The Seventh Avenger: Memories Never Die// Bucky Barnes

SEVENTEEN: THE TRUTH HURTS

          "Ward," I breathe, not quite believing that he is standing in front of me after all these weeks. It seems that he shares the same sentiment as he stands before me with his mouth agape, eyes very wide, and completely at loss for words. He very much resembles a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, but I pay no attention to this as a sudden burst of energy overcomes me. Without thinking, I launch forward and collide against him with a thud, hands locking around his neck to pull him down to meet me halfway.

          He's here- he's really here. This isn't just a trick of my imagination or a lie that my mind has cruelly conjured up to get me through the harsh reality that has become my everyday life. The body that has yet to return my embrace is real and warm, the crook of his neck wet with my tears as they slide down my face and slip off my chin as I bury my head closer towards him. I inhale deeply, taking in the rich, spicy scent of his cologne and the feel of his pulse beating rapidly against the side of my cheek, the sensation more than welcome as it proves that he really is here.

          He's here. He found me- the nightmare is over. We get to go home.

          This thought alone has me tightening my already choke-like hold on him, but he doesn't seem to care. Almost hesitantly, he reaches up to gently pat my back. Admittedly, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't expecting anything more than just this simple gesture after being reunited with him after weeks apart, but I blame it on his mind trying to catch up with seeing me in the flesh. Perhaps he hadn't thought that he would run into me so soon, or maybe he is so focused on whatever plan he has conjured up to free myself and the other captives in this place to show me anything more than a feeble than a pat on the back.

          I don't care though- I really don't. He's here and we get to go home.

          "Uh..."

          At the sound of the unsure voice, I loosen my hold on Ward and turn to face the only other person sill in the corridor with us. I watch as Adam shifts his weight from one foot to the other, his cautious eyes glancing between myself and a still very stunned Ward in my hold.

          "Er..." he trails off to clear his throat. "Do you- do you know this guard?"

          A grin that threatens to split my face in half tugs at my lips at the question, and it only causes Adam's obvious confusion to deepen. "He's not a guard, Adam. This is my partner, Ward. He's here to rescue us," I happily inform my friend, too caught up in the exhilarating relief that flows through my veins to notice Ward's troubled frown and the way that he blanches at my words when I turn back to face him.

          "How- how did you even find us?"

          I watch as he swallows thickly, his adam's apple bobbing up and down the action and prominently sticking out in the middle of his throat. His tongue darts out to dampen his chapped lips before he hoarsely informs me, "I've known about this place for a while now."

          "How? Can you tell me where we are?" I ask. But before he has time to even think of an answer, a thousand different questions begin to seep past my lips at an uncontrollable rate, not leaving any room for interjection;

          "How long has it been since I was taken? I try to keep count but the days just sort of blur together in this place. Are there any others with you? Please tell me that you brought back up. And Clint- how is he? And Laura and the kids- God, I miss them so much, and I've missed you as well. I just- I can't believe that you're really here-"

          On and on I ramble, fat, tears freely rolling down and dampening my face but I'm too caught up in everything to bother wiping them away. I can taste the salt from them on my lips as I speak, and my voice starts to quiver as a lump of thick emotion builds in the back of my throat as I think about how this nightmare will finally, finally come to an end. I'm so absorbed by them that I don't notice the way that Ward fails to meet my eyes with every question that I ask, and how Adam has started to slowly tread towards me, a frown tainting his lips as he stares at Ward with narrowed eyes. He doesn't stop until he is standing directly behind my shoulder, never drawing his gaze from my partner in front of us.