"Sam, this is Ruth. Ruth, Sam," Bucky introduced as he and Ruth walked aboard the jet, Steve following close behind with the motorcycle in tow.
Sam held out his hand and shook Ruth's. "Heard a lot about you from this guy here," He said lightheartedly.
"You did?" Ruth asked with dread, but putting a smile on her face, turning to Bucky with her eyes wide.
"Don't worry," Bucky mouthed to her, turning to Steve. "And you met Steve already."
Steve parked the bike as the large plane door closed, turning to officially shake Ruth's hand, also handing her her backpack and helmet. "You were one heck of a shot out there. Thanks for covering me," Steve told her, trying to keep things civil. Truth was, he was nervous. Could he trust Bucky with this one? A former Hydra agent?
"It was the least I could do after you saved my ass in that alley," Ruth replied, standing beside Bucky whose face lit up in a smile. Hesitation still gripped him as he tried to gauge what Steve and Sam thought of her.
"Oh, Ruth," Sam started, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression serious, "I should probably tell you now that Steve doesn't like that kind of language. You should really watch your mouth around him." He broke out laughing, Bucky joining him.
"Oh come on, guys, that was one time!" Steve butted in, walking past them with a grin and starting the Quinjet back up.
Bucky looked down at Ruth, seeing the tiredness in her eyes. "Oh, here," Bucky offered, motioning towards a chair sat along the sides of the main galley of the jet. "Sit down, you're probably tired."
"Thank you," Ruth replied softly, taking a seat.
Bucky sat in the chair beside her, studying her face as she rummaged around in her backpack. He still couldn't believe she was sitting beside him. It felt like another reality, one he never saw coming. A million questions ran through his mind that he was dying to ask Ruth. What did she do? How did she handle being alone? Bucky's chest ached as he looked at how worn her face was. She probably hasn't slept in days. He just wished things could go back to the way they were in Bucharest.
Ruth took out the notebook of James's that she found in their apartment and held it tentatively in her hands. She glanced up to see where Sam and Steve were, relieved that they were at the cockpit and out of earshot. Ruth took a deep breath.
"So, Bucky, huh?" Ruth asked, a small smile emerging on her face.
Bucky angled in his seat to face Ruth, leaned against the back of the chair. He grinned, "Yeah, a lot's happened since...we've been apart."
A pang of guilt struck Ruth. She looked down at the journal, "Well, Bucky,"
"You can call me whatever you want, Ruth. I don't mind."
"No. A lot has changed and I'll respect that." She looked into his eyes for a moment, seeing the sorrow buried behind them, "Bucky, I...I want to say first of all that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. Every damn thing," Ruth spoke breathlessly.
"Ruth, you don't have to—"
"I'm so sorry that I left. There were so many times where I wanted to come back, where I almost came back, but I couldn't do it."
"Ruth, I understand."
"If I would have been there things could have been different. Maybe..." Emotion began to swell in Ruth's head. "Maybe I could have helped you get away from them. I could've talked to them. I...I could have done something."
"Or you could have died," Bucky said softly.
Ruth's tired eyes looked into his, "I thought you were dead." She rubbed her hand, not knowing how to grasp onto what she was feeling. "As soon as I saw the news about the terrorist attack I ran to get on a bus to go to Bucharest to find you, to get you out. But by the time I got there...it was too late."
Bucky stayed silent, wanting to hold Ruth, but not knowing how.
Ruth held the journal out for Bucky to take, "I found this when I went back to the apartment. Looked like you dropped it."
"Thank you," Bucky replied, holding the journal in his hands and flipping through it.
"I didn't read any of it," Ruth said honestly.
"It would have been ok if you did," Bucky told her, warmth in his expression. "I don't think there's anything in here I haven't or wouldn't have shared with you."
Ruth gave a small smile, inside filled with conflicting thoughts. He still trusted her.
"You still have that bracelet?" Ruth asked, pointing to his wrist.
Bucky gave a short laugh. "Yeah. I mean, you can't exactly abandon a friendship bracelet."
Ruth smiled and looked down at her own bracelet, tracing her thumb across the thread.
"And," Bucky began, rolling up his left sleeve, "I got a new piece of hardware." He held his arm out in front of Ruth.
"Wow, it looks great," she admired, leaning in to look closer. She furrowed her brows, "What happened to the other one?"
"Well..." Bucky hesitated, avoiding eye contact. "I lost it."
"What? How do you lose an arm?" She said teasingly.
"It's a long story, I'll tell you later," Bucky whispered, looking to make sure Steve wasn't walking in.
Ruth leaned back in her chair. "So, can you tell me where we're going?"
"To an Avengers base over in New York," Bucky replied. He placed his hand on Ruth's shoulder, "I promise this is really SHIELD. I wouldn't bring you there if it wasn't."
Ruth nodded. Her heart still racing with anticipation. "Who will be there? A lot of agents?"
"Well, there are going to be some lower level agents from time to time, but we have a separate living area for the higher ranking agents, you included, obviously."
"And who are all of the higher ranking agents?" Ruth asked.
"I didn't see anyone else when I was there. But I was told it would be, besides us three boys, Tony Stark, Colonel Rhodes, a woman named Wanda, a robot thing called Vision...I guess he used to be called Jarvis? Still getting used to that one."
"Anyone else?"
"And Natasha."
Ruth's stomach dropped. "Natasha Romanoff?"
"Yeah."
Shit.