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We sat in silence in the small Volkswagen. Sam sat in the front while Steve drove. Bucky sat in the back with me behind Sam. I leaned my head against the window. I couldn't help but worry about what we were about to do. I closed my eyes as the pain set in from my side once again.
Bucky's eyes turned to me as I let out a silent groan. I closed my eyes tightly before opening them again. I took a deep breath and looked over at him. He stared at me with a slight concern. I could tell he was worried. I just nodded to him, letting him know I was okay. I turned back to the window just keeping myself to my thoughts.
The car pulled up in a grassy field under an overpass. I watched as Steve walked out and headed towards the car in front of us. Sharron stood by her trunk. I leaned forward and looked out the windshield of the car. It was fun to watch their interactions. I could see Steve becoming nervous around her.
"Can you move your seat up?" I heard Bucky ask Sam. The car fell silent. I shifted my eyes to Sam who just sat there with a serious face.
"No." He said sternly. Bucky let out an annoyed groan. He shifted his body over towards the middle. His arm still resting against the back of the seat. His body lingered closed to mine. I tensed up a bit at his touch.
I knew I loved Bucky, and I knew it was him now and not the Winter Soldier. However, I couldn't help but feel scared. All the pain the Winter Soldier had caused me up until this point just stuck with me. Bucky's eyes glanced over to me. I could tell he noticed my fear.
He cleared his throat as he pulled back a bit. I took a deep breath and pulled my eyes back forward. I felt bad. This moment, having Bucky back. It was all that I wanted. However, as long as the Winter Soldier was still apart of him I knew I would always hold a bit of fear.
We both looked forward. I continued to watch Steve and Sharon's interaction. It didn't take long for Steve to finally make his move. I smiled brightly as he leaned over Sharron and brought her into a kiss. Once they pulled away they chatted for a bit. Steve grabbed the stuff out of her trunk and turned to us as Sharon drove off.
His smile faded as we all stared at him. We all had the same pleased expressions on our faces. Steve rolled his eyes, annoyed at our amusement. He walked over to the car as we all got out. Steve handed Sam his stuff, before handing me Bucky and I's belongings. I placed our weapons in a bag and placed it on my back.
I looked over at Steve as he nodded to me. I took a deep breath as I locked eyes with him.
"He's going to come after you." I said. I was worried about Tony. I knew he was going to be after all of us. Do his best to do what he thought was right. Steve nodded as I pulled him into a hug. I knew this was only going to work if he didn't get caught. "Go easy on him." I whispered.
I pulled away and stepped backwards towards Bucky. Steve nodded to me with a thin smile. I looked over at Bucky. I brought my hand over and grabbed his wrists. My body shaking a bit just touching him. Bucky looked over at me noticing I was shaking. I felt his arm shift as his hand fell into mine. I looked down as he squeezed it softly. My eyes locked with his as he gave me a soft smile, letting me know I was okay.
I closed my eyes, feeling the energy move between us. I felt a shift before opening my eyes. I let go of Bucky as he stumbled forward a bit. He tried catching his breath.
"I dont think I'm ever going to be used to that." He said. He stood back up tall and looked around. We were standing in a field of grass. Nothing but trees surrounding us. There was a beautiful white house ahead of us with a green roof. A shabby wooden fence surrounding it.
"Where are we?" Bucky asked. I looked over at him and smiled before walking through the field.
Bucky followed behind me as I walked up to the house and up the porch steps. I took a deep breath. I lifted my fist up and against the door. Three loud knocks echoed. I dropped my hand and stood nervously. I heard someone moving on the other side of the door before it opened.
I smiled as Clit stood by the door. His eyes shifted down to me shocked before shifting over to Bucky. I couldn't help but chuckle at his dad farmhouse attire. He had a plaid button down on with some light washed jeans. Completely different from his normal Shield outfit.
"Layla, what are you doing here?" He asked. Pure shock landing on his face. I would never come here unless asked to. Clint kept the place pretty hush hushed. Not wanting anyone, including Shield, know about his family. Nat and I were the only ones who knew he was married with kids until recently when he brought the Avengers here to hide out from Ultron.
"Sorry to ruin your retirement but we need your help." I said quietly. Clint nodded before opening the door fully and stepping out of the way. Bucky and I walked in as we stood in the front hallway. Laura walked into the end of it, a shocked look on her face as well.
"Layla? What happened?" She asked concerningly. She quickly ran up to me and placed a hand on my cheek. Her eyes searching my face, and looking at my injuries. I placed my hands onto her arms as she pulled away. Giving her a thin smile.
"I'm okay. Just a little banged up." I answered.
Clint let out a scoff, "A little?" He uncrossed his arms and walked up to me as well. Placing a hand onto my back. "Come on. Let's get you patched up before the kids see you and freak out." Clint began to lead me down the hall. I turned my head to Bucky as he just stood in the entryway nervously. Clint seemed to notice it too.
"Barnes, you can go with Laura for a bit. She'll help you out with any injuries." Clint said. Bucky just stood stiff as a board. I nodded at him as Laura just smiled up at him. She knew who his was. Which made me smile that despite knowing everything he's gone through, she still kept a warm and loving motherly smile towards him. I could tell however Bucky felt completely out of place. His own worries going alone with Laura. I just gave him a nod. Knowing it would be okay.
Once we separated, I sat on the edge of a bed in the spare room with Clint as he stitched up the wound on my side. My shirt sat up over my shoulder as I leaned my arms leaned against the window seal. I groaned in between words as Clint pulled the needle in and out of my skin. I explained everything to him. What happened with the accords, with Bucky. He sighed as he pulled the needle out again.
"So you need me to get Wanda out of the compound and pick up this Scott Lang?" He asked. I bit my lip as I suffered through the pain. I nodded slightly as Clint let out a small sigh. I stayed silent. My mind running a mile a minute.
" I wouldn't have asked you but there was no one else to run to. Nat's on Tony's side." I said quietly. Clint just hummed under his breath, keeping up with the stiching. Me knowing it was enough to know he understood. The room fell silent once more, as I just stared out the window. Looking at the beautiful field in front of me. Wondering if I would ever have a life like Clint has.
"For someone who finally got their dead boyfriend back, you sure don't look happy." Clint said breaking the silence. I let out a long and annoyed sigh. I looked over at Clint as he raised his eyebrows at me curiously.
"I said some really shitty things to Tony." I said quietly. Clint paused and leaned his arms over his knees. I could see he was waiting for me elaborate, "I said the 'youre not my dad' cliche."
Clint pushed his lips together and let out a whistle, "Yeah that pretty bad."
I looked away and back out the window. I stayed silent thinking about Tony. He had done so much for me. He was right, I was acting like an unappreciative brat. Clint went back to stitching me up. I closed my eyes tightly as he moved the needle back in.
"My advice?" Clint asked. I stayed quiet, "Give him time. In that time prove to him why Barnes is worth the fight, and apologize. I know he's pretty torn up about it. I'd cry if my kids ever said that to me. And I'm biologically there dad. Tony however took you in, despite everything you were going through."
I looked over at Clint as he gave me a soft smile. I took a deep breath and nodded. Leave it to Clint to give me some good advice. He was right though. Tony had been there, the one fighting to help get my memories back. After I did he could've just kicked me back out onto the streets. However, he cared for me. Like any father would do.
I heard something moved into the doorway beside us. Breaking me out of my thoughts. I turned my head, seeing Bucky standing at the doorway. Afraid to walk in without being invited. His eyes shifted over to my wound looking concerned.
"Are you going to be okay?" Bucky asked. His voice quiet. The guilt written all over his face. Clint gave me one last solid poke before finishing the stitch. I grunted in pain. I could tell he did that one purposely to make Bucky feel bad.
"With her recovery rate she'll be good as new in a day or two." Clint said as he cleaned up his mess. He pulled out some ointment and tossed it to Bucky. Bucky caught it in his hands. He looked down at it confused. "I have to go. Put that on the rest of her wounds."
Clint began to walk out the room as he continued, "I sent Laura and the kids off. Don't let anyone destroy the house if they find you." He stopped at the door and looked up at Bucky. He patted his chest and smirked, "Don't let her open up those stitches in any fights."
Bucky nodded silently. Clint looked over at me giving me one last smile before grabbing his bag. He walked out the room, and out of the house. I looked away from Bucky as he moved close to me. He took Clints spot and opened up the container.
We sat silently as he placed some on his finger. He reached over to me slowly. My body reacted on its own. I flinched away. I closed my eyes in guilt as Bucky brought his hand down. I turned to him, his blue eyes locking with mine. For the first time I could see life back in his blue ords.
"I won't hurt you, I promise." He said quietly. I nodded lightly and turned back away. I felt as the cold ointment hit my skin with his warm fingers. I took in a sharp breath. I could feel the heat in my body rise. I wasn't sure if it was caused by the burning of the ointment or the feeling of his touch for the first time in years.
He finished, and pulled away. I turned to him as his eyes scanned my side. He noticed the the few scars on my skin.
"Did I do those, too?" He asked. I shook my head and pulled my shirt back down. I turned to him and gave him a small sad smile.
"Some...not all." I said quietly. His eyes shifted around the room. The pain developing on his face. His breathing became heavy. I could see tears beginning to form in his eyes. I felt the guilt wash over me. He had been struggling so much with all this.
I placed my hand on his cheek and forced him to look at me. A tear rolled down his other cheek. His eyes locked into mine.
"I'm sorry." He choked. I could tell me meant it.
I just gave him a small nod, "You didn't know what you were doing. It's not your fault."
He closed his and buried his head deeper into my hand. I just smiled. Beginning to feel comfortable with him again. Right now Bucky was really back. He opened his eyes and locked into mine again. He shifted his head so my palm was over his mouth. He placed as soft kiss onto it. With that simple move all the fear I had shattered. Reminding me just what I loved about Bucky.
I smiled. His lips were still so soft. I pulled my hand away slowly and stood up. His eyes followed me. I grabbed his hand and leaned back down.
"Come on." I said quietly, "Lets go raid Clint's fridge."
Bucky let out a low chuckle. He smiled at me as he stood up, not taking his hand out of mine.
We sat on Clints couch with an assortment of food. All microwavable of course. Bucky sat with his plate completely empty. I couldn't help but laugh. The food Hydra would give us was the worst. I could only imagine how good anything else was compared to it. Especially eating it on and off for seventy years.
I leaned my arm against the back of the couch. My head in my hand. I just watched him with a smile.
"You know what always impressed me?" he asked as he set his plate down. I raised my eyes at him as he continued, "How comfortable couches are now. They feel like..."
"Sitting on a marshmallow." I finished for him, "I felt that way when I returned to Shield. It's almost not comfortable. Beds feel that way too." I sighed and picked up my drink. I looked down at the condensation dripping down it and onto my hands, "I used to sleep on the floor because it was uncomfortable. Until Tony got mad at me. Would tell me he didn't buy and expensive luxury bed just to sleep on the floor."
I chuckled a bit, thinking back to my time with Tony. A sad smile appeared on my face. Bucky seemed to notice it. I took a swig of my drink to hide the sadness on my face. It wasn't working though.
"Come here." Bucky motioned to me. I took a deep breath. I set my drink down and crawled over to Bucky. He held his arms out as I positioned my body between his legs. I leaned my back against his chest, resting my head back onto his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding his hands in mine.
"Things will fall into place soon." He said quietly as he rested his chin onto my shoulder. I sighed and closed my eyes. He pressed his cheek onto mine, the warmth of his body cooling me down.
"How many times have we said that?" I said quietly. We always ended up in the same place. Alone together for a little while. Things feeling normal. Until the next battle came and we were separated again. I leaned back to the side so I could look at him. He just stared down at me with a soft smile. He lifted his hands us and ran his fingers across my face.
"In my opinion, I'd fight through another seventy years of battle...if it meant I was going to be with you at the end." he said. I thinned my lips in a smile. I lifted my head up and brushed my lips against his. He leaned down closing the gap.
His lips moved against mine softly. His taste was everything I remembered it being. He deepened the kiss as he clutched tightly to me. This time I could feel the longing and hunger he had been holding. He pulled away slightly as we both caught our breath. He didn't give me long to do so however.
In one swift motion he flipped my body around. I laid on my, his body between my legs. A smirk fell on his face as he looked down at me. He leaned down and pressed his lips back onto mine moving hungrily. I grabbed his face into my hands and pulled him away.
"Clint will kill us if we do this here." I whispered.
"I can take him." Bucky scoffed as he nuzzled his nose against mine. I chuckled before he placed his lips back onto mine. Continuing on.