When the day has come
That I've lost my way around
And the seasons stop and hide beneath the ground
When the sky turns gray
And everything is screaming
I will reach inside
Just to find my heart is beating
Oh, you tell me to hold on
Oh, you tell me to hold on
But innocence is gone
And what was right is wrong
Bleeding out - Imagine Dragons
The first time they met each other, it was on a mission that nearly went wrong.
The Winter Soldier narrowed his eyes at the guards, the microchip seeming to burn where it lay hidden in his pocket. His backup, a rowdy upstart all too eager to prove himself to his superiors, stumbled into an alarm just as they were about to make their way out. Thereby signaling every guard in the top secret Oscorp laboratory that they had just managed to avoid. He'd shot the man in the head in retaliation.
He jerked back as plaster and dust exploded where his head had just been. He almost regretted not letting the man live, if only to provide more cover. Almost. He pulled out his pistol, letting the magazine fall into his outstretched hand. Only 12 bullets left. Not nearly enough.
The Soldier cursed angrily in russian, slamming the magazine back into place as he did so.
An agonized cry down the hall signaled the fall of another ally as he pushed himself up into a crouch. It didn't matter. He had the chip, and he would finish his mission. Period. He breathed deeply, preparing to lunge-
Twin cries of agony from enemy lines rang through the narrow hallway.
He jerked back out of sight, tensing at the cacophony of gunfire and screams echoing down the hall. Unknown assailant on the enemy. Potential foe, potential ally. Only 12 bullets left and 2 men to act as backup.
He breathed, his metal fingers folding into a fist.
There was a sickening crunch of bone, and then silence.
He lunged, rolling across the hall, raising his pistol. Green eyes, framed by tarnished silver, met his steady blue. The bodies of the guards lay strewn around him, necks twisted unnaturally and their clothes growing red with blood. The combat knife in the other's hand dripped with the life fluid, and the man knelt down, turning away from him to wipe the blade against one of the fallen guard's sleeves.
"Who are you?" the soldier asked, not lowering his gun as the other man stood once more.
"Your partner." the man replied, green eyes meeting his without emotion as he turned, and walked back the way he came.