"singing from heart ache from the pain,
take up my message from the veins,
speaking my lesson from the brain,
seeing the beauty through the pain"
The Winter Soldier has been spotted in Vienna and Helmut Zemo is on the move, searching...
"Mr. Stark, you have a meeting in 30 minutes and another at 6:50."
"I will give you a raise, Quinn if you can get me out of my damn meetings."
"But sir, these meetings are important, they're about Sokovia, you need to go to them, Steve is going."
". . . Fine, dammit!"
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Tony stands up and walks out the door, but before he shuts the door, he turns around and says, "Oh, and you can be relieved of work early today."
My face lights up and he smiles.
"Thank you Mr. Stark!"
He laughs to himself and struts out the door.
I put my notes and clipboard down and do a mental rundown of everything that needs to be in order before I leave. When I'm sure everything is neat and organized, I walk out of the massive office and lock the door behind me.
I never get off work early, Tony always has something for me to do right up until 7:00 p.m. which is when my work day ends. But today I guess he was feeling gracious enough to let me out at 4:15 p.m.
I practically skip down the hallway to the elevator, and punch the down button. Tony's office is on the top floor, 75 stories up.
When the elevator finally arrives, I hop in and push number 24.
I wait a few minutes, until I hear ding and I've arrived to floor 24. The elevator doors open and I walk in the direction of my room. I'm halfway there when I hear a low mumbling coming from the room across from mine.
"Bucky?" I whisper.
I run the rest of the way and knock on his door.
"Bucky? Bucky are you okay?"
The noises continue and I push open the door to find a heart-breaking sight in front of me.
"Oh, Bucky."
Bucky is crumpled in a heap in the corner, shaking. His bedside table has two broken legs and his dresser is flipped on its side. His eyes are shut tight and his hands are clamped over his ears.
Running over to him, I drop down and kneel in front of his crumpled form. I reach my hand out tentatively and lay my palm on his knee.
He whispers, "Make them stop."
I lift my hand and place it on his shoulder, "Make who stop."
"THE VOICES!" His scream rips through the room.
Slowly, carefully, I lift my hands and softly grip his wrists. I pull slightly, but his hands don't budge from his ears.
"Bucky. Bucky, I need you to listen to me. Hear my voice."
His eyes relax slightly and he opens them, his piercing blue eyes staring into my brown ones.
"It's just you and me, Bucky. I'm here, no one else, just you and me."
He shakes his head and it sends a shard of glass through my heart.
I move my hands from his wrists and wrap my arms around his middle.
"Bucky, I swear to you, I will never stop fighting with you. I will never leave your side, and I will always be here with you. I will help you fight these demons. You are more, you are so much more, James Buchanan Barnes."
We sit there for what seems like hours, but eventually he stops shaking and rests his hands carefully on my waist.
