Subject X (Winter Soldier X Reader)

5

I tenderly dabbed a wet towel on Bucky's forehead where a large gash from a knife had been made.
"Do you understand what happened?" I asked while concentrating on getting the blood off his face and cleaning out the wound before we were able to continue.

"I wasn't watching your hands."
I hummed in agreement. "At all times you must be aware of what each hand is doing. It is harder for up close combat to keep track of that, it's just something you will learn in time." I advised him, a small smile spread on my lips. I looked down at him and saw him staring up at me, he smiled gently when he looked at me, making me smile wider.

Bucky was an easy person to become drawn to, he was kind, intelligent, and very charming. He must have been a real swoon with the ladies.
"I better learn it fast if my trainer is going to keep throwing knifes at me." He joked with a playful smirk, earning a laugh from me.

"That would be wise, real life bad guys won't miss." I finally put the towel down on the bench, taking a step back from him and smiling.
"You call that missing?" He asked, pointing up to his injured forehead. This brought a small laugh from my throat. "Come on Soldier, let's get back out there."

We made our way back to the sparring mat, taking positions on the opposite sides of the mat. I looked over at Bucky, hunched down in a defensive position, looking at me through his brow. I smiled getting low into the same position.
"Alright, come at me." I encouraged him, waving my arms towards me. We circled each other for a moment, his eyes examined me for the right moment and way to plan an attack. He planted his foot, jumping forward at me with his arms extended wide. He looked like he was coming for a football tackle, which could be easily avoided but a surprising attack from Bucky. I jumped in the air to leap over him, looking at a space on the ground behind him to land. Suddenly, I felt cold metal touch my ankle and a pulling force so strong it pulled me down to the ground. I landed on my back, feeling the wind leave my lungs. Bucky was on top of me in seconds, his knees pressed down into my thighs, his metal arm across my chest, heavy while pinning me to the floor. I looked up at him, a satisfied smile on his face.
"You always jump over an attacker, you should really switch up your tactics."

I raised my face in surprise, a smile widening onto it.
"Oh really? That's how it is?" I asked him, shocked by his statement to me.

"That's exactly how it is." He challenged.
I laughed a real laugh as I tapped his shoulder in a way to yield. He heaved himself to his feet, offering his hand down to me which I took gratefully and he helped me to my feet. As we stood, a familiar buzzer sounded, unlocking the main doors to the training center. We both knew by now that this was our cue to leave. Bucky grabbed a towel from the basket to wipe the sweat off with as we walked to the library. I did the same, wiping off my face, neck, arms and hands.

I opened the door to the library as we got there, allowing myself to walk in before Bucky. We went to our usual spots, books sprawled out across the table from when we were too lazy to put them back. The sweat towels were thrown lazily on the table. I scooted the book towards me, scanning with my finger for where we had left off in the German book.

"Can I ask you something?" Bucky asked me. Without drawing my attention up from the book I spoke.
"ich spreche kein Englisch." (I don't speak English) I replied, looking up at him through my brow with a smirk. I saw the look he gave me, the frustrated but compliant huff and smirk on the side of his face.

"Frage?" His tone tired, annoyed almost.
"Yes, what's your question." I replied in English, seeming to make Bucky a tad more annoyed.

"The day we met, who was the man? The one that you..?" His voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, as if he didn't want to say the obvious. His question made my stomach drop down. I felt a heavy weighted blanket fall over me as I looked up at him. His hair was starting to grow out, getting longer on the sides in a very awkward stage of growth. His face had grown stubble, dark hairs along the base of his once freshly shaven face.