Getting Lucky

6. I Remember You

(Bucky)

"Where's Loki?" Thor pipes up, looking around for his brother.

"He left a couple of minutes ago," I answer the God of Thunder's question. I had been the only person to notice him leaving, everyone else distracted and talking. I admired the way that he could just fade away without anyone being the wiser.

"Oh," is Thor's only comment.

Luckily for me, that was when everybody finished eating, so I could slip away without being rude to anybody. 

"Hey, Steve?" I ask, standing up.

"Yeah, Buck?"

"Loki mentioned a library?" I ask tentatively, standing up.

Steve nods, "Tony has a library a few levels below Thor's room. He has all kinds of books there if you need them."

"Thanks, Steve, I'll look into that." I head towards the elevator, "G'night Steve."

"Night Buck."

'~'~'~'

Stark had a beautiful library.

Taking up an entire floor of the tower, with shelves nearly reaching the tall roof, there were at least a hundred books per shelf. The room has multiple plush chairs and couches, with lamps lighting everything in a soft golden glow. Large windows cover almost the entire wall (opposite of the elevator,) with a glass door leading onto a balcony with more chairs. The entire setup had an amazing view of the city, covered in snow and lit up by millions of lights below.

Not one book was out of place. Whoever had been in here before me, had organized everything perfectly. One thing that catches my eye, is a large dark red book with emblazoned gold lettering on the front, which sits on the edge of an easy chair.

Walking over, I pick up the book and read the fancy golden lettering: "Norse Mythology," I read it aloud. 'Didn't Loki mention this book?'  I think to myself, setting it beside a small lamp.

The elevator opens behind me, and I jump slightly at the sound. Quiet footsteps sound behind me as the person moves to stand beside me. 

"James Buchanan Barnes," Natasha's voice acknowledges my presence formally.

"Natalia Alianovna Romanova," I reply, turning my head to look at her.

"So you do remember," Natasha murmurs.

I smirk, "I remember many things, Ms. Romanova, you'll have to be more specific."

She rolls her eyes, "The Red Room James, you remember me, so you'll remember that."

I nod, "I remember that very well Natalia, unfortunately."

"Well then, I guess I have a promise to fulfill," reaching into her pocket, Natasha pulls something small and silver out of her pocket, holding it out for me to see.

My eyes widen, "After all these years... you still have it," I whisper, eyes locked on the silver pendant Natasha holds in her hand. Even after all these years, it's in perfect condition.

She shrugs, "I keep my promises, James and this was one of them."

"I'm sorry Natasha."

"For what?" she asks curiously.

"For what I did to you. Not only do I have the deaths of so many on my consciousness, but I also have the deaths of the victims of the ones I trained. Including yours."

Natasha shrugs indifferently, but I see a small glint of sadness in her eyes, "You saved my life, I know that all the other girls in that room were killed for failing the test."

I cringe slightly, "True."

"All of that is in the past James. I've done my best to move on, though it was difficult at first. You should try too, it helps with the pain," she holds out the pendant to me. "Here, I'm sure you'll want this back."

I take it from her with a smile, "Thank-you."

Natasha gives me a small smile, "You're welcome." she turns back to the elevator, "see you tomorrow James."

"Y'know, normally I'd ask you to call me Bucky, but I wanna wake up in the morning!" I call back.

"Smart man," she remarks with a chuckle before the elevator door closes and I'm once again alone.

I look around the room again, eyes scanning the vast shelves of literature. My eyes settle on a large abundance of history books. 'Well, time to update myself.' Grabbing as many of the history books dating past the 40s as possible, I head back towards the elevator, my eyes catching on one last thing.

With a shrug, I pick up the Norse Mythology book and enter the elevator.

(A/N: I'm so sorry that I haven't been updating lately. School has me a bit preoccupied, but the next chapter should hopefully be out soon! 

-Skye)