There was something shameless in the way water moved. It had an everlasting fluidity, which rippled like a thousand foamy sapphires over sand and stone, swelling and crashing against the rock with overwhelming force. The luscious waves were frightening in their immensity.

No mercy and no regret.

Mina rotated a cup of hot cocoa between her palms, her elbows propped up on the cold metal banister overlooking the causeway. The whole structure itself wasn't massive or anything, but she could still appreciate the towering bridge in all its rusty, degraded glory. Every once and a while a slight spray of mist rolling off the water sent an unexpected chill down her spine.

She snuggled into the thick scarf protecting her neck and shoulders. She waited, and as it turns out, she didn't have to wait long.

Footsteps approached, quick and lethal and deliberate. Then they stopped beside her.

He wanted me to hear him coming, Mina thought, and she smirked.

"It took three days to order that book, I hope you didn't just leave it there," she muttered offhandedly, never taking her eyes off the causeway as she took a sip of her drink. "I'd bet there's a wealth of information in there."

"I'm not interested in a history lesson."

The reply was made of gravel and sharp stones, and it sent a whole different set of chills dancing down her spine. It tickled the skin of her back like a caress, although that was not its purpose.

Mina shrugged it off.

In the repressed recesses of her mind she readily admitted that it had been way too long since the last time she had some personal time to herself. The self-realization at such a critical time made her snort. Hell, this was her personal time, Mina thought, sagely.

Glancing over at the Winter Solider, she caught a look of bewilderment pass over him before it was wiped clean. That familiar detached expression she knew—oh, so well—returned.

Her cup hung limply from her fingers as she played with the plastic indents on the lid, her mind suddenly adrift. Mina dragged her eyes forward.

"Do you remember the war?" she wondered aloud.

Bucky was silent, and for a second, she didn't think he'd answer. Until he did. "I don't know."

"Meaning?"

She saw him then. He moved into her peripheral vision. The same banister she rested her arms over, he clutched beneath leather gloves. As the black material stretched taunt across his knuckles, he cut straight to the point. "How did you find me?"

"I didn't."

"I have no reason to trust you," Bucky supplied roughly.

"True," she said, sighing. "But I gave you my word." She tried to find the right words hidden in the waves. "Besides, it's pointless to lie you, anyway, right? You're not exactly a person to underestimate."

His silence was answer enough.

"So do you?" She tried again. "Remember the war?"

Bucky gave a low huff, annoyed. "Are you always this persistent?"

Mina smiled up at him. "Yes."

Resting more fully against the banister, he flicked his gaze from her eyes to her mouth. Then, rather abruptly, turned to look out at over the rolling water. A lingering hush fell over them.

She more or less got the sense that although he was staring out at the causeway, the waves and dilapidated bridge wasn't what he was really seeing. Instead the man was miles away. Or perhaps, decades.

"I'm sorry," she murmured softly, and Bucky shot her a fleeting look.

He tilted his chin down, his profile set in stone.

"I'm sorry for what they did to you." Mina thought about what Natasha had once shared with her, and Mina flinched. She leaned in closer. "You're not the only monster here—"

"Don't," Bucky snapped. The word came out sharp from between clenched teeth. A short warning from a trapped and wounded animal. Mina's heart stuttered in her chest.

The icy blueness of his eyes bore into her softer hazel gaze, dragging her into a storm of frozen emotions. The layers of cold, burning steel-blue swirled like a whirlpool of apprehension behind a thick wall of molten anger. Such rawness caught her off guard.

This moment weighed heavy, very nearly choking Mina in its intensity. "Bucky…" His name fell from her lips like a sigh.

"What do you want from me?"

Saying that Mina didn't want anything from him would've been a lie, and, for some strange reason, she didn't want to lie to him. Even though at some point she knew she wouldn't have a choice, realistically. This left her on uncharted ground. Her chest constricted painfully as she picked her next words with care. "I'm not going to hurt you."

He stepped back, so suddenly, so swiftly, her face slackened.

No wonder you took me down so fast, Mina thought, envisioning the night they'd met. I never stood a chance . . .

She watched him warily, keeping one eye on his legs muscles, waiting for an attack.

"Don't," he murmured again at long last. Then shaking his head, Bucky took another step back, this one larger than before.

Instead of saying anything more, he looked into a middle distance. He was bracing himself for something. Finally, he lowered his guard and looked straight at her.

Mina had initiated this, she knew that, but all of a sudden she wanted it to stop. Because looking into Bucky's eyes, only one phrase came to mind. Old Soul.

He knew too much, had seen too much, even if he didn't necessarily remember any of it right now. One day, Mina knew he would remember, he would remember everything. She couldn't understand the wetness that was threatening to spill out of her eyes.

There was so much more left to say, lines she had prepared. She didn't say any of those things, however. She looked at Bucky, her eyebrows drawn together. "I won't hurt you and I'll keep my distance."

His head nodded, but his eyes were bottomless and frighteningly sad. Within seconds he turned and walked away.

A painful inhale scorched her lungs as she took a breath she didn't she was holding. Closing her eyes, Mina put a hand to her cheek and tried erasing the ridiculous impulse to go after him. She felt suddenly tired and strangely emotional. There was too much inside her: sadness and relief and worry and a new feeling she didn't quite understand. She crossed her arms and looked around the causeway, trying to relax, taking deep, even breaths.

With everything HYDRA had on her, Mina would go to prison for the rest of her life. More than likely, though, she'd end up with a bullet in her head. Or, worse.

There was always worse. But, she decided, she would do it alone.

I know it's been a wait, so sorry! But the next chapter is semi-done and it's a BIG one. I'm so excited to share it with everyone. More action, and, most importantly, the story really gets moving! So, leave a review-it helps with creative motivation;)

-Emma

Mandatory disclaimer: Everything in the Marvel Universe—Marvel, and its characters belongs to Marvel Comics, etc... Similarities to the original characters or themes from the movies and/or comics are used on here for entertainment purposes only. No profit is being made. No infringement intended.

All I claim is the made up OC, Mina.