The Valentin Series, Book 2: Angel of Vengeance ( Winter Soldier Fanfiction)

Chapter 14: Break

Angel gazed at the stars that were now quickly fading. She couldn't stay here with him, she should call for an extraction unit, but they were still too close to the SHIELD base. She could buy them a bit more time, a day or two more, but they couldn't stay in the cottage. They'd have to move. She could carry him from the house to the river bank, and then they could cross the river and head downstream from there.

But he had kissed her. She shook the thought away, it didn't matter; it shouldn't. The thing is, it did matter somehow. She hadn't felt so alive in a long time, not since Aaron, at least. She chanced a glance at him and found that the fading stars were also reflected in his eyes. What was he thinking? She wondered. It was such a gentle kiss, such a sweet little kiss she couldn't even begin to comprehend what it meant.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked suddenly, still not taking his eyes off the sky.

"How to get out of here alive," she answered honestly, mostly honestly at least.

"Got a plan yet?" he looked her in the eyes this time, and she saw that he looked torn.

Angel sighed and traced his features with her fingers, "Yes, but I don't like it much," she whispered tracing the outline of his lips.

"Why not?" he whispered against her fingertips.

"Because it means I have to take you back, and I want to stay here with you," she told him with a sad smile, "I kind of like the little bubble we've made for ourselves, don't you?"

He flashed an unguarded grin and her heart melted, "Yeah, I do."

"Why'd you kiss me, James?" she asked quietly, her eyes trained on his lips.

"I wanted to," he answered in the same softness, "it's been a while since I've done something I've wanted to do, I think."

She laughed softly and sat up, after a few seconds of staring out the lightening sky, she climbed on top of the Soldier, straddling him and putting her face just a hairsbreadth away from his.

She felt him hold his breath, felt his heart rate climb, and she smiled wickedly down at him. "Do you still want to kiss me, James Barnes?" she whispered, her hair falling in curtains around his face.

His metal arm came up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear so gently, like he thought he could break her if he moved too fast, the Soldier licked his lips slowly, "Hell yes," he whispered in answer.

"Good," Angel grinned and she lowered her head and gently coaxed him into a slow kiss. He was gentle at first, as gentle as the very first time they had kissed that night, but Angel was made of tougher things than glass and she deepened the kiss. A guttural groan broke from his throat and Angel smiled at the sound.

He was going to be her undoing, but at the moment it didn't matter. All caution was thrown to the wind as his hands tightened around her hips and their kisses turned frantic.

She was going to break him, he could feel it happening. Somewhere inside him, something was snapping. The Soldier couldn't place it, he couldn't begin to understand it, but then, he did not understand a lot of things anymore. He didn't care. All that mattered was this woman giving him her kisses and making him feel human, making him feel like he had memories again. In a split second he felt it happen, somewhere in his mind something lifted, like a dam had been broken, and all of a sudden pictures started flashing behind his closed eyes, sensations, feelings, memories.

He sat up suddenly, bringing Angel with him; she pulled away quickly and looked at him with concern, "What is it love?" she asked, lips pink and swollen from their kisses.

He looked at her with new eyes, knowing eyes, and Angel knew he remembered.

"I," he stammered, "I'm Sgt. James Buchanan Barnes, I was born on March 10, 1917, I have, or had, three younger siblings, I served in the 107th Infantry, and the Howling Commandos along with..." he looked at her with a panicked expression, "Steve Rogers, how could I forget Steve? Where is he?" he asked her.

"Hey, hey," she said softly, cupping his face in her hands, "Hey, slow down, handsome," she soothed, "Slowly with the memory recall, you'll bust a nerve or something," she smiled sweetly.

"Ok," he took a deep breath, "ok, yeah, slow."

"Alright then, Sarge," she pushed some of his long hair away from his face and gave him a small kiss on the lips, "Tell me a story."

~~~~

The extraction went without incident, and Angel was now sitting in her New York apartment, sifting through the internet with whatever information The Soldier had given her about himself. Rebecca Barnes was the only living sibling left, and Angel tried to find anything the internet had on her. Old photographs, memorials, anything. Anything she could tell him the next time they saw each other again. They had spent the remainder of their stay in the forest trekking down river and he was telling her about his childhood and how he'd met this scrawny little boy who could never back down from a fight. Steve Rogers was his name, and she could tell he cared a great deal about that boy, but she'd find him later.

In the middle of her research her phone rang, "Angel," she answered.

"We have a few questions," Rumlow's voice came from the other end.

"Ask," she ordered curtly, she acted impatient, like she didn't have time for his games, but her palms were sweating. Please let James be alright, please.

"Did anything happen in Romania?" Rumlow asked.

"Aside from an additional 48 dead bodies to add to my already bloody ledger?" she questioned right back, "I'll need my pay increased by the way."

"Anything unusual," Rumlow huffed.

"No," she answered, "he followed orders, I got a few scrapes, and you extracted us when I thought it was safe for both your company and my well being."

Rumlow hummed into the receiver, "He didn't feed you information on... certain topics?"

"Rumlow, are you telling me I have been bringing in an asset that actually remembers things?" she asked incredulously, "you guaranteed he would remember nothing; that is why I agreed to do the job."

"No, of course he doesn't remember, we're just checking," he answered tiredly.

"Good," she said in a mock-relieved tone, "because I need my identity as secret as possible."

"As long as you do everything according to plan, Angel, you'll be safe, understood?" he said.

"Is that a threat?" she asked.

"It's a warning," he answered, then hung up.

Angel slumped in her chair, "Ah, shit," she sighed. She was getting in too deep with this one. Aaron was right. She was slipping. She needed to get this out of her system; she shut down her computer and decided maybe another job, somewhere exotic, would take her mind off whatever it was she was feeling.

Just then, one of her other secured phones bleeped.

Cairo, £700,000

If available contact in next 20 mins. Extraction only. Other liabilities on field.

"Extraction in Cairo with an obstacle course; that sounds like fun," she grinned mischievously and dialed the number.

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So here's the update! :) it's not much, but don't worry. another Marvel character is going to meet Angel in the next chapter. Also, please leave a comment, i love hearing your thoughts about this story.

love love,

~A2V~