The Red Soldier: Captain America and the Red Soldier

ISSUE #1

PART ONE

TW: Mentions of domestic violence

Bucky sat there, waiting for the doctor opposite him to say something. He hated it there: the plain walls, uncomfortable furniture, and 'soothing' decorations. It all felt incredibly patronising, as though they were afraid some decent interior design had the potential to send him on a killing spree. He shuffled in his seat, he couldn't concentrate properly. (Y/N) had a job interview that afternoon, and all he could do was worry. He wondered what sort of questions they'd ask him, and what tests they'd make him do.

'James, I asked you a question.' Bucky was pulled from his daydream. He stared straight ahead at the shrink, unbothered. 'Are you still having nightmares?'

The question was stupid in his opinion. He hadn't stopped fighting since nineteen-fourty two. The only dreams he ever had were nightmares, although at least now he wasn't strangling his boyfriend in his sleep because of them. Instead, he'd wake up to (Y/N) bringing him a mug of warm milk and a piece of shortbread. (Y/N) never offered much physical comfort though, just a quick hug before crawling back into bed a foot away from him.

'Are you still having nightmares, James?' Dr Raynor, a black-haired fifty-something, repeated herself.

'No.'

The doctor sighed, 'we've been doing this long enough that I can tell when you're lying,' she said, raising a brow, 'did something happen recently?'

'No.'

'You're a civilian now, and with your history the government needs to know that you're not gonna...' she paused, as though contemplating very carefully about what her next words were going to be. Bucky wished she'd just come right out and say it. 'We need to know that you're not going to snap and start murdering people again.' She didn't though. She was far too professional to say something like that. 'It's a condition of your pardon,' the shrink sighed, 'so, tell me about your nightmare.'

The soldier once again found himself in a daydream. He hadn't fought Thanos for the chance of a pardon. He'd fought Thanos because he wanted to help, and because he wanted a future for himself, (Y/N), and Steve. Steve Rogers was gone now though, and (Y/N) didn't seem quite that bothered about a future with him. The pardon did mean he could go over the speed limit on his motorcycle and only face a speeding ticket instead of jailtime though.

'Mr Barnes,' Dr Raynor huffed, dragging him away from his thoughts once more. Bucky's brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember what it was they'd been discussing. 'Tell me about your most recent nightmare,' she repeated. James simply stared at her, refusing to answer, and so she sighed, pulling out an A6 notepad in which she began to scribble.

'Come on, really? You're going to do the notebook thing? Why?' he asked, remembering his first session in which he'd sat there for an hour, refusing to talk, whilst she filled reems of paper with her observations. 'It's really passive aggressive.'

'You don't talk?' Dr Raynor shrugged, 'I write.'

'Okay, okay,' Bucky exhaled deeply, 'I crossed a name off the list of my amends yesterday.' She looked at him, raising a worried brow. 'Don't worry, I used all your three rules.'

'Who?'

'Senator Atwood. She was a HYDRA pawn for years, and I helped her get into office when I was the Winter Soldier. After HYDRA disbanded, she continued to abuse the power I gave her,' he explained, thinking back to the events of the previous day.