She Made The Wish △ Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers

Chapter 3: How I Met You

The sun shined down over the bright city of DC, including one small cafe in the downtown district where Ophelia and Steve were meeting for the second time. Steve pulled out her chair behind her- of course he did, that gentleman- and she plopped down onto the metal seat. He then walked around the table and took the seat across from hers, both within lines of the sun's rays.

"It's nice to finally meet you again, ma'am." At any other time, Ophelia would have swooned at the man's politeness, especially since the man that was currently talking to her was none other than Steve Rogers. But, since it was Steve Rogers himself talking to her, Ophelia found the power within herself to hold back her urges. She was determined not to embarrass herself- too much- in front of her first childhood hero.

"Oh, please, call me Ophelia."

"Ophelia," Steve smiled to himself, mulling her name over in his head. "It's nice to meet you again."

"Likewise." She held out her hand and received a firm shake- the type that her father would have thought came from a strong, worthy man. (Let's be real- we all know that Steve is worthy of everything.)

"Thank you." He gave her a nod before continuing, "So Fury has informed me of the basics of your situation, but it was all a bit vague. You don't have to answer anything if you don't want to, btu I just wanted to know a bit more to get a better handle on the situation. After all, Fury assigned be to be your official caretaker.

Ophelia wasn't sure whether she wanted to strangle or hug Fury for his actions, so she filed those thoughts away for another time. Instead she focused on what exactly she wanted to tell Steve. Obviously if Fury hadn't told him about her being from another universe she wasn't supposed to tell, but she couldn't help but be tempted by the idea. If she did tell, she could help Steve find her favorite character of all time- Bucky Barnes.

Knowing that her was out there in the world somewhere was quite surreal to her, but she forced herself to get over that and think of how to help him. Yes, of course she was going to help him- she needed to help him. Knowing that he was out there in the world suffering on his own did not bode well with her, so it was only a matter of how she would help in her mind.

"Okay Steve," She leaned back in her chair, stretching her feet out under the table, "I most certainly know that there are going to be agents tailing us for a while at the very least, so I don't think I can tell you anything major for a while. But let me tell you this- I want to help you. I know that you're not having the best time right now, and it isn't going to be any easier for you here on out. However, I think that I can help you get through these coming times, and if we're lucky enough, I might be able to help you find Bucky."

Steve's eyes widened at the mention of his friend's name. "You know who Bucky is?"

Ophelia pointed to her head with both hands, a small smile forming on her face. "I know too much, remember?"

"With all due respect, ma'a- Ophelia, but how do I know this isn't some scheme that Fury came up with?"

"I don't think you can be sure, at least not for a while. I can't risk blowing my cover and getting myself in trouble with what's left of SHIELD; they're the only protection I've got. And even if I did tell you, you would never believe me, so I'm not even going to bother with my story right now." She sighed before leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table, "What I can tell you is that I may have an inkling of a clue as to how to find your friend. It may not be much, but I hope it will be enough to find him. Believe me, I want him to be safe as much as you do."

His eyes hardened as he looked her over, trying to see if she was lying. "I doubt that. If you really know this much, surely you know that he meant a whole lot to me. He was- is -my best friend."