𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘢'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

Natasha and I enter the church, clad in black and I frown when I see Steve standing alone, staring at the picture of Peggy. He turns to us and leans against one of the pews.

"When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone" Steve states "Then I found out she was still alive. I was just lucky to have her"

"She had you back too" Natasha assures him.

"Who else signed?" Steve sighs.

"Tony, Rhodey, Vision" Natasha answers.

"Clint?" Steve wonders.

"Says he's retired" I scoff.

"Wanda?" Steve asks.

"TBD" I shrug "I personally don't see her signing"

"I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet" Natasha hints and Steve looks down at his feet "Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together"

"What are we giving up to do it?" Steve retorts "I'm sorry, Nat. I can't sign it"

"I know" She sighs.

"Then what are you doing here?" Steve asks curiously.

"I was dropping off this rugrat to your care" She lies, pushing me towards Steve and I glare at her, kicking her ankle "Okay, fine. I didn't want you to be alone"

The redhead pulls the blonde into a short hug and I grin widely, crossing my leather clad arms over my chest.

‎✪ ‎✪‎ ✪

Sam and I sit in the hotel room, the Wilson man flicking through tv channels in boredom while I hang my head off the end of the bed, whistling a soft tune to a Russian lullaby and kicking my legs in the air.

"Пока, пока, до свидания,
Быстро умри,
Утром будет мороз,
И ты пойдёшь на могильный двор.
Дедушка придёт
И принесёт гроб.
Бабушка придёт
И принесёт могильную одежду.
Мама придёт
И споёт молитвенную песню.
Отец придёт
И отвезёт тебя на кладбище" I sing softly, before repeating the tune with whistle.

"What are you singing?" Sam asks curiously, his focus moving from the tv to me.

"It's a lullaby" I answer simply, propping myself up on my elbows to look at the man.

"Did your mom sing it to you?" He wonders.

"I don't have a mother" I state emotionlessly and he shoots me an apologetic look that I brush off "Mama would sing it to me every time she wiped my memories so that I'd never forget it"

"How does it go in English, pretty girl?" He queries, pulling down the skirt of my black dress which had ridden up my thighs while I was kicking my legs.

I sigh and look down at the bedsheets that I fiddle with to keep my hands busy while I sing.

"Bye-bye, bye-bye,
Quickly die,
On the morning will be frost,
And you'll go to the grave-yard.
Grandfather will come
And will bring the coffin.
Grandmother will come
And will bring the grave clothes.
Mother will come
And will sing the prayer song.
Father will come
And will take you to the graveyard" I sing the words in English and Sam's eyes widen as he looks at me in surprise.

"That's morbid" He comments.

"It's a lullaby for unwanted children" I explain and the man in front of me frowns "She enjoyed reminding me that I'm an orphan so that I'd feel grateful to her for taking me in. She hoped it would remind me where my loyalties lie"

"She sounds horrible" He says and I chuckle, nodding.

"The worst part is that I adored her, Sam. She manipulated me into loving her and I can't make that connection go away" I tell him in frustration "I know that if she turned up one day and asked me to go back to her, to be tortured all over again, some tiny sick part of me would want to go"

"That's not your fault. She messed with your head and took advantage of you when you were vulnerable" Sam assures me, patting my ankle in an effort to comfort me which makes me smile "You can't change the way you were raised, and you can't change the monsters who raised you. All you can do now is decide whether you want to dwell on the past or move on to the future. It's not very bright, but it's brighter than the past"

"Thanks, Sammie" I say gratefully and he smiles at me softly.

His eyes move to the tv behind me and his face falls.

"Holy shit" He mutters and I turn my head to look at the screen.

'Breaking news' flashes across the screen and they start talking about a bombing in Vienna.

"We should go get Steve" I gasp.

"Good idea" He nods and we both scramble off the bed.

We rush down the stairs of the hotel and into the lobby, my black heels clicking against the marble flooring as I speed walk. I turn the corner first, spotting Steve and Sharon talking by the elevator.

"Steve" Sam speaks up, causing the blonde duo to look at us "There's something you gotta see"

The four of us head back up the stairs and into the room, Sam turning the volume up as I sit down on the edge of the bed nervously.

"A bomb hidden in a news van ripped through the UN building in Vienna. More than 70 people have been injured. At least 12 are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka" The news reporter announces as Sharon talks to her superiors on the phone "Officials have released a video of the suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes AKA the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent, and former partner of Anastasia Novikov AKA Nemesis, both of which are linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations"

"No" I mumble under my breath in disbelief.

"I have to go to work" Sharon declares.

‎✪ ‎✪‎ ✪

Steve enters the cafe and sits down on the other side of me as Sam and I eat our lunch, the three of us wearing sunglasses and baseball caps to try to stay hidden.

"Is Natasha okay?" I ask, taking a drink of my coffee.

"She's fine" Steve assures me.

"She tell you to stay out of it?" Sam asks and Steve nods.

"Told me to keep Ana out of it too" He adds, making me roll my eyes.

"Might have a point" Sam shrugs.

"He'd do it for me" Steve argues.

"1945, maybe. I just want to make sure we consider all our options" Sam replies "The people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me"

"Tell me about it" I scoff and Sam smiles at me in amusement.

Sharon appears at Steve's other side and I pick at the salad in front of me as I listen to the blonde girl.

"Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter Soldier goes to their gym" She explains "Most of it's noise. Except for this"

She slides a manila folder in front of Steve and he takes it from her discreetly.

"My boss expects a briefing, pretty much now so that's all the head start you're gonna get" She finishes.

"Thank you" Steve says gratefully.

"You're gonna have to hurry" Sharon adds "We have orders to shoot on sight"

Steve looks in the folder and turns to us.

"Suit up, you two. We're going to Romania" He declares.

"Son of a bitch" I smirk.

♔ flashback ♔

James and I lay on my bed in the dead of night, his arm is around me and my head is on his shoulder.

"James?" I hum quietly, looking from the damp ceiling to the man next to me.

"Yeah?" He responds, gently running his fingers through my hair.

"If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?" I ask him curiously.

He pauses, thinking about the question for a moment before smiling softly.

"I'd like to go back to Bucharest" He admits.

"Why Romania?" I question.

"You don't remember?" He frowns and guilt creeps into my chest.

"I'm sorry. If you give me a minute then maybe I'll be able to remember something, or you can give me a hint and I can try and remember that way. I really don't mean to forget-" I'm cut off.

"Stas, relax. It's okay" He assures me with a warm smile "Let me remind you"

I nod quickly and he uses his free hand to lift my chin up, the metal of his fingers cold on my skin but I don't mind it. He leans down and places a sweet kiss to my lips, causing me to smile happily as the memory comes back to me.

"We had a mission there. It was where we had our first kiss" I declare and he grins happily, nodding.

"That's right, doll" He praises me, kissing my temple.

♔ end of flashback ♔