Even If You Can't Hear My Voice, I'll Be Right Beside You

Bucky gave a short nod when Ari explained that she had just seen someone that she knew, he would have asked if she wanted to go back to see this friend but by the time the bus stopped next it would have been a decent walk back to the park. Listening to what she was saying, she was right. He had learnt a lot about who he had once been and all the good that he had done in that part of life, so this whole day hadn’t been a mistake. “Yeah,” He agreed as he looked at Ari, his eyes slowly moving over her features and he silently wondered to himself how and why she was still single. In his opinion she was smart not to date anyone in HYDRA, none of them were easy on the eye and none would have treated her the way she deserves. But surely she knows a man who she’s attracted to?

Sitting there on the bus with her small warm hands holding his, it felt nice to have that physical contact even if he could only feel it on his human hand. It was nice none the less and he was enjoying her touch, although it ended much too soon for his liking when the bus stopped and Ari lead the way off back onto the street. Then suddenly her phone was lifted into his line of sight, a slight frown formed on his face when he noticed he was taking a photo of them both. But this one somehow made dog features appear over his face, he was beyond confused as to why anyone would enjoy this. “Why? I don’t get it,” He told her as he couldn’t understand people these days, why would anyone want a picture of themselves with toast around their face? “It isn’t adorable, Ari. It’s strange,” What else can people do with those phones? Bucky has used them but only to check in with HYDRA once a mission was completed, or for HYDRA to check up on him while he was in a different country for a mission.

---

Grace followed Steve into the comic book store and smiled softly at how star stuck the young employee was, it didn’t take long before they were both watching what the camera had recorded. It was easy for her to find Bucky, he looked exactly the same as all the photos she had seen of him. His hair was longer and he was more muscular now, but his face was still the same although his features looked far colder than when Steve had known him. Watching as the bus pulled over, she quickly wrote down the number of the bus on a piece of paper so she wouldn’t forget it. “Neither of them appear to be distressed,” She pointed out to Steve as he replayed the footage once again, did that mean Bucky considered the girl to be a friend? Someone that he trusted? If so, the friendship had to go both ways because the girls looked even more relaxed then Bucky did.

Watching the screen Grace froze when Steve paused to get a better look at the girl, her heart sank into her stomach and she wouldn’t be surprised if her face lost all colour. “Ari…” She knew that face from anywhere, Luka’s cousin that Grace had gotten close to while they dated. If Ari knew Bucky, that only meant that she had worked or is still working for HYDRA. How else would she know Bucky? “She’s Luka’s cousin, I had no idea she was in all of this too. I haven’t talked to her or seen her since the breakup,” Grace couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen, so many thoughts were racing through her mind and she couldn’t focus on any of them. If Ari was on that bus to go home, she hasn’t moved from the apartment where they used to spend time together. When Luka wasn’t around, Grace often hung out with Ari.

[Last post's inspiration xD]

Ari playfully gasped, and lightly tapped his arm. “Hey! It’s cute, at least I think it’s cute.” She considered his question then, for it was quite valid. It probably seemed alien to him for he didn’t grow up in a society obsessed with media and beautifying themselves, even if it went ot such measures as being a dog. “It is for humour, it’s a bit of fun, I suppose.” She replied then, breaking out into a grin, “We have to pay rent and debt and college fees and it’s a crippling millennial disaster – so we avoid it all with toast faces.” She concluded. She pocketed her phone. “In my defence, if I were in your age, I’d find the fashion strange.” Here, she wrinkled her nose in thought of the skirts. “And back then they used to boil everything. I can’t.” She lifted her hands up and laughed, making her way up the steps to the door of the building to her apartment. At it, she turned around and looked down at Bucky with a grin, “I have to give you some credit. I wouldn’t have survived in that day. No mobile phones, no wifi, no laptops? I am an addict of the 21st century, and I know no other way of living. Lord help me.” She put a hand over her heart and turned away to open the door, leading them inside and up the stairs (she insisted, for she needed that extra exercise).

At the apartment, she opened the door and waltzed in, dropping her bag on a chair nearby and kicking off her shoes. She danced to the sink to wash her hands and then to the pantry and pulled out some macaroni and a saucepan and put the pasta to boil. “Do you want to watch a movie?” She asked over her shoulder, pulling her sleeves up as she started to fry some minced meat, intent on having something warm and lovely to eat for the evening. “There’s a collection by the TV. You’re free to choose if you want.”

---

Steve had his eyes glued for the entire time, still processing and trying to pick out the man that was Bucky, study his face, his body posture, that he completely forgot to write down the bus or even pay attention to it the first time around. Her conclusion he agreed with, and he nodded. “I don’t think she’s a trained agent,” he added. “He’s tense of his surroundings, but she’s just… not even looking.” He mumbled. And that was true. Just like Steve himself was, relaxed seeming but always on alert, ready for action – he saw Bucky to be the same here. And the girl? She didn’t even look at any of her surroundings constantly. It was as if she was an everyday citizen unaware of the dangers about her.

On the repeated play through, Steve wasn’t so absorbed into the screen that he heard Grace muttered a name, and he looked over his shoulder to ask a question, noticing her face had gone quite shocked and pale. “Are you- do you know her?” He asked, but didn’t have to, for Grace was already explaining. At the mention of Luka and the girl’s relationship, Steve pieced the rest together. It was highly unlikely that she was not part of HYDRA and just happened to stumble upon the Winter Soldier, but rather that she too was part of the organization. Was the whole family involved? That would be a pain. Steve looked at Grace and felt sorry for her. How difficult was it find out that not only your ex was a member of some killer team but also his cousin, one he suspected Grace visited often too – judging by her reaction. Steve looked to the employee, “Can we have this tape?”

The boy looked quite at loss for words at first but then nodded, “Sure,” and produced a USB a few minutes later with the video on it. In fact, he looked ready to cut out his kidney there and then if Steve ever so asked. Steve thanked him, and the employee nodded – still quite stunned, “If you need anything else, I can give you my number,” he stammered out. To which Steve briefly smiled, surprised himself and replied, “No, thanks, we’ll be fine.”

He took Grace’s hand and slowly walked out with her, waiting until they were out of the store to speak. “So where do you think they went? Is he… in… trusted hands or should I find him as soon as possible. I’m in no state to go get him now, but if I must…” he looked down at her. How well did she know this Ari? Was the girl trusted? He relied fully on Grace in this moment, and knew he would trust her word no matter his inner feeling. She wouldn’t betray him and say not to worry if Ari really was a threat, he didn’t think her that sort of person. In fact, the thought didn’t even cross his mind.

[He’s so adorable! But he’d be frowning so he’d look like an adorable sad puppy!]

Bucky didn’t find it very fun, but if Ari did then he would allow her to take pictures of him with dog features or a piece of bread around his face. But she did have a good point, people these days did have more to worry about then what he used to when he was younger. Of course people still worried about paying bills and buying food, but his family had also earned less and only his father had worked so they lived off his salary. Things were different now, Bucky still wasn’t sure if it was better in his day or now. “Boiling food was the best we had, we didn’t know about frying pans or anything. We didn’t have as many privileges as what most people have now,” He knew most people Ari’s age wouldn’t survive a week if they lived like he had. But he wouldn’t have survived if he had been born into his Grandparents’ time.

Following Ari up the stairs before they reached her apartment, “I would have helped you survive.” He mentioned as he walked inside, shutting and locking the door behind once he had scanned the empty hallway just one more time. “A movie would be good,” He untied his shoelaces and pulled his shoes off, he removed his jacket and draped it over a chair at the dining table and just enjoyed the feeling of cool air on him. He headed over to where Ari kept her movies and looked through all the ones she had, his eyes moving over the names until he came across one that looked good to him. “Is this one good?” He asked Ari as he held up the box for a movie called Inside Out, he had no idea what it was about as he had never heard about it before.

---

Grace didn’t know what to think, Ari was the last person she expected to be involved with HYDRA. She had thought Ari would have gone on to do so many great things, not work for horrible people who only want power and to have control over everyone. She was too busy thinking about it that she didn’t notice Steve getting the footage on a USB stick, she only came back to reality when she felt Steve’s hand take her’s before leading her out of the comic book store. She looked up at him when he asked if Bucky was okay with Ari, “You don’t have to worry about her.” She assured Steve because it was true, Ari wouldn’t hurt a fly but Grace was a little concerned at how comfortable Ari appeared to be around Bucky. She knew he had been close to Steve, but he has been the Winter Solider for so long now that Ari wouldn’t stand a chance if he decided to hurt her.

“I can’t believe she’s been working for them as well,” She couldn’t wrap her mind around it, why would Luka let her work for HYDRA? He had always been so protective of her, unless that was it. He thought HYDRA would keep her safe, she just hoped that Ari isn’t too far gone like Luka in believing HYDRA is good. “You don’t have to go find him now,” Grace didn’t know what to do, she could tell Steve the address of Ari’s apartment and he could either find Bucky there or ask Ari where he was. Or she could keep that information to herself, which made her feel like she was lying to him because he has been searching for Bucky for so long now.

“How about we do something to relax and figure out what to do tomorrow? We know he’s safe and I know where Ari lives, I don’t think he’s going anywhere.” She looked at Steve giving his hand a light squeeze as she hoped he would take that suggestion well, if she was in his shoes then all she’d want to do is go find her friend but they needed to think about this. Make a plan in how to tackle this and not appear like a threat to Bucky.

[I can imagine Ari framing that picture and putting it on her bed stand I’m mostly laughing at the thought of if HYDRA or anyone got their hands on that photo, they see this mean killer with this dog filter, or a toast ]

Ari had to admit he had a point. Every generation was different, and perhaps their times were simpler, at the expense of lack of technology. Alas, times changed. She grinned back at him, “Oh? I find that hard to believe,” she teased, with a small laugh, “I feel like you would have liked to help a lot of lovely young girls to survive.” She wanted to wink, but not knowing if he would get the meaning or not, she gave it up and with a sheepish smile turned back to her pasta, mixing it and resuming frying the meat, spicing it up and adding some sauces to make it nice and tasty. When she heard him ask the movie, she looked over and squinted a little to make out the name. “Oh that? I didn’t think that’d catch your fancy. But yes, it’s good. If you like simple, light things.” She turned the stove off and grabbed some plates, “I’ve had enough of mystery for now, so I’m very much okay with that.”
She hoped he remembered how to turn the tv on, for she had shown him, and the pasta was demanding her attention in this very minute. She abandoned her attention on him for a little, sorting the pasta out and piling the food onto the platers, bringing them both over to the lounge area and standing by Bucky to give him his plate once he was done. There wasn’t much food as she knew he had already eaten and she didn’t like eating into the night. Done that, she seated herself on the couch, pulling her legs in under her and leaned back and tasted her food, but it proved hot and she set it aside, using the moment the moment of waiting while the movie started up to go quickly change into something more comfier and returning to join Bucky.

---

Once she said those words, Steve calmed. Then it could wait until tomorrow, once he was calmer and had his thoughts gathered. He did not want to rush in now. He listened as Grace expressed her disbelief. “Maybe she had a reason,” he tried, trying to think on the positive side and to believe that this Ari would not go in headfirst into evil. “Maybe they forced her.” That is, if she was really as nice as she had presented herself and made Grace believe. Luke had lied and deceived, and – although Steve hated to even think of categorising them together – he had to accept that it was a possibility. Be positive and optimistic, but not blindly so.

“Yeah, I think I’ll wait. I don’t know how he’ll take it if I just show up. I have nothing I know to say. I’m a mess. If he’s safe, I can wait a day more. Get myself together.” He shook his head with a chuckle. “He didn’t look tormented, and I’m fine with that.” He returned her squeeze of hand and agreed to her suggestion, “Yes, lets.” He saw a supermarket not far from where they were standing and gestured to it. “Maybe there? It’s a simple thing, but hey, simple things calm me down. And I need some food for my fridge. I don’t live with a cook anymore.” He laughed softly, doing his best to distract himself from the thoughts of five minutes ago, and quite honestly – around her, they were working.

[Ari should frame it! So every morning when she wakes up, she can smile because he’s way too adorable for his own good!]

Ari’s comment went over Bucky’s head, did he help young girls? He couldn’t remember but he did feel like he somewhat understood what Ari was getting at, honestly he had no memory if he had been that way with the young girls before all of this happened to him. So he simply didn’t answer Ari, he didn’t even know if he would help people now. Although he liked to think that he would if someone needed his help, he couldn’t be certain until he was in that situation. He prayed that if he did came across someone needing help, he wouldn’t turn back into the Winter Soldier. He wouldn’t be able to deal with that if it happened. “I want to see what it’s like, we didn’t have this in my time.” Of course there were films and the theatre, but it was firstly in black and white. And they had actors, there weren’t any drawings that somehow came to life on the screen. So he wanted to see what it was like, Bucky turned the tv on like she had shown him before pressing a few more buttons until he was able to place the disc inside the machine.

Pressing a few more buttons until the machine closed and the tv screen came to life, he was pretty impressed that he had remembered how to use the fancy tv. Sitting down beside Ari he gladly took the food from her, “Thank you. This smells wonderful,” He told her before taking a large mouthful of the mince and pasta, he enjoyed this kind of food the most. It reminded him of his mother’s cooking, although the flavours were a hundred times better, it was still the home cooking aspect of it that he really enjoyed. He relaxed into the couch as much as he could, his mind and body would forever be on alert. He may not seem tense or guarded from the outside, but on the inside was a completely different story. As the movie begun Bucky couldn’t take his eyes away from what he was seeing, the characters moved exactly like a person would and they weren’t flat like he had been expecting. “How are they so real looking?” He murmured to Ari as he couldn’t understand, he came to realise that this was something he just wouldn’t be able to wrap his head around.

---

Steve brought up the fact that Ari had been forced to work for HYDRA and Grace found herself hoping that was the case, she hated to think that Ari would have willingly worked there when she could have gotten a job anywhere. She nodded when Steve mentioned how he needed food for his fridge, “I wouldn’t go that far. I’m not that great at cooking,” She looked at him before they headed towards the grocery store so he could stock up on food, once he had gotten himself a trolley it was Grace who guided him through the different aisles and picking out items that he needed. It was relaxing even for Grace and it gave her something else to think about, she was attempting to work out an easy meal plan for Steve or to make sure he at least had all the basic items for whatever he felt like cooking at the time. “Have you used these before?” She asked as she put a few bags of mixed frozen vegetables into the trolley, the vegetables were in smaller bags and you cooked them in the microwave.

Looking at Steve she smiled when he was looking utterly confused, “I’ll explain how to use them later.” It was adorable to her that he could get so confused over things that were easy to her, she did find herself forgetting that Steve had been born in a different time. “Do you think this will be enough for now?” She asked him after they walked along the last aisle of the store, she couldn’t think of anything else that he might need and he can always come back if they have forgotten something. “Shall we go pay?” She looked over to him as they both seemed calmer now, neither one of them had mentioned Bucky or Ari since entering the grocery store.

[Agreed!! ]

"The magic of animation," She replied with a small chuckle, for she didn't know herself either. "A lot of programming and modelling, using really advanced programs on computers." She pushed some food around a little more, letting it cool. It was amusing to watch Bucky be so entertained to something she took for granted, be amazed by something she had grown up to and expected as the norm. It was nice, however, watching him watch a movie (she really wasn't watching it herself but had her attention on him out the corner of her eye) and would have loved to go on forever, and even started to drift a little into a nap, her head tilting to his shoulder and stopping short as she caught herself dozing. It was a good hour into the movie when someone knocked, and Ari - with a small sigh - stood to go get the door. "I'll answer. Probably just my neighbour." She padded to the door and peeked through the hole. There was her old neighbour and Ari wondered why on earth the other was here. She unlocked the door and opened it a little, keeping it half closed to hide Bucky's presence.

"What's up?" She asked, and managed to glance out but stopped short just in time as she saw more than what she expected. Men. In black and in masks. She froze, and quickly started to shut it, but one shoved his foot in and prevented the door from closing. Ari braced herself against the door, refusing to budge. "What's the meaning of this?" She snapped, both worried for her neighbour and for Bucky. Her heart pounded, and in truth, while she kept the brave face, she was utterly terrified. Her heart was pounding a million miles a second and she was sure her face had lost all color. "Move your foot," she demanded, but the door was pushed on - and Ari almost lost her footing. Time. Buy time. She hoped, in all her life, that Bucky would go. The balcony was right there, he could go out and disappear, and these people would leave, for sure. For sure... (but she wasn't sure they'd go peacefully).

"Where is he?" the first man demanded.
"I have no idea-"
"Where is he?" He shoved the door and Ari, being small and untrained to stand up against such a big man, stumbled back, losing her balance and would have fallen had it not been for the wall against which she bumped. She tried to catch herself, but the men - there were four, armed to the teeth - were suddenly in her apartment, and one slammed the door behind them. Ari didn't look to where she had left Bucky, didn't even think about him at this moment. He was the Winter Soldier, he could take care of himself. Her main priority was surviving. She edged along the wall, trying to get out of sight, but one of the men spotted her, grabbed her and shoved her across the kitchen. She stumbled, and grasped the pan from the stove as she regained her footing, and sent the pan flying in his direction.

---

Steve only chuckled, "Oh Grace, a cook is a cook, regardless of how they make it." He resisted the urge to reach up and rub the back of her head in some sort of light ruffling hair motion. That would be strange. Besides, he did not feel it would be appropriate to do to a lady, in a public place especially. A mate, a male friend? Sure. Any day. He would have done it to Bucky, to any of his team members, had the times been less stressful. He would have done it to a younger brother, and perhaps a son.

His thoughts were interrupted when he was presented a packet of frozen vegetables. "Just boil? Right? I did that once before." He tried, picking the packet up and trying to read the instructions - he was sure they were to be boiled - but she was hurrying along again and he let them drop back into the trolley, pushing it after her with a soft hum. What the hell was a microwave anyway? Small wave? What? He had a warming heating box thing in his kitchen, would that may be the microwave? Such a strange name. "Yeah, I think this is enough." He looked at the trolley and smiled. "Ah, one more thing. Wait here." He turned away quickly and hurried from the trolley. He passed main aisles back and reached one end of the supermarket where they sold flowers, but beside the bouquets they had little potted ones. He knew she liked to have little plants, and she enjoyed flowers, and he had spotted this new addition when they entered. It was small, a fine collection to her office for sure. He picked it up and returned, radiant in smiles as he put it on the conveyor to the cashier, having it scanned first and placing it into Grace's hands. "Yours," he stated with a smile, then turned back to the bags and started to put them into the trolley, hurrying to take out his card to pay for the food - no way was he letting her do that, besides, he had the money, why be a financial burden on a lady?

[Oh my god! When Ari demanded the guy move his foot, I couldn’t stop laughing!]

Bucky was at ease, eating dinner and watching a movie with Ari beside him. It felt somewhat nice to not be constantly on guard, even though he knew he’d never truly ever relax again. He had finished his food and set the bowl aside onto the side table that was beside the couch, he continued to watch the movie even after the knock at the door but now his senses were heightened as he listened closely. When he didn’t hear Ari get an answer, he was on his feet and moving towards where the brunette was standing. Then he watched as she tried to shut the door, his instinct kicked in and he silently made his way to the bedroom. Opening his bag his jaw tensed when he realised he didn’t have a single weapon with him, no gun and no knife that he could use to protect Ari. He knew this would happen one day, he should have never agreed to stay with her as all he has done is put her in danger.

Standing up he heard a thump from in the apartment, it sounded like a body falling into the wall. Now Bucky wasn’t thinking clearly, one of the men had touched Ari and that was all he needed to know these men probably wouldn’t survive long enough to leave the apartment. He moved silently, not making a single noise as he moved along the walls from the bedroom and down the short hallway. He caught sight of Ari in the kitchen, throwing a pan which was dodged as it made a loud noise when it crashed to the floor. He could hear men moving around the small apartment, he could count four different sets of footsteps and one pair was heading his way. Hiding he waited until the man was close enough before grabbing him around his neck, his metal arm quickly crushing down on the man’s airways. He struggled but it wasn’t enough to do anything as he was struggling to breathe, Bucky grabbed a knife from the man’s belt and slid it across the floor for Ari to use if she so wished.

Once the man’s body became limp he was tossed aside, now the other three men were coming for him with their guns out. But Bucky wasn’t stupid, he rolled across the floor and used the dining table as a shield. Grabbing a chair he threw it, hitting one agent who stumbled backwards. He wanted to yell at Ari to run, hide somewhere but that would only draw attention onto her and he didn’t want that. Leaping forward he tackled an agent and used his weight to spin around in the air, kicking the last agent in the face before driving the other agent to the floor where Bucky punched his face with his metal fist and left a lot of damage behind.

---

While Steve rushed off, Grace started placing all the items onto the conveyor so the cashier could start scanning and placing it all into bags. She watched as Steve returned and handed over a cute little potted plant to her, “Steve. You didn’t have to do get me this, but thank you.” She smiled at how adorable he was, the small plant would fit in well in her office and it meant that Steve paid attention to what she did have in her office. She would have kissed him as a thank you but Grace never was one who enjoyed public displays of affection, not seeing other people do it and not doing it herself. It just made her feel awkward. So instead she cradled the pot in her hands as she would hate for it to break or spill over, once Steve had paid for his groceries and all the bags were back in the trolley they left the store. “You should get all of this home, we can start looking for him tomorrow.” She told Steve knowing he would want to find Bucky as soon as he could, but for now he needed to get his frozen items home before they defrost and melt.

The walk back to his car wasn’t a long one and once there, Grace helped him load the grocery bags into the trunk of the car although her plant was going to stay in her hands for the drive home as Steve had picked her up once again. Climbing inside the car she leaned over closer to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “For getting me the plant.” Smiling she looked at him, realising how lucky she was to have him in her life. He was Captain America, he could have whoever he wanted and yet here he was with her. Taking her on dates and buying her gifts, she wanted to pinch herself to make sure all of this was real but she knew that it was.

[ Ari's logic "look tough and maybe they will run away' didn't work out;; curling my toes in cuteness for Grace tho ]

This, for sure, was not how she had planned the day, or evening, or life for that matter. But it had to happen, and now here it was as four men in her apartment trashing everything against one other man. While Bucky took on the first three men, the fourth and she struggled, the knife coming in handy as she had a tussle with the brute, and cut his hand, but in return was even more so injured. Why the hell was she even fighting? She didn't know. She was pushed aside, hit her back on the counter and slid down, watching on as Bucky fought the last two. Her hand was pressed at her side where the blade had cut, and for a moment she thought she was fine, and that everything was okay. She even tried to move, turning and using her other hand to pull herself up the counter to grab the phone, and she touched the handset, but immediately the pain kicked in and Ari abandoned the motion. Hissing in pain she slid down the counter, leaving quite the bloody mark and turned away.

Panting, she slowly and gingerly pried her hand away from her side, and looked down. The amount of blood was a bit much to look at and she quickly covered her hand to it. Cold. It felt really cold. All she could process was she was losing enough blood to bleed out in the next hour or so, and that she needed urgent medical attention. Ari's eyes darted about the room. "Gun." She forced out, "Under couch. And behind painting." She swore softly under her rapid breath. "The door. Lock it." No need for any more to come in. Or for a passerby to walk past and see.

It was so easy to simply close her eyes and fall asleep. Suddenly, Ari realized she was really tired. Her eyes slipped shut for a moment, and almost asleep, but the thought of bleeding out put a new spur of fear in her and she quickly awoke. She hadn't even looked at Bucky properly. Was he okay? Or did he revert to Winter Soldier mode? She, alarmed, looked for him, and focused her wandering sight on his form and his face, unwillingly bringing a leg in to push off if he tried to come at her neck or something. Especially now that she just told him where the guns were. Her heart was surely beating a million times a minute, her breath shaky, short and fast. What a way to go. Hide a deadly assassin in your apartment and expect to die of old age? What a joke. (Ari would have laughed).

---

Steve couldn't help but grin more. He didn't have to, but he wanted to. Packing all the things into the trolley, they made their way out and packed it all in the car. Shutting the boot, Steve turned and looked at her, nodding in thought. "I'm sure he's alright." A thing to calm himself, more or less. In the car, he turned up the heater a little, for her - for it was getting a bit chilly outside again, and smiled warmly at the kiss. "It's lovely, isn't it?" He reversed out and they drove towards her house, quite aware of the reality sinking in on him. Here he was in the twenty first century, serving his country and even the world, with a lovely lady! Oh, his old self couldn't be more proud. The mere thought flooded joy to him and he couldn't take off the tiny smile from his lips, and did a lot to not burst out into a big grin.

Pulling up by her apartment, he helped her out and stopped by the door - where some men were pulling a wooden clock into the elevator, and the stairs were closed for cleaning. He didn't want to intrude on the cleaner, and the men seemed to be doing a fine job so he stopped outside. "Thank you for coming with me," he smiled at her and gave her a light kiss (for humble's sake in front of the others) and bid her a lovely night. It was time to go home, and he didn't want to take up anymore of her time - it was getting late after all!

[Ari and her logic! Even when she asked what the meaning of it was, like they would tell her!]

Bucky dealt with all the agents until they were all on the floor and weren’t moving anymore, it was only then that he searched the area for Ari. Finding her in the kitchen caused anger to bubble up inside of him, her hand was covered in blood as she held her side. The knife was on the floor and was tainted red, Bucky might have let the agents live if they hadn’t of hurt Ari but now he knew exactly what he was going to do with them. But firstly he grabbed a towel and one of Ari’s belts, he pressed the towel against her side and secured it in place with the belt. “Stay awake for me,” He whispered to her before he grabbed the agents and pushed them all down the fire escape stairs, taking them all into an aisle he shot them with the gun under Ari’s couch. Tossing the bodies into a dumpster so no innocent person would come across them the next morning, moving quickly back up the fire escape he climbed into the trashed apartment.

Ari’s eyes were half shut and she was losing too much blood, “Tell me where to go.” He demanded as he lifted her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style in his arms he grabbed her car keys and rushed her down to the garage. Laying her across the back seat of her car, she mumbled an address to him which he managed to put into her phone so it would tell him where to go. He was still amazed at how many things a small phone could do. But there was no time to think, he sped out of the garage nearly running into people as he went but he didn’t care. Ari needed help, help that he couldn’t give to her and he felt so helpless. He never felt like that and it hurt, it hurt him knowing he could lose the one person who actually cared about him. All because he was selfish and wanted to stay near her, thankfully the address wasn’t too far away and once he parked Ari’s car he was taking her body back into his arms. She was still awake but he could tell she was struggling, he had no idea where he was going as he climbed the fire escape and counted the windows until he reached the number that Ari had mumbled to him. The window was unlocked and the room was dark, so he slipped inside easily and gently set Ari down on the couch.

---

The potted plant was perfect, she couldn’t wait until she could take it to her office tomorrow. Walking into the foyer of the apartment building she smiled when she saw the two men carrying then old clock, the grandsons of the elderly couple who lived the floor below her. The sweetest couple who always baked sweet treats for Grace and collected her mail when she was busy working, “I wouldn’t have said no,” She smiled as she returned his light kiss, “I’ll see you tomorrow at work.” She told him before she stepped into the elevator, she would have invited Steve up for a drink but the elevator wasn’t large so it would have been a tight squeeze with the clock already inside. Plus they both had work in the morning and he still needed to unpack his groceries, so she sighed happily once the doors shut and the elevator was moving. She moved aside to let the two men out before she went to her floor, she grabbed her keys from her bag and unlocked the door to her apartment. She flicked the lights on as she set her bag, keys and plant down onto the table beside the front door, shutting the door behind her she turned around only to have a hand cover her mouth and for a cold arm to push her against the wall.

In the process she bumped into the lamp on the table near the door, which fell to the floor and smashed. Grace’s eyes widened when a face came to view, fear ran through her body as the Winter Soldier stood before her and had her pinned to the wall. “Don’t think about screaming or running, you won’t get far if you do.” His voice hissed at her as her heart beat slammed against her rib cage, she couldn’t think clearly and his metal arm was digging into the skin of her chest and shoulders. “Save her or I’ll kill you,” He threatened before Grace heard a weak but familiar voice, looking over to her couch she found a pale Ari laying there. A towel at her side that was soaked with her blood, she was telling Bucky to let her go so she could help. But it still took a few long seconds before he did step backwards away from her, “Ari… what happened?” She rushed over to her friend who simply just spoke one word, knife. “My room down the hall, bring me my kit. Towels and a bowl of cold water,” She demanded from Bucky but didn’t dare look at him, she couldn’t look at him as she was terrified of him. “Keep your eyes open, you’ll be fine.” Grace looked at her old friend and waited until Bucky was gone before she grabbed her phone, she quickly called Steve’s number and it felt like forever before he answered. “Steve, come back. I ne…” Was all Grace got out before her phone was taken from her, Bucky ended the call with a glare on his face before shoving the box he found into her arms.

Grace moved back over to Ari and pulled on gloves, she removed the belt and the towel. Pushing Ari’s shirt up so she could see the damage, the wound wasn’t large but it was deep and would still need stitches. Grace prayed the knife hadn’t pierced through any organs but she had no way of telling, “You need the hospital. You’ll need to have scans, I can’t tell if any organs were damaged.” She looked at Ari as she used the water and fresh towels to clean the area, if an organs have been damaged then Ari would need surgery if she wanted to survived this.

Thankfully, he was in his right mind. He took the bodies away somewhere, leaving Ari all alone in the kitchen, and she feared she’d lose consciousness before she fell asleep, and took every bit of herself to stay awake. The adrenaline rush from the fight had quickly gone down, and now it was just the aftermath, the cold hurtful aftermath. It felt like forever until he returned, and she didn’t question where he put the agents, and didn’t want to – she guessed enough. She mumbled out an address and Grace’s name, knowing no hospital was good at this moment. Too much to explain, they would also see Bucky and call in all the people that didn’t need to be called. Too much. Grace was safer. Grace would help. She hoped.

The ride there was just as long, and she tried to stay awake by counting the street lights as they passed on the ceiling of the car. From there, she didn’t quite remember, and she was sure she temporarily blanked, but then she was on the couch and looking at another ceiling. She felt – more than she saw – Bucky’s presence nearby and when the door opened she resisted the urge to sit up. She heard a small scuffle, and made a noise to get their attention, heard his voice and words and worried a little more. “Buck-She’s fine. Let her go,” she heaved out and grunted in pain again. Another century later and Grace was beside her. Ari felt she went through the motions, answering simply and shaking her head. When Grace went to call, she made no move to stop her, only a whimper at the sight of Bucky looming behind her.

“No, no hospital.” Ari struggled, flinching away from Grace at its mere mention. “They’ll find out and- and-“ she broke off to take a few breaths, “Hydra.” She looked at Grace and trembled. There would be no way to hide it either. The wound was right above the tattoo HYDRA had mercilessly inked in, there would be no hiding that. Her hand found the edge of the couch and gripped it tightly as Grace wiped and prodded where need be, as gentle as she was, it still hurt.

---

Steve had driven out back onto the street and was not far away when he got the call. He looked at the phone, wondering why Grace was calling – had he forgotten something? Had she? He picked up. “Hello,” he didn’t get to finish though, for he heard her words and suddenly the call ended. Her words, and her tone, screamed urgency. Steve abandoned all care, hit the gas and u-turned in the intersection, speeding back to her house. It took an awfully long time (or so it seemed for him) but he made it, parked the car outside roughly, grabbed his shield and ran up the stairs (the elevator would take too long) and ran to her apartment. Short outside her door, he stopped. What if she were being held hostage? He turned around and sprinted to the end of the hallway, climbing out and using the few ledges and balconies to make his way across the building to her balcony, dropping quietly on and crouching, waiting a moment. He peered in, saw three figures and quickly hid again. What to do? Was she in danger? If she was, she would have pressed the emergency tracker he gave her… unless… He took a risk. When the only figure seeming to patrol the room was more or less facing away from the two on the couch (both were smaller, it seemed), Steve smashed the lock of the sliding door with his shield, tore in, and threw it to the bigger of the three, the one patrolling the room, the one – as Steve saw in the light and suddenly realised – was Bucky.

Bucky didn’t trust this woman, he didn’t trust anyone now after the attack in Ari’s apartment. But she clearly knew the doctor and did trust her, so he tried not to hover over the doctor too much. He started to patrol the room, she had called someone named Steve. He couldn’t be certain but his old friend’s name was Steve, she would only know him if she worked for SHIELD like he did. Ari hadn’t mentioned that the doctor did work for SHIELD, but he wanted to be ready for whoever this Steve was. Walking across the room he turned to glance out a window near the kitchen, which is when a noise sounded before someone had entered the apartment from the balcony. A shield was flying at him but Bucky used his metal hand to catch it with ease, before he dropped the shield to the floor. Standing there was Captain America, a man who had once been his mission which he never finished because he couldn’t let him die.

“You called him,” He hissed as he quickly looked over to the doctor, before his attention went back to Steve. Ari did tell him that Steve would help him, he wouldn’t hate him for who he had become because he had been controlled by Hydra. He didn’t want to attack his old friend, but he also was incredibly on edge that he knew he could snap at any second. Ari could always somehow keep him calm, keep his head level. If she didn’t survive then he would lose his anchor, he wouldn’t know what to do without her. He’d be completely lost.

---

Grace saw the black ink that marked Ari’s skin and her worst thoughts came to life, she had been working for Hydra but she couldn’t think about that now. “Fine,” She wasn’t happy about this, Ari needed more care than what Grace could give her in her home but she would do her best. She grabbed a few tools from her medical kit and looked into the wound, to try and see if any organs had been pierced. She was as gentle as she could be, but she knew Ari would still be in a lot of pain. “You’re doing really well,” She told her friend before there was noise, glancing over to the sliding door she felt relief when she saw Steve. He had thrown his shield at Bucky but he caught it easily, that only sent more fear through Grace at how deadly he truly is. She flinched lightly at Bucky’s comment to her, “Yes. Because you broke into my home and threatened me, of course I called him. I know you’re worried, but I need him here.” She told Bucky in the firmest voice she could, although her voice still broke a little as he made her feel unsettled.

He had pushed her to the wall like she was a rag doll, he scared her and could snap her like a stick. She needed Steve to be there in case Bucky lost control. Grace turned back to Ari and rolled up a towel, “Bite down on this. It’s going to hurt now,” Grace spoke softly placing the towel in between Ari’s teeth, “You might black out but you’ll be okay.” She warned her friend as she disinfected the wound which would hurt before she opened a sealed package and removed a needle, she numbed the surrounding area of the wound but Grace couldn’t wait for it to take effect as the wound needed to be sutured which would control the bleeding and start the healing process. She made herself forget about Bucky being there as she pierced Ari’s skin so she could close the stab wound.

[Theres so much tension in the room right now its amazing ]

If Ari had the strength, she would have jumped and shrieked in fright as suddenly the door flew open and an object flew through the room, making a rather loud clang as it was caught by Bucky. But she had no strength, and instead weakly jolted and looked over at the newcomer. Captain America! She quickly looked to Bucky. This wasn’t how she had intended on the two reuniting. In fact, she hadn’t intended Captain America to be here, and for Grace to be friends with him? This was new. Probably as new as her being in HYDRA was for Grace.
When Bucky hissed, Ari tried to catch his attention with a small flop of her hand, “Bucky, it’s okay. He won’t hurt you.” She hoped so, at least, because if this Captain moved to even push Bucky, she’d snap a few necks herself. More though, she was simply not in the mood. Turning her attention back to Grace, she obediently opened her mouth to take the towel and bit in, and when she felt the disinfectant make contact with her skin, she groaned into it. And a little more at the needle prodding in. Before the effect even kicked in, she felt the new needles go in to stitch up and gripped the edge of the couch so tightly she thought she’d tear it off.

---

Steve didn’t know what to make of anything. Here was Grace, she was fine – it seemed – leaning over this girl that he saw today on camera, and something about HYDRA being mentioned, and here was his friend, long lost and found. Steve opened his mouth and shut it, glancing at the girl as she spoke, then eyed Bucky, observing the change. These two… he couldn’t figure them out. Was she some sort of agent who handled him? The very thought made him angry for a second, but quickly chose to push it away. If Grace was helping here and now and wasn’t throwing herself to Steve and screaming for police, then this girl wasn’t a danger.

Steve looked at Bucky and, at loss for words, promptly sat down on the nearest couch. He took a breath and put his hands to his chin in thought. Right. What now? He looked from Grace, to Bucky, and then to the girl, and then repeated the circle until he stopped on Bucky again. “You can sit,” he said quietly after a moment. Wouldn’t do anyone to keep standing. However, he himself was restless, and in a moment he was up and headed to the kitchen, pouring everyone a drink of water and returning with the cups to set them on the coffee table. How tense. He took a drink and then looked at Bucky. “What happened?” he gestured to him and to the girl. “Are you alone?” And then after a moment, he added quieter, "Do you remember me?"

[I know! Steve getting them all drinks, such a cutie! ]

Bucky didn’t know what to do, he wanted the doctor to save Ari’s live but at the same time he didn’t want anyone near her. He watched the blonde man move around the apartment, bringing back glasses of water before sitting down. Bucky continued to stand for a few more seconds before he also sat down on an armchair, his body tense as he sat there watching Steve. “Yes,” He answered two questions at the same time, he was alone and he did remember Steve. “Hydra found me and attacked, I couldn’t protect her.” He stated simply as he didn’t want to talk about it, he had failed Ari in keeping her safe like he had promised. He couldn’t bare look over at where Ari was laying, seeing and hearing her in that much pain was heart breaking but he wouldn’t dare leave the room. She needed him there, even if he couldn’t do anything to help her.

“She told me to bring her here,” He looked at his old friend, knowing Ari certainly didn’t know Captain America but she somehow did know the doctor. Who obviously worked for SHIELD, how they knew each other was beyond him and it wasn’t the right time to ask any questions like that. “I got away from them,” He wasn’t sure why but he felt like he needed to tell Steve that, in case he was thinking about taking him in to SHIELD and locking him up.

---

Grace worked as quickly as she could while still making sure she did a good job, she got the last stitch in and disinfected the area once again before she covered the wound with a bandage. She wrapped up the needles and placed it all into a bag so she could throw it out at work the next day, “All done. I have some strong painkillers, but it won’t take all the pain away.” She offered Ari as she didn’t have morphine, she couldn’t have drugs like that on hand but she still did have medicine that will take most of the edge off for Ari. She pulled the bloody gloves off and put them in the bag as well, sighing heavily as she knew Ari would be fine now. She would need to rest and keep her fluids up, but she would be fine. She glanced over to where Steve was sitting, just having him there made her all the more comfortable.

She packed up her medical kit and grabbed a cushion which she placed under Ari’s head, to make her more comfortable on the couch. “I hate that we drifted apart,” She spoke quietly to Ari, part of it was because of the breakup between herself and Luka. But now she knew another part, Ari worked with HYDRA who had apparently been the ones who stabbed her. Which meant to Grace that Ari wasn’t still working for HYDRA.

Ari was ready to take whatever Grace had on hand, any painkiller would do, even if it only did a little. She happily swallowed the pills and allowed the other to prop the pillow up behind her head. “Me too. Thank you,” she said softly, and for quite the lot. For the stitches, for the pillow, for the water that was given to her. There was only one more thing. “Can I have a blanket, please?” She hated to intrude, but she was in no state to move, and she was cold, and some comfort would be very nice.

Then turning her head, she looked to where Bucky was sitting. So tense. It made her quite sad. “Well I guess you two met now, hey?” She managed a weak smile, “Not the way I hoped it would be, but not everything is a picnic.” She coughed a little and the mere action caused her some more pain so she shut her mouth and lay still in silence and closed her eyes, willing everything away.

Steve watched the girl and back to Bucky. “She’s alive, so you succeeded in some of it,” he observed, hoping to lessen the guilt on Bucky’s shoulders. He put his hands together and thought a while again. If HYDRA attacked them, it meant they knew where she had lived. By bringing her here… Steve wondered if that put Grace in any danger. In any case, they’d probably have to move them out again. He hated to get Grace involved, but she seemed to be surrounded by Hydra. First Luka, now this girl. “We could take you both to SHIELD, and keep you-“

“No,” Ari coughed to life and shook her head. “No SHIELD. I-“ She hesitated and glanced at Bucky then back at Captain America and Grace. “How can you trust they won’t hurt him? How can I know they won’t lock him up? You had a nest of HYDRA under your noses, what are the chances of bringing him back to them?” She took a breath, winded from the words, and quietly added, “I mean, it’s Bucky’s choice, but I’m against it.”

Steve looked at the girl then to Bucky, then to Grace. He stopped his gaze on her and sent a plea for help. He had no idea what to do. Where to take them? Somewhere HYDRA wouldn’t find them, somewhere to lay low for the three- now that she was involved. He was so distracted by the fact that Bucky was here, he couldn’t stop glancing over at him, looking at him, his face and his joyless eyes, looked for a hint of a smile but there was none and he was torn. He stood, “Excuse me.” And left the room for somewhere else, begging with his eyes for Grace to follow. It hurt him and scared him to lose sight of Bucky, now that he was so close, and right there, in front of him and not attacking anyone, but he needed some space and to clear his head, and maybe Grace’s help. She seemed to know what to do most of the time.

Bucky still kept an eye on the doctor as she draped a warm looking blanket over Ari’s body, once she had moved away he moved closer to Ari. Sitting on the armrest of the couch she was laying on, watching as Steve left the room with the doctor following him. “He’s right, Ari.” He knelt down on the floor so Ari would be able to look at him, “If we go with them then SHIELD will be able to keep you safe. I don’t care what they do to me, I allowed you to get hurt. Seriously hurt and I could have lost you,” He looked at her as she still looked pale and weak, it would take her some time before she would start to feel better. And if they went with Steve then Ari would be closer to the doctor if she needed anything else, it all made sense to him but Ari didn’t want to go there.

“If what you go with them alone? I’ll only put you in more danger,” He looked at her and gently used his fingers to brush away some hair from her face, “I just want you to be safe.” He told her softly as he glanced over in the direction that Steve had gone, “Shouldn’t we trust them? You know her and I knew him,” Turning his attention back onto the brunette, wouldn’t Steve and the doctor stop anything from happening to him? Surely Steve would, if what Ari has said about him was true then wouldn’t he defend his long lost friend?

---

Grace followed Steve out of the room so they could speak in private, she shut the door behind herself before she wrapped her arms around his neck. A shaky breath escaped through her lips as she held onto him, “Thank you for coming back so quickly. He was already here when I got home, I was scared.” She whispered to Steve as she knew she didn’t need to act brave in front of him, she had seen and heard stories of the Winter Soldier. So that was all she could think about when she saw him standing in front of her, she had seen what he did to Steve so she wasn’t sure what to expect or if she should trust Bucky. “How do we know that he won’t go back to how he was? He was the Winter Soldier for years, Steve. SHIELD could push him over the edge, but I do agree with you.” It was best for Ari and Bucky to go to the SHIELD compound, but if they didn’t want to then they couldn’t stay in her apartment.

“Do you know of any other secret SHIELD compounds we can take them too?” She asked unwrapping her arms from his neck, she moved her hands down to his firm chest as she stayed close to him. She felt safe when he was there, and right now that’s what she needed. “My Grandparents have their old house outside of the city, they wanted to keep it for me. It’s empty right now,” She suggested to him as another option, her grandparent’s house was a few hours’ drive away and was on land. It was a place she never told anyone about, not even Luka knew about the house because it just never came up in conversation between them.

A content sigh escaped her lips as the blanket was draped over and she closed her eyes in peace, but feeling the couch move as someone sat down, she peered open and looked at Bucky, who now had moved to kneel by her. He was close, and that was adorable. Like a puppy. “Protect me by putting me in jail, more like.” She reached over and put a hand on his head, rubbing his head lightly, “Hey now, you’re a person that comes with consequences which I was, and am, willing to accept. That’s what friends do. Yeah?” She pointedly looked at the door through which Steve had left, “New and old.”

At his suggestion, she dropped her hand and gave a small snort, “What? Leave you? After I took a knife in the gut? Buck, I don’t get to wear a bikini piece now, you can’t ditch and run. I’ll find you.” She grinned and returned her hand to her side. “We can trust them, sure, it’s just we need a place for us to go. A safe one. And the people around whom we will be.”

She studied the ceiling a little more, then with a hesitant smile, looked back over at Bucky. "What do you think of him? Anything like the photos? Any memories?" She hoped to take his mind off the current now, and warm him up again.

---

The embrace was much needed. Steve returned it, settling his arms around her waist and pulling her closer, burying his neck into the little space between her shoulder and neck. “You did right in calling me.” He replied. The very man he had been searching for years showing up was nice, but he had also scared Grace and whatever had happened before Steve arrived must have been enough to scare Grace into this shake. Clearly, Barnes didn’t walk in and politely ask to help his friend. No, judging by the smashed lamp, there was a bit more than that. “Did he hurt you?” Someone had to check up on the doctor too.

As for her question, he had the same on his own. “You have a good point. SHIELD may be too early for him. I need… I need to know where he is. I don’t think any number of psychologists and therapists could establish his well-being in terms of his state of mind. I know who he used to be, how he used to act. I think… I’d know when he comes back to being himself better than they will.” He took a pause, and looked at her, “A secluded place for us would be best. Ease him up. Let him get to know me again. One step at a time. If you don’t mind, I would love to take your offer… You don’t have to come.” He knew the dangers of her coming along, but at the same time he wanted to keep watch on both her and Bucky. If Luka came here, and Bucky came here, HYDRA could any moment too. “But I’d like you to, I can protect you.”

Bucky didn’t understand why Ari wasn’t telling him to leave, to stay away from her. Was she secretly insane and he couldn’t see it? He honestly had no idea, no idea why she would want to continue risking her life just to stay close to him. Sure, he understood that friends stuck together through any hard times. But Ari getting stabbed wasn’t a hard time, it was a dangerous time for her to be around him. She would be better off without him around, although he just nodded his head lightly as it was her choice after all. She was a grown woman and could do what she pleased, besides Bucky wouldn’t actually leave her. No matter how often he thought about leaving in the middle of the night when she was sleeping, he couldn’t do it.

“I gave you a knife to defend yourself, not have you stabbed by it.” Bucky did regret passing the knife over to her, but at the time he knew she would need to protect herself and she had tried her hardest to. “Why can’t you wear a bikini?” He looked at her with a slight frown on his face, she would have a scar now but that didn’t mean she couldn’t wear a bathing suit. He had scars over his body, yet never saw himself any different. Hearing Ari’s question he thought about it, he had been a bit busy to realise if he remembered anything once he saw Steve. “No memories, I was more worried about you to think about anything else. But he… seems nice,” He answered a little unsure, but if Ari trusted them then they couldn’t be too bad. The doctor didn’t look as tough as she seemed to be, and she was close to Steve that was very obvious.

---

Had Bucky hurt her? Not really, but being shoved against a wall wasn’t pleasant. “I’m fine,” She assured Steve as she wouldn’t be the reason that he had a grudge against his old friend, “But he better not break into my apartment again.” She gave him a small smile, so much for having a relaxing night at home. Grace agreed with him, no matter who talked to Bucky they didn’t know him before he became the Winter Soldier. They wouldn’t know what to look for to tell if he was getting better or worse, “Besides he probably wouldn’t even talk to a therapist. He doesn’t seem like the type to talk about his feelings or what happened to him,” She looked at Steve knowing that it would be the best for everyone if they could stay together, somewhere safe especially if Ari wanted to heal.

If Steve thought she was going to sit at home and wait, he was mistaken. “He broke my lamp, I’m coming to keep an eye on him.” Her tone lightened as she stayed there in his arms, “Besides Ari is going to need medical attention. I’ll have to make sure her wound doesn’t become infected, unless you or Bucky are secretly doctors and can take care of her.” She smiled at him before she pressed a much needed kiss to his lips, “You don’t need to protect me.” But it felt nice to know that he was, it made her feel safe. “Do you think he could ever go back to how he was? Become the Winter Soldier again?” She asked a question that she felt was important to ask, she had no idea what he went through for HYDRA to turn him into an assassin. Or who they controlled him and got him to kill all the people he did.

Ari playfully rolled her eyes, "My mistake, Barnes, I'm not trained to go against brutes like them. I draw, not fight for living." She flashed him a small grin. "At least I cut him a little." She shifted her leg on the couch and winced at the movement, regretting it. "I'll have a hideous scar." Ari glanced up and pouted, "It will be so embarassing. Imagine all the stares!" She covered her eyes with a hand and laughed quietly. So many would ask questions too. That's not a scar you ignore. Curiosity would drive them on.

If she was in any mood but pain, she would have blushed at his words. Worried about her more than his long-lost old friend? That was adorable. But he needed to sort his priorities straight, as much as it warmed her. She kept her hand to cover her eyes, but no hand free to cover the small shy smile that graced her lips for a few seconds. She freed her hand from the blanket and reached up to gently rub the side of his face with her thumb, peeking out at him from under her hand, "Aw, Bucky, prioritise yourself. I'm fine. I'm patched up. Have a good look at him. You'll be alright." Hearing the door open, she dropped her hand and glanced to Steve in the doorway.

"Is everything alright?"

---

Steve couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of this assassin sitting in a therapist's office and ranting about his feelings and trying to decipher silly blots of ink and telling what he saw. Unfortunately for all of them, recovery would not be so easy. "Alright. You're coming with us," he didn't argue with that. He couldn't. Didn't want to. Grace was coming with him, so everything would be okay. Smiling into the kiss, he held her a little longer, resting his chin on her head. "I don't know," he admitted. For Bucky to return to his previous self... That would be a miracle. At the very least, Steve endveoured to erase the HYDRA from him, making Bucky a more free man. It was the least he could do, even if his old friend from long ago couldn't come back, as long as Bucky was safe and free, Steve would be content.

"Let's go back, wouldn't want them disappearing on us, yeah?" he let her go and stepped towards the door, gently opening it so as to not startle the two in the room and peered at the scene in front of him. Their proximity was... interesting. In fact, it earned a little eye-brow raise from Steve. Bucky may have changed but it seemed his charming skills of finding himself by girls' sides was still strong. At her question, he gestured to Grace, "We have a house further from the city. We can take you there and stay a little, while you heal and-" He glanced at Bucky, "-everything calms down and we figure out what to do from there. How does that sound?"

"That's all great," Ari said, her hand flopping off the couch, "But my apartment is a mess, and I can't have a landlord walk in on that. I need to clean it."

Steve glanced back at Grace as if seeking her approval, "I could go clean, Bucky can join me... you could stay here and Grace could look after you?" He looked around the room, looking at everyone one by one. It would give him one on one time with Bucky (and also a sneak peek at Ari's living whereabouts, look for HYDRA clues and such from the attack), and Ari and Grace could have a one-on-one time too. It seemed they needed a catch up.

“Why don’t you ignore the stares?” Bucky looked at her as he didn’t see her view on this, but that wasn’t uncommon for him. Feeling her thumb touch his cheek, it felt really nice. Her hand was warm from the blanket and her skin was soft, “I’ll try.” He assured her as he would have a good look at Steve, once he knew she was going to be okay. He had his priorities straight in his opinion, Ari has been there for him and maybe he did know Steve for longer. She has risked her life a number of times for him, she wanted to help him and she took him in when he had nowhere else to go. Right now she was the person that he was closest to, he couldn’t bear to see her hurt. Her hand dropped as the door opened, he glanced over to where Steve and the doctor walked in.

He listened to what Steve said about having somewhere for them to go, he’d only agree if Ari did but firstly they had to deal with her wreaked apartment. “You can’t even move, we’ll go clean up.” He agreed with Steve, Ari was in no position to do anything but lay on the couch and be taken care of. Standing up he didn’t want to leave Ari’s side but it wasn’t like he could do anything for her right now, so he followed his old friend out of the apartment once Ari nodded her head. Bucky followed the blonde man down the hallway to the elevator which took them to the first level, he continued to follow him over to what he assumed was Steve’s car and climbed into the passenger seat.

It felt slightly awkward to Bucky, he didn’t know what to say. “I do remember you, not everything that we did. But I remember you,” He finally admitted after a few minutes of silence.

---

Grace nodded lightly, “That would be best.” She agreed with Steve and turned to him, her hand catching his as she leaned closer to him. “Be careful, he still isn’t the same.” She whispered into his ear as he couldn’t get too comfortable, she knew how long Steve has wanted this moment to happen but Bucky wasn’t the man he was before. HYDRA had forced him to change and that will take a long time for Bucky to get over, she gave Steve’s hand a squeeze before she watched him leave her apartment with his long lost friend. She moved into her kitchen and grabbed a dust pan and brush, she cleaned up what was left of her lamp before she tossed it all away as it was way too broken to fix. “You and Bucky huh?” She spoke as she had seen how close they had been before, she was curious as to close they truly were but wasn’t sure if she could ask.

She hasn’t spoken to Ari in a very long time. Sitting on the armchair where Bucky once had, she looked at the girl laying on her couch. “I’ve missed you, I honestly wasn’t sure if you wanted anything to do with me after I broke up with Luka.” It was the reason why she hadn’t stayed in contact with Ari, she didn’t want to cause any tension between the cousins if she stayed friends with Ari. She wouldn’t bring up HYDRA even if it was the one topic she wanted to ask, why join HYDRA? Grace had an idea behind why Ari worked for them, and she hated Luka for it because she knew how much potential Ari had.

@ sugarplum.
The situation was resolved quickly and Bucky and Steve left. Ari watched them go, bit her lip lightly. She hoped everything would be okay. As much as she trusted Steve, to let Bucky out of her sight for so long and so far was difficult. She had grown accustomed to him being around, to him being there near her, and her near him, ready to help should anything happen. She had seen many times when he would slip back into a distant state and snap at nearby workers. But Steve was no threat. She hoped.

Turning her sight to Grace, she laughed quietly and weakly, “Oh please, me and an assassin?” She quietened, and after a moment added, “Though he is quite attractive. His eyes are nice. Sad but nice.” She was tempted to say more but decided to not let Grace get too carried away with the idea. Shrugging, she said, “Break ups happen. Luke changed. I can see why you ended it. I missed you too though. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about…” she gestured to her hip, “This. I couldn’t exactly… you know.” She saw no point in hiding anything now. Might as well ‘fess up. The topic was rather painful though, and pain was the last thing Ari wanted now, so she smiled and asked, “How about you and Captain America, hey?” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You looked nice. Did we interrupt a date? My apologies, and… sorry about this intrusion.” She bit her lip.

---

Steve was relieved Bucky agreed, relieved Grace backed him up, relieved in all that all agreed. He walked out with the other, making their way to the car, quick but wary. Inside the car, Steve felt a little relieved. The smell of shopping reminded him he hadn’t put the food away, but there was no time now. He started the engine and drove off.

When Bucky spoke, Steve felt a little warm feeling of little joy rush over him. He glanced at the other and smiled, “I’m happy you do, Buck. It’s a good place to start.” He turned back to the road, allowing Bucky to give him the instructions as they drove on. He decided not to pressure his friend into thinking of the past. Not yet. It would come with time. Steve pulled up at the building and turned the car off but waited a little. When he was sure they weren’t followed but also nobody was around, he got out and let Bucky lead to the apartment, his shield ready but hidden, his steps careful and his ears alert. They got to the apartment without any trouble and inside with even less. Only once the door was shut behind them, he turned the light on and looked around. What a mess. The worst was the bloodstain on the drawers in the kitchen, of which he assumed was Ari’s.
“Do you think you guys will be coming back? Maybe we can pack a few of her things? Or let Grace do that? I don’t know what ladies need. We better just clean up.” He scratched the back of his head and picked up a chair, putting it right. “What’d you do with the guys who attacked? Did they run away or…?”