AMERICA'S POV
I've never been to Romania as far as I can remember. I can't tell if I like it. Maybe under different circumstances, I'd feel comfortable, but as the sun rises over Bucharest, all I feel is nerves. This could be a dead end, and then the UN will find me, and who knows what will happen.
I weave my way through the crowded market, keeping my head down. My hoodie may hide my signature coppery hair, but it's not at all a good disguise. I search for familiar faces to no avail. Bucharest was the only lead I had. No specifics.
I check my phone for what feels like the hundredth time in the last hour. Still no word from Steve. I'm on my own.
A little girl with blonde pigtails runs past me to a flower stand, eyeing the roses longingly. I smile and approach the woman selling them.
"How much for one?" I ask in Romanian, praying that I worded my request correctly. I'm multilingual, but I'm rusty with a lot of my languages.
"Five." I count out the coins and hand it to the woman before plucking a pink rose out of the bunch. Smiling, I turn to the little girl and bend down.
"For you." Her green eyes light up as I offer her the flower.
"Mama! Look!" She calls, giggling as she runs through the crowd. I grin, straighten up and brush my pants off. Kids are so innocent. It's a shame they have to grow up.
I grew up too fast. I didn't have a choice.
I bump into someone while trying to leave. I turn, ready to apologize, but instead, I stare. Everything around me freezes.
The young woman who ran into me stares back with wide, blue eyes. Her light brown hair is swept up into a ponytail, and she keeps one hand in her coat pocket at all time.
The Winter Warrior.
I'm sure it's her. And judging by her expression, she recognizes me, too.
She tilts her head to the side and immediately takes off. I understand and follow her until we've reached an abandoned alleyway. There, she turns to me.
"Is it really you?" She whispers, not daring to believe herself. "Night Wind?"
"You're the Winter Warrior," I breathe. "I can't believe you're here. What- how are you here?"
"I can't believe I'm actually seeing you again." I wonder whether I should hug her or not, but it's not really the time. "You escaped. A while later, I did the same."
"I'm not Night Wind anymore. Call me America," I say, holding out a hand. She takes it, and through the glove, I feel her metal fingers.
"I'm Anna."
My eyes widen. "Anna?"
"Yes," she says slowly. "Is something wrong?"
I break our handshake and pull up the corner of my shirt.
Annika.
I must have remembered incorrectly. I'm sure I never met anyone named Annika, but I did meet an Anna.
"You're the last one I remembered," I say, mostly to myself. She doesn't comment on my revelation.
Instead, Anna asks me, "why are you in Bucharest? Is someone after you?"
"Probably at this point, but that's not why I'm here. I'm looking for one of us. James Buchanan Barnes. The Winter Soldier. Do you know him?"
She stiffens at my question. "Why?"
"He's my... he's someone I used to know. I've been trying to find him for years now, but the UN is accusing him of a bombing in Vienna. I saw the footage. That wasn't him. And they'll come if they already aren't on their way."
"Does anyone know that you're here?"
"No. I came by myself. No one knows."
She knows. And I understand her hesitation. She's trying to decide if she wants to trust me.
"Follow me." I smile gratefully, but she's already moving. She leads me to an older apartment building, where we climb up a very long, twisting set of musty stairs. I sneeze a few times, but the dust doesn't seem to bother her. Maybe she's used to it. She pushes open a door to reveal a small but relatively clean apartment.
Anna drops her bag on the kitchen table and peers around. "Buck? Where are you?"
"Anna? You sound nervous, is everything-?" He halts in the doorway when he sees me. "What's going on?"
"It's kind of a long story, but we don't have time for it. Can I sit?" The two of them nod, so I slide into a seat at the table. "You should, too."
They both do as I suggest. I play with my ring for a moment before looking up. "She remembers me. Do you?"
Bucky's blue eyes almost remind me of Steve's, and when he smiles, there's that same spark of warmth there. "Our pasts are all pretty tangled up, America." There's humor in his voice. I'm just glad I don't have to explain who I am. "How did you get yourself roped into the Avengers?"
"Ran into them," I say vaguely, although in a way, that is the truth. "Have either of you guys seen the news today?" They both shake their heads, so I pass a newspaper from my bag across the table. Bucky picks it up and reads the headline. A faint crease appears between his eyebrows.
"I wasn't there. You can ask Anna, I've been here the whole time," he says defensively. He actually thinks I'm here to turn him in.
"I know. I saw it on the news and knew the guy in the video isn't you. I'm here by myself. I escaped the Avengers compound to warn you. They're going to come."
"You escaped?" Anna asks, concern flitting through her eyes. "What happened?"
"The UN wants us under their supervision. I agreed because after all of this time, no one trusts me. You two get it, what it's like trying to go back to normal after Hydra," I say. "I was supposed to go to Vienna, but they basically put me under house arrest, so I left. My plan was to go to the signing by myself, but I heard about this and tracked you here."
"And you were able to find me? Just like that?"
I shake my head. "Steve and I have been searching for at least a year, since Washington. I just broke into a lot of SHIELD files to get the final pieces. But if I could manage to do that on the plane ride here, the UN isn't far behind."
"Steve?" Anna asks, frowning.
"Yeah, Steve. I-"
The door opens, effectively cutting me off. We all whip our heads around to find Steve in his Captain America suit, looking shocked at our group. I guess that makes sense. But within seconds, I realize it isn't just because I'm here.
"Anna?" He asks, as if he's unable to believe it.
"Steve," she says, twirling a piece of hair nervously. I look back and forth between the two of them, confused.
"Am I missing something here?"
"That's my sister," Steve says, still in shock.
"Your sister?" I walk over to him. "You have a sister I never knew about, and you thought I had family issues?"
"Why are there always weird reunions when the group of us is together?"
"You weren't answering my calls!" I scold, slapping his face lightly. This definitely takes his attention off of the other two.
"I thought you were going to be in Vienna!"
"I was until Vision and Tony locked me in the house!"
"They what?"
"I'm sorry, but now I think we're missing something here now," Bucky says with raised eyebrows, pointing to the two of us.
"She's my wife," Steve answers shortly.
"Your wife?" Anna asks, eyes wide.
"Do you know me?" Steve asks his friend. I was hoping for a bit of a warmer reunion, but I guess it's good to see my husband anyway.
"You're Steve," he answers. The easygoing guy I conversed with a few minutes ago is gone, replaced by a nervous man. "I read about you in a museum."
"I know you're nervous. And you have plenty of reason to be. But you're lying."
"Steve, what's going on?" I whisper in an urgent tone.
"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore."
"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive."
"That's smart. Good strategy."
"Buck," Anna reproaches him.
"Anna, I have no idea how you're here, or how you're even alive, but we'll talk later. For now, get out of here before they find you," Steve tells his sister. She hesitates, but once Bucky nods at her, she nods and leaves instantly. I can only hope she takes a safe way. "This doesn't have end in a fight, Buck."
"It always ends in a fight."
"Steve-"
"You pulled me from the river. Why?"
"I don't know."
"Steve-"
"Yes, you do."
"Steve!" I yell just as a grenade bursts through the window. Bucky kicks it to Steve, who covers the explosion with his shield.
Everything starts to happen so quickly that I can barely process. Men break down the doors, swing in through windows, all armed and dangerous. I duck behind the table as the firing begins, but there's no way I can stay there. I get up and run over to the protection of Steve's shield, kicking a few guys over as I do. Someone grabs me from the back, and I throw him over my shoulders and onto the floor. The other two, specifically Bucky, are doing more damage. When Bucky slams an officer against the wall, I gasp.
"James, stop!" I shriek. "You're going to kill someone!"
His eyes are dark as he punches through the floor and grabs a small black bookbag. "I'm not gonna kill anyone."
He tosses the bag out the window as reinforcements come in through the busted-open door. They immediately start to shoot, and Bucky shoves me behind him, deflecting the bullets with his arm until Steve holds up his shield. I duck out from under the shield and run to take out a few of them. I almost get shot, which causes me to roll my eyes, but my sparring sessions with Pietro have paid off. I'm faster than ever. I've taken out at least four when something hits me in the back of the head, hard. I stumble over, momentarily seeing stars. Concussion, most likely. After a minute, Steve runs over to me.
"Doll, you okay?" he asks, pulling me up. I nod, ignoring the dull throb in my head.
"Yeah, I think so. Where's Bucky?"
"Down the stairs. We can still get him." I know what he's asking me to do.
"Some honeymoon, huh?" I mutter, pulling him in for a quick kiss before taking off after Bucky.
I have nothing fun to say.