((So...

As some of you have noticed, it's been a while.
Things have happened and the medication that has been keeping me afloat has stifled my creativity and preventing me from putting out any content.
I'm happy to say that this has somewhat abated and slowly but surely, the juices are flowing again. I hope you'll keep in mind when reading that this may be below your standard and shorter than most chapters but bear with me as I get back into my stride.
Thank you so much for your patience and maybe you WILL enjoy this!

HHS.))

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah… Let's do it."

The entrance to The Holy Cross Cemetery came stunningly flanked amid magnificent stone pillars; topped, of course, with a large stone cross. As one of Brooklyn's most prominent cemeteries, it only made sense for it to rest the Barnes clan.

Bucky insisted on carrying the flowers himself and ever the supportive one, Elsa did not push the issue. Of course, she held his hand while the Vibranium cradled the hand-chosen arrangement from a Nostrand Avenue florist (Brooklyn Blooms); cost be damned. She had offered, but it seemed the handling of the delicate flowers presented as some sort of additional therapy for her beloved husband.

With Elsa's initiative to call ahead to confirm names and plot numbers, memory alone might not have aided in the Lioness locating the grave; not in The Holy Cross' vastness.

"Go on. I'll wait here."

"No… I need you with me."

"Then I'll be with you."

Husband and wife, in their solidarity approached the twin grave; George Barnes having the foresight to purchase two together for himself, his wife and his children, one of which had been buried in absentia.

James Buchanan Barnes

1916-1945

Died Proudly Serving His Country

The first of two times Bucky had been commemorated without a body. The second, much more recently.

George Barnes

1892-1969

Winifred Barnes

1895 -1974

Rebecca Barnes
1920 -1991

Frank Barnes
1928 - 2023

"Take your time, sweetheart, we have all day."

"But that place closes-"

"Never mind that place, we'll find another. Take your time. I'm here."

So, Bucky, marinating in the experience, sank to his knees at the base of the plot, with his little vet immediately upon him, squeezing his shoulder.

"Oh my God… Oh my God… Oh my God…"

How could sobs not envelop that scarred chest of his? Heave beneath muscles so torn but toned? Overwhelmed, he had cried many times, but not like this. Not with them right in front of him. Below him. So close to him. Not like… now.

Relieving him of the flowers, Elsa reverently laid them aside in a bid to free Bucky's hands; one of them for the tissue she pressed into it.

"Breathe, my love. It's alright, I know it's a lot."

Doing his best, it took a moment of staring at that list of names through welled vision, a trembling lip and entire shaking being before he managed to ease himself. Once again, pulled back from the brink of a panic attack by his Lioness. Eyeing the beautiful set of white marble headstones, it seemed they had been recently cleaned (a gift to Bucky from Steve) and well maintained. What else could he want for his family?

"Holy shit…" He sighed, dabbing his eyes as his breathing began to regulate; free from the shallow stops and starts his outburst caused. "This is… I dunno…"

"Don't forget these." The little vet pressedby way of distraction and offering him the bouquet, the reiterated support consistent. "You put so much effort into choosing them."

With a sniffle, James accepted the bundle and, still on his knees, placed it on the soiled recently churned from Frank's funeral. As if reflecting hope for healing, little seedlings of grass had already started to prod through.

"It's so weird, Els… I never thought I'd get here." Hoarse, the sentiment could only be described as an understatement. Everything he had discovered in Romania about his former self and what little he could scrape together about his family, it all seemed so… two dimensional compared to being there now. Naturally, to find his parents and sister had long since passed had been crippling but with little context on their lives after 1945, it had been somewhat cushioned. All he could do was remember them as they were. But kneeling at the graves had brought it crashing into reality.

"It's a rather unique situation." Elsa agreed, grimacing pleasantly to a passing older couple who eyed the huddled Bucky with curiosity. "But you're here now. And if it's any consolation, I laid flowers for them when I came for Frank's funeral as well."

Of course, you did. He thought, giving her hand a squeeze as he stared, endeared, at the marble markers. 'Cause that's just the kinda angel you are.

With a bitten lip and an expression of utter, delirious enamorment, Elsa had to be quiet.

The Brooklyn short-term rental apartment basked in early morning silence; save for the sound of light traffic building outside and the birds in the tree just beyond their window ushering in a new day in New York.

And speaking of New York…

Despite the cooler mornings, it warmed the little vet to wake (as usual, before her husband) and discover the mid-slumber smile that seemed to be ever present since touching down on his home soil. Now, one could attribute the surprise baseball game, visiting his family's grave, bar hopping with Steve, or his favourite pre-bedtime activity. But the smile had been there. Every morning when Elsa woke.

So she had to take a picture.

"Els…?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"You takin' pictures?"

"I am, my love. You're just too cute!"

"Cute, huh? The Winter Soldier's cute?"

"Oh hush, the Winter Soldier is long dead. Do you want coffee?"

"Not yet, baby, but if you don't know the answer to that by now, I want a divorce."

Stifling a giggle, Elsa shuffled on her elbows the short distance between herself and her husband and planted a kiss to his forehead; leaning back just enough to watch the smile stretch even more.

"Begging me to re-marry you but threatening me with divorce? Pick one, James."

"Y'know what? It's still early and I'm awake on vacation with no farm to see to. Divorce it is."

"Am I cooking or are we going out for breakfast?"

"We're going back to sleep. That's what we're doin'."

"Not what I asked, my love."

"We're in the breakfast capital of the world. We're goin' out. Now go back to sleep."

Naturally, all of Steve's well-trusted recommendations did not miss and so, the little vet and her husband left each café and restaurant full, happy and satisfied. That morning was no exception.

"Well? What are we doing today?" Hand in hand, Bucky and Elsa rarely went anywhere any way else and the streets of Brooklyn were no exception. The White Wolf opted for subtlety with a black leather glove enveloping and disguising his Vibranium appendage; met in the middle with the long sleeve of his hoodie. Of course, the hoodie's usefulness was not limited to the sleeve, not when a semi-anxious James Buchanan Barnes could utilize the hood to obscure his face; something not out of place in October in New York.

"I wanna check in on the farm but I'll leave that till later. I missed the window with my lie-in." As he was entitled to on vacation. They both knew that if any major problems had occurred, L'amba would have contacted them. The caretaker's biggest problem had been Cody going off his food (enough of a testament in itself) for the first few days after his parents left. "We can either head back up to Manhattan, do some tourist shit or…"

Elsa's gaze lifted from the busy cityscape to the side of her husband's partly-hidden face. Despite the joy at being back on his home turf, they were here for a reason. A reason that would no doubt be mentally and emotionally draining for him. A reason that the smaller brunette could not, in good conscience, insist upon doing anything but giving him the opportunity to rest before a trying day.

"And what do you want to do?" The little vet pressed, giving his flesh hand (also coated in a glove) an encouraging squeeze. "Because I checked the weather and it's going to be raining today so, I wouldn't mind going to that little bakery down the road from the apartment, loading up and having a duvet day."

Bucky mulled the possibility, not overlooking his wife's graciousness of sacrificing their last day in New York City to let him mentally prepare for something that he already knew would take a toll. Did that appeal to him? Only out of bed an hour only to return with his emotional-support Lioness after buying out the morning stock of their local bakery/deli? Maybe pre-order some sandwiches for lunch that he could just throw on jeans and his hoodie again to collect? Was it even going to be raining, or had she just said that to sway him towards the selfishness that she knew he badly needed ahead of his looming dread?

All that aside, the White Wolf knew Elsa would need ample time to ensure all their luggage had been packed to her extensive satisfaction.

"Support small and local?"

"Always."

"Sounds like a plan. Just one thing."

"Mmm?"

"What're we gonna watch?"

Apartment key returned, rental car packed, GPS coordinates logged and her Passenger Seat Prince all set, Elsa could make for the next destination with well-organized peace of mind.

"How does this sound?" She (infinitely more awake than her husband) opted to meet His Royal Crankiness in the middle. "I know it's early. There's a 24 hour McDonald's drive through before we leave Brooklyn. We can grab a few breakfast bits there, maybe some coffee, and I'll have a root around for another diner on the way up there for a proper feed. Deal?"

"Mmph." Came the sleep-jumbled grumble from the passenger seat that made Elsa suppress a titter as she pulled into the dark, quiet street. Well… as quiet as Brooklyn could be.

"You can use my card." Now that… That had the desired effect and partially roused her co-pilot.

"Y'know…" As if the thought of food helped him wade through to wakefulness, the gears in James' head slowly started to click "Thinkin' about it… I could go for a Double Sausage McMuffin. Or two. Hash browns. Orange juice. Maybe pancakes."

"As long as you leave something for the next car, my love."

Partially fuelled, and I only say "partially" because there is no fully fuelling a Super Soldier, despite his wife's best efforts. That said, James seemed to be more agreeable with his stomach lined.

"Do you want this? I'm full."

"Lightweight." Came the teasing reply as a Vibranium hand extended to retrieve the bite of hash brown and remnants of egg McMuffin (single, not double like her husband). They had hit the highway not long after collecting their order and Elsa estimated their journey time as almost three hours; depending on how many bathroom breaks they required. And the proper breakfast, as promised.

"It's insane how we're going to drive for almost three hours and still be in the same state." Elsa commented mildly, her eyes already adjusted to the brief orange flash that would fill the car each time they drove under a light. The sheer vastness of the country never failed to astound her.

"Well if you want me to take over, just lemme know."

"I don't trust you not to drop back to sleep, mister. I should be fine. But you need to rest up, this is going to be a tough day for you."

That, Bucky did not doubt.