Fix Me: Bucky Barnes x OC (MCU)

Chapter 9

A/N: Penultimate chapter, hope u like it i guess cos it fucking broke my heart

Warnings: swearing, sadness, idk what else

Word count: 1149

I glance up at the clock. James went out an hour ago to get some milk from the shops. And he isn't back yet. The worst possibilities run through my mind, and I find myself staring into space.

'Tony's just gone out to look for him,' Nat says, putting a hand on my arm. I look up at her gratefully, but it worries me. Tony's anxious enough about him that he's gone looking for him? I look up at the ceiling. Please come back. Please.

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Tony's back. No James. We're all gathered in here, like our worry has pulled us all together. A message pings on Tony's phone. There's a moment of silence, and then he looks at it. Suddenly, he swears, loudly enough that we all jump at his outburst. His eyes are glued to the screen. Slowly, he speaks.

'Project the message, Jarvis.'

A text message displays itself on the wall, and my heart drops as I read it.

If you want him back, turn in the woman. If you try to get him back by force, he dies. Slowly. No bargaining. She knows where to go.

Hail HYDRA.

A strangled noise leaves my throat. They've captured him. And the only way they'll set him free is if I turn myself in. I look around the room. Steve, in shock. Tony, still swearing. Bruce, brow furrowed. Nat, mouth open. Wanda, eyes wide. And me? Me, looking for the man I love, so he can wrap me in his arms and make me forget everything that's happening around me. A million pictures of him flit through my mind, and I squeeze my eyes shut, a sob breaking from my lips. My James, cowering on the floor as the man says those words that'll erase his memory. My James, smiling just after he kissed me. My James, his eyes sparkling as he laughed. James. I'm coming for you. I swear, you won't suffer in there. I'll get you out. I promise.

Abruptly, I stand.

'Where are you going?' Nat asks softly, her eyes focusing on me.

'For him,' I growl, marching to the door.

'She knows where to go?' Wanda asks. I shrug and reach for the door knob.

'No!' Nat cries. 'Let's think this through, Minka. If you try and fight, they'll kill him.'

'I'm not going to fight,' I say bluntly.

'You can't just hand yourself over,' she protests.

'I can.'

'Minka, please. It could be a trap,' she pleads.

It won't be. I know HYDRA. They don't need him. He's just their tool against me. As soon as I hand myself over, he's useless. But me? I'm far from useless. I'm a weapon. But I don't speak. I'll sneak away later. Slowly, every step agony, and not because of my bulletwound, I walk away from the door and sit back down.

'We need Thor and Loki if we're going to break him out.' Bruce says quietly.

'They're our only hope,' Tony agrees.

'How long do you think they'll take to come?' Steve asks.

Tony types rapidly on his phone.

'I don't know when they'll come,' he says. 'But I'm sending a message to someone who will tell them to come as quickly as possible.'

My heart clenches. We're waiting on gods to get our message and come and help us? Before I do anything stupid, I stand and stumble to my room. I see my bed, made, not been slept in for at least a week, and my vision blurs with tears. Backing away, I stagger to his room instead, almost falling to my knees when I open the door. Oh, James. James. I slump down onto his bed, trembling, breathing in his scent that laces his pillow. Tears soak into the fabric, and I wonder how the world can be so cruel. I found him, only to lose him as soon as I did. I squeeze my eyes shut, and water leaks out of the corners of them. I swear on my life, James. I will come for you. I swear.

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It's agony, waiting for them all to go to sleep, especially with pictures of him running through my mind. He's in the place where all his nightmares come from, and we're all just sitting here like we can't do anything. Finally, the light under Tony's bedroom door flicks off, and I make my move. I dress in leggings, a long sleeved shirt and his hoodie, hoping they'll let me wear it. I don't take any weapons, and it should make me feel small and defenseless, but all I feel is empty. I know that that won't change until I see him freed.

I close the door softly behind me. It's only when the cool night air hits me that it occurs that I don't know where I'm going. But I don't stop. She knows where to go. I know. They'll find me. So instead, I go to the last place I saw HYDRA. I sit down on one of the benches and wait. It isn't long before they come for me, and I hold out my wrists for them to cuff.

They load me into the back of a van which has no windows. I curl up and rest my forehead on my knees. I'm doing this for you, James. You'll be free by tomorrow, at the latest. The van bumps, and I jolt, hardly feeling it. I hold the sleeve of his hoodie to my nose, closing my eyes, and breath in his scent. His storm tossed eyes flash before my face for a second, and a small whimper leaves my throat.

They drag me out of the van, and I let them, if only they'll free my James. The doors bang open before we reach them, and I see him as he struggles against them.

'Where are you taking me?' He demands. The soldiers holding him don't answer, and I drink him in, knowing it'll be the last time I see him in a while. Or the last time I see him at all. There's a blackening bruise over his right eye, and his lip is split. I mouth his name, and I feel my emptiness replaced by this steely determination. I let it fill me. He will be free. He will be.

And then his storm tossed gaze fall on me. He cries out, voice laced with terror, and he struggles, eyes desperate.

'No! Please! Take me back, just leave her alone! Please!'

'Quiet,' one of the HYDRA soldiers growls at him.

'Why?' He whimpers, but not to the soldier, to me. His blue eyes, almost glowing in the moonlight, lock on mine. They are wet, and a tear slips down his face. 'Why, Minka?'

I look at him, and I force a small smile for him, and only him.

'I love you, James.'

And then the doors close behind me.