For the next few weeks, I worked out with the three Avengers, read books that I'd apparently liked before my memory loss, and just spent time with Bucky.

I enjoyed spending time with Bucky. He was kind and gentle with me. His eyes softened whenever they landed on me, and his assassin's demeanour tended to melt away whenever I was around.

Everything seemed to be going well. I was... learning things, in a way. They were all things that I'd already known, but they were more of an instinct now, because I couldn't remember when or how I'd learnt them.

And then everything wasn't going well because Steve got a call from Tony. The conversation was short, and Steve hung up after a minute.

"Tony needs us," Steve said. "There's a Hydra attack. Bucky, you stay here with y/n."

Bucky nodded and hugged his friend goodbye. He then ruffled Nat's hair, and she growled at him and punched him in the arm. Steve and Natasha both said their goodbyes to me as well.

Steve and Natasha suited up and got on the quinjet in the span of a few minutes. I nervously wringed my hands. Over the few weeks I'd spent with them, they had become dear to me. Them, and Bucky. Quicker than they should have.

Bucky and my relationship was... strange, to say the least. He knew me better than I knew myself (literally), but it was just strange, because he knew so much about me. Even little things, and things that Natasha and Steve hadn't noticed.

Bucky didn't act like we were in a relationship, not really. He didn't kiss me, we didn't sleep in he same bed, and he didn't whisper sweet nothings in my ear. It looked hard for him, sometimes, to not kiss me when we were alone. It didn't scare me all that much. I knew Bucky wouldn't do anything without my permission, and I trusted him. I just felt bad that I didn't remember anything.

"Will they be okay?" I asked.

Despite the fact that I had trained alongside them for the past few weeks and had seen how... capable... they were, I still worried for them.

"They'll be fine," Bucky said. "They've fought worse."

I nodded and he led me back inside, and away from the landing pad. We went about our day, and a few hours later, we ended up in the living room, watching a movie together. We sat on the couch, closer than we normally did, close enough that I could feel the heat of his skin beneath my sleeves.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye.

Over the past few weeks, I'd been drawn to him. I'd started to develop feelings for him. Even though I was technically already in a relationship with him.

I just wanted to experience the feel of his lips against mine, to feel his hands on my waist, my thighs, my –

Bucky sneezed, bringing me from my thoughts with a jolt. My cheeks heated and I began fiddling with a loose thread on one of the pillows. I looked up when the sound of the movie stopped. Bucky had paused the tv and was looking at me intently.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing's wrong," I said quickly.

Bucky quirked and eyebrow at me and I just looked at him.

"I know something's wrong," he said. "I know you."

I know you. The words clanged through me. He knew me, and I didn't know myself.

"You don't have to tell me," Bucky said. "We can just sit here together, and I can bless you with my company."

I snorted.

"You're blessing me with your company?" I asked.

Bucky chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. You're blessing me with your company," he said.

I rolled my eyes but still, my face flushed. Bucky grinned at me, and his breath fanned over my face. I didn't realise how close we were until just then. I looked up into his eyes and his grin slowly faded. He began to lean in, and I leaned in to meet him –

"Incoming call from Steve Rogers."

I jumped and pulled away from Bucky as Friday spoke.

"Yeah, I, uh, accept the call," Bucky said, running a hand down his face.

Steve's frantic voice projected over the compound speakers.

"Buck, n/n, you guys have to get out of there! It's a trap, it's a plan to get Nat and I to leave –"

Steve's voice cut off as the power went out. I froze in fear and heard Bucky swear.

"Doll, we gotta go," he whispered, grabbing my arm.

I followed him, almost blind in the dark. This room was in the middle of the compound, and there were no windows. I grabbed Bucky's hand, feeling the cool metal through my glove. He tugged me along, and I heard the distant crash of a window. A red warning light went off, flashing and then disappearing, flashing and then disappearing.

I was absolutely terrified. How would we survive? I couldn't use my power, and I could barely fight.

"Doll, you'll be fine," Bucky said. He pulled me against him and kissed the top of my head. "I'll get you out of here."

I nodded, burying my face in his chest. After a moment, we heard footsteps. Bucky pulled me into a small room. A storage room.

"Stay here," Bucky murmured. "I'll be right back."

He started to leave when I grabbed his arm.

"Stay safe, okay?" I whispered.

I could see Bucky's smile under the red light.

"I'll try," he said, equally as quiet.

He then left the storage room, and I peered through the slits in the vents. Bucky stood against the wall next to the hallway. Two men walked through the opening and looked around.

Bucky's metal fist connected with one of the men's face, and he kicked out and struck the other agent.

Both of the agents fell to the floor, unconscious. Bucky waited a moment before grabbing a gun from one of the agents. More agents rounded the corner and raised their guns at Bucky, but he was already moving. He whirled through the air in a flash of metal and darkness, taking down the agents.

While he was fighting, the door to my hiding place opened. I hid behind the door as it opened, and an agent entered. He looked around and I held my breath. The agent then looked behind the door, and I struck him, right in the nose. My punch had him flying backwards into a shelf before he slid to the ground and didn't move.

I stepped closer to him to survey the damage when a body pressed against mine and something sharp pressed against my neck.

"Make a noise or fight back, and I'll slit your throat, right here, right now," a male voice said.

I didn't do anything except close my eyes for a moment. The person behind me pushed me forwards and I began walking with them.

"STOP!" the person behind me yelled.

Bucky looked towards the voice and froze as he beheld me. He raised his hands and dropped his gun and a knife that he had somehow acquired.

"Let her go," Bucky said with deadly calm.

The man holding me hostage barked out a laugh.

"You're not the one giving orders," he said. "You only follow them."

Bucky growled and I felt the knife pierce my skin. A drop of blood slid down my neck and Bucky paused.

"Please," Bucky whispered. "Please, let her go."

Unbeknownst to Bucky, a figure began to sneak up on him. I didn't care what the man said about slitting my throat; the figure had a knife and was angling towards Bucky.

I stomped on the man's foot and pushed the knife away from my neck with all of my might.

"Behind you, Bucky!" I yelled.

Bucky spun around, but too late. His yell as he was impaled with the knife shook me to my very core. An explosion of hatred and pain tore through me as I screamed. Everyone was thrown back on an invisible wind, and I ran to Bucky. I dropped to my knees beside him and pressed my hand to the wound in his side.

"Bucky, no," I cried.

Bucky's breaths started becoming quicker.

"It's... okay... Doll," Bucky said. "I... love... you..."

"No, Bucky," I sobbed, blood seeping through the cracks in my fingers. "No, please, stay with me. This isn't goodbye."

"I... wish... we... could have... had more... time."

I began crying. Tears streamed down my cheeks and Bucky caressed my face with his hand. And as his blood seeped through my fingers and began to pool on the floor, I started to remember.

Small things, at first, until it became a timeline of events, too fast for me to follow. My head began to hurt, and I closed my eyes for a second before opening them.

"Bucky?" I said.

His eyes closed and his breathing became less and less frequent. There was an infirmary somewhere in this compound, but it didn't matter. I wasn't a healer, or a doctor.

"Bucky, please don't leave me," I cried. "I remember. I remember. Please, come back to me. Please."

There was no response, and I cried out in pain. It felt like my heart was cracking in two, like I was being stabbed in the chest –

"I love you, Bucky," I sobbed, knowing it was too late. "I love you. Please, please don't leave me."

I rested my head on his chest, hearing his faint heartbeats, heartbeats that had a timer ticking down on them.

I looked up at the sound of footsteps running down the hall. When I saw the faces of the people I loved, I prayed that maybe there was still a chance to save Bucky's life.