Yikes. I was gone for a while, wasn't I? I suffered a pretty bad wrist injury, which made typing up a story damn near impossible. But better late than never, right?

Review if you'd like. Give me hell for taking so long to churn this chapter out.

"Set Me Free" by the Kinks

Getting dressed and ready for the date was actually pretty easy. Bucky told her to dress casually and comfortably, which to her definitely meant jeans. She had some guesses as to where he would take her; probably just a casual night out at one of the bars nearby. He didn't seem like a grand romantic gesture, or an elegant meal at a fancy restaurant kind of guy. And to be fair, Sage wasn't that kind of girl either. Not that she didn't appreciate attention or a good steak; she didn't expect it and it wouldn't win any favor.

After dressing in a comfortable pair of form-fitting jeans that only had a few holes and distressed spots on them, a thin olive sweater, boots with a low chunky heel, and her shearling-lined denim jacket, Sage sat down in her plaid chair to wait for Bucky to arrive. While waiting, Sharon arrived home, arms loaded down with a stack of books.

"Did you leave any books in the library for the rest of us?" Sage teased as Sharon dropped the stack of books onto the coffee table in front of her.

"I hate my professor," Sharon huffed, ignoring Sage's comment. "Who even uses books anymore?" she said frustrated as she shucked her coat and sat down heavily on the couch.

"Yeah, no kidding," Sage agreed, reaching for one of the books. The thing looked like it was as old as she was.

"He decided that it's important for us to know how to research with books, instead of the internet, so I have to write an entire research paper with just books," Sharon explained.

"Does he know what year it is?" Sage laughed. The whole premise seemed silly. "As if Millennials don't know how to use a book?"

"Most of the information in these books is probably out of date by now, anyway," Sharon continued to vent. She turned to look at Sage fully for the first time since walking in. "Shouldn't you get ready for you date soon?"

"I am ready. He should be here in a few minutes," Sage told her.

"Pretty casual," Sharon observed, withholding judgment. She knew her and Sage's styles were totally different, but sometimes it was hard to not tell her how she'd dress if it were her date.

"He told me to dress casually, so good," Sage smiled. She knew how she dressed sometimes bothered Sharon.

"Can I fix up your makeup really quick? Nothing crazy," Sharon offered, shifting to the edge of her seat. She was actually really excited for Sage, and for Bucky. She was happy that they were finally going on a real date by themselves. She was a little bummed that she missed the whole getting ready part, so she wanted to offer the last minute help.

"Do I need it?" Sage asked, suddenly a little self-conscious. Maybe she looked like she wasn't taking it seriously? Maybe she was a little too casual?

"You look great, but you want to look a little special," Sharon said, getting up from the couch and heading into the bathroom. She came out a second later with a few things in her hands. She held the items up to show Sage that it was a tube of liquid eyeliner, a little pot of some kind of shimmery powder, and a tube of lip gloss.

"Make it quick. He should literally be here any minute," Sage said, relenting to the idea and scooting up in her seat and tilting her face up towards Sharon. Sharon was a pro at the perfect liquid line, especially on other people. She lined the tops of Sage's lids easily, and finished them off with a subtle little cat eye effect. She dipped her finger in the pot of shimmery powder and tapped her fingertip lightly across the tops of Sage's cheekbones for a subtle highlight.

"Much better," Sharon said satisfactorily, just as Sage's phone rang. It rang once before Sage answered.

"Hey," she said in a very friendly tone, smiling widely. Sharon guessed it was Bucky. "OK, I'll be right down," she said quickly, then hung up. "He's downstairs and cant find a parking spot. I gotta go," Sage explained, jumping out of her seat and grabbing her purse from the floor next to the chair.

"Here!" Sharon shoved the tube of lip gloss at her before she could run out of the door. "Have fun! Make good choices!"

Sage all but ran down the stairs, too eager to wait for the elevator. She was outside and walking to Bucky's waiting car in no time, and she was almost surprised at how excited she was.

"That was fast," Bucky laughed as Sage climbed into the front seat of his car.

"It smells really good in here," Sage observed, ignoring Bucky's comment.

"I cleaned it earlier," he shrugged. "I also took a shower."

"Well, you both clean up really nice," Sage complimented, looking around the car interior to appreciate the cleanup job, until her eyes landed on him. He looked good, too. He was wearing dark jeans and a buttoned up shirt with a dark gray plaid pattern under a black field jacket. His hair was pushed back behind his ears, and Sage resisted the urge to untuck it, then re-tuck it. She resisted the urge to put her hands in his hair in general. He had really tempting hair.

"Thank you," he grinned. "So do you. Are you actually wearing eyeliner?" he asked as he pulled away from the curb.

"Wow, you noticed," Sage laughed. "Sharon did it. I don't have a very steady hand when it comes to that," she confessed.

"Yeah, you don't usually wear a lot of makeup, do you?" he asked. Not that she needed it. He wasn't totally clueless when it came to makeup. He knew that most of the time, when he saw girls, they were wearing makeup. He didn't understand all of the different kinds of makeup, but he knew the difference between a natural face and natural-looking makeup.

"I don't. It's not too much is it? She did it literally as I was walking out the door and I didn't get a chance to look in a mirror," Sage resisted the urge to pull down the sun visor to look in the mirror. She didn't want to come off as self-conscious or fixated on her looks.

"You look good," Bucky encouraged.

"Real good?" she pushed, jokingly.

"Real good," he confirmed, making Sage laugh loudly. He liked the sound of her laugh. She wasn't embarrassed to laugh loudly, she didn't try to control or constrain it. Usually when she laughed, it was loud and genuine, a full-bodied expression.

"You look real good, too," Sage complimented, turning in her seat to face him, resting her arm along the center console.

"You're gonna make me blush," he joked.

"So where are we going?" Sage asked. She was curious, had been since he asked her out, to see where he'd take her. She didn't really expect much, simply because she didn't know what to expect. He could take her to a taco truck again and she'd be over the moon. He could take her to eat ice cream sandwiches sitting on the curb of a convenience store and she'd be delighted.

"It might be kind of cheesy, but I think you'll like it," he told her, revealing absolutely no information.

"Is it a surprise?" she pressed.

"Kind of," he shrugged. It wasn't a huge surprise, really. He didn't rent out an entire restaurant or charter a hot air balloon ride, but his plan was a little out of the ordinary for a first date, which he had a feeling Sage would appreciate. He knew she'd probably be happy at any one of the bars in town, or even with just pizza and a case of beer at his place, but he had a feeling she'd really like this plan of his.

As Bucky merged into a turning lane, a bright neon sign caught Sage's attention, and immediately she knew where he was taking her.

"Oh my god," she said excitedly, making Bucky grin from ear to fucking ear. "You're kidding me. No fucking way," she continued, laughing to herself.

"Why did I know you'd like this?" Bucky laughed, mostly to himself, as he pulled into the parking lot of a brightly painted roller skating rink.

"Is this really where we're going?" Sage asked, confirming before she let herself get really excited.

"Yeah, we're here," Bucky laughed. The smile on Sage's face was so big, and her eyes lit up like sparklers. She leaned over the center console and kissed him quickly, then flew out of the car. She waited impatiently for Bucky to catch up, then grabbed his hand to tug him along faster towards the entrance.

"You're wearing socks, right? I brought extra in my car just in case you're not," he asked before they reached the front door. The thought of Bucky bringing extra socks in case she didn't was sweet. So, so sweet.

"I'm good," she answered. Bucky paid the small entrance fee at the front door. Once inside, they were assaulted with neon lights, disco balls, the glow of black lights, and 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA on full blast. The skate rental booth was right by the door.

"Inline or traditional?" Sage asked Bucky, as if the fate of the date and their relationship depended on his answer.

"I used to have a pair of inline skates, actually," he said, not really answering the question. He'd never really been to a roller rink before. For a brief period around the age of 11 or 12, he and Steve were really into Tony Hawk and all things skating. His parents got him a pair of inline skates for his birthday. He used them maybe four times, then skinned his knees, hands, and chin, and the skates were retired for good.

"Well, you cant inline skate to ABBA, so traditional it is," Sage told him. He relented and ordered a pair of bright orange traditional skates with pink wheels in his size. Sage's were lemon yellow with lime green wheels. They shoved their shoes, jackets, and Sage's purse into a locker, and Bucky stuffed the key into his back pocket.

Once Bucky had his skates on, he was starting to think that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go skating. He didn't know what he was doing, and he would probably fall at least once. Sage stood up a bit shakily from the bench, having laced her skates on faster. She carefully scooted herself across the outer-space themed carpet, getting comfortable on the wheels. Bucky very carefully stood up, arms spread out wide for balance. Sage wasted no time and took off for the nearest entrance to the rink, leaving Bucky slowly shuffling after her.

"Have you done this before?" Sage asked, turning around to watch Bucky's slow approach and laugh at the look of pure concentration on his face. He was desperate to not fall so early in the game.

"I was literally half my age the last time I did this," he answered, finally catching up to Sage. Thankfully, the rink wasn't super full. There were a few families and a group of teenage girls who looked like they were there for a birthday.

"There's no shame in one of those," Sage said, pointing to a passing kid, who was pushing along a makeshift walker on wheels.

"We'll see how it goes," Bucky said, gripping onto the side railing to pull himself onto the wooden floor of the rink.

"Are you regretting this?" Sage teased.

"So much," he confessed, making her laugh. He tried to stand up straight and let go of the railing, but he had no idea how to get moving without threatening his balance. Sage reached out her hand, and he reluctantly took it. She was much more confident on wheels than he was, but she was still a bit wobbly. "If you take me down with you, I'm not buying you nachos," he warned.

"If I take you down with me, then I'll buy you nachos," she countered. Sage started off slow, pulling Bucky along behind her. Just keeping his skates pointed in the right direction was hard, but so far things were good. Going in a straight line was good. He dreaded the upcoming curve, though.

"Just know that if you fall, I won't think less of you," Sage promised. "But I might laugh," she added.

"I wouldn't blame you," he said. They went around the rink twice before Bucky felt confident enough to actually pick up some momentum. Now that they were going a bit faster, Sage let go of Bucky's hand so that they wouldn't get in each other's way. She was definitely a lot braver than he was, because she practically took off like a shot as soon as he wasn't weighing her down. She lapped him once, then at the second lap, she slowed down to coast next to him.

"You're looking good!" Sage encouraged Bucky. He was starting to look a bit more comfortable, and way less scared. The worried look he got whenever anyone skated near him started to disappear. He briefly glanced her way and smiled, too scared to keep his eyes off of his immediate path for too long. A second later, he heard a yelp and a thud. He looked over his shoulder to see Sage in a heap on the floor. She sat up, laughing. Something about the sudden movement of looking back made Bucky lose his balance, and suddenly he was on the floor, too. One second he was gliding along, then in a swirl of neon lights, he was on the floor. He landed sharply on his right hip, his feet having flown out from underneath him. He took a second to get his bearings back, and then realized he had no idea how to stand back up, seeing as how his shoes had fucking wheels on them.

Bucky could hear Sage's loud laughter over the thumping of the song 'Brick House.' He turned to see her being helped up by an employee, laughing the whole time. He couldn't help but laugh, too, as Sage and the teenage boy in the referee outfit made their way towards him, Sage gripping the kid's shoulder.

"You OK?" the kid asked as she leaned over to help Bucky up. Sage let go of his shoulder to support Bucky, holding onto his hips once he was up on his feet.

"Thanks, man," he said to the kid, who saluted and skated away. Bucky wrapped an arm around Sage, pulling her to his side, both of them still stationary, honestly too scared to start moving again.

"You fell like a sack of bricks," Sage snorted, gripping tightly to Bucky's shirt with both hands.

"What happened to you, huh? One minute you're sailing by, and the next you're on your ass," he teased.

"I got cocky and tripped over my own feet," she confessed.

"I think it's time for nachos," Bucky said, kind of eager to get off the floor. He didn't want to fall anymore.

"Nuh-uh!" Sage started. "We have to get back on the horse!" she said determinedly. She loosened her grip on Bucky and carefully positioned her feet. "One more lap," she bargained.

"Oh, fine," Bucky sighed. He had to admit that he liked her attitude, but he really was ready for nachos. He and Sage carefully got their momentum back and did a slow, cautious lap around the rink, before taking a long break for food. Bucky had Sage pick a table while he went up to the concession counter to order. He approached the table very slowly and carefully, holding a tray loaded down with food and drinks, careful not to spill or drop anything. He set the tray down on the table first before sitting down, and heaved a sigh of relief once he was off his feet.

"Wow, no lids. I'm very impressed," Sage laughed as she unloaded the tray.

"I didn't think about lids until it was too late, and I wasn't confident enough to turn around and get them," he admitted. Bucky had gotten them each their own order of nachos, Sage's with extra slices of jalapenos. He also got two sodas, two hot dogs, and a bag of blue cotton candy, which had been a last minute addition based on a whim, something else that he didn't have any concrete reason to think so, but seemed like something Sage would like and appreciate.

"Blue is definitely the best kind," Sage said approvingly as she untied the bag of cotton candy, taking a chunk of it before any of the other food. She knew there wasn't a difference between pink and blue cotton candy, that it all tasted the same, but she still had a preference.

"I thought you'd like it," Bucky smiled, tearing the foil off of his hot dog to load it up with condiments. Sage alternated between her hot dog and the nachos, while Bucky ate his hotdog first. He'd even known to get her a Doctor Pepper, which she drained pretty quickly because of the high salt content of their food.

"So what are you doing tomorrow?" Sage asked while they ate. She didn't have a particular reason to ask. She was just curious.

"Steve and I are actually going to the football game tomorrow," Bucky answered, though he didn't seem super excited about it. Sage remembered a previous conversation about sports, and how football was very low on Bucky's list of interests.

"It's the homecoming game, isn't it?" Sage asked, remembering seeing posters and signs around campus all week. Despite being from Texas, the land of Friday night lights, she wasn't huge on the sport. Her dad was a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, but they hadn't had a good season in years. She went to a couple games at her old school her freshman year, simply because everyone else did; it was just the thing to do. In high school, games were a huge social event, and she probably attended most home games. Being a small private school that was in a league made up entirely of other small private schools, the teams weren't very good and the games weren't particularly exciting. High school football games were just a good few hours to get out of the house and drink cheap tequila that someone's older brother bought, out of Whataburger cups. And then usually there would be a party after the game, where everyone would drink even more cheap liquor and stolen beer.

"Yeah, which I normally don't care about, but one of Steve's friends is on the team. He promised him he'd go, and somehow now I'm going, too," Bucky explained, shrugging.

"Woah, Steve has other friends?" Sage joked. Mostly. She thought she knew all of Steve's friends.

"I've never actually met him either. Sam's going, too. I'm sure they would be cool if you came," Bucky offered.

"Are y'all tailgating?" Sage asked. That would be the deciding factor.

"I don't think so," he answered.

"Well count me out. That's the whole reason to even go to a football game. Get some food and get drunk, and then go home after half-time because you're too drunk and tired," Sage explained, laying out the proper way to do a tailgate. For every football game she's ever been to, she never lasted an entire game if she tailgated beforehand. The suggestion made Bucky laugh, though he didn't much like the idea of going to bed drunk in the middle of the afternoon.

"Not a bad plan, but Thor is having a party after the game that Steve wants to go to," Bucky said. The mention of the name 'Thor' made Sage snort and choke on her Doctor Pepper.

"I'm sorry, who?" she asked, both laughing and coughing. The snorting and coughing fit made Bucky smile.

"Steve's friend, Thor," Bucky clarified. He really did say Thor.

"Who names their kid Thor?" Sage asked incredulously. Seriously?

"His parents," Bucky chuckled. Yeah, Thor was kind of a weird name.

"Poor kid," Sage said, feeling for the guy. His childhood couldn't have been easy with a name like that.

"He's got a brother with a crazy name, too. I can't remember what, though," Bucky continued.

"Don't tell me its Loki," Sage joked.

"Oh, yeah, actually that's it," Bucky laughed at Sage's horrified expression.

"I don't know which is worse, honestly," she laughed.

"Remember you're sitting across the table from someone that willingly has people call him 'Bucky'," he teasingly warned. Bucky wasn't ignorant of how odd his name was, even if it was just a nickname. Sure, he could easily start going by James, but nobody ever called him that, and it seemed a little late in life to make the change. James didn't even really feel like his real name. It felt more like the suit that sat in the back of his closet that he kept around for the very, very rare formal occasion. It was technically his, but he only ever pulled it out for special occasions, like court.

"That's different," Sage defended Bucky. It wasn't like his parents actually legally named him that.

"Anyway, Steve will probably want to go to the party. They're apparently legendary," Bucky continued back on the original topic of conversation.

"You don't want to go?" Sage guessed, noting Bucky's particular wording. She knew he wasn't big on parties anyway, especially with people he didn't know. He shrugged and sipped at his soda.

"Not really," he answered, punctuating with a shrug.

"Well, if you end up not going and you wanna hang out, text me or something," Sage suggested, trying to sound casual. "I'll probably just be studying." Bucky looked up from his food and smiled at her, appreciating the gesture. Hanging out with her, even if he just sat on her sofa, playing on his phone while she read some boring art book, sounded way better than Thor's party.

"I might take you up on that," Bucky replied. They smiled at each other and continued eating, talking about The Sopranoes and what classes they were going to pick for spring semester.

Bucky would have been just fine if they left the roller rink after eating, but Sage wanted to keep skating. She was having fun, even if she was a little sore from her fall. She made Bucky promise he'd go five more times around the rink with her. As he carefully stood up from his seat and ambled back towards the entrance to the rink, following Sage, he almost laughed to himself. Yes, he thought that this might be a good semester to start dating again, but this wasn't what he had in mind. It was better, though. Falling and laughing and eating crappy nachos in a neon painted roller rink with Sage was a million times better than the boring dinner dates or getting drinks with one of Natasha's friends he had imagined.

Bucky was out of his comfort zone a little bit here. Sage made it less scary and obvious that he was on unfamiliar ground, but she wasn't the one drawing him out of his little bubble. He had ventured out of that cave all on his own; he'd suggested the roller skating, he'd opened himself up to her enough to let her in, he'd agreed to go to a cowboy bar and fucking dance. He was saying yes a lot more than he used to, and it felt pretty good, if he was being honest. His old therapist would be so proud.

Although she promised only five more laps, Sage was having too good a time to leave so soon. She kept Bucky distracted as best she could, hoping he wasn't keeping count. He was keeping count, and he could also tell that she was trying to keep him from doing so. Something about the extra attention she was giving him, and how happy she seemed, how much fun with him she seemed to be having, made Bucky let it go. He happily skated around with her until she finally decided she'd had enough.

Walking around in their shoes felt weird, after having been on wheels for the past two hours. They turned in their skates and Sage hooked her arm around Bucky's as they left the building and walked towards Bucky's car.

"Hey, wait!" Sage stopped in her tracks and tugged on Bucky's arm to get him to stop, too. He looked back at her, confused. She was smiling and pulling her phone out of her jacket pocket. "We have to take a picture," she told him, as if he were forgetting something obvious.

"Of what?" he asked dumbly. She ignored his question and pulled on him, positioning him right next to her. She leaned into him and held her phone out at arm's length. It took her a minute to determine the best angle. She wanted to get both of their faces and the retro-style neon sign above the doors of the skating rink, but she also wanted to avoid giving them both double chins.

Bucky wasn't much of a picture person lately, but he indulged her. He pulled his arm out from her grasp and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders, pulling Sage in even closer. He even smiled when she took a series of photos.

"Beautiful," Sage said approvingly, swiping through the pictures.

"I know I am," Bucky joked, fishing his car keys out of his pocket as they continued on to the car.

"Yes, I'm so lucky to have you," Sage laughed. Her grin was infectious, and Bucky couldn't help mirroring it.

As they climbed into the car, it occurred to Bucky that he didn't know what to do next. He hadn't planned this far. He didn't think he'd need to. He assumed he would just take her home after skating, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to stop hanging out. They already ate, so he couldn't suggest a late dinner. If he asked her back to his place, would that be weird? Would she think he was being presumptuous, trying to get into her pants? He kind of was, though. Or, well, he wanted to. He also couldn't remember what Steve's plans were for the night. Was he out or was he at home? Did it matter?

"Wanna get a milkshake or something?" Sage asked suddenly, unknowingly throwing Bucky a life preserver.

"What kind of milkshake?" he asked while mentally thanking the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. He had pulled out of the roller rink parking lot and was driving in the general direction of their homes with no real plan.

"A chocolate malt, I think," Sage answered, sounding pretty confident in her choice.

"That actually sounds pretty good," he agreed.

"Copy cat," she teased, shooting him a smirk. Bucky drove to the nearest fast food place and pulled into their drive through line, which was actually pretty long. It was too late for the dinner rush, but still too early for the late night crowd. Normally, Bucky probably would have just driven away, not wanting to wait in the line, but he had decent company.

"So what are your plans for Thanksgiving?" he asked as he shifted a bit in the drivers seat to face Sage.

"I don't know," she shrugged and frowned. "My dad wants me to go home but I don't know that I want to."

"I don't think I'm going home either," he told her.

"Why not?" she asked, sounding surprised. She knew why she didn't want to go home for the break, but she thought Bucky actually liked his family. He shrugged, too.

"It's too short a break to be worth it," he said. "Plus plane tickets are a fucking fortune and I don't think my car would make the drive," he added.

"It's like, three days off. It would take that long to drive," Sage said, adding to his points. "And like, what's the point if the semester is over two weeks later and then it's Christmas?"

"Exactly! And Steve's staying, too, so it'll just be like a long weekend," he said.

"Sharon's going on a cruise with her parents," Sage told him. "So I'll have the apartment to myself. I can smoke cigars in my underwear in peace," she joked. Bucky chuckled at the imagery.

"Or you can hang out with us," Bucky suggested. "Steve and I are probably going to have a mini Thanksgiving."

"I'll bring the pecan pie," Sage offered brightly.

"Only if you're OK with eating the whole thing by yourself," Bucky scoffed. He liked Sage and all, but he definitely didn't like pecan pie.

"OK, then what do you eat for dessert at Thanksgiving?" Sage asked.

"My mom makes apple pie," he started. "Steve's mom used to make the best apple pie, and my mom uses her recipe, but it's not the same." He punctuated with a shrug, trying to shake off the weird feeling of talking about Steve's deceased mother with Sage. It was a simple, inoccuous tidbit of he and Steve's history, but it was also deeply personal. It was strange, though not necessarily in a bad way, to let Sage in on tradition. Opening up created a fleeting sense of vulnerability, which Sage quickly chased away.

"My mom loved to bake. Her tradition was rhubarb pie at Thanksgiving," Sage offered with surprising ease. "My dad never liked rhubarb so she would make him his own pecan pie."

Suddenly Sage felt a little jealous of Steve. They were both only children that lost their mothers. But Steve had Bucky and his family. How lucky Steve was to have a friend like Bucky. The drive through line started to move just in time. It occurred to Sage that she hadn't had a single bite of a rhubarb pie since the last Thanksgiving she had with her mother, and suddenly she felt a little choked up. Bucky turning his attention to the speaker to place their order of two chocolate malts and an order of fries gave Sage a quick second to pull her shit together.

The line of cars moved quicker now, and soon Bucky and Sage were sipping on their malts. "Thank god you got fries. Can't have a malt without fries," Sage gushed, plucking a couple of fries from the container resting in the cup holder.

"I've eaten out with you enough to know to always get the fries," he confessed with a chuckle. Sage smiled to herself. She watched him as he drove, sipping at his shake every so often. He really was sweet.

"You wanna come over? Watch a movie or something?" Sage asked suddenly on a whim. She didn't want the night to be over just yet. Bucky seemed surprised by the offer and struggled with his answer. Did Sage mean watch a movie or watch a movie?

"Yeah, sure," Bucky shrugged. He was already driving in the direction of Sage's apartment and was racking his brain with what to do next. But he worried about scaring her off by going to fast, or going too slow, or being presumptuous, or not taking initiative.

"Sharon might be home working on a paper, but she won't mind," Sage told him as he pulled onto her street. Somehow that was a relief. If Sharon was home, that kind of took the pressure off of him. He wouldn't try anything while she was there, and didn't think Sage would want to either. It was a little disappointing, but he at least knew what to expect. No guess work.

"You sure she won't mind?" Bucky asked. If Sharon was working on a paper, she might not want to have company. Sharon was pretty intense when it came to school and Bucky didn't want to invoke her wrath.

"I'll protect you," Sage teased. Bucky found a parking spot on the street and followed Sage into the apartment building. They'd finished the fries, but were each still sipping on their malts.

Sage carefully and quietly opened her apartment door, just in case Sharon was either working on her research or asleep. Sharon was sitting on the floor, using the coffee table as her desk, surrounded by open books and pieces of paper. She looked up at the sound of the door opening and smiled broadly at the sight of Sage and Bucky.

"You two are back early. It's not even ten," Sharon greeted the couple. She was glad for the interruption and pleased at the sight of Bucky in her apartment. Sage had invited him back, so obviously things went well.

"Can't keep her past curfew," Bucky joked. He threw away his now empty cup and sat down in Sage's plaid chair. "What the hell are you reading?" he grabbed one of Sharon's book and flipped through the behemoth. It looked exceptionally boring.

"It's called a book," Sharon shot back smartly. "What did you guys do?" she changed the subject to something much more interesting than her paper.

"He took my roller skating," Sage answered with a big smile. Sharon glanced at Bucky who looked quite proud of himself.

"Did you fall?" Sharon laughed. She never would have guessed that they'd go roller skating, but it seemed perfect for Sage, just right up her alley.

"Of course," Sage said before Bucky could deny anything. "Right on his ass."

"I wasn't the only one, if I recall," Bucky countered. Sage smiled and rolled her eyes. She sat down on the arm of her plaid chair, and Bucky wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her closer. Sharon shrewdly watched the movement.

"What are you guys up to now? I think some of the guys are out at one of the bars," Sharon suggested. She really didn't care if Sage and Bucky stayed at the apartment or left.

Sage and Bucky both shrugged and looked at each other. Clearly they didn't really have a plan. Sage couldn't decide if going out and meeting up with some of their friends would be good or not. Of course it would be fun, that wasn't a doubt. But involving their friends kind of muddied the waters of their date, didn't it? Bucky and Sage obviously worked together amongst their group of friends, but did they work privately, just the two of them? So far, yeah, but she selfishly wanted to explore that a bit more.

"I don't know, I kind of just want to take off my shoes and watch Jurassic Park," Sage answered, deciding to take charge of the night. She figured Bucky would've been good with anything she said.

"Really, Jurassic Park?" Bucky laughed. Sharon rolled her eyes. She knew full well that Sage had seen that movie a million times, she could probably act out the entire movie herself with no script.

What? It's a good movie!" Sage defended her choice. Yeah, she really genuinely liked the movie, but also she wouldn't be upset if she missed any of it in case something else started happening. Something else being making out with Bucky, or whatever that may lead to.

"Alright, fine. But you better have popcorn," Bucky conceded. Sage smiled triumphantly and hopped off of the chair arm and out of Bucky's grip.

"You want anything while I'm in here, Sharon?" Sage called from the kitchen, pulling out a bag of popcorn from the cupboard.

"Give me a little bit of that popcorn and bring me my headphones from my nightstand," Sharon answered.

"Don't be gross, Sharon," Bucky joked.

"Look, I don't wanna hear some dinosaur roaring. And I certainly don't want to hear you two flirting or whatever," Sharon explained herself. Obviously she didn't want to hear anything going on between Sage and Bucky, and she most certainly didn't want to talk about it, either. They could do whatever they pleased in Sage's bedroom with the door closed, so long as Sharon didn't have to hear it.

"Yes ma'am," Sage giggled. She disappeared into Sharon's room briefly, and came out holding Sharon's expensive noise canceling headphones. She passed them to her roommate and went back to stand watch in front of the microwave, waiting for the perfect moment to pull it out. Popping a good bag of popcorn was an art and Sage was a master. She had trained her ear to distinguish the perfect moment to remove the bag.

Once the popcorn was done, Sage divided the bag between a small cereal bowl for Sharon and a large bowl for the rest of the snack. Bucky grabbed two beers from the fridge and followed Sage into her bedroom after bidding Sharon good night.

Bucky removed his jacket and kicked off his shoes, then settled on top of Sage's bed. Sage grabbed her laptop and pulled up the movie, which she had long ago illegally downloaded. She kicked her shoes off into the floor of her closet and quickly changed into a pair of comfortable leggings while Bucky tried to keep his eyes on his phone. He didn't want to ogle her, but if she really cared, she probably wouldn't have changed her pants right in front of him, right? He was sick of the second guessing and questioning himself and wished that he could just skip this part of the relationship and go straight to being one hundred percent comfortable with each other. Well, Sage seemed pretty comfortable. Maybe it was Bucky that needed to settle in.

Sage turned on the small lamp on her desk and turned off the overhead light, creating the perfect light level for watching a movie on her laptop. They both got comfortable against the pillows and Sage began the movie. The popcorn disappeared quickly, and they exchanged little comments here and there.

Just as the group of scientists go out on a tour of the park, before encountering the storm and the T-Rex, Sage steals a glance at Bucky. And then another. The second time she looked, he looked back. And then suddenly they were kissing. It started slow and cautious, there wasn't any hurry or sense of urgency. Bucky's hands were in Sage's hair, and her hands were pulling at the collar of his button-up.

As the movie wore on, things intensified. There'd be tugging on clothes and hair, lip biting, wandering hands, and then the movie would make a loud noise, they'd both jump in surprise, and slowly start all over again. Sometime around the velociraptors in the kitchen scene, the laptop got slammed closed and put on the floor.

Sometimes Sage was on her back, Bucky hovering over her, and then somehow she'd roll out from under him, pushing him onto his back. Sage had pulled Bucky's belt free and thrown it to the floor ages ago, and took an agonizingly long time trying to unbutton his shirt. Each time she'd get one button undone, Bucky would move a certain way, or put his hand somewhere, and Sage would completely forget what she was trying to do. The shirt did eventually wind up on the floor, along with his socks.

Bucky was a bit more reverent. His hands spent most of their time under Sage's sweater, pulling at the waistband of her leggings, or traveling up and down the length of her legs, but he never actually removed any of her clothing.

Sage felt completely alive and one hundred percent on fire. Her blood was rushing and her face was flushed. Was she sweating a lot? Probably, though she didn't much care. Her heart rate was high and catching her breath was kind of hard because she was just downright giddy. Things eventually slowed down, though not because she was tired. There was a silent agreement that this wasn't the night, it seemed. Sage and Bucky curled into each other, legs and arms wrapped around each other. By the time the sun started peaking through the eyelet lace curtains, Sage would've guessed she barely slept a wink all night because her mind wouldn't stop racing with thoughts of Bucky. Thoughts of wow that just happened. And she just couldn't stop smiling.