Savage

by awalkerlifeforme

She was everything people feared. She wanted to defend the world but also wanted revenge on those who wrecked hers. The ones who forced her to leave Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Now she's back and while Steve attempts to get back the woman he's always considered his sister, Bucky hopes to thaw the ice that has formed around her heart. A heart that he had always believed was his.

45. Chapter 43

As the clock chimed to alert us all that it was noon, I remained seated in my laboratory. I knew I was supposed to be working downstairs in the war room to figure out what we were going to do about Zola and the train attack, but I couldn't focus on that right now. It was mere days until we were supposed to make our way out to the Switzerland bound train. Which, of course, meant that it was also supposed to have been mere days until I was to get married to Bucky. Though I didn't say it out loud, I was a little upset about the delayed wedding.

"Victoria!" Howard shouted from the chair next to mine.

Was it him who had been trying to call me for the past few minutes? "What?" I asked, not looking up from my papers.

"Are you alright?" Howard asked.

"Yes," I answered automatically.

"Are you listening to me?" Howard asked.

"No," I snapped.

"Why not?" Howard asked.

I finally looked up from my papers, throwing my pen down onto the desk in frustration. "Because I'm a little distracted, Howard," I sneered.

If he was surprised by my sudden reaction, he didn't let it show. "About the wedding," Howard reasoned.

"Of course," I huffed, running my nails against the grains of the wooden desk. "What else?"

As much as I wanted to think about capturing Zola, I knew it wouldn't work. I was too distracted by my annoyance with the delay of the wedding. "I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to get married when you wanted to," Howard said, placing his hand on my arm.

What else was new? I never got the things I wanted in life. "We could have still had the wedding when we wanted to," I told him blankly. After all, Chester had left the final choice up to the two of us. If we had wanted to, we could have been in New York tomorrow for the wedding. "But it would have been the wrong thing to do. I know that. I could have lived with myself, but I know he never could have."

Bucky had always thought I was such a wonderful person but the truth was that I wasn't. I did what I wanted when I wanted and I wanted the wedding. He did too but he wasn't willing to risk millions of lives just to have something he wanted. I didn't know how the two of us had wound up together considering how inherently different we were. One of us was everything good about a person while the other was the living embodiment of all the horrible impulses someone had.

"He's a good man," Howard said, breaking my thoughts.

"He is," I agreed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Howard asked suspiciously, looking at me again.

I'd always said I wasn't a liar and I wasn't going to break that streak now. I didn't want to lie to Howard. "No," I said truthfully. Howard snapped to attention as I took a deep breath. "I keep having... nightmares."

Howard's eyebrow raised as he swirled his chair toward me. "You mentioned that a few weeks ago," Howard said quietly. I nodded my agreement. "They're still not getting better?"

"No," I said.

"Do you want to talk about them?" Howard offered.

"No."

"Would you like to say something other than no?"

"No."

"Victoria. Look at me," Howard prompted. I slowly looked up from my papers to meet Howard's eyes. He gave me a slight smile as he reached over and took my hands. "Don't worry about anything. Don't worry about the mission or what comes after. You two are going to get married in a few days and live out a long and happy life."

It was what everyone said, but it still seemed so unlikely to me. I couldn't describe why, no matter how much I wished I could. "How are you so sure?" I whispered to Howard.

Howard smiled at me. "Because I know that you deserve it."

I didn't speak as I leaned into Howard's arms and exchanged a long hug with him. His arms wound up to press against my hair as I let out a deep breath. Maybe my problem was that I was a little nervous to have to push back the wedding. We were so close and now things seemed to be getting in the way. It had only been pushed back a few days but I was afraid that it would continue getting pushed back. I had a horrible feeling that things wouldn't work out in my favor as they never seemed to do.

That was a fear I would have to get over as soon as possible. The only thing it did was make me uncomfortable in my relationship with Bucky. I was just lucky he put up with my annoying personality quirks. All I could do was focus on capturing Zola for now and before I knew it, it would be time for the wedding - one of the few things in life I was going to genuinely enjoy. Howard and I remained locked in the hug for a long time before pulling apart. As we did, he pressed a kiss against my temple. I linked hands with him again as I pushed myself back in my chair slightly.

I had to do something to distract myself. Picking on Howard had been one of my favorite things to do for a long time. "Do you have a date for the wedding?" I asked him curiously.

"Not at the moment. I'll go stag," Howard said proudly.

"Yeah?" I asked curiously.

It had to be his choice. Howard wouldn't have ever had a problem finding a date. Maybe he had done it because he didn't want to bring a stranger to my wedding. Either way, I appreciated it. "It'll be a night to enjoy and not worry about a date. I don't have to impress anyone either since I know you all and don't intend to bring any of you home," Howard said carelessly.

I scowled at him. "That's sweet, darling," I told him.

Howard grinned playfully as he slung an arm over my shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll always be my number one girl."

"Aren't I lucky?" I hissed.

When Howard smiled at me again, I noticed it wasn't teasing. He looked genuine. "You are," Howard said, releasing my hand and pressing a finger into my chest. "Remember that."

He was right... I was luckier than almost anyone else in my position. "I am, aren't I?" I mumbled.

"You tell me," Howard prompted. "Do you feel lucky?"

Luckier than almost anyone else got to be because not many people got a second chance. "For a long time, I didn't. I didn't think that I was even moderately lucky. But I am," I told Howard, resting a hand against his knee. "I have a wonderful family. I have friends who love me more than anything and a man who I can honestly see myself spending the rest of my - his... life with."

My voice wavered slightly as I spoke. Howard tightened the grip he had on my knee. "He might not be able to stay for your entire life in the physical sense, but he will always be there. Right there," Howard said. He raised his hand again and gently pressed his pointer finger into my chest. I smiled weakly at him. "As long as you remember him."

"I couldn't ever forget him. I couldn't forget any of you," I told him.

"We know," Howard said, brushing the hair back off my forehead. I smiled as Howard took my chair and gently pushed it out. I stared at him curiously, wondering what the hell he was doing. "Go be with him."

But I didn't want to ignore the rest of them. "What about you?" I asked.

It wasn't fair of me to spend all my time with Bucky. I needed to spend some time with the rest of my friends too. Howard smiled. "Honey, we're going to have the rest of our lives to enjoy each other's company. You only have so many more days where you can get to enjoy yourself as a single woman. Go do something with him. Have some fun," he said, nudging my chair back with his foot.

"Fun isn't a part of my life," I mumbled.

"It needs to be," Howard said.

Well, he wasn't wrong about that. "You're right," I told him.

What was more fun than messing with Howard? Nothing. I smiled slightly as I raised a hand and conjured some clouds from the damp air around us. Howard glanced up at the black clouds forming over his head curiously, but it didn't take long for him to realize what I was doing. Rain immediately began falling from my clouds down onto Howard's figure. He didn't jump but instead stared at me dead-faced and angry as the water quickly soaked through his likely very expensive jacket. I let up on it a moment later.

Howard's face was still flat. "What?" I asked innocently. "I have fun every time I annoy you."

There was no response. Instead, Howard rose from his chair, still glaring at me as he spat out a mouthful of water. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go buy myself a new suit," Howard said, pulling his suit tighter around himself. "Perhaps a waterproof one this time. Goodbye."

Bucky walked into the room just as Howard started walking out. "Howard," Bucky greeted, giving Howard a strange look. "Go for a dive recently?"

"Ask your fiance," Howard said tonelessly.

Bucky stepped off to the side with a vague smile on his face as Howard stormed out of the room, grumbling a few very creative profanities at me as he walked out. "What did you do to him?" Bucky asked me curiously.

"He told me that I should have more fun. I have fun whenever I do something to annoy him," I explained.

Bucky laughed as he walked over to me, just stopping short of sitting in Howard's damp chair. "Now you know I'm going to have to listen to him complain about how you destroyed his cotton something-or-another one-of-a-kind suit for a month," Bucky whined.

"That sounds like a you problem," I teased.

Bucky's face fell. "What use are you?"

He grinned as I got up and stood pressed up against him. "Come back to our bedroom with me and I'll show you," I said, taking his hand and pulling him into me.

Bucky's eyes darkened slightly as he smiled, running his hand up my leg. For a moment, I thought he would take me up on my offer. "As enticing as that sounds, what if I had something better to offer you?" Bucky said.

"Something better?" I asked teasingly. Bucky nodded. "That sounds exciting."

"Come with me."

I smiled. "Okay."

If he was about to play some stupid prank on me, I was going to launch him into the sun. Bucky still had a brilliant smile on his face as he took my hand and gently pulled me up from my spot where I was leaning back on the table. I giggled gently as Bucky wrapped a hand around my arm and dragged me out of the labs and through the hallway. A few people even had to stumble back to avoid us knocking into them. I tried to call back an apology to them but Bucky had already dragged us into the entrance hall and then out onto the street.

Even as I opened my mouth to ask Bucky where the hell we were going, I couldn't get the words out. I was laughing too hard and concentrated on not falling over something. A few people in the street looked like they were wondering what we were doing, but none of them looked ready to stop us, which was probably a good idea. Bucky pressed a kiss against my temple as we wandered through the streets outside the base. I still wanted to know what we were doing out here as we wandered toward the shopping center. Wasn't there something better we could be doing?

"What are we doing out here?" I finally asked Bucky, nearly stumbling over a potted bush on the edge of the street as he dragged me behind him. "Shouldn't we be planning the attack?"

"Is that what you want to do?" Bucky asked.

Absolutely not. There were lots of other things I would have rather been doing, but I wanted to try and be responsible. "Well..." I muttered.

"Vika," Bucky said knowingly.

"No," I admitted, letting out a breath. "I just want to know what we're doing."

Bucky grinned teasingly. He always liked being the one who knew something when I didn't. "Do you need to know? Or can you just enjoy yourself for a few moments and trust that your soon-to-be-husband knows what he's doing?" Bucky asked.

I huffed quietly. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Good. Come on."

Like we hadn't been walking fast enough before. I had already been about to fall when he'd dragged me up onto the sidewalk. I smiled as Bucky dropped his hand from my wrist and instead thread our fingers together. He raised our arms and pressed a kiss against the back of my hand as he pulled me through the streets. It didn't take long for us to fall into the same pattern of teasing each other, just as we always had. Bucky teasing me for not knowing what we were doing as I teased him for always being clueless.

It had led to him throwing an arm over my shoulder and ruffling my hair as we walked. I wanted to shove him over to the other side of the street but his grip was stony. Not to mention, I didn't want to be away from him. So, I grinned happily at his teasing as I laid a hand on his chest and looked up at him lovingly. I knew that we should have been working on our plan to capture Zola, but I didn't care right now. No one would have dared question us, considering everyone felt so bad for us having to delay the wedding.

Almost five minutes after we'd left the base, we wandered into a floral shop at the end of the street. "Flowers?" I asked questioningly as Bucky pulled us to the back of the store. "You don't even like flowers. You always complained about how much they smelled."

"Well, I used to," Bucky said pointedly.

What was that supposed to mean? We wandered into the flower shop and smiled at each other as we passed a bundle of roses. Bucky knew perfectly well that I hated roses. I used to see the boys in school giving roses to girls on Valentine's Day and Christmas as presents and it had been almost impossible not to laugh or roll my eyes. Roses had always seemed like the kind of present you gave to someone when you felt bad for doing something cruel but didn't want to try hard enough to give a present that showed you knew them.

It was enough to warn Bucky away from ever buying me roses. I might not have liked them, but the floral shop was beautiful. Flowers were blooming in each corner of the building. Many people were wandering back and forth through it. Many were children urging their mothers to buy the flowers while others were young couples buying each other gifts. Perhaps finding floral arrangements for their weddings. Bucky walked us toward the edge of the building and grabbed a bundle of pretty yellow flowers that had rosettes of basal leaves that resembled lettuce.

Flowers weren't necessarily my thing, but these were certainly lovely. "What is that?" I asked Bucky curiously.

"It's a primrose," Bucky answered.

"It's beautiful," I told him honestly.

"I wondered whether or not I should tell you about this for a long time," Bucky said. I nodded for him to continue. "For weeks after you vanished, we looked for you. I looked for you. Mom and dad eventually told me that it was time to move on, one way or another. They decided to have this kind of... celebration. I always thought they were handling it like a funeral and I couldn't stand that. I didn't want to be a part of it. But they asked me to buy some flowers that we could plant in the garden outside. And... I found these. They reminded me of you. Your eyes."

Even with everything we'd talked about in the time we'd been back together, Bucky had never told me about any type of celebration or funeral they'd held for me. It had always seemed like it was a mix of my order for them to stop looking for me from Stryker and their forgetfulness of our time together as time passed. I reached out and took Bucky's hand, pulling him into me. I was a little confused by his story. I would have thought if the Barnes' and Rogers' had ever celebrated my life, he would have wanted to organize it, not avoid it.

"Why didn't you want to be a part of it?" I asked him curiously.

"Because I couldn't stand the thought of parting with you," Bucky answered. I nodded understandingly. Of course. It would have been him officially admitting that I was out of his life. "But this flower... planting it in the backyard... it always made me feel like there was a part of you still with me."

"As long as you see the flowers blooming, you'll know I'm still here," I reasoned.

Bucky smiled. "Exactly."

The gentle red glow spread over my chest and Bucky smiled, taking one of the primrose's and picking it off the stem. I smiled again as Bucky pushed a few strands of hair back and tucked the flower in my hair. I laughed quietly as Bucky leaned forward and pressed a kiss against my temple. My hands ran up his arms to rest against his shirt and ball up the material in between my fingers. When we separated I turned to walk away, but Bucky took my hand and led us back to the entrance of the shop. He placed a coin down for the flower and the owner smiled at us as we walked out.

The gentle wind pushed my hair back around my shoulders, the flower keeping the rest of my hair in place. "If you like them, I thought we could plant them at the house," Bucky offered. "I'm not much of a gardener but I thought it could be a fun project."

My green thumb certainly wasn't the best, but it was a sweet thought. "I love that idea," I said, smiling up at him. We stood together for a moment as the clock began chiming away that it was noon. "Should we go back to the base?"

Bucky smiled, shaking his head. "No. Let's go do something."

"Do what?" I asked curiously.

"Something we never get to do. Have a day with just the two of us," Bucky said.

"We do that sometimes," I answered.

"Locked in the bedroom back at the base as we try to avoid everyone," Bucky pointed out. I smiled at him. He wasn't wrong. "Let's go out and do something - just like we did that day we went to Coney Island during training."

Which had gotten me in trouble later. I laughed and asked, "Is there an English version of Coney Island?"

Bucky hummed thoughtfully. "Well... I don't know. But I'm sure we can find something fun to do. Come on!"

Another stupid laugh escaped my lips as Bucky wrapped his fingers around my wrist again and started tugging me behind him. We meandered down the London streets and toward the edge of the city, walking into an indoor skating rink that I had never given much thought to before. I had seen it plenty of times as it wasn't far from the airfield but I had never cared about it. After all, I hadn't tried ice skating before. Not even during my childhood, as much as Steve and Bucky had tried to get me to go. It had always seemed so silly and pointless. But perhaps that was the exact reason we should be doing it.

Though I wasn't sure this was the best way to go about doing something silly. I didn't know if I even could ice skate. Bucky pulled us into the rink as I smiled at the look on his face. He had always loved going ice skating. He used to go with whichever girl he was dating each winter. I had always refused to go with them. Bucky walked up to the counter and rented two sets of cheap blue plastic skates for us to use. I slipped them on without thought and frowned at the bulkiness of the shoe. As I pushed myself to my feet, I teetered to the side, barely getting caught by Bucky, who was laughing at my wobbly stance.

For all the stupid things I'd ever had to do, standing on a thin blade on ice wasn't one of them. "I don't think I've ever seen you this unsteady on your feet," Bucky said bemusedly.

"This is stupid," I growled, fighting to keep my ankles stable. "Why do people enjoy this?"

"Because it's fun, Vika."

"This is not fun!" I hissed. "We're not meant to stand on blades!"

The grin on Bucky's face widened slightly. I rolled my eyes at him. "Ah, see? I like this! Finally, you're the one who doesn't understand how to do something," he chirped happily.

"Bucky!" I barked.

My ankles wobbled slightly and I reached out, grabbing the chair I had just stood from. "Take my hands," Bucky prompted, walking backward and reaching out for my hands. I scowled at him. He just wanted to laugh at me as I tried to figure out something he'd known how to do for years. "Come on! I won't let you fall. I promise."

"We should have just stayed in bed today," I grumbled.

"We can do that later," Bucky teased, smiling at me. "Give me your hand."

"Don't you dare laugh," I snapped.

We smiled at each other as Bucky took my outstretched hand and pulled me toward the rink. My legs were shaking slightly as we approached the ice. I didn't want to do something I knew I couldn't do. At least Bucky had a tight grip on me. Bucky stepped back out onto the ice and pulled me along with him to the edge. The moment my foot landed on the ice, the blade under it gave out. I was about to fall back on my ass when Bucky pulled me into himself. My feet slid wildly under me as I let out a quiet swear. Bucky laughed at my idiocy.

"You said you wouldn't laugh!" I snapped, my feet sliding around again.

Bucky bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing again. "Sorry. Sorry," he said, not sounding like he was sorry at all. "You're going to spend the rest of my life laughing at me. Give me this one moment."

"This is ridiculous..." I mumbled.

"You're too stiff," Bucky said.

He was referencing the fact that my knees were locked and my ankles were turned into each other. "If I don't stand like this I'm going to end up on my ass!" I yelped.

Bucky shook his head. "Come on. Follow my movements," he said. He left me against the boards for a moment as he showed me how fluidly he could skate. He made a lap around the rink within moments before returning to my side. "One after the other. You glide. Just like you do when you fly."

At least when I flew I didn't have to worry about slamming face-first into solid ice. Bucky pushed back again and I slipped forward, my foot slipping out from behind me causing me to nearly fall straight onto my nose. Bucky chuckled under his breath as he kept a steady hand over mine. I was surprised when he suddenly stopped pushing back. I couldn't stop myself in time without stumbling over my skates as I went sliding right into him. I grunted slightly as I whacked into his chest. He laughed, stumbling back a foot from the impact.

He didn't look bothered by it. He wrapped an arm around my back to keep me steady as I smiled irritably up at him. "I can't believe I can't do something as stupid as ice skating," I muttered.

"I love it," Bucky said.

"Why? Because it finally allows you to laugh at me?" I asked grouchily.

Bucky's smile was surprisingly genuine. "Because it makes me feel like I can be there to catch you sometimes."

A small smile turned up on my face. "I'd need you anyway," I told him quietly.

It was the truth. I would always need Bucky, even well after he was gone. He tightened his grip over my waist as he leaned down and pressed a long kiss against my mouth. I smiled into the kiss as I wound my arms up to link over the back of his shoulders. Back when we were kids Bucky used to spend a lot of his seemingly never-ending dates in the wintertime at the local skate rink. I'd never imagined that I would eventually make my way out to one with him too. I'd never imagined the day when I would have this feeling. Peace.

For a while, the two of us floated around the ice rink. I didn't enjoy it anymore after an hour than I had when we'd first started. Bucky skated easily backward as he kept a grip on my hands to keep me upright. I smiled at him as we shifted around in circles. For once we were just like every other couple near us. Eventually, I slipped back against the boards and watched Bucky having a blast as he looped the rink at top speed a few times. He looked like he was having fun, just like I did when I flew. Perhaps I would have to talk to Howard about making an ice rink in the house for him to use.

Maybe it would be a present for Bucky. He passed me quickly, going into a slight spin as he came to a stop in front of me, grinding the blade of his skate into the ice and spraying it up against the boards. Bucky stood at my side as he wrapped an arm around my waist again. "I always wanted to take you ice skating," he said.

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Because I thought it would be fun to teach you," Bucky said. I grinned. He'd probably never thought he would be able to teach me something. "You were so smart, you knew how to do everything. You were always teaching me things. I wanted to be able to teach you something."

"You did," I answered quietly.

Bucky raised his brow curiously. "I did?"

"Yes."

He knew exactly what he had taught me. We both did. I smiled up at Bucky as I leaned forward and pressed a small kiss against his mouth. As we broke apart, Bucky took me by the hand and gently guided me out of the rink. A few slip-ups later and we were both laughing wildly as Bucky helped me thump down against the bench. I supposed the one thing I was genuinely terrible at was ice skating. Bucky kneeled in front of me and began undoing the laces on the skates. I giggled as he gently slipped them off my feet, using his spare hand to run up my shins.

"What should we do now?" I asked quietly.

Bucky leaned up and rested his chin against my knee. "What do you want to do?"

"I'm fine with whatever you want to do."

"How about dinner?" Bucky offered.

It was far too early, but we had always been able to waste time in restaurants eating ourselves sick. "You know me. I'm always ready to eat," I teased, popping up to my feet.

We smiled at each other as we prepared to finally leave the ice rink. Bucky looked a little sad to leave as we returned the skates to the front booth and I made myself a mental promise that we would come here once a month. I might have hated it, but he loved it and I loved him. And... maybe I could get used to it. After all, there were dozens of couples skating together throughout the rink who all seemed to be having a good time. As we walked outside hand-in-hand, I looked up to the sunny sky. It was a beautiful day. As we stepped off the sidewalk Bucky leaned down and pressed a small kiss against my lips.

My heart gave a gentle flutter as we walked into the street, completely ignoring the strange looks we were getting. The people here might not have hated me, but they certainly hadn't grown to love me. I didn't mind, though, and neither did Bucky. He simply wrapped an arm over my shoulder. The two of us chatted happily as we headed out toward Criterion. It had become our favorite place to eat lately. I doubted the rest of the men would show up tonight but I was sure we would see each other later when they came to check up on us. They wanted to make sure we were okay after having to delay the wedding.

It took us a few minutes to arrive at Criterion, where we were immediately seated near the back of the restaurant. It helped to be a good friend of Howard Stark. It meant we never had to wait. We took a few minutes to place our order (joking getting Howard a case of fondue we were planning on bringing him later) and thanked the waiter as he brought us a bottle of red wine from their reserve. Evidently, Howard had ordered the staff to bring us a bottle every time we dined there. After an hour of goofing off, we were finally left waiting for our dinners.

"How's the house coming?" I asked Bucky curiously.

A broad smile crossed his face. "It looks so good, Vika."

"Can we go see it?"

"No." My jaw dropped. "I don't want you to see it until it's the finished product."

"That's not fair! I want to see it."

"You will see it. When it's done."

Bucky smiled as I leaned back against the seat and huffed. I never had liked being told I couldn't do something. "I could just fly over and see it now," I argued proudly.

"You wouldn't," Bucky said.

"Don't tempt me," I said, a grin spreading over my face.

He smiled back, leaning under the table and whacking my leg. I laughed at his weak hit. "In a few months you'll get to see the finished product," Bucky said.

"But a few months is months away," I groaned playfully.

"You're a pain," Bucky huffed. We laughed for a moment before I felt his leg running gently against mine. I smiled at the lovestruck look in his eyes. "You know, this is a day I always hoped would come. Ever since that day you wandered into my apartment. It was love at first sight. It didn't take me long to know I wanted to marry you one day. But I never thought it would come."

It was the same way I'd always felt. I had known for so long that I wanted to be with him, I just hadn't realized it. "It took sixteen years, but we finally got here. I'm sorry it took so long," I mumbled.

Bucky shook his head, reaching across the table and taking my hands in his. "It's not your fault. You did what you thought was right and I was too cowardly to say anything to you before," he said, shaking his head at himself.

"I don't know how I would have taken it if you had," I said honestly.

Would I have run from fear that day if Bucky had told me his true feeling? It certainly would have been possible. "I should have run after you that day," Bucky said mournfully.

"Buck... I would have done anything to avoid what happened to me for all those years in Stryker's lab. But I know that what happened to me in there made me who I am today. I hate him. I'll never forgive him. But it showed me just how good I had it with you and Steve," I told him. They had given me so much, including a real chance at life. "I think I always took you for granted."

"I don't think you ever did," Bucky said.

The more I thought about it, the more I knew I was right. "Let's be honest, I did," I said. Bucky opened his mouth to start arguing his point when I spoke over him. "I never thought about what your families did for me. Not until I was older, at least. They saved me from what was sure to be a life spent in a cage. You saved me."

I ran my fingers gently over the back of his hand. "You gave me a reason to be someone I was proud of," Bucky said.

"You should be. I'm proud of you."

"I'm proud of you too."

"For what?" I asked curiously.

There wasn't much I'd done that he should have been proud of me for. "For everything. For finally telling me what you were, for taking a chance on us, and becoming the hero the world needs, because we sure as hell don't deserve you," Bucky said.

"I'm not a hero," I muttered.

Bucky shook his head in disagreement. "Yes, you are. One day you'll see it," he said determinedly. "Maybe not until I'm old and wrinkly and getting pushed around in a wheelchair, but you'll see it."

I smiled at him. "You'll look good in a wheelchair," I teased, making Bucky grin. His grin didn't fade, even as the minutes passed. "What are you thinking about?"

"You tell me," Bucky said playfully.

"Tell me," I goaded.

"Can you imagine what our family would look like?" Bucky asked.

"Never considered it, I guess," I said half-truthfully.

Sometimes I did think about a little mutant with yellow eyes and dark brown hair, but I usually tried to stop those thoughts before they went too far. "Think about it. You'd have me, ninety-years-old and in a wheelchair being pushed around my wife who still looks like a young woman," Bucky said, laughing at the image.

"We'll just tell everyone I'm your trophy wife," I teased, nudging his leg under the table. Bucky threw his head back and laughed. As he looked back at me, I gave him a tiny smile. "You said, family."

"Two people are a family," Bucky said.

"But that's not the family you want," I said.

He wanted kids. He didn't have to say it out loud. I could tell by the look on his face each time he walked by one. "I've got the family I want," he said, taking my hands again. "Anything else is a bonus."

Even if that kid was the spitting image of me? "I think they'll be like me - a kid, if we have one," I said quietly.

He'd said before that he would love if his child was a mutant, but he didn't genuinely know what it entailed. "Good," Bucky said quickly.

"What if they want you to come with them while they're learning to fly?" I asked.

Bucky's face went slightly pale. "I'll just tell them to ignore me while I cry."

I laughed quietly before sobering. "You're okay with having a mutant for a child?"

"I have a mutant for a wife," Bucky said, running a hand over my engagement ring. "You could say I'm a little biased."

He was just fine with being married to a mutant. Maybe he would be okay with having a mutant for a child. I smiled at Bucky. "Do you remember when your mother would take us to those old plays where there was always this grand love story?" I said suddenly. Bucky looked a little confused by my question but nodded anyway. "They always seemed so happy in the stories. I thought it was ridiculous, that there was no way someone could be that in love."

"What do you think now?" Bucky asked curiously.

"Maybe I'm a little too cynical sometimes," I answered.

It was the truth I'd known for a long time. I was far too cynical. Bucky smiled at my admission and opened his mouth to say something, but his jaw dropped before he could spit it out. "Holy shit," he whispered.

"What?" I asked curiously.

His face had gone stony. I turned back and realized immediately what his problem was. Johnathan Harper and several students we had gone to high school with were at the entrance of the restaurant. Many of them had loved laughing at me. I tensed at the sight of them. Based on the sparkling rings on their fingers, I assumed they were here on an engagement trip. I wasn't surprised, this area of London was filled with tourists. Bucky's jaw was locked as he stared at them. Johnathan was walking toward a table with a girl from our school - Dorothy if I remembered correctly - when he spotted us.

Dorothy and the rest of their friends followed his line of sight. "Barnes!" Johnathan greeted, walking up to our table, ignoring his waiter. He turned to smile at me when he suddenly realized who I was. "And... what should I call you?"

"Dealer's choice," I growled, leaning back in my chair. "But I'd watch what you say."

"Is it true?" Dorothy asked, coming up on his side. The rest of their friends remained a few steps back. I noticed Dorothy lay her hand on Johnathan's shoulder, probably trying to pointedly show me her engagement ring. "Are you one of them?"

One of them... Johnathan and Dorothy couldn't even bring themselves to call me what I was. I smiled at them as I brought the radiation out of my veins toward the surface of my skin. They stared at me curiously as I allowed the cracks to form against my skin. It only took a moment until the radiation under my skin began glowing brilliantly. I decided to go the extra mile and let the flames gently rest against my arms and torso. As I grew warmer and warmer, my eyes turned a deep gold. Dorothy, Johnathan, and the rest of their friends stumbled back.

"I always knew you were a freak," Dorothy hissed, grabbing tightly onto Johnathan.

She was protected by standing just behind his shoulder, not that it would have mattered if I wanted to hurt either one of them. My grin widened as I leaned back in my chair and crossed my legs. "Oh, you have no idea," I told her wickedly.

"Everyone said I was insane or just trying to make it up to get you in trouble, but I always knew I saw your eyes glow red that day," Johnathan said.

"You did," I agreed, allowing my eyes to flash red for a moment.

"You're not scared to be sitting out in the open where anyone could come and arrest you?" Johnathan asked.

"You think handcuffs could hold me?" I asked, almost offended Johnathan would think something flimsy like handcuffs could pose a problem to someone like me. "They're like a kid's toy."

Dorothy's gaze slowly moved over to Bucky. "You could have had any girl in that school, yet you settled for this one?"

Bucky's gaze narrowed. "It's not settling. She's the only one I ever wanted," he told her.

Dorothy's jaw dropped. In the meantime, Johnathan was still looking at me. "Someone ought to teach you a lesson for that day in the alley," he said.

"Someone did," I answered Johnathan tonelessly, William Stryker's face clear in my mind. "I spent seven years as a human experiment living through worse than even your twisted imagination could come up with. What you can do is nothing compared to what I've seen. But if you genuinely wish to try for a rematch, we can take it outside and I'll show you just how pathetic you are."

Johnathan looked furious with me. "Why you little -"

As he leaned forward to lunge at me, Bucky stood up so fast that his chair was knocked back onto the ground. At the same moment, Dorothy and the rest of their friends fell back from the table in fear. I moved faster than humanly possible, still otherwise relaxed in my chair as I grabbed my steak knife and slammed the blade in between Johnathan's fingers, just catching the edge of his sleeve and pinning it to the table. The blade dug through the wood. I smiled as I released my grip on the handle. The girls in their group were screaming as management watched on nervously.

The restaurant had gone completely silent as I leaned forward, smiling at Johnathan's fearful look. "I don't miss. Consider this your warning," I growled. Johnathan attempted to remove the knife from the wood, but he wasn't strong enough. I leaned forward and did it myself, twirling the knife carelessly in my fingers. "If you ever lay another hand on me, I won't hesitate to kill you."

Their small group all looked in between trying to take the knife from me or running for their lives. Johnathan looked like he had finally mustered up the courage to say something when the manager of Criterion stepped in and said, "Pardon me, we can't have you in here. You're disturbing the guests."

"Finally, someone's doing something about this," Dorothy huffed, scowling at me.

"He means you," I told her carelessly.

"No, he doesn't," Johnathan snapped.

"He does, actually," the manager stated, staring at Johnathan and the rest of their friends. "Please leave, before I have to call security."

The looks on their faces were enough to make me chuckle. "We have a reservation!" Dorothy sneered.

"Not anymore. You have two minutes," the manager told her tonelessly.

As the manager walked off, I gave him a small smile. I didn't know him well, but I was pretty sure his name was Marcus. He was a good friend of Howard's, who had recently bought into Criterion, considering all the time our group of friends spent here. Marcus was now a good friend of mine. He walked off with a grateful nod to me. Of course. I had been a big reason this area had been so safe over the past year. The people here might not have loved me, but they did appreciate me. I turned back to Johnathan, Dorothy, and the rest of their friends with a smile.

"I think that's your cue to leave," I told them.

Their eyes all narrowed nastily. "God, I hope you die," Dorothy snarled.

Oh. Finally, someone was growing a backbone. "As do I. But wishing for me to die will be much like your life with him. Useless and disappointing," I told her. Johnathan reared back to hit me as Bucky stiffened at my side. Without moving I set off a psionic blast in Johnathan's head. He immediately crumpled to the ground in excruciating pain. "I've learned my place. Your turn."

Dorothy and the rest of the people around dropped to the ground to check on Johnathan, who was rolling around. "What are you doing to him?" Dorothy asked me desperately.

"Teaching," I answered simply. I raised the volume from the psionic blast for a moment before releasing my hold on him. It took Johnathan a long time to lean up, and when he did I noticed that his eyes were bleeding. The blood trails were running down his cheeks and dripping onto his starch-white shirt. "On that note, I believe you've overstayed your welcome. Go bother someone else. I've outgrown you."

"She's not worth it," Dorothy told Johnathan, taking his arm and pulling him back to her. He looked like he might have been trying to attack me again, which was the fool's move. "Come on."

"This way, please," Marcus said, motioning for Dorothy, Johnathan, and their friends to follow him.

"You'll get yours," Johnathan growled at me.

"Don't embarrass yourselves any more than you already have. Get lost," I hissed.

Their group was led out by the manager, all still grumbling angrily about their missed reservation. Much of Criterion was staring at Bucky and me, but I didn't mind. I was used to being stared at. I'd barely noticed at the time but as I looked back at Bucky I realized that he hadn't spoken during my confrontation with Johnathan and Dorothy, he'd merely watched. He smirked and took a drink of his bourbon. We watched our former classmates leave before turning back to my meal, grateful that I finally got a chance to tell my once-tormentors what I thought of them - and what I could do to them.

A few minutes passed as we sat in silence and I drained the glass of wine I had in front of me. "Thank you for the show," Bucky said, chuckling.

"Sorry if I ruined our dinner," I mumbled.

Bucky shook his head, moving forward in his chair and grabbing my hand. "You didn't ruin anything. I'm glad you got the chance to show them exactly who you are and just how stupid they were for messing with you in the first place," Bucky told me.

"I should have been the bigger person and let it go," I said truthfully.

It had been stupid of me to give in to their baiting, but even after all these years, I couldn't help it. "You deserved to say it," Bucky said. Perhaps, but I hadn't needed to take it as far as I had. It was a monstrous thing to do to someone, no matter how much I hated them. "You're not a monster, Vika, stop thinking it."

"Are you starting to read minds now?" I asked him.

Bucky shook his head. "No, but I can read your face," he said. I gave him a slight smile. I always had written my emotions all over my face. It was something I would have to work on. "Come on, don't think about them. Are they really what you want to waste your time thinking about?"

"No," I mumbled. There were so many better things I could have spent my time thinking about, like how happy our relationship made me. "But I did enjoy the look on Johnathan's face when I nearly stabbed him."

Bucky laughed. "So did I."

"It's times like this that I wonder if I'll ever be able to retire. The way that I react when I'm even the slightest bit provoked," I admitted.

One day I needed to learn how to stay calm when someone was trying to get a reaction out of me. "I think it'll be okay when you're out in that open field behind the house, watching the mutants you trained to use their powers," Bucky said. I smiled at the thought. One day soon things would be calm in my life. "You don't have to be the housewife everyone else is."

The thought gave me a good laugh. "Could you imagine that? Me standing in the kitchen wearing an apron and trying to cook lasagna or something?" I chuckled.

"You don't like lasagna," Bucky said.

I rolled my eyes. "That was not the point, you moron," I snapped.

"I know," Bucky said.

This was going nowhere good. I could tell by the dumb grin on Bucky's face as he clambered to his feet. I watched him curiously as he walked over to me and reached out his hand. I took it, not entirely sure what he was doing. I stared at Bucky curiously for a moment as he leaned down and lifted me by the waist, throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me through the restaurant. I shrieked with laughter as I noticed the older couples watching us. Much to my surprise, they were smiling. They must have liked watching younger couples in love.

"You're so embarrassing!" I yelped, my face turning bright red with embarrassment. "Put me down!"

"No, thanks," Bucky told me plainly. Our waiter watched us with a small smile as Bucky dug down into his pocket and pulled out a fifty, handing it to the man. "Thank you. Keep the change!"

The waitstaff were all laughing at us as Bucky turned and walked toward the entrance. I giggled madly as we walked out of the restaurant and headed back into the street. I wiggled around in Bucky's arms and, much to my surprise he reached up and whacked me on the butt. I shrieked in mad laughter again as I kicked against his arms. Being with him was the happiest I'd ever been, but that didn't mean I would let him mess with me. I rotated around on Bucky's shoulders, forcing him to lose his grip on me as I caught his neck between my legs and threw him to the ground.

He flipped completely over and landed heavily in the snow underneath me. He was laughing breathlessly as I leaned down over him, grinning at how embarrassed he looked. He should have known that I wouldn't let it go. He had embarrassed me in the restaurant and now I was going to embarrass him to anyone who happened to walk past us. I seated myself on either side of his hips and smiled down at him, completely forgetting for the moment that we were in the middle of a very busy public road.

Literally right in the middle of where traffic would normally pass by. It was a good thing we had been in Criterion and the ice rink for so long. It was getting late and the sun was sinking. I leaned down to Bucky with a smirk and kissed him as his hands wound their way up into my hair. We smiled into the kiss but didn't get a long time to enjoy it. A few seconds later cheers and whistles were echoing behind us. We broke the kiss and looked up, slightly embarrassed as we realized the rest of the team had been at the bar and had noticed us stumbling down the street.

They were all laughing at us. Steve was the only one who looked like he was trying to force a smile on his face, otherwise uncomfortable. I rolled my eyes at them as I brought up a massive gust of wind. The men were thrown through the air and into the banks of snow behind them with sharp screams. As they pulled themselves back to their feet, Bucky and I laughed. The men were laughing too as Bucky and I walked over to where Steve and Peggy were still standing. The men immediately pulled Bucky to the side and I watched him lovingly as Steve followed.

A moment later, Peggy walked up to me. "You two look happy," she said.

"Yeah, we are," I said brightly.

"What was that about?" Peggy asked, motioning to the prints of our bodies in the snow.

"We were just out for dinner and ran into some of our old classmates who never particularly liked me. They were there for a wedding party or something like that and didn't look too thrilled to see me," I told her. Peggy raised a brow curiously. "Bucky was just trying to cheer me up after seeing me get a little, riled up, shall we say?"

"Riled up?" Peggy asked bemusedly.

"Well, I didn't react too well to seeing them again," I told her.

"What a surprise," Peggy said, giggling.

That was enough of discussing my shortcomings. I looked back to where the boys were standing and smiled. Steve had risked a few glances back to us; Peggy, more specifically. "You and Steve look quite comfortable together," I told her.

Peggy hesitated for a moment before saying, "Tell me something." I nodded for her to continue. "Do you think he'll ever make the first move or is it something I'll have to do?"

Steve was the biggest baby in the world when it came to admitting his feelings for someone. "Honestly, I'd love to say that Steve will be brave enough to make the first move, but he's never dealt with feelings for someone like you. He's never had any vague idea that a woman would give him the time of day," I said as honestly as possible.

"I do care for him," Peggy whined.

I raised a brow. It was the first time I'd heard her interested in a guy. "He cares for you too," I admitted, knowing perfectly well that Steve would be furious with me for telling Peggy his feelings for her. "I think he likes you more than you think he does."

"Why won't he just say something?"

"Because he still thinks of himself as that little shrimp girls would rather step on than dance with."

"I always liked him."

"I know, and that's why he likes you."

"Yet he still can't say anything."

That was the very definition of Steve's relationship with women, both before and after the super-soldier serum. "Don't worry, Pegs. He'll say something eventually, you just have to give him some more time. He's never had someone interested in him before and he doesn't know how to handle it. Bucky was always the one who drew in the pretty girls," I said somewhat grouchily.

Bucky had certainly managed to draw in many pretty girls. My consolation was that I was the one who had ended up with him. "What have we gotten ourselves into?" Peggy asked exasperatedly.

"A world of trouble, my friend," I answered.

"Should we take a trip to the tavern?" Dum Dum asked, interrupting our conversation. He looked between myself and Bucky. "Or are the two of you otherwise preoccupied?"

Bucky and I rolled our eyes. "I could use a round," he said.

We all smiled as we turned and walked off toward our tavern. It would likely be one of the last times we were there before Bucky and I married. This was one of the last times we would all be out as single people. I smiled up at Bucky as he walked up to my side, throwing his arm around me and pressing a long kiss against my lips. The men immediately started laughing at us. I rolled my eyes as I pulled away from Bucky and moved forward at light speed, dropping to my knees and kicking out Dum Dum's legs as I hopped back to my feet.

"You suck," Dum Dum groaned, leaning up on his elbows.

"That'll never get old," I said, still laughing at his predicament. Dum Dum grunted at me. "Up and at 'em, grandpa."

The rest of the men were laughing too. Dum Dum raised a hand and made a rather rude gesture at me, which naturally only made me laugh even harder at the mixture of his insult and the shocked look on his face. He shouldn't have been. He was usually the one who ended up as the butt of my jokes. I smiled as Bucky wrapped an arm around my shoulders again, much to Dum Dum's chagrin. It didn't matter, Bucky wouldn't mess with me. Just like the rest of them, he was afraid of me.

Our large group walked into the bar and immediately headed for the bartender, ordering our usual's, having a good time, and laughing at each other. Bucky ordered for me and I smiled as my favorite bourbon was placed down in front of me. The order was placed on Howard's tab, of course. We'd all placed our drink orders on his tab. Howard sent us all glares but paid the bartender anyway. It wasn't like he didn't have the money to spend.

Hours passed as we chit-chatted with each other and enjoyed some much-needed downtime. Much of my time was spent playing darts with the rest of the guys. As usual, I was able to beat them even with my eyes closed, something that annoyed Gabe and Jim more than anything else. The men sang along to a fast-paced song, dancing around the bar with some of the single girls. I leaned back against the table and smiled at my friends, all of whom appeared to be having a wonderful time.

After a while, I moved over to sit next to Steve. "How many drinks do I have to slip you before you ask Peggy to the wedding?" I teased.

"I'm going to!" Steve barked.

"When? By the time you're ninety?" I asked him flatly. Steve turned a slight red. "Steve, just ask the poor girl out."

"Why don't you mind your business?"

"Do you know me at all? Ask her out!"

"I'm not asking her out just because you told me to."

Well, if he didn't want to do it, there was always another option. "Okay. How about I do it for you?" I offered.

"What?" Steve asked dumbly.

"Peggy!" I yelled before Steve could stop me. She glanced up from her conversation with Jacques. "Come here a second."

"Just a moment," she called back.

"Vic!" Steve snapped, whacking me on the shoulder.

"Figure it out, hotshot," I teased, leaning back and folding my legs under me. "I'd say you have about forty-five seconds or so."

"Are you kidding?"

"No."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Do you have a decade?"

"I can't believe you did that!"

Was he joking? I did things like that all the time. "You've known me for nearly twenty years and you can't believe I did that?" I asked rhetorically.

"Yes!"

"That's your fault, then."

"I don't know what to say!"

That still sounded like a Steve problem to me. "I told you to do it or I'd do it for you," I said flippantly.

Steve looked like he was about to curse me seven different ways to hell when Bucky stepped in between us, obviously noticing my carelessness and Steve's fury. "What's going on?" Bucky asked curiously.

"Oh, you don't want to be a part of this," I told him.

"Tell your fiancé that I can manage a date all by myself," Steve snapped at his best friend.

Bucky looked between us and snorted in laughter. "You're right, I'm not getting in the middle of this. Good luck, buddy," Bucky told Steve, patting him on the shoulder.

Steve groaned. "What good are either one of you?"

"I'm getting you a date, I wouldn't complain," I told him.

"Do you just enjoy ignoring me?" Steve asked.

"Yes, I do, but we're talking about something else right now," I answered.

All three of us laughed as Bucky took my hand and pulled me away from where Steve was - partially because our argument was getting louder and partially because Peggy had finally made her way over. She made a move to talk to me for a moment before I smirked and shoved her to Steve. I watched from a slight distance as Steve attempted a very awkward conversation with Peggy. Bucky rolled his eyes at my antics but still looked the slightest bit amused by Steve's terrible flirting attempts.

The two seemed to be getting on quite well these days but I could tell that Steve didn't know exactly what to say. He was stumbling over his words as he spoke to Peggy and clumsier than I'd ever seen him, even before the super-soldier serum. Eventually, I gave them some privacy and smiled as I watched Bucky join in on the singing. I'd been watching him for a few minutes when a sudden chill settled over my bones. The wind was whistling around me as I looked up at the men, who were gone. There was only a dull orange glow. I stood from my chair to inspect in when I heard a voice.

"Vika?"

"Yeah?" I asked, turning to face Bucky, who was giving me a concerned gaze.

There was no sign of the orange glow I'd seen before. "You okay?" Bucky asked.

"I'm fine," I answered. "Sorry, just zoned out there for a minute."

"Okay."

It didn't look like Bucky believed me, which meant it was time to get his mind on something else. There was no use in worrying him. "It's getting late," I commented, looking up at the clock on the wall. "Should we go back?"

"Should we sneak away before they notice?" Bucky asked.

"They'll notice anyway," I pointed out.

"No need to be discreet then," Bucky said, tugging me along and turning back to the others. "Goodnight everyone!"

They all began laughing as they turned to us. There was a chorus of, "Night, lovebirds!"

It was their favorite comment to make toward us, started by Howard a few months ago which drove me nuts. I rolled my eyes at them as Bucky took me by the hand and led us out of the bar and into the cold midnight air. It had been a long day and night. Despite not having done much during the day, I was tired. It didn't matter, anyway. We were going to have an eventful next few days. I smiled up at Bucky as we walked, popping up on my toes and pressing a long kiss against his mouth. He smiled into the kiss as we walked back to the barracks.

"What are you smiling about?" I asked him.

Bucky shrugged. "I don't know. Nothing, in particular, I'm just happy."

"Oh, yeah, Barnes?" I teased.

"Yeah, Davies," he responded.

We smiled at each other as I ran a finger over my engagement ring. "Not for too much longer."

"Victoria Barnes. It's got a nice ring to it."

"Barnes? I don't know what you're talking about. I was planning on calling you, James Davies."

Bucky laughed. "That doesn't sound half-bad."

He was right. His name didn't sound too bad with mine, but it was time for the Davies name to die out. My parents didn't deserve to have it carried on. "Or we could give you a mutant name," I offered.

"What would that be?" Bucky asked curiously.

"Hmm… I don't know," I told him honestly. I couldn't figure out a name for him. Bucky seemed to fit so well. "You're so… average."

Bucky's face fell in annoyance as I laughed. He nudged me with a playful look in his eyes. "I'll tell you what I'm a little better than average with."

"Don't get cocky," I teased.

"Better than you."

Absolutely not. I bristled with indignation. "I am double-jointed," I said proudly. "Actually, I don't have normal joints." Bucky let out a laugh as I poked him in the chest. "And my stamina doesn't wear out. Yours does."

"Care to test that theory?" Bucky asked.

"You won't make it," I said.

"Tell you what, I think I will make it."

"Okay." We walked into our room where I immediately took it upon myself to harass him. I kicked out Bucky's leg, tripping him and leaping up into the air over him, doing a front flip and landing on our bed on my knees. Bucky was flat on his back on the floor, groaning in pain. I grinned down at him. "You're off to a bad start," I sang teasingly.

"You're an ass," Bucky grunted.

"I'm telling Steve you said a bad word," I teased.

My absolute favorite pass time was harassing Bucky. It had been since I was eight-years-old and wouldn't stop anytime soon. It would likely get worse the older we got. We both laughed as Bucky pulled himself up from his spot on the marble floor. He moved slowly for a moment before jumping into action. He hopped up from his spot and pounced into the bed, tackling me back onto the mattress. I laughed and gently wrestled with him for a moment - being very careful to not seriously hurt him - as we threw each other around.

A few seconds went by before Bucky was able to press me down into the bed, harder than I was expecting. "What?" Bucky asked, noticing my surprised look.

"Nothing, you're just stronger than I remember," I told him.

"It's because you're always beating me up," Bucky teased.

"I didn't hear you complaining," I said.

Of course, Bucky knew I would have just made things worse for him if he'd started complaining about my amusement with beating him up. It was always fun watching him struggle against me. We both laughed as Bucky shoved me up toward the top of the bed. I giggled again as we rolled in the sheets and he placed himself over me again. He placed his hand on the top button of my shirt and yanked at it. The shirt instead ripped completely down the front, tearing the buttons off. The material on the shirt wasn't that strong and it wasn't a favorite of mine anyway.

I laughed at the surprise on Bucky's face. "Now I know how you feel," I told him.

I'd destroyed quite a few of Bucky's shirts over the past year or so. I supposed that it was my turn to have one of my shirts torn. Howard would have been thrilled anyway. He had always hated this shirt. He called the red checker-print my lumberjack shirt. Bucky rolled the two of us off the bed and onto the floor. I laughed madly as he reached for my shirt, tugging it off my body. He had a point to prove to me. He wanted me to know exactly how strong he was and just how high my stamina was and I would be more than happy to show him.

Bucky's P.O.V.

That night, Vika had won their little contest. Even for twenty minutes after they had fallen to the sheets, Bucky was still a panting and sweating mess - something she had been sure to tease him about when she'd noticed. Naturally, she had looked mostly unaffected by the night. Her breathing had long returned to normal and she'd never bore so much as even a drop of sweat. Even so, he didn't mind his messy state. It just made him so desperately wish they could move to their house in the woods already.

Currently, Vika was fast asleep in her spot next to him. She'd fallen asleep not long after they had fallen into the sheets. Bucky had considered waking her up for a while but ultimately decided against it. She looked so peaceful as she slept, especially right now. Her head was rested against his chest as she slept on her stomach - a rarity, as she couldn't get up as quickly when she did. Bucky smiled down at her, leaning down and pressing a kiss against her bare shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes.

The rising sun sparkled against her golden eyes and Bucky smiled. Her face was tilted up in a grin for a moment before fading into a look of disappointment. He knew what her problem was. Today was the day he had been looking forward to for years. Today should have been their wedding day. They should have been in New York with their friends and family saying their vows. It was a little disappointing knowing that they wouldn't be able to get married today, but in just a few days they would get the wedding they'd always wanted.

Vika's eyes slowly opened as she looked up at Bucky. "Happy wedding day," he told her.

"Stop it," she huffed.

"What? I thought it was funny."

"I don't. We should have been getting married today."

Bucky was just as upset as she was, but he was trying to make the best of things. "Yes, we should have," Bucky admitted. "Instead we'll get married in a few days after having apprehended Zola. We'll be one step closer to winning the war."

"This isn't the way I wanted to spend today," Vika complained.

"It's not the way I wanted to spend today either," Bucky admitted. "But we're stuck here so we might as well enjoy it."

"How?"

"Let's do something fun!"

"We need to start planning the attack."

"We already have it planned," Bucky said carelessly.

"We should go over the possibilities of what we might encounter on that train," Vika countered.

"The end of the war," he told her.

Her golden eyes raised before rolling into the back of her head. Bucky smiled at her annoyance. He knew she would give in. "Not the end of the war, at least not for now," she told him. "We really should figure out who's going to be…"

Vika continued chattering mindlessly as Bucky watched her. He should have been listening to her. Bucky knew that. His fiancé would be furious with him for not listening to her when she was trying to be serious, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything other than stare at her dumbly. She didn't notice. He watched bemusedly as her eyes shifted colors the longer she spoke; they went gray, yellow, red, and briefly flashed white. Her smile came and went. Wrinkles at the corner of her eyes formed with deep thought. Her chest huffed each time she got annoyed.

Bucky stared at Vika for a long time as she ran her mouth, completely oblivious to what she was telling him. The longer he looked at her, the more he realized just how pleased he was with the way his life had gone. It wasn't what he expected, but it was what he needed. This was almost like living in a never-ending dream. He had his best friend healthy and even more for the first time in his life, he was surrounded by people he adored, and the love of his life was finally at his side. Things were right for both of them.

"Have you listened to a single word I just said?"

Bucky was snapped out of his thoughts as he looked at his fiance. She was scowling at him. "Yes," he said.

"What did I say?"

"I don't know," Bucky admitted. Vika nodded knowingly. "I just like watching you think."

She grinned. "Funny, I like it when you're not thinking."

At least she wasn't going to yell at him for not listening to her. Bucky grinned as Vika leaned up onto her knees and moved over him, pressing a long kiss against his mouth. Bucky smiled into it, running his fingers through her tangled hair. She reached back and pulled the sheets over her shoulders as she laid back in the bed to lay over him. So much for actually doing something productive today... It didn't take Bucky long to grab her by her hips and shove her back against the wall.

"I thought you wanted to go do something fun," Vika commented, breaking the kiss.

"I changed my mind. Let's stay in today," he told her.

"You don't need to convince me," she teased.

It was certain that someone would come to bother them later, but he didn't care. Right now, they could hide away. Bucky smiled at her as Vika rolled over in the bed with him to lay up against his chest. He smiled down at her as she took the tips of her fingers and dragged them down over his chest. Goosebumps appeared on his arms and legs from her touch as she giggled quietly at the look on his face. His pupils were blown wide with desire, as they so normally were when he looked at her.

A long time passed where they did nothing other than mess with each other. Vika had her hands against Bucky's chest to shove him back into the bed. He laughed as she moved over him and locked him in an arm-bar, beginning one of their infamous wrestling matches. Bucky gasped in amusement as she pinned him back against the bed and tightened her grip on the arm-bar. They both laughed as Bucky tried to fight back against her, alas to no avail. She pinned him without effort each time they shifted position, taking a long time for them to settle down.

"You know what I was looking forward to today?" Vika asked as they laid together.

"Marrying me?" Bucky asked proudly.

Vika huffed. "No. The cake, dummy."

"Vika!" Bucky laughed.

"Just kidding," she giggled as Bucky whacked her on the arm. "Kind of."

"You are not kidding," Bucky said.

She continued smiling. "I said I was. I mean it, Buck," Vika said quietly. He smiled up at her as she shifted her weight into his lap. His hands moved to rest against her thighs. "This is a day I never thought would come. I've been looking forward to this forever."

It was a day Bucky hadn't ever thought would come too. "When you were gone for all those years, I thought I'd never see you again. I can't even begin to describe how happy I was to see you again after so long. All I knew was that I didn't care about all the time that had passed since the last time I'd seen you. I knew that I wanted to spend every last moment I had with you," Bucky told her.

Vika took his hand in hers, raising it to rest against her chest where her heart beat steadily. "You will. I promise."

Bucky smiled. "Oh, I know. You're stuck with me."

"How disappointing," she teased.

This was what he had always wanted. He wanted to be with someone he loved unconditionally. He wanted his other half and that was who she was. They both smiled at each other again as Bucky let out a deep breath. He wondered what his parents would have thought if they could see where the two of them had wound up. If they could have seen how much Bucky loved her. He couldn't wait for their wedding, but he did wish some people were here to see it. As always, Vika noticed his slight change in emotion.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I am so happy, Vika, I really am, I just wish mom could be here to see it," Bucky said honestly.

Her grin faded slightly. "She's watching. She's proud."

And he knew that. "I always thought she'd be there when I got married."

"I'm sorry, Buck."

He ran his hands up her arms and shook his head. "Don't be. I know that you're right, she's going to be out there somewhere, watching and smiling," Bucky said.

"Do you think she would have understood what I am?" Vika asked worriedly.

Bucky genuinely believed that his mother would have understood what Vika was - perhaps even before he had. "Yeah. She always loved you so much, it wouldn't have mattered to her," Bucky told her, brushing the hair back off her forehead. "You were just like another daughter."

Vika smiled guiltily. "Yeah."

"It might be a good thing she's not around though," Bucky said.

He wasn't sure if he should bring it up, but he wanted her to know what would have happened had his mother still been alive. "Why's that?" she asked curiously.

"I think we would have been married about an hour before she'd have started harassing us about when we were having kids," Bucky explained.

Vika laughed as she shook her head. "It doesn't matter that she's not around, we'll be harassed for that anyway," she pointed out. Bucky raised a brow curiously. "Steve and Peggy will want to be aunts and uncles, Howard's determined that we would name our kid after him, and Chester won't admit it, but he'd love to be a grandfather."

"How long do you think we'll have in peace?" Bucky asked.

"A week if we're lucky."

Bucky didn't think they'd even manage to make it that far. He was convinced it wouldn't be more than a few days. Perhaps less if their friends all got on the same page. "Howard wants a kid named after him?" Bucky asked curiously.

Vika snorted. "He doesn't think he'll ever have one so he's determined that someone else will have to pass on the family name."

Bucky laughed. "Please tell me you're not -"

"No," Vika interrupted quickly. "Absolutely not. I've already told him that too."

The last thing either one of them needed was to inflate Howard's ego more than it already was, which was exactly what would happen if they named a child after him. Bucky didn't say anything to her as he knew it would only upset her, but he did wish they would eventually have a child. He had always thought he would make a good father one day and he knew she would make a good mother, even if she didn't know it yet. She just had to believe that herself. Bucky looked down at her and brushed the hair back over her bare shoulders.

The issue of having children would come up later in life. They were both young and had plenty of time to make that choice. After all, the only thing he genuinely needed was her. Vika smiled at him as she leaned down and pressed a long kiss against his mouth. He raised his hand and rested it against the back of her neck, pulling her flush against himself. She smiled into the kiss as he wrapped his spare arm over her back, resting it in the shallow of her spine. She let out a small laugh into his mouth.

Bucky could hear Big Ben chiming in the background letting them know they had been in bed for far too long, but neither one seemed prepared to get any work done. When Bucky finally broke the kiss with Vika, neither one of them spoke. They didn't need to speak. Vika leaned down and rested in the crook of his arm with her face pressed into his shoulder. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head as her eyes fluttered shut. It was rare to see her as relaxed as she was right now. It was almost strange.

As Bucky looked down at her, he smiled. Her lips were tilted up in the slightest smile even as she seemed ready to drift off. Just looking at her, Bucky knew what he always had. The two of them belonged right here. He would have never moved if he didn't have to. Bucky listened as Vika's breathing slowed down as she eventually slipped into a deep sleep. He loved seeing her like this - calm and happy. Bucky ran a hand down her bare spine as he very slowly slipped out from under the sheets and walked over to the dresser, pulling open his top drawer.

Sitting in the pocket of a pair of trousers at the bottom of his drawer was a piece of paper. His wedding vows. He was almost done with them, but he hadn't finished quite yet. He didn't know how to say everything he needed to say to her. He could probably spend the rest of his life trying to figure out everything he wanted to say to her and still not be able to get it all out. Bucky took out his vows and continued making little edits and adding in pieces. He didn't know if she had written her vows yet, but he wished he could have a chance to read hers first.

Not that he would risk looking for her vows. He knew she would murder him if he did. So, he wrote what was on his heart. Much to his surprise, everything he had left to say seemed to come to him in the moment. Bucky filled in the blanks and added to the vows until he was satisfied with the way they would read. Nearly an hour had passed since he'd sat down to edit and finish his vows. He took his page and held them up, reading them over again when he heard her voice.

"What are you doing?"

He turned back to her and smiled, slipping the note into the dresser. She was awake with a slightly blurry look in her eyes. "None of your business," he told her.

She smiled. "Writing the vows, are we?"

"Aren't you clever?"

"More than you, Barnes."

They both laughed as Bucky folded up the piece of paper and closed it in the dresser. He would have to find a better place to hide them later. It was hard enough to keep his mind closed off to her. Bucky stood up from behind the vanity and darted in two long steps to the bed. Vika let out a hysterical laugh as he jumped into the bed, pushing her back down into the mattress. She smiled into the kiss as he gently tugged the sheets down around her bare form. She sat up effortlessly, leaning into the kiss, eventually shoving him back.

Bucky chuckled quietly as she pushed him down into the mattress, ensuring that he wouldn't be able to get up. Not that he wanted to move. He hummed as Vika shifted up in the mattress to sit over his waist. His short nails dragged down along her back, but she didn't make any indication that it bothered her. She was smiling into the kiss as if she barely felt it. Of course, she had always liked roughhousing with him - and just about everyone else. He was about to roll her over again but was startled by a knock at the door.

"Lovebirds!" Howard shouted from the other side. "You've been requested!"

"Go away!" Vika shouted.

"You two can come out or we can pick the lock," Howard called back.

Bucky and Vika both groaned. "Give us ten minutes!" Bucky yelled.

"We'll be counting the minutes!" Jim teased.

"Get a life!" Vika shouted at them. There was a lot of laughter from the other side of the door as Bucky and Vika smiled at each other. They both let out deep breaths before pulling themselves out of bed to start getting ready for the day. "What do you think they want?"

"Probably nothing," Bucky said, chuckling. "I think they just want to bother us."

"Mission successful."

They both chuckled again. Bucky watched as Vika pushed herself out of bed and started getting changed. She had thrown on a pair of underwear when he turned to her and grinned. She must have heard his thoughts about her as she turned back to face him. He darted up to her and wrapped an arm around the bottom of her back, pulling her into a searing kiss. She giggled, throwing her arms back over his shoulders as he walked them backward, pinning her up against the wall. A long time passed before she broke the kiss.

"What was that for?" Vika asked.

"I like that smile on your face," Bucky said.

"So, do that again."

Bucky faked a gasp. "Kiss a woman I'm not married to while she's in an indecent state of dress?" he asked playfully. Her jaw dropped. "Vika, I'm a proper man."

She let out a high-pitched laugh, grabbing a pillow and chucking it at him. He ducked out of the way just in time. "You massive pain in the ass," Vika snapped.

They both grinned at each other as she darted after him and shoved him a little harder than expected into the wall. Bucky felt it bow under him. He grunted in surprise but grinned at the look on her face. He loved this part of her. The playful side that had taken so long to bring out. He wrapped his hands firmly around the back of her neck and side of her face to pull her into a searing kiss. If they hadn't just been threatened with someone potentially walking in on them, he would already have her back in bed.

As they broke apart, her eyes dropped down to his waist before popping back up. She had a smirk on her face. "Proper, my ass."

She turned on her heels as she strutted off. Bucky leaned forward and whacked her on the butt as she walked off. She shouted a laugh. "You started it," Bucky told her defensively.

Vika laughed again, but the smile quickly faded. "Buck?"

"Yeah?"

She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head, plastering a smile back on her face. "Nothing. Never mind."

It was a lie. "You sure?" Bucky asked curiously.

"Yeah. It's not important."

He had a feeling it was. Bucky didn't quite believe her, but he knew he couldn't push it. "Okay," he told her. She still looked distracted. "Should we go before you continue with your debauchery?"

Vika barked out another laugh. "I knew the day would come that I would regret teaching you big words."

They both laughed again as Bucky nudged her gently. He watched her change into her day clothes with a slight smile on his face. She brushed her hair back over her shoulders and began buttoning up her shirt as he walked past her, dragging his fingertips across her lower back. Her lips twitched up in a smile as Bucky pressed a kiss against the back of her neck, feeling her shiver slightly. He might have wanted to get married today, but as long as he was with her, his life was perfect.

Victoria's P.O.V.

Well into the afternoon - hours after we should have initially gotten there - Bucky and I wandered into the base with our hands linked together. Our friends were currently nowhere in sight, so we began wandering the base to find them. There was a chance we might have needed to do something, as tomorrow we would be heading to Switzerland to intercept Zola's train and capture him. Unfortunately, none of our friends seemed to be anywhere to be found. Where the hell were they?

"Really?" I groaned, throwing my head back. "They come to bother us and can't even be around to tell us what they want."

"War room, maybe?" Bucky offered.

"Worth a shot," I said.

Just as we turned to go to the war room, I heard a shout. "Victoria!"

"Oh, what now?" I groaned, turning to face Chester.

"Can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Yeah, sure." I turned to Bucky and smiled. "Give us a few, will you?"

"Of course," Bucky said.

We smiled at each other as I leaned in and pressed a kiss against Bucky's mouth. He turned to walk off to the war room, probably to search for the rest of the guys. I gave Chester a long glance as we walked toward his office. I didn't know if he wanted something or wanted to give me a lecture for continuing to be inappropriate with Bucky before we were married. Chester glanced back at me and I smiled as we fell into step, walking back into the entrance hall and to Chester's office. I sat down in the chair next to his.

"It's almost dinnertime," Chester pointed out, scowling at me. I nodded at him. "Where have you been all day?"

That probably wasn't an answer he wanted. "Do you really want that answer?"

Chester groaned in disgust. "Do you have to do that?"

"Have to? No. Want to? Yes," I answered.

Chester sighed, shaking his head and placing it in his hands. "At least you're honest about it."

"I don't lie," I said.

Chester let out a few deep breaths as we leaned back in the chairs. "Did you buy him a wedding band yet?" he asked.

A small blush flooded my cheeks. I hadn't even thought about it much over the past few weeks. I didn't want to. "No, I can't afford one. You know I don't get paid while we're out here. I don't and neither does Peggy," I said awkwardly, trying to flush the pink tinge out of my face. "We talked about it and agreed that I would get him the band when I can afford it."

"What are you going to exchange during the vows?" Chester asked curiously.

My face went from a light pink to a deep red. "Nothing, I guess," I muttered. It certainly wouldn't be a particularly traditional ceremony. "Everyone there knows our situation, I doubt anyone will notice."

"I have something for you," Chester said, reaching into his pocket.

"Stop," I said, grabbing his arm. "You've already given me too much."

Chester shook his head. "You're a kid who had nothing in life. You deserve it."

As much as I wanted to stop him from continuing to give me things I didn't need, I did appreciate that I finally had people in my life who were willing to help me out in a way no one had before. I smiled bashfully as Chester reached down into his pocket and pulled out a gold band. It looked like an old wedding band, but it was in near perfect condition. I took it in my hands and rolled it around. There was no engraving on the band and had never been well-worn. It was a lovely piece that looked quite expensive.

"Whose was it?" I asked Chester.

"It's his," Chester told me.

I smiled lovingly at him. "Thank you."

Chester nodded. "You're welcome. It'll be a good surprise for him."

"Yeah," I said, handing the ring back to him. Chester looked surprised at my actions. "Do me a favor and hang onto it until the wedding for me. I don't want him to accidentally see it."

"Okay." We sat together for a moment as Chester let out a deep breath, getting to his feet and nodding for me to come with him. "I think they're all planning on going out to dinner. Care to join?"

"Absolutely," I said happily.

Chester gave me a hand up from the chair and I smiled at him as we left the office and headed back into the hallway. The rest of my friends were already standing around, probably waiting for us. Bucky wrapped an arm over my waist as we headed out toward Criterion. We laughed and chatted animatedly as we entered the restaurant and were seated at one of the larger tables in the back. Everyone got themselves a glass of wine or whiskey to sip on as we waited to eat. Suddenly, Howard stood and began clinking his glass.

"This ought to be good," I snorted.

"Don't make me regret this," Howard snapped as I grinned at him. "I have a toast I'd like to make. Three years ago, only a few of us knew each other. Even for those of us who did, things are much different today." Bucky, Steve and I exchanged a smile. "We're all the kind of people who you wouldn't think belong together. A grouchy old military man." Our large group all laughed as Chester scowled. "Misfits who didn't seem to belong anywhere else. The world's first super-soldier. A man who sees the best in everyone. An eccentric billionaire. The world's most powerful mutant.

"It's a group that doesn't fit, but somehow fits perfectly. Most of us started this journey as strangers, but over the past three years, we've become each other's family. Some of us actually have. I know tonight we should have been toasting to the new bride and groom, but we'll do it soon and in the meantime, we'll appreciate what the two have given us. They've kept us together and shown us what it means to love someone you're so inherently different than.

"I've never met a couple who are so different and yet so perfect for each other. You two should have gotten the wedding of your dreams today, it's what you both deserve. But things happen and life gets in the way and you'll be married soon enough. I can't wait to see it. I think I speak for all of us when I say I can't wait to see how the two of you end up." There was some scattered clapping from the others at the table as Howard raised his glass. "To Bucky and Victoria - and everything they deserve in life," Howard finished.

"To Bucky and Victoria," everyone cheered.

Once we'd all taken a sip of our drinks, I lowered my wine glass and smiled at Howard. "That was so sweet and so cheesy," I teased.

His face dropped. "I hate you," Howard snapped.

"No, you don't," I told him. Howard rolled his eyes as our dinners arrived. "I promise that one day at your wedding I will tell every embarrassing story I have about you."

"Why do I even bother trying to be nice to you?" Howard snapped.

"Love you," I sang.

"Enough with the sweet talk, how about another round?" Dum Dum called from the other end of the table.

"Hear, hear!" I cheered.

We all laughed as we ordered another round and polished off our dinners - eating far too much in such a short period. Howard jokingly ordered a large white cake at the end of the dinner to symbolize what we should have been doing tonight. Getting married and enjoying the celebration of a new life together. But that night would be here soon enough and we would be able to enjoy it with the knowledge that we had Zola in our hands and were about to stop Hydra once and for all.

It was still early in the night when we all turned and headed back to the bunks. We all had to be in bed early as we would need to be in Switzerland early to board the train carrying Zola. Bucky and I said goodnight to the others before heading back to our room. We stripped out of our clothing and laid in bed, trying to immediately drift off to sleep. It would be a long day tomorrow. As much as I knew I needed to go to sleep and rest for the upcoming day, I couldn't bring myself to fall asleep. It appeared that Bucky couldn't either. He was still awake.

"Vika?" Bucky whispered, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"This is the last time we have to do this," Bucky said, reaching back and taking my hand. "After this, we can do whatever we want."

"We still have to stop Schmidt," I pointed out.

"Okay, after that," Bucky said, laughing.

"Drag Steve back to Coney Island," I said.

Bucky laughed again. "I think he'll be avoiding Coney Island forever after he threw up on that woman."

That was a memory that would never fade. I laughed madly, throwing my head back against the pillows. "One day we'll get all three of us back there," I promised. We exchanged a long look as I noticed his face fall. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry we couldn't get married today," Bucky said sadly.

"In a few days, all right?"

"Yeah, a few days."

We had both been facing the wall, but I rolled onto my other side to face Bucky, placing my legs in between his. "You know I hate to admit it, but this is more important. We're saving a lot of lives doing this," I muttered.

Bucky nodded his understanding. "I know. It just feels like it keeps getting put off."

"It does," I agreed. It had been so long coming. "But we're getting married in a few days and that'll be that. No more delays. Unless you weren't planning on going somewhere else, were you?"

Bucky chuckled. "Never."

I'd drag him back here even if he tried to leave, just as he would do to me. I smiled at him as Bucky pressed a small kiss against my mouth. I was planning on breaking it quickly but instead, the kiss went from gentle and romantic to intense and heated. Bucky rolled me over and deepened the kiss, tangling us in the sheets. I could hear the clock chirping away another hour but couldn't bring myself to break the kiss. I wanted to be with him right now but I also knew that we needed to go to sleep so we were able to focus tomorrow.

So, I eventually broke the kiss and said, "We should go to bed."

"We are," Bucky teased, pressing his lips against my throat.

"To sleep, Bucky," I groaned.

Bucky pulled away and gave me a surprised look. "But it's our wedding night," he said.

I laughed. "Fair point."

We both chuckled as I grabbed onto Bucky's shirt and tightened my grip on it. He grunted as I pulled him up from the mattress and proceeded to shove him back against the wall. Bucky laughed as my hands worked his shirt over his head and undid the laces on his pajama pants. Bucky grabbed my arms suddenly and used them against me to throw me over himself and back against the bed, almost surprising me with his strength. It wasn't long before the rest of our clothes were off, but it was long after that when we finally fell asleep.

The next morning Bucky and I remained mostly quiet as we changed into our uniforms and left the room well before the sun rose. The others must have noticed that we didn't get as much sleep as the rest of them. Thankfully, they didn't comment on it as our large group boarded the plane that would take us to the borders of Switzerland. We would be arriving in the Swiss Alps just before sun-up so no one saw our plane land. It would already be low visibility anyway with all the wind and snow in the area.

We spent just about an hour on the plane preparing for our landing in Switzerland. We would be able to land on a low point of the Swiss Alps but have only seconds to evacuate the plane. Communication would be down to almost nothing while we were down there. All we had was one radio, but that was to listen in on Zola. I was the only person who would be able to converse with someone else. As our plane shifted downward in the nasty weather, I reached over and took Bucky's hand. He pressed a short kiss against the back of it.

Everyone stood from their seats, nodding to Chester that we were ready to go. "Be careful, all of you," Chester said, giving me the longest look of anyone. "This isn't like the other missions we've done before. Bring Zola back to the base and let's get this son of a bitch once and for all."

"We'll see you in a few hours," I told Chester.

"Take care," he said.

We all smiled at him as we headed down the ramp onto the edge of the mountains, just above the train tracks below. "Let's set up," Steve called over the howling of the wind.

The moment we'd all cleared the plane, Chester barked at Howard to take off. We wouldn't see them again until we returned to the base. We had a secondary plane waiting to take us back to London at the end of the tracks. For a long time, no one spoke as we began getting ready. Gabe and Jim were fiddling with the radio to find any transmissions we might have been able to intercept. Steve and Bucky were preparing the zip line. I laid out a map for the rest of the guys that would lead through the mountains, ensuring they knew the path to the extraction point.

Gabe, Steve, Bucky, and I were the only ones who would be boarding the train. Gabe was our second-best long-range shooter who would be going for Zola. Steve and Bucky were the best hand-to-hand fighters we had who would keep the Hydra soldiers at bay. Of course, I was the one person who could go everything we needed. I stood at the edge of the mountain and let my eyes roll back into my head, searching for the train. The rest of the guys were preparing to begin the zip line to the train.

After nearly twenty minutes, I found the Hydra train moving in at top speed. "It's inbound," I told the boys, looking back at them. "We've got about a minute."

They all nodded their understanding as I walked to the edge of the mountain with Steve and Bucky. "Remember when we made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" Bucky asked Steve.

"Yeah, and I threw up?" Steve said.

"This isn't payback, is it?" Bucky asked.

"Now why would I do that?" Steve asked, grinning as he looked back to ensure the zip line was locked into the mountain.

"Oh, it would be much worse if we made him fly," I chuckled.

Bucky paled slightly as Steve laughed. "We were right," Gabe called from behind us. We all looked back at him. He had the headphone set raised to one ear. "Dr. Zola's on the train. Hydra dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle. Wherever he's going, they must need him bad."

Bucky, Steve, and I exchanged a quick nod as Steve slipped on his helmet. "Schmidt wants him for something," I told them. As Bucky went to walk past me, I grabbed his arm. "Be careful."

"You know me, I'm always careful," Bucky teased, winking at me.

"Sure," I said, rolling my eyes as he tilted my chin up and pressed a quick kiss against my mouth.

Steve, Bucky, and Gabe all gathered their harnesses for the zip line as they turned back to it. I stood at the edge of the mountain, watching James hold up the binoculars to his face. "Let's get going because they're moving like the devil," James called back.

Steve was the first one to throw his harness over the zip line. "We only got about a ten-second window. You miss that window, we're bugs on a windshield," he called back to us.

"That's comforting," I muttered.

Bucky nudged me gently in the back. "You'd catch me if I fell, right?"

I gave him a playful smile. "Don't fall," I teased, my eyes flashing white.

Bucky gulped. "That's reassuring."

"Mind the gap," James said.

Jacques held up a hand to let Steve know when he would be clear to zip line down. "Better get moving, bugs!" Dum Dum yelled.

"Maintenant!" Jacques yelled.

Jacques threw down his hand to motion to Steve that he could go. Steve kicked off the mountain and flew down the zip line toward the train, followed closely by Bucky and Gabe. I took a step back before running and flinging myself off the edge of the mountain. I shot down through the icy air at Gabe's side as the three of them landed on the roof of the speeding train. Steve dropped in a tuck and roll as both Bucky and Gabe landed on all fours. I dropped in between Bucky and Gabe and nodded at them to move forward.

Gabe had already been tasked with finding Zola. I knew he would be able to do it. As Steve, Bucky, and I would be on one end of the train, we would draw most of the soldiers to us. Gabe would only have to deal with finding Zola and keeping him trapped, which wouldn't be hard considering how weak he was. My job was to provide a barrier between the boys and the Hydra soldiers. I would keep them safe as they did their jobs and also act as a backup for Gabe if it was necessary.

The boys pulled themselves to their feet as they began running forward toward the front of the train. We ended up getting just over the halfway point of the train and got to the ladder running down the side. Steve was the first to climb down with Bucky following a moment later. They both climbed down and opened a door on the side of the train, slipping inside. I nodded to Gabe as he dropped down through an opening in the ceiling in the car behind. I floated down and shot into the open door with the boys, who had their weapons drawn.

They were both looking toward the back of the train as Gabe went the other direction. I was supposed to provide the midway barrier. "Call out if you need me," I whispered to Bucky and Steve as I turned back.

They would protect each other. I knew that. "Watch out for Gabe," Steve whispered back.

"I will."

"See you in a few minutes," Bucky told me.

The three of us looked at each other for a moment as I whispered, "Don't do anything stupid until I get back."

We all exchanged another smile as we turned to our respective areas. I walked through the door behind the boys as they walked in the other direction. They wandered further up the train as the door slid shut behind me. I didn't turn back, already well-aware that it was one of the Hydra soldiers trying to separate us. The first Hydra soldier stood just behind a large rack of what appeared to be weapons. I smiled as I ran up, pulling myself onto his shoulders and locking my legs around his throat as I swung once and hit the ground again, flipping him over himself.

The man hit the ground but bounced back up quickly as he ran at me. I caught his outstretched arm and kicked out his knee as I flung my leg up and over the back of his neck, throwing myself over him as I caught his neck in between my legs. We hit the ground with me underneath him and his throat caught in between my legs. I smiled as I tightened my grip and twisted my legs off to the side. There was a loud crack as I broke the man's neck. I relaxed my grip on the dead man and threw myself back to my feet.

There was another Hydra soldier already at my side. This one surprised me, considering he was holding a large blade that looked a bit like a sword. I ducked down as the blade came within inches of decapitating me. I caught the man's arm and pulled it back, moving to stand at his side as I raised my leg, ensuring he couldn't kick it out. I spun back out as his leg came down, pulling his unoccupied arm with me as I stepped forward again and flipped underneath the arm that was holding his sword. He was shoved down as I landed back where I'd begun and pulled the sword from his grip.

The man got up to try and punch me as I shoved the sword into his neck, cutting clean through it. The man fell to the ground, dead and now headless. That was when I heard the panic coming from two cars down. "What's going on?" I asked in Steve's head, panicked at the sounds of fighting.

"I've got him. Don't worry about it. Keep an eye out for Gabe," Steve thought back.

Uh-huh. That sounded bad. I turned toward the boys just in time to see what was going on. Bucky and Steve had gotten separated by a sealed door. Steve was fighting back against a Hydra guard with a laser cannon while Bucky had been cornered by two normal Hydra guards. Both looked to be cornered by the guards in their respective compartments. Morons... I turned to run toward them when I was cut off by another Hydra guard. I scowled at him as I ran forward and hopped onto his torso, twisting to the side and throwing him to the ground as I rolled forward.

In the other compartment, I could see Steve open the door between his and Bucky's compartment, having already defeated his Hydra guard. Steve tossed Bucky a gun as I walked forward, ripping a piece of steel off of the wall near me and throwing it blindly into my own Hydra guard's throat. He hit the ground, gasping for air through the blood. In the meantime, Steve shoved forward a case of weapons, forcing the soldier that had cornered Bucky to move out of where he was hiding, giving Bucky the perfect moment to shoot him dead.

As the two of them breathed heavily, staring at each other, I stormed forward. Neither looked thrilled to see me so angry with them. "What the fuck happened to the two of you being careful?" I snapped.

"Sorry," Steve and Bucky muttered bashfully.

"Be careful," I growled.

"I had him on the ropes," Bucky panted, motioning to the dead soldier with his pistol.

"I know you did," Steve answered. The pair both looked mortified as they looked at me. I hadn't stopped scowling at them. "Go help Gabe, would you? We've got this covered."

"Sure you do," I huffed, turning and walking off.

"Victoria!" Gabe shouted.

"Hang on!" I yelled back. "Be careful, you morons!"

The mission was quickly devolving into a disaster. I knew it would be hard, but I hadn't been expecting it to be this hard. That was what happened when we got separated. Gabe was just one compartment down with a sealed door in between us. I broke through the door without effort as I ran toward Gabe. He was being cut off by three Hydra guards - likely the ones trying to keep him from Zola. Two were watching me as one attempted to wrestle Gabe's gun from him. I grabbed the first of the Hydra soldiers near me around the neck and kicked directly up into his crotch.

The man let out a guttural yell as I wrapped my arm tighter around his neck and ran up the wall, flipping over myself and bringing him down to the ground. He attempted to move but was unable to before I slammed my foot down into his skull, crushing it beneath me. As the second Hydra soldier moved toward Gabe, I raised a hand and manipulated a force field around his throat, throwing him back to the ground. I reached back for a jagged pipe and threw it through the man's thigh, who leaned down and screamed in pain.

He didn't stop crying as I walked up to him and ripped the pipe out of the back of his thigh. He tried to straighten up as I punched him dead across the face and kicked out his knee. The man collapsed to the ground as I took the pipe and jammed it into his shoulder as I ripped it out and shoved it down into his skull. I immediately pulled the pipe back out of his head before turning and throwing the pipe to the other end of the train car, through the chest of the man who was trying to shoot Gabe. He fell to the ground as Gabe stared at me.

"Thanks," Gabe panted.

"You're welcome," I said, grinning up at him.

"Get down!" Steve yelled from the other car.

Neither Gabe nor I got any chance to think about what was happening. We both turned to their car as a strong blast knocked all four of us off our feet. Even from cars away I could hear Zola ordering for his soldiers to kill Steve. I think not. I tried to jump back to my feet as I saw Bucky holding Steve's shield, trying to protect him while he was down for the count. I made the move to run for him when there was another blast from one of the Hydra soldiers, this time knocking Bucky out of the hole that had been created in the side of the train.

Bucky was barely hanging onto a rail as Steve hopped up, taking his shield and throwing it at the Hydra soldier, immediately killing him. "Bucky!" Steve yelled, moving out of the train opening.

Just as I was about to provide my assistance, there was another call. "Victoria!" Gabe shouted.

"Hang on! Grab my hand!" Steve yelled.

Blood. I could smell it. It was Gabe's. I turned back to see blood dripping out of a bullet wound in Gabe's leg. He was down on the ground, barely out of firing range of an advancing Hydra soldier. Gabe was out of bullets and had no defenses left. I sprinted to the man and dove underneath his spread legs, kicking them out. He collapsed to the ground as I roared in fury, reaching down and ripping his head clean off his body. Blood sprayed everywhere as Steve continued to yell to Bucky. I reached to Gabe and shoved him back behind a tower of supplies for safety.

Getting Gabe to safety would come later. All I knew was that I couldn't have let him die. Bucky would be fine. Steve was there. He would save him. He had to. My heart pounded in my chest as I heard it. Steve's yell of desperation. The snap of metal, signaling that the railing had given way. Judging by the scream I heard, Bucky was still on it. I sprinted toward the opening, kicking an advancing Hydra soldier's face in, turning it to mush under the pressure. I was horrified to see that the railing was gone from the side of the train, as was Bucky.

Steve was on the side of the railing that was still locked into the open panel of the train. His face was tucked into his shoulder as he cried. It wasn't over. It couldn't have been over. There was a searing pain that shot through my chest as the realization hit me. I wouldn't be able to reach him in time. I would have never been able to make it to him before he hit the ice. I held up a shield on my right as more Hydra soldiers flooded the compartment in their attempt to kill Steve in his compromised position. My eyes rolled back as I tried to find Bucky.

"Bucky!" I howled.

His terrified screams stopped. He was at peace. "It's okay," Bucky's voice whispered back into my head. "I love you. I love you both. Take care of -"

Just like that, he was gone. It felt like someone had ripped my heart out. My head spun as I hysterically tried to reach him. Maybe he survived the fall. He could have. But as hard as I tried, there was no response. He was dead. As my shield faltered and the Hydra agents advanced on me, I slowly turned to them. He was gone and it was their fault. They had ruined my lift. I would end theirs. My eyes turned black as I raised my arms and bent the metal panels of the train inward.

Any goodness I'd had in me was dead. Any civility I had was gone. They deserved to die this way. The soldiers screamed as I broke apart the metal panels into sharp edges, bending them toward the Hydra soldiers. They tried to run as I pulled the panels back for a moment before slamming them into the bodies of the remaining soldiers, tearing apart the train and soaking it in their blood. The soldiers were thrown back against the panels of the train that still stood, impaled there by the pieces of metal I'd torn apart.

"No…" Steve sobbed. I had to go. Bucky's body was down there. I had to get him back. He belonged with me. There was another crack of metal as the step Steve had been standing on began to give way. I could either try and save Bucky's body or save Steve's life. "Vic!"

Steve was still alive. I had to save him. Whatever piece of my heart hadn't already been torn apart was ripped to shreds as I made the choice that killed me. I had to save Steve. I kicked myself into motion as I dove out of the opening of the train car, grabbing Steve around the waist and blasting us both back into the train. We hit the ground in a tangled mess, both sobbing. My voice cracked as I screamed loudly into Steve's shoulder, tears running down my face as my anger melted down the roof of the train and crushed the wheels against the track.

There weren't many times in my life where I didn't know what to do, but this was one of those moments. I gripped Steve's uniform so tightly that it began to tear. He had his hands pulling at mine just as tightly. We laid against the ground, Steve crying into my shoulder as I sobbed breathlessly into his chest. I desperately tried to kick away from him to the edge of the train as Steve held me back with all his might. There was nothing either one of us could do. Bucky's brain waves were silent. It was over. He was dead.

"I'm sorry," Steve gasped. "I'm so sorry."

It couldn't end like this. We were supposed to get married. We were supposed to have a life together. This was supposed to be the beginning of the happiest part of my life. I hyperventilated - one of the only times in my life I had done so - as I reached up to take Steve's arm, wrapping it around my body. I cried into Steve's shoulder as he reached back and wrapped his hands in my hair, tearing at the strands. I could feel Steve's bones bending under the pressure as I trembled against him, but he didn't release me.

"I have -" I panted. I couldn't leave him here. "He's -"

"Vic, stop," Steve sobbed, pulling me into his chest. "Stop. God, I'm so sorry."

But it was too late. I would have never been able to find him. Even if I had, I knew Steve wouldn't want me to see his body. He didn't want me to know that this would end the same way everything else did for me. There were no happy endings. Just like everything else in my life, the good things never lasted. I had been able to come back from everything else in my life - even Stryker's torture - but this time I wasn't so certain. This was the one thing that would finally destroy me.

A/N: Okay, that one hurt. Sorry... Don't kill me! Obviously, I took my own liberties with the chapter so that it made a little more sense why Victoria couldn't stop Bucky's fall. As always, thank you for the follows and favorites! Please review! Until next time -A

SomebodyWhoCares: Unfortunately, it has come. I hope you liked it! As much as you can like a chapter like this, at least.

.2019: I'm so glad you liked the last chapter! I hope you liked this one, if that's at all possible.

Go2 Tamaka: Please don't cry! But if you do, I know that I'll have done my job correctly as a writer to invoke emotion. I hope you liked this one!

KEZZ 1: Thank you so much! I'm glad to know you've enjoyed the story. I hope you liked this chapter!