Winter's Weakness

Willow. Meet Bucky.

A simply click of a button. That's all it took to cut the power to the Avengers Compound. Using the tesseract I grabbed the sceptre before I made my way to Loki's cell. His gaze flicked up to meet me, a wide smile lighting up his eyes. He knew I'd come. "I got something for you." I held up the sceptre as the cell door opened. Placing it in his hands he smiled at me. "Shall we?"
In a flash of blue we disappeared as the Avengers rushed into the room. My eyes caught James' and I threw him a wink before disappearing.

It had been a few days since I'd got the sceptre and tesseract and I was restless. Deciding on taking a walk I pulled my hood up and began walking around the streets of New York. My phone began ringing in my pocket. An unknown number flashing across the screen. Due to the fact I changed my phone every few days I knew exactly who it was.
"James. What a pleasure."

"Tell me it wasn't you." He growled down the phone at me.

"Tell me you're not tracing this call." I stopped to sit on a nearby bench.

"It's Zemo. You know how much damage he can do with them words. How much damage he's already done with them."

Did he really think I didn't know about the words programmed into me as a back up? The difference was, the words would only work if I was already weak enough to let them. Over the years I'd gotten enough mental control to fight them. Only if I was weak would they work. "It's cute you think he needs them."

I could hear him sigh on the other end of the phone. "Do you remember our last mission?" I wasn't sure why I asked him. Maybe it was seeing him a few days prior. Something in me needed to tell him why I was acting this way.

"The one where Steve found me." I scoffed, of course that's all he remembered. The day everything changed for him. The day he was rescued.

"The one where you left and never fucking looked back." It was my turn to growl at him.

"I came back for you. You were gone."

Lies.

I couldn't let myself believe him because if that was true then all this had been for nothing. If it was true, it meant someone out there cared about me. That just couldn't be true. "Five days. Five days I was strapped to that machine because of YOU!" I couldn't help the emotions flooding out of me. He was the only one that was able to do that. Yet another reason I had to take him out. He was my weakness and that would stop me from finishing what I'd started.

"Winter. Please. Meet me, talk to me." He pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears. All I could picture was waking to that empty bed, waiting for hours for him to return. Only to have Hydra burst through the door and drag me away.

"I'll see you soon James. You just won't see me." I hung up before he could say another word. Not just that, I knew much longer and they'd get a location on the phone. Snapping said phone in half I threw it in the trash before heading back to the safe house.

"That man is infuriating!" I shouted as I slammed the door shut.
"What did he say?" Zemo asked from his spot on my couch. Walking into the kitchen I poured myself a drink. Leaning on the breakfast bar as I spoke. "He warned me against you actually." Taking a sip of the whiskey I sighed in satisfaction. Buying the expensive stuff was definitely worth it. "He seemed to gloss over the fact we managed to steal two of their weapons."

"Speaking of which. What exactly is your plan for these?" He gestured over to the sceptre and tesseract. I knew better than to reveal everything at once to anyone. Even someone who was supposed to be on my side. "I told you. Hydra, SHIELD, the Avengers. I want to tear it all apart."

"Don't forget our deal." Loki sneered at me. We weren't friends in the slightest, he was just a means to an end. At least with Zemo there was mutual respect. Loki respected nothing but himself and what he could gain.
I stood up, looking over at him, unsure of what everyone found so intimidating. "Yeah yeah the tesseract is all yours, once this is over."

Zemo could sense the tension building between Loki and I. "Don't you have a date with a soldier tonight?"

I visibly shuddered at calling it a date. If I thought of it that way, it made my skin crawl. "Ugh don't call it that. It's a business meeting." It was the only way I could stomach what I was doing. Using my body to get information was what I'd been trained to do. All my life I'd been nothing more than a pawn, I had to keep that mindset to keep the self hatred at bay.

"Business?" Loki pulled me from my thoughts. Slipping on the 'I don't give a fuck' mask I smiled up at him. "What else would you call an exchange of information?"

"You don't give him any information."

"His information is payment for services given."

Zemo could sense I was done talking about this. We may not have been friends but he could read me like a book. "Winter. Business meeting. Go."

I didn't need telling twice. Putting on a nice flowery sundress I headed to the bar. The character of Willow firmly plastered over my face.

***

"Who is she Buck?" Steve asked Bucky as they sat in the bar that Steve loved so much.

"She was raised by Hydra." Bucky was hesitant to reveal too much, but he knew he'd rather tell Steve than anyone else. Talking about Winter stirred up all sorts of emotions. Especially after seeing her the other day. She was still as stunning, as conniving, and as alluring as she always had been. He missed her. He missed her quick wit, the way her breath quickened when he was near. Most of all he missed the way she could make him forget all the bad. She'd changed so much, so much anger and yet she was the same Winter that he'd always loved.

"What's her name?" Steve got Bucky's attention.

"Hydra never gave her one." Something that still broke his heart to this day. "They just called her Winter."

"You were close to her." Steve knew it by the way Bucky protected her, even after all this time.

"I loved her." It was the first time Bucky had admitted that out loud. "She pulled me from their control on more than one occasion. Every time she paid the price, and yet she did it anyway."

Walking into the bar, the last person I expected to see was him. Sat there, not a care in the world as he spoke to Steve. "Shit." I muttered, considering walking straight back out. Unfortunately Steve saw me, both shock and happiness over his face. Had he forgotten what day of the week it was? I only ever appeared on a Friday.
Keeping a big grin on my face I walked over to him, pulling him into a hug. Hoping to every God out there that James didn't blow my cover. "Steve." I wrapped my arms around him.
When we pulled apart he smiled at me, shaking his head. Yeah apparently he hadn't forgotten the whole 'I'll call you' thing. I hadn't called, I very rarely did. "Willow." His soft smile almost made me forget the eyes that were burning into me. Almost but not quite.

James cleared his throat, his eyes never leaving me. "Oh sorry. Willow, meet Bucky." I noticed the way James' eyes roamed over my body. Taking in my outfit.
"Bucky. Nice to meet you."

Well this is going to be an interesting night.