Alright, here's part 3! Things are going to get moving after this part, I just had to do one last thing before we got into the juicy stuff.

Girlwith100names: Thank you! I'm glad you like it so far!

DarylDixon'sLover: Thank you so much!

BuckyBarnes07: Thank you! Things are gonna get good!

Sleepyhallow01: Thank you!

Rory wakes when the sun hits her eyes. It's quiet in the cabin, nothing but the sound of birds chirping outside breaking the silence. She's not sure how long she slept, but she feels rested. More than she has in a long time, despite the fact she was alone with HYDRA's top assassin who could have easily killed her in her sleep. But he hadn't.

Rory sits up, rubbing her eyes. A quick scan of the cabin in daylight gives her a better idea of the layout. It's a simple, one-room cabin with a kitchen in the corner and only a single door no doubt leading to the bathroom. The soldier has perched himself by the door, gun in hand. He's watching her, steely eyes focused on her as she sits up, swinging her legs off the edge of the bed. The soldier shows no sign of moving, Rory chewing on her lip nervously.

"Are you going to talk to me now? At least tell me what's going on?"

There are a few beats of silence before the soldier finally moves. He sits up straighter, seeming to relax a little. "HYDRA has fallen."

Rory crosses her legs, his words taking a moment to process. "W-What do you mean?"

He explains everything to her, at least what he knows. He explains what HYDRA was planning, or at least what he had overheard. HYDRA's plan to kill people, take over and start their new world order. But Captain America had stopped them. She can see the conflict in his face when he talks about Captain America. She knows there's something there he's not saying, but she doesn't press it. She has other questions that are more pressing.

"You came back for me. You could have just escaped, left me there to die. I don't mean anything to you."

He finally averts his eyes. Rory regrets her words as soon as she says them, seeing the pain on his face. He grimaces, just the sheer will to bring his thoughts forward seeming to cause him pain. "You do mean something. I...I don't really remember what it means. I don't know what it is, but it-it feels...like something."

Rory nods, dropping her eyes to the floor too. "Soulmates. That's what it is. Everyone is supposed to have one, or at least that's what we're told in school. We're supposed to be, like, perfect for each other or something like that. Like we were made for each other." The soldier is silent, Rory habitually chewing on her lip again. "I don't even know your name."

"Bucky." Rory looks up at him. "That's what he called me. Bucky."

She nods. "I'm Rory." The lapse into silence again, Rory picking at her boot laces. "What do we do now?"

"We stay hidden. HYDRA has fractured, but they will gain footing again. They'll come after me again."

Rory nods. "I'll stay with you. I'll help you."

He nods. "We can't stay in one place long. We have enough money for now." He nods at the black box he picked up last night. "There's a HYDRA safe house outside the city. It was empty but we couldn't risk staying there. I took the provisions from it to get us by for now."

They lapse into silence again, Rory taking a moment to look over Bucky again. He looks exhausted, still favoring his right side a bit. There are dark circles under his eyes, and he looks like he needs sleep.

"You should get some rest," Rory says.

Bucky shakes his head. "I can't."

"You're exhausted. You need to rest."

Bucky shakes his head, Rory feeling drawn to get closer to him. For the first time since she'd been rescued, she listens to it, approaching him slowly. He watches her like a hawk, every movement being analyzed. Normally it would have made her feel self-conscious, but she feels none of that as she stops inches from him. She slowly kneels down beside him, slowly reaching out towards him. He watches her face, but she knows he can sense her hand getting close to his face.

Surprisingly he doesn't stop her, her fingers making contact with his cheek. It's rough with stubble, but his skin underneath is smooth and warm. Rory slowly traces his cheek, his eyes softening at her touch. Electricity shoots up her arm from where she's touching him, shooting right through to her very core. She feels her body react to the strange sensation, starting to heat up rapidly. Her fingers start to glow orange, and she tears herself away from him, falling back onto her bottom. She gulps in deep breaths of air, Bucky's hand tightening around the gun in his hand reflexively. She backs up until she hits the bed, pulling her knees to her chest.

"S-Sorry. I...it just takes over sometimes."

Bucky doesn't say anything, copying her position, pulling his knees to his chest. Neither of them speaks for a long time, the sun getting higher and higher in the sky. Rory's stomach starts to growl but she ignores it. Hunger was nothing new to her. Often her punishments involved being denied food for at least a day, sometimes more. She studies her hands, the tips of her fingers slightly blistered from years of trying to control her abilities. Fire seemed to have no effect on her, except for her fingers. They never really healed. Perhaps if she went long enough without using her powers then maybe they would get better. But that would involve being able to control them. Something she hadn't figured out yet.

Bucky finally moves after a couple of hours have gone by. He walks over to the small kitchen, grabbing a can out of the cupboard. He pops the top off of it with his metal hand before handing it to her with a spoon. Canned chili wasn't her favorite, but in that moment she wouldn't have asked for anything else. She downs almost half the can before offering some of it to Bucky. He shakes his head, going back to his post, watching out the window.

Bucky makes them leave that night. They trek through the forest again, Bucky carrying most of the load in a backpack he dug out of the cabin. He had most of the provisions and the weapons in his bag. She had the money and their clothes to change into, along with a bit of food and a couple of weapons. She knows why he did it that way. If they had to split up, she could get away while he gave her time. With the money, she could get herself somewhere safe. Rory hadn't counted it, but from just looking at the stacks when he'd put it in her bag, there had to be a few thousand dollars there at least. Enough to get them somewhere safe to lay low for a while.

"Where are we going?" Rory asks, breaking the silence. She was a few paces behind Bucky, trying to keep up with his fast pace.

"Back to the city."

"Back to the...you said we had to get out of the city."

"There's something I need to do there before we leave."

He doesn't offer her any more details. Rory feels frustrated and tired, all the conditioning HYDRA had made her do didn't make hiking through the woods any easier.

They reach a town at dawn. It's mostly empty, making it easy for them to sneak around. Bucky breaks into a store, grabbing some essential items before hotwiring a car left in a parking lot. It definitely didn't have enough gas to get them further than the city. He made her drive again, something she was getting slowly used to.

They ditch the car before they hit the city, Bucky not wanting to make her drive in morning traffic. There would be too many eyes, too much risk that they would be spotted. Rory can't help but take offense that he means her driving is that bad. But being as inexperienced as she was, she hadn't crashed yet.

Bucky makes her wear the smelly sweatshirt again, pulling a baseball hat on her head. He does the same, having changed out of his tactical gear before they left the cabin. It was currently in her backpack and had to be the heaviest thing in it. Bucky takes her hand, keeping his head down as he leads her through the streets. It's busy as everyone makes their way about their day, most of them part of the morning rush. No one gives them a second glance as they head towards the National Mall.

Bucky stops in front of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Rory wants to ask why they're there, but she knows Bucky wouldn't do anything without a reason. She had never been in the Smithsonian, or even Washington D.C. outside of the HYDRA base, but she hadn't exactly got to sight-see.

Bucky leads her inside, both of them keeping their heads down. The museum is busy, making it easier for them to slip through the crowds without drawing unwanted attention. Bucky leads her towards an exhibit about Captain America. Rory frowns but doesn't ask questions, seeing as Bucky was on a mission to find what he was looking for. Whatever it was.

Rory looks around at the exhibit, taking it all in. She had learned a little about Captain America and his efforts during World War Two in elementary school, and of course, she knew about his return thanks to overhearing a conversation between HYDRA agents. Bucky looks around as well, seeming uncomfortable and almost like he's going to be sick.

Rory nearly runs into him when he stops, stepping to the side to avoid colliding with him. He had stopped in front of a display dedicated to Captain America's best friend and right-hand-man Bucky Barnes. Rory reads through what's written before looking at the picture. It takes her a moment to figure out why he looks so familiar.

Rory moves closer to Bucky, looking back and forth between them a few times before moving fully in front of him. "Holy shit." She whispers, looking up at him wide-eyed. "You're Bucky Ba-"

Bucky's hand over her mouth silences her. He looks almost angry at her for a moment before he relaxes, removing his hand.

"Right. Sorry." She says, moving back to stand beside him.

She wants to ask him a million questions but she lets him take it in. It would be dangerous to say anything in the risk of someone overhearing. She doesn't think anyone around them would care, but with their luck, HYDRA would have sleepers everywhere and one of them would overhear them. Rory feels fear begin to trickle down her spine, everyone around them suddenly feeling like a threat. Every passing glance at them makes her bristle, her body starting to warm up in defense.

She steps closer to Bucky, reaching for his hand. He puts his hand on her back, steering her towards the door. She's starting to sweat, hiding her hands in her pockets as they make their way towards the entrance. Bucky ushers her out, pushing her towards a secluded area where they won't be stared at.

He makes her sit on a bench, kneeling in front of her. He puts his hands on her face, the metal cooling her skin and the flesh hand making goosebumps erupt all over her body. She takes in a few gasps of cool air, calming herself down.

"Sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just thought…"

Bucky puts a finger to her lips, quieting her. "It's okay. I didn't plan on staying long anyways."

Rory takes in a couple more breaths before looking up at him. "You're Bucky Barnes. You're Bucky freaking Barnes! Captain America's best friend! What are we doing here? Why aren't we going to him for help?"

Bucky shakes his head, releasing her and standing up. "I can't."

Rory stands on shaking legs, knowing they need to start moving again. "Why not?"

Bucky turns, starting to walk. Rory follows, feeling a lump forming in her throat. Obviously this would be a sensitive subject. But if he was Bucky Barnes, why wouldn't he try to track down Captain America again to get help? It made little sense to her, but she's sure he has his reasons. She wasn't going to push. He was all she had, and she wasn't about to let him go.