The Russian and the American (Bucky 1940's)

Chapter 20

  After the battle of New York, Elizabeth has been helping Steve and catching him up. Elizabeth quit the mercenary life and is now helping out Fury. The two soldiers are sitting in Steve's living room while Elizabeth catches him up on the history books.

  "So you're telling me that in those seventy years, that there were like, four wars?" He asks.

  Elizabeth nods her head. She's leaning forward in her chair with her hands clasped.

  "And you were fighting on both sides?" He asks.

  "Not necessarily. The Cold War wasn't really a war. It was more so a political war where the U.S. and Russia were saying that we were going to nuke the other," explains Elizabeth.

  "I see. And you're alive, how again?"

  "When the 107th and I were taken captive I was given a drug that increased my super soldier serum, along with another one that helps me heal from anything and regrow limbs."

  "And Bucky?"

  "He survived the fall with only the loss of his arm. He was murdered and that's why I went into the mercenary business."

  "To find his killer, right?" Asks Steve.

  "Yes."

  "I can't believe it. He was alive and we didn't look. We both just assumed that you were both dead."

  "We mine as well have been," Elizabeth says looking away with a sigh.

  "And then later on you met Natasha, right?" He asks.

  "Yes. SHIELD found her. Peggy called me in asking for help. She wasn't adapting very well so she came and lived with me. I taught her what I knew and how not everyone there is out to kill her. I then passed the title down to her. I've been Rusalka for a while at that point. Once Peggy left, so did I and I left my position to Natasha."

  "And then you went back to being a mercenary?"

  "Yes," she answers.

  Steve stays silent. In reality all of this happened to him in the matter of a month. The battle of New York was two weeks ago which meant in Steve time, it was only a mater of weeks since he's last fought Red Skull. Elizabeth on the other hand has been fighting for seventy years straight. She's had her own life, and she can tell that Steve doesn't like the change. Or maybe he just can't process it all right now.

  "She's a good person. She deserves the title," Elizabeth states.

  "I'm sure she does, but, why Rusalka? What does that even mean?" Asks Steve.

  "Rusalka is the Russian water spirit. So I guess you could say it's just a call back to my past," she says.

  "And what's that? Falling in the snow back in 'forty four?"

  "I didn't have a great life. My mother was the town slut. All my siblings left as soon as they could, leaving me to take care of my father, He taught me everything there was to know about survive. He would put me through these, obstacle courses. essentially it was just him trying to kill me. There was a lake by where we lived. People said that that's where Rusalka lived, even seen sightings. But anyway, my father drowned me in it. I should have died but I didn't."

  "Jeeze. I never knew."

  "That's because you weren't supposed to. No one was."

  "Why didn't you tell us all of this?" He asks.

  "Because, I'm a Russian German fighting with the Americans. Not only that but a woman. A lot of people had it bad over in Germany and Russian the years leading up to the war. And even after was worse."

  "I see."

  A few weeks pass and Nat and Steve are out on a mission. One of SHIELDS ships have been taken by pirates. In that time, Elizabeth is still carrying on with her day to day life. As she's sitting there in her apartment alone, cleaning her guns, she gets up and walks over to her bed. She bends down and pull out a box underneath the bed.

  As she pulls it out there is a thick layer of dust on top of the box. She wipes her hand across the box and then lifts the lid off. Sitting in the small box is all of Bucky's belonging and pictures and files of him. Sitting on top of it all is his dog tags. Before they were separated they had switched tags, that way they would always have something to remember the other one by.

  Elizebeth lets out a sigh and her shoulders drop. She clutches onto the necklace with a sorrow filled face. She then undoes the necklace that hangs on her neck. She takes of the ring that is rapped around the chains and slides it off.

  The ring is small, perfectly fitting her slim long fingers. It's gold with a green emerald and swirls that are embedded into the gold. In the inside of the ring are two entails with a heart in between them. The first entail is a JB and on the other side is EA.

  She takes the int and slides it on the chain that holds her long lost beloveds dog tags. She then slips it over her neck and a single tear goes rolling down her cheek.

  Bucky had proposed to her a few weeks before their last mission. She cherished everything that she had of him. She even found the bottle of cologne that eh used to wear. Now it sits in the box with little liquid left, collecting dust. She then pulls out a photo of the two of them.

  The picture is an old black and white with water damage and lines going down either side. The love of her life had died sixty-eight years ago and yet it still feels like he died yesterday to Elizabeth. They were perfect for each other. The other one was the missing piece to their puzzle. Elizabeths small frame fitted perfectly in Bucky's strong broad body. Their hands, small, thin, and soft with big, calloused, thicker fingers, always entire twined with the other.

  No matter what Elizabeth will never forget her love, her rescuer, her beloved. She will also never forgive the Winter Soldier for killing her Bucky, her James.