Open Wounds - A Bucky Barnes Soulmate AU

Chapter Twenty

They were wrong.

You weren't there. Oh, you had been at some point. Your blood splashed around the lab and one of the training rooms was proof of that, but you were long gone by the time they arrived at the base.

A contingent of lesser Hydra fodder had been left to greet them, slow them down. Tony and his AI were combing through the files looking for some indication of where they had taken you while the rest of them just waited.

Bucky had gone back to not speaking other than to convey necessary information about new injuries and your emotional state. He stayed buried in your bond, forcing himself to feel the extent of your every feeling. It was the least he could do, a punishment far less than he deserved. And there in the midst of his teammates, his friends, his family, it was Wade that realized what he was doing.

"She let them capture her to protect you," the mercenary said, announcing his presence as he stepped into the room where Bucky was pummeling a punching bag.

Guilt stabbed through him and he did his best to push past it. "I'm aware."

"That doesn't make it your fault."

Bucky darted a glance to your best friend. Wade leaned against the wall, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. A bulky sweater hung loose on his frame. "Leave it, Wilson."

Wade pursed his lips. "No. I don't think I will. There's something you need to understand about our princess. She's expendable."

"Excuse me?" The tone was quiet, deadly, daring the merc to repeat what he'd just said.

"Easy, buttercup." He held up his hands in a gesture of innocence. "That's her opinion. Not mine."

Bucky growled in annoyance.

Wade sighed. "Just listen, okay? She will place herself at risk to save anyone she deems worthy of it. If she gets injured in the act, well that's just the price to be paid. But if she cares about you? If you're lucky enough to be considered hers? She would burn the world down for you."

He ran a hand over his head. "Look, what I'm trying to say is this was her choice. She decided you were worth more than her and she acted accordingly. And you need to face the possibility that she may do it again."

Bucky's brow furrowed. "What are you trying to say, Wade? What do you know?"

The merc licked his lips. "I'm just saying that her choices are just that. Her choices. You can't take on the blame for that. Nothing she does is your fault. Say for instance, she decided to work for Hydra because they threatened her family. That wouldn't be on you. She wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

Before Wade took his next breath, Bucky slammed him against the wall and held him in place with an arm across his throat. "Speak, Wilson."

"Okay, okay." Wade gripped the arm holding him place, but didn't try to get away. He knew it was pointless. "There's been some chatter. Word is Nicto is active again. Hydra is advertising her services."

Bucky backed away as fear flooded through him, his eyes wide in disbelief. "No. She wouldn't."

Wade's features contorted into a pained expression. "She may not have a choice, Barnes. Just because they couldn't break her before doesn't mean they didn't succeed this time. She's the toughest woman I know but we need to consider the possibility that she's not herself anymore."

Bucky's jaw ached as he clenched his teeth. He dropped his head and linked his hands together on the back of his neck. He didn't want to think about the possibility that you were Hydra's. That he'd lost you. He'd purposefully been avoiding thoughts of what it meant that the only feeling he'd been picking up from you recently was anger. Waves of it in varying degrees but it was constant. So strong it seemed to be overwhelming anything else you may have been feeling.