𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 ☽ 𝘉𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

𝟬𝟳 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘋𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦?

TW: Murder and mentions of injuries.

[Behind Blue Eyes - Limp Bizkit]
1:40 ─〇───── 2:13
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

The smell of copper infuses my nose, and the red colour stains my fingers. The fingerless gloves mix with the blood, but he rubs the liquid on his tactical pants, smoothing them down and returning to the black leather. He raises his head and faces the culprit holding the pistol, it is aimed at his chest. That bastard had shot the soldier in the arm, and the bullet actually broke the skin, staying under the muscle and tissues in his arm. Ignoring the seething pain in his arm, the soldier stalks towards the man, pushing the gun out of the man's hand, and kicking it across the room. He looks terrified and the realisation of the situation dawns on him, and he makes a break towards the doors. But, he is too late. The soldier has his mission, and he never fails.

The soldier lets the man believe that he could possibly make it out alive by standing still, watching him attempt to pull the double doors open and flee. But, when the locks slowly start opening, the soldier kicks into action, trekking over to the man with his metal arm forward. He grabs the man by the throat, lifting his feet off the ground. The man chokes in the soldier's hold and starts scratching and clawing at the soldier, but the soldier angles his body where the man can't reach it. Only his metal hand is within reach, and the slaps and punches aren't felt through the metal. The man's eyes slowly start to redden, bulging veins appearing through the white. His skin turns a pale white, an undertone of blue piercing the skin. His hits get far and few between and weaken with the rapid loss of oxygen taking its toll on him.

"Please," The man begs through his final breath.

The man's body goes limp, and the soldier drops it to the floor, watching his limbs fly across the ground. The soldier's mission was complete, he had eliminated the rat who had exposed HYDRA. He makes his way across the room, grabbing the gun the man had stolen from the soldier and shooting him with, placing it back in the holster on his thigh. With everything complete, the soldier makes his way out of the building, only to be ambushed with a black bag over his face. A loud voice booms through his ears, muffled slightly through the bag.

"Well done, Soldier. You are going back under Cryo when we get back."

My body jolts upwards with a huge intake of breath spilling out of my lungs. My chest aches and tears fall down my cheeks, landing in my lap. I attempt to control my breathing, remembering a tactic that Steve told me, but with my mind focused on the memory it's hard to concentrate.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

My lungs still hurt, but I can breathe properly enough that my vision isn't blurry anymore. But, I'm not sure if my vision changed because of my loss of breath or the building tears covering my eyes. Probably a mixture of both. I was so out of it that I didn't realize someone had opened my door and was standing in the frame, watching me struggle. They didn't make a move to come over to me, letting me get used to my surroundings before they make their presence known. I move my head over to the door, seeing Eden standing with her arms crossed over her chest, a sad smile on her face. She is dressed in her pyjamas, her hair dishevelled.

"A nightmare?" She asks.

"How did you know?"

"I've seen that look before." She pushes her body off the frame.

"What look?"

"Haunted." She stands over me.

She crouches down on the floor, placing her hands on the blanket that I call my bed on the floor. I feel embarrassed that she has seen me like this, but she doesn't make me feel like I should be. Her smile is comforting, and she doesn't make a move to touch me, instead letting me feel comfortable enough the make that decision alone. I have a decision, a choice with her. So, without another thought, I launch my body towards her, holding onto her body for comfort. She doesn't waste a second, and wraps her arms around my body, hugging me. She rubs my back as I break down in her chest, her shirt stained with my tears, but it's clear that she doesn't care. We stay in each other's hold for a while, stuck in a silent comfort with the other. She only speaks when she pulls away from the hug, taking her hold with her which I quickly miss.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She questions.

"How much do you know about me?"

"Steve told me that you have memories about your time there. That they plague you." She doesn't lie.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"That's okay, you don't have to." She smiles.

"You don't have to pretend that you know what I'm going through. I'm fine."

"I'm not." She whispers. "I know what you're going through."

"What?"

"I've been here, and I got help." She admits.

"You've been here?"

"In your position." She confesses. "A few years ago, I was having nightmares practically every night about the same mission I was on."

"You were on a mission."

"Yes," She nods her head. "I was a SHEILD agent a few years back, and on a mission, I got really badly injured. We were fighting against a woman in SHEILD who was a secret HYDRA agent, and when my team and I were trying to arrest her, she shot me in the chest, just about missing my heart. Fury made me quit when I woke up in the hospital, but I think my father had something to do with that."

"And that's why he won't let you help on missions now?"

"I think he's afraid that I'll get hurt again, but he doesn't realize that I feel the exact same way every time you all go on missions." She frowns.

"And you had nightmares about it?"

"It felt like I was being shot all over again. I would wake up screaming in pain, and Steve would always come to my rescue. He was the one who took me to a therapist and I don't have those nightmares that much anymore." She sighs.

"I'm sorry you went through that."

"I'm sorry you're going through it now." She insists. "But, you're not alone, Bucky. I'm always here for you."

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