My Soldier | Bucky Barnes

Chapter 3

It was almost dark when the Winter Soldier and I found a place to stay in for the night; a creepy abandoned apartment. To say that I was scared was an understatement. Of course, who wouldn't if you were staying and spending a night with a complete stranger. Sure, I had told him that I trusted him, but I still had no idea who he really was. All I knew was that he had a nickname, 'The Winter Soldier', and I didn't really want to call him that, knowing that we would probably be stuck with each other for a while. But all of that didn't really matter, because I had bigger issues at hand right now.

The Soldier insisted that I should sleep on the bed, while he slept on the floor, an old comforter spread on it. The small and dusty, old bed wasn't the slightest bit comfortable, and it creaked as I shifted under my weight. I tried to push away the thought that I was now in a completely different world, in a completely different year. It was all weird for me. Am I really in the future? I thought, and that didn't help me sleep at all.

Not a moment after when a sudden shriek cause me to shot up in bed, immediately sitting on it. I noticed that it was still dark outside, and I hadn't really slept at all. Glancing down, I saw the Soldier wide awake; he was wiping his sweaty forehead with the use of his non-metal hand. He was also shaking uncontrollably. The scream probably came from him. Sitting down next to him, I asked, "What's wrong?" He didn't respond, he was just staring blankly at the wall behind me, as if stuck in a small trance. I had no idea what to do, so I gingerly took his hand, and that seemed to do the trick.

"Nightmare," he said quietly, his gaze starting to come back, his eyes focusing on me. My heart then fluttered when he gave my hand a squeeze. Something with his touch seemed so familiar. "There was a girl and a boy," he started, probably talking about his dream. "I feel like I know them. I couldn't exactly picture out the girl, but I knew she was important to me because I cried when she was taken by a group of people. And the boy was muscular and had blonde hair. He kept calling me 'Bucky', saying everything is going to be alright. I think that . . . Bucky . . . is my name."

Scooting closer, I hummed in response. "Well, nice to meet you, Bucky," I said, giving him a smile. His lips twitched, trying to return the gesture, but he failed miserably. It seemed as if he had somehow forgotten how to smile. Now that I knew what his name was, I remembered that I still hadn't introduced mine. "My name's Y/N."

Bucky nodded, lying back down on the comforter that was on the floor. He now released his grip on my hand, then combed his fingers through his hair, as if deep in thought. I decided that he was probably fine now. I was about to get up and return back to the bed when he grabbed my arm, stopping me. "Can you stay here with me?" he asked, slightly sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he said, "It's okay if you don't want to."

I looked at him, and sympathy washed over me. His blue eyes didn't look the same from what I saw the other day; the longer I looked, I could see sadness and pain resting in there. So, I nodded, and he seemed shocked for a second, surprised that I said yes. Giving him another small smile, I positioned myself on the comforter beside him. We laid side by side, his cold metal arm brushing against mine. Now that I had someone beside me, I felt like it was safe to go to sleep. Eventually, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

~

The sunlight was streaming in through the window, and I opened my eyes, squinting at the light as I rubbed the sleep out of them with the use of my hand. I noticed that Bucky was no longer beside me, so I searched around the room and saw him standing by the window. I felt my stomach grumble, and I remembered that we hadn't eaten anything ever since we escaped Hydra.

"We really need to get some food," I said, chuckling a little, trying to gain his attention. But he just continued to stare out the window, and it seemed that he didn't hear a single thing I just said. "Hey, Bucky?"

"We need to find him," he blurted out of nowhere, causing me to give him a confused look when he spun around to face me, silently telling him to elaborate. Realizing that I had no idea what he was talking about, he went on, "An old friend of mine, I think. He had the same blonde hair with the boy in my dream. I remember when I was sent on a mission and tried to kill him, he wouldn't fight me back. He said he knew me, told me he was with me till the end of the line. Now I know why I couldn't leave him to die that day."

"Who is this guy exactly?" I asked. He hesitated for a moment, and there was a pause as he stared down at his feet, now trembling again. Sighing, I took his hand in mine and held it, figuring that this would stop him from shaking, just what I had done last night.

Bucky looked back up at me, and muttered, "Steve Rogers."