Part II: New World

The second time Jane wakes up, the dream dissipates like smoke infront of her eyes, and repetitive sound coming from somewhere in the room she is in, the reason why. It takes her a few seconds to fully wake, and when she finally does, she remember she is in the hotel and sleeping in a comfortable bed surrounded by a fort of pillows and blankets. The grunts coming from her right side call her attention again, and she sits on the bed slowly yawning the sleep away. Jane frowns and crawls to the right side of the bed, where Bucky was suppose to be asleep but isn’t, and scowls when she finds the man on the floor. Counting – grunting – lowly under his breath as he does push ups.

“The hell are you doing?” Jane asks, rubbing her eye with the heel of her hand.

Bucky glances at her and then focus his attention back at the floor, “What does it look like I’m doing?” he replies breathless.

She purses her lips, “Yeah, but why?” She lays on her belly, her chin resting on her forearm as she stares at Bucky.

“I have all this energy I need to burn” He starts, “Like I need to run a few miles, punch bags or something” He glances at her, sounding breathless, “I’m not used to sleep in" 

Jane hums. Bucky had probably woken up long before her, he is used to a routine as far as she knows, a strict training regime from his days as a Legionary that include exercising all day, everyday. Some habits are just hard to let go off.

She finds herself staring then, her gaze falling on the sweat on his forehead to the muscles stretching on his naked back, and then his arms flexing as he moves up and down. Up and down. Her eyes fall on his left arm, where the cut was uncovered and already healed. He does heal really fast. He catches her staring and she looks away, feeling her cheeks warm and knowing that it was impossible for her not to stare when he has nothing on but the thin cotton pants he was wearing to sleep the night before. When he decided to come back instead of leaving to look for… Whatever it was that he wanted. Ok, she knew perfectly well what it was. Jane feels irked at the thought all of sudden, but then her mind supplies her with another wording for it: Jealous. 

Bucky finally stands and rolls his shoulders a few times before creaking his neck, making her wince. He sees her and chuckles. That when she realise he is clean shaven. 

“You…” She gestures at him.

Bucky takes a hand to his jaw, “Yeah”

"Looks good" She says quietly, not sure how he would take the compliment.

Bucky cocks his head in a shy-like manner and smiles softly, whispering a thanks. He then walks towards the curtains on the other side of the room, he gestures her to follow with two fingers and Jane tilts her head, the smiles still on her face. She climbs down the bed and walks towards him. 

“What is it?”

“Wait” Bucky says, reaching for a panel next to the curtains, he presses a button and the curtains start to retract, “There we go” he mumbles looking at the curtains.

Jane glances at him before she looks outside the window. As the curtains open she can see the glass doors behind it, she squints as the morning sunlight pours through the window and once her eyes get used to it, she moves closer. Mouth slightly open in awe, she drinks the sight infront of her, before she looks at Bucky and then back outside.

“I guess it was worth the credits after all” Bucky says, crossing his arms across his chest.

Bucky knew Jane had never seen the ocean before. She had never seen the white sand or felt in under her toes, she had never climbed the rock formations that were where the sea met the shore, or swum in the crystal clear water that looked blue form where they were standing. She puts both hands on the glass and leans in, like she is trying to see more of it but doesn’t know that she can just go. Bucky’s eyes are glued to her, and he finds himself unable to look away.

“It’s beautiful” Jane whispers.

“It is” He agrees quietly, “Jane…”

But Jane isn’t paying attention to him, she walks towards the glass door and opens them. The smell of salt, the warmth, and the sound of the seagulls from outside enters the room interrupting the quiet atmosphere from the inside. With a deep sigh, he follows her outside as she practically runs to see the beach. Bucky stays behind, staring at her from the porch. It’s early in the morning and the sun hadn’t been out enough to make the wooden floor hot, so he doesn’t bother in looking for shoes. It must be the same with the sand, since Jane kneels on it gathering it in her hands like she had never seen anything like it before. He realises then, when Jane stands and walks further from him, that she is wearing one of his shirts. And when the fresh breeze blows and plays with her curls, that her hair is shorter than it was the night before. Bucky wants to keep that image of Jane with him forever.

Jane waves at him and gestures him to join her. So he does.

They are wet and covered in sand when they walk back to the room. Jane walks infront of him, and Bucky can’t help but stare at her legs as she climbs up the five wooden stairs it takes to get from the sand to the porch.

The night before he hadn’t been able to tell Claire that he did want to go to her room. He knew that Jane was the reason, and also that he would regret it once he returned to his room still feeling on edge. He locked himself in the bathroom and masturbated in the shower in record time, and he was thankful that Jane was deep asleep once he reached the bed, falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow.

Of course he was woken up hours later when Jane had one of her nightmares, she told him about them and asked to be held, Bucky couldn’t deny her the comfort she needed. As if he was being punished for it, he woke up with her body warm against him and his cock hard between them. He slid off the bed as silently as possible and went outside to run, burn some of the energy he had accumulated for weeks, he was almost done with the morning routine he is used to when Jane woke up.

“Here” Jane offers him a clean towel before walking back to the bathroom.

He starts drying his hair with the towel as Jane closes the door, throwing a glance at him before she does.

“I’m thinking we should get more clothes” 

Jane says before reaching for the bowl of blueberries in the middle of the bed. Bucky had taken the longest shower he has had in weeks, there was a creak in his neck – probably due to sleeping on an uncomfortable position on the car seat – that he had been unable to get rid of until he stood under the spray of hot water for several minutes. When Jane knocked on his door it was to let him know she was ordering them breakfast, he hadn’t understand that it would be taken to their room until he was out of the shower, already dressed in jeans and a clean white shirt. His eyes move from Jane who sitting on the edge of the bed wrapped in a towel, to the several trays of food splayed across the mattress.

“I’m thinking you ordered way too much food” Bucky says. 

Jane looks at him and chuckles nervously, “Yeah, I…” she looks at the bed, “Definitely”

He shrugs, taking a seat on the edge of the bed but far enough from her. He reaches for the toasted bread and a butter knife, glancing at Jane and then at her robe. 

“So you don’t have clothes” He states, Jane hums, “Which is why you used one of my shirts to sleep” 

“Sorry about that” Jane reaches for a glass with juice in it, “I only have like a pair of jeans and-“ she stops herself, He cocks an eyebrow, “I don’t even have socks”

Bucky eats a pile of waffles in silence as Jane makes up her mind on waht to eat. He observes her as she goes from the fruit to the waffles, to the eggs and finally the bowl of oatmeal, which she sweetens with four cubes of sugar, excesive for his taste but she seems to like it that way. Jane lifts her gaze a few times, catching him staring but he doesn't look away, is only when she gives him a look – a frown and a quirk of the lips – that he looks at the window. Bucky wants to ask if she sleep well after waking up from her nightmare, after she asked him if he could hold her and he did without hesitating. He wonders what she would have done if he hadn’t been there, if he had accepted Claire’s proposal and ended up in her bed instead. Jane had looked genuinely scared – she had kicked him and trashed in the bed like she was fighting someone invisible –covered in a thin layer of sweat, and her hands had been cold as she placed them over his chest.

It had been the first time Jane told him about the night she was taken from Glassmere, he had gotten fragments of the story before but this time she offered the whole picture, and it wasn’t a nice one. She told her about Julia waking her up, dressing her in other clothes and her father kissing her goodbye even thought she didn’t know then that it was the last time she would see them. When she told him about seeing when they were hung, and the snow under her feet and the river of blood running in front of her, he knew he didn’t want to hear more of it, and Jane stayed quiet after that. And he felt so angry that something like that would happen to someone like her. How Pierce could ruin both of their lives the same way when they didn’t even know of each other’s existence.

For only the second time since they have crossed paths, he wondered if they had been destined to meet.

"What is it?" 

He snaps out of his thoughts, "We should make our separate ways" he blurts out. 

Jane’s eyes go wide, a piece of bread hang from her bottom lip. Bucky realises what he just said and shakes his head softly, remaking the sentence is his head. 

"For the day, I mean" He finally clarifies, “We…”

"Oh" She says quietly, “Sure”

Jane resumes her chewing and leaves the rest of the toast aside before she reaches for the glass of apple juice in the tray between them. Bucky scratches the back of his head almost nervously.

"I figure I should go alone"

Find his home.

Try to remember more.

Look for Steve.

She tilts her head, scanning his face before she finally nods, understanding what he means. Her fingers tap the glass in what Bucky registers as a nervous gesture, he stares for a few seconds at the slim fingers dance against the rim. The night before, Jane had fallen asleep almost immediately, but her fingers had been drawing invisible patterns on his skin as she breathed softly against his collarbone. He had been afraid to touch her, mostly because she was touching him unconsciously and that didn’t mean she was given her permission to be touched too, but as he also drifted into a deep sleep he found his fingers tangling on her hair and his lips brushing against her forehead. When he woke up, he was snuggled against her back and his arms were wrapped around her waist.

“Thank you”

Bucky looks lost in thought until she breaks the silence. His blue eyes look at her and she finds herself comparing them with the sea she had seen for the first time that morning. 

“For last night” She adds a few seconds later, even thought he knows what she means.

The man nods and stands from the bed, clearing his throat as he reaches for his bag on the other side of the room. He throws a glance at Jane before he reaches inside, and pulls out a pale blue shirt, Jane remembers suddenly that she is wrapped in a towel, and that she doesn’t have clean clothes to wear. Bucky leaves the shirt on the night stand when she doesn’t grab it right away, and she mumbles a thanks while she follows him with her eyes. There is an arm chair in the corner of the room, and he sits reaching under it for his boots, which he probably left there the night before.

Jane waits until he starts tying the up to unwrap herself from the towel and change into the shirt he had offered. She had to pull form the trash can the jeans she had taken off the night before, luckily there wasn’t anything else or else she would have had to go out pantless. I miss underwear, she thinks feeling the rough fabric of the jeans against her butt. As she reaches for her worn out boots under the bed, she makes a mental note to get underwear and some socks too, glaring at the blisters on her right feet. She stands from the bed and walks towards the bathroom where she had left the first aid kit.

When she comes back again with the small, square white box Bucky does lift his gaze towards her. Jane sits on the edge of the bed again examining her toes.

“I got blisters” She offers a small smile, pulling out a few band aids to wrap her finger with.

He hums. When she starts putting her boots on, he finally stands from the armchair and walks towards her, he grabs her satchel from the other side of the bed where she left it the night before and leaves it next to her. Jane pauses mid-tying up her laces and looks at him. 

“I left the dagger inside”

“Do you think that’s necessary?”

Bucky shrugs.

Jane continues trying the laces, “If I were to get in trouble,” she chuckles, “I doubt I’ll be able to open the bag, reach inside for the-“

“I get it” He cuts her off, slightly annoyed, “Just… Stay away from the Market” 

She lifts her gaze, “but that’s where the stuff is” he cocks an eyebrow, “To buy” she adds.

“There are plenty other stores around” Bucky says, “The Market is for merchants, you are tourist”

Jane sighs, “Fine”

“Also, don’t go to far from the hotel, you can get lost and if-”

“Bucky” Jane stands from the bed, “I’ll be just fine”

Bucky stares at her, his mouth going in a thin line. He finally sighs and nods, “Feel free to use the card”

Jane’s lips are split into a big smile.

Bucky stays away from the most crowded part of the colony where Jane had disappeared into the sea of people in a matter of seconds. He walks the streets for a while until he finds himself following the coastline, almost unconsciously. The broadwalk is filled with people but not as crowded as he knows the Market would be. He tries not to think about Jane much, she was going to be fine by herself as long as she kept herself out of trouble, and he did need to be away from her and clear his head. He realises mid-way to the Cove that it was the first time he walked alone like a free man.

After so many years of spending his days either trapped in Zola's tower or having a curfew while he visited the Slums, it felt odd to not have to worry about anything or anyone else. He is reminded of the elephant and the chain but shakes the thought away once he reaches the end of the broadwalk. The sun is bright above him, but the fresh breeze prevent him from feeling too hot. He had left his jacket in the hotel, not wanting to carry it around with him knowing that it wasn't necessary with the weather. He remembers Jane, wearing his shirt and the short jeans, her now shorter but equally wild curls tied in a bun, and he wonders if she is complaining about the heat like she did while they were in Desolation.

"Fuck" he mutters, scolding himself for thinking about her when he should be trying to avoid doing it.

You should tell her, A voice inside his head supplies, For what it's worth.

They would leave to Cinders soon, where she would join Darcy and maybe – he keeps telling himself maybe – stay with her. He wasn't sure how did Jane think she could get him to Maraud after that, he pictures her writing down some directions or maybe drawing a path in the map she still had in her satchel and then sending him his way. No real goodbye since he had noticed she wasn't keen of them. Not once she had said the word, not when they were at Zola's tower and he left in the mornings, or when she was taken back to Aida, not even that morning before they parted ways for the day. 

But a love confession as a goodbye wouldn't be a proper send of for them. After all they have been through, Bucky would like Jane to think of him as... Her friend. The world saviour comes to mind but it seems conceited. 

She saved me too.

And in more ways than one. The rational part of his mind tells him then, that maybe he was confusing being thankful with being in love.

“Are you lost?”

A voice pulls him out of his thoughts and he turns to find a woman, long hair and pale blue eyes, looking at him with a frown on her face. Bucky realises he had been standing in the same spot for a while now, and maybe even walking in circles since he can still see the broadwalk he had supposedly left behind a while ago. 

“What are you looking for?” 

Bucky cocks an eyebrow, “I’m going to the Cove”

The woman nods, “You are walking the wrong way then” 

He frowns, turning around to try to locate himself. Truth is he used to get lost a lot back when he was a kid, he had no idea why he thought he could find his way around now that he came back. 

“Isn’t the old dock suppose to be around here?”

The woman chuckles, “They got rid of that a while ago” Bucky’s eyebrows shoot up, “Alongside the wrecked ships and all”

He licks his lips, “How… How long ago was that?”

She hums, eyes narrowing because of the sun, “About two years ago” she answers, “It was around the time the new Commander took charge”

Bucky scratches the back of his head, “Do you know if…” 

He trails off, not sure if he should ask anyone about Steve. The woman looks at him confused when he doesn’t say anything, and Bucky shakes his head weaving a hand. 

“Nevermind” He says finally. 

“I can walk you to The Cove if you like” She says, looking somehow concerned.

Bucky considers it for a second and then he catches two figures with the corner of his eye. Dressed in all black, holding batons and their faces covered by some kind of mask. That’s when he realises the woman doesn’t look concerned over him but over the two men walking a bit too close to her. He looks at her face, eyebrows knitted in concern as she waits for his answer.

Bucky nods, “If you don’t mind” 

She lets out a small breath and offers a polite smile, “Great”

When she starts walking he follows, throwing a glare at the men in black, who simply walk away form them.

“I’m Karen, by the way” She introduces herself, offering him her hand, “Karen Page” 

“Jack” He says, squeezing her hand softly. 

Karen is holding a basket in her arms, and when Bucky offers to carry it for her she lets him. The smell of oysters fill his nostrils and he lifts the top of the basket to peek inside, he was never a huge fan of them but it was a common pass time for kids to go on ‘oyster hunts’. He always thought he could find a pearl inside one of them, but it never happened.

“Thanks for walking me” Karen says quietly, she glances behind her, “the Shadow Men are suppose to make us feel safe but…” 

It takes him a second to understand she is referring to the men in black clothes. Shadow Men, she calls them, and he remembers Jessica had referred to them as shadows. It suits them, he thinks, the name does sends chills down his spine.

“No problem” Bucky shrugs, “I was already told about them” he then corrects himself, “Warned”

Karen nods. 

“What’s their deal then?” He asks, “They just walk around looking intimidating?”

“Well, they are the colony’s protection task force, our new Commander replaced the ones we had with them” Karen crosses her arms, “They are too militarised, and tend to use unnecessary force on people” Bucky glances at her, “Even on the merchants and traders, Ravangers don’t even come around often anymore because of them”

Bucky wonders why didn’t Yondu mentioned them, but he doesn’t ask Karen more about them since she looks nervous just talking about it, instead he asks about the oysters and learns that Karen and her husband, Matt, work at the market selling them to either tourists or the local restaurants. As he walks down the coast listening to her talk, he gets fragmented memories of his childhood, from taking the long way to school because that meant he could walk down the beach toward the pier, buying firecrackers from locals to scare Steve with, racing towards the old dock during weekends, the both of them getting into fights when other kids took ‘their boat’. He isn’t sure if his memories are complete, or accurate, but he is sure that they are real.

Thing is, he isn’t sure if he needs them after all. It feels odd to admit that to himself.

When he was in Arcadia he never thought of coming back home and resume his life, pick up where he had left, get a job, meet a nice woman a settle down, the whole ‘white picket fence’ life, whatever that meant. He just wanted to be free, and Maraud was the only place that could offer him a clean slate. 

Once he had the chance to escape, all he wanted was to come back to know what happened to Steve.

He hadn’t realise he had stopped walking until Karen calls his name – his fake name that is, he forgets he is ‘Jack’ for a few seconds – before she stands next to him. He is staring at a wooden sign that says ‘welcome to The Cove’, now two times bigger with a fresh looking coat of paint.

“Not what you were expecting, huh?”

Bucky looks at Karen with a questioning look. The wind plays with her long strawberry blond hair, and there is a flash of sadness in her eyes as she scans Bucky’s face. 

“You looked lost back there,” She says, “And now that you are in the place you were looking for… You still look lost” 

He looks back at the sign, “Do you know Bucky Barnes?”

Bucky looks at Karen as her breath hitches. She is looking back at him with a curious expression, like she is trying to figure why he is asking. 

“I haven’t heard that name in years” Karen says quietly, “Why are you asking about him?” 

He manages to shrug nonchalantly, and he looks at the sea behind Karen.

“You are wasting your time” Her words should be harsh but her soft tone throws him off, “You are looking for someone who is gone”

Gone.

He takes a deep breath in and runs a hand through his face and hair. Maybe he should have asked about Steve instead… The sun was starting to feel too hot, and he was hungry too, maybe it was the smell of oysters or the fact that he had been walking around for longer than he thought. 

“Are you alright?” He feels Karen’s hand on his shoudler, “You look pale”

Bucky nods, “Yeah, yeah I’m fine” He looks at the Cove again, “So… This is it” 

“It is” 

It looks a lot different than it did before, and than he expected it to look. The houses still look small, but the wood looked new, fresh coat of paint covering them and the streets had been paved. He thanks Karen for her troubles, and asks her if she is going to be alright – after all, the Shadow Men seemed to be lurking in every corner – the woman smiles and says that she will be, and takes the basket from his hands. He follows her with his eyes until she disappears in the distance before he decides to continue his exploring by himself.

Three hours later, Jane felt jaded. Earlier that morning the abundance of sound, smells and people of Catalean had been a feast for her senses after spending so much time submerge in the quiet bubble that Bucky and her had created. Now, the same streets that were so peaceful and quiet the night before, were filled with a frenzy of people walking, buying and yelling – specially the further she ventures into the market.

She walks aimlessly after a while, after her shopping bag was already packed with clothes, underwear - she never thought she would be so excited to get a brassiere like she was thirteen again - socks and even perfume. It felt heavy enough but her feet were no longer sore since she had also replaced the heavy, hot boots with a pair of comfortable ‘desert boots’. Halfway through the restaurants area, she realises she hadn’t gotten Bucky anything, other than a pair of sunglasses and a white shirt, but he wasn’t short on clothes like she was – He hadn’t change as much as she did while they were driving, kinda gross but somehow he hadn't smelled – besides, he was probably also around getting himself something.

Jane finds a small place selling ‘hot dogs’ and seats on one of the chairs outside after getting herself one. 

While she eats alone, taking in the life that the crowd breathed into the colony, Jane is reminded of Glassmere during the festival of Winter Solstice, the brightly decorated streets lined with colourful tents and market stalls. She reaches inside the satchel where she keeps a small calendar she hadn’t told Bucky about. 

It’s Saturday, which explains why the place is packet with not only merchants but a lot of locals. A group of children pass running by her and she smiles, wondering if many years ago Bucky would be like that. There are a lot of people coming in with boxes full of merchandise to trade, their ID cards in hand ready to spend their credits. Minutes later Jane finds herself playing a little game where she tries to differentiate "tourists" like Bucky said, from locals.

She looks back at the calendar again, and realises that in a less than a week, four days to be exact, it would be her twenty first birthday. By then, she would have already reunited with Darcy. Bucky would have fulfilled his promise to reunite her with the only person she had left, and she would have to fulfil hers… Getting him to Maraud. She reaches for the wrinkled map, and stares at the lines she had traced a while ago. One night, while Bucky stayed outside the car and she pretended to sleep, she had marked the line from Catalean to Maraud.  It could take a week for Bucky to reach the Freelands if he was willing to cross Ash Valley. She traces the numbers she had written in the corner - the co-ordinates she had gotten using her compass - but she didn’t know if he could understand any of it, or if he could follow the right path… Without her. He needed her just like she had needed him the night before.

She pictures herself and Darcy having a conversation about Bucky, Jane asking Darcy to join them so they can all go to Maraud together. There is nothing in Catalean or Cinders for Jane if she can get Bucky and Darcy for herself.

How selfish, Jane. A voice hisses. And she knows.

Because, what if Bucky wants to stay in Catalean? If Darcy thinks is better for them to be in The Cinders?

Maybe Jane is the only one who doesn’t know what she wants. 

After a few minutes dwelling on that thought, she decides to call it a day. She picks up her bags and throws her napkin and empty cup on the nearest trashcan.

As she makes her way out of the market, or tries to since she isn’t sure where the exit is, she catches several people either arguing or trying to avoid the men in black. She had already seen four of them around the restaurants area, and she could tell she wasn’t the only one uncomfortable around them, people hid from them, the screaming, running children slowing down whenever they saw them. Suddenly she feels like they are everywhere, she sees more of them and more often. 

You are being paranoid, Jane.

But her feet continue to move quicker as she tries to escape the loud crowd – and the men in the shadows – and when she finally reaches a more quiet part of the Market, she has to stop to catch her breath. She leans against the nearest wall and lets the heavy bag hit the floor, as she takes a few deep breaths. This part of the Market looks a lot less busy, there aren’t as many tents either, instead there are stores with ‘open’ neon signs and she can see the inside through the glass windows.

"It looks like they are following you” 

Jane jumps slightly and turns to find a young man behind her. She reaches for her satchel, remembering the dagger is inside. But he simply cocks his head and reaches for her much heavier bag. 

Jane slaps his hand away and grabs the strap of the bag, “What the hell do you think-“ 

“I’m just trying to help” He retorts, rubbing the back of his hand.

She scowls at him, “I didn’t ask for help”

“Well, you looked like you needed it” 

“Well, I don’t” 

The man stares at her with a frown in his face, mouth agape like he is trying to come up with something else to say. The rational part of her head figures that if he was trying to hurt or rob he, he would have already, and she takes a deep breath calming herself down.

“I’m sorry” She says finally, “I just… I’ve never been here so…”

Jane trails off, hoping he understands what she means. He finally nods, and then offers his hand.

"I get it, you can never be too careful" He says with an apologetic look on his face, “I’m Peter” 

“Jane” She says as she shakes his hand.

She wonders why didn’t Bucky thought of a fake name for her, but then again there was no one looking for her and her name was common enough. Peter asks if she needs help, and she chuckles nodding her head this time.

“Are you looking for your hotel?” Peter asks. 

“Yes, this place is confusing” Jane says, Peter raises an eyebrow, “I thought I was done with the Market but apparently there is more of it” 

Peter chuckles, “This is called the Bazaar actually” he says, “Things are a bit more expensive” 

“Ah” Jane looks around, “You work around here?” 

“My aunt has a dress shop, I help her sometimes” Peter answers, “Technically is not working since she doesn’t pay me” 

Jane chuckles.

“Would you… Would you like to visit her store?” Peter asks, somehow shyly. 

“So you also get her costumers” Jane raises an eyebrow teasingly.

Peter’s eyes widen, and he looks embarrassed, “No, no! That’s not what I- I mean, sure- but I was honestly helping-“ 

Jane smiles and puts a hand on his shoulder, “I’m joking” she says, “I’d love to go” 

“Oh" Peter says, letting a breathy laugh out, "It’s right before the exit” 

They continue to walk as Peter tells her he saw her practically running from the Market and he thought she had been robbed or something, which is why he approached her. Jane thanks him and apologises again for the way he reacted. 

“It’s okay, I don’t blame you” He smiles softly, and then adds more quietly, “the Shadow Men make us as nervous are they make the tourists” 

Jane frowns, “Shadow Men?” 

Peter hushes her and moves closer to her, looking around like they were sharing a big secret. Jane glances behind her, and sees no one.

“The men dressed in black” Peter tells her, “They… They scare people”

“You said… They seemed to be following me” Jane bites her bottom lip, “Are they?”

Peter licks his lips, “Maybe it was because you were running, but they are gone now" 

Jane nods, “Who are they?” 

“Police, supposedly” Peter looks at her, “No one wants them here, they are abusive assholes” his eyes turn somber, like he remembered something, “They took my uncle” 

Jane’s heart aches, and she finds herself unable to voice anything. 

“They just take people away and- we never see them” 

Like Bucky. These are the same men that took Bucky. She shakes her head, not wanting to jump into conclusions, as logic as they might seem to her. Peter tells her that they replaces the existing task force once the new Commander, Alexandra Reid, took charge.

"They were fine at first but soon we found out they weren’t there to take care of us but to control us" Peter shrugs, "As long as we keep out heads down, they don't bother us"

She lets the words sink in after Peter stays quiet. These are the men Pierce wanted to let in Glassmere, the military that her father didn’t want.

Catalean had let Pierce’s men in, unlike Glassmere.

“Are you okay?”

She blinks several times before she looks at Peter. The man is looking at her with concern.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine” Jane nods, “Sorry”

Peter shrugs, smiling softly, “This is my aunt’s store”

He opens the glass door for her, and she looks at the neon sign before she steps inside May’s. There are a few mannequins on the display wearing clothes more appropiate for the warm weather, and her skin bristles when she feels the cold air from inside. A woman comes from behind the counter, yelling Peter’s name before she procedes to scold him for ‘disappearing on her all morning’. The woman, May, Peter’s aunt smiles when she sees her and throws a last glare at Peter before offering Jane a glass of lemonade and showing her around. 

Bucky calls it a day after he finds himself wandering aimlessly. He makes his way out of the Cove and continues walking around the coast line until he finds the familiar broadwalk again. He eats fried fish and chips in one of the many food stands near the beach, which wasn’t as crowded as he knew the market would be. After he finishes his food, he finds himself a spot under the palm trees that providing enough protection from the sun and keep the sand cold enough – a woman offers him a towel to sit but he politely refuses, saying he wouldn't be there for long – he seats in the sand while he finishes his frozen lemonade.

After a few minutes later he unlaces his heavy boots and leaves them aside alongside the socks, enjoying the feeling of the cool sand under his toes. Despite the sun above, he could feel the cool breeze that was coming from the north this time of the year, which explained why people weren't bathing in the ocean. Once again he thinks about Jane, when bathing in the ocean that morning wearing a thin cotton shirt and pijama pants. She had looked cafe free and happy, much like he felt just watching her. He knew that feeling was partly because she felt protected by him.

I have to tell her. He decides, leaving the empty cup aside. For what it's worth. 

Before he makes his way to the hotel he sees it in the distance. The giant ferris wheel he loved to climb when he was a kid, the only memory he used to have apart from Steve falling into the water all those years ago. He doesn't even realise he is walking towards it at a hurried pace until he is, and he doesn't try to stop himself.

It's still there, untouched, looking exactly the same way it used to, unlike the Cove has been. He walks towards it ignoring the literal warning signs – ‘caution’, ‘watch your step’, ‘stay away’ – he knew the wood would rotten and the metal rusted, but he also knew where to step, his muscle memory coming into action the moment he crosses the street towards the abandoned amusement park. It had been there since before the colonies were stablished, the main structures survived the war and the test of time, and he always wondered why no one ever thought about demolishing it. Or reviving it.

The old carousel always creeped him out, the horses with yellow eyes and the broken mirrors, the clowns painted in the rusted ceiling. He can’t imagine children liking it at all, specially clowns. Next to it, is the ferris wheel, from where he had fallen once when he was seven and broken his arm. Instead of going home that day, he hid under the pier on his way home afraid his mother would scold him, and Steve had stayed with him. The next day Steve got sick, and the guilt had been worse than the throbbing pain in his arm. As much as he tries to remember, he can’t imagine anyone else but Steve next to him. 

“Guess it was always you and me, Stevie”

Steve had always been shorter than him, smaller, and often got sick. It was the reason why Bucky tried to protect him that fateful day he was taken, the same reason why he got in so many fights to defend him, or joined the ones Steve started because he just ‘didn’t like bullies’. And it was always just the two of them. 

"Until the end of the line"

Jane finally finds The Eye of The Sea, following Peter’s directions mainly but also because when she was close enough she could see the lighthouse. It was already late afternoon and the temperature was getting lower, with the sun starting to see soon. She makes her way across the street from Shell’s Kitchen, when she sees Jessica inside she waves at her and the woman waves back, looking behind her like she’s trying to find Bucky. Jane ignores it and continues walking. 

When she finally reaches the hotel she sees Claire inside, typing away in her computer distractingly. She bites the inside of her cheek, feeling annoyed all of sudden as she pushes the glass doors. Jealous, she admits to herself. 

“Hey there, Jane”

Jane nods at her, “Good afternoon” 

She smiles, “Where is your partner?”

“He’s not here yet?” Jane frowns. 

Claire shakes her head, “Maybe he went out for drinks”

Jane manages to shrug nonchalantly, “Maybe”

The woman looks taken aback, maybe by her tone or her reaction, but she doesn’t mind. She adjusts the heavy bag on her shoulder and the dress which is folded in her arm as she reaches inside the satchel for her key card.

“That dress is gorgeous” Claire mentions. 

“Thanks” Jane replies dryly.

She hears her chuckle and sighs deeply, still looking for the key card inside the bag. Jane didn’t even had that many things inside the goddamn satchel, but she is juggling a lot of things in her arms too. When the contents of the bag are spilled accidentally she curses, and kneels to pick everything up, that’s when the key card falls out of her jean pocket.

“Seriously?” She sighs deeply. 

“Let me help” Claire says, crouching next to her.

“I got it”

“I can help is no-“

“I said I got it” Jane says, tone harsh.

Claire takes her hands back and straightens. Jane finishes picking up her things and stands too, glancing at Claire with the corner of her eye before she zips close the satchel. She mutters a goodbye and starts walking away when Claire says something about the dress again, and then smiles at her in a way that reminds Jane of Darcy, somewhere between knowingly and complicit, and Jane feels naked under her gaze.

“You should go out tonight” Claire mentions, walking towards her desk, "Enjoy your stay"

Jane ignores her, not sure if she was somehow making fun of her. She is infront of her door when she takes a deep breath, and then walks back to the front desk, taking a deep breath before she asks Claire what’s the most popular joint in town.