Winter Soldier: Fade to Red

Sokovian Return

The Quinjet was parked in a remote area just north of the city. As Bucky stood before the open ramp, Nikolai finished checking his equipment and joined him.

"Are you...alright?" Nikolai asked. After their tense moment, Nikolai spent the remainder of the flight silently avoiding Bucky. Still, his eyes stole furtive glances at the super soldier periodically. And Bucky always seemed to catch him in the act.

"All healed," Bucky said with a gentle pat of his thigh. "Thanks to the Super Soldier Serum."

"A useful ability for when a person is shot," Nikolai mused.

"Yeah, you owe me for that one," Bucky teased. "It's your fault."

Nikolai lifted a silver brow. "My fault? How?"

"Those bullets were meant for you. So you should really be thanking me."

Nikolai stared into Bucky's flirtatious face, searching his eyes. Against his better judgement, he could feel pieces of him slipping into some sort of fantasy world where he and Bucky found all of the answers they needed, liberated him from his controllers completely, and ran away together.

A fairy tale, Nikolai chided himself.

"You're doing that thing again," Bucky accused.

"Doing what?" Nikolai grunted, averting his eyes.

"You get this really intense look on your face when you're thinking about something," Bucky carried on. He reached for an assault rifle, checked it, and slung it across his shoulders. "Is it me?"

"You?"

"That you're thinking about."

"No," Nikolai lied. "I just want to find whoever is doing this to me and dismantle them." That was true enough.

Bucky's expression shifted from flirtatious accusation to softness. "We'll find out who's doing this to you and stop them."

"Think so?" Nikolai asked, his voice doubtful.

Bucky read the turmoil in the younger man and couldn't resist placing his hands on his arms. He gave him a gentle squeeze, prompting him to gaze back up into Bucky's eyes. "I've been a prisoner of someone else's will before," he muttered. "It's...it still haunts me. Even now that I'm free. Even now that I'm back in control. I know what it's like to be thrown into a dark place and then they throw away the fucking key, Nikolai. And if I can help it, I will never allow someone else to feel this way."

Nikolai was lulled in by the fierceness of Bucky's words. Without thinking, he allowed himself to be swept away in the torrent of his passion. Wrapping his arms around Bucky's neck, he stood up on his toes and placed his lips roughly against Bucky's. Initially shocked by this sudden surge of passion, Bucky quickly adjusted and responded in kind. Lowering his arms, he wrapped them around Nikolai and pressed him tight against his chest as the kiss deepened. Hungry in ways he didn't even know he was, Bucky opened his mouth and eagerly pressed his tongue into Nikolai's, desperate to taste him. Free from the invisible barrier that kept them in check, he yanked the smaller man up into his arms and wrapped his legs around his waist. Their mouths attacked each other like starving animals. Breathing came fast and labored and their bodies heated up as desire threatened to send them hurtling over the edge. Nikolai unzipped Bucky's suit, giving him a delicious view of his hard, muscular body. He ran his hands up and down Bucky's chest as if he'd never touched skin a day in his life.

"Hungry, are we?" Bucky asked in a hot, teasing voice.

Nikolai nipped at his bottom lip and was rewarded with Bucky grabbing two handfuls of his ass and squeezing. "Starving," Nikolai groaned.