Chapter 13

Bucky's head hurt, but not in a normal kind of way. He felt as if someone had drilled through his skull, dug around in his brain, and removed a few chunks of it, leaving empty gaps in his head. Instinctively, he groaned, shifting slightly. As soon as he did so, he sensed a fury of movement around him.

Bucky slowly opened his eyes, wincing slightly at the bright light. Around him in a white room were a bunch of doctors, each examining machines and tablets. A few cast him worried glances, seeing that he was awake.

What's going on? Where am I? The last thing I remember . . .

"Soldier, subdue the captain."

Bucky hissed through his teeth and shut his eyes, but when he opened them he realized something. The compulsion to follow those orders, the compulsion that had driven Bucky to listen to everything his superiors in HYDRA said, was gone.

Is it possible?

He looked around, seeing that he was strapped into a hospital bed. His metal arm looked different now; more polished, and when he flexed the fingers they felt much more natural and less . . . cold than they had. The whole limb felt cleaner.

Blinking, Bucky really looked at the doctors around him. Their facial expressions . . . there was concern there, concern he had not seen before in the people that attended to him when he was injured. Instead of disdain, there was kindness.

Am I . . . free?

Bucky half expected to get beaten just for thinking that word, but nothing came and he slowly relaxed, testing the bands on the bed.

"Please don't do that," one of the nearby doctors requested. Bucky eyed him.

That wasn't an order . . . but I should follow it anyway. It's what I would do before . . . before HYDRA.

With that in mind, Bucky complied and stopped pulling on the restraints.

"We don't want to have to sedate you again," another doctor explained, tapping away on a tablet.

"Again?" Bucky repeated, his throat scratchy.

"Yes. You were screaming and thrashing. That's why you are restrained." The doctor didn't make eye contact, but he wasn't being unkind. The other people in the room seemed kind of surprised that I had spoken, but none of them looked afraid.

Do they know about what I've done?

Even as he thought it, Bucky was pulled into a brief flashback of his first few missions for HYDRA. Just before he lost himself completely, he yanked himself back to the present with a massive force of will.

"Vitals spiking!" One doctor reported, his eyes fixed on a flashing screen.

Bucky felt like he was burning up inside; his head hurt even more and his thoughts were racing.

"Someone get me a sedative!" A different doctor ordered. A moment later, Bucky felt a needle slide into his shoulder. Soon, his eyes began to feel heavy and the burning sensation cooled down, until Bucky slid off into unconsciousness.

. . .

Steve Rogers watched his old friend anxiously as Bucky collapsed, limp, onto his bed, the tension in his muscles fading as the sedative took hold.

"Is he . . . going to be alright?" He asked hesitantly, turning to a nearby doctor who had been watching the entire ordeal with Steve from behind a two-way mirror. The woman consulted her tablet, tapped a few times, and then sighed.

"Most likely, it will take him weeks to fully recover from the surgery he underwent while unconscious. Removing all of the blocks and . . . nastiness HYDRA had put in his head put a massive amount of stress on his mind."

"But he remembers who he is?" Steve pressed.

"Most likely, the memories will return with time," the doctor replied. A small smile graced her lips. "All things heal with time, Captain Rogers. Give him a while."

She walked out of the small observation room, her tablet under her arm, only to be replaced by Natasha and Clint.

"How's he holding up?" Clint asked, moving to stand next to Steve. Natasha followed suit, all of their eyes fixed on the unconscious figure on the bed.

"The doctors said he would recover," Steve responded quietly.

"Is that what you believe, Rogers?" Natasha inquired, her expression genuinely concerned. The two had grown much closer since the HYDRA incident.

"It's what I have to believe, Natasha."

Clint stared at the two of them, his expression calculating, though it cleared quickly. Natasha leaned back, made eye contact with Hawkeye, and gave him a knowing smirk. The archer immediately went red and hastened to cover his face and stop Steve from seeing.

He blinked and Natasha moved to stand beside him, one arm around his waist.

How can she play me like this? Clint wondered, but not particularly caring.

"Relax, Clint," Natasha whispered, knowing full well that Steve could hear every word they were saying. "I'm not going to go out with Steve."

The man in question had a very spontaneous coughing fit and quickly excused himself from the room, claiming that he needed a drink of water.

"That guy never gets sick," Clint muttered suspiciously.

"But he does get uncomfortable," Natasha reminded Clint. Immediately, understanding dawned on the archer's face.

"Oh," he said.

"Come on, Clint," Natasha scoffed, pulling back, "I know you're smarter than you're letting on."

Clint frowned. Suddenly, he remembered something that Natasha had said a while ago and bent forward, looking deeply into Natasha's eyes. She frowned, slightly disconcerted by Clint's sudden change in behavior.

"What are you-?" She started, but Clint held up a hand to silence her.

"There's something different about you," he muttered thoughtfully, his blue eyes narrowing. "I can't quite place it . . ."

"There's nothing different," Natasha retorted, not sure where the man was going with his statement. She tensed, expecting an attack; it wouldn't be the first time that Clint attempted to surprise her.

"Is that . . . mascara?"

Natasha glared at Clint while a grin formed on his face that was so bright it might as well have been blinding. For a moment, she was confused as to why he was grinning, until she remembered what she had said to the Winter Soldier when she had seen him at the cabin.

Natasha's reaction was instant. Clint reeled back, clutching his rapidly reddening face.

"Did you really have to punch me?" He complained. "That was pure gold!"

"No, it wasn't," Natasha scoffed, crossing her arms.

I guess when I said it to the Winter – um, Bucky – it was a bit rude, but come on. What kind of guy wears stuff like that around his eyes? Who has the time?

Natasha hurriedly broke off that chain of thought. She didn't need to bother herself with things like that.

"C'mon Natasha," Clint laughed, "you know I'm awesome."

"That's not where my mind was going, Clint," Natasha sighed, but she couldn't help the small smile that broke out on her face.

For some reason, Clint just makes me smile. I don't get it, but I like it.

Before she was fully aware of her actions, Natasha stepped towards Clint, put her finger below his chin, tilted up his head, and kissed him passionately on the lips. He went stiff, his eyes widening with shock and then slowly closing. Both of them stood and embraced each other, enjoying the moment of peace and quiet. For the time being, neither Clint nor Natasha had responsibilities. This was their time to do what they wanted. Sure, they needed to check up on Steve, but that task was nearly finished, and then they could get some real alone time.

The sound of the door sliding open caused the pair to abruptly split apart and hurriedly take a few steps away from each other, trying to act as if nothing intimate had just happened.

Natasha hid her feelings easily, but Clint's face was redder than it had been before.

Steve stood in the doorway, glancing between the man and woman before him. He awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Are you two . . . done here?" He asked eventually, obviously feeling uncomfortable.

"Of course," Natasha replied sweetly, grabbing Clint's arm. "We were just taking our leave. I hope . . . Bucky recovers soon."

With one last dazzling smile, Natasha pulled Clint out of the room. Steve watched them go, a puzzled expression on his face. With a shrug, he decided that it was none of his business what was going on between the two of them.

Steve turned back to the unconscious Bucky and set his hands on the small ledge by the mirror. He wasn't moving until Bucky woke up, and the second he did, Steve would be at his side.

And that's the end of it!

Just kidding.

I couldn't end this without having a Steve-to-Bucky heart-to-heart kind of thing. Therefore, you can expect that in the next chapter, and then this fanfic will likely be finished. However, if I get bored, I may add some random action scenes of Steve and Bucky working together.

So yeah. Please keep reviewing and being amazing people! It's really great to hear your feedback and support, and even you guys who don't speak English as a native language! It's incredible that my story was interesting enough for all of you!

-RoR