The Night We Met | Steve / Bucky

twenty-two - broken

Steve and Bucky both swam to the bottom of the river. Steve reaching Katherine first. She looked peaceful, the water not entirely ridding her face from her blood stained cheeks. Steve grabbed around her back and scooped under legs. Bucky grabbed onto his shirt and helped pull Steve to the top - both gasping for air.

They pulled the unconscious Katherine from the water. Steve looked on as he noticed Bucky be very compassionate toward the senseless girl. He decided to shake it off, until he knew Katherine was safe. 

Police helicopters soon emerged into the sky, causing Steve and Bucky to become quite frantic. Bucky climbed from the river, taking Katherine from Steve, letting him climb out. They noticed several empty warehouses down the riverbank. They mutually agreed to seek refuge there for the time being. 

Bucky carried Katherine in his arms, bridal style. He couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat looking at the broken girl in his arms. It was his fault. He didn't help her when she needed it. He could have fought for her more. But he wasn't going to let the same mistake happen twice. 

Steve and Bucky found refuge in a warehouse. Once they were shielded in the warehouse, they felt a weight lift from their shoulders. Bucky sat against a pillar in the middle of the warehouse. He rest Katherine across his lap, brushing her wet hair from her face, rubbing his thumbs along her face trying to clean the blood from her soft skin. 

Sam quickly entered the warehouse, panting, making Bucky jump for a second before realizing who it was. "That was fast." Steve noted Sam's arrival.

Sam looked to the unconscious Katherine laying across Bucky, "Oh hell no." Bucky and Steve looked to Sam in confusion, "Aren't we at least going to restrain her."

Steve glanced to Katherine and looked back to Sam, "I don't think we have to."

Sam looked to Steve with disbelief, "She singed half of the security in that building. What makes us more important?"

"She asked for help." Bucky spoke, rubbing a soothing thumb on her head, supporting the weight of her head in his hand. 

Sam furrowed his brows, looking to Steve. Steve exhaled, "She flew."

"She flew?"

"Well, she managed to lift herself into the air but - I don't know - it was like her powers were controlling her, not her controlling them." Steve spoke, "And her nose and eyes were bleeding again." He folded his arms, "That's only happened once before, in Sokovia. She told me she thought she was going to die that day." 

Sam exhaled looking to Katherine, "So what? Wait here until she wakes up?"

Bucky and Steve both nodded, "Yeah."

It was a long afternoon. Sam kept watch for any approaching parties, making sure the police helicopters remained far away from the warehouse. Bucky remained sat in the one spot, almost dry at this point as was Steve and Katherine. Steve leaned against the wall opposite Bucky and Katherine, just watching her. He hadn't seen her in so long, he wanted to be able to watch her and take her all in as if it was the first time he saw her. He folded his arms across his chest, exhaling. "So," Steve spoke, the first time being able to speak to Bucky since Bucharest and they never really spoke. "You know who I am?"

Bucky gently nodded his head, "I know you, Steve." Steve felt his heart warm. "You used to put newspaper in your shoes -"

" - alright." Steve smiled, looking to his best friend. They shared a smile. "So, how long have you been working with Katherine?"

Bucky cleared his throat, not wanting to relive his past or the memories he possessed from HYDRA. Katherine's scream rang through his ears as if he was hearing it through the halls of the Siberian base all over again. Bucky took a sharp breath in, "Since 1991. We didn't always work together. But I trained her. They tortured her, Steve." Bucky's voice broke, "They broke her. And I wasn't there to do anything about it."