epiphany. (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter Nineteen

WARNING: Spoiler for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (If you haven't seen it, I'm sorry, but it's been five years.)

"What am I now?

What if I'm someone I don't want around?

I'm fallin' again"

~*~*~*~

HYDRA Safehouse. Bucharest, Romania. December 2015.

It had been seven months since you and Bucky left the chalet. It pained you to leave, but it was necessary to avoid any possibility of being found by Ultron or his enhanced henchman. You and Bucky had agreed to move to a HYDRA safehouse instead of a S.H.I.E.L.D. one. It would be less secure, but there was less of a chance that Ultron would know about it. Since your European passports had you as Romanian nationals, you agreed to head to Bucharest.

Clint called about a week after warning you to tell you they had won and Ultron's presence had been purged from the internet. You knew this though; you had been keeping up with the news. And boy, were the Avengers all over the news and not all of it was good. Personally, you didn't understand the sudden vitriol against them. They had saved the world. Again. They had done the impossible. Again. If anything, the people of the world should have been falling on their knees in gratitude.

"People are angry because, to quote you, I believe, 'lots of damage and lots of people died'," Bucky said as you watched the news coverage.

"But when you save the world sometimes you can't save everyone or everything. It's not fair, but there are losses with every win," you replied.

"A lot of people can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Even though the world was saved from a homicidal robot's makeshift meteor, there are still people left behind to pick up the pieces so that they can rebuild. Sometimes living is harder than dying."

Due to the public outcry against the Avengers, and any enhanced individual for that matter, Clint advised against returning to the chalet. "Just until this whole mess blows over," he assured. "You and Buck can't afford to be discovered, not now."

He also had informed you that the Ultron Offensive was his last mission as an Avenger and was now officially retired. "Don't worry, I've got lots of projects on my honey-do list to keep me busy. I'll still be here to help you, Nightingale, just not in any official capacity." You and Bucky understood; Clint would have been killed had it not been for Pietro Maximoff, also known as Quicksilver, the enhanced former Ultron henchman turned Avenger. Dr. Helen Cho had been able to save Pietro with the Regeneration Cradle. She had been aboard the Helicarrier with an older model, almost identical to the one Ultron had taken. Clint owed him a debt, so he took him to the homestead to help him recover, both physically and mentally. It was just like Clint to take in strays. "You would like him, Y/N. He's a sarcastic lil' shit, just like you. Also, Buck may have some competition, Lila is head over heels for him."

You had waited seven months, and the call for something to be done about the Avengers only grew louder. The hostility didn't look to be diminishing any time soon.

The HYDRA safehouse was a tiny studio located on the top floor of an apartment complex that had seen better days. To be honest, you were sure that it had always been this grimy and dilapidated, even when it was newly built.

You tried your best to make it as comfortable as possible. Bucky built some makeshift shelves out of some old wood planks and cinder blocks, to hold his notebooks and your electronics. You bought a few fun mugs for tea and coffee as well as a few throw pillows for the small loveseat. Despite being on the top floor, you and Bucky placed newspapers over the windows to keep out any prying eyes. After months of living at the isolated chalet, you weren't used to having so many neighbors. A thin double mattress on the floor served as your and Bucky's bed. Honestly, the size didn't bother you. You were happy to have Bucky so close at night; especially now, since winter had arrived and the apartment's heating was less than reliable.