Lies of Silver, Heart of Gold ~§~ Bucky Barnes

-036-

Nat walks out of the medical room thirty minutes after going in, with Fury close behind and Rumlow a few steps behind him. She skips up to Clint and grins.

"I pa-assed!" she sings. "Now can we please get some food and get back to work? I want to try to find our girl!"

Clint smiles, glancing to where Rumlow is meant to be standing, only to see his backside quickly retreating. "Having known you as long as I have, I find it hard to believe that food is really your first priority of those two, but you've earned it. Come on."

Once they've each consumed an entire pizza back at Avengers Tower, Nat immediately starts training to get back to her hundred ten percent ready. Meanwhile, Clint is sitting on a bench in the gym looking for any further updates on Carina.

"Nat, there hasn't been anything new on them in three days now. Maybe that's a good thing?" he shrugs. "There's not a lot we can do with the footage we have at this point, especially if Fury lets it slip to Rumlow that we're looking for her."

Nat kicks the punching bag she's using so hard that it breaks the chains and sends it across the room onto the mat. "Unlikely that he would let anything 'slip' to someone he has any reason not to trust. But from what I've learned about the Winter Soldier over the last few years, he's either active on a killing mission or frozen in cryostasis. If Rina is in her right mind right now, that second option is their form of her torture."

"I feel like forcing her to become a killing machine alongside the love of her life is torture enough." Clint taps the refresh page on his S.H.I.E.L.D. file mindlessly, almost wishing something new would pop up, just to make sure his girl was alive. "If only there was a way to get into HYDRA's files, we could keep better tabs on them."

Nat almost drops the new punching bag she's trying to hook up. "I guess we get to visit Maria today. Get your stuff and pull the car around?"

~§~

Rumlow slides through the metal door and taps on Carina's face to wake her up.

"Nyxie, wake up," he says in a singsong tone.

Carina's eyes shoot open in a slight panic and she flinches at how close Rumlow's face is to hers.

"Red passed her physical, they're thawing out your boy toy now," he informs her as he snaps the shackles open. "Make sure you stretch. Don't want our best killer out on a sex injury." Rumlow chuckles at the thought. "Though that would be great material to make fun of you with."

No ringing. He's not lying... for once. Carina stands up and grasps at Rumlow's bulletproof vest to balance herself. The moment she's steady, she releases her grip and backs up, mumbling an apology in order to avoid punishment. She starts pacing as she stretches her upper body, the padding of her feet against the concrete being the only sound in the room other than Rumlow's gravelly breathing.

Rumlow glances at the door on the other side of the clear wall and smirks. "Try not to break my partition again when my guys bring him in," he warns, almost in a sarcastic tone. "I'd hate to knock you out during your fun time in order to get it fixed."

Carina rolls her neck to get a knot out and looks in the same direction as her captor. Just as she does, the door opens and Bucky's doctors drag his unconscious body into his chair and they set him down. Moments later, he starts to stir and groan.

"C-Carina?" he mumbles, shivering as he does so. His eyes flutter open and Bucky jolts awake at the sight of his fiancée. "Rina!"

Bucky jumps to his feet and presses his hands against the partition. "Did Natasha pass?" he asks, glancing at Rumlow.

Carina swallows her nerves and nods, smiling as she does so. "She passed, baby."

"Oh, thank God." Bucky lets out a heavy sigh of relief, almost like he had been holding his breath. He looks at Rumlow again, attempting to squash his seething hatred for just a moment. "When can we—"

"—As soon as you finish thawing out. Don't want you to freeze my best agent with frosted metal. I've already got enough to deal with between you two without having to take care of frostbite where it shouldn't be."

One of Bucky's doctors comes back, pushing a tray with an IV kit on a rolling cart and carrying a warming blanket under his arm. The cart gets set next to his chair and the doctor gently taps Bucky's right arm to signal him to straighten it.

"Do we really have to do the warm saline?" Bucky groans. "You know very well that I'm not a fan of needles, Rumlow."

Rumlow turns to face Bucky once again. "You do if you want to have more fun time with your girl."

Bucky shoots him a death glare and flinches as the doctor places the IV, but as soon as the needle is out of his arm, he relaxes and takes the warming blanket from the doctor.

"Okay lovebirds, as soon as Barnes' temp is back within normal limits, I'll come back and take you to your comfy little room for play time."

Rumlow leaves Carina's room and the door seals shut behind him. She looks at Bucky, unable to contain her smile.

"Why does he almost seem more enthusiastic than both of us?" Carina asks, fighting a laugh.

Bucky shrugs slightly under his blanket. "It's creepy, that's for sure. As long as he doesn't end up watching, I think it'll be okay."