Sharp Edges

Chapter Ten

Yelena had a hard time pulling her eyes away from the truck that followed behind them as they made their way to the home she and Jamie had created. She agreed with James's assessment; Captain America wasn't a threat to them. But the sharing of this part of their lives felt dangerous and vulnerable. She tried to focus on what was on the radio as she pulled into their driveway and drove the quarter mile up to the house. Once she pulled to a stop in front of it, she glanced at the blue-eyed man beside her.

"I'll get the dog. Make sure he doesn't sense enemies," she said, giving herself a job to help her feel a little more in control.

"Sure." James reached over and gently squeezed her knee. "Just breathe, okay? This is scaring me too."

She turned to find his eyes and exhaled slowly with a nod. "We'll make it through," she replied, resting her hand on top of his for a long moment before she squeezed it. "I love you," she reminded him before she moved to get out of the car. car.

"I love you, too," James called softly before he turned and climbed out of the car and looked towards Steve as he got out of his truck.

Steve climbed out of the truck and turned towards the house, honestly impressed by what two people who needed to be invisible could put together. "Wow..." he said, a smile breaking into the corner of his face. "All this land is yours?"

James nodded. "One hundred acres, just for us," he answered.

"That's incredible," Steve replied in awe. He didn't ask where the money or documents came from to be able to purchase land like this; his friend was happy. After all he'd been through, Steve didn't care how. "I get why you want to keep it a secret."

"It's home," James nodded as he turned and looked at the house. "I've thought of building Lena a barn and fence for more animals, but we haven't decided yet."

Seeing Bucky out here on a farm like this... it wasn't something Steve would have initially envisioned for his best friend. But seeing how comfortable he was with all this space made Steve recognize just how sacred it was. "It's a great place to settle down."

From inside the house, a dog could be heard barking excitedly and it wasn't long before it came running out to find James.

"Max!" James scolded, trying to settle the young dog down. "Platz!" He watched as the dog sank to the ground but kept wiggling with excitement.

A house, a girl, and a dog... Bucky had everything he'd ever really wanted. Steve wondered if he knew that was something he'd wanted before. It warmed Steve's heart, though admittedly it ached in his chest a little. Bucky deserved all of these things without having to go through what he did. "You really have everything here."

"We're working on it," James replied. "We wanted to retire... disappear."

"I respect that," Steve affirmed, in a way wishing he could do it himself. He cast a quick glance to Natasha, who offered him a small, supportive smile. "Thank you for trusting us with this. It's understandably difficult," he continued as Yelena walked back out from the house to meet them, standing beside James.

"You're welcome." James wrapped one arm around Yelena and smiled. "Do you want to come in?"

Steve nodded, quickly glancing at Natasha for a moment before he began to approach. "We'd love to."

"Come," Yelena said, waving for them to follow through the grass, up the stairs to the porch, and then inside.

James patted his leg, causing Max to follow them into the house. "It was furnished when we bought it. But we've replaced the usual things."

Stepping inside, Steve took it all in with an undeniable smile on his expression. The house was clean but lived in; it was nice to see a home rather than just rooms at the compound. "It's bigger inside than it looks outside," he remarked, stepping through the foyer into what looked like a den area.