The Mimic

62

It was an overcast day. The once blue sky was flooded with grey clouds, creating a dim hue - it wasn't dark enough to need any lights, but it was definitely a contrast to the sunny day that occurred yesterday. It fit the mood for the heavy day ahead. 

Today was the day y/n was going to visit her hometown. The place where she was born. The place where she would've grown up if it wasn't for Hydra. Y/n didn't know how to feel about it all. The mixture of nightmares and nerves left her with not much sleep, constantly stuck in her head. Bucky sat with her all night, quietly talking to her about his school memories with Steve in attempt to get her mind off of it. He knew she wasn't properly listening, but Bucky didn't want her to sit in silence. Silence was a monster that they both knew too well.

That morning wasn't any better. The team met up to eat breakfast together in a nice little café, and, apart from ordering, y/n didn't say a word. Steve frowned at the sight of her just mindlessly pushing food around her plate, he hated seeing her like this. He missed her stupid jokes and teasing, they all did. But they all understood why y/n wasn't herself. She was in for a painful day, it wasn't really a time for jokes. Every now and again Bucky nudged y/n, making sure that she actually ate, which she did after she was reminded. The rest of the team had casual conversations over breakfast, but the void of silence that y/n left was still obvious. None of them blamed y/n for it, she probably had so much going on in her head. They'd all be acting the exact same if they were in her shoes.

Y/n was soon sat in a taxi, being driven through the fields and away from the city. Alone. Y/n had asked the team to let her go alone, not even allowing Bucky to sit in the taxi with her. She wasn't sure if she was mentally prepared to go alone, but it had to be done. It was her hometown, and she didn't want to burden anyone else with her sadness. Y/n took a shaky breath, picking at her nails out of nervousness as she stared out of the window. She felt sick to her stomach, her heartbeat loud in her ears as they inched closer and closer to a place she hadn't been to in years. She almost wished she had the team beside her now, just so she had hands to grab on to, to reassure her that it was all going to be okay. 

The town was small and rural, surrounded by fields and farms. It was a small population of people - a quiet, tight knit community. The outskirts of the town consisted of small houses and winding paths, but as they drove closer to the town centre there were small apartment buildings and colourful shops selling produce and other homemade goods. There seemed to be little-to-no technology, a disconnected town, oblivious to the rest of the world. It was a nice place. A perfect place to grow up in. A perfect place that y/n could've grown up in.

"Thank you." Y/n murmured, paying the taxi driver before she climbed out of the car. Almost as soon as the car door clicked shut, the taxi drove off, leaving y/n alone on the cobbled path. She took a shaky breath, pulling her hood up in attempt to hide her identity - the last thing she needed was fans to bombard her. But she doubted they even knew who she was, they didn't seem to have any televisions. Y/n slowly reached into her pocket, pulling a few photos of the places she wanted to visit out of her pocket. Of course she could've used her phone, but these were the photos that she'd stuck on her map. It just felt fitting. 

As y/n walked down the quiet streets, she almost felt numb. It had been over one hundred years since she had been in the town, and none of the people she walked past knew. The sound of a little girl squealing and laughing suddenly caused y/n to look up from the photos she was staring at. And, as she did, she locked eyes with a giggling little girl. Her hair was braided into two pigtails, her pink sundress and white socks were all dirtied up from playing in the fields. She held on to her mother and father's hands, squealing as they swung her up in the air every few steps. Y/n watched as she walked past, a sad smile on her face. 

That could've been her. That should've been her. She should've been able to live happy and carefree. She should've been able to get all muddied up in the fields. She should've been able to have a childhood. But she didn't. She didn't have that perfect childhood. Instead she had tears and fear, completely alone from a young age. Too young to realise that it wasn't how life was supposed to go.

Y/n took a deep breath as she arrived at the first place that she planned to visit. Her old apartment building. The place she'd grown up in. It still seemed to be an apartment building. Of course y/n wasn't planning on intruding on anyone's homes, but she just wanted to see her old family home. Even if it was just the outside. She slowly pushed open the door to the almost silent building, taking careful steps as she found her way toward the stairs. There was an elevator, but y/n wanted a genuine experience. The layout of everything was the exact same. Y/n remembered running up the same set of stairs that she was walking up, giggling as her father chased her up. It was all the same. Of course there were a few renovations due to the building being so old, but y/n didn't mind.

As y/n made her way up the winding stairs, a faint sound of music caused her to stop in her tracks. It was her father's favourite song. The one that he'd play every morning, and they'd dance around the kitchen to it. Y/n almost forgot to breathe, tears pricking at her eyes as she picked up the pace, almost rushing up the stairs so she could find the source of the noise. It was coming from the floor that she'd grown up on. Y/n quickly wiped at her tears before she stepped onto the floor. The door to her old apartment was wide open, the music coming from inside. Y/n slipped the photos into her pocket with a shaky breath, the floorboards creaking under her feet as she stepped closer and closer to the apartment. The inside of it just causing y/n to tear up even more.

It was a remembrance site. For her. There were barriers a few feet away from the door to prevent people from walking any further inside, with several informational signs set out to inform visitors. Y/n wasn't the only person there, there were several other visitors reading the signs. But none of them recognised y/n. Y/n took a deep breath, blinking the tears away as she glanced around the apartment. It was an exact replica of the apartment before it had been blown up. An exact replica. The main sign read 'Remembering the Little Witch' in big letters, causing y/n to smile sadly. Nobody knew what she was, they just knew she was a supernatural being. Her whole bloodline had been. There were pictures of y/n as a child with her parents, and articles detailing the times she displayed her powers without realising. Y/n read through every single thing, every informational piece, every article. 

It was a bittersweet moment. She was so, so happy to see her old apartment and pictures of her, yet it also reminded her about how much she'd missed, all because of Hydra. Her father's favourite song played on a loop, and y/n still knew all the words. She remembered how she'd stand on her father's feet and he'd whisk her around the kitchen, her mother smiling fondly from the doorway. She remembered sitting on the counter with tears in her eyes as her mother wiped at the cuts on her knees, pressing a sweet kiss to her nose once she was done. She remembered creeping out of her room after a nightmare, and catching her parents dancing together to a slow song - and, instead of scolding her for being up so late, they just let her join in on the slow dance. 

Her parents were so, so happy. They were made for one another. And y/n ruined it. All because she was a damn mimic. They died because of her. They died because she couldn't stop the bombs. Their fairytale lives cut short all because of her.

Y/n quickly shook herself out of her thoughts, wiping at the tears that had appeared on her cheeks. She needed air. She needed to get out of there. Y/n turned to leave, noticing a child staring at her. She was unsure if the boy had noticed the resemblance between her and the photos, or if he was just curious on why she was crying, but y/n just gave him a weak smile. She hurried back down the stairs and out of the building, taking deep breaths of the cool air in attempt to calm herself back own. Her father's song still playing on loop in her mind.