Never in a Million Years |N.R|

|32| Is this darkness my forever?

We'd made it to Bucharest, Romania in what must have been record time. We went back to the hotel room where Steve had all of our suits and weapons for us, before heading straight for the address in the file.

Sam was stationed across the street from us on a rooftop, keeping a lookout whilst Steve and I stepped inside the small apartment. I followed behind him. The room was dark, wallpaper peeling away as newspapers covered the window panes. There was a single light casting a low white glow over the room, emitting a low buzz that filled my ears.

I didn't pry into anything at all, just dancing my gaze across the room as to not be nosey. But Steve seemed more curious than he was respectful of Bucky's privacy. I watched as he picked up a notebook from atop the fridge and flipped it open.

Sam's voice suddenly coming through the comms made me jump, "heads up Cap, Orlova. German special forces, approaching from the South."

"Understood" Steve replied, still flicking through the small notepad. But I failed to answer, because I was all too aware of the fact that someone else had joined us in the room. I slowly turned my head over my shoulder to eye the figure behind us, and my breath caught in my throat.

Bucky.

"Steve" I said quickly, but softly. Although he most definitely sensed the alarm in my voice as he turned around in an instant, his eyes fixing on me for less than a second because he quickly noticed Bucky too. Who was stood in normal clothing with a black cap on, and his long brown hair.

"Do you know us?" Steve questioned carefully, not moving another muscle as he waited for a response.

"You're Steve. I read about you in a museum." Bucky then turned to me, our eyes locking but I sensed no familiarity in his. "And you... I'm not sure." I did my best to hide the hurt that his words inflicted, offering him a tentative smile. He didn't remember me. We'd been through so much together in HYDRA and he couldn't remember, and nobody else seemed to believe just how close the two of us had been. Maybe I made it all up in my head. Maybe he meant a lot more to me than I ever did to him.

"They've set the perimeter." Sam informed us of the German forces whereabouts once again.

Steve put the notebook down on a nearby dining table before stepping towards Bucky slightly. "I know you're nervous, and you have plenty of reason to be. But you're lying."

"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore." I believed every single word of what Bucky said in an instant, since my gut had told me the exact same thing when I first heard on the news that they were accusing him. He was different now, better.

"They're entering the building." Sam's words only made my heart beat faster. We needed to hurry up if we wanted any chance of getting out of the place alive.

Steve seemed to come to the same conclusion, as he pressed on. "Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive."

"That's smart. Good strategy." Bucky's tone was so flat, emotionless, as if he was tired already of what his life had become. He deserved so much better, certainly more than I did, but something told me he'd struggle to see that.

Then we all heard the sounds of heavy footsteps approaching.

"They're on the roof. I'm compromised." I internally groaned at how sticky our situation was becoming.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck." Steve was trying anything he could to win Bucky over, but I knew all too well how stubborn he could be.

And he proved my point because his next words were, "it always ends in a fight."