smile on her face, and she looked absolutely radiant.
"You look incredible." Bucky said breathlessly.
"Merci. You're not so bad yourself." Amelie chuckled, walking up to him as he examined the suit he was currently wearing.
"Never been one for suits." Bucky pulled at the collar of his shirt to loosen it, before pausing as Amelie walked up and kissed him on the cheek.
"It looks good on you." She threaded her arm around his. "Anyway, shall we go?"
"Yes, we shall."
The two of them decided to simply spend the night taking in the sights of Paris on her Earth, which had fully recovered from the damage of the Null Sector invasion and the subsequent Second Omnic Crisis.
And so, with a brief usage of a taxi service, Bucky and Amelie soon found themselves in the heart of the City of Love at night, passing by humans and Omnics who were enjoying the night life as much as they were.
It always gave Bucky a sense of wonder and satisfaction to see people out like this, after having been a soldier for so long. His thoughts once again returned to Amelie, who was politely declining the offers of a street vendor in her native language.
"I love it when you speak French." He whispered to her, causing her to turn to him with a smirk.
"Je sais que tu le sais, beau." She kissed him in response, before spotting a club across the street where quite a few people were dancing. "Come on."
Hand in hand, Amelie guided Bucky towards the club in question, which was a more high class and older affair compared to some of the ones preferred by younger generations. Fortunately, the crowd was small at the moment, allowing them easy access, but Bucky still felt rather hesitant.
"What is it?" Amelie asked, having noticed his expression.
"It's nothing." Bucky said quickly, but Amelie's raised eyebrow made it clear she didn't believe him. "It's just, I haven't been in a place like this for a while." The glance he gave most of the dancers said what he was really worried about.
"When was the last time you danced?"
"1943." Was the only deadpan reply she got, which made Amelie chuckle. "Honestly, I didn't really get a chance to learn much more afterwards."
"Well then." The blue skinned woman grabbed her boyfriend's hand and pulled him towards the dance floor. "No time like the present."
It wasn't easy at first, but with Amelie's help and guidance, he started to get the hang of it. He wasn't surprised by her expertise in this area. After all, she had been an accomplished ballerina before she had become Widowmaker and it showed even now with how graceful she was on the dance floor.
When the music slowed down, giving couples their moments, he and Amelie didn't waste any time as they held each other close, just swaying lightly to the music. As Amelie wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder, Bucky closed his eyes and let himself relax in her embrace.
Her touch on his skin, the scent of her shampoo and perfume, all of it was intoxicating, a sensation he couldn't get enough of. Just being with Amelie made him feel lighter. He hadn't felt this carefree in years.
The rest of the night passed by in a blur, with them visiting various landmarks in Paris. He could see quite a few similarities between the city on this Earth, and the one on his, but quite a few differences as well, especially given that this world was a bit more ahead in the future than his own.
Either way, while it was fascinating, Bucky's attention was far more on Amelie throughout the night, and vice versa. Once they got back to her apartment, the two of them paused outside the door.
"So... tonight was amazing." Amelie's only response was to pull him into a deep kiss.
"Tonight was perfect." Amelie kissed him again, before smiling mischeviously. "Well, nearly."
"Nearly?" Bucky repeated with a raised eyebrow and a grin as he caught her hint. "I suppose we'll have to fix that."
"Oui, we must." She opened the door to her apartment and pulled Bucky inside. "And I know just how to make the night perfect."
The door closed behind them.
...
The next day, they decided to make their way to King's Row to meet up with Tracer and Emily. The time shifted pilot had practically been begging to go on a double date with them for a while now, though admittedly, it wasn't the first time they had done that.
As they walked through the streets of London, Amelie still found it hard to believe how so much had changed in a short period of time. After all, she had been here as Widowmaker to sow discord among the people by killing Mondatta, and from all appearances, she had succeeded.
And yet, only a few years later, humans and Omnics were living side by side in relative harmony. Oh, there was still some tension, of course, but for the most part, it had died down significantly compared to what it had been.
Then again, similar stories were playing out all over the world, no doubt thanks to the Republic. The multiversal superpower had acted as a mediator in a number of ways, especially given the many stories of AI rebellion among the multiverse that they had experienced.
As she had done many times at this point, Amelie couldn't help but reflect on how different things could have been without the Republic's arrival. It's likely that the second Omnic crisis would still be going on, Talon would still be running loose, and Makuta and Ultron would be wreaking havoc unmolested.
On a more personal level, Amelie would almost certainly still be brainwashed as Widowmaker and under Talon's thumb, and she would never have had met Bucky. At that thought, she instinctively pulled herself closer to him.
"What?" He asked softly, looking into her eyes.
"Just thinking about how glad I am to have met you." She smiled.
Bucky smiled in turn as they made their way through one of the more secluded side streets of King's Row as a shortcut. He couldn't deny that he often felt exactly as she did, being more than grateful to have had the opportunity to meet her, or they wouldn't be where they were now.
His arm was around her shoulders while one of her arms was around his waist, the other on his chest as she cuddled against him. Merely being in her presence was making him feel something he hadn't felt in years, if ever, to be honest.
Even as they made their way through the somewhat more seedy area of the city, Bucky felt surprisingly carefree. He was sure that there was nothing that could spoil today. Seconds later, he regretted tempting fate when he heard a distinct cocking sound.
"Get down!" Bucky instinctively pulled Amelie into a crouch, even as he raised his vibranium arm.
The subsequent gunshot impacted his arm with no effect, allowing him to quickly analyze the situation. The shooter was alone and judging by the stance, untrained, a civilian with a vendetta, most likely, not a professional assassin.
Finely driven instincts quickly drove Bucky to close the gap, his enhanced speed allowing him to cross the short distance, while reflexively blocking two more shots with his arm before grabbing the weapon and crushing it.
He weaved around the sloppy punch that attempted to retaliate and effortlessly grabbed the attacker's fist with his hand. Twisting the woman's arm quickly brought her to her knees with a sharp scream of pain.
Suddenly, he heard distinct mechanical sounds and grunts from Amelie behind him. He quickly turned around to find Amelie being attacked by an Omnic who had been hiding in the shadows, yet the blue skinned woman was holding her own as she kicked the weakspot in one of the machine's joints.
The Omnic was unperturbed by the sudden disadvantage and quickly pulled out a gun of its own, aiming it at Amelie's head. But Bucky had already closed the gap so that when the Omnic pulled the trigger, the bullet simply impacted on his vibranium palm.
Once again, Bucky didn't give the Omnic an opportunity to attack again, as he simply crushed the gun. The Omnic tried to retaliate by crushing Amelie's throat with its other hand, but she was able to catch it and hold it away long enough for Bucky to simply break the arm off, before the super soldier grabbed the Omnic by the throat and tossed it away.
"Are you okay?" He asked, looking her over to see if she had been wounded in any way.
"I'm fine." Amelie replied, a little shaken, but enough of Widowmaker's training had remained that she wasn't freaking out over it. They both flinched when a flash of blue light appeared in the corner of their eyes, but when they turned to the source, they found that it was just Tracer.
"Bucky? Amelie?" The time shifted pilot had her pistols at the ready, but lowered them upon seeing the situation. "Are you guys alright?"
"Well, besides someone trying to kill us, we're just fine." Bucky replied, gesturing to the two clearly untrained civilians lying on the ground.
"Tracer?" The woman who had tried to shoot them looked at the Overwatch hero with wide eyes, her expression shocked and hurt as she gestured to Amelie. "Why would you protect her? She's Widowmaker-"
"No, she's not." Lena said firmly, but also softly, putting away her pistols as she kneeled down next to the civilian. "She's reformed now."
"She killed Mondatta!" The Omnic shouted, his limbs sparking as he vaguely gestured to Amelie as well. "She was the reason King's Row became such a hellhole."
"And you thought you'd take justice into your own hands." Bucky surmised, looking at the two would be assassins in understanding before sighing. "That figures."
"I am sorry." Amelie spoke up, having been silent up to this point but with a guilty look spreading on her face as she walked towards the downed Omnic. "I know you don't believe me, but I am truly sorry for what I did to Mondatta, to everyone I harmed. I wish more than anything I could take it all back."
The Omnic said nothing, merely glowering at Amelie even as police sirens could be heard in the background. Tracer sighed as she heard the sirens as well, turning to see a couple police cars making their way down the street towards them.
"So much for a nice afternoon."
...
It took several hours and multiple statements from the police before Bucky and Amelie were free to go. Tracer had stuck around to explain things to the cops and clear up any misconceptions that may have occured.
Fortunately, her reputation as not only an Overwatch agent but a local hero around London was more than enough to clear Bucky and Amelie of any potential wrongdoing. And at the blue-skinned woman's request, the charges against the two wannabe assassins had been dropped.
Still, by the time they were done and allowed to leave the precinct (where Emily had been outside waiting for them), it was several hours later and everyone was feeling rather exhausted by the whole ordeal.
"Sorry about all that, luvs." Lena said as they walked out of the station and onto the street. "This is not the way I wanted this day to go."
"It's not your fault." Bucky replied. "Thanks for showing up when you did, otherwise things probably would have gotten a lot more difficult."
"My pleasure." Lena said, before turning to Amelie and putting a hand on her shoulder. "And hey, don't listen to what those guys said. You are far more than what Talon made you."
"Merci." Amelie smiled gratefully in turn before yawning. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to head back home. Do you think we can reschedule for another day?"
"Of course." Emily nodded sympathetically as she and Lena said their goodbyes before Bucky and Amelie began to head back to the latter's apartment, this time taking a shortcut with Bucky's interdimensional transport device.
"So, today was a bust." Bucky said simply as they walked back into her apartment, the portal closing shut behind them. "Sorry about that." He noticed Amelie hadn't responded, her gaze looking forelornly towards the window and her reflection therein.
"Hey." He walked up behind Amelie and pulled her into a tight hug. "You're not Widowmaker. You're not."
"But I was." Amelie whispered, looking to the side and unwilling to look at him. "It's who I was for years."
"But it's not who you are now." Bucky replied, gently grasping her cheek and turning her face to his. "Never forget that."
Blinking back tears at the sincerity in his eyes, Amelie closed the gap and kissed him deeply, which he was quick to reciprocate as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She melted into his embrace as they fell to the couch, simply enjoying the feeling of each other in their arms.
"Do you mind if we stay in tomorrow?" Amelie asked as she pulled away slightly, the question for him to stay the night going unsaid. Not that it was needed at this point. "I'm not sure I feel like going out again so soon."
"No worries." Bucky said against her lips, kissing her again briefly. "But you do have to go out eventually. You don't want to become a shut-in recluse like I used to be."
"Oui, I know that." Amelie gently smacked her hand against his shoulder. "But not so soon. And maybe a change of locale would be in order."
"Well, if you're looking for a change of scenery, I know where we can go." Bucky said with a grin as the two of them cuddled together. "And it's not on your world."
"You have my attention." Amelie smirked as she ran a hand down Bucky's chest, her eyes glancing down towards his crotch area. "And it seems I have yours."
"Alright, message recieved." Bucky abruptly stood up and picked Amelie off the couch, the French woman instinctively locking her legs around Bucky's waist for support as he carried her to the bedroom. "This can wait until tomorrow."
And I think I might cap it here. I'll admit, I was planning on making this chapter go a bit longer, but I felt like it was just getting way too long, so I decided to cut it in two. You'll just have to wait and see where the two of them go next.
With that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.