"We're going to Sarah's place in Delacroix today, Yelena." Bucky said one Saturday morning. The tension surrounding the attic fiasco hadn't left, only intensified.

   Somehow they managed to stay quiet and avoid talking to each other if they could. Bucky still tried to eat with her at every meal, and once when she left for the day for a job opportunity in New Jersey, she noticed that he seemed very downcast in the morning before she had left.

   "What?" She mumbled, glancing up at him and trying to catch the cold cereal that had slid off her spoon. It ended up flying toward Bucky's face, and he snatched it fromthe air and tossed it into her bowl. "What do you mean? Who's Sarah?"

   "Sam's sister." Was all he supplied her with.

   She raised both hands, milk flying off her spoon that she still clutched. Bucky gave her a 'watch it' look, leaning back warily to avoid being hit by more of her breakfast.

   "Why are we going to Sam's sister?"

   "I'm friends with her family. They invited us."

   "Us? How does she know me?"

   "Well, Sam invited both of us, sort of. But his sister officially did the calling and the inviting."

   "Interesting," she muttered. This was the longest conversation they'd held in a few days. Had it been a whole week? Whatever. Who cares anyway about time.

   "She has two sons, AJ and Cass. They're cute... don't tell Cass I said that." He smirked. "That's the slightly older one."

   "You must really like this family?"

   "I do. They make me feel... normal. Safe, even. Which is really ironic, considering my past."

   "I get it."

   He smiled for the first time in a while, and it was faint and soft. "We should get going soon."

   Yelena sighed. "I wanted to sleep through the day."

   "Really?" Bucky stood, scoffing softly down at her. "Come on, Lazybones. Let's get ready, and you can help me make the deviled eggs Sam asked for."

   The wind whistled in her ears and made her hair fly as she leaned out the window of the navy blue SUV, which she didn't even notice Bucky owned until he opened the garage. He said it had been built next to the house a few years back, people didn't used to own things like during the Depression when he was a teenager.

   The trees were vibrantily crimson and mustard and vermillion hues, rushing past them. The colours blurred together as they passed.

   She mouthed the lyrics to the song playing on the radio, glancing over at Bucky, who stared straight ahead stoically. He probably didn't know the song.

   Yelena paused, remembering that this was the same song that had been playing the day she had reunited with him after all those years. As it was, by Harry Styles or something. She didn't hear it often. But it was recognizeable.

   His mouth twitched downward, eyes clouding slightly, but enough for her to notice. "What is it?" she asked, rolling the window closed.

   "This song is... I don't know how to explain it."

   "Bittersweet?"

   "Yeah, that."

   His lips pressed together tightly, and she smiled sadly to herself and stared back out the window.

   "So... What are we gonna do when we're there?"

   "Help make dinner, make sure the chores are all done before the Wilsons can get to them. Then we'll have dinner and hang out. The boys will like to meet you."

   Yelena raised an eyebrow in curiosity, fiddling with the rim of the container of deviled eggs that sat safely on her lap. "Why are we stealing chores, exactly? Are they, like, cherished in that household?"

   "No. But it's another burden they shouldn't have to carry. They're under a lot of stress."

   "Is that because if the Captain America stuff?"

   "Yes." He glanced her way. "You don't need to help. They are my friends, after all."

   "No, I wanna help."

   Bucky looked over at her again. "Alright. Sounds good. The first place we're going is the tool shed to ge the list of chores. They won't see us. We'll do the jobs and then we'll go up to the house. You can hide the paper, if that's okay."

   She nodded, knowing that she was better at hiding things on her person. It was partly because of her obsession with pockets that he seemed to find slightly amusing but admirable.

   "You've replaced covert ops with this?" Yelena teased, smirking.

   He rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

   The conversation peetered out, and her smile faded as they kept driving. he focused on the trees, and he focused on the road...

   As soon as he pulled up outside a shack at the edge of a busy dock, she noticed the house in the distance and the ship docked in the water. People bustled around, laughing and talking as they ate on benches and wooden picnic tables.

   "Um, what's going on here?"

   "Cookout," he said simply. "But we'll leave the eggs in here and grab them after we get the list."

   "Right. Are you sure people want me here?"

   "Sam said it was fine. I mean, he invited me, too. It's not like I'm any less dangerous than you."

   "Depends who you ask and who you're around," Yelena muttered, unstrapping.

   He shot her a quick glare, then got out and carefully closed the car door behind him. "Let's just go, Belova."

   She shoved her hands into the pockets of her long tweed coat, ducking her head low to hide from the wind. He walked upwind from her after that, like he always did for her.

   Bucky didn't look cold, as they neared the shack. He just looked focused and calculated.

   He shot a look over her shoulder, and grabbed her waist, tugging her behind the shack before Sam could see them. "Damn it, he's up and about."

   "Who?" she mumbled, her heart racing.

   "Sam." Bucky snuck another glance, waiting. Then, he led her inside without so much as a sound and clicked on teh light. She closed the door behind them and waited for him to get the list.

   He disappeared into the darkness around the corner of a shelf, walking back around with a paper dangling from his hand, and gently folded it so it would fit in a pocket. He handed it to her, and their fingers brushed.

   Yelena nodded for no reason, tucking it into her pocket. She froze, when someone knocked on the door.

   "James Buchanan Barnes, are you in there? You better not be making out with her in there. Wait..." Sam muttered something else that they couldn't hear, possibly talking to someone else, and Bucky rolled his eyes.

   "Hey, Sam!"

   "You're actually in there? Is Yelena there too?"

   "Er, yes. But it's not what you think."

   "Yeah, right."

   "I'm stealing your chore list,"

   At that, the door creaked open, and Sam gave Bucky a dank look from in the doorway. His eye was healed now. "Fine, just do it before Sarah finds out. I'll go distract her."

   Bucky tilted his head to the side. "You're not gonna argue with me?"

   "No," Sam sighed quietly.

   Yelena glanced at Bucky, whose face was softening. "You okay, man?" he mumbled, stepping closer to his friend.

   Sam looked down, shuffling his feet. "I can't lie to you. Things got worse. I might need your advice, and in private."

   "Sure," Bucky still held the paper at his side. It crinkled as Bucky moved to give him a hug.

   Starting in surprise at the sudden contact, Sam raised his eyebrows at Yelena as he reurned the hug. Bucky said nothing as he held him tightly, then pulled back with his usual even expression.

   "Let's get these done, Belova," he muttered, brushing past Sam and out the door. "We'll talk business after dinner, Sam."

   Looking after him, Sam narrowed his eyes. Then he turned back to Yelena. "Um, is it just me, or is he a lot more touchy these days?"

   "Yeah," she agreed. "I think he's getting better in some ways. Despite the nightmares and... everything else."

   "Right. I hope he's right about you, Yelena."

   She frowned. "I do not know what to say to that. But I would say that he is smart. I am someone that means a lot to him, though." It's hard to tell if he's thinking things through, was what she didn't say. She didn't want to stress him out even more.

   Sam crossed his arms. "What does a lot mean?"

   "He orchestrated an escape for me to get away from the Red Room. It worked out, for me. I lived. But what he didn't want me to know was that he suffered way too much for me. He barely talked about himself on the night of the escape. And I'll never know how much they hurt him because of me."

   "Did he ever tell you?"

   "He, uh, got a really intense flashback, and I found him sitting alone waiting for me to wake up. He didn't want to bother me with his own problems, but they aren't his. And it broke him for a second time. After I escaped, he went though so much shit that he should've died. He'll never say that he wishes it could hurt less, though. He's just glad I survived. That's how much I mean to him."

   He nodded slowly. "That's... He never mentioned that, not once."

  Yelena looked to the ground, guilt eating at her insides.

   "It was repressed. He didn't even remember it, I think. Until he let me stay with him." She didn't know why she was telling him so damn much, but something told her that she could trust him.

   "Shit." Sam swore, casting a glance out the open door of the shed, where Bucky had disappeared off to in the flurry of adults greeting each other and cooking food and kids running around. "That must have been a shock for him."

   "Understatement..." She trailed off, seeing Bucky make his way back toward them.

   "Yelena?" he called.

   "Yeah! Sorry, I'm coming!" She replied, stepping out into the warm sun. A breeze rolled in and ruffled her hair, making her shiver.

   Sam caught her arm. "Wait,"

   "Yeah?"

   "Don't mess this up, Yelena. Please."

   She knew what he was trying to tell her, and it made her heart thump emotionally. Messing this up was something she would never do, on purpose. Hopefully she wouldn't. Not again.

   "I know, Sam. I care a lot about him."

   Sam nodded, letting go of her arm. "Sorry. I'm coming on a little strong."

   "'T's fine, Wilson. I'll take care of him."

   "You better."

   When she caught up with him, Bucky blinked the bright sun out of his bright and pale eyes. "What was all that about?"

   "He asked me if you were doing okay."

   Bucky smirked. "What'd you say?"

   She snorted as he started walking toward the boat. "That you're getting better."

   "I don't know if I should be insulted or flattered,"

   "Just take it like a champ. Let's do those stupid chores- "

   She was cut off by the sound of excited childlike shouting that clamoured around the side of the house and manifested in the form of two dark-skinned kids.

   Bucky's face lit up, and he sunk to his knees as they barrelled into him, catching them both in his strong embrace and holding them close. "Hey, AJ. Hey, Cass."

   The taller one, probably Cass, pulled away first, and Bucky rose to his feet, ruffling AJ's hair. Bucky glanced at Yelena with a happy look. "This one is AJ. That's Cass. You can say hi, guys. This is my friend Yelena."

   AJ looked up at Yelena with shy doe eyes, giving her a polite smile. "Hello, Yelena."

   "Hey," Cass added.

   "How's school, Cass?" Bucky asked, carefully pushing up the glasses on AJ's nose with a hint of humour in his movement.

   "It's going fine. Mom says I need to study more," Cass grumbled, crossing his arms and looking a bit like his uncle Sam. Yelena supressed a smile at that.

   "Well, let's not study while I'm here," Bucky mildly pretended to barf, making it seem more comical and exaggerated than realistic. "But I think it would make your mom feel better if you study as well as you can."

   The boys laughed lightly at his miming.

   "So, why don't you take me to," he glanced at the list. "Whatever the gunwale on the back rail is?"

   Cass rolled his eyes. "That's easy, I'll show you where it is."

   "Thanks. AJ, you can hold the list, but make sure you don't drop it in the water. Okay?"

   "Okay, Uncle Bucky!"

   Yelena's heart melted at that, and she smiled idly as Bucky led the way to the boat and lifted AJ over the rail onto the deck. She followed loosely behind them as Cass climbed on, and let herself enjoy the soft rocking and the glistening waves around the boat. They looked a little like Bucky's eyes.

   They moved to the back of the ship. Cass gestured at the railing. "The gunwale is this covering. It's been breaking over here lately, and weathering a lot. That's what Uncle Sam said."

   "Great. Let's go get the tool box from the cabin, then. I'll pry off the wood and then try to fix up the surface underneath. Did Sam say that he has replacement wood?"

   "Yeah, it's behind the house."

   Bucky glanced in the direction of the Wilsons' house. "Yelena, do you think you can handle getting the wood for me?"

   "Uh, sure." She said. "What does it look like?"

   "It looks like dark planks, they're stacked against the wall. Should be easy to see." Cass broke in, staring up at Yelena.

   "Okay, shouldn't be hard. I'll be right back."

   "Be careful. There are gloves around there behind the house that you can use to carry the wood." Bucky added, bending down ot run his fingers under the plank of rotting wood and rusting metal, his cybernetic hand making a miniscule scraping sound against it.

   She set out for the house, dodging kids and people offering food and conversation, her hair blowing in the wind.

   Bucky's eyes lingered on her for a moment too long, and then he snapped them away from her. He looked down at the boys, sitting on the workbench near the railing. AJ immediately scooted onto the bench beside him, and smiled up into the sky.

  "So how is your mom?"

   Cass stood in front of them, swinging his arms. "She's not doing good. She says she's fine, but I know that isn't true."

   "Oh. Well, I hope she gets better, she deserves it."

   "Yeah. She works really hard," AJ added softly.

   Bucky nodded. "You should try to give her less things to worry about. Like helping with more chores after dinner before she asks, or doing your homework as soon as you get back from school. Those things will help make her better."

   Cass narrowed his eyes. "You're not just trying to make us study more?"

   "No, I'm not,"

   "I'll do more homework, Uncle Bucky," AJ smiled.

   Bucky reached over and ruffled his hair. "Good man. Your father would be proud of you."

   They both smiled at that.

   "She's really pretty," Cass murmured, casting a brief look over his shoulder in teh direction Yelena had gone. "I like her hair."

  "Me too, Cass... me too." Bucky sighed, feeling a smile warm his cheeks.

   "Do you like her?" AJ asked, shifting beside him.

   Bucky faintly blushed. "Yes."

Pls leave feedback and comments! This wasn't edited very much, but I hope you liked it.

Guys the story is coming to an end soon... Do you want another book? I was thinking about a fic centering around Bucky in the avengers compound and his friendships with Steve and Tony. With a side story about him and Nat, maybe. It think it'll be the darkest, most angsty thing I've ever written if I do... Give me your opinions on this p l e a s e

I need to do school now.

I republished it because i love the indent

Seb won at Golden Globes 🥹🫠💜His reunion (or three, because of amazing Mackie's ability to interrupt all his interviews) with Anthony was so sweet. He said he couldn't have gotten there without him.

I love you 3000.

~ Emily