October 23, 2015

The bags were packed with skimpy dresses, the booze was stocked from floor to ceiling in the quinjet, and the men were apprehensive to say the least. Despite Sam's attempts to convince Tiffany to throw Kayla's bachelorette party in Vegas or Manhattan, the little brunette insisted they were going to Prague for the weekend.

"I'd just feel better if you guys weren't so far. It's not safe for a group of women alone in Europe." Sam whined as Tiffany rolled her bag onto the jet. She turned so her fiancé could see her annoyed expression, pausing for a moment before retorting, "We're bringing the Black Widow along. I'm pretty sure we'll be fine. We're staying in a nice hotel. We'll get mani pedis and take photos, and do most of our drinking in the hotel room. Kayla said she doesn't even want to go clubbing, which I hate, but it's her weekend. For mine, you'll have much more to be worried about." Tiffany laughed.

Natasha appeared behind her with a small duffel and a coy smirk, causing Sam to panic even more, "Tiff, be safe, please."

"I told you, we'll be fine. What could go wrong?"

"Even I know those are famous last words, and it's my bachelorette party." Kayla groaned as she approached on Steve's arm. She held his forearm tightly, almost looking reluctant to go.

Tiffany groaned and motioned towards the quinjet, where Wanda was leaning against the wall with a glass of wine in her hand, "You know you gotta leave the groom right? He can't come to the bachelorette."

Kayla stuck out her lower lip to pout, but Steve was more worried about the Sokovian downing her beverage than his sad fiancé, "Are you even twenty-one?" Steve called up at Wanda and she snorted before turning around and taking a seat behind the pilot's chair.

Steve turned to Kayla and sighed, but she cut him off, "Drinking age is eighteen pretty much everywhere. I wouldn't worry too much about it, Captain America." She reached up and tugged his hair to the side, looking him up and down, "Don't go crazy with the guys, okay? I'm much more worried about what Stark has in store for you."

"That makes two of us." Steve grumbled, "What if we both ran away together? And show up just in time for the wedding?"

"Sorry, I have a dress fitting next Monday. I'm gonna need a rain check on the running away thing." Kayla leaned up on her tip toes to kiss Steve, "I love you, Mr. Rogers."

"And I love you, Miss Ellis." He kissed her forehead, running his hand over her short hair, "Not for long though. Then I'll be in love with Mrs. Rogers."

"I literally want to vomit, and I too, am engaged." Tiffany fake gagged and shoved Sam away from her to motion towards the jet. "Bitch, let's go!"

Kayla winked at Steve before scurrying onto the jet, waving goodbye as the back closed.

"I'm so excited, I got us a reservation at the Kings Court Hotel. Booked a day at the spa so we can get all loose, and then take photos and we're doing a prosecco bike tour of the city... and maybe I got us a VIP package for the Fashion Club should somebody decide she wants one last night infamous night for the tabloids before becoming Mrs. Captain Americcaaa." Tiffany slurred as she settled onto the bench beside Wanda and gestured towards the box wine, "Might as well get started now, eh?"

"Yeah, you might need a lot." Kayla mumbled as she moved to stand behind Natasha. At her words, Tiffany raised her brow and followed Kayla with her gaze until the bride-to-be admitted, "We're making a quick pit stop. Real fast, on our way to Prague."

The smaller woman looked from her best friend to the Avengers, noticing the way neither of them spoke up, meaning Tiffany was the only one of the group who wasn't aware of this little pit stop, "Okay... why?"

"I just have to do something." Kayla said seriously, "It's important."

"Like," Tiffany looked over at Natasha expectedly as the jet continued moving towards the Atlantic, "are we picking something up? I know it's your bachelorette party, but I was really looking forward to going back to the Ice Pub..."

"I'm looking for somebody." Kayla told Tiffany, leaning against the frame of the jet to watch the Black Widow set up the autopilot. Kayla looked back at her best friend and sighed, "I knew if I told you before we left, you'd blab, and the boys would freak out."

"Oh great." Tiffany grumbled, rolling her eyes and turning to Wanda. She didn't say anything for a few moments, waiting to see if Kayla would elaborate, but as Tiffany expected, she didn't. With a long sigh, she finally asked, "Where are we going?"

Natasha looked back over her shoulder as Kayla's breath hitched, feeling the weight of what she was about to do dragging her down like a boulder on her back. "Bucharest."

Back at the Avengers base, Steve was doing his best to avoid Tony Stark, knowing the billionaire was overly excited about the prospect of throwing America's Golden Boy a week of debauchery, booze, and women. Steve looked both ways down the hallway before darting towards his apartment he shared with Kayla, only to be cut off by Clint Barton.

"Hey there, Cap. How's it going?" Clint asked with a devilish grin, clearly knowing what Steve was trying to hide from.

"I'm trying to avoid Stark." Steve confessed as he sidestepped Clint, "If you don't mind, I'm going to get cleaned up. I've got a couple of wedding details to iron out while Kayla's away..."

Clint nodded and gestured towards Steve's apartment, "Of course. I'll see you later."

Steve found Clint's behavior suspicious, meaning he was certainly sent down to Steve's place for a reason. Steve could either wait to be surprised, or he could try to get an an answer out of Hawkeye. Realistically, he wouldn't get a straight answer from the archer, and would just put off the inevitable. "Okay. Bye." Steve said firmly as he unlocked his door, only to be ambushed by Sam and Tony on the other side.

"Cap. You ready for the last free week of your life?" Tony asked and Steve sighed, shrugging his shoulders as he looked longingly towards the bathroom.

"Can I at least shower first?"

"You'll escape out the bathroom window." Sam teased, patting his friend on the back, "Stark has the jet fueled and waiting. Even I don't know where we're going."

Steve pulled his mouth into a thin line and nodded, "Great. We could just have a few beers here? Watch football. Eat."

Clint laughed from where he leaned against the doorframe behind Steve, "We could, but if Stark's footing the bill, I think we should take advantage. I didn't fly out here to watch football. I could have done that at home with my family."

Steve winced, feeling guilty for complaining about what his teammates had planned for him. They didn't have to take time or spend money on his bachelor party, but they did, and he was going to attempt to enjoy himself, "I'm just nervous. About this week... about the wedding."

"Getting cold feet?" Sam asked quietly and Steve opened his mouth to answer before Tony said, "Wouldn't blame you. Lots of pressure marrying a traumatized socialite."

"It's not that." Steve growled, "I'm going to be her husband. We're moving out here full time, she's going to be a stay at home- she's going to stay at home for a while. Maybe do something online."

"Uh huh." Tony said thoughtfully as he chewed on the side of his cheek. Steve knew the man had caught his fumble, and he held his breath to see if anyone was going to mention it. "Well, all the more reason to have one last week of freedom. Before you're all 'Honey, I'm home!' forever and ever." Tony said with a wink, gesturing towards the door, "I've got a shower on the jet. We've taken the liberty of packing for you, you should have everything you need."

"My shield?"

"You don't need that." Sam chastised as he ushered Steve out of his home, "C'mon. Trust us. Would we let anything bad happen to you?"

Steve rolled his eyes and let the Falcon lead him towards the main lobby of the compound with Tony and Clint right behind. When they reached the doors, Rhodey was there with his hands in the pockets of a black leather jacket and a pair of aviator sunglasses shielding his eyes inside, "You said we were leaving at ten. It's ten forty-five. Happy is having an aneurism on the jet. He says we have clearance to land from eleven-thirty to twelve-thirty apparently, so he's freaking out."

"He'll be fine." Tony argued.

Leaning over to Sam, Steve whispered, "Who all is coming to my bachelor party?"

"Where are you all off to?"

Rhodey, Sam, Steve, Tony, and Clint all looked up at the familiar voice, realizing the physical embodiment of JARVIS might actually want to be included. "We, uh-" Sam started, looking to Tony, who just took a long step toward the Vision and smiled broadly.

"We were just getting Steve locked up on the jet before coming back for you. You got my memo right? About the bachelor party?"

"I don't believe I did." Vision said quietly, but he didn't look upset about the slight, "I'm unsure about whether or not I should join."

"You're more than welcome to join us Vison." Steve said firmly, looking to the others, "I don't know what we're doing, but we don't exactly blend in. There's no reason you should stay behind if you want to join."

"Plus, all the women are off to Prague, so you'll be pretty lonely here with all the worker bees." Clint said with a shrug, gesturing towards the faceless agents who were milling about the lobby. "Nat, Wanda, Kayla, and Sam's fiancé."

"Tiffany."

"Yeah, her, they're all gone already." Clint finished as Vision nodded thoughtfully.

"I wondered where Wanda was off to. She seemed anxious this morning."

Steve smiled, looking to Sam, "With Tiffany in charge, she's probably shaking in her boots."

"Speaking of shaking in our boots," Rhodey cut in, "If we don't get moving, Happy will turn into Angry, and we're here to party, not get our asses chewed. So let's go."

Tony gestured toward the doors and Steve sighed, taking the lead to wherever they were going. He just hoped he wouldn't have to beg for forgiveness from Kayla when she returned.

Bucharest was no Prague.

Tiffany held her arms as she walked alongside Wanda through the dirty streets of the not-so-great part of the city. She wasn't trying to hide how uncomfortable she felt, and she yelped as a car horned honked behind her.

"Easy. It's fine." Kayla told Tiffany. She looked over her shoulder and sighed when she noticed how stiff her best friend was, "Do you want to wait back in the jet?"

"No." Tiffany said quickly, picking up the pace to walk in line with Kayla and Natasha, "I'm just a little jumpy. Normally we aren't... we don't-"

"Listen, we aren't here to vacation, do outreach, or have a photo op. He's not going to be living in a penthouse, I killed a man in Sokovia and took over his home." Kayla hissed under her breath, shooting Wanda a knowing look, "I get that you aren't used to this type of locale, but we won't be here long. I just need to talk to him."

Tiffany sighed loudly, shoving her hands in the pockets of the bright green cardigan she'd thrown over her pantsuit to dress it down, "What makes you think he's going to want to talk to you? We're literally searching for your kidnapper, what the hell do you have to say to him?"

"That I forgive him." Kayla said as they stopped at a street corner to look around at their surroundings, "And that I want him to come to the wedding." When Natasha raised her brow questioningly, Kayla added, "For Steve's sake. I don't need him at the wedding, but imagine how happy that would make Steve. We'd made so much progress before I was taken, if he's still been filling in the gaps in his mind, he could be ready to come home."

Natasha chuckled and motioned towards a fruit market across the street, "This isn't the bad part of town. Calm yourself." She told Tiffany, causing the woman's chocolate eyes to widen and Wanda to giggle. "I'll talk to them. Try not to draw so much attention to yourselves." The comment was directed at the three other women, but it was clearly aimed specifically at Tiffany. Kayla shoved a print photo of Bucky towards Natasha, then looked around with her lips twisted thoughtfully.

While Natasha prodded the locals for leads, Wanda looked around almost longingly and Kayla threw her arm around her shoulders, "Feels kinda like home, doesn't it?"

"My home is with the Avengers now."

"Yeah, but, Sokovia will always be a part of you." Kayla said quietly as the sounds of sirens blared in the distance, "I know it'll always be a part of me."

Tiffany stiffened, getting a weird feeling they were being watched, "How do you know he's still here?"

"I don't. But this is where he was heading. I'd wanted to go back to America, but he wanted to go to Bucharest. I was naïve to think he'd ever give in to what I wanted." Kayla grumbled, scratching the back of her neck beneath her pixie cut. "But he wanted a home. Unless there was a reason to move on, I think he would stay here. It's a place to start anyway."

"We are not going galivanting through Europe looking for the Winter Soldier." Tiffany warned as she raised her finger to Kayla's face, "If he doesn't want to be found, we should respect his wishes, and go to Prague as planned. What do we do if the men call? Lie? I don't lie to Sam."

"I don't lie to Steve either, but this is more of a surprise." Kayla argued, looking up when Natasha approached, "Any luck?"

"The woman says she's seen him. He comes around every once in a while to buy fresh fruit." Natasha said under her breath, handing back the photo. The Black Widow looked in the direction Tiffany was staring, "What is it?"

Tiffany looked to the redhead, then up at Wanda, "You can read people's minds, right?"

"Yes?"

"What are they thinking over there." Tiffany nodded towards a small mass huddled around a newsstand and Wanda focused on them, her eyes glowing red.

"They are wondering if that's Kayla Ellis, because the woman looks like the girl from the Avengers." Wanda repeated before blinking the red away from her eyes, "They think it's odd that none of the men are here."

Natasha motioned away from the road with an anxiousness that didn't suit her, "Let's get moving. She says the Winter Soldier always goes that way after he finishes his shopping."

Kayla sighed and looked back at the group of people who were thinking about her, steeling her jaw before following her friends. She was trying to find a needle in a haystack, but she needed to speak to Bucky Barnes about what had transpired over the past year, and ask him to come back for her soon-to-be husband.

As they moved through Bucharest, Kayla kept a close eye out for the man she was searching for. She knew he was here, and her heart pounded at the idea of seeing him again after all this time. It had been hard for Steve to forgive Bucky for taking her, and inadvertently causing her to forget her life, but Kayla knew the Winter Soldier was a smart, scared, lonely man who had saved her to do something right, and took her because he panicked. He'd taken good care of her in Sokovia. He'd gotten anything and everything she'd needed. He'd worked odd jobs a couple times a week to earn some money, often times spending most of it on beer and that ice cream she liked. Bucky was a good guy, who had forgotten himself. Kayla could relate.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you aren't just doing this for Steve."

The thickly accented voice in Kayla's head startled her, causing her to snap her head towards Wanda with wide green eyes. She sucked in a deep breath, remembering that her private thoughts would never truly be private if the Scarlett Witch was around. She swallowed, looking down as she picked at her nails.

"For a brief time, when I was scared, he was all I had. He may have been my captor, but he was my only friend."

Wanda nodded, and a hum escaped her throat as they walked. She looked over to Natasha and Tiffany, finding the latter on her cell and the former looking around for their next destination. The young Maximoff adjusted the belt holding her red leather jacket tight against her black skater dress, "Perhaps there is more to it than that."

Kayla rolled her eyes, hating that Wanda had taken their conversation into the real world, allowing the others to hear them speak. She caught Natasha's gaze before saying, "I want to know if he looked for me. Or if he just sent that letter and ran."

The sound of a gunshot caught the women off guard and Kayla instinctively pushed Wanda and Tiffany out of the way as Natasha fell, taking the bullet in her left calf. "Get out of here!" She hissed as Kayla tried to help her up. The blonde looked around in terror as people began to run, then looked up to see a glint of metal reappear over the edge of a balcony across the street. Kayla yanked Natasha behind a car moments before another bullet struck where her head had been.

"How about we don't leave you, considering somebody's trying to kill you."

"Just be thankful they aren't trying to kill all of us." Natasha answered before shoving Kayla away. She summersaulted to her feet and grabbed Tiffany's arm, yanking her to her feet from her hiding place to lead her and Wanda behind the wall of a parking garage. Wanda used her magic to create a barrier and Kayla gave her a quick thumbs up before carefully sneaking around to look to Natasha. She shook her head and Kayla huffed, looking up to see the gun disappear from her view. As the assassin turned, Kayla saw the familiar, dull shine of metal before smirking.

"It's him."

"I hate him!" Tiffany yelled from behind Kayla as she darted across the street to the building, shoving open the door and sprinting up the spiraling stairwell to get to the top floor as the other tenants began to flee out their doors.

Kayla took the steps two at a time, thankful she'd started working out again once she was cleared for physical activity from Doctor Palmer. When she was almost to the top, she heard a door slam closed and the sound of heavy footsteps running down the stairs towards her, so she stopped and panted against the railing until the Winter Soldier came into view.

When he saw her, his brows drew together, and Kayla could tell he hadn't gotten a good enough look at her from above to realize who she was. He'd recognized Natasha though. "Kayla?" He croaked, dropping the black backpack he'd been holding over her shoulder, "You... you're here?"

"I am." Kayla said, raising her hands to keep him from darting or trying to grab her, "I came to find you. I knew you were coming here. It was the best place to start."

His bright eyes scanned her quickly, lingering at her thicker stomach and her short blonde hair, "What happened to you?" He paused, and she saw the familiar look of guilt on his face that she remembered well, "Hydra did this."

"You knew that Hydra took me?" She whispered, feeling her chest clench and his eyes widened. "Did you look for me?"

"I didn't need to. They left me a note. They took you to lure me back." Bucky said, looking around in terror, "I have to go."

He tried to push past her, but she grabbed his right arm, the real one, and he froze. "Let's talk."

"I sent him a note. I sent him a note so he could come find you. You're here with the Russian, she's with him. He must have found you."

Kayla pulled harder on his arm and he looked up at her, but didn't speak. "Let's go to your apartment. We can talk alone. I'll leave word with the others to stand down."

"How do you know I'm not gonna take you again?"

"When you hear the hell I went through, you won't want me anymore."

Bucky's face paled beneath his thick beard, and Kayla thought she saw him shudder before he whispered, "Okay."

Kayla nodded and pulled out her phone, calling Natasha and speaking quietly as Bucky led her back up the stairs, "You okay?"

"I'll live. Tiffany has a medic on the way. Where are you?"

"I'm with him." Kayla answered and she heard Natasha's breath hitch, "I'm fine. He's not going to bother you again. Once you're cleaned up, stay nearby. I'll let you know when we're on the move."

Natasha didn't answer, and Kayla didn't need permission. She hung up and slid her phone back into her pocket as they reached Bucky's floor. Kayla took note of the apartment number, scanning the area for an escape route should things go sour. Despite all the horrors she'd endured because of Hydra, she was thankful they'd taught her to defend herself, and be prepared for the worst. She'd worked as a scientist, but she knew how to get out of a sticky situation.

Once inside Bucky's apartment, Kayla looked around to study her surroundings, finding the balcony he'd shot from behind another door. Once she had her escape plan, Kayla took in how Bucky lived, seeing a dirty old mattress on the floor by the windows across from the small kitchen. Despite not having much, Bucky had actually managed to make a decent little home.

"How long did they have you?"

Kayla turned to face Bucky, noting that he was bigger than last time they'd seen each other. Clearly, he'd been training, same as her. "Almost a year. The Avengers found me in the spring."

"What did they do to you?"

"They placed a chip in my brain to suppress my memories." Kayla said quickly and Bucky's knees buckled, causing him to sway until he thrust his hand against the wall to keep him steady. She snorted and continued, "I woke up alone and confused. Hydra took me in and gave me a home and had me work for them. Then the Avengers arrived and Steve wouldn't stop until I believed I was Kayla Ellis." Kayla tilted her head with a raise of her brow as Bucky swallowed hard, "You said you sent him a note. You sent a note to Steve?"

Bucky nodded, but couldn't seem to get any words out. Kayla fiddled with her ring and looked over her shoulder, biting the side of her cheek as she peeked between the drapes to look out the window, "You knew they had me, and you just sent a note to Steve, hoping he'd swoop in and save me? Did you even try-"

"No. I didn't. I ran, and I hid, because I didn't want them to take away my mind again." Bucky said darkly as he clenched his metal hand into a fist. "I didn't think, not even for a moment, that they could do that to you. I thought they'd use you for ransom. I'm so sorry."

Kayla strode towards Bucky until she was right in front of her, so neither of them could avoid the other any longer. "I forgive you. But you owe me, and I'm asking you to repay that now. You turned my whole life upside down by taking me, and by letting me go. Come back with me."

"Come back? To America?" Bucky's voice broke and he shook his head, "I can't. Not after what I've done. I've got a good thing here, I can't go."

"Bucky." Kayla said with a sad smile, "You can move past all that. I can help you."

He took a step closer somehow, and Kayla had to stop herself from reaching out to grab his arms. He was imposing and smelled like smoke and sweat, overwhelming Kayla as she reminded herself why she was here. She was here to get Bucky back for Steve.

"Your ring." Bucky said quietly and Kayla lifted her hand to look at the sapphire, then raised her eyes to see Bucky's gaze locked on it, "You're marrying Steve."

"Next week." Kayla fiddled with the ring and Bucky met her gaze, "I've come to ask if you'll come back and be at our wedding."

Bucky narrowed his eyes at Kayla, staring right through her intently until he eventually whispered, "No."

Kayla took a step back, unsure what had happened, "No? Why no? He was your best friend. You told me once that I was your best friend, don't you want to see us happy?"

"No. I can't go back. I'm sorry." Bucky said as he moved around her to go to his fridge, "I'm sorry I shot your friend. I thought she was coming to take me back to pay for what I've done. I can't go back. I'm sorry." He paused at the fridge door and Kayla realized he was just avoiding her, "I really am sorry. For everything I caused. But I can't come back."

She drew a long breath and nodded, clenching her jaw as she felt the anger bubble up in her chest, "Fine. I understand. Good luck." Before Bucky could stop her, Kayla stormed out of his apartment, feeling like an idiot for thinking she could convince the Winter Soldier to let her and Steve back into his life.

"Here we are, Cap. Happy bachelor party!"

Steve stood beside his friends outside of the visitor center of Colonial Williamsburg with a smirk on his face and his hands on his hips. Sam scowled with his arms crossed, but Clint seemed more annoyed than anything.

"Maybe we should swing back for my kids. They can get some extra credit for school."

"Can we at least go to Busch Gardens while we're here?" Sam grumbled up at Steve, but Clint retorted with, "If we're going to Busch Gardens, we can't tell my kids."

"What the hell, Tony. Why are we at Williamsburg for Steve's bachelor party?" Rhodey asked his best friend as the billionaire looked around at the group in pride. "Tony. Tony!"

"What? It's an American institution! Just like our beloved Captain." Tony said with a smug grin as he smacked Steve on the back, "What'dya think, big guy? Best bachelor party ever?"

"Better than I imagined." Steve said honestly, walking away from the group towards the visitor's center to start their tour. Tony looked to the others and shrugged, not fazed by their frustrated glares.

"We're going to a strip club later. This is just to ease him in."