To The Bitter End (Bucky Barnes/ Winter Soldier x reader)

Chapter twelve

At your back like a loaded gun

But the fight has just begun

Steady now, breathe, breathe

Sound of War by Tommee Proffit

"Nuclear Engineer, should pass by Odessa later today. Kill anyone who gets in your way."

"And you may meet an old friend on this mission. The Red Room wants her dead too."

I hate my job.

Staring at an empty road for several hours was far from entertaining.

You were sure you'd fall asleep after another minute if the sound of a car engine didn't alert you to someone coming down the road.

Beside you, the soldier raised his gun, staring through the scope at the road.

You didn't flinch when the shot sounded, you'd grown used to the sound of gunshots over the years, it no longer bothered you.

Tires screeched, a terrified scream tore through the air, metal grated on rocks and asphalt. The smell of burning rubber and smoke filled the air as you and the soldier emerged from your hiding place to survey the damage.

There were black tire marks on the road and the car was nothing more than a smoking heap of twisted metal.

Then something moved, someone was alive. Without a second thought the soldier drew his pistol and fired a single shot.

There was a shout of pain, then one of the car's doors was kicked out to reveal a young woman and the limp body of the Nuclear Engineer.

Your eyes locked with emerald ones, hers clouded with pain. Hair the color of fire blew in the light breeze, the only movement other than the soldier lowering his weapon.

"Natalia," He breathed.

Your mind seemed to go to war with itself. Traitor fought with friend and kill her fought with help her.

"The Red Room wants her dead... of course," his ice-blue eyes turned to steel and he raised his gun again.

You stayed silent as your head spun. She betrayed us... no, them. Didn't we try the same thing? There was a bit of satisfaction in the fact that she had escaped the Red Room, that they'd lost their best Black Widow.

Natalia's eyes filled with fear as she waited for the shot, he wouldn't miss a second time.

You saw blood spilling from a wound in her abdomen, but that would be the least of her worries. His finger tightened on the trigger, but his hand shook.

"I can't do it."

You almost sighed with relief, you didn't think you'd be able to live with it if you'd been the ones responsible for Natalia's death. She was your only true friend.

"Let's get out of here," You whispered.

The soldier looked back once, his eyes met Natalia's, ice meeting emerald. Then he turned and followed you back.

"She's still alive?" Short of sounding angry, Karpov simply sounded amused. "Well, she's their problem, not mine. Although, you will pay for your mistake."

You shot him a glare but didn't say any of the obscene insults that were circling in your mind.

"We will ensure that this doesn't happen again."

You barely suppressed a groan as you hit the ground of your cell and the door was hastily locked behind you.

The soldier was beside you in an instant, examining you from your split lip to your possibly dislocated ankle. There was a loud crash as he slammed his metal fist into the bars in anger.

"How dare they?" You heard him mutter as he helped you to the bed. You could hear the plates in his arm clicking and whirring agitatedly, which was a sure sign that he would kill the next man to enter the room.

"I'm fine," You insisted for the fifth time in the last few minutes.

"Stop lying to me, you know I can see through that."

You huffed, then winced as he touched your ankle. "I think it's dislocated."

"What did they do?"

"They beat me." You replied bluntly.

"I can see that."

You almost cried out as he popped your ankle back into place with no warning. "You could have warned me."

"It would have hurt more if I did."

He was right, but you weren't going to admit that. A breath of relief escaped you as his metal hand pressed to your ankle, the cold metal helped soothe the pain, at least temperarily. 

You could hear him muttering darkly in Russian as he checked your other injuries, a lot of bruises and a few minor grazes.

"It's not that bad, I'm not dead," you said after a while. "Just let it pass."

"Someday, we're going to blow this hellhole," he promised quietly. "Even if I have to kill every single one of them to make it happen."

"Have you ever thought it might be time to give up plotting our escape?"

"No, why?"

"I don't think it'll be worth it. How much do you think the world has changed? Who will we be to them? Two prisoners of war who've been through enough, or a pair of criminals who need to be locked up?"

You let a moment pass, then went on. "I fear it might be the latter."

"I don't care," He hissed under his breath. "I can't watch them do this to you anymore."

"It's not about me," You replied. "How many other innocent lives might be lost because of us?"

"You care more for the lives of people you haven't even met than your own?"

"Yes."

"It may get you killed someday."

"It's also what kept you alive a few years back," You retorted, shooting the soldier a glare that wasn't genuine.

He nodded, moving slightly closer to sit beside you.

"Ya lyublyu tebya." It almost caught you off guard. You knew it was Russian, he'd said it a few times before.

And you were fairly sure you knew what it translated to:

"I love you."