Winter's Redemption [winter soldier//Bucky Barnes AU]

Chapter Twenty Three

*Bucky's POV*

Sarah was shaking in my arms.

Whatever she saw, left a scar. She won't forget seeing that.

I sighed and rested my chin on her head, closing my eyes. She clutched at my arms desperately, as if letting go would mean certain death. She moved her head so it was against my collarbone, and I adjusted my arms to hold her better.

She was far too innocent for the things we were about to uncover. I had to protect her.

"Thank you." She whispered, so quietly I could barely hear her. I pulled my chin off of her head, and looked into her fearful eyes.

"Of course." I whispered back. She smiled slightly, and I noticed her shaking stopped when I spoke. Did I really mean that much to her, that she trusted me with her life? Even after all the things I had done?

But I guess if I thought about it, she meant that much to me.

Eventually, she fell asleep. Steve and Natasha came over and sat next to me, with knowing smiles on their faces.

"She needs you." Natasha said, and I nodded.

"I know, but how can I protect her from this stuff? That's only a small part of what we are going to see when we get inside." I replied, and Steve bit his lip.

"All we can do is take a step back, think about things more, and train her. What you did with her on the train was great. She just needs more training, like maybe with Natasha, because then she can practice hand to hand combat. I don't think she'd be able to do hand to hand combat with Captain America and The Winter Soldier." Steve joked, grinning. Natasha nodded.

"Yeah, we can all help. But we will need a few days at least to train her and rest. Then we can come back, and this time we will be ready." Natasha stated. I nodded, and looked down at Sarah's sleeping face.

"Are we going to spend the night here? Or are we going to try and get back to the house we were in before?" I asked, and Tony chimed in.

"If we stay here, there's a good chance they'll find us. We should get back to the house." He said.

Steve and Natasha stood up, and I nudged Sarah awake. Nat took her hand and helped her up to her feet, and everyone started walking. I had my hand on Sarah's back to steady her. She walked close to me, as we tried to walk quietly through the forest.

The walk to the house wasn't too far. Once we got there, everyone immediately headed for the living room to lay down, and I looked in the kitchen for something to eat. The only thing I found that was still good was uncooked pasta and some sort of red sauce. I groaned and walked back to the living room, where I got a look from Natasha.

"What?"

"You don't know how to cook pasta, do you?" She asked, and I shook my head.

"Pasta cooking isn't a skill that was taught by the soviets." I replied. Steve laughed, and Natasha got up, grabbing a pot and filling it with water. She put it on the stove and turned on the burner. Luckily, it still worked.

I went to the bathroom, looking in the mirror. I had dirt on my face, so I took a washcloth and splashed water on it, rubbing it across my cheek. I wiped all the dirt off, and pulled my shirt over my head. It definitely needed to be washed.

I finished cleaning off the dirt and sweat from my chest, and found a brush in the drawer. I attempted the get the knots out of my hair, and then realized how gross it was. I got it wet in the sink, scrubbed it with some shampoo, and dried it with a towel. The brush finally got rid of the knots, and I actually felt clean for once.

I walked out of the bathroom and went to the kitchen. I looked around and found some more soap, and began scrubbing the top half of my uniform in the sink. Blood and dirt caked into the uniform came off, and turned the water a red-brown mess. But it was finally clean.

I hung it off of one of the cabinets to dry, and headed back to the living room. Everyone had taken off their uniforms and changed into comfortable clothes, and Tony had managed to get the TV working. Sarah was sitting on the floor next to the wall, and was getting up to go change. I gave her a smile, and sat down as she got up. Tony turned on a random channel, and we all settled down, deciding to rest before bringing up the unknown horrors just a mile away from us.

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*Sarah's POV*

I closed the door to the bathroom behind me, and leaned over the sink.

What am I going to do?

I'm weak, and I'm very clearly holding the group back. I know that any sane person would react the same way I did, but I'm traveling with the world's greatest superheroes. I can't afford to be weak- I need to be strong.

I sighed, and brushed out my blonde hair. It was a curly disaster.

I slipped out of the tight shirt, and slid a soft gray crew-neck sweatshirt over my bra. I replaced the bottom half of Natasha's catsuit with a pair of black leggings, and tied my hair in a fishtail braid hanging across my shoulder. It was easier to control the curls if they were tightly bound.

I took one more look in the mirror, and I didn't like who I saw.

I needed to fix that.

I left the bathroom and was greeted with the wonderful aroma of spaghetti. Natasha brought it out to the living room, and I stopped by the kitchen to grab some plates and silverware for everyone.

Steve helped put the pasta on plates, and we passed it out. I grabbed my plate and sat down next to Bucky. Everyone was sitting on the floor, around the coffee table.

"So." Tony said. "Besides blowing it up, any ideas on how to destroy everything there in a way that would not get us arrested?"

"There's no way we can get in without being noticed, and there are far too many workers there to be able to fight them. We wouldn't win." I told them, and there was a pause as they thought.

"Tony, did you ever find out about the shipments they were receiving?" Nat asked, and Tony opened his laptop.

"Two shipments headed towards this area this morning, from CPD Corporations, a company that sells medical supplies. The shipments contained fifteen hospital beds, an x-Ray machine, IV fluids and a huge amount of assorted drugs. The standard things one would gather if trying to mutate." He remarked, making me smile briefly.

We finished eating our meals, which was probably one of the last full meals I would have for a while, and relaxed for a few hours. Once everyone else was occupied, I dragged Bucky to the side.

"Will you help me train?" I asked him, the second we got around the corner.

"Of course I will. Steve and Natasha want to help you train as well." He replied.

"Ok..." I said, looking down. He used his finger to pick my chin up, making me look into his brown eyes.

"Hey, don't be hard on yourself. You have never experienced anything like this before, and there is nothing wrong with being freaked out, scared, or unprepared. Trust me, we will make you feel confident again." He told me, and I felt so much better.

He has been so good to me in every way. When I met him, he was convinced he was a cold-blooded, ruthless assassin with no future. But now? He was a kind, protecting man who just wanted to know his place in the world. I don't know what he was like back in the nineteen forties, but I'm almost certain he is back to who he should be. I smiled at him, almost tearing up. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and suddenly before I knew it, I was leaning in.

Stupid Sarah! I thought. He's going to back away, and things will be awkward, and....

His lips pressed to mine.

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A.N.

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-Jordan💕