The Newest Avenger ❤️

Chapter 4

Anna doesn't talk to Bucky about the almost kiss, them both seemingly avoiding each other over the next few months. She assumes whatever she had thought she felt between them as being one-sided. She didn't want to embarrass herself by bringing it up.

One afternoon Bucky is walking by Tony's office, and he hears Anna's voice as he stops outside the door. "I'm an adult dad! And I'm not only an Avenger, but I'm also a woman. And I'm going!"

He hears her make her way to the door, so he makes it seem like he's just passing by as she runs right into his chest. She wears jeans and a sexy black crop top and sweater, finishing the look off with black heels, making her eye level with him. "Where are you going?"

She rolls her eyes at him all of a sudden showing an interest in her and her whereabouts. "I have a date. Goodnight." She storms away from him without another word and he feels his heart sink to his stomach.

A date? Why was he so jealous? It wasn't as if he had any right to be jealous. He hadn't made a move since the night in the kitchen. He thought about it all the time, he should have kissed her outside her bedroom. And now it was too late.

***

Bucky decides to wait up for Anna, to make sure she made it safely back. He falls asleep on the couch and doesn't wake up until the morning. He leaps up off the couch in a jolt. Had he missed her while he slept? He runs to her room and finds it empty. When he comes back down to the kitchen, he finds Steve and Sharon having breakfast. "Did Anna come home last night?"

Sharon laughs. "Maybe she slept over at the guy's house. Why are you so worried Buck?"

He doesn't know why, but he feels as if something is wrong. "Don't call me Buck. I don't know what it is, but there is something wrong, Steve." He looks up at Steve worriedly as he shrugs.

"I'm sure she's fine Buck. She'll be back soon." He tries to play it off, but the worry in Bucky's eyes worried him.

***

As Anna walks to where she is meant to meet her date, she is knocked from behind in the head as everything goes black. When she wakes, up she is in what appears to be a dark warehouse. Her head throbs and her arms are tied above her head. She hears someone walking slowly towards her from behind. Before he makes it in front of her, she hears the voice that she still hears at night when she tries to sleep. She hears the voice that makes her sick to her stomach.

"Tatianna! It's so good of you to make your way back to me."

Tears well in her eyes as she comes face to face with him. Giant burn marks now inhabit the side of his face and scalp. How is he still alive? "Dreykov?"

He grabs her face with a wicked grin. "Ah! You do remember me!"

Anna does everything she can to keep her stomach contents fully where they belong as she tries to shake off his grip. "You've made a mistake this time, they'll come for me."

He laughs and lets go of her face. "Who? The Avengers? They don't care about you. I'm your real father. I raised you. I'm your papa."

Anna spits in his face, disgusted. "You were never my family. You were my captor, my abuser, my r-." Before she can finish, she feels the stinging of the back of his hand on her cheek.

"Don't worry, we will restart up the Red Room, and you can help me train a whole new group of girls."

Anna lets out a chuckle, shaking her head. "It would be easier if you just kill me. I will never help you."

Dreykov looks amused as he shrugs cockily. "Maybe not willingly."

She groans as she feels a shot in the back of her neck just before everything goes black again.

***

Bucky storms into Tony's office followed closely by Steve. "Um, you ever heard of knocking?"

"It's Anna, she is missing. She never came home last night, and nobody can get ahold of her. Her phone is off." Bucky begins to pace angrily in front of Tony's desk as Steve crosses his arms over his chest, standing stoically.

Tony stands up from his desk, he looks worried but tries to remain calm. "Okay. Okay. Let's see if we can track her."

Steve speaks up with a sigh. "How? Her phone is off."

Tony grabs a tablet from his desk, a guilty look on his face. "I may have had a tracker implanted in one of her teeth when she was younger."

Steve scoffs, not believing what he is hearing. "What? How could you do that?"

"I was worried someone would come and try to take her again. I just wanted to protect her. I've never used it."

Bucky steps forward before Steve can interject. "Find her. Please."

Steve had never seen Bucky so worried before. When he said please, he said it softly, almost pleading with Stark. It was only then that Steve realized that he wasn't the only one who had growing feelings for Anna, and he certainly wasn't the only one that cared about her.

"I found her. She's in Russia, just outside of Kazan."

Bucky starts to storm out when Steve grabs his arm. "Buck wait, we need a plan and Nat."

Bucky breaks his arm free, urgency and dread filling him. "No, I just need to find her, now."

Steve and Bucky meet Natasha in the hangar to find her already dressed, and with the coordinates.

"I should be coming with you guys." Tony insists as Steve shakes his head adamantly.

"We can't have Iron Man storming in there. If they see you, they could kill her. We need stealth. And we need you to have Dr. Cho and Bruce on standby in case they are needed."

As Nat flies to the coordinates Steve and Bucky sit across from each other in silence. Steve finally breaks the silence with a sigh. "You aren't the only one that cares about her you know."

Bucky chuckles and looks back at him, leaning back in his seat. "I know that. But how does Sharon feel about that?"

Steve scoffs, slightly taken aback. He didn't realize anyone really noticed his feelings for Anna. "I, I didn't mean care about her in that way."

Bucky laughs as Steve looks away to the floor. "Don't be stupid Steve, I know you better than anyone. I see the way you look at her when she isn't looking. And vice versa. Don't pretend like I'm stupid."

Steve looks back at Bucky to notice the hurt in his eyes as he groans softly. "I'm sorry Buck. I don't know what to say." He looks down again, feeling guilty and ashamed. He had Sharon after all; he shouldn't be thinking about anyone else, let alone Anna.

They decide not to talk for the rest of the flight. Bucky can't understand why Steve would feel some sort of authority over Anna. He had Sharon. He was being selfish, and that just wasn't like him. If he truly wanted Anna, he could have her. Instead, he kept her just at arm's distance, making it impossible for Bucky to have her either.

When they make it to the warehouse, they find it empty. The three of them search around, feeling her presence before they can see her. Anna jumps down from a beam and knocks Bucky to the ground. He looks up at her and sees her blank expression. "Anna?" He asks, knowing she didn't know who they were.