Mark wasn't sure if Rebecca was keeping her identity a secret, it has been a dilemma of his. She wasn't exactly hiding her identity, when he did his research on Bucky Barnes the other night, one of the first names that were considered related to the topic – aside from Steve Rogers – was Rebecca Kuroki. Rebecca Kuroki, as he researched, was a HYDRA assassin, much like the Winter Soldier, she was supposed to be the Winter Soldier's replacement if he could no longer perform the tasks that HYDRA needed him to do, but then HYDRA fell. No one really knew who Rebecca Kuroki was, no one even knew she existed until the bombing of the UN in Vienna, and the only reason people found out about her was because of her association with Bucky Barnes.
He read in the news that during the five years of the Snap, Rebecca Kuroki was pardoned for her crimes by the government, and she helped the Avengers with battling Thanos – along with Barnes, later on. And that was all he read about her. There were no other details about her on the Internet, the rest were just her being mentioned in articles about Bucky Barnes. Now that he knew who his neighbor was, he had a good feeling what the jobs she's been doing were, and he highly doubted that it involved analyzing numbers like Oliver guessed she does. But even though he knew of her complicated background, he couldn't tell his mother nor Oliver; and they continue to let her look after his little brother whenever he and his mother couldn't.
For the past couple of days, Oliver has been in and out of Rebecca's apartment, he tried telling his mother to just find a babysitter for his brother but Oliver insisted that he much preferred Rebecca's company than a stranger's. He had to agree that it would be best to have someone who Oliver was comfortable with to look after him, but they can't always depend on her to do that, especially knowing that her job might come up all of a sudden. Between choosing to save the world and babysitting his kid brother, he highly doubted she would choose the latter. Since her first babysitting though, Rebecca hasn't been leaving for her jobs, she was always in her apartment, and if not, she was spending the day with Bucky Barnes – taking his to therapy, as Oliver said. And who would have thought he would have a nice neighbor who is actually an assassin – he wasn't sure if she was still an assassin.
Every time Oliver would head over to Rebecca's place, he would bring a couple of his movies and games, he wasn't entirely sure what they would do the whole day, but one time, when he knocked on the door, he caught them in the middle of watching Mission: Impossible movies that Oliver brought over. They finished the movie – all three of them – and he noticed how Rebecca was analyzing the scenes and the strategies of the people, he wanted to believe that behind that stoic face was her judging the movie on how inaccurate it was to actual spy work. The other times, he would see them simply playing Oliver's music in her portable speaker, cooking in the kitchen while playing some board game.
Mark came home a little after sunset from work, he went straight to Rebecca's apartment. He knocked on the door and was greeted by Rebecca, and based on the music being played in the background, they weren't listening to Oliver's playlist, but rather to Rebecca's since he's never heard his brother listening to Marvin Gaye.
"Come in, we're in the middle of a game," Rebecca told him and then went back to the counter where Oliver was sitting with a game of Battleship on the surface. Rebecca went back to her place and made a guess on where Oliver's battleship was.
"Hit!" Oliver groaned.
Rebecca smirked, "Told ya, I was good."
Oliver rolled his eyes. "Mark, help me out!"
"Sure," Mark walked up to the counter and stood beside his brother, though his eyes weren't on the game, they were at Rebecca. Since the first time he came to her apartment, he noticed that she always wore long-sleeved shirts and started wearing pants, even when in her own apartment. Must be to hide her scars, he thought. Then he saw her right ear, she was wearing a lot of earrings or piercings, he wasn't sure what they were called.
"What are you doing?" Rebecca raised her brow.
"Mark, you've been staring at her," Oliver stated.
Mark blushed. "Oh... sorry, I was just... I was just trying to read your mind." Great excuse, Mark scolded himself.
Rebecca shifted uncomfortably. "Please, don't."
He shouldn't have said that he thought. From what he remembered, like Bucky Barnes, Rebecca was also subjected to HYDRA's mind-control. Mark said an area in the game.
"Miss," Rebecca told them.
Oliver sighed. "You're useless."
Mark rolled his eyes.
Rebecca said an area in the game.
"Miss!" Oliver grinned.
Chuckling, she got off the counter and went to the fridge and handed Mark a bottle of beer, and she got out her own. They finished the game with Rebecca completely destroying Oliver's battleship, while Oliver fixed his things, Mark helped out with cleaning in the kitchen, there weren't many dishes for them to wash since Rebecca didn't need to have that much dishware.
"You know, this is really nice of you to do," Mark began. "Looking out for Oliver."
Rebecca smiled softly. "I just want to help."
Because you're an Avenger, he thought. "I've been looking for babysitters in the building, I'm sure you have somewhere else to be than looking after a kid – and I'm starting to feel like the only reason you haven't taken a job for the past couple of days is to babysit him."
Rebecca faced him. "I don't really mind looking out for him... and, having Oliver over doesn't just help you guys out but it also benefits me."
"How?"
"I don't actually have anything to do, so having him over helps me fill up those vacant hours."
"How about work?"
"They haven't called."
"Friends?"
Rebecca sighed. "The only friend I have is around seven thousand five hundred and seventy miles from here."
"The scientist-friend," Mark realized.
"Yeah."
"You don't have any friends here?"
She tucked her hands in her pockets and shrugged. "They're all busy getting by with everything that is happening around here."
"I see," he replied. But he knew that what she really meant was her only friends were actually the Avengers, and most of them were gone now.
After helping Rebecca with cleaning up, Mark and Oliver left her apartment and went to theirs. As always, he tried paying Rebecca for the food and for the time she spent with Oliver but she won't accept it.
"If I accept it, then I should also be asking my father to pay me for looking out for him," she teased.
But he felt bad. He felt like they were taking advantage of her kindness and not find a permanent solution for their new arrangement. He should at least repay for doing these things.
"How about coffee, then?" Mark suddenly said. He didn't really realize that he said it until he did.
"Coffee?" Rebecca raised a brow.
"Y-Yeah... how about I take you out for some coffee? As a friend! I just want to do something nice for you, because since you've been really nice to my family and..."
"I have stuff to do in the mornings, and don't you have a job?"
"How about we just hang out after?" Mark suggested. "And it doesn't have to be coffee, we can go wherever you want."
Rebecca smiled, her eyes then shifted over his shoulder, he turned and saw that Bucky Barnes just exited the elevator and was heading their way, his hands tucked in his jacket and his head hung low.
"Okay, sure," she told him. "How about this Friday?"
"Great! Friday then – after my mom comes home?"
"Sure thing," Rebecca smiled. "Good night, Mark."
"Night."
As soon as he went inside his apartment, he saw Bucky Barnes and Rebecca enter her own, and he couldn't help but wonder what it was they talk about when they were alone.
~*~
Sitting on the couch, Rebecca turned to Bucky who was staring at the floor. When she saw him heading to her apartment looking like he had so much in his mind, she knew that something happened in an earlier session with Dr. Raynor. They were quiet for a while, it took about five minutes before Bucky spoke.
"Are you still having those nightmares?" Bucky asked.
Rebecca adjusted herself in the couch. "Sometimes."
"Are they about..."
She nodded. "But rarely... most of the time it's something else."
"What?"
"Thanos, the battle, you turning to dust again..."
Bucky turned to her, he took her hand and held it tight. "It's not going to happen again. Stark..." he paused as he remembered what he did to Tony's parents. The image of Maria and Howard Stark came back and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Made sure of that."
Rebecca remained quiet.
"What did you do to... stop these nightmares?" Bucky asked.
"I made amends... I tried doing something good to compensate for what I did before... even now I'm still doing it," Rebecca sighed. "I thought fighting bad guys would be enough but what really helped me was when I did something good."
"Which is?"
Rebecca clenched her jaw as she realized she had to tell him about his family. "I looked for you sister, Rebecca Barnes." Bucky's eyes were wide in shock. "I wanted to tell them that whatever they heard in the news was barely the surface of the truth... that you didn't do those things willingly... and the sacrifices you did to save people – me especially. But when I found her, she was already gone. She died months before I found them." She saw him cover his mouth as he tried to stop himself from crying but his tears were already building up in his eyes. "Her children were turned to dust during the Snap, so her grandchildren were sent to an orphanage... So, I went to that orphanage and looked out for them."
"Did you tell them?" Bucky's voice cracked.
Rebecca shook her head. "They were too young to understand... being with them brought me some sort of closure that I needed the most, and since then, I rarely got any nightmares, and it helped with finally finding closure."
"Where are they now?"
"I made sure that they're back with their families... do you want to see them?"
Bucky shook his head. "I don't want to make their lives more complicated."
Rebecca nodded in understanding. "I also tried looking for the families of the people I killed, most were dusted away, the others... after I approached them, it just made things harder for them. But when I was volunteering in the orphanage, when I was with your family, I found peace."
Bucky brought her to a side hug. "Thank you, for doing that for them."
"Of course... Bucky, what's wrong? How can I help you?"
"I'm fine," he tried to lie. He let out a breath. "Do you know where she's buried?"
Rebecca nodded. "Do you want to visit her?"
"Yes. Okay. We can go tomorrow."
Just as Rebecca promised, she and Bucky went to the cemetery that Rebecca Barnes was buried. When they arrived, Bucky placed the flowers that be bought before her grave. It was daisies, her favorite. They stayed there for a while, neither of them speaking. After what felt like a long time, Bucky finally decided to leave, and the two of them left the cemetery, on their way out though, Rebecca saw three gravestones that caught her attention. She walked towards them and saw the names; it was Frank Castle's family.
"Becc?" Bucky called for her, confused as to why she visited the grave.
She saw the new flowers placed before them; it was now disarranged. She bent down to fix them and cleared out a few leaves that littered around, once she was finished, she went back to Bucky's side before he could see who it was she visited.
"Whose graves were those?" He asked.
"It's a grave of an old acquaintance. We met two years ago," Rebecca replied.
"How'd he die?"
Rebecca smiled. "It's a whole list of reasons, actually."
~*~
Friday night came, luckily for that night, Bucky had other things to do so he didn't go to her apartment for dinner. Once Oliver and Deborah were settled for the night, Rebecca and Mark went out. Mark was slightly nervous the whole time, he wasn't exactly sure what to talk about, and if does try to start a conversation about their private lives, he doubts Rebecca would tell him the truth... not like he would tell the truth either, considering the superhero part of his life was actually a secret and now he wasn't exactly doing that anymore. Nor was he allowed to disclose that information, according to the Sokovia Accords he signed.
They didn't really go to a restaurant for their little hangout, instead, Rebecca insisted that they just buy a couple of beers and food in the convenience store and then head to the roof. He was actually relieved when she suggested that, it would mean they were going to an expensive restaurant or anything. After purchasing their beers and some food from a burger joint, the two of them climb the stairs up to the roof; Rebecca was ready and had a blanket set on the ground for them to sit on, and a "ball of light" to let them see in the dark.
"I have to admit, I'm really relieved when you said we're just going to have drinks here," Mark sheepishly said.
"We could have just canceled, you know," Rebecca took a swig from her beer. "I wouldn't take it against you."
"But I didn't want to... I was actually looking forward to this."
"Why?"
"It's nice to talk to someone other than my mom or my brother," he admitted.
"What about your friends?"
Mark frowned. "Uh... we're not really talking at the moment – well, most of them aren't. I was one of the people who were Blipped, and my friends weren't, so during those years I was gone, they kind of moved on... they got their jobs, and I'm stuck here trying to..."
"I'm sorry," Rebecca said.
"It's okay... I still have contact with a couple of them, though. My best friend, William, especially, though he's in Chicago and is taking his residency... so, we barely have the time to hang out." He then chuckled weakly. "It's weird, you know... coming back after everything that happened. You think you'll be missed by the people you left – well, you are – but they're not really open arms with it... it just made their lives more complicated than it was during the Blip."
Rebecca sighed. "You had someone, didn't you?"
"That obvious?"
She shrugged. "A guess and I'm surprised that I was right."
He smiled sadly. "Her name was Eve..."
"Where is she now?"
Mark shrugged. "I don't know. But what I do know is that she's happy with her life now..." He paused as he thought about what to ask next. If he didn't ask her about her previous relationship, it would be odd, meaning he did research on her behind her back, but if he did, he thinks it would just be awkward if she doesn't answer. He chose to ask. "What about you? Any boyfriends before?"
Rebecca snorted. "No, I never had one."
"What about now?"
She shook her head.
"Tried dating apps?"
"I don't even have Facebook."
"How about those speed dating."
She made a face.
"Too shy?"
"Too busy," Rebecca replied.
He chuckled. "I guess your work keeps you busy, huh... but if you wanted to, would you?"
"I don't know..." Rebecca suddenly sighed. "For the longest time, this is the first time I'm actually free."
Mark didn't ask about that, he felt that if he did, then he would just make the scene awkward or maybe she would just lie. Their night, they almost finished the two six-pack beer cans, and the food they bought. They talked about the simple things, what they liked, movies, shows, music...
"You like listening to old music, huh?" Mark asked as he scrolled through Rebecca's playlist on her phone.
"An acquaintance of mine introduced that to me, and I don't really have the time to scroll through the whole music industry to know what I like."
"It's like you have all the eras here – '40's, '50's, '60's, the '70s – Oh, you have Marvin Gaye," Mark mused. "And you play Trouble Man a lot."
Rebecca smiled. "It was a friend of mine's favorite. He would always play that."
"Where is he now?"
She had a distant look. "He's gone now."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, he lived a long life and had no regrets."
Mark's brows furrowed, he tried thinking of anyone who could have been affiliated to her in the Avengers who disappeared, the only ones reported to have died in the battle were Tony Stark, and the Black Widow, Captain America went missing... does that mean Steve Rogers was dead now?
He cleared his throat and then returned her phone. "But I gotta say, I didn't expect you to be into that music."
"Why? What vibe do I give off?"
He shrugged. "My Chemical Romance? Arctic Monkeys?" She had a confused look. "Here, I'll show you."
Mark got out his phone and looked for the bands in his playlist. He picked one and lets Rebecca listen, she smiled at the music being played.
"I like them," she stated.
Mark smiled. "Glad that you did."
Their night ended when they ran out of food and drinks. It was already midnight. They both cleaned up their mess and then went back inside the building, before they went to their apartments, the two turned to each other to say goodnight.
"I had fun," Rebecca spoke.
"Me too... goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Once Rebecca was in her apartment, she went straight to her bathroom to get cleaned and then crashed on her couch. Unlike the other nights, she didn't turn on her T.V. for some sort of noise, and when she pulled up her blanket, she didn't have trouble with falling asleep, and for the first time in a while, she had a dreamless sleep, which was more than she could ever ask.