Pinky Promise?
Bucky Barnes had been captured by Hydra, a fact that had left the team scrambling in a frantic search. Days stretched into what felt like an eternity, and with every passing moment, hope waned. Hydra couldn't get the old serum to work on Bucky, so they resorted to injections, trying to force his compliance. He had been through this before. Hydra would bring someone in, and that someone would either break or die. It was better not to get close, to remain detached—at least that's what Bucky told himself. But this time, things were different.
The door creaked open, and an agent stepped in, pulling Bucky from his brooding thoughts.
"We have a new accomplice for you," the agent sneered.
Bucky sighed, rolling his eyes, expecting another broken soul Hydra would throw at him. "Who?" he asked, not really caring about the answer.
The agent yanked someone forward—a small, trembling figure. Bucky’s eyes widened. It was a little girl, no older than four. Brown hair framed her face, and her bright blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She wore jeans that were ripped at the knees, the skin beneath marred with cuts. Her shirt, striped with purple, hung loosely around her tiny frame. The agent shoved her inside and closed the door behind him, leaving Bucky alone with the child.
Bucky stared in disbelief. "Why the hell did a four-year-old get dragged into Hydra?" he muttered to himself.
The girl glanced up at him, trying to stand tall despite her small stature. She took a few shaky steps toward him, but the fear was evident in her eyes. As she backed away, she tripped, landing hard on her bruised knees.
"Hey, hey..." Bucky’s voice softened instinctively. He crouched down to her level, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible. "I’m not going to hurt you, kid. What’s your name?"
Her lips trembled as she responded, "Lila."
Bucky offered a small, gentle smile. "That’s a pretty name. How old are you, Lila?"
She sniffed and held up her hand, fingers splayed to show four.
"Four? You’re so young..." Bucky’s heart ached as he looked over her small frame, noticing every bruise and cut. He held out his hand to her, open and non-threatening. "C’mere, kid."
Her little hand reached out to his, shaking as it connected with his much larger one. He squeezed gently. "I promise I won’t hurt you. I’ll try my best to keep you safe, okay?"
Her voice was small, barely a whisper. "What’s your name, mister?"
Bucky chuckled softly at her attempt to pronounce "mister." "You can call me Bucky."
"Okay, Mister Bucky."
He laughed again, the sound foreign to his own ears in such a dark place. "You can just call me Bucky. No need for the mister."
Lila shifted, a bit more at ease now. "Momma said to call guys mister and girls ma’am."
"Your momma taught you well, but you can still call me Bucky."
"But you’re a mister," she insisted, furrowing her brow in a way that made Bucky chuckle again.
"You’re stubborn, aren’t you?"
"Momma says so."
His heart warmed at her sassiness. In another life, she would have been just another little girl, stubborn and full of life. "I can tell she’s right."
Lila’s gaze fell on his metal arm. "Your shiny arm is cool."
"My shiny arm?" He looked down, surprised. It wasn’t often that someone, especially a child, showed fascination rather than fear or disgust.
She nodded enthusiastically. "It’s like a magnet."
"Come have a closer look then," he offered, holding out his arm for her inspection.
Tentatively, she reached out, her tiny fingers tracing the cold metal. Her expression was one of surprise, as if she had expected it to be warm like a regular arm.
"You like my metal arm?"
She nodded, still touching it.
Bucky watched her, finding a strange sense of comfort in her innocent curiosity. He patted the ground in front of him. "Sit with me for a bit?"
Lila hesitated but then sat down cross-legged in front of him. As she did, Bucky noticed something odd. Her knees, which had been bloody and scraped when she came in, now looked healed.
He furrowed his brow. "Can I ask you a question, kiddo?"
She was focused on his arm, still tracing the lines of the metal. She nodded, not looking up.
"How do you think your knees healed so fast?"
Lila’s small voice was hesitant. "Momma said to keep it secret, but Father found out."
Bucky’s confusion grew. "Keep what a secret?"
"Will you keep it secret?" She finally looked up at him, eyes wide with fear and hope.
He nodded, solemn. "Yes, kid. I won’t tell anyone. I promise."
"Father got mad when he found out. He yelled at Momma, and she put me in the closet." Her voice wavered, tears glistening in her eyes.
Bucky’s heart clenched. She had been hidden away while her mother faced whatever wrath her father had brought down upon her. "Keep what secret, Lila?" he urged gently.
"I have powers. But Father found out, and when Momma hid me, there were big bangs that hurt my ears."
Bucky's breath caught in his throat. Powers?
"It was really loud. And Father found me and took me out the closet, and I was in trouble, and Momma wouldn’t move."
Her mother. Dead. Bucky closed his eyes, the pieces falling into place with a sickening clarity. She had watched her mother die, and her father had taken her to Hydra.
Lila's small voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Bucky, can you take me back to Momma? I have to wake her up."
His heart shattered at the hope in her eyes. How do you tell a child that her mother is gone? "Tell you what," he said, his voice barely steady. "As soon as we get out of here, we’ll go find her, okay?"
"Pinky promise?"
He nodded, though he knew it was a promise he might not be able to keep. But he had to try. "I promise."
Bucky promised a lot of people a lot of things but he knew he would do his best to keep this promise.
He would get her out of here even if it killed him