The Captain, the Sergeant, and the Nurse || B. Barnes

Beautiful

Holding Bucky's hand had become second nature to Allie. Whether they were inside a safe house or hotel, on a walk outside, out for dinner, it didn't matter. Their hands always seemed to find their way to each other, fingers laced together each and every time.

On a beautiful evening in the middle of April, the two had gone for a date to a small local restaurant. Allie had had a meeting with her team of nurses earlier in the day and was still clad in her nurse's uniform apart from her cap that she had left with her friends. Part of her was jealous of the way that Bucky had looked so comfortable in his clothing. She didn't know however, that the men had been back in the hotel all morning talking and studying maps, coming up with what they were going to plan next before they spent their afternoon with Howard Stark, testing new technology that he had been inventing and tweaking.

Bucky had had his mind plagued with both their work and words. He couldn't seem to push the ideas Gabe had put in his mind a few days prior out of his head. He knew that Gabe was right. The future was a conversation that he and Allie needed to have. He remembered their conversations as teenagers, and he knew the things she had dreamt of when they were in Brooklyn. He knew where his decisions about the topic had once been, but he was surprised at the way he didn't feel that way anymore, not when it came to Allie. He knew, however, that when it came to her, teenage dreams were different than a real future as an adult.

Allie could tell that something was on Bucky's mind. She could see it in the way his eyes looked off on their walk, the way he seemed to content to be silent more on their walk that evening than he normally was. Pursing her lips, she knew that while she was curious, she wasn't keen on pressing the matter unless he was ready to talk about it.

Instead, she focused on the joy being with him brought her. The two had decided on taking a long walk back to the hotel, opting for the beautiful paths where flowers and life seemed to be coming back after the winter. Allie liked being outside and alone with her boyfriend; as much as she loved her brother, there was only so many times of rooming with him that she could take before she went crazy.

Taking a risk in the silence, Allie looked up to him. She found herself longing to hear his voice, bumping his shoulder softly to gain his attention.

"Something on your mind, Sarge?" she smiled up at him.

"Hm?" Bucky hummed as he looked over at her. "Oh, nothing extreme."

"Nothing extreme?" she found herself laughing. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm just thinking of you," he smiled. He was plagued with the ideas of what a future with her would look like.

"I see," she bit the inside of her lip, studying him for a moment. "And... are these good thoughts?" she teased.

"So far," he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"So far?" her brow quirked up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Bucky studied her for a moment before grinning and shrugging his shoulders once again. Allie stopped in her tracks, stopping him in turn. He looked at her in surprise, watching as she pursed her lips slightly.

"You have been lost in those thoughts all evening," she began. "And don't deny it. You're never quiet. Are these all good things you've been thinking about?"

"Well, yes," he laughed. "And if you would let me keep my thoughts going, I'm sure that I'll have many more good thoughts rolling out."

"And are any of them something you'd like to share?"

Bucky just looked at her as he took in a deep breath. She seemed amused and concerned at the way he had been so deep in concentration when it came to his thoughts about her. He knew that telling her what he was thinking about wasn't a bad idea. After all, wasn't it scarier for him to be thinking about this and not tell? He couldn't leave her wondering what he was thinking about; leaving her to guess would be cruel. He decided he should test the waters.