which I'll admit made me happy. It would be good for him to meet new people and enjoy himself.

I knelt down, using an electric sander to sand down the a wooden level on the boat. Moving it up and down in lines, taking my time to make sure it was good.

"Hayley looks good." Bucky's voice spoke as he appeared behind me.

I turned my head to look up at him and then to Hayley who was helping Sam and having what seemed to be a nice conversation with him. "Yeah, she does."

"I remember when I first met her she was young. Late teens. Now she's what? Twenty odd." Bucky noted, looking at the girl and using a hand to block the sun from his eyes.

"Twenty-four." I specified, focusing back on sanding down the wood.

It was silent for a moment between us until Bucky knelt down beside me, reaching for the sander. "No, look you wanna do it like this." He began moving the sander in one direction.

I sat back on my feet, letting him do it as he seemed to know better. However, he then pulled my hands back to the sander saying that I had to do it. For a short while, we sanded down the wood with his hands cupping over mine on the small machine and our faces quite close but neither of us acknowledged it out loud.

His arms were around my shoulders, reaching forward and his head basically resting on my shoulder. I felt his eyes slowly move to look at the side of my face, making me turn to look at him. The tips of our noses nearly touching sent a rush through my veins, a feeling I hadn't felt in a long while. Bucky's eyes, much like mine, flicked between my eyes and my lips, the two of us moving painfully slowly closer to one another.

"Looking good guys!" Sam called out which made our heads snap up to him and Bucky awkwardly stepped back, giving me a short yet genuine smile before he went of elsewhere.

I watched Bucky leave, a red rag in his back pocket and he no longer wore his black jacket. I then looked back at Sam who had a smug little smirk on his face and I smiled, shaking my head lightly as I focused back on the sanding.

꧁꧂

Sarah and I stood in the kitchen as she poured glasses of lemonade and placed them on a tray and I leant against the counter. We had small conversations about anything we could think of however there were times it was quiet but a nice quiet. She was a sweet lady and we got along well.

"So," she suddenly spoke up again, "Sam tells me you and Bucky" she looked over her shoulder at me.

I tried to hide a smile, "me and Bucky nothing."

"I think there's you and Bucky something." She retaliated with a small smirk.

I looked to her with a shadow of a smile, hesitating before speaking, "there used to be something but we went our separate ways, it was for the best." I explained.

"Well, Sam thinks whatever it used to be is gonna re-kindle between you two."

I laughed quietly, pushing myself to stand up straight as Sarah lifted one of two trays of lemonade, leaving the other for me to take.

We rejoined everyone by the boat, Sarah handing lemonade around in one area and I made my way towards Hayley and the group of people she was near. I then moved onto Sam and Bucky once there was only a couple glasses left.

"You guys want something to drink?" I asked them, their heads popping up to look at me.

Bucky greeted me with his old smile, the one that charmed me back in the 40s. "Thank you, Doll." He said as he lifted a glass off the tray.

God that nickname gave me butterflies. Bucky always used it when we first met, he also carried it on into our relationship but hasn't said it in a long time. It felt nice to hear it again.

"Thanks, Eris. For all of today, you and Hayley have been a massive help." Sam said with a smile.

꧁꧂

The sun had started to set and it was that nice time of the evening when it wasn't late but wasn't near lunch time either, when everything felt calm. Hayley, Sarah and I were talking in the living room of Sarah and Sam's house, her kids tucked in bed already.

I took the last swig of beer before clapping my hands onto my thighs. "Right, Hayley we best be off." I said, placing my bottle by the sink.

"No, no. Are you kidding? Its quite a drive to your place from here. Just stay for the night." Sarah said, stopping me from leaving.

"Sarah, thank you, but honestly it's fine."

"Eris, it's the least I could do after all your help today. I insist. You guys can have the spare room if you're okay sharing a bed." Sarah explained with a smile.

Eventually, I gave in, Sarah showing us to the bedroom. I explained me and Hayley would have to leave fairly early the next day though as we had plans elsewhere.

꧁꧂

The next morning, after getting dressed I made my way downstairs. First, I put some water in the kettle, letting boil and then making myself some tea. As I poured the hot water into a mug with a teabag, I could hear something outside; voices and loud bangings.

Becoming curious, I carried my tea in two hands, standing out on the porch to see Sam and Bucky training with the Shield and having a conversation whilst doing so. I leant against one of the pillars by the stairs, taking the occasional sip of boiling tea, allowing it to burn my lips slightly.

After a while, the two men walked their separate ways, Sam with the shield and Bucky carrying his bag. Bucky's head turned up though, looking in the direction of the porch and his eyes laying on me, making him stop in his path before diverting and heading towards me.

As he got closer, I pushed myself up, straightening my posture. He held his bag on one shoulder with his vibranium arm.

"Morning." He greeted, squinting his eyes and sending me a slightly flirty but charming smile.

"Good morning." I returned with a cheeriness in my tone.

"You and Hayley heading home soon?"

I shrugged, "something like that."

Bucky titled his heading, pushing for me to explain further. I swallowed before speaking, "um, I'm going to New Asgard."

"What? Why?!" Bucky stepped onto the first step to the porch.

"It's safer for Hayley that way, and for me."

"Are you not gonna finish this with Sam and I?" Bucky questioned, furrowing his brows which made wrinkles form on his forehead.

"I know you two can do this yourselves but if you really need me, I'm only a call away."

There was a moment of silence as Bucky looked around the area before speaking again. "Are you running? Is that what this is?" He asked.

"I'm not running, Bucky." I replied quietly, "I'm just getting tired of fighting."

"You don't run away from a fight, Eris." Bucky's tone was somewhat harsh but still treading lightly as he stepped up another two steps, now one step below me. "You look for them, and you win them."

Bucky now looked up at me with begging eyes which made me soften as I looked down at him. "I can't stay, Buck."

"Why? Why can't you?"

I went to speak but my voice broke. "Because," I hesitated, "because I was going to kill Walker. I was going to kill him and that made me feel weak, the fact I would stoop to his level, the fact I would even think of unnecessarily killing someone."

"But you didn't, Eris. And so that makes you far stronger than him." Bucky's voice was quiet and soft. He took the last step so he was now taller than me again.

I looked up at him with sad eyes and he looked down at me with the same. Carefully and slowly, he lifted his human hand to my face, pushing some hair back and then gently gliding his fingers along my jaw as he inched closer.

I let him, my eyes flicking from his eyes to his lips as I took a small step closer to his body. He closed the space between us, connecting our lips as one. The two of us moved in sync. I tried to savour the moment, knowing I was still going to New Asgard, even just for a short while.

My arms wrapped around his neck, my now empty mug tipping in my hand as his hands made their way around my waist, our lips still conjoined.

Eventually, we pulled away due to the need to breathe. Our faces stayed close though and we looked at each other not saying a word.

I was the one to break the nice silence, although part of me didn't want to. "I have to go, Bucky." I whispered.

He leant his forehead to mine, our arms still wrapped around one another before he gradually pulled away and stepped back. I watched as he began his way back down the stairs.

Once he reached the grass again, he turned to face me, "I'll be waiting for you, Doll." He gave a brief nod before continuing on his way.

I turned to go back inside, still debating whether or not New Asgard was a good idea.