"How are you feeling?" Bucky's soft voice fills your head as you begin to stir awake.

You release a tired moan, turning around to face him so you can bury your face into his neck. "Hungry," you respond with a sigh.

Bucky smiles. That's your usual response the morning after a large transference. "Want me to make you something?"

You throw your arm over his chest and nudge your knee between his legs. "Mm... no. You're my heat source."

He chuckles quietly. "Is that all I am to you?"

"At the moment," you respond, though you're sure he can feel your smile against his skin and it's giving you away.

His arm tightens around your waist to pull you in closer, his head turning to brush his lips against your forehead. "Minx."

You laugh lightly, slowly beginning to blink open your eyes. "And how are you feeling?" you ask. Your hands travel down the length of his chest, pushing the sheets back. Looking down, you can see that all that's left of the wound on his side is a light scar. Your fingers trace over the faded mark.

"I'm all right," Bucky assures you. "The energy transference did what it was supposed to. Thank you, for your help, Lumina."

You lift your gaze up to meet his, your lips drawn into a frown. "Bucky what the hell were you thinking?"

He doesn't like the look you give him; disappointment mixed with confusion and concern. He's not accustomed to feeling guilty over his actions. "In my defense, I didn't plan to get into a fight with him."

You raise a brow, looking at him doubtfully.

"I'm serious," he tells you. "I went to tell him that you were under my protection and he wasn't to go near you. He obviously didn't take too well to being ordered around. He said that he could smell my scent all over you and that he knew exactly what was going on between us. He tried to convince me that you were just using me to get intel on our kind. That SHIELD has just stooped to a new low by whoring out their operatives. I got so fucking pissed, I punched him. Ended up breaking his nose and it kind of just went downhill from there."

You release a soft sigh. Reaching your hand up, you run your fingers through his hair before your hand comes around to cup his jaw. "Well, thank you for defending me. But God, Bucky, I hated seeing you like that."

His eyes turn sad, clouded with guilt. "I'm sorry."

"I know," you whisper soothingly. You lift yourself up slightly, just enough to connect your lips to his. You kiss him slowly and with compassion, to show him that you forgive him for his reckless actions.

His arms tighten around you moments before he's rolling you onto your back. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Lumina. I was scared that I had ruined it all last night," he mutters against your lips.

Your hands run across the plains of his back, feeling the ridges of muscles beneath your fingertips. "You didn't ruin anything. Just try to keep it from happening again, maybe?"

His cerulean gaze locks with yours. "I don't know if that's a promise I can entirely keep. I will defend you from anyone that's a threat. When word gets out about us and our relationship, there will be those that won't understand it," he warns.

You look up at him in slight shock. "So, we are in a relationship?" you question. This was the first time that word has really come up.

His brow furrows in confusion. "Yes, of course. Did you not think we were?"

Your cheeks flush a little. "Well it's just that we never discussed it..."

He frowns, "I thought it was implied... Is that not what you want?"

"No! No, it is. It definitely is," you reassure, placing your hands on his shoulders.

His gaze flickers between yours. "Then we are in agreement?"

You release a soft giggle, your hands moving up his neck to frame his cheeks. "We're in a relationship," you declare.

A small smile quirks his lips upward. "Yes, we are."

You pull his face down to yours. However, the moment your lips touch, a loud rumble sounds from the center of your body. The two of you pause your movements before Bucky bursts into laughter. Your face feels like the sun when a second growl emits from your stomach.

Bucky pulls back, a wide grin on his lips. "I should make a breakfast that will tame that beast."

"Oh my God," you breathe, covering your face with your hands to hide your embarrassment.

You feel his lips place a sweet kiss just below your navel. "It's okay, Lumina. With how fast your body processes energy, it's understandable that you'd need sustenance as well as sleep."

You groan loudly. "But we were having a moment..." you whine.

He chuckles lightly. Pulling your hands from your face, he places a chaste kiss to your lips. "And we will have many more, I have no doubt."

Admittedly, you like the sound of that. A lot.

The two of you shuffle out from beneath the covers. Once you're standing, you take a second glance at your bed. "I just realized that you actually finished my laundry and you made the bed."

He looks at you confused, "I said I would..."

"You said you'd do my laundry. You didn't have to make the bed too."

His arm curls around your waist, tucking your body into his side. "I wasn't going to let you sleep on a bare mattress."

You place a hand against his chest, smiling up at him. "You know, for a demon, you're awfully considerate."

He grins, "Only where you are concerned."

With a light laugh, you lead him to your dresser. You've still got his red Henley and basketball shorts from your first night together. You hand him the shorts and keep the shirt for yourself. With your hands linked, you pull him out of your room and to the small corner that constitutes as your kitchen.

"What are you in the mood for, Lumina?" Bucky asks you.

You send him a sweet smile. "You don't have to cook for me. We're in my apartment."

He pins your body between his and the counter. "Doesn't change the fact that I still want to."

You shake your head in amusement. He always gets his way. "Alright. You make pancakes and I'll make the coffee?" you offer.

"Fair enough," he agrees, releasing you from his grasp.

You pull down the ingredients that he'll need from the cupboards while he rummages through your refrigerator. With the two of you working together in your tiny kitchen, hips bumping occasionally as you try to move around each other, it feels oddly domestic. Bucky finds it difficult to resist the urge to touch you, especially when his shirt rides up a little when you reach for things on the higher shelves.

You feel his chest against your back as you settle yourself in front of your coffee machine. His head dips low, hot breath against your neck as his lips caress the shell of your ear. "You're making it hard to resist fucking you against the counter top," he whispers darkly.

"I'm not even doing anything!" you whisper back with a laugh.

"Y/N?"

The two of you pull away from each other at the sound of Wanda's voice. Your cheeks flush in embarrassment, you may have forgotten for a moment that you had a roommate.

"Wanda! Hey, um... Sorry, Bucky kinda of showed up late last night."

Her eyes remain locked on his form for a long moment before eventually flickering to yours. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asks, jerking her head toward her room.

You frown slightly, "Uh, sure." You glance at Bucky, muttering a quiet, "Be right back."

He nods, watching you and Wanda disappear into her room.

"What's going on?" you ask her as you step through the threshold of her room.

"Do you have any idea who that is?!" Wanda whispers harshly as soon as he door is closed. "That's James Buchanan Barnes!"

Your gaze narrows at her, "How do you know that?" You've only ever referred to him as Bucky around her.

Your question seems to throw her off for a second, but she recovers quickly. "He's a famous architect. But a notorious womanizer. Y/N, what are you doing with him?"

"He's not like that with me," you try to tell her.

"And how long do you think that will last? Men like him don't do relationships."

You cross your arms over your chest defensively. "Maybe he's changed. People can change, you know."

She shakes her head. "Not people like that. It's not in his nature."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" you narrow your gaze in suspicion. Was there a chance that Wanda knew what he was?

"Rich and handsome men like that? They don't settle."

You wince, her words actually cutting into you. "Oh, so because I'm not some rich bimbo, him being with me means that he's settling?"

Wanda sighs. "That's not what I meant-"

"He cares about me. Our relationship has deeper meaning than you realize."

She scoffs, shaking her head patronizingly at you. "You are living in a dream if that's what you actually believe."

You frown. "How can you say that?"

Reaching out, Wanda clasps your hands with hers, desperately trying to get you to see reason. "Y/N, he is a dangerously powerful man in this city. One you should not be associating with. Is he forcing you to be with him?" she asks.

You quickly rip your hands out of her grasp like her touch burns, "What?! No. What is wrong with you, Wanda? You don't even know him!"

"I know his type. Y/N, if you stay with him, you'll only get hurt."

You shake your head at the person you thought was supposed to be your best friend. "Well then, I guess it's a risk I'm willing to take." You turn on your heel and walk back out of her room, ignoring her calls after you.

"Everything all right?" Bucky asks as you approach, his features softening when he sees how upset you are.

"Can we go to your place?" you ask quietly, your voice wavering.

He glances at something over your shoulder, presumably Wanda, before his gaze settles back on you. "Sure. My car is out front."

You avoid looking over to Wanda's door as you pull Bucky back to your room. You slip out of his shirt, and hand it over to him, considering the clothes he came in are ripped to shreds on your bathroom floor. While he moves to get his wallet and keys from the discarded clothing, you change into a pair of shorts and a loose shirt. You hunt around for your phone, finding it on your nightstand, you tuck it into the back pocket of your shorts.

When you're both ready to go, you lead Bucky back out and straight to the front door.

"Y/N, please," Wanda tries one last time.

Your hand grasps the knob of the door. "I'll see you later, Wanda." And that's how you leave it.

Bucky tucks your body into his side as you both step into the elevator. The drive to his apartment is silent. He wants to give you time to process your thoughts and emotions before he asks what happened. However, as the two of you step out of his private elevator, you find that there's an unexpected redheaded guest awaiting your arrival.

She arches a perfect brow, her gaze sharp as it washes over the two of you. "I figured you went to her," her voice drips with cynicism.

James releases a frustrated sigh, "Not now, Talia. We've had a rough morning."

She crosses her arms over her chest. "And a rough night, too. From what I hear."

"How do you know about that?" you ask with a slight frown.

She narrows her gaze at you. "An incubus and a vampire get into a fight over a descendent? Things like that don't happen every day and news travels fast." Her gaze slips back to Bucky. "Anyway, I just came here to make sure you'd recovered from your stupidity. And I guess you have, at least physically. So, I'll be on my way."

She begins to turn away when you take a step forward. "Talia, wait."

She pauses, looking at you expectantly.

"I know I don't have any right to, but I have a favor to ask of you."

She stares at you blankly for a moment. "You're right. You don't."

You gape when she turns to leave again.

"Talia. Behave." Bucky warns. "It's a favor to me, too."

She sighs in annoyance, turning back to face the both of you. "What?"

You hesitate a moment, this was seeming less and less like a viable option... "Spending so much time with Bucky has begun to trigger my powers," you explain. "I need someone to help teach me how to control them."

"What makes you think I can do anything about it?" she asks with a raised brow.

You pause, not sure how to answer that. When you glance back at Bucky, she catches on.

"How much have you told her?" she glares at the man she calls her brother.

Bucky sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Talia, she's not like the others, I promise."

She turns her glare back to you. "Have you ever hurt him?"

Your eyes widen in surprise. "What? No. Never!"

Bucky's hands reach for your waist, pulling you back against his chest. "Tony attacked her two nights ago. That's when her powers came out."

Talia looks at you both with a look of realization. "So then that's why you went after him last night."

Bucky nods.

She juts her hip out, placing a hand on it. "You know, you've always been an idiot, but you've never been an impulsive idiot until she came along."

Bucky rolls his eyes. "Are you going to help us, or not?"

She releases a long sigh. "Fine. I'll get the gym set up. Meet me down there in an hour."

You look at her in shock. "Wait. We're starting today?"

She gives you an impatient look. "Do you want to control your powers or not?"

You gulp. "Yes..."

"Then be down there in an hour." Leaving nothing else up for discussion, Talia turns and leaves.

You sigh again. "Are you sure this a good idea?"

Bucky's sigh mimics yours. "It's the only one we've got." His hand reaches for yours before he gently tugs you down the hall. "Come on. We still need to get some food in you."

The one hour time slot gives Bucky just enough time to make the pancakes you had requested. The two of you eat together, Bucky doing his best to try to keep your mind distracted, but his efforts are mostly in vain. When it's time, Bucky takes you down a set of stairs you didn't even realize were in his apartment.

He takes you to a room that you quickly realize must be the gym. Different types of exercise equipment fill about half of the room. There's a treadmill, a cycling machine, and a few different weight machines. To the left is open floor space covered in tumbling mats. That's where Talia stands. You approach cautiously.

"I've had a mage alter the magic in this room for the next three hours. It'll allow you to use your powers in here, but only in here."

You nod in understanding, "Okay."

"First off. Explain to me what exactly happened between you and Tony. How did you use your powers, what were you thinking about at the time?"

You do your best to be as detailed in your explanation, not really knowing if the smallest aspect will really be of importance. Talia listens to your story, nodding occasionally, and for once not having any snarky remarks.

"Alright. We're going to start with getting your translocation worked out. Stand over here," she instructs.

You move to the center of the mats.

"Get yourself to that corner of the room." She points toward the far corner.

You frown at her. "How?"

"Figure it out."

Well that's certainly helpful. Not.

You shoot Bucky an exasperated look. He nods encouragingly. "You've done it before, Lumina. Just try it."

You release a long huff, turning to face the corner. You stare at it a long moment, not entire sure what you are supposed to be doing.

"Come on. You can physically see your destination, this should be easy," Talia goads.

You glare at her in annoyance. "I'm trying."

"No. You're thinking. And that's the problem."

"Well what the hell else am I supposed to do?!" you cry out. You haven't even started your training and you're already fed up with her.

The feelings seem to be reciprocated. "When I tell you to get yourself to that corner, what do you imagine in your head?"

You shrug your shoulders. "I don't know... Walking over there?"

"Stop that," she orders.

You want to throw your hands up in frustration, or maybe yank on her flaming hair.

She continues, "You can't imagine how you are going to get there. You have to concentrate on already being there."

You bite back a scathing retort, not taking kindly to her tone. She's talking to you as if you're an idiot. Your gaze focuses back on the corner. But the more you stare, and the longer it doesn't work, the more you seem to concentrate on the how.

"This is ridiculous! How can I not think about how to get there when I don't even know how?!"

"Staring all day at the corner isn't going to get you there." She ignores your question. "Close your eyes and imagine yourself standing over there."

You huff, but close your eyes obediently. You try to picture the corner in your mind and once you've got it, you try to plant yourself in that image. Still, nothing seems to happen. You feel like you're missing something, that there's something else she hasn't told you. Honestly, she's probably just doing this to make fun of you. She hates you, why in the hell would you think she'd actually try to help.

She didn't want you here. And after the past couple of days, you didn't really want to be here either. At least, not in the gym with Talia. You wanted to be somewhere relaxing, somewhere you wouldn't have to worry about crazy vampires and angry succubi.

Out of nowhere, you feel that sensation of your stomach dropping. Like the floor has completely vanished and you're falling. But all too suddenly, the floor is solid once more. You release a stuttering gasp, the wind on your face startling you. Your eyes snap open when you hear the crashing of waves.

You look around in confusion, because right now... you're at the beach.

Your knees give out and you fall forward onto the sand. Your fingers sink into the soft grains. You would have thought you were imagining everything if it didn't feel so real. How the hell did you end up here?!

Your mind is still trying to wrap around what just happened when you feel buzzing against your ass. It takes you a moment to realize your ringtone is playing out as well. You dust the sand off your hands before reaching to pull your phone out of your back pocket. Bucky's name is written at the top of the screen.

You swipe to answer. "...Hey, Bucky."

"Where'd you go?" he asks.

"Uh..." you look around once more, still not entirely believing that this is where you are. "The beach," you tell him.

He's quiet for a moment before he laughs. You can perfectly imagine the way he chuckles as he shakes his head at you. "How did you manage to get yourself there?"

"I don't know..." you didn't really want to admit to him that you'd been thinking about being anywhere but the gym in his apartment.

You can hear the amusement in his voice when he responds. "Well try to figure out how to get yourself back here. I'd rather not have to drive two and a half hours to come get you."

You release a groan. "What if I can't?"

"You can, Lumina. Have faith. I know you can do this."

You wish you had as much faith in yourself as he seemed to have in you. You release a low sigh. "Okay, I'll try."

"The wards will still prevent you from getting directly into the building, so just try to get yourself close and then come up the main elevator."

"Okay."

"I'll see you soon," he tells you.

You hum noncommittally, "Probably not as soon as you think."

He laughs. "Just have faith," he repeats.

The two of you hang up. You push yourself up until you're standing once again, muttering quietly about how pointless this all was. Maybe you didn't really need to know about your powers. Didn't not knowing how to use them mean that you'd be less likely too?

You try to shake those thoughts out of your head. You were more than a two-hour drive away from home. It's not like you could really walk or take an Uber back. This was your only option. Closing your eyes, you picture Bucky's building in your head.

The jump seems to happen a lot quicker this time around. So much so, that it catches you off guard. You release a yelp, stumbling forward and then falling head first into the decorative bushes that line the front of Bucky's building. You struggle to right yourself, feeling the tiny branches cling to your shirt and catch in your hair.

"Need some help?" you hear a gentle voice ask from behind you, clearly trying to hold back some amusement.

"Uh, yes please," you admit, your face burning hotter than the sun.

You feel a set of large hands against your hips before your body is lifted out of the bushes. The man seems to be able to hold your weight with minimal effort as he sets you on your feet. "How'd you manage to end up like that?" he asks you.

"Just clumsy, I guess," you try to laugh it off, turning to face the kind stranger. Your breath catches in your throat when your eyes meet.

He's gorgeous. Kind eyes, the shade of the sky on a clear spring afternoon, lips the color of a dusty rose, and hair, a halo of gold framing the crown of his head. He smiles at you sweetly and it's like seeing the sunrise for the first time in your life. "Well then, I guess you should be a little more careful."

You're not sure how, but your cheeks seem to burn even hotter. "I'll certainly try. Thank you for your help though."

He grins charmingly. "It was my pleasure."

You release an awkward laugh, starting to move around him to head for the door. Your fingers have just barely brushed the bar to pull it open when he calls out to you.

"Are you sure you want to go in there?" he questions.

You look at him with confusion and curiosity. "I- yes? I'm visiting my boyfriend." You don't really know why you feel the need to explain yourself.

The man's face goes blank for a moment, it's so brief you almost think you imagined it when his charming smile is back on his lips. "Ah, well then I won't keep you. Have a good day, ma'am."

You raise an eyebrow and nod before turning to enter the building. You don't think anyone's ever called you ma'am before.

Unbeknownst to you, the man continues to observe you through the glass windows of the lobby. He watches with a frown as you greet the man behind the concierge desk before you make your way to the back elevators. Once the elevator doors have closed, the man vanishes from sight.