Bucky held Tessa's hand as he led her down the hotel hall away from their room, using the children as a distraction to leave the Rogers behind.

"Bucky..." Tessa drawled as she looked over her shoulder, "What if they need us?"

"They don't. Tonight I need you. Alone."

Tessa blushed, beginning to jog a little to keep up easier with the massive man, "Where are we going?"

Bucky smiled back at her, "Don't know. Somewhere we can be alone. When in Rome, right?" Tessa grinned and followed the man into the elevator, pulling him into a passionate kiss as they rode it to the bottom floor. Once outside the hotel, Bucky slowed his pace, tossing his arm around Tessa's shoulders as they walked down the cobblestone streets of Rome.

They wandered the dimly lit streets for a while in silence, just enjoying each other's company. "You hungry? I'm sure Steve and Kayla got room service for the kids already. How about I take you out for dinner? Do you like Italian? There has to be an Italian restaurant around here right?" Bucky teased as he bumped his hip against Tessa, almost knocking her over if he wasn't holding her in his strong right arm.

"I guess Italian will do." Tessa jested as she got up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to Bucky's jaw. As they continued walking, Tessa looked up to see Bucky's eyes narrow, and his back stiffened as he walked. "What's wrong?"

"Someone's following us," he answered coldly, tightening his grip on Tessa's shoulder. "I don't have my gun."

"I know that should unnerve me, but it doesn't?" Tessa hissed loudly, and Bucky casually looked over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the slim figure in an oversized jacket behind them. Tessa didn't look back, but instead kept her eyes locked on Barnes, "What should we do?"

"I'll take care of it," Bucky grumbled as they stopped in front of a nice looking restaurant. "Go inside and get a table. I'll be there in five minutes."

"And if you aren't?" Tessa questioned worriedly, finally looking over Bucky's shoulder to the shadowy figure leaning against a nearby building.

Bucky smiled, "I will be. Order some breadsticks. I'll be back soon." Bucky pressed a kiss to Tessa's cheek and turned around, making a beeline toward the figure. Tessa leaned her cheek against the door, watching as her boyfriend tracked down their stalker.

The figure took a few steps into the alleyway, and Barnes followed them. His gait was heavy but quiet. He was determined to get the upper hand of whoever was keeping tabs on him. He followed them down the alleyway and watched the figure disappear around the corner. When Bucky reached the corner, he stopped and leaned his back against the brick, listening. There was no sound. He looked around the corner and saw an empty street, the mysterious follower nowhere to be found.

Bucky was presented with two options: follow the stalker and figure out who was watching them or go back to Tessa and enjoy dinner. He chose the latter and turned, slumping his shoulder as he trodded back down the street to the restaurant. He heard a noise from behind and stopped, turning quickly to look around the empty alley. While he was turned, he felt something sting his neck and slapped it, pulling his hand away to reveal a mosquito. Bucky turned around in a circle, feeling embarrassed by his paranoia. After all the years he spent as an assassin, the Winter Soldier shouldn't be so jumpy, but somebody was watching him that he couldn't catch. And they knew about his girl.

"Hey Bucky... you okay?" Tessa inquired gently as the broad man sat across from her at their little table next to the windows. He stared through the glass, completely captivated by the people passing outside. Tessa waved her hand in front of his face, "James?"

Bucky shook his head quickly, turning to the brunette as she tilted her head, letting her thick hair spill over her shoulder. "Sorry. I couldn't find them."

"Maybe there's nobody to find." Tessa offered optimistically, lifting her wine glass to Bucky. He smiled and clanked his water glass against it, but his blue eyes darted back to the window just in time to see the shadowy figure watching them from across the street. Bucky turned his head to get a better look, but a car passed, and the figure was gone.

Bucky shook his head, pushing back his dark hair as he turned to his date, "I'm sorry Tess. I'm just- unnerved. Someone's following us. And I can't find them."

Tessa lifted her head but didn't speak, breathing deeply through her nose as she considered this. The Winter Soldier was the greatest assassin in the past century, and if he couldn't figure out who was following him, they were in big trouble.

Two hours later, Bucky slowly unlocked their room and allowed Tessa to scurry in first before looking around the hotel hallway. Seeing that the coast was clear, Barnes closed and padlocked the door. He watched as Tessa turned on the bathroom light and begin washing her face. Bucky pulled his shirt over his head and discarded it in the bathroom before sidling up behind Tessa and pressing soft kisses to the crook of her neck, "Thank you for coming with me."

Tessa turned around, pressing her hands on Bucky's bare chest as her breath caught in her throat, "Thanks for asking me to come."

"Tomorrow we have to track down Contini. It'll be dangerous, probably end in a fight." Bucky pressed a kiss to the crown of Tessa's head, humming as he scrunched his eyes closed, "It always ends in a fight."

Tessa lifted her head, forcing Bucky to pull away to look down at her big, brown eyes, "What are you saying? You want to live tonight as if it's your last?"

"Maybe. Who knows what kind of tech Contini has at his disposal." Bucky's voice rumbled deep in his throat as he grabbed Tessa's thighs and hoisted her up onto the sink. She could feel the cool metal hand on her right leg and the hot blood of his human one on her left, and the sensation made her own chest tighten. She thrust her lips to his and he picked her back up, swinging her around and charging her out the door to dump her onto their bed. He fell on top of her and spread his legs on either side of her small frame as she began unzipping her jeans.

Steve cleared his throat loudly from the chair he was sitting in, his reddening face hidden by the darkness as Bucky and Tessa both turned to him in synch. "Damn it punk!" Bucky snarled, and Steve tried to hide his embarrassed smile when Tessa zipped her jeans back up. Bucky pushed himself to his feet and crossed his arms bitterly, "What do you want?"

"I was going to talk to you about tomorrow. I, uh, didn't realize you'd get right to it." Steve grunted as he pushed himself to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "I'll brief you in the morning?"

"Yeah. I think that's best." Bucky answered shortly, and Steve quietly let himself into his room, closing and locking the adjoining door behind him.

Bucky turned to Tessa, who was still sprawled out on her back on the bed. Bucky groaned quietly and shook his head, a slight smile gracing his lips, "I take it the moment is ruined?"

Tessa grinned seductively and unzipped her jeans again, "Can't kill the mood that easily."

Meanwhile, beyond the connecting doors, Steve Rogers pulled his own shirt over his head and discarded it in the small space between his bed and the wall before climbing into bed with his wife. Kayla moaned quietly and turned over, burrowing her face into Steve's chest as her arm draped over his bicep. "I love you."

"I love you too, Kay," Steve answered as he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close, burying his nose into her red hair. He closed his eyes and breathed her in, imagining they were safe at home. He rubbed his thumb against the small of her back under her tanktop, and Kayla sighed against him, falling into a happy sleep.

Steve and Kayla were awoken from their sleep by James climbing onto their bed and jumping once, practically sending Kayla into the side table. "Moooom, I'm hungry!"

Kayla reached out and grabbed the nightstand, catching herself before she bashed her head against the wood. She swung her head back to see her son bouncing on the bed with his legs between her and her husband. "What else is new?" Kayla growled as she pushed herself back onto the mattress, whacking Steve hard against the chest, "Your son is hungry. Do something about it."

Steve opened his mouth and stared at his wife incredulously, but no argument came out as she side-eyed him, trying desperately not to strangle her son. Steve groaned loudly as he raised his arms above his head in a stretch, "Alright, get off the bed. Get dressed."

"I want to sleep some more. I'm not hungry." Sarah whined from her bed, clinging to the pillow as she wound up to sneeze. Kayla rolled over and studied the girl, finding her about to sneeze again.

"Oh honey, are you allergic to the pillows?" Kayla asked quietly, sitting up and moving to the kid's bed. She pulled the pillow out of its case and read the label. "Maybe you're allergic to goose feathers," Kayla said thoughtfully as she put the pillow back in its casing.

James rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Great job Sarah, you can't even do pilows right."

Kayla turned and glared at her son with wide eyes, shaking her head slowly to warn him not to speak to his sister again. Steve grabbed the young boy by the shoulder and guided him to the suitcase to pick out his clothes. Steve knew Kayla well enough to see her fuse was dwindling, and James was about to get burned. "Come on James, let's go get food for your mother and sister, shall we?"

"But I'm the one who's hungry."

"And you. Obviously I'm going to feed you." Steve sighed, handing his son a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before grabbing his own button-up plaid shirt from his suitcase. "Let's go."

Once James and Steve were out of the room, Sarah's bottom lip began to wobble and Kayla grabbed her cheeks and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Your brother is rambunctious. There's nothing wrong with you sweetie. Are you excited to go to the Coliseum today?"

"Yeah. James is going to hate it though. He'll think it's boring." Sarah complained as she sneezed loudly to the side of the bed, "I think you might be right about the pillows."

"Here," Kayla took the pillow from Sarah and picked up the little girl, placing her on her feet in front of the table, "Sit and doodle, I'll call the front desk and see if they have some regular pillows. Your father and I don't have to leave for another hour. If you want to rest more I bet Auntie Tessa would let you stay and rest while James does his summer reading. I know you read faster than him."

"It's the only thing I do faster than him," Sarah grumbled as she yanked the pen cap off and went to work drawing on the hotel notepad. She rested her cheek in her left hand and casually drew the wallpaper pattern with her right, adding in all the little details until it was perfect.

Kayla watched her daughter as she called her front desk, taking in her gentle nature. Kayla's mouth twitched to the side in a small smile, seeing so much of her Steve in their daughter. She knew their rambunctious son got his winning personality from her.

"Alright my darling, the concierge will be bringing up some non-feathered pillows for you. I'm going to get ready for the conference, are you okay here by yourself for a few minutes?"

"You'll just be in the bathroom, right? I think I can handle that." Sarah mumbled without looking up from her drawing, sticking her tongue out in concentration as she pressed harder into the pad, shading the swirl of her design. Kayla stowed herself away in the bathroom and pulled her thick hair up in a high ponytail. She pulled on black jeans and a black turtleneck, pulling her wedding ring off so she could put it on a chain and hide it beneath her shirt. Kayla pulled on her smartwatch and typed away on the screen, covering her body in vibranium armor. It was dark blue with red and white accents, matching her husband's old uniform. Kayla realized she hadn't used it since the battle at the compound.

Images of Steve standing alone before Thanos flooded her mind and Kayla dropped her head, sucking in air as she tried to fight the memories away. She pulled up her head, lifting her chin bravely to look at her own reflection.

Come on Kay. You can do this. We're almost done.

Kayla tapped her watch, changing the color of the vibranium scales to black before dissipating the nano-tech into her watch. She placed a comm in her ear and swung open the bathroom door to find Steve and James sitting on their bed, shoving breakfast sandwiches into their mouths at an alarming pace. "Steve?"

"Hey, honey!" Steve mumbled through a mouthful of biscuit. He swallowed down his food and held up a bag for Kayla to take, "I got you cornetto."

"The croissant thing with the filling?" Kayla asked, her mouth watering as the smell wafted from the bag. Before Kayla could shove the pastry in her mouth, a loud knock came from the room next door. Sarah slid off the bed and pulled open the adjoining door, revealing Bucky and Tessa on the other side.

"Heading out in ten minutes! You kids ready to go?" Tessa called as she swept into the room. Sarah nodded, falling to her knees to grab her day's outfit from her suitcase. James wiped his mouth and caused all the crumbs to fall onto his parents' bed.

"Alright, be good. Kisses!" Kayla reached her arms out and Sarah ran into them, giving her mom a kiss on the cheek. James shoved his phone into his jeans pocket and pushed his sunglasses up his nose before wandering over to his mother, moaning before leaning in to receive a kiss from Kayla. She pressed her lips to his cheek, then pinched it teasingly as he swatted her hand away, following Tessa out the hotel door.

Once alone, Bucky turned to Kayla and Steve, unzipping his sweatshirt to reveal his black vest, "Let's get this show on the road."