Soldier (A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

Adeline sat on the edge of the bed as she was getting her old wound and some new wounds bandaged. She faced Bucky who was getting his wounds tended to as well. The tent was in silent shock from the recent attack. She had helped drag bodies of men into a neat line just outside the medical tent, their dog tags resting on their chests so the Colonel knew who to write condolence letters to. Many of these men were hardly men, not even had a first shave, but their heads had acquainted themselves with a deadly bullet. Bucky's usually groomed hair and clean skin was bloody and dirty. The look didn't suit him.

"I'm going to go get cleaned up," Adeline said as she walked with Bucky out of the medical tent. "You would be wise to do the same."

"Yeah," Bucky nodded numbly, looking down at his bloodied clothes. "Adeline -" Adeline stopped, turning to face Bucky "- how did you do it?"

"Do what?" Adeline asked. Bucky looked around, pulling her behind a building, her back up against the wooden walls, his hands on either side of her head.

"I've seen your memos," Bucky admitted. "Living through that every day? How did you keep your head on straight?"

"You weren't supposed to read those," Adeline mumbled.

"But I did," Bucky responded, looking down at Adeline. "You can't be okay after that."

"Who said I was okay?" Adeline asked, looking into his eyes.

"God, Adeline," Bucky breathed, resting his forehead against hers. "How did we get into this mess?"

"Agent 22," a voice squeaked, causing Bucky to back up and Adeline to look toward the voice. It belonged to a small man with a nervous glint in his eyes upon seeing the two sharing an intimate moment. "There's a line for you."

"Of course," Adeline said, her voice slightly shaking. "I'll be right there." The small man nodded and quickly turned to walk away.

"I didn't know your first name was 'Agent'," Bucky said, giving Adeline a sideways glance.

"Yeah, well it has kept me alive," Adeline responded. "Go get yourself cleaned up, you stink." With that, she walked toward the communications tent. She could feel Bucky's eyes on her as she walked away, no doubt a slight smirk plastered to his face.

~*~

"I'm going back to London first thing tomorrow," Adeline told Bucky as they sat and watched the basketball game that was going on in the dirt court of the camp.

"They don't give you a break, do they?" Bucky asked as Gabe Jones made a successful shot.

"We're at war, it's not necessarily a leisurely activity," Adeline responded with a slight smile.

"James, come on, we can bring you in," Gabe said with a smile as he stood in front of the two.

"It's Bucky and besides, if I join, you'll have uneven teams," Bucky said.

"Would the lady like to play?" He asked, eyeing Adeline.

"Oh, I'm not much of a basketball player," Adeline said with a laugh.

"We've got two more players!" Gabe shouted to the others. Adeline laughed, allowing Gabe to pull her onto the court.

"The two lovers have to be on separate teams," Timothy Dugan, better known as Dum Dum Dugan, shouted. Adeline wasn't good at basketball but she was competitive. Adeline blocked Bucky's shot, the ball bouncing out of bounds.

"Better luck next time, Barnes," Adeline said.

"I thought you liked me," Bucky said in mock hurt.