The Third Rule

~TWO~

The plane took off a few minutes ago. The Winter Soldier sits in the back corner wearing civilian clothes. He scans around the plane and his eyes land two figures, one woman and one man. 

Husband and Wife. 

Mary and Richard Parker. 

Richard Parker was formerly a part of the United States Army Special Forces. Now after being recruited by Nick Fury for the CIA. 

Mar Parker, CIA translator, and data analyst

Hydra wants them dead. It is The Winter Soldier's job to do it. 

A few more minutes pass and he rises from his seat in the back and walks down the aisle towards the two agents. The plane is mostly empty, with just a few attendants and a few other civilians. It's an easy mission. 

As The Winter Soldier approaches the couple he grabs the man by the back of the neck and slams his head down on the tray in front of him. Mary lets out a high scream as she calls her husband's name in horror. He feels people hitting his back and pulling him away. 

He doesn't budge. 

He tightens his metal hand around the young father's throat. He is struggling now, gasping for air. Mary is frantically pushing at him. 

He doesn't flinch. 

"Please don't do this," she pleads, "we have a son. Your killing someone's father. Please, please," his voice is desperate. 

He only tightens his hand. 

After a while the man's body becomes lifeless. Mary lets out a loud scream. 

The Winter Soldier does the same to her. Once they are both dead he walks to the front of the plane and kills the pilot, co-pilot, and flight attends. 

Afterward, he strapped on a parachute and jumped from the plane. 

That night, Mary and Richard Parker died in a plane crash. 

...

Bucky's eyes flew open and he scrambled up from his pile of blankets no the floor. Sweat dampens his hair and drips down his face and torso. His breathing is erratic, coming out more as strangled gasps than a breath. 

The nightmares never stop. He probably hasn't gotten a full night's sleep since 1943. He glanced at the clock hanging next to his TV and sighed. 4:00 am. 

Knowing he's not going to fall back to sleep he stands up and quickly folds his blankets, laying over the back of the chair. He then throws on some workout clothes to go for a run around the city. That's one of the only things that made him feel at least a little better. He tucks his dog tags into his shirt and leaves his apartment. 

Peter Parker. He's about 17 now. He's a genius, even goes to a science school, like his parents. For the other names, it has been relatively easy, 'accidentally run into them at a bar or restaurant. Talk for a while and make amends. Sometimes, like with Attwood, he had to call the police but nothing difficult. 

But how the hell do you make amends with a 17-year-old kid? 

...

After a little more research, Bucky found out that he works at Delmars, a sub shop in Queens. According to his Instagram story (which Bucky doesn't really understand), he is working today until about 4:00. 

The bus ride to the sub shop was uneventful. Luckily, it was only about an hour from his apartment in Brooklyn. Bucky couldn't be more thankful that New Yorkers have places to go and don't really care to talk. The place is tucked in the corner and is marked by a small sign. 

With a glove-clad hand, Bucky pulls open one of the doors and walks inside. Sure enough, a young kid stands behind the cash register. Peter Parker. 

Bucky's heart clenches and he suppresses a grimace, looking at the menu above the kid's curly brown hair instead of into his innocent brown eyes. He took away that kid's parents. Though Bucky doesn't have anyone from his old life now, he can't imagine what he would've done without his parents, sister, or even Steve. 

"Welcome to Delmar's, are you ready to order?" 

Bucky takes a deep breath and tries to cover up the pained look in his eyes, "Um yeah," He scratches the back of his head and looks at the menu one more time, "Can I have the number five with pickles please?" 

Peter smiles and his eyes light up, "Good choice! That's my favorite. Number 2 is also really good but I prefer ham over turkey. Not that you really care, sorry, that will be right up," He rambles awkwardly. 

The kids rambling brings a small smile to Bucky's face but also a great amount of sadness. This kid's parents are dead because of Bucky. He killed two good people and made this kid suffer. 

"That is 5 dollars, sir." He says sliding the sandwich across the counter.

Bucky nods and hands him a five-dollar bill, "Thank you." The kid just nods and his hair flops in front of his forehead. 

With a sigh, Bucky tucks his wallet back into his jeans and makes his way towards the table closest to the register. 

The shop isn't very big or fancy, but the food looks terrific. It's cluttered with random posters and... and... a cat?

On the counter opposite to where Peter is an orange cat lays on in the sun licking its paw. 

"His name is Murph," Peter says as if reading the older man's mind, "You can pet him if you like. he's friendly." 

"Nice," Bucky awkwardly takes a seat and glances around the room at the posters. He physically cringes upon seeing an Avengers one tucked in the back corner. Steve is in front of everyone, leading the way. 

It stings more than he thought it would. Even in the poster, Steve's blue eyes pierce through his would. What would he think about this? About all the people he'd killed? All the children he made orphans? Steve would hate him. Steve would kill a murder like him. Bucky looks away. 

Slowly he unwraps the sandwich and takes a large bite. He can't help but nod his head, it is really good. 

"This sandwich is really good," Bucky comments looking up to Peter. No one else is there, probably because it's after the usual lunch rush. 

"They are the best in Queens. At least that's what Mr. Delmar says," Peter says with a smile, "Are you from around here? You don't seem like it." 

"Brooklyn. It's my first day at my new job here so I needed someplace to grab lunch." 

"Oh, I've been to Brooklyn a few times. Isn't Captain America from Brooklyn? He's so cool," Peter is no longer standing behind the cash register, but instead gently petting the cat's head. 

Bucky smiles amused by the kid, "Yeah. Yeah, he is. You talk a lot," There is no anger in his voice, just amusement. 

For a moment, he forgot about that mission. About his parents. 

"Oh, sorry, I can talk less if you'd like. It's just been kind of slow today and I'm the only one working. Sorry, Mr..." His voice trails off. 

"James. You can call me James. And you don't have to stop talking, it was just an observation." 

"Nice to meet you, James. My name is Peter." 

"Nice to meet you, Peter," Bucky barely managed to say his name. This kid didn't deserve what happened to him. Not at all. 

After Bucky finished his sandwich he throws away the wrappers and says goodbye. The stuffy air from inside the shop made Bucky feel like he is suffocating. All Bucky could think about is Mary's last words, "We have a son. Your killing someone's father. Please, please." 

His eyes burned and he quickly pushed open the door and turned the corner into an ally way, slumping against the wall. His head fell forwards into his hands and he let out a strangled gasp. 

Nothing he could ever do would make amends. He took away this kid's parents. There is no coming back from that.