Tessa was wiping down the glass counter by the register when she heard the revving of a motorcycle outside the shop. Her dark eyes rose slowly just in time to see James Buchannan Barnes push through the revolving door into the Brewhouse, wearing dark blue jeans and a black leather jacket over his tight red shirt. He confidently walked up to the counter she was cleaning and handed her a single white rose before leaning against the glass.

"Thank you." Tessa murmured as she pushed a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear. She'd been dreading this all day. Not because she didn't want to go, but because she did. Tessa was wary of getting close to people. She was wary of the lies and the danger and she wasn't completely sure that the man taking her out was mentally stable. But he was kind. And he was handsome and had been incredibly patient with Tessa over the past four years. What could one evening hurt?

As Tessa smelled the single rose, Bucky waited patiently for her to finish up work so he could sweep her away for the evening. "You almost ready?" He asked impatiently, tapping his right hand against the glass. "We have places to go."

Tessa noticed his left prosthetic hand was covered in a black leather glove that matched his jacket, but she decided not to mention it yet. Curiosity would get the best of her eventually. "Give me just a minute to change, then I'll be ready. Where are we going in such a hurry?"

"It's a surprise. I brought the bike- I hope that's okay because it's the only form of transportation I have." Bucky leaned away from the counter and wandered over to a nearby table so Tessa's employee could help the customers that waited behind him. Tessa looked up from where she was cleaning to answer his inquiry.

"I brought jeans and a nice shirt. You gave me no details except that you'd be picking me up. So if your plan involves a dress code you might want to find another date."

"Naw, it's nowhere fancy. I don't fit into fancy establishments. A little too... rough around the edges." Bucky admitted but Tessa didn't exactly agree. With his gelled back long hair and clean-shaven face, he looked like a work of art, someone who belonged in a museum and not in her coffee shop.

"I'll be right back..." Tessa backed into the back room, grabbing her green backpack and heading toward the staff bathroom. She locked herself in the handicap stall and took a deep breath as she worked on fixing her hair into a side ponytail out of her face before changing into her jeans and a sky blue button-up blouse. She reapplied her deep red lipstick and popped a mint into her mouth as she hiked up her boobs to sit up higher in her scoop neck top. Tessa turned sideways, smoothing down the blouse as she looked at her side profile, "That'll do."

Tess looked at her watch and realized she'd been gone for almost ten minutes. She scrambled out of the bathroom, shoving her apron onto a hook near the door of the back office and made her way back out into the shop. Bucky's eyes lit up when he saw her, giving her a quick once over before clearing his throat, "I was starting to think you'd snuck out the back door."

"No, sorry, you're stuck with me. Unless you want to just take me home?" Tessa teased, then paled when she realized the connotation of her words. "I mean, if you've changed your mind..."

"Let me take you out. Please... I'll make sure you won't regret it, and if you want to end it at any point, just let me know." Bucky offered his right arm to Tessa and she took it tentatively, holding on as he led her out of the shop. Bucky led her to his motorcycle, then slung his leg over it, and turned to his date, "Hop on, hold on tight."

Tessa swung her leg over the bike with ease, telling Bucky it wasn't her first time on a motorcycle. She wrapped her arms around him instinctively, and he felt his stomach flip when her small hands found the thin fabric of his shirt covering his torso. Tessa was thankful he couldn't see how red she was turning when her fingers latched themselves onto his toned abs.

"You ready?"

"Go for it," Tessa answered, tightening her thighs against his as he took off at top speed away from the Brewhouse toward the highway.

Tessa was vaguely aware of the town racing by her as she pressed her face against Bucky's back, focusing on the way she could feel his chest rising and falling as he swerved around the cars to his destination. After a while, he slowed to a stop and Tessa pushed her face away begrudgingly, trying to compose herself before he was able to look her in the eye again. He peeked over his shoulder, seeing her out of the corner of his eye as she fixed her hair.

"We're here."

Tessa swung off the bike first and started walking toward the little Italian restaurant while Bucky put the kickstand down. She took in the brick exterior and string lights illuminating the sign of the family-owned pizzeria. "I've never been here before." She said quietly as Bucky came up behind her and put his arm around her shoulder. She was at least six inches shorter than him, but she somehow fit into his side like she belonged there, and that terrified her. Tessa panicked and turned her body around, facing Bucky but pulling out of his grip, "So how did you find this place?"

"I googled restaurants in the area. Neither Steve nor I had heard of it, so I figured it wasn't a chain. I've never been before, but Italian food is good. I'm taking a leap of faith."

"Yeah. A leap of faith." Tessa mumbled in response, mostly to herself. There was that feeling again, in the pit of her stomach- it told her she wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready to be vulnerable again. The worst part for Tessa was that Bucky intrigued her. He wasn't like all the other men who wined and dined the would-be-widow. He held the answers to all her questions, and above that, he was an enigma. A man out of time.

Bucky didn't try to hold Tessa again, instead holding the door to the restaurant open for her to walk through before passing her and taking the lead at the hostess stand, "Barnes, party of two. We're a little late."

The older woman at the podium smirked at his admission, looking from the pair to the mostly empty restaurant behind her, "I think we'll manage." She grabbed two menus and led them to a small table near the back of the restaurant. Secluded and near the kitchen, it made Tessa sigh knowing they'd more or less be alone.

Bucky held out her chair for her, and gently pushed her toward the table before taking a seat across from her, "I asked on the phone if we could have a more private table. I'd assumed if we spoke of anything more than the weather you'd have questions that people shouldn't hear the answers to." He quickly closed his mouth and offered a meek smile to the waiter as he poured them each a glass of water and took their drink orders after rattling off the evening's specials. Once he was gone, Bucky turned his attention back to the brunette across from him. He rubbed the back of his neck, shifted his long gelled hair as he ran through variations of what he wanted to admit in his head. "I, uh, haven't been on a date since 1943. I haven't spent time around people who aren't superheroes. I'm not sure how to do this, but I've wanted to ask you out for quite some time."

Tessa's heart fluttered at his words and she swallowed her nerves, grabbing onto her water to take a long drink before setting it down and forcing out her own confession, "I've been on lots of dates in the past four years, and they've all been kind of terrible. I don't trust anybody anymore. So, I'm trying to open up, but I'm scared." Bucky's face fell at her words.

"Of me?"

"No," Tessa quickly answered, shaking her hand aggressively to dismiss his ideas, "I'm scared of letting you in. Because I think I know in the back of my mind that you might take good care of me. And that I might fall for you. And that scares me. A lot." She instinctively reached across and grabbed his hand with her right, freezing in place when she realized he was still wearing his leather glove. She stared at the glove for a minute, then looked up to meet his steely blue eyes. He looked nervous, waiting for her to panic and realize maybe she was scared of him after all. Tessa was determined not to prove him right. In a move that surprised them both, she tightened her grip around the glove and discovered it felt cool and smooth underneath. He had his metal arm on.

"I..." Bucky trailed off, turning his left arm incredibly gently to allow him to hold the hand she had clenched around his, "I can feel things. With the vibranium arm. It's from Wakanda. Very advanced. I can't feel anything with the prosthetic, it was cheap and gets the job done around the kids."

"Can I see it?" Tessa whispered. Her chocolate eyes darted from his face to his hand, then back to his bewildered expression. He wasn't sure if she was actually requesting to have him take off the glove or if she was just talking to herself. Tessa tilted her head to the side, trying to figure out what was running through the Winter Solder's brain. "You okay? You can say no. I'm not offended."

Bucky processed her words and grinned a little, trying to hide it as he pulled his arm away from her to gently tug off the metal glove. His leather jacket covered the full arm, but he presented his dark metal hand. It was made up of dark plates that molded together with occasional gold. Tessa had seen it occasionally, but he hid it well and hid it often. The dark, scared part of Tessa told her to recoil from it, but she was stubborn. She wasn't going to let him see her fold.

Tessa grabbed his metal hand and held it tightly, staring at it for a moment before meeting his eyes. He was completely locked on her face, taking in every move of her eyes and brows and mouth. "I'm not scared of it." Tessa declared, giving him a tight squeeze before adding, "I'm not afraid of you."

"Well, that's a first." Bucky chuckled, relaxing his body against the chair as he let her hold his hand casually. "Most women steer clear of the most feared assassin in America."

"Don't ruin it." Tessa deadpanned before laughing at the way Bucky's back tensed at her words, "I'm kidding, but seriously, maybe let's save the dark secrets for the main course, then round out the evening with some heartfelt confessions for dessert." Tessa released Bucky's hand and his heart sunk. He wanted to touch her again.

Tessa looked up from under her dark lashes at Bucky as she picked up the menu, beginning to peruse the options for food. She occasionally looked up over the menu to see him reading diligently. Tessa found his eyes the most captivating. They told stories of a life he hadn't chosen. She wanted to read them like a book.

A short snicker escaped Bucky's throat and caught Tessa by surprise, causing her to quickly avert her eyes to the menu, keeping him out of her line of sight as she asked, "What?"

"That's the look Kayla always gets when she looks at Steve."

Tessa's cheeked heat up and she fought back the urge to smile, running her finger down the list of items on the menu. "That's an insult. I don't even know if their love is real. Is that a lie too?"

"No." Bucky answered softly, "I've never seen two people more in love. It's infuriating sometimes. That punk doesn't deserve her. Although Kayla's quite a handful so I think they've evened out over the years."

Tessa nodded mindlessly, setting the menu down to get a better view of the man in front of her. "How long have you known Steve?"

"Since 1930."

Tessa's breath was snatched from her chest, but she wasn't able to respond because the waiter arrived to take their order. Once he was gone again, Tessa raised her finger in the air, telling Bucky she needed a minute to collect her thoughts before she continued. "When were you born?"

Bucky chuckled, taking a drink of his water before answering, "1917. Brooklyn. Lived there with Mom and Pops and two little sisters. I was one of the lucky ones- Dad came home from the first war." Bucky took another drink before adding, "Although I was also one of the unlucky ones because I didn't make it home from the second."

"That's... a lot to process," Tessa admitted, rubbing her right hand along her temple.

"Well, let's talk about something that's a little easier. When were you born?"

"1999. I'm thirty-two. I'll be thirty-three next March. I'm not... what? One hundred and fourteen years old?" Tessa counted in her head, leaning her jaw against her hand as she gawked at Barnes, "I mean, I knew... I just never really considered... Are you going to be young forever?"

"Who the hell knows?" Bucky responded with a shrug as the waiter appeared with their food. He watched Tessa silently as the man sat down their pasta in front of them while she thanked him sweetly before she turned back to him, eyes laser-focused and curious. Bucky smiled coyly, "I age slowly. Slower when I was in cryo all the time." At Tessa's piqued brow he continued, "I was put on ice. Like Steve was frozen in the arctic for seventy years, I would go in and out of a cryo-chamber between missions."

Tessa nodded, looking down as she stabbed her pasta with her fork, then twirled it. "I googled you."

"Sounds dangerous."

"So do you." She quipped back, looking up at him as she took a bite. She watched him sit stoically for a moment. "Your whole life, everything they think you did, it's out there for everyone to see. Everyone knows you died a hero and came back a monster. They know that you are the Winter Soldier. What is that like for you?"

Bucky shrugged a little, trying to push away the memories that tried to flood back into his mind. He remembered everything, even if he worked hard to block it away, "I spent a lot of time healing. I spent a lot of time... coming to terms with what I did while somebody else controlled my mind. But I'm still just a guy from Brooklyn who got drafted into a war. Got saved by my best friend. I died protecting him in return. I'm trying to pick up where I was before that train. Everything in between doesn't matter."

Tessa nodded, taking another bite of pasta and swallowing, "Alright."

"Alright?"

"If it doesn't matter, then we don't talk about it." She looked up and gave Bucky a firm nod, telling him the conversation was done, and his past was behind him. It was a much better reaction than he'd expected. Better than he'd hoped.

But there was one thing that couldn't be ignored forever. There was one mission they'd have to address eventually because there was a very important reason she was here on this date with him and not married to somebody else. "What about Ryan?"

"He tried to kill me. He probably killed a lot of people before he tried to kill Steve. Whether you showed up that night or not, I would have died. If it wasn't for you and Kat- Kayla, I would have dropped from cyanide poisoning. You saved my life, James Barnes. I'm thankful for you." Tessa declared slowly reaching out and grabbing his right hand this time, holding it tightly, "I know I haven't exactly been friendly to you, but I forgive you for what you did. I really do. I'm... trying to make peace?" She suggested with a giggle, "And I'm enjoying myself."

"Me too." Bucky answered quietly, stroking her knuckles with his thumb, "I'd like to take you out again."

"The first date isn't even over!" Tessa laughed as Bucky took a huge bite of his chicken, inhaling half of it in one swallow. She shook her head, settling into a comfortable grin as she kept her grip on his hand, "You are fascinating."

"And you are beautiful. So I'd like to take you out again."

"Ask me when this date is over."

Author's Notes: Precious Bucky and Tessa. I love them almost as much as Steve and Kayla. Almost ;)

amberhardy- welcome back! I've missed hearing from you! Yeah, Ryan was kind of the worst, but to be honest, he was doomed from the beginning! I definitely want to write more domestic Steve and Kay! They've got a few things to do, but I'm really going to show their domestic sides in part 6! And I'm glad you like this Steve. I must say I'm also a fan lol.

Siobhan- Tessa and Bucky are the new OTP of this story, but it won't necessarily go smoothly, especially with Kayla and Natasha together on the West Coast...

Nikkita Starr- James is annoying and precious and he's my husband's favorite lolol.