Evelyn frowned as she stood in Bucky's bedroom and opened his wardrobe. He was stood behind her, arms folded over his chest and crumpling his grey top. She was pulling things out and her eyes were wide as she looked through his clothes. Turning her head over her shoulder, she looked at him. "Do you own anything except for jeans and hoodies?" she wondered.
"I own a couple of shirts," he said. "I didn't know that meeting your parents would require a tuxedo."
She swatted his arm. "Don't be sarcastic."
"Sorry, sweetheart," he said.
"And don't think calling me that will soften me," she warned him, pointing a finger at him before turning back to his wardrobe. She grabbed hold of a black shirt and found a blazer at the end of the railing. She placed the blazer over the shirt and held it up as Bucky wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, dropping his chin to sit comfortably on the top of her head.
"Are you seriously choosing my clothes for me?" he asked her. "Do you not trust me to dress myself?"
She frowned. "You asked me if what you were wearing was alright," she replied.
"Well I didn't know where we were going for dinner," he responded.
"You're wearing jeans and a leather jacket with a crumpled hoody," she deadpanned. Bucky watched her escape from his grip, leaving the hanger on the doorknob to his wardrobe. He watched her move around the room, fingers tangling through her hair.
They had walked straight from her work to his apartment, Evelyn insisting that he get ready for dinner considering they were meeting her parents in less than two hours. She had stated that she would be fine in her plum fitted dress, looking smart enough for dinner. Bucky had watched her walk to his wardrobe instantly as soon as they entered his apartment and he wondered what was going through her mind.
"What's wrong?" he asked from her.
"I just want this to go well," she said to him. "I want them to like you…and I want you to like them. I've never done this before. I've never done the 'introduce a guy to your parents' thing and I'm nervous. When I'm nervous I have a tendency to stress…and I want this to be perfect."
"I get it," Bucky promised her, moving back to her and running his hands along her shoulders. "You don't need to explain yourself. Listen, I will do what I can to make them like me and I'm sure they're great people. You came from them, didn't you?"
"An image no child wants to think about," Evelyn blanched and Bucky smirked.
Bending down, he kissed her forehead and cupped her cheeks. "It will be fine," he emphasised again. "I'll get changed and be out in a minute. We can walk to the restaurant, right?"
"Should take twenty minutes," Evelyn said with a nod and he let her go. "I'll wait in the living room."
"I'll be five minutes," he said.
He waited until she had gone before stripping off, shrugging into the black shirt and fastening it up before changing into trousers and grabbing his shoes. He shrugged the blazer over the shirt and combed his hair with his fingers. Reaching for his black winter coat instead of his leather jacket, he placed it on and finished looking in the mirror that sat on the wardrobe door. Nodding, he psyched himself up to leave, pulling his gloves onto his fingers.
"It's just meeting her parents, how hard can it be?" he whispered to himself. "You've faced aliens…robots…talking racoons, for heaven's sake. This will be easy."
Once he had convinced himself that he would be fine, he left his bedroom and found Evelyn perched on the edge of the sofa, satchel over her shoulder and ready to go. She peered up and over to him and he swore he saw her gape for a moment. He shrugged his shoulders and she stood up.
"Will this do?" he asked her.
"I mean…you look…" she stammered, swearing that he had somehow managed to become even more handsome if that were possible. "You scrub up well," she decided on saying. Bucky chuckled at the sight of her and nodded.
"You're blu-"
"-Shut up!" Evelyn snapped before he could even get the word out. Pointing at him, she tucked her hair behind her ears as she felt her cheeks warm up. "That's not fair. You can't come out looking like that and expect me not to."
Bucky shrugged, grabbing his wallet and keys from the side in the kitchen and stuffing them into his coat pocket. "You're only human," he said.
Rolling her eyes, she stepped forwards and headed to the door. "You're such a cocky ass," she muttered and he continued smirking as he held the door open and let her out. He locked up and offered her his arm. She took it and they moved out into the open air, Evelyn grabbing her breath and adjusting her glasses on her eyes with her free hand.
"So your parents…" Bucky began, "just give me some background information so I know what I'm dealing with."
Evelyn wrinkled her nose. "You make it sound like they're part of your mission," she said. "But they're just my parents. My mum is called Sarah and my dad is called Alistair…but best just to go with Mr and Mrs Morris to begin with, you know, just to make a good impression. Although they probably wouldn't care. Oh Christ, I'm over-thinking this," she complained, rubbing the back of her hand down her coat, and looking to the crossing, waiting to go across the road.
"I can be polite," Bucky said to her.
"I know," she said to him. "But mum and dad…they're great. Mum is in marketing and my dad is a college lecturer. He's giving a guest lecture over at George Washington University hence why they're here."
"You call her mum and not mom?" he asked as they finally began to cross the road.
"She is from the UK," Evelyn said. "She always insisted that I call her mum and not mom."
"How did they meet?" Bucky wondered.
"Dad was over in England on a visiting scholarship while he was doing his PhD," Evelyn said to him. "He was in London when he met my mum. It's kind of sweet, actually. She was at university there studying geology and he saw her in the library. He asked her out then and there and she agreed. They've been together ever since. He always said that he would have moved to London for her, but mum was willing to come back here when he got tenure in Florida. They've been there ever since."
"How long?"
"Just over thirty years," Evelyn said to him.
"That's a long time," Bucky whistled lowly.
"I guess so," Evelyn agreed. "And…well…they're pretty protective over me so I should warn you about that. I…before I was born mum miscarried twice," Evelyn informed him. She had been a young girl when her parents had sat her down and told her about her the previous miscarriages. Her unborn baby brother and sister had their own plaque in the back yard and Evelyn had wondered what had happened. She only understood after a little while. "She went through a lot of complications before she was able to carry me to full term. Once I was born they said that would be it."
"That must have been horrible," Bucky said, thinking of his four sisters and how he had loved his siblings. "They've clearly been through a lot."
"Yeah," Evelyn nodded her head, agreeing with him on that. "So you can see why they're so overprotective."
"I can understand that," Bucky responded to her. "I think by now I can relate to it. So what topics are off limit? Any?"
"Well, definitely don't mention that you're spending nights at mine," Evelyn said to him. "They're almost as old fashioned as you are so they might not appreciate the fact that you're staying at mine, as innocent as it might be."
"Got it, no talking about destroying your virtuous reputation," he said.
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," she said with a roll of her eyes. "But basically, yes. And it might be best not to mention Verity being on the loose. I don't want them to worry needlessly about her being out."
Bucky nodded again. "Okay," he said.
"Apart from that, you're good," she said to him with a shrug of her shoulders. She let out a deep breath as they neared the restaurant. She stood still before Bucky could pull the door open for her. Grabbing hold of his arm, she looked him in the eye as he continued to watch her, feeling slightly apprehensive.
"Are you sure you want to come in?" she asked from him.
"I'm sure," he said to her. "Come on, it'll be fine."
"Yeah," Evelyn agreed.
Holding the door open, he let her take the lead, his hands dangling down by his side. She spoke to the maître d' and he walked them to a table in the corner of the restaurant. It was already buzzing lightly with activity, jazz music humming softly from the speakers. Evelyn saw her parents already seated, her father sipping on a beer. Her mother was holding her glass of wine and speaking in a low whisper to her husband. Alistair was the first one to notice his daughter approaching and he smiled over to her as she gave him a soft wave. Sarah turned around after a moment and beamed at her daughter as she approached, Bucky on her heel.
"Evie," Alistair spoke and he stood up, moving around the table to embrace his daughter. "How are you, sweetie?"
"Good," she said to him, kissing him on the cheek before her mother stood up and she embraced her. "Hi, mum."
"Darling," she said and Bucky picked up on her English accent. She embraced her daughter and kissed her on the cheek.
"It's good to see you both," Evelyn said.
"You too, darling," Sarah said and then looked over to Bucky. "And aren't you going to introduce us?"
"Of course," Evelyn said, turning to the side and looking to Bucky, waving a hand in his direction. "Mum, dad, this is Bucky…James…" she blabbered and Sarah placed a hand onto her back, sensing that she was apprehensive. She had never done this before. There had been times when Sarah had wondered if her daughter would ever meet anyone.
"Mr Morris," Bucky said politely, inclining his head and offering the man his hand. Alistair took it and shook it, noticing Bucky's stern grip. He let go and then turned to Sarah. "Mrs Morris, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"And what should we call you…James or Bucky?" Sarah asked, throwing her daughter a teasing side glance before looking up to Bucky.
"Bucky is fine," he said to them.
"Well, Bucky, do sit down," Alistair said and he waved his hands down, urging for them all to sit and not stand on ceremony. Evelyn shrugged out of her coat and hung it over the back of her chair as Bucky did the same. He pulled her chair out for her, letting her sit down as she turned to smile at him once he had completed the motion. She dropped her bag to the floor and pulled her lanyard off, realising she was still wearing it from work. She dropped it into her bag as Bucky sat down.
"So, Bucky," Alistair began. "What is it you do?"
"Bucky's just figuring things out," Evelyn answered for him and he looked to her as her father poured her a glass of wine from the bottle. She sipped on it before he moved to top Bucky's glass up. "You know, after everything that happened…he's just taking time out. Can't blame him for that really."
"No, of course not," Sarah agreed with that point, not entirely certain how to have normal conversation with a super soldier. "And how are you finding D.C.? Do you like it?"
"He has this really nice apartment a few blocks from mine," Evelyn said again, nervously babbling. "I mean, you find D.C. busy right?" she looked to Bucky and he could only nod, his mouth opening but he couldn't get any words out. Instead she was talking again. "Which we've all said, haven't we? I know that you guys find it too busy."
"We owe you a thank you as well, Bucky," Alistair said. "You seem like you've been a rock for Evelyn."
"He has…he is," Evelyn said and Bucky looked to her, trying not to smile at how nervous she clearly was. "I know that things haven't exactly gone to plan and I know that you might have an impression about Bucky from what happened…and I…I get why…but I don't want you to hold that against him. I just don't want you to hold any of it against him."
Alistair looked to Sarah and then back between his daughter and Bucky. "And do you ever answer your own questions, Bucky?" he asked in a teasing tone and Evelyn sighed, leaning back in her chair and realising that he hadn't actually said a word since they had sat down at the table.
"He does," she said, "but I just really want you both to like him and I guess…this is new to us, isn't it? We've never done this before and I just want you to like him as much as I do and not judge him…because he's actually a really great guy."
"Well, we might be able to see that if you just calm down, Evie," Sarah said to her daughter as a waiter arrived with menus. He handed them out and Evelyn set hers down on the table as Bucky copied her movement. "So, Bucky, let's try this again, shall we?"
"I would like that," Bucky said, adjusting the watch that sat on his wrist as Evelyn took another gulp of wine. "And Evelyn is right, I am currently trying to work out where I stand in this new world. It's different…and I figured I have time to get used to it. I…waking up in a new era after missing decades is daunting and I didn't really know how to navigate it. And then I met Evelyn," Bucky said and he looked to Evelyn softly before looking back to her parents. "She made me feel like I could fit in here, that I had a place. And I know that I put her in danger and I put you through hell," he said and Evelyn lowered her gaze, trying not to interrupt. "And I doubt any apology can make up for that, but I do want you to know that I am going to try and make up for it…that I left her because I thought that she would be safer."
"We saw that," Alistair admitted to him. "You know, we were apprehensive to begin with. We don't pretend to be ignorant about who you are, but our daughter knows you. And we trust her. She can make her own decisions and we want to support her, but we just want her to be safe. We're perhaps too overprotective of her, but circumstances have made it that way."
"Dad," Evelyn whispered, feeling emotional all of a sudden. She bit down on the inside of her cheek. He looked to her and nodded his head at her.
"Your mother and I talk, Evie," he said. "And we can see the difference in you. You're happier with Bucky. And the fact that Bucky left to keep you safe speaks volumes."
"Yes," Sarah agreed. "I was reluctant to see that to begin with, but we suspect that you would not leave if you didn't care, would you?"
"I did what I thought was right," Bucky nodded. "But I realised how miserable I was…how I had to come back and make things right."
"And he did," Evelyn said with a nod. "We're fine and happy. Everything is fine, trust me."
"We do," Sarah said to her daughter. "I just suppose we never thought that you would date someone from the 1940s."
Bucky's lips quirked at that. Evelyn shrugged. "I've never been conventional," she defended herself.
"Can say that again," Alistair said. "You know, Bucky, when she was sixteen we got a phone call from our local library. Turns out that they had been inundated with requests from Evelyn here to stock more books in the history section."
"Oh yes," Sarah said and Evelyn opened her menu up. "She had sent them this ten page document of recommendations based on reviews she had read. They found it quite entertaining."
"Yes," Alistair said. "We never had to worry about her sneaking out and going to house parties. I tried to get her to do a Masters degree and a PhD. I thought that she could become a doctor like her old man, but she was determined to work in the museum."
"She spent three hours in the National History Museum in London when we went with her, do you remember?" Sarah asked Alistair.
"Oh yes," he replied, picking up his drink again. "She was thirteen, wasn't she? Didn't you end up arguing with the tour guide about something?" he asked his daughter.
Bucky arched a brow. "You argued with the tour guide?" he asked her.
"She had the date wrong!" Evelyn protested her innocence. "And do we have to do this? I'm sure Bucky doesn't want to know all about my boring childhood."
"Oh, he does," Bucky teased her further.
Sarah laughed at that and looked down to her menu, opening it up and scanning it as everyone did the same. "Well, we do have lots of stories," Sarah said. "But perhaps we can spare her some embarrassment, just for tonight."
"How decent of you," Evelyn said flatly to her mother and she chuckled as Alistair sipped on his drink. Bucky picked up the wine and took a sip of it. "So when is your guest lecture, dad?"
"Two day's time," he said, reaching for his reading glasses so he could see the menu. "I am lecturing on the tensions between freedom of speech and the recent Supreme Court case concerning social media. Do you think you'll be able to attend? It starts at seven."
"I get off work at six so I should be able to get there," she nodded her head at him.
"Excellent," Alistair said. "Bucky, I know it doesn't sound particularly interesting, but you're welcome to join."
"No, it sounds fascinating," Bucky replied. "I'll come."
"Excellent," Sarah said as the waiter came and took their order.
Bucky let Evelyn order first. She picked a pasta dish and he went for a steak. Alistair chose fish and Sarah opted for risotto. They lapsed into conversation as they waited for their food to be brought to them. They ate and talked, Bucky finding out more about Evelyn's home life and what her parents did. Her father was hugely successful in his academic profession. Her mother was also quite high up in the marketing company she worked for, but she was considering going part time so that she could travel more, telling Alistair that life was too short to work all the time. Since the blip, they had been determined to enjoy life as much as possible.
Once they had finished, Evelyn insisted on paying for half the bill, but Bucky stepped in. He grabbed his wallet, but Alistair held a hand up, saying that it was his treat. Bucky had protested just the right amount, but had backed down after Alistair had said he could get the next meal.
Standing up, Bucky helped Evelyn into her coat, holding her collar back so that she could pull her hair from underneath it. He pulled his own coat on and let her leave first, following her parents with her satchel on her shoulder.
"Do you want to catch a cab back home?" Sarah asked once they were on the sidewalk in the cool night air.
"I don't mind walking," she said.
"I'll walk you home," Bucky said, remembering not to mention that he was staying at her place.
"Well, text us when you're back," Alistair insisted, his long, grey duster coat fanning around him. "And I'll see you Thursday night. I'll let you know what building the talk is in."
"Thanks, dad," she said. "I'll see you then."
She hugged him quickly and then hugged her mum, bidding them both a goodnight. Bucky shook Alistair's hand and Sarah leant in to peck him on the cheek. Evelyn made sure they were in the cab before they began the short walk back to her apartment. Offering her his arm, Bucky felt her take hold of it and she let out a breath that she felt she had been holding in since they arrived at the restaurant. Bucky chuckled at the loud noise and looked down to her as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I think so," she said. "I mean, that went well, didn't it? They didn't seem to hate you."
"Just seem?" he asked from her in a teasing tone.
"No, they didn't hate you," Evelyn confirmed. "If they did then my mum would have made it pretty clear. She's not very good at hiding her disdain for people."
"Well," Bucky said, "I suppose that is something then. They're nice. I wouldn't have blamed them for hating me after everything."
Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. "They worry, but why would they hate you? What is there to hate?"
"A lot, Evie," he whispered and she stood still then, refusing to move any further. She looked up to him as he watched her, turning around to stare back down to her. She shook her head and moved her hands to his shoulders, holding onto them.
"Don't do that," she urged from him. "I know you find it difficult and I understand why, Bucky, but don't do that because I know who you are…and you're not him. You're Bucky Barnes, the man who risked his own life to save me…you're obnoxious when it comes to teasing me. You're an absolute geek because don't think I haven't noticed you reading my books on the industrial revolution and not putting them back in the right place," she said and smiled at him as his own lips quirked. "You're funny. You're kind. You make me smile more than anyone I have ever dated before. You have this ridiculous ability to make me feel at ease but also make my stomach flip whenever I see you."
He remained silent as she searched his gaze and she continued.
"So I know that you can't help going back to that dark place, but that's just it, Bucky. It's in the past. It doesn't have to dictate your future."
He wondered exactly what he could say to her. He felt his throat clench and she waited expectantly for him to say something, but he remained mute. Instead he searched for the right words.
"I didn't know you'd noticed me taking your books," he chose to say and Evelyn laughed at him, shaking her head.
"Well," she said, sensing that he wasn't entirely certain how to reply. "You know that they're all in alphabetical order based on historical period, right?"
He arched a brow. "And you call me the geek?" he checked with her.
"Shut up," she nudged him in the shoulder. "Come on, we need to get home. I've got to be in early tomorrow."
She began to walk again, but Bucky grabbed hold of her by the hand. Moving to bend down as she turned back around, he used the back of his hand to brush her hair from her cheeks, his lips landing firmly on hers. She shifted slightly under the movement, her hand still keeping hold of his. It was over before she knew it, feeling his lips lightly brush hers before he pulled back.
"Thank you," was all that he could think of saying to her.
"You don't need to thank me for the truth," she promised him.
"Yeah, I do," he replied, moving to wrap his arm over her shoulders and lead her back home.
….
Verity Mardox was seething. Whenever she was alone, she would feel her anger take over her. She would feel the rage bubble inside of her as she longed to find the man who had murdered her mother. The fact that he had managed to escape them was the one thing that angered Verity more than anything. He thought that he had taken all of the vials of his blood before he had left them tied up in that lab, but he had been wrong. Verity had ensured she had hidden one vial.
Once her allies had broken her out of the cell she was in, she had gone back to the lab to retrieve it. But she needed to find the right doctor to help her use it to recreate the serum. She had worked on it, but her mind was clouded by anger. She knew that there had to be a way to recreate the serum and she had found herself travelling to Madripoor to meet a man who she had heard could make that happen.
The Flag Smashers had approached her for her help. They had heard of her ability as a scientist and had also heard about her ability to want to recreate the serum. They had agreed to help her in her quest and in turn, she had agreed to lend them her family's resources. Her family had never been poor. They had resources aplenty to help people stay hidden and travel off grid.
"You okay?"
Verity tossed her long hair behind her body and nodded her head. "Fine," she said to the young woman who stood in front of her. "Any news on the doctor?"
"He's been moving around, but we'll be able to find him," she promised her. "He just needs some of the blood you have to recreate the serum."
Verity looked at the vial on the bedside table. They were staying at some remote hotel that was out of the way. It was expensive, but they didn't care about identity. Verity was grateful for that. She stood up and tugged up her jeans on her waist, her white blouse tucked into it. She walked the length of the room, peering out the window and onto the river beneath.
"Your brother is due to stand trial in a week or so," the woman continued.
Verity sighed, "I expect he will end up rotting in that cell," she commented.
"Do you miss him?"
"Of course I do," Verity said, looking over her shoulder to the woman as she perched on the bed, folding her legs beneath her and brushing a hand through her curly hair. "But he never believed in what we believe in. He was taken during the blip…he didn't see what I saw. He didn't see the world that we saw."
"We can't go back to that," she said.
"And if your gang get your way then we won't."
The woman arched her brow. "My gang?" she asked from her. "I thought that you wanted to be a part of this?"
"I do," Verity replied to her. "I liked life during the blip, but I have never made my intentions a secret," she turned to the side, looking straight on at the woman. Folding her arms over her chest, she narrowed her beady eyes. "You have access to our contacts and finances and in turn, I get him when you have the serum and we know we no longer need his blood anymore."
"Do you think that revenge on him will truly bring you peace?"
"Perhaps not," she replied, "but it will make me feel a lot better about everything. Besides, it's all I've thought about for a long time."
"Then here," she said and tossed her the brown envelope she had been hiding in her jacket. Verity grabbed hold of it from the other side of the bed and ripped it open. She tugged out the images that sat inside, her gaze focused down on them. "Marcus was able to hack into CCTV near her building and work…followed her around for a little while. It looks like he's moved in with her."
Verity scoffed. "I thought that you said he had left her?"
She shrugged back to her. "He came back," was all she offered. "He's been following her like a shadow."
"I can see," Verity said with her lips firmly set in a pout. She shrugged her shoulders, rolling them back and loosening the muscles.
There were images of the two of them leaving her apartment together, walking hand in hand. Another she could see Bucky embracing her as he greeted her at the museum. His arm was around her shoulders in another, walking with her as she beamed up at him. Verity resisted the urge to sneer at the images, tossing the paper onto the bed and dropping her hand to her hips. She walked back over to the window, her rage now building up inside of her. She didn't know if she could contain it. She felt sick at the sight of them.
"He does not get to be happy," she hissed, eyes scanning the river beneath her once more. "He does not get that."
"I don't know what you intend to do," the woman responded. "You know that if you set foot in the states then they'll be onto you in minutes. Plus, he's a super soldier."
"If we get the serum then he won't be the only super soldier, will he?" Verity checked and the woman next to her frowned, her lips pursing. "No…he'll be matched eventually. Besides, I don't have a weakness, not anymore. My brother is locked up. But he still has a weakness apparently and perhaps Matty was right."
"Who is Matty?"
"Some guy who used to work for us," Verity said, not wanting to disclose that she had been sleeping with him at the same time. "He was sick and twisted, really…his mind was quite dark. But he had a point on what would hurt the soldier the most."
"Do I want to know what that was?"
"Perhaps not," Verity responded, "but I'll ensure it happens. I will see to it come hell or high water."
The woman allowed her face to show concern as Verity turned her back on her. She almost began to wonder if they had made a mistake trusting the woman.
….
"Earth to Evelyn."
Evelyn peered up from where she was sat at her desk, looking over her screen to see Jennifer stood there, holding a parcel. Evelyn blinked profusely, looking at the woman and smiling to her, shaking her head.
"Sorry," she said, taking the parcel from her. "I was lost in my own mind."
"Nothing to do with that fancy man we saw you snogging the other morning before you came in, is it?" Jennifer teased her and Martin chuckled from his desk. Evelyn shot an accusatory glance over to Rebecca who put her mug down and held her hands up defensively, refusing to get any blame for Evelyn being caught with Bucky.
"I told no one," she said and Evelyn wondered how Jennifer and Martin would react if they knew who that man happened to be.
"She didn't need to," Jennifer said. "You've been pretty cheery the past few weeks and when we were walking into work we could see why. He's cute. He also happens to look a little bit like that guy who was on TV…you know…the one the President pardoned."
Evelyn bit down on her lip. It looked like she had no other option but to tell them the truth if they were already making wild guesses.
"It kind of is," Evelyn admitted.
"Told you so," Martin commented from behind his screen, typing out an email.
"Wait," Evelyn said. "You knew?"
Jennifer sighed and tugged on the white blouse she wore tucked into her grey trousers. She shrugged and threw Martin a look. "Martin was the one who went digging after we saw him. He said that he looked familiar. I told him that it would only be a coincidence. Never thought that you would end up dating the Winter Soldier."
"He's called Bucky," Evelyn said, her voice sounding harsher than she had intended it to. "He's not that man and honestly he is pretty perfect, so please don't give me a hard time about this."
Evelyn had grown tired of defending Bucky to everyone. She was tired of defending her choice to date him. Jennifer held her hands up as Evelyn opened up the parcel and saw that it was the new stands she had ordered to hold some diary entries that were being flown to the exhibit.
"We're not giving you a hard time, Evelyn," Jennifer said defensively. "We just want you to be careful, okay?"
"For the record, I've already had this discussion with her," Rebecca said.
Jennifer looked over to her. "You knew she was seeing him?"
"She's been seeing him a while, she's just good at being sneaky and not disclosing information at work," Rebecca responded.
"Well you did keep that quiet," Jennifer said with a wrinkle of her nose.
Evelyn shrugged again and kicked the package underneath her desk. "He's just Bucky," was all she said. "He's a good guy, I swear on it."
"We don't doubt you," Jennifer said, "we just want you to be careful."
"Always am," Evelyn responded. Rebecca scoffed, knowing that wasn't the entire truth. Evelyn shot a glare in her direction, warning her to keep quiet. She knew that Rebecca had hunches about what had happened to her when she had been kidnapped, but she didn't want those made public. She wanted things to be kept as quiet as possible.
"Evie," a new voice entered the office and Evelyn looked to the door. She smiled over at Jasper, the new guy on reception as he carried another box. He whistled lowly as she stood up and he walked over to her, placing her parcel down onto her desk. "You're popular today. No idea what this is."
"I didn't think I'd ordered anything else," Evelyn said to him. "Thanks, Jasper."
"No problem," he tipped his head in her direction.
"Might be a surprise from Romeo?" Jennifer joked and headed back to her desk. Rebecca and Martin chuckled with her as Evelyn rolled her eyes and went to the box. She used the ends of her scissors to cut the tape away before pulling it open.
She moved the flaps up and peered into the box. It was pretty empty. She couldn't really make anything out. She moved her hand into it and found some sheets of paper. Grabbing hold of them, she lifted them up and it took her a few minutes before she recognised what it was. They were images. They were images of her and Bucky. She shifted through them, her face paling and her heart racing.
"You okay?" Rebecca was the one to ask.
"Yeah," Evelyn said, dropping the images and forcing herself to act calm. She closed the flap to the box and looked to Rebecca. "I think they might have sent them to the wrong curator. I'll…just give the sender a call."
She grabbed her cell and headed out the office, searching for Bucky's number. She dialled it as she came to the employee bathroom, grateful it was empty. Closing the door, she leant against it so no one else could come back in. Bucky picked up after the fourth ring.
"Hey, I'm at the store. Do you want pasta in a tomato sauce for dinner or I can try and knock up those dumplings I was telling you about," he answered and Evelyn closed her eyes. He sounded so normal and happy. She was about to ruin all of that. She took a moment to gather herself, but Bucky was already talking again. "Evie, what is it?"
"I don't know," she admitted to him. "But someone sent me photos…photos of us…together…it's like they've been watching us and I know that those images are pretty recent because one is of us with my parents. Bucky…is it her? Is she doing this?"
She swore she heard him gulp on the other end of the phone. "I don't know," he said to her. "Do you have the images? Did anyone else see?"
"No, I managed to keep them hidden," she said.
"Good," Bucky replied. "You only have another half an hour at work. See if you can leave early and I'll be there in a few minutes. Grab the box and bring them home. I'll make some calls to see if there has been any sighting of her. But Sam would have called if he knew something."
"I know," Evelyn agreed with him on that point. "Okay…I'll be fine. I'll see you in a bit."
"You will," Bucky told her. "Just hang tight and I'll be there soon."
"Bye," Evelyn said and she hung up.
Gathering her composure, she went back to the office and told them that she had to leave early, forgetting that she had a doctor's appointment. No one looked particularly convinced as she grabbed her coat, shrugging into it and then taking hold of the box. She draped her bag over her shoulder and gave them all a wave before leaving. She didn't even see Charlie preparing to start the night shift as she left the museum and found Bucky waiting for her at the top of the stairs. She wondered how he had gotten there so fast considering he had been at the store less than five minutes ago.
"You alright?" he checked with her, embracing her awkwardly as she placed the box underneath her arm. She nodded, leaning into him and wrapping her own arms around him.
"Fine," she said, "we should get home, shouldn't we?"
"Yeah," he said with a nod, pulling back and taking hold of her by the hand and putting the box under his own arm. He scanned his eyes around the area. He hadn't been followed, he knew that much. He knew when people were following him.
Walking with her back to her apartment, she managed a soft hello to Boris as he sat behind reception and once they were in the apartment, she locked the four locks on her door and went to close the curtains to her apartment. Placing the box down on the breakfast bar, Bucky opened it and pulled the photos out, looking over them and splaying them on the bar.
"It might help if we remember when each photo was taken," Bucky said to her.
"Why?" she asked him back, shrugging from her coat as he ditched his jacket behind him. "It doesn't matter when they were taken. They were taken to show us something…that she's watching…they know where we are."
"But how?" Bucky asked.
"Hacking into CCTV cameras is my best guess," Evelyn replied, looking down at an image of them walking back to her building, Bucky's arm around her as she leaned against his side. That had been the night they had gone to see a film after work. She had been wearing her mid-length blue dress that poked out beneath her coat. Bucky had insisted on buying popcorn, claiming that it wasn't a real cinema trip without popcorn. He had scoffed most of it as well.
"She's not getting away with this," Bucky said, his tone turning dark. "I'm not going to sit by any longer."
He began to stand and Evelyn huffed, moving to block the door. "And what are you going to do?" she demanded from him, seeing the anger in his face. He was fuming and she understood that. She felt the same way. But she knew that rushing out wouldn't do anything. It wouldn't help them stop this. "You're a civilian, Bucky. You have to play by the rules. Besides, how would you find her? How would you know where to find her?"
"I know people," he responded.
"Like who?" she asked him but he remained stubbornly quiet and she shrugged. "Whatever," she said when he didn't answer. "The point is that Sam is on this. Sam said that he would look into it and we have to trust him to do that."
"And if she's working with the Flag Smashers then we know what they wanted…" Bucky said to her. "She was working with someone to recreate the serum. If she is doing that then there is a chance someone might know something…or know someone who does."
"And who is that?"
"Zemo," Bucky responded, folding his arms over his chest.
"Absolutely not," Evelyn replied.
"He knew all of HYDRA's secret. He knew about the Winter Soldier program and the serum. He might know someone who wants to recreate it and that could lead us to Verity."
"Then tell Sam," Evelyn snapped. "Tell Sam and get him to talk to him."
"I prefer to solve things myself," Bucky said to her. "This concerns us, Evelyn."
"But you told Sam to look into your past to keep you safe!" she snapped again. "So let him do that. Let him do what you asked him to do."
"That was before she sent those," Bucky pointed to the images. "It was before I knew that she was watching us…that she had seen me with you and if she hurts you or gets to you then I'll never forgive myself. That's why I have to do this. That's why I have to go."
"No, it isn't!" she yelled at him. "Because if you go then who knows what you will face? You're a changed man and I know that, but I also know that you still wake up in the night from your nightmares. I hear you murmur…I hear the pain in your voice…and if you go after her…if you have to see anymore horrors or do something that you don't want to do then those nightmares will never stop. And I don't want that for you, Bucky. You are working on a way to stop them and going on wild goose chases that could be dangerous isn't the way to do that."
"Yeah, well why don't we talk about your nightmares?" he demanded, beginning to pace the length of her kitchen as he looked around. "Because I know you still have them, Evelyn. I know that you wake up in the night too because just like you can hear me, I can hear you."
"This isn't about me," she protested.
"This is entirely about you," Bucky snapped, pointing to the ground, hand on his hip and anger straining in his voice. "You have those nightmares because you're with me. You still refuse to see someone about them and I know you're scared. I know you pretend to act brave, but I've seen you searching her name on your phone to see if you can find anything. I am doing this for you. I am going to go and find her for you because I want to keep you safe."
"And I want to keep you safe," she snapped and continued as she saw him open his mouth, but she didn't let him get a word in. "And yes, I know that you're a super soldier and can handle anything, but that doesn't mean that I don't worry, Bucky. I worry because I've seen alien invasions…I've seen one...alien...man...whatever he was...wipe out half the population. You're not invincible."
"These aren't those threats," he retorted.
She shrugged. "If they recreate the serum who is to say they're not?" she asked from him. "And if you go…if you leave me here…then yeah, I'm not too proud to admit I'm scared because do you know what happened the last time you left me alone to try and protect me? Some guy broke into my apartment and took me. So maybe I am being selfish in wanting you to stay here, but I also want you to stay because I want you to be safe too."
Silence engulfed them then and Bucky saw Evelyn's eyes begin to water. She was still stood against the door, but she soon moved off, heading for her bedroom. "Evie," he called her name.
She ignored him, storming into her bedroom and slamming the door shut. Bucky placed both hands on the back of his head and looked to the ceiling, muttering a curse word under his breath. He wondered what to do for the best before he looked to his phone and found Sam's number. He had already called him on the way to the museum to tell him what had happened. He contemplated calling him again, but shut the lid to the phone and headed to her bedroom. Knocking on the door, he let himself in and found her sat on the end of her bed, fingers gripping tightly onto her duvet.
"So," Bucky began, "our first fight."
"Had to happen sooner or later," she responded, voice hoarse.
Bucky sat down next to her, keeping a small distance between them before he saw that silent tears that stained her cheeks.
"I just want to protect you," he said, voice softer than before.
"I know," she said, "but can't you see that I also want to protect you? But when we're together that's when we're safer. And you told me to tell you what I want. Well I want you to stay with me. I want you to stay for the same reason you stay here every night…because without you…knowing that someone is out there who would kill me to hurt you…that terrifies me…and obviously it terrifies me because I don't want to die. Who does? But it terrifies me because you've been through enough and I couldn't cope with the thought of my death being on your conscience because no matter how many times I tell you that these things aren't your fault, you never see it that way."
Bucky sighed and shook his head. "You're the only thing that matters to me, sweetheart," he admitted. "I have no one else, not really."
She sniffed and looked to him. "You have Sam," she said and his lips arched at that. He nodded once.
"I guess so," he said, "but he doesn't care for me like you do."
"I suppose not," she sniffed again and moved closer to him. He let her rest against his side, arm around her shoulders. "Just don't do anything brash, not tonight."
"I'll call Sam and tell him the situation," Bucky said to her. "But I can't promise you that I won't act, not if this continues."
"You're not going to budge on this, are you?"
"Not in the slightest," he responded.
"Just call Sam," she urged him. "And don't keep things from me either. We're in this together. Don't try and protest otherwise."
"I won't keep things from you," he chose his words carefully. That wasn't the same as saying that he would take her with him if he did decide to go. He knew that he would never do that. He bent down and kissed the top of her head tenderly. "Do you want something to eat? We should have dinner."
"I imagine you didn't get the ingredients for dinner from the store, did you?"
"Dropped the basket as soon as you called," he said to her. "But you have enough in the fridge for grilled cheese sandwiches."
"You did promise me you'd make me one," she reminded him.
"Then consider that promise kept," he said and stood up. He reached for her hand and dragged her from the bed, wiping her eyes with his thumb as his vibranium hand held her waist. "We'll be fine," he promised her. "Come here."
He embraced her once more, holding her tightly as she pressed her face into the crook of his neck. Bucky closed his eyes and ran his hand down her hair, holding the back of her head to keep her to him. He swore there and then that he would fight for what he and Evelyn had. He would fight right until the bitter end.
...
A/N: Thank you so much to all the followers and big thanks to those who have left reviews too! It's great to read what you think. If anyone has any ideas on what comes next or suggestions then I'd love to read them. Look forward to hearing from you!