ASHES ↠ b. barnes [II]

fifteen

WHEN THINGS, OBJECTS, OR SPACES are too full, disasters tend to happen.

Bridges tend to fall when too much weight is added on them. Water tends to spill when there's no more space for it. Worlds tend to end with too much population. Batteries tend to explode when overcharged... and in this case, brains tend to overload with too much memories.

But that was the least of the assets' concerns as they sat on the chairs in the kitchen table, one of their hands on their heads and the other holding a bottle of bourbon and a thermos full of stolen ammonia— which, they had picked up (stolen) on the way.

Their bodies were in the same room, but their minds were drifting to different places. To different missions.

The two were happy to see each other with memories again, that was a fact. But in order to truly smile again, and to truly embrace the chance they had been given, they needed to accept and to adapt to remembering what they had been for seventy years:

Cold blooded assassins.

Allura felt a tear slip down her cheek, her strawberry blonde falling on her shoulder as she took a long sip of the ammonia. The two had changed from their suits into more casual clothing. The strawberry blonde was wearing a black spaghetti strapped dress, that allowed the Greek designs to be completely exposed, which she now felt completely normal with.

James was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, his hair also loose, and his blue eyes lost as he took a sip from his glass as well.

"February, 1957." Allura whispered. "You remember the couple that we killed?"

"The HYDRA agents who had betrayed the agency when they shifted to SHIELD?" He asked, Allura nodding. "They were assholes. They kinda deserved it."

"October 1953?"

"We killed almost twenty teenagers in a Halloween party, because they were getting too close to HYDRA files?"

"Those were innocent. But too curious." Allura spoke, taking another sip and seeing that James was gonna speak.

"March 1972?"

That date sent goosebumps up her arms, her eyes shooting immediately as she remembered every single detail of that night. They remembered every single detail of every mission.

"We were gonna give them mercy. They gave us information about ourselves and we let them go." She stopped. "But they betrayed us, and as I was taken to the armed Room and you were frozen, they were shot to death." She narrated, James looking at her briefly.

"You said they deserved it."

"The children didn't." She almost snapped, knowing that she didn't have all of her memories back then. "And knowing HYDRA, they were the first to be shot." She said quietly, James nodding.

"For the parents to suffer."

The two stayed quiet for a bit, not truly feeling like discussing any more missions and feeling even worse about themselves. James felt tears falling from his eyes, not wanting to make a sound and feeling slightly embarrassed from the action.

He had wanted to remember who James Buchanan Barnes was. He wanted to remember everything, so that he could understand more about why he was they he was, and why Steve Rogers would do anything to get him back.