The Right Partner

Clara knew that this moment would end soon enough. And she knew that, soon after, this whole thing would come to an end. She didn't know when she and the Doctor were leaving, but she knew that Bucky was leaving within the next forty-eight hours. And she knew that she would never see him again after that. The thought honestly killed her, because she knew that the connection really did exist between them. It wasn't simply a figment of her imagination. There was really nothing that she could do though, and even if she made any promises, they were ones that would surely be broken.

They seemed to dance until the band truly stopped playing, and even then, Bucky didn't want to let go of her just yet. She seemed to be the kind of girl who stole his attention, and had no desire to give it back. She utterly captivated him, and it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. She was just so... her, and whilst he wasn't entirely sure what that meant for either of them, he knew it was all he wanted from her. Bucky just wanted her to be herself, and to be accepted for he was as well. He finally pulled his eyes away from her, glancing around the slowly emptying dance floor. A heavy sigh pulled at his chest as he looked back to her. He wasn't entirely sure what to say, he only knew that he didn't want to say goodbye quite yet. "I don't see any strange looking guys around..." He murmured lowly, only so she could hear him. No one else needed to know what he had to say to her. It only mattered that she heard him. "How about I walk you home?"

Clara smiled at his words, stealing a glance around the room. He was right. The Doctor was seemingly missing in action. It didn't necessarily surprise her. He had a tendency to wander almost as much as she did at times. "I do have a long walk..." She said quietly. She knew that she wouldn't exactly be able to let him walk her back to where the Doctor had left the TARDIS, but maybe she could lead him to believe that one of the apartment buildings near where it was was her or something. She didn't really want the night to end. Not yet anyway.

"It'd be rude of me not to walk you home..." He seemed to be trying to persuade her, erasing any possible reasons as to why he shouldn't walk her home. He could have been honest, and just told her that he didn't want to leave her just yet... Surely, she'd understand that. The evening they'd had together was bound to end eventually, he was trying his best to prevent that from happening too soon. Bucky knew he would regret not spending as much time with her as he possibly could, especially when there was the chance he wouldn't see her again. "I don't want any strange looking guys you don' know giving you any hassle... Especially not at this time of night." His voice, despite being still soft, seemed a little sterner. He had always been, and probably always would be, protective of people. There was no way he was going to risk something happening to Connie, no matter how small the chances of that happening were.

"I suppose you do have a point there, Sarge..." Clara said, a slight grin on her face. She was no longer hesitant in wanting him to walk her home, or rather to where she would let him believe was her home. She was simply messing with him. She wanted him to walk her. She wanted to spend more time with him. "Alright, I think you've persuaded me." She'd noticed how, though they were still soft, his words had become sterner. Almost as though he were being protective of her. And she could tell that he really did care enough to worry over something possibly happening to her.

"Maybe we should get going then." He smiled, stepping back from Connie ever so slightly so he could offer his arm to her. No one but Connie could possibly understand how Bucky was wishing there were more hours in the day, more minutes for him to spend with her. Walking someone home had never felt so bittersweet before. Despite his intentions to enjoy his final days in New York, it was also reminding him of just how little time he had left... and just how much this war seemed to be taking from him, and young men similar to him. He was silently grateful that Steve had failed so many times in his attempts to join the military.

"Yeah, maybe we should." Clara smiled when he offered her his arm, taking hold of it before following other people out. She was going to make the best of the limited amount of time that she had here in 1940's New York City. She was going to make sure that Bucky's remaining days here before he was shipped off were memorable ones. She felt as though she owed him that much seeing as she wouldn't be one of the women waiting for their soldier to return home once the war was over. A part of her wished that she could be like them, but she couldn't. As much as she wanted to be there, because there was still a possibility that he would return, she knew that she couldn't.

Considering they had only met a few hours ago, it was incredibly to see where they were going and what they were doing within the space of one night. It wasn't the way Bucky wanted to start any relationship, especially when he knew that in fact, they couldn't turn this into a relationship. Everything was too uncertain, and it would be cruel to allow Connie that definite attachment. If they labelled whatever their connection was, it would only make it harder in the long run. He didn't want to be the solider that left a girl waiting for him, with no definite insurance that he would come home to her... So for now, he was willing to settle for a romantic walk in the New York night time.

Clara could tell that they were both on the same page. They both knew that they couldn't turn this, whatever it was, into a relationship. And the reasons were both similar and different at the same time. Either way, they seemed to understand each other regardless of whether they actually verbally had this discussion or not. And she didn't think that they needed to have this discussion. They could simply enjoy the other's company while they still had the chance to do so. And, seeing as she knew that there really was no way for something to come of this, she was okay with that.

Ever the gentleman, Bucky opened doors for Connie as they left for the evening. Trading in the ballroom for the open New York sky was both a relief and disappointment. He was glad to be out in the fresh air, but ever left with the feeling that now they had left the dance, the night was going to end much more quickly than he had hoped. If the only was he could spend more time with Connie was by dancing the rest of the night, he would have gladly done so. For now, he was just grateful that she was allowing him to walk her home. "So which way are we headed?"

Clara smiled when he opened doors for her. She sort of wondered why a lot of men had stopped doing that in the twenty-first century. Were they above it or something? She didn't think that the action necessarily had to be chivalrous. It could simply be polite. And that's what she thought it was: polite, and common courtesy. "Uptown." She said, hopping that that was right and that they wouldn't be heading to the complete opposite side of the city.

"Uptown," He repeated, a smile on his face as he nodded. Bucky's free hand rested in his trouser pocket as they began to walk together. "Alright, Uptown it is." In all honesty, he would have been willing to walk Connie anywhere just to ensure she got home safely... Even if it meant walking hours in the opposite direction to where he himself needed to go. The way he saw it, the more time they had and the more memories they could make with one another, the better he would feel when he was shipped out. Of course, there was the chance of the complete opposite effect... The more memories he had, the more he would miss her. He would rather miss her than regret not spending what time he had left with her.

Clara smiled. She knew that she would only grow more attached the more time she spent with him, but she couldn't bring herself to let the night end just yet. She wanted to spend more time with him. She wanted to make the most of her time here in New York. And she knew that it could easily be more limited than his time here was. He would at least possibly be coming back after the war. She wouldn't be there after the war. By then, she would be long gone. And she hoped that he wouldn't be angry if that happened. She hoped that he wouldn't be angry that she couldn't keep any of the promises that she might make.

Walking along with her now, Bucky was soon coming to realize that he barely knew anything about her. He knew her name, a vague description of her cousin, and not much else... Yet at the same time, he felt like he had known her his entire life. He could even go as far to think that he knew her as well as he knew Steve. It was odd, and little nerve wrecking to think that he felt like that. He put it down to that oddly strong connection once again, his eyes fixed on Connie as they walked. It was hard to keep his eyes off her, and hard to rid himself of the gentle smile on his face as they walked down the street together... He just wished this wouldn't be one of the only times he'd have Connie on his arm.

Clara could feel his eyes on her as they walked. "You know, staring is usually considered creepy." She teased, turning to look at him. She really didn't mind that he was staring at her though. She occasionally found herself staring at him too. She was still sort of trying to figure out what it was about him that made her feel this strongly connected. And in such a short amount of time too. It was strange to say the least, but she didn't mind it. Not in the slightest bit.

Bucky had to admit, being caught by Connie as he looked at her was probably the closest he'd come to blushing in a while. Instead, his smile turned into a grin and he looked to the floor for a moment, catching his lower lip between his teeth as he tried to come up with some cheeky, cool response. He couldn't. He had been caught in the act, and it was hard to come up with any sort of response. He looked ahead after a few seconds, the embarrassed grin remained. "I wasn't staring, I was admiring..."

"Admiring, really?" Clara let out a soft laugh when she saw just how embarrassed he seemed to be. It was rather adorable really. And she'd only called him out on it in a teasing manner. She didn't mind that he'd been staring at her. She didn't really think it was creepy or anything. On certain people it probably would have been. But not on Bucky. "You were staring." She countered, a small grin on her face.

"Okay, I was staring." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He didn't mind admitting it to her, not when she had so blatantly caught him doing it. "You caught me." Rolling his head back slightly, Bucky took a moment to admire the stars in the night. It had always been a little bit more difficult to see them in a city like New York, and it was often something stuck in his mind... Would he see them differently when he was shipped out? Shaking the thought from his head, his eyes came to Connie again. "Can you blame me, though?"

Clara laughed once more. "See. Now was that really so hard to admit?" She asked, her tone still light and teasing. She was sort of surprised by how comfortable she felt around Bucky, though she assumed that it all had to do with this strong connection that she felt to him. This connection that honestly just came out of nowhere. She supposed that she really did need to learn to expect the unexpected more often than she already did. "Hm...no. I suppose I can't." She smiled.

"You've got to admit it now," He grinned, his eyes lighting up like a small trickster of a boy. He nudged her gently as they walked, careful not to knock her sideways or bump her into anyone else. There was just something about Connie that meant Bucky could be himself. Now that he knew her more, he didn't necessarily feel the need to play his best cards and impress her as best he could. He felt he had done enough to gain her attention, and he definitely didn't want to come across as someone who tried too hard to impress her. "Admit you were staring at me before I asked you to dance."