The Clone

7.

Sara stands at the kitchen counter cutting an apple into perfect slices, Steve sits across from her reading her mother's recipe as Bucky watches the tv across the room.

"This is very similar to my mother's" Steve tells Sara. "Though she'd add orange zest to the pastry" he admits. On the tv a breaking news announcement flashes onto the screen.

"The sudden deaths of some 200 religious leaders are currently under investigation. The Vatican has yet to issue a statement, but some are already calling this an act of God" On the tv screen, a woman is being interviewed outside the church.

"We all saw him. No beard, no robe. He was young...and...and sexy. He had a raincoat" Sara snaps her head up from the bowl and narrows her eyes.

"Raincoat?" she asks, Bucky glances to her from the couch.

"What?" he asks, she looks to the screen.

"Excuse me, I have to make a phone call" She tells them both before hurrying out of the room, Steve and Bucky share a look.

......................

Sara paces in front of the huge floor to ceiling windows that look out over New York, her phone pressed to her ear, dialling. There is a click and the receiver picks up.

"Sara, what did I say?" Dean asks.

"Please tell me that the thing you're hiding from me is not Castiel turning all God on the world?" She asks into the phone.

"You want me to lie to you?" Dean asks, she sighs.

"Why didn't you tell me this? Castiel is my.....friend"

"That pause says otherwise" Dean counters.

"Fine, not friends, per say, but that doesn't mean I don't care about him....you should have told me, instead of pushing me away"

"It's none of your business any more, Sara, so back the hell off" Dean snaps at her, he cringes at little. "I'm sorry that...I didn't..." he sighs.

"You....you are a stubborn, pathetic little man, Dean Winchester" Sara tells him. "And I actually hate you"

"Sara" Dean whispers.

"I have never hated anyone in my entire life, never..." she admits. "But I hate you, I actually hate you and I hate that I hate you, I hate that you've made me feel hate....Don't worry, I'm backing the hell off" she sniffles and then hangs up, curling her fingers around her phone, it starts to shatter.

"Stark?" Bucky asks behind her, Sara keeps her head down and wipes a hand over cheek releasing the phone.

"Yes?" she asks back.

"Are you alright?" he asks her softly. She sighs and looks out the window in front of her.

"No" she admits. "I don't know what I did wrong" she whispers a little. "I've been going over it in my head, over and over trying to work out where it changed, what I did"

"Maybe you didn't do anything" he offers moving to sit next to her.

"You don't even know what..."

"I can guess" he interrupts. "Before I was a brainwashed assassin I was actually pretty good at reading the dames" she snorts a little and looks to him. "Women" he corrects a little. "These last few days" he looks to her. "It wasn't hard to figure out" he admits. Sara sets her head on his shoulder and he looks to her surprised. "Men can be morons" he offers. "It's probably nothing you did" he repeats.

"Three years" she tells him. "We practically lived together" she lifts her head and looks to him. "That's pretty serious, right?" she ask, he nods.

"Pretty serious" he agrees. "Moron" he tells her, she looks down. "Him...not you" he corrects. "I wasn't calling you a moron" Bucky closes his eyes and silent groans at himself.

"I know" she assures him. "Maybe I'm just too complicated"

"All women are complicated" he corrects, she shoots him a look, he shrugs back, she looks to her hand, brushes her thumb over a scar across the back of her other hand.

"I was created to become a soldier" she admits. "I was made to be utterly perfect in every single way" he frowns at her. "But I don't know...." she closes her eyes and sighs. "Maybe I was too sheltered, Howard, he sheltered me from everything and everyone....I didn't interact with another child until Tony was born, and the only adults I interacted until...until I was 21 were Howard, Maria and Jarvis, so I'm not very good with people, or emotions, or...." Bucky's frown deepens.

"You're older then Tony?" he asks. Her eyes widen when she realises she's talked too much, revealed too much, Tony is always telling her 'keep it a secret. Be your own woman, don't be just his clone'. That's why she doesn't tell people what she is, who she is, she likes being Sara Lance aka White Canary. She doesn't want to be Sara aka Captain America's Clone. Sara stands and looks everywhere but at Bucky.

"I should....go finish that pie" she mumbles and then walks away, Bucky is still frowning at her.

"What?" he asks himself and stands.

...............

Sara grabs the knife off the kitchen counter and goes back to the apples, Steve raises an eyebrow at her as she now chops them roughly. Bucky follows her back in and moves to her.

"Sara?" he asks.

"I don't want to talk about it" she answers him.

"You have to explain" Bucky tells her.

"I don't have to tell you anything" she curls her fingers tighter around the knife in her hand.

"Buck" Steve warns and shakes his head at his friend.

"I just....what you said" Bucky continues. "It doesn't make sense..." Sara turns to him and Tony appears in the doorway, looks to them before rushing to Sara.

"Let's take that from you" Tony plucks the knife from Sara's hand and gives her a look. "Take a deep breath"

"I'm sorry" Sara tells Tony, he frowns at her as he sets the knife on the side.

"What?" he asks her.

"I'm sorry" she repeats.

"Which one of you is older?" Bucky asks looking between Sara and Tony.

"Me, obviously" Tony answers, Sara sighs. "What?" Tony asks her.

"I slipped" she admits, Tony looks to Bucky and Steve.

"Whatever she said; she was wrong. She has no idea what she is saying" he tells them both and pulls Sara away from the two super soldiers. He shoots Bucky a look as they leave the room, Steve looks to Bucky who is clenching his jaw and frowning.

"What's going on?" Steve asks him.

"I have a feeling" Bucky answers.

"A feeling?" Steve asks sceptically, Bucky nods.

"A Winter Soldier feeling" Bucky answers. "Something is going on, they're hiding something" Steve shoots Bucky a look. "It's not my obsession talking...." Steve doesn't believe him, one little bit. "I'll talk to Wilson" Bucky mumbles and then walks away. Bucky is going to see Sam Wilson, he is, but he's going to get into Sara's files from Sam's computer and find out what is going on, because all his paranoid alarms are going off inside his head.