Isolation [Bucky Barnes // The Winter Soldier AU]

II. Red

You can still be what you want to,

what you said you were, when I met you.

You've got a warm heart, and a beautiful brain

but it's disintegrating.

"Medicine" - Halsey

1940 - Brooklyn, U.S.A.

Her red heels clicked against the surface of the wet asphalt, her wide-brimmed hat shielding half of her face from the merciless downpour. Her once elegant, bright red dress had turned into a crimson mess, and her caramel-brown hair, once softly curled and done in a tidy up-do, was now tucked under the hat in a wet mess. Strands of her frizzed hair hung just above her forehead, her lips in an anxious line as she hurried out of the weather. It seemed that miserable weather had always graced that day with it's presence; always chucking down.

The miserable weather was the least of her concerns, however. It was really the memories that she always suffered. The images would always come vividly and without warning. She was grateful that the rain hid the tears following the memories. Right now, she could remember the heat of the fire against her reddened cheeks, and the burning sensation of the flames upon her back. She could hear the screams coming from her niece, Marie, and saw the blurred image of her older brother, Oliver, holding his family in his arms before the intensity of the heat had finally taken it's toll on Charlotte. She remembered the words her mother said to her before she had passed out. . .

"Close your eyes, sweetheart," the woman's voice was calm and just as melodious as it always was. Charlotte reached to her, hands trembling and flesh stinging as fire ate away at her. Her mother's hands touched her palms, cold at first. "Close your eyes, yeye sokrovishche."

"Mama," she sobbed, hissing in pain. "It hurts, mama."

"I know it does, darling. Just close your eyes. It will be over soon," her accent was thick; she was originally from Prussia before she met Owen, Charlotte's father. Her daughter cried softly, both in pain and fear, and the crack of a wooden beam echoed through her ears before the screaming stopped. The very last thing Charlotte saw before the world turned black, was her mother smiling softly at her. Then the beam fell.

"Mama!!"

"Hey!" Strong arms pulled her out of the way, with the car flying past at 20 miles per hour. In those days, such a speed was fast - but everyone knew that Howard Stark could make it faster. Charlotte landed hard on the concrete after the stranger lost his balance and tumbled back. He hit the ground with a soft grunt. "You got a death wish or somethin'?"

The woman was stunned for a few moments, staring at the man with wide eyes. "I'm sorry," were the words that finally whispered from her mouth, her voice trembling slightly. Her green eyes focused on the way the man's eyebrows furrowed softly and his lips pursing into a line. The stranger himself noticed the tears that were rolling down Charlotte's cheeks and tilted his head, sitting up as the woman rolled to the side. She hastily wiped them away, avoiding the confused gaze of the brunette before he rose from the floor with a drawled out sigh.

"Are you alright?" Came the masculine voice of the man after she had stood up herself.

"Peachy," she replied, an audible sniffle reaching the man's ears. He carefully reached forward, gently taking hold of her chin between his thumb and index finger as he reached for his handkerchief. Wiping the dirt off of her cheek, he spoke again.

"Are you sure?"

When she looked at him again, she noticed slight concern in his blue eyes - which themselves were staring right at her as if he were trying to pour into her soul.

"Yes," she said, almost impatiently as she leaned out of his grip. She smiled sheepishly when the brunette held up his hands in defense. "Sorry. It's just one of those days," she said. There was really no reason to be impolite, considering that he had just saved her from becoming roadkill.

"One of those days when it seems like everyone is against you?" he shrugged, nodding softly in understanding. His smile never faltered as he gazed upon her. "Yeah, I get that sometimes -usually because pretty girls try to run themselves down."

'Pretty'. Now that was something she hadn't heard in quite some time. She felt her flustered cheeks darken slightly sheepishly and she turned her gaze to the puddle at her feet. She gave a soft sigh of dismay when she caught sight of the mud alongside her hip. That wouldn't be easy to clean...

"You look vaguely familiar," the man's voice interrupted the silence between the two. A wave of panic flushed over her, before she looked at the smile upon his face and avoided jumping to conclusions. She had a terrible habit of being accused of witchcraft due to her mutations. "I'm James," he extended his hand, "my friends call me Bucky."

What a strange nickname, she thought, hand meeting his. "I'm not going to question your friends' naming choices," she said with a light tone, smile gracing her pink lips.

"It's an old nickname," he stated, pressing his lips to the back of her hand. "Do you have a name?" His question came curiously, eyebrow raised slightly in interrogation.

Her own answer made her smirk with mischief, "Yes, I do." In saying, she pulled her hand back, maintaining her smirk. A soft laugh passed her lips as she watched James react, placing his hand on his sternum and tilting his head back as if she had shot him.

To James, it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. It was a simple thing, but laughter was something he held dear to him. There was more talk of upcoming war lately than the sound of laughter, and although prepared to serve, it scared him. Barely twenty-three and waiting for his country to be dragged into war once again. Nonetheless, the grin on his face did not falter as she spoke her name. "Is it bad that I'm glad you walked into traffic?" he asked, a somewhat innocent aura to his words. It made Charlotte laugh again, and she shook her head.

"There you are, Buck. I've been looking for you everywhere!"

A scrawny blonde man stood behind the woman, holding a box of vegetables. It was small, but it seemed like he was struggling. James twigged and glanced at the blonde, sighing.

"Ah, right. There he is," he said, nodding a soft farewell to Charlotte, "I'll see you around. Hopefully."

"Perhaps," she hummed, flicking a petite wave as the man walked away.

The brunette quickly spun back around and called out to her, "I didn't catch your name!"

"No, you didn't," she called back with a wry grin as she left the man standing like a stunned mullet. He furrowed his eyebrows, intrigued, as a smirk replaced his confused stare.

James felt the presence of his short friend beside him and took the box. "Who's that?"

"I don't know," James replied quietly. They watched her disappear amongst the bustling street nonsense and both sighed.

"She looks familiar."

"That's what I said. She's real pretty."

"Mhmn..."

So there we have the second chapter 'Red'! I hope you enjoyed, and if you liked it, don't forget to vote and comment! Gosh I sound like a YouTuber :') Anyway, guys, I apologise for the lack of updating, but senior year is a big one so I need to focus there.  But I do work on my chapters in my spare time. This would have been a double update but I haven't finished the third chapter yet. Almost.

Again, thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day/night/evening and if you're reading this when you should be asleep, I'm flattered, but GET TO BED.

¬ James, WintersChildrenUnite

P.S. I am working on a much better cover for this story, and I need to find a face claim for Charlotte. If you have any ideas, comment or PM me. Thank you!