Moonface

Bucky's challenge

Kiki was lying on her bed, reading. It was just getting good when there was a knock on her door.

"Fuck off." She said and rolled over onto her side, facing the wall. Instead of hearing footsteps leaving, she heard the creak of the door opening. She turned her head and said, "Didn't you hear me, dickhead. I said fuck off."

Bucky stood in the doorway, slightly shocked. There must have been less language from ladies back then.

"Wow, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"My mother's dead."

There was a pause.

"Did you kill her?"

"No."

Another pause.

"What about your father?"

"Dead. No, I didn't kill him."

Kiki lay on her back and Bucky sat at the end of the bed.

"Goodness. Do you have any family left?" Kiki snorted and looked at the ceiling.

"I'll take that as a no. Dude, are you sure you don't need therapy?"

Kiki looked back towards him. "My parents were shot when I was nine. My sister and I were taken to our Tía Ayla and Uncle Jefferson and their children Bruce, Asmara and Maria. Rosa was always my favourite."

"Rosa? Who's Rosa? What happened to them?" Bucky was intrigued. It was obvious there was something else, something big, something she wasn't going to give up easily.

"Maria Rosalie Smith. We changed her name in hiding."

"Why?"

"So people could never connect her with me."

Silence.

"Why did you try to kill Steve?"

"IT WAS GONNA BE MY LAST JOB! I shoulda stabbed him and been done with it. Although I suppose it probably would have ended up the same way, and I'd still be here. But you would be trying to kill me all the time, so I guess there is a positive."

"You would be dead if you had done it."

"Wanna bet?"

☾

How the hell did they end up in the training room? Well a challenge was a challenge, and one both of them thought they would win.

"No weapons, or power plays, or psychological manipulation. Clear?"

Kiki nodded and finished tying her handwraps. She knew she could beat him. Steve had taught her how. She could use a supersoldier's strength against him very easily. With them it was all or nothing, but Bucky had no idea what he was in for.

They started to circle, both assessing each other's weaknesses.

"Doesn't the arm count as a weapon, or are you just too used to it to be able to function without it?" She teased. He grunted and threw the metal arm to the side. She knew now that he would shield that side of the body, leaving his back open, and from there it was easy. He lunged towards her and she placed her hands on his shoulders and flipped over him, landing behind him. She twisted around and threw her leg in the air, towards his neck. With the correct amount of force, that would snap someone's neck.

He grabbed her foot and twisted it, but she anticipated that, and twisted with it, lifting up her foot and putting it on the other side. Then she arced backwards and dragged him to the floor. She used the side of her hand to hit the place under his ear that would knock him out for a few minutes. She lay on the floor, panting.

☾

Black. He opened his eyes to find he was lying on the training room mat? Memories flooded back. The fight. Ugh, she beat him. He would never live this down.

"You're awake. Finally." She was sat on a chair in the corner, reading a book. The same one she was reading when he found her. He tried to sit up but his head was pounding.

"Careful, Barnes." She placed the book to one side and crouched down beside him. "It'll hurt for a bit. I didn't want you to be alone when you woke up." She laughed musically and left him to his thoughts.

It wasn't only his head that hurt.