Finding Love in France

Part 10: Swimming

He barely slept last night. His mind was racing. How did he not know about the camps? How could he be so ignorant? How did she survive? Hell, he barely survived his time with Hydra, and he was a trained soldier. She was a civilian. How the hell did she get out of a place like that? He only got away from Hydra because Steve risked his life to bust him and the boys out. Who rescued her? Did Steve know about this? How is she still able to fight after going through that? How could he help her? He was so confused and worried and helpless.

Upstairs, Mila had barely slept either. She was plagued by his thoughts, competing with her own emotional pain, for her attention. She wished she could "turn off" her abilities and just rest, like a normal person.

Around 0700, Bucky made his way upstairs and found Mila sitting at the table. She looked like she had not slept, and her eyes were red from crying.

"Are you okay?" he asked tentatively.

She looked up at him with those eyes, even red and a little swollen from crying, they held him captive.

"Hello James. I am fine, thank you for checking." She stood up and started puttering around the kitchen to get breakfast started "You must be starving after last night's dinner disaster."

"Are you sure you are okay, Mila?" He stepped behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

She stopped fidgeting long enough to enjoy the feeling of his hand on her shoulder, then turned around to look at him. She bit her lip and looked up into his concerned face. "I am. Thank you, James. Sorry last night took such a dark turn."

He was about to apologize again, when he decided to try a different approach "Hey, Doc, didn't you say something about swimming today?"

"I believe that was before I ruined the evening with tales of woe, no?" She still couldn't smile.

"It was my fault, Mila. I was stupid and asked a very personal question. I am so so sorry. Dumb ass with the big mouth strikes again." he was so desperate to ease her pain, but didn't know how.

At this, she finally smiled, and said "Oh, James. You are not dumb, just dangerously uninformed."

They ate, packed some supplies, water, and the bottle of wine that had gone unfinished from last night, and headed to the pond.

Mila laid a sheet on the grass and kicked off her shoes. She started walking towards the water, when she heard Bucky behind her.

"Hey, there's nothing in there that's gonna bite or sting, right?" He was only half-joking as he took off his boots, socks, shirt and dog tags.

"Are you scared, Sergeant Barnes?" She had already waded in to her knees and was laughing at his trepidation, while also trying not to stare at his bare upper body.

"No! Just cautious, that's all, Doc" he cried indignantly.

"Then what are you waiting for? The water is lovely!" And she dove in.

Then she "heard" him think to himself "That right there" as he looked her up and down.

She was wearing her usual cut-off boys trousers and cotton jumper, but realized that once she was in the water, they did not provide much coverage. She blushed, then grew bold. She swam back towards him and started splashing him to break his stare. Then she stood up, on full display, looked him dead in the eye, and said in a low voice "May I help you, Sergeant Barnes?" She couldn't believe her forward behavior.

"Uh, um, just warming up to the water" he stammered. "Stop staring at her, you creep" he thought to himself.

She "heard" this and laughed. She then took off swimming across the pond, yelling back at him "Get in here! This is your therapy, remember?"

He figured he had better get to it. He waded in waist-deep, then pushed off into the water. To his surprise, his arm felt pretty good in the water. He swam after her, his mind once again racing inappropriately as he watched her body cut through the water.

"There you are! Look at you! How do you feel? How is your arm?" She was delighted that her idea worked.

"You tell me, Doc!" As he grabbed her around the waist and playfully tossed her a few meters away, he was laughing hysterically.

Though she was laughing, she managed to say "You have no idea what is coming for you, jackass!"

She made her way back over to where he was, grabbed him by the hips, lifted him clear out of the water, and heaved him completely across the pond.

He didn't know what hit him, but he was fuming at being bested, as she was doubled over laughing. He started to storm back across the pond, with the intent of finding out how she did that, when he slipped on something and face-planted in the water.

Watching this little performance, Mila laughed even harder. She was laughing so hard she didn't see him approaching quickly.

"That's IT!" he yelled, as he stood back up and pushed his hair out of his face. As he continued to charge at her, something else came over him.

He got to where she was standing, grabbed her by the waist with his right hand, held her face with his left hand, and kissed her passionately.

To say she was shocked was an understatement. She savored the kiss for a moment, then tried to regain control of the situation. She broke the kiss, pushed him, slapped his face, and screamed "HOW DARE YOU?!"

His eyes were popping out of his head and his mouth hung open in shock. But before he could apologize, she grabbed him by the face and kissed him. Hard.

His arms were around her and he was kissing her so feverishly he could barely breathe. His heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest. His mind was blank. He was on the verge of losing his balance, but he didn't care. All he cared about was never letting her go.

When she broke the kiss and started nibbling his ear, and his thoughts turned far less noble.