So, public service announcement: you guys are awesome! Thanks so much for all the reviews I love hearing from all of you! Loved it so much that I got this next chapter written pretty dang fast ;)
Hope you like it, it's transitioning into the next part of the story. Also, the song from last chapter is from the Grinch. I actually realized this after I picked it to use, that movie terrifies me. Just a fun fact if you wanted to know.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this, sorry to say.
"Your laugh, echoes down the hallway. Carves into my hollow chest, spreads over the emptiness. It's bliss. It's so simple but we can't stay. Overanalyze again, would it really kill you if we kissed?" – Halsey, Drive
For a brief moment she just stood there. Her mind struggling to catch up to the fact that Bucky was kissing her. Alana couldn't remember the last time someone who actually knew who she was had kissed her on the lips. It had to have been at least three years ago.
Once her brain caught up, he was already pulling away. She surprised him though – like she always did – by sliding her hand over the back of his neck and pulling his mouth to hers again. Their lips worked together seamlessly, and her other hand found a place to rest on his bare chest. When she slide her hand up into his hair, Bucky opened his mouth for her, a low growl coming up from the back of his throat.
Alana tugged and Bucky stepped closer, his metal hand closing around her hip. When she bit his lip, Bucky pulled back slowly, resting his forehead against hers, his eyes closed.
"You gunna hit me?" He whispered, surprised when he felt her soft lips meet his again. On them, he could feel her smile.
"Nope." She told him, her breath mixing with his.
"We need to talk about this."
"I don't really do talking." Her arms slide up to wrap around his neck loosely. Heat radiated off his body, warming her and making Alana feel safer than she had in months. "I just want you to know how much I've thought of kissing you." Her voice dipped lower at the end, making Bucky angle his hips away from her as he felt his boxers tighten. She opened her eyes, a smirk over her lips.
"Nice to know." He pulled his forehead from hers then, opening his own eyes to look down at her. "But really, call me old fashioned, but we need to talk about it."
"Later."
"Later you'll just say later again." Alana's eyebrows rose.
"You know me pretty well," She told him, impressed he had known. "Go take your shower, then we'll talk."
"Promise?" He looked down at her, doubt clouding his face. Alana gave him a tight lipped smile before leaning up on her toes and pressing her lips to his quickly.
"Yeah." She stepped back, her arms falling down to her sides, she jerked her head towards the bathroom door, "Go."
Bucky showered and changed quickly, his thoughts clouded with the still lingering feeling of Alana's lips on his. How long had she felt the same way about him?
When he came out, the sleeping arrangements had changed. The couch was folded up and Alana was under the covers of the bed. Bucky shot her a questioning, albeit amused look, to which she shrugged.
Wordlessly he climbed in, the two of them reaching for one another instantly. His arms wound around her, Alana resting her head on his broad chest, her fingertips tracing the scarred skin where flesh became metal.
"I love it." She whispered, not looking up at Bucky. He moved the limb, the mechanics whirring softly.
"That why you like me?" He was only half-teasing.
"No," She said truthfully, her tone uncharacteristically serious, "I like you because you're resilient." He chose to stay silent, and Alana kept speaking to explain for him, "You've been through so much shit, and yet, you still find more good and beauty in people than I do." She turned her head to look up at him now, reaching up with her hand to run it through his damp hair, "You don't live in fear of relapsing like I do," She smiled up at him then, "You're pretty cute, too."
"I'm cute?" Bucky rolled his eyes, his heart skipping a beat when she pressed a kiss to his jawline.
"Do you have any idea how many girls swooned when they'd see your picture in history books?"
"Were you one of them?" She scoffed at him, resting her chin on his chest then, closing her eyes as Bucky's metal hand brushed through her hair.
"I thought it'd be weird to have a crush on someone as old as my grandfather."
"Hate to break it to you-"
"I'm ignoring it, shut up." He just laughed. The sound was so pure and it brought a smile to Alana's lips, seconds later, she was laughing with him, burying her face into his chest as his arms wrapped around her completely.
He woke up to Alana getting out of bed. It took his mind a moment later to register the ringing of her cell phone.
Bucky glanced at the clock, the blinking lights telling him it was only just after three in the morning.
Alana stood up, flipping her phone open. "Mercer." She had learned a long time ago to not question calls from unavailable numbers, especially if they came into her flip phone.
Bucky sat up in bed, supporting his upper body on his metal arm as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Even in the dark, he could see Alana's eyes widen in disbelief.
"Nick?!" Alana ran a hand through her hair, "Sorry, sir." She apologized a moment later. Bucky watched as Alana listened, and a second later she had flipped the bedside lamp on. "Yes, sir he's here." She threw Bucky a sideways look, as if to confirm his presence.
Now he sat up completely. Alana put her hand over the receiver for a moment, holding the phone from her mouth, "Pack up." She told Bucky, her tone leaving no room for argument. She was rushing into the closet a moment later.
When he got into the closet to retrieve his own things, Alana had clothes thrown around the room. The phone was still glued to her ear, "No, sir." She let out a huff, "Of course I'm fucking sure!" She snapped violently a second later, ripping open a drawer. "That's impossible, he was-" she shut her mouth mid-sentence.
Bucky wordlessly took both their duffle bags once he was done throwing in clothes, taking and depositing them by the door before going into the bathroom.
In the closet, panic was rising in Alana's chest. She strode out of the closet to find Bucky waiting by the door two minutes later. "I'll be there." She was saying, the color drained from her face. A flash of anger washed over her features and she rolled her eyes. "We're walking out the damn door. Gimme eight hours."
She was standing directly beside Bucky then, so he could hear the man on the other end, "You have five." The line disconnected then, and Alana swore as she stuffed her phone in her pocket, grabbing her duffle bag and slinging it over her shoulder.
"What's going on?" Bucky asked, grabbing a hold of her arm.
She ripped her arm away from him. "I'll tell you on the way." She muttered distractedly.
Bucky always forget that she was stronger than everyone else, so it took him a few moments to collect himself and follow her out of the room. He had his own bag slung over his shoulder and he watched as Alana hesitated at the top of the stairs, glancing down the hallway towards the other bedrooms.
"Are you gunna say goodbye?" Bucky asked, keeping his voice low.
She didn't look at him as she replied, "No." And then they kept moving.
It only took five more minutes for them to have their boots on and bags in the trunk of the car. Alana already had the engine running when Bucky closed the trunk. She looked back at the house and saw one of the bedroom lights on, the curtains drawn back.
Tommy watched as his little sister and James climb into the car. He had woken up when he heard voices, his room right beside hers. It wasn't even ten minutes later, and he was watching them leave.
As James rounded to the side of the car, the moonlight suddenly reflected off something. Tommy narrowed his eyes to get a better look. The tall, dark haired man slid effortlessly into the passenger seat, and as he reached out and closed the door, Alana's brother figured out what he was seeing.
James had a metal arm.
It clicked in his mind instantly. All the news stories less than a week ago of the assassinations in Washington. The Winter Soldier the press had called him. It had been too big of a story for S.H.I.E.L.D to cover up to the public. Tommy had seen the footage, read the reports of what he'd done.
He was Alana's rehabilitation mission all those months ago, Tommy realized. His little sister had been working with The Winter Soldier. She had become friends with him. She had brought the ex-Hydra assassin into their home for Christmas.
The Winter Soldier looked at his baby sister adoringly, like she was the only girl in the world.
"You mind explaining what's going on now?"
Alana's foot had the gas pedal pressed to the floorboard as they flew down the highway, seemingly unfazed by the snowy roads.
She'd driven in worse conditions before.
"A jet will be waiting to pick us up on the runway," She paused, her eyes not leaving the road, "You're going to New York." She could feel his eyes on her, but Alana refused to look at him.
She had to keep herself together.
"Where're you going?" Bucky's voice was eerily calm.
"That's classified."
"Screw classified," He shot back, scoffing at her. "Alana, tell me."
"Angola." She whispered, a lump rising in her throat. She swallowed it down, running a nervous hand through her short hair quickly, "They found something that's connected to the time I spent in Botswana." A piece of her mask seemed to crack then, and Bucky saw – for a split second – a look of fear pass through her eyes. "It should be impossible, because Clint and Tasha blew that hellhole sky high when they got me out. But they found something, a signal, I don't even know."
"Why not send someone else?" He asked. She looked at him now, shaking her head and letting out a dark chuckle.
"No one else knows that place like I do." She looked back to the road, "I see it all again every damn night."
Of all the places in New York, their jet landed at Stark Tower.
Alana didn't even get off the plane, since it was the one taking her the rest of the way to Africa.
She had changed into her uniform after they first boarded, and so she was decked out in all black as she said goodbye to Bucky. Alana only pulled him in for a tight hug, since the pilot was right there and her mind was occupied with millions of other thoughts.
"Tell Tony and Pepper I say hi." She told Bucky, forcing a small smile onto her face to hide how nervous she was.
Bucky nodded, catching her hand in his and giving it a squeeze, "Be careful." He had taken off his dog tags from around his neck then, slipping them onto her palm and closing her fingers around them.
"Merry Christmas, Bucky." She said right before he descended the off-ramp, his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He glanced back at her, a pit settling in his stomach, and smirked.
"Merry Christmas, 'Lana." He'd stood on the landing deck long enough to watch the ramp go up, until Alana disappeared from his sight.
Twenty hours later: Christmas Day
Location: -18.27S, 22.63E
The entire situation put her on edge and had the hairs at the back of her neck standing up. Alana was surrounded by a STRIKE team – newly formed she had been told – as they trekked through the African plains. She hadn't heard anything else from Nick Fury, which was strange to her.
Usually the bastard never stopped calling.
The climate was still familiar to her. The heat felt as though it'd suffocate her from the inside out and she wore a second layer of sweat on top of her skin.
She tightened her hold on her bow, looking up again to check and see if Agent McGuire, who was leading at point, was still standing. The vastness of the plains was what made Alana choose the bow, if she could see it from far away, she could kill it. A sniper would've worked as well, but that was too loud.
Alana didn't want to be noticed, especially not here.
A chill ran down her spine, and a moment later she watched McGuire fall to the ground. An arrow was notched instantly and ready to fire. Her eyes swept the landscape, searching the tall grasses for any movement. The remaining three agents all had their guns drawn.
Alana ran through a quick survey of the area. If she was taking out this group, where would she hide?
Her eyes zoned in on a patch of dense underbrush a few hundred yards away. Her mind replayed the angle at which McGuire's body fell, and she used that to aim, letting her arrow fly shortly after.
The sound of a body hitting the ground told her she had been right.
As she reached back to grab another arrow, her world shifted. Alana collapsed to the ground as her head spun, the earth spinning around and around and around beneath her feet. She clutched her head, panic overpowering everything else. She didn't even register that she'd fallen on one of her own arrows, the head lodged into her side.
No, her mind chanted it over and over again as the world kept spinning. Her stomach tightened, and then she retched into the grass, the sound of gunfire and running boots serving as background music to her own version of hell that was playing out.
She didn't understand. She'd been taking the medication, she'd been cleared.
But the world was still spinning, and Alana forced herself to open her eyes, forced herself to ignore her instincts and embracing the madness of her rotating world.
Minutes later it was slowing. She pushed herself up halfway, wincing as she saw the arrow protruding from her side. Her vision was blurry and her mouth tasted like vomit.
"Ke kgale re sa bonane, Agent Mercer." (Long time no see)
When she lifted her head, Alana felt like she was in a nightmare. It was the same face she saw every night, the same voice she heard. The man she had begged to stop, the man who put her in a cage like she was a dog, the man who beat her, who clubbed her, who broke her soul.
And he was fucking smiling down at her gently, his hands clasped gently behind his back. She reached for her pistol and a boot slammed into her back, kicking her back onto the ground.
She landed in her own vomit.
The man before her chuckled, and Alana's eyes widened in terror again as the ground shifted below her.
"Futsek bwana." (Fuck off.) She only knew a limited amount of Setswana, but Alana made good use of it. The man who stood above her seemed impressed, she hadn't known that one last he saw her.
"Agent Mercer." He chuckled, taking a step towards her while shaking his head, "You see, you never left me."