Avenger Arising → Bucky Barnes [3]

04|TWO GHOSTS

Bucharest.

It was the capital of Romania. Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and is one of the main industrial centres and transportation hubs of Eastern Europe. It wasn't the economy that brought Ally to the gleaming city, it was the fact that it seemed like she had been anywhere and everywhere except there.

Ally scanned her area on the corner of the hotel she was staying in, dressed like any other tourist. She looked casual, but smartly dressed in black jeans, a leather jacket and a white neck scarf. Her face was made up, but not over done and her long golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her ability to blend in made her once well-known war name suit her. She was a shadow, she was there but you didn't think twice when you saw her.

Her next move was unknown. Ally knew it wasn't easy to track someone who was trying to hide; and had been hiding for so long. As she walked down the street, her mind drifted to Clara and Steve. She hadn't called in a month and twenty days. Her mind was always elsewhere when one of them tried calling, she couldn't bring herself to pick up every time either name flashed on her screen. She knew she'd have to call eventually or Clara might begin to get anxious.

Clara, that sweet sweet girl. Never in a million years did Ally think that the odd girl living in the apartment next to her would be her sidekick, her family. She hoped Steve and Valerie were taking care of her as well as they could, praying Clara wasn't lacking when it came to training. The thought of Clara swinging around the sword Ally gave to her made her miss the girl that much more.

She sighed, pulling out her cellphone and dialed Clara's number. A breath of air escaped her lips when the phone only rung twice before being picked up.

"Ally?"

"Hey kid," she hummed in response. "How are things?"

There was a long pause before Clara responded. "As good as things can get..."

Ally nodded into the phone. "I see," she knew Clara was clearly hiding something, so she pushed on. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she responded almost as blandly as the last response she gave. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she only partially lied. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Clara responded quickly this time, brighter than before. "Are you coming home?"

"Not yet."

"Oh," the young girl hiccuped. "When?"

"Soon," Ally promised. "How's Steve and Val?"

"Steve is taking me on minor missions, always out and about with Sam," she explained. "And Valerie, I dunno, she's good I guess."

"Just good?"

"She's always training, asking Natasha if she can go back on the field but Natasha is scared to give 'Agent Runaway' a chance to actually run away."

"I agree with Nat, just for the time being. We can't keep her locked up forever. What's new with you?" Ally questioned, crossing the street to a nearby fruit vendor.

"Nothin' much," Clara admitted. "Just practicing and taking care of all your damn cats."

"Right," Ally laughed half-heartedly. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

Clara's silence was somehow comforting and spoke for itself, it was peaceful in a way where Ally could feel at home even though she was a million miles away. "Ally?"

"Yes Clara."

"I'm gay."

There was another moment of silence, just the song of Clara's heavy breathing on the other line of the phone. Ally had been away for so long she lost count of the days, which meant she lost count of the days since she lay genuinely smiled. So her smile shined like the stars in the sky, with no bright city lights to dim them. "I know."

"What?"

"I know Clara," Ally said again. "I'll call you later, I promise. Within the next twenty-four hours, unless I run into trouble."

"Okay, but how did you know—"

Ally hung up before Clara could finish what she was about to say. She wandered through the fruit market, her natural touristy look making it easy for the vendors to call at her to buy something. She pushed through the large crowd of people, doing their shopping and made her way to the end of the market. She took a seat on a park bench and took off her black heels, rubbing the sole of her foot. Her eyes wandered around the market, people watching.

Fate was almost as cruel as death, which was something Ally knew first hand. Yet she figured that at least fate would get tired of suffocating her, let go and give her one last chance. In some sick twist of events, she catched the sound of a man speaking Romanian rather loudly. The same accent was forcefully used when the same man in Italy ran into her at the cafe.

The Alchemist had been fooled.  

She stood up from her spot on the bench and walked towards a broad man buying plums. His back was turned to her as she walked closer, carefully not overstepping her boundaries with his. Her eyes widened as she stepped back, realizing that her assumption was right.

The man in Italy, it was him. It was him all along. He had found her before she ever found him. He knew it was her too, impossible, but it was true. She took another step back and when she did, the man who had just thanked the vendor turned around. Their eyes met quicker than any interaction she had ever experienced. Blue. His eyes were still as blue as they were the last time she saw him.

He watched her. There was something in the way she held herself, strong and able, that made him stay in place for so long. He knew her but he didn't know her. His mind pulled as many memories as he could just by looking at her face, the same gentle face he once spent every moment with. This was dangerous for him, he had been looking at her for too long and she knew it.

Ally opened her mouth to speak but nothing audible came out, just a small, muttered, exhausted play on his birth name. "James?"

Then he ran.

—

He watched her. There was something in the way she held herself, strong and able, that made him stay in place for so long. He knew her but he didn't know her.