The Mimic

9

"Please! I didn't do anything!" The man begged, scrambling backwards in to the kitchen. The Winter Soldier followed him, not saying a word. Not showing any sign of remorse or sympathy. The man scrambled back until his back hit the counter, his hand searching around until he found a knife. "Don't do this. I don't even work for them anymore! I have a family!" The man continued to beg, a look of pure fear and desperation in his eyes. But the Winter Soldier didn't even seem to react. Continuing to walk closer, gun in hand. The man suddenly swung at the Winter Soldier with the knife, but his wrist was swiftly grabbed by a metal arm. The Winter Soldier slowly but forcefully twisted his arm back until there was an echoed snap. The man let out a strangled yell of  pain, his eyes wide as the knife he once had fell to the floor with a crash. The Winter Soldier kicked the man's kneecaps, causing him to crumble to the ground. The gun was then raised, pointing down at the man. "Hail Hydra." The Winter Soldier murmured from under his mask, shooting the man several times in the chest until he was no longer moving. 

The Winter Soldier then stepped back, turning around almost robotically as he made his way back out of the living room. Y/n was in the middle of destroying the apartment, making it seem as if there was a robbery. She emptied drawers, smashed glasses, and littered the ground with the family belongings. The Winter Soldier begun to help out, and soon enough the apartment looked as if somebody had broken in and the robbery went wrong. Perfect. 

"Where's my daddy?" A small voice asked from the doorway of the living room, causing the pair to freeze. It was a little girl. They were told nobody else was in the house. The two soldiers shared a glance before the Winter Soldier reloaded his gun. No remorse in his eyes as he aimed at the little girl, pulling the trigger...

Bucky suddenly jolted awake, gasping in air. He quickly reached up to turn on the lamp, and as the dark room was lit up he seemed to sigh slightly in relief. He was at the compound. He wasn't back there. Bucky rubbed at his eyes with a sigh, he could still hear that child's voice. He still shot her. With no regret. There was supposed to be no witnesses, and Hydra took that seriously. Bucky got up from where he was laying on the ground, he needed some air, to clear his head. 

Bucky ended up sat on the couch in the common area, scrolling mindlessly through TV shows and movies. But it was obvious he wasn't really there. He was thinking about that little girl. That family that he'd destroyed. He remembered it all. The way she screamed after the first gunshot, the way she stumbled back in to the wall. It was the first time Bucky had hesitated. He remembered just watching her as y/n moved the body to a less suspicious spot. He remembered the way his handler yelled at them for not checking the apartment first. He remembered all of it. After that mission, the torture just got even worse. Their memories were wiped several times a week, and the consequences for failed missions were even stronger than before.

Y/n had just finished walking around the compound to clear her head, about to head back to her room to try and fall back to sleep. But that was when she heard the faint sounds of a TV playing. It was weird, nobody was ever awake at this time. So, out of curiosity she decided to explore. Y/n found Bucky sat on the couch, scrolling mindlessly and staring in to nothingness. She wasn't surprised, all these nightmares meant that sleeping was torture. But being stuck in your own head was even worse. Y/n slowly sat down beside Bucky, carefully prying the remote from his grip. "Here. Let's put something on." She murmured, hoping to pull Bucky out from his thoughts. Y/n put on the first movie she found, humming slightly as Bucky wrapped an arm around her. Bucky could see that y/n was struggling too. They'd been through so much together, the least he could do was wrap an arm around her.

The pair sat in silence for the whole movie. It was an unspoken sort of comfort. They both needed each other, even if they hadn't admitted it yet. It was nice to just have company. Something the pair definitely needed after being stuck in their heads. The movie was terrible, extremely terrible. But the pair were both laughing when the movie ended. "That was so bad." Bucky murmured with a laugh, glancing down at y/n as she nodded, laughing along with him. They ended up ranting over the movie for at least an hour, both laughing along as the re-enacted the stupid scenes. Not even realising that the sun had come up, too engrossed in their own world. 

It was a nice distraction, for the both of them. It was the first time that they didn't have something in their back of their minds. The first time they weren't paranoid over messing up. 

Steve was awake. He always woke up when the sun rose so he could go for a run around the outskirts of the compound. He was used to having that time in the morning to himself, so hearing people talking made him suspicious. But, as he made his way closer to the common area, he heard Bucky laugh. A real, genuine laugh. Not a small chuckle. Steve stopped in his tracks, a warm smile on his face. He didn't want to ruin whatever was happening in there. The other person sounded like y/n, which just made his smile even greater. He knew about how rough they'd had it since they got their minds back, so to hear them laugh was amazing. Steve slowly turned around, making his way back to his bedroom. Not going on a morning run for one day wouldn't hurt anyone.