Soldier in Winter (A Bucky Barnes FanFiction)

Bucky

The sunlight shone down into the small apartment, shining into Bucky's face. He rolled over and groaned before his eyes caught a glimpse of the sleeping forms curled up on the mattress on the floor. He sat up quietly and observed them closely. The infant girl was snuggled tightly between the young boy and the young woman. The young boy was clutching onto the blanket tightly, his face peaceful.

Bucky turned his gaze to the young woman. She had placed herself between Bucky and the children, protectively holding them. Bucky had heard her whispering to herself in order to stay awake that night, but she had eventually succumbed to the exhaustion.

She must have been on the run for some time. He shook his head. She appeared to be slightly younger than him in appearance, but she was incredibly thin, maybe even malnourished. On the other hand, the two children seemed completely normal. She had been sacrificing her comfort and her health in order to keep them safe, that much was obvious. Bucky wasn't sure if they were her children or not. She seemed almost too young to have them, but she protected them fiercely.

Seeing her laying there peacefully asleep was a large contrast to the previous night. She had come in quietly, but he had heard her at the lock. Bucky recalled going to the door, waiting for the intruders. He had grabbed her with very little effort. The terrified look on her face had stopped him, and he had looked down at the boy shivering and cowering behind her, the crying baby in his hands. It had brought him back to his senses; he had dropped her and stepped back. The young woman reminded him of himself, terrified, unsure, and alone in her own way. He couldn't hurt them, that was not who he was. That was the other part of him, but it wasn't Bucky.

He shook himself back to the present, becoming aware that staring at them for a long time would probably scare them away. Bucky stood and went to the cabinets to scrounge together some food. He opened and searched for something that would be enough for the four of them. There was bread, peanut butter, and jam, and he remembered that he had some eggs in the small refrigerator. That would have to be enough.

He turned to the small gas stove and opened the cabinet underneath to find his only pan. At that moment, he heard some shuffling and saw the little boy stand up and go to shake Ellie.

"Hey, let her sleep," Bucky half-whispered, causing the boy to startle and back away. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to make breakfast." Bucky waved the package of bread and the pan at the boy as if to say I won't hurt you. He watched the kid hesitate before succumbing to a rumbling stomach. The boy approached very slowly, eyeing the food that Bucky was beginning to cook. "What's your name?" Bucky asked.

"Sissy said not to tell anyone that," he said quietly. So they were siblings, huh.

"Your sister's right, you know," Bucky replied, setting a piece of bread and jam down on the counter. The little boy eyed it hungrily.

"You can never be too careful," Ellie's voice came from the mattress. She stood, holding the toddler, and walked over to the counter. "Go, use the bathroom and wash your face and hands, bud." The little boy nodded and went to the bathroom. Ellie approached the small island, where Bucky stood, facing her. He put the scrambled eggs onto a plate and pushed it across the table towards her.

"I only have one plate, so once you're done, I'll take it," he said, handing her a fork.

"I'll let them eat first, Ellie said, taking the fork and a small bit of egg and feeding it to the little girl. She looked up at Bucky as if debating something in her head. Finally, she spoke.

"His name is Charlie. This one is Ava. They're my siblings," She continued to feed Ava as Charlie came in and gobbled down 4 pieces of bread and jam and a couple of eggs. As he was about to go for a 5th piece of bread, Ellie stopped him, "Charlie, we don't want to get greedy, okay?"