Stasis || Bucky Barnes (1)

Fourteen

(Letter from Corporal Jahi Parrish of the Howling Commandos, written on April 27th 1944 to his younger brother . From the Captain America exhibit in the Smithsonian).

Dear Philip,

I'm sorry I missed your birthday. If I could give you my excuse, I would but unfortunately it's classified. Do not fret. I did survive the (classified) event with little done to my person. So you can reassure Mother and Father that I have yet to bite the bullet and am perfectly fine. They brought me back to London for a few days. I wanted to visit but there's not enough time before I will be deployed again. I miss Canterbury and the river deeply. Mother's flower beds, are they blooming yet?
Has that pesky cat next door tried to eat them again? The memory of her chasing it across the garden that one summer still makes me laugh.

Also, how's your schooling going? I heard in your last letter that you were being home schooled. I hope that your tutors are not giving you too much hassle. If you need any study notes then feel free to use my books. Father surely must have picked up my belongings from my university by now. You are welcome to all my notes.

In further news, my career is on the up! I have been asked to join a different force of highly trained men. What we will be doing and where we will be going, I can't tell you. By the time you get this letter, I will have left the country. But what I can tell you is that they are good men. I have already been labelled as crazy. (Your jokes about my mad scientist laugh unfortunately ring true). Much to my amusement, the squad are just as insane as I am, for better or worse. They are all delightfully mad.
Our Sargent, a man who is called Bucky (and you thought my name was unusual), is fast becoming a friend. We have both cheated death together. The strangest thing is that he has not been deterred by me at all. Yet again, I admit that these Americans are strange.

Bucky has blue eyes that remind me of clear skies. Recall how you waxed romantic about how the baker's daughter, Edith Langdon's eyes were clearer than the water of a bubbling brook? Your crush was amusing but your poetry terrible. How is she? Have you gathered up the courage to talk to her yet? The first thing I will be doing when I get home is taking you down to that bakery to buy fresh buns. Merely the memory of that sticky sweet warmth makes me hungry. I shall have to yearn for a while longer.

I wish you the best little brother. Give my love to mother and father.
Your delightful brother, Jahi.

P.s. Have you ever seen a Captain America movie? Apparently they're becoming wildly popular.

———

London was quiet as the city settled down for the evening. The reds of sunset creeping over the horizon as down below, the streets emptied. People hurrying home before curfew to draw the black out curtains and park that there was no air raid. There hadn't been a air raid that week, and for God's sake Basil was glad. The nights without the fear was a welcome reprieve from battle. But whatever luck had been holding out during their break in London, had finally come to a stop.

Basil lay awake as the siren for the air raid began to echo round the streets. A dreadful wailing that made his gut clench in fear. Around him, the rest of his roommates were fighting back the covers and leaping to their feet. Monty cursing with tired hissing as he pulled on his army jacket over his vest. Steve and Bucky were both pulling on their shoes, fumbling in the dark and gloom. Basil blinked at them. His brain carefully blank as the room swam dizzyingly for a second. A splitting headache made him bring a hand to his temples. His eyes hurt. The pain sharp and stinging.

"Parrish". Bucky's voice was a whispered shout. "Basil. Come on, get up". Basil groaned, half rolling and half falling out of bed. His hand cradling his head in his palm, eyes screwed shut as sweat began to dot his brow.

"Basil". Bucky's voice was softer and Basil felt his hands on his shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"My head, oh god", Basil groaned as another wave of sharp hurt passed. He tried to open his eyes. Bucky's face was too close. Basil could see it in electrifying detail. The blue of his eyes and the dark bags of sleeplessness under them. The individual strand of his eyelashes and the pores of his skin. It was too much, way too much. He rapidly shut them again. Outside the siren continued to wail.

Bucky gave a huff and began shoving Basil's feet into his boots. "I'll help", Steve's voice was calm. Basil felt one man prop him up as the other pulled the boots on. A coat was draped over his shoulders and he was led towards the door. Monty had been waiting for them, the rest of the squad hovering in the corridor.

"What's up with the doc?" It sounded like Dum Dum who asked.

"I don't know", Steve answered with a sigh. "But we should head to the air raid shelter. Where's the nearest one again?"

"There's a underground station down the street", Monty offered. They all began moving down the stairs and out of the boarding house. Bucky moving with Basil's arm draped around his shoulder. A position which reminded Basil too much of the hydra lab. Bucky and Steve had carried him like this then too.

The night air was cold and Basil gasped lightly as it gave him some welcome relief from his headache. Here the siren was louder. The wailing echoing and echoing. He could hear other people from the houses around them hurry down the street in the same direction. The squad all moving in one group towards the underground station. Their bodies surrounding Basil and Bucky as they walked quickly along the cobbles. They were nearing when the pain started recede. Basil dropped his hand and blinked in the dark. His head now a dull throbbing.

There was no streetlights, no lights from windows or silvery moonlight. The sky was overcast and the street was pitch black with nothing but dim shapes visible. It was only Monty's sense of direction keeping them all moving in the right way. But as Basil blinked, the world seemed to swirl into focus. He watched as a a cat peered at them from on top of a fence across the street. It's eyes a glowing yellow. He could see the texture of it's coat and the twitch of its tail. Looking down, Basil could see the wet gleam of the cobbles. Shiny with the early evening rain. It was bright in a spectrum of greys. Colour lost to night.

Bucky must have felt him move because he tightened his grip for a second. "Parrish?"

"I'm okay. It's passed", Basil breathed. He unslung his arm and took back his own weight, standing upright. The squad paused but Basil pushed through. The underground entrance only a few feet away. "Come on. Let's get underground. There's stairs to your right. Be careful". Their boots clicked on the stones the damp chill of the underground washed over them. Basil shivered. The sensation reminding him of the cages. Around them, the noise of movement was a audible. Children crying, adults whispering.

"You all okay?" Steve asked as the squad huddled into a free corner of the platform. The train tracks empty below them. Muffled grunts and voices of agreement sounded. "Parrish?"

Bail breathed heavily, squatting down to lean back against the cold wall. "Yeah. I think so. Just a migraine".

"It looked like a pretty horrible one", Gabe voiced.

"Are you okay kid?" Dum dum said gruffly.

Basil scowled, not that the others could see in the dark. "I'm fine. And don't call me kid. It's gone now anyway". He didn't mention his sudden change in vision. The dark no longer bothering him. It scared him and his mind turned back to the lab. What was it hydra had injected into him? Could this sudden ability to see in the dark be part of it? Was it changing him? He rubbed his fingers over his face with a exhausted groan.

Above him, the squad exchanged looks before turning to Steve. "Are you sure?" Their captain asked.

"I'm fine Cap", Basil forced some cheerfulness into his voice. "Sorry for worrying you all but I'm fine. Trust me". Steve nodded and the rest of the men seemed to take the excuse. Only Bucky was still peering through the dark at him. His brows furrowed. Basil reached out and tapped his fingers against the other's knee. Bucky twitched at the unexpected touch.

"Thanks Sarge".

Bucky visibly relaxed. He fumbled a bit before sitting down at Basil's side. "Just don't freak out and scare me again Parrish". Basil grinned and burrowed deeper into his coat.

"Okay Sarge".

Unedited