The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes the next morning was the ring Bucky have given me laying on the nightstand next to my bed.

After making love last night, I had laid back on the bed next to Bucky, my hand raised so I could look up at the ring.

"it's my promise to you…a promise that I will never leave you again"

I had smiled as I remembered Bucky's words from earlier in the evening. Bucky had raised his arm until our hands touched; his strong, large one made mine look so tiny and frail. I had slid my fingers through his and smiled, "I love your hands" I had whispered into the comfortable silence.

"Hand"

"What?" I asked, unsure if I had missed something that he said.

"Hand…you love my hand" he said, pulling his right hand from mine and rolling on his side to face me. He raised his left arm up in its place, flexing the robotic, metal fingers. I glanced over at him and noticed the frown on his face.

I rolled over on my side to face him, and pulled his metal arm down to lie between us. Bucky watched me closely as I let my fingers roam up and down his arm, tracing where the metal pieces connected to each other, all the way up to the scars. He inhaled deeply when I ran the tips of my fingers over them, familiarizing myself with each one.

He exhaled the breath he been holding, "It really doesn't bother you, does it?" I tore my gaze away from the scars to look at him and noticed the expression on his face, a mix of confusion and amazement.

"Nope, it doesn't" I said, shaking my head and smiling at him.

"Why?"

I didn't even have to think about it, I simply reached over and took the metal hand in mine, "I love you Bucky and this is a part of you….I cherish it as much as I cherish the rest of you."

That earned me a small smile from him, he raised both his hands to his face and I heard him laugh, "How?"

"Excuse me, what's so funny?" I asked, not understanding what he was asking.

He rubbed his hands down his face and rolled over suddenly, covering me with his body, "How did I get lucky enough to find you? What did I do to deserve your love?" He kissed me and then pulled back to look down at me adoringly.

I put both hands on either side of his face, "That's funny, I keep asking myself the same thing about you."

We had spent the rest of the evening caressing each other…whispering loving words back and forth. I had watched Bucky fall asleep, his face relaxing into a peaceful slumber. Eventually I had grown tired as well and had rolled over, slipping the ring off my finger and laying it next to my phone on the table. He stirred slightly when I scooted back into the curve of his muscled body and pulled his metal arm up and placed it across my stomach. I felt him bury his face into the nape of my neck and mumble something in his sleep…it almost sounded like he had said "Perfect"

I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face, safe and secure in his strong arms.

Now the morning sun was streaming in and I was squinting past the beautiful ring to read the numbers on the clock.

8:00am

It was too early to be awake on a Saturday morning. I glanced over at Bucky…at some point in the night he had rolled over and was now facing away from me…the blanket had slipped down his body and all I could see was his muscled back and long brown hair. I smiled and then lay back in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. My smiled vanished when I started thinking about what lie ahead later that night.

I have to tell Bucky about Brandon. I don't want it to come up tonight and him not have some kind of warning first.

I wasn't sure how Bucky would react to the news that I had once went out on a date and made out with my best friends brother...the same guy who we would be spending the evening with tonight. I wasn't worried he would be mad; I was more concerned with how he would act around Brandon.

I rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom, smiling when I saw Bucky's toiletries sitting on the counter next to mine. After I had showered and did my hair and makeup, I tip toed quietly out of the bathroom and saw Bucky was still sleeping. I unwrapped the towel from around myself and threw it into the laundry basket before slipping into my bra and panties. I quickly threw some jeans and a sweater on and grabbed my socks and shoes before leaving the bedroom quietly.

I had decided while I was in the shower that I would go pick up some muffins from the bakery down the street to surprise Bucky with breakfast in bed. It was a beautiful day outside and I smiled as I walked down the street. Halloween was only a few days away and I enjoyed seeing the pumpkins and other decorations in the windows of each store.

When I got to the bakery, Louisa, the owner, selected two blueberry muffins from the display and packed them in a brown paper bag for me. When I got back to my apartment, I went over to the mailboxes to retrieve my mail. I couldn't remember the last time I had checked my box and it was stuffed to the brim. When I stepped through my front door, I could smell fresh coffee brewing. I dropped my purse by the door and made my way into the kitchen. Bucky had his bare back to me and I noticed his hair was damp...he was pouring himself a cup of coffee and without turning to me he asked, "Would you like me to pour you a cup?"

He must have gotten up right after I left.

"Yes please" I said unhappily, disappointed that I would be able to surprise him in bed with the fresh blueberry muffin.

He noticed the tone in my voice and turned around, "What's wrong?"

I raised he brown paper bag for him to see, "I was trying to surprise you with breakfast in bed. I didn't think you would wake up before I got back."

He smirked at me and handed me a cup of coffee, "Consider me surprised"

I pulled both muffins from the bag and laid them on napkins so we could eat. While Bucky devoured his I sorted through the pile of mail. Bill…bill…bill…junk…junk…bill...wait, what's this?! The envelope had the return address listed for my car insurance company. I ripped it open to find the check for my totaled SUV inside.

Wow, just as I expected…not nearly as much as I was hoping for.

Bucky noticed the disappointed look on my face and asked what was wrong. I showed him the check, explaining to him that I was hoping for a lot more. This would only cover half of what I thought I would need to replace my vehicle. I really didn't want to have a car note but it looks like I wasn't going to have a choice.

Somehow I let Bucky talk me into going that morning to look for a new car. We walked around the car lot together holding hands, peeking into the windows, oohing and ahhing over vehicles I knew I could never afford. We eventually came across a black SUV that caught both our eyes. It was the newest model of my previous vehicle but it was the top of the line version and way out of my price range. The salesman had unlocked the door, letting us peek inside. Even though I had told Bucky it cost more than I wanted to spend, he insisted that I at least test drive it and of course, I loved it.

"Do you like it?" Bucky asked quietly when we returned to the car lot. We were standing a few feet from the SUV, the salesman was staring us down, a wide smile on his face as he watched Bucky talk to me.

"Well yeah, of course….but I can't afford it Bucky. It's just too much" I said.

"I have a proposition for you….let me pay for half of it" he said, immediately putting his hands up In the air to stop me from interrupting before he finished what he was saying, "Steve suggested I buy myself a car a few weeks ago. You don't have to drive to work every day but I do. It would be nice to not have to bum a ride from Steve all the time. It could be our car and we would both get what we want" he finished.

I knew when he said "we would both get what we want" that he really meant I could get the car I wanted and he could justify spending a ridiculous amount of money on me. I had to admit it though, what he said did make sense. I worked from home so I didn't need a car to get to and from work but now that he was training for SHIELD, he did need transportation. Before, I had only driven my SUV when I needed to go get something that wasn't within walking distance of my apartment or had to go out of town.

He could see me mulling it over, "Come on woman, you know I'm right" he said, smirking at me.

I sighed, "Fine" He had leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead, "But don't get used to this Bucky, I told you, I didn't want you buying me a bunch of expensive things"

An hour later, I was driving back to my apartment…Bucky laughed at me each time I stopped at a red light and I started to play with all the gadgets my new SUV had.

My phone beeped just as we stepped through the door of my apartment. I pulled the phone from my pocket to read the text message.

Brooke: Can you and Bucky be at my apartment at 7? Brandon say's "Hi" by the way.

Shit! I almost forgot…I have to tell Bucky.

I ignored the last part of her message and quickly typed out a response.

Eden: Sure, we'll be there by 7, see you then.

I swallowed hard and forced a smile when I looked up at Bucky, "Brooke wants us there by 7" I said.

He nodded, "Well, that means we have a little more time to ourselves before we have to get ready"

He took my hand and pulled me towards the living room, grabbing the remote before he sat down, "I plan on spending the rest of my afternoon with you and the Goodfellas"

I could hardly say no to that.

I have to tell him after the movie.