Reminisce

- - - - -

Ana tossed around in her sleep, eyes darting about underneath her eyelids. It was the middle of the night and she tugged at the bed sheets, finding it to be too hot all of a sudden. A slight thump of her head turned it a full blown migraine as flashes of unfamiliar surroundings took hold of her dreaming state.

Marcus opened his eyes, gasping for breath.

What he saw wasn't the red skies of his home, instead, a deep green atmosphere. The only sounds he could hear was of the sharp winds and rustling grass. The adrenaline he had while fighting against the destroyers of his world started to wear off, and his wounds seared with white hot pain. He clutched his head with his bloodied hands, letting out a cry of agony when he all of a sudden realised what happened. His world was dead, and everyone on it.

Marcus was all that was left.

He glanced up at the emerald clouds, hating how tranquil they seemed. He hated the colour of the sky because it wasn't the one he would dream about reaching when he was a child. He hated the grass underneath him that gave him a soft place to lay and rest. He hated how quiet it was knowing that on his world, it would be buzzing with life.

Marcus debated completing the destruction of his race.

The dark idea was pushed aside when he thought he heard something. Screams. Pleas. Cries. Marc lifted himself up even though his mind protested moving in such a bad state. He looked around at the unfamiliar earth he fell upon, and tried to pinpoint the noise. He could make out a small village at the bottom of the hill he was on, and squinted at the chaos below. Beings with different coloured skin and extra limbs were being thrown out of their own homes and into a growing circle that was surrounded by another species carrying weapons. Marc assumed the ones carrying weapons were soldiers, and not the good type.

He threw one hand over his sliced torso and managed to get to his feet. He shuffled his way down the hill, finding cover behind a series of short fruit trees with thick trunks. He rested his shoulder against one and pulled back a low hanging branch. He spotted a taller, more distinguished being in gold armour. He was commanding his army of Chitauri to wipe out half of the group. Marc couldn't get a proper look at the beings face and moved to get closer.

"Rejoice, for the Titan has decided to free you from starvation and poverty." One of his inner circle individuals had stopped in front of another, more huddled group of the villagers. He was lanky, and had his hands knotted together as he addressed the soon-to-be survivors of a dying race. "By liberating fifty percent of your people of their lives."

Marcus narrowed his eyes. They were going to kill half of the villagers, and for what? Just to save on resources? To share the wealth around equally? Marc knew this wasn't his home, but he couldn't just stand by and watch as loved ones were being forced apart, as children were being ripped away from their parents. He watched it happen on his world, and if he had the chance, he would go back and prevent it from happening. But he couldn't for his world. Maybe this time, for this world, he could. He would. He had to.

"Join me, survivors." The Maw raised his delicate hands above the crying people, and smiled despite the situation unfolding. "Express your gratitude for what's about to occur."

"Hey!"

The Black Order snapped their heads in the direction of the young male emerging from the trees. He hobbled his way over, blinking away the blurry clouds in his vision. The Chitauri tilted their heads at the mysterious male, and turned to their commander. Thanos finally faced Marcus, and placed his hands behind his back. He took one look at the staggering lone man, and chuckled, amused by his actions. It wasn't uncommon that an outsider would stumble upon the Titan's doings, though with a quick word or swift hit, his problem would be taken care of.

"And who might you be?" Thanos questioned, raising a hand for the Chitauri to ignore Marcus.

"Someone who doesn't like what's going on here." Marcus scowled. "Who are you to decide who lives and who dies?"

"It's my purpose to rid half of a world for the betterment of the rest. What you might call murder, I call mercy." Thanos replied. He gestured at the blood leaking out of the gash on Marcus' torso. "With a wound that big, you should be on the ground by now. What are you?"

"I'm not from here." Marcus retorted. "My home is dead. And I will not stand by and watch it happen to theirs."

Thanos lifted his hand and ordered the Chitauri to march against Marcus, weapons high and ready. Marcus didn't run and instead stood despite the shape he was in. He tightened his bruised fists and stepped forward.

Ana's brows knitted together when the surroundings slurred away into darkness. The last thing she heard was a blast shot from a weapon and a sudden pain swelled within her torso. Ana shot up into an upright position, clutching her chest from the experience she went through just seconds ago. She had to remind herself she was in the real world again. She wasn't in the dream. She shuddered as she released a heavy sigh, before grimacing, thinking she disturbed Bucky's sleep with the constant moving. Except, he wasn't at all affected. Bucky was lying on his stomach, head into the pillow as soft and slow breaths made his back rise and fall. He lay stiff and unmoving, without any covers. Ana dragged her hands down her face, pushing the strands of her hair behind her ears. She gripped the thin cotton sheets at the foot of the bed and covered Bucky with them, having noticed the few shivers his body gave off from the cool temperature in the room. Ana settled on her side, and faced Bucky, before closing her eyes, silently begging for a dreamless slumber.

It wasn't more than two minutes when Bucky started to display the same movements Ana had. He flipped onto his back as his breaths went shallow and rapid. Sweat beaded across his forehead, and he used his hand to grab onto his amputated shoulder. His fingernails scraped against the skin, clawing at it as he imagined the flesh being cut off. He pressed down and drew blood, causing him to grunt stiffly. He could see men in white poke and study him as if he was a lab rat. They spoken in Russian about fitting him for a prosthetic arm, one that would be used for combat. They had already mapped out his future without asking permission. They took his life away and replaced it with a more empty, cold variant. They wanted a vessel capable of mass destruction, and they found it in the amnesiac James Buchanan Barnes.

Ana's eyes shot open when he let out a slight cry. She sat up instantly, flicking the lamp on, and looked down at the state he was in. She felt like someone had punched her chest. The pain he must've been experiencing in that moment rolled off in waves, and Ana could feel it. She latched onto his clawing arm and pulled it away before he could hurt himself anymore. Using force wasn't an issue since Bucky awoke with a start the second his nails disconnected from the red, sore patch on his shoulder. Ana still had one hand wrapped around his forearm and the other rested on his chest, over his hasty heartbeat. Bucky had to blink a couple of times to get rid of the hazy spots in his vision from the unshed tears. He could make out Ana as she kneeled next to him, eyes trained on his, waiting for anything else to watch out for or stop him from doing. When he dropped his head back onto the pillow, she released her hold on him.

"Bucky?" She whispered. She realised how deep her voice sounded from the lump in her throat, and she swallowed thickly, blinking away the stinging sensation behind her eyes. She loathed seeing him like this, and wished she could take his pain all away. But it wasn't that easy.

"Just a dream..." He reached up and framed her face with his right hand. Just the feel of her allowed his heart rate to slow, and he had to take in what that truly meant regarding his feelings towards Ana.

"No, it wasn't. It was memory." Ana added, placing her hand over his. She then corrected her words, looking down. "A nightmare."

"I've had the same one since Romania. I've gotten used to it." Bucky murmured. Ana placed her palm over his forehead, noticing how warm it was against her skin. She leaned forward above him and retrieved the small towel and glass of water from the nightstand by the bed frame. Ana drenched the towel with the water and placed it over his glistening forehead, offering him relief from the heat.

Bucky kept on forcing his eyes open to keep from revisiting the same nightmare. Ana's touch along his shoulder wasn't helping because of how gentle and comforting it felt. "That feels nice." He said softly, offering her a tiny smile.

Ana returned the gesture. "I'm glad. You haven't been sleeping well these past few days, but believe it or not, I think you're getting more rest. Nightmares are getting less frequent."

"I noticed that too." Bucky nodded. "Sorry for waking you. Again."

"You don't have to apologise." Ana clutched his hand and pulled him up into an upright position. He rested his hand against her thigh as she readjusted his damp hair. Her palms tickled against his growing beard, making her smile. "Wanna go for a walk? It'll give us some air and maybe even clear your head."

"I'd love to." Bucky began, then pointed at the digital clock on the wall next to the door. "But it's the middle of the night."

Ana clicked her tongue. "Right. Well, how about a lullaby?"

Bucky let out an amused chuckle. "You sing?"

"Oh, hell no. I was hoping you would." Ana teased, earning another smile from him. She enjoyed making that happen. "Otherwise in order to get you to sleep, I'd have to knock you out, so..." she lifted her shoulders in a short shrug, pulling a serious face for extra measure.

Bucky shook his head. "You are so violent."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

- - -

"Ana, your phone is ringing."

Bucky stood over the bed, leaning down to pick up the ringing phone that was on the cotton pillow. The sound of the shower turning on in the bathroom behind him made Bucky frown, and he looked at the door that was ajar, wondering if Ana had heard him.

"Is it Peter Parker?" Came her reply.

Bucky turned over the phone and glanced at the screen. He squinted at the photo of Ana with a blond man. "No." He told her.

Ana poked her head out from the door, and shrugged in her undergarments. "Then let it go to voicemail. I'll get back to them later." She dismissed, disappearing into the bathroom.

Against her wishes, Bucky read Danny Rand on the screen, and his thumb hovered over the answer button on the screen. Danny's caller ID photo is of him and Ana throwing up a peace sign as they smiled at the camera.

Bucky answered the still ringing phone and pressed it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Uh... you're not Ana." Danny said slowly.

"Who are you?"

"Who are you? Where's Ana? What did you do to her?"

"Ana is fine. She's taking a bath."

"I don't believe you. Put her on the phone, it's important."

Bucky scoffed. "Is someone dying?"

Danny scoffed back. "No, but I thought she was dead and I wanna see if she's okay."

"Like I said, Ana's fine." Bucky remarked.

"But-"

Bucky hung up before Danny could continue, and smirked at the phone, before throwing it back onto the pillow. He sat down on the edge of the bed, before darting right up when Ana cracked open the door to the bathroom and smiled at him. Bucky quickly turned to face her and casually breathed out a sigh. "They leave a voicemail?" Ana asked.

"Nope." Bucky answered, shaking his head once.

Ana quirked an eyebrow. "Then come on in, soldier. The water is warm." She extended her hand out for him to take. Bucky sent her a pleased smile, taking her hand in his. He was yanked inside the bathroom, and Ana's hands settled on the bottom of his shirt, raising it over his head.

"Yes, ma'am..."

"Can I ask you a question?"

Ana faced Shuri as the young Wakandan motioned for her to lift the side of a very large and very heavy piece of a jet. Ana used her free hand that wasn't holding a wrench to lift the jet, and nodded her head at Shuri, smiling at her to continue.

"Go ahead." Ana said.

"You fell from space, right? What were you doing up there in the first place?" Shuri asked, before rolling underneath the jet on a roller board.

Ana passed her the wrench when she opened her hand for it. "At first, I was doing my best to keep some nasty creatures from coming down here and causing trouble. They were after me, and that only meant more like them were on their way. At one point, my friends were in harms way, and I realised I couldn't let it go on anymore otherwise people would die. So, I left. I took to the stars to try and fix my problem. One thing led to another and I ended up helping out Thor with his sister who wanted to take over the universe and yadda yadda. We stopped her and in the aftermath, I let go of a ship carrying survivors and I dropped. All the way down to here." She explained.

Shuri pushed out from underneath her project. "Did it hurt?" She questioned, tilting her head.

"I was unconscious for the whole thing. When I let go of the ship, I figured that was it. I was done." Ana looked up, a small frown finding it's way onto her face. She hadn't really thought about it now that she mentioned it. Ana was used to ignoring the heavy moments of her life, but the way she saw it, the past always comes up one way or another. "I thought I was going to disappear into the stars. And that it would've been quiet. It wouldn't have hurt. I'd just... drift."

Shuri pursed her lips. She felt a pang of regret for bringing up the subject. "That sounds like a peaceful way to go."

"Sure does." Ana nodded, before flashing Shuri an assuring smile when the teenager sent her a sympathetic look. Ana placed the side of the jet back onto the ground once Shuri was safely out of the way.

T'Challa then walked into the laboratory with Okoye behind him, clasping his hands in front of him as he sent the girls a smile in greeting. It soon dropped when the Pink Panther theme started playing throughout the speakers, lightening the mood and making the girls laugh at the look of pure bewilderment on T'Challa's face. Okoye didn't dare stop the smirk that spread across her lips, and chuckled along. Ana raised her hand and without looking, Shuri high fived it.

"Who's idea was this?" T'Challa questioned, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. He stopped in front of Ana and Shuri, and waited for their response.

Shuri and Ana pointed to each other. "She did it!" They rushed out.

Bucky then strolled inside holding a red wildflower. He found it after he finished helping the tribes load mountains of straw onto barrels, hoping Ana would like it. Before he could enjoy the prank going on in front of him, he frowned when the song changed to Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice. Ana clutched her stomach because of how much it hurt when she laughed, and leaned on the table behind her for support. Okoye bent over, unable to contain her laughter as well. Bucky sent Ana a confused look, wondering what the hell was going on.

Shuri grinned at the men playfully.

"Okay, it was me."

- - -

"Piece of advice, Bucky, skip the music of this decade. Listen to the seventies, eighties, and my personal favourite, the nineties."

Ana sat down on the grass in front of Bucky, handing him a plate of cooked lamb and potatoes with a side of greens. Ana knew it would be difficult for Bucky to cut it up with only one hand, so she had already done it prior to giving it to him, and hers too, so it seemed like it was served that way. T'Challa had to go back to the palace to take care of some business, and Shuri tagged along, leaving the laboratory empty. Ana didn't want Bucky to have to stay in the lab anymore than he had to, and thought it would be a good idea to go outside and enjoy their dinner as the sun began to set. Bucky had laid out a blanket, and scooted over for Ana to sit next to him.

"What's wrong with the music today?" Bucky asked.

Ana brought out her phone and did a quick search on her music app, before playing him the first few seconds of Friday by Rebecca Black. He cringed instantly and Ana shut it off. "Told you." She chuckled, going back to her dinner.

"What about movies?" Bucky asked, looking up at her. "What's your favourite?"

Ana placed a hand on her chin in thought as she squinted her eyes. Bucky noticed, and smiled to himself, finding it cute. "It's a tie between Empire Strikes Back and Back to the Future. Also, the short Captain America films from the forties they showed in school were pretty cool." She confessed, thinking back to the days she would ask her History teacher if she could borrow them to take back home.

Bucky lit up with a boyish grin, leaning forward to keep the conversation going. "Whenever Steve and I had a few days off, which was rare for us, we'd hit the town and check out the movie theatres. We saw a few classic cartoons and this one time we managed to score a double date to a chick flick." He told her.

"That must've been something." Ana replied.

Bucky shook his head, chuckling under his breath as he revisited the memory. "The night would end with Steve getting flustered when the girls wanted to go dancing. He had a crush on this woman named Peggy, and even though he hadn't flirted or showed her he felt about her that way, he told me he felt like he was cheating on her."

"That is too cute." Ana laughed.

"Steve and I ended up getting hotdogs at the town fair and we walked around, talking about what we'd do once the war was over." Bucky continued, the light in his eyes beginning to fade once the memory was over, and reality came rushing back.

"I bet you two wouldn't have dreamed about it the way it is now." Ana said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing ever turns out the way we thought it would've. Or wanted."

"Yeah, you're right." Bucky said, letting his head rest against hers. "Hey, why don't you tell me about what you've been up to? You gotta have some stories." He said, trying to change the mood. Ana inhaled deeply, before diving into all the events that took place after he went under. She talked about studying the Mystic Arts to fighting alongside the Defenders. From going to space to learning about her real father. During her monologue, Bucky's expressions changed from confusion to shock to anger to concern.

He scoffed at her last statement about being really busy with the universe, "You say that like it's normal."

"Just a day in the life I guess." Ana shrugged, falling onto her back and exhaling heavily.

"Are you kidding?" Bucky gaped down at her, "You've gone to space. You fought in some alien arena. You bunked with Loki, the greasy looking dude responsible for the New York incident."

"Says greasy number two." Ana countered, and pointed at him with a sly grin.