𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐕𝐄 ☁︎︎ 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴

- its not over -

—☁︎︎—

Saturday 20th December 1991 - 8:23am.

— "PLEASE COME BACK TO ME."

Evette had repeated that sentence over and over for the past 4 minutes whilst the song took its time to finish. Despite Bucky's twitching on the ground, he hadn't spoken or shown any signs of being returned to his natural persona.

Maybe he had buried alive for so long so now that all he could do was suffocate amongst the dirt.

"Please come back to me." She muttered once more as the soldier sat up and growled before it morphed into a yell, he moved at a quick pace across the room and bought his fist down onto the record player, smashing it into a hundred pieces of metal, wood and plastic. "No!" Evette screamed, falling to her knees as the song slowly faltered in jagged pieces before clocking out completely. "How could you?!" She cried and sped toward Bucky whilst pounding her fists against his chest, he didn't move to stop her and only watched the assault occur from the higher ground. Her attack slowed down after awhile and she laid her palms against his chest, pulling him into a hug and lugging his hands around her. She hadn't felt the warmth she usually did in Bucky's embrace, it felt robotic this time, protective and secure but unfeeling either way. She gazed up at him, tears amongst stars within her eyes. "Will you ever come back?" She asked with a weak, child-like voice as the Winter Soldier spectated her never ending sobs into the leather of his tactical gear. He didn't know what to do as it was usually him having the episodes, so he mirrored what Evette did for him. He lead her to the mattress and laid down beside her, their embrace never breaking as they collided with the soft mattress.

The Winter Soldier didn't move as he had no desire to discomfort her, she had fallen asleep atop his arm, despite its hard surface, and he didn't wish to wake her. It appeared to be the first sleep she'd had in a while. The make sure she didn't wake, he himself attempted to sleep. When the slumber was deep enough and without nightmares or flashbacks, he was extremely still when he slept. A habit he had picked up God knows where but he supposed that being so disciplined whilst awake lead to the same when unconscious. The woman had kept uttering for him to 'come back' to her, his confusion coincided with her hysterics and although he may have regretted smashing her possession, the music was making his head feel like it was going to explode. It was unusual and he acted out of turn and he knew he should be disciplined by his superiors, perhaps another memory wipe or sparring session with no rest, but he knew that wouldn't happen. The woman was far too kind and sensitive to ever direct such an action and he was grateful for it but at the same time very unused to such treatment.

He felt, in some way, enamoured by Evette. In such a hellish place conjoined with demonic circumstances, she had remained fairly composed and in control throughout their sentence together. There were definitely outbursts (much like the one moments ago) but the fact she was still going showed her courage and conviction. He respected her but was cautious of her jurisdiction. She could demand him to do something and he would likely do it, yet for some reason, he felt that if she was demanding it, then it wouldn't be so terrible. She didn't have it in her heart to kill (however many threats she made) and for that he wished to preserve her life for as long as possible. They had held each other's company much over the years and he had noticed how everything felt so much more controlled in his mind. He never felt monstrous around her, only human, resulting in the hope to be around her forever.

Humanity was something he had assumed was lost within the maze of his mind.

"Wake up!" Dmitri called out as the two stirred awake. "It's time." Evette rubbed her eyes and stood to her feet with the help of her companion, she took one more look at his face. His eyes curious to what she was thinking but holding a stoicism to their colour and how they presented themselves.
"I'll see you soon." She whispered and leaned up to hug him before staring into his eyes once again and leaning in for a kiss. It was a soft touch, barely a graze, but enough for her heart to warm and for the Winter Soldier to be taken aback by the gentleness. He could've sworn he'd never felt such a feather-like touch. He wanted to feel it again.

"We'll see each other again soon." She spoke again as they walked side by side down the familiar corridor, the soldier basking in their joint hands. Was she so shameless to share their connection in front of so many? Perhaps not. He hadn't decided his stance or opini-...

Opinion? No, he didn't have those. Feelings, thoughts and ideas were banished long ago.

At least... he thought they were.

Evette was not hesitant anymore, she didn't thrash and scream because she wasn't afraid of them. Hydra was nothing to fear because she had seen and experienced all that there was to be scared of and had somehow come to accept her fate, despite its horror. It never felt that way to her though, because she knew now that he would always be there when she woke up, even if she had to wait for awhile: he would be there.

Evette would never be alone again and even if Bucky wasn't himself, their connection never lost its root. They would see each other soon and one day, they would really see each other again.

But that day would not come for a long time.