December 3rd

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Friday swim practice had absolutely wiped Ella out, they had a competition over the weekend and college coaches were likely to be in attendance so the coach had been especially tough on everyone. So when Bucky came up to her afterward with a look on his face that told her he wanted something, she had the urge to run in the opposite direction but barely had enough energy to drag herself to the car so she scrapped that plan.

"My mom wanted to know if you'd come over for dinner this weekend? I told her you invited me on holiday so she thought it was time to meet you," he said, a little nervous.

The first time he'd met Ella's parents it had been very casual, and it wasn't as the boy she was dating. He was worried Ella would be a little freaked out by the prospect. He wasn't entirely wrong.

"Sure," Ella replied hesitantly. "Just not tonight right?"

Bucky shook his head with a smile. "No, not tonight, I was thinking tomorrow, I can give you a lift back from the competition, you can stay over if you'd like," Bucky paused. "Let me rephrase, please stay over after."

Ella scrunched up her nose as she smiled. "I'd love that."

The next morning Ella and Steve were up early, they sat in the kitchen sharing a pot of coffee before either of them got ready for their swim meet. Ella made sure to pack a change of clothes for the evening with Bucky's family and they both headed off to school to get the coach.

They put their luggage in the storage compartment and Ella followed Steve onto the bus. Sam and Bucky were already there, and they'd claimed two sets of seats, one in front of the other. Steve took his place next to Sam, leaving the seat next to Bucky free for Ella.

The competition was just over an hour away. For the first part of the journey, Bucky and Ella turned in their seats so they could talk about the summer holiday. She and Steve filled the others in on what they usually got up to, getting everyone excited.

When that conversation drew to a close, Bucky offered Ella one of his headphones and she gladly accepted it. He put a playlist on shuffle as Ella dropped her head to his shoulder. She didn't go to sleep, although she was sure she would on the way home, she just rested her eyes.

Once they got there, they went their separate ways, Ella disappearing into the ladies' locker room with the rest of the girls' team. She was competing in three events, the first being the 200 freestyle relay. Ella was nervous, she couldn't stop fidgeting in the changing rooms as she waited for the other 3 girls on the team to get ready.

However, she was nervous for nothing. The team brought it home convincingly in first place, and Ella's day was off to the perfect start. She was already feeling better about her individual events.

While she waited for her next races she made sure to watch all of Steve, Bucky, and Sam's races, cheering them on with the rest of the team. They all did well, and the three of them ended the day with a win each. When Bucky had won his race, Ella had to resist the urge to run over and jump on him, instead settling for very excited squealing from the side of the pool.

Ella's second event was the 100 backstroke, and unsurprisingly that didn't bring her a second win of the day. She saw that one coming a mile off. But she still felt good about her time of a 59.23, it was under the 1 minute target she set herself. However, her third and final event was the 100 breaststroke. She was feeling very confident about her chances and with good reason, she came first and set a new state record. Not bad for a Saturday's work. She could feel the eyes of who she hoped were college coaches on her as she left the pool, she loved the pressure. She always had.

As soon as she could, she ran over to Bucky to celebrate.

"You're amazing," he grinned as he picked her up and spun her around in his arms, giving Ella a peck on the lips.

"I know," she teased. "Seriously though, you too." She gave him another quick kiss before heading off to the showers.

As she expected, as soon as her head hit Bucky's shoulder on the coach ride home, she drifted off to sleep. She never slept well the night before a competition and the nerves during the day left her completely spent.

When they got back to school, Bucky gently woke her by squeezing her thigh. She groggily collected her bags, but Bucky swooped in to carry them over to his car. Once they were in the trunk the two of them set off to his house. Ella rolled the window down on the way, hoping the cold breeze would wake her up a little. Luckily it worked, and by the time they were standing outside his front door, she was ready to meet his mom.

"She'll love you," Bucky reassured Ella. He was certain of that. Ella was exactly the kind of person you'd want to take home to meet your parents. She was ambitious and smart enough to achieve whatever she put her mind to, yet still humble enough that it wasn't obvious. But she was also more than just a good college application, she was a nice person too.

Bucky opened the front door and called for his mom. She appeared from the kitchen, oven mitts still on. When her eyes landed on Ella she hurriedly pulled them off, dropping them onto the table in the hall before smoothing out her skirt.

"Hi mom, this is my girlfriend, Ella." Bucky gestured.

Ella's breath hitched in her throat, not expecting that word to come out of Bucky's mouth, and especially not that casually. She quickly composed herself just enough to splutter out a greeting.

"Hi, Mrs. Barnes, it's lovely to meet you," Ella smiled, extending her arm for a handshake.

"Oh, don't be silly," she laughed, pulling Ella in for a hug. "And it's Winnie, Mrs. Barnes makes me sound so old."

Winnie went upstairs to collect Becca from her room, Ella leaned over to Bucky and trying to sound as calm as possible, asked "girlfriend?"

Bucky raised his eyebrows in panic, "I..."

But just as he started, Winnie stepped out of Becca's bedroom onto the landing.

Worried he'd upset Ella, he leaned over quickly and pressed a kiss to her lips. "I'm sorry," he mumbled against her lips as his mom joined them in the hall.

"I just need to make some finishing touches on dinner, give me a minute and I'll join you," Winnie smiled.

Bucky guided Ella into the living room and they dropped down onto the sofa. Making the most of the little time they had just the two of them, Bucky made another apology.

"I'm sorry, it just slipped out," he said.

Ella frowned at him, confused. Did he not mean it?

"So, am I not...?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes," Bucky said assuredly. "You are, if that's okay?"

Ella smirked and leant over to give him a kiss. She pushed aside the worry, just content with that fact Bucky was comfortable introducing her as his girlfriend to his mom.

"I thought you were supposed to be a romantic?" She teased.

Bucky groaned, remembering the time he'd made that statement. He realised what had just transpired was very very far from romantic.

Becca walked into the living room, interrupting Bucky's attempt at salvaging the situation. Bucky introduced them, sticking with the title of girlfriend. This time Ella was practically grinning from ear to ear as he said it. Ella was a little on edge, she was rarely around anyone younger than herself, but soon she fell into the rhythm of conversation with Bucky and Becca, their mom sliding seamlessly into the conversation mid-way through.

When they gathered round the dining table, the conversation carried on. It wasn't long before Winnie asked about Ella's family.

"Have you always lived here?" She asked.

Ella nodded, "pretty much, I was born in New York but I don't ever remember living there. Bucky said your family is from around here?"

Winnie smiled, "yes, from Boston really, not that you can tell from my accent. Am I right in thinking you have a brother and sister?"

Bucky winced beside Ella, he was about to correct his mom but Ella answered the question before he could.

"Yes, an older sister, Laura, and then there's my twin brother, Steve." She smiled.

"Steve from the swim team?" Winnie asked, looking towards Bucky.

"One and the same," he confirmed as he placed his hand on Ella's thigh under the table.

"And your sister?" Winnie asked vaguely. "Is she away at college"

Ella hesitated a split second to think, "umm...she passed away, but she would've been in junior year at Penn." She tried to banish the sickness settling into her stomach when she realised she didn't immediately remember how long it had been.

Realization flickered across Winnie and Becca's faces.

"I'm sorry, Bucky did tell us," Winnie said with a sad smile.

"It's okay, really," Ella reassured them.

She wasn't lying. It was getting easier to talk about Laura, and it didn't catch her off guard in quite the same way anymore.

After dinner, Ella and Bucky offered to do the dishes and when they were done they excused themselves and headed upstairs.

"Where am I sleeping tonight?" Ella asked as they made it into Bucky's room.

"It's up to you, my mom is okay with you staying in here but the guest room is made up if you'd rather," he offered.

Ella rolled her eyes. "If I'd rather?" She teased. "I feel like I should stay in the guest room as punishment for that stupid comment."

Bucky's eyes went wide, "no!" Before Ella could continue mocking him he tackled her into the bed, they landed in a pile and Bucky quickly pinned Ella to the bed. "You're staying right here."

He dotted kisses across her nose and cheeks until he was sure Ella wouldn't make another joke about sleeping in the guest room.

He'd done the job, instead of messing with Bucky, she ran her fingers through his hair and pulled his mouth down to hers. The rest of their evening continued from there, both of them making the most of sharing a bed, unsure when it would next happen.


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