"I'm going to remove my hand. Don't scream, or I'll kill you" says the low, gruff voice. I nod in response and he lets me go. I back up and feel for the light switch. I find it and flip it on as fast as I can.
The light turns on, but all I see is half of the stranger. I look up to see a very tall man compared to me, wearing that same mask, and that same leather armour, with the same metal arm. I gasp at the sight of him. He looks like he went through hell and back, and then back to hell. His right side is bleeding, the part of his face that isn't covered by a mask is covered in cuts and scrapes.
"Damn..." Is all I can say.
He's leaning on the wall, dripping blood on my bedroom floor. What do I do? What's gonna happen? What do I say?
"Help..." Says the man–or should I say Winter Soldier. His voice snaps me out of it.
"Right, sorry" I say suddenly. I reach over to help him to my bed, but he flinches.
"I'm not going to hurt you" I say in a calm voice. He gives in and let's me help him to my bed.
"Take off the armour" I order. I rush over to my closet and open it. I stand on my tip toes as I search the top shelf for my first aid kit. I rush back to my bed once I find it.
His armour is off and his wound is visible now. I need to work quickly, before he loses anymore blood. I get out antiseptic and a cloth to clean the wound, and remove the sloppy bandage he obviously did himself. I shake my head as I work.
"How long have you been like this?" I ask.
He pauses before answering.
"A day or two. I lost count..." He sounds like he hasn't slept in days. He's shivering, probably from the cold outside. I grab some tweezers to remove the bullet.
"This is going to hurt" I say bluntly.
I stick the tweezers in the wound. Bucky winces at the pain, but doesn't complain. Once the bullets out, I finish bandaging it, and try to find other wounds.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?" I ask.
He shakes his head.
"Good. lie down, get some rest" I pack up the first aid and turn to the closet.
Once I put every-thing away, I turn to face the bed. I see the Winter Soldier sleeping on my bed, his slight, steady snoring letting me know. I walk over to the bed, and gently drape the covers over him. I stare at his face for a minute.
You know, it would be a lot easier to stare at him with his mask off? I think.
I carefully take his mask off and revel his face. He's in desperate need of a shave, and his hair needs a good clean. I also notice he looks pale. I place the back of my hand on his forehead. He's burning up.
He might be sick from walking around in the cold with a bullet wound. I make sure the furnace is running before I leave to find a different place to sleep.
I know I should tell Steve, just...not yet. He'll know first thing in the morning. Bucky doesn't need people crowding around him.
I walk to the lounge with a blanket and pillow I found in the closet. I clumsily place the pillow on one of the couches and drape the blanket over me.
I let sleep take over my body, my eyes slowly close.
• • • •
Bucky
I slowly wakeup. Ugh, I feel terrible, but not as bad as I did yesterday. Wait! Where am I?
I try to get up quickly, but a sudden pain in my side stops me. I wince at the pain, but try to get up again. This time slower. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and look around the room.
It's walls were grey and it had a large window on one wall. The place was modern and fancy, but the one thing that stands out is that record player on the dresser.
Last night was a bit of a blur, but, I think I remember this room. I hear running water. I look to find the root of the sound coming from behind a door. The sound stops, my eyes widen.
The door opens and a short girl with Periwinkle blue eyes leaves the bathroom. She sees me and gives me a smile. small dimples forming on her cheeks. I stare at her as she walks over to her closet. She pulls out a shirt and jeans that are obviously way to big for her. She tosses them to me and I catch without thinking.
"Morning. Sleep well?" she asks.
I just stare at her. I remember I came in here last night and she helped me. Why? Wouldn't the strange girl be afraid of someone who towers over her at a solid, foot and a half. Did I sleep in her bed all night? What time is it? I look at the clock on her nightstand: 11:15.
"You've been sleeping for a while" I turn to see the girl, rummaging through the messy closet. "I thought I should let you sleep. You lost a lot of blood and you were running a fever"
she's so familiar. The girl turns and looks at me, her eyes are always so startling. Like you'd expect green or brown, but instead they're periwinkle blue.
"Right, sorry. I'll give you privacy in a minute, I just..." She trails of, rumm–aging in the closet again. "I swear I had some boots in here for you" she sighs, giving up. "Sorry I can't find shoes"
I don't say anything, just stare at her. There's another awkward silence before the girl speaks again.
"I'll make you breakfast, and you can meet the rest of the gang" She says.
Wait, I'm going to meet the Aven–gers? Oh no. This is not gonna end well. The girl leaves the room, humming to herself. She suddenly comes back and opens the door again.
"I forgot to tell you where the kitchen is, silly me" she laughs. "Down the hall to your right, then take a left at the next turn. If you get lost just ask F.R.I.D.A.Y. Where it is" I raise an eyebrow. Who's Friday? She notices my questioning look.
"Oh, F.R.I.D.A.Y. Is our AI. Say hi F.R.I.D.A.Y."
"Good morning Periwinkle" says a disembodied voice.
Wait, that's her name? Her! She's the one I needed to find!
"Periwinkle?" I say.
She smiles at me. I realize that's the first thing I said to her all morning.
"That's my name. But call me Winky, Periwinkle sounds clunky, don't you think?" I just nod.
"Ok, I'll see you in the kitchen" she closes the door, the light thumping indicating that she's finally leaving. That girls a chatter box.
I look at the clothes she gave me. Black t–shirt and jeans. At this moment, any things better then my uniform. I change into the new clothes, and walk out to the hallway. My head still hurts a bit, probably from the fever.
I follow the directions Winky gave me, and get there in no time. I walk into the kitchen, smelling something delicious. I never realized how hungry I am until now.
"Wow, you made it here faster then me" she laughs. "I have no sense of direction, so this place is hard to navigate for me" she smiles as she places a plate full of weird bread things covered in pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles.
"These are Poptarts" says Winky. "Go on, try one"
I slowly pick up one of the Poptarts, and break it into to halves. Red jelly is inside of the strange looking treat. I look up at her in confusion.
"Yeah I was sceptical too when I first tried them, but after my fifth Poptart, I realized that America has come a long way when it comes to treats like these" she says as she takes one off the plate and sinks her teeth into it.
Well if shes eating it, there's a good chance she didn't poison it. I take a bite as well, sinking my teeth into the pastry.
It doesn't taste great, but it's much better then what they gave me in HYDRA. Besides, food is food.
As we are eating, Winky notices a note on the counter. She picks it up and reads it, then looks slightly disappointed.
"Bad news" she sighs. "Everyone is either on a mission or with Cap getting groceries. Oh well, we needed some anyways"
Cap? Right Captain America. Wait? Steve is Captain America! I abruptly get up from my chair. Winky looks up at me, not fazed in the slightest, but obviously confused.
"Are you ok?" Her eyes widen. "Oh right! Of course, you guys are besties"
besties? What on earth is a bestie?
"It's ok. Steve will most likely be mad at me for not telling him you're here" she didn't tell him?!
"You didn't tell Steve?" I say, my voice croaky from lack of use. She smiles. She does that a lot.
"You remember Steve!" Winky exclaims.
Suddenly that disembodied voice comes back, filling the room.
"Captain Rogers and Wanda Maximof are here"
"Shit" I hear Winky swear under breath in Russian. She knows Russian?
"I'll be right back, stay here" she races out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with a plate full of Poptarts. I take another one and bite into it.
• • • •
Winky
I thought they would be longer! Aw crap! I race out of the elevator, down the hallway and out into the lobby were I caught them just in time.
"Hey Steve! Hey Wanda!" I say in an overly nice tone.
"Uh, hey Winky. I thought you'd be in the gym" says Steve, suspicious.
"Oh well, I was hungry, and thought, 'hey why don't I see what's in the kitchen'" I say.
Wanda raises her eyebrow, also confused. I can sense that she's trying to see in my head what I'm hiding. I eye squint at her, letting her know that it's a bad idea to even try.
"Steve, do you mind taking the groceries?" She asks, her accent thick.
"Sure" he takes the two other plastic bags of food.
Wanda thanks him and walks away, not taking her eyes off me, until she's behind me. Steve starts walking through the hallway and into the elevator, I walk with him.
"Ok don't be mad" I say.
"You didn't bring in another stray dog, did you?" He asks.
"No, I didn't"
"A stray cat?"
"No, I didn't bring a stray animal in here"
"Stray animals 'following' you inside doesn't count, Winky"
"No animals followed me inside, nor did I bring any"
"Then what is it?" The elevator dings and we exit to the hallway.
"Well, uh" I sigh "so last night, when we got back from the failed mission, I went to my room and..." Steve stops and looks at me.
"What, Winky?"
"Bucky was kind of there" I blurt out.
Steve looks absolutely in shock. For the first time, I left him speechless.
"What?!" He finally says. "And you didn't tell me?!"
"I–I was going to, but he's was injured, a–and sick" I stutter.
"Where is he?!"
"In the kitchen" I point to the way as I say it.
Steve drops the groceries and bolts towards the kitchen. I pick up the bags and run after him.
"Steve wait!" I call out, but it didn't do anything.
I chase Steve through the hallway until we reach the kitchen. I see Steve standing there, Bucky staring at him with half a Poptart in his hands.
"Bucky?" Steve says.
I look at him, but I don't see Captain America, I see pre-serum Steve Rogers from Brooklyn.
Yay Steve finally found Bucky again! I thought this chapter was cute, what do you think? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote!