"You dare to disobey orders, Asset?"

Russian words flowed as easily as English through her brain, translating back and forth till she heard both at once. Was Russian her native tongue? Was English? She couldn't tell. But the memory continued to move despite her inner curiosity.

Blue eyes as cold as ice did not waver, staring down the smaller man with anger and disdain. "Mission Objective: train Project Aria subjects. Those orders came from above your station."

Bristling at the subtle insubordination, the small man barked out, "That does not justify what you did to the handler. You dare to attack superiors unprovoked-"

"It was provoked."

"How?!" the man spat.

"Higher Mission Objective: Protect my Aria."

"You have not been assigned a partner yet, Asset."

His arm tightened around her shoulders as she watched on quietly. "She is my partner, my Aria. No other will do. He stepped out of line by attempting to touch her as he did." Something in his gaze must have surprised the small man, because his eyes widened as he stepped back away. "And that will not be tolerated."

She remembered.

Not everything. The pieces were broken and mismatched, but she knew enough. Her vision swayed as she tried to process it all, and were it not for the arm wrapped firmly around her waist, she might have fallen to the ground from the shock of the memories flooding back to her.

Yet he held firm, and she felt her heart race as she was brought back to the reality of the situation. She needed to reason with him. And thanks to certain memories, she had a vague idea of how to do it… even though she was not fond of her options. Still, deciding her best bet was to cling to the old memories, she firmly asked in English, "What is your mission, Asset?"

"Mission Objective: eliminate Captain America and his allies," he replied evenly, his voice muffled behind his mask and tone betraying nothing. She drew in a breath, panic gripping her throat as he continued. "Secondary Mission Objective: obey and protect my Aria."

That floored her. The old memories floated up, just below the surface of her mind: he had always protected her, just as ordered. But the fact that they had not rescinded those orders all these years later sounded too good to be true…

And part of her tried to suppress any thoughts about him claiming her as his.

Quietly, she asked, "Which mission takes precedence?"

He remained silent for a beat, then he said, "Both were given high priority. Neither were stated to be higher over the other." Turning her around in his arms, she noted that he had put away the knife he had taken and used against her. She distantly wondered if he would give it back or if she would be pushing her luck to ask. "Presumably the older orders takes precedence."

"Oh thank god." He blinked in confusion at her response, but she did not take the time to explain. "Okay… Okay, so, orders? I can give you orders?" He nodded. "Alright… um… don't kill Captain America."

His brows furrowed, and though she could not see his mouth behind the mask, she assumed he was frowning. "But the mission-"

"Our superiors are compromised." Aria may have been a kickass spy, but Darcy Lewis was definitely superior in one area: making up utter bullshit that sounds semi-believable. "We can no longer follow their orders. Hydra is dead to us. We are on our own now, and we have to stick together."

He looked ready to protest her words, but she reacted by instinct and grabbed his hands in her own. "You said you wanted to protect me?" He hesitantly nodded. "Then trust me. Hydra is a threat to my safety, to both our safety. They would kill me without a care."

"I won't let them."

The use of first person was not lost on her, and briefly, she remembered similar conversations with him, away from the prying eyes of handlers. "The only way to ensure that is to cut ties with them. Captain America and his friends are on our side. They will help you protect me-"

Anything else she might have said was cut off by the Soldier shoving her behind him. She heard a loud clang and looked up just in time to see him fling Cap's shield with his metal arm. "Fuck!" Shoving around the Soldier before he could set off to fight the others, Darcy shouted, "Steve, stand down! He's on our side!"

"Steve?" The voice whispered behind her, his tone tinged with… something.

"Yeah, Steve," she replied over her shoulder. She could see the confusion in his eyes, almost as if he were in pain. "He won't hurt me. He just thought you were still attacking me."

The Soldier's eyes hardened. "Never."

She squeezed the hand she still had a hold of. "I know." Turning back to Cap as he reached them, she remarked, "I don't have time to explain, but we need to get out of here."

Eyeing the man behind her, Steve asked, "Is he coming with us?"

She felt him press closer behind her, his hand releasing hers and resting on her shoulder. He did not speak, however, and judging by how Cap straightened and tensed up, she could assume the Soldier was glaring at him. "Uh… I kind of think wherever I go, he goes."

Steve sent her a questioning glance, but Natasha and Sam chose that moment to come jogging up. Turning to them, he ordered, "Let's find a ride and move out."

Natasha simply nodded while eyeing the Soldier. Sam, however, kept glancing back and forth between Darcy and Cap, and just announced, "Did I miss a meeting or something, or is it common for you guys to befriend people who shoot at you?"

Not missing a beat, Natasha replied smoothly, "I tried to assassinate a man once and ended up being recruited to SHIELD." Turning to head off towards some undamaged parked cars, she added, "Clint still invites me over for family dinners."

"…you guys really need therapy."

"You volunteering?"

"Hell no."

"I believe we need an explanation."

Steve sat directly in front of her in the van, while Nat and Sam sat in the front with Sam driving. She had shoved herself and the Soldier into the back row of the van, figuring he would feel more comfortable without anyone unfamiliar behind him or next to him… though eyeing the way his legs were practically scrunched up to his chest, she felt bad for the decision.

He didn't complain.

He never complained when others were around.

Shifting nervously in her seat, she dropped her eyes to her lap. "I honestly barely understand this all myself." Glancing to her right, she saw the Soldier staring straight ahead at Steve. His mask still covered the lower half of his face, but she could clearly see the assessing nature in his eyes, as if Steve were a puzzle he was trying to solve.

Steve, to his credit, was keeping his composure rather well as he glanced between her and the Soldier. "How about you start by telling me why he is no longer trying to kill us?"

She shrugged. "He's following orders."

"I'm pretty sure his orders were to turn us all into roadkill," Sam chimed in from the front seat. "Or did you forget about the part where he ripped the damn steering wheel through the roof of the car and tried to beat us all with it?"

"I remember you screaming like a banshee."

"Woman, as the normal one of the group that's not used to this bullshit, that screaming was justified."

"Разрешение говорить?"

His voice caught her off guard, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She had expected him to refuse to speak in their presence based on his behavior thus far: but when he asked to speak she realized that it had never occurred to her that he would think that he wasn't allowed to speak. "Of course," she replied after a beat. "You can speak about whatever you want, whenever you want. But just, Nat's the only other one who understands Russian, so English would be better."

He nodded to her, but she could see a hint of relief in his eyes. This was likely a kindness that his previous handlers had never allowed…

Briefly, she wondered if this made her his new handler. The thought made her ill.

He directed his attention to the others in the car. Steve and Natasha watched him warily, while Sam stole glances from the mirror of the van. "Rejected Mission Objective: eliminate Captain America and his allies." The small intake of air was the only sound the others made, all having known what his mission was, but still reacting to hearing it out loud. "Primary Mission Objective: obey and protect my Aria."

"My?" Steve's tone was slightly confrontational, in a way that made her little feminist 'no-one-owns-me' heart sing. But, she knew what the Soldier meant by the possessive tone.

And she also knew he likely would not approve of being challenged.

Her hand quickly darted out to grab the Soldier's, squeezing tightly to reassure him, a motion that did not go unnoticed by Cap and possibly Nat who was doing her whole 'I look like I'm not paying attention but I'm currently psychoanalyzing the shit out of you' spy thing. "It's okay, Steve. He didn't mean it in the way you're thinking."

"I don't know what to think, Darce," he replied in an exasperated tone. "Just this morning you were terrified of the man, and now you insist he is on our side."

"Terrified?" The voice had been quiet, but she could hear the hurt. Looking up at the man beside her, she could see the concern in his eyes. "What did I do?"

"Soldier…" she whispered quietly. "It's not your fault. Hydra gave you orders… but I wasn't hurt."

He shook his head, as if trying to will away the thought of hurting her. "Why?"

"Why did they give you orders? Or why was I afraid?"

"Both."

"My existence was a threat." The words rolled off her tongue with a shrug. "They feared I remembered and that I was defying them. And as for why I was afraid…"

"You didn't remember."

She smiled sadly. "I didn't remember." Her hand squeezed his. "Not until today."

His eyes dropped down to her hands. "They wiped you."

"Yes."

"Just like they wiped me."

"…yes." She hesitated before speaking. "But you remember me?…"

"I remember you."

"And I remember the fact that Hydra wants to kill us all," Sam chimed in from the driver's seat. "Not to ruin y'all's little moment, but we really need to figure out what to do next."

"Sam is right," Natasha added smoothly. "I know you both are likely dealing with a lot, but we need to figure out how to stop HYDRA before they proceed with Project Insight."

With a huff of a laugh, Darcy quips, "No problem, we can compartmentalize." Linking her fingers as she stretched her arms above her head, she added, "Focusing on the mission is one thing we were taught how to do very well."

"Its still you… right?"

Startled out of her zone, Darcy's head popped up from her laptop that had survived the fight in her bag. "What do you mean, Cap?"

Absently scratching the back of his head, he moved to sit next to her on the dingy bed. "Are you still Darcy?… or are you Aria?"

They had managed to drive towards the outskirts of the city, ensuring that they had no tails as they checked into a seedy little motel. Both Natasha and the Soldier were securing the perimeter as well as keeping watch, while Sam had opted for a shower. Which left Steve and Darcy to the room by themselves.

"Yeah, I think so…" At his confused look, she sighed. "It's not like I have much to compare it too. Like…" Running her hands through her hair, she tried her best to explain. "I still remember everything since I woke up. I remember my life as Beatrice, as Jane, and of course as Darcy. I want to still be Darcy…"

"But now you have these memories," he offered quietly.

Her eyes dropped to stare at her hands. "I remember things. I remember the Red Room. I remember the handlers. I remember meeting the Soldier, being trained by the Soldier, being protected by the Soldier… I remember being Aria. But its like watching an old movie that's seared into my brain. I remember, but at the same time…"

"It feels like another lifetime."

She slowly meets his eyes, quietly assessing him. "You understand."

"Maybe not fully," he began, his voice low. "The Soldier probably understands what you are going through better than anyone. But after the serum, after the ice… life changed so much that I couldn't recognize it. Nothing was ever the same again."

"What did you do?"

He shrugged. "The only thing I could do. Adapted. Put one foot in front of the other. You can't change your past, but you can decide your future."

Nodding slowly, she spoke quietly but determinedly. "I want to be Darcy."

Grinning brightly, Steve replied, "Well that's good, cause I still owe her a drink. Would hate to have her bail out on me."

Laughing, she cooed, "Oh, Cap, I would never wish to disappoint you."

He shook his head, his shoulders still rumbling with laughter. "I don't think you could." As the laughter died off, he found himself staring off at the wall, lost in thought.

Tilting her head curiously, she chirped, "Penny for your thoughts?"

Eyeing her, he slowly drawled, "Its just… the Soldier."

"You're still wary about him?"

"No… well yes, but thats not what I'm thinking about." His voice dropped low, and she had to lean forward to hear him. "He… he reminds me of someone I knew."

Brows scrunched together, she asked, "Wait really? Who?"

"It's the eyes," he explained. His eyes grew haunted, his shoulders tensing. "I must be going crazy, seeing a dead man in his eyes. I just… they look a lot like my friend's eyes."

"Steve…" Resting a hand on his arm, she softly asked, "Who is it?"

"Bucky." Dropping his face to his hands, he groaned as if in pain. "I can't stop seeing Bucky."

Darcy felt herself stiffen in shock, her brain spinning. She remembered seeing a book about Captain America, the pictures of him and the Howlies, and the pictures of his old, close friend, James Buchanan Barnes…

And as other old, buried memories came flooding back, she could not help the little gasp of shock.

Shoving up off the bed, she ignored his shout of surprise as she launched herself up towards the door. Yanking it open, she shouted out, "Soldier! I need to talk to you now- Fucking hell!"

She would have fallen on her ass in surprise had it not been for the familiar metal arm wrapping tightly around her waist. Concerned blue eyes assessed her for injuries and their surroundings for threats as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. Finally catching her breath, she laid a hand on his chest. "I'm fine… God, you got here fast."

He huffed softly. "Ваше пространственное осознание ухудшилось, мало Aria…"

Practically growling, she smacked him on the shoulder. "I am not little!" she snapped in English, ignoring his choice of Russian. His eyes crinkled in the corners and sparked in amusement at her defiance, causing her to scowl. "Don't laugh at me, jerk…"

He didn't reply, glancing warily towards Steve who hovered in the background. She could read that look well enough, his wondering if Steve had done something wrong to elicit her calling for him.

Needing to nip that thought in the butt before anything happened, she grabbed the sides of his face and turned him to look at her. "Soldier… can you remove your mask?" He seemed caught off guard, slightly curious to her request. "It's… it's a theory. And it's important." Still, hesitation and wariness. "Please."

She had been very careful since their reunion to keep the orders to a very minimum. Though he likely would not feel any ill will towards her for orders, the idea of forcing him to do anything did not sit well with her. Yet, even with her requests, giving him the option, he had yet to not cave to whatever she wished.

So it did not shock her as he reached up to undo the clasps on the mask, his eyes not leaving hers as he pulled off the mask and tossed it carelessly to the side. She felt no surprise over his face, being just the same as all those years ago when she was just a child and he the teacher, but now with her being a woman and him being… very distinctly male.

Stop that, she ordered herself. He was her first friend, her dear Soldier. She could never think of him as anything else. Could never suggest that dynamic to him. Whether it was out of fear of him complying out of duty or fear of something real coming about, she couldn't decide. All she knew was how attractive those lips were, and how unfair it was to pair them with those icy blues…

Shaking herself free of that train of thought, she turned back to the issue at hand. She had remembered his face well enough. And that building dread at the implications just made the situation all the worse.

"Darcy…" Steve's voice floated from within the room, not having a clear view of her Soldier's face. "What's going on…"

His voice trailed off as she stepped back, giving him a good view of her mask-less Soldier. The look of utter shock and disbelief was enough to make her heart break. Quietly, he whispered, "Bucky?…"

And her heart sank further as her Soldier replied, "Who the hell is Bucky?"

Steve never got a chance to answer, because Sam chose that moment to come striding out of the bathroom in just a towel, shouting, "Okay, where in the hell are my pants?!" while Natasha sprinted into view outside of the door, gun drawn, declaring, "We've got company!"

Translation: (this is from google translate so it probably a little inaccurate IM SORRY)

Разрешение говорить - Permission to speak

Ваше пространственное осознание ухудшилось, мало - Your spatial awareness has worsened, little