The TV screen zooms in on the picture of the man. It looks just like Bucky, or at least his face, caught on a security camera. Above the picture it says "The Winter Soldier: Wanted for murder, acts of terror, among other felonies." I jump as the screen switches back to the anchor of the news channel, a stiff-looking woman with brunette hair who speaks urgently and seriously as she explains the many acts this person - the man I have been living with for the past six months - has committed over the past few days. The biggest one, the one he was apparently caught in the act of, was bombing a building during a meeting of many national leaders, who had been discussing the control of the group self-titled the "Avengers". Several deaths and even more injuries occurred.
I had obviously heard of these Avengers before. They saved the world on multiple occasions, according to what I've seen on the news over the past few years, and they have become quite the celebrities because of it. I have always been a bit suspicious that the media may be over exaggerating their successes, but I don't have any complaints. I had heard about the Accords, which had been discussed on the news over the past few weeks, but I honestly couldn't care less. Even if these Avengers did have special powers, I figure they are people just like us, and I think they deserve to be doing their own thing apart from the government. They shouldn't have to be bound by international laws. But it looks as if they will end up being forced to sign the Accords either way.
As much as this issue has been publicized, I am unable to concentrate on these subjects at the moment, because my heart is racing as the media goes on and on about this so-called Winter Soldier, his recently publicized files containing dozens of assassinations over the last fifty years, and his danger to society until he is captured.
He is described as having a metal arm, shoulder-length dark brown hair, Caucasian, blue eyes, around six feet tall... It was as if they were describing James Buchanan Barnes, the man I am in love with, the only person I trust, right down to the specifics.
My hands are over my mouth, and I am beginning to cry from both confusion and terror. I am getting dizzy as my mind tries to wrap around this new information. Could my boyfriend actually be this killer? I switch to another channel, but they too are going over this case. I switch again, but it is as if everyone in the world is talking about him, saying things like "mass murder", "terrorist", and "death sentence". His picture is displayed on every news channel out there, with reporters viciously and explicitly describing every criminal action he has committed emphasizing the bombing that happened earlier this week.
I am losing it, but then I force myself to take a deep breath and pay attention to the rest of what they are saying. I look at the date of the bombing, the words zooming across the bottom of the screen as the lady continues to warn people of the dangers this man imposes. And then I am even more confused... because I know exactly where Bucky was that day. He was here, in Bucharest, with me.
How can his face be on that camera if he was here? Does he have a twin? No... what is the likelihood of his twin also having a metal arm? Could this be a fake video tape? I have to show James. I have to know what Bucky thinks of all this.
I am still standing in front of the TV, running my hands through my hair as my anxiety increases, when I hear the front door being unlocked.
I turn around just in time to see Bucky walk in, his breathing heavy as if he has been running, his hands empty which means he hasn't gotten the food he went out for. He steps in and shuts the door quickly behind him, locking both the doorknob and the deadbolt. When he turns around, our eyes lock, and I can see a mixture of fear and determination in his steel blue stare. And I know then that he must have already seen the news footage. I am trying to decide if I should confront him or ask him what he thinks. As he catches his breath, all his emotions seem to pour from his eyes as he drags them down my body and then back up, fear and grief and pain and rage all mixed in as he looks into my own eyes again.
And then he says the last thing I expect him to say, especially after our conversation this morning.
"Get out."
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Ready to Comply: A Bucky Barnes Fanfic
FanficJames Buchanan Barnes came into Sophina Sky's life at a time when she needed him most. She believes he saved her from the life of isolation she had become accustomed to, since she did not have much of a family and was never good at making friends. W...
