Anyone Else
Chapter One
SHIELD Agent Helen Turner swore under her breath as she bent to pick up the keys she dropped at her locked apartment door. Before she could pick them up, the soft jingle of her key ring made her straighten back up. She blinked at the man standing beside her, not sure how he could've gotten so close to her without her noticing. He held her keys out to her, and she cautiously took them from his hand. She'd been seeing him in the building on and off for the last six months.
"Thanks." She murmured, taking note of his leather gloves. Odd to wear in such nice weather. Although, the wind could be bitter in Brooklyn, even when the sun was shining.
The mysterious dark haired man nodded, the ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and realization hit Helen like a ton of bricks. He'd shoved his hands in his pockets, but she caught the glint of metal at his left wrist between his jacket sleeve and his pocket. This must be the infamous James "Bucky" Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier. She knew he had come to New York after the battle for Earth. She just hadn't realized he'd come to Brooklyn.
"A-are you hungry?" Helen offered, inserting the key into the lock and giving it a twist. "I-I'm about to make dinner and I always make too much so…" She turned to look at the man still somehow miraculously beside her. He was eyeing her carefully, lips set in a grim line. He didn't say anything, he just squinted a little.
Bucky wasn't sure what to do with his neighbors' proposition. On one hand she was incredibly beautiful; blonde and curvy, with a knockout set of beaming bedroom eyes. On the other, she set off all kinds of alarm bells in his military trained head. He was sure he'd seen her before, but was having trouble placing her outside of the apartment building at the moment. Just that morning he'd held the building door for her when a shower suddenly popped up, noting how her sports bra pleasantly clung to her chest.
Helen eased open her apartment door and stepped inside, leaving the door open for him. She set her grocery bags down on the kitchen counter and slipped off her sneakers. "Can I get you something to drink?" Helen asked, peering into her fridge and plucking out a couple of beers. She shut the door with her hip and turned to find Bucky still standing in the doorframe. She raised a bottle to him and he stepped forward, letting the door fall shut.
Helen smirked and twisted off the caps. After tossing them into the bin, she padded across the linoleum and handed him a bottle. "Cheers," She murmured, clinking the neck of her bottle with his.
Bucky nodded, his smirk deepening a little. "Cheers." He echoed, taking a swig.
"Helen." She spoke softly, offering her hand.
Bucky's lips twitched. The name suited her well. "Bucky," He answered, taking her hand. He immediately noticed the strength of her grip. He resisted the urge to pull her closer to him and released her hand.
Helen reached around him and threw the deadbolt. "This is Brooklyn, after all." She teased, flashing him a smile. She hung up her keys on a hook by the door and then spun around and returned to the kitchen.
Bucky took a few more steps into the apartment, taking note of how neat and clean the space was. The living room was decorated well, modern leather furniture with a flat screen TV. The kitchen was clean, and it looked like the cabinets had been recently painted. He picked up a framed photograph sitting on a small side table. The picture looked old, but with today's Instagram filters looks could definitely be deceiving. The picture was of Helen and a rather dashingly handsome soldier. From the flashes on the man's uniform, he appeared to be a WWII veteran. He realized Helen was also in uniform, a nurse's uniform. He supposed the picture could be of her grandparents, or maybe a costume party for Halloween. He knew people went to and enjoyed those types of things.
Bucky set the picture down, trying to contain his panic. How could she be in a photograph like that? "What's on the menu?" He asked, casually leaning on the edge of the kitchen counter to take a swig of beer, watching her empty her grocery bags into the fridge.
"I was thinking some comfort food would be nice." Helen explained, setting a pan in the sink to fill with water. "How about some goulash? I use an old family recipe and give it a little twist." She rummaged in a cabinet for some elbow macaroni.
Bucky set down his beer and caught a stray jar of dried parsley as it fell off the shelf over Helen's shoulder. "Easy there, doll."
Helen swallowed hard at his sudden nearness, reaching gingerly between them to take the jar. "Thank you." She murmured, feeling her cheeks flush.
Bucky flashed her a good natured grin and took a step back, leaning against the counter again to continue drinking his beer. He was encouraged to see the chemistry crackling between them wasn't lost on her. She seemed interested in exploring their options, probably why she'd invited him inside her apartment in the first place.
Helen closed the cabinet and returned to gathering the ingredients for the dish.
"Anything I can do?" Bucky offered, setting his half drunk beer down on the counter, shoving his hands in his pockets again.
Helen looked up from the pan of water she set on the stovetop to boil. "Are you serious?" She scoffed, giving the pot a generous dash of salt. "You goin' ta cut vegetables in leather, eh?" Kinky, she thought, knowing why he wore them, but not sure how to tell him she knew without giving away her identity just yet.
Bucky glanced down at his leather gloves. He wore them so often that he really didn't think about it much anymore. "That a problem?" He countered, taking the knife she handed him. Her thick Brooklyn accent was doing silly things to his insides.
Helen just raised an eyebrow. "You could take your coat off too," She motioned to the hooks across the room next to the front door "Stay awhile."
Bucky thought for a moment, setting the knife down the countertop. There was definitely something different about this woman. He just wasn't sure about revealing himself in that way. As much as he didn't care that people knew he had a metal arm, he usually didn't lead with that when he was looking for a woman's intimate company. Is that what he was really looking for here? He'd heard a rumor of a woman super soldier also made by Hydra during his brief sabbatical in Wakanda. Shuri had spoken like the woman was a unicorn, hard to spot and even harder to capture the attention of. The outlandish rumor was that her brainwashing had been cut short by an attack by Steve as Captain America. She'd gone into hiding and SHIELD had tried to recover her mind to no avail.
The woman before him, softly humming to herself in the dimly lit kitchen did not seem like a super soldier with a mind that had been ripped to shreds by Hydra. Maybe SHIELD had success in putting her mind back together after all. The picture on her side table popped up in his mind as she looked over at him, her green eyes dancing with amusement. He'd bet his next meal that this was the same woman in that photo. In all his years, eyes never lied. She looked back at the pan she was browning some ground beef in and he exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
You don't trust anyone the words of his therapist ran annoyingly through his mind. Instead of just shrugging off the words, he took a deep breath and slipped off his gloves, placing them in his jacket pocket. Next, he unzipped his jacket and slid it off his shoulders, exiting the kitchen to hang it on one of the hooks beside the door. He swallowed and turned around to face Helen, who'd set out a cutting board with some peppers and onions for him to dice.
"Feel better?" Helen asked, looking him in the eyes, not ogling his arm at all. He nodded, coming back into the kitchen. He'd worn a short sleeve shirt under his jacket that morning because he never planned on taking the thing off in public. "Good." She smiled, turning a little to check the pasta.
Bucky washed his hands and then busied himself with chopping up the vegetables in a fine dice, trying to ignore the fact that she hadn't even flinched at the fact he had a vibranium left arm. He'd at least learned to cook basic things when he was kid, so he wasn't completely useless in instances like these. He tossed the veggies in the pan she had just drained the beef from. He stirred absently, jumping a little when she came closer to see the fruits of his labor.
Helen tried not to stare at Bucky's vibranium arm, she had so many questions but she knew if she drew attention to it, he'd just leave. He was after all a grumpy old man, 100 years old and all alone, or so Shuri had said. She was 100 years young herself, a curse of the super soldier serum and the time she'd been frozen for. She'd just been in Wakanda last month, that's how she knew who Bucky was and what he'd been through.
She came closer to inspect his work. Instinctively, she had come up behind him and peered over his shoulder, her left arm wrapping around his back. fingers gently resting on the cool metal of his left bicep for a moment. "Looking good." She murmured, releasing his arm and turning back to the sink to finish cleaning up the pasta pot.
Bucky tried not to flinch at her touch. Granted the sensation was different than his flesh arm, but he could still feel that her fingers seemed at peace there, that they weren't repulsed by the material they felt. She released him and he found himself missing her warmth. He continued to stir and she returned with more ingredients. She added the beef back to the pan, some spices and then a can of tomato soup. After letting it bubble for a few moments, she added the pasta. He stirred all of it together and let it simmer. He turned away from the stove top to find her elbow deep in soapy water, washing the dishes as she went.
"I clean as I go, otherwise they just sit for ages." She chuckled, wiping her hands on a towel. A couple of soap suds lingered on her cheek and without thinking all the way through his actions, Bucky reached up with his left arm and swiped them away.
This time Helen did flinch. "S-sorry," She shook her head. "You s-surprised me is all." She explained, "You don't scare me, Bucky." She murmured softly, her eyes sliding closed. "Please." She sighed, "D-don't leave."
Bucky swallowed and studied the trembling woman before him. He could tell she wasn't afraid of him staying, he could tell she was afraid he'd be offended and leave her, just like everyone else. Instead of shrugging off her fear, he turned back to the pan where their dinner bubbled away and gave it a few stirs so it didn't burn. From her reaction, he could tell she was used to not having people stay in her life. Super soldier life was, after all, a lonely existence.
Helen sniffed and covered her face for a moment before clearing her throat and squaring her shoulders. No need to get upset, Bucky wasn't running from her, at least not yet. If he knew who she really was, and not just a pretty neighbor girl, he'd probably would run the other way. He'd probably find it incredibly creepy that she, a fellow immortal super soldier, had invited him in for dinner, knowing exactly who he was.
She instead focused on getting dinner served, trying to push down her feelings of inadequacy. She turned to the cabinet and brought out a pair of plates, setting them on the counter beside the stovetop. "Here," She reached for the spoon in his hand. "Silverware is in the drawer by the sink."
The pair moved around each other with seemingly practiced ease and brought the meal to the table in the tiny dining room. Helen had an end unit so there were two sliding glass doors with a connecting balcony, giving them a nice city skyline backdrop. Bucky settled in the chair facing the door out of habit and noticed that Helen had gravitated towards it too. "Sorry," He moved to get up.
Helen quickly slid into the opposite chair. "No, I'm sorry." She smiled nervously, "Habit I guess." She laughed softly, shaking her head a little.
Bucky smirked, picking up his fork. "Looks good." He nodded to his plate.
Helen found herself suddenly nervous. She hadn't thought all the way through inviting him into her home. Sure, dinner out was easy, but it was another thing for him to be in her home. She picked up her fork, "I sure hope so, slaved over that hot stove for you." She winked.
Bucky's lips twitched and he took a mouthful of goulash. "Oh wow." He breathed.
Helen's nose scrunched. "That bad?"
Bucky finished chewing and swallowed. "It's delicious." He quickly took another forkful.
Helen dug in and echoed his sentiment. "Oh, that definitely hits the spot."
They ate in silence for a few moments until Helen ventured a question. "Where did you grow up?"
Bucky set down his fork for a moment and wiped his mouth on his napkin. "Here, actually." He met her eyes for a moment as he took a swig of beer. "Born and raised."
Helen smiled. "Really?" She knew he'd come back to America after Wakanda, but she hadn't realized that he'd come home. "It must be weird to be b-ba...uh." She'd almost said 'back.'
"You obviously have me at a disadvantage." Bucky murmured, picking up his fork again.
Helen worried her lip with her top teeth. "I-I'm not sure what you-"
"You know I'm The Winter Soldier." Bucky said after swallowing a forkful. "It's not everyday that I meet someone and they don't gasp when I reveal my arm."
Helen's eyes widened, afraid she'd crossed a line, "Were," She corrected. "You were The Winter Soldier."
Bucky licked his lips, "You're right." He sighed. "Still getting used to that." He clicked his tongue. "Something tells me your grip is definitely not because of CrossFit or Pilates." His brow furrowed. "So what does that make you, eh?"
Helen blinked. "Make me?" She squeaked.
Bucky swallowed another forkful. "Uh, let's see, um, CIA?" He guessed, "FBI-"
"SHIELD." Helen admitted. "After my time at Hydra I was taken in by SHIELD." She looked away for a moment. "They froze me for almost fifty years, trying to figure out how to rebuild my mind since Hydra had wiped it clean."
"Should've taken you to Wakanda." He mused. Bucky's brow furrowed again, "How old are you?"
"Jesus," Helen scoffed. "What kind of a question is that? We barely know each other."
"Considering we're both have super serum running through our veins, I'd say we know each other better than we'd like to admit at this point." Bucky countered, surprised by the looseness of his tongue. Usually it was hard for him to talk this much, especially to a complete stranger. Helen seemed to put him at ease, and for that he was cautiously grateful.
"Touche." Helen smirked. "I was given the serum at 24 so I haven't really aged much since then." Bucky cocked an eyebrow. "You first." She jutted her chin at him.
Bucky smiled. Probably the first real smile he'd smiled since coming back to Brooklyn. "106."
"Oh," Helen's eyes widened. "You might be a little old for me, Mr. Barnes." She gushed playfully before taking another bite.
Bucky chewed for a moment then swallowed. "I was given the serum at 28, so that's not possible."
Helen bit her lip. "Just turned 100 last week."
So she was turned after him. Maybe after his escape, Hydra had sought to rebuild in a different direction. "Happy Birthday." He grinned, raising his almost empty bottle.
"Thanks." Helen accepted awkwardly, clinking her half drunk beer with his.
They'd just finished their meal when Helen scoffed. "I can't believe you're still here."
Bucky thought for a moment. Sure, he probably should be running in the opposite direction since she was from the world he was trying so desperate to leave behind. But frankly, he was tired of running. Seeing her this morning running in the rain made him want to go with her, to feel the rain on his skin and not have a care in the world. "You cook like this all the time, you'll have to kick me out, doll." He gave her a wink, earning another flush on her cheeks. He sighed, getting up from the table. "More beer?" He offered, stacking their now cleaned plates.
Helen pushed up from her chair. "Sure." She followed him into the kitchen and joined him at the sink where he'd begun to wash the plates. She glanced over at Bucky to find him subtly checking her out. "Like what you see, Sergeant?" She picked up a clean towel to dry the dishes with.
Bucky bit his lip, his eyes back on the dish in his hand. He handed her a rinsed plate. After she dried that, he handed her the last plate and let the water drain out of the sink. "Say that I do, like what I see." He drawled, taking the towel she offered him to dry his hands. "What would you have me do next?" He ran the towel through the oven handle so it could hang to dry.
Helen swallowed against the lump of anticipation in her throat as Buckly leaned against the counter opposite of her, casually crossing his arms. "I-I thought we were going to have another beer?"
Bucky smirked. "So we were." He pushed off the counter and opened her fridge. He pulled out two more bottles and twisted off their caps, tossing them into the bin. "Cheers." He held out a bottle to her.
Helen took the bottle and clinked it with his. "Cheers." She answered, a small smile playing on her lips. "You still out saving the world these days?" She asked before taking a long drag of beer to calm her nerves.
Bucky scoffed. "Not quite." He chuckled a little before taking a swig of beer. "I'm planning on heading to D.C. tomorrow. They've opened up Cap's exhibit at the Smithsonian."
"You were close with Captain Rodgers," Helen mused, "That might prove difficult."
Bucky nodded. "He was like my brother."
"That must be a terrible burden to bear." Helen murmured, "All the people I was close with have passed on."
Bucky knew that reality. Watching the people he was close with pass on had definitely taken a toll on him. "Yeah, perks of being immortal, eh?" He shook his head a little. Seemed like Helen didn't do small talk. He liked that. "You work with SHIELD, or?"
"Sort of," she smiled, knowing they'd landed on a touchy subject. "I'm a liaison between SHIELD and a US Military black ops group."
"Fancy." Bucky scoffed. "You have a codename I'd know?"
Helen barked a laugh. "Probably not." She pushed off the counter and sauntered over to the living room. "Come sit," She settled on the sofa and tucked her feet underneath her. "I'm beat."
Bucky took a deep breath then pushed off the counter and followed her to the sofa. He settled next to her, not quite touching, and stretched his right arm out along the back of the sofa behind her shoulders.
Helen swiveled to face him and continued to drink her beer. "Nightingale."
Bucky's brow furrowed for a moment. "Because you were a nurse?" He nodded towards the side table with the framed photograph he'd picked up earlier.
Helen nodded, fingering the frame absently. "The hospital ship I was on in WWII was captured by Hydra." She suddenly had a very far away look in her eyes. "I-I killed a few of the agents with my side arm and got a few men off onto rescue boats. I wasn't able to fend them all off with it." A single tear rolled down her cheek and her lips trembled a little. "Silly to still be so upset about something that happened so long ago, eh?" She sniffled and took another drag of her beer, dashing the back of her hand over her eyes.
"No," Bucky shook his head. "It's really not."
Helen studied him for a moment. "You sound like my therapist." She scoffed with a smile before polishing off her beer. She set it on the side table.
"He says I need to learn to trust people."
Bucky scoffed. He'd heard that one before. "Is that what I am tonight?" His lips twitched in amusement. "A therapy exercise?" He passed her his empty bottle and she set it on the end table.
Helen laughed. "Maybe?" She bit her lip. "You're the most attractive therapy exercise I've attempted so far." She murmured wryly, giving him a wink.
Bucky swiveled to face her more, his arm sliding along her own that was stretched out beside his as he inched closer. "I'd say you're passing the exercise with flying colors so far." He teased, now there was just a few inches between them. He could see the unease in her eyes, but also the determination to hold her ground. "Inviting me into your home, cooking a meal, telling me about Hydra and SHIELD. All steps to build genuine trust and friendship."
Helen subconsciously licked her lips. Bucky clenched his jaw to keep from pulling her to him and kissing her senseless. "Is that what you want to be?" She sounded slightly breathless. "Friends?"
Bucky pursed his lips, "Hell, doll." He scoffed. "I'll settle for the neighbor down the hall you have dinner with and, uh." He lost his nerve. He mentally kicked himself for being so forward.
"And?" Helen whispered, feeling herself fall deeper under the spell of his nearness.
Bucky moved closer still, his hand coming up from the couch to delve into her hair, gently cupping the back of her head. He brushed his nose with hers, feeling the electricity between them spark. "And, with the lady's consent of course, enjoy each other's intimate company."
"Oh," Helen breathed, she'd been thinking of this moment since he'd held the door for her in the rain this morning. "The lady does consent-"
That was all he needed to hear. Bucky closed the distance between them by pressing his lips to hers, pulling her closer to his chest. His left hand gently slid up her arm to her shoulder to pull her even closer.
Helen was losing herself in the way he seemed to envelope her and want her as close as possible. She sighed in pleasure and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Helen came up for air, resting her forehead against his. "This is a dream." She murmured, biting her lip, eyes sliding closed.
Bucky's lips twitched. "I'll say." His voice sounded heavy with want. It's been a long time since he'd let a woman in this close. He placed a finger under her chin to tip her face up towards his. Suddenly Helen's phone rang on the wall. "You have a landline?" He teased. She moved to get up from the couch. "Stay," He murmured, his fingers tightening in her hair, "Let it go to the machine."
"I should get it." Helen sighed. "It's probably the office."
Bucky smirked. "No rest for the wicked." He kissed her cheek then leaned back so she could extract herself from the comfort of the couch.
Helen rushed to the phone, "Hello." She answered. "Yes." She agreed to accept the charges from the call coming in.
"That you sweetheart?" A voice that made her blood run cold asked through the receiver.
"Yes." Helen answered. "How are you?"
"Better now that I'm talking to you, sweetheart." The man answered with a sneer.
"How can I be of service?" Helen asked, suddenly aware that Bucky had gotten up from the sofa to bring their empty beer bottles into the kitchen.
Bucky's ears perked up at the strained tone of her voice. He stayed in the kitchen to give her a sense of privacy, but he could still eavesdrop some.
"What are you wearing?" The man asked. "What color are your panties?"
Helen swallowed, "Red."
"Oh, sweetheart." The man groaned, "that's good." He took a quick breath. "You gonna fuck those sweet fingers of yours and think of Daddy?"
Helen's voice broke. "Y-yes." She whispered.
"Good girl." The man smiled, "You let anyone touch you and I'll kill them, you know that I have the power to do that. Right sweetheart?"
Helen's eyes squeezed shut, "Y-yes."
"Say it." The man ordered. "Out loud."
Helen locked eyes with Bucky who had emerged from the kitchen. "If I let anyone touch me, you'll kill them." She murmured, voice trembling.
Bucky's eyes widened. Who in the world would she be talking to like that? He came closer, brow furrowing as he crossed his arms over this chest to keep himself from taking the receiver from her.
"That's right." The man praised, "That's my good girl." He sighed. "Time for me to go sweetheart."
"Already?" Helen nearly choked on the word, trying her best to feign enthusiasm.
The man chuckled darkly. "We'll talk again soon, sweetheart. Just remember who you belong to." Then the line went blank.
Bucky was close enough that he could hear the recording announce the charges to her account. She was talking to a convict? "You're letting some asshole locked in jail harass you?" He squinted in confusion. "You're a badass super soldier SHIELD agent, Helen, why-"
"Please," Helen whispered. "You don't understand." She hung up the receiver and brushed past him to go into the kitchen.
"You're damn right I don't understand." Bucky scoffed, following after her. "You could rip this guy to shreds, why take his phone calls and torture yourself?" His brow furrowed in frustration.
Helen's tears spilled over as she reached for a bottle of whiskey. "Because he knows who I really am!" She exclaimed in a whisper, shoulders shaking. She swiped at her tears, undid the bottle cap and poured a couple of fingers worth of liquid in a rock glass.
"So he knows you're a SHIELD agent, where's the harm in that, doll?" Bucky came closer, gently taking the bottle from her shaking fingers.
"No," Helen shook her head. She knocked back her glass in one go. "SHIELD doesn't even know who I truly am." She murmured. "I'm sorry, this," she motioned between them, "was a bad idea." She didn't know what she'd been thinking, even a late night rendezvous between them put Bucky at risk.
Bucky set the bottle down on the counter, just out of Helen's reach. "C'mon, doll." He smirked, "We're just getting our feet wet here." He took a step towards her. "I was the Winter Soldier, remember?" He gently placed his right hand on her shoulder, "Some scumbag who gets off on harassing a pretty dame like you doesn't scare me."
Helen bit her lip. "You don't know what he's capable of."
"Who is he?" Bucky asked, his left hand balling into a fist.
Helen shook her head. "I'm sorry, I've already said too much." She stepped back from him, causing his arm to fall. "I don't know what I was thinking, I can't give you what you want." A few tears escaped down her cheeks. "You should go."
Bucky blinked. He didn't just want inside her apartment so he could satisfy the late night fantasy he'd had for the last six months anymore. Her confession at dinner and now this disturbing phone call had him concerned for her well being. Bucky opened his mouth to protest, but Helen turned away from him.
"Please." Helen pleaded, louder and firmer this time. "Please leave."
Bucky looked at the ground for a moment. Then he took a step back. "Thank you for dinner and the company Helen." He thanked her. She just nodded, refusing to meet his eyes. "Have a good night." Then he fled.
Title is the song "Anyone Else" by PVRIS
Reviews feed the muse
xoxo
Lumora The White