The Brainwashed and The Forgotten

The next few mornings passed the same. The three of them had successfully made it out of Austria and into italy. The boys had figured out the quickest routes but it was risky. (Y/N) knew for a fact that there were at least two bases on the road they needed to take. He figured the worst case scenario was they fight and hopefully kill the Hydra agents that occupied the area before they could get the signal out that not only were there intruders, the intruders were their own missing assets. They were lucky enough to only spot one or two lone agents and had taken care of them swiftly, avoiding the bases all together. The girl, who they now knew as Krista, huffed as she leaned against a tree as she tried to catch her breath. “Can’t we take a break?” she said after her breathing became even. (Y/N) shook his head at her as he looked around them, trying to spot invisible threats. “No, it's risky enough traveling in daylight and if we stall anymore then they will catch us. Is that what you want, girl?” He said in a rough tone, trying to convey the severity of their situation. She scoffed at him softly before straightening up. “It’s Krista, not girl and you know that I don't want that. What i want is to take a break and breathe for a moment without you reminding me that they’re possibly following us, planning our fucking demise.” Bucky sighed and placed a hand on (Y/N)’s shoulder and put up a hand to Krista. “Stop. Take a few minutes.” He said, holding eye contact with the glare she sent his way. She huffed and walked a bit away before choosing a stump and sat down, pulling the jacket she found at the first “safe house” a bit tighter around herself. “Kapitän, you need to give her a break. She isn't like us.” he said in Russian so Krista couldn't overhear them. (Y/N) huffed and pushed his hand off him. “It isn't a matter of being like us or not. The concern is the S.S.R and Hydra finding us. She doesn't understand what Hydra is capable of, but we do. We do, Soldat. I refuse to let either of them get their hands on her or you.” He paused for a moment as Bucky stilled at his words. He seemed to shake whatever memory he was stuck in, out of his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “Neither of us will let anything happen, Kapitän. You know that. Breathe for a moment, yeah?” (Y/N) gave him a tired look but complied with his requests “Okay.. Okay. Take a few minutes then we’ll move again. I’ll scope the area.” Bucky let out a small sigh but it was progress and he was happy he didn't have to do much to convince his comrade. (Y/N) slowly made his way over to her after she sat down to sulk. He stopped in front of her before slowly holding his arms out to her. She gave him a weird look before he huffed and dropped his arms. “You’re shaking. Come here, I'll keep you warm. Or as warm as I can.” She looked him over for any signs that he was lying before huffing and giving him a brief nod and stood up. She hesitantly snuggled into his chest, letting him wrap his arms around her. He sighed softly and looked around, still keeping an eye out and raised his core temperature, drawing warmth from his fire, letting his body heat slowly warm her up. She let out a content sigh as she felt herself warm up in his embrace. He exchanged a small glance with Bucky and he nodded before he watched him walk off slightly, keeping an eye out for them. He felt himself relax slightly as he held her to his chest. He absentmindedly pressed a chase kiss to the crown of her head before rubbing her back slightly then pulling away. She looked a bit disappointed at the lack of warmth but didn't complain. He shrugged off his thick coat, wrapping it around her shoulders. He tugged it a bit so it wouldn't fall off her and offered her a small, slightly strained, smile. She muttered a small “Thank you.” before she put her arms through the sleeves. The coat felt as if you had left it in front of a fire for an hour. It was pleasantly warm and blocked out a good bit of the cold that surrounded them. They started moving again soon after that and continued on their way. About two or three hours later, (Y/N) had picked up on a strange noise a few feet behind them in the brush. He stopped and let the others walk ahead as he looked around for the source. He summoned a ball of fire in his hand, chucking it in the direction he thought the sound came from. He let out a small sigh when a rabbit darted out of the way of the oncoming fire attack. He slowly walked backwards towards Bucky and Krista, following behind them the rest of the way, making sure they weren’t being followed. He didn't relax until they made it to their next stop in Verona. The hill tops to be more specific. He led them to the rundown winery and then barricaded the doors and windows they could with Bucky’s help. He slumped down against a wall while Bucky went off with Krista to explore a bit, leaving (Y/N) to take a moment to breathe. He rested his head on his knee as a headache came on. He let out a small sigh as he tried to focus on it.

He watched as the memory became a bit clearer than the one before. He watched as a man held a gun to him as he sat on his keens on the ground. He held his hands up in surrender as the man spoke a language he didn't know, shouting at him as his grip on the gun shook ever so slightly. He noticed several men surrounded him, all armed. A shot was fired from the tree line, going straight through the man's skull. The men freaked out before firing back. He stole the dead guy's gun and placed a few well placed shots before a bullet lodged itself into his shoulder, making him hiss out in pain and drop the gun. He was kicked to the ground, the barrel of the gun pressed up against his temple as the man shouted at the tree line. He closed his eyes, and prayed to whatever god would listen before he heard another shot ring out. The cold steel of the gun was removed from his head as the body dropped next to him. He left out a shuddering breath as he looked around. He saw some tall guy throw a man, sending him flying through the air and hitting the ground hard as someone pulled him to his feet and towards the tree line. He looked up and it was Bucky. He looked younger, hair much shorter than it was now, slightly more full of life and pissed off to high hell. He let him drag him to safety while shots rang out around them. He sat him against a tree and began to quickly patch him up. “How the hell are you this stupid, huh? I told you to be safe, quick in and out, don't engage anyone. But no, no you had to be all macho and start trouble huh?” he ranted as he worked on pulling the bullet out of him, looking around every now and then to make sure no one was sneaking up on them. He placed a hand on Bucky’s cheek, giving him a slightly bloody smile. “Well you know me, Sargent. Can't exactly keep myself out of trouble..” Bucky shook his head as he stitched him up. “Between you and Steve, you guys will put me into an early grave.” he said a bit angrily but with a touch of fondness to it. (Y/N) shrugged with his good shoulder as he watched Bucky bandage him up. “You love us.. Well I know you love me at least.” he said with a bit of smug confidence. Bucky paused and smirked a bit before tightening the gauze. “Of course I do. Always will and you know that.” he said softly, tapping the ring on (Y/N)’s hand before helping him up as the others came running towards them. The tall blonde man rushed over to them, looking him over with a slightly worried expression. “He gonna be okay?” Bucky nodded a bit and let go of his hand. “He’ll be fine but we gotta go before the rest of those fuckin’ nazis come after us.” the blonde nodded and swooped up (Y/N) in his arms causing his heart to stutter ever so slightly and Bucky gave the blonde a sour look. “He can walk just fine ya know.” he complained as they all rushed away from the base they just raided. The blonde shook his head a bit as he adjusted his grip on (Y/N). “No Buck. he’s lost blood and he could faint. It’s safer for me to carry him.” he gave (Y/N) a distressed look and (Y/N) gave him a calming smile. “It’s okay. Whatever gets us away the fastest is fine with me. Besides, you get to take care of me when we get back.” he gave him a flirty smirk. Bucky’s face reddened a bit and nodded as he followed them. “Sir yes sir.” he mumbled with a small smile.

He drew in a sharp breath when the memory faded out on him. He looked around in a bit of a panic while he got his bearings again. He blinked a few times and looked up at Bucky who crouched down in front of him, Krista a few feet behind him. Bucky hesitantly raised his flesh hand to (Y/N)’s cheek and wiped away the few tears that managed to fall. He flinched slightly causing Bucky to start to retract his hand away from his face. (Y/N) let out a soft whimper and before he could stop himself, he almost launched himself at Bucky, throwing his arms around his neck, hiding his face in his shoulder. Bucky froze slightly before hesitantly wrapping his arms around him, holding him close. Krista tilted her head to the side a bit as she watched the odd interaction unfold. She slowly made her way over to them and (Y/N) looked up at her, held his hand out to her. She huffed slightly but complied and crouched down next to them, letting him pull her into the hug. He held them both close to him and took deep breaths. He tried his best not to become overwhelmed by the memories or whatever they were but it was such a foreign sensation to him he simply started to shut down, not knowing how to exactly process it. (Y/N) took a few deep breaths as Bucky whispered softly in Russian to him to get him to calm down. “Shh.. It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. We’re right here with you, we aren’t gonna leave you. We’ll stay right here. I promise.” (Y/N) was able to relax slightly and released his hold on Krista. She chose to sit down next to them as Bucky pulled him into his lap on almost instinct. He stayed like that for almost two hours with Krista curled up on the floor next to them, half asleep. Bucky looked down at (Y/N), pushing back his hair out of his face. He stirred slightly in his sleep but thankfully didn’t wake up. Bucky sighed softly before pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “Mine. You’re mine and Hydra wont take that from me. I promise. We’ll figure out who.. Who we are.” Bucky said softly to him in English before gently holding Krista’s hand as she fell asleep. Bucky leaned his back against the wall (Y/N) was previously against and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He vowed to himself and to whatever god there was above that he was going to protect them until his dying breath. They were all that mattered to him at this point and he would do anything to protect them.