Captured // A Winter Soldier Story

chapter twelve // an old friend

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"You flew out on a plane and crashed into the ocean, and then you haunted me. I don't have a clue what's in motion."
-Ghost by Sir Sly

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reyna's point of view

Not even twenty minutes after I called, Bucky and I heard slamming on the other side of the door, and after a few giant bangs and sounds of scuffling, there was a polite knock.

I reached in front of Bucky and peeled the door open. My breath caught. There stood Steve- a little banged up, a little worse for wear, but still Steve. His eyes were the same shining blue-green that I'd always known, and every feature of his face was so utterly familiar that I could hardly breathe. It's the face that I used to see every time I woke up from a nightmare, before he'd spend hours trying to calm me down. It's the face that I would see every morning as he made Romanoff and I breakfast. It's the face that had always meant safety. And after all this time, after all this pain and separation- here we stood, both alive and together. What a wonderful place to be.

I launched myself into his arms, unable to stop the tears from falling. He enveloped me in his grasp and lifted me off my feet, swinging me in a circle before putting me back down and placing a kiss on my cheek. A smile played on his lips, one of happiness and relief.

"Reyna, after all this time...I thought for sure you were dead. We looked everywhere for you. I'm so glad you're ok," he murmured, his arms around my waist. I smiled and wiped a tear from my cheek. He stood a good two feet taller than me and smelled of gunpowder, but he was home.

"God, Steve, I'm so sorry. But you know I had to run after S.H.I.E.L.D. found out who I was. And then Hydra got me a few weeks ago, and...long story. I'll explain later," I started, stopping myself from blurting out everything on the spot. "Just...thank you for coming. You have no idea how much I've missed you."

"Of course," he said softly. After a few moments of silence, he took a step back to examine me like the overly-protective-momma-bear he is. When he frowned, I knew I was in for it.

"Reyna, how long has it been since you last ate...?" He asked, not bothering to hide his horror. I rolled my eyes.

"Like I said, it's been rough. Can we talk later?" I asked, and he narrowed his eyes at me before reluctantly nodding. He hated it when I was anything but healthy, and I already knew that when we got back to his apartment he wasn't going to rest until my stomach was full and I was tucked soundly into bed. To be honest, I hadn't even thought about eating for at least two days. I'd been too busy running and trying to catch up on sleep. At the mention of eating, my stomach rumbled, and I realized I was starving.

He watched me for a few more moments before caving and pulling me into one more hug, double checking that I was still real. After he pulled away I remembered that we weren't alone. I bit my lip and nervously shifted my feet, my gaze dropping from his eyes.

"Steve, when Hydra captured me, I...I didn't escape alone."

I hesitantly turned and gestured, bringing his attention to Bucky, who stood several feet to the right of us. Bucky looked at us as though he were cornered, a wild, insecure gleam in his eyes as he watched us. He hadn't been very happy about me calling Steve for help, but he also hadn't stopped me. I had a feeling that his thoughts regarding Steve were still tangled, and he had yet to pull out all the knots Hydra had planted in his memories.  I'm not sure he knew what to think right now.

Bucky was breathing fast. I took a few steps towards him.

He visibly hardened when I neared, but I knew that it was out of fear of the inevitable confrontation he was going to have with Steve, not me, that made him act like that. I gently put my hand on his arm.

"Breathe," I whispered, tugging lightly at his arm. His eyes flicked to mine once before focusing back on Steve, and he began taking slow steps forward.

Steve was frozen on the spot, shock prominent in his eyes. He definitely hadn't been expecting this.

"Bucky," he breathed. Bucky stared and stared, caught somewhere between a memory and a dream. I'm not sure if he knew what Steve was- a friend, or a ghost.

"Steve," he croaked.

A few moments of silence ensued, a million unspoken words and emotions floating heavily between them, before Natasha Romanoff's voice crackled through the radio on Steve's belt.

"Cap, we should get moving before their reinforcements show up."

Steve hardly even moved from where he was, still staring at Bucky. I'd never seen Bucky look so helpless before, and I wondered why that was. I guess trying to remember what he's lost is more painful than any torture he's ever had to endure.

"Steve," I coaxed softly, and he snapped out of the trance he was in, reaching down and grabbing his radio to answer Natasha. As he replied to her and began making his way out of the compound, I turned to Bucky, placing my hand on his shoulder and opening my mouth to speak.

"How do you know him?" Bucky muttered, getting a word in before I could even talk. I blinked.

"I used to work at S.H.I.E.L.D. with him. We went on a lot of missions together when I first started, and after that we became friends," I replied, going for the easy answer. Nothing I said was false, but it certainly wasn't the full story.

Friends didn't seem like the right term. Steve is the only person in my life that has never let me down- he meant much more to me than a friend. But Bucky and Steve...that's completely different. Their relationship is much deeper, has a much thicker foundation. It's impossible to describe either in a way that makes sense.

Bucky just nodded, and moved to follow Steve. I went with him.

Steve was standing just outside of the door waiting for us. Once Bucky and I got outside, a plane descended from the sky, a certain red headed assassin behind the controls.

"Come on!" Steve called, gesturing for us to head towards the craft. The back opened and we went inside. I left Steve and Bucky for a moment and ran towards the cockpit.

"Nat!" I exclaimed, and she jumped out of her seat, her eyes wide in shock. I wrapped my arms around her in a hug and she squeezed me back tight.

"Reyna, oh my god, you're alive? And ok?" She questioned. I nodded against her shoulder and pulled away long enough to make eye contact with her.

"Yes, I'm alive. It's a really long story. I'll tell you and Steve when we get back. But it's so good to see you," I breathed, and she smiled, wider than I have ever seen her smile.

"I can't believe you're ok. I thought for sure you were dead."

"So did I," Steve added, walking through the doorway with Bucky on his heels. Bucky entered and then hung back, staying in the corner of the cockpit as Steve came and stood beside Nat and I. "We should go, there's a group of Hydra soldiers a mile out, and they're closing in fast."

Nat nodded, glancing at me for one more second before sitting down at the controls. A minute later, we were up in the air, well on our way to S.H.I.EL.D.

Steve, Bucky and I stared at each other, standing in a loose circle in the middle of the plane. We had a lot of catching up to do.

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"Undead, go find your way back home."

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