light in the dark.

Bucky blew air out of loosely set lips as he sat down in the corner booth of the diner that he often ate at. It was pretty decent food for a really low price, so it worked well with his current state. Everything he had he'd stolen from other people. He was actually slightly surprised people hadn't caught him pick pocketing yet - he was pretty much always in the same area, and the rate which he had to steal fivers from people who weren't really paying close attention was slightly alarming. Bucky already knew what he was going to order, he pretty much only got two things off the menu, so all he had to do was wait for one of the waitresses to come over.

---

Dahlia tied her hair up into a loose bun as she stopped beside one of the other nurses. "He up yet?" Dahlia asked, raising an eyebrow and nodding her head down the hall. She was, obviously, talking about Pietro Maximoff. As far as the Avengers knew, as far as anyone besides Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and the 15 or so employees at the top secret facility knew, Pietro was dead. He'd died during the whole Ultron ordeal a couple weeks back. Thanks to Dr. Cho's technology, they'd been able to bring Pietro back from the grave, in simple terms. The previous day, the head doctor said they were going to wake Pietro up today, but Dahlia didn't know when it was supposed to happen.

He'd been coming here a lot lately. The diner got a lot of regulars, but he'd only been coming here very recently, maybe in the last couple of weeks or so. He was quiet, didn't really carry on too much of a conversation, and he always got one of two things. Many of the customers, particularly the drunks who sat at the counter, blabbered off their whole life story within one or two visits to the place, not this guy. He was very reserved, just ordered his food, ate, paid and then left. Alana didn't think that she'd ever seen him around the city before, although it was a city, so what were the chances of that happening anyway, right? That didn't mean that she wasn't curious though. "What's the verdict today?" She asked, a smile on her face as she set the cup of coffee down on the table and pulled out her notepad and pen, ready to take down his order.

---

Pietro didn't know where he was. The last thing that he remembered, was saving Barton and that kid. He'd been hit several times, but there were no noticeable marks on his skin. How was that possible? He knew that he healed fairly quickly, but certainly one of those bullets had caused a fatal blow? One bullet he could shake off with ease, and he'd done that, but he shouldn't have been able to shake off the ones that he had. If he did shake them off...he didn't really know. Of course, after the initial confusion and shock, worry set in. Wanda...where was she? The moment someone walked into the room, he was on them, disrupting whatever wires and IVs had been connected to him. "Where's my sister?"

Bucky's eyes moved from the cup of coffee the waitress had just put down, up to her face. He gave her a small smile as he leaned back into the seat he was in. "Hamburger and fries, please and thanks," Bucky replied, looking away from her and back to the coffee. He reached forward with his not metal hand and picked up his coffee to take a small sip. On most days, he did his best to keep his metal arm covered up when people would easily point it out. That meant a lot of hoodies and flannel shirts when it was entirely too hot for them, and a lot of keeping his hand in his pocket. If he was walking down a crowded street, he'd have his arms swinging. But places like this where he'd get questions, he usually kept covered up.

---

The other nurse shrugged her shoulders after Dahlia had asked her question. With a sigh, she started to walk down the hallway. The chief doctor was standing outside the door, and looked at Dahlia once she reached him. "You go in there, he's waking up. You're good at bedside manner. And I have to go get some tests for him ready." Before Dahlia could protest, the doctor was heading off down the hall. She gave her head a little shake before opening the door and walking in, and before she knew what happened, Pietro was was on her. "She's safe," Dahlia replied quickly, trying not to sound a little scared even though her heart was beating at an incredibly quick pace. "She's with Captain America at a new Avengers facility. She's safe, Pietro."

He had really nice eyes. He usually didn't make much eye contact, and only really spoke when spoken too, but when he did, Alana couldn't help noticing just how blue his eyes really were. He was just quiet, but he wasn't rude, he was extremely polite, which was nice seeing as half the customers that came in here were rude motherfuckers who clearly had never been taught any actually manners. Shouting 'waitress!' across the damn restaurant just wasn't acceptable, but clearly they didn't know that. This guy wasn't like that though. He always said please and thank you, and he wasn't obnoxious or anything like that either. It was nice. "You got it." Alana told him, the smile still on her face. She scrawled his order out onto her pad. "I'll go put this in, let me know if you need anything in the mean time." She walked towards the kitchen, and placed the dupe up in the ticket window.

---

Pietro reacted like anyone else in his current situation would have. He was confused and had absolutely no idea where he was or how he had gotten here. None of this made any sense to him whatsoever. He'd been hit several times, shouldn't he be dead now? Amidst all of those questions swirling around in his head right now, he couldn't help thinking about his sister. They were always together, and now, not only did he not know where he was, but he didn't know where she was either. Needless to say, he couldn't help being a bit hostile when the woman came into the room. She was the first person he'd seen here, of course he was going to take it out on her. "And who are you? How do I know that you are not lying to me?"

Bucky glanced at her again and gave her a small nod, then looked back to his coffee. She was a really nice woman, especially for one who put up with so much crap from the people who frequented the diner. It bothered Bucky a lot, seeing them treat her like that, but he couldn't get into the middle of it. He knew if he said anything, they'd want to fight him and then it'd just be a shit show from there on out. The really needed to be taught a lesson on respect, though. Bucky let out a sigh and reached his hand up to his hat and dropped it on the table beside his coffee. He wasn't sure where he was going to be staying that night. He didn't have enough money for the motel he'd been staying at, and no way he was going to stay in a shelter. Too many people to ask too many questions there.

---

"I'm Dahlia O'Connor. I'm a nurse at SHIELD," Dahlia replied, trying to keep her breathing regulated. If this guy wanted, he could probably kill her pretty quickly. She didn't have very much combat training, and it didn't help her out either that he had super speed. She swallowed hard, keeping her eyes on his. She completely understood where he was coming from, even if she didn't particularly like having him angry and up in her face. She'd probably do the same thing. "I can show you that she's okay, if you let me."

If Alana didn't need this job or the money, she probably wouldn't put up with half of the shit that she did. She really had no where else to go right now though, and she'd honestly be up the creek without a paddle if she lost this job. The money was good here, and it did sometimes make having to deal with asshole customers worth it, but nevertheless she did have a few instances where she was tempted to just walk out. She never did though, she knew that that wouldn't be a rational decision on her part at all. She busied herself behind the counter for a while, doing some side work seeing as her tables were all alright for the time being. A little while later, she walked back over to the corner booth and set the guy's burger down in front of him. "Did you need anything else right now?"

---

SHIELD. Of course this would be their doing. While there were still many unanswered questions, Pietro at least knew who was behind all of this. That didn't make his concern for his sister lessen any though. He wouldn't relax until he saw that she was okay for himself. "You will show me?" He repeated slowly. It was fairly obvious that he didn't trust this woman. She was a stranger to him. He didn't trust very easily, and he didn't know if she was lying to him or not. What if Wanda wasn't okay? He couldn't help thinking that.

"Thanks," Bucky said with the same small smile he'd given her before. "I'm good for now, I think." He looked at his burger and fries and picked up a fry, popping it into his mouth. The burger was too big to hold with one hand without getting it all over himself, so he'd have to wait for her to not pay attention so he could eat without getting questions. "Actually," Bucky said, looking back up at her. "Do you know any cheap motels? Like I'm talking really cheap." He was pretty sure no one was under the illusion that he was a man of means, so he didn't really feel any shame in asking her. Bucky literally had nothing. That wasn't a secret he was working that hard to hide. He definitely had bigger ones to try to keep under wraps.

---

Dahlia nodded, still looking at Pietro. "Yes, I can show you." She wasn't going to tell him that he wouldn't be able to talk to her, at least not for the foreseeable future. Dahlia kind of thought it was stupid that they were keeping the fact that he was alive a secret from everyone, but it wasn't her call to make. She was just here to make sure Pietro was okay. The machines that Pietro were hooked up too were starting to beep frantically, causing Dahlia to glance over to them. "You're going to have to let me shut those off and check you out first, though. If I don't stop them from beeping soon, someone else will come and they'll try to sedate you." Standard protocol was to put the patient back under if they started to act up. Dahlia didn't really think that was fair, especially when he was just worried about his sister. She wasn't going to do it, but some of the more By The Book people would.

Alana smiled. "No problem, just doing my job." She said, punctuating her words with a shrug of her shoulders. Things were starting to slow down now, the afternoon rush having already happened, so she wasn't in any rush to get back to doing side work behind the counter. "Well, just holler if you need me." She told him. She turned to walk away when, much to her surprise, he asked her a question. "Not that I can think of, sorry." There weren't really any places around here that were dirt cheap. A lot of the motels were actually kind of pricey, or so she'd heard anyway. "Why? Are you looking for a place to stay?"

---

Pietro didn't realize that he wouldn't actually be able to talk to his sister. He didn't know that, aside from the people at this facility and Nick Fury, everyone else thought that he was dead. And, in all honesty, how would he know that? He'd only just woken up after however much time had passed. "Alright..." He said after a few brief moments of silence. He still didn't trust her, but she had offered to show him that his sister was safe, and that was his biggest concern at the moment. He hadn't really paid any mind to the beeping machines behind them until she mentioned them. "Then you will show me my sister?"

Bucky felt a small pang of disappointment when she said she didn't know any cheap places to stay. He really didn't want to sleep in a park. He'd slept in worse, he'd been through much worse, but that didn't mean he was jumping at the chance to look as homeless as he could. "Uh, yeah," Bucky said, picking up another french fry. He didn't eat it, but he kept it between his fingers. "Kinda low on money, I was just curious if you knew any places. I'm sure I'll find somewhere. I usually do." He'd just have to find someone to steal from to solve the issue.

---

"Then I'll show you your sister, I promise," Dahlia said. She looked at him without saying anything for a few moments longer before cautiously moving towards the machines that were beeping. She did her best to switch them all off as quickly as she could, then begun to collect the wires and tubes that were now falling from them. "How are you feeling?" She asked as she moved the tubes to a waste receptacle. "Any headaches, nausea, dizziness? D'you mind taking a seat on the bed again?" She glanced over to him, looking him up and down. The hospital gown wasn't a very good look for him, and he looked tired, but she couldn't help but notice he was a pretty good looking man.

The expression on Alana's face softened slightly. She wished that she knew of a place for him to stay, or that there was more that she could do to help him. It was just something that she liked doing, helping people. She knew that she couldn't help everyone, but it was just in her nature to do whatever she could to help, whenever she could. "If I think of somewhere, I'll let you know...I should probably get back to work though. Just let me know if you need anything, alright?" She offered him a small smile before walking off to check on her other tables.

---

Pietro supposed that he was going to have to give her the benefit of the doubt. He didn't like knowing that he was doing this, he didn't know her well enough to know if he could trust her or not, but what other choice did he have? She was the only person he'd spoken to since waking up, and she was offering to show him that Wanda was doing alright. "I'm alright." He told her, taking a seat on the bed. "I do not think that I should be...but I am." He still didn't really understand how he was practically unscathed, as though the last memories that he had at the moment hadn't even happened. It was strange.

Bucky gave her a little nod again before she walked off. As soon as she wasn't looking, he pulled his hand out of his pocket and started to eat his burger. As usual, it was always good. A bit too much ketchup, but he'd look past that. The food in this century was a lot better than the food he'd grown up with. Or at least what he remembered of what he grew up with. Most of his memories were from him being the Winter Solider. He didn't have a lot of memories from when he was Bucky Barnes. He had some memories of him and Steve as kids, a couple from the war, and that was it. He would get flashes every so often, but it wasn't enough to put everything back together.

---

"No, you really shouldn't be," Dahlia agreed. She grabbed a blood pressure machine, a little light, and a stethoscope and walked over to Pietro. She checked his heart, and his blood pressure, and then used the little light to check his eyes. "You seem to be okay, though," Dahlia said, putting the little light into her scrub's pocket. She walked around to the other side of the bed so she was standing behind him. "I'm just going to check to see how you healed up, then we can get you some normal clothes and I can show you Wanda." She undid the top couple ties on his hospital gown and pushed it aside slightly. He had scars from the bullets that went through him across his back. Dahlia ran her fingers over them with a small frown. She paused a few seconds longer than she should have before she walked across the room again, pulling open a drawer of a small dresser. She grabbed the clothes that were in it, and headed back over to Pietro. "All I've got is a hoodie and track pants and flip flops," she said with a smile, holding them out for him. "Hopefully it fits."

Alana found herself trying to think of ways that she could help the man in the corner booth as she went about her business. It was just in her nature to do this, and she really wished that there was something that she could do to help. There weren't many motels in the surrounding area that were cheap, not to the degree that he was hoping for anyway. She still wanted to help though. She walked back over to his table maybe fifteen or so minutes later. "Your check's been covered, don't try arguing with me about that either. What's done is done." She told him. "I might know of a place where you can stay, but you totally don't have to take me up on this idea or anything like that...it's just a suggestion."

---

Her agreeing with him didn't really make Pietro feel any better about this whole situation. He shouldn't be okay right now, but for some miraculous reason he was. He just didn't understand how that was possible. Of course, maybe he shouldn't be so shocked. There were a lot of things that shouldn't be possible, but they clearly were. He nodded wordlessly, tensing up a bit at first when he felt her fingers on his back. It was only for a few brief moments though before he relaxed. He took the clothes from her wordlessly before finally speaking. "How am I alive?" The one question that had been plaguing his thoughts since he'd woken up.

Bucky finished the rest of his hamburger pretty quickly, then went back to eating his fries. Before long, he was finished both, and was halfway done is cup of coffee. When the waitress came back over to him, he looked up at her with a confused expression. "Why's my bill covered? I can pay for my food," Bucky said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. He opened it op on his lap, using both hands. He only had a ten and some small change. He cleared his throat, looking back up to the waitress. "Thank you. What's the suggestion?"

---

"A lot of luck and some very advanced technology that I don't really understand," Dahlia said honestly. She wasn't there when they actually brought him back to life. She was just there for the aftercare portion. "I know they didn't think they'd be able to save you, and that it was probably because of the stuff that was done to you and your sister that made it possible. You're a very strong man, Pietro." She towards the door, then back to Pietro. "I'll wait outside. Put your hood up before you come out. I don't know if you're, strictly speaking, allowed to be walking around yet." She gave him a small smile before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. She was lucky the facility was relatively large, and relatively small staffed. She didn't think she'd get in too much trouble for showing him around, and after all, it was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.

"It doesn't matter, it's on the house." Alana told him, a small smile gracing her lips. If he was running low on money, she could certainly cover a burger and fries and a cup of coffee. "I know we don't know each other, and you can totally turn me down, but I have a spare bedroom in my apartment...you could stay with me until you figure things out if you want...only if you want to though." Her words came out kind of rushed and she'd started rambling a bit, but she cut herself off rather quickly, realizing that she was. "I'm Alana by the way, Alana White."

---

It wasn't an overly specific answer, but it was more than what Pietro knew before. He could tell that she didn't know very much about it herself. "Does my sister know?" He asked her. He already knew the answer to that question though. If Wanda knew, she'd be here with him, she wouldn't be off at some Avengers training facility with Captain America. He nodded in response to her later words. "Alright." Once she was out of the room, he slipped out of the hospital gown and into the clothes she had given him. Before stepping out of the room, he pulled the hood up over his head as she'd instructed. "Show me."

Bucky frowned slightly. "Look, Alana, that's really nice of you, but you don't want me staying in your apartment," Bucky replied, shaking his head. "Trust me, you don't want me in that spare room." Bucky had a habit of waking up shouting in the middle of the night. It was bad enough in a motel where people would complain about 'that nut job in the room next to me!', it'd be something else entirely if she let him stay with her, then he started to scream in the middle of the night. He didn't want to be a burden like that. "That's really nice of you, though. Probably a bit too trusting. How do you know I'm not a mass murderer?" He gave her a small smile, and a very small laugh, giving her a pointed look as he did so.

---

Dahlia nodded when Pietro came out of the room. She put her hands into her pockets and started down the hall. "So right now you're in the SHIELD top secret medical facility. We're actually in Canada right now. If you were curious." Dahlia continued down the hall then took a left when, then a right at the end of that hall. Soon she reached a door and opened it with a key on the rubber spiral keychain on her wrist. Inside the room was a large wall of computer monitors, and a single keyboard to operate them. "The medical staff here are allowed to watch the Avengers if they want to. Keeps us connected and focused on what we have to do, they say. It's all real time." She moved forward towards the keyboard and started to tap at the buttons, trying to find Wanda in the very large Avengers facility. Eventually, Wanda, Vision, and Falcon popped up on one of the monitors. "There she is," Dahlia said, pointing at one of the monitors. "See, safe and sound."

Alana frowned slightly at his words. She didn't understand why he thought that she wouldn't want him staying with her. She wouldn't have offered if it was something that she foresaw being some sort of a problem. "What makes you say that?" She asked, punctuating her words with a raised eyebrow. "What exactly are the odds of you being a mass murderer? It's highly doubtable." She wasn't going to force him to take her up on her offer, but had at least hoped that he would consider it. "Where exactly are you going to go? There aren't exactly any cheap motels around here. I'm not about to let you sleep out on a park bench somewhere."

---

Pietro listened as she explained where they were, answering yet another question that had been swirling around in his mind since waking up. "How long have I been here?" He asked her curiously. He didn't know how much time had passed by, and how long it had been since everything had gone down in Sokovia. He followed her into the room, glancing around at all of the different computer monitors. He waited for her to show him his sister on that screen. It made him feel a bit better, seeing her for himself. "When can I see her?"

"I was thinking just under a tree, to be honest," Bucky replied. He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a small sigh. "One night. I'll stay at your place one night. I won't bug you more than that, I promise." He wouldn't freak her out for more than one night, more like it. He work up shooting nearly every night, he didn't think this one would be an exception. "I'm Bucky," he said, standing up and holding his hand out. "Thanks, Alana."

---

"We're nearing week four," Dahlia replied. She stood back and watched as Pietro looked at his sister. She felt bad that she couldn't actually take him to her. "It... Probably won't be for a while. It's not my call. I'm sorry. They want to keep you here and make sure you're okay before putting you back with the team, if you want to be part of it. They didn't want to tell Wanda because you'd be a distraction, and they need her."

"Under a tree? Yeah, that's definitely not happening." Alana said, shaking her head. She wasn't about to let him sleep under a tree somewhere when she had a perfectly good guest room in her apartment. "Alright, but you honestly aren't bugging me. I wouldn't have offered if you were." She obviously didn't understand his reasoning for only wanting to stay one night, but she was glad that she'd at least gotten him to agree to that much. She just wanted to help. "Nice to meet you, Bucky." She said, shaking his hand. "It's not a problem." She assured him with a smile. "I get off in..." She paused to glance over at the clock. "Half an hour. Just hang out here until then and then we'll head out."

---

Four weeks...an entire month. "So, my sister has thought I was dead for an entire month now?" Pietro asked, a frown on his face. He clearly wasn't happy about that in the slightest. He didn't understand SHIELD, or why there were all of these secrets and lies. It made no sense to him at all. "I'd be a distraction?" He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "I'm the only family that she has. They might need her, but I need her, and she needs me. I've never been a distraction to her before. What makes this any different?"

"Okay, sounds good," Bucky agreed, taking a seat again. He knew he shouldn't have agreed to stay with her, and he really wasn't sure why he did. He was almost positive it wasn't going to end well. He could always just stay up all night. Sure he'd be tired the next day, but he'd done it before. He'd rather be tired than wake her up and freak her out. He'd figure it out when he reached that point. Bucky's mind started to wander as he took another sip of his coffee. He wondered what it was like to just be a normal guy, who didn't have to worry about ruining someones life if the wrong people found out he was near them. He'd left that kinda of life a long time ago, and he wished he could go back every day.

---

Dahlia frowned, her eyes on Pietro. She knew he was right, but she really couldn't do anything about it. She had orders, and her orders were to try to keep him here. If she let him go, she'd get into a whole lot of trouble. "I'm sorry, Pietro. It's stupid, I know. If I could take you to her I'd do it, but I can't until I get the okay." It really was stupid how they were treating him, especially after he saved Clint and that little boy. "D'you want to go over what you missed in the last month? We can get you some food and I can catch you up if you want."