As I Was

Seven

"So this is where you've been staying then?" Harper asked, dropping her bag to the floor and glancing up as she wandered the floor space of the old warehouse "It's...cozy."

"It's safe," Bucky corrected her as he climbed through the tight space between the broken door and its frame "But if it's not up to your standards, please, feel free to leave," he continued gesturing over to the half open door and raising his eyebrows.

"Wow so you're taking on the role of welcoming host then?" she asked before she turned and caught his eye, sending him a smile so he knew she was only joking "I wonder what this place used to be," she muttered to herself as she wandered further into it, her head rested backward as she looked up to the offices above.

Watching her aimlessly walk around the space Bucky smiled to himself as he dropped down into one of the deck chairs he'd stolen from a garden nearby "I don't know, I haven't really had a proper look around yet," he answered her.

"It makes me sad, knowing this place was once buzzing with busy workers and now it's just a shell," she mused as she spun on the spot until she was facing him once again. The thoughtful look on her face fell into a sheepish smile and a blush coloured her cheekbones "I guess that's the workaholic in me showing her face."

Bucky sent her a smile back as he reached back for the other chair behind him and tugged it around so it was beside his. He felt terrible, getting her into all of this and dragging her away from a comfortable life "How about you show me some more of the files?" he asked watching the subtle change in her expression and the way her tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Okay," she answered with a nod of her head, the soles of her boots scuffing along the floor as she made her way over and plucked her bag on the way. Sitting with it on her knee she unzipped it slowly, sending him a look out of the corner of her eye "You're only doing this to make me feel better aren't you?"

Bucky shrugged before he turned his chair so it was facing hers. Leaning with his elbows on his thighs and his chin in his hands he arched his eyebrows to encourage her "So, Steve's mom, Sarah?, died in 1936?"

They sat there for a while. Harper was so at ease talking about the subject she knew so much about he could have sat there and listened to her retell stories of his past all night.

It wasn't until she reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, placing her glasses on the top of her head for a few seconds, that he knew she was beginning to tire "Time to stop," he said reaching over and gently taking the file she was gripping onto out of her hands "Listen, Harper, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come to you."

She shook her head "The only difference to my life if you hadn't shown up would have been that I would have had to go through it alone," she said taking in a deep and shaky breath "I've seen them before. The man who chased me through the mall, the dark haired girl in the exhibit tonight, they're all familiar to me. They would have come for me whether or not you were around and...and I wouldn't have known what to do if you weren't here to help me."

He kept his eyes down to the floor for a couple of seconds before he nodded his head "I guess Steve and I made it hard for you to be the Captain America expert around here huh?"

"You also made it possible for me to have the job I do...I did? So I think it's evens," she answered with a smile and a yawn. Shuffling onto her side she tucked her legs up beneath her and leaned with her head on the back of her chair.

Her eyes felt heavy and she was surprisingly comfortable but she still didn't expect to fall asleep as quickly as she did.

The noise jolted her. Her arms and legs felt heavy as the echoing footsteps became louder and louder. Her head rolled to one side and she realised she had shifted in her seat, her breathing was laboured as though she had been running and a bead of sweat rolled down her face.