Chapter 27

The hum of the engine lured her to consciousness, her heavy eyelids flickering awake. Her body was huddled into the side of the modest car, her head barrowed into a small nook between the plush car seat and the window. She sluggishly twisted to view the driver with a rusty "Morning." Cavernous blue eyes left the road to view her waking expression. A small smile developed on his stubbled jaw at her tanged hair marring the view of her dazed face, a grin that she missed in her rousing state.

"Morning," he replied.

As her surroundings began to be taken notice of she inquired, "Where are we going?"

Bucky had contemplated this many times during the drive but could not think of any place safe enough to hide Annie. This may have been a subjective decision instead of an objective one. He also annoyingly continued to be distracted by her curled form sleeping. The annoyance instantly evaporating as she didn't snore (he hadn't expected her to) but instead made hilarious and adorable noises. It had led him to wonder what it would feel like to hold her whilst she slept but quickly dismissed it before it had grown to an overwhelming urge.

He turned back to the suburban road carefully watching as children played too close to the dangerous cooled tar he drove on. His face crumpled up in frustration as he answered, "No, I can't think of anywhere that's safe enough, long term."

Annie nodded, "We also need to find somewhere we can stay without having to pay. I'm assuming you left all the money in the motel?"

Bucky glanced at her confessing, "Well that wasn't really my priority."

Annie felt a heat rise to her cheeks. "Yes your priority was running around screaming and not listening to me", Annie teased him instead of indulging on what had just been said.

Bucky rolled his eyes getting more used to jokes, retorting, "If I hadn't then where would we be?"

Annie grinned as he joined in with her banter but both stopped as they realised they wouldn't have kissed with differing events. Bucky was very experienced in this topic as he had a lot of time to think about it during the car ride.

Because when she had kissed him he did not only receive the memory of when he and Annie had kissed before his mission. No, he also caught glimpses of all the times he had wanted to kiss Annie. There were a lot of them. He supposed that was something that had not changed.

He had almost run off the road as he recalled the memory of a bar during the war. Annie had worn a black dress that made his want to press his lips against hers intensify drastically. He remembered wondering if Annie had the intention to torture him but coming to the conclusion that it was the brunette in the red dresses' plan. He was too distracted to remember her name.

That dress had inspired some shamefully 'impure' thoughts which he strained to suppress. Because as beautiful as Annie was as a person her appearance had not broken the pattern.

The woman in question had her own thoughts about the kiss or more so what had followed it. "I loved you" painfully rung in her head. The past tense stabbed at her as they now drove in silence. She shouldn't really be surprised. Maybe she had been lucky enough for him to love her back once but twice was an unreasonable ask, no matter how much she begged. At least he had not been scared off.

"Why didn't you tell me?" the voice jarred her out of her thoughts, her head snapping to Bucky.

"Tell you what?" she stalled hoping he wasn't talking about what she thought.

"Why didn't you tell me what we were?" Bucky elaborated, his expression hurt as he glanced at her. It was long enough for his eyes to bore into her.

Annie sighed and brought her legs up onto the seat to wrap her arms around. "I wanted to but I was afraid it would scare you off. I didn't want you to feel like I wanted you to be someone else or for you to be pressured into a relationship. I thought it was less complicated just to leave that part out."

He intently stared out the windscreen before finally responding, "I get it, but no more secrets."

"I'm pretty sure you have way more than I do," Annie smirked. She knew this was for the best but she still couldn't bring herself to tell him she might be in love with him again.

"I know where to go," Annie breathed disbelievingly.

"What?" Bucky questioned not sure he heard her right.

"I know where we can go, away from HYDRA. A safehouse!" She clarified excitedly. She told him an address that she strained to remember and scavenged around the cars compartments for a map.

In her grey office Annie placidly typed a report on her laptop, her deficiency of skill with the device obvious with her use of only two fingers to type. It was not effective but she got the necessary work done. It had been a week since the battle of New York and since Annie had gone looking for Steve in a demolished city.

A short knock hit her door before it was pushed open leisurely by Hawkeye. Clint had bandages and Band-Aids patching his skin, something he tended to have more than the rest if the Avengers. He strolled into her SHEILD office as he had done daily. He threw himself down onto the lounge positioned to the side of the room, wincing as his elbow banged into the metal frame typical to SHEILD furniture.

"Haven't mended up yet?" Annie questioned with a smirk.

Clint twisted to nurse his throbbing joint with a frustrated, "Well not everyone fixes up as quickly as your brother."

"That's true," Annie agreed her work now completely discarded, "But at least your outfit is cooler than his."

A smile broke out on his face knowing that both agreed the recycled version of the Captain America suit looked rather comical. "I took a picture of it on my phone," she tried to hide her child-like excitement at her technological milestone. "How do they fit a camera into it though?" Annie questioned, trying to figure out how this occurred but the technology surpassing her theoretical knowledge. Her mind scattering with the image of a chunky 1940s camera and a smart phone combining.

Clint chuckled at another slip up that hinted her naivety of technology, wondering if she would ever get used it the devices she was now forced into using. Steve had seemed to adapt technology wise much better than his younger sister.

"His suit looked much better back in 1942, well the second one. The first one didn't even have really pants. They were just shorts over tights," She revealed.

Clint sat up with a wicked grin, "Really?"

Annie nodded, "I watched one of his earlier propaganda videos and they were just shorts!"

"If Nat hears about that he'll never live it down," Clint laughed but his expression suddenly lost its humour. He teetered on the edge of the couch with his hands on his knees. With his head lowered he said, "Look Annie I gotta talk to you about something."

He looked at her, "Seeing you show up after Loki and all that crazy stuff, I think it really freaked Cap out."

"What do you mean?" Annie questioned as she moved over to the couch trying to look for signs that Steve was concerned from her recollections of the past week.

"Annie, you have to understand that what we do is dangerous and that could come back to hurt you. In the end it doesn't matter if we get scraped up but if you got hurt because of what Steve does he would never forgive himself. Annie you're the only thing really keeping Steve grounded. And we all want you to be safe, so if everything goes to hell you get out of here."

Annie knew that Steve and Clint's worry was out of good intentions but she was still annoyed at the uselessness of her situation. Clint looked anxious as his superior gaze flickered about the room. He whispered an address that was barely audible that Annie recognised as a rural location. He then ordered sternly, "Do not write it down or tell anyone, only go there as a last resort and make sure you are not followed. I'm trusting you with this."

She was confused at Clint's severity towards the secrecy of this address but knew that Clint has good cause. She repeated the address over and over in her mind knowing one day she may depend on it. "What is it?" she questioned preferring to have more information.

Clint's eyes fell to the side as he thought, careful in what he revealed. The moments of silence broken with his cautious answer, "A safehouse."

They drove for hours, the scenery growing more rural as the houses became sparse. Their constant motion halted irregularly for fuel when the engine wined angrily. Annie told him stories of when they had first learnt to drive as near adults, depicting their varying levels of skill, Bucky had smiled when she confessed he surpassed them in ability. Bucky was glad to hear her voice as it filled the silence and numbed his worries. Other times she revisited the map for directions and others she simply watched the green hills pass through the open window. From his recovered memories Bucky could assume that the Rogers as well as himself did not have the luxury of visiting the country during childhood summers. She must have been intrigued by the quiet and serenity it provided. He thought that she was better suited to this environment anyway. Every once in a while she would grab his arm and signal to an animal or landmark and make a comment. Though he was content to catch a glance of her instead of the passing lone tree or heard of cattle when his eyes drifted from the road ahead. The gold in her hair reflecting of the warm sun as it tousled in the wind. Annie had always had wild hair. He could remember her mother muttering that as she attempted to tame and braid the girls curls when she was a child. He recalled thinking he liked them better not weaved into submission but out, like her hair was now. In the 40s she had heated it into synthetically perfect waves like all women were expected to but he guessed that since she had entered the 21st century she had lost the habit and let them tangle naturally about her shoulders. He was glad.

Caught up in his ridiculous mental ramblings he had almost not caught sight of a stray cow loitering onto the now dirt road. His eyes grew to the size of saucers as his booted foot dug the brake almost to the floor of the vehicle. Both were jolted forward, Bucky's arm stretching in front of Annie to prevent her head colliding with the dashboard. His eye moved to her to find she was already staring with her hand clutching his arm.

The two breathed deeply as adrenaline retreated from their blood streams before exiting the car. "Bucky are you okay?" Annie panicked, still shaken.

"Did you hit your head at all?" He questioned, dismissing her own inquiries, scanning her for blood. This was nothing compared to what he had been through in his past but he continued to fret over her. Annie just smiled at him as a warm burn spread over her stomach at the memory of Bucky's arm latching around her.

Sure that she was unharmed he checked the car for damage, hoping that he had not hit the meaty animal, cutting off their mode of transport. The sudden stop of the tyres had unsettled the dirt beneath creating a thin layer of dust but otherwise the modest front of the car showed no sign of the event.

Annie clearly memorised by the cow stepped towards it cautiously. Bucky watched her tensely, waiting for the animal to signal any intention of hurting her. But the cow only swished its tail as twisted to watch the approaching human. Annie had never seen a cow or any farm animal really upclose. Unsure of what it do she awkwardly raised her hand to the beast and softly placed it on the long snoot between its two dopey eyes that watched her calmly as if she was of no importance. A childish grin broke out on her face as she rubbed its face, surprised by the texture's mix of coarse and soft and the dirt that nestled within it.

Bucky could feel his own grin begin to form as Annie began to smile ridiculously, clearly enjoying the experience. And for the first time in decade he laughed as the woman before him grew more daring in her interaction with the patched creature and pressed her hand to its nose, only for it to sneeze on her.

Annie couldn't help but laugh as she wiped the cringe-worthy snot from her hand. She turned to Bucky to lark about the comical actions of the cow but seeing that his chest and shoulders already shook with the laughter that filtered out of his mouth. She stopped laughing to just enjoy the sight, to capture in her mind his smile, the crinkles that formed around it and the brightness it added to his face.

After the humour had died down Annie attempted to lead the weighty four-legged animal off the road they need to pass on. Bucky growing nervous with every grunt or unhappy noise from the cow, offering to do it instead.

"It's fine, she just doesn't like moving. Come on girl", Annie reassured before gently cooing to the cow.

The slow process ending as the stray cow wandered over to some grass obviously starving from the experience.

"Ok, now I'm driving," Annie announced.

"What do you mean you're driving?" Bucky questioned amusedly.

Annie had already made her way to the driver's side, dragging open the door, "Well if I don't recall your driving almost resulted in a dead cow and our car destroyed, so I am driving." She ended her reasoning it the sharp slam of the rubber bordered door after she had slipped in.

Bucky had to admit he hadn't been the best driver on this trip and so he submitted to the change in role and sloped into the passenger seat.

The familiar hum of the engine started as they began again on their journey to the safe house.

"Be careful of that rock," Bucky abruptly advised pointing to an abnormally large rock on their path.

Annie avoided the rock before smirking at Bucky, "Who would have thought you'd become a back seat driver.

"What's that?" Bucky asked, unsure of the term.

Annie pressed her lips together as she recounted the explanation given to her by Nat when she had called Steve one (and he was, especially when Annie drove), "Um, it's when a person who isn't driving has to make comments to the person who is on how to drive."

"I don't do that", Bucky muttered.

Annie had to admit that she wasn't much better than Bucky with distractions as he feel asleep after 2 hours of driving, clearly exhausted. Annie had noticed that he only sleeps when his body refused to function without it, she would need to make him change that habit. But as he finally slept she could feel her eyes stray to the wearied man. His head rested on his human arm as long strands of his hair obscured his face from view. This frustrated her but was probably a blessing as it prevent her from being distracted by his face.

By taking turns the two had managed to drive for 3 days without really stopping. The journey had not been unpleasant despite the amount of hours the two had spent restricted to seats but they were glad they had finally reached their destination.

Houses and human landmarks had not been seen for a while, green hills and the dirt road the only constant features. But even the road came to its end as the trees pulled back to reveal a clearing. The centre of the clearing residing a house. The house was modest but large in size compared to what the two were used to. It did not seem special in appearance as the pale paint peeled with age and the yard was cluttered with an old shed, chunky wooden fences and garden beds that refused to remain within their boundaries. But the home held a timeless air, as if the house had stood unchanged for a hundred years and would do so for a hundred more.

Annie realised that she had unconsciously thought of the 'safe house' as a home because it looked too lived in to simply exist as a place of hiding. Bucky steadily pulled the car to a stop where the dirt road merged with the grass that was made up of multiple types, each comfortable in their varied height. The engine went back to its sleep after a metallic grunt of overuse.

Annie weaved out of the open car door to gain a better view of the house that Clint had so desperately wanted to keep a secret; she hoped it was fine that she brought Bucky. The forest green shutters that bordered each window stood out amongst the off white walls of the solid, two storey house.

"This is the safe house?" Bucky questioned now beside Annie, the building clearly not what he was anticipating. He did not like the lack of security but the home did hold an element of disguise and Annie seemed to like it.

He followed her as she trod through the overgrown grass to the steps. Each squeaked under his weight making him grow self-conscious of the metal that insisted on shining in the warm sunlight. Annie halted at the French windowed front door, hesitating before lightly knocking on the glass while squinting to see through it.

"Just a minute!" a distant female voice yelled as hurried footsteps clattered along the floor. Annie ran her hand through her hair before the oak door was swung open by a women with long brunette hair and a rolled belly that told she was in her first or second trimester. Her hazel eyes darted around the two before lighting up with recognition when they feel on Annie's chaotic gold hair. Bucky shot her a questioning look to which Annie pressed her lips and shrugged, their silent conversation on the identity of the pregnant woman before them.

"Annie! It so nice to finally meet you," She exclaimed before engulfing her in a hug, one Annie quickly relaxed into. "I'm sorry that I don't know why you are," She apologised to Bucky after pulling away.

"Bucky's fine," he murmured gruffly. His anti-social introduction making Annie smile. She guessed he had to grow used to a person before he uttered full sentences to them. She was lucky to be that person he spoke to more extensively.

"Come in, Clint's talked about you a lot," she chuckled as she guided them in. The home flowed throughout but were littered with signs of children's' inhabitancy via discarded picture books, crayoned drawings and plush toys scattered on the chairs.

Annie and Bucky grew more and more curious about the 'safe house' they had just entered. "Sorry about the mess, I didn't realise you were coming, none of us did. I mean Clint said that HYDRA had – when SHEILD was destroyed," the woman raddled with her hand pressed to her forehead in her confusion.

"Who are you?" Bucky examined tried of not knowing if they were safe or not.

"What?" she gasped turning to the confused faces of two people who seemed a decade younger than her. "Oh sorry! I'm Laura, Clint's wife," Laura clarified.

What?! Sorry I'm just following MCU sorry to all the Clintasha folks out there. I'm going to pretend that Bruce and Nat never happened though.

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