Tony had already been working on his latest creation for a week before I sprung the idea on Bucky, and once I'd given him the go-ahead from Bucky it was full speed ahead. Tony and Bucky decided they were going to surprise me with the final product so I wasn't allowed to go to any of their meetings. I was grateful to see that he came back from Stark's with a smile on his face every time though, that seemed like a good sign.

"Tony says he'll be done by tomorrow," Bucky told me with a hint of excitement in his voice. We were laying on the (new) sofa watching Iron Chef because Bucky thought that the Chairmen was very ninja-esque and he wanted to pick up some cooking tips.

"Yeah? So I can finally see this masterful creation?"

Bucky nodded and kissed my neck, "I think you're going to like it."

"I'll like it if you do."

During the commercial break I rolled over so I was facing him and planted a kiss on his lips, "So, can your new arm shoot lasers or anything?"

His eyes lit up, "No, Tony said that was too much of a liability."

"Custom paint job?"

He shook his head and stopped further questioning with a kiss, winding his fingers in my hair. "Just wait and see."

"Fine," I groaned, biting his lower lip playfully, "Make me wait."

Later that night after a very well prepared pasta dinner, which Bucky made all on his own, Bucky told me he was going to head to Steve's. I sighed teasingly and got up to hug him goodbye. Technically he still lived in their safe-house, so although he had a lot of clothes and so forth at my apartment he still went back to Steve's every now and then for a guys night. It still made Bucky just a tiny bit uncomfortable living with me just because in his mind it was wrong to live with a woman and not be married to her, but we both knew that right now marriage wasn't on the top of the to-do list.

"So you're going to meet me at work tomorrow, right? Tony should be done by the afternoon I'm guessing so I can just head down to his lab when he's ready."

"Mhmm," Bucky said into the top of my head, embracing me before he had to go.

"Drive safely," I told him with a joking smile, "Don't go too fast, and call me when you get home."

"Yes mother," Bucky retorted, "I love you, I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you too."

A little after two o'clock I headed down to Stark's lab and was surprised to see that Bucky wasn't anywhere to be found. Thinking maybe he just hadn't shown up yet I asked Tony, only to find out I was way off.

"Bucky already came, got fitted, and left. He said he was just going to meet you at home later, didn't he tell you that?"

No, he hadn't told me that. "Oh, okay, I was planning to meet him here, but that's fine… Did everything go okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Totally fine. He didn't hulk out on me, if that's what you're asking. Bucky was a little apprehensive, obviously, but I think he'll get used to it."

"Great, okay. Well thank you, for everything. It means a lot to Bucky, and to me."

"It was fun," Tony said with a huge grin, "Right up my alley, I love a good robotics challenge. And for the Winter Soldier of all people. I got to make him a Stark original, he's one of us now!"

When I got home later that night I let myself in and was immediately met with the sound of Nat King Cole's rendition of "When I Fall In Love" playing on the stereo. I wasn't sure if I should be impressed more with the fact that Bucky liked Nat King Cole, or the fact that he seemed to have figured out the stereo system on his own. I made my way into the kitchen and noticed there was a vase with roses on the counter, and something baking in the oven that looked like a cake. But, I didn't see Bucky…

I sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out my phone to check my email, figuring Bucky was in the bathroom or something. A few moments later I heard footsteps so I looked up, just as Bucky was walking back into the room. My jaw almost hit the floor when I saw him, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree under a fireworks display.

"Impressive, huh?" Bucky asked after a few seconds.

I did my best to re-collect myself and then nodded. "It looks so real…" I said finally.

He nodded and smiled proudly, flexing his arm a few times like he was still unsure of how it worked. "That was the goal," he mused, "Though if I ever get tired of flesh-tone, the synthetic skin is removable. And dishwasher safe, according to Tony anyway."

There was something vastly different in the way he was carrying himself and I was immediately overjoyed he'd agreed to having a new arm made. The prosthetic looked nearly identical to an actual human arm. The only difference was that it was a little less fluid as it moved, and the skin on it had a slight rubbery sheen to it. He was wearing a light gray tee-shirt, something so simple and yet vastly different from the long sleeve black shirts he usually wore. I wanted so badly to see what it felt like but I was afraid to freak him out, I didn't know how comfortable he was with it yet and the added inspection might be too much.

"You okay?" he asked, pulling out a chair across from me and taking a seat.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just a lot to take in. I'm just… I was so used to the metal, this is crazy."

"Its still metal underneath," Bucky reminds me with a wink, "Wanna see?"

"No, no it's fine. I don't want to make you mess anything up," I sputtered, embarrassed.

"You don't have to act like it's taboo, we can talk about it," Bucky says gently.

"I just don't want to make you uncomfortable…"

"Make me uncomfortable? You've done nothing but make me more comfortable since I met you! This whole project was your doing, and honestly its such a relief. I walked all the way to your apartment earlier after I left the lab and not a single person stared. I mean I was already starting to feel normal before… But now? I sort of even look normal."

"Yeah, other than the fact that you're like twice the size of normal guys," I tease softly.

"Only because I work out," Bucky laughs, "I don't have it nearly as bad as Steve does."

He reaches over and gently tucks my hair behind my ear, the silicone skin is soft against my cheek as he cups my face in his palm. "I don't know how I got so lucky, to have met you."

I can't stop myself from smiling at him. His eyes are looking at me with an immeasurable amount of adoration. "The cake still has about a half an hour to bake," Bucky says as he leans over to kiss me.

"Does it?" I reply.

"Mhmm," he says into my ear, "That's a lot of time to kill, don't you think?"

"Oh I don't know," I muse, "I think we can handle it."

It didn't take too long for the gray shirt he was wearing to end up on the bedroom floor. I found myself accidentally staring at his shoulder, there was no more seam…

"Looks good, right?" Bucky's voice rumbles in my ear, his mouth trailing kisses down my neck.

"It's going to take some getting used to," I say honestly. My fingers trail over the very faint line between the silicone sleeve and his flesh. I'm so used to feeling metal meet skin that this new arm is actually sort of weirding me out.

Bucky nibbles my ear playfully, "Maybe we need to ease into this."

"What?" I breathe, not wanting him to stop what he's doing.

"Hold on," he says pulling away for a second. He reaches up to his shoulder and very gently moves his hand down the length of the silicone on his arm. The pressure from his grip pulls it off like a long glove, and in a moment he's holding the tube of skin in his hand, leaving the metal exposed. Underneath the arm looks a lot like the old one, only much more streamlined. It's a bluish steel color rather than chrome, so its not as shiny as the original, and it doesn't have that glaring red star on the shoulder.

"Better?" he says, analyzing my expression momentarily. "I know it must be a little strange, going from one thing to the other. You've only ever seen me with the metal arm so…"

"I'm sorry," I blurt.

"No, it's okay," he says taking my hand and rubbing my knuckles with his thumb.

"I get it. Honestly, sometimes I still have a hard time dealing with how I look. Its sort of strange. I mean I'm technically supposed to be 98 years old in March, for God's sake, but I'm actually only physically 28 years old. Except for however much time I was active with Hydra added on a little more time to that, so I guess I'm probably more like 32 years old… The whole thing is just confusing. Not to mention, modern clothing is a lot different from what I'm used to, and it certainly isn't army attire. And on top of it all there are still days when I look in the mirror and I still see him staring back at me, even though so much has changed…"

I reach over and take his other hand, acknowledging the sudden difference of the cool metal against my palm. "I think someday you'll get used to it all…"

"Yeah," Bucky muses, " Someday, certainly. It's just going to take time I think. I'm just… Grateful, you know? I have you to keep me on the right track, guide me through this all. I don't know what I'd do…"

"You'd be fine," I reply, "I think you would make it, you're a lot tougher than you let yourself think."

Bucky lets out a low laugh, "Maybe I would have been… But I'd probably still be a mess. Or at least I'd still look like a mess, you have to at least take credit for not letting me be a slob."

I tousle his hair and then wrap my arms around him, "Just because they didn't make sweatpants in the 1940s doesn't mean you should make up for lost time and wear them every single day."

"I know, I know," Bucky says twining his fingers in my hair and kissing me as he continues, "I remember. Just like I remember not to buy Oxfords because I'm not a grandpa, and that high-waisted pants aren't fashionable anymore, and pomade is just gross…"

"And sticky," I quip back, planting a kiss on his lips before he can protest.

"I already promised not to use it," Bucky reminds me, running his fingers along the waist of my pants. His voice is low as he whispers in my ear after a moment, "We still have another twenty minutes."

"Plenty of time," I whisper back, pressing a kiss into his shoulder just above the metal part, "But let's not let it go to waste."