Epilogue

2015 – A Safe house

He found it strange that she was the one who seemed confused now. Not unhappy, just a little uncertain with herself and with him – insecure, awkward, new. They spent day after day, week after week, month after month, trying to adjust to their new decision, their new meanings to one another. This wasn't Winnie Johnson and Bucky Barnes, reunited at last. He felt certain, that if the Bucky of the past were to suddenly awaken inside of him, he wouldn't recognize this Winnie. She would be as much a stranger to him as the current incarnation of Bucky was to her.

She reassured him that she cared for him, that she wanted to be with him, that he meant something. Him, not the man-that-was, but him. He could see her war with herself though, the thought that she was a betrayer, that she was untrue to the ghost. He was at war with himself too. The Winter Soldier fought against him, killing instincts coming up against the new pleasant sensation of having a free will and a free mind. It took him weeks more before he was able to look at her and smile and not simultaneously be thinking of all the ways she made herself a target.

He liked to watch her sleep. It was restful. She was restful. He didn't sleep much, but she required a normal amount and he liked nothing more than to lay next to her and simply watch her. She slept more soundly, her dreams less violent and less frightening than they used to be; at least that was what she told him. He knew when the nightmares came; the room came alive when she had them, putting him on alert as he watched things moving about, dodging them when necessary, waking her up if the walls shook.

She watched him while he did normal things – reading a book, drinking coffee, brushing his teeth, a small smile on her face at all times, as if she was genuinely pleased that he was simply there, that she was able to witness such normalcy.

"I don't know how long we have," she said to him softly, as they lay in bed at night. She received cryptic messages from the others in her group, the Avengers she called them; something was building, something was coming, they could both feel it. "I'm not going anywhere," he would respond, and she would clutch at his face, his arms, his chest, as if only her grasp could make his statement true.

"Say it," she would demand, on the nights when things were good, when he felt sound enough to be with her, when his overwhelming fear of hurting her was pushed aside. "You know I do," he would reply and she would smile against his mouth. Sometimes she would smile and cry, sometimes just cry, but the words meant something to them both, even though they never said anything more regarding deeper affection. He felt it, and she felt it, he was sure, but saying anything more than a pet phrase seemed impossible, dangerous.

She feared losing him again, as she had before, and made obvious efforts to choke back her words, as if admitting his importance to her meant that he would be torn away. He feared the same.

"My mother would not approve," she whispered to him, on the nights he was brave, "She would be shocked." He never responded; he didn't know her mother or remember the social protocols of the time they were from. "I waited over 70 years for this though, I think I'm quite old enough, quite serious enough," she would reason with herself. He simply enjoyed being with her, not just at night, but during the day, while they studied the things happening in the world outside their safe house, while thy trained for combat in the yard, while they cooked, ate, rested and played.

"Nomad," he would tease her, the gentle mockery seeming strange to him; he was the Winter Soldier, perhaps joking was never to be his thing. She would glare and something would smack into the back of his head without her ever moving a finger. Her wonderful ability, her unique power, her pride and her shame; she was as much Nomad as she was Winnie. He was as much the Winter Soldier as he was Bucky.

"We're a pair," she would tell him, "Damaged goods." A flash of green eyes and a smile. "Say it," she would demand.

Love.

"You know I do."

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*** Hey Everyone - it's been pointed out to me that author's notes as chapters are not allowed on this site, so my update chapters have been taken down - I'll use this space here to let you know that there is a one shot "Remember, Remember", as well as a longer 'part two' of sorts that has multiple chapters "It Takes Seconds to Break", following this story - find them on my profile or in the general search! Thanks for reading! ***