RAISON D'ÊTRE ( bucky barnes ) 一 under editing

THIRTEENTH

RAISON D'ÊTRE
THIRTEENTH

HIS EYES HAD WANDERED TO and fro, staring at the tiny flames of the candles then back to the spell book (grimoire, she had corrected him) settled in Rome's lap as she chanted the spell. He'd seen her do magic before, only a handful of times, but those had all been offensive spells. Magic meant to attack and hurt, and he'd never had the opportunity to really focus on what was happening. All he knew was that one moment, an angry shout fell past Rome's lips and the next second, someone was writing on the ground in pain. But seeing this up close, he thought it was beautiful. There was something utterly beautiful about the way she spoke, the way her hands moved, and he thought Rome has never looked lovelier before.

"Phasmatos radium calaraa." Rome's eyes remained shut, hands hovering over a small bowl in front of her. Inside held a few drops of his blood from when he'd pricked his finger and a tiny strand of hair Rome had cut for him. Occasionally the candles would flicker. "Phasmatos radium calaraa. Phasmatos radium calaraa." She repeated the words over and over, so much so that he was sure they were to be drilled into his mind.

Out of all the languages HYDRA had shoved in his head, Latin was surprisingly not one of them, so he'd no clue as to the meaning behind the words. Apparently their reasoning was because it was a dead language, that it'd be of no true use to them. Rome had explained to him that the spell was one meant for cloaking, hide him away from anyone who dared tried to find him.

Rome stopped speaking and opened her eyes slowly. The candles extinguished themselves and she let out a small sigh, her hands dropped back to her lap. One of her fingers twitched against the grimoire pages. "It's done," she said. She lifted one of her hands and waved the smoke away from the candles. "Now you'll be safe. No one can track you, unless someone as powerful as me can break the spell." She smirked to herself about that fact; there were only two people left in the world who could do that, but she'd seen neither of her cousins in a very long time. Besides, why the hell would Aline and Maggie want to find someone like the Winter Soldier?

He reached out and grabbed his hand, encompassing it with both of his larger hands. A tiny thought shot through his head, one that commented how he thought it was a little cute how small she was compared to him, but he shoved it away quickly. "Thank you," he said, a thankful yet small grin on his face.

"You're welcome, soldier," Rome said. The blonde placed her other hand over his, and returned his smile.

"Bucky," he corrected.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"My name... I think it's Bucky..." His brows were furrowed and his lips pursed, but he nodded to himself. "At least, that's what the man on the bridge said." He looked down at their hands.

Rome cheeks instantly flushed red when she realized they were still holding hands, and she slowly withdrew hers. She cleared her throat. "Do you know who he was?"

"Steve Rogers," the Winter Soldier 一 no, Bucky 一 said, "Captain America. I was supposed to kill him but... I think I knew him..." He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration, pressing a hand to his aching head.

She had no idea how much it must anger him to not be able to tell reality from illusion, fact from fiction. "Hey, don't push yourself," Rome spoke in a comforting tone, leaning forward to take his hand from his face. "It's okay if you can't remember now. I promised you I'd help, didn't I?" She told him she'd help get his memories back and this minor setback wasn't going to stop her. Bucky was going to remember his past 一 he was going to know his home and his family and his favorites and dislikes and anything else he'd think of. He was going to know it all. 

Quietly, Rome hummed to herself. "Captain America," she said under her breath. The name sounded familiar but not enough to pull up any memories. HYDRA kept so much from her and prevented her from knowing anything of the outside world, so she wouldn't be surprised if this Captain America person happened to be someone famous. "I think the Smithsonian has an exhibit on him. Do you think there'll be anything there?" 

"Maybe."

∞  ∞  ∞

After placing a glamour spell on the two, disguising them both to look like two ordinary people on a little trip to the museum, Rome and Bucky had set off. Despite all the effort Rome had done, however, the ex-assassin had still grabbed a thick jacket and a baseball cap to cover up. Even then, they still looked like an unsuspecting duo.

Rome made sure to cling to his side, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "If you're feeling... uncomfortable," she whispered to him as they passed by a large group of students, "we can leave. You don't have to do this right now." While she understood his desperation to know the truth, she did want him to pace himself and not stress himself out. 

"Yes, I do," he whispered back. He reached over and took her hand in his.

She struggled to keep her blush hidden from her cheeks, but she was glad that Bucky's stare was kept forward. Since their escape from HYDRA, her longing to be with him had only increased, and she found herself relishing in every one of his touches and glances. However there was something tugging at the back of her head, something horrible thought that told her this might be too good to be true. They'd been together for so long, cared for one another for years, and suddenly they're given this chance to just... be together? A part of her was worried that HYDRA would once again rise and take them back, lock them away from each other until the end of time. And yet as she held his hand, allowing him to tug her with him through the throngs of people, Rome saw the determination shining in his blue eyes and she pushed those thoughts away. She'd allow herself to believe just a little longer. 

"Here," Rome said, pointing to a large sign. They turned down a long hallway and was instantly greeted by a video, introducing them to the Captain America exhibit. 

She hadn't realized how much of a hero this Steve Rogers was, but apparently he was a big deal. Multiple videos displayed his heroism and interviews with people talked about his kindness despite the harsh wartimes. Exhibits displayed all sorts of things, and there was even a tiny replica in one corner that had shown his tiny childhood bedroom. Her and Bucky continued walking in a comfortable silence, eyes wandering before latching onto a familiar face. The plaque in front of them was large, transparent but Rome could still read the words written on it. Next to it was her soldier, only he looked younger and happier. The man in the picture had a cleanly shaven jaw, short hair that she thought suited him. 

Slowly, Rome turned to look at her soldier, but she only saw his profile. His jaw was clenched tightly and there was a range of emotions in his eyes, and she found herself not being able to figure out any one of them.

So she squeezed his hand as hard as she could. I'm here, she wanted to say, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. The witch moved and leaned her head against his shoulder.

And he squeezed back.

A/N: fun fact: in the movie, they had two different
years labeled for bucky's birthday in the smithsonian
(1916 & 1917)