Edelweiss || Bucky x Reader

Chapter Twenty Eight

New York, 1936

I hold my school books close to my chest as we walk together down the nearly empty sidewalk. Bucky whistles to himself, his hands in his pockets. My heart pounds in my ears. Almost two months of constant harassment has led to this. I'm a junior, but I still asked Bucky to walk me to school like I'm five.

"So, this guy who's been bothering you." Bucky says finally, looking down at me. "What's he look like."

I'm about to answer as we turn the corner, but my heart stops dead. A young, scruffy man, maybe in his 20s, leans against one of the buildings in front of us. He hasn't noticed us quite yet, focus locked on lighting the cigarette between his fingers.

"Like that." I whisper as my grip on my books turns my knuckles white. Bucky's stance straightens and his hands tighten into fists. The end of the man's cigarette finally glows red, a puff of gray smoke coming from his lips a moment later. He looks up, and I accidentally make direct eye contact. My line of vision darts to the floor, but it's too late.

"Hey, baby!" He shouts, walking over to me, completely ignoring Bucky.

"She's 16." Bucky says as he steps in front of me.

"Aw, that don't mean nothing, do it babe?" The man grins, reaching around Bucky, trying to get to me.

I can see the exact second Bucky snaps. He grabs the man by the back of his collar and throws him to ground.

"What the hell?" He groans on the sidewalk.

"Don't fucking touch her." He says in a deadly low voice. His arm has looped itself around my waist, holding me protectively close to him. I know my eyes have widened in shock, but I can't help it. Bucky doesn't swear around me, and he's not violent. I don't know where this came from.

"A-alright!" He scrambles to stand, sprinting the other direction. "She's an ugly broad anyways!" Comes his panicked voice as he runs.

Bucky stares after him as he rounds the corner we turned a minute ago. His arm falls from my waist, but I wish it hadn't. There's just something about how he...I don't know. Never mind.

"Are you alright?" He asks, dusting himself off.

"Yeah, I'm ok." I nod. "Thank you, Buck."

"You're not, you know." He says after a second.

"What?"

He looks off to the side, and I can almost swear that he's blushing.

"Ugly. You're not ugly."

I smile.

"If he thinks I'm the most hideous girl on  Earth, that's alright by me."

He shakes his head, biting back swears.

"I'll kill him."

"Would that be before or after attending another science fair?" I laugh.

"I just saved your ass, you know that?" He smiles, messing up my hair. "The thanks I get..."

He shoves me ahead of him a couple feet.

"Get to school, jerk."

I feel my smile drop slightly. "You're not coming with me the rest of the way?"

He grins. "What, you want me to?"

Yes.

So much.

More than anything

I need you with me

I need you

Why do I...

Why do I need you...

I...

Why am I in pain?

Brooklyn is suddenly replaced by pure darkness.

Someone backhands me across the face. When I open my eyes again, I am staring into the dimly lit, concrete-walled room that I know so well.

Day 774

"When I speak." Zola spits, two armed men by his side. "You listen."

My hands have been cuffed behind my back, and then to the steel chair my still frozen self is sitting in. If nothing else, at least this is familiar.

Zola stands on the other side of a matching steel table. I roll out my neck, taking a deep breath. Intimidation is not on my side, but I can at least try to level the playing field. I focus my gaze to a pin point, boring into his weaselly small eyes, enlarged by his massive round glasses.

"What year is it?" I ask. My voice, though near emotionless, carries a promise to ruin his entire existence the second I get the chance.

"You are in no position to be asking questions." His voice doesn't shake. Doesn't waver. Doesn't fail even once. But as I stare into everything he is, I catch the things he can't hide. The way his lips press slightly tighter together. How his eyes widen the smallest bit. The easily missable flinch when I first spoke.

He's afraid of me, even now. That's more powerful ammunition than the fastest bullet on Earth.

"Sorry." I scoff. "What I meant to say was 'Tell me what fucking year it is before I rip you limb from fucking limb.'"

"You couldn't." He laughs, though his words lack confidence.

I lean as far forward as possible.

Unblinking.

"Couldn't I?"

Am I bluffing? Maybe. But they took everything from me, and then made me a super human.

So uncuff me, and let's find out.

Something flashes across his eyes and he takes a step back, allowing one of the guards to take his place. The guard slides a newspaper across the table. The date has been blacked out, but that's not what grabs my eyes.

The headline, printed in big, black, capital letters, is the only writing that's important.

"CAPTAIN AMERICA MIA?"

"...what?"

He pushes another towards my chest.

"HUNT FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA CALLED OFF"

"Do you see now?" Zola smiles, drawing strength from my weakness. "What's gone is dead." He walks slowly around the table, agonizingly slow, stopping at my side. His pudgy fingers pull away the paper, but my eyes stay locked on the spot where it used to be.

"You, my dearest lab rat, are dead."