Disclaimer: I own nothing Captain America-related, not even Bucky Barnes…though I might consider asking Marvel to loan them and the rest of the Avengers to me for a while. Until then, only original characters and plots/ideas are mine.

AN: A nice bit of fluff in this chapter. Please enjoy and don't forget to review. Thanks.

Chapter 11: A Little Bit Closer:

Anna wasn't entirely sure how to handle things between her and Bucky, after they'd returned from their trip out.

Once they'd gotten home, Bucky had nearly broken down in front of her. Alarmed and worried about him, Anna had given him a serious pep-talk, one that he desperately needed and deserved.

But then there had been the hug. It had been meant to make him feel better about himself, and just as she'd thought that she had gotten through to him, things changed. Instead, the moment the hug had ended, he'd vanished into his workout room and locked the door behind him.

She didn't see him since, though she certainly heard him beating the crap out of the punching bag a few times. Twice, when she'd passed by the door of the workout room, she could hear him muttering various things in Russian as he worked out his anger. She might not have known what he was saying, but she was pretty sure that they weren't good things, just as she was sure that interrupting him was a very bad idea.

As morning had turned towards afternoon, Anna tried her best to get him to come out, but no avail. She offered him some of the pastries, and asked if he was going to come out for lunch, and got no reply. In the end, she gave up and decided to just leave out a bowl of snacks on the dining room table for him to help himself to when he got hungry.

Left on her own, Anna had flopped herself down on her bed and tried to figure things out.

It had started out as such a nice morning. She'd researched how far away the nearest eatery was, and was relatively prepared with a quick getaway or escape route if Bucky acted up, so she was somewhat confident that she could handle things. Not that she wasn't nervous about taking Bucky outside, but by then, it had been too late to change her mind.

As they headed onto the sidewalk, her nervousness had settled down and she began to relax and calm down. The day was beautiful: warm sunshine, few clouds, and the scent of damp plants filled the air. It had been wonderful, being able to enjoy it.

Partway into their walk, Anna felt Bucky's left hand slip into hers. Surprised, she stiffened a little, but when she felt his fingers trembling, she let it be. This little venture may have been his idea, but she now realized that being out in the open was rather nerve-wracking for him, especially when he thought HYDRA was probably still looking for him.

But it wasn't long before the tremble in his hand faded, and she managed to glimpse a flicker of relief and relaxation on his face as he began to calm down and enjoy his surroundings. The tension in his shoulders flowed away, and there was even a tiny, eager smile on his face the instant they got close to an eatery, where he caught the scent of fresh pastries in the air.

She'd watched in fascination as he got a look that she'd seen on his face several times before. The smells in the air had triggered a memory, and it seemed to be a happy one. Bucky never told her about the memories that came back, and she decided not to pry –he would tell her when he was ready. It was simply nice to see him happy.

Anna had come back to herself when Bucky led her inside, practically dragging her to get there. It was like a young child who knew something good was in store, but only if they moved fast enough.

The instant they were through the door, Bucky removed his sunglasses to get a better look at the displays, his face lighting up at the sight of the delights inside the glass case. Anna had forced herself not to laugh at the sight of a former assassin acting like a kid in a candy shop, almost literally.

To, to keep him from letting lose to buy whatever it was he wanted, Anna had firmly told him to restrain himself, and that they were going to have breakfast first. He had pouted slightly, but didn't argue as he ordered himself a coffee.

Sure that she had gotten a bit of control over his sweet tooth (at least temporarily), Anna ordered bagels and cream cheese for their morning meal. Bucky made quick work of his, and some of hers, before he was full.

Watching Bucky wolf through his food, Anna suddenly experienced her own little flashback. She was suddenly back babysitting her little cousins, watching them eat the ice cream sundae or slice of pizza that she'd secretly bought them as a treat. Her aunts and uncles would flip out if they ever found out how much junk food she had spoiled her littlest cousins with, but the little ones always knew a good thing when they had it, so they said nothing to give themselves (or Anna) away.

After the bagels were gone, Anna finally released Bucky to go to the pastry counter and look through the tempting, colorful pieces that sat there. It was fun, watching him struggle to pick out the ones he wanted most, and when he finally decided, she knew that they would have to make a second trip in the near future. There had to be half a dozen things he wanted to buy, but couldn't.

Not that she was any better. Anna's sweet tooth was notorious in the family, and she had a particular love for any type of fancy dessert, especially if it included fruit. In her mind, the fruit made it healthier, even if the scale back in her old apartment had stated otherwise.

While one of the male employees began placing their order into a large carry box, a customer had come in, his eyes roving throughout the café as though he were searching for something in particular. Anna saw a few of the waitresses stiffen or make faces like they wanted to groan out loud, but didn't dare in front of the other customers.

She was beginning to wonder what was going on when the stranger saw her standing by the register, his eyes sparking with interest as he began to hone in on her. For some reason, he'd decided that flirting with her was the way to go.

"Hi," he greeted her with what he assumed was a flirtatious smile.

All Anna could think of was 'um, no,' as she tried not to cringe. He wasn't bad looking, but looks weren't everything (as was clearly the case).

"Look," she said, glaring at the offender. "I'm not interested. Go bother someone else, okay? I'm busy."

The jerk had the nerve to look surprised and offended at her negative response. "Aw, come on! It's just some fun."

After that, he tried some of the more common, and rather cheesy, pickup lines. When that happened, Anna finally had enough. She'd always been too busy to date, but flirting was something she knew enough about to recognize a guy who clearly needed help with it.

"What part of not interested can you not understand?" she snapped, crossing her arms and eying him like he was something that needed to be scraped off her shoe.

What happened next was a surprise: the idiot slapped her ass, smiling the whole time.

Now, Anna was no stranger to bad flirters, but in all the times she'd been cornered by a guy, she had never encountered this before. Sparing with words was one thing –being physically harassed was something else altogether. She could only guess that the reason she'd been spared this kind of encounter before this was because she'd always been in a group, some of them guys who always looked out for her. Guys tended to leave women alone if they had male friends around her.

That day, she had another kind of guy looking out for her, and when he saw what was happening, he looked more than pissed off –he looked down right murderous.

Faster than she thought possible, Bucky's left hand caught the offender's arm, his eyes cold as ice. "Don't do that again," he calmly ordered, squeezing the man's wrist to emphasize his point.

She watched as the other man's smugness turned to worry and fear. Bucky was a rather intimidating figure, so it was no wonder the other guy looked like he wanted to wet his pants.

It wasn't long before the man's fear gave way to anger, but before he could say something that would only take Bucky's anger one step further, Anna reached out to gently touch her protector's hand.

"It's okay," she whispered, causing him to look at her. "I think he gets the point."

She knew that her expression silently begged him not to make a scene, to not cause trouble. The last thing they needed was a group of police officers showing up, asking questions and causing them to be the center of attention. Phil Coulson would never forgive her if that happened, and the last thing Anna needed was to get SHIELD involved, especially when they were trying to keep their existence hidden.

To her relief, Bucky loosened his grip, letting the man go with nothing more than a bruised wrist. His opponent rubbed his aching hand, gave him one last glare, then swiftly left without a backward glance.

"Uh, sir?" a girl behind the counter squeaked. "Your order is ready."

Bucky took a calming breath, and when he was calm enough, he turned with a slight, polite smile on his face. "Thank you," he quietly said, trying to look friendly.

The girl smiled weakly back. "You know, we've been waiting forever for someone to teach that guy a lesson. I've lost count of how many times he's come in here, harassing the girls who work here and our female customers. I'm glad someone finally stood up to him."

Anna, of course, knew that there were other people in the café. She could see the women nodding and looking grateful for Bucky, though some of the men looked resentful at not being the one to get rid of the arrogant ass instead of Bucky.

Looking over at her protector, she was amused to see he was blushing. "It was nothing," he muttered as Anna took him by the arm with one hand, and the box of pastries with the other.

Realizing that now would be a good time to get out while they could, Anna cheerful declared to the crowd, "Time to head home. Thanks for everything," as she nodded to the woman behind the counter.

With a final wave, they headed out, eager to get home as fast as possible.

The whole walk home, Anna had lost herself in thoughts that event. But the one thing that stuck with her the most was the fact that Bucky had been quite willing to defend her honor.

It'd been almost surreal. The whole 'knight-in-shining-armor' thing was something she had never encountered, and so she hadn't thought it still existed. Some guys would have simply ignored her situation, or even laughed at her discomfort when she tried to get away. Even worse would have been if the offender had had any friends with him, the whole group ganging up on a girl and giving her a hard time.

But Bucky looked more than ready to wipe the floor with the guy's face. In fact, she was quite sure that Bucky would have killed him right there, if she hadn't interfered. If they also hadn't been in a public place, and if Bucky hadn't made so much progress towards reforming himself, then it was quite possible there'd be a dead man on the ground right now.

The thought disturbed her, but there was a silver lining: Bucky had restrained himself, and instead had been the better man, letting the man go without a scratch on him. That was possibly one of the best signs she'd seen, when it came to the direction that Bucky was working for.

One of the more pleasant surprises was how he'd put his arm around her during the walk back. He'd also slowed his pace for her, his show of tenderness and concern surprising and sweet. It was a good sign, his gentle side coming through like that.

By the time they reached the house, however, Anna sensed that something was bothering her charge. He was tense and scowling deeply as she locked the door behind them. She quickly put the box of pastries on the coffee table inside the living room, and rushed back to him, catching him as he made his way to the bottom of the stairs.

"Bucky?" she called, stopping him in his tracks. "Are you okay?"

He was silent for a moment, and just when she thought he was going to simply walk away and leave her standing there, alone, he turned around.

"No," he admitted, a deep look of sadness and disappointment on his face. "No, I'm not."

Coming back towards her, he reached out towards her. That's when she saw that the gloves were gone, his metal hand now exposed and shining brightly in the day's sunlight.

"I wanted to kill him," he admitted sullenly. "I wanted to kill him for what he did to you."

He swallowed hard. "That means I'm not getting better, am I? I'm still a monster."

"No!" she sharply stated, surprising him. "No, you're not a monster. You are human. That anger you felt was something any man would have experienced, if it had happened to someone he cared about. It's normal for people to feel angry when others do such crude things."

He didn't look like he believed her. "But I wanted to kill him," he said, eyes downcast in shame.

"But you didn't," she said, taking his hands in hers. "You defended me. Not every guy would do that for a girl they've only known for a short time."

She gently squeezed his fingers. "You're my hero."

Bucky looked at her in disbelief. "A hero? I'm not a hero –I'm the one heroes fight against."

"Not anymore," Anna told him firmly. "You're changing. Monsters and villains don't want to change for the better -they want to change the world for their own purposes. You want to be better; you want to do good in the world, and to be good.

"And you did! You got that man to leave me alone, and you did it without seriously hurting anyone. You restrained yourself when it mattered, and that means you're starting to become the sort of man you want to be."

She made him look at her by letting his right hand go and tilting his head upwards. "We both know you'll never completely be your old self from the 40's, but I know you'll try to be as much like him as you can. Today, you were that man. I'm very proud of you."

And then, out of the blue, she wanted to hug him.

So she did.

It had been so odd, hugging Bucky like that. She had been expecting him to awkward –after all, he hadn't been hugged in over seventy years, and probably hadn't experienced that sort of close interaction with others.

Maybe it was out of human instinct, or maybe he remembered more than she thought, but his arms quickly settled right into place around her waist, pulling her close.

As his arms tightened around her, Anna half expected to be crushed from him squeezing her too tight with his metal arm. But instead, the hug was just as it should be: firm, comforting, and pleasant. She heard him breathing into her hair, and could feel Bucky's pounding heart slow as he calmed down.

After several minutes, she quietly whispered into his ear, "Do you feel better?"

He nodded. When she pulled back, he seemed reluctant to let her go.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, trying to hide her blush.

Shaking his head, Bucky muttered something about wanting to be alone for a while, and fled upstairs.

That had been well over six hours ago. Now here she was, still waiting for him to come out of his room, even while she hid away in hers.

She'd tried catching when he made his way to the exercise room, but he somehow managed to get there without making much noise. She hadn't pictured him as the stealthy type, but when he wanted to move around the house unnoticed, he seemed pretty good at it.

Rolling over in her bed, Anna sighed. They really did need to talk, but Bucky wasn't being cooperative. She'd thought that her pep-talk had worked things out a bit, but he was likely still ashamed of how he'd felt towards the other man in the café.

'What a way to experience his first day out as a free man under SHIELD's protection,' she thought with a sigh. 'Though, it could have been far worse.'

Yes, and she was sure that he knew that as well. The point was, she needed to get him to talk to her, or else his guilt would eat away at him.

Getting up, she quietly made her way to her door and peeked out. Bucky's door was open, and since the sound of fists hitting a punching bag wasn't reaching her ears, she knew that this was a good time to corner him.

Quietly, she slipped downstairs.

He was seated at the kitchen table, the pastry box sitting open before him. Both hands were on the wooden surface, one on either side of the box, clenched into loose fists. His blue eyes were so focused on what was inside that she half expected it to burst into flames.

Torn between amusement and concern, Anna made her way over to the table and took a seat beside him. "Hi," she whispered.

He lifted his gaze to look at her for a brief second, then turned back towards the box. "You know, if you keep looking at them like that, they're going to catch fire…or turn sour," she teased. "I'd hate to think that we paid all that money for nothing."

His fists clenched tighter, his glare growing more hostile towards the items in the box. When he continued to remain silent, Anna decided that she needed to take a risk. She reached out and laid her hand his. His fingers clenched tightly, to the point where his joints cracked, but he didn't pull away. She took that as a good sign.

For a while, they sat in silence, the two of them listening to the sounds of the world around them. There was the sound of the house settling; of a neighbor mowing their lawn; and of water slowly dripping in the kitchen sink. It would have bothered most people, but right then, it was alright.

Finally, she felt his hand move, the fist unclenching and slowly opening as he turned it so that his fingers could wrap around hers. The sound of his metal hand relaxing was a welcome one.

Looking at the box, she saw the array of desserts and blurted out, "I like chocolate."

The random comment startled him, but it also brought a small smile to his face. "Then why did you choose the fruit tarts?" he quietly asked, his facial expression torn between half amused, half puzzled.

Anna shrugged. "It seemed the healthiest of the options."

He actually let out a small chuckle. "Then I'll share with you," he said, bringing out one of the chocolate pastries.

"I'll get plates," she said, getting up and heading towards the kitchen. "Although, I can't promise that I won't eat more than my fair share of the chocolate!"

The sound of soft laughter behind her was a welcome one.

AN: Review?