July 4, 2014

Lucille shook out the match as the last candle flared to life. "James," she called, "would you help me with something?" Behind her, she heard Bucky and someone else enter the kitchen.

"Wow," Sam said, grabbing a few more bottles of beer from the refrigerator. "You are quite the baker, Ms. Hollis."

"For goodness sake, Sam, please call me Luci!" she said with a grin. It had to have been the tenth time she told him that, but she just couldn't get mad at a man like Sam.

"Luci, that looks delicious," Bucky said, moving a finger toward the cake to taste the icing.

Lucille gently slapped his hand away. "You can wait two minutes to taste it. The birthday boy gets the first piece." Bucky chuckled, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Could you take this out to the coffee table? I'm afraid I can't juggle that and a walker at the same time." Bucky nodded, picking up the cake on its platter and following Lucille out to the living room. Sam came behind them with the beer, plates, and forks. On the couch next to Steve, Natasha made a grab for one of the beers.

"Happy birthday, Steve!" the four of them said in almost-unison as Bucky set the cake on the coffee table.

Steve smiled. "You guys, thank you, you didn't have to do this."

Lucille took the knife off the platter and began to cut the cake into slices for each of them while Natasha handed them out. "Captain America deserves a birthday cake just like everyone else," she told him, handing him the first wedge. "So happy birthday, Steve, and rejoice in the fact that for being ninety-six, you don't look a day over twenty-five." Her grin faltered when she saw the two super-soldiers looking at her sadly. Natasha and Sam exchanged an awkward glance. Lucille sighed, putting her plate down on the coffee table, and fixed Bucky and Steve with a stern look. "Boys, if you've got it in your heads to feel sorry for me because I've gotten grey and wrinkly, then you can stop it right now. This was always the way it was going to be for me."

"You shouldn't have had to grow old alone," Bucky objected, Steve nodding in agreement.

Lucille leaned back in her arm chair. "Life has a funny way of messing up even the best-laid plans. I'm not alone now, and that's what matters."

The fireworks burst into the sky in rapid succession, signaling the finale of the show. Wrapped in a blanket, Lucille tucked herself into Bucky's side under his right arm as they watched from the settee on her balcony. Steve had left a couple hours ago, invited to watch the celebrations with Sharon Carter. Natasha had graciously offered to get Sam home, who, caught up in the festivities, had decided that since Steve couldn't get drunk, he would drink enough for the two of them. Lucille's small apartment seemed even smaller now with nearly everyone gone.

As the fireworks fizzled to an end, the sky grew dark again and the two could hear the shouts and excited voices of partygoers up and down the block. Several minutes passed without a word between them when Lucille finally spoke up, her smile evident in her voice. "James, I'm beginning to worry about the amount of dust your apartment is no doubt covered in since you spend all your time here."

Bucky shrugged, pulling her closer. "I'll worry about it later. I have a lot of catching up to do here." His left hand found hers, and he brought it up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the back of her hand. The light from the dull yellow street lights below glinted off the thin silver band encircling her ring finger. Bucky traced it with his thumb. "You still wear this, after all these years?"

Lucille nodded. "Of course. I never imagined I would ever see you again, but I never stopped loving you, James." She gently laced her fingers with his metal ones. She had made her point fairly soon after Bucky had come back that it didn't matter to her if he had a normal arm, a metal arm, or no arm at all. She loved him all the same.

"I wouldn't have blamed you, you know, or been upset if you had found someone else," replied Bucky, his eyes still on the engagement ring he had given her all those years ago.

This time, Lucille shook her head. "As ridiculous and hopelessly romantic as it is, there was never anyone else for me but you. I dedicated my life to make sure that you would be remembered for generations to come. Steve, too. There simply wasn't room for another man."

Bucky was silent. Lucille rested her head against his shoulder. The noise from the revelers continued to float down the street.

"About a week after I stopped being HYDRA's tool, my memories started coming back. Not many, at first. And they were fuzzy; I almost didn't think they were real."

Lucille squeezed his hand, waiting for him to go on. Bucky never shared much about his time under HYDRA's thumb or what happened directly after, before he found her at the Captain America exhibit. When he did, it was only with her. As far as Lucille knew, he hadn't even told Steve. She never pressed him to talk about it, knowing he was trying so hard to move on. But sometimes, it seemed to help if he talked. So she listened, never interrupting, just letting him get it off his chest.

"The very first one was of Steve. But the second, and the third, and the fourth were about you. They were just flashes, really, not... full memories. A smile. Part of a conversation. Something like that. But when I saw you, I knew it had to be real because I felt something I hadn't felt in a very long time. When I saw your face in my memories, I knew I loved you. I felt it so deeply that it couldn't be made-up. That's what I held onto, and the memories started to come back faster. I remember almost everything now, and I have you to thank for that."

-0-

It's late. I know. I'm sorry. I got the flu again. If I didn't hang around all those little germ magnets we call students so much, I wouldn't have this problem. (I promise I don't actually hate students!) I'm feeling better now, even if I'm hacking up a lung and a half every two minutes. I cannot thank you guys enough for being patient! Review replies have been sent out... and I think that's all I've got to say. Enjoy! Love.

[BadWolf89: I think we're all going to need emotional and mental therapy after that last chapter, if the last batch of reviews are anything to go by! I hate giving up any spoilers, so I'm just going use the infuriating phrase: We'll have to wait and see what happens next... :) Thank you so much for your wonderful review!

Guest.1: I'm evil, but I'm not THAT evil! Bucky and Luci were always going to see each other again, and Bucky would have at least enough of his memories back by that point to know who she was. You predicted spot on that Bucky would bring up that Luci never married in this chapter! Thank you so much for your brilliant review!

Guest.2: I didn't realize that I should have put a 'have some tissues ready' warning on that last chapter! It really makes me feel like I'm actually writing something worthwhile when I get the responses like I did from last time. You and everyone else are seriously the best readers a girl could ask for. Thank you so much for your awesome review!]