Don't Hang Up Yet, Doll

thursday

   Amelia carefully avoided the man, instead choosing to talk to Natasha and Steve and the others she knew. She didn't know who he was or how she was supposed to know him, she only knew he was hurt she didn't remember him.

   She was walking into the kitchen when he came around the corner, bumping into her. He quickly wrapped his arm around her waist and steadied her. She muttered a thanks and walked towards the refrigerator to grab a plum.

   "Those help with memories, you know," the man said softly as he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "You should probably eat a few more of those since you--" he coughed and plastered a smile on his face. "How have you been?"

   Amelia looked warily at him and took a bite of the plum. "Good," she said. "I should probably go now."

   "Hang on, wait, I didn't mean to freak you out, Amelia," he said quickly. "Do you--do you know who I am?"

   She studied his face, his blue eyes filled with hope, a small smile tugging at the edges of his lips.

   "I'm sorry...I can see how much this is hurting you. I wish I could remember."

   Bucky's face fell, and he averted his gaze from hers. "It's alright," he whispered. "You'll get them back, someday. I did."

   "What if I don't get my memories? What then?" Fear flooded Amelia's voice as her breath quickened. "I want to remember, really, I do, but I can't. There's some sort of wall standing on the way."

   Bucky smiled sadly and turned to go. "You'll remember, doll," he called over his shoulder. "I know you will."

   Amelia only watched him go with a furrowed brow. She wanted to remember. She knew it was crushing him, whoever he was. Everyone was careful not to use his name in conversation, for what reason, she didn't know.

   She walked out of the kitchen and turned down the hallway to Tony's lab. Bruce had been in there with Tony wandering in and out last time she checked, and she hoped they were still there to help her knock down this wall in her mind.

   "Tony? Bruce?" she called as she approached the lab. Tony stood from behind a computer and walked over.

   "What's up, Mel?" he asked. Amelia grimaced at the nickname but chose to ignore it.

   "I want to remember that man," she explained. "I can tell it's hurting him and I don't want him to feel that way because of me. The memories are there, but there's like a...wall, or something."

   Tony tapped his chin in thought. "I'm sure there's some form of therapy or something we could try...but I'm not sure that it will have the instant results you want."

   Amelia sighed. "I'll try anything, as long as it might work."

   "Well, sit down," Tony said, gesturing towards a chair. He took a seat as well and propped his elbows up on his knees. "Where do you think you know B--this man from?"

   "I'm guessing here?" she frowned. "But I don't know why I'm here. Did he bring me here?"

   "Do you remember Jason?"

   "Yeah, he came to my apartment one night...and the guy was there! I remember him being there and saying something."

   "Well, this is good," Tony smiled and leaned back in his seat. "Now, what was his name?"

   Amelia squeezed her eyes shut in thought. "Fuck? Oh, wait no, it's not fuck."

   Tony snickered. "He'll be happy to hear that."

   "Don't you dare tell him that, Stark. I can't...Jamie? Barnaby?"
 
   "This is hilarious," Tony said through fits of laughter. Amelia glared at him and returned to her thoughts

   "Jan?"

    "Ok, stop, stop," Tony said, reaching for his water. "Let's try this. What's your full name?" He took a sip of the water and studied her face.

   "Amelia Morgan Barnes," she said confidently. Tony spit his water out in surprise.

   "Ok, um, well, how about we work on this more later, yeah?"

   "Ok," Amelia replied, visibly confused. She stood from the chair and walked out of the room. She didn't feel like going back to the living room, so instead she decided to go back to the kitchen. She was sure that there was cake mix in one of the cabinets.

  She entered the empty kitchen and flicked the lights on. She searched through all the cabinets she could reach and couldn't find a box. She sighed and looked up at the higher cabinets.

   She hoisted herself onto the counter and stood. The counter was cold beneath her feet as she shifted down it, checking each of the cabinets as she did so.

   "Amelia?"

    She startled and turned abruptly to see the man walk into the room, confusion on his face. She felt herself begin to slip and tried to find something to grab onto, but she felt herself still falling and closed her eyes.

   She felt warm arms wrap around her and her head something. She muttered a curse and opened her eyes to see the man holding her, an apologetic look in his eyes.

   "Um, you hit your head in my arm when I caught you, I hope you're ok--"

   "Bucky?"

    Bucky looked down at her with bewildered eyes. "Yeah, yeah, it's me--"

   Amelia wrapped her arms around his neck and moved as much as she could to kiss him, and Bucky relaxed and melted into the kiss.

   "Holy shit, you have no idea how worried I was," Bucky exclaimed. Amelia grinned and looked him straight in his crystal blue eyes.

   "I love you so, so much," she whispered breathlessly. Bucky smiled and chuckled softly.

   "I know, sweetheart. I know."

A/N

so slightly shorter than others in the past but we're going back to phone calls!! exciting!!

xx,
audrey