Disclaimer: Captain America: The Winter Soldier film and characters and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show and characters are owned by Marvel. I claim nothing besides my genius.

SPOILERS: This story is set after CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER and MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D episode "Turn, turn, turn..."

Published April 19, 2014. I call this pairing between The Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) & Jemma Simmons "WINTERJEM"

~A WinterJem Story~

Stay

Chapter 1

"All along it was a fever

A cold sweat hot-headed believer

I threw my hands in the air, said, "Show me something,"

He said, "If you dare come a little closer."

-Stay by Rihanna

"Who are you?"

She startled at the sound of a voice. Low… definitely male, and now, that she'd been left alone with nothing but a plate to protect her, she dreaded turning to face the man behind her. There was something ominous about his tone. Simmons looked over her shoulder, the room was small and dark. There in the corner was an imposing figure. A face peered out of the shadows at her, a man was sitting at a small kitchen table. A man with a metal arm… And all of a sudden she realized who she was serving… The Winter Soldier.

The Winter Soldier. She'd glimpsed his file once by accident. A file that was on Coulson's desk, well in Coulson's desk actually. She and Fitz had stumbled upon it while

they were searching for any information about GH.325, the drug that had brought both Coulson and Skye back to life and sped up their recovery time. She hadn't read

much of it… just enough to know this was top security info clearly not meant for her eyes. And that he was a master assassin, a Hydra enemy that Captain America

had fought but had never defeated. This in itself was enough to make her recoil. As she stared at him in sudden shock. She felt the blood going cold in her veins. She

wondered how much of this horror was registering on her face… how obvious it would be to him that she recognized him? She had to come up with something quick.

Some completely snappy answer…

"Uh… I, am … Jemma. I uh, work here." She said, because at this moment it seemed a safer thing to say than, "I'm a prisoner here. Please don't hurt me."

He glanced down at the plate in her hands, and then back up at her. "I've never seen you before."

"Oh right… um…" She placed the plate of food down on the table before him. "I'm new."

He stared at her for a long time before he spoke again, "Join me." He motioned for her to sit down.

Now she panicked. What in the world was she going to say to him? What if he found out she was actually a captured S.H.I.E.L.D. operative? She had to get out of here and back to her cell, it was at least devoid of assassins- she needed a good lie.

"My boss wouldn't like that." She turned and headed toward the door, pounding on it.

There was absolute silence as she waited for someone to open up. The Winter Soldier apparently hadn't moved. He made no sound.

Jemma snatched a look at him out the corner of her eye. He was regarding his dinner almost sadly, slowly sawing away at the steak with a knife. There was still no sound at the door, where were those Hydra agents? What was taking them so long? They'd certainly never cut it working with Coulson. She tapped her foot anxiously, and then finally after a couple minutes pounded on the door again, something she really didn't want to do in front of this assassin. She really couldn't look more desperate to escape him if she tried.

"Why don't you open the door yourself?"

She bit her lip and folded her arms. Folding her arms would certainly keep him at bay if he decided to kill her now. "I lost my key."

"I lost mine too." His eyes met hers knowingly.

She hugged herself tighter with her folded arms. Why in heaven's name had she thought Hydra would come and let her out just because she wanted to leave? Why had they even shoved her in with him to begin with? What possible outcome had they envisioned? They were Hydra after all, if they had wanted her dead they didn't need a master assassin to do it for them.

He nudged the empty kitchen chair beside him, "Chair's still available."

"Be brave," she told herself and forced herself to move across the room and sit down in that very chair, beside him. Beside The Winter Soldier.

"Do you want something to eat?" He asked meeting her eyes once again. He was so calm, she didn't think she'd ever met anyone so calm before.

She, on the other hand, was about to have an anxiety attack. "I… I don't have a plate." She also had no idea how she was going to choke down a steak and mashed potatoes while attempting polite conversation with Captain America's enemy.

He slid his plate in front of her, stabbing a large piece of the steak with a knife and taking it for himself.

"Oh." She now had his entire dinner in front of her. She was more than a little surprised at this bit of gallantry. "No, I can't take your food… that wouldn't be polite…"

"Take it."

She really didn't want it. She was too terrified to eat, but she lifted up the fork that came with it and managed a weak smile, "well then, thank you. Very kind of you…" Jemma toyed with the mashed potato and took a tiny amount of it on the tines and nibbled on it. When she turned to him again, she found him watching her intently, the most serious expression on his face.

"You haven't been here long," he said.

"Nope," she faked a smile.

"Who are you again?"

"Jemma… Simmons. Just Jemma really, no one calls me Jemma Simmons." Oh my God, why did I just say that? I'm a complete idiot. If Skye were here… He was still staring at her. Why was he staring? Couldn't he even crack a smile? He was going to figure out she was a prisoner and she was going to die, she was certain of it.

And then she noticed he hadn't touched the steak he'd rescued from his plate, it was just dangling off the end of the knife he was still holding in his metal hand. "Aren't you going to eat that?"

He looked in the direction she was pointing, his mannerism seemed slowed, delayed. He was definitely not a multitasker. Apparently he wanted to keep up this dinner ruse as well because he ripped a chunk of the meat from the blade and began to chew.

"So," she said not really sure where she was going with this, "do you always dine with the hired help?"

"Are you making fun of me?"

She choked, "No." Dear God no! "No, not at all. I'm just… terrible with small talk."

He seemed satisfied with this answer and gazed out into the distance, lost perhaps in his own world, and then he said, "I just wanted someone to talk to."

Not really the answer she was expecting. She lowered her silverware slightly, mirroring her defenses. "Well, there's a whole company outside your door, why don't you just go outside and talk to someone?"

His eyes were suddenly riveted to hers, "No key. Why don't you go outside?"

"Misplaced it," she said nervously, she thought they'd gotten past this. "Why don't you have a key?"

"Don't know."

"What? How can you not know?" Her curiosity made her bold.

"I just don't." His voice was gruff. He looked away, his long dark hair hiding his face momentarily.

She brushed through the mashed potatoes with her fork, combing it into spirals as if it she was raking the sand of a rock garden.

"What do you do here?"

"I'm a bio-chemi- er, kitchen help… I did study bio-chemistry at University though. Always wanted to go into that… yep… ah, yeah."

"Kitchen help?"

She pointed at the plate. "Kitchen help."

He studied her for a moment. "Is that what they wear in kitchens these days?"

Simmons glanced down at her blouse, slacks and flats. "Um… yes?"

"I don't think anyone from the kitchen has ever been in to bring me my dinner before."

She brought the napkin to her lips slowly, attempting to buy herself a little time before she had to come up with some intelligent sounding retort. "Oh no?" And that's what she managed. She cursed herself inwardly.

"No."

"Ah well, new… management."

He set the remainder of his steak down on the table with his metal hand, as he set his right elbow on the table leaning in toward her, a smirk on his lips. "Really?"

Simmons exhaled nervously. He was gazing into her eyes, and she found herself feeling a bit like a bug about to be pinned. There was no way he believed what she was saying… he was smiling though, so there was that. She had no idea if that meant he was genuinely enjoying their conversation or if he was thinking of doing her bodily harm because she was lying.

"Your eyes are so blue," she said. She had no idea why she'd said it. It was, of course, on her mind, he was looking right into her eyes.

His brow furrowed briefly, and his smile slipped. "What?"

"Um… nothing." Maybe she could palm her fork, it was the sharpest item she had lying around… "Just couldn't help but notice. You were staring," her words trailed off.

His jaw tightened. A muscle tensed and then released. The Winter Soldier lowered his eyes and then lifted them again to address her. His face seemed sort of agonized, perhaps even embarrassed. "I don't get many guests."

She nodded. "Ah… and you're stuck with my stunningly witty repartee. I'm sorry."

"Believe me, you're the best conversation I've had in a long time."

"Oh, now I'm truly sorry."

The door opened unexpectedly, and three Hydra guards clambered in.

Simmons turned, frightened. Unsure of what was coming next.

The Winter Soldier was on his feet, "What is it?"

One of them turned to him, "You're wanted at a briefing."

Another guard grabbed her roughly and practically lifted her out of her chair, "C'mon."

"I'm coming, I'm coming. You don't have to be such a brute you know."

The first guard, who had been speaking to The Winter Soldier, turned to her. "Take her back to her cell."

The Winter Soldier, now standing, taller than her, and much more imposing, called after her as she was being escorted out, "Hired help?"

"All right yes, I was lying about that."

"I know."

Discography:

"Stay" by Rihanna

"My Turn to Evil" by Letters vs. Numbers

"Weeping Willow" by The Verve

"Darkest Days" Album by Stabbing Westward (specifically "Drowning")

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Soundtrack