After all this, she had recognized him. The soldier was pleased at her startled reaction. The trembling of her lips, the slight intake of air stuck in her throat.

She had been caught off guard by his presence, had she truly expected someone else in him place?

Of course, there was factions of Hydra cells throughout the world. Cut off one head, two more in its place. His blue eyes flickered back to watery honey pools in front of him. An uncomfortable dryness wheezed through his chest, he always hated seeing a dame cry.

He went to wipe the tear escaping with his right hand, while the soldier flexed her middle finger expertly in a painful position with his left. During his distraction her other hand left eyesight, beneath the table. Fool, the soldier whispered.

"The knife." He ruffed. With the no nonsense in his tone and the tenseness in his posture, she decided it wasn't worth it. She whimpered, but slid the slim blade towards him obediently. She knew not to scream, she knew not to make a scene.

What did HYDRA do to her?

One, two, three. Footsteps approaching from behind her, the waiter looking at him suspiciously.

Her whimpers quieted and in their place, a welcoming smile.

"Is there anything wrong here?" The waiter inquired, eyeing the new guest with equal measures of scrutiny and interest. The girl with Oscar worthy performance, turned without missing a beat, pearly whites dazzling the man. Her eyes gleaming with the brilliance of something bountiful and unyielding.

"Far from it." The previously concerning tears, now seemingly inviting and scrupulous. "My boyfriend proposed." Bucky huffed in surprise, while the soldier praised the girl's ingenuity. Besides a hidden knife, she had planned a well-crafted distraction. A diamond ring was sparkling in her free hand, a testament to her earlier statement. Highly visible, attention seeking lie in a crowd area. Certainly impressive, and annoying. His surveillance during the week prior only had entitled him to her loud wailing, not strategic planning.

"Oh," the waiter's voice wavered, his vocal chords straining as if disappointed, "Congratulations to the happy couple."

"Yes," Bucky nodded, staring into those golden eyes of mystery once more. "Very happy."


It was gamble the moment she left the building with him. No direction, no idea, no guidance of what was to happen next. She had made it this far, for this long, with the Winter Soldier tailing her.

There was glaring gaps and limits about her knowledge of Barnes, other than he was dangerous and wanted her for gods know what.

But she noticed something, besides dragging her when her speed did little to accommodate him. With keys extracted from her pocket, getting ready to open her front down, he checks the corridors for exits. Blue eyes shifting back and searching, calculating. Murmuring terse words in Russian, posture tense until plans of evaluation was complete.

He sat her down roughly on her sofa, quickly scoping out her loft, shuttling blinds, closing doors, and blocking routes leaving her living room. He dragged one of the stools towards her, the legs scrapping across the laminate floor.

She chewed on her lips in anticipation, lipstick smearing on her teeth. A small ruin in her appearance, a moment to reflect the anxiety lingering beneath. She was aggravated by his presence, and it wasn't by the Winter Soldier directly…no. It was something else, information only she could provide him with.

"The engagement, a nice touch." She laughed nervously. She had thought so as well, she had had a feeling whoever was to approach her was going to be male. Her heart beating wildly against her chest. What did he want?

How could she-why did she have to look at him that way? It was terrible enough to see her fear and pleasure in his mind's eye, but to be breathing it in at its foundation. It was overwhelming, a sensory overload.

His interested gaze was unnerving and his poor attempt at conversation filled her with trepidation. What did he track her down for? What did he want with her? The coolness of his vibranium hand broke her running thoughts. Her fretful golden eyes stared silently into the depths of his steely blue. He broke the silence once more.

"How do I know you?"