A Reckless Soul | Captain America ✓

OLD HABITS NEVER DIE

"Now that the flashbacks have been increasing and getting incredibly stronger, I've been having second thoughts whether or not to tell Captain Rogers my knowledge of where Barnes is located. We did, after all, escape Hydra together."

–Words from Audrey's
personal journal

F L A S H B A C K

"NOT the ideal place to hide." A lingering of uncertainty smoldered through Audrey's eyes as they scouted the area. A flash of blue ran across the black of her pupils in the dark room. There, then gone. She was on edge.

They both were.

The glint of silver from the gun's metal, shimmered against the moonlight through the window. The weapon perfectly fit like a glove inside the cool steel of Bucky's hand.

Rain battered the earth outside the old, rickety abandoned church. Small holes protruded from the roof, for water droplets dripped here and there within the confines of the building. The smell of mold under the decaying red carpet along the isle, waft its undesirable sent up into Audrey's nostrils.

Winter's face contorted into a frown, but not because of the smell, but because of the other assassin's earlier comment. He wiped his moist nose using the back of his wrist, opposite to his prosthetic gun hand. "And you had a better place?" A sniffle and shiver followed his irritated voice.

A chill sliced the air, morphing their warm and weather beaten bodies to less than an inferno. The damp weather was so unbearable at this hour, that the Englishwoman could have gone for a spot of tea.

A slight laugh leaked from Audrey's mouth, sounding more like a tiny shiver. "No, I suppose I didn't chap."

The bittersweet silence was their only friend at the moment. But they knew even with it came trouble, that after the calm came the real storm. Were they ready to face this storm?

Bucky turned away from the tall window to look across the room, and as he did, caught sight of Audrey near another window. Even though she was huddled in the dark corner, he saw the slight tremors rack her body. "You cold?" he asked, squinting his eyes to see her better in the far corner.

"N-no." One side of his mouth curled up. He heard the shiver in her voice. He hadn't dealt with a stubborn woman—or to put it in his own words, doll, for quite some time.

"You're not a good liar." Pushing off the wall he strode to her, and as he did, stripped himself of his suit's jacket. "Take this."

"I'm not—" Audrey began, but before she could protest Bucky threw the clothing over her himself. The warmth from within, smothered Audrey around the shoulders and behind her back. Immediately she felt better under the jacket filled with the warmth of its previous owner.

"Cold?" he finished for her. Her eyes flashed blue again. He saw her chin poke out of the darkness and into the dim light, as she raised it to jerk her defiance at him. If he couldn't already see it in her annoyed eyes. He merely smirked at her.

"You just can't take no for an answer, can you soldier?"

He drew closer to her, leveling his eyes with hers that which gleamed blue and gold in fleeting seconds. "A simple 'thank you' would be enough," was all he said, infusing her irritation more. Then all of a sudden through the dark, he saw her lip bend upwards.

"Thank you," she said through clenched teeth. "You're rather a bother. Why did I decide to save such a creature?"

"I don't know, why did you?" His face shifted to a more somber look. He wanted answers and was confused just as much as he was confused about his past, and why it was hazy. "I saw you," he began, emphasizing his words, "in the lab. I saw the look in your eyes. I thought I had a vicious look. You had murder in your eyes, I've seen that look in others. So tell me, why did you choose to save me when you wanted to first kill me? What have I done to you?"