Reminiscing •A Stucky Love Story•

Hot Dogs.

"Barnes. Barnes! Wake up!" I flinched awake, slapping the person who called my name. "What the fuck?"

I blinked. "Oh my. Fury, I'm so sorry!"

He cupped the left side of his jaw, shaking his head. "It's fine. Not bad. We're here, though." He nodded out my window, so I looked. We were back in the town. "You'll be alright?"

I nodded. "Can you tell Steve that I'm sorry?"

Fury nodded. "I will." He looked forward. "You know, I can send someone everyday to check for you. If you bring them here, we'll help you."

"Don't. It's not worth it." I exhaled deeply, admitting the truth, though I didn't want to. "I'm not going to make it back out. If they don't kill me, they'll at least wipe me, and they won't be so careless this time. Just keep everyone on their guard and don't look for me."

Steve's Perspective

I woke with a jolt. I was lying on the couch in the sitting room of Stark's Tower. I looked around. Stark was sitting in the corner, his head in his hands. Natasha and Clint were sitting beside each other, also silent. Bruce was talking to Thor, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I felt like I was underwater, which made me think of the plane. I flinched. "Where is she?"

"Who, Cap?"

I rolled my eyes. "Jemma. Where is she?"

They glanced at each other. "We... don't know."

"Where. Is. She?"

Agent Hill stepped into the room. "She left. Fury drove her back."

"Why?!" I stood. "Why would you let her go?"

"Rogers, listen. If we wouldn't have stopped her, she would've found a way to go anyway. She deserved to make her own choice."

"Not if it's the wrong one!" I collapsed back onto the couch. I let Bucky go and now I let Jemma go, too. I couldn't save the people who deserved to be saved the most. "I have to find her." I closed my eyes, knowing all eyes were on me. "Tell Fury to take me to her."

"We can't do that," Hill's voice was cold, emotionless. She hadn't liked Jemma, even though she didn't even know her. No one was a greater person than Jemma... Except for her brother. I clenched my fists and opened my eyes.

Stark glared at me. "There's other people to save, Rogers. They need heroes. You can't just run off after a girl. The world needs us, needs you."

I sneered. "She needs me."

"When's the last time you even saw her?" Clint had stayed practically silent since Jemma arrived, so I was surprised that he even spoke up.

"The war. After we rescued Bucky, the night we created a team." I closed my eyes again, welcoming the memory. It had been a great evening, before she went to sleep and had that dream. "She was wearing a dress that matched Bucky's jacket, because they loved to match. She was making fun of us the whole evening. We drank a lot, probably too much, but it was worth it. So worth it. At one point..."

A soldier came up to the bar, standing beside a laughing Jemma. She turned to look at him and he smiled. His eyes looked over her, while mine watched Bucky's reaction. He'd always been protective of her. "Wanna dance, ma'am?"

She tilted her head and grinned politely. "No. Thank you, though. I think I'm okay here."

The man touched her arm, "No, I think we should dance. You're awful pretty."

Bucky clenched his fists. "She said no, pal."

I resisted the urge to enlace my fingers with his. Instead, I patted him on the back, standing up. "S'alright. I got it." I stood up, crossing my arms and making my face serious. If he wouldn't listen to anyone else, he'd listen to Captain America. Right? "Leave her alone."