I am so sorry for the long delay in chapters-life has been crazy! I really am hoping to get back into a good posting schedule soon!

/

I followed Uncle Bucky down to the garage where his car was parked. He loaded my bags into the trunk and insisted on holding the door open for me to get in on the passenger side. Then we were off.

First, we went to Brooklyn, parking the car and getting out for Uncle Bucky's "walking tour." Considering he was never allowed to take me anywhere before; we had agreed that he would show me where he had grown up before we left the city. We spent a few hours walking around, and he showed me where his elementary school (now replaced with businesses) had been, where his high school still was, where his favourite movie theatre was and the diner he used to visit with his friends. He showed me the house where him and grandma had grown up, and the park down the road where them and their 2 siblings would play. He showed me where the grocer, now replaced with a VR arcade, had been where he had worked. He also pointed out several alleys and such where he had saved Steve from being beaten up. Then where him and Steve had taken an art class—which is where they had been when they learned the U.S. had joined the war. All of this was interspersed with stories of him growing up, and he blushed every time I told him I'd already heard some of them from grandma.

We picked up an early lunch from a deli near where we parked, and by 11, we were on our way to Maryland. I had asked Uncle Bucky what his favourite music was, and had curated a playlist mixed with a bunch of music from the 20s

We had packed car snacks, so we wouldn't have to stop for food until we got there. We still stopped a few times to go to the bathroom, or to look at some tourist stops along the way, so it was about 6:30 by the time we got to my house. Thankfully, we had good weather, with only intermittent light snowfall.

He pulled into the driveway, and almost immediately a light came on over the porch as a security guard walked over to the car with a flashlight.

Uncle Bucky stepped out of the car and spoke with him for a moment, gesturing in my direction. I was promptly blinded by the flashlight being aimed at me, and I winced but gave a small wave.

After being cleared, I went ahead to open the door while Uncle Bucky followed with our stuff. I tried to help but he refused to allow me to carry anything. I walked around the empty house, trying to ignore the hollow feeling inside that matched the hollow echoes of my footsteps. It was a bit musty smelling, and a bit cool, though nowhere near as freezing as it was soon to be outside. Dad had recommended we keep the heater running at a low temperature to avoid any frozen pipes or massive temperature fluctuations, so at least we weren't showing up to an icy house. I slightly opened a few strategic windows and turned on the fans to get out the mustiness.

Uncle Bucky deposited the cooler and bags of food and dishes in the kitchen, then asked where I wanted the airbeds and bedding.

I grinned at him, "We should do it proper sleepover style—living room floor."

He obliged, actually letting me help lay out the airbeds and attach the battery pump to blow them up. We each had our own double bed, with a full sheet set and thick blankets.

Once that was all set up, he turned to me, "So, dinner time?"

I nodded eagerly and we headed out to the car, where I gave him directions to the local pub restaurant, located in the bottom of the town's only hotel.

He ordered a beer as soon as we sat down and I got a pop while we figured out what we wanted to eat. We ended up ordering an appetizer of garlic bread to share, I got my beef and mushroom pie with Yorkshire pudding and Uncle Bucky got the steak and wings combo, with two sides of fries.

The 20-something waitress, a pretty blonde named Amanda that had worked here for the last few years, used a flirty tone and leaned forward to show her cleavage when she asked for my uncle's order. He got noticeably flustered and responded gruffly, but she remained undeterred, winking at him before walking away.

I raised a brow at him, "Does that happen a lot?"

He took a swig of beer, "Unfortunately."

I looked him over calculatingly, "You're not interested in dating?"

He gave a dry chuckle, "Those women aren't interested in dating."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure at least one of them must have been. But fine. Interest from others aside, do you want to date? Surely you must get lonely sometimes?"

I got a sudden pang of pain, picturing him alone in his tiny apartment whenever he wasn't at the tower.

He shrugged, "It's not as easy as you may think… there's a dance to these things, and I haven't danced since 1943. I tried online dating briefly…that was terrifying."

He gave me a pained smile and took another drink of his beer.

Not wanting to poke a sore spot, I changed the topic, starting to regale him with stories of my previous visits to the restaurant. This had been where Mom, Grandma, and I had come to celebrate any big events. If I had an especially good report card, my graduations, when I got my first job, on Grandma's wedding anniversaries, and when Mom had gotten a promotion at work.

Partway through dinner, a portly middle-aged man with a goatee and a bald head stopped by the table, beaming down at me.

"Well, hello there, dear. It's good to see you, it's been awhile! How is everything? You're holding up okay?"

I smiled back at him, "Hi Tim, I'm doing pretty good, though life's sure thrown me a few curveballs lately. You and Lauren are doin' alright?"

He nodded, "Oh, yes, we're doing quite well, quuiitte well. Lauren's out right now, bouncin' all over the town, she'll be sorry she missed you. And who's this, you've got with ya?"

He peered at Uncle Bucky, who was staring at us with his usual grumpy expression, a bit of suspicion just barely noticeable in his eyes.

I rolled my eyes, and gestured between the two of them, saying, "Right, I suppose introductions are in store. Tim, this is my Uncle Bucky. Uncle Bucky, this is the pub's owner, Tim."

Tim extended his hand to Uncle Bucky, who hesitatingly returned the gesture, shock crossing his face as Tim bounced his hand excitedly, "Well, it's good to meet you, Bucky. Any family of this gal is welcome around here. Though, I gotta say, I didn't know Mary had any siblings."

Bucky took his hand back, quickly placing it below the table, and giving a short nod, "It's nice to meet you too, and well, we were a bit estranged I suppose you could say."

Tim nodded knowingly, "Ah, I get ya, family can be like that. Suppose you're in charge of Y/N here, now?"

Uncle Bucky shifted uncomfortably and glanced at me. We had discussed how to handle it if people questioned who he was. We had somehow, foolishly, not thought about anyone asking about my guardian. So, I took the question, "Actually, no, that would be my father. I was able to find him after…everything. I'm living with him in New York now, which is where I happened to come across my uncle too."

Tim gaped at me, "You found your father? I figured your ma wasn't going to let anyone ever figure that one out, she was so close-lipped on the subject."

I chuckled and shrugged, "Surprised me too. Anyway, I'll catch up with you later, your food is always best when it's warm."

"Ha ha, right you are, right you are. I'll leave ya to it then, and I'll make a note with the staff that any dessert you order will be on the house."

He gave me a wink, a quick nod to Uncle Bucky, and continued on towards the kitchen. I watched him go with a fond smile.

"You were close?"

I turned back to Uncle Bucky, who was watching me with an unfamiliar expression. I shrugged, "It's a small town, we're all close. But yeah, I was perhaps closer to him than most, with how often we came here. And of course, we'd see him around all over the place too. And his wife babysat me lots when I was kid and Mom and Grandma both had things to do. I guess he was the closest thing I had to an uncle until I met you."

I gave him a shy smile, "Don't tell Tim, but I prefer you."

His lips lifted in a small smile before he looked down, clearly feeling awkward, and took a big drink from his third beer, finishing the bottle.

Amanda of course showed up immediately, batting her eyes and offering him another. He told her to just bring him two, and she nodded eagerly, though her eyes shifted oh-so-briefly towards me with a flash of worry, before she headed off to get the drinks.

I chewed the inside of my lip, trying to decide whether or not to say anything. Of course, that alone was enough to tip off Uncle Bucky, who raised his eyebrow, "What is it?"

I put my fork down, and met his gaze, "It's nothing, really, it's just… well, you're drinking an awful lot of alcohol for someone who will be driving afterwards, and I think Amanda's starting to get a little concerned."

He shrugged, "Alcohol doesn't affect me—I can't get drunk if I tried, at least not off anything you can get easily. It's part of the whole super soldier thing."

Interesting. "Huh. Well, they don't know you're a super soldier, so they think it's very possible."

He nodded slowly, "I'll make these two my last then, might not even finish the next one."

I gave him a quick smile, "Thanks. It's not that I mind, I just don't want you stirring up any extra attention for yourself."

He gave me a quick pained smile, "Yeah, wouldn't want any more of that. Guess I'm not used to having to think about what people will think of me, at least for stuff like this."

I reached for his hand across the table, giving it a quick squeeze, before returning back to my food. We ate in companionable silence for the next bit, chatting on lighthearted topics as we ate our dessert—chocolate cake for me, New York style cheesecake for him.

Before long, we were heading out the door, and back to the house.

"There's still lots of time left to today, anything in particular you wanted to do?"

I thought for a moment, "Movie night? You could show me one of your favourites, I could show you one of mine."

He smiled, "Sounds like a plan."