As y/n is interrogated by Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, memories of her life as the Ruby Raven start resurfacing. She used to work hand in hand with the Winter Soldier. Except she knows there's more to that, more to him, and she's determined to...
"You let your feet run wild Time has come as we all, oh, go down Yeah but for the fall, ooh, my Do you dare to look him right in the eyes?"
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--2016--
"So where are we going ?" Sam asks, wondering how we're gonna get out of this mess.
"We're meeting Sharon on our way to Berlin. She has something for us."
"Sharon, huh ?"
Sam gives Steve a teasing look and our Captain just rolls his eyes to the sky.
"But Steve," I interrupt, "are we really about to run away with...that ?"
I wave at the car, a Volkswagen Beetle.
"What's wrong with it ?"
"You have no idea how to keep a low profile, do you ?"
"C'mon, y/n, this is low profile."
"Yeah, whatever."
All I can think about is how we're all gonna fit in there. Steve's driving so Sam takes the passenger seat and Bucky and I end up on the backseat. Bucky's right behind Sam and I can tell some kind of rivalry is already settling between the two of them. Hopefully it'll be friendly. Hopefully. As we go to meet Sharon Carter, Bucky grabs my hand on the seat. I look up to him and as he gives my hand a squeeze, I get as close to him as the car allows. Steve put up some music so I whisper in Bucky's ear.
"What's wrong ?"
"N-nothing. I just... I'm tired, you know ?"
"Yeah, I do. Wanna sleep a little ? You can always use my lap."
I smile to him and he laughs quietly before he nods. I go back to my place and Bucky switches position, his head now resting on my thighs. I let my hand run naturally through his hair and he closes his eyes. I lock eyes with Steve in his mirror. He smiles and looks away. Oddly enough, I can't help but do the same thing. I know Bucky doesn't fall asleep because his breathing is still fast and irregular, but my playing with his hair seems to calm him down a bit. When we finally stop on the side of the road, right behind another car, Bucky sits up and looks suspiciously in front of us.
"Relax," I whisper. "It's just Sharon, I think."
Steve gets out of the car and Sharon opens the trunk of his car. I can't see much from where I am but Sharon seems to have a hard time getting something out of there.
"Can you move your seat up ?" Bucky asks Sam.
"No."
"Dear god, boys..." I roll my eyes and shake my head until a strange noise reaches my ears. "Is that...?"
Sharon finally gets out a cage and there she is : Alpine. I don't wait any longer and get out as well. I run to her and take my cat back. "Thanks," I quickly say before going back to Bucky. "Look," I tell him, "look who's back."
Alpine gets out of her cage and she happily purrs while we scratch her head. "Missed us, sweetheart ?"
"You two really are like an old married couple," Sam sighs.
"Thank you," I say, not even ironically. I just wanna shut Sam up. I like him, but he can be a real pain in the ass. I mean, that's the reason I like him. I keep scratching Alpine's fur and when I tilt my head up, I can't believe my eyes anymore.
"Is he...?"
"Yup."
"Well, that was fast."
When Steve and Sharon stop kissing and she's back in her car, me and the boys give Steve what's supposed to be a disapproving look. He can only shake his head as he comes back to us.
"I didn't know you were such a ladies' man, Steve," I joke.
"Get back to your cat and leave me alone," he says as he lets out a laugh. "Same for you, guys."
"Alright," Sam says, "we won't say we were surprised but wow. Such a pick-up artist."
"You're not gonna let this go, right ?"
"Damn right," I exclaim, high-fiving Sam from the back seat.
"Well, now shut up and let me drive."
We all laugh a little as we get back on the road. When we get to the airport in Berlin, we're all a tiny bit less stressed out. Turns out that Steve kissing Sharon lifted a weight of our shoulders, giving us something to joke about. At least it worked for a few hours, because we all knew what was coming at us next. When we arrived at that airport in Berlin, we knew it was only bad news. Steve parks the car next to a grey van and Bucky and I stay inside for a moment. Steve's meeting Hawkeye and two other recruits I've never met before. Steve and Sam told me about Wanda but the other guy, well... He seems to be really impressed with Steve. He keeps shaking his hand and you can tell Steve is trying hard not to say anything.
"God, what's taking them that long ?" Bucky asks before getting out of the car. "We should get moving," he tells the others. And he's right... The speakers start playing evacuating instructions in German and of course, Bucky and I are the only ones who know a thing about German. "They're evacuating the airport," Bucky explains.
Steve looks at us and in all seriousness... "Suit up." Bucky and I roll our eyes at each other before sharing a quiet laugh. So dramatic. When everyone is all suited up, we all stay in the back while Steve walks up to the landing zone. We watch as he starts talking with Tony Stark and as the things heat up between them, Natasha tries to reason him. As if it's gonna work... When some guy in spandex steals Steve's shield, Bucky and I look at each other in confusion. Who the hell is that web-shooting guy ? We can't really hear anything from where we are but it's pretty clear that a fight's coming.
"Don't you think they should get married already ?" I joke.
"Who ?"
"Steve and Tony. God, they fight like my grandparents used to fight."
"You're not wrong."
"Guys, quiet," Sam tells us. "Now c'mon on, we gotta find that quinjet."
We keep looking for the damn plane and when Sam sees It, he immediately tells Steve via intercom. That's when the fight begins. We run as far as we can to get the quinjet and we don't pay attention to the fight going on downstairs.
