Hey everyone!
Yes the end of chapter 18 was a bummer. My beta-reader yelled at me for it xD But here you have chapter 19! I really hope you enjoy!
Chapter 19
He pulled the trigger…
The silver shield fell, the vibranium whistling eerily as it collided with the floor.
He fell over, his knees hitting the ground hard and painfully. His shield lay at his side. His arms spread out to catch his fall but his left arm gave way under a strong jolt of pain that flew through his body. His ears were ringing and his head was spinning right out of control. He was disorientated and in pain. Somewhere between his hazy thoughts and the strange noises around him, he tried to locate the source of the pain. He couldn't.
He had been shot. Zola was still alive. He had a gun. Steve had to get up. He had to defend himself. He had to get back to Bucky!
He formed his thoughts slowly, carefully, fighting against the headache forming behind his temples. His right hand twitched, pushing against the tiles to lift his upper body up again. His left arm hung uselessly, covered in blood and numb. He closed his eyes for a moment when the light from above stung, ramming a dagger of pain into his head. He groaned, heaving his heavy body up far enough to lean his back against the drawer and spread his aching legs out in front of him. Once he'd done that, he dared to open his eyes again slowly. Movement caught his eye immediately, even before his eyes had managed to focus properly. A black figure was moving away from him and towards the side of the room. The figure wasn't completely black though- there was something light attached to the dark body, something that reflected the light. Steve closed his eyes again, lifting his right hand to push into his eyes with the palm of his hands.
"You didn't just fucking do that. Tell me you didn't!"
Steve's eyes flew open and his jaw dropped when a silent gasp left his lips. Suddenly his sight became crystal clear, his eyes focusing on the dark figure holding Zola against the cupboard he had been hiding in when Steve had initially entered the lab. The light thing, the object reflecting the light was made out of metal and had a red star painted on it. The dark figure had brown hair, long, hiding his face from view completely.
"Bucky." Steve breathed out hoarsely, feeling tears of relief and sadness well up in his eyes, making them burn.
He let his head fall back against the set of drawers, keeping his eyes on Bucky's metal hand that was holding onto Zola's collar.
"Sergeant Barnes." Zola grinned, "It's nice to see you again." Bucky's grip on the man tightened and he pushed him against the cupboard so hard that the wood creaked.
"You really shouldn't have done that Zola…" Bucky growled fiercely. Steve had never heard Bucky talk the way he was. His voice was deep and rough in a way that made Steve want to shiver. He didn't sound like Bucky. From the hard line of Bucky's back and shoulders, Steve knew that Bucky was itching for a fight and he was angry- more than that, he was livid. He could pretty much picture how angry Bucky looked, picture the ferocity in his best friend's eyes and the scowl on his handsome face. Bucky was dressed in a black long-sleeve of which he had ripped off the left sleeve. He wasn't wearing any armour whatsoever. He wasn't armed with a gun or a knife. It was just Bucky; without any weapons except his arm.
"What shouldn't I have done?" Zola asked Bucky in mock-innocence that had Bucky's skin crawling with rage. Bucky pulled Zola away from the cupboard before slamming him against it so hard that the doors gave way with a loud crack and the tiny scientist disappeared into the cupboard's inside. Then, Bucky pulled him out again, lifting him into the air effortlessly and slamming him down on the operating table with so much force that the metal gave way, forming extensive dents in the surface of the table. Zola squirmed, letting out strangled noises that resembled screams. Bucky's metal hand had shifted from Zola's collar to his neck, holding him in place with crushing force while he fastened the shackles that had once held him in place instead.
"You tried to kill him." Bucky growled, "You tried to kill Steve!"
"I did offer to keep him alive." Zola grinned up at Bucky's rage-contorted face, "I was going to enrol him into the Winter Solder Pr-." Zola's sentence was cut short when Bucky's right fist came down on his head, slamming it into the operating table and deepening the dent there.
"You'd have to tear me limb from limb before trying that though because if there's even a tiny bit of life left in my body, I will kill every single person on this planet who tries to do that to Steve." Bucky whispered in Zola's ear. He was shaking with rage but despite his anger, he was still Bucky. Only Bucky Barnes could get this upset about someone trying to hurt Steve.
The haze in Steve's mind was clearing slowly as the shock subsided, replaced with the urgent need to keep an eye on Bucky. He wanted to be next to Bucky. He wanted to touch his hand to Bucky's back and tell him that it was okay, that he was safe, that Bucky didn't have to be angry. His body was yet to obey to him though, so he resorted to trying to bring Bucky to him instead.
"Buck." Steve tried to call out in a strained, hoarse voice. Bucky's frame relaxed immediately and he let go of Zola's throat. His shoulders dropped and his legs turned him around to face Steve.
"Stevie." Bucky breathed out almost like a sigh of relief. His face was soft, his eyes round and warm, every trace of anger having dissipated from his features. He was next to Steve in seconds, crouching down in the blood smeared on the floor, his hands framing Steve's pale face. "Damn it I was so angry. Should'a come to you first Stevie."
"Hey there Buck." Steve mumbled, waving off Bucky's apologetic look with a smile.
"You're hurt. Where does it hurt?" Bucky's eyes began scanning Steve near to anxiously, his eyebrows furrowing when he failed to find the wound.
"My arm." Steve mumbled, nodding his head towards his left arm. Bucky's attention was on the arm immediately, thumbing at the black material until his fingers turned red. He took a hold of the blood-soaked sleeve carefully, eyes occasionally flicking to Steve's face to check for any signs of pain while he continued. Steve concentrated on Bucky's face while the latter started tearing the sleeve to expose the wound. A wave of nostalgia washed through Steve unexpectedly, conjuring up a wistful smile and distracting Steve sufficiently. This was just like the olden days when damn it Stevie! Do you gotta pick a fight all the damn time? This ain't just a bruise you punk! The guy had a knife! What the hell were you thinking?!
"It's a graze shot." Bucky sagged visibly, a relieved smile flashing across his face. Steve blinked a few times, stunned by the contrast between the Bucky from his memories and the Bucky crouching in front of him in that moment. Still, he couldn't help what came out of his mouth next.
"Now wouldn't be a good time to say that I had 'em on the ropes, right?" What Steve said managed to coax a husky laugh from Bucky that made his heart skip a beat. "It's never a good time for you to say that punk. I'm still waiting for the day for that to actually be true for once."
"You remember?" Steve asked quietly.
"Stevie." Bucky's eyes flicked up to him to give him a very sarcastic look, "How the hell could I forget all those times I had to patch you up after you went and played the hero again?"
What were the chances that Bucky would come? Steve wondered. What were the chances that he would somehow know that Steve would need him? Steve didn't even know how Bucky had managed to get to Europe, never mind the fact that he'd swept in at the last minute to save Steve's life. He decided that later would be a better time to wonder about all the details. What mattered now was that Bucky was there and that they were both safe. Steve watched Bucky tear off his own sleeve, leaving both of his arms bare now. He used his torn off sleeve as a pressure bandage for Steve's arm.
Steve clenched his jaw when Bucky tied the cloth tightly, trying not to show how much it hurt. He didn't want Bucky to worry more than he inadvertently would after this mission.
"How does that feel?" Bucky asked Steve, soft eyes scanning Steve's face caringly. Steve smiled.
"It's-."
"Rusted." Before Steve could even realize that Zola had just started reciting the trigger words, Bucky was on his feet. In a blink of an eye, Bucky was standing in front of Zola, hands finding the edge of the operating table. "Seventeen!" Zola yelled, his accent making his Russian almost impossible to understand. The Soldier understood though and that was more than enough.
"No." Bucky mumbled, bowing his head and cringing when the next word was spoken. Another word later and Bucky began screaming, pulling at the table with all his might. His shoulders flexed and his kneed bent. The tiles around the table cracked, the bolts holding the table on the floor coming undone. Zola was already at homecoming and Steve was seconds away from getting up, regardless of how fatigued he was, and using his shield to silence Zola when Bucky's knees bent a little more and he gritted his teeth, letting out a strangled scream while giving another good pull. With a metallic groan, the table was ripped from the floor and whirled through the air with Zola still strapped to it. Steve heard Zola scream right before the table collided with the wall in Bucky's coma-room with so much force that the sound of the impact rung in Steve's ears painfully. The table clattered to the floor face down, the only traces of Zola being the blood on the wall.
He was dead.
All was silent.
Steve got to his feet, clutching onto the set of drawers behind him for stability. His body ached all over, the pulsing pain from his arm having a numbing effect on almost every muscle he owned. Still, he had to get to Bucky and that was more important than any amount of pain he was in. When he started to move, he stumbled and swayed at first but managing to stagger over to Bucky nonetheless. Bucky was breathing heavily, hands clenched into tight fists. Steve wrapped his arms around Bucky's torso from behind, resting his head on Bucky's shoulder gently and aligning his arms with Bucky's stomach. Bucky held his breath for a moment before letting it out again in a heavy sigh. His back softened, aligning with Steve's upper body, pushing against Steve's chest.
"You with me?" Steve asked Bucky quietly, his arms tightening around Bucky instinctively.
"Always." Bucky promised him, leaning back as much as Steve let him, "Are you okay Steve? I blanked out there for a moment."
"I'm fine." Steve promised, "You?"
"M'fine." Bucky muttered, tilting his head back to lean it against the side of Steve's, "Zola?"
"I'm pretty sure he's dead."
"Good. It's over then." They stayed like that for a moment before the pain in Steve's arm became too much and he had to, regretfully, let go of Bucky. As soon as Bucky had turned to look at Steve, Steve felt himself shift a little. Now that the drama was over the situation was starting to sink in. Bucky was back in a Hydra facility, facing the very man that had caused Bucky immeasurable amounts of pain. Hadn't Steve come all this way to prevent a situation like this from arising? Had he failed his mission then? Sure, he would still be able to destroy the files but what about Bucky?
"I didn't want you to have to come here again." Steve admitted, openly showing how angry he was at himself for this whole situation.
"Was my choice." Bucky smiled lightly. Steve lifted his eyes from the floor to look at Bucky again. It then occurred to Steve that Bucky was at the heart of where his nightmares came from and that he hadn't broken down, in fact- he was even smiling at Steve. Steve had told Zola that Bucky was strong, stronger than most people would dare to imagine. So why hadn't Steve given Bucky more credit? Sure, he was still a little instable but Bucky was never fragile. Looking at Bucky right then, he didn't look like he was about to break down. He didn't look like he had just killed someone or that he had almost been triggered again a moment ago. He looked strangely at ease. His shoulders were slumped, his lips resting in a pleasant curve. His eyes were alert- not the kind of hyper-vigilant alert, but curious kind of alert. They were watching Steve, waiting for him to sort out his thoughts. Bucky had always been able to see when Steve was lost in thought and he had always made a point to wait for Steve to finish off his train of thought before asking about it.
"You're here." Steve concluded, a puzzled frown still on his face, "But you're still… you."
"I needed an anchor is all." Bucky's smile became a little shy now, "And seeing as you're always buggin' me, I guess you got the job." Steve's face softened and he laughed breathily, bowing his head to hide his blush. Steve doubted that Bucky would ever know exactly how much that meant to him.
"I thought I was never gonna see you again." Steve muttered a little breathlessly, "I was so sure that Zola was going to kill me."
"It was close too." Bucky agreed, nodding, "I ain't ever gonna let you out of my sight again Stevie. Every time you go on these things you act like a complete idiot." It seemed to Steve as though Bucky had said that thoughtlessly but once the words had left his mouth, he was frowning, anger shimmering in his eyes, just brightly enough for Steve to see. "What are you talking about-."
"If you were looking for my file- I got two." Bucky interrupted Steve, "One is under Barnes and one is under Winter Soldier Project."
"Bucky?" Steve frowned, taking a step closer to Bucky almost urgently.
There was something Bucky wasn't telling him, something he was actively avoiding talking about. "I'm just a little shaken up is all. Everything's alright Stevie." Bucky lied and Steve bowed his head. Bucky was clearly avoiding the subject but that was Steve to do? If Bucky didn't want to talk about something, there was nothing Steve could do to force him. He had to respect Bucky's decision. "
Actually," Bucky spoke up again when he realized that Steve wasn't about to press the topic, "Might wanna burn both. Might wanna burn all of this. In fact… mind if I burn the whole place down?" He was grinning now, his grey-blue eyes shimmering with the same cheeky glint that Steve had missed since the day they'd found Bucky again.
Steve studied Bucky for a moment, searching for any echoes of the anger his best friend had displayed a moment ago. It had vanished as if it had never been there. Steve let out a breathy laugh. He didn't know whether he should be thankful for Bucky's sudden shift in mood or whether it should unsettle him. Steve figured that, maybe, Zola's death put Bucky at ease. Zola was one of the only people who knew everything about Bucky. With Zola dead, a lot of information about the Winter Soldier was already gone and that without destroying those files. Still, the files were next in line and Steve still had every intention of destroying them, he just hadn't thought about the how yet. A fire might not be that bad of an idea. It wasn't as though this lab was supposed to be used in the future and from a therapeutic point of view, it might be good for Bucky to burn the place.
"Burning it would probably be a good idea. That way we can make sure nothing is recovered." Steve decided, laughing when Bucky jumped into action, yanking open every drawer in sight and emptying folder after folder onto the floor. "This stuff is gonna make a real great fire Stevie, just you watch!" Steve stood still, in a state of awe while he watched Bucky move around him. There was an air of jauntiness about him while he moved around and Steve would never for the life of him have expected Bucky to display this sort of behaviour in a Hydra base of all places. It was almost like Bucky was carefully crafting a new memory of this place, using the better, happier memory as a weapon to strike down the nightmares this lab induced, memories that were threatening to wrap their cold, bony fingers around his throat to strangle him.
Sparkling grey eyes found his and it jolted Steve out of his thoughts. He was met with a small, unsure smile and slightly furrowed brows. "Sorry." Steve laughed sheepishly, "I was just lost in thought, that's all."
"S'fine. I don't mind you watchin' me Stevie. You always have." It was an off-handed comment and by the time it had sunk in with Steve, Bucky had turned his attention back to his creation. Steve felt his cheeks heat up and he turned away, pretending to inspect Zola's desk to hide his blush. He hadn't counted on Bucky ever noticing. Ever since Steve had had feelings for Bucky, this meaning since they were kids, Steve had always struggled to keep his eyes away from Bucky and keep his handsome face off of his sketchpads. Bucky must have noticed somewhere along the line but why on earth was he remembering that and not other things that, in Steve's mind, were far more important than the fact that he tended to stare at his best friend?
"Do you think the curtain will burn?" Steve turned around to find Bucky standing in front of the curtain separating the coma-room from the lab, the edge of one side between his fingertips, "Feels like plastic."
"I wouldn't try." Steve stuttered out, still far too flustered by that off-handed comment of Bucky's to think of more to say.
"Probably wouldn't be such a good idea." Bucky agreed, nodding. He then walked up to Steve and pushed past him gently to get to the drawer in Zola's desk to empty that out too. Steve swallowed nervously, making space for Bucky a little too quickly. "You alright there Stevie?" Bucky wanted to put the drawer down on top of the desk to tend to Steve but the latter put his hand over Bucky's metal one, stopping him.
"Just a little dizzy. I think I'll just sit down again."
"Okay." Bucky nodded, eying Steve concernedly for a moment before carrying the drawer over to his formidable heap of paper and wood. He balanced the drawer on one arm while fishing out the lighter that had been kept there, dumping the drawer onto the pile of paper once he had the lighter secured in his hand. Steve watched Bucky intently, trying to keep his eyes from lingering on the scarring on Bucky's left shoulder for too long. It wasn't often that Bucky wore anything that exposed the scarring. The scarred tissue was both fascinating and horrifying at the same time. Steve wondered if Bucky would ever let him examine his shoulder more closely, see where Bucky ended and the machine started.
Bucky looked like he was searching the pile for something, his eyes narrowing the longer he searched. He kicked at the pile with his booted feet a few times, kicking seemingly unimportant files out of the way. Then, his eyes lit up and he shoved the lighter into the pocket of his black pants, picking up two files. He opened the one, cringing at whatever he saw there. His eyes lingered on the file for a moment before he pulled something out of said file, holding it up to look at, smiling lightly. From where Steve was sitting, he could only see that it was a small, square piece of paper.
"I want you to have this." Bucky said, walking over to Steve and handing him the small square. It was a portrait photo of Bucky, cut to show only his shoulders and his head. He was wearing his formal military uniform, a gentle, charming smile on his face. His eyes were sparkling and the military hat he was wearing suited him extremely well.
Steve loved it.
"It was taken the day we left on the mission." Bucky explained, "It was the last photo taken of me before Hydra found me."
There was something incredibly precious in that gesture; that Bucky wanted Steve to have that photo instead of keeping it for himself.
"Thanks Bucky." Steve thanked him earnestly. He was pretty sure that he was going to put that photo into his wallet when he got back to the States, "What are those files?"
"One is my personal file and the other is the one for the Winter Soldier Project." Bucky said, walking back to the pile and pulling out the lighter again. Bucky took both files into his left hand, letting the tiny flame of the lighter lick at the edges of the papers. His eyes were focused solely on the flame that reflected in his iris and pupil, watching the files catch fire. He watched them burn, holding onto them even when the flames started coming extremely close to his hand. The light the flame gave off, orange and warm, reflected in the metal of his fingers, drawing Steve's eyes away from Bucky's calm ones. Eventually, Steve settled on watching the flame, now large and hungry, devour the files. He blinked when the files were let go and they fell onto the pile, infecting the other papers with the same destructive element. The flames, now turning into a fire, danced across all the papers, licking at the wood and eventually making their way over to Zola's corpse.
Steve got up slowly, grateful when he found that his legs were ready to cooperate again. He'd need his legs if he wanted to get out of this place. He walked over to Bucky who was watching the fire burn. He had a strange look in his eyes, the look people wore when they watched their house burn down. The flames weren't just destroying meaningless files; they were eradicating any traces of Bucky's former life as an assassin, as a pawn to Hydra.
The flames were ending one life- a life he had been forced to live, and allowing him to start a new one.
"And you're sure that'll do the trick?" Steve asked quietly, nudging Bucky's shoulder with his own gently out of habit.
"Hydra keeps all of their things written on paper to avoid anyone from tracking them over the internet."
"That must be one hell of a job." Steve muttered and Bucky nodded, "Glad Shield was never like that." He added thoughtfully.
"I'm sure Shield has a ton of encryptions on their stuff." Bucky mused. He shifted a little, looking around the room uncomfortably. Noticing this, Steve raised his hand, resting it against Bucky's back, right between his shoulder blades.
"You wanna leave?" Steve asked him gently and Bucky nodded profusely, "Then let's get out of here." Steve smiled at Bucky, thrilled to find Bucky smiling back.
There you have it! So the mission had a happy ending after all!
Thank you so so much for reading this far! I really hope you're enjoying the fanfiction up until this point.
Please let me know what you guys think!
Also, if you have any prompts or ideas for Stucky one-shots you would like me to write, feel free to inbox me!
Til next week! :)
