epiphany. (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter One

"...you dream of some epiphany

Just one single glimpse of relief

To make sense of what you've seen."

~*~*~*~

Washington DC. April 2014.

Mid-April in Washington, DC was always a busy time of year. Congress was getting ready to reconvene after the Easter holiday; however, senators and representatives were returning early to address the Attack on the Triskelion and the HYDRA Uprising. The exposure of HYRDA and S.H.I.E.L.D. secrets had put many politicians and their constituents in hot water; to say the situation was a cluster was an understatement. But with the return of so many people, it meant the club was busy, which meant more tips which were the most you could hope for after The Fall.

You had taken to calling the HYDRA Uprising "The Fall" as your life as you knew was stripped away that day. You were once a rising intelligence analyst "handpicked" by S.H.I.E.L.D. three years previously after you infiltrated one of their databases. It was either prison or working for "the enemy", a regular Penelope Garcia moment. However, working for S.H.I.E.L.D. had its perks. It offered financial security and place away from your past. You had begun to put down roots here. You had a small apartment in Foggy Bottom, made a few friends, and felt yourself slowly fall back in love with your old hobbies. However "The Fall" threatened to uproot you once again. You were grateful for the few years of stability you had while working with S.H.I.E.L.D. It managed to help you score your current job as one of the weekly headliners at a jazz club called The Red Room. Rent and bills needed to be paid while you were in between jobs.

Although Spring was in full swing, the weather in DC could be fickle. You wrapped your cardigan closer to your body in an effort to keep out the night's damp cold breeze as you stepped into the alleyway behind the club. A busy club meant the atmosphere was stuffy and close; so you usually took your breaks between outside while nursing a finger of whiskey and honey. You perched on a crate covered in newspaper showcasing headlines regarding the HYDRA Uprising to keep dirt and grime off your dress and took a sip of whiskey. You closed your eyes and breathed in deeply, grateful for the time alone between sets. You then take out your phone to check emails; you had sent out numerous applications to various agencies that may find your experience useful earlier in the week. No responses from any of them so far. Despite your three years with S.H.I.E.L.D., you did not have any formal training or education associated with your profession. It also didn't help you were unable to put your full list of tools and talent on your resume as some of them were less than savory. You sighed and for the umpteenth time that week regretted not taking S.H.I.E.L.D. up on their offer to pay for a college degree.

A shifting of objects could be heard a bit farther down the alley. You rose from your seat unfazed, placing your glass down on the crate, and moved towards the noise assuming it was the resident tomcat you had befriended and fed every once in a while.

"Come here, big man," you cooed as you made kissing noises. You moved slowly down the alley looking in between garbage cans and plastic crates for your friend. "I don't have any scraps for you right now, but if you come out, I can see what I can scrounge up in the kitchen later." More rustling came from a pile of black trash bags sounding almost too big to be made by a lone tomcat. You then heard a low groan and stopped. Your heartbeat quickened.