"Good morning," Steve said, "did you sleep alright?"
Bucky didn't reply. He sat there motionless.
"Buck?"
No response.
"Bucky? James?"
The brunettes head moved downwards slowly. Steve scrambled off the bed and walked in front of Bucky. He knelt down so he could see him.
"Hey what's wrong."
Bucky blinked and shook his head.
"What? Why are you down there?"
"You didn't respond and you were sitting still. Are you ok?"
"S-sorry I was..." he trailed off as he realised what he was doing.
"You were what?"
"I was waiting for orders. Sorry, habit," he said in a small voice.
Steve grabbed his hand, "it's ok, it's not your fault. Did you want some breakfast?"
Bucky smiled softly, "sure."
They left the bedroom to meet Sam and Natasha. She didn't stay the night, but she usually comes around early. Natasha saw Bucky and looked as if she'd seen a ghost.
"Good morning Steve," Sam smiled, "good morning Bucky, I hope you slept alright."
"Yeah I slept fine, thanks for letting me stay," Bucky replied obviously distracted.
"I'm sorry do you two know eachother?" Sam asked Bucky and Natasha.
"Natalia, y-you're ok."
"Natalia?" Sam and Steve said at the same time.
"You cut your hair," she smiled.
Natasha stood up and ran towards him. They hugged eachother tight.
"I missed you so much," Natasha cried into his shoulder.
"I thought they got to you, I thought they hurt you, thank god you're ok."
They pulled away from eachother.
"I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye, but it all happened so fast."
"It's ok," he smiled.
"By the way, digging the new look."
Bucky chuckled softly.
Steve hadn't seen him smile at someone like that since Bucky had lost his sister.
"How do you guys know eachother?" Steve asked.
"I trained her," he smiled, "the KGB and Hydra worked closely together. It's why she's such an amazing assassin."
"Don't get a big head, J."
"And why didn't you tell us?" Sam asked.
"I didn't think it was important."
"What about the name?" Steve asked.
"When I joined S.H.I.E.L.D, I changed my name so the KGB couldn't find me. My name used to be Natalia Alinova Romanova. The only people that knew were Clint, Nick and James."
There was silence.
"Is anyone else hungry?" Bucky changed the topic.
-0-
Steve laid on the bed sketching his latest portrait of Natasha. Bucky sat in the corner of the room reading another one of the letters.
1943 Dear Bucky,
I don't even know the date and I don't care. I don't want you to worry on your last night here so I'm not going to say anything. I just hope you'll hold me tonight or wake me up before you leave. I'm going to miss you like crazy. Please don't get hurt or do anything stupid. Please be safe. I hope you're enjoying the date. I love you and I'm going to miss you.
Steve
This letter was shorter then the rest and signed differently. Bucky's reaction was obviously noticeable as it distracted Steve from his drawing.
"What ya reading?"
"Just another one of the letters."
"How many do you have left?"
"One more. This is the second to last one."
"Buck," his voice changed, "are you sure you want to read the last one?"
"Steve, you're shaking," he placed a hand on his arm, "what's wrong?"
"It's just, I wrote the last letter the day you f-fell."
Bucky sat on the bed.
"I promised you I would finish them."
"But-"
"I want to read it, I want to know what it was like. For me it's a blur, I don't really remember it."
"Are you sure?"
"Stevie, stop worrying. It's ok."
"Ok," he said softly.
Bucky got up and walked back towards his backpack. He shoved the other letter in his bag and pulled out the last one. Steve went back to his sketch, but kept an eye on Bucky.
There was a smudge at the top of the page where the date was meant to be. The paper was tear stained and smelt of alcohol
Dear Bucky,
I can't even put into words how empty I feel. You were everything to me. I could feel your fingers brushing mine. I was so close to catching you. I'm so sorry, I'm the reason you're gone. I was the one who wanted you to come on this damn mission. I love you so much and I'm sorry. You didn't deserve this. It should've been me. I've tried drinking away the grief, but it's no use. This serum made it impossible for me to get drunk. I would do anything to feel you hold me again. I'm already miss you so much, please come home What am I doing, you're never gonna read this anyway.
The letter wasn't signed. All there was was smudged ink and a beer stain.
A tear ran down Bucky's cheek and landed on his lap.
"Buck," Steve whispered now turning his full attention to the soldier.
"Steve I..." he stood up and walked over to the bed, "I love you and I'm never leaving you again. Til the end of the line."
He stood up and walked closer to Bucky, "til the end of the line."
The captain placed a hand on Bucky's jawline.
"I love you too."
Their lips met. They shared a soft kiss. Bucky smiled as he slowly pulled away before going back in for a more passionate kiss. The two soldiers walked towards the bed without their lips parting. Bucky started to push Steve down onto the bed.
-000000-
That's it for this fic. Thankyou so much to everyone who supported it!