Infatuation One Shots | Bucky Barnes

The Winter Soldier

A/N: When I originally wrote Infatuation there were so many things I wrote, but didn't actually put in the story. This one shot is one of those things. It takes place during the Winter Soldier end credit scene when Bucky is at the museum. Enjoy.

When Catherine woke up the day after Tony picked her up from the hospital, she felt like death. She actually did think she was dead for half a second. Her body felt like she had been kicked by a super soldier, fought a pissed off now ex-boyfriend, and of course jumped from a building to a helicopter. Her broken ribs ached so badly that she was barely able to sit up in the bed. Her lip and forehead were throbbing from the fresh stitches applied at the hospital.

She didn't just hurt physically, but mentally and emotionally. The job that saved her life had been built on a lie. Co-workers that she had trained and fought with had been apart of the agency that kidnapped her as a child and raised her to be an assassin. Steve had almost died. Perhaps worst of all, James, well, Bucky was not who she thought he was. She couldn't blame him. It wasn't his fault, but it was still a shock when she learned that the man she fell in love with had once been Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, Steve's best friend.

It took every ounce of strength and determination to get out of bed. She couldn't just lay around. She needed to get outside and get a clear head. She needed to listen to the sounds of the city and have them drown out every confusing thought running her through her pounding head. That was if she could even walk to the damn bathroom to get dressed. When she walked into the bathroom of her room inside the Avengers Tower, she froze when she herself in the mirror.

A bandage covered four stitches on her forehead, but she could still see a fresh bruise peeking out from the white gauze. Her bottom lip had a cut held together with a butterfly bandage and was slightly swollen. She looked down at her hands and could see bruises on her knuckles from fighting. There was more discoloration from James' metal hand wrapped around her throat. She needed to tackle getting dressed before she did anything else like eating breakfast and putting medicine on her cuts.

She brushed her teeth first which made her feel slightly better. She slipped a pair of black leggings on and then white tennis shoes. The worst part would be her bra and shirt. Every tiny movement caused her to grimace in pain. She had managed to wrap a bandage around her ribs which provided some relief from the compression. She didn't bother with a shirt. She just pulled a white hoodie on and a nude colored shacket on over it. Lastly, she tucked her gun into the waistband of her pants.

"Is the gun necessary?" Tony asked as he leaned against the doorframe of her bathroom. He had walked inside just in time to see her pick her gun up off the bathroom counter.

"Currently, it is necessary. Some people might still want me dead." She told him while laying out the supplies to change her bandage.

"No one can kill you here." He pointed out. He brushed past her so he could help her.

"I'm going out later and I'm capable of doing this myself." She said, slightly annoyed.

"I know, but you aren't alone. I know it probably hurts to move." He said while peeling the bandage off. "Are you sure it's a good idea to leave the tower? I doubt you could fight someone in your current state."

"I've been in worse conditions. Besides, I have my gun and I happen to be a good shot." She said with a smile, but the smile faded away as Tony cleaned up the cuts. It fucking stung with every touch, but it had to be done.

"At least eat some breakfast and have Happy drive you wherever you need to go." Tony began to argue with her.

"Breakfast; yes. Happy; no. I don't need a chauffeur. I can drive myself." She said just as he finished putting the salve on the cuts the ER doctor prescribed her.