One Night In Brooklyn | Bucky Barnes 1940's

Sunday - 7.17 PM

The darkness was sudden. One moment, Eloise was laughing at Bucky's idiot attempt at breaking eggs with one hand, and the next, everything went completely dark. It was as if the entire city had been swallowed into the belly of a whale.

Eloise shrieked at the sudden shift, making Bucky slightly jump.

A deafening silence followed before Eloise burst out into laughter, slightly calming the rush of adrenaline in his limbs.

At first they had assumed it must just be the block, but soon enough it was made clear that it was in fact, all of Brooklyn. Even parts of Manhattan if Eloise's nosy neighbor was to be believed. The entire living room and kitchen was crowded with candles, and the light flickered against Eloise's face where she stood in the room. Bucky watched her from where he leaned against the balcony door, blowing out the smoke before he chucked the cigarette over the edge.

He didn't move, instead he just watched her organize the candles to even out the brightness in the apartment. Everything about Eloise was mesmerizing, and it had been since the moment he first laid eyes on her. The way her dress swayed and hugged parts of her body and hid others. How she rolled her shoulders back and the way she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"That should do it, right?" She dusted her hands and turned to look at him.

"Sure" He shrugged, his face breaking into a grin. "Should I be worried that you host seances during your free time? It's quite an impressive number of candles you have here" He chuckled.

Eloise rolled her eyes and huffed, "I wish I were that interesting. No, it's simply the manics of an old woman who spent too much time in a monastery where the electricity lines were held together with twine and prayer" Eloise smiled, busying herself with some of the candles again.

"One time the electricity went out for almost a week straight, and Sister Magdalene just about locked me and herself into the storage closet so that we could make enough candles to light up the entire monastery" Eloise's voice trailed off towards the end, her mind fogging with confusion about why she had just shared that detail.

Bucky was quiet for a while, his arms crossed as his expression carried the look of pondering.

"Have you ever gone back?" He asked carefully.

Eloise shook her head, the soft smile on her mouth signaled that he hadn't overstepped by asking. He was still learning where that line was.

"No. Not since I officially left. It's been...6 years? No that can't be right– yes...6 years" Eloise heard herself say it out loud for the first time and it sounded strange. It made her mouth slightly dry. She usually just avoided thinking about her time at the nunnery. She continued to busy herself with the candles, keeping her gaze away from Bucky. Scared that he might see a flicker of something she wasn't ready to show.

He walked towards her calmly, she could hear his footsteps on the tile.

Eloise's skin almost burned at the warmth of his hands on her arms, as he slowly pulled her away from the candlesticks and turned her to face him.

She met his eyes, a deep breath was enough to loosen the lump in her throat and she could even muster a soft smile.

Bucky's arm wrapped around her waist and pressed her close, his other hand sliding into hers as he walked them into the center of the room.

"What are you doing?" Eloise chuckled softly.

"Dancing," Bucky smiled.

"There's no music" She whispered.

"Who needs music?" Bucky huffed, letting Eloise slide her hand onto his left shoulder. She rested it so carefully against him that it might have been a feather. And the gesture made his heart swell. He wasn't sure if it was from gratitude or frustration.