CRUEL INTENTIONS, bucky barnes

fifteen

March 24, 2016

Brooklyn, New York

"I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was done, too." He licked his finger and flipped the page in the hefty file that had been placed in front of him. The next time he spoke, his voice was much quieter. "Then again, can't really say I'm shocked."

Alina gave him a tight smile when he looked back up at her and sipped his coffee. This was the first time they'd spoken face-to-face. He looked much more tired in person than he did on the news fighting aliens with the rest of the Avengers.

"Why are you telling me—showing me all this?" He went on, his focus captured once more by the pages in front of him. "What's the point? S.H.I.E.L.D. is back and the same as they were before. What does that have to do with—"

"I'm trying to show you that I'm trustworthy," Alina said. Her hands tightened on the back of the chair. She had been in Steve Roger's kitchen for twenty minutes and still hadn't relaxed enough to sit down. "I figured it'd be easiest to start from the bottom. Once you trust me, then I can tell you how we can help each other."

Steve raised his eyes and looked at her for a long moment.

"You could probably start by sitting down. That would make you look less defensive."

Alina licked her lips and planted herself firmly on the cool hardwood.

"Better?"

"Yes." A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth as he set his coffee mug aside. "Can I get you something?"

"Answers," Alina said. She folded her hands in front of her, sliding to the edge of her chair. She didn't know where she'd go if this fell through. "S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't doing enough. They don't... care. They don't care about Rumlow and King and HYDRA. They don't—"

Her head fell into her hands as the thought sunk in even further: They don't care about HYDRA. How can they not care about HYDRA?

It was hard enough to swallow for Alina; how was she supposed to convince Captain America?

"It doesn't seem right," Steve said. He was reading again. "I mean, it's basically all here in print, but it's still hard to wrap my head around, I guess. I always had my doubts about S.H.I.E.L.D., and the last couple years have really... proved the worst, to put it lightly."

Alina sucked in a breath, but couldn't bring herself to exhale. Some irrational part of her thought that if Steve felt her breath across the table, she'd blow his trust away and lose all of her hope along with it.

"What can I do?"

It took a moment for the question to sink in, but Steve didn't rush her, merely continued flipping through the pages. It seemed as though he didn't expect an answer right away. Before Alina had gathered a response, he went on absently.

"You're asking for help with Rumlow and this other agent. Talking about how S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't care enough about these HYDRA splinter groups. But there's a reason you came here."

He kept talking but didn't look up, and Alina's stomach continued to tighten.

"There's a reason you think I'll help you. Not Stark, not anyone else with influence or power. You came here, specifically." Steve finally lifted his blue eyes to Alina's. She saw a touch of pain in them, something more than just the vague exhaustion. "You know where he is."

"No," Alina said. It was one fact she could state with confidence. "I don't know where he is. You wouldn't want me to. It'd be a liability."

Steve shifted in his seat and took up his coffee mug again, his brow furrowed. She had his attention.