Hiya! So y'all are fuckin rad as always. I have 70 followers which is more than I could have dreamed of. Like holy hell, my mind is blown. Anyways, I know y'all don't read this bit anyway, so...only own my OCs. Reviews, follows and favorites are ALWAYS appreciated. Lots of love! Enjoy, my lovelies!

Bucky's P.O.V.

I stood from the desk, dizzy and in pain. I walked out of the office and stumbled into the wall, barely holding myself up.

I rocked on my feet, feeling sick to my stomach. "Charlotte." I whimpered before everything went black.

Charlotte's P.O.V.

"Charlotte." my eyes snapped open and I shot up in bed.

I was panting and sweating as I pressed my hand to my forehead. My door swung open to reveal a messy, shirtless Damian.

I blushed and tugged the blanket up to cover my sports bra clad chest. "You a'aight?" he asked, his voice was deep with sleep.

"Yeah." I mumbled huskily. "Why?" I shivered as the hot sweat turned cold in the breeze from the open window.

He stepped into my room and shut the door behind him, cocking his head to the side slightly. "You screamed, Charlie." he walked over and sat down on the end of my bed and I dragged my legs up to my chest quickly.

"I screamed?"

He nodded. "You screamed Bucky." I felt my face heat up and he smiled. "Does he know how you feel about him?"

I scowled. "I don't feel anything for him. He's an ass who can't be depended on."

"Huh...so...you're okay with Steve kissing you?" I tensed up and looked out the window at the huge moon, sitting over the slow moving ocean.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "You still care about Bucky, I get it, but you have to entertain the possibility that he's not coming back. You might never see him again."

"I know." I sighed.

Damian smiled softly. "So, if you know...would you like to go to dinner with me tomorrow?" my eyes snapped up to his. "I don't expect you to answer immediately, Charlie."

C'mon Charlotte...say yes. He won't come back and you know it. Damian's nice. He's cute. His accent's pretty hot. "Yes."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Yes." a goofy grin spread across his face and he licked his lips, ducking his head down before looking back up at me.

I rolled my eyes, smiling softly. "Shut up." my smile slid from my face and I opened my mouth to speak.

"Stop." he held up his hand. "I know. If Bucky does come back, we'll be through. I know. You don't have to tell me."

I looked down in guilt. "And you're still willing to go through with it?"

"Of course, Charlie." he flashed me a grin. "You're gorgeous." he snickered and dodged the pillow I threw at him as he ran from my bedroom.

He cracked the door open and smiled sweetly. "G'night, Charlie." I shook my head and smiled back at him.

"Night, Damian."

Steve's P.O.V.

To say I was shocked would be an extreme understatement. I sat with my mouth gaping open for probably five minutes. Charlotte rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Would you snap out of it?" she growled, tugging at the hem of her flowing, short dress. She looked good, but...she was going...on a date. With Damian.

I blinked several times, snapping my mouth shut with an audible clack. "What about Bucky?!" I burst out without thinking. I quickly pressed my lips together and avoided her death glare.

"We have an understanding." Damian spoke up. "If he comes back, I'll step out of the way. But Charlie deserves better than 'if someone comes back', don't you think?"

I met Charlie's gaze and she flushed slightly at Damian's statement about her deserving better. "Of course she does, but..."

"I think it's a great idea!" Sam cut me off. "She's moving on, this is good." he smiled, leaning on the counter of the kitchen.

Charlie tensed slightly at the comment, but relaxed quickly. "Shut up." she snapped at him. "Damian, let's just go." she grumbled, taking his wrist in her hand and tugging him out the door.

It was kind of amusing actually. She was this short, little thing, and she was dragging the tall, muscular Australian outside. I shook my head, smiling softly and watching a small ant crawl across the tiles of the kitchen floor.

"Man, Bucky's gonna be pissed when he comes back." Sam mumbled, standing up straight and cracking his back.

I gave him a sideways glance. "You mean, if he comes back." I corrected.

He shook his head. "No, I mean when. Haven't you noticed, Cap? He always comes back. Charlotte is like a drug to him. He can't stay away for too long."

"It's been more than four months." I countered.

Sam began to walk out of the kitchen. "That's my point, Cap. How much longer do you think he'll be able to hold out?"

Sam's question bounced around in my head for hours after that. I hadn't moved from my seat at the kitchen table and by now, the sun was starting to set. We were almost done with this case, we'd definitely been in Australia for long enough. I was getting tired of the heat, rainstorms, giant bugs, killer animals and most of all, the sand.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes wearily. Sam had left about an hour ago to look for some food in town. No doubt he was talking to a dame.

Minutes later, he burst in the door wielding two bags of Mexican food. I lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Food." he beamed. I laughed and shook my head at him, flicking on the kitchen light as he sat down across from me. "So," he began as we ate. "They're not back yet?"

That had been worrying me a bit. "No."

"Brrr." he shivered, rubbing his hands on his arms. "Icy, Cap." he laughed and waved off my sour expression. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're just trying to make the date last as long as possible."

Somehow I doubted that, but I nodded anyway. As I was about to take another bite of food, the door slammed open to reveal a sweaty, sleep-deprived Bucky.

"Bucky!" I leapt from my chair and stared at him.

"Told you so." Sam whispered from behind me.

I chose to ignore him. "What are you doing here? How did you even find us?"

"I have my sources." he growled, closing the door behind him and stepping further into the house.

"You know, most people just call." Sam mumbled. He turned to me. "And isn't it obvious? He's here for Charlotte."

I sat back down, rage boiling inside me. Both Sam and Bucky tensed up. I slammed my fists down on the table and turned seething eyes on Bucky.

"Do you have any idea what you did to her?!" I snarled. "She needed you and you weren't there for her! We told you not to go so soon, but of course you didn't listen. You never do!" my chest heaved as I tried to control the anger pulsating through me.

My fists shook as I struggled to remain in control of myself. "She was terrified. She's just barely gotten over you leaving and now you're back. All you're gonna do is leave her again." I clenched my jaw, glaring at the table as if I could melt the glass.

"I know." his voice broke a little. "And I'm sorry, but I got some of my memories back." his voice was barely above a whisper. "I had to come back."

I swallowed roughly, wanting to know if he remembered me. Our friendship. The war. The Howling Commandos. "How much do you remember?"

He leaned against the wall near the door. "Mostly things from the war. A lot about Charlotte. I remembered her dying. Her fighting. Her teasing." his voice seemed to lighten slightly as he talked about her teasing.

"I remember you being a lot skinnier and shorter." he whispered. "I remember falling from the train." he looked down, silencing. He took a couple steps towards me, but stopped, rethinking his movements.

My head snapped up as I heard voices from outside. Charlotte and Damian were back. Oh god. I met eyes with Sam and could tell that his body was filling with dread as well.

The door opened to reveal a grinning Damian and a giggling Charlotte. Within seconds, her face changed from happiness to shock. And then it changed again. I'd never seen anything so terrifying in my entire life.

The mood in the room went from a mix of emotions that were mostly happy, to pure, unadulterated loathing. I sat, frozen like all the other men in the room, staring at Charlotte.

Her face had turned a shade of red that challenged the Devil. Silvery tears brimmed in her eyes and she had a look of sheer hatred.

Her eyes whirred mechanically and the centers became red. Her fists were clenched and shaking by her sides. She didn't look anything like a Tigress. She looked like a dragon.

In a flash she was in front of Bucky. A slap resonated through the small kitchen and Bucky stumbled into the wall, clutching his cheek.

Her lower lip quivered and she flew from the kitchen, up to her room, slamming the door loudly behind her.

After a minute, Bucky slid down the wall and pulled his hand from his face. There were spots of red liquid on his fingers. She'd slapped him hard enough to break the skin on his cheek. Honestly, I couldn't blame her and was surprised she hadn't done more damage.

"Damn." Sam breathed. "That's one hell of a five-star." he nodded and the angry, red handprint on Buck's cheek.

Damian closed the door gently behind him. "It'll probably bruise." he whispered. "I'll go make sure she's okay." he sighed, shaking his head at Bucky before walking slowly up the stairs.

"Who's he?" Bucky asked as I handed him an ice pack. He winced, placing it tenderly on his cheek.

I sat on the floor, across from Bucky. "That's Damian." I paused, glancing at the stairs. "They just got back from a date."

It was like I could see his heart shatter. "She...she's dating him?" he toyed with the ice pack rather than placing it on his face. "Is she happy with him?"

"Woah, woah man." Sam held his palms out. "That was their first date, okay? They aren't even together. Not really, anyway."

He looked down, twisting his face in a way that made it seem as though he was trying not to cry. He really did remember. He remembered how they were before they'd died. Before they'd been brainwashed. Before they'd been forced to kill.

And then I saw it. Bucky. He was there. It was him. He wasn't the Winter Soldier anymore. He was James Buchanan Barnes and I'd never missed someone so much in my entire life.

I grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug, letting him cry into my shoulder. Sam understood that Bucky needed time, and left the room.

"She hates me now." he hiccuped, pulling away from me and wiping the tears from his face.

I shook my head. "She could never hate you, Buck. She's just mad. You can't blame her."

He sniffed and looking away, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to do." he was almost shaking. "I remember. I remember how it was to lose her."

I glanced at the ground, not saying anything. "Steve." my head snapped up faster than I though was possible. His lip trembled. "I-I can't lose her again."