When Eden suddenly declared, "I kissed Brandon" in the car, I felt my blood run cold. I wasn't mad at her for what had happened between them, I had no right to be...but the thought of spending an entire evening with someone that I knew had made out with the love of my life made me want to break something.

Stay in control Barnes, you promised Eden you would be nice. Please don't let the Winter Soldier come out to play tonight.

"EDE!"

When I saw him open the door and pick Eden up to twirl her around, I gritted my teeth together and inhaled sharply.

Bastard better put her down!

I slowly started counting the different ways I could kill him with just my bare hands. I was all the way up to 15 when I saw him grab her face and kiss her on the cheek; I clenched my fists together, ready to beat him within an inch of his life.

Son of a bitch!

I felt a small surge of happiness when I saw Eden push him away from her, a disgusted look on her face.

"You know I hate when you call me that Brandon" she said, an annoyed tone in her voice.

Her exasperation didn't faze him at all, he simply laughed, "I missed you too babe...Come in, Come in"

He finally turned to face me and I got a good look at him. He had the same dark red hair as his sister and the same eyes. He was maybe 2 or 3 inches shorter than me and had a slim build. The cocky smile on his face is what pissed me off the most…he had something that I certainly didn't have…infallible confidence in himself. I could tell just by the way he had stared Eden up and down and spoke to her, that he still believed he could have her if he wanted. He had no idea how far I would go to keep that from happening. I had meant what I said when I told Eden I would fight to the death for her.

A sly smile formed on his face and he put his hand out, "Oh you must be Barney"

Asshole!

I kept the sneer from reaching my face, "It's Bucky" I said, taking his hand into my own, squeezing as hard as I could without being too obvious. I wanted Eden to see that I was really attempting to be cordial to this prick. I saw him scowl when my grip became too firm and he finally pulled his hand from mine, "Sorry, I was never good with names"

He turned his back on me and I thought to myself how dangerous of a thing that was for him to do. I felt myself on edge…just on the brink of losing it. The only thing that kept me grounded was Eden and the nervous glance she kept giving me.

He threw his arm around her and dragged her through the door, "Come on Ede, Brooke's still getting ready, maybe you can hurry her up" he said, staring at her.

Eden glanced back at me so she didn't notice that Brandon's eyes had suddenly left her face and he was now ogling her cleavage, a look of pure desire on his face. It made my blood boil to see him lusting after Eden…she was mine!

I drew my finger across my throat and pointed to him, indicating to her that Brandon was dangerously close to pushing me too far. I saw her mouth the words, "I'm sorry" and it made me even more furious that she was apologizing for his behavior.

I followed behind them, closing the door on my way but never taking my eyes off of him. He plopped down on the couch and patted the cushion next to him, "Have a seat. How long exactly has it been since we saw each other?" he said, winking at her. I don't know if he thought I didn't see it or if he just didn't care.

He doesn't think she told me about that night at his hotel room.

I was standing beside her and out of the corner of my eye I saw Eden tense up and then shoot an angry look at him, "You know exactly how long it's been Brandon" she hissed quietly.

"Ah, yes I remember now…how could I forget? That's was a wild night, wasn't it?" he said slowly before glancing my way to see how I would react. Without thinking, I took a step towards him but Eden reached out and slipped her fingers between mine to stop me, "I actually don't recall it being wild…hmm, most not have been as remarkable to me as it was to you" she shot back.

His smile never wavered, "Well….next time I'll make it more memorable"

Eden started to say something to him but Brooke suddenly appeared and she closed her mouth quickly. She had said that Brooke didn't know what had happened between her and Brandon and she wanted it to stay that way.

Brooke must have realized something wasn't quite right…she glanced around at the three of us and then glared at her brother, "What did you do?"

"Nothing, we were just catching up" he said, sticking his tongue out at Brooke. She didn't look like she was convinced but a light knock at the door pulled her gaze away from her brother.

"That must be Steve" she said, stepping away from the couch. She stopped to pat me on the back, "Hey Bucky" She suddenly lowered her voice, "You have my permission to beat the fucker's ass if he goes too far" She had an amused look on her face when she saw me smirk at her. She glanced at Eden quickly, "You look great Eden!"

Another knock at the door, a little louder this time made her smile, "Watch this" she whispered to both of us.

She made her way over to the door and I glanced at her brother sitting on the couch, he was watching her curiously. She flung open the door and there stood Steve…he reached out and hugged her before handing her a single red rose.

"Aww, thank you Steve" she said, kissing him on the cheek, "Come in, Eden and Bucky just got here" She walked towards the kitchen and started opening cabinet doors in search of something. She finally pulled a small vase out of one of them and walked the sink to fill it with water.

Steve came up to me and patted me on the back, his cheeks still flushed pink from Brooke's kiss, "Hey Buck!"

"Hey Steve" I said grinning at him. I lowered my voice, "A rose? You sure know how to make other guys look bad"

He shrugged his shoulders at me, "What can I say? I'm a romantic."

Eden had a grin on her face when he turned to her, "Hey Eden" he said, reaching out to wrap her in a tight hug. While they chatted with each other, I looked over at Brandon…he was sitting on the couch with a look of astonishment on his face, staring at Steve. Brooke sat the vase with the rose in it on the coffee table in front of him and then stuck her hand out, "Pay up"

Steve and Eden heard what she said and turned around to look at the exchange between the two. Without a word, Brandon reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, plucking a $20 bill out and passing it to Brooke.

"Thank you…that will teach you to never doubt your little sister….I can't believe you said I was just decent looking….douche!" she said.

She turned to around to us and waved the $20 bill in the air, "He didn't believe I knew Captain America" she said, winking at Steve before turning around and walking towards her bedroom.

Brandon cleared his throat, "I didn't say I didn't believe you had met him…I said I didn't believe you went on a date with him" he called after her, glancing at Eden when he heard her exhale deeply.

Eden glowered at him, "You're still the same jerk you've always been" she said, an irritated tone in her voice, "I don't know why I thought maybe you had grown up a little in the last year" She turned her back to him and let her hands find my waist.

Brandon put his hands over his chest like he was hurt by her words, "Stick and stones Ede, Sticks and stones"

I could see the anger in her eyes and that infuriated me more than anything…this guy knew exactly what buttons to push to piss her off. She closed her eyes when she felt the palm of my hand on her cheek and I slid it behind her neck to let my fingers trail along her skin. When she opened her eyes, the look of anger had dissipated somewhat. I leaned down close to her, "All you have to do is say the word Eden…I'll wipe that smug look off his face" I said quietly.

"Not if I do it first" she whispered back, a dangerous look in her eyes. I thought back to what Steve had told me about his conversation with Brooke while Eden was in the hospital. He said Brooke had told him that she was going to do exactly what Eden had instructed because she didn't want to incur her wrath.

Eden has some spirit in her…it makes her even sexier.

I looked behind her to see Brandon watching our interaction closely. The look in his eyes was a mix of anger and jealously. I leaned down to kiss her and then glanced in his direction…he looked away furiously. He had his opportunity with her and he had blown it…not for one second was I willing to let him have another chance with her. I wanted him to know that Eden was mine and no one else's.

Steve was still standing there, taking everything in; unsure of what exactly was going on. Being the good natured person that he was, he smiled before walking over to the couch to stick his hand out to Brandon, "I'm Steve Rogers, it's nice to meet you" he said.

Brandon stood up and shook his hand, a wide grin appearing on his face. "Brandon Donovan, nice to meet you too Steve"

Brooke suddenly appeared again, slipping into a black jacket, "Well everyone, let's get this show on the road"

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I know I'm dragging it out guys...just trying to figure out what direction I want to take it. Suggestions are always welcome.