Men in suits had come knocking on Bucky's door early the next morning, claiming they were there to take him to his evaluation, so he dressed quickly and the next thing he knew he was being pushed onto a slanted metal slab. The men were strapping him in, and he looked at them frantically, clueless to their motives. Once metal bands had been locked around his wrists, ankles, and chest, the men took their leave. Directly in front of him, Bucky noticed a large mirror, which he figured was a one-way glass window, so he flashed a sarcastic smile to whoever might be watching him.

Outside the door to the evaluation room, Lillian was straightening the black blazer she wore. She pushed flyaway hairs out of her face and attempted to secure them back into the bun that the rest of her hair stayed in, but to no use. A man cleared his voice and Lillian's hands snapped down to her sides, calming herself before she entered the room. She absolutely hated the fact that she was the one to evaluate Bucky, but her higher-up's excuse was that she knew the man best, and despite her arguing that Rogers actually knew him the best, she was assigned to him nonetheless.

She entered the room with a calm look on her face, but as she saw him she quickly grew upset. Why were they forcing her to do this? This man had been through enough without the insult of this added torture.

Bucky instantly felt relieved when Lillian walked through the door. There was something about her that he trusted, and something that calmed him down whenever she was around. When he gave her a small smile, the one she returned was stiff, and he could tell that she was nervous. About what, he did not know, but he felt the need to tell her that everything would be okay. He opened his mouth to speak and she held up a finger to stop him, a low shake of her head letting him know that now was not the time for them to speak as friends.

"Sergeant Barnes, you have been brought here to be evaluated. This team needs to know that you no longer pose a threat to them, and that there is absolutely no chance of that changing." Her voice was cold, and Bucky winced, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"Hydra conditioned you while you were in their captivity, is that correct?" she continued. Bucky set his jaw and nodded sharply.

"And you are aware of the means they used to – for lack of a better word – 'activate' the Winter Soldier?" another nod from Bucky.

"Good," she paused and turned to the glass, "Sergeant Barnes, I am here today in order to test you to see if the Winter Soldier is still triggered by these words. If you pass this test, meaning that you have no reaction to the words I say, then you are free to join the Avengers. If not, other arrangements must be made. Do you understand?" a final nod from the man.

"I need to check your vitals before we begin, so as to accurately measure the effect."

Bucky was hurt that the woman who was so kind to him the night before could be acting so cold toward him. It wasn't until she strode toward him, her heels clicking the concrete floor, that he saw the glint of mischief in her eyes. She placed two warm fingers on his neck and leaned in close enough so he was the only one who could hear her.

"Listen Bucky, I don't want to do this just as much as, if not more than, you do. My thoughts are: if they don't work then we'll have put you through this stress for nothing, and if they do, then both you and I are in for a really bad day. I don't want to get hurt, I'm sure you don't want to hurt anyone; this whole thing is just going to end up as salt in the wound for you and I don't want to have to put you through that. So here's what we're going to do: those agents out there on the other side of the glass don't know Russian, so I'm just going to say a few random words – some of which will have to be the actual ones just in case they decide to look them up – you're gonna act a little messed up, but in the end we'll both be fine and we'll walk out of here without a care in the world, alright?"

Bucky's fists clenched in an attempt to stop the shaking that threatened to course through him and nodded slightly at the woman. She gave a comforting smile before turning to the glass and raising her voice.

"Vitals are normal, we are ready to proceed." She sat at the metal table directly in front of Bucky, opened a large file in which he saw a few pictures of himself (both pre- and post- HYDRA), and grabbed a pen in her left hand. She scribbled something onto a blank sheet of paper, and when she was finished, locked eyes with Bucky.

"желание" the word rolled off Lillian's tongue and he instantly winced. He desperately wanted to trust the woman, but he found himself fighting down the urge to break from his bonds and run for the hills.

"ржaвый" the urge grew and he shut his eyes, a pained look appearing on his face. It broke Lillian's heart that she was forced to do this to him, but still she continued.

"король" this allowed Bucky a break, at least enough to regain his breath.

"танцы" his eyes reopened and focused once more on Lillian's. He knew that as long as he focused on her, he would be okay.

"печь" a shudder went through him once more and he felt his nails bite into his palm, but still he stared unwaveringly into Lillian's eyes.

"девять" almost finished.

"сердце" her eyes were light and soft, a cool gray-blue.

"возвращение на родину" they were an island for him.

"полночь" their contact was broken for a brief moment when Lillian looked down to scribble something on the paper.

"грузовой вагон" he exhaled as the last word came from her lips.

She stood and came around the table to him. His eyes never left her face as she once again took his pulse, recorded it on the paper, and without another word, left him in the room alone. He felt weak as the same men as before came to release him from his bonds and return him to his room.

As he entered his bedroom, he was greeted by the sight of a large basket on his bed. Upon further inspection, he was surprised to find candy, some trinkets to decorate his room with, socks, a small plant, and a large, pale blue blanket dotted with dog pawprints. He smiled and began to unpack the basket; placing the plant on his windowsill, the blanket on his bed, and the socks in one of his dresser drawers. He had no idea what to do with the little baubles, so he set them down on top of the desk in the room and opened a chocolate bar. He was halfway through eating it when he felt someone watching him from his door.

"Didn't you tell me before that it was rude to stare?" he said, turning toward the woman standing in the doorway.

She shrugged. "Mind if I come in?" he shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Was all this you?" he gestured to the basket.

"And Steve, yeah. We thought it'd be nice to get you some stuff to spruce up the place. It was looking pretty bare, and the chocolate was a little pick-me-up for today. Sam picked out the blanket, he said 'you can never go wrong with puppies' or something like that."

Bucky couldn't help but chuckle, "I guess he's right. I appreciate it, I really do." His smile was warm and genuine.

"Of course," Lillian returned the smile and picked up one of the trinkets: a small glass octopus, and turned it over in her hand. "If you need any help decorating, let me know. I know a few people who would love to help out." She winked, set it down, and walked back to the door.

"Hey Lilly?"

She turned back to face him, an unreadable look on her face.

"Thank you. For everything." He stood and approached her slowly.

She smiled and turned her head from his gaze, "Just doing my job." She began to turn again before his words stopped her once more.

"Hey, I really liked – um – do you think you could show me some more of that music?" he asked, "You know, if you aren't too busy or anything." He hurriedly added.

She eyed him curiously before nodding. "Yeah, okay."

They made their way to her bedroom then, and after brief perusing through her vast record collection, she found the perfect one and placed it on the player. Bucky sat on the edge of her bed and lay back so only his upper body rested on it. Lillian placed the needle down and a soft static filled the room, shortly followed by a piano. She joined him and mimicked his position, letting out a huff when she was comfortable.

Wise men say

"Bucky?" her voice was quiet.

"Yeah?"

"You really like Elvis?" she turned to face him.

He grinned, "Yeah, I really do."

A smug smile flickered on her lips. "Cool."

But I can't help…