Work Text:
Your POV
You were condemned into being captured by HYDRA. Steve wanted you to get the Winter Soldier. So there you were, in a cell with the Winter Soldier, staring at his stoic-yet-handsome face. Tears ran down your own as you hugged your knees to your chest.
"What's your name?" You asked. You took a shaky breath as the Winter Soldier looked at you with glaring eyes.
"That's the 7th time you've asked. I don't know so stop asking!"
You sob quietly. Part of you felt sorry that Steve had to ask you. Part of you is angry. You knew what HYDRA could do. The Winter Soldier for example. You knew his name. James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. Steve told you that Bucky his childhood friend, who saved him from bullies.
"I-I just." You squeezed your eyes tightly and began shaking. The Winter Soldier looked at you. You could feel his stare as you tried to calm down.
"Whatever. You can take the bed kid. I'll take the floor."
"I'm not a kid. I'm like the same age as you. And just because you're a soldier, doesn't mean you call the shots mister. God I don't know what Steve sees in you." You mumbled the last part as you rested your head on the wall in the corner you'd shifted yourself into. When HYDRA captured you, they beat you up. The Winter Soldier walked over to you to examine your wounds.
"Don't come near me Bucky please!" You choked out. You accidentally slipped up and said 'Bucky'. Either the Winter Soldier didn't hear you, or he didn't care, because he kept coming.
"Shhhhh. Clam down, would you? I saw how they treated you and I want to see if you're okay. I am spending my time in a cell with you." He moved your hands, and softly began looking for wounds. When he got to the bruise on your head, you whimpered. "Sorry, sorry." He tucked a piece of your hair behind your ear.
Bucky's POV
"Sorry, sorry." I mumbled. The girl in front of me seemed so fragile. I tucked a piece of her (h/c) hair behind her ear. She looked up at me with big (e/c) eyes that had tears. I somehow was regaining my humanity. "You mentioned someone named Steve. Who's he?" I asked softly.
"He's one of my best friends. I'm kind of mad at him though." She said.
"Why are you mad?"
"Well, he pressured me into getting captured so they could infiltrate to get you." She said, frowning. She was still shaking so i got her the blanket.
"You obviously know my name, despite you asking. What's yours?" I asked as I wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.
"(Y/n) (Y/ln)" She said. I breathed out. It was such a pretty name. "When do I leave?" She said out loud.
"Whenever Steve gets here." I said.
"Will you hold me Bucky?" She asked. I froze, unsure what to do. I didn't really know this girl, just her name. I thought about HYDRA. Things would not go well if I did.
"I can't." I said gruffly. I backed away from her, as far as i could get. It didn't feel far enough, because everything in me wanted to have said 'yes' instead. (Y/n) pushes herself impossibly closer into the wall. I rub my fingers together. The touch of her hair. Faint but enough for me to know it's soft. i want to touch it again. maybe if this Steve person really comes for her, and for me, that i'll be able to touch her hair again. but i cant now. i can't let HYDRA know that i can feel again. if they know, it's game over for me.
Your POV
The Winter Soldier finally fell asleep. you could get a good look at his arm. Steve had said something about the arm to you before. You struggled trying to figure out what it was. Steve crammed a lot of information into your brain in not enough time for you to fully absorb It. you frown to yourself and tried again. Then it came to you. The war. It seemed Bucky lost it when he fell from the train. You remember the way Steve's face scrunched up in pain when telling you the story.
"What do you remember?" You asked him. The Winter Soldier wouldn't meet your eye. You wanted to know what exact shade of blue they were, when they weren't dark and glaring.
"Nothing. Protocols. Nothing." He said, almost whispering the second 'nothing'. You opened your mouth to say something in return, but you were never able to. An alarm started going off. You leapt to your feet and gripped the bars so tightly your knuckles turned white. You began shaking the door until a familiar face appeared in front of you. one of the guards that had been stationed on your block many times before. he gave you an amused grin before unlocking the door.
"Quickly you two." The guard said. he motioned for the two of you to follow him down the corridor. Without thinking, you grabbed the Winter Soldier's wrist and dragged him after you. On the run, the guard told you that Steve and the others had a jet waiting for you on the south side of the compound. You did your best to remember the rest of the route the guard described.
"I know the way." The Winter Soldier said. You grinned at him and let go of his arm. You motioned at him to silently say 'lead the way.' This time, he grabbed your wrist and pulled you after him. you watched the way his hair swished in the breeze running created. you almost tripped a couple of times watching the way his back muscles moved.
Eventually, you both made it outside of the compound. true to the guard's word, one of the quinjets was waiting with the ramp down. you grinned once more as the Winter Soldier inadvertenly rescued you from HYDRA (alongside himself).