His Saving Grace

The morning came and passed without my knowing.

I had fallen asleep by the window some time during the night, and when I woke, I was laying on one of the couches, Bucky standing where I had fallen asleep. I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes with my hand, smothering a yawn.

“Any idea what time it is?” I asked, stirring Bucky from his thoughts. He looked over and shrugged.

“About noon. I was waiting for you to wake up before grabbing some food. There’s a diner down the road.” He said, and I nodded.

“Sure, sounds good.” I said around another yawn. I wasn’t fully awake just yet.
Bucky turned and started heading for the stairs, scooping the bag up as he past. I didn’t want that bag lying around either, we were depending on using what I had packed. I stood and followed, stopping when I noticed that I didn’t have shoes on. I spotted my boots beside the couch and pulled them on one at a time, hopping after Bucky.

The door screeched open as I hit the stairs, and he waited outside for me to catch up.

“Thanks.” I said sarcastically. I thought I saw his lips twitch upwards, but it was gone in a flash, and I reasoned that it was half a trick of the light, and half me being asleep still. We walked down the street in silence, and I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder. Anyone could be Hydra, and Hydra could access cameras everywhere. At least, they used to. I wasn’t sure if they still had that privilege, after the entire thing with Shield.

The diner that Bucky had mentioned was just like any other small chain place. Red fake leather booths, white tables, black and white checkered floors and bored looking employees. We walked in and found a seat at the back. I picked up the menu, scanning it quickly before putting it back down. Bucky hadn’t bothered with the menu.

The waitress walked over, glasses perched on the end of her nose. “What can I get for you guys?” She asked, and I smiled politely.

“Just the burger, please.” I said, and she scribbled something on her pad. She turned to Bucky.

“I’ll get the same, thank you.” He said. The waitress nodded and scribbled something else on the pad.

“Any drinks?” She asked, looking up. I looked to Bucky and shrugged.

“Just a bottle of water.” I said, and Bucky nodded, getting the same.

“Okay, no problem. That’ll be about five minutes.” She said, turning and walking back to the counter, where she handed the cook a piece of paper and took a seat on a stool.

I turned my attention to the window outside, the sun peeking out from behind the grey clouds.

“If it’s going to rain later, we should get some shopping done.” I said, looking at Bucky in his thermal shirt and cargo pants. He had put his vest and holsters in the bag at his feet, and my jacket covered the weapons I was carrying, but we didn’t look like civilians.

Bucky merely nodded, thoughts obviously somewhere else. “We’re going to need some contacts, to keep an ear out for anything related to Hydra.” I said quietly, letting my eyes wander around the room like I was bored. There was a man at the counter, sitting at the far end, but he looked harmless, his dark hair greying and his face half hidden under a beard. The only other people in the diner were the waitress and cook.

“Bucky.” I said quietly, looking around the room again.

“What?” He asked, thoughts turning to the present.

“You said it was noon.” I reminded him, and he nodded. “Look around.”

He did as I said, jaw setting when he came to the same conclusion I had.

“It should be busier. Let’s go.” He said, standing slowly and slipping out of the booth, bag in hand. I followed, moving slowly, but it didn’t matter. The waitress turned and smirked.

“Run.” I told Bucky, bolting for the back door. The man in the corner stood, and the cook came out from the back. Bucky hit the door running, knocking it off its hinges. He looked back to make sure I was behind him, and we bolted down the street, heading for the car.

A gunshot rang out behind us, and a trashcan fell over, a bullet hole in the side.

I didn’t say anything to Bucky, and he didn’t say anything to me, but we both sprinted for a side alley, running side by side. I spared a look over my shoulder and saw the cook running after us, face determined.

I nudged Bucky towards a warehouse door, and he got the message, flying through the door and bolting for the other exit. I was on his heels, and we made it to the other side before the Hydra agent got inside.

Bucky led the way back to the car, trusting me to watch our backs. It felt nice to be trusted, but I didn’t let myself truly feel it until we were safe.

We got to Bucky’s safe house and went straight for the car. Bucky jumped in the driver’s seat, throwing the bag into the back. I pulled out my gun and jumped in, winding the window down in case I needed to shoot someone. Bucky pulled out of the hiding place quickly, flying around the side of the building and flooring it once he got on the road. I saw the cook running out of a side alley and aimed, firing quickly.

He crumpled to the ground, holding his stomach, and watched us go, pulling out a radio.

“He’s taking note of the car.” I told Bucky, who nodded stiffly.

“I know. We need to dump it somewhere. Travel on foot from now on.” He said, taking the highway out of wherever we were.

“How did they find us so fast? And that diner, how did they know we’d be there?” I wondered out loud.

“They could have been following us the entire time. I watched the roads, but I never noticed a tail.” Bucky said quietly, fingers tightening on the steering wheel.

“They know you better than you know yourself, Bucky.” I said softly, not looking at him. “You need your memories, Bucky. Otherwise, no matter where you go, they’ll find you.”

I dared a glance at Bucky. He didn’t take his eyes off the road, but I saw the tiniest of nods.