Work Text:
The information was incomplete. No, it was wrong. There was nothing in the brief about all these guards, nor was there anything about a bomb buried underneath the building that caused said building to come crashing down on you and the Asset.
"Shit," you cough as the dust settles, wincing as you try to move your left shoulder. One look told you it had been dislocated on top of the numerous deep gashes that were bleeding profusely, and you bite back a groan. There goes your favoured arm, useless in a fight unless you wanted to feel nothing but white hot pain. Glancing around, your keen eyes search for the Asset amidst the light grey rubble and your ears pick up unfamiliar footsteps.
Your powers activate instinctively, golden afterimages of a guard appearing on your left. The moment you deactivate your powers, you duck behind the wall next to you, picking up a loose piece of rubble. The weight is less than you'd like, but it'll serve its purpose. One throw is all it takes and the guard falls to the ground, crimson staining his temple.
The world starts spinning and your head throbs, reminding you of the blood you're losing and you grimace. Slicing the guard's clothes into strips of cloth with his knife, you bandage the deep gash in your thigh, then force yourself to walk and find the Asset. You need to know if he's still alive and confirm his condition, hopefully Hydra hasn't just lost one of their best assassins to wrong information. You'll kill whoever was in charge of gathering information for this mission, if you make it back.
Laboured breathing sounds from behind a pile of rubble and you move towards it, your nose twitching at the familiar scent laden with the heavy metallic tang of blood. The Asset is leaning heavily against the flat vertical surface, covered in blood and dust. His light blue eyes are unfocused and there's a worrying dark patch on his right side.
"Soldat," you rasp and his gaze flicks to your direction. You check him over, frowning when you realise how badly injured he is. Multiple lacerations and broken ribs. Fortunately, none of the injuries are lethal but you can see him slipping away.
"Stay with me, soldat," you hiss sharply and his eyes snap back open. He opens his mouth to speak but you quickly hush him, shaking your head. "Save your strength. Backup will be here soon."
You'd sent a quick message to base the moment you'd caught a whiff of the trap, moments before everything blew up and right now you were hoping Hydra had mobilised immediately after receiving your message. The Asset wasn't going to last long in his condition, and you weren't going to last that much longer either.
Slumping against the wall, you seat yourself next to him, keeping watch. You feel his gaze on you and turn back to look at him. His brown hair sticks to his face, glued there by his own blood and you can see panic start to set in his eyes. The adrenaline must have worn off, and you can hear the sound of his heartbeat quicken.
"It's alright, soldat. We will both survive, I promise." The words feel heavy on your tongue but you choose to believe them. You give his metal hand a squeeze, wondering if he can feel it and his fingers curl, intertwining with yours. You take it as a sign that he can feel it and give him a small smile.
"We are survivors, and we can't kill the bastard who gave us the wrong information if we're dead." You wonder if the thought of vengeance motivates him, sometimes he seems more machine than human, but it's probably the way Hydra made him to be, like how they made you to be both an heir and a weapon. Maybe they wanted a weapon that was both machine and human, able to follow orders but still able to think on the spot when things went wrong. Whatever it was they wanted from him, they had definitely gotten it or he wouldn't be here with you on this high priority mission. He probably wouldn't be alive either.
You see confusion in his eyes, then remember that not everyone has the authority to just kill whoever they want. You're one of the rare individuals who can, but there are still a few who outrank you. Still, you can just kill any member of Hydra minusing the ones who outrank you, no questions asked. Eyebrows would be raised, but more often than not you always had a good reason for it. Abusing this power would only weaken Hydra, and you weren't about to do that to the organisation that had taken you in as an orphaned child.
"They can't come after you if I gave the green light," you huff. "Don't worry about it, no one will question us."
Confusion changes to understanding, then to concern. He gestures towards your left shoulder and you snort, amused.
"I don't need both arms to kill them."
He gives a small shake of his head and gestures again. Then you realise what he's pointing at — the red dot that is moving towards your heart. Another red dot appears, this time settling over the Asset's chest.
"Down!" You pull him down, forcing your powers to kick in despite your body's protest. Time stops as your eyes turn golden and you quickly scan for the two snipers. One to the north and one to the south. Great. You can probably kill the one in the north, the knife next to you should do the trick, but the one in the south, that's the problem. You and the Asset are badly injured, running for cover isn't feasible. Maybe you could —
Pain floods your body and your powers deactivate, leaving you a woozy bloody mess. The Asset throws the knife with a surprising amount of strength and it hits its target just as he moves, shielding you with his own body. The sound of a rifle firing rings through the air and you concentrate, eyes turning golden as your nose bleeds and your head pounds.
You've been through worse, you can do this.
You see the bullet in the air. One chance. Let go when you're ready, just like you've practiced a million times before, except that this is going to decide whether you and the Asset live or die. In the past it's always only been your life on the line, this time there's his, and you aren't about to let him die after getting him to join your crusade against the one responsible for the wrong information.
You let go, using all the strength that remains in your body to move both yourself and the Asset out of the bullet's path. He grunts in surprise, wrapping his arms around you to stabilise himself and you both hit the floor, eliciting hisses of pain.
You can feel the stickiness of blood flowing from your nose, the myriad of colours that is a sure sign you're about to pass out when another gun fires, accompanied by the sound of a van.
"Kill the bastard." The Asset's voice is soft, laced with pain but your ears pick it up all the same. You attempt a smile, feeling your grip on him slacken as your body begins to shut down and he shakes you, lips moving to form words you can't quite make out as the darkness swallows you whole.
Ah, dammit.
When you next open your eyes, the sharp scent of chemicals stings your nose and you find yourself blinded by bright lights. Your whole body hurts, but after the ordeal you just endured you expect nothing less. Once your eyes have adjusted, you realise you're in a medical facility. Bandages have been wrapped around all your wounds, and your left shoulder doesn't feel dislocated anymore.
The Asset.
You move, forcing your body to leave the cot and nearly fall over in the attempt to take a step. Exhaling deeply, you slowly make your way to the door, only to get stopped by a medical staff who panics when they see you up and about.
"You're far from cleared to be moving around!" The doctor hastily ushers you back to your cot, no doubt afraid that his life is on the line should anything happen to you while you're in his care.
"The. Asset." You rasp, coughing when the dryness of your throat hits.
"The Asset's condition is stable. It will be cleared for duty in a week." The doctor hands you a cup of water which you take with your less aching arm. After gulping it down so fast you nearly choke, you grip onto the doctor's sleeve as he leaves, pulling him towards you with whatever strength you have.
"He. I need to see him." You fix the doctor with a glare. "Now."
"With all due respect, Hunter, you're in no condition to go anywhere."
"With all due respect, doctor, I'm in a good enough condition to kill you where you stand."
The doctor's lips move to mouth the words 'I doubt it' but relents, helping you make your arduous journey to where the Asset is being treated. You don't miss the look of irritation that crosses his face, but decide to brush it off this time.
The Asset is awake, lying in his own cot and his bright blue gaze flicks over to meet yours when you enter the room. You take a seat next to his cot, checking him over and let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. He'll be alright, thankfully. You're both alive and recovering.
"Any lasting injuries?" You demand.
"None, save for a few scars on his side and back." The doctor scowls at you. Ignoring him, you turn your attention back to the Asset.
"When we're both recovered enough to move on our own, we'll kill the bastard together. They won't get away."
He blinks, then nods. You manage a grin, then push yourself to your feet.
"I look forward to working with you more often, Winter Soldier. You make a good mission partner."
It's the best compliment you're ever going to give, and you rarely give compliments in the first place. Something warm flickers inside your chest, a sensation that's both foreign and familiar at the same time. It's a weird feeling, but for some reason it's comforting. You've felt this way before, you're sure of it, yet your mind is only drawing blanks when you try to recall when this feeling last occurred.
When you look back before you leave the room, your eyes meet his, and the warmth grows a little. He'd saved you on that mission, and you'd saved him, maybe that was what this warmth was all about. You'd heard soldiers talk about bonds forged in battle before, perhaps that is what the warm feeling is.
A bond, forged in a near death situation.
A bond, soon to be deepened by the shared kill of the bastard who gave the wrong information and nearly got the both of you killed.
A bond, that would last you both a lifetime.