We're met with bright lights and conscientious workers doing all they can to finish their assigned job. The memories I have of being in this lab and what it looks like now, make it seem like this isn't the same place. But it's the mess of papers and different experiments that lay over the counters and spill onto the floor that it really hits me. This was a place I called home many years ago and as the time changed, so did lab. Glancing around at the scientists, some make an effort to give a sly smile in our direction, acknowledging the new presences in their area.

As we walk further into the room, being informed about the different types of technology that has been developed for these specific jobs, something tells me to turn around. Turning in the opposite direction, I'm facing the set of doors that we walked in and I stare, curiously, on why I felt the need to gape at it. Let yourself remember what happened that night. You're so close to finding out the truth. Staring into empty space, an image flashes through my mind, sending a rush of negative emotions through my body. The men in suits. An assignment to figure out how a young woman died. Papers scattered all across the room. Fighting back. A blow to the head. And finally, looking into my father's cold eyes as he willingly gave me away to Hydra because I was a bit too curious and he wanted my life to mean something. I remember the little details.

"When it all happened, I was standing here. My blood was covering the floor beneath me and I couldn't think straight," I say, fixated on the door, knowing that Clint is beside me. "Lorenzo just stood there, his eyes were so cold and filled with hatred as I was slowly fading in and out of consciousness. It was his plan all along, to give me away to Hydra as a peace offering, and they gladly accepted it. And then, they created me into a monster."

In my mind, the noise in the room ceases to nothing and I feel like all the attention is on me, but on the outside, they aren't. It's like I'm reliving one of my worst nightmares and I cannot wake up from it. No matter how hard I try, time continues to go in slow motion as the the world around me begins to disappear.

"Avalon, calm down," Clint's voice pulls me from the depth of the memory and I look at him in bewilderment.

My fist were balled up so tight that my fingernails began to pierce my skin, causing trails of blood to ooze from the small tears in my skin. Since my jeans are dark, I wipe my bloody palms onto them, trying to clot the bleeding. In the distance, I hear the rambling of a scientist who doesn't exactly know what they're talking about from what I can assume, and so, we both walk back over with the group of tourist.

"When things aren't hectic around here, some of us like to try and solve any unsolved missing persons cases because we believe that everyone has a story and it shouldn't go unfinished," the young female explains to the group, and oddly enough, she reminds me of myself.

Reminds me of the countless nights I spent trying to solve cases and trying to figure out the identity of the Winter Soldier. Oh, how much has changed over the course of eighty-nine years.

The woman stands there, awkwardly, waiting for someone ask a question.

"While we're on the topic of unsolved cases, what's the case that you believe should be solved?" I ask while I make my way to the front of the group and for a second, it would've looked like she recognized me.

She ponders on my question for a brief moment before she finally manages to find an answer. "Well, my grandmother told me stories about a young forensic scientist that used to work here, but then, she went missing. The entire case is sketchy and none of the stories line up, but they actually closed the case and called it a murder."

"Whose case?" I ask.

"Dr. Avalon Jane Rawlins"

How many times today will I continuously hear my name be mentioned? Certainly, it doesn't come as a surprise to me because we're in the forensics wing and I used to work here before everything... became complicated.

I get closer to the scientist, going up beside her ear before I can stop myself. "If you really want to solve that case, I'd look into the company's history. I heard she was a fighter," a smirk makes its way onto my features. "Just think, how could such an intelligent, young scientist have such a devastating end?"

***

Exiting the building, the crisp, winter wind embraces me into its cold arms. I love it here, I think to myself. I'm happy with the results that came out of today. My hands are stuffed into my jacket pockets and I can feel the envelope underneath my fingertips, itching for it to be opened. Clint and I haven't spoken much since we've left the building, but I like it that way because though nothing has been said, the silence comforts me. Over the past year, he has been there for me and he wouldn't stop doing so no matter how hard I tried to push him out. I haven't opened up much towards anyone because I'm not one to constantly put my guard down.

Suddenly, as we're walking down the sidewalk going towards the center of Boston, I have this weird feeling in my heart. It's like a magnet and I'm being pulled towards another magnetic force of some kind. I try and shake off the feeling, but it simply just doesn't lose its grip around my heart. Ironically, I think it's my heart trying to tell me something, but the feeling is unlike anything I've felt before because after I shut Red out of my life, I began to feel things that I haven't felt in a handful of years. A tingling sensation runs throughout my entire body and I stop in my tracks, knowing this feeling. I haven't felt it since right before I left Sam's apartment in Washington, D.C.

He's here.

Before I can stop myself, I begin to run through the crowded city streets and Clint yells after me, trying to figure out why I just took off, but I don't stop. My eyes dart from left to right as I run further down the sidewalk, trying to find a familiar face. My footsteps start to slow down and come to a halt altogether. Standing in a sea of a million faces that pass me by, it's like time stands still as my eyes lock with a pair of bright blue ones that seem so dull. My heart skips a beat due to the sight of him. I've almost forgotten what his face looked like, but he's not the same. The polluted air begins to thicken, my lungs struggle to fill with oxygen. I feel like I've planted my feet to the pavement, rooting myself beneath the surface, so I cannot run towards the man I've been searching for, for so long. James Buchanan Barnes.

He makes his way through the crowd in my direction, and stops when he's about five feet away from me. My eyes examine his every feature, checking if he's hurt and specifically, to see how much changed about his appearance. The wind blows strands of my curly hair in my eyes and swiftly, I tuck it behind my ear and stare back at the former assassin in front of me.

"It looks like you've seen a ghost, Princess," his voice sounds angelic in my ears. Ghost, how ironic.

"I think I might be," I manage to get out. I feel as stiff as a stone, my mind unable to comprehend the sight in front of me. "I can hardly recognize you, but your eyes give it away."

He looks at me with an unreadable expression, and instinctively, I look away, not wanting to look at him for too much longer. I can still feel his eyes burning into me, but my focus is on how my heart feels like it's trying to pull me closer to him. Acting as if it's a magnetic force.

"We're both trying to be human, I suppose," he sighs and my eyes flicker up to him, shrugging my shoulders.

The world functions around us, but no one seems to acknowledge who we are and the excessive amount of crimes we've both committed over the years.

"It hasn't been easy for the most part," I admit. "Though, I don't think we've formally met."

The statement catches him by surprise as a visible smile beings to form on his lips. It's one of those rare smiles that you don't see too often, but when you see it, it's like the entire world comes to life and nothing else matters. We're both trying so hard to be human and somehow, it's the little things that make it work.

"Bucky Barnes," he introduces himself and oddly enough, it's like he's having a hard time believing that, but saying it aloud makes the name become 'real'.

"Avalon Jane Rawlins"

When our eyes meet again, somehow, we're in different places on the Earth and I'm a million miles away, but he's right here. He hasn't gone anywhere, yet. If only he'd stay. The last time I saw him, we were falling from the helicarrier after his many attempts to kill me ultimately failed. He seems filled with regret when he looks at me and I'm filled with utter shock and I find hiding my pain easier because I hate showing weakness. He understands.

His voice brings me back to reality. "Like paradise," he murmurs, the smile growing faint on his features and I smile back slightly.

"Just like the King Arthur tale," mentioning the story I remember reading about decades ago.

"Remember what I told you. There's always someone looking after you, Princess," he informs me, his voice suddenly becoming serious.

Quirking a brow at him, I look at him, quizzically, trying to figure out why he's telling me again. "Is that why you're here?"

"Just think, your heart is in Boston"

And in an instant, he's gone, vanishing into the sea of people. Little did I know that would be the last time I'd see him for another long, terrorizing year and I'd become more afraid of losing him.

a/n - hey, friends! i swear i'm not dead, i'm just really bad at updating. anyways, i hope you enjoy this because i sure am. beware, i have quite the plot twist for this story coming your way very, very soon. - kenzie