A/N: Hey guys! Thank you for your kind words and I'm very glad that I'm destroying you all with epic feels :) Sorry for taking long with this chapter. If future updates take longer that's because I got my first job this week but don't worry! This story will get its necessary attention. Enjoy and keep those reviews coming! BTW: any couple names in mind?
The soldier sat stoically in the chair as the mechanics repaired his arm. His partner was just getting her mobile from their room, soon to return. Ignoring the sparking, incessant vibrations and tinkering gears filling his senses, his mind wandered. Flashbacks played over and over again. He was unaware of his erratic movements, not bothering to notice one of the engineers lying on the ground unconscious. Armed weapons pointing at him from all directions did nothing to bring him back to reality as he only focused on trying to put the pieces back together. Where was Kennedy? He came to the revelation that her presence made things bearable. She prevented his mind from returning to its chaotic hell. What was taking her so long?
Pierce decided that now was the time for the mind sweep experiment. How was the soldier to respond to her, if he did or didn't remember her? If the behavioural doctor's assumptions were proven right, then his memories of her would remain intact. By the level of attachment, he was bound to remember her. Pierce entered the bank vault, flanked by the leading strike team, including Rumlow and individuals from "SHIELD". The men lowered their guns on command.
"Mission report," Pierce's voice did not evoke any response from the soldier. Their asset simply stared into space with a blank and dead expression as he dealt with the images surging through his destroyed mind. Pierce repeated himself which he despised doing, once again receiving no response from the soldier. He discreetly motioned to the guard to bring in his witty companion. Crouching down to his level, Pierce backhanded him, causing the soldier's head to whip to the other side, his cheek stinging slightly. He knew he had to get answers now.
"There was a man on the bridge. Who was he?" he asked. Pierce had a feeling this was going to happen which made his plans even more credible.
"You met him earlier this week on another assignment." The soldier wanted to snap his neck for dodging the truth.
"I knew him." The soldier's tone was absolute. Pierce did his best to explain the gravity of the situation, his importance to this world. But the soldier wouldn't take it. Instead he answered,
"But I knew him." Moments later Kennedy entered the room, escorted by Pierce's guards. Her gaze immediately fell upon Grumpy, her expression one of confusion and unease. The soldier sat up when he saw her, his eyes asking her the same thing. He also didn't like the guard being so close to her. He observed how the man had his hand absently on his gun.
"Hm. I see Miss Walsh has rubbed off on you during your time together. Prep him." His stomach dropped. No, no, no, no! He couldn't forget everything. Not the man and most importantly not her. He couldn't lose her. He breathed heavily in panic. The doctors pushed him into the seat and strapped him down like an animal ready to be slaughtered. "No," Kennedy breathed as her eyes widened with fear. Her heart beat ferociously in her chest, each thud against her ribcage increasing in volume. She made a desperate attempt to push past the HYDRA agents restraining her, but she remained unsuccessful.
"NO!" she exclaimed in panic. "What are you going to do to him?! Let him go, you bastards. I'll kill all of you!" she screamed, clawing at the arms of her captors, relentless in her attempt at freeing herself from their strong hold so she could get to her Grumpy. The soldier's eyes widened and he vehemently shook his head when his eyes met hers. The greatest part of their relationship was that talking and speech was not paramount for communication. It was all in the eyes. Eyes held all the emotions one could express to a person. They held anger, care, concern; he revealed all his thoughts to her through his tumultuous blue orbs. She knew what they were telling her; 'stop', 'don't do this', 'no one can know about you', 'be safe for the both of us'. The tears she was fighting back broke loose and began cascading down her rosy cheeks. The soldier gave her another look; 'be strong', 'finish everything'. She tried her best to hold back a sob, instead releasing it in a shaky breath. The soldier passively opened his mouth for the doctor to place the mouth guard. Pierce stared at his asset unsympathetically as the machine turned on.
The soldier was not created to feel fear, but that didn't prevent him from breathing heavily in anticipation of the pain. His eyes held hers throughout. 'I will not forget! She is your mission, soldier. You will not fail her!' Kennedy urgently struggled against the agent that held her back, her eyes never leaving Grumpy's. Volts upon volts of electricity fired through his being, causing him to shake against his restraints. He let out an agonizing cry which echoed throughout the vault in a crescendo with the blood-curdling scream of his companion. Then he started to forget little things, the most trivial things, waking up in the morning, what he ate for breakfast. All the while he watched her, his body writhing in pain, and his eyes desperately holding onto hers in an attempt to remain strong.
Pierce departed this "touching" moment between his two favourite operatives, trying to hold back a smirk. 'The outcome of this test is going to be very interesting,' he thought.
The torture continued for another few minutes. Kennedy eventually stopped struggling, wanting to wretch upon the bank vault floor. How could she be so stupid? They've been erasing his memories all along. She thought it was extreme PTSD that he was dealing with but rather it was a literally damaged brain structure. She realized that she knew nothing about him or how HYDRA came by him. Who was he before? She was so wrapped up in Tesla's creation that she didn't even think to find out about him. She was a bitch, selfish and undeserving of anyone and everything. Now he wouldn't remember her. Maybe it was for the best. She didn't deserve him. Maybe it was best to send her back to prison.
The procedure ended and the atmosphere of the room was tense with the doctors' and strike team's caution and anxiety. The soldier's erratic breathing slowed as the machine powered down. His eyes opened and closed in exhaustion and as they finally decided to remain open he took in the room. The doctor with a bow tie hovered over him hesitantly. The soldier's metallic arm shot out and had a windpipe in a tight grip. The strike team immediately raised their guns; the one holding Kennedy pushed her roughly to the floor. The soldier noted this movement and his eyes fell on her.
Kennedy's heart broke. Grumpy didn't recognize her. His eyes looked at her coldly which then transformed into confusion and searching almost instantaneously. She could not move. She wasn't sure what he was going to do, but she wasn't afraid. No matter what, he was still her friend; her protector. He glared at the doctor and threw him to the ground, making him crawl away quickly. The soldier shakenly stood up from the chair and made his way to her. Slightly wobbling, he collapsed onto his knees before her. Neither said anything, both trying to assess each other.
The soldier knew her. He vaguely placed a strange name to her soft face. Something with a K? He remembered that it sounded a bit odd. Her eyes; they were kind, somewhat mischievous. White hair; looking strange and soft. He slowly reached out to touch the strands of hair on her face and felt her quiver slightly. 'Was she afraid?' he thought. He didn't want her to be. She was important; a mission. Was she his friend? He didn't even have any friends.
Images flickered before him. She was sitting on the floor, the two of them near a punching bag, she stared vacantly into space as he tried to talk to her and…she saved him. With a special gift that was their secret. Their secret.
The unearthly girl uncertainly reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver object; a large coin. She tremblingly held it out for him to take. His fingers slowly brushed along its cool metal surface and as if instinctively, he placed it on his knuckles and it rolled between his fingers. She began to smile.
"Grumpy?" she asked softly. She always called him that. Kennedy. Her name was Kennedy; his mission. His very special mission. He didn't forget.
The group assembled in the room and watched the remarkable scene unfold before them. In the darkness, at the back of the room, Pierce smirked. So the soldier did remember and rather quickly, he added. This was one step closer; closer to the perfect soldier and a perfect world. It was a win- win, and HYDRA always won.
The soldier's memory began to restore itself as he and Kennedy retired to their room. He saw their joined beds and remembered their conversations, their little attempts to make the situation better. His eyes searched the room and remembered her latest creation. He reminisced in the desire to keep her safe, away from here. He didn't bother to look because of the cameras and remembered a duffle bag under the floor. Their getaway on PROJECT INSIGHT day. Midnight for 60 seconds he prepared. Kennedy sat on her bed and ran a hand through her white hair. The soldier didn't like that she was stressed over him. He sat on the bed next to her and waited for her to say something.
"I should have known what they were doing to you. I thought you had amnesia from a previous experience, but I didn't know they were inducing it all this time. I was so caught up with Tesla that I didn't even…" she started to blame herself and the soldier wouldn't have it.
"There was nothing that you could have done," he cut her off immediately. To be honest, he didn't even consider her trying to get information on his past. It would put her in danger. He gazed at her with a bit of an edge on his eyes. She knew that he disliked it when she took on everything, the blame, the pressure. She knew that he was bothered by it. Why couldn't she see that it wasn't her fault?
Kennedy mentally slapped herself to get it together. Self-loathing and blame was getting them nowhere. She decided to find out the truth. Her finger brushed against the mobile next to her on the bed, asking Tesla for a favour.
As they spoke quietly and in comfortable pauses and intervals, Tesla speedily and unknowingly slipped through HYDRA's firewall and acquired some interesting information. 'Important to admin,' he thought. Anything important to his admin was crucial. Files were copied, one by one and passed through facial recognition. A 100% match corresponded with camera images from earlier on in the week, when the soldier was speaking with his admin. A file popped up with a CONFIDENTIAL tag to it. The file was under the name: JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES. Admin needed to see this.