Not really happy with this for a few reasons but I wanted to get the second part out for you guys

Since the meeting at SHIELD headquarters, it had been slow going. What they had hoped would be a quick search and find mission, quickly spiraled into a 'Where's Waldo' hunt and Rynan was finding her patience thinning the longer they went without a lead. They were so close, closer than they've been in years and she didn't want to let this get away from them.

She developed unique relationships with each remaining Avenger, naturally since they were all helping in this case.

Stark had volunteered to spearhead the search, developing advanced facial recognition software with JARVIS running program after program across the city's camera feeds. The problem was, they weren't sure James was even in the city anymore and to combat this, Stark was also running his program across all major airports and border stops.

Rynan found Stark intolerable most days with his insistent poking and probing at her life. He had made it his mission to gather everything he could on her. This was made even more obvious when JARVIS could find nothing on her except her school records until 11 and then her public information as an MP. Other than that, her records were blank and for a person who liked to know everything about everyone, that really bother the self-made superhero.

After knowing Hermione for over twenty years, she thought she could handle geniuses but Tony Stark made Hermione look like a walk in the park, and that was saying something. But she could see that there was more to the man if he opened up more. But she would be a hypocrite to expect that of the man when she was the same way. So, Stark wasn't exactly a kindred spirit but Rynan could understand where his shields came from and the pain he was probably hiding.

Banner, who had more or less followed Stark to DC, kept to the labs and avoided her. She had only gotten to meet him once and it was long enough for her to introduce herself before the man bolted. Stark assured her, in his condescending voice, that it wasn't personal, the man just didn't like being around other people.

The Avenger she had the greatest relationship growth with was, without question, Rogers. They had a very awkward start with neither knowing how to interact with the other when their obvious connection was almost two separate persons. Rynan couldn't fully connect the James she had grown to know with the Bucky Steve had known all his life. It was like they were two different people, yet they both were dedicated to saving him, no matter the cost.

What started out as awkward goodbye handshakes had turned into casual, see you later's. As the days grew to weeks, they found greater common ground and their talks grew into philosophical debates and wartime horrors and moralities. In all her time since the war, she had never had anyone other than Sam to connect to with shared experience and even that was a stretch. Her war was intimate and personal, something Steve understood from his fight against HYDRA. He provided her a new perspective and for the first time, she found herself sharing war stories to someone other than Sam.

In the beginning, James rarely came up in the casual conversations, the subject an unspoken taboo and Steve was too much of a gentleman to pry into her life with James, no matter how much the desire was there. The rare times James did come up, were moments Steve would do something particularly reckless and a light would take over his eyes as he would comment, "Bucky woulda chewed me out for this." Or for Rynan, Steve made a comment during a spar about her form, wondering where she had learned to fight as it looked familiar. Without thinking because it had been a question she had answered multiple times, she answered James. A moment of silence would pass as they realized their mistake before the other would change the subject.

Somewhere in the few weeks they had known each other, they had moved from allies to acquaintances to dare she say, friends. She could see the comradery that had already formed between the Captain and Romanoff but that wasn't surprising, Nat was a natural at making people feel at ease and between the three of them, they made quite the team.

It was a long day for Rynan. She'd been up since five in the morning helping Stark put together a profile and watching him run program after program, Jarvis spitting out the results. Finding one man who was trained to disappear was shaping up to be an impossible task, even for the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.

She had to reevaluate her original opinion of Tony Stark. She had thought she knew men like him but it turns out, he was just as much a self-sacrificing idiot as her. Here he was, using his time and resources to help a man he didn't even know. She knew he was using this as a diversion, that he avoided being idle for long since the attack on New York. He was spiraling and she didn't know how to help him. He was not a man that would accept help easily, especially from a stranger. So the best she could do was to be a silent support.

She had finished with Stark around four in the afternoon before meeting with Sam. They had taken to having a run together before catching a bite to eat. She knew he was just keeping an eye on her, making sure she was taking care of herself. He had surprisingly taken the fact that she was magical very well. She guessed after seeing an alien invasion and a mythical god, everything else became pretty believable.

So when she finally made it home, the sun was beginning to set and exhaustion coated her bones and her mind was deadest on getting into her bed as fast as possible.

Even in her sleeplike state, Rynan immediately noticed how the door was cracked open, light from the inside escaping, lights she had definitely turned off this morning.

Drawing her wand and casting a silencing spell on herself, she moved to the front door, tensed and prepared for a fight.

If she had been anyone else, she was positive she would've screamed or dropped her wand or something as equally dramatic but as it was, she was Rynan Potter and she had way more self-control than that. Instead, she froze the second she could see into her kitchen and see who exactly had broken into her house. He wasn't that different from her memories yet it was like a whole new experience. There he was, sitting casually at her table – it was almost a flashback to their days, so many years ago – in casual if not slightly ruined clothes, metal arm hidden and hair a little longer than the last time they saw each other. Their eyes locked and she could see the unsure look painted across his face, his eyes flickering back and forth, from her to the exit.

"James?" she finally managed to breathe out, feeling like all the weight she had been carrying all these years finally left her and the sudden loss of pressure almost sent her to her knees as she fought to control her emotions.

She wasn't ashamed to say her voice cracked with the amount of raw emotion she felt. And when a pained smile and hurt eyes responded, it was all the answer she needed before she moved forward with a purpose. A minuscule flinch made her pause and she realized that after everything, physical touch was probably hard for him at the moment. She pulled back, eyes pinched together as she tried to hide her hurt, instead, focusing more on his appearance, actually taking a moment to take him all in. She could see the stress and pain in his posture, the dead look in his eyes, the way he held his arm – he was hurt. He was everything she remembered and yet so different at the same time.

She wondered if it was the same for him. If he could still find the girl he had learned to trust in her? If he could remember her and how much she had cared for him?

"You came back."

There was hurt there but also understanding and he knew he had made the right choice. Rynan was someone who understood trauma and people to a point she wasn't surprised by certain actions. He knew this was from experience as well as her work with veterans he had read about.

"I promised."

His voice was hoarse from disuse and the unfamiliar language rolling off his tongue. No, not unfamiliar, just infrequent use. He withheld a wince when a muscle spasm tore through his shoulder, reminding him why he was there.

Rynan noticed immediately, the little signs of discomfort she had become accustomed to years ago.

"Why is it, one of us is always injured," she sighed and moved to her store of pastes and potions in the kitchen. Grabbing the ones she thought she'd need, she moved to stand in front of James again, who hadn't moved an inch since she had entered.

She set the bottles on the table and pulled out her wand. After her kidnapping by HYDRA, she had met with Madam Pomphrey and took a few classes on medical spells. She had a basic understanding of diagnostic spells.

She could see that he was sleep-deprived, sporting at least three broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and his left shoulder was fractured in three different spots.

She tried to smile but it was hard, especially when she looked at the new scars and the absence of warmth.

"I hope the other guys look worse than you," she tried to lighten the mood but nothing could lift the tense awkwardness that had settled around the two. It was almost oppressive, the weight of their missing years, the mistakes that had been made.

She went to pull her wand back when his hand shot out, tightening around her wrist. Her heart rate picked up but she wasn't scared. Being scared of James was impossible for her. No, she was scared for James.

Looking into those haunted eyes, she could see clarity in them, see that he knew who he was, who she was. That HYDRA hadn't succeeded in wiping away James Buchannan Barnes.

"Gone."

It was such a simple word but she could see the meaning behind it, see how he was still trying to reassure her.

And he shouldn't have to, he shouldn't have to keep protecting her, caring for her when she had left him to their torture for years!

"God, I should've looked harder for you! I – I – I should've fought harder!" his hold felt like the only thing holding her up at the moment and she wanted to take comfort in it.

She could feel his hand move down to grasp her own hand and she couldn't stop the devastation from taking over. This – all of this – was her fault. She could've done more, looked harder for him! James had suffered because she was too weak!

He knew that he had hurt her, knew that he had promised her he would come home. He may not remember everything but he knew that he would always hate himself for the pain he had put her through.

Her hand caged in his, he moved them both to her chest, where he knew the two scars were, the scars he had given her when he almost took her life. He knew right below their joined hands was raised skin that would forever be a reminder of what he had done, the consequences of his actions.

The moment became tender as Rynan swallowed all the negative feelings she had, and instead, focused on what they had between them. The spark that had dimmed over the years was catching.

They were quite a pair, both of them tormented and scarred.

She knew exactly what he was thinking and nothing could dissuade him from believing otherwise.

His thumb absentmindedly runs over her hand, noting the new little nicks, she must've been training in firearms.

"I remember taking the shot," he spoke softly, voice still rough from disuse. His words slow, as if carefully picking what to say. He remembered a great many things but processing them and the emotions took a toll. He didn't know what he should feel after feeling nothing for so long. His flesh hand abandoned hers and moved further up her torso, resting above her heart. He could feel it beat faster like it was about to pound out of her chest. He had a vague sense of familiarity.

"I told you compassion would get you killed."

She moved to take his hand in hers but he pulled away.

He was letting himself get too close. HYDRA was still out there and as long as they were, Rynan was in danger.

Tongue wetting her lips, her bottom lip found its way between her teeth as she struggled with what to say. Did she beg him to stay? Try and take him out and take him to Stark and Rogers? Or did she trust him to handle himself which is what got them into this situation all those years ago?

"I can't fix your arm but if you take these," she gestured to the potions and paste, "it'll fix a majority of the damage to your body."

Rynan moved back to give James space, feeling like she was losing him all over again. She was delusional, she knew the chances of him staying were slim. That he believed being with her put her in danger, that he was a danger to her. He had made it this far eluding HYDRA, maybe he could survive this time. Maybe, when he was more himself, he would seek Rogers out. Maybe…

"I have an extra room if you need somewhere to stay," he had to know that he was always welcomed, that nothing he did could push her away. She had been through hell and back more times than she could count and when she put her mind to something, merlin help whoever gets in her way.

James is still frozen, almost like a statue, and she knows what will happen next; what had happened before. So with a heavy heart, she walks out of the kitchen to find spare clothes for him, despite how futile she knew it would be.

She comes back to an empty room, potions and pastes gone and chair pushed in. No one could ever tell that she had had a guest in her house.

Rynan didn't despair. After so long, she was proven right, that there was still a man worth saving in the Winter Soldier.

But for one night, she allowed the gravity of what happened to wash over her, how close she had gotten, the sensation of his skin touching hers, the reassurance that he was real…and she let herself scream and rage and cry into her pillow, magic exploding the lights around her.

Her earlier dreams of sleep were dead, instead, she was left with this hollowed pit once again telling her that she should've forced him to stay.

Tony Stark had commandeered the best lab SHIELD had, sectioning it off to anyone not on his team. It had become his home away from home…away from home? Honestly, he was all over the place, it was astonishing that he hadn't blown anything up yet.

But he had a one-track mind that kept away his nightmares and he was going to use that focus to find James Barnes all while finding out all he could on Rynan Potter, the mysterious woman who was connected to SHIELD and HYDRA. She was dangerous and he hadn't yet decided if it was the good or bad kind of dangerous, especially when he remembered the footage JARVIS had managed to recover of the New York attack that showed her firing off what JARVIS supplied as energy bursts and Tony had described as spells.

It had been more than a few weeks and he was no closer to finding the man than he was the night they were attacked. JARVIS had reported sightings of him that were relayed to the field team of Rogers, Romanoff, and Potter, but he was gone, off the grid by the time they arrived. What was more concerning, HYDRA never seemed far behind. They had cleaned up two little massacres already, courtesy of the Winter Soldier. At this point, Tony wasn't sure if there was anything in the man that could be saved and he seemed to be the only one of that opinion but the others were emotionally compromised. He was the only one that could look at this situation level-headed. Barnes may end up being a threat that needed to be eliminated.

He knew Pepper was mad at him for his absence, if the angry voicemails were anything to go by. They had barely finalized plans on reconstructing Stark Tower to be Avengers Tower when he up and left to DC. He'd have to speak with her soon if he didn't want her to leave him if she hadn't moved out already. He made a mental note to have JARVIS check on her.

Pulling himself out of his headspace, Tony tuned back into his lab partner's retelling as she listed off the time and place for them to turn the recording to. Apparently, Barnes had paid her a visit last night before leaving without a trace.

"At least he didn't kill you, Houdini. Must be something special you got." He was able to see what she wasn't willing to part with. She loved James Barnes, whether it was romantic or something else, he wasn't sure she even knew.

Rynan ignored the comment, leaning back in her chair. All they could do was monitor screens and have JARVIS notify them of anything.

"I think he's back," she again ignored the 'well, he didn't kill you' comment, "but HYDRA's out there chasing him still. It's what happened last time. He won't want to make the same mistake."

Tony pushed his chair to his next table, humming, "And what mistake is that?"

"Letting himself be happy while they're still out there."

She knew how he thought because, at times, it was how she had thought.

"So all of this is pointless until he takes out all of HYDRA?" he swiveled around, pulling his goggles up, "And our Frankenstein never mentioned who his maker was?"

Rynan shook her head. He had never said for some reason. Maybe he didn't know there was a spy in SHIELD or he thought he was protecting them.

"Sir, Agent Romanoff is entering the lab."

"Yeah yeah." Natasha was on a coffee run for him. Instead, he focused back on Rynan. "You've been on the case for too long. You need a new perspective. See, Fury - with his little spies - has his eye everywhere but sometimes he misses what is right in front of him. You guys trust those around you but I don't. My philosophy is, trust no one until they give you a reason."

It was like something went off in Rynan's head when she fully processed what Tony said, like the final pieces of the puzzle falling into place. Tony didn't notice, turning his attention to the door.

"Next time you want to order five individual specialty coffees, you can pick them up yourself, Stark." Natasha entered the lab with two carriers of coffee and a single tea.

"But I feel so special when you bring me coffee," he replied with his charming sass that had Natasha rolling her eyes as he grabbed for one.

"They didn't have your tea so I ordered Earl Grey." She looked to her friend when she didn't receive a response, "Rynan?"

Rynan sat frozen with her eyes focused, staring into nothing.

Natasha turned accusing eyes to the billionaire who held his hands up, "I didn't do anything!"

Rynan sat there, replaying Tony's comments over and over. He was right, she had trusted those around her and had missed the most obvious evidence. She is paralyzed in disbelief and betrayal when she finally realizes who it is, who has been leaking information to HYDRA all these years.

"He's HYDRA," she breathed out, not wanting to believe it but all the facts were pointing to him, a man she had trusted.

Oh merlin, she needed air!

She rushed from the lab, ignoring Tony's shouts and Natasha's grab for her.

Nick Fury was HYDRA!