"When you label so much of what happens to you as 'bad,' it reinforces the feeling that you are a powerless pawn at the mercy of outside forces over which you have no control. And - this is key - labeling something a bad thing almost guarantees that you'll experience it as such."

-Srikumar Rao


Then, One day later, Bucharest:

Clara had thought that the day would go great. And why wouldn't she? She started the day by jogging with James before going off to work for the day. Classes had been progressing quickly, leading to a positive outlook for the day. That was until Clara had been preparing to walk home and swore she saw some guy with a gun outside through the window.

The guy obviously tried to keep it hidden, but that didn't keep Clara from seeing the glint of metal in the harsh sunlight. The man wore all black and looked out of place for the neighborhoodーhis clothes were a bit too clean and the shoes a bit too fancy. Unless he'd gotten lost, Clara regarded him with suspicion. Extreme suspicion.

It looked like she'd have to take a weird route home. Normally, the situation would call for the assistance of the police, but that wasn't exactly an option for obvious reasons.

So taking the long way home it was.

Clara was in disarray as to what the hell the people wanted with herーor if they even wanted anything from herーall she knew was the need to get the hell away from the gym as quick as possible. The suspicious man didn't have anything to do with tree man right? Yeah, he got a little upset at her and James the previous day, but that didn't matter did it?

Clara drew her hood up and grabbed her gym bag, jumping when she heard some doors slam open at the front of the gym. Her heart rate was ready to run a race as she heard some confusion and yelling at the front of the gym from the receptionist.

She broke out into a sprint for the back doors of the gym that lead to the alley. She didn't know why, but she figured that the yelling had a lot to do with her and she wanted no part of it. All she knew was that somebody either really hated her, or was watching her and it more than likely didn't have anything to do with the fact that she was wanted in Hungary.

And so out the door she rushed, taking the direct opposite way from her home. If only she could call James.

Every sound made Clara jump. She would carefully inspect the people around her and made sure to keep on the streets that were at least partly occupied.

And when she looked behind her, there were people following her. More than one man. It was like they were trying to be subtle, yet they completely sucked at it. Maybe the creepy tree guy could have blended in, but these guys were buff as hell.

In an attempt to escape then, Clara began to run through the crowds of people, taking as many turns and shortcuts as possible while trying to stay in populated areas. Her heart was beating so fast that she swore it was going to burst out of her chest. Or that she'd shake to death because her hands were just not staying still. She'd only felt like this one-time beforeーand that was the time she had to run from home. When she ran, nobody was on her trail yet, so this was a whole other experience.

Who the hell were these men and what did they want?


Then, Yesterday, Bucharest:

"Clara, right?" The man with ginger hair finally asked after regaining his composure.

Clara nodded, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name earlier," her face brightening up into the most fake smile Bucky had ever seen.

Apparently this man didn't like the question too much because his face scrunched up in thought. People don't just take time to remember their names unless they're an amnesiac. The man in front of them was an agent, there could be no doubt about it. But for who?

Bucky prayed that he wasn't a HYDRA agent, but it was likely. If HYDRA had caught on to his location, then Bucky needed to leave immediately.

"I'm Anton," he finally answered.

"Nice to meet you, Anton, it's great to have another member at the gym," Clara said, emphasizing the name. Bucky didn't know if that was either incredibly brave or extremely stupid.

Bucky suddenly felt tense. All three of them present knew that 'Anton' wasn't who he said he was. In fact, 'Anton' was tense as well. If one were to pay close attention to his body language, they didn't even need to get a verbal response. Anton's feet were tapping on the floor nervously and his fists were clenched up. He didn't seem prepared for a confrontation between them.

Bucky and Clara went back to their table. Now that they'd confronted Anton, they didn't say much towards each other. They were both too tense to do so. It was just silently agreed that they'd eat the pizza quickly and get the hell out of the restaurant because Anton occasionally looked over to them and then hurriedly texted something on his phone.


Bucky said goodbye to Clara then rushed back to his apartment. He had thought to get out his journal in which to enter everything he currently remembered about himself in summary. If HYDRA truly was on his tail, he never wanted them to take away his identity again. Forgetting Steve again would be the nail in the coffin.

Bucky took out his pen and reached for the journal on the fridge. Some of the edges were frayed, but he didn't mind. All that mattered was the content inside. There was months worth of memories that had come back ever since he'd rescued Steve from a watery graveーgood and bad ones.

Bucky began to flip through the journal for a fresh page before hesitating on one page. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like an insignificant page. There was little writing and no extra information, but Bucky knew it was more than that. This one was a memory from World War IIーone where he thought that he was going to die alone on that torture table before Steve was there. It had felt like a dream at first, but then hope overcame him and he swore it was the most ecstatic he'd ever been in his life. Steve had smiled and for the first time, everything had seemed like it'd be okay.

And even though things didn't go alright after that, Bucky would never forget that surge of hope now that he had the memory back.

But he figured he'd spent too much time reminiscing. He still needed to write down a summary. Feeling odd about writing to himself, Bucky just went with what came to mind.

My name is James "Bucky" Barnes, no matter what anyone else says, you're not their soldier or asset. You're Bucky.

Steve Rogers, or Captain America, saved you from HYDRA twice, don't fall back into their trap.

You come from Brooklyn, where you and Steve grew up together before having to enlist for the war. There, HYDRA experimented on you for weeks before Steve saved you. Later on, you were a part of the Howling Commandos before falling off a train to your supposed death. HYDRA took you and brainwashed you, making you commit dozens of murders in the name of control and world peace.

Steve snapped you out of the brainwashing, and ever since, you've been on the run. Avoid HYDRA, avoid SHIELD, avoid anyone from the past.

Bucky hesitated before writing down the last part.

There's a woman named Clara who is kind. If she ever sees you, do not harm her. She isn't affiliated with any organization to avoid.

Bucky placed the pen down before making sure to put a special note tab for the page. If he ever lost his memories again, this page was vital.

And with that, he went to sleep.


Clara was happy to see James show up again to go jogging. This time, for two reasons. One being the fact that he actually showed up, and two being her feeling unsafe what with 'Anton' still roaming around freely. He definitely seemed intimidated by James, so that was a positive.

"I don't think his name is actually Anton," Clara said as they opened the door to outside. A cool breeze hit them, causing Clara to shiver slightly. At least she'd warm up once they started running.

"Probably not," James agreed.

"Okay, I'll admit I'm starting to get a bit scared. I thought that he'd eventually back off or something, but I feel like that won't be the last I'll see him. I don't know what to do," Clara admitted, finally letting her cheery façade slip. She was well aware she didn't have to be happy and spirited every waking moment of her life, but she preferred to be positive when she could. Without optimism, her life would have zero meaning (in her own opinion).

Beside her, James sighed. "We'll figure something out. He can't keep up following you forever."

"Yeah, I'm just scared of what he'll do if he keeps following me. I can take care of myself, but it's still an intimidating thought."

"What time does your work end at?" James suddenly asked.

"Four-thirty. Why?"

"What if I walk home with you once you're off? And you're safe at the gym, right?"

"Yeah I'm safe there, and now that I think about it, that's a great plan. You don't mind do you? You don't have to help me," Clara assured him.

James moved his hair out of his face with his gloved hand. She never cared to ask him why he kept his hand glovedーshe figured it probably had something to do with a burnーso she never said a word about it.

"I don't mind. Besides, you helped me with insomnia."

Clara smiled. "I told you that jogging can help."

James parroted her smile. "I'm well-aware that you did. And this is me thanking you."

So they jogged down their usual route, not saying much to each other. Clara often wondered how James didn't seem too bothered by the amount of running they did, she just attributed to how in shape he seemed. Then again, she didn't look like she was out of shape. She wasn't extremely skinny or anything, but she thought that she was fairly thin. Not only that, but she wasn't short. She was the average height for a woman and had long legs, yet she couldn't seem to jog at the same pace as James without breaking a sweat.

And still, she was grateful that there had been no sign of Anton. Maybe he had backed off after all.


Then, hours later, Bucharest:

Clara was still running from the men. She didn't know how to shake them, it was like they could track her every move or possessed hawk vision. Why couldn't they have waited until her work ended? They were only minutes before she had to go and was forced to leave James. In fact, if she'd just waited for James, maybe she wouldn't be running in the first place. Or she'd be deadーmaybe it was best she didn't chance it.

She knew that what she did next was a daring move. She was starting to get desperate, and in return, she was confronted by someone who was slowly walking down the alley as if she was too intimidated by him to run. And whoever he was, he was right. Clara knew she couldn't turn back because there was possibly more people after her. Somewhere in the distance, she heard a loud popping noiseーpresumably a gunーand jumped.

Was this the end for her?

The man narrowed in on her and all she could think about was how confused she was. What had she done to deserve this? She thought that she'd be able to defend herself and everything would be okay. But she couldn't shield herself from a gun.

He was up close to her now, and she could make out his appearance better. Dark hair and dark eyes, a tall build and all black clothing. He had a gun at his sideーit wasn't drawn, which only served to confuse Clara.

"What do you want?" Clara asked, surprised at how steady and confident her voice sounded.

"You ran away from us, don't play that game. You full well know what we want," he said, still getting closer. At the end of the alley, someone else came around the corner. They had ginger hair and a tall buildーit was Anton. Clara found herself regretting confronting him suddenly.

She wondered what James would thinkーwhat her family would thinkーabout her showing up dead on the news. Would people back home even care?

Anton strided over to Clara quickly, a clear intent in his eyes. "How much do you know about the Winter Soldier?" He questioned, slamming her against a brick wall. Of all the alleys Clara had to go through, she just happened to pick the dark secluded one.

"I don't understand?" Clara said. And she truly didn't know what they were demanding of her. The name 'Winter Soldier' sounded slightly familiar, but not to her own personal life. She figured it probably related to some sort of terrorist stuff, but then again, she rarely ever picked up a newspaper or watched the news.

"Don't play games with us!" The other man yelled, fire blazing in his eyes. He drew out the gun from his holster slowly, and Clara wondered how the hell he'd kept it hidden from the public so well. "The more you tell us, the higher chance you get of leaving here."

Clara didn't believe him for a second. "Then at least tell me what you're talking about!" She pleaded.

Anton shared a look with the other man.

"I thought you said she knows these things!" The man raged at Anton.

"I guess I was wrong," Anton replied defensively.

"Sorry girl, but it looks like you got mixed up in the wrong situation. It's a shame because you're so pretty, but HYDRA doesn't leave witnesses."

All Clara remembered was fear and nothing else before the was some sort of skirmish. Anton fell to the ground from something Clara didn't see and next she knew, pain exploded from her shoulder and she fell down.

There was a bit more yelling and she couldn't keep her eyes open.

Everything went black.


Clara came to slowly, her eyes fluttered before closing again. She didn't know where she was, but she knew it wasn't a hospital, and she certainly wasn't dead.

"HYDRA doesn't leave witnesses," echoed in Clara's mind.

She sat bolt upright and nearly cried out at the sharp needle-like pain in her shoulder. She breathed in and out sharply, taking in her surroundings. They were similar to her apartment, if a bit less furnished.

"Don't try to get up," James said suddenly.

Clara nearly gasped in surprise from not expecting his voice before reaching for the shoulder in which she got shot. There was a bandage tightly wrapped around her that felt like it was only there to pain her further.

"How-"

James cut her off. "You were pretty difficult to find after work you know," he remarked, then continued. "I made sure they won't be bothering you anymore, and I figured that you didn't want the police involved."

"What? But my shoulder, where did you... You're a veteran aren't you?"

It all made sense to her. He couldn't sleep at night, was oddly silent and looked the part. Not to say he was bad looking... He was just rugged.

James looked temporarily surprised before nodding. "You might want to call into work because that shoulder won't heal quickly."

"Those men, they said HYDRA. I... I know that HYDRA was a rogue Nazi science division, and something happened with them in America recently. But what the hell do they want with me, I don't understand."

"They're crazy. I don't know what they'd want with anyone," James suggested.

Clara thought on it for a moment. There was no indication they were ever interested in her until recently. In fact, it happened only days after she met James. He had an odd skill set, was kind yet very distant, gloved hand, maybe... No. Clara had a sudden clarity where everything came together. They kept asking about the Winter Soldier and she didn't even know who that was. Everything started to happen after she met James.

"Hey, James."

"Yeah?"

"I think that if you had a phone, this could've been prevented," she stated. Clara watched as James' face showed some regret.

"I'm sorry, maybe I should-"

"That was a joke," Clara laughed weakly.

It seemed almost surreal to her, that this man could possibly be pretending to be someone else. He'd been kind to her, and given her no reason to distrust himーbandaging her arm was proof of that. But she seriously had to consider it. Was she talking with the Winter Soldier? Who exactly was the Winter Soldier anyways? Maybe she needed to spend some time doing research.

She didn't tell James of what Anton and the other man asked, just in case.


AN: Haha, poor Clara just wanted to have a good time, and now she's being sucked into the world of superheroes.

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