A short while later we were standing on the top of the tower. I had a backpack slung over my shoulder and my crutches in one hand, my back facing the street. I balanced on my good foot.

"You're insane," Bucky stated. He watched the cars driving past. They looked tiny at this height.

I thrust the backpack and crutches at him. He caught them easily. "C'mon these painkillers won't last forever. I won't be able to fly once they wear off."

Once again, he looked over the edge. I raised an eyebrow waiting for his protest. He glanced back at me. I spread my wings out and flapped once as a sign of impatience. Then he sighed. "So how are we going to do this?"

"You won't like it," I warned him.

"I already don't like it."

"Come here. Closer."

He took some hesitant steps in my direction. I pulled him to me, facing him away. Then I wrapped my arms tightly around his chest. I could barely hold my wrists together. I ignored the worry creeping into my stomach.

"This is going to be a bit difficult, you're bigger than the others I usually carry. Plus with the broken leg, I'm not exactly sure how we'll land."

"Perhaps you should think this through."

"Too late," I said. I leaned backward. "Hold on tight!"

"Too… what?!" He yelled as I fell backward off the ledge. He gripped the backpack and crutches tighter as I swiveled us around to be parallel with the ground. Then I flapped my wings to gain some altitude.

We weaved out and around skyscrapers. He flinched whenever I got a little too close to a building.

"Hey, be careful!"

"I am!" I yelled back.

We flew for a few minutes before I could see my apartment building. I headed straight for it. Then I stopped short, and Bucky tensed, preparing for a crash that didn't happen. We hovered over a balcony. I had to flap hard to keep from falling.

"I'm going to drop you, do you want me to get a little closer?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "I just want to be on solid ground."

Carefully I untangled my arms from him, then he pushed against me to land neatly on the patio. I grunted as the force sent me backward, shooting pain through my torso. He turned around to where I was still hanging in the air.

Bucky set the bag and crutches against the wall. Then he leaned over the rail, stretching a hand out. "I'll catch you."

I hesitated, looking down. As I looked down at the ground, my mortality stared back at me.

"I just let you fly me through New York City. Please, trust me," Bucky urged.

I reached out and allowed him to pull me over the side. Then I sheathed my wings quickly so he could keep me from landing on my injured leg. He didn't let go of me for a few seconds as I gasped. I hugged my sides tight, pain shooting through me. "Are you okay?" He asked as he finally released me. I didn't answer right away as I was still catching my breath. Then I nodded.

"I'm fine."

He handed me the crutches but held the bag as I unlocked the door and disabled the alarm.

"That's the same key card as the one you use at the tower," he noticed.

I nodded, "Fury set me up here, a long time ago. After Tony joined the avengers initiative, I had him upgrade the security features."

"So, how old are you?"

The change of conversation surprised me. I looked at him as I grabbed my laptop from beside my couch. He held his hand out as an offer to carry it and I accepted. I wondered why he wanted to know. "You first."

"101," he answered easily.

"Looking good for an old man,'' I teased. I sat down at my small table and he sat across from me.

"Now you," he said, placing his hand on the laptop.

"I don't know," I shrugged. He frowned, clearly in disbelief. "Years weren't exactly accurate when I was born. Although I may say the 1600s because I was burned at the stake once during the witch trials."

"Witches weren't burnt," Bucky replied almost absentmindedly. I stared at him. He continued, "witches were drowned… well women were."

"It was during the witch trials. But I wasn't mistaken for one." He slid the laptop towards me and I opened it. Then I pulled out a pen drive from the backpack.

"That's a story I'd like to hear. So what are you doing?" He asked, gesturing towards the computer.

"Tony decrypted the files from Hydra. At least the electronic ones. The others, however," I pulled a thick pile of papers out, "are coded in writing."

"We're doing research?"

I shrugged, "you may not be interested in the serum they injected you with. I, however, am interested in whatever they did to me."

He nodded. "So what can I do?"

I frowned, thinking. "Do you think the winter soldier would know the codes?"

Bucky tensed. Anger hurt, and fear flashed across his face. "No." He said firmly.

I flinched inwardly at his reaction. "I'm sorry. It was a bad idea."

He looked away, retreating somewhere into his mind.

I focused on the files coming up on the screen. Guilt flushed into my stomach, making me feel ill. Why had I suggested such a thing?

"I am really sorry," I repeated. He didn't answer. I busied myself with looking through the files. Of course, they would be littered with words I couldn't understand. I groaned, rubbing my head.

"What's wrong?" Bucky asked so quietly anyone with normal hearing would've missed it.

"I can speak 4 languages, but I can't understand this vernacular," I swore.

He stood up to look over my shoulder. "This is all nonsense. I have no idea what half of the symbols even mean. I think that's a chemical equation?"

"I'm so useless at this point. Science and math have changed so much in the last 200 years. I'd given up on keeping up." I sighed loudly. Frustration burned in my chest.

"You're not useless," Bucky said with quiet conviction. I glanced up at him. A slight blush rose in his cheeks. He looked away. "What do you have to eat?"

"You'll probably have to order something. I'm guessing any food I have will be rotten by now." I started thinking about what I'd have to do to get back to normal. Everything at least needed dusting. I didn't dare to think of the plants in my room. I refocused on the screen.

He nodded, pulling out a phone. He tapped on it a couple of times before letting out a scoff. "Aoife, can you help me? Steve gave me this thing but… I don't understand it."

I nodded, holding out my hand without glancing away from the laptop. I'd found my file and was looking it over carefully. "Bucky…" I hesitated. He glanced over my shoulder again.

"But this doesn't make sense ."

I turned away. "I can't deal with this."

Ten words were listed on the screen. I didn't read them, scared of what they meant. "They couldn't brainwash you… so what's that for?"

"I'll order the food, you just keep reading."

He nodded silently and I grabbed the crutches and walked to my bedroom. I glanced sadly at the brown plants littering every surface. I'd had them for years. They were my solace after difficult missions and they made me feel like I wasn't in the middle of an overcrowded city. The only one to survive was a cactus. I felt anger rising in me as I picked it up carefully and brought it to the bathroom for a good watering.