Chapter Text
The first hint marking the start of the festive season comes in the form of Christmas songs playing mid-November in the small, cosy, independent bookstore Natasha works in. The second she hears the melody echoing around the four walls, Natasha lets out a low grumble, her hands stilling on the spine of the book she'd just arranged on the shelf.
"Are you serious?" She asks loudly, directing her question to the person responsible for the playlist that morning - Maria Hill. Natasha hears an ensuing laughter coming from the back, an instinct telling her that the owner of the bookstore is doing this on purpose just to spite her.
"I'm dead serious and you know it, Miss Grinch." Maria hollers back as a response - the redhead could almost see the huge grin on her face as she said that sentence.
"But it's only November." Natasha yells back, though not at all in malice. She just isn't one who would place Christmas on such a high pedestal, nor understand those who would be possessed by the ghost of Christmas spirits. It isn't that she hates or dislikes the holiday season either; she just doesn't see the point of making this celebration into something so huge. Jesus' birthday is only for one day, not 6 weeks, Natasha sighs, it’s a simple calculation.
Maria's response comes quickly. "Don't be so bitter!" She snickers loudly. "I could have started playing my Christmas playlist the second Halloween ended, and you know it!"
“There’s hardly any difference!” Natasha returns easily, referring to the natural sense of festivity she’d gotten in the air as she walked along buildings and other shoplots on the way to work each day. She resumes arranging books on the shelf just as Maria emerges from the back of the store. Her employer-slash-best friend makes her way to her grumpy employee, dropping a Santa hat on her head in one swift motion.
“Hey!” Natasha whirls around with a playful roll of her eye. She is met with a huge grin plastered on Maria’s face.
She shrugs nonchalantly. “By order from the North Pole, Santa’s elf is to wear a Santa hat from this day thenceforth.”
“Does that mean you are Santa?” Natasha asks, a little bit amused - just a little. She adjusts the hat so that it fits better, watching as Maria throws her hands in the air, still grinning. “I am whoever you want me to be.”
“Jesus Christ,” Natasha stifles a laugh. “Is it just me or is the holiday season making you eccentric?”
Maria turns in her heels, her tone light and teasing. “It’s Christmas, Nat. It’s the season to be jolly.”
“There’s nothing jolly about this season. And isn’t that from a song?” Natasha shakes her head, but Maria merely replies with a single laughter, disappearing behind the counter. Before she could resume doing her work, Natasha hears the little dingle of the bell signifying a customer who’d just walked into the store. She turns her head to the side, her face beaming in reflex when she sees who it is.
“Hey, stranger.” Natasha greets him warmly, to which the customer grins when he meets her eyes. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Ah, you know.” He shrugs. “Been busy with work and all that.”
Even Maria looks up from the accounts spread in front of her, a smile gracing her face as the customer gives her a curt wave. “How are you, James?”
The customer - James Barnes - gives her a polite smile. “I’m good, Maria. I had some spare time today so I decided to drop by to collect that book I ordered.”
“Is that all you came to do?” Maria says in a tone that causes Natasha to groan inwardly. Her friend is at it again, she mentally thinks as she makes her way behind the counter to retrieve the book she’d wrapped up for him two days ago.
James looks more confused than he is amused at the underlying meaning of Maria’s question. “Y-yeah?” He answers in a tone of uncertainty, to which Natasha interjects from the side. “Please just ignore her.”
Thankfully, Maria doesn’t press on, merely darting a smirk in between both individuals near her vicinity as Natasha hands him the package. “Here you go, James.”
“Thanks, Natasha.” He hesitates as he takes the package from her. “Hey, you told me before that you did ballet for some years, right?”
She nods, still smiling. James continues sheepishly. “I was wondering if I could get some information about ballet schools. My niece seems to have taken an interest in ballet and well…”
It takes her a few seconds to realise what James is trying to ask from her. She dares not look at Maria - Natasha is two hundred percent sure of what is going through in her head. Still, she plays it cool, her voice betraying none of her thoughts. “Sure, I wouldn’t mind sharing what I know. Are you free later tonight? I’ll be closing the store at 7 today.”
James nods, smiling. “Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll swing by later. We could grab something to bite if you’re hungry.”
Natasha simply nods as a response, keeping the smile on her face as James turns to leave. “Bye.” She calls out, to which he returns with a see you later.
The second James steps out from the store, Natasha wags a finger at her friend’s direction. “Do not start -”
But Maria ignores her briskly, exclaiming loudly. “That was such an excuse to ask you out for dinner.”
“Maria.” She warns.
Again, Maria ignores her. “Did you see the way he fumbled trying to ask you out?”
“Maria, I swear to God,” Natasha sighs exasperatedly. “He just wants to obtain some information about ballet for his niece, didn’t you hear the man?”
“Over dinner.” Her employer states, then sighs. “I don’t know why you’re so defensive. He’s cute and single. You’re single.” She gives her a pointed look. “And you’re an attractive woman so you honestly shouldn’t be surprised that men may be interested in you.”
“I’m not defensive.” Natasha replies without a pause. “You’re just reading too much into all of this. He’s just a friend.”
Maria doesn’t reply, her smile turning into a slight frown. The sudden silence stretching between them is enough for Natasha to heave a sigh, knowing what is going through her friend’s mind. She looks at Maria right in the eyes, as if to assure her that everything is alright. “It’s not about...it’s not about that .”
Maria’s expression softens, the worry in her eyes doesn’t go unnoticed. She opens her mouth to say something, but Natasha silences her with a wave of her hand in the air. “I’m really okay, Maria. It’s been years.”
Moving around the counter to retrieve some new stocks from the box on the floor, Natasha huffs, carrying a stack of teen literature at once. “This is the last box, isn’t it?” She attempts to divert the topic to something else, but Maria grabs hold of her arm gently, pulling her back before she could flit elsewhere. Lifting the books away from Natasha, Maria places them on the counter, before curling one hand gently around Natasha’s wrist. “Look...I know you don’t like talking about it…”
“You’re right.” Natasha deadpans, eyes not quite meeting her best friend’s. “Which is why we shouldn’t be talking about it.”
“Alright.” Maria complies in agreement, then adds. “But that doesn’t mean I should stop worrying about you.”
“I’m not saying you should.” Natasha puts in gently, placing her hand over Maria’s. “I’m saying you don’t have to, because I’m fine. Really.”
Maria nods. “Okay, Nat. If you insist. But you have to promise me that when the time comes, you would...you know, give it a try again.”
At that, Natasha nods. Part of her did that to assure her best friend, to comfort her that there is still a possibility that she wouldn’t spend her life moping around and possibly dying alone. “Maria, when and if the time comes, and when and if I find the right person...I would. You have my word.”
Maria grins, seemingly satisfied with her answer. Before she returns to looking at her accounts though, she gives her one final smirk. “And you’re already sure it isn’t going to be Mr. Barnes?”
Natasha laughs at that, avoiding her question easily. “If you’re so smitten, why don’t you ask him out?”
Maria looks positively horrified at that suggestion, and Natasha’s laughter rang louder in the empty bookstore. With that, she finally edges away, taking back the books on the counter in her hands as Natasha makes her way to her work station. She doesn’t dwell on Maria’s words, even though they remain lingering at the back of her mind.
A little past 7, Natasha prepares to close the bookstore. Sure enough, when she exits the bookstore to lock up, James is already there waiting for her. He flashes her a grin, one hand outstretched. "Do you need any help?"
Natasha shakes her head politely. "Nah, I'm good."
He smiles, hands in his pocket. Once Natasha finishes locking up and faces him, James asks. "Shall we? Are you hungry?"
"Not quite." Natasha answers a little bit too quickly, noticing the slump of disappointment in his shoulders. Sighing inwardly and remembering Maria's words, Natasha adds a beat after. "But...I mean, we could just have coffee or something. I know a place around the corner."
"Coffee at this hour?" James muses, as they begin to walk down the pathway. "Are you planning to stay awake for the night or something?"
Natasha chuckles. "Caffeine doesn't actually affect me. They have brownies if you're not keen on coffee."
"I'm good with brownies." James laughs, silence ensuing after that. Natasha is the one to break it after that, trying to ease the awkwardness in the air. “James, can I be frank with you?"
Even in the semi-lighted walkway, Natasha could see the blush on James' face the second he hears that. "Yeah, of course."
"I'm assuming this," She waves her hands about, trying to find the right word to say. "arrangement, isn't solely because of your niece wanting to learn ballet. Am I right?"
She'd expected him to deny, or at least be defensive about his intentions - but James simply lets out a chuckle. "You're intuitive, aren't you?"
Natasha shrugs. "I sort of am programmed to be like that."
"Programmed?"
"It's a long story, really. You wouldn't want to know."
James nods, respecting the obvious wall Natasha had put up about her past. "Well, you're not wrong. But whatever it is you're thinking, I don't think you're right either."
She smirks. "Thought so. Care to enlighten me?"
James rubs the nape of his neck sheepishly. "Well, this is a little awkward but," He starts, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "I have a friend who I'm trying to -"
Whatever James intended to say flies away with the wind the second Natasha lets out an involuntary yelp - everything that happens next passes in a frenzy of moment as she feels the harsh tug of someone pulling the strap of her handbag from her shoulder. Before Natasha could wrap her head on what has just occurred, she is shoved harshly to the side, colliding into James in a split second.
“Are you okay?” James asks urgently, to which Natasha only manages to nod, eyes widening in shock. She regains her balance, heart racing a mile. When both of them look up, the culprit had already sprinted away with her handbag, and before she could even register what is happening, James has taken off, chasing after the snatch thief without hesitation.
"James!" She yells a second later, breaking into an immediate run once she regains her senses. Natasha feels the increasing panic rising within her as she realises where the snatch thief is heading towards, and inevitably where James is also heading towards - the main road. In that heat of adrenaline that clouds James' observation, Natasha sees it first; a car rounding the corner at a speed that sends her heart lurching into her throat. Frantically, she yells as loudly as she could, hoping that he would hear her. "James, watch- "
She hears it first before she sees it, and all Natasha could do is to scream. Her eyes squeeze shut in reflex; the sound of brakes and tires screeching on the road resonates loudly in the otherwise quiet, November night.
James didn’t get to finish his sentence that night.
Natasha has been awake for more than 24 hours - her heart still pounding, her entire body still trembling in a shock that doesn't ebb away even though she'd been taking deep and slow breaths - a futile attempt, clearly.
It's been a little over an hour since she had arrived in the hospital, a little over two hours since James had been sent to the E.R. She’d gone to the police station to give her statement. Luckily for her, Natasha had kept her phone in her pocket, which meant that the only important item in her handbag was her purse. She’d cancelled her credit cards as soon as she’d calmed down, before rushing to New York Hospital to check on James’ condition.
Since then, Natasha has been anxiously waiting for any sort of update of his condition, guilt tearing through every fibre of her being as tears start to well on her eyelids - haunting thoughts loom over her head repeatedly; if she hadn't asked James to find her after work hours ago, he wouldn't have been caught in this situation. If she hadn't distracted him by asking what his true intention was on their way to the coffee shop, they would probably have been more vigilant of their surroundings, would probably have noticed the thief tailing them from afar.
She sucks in a sharp breath. This was all her fault.
As she blinks back harsh tears, Natasha is inconsolable. The nurses come and go without bothering her, and she yearns so desperately for someone to tell her that James is alright. Thousands of thoughts are floating in her mind, causing her to sink in both fear and despair. She could barely breathe in that state of disarray that Natasha misses the nurse calling out James' name twice - until she finally hears it, and it snaps her from her reverie. She almost leaps up from her chair, rushing to the nurse, her eyes swollen and red.
"Are you James Barnes' family?" She asks, and Natasha nods uncaringly, wanting to know how James is doing. Seeing her in such a state, the nurse doesn't even question who she is to James. "Mr. Barnes is stable, but he is to remain in the ICU for further observation. It might...take some time for him to wake up." She breaks the news to Natasha without a pause, and the redhead is instantly overwhelmed with that piece of information.
The nurse passes a transparent bag to Natasha, and she recognises the belongings in it as James', including his wallet, phone, watch and tattered clothing. "It's best to contact his parents, Ms…"
"Romanoff." She says, feeling the weight of the bag on her hands - the responsibility of what is to happen next.
"Are you his immediate family, Ms. Romanoff?" The nurse quirks an eyebrow, to which Natasha shakes her head slowly. "No, I'm just his -"
The nurse doesn't seem interested in listening to her remaining sentence, opting instead to show her a consent form. She glosses through the words with a lump in her throat, her heart pounding madly beneath her skin.
"If the need arises, we may need to perform surgery on him. Unfortunately, since you are not an immediate family member, you are not authorised to sign the consent form which means…"
"I'll...I'll contact his mother." Natasha offers without thinking. Without pausing to even think about the fact that she has no idea who James' family is, nor their contact numbers. She could only pray that his phone is not passcode locked.
“You look like a train-wreck.”
The next morning, when she hears the familiar voice behind her, Natasha smiles on natural instinct. She turns her head to find Maria looking at her, obvious worry and exhaustion in her eyes. “You scared the living heck out of me. The first thing I woke up to is a text from you saying you’re in the hospital.”
“Sorry about that, I should have been more specific.” Natasha apologises with a sigh, just as the nurse from last night stops by to check his vitals and readings. Their eyes meet, and Natasha manages to give her a smile. The nurse smiles back, her expression kind and understanding, as if to tell her to hang on, he’ll be okay. “I thought you should know why I can’t come into work today.”
“Were you here the entire night?” Maria asks, and Natasha nods.
Maria stands behind Natasha, looking over at James’ unconscious being, her expression sombre - to think that she’d just seen James walking into her bookstore just a day ago. She places her hands on Natasha’s shoulders, trying to unwind the knots in them. In an attempt to lighten up the mood and to ease the tension in the air, Maria jokes, “So how’s your future husband doing?”
That seemed to do the trick, for Natasha begins to chuckle lowly. She shakes her head in amusement. “He’s stable for now. I managed to contact his sister, so she’s coming over later with his mother.” She answers Maria’s question, then decides to add as an afterthought, as going along with her joke - “you do know that he hasn’t proposed, right?”
Maria snickers, right at the same time the nurse turns to both of them, her eyes somewhat glistening. “He’s going to be your fiance?”
Natasha shakes her head. “Don’t listen to her. She’s just -”
But Maria clamps a hand over Natasha’s mouth to silence her. “Not yet.” She says pointedly to tease her friend further, and Natasha simply swats her hand away, laughing. “She’s waiting for him to pop the question. She thinks it’ll be during Christmas, or during the New Year’s.”
“Oh my god.” Natasha covers her face into her hands, a little bit embarrassed by the blatant lies Maria is spewing from her mouth. “Maria.”
The nurse seems to be swooning, even though part of her expression shows obvious sympathy for Natasha. “He’ll be alright, Ms. Romanoff. Don’t you worry.”
“Thanks, Ms. Foy.” Natasha says, her tone genuine, finding no energy to correct the nurse from thinking that she truly is James’ girlfriend. She leaves the conversation at that as the nurse gives her one last smile before moving to the next bed. Once she’s out of earshot, Natasha slaps Maria’s arm repeatedly. “Stop doing that!” She half hisses, though she couldn’t hide the smile on her lips.
Maria merely laughs, clutching onto her arm as she edges away from the redhead. “At least someone is finally smiling.”
Natasha’s expression softens, wanting to say something in response to that, but she decides against it in the end. Instead, she settles for a question. “Don’t you need to open your bookstore?”
“So eager to get rid of me, huh?” Maria winks, to which Natasha simply rolls her eyes. “I’m leaving now. But please update me if anything happens, and seriously, go home and shower.”
Natasha promises she would, as soon as his sister arrives. Maria takes her words, and leave soon after. Unsure of what to do next, Natasha decides to get herself some hot chocolate from the vending machine, her appetite weighed down by the guilt she still feels etching across her heart. She goes back into the ICU fifteen minutes after, and finds herself halting in her steps when he realises that James has gotten company while she was away.
There’s a man huddled beside his bedside - Natasha quirks an eyebrow in mild curiosity, wondering who he is, until he senses her presence and turns around to meet her lingering gaze. The man stands at once, and that is when Natasha gets a proper look at him - sandy blonde hair, possibly around the same age as James. She feels a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she realises how ridiculously handsome (and coughs-well-built-coughs) this man is.
Natasha clears her throat, quickly pushing away those thoughts from her mind. “Hello, uh…”
The man seems to also snap out from his reverie at her voice. He extends a hand out for her to shake. “Steve Rogers. Um, I’m Bucky’s best friend.”
“Bucky?” Natasha asks, accepting his hand with a light shake, and realises two seconds after that Bucky is James. “Oh! You mean James.”
The man - Steve - nods his head, a tinge of red on the tip of his ears. “You must be Ms. Romanoff, I would presume. Becky told me that you were the one who called for the ambulance and stayed with him throughout the night. I don’t know what else to say except thank you.”
“Please, call me Natasha. And that was hardly anything. He wouldn’t even be...” Natasha lets her sentence trail away, and without warning, tears suddenly begin to well on her eyelids. Feeling the guilt stabbing onto her heart, Natasha is hit by the harsh reminder that James is in this situation because of her. Natasha turns around, shielding her teary eyes from Steve. “Sorry, please excuse me.” She mumbles quickly, walking away without waiting for Steve’s reaction.
Seeing the redhead tear up catches Steve by surprise. He hesitates to go after her, clearly not knowing what to do, nor did he comprehend what had just transpired in front of his eyes.
“It must be difficult for her.” A voice interjects his thoughts, and Steve looks up to meet the sympathising look of the nurse holding onto James’ charts. She heaves a sigh, glancing at James. “Imagine seeing your future fiance like this during the holiday season.”
Steve’s eyes bulges open in shock, his jaw dropping. He is almost sure that his ears were playing tricks on him - but when he stares at the nurse and sees how there is not an ounce of playfulness or pretence on her face, Steve sputters out instead, “H-her what?”
“Future fiance.” The nurse raises an eyebrow - as if judging him for not knowing, especially since she’d heard him saying that he is James’ best friend. “She’s his girlfriend.”
Steve is too shocked to reply, hundreds of questions flooding his mind all at once - Bucky has a girlfriend and he never told him? But then again he did only return from London just a little over a month ago, Steve frowns, maybe Bucky didn’t have the chance to tell him yet.
The nurse disappears to finish her remaining duties in the ICU, while Steve continues to reel in the thought of how Bucky had kept something this important from him. The nurse did say Natasha’s his future fiancee - so would that mean that he had been planning on proposing to her? That their relationship had gotten that far that he had been thinking of marrying her?
Steve gasps - and he knew nothing about this? He darts a look at Bucky’s sleeping figure, completely in disbelief that his best friend would keep something this important, this life-changing from him. Why did his best friend decide to hide this from him? Why would he - and then it suddenly hits him, and Steve eases his expression automatically, thoughts running through his mind - what if Bucky didn’t tell him because he had reasons not to?
Just like that, Steve has a feeling he knows what the reasons are.
“Idiot,” He sighs, looking at his best friend. “You didn’t have to think that far. You know I’d be happy for you regardless, Buck.”
Steve is met with silence, of course, and he slumps back against his chair, eyes cast on the ceiling above him. He doesn’t know how long he’d been staring above until Steve hears returning footsteps heading towards Bucky’s bed - when he straightens his back, he sees the familiar redhead halting just at the foot of his bed. Steve stands, taking a step towards her.
“Sorry about earlier.” Natasha looks lethargic, for obvious reasons, eyes still swollen from the tears she had just shed and instantly, Steve feels an overwhelming urge to protect her, to care for her well-being - because if this is his best friend’s girlfriend and possibly even his future fiance, then it goes without saying that she is automatically his friend, too.
“Go home, Natasha.” He tells her kindly, his tone warmer than before. “I’ll be here until Becky arrives.”
“Are you sure?” Natasha asks in confirmation, even though she is starting to feel the effects of staying up all night, clearly desperate to get some sleep.
Steve nods, giving her a smile. “Don’t worry, I got him. He’ll be fine, but I could give you updates about his condition if you want me to.”
“Yes, please.” Natasha says without thinking, already reaching into her pocket to retrieve her phone. They exchange numbers then, just as she heaves another sigh - this time of relief, knowing that at least there is someone familiar to James by his side. “Steve, right? I’m really glad you’re here.”
He flashes her a lopsided grin, and Natasha finds an automatic smile gracing her face. “Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, honestly. Do take care, Natasha. Bucky wouldn’t want you to worry over him like this.”
“I suppose he wouldn’t.” Natasha agrees easily, not thinking too deep into the implication behind Steve’s words. She stifles a yawn, embarrassingly looking away after that - but Steve maintains the smile on his lips, gesturing for her to go. “I’m serious, go rest. I’ll contact you if anything happens.”
“Thank you, Steve.” She says, backing away slowly. “If anything at all crops up, please -”
“Natasha,” Steve starts again in the most assuring voice he could muster. “I promise I’ll be in touch.”
At that, she finally nods, giving him one final sheepish smile before turning in her heels and leaving the ICU. Steve merely watches her retreating back, crossing his arms together before turning to look at Bucky again.
He leans forward, just a little closer to his best friend. And then Steve whispers with a hint of tease in his tone, “You lucky son of a gun.”
Much later, when Rebecca arrives with a clearly worried Winnifred - Bucky’s mother, Steve escorts his sister outside of the ICU to share what he knows about Bucky’s condition. Generally calm, Rebecca listens attentively, not saying much until Steve finishes his sentence. When the nurse comes by asking for her to sign the consent form for surgery, Rebecca directs her to their mother, who signs without thinking twice.
Then, Rebecca remembers Natasha, the woman who had called her at the wee hours of morning, informing her of what happened to her brother. She peers down the hallway, wondering if Natasha is still around, until Steve interrupts her, knowing exactly what she is thinking about.
“If you’re looking for Natasha, I told her to go home.” He tells her. “She did stay up the entire night at the waiting area, yknow.”
Rebecca gives Steve a small smile. She assumes Steve has met Natasha earlier, before she arrived at the hospital. “Ah, you spoke to her? I wanted to thank her in person. I mean, she didn’t have to do all that for James.”
The bemused expression growing on Steve’s face is enough for Rebecca to frown a little. “What?” She asks with an eyebrow raised. “Why are you giving me that look?”
“She kinda has to do that.” Steve puts in gently, and a few seconds pass between them before Rebecca drops her jaw in realisation. “You mean…?”
“Yeah.” Steve nods nonchalantly. “I assume you didn’t know either?”
Rebecca just groans. “Why am I not surprised? He doesn’t tell me anything.”
“Apparently it’s pretty solid, too.” Steve continues without missing a beat. “On their way to an engagement, it seems.”
“What?” Rebecca’s eyes are blown wide, her forehead creasing in surprise. “How do you even know all this? Did Natasha tell you?”
“Nah,” Steve shakes his head. “The nurse did.”
“The what?”
“The nurse.” He chuckles, the irony of the situation not lost - of all people who would deliver such joyous news to them, it just had to be a total stranger and a complete outsider. “Becky, I was just as surprised as you when I found out earlier. I guess Bucky had been awfully low profile because he wanted to...yknow, make sure everything is right before he pops the news to all of us.”
Rebecca sighs, understanding the underlying meaning of his sentence at once. “Steve, you know it isn’t your -”
He waves a hand to silence her, even though Steve is still smiling. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me. But you know how your brother is. He tends to put everyone first, before himself.” He softens his expression. “Maybe he thought that he was doing me a favour.”
“Yeah, but to keep something as huge as this from us is quite unsettling. I mean, an engagement. Marriage.” Rebecca crosses her arms together. “So if Natasha comes by later, are we supposed to act like we already know, or not?”
Steve takes a few seconds to think, deciding in the end to respect Bucky’s decision. “I think we’ll know, eventually. When the time is right. It would be nice to hear it from either of them directly, wouldn’t it?”
Rebecca relents with a sigh and two hands in the air. “Alright, alright. But mom’s going to want to know who Natasha is to James. And I’m not going to lie.”
“You don’t have to lie.” Steve shrugs. “Just, tell her not to bring it up unless Natasha does herself.”
“Yes, sir.” Rebecca briskly says, and prepares to go into the ICU again - since only two people are allowed in at once, Steve stays outside, finding solace in one of the empty seats nearby. And then, he allows his thoughts to wander - there are many things he wants to ask Natasha, if he is to be honest with himself. He wants to know how they met, how Bucky asked her out for the first time, how long they’ve been together. But he also knows that, like what he’d told Rebecca, it isn’t his place to pry unless Bucky (or Natasha in this case) brings it up first.
So for now, even if Steve is extremely curious of everything, he decides to keep what he knows as a secret first. He’ll soon be able to know everything, anyway - when the time is right. For now, he is perfectly content with just being happy for his best friend, that at the very least, unlike him, Bucky has found happiness, and a chance for a happily ever after.