Winter's Deception

Chapter 4

     Roselyn, such a dainty name. It had the essence of a flower. It seemed ironic to him that a woman like her, so fierce and formidable, had a name so gentle it rolled off his lips with such loveliness. Yet, he saw that it was a well-given name. To him, she was his symbol of beauty. He had never seen such eyes like hers, filled with such kindness, holding all the sheer elegance and grace of a rose. But when you look deeper into her beguiling eyes you see, not unlike the way you see past the initial beauty of a rose, the pain, and danger that lurks, protecting the fresh and delicate heart that lies within. He only hoped not to get pierced by her thorns.

     Unfortunately, it was slightly too late for that. Every morning he woke beside her, he fell a little more. It had only been a month since they had arrived, yet he felt more like himself in the short span of 30 days with her than he had with Hydra for the past six decades.

     He almost allowed himself to forget all that had been done to him when he was in her presence. Slowly, his memory returned to him in the form of dreams, to the point where he could actually recall what he assumed was his name, so Rose didn't have to refer to him as some biblical murderer. He understood that it would take months, maybe even years for the whole truth to return. But hope for the future was a stranger to him, and he knew their days together were limited. It was only a joke of fate that they even met.

He rose from his place on the bed to find himself alone in the room with his mind back in the present. He put on a shirt and shoes with a sigh to himself then journeyed out the home with a greeting to the owners, venturing down the gentle slope of the hill that followed the trail he found in the sand to the side of the cliff. The terrain was harsh at first, with jagged rocks that soon returned to the smooth white sand where he found Roselyn sitting. He hadn't tried to make his presence known yet. He was too busy admiring how peaceful she looked with the sea breeze playing with her hair.

After a few moments, he approached her and took a seat beside her, slinging his real arm across her shoulders. Silently she shifted towards him, resting her head on his chest. The unspoken bond that had formed since they first met had only grown stronger, and as much as Roselyn tried to convince herself that all she felt towards the man was attraction, she knew that there was so much more behind her feelings for him.

     They stared out towards the water together, both lost in thought and neither wanting to break the silence between them. Today was the day. They both knew it was only a matter of time before they were forced to return to their old lives.

Lives that didn't include each other.

They just didn't realize how quickly that time would come. The last month had been used to help prepare themselves for the inevitable catastrophe that would be going back to a world where Roselyn had a vocal doppelgänger and where Bucky would have to face a life of uncertain memory wipes.

It was difficult at first, with their budding relationship and runaway status, but together they managed to evade the nightly searches, with the help of a certain red-headed friend, gather intel on the origins of Roselyn's companion. As for Bucky himself, he still didn't know where he was from or who he worked for. Every memory of his seemed selective, never giving enough information to pinpoint who exactly was behind the orders he was forced to carry out. His mind was constantly in a state of being torn apart, by both the fleeting recollections of who he worked with and the flood of old memories of who he was bringing brought back to him at once.

The silence was finally broken as Roselyn sighed, grabbing his hand in her own before bringing it up to her face. "I don't want you to forget me," she softly admitted, the part of their plan that bothered her the second most.

The sound of her fragile voice pulled at his chest. He knew there was nothing he could do to prevent what she feared, and she knew it too. He would forget he ever crossed paths with Roselyn Volkov by week's end, and she would have to go about her life acting as though the past month they spent together was one of a brutal hunt. It was the only way she could return to her life, back onto the path to Shield, and find out the truth behind the secrets that had been revealed to her throughout this mission. She hated to think he would be sacrificing his chance at freedom for her sake, but as if reading her mind, his arm affectionately squeezed her shoulder.

"It's the only way. There's no telling what they would do to you if we don't stick to the plan."

She sighed again, nodding her head. By noon, they would have to part ways, only ever communicating through encrypted codes and second-hand messages. Natasha, bless her heart, had guided the others back at the Red Room into accepting Roselyn back into the fold with a fictitious tale of impromptu espionage and heroism. In reality, Roselyn had spent the last month in a desperate search for a lead that would explain the chills that raced down her back every time she remembered the voice that came through on the radio over her partner's fading form. Her main lead was sitting right next to her, and a small part of her was glad he was returning because at least then she would have one less distraction regarding the situation. It did not help that a larger part of her wanted to keep him as close to herself as possible.

     Before he could protest, Roselyn was pulling away and onto her feet, out of reach. She'd been lost in thought for a majority of the morning and he wished they could have spoken more before preparing for their inevitable separation, but he understood Rose well enough at this point to know that she was hurting just as much as him, even if she only spoke of it fleetingly. It almost felt too soon for them to go their separate ways, as if they just had more time together, things could be so different, for the both of them. But fate had other plans, and it was no use mourning what could have been.

     Back at the house, the two put on their fake smiles for their hosts as they packed their things, saying goodbye to the little home they had scourged together on their month long Intel mission. Down came their wall of thumb tacks and paper, and with it the end of an illusion of peace and tranquillity in a home corner of the world. They would have left it at that too, tired sighs and weary words, when they stood before each other in a near empty room, and Roselyn herself found herself speaking.

"I'm going to miss you, you know. And this room."

"I know", he smiled, raising his arm to rest hesitantly on her shoulder.

"It's not everyday you find a new partner from behind a wrong end of a barrel." She raised her own hand to meet his at the junction of her collar. "I'm glad I found it in you, Bucky."

     "And I'm glad you followed me up that road, Rose", the smile he wore saddened as he looked down at her, hands joined in farewell, before he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of her downturned lips. He wrapped his other arm careful around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his body.

     They stood together like that for the remainder of their time together, both relishing in the proximity of the other for a few final minutes before Bucky stepped back with some difficulty. Rose smiled one last smile at him and squeezed his hand thrice before letting go, turning away from him and seating herself in her favorite spot by the window to watch the sun situated perfectly above them. Noon had come, and with that awareness, she closed her eyes and held back a sigh as the door opened and closed behind her. She missed the way Bucky glanced back at her form, the struggle on his face clear, before he finally left her behind.

Wistfulness told her she'd regret allowing herself to become so enamored with the man, but in this moment, she knew that she didn't care. Hopefulness had already won that argument weeks ago, and she knew she'd spend many more nights lost to the thought of Bucky.