The Shadow [a marvel fanfiction]

Wanderings: Chapter Two

Hot tea scalded Marie's tongue, pain pricking at her numb fingers as she gripped the mug between her hands. The café buzzed with life, people crowding around small tables in attempt to escape the cold. Despite the layers draped over her, the cold Romanian winter still seeped through and chilled her skin.

Marie swept her long, curly hair back over her shoulder. In her year of travel, she had visited close to twenty different countries. She did her best to change looks and stay out of the limelight; she used her powers to sneak onto flights and move between countries. Illegal, yes, but important to avoid being tracked by anyone.

She didn't want the Avengers to find her. She wanted to build a separate life, a separate identity. Marie didn't need them checking up on her and interfering if they believed they needed to—or recruit her for another mission. She wanted a break from that life, and that meant dropping off the radar.

Her hands tightened around her mug. Guilt gnawed at her stomach, growing with every month that passed. She tried not to think about the family she left behind; she had to fight the thoughts and memories that crept over her at night. Marie still had nightmares from New York and D.C. and HYDRA. There were some things that she couldn't leave behind, no matter how hard she tried.

Another group of people bustled into the café. Marie lowered her empty mug to the table and stood. Wrapping her scarf over her mouth and nose, she buried herself into her coat before stepping back outside.

The cool air nipped at her exposed skin. Sunlight and blue skies brightened the otherwise bleak day as people milled around the city. Marie walked aimlessly through the streets, glancing from shop to shop.

Water splashed. A man had dumped a bucket into the gutter.

But Marie was back in the HYDRA cell; she was gasping and sputtering and so so cold. It was running down her face and trickled into her lungs. She couldn't see and she couldn't breathe. The pressure. The water was weighing down on her and pulling her down to the bottom of the Potomac.

Sharp laughter and the trill of a bell made Marie's eyes snap open. She stood in the middle of the sidewalk, people giving her odd expressions as they passed.

Breathing deeply, Marie forced herself past the crowded shopping district and found herself in a open-air market. Space to breathe. Space to think. She swallowed thickly and shook the memories off her.

Five things you can see. Four things you can touch. Three things you can hear. Two things you can smell. One thing you can taste.

The market was the perfect place to be distracted. Colorful fruits and vegetables were enticingly displayed; Marie squandered her last few coins on some fresh oranges. She peeled one and stashed the rest as she strolled. Eyes roaming over the market and the people, she tried to come up with some ideas to get more money.

The half-eaten orange tumbled from her hand.

An older woman ran into her frozen body. She spat something rude in her face as she ambled past. Marie mumbled some sort of apology (maybe in French). Her eyes couldn't move from the figure in front of her.

He was tall and broad shouldered, the layers of winter clothing only making him more imposing. A winter cap covered his head, pulled low over his face and gloves on his hands. He didn't look much different from the other men in the market.

But Marie knew that hair: choppy brown locks, self-cut, brushing his shoulders. Dark stubble covered a jawline she recognized instantly. The stance, the body language. Everything.

The Winter Soldier—Bucky Barnes—was hiding in Bucharest.

His head tilted up and his eyes met hers.