August 19, 1987 - Bucharest, Romania

Scarlet picked the lock on the house of a possible feeder of the Red Room and slipped inside, quietly shutting the door behind her. After the ballet, she had received a good amount of intelligence that the women that had not been deemed important enough to the organization and sequential ballerinas, where housed in this house.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed that it was very disorganized in the house. It was as if multiple people lived in the home but no one truly cared for it.

She crept closer into the main area and saw a young girl on a mattress on the floor. The girl appeared no older than 14 or 15 at most. As she got closer, the girl's red head rose up from the mattress and she jumped up ready for battle.

"Vin in pace." Scarlet said in Romanian with her hands up in front of her. [Translation: I come in peace.]

The girl smiled, "Funny American, we do not. Acum ia-o." [Translation: Now take her.]

Scarlet jumped as someone grabbed her from behind and she flipped, slipping from his grasp. They battled for a few minutes as women went running after he yelled out, she felt herself being reunited with her liquid metal half once more. "Наталья! Возьмите остальных и вернитесь на домашнюю базу. Я буду обращаться с глупой американской женщиной." [Translation: Natalia! Take the others and go back to home base. I will handle the stupid American woman.]

Scarlet saw an opportunity of his distraction and flipped him over onto the ground and straddled his hips, holding his legs down with her feet and his arms with her hands. Her hair created a curtain around them, restricting his vision but helping her night vision come in more, so that she could see the mask around his eyes and face in more detail. She felt the metal arm under her right hand shift in spots as if it was fighting with itself not to throw her off. "What was that about a stupid American woman?"

Through her enhanced hearing, she could hear the man's breathe catch and a muffled whisper. "Scarlet."

Her left arm left his right and her left leg reclaimed the arm as she leaned forward putting her arm on his throat. "How do you know that?"

"I... I don't know." He said speaking English. "I...I know you...your smell... its green floral with light fruity notes and a hint of spice."

Scarlet jumped back and listened around them to hear no one else in the house. All the women had escaped. She used her powers and turned the lights in the room on.

In front of her was a man, who was now sitting up. He had goggles covering his eyes and a mask over his mouth. He was wearing an all black uniform and had a metal left arm instead of a natural flesh arm that was on his right. His hair hung towards his shoulders and was dirty and untamed.

"How did you do that?" He asked jumping to his own feet defensively.

"No..." Scarlet said as the realization hit her. "No! They... how? Снимите маски!" She ordered. [Translation: Take off the mask!]

His back went straighter as he reached back and sheathed his knife onto his back, and then unfastened the mask covering his eyes.

"Oh god." Scarlet said falling to her knees as she saw the familiar blue eyes staring back at her.

His eyes were cold and lifeless as he stared at her confused. "You are not my handler. How are you making orders?" He asked in Russian.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" Scarlet asked as she held herself back from reaching up to touch his face.

He cocked his head to the side. "Scarlet...and you mean something." He said replying English, "Were you in a past mission?"

Scarlet forced herself to stand up and she slowly walked over to him, reaching up to unfasten the mask from his face. It fell to the ground with a loud thud. "What did they do to you? How... how did you survive? You haven't aged hardly at all." Not able to stop herself, she laid her hand on his cheek. She tried not to sob as her skin made contact with his.

He inhaled and closed his eyes as if he was savoring her touch. "They are real."

"What is real?" Scarlet asked glad that he hadn't have disappeared when she touched him, which meant that he in fact was real as well.

"You... the dreams." He said as he opened his eyes, "They... when they let me dream...I dream of you. I... I am not Yakov in my dreams. I... you call me-"

"Bucky." Scarlet said as a tear fell down her face.

His eyes widened, "You know that name?"

Scarlet reached into her suit and pulled out her necklace that held not only her wedding rings but his dog tags, "yes I do Buck. Look."

He walked closer to her and held them in his hand, "James B Barnes...32557038." His breathing increased and he looked at her. "Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes 32557038." Bucky read as he touched the rings next to the dog tags. "Your wedding rings...oh god." He collapsed to his knees.

Scarlet fell to the ground next to him as he held his head. "Bucky... Bucky." She said as the lights began to blink, "Fuck it." She said waving her hand and it stopped, then she held her hand out in front of him with a ball of light within it.

Bucky moved back as if she were going to hurt him, "What the hell! Scarlet!"

"Do you know who I am?" Scarlet asked him slowly.

"My wife. How the hell are you holding a fireball?" Bucky asked in shock looking at her face.

"Well now that you remember me, you are going to be mad at me... great." Scarlet said sheepishly as she bit her lip, "I did a stupid and reckless thing."

Bucky shook his head, "Sounds like someone." He said racking his brain.

"Steve. Your best friend. I got the same... enhancements as he did but... more." Scarlet told him.

Bucky groaned as he looked up at her. "Really Scarlet? You got the serum too? Again!?"

"I thought you were dead and Steve was dead and-"

Bucky looked at her shocked, "Steve...Steve's dead?"

Scarlet nodded, "God Buck... what did they do to you? I assume it was the Soviets... your arm just screams Soviet Union with the red star."

Bucky's right arm came up and rubbed the metal, "I don't remember... I just remember a lot of pain."

A newspaper was on the floor next to them and Bucky picked it up, his eyes wide, "Scarlet... what day is it?"

"I think it's a Wednesday but we are in August I know for sure." Scarlet said.

"This paper says 1987... how are we in 1987?" Bucky asked confused as he looked at her, "You definitely don't look 60 years old. You look... older but not that much older."

"Neither do you honey." Scarlet told him. "I don't know how you made it here but... I...the me being stupid again. I doubt you remember Howard but after I got these enhancements... I went unstable. In fact I blew up the New Years ball on Time Square but that's another story for another day. They thought they would try to do an experimental thing that... was just science fiction until it happened to me, they froze me." Scarlet told him, "I just woke up a few months ago but now they have the medicine to help me."

"The cold." Bucky said with a frown as he looked at her, "I hate the cold."

"Steve said when you fell, it was into a ravine in the Arctic Circle. Do you remember being found? We sent search parties and they didn't find... you." Scarlet said.

Bucky shook his head then jumped up, "We have to get out of here! They will find us."

"Who?" Scarlet asked as he pulled her up.

"Hydra." Bucky said as he pulled her out of the door.

"Where are we going to go?" Scarlet asked as he pulled her against the side of the building as people walked past.

"I remember an abandoned house... three streets down." Bucky said looking at her, "Can you run?"

Scarlet grinned, "You lead"

Bucky started to run and she easily followed. They dodged behind cars and buildings, through doors and out the other sides of buildings before they made it to a house.

"Hold on." Scarlet said as she closed her eyes and only heard Bucky's breathing, "There is no one here."

Bucky picked the lock and they walked inside. Scarlet held her hand out and willed the street light into her palm. "That's just so weird." Bucky said as Scarlet checked the house then transferred the light to a lamp. "What else can you do?"

"Same as Steve. I'm strong-"

"Really strong, I couldn't believe you were holding me down." Bucky told her.

"I can run fast, I have great balance and reflexes and I heal fast... but I have enhanced vision... I can see in the dark, shapes and outlines. I can manipulate light and... I... we don't even know what to call it but I have this scream that can shatter glass and if I tell someone to do something... usually they do it without realizing it." Scarlet told him.

"And the SSR gave you this?" Bucky asked.

Scarlet nodded, "They were trying to recreate Steve's and they got me instead."

Bucky walked over to her and touched her face, "I can't believe you're real."

Scarlet grinned. "I am real... and I can't wait to bring you home. I bought a house... a log cabin actually, in the Adirondack's."

Bucky smiled, "Where we had our honeymoon right?"

"True." Scarlet told him with a smile.

Bucky leaned down and kissed her and Scarlet wept into his kiss as she threw her arms around his neck.

"God I missed you." Bucky gasped into her mouth, "I didn't remember anything but I knew you were missing. That I was missing you."

Scarlet's left hand pulled on the back of his neck and in the next moment he lifted her onto the counter top that was behind them and she pulled him back to her, crashing her body against his.

Her hands thread themselves into his hair, while his grabbed her hips and pulled her forward, without ever leaving more than an inch between their lips.

He pulled himself away from her lips and started kissing down her neck. She groaned and tugged him even further down. "Gosh, your hair is long." Scarlet moaned.

He grinned against her neck then lightly bit it, "Like it?"

"It's longer than mine. I was stupid to cut mine." Scarlet told him.

"I do miss your curls," Bucky said as he pulled at the top of her shirt and groaned when it wouldn't move as far as he wanted.

Scarlet grinned as she jumped off the countertop and flirted with the zipper, "Show me yours and I'll show you mine."

Bucky just stared at her confused.

"Sorry, I stayed with Howard and his son Tony for over a month and I picked up some stuff from him." Scarlet told him.

Bucky's hand froze on his top's closures, "Son... our baby? Where's our baby?"

Scarlet let out a breath, "I'm so sorry Buck... our baby didn't... I lost it... after Steve died. You both dying on me in less than two weeks... I couldn't take it."

"I'm so sorry you had to deal with that all alone." Bucky told her as he swallowed hard.

Scarlet looked at him, "I'm not alone anymore. When it gets to daylight, we are going to find a way to cut your hair and shave you. I'll go out and find clothes... we will go deep cover and make it back home. They'll never find you."

Bucky kissed her hard again then reached down unfastening the vest from his chest. It fell to the ground leaving him shirtless and she couldn't help but gasp, "I know... its bad." Bucky said.

Scarlet ran her fingers over the angry scars across the left side of his chest, "Why did they do this to you?"

"Because they are crazy, sick people." Bucky told her as he pulled on her suit. "How do I get this off you!?"

Scarlet grinned as she unsnapped the zipper and slowly pulled it down, stepping out in just her panties and bra.

He pulled her back up onto the countertop and pulled one of her legs around his waist. Pushing her panties to the side, she gasped as he slid one finger home.

Her forehead hit his chest at the overwhelming feeling of emotions that crashed over her. He added a second finger and her back arched a gasp rolling from her lips.

"I still got it." Bucky said as she kissed him hard.

Scarlet moaned as she fumbled with the opening on his pants. He reached down and quickly removed them, toeing his boots off, kicking them to the side. Raising her hips, she let him pull her panties down her hips.

In one quick move, he pulled her hips towards him, she wrapped her legs around him and he was home.

Bucky groaned as she sighed at the familiar feeling of being completely full and loved.

"God baby, you feel amazing." Bucky moaned.

That night, neither got much sleep. They eventually ventured further into the house and found a bed. Thanks to Scarlet's version of the serum, she did not tired out and was surprisingly able to go six rounds with Bucky before he passed out.

Scarlet stretched, welcoming the familiar and too long since it had been felt, feeling of soreness. She leaned down and laid a light kiss on his lips, "I'm going to run out and get you more clothes so we can go. Rest. I'll be back. I love you."

"I love you too." Bucky mumbled as he snuggled back into the pillow she had been using.

Scarlet walked downstairs and slipped her suit back on and her boots. Without locking it, she slipped out of the house and snuck into a store that had yet to open. Grabbing them both clothes and food, she laid money on the counter to cover it then walked back to the house.

She opened the house back up, slipping inside and locking it behind her. She set the bags on the counter then moved back into the bedroom, "Bucky I'm... Bucky?"

He was not lying in the bed so she searched throughout the house. Not a trace that he was ever there was in the house.

Collapsing onto the ground, she stared at the bed that they had just shared that night. The bed looked like it had not been touched.

"It was real... it happened... it was real... it happened." Scarlet said as she ran around the house looking for any trace she could find. When she found none, she slid down against a wall breathing heavily, "No... no... it was real, I didn't imagine him. He's real I didn't imagine him. I could touch him, I held him... he was real."