Author: The Wayward Angel
Story: The Red String
Rating: M
Word Count: 942
Chapter: 9/?
Pairings: Starbuck
Spoilers: Captain America: The Winter Soldier spoilers apply
Trigger Warnings: a/b/o dynamics, alpha!Bucky, omega!Steve, explicit sex
Summary: It was snowing out and Steve had a cold. Those were the two things Bucky focused on. Their heating had been cut off two days prior and Steve had taken to burning old sketches and drawings to try to keep warm. Bucky had started sleeping next to Steve at night to keep him warm. *Alpha/Omega AU*
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.
AN: Hello friends, I haven't seen TWS since April. I don't remember the scenes all correctly, so enjoy me making an attempt until the movie comes out on DVD.
Unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine. Please feel free to point out any grammatical or spelling errors.
The Red String
Chapter Nine
April 2014
Washington, D.C.
Steve couldn't believe what he was seeing, but there was no mistaking the Alpha in front of him. "Bucky?" The Omega questioned. The Alpha's eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion.
"Who the hell is Bucky?"
Steve didn't have much time to organize his thoughts or the torrent of emotions swirling through him before the Alpha was attacking him, pulling out his blade and stabbing downward towards Steve's neck. Steve dodged out of the way, hitting the other soldier's wrist in an attempt to knock the blade out of the Alpha's hand. Bucky dropped the blade into his other hand and made another swipe toward the Omega's stomach. Steve dodged out of the way again. It was a flurry of movement, an intricate dance between two friends turned enemies.
And almost as suddenly as the Winter Soldier had appeared, he was gone. In his place stood HYDRA and SHIELD agents unaware that their greatest enemy stood so close in the guise of fellow agents and friends. Steve, Natasha, and Sam were put under arrest and guided to the back of an armored vehicle.
Steve was afraid, more than he had been in a long time. Not because he feared for his life, or even because he feared for the lives of millions of people around the world. Steve was afraid to hurt his mate. Fearstink clouded the Omega's naturally sweet scent, making him smell bitter. Sam warned Steve that Bucky wasn't really there anymore, but the Omega knew that he hadn't imagined the flicker of recognition in the Alpha's eyes.
Steve sighed, closing his eyes and steeling his nerves. He would do what he had to do, and that was that.
Steve was prepared to die. He knew the moment he saw the Winter Soldier standing across him on the bridge of the hellicarrier that he wasn't going to make it out of this alive. The thing was, Steve couldn't really bring himself to care. Every part of his very soul seemed to ache in the presence of his mate. Steve drew up to his full height, ignoring the Alpha's aggressive posturing in front of him. He took a breath. He was going to die, but not before bringing the hellicarrier and HYDRA down first.
Several bullet wounds and a failing hellicarrier later, Steve was being pinned to the side of the falling air ship, one hand around his throat and another trying to punch his face in. Steve tried to appeal to his mate, " You're my friend." He insisted.
"You're my mission." The Alpha growled, delivering another punch with his metal hand that left Steve's vision fuzzy around the edges.
"Then finish it," The Omega gasped, "Because I'm with you til the end of the line."
A flicker of recognition in the Alpha's dark eyes before they widened in horror. Horror of what he was doing to his friend, his mate. Horror for what he had done to so many others before this man. Horror for what he had become. There was a mighty creak, and then Steve was falling into the waters below.
Bucky pulled Steve from the freezing water, dragging him up onto the riverbank. Part of him ached to stay, to take care of this man that his brain knew was his oldest friend and his mate. Part of him wanted to hold the Omega until help came, protective Alpha instincts telling him to stay close. But Bucky knew he was being hunted, and he couldn't exactly remember who he was or who he had been.
Words, memories, were coming to him the longer he stayed awake. The longer he stayed with Steve.
Steve Rogers.
Brooklyn.
Omega.
Mate.
Sick.
Weak.
Serum.
Nazis.
Torture.
Fall.
Cold.
He remembered a tiny body, pressed against him through years of sickness and poverty. He remembered a promise. He remembered a bite mark against pale white skin. He remembered so much pain, and an Omega saving him from it. He remembered terrible crimes. Torture. Murder. But then things would start to fade, almost as quickly as they came to him.
'Your name is James Buchanan Barnes, and you're my friend.'
James Barnes. Who was James Barnes? What had happened to him that he had become this? There were so many holes he needed to fill in.
With one last brief look at Steve, the Alpha turned and left.
To be continued…
AN: I am sooooo sorry. I could make a ton of excuses, but basically it boils down to this: working sucks. I haven't given up on this story, and I promise to keep working on it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter because it was something I was stuck on for a very long time, thank you for sticking with me thus far.