'Till the End of the Line

@ killian jones.
Juliette grinned at his words and nodded, "I do it's true." She joked before laughing lightly. When he accepted her routine, she nodded before she got up on the treadmill and started it off on her mile. When it was her and Steve, she usually would talk with him about her dates, but with Bucky things were different. She didn't know what to say to him because of the nervousness she felt around him. Around him it was like she had never spoken to a guy before, "So tell me about the forties. The only time that Steve and I ever talk about them is when we are talking about my grandmother, and I would rather hear about the fun stuff even though my grandma was a badass. So tell me your side." She asked.

---

Steve nodded as she spoke and finished his coffee then smiled, "You don't seem like the type to use an app like that." He said. This was the longest conversation Steve had experienced with a woman without feelings awkward. He liked talking to Mackenzie. She seemed to be a lot like him and she was easy to talk to. He didn't have very many females around him that were easy to talk to, only Nat and Jules. He still had a hard time talking to Peggy when he would go see her. That wasn't the case with Mackenzie though. She was different.

"Yeah, it definitely wasn't my thing." Mackenzie said, shaking her head. She honestly didn't know why she hadn't deleted it yet. It was kind of just sitting there in her phone, taking up memory. She forgot she had it downloaded most of the time, except when she got the occasional notification for it. Other than that, she hardly paid it any mind. "I should probably get back to doing my job." She said a few moments later. She'd gotten so caught up in talking to Steve, and she was only just realizing how long she'd likely been sitting there talking to him.

---

Bucky got onto the treadmill next to hers and started his mile. Steve had shown him how all of these machines worked not long after he'd been taken into the SHIELD facility. He had to admit, technology definitely made everything a lot easier today, though there was still quite a bit that he was trying to get used to. He figured he'd get the hang of it soon enough though. He hoped that he would anyway. "Well, things were a lot simpler back then, I guess." He told her. "There was a lot of dancing though nothing like how dancing is today." He chuckled slightly. "The food wasn't so good back then, and it was a lot scarcer too. It was worse a little before then though. I can remember my ma scrounging together money for weeks on end during the Depression just so she could surprise me with a cake on my birthday."

@ killian jones.
Juliette smiled as she listened to him talk about the forties. When he mentioned the birthday cake, she smiled widely, "Your mom sounds like a great woman." She stated, "And the forties sound wonderful besides the scarcer food and such. The dancing, though, sounds so amazing." She admired, "I've always loved to dance. Not like todays dancing. My grandfather taught me some of the dancing from the forties, as did my grandmother. Just thinking about what it was like to be at one of the dances then. It just all sounds so wonderful." She gushed with a small laugh as she ran on the treadmill.

---

Steve smiled at her words before she said that she should get back to work, "Yeah I guess I should too." He said and pulled out enough money that he knew would be enough to cover the bill before he stood and took a breath, "Hey Mackenzie." He stated before he walked out, "Would you like to do this again? Only when you're not on the clock." He asked. He felt weird asking someone out and not being set up by Natasha and Jules. He felt that Mackenzie wouldn't be one of the dates that ended badly. If she even said yes to the date.

Mackenzie smiled. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Steve." She said. And she meant it too. She'd really liked talking with him, and she sort of wished that she didn't have a job to get back to because she really wouldn't mind talking to him some more if she could. She was ready to go into the back when he spoke. She turned to look at him, curious as to what he was going to say. She smiled at his words. "I'd like that a lot actually." She told him. Steve seemed like a really nice guy, and definitely not like any of the ones she'd gone on dates with recently. She had a feeling that a date with him wasn't going to end badly.

---

"She was." Bucky told her. "Probably one of the best that I knew." It was hard to think that was so long ago. Time had obviously passed much differently for him being in cryo. It was crazy to think that was all more than seventy years ago. Steve had told him that his little sister, Rebecca, was still alive, and had offered to take him to see her, but Bucky had turned down his friend's offer. He didn't want her to see him like this. He didn't want her knowing that the person he'd looked up to as a kid had become a monster. "Dancing was much better back then." He said. "It's a shame that there aren't any places to go dancing like that anymore."

@ killian jones.
Juliette smiled at his words about his mother before he spoke of the dancing, "There are always places like that. You just have to make them." She said, "I'm sure Steve has told you all about IPods and internet music. Those were the first things that Nat and I caught him up on." She said as she neared her first mile, "I know a few rooms in this facility where you could hold one of those dance hall things." She stated and laughed before she ran a little over her mile before slowing down and taking a drink of her water.

---

Steve smiled at her words, "Great!" He said and pulled the phone out of his pocket before handing it to her, "I don't really know how this thing works, but I think there is a way you can put your number in it." He said with a laugh. Slowly but surely he was leading on that he was really far behind on this era's technology. Nat and Juliette were trying to get him caught up fully, but he was moving slower than they would have liked.

Mackenzie was surprised by his words. "That's a first." She said, letting out a quiet laugh. No one her age had ever told her that they didn't know how to work a cell phone, though it seemed to her as though Steve wasn't up on much of the current technology at all. Little did she know that he wasn't exactly her age. Not even close. "Lucky for you, I happen to know how to work one of these things." She added, smiling as she handed him back his phone after entering her contact information in. "I'm hoping you at least know how to call someone." Her tone was light and teasing.

---

"That's a good way of looking at it." Bucky told her. He supposed that she was right. With the right music, and setting up the right atmosphere, there could be a dance club much like the ones he frequented back in the forties. "I don't think there would be many people interested in something like that though. It seems to me as though more and more people are set in their ways. I know that it'd be a struggle to get Steve out there. He's a terrible dancer anyway." He let out a quiet laugh.

@ killian jones.
Juliette smiled at his words. When he spoke again, she laughed, "I know how to get Steve out there. My question is if I could get you out there, Barnes." Juliette said as she set her water bottle back down before stretching out her legs more and her arms, just the way that Steve had shown her she needed to do after she ran. She looked over at Bucky with a smirk on her face, waiting to see what his response would be.

---

Steve chuckled at her words before he nodded at her question, "I do know how to make a call, and I think I might even know how to text though I'm not sure." He replied. Even if he didn't know how to make a call, he would sure as hell figure it out if that meant he got to spend more time with her. When she handed him back the phone, he smiled and nodded, "I will call you later then." He Steve said happily before he turned and walked out of the diner with a smile on his face.

Mackenzie smiled. "Good, I won't have to worry about that being a problem then." She said, punctuating her words with a quiet laugh. She nodded in response to his later words. "Alright." She said. She watched him leave the restaurant before heading to the back with a smile on her face. The evening had taken a rather unexpected turn, but it was a good one nonetheless. She had a feeling that this was a very good thing, and that things would Steve could go pretty well. She hoped that they would anyway.

---

"What makes you say that?" Bucky asked as he came to a stop on the treadmill. He downed some water before getting off of it. "I'll have you know that I was one of the best dancers in Brooklyn during the forties. Like I said before, i tried teaching Steve, but the punk was always far too stubborn for his own good." he chuckled slightly, shaking his head. "If you're going to have an issue getting one of us out to this hypothetical dance floor, it's likely going to be him."

@ killian jones.
Juliette shrugged at Bucky's words before he spoke again and she laughed, "Well you're going to have to show me your moves then sometime. So I can be the judge if your words are correct or not." She teased before she finished stretching and smiled, "So you still want to spar?" She asked with a grin. She liked a challenge and knew that Bucky would be a definite challenge. Steve always let her beat him and never truly used his full potential against her.

---

Steve smiled to himself on his way back to the facility. The evening definitely made a full 180. He didn't mind it though. He finally picked his own date and he was sure that it wasn't going to end in disaster like his previous ones. He knew he would have to tell Jules once he got back to the facility. Nat too. Steve knew they would both be shocked, but he felt like Mackenzie was a really good person and he clicked with her already, which is more than he had done with any of the other girls he had been set up with.

[I'm just going to hold off on Mackenzie for now.]

Bucky chuckled slightly at her words. "What? You think I'm all talk?" He asked, with a small grin on his face. He hadn't danced in a really long time, though he liked to think that it was all muscle memory. He assumed that to be the case anyway. "Is that even a question?" He countered, raising an eyebrow. He was actually really enjoying spending time with Juliette. He was glad he'd run into her in the hallway and that she'd asked him to work out with her.

@ killian jones.
Juliette laughed at his words and nodded, "Yeah kinda." She teased with a laugh. When he spoke again she nodded, before getting in her stance to spar against him. She was really glad that she had stopped him and asked if he wanted to work out with her. She was really anxious to get to spar with him. She knew how good of a fighter he was and she wanted to see if she was able to keep up with him, "Tell me if I'm going too hard on you." She teased with a smirk on her face.

---

Steve met up with Nat and told her what happened with the date and how it didn't work out, but it was actually okay and he told her about Mackenzie with a grin on his face. He was beyond excited about everything that had happened and he needed to tell anyone that would listen about what had happened today.

A low chuckle rumbled in his chest and he shook his head slightly. There was a slight grin on his face as well as he got into his usual fighting stance. He normally only ever sparred with Steve, and occasionally Natasha, both of which had fought him before as the Soldier, and he hoped that he wouldn't end up hurting Juliette. He sometimes still worried about getting too carried away, that something might trigger the Soldier's return and he might end up snapping out of it far too late, but he tried to push those thoughts to the back of his head for the time being. "Doll, you ain't seen nothing yet." He said with a smirk.

@ killian jones.
Juliette grinned at his words, "Well come on then." She said before she started at him with a kick, a small grin on her face. She was really excited about sparring with Bucky. It was a challenge for her, and she liked challenges a lot. Jules could feel herself getting really into the sparring, almost forgetting that it wasn't an actual fight. She did forget for a slight second though, and it resulted in her punching Bucky right in the face. She hadn't realize what had happened at first until she felt the pain in her hand, "Oh my God! Bucky, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed instantly and looked at his face and saw a cut on his cheek, guilt washing over her instantly, "You have a cut, let me get the kit." She said and walked to the corner and grabbed the first aid kit out of the cabinet, "I feel terrible. Let me patch you up." She stated quickly as she walked back over to him.

---

(I'll post for Steve in a second)

"Is that the best you've got?" Bucky teased as he dodged her kick with ease. There were no more teasing comments after that as he got more into the sparring. He didn't go as hard on her as he would on say Steve, though he wasn't going to actually admit that to her, but he did hope that he was at least challenging her somewhat. He was shocked when she punched him. He'd seen it coming, but he hadn't expected the amount of force behind it. It hadn't caused him too much harm, a lot more needed to be done to take out a super soldier, but it had caused him slight pain. "Juliette, it's fine." He told her when she apologized and then insisted on grabbing the first aid kit. "I've had much worse, that's not necessary..."

@ killian jones.
Juliette shook her head at Bucky's words, "It's not okay! I feel horrible!" She said and started to get out the supplies. She started to clean off his wound, "I know you've probably had worse, but it doesn't mean I don't feel bad about it." She stated and frowned. Juliette wanted to kick herself for letting that happen. She probably just ruined all hope of Bucky ever wanting to be friends with her, "Just let me clean up your cut. I feel so bad. I'm honestly so sorry, Bucky." She apologized with a frowned as she focused on cleaning his cut. She didn't want him to think that she didn't care.

---

Steve walked towards the training room to see if he could find Juliette or Bucky. He knew this was the time that Juliette usually worked out in the training room, so it was more likely that she would be there. He raised his eyebrows in surprise when he walked into the training room and saw not only Juliette, but also Bucky was with her. He crossed his arms with an amused smirk on his face, "Am I interrupting something?" He asked with a small laugh. It was clear there was a somewhat almost private moment going on between the two.

Bucky could think of far worse injuries he'd obtained over the years, and a cut on his face was really the least of his worries right about now. It was clear that there was no convincing Juliette that it was fine and that she didn't need the first aid kit though as she advanced on him and started cleaning the cut on his face. "It's fine, Juliette. Honestly." He assured her as she apologized once more. He was about to say something more when Steve spoke. He hadn't even noticed his friend's presence until that moment. Clearing his throat, he quickly backed away from Juliette and shook his head. "Nope, not interrupting anything at all." He said. "How'd your date go?" He asked, choosing to get the subject off of what had just happened entirely.

@ killian jones.
Juliette was about to reply to Bucky's words, but she was interrupted by Steve speaking. She looked over and smiled at her friend. She couldn't help but frown when she noticed Bucky move away from her, but she tried not to think about it too much. Juliette nodded at Bucky's words, "Yeah how did it go?" She asked with a small smile.

---

Steve raised an eyebrow at how quick Bucky was to move away from Juliette. When they asked about his date, he smiled widely, "The date was horrible lkke usual." He replied, "Then why are you smiling?" Jules questioned, "Because after the date, I got to talking to my waitress who I get everytime that Nat sets me up, and it turns out she's really nice and we get along really well. I asked her for her number and we are going to going out sometime." He explained, "Steve that's great!" Jules said with a smile. He nodded in thanks.

Bucky was relieved when his friend allowed him to change the subject. He'd explain everything to Steve later, about how it wasn't what it looked like and that he wasn't making moves on his friend's girl or anything like that, but for now he was thankful for the change of subject. He listened as Steve spoke, eyebrows raising in surprise at his friends words. He'd scored himself a date with the cute waitress? He was surprised, mostly because he was certain that things weren't working out with the other girls because Steve only had eyes for Juliette, but maybe that wasn't the case? He didn't really know. "That's great! I'm happy for ya, punk." He said, sending a slight smirk his friend's way.

@ killian jones.
Juliette nodded in agreement with Bucky's words, "Bucky's right. That's wonderful, Steve." She said with a smile. She was happy for her friend and excited that she ans Nat could finally stop setting him up on dates. Jules looked over at Bucky with a smile, "I guess he had more charm in him than we thought." She joked and gave Bucky a smile.

- - -

Steve grinned at how happy his friends were for him. He was pretty happy himself. When Jules spoke to Bucky, Steve raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "Listen, I'm still new to this. I wasn't exactly a ladies man back in the day like some people." He teased and gave his best friend a pointed look.

"He's right, you know." Bucky said to Juliette. "He had no clue how to speak to a dame back then." He let out a quiet laugh. To be honest, he felt more relaxed today than he had in a really long time. Normally, even with Steve around, he was a little tense and quiet around others, but he really felt like spending time alone with Juliette today had been a good thing for him. He felt more comfortable, and less reserved, around her now than he had ever felt before. Normally he was much quieter than this, so this was a major improvement for him. It was definitely a step in the right direction.