Piece By Piece

Part 24

I silently reached under my bed and grabbed out the small pistol I kept for emergencies. I held it up, pointed at the door.

"Who's there?" I called, trying to keep my voice steady.

" Y/n, open the door. You know who it is." I recognized Steve's voice immediately. The tone of superiority, a hero complex, and the inability to see others as equal was hard to miss.

"Fuck you Rogers. Get away from my apartment."  As I waited for his response I grabbed my wallet out of the duffel bag and slipped in into my pocket. It might be something I don't want to try to travel without. It had my passport and ID and I figured it would be hard to cross the border without them.

"I can't do that, Y/n," he responded through the still locked door.

"Why not? Huh? You had no problem leaving me alone when I needed you, but now that I'm happy by myself you're gonna harass me?" Silence. I had just begun to lower my pistol when the door blasted open. I pulled the trigger three times without hesitating. A familiar looking shield presented itself and a bubble of rage bloomed in my chest.

"Get out of my life! I don't want you here! I don't want to know any of you, or think about any of you , or look at any of you! All I want to do when I see you is either kill you or myself, so leave me alone!" With the last words, I threw a blast of pure energy towards him, and aimed for his legs, which were not covered or protected by his shield.

As he recovered from his legs being blown out from beneath him, I sprinted past, abandoning the bag. I would live without it. I had some cash saved away. When I left the avengers I transferred a few million into my account- it was less than Tony spent on cars so I knew he wouldn't notice- and kept it for emergencies. I rarely used it as I had my own job to pay bills and such, but it came in clutch for cases like this.

My feet thudded against the old wooden stairs as I made my descent. I threw the door open with a heavy shove and took off down the street, making random turns in the general direction of the airport. I had to get there before they caught up to me, otherwise I'd have to kill them.

I waved down a cab and asked for the driver to please go to the airport, I'll pay double if he gets there speeding. He complied and raced through the streets. Most people were working so the roads were too busy and we made it there in record time.  I handed him 45 euros and shouted a 'thank you' as I ran to the doors. Once I was there I could do nothing but wait to go through customs and security. I stood in like behind a short and round man with a cheeky smile covering his face and a cherry nose. He was balding in a circle at the back of his head and wore a Hawaiian shirt with and ugly flower pattern covering it.

"Excuse me sir, would you mind please letting me go ahead of you? It's an emergency and I need to get through security as fast as possible," I said, attempting to keep my voice steady and polite as I spoke, when what I really wanted to say was along the lines of 'get the fuck out of the way' and proceed to blast everyone out of the room. The man smiled kindly at me

"Oh oui, ça ne me dérange pas, as-tu des ennuis du tout mon cher? avez-vous besoin de la police?"
(Oh yes, I don't mind, are you in trouble at all dear? do you need the police?)

I smiled gratefully and denied the requirement of police, but thanked him for letting me go ahead.

15 minutes later I was just about through customs when I heard a racket at the front doors. My heard rate sped up and I anxiously tapped my foot as I waited for them to finish scanning my wallet and my phone. They were the only things in my pocket when I left, so I knew I'd be done soon. The green light blinked, signalling to the customs lady that I was safe to get through. I mumbled a quick 'merci' and grabbed my thing before walking as fast as I could towards the boarding area. I pulled out my plane ticket and quickly did my best to remember the flight number and went into a small clothing store, selling hoodies, hats, sunglasses etc. It was as good as a disguise as I'd manage for now.

Ten minutes later I walked out wearing all new clothes, with my hair in a poly tail out the back of the baseball cap, and a big pair of sunglasses that covered the majority of my face. I even bought a small suitcase to act as my carry-on. I hoped all this would be enough. I sat down on one of the grey seats in the area and nervously bounced my knee.

-Bucky's POV-

I ran through the airport with Steve, trying my best not to run into people. I couldn't let her slip through my fingers again. I have lost her too many times for this life, and even if she hated me, she still deserves to be an Avenger and have a family. We reached the large waiting area with multiple boarding stations. I scanned the area and searched for her y/h/c hair, but saw nothing. They all looked the same, with the same suitcases and tourist clothing.

"Flight A7KP91 is now boarding, I repeat, flight A7KP91 is now boarding." The woman over the intercom repeated herself in French, and the people in the area stood. I tried my best to see their faces before they had their backs turned to us to be in line to board, and noticed one woman was wearing sunglasses and a hat. Inside. She had a similar build as Y/n, and the same colour hair as her. When she stood her sweatshirt sleeve caught on the waist of the fabric and lifted it up over her abdomen a few inches. This wouldn't have caught my eye at all, except that this movement exposed a small round scar that wasn't completely healed on her abdomen.

The same scar that Y/n had. I didn't want to scare her off so I walked up behind her, her back was turned so she couldn't see me. Once we were in line I said quietly and calmly:

"Ma'am? Could I speak with you off to the side please?" I knew she recognized my voice when I saw her back tense up and her shoulders stopped moving with her breathing. She shook her head so slightly that if I hadn't been watching her so closely I would have missed it. "Please Y/n," I whisper. I was begging her to come. Just to hear us out.

"I can't miss my flight." She finally spoke.

"Yes you can, you know you can," I coaxed.

"I can't."

"Then I'll come with you," I say definitively. I wouldn't let her slip through my fingers again. I needed her like air. "You've been gone for 4 months, Y/n, and I haven't slept soundly one night. I can't breathe without thinking about you, or where you are, or if you're okay. I had no idea if Hydra had taken you again, or if you were dead, or sick. Please come home, or let me come with you. I can't live without you. I'm alive, but I'm not living. Every time I close my eyes I picture you being wheeled to that fucking brain blender, or the video of you being tortured, or your broken body in my arms when I carried you, half dead away from that hell. I need to be able to protect you, Y/n." I poured my heart out. I hadn't even told Steve about the visions.

"I can protect myself. I don't need you, James," she spoke quietly.

"I know that. I know. But I need you. I know that you are perfectly capable of protecting yourself, but I need to know that I am capable of protecting you."

Silence.

She turned around, ripping the sunglasses of her face and looked my in the eyes. Her big eyes were brimming with tears, and a small vein in her forehead looked like it could burst.

"I hate you for this, Barnes!" She cried softly, finally letting the tears spill down her cheeks.