True North [Stucky Fanfiction - IN PROGRESS]

11 - Peroxide Stings

Steve passes the girl onto Natasha when they enter and quickly helps escort Bucky onto the med bay. The whole sequence is a bit rushed, but Steve knows Natasha knows more about what to do with the woman than he does. He passes on the little information he knows to her quickly and they part ways. The remaining pair retreats to the elevators, and once they're inside, Bucky practically collapses.

Steve manages to fit an arm under Bucky's left to sustain some of the weight, but a wave of concern rolls over him as he looks back to the wounds and sees the shirt practically drenched in blood. Even super-soldiers need a certain amount of blood to function, and Bucky is slipping closer and closer to the edge of not having enough. Stay with me, stay with me, you just have to stay awake...

The elevator ride feels like an eternity, especially with Bucky clutching at his injuries like he's going to pass out at any moment, but finally the doors slide open and the pair stumbles out into the hallway. "To the right," Steve says, voice tight with the exertion of having to support Bucky's heavier metal arm. He guides them to a set of automatic frosted doors that open upon their approach without Steve having to enter a passcode. He'll have to thank J.A.R.V.I.S. for that later.

Steve does his best to maneuver Bucky onto one of the pristine cots without hurting him any more than he already is. Bucky groans in pain and quickly, Steve gets to work hunting and prepping materials like he used to do when he was younger, all while murmuring under his breath; ice pack, saline, peroxide, scissors, needle driver... goddamnit, where's the fucking saline?

"Mister Barnes, I would not advise attempting that."

Steve spins around to find Bucky half-sitting up in the cot, stapler in one hand and a gun pointed at the ceiling in the other.

"You weren't gonna staple it closed, were you?" Steve says, rushing over and taking the stapler from his hand. "I can get you fixed up, just gimme a sec."

"Who was that?" Bucky asks, finger twitching on the gun.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. He's a system that... the previous owner of this tower installed to keep an eye on things. He handles all major mechanical functions around here, and apparently also helps me make sure you don't staple your wounds shut without antiseptic, stitches or bandages being applied first."

"At your service, Mister Barnes."

Bucky screws his face up in discomfort but finally decides to set the gun down. J.A.R.V.I.S. clearly makes him nervous, but Steve appreciates the help.

Cautiously, Steve has Bucky strip free of the bloodied shirt so he can see the injuries better. The bullet wound looks like a clean through-and-through, but the knife wound on his right shoulder still looks pretty bad. Steve applies a few small bandages to the minor injuries and gets to work on the large ones. His hands are shaking as he picks up the needle and threads the stitches through. He doesn't want to hurt Bucky, but it's been... well, decades, technically, since he's stitched up anyone. He's sure the generic practices in the '40s aren't the standard procedures now but he tries his best to even his breathing and do what seems the most natural. Every time the needle digs into his skin, Bucky flinches and coils his hands into tight fists, but he's strong. Steve remembered him like that, just... not this stoic.

"You doing okay?" Steve asks when he's almost halfway done.

"It's bringing back a few memories, but yeah."

Steve glances up and tries to analyze Bucky's face, but it's as expressionless as the rest of him. "Memories of what?"

At this, Bucky furrows his eyebrows. "I'm not sure. Mostly my years as an assassin, I think. Stitching up my own wounds. Being put in cryo freeze so my wounds would heal. Breaking bones and not doing anything about it, and the bones healing wrong. And... stitching someone else up. A little kid, I think." He shrugs. "I don't know. I don't think I can tell the difference between what I'm remembering and what I'm hallucinating."