"Emma, can you do something about this weather?" Steve questioned. It was currently sunny and unbearably hot, perfect conditions for our enemies to attack us, our muscles sore from the heat and the battle itself. Sweat dripped from everyone, fatigue weighing us down. I had a few cuts and bruises from the tumble I took earlier with one of the parasites; they liked to feast on the weak and innocent, infecting them with a poison to wear them down, then devouring them whole.

Clearly, they thrived in the heat and were now getting the better of us. Whether it was because of the heat or the fact that Bucky started to avoid me that made me frustrated, I huffed over the earpiece. Natasha raised her eyebrows at me, her posture more defensive beside me, ready to attack if needed.

"Sure, Steve. What would you like? Cold and dreary or snowy and freezing?" I asked, a bit harsh for everyone's liking.

"The colder, the better. These things won't be able to take it which should give us the advantage," he told me, ignoring my tone of annoyance.

"One blizzard coming right up," I grumbled. Releasing a short sigh, I inhaled raising my hands, palms up and conjured a blizzard, the cold wind and snow whipping around us.

"P-Perfect, Em. T-Try not to freeze us to death please," Nat told me, her arms hugging herself while she shivered in the cold. My body adapted to any weather condition I played with, something I couldn't figure out, especially since natural weather still affected me like it should.

"Keep it up Emma. All right guys; let's take these parasites down. Thor, Sam, cover Emma while she keeps the storm going," Steve ordered. Thor protected my front while Sam protected my back, my head falling back as the power coursed through my body, unaware of how much time passed. It wasn't until Nat and Thor were shaking me awake that I realized we had won, the blizzard fading from my mind.

"Everything okay Emma? That's the first time I've seen you lose control and you've never blacked out before," Steve stated, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, everything's fine," I lied, shrugging off his hand, stalking past Thor, Natasha, and him to the jet.

"Do you have any idea why he's avoiding her? I thought they were in love," I overheard Natasha ask Steve, causing me to be more annoyed than before. That's what I thought as well but the last few days it seemed like he didn't want to be with me anymore.

"No. Maybe they had a big fight or something," he responded. I wish that were the case but Bucky and I hardly ever argued during the last few months. In fact, we had become closer to each other. He could be bored with me, I thought to myself, sadness washing over me or worse, maybe the sex wasn't fun anymore or perhaps he didn't love me anymore.

The flight back to the compound was both silent and loud at the same time, the voices of my comrades in my ears but I disappeared into my thoughts, muffling those around me.

"Hey, I'm sure everything's okay. He might just be busy," Steve told me.

"I don't think he is. He goes out of his way to avoid me. I wish he'd just talk to me. I feel like I've done something wrong or pissed Bucky off somehow," I replied, Steve resuming a conversation with Thor. Arriving back at the compound, I headed straight to the room I shared with Bucky to the shower to rinse off the dried blood caked on my forehead, my arms and in my hair.

I didn't expect to encounter a naked Bucky who was stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his body; awkward silence filled the room as neither of us was speaking to each other.

"Hey,"

"Hey,"

The only exchange we shared before he exited the room. My blood was boiling at this point. Huffing, I stripped off my clothes and hopped in the shower, scrubbing my skin raw with anger. Tears formed and I let them roll down my face, sobs of anguish racking my body, my arms hugging my waist. I let the water pour over me as I sat on the tiled floor of the shower, everything I felt taking over. All I wanted was for Bucky to tell me what wrong or what I did to upset him.

"Emma? Oh my god! Are you okay? Baby, are you hurt? Did you fall?" Bucky asked, entering the bathroom again. He opened the shower door and approached me, concern etched all over his face as he tried to inspect my body for any broken bones. I pushed his hands away, pulling myself into a ball, refusing to look at him.

"What? Did I-,"

"Seriously? Do I really have to be injured in order for you to talk to me? I'm not injured by the way since you're so concerned about it," I snapped, reaching up to turn off the water.

"Why are you so upset? All I did was check on you. I heard crying and I thought you had slipped. Hey! Emma! Don't walk away from me!" he replied, following me to the bedroom.

"I'm upset! What about you? You've been avoiding me for days. Did I piss you off? What did I do to you that made you not want to talk to me?" I yelled, going over to my dresser to pull out a change of clothes.

"Nothing. I'm not mad at you Emma. Come on. Can I make sure you're not hurt?"

"Nothing. Then what is it? Do you…Do you not love me anymore?" I asked, turning in a full circle revealing no injuries.

"Me? Not love you? That's a ridiculous question. Of course I love you,"

"Okay, well you sure haven't been acting like it the past few days," I snapped, pulling on my underwear, the elastic slapping against my skin. The next thing I know, Bucky was upon me, his hands gripping my sides tight. I tried to push him off but he secured me in a tight embrace, my movements becoming futile.

"Stop fighting me. I'm sorry if you felt like I didn't love you. Let me make it up to you. Please, Emma," he told me, lifting my head up to meet his steely blue gaze. He leaned in to kiss me, my defenses crumbling at the passion of it, of the way he held me. He pulled back, lust in his eyes. His hands drifted down to my underwear, sliding it off. All my fighting with him and I hadn't noticed he was still only in a towel, the cloth dropping to the floor as he unwrapped it from his waist.

He kissed me again, his tongue slipping inside my mouth, my body instinctively melting into his arms. He lifted me up, his hands squeezing my ass, deepening the kiss. Bucky carried me to the bed, lying me down on the mattress. He lips moved to my neck, one hand slipping between my legs and inserting a finger into me. I whimpered with pleasure, my back arching a little. He stroked me, more wetness drenching his hand. His mouth covered one of my breasts, my nails digging into his back.

I started moaning as he worked me, his lips meeting mine again, his beard scratching my chin. Removing his hand, he centered himself and sheathed his cock inside my body, his thrust nice and slow.

"Oh, Bucky. Yes! You feel so good," I cried out, his name rolling off my tongue as we climaxed, his seed spilling into me, the stickiness of it dripping onto the inside of my thighs.

We were both breathing hard, our hands linked together, sharing a few kisses until he pulled out, shifting my body so I cuddled him, one hand over his waist, the other resting on his chest.

"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. I didn't mean to but it's just I've got a lot on my mind," he told me.

"It's okay. I wish…you would have…talked to me," I stated, fatigue setting in, the battle having taken its toll on me.

"I can't It's a surprise," I heard him whisper before I fell asleep unaware of his special plans.

"Emma, doll, wake up. I need you to come downstairs," Bucky's voice roused me from sleep. I groaned and opened my eyes, squinting at him. He was fully dressed, a crisp royal blue shirt and black trousers on.

"What time is it?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Almost midnight. Come on. Put on a nice dress and meet me downstairs," Bucky told me, kissing the top of my head.

"Okay, what are you up to?" I replied. He only winked at me and left the room making me only more suspicious. I got out of bed, selecting a burgundy, satin dress and a matching bra and panties to go under it. I did my make-up, keeping it light and left my hair cascading down my back once brushed. Descending the stairs, I found Bucky waiting for me at the bottom. He extended his hand for me to take and led me to the theater room where a pillow fort waited for us.

"Bucky, it's beautiful," I told him as we laid down in it, the lights creating a warm and inviting mood.

"I'm glad you like it. Emma? I'd like to ask you something,"

"What is it?"

He took a deep breath, dragging a hand through his hair, a sign of being nervous about something.

"The past few months have got me thinking about things, about our relationship, about the future. Now since the wedding date, I've found myself falling deeper in love with you and I've realized I'd do anything to protect you, to love you,"

"You've become an important part of my life and I don't know what I'd do without you. The thing, the question I want to ask you…it's very important. It's part of why I've been avoiding you. It's something I've been thinking about for a while,"

"Emma, I love you with all my heart, all my soul and I don't want to live my life without you in it. So…" he paused to pull out a small box from his pocket. He opened it reveal a beautiful emerald cut ring with a sparkling, medium-sized diamond, two smaller ones on either side of it, the band itself gold, which only made the diamonds sparkle more. I gasped, tears of happiness welling in my eyes.

"Emma Charlotte Carter, will you marry me?" he proposed.

"Yes. A million times yes," I answered. He kissed me, pulling back and lifting the ring from the box to slip it on my finger. We kissed again, the future for us bright.