Chapter Seven: Bad Influence

What does one wear to steal a jet? Bucky really wasn't helping out. Since he'd told her the plan fifteen minutes ago, she was told she had an hour to be packed and ready to go. They were gonna steal a fucking plane, holy shit. He wouldn't tell her from where or what was going on or even how he knew how to fly one of those things, but there was a sort of dangerous thrill that fizzled through her body at the thought of actually going through with it. She'd never done anything like this before she met him, sure she'd gotten in trouble, but never really broke the law. This was so that 'good girl falls for bad boy' cliche, and she wasn't sure whether to embrace it or run screaming in the other direction. So far she'd been having fun along the ride, but would she change her mind after this?

There was no time to dwell. If she was going to get arrested she wanted to look good for her mugshot, so she applied a decent amount of makeup, thinking a red lip was essential for this type of situation. Sexy, dangerous outfit was next. Her black leather pants were out, she could not breathe in those things. So plain black leggings? She guessed they were okay. She had an old pair of black combat boots that she'd regretted purchasing until that very moment, and stuffed her feet into them, looking for a black shirt to go with the outfit. Tight fitting black turtleneck? Check. Cool-looking motorcycle jacket? Double check. Sunglasses? Hell yeah. She stuffed her parka into her new bag, a duffel so she could fit some more things.

"What the hell are you wearing?" she heard from the doorway, and she whirled to see Bucky crossing his arms over his red henley and black hoodie combo.

"If I'm about to do things your way, I'm gonna dress cool." his eyes trailed over her form lazily.

"You're gonna attract too much attention looking like that, find something else." he sighed. She shook her head.

"I'm dressed in dark colors, it's incognito." she explained. He sighed, rolling his eyes.

"No, you look like you're planning on committing a crime. Lose the jacket and change your shirt, the shoes are fine." he sighed. "Wear a gray shirt or something, muted colors are easier to blend into crowds with." Bucky explained. She pouted, throwing her jacket onto her bed.

"Fine. But I'm keeping the lipstick." she compromised. His gaze lingered on the color, then he nodded.

"I like it." he admitted before turning to leave the room. "And pack lightly. Wear the parka, not that jacket. You'll look stupid." she scoffed, looking at her leather jacket. It wasn't stupid. Was it? She pulled her parka out and threw on a dark gray crewneck. She supposed he was an expert in this. She glanced at herself in the mirror, frowning. Was the sweater too bulky? She sighed. She needed to stop nitpicking. Nobody cared if she looked bigger than usual in the sweater. It was fine. As long as she lived through the endeavor, it would work. She checked in her bag once more, thankful that she checked the calendar and she wouldn't need anything for her period in well over two weeks. Thank god for small miracles.

"Bucky, I'm ready!" she called, bounding down the stairs. He was in the kitchen, packing them some food that he said would last them a while. She wasn't sure about that, but she'd let it slide. "What next?" she asked. Yesterday he had made her go to four different banks, transferring ten-thousand dollars between multiple currencies in order to cover their tracks in case anyone looked into the bank records to track their plan. He said it would take anyone searching awhile to find where they had ended up. They were fine on cash, she was to leave her cell-phone in the house, and to only use the burner phone for emergencies. She'd been thoroughly briefed, and it made excitement flare through her body.

"Next we get on the bike." he shrugged on his leather jacket, and she felt a slow smile spread across her face.

"Hell yeah, time for motorcycles!" she cheered, she hopped after him as he entered the garage. They'd found a cheap bike for sale on ebay, paid cash, and planned to abandon the death trap where they got on the plane. "So whose plane are we stealing?"

"You don't know them. It's an old… acquaintance that won't really be needing it." he shoved a helmet down onto her head. "He thinks I'm under the soldier influence, so he has the plane ready to take me to a new handler. I'm putting earplugs in, so if you need to get my attention for anything you tell me. You're my hostage, remember, so pretend like you're unwilling. Oh, and here." he reached behind him, pulling a black pistol out and handing it to her. It laid heavy in her hands, and her body froze. "Do not use it unless there is an extreme emergency where we are separated. If you pull it out around me I'm taking it away, and if the guy sees you have that he will know you're not really a hostage and then our one shot is blown. Got it?"

"Um… I don't even know how to use it." holding it felt wrong. She was about to be a doctor, she took oaths to protect people, and here she was holding a deadly weapon. She made a mental note to never aim for anything vital on the off chance she had to use it in the near future. He gave her a quick demonstration on turning off the safety and cocking it, and she obviously knew how to pull the trigger, but she still felt scared. The giddiness had finally worn off, and the reality of the situation sunk it.

She might have to see him kill people. Sure, they were bad people that were trying to get him to be a brainwashed tool again, and she understood that he would not go there again. But wouldn't things just be so much easier if they could just talk it out? She sighed, wishful thinking. Of course the world didn't work like that. Bucky turned the safety back on and helped her put it in her waistband.

"What if I shoot my ass off?" she joked, and he gave her a look. "Yeah, that was a weak one." she chuckled nervously. "Um, I…" she cleared her throat. "What do I do if something happens to you?" she squeaked. What would she do without him? Go to Bucharest alone? No, of course not, she couldn't fly. But, she doubted she'd be safe at home again.

"Don't worry, nothings gonna happen to me." he shook his head, stuffing their things into the seat of the bike. She'd have to hold one of the backpacks, but that was fine with her.

"But what if-" she was nervous, and he really wasn't giving her a chance to put those fears out into the air.

"Donatella. Nothing bad will happen as long as we stick to the plan. We're in this together, okay?" he tapped the top of her helmet.

"God that was sickly sweet. Is this our best friends movie montage moment?" she snapped back into sarcasm almost on reflex, and he groaned, swinging his leg over to straddle the motorcycle.

"Just get on and shut up." he sighed. She scrambled on behind him, squeezing him as tight as she could. Out of fear. Definitely out of fear, obviously she wasn't just trying to feel him up or anything. But damn, that ass felt nice against her thighs. When he revved the engine and sped off, however, the scream she let out was pure terror. He wasn't even gonna slow into it? Damn, how rude. She got over her fear pretty quickly.

Honestly, after the 45 minutes they were on it, it got kind of boring. Her legs were chafing and her butt was sore, but he had finally begun to slow. She wanted to squeal with excitement, but knew she had to keep quiet and act her part.

"Okay, if we're gonna sell, it, put up a struggle in front of him." Bucky mumbled in her ear once they'd gotten off. He pulled a short cord from his pocket and loosely tied her wrists. It looked like she was bound tightly, but if she pulled the end the ropes would slip off. He grabbed their things, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and the duffel. She still had the last pack on, and he grabbed her by the elbow and marched her to the building. She stumbled a bit, not really having to sell it that hard after all. He pounded on the door, and it opened a crack after a few moments.

She gave a harsh tug against his grip, and he scowled, pulling her back. Damn, he was a good actor. She tried to give as good a performance, and apparently it worked because the door opened fully and they were brought inside. A man in tactical gear led them through the dark building, scarce naked bulbs flickering dim light against the dingy walls. Bucky asked a question in a language she didn't recognize, was that Russian? The man answered, and Bucky nodded, seemingly satisfied. They made it to an elevator, this one was even more beat up and creepy than the one in her building.

"Where are you taking me?" she tried to whimper, giving a real wince when Bucky's grip tightened. He made no motion that signified he'd noticed that it hurt her except for slowly loosening it again.

"Shut up." he growled, and she felt a jolt of uneasiness sneak down her spine. Damn, he really was selling it to her, too. Once the elevator made it to the floor, they managed to get out and follow the tactical guy to another staircase. Bucky frog-walked her up ahead of him, and every time he snarled when she stumbled made her even more nervous. He used her to push open the door, not being very gentle as he held her hands behind her back, and the light from the rooftop blinded her for a moment.

"Soldier. Who is this?" a new voice asked. Tactical gear guy was behind them and there was a man in a gray pinstripe suit standing there waiting for them.

"Bioengineer. The arm needed repair." he replied. She then realized, wasn't he wearing ear plugs? He must be able to read lips, she surmised.

"You won't need her. Your handler will be able to fix anything that happened." the man waved at her, pretty much dismissing her. Bucky stiffened imperceptibly.

"Wait so you mean I can go home?" she tried to sound hopeful, pulling away from Bucky as best she could. The man gave her a pitiful look. He motioned to someone behind them, and tactical guy came up, grabbing her other arm.

"You can be disposed of." he explained. He turned away to go towards the plane, and panic gripped her throat.

"No, no no no wait!" she tried to yank away from tactical guy. "We can make a deal, I'm loaded so you guys can have my trust fund!" she attempted to bribe. Bucky let go, his eyes a steely blue in that moment, no recognition in his gaze. She was scared, wasn't he going to stop them? She stumbled over her feet as tactical guy brought her towards the building. A flash of silver glinted from the corner of her eye, and something cool pressed against the side of her head.

"Nothing personal." he said with a thick accent, and she stared horrified at Bucky as he watched. Wasn't he going to fucking do something? She blinked, and in the time her eyes had closed and reopened the gun had gone off. But she… was fine? She glanced around, confused to see tactical guy on the ground. Another shot went off, and she noticed pinstripe was down. There was blood on her, holy shit. There was blood on the roof, and she felt cool metal fingers press against her side.

"We have to move now. There's more inside." he shoved her towards the plane. She stumbled up the steps and into the cabin, and the pilot whirled on them with a pistol. Bucky shot him clean through, running over to grab the body and toss him onto the roof. "Sit down and buckle up!" he shouted as the engine whirred to life. He closed the door, running back towards the front of the plane. It was sleek and high-tech, and she wondered where these people got their money from. The government, probably. There was a lurch as it began to lift, and she rushed to the front beside Bucky, sitting in the co-pilot chair and snapping the belt around her body.

"Shit, there's people coming." she panicked, and Bucky grunted as the jet hovered over the building, clearly going as fast as possible. She screamed as they began shooting, ducking her head down to her knees.

"It's bulletproof." he explained as they shot off the building, the bullets pinging harmlessly off the plane. Something crackled above their heads, and a voice speaking in a foreign language began to speak. He tensed, reaching above him with the metal arm and punching out the speaker. "Okay, it should be safe now, but I'm gonna need to get in stealth mode. Can you help me out with that?" he had both hands on the steering, and so she nodded. "Okay, go to that panel and input the code three-seven-three, then twist the key and pull it out." she did as he asked and held it out to him. "Take the key and put it into that hole right now and when you twist it, hit the button above your head." she located the places and did it in the right order, causing Bucky to sigh in relief. He pulled the earplugs out, tossing them behind him.

"Holy fuck." she collapsed into the chair. "They were… oh my god, the guns…" she shivered, pulling her knees up to her chest. Those men were dead now.

"Are you okay?" one of his arms reached out for her, and she quickly grasped his hand for comfort. The cold metal of his fingers soothed her, and she squeezed tightly. His thumb ran circles over the back of her hand.

"They're dead." she choked out. "I've never seen someone…" she had never seen the life leave someone's eyes like that. It was awful. But Bucky had killed before, and might have to do it again.

"I'm sorry that it had to be like that. But I couldn't let them hurt you." he revealed, lacing his fingers through hers. "I can't lose you." Bucky admitted. She squeezed his hand again, not replying. But she felt the same.

"You played your part really well." she complimented. "For a minute I thought that you… didn't care." she finished lamely. "It was a little scary." they were flying over water now.

"I knew that if… well, they found out anyways now I guess, but I couldn't just let them…" he struggled to find the words to use. She let out a breathy laugh.

"Yeah, I know. Me too." she sighed, tilting her head back against the seat. They were over open water now, and she felt the exhilaration from the morning finally draining away, exhaustion taking over.

"Get some rest. We've got a ten hour flight." he prompted her, and she greedily obeyed, curling up in her chair with her fingers still linked with his.

…

Going to sleep was a mistake. She replayed it over and over again, the two shots, the dead men, the dead pilot, the blood that disappeared into her dark pants. Bucky shouting, Bucky becoming the soldier, Bucky getting wiped, Bucky not remembering her.

That was what eventually woke her. The idea that if he got caught he'd never remember their time together. She would never let that happen as long as she lived. Which, looking at how her life was going, may end sooner than her projections had led her to believe.

"Bad dream?" Bucky whispered. She was still holding onto his hand, his hand nearly icy in the cold air. She shivered, sitting up to look out the dark window.

"How long was I out?" she yawned, leaning towards him. Even from a distance he let off a nice amount of heat.

"Six hours. We've got just over four to go." he explained. She groaned, stretching her legs out and wiggling in her seat, getting the pins and needles out of her butt.

"Sorry I slept so long, it must've been boring." she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. He shrugged, rubbing circles into her hand again.

"It wasn't too bad. You talk in your sleep." he smiled, glancing over. She noticed he was no longer handling the controls, and autopilot was on.

"I do not." she answered lamely, knowing she for sure did. He let out a soft chuckle and squeezed her hand before dropping it.

"Are you hungry? We've got a whole bag of Cheetos." he leaned back in his chair, popping his spine before scooping up their food pack.

"I can't believe you brought the Cheetos." she scoffed, but greedily pulled out the cheesy snack and ripping it open, sighing at the sight. "Wow, I'm way more hungry than I thought." she laughed when her stomach growled loudly. They munched quietly, staring out at the dark sky ahead of them.

"What was college like?" he asked softly. Don turned to him, but he was still looking out the window.

"Why do you want to know?" she was curious. He shrugged, shaking his head.

"I never got to go. Never had anything to go for, really." he shrugged. Her heart twinged: he was such a smart man, he'd have loved being able to go and learn. He would have been a great student, he deserved it so much more than half of the kids whose parents forced them to go.

"Well, what kind of stuff do you want to hear? I wasn't the greatest student in the beginning." she admitted with a laugh. "I partied a lot, which was so dumb." Don rolled her eyes at herself.

"You went to parties a lot?" he gave her a look. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, yeah, my boyfriend at the time was in a frat, so I went to a lot of his mixers." she shrugged. He shot her another look.

"That really just doesn't seem like you." he shook his head. This caused her to laugh, and he smiled.

"Okay, well there was this one time I did a keg stand and I did horribly, plus I was miserable the rest of the night. I ended up in the pool in my underwear crying, and my friends had to physically get in the pool to get me out because I refused to go home. It was so embarrassing." she groaned, putting her head against the headrest of her chair. He laughed, a true, gorgeous laugh and she tilted her head to look at him. She'd never seen him look like that. It was amazing to see.

"Of course you would." He shook his head. "Any more?"

"Oh god, once I was going to do seven minutes in heaven with this super hot girl that I had a huge crush on. I was so nervous, I waited in the closet for a few minutes while she went to the bathroom." She winced. "I psyched myself out so much that I ran screaming from the house. I wasn't even wearing shoes. I ran all the way back to my dorm." He laughed again, throwing his head back. A smile played on her lips at the sight of him looking so happy. "I avoided her for weeks after that, it was so embarrassing. We never spoke again." She moaned.

"Of course you made it weird." He rolled his eyes, tilting his head back into his seat, crumpling the empty chip bag in his metal hand.

"Oh here's the worst one." She winced, leaning forward onto her knees to prepare herself for the embarrassment. "So I met this guy at a party, and I had enough to drink, so I was in good form. He was dancing with me, and then he invited me upstairs, and I went along cuz I'm an idiot, and we were making out at the top of the stairs and I tried to stand up with his help but I managed to trip and knock him over and he fell all the way down. He bit the tip of his tongue off. I was mortified." She buried her face in her hands. "People called me kiss of death after that." She laughed, and when she looked over at him he was leaned back with his hands clutching his stomach, silent laughter shaking his body. "Okay it is not that funny." She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"D-did they fix his tongue?" He gasped, wiping the corner of his eye.

"Yes, they had to sew the tip back on." She chuckled. "I felt so bad for him, I didn't kiss anyone after that for a few months at least."

"What were you, some sort of serial kisser?" He leaned forward, intrigued. She shook her head.

"I wasn't a prude, but I definitely wasn't promiscuous either. I just like kissing." She shrugged. His laughter slowly faded into a smirk, and his eyes glanced down to her lips. She felt her mouth dry at the look in his eyes when he met hers again, and she swallowed stiffly. God dammit, why was he so enticing? He had a permanent look about him that just oozed pure flirtation somehow, even though his body language was completely stiff and unapproachable otherwise. Why did she want to lean forward to meet his lips? Feel the stubble scrape her chin, touch his soft hair, be encircled by his arms… damn, she needed to cool down. "How much longer?" She asked, looking away first. Coward.

"Just under four." He stretched again, his legs crowding in front of hers, the muscles in his delectable thighs flexing as he crossed his ankles. He tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest. The man really knew his angles.

"Well, you know embarrassing things about me now. What about you?" She asked cautiously, knowing most of his memories were gone. He sighed, eyes misting over wistfully, and he clearly wasn't in the present anymore. His lips pursed together pensively before he spoke.

"Well, the guy I used to be… he's not the same person I am now. Too much has changed for me to be… him." He shook his head, glancing over to her. She sat on her hands, nodding encouragingly. He was actually going to tell her? "Steve and I were like brothers back then. I was, well, completely different. Not to brag, but I had a new girl every week." He chuckled bitterly.

"I'd believe it. You clean up pretty well, Barnes." She smiled, biting her lip as he shot her a look.

"I don't know, I guess so. I thought it was fun, going on dates, dancing. I never went steady with a girl, it was always just for fun, nothing serious. I had a lot of fun. But it was hard to keep track of everyone." He scratched his neck as he flushed. "I was fooling around with a girl in the back of a car, and I called the dame by the wrong name." He admitted, and she gasped.

"No! Oh my god that didn't happen. What did she do?" She leaned forward, extremely intrigued, even though there was a pang of jealousy low in her stomach.

"She slapped me hard. I had a bruise for a week, and she told everyone about it. No girl would look me in the eye for months because of that." His fingers ghosted over his cheekbone, eyes unfocused as a smile played over his lips. "Steve really thought that was a hoot. He teased me relentlessly, kept calling me Binky." His grin widened. "That kid, always biting off more than he could chew…"

"Are you and Steve still friends now?" She asked. His smile faded, and regret sunk in, wishing she hadn't ruined the mood. "Oh, I didn't mean…"

"It's okay." He cleared his throat. "I'm just… he thinks that I'm still that same Bucky from the forties, the one that used to crash on the couch and hang out with him. But I'm not that guy anymore. Too much has changed." His voice was rough as he finished, and he lowered his gaze to the floor with clenched fists.

"Are you scared you'll disappoint him?" She asked quietly. His eyes squeezed shut. "I understand that. When something big changes, there's like, a big piece of you gets scooped out and thrown out, and you can try and find the pieces but they'll never be quite the same again…" she sighed, tracing her finger over her knee. "But I don't think Steve is the same one from back then either." His eyebrows furrowed as he opened his eyes, glancing up at her.

"How so?" He asked cautiously. She thought carefully before answering.

"I don't know what he's been through, but…" she trailed off, her fingers plucking at piece of lint on her leggings. The stubborn thing wouldn't get off, and she sighed frustratedly. "Steve was literally brought back from the dead. He was found frozen in a block of ice, it was miraculous he survived… the whole nation rejoiced having our hero back, and he was lost. Alone and afraid in a strange place, everyone he knew and loved was dead or had moved the fuck on. You were dead, Buck. And now he has a chance of getting you back." She said firmly. His eyes met hers again, something pure shining from the depths. "You both have a chance to put another piece in place. I'd kill for that." She finished firmly, her fingers clutching at the heart-shaped gem around her neck. His eyes tracked her movement, something swimming in his gaze.

"Your parents…" he murmured.

"They sucked. They were terrible people. But if I could have had one more day with my dad teaching me how to create a power source, or my mom showing me how to strip wiring to re-calibrate a junk pacemaker…" her voice shook. "They were my parents no matter what. They brought me into this world. They kind of loved me, I think. And I loved them, even if they sucked. They were my parents, Bucky." She choked out, wetness hitting her cheeks, horrified to realize she was crying. He stood from his chair and knelt in front of her, grabbing her hands in his with a squeeze.

"I'm sorry. I know it's been a rough couple of days for you." His voice was impossibly soft and velvety, and his words soothed her soul like a balm.

"For both of us, I think." She laughed hollowly. "I'm sorry, too. I'm sure babysitting hasn't been easy." Donatella joked, and his fingers tightened around hers.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. We're in this together, remember?" that soft voice, those sweet words, how the hell could she not love him? She gave him a crooked smile and he grinned back. "That's more like it." He patted her thigh and stood again.

"So our spring break getaway, it's in Bucharest, right? Anything cool around there? A museum? Anything to see, really." She was hopeful that she wouldn't have to sit in a safe room all day.

"Well, the part of town isn't great. Secure, but not a lot around. The apartment itself…" he trailed off with a wince. "You'll have to lower your expectations. A lot. It's barely even an apartment, more like a room… yeah. A room." He smiled at her sheepishly. She bit her lip.

"So like, hotel room? Or sleeping bag room." She frowned.

"I think there's a mattress." He said mattress, not bed. Was it just a floor mattress? Okay, whatever, she could deal.

Wait, one mattress?

Shit. She could not deal.

How the hell was she expected to sleep in a single room next to this man, this whole ass man, with that god-like face and body? Jesus H Christ there was no way. Absolutely no way she'd survive the ordeal.

"Are you okay?" He asked, snapping her from her internal freak out.

"Yeah, just not looking forward to sleeping on the floor." She laughed nervously. He winced.

"Sorry. Usually it's just me…" he frowned. She sighed, shaking her head.

"It's really fine, don't worry about it." She waved off his concern, sighing as she settled into her seat. "Wanna play I spy?" She asked, feeling bored.

"People still do that?" Bucky squinted at her. She shrugged.

"Beats doing nothing." She reasoned. He pursed his lips again, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Okay. I spy with my little eye something…" he held the g as he glanced around the cabin. "Something green." He leaned back, looking satisfied with himself, giving her a lazy smirk.

"Is it that green light on the dash?" She pointed at a button. His smile dropped.

"How did you guess that?" He demanded, leaning forward as she laughed.

"You're so bad at this game, you said it as soon as you saw it." She jeered. "Okay my turn. I spy with my little eye…" her eyes skimmed over a hanging red cord with a handle to pull, and she continued her gaze but secretly chose it. Her eyes settled on him. "Something red."

"My shirt." He guessed quickly. She gave a sharp shake of her head, and he frowned. "The seats." He smiled, thinking he was right.

"Not even close." She smirked. He pursed his lips again.

"That button. That button?" He continued to guess multiple buttons as she shook her head. "Okay, the emergency switch." He pointed to, you guessed it, another button.

"It's not a fucking button, Buck." She laughed. He frowned and glanced around.

"There's only red buttons!" He threw his arms out to the sides.

"No there is not." Donatella rolled her eyes, pointing to the cord. He glared at it.

"That's brown!" He shouted, crossing his arms.

"It's definitely red." She shook her head. He stood up to grab it, inspecting it closely.

"Okay from where I was sitting I thought it was brown. That doesn't count, okay?" His expression puckered. She burst into laughter, holding her stomach tightly as he gave her a look.

"Okay, fine, I guess it didn't count." She wheezed, wiping a tear that had escaped her eye. He had an unamused look that slowly morphed into that sexy smirk, and suddenly her breath caught in her throat. What was she laughing about again? She was distracted. His gaze was alert on her, and she felt her heart beat faster at the way his eyes were raking up and down her form. What was he staring at? She gulped nervously.

"Donatella." He began, and she felt her mouth go dry at the slight accent that came out whenever he used her full name. How did his voice cause her mind to go blank?

"Y-yeah?" She squeaked out, causing his smirk to widen.

"You have Cheeto dust on your shirt." She squawked, patting the fabric on her torso trying to get the food off. He gave her a chuckle, and she felt her face flush. That was what he'd been staring at so intently? God, for a moment she'd thought he might have been attracted to her…

She really needed to stop reading into his looks so much. It was going to drive her insane.

Early update! I wasn't sure if I'd have time tomorrow to post this (I'm seeing Endgame after class!), so I'm bumping the update schedule up a day (not sure if anyone's complaining though). Also, we're over halfway through this story! Thanks so much for all the support you guys have given me so far!