Wanted

Anna curled up on her side, snuggled under the quilt on her rickety-but-comfortable bed. Her puffy, sore eyes traced the  patterns on the worn out wallpaper, following a line down where it had torn away from the wall and been glued back on at some stage. She hugged a spare pillow into her chest as her mind ran back over the events of the last few days, fresh tears threatening to fall the more she thought about it.

Desperately trying to come up with a way out had taken up most of her energy for the past couple of days, Anna both physically and mentally exhausted. She'd been avoiding Bucky since their argument the night before last, and he'd done the same aside for offering her something eat occasionally which she'd refused. She looked up at the plate still sitting on the dresser where he'd left it from the night before, her stomach still churning from being sick from stress during the night and early hours of the morning.

She'd found herself fantasizing about the notion of being a Stark. The money, the cushy lifestyle, and not to mention the protection of Iron Man himself and the Avengers. Anna couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have a proper family - people she could trust and rely on... Having people around to care about and who cared about her in return. Having someone to give a great big hug to at the end of a crappy day, and especially having some place she could call 'home'...

Having a real family was the stuff of dreams - something she'd never experienced. Her Mom had married Alexander when Anna was still a baby, and although it was never hidden from her that he wasn't her biological father, he preferred she refer to him as 'Dad' and pushed her as though she was his own.
They never had a close relationship, but at the same time there was no bad blood between them... Not until she'd gotten it into her head that he wasn't the 'good guy' he'd painted himself as, and gone snooping...

A chairman on the World Security Council, someone who was supposed to be a protector, rather than an antagonist... Yeah right...

Now here she was here with his 'former thug/hit-man' - or whatever he was, awaiting whatever fate she had coming to her. She'd gone over it hundreds of times in her head - capture, torture... Death? Whatever it was, it surely wasn't going to be pretty.
The thoughts about Stark had served as little more than something to focus on to keep her head above water. Not so much as a shiny beacon of hope, but more a place she could go when she shut her eyes. An escape.
Anna was smart enough to know that there was no getting away from Bucky. He was smart and strong, impossibly fast, and had dozens of kills to his name. The guy was not one to be messed with.
If he had been telling the truth about the whole 'forced to kill' thing, which she was pretty sure he was, then maybe he wasn't in a great situation either... Maybe like her, he was up the creek without a paddle financially? Perhaps he desperately needed the bounty money OR maybe she really was going to be delivered to Tony Stark... But as a blackmail pawn. The latter probably wouldn't be so bad, surely Stark wouldn't let someone hurt an innocent civilian - whether she was his daughter or not.

She regretted having argued with Bucky, knowing now that it was a feeble attempt to assert herself, to make out that she wasn't afraid of him. Surely he knew just as well as she did it had all been an act.
Bucky's admission that he'd been responsible for the death of her mother had shocked the hell out of her, but it was credible given the fact that he knew so much about the accident...
The very idea of Caroline going after Tony Stark's money was actually plausible the more she thought about it, which took her back to the conversation she'd had with her mother that night. Her exact memories of the conversation were hazy, but it was something about her providing a hair sample, which Caroline was going to pay her handsomely for. The only thing a hair sample would have been useful for was a DNA test - something required to sue for child support. Something needed to be provided before the child's 21st birthday...

No way...

She sat up, her mind racing again as she considered it, shaking the thought off, even laughing at it in her delirious state.

No, surely Alexander had set the whole thing up. He had to have reeled her into an extortion plan, or convinced her of one, sent her to pick me up, and sent his hit man out to finish us off. We knew too much. We were a liability... There's no way in hell Tony Stark is my real father. A man like that wouldn't let that happen - a man like that doesn't have 'loose ends' untied... But then why did Bucky know about the accident? Did he really cause it, and if so then why did he save me?

Anna jammed her eyes shut, not wanting to think of any of it for a minute more, this whole thing was ridiculous. Here she was in a situation where she was either being manipulated, or legitimately under the protection of someone who'd tried to kill her, then gotten a case of the guilt's and saved her.

She'd gone from confused to completely 'brain-in-a-blender' head-fucked.

She peered around the room again, thinking maybe there was a chance all this wasn't as bad as she'd first thought. Maybe he WAS being honest? True to his word he hadn't laid a hand on her, he'd offered her food, water - even Advil for her stupid headache that had hung around for way too long. He'd even dived in and pulled her from a frozen lake when she'd bolted on him...

NO! Don't be an idiot. He kidnapped you - at gunpoint! Don't you DARE go all 'appreciative' of him, now! Guns! Stalking! Kidnapping! Not letting you leave! He's NOT your friend, you don't even know if he's being sincere or not - Jesus Christ, Jake told you you could trust HIM and look at what happened there! This dude is much worse - DO NOT trust him!



After hours and hours of quiet thought, Bucky could understand why she was so stand-offish and un-trusting towards him... Still, she hadn't really made much of an effort either. He'd poured his heart out to her, opened up and left himself exposed and vulnerable - something that'd been a huge deal for him. Something he never EVER did - and she'd flipped out on him, right when they were making some progress.

Typical female... They're all nuts!

Bucky rolled onto his back, laying shirtless under the heater duct in his bedroom as his fingers interlocked behind his head. He stared up at the cracked paint on the roof trying to gather his thoughts, giving each subject an ample slot of 'problem solving' time.
They were running out of food, and now that he was sure they hadn't been followed, it was almost time for them to make another move. He'd hoped they'd have come to an understanding by now; friends might have been a stretch, but at least if there was some kind of trust or even amicability there, then the next few days might have been more tolerable.
Not only did she not trust him, but she hated him too.

Women were so much easier to deal with in the 40's. All he'd ever had to do was flash a smile, maybe even a wink and they flocked to him. Not now, these days most people looked up him with wary eyes, judging everything from his height, build, hair, and his metal arm - ALWAYS that damned arm. He'd made an effort with his appearance since he was 'thawed out' - shaved, kept him arm covered and hand gloved, even tied his hair up now that he was kind of attached to it. He'd even tried smiling once in a while and not much had come of it except for couple of dates with the cute blonde in admin until her ex threatened her. He'd pushed the guy up against a wall and made him piss himself. Blondie didn't appreciate that very much, and that was the end of that... Other dalliances with women went very much the same way - they all ended up running scared at one point or another, this becoming another thing that Stark could ridicule him for...

Bucky wondered if all this was worth it, he'd tried to fit in, like REALLY tried. He'd followed all their rules, watched his temper, given respect to those in authority, and even put up with Stark's bullshit without (too much) retaliation.
None of it had been his fault, no amount of apologizing was going to bring his parents back from the dead, and no amount of explaining what Hydra had done to him excused it.
Like father, like daughter - Anna was much the same the way she held a grudge. Bucky had been honest with her - probably more honest than what he would have liked, but his cards were now out on the table, and it was her choice what she did with that information. Surely she'd see that as a sign that she could trust him. Why else would he expose himself if he was out to hurt her?

The thought had crossed his mind more than once to just leave her here and give up. Would Stark even appreciate what he'd gone through to find and deliver his daughter, or would he chastise Bucky for laying an obligation upon him? The girl clearly didn't want to be found and uprooted from her life, albeit an unstable and lonely one.
It was too late now, someone was on her tail, and like it or not, he had a duty of care to ensure her safety now. Part of working for Shield was protecting those who needed it, and leaving her would only be setting her up for trouble. There was also the matter of finding out exactly why they were after her, especially given the fact that both Alexander and Caroline were dead.



A bone-chilling scream from the room down the hallway snapped him into action, Bucky grabbing a gun as he flew down to her room at super soldier speed. He slammed into the door with his shoulder breaking it down, Anna screaming out in alarm again. In seconds, he darted over to her, shoved her into the corner of the room where he protectively stood in front of her, holding his gun up as he scanned the room for whatever had threatened her.
His eyes peered beyond the barrel of his gun as he kept scanning, nothing obvious presenting itself. He ducked, peering under the bed, coming up empty again. Anna's trembling hands were pressed against his bare shoulder blades as she peered around him, gasping again before quickly hiding behind him again. He could feel her cowering into him, obviously terrified enough that Bucky himself was now no longer a threat, but apparently a savior.

"Where!?" He barked at her, demanding some sort of guidance.

Her hand gripped his bare side as she peered around him, puffing wildly as her eyes darted around the room. She seemed to compose herself for a moment, realizing that whatever it was, was now gone.
Both of them caught the movement at the same time, Anna shrieking again as she pointed down, hiding behind Bucky again, his gun pointing at the floor quick as lightening.

He let out a breath of relief as he lowered his gun, looking over his shoulder at the petrified girl behind him, suddenly too amused to be annoyed.

"Are you serious?" He chuckled,
"IT WAS ON ME!" She cried, distraught.
"It's just a spider" Bucky smiled up at her as he crouched down to inspect it.
"Bucky, PLEASE-"

He let out a breath, never being able to resist a damsel in distress, something in him finding her fear of something so silly almost endearing. He put his flesh hand out on the ground, using his metal finger to usher the spider onto his palm. He covered it over and picked it up, Anna pressing herself into the wall as he stood.
"Seriously, it's more afraid of you than you are of it" He reassured her, his expression soft.
"Yeah I highly doubt that!"
He suppressed the urge to laugh again as he made his way out to the front of the house, letting the spider go in the garden before finding his way back to Anna.
She was still standing in the corner in her underwear and a tank top, obviously having burst straight out of bed after the 'attack'.

"It's gone" he said, holding up his hands to show her, Anna nodding as he got closer, "Are you okay, did it bite you?" he asked, somewhat surprised that she didn't flinch away from him.
"No..."
"No you're not okay, or no to the bite?"
"No to the bite" She corrected, hugging herself.

He reached back and picked her unzipped sweater up off the dresser, shaking it off. Anna stayed still as he reached over her head to wrap it around her, his hands remaining on her arms just below her shoulders as if to keep her steady while she composed herself. She let out a breath, embarrassed a little now as she looked up, making eye contact with him.
"Thank you" she breathed, Bucky offering her a gentle smile. He gave her arms a reassuring squeeze before letting go of her, the moment going from almost nice, right back to awkward again when they realized they were both half-naked in each others presence once again.

"Well..." He started, breaking the silence between them, "I'm going to go put a shirt on, and I'm sure you'd rather be in these..." He added, picking up her jeans and tossing them over to her.
"How's about I fix us something to eat? I don't know about you, but I sure could do with a coffee..." he offered, coming to the rescue for the second time that morning.
Anna nodded somewhat sheepishly, quickly looking away, trying to pretend she hadn't been admiring his shirtless body in low slung sweatpants. Bucky backed away, tearing his eyes off her toned legs and tight waist before she noticed, as he picked up the broken door and stood it against the wall.
"I'll fix that, don't worry about it"



Anna walked into the kitchen, dressed in the skinny jeans and one of the long sleeve fitted V neck tops from the shopping bag. She'd left her hair out in long, loose waves, nervously looking away and tucking one side behind an ear when he looked up and made eye contact with her. She cleared her throat as she made her way over to him, stopping a couple of meters short, her hand resting on the fridge door.
"Do you need a hand with anything? I could make the coffee?" She offered, her voice quiet.
"That'd be nice" He replied, his voice relaxed and kind.
"Great, uhh... So how do you take your coffee?"
"Black. No sugar"
"I could have guessed..." she quipped, biting her lip to hide an involuntary smile that appeared on her face. Bucky let out a single, sarcastic 'ha' in return.
"Mugs are in the top cupboard" He said, nodding to the cabinets above her.

Anna turned around, knowing full well as soon as she realized which cabinet he'd gestured at, that there'd be no way she'd be able to reach them. She rolled her eyes at Bucky who had an amused grin plastered onto his face.

Hmm, what do you know? Scary murderer-cyborg-kidnapper-assassin has a sense of humor after all!

He appeared behind her, Anna sucking in a breath and holding it as he reached over her head to pull the door open and retrieve two mis-matched mugs. He sat them down in front of her, Anna picking them up when he stepped away, Bucky watching her every move out of the corner of his eye.

She's biting her lip - she's nervous as hell around me... Buuuut, she's being somewhat... Amicable? Okay, I can roll with that...

"You know..." Bucky started, breaking the silence. Anna startled, dropping the cup and managing to awkwardly catch it before it hit the floor. She laughed at herself a little, turning away from him again, sheepishly.
"Nice one!" He chuckled.

She turned around, facing up to him as she blew out a tense breath, placing the mug back down on the counter, "Thanks..."

"Like lightening!" He joked, re-enacting her catch, Anna smiling as she let out a reluctant chuckle.

Bucky smiled back at her, tilting his head a little as he took in the details of her face, having not seen her really smile or relax before.
"There..." He soothed. "That's better, isn't it."

"You trying to soften me up or something?" She said, her expression still kind but a little more guarded than it had been.
"No, not at all... I was just trying to... Well...Yeah, okay fine. I was. " He chuckled. "And it worked like a charm"
"...I don't know about that" She said shyly as she spooned the coffee into the mugs and reached for the kettle.
"I got a smile out of you... That's worth something" He said with a wink as he dropped four slices of bread into the toaster, watching as she frowned and turned away again.
"What's with the face?" He asked, dropping the handful various travel sachets of spreads he'd collected onto the counter.

She shook her head, placing his coffee down in front of him quietly as she poured milk into hers.
"Anna... You've gotta start talking to me" He said, tilting his head to find some eye contact which she avoided, turning to find a butter knife and plates for the toast.
She laid out everything she needed, feeling more and more nervous with every prompt for conversation he made. Anna didn't have to turn around to know he was standing right behind her, his proximity making her heart race and hands tremble.
The toaster popped, making her jump, her hand flying to her chest as she closed her eyes for a moment, gathering herself up again.
"What would you like on yours?" She asked, pretending she was alright. She put three slices on a plate and turned around to find she was correct with him standing less than a foot away.

She sucked in a breath and looked up at him, Bucky standing his ground for a few moments before backing off.
"Talk" He ordered, worry overwhelming her again.

She opened her mouth, closing it again when her chest tightened up, anxiety overwhelming her. Bucky's expression remained empathetic, so much so that he even stepped back again to lean against the island counter and give her more space.
"I won't hurt you, you can say anything you like" He assured her, "You're safe."

Anna nodded, her big brown doe eyes looking up at him as she found the bravery to speak.
"I just... I don't understand why you're being nice to me is all..." She said, looking up at him with that face full of worry again as if she was waiting for him to do something horrible to her, "It makes me nervous..."
"You've got nothing to be nervous about..." He said, watching her for a reaction, "And if it makes it any easier, I'm in the same boat wondering why YOU'RE being nice to ME..."

The was a pause between them for a few moments before Anna spoke up again, her eyes meeting his as if asking permission to speak...
"Well... To state the obvious... I'm being 'nice' to you, because I don't want to piss you off any more than I already have..." She started, nervously looking up at him, Bucky nodding for her to go on. "What I mean to say is, that we both know I'm no match for you - It's painfully obvious... And I shouldn't have yelled at you the other night... It was stupid, and It was just begging for trouble-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... Let me just stop you right there..." Bucky interjected, throwing his hands up, "Don't think for a SECOND that you have to be nice to me so I don't 'rip your head off' or something. I'm going to lay it all out for you right here and now - I'm NOT going to hurt you. You have NO reason whatsoever to be scared around me. You're in literally NO danger around me at all. Not now. Not ever. End of story." He said, keeping his tone friendly but very much to the point.

Anna bit her lip as if she wasn't completely convinced, but not willing to argue with him while he was in a good mood.
"Peanut butter, or jam?" She asked, changing the subject, Bucky letting out a very exasperated breath.

"Anna, It's up to you if you decide to trust me or not. I've got no reason to lie to you - my story hasn't changed, and true to my word I haven't laid a hand on you or done you any harm whatsoever. Am I right?"
"Aside from the whole stalking me, sneaking up on me in a dark parking lot, slapping a hand over my mouth, putting a gun to my head, forcing me into a car, driving me to a secluded location and holding me there against my will... Yeah, you've been pretty good, really..." She sneered, instantly regretting her words. "Shit..."
"Wasn't a good start, was it?" He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"No, it wasn't great..." She said, letting out a breath, "But that being said, you've explained all that, and -I don't have to like it-  but I understand why you did it."
"You do?"
"Time was against you, and it was a 'ride or die' moment. Am I right?"
"Nail on the head" He answered, relief flooding through him as they made some sort of a headway.

"I guess what my problem is, is that I've been burned before." She started, "Like, a LOT... I'm not talking 'the mean boyfriend did me wrong' kind of deal, but the 'everyone I've ever trusted has tried to have me killed' kind of deal... And then there's you." She said, gesturing at him as she paused to choose her words. "You tell me you're not gonna hurt me - and so far you haven't... So that's been great, and I appreciate that, I really do... But then there's the whole abduction at gunpoint thing, and the imprisonment thing, and that's kinda hurt your cause a little... You knew about my car accident, and even admitted to causing it and killing my Mom intentionally... So that's knocked you down a few more pegs... See where I'm going with this?"

"I know, I know... I was under his control, I didn't choose to do that-"
"-Hear me out..."

Bucky stopped and nodded, prompting her to continue...

"...I've done a lot of thinking, and I get where you're coming from, and I WANT to believe you - really, I do - but it's just hard... You wouldn't understand."
"Oh I get it, alright. Believe me I get it... Just... The point I'm trying to make is that you don't have to be my best pal or anything, you don't have to do a damn thing." He said, watching her face change as she considered his words, "I just want it to be clear from the get go that everything I've said to you is the truth. If it wasn't, you'd be able to work it out - you're a smart girl."
"Thanks..."
"My job is to protect you. I'm not good at dealing with people... I'm a bit rough, and I've got a short fuse... But I can admit it... Sooo here we are" He said with a shrug, not knowing what else to say.

Anna nodded, letting out a breath as she reached for her coffee and took a long sip as she considered his words.
"And the Tony Stark thing?" She asked after a long pause, flinching a little as she braced for his answer.
"One hundred percent true. Caroline had all the child support and paternity testing paperwork in her hotel room. It was enveloped and addressed to Tony Stark, and all she had left to do was send it out along with your DNA sample. She'd been liaising with one of his personal assistants - who's since been fired. That was how I found out about you in the first place."
"How?"
"We were seeing each other - briefly"
"Oh"
"She was pretty loose lipped after a few drinks - which is why she was fired. She let lots of things slip, sometimes they were true, other times they weren't. This particular thing warranted a little investigation, and it paid off."
"Jesus Christ..." She breathed, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I didn't mention it again, and nobody knows I was looking into it. I have all the paperwork, transcripts of phone-calls, names, dates, CCTV footage of Caroline at the hotel... It took a lot of digging, but I had to be sure..."

Anna stared into space, her mind going at one hundred miles per hour as she went over everything Bucky had told her and crosschecked it against her own memories...
"I made copies of everything, I have it all there for you to go over, and if there's any questions you have, I can get you the answers..."
"Has the test been completed? I don't remember doing a swab?"
"No. That's where you come in..."
"Damn it, Bucky-"
"Everything else is there"
"Yeah, except the main piece of evidence!"

Bucky let out a breath as he ran his hands through his hair, nodding in agreement with her.
"Look... I have a hair sample from Tony with me, and a guy that can have the test back to us in three days... I wouldn't have come for you if I didn't believe it was true." He said, his face very serious, "I get that this is a huge deal, which is why I wasn't going to do it without your consent... But I think you should - you've got absolutely nothing to lose, Anna..."

She shook her head, her expression uncertain and frightened again.
"How much will it cost?" She asked, almost considering it...
"It's taken care of"
"Okay... And if it comes back negative... If we're not a match, what then?"
"I work for Shield, and I've got a duty of care to protect anyone who's in danger" He said, pulling a black leather wallet from his back pocket, flipping it open and holding it out to her.
"I'd take you back to Shield, and we'd work out why you were being followed by Hydra. You'd stay there and be kept safe until whoever was trying to take you was... Well, taken care of."

Anna eyed it carefully, before taking it from him. She turned it up the right way, reading it several times with the odd glance up at him.
"My driver's license is in there, credit cards and anything else you want to look at. I've got nothing to hide..."
She folded it shut again and stepped towards him, letting a breath out as she bravely picked up his hand and placed it gently on his palm.

"Okay." She said, looking up into his blue eyes, holding the contact... "Say I believe you... I've got nothing to lose, and you're telling me I'm safe, right?"
"Absolutely"
"And Tony doesn't know?"
"He has no idea... He's a facts guy - If we come at him with scientific proof, he's more likely to believe us. Without it, you're just another potential extortionist... It wouldn't be the first time someone's rocked up claiming to be a relative for a slice of his billions..."
"Oh I don't want his money-"
"You know that and I know that - I just want to unite you both, and get to the bottom of why Hydra are so interested in you"
"And get you back into his good books..."
"Well yeah, that, too... I redeem myself, you'll be safe and have security, you'll both know you have biological family - everybody wins"
"And he won't think it's weird that I had a sample of his hair?"
"Well technically I was the one who tracked you down for starters... I had the sample, I had the test done and I brought you 'home'... It's all on me, and if he wants to do another test - which he will - he has the technology right there in the building to do it his way, and on his terms..."

"I can't believe this is happening..." Anna said after a thoughtful pause, "But okay... Let's do this"