Memories are a strange thing. You can go to a place and think you'll never ever forget it, no matter what happens, but when you finally return it seems like another planet. A place so different from how you remember it that you wonder if it's even the same place at all. This was how Bucky felt as he stepped out of Stark's helicarrier into the chilly morning Krakow air.
The cloaking technology that Tony had managed to encrypt into the carrier meant that the team had managed to land on the outskirts of the HYDRA campus undetected, and Bucky could easily make out the giant building through the thick fog with his enhanced eyesight. He had been here before, for a long time, but it seemed different somehow. This was the building where Pine had given him the instruction to kidnap Erin, the building where she had been locked up and tortured for five days. The building where he had stood by and watched.
He'd expected to feel something deep inside when he caught a glimpse of it again, but he was surprisingly devoid of emotion as his heavy strides took him closer and closer to the place where he had sworn he would never return. The only thing filling his mind was Erin. Was she still alive? Was she alright? What had they done to her? He couldn't help clench his fist slightly at the thought. There had been blood on the linoleum kitchen floor in Erin's flat, the splatter pattern had looked like a gunshot wound. That wasn't something he wanted to think about.
"Okay, so here's the plan." Tony's voice broke through Bucky's internal monologue. He felt a warm hand on his elbow and he stopped walking and turned around. Steve let go of his arm and turned to look at Tony.
"Capsicle and the big guy are gonna take security," He said, tapping Banner on the chest with the back of his armoured hand. Bucky knew better than to question that decision. He was sure now that Bruce Banner, the mild-mannered physicist was, in fact, The Hulk. In retrospect, he probably shouldn't have goaded him so much on the way here, trying to get him annoyed.
"That involves taking out anyone you see in your way," Steve and Bruce nodded, "Banner, try to be at least a little inconspicuous."
Bruce smiled, slightly embarrassed, and nodded.
"Winter?"
"Don't call me that," Bucky snapped, but Tony ignored him and carried on.
"You know this place, you know the layout. Your job is to find Erin and get her back here."
Bucky nodded, happy with that decision. He would be the first person Erin saw, hopefully, he would be able to reassure her, even a little.
"And you?" He asked Tony. The man smiled and flipped up the hood on his Iron Man suit, cloaking his face.
"I'm going to disable the alarms and security cameras." His voice was tinny, metallised by the mask, "This is a quick in and out operation, I don't need anyone getting distracted by anything." He looked pointedly at Bucky for this bit, and despite the mask over his face, Bucky knew the exact expression he would have on.
"What'cha lookin' at me for?"
Tony tilted his head to the side.
"We're going in to get the girl, nothing else. I don't want you going off on a wild goose chase to find that Pine guy."
Bucky took a step back and brought his hand up.
"No, no, no. The terms of this were that I could kill him. After everything that he's done to me, to Erin. I want that man dead." Of course, saving Erin was the priority, the reason he had come here, but if he didn't get to see the light fade out of Pine's cold grey eyes he would go back to America feeling like he'd missed his chance. He was never going to get an opportunity like this again.
Bucky looked at Steve desperately, but the blonde just shook his head at Bucky, an apology in his eyes.
"Sorry, Buck, but I think he's right. You'll be distracted if you're going in there with the intent to save Erin and kill Pine, and we can't risk that."
Bucky bit his lip, annoyed, but could understand where they were coming from. Erin was the priority here, Pine could wait.
"Alright," he accepted, cracking his knuckles, "Let's get down to business."
"To defeat the Huns," Tony whispered behind him as they turned to walk towards the shadowed building in front of them. The most unlikely set of friends, somehow working together.
Banner and Steve made their way to the left and ran towards the building, ready for their job. Tony turned to Bucky as they continued to walk.
"Power grid?"
"To the left side of the plant, right at the back. Security camera stations are in the north-east."
Stark nodded and flew off, the heat from the metal jet packs in his shoes blasting Bucky in the face with hot air as he went. Bucky rubbed his eyes as they returned to focusing on the darkness after the sudden and unexpected burst of light and broke into a flat out run. He knew where the hostage quarters were, he just hoped that he would reach there in time.
***************
"I can't wait for Prince Charming to turn up," Pine muttered, twirling his knife around his right hand and looking down at Erin. She was in a bad way, her eyelids drooping over her dark eyes and a droplet of blood running down her cheek. She gave a non-committal grunt as a response to his statement and tried to lift her head to look at him. He could see a bruise forming on her left cheekbone.
The gunshot wound in her shoulder looked nasty, surrounded by the sticky signs of dried blood. She was wearing a grey tank-top, and the blood had leached into the fabric, turning it a dark brown. He also had a good view of the scars on the tops of her legs, an autograph from the last time she was here.
It had been ten hours since she had been taken, roughly five hours that she had been there. It couldn't be long until The Soldier turned up in his shining armour to save the fair maiden.
"He's not stupid enough to fall for your trap," the words were very quiet, but he heard them nonetheless. Erin coughed loudly, her head down, and Pine saw a single drop of blood-filled saliva fall from her mouth.
"He gets careless when he's unfocused, Erin. That's why you're here. To unfocus him."
"I think you overestimate how much I mean to him, mate."
He bent down and threaded his hand through the hair on the top of her head, lifting her head up so he could look her in the face. He studied her, the curve of her lips, the shape of her nose. Not an unattractive face, he noted, but he couldn't see what it was about her that had made the Soldier fall for her. She wasn't a classic beauty, but he couldn't deny there was something about her face that could only be described by the word 'intriguing'. He could admit she had a good body, despite the scarring, but that had never seemed important to the Soldier before his escape. Pine let her head fall and took a step back.
"I don't think I am."
About six years ago, he had been told by the cryotechnologists that Barnes had been restless, uncompliant. He had been advised that this may be due to certain 'urges' that hadn't been acted on in a while. He must have brought hundreds of women to the Base over the space of the next two years, each one more beautiful, more enticing than the last. The Soldier had refused to have anything to do with any of them. That was why Pine had been so surprised to learn of his apparent relationship with Erin from Dr Kennedy, he had begun to think that the Soldier batted for the other team.
He checked his watch, half past four in the morning, and sighed to himself. He needed a coffee. Taking one last look at the slumped figure of Erin Jefferson, hunched over herself in the chair, he turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
*********
Bucky ran. He was running faster than he ever thought that he could, the mental image of Erin, slumped to the ground, dead, filling his mind every time he so much as blinked. The grey concrete walls of the HYDRA camp sped past him so quickly they had begun to blur, his heavy boots thudded on the stone ground, echoing loudly in the confined space. He was a spy, he should be moving slowly, quietly to avoid detection, but he was ignoring everything he had been taught. None of that mattered now. What mattered was that he reached Erin before it was too late.
He sped around a corner and came face to face with a HYDRA guard. Not just any HYDRA guard, however. The man in front of Bucky was none other than Private Sean Gardner, the mouthy blonde he had beaten the living daylights out of all those months ago. What was it he had said?
'Lay one finger on that girl and I'll rip your spine out through your mouth.'
"You?" There was fear in the blonde's eyes. He remembered the last time he had come into contact with Bucky.
Sean took a step forwards, reaching in his pocket for a gun. Before he could grab it, Bucky brought his leg up and kicked the Private in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. He then took two steps forward and threaded his hand through Sean's hair, slamming his head into the wall next to them. There were a sickening crunch and Gardener went down like a stone, crumpling to the floor. Bucky took one last look at him and continued running, clearing the man from his mind. Erin was the focus here. He rounded another corner and sped past a security camera, hoping to himself that stark had managed to switch them off in time before anyone was alerted of his presence there.
By the time he reached the holding cells he was out of breath, which was a big deal for him. He had run faster than he should have, his thighs were burning with the exertion of it. There were at least ten cells, each one locked from the outside. Bucky already knew which one Erin would be in. Of course, Pine would want to freak her out by bringing her back to exactly the same cell she had started in, making her think her nightmare had started up again, this time for real. He walked over to the cell door and tried his fingerprint on the automated lock. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work, they must have cleared his prints off when he went rogue. There was only one thing for it.
He curled his metal hand into a fist and brought it crashing down to the lock. Metal hit metal with a deafening clang, and a powerful recoil hit Bucky's shoulder, sending him to his knees, teeth gritted.
"Fuck." He muttered through clenched teeth. He rolled his shoulder and looked up at the lock. It was dented, misshapen. He stood up with a grunt and slammed his shoulder against the door. It jolted slightly but remained firmly closed. He clenched his fist once more and brought it down again, flinching at the pain in his shoulder where flesh met metal. The lock was in a bad shape, bent and twisted, one more good punch should do it.
With a yell he slammed his fist into the side of the door one last time, putting all his anger, all his rage into one blow. There was a loud thud and the door swung inwards. Bucky practically fell forwards, exhausted. So much for keeping silent and not drawing attention to himself.
He had been right. There was a figure in the centre of the room, bent double, tied to a rickety wooden chair. If it wasn't for the grey shirt that she was wearing, instead of the gaudy pink one he had originally seen her in, he would have thought he was right back at the beginning. He took three cautious steps forwards and knelt down in front of her.
"Erin? Darling, it's me. It's Bucky."
His voice was hoarse. There was no response from her, she didn't even flinch at the sound of his voice, just remained still, head bowed. Her wild blonde hair was messy, matted with sweat. He gently lifted her face, and his heart plummeted. There was a thick bruise on her cheekbone and a droplet of blood running from her hairline down her cheek. He audibly hissed when he saw the bullet wound in her shoulder, covered in dark brown dried blood.
"You took your fucking time."
She was very quiet, the sound coming out more as a whisper than as speech, but it made Bucky's shoulders suddenly relax.
"Erin, thank fuck." The relief was audible in his voice. Her eyelids fluttered open and he cupped her face in his hands, holding it gently.
"Erin. I'm so sorry I left, I'm so sorry."
His words came out as a jumbled mess. His fingers threaded through her hair, tilting her head up.
"I should never have gone, it was stupid of me. I just didn't know how to cope when I thought you-" his voice broke, "I thought you were just using me."
"Buck?" She asked. He nodded, listening intently, "As much as I'm loving this heart to heart, Pine knows you're here. He set this as a trap. We should probably, you know..." she gestured her head to the door and whistled.
Bucky nodded, a small smile on his face as he got to work quickly on the ropes used to tie her legs and arms to the chair. Even in a situation like this, she had a sense of humour, just one of the things he had begun to love about her. He gave up quickly and flipped a pen-knife out of his pocket, slicing the ropes with one swipe. He tried not to notice the way Erin flinched as he did. He knew what knives meant to her.
"You mind if I carry you?"
"How romantic." She held her hand to her heart and fake - swooned. Bucky rolled his eyes and took her in his arms. He winced slightly at the pained grunt she made as he jolted the bullet wound in her shoulder.
"This is going to hurt-" he warned and she scoffed, looking up at him.
"I can guarantee I've had worse."
He had to give her that, she was right. He got a tighter grasp of her and set off at a steady jog, not wanting to jostle her arm too badly. There was no need to cause her any more pain that necessary.
He couldn't help but think that this was not the scenario he had expected the first time his hands had touched Erin's bare thighs. He had considered something slightly more romantic than carrying her half-conscious body through the concrete halls of a terrorist organisation's Base Camp.
He rounded a corner, and another, his feet thumping against the floor as he sped along. It was quiet in the corridors, the only sound being his heavy breathing, Erin's periodical grunts of pain, his footsteps.
The click of a gun barrel fitting into place.
He froze, Erin still in his arms, a shard of ice travelling down his back. Eighty years in the business had given him a sort of sixth sense, a tingling down the back of his spine when he was being watched. He spun around slowly and looked towards the end of the corridor. The first thing he registered was the barrel of the automatic pistol, pointed directly at his skull. His eyes ran from the gun to the hand holding it, to the face of the man stood in front of him. A single scar ran down the side of his face, twisting his features, turning what would originally have been a handsome face into a grotesque mockery.
"Winter."
"Pine."
The pair greeted each other civilly but the crackle of electricity between them was difficult to miss. Pine smiled, his face twisting with it.
"How nice of you to finally join us."
******
Drinking game. Every time I leave a chapter on a cliffhanger take a shot.
Actually please don't because you will probably die.
I WANT TO KNOW YOUR REACTIONS LET ME KNOW PLEASE also this is a super long chapter for me