I'll Cover You (Stucky Fanfic)

Chapter 2

Bucky was restless during the night, waking up many times to check on Steve and adjust his flimsy blanket. Steve's small apartment was a bit run down, and in the cold of the winter, it was freezing. In a way, it reminded Bucky of the old days when he and Steve had lived together in an apartment only a couple blocks from here. He'd gone to see if the apartment was still there for old time's sake, but it had been torn down and replaced with a bowling alley that was quickly disintegrating.

For Bucky, waking up in the new age had been rough. He was still adjusting to the new technology that had evolved rapidly since the last time he was awake. It was much rougher for Steve, he knew. Steve had been out since 1945, as opposed to Bucky. Steve had seventy years to catch up on. Bucky's sleep was a mere nap compared to what Steve had been through.

Bucky was worried about how Steve was going to react to him. Steve wouldn't realize that the Bucky on his couch was a very different Bucky than the one he'd spent a life with previously. Steve, however, was still perfect and charismatic as ever. It hurt Bucky knowing how wrong he'd gone. Steve would never see how many people he'd hurt, all the lives he'd destroyed, or all the evil he'd done. Steve would only see his Bucky who had taken care of him when he was sick and hurt.

This was why Bucky had been avoiding Steve. As much as Bucky wanted to leave him, he knew he needed to make sure that Steve was going to wake up and be okay. His instincts, the ones that had been drilled into him since he fell from the train, told him to run, or even worse, kill his sleeping mission. He'd been fighting his inner assassin since the incident on the helicarriers. Since that day, he'd reclaimed his identity and began his new personal mission: protect Steve from afar. Steve finding him was never part of this plan.

Around three in the morning, Bucky got up to get a glass of water and check on Steve. As he passed the mirror in the hall, he checked his reflection. Staring back at him was a hollow-faced man with pale eyes and long, ragged hair. He certainly looked as if he were living on the streets. He scratched at his grimy, stubbly skin and sighed. He could do with a shave and a haircut. He sighed and moved along the simple hallway and opened the door to Steve's room.

Steve was passed out on the bed just as Bucky had left him. He seemed to be breathing easily, but at this point, Bucky was more worried about the brain damage he was worried Steve had possibly sustained. Bucky walked over to check that Steve was tucked in properly with the blankets resting just below his chin, the way he liked it. He pulled up the covers and smiled wearily at the peaceful face.

Bucky had no idea where his life was going to go now that he'd reconnected with and almost murdered his former best friend. He couldn't just leave Steve alone, possibly injured, but there was no way that he and Steve could be together like they had been in the old days. There was too much scarring on Bucky's heart for that. He knew that Steve would never understand why Bucky wouldn't stay, but sooner or later it was going to happen. Hopefully sooner if Bucky could help it.

It wasn't that he didn't want to reunite with Steve and go back to the way things were before, because he would give anything for that to happen. It was that Bucky was barely Bucky. They shared a face and a name, but that was as far as their similarities went. Once Bucky was taken into HYDRA, he wasn't Bucky anymore. They had taken every trace of the old mind out, and replaced it with an assassin's thoughts. And he knew that Steve didn't fully understand that his friend was gone.

Bucky didn't want to think about the future, and he didn't want to think about the past. He didn't want the Winter Soldier in his head telling his metal left arm exactly how to crush Steve's windpipe so that he'd never wake up. The killer in Bucky's head said to finish the mission.

Steve rolled over, snapping Bucky out of his thoughts. His arm was inches away from Steve's neck, shaking and grasping. Bucky gasped and yanked his arm away, clutching it to his chest and hurrying out of the room. He stepped out onto the fire escape from the living room and sat huddled in a blanket. The cool air was refreshing, and the city was beginning to come alive with the sounds of the early morning. Cars whirred and birds chirped while people on bicycles delivered the day's paper. The sun was beginning to rise above the skyscrapers, bringing bits of warmth and light to the crowded streets. A car pulled out of the lot across the street, sweeping a plastic bag down the road, fluttering in the aftermath.

Bucky somehow identified with this poor little bag, swept around by the world, fluttering and weak, yet so durable. He smiled, and felt something close to happiness as the city came alive around him. As the sun rose higher and higher, Bucky stood and climbed back in through the window to start the coffee.

A/N

Ah yes, the much awaited Chapter 2. I'm honestly very surprised by all the positive feedback! You guys are the best! Remember to leave your feedback by voting, commenting, and following. It's greatly appreciated.

Love to you all,

Hail_Hydra