Till the End of the Line

Pain.

Becca's body was sore after her session with him. He always left her in pain. She groans and heads back to her quarters, which was on the other side of the compound—or as she referred to it prison—where she lived. 

When she gets there, she nursed her broken nose, scrubbed the blood off her knuckles and collapses on the bed, too tired and in pain to even think of eating.

Even though she was exhausted, she still couldn't seem to sleep. It was past lights out but Becca was still up in her quarters. She sat on the edge of her bed, looking out the narrow window towards the base below. She was thinking about how long it had been since she was here. Three months? Four? Maybe even five? She didn't know whether it had or hadn't been a long time. She just knew she was tired. Tired of them putting her through so much pain. Tired of endless training sessions. Tired of being alone and abused every damn day.

The door to her quarters swung open and she whirled around to see Bucky standing in the doorway. She groans. 

"Contrary to popular belief, I do not desire to see your ugly face any more than I have to."

Bucky glares at her as he steps into the room and starts closing the door behind him.

"Do you know what today is?" He looks at her as he leans against the wall, folding his arms over his broad chest.

Becca shrugs. 

"...no? What? Russia's birthday? Soviet Army appreciation day? Mandatory fun day? You guys don't allow a lot of holidays." She grumbles.

 If he's going to barge into her room, He's going to deal with her lip.        

Bucky sighs as he walks over, standing in front of her. 

"Today marks the one year anniversary you've been here." 

He smiles at her as though it was a happy occasion.

"Aaannnndddd.....you know this why? I can't even remember how long it's been since I was thrown in here." She asks, not sure where this is going. 

Bucky leans down, his face close to hers again, his voice low as he speaks softly.

"I know, because I keep track. I make notes about you every day."

His breath puffs up against her forehead and he smiles again as he lets his finger trail along her jawline, tracing a cut he'd given her a couple sparring sessions ago. It had needed ten stitches and he had made her sew them herself. Becca was taken aback by his sudden change in behavior. Where was that cold-hearted soldier that she'd been training with for the last year? Who was this stranger standing in front of her?

"Oh I'm sure that goes over well. Day 365: subject called me an asshole and is STILL a weakling who brings shame to HYDRA." She mutters, trying to make a joke and ease this tension. 

Bucky laughs. It was a nice sound, though it sounded as if it was not used often. "Something like that. I make other notes too. About your progress, about your attitude, about your...spirit."

Becca was even more surprised. "I want to read them."

"Hmm...how about a trade."

Bucky leans down, his face close to hers again, his eyes dancing with light.

"You answer a question for me, I'll let you read one page. Sound good?"

"Ok sounds fair," She says, curious what he wanted to ask her. He knew more about her than she knew about herself.

Bucky smirks again as he leans back against the wall once more.

"Why did you change your name? Your file says it used to be Daniele."

Bucky gives her a raised eyebrow as he waits for her answer.

"That name died with my family. With my happiness. Daniele is dead." She replies bitterly.

"So you chose Rebecca, huh?" He smirks down at her. "It's...not terrible. It suits you. I like it."

"We'll you could start calling me that instead of calling me a weakling, or useless, or—..."

"Ok I get the point." He interrupts. 

Becca crosses her arms. "Now your end of the deal. Give me the notes." 

 He glares at her before reluctantly reaching behind him, grabbing his satchel and tossing it over to her.

"Here, you can read your one page."

Becca groans when she opens the journal. It's in Russian. She could read it, but she didn't want to. And quite frankly, she wanted to hear more of his gentle voice. So she asked

 "Can you read it please?"

His eyes narrowed at her but to her surprise, he obliges.

"Да."

He takes a deep breath and reads the most recent page.

"Day 365. Rebecca is a strong girl, and an interesting one. She has a certain fire in her that many of the recruits do not seem to have. She would make a good addition to HYDRA." 

Now Becca was really confused.

"So why do you keep holding me back? Why do you kept telling the generals and Karpov I'm not ready? Why are you even writing notes about me if you intend to keep me from graduating?"

Bucky turns to look at her, his voice soft as a whisper as he speaks.

"Because...I don't want you to go."

His finger tips trail up her jawline again as his eyes stare into hers.

"Oh."

 she smirks, unsure of what else to say. 

"I haven't annoyed you too much yet? Well...I gotta try harder then huh?"

Bucky smiles as he leans his head down, his lips nearly grazing her forehead. Her stomach flutters but she stays still.

"You annoy the hell out of me." His voice dips, his hand slowly sliding down her neck.

"Which is why I want you to stay."