"Nothing wrong with that, either," Bucky said, settling back on the bench a bit. He rested his metal hand in his lap.

A month or so later, after a few more dates and a tour of Rea's apartment, Rea and Bucky were out again on a dinner and a movie date. Dinner had gone well, and the movie hadn't started yet.

"Rea? Hey, I haven't seen you in a while." A guy grinned at her, standing aside waiting for his popcorn.

And Rea really wished they'd gotten through with dinner five minutes earlier. "Hi Jason." Her voice was not exactly enthusiastic.

"How've you been?" Jason asked, taking a step forward. That made Bucky tense and shift a bit closer to Rea. Something about this guy set off all sorts of alarm bells in Bucky's head.

"Fine. Nothing too new going on. Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but our movie is starting in just a minute." Rea slipped her arm through Bucky's, both to (hopefully) deter Jason and also so they could go.

"What movie?" Jason asked, relentless. Rea might be there with someone, but Jason had been there first, so to speak.

"Listen, she said we have to go," Bucky said. Jason looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"And who are you?" he asked.

"I'm her date," Bucky replied, giving Jason a look that just screamed 'don't mess with me'.

"Her date." Jason looked at the two of them. "Doesn't look like she's having a very good time."

Rea almost groaned. "Jason, just shut up and leave us alone," she said, tugging a bit on Bucky's arm to get him to move so they could go find their seats.

Bucky gave Jason an icy look before obeying Rea and heading into the theater with her. He didn't like this Jason guy, and while he might not mind taking the guy out back for a fight, he wouldn't do that to Rea at the moment.

"Sorry about that," Rea muttered a few moments later as they headed up the theater stairs to their seats. "I didn't expect to see him here. I haven't seen him for a long time."

"An ex, I take it?" Bucky asked as he let her pick the seats. He made sure to sit between her and the aisle, just in case the guy tried to come back.

"Yeah. First boyfriend. Controlling manipulative jerk." Rea shook her head. "I finally said no and broke up with him when he tried selling illegally out of his apartment."

"Good," Bucky said. "You don't need someone like that." He glanced around to make sure that her ex didn't show up. Call him paranoid, but he didn't want Rea to have to deal with that again.

"I'm still sorry you had to see that. I didn't think he still lived in the area." Rea shook her head and leaned back in her seat, frowning.

"It's fine," Bucky said. "Don't worry about it." He made a mental note to handle things himself if the guy came back at all.

Rea didn't say anything else but she was clearly still not pleased with Jason showing up at the movie. She didn't really relax through the show, keeping half her attention on the exits and the audience.

Bucky gently put an arm around her shoulders, staying alert through the movie. He did, however, make a mental note to set up another date with her, since this one seemed to have tanked.

Rea leaned into his side after a few minutes when she was sure he wasn't going to pull away, slowly starting to relax. She didn't get all the way relaxed, and she doubted she would until she was back in her apartment, but at least the date wasn't a total loss.

Bucky grinned a bit when she started to relax. Good, that was what he wanted. He shifted a bit so that they were both comfortable, and settled in for the rest of the movie.

After the movie, Rea waited for the theater to empty out before she got to her feet, a bit reluctantly.

"Want to come back to my place for a bit? I can make some coffee and I've got cookies and scones I made last night," she offered, looking at him.

"Sure," Bucky said. Getting up, he got out of the row and into the aisle, then let her go first down the stairs. He still kept an eye out for Jason.

Jason did grin and waggle his fingers at Rea from by the concession stand, and she actually shivered briefly before she turned away and headed for the exit.

Bucky saw and gently put his arm around Rea again, both as a hint to Jason and to comfort Rea a bit.

"Come on," he said, "let's go for that coffee."

Rea nodded after a moment and walked with him back to her apartment, still a little shaky.

"I'm remembering why I broke up with him now."

"Yeah, I can see it too," Bucky said, only letting go of her once they were safely inside. "You definitely made a good choice there."

"No kidding." Rea let out a shaky breath and flipped the lock shut on her door, just in case. "So. Coffee?"

"Coffee sounds great," Bucky said. He grinned. "Need a hand?" He teasingly offered his prosthetic hand to her.