COBRA | B. BARNES

XIX. FINDING SOLACE

Aiyla hadn't spoken to Bucky and Sam ever since Fury and Hill had left the small safehouse they lived in. She had done everything in silence and she seemed to be deep in thought, her lips permanently etched into a small frown as she went on with her routine. Bucky and Sam left her alone and chose to give her some space for the day, and after having lunch, she withdrew to her room and they didn't see her since.

But it was night time now. Sam had long fallen asleep on his couch but Bucky couldn't bring himself to sleep. His eyes stayed wide open, his fidgeting and turning never stopping as he thought. It was one of those nights he couldn't silence his thoughts, and a small part of him was surprised and a bit frustrated that this time, he was thinking about her.

Aiyla hadn't stopped occupying his mind ever since Fury had left and she hadn't spoken a word to either him or Sam. If he were to guess, he'd definitely say her silence had been caused by Fury's reveal of the leader of the team hunting them down. He certainly didn't know any Anton Balakin. But it seemed like she did, and it was something that apparently bothered her quite a bit.

With a hardly audible sigh, he pushed the sheets off of him and left the couch, his trained footsteps hardly heard as he walked away without Sam realising. He ran a hand through his hair that had now grown longer than he'd prefer as he made his way to the kitchen, only to stop short as he passed by the corridor leading to the bathroom as he heard footsteps. He kept quiet, listening in, and he was certain he heard the bed creak from Aiyla's room. She was awake.

Bucky changed his direction and quietly walked to the corridor, the dark doing little to deter him from reaching her door. He stopped in front of it, his eyes narrowing as he noticed the light coming from her room. With some hesitation, he pushed the door open and peered inside.

Aiyla was sitting on her bed, somehow having gotten out of her shirt. She sat in her pyjama pants and a black vest, looking at somewhere in front of her. The small lamp beside her bed was turned on, casting a soft glow around the room. She hadn't heard the door as it opened and she was unaware he was there, and so, he cleared his throat quietly. She snapped her head to his direction.

"Hey," he murmured, making sure he wouldn't wake Sam up with his talking. "Why are you awake?"

Her lips twitched. "I could ask the same about you."

"Couldn't sleep," he muttered, taking in her form before he met her eyes once more. "May I come in?"

She nodded, and so, he got in the room and closed it behind him as he walked over to her. She moved to the side and patted the space beside her, and so, Bucky sat down as she requested with a slight smile. They both looked at the wall opposite them for a while, neither saying a thing, before he spoke up first.

"Are you alright?"

"I guess," she said in the same quiet tone as his. "I just needed some time to process everything. Is Sam asleep?"

"He was when I left," he nodded as he slowly turned to face her. "What do you need to process?"

"Anton Balakin," she sighed as she closed her eyes. "I knew him."

He shifted. "Was he a friend?"

"A companion, sometimes a partner," she explained simply. "We both were part of the KGB, we worked together some times. We had a good coordination at points but never were particularly close. When I left the KGB, he was furious. Not because I left, but because I was continuing to be an assassin. He wanted to get out of this, have a normal life. But he didn't understand there was no normal life for me, that I hardly ever had one. He wasn't the one to wake up with handcuffs tying him to the bed, he wasn't the one killing people he grew up with because they were too weak."