The air was cold, the crisp breeze making it clear that fall had washed over New York City, with winter just behind it.

Bucky had woken up earlier than usual and decided to go on his latte run alone. Sometimes he would wait in his hotel room for his phone to buzz, alerting him that Gianna had woken up for the day. They'd meet in the hall and trek to the nearest cafe together. Other times, he would anticipate her needing caffeine immediately upon waking up, usually the morning after travel days, and venture out to get it on his own. He loved her company, but something about the surprise and adoration on her face when she opened the door to see him in the morning that made him almost prefer solo runs. Almost.

He strode down the sidewalk, emptier than usual with the early hour.

The last night hadn't brought the clarity he'd hoped for, but strangely, Bucky didn't mind. The game night at Avengers' Tower was the day before last, and as much as he'd hoped to address the kiss with Gianna - not having the conversation prevented her from possibly calling it a drunken mistake. He was fine with that, choosing to live in the unknown for a few more blissful hours.

The bell dinged over his head as Bucky strode into the corner coffee shop, the familiar scent filling the air. There wasn't a line, so he stepped straight to the counter and ordered their usuals to-go. The barista eyed him for a second longer than usual, and his heart began to beat a little quicker. It had been months, maybe even over a year since someone had met him with public scorn. Since the trials and his official pardon, he rarely got more than an occasional dirty look. It didn't stop the fear from creeping back up whenever he felt himself being recognized.

"Here you go, sir." The barista smiled warmly as she slid the drink carrier across the counter, the two hot beverages sitting across from each other.

Bucky nodded. "Thanks."

As he turned the corner to walk back towards the hotel, he glanced down at the drinks and quickly realized why the barista's eyes were lingering on him.

In loopy cursive letters, the barista had scrawled "Bucky" on his cup and "Gianna" on hers, although he was certain he hadn't given his name, let alone Gianna's. There was even a tiny heart doodled next to Gianna's name in thick sharpie. Bucky thought back to all the posts he'd seen online, with dozens of photos of the two of them in various cafes across the country.

He'd even seen a few posts from baristas who'd served them, each giving their own recollection of how the pop star had interacted with her bodyguard. Some embellished, some made up entirely. One particularly shocking one alleged that Gianna had been wearing an engagement ring and that they couldn't keep their hands off of each other the whole time they'd been inside the Starbucks. Gianna had laughed it off and assured him people make these things up all the time. It didn't seem to bother her, so Bucky let it go.

A vibration in his pocket snapped Bucky to reality.

He slid the phone out of his jeans and saw Gianna's contact photo across the screen. He tried not to be disappointed he wouldn't get to wake her up, but picked up his pace anyways, not wanting the coffee to get cold. He clicked answer as he continued back in her direction.

"Good m-"

"Bucky!" Gianna didn't wait for his greeting before hissing into the phone, her voice a sharp whisper.

"What's wrong?" His tone changed immediately.

"Someone is here. Outside my door. I - I thought it was you, now they know I'm in here." She fumbled with her words, still trying to be quiet.

"Gianna, calm down, I'm on my way. Tell me exactly what happened. Is it a fan?"

Bucky was all but running now.

"No, no, I don't think so. They were pounding on the door, I thought it was you, I should have looked, ugh!"

"Gianna, focus, please tell me what happened."

"I opened the door, it was two men, I was still half asleep but as soon as I saw it wasn't you I slammed the door shut. They tried to stop it, force the door open but I panicked. I threw myself against the door and it shut, I locked the deadbolt but they're still outside. I don't know what to do-"

Bucky heard a muffled pounding on her door through the phone.

"Bucky, please hurry," Her voice cracked.

The lattes fell to the ground. Bucky started running.

GIANNA

I don't know how long I sat curled up on the floor beside the bed, as if the king sized bed would somehow thwart whoever the hell stood on the other side of the door.

My head pounded. Going from a deep, contented sleep, dreaming of all things happy - straight to being woken up by a brutal pounding on the door. From there, shock, fear, confusion, and a very sore right arm from throwing myself into the door.

I pulled my knees closer to my chest and laid my head down, willing Bucky to get here faster.

As if my wish had been granted, I heard his voice, so sweet and so familiar.

"Gianna - it's me. Just me. Can you open the door?"

I heard the edge through his voice, even though I could tell he was trying to be gentle, trying not to scare me. I scrambled to my feet and around the bed, unlocking the deadbolt. He pushed the door in, eyes dark and cold. He looked over my head, scanning the room before laying his eyes on me.

The darkness faded from his eyes and was replaced with concern. He put his hands on my arms and looked straight into my eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"I knocked the hell out of my shoulder, Kate won't be happy with the bruise she's going to have to cover up." I said sheepishly.

Bucky didn't laugh at my feeble attempt at a joke. He wordlessly tugged the sleeve of my t-shirt higher so he could look at my arm. I followed his concerned gaze and saw that my joke wasn't too far off. The molding of the door was still imprinted on my arm and beginning to purple. Seeing the swollen skin under his fingertips shifted something in me and I felt my throat begin to close.

"Bucky…" My voice caught in my throat as my eyes welled with tears.

He pulled me into his chest, holding my head with one hand and my back with the other. I could hear his heart pounding in his chest, and I knew it wasn't from running here. His super soldier stamina meant he never got winded. He did, however, get angry. I didn't want to know what was running through his mind. I didn't want anything but to stay in this moment, in his arms, the only place I seemed to feel safe anymore.

We stood like that for several moments before I pulled back, collecting myself with a shuddering breath. This time it was Bucky's attempt to lighten the mood.

"I dropped our coffees on the sidewalk."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"I appreciate the prioritization. Although I could go for some caffeine right about now."

"That can be arranged." He gave me a half smile that made my heart race for the second reason this morning. "Why don't you shower and I'll do some damage control."

I nodded, taking the hint that he didn't want me to overhear all the details of whatever call he was about to make. Before I shut the door to the bathroom, I turned and wrapped my arms around him again.

"Thank you." I muttered, mostly into the fabric of his sweatshirt.

He leaned down and kissed the top of my head, and I swear the world stopped spinning for a minute.

I stepped back into the hotel room, cool air wafting over me in sharp contrast to the steam-filled bathroom. Tousling my hair dry, I heard a flurry of activity waiting for me as I rounded the corner.

"Gianna, sweetie! Are you okay?" Kate rushed over to me, enveloping me in a warm, albeit tight hug. Tom followed closely behind her, his silver brows furrowed in concern.

"I'm good, swear. I shouldn't have opened the door, I wasn't even thinking." I shook my head, looking down at my feet.

"No, sweetie, you shouldn't have to worry about maniacs banging on your hotel room door at 7am! Don't worry - Mr. Barnes has it all under control." Kate frowned. "Mr. Barnes? Sergeant Barnes?"

Bucky looked up from his phone conversation. "Bucky."

"Gianna, can you sit for a second? We want to have your arm looked at." Tom gestured to the bed, where a familiar face was standing in a gray set of scrubs with Stark Industries printed on the lapel.

"Long time, no see." The woman smiled.

"Less fun circumstances this time." I smiled back, assuming Bucky had called the rest of the team.

I sat on the edge of the bed and tugged my sweatshirt back over my head, thankful I'd put a tank top underneath the sweatshirt, given that the room was full of people. She began examining my right arm, fingers grazing over the bruise. Not wanting to cry again, I chose not to look down. It wasn't so much the pain as it was the sobering reality of the situation. Seeing Kate and Tom's expressions confirmed my decision not to look. I could only imagine the bruising had gotten worse over the past half hour.

Tom snapped back into work mode. "Alright, Bucky spoke with the manager of the hotel and she's pulling all the security footage for this morning. There's a police officer on their way to take your statement and cross reference the footage against any active crime reports."

"I'll send it to Tony, he'll have them identified before the officer can even get back to the station." Bucky chimed in.

Tom nodded, but didn't address him. "Right. Okay. I called the record label and they approved additional funding for security in the lobby. From now on, we'll secure the premises of every place we're staying and restrict it to guests only. I'd suggest we put out a statement, get ahead of the situation a little. There's already a slight buzz online."

I looked up at him. "What? How? There's been no scene, no paparazzi, and this only happened like an hour ago?"

Tom passed me my phone. Swiping past all the notifications, I went on social media to see my name beginning to trend. I saw photos of several police cars outside my hotel, and a small crowd formed around the entrance. The bad thing about multi-night tours in one city, word travels very quickly about where we stay. I scrolled again to see something appearing to be unrelated, but it caught my eye.

It was a photo taken from behind the counter of a coffee shop, in front of dozens of syrups and whipped toppings. Two cardboard coffee cups had been positioned side by side, with "Bucky" written across one and "Gianna" scrawled across the other in girly writing.

The caption said: 'guess who's coffee I got to make today! #fangirling'

I smiled, picturing Bucky walking the streets of New York holding a coffee cup featuring my name with a heart written across it.

"I think we should cancel the show tonight." I didn't have to look up to know who they idea came from.

"Well, I don't think that would be necess-" Tom started to protest.

"This is the second time someone has made an attempt to get to Gianna on this tour. We're not talking giddy teenage girls here, these are grown men, dressed in tactical gear. We have to assume they're not looking for an autograph." Bucky said, his voice low.

I winced at the implication. Tom wrung his hands, the side of him that was concerned for me warring with the side that was concerned for the nightmare of canceling one of the biggest stops on our tour.

"I don't want to cancel." Everyone turned to look at me. "I don't want to call off the show."

Bucky opened his mouth to argue but I cut him off.

"If we do, I'll just sit here all day and worry and make myself sick. I want to keep busy. I don't want to disappoint the fans, I don't want to cause concern over something that almost happened. Plus, that's why I have you." I smiled at Bucky, doing my best attempt at puppy eyes.

He scowled, not loving the idea but considering it anyway.

"Fine. If you don't have any serious bruising, and we don't find anything of concern between now and tonight, the show can stay on."

I breathed a sigh of relief and know Tom did the same. Canceling tonight's show would have caused him a logistical nightmare.

"But," Bucky spoke again, a warning in his tone. "I want the entire venue swept beforehand. I want decoy cars driving to the venue in ten minute increments for the hour leading up to the show. I want double security here and at the venue. Get metal detectors at every entrance, including the service entrance. I want a personal report from anyone on the security team that sees anything out of the ordinary at all, and if I decide, at any point, that it's no longer safe, I'm taking Gianna and we're canceling the rest of this goddamn tour. Are we clear?"

Tom swallowed. The room had gone silent, even the nurse looking at Bucky. I'd never seen him so intense, so…commanding. In any other circumstance, I'd have found it wildly attractive. Given the circumstances, I just felt grateful to have him here.

"Yes, uh, yes that sounds good. I'll go make a few calls." Tom scurried from the room with Kate trailing behind, still in her robe.

"Sweetie, call me if you need anything, I'll be just down the hall." She blew me a kiss as she followed my manager out the door.

"Alright, it doesn't look like you did too much damage." The nurse spoke up, reaching into her bag. "Just a deep bruise. We have a steroid injection that's still in beta stage, but it's been clearing all tests with flying colors. If you want to try it, it's been showing expedited healing up to 400%."

"After last night, I'll take anything Tony Stark manufactured. That IV was literal magic."

"Are there any side effects?" Bucky interjected, eyeing the nurse. I opened my mouth to protest, but realized that if anyone had the right to be wary of experimental injections, it was him.

"Only mild burning at the injection site, but it usually goes away after ten or so minutes."

Bucky narrowed his eyes, thinking, before turning to look at me. "It's your call. I doubt Stark would offer it if he had any concerns."

I turned to the nurse and nodded. She pulled an antibacterial wipe from her bag and began to wipe my shoulder, sterilizing the injection site.

"Okay, you might feel a little pinch."

I squeezed my eyes shut. The little pinch was no big deal, but the mild burning was a slight understatement. The skin around my shoulder lit up as if someone was putting a cigarette out on my skin. I sucked a breath in through my nose, willing myself to keep it together.

"Looks like it's working already." The nurse marveled.

I opened my eyes and followed her gaze down to my shoulder. The burning sensation dulled as I realized she was right. The purple coloring forming on my arm was actively fading to a green, even yellow around the edges. It was literally healing as it formed, right in front of my eyes.

"I have got to send Tony Stark a thank you note," I breathed.

Several hours later, the room had cleared out, and only Bucky and Gianna remained. The police officer had come and asked a barrage of questions, only leaving at Bucky's firm reminder that Gianna needed to rest before the show. Then the security team had come up for a debriefing from Bucky, who snapped back into the intensity Gianna witnessed earlier. This time, with the shock of the morning having subsided slightly, she could fully appreciate the way he took control.

His eyes would darken when he spoke, every word punctuated with intensity. His jaw was clenched, making it even sharper than usual. He had a no-nonsense air about him that reminded Gianna of when they first met, before he'd begun to reveal his more playful side to her. This was a new level of protective, even for him.

Gianna's heart fluttered as she realized all of this was for her. Not in a "oh, all this fuss for little 'ol me" kind of way. In the way that every time Bucky clenched his fist in anger, it was for her. Every time he gave a command, it was to protect her. Every move he was making, every thought running through his head today…it was all for her.

Gianna blushed, ashamed of her selfish thoughts during this intense moment. Luckily, Bucky had his back turned to her, talking to who she assumed was Steve on the phone.

She was thankful for the quiet after the endless stream of people in and out. They only had another hour and a half until the inevitable call for soundcheck would come, and Gianna assumed they'd need to leave even earlier with the extra security precautions in place. She sighed, leaning back on her forearms.

"You okay?" Bucky tucked the phone into his pocket and strode over to the edge of the bed, where Gianna sat.

"Yeah, just…overwhelmed I guess."

"It's uh…been an overwhelming day."

"Yeah…" She breathed, eyes seeming to glaze over as she continued to process it all.

"Are you sure you want to perform tonight? I think people would understand if you canceled, given the circumstances."

"No, no, I'm sure. I'm already getting stir crazy in this hotel room, I need to get my mind off of things." Gianna sat up straight. "If I stay here, I'll just start spiraling, thinking about those men and what they wanted, and what would have happened if you hadn't come back and -"

Bucky's brow furrowed as he heard the ever so slight break in her voice.

"Hey," He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. It had air dried, showing the natural waves that he was always partial to. "Don't think like that, okay? I'm not going anywhere. Not now, not ever."

Gianna looked up at Bucky with watery eyes. She tried so hard to be tough and funny and low-maintenance about everything, but he could tell the recent events were bringing her close to a breaking point.

"I mean it. I'm in it for the long haul, G. Whether we stay on this tour or not. I go wherever you go."

Bucky's words hung in the air between them for a moment. Taking a deep breath, Gianna laid her head down on Bucky's shoulder.

"What if I said I wanted to run? Take a lighter to the sheet music and the lip gloss and those damn sequined outfits?"

Bucky shifted, causing Gianna to lift her head and look over at him. Sitting in his open metal palm was a plain silver Zippo lighter. She looked up and locked eyes with him.

"Then we'd run."