𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗬 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗦

Bucky's Weakness

SONG REQUEST FOR THIS CHAPTER: WAY DOWN WE GO by KALEO

1,015 Words

Story idea from AlejandraMartnezFlor (They have been amazing with the recommended story ideas, so thank you)

I never imagined it would end like this.

One moment, Bucky and I were at his apartment, a quiet evening in. The kind where we could forget about everything else in the world, just be with each other. We'd been together for months, and every day with him was a new chapter, full of warmth, laughter, and a love that felt so real, so raw, I couldn't imagine anything coming between us.

But then there was the knock at the door.

I should have known something was off the moment the lights flickered. The door wasn't just knocked on—it was pounded. And before Bucky could get to it, they were already inside. They came for me—HYDRA.

I was blindfolded, dragged out of Bucky's arms and into a dark, unfamiliar place. My heart pounded in my chest. I fought, I screamed, but they were too strong. They knew how to deal with people like me.

"You're Bucky Barnes' weakness," one of them said as they threw me into a cold, metal chair. I heard the door slam behind me, and the room went silent except for my ragged breathing.

HYDRA didn't want me alive. They wanted to use me to get to Bucky, to break him and turn him back into the Winter Soldier. They knew exactly what they were doing.

I hated myself for feeling so helpless. If I could just get out, warn him, tell him to stay away...

But I couldn't. And the terror that crept through me wasn't just because of what they'd do to me. It was because I knew exactly what they'd do to him. They would drag him back into the darkness, make him remember all the things he'd done, all the pain he'd endured. They would break him again.

And that thought paralyzed me.

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I don't know how long I sat there—minutes, hours, maybe days. Time blurred. My mind raced with thoughts of Bucky, of how he would come for me. He always did. But this time... would it be enough? Would he be enough? Or would HYDRA finally win and break him?

And then I heard the sound—the sound of metal and the distinct whir of a gun being readied.

They were coming for me again.

But then, the door slammed open. There, standing in the doorway, was Bucky—but it wasn't him. Not the Bucky I knew, the one who held me gently and made me laugh. This was the Winter Soldier.

His eyes were cold. His movements, fluid and precise. His mask of indifference was a wall, one I could see through if I tried hard enough, but I knew he didn't want me to. He was here to rescue me, but in doing so, he had to be someone else. The Winter Soldier. The man HYDRA created.

He didn't say a word. Just marched toward me, and before I could even blink, he was beside me, his hand closing around my wrist. I flinched at the cold, the familiarity of the metal fingers, but his touch... it was the same. It was still him, somewhere underneath.

"Stay quiet," He said in a voice I hardly recognized. It was devoid of emotion, his words clipped, his gaze distant. The Winter Soldier was here. And there was no room for Bucky.

With one swift motion, he cut the ropes binding me to the chair and pulled me up, his grip on my arm strong but not painful. His eyes flicked over me, scanning, ensuring I was unharmed. The concern was there, hidden beneath the layers of stoicism, but it didn't reach his face.

"Let's go," He commanded, and I obeyed.

We moved through the facility like shadows, every step calculated, precise. There was no room for error, not now. I could feel the tension radiating off him, feel how close he was to slipping back into that role HYDRA wanted him to play. I wanted to speak, to say his name, to break through that icy mask, but I didn't. Not yet.

When we reached the exit, Bucky—the Winter Soldier—slammed through the final door and into the cold night air, the sound of gunfire and screams echoing behind us. He didn't hesitate. We kept running, away from them, away from the nightmare I'd just lived through.

Finally, we reached the safe house, the place we'd planned for moments like this. Bucky kicked open the door, and the moment it shut behind us, the façade shattered.

His hand loosened around my wrist, and he dropped his head, his breath ragged. The Winter Soldier was gone. He was just Bucky again, but even he knew it would never be the same.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, his voice trembling for the first time. "I never wanted to pull you into this."

Before I could respond, he cupped my face in his hands, and kissed me—softly, urgently, as though he couldn't breathe without it. The kiss was a promise, a reassurance that I was safe, that we were safe. His lips tasted of desperation and relief, and in that moment, I felt his love more than I ever had before.

When he pulled back, his eyes were wide, filled with guilt. "I swear to you," He said, his voice thick, "I will never let them take you again. I'll keep you safe, I promise."

I shook my head, touching his cheek. "Bucky, you saved me. You always do. And I love you."

He held me close, his arms wrapping around me tightly, as if to never let go. "I love you too. I'm sorry for everything. For putting you in the middle of this... I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

And in that moment, despite the chaos, despite the terror that had torn us apart for a moment, I knew one thing with certainty.

He would always come for me. And I would always be there, waiting for him, no matter who he had to become to save me.

Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier were one in the same. And he would always be my hero.

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