Winter FLame

Part 8

                Bucky sits upright. His mind reeling. He took two hits. A knife to the right shoulder and bullet to his left thigh. The knife wound causing him to bleed heavily he must have passed out. He looks around and finds he's on the Quinjet. He looks around and sees Nat and Steve hovering over Y/n. They are ripping her suit open at her left thigh and digging for what he assumes is a bullet. Why didn't she heal herself?

"Steve, what's going on?" Bucky asks worried.

"She took a round to the thigh. I think it hit an artery. We need to get the bullet out so she can start healing. But I can't find it." Steve says.

"Let me help." Bucky says swinging his legs over the side of the cot. He moves so he's at Y/n's leg. He takes a moment to feel her leg. Finding where the bullet is he pulls out his knife.

"Buck.. what are you doing?" Nat asks.

"I've got to make the wound bigger. The bullet is deep and we wont be able to get it unless I make it bigger." Bucky says placing the blade against Y/n's thigh. He presses down hard while mumbling a sorry under his breath. Breathing out he quickly pulls the blade down expanding the wound.

After the wound is bigger he gently places two fingers in the wound. Y/n cries out at the pain. Bucky swears under his breath as his finger tips touch the bullet. He pulls it out and a spray of blood arcs in the air.

"Fuck!" Bucky says immediately applying pressure to her thigh.

"We need to wake her up so she can heal this. The bullet was pinching off some of the blood flow. Get the adrenaline." He looks up to Natasha.

She nods her head and runs to the med bay. She comes back and places the needle into Y/n's neck and injects the adrenaline. Seconds later Y/n comes to throwing a punch. She lays back and suppresses a scream at the pressure on her thigh. Y/n looks around and finds Bucky's vibrainium hand clutching her thigh in a vise grip. "Whats going on?" She asks quickly. Her heart hammering in her chest like a freight train about to derail.

"I had to expand the bullet wound. The bullet was plugging an arterial bleed. We gave you a shot of adrenaline to wake you up. I need you to heal this, if I let go now you'll bleed out." Bucky said in a calm tone.

You look down at his hand and nod twice. You reach out placing your hand over his metal one and focus on your injury. You put what energy you have into healing your leg. The blood loss making you woozy. As the wound closes you look up and see Bucky staring at his vibrainium hand. a look of awe and confusion on his face. Steve and Nat step back at your motion for them to move.

You place your hand back on Bucky's and softly say, "Bucky.... James!"

He looks up at you and you see the tears in his eyes. You grip his metal hand firmly, encouraging him to release your thigh. He releases it suddenly and falls back onto his butt. Shock written all over his face.

Concern lacing your features you move to sit next to him. The wound on his chest an angry red scar now you look at him again and ask, "Bucky are you okay?"

"When you healed your leg I could feel it." He whispered.

"What do you mean? Cant you feel the arm typically?" You ask gently.

He shakes his head and says, "There are pressure sensors in the arm. I can feel pressure and that is what lets me move the hand so well. The sensors are so sensitive. But I could FEEL the energy transferring from your hand through mine and into your leg. It's like a had a real hand again."

You study his face and realize that for the first time in 70 plus years he's had a normal sensation in his left hand again. You nod slowly and grip his left hand again. His breath hitches is his throat as he looks at the contact. You go to let go when he grabs your hand with his and says, "don't let go. I can still feel it. Please."

"Okay." You say softly and grip his hand a little tighter. An idea forming in your head.

It's been a week since the mission and everyone was relaxing watching a movie when you come in and catch Bucky's attention. You motion for him to follow you and he gets up from the couch and follows you. You stop outside your room and say. "I want to try something with you but I want privacy to do it."

He nods and enters your room. You direct him to sit in the chair at the desk and crouch next to him. "I've been thinking a lot about the mission and how when I healed my leg you could feel it. Do you still have sensation in the hand?"

"A little yes. Not like before where I could feel it. But it's still pulsing with energy that isn't normal for it." He says quietly.

You nod softly and then say, "I want to try and duplicate it. But with your entire arm. I want to see if I can make it permanent. If I can do this you'll feel everything again. Not just pleasure but pain too. You'll feel the bullets ricochet off it but it'll hurt. Do you want me to try?"

"Yes. Please. It'll give me a sense of normalcy and maybe I can heal some inner wounds." He says breathy.

You nod once and stand. You stroke down his neck and to the muscles in his shoulder where the flesh meets the metal. You repeat the process and you can see him start to relax into your touch. You run your hand up under the sleeve of his shirt and touch the scar tissue. He flinches slightly and you go to move your hand away. He quickly grabs your wrist and says, "Don't stop. Please." You nod and continue to stroke the scarred area. You start to think about the mechanics of the arm. You can feel all the little sensors in his arm, clear to the tips of his fingers. You think about how they should be more like nerves connecting together and you gently push energy into them. You can 'See' them reknitting into a more complex nerve structure. As you're working you hear Bucky's breathing increase. You look up and see him crying. You reach up with your other hand and brush the tears away. As the last synthetic nerve forms into place Bucky goes rigid. A small cry leaving his lips. You pull away from him. Your finger tips running down the length of his arm. He shudders and he gasps.

You step back and look at him, waiting for him to say something. He looks at his hand and runs the right one down his arm slowly. His head snaps up to you and the tears straining not to fall, drop fast. He stands and walks over to you. He reaches out with his left hand and gently touches your face. The metal no longer cold but radiation its own heat. You lean into his touch and his breath hitches again.

"I can feel that. I can feel your skin. Y/n..." he whispers softly.

You look up to see the tears streaming down his face. Your heart breaking a bit. You reach out and mimic his touch. Swiping your thumb under his eye to catch the tears. Before you can say anything he leans in and kisses you. His lips so incredibly soft. The kiss tender, warm and tainted by his tears. You freeze momentarily before melting into the kiss.

You pull back whispering, "James...."

He smiles at you and wraps his arms around you waist pulling you into a hug and spinning you around. You giggle softly at his excitement. He sets you down and cups your face in both hands. "Thank you... I.. how did you do that?"

"I thought of what you said about the sensors and had this idea that they should be connected more like nerves, so I reformed them. You can feel all this?" You said as you stroked your hand down his arm, twining your finger with his.

He lets out a shaky sigh and nods. He looks at you and your connected hands and says, "Yes. I know its not flesh but I can FEEL it like it was."

You smile up at him and his breath hitches at the sight. He cups your face again and asks, "Can I kiss you again?"

You look up at him, biting your bottom lip you nod. He leans is and places a tender kiss to you lips again. You reciprocate the kiss and step in closer to him. Placing your front flush against him. Your arms snake around his neck and he lets a little moan out. You take the opportunity to swipe your tongue into his mouth, tasting him. He responds by holding you tighter. You start walking back towards your bed, him following you. Your legs bump the edge of the bed and you both fall onto it.