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

James gave his shoulders a light shrug, he was used to being quiet and sneaking around. It was a habit of his now, he honestly forgot how quiet he could be at times. “Then I apologize,” He told her making a mental note to stomp his feet more often when he was approaching her, he looked at her as she spoke. “Don’t hide away just yet, things will most likely settle. I’m sure the people working with you just wanted to congratulate you,” He stated as he’d make sure things didn’t overwhelm her, he didn’t want that. He just wanted to make sure she got more important projects, he didn’t want people to annoy her or stop her from getting her work done. As her eyes closed he stepped closer, he could tell that she was shocked from how close he now was to her. There was also a flash of fear in her eyes as she looked at him, even though she was different she was felt fear with him being around her. Guilt formed in his gut, she had every right to be scared of him. He killed people, he was known for being emotionless and cold. But he wasn’t when she was there with him, at yet she still feared him. Even if the fear soon vanished, he still saw it in her eyes.
Feeling her hand on his chest and the push, he did step backwards away from her. “What does that have to do with anything? I don’t care if you smell like flowers, or not.” He told her honestly, he didn’t care if her hair was a mess or that she was sweaty after working out. “You’ve trained, I assume that you still smell fine and you still look good.” Confusion settled on his face, was this a test? He was tested by HYDRA on a constant basis, this could be another test although he wasn’t sure what he was being tested on.

---

Grace smiled warmly as she thought about her Grandpa, he had been an agent and had saved so many people. “He did, I always admired him.” She spoke fondly as Steve listened to her story of how she came to work for SHIELD, “I do know how you got here. I think everyone does,” She chuckled softly as she looked at him, she couldn’t imagine how it felt for him to wake up in a different time and have to learn so many things. “It was a big surprise, I had no idea who he was. But he was just so calm, he said everything that I wanted to hear and I could sense that he was a really good person.” She sighed softly as she hoped SHIELD wouldn’t change, now that Fury wasn’t there to lead the way for them. Grace looked over at the menu when Steve went to show her a meal, she swore that her heart skipped a beat when his hand brushed against hers. Although that could have been just inside her mind, his hand was so warm but he pulled back all too quickly for her liking. “I’ll try it next time,” She managed to get out before she ordered her chicken burger and a drink, she cursed herself when she felt her cheeks heating up. She was getting flushed and there wasn’t anything that she could do to stop it, so she looked down at the table as she tried her hardest to calm herself down.
She handed the menu over to the waiter before he rushed off and put their orders through, “How are the ribs feeling?” She asked and instantly kicked herself, she didn’t want to talk to him about work. But she wasn’t all that great talking to guys, well guys that she liked. She usually never had this problem when she went on a date, because she never cared for the guy but it was all different when she was with Steve. “Sorry, I do tend to talk about work more than I should.” She sighed softly as she shut her mouth so she wouldn’t embarrass herself anymore.

His apology was accepted. She understood that the agents were always trained to be quiet. Stealthy and sneaky. But it still spooked her when they would appear suddenly like ghosts! Even Luka did that and it was super unnerving sometimes. And she understood her coworkers too, their want to congratulate her, but being humble in praise she would always blush and then think their congratulation over the next twenty minutes and gush and be too happy to work.
The confusion on his face clenched at Ari's heart. She didn't want to hurt him, but by pushing (even if gently) and stepping away she thought she did. She felt bad. He didnt mean her any harm In that moment and she reacted purely out of self-consciousness. That may have sent the wrong message. His response though, him saying he didnt care what she smelled like and that he thought she looked fine left her speechless, she didnt know what to say! Instead, she blushed a little more.
"Thank you, I think?" She covered her mouth but the corners of her lips lifted into a small smile. "I just don't like looking not my best around... People." She then thought of his confusion and quickly tried to switch topic. "Anyway! I... Do you have anywhere to be? I was just.. Wondering you could teach me a little?" She looked down, fiddling with her gloves. "that punch, I tried to practice I don't know if I'm still doing it right." Adjust glove, readjust. "That is if you have time or you want to." She didn't want to hold him here but she also wanted to clear up any misunderstandings. Sure he was dangerous, sure he was scary but she has to give him a chance. He looked like he was trying!

(the feel when I misspell scary and it auto corrects to sexy. XD)

---

"Fury was a great leader. Sure had his secrets, but he was with good intention I believe." Steve sat back and listened to her, "Sure had his strange ways of appearing to talk to us though." In all honesty, Steve felt he would miss the guy. It was incredibly sad. So sudden, and he couldn't do anything to stop it. And the assassin- Steve cut the though off. He was here for lunch not to remember something painful. That was for another time.
He noticed a little red on her face, and it took him a second to realise she was.... Blushing? He wasn't sure but it looked like it. She looked down though and he could no longer see, not that he wanted to make her uncomfortable and so he tried not to give anything away on his face.
"My ribs are getting better. I think I can soon take the bandages off." He smiled, placing a finger on the table and running it along the edge. "They're healin up quite nicely, I don't feel any pai anymore. I ready to go on any mission should I be called." He honestly felt better with his ribs, at the moment, they were doing much better. Probably the magic of serum? Or modern medicine. Who knew.
"oh! It's alright." He glanced up at her, and was slightly aware of her unease and tried to make things lighter. "Tell me about your hobbies?" He encouraged, small talk could get things far if one new how to wield the power of words.

James didn’t move after he had stepped back from her, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or scare her. “I can help you, I haven’t been told that I would be needed.” He was actually more than happy to help her, it would give him something to do as he was growing bored. He would have preferred to be frozen again if he wasn’t being given missions, so he wasn’t going to refuse Ari’s ask for help. “Show me how you punch,” He told her, he watched as she moved to face the punching bag. “Move your feet apart more, straighten your hips. You want to face the bag straight on, place one leg forward so you won’t lose your balance.” He gave her a few tips on how she could improve, he watched as she listened to him and moved into the position that he told her. “Now punch, does it feel better?” He asked her as she should feel like it’s more natural and easier to throw a stronger punch, his eyes moved over her body just to make sure that her stance was correct. He noticed her pants and did wonder how she could be comfortable wearing them, he always wore baggy, loose fitting clothes when he worked out. Although her pants did make her ass look really nice.
Bucky shook that thought from his mind as soon as it entered his head, he shouldn’t be thinking like that. HYDRA would never allow him to have a relationship with anyone, not that any woman would want to be with someone like him. No one could ever truly love a monster, he was a deadly assassin, that’s all he would ever be and he had come to terms with that. But Aria was making that hard for him to believe.

---

Grace was glad to hear that Steve’s ribs were healing and weren’t bothering him as much now, it did mean that if a mission did come up then he would be able to deal with it. Every agent that was injured needed to be cleared by her, before going out on a mission and Steve still fell under that. Although he was given more freedom because he was Captain America and did heal faster than normal people, which Grace was so very interested in. She would have loved to run tests on the serum that Steve had been given, she also would have loved to see the formula but sadly she’d never get the chance. “That’s good to hear, but at least now we know that you can still get hurt.” Not as hurt as other agents would have, a normal person would have broken ribs while Steve just had bruised ribs. Looking at him she thought about what her hobbies were, she had a few things that she enjoyed when she wasn’t working.
“Well you know that I like to cook and bake, I also really enjoy running but only outside. I can’t stand running on a treadmill, I used to garden when I was stressed but I can’t have a garden in my apartment.” She told him as she used to always help her grandparents in the garden, they had a big vegetable patch and fruit trees in the backyard while the front yard was filled with beautiful flowers. “I sound really boring,” She chuckled softly as she knew she could be boring in the things that she did, but that was who she was and she wasn’t going to change herself for anyone. “What hobbies do you have?” She asked looking at him.

Ari was happy he could help her, she needed to learn new tricks! She turned to the bag and mentally placed Mr Haworth's face on it again. Doing all as he said, making sure she was in the tight position in one thing before proceeding to the next, she followed his tips and eventually managed to punch. And it certainly felt better.
"Yeah," she replied, looking over at him then back at the bag, pushing her arm forward for another punch. The bag barely moved but that thing was heavy, and she wasn't huge, she would make it move one day! She shifted a little, rolled her shoulders back and with a face full of determination she punched the bag again, repeatedly until finally it jerked in its place. The determination fell away and she whirled in her place to face Barnes, her hands on her cheeks.
"It moved!" She breathed out, her eyes wide. "Did you see that? Please tell me you saw that."

---

Steve laughed, "I'm still human, after all, I still bleed blood." In the end of the day that is what helped him sleep at night. He may be stronger, faster, he may be a super soldier, but in the end he was as human as all. That meant he was mortal. It calmed him somehow.
He let her think for a while, watching her eyes and eyebrows. Those could say a lot about a persons thoughts. And her thinking about her hobbies looked cute.
"Oh running? Same. I.." He hesitated and then almost embarassed, added, "the treadmill can't keep up with me and I feel restricted on it." It was true. He could run really fast now, the treadmill couldn't handle, plus he liked to run on pavement or grass in the fresh air not in a cool gym. He would do that while they would run tests on him or whatever but it was never pleasant. He didn't feel free. "Gardening sounds nice, you like any sort or just flowers or just vegetables..?" He made a mental note. He could buy her a cactus maybe if he ever has to get her a present. Them flowery cacti. "No, not boring at all." He smiled. "Me? Oh my main hobby is catching up on the past 70 or so years." He chuckled. It really took up most of his time. "Watching some comedy shows is also nice. And I like to read."

Bucky watched Aria closely, mostly to make sure her position stayed the same so she wouldn’t end up pulling a muscle or just hurting herself. He glanced at the ball every time she would throw a punch and it hardly ever moved, but the bag was meant to be hard and it was obvious she didn’t have much power in her body. Which was fine and probably normal for a lot of people, it would just be something she’d work on if she wanted to get better and if she did need to protect herself then she’d need a punch that would do some damage. He watched as she finally made the bag move a decent enough, she was so excited about as she spun around to face him. “See what?” He asked keeping his face completely blank, then as her excitement begun to fall he shook his head lightly. “Yes, I saw the bag move. It was a good punch,” He told her as he just wanted to tease her, for some reason it actually felt nice to make a joke and tease someone.
“Do you just stick to the punching bag? I can show you how to lift weights or use the other equipment,” He suggested to her, just in case she did want to work out in a different way but wasn’t sure where to start. He did have plenty of time on his hands, if she did want him help.

---

The smile on Grace’s face widened when Steve told her about the treadmill, “Maybe we could go on a run together some time. But you’ll have to go slower, you can’t just run off and leave me behind.” She looked at him as taking a run with him did sound nice, she usually just went on her own and would listen to music. She had always been on the track team during school and it was a time where she could forget about everything, it also kept her fit and healthy. “I do like flowers, but I’d grow anything if I could.” She had thought about getting little planter boxes for her apartment balcony, but she just hadn’t gotten around to buying some. “If you need any help catching up, I’m more than happy to help out.” She told him and she really did mean it, she couldn’t imagine what it would have been like for him waking up. With the world being completely different, he wouldn’t have felt like he fitted in anywhere.
“I can take you out, I know a lot of nice restaurants and bars. There’s a great little art gallery that always has events on,” Grace smiled as she didn’t want to come across like she was being pushy, she just wanted him to know that she was there if he did want someone to hang out with or explore the city with.

Ari stared at him. He didn’t see? But he was watching and… She felt her hopes fade a little, then he admitted he saw it but she was on a whole new level of emotion. Was that humour? She peered at him. “I didn’t know you were capable of humour,” She pointed out, but a light smile played on her lips. She gave him what could have easily passed as a small smirk and turned to the bag. She regarded it, but the will to punch was gone.
“Oh no, weights isn’t my thing. I don’t want to build muscle. I can lift a pot of soup and that’s okay with me.” She brushed her hair out of her eyes and then her eyes lit up. “Help me practice my kicks?” Ari grinned, lifted her leg and kicked the air in front of him in almost perfect technique but without any power and quite slow, the latter being to not startle him. Kicks were the only thing she really liked doing back in her martial arts class when she was a child, simply because she had the balance and she thought she felt stronger. So young and stupid back in the day. This kick wouldn’t even hurt a fly. "Just please promise you won't grab my leg and throw me like a ball or something."

---

Her suggestion made him chuckle again. “Okay, I’ll just powerwalk beside you.” He didn’t know if he could even slowdown that much without it being too much effort. At this moment the waiter reappeared carrying their orders, set the food down. Steve thanked him, and the waiter bowed lightly and left. Steve watched him go before turning back to Grace. “Even a cactus? Would you love something so prickly?” He took up the knife and, being the boy taught by his parents to eat properly, he handled his knife and fork with expertise, cutting up the meat into smaller pieces so he wouldn’t make a mess.
“I recently finished Star Wars, but there’s quite a bit more of other movies and shows to go. Still halfway through this show, FRIENDS. It’s quite good, I’m enjoying it. I’m open to suggestions on what to do and what to watch.” He smiled then took a bite from his meal. The steak was really well done, as always. He swallowed the piece and tilted his head, “An art gallery? That’s neat. I don’t think I’ve been there yet.”
Really though, the only place he had been to was that small memorial where a lot of information was about him, and the Howling Commandos, and Bucky. It hurt to see it all, but at the same time, it brought back fond memories. But there was only so much he could read about what they all did after he froze.

“I didn’t know that I was either, but it sort of just happened.” Bucky explained the best he could, he hadn’t been planning on using humour. It honestly did just come out of his mouth and he wasn’t expecting it, but he wasn’t upset over it. It felt as natural as breathing to him, although he’d keep that to himself for right now. He gave a single nod of his head when she asked him to help her with her kicks, “I’m not going to throw you. There wouldn’t be any challenge in that,” He grinned slightly as he watched Ari raise her leg, she did already have good form in her kicks. But again there wasn’t any power behind the kick, which meant she wasn’t going to hurt anyone if she went to kick them. “Put your leg down,” He told her and this time he did step closer to her, but it was easier for him to show her rather than tell her. So he stood behind her and very gently tapped her hip, “Power comes from here. Keep your core tight, move your hips when you kick.” He spoke softer now that he was closer to her, when she went to try a kick he used his hand to turn her hip at the same time but made sure she didn’t lose her balance.
“Twist your body and let the kick end slowly, if it spins you around then let it. Don’t stop in mid kick, you’ll hurt yourself.” He shared another tip with her and took a step back, so she’d have plenty of room to try out her kicks.

---

“Good,” Grace smiled even though she wouldn’t really care if he did run off and pass her numerous times, she’d do the exact same thing if she could run as fast as he could. “I’d have a cactus and I’d love it just as much,” She would because a cactus was easier to keep alive with her long shifts at work, she thanked the waiter when their meals were brought over to them. The burger looked delicious so she didn’t waste any time in eating it, “In that case we could always have a movie night. I can show you all the classics, if you want to of course.” She looked at him not wanting him to feel like he had to say yes to her, she just had a good size movie collection that he might want to go through one time. “Art galleries are great if you enjoy staring at art, I mostly go when there’s an event on that interests me.” She had never been one who understood all pieces of art, some she wouldn’t even call art but she also didn’t have the first clue about that industry.
“This is really good, I can see why you like it here.” She was really enjoying her meal and would absolutely coming back on more of her breaks.

“No challenge?” She stuck her tongue out at him. Though in all honesty he’d probably throw her way too easy, as if she were some tennis ball equivalent. She had seen what that metal arm can do. She put her leg down when told and felt a small shiver run down her back as he stepped closer but forced herself to remain calm. And it worked, somehow. She put all her focus into listening and doing as told, fixing her posture and mistakes rather than his proximity. She practice some slow kicks first, trying her best to focus on keeping her toes out of harm’s way in the imaginative scenario and not the hand on her hip, to focus on the angle of the kick and not the breath that tickled her neck. He moved away and it was a little colder, but with a new face of determination, she proceeded to try out some more kicks.
This continued on for another fifteen minutes or so before finally she stepped back and spread her arms out to the side. With a long sigh, she fell back onto the mattresses, bouncing a little on them before becoming still and closed her eyes. “Well that was exhausting.” Her hand reached down and fixed the shirt that had pulled up when she landed on the mattress, but she had no strength to get up now. It was nice to just lie here for a bit. Ari took a few breaths in and out, calming her fast beating heart. She opened her eyes and, with some effort, sat up to look up at Barnes. “Thank you.”

---

“There’s cacti that flower too, which is really cool. Flower and cacti in one.” He was finished with the meal now, not even realising where it had all gone. Somehow, he always managed to eat quickly and never really got to appreciate the food long enough.
“That would be wonderful, thank you. We could work out a date that’s suitable for both of us. I wouldn’t want you to be tired on your next day of work, and sometimes my missions are at night.” He cast his thought to his own little mind-calendar and tried to find any spare date, but with the new missions probably coming out soon, he didn’t want to early book anything. “I never really understood art. I just looked at it and thought it was pretty, done by someone who has talent. And then all the people around me would be talking in art terms or discussing it in depth. I never really went that deep.” He replied honestly. Smiling when she expressed her enjoyment in the café, he nodded, “Quite nice, isn’t it?”
He finished his drink and patiently waited for her to finish her meal too so that they could order, and head back to SHIELD’s offices.

Bucky continued to watch Ari for the next fifteen minutes, he moved from side to side just to make sure that she was kicking in the correct way and she was. He could tell she was working up another sweat when her milky skin turned pink on her cheeks, he wasn’t going to push her so she could finish whenever she got tired. Which she soon enough did, when she collapsed onto the mattress. He did notice that her shirt moved when she laid down, but he quickly looked away as he did respect Ari and he thought if she caught him then it would make her uncomfortable. “Don’t thank me until you stretch, that way you can’t blame me when you can a stitch.” He told her and lightly nudged her foot with his own, “Don’t be lazy now. Stretch those muscles,” He mumbled and heard a groan sound from Ari as she did push her body up, she started to stretch out her worked muscles.
“That wasn’t hard,” Bucky spoke after she finished stretching and grabbed her bag, “You did good today. Just remember what I told you,” He complimented her as they headed out of the gym, he held the door open for her and followed her out into the hallway. He walked beside her and they were pretty silent, but he didn’t mind it. “Goodnight Aria,” He looked at her when they came to a split in the hallway, her room was in the opposite direction of his and he thought if he walked her all the way to her room then people would stare and she wouldn’t like that.

---

Grace nodded as she swallowed a mouthful of her meal, “We’ll work out a day that we’re both free.” She was sure that they would have at least one day where neither of them were working, it didn’t even need to happen any time soon. She was just glad that he did want to spend more time with her, she finished her lunch not long after Steve and wiped her mouth with a napkin as she didn’t want to make a mess and embarrass herself in front of him. “I agree, I can look at art and admire it. But that’s as far as I go,” She smiled as she finished her drink and stood up once they were finished, on the way out Grace stopped by the counter and paid for both of them. As they left the café and headed back to the SHIELD offices, “Thank you for taking me out to lunch. It was a lot better than staying in my office, I’ll see you soon.” Grace smiled as she leaned closer to Steve and placed a sweet kiss onto his cheek, the kiss was innocent enough and was more friendly then anything.
Turning away she walked back to her office so she could get through her shift before she headed home, thankfully the day didn’t drag on as she had a few agents that needed her attention so she was fairly busy that day.

Ari rolled around back and forth on her back, not wanting to stretch, but knowing she has to. Or she’ll hurt so much tomorrow. She mumbled and groaned but eventually started to stretch, doing some rather lazier stretches so she wouldn’t twist and bend out of shape in front of him. She’d do that later in her room.
“Says the one who stood and watched!” She replied, teasing lightly. She took her bag from him, finding it rather oddly cute that he picked up her bag for her. She paused at the hallway and wished him a goodnight too, looking up at him and mentally committing that face to memory in the current shadows, but watching him walk away she resisted the urge to grab his hand and squeeze it. Somehow something felt bad and she tried to brush away that feeling. No. If she thought about it, she’d bring it about. She watched his back a little more. Everything was fine! She gave a soft sigh and headed on to her room.

---

Steve smiled to her and she thanked him. “My pleasure. It was nice with you. See you soon!” He wasn’t suspecting anything but suddenly she was leaning in and there was warmth of her lips on his cheek. He was surprised, and his eyes even widened a little but by the time she pulled away enough to see her face he had somehow regained control of himself and smiled back at her. His hand was somehow holding hers now, he had gone in for a handshake maybe? Either way, his hand had found its way to hers and held it. He gave it a polite light squeeze and let go, turned away and walked out. He would head home, he would spend the night quietly, uneventfully.
In the morning though, he received a demand from Pierce be in his office, to show up, to explain what Fury had told him. There was refusal, there were demands, disagreement. The lift ride down was hijacked, the STRIKE team he had worked with so closely before he now fought. The day was rushed, he ran with Natasha, he kidnapped some guy. And then there was him.
Him.
The man with the metal arm.
The familiar but distant, cold eyes.
Strong, ruthless.
The man whose mask fell off and revealed a familiar face.
Bucky?
And just like that Bucky pointed a gun at him, and vanished under a cloud of smoke. He didn’t know him. And Steve was lost. And the STRIKE team came and arrested him. And he saw Luka among them. And everything was wrong. Infiltrated, HYDRA, Bucky. Before he knew it, Fury was alive. There were in a base. Nearby but hidden. HYDRA…Winter Soldier… Bucky. Alive. Steve didn’t know what to do. He paced around the room at the base. He needed someone to comfort him. And then it was afternoon, and Steve was at her door. His hand positioned over to knock, and he turned way. He went around and he climbed in through a window, and he waited in the dark for Grace to come home.
It had been at least 3 days. He didn’t know. He couldn’t count anymore. Bucky…

Bucky had finally been given a mission the next day, he didn’t have any time to go see Aria before he was changing into his black suit and was being taken away from the HYDRA base. He had a new target, a blonde man who was named Captain America. He was told to kill the man and he would make sure that happened, he did remember the man from the rooftop after he had killed a dark skinned man. It all happened fairly quickly, his target was fighting back more than he had expected and this man was trained damn well. Bucky took a small fall in which his mask came off, standing up he looked at a now confused target. The man called him a name which he had never heard before, he stood there pointing his gun at the man but he didn’t pull the trigger. Instead he escaped in a cloud of smoke, he made his way back to the HYDRA and was immediately taken into his room. He was pushed down into the chair and gave the de-brief, he admitted that his target knew him and that he was now confused over it.
However that isn’t what anyone wanted to hear, which must have meant that there was a history there between him and his new target. But Bucky couldn’t remember a thing about this man, he was trying so hard that he was giving himself a headache. He was distracted and didn’t notice a thing, until he was being pushed back further into the chair. He knew what was coming next, a mouth guard was placed into his mouth and a metal cap was settled around his head. He held the mouth guard between his teeth and a muffled scream of pain echoed through the room, his hand gripped the arm of the chair as his knuckled turned white. It felt like an hour to Bucky, but soon enough the pain was disappearing and he was left to heal after having his mind wiped yet again.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep for, but when he did wake up he was laying on his bed which was normal for him. But what made him nervous was that someone was touching his hair, his body tensed when he felt cool liquid run down his scalp and a fruit scent hit his nose. He waited until he couldn’t feel the hands anymore and jumped onto his feet, he spun around causing water from his hair to fly everywhere. “What are you doing?” He snapped rather rudely at the woman sitting there by his bed, his eyes narrowed at her in a cold stare.

---

Grace hadn’t seen or heard from Steve in days, she had heard all about the fight he had in the elevator and now apparently he was in hiding. She was worried about him, but Natasha was also missing so there wasn’t anyone that Grace could go to and ask if Steve was alright. So she did the only thing she could and that was keep working, but she also hadn’t seen Luka or any of the STRIKE team around the base. She hadn’t heard about them having a mission either, overall she had a horrible feeling in her gut and she couldn’t shake it. After work she got herself home, she shut and locked the door to her apartment before flicking the light switch to turn the light on. She put her handbag and keys down by the front door, then she kicked her shoes off before finally turning around so she could go into the kitchen and make herself something to eat. But as she turned around her eyes landed on a body in her living room, her body jumped as a loud gasp escaped from her mouth at the shock.
“Steve…” She breathed out as her hand flew to her chest where her heart was racing, she was happy that he was there until she looked at his face. She was still getting over how scared she had been finding someone in her apartment, but she walked over to Steve and just wrapped her arms around his body tightly. She held onto him for a while before she pulled back and looked at him, “Are you okay? What happened?” She asked taking his arm and leading him over to her couch, she sat down with him but kept a hold onto his hand with her’s. She sat there silently and listened to everything that Steve told her, the words just spilled out from him so she didn’t interrupt him. “Bucky’s alive? Bucky as in the friend you grew up with?” She asked once he was quiet, she didn’t know what to say. His best friend was alive after all these years, but he was with HYDRA and didn’t remember Steve. How could all of this happen? But right now she was more focused on comforting Steve then thinking about Luka, he was with HYDRA himself. All this time he had been lying to her, probably since they were dating when he wouldn’t talk to her about his job. She could deal with that later, because Steve needed her. “If anyone can stop them and get Bucky back, it’s you Steve. I believe in you so much,” She whispered to him as she used her hand to gently turn his face so that he was looking at her, “And I’ll always be right here supporting you.” She promised him.

Aria had watched, in horror and in pain, as they all fussed around outside his room. She heard commotion, and from afar she saw them push him back, and from afar she heard his screams. She trembled in the hallway, in the quiet dark hallway, sliding down the wall and stifling small whimpers. Gone. Just like that.
It had been an hour or something, the screams had ceased a while now, and she spent enough time around the doctors to offer to help around, and somehow through pure magic she got the chance to be near him. To wash his hair, and think about what to do now. She hummed softly to herself, getting lost in the repetitive motion as she massaged the shampoo into his hair. And suddenly he was awake and on his feet. She didn’t even have time to react, her hands instinctively flew up to protect her head, dripping shampoo and water and all that running down her arms and dripping onto her pants and the floor. She trembled visibly.
“Please,” she said softly, not looking at him but keeping an eye on him through a reflection nearby. “I mean you no harm. I’m just…” She bit her lip, fear coursing through her blood. She felt a taste of metal and realised she had drawn blood. Slowly she lowered her shaking hands a little and peeked over them at Barnes with her wide eyes. “Washing your hair.”
There was nobody around, nobody close if he suddenly attacked, and the only thing she had was a taser that would only lightly stumble him should he go berserk. She didn’t want to use that. If she could prove to him that she was not an enemy…

---

The light came on too fast, he flinched. He had been accustomed to sitting in the dark for a while now. He couldn’t see but he didn’t care. He heard her and he was calm. Steve felt her arms around him and without hesitation he too, returned the embrace, holding her tightly for a while before slowly relaxing when he felt her pull away. His eyes searched her face before everything just spilled from his mind out onto his tongue into the air for her to hear. When he got to the part about Bucky, he felt his eyes sting, on the verge of tears.
“They must have…” Steve muttered, “Experimented on him. Back in the camp. When he was captured. Zola…” Steve’s hand curled into a fist and gripped his knee. He listened to her try to console him but it was in one ear and out the other for the most part. He didn’t know where to start. Anthony said you don’t save people like Bucky, you stop them. But how could he save Bucky? Where to start?
She turned his face to her and he looked right in her eyes, seeking comfort. “I.. I put you in danger by being here. Please, make sure nobody knows I came. Don’t trust anyone at SHIELD.” He paused and added, “I’m sorry about Luka. I didn’t know. The whole team. So many are in HYDRA. Most of the military forces. Stay away from him...” He trailed off again and looked down then without warning he put his arms around her and gathered her closer. He didn’t know what he was doing but he wanted warmth. Steve shook, burying his face into the crook of her neck and some hair.
“They hurt him… They hurt so many… I’m not going to stop… until all of Hydra is dead or captured. They need to pay.”

Bucky scanned the empty room, he always woke up alone but here was this woman. Washing his hair, why she was there was beyond him but she was. “Why?” He asked simply once she was looking at him, her body was tense and she was scared of him. He got that a lot. What had he just done? Obviously he had been on a mission but he couldn’t remember what, he did remember what had gone down but he couldn’t remember any faces or names. He could feel the water dripping from his hair onto his shoulders and down onto the t-shirt that he was wearing, the fabric becoming soaked with the water and shampoo bubbles. No one had ever washed his hair after a mission before, no matter how bloody or dirty he had gotten from a fight. “Who told you to be here?” He demanded as his stare lessened, not as cold as before. She didn’t seem to be a threat to him, she wasn’t fighting him or arguing with him. She was just sitting there, scared and innocent.
“No one is meant to be here when I wake up,” His voice raised slightly but it wasn’t really at her, sometimes he was still angry when he woke up and could leash out. Which is why no one was allowed to be in the room after a session, both his hands had been in fists this whole time as he came to realise she wasn’t attacking him nor was she there to do anything but wash his hair. His good hand moved up to his head, his fingers moving through his soaking hair as his head still hurt after the session. It always did as it reminded him of who was in control of him.

---

“Don’t think about that,” Grace told him hearing that HYDRA must have done experiments on his friend back in the war, if he thought about that then it would drive him crazy and she didn’t want him going through that. “Don’t worry about me, Steve. I’m not going to tell anyone and you don’t need to worry about me,” She’d listen to him and she wouldn’t trust anyone at work, which would be hard because she’s worked with these people and she has gotten to know them and does trust them. But she’d keep her distance until Steve told her that things were fine, “Let’s not talk about him.” She whispered as she didn’t want to bring Luka up right now, she didn’t want to hear about him or talk about him. She felt his arm wrap around her body once again, she returned the hug but this time her hand moved over his back in hopes that it would comfort him. “And they will pay for this, they’ll pay for every single thing that they’ve done. You know Bucky more than anyone, you can get through to him.” She knew that he could, but there was just one thing holding Steve back and that was that he didn’t know where his friend was.
Grace kept her arms wrapped around him, her head resting on his shoulder as her hand moved up his back. Her fingers brushed over the back of his neck until she could bury her fingers into his short blonde hair, she couldn’t say much more. He needed her, he didn’t need her words yet. So she’d be there for him until he was ready to let go, “I heard about the fight in the elevator. I didn’t know where you were, I was scared.” She spoke barely above a whisper, she knew it wasn’t about her but she wanted Steve to know that she did care about him. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you and don’t bother telling me not to, you aren’t in this alone.” Although she didn’t know what she could do to help, but if there was a way then she’d be right onto it.

Why? She couldn’t answer that. She just wanted to be there when he woke up. “It had dust and stuff in it,” she replied, her voice trembling and quiet. “N-Nobody told me to be here.” She felt that wasn’t explanatory enough and added, “There was no order.” She sank further into her seat as she spoke, feeling her entire body just go numb. He raised his voice and she flinched a little, all nerves and fear. Ari averted her gaze, lowered it onto the ground to stare at a spot just off his feet. She lowered one hand too and felt around nearby for a towel and stretched her arm with it towards him. If she couldn’t finish, that was okay, at least he could wipe his hair to dry. She still avoided eye contact with him, she felt if she looked, she would cry. A perfectly good man ruined. Just like that. He didn’t remember anything, a cold machine, back to his brainwashed amnesia state.
Ari wanted to ask him to sit down, so she could finish her job at least. She didn’t want to leave the shampoo in just like that – it wasn’t any good. But she was too scared to say anything anymore. She didn’t want him to snap. Be calm and be quiet. Keep your distance. No sudden movements. Back to the basics.

---

Her words filled him both with courage and hope and at the same time they sank in the reality. He just wanted to close his eyes and fall asleep and wake up, and all this would be just a nightmare. A bad dream.
He continued to hold her, and then as if he had realised something, he pulled back. “The light.” He said quietly, turning his face away from the window. “Can you please turn it off?” The curtains he had closed already, but he couldn’t risk her. “A small lamp light will be fine, but the light..” He lowered his head and looked down at the ground. He wanted to go back into her embrace, to stay there, but he couldn’t. Her safety was important. He didn’t know if people were following him. Coming here was a big risk. “I would have gotten back to you sooner, but so much happened.” He looked apologetically at her, but it was weak. He couldn’t really apologise for something that was out of his control. He reached out and took her hand when she said she would help, and squeezed a little, looking her in the eye. “I’m not going to stop you, but please be careful. There are people out there that can use even the smallest of things against you.” He genuinely was worried for her. She had been kind and nice to him, and he didn’t want to pay her back in pain.

It didn’t make any sense, this stranger was in his room without having an order to be there. So then why was she there? She didn’t need to be, why would she risk her safety just to wash his hair? It made no sense to Bucky and it showed on his face, now that he had calmed down a little bit from the initial shock of her being there when he woke up. Maybe they had talked before, he couldn’t remember anything about her so he wasn’t sure. But she had to have a reason to be there, he could shower after so she really didn’t need to wash his dirty hair. “Did I know you?” He asked as his body slowly relaxed, although he was still on edge like he normally was. Especially after a brainwashing session, he inhaled several deep breathes as he didn’t want to flip out anymore. She was scared as it was already, he didn’t have any reason to continue scaring her. So as he watched her, he sat back down before leaning back so she could finish washing his hair.
“No one is meant to be here when I wake up, I hadn’t expected you.” It was some sort of an apology, Bucky felt like he should apologize to her. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” He lowered his voice as it did feel strange to him, to let someone else wash his hair. Although it had eased the pain that was still pumping through his head.

---

“Of course, yeah that makes sense.” Grace quickly moved away from Steve, she turned the lamp on that was beside the couch before she turned the main light off. An action as simple as needing to turn the light off, made her realise how much danger was out there now for them both. More so Steve than her, but it wasn’t a secret that they were close and spent time together. So HYDRA could easily find her and pay her a visit, which she hoped never happened but there was a good chance something like that could happen. Moving back to Steve she wrapped her fingers around his hand, “I know that. I’m not blaming you, I understand that you needed to go into hiding. But you’ll be careful, right?” She looked at him not knowing when she’d see him again or how long this war would last between SHIELD and HYDRA, “I’ll be careful.” She promised him as she lightly squeezed his hand, her thumb rubbing the back of his hand.
“Stay focused on finding Bucky and helping him, he needs you more than anyone right now. Just don’t go head first into HYDRA, make a plan.” Grace knew that his emotions would be all over the place now, but if he didn’t make a plan then he’d get himself hurt. Moving closer to him she rested her head on his chest, “I’m sorry all of this has happened.” She had no idea what he was feeling, he thought his best friend had died in the war and now he was alive and the emery.

She didn’t see the confusion on his face until she looked up when he asked if he knew her. He had relaxed a little, the visible tension disappearing but Ari was still alert. “You did. I work here. I gave you food after missions.” Ari replied quietly, lowering her empty hand but still holding it up in case he leaped for her throat or something. She didn’t say anything more. Anything else would seem like a lie to him, most likely.
Barnes sat back down and he leaned back again, and it surprised her, but she too lowered the towel and dipped her hands into the water to continue to wash his hair. This time, she hesitated before touching his head, massaging the shampoo in and washing it out gently with water.
“I know.” She replied, just as quietly, “Things are different sometimes.” Sure, if someone walked in now they would question what the hell she was doing. But nobody was here. There was a huge important meeting and everyone had gone to it, and the rest that stayed weren’t important and wouldn’t want to initially hang around the Winter Soldier. His apology was likewise unexpected, probably as unexpected as her presence was to him, and she stopped washing and peered down at him curiously, but she sat at an angle where she could see most of his face, but he couldn’t see hers at all. She washed out the shampoo and took the towel, gently drying and massaging his head for a bit before setting the towel onto his shoulder so he could wipe his face and neck – areas where she wouldn’t want someone else touching, areas where it was easy to be killed. She remained seated on her chair, waiting for the towel to be given back, watching him with a tinge of sadness in her eyes though she tried her best to hide it.

---

He rubbed the sides of his head while she went to turn the light off. Already, ideas and thoughts on what to do next were clogging up his mind but he was tired and he didn’t want to think. He looked at her hand as she took his into hers, looked at her fingers so small compared to his. He didn’t know if he could promise her that he would be careful. He knew he’d act on emotion, on impulse. Steve lifted his head and looked at her. “I’ll try.” That was the best he could do. He held her hand a little more, returning the small squeeze given, gently, and looked away again into the darkness with a sigh. A few days ago, just like now, there he was in the dark with Fury but Fury was hurt. And somehow this was all so similar, and when he closed his eyes he could almost hear the gunshots.
Somewhere outside a car door slammed and in his moment, Steve started in his spot, eyes flying open and darting wildly around, but catching himself just in time and staying put. No gunshots, just a car door in a normal street on a normal night for normal average people. He took a deep breath in and breathed out then realised he had squeezed her hand a little more than he would have liked and quickly let go, pulling his hand back to prevent any more pain for her. “I’m sorry.” He apologised, running a hand through his hair. His heart was racing. He listened in on every rustle.
“I’ll… Fury… We will figure something out. I hope.” He said quietly, pressing his lips every time he failed to start the sentence and fell back into silence. Just sitting here alone with her was enough. Steve rubbed his face and added, “I’ll keep in touch. I’ll come back when I can. Let us know if you overhear anything. We don’t have as many trusted sources anymore. Please keep an eye out, and for yourself.” He stood. It was time to go. He couldn’t put her in any more danger. Looking around the room, he turned and asked, “Do you have anything to protect yourself with?” A gun, a flare, anything that could keep a person at bay, further and out of arms reach.
If they came here, he wanted to at least give Grace a chance to defend herself.

Bucky kept his eyes focused on the ceiling as the woman finished washing his hair, it would have been easy for her to attack him now but why would she? She told him that she worked here, so she wouldn’t have a reason to attack him and if she did then he was sure he could easily take her on. His metal arm was showing from under the t-shirt that he was wearing, he usually wore long sleeves when he wasn’t on a mission as he didn’t want everyone to see his arm. He waited until she finished, sitting up he wiped his face and neck with the towel that she had handed to him. Once he was finished he draped the damp towel over the chair, so she could take it but not get too close to him. “Thank you, but I come in here again unless you have an offer to.” He told her in his deep voice, he didn’t know her and he didn’t want a stranger in his room. Although agents often filled his room whenever they felt the need, but those agents were incredibly rude and didn’t care about him. It was usually those agents who did get hurt when he snapped, he had killed women before but she wasn’t his mission. It would be better and safer for her if she stayed away from him, like most people did.
Standing up Bucky turned to face her, he took a few slow steps towards her. Bending down he lifted the bucket of water up into his hands, she had flinched back away from him when he had moved closer. It didn’t surprise him, it was a response that he got from everyone and it was something that wouldn’t change any time soon. He carried the bowl of water over to the sink that was in the room, pouring the dirty water down the drain so she wouldn’t have to carry a heavy bucket herself. “Here,” He left the now empty bucket on the counter so she could take it before she left.

---

Grace knew that he would try to be careful, and that’s all she wanted. At least he would try. She felt his hand squeezing her’s a little tighter than she had been expecting, it wasn’t painful but it was beginning to become uncomfortable although she didn’t say anything. She watched as car door outside startled him and he realised the pressure he had on her hand, “It’s okay.” She spoke softly as she rested her hands on her lap, and it was then that he stood up and she knew he was going to leave. She didn’t want him to, but it wasn’t like she could keep him there. “Alright, if I find anything I’ll get in contact.” She told him as she stood up from the couch and looked at him, she nodded her head lightly when he asked if she had anything to protect herself with. “I have a gun, and I know how to shoot.” She assured him as her Grandpa had given her a gun when she started living on her own, she then went to a shooting range and got herself lessons so that she would be able to protect herself if anyone did come after her. “You don’t need to worry about me, Steve.” She looked at him and again leaned in closer to him, she engulfed him in another hug as she wanted to remember what having him in her arms felt like.
“Stay strong,” She whispered stretching up a little so she could press her lips against his cheek, much like she had done the last day that she saw him. But this time she allowed her lips to linger against his skin, just so she could enjoy it and imprint the moment into her mind.

Ari could see his metal arm, and again her curiosity was just too much for her. She observed it while he lay there and stopped looking when he finally got up. She heard what he said but she didn’t listen. This was the only chance she could ever come in without anyone’s permission in all honesty. Every other time he was guarded, every other time there was always someone here. She took the towel and neatly folded it and also getting up, putting it over her shoulder so she could use both hands to carry the bucket but suddenly he moved forward and she hastily stepped back.
His hands came around but they came around onto the bucket. She watched him intently. The bowl was emptied and set down. “Thank you,” she said after a moment. She took the bucket and looked down at it, shuffling to the door and opening it. She hesitated to leave though and looked back at him. Taking in his shape and form in the light. Ari opened her mouth, but there was nothing she could say here. He’d just have to remember in his own time.
She hastily left, just as her eyes prickled to cry again and she hoped he didn’t see. How weird would that be, some random stranger getting all weepy around him? She shut the door with a little more slam than she wanted to and marched down the hall. She had a punching bag she wanted to abuse, and for an hour she did, but then she fell asleep in the corner of the training room, concealed by more mattresses and bags, worn out.

---

Any other day he would have been really impressed that she had a gun and knew how to shoot, but today and right now all he felt was relief. She could defend herself enough to cause commotion and hopefully someone would come to the rescue. He nodded as she reassured him and he didn’t pull away when she leaned in. The kiss was nice, longer than the last, but he didn’t mind. He just embraced her and held her.
Feeling that he had burdened her with a lot of unnecessary sad emotion, he whispered quietly, “If you still are up to it, the art museum still sounds good. He peered over at her but didn’t let go of her for now. It had been so long since he last hugged someone like this. Body contact in this moment was sure something he wouldn’t take for granted. Steve hoped she would agree. It meant he would get to see her again in two nights. It meant he could keep her closer for a little while longer, reducing her time of being alone, reducing the timespan for HYDRA to come and do their horrible things to her. He hoped they wouldn’t. He would kill every single one of them if they took one more person from him. But first, he needed to get Bucky. That would take a lot of time to plan, they also had to take SHIELD back. Fury would focus on the latter first, of course. Without sources, they wouldn’t be able to track HYDRA too well.
Steve pulled back from the embrace. He looked at her one more time, and with one small smile, he headed to the window, peered out through the curtains and in one swift movement he was out and gone.

Bucky still couldn’t clearly remember the last mission that he had, but again he wasn’t frozen after the mission. He just had to wait around for another task, the task who most likely be that he needed to finish the mission that he had been given. Agents had taken him to the training room more often than usual, they pushed him harder and he did have a few times when he did snap and he lashed out. One agent ended up seriously injured and was currently still receiving medical attention, he didn’t feel bad as it was a man that Bucky never liked. And the man had been talking shit, it annoyed Bucky so he shut the man up. There had also been a couple of times when he would see the lady who had washed his hair, he did notice that every time he saw her she looked upset over something. He didn’t know what and he didn’t ask, he didn’t know her but lately he has felt differently when he did see her around the base. Bucky couldn’t put his finger on how he did feel around her, but he wasn’t angry and he didn’t hate her. The feelings were warmer and very calm, he never mentioned it to anyone as it would make him get his mind wiped again and he didn’t want that to happen. He was tired of going through that pain, at least normally when his mind was wiped then he was usually frozen so the pain didn’t linger as long.
But that hadn’t happened this time around, he was walking through the base after showering as he had a training session. He heard a lot of noise so he stepped towards it, he walked through a few doors until he noticed a large group of people all standing around together. Suddenly a jet rose into the air and clapping sounded through the area, he watched the jet and took in all the curves of the metal. Why did it look so familiar to him? He never flew the planes that took him places, he wasn’t even really allowed in this area of the base so he never really saw the planes and weapons. But this jet, he was certain that he had seen it somewhere before.

---

Working at the SHIELD base had been very awkward, she had lost count of how many people asked her if she knew where Steve and Natasha were. She didn’t need to lie because she actually had no idea where they were hiding, she felt like she couldn’t even do her job right. Not that she had many patients, SHIELD were staying low as they searched for where HYDRA had their main base. Grace knew nothing about the search, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t doing a search on her own. She knew people in different industries and many of them owed her a favour, she hadn’t found out much but she did get into contact with Natasha as she had found out which side of the city that HYDRA had their base. She was a hundred percent certain that her information was correct, but even with that piece of information. The city was huge and there were plenty of places to hide where no one would find them, she had been tempted to call Luka and not only give him an earful for lying to her. But also to see if he’d tell her anything, which he probably wouldn’t but it would have been worth a try. But she honestly didn’t want to deal with him, it still hurt her knowing he had lied to her and that he was her enemy now.
Grace had the day off work so she decided to get out of her apartment, she went for a walk along the streets and just enjoyed being out in the fresh air. She tried not to think about work or SHIELD or HYDRA, but it seemed like she couldn’t get away from it that easily. She hadn’t noticed that a man seemed to be following her, she didn’t think anything of it because there was a million different reasons why he needed to go in the way she was. Then suddenly out of nowhere, a loud noise hit her ears and her body reacted before her mind did. She ran as more loud gun shots rang out through the air, followed by screaming as people ran in all different directions. Grace was heading to hide, when a parked car that wasn’t far from her exploded and the blast sent her flying.

The jet was superb. It functioned perfectly, stealth mode and colour change were on point. The cockpit was praised and the whole thing was a beautiful success. Now, today, was its first mission. It rose into the air and people clapped, people cheered and it flew off. Ari stood away from the group on a little balcony above and watched it go.
The air buffeted her coat and her hair, which she reached up to push out of her face. The jet disappeared. Ari pressed her lips together. Sure, she had said she only worked on the cockpit. As Mr Haworth had said. But then something changed and all her efforts that she put in – the cockpit, the thrusters, the stealth, the design were revealed to be hers. And then someone put that name on it. She had no say and she doubted it was meaning anything, just a coincidence maybe…
They named it Aris, pronounced more like ‘iris’ but still ironic.
From above she caught sight of Barnes. She looked at him for a moment then forced her gaze to look away. Now the drone was being tested, she had done its upgrade. It was only 2cm fatter than the original model, and there was nothing that could be done about it. The drone whizzed around, passing above her head. It worked alright for now. But again she saw Barnes. Of all the things she could fix, his memory wasn't one. That just reverted like a stubborn piece of code, like stubborn metal that refused to be melted and rebent.

---

The search for HYDRA was getting harder and harder. Every time they got a lead it would slip and they would have to start all over again. It was frustrating. Knowing that Bucky, his Bucky, was on the other side of this string that kept ripping motivated Steve and despite all the irritations he had gone through in the search, he didn’t give up. He couldn’t. Bucky needed to be saved. Grace put her hope in him. People needed to be saved. The big ships would be up and people would die. He couldn’t let that happen.
He wasn’t usually out and about the street, but a certain lead made him and Natasha and Anthony, along with a two other trusty agents follow and they were not wrong this time. HYDRA struck out at citizens in the middle of a city street. Gunshots were fired and cars exploded, and among the chaos Steve saw a familiar form. He instantly recognised her hair and her face. Grace.
He saw the suspicious car, he saw it explode and without hesitation he disarmed the guy in front of him and ran towards Grace. He saw more people coming in from one side towards her. She was caught up in this crossfire; the will to protect pushed Steve forward.
He sprang and caught her midair, spinning around and softening her landing with his own body. He rolled over her, pushing the shield over both of them as the guys started to fire. He didn’t look at her face. One glance to see she was alive was enough. He jumped up, pulling her up with him and shielding her from the bullets with his body and shield, pushing her not gently but not roughly either towards another car nearby that had been abandoned by a panicked driver. He drew a gun and fired back at the guys, successfully knocking out one and then throwing his shield. The shield took out another two, he caught it already midleap and finished off the last guy. Only then did he turn around and look towards Grace. “Are you alright?”