Captain America Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier Steve Rogers Fan Fic - The Constant

Chapter Eighty-Two: The Winter Soldier & The Guard

The days seem to progress slowly but the weeks fly by and rapidly turn into months. Some days are good, some bad. Steve and Bucky still have separate rooms at the tower but rarely spend the night apart. They managed to obtain permission to move back into Steve's apartment, but as soon as people began to recognise Bucky there were what the press referred to as "incidents." Rocks thrown through windows, graffiti on their door, the apartment is broken into twice, such things as personal photographs are stolen and then appear in the newspaper. Their personal items get trashed and the Police are unsympathetic; what else did you expect ? one detective says to Steve.

And out on the street there are catcalls. Young men who want to take on the Winter Soldier, and inside Bucky the Winter Soldier stirs ready to take them apart. Sometimes it is not Bucky they recognise first, it is Steve...and then Bucky. Captain America and his Howling Commando, the dirty spy! You know the guy, the one who went over to the Russians. The killer, the murderer.

The red star atop his arm does not help. He keeps it covered as much as he can.

Two of Bucky's brothers are still alive, and they ask to meet him. They will never know how difficult it is for him to refuse. "I can't pull them in to all of this. I can't."

Not even Steve can change his mind, and so Steve spends time with them, tries to make the other relatives understand Bucky's dilemma, and thankfully most of them do. Most of them tell Steve that they are there for when Bucky is ready to meet them. They refuse interviews with the newspapers, ignore the comments made about their kin. Their quiet refusal to believe that Bucky is anything but a victim in this is dignified. They believe in James and they always will.

But Jeremy Sands knows that if they went to trial now it would be impossible to defend him. They would hang Bucky from the nearest lamp post.

"I need something to work with. Isn't there anything, anyone who can back up your claims? Anyone's life we may be able to look at that can show what it is you went through?" It's a question he asks regularly of Bucky, and Bucky shakes his head, looks away. For a moment Rollins comes to mind but Bucky rejects the thought, the man had helped him enough. He would not set him up as a target, would not throw him to the wolves.

"No. There isn't anyone."

If he told them about Freya then he would have to tell them how he betrayed her, how he let her die unloved and alone in the flames, and he will not use her to protect himself. He had done nothing but use her in their time together. Had not even told her how much he had loved her. No, he would not tarnish her memory to find redemption for himself.

*

It all started in the shop.

They had gone in to buy a few things to keep them going, but inevitably someone had recognised him. Someone had called the Winter Soldier's name. Someone who thought he should be strung up as a war criminal. Bucky was starting to get used to it and even believe it which depressed the hell out of Steve.

And so they tried to ignore the person at first but then others joined in like a rabid pack until Steve could see the slump in Bucky's shoulders and then finally the owner who was behind the till refused to serve them. Things began to get ugly.

Through it all Bucky did not say a word, just shrank a little further at every taunt, at every name called out, at every slur and insult. When Steve went to put them right he stopped him.

"Lets just get out of here," Bucky said, turning to walk out empty handed.

But at the back of the shop a nondescript man had been watching and it was his turn at the till now. The people were gathered around excited by the chance to gossip and he listened to them sickened by what he was hearing.