Welcome one and all to the next installment of Frumuseţe! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Please review and let me know what you think of this story! I'd really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I own Charlie! I guess I also own Adelina, but she's not Bucky so boo!

Chapter Seven

Without a sound, he extended the phone to me, his breathing becoming heavier and I stood and accepted it from him.

"Hello?"

Natasha's voice was calm in its fury as she queried sardonically, "Yeah, Ms. Lang, you wanna tell me why the fuck you're sharing a room with the Winter Soldier?"

"Shit."

"Why is he in your room?" she queried slowly, as though I didn't hear her the first time when my response was so obviously fearful of her words, "is he holding you hostage? Does he have you at gunpoint?"

"No, Nat, it's nothing like that," I retorted hotly, quickly; too quickly for her liking, as her voice became choppy, as though she were speed-walking to my rescue, "honestly, it's just some guy. He was hot, we fooled around; why do you think it's him?"

I chanced a glance at Bucky, too distressed by Nat's rage to find his bashful flush enjoyable, "Where are you going? What are you doing?"

"Do you think I'm stupid, Charlotte?" she snapped angrily, "you think I don't know what he sounds like? He tried to kill me - on multiple occasions. I- No, I know it's him. I know he found you. Do you think you can get away from him? Do you-"

"I don't need to get away from him," I interrupted, a bite to my tone as my own anger grew, "it's not what you think. He's not what you think he is. He's not the Winter Soldier."

"Who is he, then?" she queried mockingly, "some hot guy you fooled around with? Please; I know you better than that, Charlie!"

"It- it is him, Nat, but he's not the Winter Soldier," I had to turn my back on the super soldier for fear of yet another wounded look of betrayal plastered across his face, "he's just Bucky. He is. And if you plan on coming to take him, you'll have to take me, too. Stockholm Syndrome, Nat, really? You said it yourself; you know me better than that."

I could hear her movements still over the phone, her harsh breathing the only thing crossing the receiver. She was listening, which was always a plus, so I plowed on, "I went in, I assessed the situation. He's not a threat. No more than Bruce is."

"That's not fair," she hissed, her voice deadly in its silence, "he's not in control of himself when he's the Hulk. He can't-"

"Neither is he, Natasha," I muttered, jaw clenching and tone firm, "I've spent almost a week with him now. I tricked him, I betrayed him, and he still helped me with those guys."

"So they're real?" she inquired mockingly, "it's hard to believe anything you say right now. Is this Mr. W real too?"

"Really? You really gonna act like this?"

"You lied to me!" she exploded, "you think I'm gonna believe anything you say right now? Next you're gonna tell me Loki didn't mean to set a shit-ton of aliens loose on New York!"

"I don't pretend to know what jackass's mind, and I wouldn't want to," I noted, "but Thor would want you to give him a chance even now. So why won't you give Bucky one? You've known me longer than almost anyone else; you're the closest thing I have to a sister, Nat. I lied to you to protect him, yeah, but if I think he's worth lying to you about, don't you think I might be onto something?"

A tense moment of silence rang in my ear before her resolute voice announced, "I need to tell the others, Charlie."

Chewing on the tip of my tongue, I contemplated my next words carefully. A cold, heavy weight fell on my shoulder and I turned toward Bucky, whose face was as grave as his tone, "Don't, Charlie. Don't do this. Go back to them; turn me in."

I didn't reply, eyes narrowing, nostrils flaring.

"Frumuseţe…"

"Bye, Nat," I sighed, "we'll be gone by the time you get here. Good luck finding us."

With that, I dropped the phone onto cradle and ran for Bucky's bag, "We need to go. Did you leave anything in the bathroom? I think your shirt's still in there; let me grab it. We have to move now. Nat probably already told one of the others you're here while we were on the phone. They might be on their way."

Bucky grabbed my shoulders and spun me to face him, brows pinched high on his forehead, his gaze utterly confused, "Why did you do that? Charlie, you need to go back. Don't do this. Everything you worked for-"

"I'll do what's required," I cut him off, though the voice in my head echoing that line so deeply drilled in my mind was gruff, masculine, "I can't take you in. I won't. You don't deserve it."

I shifted away from him but he pulled me to his chest, shaking me slightly, his gaze frantic, his tone fervent, "But I do. I do. I did things, you know what I've done! I deserve to be locked up, Charlie. Let them take me in. Tell them I took you, I forced you-"

"No," I ripped myself from his grasp and plowed into the bathroom, tugging his shirt from the towel rack and brandishing at him, "Natasha knows me. When she calms the fuck down, she'll realize I wasn't lying. Usually, she's pretty damn levelheaded, but she's being outrageous!"

"She is?"

Pausing, I spun on a heel and stared at the soldier lurking in the threshold; he took up nearly the whole space, his shoulders hunched, but his lips were pursed in a begrudging smile. I mimicked him and raked a hand through my wild auburn locks, shoulders slumping, "Yes. She is. She doesn't know you like I do."

"You barely know me, Charlie," he retorted softly, approaching me slowly; one hand took the shirt from my hold and the other caught my elbow gently, "I barely know myself."

"I know enough," I told him, resting a hand on his chest, watching his gaze fall to it. He let go of my arm, only catch that hand and hold it to him. "Plus, I had four extra days undercover. I know what I need to. And the rest will come. I told you I'd help you remember, and I mean to, Buck. Trust me."

"I do," he replied, his bright blue eyes a shade darker as they flitted across my face. He squeezed my fingers gently between his, querying, "How long do you think we have?"

"With Tony's tech?" I muttered with a scoff, heart fluttering frantically against my ribs, "not long. We have to go now."

Bucky sighed, stepping back, his fingers lingering a moment longer before releasing me, "Let's go, then."

The next ten minutes consisted of silent, frantic packing and wiping prints from any available surface we might have touched. I slung Bucky's jacket around my shoulders once more, hiding the majority of my catsuit and consulted my watch, "You ready?"

Bucky glanced around the room once more, his hawkish gaze surveying the area for anything we might have missed before nodding slowly. He turned to me, then, a charming grin stretching across his face as he extended an unexpected elbow.

Hooking my arm through his, I checked the peephole for any sign of danger before yanking the door open and leading him out. Though we both appeared outwardly relaxed, I knew Bucky was just as alert as I was. We hadn't gone too far from Bucharest the night before and there was always a chance either Mason and his comrades or the police had somehow followed our trail.

Nobody swarmed us in the hallway and I found myself muttering, "So far so good. We're going to have to jack another car. Let's not do it here, though; it's too busy. We could walk most of the day, get another one tonight, when it's dark."

"You really don't have to do this, Charlie."

"You can say that however many times you want, Bucky, but it's not gonna change my mind," I noted with a playful eye roll, bumping his hip with mine. He didn't move, but my hip ached at the impact. "I know I don't, but I'm going to. You're going to be in danger if those guys regroup, or this Mr. W knows you're with me, or-"

Bucky came to a halt in the lobby, unwittingly dragging me around to face him; a dubious frown on his face, "You can't be serious. You're putting me in danger? I know you don't think I'm him-," his bright eyes flitted about the empty lobby for any sign of eavesdroppers, as though every guest in the hotel would swarm him and point accusatory fingers at him, screaming 'it's the Winter Soldier!' "but I am. I was. People don't forget that. Those guys may be after you, but do you realize how many are after me?"

"Quite well," I answered, in a posh British accent, before squeezing his metal bicep and assuring him, "we've both got people after us. And I know you don't need my help, but I'm not leaving you on your own. And I know you know I'm not entirely defenseless, but you'd really leave me to fend for myself?"

It was a low blow and entirely unrealistic - I could take care of myself, after all, but I knew I had him when his shoulders straightened and his spine stiffened. I was beginning to call it falling into soldier-mode; he had, and seemed to need, missions, be IT from his time in the army back in the forties or his HYDRA days. The thought of leaving me on my own, especially when he knew there were men who wanted me dead, was something he couldn't abide. Though I had betrayed him, though I wasn't who - or what - he thought I was, he had forgiven me. Not to mention, he told me he would help me find out who was behind the attacks; that mission still need to be completed, as well.

"Of course not," he replied softly, glancing about helplessly before nodding firmly, "alright. We'll do this together. But if they catch you, if SHIELD or the Avengers come for you, you are telling them I took you by didn't agree to this and you fought be every step of the way. Okay?"

Not a snowball's chance in Hell, I vowed, though I offered him a placating sigh, "If you say so."

"Ms. Lang!" Adelina appeared behind the counter, a bright smile on her face and desperation in her eyes. Shouldn't she have gone home by now? Or was she stalking me? If she wasn't so obsessed with Tony and Tony alone, I would've been suspicious of her. "You're not leaving already, are you? Did you enjoy your stay? Have you spoken to Mr. Stark today? Would you recommend this hotel to him, if you get the chance?"

"Of course, I will," I smiled sweetly, wondering if Natasha had told Tony yet about my betrayal, "we really need to be going, though; we'll definitely come back on our next trip through, don't worry. And Tony's always looking for beautiful places to stay; who knows, he might even be here tonight."

The poor young girl took my musings as gospel and gasped into her hands, "He will?"

God, I hope not, I grimaced inwardly, thanking her for her hospitality and assuring her that Tony would soon be notified of her request. Since the room had been paid for by the Iron Man the night before, little was left to do to check out, and Bucky and I made for the parking lot as hastily as we could without appearing suspicious.

"So where should we go?" I inquired, equal parts curious and apprehensive; without much money and more than a few different groups on the hunt for us, it was going to be a difficult road. And one I wasn't familiar with; how did someone go off the grid completely? How did you disappear to the point where people were convinced a sighting of you was just a figment of their imagination?

I looked expectantly up at the expert.

He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, eyes everywhere as he scanned the parking lot for any sign of a threat. Distracted, he muttered, "If Stark can get here fast, we have to move quickly. It'd be best if we can take a car or a bike now. I know you don't really want to take one in broad daylight, but-"

"Hey, we gotta do what we gotta do," I shrugged, "we're on the run now, right? I've seen some of Tony's tech and it's impressive. He'd probably be able to follow our heat signatures or something; I'd rather be as far from him when he gets here as we can. If you say we steal a bike, we steal a bike."

He nodded once and pressed a hand to the small of my back, his form turned slightly toward mine, as though shielding me from any potential harm. Despite our situation, a smile tugged at my mouth and I allowed the closeness without a word of protest.

We made our way from the hotel at a brisk walk, putting at least six blocks between us and the swanky building before scouting, on the lookout for an unpopulated area with unprotected vehicles.

"A car's not going to do us any good if we don't know where we're going," I noted, "and we don't have that much cash."

"I have a few places in mind," Bucky replied, casually checking the handle of the front door of a silver sedan. On discovering it was locked, he moved on, unwilling to break into it during the day. "I've been on the move for a while, never wanted to stay in one place for too long. My safe houses should still be around. If not, we'll get to it when we get to it."

"How many do you have in Europe?" I inquired curiously, skipping innocently toward a motorcycle on the pretense of inspecting a sign posted to a light pole. No keys. Grumbling to myself, I spun on a heel and made my way back to him. "Do you have them in the States?"

He shot me a blank look and replied seriously, "I have them everywhere."

"Australia? Brazil? China?"

He must have known I had gotten those locations from his files, but nodded anyway, "Sometimes HYDRA couldn't extract me from a location quick enough; there was always a secondary location to meet up at. That's… one thing I always remember. They drilled it into me pretty deep."

A pained grimace twisted across his features and I knew 'drilling' probably wasn't all that far off. Drawing my lips into his mouth, I hooked my arm through his once more and hugged it to my chest, resting my chin on his upper arm and staring up at him until he met my gaze. He finally did, the fog of his past clearing from his bright eyes as his brow drew together in a silent question.

"Will you take me to the one in Scotland?" I queried hopefully, batting my lashes as though I were asking to go on vacation rather than searching for a safe place to lay low on the run.

Amusement colored his features and a small laugh escaped him, "You wouldn't like the safe house; it was falling apart fifty years ago. I'd hate to see it now. But I'm sure we could find a different one. As long as they don't think to look for me there."

Pumping my fist into the air, I grinned triumphantly, "Sweet! Stonehenge, here we come! Just gotta scrounge up, oh, a few hundred dollars. Should be easy."

Bucky snorted and shook his head, his hair falling into his face, "One of us needs to get a job, then."

"What skills do you have, then, besides all this super soldier stuff?" I inquired with a laugh, "we need to make you marketable."

"I can cook," he replied evenly, though there was a small, accomplished smile on his face, "passably, anyway."

"Much more than passable," I complimented, "and I'm a pretty mean crocheter. Alright, I'll make scarves and hats, you can cook. I think we'll get the cash in no time."

"Steve's mom, she crocheted," Bucky mused, quirking a brow in thought, "Sara. That was her name. I remember she made me a scarf and mittens one Christmas. They were… red, I think."

"Damn, I was gonna make you some for Christmas," I sighed teasingly, though I was pleased I was able to trigger another memory, "what'd she look like? Steve's mom?"

"Honestly, I was always sorta sweet on her," he admitted, his cheeks dusted pink as he stared at his feet, "blonde hair, green eyes, a little darker than yours. Few inches taller than you, too."

"Well, that's not surprising," I laughed, nipping the tip of my tongue to halt the envy edging in on my thoughts, "Steve mentioned her before. She sounds liked she was a wonderful woman."

"She was," Bucky agreed with a nod, his azure eyes zeroing in on a sizeable motorcycle and guiding us toward it, "she was Steve's rock. When she died, he was crushed. It hurt me, too. He and I got an apartment after that. I think this one will do."

"We have to be quick," I replied, disentangling myself from his hold, belatedly realizing we had been walking rather cozily for a while now. Taking one strap of his bug-out bag, I pulled it from his shoulders and hooked it around mine. It was heavy and I was rather concerned about the weight dragging me off of the bike, but I figured it would make a good enough cushion between me and the asphalt if that was the case. "If the owner's nearby, they could see us."

He nodded, kneeling quickly beside the bike, "Get on."

I could honestly say I'd never ridden on a motorcycle before, let alone mounted one. Still, I slung a leg around one side and settled uncomfortably toward the back of the seat. Eyes dancing around the street, I kept myself upright on the tips of my toes.

It took only a moment for the super soldier to bring the bike to life with a roar. In one fluid motion, he mounted the motorcycle, settling easily into the seat and reaching around his back to grab my arm. Hooking one of my hands around his middle, he nudged the kickstand up with a booted foot and tore off down the road.

Flinging my other arm around his stomach, I latched my hands together and held him in a death grip, both frightened and a little turned on.

Mentally cursing myself, I tossed a glance over my shoulder, relief flooding me when I didn't spy anyone bursting from an apartment complex or storefront screaming after us and shaking their fists.

Though we hadn't decided which safe house we would be staying in, I trusted Bucky enough to shimmy closer and give him the lead. The bike swerved slightly and Bucky shot me a glower over his shoulder, "Don't do that!"

"Sorry," I loosened my grip and attempted to shuffle backward in my seat. I didn't want to go too far, afraid of falling off, but before I could move too much, he hesitantly caught my thigh and stilled my movements.

"No, hang on, just… don't do what you did," he replied fervently, casting a somewhat sheepish glance my way. The way the color rose up along his neck sent a wave or realization over me.

"Right, got it," I nodded, resuming my rather tight hold on his middle and ensuring that I didn't do anymore spread-legged grinding against his lower back, unintentional as it was, "just don't want to fall off."

His grip on my leg loosened and, though he lingered a moment longer than he should have, he returned his hand to the handlebars, "You won't. Trust me."

I do.

I never heard the bullet as it tore through my upper arm, sending me pitching hard against Bucky's back with a yell. He grunted as it pierced just beneath his ribs, but managed to keep the bike level.

"Are you alright, Charlie?!" he exclaimed, unfazed by his own wound, revving the engine and speeding up, "did it hit you?!"

"Fuck yes it did," I hissed, face contorted in pain as I struggled to pull my burning arm away from Bucky's side long enough to inspect the wound. The smallest movement sent a rush of white-hot pain to my fingers and up my shoulder until I could do nothing but drop my arm to my thigh.

He must have thought that I was falling from the bike, because he snatched my hand up and pressed it to his own thigh. "Can you see them?"

Eyes watering, I looked to my right, head ducked and pressed against his shoulder blade. This time I heard it as the gunshot rang out and I braced myself, ready for the impact, but it never came as Bucky veered to the left and swung the bike erratically toward the oncoming traffic.

Trusting him enough to know he wouldn't get us run over, I sought out the shooters amongst the car. Despite there being four lanes in each direction, the sight of five SUVs resembling Bucky's description from the night before were easy to pick out from the rest of the cars. Not to mention, they were traveling at least 20 miles over the speed limit and every window was open despite the rather chilly temperature.

Easier to level guns at our faces, I groaned, pulling myself closer to Bucky and leaning up to his ear, "Five! Two splitting off and headed for our left. We gotta get outta here!"

I was alert now to the sound of gunfire and flinched every time a shot blasted through the air. Not for fear of getting hit again, though the thought did cross my mind a time or two, but for those in the car around us to get shot. Or Bucky.

Shit, what are we gonna do?

I didn't have any weapons on me. The assumption was I was going to be recon only and that if and when I found the Winter Soldier, I would alert Fury and the Avengers. There was no need for a weapon. And I didn't really have an opportunity to grab one from the jackasses in the alleyway, not with the Winter Soldier brandishing a knife at me.

And even if Bucky had something in his bag, it was on my back and with one bum arm and the other clutching the super soldier for dear life, it was useless where it lay. I could lob a few cell phones at them, but what good would that do?

"We have to get off the main road," Bucky tossed over his shoulder, "just hang on, Charlie, you'll be alright!"

"I'm fine, just keep driving!"

Bucky obliged, weaving dangerously close to a taxi, which forced the yellow car to muscle one of the SUVs into a parked car on the side of the street. Without losing momentum, Bucky shifted, bringing the bike up onto the curb. The sidewalk was narrow and full of passers-by, and I dug my nails into his stomach. He flinched but maintained his handle of the two-wheeled vehicle, confident in the human race's self-preservation instincts.

People dove left and right, screaming and flinging their bags and drinks and phones into the air as they went.

"Oh, God, oh, God, oh God," I breathed, panic flooding my veins, "move, asshole! Oh, God, Bucky!"

"It's alright," he assured me, a hint of amusement to his tone despite the severity of the situation, "breathe, Frumuseţe! I-"

A scream lodged itself in my throat as I watched in horror as a bullet pierced the stumbled skin beneath his jaw. Blood spurted from the wound and, as if time had slowed, I felt the bike jerk hard to the left and our bodies went airborne. My grip on Bucky never faltered, but his shirt tore beneath my hold and we separated, the soldier slamming hard into a brick storefront. I hit the ground with enough force to shatter my left hand and forearm in an instant, but the breath left my lungs in a rush and I couldn't make a sound other than a surprised sort of huff. I rolled maybe ten feet before coming to a bloody halt just short of the trunk of a tree. The bike ended up shattering the glass of a small bakery and entering the shop, sending a flood of people streaming from within.

Everything hurt as I slowly rolled myself onto my stomach. I couldn't get either arm to cooperate and struggled to find a way to my feet. Blood coated my tongue and slurred my words, but I couldn't help yelling for Bucky. Where was he? Was he alright? He had to be alive, I couldn't-

I caught sight of the unmoving soldier half a block away, his gray shirt staining red at an alarming rate. Before I could do so much as crawl my way to him, the sidewalk flooded with at least fifteen men dressed in black, armed with assault rifles and pinning them on the pair of us.

Spitting the blood from my mouth, I glanced frantically at Bucky, willing him to move even a fraction of an inch, just to show me he wasn't dead.

Several of the men surrounded the soldier until I couldn't see him between their legs, spitting and arguing amongst themselves over what to do with them. More than a few others jogged to me, hauling me onto my screaming legs, ignoring my cries of pain as they tugged relentlessly on my wounded arms. Though I struggled half-heartedly to free myself, I was too badly battered to do any damage.

"Kill me, take me in, do whatever you need to," I growled, though the hitch in my breath lessened the impact some, "but leave him alone."

"Now that the boss knows he's with you, we're takin' him along for the ride," one of the men smirked, his steely gray eyes raking over my body with far more lust in his gaze than he should've had, staring at a bloody mess, "he's been trying to figure out how to get the Winter Soldier on his side for a while now. Gettin' two soldiers to work for him now, all cuz of you."

"I-two? What?" My head ached and I knew I had hit it on the asphalt, my thoughts and words growing fuzzier by the minute. "Who- trying to… Who are you using me for?"

"You'll see soon enough, Castle," he laughed, giving my broken arm a relentless tug, drawing me into his arms and over his shoulders.

Suddenly, bright orange sparks light up in the center of the sidewalk, as though someone were trying to start an enormous lighter. They sparked and sputtered until they slowly began to move in one direction. Around and around in a circle, faster and faster until something appeared in the center of them. My vision blurred and I found myself falling weightlessly from the man's grasp; my world went black before I hit the ground.

/

AvengersPrincess15: I love flustered Bucky! He's my fave… For now… I'm rather looking forward to amorous Bucky ; yes haha the subtle flirting! There was a bit more in this chapter; I just can't help myself haha. New chapter yay! Any guesses yet?

KnowInsight: haha yes, she's too clever not to!

Verrokami: haha yes they did! She would be the first to realize it I think lol. I'm so glad you liked it! Yes, I can't not do the awkward fluff. It's like a drug lol. That's good, I'm glad you don't think so! Sometimes I'm like well she knows him more than he does; she's kind of a stranger. But you're right, he's attached; he even still calls her Frumuseţe sometime, but that's a two-fold thing if you might've noticed ;)

Aandm20: Ah that was the plan! And she's all for it! But perhaps it's not 100% necessary anymore *smirks* I have such plans!

Guest: Thank you so much! So glad you're liking it! And sorry for yet another cliffhanger haha!