I'm not going to lie. I have been struggling to find the motivation to write. I have so many good ideas for stories. But as soon as I sit to write my mind goes completely blank! It's infuriating.
I know this chapter is far from my best work. It will most definitely get rewritten if I even find inspiration again.
Disclaimer: I own nothing used here from The Marvel Cinematic Universe. I only own the OC and original content in this story.
~Charlie's POV~
Charlie placed the handful of glasses in the sink and sighed. She was supposed to be completing payroll tonight, but instead one of her waitresses decided not to show and her bartender's daughter was sick. Two employees down on the busiest night of the week was not what she needed now.
She finally spotted him a couple weeks ago. After a year of being in this city, he finally showed up in Bucharest. But she hasn't seen him since the market.
She wiped her hands on her apron and checked her watch. One more hour until the bar closes and she would be able to get her work done.
She was manager of the restaurant for the last 4 months. It wasn't what she wanted to do. She had degrees in literature, art, anthropology, and a master's in history. She worked at the MET in New York before she came to Romania. She loved it, even if most of the work was restoring the museum after the attack on New York.
But Romania was more important. Romania was where she felt she could make the difference the world needed.
She refilled the bar patrons glasses still frustrated with her lack of progress over the last few weeks. She needed to connect with Bucky again. She only had 7 months until the attack on Vienna.
Her mission seemed impossible. She leaned against the back bar and rubbed her temples. She sighed at the movement of one of the bar chairs.
"Ce pot primi…" Charlie said as she approached the new customer. "Oh." She uttered quietly as she realized who it was. Bucky.
He was dressed in black inconspicuous clothing. He wore gloves and long sleeves which to anyone else who seem strange in the summer months. But Charlie knew what he was hiding. His wavy hair was tucked back underneath a navy ball cap. His apparel was about the same as the market, but his appearance was a different story.
He was excelling at avoiding eye contact. That didn't stop her from noticing the lack of sleep his face showed. He was still as handsome as in the market, but his eyes were darker, and his skin was slightly lighter in complexion. Her heart felt for him. She knew what he had been through. The pain that was probably still haunting him.
"Whiskey." He said with a harsh voice as she approached.
"How were the oranges?" Charlie said grabbing a glass and her bottle of whiskey. He looked up at her curiously. She smiled when his eyes read that he recognized her from the market.
"You."
"Charlie." She answered handing him his glass. "I'm surprised you remembered me. This city isn't exactly small."
"I have a good memory." He replied before shooting the entire glass of whiskey.
"So, do I, but I can't seem to remember you telling me your name." She filled the glass up again.
He said nothing. He took the glass but didn't take a sip. Instead he swirled the amber liquid around slowly.
"Can I get you anything else? The kitchen's open for another 30 minutes." Charlie waited for a reply. When she didn't get one, she began to walk away to tend to the remaining patrons at the bar.
"I've seen you around a lot." Charlie heard behind her. She turned to see Bucky looking at her. His eyes were heavy.
"What can I say? I'm like a tourist. I'm attracted to the city's historic beauty." Charlie turned and gave him an 'Oh well' gesture. Conversation was good. She needed to keep him engaged.
He nodded in respond.
"How long have you been in Bucharest?"
He finished his drink before answering "Few months."
"Pot sa platesc?" Charlie turned as one of the last customers in the bar tried to get her attention. She softly smiled at Bucky before turning away to close the bar tab for the woman.
When Charlie turned back to Bucky, he was gone. Charlie sighed in defeat. Who knew trying to befriend a worldwide fugitive would be so hard?
She cleaned the bar off as the restaurant emptied. When she got to where Bucky was sitting, she found a couple leu bills and a note.
'Thanks. Jay.'
"Jay?" She wondered. It wasn't much of an alias, but it was progress. She smiled and stuffed the note into her apron.
3 days later
She couldn't stop glancing out of her office doorway. Charlie had a straight shot view of the bar's entrance. She knew why she was so anxious. She had some progress with Bucky just 3 days prior. She prayed he came back soon. He couldn't have left the city already. She couldn't be that unlucky.
She forced herself to finish inventory count before 10 pm. Her bartender, Maria, had asked to leave her shift early to get home to her kids. Charlie didn't care. It was one of their slow nights.
As the clock crept past 9:45 pm, Charlie decided it was close enough. She cleaned up her desk for the night and headed to the bar area.
As she approached, she saw a man with long sleeves and dark wavy hair hidden underneath a ball cap. He was nursing a glass of whiskey.
A large smile grew on her face. "Maria, you can head home now. See you tomorrow" She addressed the woman in Romanian. Bucky was the only one in the bar, but she didn't know how long he had been there.
"Hey, Jay." She said to him.
Bucky looked up quickly. His shoulders relaxed as he realized it was Charlie. "Hey." He said quietly before returning to his glass and finishing it off.
Charlie walked over and filled it up for him. "How are you?" She was never good at small talk. She wasn't a very patient person. This mission had already tested her enough.
Bucky gave her a huff.
"I'll take that as not so good?"
"Ever try to find a job in a foreign country you don't speak the language of?"
"You should've seen me a year ago. I thought I knew enough Romanian when I moved here. I started to think I was in a completely different country."
Bucky chuckled. He finished his drink and stood from the stool.
"Don't want another one?" Charlie asked.
Bucky shook his head as he grabbed his leather jacket. "No, thanks. I'll see you later."
Charlie nodded as he walked off. Suddenly she got an idea.
"Hey…um, Jay?"
Bucky turned to her as he fixed his jacket collar.
"If you need a job, we can use some help around here. It'll all be under the table pay, but there's enough of it."
A smile formed on his face. It was the kind of smile that stops a woman in her tracks. Charlie could feel her cheeks heat up. "That'd be great."
"Great. Want to come in tomorrow afternoon? I'll be in around 2."
"I'll see you tomorrow." He said before exiting the bar.
Charlie leaned against the back of the bar. She hadn't expected that smile to knock her down so hard. It brought life to his face. But she couldn't think about that, though. There was only one reason why she was in Romania. Her plan was coming together, and she couldn't let anything get in the way of that. Not this close to the end.
3 weeks later
Charlie was rushing behind the bar with her bartender, Maria, trying to catch up with the demand of the customers. The bar was full of enthusiastic football fans after Romania's win in the UEFA Europa League. She had hoping Bucky would come in tonight. If anything, an extra hand would have been a lifesaver at this point. She knew Bucky, though. He was too cautious to come into a crowded bar.
In the last few weeks he had been coming in, she had noticed his smile was a little bit bigger and his eyes weren't so sunken from lack of sleep. He made more conversation with her each day. When he wasn't unloading the delivery truck or cleaning the keg lines, he was sitting at the bar with a glass of whiskey. He was far from having a drinking problem, though. Charlie noticed he never had more than 3 glasses. She found herself helping at the bar more when he was there. She actually enjoyed their conversations. They were simple and mostly about her, but she liked the connection they had.
She had talked about school, her job at the MET, and her hatred for technology that stemmed from her father. None of it was a lie. She just left a few details out.
Charlie and Maria were trying their best to get everyone's tabs closed out and them out the door. It was well over an hour after she announced last call that the last of the groups had scattered.
"Go home, Maria. I'm close up." Charlie said in Romanian
"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow, Charlie." Maria answered back.
Once Charlie was alone in the bar, she looked around expecting a disaster. Fortunate enough, she and Maria had a couple bus boys on hand who did a good job keeping up with the patrons.
Charlie picked up what was left at the bar before heading to the back to lock up.
~Bucky's POV~
He didn't want to strand Charlie without his help tonight, but the bar was too packed for his comfort. He had never seen it so busy. On normal nights he could hide his face well enough from the customers, but tonight was too much of a risk.
He was grateful Charlie had given him a job he could work under the radar. She was also oddly enough okay with him not giving her a last name. He spent weeks trying to find work like this. He just hoped he hadn't ruined that with not walking in tonight.
Bucky stood outside watching as the majority crowd from the bar dispersed from the bar entrance. A few lingered near the back alleyway. He watched as four drunken men hollered with joy.
Bucky had been standing across the street in the shadow of the building for well over two hours. He didn't know why. He knew he wasn't going in, but something was stopping him from going back to his apartment. Besides the work, he was drawn to the place. He didn't know why. Maybe the bar reminded him of something from his past. It was hard to tell since most of his memory had yet to come back. Maybe it was Charlie.
He was hesitant at first to be around an American. There was too much risk being recognized, but Charlie wasn't one to keep up with the latest news. She seemed like a free spirit despite her strong sense of self. He felt he had known her before.
He couldn't figure it out. Hell, he couldn't figure out a lot of things nowadays. He knew, however, that well Charlie was around he didn't feel the guilt that was slowly building up waiting to explode.
She was gorgeous. She had those eyes that were hypnotizing. They drew him in every time he locked into them. He had caught himself staring on several occasions, and he was certain she had caught him a few times as well. But the way she moved was like fluid and in control. She was a heartbreaker.
Bucky shook the thoughts away. That was the 1940s Bucky, the charmer. That was someone he'd never be able to be again. He was who he was now, who Hydra made him to be.
Movement down the alley passed the group of men caught his eye. It was Charlie locking up the back. He had stayed a few nights late to walk her home because of one or two unwelcomed passersby's in the street. But she was alone tonight. He had seen a few of the workers leave out the front, but he hadn't noticed how short staffed they were that night. Bucky was again agitated he didn't help.
As Charlie approached the group of men, Bucky saw her attempt to avoid eye contact and keep a distance. The group, however had a different reaction when they spotted her. Without hesitation, he quickly crossed the street and headed straight to the group.
~Charlie's POV~
She was hoping to avoid a hassle with the group of men lingering in the alleyway next to the bar. She was strong, but she wasn't strong enough to take 4 men.
"Hey baby, give me a smile!" One of the smaller guys called out to her. The group laughed together. It was cold and wet outside. Charlie didn't want to have to deal with this after the long night she just had.
One man whistled as the others continued bantering at Charlie in Romanian.
"Can I have your number?"
Charlie tightened her jacket collar closer to her throat. She needed to control her anger before it got out of hand.
"What's your hurry, babe?" Her hand was pulled from her jacket collar. One of the larger men grabbed her arm tight. She was quick to pull it from his grip, but when another man came from behind her and grabbed her shoulders, she knew she had her work cut out for her.
"Let me go." She said sternly enough for them to understand.
"Or what?" The larger man said. He stepped closer to her causing her to step back into the one standing behind her. His thick fingered grabbed her chin and he smiled.
Charlie lifted her knee into the man crotch sending a groan from his throat and lurching him forward in pain. A hand slammed into the side of Charlie's face. The hit sent her to the ground, but she was picked back up as fast as she was sent down.
This time Charlie anticipated the hit, expecting to dodge the clinched fist headed towards her. Instead, a metal fist blew across her view. The man who had slapped her went flying across the alleyway. Charlie's eyes were still trying to refocus after the hit. She could barely make it out but a man in dark clothing had stepped between her and the two other men. She could see they were putting up a good fight, but the newcomer was blowing heavier punches in their direction.
The third man kept back a bit waiting for an opportunity to blindside the unknown man. Charlie moved towards him. He had a confused expression on his face when he noticed the woman. Before he could think, she snatched his wrist and sent a throat punch to his Adam's apple. She then grabbed the back of his head and throw his entire 270-pound body over her knee, sending him to the ground with enough force to knock the man unconscious.
~Bucky's POV~
Bucky breathed in deep trying to catch his breathe. It felt good to fight. He hated how good it felt. He could still feel the metal weighing down on his shoulder, wanting more.
He turned quickly enough to see Charlie sending the large man hurling to the ground. The man was twice the size of her. He was taken back by the strength she possessed. The unusual strength.
As the three other men slowly stood up and ran away, Charlie turned to Bucky and dusted off her jacket.
"I appreciate the help, but I had it under control." Charlie stated when she noticed him watching.
"You had 4 guys, all twice your size, under control?"
"You doubt me?" Charlie smirked.
Bucky chuckled.
Charlie reached up to her bleeding lip. The saw her wince at the pain from the newly bruised jaw. She would be lucky if it only lasted a few weeks.
He walked off to his dropped jacket and reached in to grab a handkerchief. He offered it to Charlie who took it with a thank you.
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" He questioned. He had a suspicion growing in his gut. She seemed too skilled to not be trained.
"My dad. He wouldn't let me travel to world if I didn't know a few moves." Charlie looked down at the metal on his side. Bucky suddenly realized he had thrown his jacket off without hesitation of someone seeing his arm.
"You're going to need ice on that before it gets too bad." He said quickly as he put his jacket on.
"I think I may have some at my house." Charlie said without a hint of bother by the metal arm.
Bucky nodded his head in the direction of her apartment and started walking with her without an explanation. He had walked her home several time before. He knew where he was going.
They continued in silence until they reached the steps of her apartment building. Bucky was rattled up. He wanted to kill those men but killing them meant he had to leave Bucharest behind and find a new place. It meant he had to leave Charlie behind. She was the first good to be in his life in many, many years.
Bucky paused at the stairs like he always did. He waited for her to say good night and head up the stairs, only this time she didn't.
Charlie turned to Bucky on the first step. She gave him a soft, appreciative look. Her eyes slowed his heart, but the fresh bruise made his arm clinched in fury.
"Thank you for walking me home." Her eyes drew him in the same way they had so many times before. "And for helping with that group."
"You had in handled." He said joking.
She laughed before leaning in to kiss his cheek. The touch sent a kind of rush through Bucky.
He didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. The only thing he could think of doing would go against everything he told himself to do. But without another hesitation, he reached up and gently grabbed Charlie's neck. He didn't feel any resistance from her as he brought their lips together.
The soft lips he had previously watched as she spoke pressed passionately against his. Her arms flung around his neck. He could feel her sink into his touch. It was like a force field between them had finally collapsed.
Review and let me know what you think! I encourage critiquing of the story line. Nothing can be perfected without it!