Memories and secrets
The door to Steve’s cell opened again. The Soldier strode in and pushed Steve down to the concrete in a swift and rough motion.
“Stay down.”
Steve noticed the voice wasn’t entirely like the Winter Soldier, but it wasn’t Bucky either. There seemed to be an edge of confusion laced to Bucky’s words.
Steve stared up at Bucky until he opened his mouth, “I want answers,” The Soldier told him, looking down on Steve, “and you’re gonna give ‘em to me.”
“Well Buck, you’re gonna have to be more specific than that.” Steve tried for a smile, batting his eyelashes. It worked back in the day, maybe it did now too.
The Soldier frowned, not understanding what the man was trying to do. Was he... flirting? He thought only women should do that to men..., Hydra never had him seduce a man before.
“Stop that. Talk. Why do you call me Bucky?” He asked, his brows furrowed with misunderstanding. He just hoped the man could shed some light on those dark places in his brain. Those voids.
“You don’t remember? Nothing?” Steve asked, the little spark disappearing from his eyes. His hope Bucky had recognized him dimmed.
The Soldier didn’t understand. Was this man that dense? He just asked him, right? Hydra would have punished the blond for playing dumb, or being dumb. The Soldier stepped closer, towering over the captive. He gave the man a piercing stare and asked again, enunciating every word, “I asked you a question. I won't ask again.”
Steve's heart skipped a beat. The threatening tone in Bucky's voice wasn't anything he'd ever heard. He knew Bucky meant it.
Was the Bucky Barnes he knew really a thing of the past?
~
Bruce pointed at a map of Russia, at some place in the mountains. Natasha informed them that one of the last Hydra safe houses was located there. They didn’t ask how she knew that.
Tony figured Barnes would return somewhere he knew, somewhere that felt safe. He might not act human, but his survival instincts still were. The Avengers had also hit every other Hydra safe house they could uncover, so this was the last place they knew to look.
Still, they hadn't been successful in tracking down Steve or the Winter Soldier.
“The base is up here. If you jump from the jet at this point,” Bruce pointed on the map, "You'll land as close to the base as you can.”
“Anyone a plan of attack?” Natasha asked.
“I have a plan. Attack.” Tony stated before opening the hatch and taking off in his suit. He had to find Steve. And he knew the others would follow.
“Well, let’s go then.” Clint said before jumping from the jet, landing on the platform close to the base next to Natasha and Tony.
The Avengers breached the safe house. Tony took the lead. He instructed JARVIS to continue scanning for heat signatures or movement. Half an hour in, Clint, Natasha and Tony had checked every room, air vent and corner for signs of Steve, but no luck. The hope to find Steve here diminished.
“Sir, I believe a faint heat signature is below you. I can’t read if it’s human or not.” JARVIS told Tony.
Hope sprung back in Tony's eyes as he got his suits lasers to work on the concrete until he could easily get down to a new layer which was definitely not mapped.
A secret layer. Cool, Tony thought.
“Guys, get down to the basement. Heat signature detected on a secret floor.”
~
The Soldier stared at the blond. The way his brows were pulled together. The way his face seemed to darken. He recognized the signs of sadness. Of being hurt.
The Soldier looked at the empty bottle and food wrapping. The blond wasn’t visibly hurt anymore. He knew the serum fixed that already. Maybe the internal damage was worse than he’d thought. Maybe that was why he was hurt.
~
Steve saw Bucky looking him over. He saw the icy blue eyes move with a medical precision. First he scanned Steve’s face, only moving on when he confirmed to himself that the bruises and breaks weren’t there anymore. He scanned his shoulders, down his torso and arms. He took in the way Steve sat on the floor.
Steve shivered.
~
The blond, Steve, had been talking for a while. The Soldier listened and asked questions every now and then when he couldn’t follow Steve, and with every question the blond looked more hurt than before.
After a while the blond fell silent. He lifted his eyes up at the ceiling and blinked a few times. The Soldier noticed the redness in his eyes. He saw the blonds Adams apple go up and down as the blond swallowed. What was the blond reacting to?
“Are you hurt?” The Soldier asked after a silence, not knowing what had happened to the blond.
The blond looked up with eyes filled with tears, “Yeah Buck. A bit. It’s not your fault though, its Hydra’s. They did this...” Steve’s voice trailed off.
The Soldier didn’t understand, “What did they do, Steve?” He asked, tilting his head a bit.
Steve looked up, shocked by the usage of his name, “They did this to you. You don’t remember me. We-, I.-.. oh Bucky, I think I lost you.” A tear trickled down the cheek of the blond. Steve.
The Soldier shook his head. The blond was so confusing. The Soldier might have known him, but no one he ever knew was affectionate towards him. They just barked orders, missions, instructions... They never showed any emotions beside anger. Some showed fear.
“Look at me.” The Soldier instructed. Steve rubbed his hand in his eye. “Steve.” The Soldier said.
Steve finally looked up. His eyes were red and puffy.
“I don’t remember you. I don’t remember a lot. But I-” The Soldier stopped. What was he even trying to say?
Steve kept looking at Bucky, waiting for him to finish his sentence.
“I brought you here because I need time to figure out who you were to me.
Look, I can’t remember who I was before, well, anything. And I don’t remember you. Not really. But... I halted my mission for you, so you must mean something to me and I’m planning on finding out exactly what.”
The blond, Steve, seemed dumbstruck for a minute before he sucked a breath in and moved towards The Soldier with his arms open. The Soldier immediately pinned the blond to the floor, wrists pinned above him in his metal hand, while a blade was pricking into Steve’s exposed side.
Steve’s eyes were wide and he whispered, “I... I’m sorry, I just wanted to hug you... I missed you, Buck..”
“No touching.” The Soldier stated. A confused and slightly frightened look crossed his features.
“’M sorry, Buck..” Steve answered, not per se to The Soldier, but to the Bucky he’d lost.
~
The Avengers had infiltrated Hydra bases a hundred times before. Everyone knew exactly what to do: be careful, expect the unexpected and be concentrated.
The team was focused on finding Steve and terminating any threats. Knowing they were entering a Hydra base got everyone on high alert for any.
“JARVIS, how far?” Tony asked.
“Fifteen feet, straight ahead of you, sir. The heat signature is now recognizable as one of either a large animal or of human sorts.” JARVIS informed Tony as well as the team.
Clint and Natasha crouched behind the Ironman suit. Iron man lifted his repulsor and blew out the wall that was dividing him and Steve.
It only took a small explosion to clear the rubble. Clint and Natasha followed Tony through, scanning for threats. None so far.
“Well, that was easy.” Clint huffed, lowering his bow a fraction.
Natasha was still focused as ever. She was sure she’d heard a noise.
~
Steve flinched at the sound of an explosion, not too far from them. He shifted his gaze towards Bucky with a questioning look.
“Блядь..” The Soldier muttered under his breath. Why the fuck did they have to find them already? He was just starting, goddamn it.
“If you scream I’ll disappear, never to be found again. Understand?” The Soldier threatened.
The blond nodded while The Soldier pulled Steve upright. “You’re my hostage if they find us. If you make any noises I’m gone.”
Steve saw the physical changes in Bucky. He recognized the Winter Soldier was more prominent. He was ready to flee or attack at any moment, but this time he wasn’t alone. He was taking Steve with him too.