Anna and James didn't get much time to themselves. And their interruption wasn't one Anna would have expected either. It came in the form of an arrow, shot to kill and zooming towards James' head. Anna hadn't even realized what was happening as James caught the arrow in his right hand, simultaneously pushing her to the floor to remove her from the line of fire.

"Stay down," James ordered, dodging another arrow before rushing forward to take on the mystery archer who had somehow made it past Stark Tower security. It seemed like Hydra always swooped in to do damage right when they let their guard down, and James was done with it.

Instead of fleeing like James had expected, the archer met him halfway, using his bow as a close combat weapon, sans arrows. It was clear to James the man was used to combat, which only raised his suspicions as well as his desire to take him down. The probability that it was a Hydra agent was high. Unfortunately, the guy could take a punch, and James had left the knives in the lab. It didn't prevent him from gaining the upper hand though, as James ended up wrangling the man into a headlock to subdue him.

"Are you Hydra?" James demanded, tightening his grip slightly as the man resisted. It was Anya who answered him, rising from the floor even though he'd told her to stay down.

"Clint?" Anna asked in confusion as she stared down at the Avenger James had in his grasp. "What are you doing here?"

"Tony left me nine messages. Figured he meant it when he told me to get my ass to the Tower. Now do you mind releasing your guard dog," Clint managed to choke out as his arms desperately attempted to remove the metal arm from around his neck.

"Hey it's okay, he's an Avenger. He's on our side." Anna murmured softly, turning her attention towards James. It took her laying her hand on James' shoulder in reassurance for James to release his hold on the archer. He was confused as to how Anya knew the man who had just tried to assassinate them, and how that could be construed as him being on their side. "James this is Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye. Previous agent of SHIELD and current Avenger. Clint, this is James Buchanan Barnes, also known as Bucky Barnes, Steve's best friend."

"You're the Winter Soldier." Barton commented, rubbing his throat as he sized up James' mechanical arm with unhappy eyes. He'd read the information SHIELD had released. Nat had been right, the Winter Soldier did exist, and he was standing in Tony's living room. It had him reaching for another arrow. "So you're the one who's Hydra."

"He's not working for Hydra anymore Clint. Hydra wiped his memories, but he's starting to get them back. And make new ones. He's good," Anna insisted, hoping Clint wouldn't be as hard to persuade as Tony had been. She didn't need two overprotective people in her life who didn't like James. Tony was hard enough to deal with.

"How can you be sure?" Clint asked harshly as his hand closed around and arrow, prepared to pull it and use it in defense if needed.

"Because he saved me from Hydra. Actually, he's saved my life on multiple accounts, as well as Steve's. He's good Clint." Keeping his grip on the arrow, Clint turned his eyes on Anna, looking for signs that she was being forced to say these things, that she was lying. He didn't find any, which had his hand lowering from his quiver.

"Fine. Not Hydra." Clint repeated, deciding to trust Anna on that point as he glanced back at James with a harsh look. "You still shot Nat. I don't like you."

"Don't be so judge-y Legolas. I recall you shooting at us and blowing up Fury's helicarrier." Tony interrupted, stepping off the elevator with Bruce following behind him.

"I was brainwashed," Clint retorted harshly, crossing his arms in defiance at Tony's statement. Loki had been in his head, picking it apart and controlling him. It was hardly fair to hold that against him.

"So was James," Anna cut in, her words causing James to tense. Though she was defending him, he wasn't sure if he deserved it. Hydra had taken his memories, and they had put the gun in his hand, but they didn't physically make him pull the trigger. At the end of it, the blood was still on his hands, still on him. And James didn't like remembering that. Noticing his reaction, Anna slipped her hand in his, rubbing her thumb against his fingers gently. An action that didn't escape Clint's notice, and had him looking at Anna's insistent defense of the Winter Soldier differently.

"I realize now I was unintentionally defending Tin Man while insulting Legolas. That mistake won't happen again," Tony commented as he took a seat in one of the arm chairs. James didn't appreciate the growing crowd, and his confusion mixed with his frustration had him demanding to know what Clint and everyone else were doing in the living room. Besides interrupting the first small amount of time James had gotten with Anya in the last four days. Of course he didn't actually verbalize that last part.

All Tony would say was that they were going to be having a team meeting about the plan, as soon as Capsicle and Pigeon arrived. It wasn't exactly the answer James had been hoping to hear and only resulted in him tensing even more. Noticing James' darkening expression, Anna pulled him to the couch, taking a seat while they waited, and leaning into James in hopes of helping his obviously growing anxiety. At that point Anna wasn't sure if Steve and Sam arriving would help or hurt James' mood, as it would mean discussing the plan that was the root of his frustration. Anna didn't have to wait long to find out, as Steve came bursting out of the stairwell shortly thereafter.

"Tony, want to tell me why Jarvis wouldn't let me in my bathroom before I came up here?" Steve interrupted, the stairwell door crashing closed behind him. Taking in the crowd that had congregated in Tony's living room, his eyes falling on Barton, Steve was about to ask if they were having a party before Tony cut him off by responding to his first inquiry.

"Not yet, we're still waiting on Pigeon," Tony insisted. As if summoned by the sound of his unwanted nickname, Sam came storming through the same balcony doors Clint had entered through. He immediately started ranting about how Tony's robot best friend wouldn't open the garage door for him and that it's a good thing he had his suit or there'd be some serious shit hitting the fan. Of course Tony acted like he didn't hear a word of it.

"Great, the team is all here," Tony commented, ignoring Sam's rant as he crossed the room to the bar and poured himself a drink.

"What the Hell do you mean? Team is all here my ass. Did you not just here how your psycho tech pet wouldn't let me in the Tower?" Sam repeated, turning towards Steve for backup and finding a new face.

"I instructed him not to let anyone enter or leave the tower without consulting me. I forgot you were taking out the trash." Tony responded off handedly. Honestly Pigeon was overreacting. He'd found a way to get inside.

"How did the new guy get in then? Jarvis didn't lock him out now did he?" Sam accused, feeling justified in his reaction until the new guy mentioned he came in the same way Sam had, without a suit.

"Forget about Jarvis locking you out of various areas of the Tower, I need you all to focus," Tony insisted as he came to stand in the middle of the haphazard circle the group had made. "I couldn't get a hold of Natasha or the mighty god of thunder, so you're all I have."

"All you have for what, Tony?" Clint asked, wondering whether it would have been better to stay under the radar like he had been doing. Tony seemed to be running more of a circus than a super hero team, not that that was at all surprising. In fact, it was one of the main reasons Steve had taken charge as team leader for the Avengers. He could actually be serious when the situation called for it.

"Keeping Anna Banana safe while we use her as bait to draw Hydra out." Tony answered in exasperation, annoyed at all the questions they were asking. When he took the center of the room it meant it was his turn to talk and their turn to listen. "Now no more questions. I don't want any more questions until I ask you for them."

Of course Tony's response had Clint's head whipping in Anna's direction again. He had apparently missed quite a bit when it came to Hydra's infiltration of SHIELD and SHIELD's downfall. Because Clint couldn't imagine what Anna had to do with Hydra, and why they'd want her enough to make using her as bait an actual plan. Was it because of the Winter Soldier that Hydra was after her? Or did she have something they wanted? There were a thousand other clarification questions Clint wanted to ask, but he knew better than to interrupt Tony when he was having a power trip. He'd get his answers, he'd just have to be patient.

As soon as everyone stopped interrupting, Tony laid out the first part of the plan he'd worked on during the four days he was on Anna-sitting duty. They would leave in the early morning hours, in order to make it seem like they were trying to evade Hydra when moving Anna to the 'safe house.' The seven of them were going to split into two cars, Steve driving the one as team leader and Tony driving the other as they headed to the lake house. Ear coms were to be provided to every member of the team. Once they arrived at the lake house they would have twelve hours until phase two was put into effect.

"Now, any questions about phase one that are pertinent to being able to complete it without screwing up?" Turning a challenging eye on each team member Tony was pleased when no one dared ask a question. He knew Barton was sure to have some, but none that needed answering in order for him to complete the mission. "Perfect, we leave in a half hour. Anna Banana, Tin Man, and Capsicle, I'll need you three to follow me to the lab. Everyone else, I'll meet you in the garage in thirty minutes."

Tightening her grip on James' hand, Anna pulled him forward towards the elevator. In truth, she was getting a little nervous about the plan now that she knew how many people were riding on her actually being a big enough draw for Hydra. For all she knew, they'd found another doctor who could help out with whatever project Rumlow needed her for. What if they didn't come for her?

Of course she'd never verbalize those worries to James. He had been looking for any excuse to prevent this plan from taking place, she didn't need to hand him one. So she kept her mouth shut as they followed behind Tony to his workstation, where he told her to sit down before turning on her with a needle. Anna knew well enough that Tony with a needle meant trouble. And usually it was a very bad idea to let him stick you with one, because whatever he was injecting was bound to be untested.

James seemed about as confident as Anna when it came to Tony jabbing a needle in her, because he immediately moved to shield her from Tony. Silently challenging Tony that to get to Anya, he'd have to go through him. Tony immediately understood the challenge and simply rolled his eyes in response. As if he'd ever purposefully hurt Anna.

"Relax, it's a tracking device and it's only being injected subdermally. I couldn't hack the chip in Anna's neck to add my signal to it, so I made one of my own design." Knowing why Tony was going to be stabbing her with a needle didn't make Anna relax any. There was a reason Tony could never be a doctor, besides his bedside manners, and that was his complete disinterest in patient comfort. The needle was too long for a subdermal injection. That thing was long enough to do an intramuscular injection.

"Give me the needle, Tony," Anna demanded, holding out her hand and fixing him with her determined stare until he relinquished his hold on the insertion device. As soon as it was in her hands, Anna reached for the drawer labeled 'pointy things' and dug out a shorter needle. Ripping it out of the package Anna screwed it on securely before swabbing her left forearm and injecting it herself.

"I thought you said we'd have two ways of tracking her," James spoke up from beside Anya, having stepped aside when Tony relinquished the needle to her. The original plan had been for Tony to not only insert his own tracker, but also to be able to counter track the device in Anya's neck as a safeguard.

"Glad you mentioned that, Tin Man. All ear coms come with a tracking device. So that makes two for Anna Banana." Honestly, Tin Man worried too much. As long as everyone followed the plan, Anna would be fine. She'd be in their sight line the whole time. "Now for my present to you and Capsicle," Tony added before darting off further into Bruce's section of the lab.

When he returned, Tony handed off Capsicle's present first: a newer, and better, version of his Avenger suit. It wasn't as bright, which was a plus in Tony's book, and it could withstand heat up to 800 degrees kelvin and was bullet proof as well as water resistant. It'd taken about a year for Tony to develop the material for that suit. And it was all thanks to already having made Capsicle's that he could make Tin Man's on such short notice.

"What's this?" James asked when Tony handed him the suit. After Tony commented that it was his suit, James claimed he already had a suit. That had Tony sending him a shrewd look before ordering him to accept it with gratitude and pushing both James and Steve towards Bruce's lab section to change. It was as Anna was trying to peek around Tony for a better view of James changing, that Tony snapped at her to keep her eyes from straying, causing her cheeks to heat up at being caught.

"Where's my special outfit?" Anna asked after an awkward pause that had her picking her brain for something to say. "And don't even try to give me Natasha's, my assets are definitely not the same size as hers."

"You don't get a suit. You're not supposed to be expecting Hydra to attack." Bummer, Anna was kind of looking forward to seeing what kind of suit Tony would have designed for her. It'd probably help her feel more badass as well, more capable of going up against Hydra: she could pretend she was a super spy in the right outfit. "You will, however, get a bulletproof tank to wear under your shirt. Hydra already proved they don't mind shooting you as long as it doesn't kill you."

Anna was about to comment that it had been Brent, not Hydra, who had decided to shoot her. However she was distracted when the boys came back out, donned in their new suits. James' new suit was a mix of his howling commando uniform and his Winter Soldier suit. The top was leather, sleeveless on the left for his metal arm, but instead of black it was a deep navy blue. It was paired with charcoal gray pants tucked into the boots Hydra had given him. Ignoring whatever Tony had started to say, Anna rose from her seat, moving to meet James halfway.

"I like the new suit," Anna commented with a smile, running her hand over the leather. Blue really did bring out his eyes. She'd have to make sure his everyday wardrobe contained a good amount of the color.

"Enough of that," Tony muttered, stepping up beside Tin Man and Anna Banana and pushing them a step away from each other before handing them their ear coms. He was already thinking of redesigning Tin Man's suit so it was less…whatever it was that Anna found attractive about it. "It's nearing time to head out. I want to get to the lake house before two am and it's a good two and a half hour drive."

"We need to pack," Anna reminded Tony when she realized he'd hit the down button for the elevator. She was quickly corrected. Apparently, Tony had Pepper and Happy from security pack the essentials earlier. The idea of someone else packing for her based off of a list Tony had provided, didn't exactly comfort Anna. Tony's definition of essentials was bound to be different than Anna's. However, she trusted that Pepper would know what to pack, even if it wasn't on Tony's list.

…

It took a while for them to get on the road. There had been a small disagreement between Tony and Anna when it came to what vehicle she'd be riding in. Steve was driving the first car while Tony had the second car. Obviously James picked to ride in Steve's car, meaning Anna was determined to ride in Steve's car as well. Tony didn't like it very much, but Anna was as stubborn as him, and with time ticking against them he finally relented. Once that was settled, they rolled out: Steve, Sam, James and Anna in one car and the other three in the second one. Sam was the one to plug in the address to the GPS. Sitting shotgun made him the navigator, something Anna was relieved she didn't have to do. Though she had been to the lake house many times, she had no idea how to actually get there. She'd slept most of the drive whenever Tony would take them up there.

It seemed Anna would be carrying on that tradition, as within the first half hour she ended up falling asleep against James in the backseat. She couldn't really help it. It had been days since she was that close to him, and it was late. Slipping into unconsciousness was uncontrollable with his comforting heat burning against her side. Not that James minded at all. He had missed Anya curling up against him, and her doing it once more had him feeling more like James and less like the Winter Soldier.

Anna was rocked back into consciousness when the car pulled to a stop in front of the lake house. Wiping away her blurry vision, Anna stared up at the house that was made out of logs, but was much too large to be considered a log cabin. She hadn't been out there for a couple years now, and the sight of the familiar summer retreat had her smiling and eagerly pulling James out of the car so she could let him in on a piece of her childhood.

Anna cursed internally as she hopped, trying to reach the key from the sill above the door and wondering why they didn't keep it under the welcome mat like everybody else. Reaching from behind her, James plucked the key from its perch and handed it to her, his eyes light with amusement. He found Anna's short stature endearing, even more so when she tried to access items from heights way beyond her reach.

With a twist of the key, the door swung open and Anna immediately switched the hall light on from muscle memory. At least that was one thing she could reach. Taking James by the hand, she began leading him down the entry hall towards the back of the house, pausing briefly to point out certain rooms to him; her feet padding softly against the dark hardwood floors. She wasn't going to give the full tour, as she had every intention of claiming the master bedroom in the back of the house. It was the only one on the first floor and had an epic view of the lake.

The first door to the left from the entry hall held the library: built in bookshelves stocked with books her father had collected over the years. Many of them were mechanical and science related, however there was a section in the corner stocked with fiction for Anna and her mother. Medical books were added to the collection when Anna would bring her study materials with her during the summers. Across from the living room was the parlor, which was only every used when their grandmother had come to visit, as she liked to take her tea in that room. Further down was the dining room which was dark, and huge, and hadn't been used in a long time. Their mother used to like making them eat in there when they were younger, but ever since their parents died the room hadn't really been touched. Instead the kitchen was utilized as the cooking and eating room.

The hall opened out into an open floor plan made up of the kitchen and family room: the most utilized rooms of the whole house. Tony had the kitchen re-done while she was at med-school, replacing the laminate countertops with a sandy colored granite and the white cabinets with oak ones. All new stainless steal appliances were added as well so that the next time Anna visited it was hard to picture what it used to be like. The only reason Anna had let Tony replace the kitchen their mother had designed was on one stipulation: there would be no Jarvis. The lake house would be a retreat from all things electronic, even Jarvis. The whole point of a country house was to escape from the fast pace life in the city. Anna didn't want Tony trying to bring work with him to the lake house. He had begrudgingly accepted her terms.

After a brief look at the kitchen Anna tugged James across the way, past the living room and through a wooden door that led into a smaller sitting area. Another set of double doors led them to the master suite. Just as her feet touched the carpet, Anna could hear Tony's voice through her ear com trying to claim the Master room for himself.

"Too late Tony, we're already in here. You can take one of the rooms on the second floor," Anna answered, cutting off Tony's refutations as she removed her ear piece and stuffed it in the bedside drawer. Holding out her hand for James' earpiece, she tossed it with hers as soon as he placed it in her palm.

When a knock sounded on the open door, Anna expected to find Tony standing there glaring her down. Instead it was a bashful looking Steve, delivering the bags that had been packed for them. Asking where she wanted him to put them, Anna quickly reached forward and insisted she'd take care of them. Once he was sure Anna had them, Steve ducked out to go find wherever he would be bunking for the night. Placing the bags at the foot of the four-poster King, Anna turned towards James.

"So the room we went through was the master sitting room, and through those doors is the bathroom," Anna added, pointing across the way at the second set of double doors. "But the best part about this room is over here."

Taking James' hand once more, she led him towards the back wall of the room. With a flick of a switch the floor length curtains pulled apart to reveal glass French doors surrounded by a wall of windows. She didn't need to turn on the porch lights, as the moon was bright enough to illuminate the water that lapped against the edges of the deck. To Anna, that right there was one of the best views in the world. For James, seeing Anya's face lit up like it was just then was one of the best views. It was clear to James that, for Anya, this house was home. A smile had lifted her lips from the moment they pulled up in front of it and her whole aura had relaxed from the minute they stepped foot inside.

"I'll give you a proper tour tomorrow, when it's daylight and easier to see." Anna reassured James before moving her hand to push open the door. Stepping out on the deck, Anna turned back to motion for James to join her. After a moment of hesitation, he asked for time to change out of the suit. Even with the new colors, it reminded him of preparing for a fight, and he wanted to be able to relax with Anya. Anya seemed to understand, simply nodding as she moved to sit on one of the deck chairs while she waited him.

As she waited, Anna moved from the chair to the edge of the deck, letting her feet hang over into the water. It was soothing and surprisingly warm. The longer she sat there, letting the water lap against her legs and remembering past summers spent there, the greater the pull was to dive in. It didn't take long before she gave in, slipping off the deck and holding her breath as her head was submerged under the surface. Anna had missed swimming. Of course, there were pools in DC, but nothing compared to the freedom of swimming in a lake. No lifeguards, no other people, no rules. It was calming. She had almost forgotten her surroundings as she treaded water, looking out over the lake, until she heard James.

"Anya?" James called out, a little anxious when he'd come outside to find her chair empty. Though they had been sure they hadn't been followed, it still scared him when he couldn't immediately locate her.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," Anna answered as she swam up to the edge of the deck, resting her forearms on the wood. James' shoulders sagged in relief when he saw her, however Anna only vaguely registered that as she took in the image of him donned just in jeans. Though it wasn't the first time she'd seem him dressed as such, it still sent a thrill through her every time she did. She found it was a good thing she was already in the water, as it only took a quick dunk to cool herself off. When Anna resurfaced, it was to find James had moved closer, standing at the edge of the deck.

"I love it out here. It's like the world slows down and time doesn't matter." Anna murmured as she turned to look out on the lake again. The trees along the edges were dense enough to make it feel like it was their own private oasis. Like they were completely alone in the world. It was that thought that had Anna pushing off from the deck before turning to face James.

"Aren't you going to join me?" Anna asked, surprised that she'd actually said the words aloud. Of course she had thought them as soon as she'd seen him, but she'd never planned on saying them. Not seeing him for several days made her bolder, apparently. Or more desperate to be close to him.

As much as her actually vocalizing the question aloud surprised Anna, the fact that James only took a few seconds to consider before slipping in himself surprised her even more. Not that she was complaining when he resurfaced before her, brushing his wet hair out of his face. She could feel butterflies stirring in her stomach. Wet hair looked good on James. Unlike her. Anna was fully aware she looked like a drowned dog when her hair got wet. Self-conscious, she immediately reached up to try and smooth out her hair, only to have her wrist caught by James'.

"Don't. I like it." James murmured, not relinquishing his grip on her wrist until Anya nodded in agreement. He wasn't lying, he did like the tangled look of her wet hair. It was wild, and made her seem more carefree than he'd ever seen her before.

The look in James' eyes as he studied her in her unkempt state, as if she had never looked prettier to him, had Anna moving both her hands to rest gently against his shoulders. She was about to move in when James took her by surprise, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. The kiss was timid, soft, and short; she could just barely taste the lake water on him. It was nice, and had Anna craving another. He had awakened something within her with that gentle kiss, and it had her tangling her hands in his damp hair and pulling him back to her. Grazing his bottom lip with her teeth had his grip tightening around her all the more. And then he was kissing her again, a little deeper that time, but still keeping it slow.

James' heart was hammering against his chest, and only sped up when he felt his fingers graze against the skin of Anya's lower back. It was becoming difficult to hold back. He was just managing to keep the pace slow and he could feel his self-control slipping. Adjusting his grip in hopes that it would help prevent it from becoming too tight, James mimicked Anya and wrapped his right hand carefully in her hair. His hopes were in vein, as it only had Anya moving closer to him. He knew he should pull away in order to prevent hurting her, but he was beyond that point now. He didn't have enough will power left to pull away from her.

The fever inside Anna seemed to be creeping higher with every minute, pushing her to move closer still to James. Later she would blame what she did next on the haziness of her mind from that very fever James seemed to be inducing. Shifting closer, she wrapped her legs around James' waist, using them to pull him flush against her. She could feel his initial surprise, his lips hesitating for a second before they pressed harder against hers, rougher than before. It sent a new thrill through her. She enjoyed the evidence that James was affected by her as much as she was affected by him.

Before things had a chance to become even more heated, the porch lights flicked on, blindingly bright. It had them both freezing before abruptly pulling away from one another, though neither could move farther than a few inches even with being caught. Anna's cheeks were burning in both embarrassment at being caught, and in anger that someone had interrupted at all. It didn't take a genius to know just who had turned the lights on.

A/N: Here it is! I did my last edit on my phone when I didn't have wifi so I really hope my phone didn't autocorrect any weird words. There isn't a lot of action in this one. It's mainly leading up to the next chapter where the big fight goes down. Still I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks to all who reviewed, favorite and followed. Next chapter to be posted on Tuesday night.

Guest Review Responses!

To the guest who said "Yes! Thank you can't wait for more": you're quite welcome. I hope you liked this chapter just as much.

To the guest who said they loved it and asked me to please update soon: Hope this was fast enough for ya!

To the guest who LOVED that James psychologically tortured Brent for days before inflicting physical torture on him: glad you appreciated that. And you're right. Steve punching Brent is to be expected because Steve hates any kind of bully and Brent definitely was a bully. And psychotic. Glad you enjoyed the bromance in the chapter as well. I had fun with writing that and with letting James throw the beard thing in Steve's face.

To avengerfan: Glad you're liking the story. Although it is listed as a Romance, it is also based on action as all superhero stories are. That being said, I hope you enjoyed the amped up romance at the end there.

Keshigomu: Glad ya liked the chapter again. And that I managed to surprise you with the tracker in James' arm. I'm not normally big on torture in the real world, but for the purpose of this story, and with Brent's character, I completely was for it. It's all fictional anyways, my words didn't hurt anyone. Yes, Brent was an ass through the whole process, no sympathy for him. Hope you enjoyed the bit of Janya cuteness in this chapter!

Rach

xoxo