Chapter 5

Sarah was fuming, sending her to Africa had been completely unnecessary, by the time she arrived the replacement from Australia was already on their way, and she on her flight back two days later. Exhausted she put in for a compensation leave and had taken the plane to Germany and not to London. She was going to recuperate in her grandpas old skiing hut.

The rural south German village called to her, she thought of school holidays spend in the remoteness of her grandpa's old house.

The houses of both her grandparents had been sold after they died but her parents and the rest of the family just couldn't part with the ski hut, the old rickety building were all kids learned how to make firewood, and more importantly were they learned how to ski and celebrated every Christmas.

Standing apart from the skiing slopes and other houses, it was idyllic.

Little mobile reception and no WiFi seemed to sweeten the deal in her mind. She had some thinking to do, the accords and the implications of it still heavily on her mind. She spend most of the last 4 days in the air and had no clue what actually had happened.

Sarah called her parents from the airport to make sure none of her cousins or other family were currently using the house.

Driving her rental car into the village, she decided to stock up on groceries before heading up the Serpentine roads.

Stepping into the small grocery shop, she noticed the headlines of the newspapers for the first time:

Captain America fugitive

UN assembles to sign Sokovia Accords

United Nations at quarters bombed by winter soldiers

Avengers divided

She gasped, the owner looked at her: "Everything alright?" Sarah nodded and grabbed all the newspapers she could reach and planted them onto the counter, plus a packet of cigarettes, she might need those.

"Crazy stuff, isn't it?" he nods towards the headlines "Was all over the news yesterday as well. I'd say this Winter Soldier blew up the head of quarters in Vienna and that this Captain America dude is now on the run with him. Apparently they made a right mess of Leipzig airport too, fighting each other for a change and not innocent bystanders."

Sarah couldn't believe what she was hearing. She left the little shop quickly and raced to the house.

Throwing the newspapers and groceries on the kitchen table, Sarah scrambled back to her car, opening her laptop back frantically she felt for the secret compartment and let out a breath, when her hand closed around an old beat up Nokia.

She booted it up, for the first time in what felt like forever. The screen lit up - the old jingle played. She stared at the screen, this thing even had full reception, take that you stupid iPhone.

She tried calling Natasha but didn't get an answer and didn't dare to leave a voicemail.

Calling three more times in quick succession, their emergency signal, Sarah tried to stay calm.

This doesn't need to mean anything, Nat could have just forgotten to take the phone with her, or it might have gotten destroyed during a fight.

' She will contact you once she can. Get a grip, Enders.' Sarah argued with herself. She put away the groceries and dropped her suitcase in her old room. The old phone either in her hand or in view.

Sarah started to pace, every forth she stared at the phone, every back she forced herself to read the papers she picked up. She didn't dare turning on the tv or radio, the chances that there would be any less fake news than in the paper were fuckingly slim.

—-

After what felt like hours of pacing, the phone rang!

"Nat!" She shouted breathlessly in the device.

"Sarah?!" She couldn't place the voice straight away, but then it clicked.

"Steve!"

A short break of silence ensued.

"How did you get this phone!" "

"Put Natasha on the line."

They asked at the same time. Ever the gentleman, Steve insisted she goes first.

"Can you put Nat on the line, please?"

"She isn't with me, Sarah."

The shocked her, how could they have split up and how did he get her number without her.

"How did you know to call this phone then?" "I stole her quinjet." He mumbled. "And found her bag with the phone." Sarah finished his sentence with a sigh.

Steve hesitated a second before he whispered "I need your help."

Sarah didn't even think "Of course! What do you need, Steve."

"A place to crash for a couple of hours, somewhere we can hide the jet and ourselves." Some terrifying noises came over the line.

"And maybe fix the jet." Another voice could be heard over the ruckus.

Sarah could guess who else was in the jet, the newspapers were quite detailed on how Steve betrayed his country to save his friend.

"Sarah, I don't want to put you in a bad position, but anywhere you know...where it's quiet and maybe not near any city..."

Steve trailed off, he shouldn't be asking. He shouldn't have called. He knew the moment he saw the code name 'Little Sister' who was going to answer that phone. He continued to break one promise after another, spoken ones and unspoken ones. But this, this could cost him more than putting that plane into the ice ever had.

"Dont worry about me." Sarah's voice shook him out of his musings.

She needed to shout over the noise, scrambling for a map with longitude and latitude, thank you dad for being a map nerd. Repeating the coordinates twice, she wanted to make sure.

"Do you think you'll be able to make it?"

"Yes, we will. What can we expect once we get there?" Steve tried to think ahead, they needed some supplies, some stuff to fix the jet.

"Running water, first aid, some food, maybe a mechanic..." if they stole a quinjet, they'd need someone to fix it. No way Steve be able to, he couldn't repair anything that run on a fuse without getting electrocuted. She'd need to call Max and make him come "and me."

"Sarah, no!" It was official, Nat was going to kill him. Steve looked over at Bucky who was trying to keep the jet steady and unseen with the cloaking functionality gone. Once in a while what was left of his arm would spark dangerously. Just for an hour to regroup, he promised himself. The state they were in now, they'd never make it to Wakanda.

"We'll be there in 30 minutes."

Sarah ran upstairs readying first aid supplies, towels and made sure the boiler was turned on.

Then she picked up her phone.

"Enders." Her brother sounded all business, she must have caught him in the middle of something and he didn't check the caller ID.

"Hey Bruderherz"

"Sarah! You back from Africa?"

"Max!" She nipped his barrage of questions in the bud "I need a favour no questions asked."

"Ok" her brother sounded hesitant.

"You promise."

"Promise."

"I need you to come to grandmas house and bring some equipment to fix some Stark Tech." "Sarah! What? No, what's going on?"

"You promised me, Max. No questions asked. And I'm asking to come to grandmas house as there might or might not be some stark tech to repair." She needed to keep this vague, her brother still thought she was 5 years old.

"You're killing me."

"You promised."

She could hear the gears in Max head turning.

"I need to wrap up a meeting and then finish some stuff. The earliest I can be there is tomorrow morning."

"No, Max! I need you here today - preferably in the next two hours."

"I can't just drop everything and disappear in the middle of the day. I have a job you know." Max huffed, his sister had ideas.

"Please! I need your help." And there it was, he was such a sucker.

Another big sigh "Ok, I'm just finishing this meeting you pulled me out of, then I'm driving up."

"Thanks!"

"Sarah what type of tech is it?"

"The flying kinda a type."

"Fuck, Sarah! Fuck!" The alert that a quinjet had been stolen came in a couple of hours ago.

"Max." Sarah's voice was low, almost begging.

"I'll be there in 2 hours. Don't touch anything and ... " Max swallowed "please be careful."

"Thanks." Disconnecting the call, Sarah let out a breath, at least one problem was handled.

—-

The telltale sound of a jet landing drove her out of the house and down the garden to the far end where it gradually became part of the forest.

The jet opened its doors and Steve fell more than he walked out.

He looked horrendous, haunted eyes, an actual black eye and too many bruises to count.

Then she set her eyes on the Winter Soldier, no Sergeant Barnes, she reminded herself. He was missing an arm again, but this time his arm socket didn't bleed but sparked once in a while. And had cuts all over and what looked like burns.

Up until now, she had hoped, silly she knows, that Nat would be with them.

"Steve!" She stood on her tiptoes to envelope Captain America in a hug, and even then he still managed to lift her slightly of her feet.

"Sergeant Barnes." She extended her hand to him.

Bucky looked down at her hand and back up at her face. No one has extended their hand to him in what felt like an eternity. He hesitated. What was he supposed to do?

Sarah started to drop her hand, she hadn't meant to make him feel weird but the way he stared at her hand, gave her the impression she had achieved it without trying.

She startled when her hand was engulfed by Bucky's larger one. "Hello..." he trailed off.

"Sarah." She finished off for him and smiled. "Like your Mam, Steve?" He let go of Sarah's hand and looked over to his best friend.

"Yeah, just like my Mam." Steve sounded wistful.

"Gee" Sarah rolled her eyes "just what every woman wants to hear. Being compared to someone's mother."

Bucky couldn't help himself, he chuckled.

Steve looked between his best friend and Sarah, he had tried so hard for the last couple of days, and she got him to chuckle with her first sentence.

"Alright, gentlemen. Follow me." Sarah started to lead them back to the house.

"It's not much." She said once they entered "but i think it has everything you need for the time being."

Sarah pointed out the bathroom and one of the bedrooms where she had prepared some leftover clothes from her brother and cousins.

Steve had already started healing so he gave Bucky first slot in the bathroom and he joined Sarah sitting on the stairs.

"You want to tell me what happened?"

"You know what happened." Steve shot back, his head leaning against the balustrade.

"Actually I don't, not really. I've been in Africa and spend most of the last 4 days in airplanes. Catch me up."

So, Steve started to explain, the accords, the UN, how everything happened all at once. Peggy dying, him and Nat not seeing eye to eye. The UN, getting arrested, freeing Bucky. The fight at the airport, Natasha letting them go.

Sarah hasn't interrupted but now it burst out of her. "You left her there?"

Steve shrugged, it didn't make any sense to him either. Why did he leave her. He couldn't come up with an answer, so he continues with his story, tried to explain Zemo and the fight with Tony.

"It's such a mess" he sighs once he finished . Sarah couldn't help but agree, before she could put her thoughts into words, the door behind her opens:

"This mess is mine."

Steve and Sarah turned around, Bucky was standing above them on the landing, freshly showered and wrapped only in a towel.

Sarah stares, she couldn't help herself. He was something to look at, his hair hang wet down his face and that towel didn't hide his stature, the burns and missing arm somehow just added to this.

"Shower is free, Punk." Bucky gestured behind him.

Steve stood up and helped Sarah getting up to.

"Do you have any clothes for us?" Steve enquires. Effectively getting Sarah out of her stupor.

"Sure, sure." She lead them over to her bedroom and pointed to the clothes she laid out "Not sure what will fit though."

Steve waved her off and grabbed some on his way to the bathroom.

—-

Bucky startled, steve couldn't leave him alone with her. The last time he was alone with a woman was over 70 years ago.

"Sergeant Barnes." She looked at him with a small smile. "How about you let me look at those burns."

"Are you Doctor, Sarah?"

"Nope, but I patched up Natasha more times than I'd like to count."

"So, you're also an Avenger?" Sarah laughed. She had a funny laugh, not smokey or like bells, as the girls used to have, but one that want to make you laugh with her.

'What was wrong with him. Why did he notice this stuff?' He berated himself and almost missed her answer.

"I don't have the skill set for being an avenger. Not good at fighting, spying or having superpowers, so I don't fit the profile."

"Then how do you know Steve?"

"Natasha, she's one of my best friends and she introduced me to Steve."

"And Steve can just call you up and you risk getting arrested to help him?"

"Yep and get me to help you, too." Sarah pushes him down on the bed and opened the arnica relief gel.

"Unbelievable, I vaguely remember a time when the Punk couldn't talk to women and now he has three who risk everything to help him."

"He's a good guy, those are a rare breed in this world."

"A good guy..hmm? You fancy those." What the fuck was he doing? Is he flirting? He made her laugh again, Bucky couldn't help but smile.

"Nah, Steve and I'd bore each other to death. Also I think he and someone else are much better suited."

Bucky smiles, he definitely didn't used to be boring back in the day.

"Yeah, I mean he laid a massive kiss on her after she helped us."

"What! Steve and Nat kissed?!" Of course those two idiots pick the worst timing.

"Nat is that the blonde one?"

Blonde, did she colour her hair again?

"She helped you escape at the hangar, she's usually a red head, but maybe she changed..."

"No, long blonde hair. Gave us back our gear." Bucky shrugged, what was the big deal.

"He kissed Sharon!" Sarah exclaimed "What an idiot!"

"He is a Punk." Bucky responded.

"Sergeant, could you move a little bit. I can't reach your shoulder properly."

"Please call me Bucky...everyone calls me Bucky."

"No."

"No?"

"No" she smiles at him "Bucky doesn't even sound like a name, I veto that one."

Sarah winked at him before putting tape over his shoulder wound.

"You veto?" Bucky shook his head. He wasn't used to soft touches and people disagreeing with him anymore.

"Yeah, do you have any other suggestions?"

She's asking for his opinion? He couldn't remember when that happened the last time.

"James."

Sarah cocked her head at him, while smoothing over the tape.

"My first name, no one has called me James in a very long time."

"James, it is then." Sarah smiled "You are all set, James."

"Sarah, I think we have incoming!" Steve shouted from downstairs. The redhead sat back on her heels before pushing up, a hand stopped her.

"Maybe you should let us check that out." Bucky looked at her "it might be hostile." "Oh it's definitely hostile."

"Then let us deal..."

"I called my brother, James. Someone needs to fix your jet and he is always hostile when I have a guy hiding in my bedroom." Sarah stood up leaving a dumbfounded Bucky sitting on the bed.

"And your brother can fix something like that."

"Yep, he works for Stark Industries."

"What...he will have told..."

"and that's the reason he doesn't know you are here." Sarah said over her shoulder before heading downstairs.

He snorted out a laugh "Bucky Barnes even after 70 years still hiding in a gals bedroom so her brother doesn't beat him up."

2 minutes later Steve joined him in the bedroom.

"Do you think we can trust him?"

"We can trust her."

"Look at you punk...one red head in every country to save your ass."

"To save our ass...and Sarah is like a sister."

"But not the other redhead from the airport?" Steve mouth tightened at the mention of Natasha. His thoughts swirled around her while they both watched Sarah greet her brother and steer him to the jet.

"If she means..."

"Natasha."

"If Natasha means so much to you, why kiss the blonde?"

"It's complicated."

—-

"Do I want to know why you have a stark jet parked in our garden?" Her brother looked at her expectantly.

"Possible deniability is everything." Sarah leaned against the quinjet watching her brother fiddle around with some flaps and buttons.

"Fuck, Sarah. Did you even watch the news since you came back."

"I read some papers." Sarah waved her hand dismissively.

"This is serious, if they're here...you are harbouring war criminals."

"I don't harbour anyone, I have some friends visiting." Her brother let out a sigh. "if memories serves me well they were prisoners of war, one of them until recently. So no I don't harbour criminals."

Max growled something under his breath that she didn't quite catch, but Sarah could imagine what he wanted to say. You are crazy, this is dangerous, you are sabotaging your life. But she couldn't help herself. Steve was her friend and James he...he deserved help more than anyone else and if she could swart Ross in the same breath, hell yes she would do it.

"Ok, I fixed the cloaking device." Max announced after some time "but it will take me a bit longer to fix the stabiliser."

"How long?"

"Hard to say maybe an hour or so."

"Ok, I'm gonna go inside." She gestures to the house behind her.

"Sarah, I'll be coming in to wash my hands when I'm done. And the old rule applies, I don't know what I can't see or hear."

"Thank you, Max!" She pressed a kiss on his cheek.

"You are the best brother."

"I'm your only brother."

"Peter and Nils will be so gutted to hear you stripped them of their honorary brother title."

"Go inside, Sarah and you better hide yourself somewhere, if this comes crashing down. Possible deniability is everything." He threw her words back at her. Sarah nodded, and moved back towards the house.

"Steve it's me!" She shouted before making her way upstairs. "Jet is almost fixed, only an hour or so and you can leave."

"Thank you!" Steve tried to pulled her into a hug. Sarah waved him off and wiggles out of his grasp.

"Let me make you something to eat, you must be starving and my brother will definitely demand some sort of payment from me."

"Sarah...your brother?" Bucky shrugged on a jumper she gave him earlier on.

"Doesn't know what he can't see or hear." Bucky nodded and followed the two of them downstairs in the kitchen.

"Sorry i don't have much here, but i think there'll be enough to scramble up some pasta."

"Anything we can do to help?" Bucky asked her.

"Just sit down, I think I can manage some pasta." She pointed to a wooden dining area for 6 in the corner, Bucky sat down heavily on a chair, the window and door always in his view. Steve stood in the middle of the kitchen and wrung his hands.

"Sarah..."

"Steve, please don't." She shook her head at him while chopping up some onions and garlic.

"I just feel that you are mad at me...we shouldn't have come here. I'm so sorry."

"Of course I'm fucking mad at you, Steve." Sarah bit out.

Bucky swivels around, her tone was icy. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come here after all, they put her in danger and definitely some legal trouble.

"Not that you came here or asked for my help." She looked at Bucky, man could she read his thoughts. "I would have been disappointed if you wouldn't have called."

"Then what..."

"I'm pissed at you that you came alone." She stirred the sauce with extreme force that it splashed a little on the stove. "You came without Natasha."

"I...I..."

"You promised me you always had her back and then you leave her behind." Sarah had talked herself into a rant "what do you think is going to happen to her now? She helped you escape. Do you think they will just leave her in peace? No...they are gonna hunt her down. You of all people should have a clue how vicious Ross can be." "Natasha knows what to do."

"Obviously not because I can't reach her!" The timer beeped on the pasta and the redhead drained it in the sink before dishing both onto two plates.

"I thought you would be with, have her back..that's what you said to me. Now sit down and eat." Steve sighed but sat down on the chair opposite Bucky.

Suddenly his head surged forward, Sarah had slapped him on the back of this head: "And what the fuck where you thinking kissing that blonde witch?" Bucky snorted in his pasta.

"I asked the punk the same thing."

"Geez!" Steve held his hands up in surrender "how do you even know about this?" Bucky suddenly seemed very interested in his plate.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Sarah sat on the bench with her arms crossed "hmph"

"I'll find Natasha and bring her to safety."

"Nat doesn't need saving. She needs you. She just lost everything...and tell her to use her fucking phone. Some people are worried." Sarah held back some tears, not being able to contact Nat freaks her out. It's never good when the black widow disappears. "I promise." Steve fixed Sarah with his eyes.

The guys ate in silence and Sarah started to do the dishes when the front dooropened. Bucky jumped up in front of Sarah and his hand went straight away to his gun.

"It's just my brother going to clean up."

Both super soldiers let out a breath. Bucky put his gun away again, but didn't sit down.

"Sarah! I'm gonna shower and the jet is fixed." Footsteps could be heard going up the stairs.

"So, I guess that means you should go."

The three of them made their way across the huge garden towards the jet.

"I can never thank you enough Sarah."

"You are my friend, Steve. Even if I'm mad at you."

Sarah hugged the captain before turning to Bucky "it's been a pleasure, Seargant Barnes." She held her hand out to shake his again and Bucky grasped it tightly.

"The pleasure was all mine. Maybe we can see each other again, when..."

"When you are not a war criminal with an international kill warrant on your head?" Sarah snarked.

"Yes, exactly then."

"That would be wonderful."

"Steve do please bring this guy around more. At least he has some manners."

"Yeah Steve, at least my manners don't include leaving a dame behind to clean up my mess."

"You two, stop it!" Steve climbed into the jet.

"Good luck, James!" With that Sarah turned around and started to walk the 5 minutes back to the house.

In that moment a window opened in the house.

"Sarah!"

"Fuck!"

Cars could be heard racing up the hill and the distinct sound of guns getting readied. Sarah looked startled, how did they find them. Steve and Bucky exchanged a look and with a nod Bucky was running towards Sarah, the stump of his metal arm out, ready to deflect any bullets.

"Come on, doll!" He shouted while grabbing Sarah's arm. The two of them made a dash for the house, in that moment a shot was fired. Bucky turned his metal stump and the bullet bounced of it.

Sarah let out a scream, "it's ok, nothing happened. I've got you." He looked down at the woman running with him and then back up were the shot had come from. Several humvies came into view, machine guns starting to point at them and the jet.

"I'm sorry." Sarah looked up at him 'What was he sorry about?'

But she was already slung over his right shoulder and she could feel him speed up.

Her brother had opened the door and Bucky pushed her in his arms "When they interrogate you, we forced you we barged in here at gun point and forced you to help us."

Max nodded but Sarah looked like she wanted to argue with him.

Bucky turned around and saw that Steve had started the jet and it was now hovering closer to the house with the landing gear still open.

"Need to dash! But you are a one of a kind." And with that he grasped her face in his hands and slanted his lips over hers. The kiss was over before Sarah could properly register it and Bucky Barnes was running back across the yard and jumping on the jet before Steve activated the cloaking device and it disappeared from their view.

Bucky looked out of the window and saw as Sarah and her brother Max were put into the humvies.

"Looks like I am not the only one leaving a Dame to clean up a mess." Steve said to him.

"Shut up, punk!" Bucky took a deep breath, he couldn't believe it, he kissed her.

His first kiss in 70 years, he didn't know what got into him, she had looked up at him with an emotion in her eyes that he couldn't quite place. It was a rollercoaster day, the fight at the airport and Siberia, finding refuge at Sarah's, soft touches that cleaned his wounds, smiles, so much blood and warmth at the same time, it was confusing. But that look in her eyes before he swung her over his shoulder, it stirred something in him.

"Where are we off to now?" He plopped down next to Steve.

"Wakanda. King T'Challa offered us help."

Help...it seems like it's coming from all the unexpected places these days.