this was a fun chapter for me.
It felt like everything in the past year had been leading up to this. Kaira stood there, in just her pajamas and a hoodie, exposed in every way, inside Barnes's apartment. She was a meticulous person, all her moves as an agent had been calculated and precise, yet here she had put herself in this terrible, unprecedented situation.
In a way, she was thankful that she didn't have to wait long before finding out where he lived, and that the way he had brought her home brought the least amount of suspicion on her. She didn't have to follow him home or resort to any spying.
"Thank you, again" Kaira spoke after a deafening silence and Bucky warily stepped closer. Kaira didn't understand the apprehension in his eyes, she didn't look threatening at all, and if anyone should be scared it should be her. Bucky adjusted his sweatshirt sleeve, tugging it down lightly over his right arm. Then it hit her.
He wasn't afraid of her.
He was afraid of hurting her.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again, and Kaira realized she hadn't answered his question the first time. Her head still hurt but she wasn't really thinking about that. His question brought attention to her knee, which stung.
"My head hurts like a bitch, but I'm fine" Kaira said and Bucky's blank expression turned to an amused one at her statement "Did you drop me or something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and gesturing to her knee. She was starting to get more comfortable in her person, even in this uncomfortable situation and she moved closer towards him. He seemed taken aback at her accusation, and then visibly relaxed when he realized she was kidding.
"No, you scraped your knee when you fell, and I-uh, I cleaned the wound. I tried to wake you up, but you were out cold…so I hope you don't mind" He said, his brow furrowed.
Kaira stifled a smile "You're apologizing for cleaning my wounds?"
"I found your phone" He said suddenly and extended his hand forward. He unfurled his palm to reveal it, and that's when she realized how huge his hands were. Her phone lay between his palm and she reached out to take it from him, carefully trying to not brush her fingers against his. She hoped he hadn't gone through anything on it, although most of her data wasn't comprising. Kaira realized this was the moment for her to leave, and she wasn't welcome here for long. She didn't need to be told twice that he was uncomfortable by her presence and she made her way to the door.
What Bucky said next surprised and terrified her at the same time "Should I walk you home?"
Firstly, because she hadn't expected him to care for her that much over the events of one night, and secondly because she was supposed to move her apartment to his one today. This was part of the plan, she was supposed to move into his building for closer surveillance and then observe closely.
"Um, no that's okay. I can walk myself home safely" She replied, hoping he couldn't see her nervousness slip through.
"Are you sure?" He asked as she stepped outside. He lingered there for a second and Kaira nodded, exiting to the stairwell. She turned around to face Barnes and gripped the handrail.
"See you around" She smiled and turned.
She reached her place, which was a few blocks away, and started packing. She expected a call from Agent Hill any second. She decided to take a shower and when she undressed, she saw a gauze wrapped around her knee. It was rough, but it did the job. She couldn't imagine Bucky doing such a minute job, he had always been so rough around her. She still hadn't forgiven him for trying to kill her on the bridge, and the Heli carrier, but to be fair she had hurt him too. Her phone rang and it was as she expected, Agent Hill.
"Do you care to explain why you hung up so abruptly last night?" Maria asked.
"Um, I got in a fight" Kaira answered, wrapping a towel around herself.
"That is extremely irresponsible of you"
"Okay, mom. I'm okay, thanks for asking" Kaira said "Do you want to know how I got out of the fight? Bucky saved me"
"He what?"
"Yeah, but don't worry my identity is still intact. He took me to his place; his apartment number is 4B. Can you get me anywhere near it without being suspicious?"
"Already did. You're moving onto the second floor, 2A. Tenants cleared out last month and it's perfect for you" Maria said.
Kaira stood with her one suitcase, and bag on her shoulders in front of the apartment building. The one where she was supposed to spend her next six months. It was a beautiful building, really. The front was exposed brick and it stood out amongst the other buildings on that lane. Kaira hauled her suitcases up the stairs till the landing.
She didn't want Barnes to know she was moving in right now, she would tell him that she had been there since a month and he would just have to believe her.
She covertly got her stuff up the stairs, standing in front of apartment 2A. The owner had got her the keys and she quickly unlocked the door, bringing her luggage inside. This apartment was small.
Much cozier than the last one, because it seemed as if it was lived in.
She spent the evening unpacking everything. Thankfully, the electricity here was much more dependable than at the last place and she wouldn't have to go out at 3 am for coffee anymore.
For lunch, she made herself a chicken salad and decided to look up more information on the Winter Soldier. Maria Hill had given her a USB with every file about him on there. She plugged it in to her laptop and looked at the hundreds of files which showed up. Everything from newspaper articles, to gas station bills were there. His entire life as the Winter Soldier had been recorded. Thankfully, after the Hydra leak they had gotten access to surveillance tapes of him being wiped as well. She opened one dated in 2000's and saw him strapped in a chair, with metal restraints around his arm. It was distressing to see them torturing him but it came with his line of work. It would be a surprise if a metal-armed assassin wasn't tortured by his captors.
A knock on her door threw her off concentration and she walked towards it, looking through the keyhole. It was some woman. Possibly her neighbor.
Kaira opened the door and the woman's smile formed. She had long red hair and striking blue eyes.
"Hello!" She said "I live next door"
"Hi" Kaira smiled.
"Welcome to the neighborhood! I've gotten you something to start you off" She extended her hands forward on which rested a white plate covered with tinfoil. Kaira looked at the plate suspiciously and the woman spoke "It's just brownies, dear. We know how annoying it can be when the gas connection isn't set up so we thought it would be nice to get you a little something"
Kaira took the plate from her hands and the woman looked at her expectantly.
"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself! I'm Helen" She said, smiling again, and Kaira noticed another one of her neighbors stepping out from behind her.
"I live in 2B, and she, Cici-" She pointed to the younger girl behind her "She's in 2D, what's your name?"
"Annika" Kaira spoke, still holding the door open, unsure if she should call them inside.
"That's not a very American name" Cici spoke up and Helen shushed her.
"We made out from your accent that you must be American" Helen explained "Are you?"
Kaira nodded "Moved out of DC a few months back, my mother was Romanian, that's why the name"
"Oh, that's amazing! We love Americans" Cici grinned. Helen nudged her and Kaira raised an eyebrow.
"Why is that?" She asked, already losing interest.
"Oh, ignore her. Cici is just saying that cause there's a really nice American man living upstairs" Helen said and that brought Kaira back to the conversation.
"Oh, shut up, he's not nice. You're just saying that because he's super cute and mysterious" Cici said, shoving Helen a bit.
"Do you guys want to come inside?" Kaira asked, holding the door open wider. This was perfect. They both instantly nodded and stepped inside. They got comfortable on the couch.
"Coffee?" She asked and plugged in her machine at the kitchen island. It overlooked the living room and she could see the both of them. They agreed and Kaira prepared two cups.
"Tell me more about the American" She said, which delighted them to no end. It seemed like Bucky sure had a great effect on people, from the girl at the coffee house to these neighbors.
"Where do I even begin? He got here a few weeks ago and when we went to greet him, he was brooding throughout!" Cici said.
"And he's so strong, we see him at the gym training and his muscles are just!" Helen added.
Jackpot.
"What gym?" Kaira asked, stirring their cups and then bringing them over to him.
"Oh, the one down the street!" Cici said "And yesterday, we heard a scuffle in the stairwell and guess what we saw?'
"What did you see?" Kaira asked, although it felt like she knew the answer to that.
"He was carrying a woman in his arms up the stairs and he looked so concerned and she was completely unconscious and we think they may have gotten drunk together or something and he was being such a gentleman with her, and he handled her so delicately. Ten minutes later, he woke Cici up knocking furiously asking for gauze and a first aid kit" Helen said animatedly. Her coffee lay untouched on the table and Kaira tried to act nonchalant as she took these details in.
"Did you see her leave this morning?" Cici asked "Oh, what I would give to be carried by him and taken
to his apartment.
"Do you think that she's his girlfriend?" Helen asked and Kaira realized that they had just gotten off
topic and probably won't get back on it. She also realized there was no point lying to them.
"That was actually me" Kaira spoke softly, sitting across them.
"What?" Helen asked, her eyes taking Kaira in more closely now.
"I got in a fight and he got me out of there, that's why I wanted to know more about him" She
explained, trying to ignore the daggers Cici was glaring at her.
"Wow" Helen added "So you've been in his apartment. He never lets anyone inside"
"I don't think he had much of a choice" Kaira said "He patched me up where I got hurt but I still think I
need to get some more rest"
"Of course," Helen said and stood up along with Cici.
"It was great to meet you Annika" They said and Kaira led them out. What was it about James that
attracted so many people to him? It seemed like every woman she met was obsessing over him. It was
probably because he was always quiet and mind his own business. This also explained why he was
always on the run. People didn't seem to leave him alone. Kaira almost felt sorry for him then.
Kaira devoured the brownies and filled her stomach up the point that she didn't need to get out for
dinner. She was perfectly capable of protecting herself after years of training but going out late when
she didn't know the area wasn't a good idea. She would have to do a recon of the entire area by next
week. Kaira opened up her laptop and pulled up schematics of the neighborhood. Shield had
mapped the entire area a few years ago and they hadn't come in handy until now. She looked at the
maps studying them carefully and marking all the exits from this apartment building. In case Barnes ever
found out who she was, and made a run for it, she would have to know how to track him down.
It had been a few days since her interaction with James and Kaira woke up with yet another headache. It wasn't as bad as the day she passed out, but it would take a while to go away.
She made herself coffee and then decided if she should have breakfast. Her stomach made the decision for her as it grumbled and she realized she hadn't cooked a proper meal in a few days due to her unwavering laziness. She decided she could run down to Annie's Delight and grab a bagel or a waffle, and then she decided she would buy a waffle maker for her apartment and added it to her mental shopping list. She grabbed her coat and found her way till the nearest supermarket on her street.
She also remembered that Cici had told her where Bucky went to the gym. She would go tomorrow morning and check it out.
Kaira entered the supermarket and glanced around at the tiny space. She was used to huge stores in DC and this was somehow easier. She got the waffle maker from appliances and then went to get to the ingredients. The supermarket only had locals and Kaira tried to blend in. She pushed her hands deeper into her pockets anxiously as she looked at the signboard in Romanian which she couldn't understand.
She looked at a salesperson and asked "Baking products?"
"Scuzati-ma?" The vendor asked her. Kaira's phone started ringing, and she knew it was Tony.
"Um, baking. Cake. Waffles. Cookies" Kaira spoke, hoping they would pick up on any one of the words. The vendor said the same thing and Kaira almost grumbled in frustration. She answered the phone and heard Tony's voice on the other line. It was dumb to send her to Romania when she didn't even know the language. How was she supposed to get by without knowing the local language?
She started pointing to her waffle maker in the cart and hoped that emphasizing each word would make the vendor suddenly understand English.
"Kaira?" Tony asked and she started to get frustrated by the second. It was a bad idea to come to the supermarket.
"Hold on a second Tony" Kaira said.
A deep voice from behind interrupted her "The baking products are in Aisle 9"
Kaira turned to thank the stranger and fell short of words when she saw who it was. James Barnes stood behind her, dressed in a seemingly good disguise. He was wearing a heavy grey jacket, a blue shirt underneath and a baseball cap on his head. His hair was tucked behind his ears and he had a bit of a stubble.
"Uh, I'll call you back" She said and hung up the phone. Bucky turned to the vendor, said something in Romanian and the vendor went away.
"They don't understand English" He said "No matter how many times or how loudly you say it"
Kaira felt embarrassed at that. His voice was rough and hoarse like he hadn't spoken in days, which made Kaira think how often he actually spoke and who to. His eyes looked tired, even though it was 10 in the morning.
"Thank you, could you help me out with another thing?" She asked, wondering if it was too much but Bucky nodded. He fell into step with her as they made their way till Aisle 9.
"I can't read the labels so I won't be able to tell if I'm buying-" Kaira admitted.
"That's okay Annika" He said and helped her sort through the items she needed.
"Chocolate sauce…" She said and he reached for one of the bottles placed on the shelf and put it in her cart.
"Um, baking powder?"
He kept the packet in her cart.
"Flour" She added. Kaira probably could have done this herself, but she wasn't going to turn down a chance to interact with her mission. They started to make their way to the cashier counter and Kaira turned to him to make conversation and started with a basic question "You're American right?"
She obviously knew the answer. He looked very different in casual clothing and Kaira still wasn't used to it after seeing him in his Winter Soldier attire for so long. His jacket wasn't tight but she could still see his build through it. It was clear why Hydra had picked him. He was a perfect weapon. His arm was also carefully hidden underneath his large sleeve and metal glove.
He looked at her and nodded "The locals here are really accommodating, but it helps when you know the language"
Kaira paid for her items and realized he had only purchased two candy bars. She noticed his face go dark for a minute as if he was lost in thought and then he came back to reality.
"How long have you been here?" Kaira asked, hoping it wasn't a suspicious question and that it was something people would obviously ask each other.
Bucky paused for a minute before speaking and Kaira felt nervous that she might have spooked him but then he spoke "A few weeks"
They grabbed their packets and stepped out.
"Thanks again for helping me with the shopping. Seems like I'm always thanking you for something" Kaira said and smiled at him. Bucky just shrugged in response.
"It's okay" He said and then cleared his throat. "I, gotta go now" He nodded at her as if to acknowledge their ten minutes spent together and made his way to another store.
Kaira turned and headed home. She felt satisfied with the way that meeting had gone, although she had no new information. This was going to be a slow operation, she realized with a sigh.
a/n: six reviews for a new chapter? i had the most fun while writing this! Let me know if you guys would be interested in my tumblr and edits of bucky and my oc.
