The Right Partner

Clara laughed when he nudged her and she elbowed him back lightly. "I was doing no such thing!" She exclaimed, a wide grin on her face. This was all still just so strange. She didn't know why she felt such a strong connection to him. She didn't know why she felt like she could relax and be herself and just have a good laugh. And, frankly, this was something that she didn't need an actual explanation for. She was willing to just enjoy it all while she could.

Rather over dramatically, Bucky momentarily pretending to stumble when Connie nudged him, a soft laugh escaping his lips. "Steady there, kid!" He joked, his free hand coming up to rub his arm where she had elbowed him. It was a rather humourous image, a sergeant being pushed around by a woman much smaller than him. Though he didn't doubt that Connie probably knew how to defend herself when she needed to. "Don't lie," He grinned, his voice taking on a teasing and coy tone. "You had your sights set on me as soon as you came into the room... I saw you giving me those 'come hither' eyes."

"Oh come on! I didn't push you that hard." Clara laughed softly. She couldn't remember when the last time was that she'd laughed this much. And it made her even look forward to the end of the night even less. "Come hither eyes? Seriously?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think you might want to get your eyes checked." Her tone was still teasing, and the smile on her face, that almost seemed to be etched there permanently, widened a bit.

The mock offended look that Bucky had worn previously in the night came back to him again, though his eyes made it clear that he was still just teasing Connie as the night went on. It was becoming more and more obvious to him that this was the kind of girl he would have liked to seen himself settle down with at some point in his life... And it seemed like some cruel joke that he was meeting her now. "I had my eyes tested when I enlisted, and I have perfect eye sight thank you very much. Are you suggesting you would never give me come hither eyes?"

Clara laughed. The more time she spent with him, the more cruel this all seemed. She'd never connected with someone like this before. She'd never felt so comfortable and relaxed with someone before either. And it just seemed like some sort of a sick joke now because she knew that nothing could ever really come of this. And it was sort of sad really, but she wasn't going to let the sadness show, because she wouldn't know what sort of an explanation she should give. "Well, I'm not suggesting that I would." She was sure that the expression on her face would show that she was only teasing though. She didn't actually mean what she said at all. It was all in good fun really.

"Well, I'll have you know I'm possibly the most eligible bachelor in New York." He grinned, his stance straightening slightly with pride at the fact. It had always been well known between friends and colleagues that Bucky was quite popular with women. He was an attractive man, and he suited his uniform well. Despite that, he had never really been much of a Lothario. Flirting was fine, but he'd never liked to pursue further unless it really meant something to him. "So it's okay to admit you stared at me, really, I understand... I'd stare at me." Despite the joking and the cheeky attitude, Bucky wasn't bragging about anything. He was in no way cocky or arrogant, but instead, a rather laid back man.

"Could've fooled me." She said teasingly. She could tell that he was only joking. He didn't seem like the arrogant type, plus their conversation was still of the teasing nature. And Clara was thankful for that fact. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled or laughed as much as she had tonight. "Really? That's actually funny considering I most definitely wasn't staring. If there isn't something wrong with your eyes, maybe you're seeing things." She grinned.

It was all good fun in the end. Bucky knew Connie hadn't been staring at him when she entered the room, in fact, he'd been staring at her. He was pretty certain that everyone had been. She deserved the attention of the entire room, but he was glad that he had gained her attention above everyone else. He wondered what would have happened if he had let his colleague ask her to dance instead, but a flicker of jealousy burned at his chest causing him to quickly dismiss the thought. "C'mon, you and I both know I'm irresistible."

"Irresistible? You? I'm not so sure about that." Clara said with a slight grin tugging at the corners of her lips. She was glad that Bucky seemed to be the type of person who could take a joke. Some people couldn't and just had sticks up their asses or something. She never understood how they went on in life taking things so seriously like that. She didn't think that she ever could or would. "Delusional maybe, but irresistible not so much..." She couldn't help letting out a soft laugh soon after.

"My, my, Miss Connie." Bucky grinned down at her once more, a rather impressed look on his face. "You've quite the sharp tongue on you." He definitely appreciated a girl who knew how to handle herself. Sure, he was a protective person, even to an excessive point... but it was always nice to know that the people he cared for could take care of themselves once he was gone. It was one of the reasons he worried so much about Steve. The kid had a mouth worse than his fists, and it could get him into a lot of trouble... He didn't want to come back and find out his best friend had been knocked out in some Brooklyn street scrap.

A soft laugh escaped Clara's lips. "And do you consider that a good thing or a bad thing?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She knew how to hold her own. She could get by just fine without people trying to protect her, though there always seemed to be someone who felt like they needed to protect her. She didn't know why that was, and sometimes it got rather annoying, though she knew that said person normally meant well by it.

"A good thing." He nodded, his eyes lighting up as he heard Connie's laugh once more. It was strange, but god, what Bucky wouldn't give to be able to hear her laugh like that every single day... He wanted to wake up and hear her laugh in the morning, and he pulled her in closer against his own body as he refused to wake from their bed. He wondered if it could be considered in any way normal to think about those sorts of things in regard to a girl he had essentially just met. But she was so... He didn't want to say perfect, but it seemed to be the only thing that did her justice. He wanted to worship the ground she walked on, and that definitely wasn't normal for him.

Clara looked over to him, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. In the dim lighting of the street lights, she could see how he was looking at her. "What?" She asked quietly, another soft laugh bubbling from her lips. She'd never felt more like herself than she did right now. She had never felt this comfortable or that she could be this carefree and laid back before. It was strange. But in a good way. Definitely in a good way. A very good way.

Bucky wasn't exactly sure what to say back, because he just couldn't explain why he was looking at her so tenderly. It just came naturally to him. The tough kid from Brooklyn seemed to finally find someone (other than Steve) that he could let his guard down around. There seemed to be no words to describe her, and all those that did barely seemed to justify her. He was so love struck by her, and he couldn't explain why. A slightly lost smile came to his face, eyes caught on her still. "It's just... you." An embarrassed laugh escaped his lips and he shook his head. "That's all."

Clara smiled. "Just me?" She repeated. She couldn't really think of a single person who had ever looked at her the way she'd seen Bucky looking at her. There was just this look in his eyes that sort of almost made her weak in the knees and start acting like that little school girl with a crush again. It was a way that she'd always imagined a man looking at her someday, but it felt so cruel now because she knew that nothing was ever going to really come of this. It almost made her ask hers well, why her? Why had she finally found someone who she could be herself around, who could truly make her happy, that she couldn't actually be with? She shouldn't think that way though. She should simply try to enjoy the time that she had with Bucky while she still could.

If Bucky knew the truth, about why Connie was there with him that evening he would have agreed that is was more than cruel. He'd met someone who made him feel like he didn't have to hide a single thing, he was just himself... Yet he just couldn't have her. She was from a completely different time... Had he known, he definitely wouldn't have understood. Sure, Howard Stark seemed to be steam driving them to the future... But not like that. "Just you." He smiled down at her again, a small flutter building in his stomach as he looked down at her.

Clara knew that she was pretty much torturing herself. She knew that she should have probably danced with Bucky for one song and one song only. Instead, she'd let herself become attached. She'd let herself realize that they had a connection. She'd let herself dig herself into a whole that she couldn't possibly climb out of. And she knew that it would only make matters worse when it came time to leave, but she also knew that these moments were ones that she would probably always remember. And making memories was important. Sometimes they were the only things that people had left. She couldn't stop the smile from tugging at the corners of her lips as she looked up to him, a soft expression on her face. "And that's a good thing as well?" She asked quietly.

Bucky swore he could feel himself buckling at the knees just at the sight of her. Connie had this effect on him, where he seemed to melt and fumble around his words in some attempt to stop himself from looking stupid. He was an intelligent man, and he knew that... But there was just something about this girl that made him forget the English language. She was so beautiful, so well poised in everything she did. Bucky just wanted to lift her up there and then, spin her around, and tell her just how amazing she was. His romantic side was one often kept private, yet Connie made him want to show it to the world. "It's... an incredible thing." He nodded, a slightly more shy demeanour coming over him now that he was starting to admit just how much of an impact their short time together seemed to be having on him... The attachment wasn't ideal for both of them, but if there was only one thing Bucky would regret about meeting her that night, at that very dance, it was that they didn't have enough time together. It felt like there would never be enough time for them.

Clara smiled. "I'm glad to hear that." She said softly. She knew that this all was rather careless on her part. She shouldn't have let herself become so attached to someone who she could never actually be with. But there was nothing that she could do about it now. She was in far too deep, and her time here was limited. And so was Bucky's. So, the best thing that she could do was make use of the time that she had. And that was precisely what she planned on doing over the course of the next twenty-four hours and really just any other time she had here with him. "So, tell me about this friend of yours that I'll be meeting tomorrow."

As Connie gave him a reason to regain his sense, to ground himself again, he couldn't be any more grateful. He knew the attachment was already there, that much was obvious... and as much as he wished it could grow, that he could nurture it into something more than a few hours spent together, he knew he couldn't. His head was slowly taking over, and he was beginning to understand why becoming any much more attached would be dangerous. Pushing the negatives from his mind, Bucky grinned, eyes finally tearing away from Connie as he looked down to his feet. "Steve," He nodded, looking ahead of himself once more. "Childhood friend, nothing like me... Definitely no where near as attractive as am I. Or charming."