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

Chapter Twenty Four

*Sarah's POV*

I put my arms hesitantly around his neck, and he put his on my waist, slowly pulling me closer. He was slow in his movements, as if remembering what to do. My sweatshirt was lifted up and his metal arm was cool against my exposed skin, making me shiver. When we broke apart, he laid his forehead against mine.

He didn't need to say anything. His arms rested on my hip bones, and I held my arms around my neck. I was surrounded by him, his scent, his touch, his taste.

I was totally, completely, head-over-heels in love with Bucky Barnes, The Winter Soldier.

*bucky's POV*

I saw her leaning in, and panicked.

What do I do? I don't remember how to kiss, or how to act, or what to do...

Her lips pressed to mine, and suddenly I wasn't worried. As long as she was here, and safe, and mine, everything was ok. My memories came to me all at once, and I remembered kissing girls before, in 1940. I remembered what do do, and when we broke apart, I leaned my forehead against hers. My arms brushed her skin on her stomach, and I felt her shiver. I smiled at her, looking into her blue eyes.

To me, it didn't matter how strong she was, how well she could fight, or how smart she was.

All that mattered was that she was here, and in this moment, she was so beautiful.

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*Steve's POV*

"Tony! Turn the music DOWN!" Sarah yelled above the heavy metal. I rolled my eyes, walking over to Tony and smacking him upside the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" He yelled at me. I turned the knob on the radio all the way down, and it was suddenly very quiet. He narrowed his eyes.

"I was enjoying that!" He exclaimed, and Natasha came into the room.

"No one else was." She said, giving him an exasperated look. I laughed at the look she gave him.

"You guys need a lesson on 'fun.'" Tony muttered, adding some choice words into the mix and sulking away. Nat laughed, giving me a five, and I sat on the couch. She came and sat next to me, leaning into my shoulder. I draped my arm across her shoulder. We sat and relaxed, watching TV, and enjoying each other's company. We hadn't talked much lately, and it made me upset. I really enjoyed her company.

"Do you think we'll be able to defeat Hydra?" Nat asked, beating me to it. I bit my lip.

"I'm really not sure this time. We are up against a force that's huge, something we've never faced before. I'm not sure how we will do this." I replied, softly. We both know that we could die any day, but with Hydra looming over our heads, it's looking like it will be coming sooner rather than later.

"You know, one day there will be something against us that we can't stop. It might be Hydra, or it might be later. Unfortunately, superheroes don't always win. And it's something we can't afford to think about." Natasha said, and I nodded, pulling her closer.

"I already died once, and I made the choice to put the plane in the ocean. I also fell into the Potomac, and if Bucky hadn't been there, I would've died. I made that choice too. I could've fought against him, but I didn't, because he was my friend. I made the sacrifice play. I sacrificed myself, twice, to save people. But by some twist of fate, I'm not dead. Clearly, it's not my time yet, and I'm going to do everything I can to make the world a better place; because I'm not going to be lucky enough to get another chance." I said quietly, closing my eyes. I'm going to enjoy every minute I can in my life.

Natasha kissed my cheek, and when I opened my eyes,she was looking at me intensely.

"Steve Rogers, you are a truly amazing man." she told me, and I smiled.

"Well you are an amzing woman, Natasha Romanoff."

We joked and talked for a little while longer, before we heard the roar. The windows began to shake, and me and Natasha got on the gorund behind the couch. I shielded her body with mine, until the raor suddenly stopped. Tony, Sam and Bucky came flying into the room, and me and Nat stood up.

"What the hell was that?!" Tony asked, eyes wide, as he looked around terrified. Sam shrugged.

"I don't know but if it's coming after us, we are SO dead!" he exclaimed.

"Guys, where is Sarah?!" Bucky shouted, and we instantly looked around. I ran to the front of the house and Bucky followed me. I walked into the living room, finding Sarah peeking through the curtains. Bucky sighed with relief, until we saw the look on her face, that could only be described as pure terror. She motioned for us to come over with her hand, and we looked out the window.

A giant...thing was walking down the street. It was as tall as the house, and covered in green scales from it's head to it's stomach. From it's stomach and below, it was covered with what looked like burns and festering wounds. Blood and green pus was leaving a trail behind it. The creature was obviously a mutant gone wrong. It snarled at nothing, and we could see it's huge fangs. I didn't even know how to describe the rest of it- it didn't resemble anything i've ever seen. It was looking for something, and began sniffing the air.

Sarah took out her phone and snapped a picture of it, and the creature began to turn it's head our way. Sarah pulled the curtain across quickly, and we bolted from the entry hall. It roared again. It saw us.

"RUN!" Bucky screamed as we got to the living room, and Tony, Sam and Natasha followed us to the basement. We all ran into one of the bedrooms down there, and shut the door.

"What's out there?!" Sam asked, and Sarah showed them the picture. Natasha put her hand over her mouth, and Sam whistled. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Damn." Sam muttered.

"Hydra apparently isn't very successful with these mutations yet. But whatever that thing is, it wants us dead." said Tony.

Another roar shook the house, and we heard a crash from outside. I looked around and made sure everyone had their weapons or anything they needed. Tony and Sam had their suits, Natasha had her guns and so did Sarah, Bucky always had his gun and ammo strapped to him, and I grabbed my shield on the way downstairs.

We all hid behind the couch that was in the room, in case it decided to bring the house down, so we'd be partially shielded. Natasha sat next to me, our shoulders touching. Bucky sat next to me, and Sarah was sitting very close to him. They may have been holding hands, but I wasn't sure. Tony and Sam were to the right of me. We all sat and waited.

We heard more roaring, growling and snarls coming from upstairs. There were several crashes, but eventually they stopped, and we looked at each other, as if asking if it was gone.

Until we heard another crash.

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