#nashazima

a cold and deep shiver ran down her spine as he uttered her name. she couldn’t deny that there was a connection, a strange pull towards him. something about james buchanan barnes made her want to do better. but hearing her name? her real name coming from his lips? it was as if angels had descended and spoken their sweet voices within her ears.

“my past is my own, james.“ she paused - never believing to have ever said his first name before but finding it felt natural. “yours is yours, all we can do is work towards fixing the future.“

this was the fourth time maria tried to connect her comms equipment to her world, trying to figure out a way to go back to her world. this place was peaceful, sure, but this peace was unnerving and it was much more concerning. she didn’t like it one bit. the buildings themselves didn’t look livable at all and the wasteland wasn’t any better despite the absence of conflict. “where’s steve?,” was the first thing she asked bucky. “where the hell is everybody?”

a part of her had missed the quiet that the soul stone had provided. it had taken her a solid forty eight hours to block out the other voices; the ones that accused her of the crimes of her past. her victims. and the ones that loved her, the ones she’d forgotten, the one’s that she could not place. 

she’d taken the time to herself when everyone had began to arrive. to prepare for what would be reunions, confusion, and loaded questions. standing behind one of the ruined buildings, she closed her eyes - allowing the parts that made her human to return. and that was when she knew she wasn’t alone. opening her eyes, she looked over towards her gained companion. 

“barnes,” she stated, offering a small smile. “i figured it would be steve seeking me out, not you.” she turned to face him. “welcome back to...” she inhaled a bit and shook her head,  “welcome.”