The man with the gloves [bucky barnes ff]

92 - Final Chapter

"That went well, didn't it?" Bucky asks once his family has left the apartment. He's right. It did go well. More than simply well. Great even. His family was just as I imagined; kind and easy to be with.

I think Bucky enjoyed it even more than me. It's not a secret that he doesn't have nearly as much to do with them as he deeply wishes to. After all, they're the only string to his sister he has left. Despite that though, there's still that stubborn part of him that constantly overthinks which is why he barely tries to spend time with them, fearing that they might find him annoying or bothersome.

But from what I have observed this evening, it's quite the opposite. I could tell that his family was just as pleased to learn about him and Rebecca's youth. I'll make sure he understands that, too. But that's a challenge for another day. Right now I am simply exhausted. I did enjoy the dinner, of course I did, but I was still under constant pressure. I wanted them to like me, so I was rather tense, I presume.

"Come here, you sweet thing. My dearest apologies for not paying you the attention you deserve tonight." I bent down and gently grab Alpine from the floor. She's been hiding ever since the guests arrived, which reminds me once again that she is an exact doppelgänger of Bucky. "Have you missed being cuddled like this, huh? Did you miss me? Huh?" She purrs in my lap and allows me to caress her while I watch as Bucky cleans up the last few things in the kitchen. I must say, it is really comfortable sharing an apartment. Living alone has its perks but besides being close to him all the time, not being the only one responsible for keeping the house clean, is really relaxing.

"Buck." I call out. He looks up from the dirty dishes and faces me. "Leave that there. We'll do that tomorrow. Come here."

"It's fine. It won't take long."

"We've had a long day. I mean it, come here. I missed you. So did Alpine." I held her up, allowing her to hypnotise my man with jaw-clenching cuteness.

"You'll be up before me, and then you'll be the one to clean everything up again."

"So?"

"You're busy as it is with everything. I just want to help you out."

I scoff, "You help me by simply existing."

"You're disgustingly cheesy. Enough with all your romance books."

I dramatically gasp and look down to Alpine. "Did you hear that? Did you hear what your dad said? Can you believe him?" I gently grab Alpine's small head and mimic a head shake. "Even Alpine is speechless."

"I am just saying. They are sort of ridiculous, aren't they?"

"Come again?"

"All I am saying is that you and I already experienced the best love story that was ever made. Nothing else compares."

I grin at him. He's right. We've been through so much. So many ups and downs. We fought through everything. Family. Trauma. Insecurities. Secrets. Lies. Betrayals. Rebounds. But we did it.

"Beg to differ?" He asks, joining me and Alpine on the couch.

I shake my head, letting him put his arm around my shoulder. "I wouldn't dream of it." After a small pause I continue, "Can you believe that if things took a different turn we'd be lying on this couch with a baby between us and not Alpine?"

Bucky furrows his brows. "That's rude. Alpine is a baby."

"You know what I mean." I softly laugh. "I don't hate the thought though."

"Yeah, neither do I."

"But you know, step by step."

"Step by step." He repeats, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "By the way."

"Yeah?" I look up to him, my hands playing with Alpine's fur.

"Ready for step one?"

I stop breathing. "What?"

He slowly takes something out of the pockets of his jeans. My heart skips a beat when I realise it's a red velvet box. Oh my god.

"Will you marry me?"

Tears start pooling into my eyes. I laugh in excitement and playfully ask Alpine, "What do you see, honey. Does your dad deserve a 'yes'?"

Just as I did before, Bucky gently grabs Alpines head and pushes it down, mimicking a nod.

I wrap my hands around his neck and kiss him before finally putting him out of his mystery. "Well, in that case, yes. Yes Bucky, I will marry you."

THE END

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A/N: I AM SO SORRY!! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR PULLING A TAYLOR SWIFT AND DISAPPEARING FOR A YEAR.
I wasn't going to finish the story because I thought it was kind of dull, too repetitive and simply because my English has improved so much in the past year that I cringed the second I reread my old chapters.

But I gave it a thought and figured that I should at least give you something!! I know it's not too much but honestly,this is the ending I always planned. Simple, easy, intimate. Just like Bucky and Isla. After so much drama, I thought that they deserve something as uncomplicated as this.

Also I want to thank everyone who supported me and who read through all these chapters (I honestly have no idea how you did it because I THINK IT'S AWFUL).

I originally started this story because I love romance. I love cliches, I love dramatic love confessions, I love boys who are bad but then become good for the girl they want. I love reading a book, knowing that the two main characters are endgame but still pretending to be devastated at every obstacle they face. I love seeing them overcome the obstacle and have passionate kisses and cringey conversations. I love love.

And I am assuming so do all of you, or otherwise you wouldn't have been able to endure this long ass book with two really exhausting main characters who love the other one more than themselves.

Thank you a thousand times! Thank you for being you and for still reading romances of Wattpad and never letting anyone tell you that you're being ridiculous and delusional (I mean, you are, but so am I, so I guess that's fine).

I want to end this book by quoting Taylor Swift. A woman who showed me that your past doesn't define you and that you can constantly reinvent yourself while still being you. She showed me that you can be defined by the things that you love, and not the things that you hate.

"I don't think you should ever have to apologize for your excitement. Just because something's cliche doesn't mean it's not awesome. The worst kind of person is someone who makes someone feel bad, dumb or stupid for being excited about something" — T. S.