After leaving Nat's house the day before, Ella had called Bucky and asked to see him. She did her best to hide any residual doubt in her tone when she'd spoken to him, not wanting him to worry him. Luckily, he didn't seem to have picked up on anything because when he arrived at Ella's house on Sunday morning he gave her a kiss and a genuine smile.
"What did you want to do today?" He asked, they hadn't made any plans over the phone.
"Go for a drive?" Ella asked, peering out the front door at the weather. It was cold but the sky was blue and clear, some of her favourite weather.
"Sure," he smiled. "I'll drive."
Bucky waited patiently for Ella to find some shoes and a coat and they both walked out to his car. Ella directed him to one of her favourite viewpoints, it was high up above a nearby town and there was enough space for a few cars to park up at the side of the road.
She stayed quiet on the drive, and Bucky quickly realized something was playing on her mind. He kept shooting her small smiles as he drove, holding her hand in her lap whenever he could.
When they pulled up they both took a few moments to admire the view. Ella wasn't entirely sure what she liked about it, there was just something about being so high up and being able to see so far into the distance that made her feel free.
She then curled up in her seat and turned to face Bucky and he continued to hold her hand, gently stroking his thumb across her knuckles, he could tell now just how nervous she seemed to be, so was trying his best to keep her calm and grounded.
"What's up?" He asked gently.
Ella bit her lip, unsure how to start. This seemed far too serious considering their first date was only a few days ago, but she knew it would plague her mind if they didn't talk about it soon.
"I wanted to talk to you about college. And before you say anything, I know we're not together, and I know it's a problem for future us but I was talking to Nat yesterday and it just made me panic," she explained. She kept her eyes focused on their hands, looking down to hide her embarrassment.
Bucky leant over and gently lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes, "Hey, it's okay, I get that, and maybe we're not together together but we're headed that way right?"
Ella nodded, relieved that he didn't seem at all weirded out by her bringing this up already. She gave his hand a quick squeeze.
"Yeah, we are," she replied, struggling to contain the smile creeping across her lips.
"What exactly did you want to talk about?" He asked.
"I don't know, I guess just kind of where you're thinking or if you have anywhere in mind I suppose, and then we can go from there."
Bucky gave his answer a bit of thought, with the sudden uprooting of his family just a few months prior his college plans had changed drastically. He'd been planning on going to the remotest college possible, maybe in Alaska or the Mojave desert, anywhere far enough from his parents that he wouldn't be able to hear their arguing. But now it was just him, his mom and his sister, staying close to home seemed like a much better option. He also couldn't deny that he'd always been drawn towards big cities, he'd moved from one small town to another but had always felt out of place.
He looked over at Ella, "I like the idea of Boston, maybe New York. I don't know if I'd get into an Ivy, so maybe NYU or Boston College."
He hoped his answer was what she wanted to hear. Her smile told him it was.
Ella exhaled a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Providence was in the middle of his two favoured cities, so Nat was right, she didn't really have anything to worry about.
She gave him a slightly embarrassed smile, "I can't believe I got myself so worked up over this."
"I understand," he said, as he stroked her cheek, "I'd been thinking about it as well. I'm guessing you're thinking of staying close too then?"
Ella nodded, "Brown if I can. I haven't really thought about a backup yet."
Bucky grinned, "you know you won't need a backup."
Ella rolled her eyes as her cheeks turned pink, "I'm not listening to you, you've just said you don't think you'd get into an Ivy and you're one of the smartest people I know."
It was Bucky's turn to blush, it wasn't often he heard anything like that.
Ella leant across the centre console and gave him a deep kiss, wanting to solidify her words. Bucky's hand moved to cup her cheek, holding her lips close to his, using his tongue to part them. His other hand gripped her waist pulling her body towards him. They quickly parted as Ella manoeuvred herself to sit on Bucky's lap, accidentally knocking her head on the roof as she did. They both laughed at her clumsiness, and Bucky pressed a gentle kiss into her hair.
After that, they picked up where they left off, Ella wrapped her arms around Bucky's neck as his hands ran up her thighs. His tongue explored her mouth as Ella melted into him, their bodies were so close they couldn't tell where one stopped and the other started.
They slowed their kiss and Bucky pulled away before dotting kisses across Ella's cheeks and nose.
"I'm sorry," Ella muttered, "I'm glad you don't think I'm crazy for bringing it up so soon when it's so far away."
Bucky shook his head, "not at all, Ella. If anything I'm glad you are thinking about it, because I know I want to be with you this time next year when we're applying, and in two years when we're going off to college. Do I sound a little crazy now?"
Ella reciprocated his kiss on the nose, "nope."
She very carefully climbed back over to her seat so they could drive home. She felt a thousand times lighter without the worries weighing her down, and she felt a thousand times closer to Bucky. She knew it was early but now being with him just seemed inevitable.
They put some music on for the drive and twenty minutes later Bucky dropped Ella home. He gave her a goodbye kiss but was barely able to peel himself long enough for her to get out of the car.
"See you tomorrow," he called through his open window, a smile lingering on lips face.
Ella turned and smiled at him over her shoulder, blowing him a kiss before she stepped inside her house.
When she stepped inside the tense atmosphere hit her like a smack to the face. She wandered through the house until she found Steve sitting by himself in silence in the living room, his face looked like thunder. Ella stopped in the doorway, unsure what was going on and whether or not he'd want to talk. Maybe he spoke to Nat.
"You good?" She asked hesitantly.
"I spoke to Nat," he replied bluntly.
Oh crap.
Ella's stomach dropped. Clearly, their conversation hadn't gone the same way as hers and Bucky's.
"What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it," he shrugged before standing up and walking towards the door.
Ella stopped him as he tried to pass her and she wrapped her arms around her brother, pulling him into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry, Steve," she said as she pulled away. "You know you can talk to me about it, right?"
Steve nodded, "'course I do."
Ella followed Steve upstairs and they disappeared into their respective bedrooms. Ella collapsed onto her bed, she lay sprawled out trying to regain some of the happiness that had consumed her while out with Bucky but seeing Steve's mood had definitely deflated her and she hadn't even spoken to Nat yet.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, shooting Natasha a quick text to ask if she wanted to talk. A few minutes later, Nat replied.
I definitely need ice cream and my girls
Ella laid on her bed for a few more minutes before she rang Wanda and briefed her on the crisis. She sounded just as disappointed as Ella felt, she was also a big fan of the idea of a Nat and Steve romance.
The two girls made their way over to Nat's, she also wasn't in the mood to talk about what happened between her and Steve so they went with plan b: distraction. They spent the rest of the day in bed, watching rom-coms and eating copious amounts of ice cream and snacks.
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