This is the final chapter of the story. Originally, I was going to have 17 chapters, but the flow from the last chapter to this one worked better. And now it's coming out on the release date of the Black Widow trailer so that's even better.

Chapter Fifteen: His / Hers

Natasha didn't know that Bucky Barnes had a spot on SHIELD's Wall of Valour. She never took a moment to look here since many of the agents on here were lives she ended. But she didn't think much about his name before realizing that it made sense. She didn't know Bucky Barnes that Steve Rogers did. All she knew was James Barnes, The Winter Soldier he was crafted into after Bucky's apparent death. A man she never allowed anyone to put the blame on for anything he did under the KGB's control.

Exhaling, she catches her reflection in the marble glass. Through her eyes, she sees flashes of him in The Red Room with her, on missions, watching him go under again with no idea on when he would return.

He was a beautiful man who loved an ugly woman. Really, really loved her.

A long time ago, Natalia Romanova treated him like a human when he thought he was an irreparable machine. And for that love, they were punished in many ways. Sometimes, they were forced to watch the other suffer or fight until the other bled. Fighting against her and the control in his mind was unbearable. Meeting her and being with her always cracked through their conditioning in ways he didn't understand. That's when the abuse worsened for them but he continued being their weapon and she the top of her Black Widow class.

Now, he feels more alive than ever but parts of him have died. Bucky said goodbye to Steve without knowing it was for forever. He went back to live the life he never got now that the world would be in good hands.

And he thought he would be fine, but then he saw Sam and Wanda sitting on a bench by the lakeside. When he walked over, he sees Wanda cradling a bouquet of red flowers. It was then that he learned that Natasha sacrificed herself.

Natasha. The ballerina who freed him from the abyss of the unknown. That's why she was there as someone new.

"You saw her, didn't you?" Wanda asks. "You remember it all, right?"

It takes Bucky a moment to look up from the flowers and see Wanda addressing him. He sees how distraught they both are. Like him, they went into battle with Natasha back in Wakanda only to come back to a world where she was gone. Just like that. They didn't get to say goodbye to someone they were on the run with for years.

"Yeah," Bucky responds. "I don't know how but she was this ballerina I knew who became the spy you know."

Two worlds collided although they could never tear them apart. Natasha traces his name with her finger and reflects on times when he was conscious of what he did. The horrors plagued his mind, summoning others to come like a tidal wave. James had it worse than her because she was wired that way since childhood. He would've put a bullet in his brain if she wasn't there for him. She was his sanctuary but agony, just how he liked it. He knew about her scars and she never had to hide them from him.

She never knew who she was before she was robbed of her innocence. He'll never be able to see her smile. Ever since he saw her again in the afterlife, he recognized her but noticed something unfamiliar about her. He wanted to know who she was as the backbone of The Avengers or who she was before she died.

When he thinks about her, his new mind latches into a memory. Everything came back to him. All the words and whispers she told him when the demons overpowered his mind. He was blown up, frozen, brainwashed, and forced to kill for his enemies. Everyone from his past lives escaped his memories except for her. Maybe if he died falling off that train, it would've spared them both those years of torture, pain, and heartbreak.

All the matching scars on their bodies write stories of strength. It's different from the Bucky Barnes on the memorial. Cracks start to form on the wall from age but The Winter Soldier is timeless. If she was any other woman, it would show her heart breaking from loving the wrong man. This feeling came with a different pain that nothing in The Red Room could administer on her. They fought to love each other and paid different prices.

She's sure that he has his own history from moments apart. One day, she'll learn it. He'll find out more about the person who understands his scars. He'll learn about the transformation from the ballerina to the Avenger. He was once the worst with her on his mind but nothing will rob him of his happiest anymore. Unlike before, he has time and sanity on his side.

"Did she remember me?" Bucky asks. "Was anything real?"

"She did," Sam responds. "She never said anything but I could tell."

"After I told you," Wanda says with a small smile. "If only you two could meet again in the right order."

Bucky smiles a little, putting a hand on Wanda's shoulder. It's moments like this where the pain is worth it. It means that he's alive. The matching scars on their bodies mean that they've always survived. They could heal their own wounds from everything meant to destroy them. Every battle they've fought in, whether on the same side or against each other, just added another scar to their story.

Bucky nods. "If only…"

Every battle becomes another story, every scar becomes a part of their journey. They once had tragedy in their blood and thought they would die with it, but they became more than what they were crafted for.

She was a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man. Really, really loved him. And he loved her back.

And now, Natasha is getting her solo movie and Bucky a TV show. That's the real happy ending here.

Thank you, readers, especially to those who dealt with my long hiatuses. Please let me know what you all thought. I enjoyed writing this story a lot and it certainly hasn't felt like two years.

If you have a story idea that you want me to write, don't be afraid to suggest it. Or if you have a story you want me to beta, don't be scared to ask.

~ MysteryGal5