Clara stretched, rotating her arm as she felt the muscles tightening from work she wasn't use to doing. They had finished painting, then had finished varnishing, only for Sam to ask them both to begin untangling fishing nets - something Bucky quickly got fed up with and trudged away from. He came back a few minutes later carrying a couple bottles of cool beer. 

He handed one to Sam, and kept the other for himself. While they uncapped the bottles, Clara stayed untangling the net knot by knot. 'Well,' Bucky said once he had emptied the bottle. 'Gotta catch my flight tomorrow... Get a hotel room for the night. Crash, you know?'

Clara looked over her shoulder at Sam, who was chuckling lightly. 'You're just gonna set me up like that, huh?'

'Well, I don't wanna make it weird for your family...' Bucky told him, getting up to collect his things. 

'Just stay here,' Sam rolled his eyes. 'The people in this town are the most welcoming people in the world. They don't care if you wear small t-shirts, or if you have six toes, or if your mom's your aunt.'

'Okay, I get it,' Bucky laughed. Clara looked over in surprise as he did, looking between him and Sam as she released she'd never heard him do so before then. Not properly, anyway. 'I mean, you know, the people are nice.'

'But don't flirt with my sister,' Sam said, dropping the smile and pointing at the other man. 

'No,' Bucky shook his head, speaking as though he'd never even dream of it. 

'Because if you do, I'll have Carlos cut you up and feed you to the fish.'

'Okay,' Bucky nodded, a small grin on his lips as he climbed from the boat. 

'I still get the couch, right?' Clara asked Sam.

'Unless you want to give it up for Bucky, and sleep on the armchair instead?' He suggested, grimacing slightly as he hoped she'd take the latter option. 

Clara huffed but, in all honesty, she knew she was tired enough to fall asleep anywhere, so she didn't really mind. 'If I have to.'

'Come on,' Sam rose to his feet, gesturing for Clara to follow him. 'It's gonna get dark soon.'

*  *  *

Clara stirred, the light of the sun rise seeping through a crack in the curtains, falling onto her closed eyes. She blinked them open, seeing she was still in the same position she had fallen asleep in; sat in the armchair with her legs tucked up, and her left side leaning against the chair's back. 

She looked across the room, seeing Bucky still fast asleep on the couch, his chest rising and falling steadily. Clara blinked away the blur of sleep, looking to the doorway next as hushed voices reached her ears. Sam's nephews were playing in the hall, unzipping something on the floor as quietly as they could. 

She sat up, keeping her movement quiet, too. It was the Captain America shield they were trying to remove from the bag, tugging it out and trying not to rustle the material. Once out, the younger of the two placed it on his arm, holding it up to defend himself from the pretend punches being thrown by his brother. 

They played between themselves, taking turns to throw punches while making their own sound effects. Clara smiled as she watched them take on alter egos, one falling into the role of the villain, the other the hero, then switching a moment later so they could try playing the other part. 

'Hey,' Bucky said to them, lifting a hand to wave their way. 

The two boys gasped in surprise. 'Put it back!' The older boy urged the younger one, who struggled to slide it into the bag. 'Hurry, hurry!' 

They ran off, the bag skidding on the wooden flooring, and the shield slipping back out of the bag slightly. Clara got up from the armchair, twisting from side-to-side as she stretched. 

Bucky sat up, rubbing a hand over his face in an attempt to wake himself up. He saw Clara reach down for the shield, slipping it all the way from the bag, and then onto her left arm. 

Clara felt the weight of it on her forearm, the leather grip in her hand. Lifting it into guard, she took on a fighting stance, trying her best to put on a serious expression. 

Bucky raised an eyebrow at her. 'What?' Clara asked innocently, as she changed stance, lifting her chin and puffing out her chest like Captain America did in all of his "we're in this together" posters during the Blip. 'I'm not so old that I'm not allowed to have fun.'

'Where's Sam?'

'I don't know,' she shrugged. 'I was only awake for, like, three seconds before you.'

Bucky rose from the couch, walking out of the archway Clara stood in. 'Put it back,' he told her, walking past. 

She pouted, but did just that, zipping the circular bag closed after. 'Where're you going?' She asked him, hearing the front door open. 

'To find Sam,' he called back.

Clara frowned, thinking he probably should have looked inside the house first. She leant the shield bag up against the wall, then walked into the kitchen opposite the living room. Seeing it was just as empty as the rest of the downstairs, and she couldn't hear any movement upstairs, she walked back into the living room to get her phone. 

Once she had her across-the-body bag back over her shoulder, she followed in the steps Bucky had taken. 

The air outside was fresh, the breeze carrying itself over the water. Clara inhaled deeply, moving to a table and a set of chairs just down the steps leading from the house. She pulled a chair out from under the table, lowering herself onto it as she looked out across the view.

She thought it best to give Sam and Bucky some time to talk alone. Seeing as she had been with them nonstop for a week, they were probably happy to finally have a chance to talk out of earshot of the teenager. 

Clara probably shouldn't have been sitting out there, alone with only her thoughts to keep her company, but it seemed she also wasn't much better sitting with people, so she stayed as she was. 

She listened to the birdsong, the breeze rustling through the leaves in the trees, the distant chatter of foxes. She listened to the soft motions of the water moving against the land, and the light footsteps just heard through the walls of the home. 

She wasn't sure how long she was sitting there for, keeping her mind occupied as she focused on lifting a little frog ornament. She was still only attempting the lighter items until she could stop them shaking mid-air, when she heard the front door open. 

'Hey,' Sarah greeted her, hearing the soft thump of the ornament hitting the lawn. 'How did you sleep?'

'Good, thank you,' Clara smiled kindly, glancing at the little frog to make sure it hadn't broken at all when it fell from her hold. 'Oh, and thanks, by the way, for letting us crash here for the night.'

'Oh, don't worry about it,' Sarah waved her off. 'It's nice having some new faces around here every now and then. Sam and Bucky out working on the boat already?'

'Yeah. Well, I think so, at least,' Clara said, looking towards the docks. 'Am I alright to use the shower before I go?' 

'Yeah, go ahead! I'm about to walk AJ and Cass to the bus stop,' she told her. 'There's plenty of food in the kitchen if you want to grab something before you leave.' 

'Perfect, thanks,' Clara got up from the garden chair and headed inside, walking past the two boys as they ran out of the house with their backpacks on. She had a quick shower, brushed her teeth and then made her way back outside. 

At one point during her shower she had heard the front door open and close, and when she reached the lawn, she saw it had been Sam and Bucky getting the shield. 'Feels weird,' Sam muttered, just before frisbeeing the shield towards a tree. 

'Whoa, whoa, whoa,' Clara rushed, lifting a hand and stopping the shield just before it hit the tree. 'Maybe you should put up some padding before you try knocking down some trees?' 

Sam noted her point, then walked to the shield to take it from the purple mist.  'Yeah, you're probably right. You heading out?' He asked, seeing her bag slung over her shoulder. 

'Yeah,' Clara nodded. 'Thanks for inviting me out, it's been a nice break.'

'Thanks for helping with the boat. We'll make sure to call if we hear anything from Karli.'

'You better,' Clara told them, walking towards the path leading from the house, and waving over her shoulder. 'Enjoy your alone time.'

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