Thank you for your reviews, faves and follows!:) Means a lot!
Why do I feel like you will be yelling at me after you read this chapter...
XXV.
"Since when do you know about this?" She waved the photo of them in the air.
"The memories came back since New Year's" He couldn't look at her. He could hear in her voice how upset she was. He felt terrible.
"New Year's?!" She shrieked. "That was over two months ago" She plopped down in the office chair.
"You should have told me!" She yelled and then stared at the picture.
"Does it matter?" He gave her a bitter laugh. "You're with my best friend."
She looked up at him. "Were we in love?" She whispered.
"Yes. We wanted to run away together and start a life somewhere new." What was the point to keep lying to her? He remembered how Natalia snuck into his bunk on the night of her 18th birthday and told him that she wanted him to marry her one day. And how he laughed and told her that he should be the one proposing. How they made love on his cot and he told her he would buy her a diamond ring one day.
"I lied to Steve" She murmured. She lied to Steve? Wait, did that mean she remembered something?
"I told him he is the first man I ever loved. How lucky I was that my first love is also the love of my life." She had tears in her eyes and Bucky swallowed. He knew that finding out the truth would hurt his friends.
"I have to tell Steve" She said, determination strong in her eyes.
"No! You can't!" He shook his head. "It would only hurt him"
"My life is lies and deceit. I swore myself that I would always be honest with Steve" She wiped a tear away and looked at him with big eyes. "Do you think he'll leave me after he finds out?"
He actually didn't know what Steve would do. But he didn't think he'd leave Natasha. From what Bucky knew Steve waited years to be with her. "He loves you" He assured her. "He wants to be with you"
Natasha shook her head lightly like she wanted to get rid of the dark thoughts in her mind. Then she looked at him with realization her eyes. "That's why you've been so weird in the last weeks. I couldn't put my finger on it. I thought you didn't like me as Steve's girlfriend." She paused." Do you, do you still have feelings for me?"
"I don't know. It's a mess in my head. And heart. I knew I loved you when you were Natalia. You were the one good thing back then" He admitted and Natasha looked at the ground. He sighed. "Before I remembered, you were just my friend who I tried to set Steve up with. I wasn't into you. But then the memories of us came back and... I don't know maybe, hopefully, I'm projecting my feelings for your former self on you. I don't want to be in love with you, Natasha!"
"I don't want you to be in love with me either." She confessed.
"What do you think happend to us?" She was looking at the photo again.
"Looks like they found out. I guess they wiped us and put me back in cryo. You defected and I was sent after a target you protected and shot you." Did Hydra know that she would be the one covering the engineer? Did they get off on it?
"You didn't kill me" She said quietly. "In Odessa. You didn't kill me. You shot your target through me but left me alive. I was the only person who ever saw the Winter Soldier. He didn't leave any witnesses behind. But you let me live. I always wondered why."
The pling of her phone told them that the data transfer was complete. Natasha turned around and unplugged her phone from the computer.
"I'm sending this to SHIELD, T'challa and Stark." She folded the photo and slid it into the backpocket of her suit.
"Natasha..." He began but she put her hand up to stop him.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore"
She walked over the cabinet where she found the photo and pulled a file out of it. "Here, this looks like it's about you. You should have it. SHIELD should be here in a few hours to retrieve the file cabinets. Let's go"
She walked up the stairs and he stared after her for a moment. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself and followed her.
She kept ignoring him during their way back to the Quinjet. He tried to get her to talk to him but she just scoffed and walked away. Should he have told her about them as soon as he remembered it? He still was convinced that Steve and Natasha not knowing would have been the best solution. But clearly Ross knew about their relationship. Would he use it against Steve? Would he do the same thing Zemo did and use his past to destroy Steve's life? After a few hours they heard choppers in the air. He looked up and saw the SHIELD eagle on the side of the helicopters. They would collect the files and soon the world would know that Ross was Hydra. They reached the jet after another few hours. Natasha chose to ignore him during the flight back to Wakanda. He gave his efforts up to talk to her and opened the file Ross had on him and began reading.
Steve was with Wanda in Sam's suite and they were playing Mario Kart when one of T'challa assistants informed them that Nat and Buck found something. He handed them each a file and left them.
He opened it and his breath got caught. He saw a picture that must have been taken by Bucky because Natasha's back could be seen. And before her was the Hydra logo printed on the wall.
"Holy fuck. The dude's Hydra" Sam exclaimed and Wanda looked shocked.
Steve needed a moment to collect himself. No matter what he did, Hydra came always back. Like a fucking cockroach. He scanned the the file briefly. Ross worked with other high Hydra members for years to make the Accords happen. They influenced world leaders for years to get them behind. There was a part that indicated that Ross sent Rumlow to kill him. Without Captain America the public would have hopefully lost their faith in the Avengers and support the Accords. There were detailed plans for Vision and Wanda to make them carry out Hydra's orders. With these two under their thumb, Hydra would be unstoppable. He looked at Wanda. She didn't seem to have read the part yet about the torture that should have made her comply. He felt a ice cold chill running down his spine. They would have started with the programming at the Raft.
They were still reading their files when T'challa was suddenly standing in front of them. Wanda was the first to notice. "T'challa"
Steve and Sam looked up and the king sighed. "This is even worse than I could have ever imagined"
Sam nodded. "That's so fucked up! Fucking Ross. Saying we're dangerous and need to be controlled and he's working on a new Nazi world order."
T'challa sat down next to Wanda and informed them that Natasha and Bucky were already on their way back. They would be here in a few hours. He couldn't wait. All he wanted to do was bury his face in her hair and hold her. He also told them that SHIELD confiscated tons of files at the farm and Coulson changed his mind and would be announcing SHIELD's return today.
T'challa excused himself because he needed to talk to his political staff about the next steps.
An hour later Wanda turned the TV on full volume when CNN interruped their normal program with breaking news.
Coulson was seating at a desk and behind him was the SHIELD logo.
"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Phil Coulson and I am the director of SHIELD. After Captain Rogers brought down SHIELD to destroy Hydra, we've been working on rebuilding the agency. We spent the last years to track down Hydra cells and brought them to justice. I am aware that a lot of you do not trust us yet again. But I promise you that we will be your SHIELD. Your line of defense. Twenty years ago I took an oath to bring peace and protect humanity and I can guarantee that my agents and I take this oath very serious. Our agents will be checked reguarly if they are involved with terrorists organistations and I am glad to announce that SHIELD is hydra-free." He paused. "The same can't be said about the CIA. SHIELD discovered along with Wakanda Intelligence services that Everett Ross ,a CIA operative and author of the Sokovian Accords, is a member of Hydra. He planned an attempt on Captain America's life and wants to use the Avengers and everyone else who signed the Accords as Hydra's pawns. SHIELD will be releasing the evidence as we speak. Thank you" Coulson nodded and the screen went black. Jake Tapper looked down right confused. "We'll update you as soon as we get new intel"
Wanda turned the volume down and looked at them. "Do you think the Accords will be changed?"
"They better be! Unless 117 countries want to be Nazi allies" Sam said.
They started to discuss possibly scenarios when the German chancellor appread on screen and Wanda put the volume back on.
"Germany is as shocked as the rest of the world at the revelations in the last hour. I spoke to my cabinet and we all unanimously agree that Germany will withdraw its support of the Sokovian Accords!"
Wanda gasped.
"The history of our country has dark spots and it's our duty as Germans to make sure it never happens again. We can not support a resolution made by Nazis to enslave human beings to use them to shape the world after their ideology. We sincerely hope that the other UN members will join us. We demand the arrest and prosecution of Everett Ross and everyone invovled" The reporters shouted questions after her but Merkel already left.
"It's beginning" Steve whispered and Wanda and Sam nodded.
CNN showed Secretary Ross on his way to the White House ignoring questions if he was a member of Hydra. All members of the EU withdrew their support of the Accords. T'challa appeared on screen and annouced the end of his support as well. More and more countries wanted to appeal the Accords and demanded an UN meeting as soon as possible.
An hour later President Ellis stepped out of the White House.
"The US will follow their allies and withdraw their support of the Sokovain Accords. As Republicans and Democrats agree our proud nation cannot support Hydra and its fanatism. Secretary Ross assured me that he had no idea that Hydra is behind the Accords and an investigation will hopefully confirm it. Until we know for sure, Paige McCallister is the acting State's Secretary. If Captain Rogers and the rest of the Avengers who refused to sign are listening right now, I hope you accept my deepest apologies. The US will make sure that all of you will be pardonned and return to your homes. You helped us so many times. Now it's our turn to help you."
Steve turned the TV off. His head was buzzing with thousand of thoughts. Could they really go back? Did they have to sign another version of the Accords? Should he make a statement? Did Bucky and Nat already know about all this?
"Does that mean we can go back?" Wanda's voice was barely audible.
Sam took her hand. "Looks like it, kid"
Steve wanted to tell her to be patient but then his burner phone beeped and he got a text. Only one person had the number.
I think my mom would have wanted me to do this. It's the right thing. And Dad would have probably wanted me to do this too. I hope I'll see you all soon.
Tony. What did he mean by that? What did he do? He wanted to text him back and asked him but then he got a hunch and turned the TV back on.
Jake Tapper had his finger on his ear peace and listened. "This just in. Stark Industries released information about the identity of the Winter Soldier who is credited with dozens of assassinations over the last decades. His name is Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes ,childhood friend of Captain America. He didn't fall in the war but was captured by Hydra and tortured and brainwashed. You can find the files on SI's homepage but viewer discretion is adivised. Some images are deeply disturbing."
"What?" Sam asked confused.
"Tony released it. To help Bucky." He whispered and could hear how shaken his voice was. Tony was offering them the olive branch.
"Wow" Wanda breathed. "That's a lot to process. All of this. For months nothing happens and then everything happens all at once"
All channels interrupted their program to report about the recent events. Statements and tweets of politicians, stars and other influential people were shown that called for the appeal of the Accords and the return of the Avengers.
An old woman told a story about how Bucky saved her and her family in 1940 in France by shooting a Nazi who wanted to kill her father and rape her mother and older sister. She demanded the pardon of Bucky. "The Winter Soldier is not Sergeant Barnes. The man who saved us that day would have never willingly done such horrors. I will forever be grateful that he saved us. Sergeant Barnes is a good man. A war hero and he should come home" The clip had over five million views in less than an hour. The woman's granddaughter filmed her and shared the video on social media. The hashtag #bringbuckyhome was trending.
General Talbot appeared on FoxNews. Steve remembered that Nat once told him that he was a huge pain in the ass. Talbot also demanded that Bucky should be granted full immunity. "I've seen with my own eyes the torture and brainwashing of those Hydra pigs. Barnes is a victim." Steve didn't know why Nat didn't like Talbot but he could have kissed him after that statement.
The Attorney General released a statement that no American court would prosecute Sergeant Barnes with the current evidence. The UN Secretary-General annouced a referendum for next week to deselect the Accords and said that he hoped that all members would do the right and ethical thing. Tony himself tweeted that he does not want Barnes to be prosecuted for his parents' death.
Ross seemed to have fled the conference in Peking and was in the wind. SHIELD promised to bring him in.
Steve's head hurt from all the information and he excused himself to go back to his suite to take a nap. He hoped that Nat and Bucky would be back when he woke up.
Natasha was staring out the windshield and visibly tensed everytime he looked at her. He left the cockpit and went to the end of the jet to read the rest of his file. So far it wasn't new information, missions were listed that he remembered. But then he got to the part about the Red Room. Natalia's class was the first one the Winter Soldier trained. Apparently they already knew very soon that Natalia was special and they wanted him to turn her into the perfect killer. He read about reports of their missions and Hydra praised their efficieny. But then he found the passages that suspected that the Winter Soldier cared about the Black Widow. "Soldat refuses to go on missions without Romanova. The Asset is possibily breaking through program". They were followed by Hydra agents from that on and one day they got that picture of them. They wiped him and put him back into cryo. Hydra made Natalia watch the whole process and then starved her for weeks before they wiped her too and send her on missions again. "Romanova was shown picture of Asset and brain waves showed no activities of recognition".
After he was done reading, he went to Natasha and left the file in the cockpit. "It's your history too" He went back to the end of the Quinjet and stared at the wall.
Twenty minutes later she joined him. "Why do you remember and I don't?"
"I don't know. Maybe your mind is protecting you." He shrugged. He thought about this before. Maybe deep down she didn't want to remember all of her past and built a wall around her memories.
She sat down next to him and hugged her legs with her arms. "I always thought I didn't want to love someone because I wasn't deserving of love. After all the horrible things I've done. Maybe I closed by heart off for years until Steve because it was broken" She gave him a sad smile and then leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry I don't remember us"
"It's okay. It's probably better" He looked down at her. "Would you have let Steve in if you'd known?"
She shook her head. "Probably not. It will break his heart when he finds out that we loved each other once"
"He doesn't have to know. I don't want him to know. You're everything he ever wanted" He said.
Natasha sat straight up and looked at him. "I will not lie to him. I have to tell him the truth. He needs to know and deep down you know I'm right. I can't lie to him for the rest of my life. I love and respect him too much for that"
Bucky always protected Steve Rogers. Since the moment they met. Always looked out for him and now he would break his heart.
"We'll be in Wakanda in two hours. I have to be the one to tell him" She said and went back to the cockpit.
Steve couldn't fall asleep with all the thoughts running wild in his head. He was laying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. He was tempted to turn the TV on to see if they were any new news but his brain couldn't handle more. He figured if they would announce anything important Sam or Wanda would come and tell him.
How long would it take until they could go back? Maybe even next week? No, they couldn't leave yet. Bucky's triggers weren't completely removed and Wanda didn't even begin to look for Nat's. Maybe they could continue the sessions at the Avengers Facility. Tony would definitely help Natasha but what about Bucky? Would he be willing to live with Bucky under the same roof? Would the public and politics really be okay with all of them being Avengers again? Could Bucky join them? Would other countries join the Attorney General 's decision to not prosecute him? What did Bucky even want? He knew that Nat wanted to go back and be an Avenger again. And he wanted to be Captain America again. But what about Bucky?
Steve groaned and rubbed his hands over his face.
He heard the door open. "Steve?" Natasha was back! He jumped off the bed and ran into the living area and cupped her face with his hands crashed his lips to her. God, he missed her so much. They had so much to talk about! About their future!
Natasha pulled from the kiss away. "Steve..." He kissed her again. They could talk later. Kissing was more important. Her lips felt so soft and good against his. Did he ever tell her that?
He felt her push him away with her hands on his shoulders and he immediately pulled back. Right, she couldn't hold her breath as long as him. He hoped she got soon enough air in her lungs so they could go back to kissing. And make love. Then make love again. And then they could talk. Maybe make love again.
His hand was already on the back of her neck to pull her back to his lips when he noticed her glistening eyes.
"What's wrong, Nat?" Did something happen to her? Was she hurt? She didn't look hurt. Was Bucky hurt?
She pulled something out of her back pocket and handed it over to him. He could now clearly see the tears forming in her eyes and his heart started racing. Was she okay?
He began to unfold the paper which felt like a photo.
"I swear to you that I don't remember any of this" She started crying and he went to hug her but she stepped back. Now he was completely confused. Why didn't she want him to comfort her?
"Look at the photo" She whispered and her voice sounded hoarse. He wanted to kiss her tears away and to tell her that whatever was going on, he would fix it for her.
He unfolded the picture. He was looking at a kissing couple. No, he was looking at Natasha and Bucky. Natasha and Bucky were kissing. Wait what was going on? Assets are compromised was written under the photo. What the fuck was he looking at.
He looked at Natasha and tears were streaming down her face. "What is this, Nat?"
"We need to talk, Steve" She choked out.
Natasha and Bucky used to be a couple. While he was in a deep sleep in the ice his best friend and the woman who would become the most important person in his life were in love. Man, God had a fucked up humor. He fell in love with his best friends's girl. He fell in love with Bucky's girl. While his pal was being tortured by Hydra he warmed his way into his girl's heart. Natasha repeated again and again under tears that she didn't know and didn't remember any of their relationship. He believed her but it didn't change the fact that she was Bucky's girl first.
And what would happen if Natasha did remember eventually? Would she be with Bucky? Why should she stay with him if she could go back to Bucky? The charming and funny guy all the girls were smitten by. Who would want Steve Rogers when they could have Bucky Barnes? Every girl always wanted Bucky. Except Peggy, she wasn't interest in his friend. But he and Peggy weren't meant to be. She was meant to be with her husband Daniel and he thought that he was meant for Natasha. But how could be compete with Bucky? He felt like the little kid from Brooklyn again. Did you really think a guy like you would get a dame like her?
And their love had to be extraodinary like it came right out of one of those romance novels Clint and Wanda liked to read. They were both programmed to feel nothing and yet in their darkest time they fell in love with each other. How could his love compare to that?
He was still staring at the photo. They both smiled into their kiss. They were happy. They went through hell but when they were together, they were happy. He wanted to scream. It wasn't fair!
He could feel Natasha's eyes on him. She wasn't crying anymore but still sobbing.
"Did Bucky know?" He whispered, still unable to stop looking at the picture.
"Yeah" She answered in a tearful voice. "The memories came back when he found out we were together"
That was two months ago! Bucky knew for two fucking months that Steve was with his girl and didn't do anything about it. Did he wait for Natasha to remember so he could swoop in and get her back?
They were still standing by the door. Five minutes ago he was the luckiest man in the world because his girl was back and they could finally start to plan their future together and now everything was ruined. He finally found enough courage to look at Natasha. She looked so sad. He felt sorry for her but he also hated her at that moment. Why did she let him fall in love with her when she would never be fully his? She told him one night while they were sitting on a bench in the royal gardens that he was the first and only man she ever loved. The only man she'll ever love. Lies, it were all lies. She didn't know it then but she wasn't telling him the truth. Bucky was the first man she ever loved. Steve didn't get that special place in her heart.
Natasha lifted her hand and reached out for his face. He automatically stepped back causing Natasha to flince and she let her arm fall back to her side.
"I love you, Steve. Only you. Nothing can change that. I'll always love you" She sounded almost defiant.
Steve couldn't help but let an ugly laugh escape his mouth. "You say that now. But it's only a matter of time until you remember your feelings for Bucky and want to be with him."
Natasha looked like she got hit. "Don't tell me what to feel. I love you, Steve. I want to be with you and only you. Whatever was between me and James is in the past. If I loved him so damn much as you allege, don't you think I would have remembered him ages ago?"
He looked at his feet. He was being unfair, he knew that. But he was so scared that he was about to lose the love of his life to his best friend.
"Steve, look at me" He did and could see that her facial expressions softened. "I know that this is an unique situation for us. But since I found out, not once did I start to question my feelings for you. I know who I love and it's you!"
"What did Bucky say?" He asked and he was afraid to ask his next question. "Is he still in love with you?"
Natasha gave him a look that answered his question. Fuck. Of course he was still in love with her. How could he not? She was perfect.
"He says he loves Natalia. He doesn't know what it means about his feelings for me - Natasha" She whispered.
His love for Natalia wasn't gone. That meant if Natasha would start to remember, her love for Bucky would return as well. Of course it would. Wouldn't that be the most fucking epic love story of all time. Romeo and Juliet move aside, here are Natasha and Bucky. Long lost lovers finally reunited.
He turned on his feet and stormed to the bedroom. Natasha quick on her heels followed him. He grabbed a suitcase and started to throw his clothes in it. Natasha begged him to talk to her but he blocked her out. He needed to get out of this suite. He got to the bathroom and got his toiletries. He couldn't sense Natasha behind him anymore. When he left the bathroom she was standing in the living room and shaking. He wanted to run to her and pull her into his arms but he couldn't. He just couldn't. Not anymore. Everything was different now. He moved to the door and grabbed its handle.
"Please don't leave, Steve. We can sort this out" Her voice was so broken it made his stomach twist. Damn, why did he have to love her so much?
"I can't do this, Nat. I'm sorry" He opened the door.
"Don't leave me, Steve!" She yelled and he shut the door behind him.
"Steve come back!" She sounded so desperate.
He could feel the first tear running down his face.
Bucky didn't know what to do. After they landed in Wakanda Natasha left immediately to talk to Steve. He was anxious about their conversation. He prayed to any deity listening that Steve and Natasha would be okay. He didn't want to damage their relationship. He may didn't know how he felt about Natasha but he did know that he wanted her to be happy. And she was happy with Steve. And Steve? God, he was his brother. Steve brought him back, gave up everything to save him. Bucky would die for Steve in a heartbeat. Hurting Steve was the last thing he'd ever wanted to do.
He needed to talk to someone or he would go crazy. Wanda? She was a sweet kid but he didn't want to burden her with more of his problems. And she was too young to understand the whole scenario. Which only left Sam. He groaned, great! But who else was here to talk about this?
Bucky sighed and went to Sam's suite. "Dude, you're back" Sam grinned and moved aside to let him in.
"Man, are you already up to date? There are breaking news pretty much every minute. Steve's in his room if you're looking for him. "Sam smirked. "Or wait a bit. Like a few hours. I'm sure he and Nat are thoroughly celebrating." He gave him a wink." If ya know what I mean"
Of course, Bucky knew what he meant. But he seriously doubted they would be "celebrating" anytime soon.
"Bucky" Sam put his hand on his bionic shoulder. "The US grand you full immunity. You can go home, buddy"
What? What happend in the last 20 hours since they left Ross' farm? He didn't had to pay for his crimes? But that didn't matter now. Only Steve and Natasha mattered now.
"That's great, Sam" He said with no joy in his voice.
Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you okay?"
"Natasha and I used to be together" He blurted out. "Back when we worked for the Red Room"
Sam stared at him with wide eyes and plopped down the couch. "I thought you only had a crush on her."
Bucky drove through his hair with his hand and walked over to the bar of Sam's suite and poured himself a bourbon and emptied the drink in one gulp. "We fell in love and wanted to run away. We got caught and both got wiped. I'm the only one who remembers"
Sam looked like he was trying his hardest to process what he just heard without commenting on it. "Are you gonna tell them?" He finally asked him.
Bucky gave him a short laugh. "Natasha found a photo of us in Chile. So I had to tell her the truth. She's telling it Steve as we speak"
"Fuck" Sam whispered and he could only nod in agreement. Fuck indeed.
"This will break Steve" Sam looked at him. "He thought for years that Natasha could not possible return his feelings. That she was way out of his league. Didn't matter that I repeately told him that I thought she was into him. He'll think that she'll want to go back to you."
"That's why I never wanted to tell them about it" Bucky yelled.
Sam wanted to say something but was interrupted by a loud pounding on his door. He got up and opened it.
Steve was in the door frame and looked devasted. His eyes were red and his face looked like he was in deep pain. Bucky wanted to punch a hole into the wall.
"Hey, Sam. Can I crash on your couch for a few nights?" Steve asked quietly.
"Sure, man" Sam let him in.
Steve didn't seem to notice him until he got into the room and spotted him by the bar. His jaw was clenced and he started at him.
"Steve..." He began but Steve raised his hand to stop him.
"Don't. I can't talk about this"
"I'll leave you alone" He said and walked by Steve and Sam without looking at them to the door.
"Buck?"
Bucky turned around and Steve's face was full of remorse. "I'm sorry I fell for your girl"
He expected Steve to scream at him, maybe beat the shit out of him but he never ever thought Steve would say this.
"Do you want to talk?" Steve could tell from Sam's symathetic tone that Bucky told him everything. He shook his head. What was there to talk about? He would lose Natasha. And Bucky. The possible removal of the Accords and the return to New York didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. He was such an idiot. He was already picturing their life in New York. Buying a house near HQ or an apartment in Brooklyn and then he wanted to ask Natasha to marry him. Poof, all dreams were gone.
"It hurts to talk" He simply said. "I just want it to stop hurting. I think Natasha and I are over"
"What makes you think that?"
He scoffed. "She forgot that she loved Bucky? They didn't break up or anything, they were wiped. Their feelings for each other never had a chance to go away!" He was practically now screaming at Sam and Sam didn't move an inch. "And I walked out on her when she begged me not to leave her. I'm pretty sure that we just broke up" He buried his face in his hands.
"What am I supposed to do?" He whispered into his hands. "I love her so much!"
Sam sighed and moved him to sit on the couch. "I think you need to let everything sink in. Your emotions are going haywire right now. But let me tell you this: Natasha loves you. I think she is in love with you since DC. And her love has nothing to do with her past with Bucky."
He knew that Natasha loved him. What he was afraid of was that she would realize that she loved Bucky more.
Sam gave him sleeping pills and pulled a blanket over him. "Get some sleep to clear you head, buddy!"
The couch was too short for him to strecht his legs, so he had to lay in an uncomfortable postion but the pills soon knocked him out.
Wanda knocked on his door at six am. Bucky was already awake or rather he was still awake. He couldn't sleep. He threw a shirt over and let her in.
"The cat's out of the sack?" She asked him and pushed a coffee into his hand.
How did she know? It was already midnight when he and Natasha came back. Did Natasha come to her to have a girltalk? He saw enough movies in the last months to know that was a thing.
"The emotions were overwhelming last night. I could feel Steve's pain. And Natasha's pain" She looked him with compassion in her eyes. "Your pain"
He sat down on the couch and gulped the coffee she gave him down. She put bourbon in it. Sweet kid.
"I'm sorry the three of you have to go through this" She plopped down next to him and squeezed his hand with hers. Her hand looked so tiny compared to his.
"I don't want to talk about it" He mumbled and hoped that Wanda wouldn't push.
"I know. I'm here to tell you that with Ross being Hydra, the UN wants to revoke the Accords next week. And that you won't be prosecuted. I watched the news all night. Not only the US are going to grant you immunity but every other country ,that the Winter Soldier committed a crime in, won't go after you. They will sign an agreement at the UN referendum. It's over, Bucky" Wanda gave him a sweet smile " You're free"
Bucky could feel his jaw drop open and Wanda giggled. Despite Steve and Natasha's reassurements that the world would see him as a war hero and not a brainwashed superassassin, he always assumed that he would end up in a cell with no windows for the rest of his life. He could move on, make amends. Start to wipe out the red in his ledger like Natasha. Natasha. Would Steve and Natasha be by his side? Were they okay? Would they be okay?
Wanda stood up and straightend her dress. "Let's go have our session. It's time to remove your last trigger, Sergeant Barnes"
Steve woke up with a post-it on his head from Sam. Be soon back. Pancakes are in the microwave.
Feeling his stomach growling, he got up and went to the kitchen to reheat the pancakes. Was Sam with Natasha? Steve realized that she didn't really have anyone here to talk. Clint was in Canada and Steve.. He was maybe,probably not her boyfriend anymore. The microwave made a ping and he sat down at the small kitchen table to eat. He loved pancakes but they tasted like nothing. Was he already so lovesick that food lost its taste? But he had to eat to keep his metabolism going. He just finished his breakfast when he heard his phone ringing. His burner phone. He pulled it out of his bag and flipped it open.
"Tony?"
"Spangles! This is the third time I'm calling you!" Tony sighed and it sounded like he was chewing something. Wasn't it still night in New York?
"What do you want?"
"How soon can you be in Manhattan? Better yet, tell me your location so I can send a private jet to get you!"
What? "What?"
"President Ellis wants you there when the UN repeals the Accords. It's not official but all 117 members will vote for the appeal. As a sign of good will and the beginning of healing Ellis wants you there. He guarantees that you will not be arrested" Tony sounded excited. "It's time to come home, Cap"
"What?" Jesus, was that the only word he knew? "What about the others?"
"They can return when the Accords will be annuled. All of you won't be criminals anymore. All charges will be dropped." Tony said.
Holy shit. It was finally almost over. Could he leave though? When his love life was shattered. God, Tony didn't even know that he and Nat were together. Were they even still together?But he needed to think about the others. Sam, Wanda, Clint and Scott. And Natasha. They all deserved to go home. They risked everything for him. He needed to pave the way for them to get their old lifes back.
"I'm in Wakanda. How soon can your jet be here?" He eventually asked.
Tony laughed. "In Wakanda ?Why am I not surprised. A SI private jet can be in Birnin Zana in three hours. I'll let T'challa know"
"Thanks, Tony"
They hung up and Steve called room service to ask for something. The items arrived shortly after and he went into the bathroom. He shaved his beard off and dyed his hair back to blonde. It was time to become Captain America again.
Sam came back when Steve stepped out of the bathroom in his new and old look. "I thought only women got makeovers when they are lovesick."
Steve glared at him and Sam raised his hand in an apology. "But what's up with the new old you?"
"Tony called. I'm going back to New York for the annulment of the Accords"
"Oh wow. It's really happening"
Steve nodded. "Yeah. As soon as the Accords are gone, the rest of you can follow without any fear of prosecution. This nightmare will be soon over"
"Are you gonna talk to Nat before you go?" Sam asked him and Steve shook his head. He couldn't deal with this right now. He needed to clear his head to fix everything for the Avengers.
"I was just with her. I've never seen her like this before." Sam frowned slightly at him. "She's heartbroken."
"I need to focus on the UN right now" Steve's voice was sharper than he intended. He didn't want Natasha to hurt. God, no. But there was nothing that he could do for her right now. He couldn't pretend like nothing happend. Like Natasha and Bucky weren't connected in a very intimate way.
"Could you go back and grab the rest of my stuff?" He shyly asked Sam.
Sam was disappointed. He could see it in his eyes. "You can go yourself. She's not there. She went to the gym"
Steve nodded and put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "I'll see you soon in New York"
He went to the suite to get the rest of his things and tried very hard to block out everything that belong to Natasha. The trash can was next to the bed and was full of tissues. Did she cry herself to sleep? He was about to take the sketchbook with him that only contained sketches of Natasha but decided to leave it here. He didn't need a reminder of their time together. He would just keep looking through it and break. Should he leave her a note? No, Sam would tell her where he went.
A car was waiting downstairs for him to get him to the airport. T'challa left him a letter with the driver. He wished him the best and that he would see him at the UN referendum in two days.
The private jet was already waiting for Steve when the car arrived at the airport. He thanked the driver and greeted the pilot.
He just wanted to sit in one of the comfy chairs and raid the minibar. He might not could get drunk with it but he could still feel the burn in his throat.
He walked into the cabin and noticed that he wasn't the only passenger.
"Good to see you, Steve"
"Sharon?!"
She smiled brightly at him and patted on the seat next to her.
leave a review:)