Steve's POV

I wake up the next morning and get ready for my morning workout. As I make my way downstairs, I see that Ally's already here. Is it eight o'clock already?

I notice Bucky talking to her and raise an eyebrow. "Good morning." I interrupt their conversation.

"Good morning, Stevie." Ally smiles. I smile at her use of a nickname but Bucky just huffs.

"You joining me today?" I ask Bucky. "That is why you're up so early, right?"

"Yeah!" He jumps. "I was waiting for you when Ally showed up."

I nod suspiciously. "Well, we'll be in the gym then if you need us." I smile at Ally, who nods.

Buck follows me down to the gym and we stretch before sparring. My frustration must be evident in my sparring because Bucky calls me out on it a few times.

"Take it easy man, we're just warming up." He says, stepping off of the mat.

I pin him one last time, this time on the hard ground instead of the mat.

"What's your problem?" He asks, pushing me off of him.

"I could ask you the same thing." I glare at him.

He furrows his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Since when are you and Ally so friendly? She calls for you when she's having an anxiety attack, spends her lunch breaks chatting with you, clings to you instead of getting any type of medical attention." I cross my arms.

"I don't know, we've known eachother for years." He shrugs.

"Right, you've mentioned that." I narrow my eyes at him. "Tell me more about your relationship." I take a sip of my water.

His face turns a light shade of red. "Well.. When we were part of Hydra, I trained her almost every day." He begins. "And then I left and haven't seen her until she showed up here."

"Mhm." I study his face. "Seems like a genuine friendship." I say sarcastically.

"I guess I'm just a familiar face. Someone who knows what she's been through first-hand." He narrows his eyes at me.

I roll my eyes at him and grab my gym bag before heading upstairs.

"Where are you going? We haven't even started our workout!" He shouts after me but I ignore him.

I walk right passed Ally and towards the stairs.

"Steve?" She calls. "Steve!" She shouts this time and I stop in my tracks.

"What?" I snap as I turn to face her. I notice a shocked look on her face because of my tone and my hard facial expression softens. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell."

She shakes her head. "It's fine." She looks back at her computer.

"Ally." I sigh, walking over to her desk.

"Just go do whatever it is you were storming off to do." She waves me off.

I look down at my shoes and turn to go to my bathroom and shower. I need to start this entire morning over.

Alexandra's POV

After Steve walks away, a single tear rolls down my cheek. God forbid I ask him why he's storming off or if he's okay. I shake it off and take a deep breath before hearing another pair of footsteps approaching.

"You okay?" James asks.

"Peachy." I force a smile.

He sighs. "I don't know why he's being like this. It's not like we weren't friends before."

There's a brief silence until he speaks again. "I'd ask you if you wanted to go to lunch later but Steve might blow the compound up if you say yes." He chuckles, making light of the situation.

"I'd like to test that theory." I laugh along. The laughter dies down and we just smile at each other. "But really, I'd love to go to lunch with you."

I see a shocked expression on his face and can't help but giggle. "Right, yeah.. Um.. We can go to that little diner if you want."

"Is that even a question?" I smile.

He smiles back and nods before heading upstairs. I wave to him before he disappears and can't help but smile to myself. What a dork.

Bucky's POV

The next few hours are filled with me trying to style my hair and Sam giving me dating tips. Thank God they go by quickly, I don't know how much longer I could've dealt with Sam. I look at the clock to see that it's one o'clock and make my way downstairs.

I see Ally sitting at her desk and take a deep breath. As I get closer I notice Tony standing behind her and begin to panic. There's no way he'd approve of this.

"Barnes?" He asks, causing Ally to look my way. "Something we can help you with?"

Before I can speak, Ally beats me to it. "He's taking me to lunch." She smiles. "Just give me a minute." She says to me and I nod.

Her and Tony go back to looking at the computer screen, him giving me looks every few seconds. After she explains whatever it is she was explaining, she stands from her seat and puts her jacket on.

"Do you guys have room for one more?" Tony asks. "I'll have Happy drive us."

"Tony." Ally looks at him and he sighs. "We'll be back soon."

Her and I walk out to her car since I don't have a license as Tony watches intently. I open her door for her and she thanks me before getting in and I do an awkward little jog to the other side to get in.

---

"This panini tastes better every time. How do they do it?" She laughs as we eat.

I smile at her and take a bite of my own sandwich. "So." I begin, causing her to look up at me. "How much do you actually remember from your time at Hydra?" I ask quietly.

She looks around and scoots closer before speaking. "I remember being transported to different facilities and being tested on at a young age." She begins. "I remember training with you every day and the how they took me from the others and shipped me somewhere else. Coincidentally, you were shipped to the same place." She stifles a laugh and takes a sip of her water.

"If these dreams and flashbacks are real, then I remember how they'd use me to get to you." She plays with a french fry. "I remember Josef and those other monkeys being thrown into our cell to punish us whenever we didn't comply." She pauses and looks up at me. "You protected me." She speaks, holding the fry. "Every time, without hesitation."

"Of course I did, I loved you." I hold her hand across the table.

She smiles and looks down. "I know. I remember all the times you proved it to me too."

I feel myself blush and bite the inside of my cheek.

"And I remember you leaving." Her smile fades.

There's a silence between us as the waitress brings the check over. I pay for our food at the front and we both walk out to her car.

"I wasn't mad at you for leaving." She speaks once she starts the car. "I was mad at myself for falling in love with you."

My eyes widen at her confession.

"And that's why I've sworn to never love again." She continues. "I mean, growing up I kept my distance from others since I was independent my whole life. But after being with you and feeling safe just to have that torn away, that's when I knew that love was a weakness."

"Ally, I-"

"It's okay, James." She smiles sadly at me. "That's just my mindset on things I guess."

She quotes me from when we had a talk about her not being the relationship type.

"Thanks for lunch, by the way."

"Of course." I force a small smile.