The Winter Warrior // Captain America

«Chapter 26»

A N N A ' S   P O V

"Agent Rogers." 

"Wake up!"

"You shaped the century." 

"Anna! You know me!" 

My eyes opened and I looked up, seeing the barrel of my gun was aimed at the head of a blond man with blue eyes. A brunet man sat next to him, both of them tied to the chairs they were in. Duct-tape was over their mouths and their eyes were filled with terrified tears. 

A red-haired woman stood next to me. "Kill them," she said in Russian. 

I pulled the trigger of my gun twice and the men were killed, blood trickling down their faces. 

At the sound of the last gunshot, I jolted awake, letting out a troubled gasp.

"No, no, no, no," I rambled. "I didn't kill them. I didn't kill them. They're not dead. Steve is alive. Bucky is alive. They're okay." The words poured out of my mouth before I could stop them and confusion clouded my mind. I sat with my head in my hands as I fought to calm my rapid breathing and ease my racing mind. 

After what felt like hours, I sat up and looked around the room, seeing it had gone dark outside. I took my notebook from the floor and flipped through the pages, looking at the names, the pictures, the news articles, all the words and phrases I had scribbled down. 

Slowly but surely, my breathing steadied and my thoughts straightened out. Things started to fall back into place. My name was Anna Sarah Rogers. I was born in 1922 in Brooklyn, New York. It was 2015. I was in Bucharest, Romania. My brother, Steve, was still alive. And so was my best friend, Bucky Barnes. He was in this city too, looking for me. I knew exactly where he was staying. He didn't know that I knew, though.

I let out a long breath and realised I was horribly cold. My skin was covered in goosebumps as a gush of wind blew past me. I stood up and shut the window in the kitchen after checking the balcony. I looked into all of the cupboards and closets before gathering my clean clothes and a bottle of soap. I hurried down the hallway to the bathroom this floor shared. 

I stepped under the shower after it heated up and let the hot water stream down my body. The goosebumps disappeared and for the first time since... since I could remember... I felt calm.

***

Another two weeks passed after I found Bucky again. We talked in the cafe for an hour and he helped me remember everything that was worth remembering. We agreed to meet every other day. I had forgotten to come three times. 

I was on my way to meet him and as I walked to the cafe, I didn't look over my shoulder every other second. I entered the cafe and already saw Bucky sitting in our regular booth. He smiled when I came in and I walked over. "How are you?" he asked as I sat down. 

"I'm good," I said, nodding. "You?" 

He smiled softly. "I'm good too. I brought you something." He reached down and my hand instinctively flew to the switchblade in my pocket, before I told myself to calm down. I could trust him, I reminded myself.

Bucky came back up and placed a red box in front of me, a green ribbon wrapped around it. "What's this?" I asked, not moving to touch the box. 

"A present," he replied, nervously awaiting my next move. 

I blinked and frowned. "Why?"

"Well, it's Christmas Day and it's your birthday soon, so I thought I'd combine the two and get you this," he told me, smiling. "Merry Christmas, Anna." 

My hands were shaking when I reached up and pulled the ribbon from the box. I carefully lifted the lid. Inside was a necklace of some sort. 

"Do you recognise it?" Bucky asked. 

I shook my head as my fingers took the chain and grabbed the hanger. It was a small metal plaque that read:

Anna S Rogers
38493766 T41 42 A-
R Barnes
3092 Stockton RD
Shelbyville In P

"What is this?" I asked softly, studying the letters engraved in the metal.

"They're your dog tags from the war. Or at least one of them. Your brother has the other half. We thought they disappeared with you the day you fell from the train, but you had left them in your tent that morning. SHIELD kept them all these years and gave them to us when we woke up three years ago," Bucky told me. "It was the only thing I had of you for three years until I found you again, so I thought they should be with their rightful owner." 

I couldn't help but smile, tracing my fingers over the letters and numbers. "R Barnes?" I muttered. 

"Rebecca, my sister. Since you and Steve both went to war, you couldn't register each other as your next of kin, so Becca suggested you put her down as your next of kin in case... in case something happened to you," he said. 

"And when something happened to me, they didn't find their way to her?" I asked. 

"No, we thought they were gone, so they couldn't be sent to her," he answered. 

"I love them. Thank you," I told him, finally looking up to meet his eyes. 

He smiled. "You're welcome." 

I put them around my neck. The chain felt cold against my skin. "That way you always have a reminder of who you are with you," Bucky said and I nodded. 

"That's nice," I said quietly. 

"Do you maybe want to go for a walk? I read somewhere The Old Town is really beautiful in Winter," Bucky asked. 

My heart skipped a beat and I said, "Sure." 

We heaved ourselves in our coats and fifteen minutes later, we sauntered through the streets of The Old Town. It was one of the earliest settlements in Bucharest, some of the buildings dating back to the fifteenth century. I couldn't remember ever being here, but the place looked very familiar. 

I looked around and felt Bucky's presence beside me as he walked on my left. His arm occasionally brushed against mine and every time it did, my stomach flipped. His fingers grazed the back of my metal hand and sparks shot up my arm, even though I had never felt much with that arm. Slowly but surely, his hand found its way in mine and our fingers intertwined. I forced myself to stay calm as shivers ran down my spine. 

This was the first time in decades another human had touched me without violence or aggression. And it felt simply alien. Before I could stop myself, I asked, "Do you want to move in with me?" 

Bucky stopped in his tracks and turned to me, his hand slipping from mine. I instantly missed the warmth it had given me. His eyebrows knitted together in a frown. "Move in? Like, in your apartment?" he asked. 

I swallowed thickly before nodding. "You have helped me more than I can remember anyone ever doing. I need you close to me," I said in almost a whisper. "Please?" 

He smiled. "I would love that, but only if you're one hundred per cent sure. I don't want to invade your space," he told me. 

"I'm sure. One hundred per cent," I confirmed. 

"Okay," he agreed, reaching for my hand again and engulfing it in his own. We continued our stroll down The Old Town until we reached my apartment on the other side of Bucharest.