The day started just like any other normal day for Sam and Bucky. Wakeup. Workout. Train.
Sam was proud that he was finally getting the hang of some new moves Bucky had been teaching him. While Bucky was thinking of how best to better challenge Sam next time to ensure he knew the moves well enough to be second nature. For Bucky, everything had to be second nature, muscle memory, before he considered his job of training anything a success. That was how he was taught and it was still how he taught others.
Bucky was feeling good. He was looking forward to their run. Spring was transitioning into summer so the weather was perfect. The blooming had ceased, as well as everyone's allergies, and the trees were in their full-leaved glory.
Bucky decided for them to take the route with the most trees on it this sunny morning. The particular route they took brought them past the old thrift and record store. In the window sat a new record that Bucky recognized. It had been really popular back in his day. He stopped and had them save it for when he could next come back with money and pick it up.
As they made their way through town and towards the park Bucky didn't even feel anxious today. For the first time in months, he felt no trepidation as they meandered down the jogging trail towards the opposite end of the park.
The bend in the trail was within view. Even Sam noticed that Bucky wasn't holding his breath for once.
As they rounded the bend and the tables came into view Sam waited for Bucky to tense. Miss Mysterious was there. Sam was waiting for some kind of reaction. Certainly, he would still have at least one adverse reaction upon seeing her.
But no. He seemed perfectly at ease.
Sam could see that today was a laptop day for Miss Mysterious. She was intently studying something on the screen and taking copious notes extremely quickly.
Sam thought that whatever she was writing must either be shorthand or look like absolute chicken scratch. Bucky glanced over at her and then went to look away as they got even closer.
Then it happened. She stopped scribbling notes in her notebook and looked up.
She immediately locked eyes with Bucky.
Bucky almost tripped. The Winter Soldier almost tripped over thin air. He almost gasped for air as it felt like all of it had evaporated from his lungs.
For the first time ever, he was seeing her face head-on, in more than just profile or her looking down.
Her almond eyes were a striking shade of green. Penetrating. Bucky was unable to look away. They almost physically pierced him. Almost rooted him to the spot. He had never seen a color like it before. He had seen light blue eyes that were almost like ice, but he had never seen a green counterpart.
The only way he could describe the color was the color of the light filtering down through a forest canopy. The green of new leaves sprouting just after the first spring bloom. It was a completely unique color that almost glowed.
Bucky was both haunted and unsettled.
What affected him the most, however, was not their color. She may have just been merely glancing up at him, but what really shook him to his core was the fact that the moment the woman looked up and they locked eyes, Bucky felt an overwhelming sense of fear.
It gripped his spine tight. Bucky felt an unwavering wave of terror prickle his scalp. A not unfamiliar feeling. He had not felt this way in years. Decades. He had only felt fear of this magnitude in his first few years as the Winter Soldier. And he knew that if he did not comply it would only get worse.
For a moment Bucky was back in the chair. Back when everything he knew was pain. And if he made a mistake or did anything other than what he was instructed to, exactly as he was instructed to do it, there would be more pain. A time when all he knew was violence, destruction, and agony.
For a brief second Bucky almost instinctively stopped to stand at attention. Waiting for an order that would never come. One that would never come again.
That time in his life was over. Somehow, Bucky managed to rip his eyes away from hers. He managed to continue their way back to the apartment. He was able to keep from using his super-soldier strength to get away from whoever that woman was.
He was not able to make it to his room before collapsing in the hallway. All he could do was bring his knees to his chest and wrap his arms around his legs. Hyperventilating, he went catatonic.
Sam had never seen anything like it. Well, that was not entirely true. He had seen many PTSD patients react this way to major triggers. What he had never seen was Bucky react this way. He had never seen the battle that raged behind his eyes.
For the first time in years, Sam saw a flash of what he knew to be the Winter Soldier. Sam knew that the training, as well as the Winter Soldier, was still very much there. Shuri had indeed disconnected Bucky from the brainwashing he had received. She had severed the trigger words connection. Making them meaningless. Powerless. Which just meant that all she had done was take the detonator out of the bomb.
The fact remained the bomb was still just that. A bomb.
Everyone knew that the Winter Soldier was still there, albeit dormant. No one, not even Bucky, knew if it was possible that there was another way of bringing that programming out.
And all he was certain of was that Bucky's Winter Soldier programming was still fully intact, that he had just seen a glimpse of it. And that Old Green Eyes had caused it.
It took Bucky the better part of the rest of the day to recover. Sam kept his distance. Knowing, in this case, that it was better to stand back than to force himself, or his help, onto Bucky.
When Bucky finally came out of his room Sam was in the kitchen cooking dinner. Sam liked to cook and his Louisiana bayou background gave him the knowledge and know-how. It also helped him focus and calm down when he was stressed. So, he was currently working on quite the elaborate dinner.
Bucky pulled himself up onto one of the barstools and put his elbows on the counter. Resting his chin on his intertwined fingers and started to stare into the ether. Or the fridge. Sam couldn't really tell.
Sam put down the spoon onto a holder, went to a cabinet, got a glass, and filled it with water. He then placed the glass in front of Bucky. Who only watched, saying nothing, not moving anything but his eyes.
"Drink up, Buck. You need something to drink and I'll have something to eat here in the next half an hour or so."
Bucky did as he was told.
"Thank you." He said in a quiet voice.
For the rest of the time, he silently watched Sam cook. Sam was more than used to this. Bucky was a horrible cook, compared to himself, so Sam never let him in the kitchen. But Bucky always did like to watch.
In no time Sam finished up and served both of them up very large portions. Sam went to sit at the table, while Bucky stayed where he was at the counter. They ate in more silence until Sam couldn't take it anymore.
"You wanna tell me what happened earlier?" Sam inquired carefully. The last thing he wanted was to set Bucky off. The guy had been through enough already. Let alone whatever had happened earlier.
"No."
"Let me rephrase that question: Will you tell me what happened earlier?" Sam looked over at Bucky and saw that he was mostly just pushing his food around and staring into his plate.
The silence was so loud Sam could barely stand it. Finally, Bucky broke it.
"I felt the instinct to stop and wait for orders. I wanted to stand at attention and wait for my next assignment. Or, at least the Winter Soldier did."
Sam almost choked on his food. This was a problem. A really, really big problem.
Bucky continued in a monotone voice.
"I felt scared. Scared of what would happen to me if I didn't. Before… if I misbehaved or made a mistake…. They made it hurt. Worse than normal."
Sam slowly put down his fork and stood up. He went over to the other barstool and sat down. Not saying anything. What could he say? He knew what Bucky had been subjected to. He knew the gist of what had happened to him when he was not deployed on a mission by HYDRA. But Bucky never talked about it.
Now Sam could see why. Just talking about it seemed to shake the other man up something fierce. Sam wanted to steer the conversation in another direction before Bucky went south again.
"So, is she HYDRA? Have you ever seen her before? Do you know for sure now?"
Bucky was quiet for a long time. Sam knew he was thinking about what Sam had asked. Maybe this had not even occurred to him to think about that yet. That maybe he was still reeling from their encounter earlier.
After many silent minutes of Bucky staring off with a furrowed brow, he finally spoke.
"No. She isn't HYDRA. That I know of. I have not seen her before. Ever. Her eyes are too distinct. I would know or would have remembered. And that I am sure of."
Sam was confused.
"Then why did she looking at you cause… all of that to happen?"
"I have never seen her before. I know I haven't. What I am not sure of is why I had that reaction. I cannot remember."
Bucky paused for a long time. Sam waited with bated breath.
"It's like I said before. There is something really familiar about her. I just can't for the life of me put my finger on it. It's driving me up the fucking wall. It's almost as if a memory is refusing to come to the surface even though it is there, scratching away. Sometimes I think this is all because my mind is so fractured."
Bucky hung his head, Sam sighed heavily.
"I think it's time we talked to Tyler. I'm pretty sure the good doc would agree that we now have enough evidentiary support to inquire on who this chick is."
Bucky nodded. Tyler was their guy whenever they needed something from SHIELD. He was their main contact, as well as one of the agents they dealt with regularly. Also, one of the ones they considered a friend as well as a colleague. This may be the first time that they needed something, but they both knew he would be able to get the job done.
The next morning Sam and Bucky had their workout and training session as per usual. Only this time Bucky was going in harder than Sam had ever seen him go before. It was almost scary. If he had not known better he would be worried that the Winter Soldier was officially back.
They, of course, decided against their run that day. Due to current circumstances, both Sam and Bucky thought it would be best to give it a rest for a few days. At least until they got a move on finding out exactly who this woman was.
Sam got the ball rolling as soon as it was late enough in the morning to call someone without fear of being rude. After their training session, he gave Tyler a call and asked for a favor. Obliging, Tyler asked them to meet him at SHIELD HQ later in the afternoon so they could go over everything in person.
Later that afternoon Sam and Bucky found themselves in an old interrogation room having a chat with Agent Tyler Cooper. Sam gave him the basics of what had happened. Bucky, although reluctantly, relayed the story from his point of view and how he had been affected.
"So, basically what we are asking is that you take a description down of this woman and compare it to anyone who would qualify as a Person of Interest for SHIELD. If that comes up with nothing, we need you to search the civilian and government databases to find out exactly who this person is, and most importantly, who their family was." Sam stated matter-of-factly.
"Particularly who their relatives were back in the 1940s. And where they were at the time. If anyone does match the description." Bucky added. It was his idea that maybe he had known one of her relatives. Which would explain the familiarity.
"I think I can do that. It may take a minute to run through all of the databases, but it is definitely something that we can do. Now all I need is that description. The more precise the better." Tyler went to grab a pen and notepad from the pocket on the inside of his jacket.
"What do you mean 'we'? We need you to do this for us. I don't trust anyone else with this." Bucky made it a point to hide his anxiety and frustration, but it was still more than evident.
"I personally do not have the clearance nor the authorization needed to conduct a search like this. Especially an off-the-books, without a warrant search. But I know someone who does. The only problem is she is the best analyst we have. So, as I said, this might take a minute."
Bucky was still leveling Tyler with a stare.
Tyler sighed.
"All aspects of who, what, when, where, and why will be kept between us. All she will be getting is the description of the person and what you need her to do with it. When she is done, she will give me the files to have you guys go over."
Sam spoke up before Bucky had a chance to say anything sarcastic or scathing.
"That sounds great, Coop. Please call me as soon as you get something. We really appreciate you going out of your way and doing this for us."
Sam leveled Bucky with A Look.
"Yeah, man. Thanks. We owe you one." Bucky said almost begrudgingly.
Tyler chuckled.
"Any time, guys. Now, tell me everything you remember about this person. The more detailed the better. This particular analyst is a hound for details. And the last thing I want is her up my ass trying to get more information. She kind of scares me."
Tyler shivered slightly and both Sam and Bucky couldn't stifle their chuckles fast enough.