Guns and Ammunition [] TFATWS

Seven

Chapter Seven:

The train was quiet, the few passengers on board seemed to be staring out the windows or lost in their phones. Josephine moved her gaze to Bucky, who was sitting up straight against his seat.

"Have you ever searched yourself up on the internet?" She questioned, raising a brow.

He shook his head, "I don't know how to use the internet."

Josephine would've argued that fact if he was anybody else, but considering he was born in 1917, she kept her mouth shut. She had plenty of other questions for the man, sparked by her late night searches. She learned a lot about the Avengers and other people who were supposedly devoted to protecting earth. Josephine was never one to take interest in them, and until a few nights ago she never had. On occasion, when some sort of being was in the middle of raining havoc on New York, then she'd read a few articles and watch the news. In said search, she had come across a few dozen articles with Bucky's picture and a different metal arm, one that donned a red star and the words The Winter Soldier, but she refrain from clicking into the link. It was up to Bucky to tell her about his past, one which he seemed to desperately want to forget. As his friend, it was the least she could do. Yet, curiosty tugged at her as she met his gaze.

"What was your superhero name when you were with the Avengers?"

"I was never apart of the Avengers."

Josephine tapped at her thigh, moving her attention elsewhere. "Who started calling you Winter Soldier?"

He blinked, eyes widening for a moment. He sucked in a breath, jaw clenching as his focus remained on her. Josephine slowly looked up, the look of guilt in his eyes making her regret bringing it up. "Never mind, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, no." He shook his head, mind running through his options. "It's um, a program I was forced into. There were six Winter Soldiers, pumped with what they call Super-Soldier serum. That's what Steve had, the reason why he survived in ice for decades before walking away from it like it was nothing. Of the six, I'm the only one left."

"Oh." She said, trying to wrap her head around it. This was why she never payed any attention to the hero's that roamed the world, it all seemed much too complicated.

"I was um, brain washed... yeah, that's the best way to describe it." He looked at her, guilt turned to sorrow and regret. "For years I was forced to do things I never wanted to do, but-- but they had control of my mind. I didn't have any control."

"You don't have to tell me anymore, Bucky." She pursed her lips, "I shouldn't have asked."

He sat up straighter, tugging at his gloves. "No, I've been meaning to tell you this for awhile. You deserve to know who you're spending all this time with. And Sam would end up telling you anyways, so, I'd rather you hear it from me."
"Look, I've— I've done things in the past, that... I've done some terrible things. But they weren't me, ok? That was the Winter Solider. I'm not that person anymore."

It was hard to believe that he had done these said terrible things, and even more difficult when she realized he probably meant killing people. Josephine nodded, unsure of how to move the conversation along. "So did you give yourself a new name? Something cooler, I hope."

"What?"

"Like a redemption name, for your redemption arc." Her head titled to the side, amusement laced in her voice. "Like in all the comics and stories. Usually they get a new title, or use one of the many ones they already have. Look at Steve, for instance. Captain America sounds hella cool, but so is Star-Spangled Man."

Bucky suppressed a laugh, grateful for the change in conversation, but also at how much she had apparently researched in the wake of finding out who he was. And how much it seemed she wanted to make him feel better. To know him. "Nobody called Steve the Star-Spangled Man."

"People on the internet did." She shrugged, "That's how I found it. I wouldn't have come up with that on my own you know. But, I do feel like you're deserving of a new alias, you know? Isn't Sam Wilson's the Falcon?"

"Yes."

Josephine nodded, "Captain America's best friend is way too long, and you're more than that anyways, so yes, we're gonna come up with a cool superhero name for you."

"Like what?" He raised a brow, "Hit me."

"Metal Man." She shook her head, Metal Man, really? She thought. "No, that was bad. Ignore that."

He smiled, "Are they all going to be that bad?"

"No. Probably. Yes."

"In Wakanda, they called me the White Wolf."

Josephine paused, eyes widening. "You've been to Wakanda?"

He nodded, "I've been all over the place."

Sitting across from him, hearing these little things about his life, she realized she didn't really know him at all. Bucky wasn't anything like the neighbour she thought he was, and yet his stories fascinated her. There was so much she didn't know, but he also didn't know much about herself. In comparison, she'd done nothing in her lifetime that could add up to his. Maybe she needed to get out more.

"Spiritually, the wolf symbolizes an appetite for freedom, amongst other things." She watched him, studying his face. He was letting his facial hair grow again, already a little longer than the few days where he had shaved. His jaw clenched, she could see him retreat back into his mind. "Which is fitting. Maybe that's why they called you that. You deserve freedom, Bucky."

"Freedom in what sense?"

Josephine pursed her lips, reaching over and stretching her hand out. She tapped his forehead twice, reeling back in her seat. "Your mind."

He snorted.

"Unclench your jaw." She chuckled, "You don't have to be stuck up there around me. I don't bite."

Bucky took a deep breath, adverting his gaze to the window. She frowned, "I'm serious, Barnes. You could say absolutely anything to me and I wouldn't go anywhere. I happen to like being around you. That's not impossible, you know. For people to like you."

"I'm glad I'm tolerable to be around."

"Well, when you stare like that--"

"I don't stare."

She laughed, covering her mouth as he glared at her. "If you look a little harder, maybe that soldier serum came with telekinesis."

"Josie," He sighed.

She held her hands up in defence, a smile on her face. "What? You never know."