Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier/White Wolf Oneshots

Sandcastles: A Winter Soldier Oneshot

You, Rumlow, and the asset are on a mission. This is the first time you get to join a mission with the asset. All three of you are in a beach house on the farthest side of the beach reviewing the mission details. As you are doing so, you notice the asset keeps looking out toward the ocean and the sunbleached sand. You follow his gaze and see a young boy playing in the sand a few feet away from the house.

You smile and softly tap his chest, "Winter, look at the papers, not the kid."

He looks toward you with a sad look in his eyes and utters, "Sandcastle".

You take a breath, " Yes, I see the sandcastle. Now could you please focus on the mission?" You study him.

He shakes his head and utters, "No, build a sandcastle..." he trails off and points to the beach.

You sigh, "Rumlow, he wants to build a sandcastle. Should we let him?"

Rumlow grumbles, "We don't have time for that, so no he can't." he glances at the asset.

You notice the asset growing upset as he clenches his fists, stomps his feet, and whines, "Sandcastle! Build a sandcastle!"

You try your best to comfort the asset so he calms down, "Listen, Winter, I know you want to build a sandcastle, but we simply don't have the time." You hold his face in your hands.

You see him pout making you want to give in, but the last time an agent gave the asset some leeway they were never seen again. A few seconds later, a thought enters your head.

You smile at the asset, "Maybe we can make one after the mission if we have the time, but I can't promise you anything."

You see the asset stop pouting and nod. You smile, release his face, and go back to studying and finalizing the mission details. A few moments later, you and Rumlow hear the soft click of a door sliding open and closed. You both turn and see the asset go up to and sit next to the kid who's building a sandcastle and attempting to build his own. After many failed attempts, the kid shows him how to use the castle-shaped buckets to create the basic shape and build from there.

You smile while Rumlow grunts and leaves the house to fetch the asset. You follow him out afraid he'd hurt Winter. You stop a few feet away and watch Rumlow approach the asset.

Rumlow grunts and grabs Winter's collar, and yanks him to his feet, "I said no sandcastles! We have work to do." He half-drags/half-carries the asset toward the house.

You run up to them and step in the path blocking their way, "Maybe we should all take a break and build sandcastles. He can't focus right now. Maybe he'll focus better if you let him relax a bit." You reason with Rumlow.

You glance from the asset struggling against Rumlow's grip to Rumlow who just sneers and pushes you out of the way and nearly growls, "No! We have a mission to complete. We don't have time to relax. Now move!"

You grunt and follow them inside. You watch Rumlow recklessly toss Winter on the floor before pushing you aside again and locking the door. You go to Winter and help him to his feet and gently guide him to the table, gently push him into the chair, and gently pat his head.

You sit next to the asset, gently hold his hand, and sigh, "I'm sorry, Winter. I know how much you wanted to build a sandcastle, but unfortunately, you can't."

You look up and see a single tear glide down his cheek and splash onto your hand. A sense of sadness envelopes you as you see the pain hidden deeply in his delicate ocean-blue eyes. You continue to hold his hand as the mission details are finalized and planned out to a tee. By the time you, Rumlow, and Winter finish up the sun is setting behind the ocean. You glance at the asset and notice the deepening sadness in his eyes as he watches the sun slowly disappear.

You watch Winter look down and hear him barely utter, "No build a sandcastle. Time for mission" and then he pouts.

You gently squeeze his hand and murmur, "I'm sorry, I am. Come along, Winter. Let's complete the mission and then go back to Hydra to confirm mission completion." You lean closer to his ear and whisper, "I'll see about getting you kinetic sand to play with when we get back, so you can make all the sandcastles you want, but you have to finish the mission first." You move back and smile at him.

You see Winter smile slightly. Rumlow huffs and pulls him away, looks him in the eyes, and grumbles, "You make this mission any harder than it is and I will personally see to it that they fry you an extra hour or so." He lets the asset go and unlocks the door.

You, Rumlow, and the asset make your way to the designated mission checkpoint and complete every detail outlined in the plan to a tee. The mission goes smoothly and is completed in a timely matter. The asset focused enough to take out the target while you and Rumlow collected coveted intel. Afterward, you, Rumlow, and the asset head to the extraction site. Hydra picks you guys up and you guys head back to Hydra headquarters.

In the vehicle, you smile to yourself as you watch Winter bite his lower lip and glance around before peeking at you and smiling. You know that he'd probably never get the kinetic sand, but he needed a motivator to complete the mission. It kills you on the inside knowing that you mislead him, but you did what you had to do. You, Rumlow, and Winter make it back to Hydra headquarters. You hand over the coveted intel to your superior officer while Winter confirms mission completion.

A short while later, feeling terrible and wanting to make good on your word, you head to the storage room and fish an old, seldom-used container of kinetic sand. You take it to the cell where the asset is held in. You see him sitting on the floor holding his knees to his chest as tears paint his cheeks. You open his cell, enter it, and close it behind you. Then, you walk up to him, place the kinetic sand kit by him and quietly sit near him. He slowly looks toward you then he slowly looks down and sees the kit. A smile brightens his face as he sees the words kinetic sand play kit on the front of the purple container. He readjusts and sits cross-legged before opening the kit and taking out all the tools. He beams as he sees a castle-shaped bucket.

He holds it, turns to you, and utters, "Build a sandcastle, now?" He gently waves it in the air.

You smile and say, "Yes, you can build a sandcastle now."

He squeals with delight and builds a sandcastle with the castle-shaped bucket. You beam from ear to ear as you watch Winter happily play with the kinetic sand. You watch as he makes a sandcastle, smashes it, makes another sandcastle, and repeats the cycle over and over again utterly enthralled with the sand like a child who gets a new toy on their birthday.

Sadly, a couple of hours later, Winter is taken to be wiped and cryogenically frozen until he is needed again. So, he'll never remember that he built a sandcastle again for the tenth time. You clean up the kinetic sand and tools and safely stash the kit in the storage room once more, where it will be until Winter is defrosted again. It's the only way you can comfort the asset without compromising your status as a double agent hiding within Hydra's rank in plain sight. It's the only way to protect Winter. You made a promise to Natasha to protect James at all costs.