One-shots/Short Stories

Bucky Barnes - Part III

The Past Catching Up To You - Part III
Steve followed Tony down the halls, his heart thumping loudly in his ears. They were okay. Both of them. Bucky was there. Hope was there. Hope was alive.
   They walked into Tony's lab where a large cryogenic chamber was sat on the table. Steve looked through the glass and definitely knew it was his long lost friend. "Banner is on his way to help me figure out her state." Tony explained. "Who knows what HYDRA did to her."
   "She's alive." Steve murmured. "All this time she was with HYDRA. . ."
   "I guess it was a good thing Metallica went on a revenge spree, killing all HYDRA people." Tony shrugged. "He was the one to find her after all."
   "Bucky." Steve turned to him. "Where is he?"
   "He may or may not be in a glass cell similar to Reindeer Games. . ."
   "What!"
   "Hey, Nat did it not me!" Tony raised his hands up in surrender. "She still doesn't trust him even though he said that he remembers you and everything from the past."
   "Tony - what? He remembers me? He remembers everything?"
   "Yeah, that's what he said." Steve started making his way out the lab. "Where are you going?"
   "I'm going to see Bucky."

***

"Ow. . ." Bucky winced at the throbbing headache he was met with when he woke up. He looked around and saw he was in a glass cell, and he was lying on a hard bench. He remembered what happened moments ago and sat up quickly, only to regret it when the pain worsened.
   "About time you woke up." Bucky snapped to the voice and glared at the sight of Natasha Romanoff.
   "Let me out of here." he grumbled. "Where's Hope? What have you done to her?"
   "Relax, no harm has come to her." She moved to stand in front of him on the opposite side of the cell. "We're just waiting for Doctor Banner to come and assist Stark in analysing her situation."
   "Why am I in here?"
   "Because I don't trust you." Bucky rolled his eyes at her words. "You don't just shoot me and leave a nasty scar, and then try to kill me again years later and get away with it just because you regained your memories and your girlfriend needs help."
   "She's not my girlfriend." Bucky growled. "She's my wife."
   "Bucky." Steve entered the room, face etched with relief. "Is that really you?"
   "Sure is, buddy." Bucky smiled weakly at him, his anger wiped away as soon as his friend entered the room. "Mind telling your friend here to let me out?"
   "Natasha. . ."
   "He is still the Winter Soldier whether he likes it or not." Natasha told him sharply. "His mind is not stable."
   "It seems to me it is. I have been tracking down HYDRA agents and I found my supposedly dead wife." Bucky said sarcastically.
   "He's coming out. Trust me in this." Steve told her. She gave in with a sigh, walking out of the room. Steve turned back to Bucky. "You have no idea how good it is to see you again, Buck."
   "Steve, I'm sorry for my actions before -"
   "It's okay, you had no choice." Steve assured him, opening the cell door for him. "I forgive you. I'm just glad you have been fine these past couple of months. This generation is quite overwhelming."
   "You have no idea." Bucky chuckled weakly. "Where's Hope? Is she okay?"
   "When I saw her she seemed fine to me." Steve shrugged. "Still frozen. Banner should be here soon."
   "Can I see her again?"
   "Of course."

***

"Man," Bucky sighed, "never thought I'd see her in person again. The plaque. . ."
   "I know." Steve nodded grimly. "When I thought the two of you were dead. . ."
   "I'm here now, pal." Bucky clapped a hand on his shoulder. "In with you 'till the end of the line." Steve smiled at his words, only to move his attention to the door when Banner and Tony came in. Bruce sent a wary glance to Bucky but nodded to him politely.
   "Right!" Tony clapped his hands. "Let's get started, shall we?"

***

They sat outside the lab, waiting for either of the scientists to come out and tell them the -hopefully- good news. Steve paced around thinking of who he thought of as a sister-in-law, Bucky sitting perfectly still as if he was still the Winter Soldier waiting for the next mission. But inside he was panicking and worrying about his wife. He hoped that she was okay and she wasn't tortured and that the two scientists have found a cure for the chemical that was inserted in her years ago.
   They turned to the door when it was opened by Banner. They went to him immediately. "How is she?" Steve asked him.
   "Is she okay?" Bucky added. Banner took his glasses off with a tired sigh, rubbing his eyes. He was in there for over two hours.
   "She's. . .she is cured from the poison given to her those years ago. It seems HYDRA did the job for us."
   "Was she tortured? Experimented on?" Bucky pressed on. Banner looked hesitant to answer the question. "Was she?"
    "No, she wasn't." Banner replied. "She wasn't experimented on. But she was beaten." Bucky closed his eyes in an attempt to take away his murderous thoughts. "There was faint hand marks around her neck, a split lip, and a bruised rib. Signs of abuse."
   "But she's okay though, right?" Steve asked him for Bucky. Bucky still had his eyes closed, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself. But it didn't work. They were going to pay for what they did to her. They're going to die in the most painful way for harming his wife. They are -
   "Howard?" They heard a voice ask.
   "Wrong person. I'm Tony Stark, his son. Sorry for the disappointment."
   "Son? What?"
   "Hope!" Bucky entered the lab, seeing Hope lying on the table with furrowed brows. Tony stood awkwardly beside her, fiddling with the IV attached to her. Hope turned to the sound of Bucky's voice, eyes widening in disbelief.
   "B-Bucky?" Her lips trembled in an attempt to hold in her tears - like when they were saying goodbye at the train station. "B-But you're dead. . ."
   "Oh darlin'. . ." Bucky made his way to her and brought her into his arms. He whispered sweet nothings in her ear as she cried, rubbing her back soothingly. "I'm here, I'm here. . ."
   "W-what happened to your arm?" Hope pulled away from him to examine his left arm more. She was staring at it in shock, but was also intrigued.
   "That's another story for another time." was all Bucky said, bringing her into his arms again.
   "Well if it isn't Mrs Barnes in the flesh."
   "Steve!" Hope exclaimed, looking over Bucky's shoulder to see her best friend smiling at the two.
   Steve came to them and brought the two into a group hug just like those times back in the days. "I thought you died. . ."
   "Why? What happened while I was asleep?"
   "Um. . ." Tony started making his way out with Banner. "I'm just going to bring down some popcorn for you all. You guys are having story time, I presume?"

***

"Wow. . ." Hope leaned back on Bucky's chest in shock. They explained to her about everything from Schmidt, to waking up to a new century, aliens and gods, HYDRA, Bucky. . .
   "I missed out on a lot, huh."
   "We all did." Bucky murmured sadly. "Our baby. . ."
   "I'm sorry for losing our child." Hope said guiltily. He and Steve shook their head.
   "It's not your fault." Steve insisted.
   "It was HYDRA." Bucky agreed. "We're finally free from them now."
   "Really?" Hope sniffed.
   "Really." Bucky confirmed with a nod. "They're gone now, doll. We can be together again. We can start the family we always wanted. . ."
   "I love you, Bucky Barnes." Bucky closed his eyes in bliss at her words. It's been a while since he heard those five words from her.
   "I love you too, Hope Barnes."

The End

A/N: Quite long, but yolo.