Leave Me Bleeding [Winter Soldier] I

Parasite [Chapter 4]

"Better a broken promise than none at all."

-Mark Twain

                Four days is a lot of time to get to know someone, especially when they are the only person you are allowed to speak with. Though James, as Ophelia called him in order to prevent memory formation, had trouble remembering his past recent and distant, he was still able to form new ones. His personality was like nothing she had ever experienced before. Despite being locked in a small operating room with minimal meals, having lost a limb and having it replaced with a metal one, James was in high spirits. 

            She saw nothing of herself in the soldier, but each day she longed to wake up and talk to him, even though she could not divert from her carefully planned script too often. HYDRA was listening, she had no doubts, but there were some instances where she was able to break from that script and cue a small joke from James that went over her head, or even a compliment. 

            On that fourth day, Ophelia woke to the sound of Bucky shifting on his gurney. She couldn't imagine how uncomfortable it had been for him to sit there for so many days, only allowed up to use the washroom or change into fresh clothing that was left every other day; HYDRA didn't care about comfort, but they also weren't risking disease and infection. Ophelia had only been let out of the room to be brought to her cell each night and no one spoke to her, but each day time was ticking away and she would be evaluated sooner or later on how well she had completed her task. A few times, more than a few times, she had left her carefully planned out script, but she couldn't simply ignore some of the questions that James had.

                "James," she whispered, touching his shoulder, the one that was real; his skin was soft, smooth. 

                Her brown hair was loose, slight waves rippled through her locks as her hair fell over her shoulder. She was seated upon a stool and leaned over when she touched James. It was strange; putting her hands on someone was never something she'd done. Not like this; there was a warmth to his body, and unlike the first few days, it was not a fever heat. But just the warmth of a human body. She'd been so curious to talk to someone who didn't see her as HYDRA did, and now that she finally had that opportunity, she found herself marveling at the little things. One of the things that amazed her the most was that despite what he was enduring, Bucky was treating her like she was human. 

                "Are you awake?"

                "Mm," he mumbled, then opened one eye wearily, the other following suit moments later. "I was enjoying the sleep, actually. I don't get much here."

                "I'm sorry..." Ophelia then smiled, it spread across her lips but did not reach her eyes. She'd smiled more in the last four days than her entire life, but it was hard knowing she wouldn't see much more of this man. "I know it is hard, and I can't promise that it will change soon."

                "You look like you haven't seen the sun in years," he noted. Her skin was once an olive colour, but being locked underground with only days at a time in the sun, she had become pallid. It was not a pretty pale either, it was an unnatural, cave-dweller type gaunt. Her eyes were still striking; nothing could hinder the bright green. 

                She flushed, adding minute amounts of colour to her skin. "I saw it when I found you."

                "You?"

                She nodded, though she knew that diving deeper into facts about herself was a dangerous game. To be honest, she knew little about what she was; with all that HYDRA had added to her, she was just a chemical cocktail with abilities that they found useful for now. There were cameras on the walls, every now and then she saw them shift, but she did wonder if they had audio. Either way, they were judging James as much as they were judging her. Was she worth anything to them anymore? Ophelia studied the man beside her and wondered if he was going to be her replacement. The metal arm looked intimidating, especially to Ophelia herself.