They'd begun with a five-mile run interspersed with a variety of bodyweight muscle work, burpees or pushups or pullups on a bar rigged by Sam sometime since Bucky's last visit. A good idea actually, and, though comparatively easy for him, still of benefit. Sam had to work hard since he remained a mere mortal. Oh, he was at the upper end of human physique, his reaction time nearly as good as Bucky's, which it had to be given the wings he wore. No, being a paratrooper of his caliber had never been common and he had managed to take it one step further. Even as The Winter Soldier, Bucky had been fully aware of the danger Sam Wilson could present when in his element of the sky.

Grounding him had been the only viable option during the helicarrier fight. Taking away the advantage of the higher ground with the simple expedient of pulling off a wing, like a mean child would do to a fly, to watch it flop about and buzz uselessly on the ground until putting it out of its misery and ending its tiny life.

Thankfully the Soldier hadn't managed to kill Sam during that fight. hadn't managed to kill Steve either though the Soldier had tried awfully hard.

Bucky shook his head, not really in the mood to go wandering down memory lane in excruciatingly vivid detail right at the moment.

"You're doing that staring thing again," Sam snarked as he hefted the shield on his forearm.

Bucky shook his head. "Thinking." An answer that wasn't really an answer and he could only hope that Sam wouldn't probe too deeply at this particular rabbit hole he'd found himself falling into

"You and Ni will be just fine if I'm any judge." Sam flung the shield at one of the many padded trees sending it bouncing and ricocheting back towards them.

Bucky caught it and duplicated the move. "Too easy."

He handed the shield back to Sam who frowned. "Well, I didn't want to force you to think too hard."

Bucky watched Sam, subtle movements of his eyes and body giving away his planned route for the shield. Sam wound up, took a couple of steps, and heaved the shield with an impressive amount of force.

At the second rebound, it became obvious he had misjudged the angles as the shield took off towards the porch and… "Holy fuck, look out." Bucky took off running towards the house, knowing damn well the shield would get there long before he could, even if that long was only a matter of seconds.

In the direct path of the careening vibranium shield walked Nienna, who had clearly wandered out of the house without either of them noticing, mug of coffee in one hand, tablet in the other, her head down and focused on the screen and not the goings-on about her.

At his shout she froze, head snapping up and eyes going wide as she quickly realized she was in the line of fire. Instead of dropping to the ground as one might expect, she instead let the mug fall from her right hand, which then snapped up just in the nick of time, closing on the edge of the wobbling shield and stopping it dead mere inches from the tip of her nose.

Bucky got to her an instant later, Sam hot on his heels. "Oh my god, Ni, are you okay?"

"I broke Sarah's mug," she stated in an oddly flat tone, still staring at the shield she'd just barely saved herself from while she convulsively swallowed several times in a row.

Bucky removed the offending shield from her nerveless grip and tossed it aside. "Fuck the mug, are you all right?"

She nodded, still staring at the spot where she'd stopped the shield. "I think my hand is broken."

Sam sighed in relief until her words sank in. "What?"

She blinked, coloring draining from her face, and turned to face Bucky. "Ow?"

He took one look at her hand then scooped her up into his arms and carried her inside.

She laughed, the sound only a touch hysterical. "My legs work just fine."

"Shock, doll, you are dead pale right now and I don't need you passing out and hitting your head on top of everything else." He set her down on a clear spot on the counter, removed the tablet, which she had somehow managed to keep a hold on, from the tight grip of her left hand, and set it aside where it hopefully wouldn't also get broken.

With all due care, he lifted her right hand into both of his to examine the damage. While the shield had been made of vibranium and therefore neutralized most kinetic energy, which allowed them to catch it easily, it also could do a hell of a lot of damage when it struck a person. Ni hadn't actually caught the thing. She'd gotten her hand up in time to prevent it from directly impacting her face, her fingers had closed about the edge due to the force, but it had been enough to stop it. She'd been lucky, it could have simply slapped the back of her hand into her nose and knocked her back onto the ground instead of the metal edge doing the job.

The damage done was quite obvious as several of her knuckles were noticeably out of place.

"I got the ice," Sam said as he headed right for the fridge after grabbing a clean hand towel.

Bucky ran his fingers gently over the damaged area, noting that they'd already begun to swell.

"I can get the truck ready; nearest hospital is a bit of a drive…" Sam continued as he overfilled the towel, the excess spilling out onto the floor as he tried to fold it.

"No," Ni barked, voice high and tight. "No hospitals. I'll be fine."

Sam and Bucky exchanged a look at the initial vehemence in her words. "Doll…"

"No, Bucky, I will not go to a hospital. Besides, what are they going to do? Tell me it's broken? I already know that."

"X-Rays? A cast if needed?" Sam told her, his tone clearly wondering why she felt so adamant about not going.

"You certain it's broken?" Bucky asked as he gently pressed on the knuckles.

She winced. "Not my first rodeo, so yeah based on the pain level and the horrible crunching noise from my hand, yeah, I'm reasonably certain it's busted."

"Shit," Sam muttered. "Sorry, Ni."

"Better my hand than my face. Now that would've hurt."

"And you would be going to the hospital," Bucky stated unequivocally. "I think they're just dislocated," he told her. "I need to pop them back in before the swelling gets too bad."

She tipped her head slightly. "Okay. How do you want…"

Bucky quickly and efficiently shifted the knuckles back into their proper position before she could finish her sentence, or tense up.

"Ow," she complained, eyes tearing up at the surprise spike in pain. Sam handed the ice pack to Bucky who wrapped it about her hand in hopes of keeping the swelling down.

"That's gonna be one hell of a bruise," Sam observed.

She shrugged. "I've had worse." Her voice strained, still swallowed up by the pain.

"You don't have to prove how tough you are, you did that when you caught the damn shield," Bucky assured her, actually and honestly impressed with how quickly she'd reacted to the situation.

"Your training has paid off," she told him. "Bucky?"

"Yeah, doll?"

"Would you prefer if I was a spy?"

The sudden non sequitur caught both men off guard.

Sam coughed. "Uh, I will go see if I can dig up an ace bandage to wrap up your hand once we're done icing it." He quickly escaped from the room, his footsteps hurrying up the stairs to avoid intruding on the conversation about to happen.

Bucky sighed, realizing he should have expected the question or one like it at some point in time. "No, Nienna, I would not prefer that. I like you just as you are."

"Then why did you…" she waved her right hand about vaguely, "ask me if I was?"

Bucky cupped her hand, keeping the ice in place as he tried to come up with an answer. "I guess, because I don't yet see myself having any value beyond what I was. Beyond the Winter Soldier." He shook his head.

"Bucky, aside from knowing that you and the Winter Soldier are one in the same person, I have only cared about getting to know you. I thought I made that clear when you told me about your alter ego?"

He made certain to look her in the eyes when he answered, "You did, but I… I guess I still have some self-image issues to work through."

Her right hand came up to rest softly against his face. "If you are ever feeling self-doubt, I will always be here to remind you of who you are, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, sorely tempted to turn his head to kiss her palm. Instead, he unwrapped her hand, the towel almost soaked through anyway, to check out the damage. "Can you wiggle your fingers?"

She did so without an issue. "Hurts, but I can feel them. No numbness other than from the ice."

"Good," Sam said as he stepped back into the room, a selection of bandages in his arms. "Sarah has an impressive first aid kit on hand, including a couple of splints that might work to keep the fingers still until the knuckles heal." He set the pile of gear down on the table and Bucky shifted away from Ni to peruse the selection.

"Can I ask you guys a question?"

"Sure," Sam answered as he made a couple of selections from the first aid stuff and handed them to Bucky.

"You, both of you that is, were friends with Captain Rogers, right?"

Bucky and Sam exchanged a somewhat confused look before the latter responded, "Yes. Why?"

Bucky took the proffered items and set them near to hand while he looked over the damage. The knuckles had already begun to swell even with the ice to keep it down some. "You got any aspirin in that pile? It'll help with the pain and the swelling. I'd like her to be able to use the hand at least a little since I know she… you still have work to do."

Nienna sighed. "I can always transcribe the code if you need to immobilize it. I just need a quiet area to work to do so." Then to Sam, "They're doing a huge tribute to him in the city, even announcing the dedication of a statue in his honor in Brooklyn supposedly a few blocks from where he used to live." She shook her head. "I guess I expected that those closest to him would be asked to make speeches or something. To be there for the big events and yet both of you are here."

Bucky ducked his head while Sam shuffled his feet before replying, "Would you believe either of us if we said we weren't asked to?"

Nienna blinked. "That makes no sense. I get that it's his birthday, but it's also his… memorial service sort of. Does the government not think you need closure as much as the rest of us? Hell, I've heard that a bunch of other countries are hosting celebrations for that very reason."

"Doll… yeah, it's Steve's memorial, but I think a lot of people want to forget that he wasn't alone in saving everyone. Shit, some people think that bringing everyone back was a stupid move. As you well know." He released her hand to grab the splint. He held it up against her arm and could see that it needed some modification to fit properly but he was able to bend the plastic without too much trouble to achieve the shape he wanted.

"Never mind the whole Captain America thing," Sam added. "I can safely say there are those in the government who are not too thrilled I took back the shield."

Ni's eyes began to water as Bucky did what he needed to stabilize her hand. "Pfft. It was never really theirs to begin with."

Sam's eyebrows bounced upwards. "Why do you say that?"

"Because the one you have is not the original Steve Rogers used. Last I heard the broken pieces were in the Smithsonian and are going to be added to the Captain America display officially on the 4th." Both men stared at her. "Plus the one you have is a different design. Anyone with eyes can see that."

Bucky wrapped the splint into place, Ni's face twisting up in obvious discomfort proving the numbing effects of the ice had indeed worn off. Once done he shifted her arm so the damaged portion was well above her heart.

"Hoc quoque transibit?" Sam had tipped his head slightly to read the tattoo on the inside of her biceps.

Bucky snorted. "I wondered what that one said." He'd seen the words but hadn't specifically read them. She was usually punching things, including him, when that particular tattoo was visible.

"Latin?" Sam questioned, clearly curious as to what it meant.

"'This too shall pass'," Bucky translated. "Let me guess, you got that one during the Snap years."

"Yeah. Not long after I moved to Brooklyn," she explained to them. "It was… needed at the time."

Given Bucky knew something bad had happened to her just prior to moving to Brooklyn, he believed her. One day she might tell him exactly what had occurred, but he had his suspicions.

"How's the pain?" Bucky asked.

"Tolerable. But I'll take that painkiller. Will I live?"

Sam snickered. "I think so. Me and Bucky may not once Sarah gets wind of what happened."

"Better me than one of the boys," Ni pointed out and not incorrectly.

"Definitely," Bucky agreed. "And she'll be back any moment so time to get cleaned up."

Sam damn near yelped and jumped into action, grabbing the supplies they hadn't made use of and rushing from the room to return them to their home location with a, "I'll be back with something aspirin-like."

Bucky helped Ni down from the counter. "You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

"I'm sure. I promise if it doesn't seem to be getting better once I'm home I'll go see my doc, okay?"

"Okay. How about a cup of coffee to replace the destroyed one?"

"Sure. And my tablet. I was in the middle of something when someone tried to kill me with an oversized frisbee."

"Who tried to kill who with what?" Sarah asked as she opened the back door and stepped into the kitchen. She took one look at Nienna and bellowed, "Samuel Wilson get your butt down here right this instant."

"Well, she didn't use all three names so he might just survive this," Ni said softly as she gave Bucky a tap with her elbow. "Sarah, I'm fine. It was my fault for not paying attention to what they were doing."

Sam rushed into the room, hands already raised in surrender. "She's fine. Just some dislocated knuckles."

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "How?"

"Bad bounce by the shield," Bucky answered. "Ni ended up in the path and got her hand up in time to stop it."

"I am fine," Ni reiterated.

Sarah shot a dangerous look at her. "You wandered into their training area?"

Ni glanced at both men with a slightly guilty expression on her face. "No. I'd just come off the porch and-"

"I've warned you before, Sam, now I have to put my foot down. The shield training has got to move further away from the house. What if it had been one of the boys?"

Sam bowed his head in clear submission. "You're right. Bad bounce or not it's too close to the house. I'll get it moved before I do any more shield practice."

If anything Sarah's glare deepened.

Bucky tried to think of anything to convince Sarah they were well and truly sorry for fucking up so badly, when Nienna piped up with, "Any chance I could borrow a vehicle? I have some items I need to pick up."

Sarah's wrath turned on Ni, the ultimate victim in the situation, before sputtering and burning out. Oh, he and Sam would be on Sarah's shit list for a while yet, but she would not take out her displeasure on their guest.

"Uh, of course, though I'd suggest one of the boys drive you given your..." Sarah waved in the direction of Ni's bandaged hand. "Seems like the least they could do for you."

Bucky instantly volunteered. "I got it. When do you want to leave?" Yes, he would take the opportunity to escape.

"I'll need a couple of hours. You owe me a coffee and I have some work I need to do now."

Bucky nodded. "Of course, doll." He handed over her tablet then moved to the coffee maker to brew a fresh pot.

Sarah huffed out a breath not entirely satisfied with the punishment. "Go put that damn shield away," she ordered Sam, who scuttled from the room to do precisely that.

Ni sat at the table with her tablet, returning to whatever she'd been doing when rudely interrupted by a shield to the face. "Sarah, would you mind if I cooked dinner tonight? I know you have a ton to do for tomorrow, but I'd like to take some of the work off your plate if I may?"

Sarah seemed surprised at the offer. "Are you sure? I was going to make them eat leftovers tonight."

"Provided you and the boys like Italian, I'm absolutely certain."

Sarah tipped her head. "They do and thank you. I appreciate it."

Nienna smiled. "Any time. I'll make more than enough to feed this army."

Sarah returned the smile with one of her own and moved to the cabinet to grab a pair of coffee mugs. "Cream and two sugars, right?"

Ni nodded. "Yes." She waited until she'd been handed the cup and sipped it, before sighing softly. "Work awaits. Do you need the space?"

"You're good. Bucky, help me bring in the supplies."

Bucky stood straight at attention, knowing it had not been a request. "Yes, ma'am."

Sarah snorted and led the penitent Winter Soldier out the back door.

. . .

Dinner had been a huge hit.

Ni had permitted Bucky to assist given she couldn't hold a knife all that well in her left hand yet and he hadn't wanted to see her lose any fingers slicing squash, both yellow and green. Or mushrooms. Or sausage. Never mind the garlic bread made from scratch. She had wanted to make dessert as well, but he had managed to talk her into buying a couple of dozen assorted cupcakes instead.

Watching her inspect the various vegetables and deciding that, "these will do, I suppose," had been amusing, to say the least. Especially given the garden he knew she had back in New York. She had spent a small fortune on the food alone, not once complaining about the prices for such items as fresh basil and oregano. They both knew how hard many of the items were to come by still.

And that had been only one of the stops they'd made.

A lot of the locals knew Bucky by sight and greeted him while eyeing Nienna with suspicion. Until he had introduced her as a friend from back in New York. Then they turned appraising looks at her, as if judging whether or not she could be worthy of the newly adopted member of the Wilson household.

Most seemed to grant her grudging approval, given how she asked for their opinions on the ingredients, apparently fully aware that these interactions would decide if she would be welcomed back to Delacroix in the future. And while she didn't purchase any seafood, the specialty of this little town, citing Sarah having already done so for the following day's festivities, she did drop some serious cash on several steaks that Sam could toss on the grill next to the corn and potatoes.

She'd also made certain to purchase a mug to replace the one she'd sacrificed that morning to save herself even though Sarah had insisted it hadn't been that big a deal.

And that had been the least of what she bought in what she had claimed to be an effort to make the sleeping arrangements more manageable, especially given the storms the last couple of nights preventing the boys from sleeping outside.

She'd made it quite clear from day one that she hadn't liked putting the boys out of their room.

The air pump for the inflatable bed was shockingly quiet as Nienna tested the firmness before turning it off.

"I am fine on the sofa," Bucky reminded her.

She snorted and grabbed the sheets Sarah had given her to use on the airbed. "I heard you bitching about your back the other day, I can promise you sleeping on that sofa is to blame."

Bucky shook his head. "I will never admit to that. Sarah let me stay here when her brother brought home this strange white boy and welcomes me back every time without a complaint. That sofa was the first good night's sleep I had in a long time."

She finished hooking the last corner of the fitted sheet in place and smoothed the cotton cloth down. "Do you think it's the only place you'll ever sleep well?"

Bucky went still, somewhat shocked at her startlingly accurate observation.

Before he could respond she added, "Ever think it's the location, being here safe in the bosom of the Wilson family, that helps you sleep and not the sofa itself?"

"Uh, I honestly hadn't thought about it at all," he told her as he squatted down to assist with the top sheet and light blanket. He'd already stuffed the extra pillows in cases. Sarah had just assumed that the two of them, he and Ni, would be sharing the bed for the remainder of their stay.

He didn't want to be presumptuous, but he kind of hoped they would. And not just because he'd enjoyed her presence, but because she had actually slept, which she hadn't been doing since she'd arrived.

Since the space in the house was limited, they'd moved the coffee table and put the full-sized mattress right in front of the sofa, which meant he could gaze blearily at the TV until he finally fell asleep just as he had the last few nights.

Nienna grabbed her tablet and sat crosswise on the bed, her back against the sofa, clearly intending to work for a while before sleeping. Not surprising really, but a bit presumptuous that he intended to share the space with her.

"I take it you're planning on sleeping here."

"Yes," she answered without looking up from her tablet.

"With me?"

This time she did lift her head to meet his heavy gaze. "Is that a problem, Mr. Barnes?"

Bucky quickly shook his head. "No. Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page here." He settled next to her, shoulders mere inches apart as he used the remote to turn on the TV and began surfing for something interesting to watch.

After about ten minutes he leaned over to look at what she was doing on her tablet. "Code?"

She grunted. "Reviewing what I keyed earlier. The transcription software is far from perfect and since I'm here and not at home I can't do a test run to find bugs."

He shifted so that his chin rested on her shoulder. "What does it do?"

"It's a flight control system for what I'm pretty sure is an unmanned drone," she answered as she turned to him, putting their faces mere millimeters apart.

"You're writing it, don't you think you should know?"

"In this case no. Or not entirely. I know I'm writing flight controls, but beyond that…" She shrugged. "It's an outsourced contract. Probably government. I'm given parameters and goals, but no specifics. I'm making an educated guess based on those needs and the feedback I've received so far."

"Wait. You're coding for a government contract? As a side job?"

"Sort of? The company that won the contract then sub-contracted out the actual coding. It's compartmentalized so we're only given the language preference and the bare minimum of what we need to create the necessary functionality. They need the drone to be able to make in-flight adjustments on its own, so my AI expertise is useful."

"They need a drone that can think? That isn't worrisome at all," Bucky sneered, fully realizing exactly how dangerous something like that would be. "Is it weaponized?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea. I only know what I know." She permitted the tablet to flop down on her thighs. "I send in my code, they tell me if I need to make adjustments. Repeat as needed."

"And if it's a weapon?"

"Bucky, I get it, but I have no idea exactly what I'm writing the code for. It's easy money for easy work. That's all."

He shifted back, opened his mouth to argue with her then stopped and swallowed it down.

Ni noticed. "Why does this bother you? I've done scores of these jobs over the years without incident."

Bucky sighed heavily. "I don't know? Why haven't you been sleeping?"

She went oddly still. "Not my bed?"

He shifted to face her though she had chosen to stare in the direction of the TV, though he doubted she was actually watching it. "Ni… You were tired before you got here. I should have noticed sooner, but-"

"You've been busy saving the world," she finished. "I… I think I'm going nuts."

"Doubtful. Well, except for the whole hanging out with me thing."

Her dour expression cracked, a tiny laugh escaping.

"What's up?"

She grabbed her tablet, saved and then closed the coding screen, then brought up videos from the security cams they'd installed. "I keep getting alerts of movement, but there's never anyone there." She handed him the tablet so he could browse through the videos for himself.

In every one he opened and watched, the alert went off and, as she had said, no one appeared to be there. "Could the sensor be set too sensitive?"

"Adjusted them. Repeatedly. It's still happening a couple of times a week. In the hallway. On the roof. In the greenhouse. On the fire escapes. I… I added audio monitors in the hallway and in my office."

"They got in?" he asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"No. Or not that I can verify with any certainty." Ni sounded most unhappy about that answer.

"So, what was on the audio?" The obvious question to ask.

"Static. Feedback. Nothing besides ambient noises before or after," she told him.

"Show me."

She did show him, pulling up a selection of videos that had been recorded with audio. He listened carefully, head tipping as he focused on the moments just before and after the white noise occurred. "Do you have headphones handy?"

She nodded, got up from the bed, and trotted over to her bag on the nearby table. She pulled out a set of high-end Grado headphones which she handed to him. The needed adapter was already attached and he plugged them into the proper slot. He cranked the volume and listened carefully.

Ni waited patiently while he spent nearly thirty minutes listening to various files over and over again. When he finally removed the headphones she still sat there silently, pretending to be fascinated by the cooking show on the TV screen.

"Nienna."

She turned her head, the look on her face completely blank. "Yes?"

"You are not going crazy."

She released a massive sigh of relief. "So I'm being haunted?"

He gave her a wan smile. "Afraid not."

She frowned. "I think I'd prefer that."

"Understandable. Someone is using very sophisticated tech to make your security blind to them. I can hear footsteps before and after the audio jammer. They're soft, but there. There's no voices, which means they are aware of the audio."

Ni ran a hand across her face. "So my security is useless."

"Not useless. They didn't get in." He could tell his words hadn't reassured her in the least, and in reality, they shouldn't. Someone had targeted her. Someone smart enough to work around the tight security we had set up. This isn't random, Ni."

She pulled her legs up and into her chest, hugging them tightly as she processed all that he'd told her. "Are you sure it's not a ghost?"

He chuckled. "I'm sure."

"Damn it," she muttered into her knees. "Who the hell are they?" she questioned, knowing Bucky would have no clue either.

"Who did you piss off?" He closed the tablet and handed it back to her.

"No idea. I'm nearly done with the training program for ConEd et al. None of my meetings for upcoming projects have been overly exciting. In fact, I'm looking for my next long-term project though there's no real rush."

"Why no rush?" he asked in curiosity.

"I've plenty of savings. I could wait six months easily before looking for work. I'm actually considering getting out of the city for a few weeks, maybe go someplace tropical and just… be."

She didn't sound all that excited at the prospect of a vacation, not like you'd expect anyway. In fact, she sounded far more resigned than anything. Bucky knew she enjoyed her work, she'd put in a lot of effort to keep her work-life as low stress as possible, which was impressive given the pressure she'd surely been under during the Snap years. Yes, she had committed to a traditional work schedule, often working more than the traditional eight-hour day… until recently. And the only change he knew about, aside from meeting one Bucky Barnes, had been that attempt on her life.

"You aren't required to save the world every single day," he informed her, causing her to chuckle in surprise.

"I know, but after spending years living on the edge of possible extinction it's hard to take that step back and just live." She faced him, eyebrows drawn together in almost confusion, as if not certain he'd understand what she meant.

He did, of course. "I get it, as proven by my continually screwing up how to behave like a normal human." She laughed again, though the look in her eyes remained serious. "Look, if you need to get away and reset, do it. You don't need my permission, or anyone's for that matter. You went through hell, literally in some ways, if you need a slice of heaven to recover, take it."

One of her eyebrows rose. "Pot meet kettle?"

Bucky sighed. "Touche. I think I need a bit more time practicing being a human before I qualify for that slice of heaven."

"Then I think I'll wait a while," she said as she turned away to once again stare blindly at the TV.

Bucky blinked, not willing to trust that he had just heard her correctly. "And why is that," he asked, mouth suddenly dry and tongue trying its best to stick to the roof of his mouth.

She gave him a gentle shove with her shoulder, remaining in contact as she responded, "Because it would be more fun to go with you." Her head turned, and he met her serious look with his shocked one. "What? In case you haven't figured it out I like spending time with you. Besides, I want to see you in a pair of undersized speedos on a white sand beach." She grinned at him and the unavoidable imagery that created in his mind.

"That would be… interesting to say the least." He shoved her back, but also did not end the contact. "I'll be certain to pack you a 40s style swimsuit. We'll make quite the pair."

She laughed. "Cone boobs for the win."

Bucky snorted. "Less skin showing than you have now while in a bikini."

"Hey, retro styles are back in. The world is apparently nostalgic for the 'good old days'."

Bucky groaned. "Holy fuck I am old."

"S'okay, I like you anyway."

He huffed out a breath in an effort to hide his reaction to her words. "For the record, I like you too. Now, what movie do you want to watch?"

"You pick. I still have code to debug."

"I guess." He debated for a moment circling back around to their initial discussion. "We'll figure this out. I have some resources and contacts I can reach out to. We'll get the security fixed."

"You don't have-"

"No, I don't but I will. You're my… friend, Ni, and friends help each other, right?"

"Right. Thank you, Bucky. I'm sorry you got more than you bargained for when you swiped right."

"Damn straight I did. I got you." He meant the words. Her stalker issues weren't her fault and worth the supposed trouble if it permitted him to spend time with her. He set a finger under her chin to make certain she could see exactly how serious he was. "Got it."

Her eyes went wide even as her facial expression softened. "Got it. Now pick a movie. I've got work to do."

Bucky chuckled as he lifted the remote. "Yes, ma'am."

. . .

The day started with a parade.

Sam had been the unwitting guest of honor, Sarah and the boys, along with the entire damn town, had kept it a secret until she had dragged all of us there hours before the event was set to start to make certain Sam wouldn't miss his ride. A fancy float that had clearly once been dedicated to Uncle Sam, but had been quickly modified to a Captain America theme in honor of Delacroix's newest hometown hero.

The entirety of Main Street had been festooned in copious amounts of stars and stripes bunting, most of which probably got reused for Memorial Day. People walked about waving American flags and wearing a variety of 4th of July themed clothing, anything from t-shirts and shorts, to hats, and glasses, which left both him and Ni feeling uncomfortably out of place given their far more typical choice of attire.

Bucky sprang for a couple of shirts which they put on, her over her tank top, Bucky swapping out his dark blue tee, for the red, white, and blue striped one with Sam's face and the date on it. He and Ni walked up and down the sidewalk perusing the various wares and foodstuffs, settling on iced coffees and danishes with holiday-themed frosting on top.

They made a point to not eat too many of the deep-fried selections knowing damn well Sarah had a ton of food ready to go back at the house. Half the town was expected to show up over the course of the afternoon, the festivities sure to last well into the evening given the fireworks scheduled as soon as the sun had gone down.

The only potential damper on any of it was the weather, though the forecast insisted that if any storms appeared they would be short and blow by quickly. As always, it was humid as all hell, but no one seemed to care. Celebrating the first 4th of July since half the population had returned had become a big deal. Especially given the loss of the original Captain America and the official passing of the title to a new one.

The rest of the country might not have cared that one Samuel Wilson had taken on the role of Captain America, but Delacroix Louisana sure as fuck had.

They made a point to be front and center when Sam made his speech, cheering him on when he stumbled over his words at first. In true Captain America fashion, he found his rhythm and gave as inspiring a speech as Bucky had ever heard, and he'd heard quite a few in his time. When Sam tried to get Bucky to join him on stage he demurred, not wanting to take the spotlight away from Sam, who fucking well deserved it.

Still, once the speeches were over people flocked in his and Sam's direction wanting shirts and posters signed by both of them. This made Bucky realize he had yet to call that agent Nienna had suggested he contact. While Sam would probably balk at charging people for his signature in a situation such as this, they were still in dire need of funding if they hoped to continue doing the superhero gig on their own.

He mentally filed it away as part of his to-do list when he got back home.

An hour after the parade they headed back to the house to get the food ready for the hordes that would be arriving not long after.

Nienna helped the boys set up the games - cornhole, horseshoes, a beat-up badminton net among others - while Bucky and Sam assisted with the food prep under Sarah's watchful eyes.

They ate, they drank, they laughed, and generally had a wonderful time celebrating the country's independence from England.

Ni had turned out to be exceptionally good at both horseshoes and cornhole left-handed, her right still wrapped up with the brace. The swelling down and the bruising had just begun to make itself really known. Almost her entire palm and back of her hand tinting over to purple. Bucky knew the color would grow a lot darker over the next few days before starting to change as it healed.

She hadn't complained even once about it and every time she had been asked what happened she'd given a different answer. The most popular being that she'd foolishly tried to pet a gator and gotten bit for her efforts.

No one believed her tales but laughed along at the obvious efforts to not reveal the truth. Sarah had made certain that Nienna had been in the thick of things and not banished off to the corners, not that she would have permitted that, but she was the obvious newcomer to the group. Just like Bucky had been not all that long ago.

When it had been revealed that she had been invited by Bucky, the suspicious looks had changed to knowing ones. Not that Bucky had any clue what they thought they knew, but the few who had remained standoffish thawed dramatically and began to treat her as if she'd always been a part of the community.

Just as they had for him.

Nienna had done nothing other than be herself, and that, all on its own, had won over the majority of them.

As the afternoon wore on people came and went, ate and laughed and talked and enjoyed the day. It made Bucky feel whole in a way he hadn't since long before he'd gone to war. Back to a time when he and his best friend Steve had to worry about little more than getting to work on time, and if they'd have a date on Saturday night.

By the time the sun had begun heading well towards the horizon, the food had been cleaned up and packed away, half the damn town had helped, which Sarah had appreciated given how much effort she'd put into all the cooking.

They then headed out to the dock behind the house.

Bucky handed Ni a couple of painkillers which she took from him with a nod of thanks. She quickly swallowed them down with her beer.

"You good?"

She nodded as she placed the beer back in the cup holder built into the arm of the camp chair. "Yeah, just overdid it. It aches."

"Yes, you did, but you looked like you were having fun." Bucky dragged his chair closer to hers and settled into it. The breeze shifted suddenly sending the smoke from the citronella candles they had burning everywhere to keep the mosquitos at bay towards him, causing him to sneeze in reaction.

She chuckled. "I guess even the sinuses of supersoldiers can't defeat the scent of citronella."

"Apparently not," he agreed. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "This is for you."

She raised an eyebrow but took the box from him without question. "You didn't have to bribe me into forgiving you."

Bucky saw Sam glance over at them with a smirk on his face, Bucky glowered back, hoping he'd get the hint and not be a smartass at this moment in time. "It's not a bribe. We had some free time after this last mission and…" He shrugged, then picked up his beer to cover his sudden discomfiture. What if she hated it? He didn't really believe that could be possible given the instant he'd seen it he'd known he had to buy it… for her. He'd intended to give it to her a few days ago, but then she hadn't been speaking to him, then he'd tried to break her… hell, had broken her as evidenced by the bandaged hand. Then they'd been busy with the festivities, so now or never it had become.

Ni gasped when she managed to wiggle the box open mostly one-handed. "It's beautiful."

Inside the box lay a necklace, the pendant done in tiny hexagons reminiscent of a honeycomb with three tiny black and gold bees. The honey had been made out of the golden shade of brilliantly polished amber, the hexagons, and bees out of bright yellow gold. It hadn't been cheap, but the cost hadn't even been a consideration. Giving it to her had become a necessity the moment he'd laid eyes upon it.

She lifted it in her left hand permitting the last of the setting sun's light to show through the amber, turning it a deep orange. "Bucky, you didn't have to get me this."

He shrugged. "Yes, I did."

She shook her head, clearly wanting to argue, but accepting that she would lose and choosing to do so graciously. "Help me put it on?"

"Of course, doll." He got up and maneuvered behind her, brushed her hair to the side, then took the delicate chain and placed it about her neck. There remained more than enough light for him to easily work the clasp. He made certain it was secure then shifted so his head was next to hers. "That good?"

"Yes." She surprised him by turning and kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you." She took a moment to use her hand to brush across the spot as if wiping away lipstick that he knew with certainty she hadn't been wearing.

Bucky was glad the sunset had colored over to vermillion since it hid the unexpected flush of color that rushed to his cheeks. "You're welcome."

He settled back into his seat, gazing out over the water waiting for the show to begin. Nienna ran her fingers over the pendant for a few minutes as the sun continued its trek past the horizon, flooding the sky with star-speckled indigo.

When the music began, blasting across the water, she reached over and set her hand atop his, permitting him the option of ignoring it or responding. He took a beat then twined their fingers together, giving hers a gentle squeeze of acknowledgment before focusing on the first firework that lit up the night sky.