#Team PECH | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sjsmith56 · 5 months

Text

Complicated - Day 3

Summary: Waking up as a prisoner of the Russian mob, Bucky formulates an escape plan. Everything is wrapped up at the end. Or is it?

Length: 5.7 K

Characters: Bucky, Rita, Sam, Joaquin, Fury, Maria Hill.

Warnings: Violence, betrayal, disappointment.

Author notes: See after the story to avoid spoilers.

<<Day 1. <<Day 2.

🏍️ 🪜🚪

When Bucky opened his eyes, he wasn’t expecting to be strapped into the seat of a memory suppression machine in the lit center of a dark room. His first instinct was to struggle against the restraints, hoping to break them, but they seemed to be as strong as he was. Even his vibranium arm had no effect on the metal restraint that clamped his forearm in place. A chuckle attracted his attention, and he looked in the direction it came from.

“You won’t be able to break out of these restraints, Soldat,” said Alexei Markov, accompanied by an older, sterner-looking man. “After the fall of Sokovia we sent teams into the ruins of that country looking for even the most microscopic particles of vibranium. It took years to collect it but when you resurfaced with a vibranium arm we knew it would go to good use in your recapture.

“The machine won’t work,” said Bucky. “The Soldat is gone, the words are gone, and all your efforts will be for nothing. The Avengers will find me.”

“They’ll be too late, Soldat,” said the older man. “Did you really think that HYDRA only created one Winter Soldier in your mind? Nine were created, but only one was ever accessed. There are eight more Soldats waiting to be activated.”

“I don’t believe you,” replied Bucky.

The older man glanced at someone to the side who came into the light. He held several books, just like the book that Colonel Karpov always had at the ready whenever Bucky was thawed out and activated. They were all red but the stars on the front were different colours. A trickle of sweat came down the side of Bucky’s face as he felt a current of fear begin to run through his veins. The older man smirked then pulled the book at the top of the pile into his hands. It had a blue star on the cover.

“Soldat siniy,” he said. “The blue soldier. Start the memory wipe.”

“No,” growled Bucky, starting to struggle. “No, I won’t go back to that. I won’t do it.”

The chair reclined, as he continued to fight and proclaim his defiance until the metal headpiece trapped his head into place. Gritting his teeth, he screamed when the first charge coursed through him. He lost count of how many charges went through his brain but when they stopped, he had no strength left to fight them. His name was lost to him, his body was useless, and all he remembered was that the words would soon come that would bring the Soldat out of sleep.

“Toska, okislyat’, tridsat’, voskhod, pech’,vosem’, bezvrednyy, privychnyy, dva, lokomotiv.”

As each word was said, the chair righted itself and the headpiece raised to its original position, Bucky felt himself sink further and further into oblivion while the next Soldat emerged. When he was greeted by the older man, and responded with his usual “Ready to comply,” the two men looked at each other with satisfaction. All of the crime families, not just Russian, would soon be under their control now that they had the Winter Soldier doing their bidding.

The older man, the Pakhan, looked at the Soldat and nodded to another man who brought Rita forward. She had been witness to everything that just happened. Any hope she had of staying alive were dashed when she heard the next words, spoken in English.

“Soldat,” said the Pakhan. “Kill the woman.”

Raising himself deliberately to a standing position, the Soldat approached Rita, focused only on her with his dark, emotionless eyes.

“Bucky, no,” she whispered. “This isn’t you. You’re Bucky Barnes, an Avenger. Stop, please Bucky.”

His vibranium hand circled her throat and he smiled a deadly smile at how flexible this new appendage was compared to the bulky titanium one he used to have when he was first programmed. She continued to say the name Bucky as he began squeezing the life out of her.

“Bucky.” It was just a whisper in the darkness of the nightmare, but it was a tether that brought him back from where his mind had been. “Bucky, wake up.”

His eyes opened to the worried face of a woman, Rita … her name was Rita, and she was alive. He hadn’t killed her. For a moment he was flooded with a sense of relief, then of shame and disgust, but she touched his cheeks this time and her soft skin felt so nice on him that he nodded and shifted his body, from his back to lying on his side.

“Where are we?” he muttered.

“Not sure,” she whispered. “They put a hood on me when the jet landed and only took it off when they shoved me in here with you. Are you alright?”

“Not yet. I had a nightmare.”

He lifted his hands to rub his face, surprised he didn’t lash out and hurt her during his nightmare, especially since his wrists were immobilized in restraints. Doing the best he could Bucky rubbed his eyes then raised himself to a sitting position. He and Rita were in a darkened room, but it was day outside as evidenced by the thin streams of light that came through the cracks around the window coverings. She was watching him carefully and he almost reached out to touch her face to reassure her.

“Are you alright? Have they hurt you?”

She shook her head. “He didn’t touch me. Before they knocked you out, he called you Soldat.”

“They know who I am,” he replied. “I’m guessing he wants to use me, use my skills, probably to consolidate power for his family.” He looked closer at her. “I won’t do it willingly, but he’ll probably threaten to hurt or kill you to force me. I won’t let them do that.”

“I’m sorry I got you into this,” said Rita. She looked down briefly. “You helped me without question and now they’re going to make you their slave.”

He smiled softly at her. “They’ll try.” He looked closer at the restraints around his wrists. “Probably a titanium alloy. Strong but not unbreakable if I can get the right leverage.”

“What do you need?” she asked.

“Liquid nitrogen would be the best,” he grinned, knowing it wasn’t something lying around. “Heat, hot enough to weaken it, a steel beam that I could hit it against. I could continually bash it against the wall until it breaks against the vibranium in my arm but that would alert them.”

“You don’t want much, do you?”

He gazed at Rita, his eyes soft. “Let me try to see if I can break the lock apart.”

Looking around the room for something to brace the restraint against he saw a plumbing stack, thinking it might be a drain from the roof, and went over to it, testing its strength. It seemed fairly sturdy but with the force he would have to use to break the restraint it could bring them running. He looked up at the ceiling, noticing it was the standard drop ceiling often found in commercial installations. If he could make sure Rita was safe then he could free himself and take care of anyone who came through the door, without having to defend her at the same time.

“You afraid of heights?” he asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” she replied, looking up at the ceiling, where he had been looking. “You want me to go through the ceiling?”

He nodded. “I’ll boost you up in the corner and you can lift the panel. If we’re in a warehouse there will be a structure that supports the roof. It should be strong enough to support you. Look for a trap door opening to the roof or a vent that you climb into that comes out there. You’ll be safer up there than here.”

“It’s still quite a distance,” she said looking up. “I don’t know if I’m tall enough to reach it even if I stand on your shoulders.”

“I know I can jump it,” he replied, thinking for a moment. “If you piggyback onto me that will take you high enough and you can climb through the panel.” The look of incredulity on her face was extreme but she kept looking between Bucky and the corner ceiling panel. “I can do it, easily. Do you trust me?”

“More than I should, I think,” said Rita, grinning.

“Would you go out with me?” asked Bucky impulsively, trying to match her grin. “I’ll treat you right.”

“Do the last two days count?” He smiled in response to that, a genuine smile that touched her. “If we get out of this, I’ll go anywhere with you.”

She surprised Bucky with a kiss, and he closed his eyes, savouring the feel of her soft lips on his. All too soon she pulled away and stood up, walking over to the corner then looking at him again. She nodded and he approached, kneeling down so she could climb onto his back. Wrapping her arms securely around his neck, then adjusting them so she didn’t choke him, she took a deep breath.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

Stepping back several steps Bucky ran and leaped up pushing aside the flimsy ceiling panel so that he could grasp the rafter that he hoped was above it. His hands were able to grasp something metal and he held on as Rita pushed the panel out of the way and lifted herself into the cavity.

“You’re right,” she said, excitedly, looking into the dim space. “There’re all sorts of metal roof trusses up here. I’ll have to stick to the edge as there’s a ledge here big enough to stand on.”

“Stay there, but put the panel back on,” said Bucky. “I’m going to try to break this restraint. If I have to fight them, you’re safer up here.”

“You’re coming back, right? I not going on without you,” she exclaimed, making him feel protective at the worry evident on her face.

“I’ll be right behind you,” he said. “But if I tell you to go you keep going, don’t look back. I can handle myself.”

“What if they taser you again?”

He gave her a grim smile but didn’t answer. Instead, he released his hold on the metal bracing, dropping back down to the floor. Looking up at her, he watched as she put the panel back into place. While she sat in the roof space, he approached the plumbing stack, then raised his restrained wrists, trying to figure out the angle that would hopefully do the most damage. Raising them over his head he struck the plumbing stack twice, hearing a crack. He pulled his wrists apart and heard another crack then the device broke apart just as the door opened and two guards came in. Throwing the broken pieces into their faces Bucky followed through with punches to their heads, knocking one of them out immediately and staggering the other. Before the other man could recover Bucky kicked him into the wall imbedding him in it. He placed two more punches knocking him out. Briefly looking out the door he didn’t see anyone, so he closed it and wedged both men against it. Quickly, he checked them for weapons, finding two handguns, which he shoved into his waistband, and a couple of knives, slipping them into his boots. They each had a cell phone, so he used the thumbprint of its owner to open one while he crushed the other. With the unlocked one in his hand, he dialled Sam, getting an answer within seconds.

“Sam, it’s me,” he said immediately without giving him a chance to answer. “Stolen phone. I’m going to leave the line open so you can trace it as I have no idea where we are. Gotta go.” He looked up at the corner. “Rita, I’m coming up.”

She pulled the ceiling panel out of the way, and he easily jumped up, leaving the phone on the ledge so the phone call would stay open. Placing the ceiling panel back into place he looked at Rita, smiling in triumph. Then he scanned the space they were in.

“I think there’s a door to the roof over there,” she said, pointing to a position on the far side of the building that was lit up by a glow from below. “I don’t think there’s a ceiling in that portion.”

“You’re right,” he replied. “That ladder against the wall leads to it. I’ll have to destroy it so they can’t follow us up.” He touched her arm. “You ready?”

She began working her way along the ledge, while he jumped from truss to truss. They heard a yell from where they had been then could hear orders being given in Russian to find them. Since they were still obscured, they kept moving, trying to keep their movement as quiet as they could. Finally, they reached the edge of the open area where the ladder to the roof door was located and peeked over the edge.

“Hurry, get to the door,” he whispered.

They had about 20 feet to get to it when someone yelled from the open area below them. Turning towards them Bucky used his vibranium arm to shield Rita as a couple of the men took potshots at them, then returned fire with one of the handguns, making the men below take cover. They fired back; the bullets hitting the steel beam, but he managed to divert the others with his metal arm until he was hit in the leg, making it buckle beneath him. Rita called out to him, but he still shielded her.

“Get to the door,” he insisted. “I can manage.”

“No, not without you,” she said, starting to come closer to him, reminding him of when Steve rescued him from the HYDRA facility in Austria.

A bullet hit a truss near her and ricocheted, making her duck, her face angry when she did.

“Damn it, Rita.” Bucky looked over at her. “Get to the door and get outside. Please. I’m coming, but you need to be safe first.”

Reluctantly, she continued working her way towards it then reached out to the ladder attached to the wall and began climbing up towards the door. When Bucky joined her, he looked down at the ladder in frustration, knowing they would send men up.

“Keep going, I’ll kick it away from the wall,” he said.

As she made her way through the door, he leaned back on the edge of it for leverage then began kicking the ladder away from the wall. One side came away and Bucky kept working at the other side as one of the Russians was climbing up. At least with him climbing they stopped shooting at Bucky, not wanting to risk hitting their own man. Slowly, the ladder began to loosen, and Bucky alternated both feet, working the metal away from the wall. The other side broke free from where it was secured and Bucky kept kicking at it, making it bend away. As the Russian reached that section of the ladder, he hesitated, unsure whether it would hold him. Taking that as his cue to leave Bucky stood up and went through the door to the roof. He slammed the door down then looked on the roof for something heavy enough to keep it closed, tearing an air conditioning unit from its mounting and dragging it over, preventing the door from being opened. Grasping Rita’s hand, they ran towards where there was more cover and huddled beside another air conditioning unit.

“Let me look at your wound,” said Rita.

“It’s nothing,” replied Bucky. “Once the bullet is out it will heal within hours.” He could see she didn’t believe him. “It’s a super soldier thing.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Yeah, but I can take it.” He smiled at her. “You did good down there, kept your cool. You’d make a good agent.” He looked down at his hands then at her again. “Did you mean what you said about following me anywhere?”

Rita seemed embarrassed. “I left a good job to follow Jason on his goal of becoming a professional poker player. He wasn’t the best man I ever committed to, but he was far from the worst, as bad as that sounds. What you’ve done for me in the last couple of days has been more than any other man I’ve been with.” She looked him straight in the eye. “How do you feel about me?”

They noticed a shadow pass over them, looking up in time to see Sam landing right beside them followed immediately by Joaquin.

“Fancy meeting you here,” joked Sam. “Leaving the phone open was a good idea. It led us straight to this place. Just waiting on the special forces squad to arrive as this whole dock area is crawling with mafia and we need the manpower. You up to helping?”

“He was shot in the leg,” said Rita.

“I’m fine,” countered Bucky. “It hardly hurts.”

“Is he always this stubborn?” she asked.

Bucky said no, while Sam and Joaquin both blurted out yes at the same time, making Rita laugh.

“You get used to it,” said Sam, then he lifted his head and looked off into the distance. “Roger that.” He turned back to the others. “Special forces are here. Torres can take Rita to the quinjet. You good to jump down or do you want an assist?”

“I’ll take the assist,” replied Bucky then put his hand on Rita’s arm before she went to Torres. “Stay in the quinjet and I’ll see you after.” He kissed her, as Sam and Joaquin rolled their eyes a little. “That’s how I feel about you.”

Joaquin held his arms out to Rita as Bucky moved towards Sam. “I won’t let you go,” he said, picking her up bridal style. As he rose up in the air, she cried out a little at the sensation of flying in his arms. “It’s okay. Sarge will kill me if I drop you.”

“Sarge?” she asked.

Joaquin grinned. “Yeah, he was a sergeant back in the day. Still in the reserves, I think. Definitely still capable as a soldier.”

As she was flown to the perimeter that had been set up around the dock area, Sam reached inside his chest pocket and came out with a comms piece for Bucky.

“So, you like her?” he asked, grinning while Bucky took a moment to insert the comms in his ear, and check the guns that he took from the two Russians.

“She handled herself well,” he replied, not wanting to meet his partner’s eyes at first, then he sighed. “She kissed me once and yeah; I liked the kiss and I like her. We had a few close emotional moments, none of them sexual. I didn’t ask her to do anything she was uncomfortable or afraid to do.”

“I was going to give you the warning to not expect a lasting relationship based on an intense shared emotional experience,” said Sam, “but that would sound like something Dr. Raynor would say.” Bucky glared at him. “But if you can match it with a physical attraction and a certain amount of friendship there’s likely no reason you can’t build on that foundation. It’s called Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means you might have a chance at something good with her,” said Sam. “She gives off good vibes.”

Both of them stopped bantering as a voice that Bucky recognized as Nick Fury’s dryly asked if they were finished their chat. Acknowledging that they were ready, the order to attack the various buildings inside the perimeter was given. Bucky looped his arm around Sam’s neck as he lifted off then removed it when the flyer was about ten feet off the ground, easily landing upright on his feet after he was dropped.

Several more Avengers, and a special forces unit were getting into position near the entries into the various warehouses. Approaching the closest one Bucky was acknowledged, and they burst through the door with weapons blazing.

About half a mile away Joaquin landed, gently letting Rita down then he took off into the sky. The ramp to the quinjet lowered to where an attractive dark-haired woman with a headset on appeared and gestured for her to come up. A man dressed in black with an eye-patch was inside in front of a row of monitors barking out orders.

“Miss Harmon?” asked the woman. “I’m Maria Hill. This is Nick Fury … Avengers boss. If you could sit here, we’ll get this raid done and over with. He wants to have a chat with you about your future.”

Doing as she was told Rita sat and watched the whole operation as it unfolded from the monitors, realizing that the Avenger operatives were all wearing body cameras, plus both of the winged men had them on remote units they controlled. She watched the several screens showing the different locations where an Avenger with special forces support were taking on gunmen. Occasionally, she would get a good look at Bucky in action, actually witnessing his strength and physicality on display for the first time. It was a revelation that confirmed what Torres said about Bucky’s capabilities as a soldier. It was also hotter than anything she had ever witnessed. She was interrupted by Fury suddenly barking out an order.

“We have a location on the Pakhan. If you’re anywhere near the stack of blue sea cans with a Hanjin logo get over there.”

She saw both Sam and Bucky change direction and head towards the area. Bucky was holding a machine gun, obviously taken from one of the Russians. Watching as Sam flew above and directed Bucky to where the boss of the Russian mafia family was with his bodyguards, even while he took fire from the ground, she suddenly blurted out her own observation.

“They’re circling behind Bucky. Cap needs to take them out.”

Fury looked back at her, as if he couldn’t believe she was telling him what to do. “You heard that? Barnes, watch your six. Cap, leave the Pakhan for a moment, and take out those who are trying to contain Barnes.”

She watched, fascinated, as Sam dealt with those gunmen behind Bucky while he kept advancing on the Pakhan. When he came around a sea can one of the bodyguards took a shot at him, which Bucky responded to with a short burst that hit the man, sending him down to the ground. The other bodyguard put himself in front of the older man as they both backed up to where a vehicle was. Knowing they would escape if they got in the car Bucky shot out the tire, causing the Pakhan to shake his fist at Bucky and yell something in Russian at him. Bucky yelled something back which made Fury and Hill smirk. It was obvious to Rita that they could understand Russian. As if he heard her ask what was said, Fury turned to Rita.

“The Pakhan said that was a $10,000 tire. Barnes told him for that price it should have been bulletproof instead of blowing just as easily as a $100 one. He got ripped off. The old man didn’t like that.”

His attention returned to the screens as team after team reported their objectives had been achieved. It was down to Bucky, the Pakhan and the bodyguard but Fury didn’t look worried. In fact, he looked impatient.

“Barnes, we’re already wrapping up everyone else,” he said. “You going to keep playing with him?”

“His people have been on my tail since Tuesday,” replied the super soldier. “I’m enjoying making him sweat a bit but if you really want me to reel him in, I can. Sam? Can you take the bodyguard for a ride?”

“Now you’re talking,” said the winged man, who swooped over the Pakhan, releasing a tether that caught the bodyguard around his ankle, yanking him up into the air for an upside-down flight. Bucky came out from his cover, advancing towards the head of the Russian mafia family. The man pulled a gun out from his jacket, firing at Bucky, who calmly put his vibranium hand out and deflected the bullets before standing in front of him and grabbing the gun out his hand. He said something to the man and this time Hill translated.

“One less Russian rat to trap,” she repeated.

“Is he always that calm and cool?” asked Rita, not quite believing that Bucky had just casually deflected bullets as if it were no big deal.

Fury shrugged. “He does get angry sometimes. I’m guessing he didn’t want you to see that part of him as it can be frightening.”

Bucky took the Pakhan’s arm and marched him back out to the open where he was taken into custody. Sam landed beside him, a big grin on his face, which disappeared when Bucky made two quick hand signals to him, signals that were noticed by Fury, as the super soldier then spoke.

“Have all the buildings on this dock under the Pakhan’s control been fully checked yet?”

The one-eyed man frowned at the question, seeing how tense Bucky looked on Sam’s video cam. Maria barked an order into her headset for a quick check of all buildings. As the different body cams showed the teams going through the structures again, they took fire inside a large plain concrete block building drawing the others to the action. Once the enemy was subdued, a body cam showed a door that was marked with Russian words in the Cyrillic alphabet and an outline of a star. Both Fury and Maria swore when they saw it and relayed the location to Bucky and Sam. Even from the screen Rita could see the look exchanged between the two men as they approached the building.

“What is it?” she asked. “What does it say on that door?”

Fury turned to Rita, giving her a different look that seemed colder and more calculating.

“It’s classified,” he said, then nodded at Maria. “Deep shadow conditions.”

“Understood,” she said, entering some commands on a keyboard. “Miss Harmon, we’re going to relocate you away from the command center. It’s for your own safety.” Two men in security gear appeared at the ramp. “Please go with them.”

“I don’t understand,” protested Rita.

“Let’s just say there are things about James Buchanan Barnes that aren’t well known,” said Fury. “If he wants you to know he’ll tell you, not us.” He glared at the two men. “Please escort Miss Harmon off the quinjet.”

When she left and was out of earshot, Fury turned back to the screen. “When did you know?” he asked Bucky.

“When I saw the Pakhan I knew for sure,” said Bucky. “There were lots of little things that didn’t seem suspicious on their own but taken together I knew something wasn’t quite right. She must have had a cell phone all along and kept them tracking us. Gudonov found us too easily which means they knew my bike already. More suspicions when the semi-trucks found us on the highway, and boxed us in. She wouldn’t leave me even though I asked her to run while I kept them busy, after running away from the church so easily. She didn’t seem to be very afraid of Markov when he took her into the limousine, even though she knew that he personally killed her boyfriend. They left us together in a poorly guarded room in the warehouse and had gunmen who couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn as they shot at us, because they weren’t even trying. The clincher was the Pakhan. I recognized him from a nightmare I had in the warehouse which means it was also a memory.”

“They wanted the Winter Soldier at their beck and call, except it didn’t work,” said Fury. “Hill, confirm Rita Harmon’s identity. Barnes, it’s up to you whether you want to open that door. It might be like opening Pandora’s Box.”

“I’ll do it,” he said. “If they have the books then I should be the one to burn them.”

“Alright, Cap, you go with him.”

“As if he had a choice,” replied Sam.

The two men entered the plain concrete block building that sat in the middle of the complex. Several other of the Avengers were there, nodding their support at Bucky as he walked past them towards the door, with the warning in Russian. Winter Star Lab. Authorized personnel only. The door was locked but Bucky punched the lock with his left fist, and it disconnected slightly, allowing him to pull it open. An overhead light came on as he stepped inside, and he was immediately taken back to the fluorescent lighting in many of the HYDRA labs; it’s artificial look making him feel queasy. More lights came on and he saw it completely then, another memory suppressing machine just like those that were used to shock his brain into something more pliable, something that would accept the Winter Soldier programming, except this one had vibranium restraints. He must have stood there for some time staring at it as Sam suddenly spoke.

“You alright?”

“No, I’m not alright,” replied Bucky. “This is nightmare stuff for me. How did they find out about the other Winter Soldier personalities?”

“They must have someone from HYDRA on their payroll,” said Sam. “They wouldn’t know that Shuri deactivated all of them by trial and error.”

“They put me through it, Sam,” stated Bucky. “I had a nightmare in that other warehouse, that they unlocked the second Winter Soldier and had me kill Rita. I was so relieved when I saw her that I didn’t panic. It wasn’t until I saw the Pakhan and recognized him from my dream that I realized it was a memory, a recent memory, except they didn’t activate me so maybe I imagined that part which made me think it was a dream.”

“But you woke up as yourself and she realized it didn’t take. So, she had a backup plan … to make you love her. Maybe, in her twisted mind she figured she could corrupt the real you by keeping you on the run for a bit longer and bind you to her.”

Bucky looked like he wanted to vomit and ran the back of his hand slowly across his mouth, as if to wipe away a bad taste. Sam stepped towards a locked cabinet and tugged on the handle then turned to Bucky, who yanked the door off. Inside were eight red books and this time Bucky did get sick, lurching towards a waste basket and spewing whatever was left in his stomach from his last meal.

“Confirm the books’ contents,” said Fury, then added. “When you’re ready.”

With a look of distaste on his face Bucky picked up the one with the blue star, flipping through it, then quickly going through the others.

“Confirmed,” he said. “Where did they find them?”

“Same place they found out about the other eight Soldats,” said Fury. “We’re going to have to interrogate her for that information. I can get a telepath ….”

“Let me have a try first,” said Bucky. “Sam, make sure these books aren’t seen by anyone else. I want to burn them myself.”

“What about the machine?” asked the winged man, gesturing to the black contraption behind them.

“I’ll pull it apart. Get a box for the vibranium pieces and return them to Wakanda. Then take the other pieces to a scrap metal place and make sure they’re melted down.”

As Sam searched for a couple of boxes, Bucky tore the machine apart, making sure that it looked nothing like what it was before. He picked up the vibranium pieces, putting them into one of the boxes while Sam put the books into the other. The two men left the lab and Bucky handed off the box of vibranium to Joaquin who was waiting outside. Several SHIELD agents entered the building to pick up the scrap metal of the now destroyed machine. While Sam and Joaquin returned to the quinjet with the others, Bucky walked to another building where Rita was under the guard of two SHIELD security agents. Outside the door Nick Fury stood, waiting for Bucky’s arrival. He looked sympathetically at the super soldier who stopped in front of his boss.

“I’m not going to hurt her, if you’re worried about that,” he said calmly, then he reached for the knife in his boot. “But I am going to make her very afraid so that talking to you will seem like a relief.”

“We used a telepath on Gudonov,” said Fury. “Her real name is Ekaterina Harnovsky, wife of Alexei Markov, American born of Russian parents, arranged marriage to pay off a debt. At least that part was true. Jason Tierney was a poker player they killed because he couldn’t pay his debt. He apparently was a regular at the diner you always stop at when you go to Delacroix by road. I guess he mentioned you were often there, and they likely hatched up the plan to bring you in. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. If she had been the real thing, you could have had a good relationship.”

“Yeah,” replied Bucky, sounding unconvinced. Then he gave out a big sigh. “I better get on with it. It might take me a while to get over this.”

“Go back to Delacroix after,” said Fury. “Burn the books, take a week, more if you need it. The world will keep turning without you standing guard over it for a bit.”

Bucky nodded, then stepped past the man in black, opened the door to the office and waited while the two security agents left. With one last look at Fury, giving him a grim smile, he closed the door. Sometimes, a man had to do what had to be done. Didn’t mean he liked it.

💔 💔 💔

Author notes: Yearning, oxidize, thirty, sunrise, stove, eight, harmless, familiar, two, locomotive – words for the next iteration of the Winter Soldier, variations on a theme. Each of the subsequent soldiers would have had similar synonyms tailored for that personality, with the number of the personality (both backwards and forwards) in the sixth and ninth words in each command string.

The military hand signals Bucky gave to Sam and recognized by Fury and likely Hill indicated Hostage Enemy. Since Rita was the hostage, it would be the quickest way for Bucky to signal she wasn’t legit. She was very much a method actor with her performance knowing Bucky, with his skills, could see through her if she wasn’t convincing enough.

“Deep shadow conditions” is an “Easter egg” to Captain America and the Winter Soldier when Fury is being chased through Manhattan and he contacts Hill, giving her that phrase. It means the situation is changing quickly and you’re needed. In the context with identifying the Hostage as an Enemy it was also Fury’s way of getting Hill to put Rita into custody without letting on that they knew about her.

I really did try to give it a happy ending, but the story just kept pushing me towards Rita being part of it.

Short Fiction Masterlist

Please like, comment, or reblog if you liked this story.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #buckybarnes original female character #sam wilson #bucky on the run #nick fury #winter soldier #russian mafia #twist ending

10 notes · View notes

theviolenttomboy · 2 years

Text

So I have the raws of the XY epilogue, and I am going through every panel with Google Translate. This is kind of a summary in list form.

Again to reiturate, I got this all from Google Translate, so bits may be off, but I think I got the general gist of it.

Trevor is now living with his older sister in Lumiose City.

The epilogue does take place some time after X's succession ceremony.

One day, as Trevor is on his way to work at Sycamore's lab (it's said that Sycamore won't be in today), a strange ball whooshes past him.

Outside the lab, Trevor meets the three Mega Evolution brothers, who send out and Mega Evolve their Pokemon. While Trevor studies their Pokemon for a research project, he narrates that Tierno is at a dancing festival and Shauna is in a grooming competition, so they're both out of town.

After they finish for the day, they decide to go out for dinner. As they're talking and enjoying their drinks, Cassius sees Trevor and greets him. Trevor asks how things are going, and Cassius says he just got back from yelling at the cops. Emma was being accused of vandalism and Cassius provided an alibi for her.

Cassius takes Trevor and the brothers to the scene of the crime, the Lumiose Museum. The lady behind the counter lets them in and says she'll do whatever she can to help Emma. Turns out she's one of Cassius' old assistants (the one with the spiky mohawk), who has since gotten another job.

The museum is completely trashed. Cassius shows Trevor a photo taken by the security cameras, it featuring Essentia fighting the strange ball from earlier. Trevor asks what the suit from Pokemon Village is doing here, and Cassis says that the Expansion Suit was wrecked from that last battle and was taken by the police, so it should be in the evidence warehouse.

Cassius wonders if there's more than one suit, and Trevor agrees that despite Team Flare being defeated, they still may have supporters with money and power.

Trevor recognizes the ball, and Peche points to a trench in the ground that the ball probably made. Or thinks thinks some of the damage was done by a steel-type move. Trevor takes out Y's Pokedex (she lent it to him for his research), and starts typing in the Pokemon's typing, shape, and color, and an image of Magearna pops up. Trevor reads its entry, how it's an artificial Pokemon made 500 years ago and it's believed to be one of a kind, as well as its full typing, steel and fairy.

Cassius says that they found the culprit, but Trevor reminds him that they still don't know who's in the Expansion Suit and why. Cassius decides that they should stay in the museum since criminals always return to the scene of the crime.

They all head to the security room, where one old security guard is watching the screens. Cassius' assistant leaves, and the guys stare at the monitors until Magearna appears. They all rush out.

Cassius and the brothers all send out their Pokemon, and Magearna unfolds itself. Their Pokemon attack it, and Magearna fights them off easily. Trevor notes that it suddenly stops, however everyone immediately jumps on the chance to finish if off. Trevor blocks their attacks with his own Florges.

Before Trevor can explain why he protected Magearna, it goes back to ball form but also clamps on his arm, rolling away and dragging him with it.

Cassius has no idea what's going on, but then he sees the security guard from before taking a painting off the wall. Cassius asks him what he's doing, but freaks when he sees the electronic E on the guy's face. 'Essentia' promptly dashes out of the museum with the painting.

Magearna drags Trevor outside, and Magearna tries gesturing to him. Trevor wishes there is a way for it to communicate with him, and remembers that he had is Holocaster recording the battle. He projects the recording and then asks why it stopped attacking before. It points to something on the projection, but before Trevor can get a good look, 'Essentia' attacks them, with a Barbaracle out.

Magearna gets ready to attack, but immediately freezes when the Barbarcle holds up the stolen painting like a shield. Barbarcle get a good hit in, so Trevor has his Florges attack Barbarcle before using Vine Whip to grab the painting.

Now that the painting is safe, Magearna fires off a Fleur Cannon that would've killed 'Essentia', had anyone actually been in the suit. Turns out it was empty.

Xerosic, in an interrogation room, talks about the first version of the Expansion Suit that was to be controlled by AI alone. He originally programmed it to look for Xerneas and Yvetal, but he ultimately abandoned it in one of Team Flare's hideouts because Essentia (Emma) was such a success. However, he doesn't know how it reactivated itself. He then goes into a frenzy, theorizing that somehow the AI took its original purpose and updated it into searching for all legendary Pokemon. He begs his interrogator(?) to call a lawyer as his work can be used for great things, that if someone sponsors him, he could be released from jail. (uh...this feels...ominous...)

Emma gets her name cleared, and apparently the painting that Magearna was trying to protect was of its creator. It just wanted to see its creator's face again, and the museum allows it to come whenever it wants just to look at them again.

Trevor says he has to go back to the lab and get ready for an interview. He's going to go to another region to a Trainer's School, and that it's mainly for Delphox's sake.

Cassius remember that after Delphox was liberated from Malva, it still wouldn't listen or open up to any of the Vaniville kids. Trevor states that he found someone who's an expert in 'liberating', and Cassius wants to know what kind of intimidating being could force Delphox to open up. Trevor's replies that it's the opposite, it's someone that Pokemon can't help but to want to look after.

So now we're at the Asperita Trainer's School, and Trevor has set up a video chat with X and Y. Whitley has shown that Delphox has accepted her, and then Trevor asks how Shalour City is doing. X replies that he thinks that reconstruction is starting next month, with Korrina working hard rebuilding the Tower of Mastery.

The conversation that turns to how Gurkinn and Sycamore (are?were?) in the Hoenn region, to further study Mega Evolution.

Y suddenly gets pensive at the mention of Hoenn, then asks X if he moved from there before 'everything' happened. (X is from Hoenn!)

Apparently something in Viola's old reports reminded Y of what happened in Hoenn. Y thinks that maybe because of all the crazy shit that happened in Hoenn in those few days scared so many adults across the world into losing themselves and then supporting Team Flare for a sense of stability...(oh shit!)

#pokemon special #pokespe #this took forever #not going to actually put up the pages #with translations #i got no time for that #and again this was thru google translate

76 notes · View notes

von-der-karibik-nach-hamburg · 25 days

Text

Tag 11 Antigua Teil 2

In St. John’s gibt es nicht viele Sehenswürdigkeiten. Gleich im Anschluss an die Pier befindet sich eine kleine Einkaufsmeile.

Interessant ist vor allem die St. John‘s Kathedrale. Sie steht mit ihren imposanten weißen Zwillingstürmen auf einem fossilisierten Riff. Die Kathedrale wurde 1845 erbaut und ist das dritte Gebäude an der Stelle. Zwei frühere Gebäude wurden 1683 und 1745 durch Erdbeben zerstört. Deshalb hat man sich etwas einzigartiges einfallen lassen. Die komplette Einrichtung in der Kathedrale ist eine Verkleidung aus Pech-kiefer um das Gebäude für Erdbeben und Hurrikans sicherer zu machen. Die äußere Kirche besteht aus feinkörnigem Kalkstein. Daher wird die Kathedrale oft als „Gebäude in einem Gebäude“ (a building within a building) bezeichnet. (Wikipedia)

Immer wieder beeindruckend, wie groß das Schiff ist:

Zurück auf der Pier gab es hier wieder einen kleinen Empfang. Frische, mit kaltem Wasser getränkte Waschlappen (hier kommt niemand schmutzig aufs Schiff🤣), Früchtepunsch mit oder ohne Rum, Bratwurst im Brötchen, Musik:

Die Strandhandtücher konnten auch gleich getauscht werden an einem witzigen „Hinweisschild“:

Das Housekeeping-Team hatte eine Tanz-Choreografie einstudiert und es wurden fleißig Trommeln geschlagen:

Wir verabschieden uns aus der Karibik. Um 18:00 Uhr heißt es wieder „Sail away“. Es liegen 2551 Seemeilen (4724 km) nach Europa vor uns.

3 notes · View notes

hag-o-hags · 2 months

Text

regarding fairy v walrus on your doorstep, ma peche says he's firmly on team fairy because if there WAS a walrus on his doorstep his first thought would be that I was somehow responsible

which I mean like.

yeah all right.

#idk i think wally also needs to be accounted for but only in wales

2 notes · View notes

jessybarnes · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Savior

Pairings: The Winter Soldier x OFC Cadence Michaelson (platonic), Bucky Barnes x OFC Cadence Michaelson (platonic), Bucky Barnes x OFC Jane Michaelson (implied)

Characters: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner/Hulk, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, The Winter Soldier, OFC Jane Michaelson, and OFC Cadence Michaelson

Rating: Mature

Tags: Angst, fluff, Bucky's trigger words, Hydra, weapons, use of a syringe/needle, mentions of killing, anxiety, fear, crying, explicit language, and I think that's it.

Word Count: 2,992

Betas: T. Thompson and A. DiLorenza

Title Card: Yours Truly

A/N: This fic is based on my daughter. She is absolutely obsessed with Bucky and if he were real and this happened to her in real life, she would 100% defend him. I am not fluent in Russian, nor do I trust Google translate to get the words right. I'm sorry if the trigger words aren't spelled correctly. If anyone is Russian or knows the language, please feel free to correct me! I will change it in the fic if need be.

Bucky knew going on this mission was a bad idea. It wasn't a difficult one, but he just had this feeling. A gut instinct told him that he should stay back at the Avenger's Tower. The team needed him though, so despite his bad feeling, he got on the Quinjet with them anyway.

Their objective was simple. Fury needed some Hydra intel about a supposed secret base location. All they had to do was search an old warehouse that had been previously abandoned and see if they'd left behind any clue of where it could be.

Once they arrived the team thought it best to split up so they could cover more ground. Steve and Bucky had gone east, Clint and Natasha chose the north side, Sam and Tony took the larger west side. That left Thor and Bruce with the south end.

Things were fine at first, searching filing cabinets, desks, and boxes while communicating through their comms system. A few minutes later, however, Bucky started to feel uneasy. Almost like he was being watched. He shook it off and told Steve he was going to check the rooms at the end of one of the hallways.

The first two didn't have anything useful, but the third one had a safe. Bucky had set his rifle down on a nearby desk and began pulling at the handle with his metal arm. Everything happened so fast. The door slammed shut, a needle in his neck, and muffled voices was all he remembered before everything went black.

That brings him to where he is now. He's tied to a chair, his metal arm is stuck between two pieces of heavy machinery, and Rumlow sits in front of him with the book. The fucking book ruined his goddamn life.

"Hello, James. It's good to see you again."

Bucky glares at him menacingly, "fuck you, Rumlow."

"Well, that's not very nice. I'm here to do you a favor after all."

Bucky scoffs and continues to try and break free of his bonds. "I'd rather you go to hell!"

Rumlow smirks and leans in close to his face. "You first."

He opens the book and stands up, staring straight at Bucky as he speaks.

Zhelaniye

Bucky grits his teeth and pulls harder on the ropes.

Rjaviy

"No!" He closes his eyes and wills himself not to listen.

Semnadtsať

It wasn't working. Bucky can feel himself slipping away.

Rassvet

"Aghhhh! Stop!"

Pech'

His mind starts to fog over, the evil inside him beginning to rise and take hold again.

Devyať

All he can do is scream. He knows it won't work. He's past the point of no return now.

Dobroserdechnyy

Bucky hangs his head, his chest heaving as the monster gains the upper hand inside him.

Vozvrashcheniye na rodinu

He's fading, like he's in a nightmare where he can see what's going on, but can't control anything.

Odin

The last sliver of himself slowly dissipates, the vile desire to kill flooding through his body.

Tovarnyy vagon

He's gone. Bucky Barnes is pushed to the side as pure evil, the Winter Soldier, takes complete control of his body.

Rumlow walks to stand in front of the soldier, crouching down so he can see the emotionless blue eyes of his weapon. He unties him and raises the metal machinery.

"Soldat?"

Bucky doesn't move, he doesn't even blink, but he answers the Hydra affiliate nonetheless. "Ya gotov otvechet"

His response is deep, very monotone, and he stands staring straight ahead as he waits for his mission instructions.

"Do you see this man?" Rumlow holds up a file with a man's picture on it and Bucky immediately responds. "Da."

"This man has stolen vital information from Hydra, and he needs to be eliminated within the next twelve hours."

The Winter Soldier stalks out of the small room and takes a high-powered gun from one of the guards. His stealthy nature allows him to sneak out of the back without being detected by the Avengers, and within minutes he's on his way back to New York.

Steve is furious. He's pacing back and forth in the common room of the tower chastising himself for allowing this to happen again. Bucky is his best friend. He's been through so much torture, so much pain, and he couldn't even protect him on an easy mission.

"Goddammit!" He slams his fist into the wall, punching right through it, and making everyone else in the room jump.

Natasha stands and walks across the room. "We're gonna get him back, Steve."

He snaps his gaze to hers, "how, Natasha? We don't know where they took him. Hell, he could be in Siberia and we wouldn't know."

Stark cuts in before she can respond. "Actually, you're wrong."

All eyes move to Tony, but he isn't focused on them. Instead, he's typing something into one of his many tech devices.

Clint raises an eyebrow, "care to elaborate?"

A couple of seconds later, he projects a map for all of them to see. "This," he points to a little moving dot, "is Barnes' current location."

"After our last big mission, I took the liberty of putting tracking devices in everyone's gear. I would have tracked him earlier, but I didn't think we'd need the main tracker module for such a small mission. I was wrong. The good news is, it looks like he's right here in Manhattan."

Steve moves to stand in front of the map, watching the tiny, red dot. The moment it stops, he notes the location and grabs his shield.

Bruce steps in front of him holding out a hand. "Whoa, don't you think we should talk about this, Steve? We can't just go into this blind."

"I agree with Banner," Thor adds. "I've definitely learned my lesson from charging into a battle without a plan."

The Captain turns around, giving his team a stern look. "Bucky is my best friend. I was the only one he remotely recognized back when we had the conflict with the Accords. If anyone is going to bring him back, it's me."

Jane pulls her red Chevy Malibu into the gas station parking lot. She and her nine-year-old daughter, Cadence, have been driving for nearly twelve hours now, and they're hungry. Their hotel isn't too far away, but she wants to stock up on snacks for the room since the amenities they provide cost an arm and a leg.

She brought her daughter here for her birthday since it's been the only thing she's asked for over the past eight months. Cadence is a bit more unique than the rest of the kids in her grade. They were all playing outside or watching their favorite cartoons while having sleepovers with their friends.

Not her baby though. No, she spends almost all her time watching the news just to catch a glimpse of her favorite team of superheroes. Almost everything in her room revolves around the Avengers, specifically Captain America and Bucky Barnes. Cadence would often tell Jane that she wants a best friend like Bucky and Steve are to each other.

Jane isn't sure if their tower allows visitors, but they plan to try tomorrow morning. Her baby will be ten in just under eleven hours, and it would make her entire life if she could have a chance to meet her idols.

The gas station is quiet. Other than the cashier, they're the only ones there. Jane walks down one of the back aisles and begins to grab bags of chips. She turns to her daughter and smiles.

"Hey baby, do you wanna go pick out some candy for the room? Pick whatever you want, okay?"

Cadence nods, "Okay, Mommy!"

Even though the candy aisle is on the opposite end of the store, she doesn't think anything of it. It's not that big, and she can still see her while she stocks up on drinks. As she is reaching for a two liter of Coke, all hell breaks loose.

Jane whips around at the sound of the door being ripped off its hinges. She watches in horror as her daughter's idol walks in with an assault rifle. Cadence stands no more than five feet away staring wide-eyed at the super soldier. Jane knows he isn't Bucky, but her baby doesn't. She didn't have the heart to tell her about all the torture James had to go through when he was captured by Hydra.

Now her daughter is mere feet away from the assassin, and she's too scared to even blink for fear of him turning around and shooting her little girl.

Just when Bucky raises the gun at the startled cashier, the rest of the Avengers come barreling through the wall, courtesy of the Hulk, to try and stop him from adding another kill to his list.

"Bucky! Stop!"

Steve shouts at his friend causing him to turn around and narrow his eyes. He doesn't speak, but his intent to kill is evident.

Everyone is armed and ready to strike if James so much as twitches. Jane looks at her daughter and tries to get her attention as quietly as she can, but it's no use. Her baby is laser-focused on the situation, her eyes wide with fear and wonder.

The moment Iron Man raises his hand to fire a beam at James, Jane's worst fear becomes a reality. Everything happens in slow motion as Cadence drops the bag of Skittles she's holding and runs straight into the line of fire.

"No! No, don't hurt him, Iron Man! Don't hurt my Bucky!"

She stops in front of the Winter Soldier and wraps her tiny hands around his waist, burying her face in the front piece of his tactical gear. Everyone stops. It's so quiet that you can hear a pin drop.

Steve, Tony, Sam, Thor, Natasha, Clint, and even the Hulk stand completely still with horrified looks on their faces. Never in the history of their careers has a civilian intervened on any of their missions. Especially not a child. Now they're standing there, trying to come up with a strategy on how to save this tiny little girl from one of the world's most deadly assassins.

Steve is the closest to her. She's probably no more than forty-five pounds and maybe three and a half feet tall. He could probably grab her before she got too injured. He isn't sure that's the right way to go about this though. He gauges Bucky's reaction to try and figure out the best solution.

The Winter Soldier looks down at her, confusion written all over his face. He isn't trained in any interactions other than the ones where he kills. He's mostly confused about what she said. My Bucky. There's that name again, the one that the Steve guy called him on the bridge a few years ago.

"I'm not Bucky."

She looks up into his menacing eyes and hugs him a bit tighter.

"You look like my Bucky. And you talk like him. Did you lose your memory? The tall blonde over there," she points to Steve, "he's your best friend! I think you guys have been friends for like a hundred years or something. My Mommy told me once, but I forgot the story."

Tony speaks up to try and coax her away from the danger she's in. "Hey, sweetheart…Bucky isn't feeling good right now and he needs our help. Can you go hang out with my friend Natasha over there so we can help him?"

Cadence turns around, her arms are spread out and her back presses up against Bucky's legs.

"No! I won't let you hurt him! If you're gonna make him better, then why would you shoot him? That's not how you play with your friends. You don't hurt them. My mommy says friends are supposed to give each other hugs when they're upset. Right, Mommy?"

Everyone, including Bucky, turns their gaze to Jane. She's moved a bit closer now, still too scared to make any sudden movements.

"T-That's right honey," she whispers. "Can you do what Iron Man said and go stand with Black Widow? Please, baby?"

Jane's voice is shaky and she's got tears in her eyes. Bucky picks up on it all. His confusion increases and he's starting to feel different.

His flesh hand is still on the trigger of the rifle, but it's pointed at the floor now. Cadence moves to stand at Bucky's side, and everyone watches in amazement and fear as she grabs his metal hand in hers, holding it tightly.

"I can't, Mommy! Iron Man will hurt him." She starts to cry, thick tears sliding down her tiny cheeks onto her shirt. "I love him, Mommy. I love Bucky and I won't let anyone hurt him because he's a good person. He's just having a bad day, and we all have those."

Bucky squeezes his eyes shut, his head beginning to throb. His breathing pattern changes and then suddenly, he feels the anger leave his body. He looks down at the tiny blonde holding his bionic hand and pries it from her grasp. The movement makes Steve step forward, ready to pull her away from him in an instant. Instead, he and everyone else stare in awe as Bucky gently rubs the back of her head.

All their eyes widen in shock. Sam is the first to move. He folds his wings into his pack and slowly steps forward.

"Buck? Hey, man you good?"

James looks up and drops the gun. He feels lightheaded and quickly falls to his knees. Cadence is now level with his face and she smiles warmly at him.

"It's okay, Bucky. Sometimes superheroes need protecting too."

She snakes her arms around his neck and rests her tiny cheek on his shoulder.

James has never been shown this much compassion by anyone other than Steve. He looks up at Jane, his eyes shining with tears, and gingerly runs his metal hand down Cadence's back.

"Th-Thank you…" His body starts to shake a little as he cries from both the kindness and the relief of knowing he didn't hurt anybody.

Cadence pulls back to look at him and reaches out to wipe his tears with the sleeve of her shirt. "Oh, please don't cry, Bucky. You're too pretty to cry...well, at least that's what my Mommy says."

Jane goes beet red and buries her face in her hands. Bucky glances at her briefly before looking back into her daughter's big, brown eyes.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Cadence Elizabeth Michaelson and my Mommy's name is Jane Marie Michaelson."

James smiles and cradles her cheek with his flesh hand, "I owe you my life, Cadence. If it weren't for you, I don't know if my friends would have been able to bring me back."

Tony crouches down and removes his helmet. "You're a very brave little girl, Cadence. I could use someone like you on the team. When you're older, of course. I'm sure your Mom wouldn't like it if I recruited you now." He winks.

Steve walks over to Jane and looks her over to make sure she's okay.

"Hi, ma'am. I'm sure you know me, but I'm Captain Steve Rogers. I know this might sound a little strange, but do you think you and your daughter would be willing to come back to the tower with us? I'd like to discuss a few things with you if that's alright?"

She nods, "Yes, that's okay. It's actually why we came here anyway. Cadence's birthday is tomorrow and all she's ever wanted since she was two years old was to meet you guys. Especially Bucky. She has always been drawn to him from the start."

Back at the compound, they all gather in the common room. Nat, Bruce, Sam, Thor, and Clint are eating snacks and watching TV, Steve, Tony, and Jane are chatting in the kitchen, and Bucky is sitting on the floor with Cadence. She's on his lap and reading him her favorite book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

"Ms. Michaelson I-"

She interrupts Steve briefly, "please call me Jane."

He smiles, "Jane, I don't think you understand how extraordinary that was. This isn't the first time Bucky has been brainwashed by Hydra, and the last two times we were in a situation like that, things didn't end well. The only way we were able to bring him out of the Winter Soldier mindset was to restrain him and wait it out."

Tony nods, "he's right, ya know. Barnes doesn't trust anyone really. Well, except for red, white, and blue here and maybe Natasha, but he's still not to that point with everyone else."

Steve puts a big hand on Jane's shoulder. "In all the years I've known Buck, he's never let himself be that vulnerable with anyone other than myself. I don't know what it is about your little girl, but she calms his anxiety. I can see it, and that's why I'm asking you if you'd consider staying here for a while? You'd have your own rooms, own bathroom, all new furniture, and whatever else you need."

Jane's eyes go wide, "y-you...you want us to stay here in the tower… with you?"

He nods, "if you're willing to. I don't think Bucky's really ready to let his new best friend go yet. I know it's selfish of me to ask such a thing of you, but I think it would really help him if she's around."

She looks over at her daughter and watches as she and James laugh at something in the story she's reading him. He really does look relaxed, and despite his strength and metal arm, he's being so careful with her. Jane moves her eyes back to look at the two men in front of her. Her decision comes easy, and she doesn't hesitate in giving them a bright smile.

"Alright, we'll stay."

Does anyone want a Part Two? :)

33 notes · View notes