"Bucky... I know you, mate... You're not a soldier, you're James Buchanan Barnes,"
"I don't wanna fight you, Buck..."
"I know you're in there,"
"I'm sorry,"
"You're stronger than them, Bucky."
"Bucky... You're my friend... You know me..."
The Winter Soldier was doubting, and he didn't quite enjoy the feeling. He shouldn't doubt, he had been forbidden to doubt. Doubt made everything more complicated, it forced him to think. And as he thought, he couldn't focus on his mission properly. Yet there was definitely something off about this situation.
The target thought he knew him...
The target was refusing to fight back...
The target had apologised for hurting him...
The target was encouraging him...
The target had called him a friend...
This was highly unusual. Unusual, yet... Somehow familiar... Like a feeling of déjà vu...
Suddenly, a spark of memory hit the asset... Two small sentences, a voice, a feeling...
I'm not gonna fight you. You're my friend.
Yes, the soldier remembered... Someone had told him that... A tall, strong, blond haired man. His mission.
And this name... Bucky... He knew it too. He remembered... A bridge, a man... The same blond haired man... A friend ?
Was his target a friend too ?
"Зимний солдат ! Пошли !" a voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. The voice of his master. The Soldier had to comply, he had to go with the master.
He punched the target in the jaw. Hard enough to make him feel disoriented, but not enough to knock him out completely. He didn't know how he was supposed to act, everything felt just so strange and confusing.
The asset threw his target over his shoulder and followed to the metal door on his right where his master had left. They would figure this out together later. His master would help him getting the doubt and confusion out of his mind, and he would finally be free from all the thinking.
He was about ten steps from the door when he heard the way too familiar sound of a gunshot, quickly followed by the painful sensation of a hot iron bullet piercing his skin right into his right thigh.
The asset fell on his knees, clenching his jaw to avoid crying out from the pain. The sudden contact with the floor made him involuntarily let go off his target, which quickly rolled away from him, despite his obviously weakened state.
The Soldier turned around, in an attempt to find who was the fool who had dared to shoot him, and was met with a dozen guns pointed right at his face by some militaries and the winged boy.
He slowly stood up, favouring his right thigh, and stared right into the boy's eyes. He saw the young man falter under his gaze.
Weak.
But the asset was highly outnumbered and disadvantaged by the bullet he could still feel burning in his leg.
Yet the Winter Soldier would not die without giving a fight. The target was his mission, he wasn't allowed to let it fail before he had given his life for it.
He clenched his fists.
"Stop ! Don't shoot !"
Don't shoot ? Well that was going to make things less difficult.
Without further hesitation, the Soldier threw himself on the boy, knocking him to the ground.
"James, no !"
He stopped for a moment. James ? How could he be both James and Bucky ?
What had the target said...? You're James Buchanan Barnes... Buchanan... What a stupid name... Buchanan... Buck... Bucky ?
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by another shot, this time hitting him in his flesh shoulder.
"Bucky !" came an alarmed cry from the target.
The Soldier couldn't suppress a small groan as his arm went limp and another wave of pain crossed his body. Seeing his chance to free himself from where he was pinned to the ground, the winged boy lit up the reactor behind his back and flew over the asset's head and landed next to the target.
"Put your guns down ! All of you !" shouted the target.
The Soldier attempted to stand up once more, but fell back on his left knee as a wave of dizziness overtook him. Why did he feel so weak ? This whole thinking was taking his strengths away... He wasn't used to it...
"Buck, stay down..."
Stay down ? No. Never.
Gritting his teeth, the Soldier managed to get up. He was not giving the target the pleasure of obeying him. No. He swayed on his feet slightly, but he was standing up.
He clenched his good fist, getting ready for the fight, until he realised no guns were pointed at him anymore.
What ? Why ?
"You're James Buchanan Barnes," spoke the target, "Do you remember that name ?"
"No," he answered flatly. But it wasn't true... The name did sound somehow slightly familiar...
"It's your name. You're not a soldier anymore. You're James Buchanan Barnes,"
"You lie,"
He knew who he was. He was just an asset obeying his orders, nothing more. They had made it very clear... But... was it possible that they had lied ? No, no. He wasn't allowed to think about that. Yet...
"You're not a soldier. You're a kid from Brooklyn,"
Brooklyn ? He... He knew Brooklyn... Mission. Yes, he must have been there for a mission.
"You were Steve's friend, remember ? Steve Rogers. He was your best pal."
Steve... He'd heard that name before... Target. Target ? Maybe... No... Not a target... something else... A... Friend ?
"You used to be inseparable, you know ? He's the one who called you Bucky first,"
Inseparable ? Till the end of the line. What ? Where was this sentence coming from ?
"He believed in you, Buck,"
It wasn't you... Steve...?
"He helped you,"
I'm not gonna fight you... Why was everything so blurry ?
"He was your friend,"
You're my friend... Steve ? His friend... Why 'was' ? Had something happened to Steve ?
"And so am I,"
He... Who...
"You know me Buck..."
Did he ? Why was it so hard to remember ? Where was Steve now ?
"I know you do..."
Steve was gone... He had left him...
"I was Steve's friend too,"
He met the man's gaze for the first time. They were deep, trustful, filled with emotions...
Steve's friend... Yes... Steve had given something to him... He... Remembered ? No, the Winter Soldier didn't have memories.
"I just wanna help you..."
Help... Friend... The target really was his friend ? He wasn't lying ? Impossible. The Soldier had no friends.
"I'm here for you..."
Yes... Steve had left, but he was here, with him... No no no. The Soldier was alone, one. один.
"You're not the Soldier anymore, Buck,"
Not the Soldier... Then who was he ? Bucky ? Who was Bucky ?
"You're the man I fight alongside with, but you're also the annoying guy with a staring problem, the man who read the Hobbit in 1937, the man who jumps from a plane without a parachute, the man who helped me to become who I am now. You're the man I care for, the man I would die for. You're my closest friend, Bucky, a part of my family. And I'm not gonna let you down. Never."
Sam could feel small tears forming in the corner of his eyes. His words were filled with emotions, yet it didn't express half of what he was feeling right now. He felt like this was something he should have told Bucky a long time ago.
He watched intently as the man before him lowered his head. He could see the coldness very slowly leaving his features, allowing the real James Barnes to make his way back, no matter how slightly.
Nothing else mattered to Sam anymore. His friend needed his help, he needed to be saved, so he had no other concerns. He didn't worry about the fact that most Smashers had probably escaped, didn't even give a thought about where his shield and wings were.
Bucky. Bucky was all that mattered at this moment.
Sam's breath caught in his throat as the man lifted his eyes to met his. They were wet, reddish. He was crying.
"S-Sam...?" he called weakly.
The younger man's breath caught in his throat at hearing his name. This wasn't the Soldier's voice, it was Bucky's.
"Yeah, pal. It's me," answered Sam in a trembling voice.
A choked sob made his way past Bucky's lips before his unsteady legs finally gave out, leaving his friend with barely enough time to catch him before he hit the ground.
The Captain cradled the trembling man in his arms, letting his head rest on his shoulder while his friend grasped the collar of his suit tightly with his vibranium arm.
"It's okay man, I've got you. It's over,"
Bucky mumbled something in answer... Something his friend couldn't make out at first, but which eventually became clearer...
Two, small, heartbreaking sentences whispered in between uncontrollable sobs, repeated over and over again.
"Steve was wrong about me..."
"I'm not free..."
Guy and the others didn't stop before they were absolutely sure they had lost all the militaries behind them, which didn't take that long, thanks to their enhanced speed.
The man took a moment to catch his breath before turning around to meet the others. He knew all too well what they were thinking. The whole operation had been a complete failure. They had lost the Winter Soldier, they were tired, injured... But they were alive. They could and would carry on the fight, no matter what.
The whole group remained silent for a moment. Everyone was staring at their leader in front of them. But unlike what Guy had expected, not all of them looked accusing or disappointed... Some actually looked at him with compassion or reassurance. Indeed Lisa, which was quite surprising, was giving him a comforting smile. Yes, they had failed, but no progress could be made without some mistakes first.
Guy stared at every single one of his allies with a determined look, while uttering :
"The fight isn't done until none of us is left standing. We'll do better next time."
And at this moment, the harsh realisation hit him.
Charles wasn't there.
His brother wasn't there.
"Where's Charles ?" he asked, doing his best to hide the slowly rising panic in his voice.
Mouths hung open, eyes searched all around, people stared at each other, mumbling incoherently or exchanging small words, but no answer was given.
A wave of worry, fear and guilt fell on Guy's shoulders, making him feel dizzy.
He had lost his brother. It was all his fault. He should have watched him more closely. Where was he ? Was he safe ? Was he injured ? Was he...?
No, no he wasn't. He couldn't.
"Maybe he left with Jovan ?" someone supposed.
"I don't think so..." another answered.
But even this improbable supposition gave Guy the slightest hope. He had ordered Jovan to leave as soon as the militaries had been spotted in the street. Maybe Charles had followed without him noticing...?
But... Some part of his mind knew Guy had fought alongside his brother... He simply hadn't paid much attention to him, he had been too focused on the Soldier... He had been selfish.
And this feeling got confirmed when Djemal cam forward to him and said hesitantly :
"I just texted Jovan... He's reached the hideout, but... Charles isn't with him..."
Guy suddenly felt as if a brick had been dropped on his head.
Oh God, it was all his fault...
Charles had been most probably captured or killed, and all because of his selfishness.
Unable to stand the weight of pressure any longer, Guy fell on his knees and let hot tears stream down his face.
He barely noticed when Djemal knelt in front of him and put comforting hand on his shoulder.
"But Guy... Jovan has managed to take the shield with him..." said his friend in a low voice.
The words made him snap his head up and a burning flame suddenly appeared in the leader's eyes.
They had the shield. Captain America's shield.
He would make them pay.