I Walk The Line (A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction)

Chapter 3

A potentially good side to my entire team being dead, besides not having to deal with their bullshit anymore, is getting some well-deserved vacation time.

I spent my days in the gym, working my ass off. I'd visit Winter every morning and Connor every evening. Every now and then, I got to meet a few new agents, spar with them, see if they're good enough to join our elite team. Spoiler alert: they weren't.

Connor got out of hospital after a week, but his shoulder was still heavily bandaged. It would take him a while to get back on the field. Fortunately, he didn't remember anything after being shot, so even if he heard my conversation with Nat, I was safe. For now.

Bucky - Winter - was making progress with his memory. I got to spend a lot more time with him. I'd make up a bullshit excuse to check up on some settings in his arm ("it's an old, rusty piece of crap, ya know boys"), but after a while, the guards just stopped caring. It would go as usual, I'd ask him who he is, he'd tell me he's the Winter Soldier, but he's also Bucky and then more of what he remembered. I'm supposed to leave after we eat and go over everything again, but since I had nothing better to do, I'd stay. He didn't seem to mind. He'd just watch me smoke and read whatever book I brought with me.

"What's your name?" He asked me one day, while we were eating breakfast. It took me by surprise and I choked on the bread I was chewing. "Uh, Andrea Ryder", I said. He just nodded.

Connor was just as surprised as I was when I told him. We were eating lunch in the cafeteria, in a far corner, as always.

We had a lot in common, Connor and I. We both liked to be left alone, we had the weirdest sense of humor and we got along quite well. The only difference was that he was truly loyal to HYDRA, and I knew that if it came down to picking between me and them, he'd pick them. But he was a good friend regardless.

"Isn't he supposed to... Well, not talk?" He asked. I shrugged. "I mean, he's a war machine. You'd think, after all the brainwashing and shit, he'd have forgotten how to speak", Connor continued. I felt anger boil inside me, so I decided to change the topic.

"Wanna go spar at the gym?", I asked getting up from our table and picking up my tray. "I was shot in the shoulder and nearly bled out, remember?", he said sarcastically, following me. "Yeah, but did you die?", I winked at him. He just laughed.