The Mimic

5

The kitchen was eventually cleaned up, but the sweet smell of the smoothie lingered. It seemed as if Scott and Peter had only used berries and sugar. The counters and floor were still sticky, no matter how hard everyone scrubbed - it was chaos. But it was a nice atmosphere, everyone was laughing over it, Steve even spotted Bucky laughing a little. Wanda was happy to see y/n get so involved in helping out, she knew how hard it was to join in with the group - especially due to how close they all were. Natasha had already told the team to treat Bucky and y/n like normal people, making them seem like monsters wasn't going to help anyone.

Most of the team had disappeared to shower and try and get the sticky smoothie off of them, so y/n took that alone time to explore the compound. It was giant, with so many twists and turns. Most of the walls were a plain white, but it was obvious where Pepper had stepped in with the decorations. It was weird, having all of this freedom. She wasn't used to it yet. It all felt too surreal. Y/n kept her hands tucked into her pockets, careful not to touch anything as she wandered around. Everything looked so expensive - the idea of breaking something was terrifying. Especially as she was so new to the place, it wouldn't be a good first impression. The compound had rooms and rooms of places that seemed to almost go untouched, far too much free space. But, it was peaceful, in a way. The idea of being able to find places to just relax and be alone was nice.

Y/n ended up finding herself in what seemed to be one of many common areas, with a huge window that revealed fields of green grass and nature. The sun was slowly beginning to set on the horizon, creating a nice orange and red splash of colour on the darkening sky. Bucky was sat on one of the armchairs closest to the window, seeming to just be enjoying the view, in his own little world. Y/n hesitated for a moment, but decided to make her way toward him. He was the person she could relate to most, they were going through the exact same thing. Y/n sat down on the armchair beside Bucky, smiling a little as he looked over at her. "First impressions?" She asked, glancing back out at the view. Bucky hummed a little with a shrug, joining y/n with glancing out of the window. "Well... they all seem great." He murmured with a slight shrug. "But they're just so tight-knit. I don't know how to explain it. I just feel..." Bucky trailed off, frowning a little as he tried to find the words for how he was feeling. "Out of place?" Y/n suggested, earning an agreeing nod from Bucky. "I feel the exact same." She hummed, smiling weakly as she looked over at Bucky. Everything was still so new to them. They'd just gotten their minds back, and now they'd been plunged in to the deep-end with a group of almost strangers. It was hard.

The pair sat in silence for a while, just enjoying the view before them. During their time in Hydra, there was no time to stop and enjoy anything. And even if they did, it was most probably wiped from their memory. "Y'know... For the whole time we were partnered, we never knew anything about each other." Bucky murmured, keeping his eyes trained on the sunset. Y/n hummed in agreement, glancing over at Bucky for a short moment. "Well, my name is y/n, apparently. But that's all I've got for you. Still trying to piece everything together." She sighed. Y/n didn't know a thing about herself. Memories that weren't about her time in Hydra were rare, and when they did arrive they were too jumbled to make any sense. Bucky nodded with a slight smile,  tilting his head a little as he kept his eyes on the sunset. "Y/n... It suits you." He hummed, meeting her eyes for a moment before looking away again. "My name is Bucky. Or at least that's what Steve calls me." Bucky grinned. He completely understood where y/n was coming from with the memory problem. 

Steve had given him a notebook to write all his memories down in, even if they made no sense. It gave Bucky a sort of comfort. The idea of writing his memories down reassured him that if he somehow was brainwashed again, he'd have a book to remind him of all the memories he'd forgotten. Writing them down helped. It just hurt that he'd been ripped away from what seemed to be a nice life...

"You're lucky you have someone that remembers you, Buck." Y/n murmured, a her eyes seeming to glisten a little with tears that threatened to fall. She glanced back at the view, trying to blink the tears away. She wished she had someone to remember her, it'd help so much more. "I was thinking the other night, and if I wasn't on partnered with you on the mission, I'd still be... there." Y/n whispered in a shaky tone. "And nobody knows who I am. Nobody would've come for me." Bucky frowned sadly as he listened to y/n, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey... Don't think like that." Bucky murmured, seeming serious. He knew how much those thoughts could destroy someone, even if it was true. "You're here now. We're not there. We're safe..." Bucky whispered, giving y/n a comforting smile when she glanced over to him. Y/n smiled back with a slight nod, taking a deep breath. "Sorry." She murmured, wiping at her eyes quickly. Bucky opened his mouth to tell y/n that she didn't need to apologise, but decided against it. One step at a time. They were safe and that was all that mattered.