made of scars.

Sophia still remembered the day that she had fully understood what her scars meant. She didn't have very many friends because she was such an oddball - most children were born with blank skin, a canvas of the story their soulmate would live until they met. Sophia though - she was born with scars littering her body. Some worse than others, some appeared to be be older than ones that started to appear one days after she was born. They didn't appear to hurt her; that was the only thing her parents were relieved about. They were rightfully afraid of what the future held for her because she would always stand out. The amount on her skin was horrendous, far more than the average person.

Sophia came to the sobering realization that her soulmate was likely far older than she was. That he was probably going to die before she even had the chance to meet him. The thought had made little Sophia cry for days on end until she eventually settled on the fact that her soulmate had to be a hero. Who else would have this many scars? Sophia held on to that idea because it was the only thing that gave her solace to know that she would never meet him.

It had been nearly ten years since Sophia's skin formed into a new scar and she'd made peace with that. Her soulmate was no longer here and she would continue to hold onto the story of him being a hero. Most people didn't approach her because of the way she looked and by the time she'd made the choice to move to New York, Sophia had grown used to that. She'd been offered her dream job as a journalist with a New York newspaper and she couldn't turn down that opportunity.

Sophia had to dedicate herself to her work because dreaming of anything else simply did not work for her. If she thought about the idea of being alone forever, it broke Sophia's heart. She'd wallow in her despair and would hardly leave her bedroom long enough to get some food.

It was only her third week on the job. It was a Tuesday morning where Sophia had woken early so that she could stop at the little coffee shop near Stark Tower. She didn't know why Tony Stark didn't have a coffee shop in the building but she never questioned it, simply enjoying that the cafe near the tower was so delicious. There was a bit of a wait most mornings so she had to add time into her day for her latte.

Sophia stood in line, her bag clutched to her side as she stared down at her phone. Her fingers flew over the keys, needing to reply to an email from her boss. She paid no mind to those around her, only moving forward when the line in front of her moved.

{eh, kinda bad start. I'm sorry i figured steve seeing her before bucky returning would be best }

Steve didn't like to make things habit because then people could start to get familiar with him, and in his field of work being familiar with him put them in danger. It was also still proving to be difficult for him to adjust to things since he'd woken up and considering that shortly after he'd woken up he'd helped save the world from an alien invasion so he was known all over the world. And with that many people aware of who Captain America was he couldn't be sure if people wanted to know him for him or for the status they might get through him. So he was trying a new cafe this morning for his coffee before he went off to visit with Tony about a possible move to D.C.

He knew that it wasn't Tony's choice if Steve decided to leave or not, but Steve felt like since they were friends, both Avengers, and he and Tony were the only ones currently living in New York he should at least break the news to him in person. He needed coffee before he went about that though, Steve always needed some kind of pick me up before he went to visit with Tony just so he could keep up with the man normally.

As he waited in line his eyes scanned around the place taking everything he could in, and that's when he noticed the blonde. "It couldn't be," he whispered rubbing his eyes before he took another look. But he still couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing. There was no way. This girl across the cafe looked exactly like a girl he hadn't seen in ages and seeing her made a pit form in the pit of his stomach. She looked like Bucky's girl. But that couldn't be possible because Bucky and his girl were both dead, and he felt like seeing this girl was a slap in face to remind him of that.

He couldn't help himself from wanting to know if his mind was playing some kind of awful trick on him or not though. So he made it his mission after he got his coffee to find a way and talk to her. At least see if maybe she just looked like who he thought from far away. Of course, he had no idea what he would do or even say to her if she looked even more like who he thought when he got closer. But he'd deal with that if he had to.

After a few minutes of standing in line, he finally got to order his coffee and while he waited he decided it was now or never to approach the girl, hopefully, he didn't totally freak her out though. And the closer he got to her the more she looked just like Bucky's girl. This was totally insane. "This is going to sound totally weird," he started running a hand over his face before he went on, "but have we met before?" He asked just trying to get to the bottom of things.

[ Hope this was good! ]

{it is!! }

Sophia kept her head lowered even after she finished responding to the email from her boss. There was on a scar across her eyebrow that was barely noticeable. The tiny one on her bottom lip couldn't even be seen unless you caught it in the right light. Sophia was relieved that her scars were usually easily hidden by her clothes. She was willing to talk to anyone who asked about them but she'd met far too many people that didn't have the best things to say when they saw how numerous her scars were, how bad some of them were. They demanded who she was, who her soulmate was, and what her soulmate did to earn all of those scars. Sophia always found herself wishing that she could answer anything about her soulmate but truth be told, Sophia was clueless. She would tell them that and sometimes they would believe her, sometimes they wouldn't.

When she settled into a routine, Sophia found that her anxiety was less. If she followed the same routine, Sophia knew what to expect next. She never had to question what was next, never had to worry about what to do next. Sophia woke in the morning, she showered and readied for the day before she left early enough to grab a coffee for herself and her boss on the way in to the office.

Deciding to go out on a limb, Sophia ordered a croissant as well as the two drinks before paying. She moved off to the side, still trying her best to keep to herself. She didn't look around much, only stepping forward to grab the itmes that she had just bought when they were ready. "Thank you," Sophia spoke softly, giving a polite nod of her head before she turned to leave the cafe.

Sophia stopped dead in her tracks when someone moved into her path, gulping as she looked up slowly. Her eyes widened as she realized who was standing in front of her - there was no way that she wouldn't recognize Captain America. Speaking to her. She was a journalist after all, she knew gritty details about so many cases - simply because information fueled Sophia.

Giving a polite smile, Sophia shook her head slowly. She tilted her head to the side, eyeing Steve warily. "I...think I would remember meeting someone like you," she said, a light blush creeping across her cheeks. "Sorry to disappoint you, Captain," her voice was still as soft as it had been when she spoke to the barista behind the counter.

Steve studied the girl in front of him once he'd gotten closer to her and while it was very faint he noticed the scar across her eyebrow, probably because he was looking for it. That scar gave it all away, he would know that scar in his sleep. This girl was Bucky's soulmate and Steve had never been more confused by anything in his life because he knew she was dead. Just like Bucky, so how was there? What was happening? It felt like a cruel joke to him that destiny would allow this girl to live out her days wondering who her soulmate was only to eventually find out he was dead, and that he'd been dead for seventy years. Unless there was something else going on here that he didn't know. But Steve was pretty sure he would know if his best friend was back from the dead or even hadn't died at all. Well, he wanted to believe that he would know, but truthfully Steve wasn't sure if he would know or not given he'd been frozen for the last seventy years. So he supposed anything was possible.

"Right," he said slowly studying her one more time, "it's just odd because you look very familiar to me. And that scar on your eyebrow, well, I know I've seen it before on my best friend. I know it's the same one too because not only is that a weird place for a scar to begin with but I'm the one who gave it to him. I was there when he had to get it stitched up," he said hoping he wasn't scaring the poor girl but Steve just couldn't shake this. There was something going on here and he needed to get to the bottom of it before he drove himself mad. After all, now that he's seen her he can't unsee it. And if he let her walk away he might not ever see her again and there was something inside him telling him not to let her get away.

Steve sighed and ran his hands over his face. "I'm sorry, this isn't something I should just spring on a person," he apologized. "I'm just a little confused is all," he told her knowing he likely sounded crazy, and she likely thought he was. Here he was Captain Freaking America claiming that her soulmate was his dead best friend, hell he'd think he was crazy if he didn't know what he was looking at. He still thought that he might be going crazy, but he couldn't take anything back now.

"You're welcome to forget I brought any of this up," he finally told her stepping back figuring that if she wanted to leave she was welcome to. Steve didn't want to her keep her from anything important, and he was sure that rambling on about how he knew her wasn't how she wanted to spend her day. "But I'll be around if you decided that you would like to know more, or I guess help me get to the bottom of things. Actually here," he told her grabbing a napkin to scribble his address onto. "You can find me here most of the time if you want," he told her not entirely sure why he was so willing to invite a total stranger into his home, but at least this way he wouldn't feel bad. If she decided to show up he could share more with her and maybe figure things out and if she didn't then hopefully he could forget he'd even seen her today.

Sophia's back straightened when Steve started talking about her scars. She gritted her teeth, looking away from him after a moment. She bit back a sigh, shaking her head. Sophia wished that she could say something that might make the level of tension dissipate but Steve's words only made her heart sink. It reminded her that she wasn't normal, that her soulmate likely was... she exhaled, shaking her head as she looked away from Steve. "That's not possible, Cap," she said, lowering her gaze to the floor between them. By now, Sophia knew that was verging on being late to work. She needed to get going if she wanted to make it on time.

"Because if it was your best friend, there's no way that I'd still be getting scars..." Sophia trailed off, shrugging as if that explained away the possibility that Steve had just brought up. Taking the napkin from Steve with his address on it, she shoved it into her purse before she looked back up to Steve. "Look. I have to get heading to work. I just started a new job and I can't really afford to be late," she explained. Sophia chewed on her bottom lip, her brows pulling together. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help, Captain. Maybe I'll catch you sometime and we can talk a bit more. For a small moment, Sophia had entertained the idea of Steve's best friend being her soulmate but that wasn't possible. She was sure Steve's best friend had to be dead by now and she was still getting scars, most days of the week.

Sophia still thought that there had to be something off about her life. She had never met Steve Rogers before but he had seemed so intent on telling her about his best friend that for the rest of the day, she couldn't seem to think about anything else. Her boss had to get on her case several times over, eyeing Sophia with a deep frown every time she passed by Sophia.

By the time that she finished her work day, Sophia's stomach was twisted into a firm knot of nerves. She couldn't help but wonder what that meant for her. She was still receiving scars on a nearly daily basis. It made her heart ache for whoever her soulmate was because they were clearly suffering and they had been for as long as she had been alive. Whoever was her soulmate was older, there was no getting around that fact, but was it possible that her soulmate was as old as Steve Rogers?

At the moment, Sophia had no intentions of going to the address that Steve had written down on a napkin for her but she planned on going to the cafe a little bit earlier tomorrow in hopes that he'd be there at the same time. That she could have the chance to sit and talk to Steve for a bit. She had no idea what she was going to say or what Steve was going to say for that matter but at this point, if Steve could help lead her toward answers, she'd take just about anything she could to lead her toward her soulmate.

Steve couldn't get this girl out of his head. He wasn't sure that he believed people could come back from the dead so whoever she was he knew it wasn't Dorthy. However, she looked exactly like her if Dorthy maybe hadn't aged in nearly eighty years. He also knew there was no way it was her because Steve knew that unless there was something hindering her from remembering him Dorthy would remember him because Steve was a hard man to forget. This girl had Bucky's scars though and she'd said that she was getting new ones which is one thing that made him question what was happening. How could she be Bucky's soulmate? Bucky had died, Steve had watched him fall out of a moving train and he knew there was no way that Bucky could survive something like that. Not unless someone had found him just in the nick of time and patched him up. But surely if someone had somehow found and taken him in then Steve would have heard of it by now.

There were a lot of things he was questioning right now, and he knew that he needed to sit down and talk to her again. Only this time it needed to be more rational. He didn't need to overwhelm her by spouting off random things that didn't even make sense to him. And maybe he would get lucky and the pair of them could figure something out together about what was going on. Whether her soulmate was Bucky or someone else Steve was at this point determined to help her find him.

The following morning he decided that maybe he had been way too weird the day before and she probably hadn't shown up because he'd freaked her out. And it made sense, the more he'd thought about it the more he realized he had been a little creepy, or at least he knew how someone might think he creepy after the whole thing. So he decided to go back to the same coffee shop a little bit earlier than he had the day before. Once he got his coffee Steve made his way over to a table off on the side planning to sit there, enjoy his coffee, and possibly run into the girl again. He'd even hopefully make sure to get her name this time around.

There weren't very many days that went by the Sophia didn't long to fall asleep in her soulmate's arms. She knew it was such a silly thing to want for when she could be wishing for more. She could want to be with them. She could want to go on vacation with them. She could want to go on a fancy date, she could want to be round with their child but all she truly wanted was to fall asleep with her soulmate's arms wrapped firmly around her waist. But Sophia was sure that she was never going to be able to have that because this was how she had been born, covered in scars that she would never know the story of. It broke her heart because it was obvious to her that whoever this mystery man was, that he was suffering. Every morning that she woke with a new scar on her body, Sophia's resolve faltered that much more.

She tossed and turned the night before, unable to get more than a few moments of proper rest. Sophia exhaled as she finally stood, with the intention of showering to start her day. Routine was the only thing that she knew, that kept her going. That dulled the ache in her chest while she was distracted. Chewing on her bottom lip as she left her apartment after getting ready, Sophia tugged her hood up over her head and started for the same cafe that she went to every morning, like clockwork.

Sophia didn't scan the room right away, deciding that maybe she wasn't brave enough to confront Steve if he was there. Steve's best friend was dead. Everyone knew the tragic story of the Howling Commandos losing one of their own; everyone knew how close Steve and Bucky had once been. It was hard not to; when it was taught in their history classes. Chewing on the inside of her lip, Sophia thanked the barista as her fingers wrapped around her cup. Sophia turned and before her courage could disappear, her eyes scanned around the filled cafe until they came to a rest on an oddly familiar blonde head of hair.

Sophia drew in a deep breathe, forcing herself to start moving. She was sure that her fear was obvious because it wasn't exactly a situation she had encountered before. She'd never spoken to Captain America before - not until yesterday morning.

"Hi," Sophia breathed, giving a half smile. She hesitated for a moment before she lowered herself down to the chair in front of him. She started to pick at the sleeve wrapped around her cup, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. Not knowing what else to say, Sophia blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "A new scar appeared over night. On my bicep," she muttered, raising her hand enough to brush over the area where the new scar was located on her arm. "Steve..." she trailed off, looking up to Steve. "I don't know. I-I.. I was born this way. Life has been cruel before, there's nothing stopping life from doing it again."

Steve looked up from what he had been reading when he felt the presence of someone else at the table he was sitting at, and inwardly he was glad that she'd not only shown up but also taken a chance and sat with him so they could talk, but outwardly he didn't want to freak her out so he tried to keep him face as unwavering as possible. "So you got a new scar last night? And you were born covered in all of these," he said actually trying to wrap his brain around what was really going on right now. "This is going to be a weird question but do you know if you're related to a woman named Dorthy Ott by any chance do you?" He asked first wanting to get to the bottom of why she looked exactly like Dorthy because the only answer that he could come up with that made any sense whatsoever was that they were related. It would still a little weird how much they looked alike but it made the most sense.

"Also have you ever had any kind of dreams about your soulmate? I know you don't know him but maybe there's something other than the scars that we can go off of to figure this out. Believe me, I am just as confused as you are currently. I mean I truly believe that you're Bucky's soulmate and I know how insane that sounds given everyone knows what happened with him, and it makes even less sense given you just got a new scar last night. But maybe he is still alive. I mean I'm here and I shouldn't be if you think about it. So maybe he didn't die, maybe someone somehow kept him alive after he fell off that train and they have been anything but nice to him," he said not with the intention of scaring her or making her worry, though he felt like that's what he might've done. His intention, however, was to hopefully find her soulmate and if it was Bucky save his life.

Steve shook his head. "I don't mean to worry you, it's just a crazy theory I have. Either way though, I'm going to get to the bottom of this, I am going to find your soulmate and keep any more harm from coming to him. Even if when I find him it isn't Bucky like I think," he said sighing. This was actually crazy. "I know that life can be cruel but right now I'm here to stop it from happening again. I truly believe there was a reason I walked into this shop yesterday and happened to see you of all people. So if you would like to help me you're welcome to. I have a feeling I'll be needing help," he told her hoping this didn't end poorly.

[ hope this was okay! ]

Sophia's back straightened as Steve mentioned Dorthy. Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her head to the side. She sized the man up that sat across from her, as if she didn't know who he was. As if she didn't know that his name was Steve Rogers, that he was Captain America. Sophia wanted so badly to trust him but it was an outlandish idea that her soulmate was Bucky - Bucky was dead. Everyone knew the tragic story of James Barnes' death via falling from a train. The thought alone caused a pain to shoot through her chest, if her soulmate... Sophia blinked rapidly to avoid shedding any tears. She couldn't bring herself to look up at Steve, afraid of what she would see there. Would it be pity? Anger? Hope? Sophia exhaled slowly, chewing on the inside of her lip as she nodded slowly.

"Dorthy's my great aunt. On my father's side," Sophia answered quietly. Her voice was surprisingly strong despite the panic that was threatening to spread through her. Sophia hesitated, thinking over his question carefully. She shrugged her shoulders after a moment, finally convincing herself to look up at Steve. Her brows pulled together as she tilted her head to the side. "I.. I don't know. Sometimes I have these reoccurring dreams where I'm strapped into a chair. Or sometimes I'm watching someone in the chair. Usually after those dreams I wake up and there's more scars. Worse ones than a typical scrap or something," she explained with a onesided shrug.

Sophia gave a sad sort of smile. "I grew up thinking my soulmate was a hero, Steve. That's all I ever knew because if I was covered in scars like this, he was probably some sort of war hero or something, right?" She looked away from him, a wave of sadness washing over her. "But that doesn't.. it doesn't make sense, if Bucky is because he should be dead. And all I know about you guys, I learned through school. There's no way he wouldn't come back to you unless there was something stopping him. And," she paused, dragging in a deep breathe. "If he is... if he's being hurt.." Sophia's voice as her bottom lip started to wobble. The thought of her soulmate, regardless of who he was being hurt, broke her heart. "I'll do anything I can, Steve. Whatever it means... I'll do it," she said, a steely determination leaking into her voice as her back straightened.

Steve took in every word that Sophia said actually trying to wrap his mind around what was going on. It made more sense to him why she looked so much like Dorthy knowing they were related, it was still a little weird how Sophia could have easily passed for Dorthy's twin sister were they the same age, but made sense nonetheless. And the more she talked about the dreams she'd been having and the scars that had been appearing the more he believed that someone had Bucky trapped somewhere. Because she wasn't wrong, if Bucky were still alive there was no way that he wouldn't have come looking for Steve which only meant one thing, someone had been holding him hostage and keeping him against his will. Steve could only imagine what Bucky had been through at this point, he could only begin to imagine the awful things that had possibly been done to his friend, and it broke his heart to think that he hadn't been there for him.

"We're going to need your help," Steve told her finally running his hands over his face. There were a lot of things that needed to be really looked at here, and honestly, Sophia was kind of the only puzzle piece they had so if she really was willing to help however she could Steve knew there would be a lot of questions. "It doesn't have to be right now, actually it shouldn't be right now because there are a few things I need to get in order first. But if you really are okay helping, I have an idea. And if it works out how I hope well you may need to take some time off of work. But I can vouch for you if you want. I'll make sure you don't get fired or anything. I mean who's going to reprimand you for helping Captain America right?" He told her knowing there was at least that small perk of helping him out.

Steve knew that he was going to have to put in a few phone calls to a few people who he thought would be the most helpful, but that was fine. He knew he needed to collect the greatest minds he knew so they could come up with a way to watch Sophia's dreams. They were going to need to see images so they could try and make as much sense out of them as possible because Steve needed to know everything that she knew, even if she didn't realize she knew it. And he was going to have to find a way to gently get any info from previous dreams she'd had as well. Steve was very determined to get to the bottom of this, he wanted to find his friend and bring him home and he knew that this was the only way.

The longer that she sat in front of Steve, the more sick that Sophia felt. The color drained from her features as she looked away from him, worrying at her bottom lip. She looked down to her hands, picking at her nails. Steve agreed with her over Bucky being forcefully held from him... it made her sick to her stomach. It only confirmed how she felt. She was sure that Bucky was being hurt, being forced into whatever he was doing. It sent a nauseating sense of panic and anger mixed into every fiber of her being. Her hands balled into tight fists as she nodded, refusing to look toward him. She couldn't bring herself to look up at him. "Whatever it takes. I don't care what it is," she said, exhaling slowly.

"I don't even.. care. I don't care if something is wrong with him or he doesn't ever want anything to do with me. But if these scares are any indication.." Sophia managed to force out, tears welling in her eyes. She blinked rapidly as she looked up to Steve finally. "I sometimes get really bad migraines, after most of the scars appear. I don't know what that means but... but he's hurting, Steve," Sophia felt like she was going crazy, talking in circles but these were her thoughts that she had every single day. She just was never able to voice them before because no one would listen. Or they would just pity her without actually feeling for her at all. "It breaks my heart because all I want to do is help him and I don't even know if he is Bucky or if he's able to helped and I just... it's all I've ever wanted to do."

Sophia offered a sad sort of smile. "If it can be confirmed that Bucky is my soulmate, I honestly don't care about my job. It's a job, it's my dream job, sure, but at the end of the day Bucky would mean everything to me," Sophia spoke, her voice quiet. She shifted in her seat, taking a sip of her drink as her checked the time on her phone.

"Here. I have to get going but we should probably keep a better way of getting in contact with each other if we're going to do this," Sophia said, holding her phone out to him. She nodded toward him. "Send yourself a text. That way I have your number and you have mine. And you can call me as soon as you have anything figured out, okay?"

Steve nodded his head as he listened to her speak before he took her phone and did as she asked him. Thankfully he'd at least figured out how to work a cell phone in the time he'd been back so he wasn't totally out of the loop on what she was asking him to do. "I should apologize if I take longer than a normal person to respond to any text messages you send me, while I am getting the hang of this whole thing there's still so much that goes over my head," he laughed. He was sure it had to be weird for people that he hadn't aged a day since he went into the ice putting him at nearly 100 years old looking like he wasn't a day over 30. Hell, it was still weird for him the way things had worked out. It also didn't help that so many things had changed since he'd crashed into the ice, literally, he had woken up and not a damn thing he knew was the same. Everything he'd ever known was being taught in history classes, including himself.

Now here he was sitting in a coffee shop talking about Bucky with a girl who couldn't be older than 26 who had to be Bucky's soulmate and he was trying to think through as many ideas as he could on how to find him. Nothing was going to any plan he could have ever thought up himself. And if he would've tried to tell himself this was how his life would look back before the ice he probably would have called them crazy. He never could have pictured this was how things would turn out.

"Well there you are," he told her with a nod as he handed her his phone back. "And I'll let you be on your way because I'm sure you have places to be. But I'll be in touch as soon as I know anything or have a plan," he told her as he wanted to reassure her. There was no way that Steve was going to move on from this until he has moved every rock out of the way. There would be no stone left unturned, no corner not checked, Steve would actually go to the ends of the earth to find his friend and save him. And he truly hoped that Sophia knew, believed, and would also do the same.

Sophia couldn't help but to giggle at Steve's comment about texting. Her nose scrunched a bit as she nodded, tilting her head to the side as she studied him. "If it's important, you can just call. That's fine, too. Easier, too," she added with a nod of her head. She exhaled slowly, aware that this was one of those moments where everything was going to change. If she hadn't been in the cafe yesterday, at the right time, she would have never met Steve and then she would have never had a chance to meet her soulmate. The thought was enough to make her feel inadequate and small because in the grande scheme of things.. if Bucky was her soulmate? What did that mean for her? For Steve even? She took her phone back from Steve and sent him a quick text so that he would have her number as well.

"You're right. I have to get to work but if anything pops up or you need to get in contact with me, just... you have my number?" Sophia said as if it hadn't been what they were discussing for the past few minutes. She nodded her head, moving to her feet before she turned to head off to work. It was awfully hard for her to even focus once she got to work because alls he could think about was the possibility of finding her soulmate.

Sophia had managed to come to terms with her position in life. She would never meet her soulmate, she would never be able to have the fairy tale sort of love that everyone went on about. It hurt and it had been horribly difficult to get over but now.. now she was okay. Or she had been okay until she'd met one Steven Rogers.

Each day that passed that Sophia didn't hear from him, her mind became even more of a mess. Had Steve learned anything? Did he have any sort of plan? He had promised he would contact her if he did and she had no doubt that she could trust him but that didn't help to calm her nerves at all.

Steve sighed and ran his hands over his face as he talked with Nat. "That's just it though how do we know for sure? I mean we're going off pure assumptions that he died when he fell off that train. We're all assuming that he fell off the train died, and his body was simply never found. We're not talking about how someone could have found his body, drug him off somewhere, save him from dying and then held him hostage while they played with his brain until he was fully under their control. And I know that sounds insane but well this was the time of crazy Nazi scientists who were capable of so much more than what's taught in schools. Plus well I'm alive right now and I don't look a day over 35 when I am so much older than that. Whoever found him could've given him some kind of serum just like they used on me. I mean think of how many people were trying to replicate it,"

He felt like he was hitting a wall with all of this and he needed a fresh pair of eyes to look over most of the data he'd already collected. And of course, he'd wanted it to be someone he trusted. If there was anyone he knew who would know things about the spy world that could be helpful it was her. Plus Steve did trust her, it had taken a while for them to get to this point, especially considering she was a spy and the girl had more secrets than anyone he'd ever met. It didn't mean he didn't trust her, and especially with this specific case.

"I might have a lead we can work. But I don't want you to get your hopes up, and I certainly don't want you getting this girl's hopes up if it turns up to be a dead end. Just pack a bag and if you want to tell her what's going on you can and she can come as long as she stays out of the way. But we're leaving in two hours so meet me at the jet, and I'll go get Sam,"

Steve smiled at Nat and nodded his head. "Thank you. And I know this might be a dead-end, I may even be just chasing a ghost but I have to do this, I need peace over this situation and I think so does she," he told her before he watched Nat leave to get whatever she needed before he pulled his phone to call Sophia and explain everything to her.

Sophia had never thought that Steve was going to contact her and tell him that he had a solid lead. Or even a lead that had any sort of potential. So when Steve's name danced across her phone and she answered and he started telling her he was leaving in two hours, she was out of her bed and on her feet before Steve could even finish the sentence. She rushed around her bedroom, grabbing a duffel bag from the closet and shoving the bare essentials inside. Sophia had no clue how long she would be gone but if this meant helping her soulmate, if this meant finding him.. she would go to the ends of the Earth. Whether she ended up with the happy fairy tale or not, Sophia didn't care. Not one bit. She just wanted to find him and to know that he was safe. That he wouldn't have any more scars. That he wouldn't be hurt again.

The thought alone churned her stomach. Sophia did not know if James Barnes was her soulmate or not but she knew that she needed to do this. For herself. To find out. To help, if she could. Sophia had pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a shirt before she headed downstairs, locking her apartment behind her. She waited for nearly half an hour before Steve pulled up, having called her boss and told him that an emergency popped up. That she had to leave and she didn't know when she would be back.

Whether she kept her job or not, Sophia didn't care. There were far more important things in her life right now.

Sophia swallowed around the lump that formed in her throat, clutching her bag in her lap as Steve sped off to wherever they were going. She didn't ask because she didn't care, she would go to the ends of the Earth if she had to. "W-What.. what do we know? Of.. Of James?" She asked in a quiet voice, unsure of what she was supposed to ask. What she was supposed to call James. She didn't even know if he was hers but she didn't want to overstep where she didn't belong yet.

Tugging her bottom lip between her teeth, Sophia glanced up to him. "I don't.. I don't have exceptions of him. I just.. I want to know that he's not being hurt anymore. That's all I want. That's all.. I care about," she explained further, picking at the handle of her bag.

Steve looked over to Sophia and offered to take her bag for her. "So we don't really know a lot actually. We are actually going off of a lead a friend of mine has and hoping for the best. But I thought you should come along just in case something does pan out well," he told her wanting to be straight forward with her. The last thing he wanted was to string her along and make her think they had so much only for her to be disappointed if it didn't end the way they wanted it to.

"Also as long as you're up for it and of course the plan allows it. If this is Bucky we're hunting and we do find him, it might be best for you to be there near him. I mean if my theory is correct and you are soulmates then you have a much different and more special bond with him than the rest of us. So you might have a better chance of getting to the bottom of things, or saving him overall than anyone else," he told her also wanting to make sure that she knew there was no pressure here. Steve wanted to find his friend, he wanted to save his friend, and he wanted both Bucky and Sophia to find each other and be happy. But he didn't want to put her at risk or in uncomfortable situations if she wasn't up for them.

"I can promise you though that when we find him I will make sure personally that he's not harmed ever again. I made a promise to him a very long time ago that I'd stick by his side until the end of the line and clearly that time hasn't come yet. But I've missed out on a lot of times when he needed me, so I'm going to spend the rest of our lives making that up to him I'm sure,"

[ sorry if this wasn't very good Would you like to skip some? Maybe to when they actually find Bucky? ]

{It's good !! and yeah, i'm going to skip ahead }

"I don't care what it is. I don't care if it's dangerous or I'm uncomfortable, I'll do it. I.. he deserves that. I don't know what's wrong with him, but he deserves it. I like to think he'd do the same for me, if roles were reversed. Right?" Sophia exhaled slowly, trying to ignore the pounding in her chest. She had always told herself that her soulmate was strong, a warrior of some sort, and of course he would fight to keep her safe if the situation arose.

---

Sophia knew that she was going to end up way over her head. She knew that it wasn't going to be easy when she finally found Bucky. She had no idea what state of mind he would be in or how he would be feeling. The thought that he had been through any sort of trauma that had kept him from Steve had left a sour feeling in the pit of stomach since they had landed in Russia. They had been here for nearly three weeks and she was almost positive that Steve was running out of stories to tell her about Bucky. Everything from when they were little children, to their teenage years, to the days of the Howling Commandos.

"Tonight, you and I are going to his residence. We have been tracking his movements since we arrived here and the past three weeks, Thursday evenings, he is not home. So we will enter and we will wait for him," Steve explained to Sophia. The thought sent her heart racing - Steve made it seem like they were breaking into Bucky's apartment. The thought made her wary because she didn't want that to be his first impression of her.

---

Hours seemed to tick by as they waited in Bucky's living room. Her arms were wrapped around her torso as she paced in front of the small couch, her heart racing as she waited for Bucky to arrive home. Sophia couldn't bring herself even to talk to Steve because her thoughts were a jumbled mess at this point.