Bethany lay perfectly still on Sam's bed, staring numbly at the Sun gradually rise behind the curtains. She strictly refused to ponder what exactly had transpired mere hours ago, extremely thankful for Sam's respect towards her unexplained hesitation. Empty thoughts danced inside her tense mind as she waited for Steve to arrive, suppressing any feelings of guilt or embarrassment with a sharp sigh. The alcohol eventually flooded out of her system in a matter of time, as the Super Soldier serum quickly eradicated the toxins, but was unable to prevent Bethany's drunken state the night before.
A knock on the bedroom door snapped Bethany instantaneously into reality, rising from her curled position on the stale bed hastily. Sam's concerned face appeared in the crack of the door, prompting warm blood to rush towards her unprepared cheeks. His eves cautiously locked with hers, entering the silent room with an worried attitude.
"Steve's here." he said, but the expression on his solemn face indicated his true intentions.
"Thank you." she nodded with an awkward smile, and stalked past him briskly, desperately trying to avoid any other topics he wished to discuss.
You're an idiot. A plain idiot., her conscience ridiculed harshly as she walked into the small kitchen, brushing Steve's warm "Hello" off with a slight tilt of the head.
Steve followed her with bewilderment as she stalked hurriedly out the front door without a goodbye. Her eyes uncomfortable adjusted to the bright morning light as she reached his purring motorcycle, as her body was secretly relieved of the tension surrounding Sam's house. She couldn't bring herself to face him, not after what she did. Not after what she said.
"Is the hangover that bad?" Steve huffed impatiently, gently grabbing her shoulders to turn her around and face him.
She quickly averted her guilty expression to the pavement, rubbing her exhausted eyes drowsily.
"It's complicated." she muttered, gently prying his heavy hands off of her spiny shoulders, and turned towards the bike once again.
"Complicated? Did Sam give you a hard time?"
"That's another word for it."
At her confusing, yet suggestive words, Steve immediately silenced himself. He hopped onto his motorcycle in uncomfortable stillness, and waited for Bethany to join him. Even though he was obviously taken aback by her words, his chiseled face sported a cheeky smirk, and shook his head with a playful sigh.
"Kids these days."
"Oh please, I'm practically the same age as you." she shrugged teasingly, placing herself behind him, relaxing against his broad frame.
She could feel his chest chuckle from her response, and with that, he revved the bike, continuing on to her apartment deep within the city.
Once Steve had dropped her off, Bethany couldn't help but anticipate the warm shower she was craving to endure. The boiling hot water gradually washed away the expensive alcohol, smudged makeup, and Sam's delightful cologne, cleaning the mess she had previously made over the course of a couple of hours.
What do I do? she thought sternly, raking her nails through her saturated hair.
If I can't face my problems now, I'll end up hurting the people closest to me.
Sam's desirable face flashed before her closed eyelids, sending regrettable shivers down her damp spine. The pleasant water streamed down her tired face as she concentrated, completely conflicted about what her next stupid action would be. Bucky's desperate eyes flowed through her suffocating thoughts, prompting a deep breath of regret. Although he destroyed her in every sense possible, she had only one option left; she had to find him.
After everything they had been through, the Winter Soldier indoctrination had broken her resolve to be with him, even though she had to continuously convince herself that it wasn't her Bucky. She didn't exactly have him in the first place. Locating him and repairing his broken state seemed to be the best option, for now. Sam or definitely not Steve could ever find out what she was planning to accomplish. It wasn't fair, she knew, but it was her burden to carry.
"We've found some intel about Loki's Scepter. Our sources say it's somewhere in Yugoslavia." Steve reported sternly, staring at Bethany with intense concentration.
Her eyes widened in apparent bewilderment, uncrossing her legs from her comfy couch. Steve crossed the room to sit by her side with sudden determination, as Bethany immediately felt his imposing question from his careful eyes begin to arise.
"I can't go with you Rogers."
"And why is that?"
"My powers. Remember? Earth shattering, avalanche causing, people killing-"
"I think the past couple of months have proven otherwise. Stark keeps insisting you tag along. They all wanna see what you can do."
"Steve you're missing the point. The past couple of times you guys have been "Avenging", you haven't found anything! I don't wanna fight until there's a real threat, okay? You guys are doing fantastic without me. Go have fun." she sighed exasperatingly, placing her delicate hand on his stone shoulder with reassurance.
He frowned, slightly disappointed by her decision, but eventually nodded, understanding her dilemma with sincerity. A deep well of guilt formed in the pit of her tight stomach, as the weight of the lie weighed down her tongue immensely.
"Sorry. I just don't like you sitting around all day. Have you got a hobby I don't know about?" he asked jokingly, his blue eyes lighting up with playfulness.
"Of course not! Why would I hide anything from Captain America?" she gasped with exaggeration, slapping his chest mockingly.
He chuckled at her attitude, and rose up from beside her, steadily making his way to her front door.
"Oh and this mission might take a while. You gonna be okay without me?" he interjected, turning around with questionable eyes.
She smiled broadly, suppressing the rising regret building up in her dry throat.
"Of course."
If you were a Russian assassin running from the law, where would you go?
The bustling airport filled Bethany's shy conscience with alertness, as she eagerly tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Steve had left the country with the rest of the Avengers, giving opportune time for her to scout out the runaway Winter Soldier.
Would he even go to an airport? It didn't matter.
His lingering footprint on the Earth had lead her to this exact destination, as she had located his personal imprint through faint vibrations in the ground. The trail had stopped somewhere on the airway, presumably expertly storing himself in the cargo of one of the select airplanes.
Which one though? she though confusedly, trying to glance out the window for a better look at the landing strip. One massive airplane was parked dauntingly on the strip, seemingly waiting for passengers to board.
"TAROM." she breathed, reciting the large letters painted on the side of the machine.
Quickly glancing at the schedule flashing above her, she searched for the flight pattern with sudden desperation.
"Flights to Bucharest, Romania will be departing shortly." a female announcer called throughout the speakers, alerting the civilians to the coming departures.
Swallowing her fear of heights, Bethany frowned in determination, and tried to ignore her growing panic bubbling in the depths of her tight stomach.
"Bucharest it is."