A/N: Just incase you missed the last announcement, I'll be diverging from Movie Canon for a hot second just to expand and buff up the story a little bit. I'll (try to) come back and make an edit to this chapter updating you on what chapter returns to Movie Canon if you don't want to read any of the filler.
Italicized speech will either represent a character speaking German, or the character's internal dialogue.
*UPDATE: CHAPTER 12 IS THE RETURN TO MOVIE CANON
It felt like her head had just hit the pillow when Morita was calling to her. "Doc, we're packin' up!"
Odette fought through her aches, pain, and stiffness to pack up her belongings, break down her tent, pack it in the jeep, and load herself up. She had Dum Dum help her with moving Jones from the cot to the jeeps. Odette's joints felt like they'd been replaced with metal rods that ached and creaked as she moved. Everyone was in trance like states as they packed up their world and left the land as though they'd never been there in the first place.
She ended up sitting between Jones and Dernier and somehow fell asleep to Jones loudly translating their next move to their French companion. They were gonna hit one more nearby factory on their way back to London. They traveled all day, stopping once so the men could relieve themselves and they could all stretch, and then they pressed on. They made it to an Allied camp, nearly buried in the thickest part of a forest, where they stopped for the night to rest and refuel. There, the commanding officer reaffirmed Steve and Odette of what they already knew. The mountains on the horizon held another HYDRA factory. The factory had pretty much taken over the nearby towns, using them as slave labor alongside other prisoners of war. Which meant sending Odette in would be risky. She'd have to blend in as a prisoner and do some labor before attempting an escape.
"It's too risky." Steve finally decided.
She did a double take and looked up at him, shocked "What? Steve, I can do this." Odette protested. The camp's officer looked between the two, but kept out of their business.
"No. You're too valuable to the team. We'll have to figure out another way." Steve argued.
Odette ignored the rest of the team peeking into the tent, and fought the urge to dramatically slam her hands on the table, "I'm not going to let you all go in there blind. I would rather give us a fighting chance than none at all." Odette had been so cowardly up to this point, she owed it to the team to do something worthy of her position! Not to mention the fact that she had spent her time behind enemy lines already. She knew how to blend in! Would this be slightly trickier to pull off? Of course! But it wasn't impossible! She knew she could do this! "I'm the spy master of the group. In case you forgot how we met."
"And I said 'No' Swann." Steve finally looked up from the map to stare her in the eyes. He wasn't going to back down. Odette shuffled nervously, all bravery draining away, "Your primary job is field Doctor. We cannot risk losing you." Steve pressed.
"You won't!" Odette tried to interrupt him.
Steve continued on as though she wasn't there, "We'll go on foot to about a mile out." He turned to the team, "we'll set up camp and roll out the following day. We're gonna have to improvise on this one boys, so get a good night's sleep." Steve gave Odette one last hard look before he left the tent.
Face red, and angry, Odette swiped at the flag on the table representing the HYDRA factory they had taken out yesterday. She stormed out of the tent, the men quickly parting to make way for her. Odette left the protection of the camp and sat at the base of a tree with her back to camp. "What good am I to the team if I'm not actively helping?" She pressed her palms to her eyes as though she could push her tears back in, "I want to do more. Because what if one day the team realizes they don't need me?" One of her entire reasons for being on the team was to be their spy on the inside, not even their second mission in and Steve was ready to push her aside.
Useless.
When she silently returned to camp hours later, everyone conveniently ignored her red cheeks and puffy eyes. Good. It was embarrassing to admit she had feelings about this mission. She was already singled out as the only woman on the team, she didn't need them to remind her of that fact. And if her emotions really became a problem, Steve had every right to send her home. Odette sat in the back of one of their jeeps and pulled out her journal, angrily scrawling inside to release all the energy she felt within. She ignored the men when they attempted to come up to her and make small talk, still burning and not trusting her own voice.
Coward.
Numb, it hadn't hit Odette until she was done eating that night that, with the team distracted by the rest of the camp, she could just...take a peek at the factory.
It was brash. It was thoughtless. It was almost instinctual. It frightened her how easily she could switch from burning rage to pure determination. Odette thought to the rifle Howard has so lovingly had crafted for her. How easy it would be to just...sneak off. Take care of the job herself. She'd done it before after all.
Shoot. Now.
Waiting to make sure each of her men were occupied with a conversation or food, Odette crept away from the hub of the camp to go to the commanding officer's tent and take a look at the map. She squinted in the darkness, not wanting to turn on a torch and risk being caught, and surveyed the map. The factory was at the base of the tallest mountain, and had stretched out to incorporate the entire nearby town. It would be a hilly and rocky walk, not to mention she'd be doing it in near total darkness and freezing temperatures. But it could be done, a few hours most likely if she kept up a steady pace, and then she'd turn around and inform the team as she met them coming this way.
She peeked outside the tent to make sure no one was watching her as she crept back outside. She nonchalantly made her way to their jeep and dug around her bags. She pulled out her pistol and her binoculars before she began to slip away from the busy movement of the camp.
The snow would be a big problem. If she slipped on a rock that would be it. She'd fall, break a foot or a leg, and then be stuck in the cold with no shelter for who knows how long. Odette hesitated for only a moment as she left the protective glow of the camp. While the camp was still in sight she kept a steady, smooth pace, not wanting to draw attention to herself. Even though she was in her dark colored uniform, she didn't want to run the risk of getting shot. As she left camp further and further behind, Odette picked up her pace, her heart running as fast as her legs were carrying her.
She had just disobeyed Captain America's orders.
Odette wasn't sure how she made it to the mountain in record time, her trip seemingly a blur under the protective darkness of the night, but she arrived at the outskirts of the destroyed and guarded town before dawn broke. Odette hunkered down beside a large tree and pulled out her binoculars. Her knees ached and popped as she settled into place, feeling numb from the constant movement and cold. She hadn't realized it, but her entire body burned, most likely from frostbite. She should have worn the suit Howard had made for her for additional warmth. Oh well. Too late for that now. Odette suppressed her shivers as she pressed her binoculars to her eyes. The place was swarming with guards. Guards patrolling the perimeter, guards escorting prisoners to and from the factory in a constant motion, guards at the factory doors. It seemed that word of their missions had spread. Schmidt had most likely upped the protection across the board. This would not be good for the team. Odette looked for an opening to get closer.
An apartment building near the perimeter bisected the chain link fence HYDRA had hastily thrown up and guards were only patrolling on either side of the building. But the face of the building facing the forest was unguarded. She needed to know how deep into the mountain the factory went, otherwise the team could be overwhelmed by waves of HYDRA soldiers. Odette waited for a train of prisoners to be locked inside the apartment and the guards outside to turn away before she made the dash to the building. Her lungs burned and her knees nearly gave out as she slammed her body full force into the wall. She turned and pressed her back as flat as she could against the side of the building and waited to hear if anyone had spotted her.
Thankfully no one had seemed to.
She took a breath to try and calm her nerves.
Horrifically, Odette began to slip backwards as though she was being consumed by the building. She suppressed a scream as she slipped through the brick wall into a crowded communal hall inside the apartment building.
Well that was one way to get inside.
Many people gasped at her sudden appearance and a few people screamed, but when the guards outside shouted threats of shooting them they all stared at Odette wide eyed. She held a finger to her lips and prayed they would keep her presence a secret.
She had not planned for this to happen!
Since when could humans walk through walls?!
There was no time to unpack that, Odette instead went to a man and a woman huddled in a corner. They backed away as she approached and she held up her hands to show she was unarmed and not going to hurt them. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, and despite the freezing weather she was sweating like crazy.
"Do you all speak German?" Her voice was so hoarse that when she whispered she was barely making any noise. They nodded fearfully at her, looking at her uniform with concern and confusion. Odette explained that she just needed to know something, "How far into the mountain does the factory go?"
The man glanced around at the windows and doors, almost as though he suspected a trap, "Not far. Most of it is outside." When they weren't set upon by guards he asked if she was sent to free them. She didn't want to lie to him, but she was unsure. The woman in his arms looked at Odette hopefully and she could feel that all eyes were slowly turning to her, so she nodded, and she promised that HYDRA would be taken down. As she spoke, she pressed her palms to the outside wall, hoping she could get out the way she came in. When her body didn't slip through the brick, panic began to rise through her body like a wave. Not wanting to put the other prisoners in a panic, Odette asked them all to keep quiet about her presence, and began to creep around under the windows.
Most of the windows were boarded up, but Odette was still cautious as she peeked outside. The man did seem to be telling the truth, it looked as though most of the factory was built outside of the mountain. If Odette knew anything about HYDRA, that meant that whatever was under the mountain was worth protecting. If only she could get a word to Steve and the team! Odette kept her hands pressed to the walls, hoping she could slip back out the way she came in, but to no avail. Her body was aching, and exhaustion was slowly creeping up on her. Odette wanted to cry. She was in too deep, she should have just listened to Steve and Bucky. The one time she decided to ignore her cowardice and be brave, and now she was in a prisoner of war camp. Just her luck.
She crept back over to the couple, "What is being made here?"
"Planes. Guns. Oh, and there's some kind of mad doctor here that's been doing experiments with some kind of energy source." The man replied.
Zola.
Odette tried to hide her hyperventilating as she thanked the couple. If Zola was here, that meant he was torturing these people. She kept her back turned to the people, and pressed her forehead to the wall. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Please, please, please, let me pass through." She pleaded silently with the wall.
Nothing.
Eventually, an older woman shuffled up beside Odette and cleared her throat. Odette looked up at her, eyes puffy and lips bloodied. The woman said nothing, but motioned for Odette to sit down. She obeyed her.
"She thinks you need rest." A young boy whispered. Odette recalled Bucky's comment on how she had been looking exhausted and could only imagine how she appeared now. Especially after walking all night in the freezing cold weather.
Odette couldn't disagree, her body ached as she stretched her legs out. But she needed to get out and find the team. The old woman must have felt her unease, because she laid a gentle hand on Odette's shoulder and nodded once. "She says you should rest now." The boy insisted on behalf of the old woman. Odette sighed and nodded to the woman to tell her she understood. The old woman smiled a toothless smile and shuffled off back over to where a young woman and two young children were waiting for her.
Odette kept her body pressed to the wall as tensely as she could just in case she woke up outside again. But she remained in the building as the sun crept up over the mountain.
People had all taken turns falling asleep and keeping an ear out for any guards to come by. Most of the kids and elderly were allowed to sleep the whole night. But the able-bodied adults all took shifts. Some even whispered gossip as the hours ticked by. Odette was restless. She felt as though she were still awake, but she was trapped in her motionless body. Then, she was startled awake alongside everyone else as the door was slammed open.
A guard came in and started shouting orders for everyone to get up. Anyone in his way was kicked awake if they hadn't already scrambled aside for him. Odette was quick to stand, making sure her pistol was hidden in her uniform when the old woman came over again. She made a startled noise in the back of her throat and was taking off her shawl. Odette quietly hissed at her to keep her shawl, but the woman pressed it in her arms before jabbing at the emblem on her uniform. Odette would be shot on sight if she walked by the guard. She thanked the woman before turning and slipping the shawl on. The old woman ruffled Odette's hair and smeared her hand across her day old makeup. The guards were too busy yelling and yanking people to their feet to notice them in the back corner. Odette, in return for the woman's kindness, linked arms with her and made sure she kept up with the other prisoners and wasn't kicked or hit by the guards as they walked out. The younger woman and her two children, who Odette assumed to be the woman's child and grandchildren all cried out with joy as the old woman steered Odette towards them.
"Thank you for helping my mother," the woman held back tears as she hugged her children to her sides. Odette didn't have time to respond as a guard walked by and jabbed her side with the end of his gun, telling her to shut up. Odette's insides shook as they were marched to the doors of the factory. She couldn't go through this, not again. She felt sick to her stomach and wanted to make a run for it. But, she kept a firm grip on the old woman for strength. If she broke away from the group they might open fire on all the prisoners. As they crossed the town, a group of prisoners was being escorted the way they'd just come from. They all looked exhausted and filthy, reminding Odette of the horrors of HYDRA's factories. As the two parties crossed the square, Odette heard a familiar group of howls.
The prisoners and guards looked around wildly, but Odette's eyes were turned towards the sky. A grenade, expertly thrown, landed on the ground and tumbled to a stop at the front of the line.
"GRENADE!" Odette shouted instinctively. She pulled the old woman back and turned to shield her. Her sudden panicked scream was enough to make the guards and prisoners scatter. The grenade exploded, sending rock, dirt, snow, and other debris flying. Odette staggered, but kept the old woman shielded as she used the forward momentum to push the woman forward. Shots from the guards and the team whizzed by and ricocheted off tanks sitting nearby. Odette got the old woman to a small open alleyway and sat her down.
Too panicked to concentrate on translating she simply held up her hands to tell the woman to stop and shouted over the battle, "Stay here!" Odette then shed the woman's shawl and pulled out her pistol. She turned back out of the alleyway and shot the first guard she saw aiming for the tree line. He went down with a guttural scream, blood spraying from his neck where she'd gotten him. He twitched on the ground as Odette ran over and yanked his weapon from him. Across the square she could see her men pressing forward. Before she could shout to them, a bullet whizzed by and hit the brick wall right beside her head. Odette screamed and flinched, bits of brick hitting her face. She turned towards the source and fired off her newly acquired weapon. A guard on top of a building went down, falling forward and down three stories into a dead heap in the road. Steve's shield made an appearance before he did, bouncing off buildings and the skulls of HYDRA agents before returning to the sender.
"Steve!" Odette screamed at the top of her lungs. Her vocal chords tore as all sense of dignity or composure left her behind. "Steve!"
Steve's head whipped around in time to spot her before another one of Falsworth's grenades went off. "Swann!" Steve swung his arm out, blocking a barrage of bullets with his shield before charging and ramming into the shooter.
Yup. Still in trouble. Didn't matter. Odette ran across the square to him, ducking behind his shield as more bullets flew at them.
"The factory doesn't go very deep. It's a quick in and out—,"
"Are you serious right now?!" Steve demanded.
"One entrance. One exit. They've got planes, guns and—Steve!" Odette shouted over the sound of death. She scanned the team behind him as they pressed forward. "Duck!" She ordered, Steve obeyed and Odette shot down a guard behind him. She grabbed his arm and he finally looked at her. "Zola's here."
Steve paused, "Zola?"
"The prisoners say a mad doctor is performing experiments. Sound familiar?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Have you seen him?" Steve asked, "down," he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her into his chest, wrapping his shielded arm around her and blocking a wave of bullets from hitting them.
Odette pulled away and shook her head. "Where's Bucky?" She asked. If he was in town, he had to get out right now. She would not let Zola get a hold of him again. It didn't matter that they weren't on speaking terms, her concern overrode her stubbornness. Steve seemed to think the same and he nodded towards the forest.
"In the trees. Rifle." Steve answered and held out his hand. Odette handed him her new weapon. "I'll be back. I've got to set up the charge!" Steve said, "you get back to camp! That's an order, Swann."
"Steve! Wait!" Odette called after him.
She started to run after him when a HYDRA tank turned suddenly and shot a charge between them. Odette was blown off her feet and knocked sideways. Her vision went white as her head connected with the cobblestone street. A ringing in her ears made her wince and shake her head. The ringing continued for a while, being drowned out only by the sound of her own wildly beating heart. Odette panted heavily, her breath clinging to the air for a few brief seconds before vanishing.
Odette winced and squeezed her eyes shut for a second, she prayed she could disappear like earlier when a second charge hit the ground beside her and set her flying back once more. Odette protected her head as best she could as she rolled across the ground. This time, she was numb to the pain of her body hitting the ground, but, not wanting to be hit a third time, she managed to scramble to her hands and knees. Odette looked around wildly, looking for any kind of cover. A barricade toppled over nearby would have to suffice for now. Odette crawled to it, braced herself, and with a raw scream, she lifted it upright and took refuge behind it. Her arms were gonna be in so much pain tomorrow, but that meant she had to live to feel it.
After a few seconds of gun fire vibrating the barricade, Odette could see straight. She gave herself a pat down and realized she miraculously still had her pistol and had only suffered a few minor cuts and bruises. She inspected her pistol for damage, but found it to be relatively intact. So, when a HYDRA agent suddenly crawled around her barricade looking for cover, Odette shot him point blank between the eyes. No hesitation. She wretched the shock baton from the man's hands. Her entire body was shaking as she hurried to her knees. She peeked over the barricade and screamed in shock as she came face to face with the barrel of a gun.
"Doc?!" Morita reached down and pulled her up to her feet. "What are you doing here?" He shouted over the screams and explosions.
"Scouting." Odette managed to sputter out with a deep breath. They ducked as a barrage of bullets whizzed by.
"Get down you idiots!" Dum Dum shouted, coming to their aid from the side and taking down their attackers with his modified HYDRA rifle. As he covered them, Morita pulled Odette into a nearby building.
"Are you okay? You look half frozen!" Morita asked, patting her head and shoulders. He held her hands, which Odette could now see and feel were red and swollen.
"I'm fine, you won't believe what happened," Odette started to say excitedly. Part of her wondered if they'd consider her delusional for claiming to fall through walls...
"What happened was you obeyed Cap's orders." Dum Dum growled as he entered the protection of the building. "Do you have any idea how worried we were?" He shouted.
"I'm fine!" Odette reassured them. All of them turned their weapons to the door as Jones and Falsworth ran inside.
"Whoa whoa! It's us!" They held up their hands in self defense. Letting go of a collective breath, they lowered their weapons.
"What are you doing here?!" Odette demanded from Jones. "You are supposed to be resting your leg!"
"And you were supposed to stay in the camp!" Jones argued back. "Besides, I'm fine!" He bounced from leg to leg, but nearly collapsed as he landed on his bad one. Odette caught him. He winced and groaned as she helped him stand back up.
"If you pop your stitches, I'm letting you bleed out!" Odette seethed.
"And if you die, I'm leaving your ass here!" Jones shot back.
"Ladies!" Dum Dum shouted over them both.
Odette paused and looked at the other men, "Where's Dernier?" Odette asked.
An explosion rocked the building and Dum Dum peeked outside, "Having fun." Odette looked outside and saw Dernier running towards them. "Cover him." Dum Dum ordered. Each of them stood by a window and fired at any HYDRA soldiers they could see. Odette felt next to useless with her pistol, but Dernier was able to make it to the building, whooping and cheering. He doubled over once he was in the safety of the building and he panted heavily before looking up.
"Doc!" He laughed when he saw her, "Good to see you!" He clapped her on the arm.
"No, no, remember, we're mad at her." Dum Dum held up a finger, not quite understanding their French comrade, but knowing enough to know that Dernier had mostly forgiven Odette, while Dum Dum wanted to stay mad.
"Oh lay off it, Dum Dum." Morita joked, he checked outside and gave them the clear to move back out. "Come on, just saw Rogers moving out." Odette could see Steve running from the factory. The rest of the team began to follow him, shooting down anyone that got in their way. Odette turned in a circle, watching the citizens who survived fight back and cheer at the liberation of their town.
"Doc! Come on!" Dum Dum called. He was practically pulling Jones alongside him as they made their escape.
Odette began to run after them, her boots slapping hard against the snowy cobblestone. She passed by buildings that had been reduced to rubble when a fluttering scrap of fabric caught her eye. She paused.
It was the shawl the old woman had offered her.
"No." Odette breathed, her heart stopping.
She ignored the howls of her men running away and ran into the alley. She dropped to her knees and started ripping through the bricks and concrete, she tore her fingers and nails up attempting to unbury the woman. Odette paused when she finally uncovered the woman's pale face. The old woman's vacant eyes were staring at the sky, her hands clutching at her chest in frozen terror. Odette's heart dropped as she realized it wasn't the building's collapse that killed her. A bloody bullet hole through her temple had been her end.
Part of her knew there was nothing she could have done, but grief and guilt washed over Odette as she let out a small sob. The woman had risked her health and life to protect Odette's, had she not given Odette her shawl, she would have been discovered and all the prisoners could have been killed. She could have been taken back to Zola. A hundred horrible things couldn't happen. So why was her bravery and selflessness punished? Odette swallowed the growing rock in her throat as she gently closed the woman's eyes. As she staggered back to her feet she ran back to the center of the square.
The roar of an engine gave her pause once more.
Dr. Zola was staring straight at her. She couldn't tell if it was a wild, deranged, unhinged look in his eyes, or if fear had simply blinded him, but he took no notice of her as his car sped closer.
Odette, hoping she could phase through his car the way she had with the building earlier, stood her ground. Time almost slowed as he drove straight for her. Right as Odette was about to dive out of the way, she felt her feet disconnect from the ground, and then she felt the heat of Zola's car exhaust hit her back. She spun around and saw Zola swerve to avoid something that wasn't there...or rather, someone. Because Odette had ripped apart space to teleport behind the car at the last second. Zola spun around in his seat, nearly hitting a collapsed wall as he tried to catch a glimpse of Odette.
And then, like that, his car was gone—vanished into the snowy forest, where his engine grew quieter and quieter as he escaped once more.
Odette let go of the breath she'd been holding. The tension in her shoulders finally dropping away before she realized how alone she was. Odette spun on her heels, looking for any signs of life.
The town was eerily silent.
"The charge!" Odette thought as the factory exploded. The ground rippled and swayed beneath her as the ground swallowed her whole. Odette stumbled as she landed roughly on her feet, her knees nearly giving out. She let out a silent cry of pain, clenching her teeth as she picked herself up. In the distance she could see a plume of smoke rising from where the factory had just blown up. She could hear a shouting match between her men through the trees and she half ran, half dragged herself in that direction.
"I saw her! She didn't make it out!" Bucky shouted.
"I gave her an order, Bucky!" Steve yelled back.
"Hey hey hey, she slipped out before she could have slipped out again!" Jones argued.
"So we're gonna walk all the way back to camp and risk leaving her behind?!" Morita shouted.
Odette slowed as she got nearer and doubled over to catch her breath.
"Steve," Bucky's voice was low, but loud enough for the men to hear, "I'm going back in there and getting her." Odette winced as she stood back up straight. She leaned against the nearest tree and watched the exchange. Steve and Bucky were nearly nose to nose, staring the other down, as if daring the other to stop them.
"No, it's too dangerous." Steve calmly argued, putting his foot down.
"We can't just leave her, Steve." Dum Dum said quietly.
"You couldn't leave me if you tried." Odette finally spoke up, huffing with every breath.
The men whipped around, "Doc!"
"Odette!" Steve and Bucky exclaimed.
All of them ran to her, slipping in the snow over the hilly terrain in a mad dash to get to her. Surprisingly, Jones was the first to reach her and he enveloped her in a bone crushing hug. She returned it in kind, the gravity of the situation finally dawning on her as her heart seized up and her lungs grew tight. Dum Dum and Dernier were right there, also wrapping her in their arms as hot tears began to burn at her eyes.
"Hey-hey now, let us in!" Morita squeezed between Dum Dum and Jones and hugged her. Falsworth did the same on her other side. For a moment, Odette let herself feel safe.
Steve cleared his throat and slowly the men let her go. Leaving Odette exposed before him. Steve looks crossed between livid and relieved. He took a breath—
"I'm sorry." Odette couldn't hold herself back anymore, "What I did was selfish and could have cost the team everything." Her vision blurred as she blinked tears away, "I disobeyed your direct order." She finally looked away, unable to look him in the eyes any further, "And I am fully prepared to face the consequences of my actions."
The snow crunched underfoot as Steve stepped up closer to Odette. Odette braced herself for the worst, but Steve pulled her in for a tight hug. "Next time, just listen to the damn orders." He mumbled quietly so only she could hear. Odette choked out something between a sob and laugh as she buried her face in his shoulder.
The camp welcomed the team back with loud cheers and congratulations. For a moment, Odette allowed herself to breathe. And then, she got to work.
She started pulling her men, one by one, over to their jeeps so she could clean and patch them. Thankfully, most of them escaped with surface cuts and were splattered in blood that wasn't their own. Jones's leg needed to be cleaned again, and Odette broke her promise to not fix his stitches if they popped, but she was none too kind with her needle as she worked. It was hard to work with half frozen and bloodied hands, but thankfully no one had any life threatening or time consuming injuries. Steve, however, had some bruising wherever someone managed to get him in close combat, yet they were miraculously already a light yellowish-brown indicating they were on their way out. She didn't question him. She was too grateful he hadn't dismissed her from the team. She did, however, question Bucky when he came up last.
"I thought you were far enough away to stay safe," Odette commented as she looked at her dwindling supplies. She'd either have to borrow some from the local field doctor, or go to Howard and request more. She wasn't sure which one was more humiliating. "But what can I do for you?" She asked, trying to remain as professional as possible.
Bucky looked at her quietly for a moment before he gave the bed of the jeep a few pats, "Sit with me." He requested, hopping up into the jeep. Odette raised her eyebrows at him and stared at him from under her brow. Bucky rolled his eyes, "Please? Come on." He gave the spot beside him another pat. Odette took her time putting her supplies away before she hopped up next to him, acutely aware of what little space there was for them to both fit. She tensed up, trying to take up as little space as possible so they weren't touching. Bucky must've noticed because he grabbed her shoulder and gave her a small shake, "Relax, okay?"
Odette did so and her face burned as their thighs touched. "God you're such a child." She scolded herself.
"See? Isn't that more comfortable than being stiff all the time?" Bucky asked. Odette only smiled tensely at him. For a while they just sat in the back of the jeep and watched as the camp buzzed by them with excitement and celebrations. And for a moment, Odette forgot where she was and who she was with. She forgot all her dull aches and pains. She took a deep gulp of winter-y forest air, and for once, enjoyed the sting it left in her lungs. "You okay?" Bucky asked.
"Hmm?" Odette hummed questioningly, turning to look at him with wide eyes.
"Breathing?" Bucky pressed.
"Oh, no, I'm fine. Just," She looked back at the camp and the soldiers, "enjoying the peace for now." They had to pack up at the ass-crack of dawn in the morning to return to London and report back to Colonel Phillips. Barely a month into their mission and they already needed to resupply and reevaluate their equipment.
Bucky nodded, slowly turning to face the camp as well. They sat in silence for a moment longer before Bucky looked down at his lap, "I wanted to ask you about London."
And like that, Odette's stomach sank to her feet. She took another deep breath and steeled herself for the worst, "Okay."
"What happened?" Bucky asked, "And don't give me that bullshit excuse you gave Steve." He added.
Odette frowned and turned away so she wouldn't have to look at him. "It's childish."
Bucky waited for her to expand on that, but Odette remained tight lipped. "Try me." Bucky finally pressured.
Odette looked back at him. His eternally sad eyes bore into hers. "That night, I saw all eyes on Peggy. Saw how she turned the staring, and the looks, and the eyes into confidence. And I couldn't handle it." Bucky's brows narrowed in visible confusion. "I wasn't lying when I'd said I'd had other dancing partners." She looked down at where their hips were touching, "But not all of them were for choir."
"What do you mean?" Bucky cleared his throat, "You mean like...boyfriends?"
Odette refused to look at him, "when it came time to it, they all chose other partners. So," Her vision started going blurry but she refused to cry around him, "I decided I'd never face that again. I wouldn't give anyone the choice of making me a wallflower, of putting me to the side." She took a shaky breath, "Of rejecting me," she almost admitted.
Ever since the first boy that had paid her any mind had rejected her, Odette's cowardice had only grown. She fought hard not to be in the same predicament with Bucky. She just wanted to have him in her life, even if she wasn't the one he'd choose, she was content to stand by him. She wouldn't jeopardize that with things like feelings. Besides, she still had no idea if he even saw her in that light...
She dared to glance up at Bucky through her eyelashes, the tears she'd been holding back let loose, and Bucky turned in the small space to face her.
"Odette, no" he whispered so quietly, she wasn't sure he'd actually said anything. For a moment, his hands hesitated, but then he moved to wipe her tears away. She resisted the urge to flinch at his cold hands touching her warm face. His hands trailed down her jaw, one hand dropping away entirely to grab at her hand.
Odette audibly winced, sucking in air between her teeth as her hands started stinging and tingling. Bucky immediately pulled away, "No," Odette wanted to pull him back, but Bucky was looking at her hands.
"Geeze, Odette, look what you've done." Bucky gently scolded. Odette finally took notice of just how bad her hands were. Her skin was red, but it was hard to tell if that was because of all the blood on them, or if it was because of the frostbite she'd endured the night before. The blood she could identify on her knuckles had dried and hardened, leaving ugly, hard, black bumps across her hands. Her palms were scraped up from her tumble across the cobblestones, and she didn't even want to think about how her face or how the rest of her body looked. "Where's your stuff?" He asked.
"Stuff?" Odette chuckled, holding by tears, as she reached behind him into her pack and pulled out a clean cloth, some gauze, and some bandages. "It's not 'stuff'."
"I knew that." Bucky defended himself. He also snatched them out of her hands to lay on his lap. He took one of her hands in his and did his best to mimic the movements he'd seen her do a dozen times before. Odette tried not to wince as he pressed hard against her skin to clean the blood off her. He must have noticed her cringing and clenching her jaw because he lightened his touch as he continued to concentrate on her hands. His hands almost massaged hers as he worked on wrapping them in gauze and bandages. Once he was done with one hand, he moved on to the other, not saying a word as he worked.
When he was done, he slowly dropped his hands, still holding one of hers, onto his lap. Odette could hardly breathe as she looked at her bandaged hands.
Useless.
Unconsciously, she held onto his hand tightly as he raised one of his hands to press her chin between his thumb and index finger. He raised her head so she was looking directly at him.
"You could never be a wallflower, Odette." Bucky said quietly, referring to her earlier statement.
The butterflies that had been flying around her stomach quickly transformed into a tornado, and if Odette didn't do something to squash it quick, she'd end up doing something she'd regret. Thankfully, she didn't have to do anything. Steve cleared his throat nearby and the two broke apart. Odette instinctively jumped to her feet. Steve smiled coyly at them.
"The team's wondering where you are, Odette." Steve subtly dismissed her.
Odette nodded her head, getting the hint. She sped walked past Steve, only stopping once she was by him to turn back and look at Bucky. Steve was already walking over to him, saying something she could no longer hear. Bucky glanced from Steve to Odette, his eyes unreadable. It was only a second that they held eye contact, but it felt like an eternity before Odette turned away to join her men by a bonfire.
I went back and forth for about 2-3 days on if I should break this chapter up or not, and ultimately decided not to break it up. Formatting in docs is way different than ff . net formatting, so I figured this would bulk up the chapter a bit more.
Also. Odette's powers are starting to fully emerge and she's taken notice of them. So, that's exciting.
*UPDATE: CHAPTER 12 IS THE RETURN TO MOVIE CANON