Bucky was in Bucharest. Sharon had given them intel on him and told them they needed to hurry if they wanted to get to him before her team did, as they had orders to shoot on sight. They took a jet as soon as they could and Cassidy was silent the whole time. She just couldn't believe that Bucky could have done this. She was still pretty out of when Steve sat down next to her.
"Will you talk to me please?" He said softly. It took a second for her to form words, but when she did, she regretted them.
"Why? You made it clear you weren't interested in talking to me." Steve sighed and looked down.
"Look, I may have reacted badly earlier. It's just everything was happening at the same time and then Peggy and I felt somehow betrayed that you sided with Tony, even though I understand why you did it." He told her.
"You do?" She asked. He nodded, taking her hand in his.
"Of course, I do. I wish I could sign them too, I just can't. I can't give up my right to choose whether or not I can go save someone." He said. She nodded.
"We're landing in ten." Sam told them from the front of the jet. Cassidy changed into her suit and followed Steve and Sam down the street to a tall old apartment building.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Cassidy asked.
"Yeah, Sharon's intel shows him coming back here." Steve told her. They went around the back and Steve told her to wait outside, in case Bucky wasn't Bucky. Sam was keeping watch from the top of the building and Cassidy kept her hand on her gun, listening for any movement inside the apartment.
"Head's up Cap, German Special Forces approaching from the south." Sam told them. They were running out of time. If they were going to get Bucky out of there they needed to move fast.
"Why are you here." Winter asked Steve. Cassidy's head snapped toward the door. Bucky was in there. Without thinking Cassidy turned the knob on the door and flung it open, all but running inside.
Both men turned to the door and Winter froze. It couldn't be. She was dead. She had to be. There was no way she could be here right now.
"Bucky?" She asked softly. Winter carefully walked toward her, glaring at Steve when he put a protective arm in front of her. Cassidy moved it out of the way and looked up at Winter.
"I thought you were…" Winter began, but he couldn't finish the sentence. He cared for Cassidy too, how could he not? He shared this bond with Bucky for both his soulmates and now they were here.
Let me out. I need to see her.
No, people are coming for us.
I don't care. I need to see her. Let me out NOW!
Bucky broke back through and his voice caught in his throat and he could feel his eyes burning looking down at her. She was so beautiful and she was here and she wasn't dead and it wasn't his fault.
"Doll?" Bucky choked out and Cassidy smiled brilliantly at him.
"Hi." She whispered.
Bucky fell to his knees and rested his head on her stomach. "Oh God. I thought you were dead." He whispered. Cassidy looked to Steve and he shook his head, shrugging. She could feel Bucky shaking and she carded her fingers through his hair and it seemed to calm him. She was about to ask why he thought she was dead when Sam came back over the comms.
"Guys, they are entering the building. Whatever you're gonna do, you need to do it now."
"Steve." Cassidy whispered.
"I-I wasn't in Vienna; I don't do that anymore." Bucky said with a shaky breath, pulling back to look up at Steve.
"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now." Bucky stood, nodding. He tried to step back, but Cassidy grabbed his hand, squeezing it. He looked down at their hands then back up to Cassidy, giving her a small smile.
"They're not planning on taking you alive Buck." Steve said softly, coming over to them. He started to reach his hand out for Bucky's other one, but hesitated, letting it hang back by his side. He wasn't sure if Bucky even really remembered who he was now, or what they had together.
"That's smart. Good strategy. It's what I would do." Bucky told them.
"Hey." Cassidy said. "We're not gonna let them take you, okay?" Bucky squeezed her hand and opened his mouth to speak, but the window shattered and a grenade came through. Cassidy's eyes went wide as Bucky threw it under Steve's shield and it exploded with a loud boom.
Two men crashed through the windows and Cassidy drew her gun, shooting one in the leg twice times, taking him down. She didn't want to kill anyone, but that didn't mean she wouldn't hurt them to protect Bucky.
Bucky punched a hole in the floor, grabbing a backpack from it, a go bag. He had one ready if he needed to run. He threw it out the door Cassidy had come through and the front door burst open, shots going everywhere. Cassidy jumped behind the kitchen island while Steve threw his shield up in front of him a Bucky, but she wasn't fast enough because a bullet grazed her upper arm.
"Ow. Fuck." She whispered. Bucky was by her side in an instant, checking her would. Something changed in his face and she could hear the gears in his arm moving.
"Bucky, I'm okay. Hey." She said softly, putting each of her hands on the sides of his face, making him look at her. He looked at her with much more intensity than he had before. "You're not Bucky are you?" She whispered. He stared at her for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head. If this was the Winter Soldier, then why wasn't he trying to kill them? She didn't have time to find out because more men came through the door. She was hauled up gently and pushed behind The Soldier as he picked up a cinderblock and threw it at the men coming through the door, stopping the bullets with his metal hand.
Once they were out of the door, Cassidy pulled her gun back out, shooting down at the officers coming up the stairs. Glass shattered above them and Steve threw his shield up to protect them There were too many of them, they weren't going to get out of this alive.
They fought their way down a few levels and The Soldier burst through a door to an open hallway and swept Cassidy up bridal style. "Do you trust me?" He asked. She looked into his eyes and she knew deep down that he wasn't going to hurt her. That he would protect her. She nodded and he took off running, vaulting them over the side of the building and onto the other roof.
They did not land as gracefully as she thought they would, but he wrapped his arms around her, protecting her when they rolled across the concrete. He ended up on top of her and there was only a second before he was thrown off her.
Cassidy looked to the left and saw a man that looked like…. well a cat to be honest. He came for The Soldier and she scrambled for her gun but she didn't have it. Looking around, she saw it lying a few feet from her. She rolled over, getting up to go for it as the two men fought.
She grabbed it, turned and shot at the cat man, but the bullets bounced off his suit. "What the hell." She said. She ducked as bullets came raining down on the rooftop.
"Sam! A little help here!" She yelled.
"On it!" Sam told her, coming from the side, kicking the back of the helicopter down. The Soldier grabbed the backpack, swinging it on, before turning to Cassidy. He stared at her, and it looked like he was having an internal battle with himself. He turned and jumped off the side of the building, leaving her there.
"Wait!" She yelled, but it was too late. Steve ran up to her, looking over to make sure she was okay. "He just left me here." She told him.
"I know." Steve said. "Come on." They followed as best they could, trying to keep up with The Soldier and the cat man. They jumped down into an expressway, and Cassidy yanked a stopped driver out of his car. Steve got in the passenger seat and she sped down the street after him. They felt a thud on the back of the car and she could see the cat man from the side mirror.
"Sam, we cant shake this guy." Steve said over the comms. Cassidy started swerving to knock him off, then she 'bumped' into another car, causing him to fall off. The solder was in front of them, and Cassidy watched in awe as he pulled someone off a motorcycle going the other way, spun it around and jumped n it, speeding down the street in front of them. She had to admit, it was pretty hot.
She watched him throw an explosive onto the bridge above them and Steve wasted no time in kicking out the windshield. He grabbed Cassidy and jumped just as the car hit the rubble and they hit the ground on his shield, skidding to a stop.
They both got up as police vehicles surrounded them. Rhodey landed, aiming his repulsors at them. "Stand down, now."
"Congratulations Cap, you're a criminal, and you've made Cassidy one too." Rhodey told them. They were forced on the ground with their hands behind their heads. Tears slipped from her eyes as she realized they had lost, and they were going to take Bucky from them and do God knows what.
She glanced over to The Soldier but he had a much softer look on his face now, and she knew that Bucky had broken back through. He mouthed 'I'm sorry' to her as they cuffed him, putting him into a truck.