Battlefield ★ Bucky Barnes

XXVI. Anywhere Else

Bucky landed the Quinjet in its designated landing site with ease, switching the engine off after doing so. They had finally landed in Bucharest, and Bucky was feeling extremely relieved because of it. Being away from Washington and being away from the country he had made nothing but an enormous mess in made him feel so much better. Of course, the guilt of it all would forever remain inside him, but a chance to start over and further transition into the good man he knew he used to be helped to ease that guilt.

A breath of relief escaped Bucky and he turned around in his seat to look at Connie, who was fast asleep on one of the Quinjet's rows of passenger seats. The two of them had traded spots almost two hours ago, and Connie had been fast asleep since then. She was exhausted, that much Bucky knew or could at least gather. He knew that when he was injured the way she was, which was very rare, it took all of his body's energy to heal him.

Bucky tilted his head curiously as he gazed at her; she looked so peaceful and so small. Her sleeping figure looked so familiar to him in a way that he couldn't explain. He knew he had seen her like this before, multiple times, actually, and he knew that the sight of her in such a calm and tranquil state was one of his favorites.

For the past week, since he had pulled her and Steve out of the Potomac, Bucky had been receiving so many flashes of old memories inside his head. Most of them, if not all of them, had everything to do with the two super-soldiers. Not only could he see the glimpses of the life he used to have with the two of them, but he could also feel the things and emotions he used to feel when he was with them as well. Over the past few days, all of those memories and emotions were slowly becoming more and more prominent inside him, and being around one of the main sources of those emotions and memories only made things better.

Rather than waking Connie up, Bucky walked over and carefully scooped her up from her seat so not to wake her or agitate her injuries. Luckily for him, the brunette did not wake up, and so he continued making his way towards the back of the jet. After exiting, he carried her all the way through the meadow and to the house sitting in a rather secluded neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. There was quite a bit of their belongings back on the jet, but Bucky figured he would grab them later rather than worrying about it now.

As Bucky took sight of what would be his and Connie's little safe-house for the time being, his mouth parted in shock. It was one of the nicest buildings he had seen in quite a while, aside from Connie's hotel room, of course, and knowing he would be spending most of his time here made him feel out of place. He was so used to being kept in a cage and sleeping on cold floors when he was out of cryo, and being in cryo wasn't really much different either; the only real difference was his state of consciousness.

Bucky let out a shaky breath and continued on towards the house, absentmindedly tightening his grip on Connie's small body as he did so. The moment he stepped inside the house—or penthouse rather—he was just as blown away, but his need to get Connie into her own bed convinced him that later would be the appropriate time to marvel at the house. He did wonder exactly why a safe-house needed to be so luxurious, but he figured this was quite normal for an organization such as S.H.I.E.L.D.

The lights in the house turned on automatically as he stepped further inside, lighting the way to the nearest bedroom. Bucky made his way up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway, stopping when he came to a large door at the end of the hall. He opened the door as best as he could with Connie in his arms and stepped inside, making his way over to the king-sized bed in the middle of the room and setting her down on the mattress.

He turned to head back outside to retrieve their belongings, but stopped when he heard Connie mutter his name. She was still asleep when he turned back around, though, which led him to believe that she was dreaming.