Eight months earlier:
The day James "Bucky" Barnes arrived in Star City, it was gloomy and biting cold, perfectly like him. Coming out of the cryo and making amends with Tony seemed a lifetime ago to him, when in fact only a couple of months have passed. Steve is, was and always will be his best friend and like he said, "Till the end of the line" but he was surprised that he became friends with most of them. He has nothing but a lot of gratitude to Stevie's new team especially the friends who fought along with him. Clint waved off his apologies, like it is "Hey! I was getting rusty, man. Helping you helped me sharpen my skills. Besides it is not as if Nat would have seriously injured me or let me be seriously injured." Scott Lang was a hero who risked himself just so he and Steve would get a chance to stop the other Winter Soldiers. He is positive he has never met a guy like Scott and not sure if he will ever will, "Dude, it is all cool. I fought with Captain America, man, CAPTAIN FREAKING AMERICA! My daughter thinks I am the best superhero ever! Don't fret it, okay. I have been to prison before." Steve and everyone think he is not to blame for all he had done as the Winter Soldier, hell even Tony had more or less grumbled that at him but it was still he who did it and he has a lot to repent and like Natalia said, there is blood in his ledger and he would like to wipe it clean.
He was still struggling trying to figure out who he is when he is not Bucky Barnes entirely and not completely the Winter Soldier. Staying around the Avengers when he still feels like he has to earn Tony's forgiveness, was getting more and more difficult. Not surprisingly, it was Clint who had offered him the solution. Go somewhere easy enough to blend in and still have access to escape routes should he need it. It was Natalia who chose Star City. He might have trained her but he knows without a doubt, that she can take him down if she puts her mind to it. Besides, he does trust her judgment. She wouldn't tell him anything about the city and wouldn't even let him google it. After Steve had reassured him multiple times that there are no operating Hydra bases, he decided to take Clint's generous offer of giving him access to one of his safe houses in the city. He had to make promises after promises to Steve that no, he is not running away and yes, he is coming back, and yes, Steve can call him anytime he wants, and no, Steve can't tag along with him.
Surprisingly, it was Wanda he had a hard time saying goodbye to. She became closed off and silent after being locked up in that high security prison and had that electric collar. She doesn't even use her magic anymore and only speaks to Clint, Steve and Bucky. Just seeing her that way, brought out what Steve described as 'Bucky's mother henning' nature up front. In a way, he can understand her. She also like him was scared of what she is capable of and Bucky did the only thing he can to help her, show her the kindness everyone has been showing him. He gave her a key to Clint's apartment in Star City with the understanding that she can come and go anytime she pleases and she never has to ask.
Just the thought of a life without Hydra hanging over his head put a bounce in his step. The city was not at all he was expecting. It was a somehow a mixture of Manhattan and Brooklyn, both the places he considered home now. With every step he took, he was starting to feel more like himself. The apartment with its mix-match painting screamed of Clint. Just because he is not an active assassin anymore, doesn't mean the training left him. The first thing he did after entering the apartment was to sweep it for bugs, and how endearing, there are two, each from Natalia and Clint. Slowly bending his head at one with a smile, "I am safe, Natalia. Bug me again, I will send Tony the file of you dancing in your room." Knowing her, he might have to sleep with his eyes open for quite a while for that.
Sleep didn't come easily and he could have sworn he saw someone with a bow and arrow on top of a building but Clint was in New York. He began questioning Nat's judgment in choosing this city after he has finished his research about the infamous Star City. The next morning, while barely being able to keep his eyes open, he dragged himself out of bed, and he set off to wander around the city looking for Starbucks. Googling it, he called Nat, with what Steve had dubbed as, his winter soldier mode, "You know, maybe someday I can forgive you for choosing a city with so many thugs and villains roaming around, the city that just happens to endure a terrorist attack almost every year. But do you know what I will never ever forgive you for? You just had to choose the one city in the entire country, that doesn't have Starbucks." He has gotten used to his usual Caramel Macchiato mornings and he really want a Macchiato now. If there was a whine in his voice, Natalia was gracious enough not to mention "Relax, James. This is a city where anyone and everyone wears leather and a mask. Most of the people there are used to violence and bloodshed, no one will bat an eye if you even lose control."
Before he could threaten her again about lack of Starbucks, Clint snatched the phone from her, "Did you see him? Did you see the guy with the bow and arrow? Did you see him shoot?" Ah! So that is why Clint was so eager for him to come here. "You know, you are so lucky you are cute and Natalia likes you. People have lost their fingers for daring to touch her glass and you just snatched the phone from her, and yes, I did see the guy. He was a bit far and even though I didn't see him shoot, I can definitely tell that you are taller than him and your arms are bigger." He had to hold the phone away from his ear when Clint let out a whoop. It was Wanda who talked to him next, "You could just make your own coffee, you know. You are very good at that." Yes he was good at making coffee and he was delighted in making different types but he really wanted his macchiato.
A small café caught his eyes. Besides being so warm and welcoming, the elderly couple who ran the café made the best espresso he has ever tasted. He became such a regular there that one day, they offered him a job and slowly taught him all the nuances, and when they wanted to sell the café and retire, he offered to buy it. Just to make stick it to Steve, who is torn between making fun of his obsession with coffee and being proud that he has accomplished so much, he named his café Caia Pima. When he told the entire gang what that meant, even Tony had raised his coffee mug and said how much the name suits. When Steve was slowly turning into a tomato, no one mentioned it to him and it just made Clint fall to the floor laughing. Even Wanda had a smile on her face, "Well James, no one will ever find out Caia Pima means Captain America Is A Pain In My Ass. They will just assume it is an exotic name."
Two days before opening, he was hit with the worst panic attack right while he was walking. He remembered having trouble breathing, his vision blurring and started feeling paranoid and that is when he met HER. He felt himself being gently led to a bench nearby. For a second, he thought HYDRA had found him and he has a handler but then the hand leading him, was gentle and it was almost like she knew how to ease the pain. When he was seated, she just sat beside him and hummed something under her breath. It took him everything Bruce taught him to bring himself back. Looking at the woman who was so kind to him, was like looking at sunshine. Her smile was so bright and he didn't even know women wore lipsticks that bright anymore. They used to, all the time back during the war, and he didn't even know he missed seeing that. Lamely, the only comment he can manage was "Nice lipstick color." He was so grateful Steve wasn't there to see it, he will never live it down. The woman was taken aback by his comment but she was able to recover quickly. "Really, you think so? I loved the color when I bought it, but thought maybe it was too bright. I even thought of returning it but the shop doesn't accept returned goods and then I thought, it will go well with this dress and I am blabbing. Hi, I am Felicity."
Even with his foggy memory, he could swear he has never met a woman like her before. "James I am." Apparently, he contracted Steve's inability to speak to a beautiful woman. Taking a deep breath, "Hello, Felicity! I am James. Thanks for the help." Rising together, "Are you sure you're okay? That looked really bad. You need something. There must be a coffee shop somewhere here. You would think a city like this, would have Starbucks but no there is no decent coffee shop." Ah. James can help her there, "You like coffee? Come with me." He took her to his still unopened café "Ta da…. In two days you can have all the coffee you like here. As an appreciation, you don't have to pay for anything you buy the first day." Slowly, she became a regular part of his life. She fixed his computers and wrote a program to make his billing easier (He didn't know why, but the fact that Felicity is helping him, made Tony insanely mad). He had seen her alone, sometimes every 3-4 times a day, always tired, sometimes with a friend/boyfriend. His day doesn't start for him until he sees Felicity walking through his doors demanding he surprise her with something.
Present time:
Detective Malone's death was hitting her hard, he can see. As he was talking to Mrs. Brown that day, he watched from the corner of his eyes, her waving at him and her walking out of the cafe. He always loved hearing her heels click when she was walking and with his enhanced hearing, he's always heard her until she turned the corner, if it was a quiet day. Just as he was listening for her heels, he vaguely heard, "I got her ….. goddess." Is someone talking about Felicity? He came out of the café to see but there was no one out there although he did see a car speeding away. He closed the café and had Mrs. Brown out in a minute. He immediately went back to his loft. In there, he instantly went on and checked the footage from the hidden security cam he'd installed outside his café. He was gripped with horror when he saw a man take out a syringe and inject something into Felicity, and then the man informed someone unknown on the phone, that he had her.
No other options left, he did one thing and had placed THE call. "Clint, are Nat and Steve there? Somebody just kidnapped my Felicity. I need you all down here."