Bucky POV

Eden seemed distracted today...ever since this morning at breakfast when I asked about her lease. As we drove to SHIELD headquarters, I kept looking over at her...trying to figure out why she had been so quiet. I regretted bringing it up...she had seemed faintly upset ever since. I didn't know what made me bring it up in the first place.

You know damn well what it was Bucky! That damn dream!

I smiled as the memory of the dream...it had been the best one I had ever had before and the thought of it still made my heart beat faster.

I was walking through the front door of a home I didn't recognize. Without thinking, I laid my keys down on a small table and kicked off my boots before making my way down a hallway.

I didn't recognize the place but at the same time it seemed oddly familiar...comforting even.

My feet were leading me through the strange home even though my mind was yelling at me to stop. I was looking around myself as I navigated my way through the home...catching glimpses of framed photographs on the wall.

There were photographs of me and Eden smiling in locations I didn't recognize...her and Brooke on a beach standing in front of the ocean...me and Steve with our arms around each other's shoulders grinning at the camera.

The one that had me screaming at my body to stop moving was the one with Eden in a beautiful white dress holding a simple bouquet of lilies...she was smiling at me as I stood in front of her dressed in a black suit.

My feet kept moving though...guiding me through the familiar, yet unfamiliar, house. I could hear noises coming from deeper inside and I guessed that was where my body was taking me.

I could hear Eden humming to herself as I reached the open doorway which turned out to be a brightly lit kitchen. She was standing in front of a window that overlooked what I assumed was the backyard, rocking something back and forth while she hummed.

"Eden" I called to her.

She looked over her shoulder at me and smiled, "Shhh!" she whispered, looking down at her arms before turning back around.

I couldn't figure out why she was shushing me but whatever it was suddenly made my heart start pounding. I made my way over to her quietly, trying not to make a sound. I came up to her side and gasped when I saw what she had in her arms.

A small baby was laying in her arms...a little boy with brown curly hair...his eyes closed and his lips curled up in a smile. I looked down at Eden in shock as she whispered, "Welcome home Bucky"

I lay in bed a long time after I woke up...trying to remember every single detail of the dream. It was 8:30 when I finally rolled out of bed gently to go shower. Eden was still dead asleep...we had stayed up later than usual last night. I smiled to myself as I remembered what had kept us up so late...I had decided last night that laying on the couch naked, feeding each other fudge, was my new favorite way to spend my evenings.

Watching her making the bed that morning had brought the memory of that dream back...something so simple had brought such strong emotions to me. It scared the hell out of me how much I wanted to live a normal life with her. That life was so close to my grasp but Milton Kaine could easily destroy it...rip everything away from me in moment. I tried to push those thoughts out of my mind and only focus on her...just Eden.

As I was cooking breakfast for her that morning, I could only think about one thing: that baby boy in her arms...our baby. That dream had been the life I desperately wanted for us...curiosity got the best of me and I had let the question slip before truly thinking.

February was not far off!

I had been relieved when she had said the decision of where we lived would be something both of us needed to make. I knew what I wanted...I had dreamed it last night and had been thinking about it nonstop since.

A home. A wife. A baby.

She seemed happy when I had mentioned the idea of buying a house together. I could see the wheels turning in her head and her entire demeanor brightened at the thought.

It might be time to put that crazy idea of yours in motion Bucky. Can't buy a house until...

"Most people don't buy a house together until they're married Bucky" she had responded. It was like she had read my mind and for a second I was worried I had said the last thought out loud.

I didn't want her to know I had already been thinking about that exact same thing so I said, "I'm not like most people"

She laughed softly but kept her head down, "You got that right...you are definitely one of a kind" she said quietly.

I had caught a slight lilt of something in her voice...almost like disappointment. I watched her curiously as she stood up and put the dishes in the dishwasher. She didn't look angry...but she certainly wasn't happy with the answer I had given her.

Maybe she's been thinking about it too...about getting marr...

Her voice shook me out of my thought. I looked up to see her with a very forced smile on her face, "Well, let's go do a little training"

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EDEN POV

I felt strong arms grab me around the middle and I struggled to break free from the tight grip Bucky had on me. Before I could get out of his grip, he kicked my feet out from under me and I fell hard to the ground.

For the second day in a row, I found myself flat on my back with the wind knocked out of me. I groaned when I hit the mat and laid there for several seconds looking up at the ceiling wondering why the hell I was putting myself through this shit.

Because you want to know how to protect yourself...and Bucky.

I looked up to see the outstretched hand in front of me reaching down to offer assistance. I scowled at the smug smile on Bucky's face and slapped his hand away before rolling over and getting to my feet. He chuckled softly and nodded his head.

"Again" he demanded.

We had been going at it for nearly 45 minutes now and I was sweating profusely. I thought I was actually doing okay for a while until I realized that Bucky was holding back...he was being very careful in not losing control.

I had groaned when he took his shirt off and thrown it down on the side of the mat before turning to face me. I was already panting hard from exertion but the sight of Bucky's sweaty, bare torso had sucked the last little bit of breath I had out of me.

Each time he had grabbed me since then, I had been distracted and gotten my ass knocked to the mat over and over again. I knew I would fair far better if he would just put his damn shirt back on. I hated that he had that effect on me...learning to fight was important to me and so far it seemed like a game to Bucky. He had been the one to ask me to let him show me some things and now I was starting to regret it.

I shook my head as I faced him and attempted to clear my mind. He had that damn smirk on his face and for once it was actually more annoying than cute.

Stop staring at his damn chest and fight him. You have to show him you can take care of yourself.

I could tell Bucky was still holding back and didn't want to risk hurting me or going too far. I thought twice about whether or not I should inform him that he didn't need to be so gentle with me...Clint certainly wasn't. I didn't want him kicking Clint's ass for it though, so I kept my mouth shut.

I had seen Bucky fight Roland and Christine and he didn't have that same intense look now as he did when he was with them. He gave it all he got when he sparred with them...but I only got halfhearted pushes to the ground and smug ass smiles.

He thinks you're weak...that you can't do this...that he will hurt you. SHOW HIM!

I knew Bucky would never take me seriously unless he saw what I could really do though. He stood in place on the mat as I walked around him. I had made the decision that it wasn't going to be me flat on back this next time. Bucky was going down...even if it was just once.

He watched me carefully...we had been practicing defensive moves. He would attack me and I would try to counter the attack. This time I had decided I was going on the offensive and take him by surprise. I breathed slowly and kept my eyes locked on him.

The moment he lunged for me, I side stepped him quickly and smirked at the look of surprise on his face.

Before he could make another move towards me, I advanced on him and threw a punch. His eyes widened and he stepped back quickly to avoid the hit. I faked a left hook and when he moved to dodge it, I punched him in the gut with my right before sweeping his feet out from under him. I was on him the moment his back hit the mat, straddling his waist with a triumphant smile on my face.

I felt his hands on my waist and he gazed up at me with a look of pride on his face. Before I knew what was happening, he thrust his hips up and rolled me over on my back, covering me with his body.

"Where the hell did that come from?" he asked as he grinned down at me.

I was trying to not let the feeling of his body on top of mine get to me...this was not the time or the place. I closed my eyes and concentrated hard on erasing those feelings of lust from my mind...I needed him to understand that this was important to me. I would not let my body betray me...not this time. The warm tingle spreading through the lower half of my body pissed me off and I bit my tongue hard out of anger. I had to make Bucky understand.

I finally opened my eyes and I knew he could tell something wasn't quite right.

"You weren't taking me seriously" I finally said, putting both hands on his chest and pushing hard, "You said you wanted to teach me but I feel like you've just been toying with me. You're not giving me your all Bucky. I need you to really fight with me"

He stared down at me incredulously, "I don't want to hurt you Eden"

I pushed at him again and he finally pulled himself off and let me get out from under him. He sat back on the mat and looked up at me as I stood. He wasn't grinning anymore...now he just looked confused.

"Do you think Milton Kaine will think twice about hurting me?" I said as I paced around the mat, keeping my eyes on him to see his reaction. I knew it was a low blow bringing Kaine up but I also knew that it would get Bucky's attention...get him really thinking.

His eyes narrowed at the thought but he didn't say anything so I continued, "What would he do to me if he found me Bucky? Huh?"

He stood up from the mat and I could see the anger in his face now. I knew I should stop pushing but I needed to get through to him and this was the only way I knew how.

Careful Eden!

"Clint said Kaine was particularly fond of knives. What do you think Bucky? Would he make my death quick and painless or slow and agonizing? He could slit my throat...maybe a single thrust to the gut so I could bleed out slowly. Before the end came, he would have his fun with me and I'm sure I would die screaming"

Bucky was now shaking furiously and I saw his fist clenched tightly at his side but still he remained silent. He was dangerously close to losing it but I kept going...picking at the scab so to speak. I knew he was almost to the point of realizing what needed to be done.

Just a little more Eden. Just one more push!

I stood in front of him and stared him straight in the eye, "Maybe he would just do the same thing to me that HYDRA did to you Bucky...wipe my memory. I don't think I'm assassin material but they could turn me into their plaything and pass me around"

That finally did it...I saw that intense look in Bucky's eye...the one he had when he fought with Christine and Roland.

"Shut up" he seethed angrily before snatching me up by the wrist and pulling me close to him, "I don't want to ever here you talk like that again. Do you hear me Eden? Never again!"

I pulled my wrist from his tight grip and rubbed it, "Then do what you asked me to let you do"

We stared at each other for a long time before he finally nodded at me. The anger was still there but he was back in control.

"Again" he said roughly.

This time Bucky gave me his all...when I tried to punch him, he blocked it and knocked my arm away hard, causing me to stumble back. I winced at the pain but quickly recovered my stance and faced him. He advanced on me and when I tried to hit him again, he caught my arm and jerked it behind my back. I hissed in pain but didn't call out for him to release me. My eyes watered at the pain shooting up my arm but I willed it away and relaxed my body so I could try and remember what Clint had taught me to do in this situation.

Bucky chest was heaving up and down against my back and I felt him lean down in my ear, "Is this what you wanted? You want me to hurt you?"

I gritted my teeth, "Yes!"

I felt him hesitate against me and it gave me the opportunity I needed to counter the move and knock him on his ass again. I straddled his waist again and looked down at him with a sly smile. His eyes didn't look angry anymore, just confused.

"Thank you" I said to him quietly.

"For what?" he said hoarsely.

I leaned down to kiss him softly on the lips, "For finally taking me seriously"

I pulled back and watched him close his eyes and shake his head at me, "All that...what you said...was just to make me angry...just to push me over the edge?"

I nodded my head at him.

He let out a deep sigh, "That was a very dangerous thing to do Eden. You know how I get when I go to that place. I could have hurt you...I could..."

I put my finger up to quiet him, "First off, you would never hurt me Bucky Barnes. I somehow got lucky enough to be loved by you. Secondly, as you can now see, I can take care of myself. Clint is a good teacher Bucky and I was always an excellent student. I understand that it's hard for you to be rough with me. If you're not okay with it, you could always stick to teaching me how to fight with knives. Clint said that you would be the best person to teach me hand to hand combat with a knife. I know Kaine likes to use them when he tortures..."

I let the words taper off when I saw the look in his eyes...he seemed to be thinking very hard about what I had just said and he finally nodded, "Fine. I'll teach you to handle knives"

I smiled at him and tried to pull myself off of him but he grabbed me by the waist and flipped me over...once again I was covered by his body, only this time I wasn't angry when he looked down at me with that smirk.

"Just so you know luck has nothing to do with me loving you" he murmured softly. He leaned down and bushed his lips across mine before lifting himself up off me and sticking his hand out to me. This time I took it and let him pull me up until I pressed tightly against his bare chest.

He looked down at me, "You know you're extremely sexy when you fight, right?"

I blushed, "Damn right...you ready to teach me to be a badass with some knives?"

A sly smile crossed his face, "Absolutely"

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Bucky POV

This woman is fucking amazing!

I stood in front of Eden watching as she mirrored my actions, the knife in her hand held tight as we eyed each other. Clint was absolutely right, Eden was a natural. We had been working for over an hour with the knives and in that short amount of time, she had proven herself to me. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that my Eden was indeed a badass.

She watched me carefully as I showed her how to hold the knife and move with it. She was surprisingly quick on her feet and each time I would lunge at her with my weapon, she would skirt just out of my reach and grin at me.

I finally put away the dull practice knives and pulled out the real thing...a set of sharpened knives that I used for teaching my recruits how to throw. I saw Eden raise her eyebrow and look at me curiously.

I didn't say anything...just simply pointed to the wooden target on the wall to her right. She glanced over and grinned when she realized what I meant to do. There were taped off lines in front of the target already so I took her to the closest one, which was 10 feet away.

I showed her how to pull her arm back just right and twist her body as she threw. On her first two attempts, the knife handle hit the target and it bounced to the floor. The 3rd time was the charm though and she nailed it. The knife flew through the air and hit the wood with a loud resounding thunk. Eden turned to me with a wide smile on her face and I motioned her to continue.

I watched her as she continued throwing the knives and grew more and more proud as she moved further back and still continued to hit the wooden target. I stood to her left and watched her as she concentrated on aiming at her target. Her long blonde hair was still in the braid but small wisps had come out and were plastered to her face and neck. She wore a simple black tank top and matching black sweat pants. From this angle, I could just make out that dandelion tattoo on her shoulder blade. I watched her rear back her arm and throw another knife. I couldn't help but admire the view as she bent down to pick up another one to throw.

She must have sensed I was staring at her...once she threw her last knife, she turned to me with a smirk on her face. I swallowed hard as she made her way over to me...a confident look on her face. When she reached me, my hands went instinctually to her waist and hers rested lightly on my chest.

She whispered, "See something you like?" I saw her glance down between us and realized that she had noticed the swelling in my pants...just watching her had excited me.

I pulled her closer and leaned down to murmur in her ear, "I think we're done for the day. How about a shower?" I felt her shiver in my arms and when I looked down at her she was nodding her head at me.

Once we had picked up all the knives and put them back into the case I carried it back to the storage closet and locked it up. Eden had picked up our bag and was making her way to the women's locker room, her hair now unbraided and falling in waves down her back.

"Where do you think you're going?" I called to her. I had high hopes that she would come with me to the men's locker room...apparently she had other ideas.

She glanced over her shoulder, "To take a shower" When she noticed the frown on my face she smiled, "You coming"

Fucking amazing indeed!

That was all the invitation I needed and I quickly ran after her, laughing when I heard her shriek and dash into the locker room.

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Christine POV

I couldn't believe I had left my damn phone at SHIELD headquarters in my gym bag. I had stormed off yesterday without it and didn't realize it until late last night. Now here I was on a Saturday morning, driving all the way to work to retrieve it.

I kept thinking about Sergeants Barnes' whore of a girlfriend and what she had said to me yesterday.

"Are you willing to die for a good fuck? You keep this shit up and I will end you bitch! Not be a good girl and fuck off?

Who did that fucking cunt think she was talking to me like that?

So, I'll admit it, I probably was partially to blame for her harsh words. I had been lusting after my instructor's fine ass since the first day of training. I had never had a problem getting a man to pay attention to me before so when he didn't initially respond to my advances, I saw it as a challenge...a game actually. My daddy had always taught me that if you wanted something, all you had to do was go after it and make it your own.

He wasn't an easy one to break and even with the sexual innuendos and the smoldering looks I gave him, I still hadn't been able to get him where I wanted him...in my bed. Watching him fighting that nitwit Roland completely shirtless yesterday had brought a familiar heat to my belly. He was so fucking hot, even with that metal arm of his. I loved to spar with him...the intense look on his face...the way he gritted his teeth. I had fantasized for many weeks now that one of our sparring sessions would end up with me flat on my back, his naked and hard body on top of me...grinding me into the mat as he held my arms above my head.

I don't know what he even saw in that girlfriend of his anyway. She was too short...too tiny...too weak.

Not that weak Christine...she managed to get a nice grip on your wrist yesterday.

I scowled, remembering how she had latched onto me and then released me so quickly I had stumbled back. If he hadn't suddenly appeared and ordered me to leave, I would have given that bitch a piece of my mind. I growled in frustration as I made my way through headquarters.

I was surprised to see the light was on in the training room when I arrived to it. As far as I knew, no one else was allowed to use the room that had been assigned to Sergeant Barnes for his training purposes.

Oh who gives a fuck Christine! Just get your bag and go home.

I made my way over to the locker room where I had stored my bag and phone yesterday during training. I was just about to enter when I heard a giggle coming from inside. I slowed down to a stop and listened again...unsure if I had imagined it. There was another feminine giggle followed by the sound of a deep masculine chuckle.

Hmm, apparently on the weekends anything is game at SHIELD.

I shook my head and chuckled to myself before walking into the locker room. I could hear the showers running and muffled whispers from inside. Whoever was in the showers was not any of my concern. I quietly made my way over to my locker and retrieved my bag.

I was walking out when I heard the low moan, "Bucky"

What the fuck!?

I sat my bag down by the door and tip toed back to the showers, careful to stay out of sight. I almost moaned in pleasure when I peeked my head around the partition. Sergeant Barnes' bare ass was even better than I could imagine...watching the soapy water run down his back nearly did me in completely.

His muscles tightened with each thrust of his hips and I stood transfixed at the sight. I gritted my teeth when I heard him moan her name in pleasure, "Eden"

It should have been my name he was gasping so loudly for...not that scrawny little blonde. He shifted positions and I suddenly had a side view of them. He was behind her, his metal arm wrapped around her waist while the other cupped her breast. She had her head thrown back, exposing her neck to him so he could trail kisses up and down the skin. She whimpered when he pulled out of her and turned her around to face him. That movement allowed me to see exactly how well-endowed he was and I had to put my hand over my mouth to silence the low moan that threatened to escape. I watched as he reached down and scooped her up with his metal arm and let her slide down onto him. She moaned his name again loudly and wrapped her skinny arms around his neck.

I bit my tongue hard and finally had to turn away. I would never admit to anyone but myself how jealous I was watching him pleasuring her in that shower. I wanted that to be me...I needed that to be me. I stalked over to my bag and yanked it up on my shoulder...glowering as I heard him moan her name again and declare his love for her.

Stupid cunt!