The Right Partner

"Oh, harsh," He laughed, resting a hand on his chest as he feigned hurt. "No need to pull out the 'J' card." Bucky honestly didn't mind Clara calling him James. She was probably one of the only people who didn't bother him when they called him by his first names. For the longest time, he was uncomfortable when anyone called him anything but Bucky... but it felt natural when he heard it from Clara. "You caught me. It's not your looks, or your charm, it's the food and hot water."

"I'll pull out the 'J' card if I want to pull out the 'J' card." Clara countered, taking a sip of her drink. She had a feeling that he really didn't mind her calling him James. It didn't happen very often, but when it did, his reaction normally was one like this. She was pretty sure he'd tell her if he didn't like her calling him by his first name. "I knew it! That's it, you're staying with Steve from now on! Steal his food and hot water instead of mine." She laughed quietly.

"Alright," He sighed, looking down into his food again. He took a very brief pause as he battled the smirk coming to his face, "Connie." He was glad that the name situation was something that they could laugh about together now, but he sure as hell wasn't going to be letting it go anytime soon "Okay, okay," He laughed, raising his hands in defense. "I'm sorry. Please don't ship me off to live with Steve... I quite like it here with you." Bucky had thought about whether or not staying with Steve would be best for him. There was shared life experience there, considering they'd both come from the same time period... But he had no doubt that Clara would be the right person to help him adjust to new life. He needed to be with someone who was going to make it easier for him, and help him through. Clara fit as that person for him.

"You're never going to let that one go, are you?" Clara asked, punctuating her words with a quiet laugh. She was glad that it was something that they both could laugh about now. It made her feel a lot better about the whole situation, even if she did still feel bad for lying to him in the first place. "That's what I thought." She said before popping a piece of chicken into her mouth. Despite the joking nature of his words, they still resonated with her quite a bit. He was choosing to live with her instead of Steve, his best friend and the one person who truly understood everything he was dealing with right now. It meant a lot to her to say the least.

"Oh, I'm gonna milk it for all it's worth," He grinned, finished off the last piece of food within the box he had in front of him. Bucky hadn't realised just how hungry or tired he'd been whilst travelling with The Doctor. It felt nice to have his feet firmly on the ground. It felt nice to have somewhere that felt like home, and that was with Clara. When he'd found out the truth of his situation, he felt like everything had been stripped away from him. It felt like he had nothing left. Clara brought it all back to him, and she was helping him rebuild. He was actually looking forward to a quiet, normal life with her; whatever it was that that entailed for them. Maybe he'd get a job at her school, start teaching and helping to pay the rent. As mundane as it all seemed, it actually excited him.

"I honestly don't know how you didn't see past my horrid attempt at an American accent." Clara laughed. Bucky wasn't the only one she'd fooled though, and that was all pretty surprising as well. She was glad that the truth was all out now, and she didn't intend on ever keeping something like that from him again. No more secrets. She was going to be completely open and honest with him no matter what. "If you'd like, you can have some of mine?" She offered, taking notice to the fact that his carton of Chinese food was now empty. "I never finish it anyway."

Bucky couldn't help but laugh as she commented on her accent. As an American, he probably should have realised, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the time. She'd completely swept him away, and he wasn't particularly paying attention to the details of her accent. "I thought you were Midwestern or something!" He defending himself, setting the empty box down. "I didn't want to offend you by saying anything that night." Despite everything that had happened, he still thought back on that night with the fondest of memories. She'd made one of his final nights before being shipped off to war enjoyable, and he'd be eternally grateful for that. "You sure?" He asked, glancing down at her carton. "I don't want to steal any of yours if you're still hungry..."

"Whatever you say, Sarge." Clara teased, punctuating her words with a quiet laugh. He wasn't the only one she seemed to have fooled with her horrid attempt at an American accent. She just enjoyed giving him grief for it, that was all. She really was glad that it was all something that they could both laugh about now though. She nodded in response to his later words. "Of course I'm sure." She told him. "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure."

"Last chance to change your mind..." He teased, leaning across the table to slowly steal her food. "Last chance before it goes in my stomach..." Bucky didn't want to feel as though he was being greedy, but he also really wanted the food. It was all a new experience for him, and he did want to try all the food they had ordered. "What time is it?" He asked after a moment, glancing out the window in the flat. It was dark outside, but travelling across time and space really had messed up his body clock. He hadn't even taken a moment to stop and think about what time it was, or what he was going to do.

Clara let out a laugh at his words and shook her head. "Just take it, Bucky." She said, a smile playing upon her lips. She was glad that things were as lighthearted as they were right now, but she knew they had a lot that they still needed to talk about. For now though, she was happy just laughing and joking around with him. She looked to the clock above the stove when he spoke once more. "Half past eight in the evening." She told him. "If you're tired, we can turn in after this."

"Alright, no take-backsies though." He warned her, jokingly pointing at her with his chopsticks. Bucky was glad they could do this, just joke around and act like the young couple that they appeared to be. "I think I'd like that," He nodded as he awkwardly picked up some food to place into his mouth. He was slowly getting the hang of using chopsticks, but realising how tired he was feeling certainly didn't help his motor skills at all. "I could do with a night's sleep... Maybe tomorrow we can start looking for a job for me, or something." Bucky didn't really want to be sat around not doing anything. He knew that's when his mind would start working away, and things might start to get to him. He needed to keep busy, and keep himself distracted. There was no use in thinking about what he could, or should have become. He was here now. This was who he was.

Clara let out a quiet laugh at his words and nodded. "No take-backsies." She agreed. It was nice knowing that, despite everything, they were able to joke around and laugh like this. She knew that there was a lot they still needed to address, but tonight this was how she wanted things to be. "Yeah, of course." She could understand why he'd want to start looking for a job. It would keep him busy, and if he was kept busy, he wouldn't find himself thinking about everything else. "Do you have any ideas for what you'd like to do or where you'd like to work?" She asked him curiously.

"Nothing too active," He sighed out as he continued to struggle with the left-over food. "I don't want to go back to the military or anything." Bucky doubted he would actually be able to go back into the army, especially now that he was living in England, but he wanted to make sure he stayed away from that field. Physical labour would be an option for him. It was something he knew how to do, and something that didn't require any qualifications. He just needed something simple to get him onto his feet first, then they could start looking at what else he could possibly do. The last thing he wanted to do was to just sit in Clara's apartment and not contribute anything.

Clara nodded. She could definitely understand why he wouldn't want to go back to the military, and he didn't have to. This was an opportunity for him to start fresh in a way. "I'm sure we can find you something." She said. "It might take some time, but there's definitely something out there for you, I'm sure of it." She sent a small, reassuring smile his way. She'd help him look for something. She didn't care how long it took though she was sure it wouldn't take too long. There had to be something he could do.

Starting fresh was really what Bucky wanted. He wanted to let go of everything that he'd already been through and just move forward. He wished that Steve could be there in that process, but as Captain America, Bucky knew it would be hard for him to go down the same path. Steve already had a life determined for himself, and now Bucky needed to figure out what he wanted. He wanted a life with Clara, and this was just the beginning. "Maybe just something simple at first," He suggested, finishing off the food. "Something to get me started."

"There's nothing wrong with simple." Clara said. She was sure they could find something for him. "Why don't we talk more about this tomorrow? You look exhausted." Everything was clearly starting to catch up with him, and she didn't want him to push himself to stay up too late. "I know you senior citizens like to go to bed early." She smirked slightly, figuring that if they could joke about the whole 'Connie' thing, she could tease him about his age.

Bucky let out a short, tired laugh in response to Clara's joke. Admittedly, it was a good one, and she got him. "Hey, respect your elders," He joined in, pushing himself up to stand. He may have been tired, but he was going to help Clara clear away first. "I fought for your freedom." He took a fake, stern tone as he picked up the empty cartons of food. At least there wasn't going to be much cleaning up for them to do, considering they just needed to throw everything away. Ordering take out food was definitely the best decision for the night.

"And what exactly is going to happen, pray tell, if I don't?" Clara countered, punctuating her words with a raised eyebrow. She let out a quiet laugh in response to his later words and picked up their glasses, bringing them over to the sink. She was glad that there wasn't much for them to clean up. One of the perks of getting takeout. "Are you really bringing freedom into this? That's so stereotypically American." She teased, a slight grin tugging at the corners of her lips.

Carrying the empty containers over to the kitchen, Bucky looked slightly confused for a moment before he located the bin. "No, stereotypically American is singing 'Star-Spangled Man with a Plan' on stage whilst wearing shorts and tights." He threw the boxes away and turned to face Clara. "And that was Steve, not me." All of the Howling Commandos ragged on Steve about what he used to do before he was the Captain America everyone knew today. "Ready to tuck this old timer in bed?"

"Touche." Clara said. He had a point there, though she did like teasing him regardless. From what she understood, Bucky and the other Howling Commandos hadn't let Steve live any of that down. They were always ragging on him about it. "Considering you're likely going to pass out on me anyway? I think so." She teased lightly, a small smile gracing her lips. "Come on, old man." She took his hand in her much smaller one and led him down the hallway.