Chapter Two-Breaking Down

(Flashback)

"Steve… you've known me your whole life."

A pair of blue eyes were gazing fiercely back into his eyes. This man was determined to convince him that he was this 'Steve' he had once known.

"Your name is Steven Grant Rogers."

Your name is Steven Grant Rogers… Steve.

The words rung in his head. But he had to push them back! He had a mission to accomplish.

"Shut up! I'm not him!" he growled, throwing a hard punch at the brunette.

"We grew up together in Brooklyn."

"Just shut up!" he yelled, attacking his target again.

But his target didn't block any of his blows this time. After all… he had already accomplished his mission. He instead, dropped his shield and looked straight into the blonde's eyes once more. His eyes still held their determination but there was a sadness behind them.

"I'm not going to fight you. You're not my enemy. You're Steve, my best friend… and I'm with you, until the end of the line."

"ARGGGGH!" the Winter Soldier yelled attacking the man one last time and shoving him off the edge.

Why? WHY, WHY, WHY?!

Why was he doing this to him?!

The Winter Soldier couldn't keep his eyes off the falling, unconscious figure.

Why?

Why didn't he just fight back? Why did keep yelling that name?

Steve.

He tugged at his bangs angrily.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be… This wasn't how his mission was supposed to end!

Yet here he was… diving after the man he had been assigned to kill.

Why?!

And the only answer that came to him… was Steve.

(End Flashback)

The sound of soft footsteps brought him out of his unconscious state.

Footsteps?

His brow furrowed ever so slightly. How could he be hearing footsteps? The wood he had fled into should be empty … right? Then how was he hearing human footsteps?!

His eyes popped open. He tried to move, defend himself just in case, but he found it hard to do so. His body ached… Probably due to the fact that he hadn't been taking very good care of himself lately and not to mention he hadn't been back to the Hyrda in months…

But he couldn't let that keep him back. He needed to get up, keep moving. He couldn't risk being found by anyone. He propped himself up on his metal arm, expecting to hear the crunch of leaves he had fallen onto earlier. But no… there was no crunch. Just the soft swishing of, of a blanket? The feeling of the blanket against his normal arm snapped him back to full alertness. He really was no longer in the woods…

He managed to sit up and took a quick overlook of his surroundings. A small living room from the looks of it. He was on the couch facing a television and beside him was another couch but slightly smaller than his. There was a slight indention in the seat of the couch and a blanket thrown carelessly to the side. He wasn't alone, but the footsteps he heard a few moments before had already alerted him of that. He glanced around the room again. The other person was nowhere in sight. Maybe he could sneak out before-

"Ah, you're up."

Steve stiffened as he looked up to face the man. He was slightly surprised to find an African-American man around his age (well the age he appeared to be) standing at the edge of the couch he was still lying on. This was unexpected and not good… especially if this man wasn't Hydra. Although, things would probably be just as bad if this man was with Hydra.

"How are you feeling?"

Steve blinked in surprised. Not exactly a question he had been expecting…

"Mmphfine," he mumbled, lowering his eyes.

The man cocked his head. "Well… do you remember what happened?"

Steve immediately stiffened and watched the man warily. Was this Hydra testing him?

The man noticed Steve's uneasiness. "Ah right. I'm Sam, Sam Wilson," he said introducing himself with an outstretched hand.

Steve hesitated. Sam Wilson… That wasn't a name of anyone he knew in Hydra. Perhaps this was a somewhat safe situation. He gave the man a slight nod. He was a bit wary of allowing himself to return a handshake. To his relief, the man did not seem offended that he hadn't returned his handshake. He just pulled his hand back to his side and gave Steve a small understanding smile.

"Would you like some breakfast?"

Steve blinked in surprise and subconsciously tightened his grip around his blanket. This stranger… was offering him food? He was deeply touched… yet concerned. Did this man not watch-what did they call it again?-tv? Surely this man would have recognized him as the Winter Soldier who had caused so much trouble in the city barely two or three days ago?

Gurgle, gurgle.

Despite all his training, Steve was unable to hide his embarrassment. Stupid stomach!

Sam chuckled softly. "I'll bring some to you."

Steve gave him a slight nod and watched as Sam headed towards the kitchen. Perhaps he should try escaping while that man… Sam was working on breakfast? But even the slightest shift of movement was enough to make him want to crawl back under his blanket. He was the Winter Soldier for goodness's sake! This shouldn't hurt as bad as it did. He grit his teeth as he tried to stand. But it was no good. His legs were not about to support him in this state. He needed food… and rest. Lots of rest. And well, this was a God-send if he thought about it honestly. He had a shelter from Hydra and, and Bucky for the time being.

Plop!

Bucky raised an eyebrow at Natasha. "What's this?" he asked, motioning with eyes to the stack of paper work she had just placed on his nightstand.

"Research. Thought I'd give you something to do so you don't go wandering off on us again."

Bucky snorted and picked up a file. "And you think this will help?"

"Planning is necessary for success."

"I see your point…" he grumbled. "Are all these on Steve?"

Natasha gave him a slight nod. "These were all the files we've collected on him as well as on Hydra."

Bucky frowned deeply as he flipped through the files. Some of the pages had pictures pasted on or paper-clipped to them. He managed to peel his eyes away from the pictures and focus on the more important written sections. The parts that would tell him more about Steve.

"Oh, one more thing."

Bucky glanced up from his files, eyebrow once again raised. "Yes?"

"You should see about shaving," she said with a slight smirk. "You're looking like a bum."

Bucky rolled his eyes and felt his chin. He could feel a little bit of stubble forming, but that didn't really bother him. "So? I don't think it's that bad…"

"Compared to the Winter Soldier?" Now Natasha had her eyebrow raised.

Bucky scrunched up his nose and gave her no reply. But, come to think of it… Steve did seem rather well-groomed. His hair was not in the crew-cut Bucky was familiar with but it was longer than Steve normally-used to-style it. And yes, he was rather clean-shaven. He wondered if Hydra actually cared about Steve? It was a weird notion after meeting some of the crazed Hydra agents. Then there his own harrowing experience with Hydra... it didn't quite make sense why Steve seemed fine. His brow furrowed as he frowned deeply. What on earth had they done to Steve?

Note: Hey guys and gals sorry it took so long to update. I was busy with college and well this chapter was giving me some difficulty. I was struggling with not getting ahead of myself. XD Well I hope you guys will enjoy this little update. Sam came in a little sooner than I thought but I think he fit in well. Hopefully I'll get more action in the next few chapters. :)

And thank you so much for the favorites and follows! I'm so flattered... so maybe could you drop a review too? ;)