"You better mean it. Once you say those words, I'm never letting go of you again." He met her gaze with a seriousness that matched hers.

She leaned forward, gently resting her hands on his cheeks as she leaned close and pressed the softest kiss to his swollen lips. "I mean it," she whispered.

Gianna's heart fluttered as she gazed into Bucky's eyes, the intensity in them threatening to overtake her. Their lips had just met in a tender kiss, the first in weeks. Her breaths were shallow. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. The world around them, the pain and the heartache of the past few weeks, all of it faded away. All that was real sat across from her, bruised and blue-eyed, and so heartbreakingly beautiful.

Before she could take another breath, he moved. One hand cupped her cheek and the other grasped the nape of her neck, fingers tangling in the still-wet ringlets. He pulled her close, leaning forward with the slightest groan to meet her in the middle. Their lips collided. The kiss was deep, desperate, all-encompassing. Her hands held his head, grounding her, reminding her that this was real. He was here. He was finally here.

His hand trailed down her back, holding her so close to his chest that she could feel his heartbeat. Or maybe that was the throbbing of his swollen ribs. Shit.

"Bucky," She pulled away breathlessly, worry etched on her face. His eyes were hazy, still focused on her lips.

"No," He muttered, voice low. "Not yet."

His lips met hers again, warm and familiar and greedy. Gianna felt herself sigh into the kiss. How long had she been waiting, dreaming of this? The past few weeks had felt like withdrawing from a drug. Now, here she was, high all over again. His lips worked in perfect sync with her own, slow and deliberate, but unrelenting. Parting his lips, Bucky gently angled her head in his palm, his tongue tracing hers as her own lips separated. Gianna's heart pounded in her chest, her stomach, her toes.

She wanted him, all of him, now and tomorrow and always. She wanted him in her bed, on her counter, on this goddamn dining room table. She wanted his kiss, his smile, his groggy morning eyes, his laughter, his tears, his darkness and all of his light. She wanted everything. She wanted it so badly she felt another round of hot tears spill out and streak down her face. He must have felt it on his hand, pulling away from the kiss, brows knit together.

"What's wrong?"

She titled her head, running a hand along the side of his face, tracing his jawline. "Absolutely nothing. Everything is right." She leaned in, and gently kissed his cheek, lips featherlight on the bruise there. "Almost everything."

Bucky gave her a half-grin, hands still holding her close. Removing one from her back, he ran his thumb along her lower lip, wiping the corner. "Almost everything." Glancing down, she saw blood on his thumb. His blood. "Sorry." His eyes showed anything but regret.

"I'm not." As if to prove it, she leaned back in and kissed him, hard. He tasted perfect and salty and metallic, sweat still coating his skin and fresh blood leaking from the newly opened split lip. His hands tightened on her lower back as he shifted beneath her. The kiss was sloppy, tears and blood and long overdue kisses all melting together to create one intoxicating cocktail. Time became a long forgotten concept.

As they parted, Gianna's concern returned as she noticed the subtle grimace on Bucky's face, a silent testament to the pain he was enduring. With gentle fingers, she traced the outline of the bruise marring his jawline, her touch tender yet tinged with worry.

"Bucky, we really should to get you to a doctor," she urged softly, her voice laced with apprehension. Bucky's response was a barely perceptible shake of his head, his gaze unwavering as it met hers.

"I'm fine." His eyes remained fixed on her lips. "See?" Again, he shifted beneath her, showing her just how fine he was.

Biting her lip, Gianna did her best to extinguish the fire inside her. "Buck, I'm not going anywhere. We have time." She tucked a strand of dark hair behind his ear. "I promise."

His eyes flicked up to hers. "Just…not yet. I want to be here with you," he murmured, his voice laced with a mixture of vulnerability and longing. "Let me have tonight."

"I'm calling Steve first thing tomorrow morning. You're seeing a doctor." Her eyes narrowed at his grin.

"Fine." He leaned back in to kiss her, but Gianna gently gripped his chin.

"No extracurriculars tonight, either. You are in no condition."

Bucky opened his mouth to protest, but Gianna pressed her palm to his chest, putting light pressure against his collarbone. He instantly grimaced, leaning back in the chair. "Point proven."

He looked like he wanted to argue again, but knew she was right. They had time. This, them together, it was long overdue, but it wasn't going anywhere. He had waited for months to even get to kiss her. Then he'd lost her, and spent weeks agonizing over what he'd lost, not knowing if he'd ever find it again. Now, she was here, on his lap, staring down at him with worry-laced green eyes. The world felt like it had stopped spinning. If that was the case, if time had truly stopped and they were to live in this moment, in this apartment, with only each other for the rest of time…he'd thought he made it to Heaven after all.

"Come on," Gianna stood to her feet, tugging on his hand. "I'll warm up the bath."

"Fuck," Bucky sucked in a breath as the doctor tugged on his shoulder with a scrape and a click.

Gianna blinked, returning to the present moment as she found herself back in the Avengers' Tower. She'd called Steve first thing that morning, he and Natasha had met them at the compound with one of the SHIELD doctor's in less than an hour. The atmosphere was charged with a mix of concern and relief as Dr. Cove tended to Bucky's injuries with practiced expertise. Usually stationed at the compound, she was an older woman with a no-nonsense attitude who was incredibly well-versed in emergency medical and orthopedic injuries. She was the one who met the team in the hangar if a mission had gone sideways. Patching people up was her specialty, bedside manner, not so much.

"Keep still," She instructed, her accent thick as she fitted a sling around Bucky's right shoulder. He met Gianna's eyes, winking at her from where he sat on the medical table. The medical wing at the Tower was yet another floor she hadn't seen. It was smaller than the one at the compound, but equally as sleek. Frankly, she didn't care for it. Memories of the attack at her concert and the fear following it peppered her mind. Bucky must have read her gaze, winking at her. Leave it to him to be concerned for her as his collarbone was being set.

"How's it feel, Buck?" Steve stood, arms crossed, grinning. Clearly unconcerned about the injury, likely having seen much worse on his friend. In all fairness, the worst of it had healed by the time they woke up that morning.

Gianna had a fitful sleep, waking up every few hours to make sure he was still there, still breathing. She worried that waiting to go to the doctor would make things worse, that somehow in the night, all the bliss would go away. Bucky, however, had slept like a rock. Something that, judging from the dark circles beneath his eyes, hadn't happened in a while. He'd kept one arm firmly wrapped around her waist the whole night, but hadn't stirred. When they woke up this morning, the bruises were mostly green and yellow, save for the worst ones on his ribs. The swelling had gone down, cuts and scraped all scabbed and sealed.

"Good as new." Bucky turned his attention to Steve, looking just as ornery as his friend. Beside her, Gianna saw Nat roll her eyes.

"What's his downtime look like, doc?" Steve asked Dr. Cove. She looked at him over the top of her glasses, unamused.

"No activity, one week. No lift, no fight, no fuck." She stared directly at Bucky, unflinching, although she was still much shorter than him while he was sitting down. "You understand."

Bucky coughed, stifling his chuckle. "Yes. Yes ma'am."

With one last disapproving glance at him, she tossed the roll of bandages back in her drawer. "He is fine. Check in if pain bad."

"Thank you, Dr. Cove." Nat said warmly as the doctor walked out of the room, waving her hand over her head in acknowledgement.

"You're the best, doc!" Bucky called after her.

"I know." Her voice echoed in from the hallway.

Steve exchanged a knowing glance with Nat before speaking up, his tone gentle yet probing. "So, you gonna tell us what happened, or do we not get that privilege?"

"I mean, we did fly all the way out here to help." Nat kicked Bucky's shoe playfully.

Bucky's gaze flickered briefly to Gianna before he replied, his expression unreadable. "Just a little run-in with an overzealous robot," he quipped, though there was a hint of evasion in his tone.

Nat arched an eyebrow, her keen gaze fixed on Bucky. "Really?" she remarked, her tone teasing yet perceptive. "That's all you're gonna give us, Barnes?"

Bucky's lips twitched in a wry smile as he glanced at Gianna. "It's kind of a long story."

"I've got time." She shrugged. "Steve, you got time?"

He made a show of looking at his watch. "I've got lots of time, as a matter of fact. I've got all day."

Running his tongue across his teeth, Bucky watched Gianna, who shrugged. "Fine. It's not like I can do anything fun today anyway."

"We'll try not to take that personally, Barnes." Nat rolled her eyes as she linked arms with Gianna. "Sounds like it's time for a breakfast date."

The cozy diner exuded a welcoming atmosphere as the four settled into their booth, the scent of freshly brewed coffee mingling with the aroma of sizzling bacon and eggs. Bucky sat with his back slightly leaned against the wall, his right arm cradled in a sling in front of him. An uncharacteristic grin played on his face, having been there most of the morning. The group gave a chorus of thanks to the waitress who poured them all cups of coffee, doing her best not to overpour as she ogled at the group.

"So, Buck, how's the arm feeling?" Steve asked, sipping the coffee.

"Haven't felt it in a few decades, seems to be doing okay." Bucky lifted his left arm, the metal glinting as he flexed his hand.

"Someone's feeling chipped today." Nat smirked. "Could it be this mysterious and miraculous reunion?"

Gianna blushed, sipping her own coffee to avoid answering the question.

"Oh, come on. Enough with the games." Nat rolled her eyes, sitting back in the booth. "I was here, what? A week ago? All I know is Wanda and I had a come-to-Jesus with you, Barnes, then you suddenly come back to life and insist we go to New York that night because you just had to find Gianna. We get our asses in gear, put lipstick on while flying a Quinjet, for God's sake, and next thing I know…you leave us at the club." She crossed her arms, looking at Bucky expectantly. "I think I deserve some details."

Looking at Bucky incredulously, Gianna set her mug down on the table. "'What?! You came to New York last week? You went to a nightclub?"

Steve looked blankly between them as Bucky ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah…I uh, planned to do the whole last night thing about a week ago." He shot Natasha a thanks a lot look, but she only raised her eyebrows at him. "I wasn't doing so hot there for a while."

Natasha scoffed, as if to say understatement of the century. Gianna fought a smile, turning her attention back to Bucky, clearly uncomfortable at having to explain his feelings in front of everyone, even three of the closest people to him.

"I was having a hard time and Wanda and Nat called me out on it. They…opened my eyes to what mattered and how much of a dumbass I was being. I found out you were out with Steve and the rest of 'em, and I just…I had to see you." He looked at Gianna sheepishly. "As soon as I realized what a mess I made, I just wanted to clean it up as quickly as I could. I wanted to tell you I was sorry, that I love you…" He trailed off, seeming to remember he wasn't alone with Gianna. "...you know the rest."

She gave a shy smile. "So why didn't you? I saw Nat and Wanda that night…I looked for you,"

Bucky's heart twisted. "I saw you…it sounds so stupid now. I saw you with Sebastian and I, uh…you just looked happy. You looked happy and normal and I didn't want to fuck it up. So I went back to the Tower."

Nat and Steve sat in respectful silence, letting the story come out.

"The team went back to the compound, the girls stayed with you, and I just stayed behind. I needed to clear my mind, figure out what to do. I had it in my head that you had moved on, that you were happier now and with someone else and I almost talked myself out of it."

"So why did you show up at my apartment last night?" Her voice was soft.

"Well," Bucky chuckled. "Ironically, I ran into Sebastian again."

Gianna's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I was out for a run, I happened to bump into him, literally. He introduced himself and just started talking about how helpful you were and how much you must care about me to help him with the role and I just…I felt even dumber." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I basically ran back to the Tower to clean up and went straight to your place."

"Which is when you fell into the garbage disposal?" Nat pried.

"Which is where I found out that my dear friend Nat hadn't programmed me into the Iron Legion's list of acceptable guests." He shot her a dirty look.

If she felt guilty, she didn't show it. "Maybe if you ran your plans by your dear friend before you acted on them, then this wouldn't be an issue."

"Well, I heard something happening in the hallway," Gianna interrupted, picking up the story. "I looked through the peephole, and there he was." Her eyes went distant as she remembered the scene. She nearly shivered. "He was…not in good shape."

She reached for Bucky's knee under the table. "I brought him in and cleaned him up and…we talked. Clearly not about everything…but about enough." Gianna smiled at Bucky. "But he insisted I didn't call anyone until this morning. I swear I tried to call you last night."

"What happened to not doing anything stupid?" Steve raised his eyebrow at Bucky, who shrugged.

"If the ends justify the means." He grinned.

The waitress interrupted with plates of pancakes and another metal carafe of coffee, saving Bucky from another round of interrogation. As they doused their plates in syrup, they caught up on the past few weeks, with Natasha making sure Gianna knew just how much of a terror Bucky had been without her. She even joked that the SHIELD agents might be sending her 'thank you' notes for finally snapping him out of it.

After a long and food-coma inducing meal, they waltzed back out onto the landing pad of the Tower to see Steve and Nat off.

Natasha engulfed Gianna in a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you, G." She pulled back and gripped her arms. "You deserve this. You both do."

"Thank you, Nat. For everything. It sounds like you're the reason this all turned out okay, after all."

"Story of my life." She winked, turning to head back to the Quinjet. "Don't be a stranger. I want monthly visits!"

"Likewise!" Gianna called after her, giggling.

A few feet away, Steve pulled Bucky in for a brief but tight hug. "Don't mess it up this time, okay?"

"I'll do my best." Bucky gave him a lopsided grin.

"I'm guessing I'll be taking over your training sessions for a while?"

"You don't -"

"Buck," Steve cut him off. "I want to." He clapped Bucky on his good arm. "You deserve this. Plus, who's to say I have any reason to want to leave the Compound." He smirked and nodded at Natasha's retreating form. Bucky raised his eyebrows in question but Steve was already backing away. "I figured you'd be staying in the city for a while. There's a bag of your stuff in your old room downstairs."

Grinning, Bucky waved at his friend as he strode to Gianna, putting his arm around her. Steve stood on the ramp, pausing as it raised to close. "Oh, and Buck?"

Bucky cocked his head in acknowledgement.

"Don't do anything stupid until I get back."