'Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper I love you
Birds singin' in the sycamore trees
Dream a little dream of me'

The scraping of a record player intertwines with the voice of Ella Fitzgerald, the melody of the old song spreads through the house, coming from outside. I look around; the huge mansion is completely unknown to me, no pictures or any personal objects can tell me who lives here. My heart leaps nervously to my throat and anxiety tightens my chest when I realize that I'm not in the present. Deciding to slowly follow the music, I open the glass door and enter the beautiful sunny day in the garden.

"Eve, where have you been??" Steve walks towards me with a bright smile that I haven't on his face for an eternity. His clothes slightly make me nauseous, he's wearing a shirt and pants from the forties. "Everyone's waiting for you!"

"Everyone?" I frown irritated and he leads me to the prepared table. My eyes widen at the brunette person who removes his sunglasses, his chocolate brown eyes glancing at me as his lips under his mustache form a cocky smirk. My throat becomes dry as I'm paralyzed in shock. "Howard?"

'Say nighty-night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me'

"Obviously." The millionaire replies, raising a brow in the air. "Something wrong? Not enjoying the music?"

"Are you alright, Miss Farrell?" Mr Jarvis asks me concerned and I turn around, seeing the butler with a tray that has a can of lemonade and some glasses. The sick feeling in my stomach grows, the shock still overwhelming me.

"Jarvis..." I almost whisper and Peggy exits from the house, joining us in the garden. Her brown curls twirl on her shoulder and her blood red lips release a laugh as she slips beneath Steve's arm, her hand lying on his chest. I suddenly feel a heavy weight on my chest, emotions flood into my heart. "Peggy... You... are all alive?"

"Mom!" A female child calls happily and the voice strikes me like lightning. The blood in my veins freezes and a cold shiver runs down my spine. Turning around, I spot the brunette little girl running towards me with a laughing face. "Help me! Dad's chasing me!"

'Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longin' to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this'

"I'll catch you, Rosie!" In the next moment, Bucky appears, running after her as he laughs brightly. Placing his arms around her waist, he picks our daughter up while she squeals and giggles. I just stare at them and feel how pain constantly stabs into my chest, over and over again. It's him. The Bucky I fell in love with, the bubbly one with short hair who isn't broken or used as a weapon. It's him with our dead child.

"Come on, canary, you promised our daughter to play with her." Bucky smiles at me and I'm still dumbfounded, too emotionally dysfunctional to react, especially now that he's using my old nickname. He puts Rosie down and she sends my gone friends a smile.

"Uncle Howard, Jarvis! You're here!" She squeals and hugs the two of them, Howard smirks genuinely at the innocent child.

"Hey, Rose, your true dad is back." He says jokingly and receives a slap against his arm from Peggy.

"Howard, stop telling her that you're her father, you're confusing her!"

"God, not this discussion again." Steve mumbles tiredly and Jarvis lets out a sigh, the atmosphere settles into a familiar comfort. Bucky rolls his eyes at Stark before he looks at me.

"I can't hear Howard's jokes anymore, they're not funny. Eve, could you tell him- Eve?" He frowns at me while I still stand like a statue, trying to process everything. His hand strokes my cheek gently and I feel how my nerves start tickling by his touch. "What's wrong? Why aren't you happy? The war is over."

'Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me'

"You're real? Are you really here?" I ask angsty, grabbing his hand. It feels so real. The blue in his eyes, his hand on my cheek, his warm breath touching my skin, it all feels so terrifying real. My hands start trembling and I can't control my breath, my heart aches for him, for his happiness, for his return, for his memories. Knowing that there's a reality where he doesn't know who I am tears me apart.

The scenery changes in the blink of an eye and only the little girl and I are left as she twitches at my dress. I kneel down and glance at her, adoring every detail of her face. Her brown, long hair reminds me of myself but the blue eyes are definitely from Bucky, even though there's a hint of green visible. "Mom?"

"Yes, Rosie?" It feels oddly painful to speak out that name and a sad smile graces my lips, knowing that I'll never have her.

"Am I real?" Her question stabs me through my chest and anxiety dances in her eyes. Masking my fear with a forced smile, I fake a frown.

"Of course, you are. Why do you doubt that?"

"This woman told me I wasn't." Rosie points to her left side and I follow the direction of her little finger. A brunette woman with pale skin, as pale as snow, stands there and her appearance knocks the air out of my lungs. The toxic green eyes bore into mine, forming a cold glare and I gasp, not expecting that I would ever see this face again, a face that I'd rather forget. She abandoned me, she can't be here. "The woman said I was dead."

"Don't listen to her, okay? Don't trust her, just stay here." I pull her into a tight hug, a sob overwhelms me as I bury my crying face into Rosie's hair, holding onto her as if my life would depend on her. I don't want to lose her, not again. I can't bear another time. "You're real. You're real, you're real, you're real."

Waking up, I gasp for air and my eyes widen, torn open with panic. Even though the bright light of the unknown room faces me, I could swear that the red aura was still blinding me for a second. I struggle to breathe, my heartbeat leaps to my throat and the mental weight on my chest crushes me. My lungs are on fire and a shiver spreads through my skin, I slowly suffocate. The anxiety pulls me down, holding me back from calling for help.

Suddenly, Tony rushes into the room, seeing me struggling and he places a hand on my back to sit me up. Stroking it, he seems to know what to do and he shoots me an urgent look. "Try to calm down, okay?! Farrell, look at me! You gotta breathe, try to take deep breaths!"

I attempt to follow his guidance, shaky breaths leave my lips and I close my eyes to gain control. After a felt eternity, the fire in my lungs ceases and only beads of perspiration are left on my forehead. My mind is still scattered, drowning in emotions. Tony glances at me, analyzing my expressions. "You were knocked out for three hours, no wonder you had an anxiety attack."

"Leave." I splutter dryly and his eyes widen in surprise, they only remind me of Howard and the dream. And this dream has destroyed me.

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said leave!" My voice rises angrily and I push him away, my eyes sending a glare while he remains confused. Tears burn in my eyes and threaten to run down my face, the sorrow seeping out. "You hate me, don't you?! I mean, of course, you do, I got your parents killed! I got Bucky killed and I got my own child killed, Tony, my own child! I get fucking everyone killed, everyone around me dies, they're all dead! Even my own mother abandoned me, so it makes sense that I didn't even feel guilty when I killed Alexander Pierce because I'm not better than her!"

His dark eyes stare at me, clearly not expecting this and several tears run down my face, burning into my skin. My rage towards everything drives me furious and makes me snap. I hate Hydra for everything it stands for, I hate how stupid SHIELD was to not notice the parasite, I hate how much Bucky has changed but most of all, I hate myself.

"So if you really hate me so much, then just leave me. Because if I see more reasons to blame myself, I'll go mad." I turn my gaze away, not able to bear his look anymore. My whole body hurts from the pain and I sit back down on the bed, deciding to ask later where we are. The silence doesn't last as long as I thought, broken by Tony.

"I forgive you." His words are soft and I look up, not believing him. "I've been angry with you this whole time although you just tried to protect Barnes."

"W-what changed your mind?" I stutter in disbelief and he sits down next to me.

"I talked to Rogers and he showed me the flash drive of Zola, convinced me to read Barnes' file too. Rough past, I admit that." He pauses and now glances at me. "It also took a lot of time. I've been a jerk to you, I know, I'm sorry. And I forgive you. I'm gonna help you to find him."

Completely speechless, I wipe the tears away that he has caused as the sorrow and pain change into a relief in my chest. He's gonna help to find Bucky, he'll help to get him back and understands that Bucky's not a villain. Tony puts his arm around me, pulling me into a hug. "Didn't know you were such a crybaby, socket."

"Shut up." I box against his shoulder and my tears run dry with a thankful smile. "Thank you, Tony. By the way, where are we? And how are the others? What'd I miss?"

"We... well, things didn't end well. The witch got into Bruce' head, he hulked out and now he's in the news. Everyone's sort of traumatized, and now the King of Wakanda shelters us."

I look up with widened eyes. "K-King? Wakanda... has a King?"

"And this King wants to talk to us."

***

"You have entered my country without permission, two of your group members destroyed the half city and left the inhabitants with fear and a certain part of the Vibranium was stolen. Do you have anything to say in defense before we choose a punishment for you?" The King of Wakanda, T'Challa, asks us with a unique accent, his voice cold and strict.

Steve, Natasha, Clint, Thor, Tony and I are kneeled to the ground in front of his throne in a huge, royal hall while Bruce sits with a straitjacket in a chair, guarded by two dark-skinned warriors. Shame and guilt are mirrored on his face and I bite on my lower lip, aware that our situation doesn't look good at all. Tony is the first one to stand up and speak.

"In my defense, I a) paid for the damage already and b) only tried to stop the Hulk who's not here right now, just Bruce Banner, so let him go. And the girl on my right didn't even know that the form of government of Wakanda is a monarchy, which is, in my opinion, much worse."

"Your highness, may I?" I ask respectfully and King T'Challa nods. Standing up, I punch into Tony's chest, leading to his groan, then I look at the young King. He seems to be as old as Steve if I ignore the fact that Steve was under ice for almost a century. "A new threat has menaced the world and we only tried to stop him."

Steve now gets up, being the best representative of our group. "Ultron, an artificial intelligence, plans to build an invincible body, made of Vibranium, to cause an extinction. As the Avengers, it is our task to stop the possible end of the world and I'm certain that especially you understand this. We are sorry for the damage in your country and ask you for forgiveness for what the Hulk has done."

"Also for Tony Stark's arrogant attitude." Clint adds, receiving a stern glare from me and he only shrugs. "Someone's gotta apologize for that."

"We are not your enemies." Thor clears it up, instead of being the goofy dork he usually is, he's polite, knowing how to behave around a royal. "We only wish for absolution."

King T'Challa falls silent for a long moment and the tension is truly oppressing. Of course, we could try to fight our way out of this but I have never attacked a King, I also don't plan to change that. Besides that, we're outnumbered and I doubt that Bruce wants to release the Hulk.

"I shall help you with the threat. The enemy turned into a foe for Wakanda the second he had stolen the most powerful metal of the Earth, so the problem concerns me too. It is my task to protect my folk from any harms." The King announces and notices our reluctant glances. "I do know how to win a fight as the Black Panther."

"Awesome, a superhero named after a cat." Clint mumbles and Natasha nudges him.

"Says the one whose name is Hawkeye." I mutter and look back at the King. "With all due respect, I don't doubt your strength, King T'Challa, but this mission is risky and dangerous."

"It wasn't a request." He adds and stands up from his throne, walking towards us elegantly like a cat. "The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle passed from warrior to warrior. And I want to help you as a warrior, not a King."

I exchange glances with Steve and Tony who are mainly the leaders of the Avengers. While Tony still considers the offer, Steve nods quietly, agreeing to accept his help. But before we can answer, a guard enters the hall with a sense of urgency. "Your majesty, my apologies for the interruption but you have two visitors."

"That can wait." T'Challa waves his hand at the guard who shakes his head.

"They claim to belong to the Avengers." He states and we all frown with confusion. In the next moment, a silver-haired boy and a red-dressed girl walk into the hall with another guard and my eyes widen with anger. Pietro and Wanda.

A/N- Not gonna lie, this chapter kinda broke my heart.