Eunoia [Bucky Barnes]

chapter 16

"Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?" Nat asked Steve as they began the drive to New Jersey. Ava sat in the back and rested her head against the seat as she listened to the conversation, closing her eyes.

"Nazi Germany." Steve told Nat, making her hum. "And we're borrowing. Take your feet off the dash." Nat slipped her feet down as she smiled slightly.

"Alright, I have a question for you, oh, which you do not have to answer. I feel like if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know?" She began, as Steve interrupted her quickly.

"What?" He asked making Nat smirked.

"Was that your first kiss since 1945?" She smiled, causing Ava's head to also turn towards Steve. As much as she hated to admit it, even Ava had not kissed someone since waking up. The guilt she felt every time she got close was unbearable.

"That bad, huh?" Steve began nodding as Ava smiled at his answer.

"I didn't say that."

"Well, it kind of sounds like that's what you're saying."

"No, I didn't. I just wondered how much practice you've had." Nat now turned in her seat to face Steve a bit more, making Steve scoff.

"You don't need practice."

"Everybody needs practice." Nat argued back.

"It was not my first kiss since 1945. I'm ninety-five, I'm not dead."

"What about you, Ava, found anyone special?" Nat asked, turning in her seat to see her, making Ava tense up slightly.

"No, actually." She answered, waiting for the topic to drop. "I'm also not looking before you pull a 'Project Steve' on me."

"Rodgers?"

"Believe it or not, it's kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience." Steve laughed a little as he continued to look ahead at the road.

"Well, that's alright, you just make something up." Nat told him, which made Steve shake his head.

"What, like you?"

"I don't know. The truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time. And neither am I." Nat smiled over at Steve as he just turned to look at her.

"That's a tough way to live."

"It's a good way not to die, though."

***

Ava let out a deep breath as she looked at where Steve had parked. In front of the car was an abandoned military base, but not just any base, the one where she and Steve had first been placed.

"This is it?" Steve asked Nat, as she took one last look at the signal.

"The file came from these coordinates." She clarified before walking towards the gate.

"So did I." Steve looked over at Ava, who gave a sad smile in return. Later that night, they continued walking around the camp, trying to pinpoint exactly where the signal came from. "This camp is where I was trained." Steve told Nat as she continued to scan every building.

"Changed much?" She enquired while still keeping attention on the scanner in her hand.

"A little." Ava answered for him as Steve suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking up at a flagpole. She began jogging forward as Steve just stared out into the open space, he had sure come a long way since this camp.

"This is a dead end. Zero heat signatures, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off." Nat informed the other two as she dropped the scanner into her pocket. Steve turned round to face the girls, but as he did, his face dropped a little. "What is it?"