Better Love || A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction

- The Scarf -

A week had passed since Elena had brought Bucky to the shelter and in that time he felt like his life had changed for the better. He and Delilah had been getting along, Bucky helping her out with the dinner rush while Delilah sent job applications his way. His favourite so far had been a dog walking position that was on offer. It seemed that starting a new life was becoming an exciting and real prospect. One night while he lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling he thought about the compromise he had given himself a month ago: to stay or to go. Now that he had had the time to get used to Seattle, he had his answer. He would stay. He would keep helping Delilah, he would become a dog walker,  he would cement his new identity as Bucky Georgeson legally, and once he had enough money he would leave the shelter and get himself his own place, a place he could call home. He would stay for the future that was now promised to him thanks to Delilah, and thanks to Elena.

He had found himself thinking more and more about Elena in that week. While his evenings were taken up helping Delilah at the shelter, his mornings always began with her. She had started coming to the shelter before the sun would rise and together the pair would walk to the library together, talking about anything and everything that wasn't deemed an off-topic question. He had learned so much about her during these mornings. Her favourite colour (blue), her favourite genre of books (romance), her dream holiday (somewhere in Europe, she wasn't fussy where). It wasn't just those facts that he had learned from her though. He had noticed other things about her that made him smile, like how she would hug Delilah whenever she had the chance, or how the tip of her tongue would stick out from between her lips when she was concentrating, or how she would look down bashfully whenever someone gave her a compliment. A moment that really stuck in his mind, however, was one where they had walked to the shelter together. The rain had began to fall and instead of ducking for cover like he had expected, she had let her head fall back and allowed the rain to wash down her face, a small smile on her face. It was this image of her that he always found himself thinking about every night before he went to sleep and once again when he would wake up. 

"World War Two again, huh?" A voice said, a sound of comfort to him now. Looking up he locked eyes with Elena who had taken a seat at his table. She was dressed differently today than what she had recently been wearing to accommodate the recent hot weather Seattle had been having. Her usual spring dresses had been replaced by a pencil skirt, a pink longsleeve button up shirt, and a colourful scarf that she had wrapped around her neck. Her hair was out too, different from her usual loose bun style. He liked it, though. Her hair was longer than he first thought and it hung in thick, golden tendrils down her back. "Haven't you already read that one?"

"I have. I've finished them all," Bucky admitted, a crooked smile on his face. "The ones that I need, that is."

"About Captain America?" Elena asked with a frown.

"Yeah," Bucky replied. "Do you have anything that's been recently published?"

"Book-wise, no," Elena told him before smiling and getting to her feet. "However, there's a lot of information covering the super soldier online."

"Online?"

"The internet. On the computers," she said simply. When she looked back and found a blank expression on Bucky's face, she paused, tilting her head to the side. "Have - Have you never used a computer before?"

Bucky's lack of answer was answer enough for Elena, who had enough control of her face to hide the surprise she was feeling. Just looking at the man made Elena aware of how he was feeling at that moment, the frown and downcast eyes indicating embarresment. Leaning across the table Elena held her hand out, getting his attention.

"I can help with that," she smiled. "Come with me."

A few minutes later the pair were downstairs near the help desk, sitting in front of one of those screens Bucky had noticed when he had first turned up at the library. When Elena had brought the screen to life and began to show him how to use it, Bucky's jaw had nearly fallen open. He found it difficult to listen to what she was saying, a funny feeling taking over his body. It was stronger than happiness. It might've been joy, an overwhelming amazement at what he was witnessing. He thought of a memory, one that had resurfaced quite early on since he left HYDRA. He was at a large event with Steve and two nameless women and in front of him, the technology of the future. What he was witnessing in front of him right now made him feel the exact same way he had once felt at that event. The world has definitely advanced since then. How much of it have I missed out on? Bucky didn't let that thought bother him too much. He was catching up now.