Ice. Ice and the darkness. Ice and the darkness and blood.
That was all Winter's life had been since he could remember. And he remembered nothing before Winter. Nearly nothing at all. Except, there was this...
This Bucky. Who the hell was Bucky? That man, that foolish patriot of a man, had looked at him with near certainty. Bucky. The Captain had thought Winter, the assassin, was somehow this Bucky. Bucky who had caused such regret and pain in that man's eyes that he could only have been a friend. Bucky. Winter thought that name over and over inside his head. But all it brought was headaches. No matter how hard he tried, he did not, for the life of him, know Bucky. When that man had said to him on the Helicarrier something he couldn't forget.
"I'm with you 'til the end of the line."
What had that meant? Winter didn't know that either. But he was determined to think about it until his head exploded. He wanted, he needed, to be somebody. And if that someone was Bucky...so be it. And that was how, on this sunny afternoon, he ended up in the park, sitting on a halfway concealed bench. A Yankees cap covered his eyes, and he wore loose-fitting clothes over his combat gear to appear like he wasn't about to assassinate someone. Not that he was going to, he just didn't want any questions. For instance, Are you that assassin who killed Nick Fury and nearly destroyed the entire city with theHelicarrier?Yes. Definitely no questions. Everyone who passed his bench didn't even look at him. So it was particularly, say, noticeable, when a woman sat down next to him. He stiffened, ready to run. She gave him a slightly unsure smile.
"Bucky? Is that your name?" Winter looked up, still cautious. The stranger wore a striped hoodie and black leggings. Her red hair was clipped at shoulder length, in a straight style. She looked slightly familiar. He was sure he'd seen her before. He created and discarded several replies before answering,
"I don't know."
"I thought that might be the case. I'm Natasha. You might recognize me-"
"The fight. On the street. That was you?"
"Yes. I've been looking for you for a while. I wanted to-"
"If you're about to offer me into SHIELD, I may kill you."
"What? First of all, SHIELD no longer exists, second of all, I would suggest you listen instead of just being pissed off." Winter gave her a surprised look. She had talked back at him. She certainly had guts.
"Well, then, ask away."
"I just thought that after everything that's happened, you might want to know who you are. Or, who you were before Hydra. So, when you're ready, you can find Steve at this address. He'll tell you whatever you want to know." Natasha put a folded piece of paper on the bench between them.
"And who is Steve?" Winter had a feeling he knew, but asked anyways.
"The man you fought on the bridge. Looked like a human flag?"
"Yes. I know."
"Well, then. When you're ready." Natasha stood up and set off down the path away from him. Winter watched her go. Maybe, just maybe...
"Good night, Sam."
"Night, Cap." Steve climbed onto the futon. While his apartment was under repair, he was staying at Wilson's place. Pulling the blanket over him, Rogers stared at the ceiling. No matter how much he'd wished for sleep these past few weeks, it hadn't come. It was Bucky. Images of what used to be his best friend, now some sort of empty assassin, had nearly ripped his heart in two. What had happened to Bucky after that fall from the car? Would he ever remember who he was?
It was no sooner than that thought crossed his mind that the doorbell rang. Steve rose from the makeshift bed, and heard Sam grumbling from his room at the end of the hall. The Captain was the first to the door. He opened it cautiously, thinking it was going to be Natasha or maybe even one of the other Avengers. Who else would be coming here at this hour...? Steve's heart nearly stopped. Wilson, behind him, intelligently stuttered, "Uuuum..." Out on the porch stood a figure in loose clothing. Moonlight glinted off the man's left arm. A Yankee baseball cap was shoved down on top of his slightly unruly hair.
Bucky.
The urge to hug or smile at his best friend hit him like a blow to the face. But he did neither. He didn't want to scare him away. Rogers had no idea what he did and didn't remember. So he waited. Finally, after a silence, the Winter Soldier took a step closer to Steve and looked him in the eye.
"Tell me who I am."