Chapter Text
AS THE FOUR of you headed down the streets of Madripoor again, almost every person you passed down the road received a notification on their phone.
"This is not good." Zemo stated the obvious and just seconds later gunfire broke out around you.
Zemo and Sam ducked down. You raised your arms to cover your face out of instinct, and you felt hands grab onto you when you started running again.
"Shit!" Sam cursed.
"Come on!" Bucky called out to him.
Bucky pushed you ahead of him, and he and Sam started running too.
Zemo took off in another direction while gunshots went off behind you.
"I can't run in these heels!" Sam shouted as motorbikes started to chase the three of you.
You could've flown away, but you weren't strong enough to carry both of them, and you weren't going to abandon them, so you kept running.
But then there were a few gunshots from somewhere nearby, and all of the men who had been chasing you were dead on the ground.
Zemo came walking over, looking around at the bodies while you slowly caught your breath.
"You seem to have a guardian angel." He said and a new voice spoke, a familiar female one.
"Well, this is too perfect." You turned your head towards the voice and from behind Zemo came a woman with a gun pointed at him.
She removed her hood to reveal Sharon Carter, who you hadn't seen since Germany in 2016.
"Drop it, Zemo." She ordered and he put his gun on the ground.
"Sharon?" You spoke, a little confused. She ignored you and kept her gun pointed at Zemo as she talked to him again.
"You cost me everything." She said, stepping forward.
"Sharon, wait." Sam told her and stepped in front of Zemo as Sharon kicked Zemo's gun away. "Someone recreated the Super Soldier serum and Zemo had a lead."
"That explains why you guys are here. And Selby's dead." Sharon said.
"And why are you here?" You asked.
"I stole Steve's shield, remember?" She replied, then looked over to Sam. "I also took the wings for your ass, so that you two could save his ass from his ass."
She gestured from you and Sam, to Bucky then to Zemo.
"Unlike you, I didn't have the Avengers to back me up." Sharon said and gestured around. "So I'm off the grid in Madripoor."
"Hey, don't blow that smoke at me." Sam said and he pointed to you. "We were on the run, too."
"Was. Is. Big difference." Sharon said. "I don't speak to my family anymore. I can't. My own father doesn't know where I am."
"Listen..." Bucky started and took a step forward. "Sharon, we need your help. Please."
She chuckled, but then sighed. "This isn't over. I have a place in High Town. You should be safe there for a while."
YOU SAT IN the passenger seat beside Sharon as she drove you all to her place, while Bucky, Sam and Zemo were all stuck in the backseat.
Soon after you were following Sharon into a large and very fancy building full of different artworks. Your eyebrows raised as you looked around the bright room.
"Looks like breaking all those laws is treating you well." Sam noted as he too took in your surroundings.
"Well, I thought if I had to hustle, might as well enjoy the life of a real hustler." Sharon replied. "You know how much I'll get for a real Monet?"
"Easy. Deactivate your hustle mode. You sell fake Monets." Sam said to her and Sharon shook her head.
"No. She means real." Zemo spoke up. "This gallery is specialized in stolen artwork. Monet. Van Gogh. Classics."
"It's true." Bucky agreed. "You know, half the artwork in museums like the Louvre is fake. Real stuff sits in places like this."
"Really?" You asked from beside him and he looked over, giving you a nod. "Huh."
"Okay, guys, I see what you're doing." Sam pulled out his phone. "You're more worldly than good old Sam."
"Yeah. What's Google say?" Bucky asked as he passed Sam, and you started to smile.
"No shit." Sam gaped at you and you shrugged.
"You guys need to change." Sharon called out to you. "I'm hosting clients in an hour."
And so minutes later you found yourself in one of Sharon's empty rooms with an outfit laid out before you.
You stood in just your underwear as you stared down at the clothes. You reached for the pants first, pulling them up your legs before you did up the button.
Before you could put on the shirt, there was a knock at the room's door.
You turned around to face it, then took the few steps until you were twisting the door handle. You pulled the door open and stuck your head out through the gap.
Bucky stood in front of you, now wearing a suit jacket over a t-shirt. He didn't say anything at first, just stood there.
"You short-circuiting there?" You asked and he blinked, his blue eyes meeting yours before he held out another jacket he held in his hand.
"Sharon asked me to bring you this." He spoke and you nodded, opening the door a little wider so you could grab the jacket.
When you did so, you noticed the way Bucky's eyes flickered down to your chest for just a moment before returning to your face.
"Can we talk?" He asked, looking down at his hands.
"About what?" You asked, turning away from the door and reaching for the shirt Sharon had given you, pulling over your head.
"Us." He said and you opened the door wider to face him again.
"There is no 'us' anymore, Bucky. You made that very clear." You stated as you pulled on the jacket he had just given to you. "I'm only helping you guys out for Sam, and after it's over, I'm going back into retirement."
That was, partially, a lie. Sure, you did plan on going back into retirement after all of this, but you weren't only doing it for Sam. Of course it was for Bucky.
You lifted your left hand to your cheek, brushing away a few hairs and scratching gently, but that wasn't what caught Bucky's eye.
You weren't wearing your wedding rings anymore.
"I get it." Bucky nodded slowly and you put on a smile.
"Good." You said and picked up your shoes before making your way out of the room, past him and down the hall.
Bucky didn't move, not at first. He just slowly closed his eyes and sighed. He knew it was his fault, and he had brought this upon himself, so now he had to deal with the consequences.
Even if that meant you didn't love him like he loved you.
He followed you to the room where a shirtless Sam was flicking through different shirts and jackets and Zemo sat at the bar with a drink. You sat down on the curved couch to pull your shoes on again, and Bucky did the same, sitting one spot away from you.
Sharon came walking in soon after, looking to Sam first.
"Much better." She commented before walking past.
"What's going on, Sharon? You don't ever wanna come back home?" Sam asked her as you finished putting on your shoes. You then moved over so you were as close to the side of the curved couch as possible when you crossed your arms and looked forward.
Next to you, on the couch's far left, Bucky was staring ahead silently with his hands in his lap, lost in his thoughts.
Sharon dropped a jacket for Sam down on Bucky's side of the couch, which stole his attention for just a few seconds before he broke free of his thoughts to listen in on the room's conversation.
"They'll lock me up if I step foot back in the States." Sharon told Sam. "Madripoor doesn't allow extradition."
"Look, I'm sorry I didn't call, but after The Blip and the chaos, I just..." Sam was cut off by Sharon.
"Look, you know the whole hero thing is a joke, right?" Sharon said and your breathing stopped for a moment, catching in your throat before returning back to normal.
Bucky noticed, and he looked over to you. You kept your straight-faced, unbothered expression, and if it weren't for his improved hearing, Bucky never would've noticed the stutter in your breath that revealed maybe you weren't as fine as you said you were.
"I mean, the way you gave up that shield, deep down, you must know it's all hypocrisy." Sharon said and Bucky saw out of the corner of his eye as your jaw tensed for a fraction of a second before you forced yourself to relax.
"He knows." Zemo spoke up from his place at the bar. "And not so deep down."
"By the way, how is the new Cap?" Sharon asked and Bucky's attention was torn away from you.
"Don't get me started." He replied and Sharon scoffed.
"Please. You buy into all that stars and stripes bullshit." Sharon said as she walked around the room and to sit on the couch beside Bucky, almost blocking you from his view. "Before you were his pet psychopath, you were Mr. America! Cap's best friend."
"Wow. She's kind of awful now." Bucky commented, and his eyes immediately moved towards you, where he caught the slightest hint of an amused smile appear on your face.
"Karli Morgenthau and at least seven others have taken the serum." Sam explained, now wearing a shirt as he sat down on a chair that was beside you.
"You guys really should steer clear of all of this for your own safety." Sharon told you all.
"We know it's a risk, but we're not gonna leave until we find the person who cracked the code." Sam said.
"We got a name. Wilfred Nagel." Bucky recalled and Sharon stood up.
"Nagel works for the Power Broker." She stated.
"We need your help, Sharon." Sam called after her as she walked away from the couch. "I can get your name cleared."
"You haggling with my life?" She asked after pouring herself a drink.
"Not like that." Sam said.
"I don't buy that." Sharon shook her head. "You pretending like you can clear my name."
"Okay, maybe it is hypocrisy." Sam admitted and Bucky watched as you finally moved, turning your head to look at Sam as he spoke. "Maybe you're right. What happened to you. But I'm willing to try if you are."
Sam stood up and walked over to Sharon before gesturing back to Bucky.
"They cleared the bionic staring machine, and he killed almost everybody he's met." Sam whispered and you actually looked over to him.
"I heard that." Bucky told Sam, but he still kept his eyes on you. He was staring.
"I don't trust charity." Sharon said.
"Alright, a deal then." Sam crossed his arms. "You help us out, and I get your name cleared."
Sam held out his hand, and Sharon shook it before sighing and taking a sip of her drink.
"Well, I sell to some pretty connected people." Sharon said as she headed for the door. "Lay low, blend in, enjoy the party. Try to stay outta trouble. I'll see what I can find."
"Trouble." Zemo shrugged.