Daydreams

"Where The Two Lakes Meet"

Hello, This chapter takes place 15 years later after Steve died. Natalee and James are living with Bucky now.  Natalee is now 15 years old and James is 29 years old. This is still in James' POV until the next chapter where it'll be in Bucky's POV. In this chapter, if anything is italicized, it's indicating one of the characters are having a flashback.

Please enjoy and thank you for reading.

I open the door to the house and roll my suitcase beside the door frame. I've been in college for 10 years and decided to take a visit home before I do anything else. I suddenly hear a young girl's voice. "James?" I look up to see a beautiful redhead. A redhead that looked exactly like how mom used to. Then I realize, "Natalee?" She had inherited mom's Emerald eyes. 

Natalee rushed to me and I pull her into a hug and raised her into the air. I hear her softly sob as she tilts her face deeper into my neck. Natalee whispers into my ear, "I've missed you so much." Overwhelmed by how much my little sister has grown, I whisper back, "I've missed you too." I set her back on the ground, and we part our embrace. Natalee still has her hands on my shoulders, and I still have my hands on her waist. Niether of us wants to break our contact. We continue to rest in each others gazes until Uncle Bucky comes out of his room. He immediately recognizes me, but is shocked. Uncle Bucky chuckles, "Dang, you look so much like you father minus the shield and suit. Welcome home , kid." Uncle Bucky embraces me. When we part, Natalee takes me by the wrist and into her room, "There's something I need to tell you," she says once her bedroom door closes. 

"What is it, Nat." 

"I've been having these . . . head-aches," she replies hesitantly.

I tense up. I suddenly feel a stingy pain. I groan at the pain and raise my hand to my head, whie the other one is holding Natalee's bottle. I hear a voice. It's mom. "James." 

"-James . . . hello," Natalee noticed I dozed off. I shake my head, "yes, sorry I-uh-dozed off. Please continue." 

Natalee acknowledges that I'm back in the present and tells me her story. "A-At random times in the day, my vision gets blurry, and if I'm watching T.V. or my friends are talking, My hearing fades." I look down for a moment. "Those are the same symptons, I had of those 'head-aches' after I heard mom died . . ." I mutter to myself.

"What was that," Natalee asks, suddenly aware I said something. 

"Nothing," I reply quickly but calmly. Natalee looks at me suspiciously before continuing. "Then I hear this woman's voice. She keeps repeating the same mantra."

"How long have these 'Head-aches' been going on, Nat?" I ask. She replies. "Ever sinse you left for college 10 years ago." She takes a heavy breathe. "And this lady has been repeating the same mantra for ten years, that I've memorized it. She always says-"

"Find where the two lakes meet. Find where the Snake bites his own tail. Where truth is revealed behind Space and Sacrifice." I mutter, loud enough for Natalee to hear. She looks at me confused. "How do you know that?" 

"Natalee," I look down and ruffle my hair. "That 'lady' isn't some lady. That lady is mom."

"How do you know the mantra?" 

"It's not a mantra, Natalee," I tell, determination in my voice. "It's code." I get up from her bed and look into her mirror. "I've been trying to decipher it ever since I found out the stupid "Mantra" was code."  I sigh, trying to calm down my tone. "It's why I went to college in the first place." 

"What do you mean, James?" Natalee asks, confused. 

"I went to a Code School, it's a college that teaches you to decipher code, but apparently the college I went wasn't the type of code that mom is sending to us." I reply gently. 

"H-how do you know that it's a code?" Natalee comes up behind me and places her hand on my shoulder.

I sigh. "Our mom is an assassin, a Russian Spy, and an Avenger. Everything mom did revolved speaking in code to keep secrecy. You don't know what the Avengers are because after dad died, all the members went into hiding.Got new identities and such." 

"You're making mom sound like the Black Widow," She says jokingly. I open my mouth to say 'she is' but I close it and stay silent. She scoffs, then looks at my expression and her face turns to shock. "Wait you're serious?" I nod. "What next? You're gonna say that dad was Captain America," She teases. I suck in a breathe, "Well . . ." Natalee's face is in the expression of shock once more. I wince, "Aaaand Uncle Bucky is The Winter Soldier and Uncle Clint is Hawkeye." Natalee just blinks in shock. 

I change the topic back to her 'Head-aches'. "Speaking of Uncle Bucky, have you told him about these 'Head-aches'?" She shakes her head. " No, I just thought it was a fragment of my imagination, but lately the 'Head-Aches' have gotten worse." 

I sigh solemnly. "I'm sorry, Natalee," I tell her.

"For what, James? You've done nothing wrong," She replies softly.

"I should've told you all of this sooner," I apologize. 

"James, look at me. You didn't tell me, to spare me the pain, it's fine. I understand. And speaking of 'code', I managed to decipher a little bit of the Mantra. Just the first line though."

"Do tell, lil' sis."

"That's just it, there's nothing to tell. The only decryption I could get off the first line is from HYDRA's Classified Files that got released into social media by Black Widow, or mom. I could only find this."

Natalee passes me a piece of paper, with notes scribbled on it. It's a foreign langue. "This is-"

"Russian, I know. It was the only thing I could find. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who speaks Russian." She sighs in defeat. 

I smirk, "Yes, we do." Natalee looked at me. "Really? Who?"

"Uncle Bucky."

"Then let's go," She takes the piece of paper from my hand and walks out the door. I follow her into the kitchen where Uncle Bucky is cooking lunch. "Uncle Bucky!" Natalee called, "We need your help with something."

Uncle Bucky wiped his hands on a towel and turned our way. "Sure, kiddos, what'ya need?" Natalee handed him the piece of paper and he immediately started reading over it. "Can you translate that for us?" Uncle Bucky tensed up when read it all. He looked back us with a blazing fire in his eyes that we've never seen before. His voice full with hot fir and fury as he spoke six words.

"Where did you two get this?"