Alex tried three times to wake Bucky the next morning to no avail. A part of her didn't want him to have to wake up so early. He looked a delightful mess and comfortable as hell; his hair covering half of his face as he lay on his stomach, face pushed into the pillow and his lips slightly parted. As usual, he somehow managed to tangle himself in the sheets, so the lower half of him was only partially covered in a twist of dark blue around his waist.

After Alex woke to pee and checked her phone to see several missed calls from Nick Fury, she didn't really have a choice but to wake him. When she listened to the messages, she realized her and Bucky suddenly had a video conference with Fury in less than an hour. Ever since then, she'd been trying to wake him. His giant sleeping form wouldn't budge though, no matter how much she tried to stir him.

Glancing around the room, Alex tried to find something to rouse him with. She considered tickling him awake since he claimed to be so ticklish, but something else caught her eye. Across the room lay his metal arm, which he'd taken off and left on his desk before bed. She stared at it a while as she chewed her cheek. Without further thought, she lifted the arm and brought it over to the bed.

She moved the lifeless metal fingers over Bucky's face, gently pawing at him. "Jaaaaames..."

He groaned and pushed his face into the pillow further.

"Wakey wakey, Jamesy." She stuck one of his fingers near his nose and slowly poked him. She swallowed a laugh when his face subconsciously scrunched in response. "We have a meeting with Fury soon...better wake up!" She pushed the finger into his nose and his blue eyes opened. They centered on her first, then on the hand near his face.

"What the..."

Alex moved the arm away with a grin. "Do you know how long I've been trying to wake you?"

Bucky gave her a sleepy grin and rolled onto his back. "I'm sorry, love." He rubbed the stubble about his face with a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Almost 5:30."

"Did I hear you correctly? We have a meeting with Fury?"

Alex perched on next to Bucky on the bed. "Check your phone. He's the one who was calling last night." She eyed his bare body with appreciation as he pushed himself upright. Even when he wasn't flexing, the ripple of his sturdy abs were always present, and she was always grateful for the eyeful they provided.

"When's the meeting?" he asked, his mouth stretching into another yawn.

"At 6."

Bucky groaned and lay his head back against his still-broken headboard.

"I won't shower if you don't" Alex said with a grin.

"Deal." His drowsy eyes flicked between her and his arm resting in her lap. "Wanna help me?"

Alex leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss. "Of course."

It was a bit of a new routine for them after nights spent together: Bucky would remove his arm at night and then in the morning, Alex would help put it back on for him. It helped Bucky feel more comfortable about it, which was a huge step for him. He was never very comfortable taking it off in front of her, but little by little, his comfort level was increasing.

Alex began to gently remove the neoprene cuff he kept over his metal shoulder cap. "You know what all this means, don't you?"

Bucky nodded reluctantly. "I'm guessing the mission is about ready."

"Makes me wonder if your nightmares really are signals" she replied.

Bucky thought about this quietly as Alex gently reattached his arm. Once she got it into place, only Bucky had enough strength to lock it into position. He gripped the muscular curve of the bicep and twisted, initiating a locking sequence for all the metal plates. Alex watched with an awe that would likely never go away as the plates linked together and melded into place with his shoulder.

A wiggle of his wrist and a balled fist later, Bucky was pushing himself out of bed. He noticed with some pride when Alex's eyes fell below his waist, almost as a reflex.

"Let's just go for our run after we're done with Fury and kill two birds with one stone" she offered, eyes finally pulling back up to his face.

"Whatever Fury tells us, we may not be able to go for a run."

"Or we'll be so pissed, we'll need it."

Bucky couldn't help but smile. "True...Very true." He watched as she stood from the bed and gave him a look that suggested she was thinking of anything but running.

"Although I'd much rather have some more time alone with you..." She wrapped her hand around his soft length and gave a squeeze that made Bucky's eyelids flutter closed.

"Don't tease."

"I'm not..."

He opened his eyes; lust pooling in their bright color. "If you don't quit, we won't make the meeting."

"I can clearly feel that" Alex purred. He was growing in her hand as she said it and the firmness of it made her want him even more. She wanted to go another round with him fucking her ass, but there wasn't enough time. And truth be told, she probably wouldn't be able to move much afterwards.

So, with great reluctance, she released him and backed away. "Fine. But later?"

Bucky gripped her by the chin and pressed his lips to hers. "Deal."

About 15 minutes later, Bucky and Alex found themselves sitting inside the Avengers conference room. They were dressed as they had planned: Alex in a pair of workout tights and a neon green quarter-zip pullover, and Bucky in his blue ball hat, a gray hoodie, and black joggers. In the voicemails Fury left, he told them he planned on appearing via holographic presence from his office in DC. As such, Alex got the system up and running in the room.

Once finished, they waited silently for Fury to appear. They sat sipping their to-go cups of coffee as the minutes ticked by, each in their thoughts about what Fury might give away in this meeting. Bucky sat bouncing his knee anxiously. He thought about what was coming and what it meant to him to have this mission over and done with. Another part of his past had resurfaced; not just with Boroshka, but now with Oxana and the rest of them. He wanted to put a giant X over all of it and call it done.

Across the table, Alex could sense Bucky's focus increasing. It wasn't just the bouncing knee or the tense muscles around his mouth that tipped her off. He had that look in his eyes; the one he usually got before they began a mission and someone was about to die. It was the laser-tight focus of a hunter. She couldn't quite describe it...it was one of those things she could just see. Such a change from only a half hour or so ago.

She reached across the table and tapped her nails on the wooden surface. "Hey."

Bucky's eyes lifted.

"You're a special kind of handsome when you're serious like this."

His expression warmed a little. "You mean when my mind is running a marathon?"

"Something like that." She gave him an appreciative smile because knew what he was feeling. Her mind was doing it too, and it had every reason to. This stuff she was dealing with internally about Kovelenko - it would drive her mad if she let her mind really spiral like it had in the shooting range. She could use a bit of the energy from her powers to slow it, but Bucky didn't have that...at least not when she wasn't giving some of it to him.

It was another five minutes before Fury appeared virtually before them. He normally wasn't late like he was today, which didn't help their nerves any.

"Apologies for the delayed start" he told them as he leaned forward over his desk. "Been on the phone all morning trying to tie up loose ends that I wanted to do last night. Seems you two aren't the only ones impossible to get a hold of these days."

Alex picked up on the sarcasm as a hint for an explanation, but before she could get the words out of her mouth, Fury moved on.

"You'll be pleased to know we've located Oxana Kovalenko." With this, Fury turned to Bucky. "You may not be so pleased to know that she's hiding in one of Hydra's old labs."

Bucky's voice filled with a dark edge. "Which one?"

"Northern Ukraine."

Alex glanced over and saw a muscle twitch in Bucky's jaw. He simply nodded but said nothing further. Alex had seen many memories of his time in Ukraine; enough to know that if their mission was taking them there, it would be an even more personal fight for him.

Fury looked to Alex now. "Remember our drive from the museum when you were in DC?"

The look she gave him said yes, but she studied him with a shrewd eye. "Which part?"

"The part where I told you Maria Hill and I were working on something. That something is how we know where Kovalenko is." He eyed them both now with an exaggerated pause. "How we know she's armed herself with a dozen or so of Hydra's soldiers, and how we also know that your old pal Erik Dobrow is currently with her" he said as he turned to Bucky.

Again, Bucky responded only with silence.

Fury looked at Alex. "While Hydra thought they were being smart keeping a mole inside S.H.I.E.L.D...S.H.I.E.L.D. had a mole as well. One that Maria and I put there." He smiled; a rare occurrence, in and of itself. "The moment we knew Claudia Burke wasn't who she was claiming to be, we sent that agent to the Polish Branch. Under disguise of course, acting as we instructed while keeping a low profile. Since then, the agent has been feeding us information, including her whereabouts and Dobrow's involvement."

It took a minute for Alex and Bucky to absorb what was being told to them. They had plenty of questions but knew better than to ask Fury about any of them just yet.

Bucky looked across the table at Alex and their eyes locked in shared understanding. His feelings were written all over his face, his expression giving way to his thoughts: this isn't going to be easy.

The sympathetic smile Alex gave in return showed him that she agreed.

"You're probably wondering when the mission will be declared?" Fury questioned.

Alex replied for the both of them. "Amongst other things, yes."

"All I can say is: soon. As such, I would suggest you both keep your phones close by, and turned on." Fury raised his eyebrow at them, his expression looking like that of an irritated parent.

The couple nodded, though both had to hold back a smirk.

"I would get yourselves ready in the meantime so that when the call does come, you're ready to go at a moment's notice - and I mean that." Fury gave a nod. "We'll talk again soon."

With that, he was gone.

Silence hung in the room. Alex and Bucky remained deep in their thoughts, reviewing everything Fury had told them and hinted at within the call.

When Alex glanced over at Bucky, he was already standing. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He grabbed his coffee cup, drained the remainder of the liquid in three gulps, and tossed the it into the trash. "You ready for a run?"

Alex didn't rise from her chair right away. She stayed still, looking into those blue eyes with love but trying to see beyond what he was showing her. "You didn't answer my question."

"You didn't answer mine."

With a clipped exhaled, Alex stood from the desk. "Yes, I'm ready for a run."

Bucky gave a single nod. "Good. Because I need it."

"And your answer?"

"I'm fine." Bucky walked to the door and held it open for her; a quiet signal that the discussion was over.

As Alex went to exit, she hesitated. "I'm with you every step of the way, James. In every mission. With Boroshka. With Dobrow. With Kovalenko." She placed her palm on his chest, sending a little tiny curl of white light and a wave of her power into his heart center.

The tight line that had been his mouth now eased. "And I'm with you" he told her quietly.

Alex smiled and then exited the room. Bucky wasn't far behind her, but he left his apprehensions about encountering two ghosts from his past back in the conference room.

After their run, Alex and Bucky parted ways for the morning. Before Alex went back to her apartment for a shower and to do some much needed laundry, she found herself taking the hallway that lead to Natasha'a apartment. Her mind had been running since her and Bucky's meeting with Fury, and the one thing popped into her mind required a visit to her red-headed friend's place...and a small favor. So Alexis knocked on the door in hopes that Natasha was actually around. It was early, but Nat had always been an early riser. Alex just hoped she wouldn't dock her much for her sweaty appearance.

When Nat answered the door, Alex let out a sigh of relief that was audible even to Nat, though it caused her brows to pinch together with worry. "Hey? Everything alright?"

"Remember that mission I told you about?" Alex asked her. "It's knocking on the doorstep now, and I was hoping I could borrow something from you for the mission."

Intrigued, Nat welcomed Alex inside. Alex could smell something delicious cooking...the strong smell of bacon was coming from the kitchen, as well as something doughy. She felt her stomach rumble and realized she hadn't eaten yet. Something else she'd need to add to her growing list of things to do. "Do you cook often, Nat?"

Behind her, Nat closed the door and folded her arms over her chest. "When I have the time, I do."

Alex turned and smiled. "Because damn if that doesn't smell good right now, whatever it is you're cooking."

"You're welcome to borrow some breakfast from me as well, along with whatever else you're about to ask me for" Nat teased. She gave Alex a wink and waved her towards the kitchen. "Contrary to what Rogers and Barton like to say about my cooking, I tend to think it's pretty good."

Walking into Nat's tidy kitchen, Alex saw the ingredients for a breakfast sandwich of some kind sitting out and waiting to be assembled as the bacon - which smelled even better now - finished cooking. Alex eyed it hungrily, but didn't feel right invading her friend's breakfast. "It looks amazing, Nat, but I only came for weapons."

"Weapons!?"

Nat smiled, and that little light that twinkled in her eyes whenever she truly smiled now shimmered happily. Alex almost forgot it was one of Nat's favorite topics. "Yeah...specifically your batons." She waited, watching as the smile on Nat's face slowly transformed into one of general surprise.

"This mission of yours just keeps getting more and more interesting."

"You wouldn't mind if I brought them along, would you?" The corner of Alex's mouth lifted. "I promise I'll put them to great use."

Nat considered this while she flipped a few strips of bacon in the pan. "I might be willing to part with them, yeah."

"I sense a 'but' somewhere in there," Alex added, garnering a chuckle from Natasha.

"Noooo, not really a 'but' - more like a 'why'?" She glanced over her shoulder. "I don't lend my babies to just anyone for any reason you know. It's gotta be good."

Alex leaned back against the kitchen table, one ankle crossed over the other. "Oh it's good, alright. Let's say this mission involves someone from Bucky's past...someone who may have liked to shock him for the fun of it, and I'd like to give her a taste of her own medicine."

The word 'her' got Natasha to turn around. "A woman?" Nat's eyes went round. "Who? An ex?!"

"No...no. No. Nothing like that."

The grin on Nat's face grew even more devilish. "I never pictured Barnes to be much of a ladies man, especially during the years he was traipsing around the globe offing people for Hydra."

The phrasing she used made Alex wince internally. "Because he wasn't. The woman in question isn't an ex in any form."

"Who is she, then? Or who was she to him?"

The way Nat rested against the edge of the counter made her look as though she was readying herself for a good story. Alex wouldn't be able to tell her anything she was probably hoping for, but if she wanted to borrow the batons – she would at least give her something. "This woman…she, um...how do I put this...she wanted him more than he wanted her, let's say."

Nat's eyes went round. "Ooooo, this is getting juicy, Markos..."

"Stop!" Alex said with a laugh. "I swear it's not what you're thinking. Honestly. This woman is a daughter of Hydra. A literal daughter of Hydra. She participated in way more than you're likely imagining, and she's way, way more sinister than you could imagine. Overall, she was just a kiss-ass that had one hell of a mean streak." With some resignation, she looked down at her hand. "Okay, she still has a mean streak."

The glance down at her hand didn't go unnoticed by Natasha. Her entire body language changed, as did her expression, as realization settled over her. "She was behind the ambush, wasn't she?"

Alex glanced up. She didn't answer her - she couldn't answer her - but Nat was wise enough to see the answer anyway. It caused Nat to raise a hand to her mouth while she put the pieces together on her own. Alex waited, and when she saw Natasha's jaw set in determination, she knew she had her own answer.

"Take them," Nat told her. "Take them and make that bitch pay."

Alex gave her a nod. "You have my promise on that."

That evening, Bucky and Alex readied their gear. Alex stood with her hands on her hips over their spread out collection of weapons on Bucky's living room floor. There were various guns, clips full of ammo, and a selection of grenades - enough to make it look like there were far more than just two people going on this mission. They already had their uniforms ready to go and the Quinjet was being readied down in the hangar as they spoke. All that was left was to ready their gear and to wait. To Alex, the waiting would be the most difficult part.

She looked over the weapons scattered about the floor and felt her anxiety growing. Not because of the mission itself, but for who she would encounter there. The woman - Kovalenko - would be her toughest fight yet, and not because the woman nearly split her hand into two pieces. She would hardly present much of a physical fight because of her age, but she would be her toughest mental obstacle to overcome.

Mental fights were something Alex hadn't been the most successful at. At least, not in her past. A lot of her early days fighting solo throughout New England had been both battles with herself and with those outside of her; the "bad guys" she targeted and got rid of. It always lead to more struggles within herself to control her power, to control her future, and find purpose in a confusing and lonely life.

The past doesn't have to define us Bucky said, and Alex would believe him. She needed to believe him. If nothing else, he was living proof that that sentiment was an honest one and she would lean on that notion going forward.

Bucky entered the room behind her, disrupting her thoughts. She looked over her shoulder to see him carrying another set of automatic rifles to add to the growing collection. Like the others, Bucky began to check the various parts of each one with the eye of an expert, his routine methodical and precise. When he caught Alex staring at him, he lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

"Do you think we have enough?" she joked, eyeing the rifle in his lap.

His mouth broke into a smile. "I hate to sound like an assassin here, but we could never have enough when it comes to these assholes."

"True" Alex conceded with a nod. "Which reminds me: I visited Nat earlier."

"Oh yeah?"

"I borrowed something of hers."

A hint of curiosity crossed Bucky's face. "...such as?"

Alex wondered if she should tell him or surprise him. Either way, he'd find out...and either way, she was bringing them. "Her batons."

Bucky lowered the gun he'd been cleaning. "Her batons?"

"I'm going to make sure Kovalenko knows what it feels like to be electrocuted. Over. And over. And Over." Her jaw set firmly. "What I saw her do to you in your memory, I'm going to make sure I do to her tenfold. I might even laugh when I do it...just for added effect."

Judging by the look on her face, Bucky could tell it wasn't up for debate. Her eyes had that hard darkness to them; the determination she carried with herself at all times had risen to the surface in ways that made her more beautiful than Bucky thought possible in any one woman. "Something tells me this isn't just another mission for you?"

"Is it for you?" she asked in return. "Has it ever been?"

Bucky lowered his eyes. The answer of course was no, and it certainly wouldn't be any different this time around. He placed the gun on the ground and stood. "I'm sorry about earlier...in the conference room."

"I'm not mad, James."

"I know - but I wasn't okay. At least...not as okay as I let on."

Alex smirked at him. "You don't think I know that?"

Bucky knew she did, and that's why he smirked back at her. They knew one another well enough at this point that even when their minds weren't linked; their connection was strong enough to sense what the other was thinking or feeling. It's why he felt guilty for brushing her off, and why he wanted to apologize. "I should have been more honest with you," he said. "I just wanted to get out of there to get some air."

"All I wanted to tell you" she said gently, "was that I know how difficult this will be for you. How difficult it will be to see Dobrow and Kovalenko again. I know the memory I saw was only one of many, especially with Dobrow. And Kovalenko..." The end of the sentence was clipped as she looked down, fiddling with one of her nails uneasily.

Bucky knew this fight wouldn't just be personal for him. With Kovalenko in the picture, Alex would be fighting her own personal battle. He knew why he wanted to kill Dobrow, and it was for more reasons than those being given to him within the mission orders. Even if he tried to distance himself from why he was going to kill him, it still didn't matter. His life after Wakanda wasn't only about fixing what was wrong inside his mind, but fixing what was wrong with the world that had made him the way he was. Most of the time, he didn't know the individuals he fought against when it came to Hydra. On the rare occasion, he did.

Alex didn't know any of them personally, but was taking it personal nonetheless for how they treated him, for the evil they harbored in their hearts, and for the more personal reasons she had against Kovalenko. All were viable, but Bucky knew the price of revenge. It slowly ate away at you whether you believed it did or not. He loved Alex for her resolve. He loved her for taking his side, regardless of the missions they stepped in to together. But it still worried him. As he saw it, he had two jobs to complete on this upcoming mission: kill the agents and end this chapter of madness in his life, and to do that while also ensuring Alexis was safe. Above all, he had to keep her safe so they could return from this and resume their lives together.

"Promise me something." He cupped Alex's face in his hands and lost himself in the deep chocolate hue that stared up at him. "We have to promise each other one thing before we go into this together: whatever happens, we don't let our anger at these people get in the way of us getting the job done and getting out of there safely. We're not doing this to punish them. We're doing this so we can get on with our lives."

"Spoken like a true Sergeant," she teased.

He flicked an eyebrow upward smartly. "I have some experience, you know."

"I do know" Alex replied. "And you're right. You're absolutely right." She found it hard to look away from Bucky in that moment. She was proud of him for so many reasons, but the truth he was speaking and the level-headedness he spoke with was why she was proud of him in that moment. A levelheaded, well-trained sergeant. Not the cold, dead-eyed warrior she'd seen in his memories. It amazed her to this day just how far he'd come from what those people had reduced him too.

"Our minds will be linked this time," she mentioned. "How about we promise to pull one another back if we get too close to the brink with our emotions?"

"I think that's a great idea." Bucky smiled as he pressed his lips to her mouth. "Just think: silent communication. Synchronized movements. We'll know everywhere we are at every movement. We'll share every command, every close call, every victory. For the first time in my life, there won't be anything unknown going into battle."

"You sure that's a good thing?" Alex asked. "What if something bad-"

"-No. Not while I'm there. No one will hurt you as long as I'm with you." He took her right hand in his; the one that had been gruesomely injured not even a week ago. The newly constructed flesh was as soft against his fingers as it had been before. The hole where he'd seen broken bone and grisly-looking muscle was now just as flawless as the rest of her. "You fought alone on that rooftop when they hurt you. I came too late." His eyes lifted and hardened. "Not this time."

The love Alex felt for him translated through to her powers. They began to hum inside her, their strength growing as though they were reaching through her, tugging outward from her chest with a desire to connect with him. "Do you feel that?" she asked.

Bucky nodded. "I do." The warmth of her powers was like a force field of comfort radiating outwards from her. He felt them tugging at him, and more than anything he wanted to feel that level of closeness with her again.

"Should I let it happen?"

"Might as well get a head start," Bucky said, his eyes crinkling at the corners kindly. He took a step closer and lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. "Connect with me."

Alex closed her eyes and felt Bucky press his forehead to hers. She gave in to the need her powers had to join with him and felt a release of tingly warmth move from her body into his. White light encompassed them, connecting them, wrapping them within their supernatural bond. When it was over, they opened their eyes and felt the link between their minds without even questioning.

Across the room on the kitchen counter, both Bucky and Alex's cell phones began to ring in unison. They looked over and knew without looking that it was go-time.

The mission was on.

They would land in Ukraine by morning and begin this fight together.