The end of the line [Bucky Barnes]

25 Give Or Take

April 4th, 2018
Two years later.

The scent of burnt plastic and rotten food is making Helen sick.
She was heading to buy some groceries when someone grabbed her from behind, covered her head, and dragged her into a van.

She spent the last ten minutes trying to remember every turn they took, hoping to figure out where they were taking her. After a while, she finally breaks the zip ties, freeing her hands tied, and takes off the sack covering her head.

The van finally stops, and she can hear the front doors open and then slam closed.
Helen gets up and leans against the side, right next to the door that is about to be open.
When she hears them unlocking the door, she kicks it open, hitting someone right in the face.

"Fuck!" Helen hears someone grunting, but she doesn't stop to see who.
She sprints to her left but immediately stops when she realizes she's not alone.
"Surprise!" Nat screams, shaking a bottle of champagne.
Helen looks at her, completely shocked.
Tony starts laughing, and Steve looks very sorry. Sam arrives from behind her, holding his nose.

"What the fuck was that?!" She sputters, still confused and scared.
"I told them it was a bad idea." Steve sighs, coming to hug her.
"I still don't get it," Helen says, trying to calm down "what was that?"
"It's your birthday, smartass." Nat scoffs with a grin.
"My birthday?" Helen echoes her, looking at the date on her phone.

In the last week, she has been so focused on her work that she lost track of time and didn't even realize her birthday was close.

"So what? In your free time you kidnap people on their birthday? That's a pretty fucked up hobby." Helen taunts, making Nat laugh and nod.
"I knew you would have seen it coming if we did it the traditional way." She tries to condone her choice.
"God, I can't believe you convinced Sam to do that." Helen looks at Sam, who just finished cleaning his face from the blood. "By the way, sorry for that." she nods at him with a smirk. He should have known better, but she was feeling guilty for almost breaking his nose.

"I helped! And let me tell you," Pietro says with his thick Sokovian accent, getting out of the passenger seat, "you're a pain in the ass."
She gave everything she had trying to get out of that situation.

In the last two years, she trained a lot. Natasha taught her how to use their new technology and soon became a good friend of hers.

She had to face a court, which luckily decided to let her stay in the United States after learning what happened in 1945.
She started working for SHIELD, and after making up with Tony, for the Stark Industries.

A lot changed in two years, but there was a lot of her past still vexing her.

"Come on, Helen. They are waiting for you inside." Nat chirps, taking her under her arm and walking her inside.
The room is filled with people, and the music is so loud that's impossible to hear anything else.
Tony walks to her with a martini and a scotch in his hands.

He hands the martini to Helen "So, did you turn 25 or 96?" he banters, sipping his scotch.
"God, right now, I feel closer to the 100." She jokes, massaging her knee.
She hit it badly while training with Natasha almost a month ago, and it still bothers her.
Tony nods and smiles before walking over to the bar again.

When Steve and she got back from Wakanda, they got arrested.
They had to face different charges, but in the end, everything worked out.
Zemo was held accountable for what he did, and the government just decided to keep the Avengers together, aware that their work is vital.

Helen has been treated as a missing person appearing again. Her knowledge was too appealing to be let go to waste, so they asked her to do what she was best at, research. They all decided to go for the easiest way since the whole situation was a tangle way too hard to dissolve.

Natasha grabs her arm again and walks the two of them to a table.
Everyone is waiting for her, and a cake is sitting on the table with 25 candles on.
Happy birthday +25 give or take
"Can we all agree to never let Pietro do anything alone?" Clint sighs, making everyone laugh.

*********************************

The party ends around midnight, and everyone is ready to go back home to rest.
Steve drives Helen to her apartment in Brooklyn.

She was surprised to see her old house still there and empty and couldn't resist move in.
They made some slight changes, but it was pretty much the same. It's way more modern and clean.

"I know I've already said that before, but thank you, Steve." Helen coos, looking at him.
"We all wanted to do something for you. It wasn't only me." He says, smiling.
"I'm not talking about the surprise, which I also appreciated, by the way," she clarifies, "these two years have been tough. For the both of us." He nods, looking down.

"I don't know what I'd have done without you," she confesses, "I really appreciated everything you did."
"Of course, Helen. You're like family."

Steve has been looking after Helen since they got back from Wakanda, even if she's always been able to look after herself.
He just stayed in the back, making sure nothing happened.

The car goes silent, and Steve glances at her for a few seconds before sighing.
She has had a sad look for the most part of the night. Her head was definitely somewhere else. Just like right now, while she stares at the city lights.

"I miss him too, Helen," Steve says, she caught off guard.

Bucky has been a very sensitive topic for her. The only time she mentioned him was during the trial.
The first few months have been the worst. It was worse than the first time.
She had to come to terms with the possibility of Bucky being alive, but not for her.

The days passed by, and the hope of having him back started to look more like a mere illusion.

"I moved on." She croaks, fidging with her fingers "It's been two years, Steve. I haven't heard from him in two years. I can't keep doing this to me." her voice breaks, but she clears her throat quickly.

"Helen, he won't risk hurting you. He won't come back until he's sure the winter soldier is no longer a threat." Steve tries to reassure her, but there's too much pain in between. She has to protect her heart from more sufferance.

"What if he doesn't? What if he never comes back?" Steve keeps watching in front of him, tremendously sorry for keeping such a secret from her.
"I- I can't tell what to do," he starts hesitant, "but all this pain, the compromises, and all you went through... it won't always be like this.
I think that if you two met again, it's for a reason," he says confidently.
"I'm not so sure anymore. I used to think we would spend our lives together, but life proved me wrong twice already." Helen sighs, waiting for Steve to parking.

"So just to be sure, if I should hear from Bucky, should I let you know?" he asks, killing the engine.
Helen looks at him, confused.
"I... I don't know. I'd like to know if he's ok." she says softly, looking down at her hands.
"Alright then." His tone changes, becoming way more uplifted.

"What?" she asks, furrowing her brows.
"Uhm, nothing." He's being incredibly weird.
"So you wouldn't speak to him again?" Helen looks at him, ready to leave him there, looking like an idiot.
"No. That's not what I said. I don't know!" She splutters, rolling her eyes.
"What about meeting him? I mean, if he asked." He replies, making her shake her head and get off the car.

"I thought you were good to drive, but you're definitely drunk." She scolds him, walking to her door.
Steve quickly gets out and goes after her.
"Sorry, you're right. I had one drink too much." He blurts, looking around.
"Steve, what the hell are you doing?" Helen asks annoyed, watching Steve nervously scratching the back of his head.

"He's stalling." The answer arrives behind Helen's back, making her head spin to the side immediately.
When she turns around, her eyes meet two blue eyes staring at her.
She can hear her heart pumping in her ears as she takes in every new detail of his face.

"Bucky?" She whispers, trying to understand if she's too drunk or if he's actually standing a few inches from her.
"Happy birthday, doll." He says with the most beautiful smile she has ever seen.