he who hesitates is toast

The awful thing is, he's not wrong. He'd been gone. She'd mourned him. And even if she hadn't quite been to the point of moving on, she'd been nearing it. He wouldn't have wanted her to be alone and grieving forever, and neither would she. If she made herself, she's pretty sure she could even see what that life would have looked like.

And he had scared her. Hurt her. There's a part of her even now that's wary and ready to spring away from any attack.

But that life that could have been is gone now, and she's been hurt and scared before. "You were gone," she murmurs. "But you're back. And that changes everything. Bucky, there's no way I could ever do anything but help you."