This is not the Endgame

When I left my home and my family, I was no more than a boy

The next day, Bucky went to the hardware store as soon as it opened and obtained the power cord for the heater. Ava had been right; they knew exactly what he'd need. They also sold him the ethernet cable, and he went on to make some other stops, including an electronics store, where he was able to find an external DVD player, and the grocery store. It was a pain not to have an oven; he could have made roasts that would feed him for a couple of days or other multi-serving meals. The best he could do was a toaster oven. Even there, he had to comply with the power restrictions in his lease, which meant that his new one was small.

When he got home, he saw an elderly woman being helped down the stairs. He'd met Mrs Alvarez on occasion, once helping her up the stairs with her shopping. The middle-aged man with her, holding bags of clothing, was her son, he knew. Mrs Alvarez saw Bucky as she scanned the lobby.

"Young man!" she called to him, and obediently he crossed the lobby to her. It amused him slightly to be called a young man; in elapsed time out of cryo, he was about 30, 35 years old. Elapsed age in total, he was older than this woman.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"You know Ava, I think?" He nodded.

"Yes, she lives a couple of doors down from me. She's going to fix my heater tonight." Mrs Alvarez smiled.

"She's a good girl. Please give her this." She offered him a small white box that was surprisingly heavy. "I have to leave. The rent increase." Bucky nodded.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I know Ava will be upset that she missed you."

"Oh, it's deliberate. This is been my home for twenty years, and I'm a little emotional. It's easier this way."

"She's going into a nursing home," her son said, his face sagging. "I wish that you'd come live with us, Mama. Four people in a room designed for two there," he said to Bucky.

"You have a full house as it is, Hector," she said gently. "And while it will be crowded, I'll get three meals a day and I will be all right." The old woman looked around once more, then glared at the super, who had followed them down the stairs.

"Can't do anything about it, Marla," he said, not sounding too sorry. "Gentrification is coming, the owner wants the building empty. Rent increases until everybody leaves without a fuss." The other three scowled at him, and realizing that they were not sympathetic to his issues, Stan retreated to his apartment. The man helped his mother out the door and into the chilly wind. Bucky went up the stairs to his place. He put away his shopping, did some work, grateful to be able to use his computer in the apartment, then when he stopped for lunch, signed up for a Netflix account and ordered some DVDs. He'd start with classics, then ask Sam for recommendations. Or maybe Ava. His mind shied away from that, though, after the probable embarrassment of the whole 'Netflix and chill' thing. That was no way to treat a respectable woman. Even as a young man who was highly sought after before the war, he'd always dated a woman several times, attentive, taking her nice places, before finding his way between her thighs.

He put the computer into sleep mode when he heard the tap on the door, and a quick glance through the peephole revealed his neighbor. "I got the cord," he said, inviting her in.

"Great," she said, and turned for the heater. Bucky thought she looked tired.

"Can I get you something?" he asked as she sat on the floor and opened the cord kit. "I'm just having sandwiches for dinner, but you're welcome to join me." She looked at him and smiled.

"That would be great, thanks," she said. "I have a shift at the bar tonight."

As Bucky made sandwiches with roast beef from a deli, a lick of horseradish, lettuce on a hearty multigrain bread and quickly sliced up tomatoes and cucumbers for a simple salad, she competently changed out the cord and tested the heater to make sure it worked. She sat down at his table with him and sighed in pleasure after her first bite. "I don't remember the last time I had beef," she said. "Forget changing the lock, I owe you a favor for this. A big one."