GUNSHOT FOOTSTEPS

Her gut instinct had been right. Things weren't going to stay as good as they were, and she would've been naive to think so. She was living with the notorious Winter Soldier, and even if he was trying to wash away his crimson past, there would always be people out to get him, to get anyone close to him. To get her. She knew that the person who attacked her when they were on the streets would be the first of many to hunt them down. As much as he hated to admit it, he'd destroyed so many lives, and that was enough to fuel the blur between justice and vengeance. 

The moment Bucky had lifted up the paper and seen the headline screaming at him that he was a wanted man, he grappled for Ileana and began to run. Without saying anything, she knew that he was guiding them back to the apartment where they had stashed an emergency backpack if they needed to go on the run. Still, his hand yanking her forward stole the breath from her lungs, leaving her gasping and a burning pain in her chest. Their feet clattered against the pavement, sounding like gun shots when each foot connected with the ground. 

Bang. 

Bang.

Bang. 

Her breaths tore through her but still she carried on, letting herself be dragged by Bucky. If he didn't pull her forward, she would've long collapsed to the ground in a heap and nursed her aching legs. Even with the daily training he made her do, she found herself greedily swallowing down mouthfuls of oxygen. 

They pushed past people relentlessly, ignorant about the insults thrown at their backs and powering on. They needed to get back to the apartment before the officials did. Before they had a chance of tracking them down and capturing them. 

At last they rounded the familiar corner, and not wasting a moment, they threw their legs forward. Ileana envied Bucky with his ability to do this without breaking a sweat, as her forehead slowly began to glisten under the sudden strain. The crumbling soles of her shoes did nothing to protect her from the harsh vibrations of the ground, sending shocks of pain throughout her legs. Ileana winced, gripping her hand tighter to Bucky's, not caring about how slick her hand must feel. 

They reached the door, Ileana loudly gasping for air. She leaned against the door frame, desperately inhaling as much air as she could. She was ravenous, and her hunger couldn't be sated. Bucky remained stoic, placing a firm hand on Ileana's arm. 

"If there's someone in there, I need you to run. I'll distract them." The solemn tone of his whisper sent shivers down her already shaking body. Ileana was sure that no one could've reached the apartment so quickly, but the way Bucky's heavy gaze laid upon her she knew that the possibility could be very high. Especially if people like H.Y.D.R.A were hunting them down. 

Obediently, she nodded, watching wide eyed as Bucky nudged the door open. Their normally cosy space seemed unfamiliar to her - something had changed. Maybe it was her subconscious begging her to remember one of the few places she ever called home, and complying with her inner thoughts, she scanned the room. The mattress in the corner was dipping in the middle, making it impossible to sleep comfortably on it. The cupboards supported by the wall were all thrown open, bare apart from the small morsel of food or rat. It was far from nice, but it was home. 

Yet one thing was strange about the place, and that very thing wore the American flag with pride and a lazy, charming grin on his face. His back was to them, and Bucky's grip on the weapon in his pocket relaxed slightly. Ileana placed a comforting hand on Bucky's arm - she knew how confused he was about their relationship, and he told her several times that he would have random flashbacks of a scrawny kid who put newspaper in his shoes. He had a hard time matching that brave kid to the wartime hero standing before them. 

"What are you doing here?" 

Ileana hid her surprise, biting her lip. She didn't expect him to be one to begin the conversation. A bloom of pride sprung up within her - he really was changing. 

Captain America calmly turned around, placing the notebook back on the counter. She tilted her head slightly to the side, trying to make sense of what she'd seen. Since when was there a notebook in the apartment, apart from the one she used sometimes to communicate with? 

"You know me?" The surprise was evident in his voice. Ileana pitied him, having been in the ice for decades on decades, to wake up in an era he didn't understand and find out everyone he ever knew was either dead or about to die. And then he found Bucky, the friend he considered a brother. Someone he thought plunged to his death off of a train into the dark depths of the mountains. He must have thought that life was going to be a little easier to cope with after that, and yet his friend doesn't even recognise him. Hell, she bet that even Steve didn't recognise him for a while. 

Bucky shoved his hands in his pockets, shifting his weight between his feet. "You're Steve. I read about you in a museum." 

Ileana's breath caught in her throat. She couldn't imagine what it was like for Steve, having years of friendship and memories disregarded with a single statement. A single lie. He'd spoken about Steve for hours, and now he made everything worse by trying to make them better. Unable to hide her anger at Bucky, she smacked his arm, frowning at him. His focus moved from Steve to Ileana, him purposely narrowing his eyes. Crossing her slightly toned arms, she met his gaze, refusing to back down. 

Steve hadn't acknowledged Ileana's presence until she hit Bucky. His curiosity peaked - Sharon had told him that he was with someone, but he didn't expect it to be someone like her. Someone who seemed so innocent. She didn't deserve to be caught up in this. Nodding his head at Ileana, he asked carefully. "Is she a friend?"  

"She's no one you need to worry about." 

She tried to push down the euphoria she felt blooming within her, yet she failed miserably. He had accepted her in more ways than she thought, and that reassured her. Maybe not everyone in the world was like her family. 

A low buzzing came from the hero, Steve's attention diverted for a single moment. His face became even more serious, if it even could, as he took a slow step towards the pair, as though if he moved too quickly they'd scramble away. "I know you're nervous. You have every reason to be. But you're lying. You do know me."

"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore." Bucky dismissed Steve's claim, his gaze never moving from him. Ileana could feel how tense his muscles were under her hand. She wanted to vouch for him, to tell Steve that he'd been with her the entire time; like always her mind and mouth didn't cooperate. 

The buzzing noise filled the air again, a muffled noise amidst the tense silence. "Well the people who think you did are coming here now." Steve cast another cautious glance at the girl clutching onto Bucky's arm, focusing on the task at hand. "Bucky, these people are planning on taking you, and they're not planning on taking you alive."

"That's a good plan." Bucky's gravelly monotone voice sent shock thundering through her body. A selfish protectiveness rose up within her - she needed him to keep her stable, and if he was taken, her life would return to normal. She may not have known him for long, but he had impacted her life more than she'd like to admit. 

She frowned, smacking Bucky's arm, for the second time that day. This time, Bucky didn't pay it attention, his full attention on the man dressed in the American flag. Steve sighed in exasperation, hand flying to his ear for a moment. "Bucky, S.H.I.E.L.D is coming. We need to get out of here." 

"I'm not going anywhere." Ileana gasped, tightening her fingers around Bucky's arm. She wasn't entirely sure who S.H.I.E.L.D were, but they didn't sound friendly. 

His eyes drifted downward, the stony exterior melting away. He took in her shaking head, and her wide brown eyes- her doe like eyes - begging for him to stop and to just listen to his friend. "But she is." 

Steve exchanged a look with Bucky, nodding his head immediately. He knew that if he didn't take her with him, then if Bucky got captured he would take her along for the ride. Bucky didn't want that for her. Steve didn't want that for the stranger either.

He grabbed Ileana's arm, gently coaxing her to come towards him. She shook his hand off of her arm, glaring at Bucky. Uncaring that Steve wouldn't understand, she let her hands speak for her. "I'm staying with you." 

Bucky stared sternly at her, trying to make her understand. "If I stay and get captured, so will you. And even if you don't have my reputation, they won't treat you right."

Steve's head snapped forwards and back as he followed both of their movements - her frantically moving her hands in a language only Bucky seemed to understand and him being too exasperated to sign back, resorting to using words. He did it more for Steve's benefit than out of spite. 

"What makes you think I care about what they do to me?" 

Bucky sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "Ileana, people are much worse than they seem. I thought you'd understand that better than most." 

A disbelieving smile crossed her lips, and she shook her head. She began to sign again, her movements becoming sharper, as though she was slicing into the air. "And leaving with the American flag is going to help?" 

Bucky allowed a chuckle to escape, waving off Steve's questioning glance. This small break in his harsh facade gave Ileana hope that he might change his mind - of course, hope was only something for the naive. "He can protect you." 

Her body relaxed, all of her fight vacating. Exhausted, she spoke the language of silence. "I don't know him. I trust you, Bucky." 

His face hardened, and without thinking he spat aloud. "Did you really think you know me? You have no clue about who I am, and nothing will ever change that. You're stupid to have ever trusted the Winter Soldier." 

She blinked rapidly, the words processing slowly. Before she could fire back a retort she was confident wouldn't have an effect on the cold man, Steve froze, hand raising to his ear once again. A slight murmur was heard throughout the room, and Steve's entire body tensed. 

"They're here."