Mere days after Endgame/Six months before The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Irina tossed and turned, hearing a woman speak in Russian.
She turned to face the two men she never wanted to hurt.
The woman said, "Выбери один. Один должен умереть, другого можно пощадить."
(Choose one. One must die, the other may be spared.)
Bucky smiled softly, ready to take the bullet. "It's okay, doll. I love you, Rina. It's okay."
Steve mustered a smile and nodded. "I forgive you, Rina."
Irina, with no expression, aimed the gun between the two men before choosing one to point it at and shot without so much a twitch.
Her eyes shot open and she screamed as she sat up.
Bucky, who was up trying to escape his own nightmares ran to his wife who was still screaming and nearly inconsolable. Callie had woken up and was crying as well.
He instantly pulled her into his arms and her sobs became muffled as her head rested on his chest.
After she'd calmed down enough, Bucky asked, "What did you see?"
Irina looked up at him with glistening eyes and cupped his face before whispering, "You're alive?"
Bucky took her hands and laced his fingers through hers. "Yeah, doll, I'm alive. Are you okay? What did you see?"
The brunette shook her head and looked away. "You died."
"It's happened before. How'd I die this time?"
"I shot you."
Bucky tilted his head. "Huh?"
Irina sighed and met his eyes as her lip quivered. "I was in the Red Room under HYDRA's control. I had to choose who would die and who would live between you and Steve. I killed you. Buck, I never..." Her breath hitched and her sobs resumed. "I killed you! One of few people-"
Bucky pulled her closer and embraced her tightly. "Those days are over now, Irina. You'll never have to worry about the Red Room again. You don't have to worry about HYDRA again. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."
"Do you promise?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"I promise, Rina." He turned to Callie, who was still crying. "It's okay, sweetheart."
He pulled Callie from her crib and began rocking her in his arms. "It's all right, sweet girl."
Irina stroked the little girl's hair. "Mama didn't mean to wake you, darling. I just had a scary dream."
Callie put her thumb in her mouth and rested her head on her father's shoulder as she started grabbing at and playing with her mother's hair.
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Fields of Bone // TFATWS
БоевикTrying to maintain a normal life whilst being a Super Soldier and a former assassin isn't easy. And being dusted for five years certainly didn't help. New threats emerge and the shield, given by the captain himself to a man who built a pair of wing...
