Chapter Thirty-Six
Bucky
It's past three in the morning when I make my way up to my room. It's the third night that Analiese has been here, and the third time I've had to keep watch over her. After our conversation the first night she was here, she's been very quiet. Not just around me, but the others as well. Alex and Khari continue to use their guard duty to plan their wedding, and by the time my shift for guard duty comes along, I can see the annoyance practically radiate off of Analiese. I can hardly blame her. Listening to discussions about floral arrangements and cake flavors would drive me up the wall too. She hasn't voiced her annoyance though. She just silently lays there, off in her own head.
I reach the door, wrapping my metal hand around the gold tinted knob. I let the door gently swing open, letting the light from the hall shine dimly into the room. Lena is asleep on her side, her body facing me. She has her hands tucked against her chest, with her bangs falling towards the pillow, and her hair tied in a ponytail behind her.
Her eyes flutter open due to the light, and I see a small smile appear on her lips. I walk over towards her side of the bed, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. As I pull back from her she brings her right hand up to cup my face.
"How is she?"
I turn my head and kiss her palm, bringing my metal hand up to touch hers. "Quiet. Shuri is watching her now. She just gave her another dose of the serum."
Lena nods, yawning and stretching her back. "Hopefully by tomorrow the treatment will be done and we can actually get some sleep."
I caress her hand, smiling down at her. "I can take over your shift of guard duty so you can get more sleep."
She smiles, leaning up and brushing her thumb across my cheekbone. "You need your rest too."
"I'll rest when she's behind bars and this is all over with."
She shakes her head at me. "With our luck another problem will happen immediately after this one. We can't bet on time off, we need to get rest whenever we can."
I chuckle, knowing she's right. "Well at least we got those few days in Greece off. I think that's the only vacation time we're ever going to have."
She chuckles with me, ripping the blankets off of her and pushing herself off the bed. I slip into the bed, watching her as she walks over to the dresser. She's currently wearing grey pajama bottoms and a shirt that says; 'Don't Let The Muggles Get You Down', which must be from that series about wizards she's always talking about. She pulls out a black sweatshirt and puts it on, sitting on the edge of the bed to put her sneakers on.
I crawl over towards her, wrapping my arms around her and kissing her cheek gently, leaning my head on her shoulder. "Are you going to make me watch those wizard films? The one your shirt is based on."
She turns her head towards me, giving me a mischievous grin. "All eight of them. If you think I'm not going to make you watch every movie that's come out since the 40's then you don't know me at all."
I narrow my eyes. "You enjoy tormenting me don't you?"
She kisses my nose, smiling at me as she stands up. She makes her way over towards the door, shrugging her shoulders and giving me an unapologetic look. "What can I say? Subjecting you to pop culture is a favorite pass time of mine."
I smile at her again, letting out a yawn. "Be careful."
As she opens the door, she smiles at me again. It truly is one of the most radiant and beautiful things I've ever seen. "Always, Liebchen." She tells me, before walking out into the hallway and shutting the door behind her.
-
Soroya
It's now four in the morning. After an hour of sitting here in the lab, Analiese hasn't said a word. She hasn't been very talkative to me the last few days either. She seems very deep in thought whenever I'm on guard duty, like she's pondering a question bouncing around in her head.
I've taken this time to get some reading done. I've started a great series called The Hunger Games, which I know has also been turned into films. I've read the first one and I'm currently on the second. I never get much time to read anymore and it's a shame. I finally read all of the Harry Potter books and I've read a couple more series as well, but this series in particular I have a strong attachment to. These poor children forced into a governments game, slaughtered like pigs for all of the world to see. It's horrible and inhumane. It's what I was subjected to for most of my life.
I glance up from my book and over to Analiese, remembering that this was her life as well. We are two people used as pawns in a corrupt government's game. She lays there still, her eyes focused on the machine's arm right next to her head.
"Did you ever read when you were younger?" I ask her, closing my book and setting it on my lap.
She glances over at me, looking taken aback by my question. "Julian and I used to read together as children," she tells me, her voice very indifferent. "We both loved science, so textbooks were something we would read through together."
I smile gently, thinking of young Julian with his head hidden behind a biology textbook. It seems like something he would have done. Analiese sees my reaction, looking at me with confusion.
"Why are you doing this?" She asks me, looking at me like I'm a ticking bomb about ready to explode.
I tilt my head, crossing my ankles. "Doing what?"
She gestures with her head to the machine surrounding her. "Why help me? Why give me the cure? Why not kill me when you had the chance? Why get me my own room in prison? Why?"
I smile at her, leaning forward in my seat. "You're Julian's sister. I loved him like he was family. I know he wouldn't want you to spend your life in a cage, because you have lived in one ever since you joined HYDRA. But not just that. I remember what it was like to not be in control, to fight in your mind between the human and the animal. I had someone to help me, I had your brother. But you didn't. After he died you were all alone. I'm giving you what I was given; I'm giving you help."
She still looks confused, like she doesn't believe what I'm telling her. "I've killed so many people," she says matter of factly. "I tortured you, nearly killed you. I threatened your brother and your boyfriend...after all that and you still deem me worthy of your help?"
I nod firmly. "Nobody is beyond help."
She lets out a disbelieving laugh, shaking her head. "I originally thought this was all just a hero act that you put on to keep a good image, but no. You really are this idealistic. I know what you've been through in your life. I know the people you've lost, the people you've killed, and I know the horrible things people have done to you. After all that and you still believe there's good in everybody?"
"My parents always taught me that there was good in everybody," I tell her, smiling to myself as I think of my parents. I was glad I could think of them now without sadness or guilt, only joy. "You never know what is really going on with a person unless you walk a mile in their shoes. You'd be surprised how good intentioned people can be. Even in my time in HYDRA, even when I was faced with the most evil men and women in the world, I saw some good in them. Some agents believed in the cause...but most had a shimmer in their eyes; a shimmer of pain and guilt. My parents were the ones that taught me to see the good in everyone, but HYDRA was what proved to me that people are shades of grey, not black and white."
She smiles mockingly. "So you don't believe I'm evil?"
"I don't believe anyone is truly evil. Not you, not Becker, not Killmonger, not even Thanos. I think you're misguided. I think you're lost and you're trying to find your way back."
"Back to what?"
"Back to yourself."
She scoffs. "I think you missed out on your calling as a psychologist. I feel like I'm talking to a shorter and bustier Sigmund Freud."
I ignore her comment, picking my book back up again. "When your powers are taken from you I think you'll have a different view of things. Perhaps in time you might even feel the weight of what you've done. Perhaps you'll stop hating me."
She rolls her eyes. "I wouldn't hold your breath. People aren't all that you believe them to be, especially me."
I smile at her, flipping back to the page I was on. "I believe in you. So did Julian."
This makes her stare at me for a long time, her features conflicted between confusion, annoyance, and pain. The thought of her brother must have taken her aback, and she genuinely seems to let that sink in. I didn't tell her about the vision I had of Julian, because who would believe me if I said it was real? But I know in my heart it was. If Julian believes in her, then I do too. If there is even a shred of Julian that lives in Analiese, I believe that she can change. As I stare into those familiar yet foreign hazel eyes, I see a conflict there, I see a flicker of light within the empty void. For a moment it's like I'm starring into Julian's eyes again. And for now that's a start.