Elizabeth had been to Bucharest exactly once and that was only for a couple of hours. She had gone with Natasha and Tony on a small mission that was handled fairly quickly. So finding her way to Bucky's apartment was harder than she thought it'd be. But she was sure she'd manage.

Pulling her black coat tighter around her body, she checked all the street signs. Hoping they'd give her some sort of help. Elizabeth knew enough Romanian from her studies that it helped her find the building she was looking for.

Getting into the elevator -since she wasn't in the mood to climb the winding metal staircase that looked rusted in some parts- she pressed the button for the eleventh floor. The small metal compartment was dodgy and creaked with every little movement she made.

When the doors opened she immediately rushed out, looking for the apartment number he had told her. Her heart raced with every step she took closer to the door she knew Bucky stood behind. Elizabeth stared at the red painted door before bringing her hand up to knock. Her hand was a few centimetres from the wood when the door swung from the inside.

Jumping in slight surprise, Elizabeth took a step back to see Bucky Barnes standing there with his metal hand on the door. Dressed in a pair of loose jeans and a short-sleeved grey t-shirt. When he saw that it was indeed her, like he had suspected, he pulled her into the apartment by her hand.

When her eyes met his, he smiled at her so wide that he felt his cheeks hurt. "You're here," he breathed out happily before pulling her in for a hug. His smile only grew wider when she wrapped her arms around him. Bucky was glad to see she still smelled like she always did, like warmth and vanilla.

Elizabeth always tried not to use her abilities to feel what Bucky felt, not wanting to invade his privacy. If she had, in that moment she would feel nothing but love from him. Within the year that they had known each other it was as if they had finally found what they had unknowingly been looking for.

When they pulled apart she looked up at him with a sweet smile on her face that made his insides melt. "You got here okay?" She asked him, her eyes scanning him up and down for anything out of the ordinary.

"I did, Lizzie." Bucky liked it when he said her name, and so did Elizabeth. It gave them both a warm feeling in their chests. When he saw that she had made a move to turn her attention to the apartment the two stood in, he quickly rushed to stand behind her and cover those eyes that he loved so much.

"What're you doing?" Elizabeth asked between short laughs as all she could see was darkness.

Bucky shrugged his shoulders even thought she couldn't see him. "I want to surprise you with the place." he explained.

She shook her head, making Bucky's hands move along with her head. "I'm already in here," she protested as she put her hands over his that rested on her face lightly. "There's no point."

"But," he started as he led her to the center of the small living room, making sure to avoid all the corners of the table and furniture. "You didn't actually see it."

"Fair enough," Elizabeth let him have his fun as she stepped carefully, not wanting to bump into anything. "By the way, how did you know it was me? I didn't even knock yet."

"I heard your footsteps," he answered with his hands still covering her eyes.

Not understanding how that answered her question she continued on, "But that could have been anyone."

"I mean this in the least creepy way possible," Bucky began warily not knowing if she would find his response weird or not. "But I always know when it's you." And it was true. He always knew exactly how her footsteps sounded and how sweet her laugh is.

Elizabeth hoped and prayed that Bucky couldn't feel the heat rising to her covered cheeks. Those simple words managed to prove to herself that everything she felt for the man behind her was totally justifiable. Like come on, how  could no one fall for this guy.

Clearing her throat to cover up the blush, as if that made any sense, she spoke up quietly. "Well, Barnes," She began with a playful grin. "Are you gonna show me the place you got or what?"

Remembering that he wasn't just suppose to be staring at her smile, he removed his hands from her eyes. Elizabeth let her eyes adjust to the bright light from the lamp beside her before she looked around the place.

It wasn't much, let's put it that way. It was definitely a lot smaller than her old apartment. In the center of the room there was a kitchen table with exactly two chair, one looked like it was missing a leg from the way it was tilted to the side.

The fridge was next to the small stove that held a pot and pan. Looking to her left, she saw that a mattress was pushed up in the corner. A single pillow sat atop of it with a blue blanket. There was a beaten down couch that sat in front of the table. The piece of furniture simply facing a blank wall.

"What do you think?" Bucky asked as he watched her take in the place with a blank face. When she turned to face him, she saw him looking somewhat proud at the place around him. She didn't feel like bursting his cute little bubble so she nodded her head slowly.

"It's something, alright." She muttered as Bucky moved to sit on the couch. Patting the space next to him, she sat down as his arm went over the back of the couch. Their legs brushed together and she smiled softly to herself.

Elizabeth was somewhat proud of her relationship with Bucky. He trusted her enough to let her get close to him. Even letting her stroke his hair when he's had a bad day. He was comfortable around her and was able to be himself. And she liked to think it had something to do with her.

"Do you not like it?" Bucky asked suddenly worried that he had made a bad decision. He turned his body to face her on the couch, his metal arm resting in his lap.

Shaking her head quickly, she responded. "No, of course not." Looking around at the small place she tried not to let her face give anything away. "I mean are you sure you wanna live here? Did I give you enough money to find a good place."

Bucky's gaze dropped to his metal appendage as he played with a loose thread on the couch. "You did," he mumbled softly.

Not understanding what was going on with him, she put her hand under his chin and brought his gaze back up to her. "I'm not trying to be mean or anything," she stated cautiously. "But then why did you choose this place?"

Realising that her hand still cupped his face, she dropped her hand back into her lap. "It's close to that aquarium I told you about," he said slightly embarrassed. Elizabeth's heart swelled at his words as her eyes looked at him with admiration. "And the grocery store nearby has a cat."

"A what?"

"A cat," he grumbled out as he crossed his arms in front of his chest at her teasing look.

Elizabeth leaned her head on his arm that was splayed out on the back of the couch. "Never saw you as a cat guy," she looked up at him. "Did you name it?"

"It's not my cat," he corrected her. "It's just a stray that I feed sometimes."

"You didn't answer my question," she mused as the warmth from his arm slowly warmed her up.

Knowing better than anyone that she wasn't going to stop till she got what she wanted he rolled his eyes before answering her. "It's name is Alpine."

A light laugh broke out of her as she pinched Bucky's cheek affectionately. "How cute," she cooed. Bucky swatted her hand away, despite liking her soft and gentle touch. "I guess we'll need to fix this place up when I get back we're gonna make it habitable," she added jokingly.

Bucky's head snapped toward her as he wrinkled his nose up. "When you get back?" He repeated her words sadly, slowly piecing together what she meant. "You're leaving again? But you just got here!"

"I know, but-" she tried to reason with him. Elizabeth could already feel his once playful and happy mood had changed drastically.

He cut her off with a vigorous shake of his head. "Don't go," he told her. Not sure if she heard him correctly, she asked him to repeat what he said. "Whatever it is, don't go."

"I have to," she told him, not believing what she was hearing. Sure, Bucky had always protested against her going. But never to the point where he'd verbally ask her to not go on a mission.

"No you don't," He told her with a frown on his handsome face. "You really don't."

She looked at him with wide eyes, not knowing where this was all coming from. "I don't understand," she tilted her head to look at him quizzically. "What are you saying?"

"Just stay," he pleaded, looking into her eyes to make her understand. "Just stay here with me." Bucky didn't even know what she was going to do but the way she insisted that she had to go just confirmed that it would be as dangerous as he thought. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if she didn't come back.

"I can't do that," she tried telling him. The frustration from Bucky was quickly seeping into her bones, unbeknownst to her. Making her get annoyed very quickly. "You know I can't," her voice raised ever so slightly at the end.

Suddenly, Bucky stood up from the couch with an annoyed expression on his face. He moved to stand in front of Elizabeth with a somewhat angry expression on his face. "Don't go!" He exclaimed as he ran a hand through his long hair.

"Why shouldn't I?" She looked up at him from her seat to see his eyes staring down at her. It was as if they were having the same conversation over and over again. The both of them avoiding what they really wanted to say.

He didn't say anything, just running a hand across his face with a sigh. "Because!" Bucky simply put it, as if that one word would be an answer to her question.

Growing frustrated with both herself and him. She glared up at Bucky before getting up from her seat. Even standing, she was still shorter than him.

Deciding that she didn't like that, she let out a huff of air angrily before climbing onto her own couch. Too caught up in the moment to care about the stains her shoes would leave. Now she stood taller than him by a a few inches, looking down at him for a change instead of the other way round.

"Tell me," she seethed with her hands spread out. "Go on." It drove her crazy that he wouldn't tell her what he really wanted to say. She knew him well enough too see that he was holding something back.

Bucky shook his head, the feeling of his neck craning up to look up at her being new to him. "No," he said determinedly. Not willing to let her know the true reason why he wanted her right next to him, knowing that's where she'd be safest.

"I'm giving you one more chance," Elizabeth said slowly as Bucky took a step back from her high position, getting a better look at her. Even angry she was so pretty, he thought silently to himself. "Or I'm walking out that door right now." She pointed her finger to the front door, making sure that he knew she wasn't playing.

"What's it matter to you?" He turned the question back at her. Evading having to answer her. Bucky didn't want to answer her but he also really didn't want to see her leave.

She scoffed at his words and rolled her eyes. "I'm not answering that question," Elizabeth told him. Deep down she wanted him to say those three words to her. That was why she was so persistent, she wanted to know if he saw her the same way she saw him.

"Why not?" Bucky asked as he jutted his chin out, not wanting her to see his tired expression. The pair had never fought like this before. The most major fight they had once was because they couldn't decide what to have for dinner.

"Cause you didn't answer mine," she fired back with a glare down at him. "Tell me why you don't want me to go."

"I don't get why you think you have to know everything that goes on in my head. Isn't it enough that you can feel what I feel?" He ignored her question completely. "Why won't you just except that I don't want you to go!"

"Cause you're making such a big deal out of this!" She exclaimed in exasperation as she opened her arms to gesture between the two of them.

"Me?" Bucky pointed a finger to his chest with shock written all over his face. "You're standing on a fucking chair!" He held a hand out to the couch that she stood on. "Why the hell are you on the couch?"

"Well I'm sorry if I don't exactly feel like yelling up at you!" She yelled as she bent down so they were face to face, their noses practically touching. "I felt like yelling down at you!"

"Why do you care what goes on in my head?" He asked her again once she was done yelling. Elizabeth had stood back up so now her face was just a few inches above his.

She practically felt her eyes roll to the back of her head. All she had been doing was to help him fix what was in his head. All those late night comforts from nightmares and the pancakes she tried to make the morning after. That was all for him.

"Why do I care?" She repeated his question mockingly. "It's because I love you, you idiot!"

Those words left her mouth without her brains approval, that much was clear. It was silent as those last words she spoke hung in the air. They were both breathing heavily from their screaming match, too stunned to say anything yet.

But she knew with all her heart that those words were true. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself that it was hopeless and pointless. That she should push it to the furthest part of her mind that kept all of those unwanted thoughts.

Yet, it was still there. The way that she never felt so happy and content when it was as just the two of them in the apartment. How he always asked her how she felt, not liking how he couldn't tell what she was feeling.

Elizabeth loved the way that he still tried to move on in life, no matter how many times the world hit him back down. She loved how he was so kind and gentle despite been through so much. She loved that she got to see his smile hey brighter everyday she spent with him.

She tapped into her abilities and saw that Bucky's feelings were full of surprise. Elizabeth decided that there was nothing for her to say left, so he would have to be the one to speak first. Which he did.

"I- uh," Bucky stuttered as his brain tried to process those words he thought he'd never hear from anyone, let alone her. The person that he wanted to hear them from the most.

Suddenly all that came to mind was the last movie he watched. "A horrible decision, really." Was what his mind settles in saying. What he really wanted to say was something else entirely but it just didn't seem come out right.

Elizabeth stared at him with her mouth agape. "Did you just quote Tangled to me?" She asked as she recognised the familiar words. She didn't remember watching it with him so he must've seen it while she was away. Most likely back in Washington since the apartment they were currently in lacked the tv.

"Yes," Bucky breathed out while his eyes darted from her face to the base of the couch, looking at her worn out boots.

"Wow," Elizabeth put a hand up to her head as if to steady her thoughts. "Okay." She cleared her throat shakily as she avoided looking at him, too deep in her own embarrassment.

Realising what it sounded like to her, Bucky's eyes immediately widened. "No!" He quickly exclaimed catching her attention. "God, no! That's not what I meant! I meant to say-"

He was cut off by the buzzing of her phone in her back pocket. Bucky's mouth immediately closed as she fished her phone out from her pocket.

Happy at the call that was saving her from his pity, she checked the caller id. Steve. She answered it and pressed the phone to her ear.

"We have Ultrons location, meet us back at the tower. It's urgent." Steve's voice came in from the other end of the line. No greeting whatsoever, letting her know that it was indeed urgent.

She told the captain a quick okay before hanging up. Elizabeth's feelings were getting a bit too much for her. Her embarrassment, sadness and frustration. Looking down at Bucky she gave him a forced smile.

"I have to go," she muttered before stepping down from the chair. Bucky held a hand out, ready to catch her if she fell but he doubted she would. He wanted to tell her not to leave again to fight her on it, but he was too deep in his own thoughts to do anything.

She packed her bag in silence while Bucky watched. He was having an internal turmoil on whether he should tell her what he felt or not. On one hand she felt the same way, but on the other what good would it do her to hear him say those things.

Elizabeth felt the cool handle of the door in her hand as she opened it. Looking behind her, she saw Bucky standing in the same spot as before, staring at the ground.

"I'll come back once I'm done with the mission," she told him, waiting for him to say something. All he did was nod, signalling that he heard her. "You know, to give you more movies. And maybe a tv."

Bucky looked up at her then to see her pained smile. "Since you've already seen Tangled," she began as she tried to play off how she was really feeling. "I've gotta show you Princess and the Frog next."

Muttering a quick goodbye, she closed the door behind her and went on her way. Hoping that when she'd get back he'd forget all about her little confession.

As Bucky watched the door close behind her, he felt his heart sink. At the sole fact that he immediately regretting not saying what he wanted to.