Pushing Daisies [BUCKY BARNES]

16

I don't like time skips but I didn't know how I wanted to fill this chapter, so I did it anyways. Might as well keep the action going, right? If you guys have any suggestions for my story or for things I could incorporate in the future feel free to let me know!!

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It was a few months before they found us again. And when they did finally locate us, it was unexpected.

"Are you sure I can't come with you?" I pestered, knowing James was only going outside to the vendors to buy plumbs, "I don't want to go to the laundromat."

He smiled gently, placing a hand on my cheek. We had grown incredibly close in our time spent in Romania, to the point where our 'happy couple' act became the talk of our little town. Everyone seemed to adore the idea of us getting together, and at this point I had to agree with them. We had a sort of... unspoken thing. "Just go. I'll be here when you get back, yeah."

I leaned my head into his palm. "Fine. But I swear I'm not making rolls tonight now."

The super soldier gaped, eyes wide. "No rolls? But Lil!"

"No, James." I laughed, grabbing our basket of laundry off the counter. "No rolls. We don't have the money to get more yeast anyways. Miss Costello had to give it to us for free last time."

"But Lil..."

"Not a chance." And then I headed from the apartment and down the rickety flights of stairs.

These last few months seemed like a dream now, looking back on it. We had slowly built our lives back up again, and both of us were regaining memories at a steady rate now. James remembered Steve and I helped him log a journal of all the things he remembered, and memories that we made together. I, on the other hand, was starting to be able to resurface different HYDRA memories. It was confirmed that an unestablished amount of time from my life had been spent locked up and brainwashed in the hands of HYDRA, just as James had. We also managed to unlock most of the training I had been put through, and when we sparred down at the gym I was an equal rival to James, if not better.

I was quick to the laundromat, throwing our clothing into a machine for 25 cents, and deciding that this particular machine was slow and would take longer then the average 45 minutes to cycle through, so I headed back to the apartment.

As I climbed the stairs I noticed James was only a few ahead of me, so I rushed to catch up. I grabbed his hand, holding tightly. "Hey James."

"Shh." He mused, putting a finger to his lips. "There's someone in our apartment."

I stayed silent, now, following him up the stairs and into our apartment. Steve was there, rifling around our kitchen and looking through Bucky's memory book.

"Understood." He muttered, and I correctly assumed he was speaking into an earpiece.

Then I stubbed my toe on the lifted board, and Steve turned around to look at the two of us. We probably looked disheveled. I wore a dirty yellow sundress with black leggings underneath, and James wore the same clothes I had seen him wearing at DelMonico's, including the hat from the airport.

He looked at me, then looked at James. "You know me?"

My eyes darted to James' face, hearing his breathing pick up slightly. "You're Steve." A car horn honked outside, "I read about you in a museum."

Steve set his book down on the counter and took a step forwards. I took an automatic step back, and Steve flinched at my movement. "I know you're nervous, and you have plenty of reason to be." He took another step forwards, and now I shifted slightly behind James' arm. "But you're lying."

"I wasn't in Vienna, I don't do that anymore." I looked between the two men, knowing I was missing something now. What happened in Vienna?

Steve looked out our window then stepped forwards again, "well the people who think you did are coming here now, and they're not planning on taking you alive."

"That's smart," James responded, "good strategy." I let my hand fly across his shoulder.

"Don't you say that again, boy." I hissed.

"Sorry ma'am."

The sound of footsteps out in the hall made me turn my head to the side slightly, and I squeezed his metal hand.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck." Steve almost deadpanned, and I wanted nothing more then to slap him. We had worked so hard for this, and knowing Steve he had led them all right here to us anyways.

James looped his flesh arm around my waist, leading me closer to the door, sighing quietly.

"Battering ram, they're setting it up outside the door. Let's get hustling, frosty." I whispered to him.

He glanced back at Steve, then down at the floor, his hand on my waist tightening a little. "It always ends in a fight."

Steve looked out the window again, "you pulled me from the river." He looked out the window. He knew something was about to happen. "Why?"

James let go of my waist for a moment to pull his leather glove off his metal hand. He sighed again, then looked up at Steve. "I dunno."

Steve stared right at us, "yes you do."

They stared at each other, before something flew through the window and shattered the glass. James pulled me to his chest and kicked the cylinder that had just blown out our windows at Steve, who pressed his shield over it as it exploded. A grenade.

Someone fired through the window and James threw me to the ground, hoisting the mattress up over us as they kept firing.

The battering ram started to pound against the door, and James dropped the mattress and threw our table at the door, effectively keeping the agents out for a little longer. A few agents burst through the windows, but when James and Steve decked them both in the face they were out for the count, the only issue being that one of the gunmen had shot and it had caught my bad shoulder again. I made the split second decision not to tell James as white hot pain smeared itself over my eyes. "Run," James looked at me and whispered, grasping my chin lightly pressing a kiss to my forehead.

I nodded and gasped for air, surprised by his kiss-did he like me too?- before turning and shoving past Steve to rip my bag off the top of our hanging cabinets, bursting through the door and climbing up onto the railing, throwing myself over to the next building. I stood for a moment, waiting for James.

When his bag sailed from the window and hit the ground next to me, I couldn't help the smile that crawled onto my face. I knew James was fully capable of handling himself, but that didn't stop me from worrying as the minutes ticked by with no sign of him.

Suddenly he came sailing out of a balcony about six stories down from ours and hit the ground with a thud, rolling and grabbing his backpack, racing to my side and grabbing my hand to pull me along.

That is, until some cat dude sailed in from behind us, knocking James and I

to the ground.

I was the first to stand, looking at him. I couldn't help as my mouth formed an o shape and the Pink Panther theme song whistled from between my lips. I managed to land a few good hits to him before I spun too quickly and his claws lodged in the side of my neck.

When he pulled them out I was quick to fall, hitting the ground and coughing up blood.

I could see the horrified look on James' face, but he got up and fought as well as he could.

I finally passed out from blood loss as James kicked the cat man off of him, grabbed his bag, and glanced over his shoulder at me with a heartbroken look, before sprinting on and leaping off the edge of the building. I almost felt bad that the last thing he must have seen of me was pools of blood and my tiny hand waving at him gently from the ground.