Hello Sergeant (Bucky Barnes)

Connecting dots

Sarah's POV

I made it back to my flat without incident; it was already well past our designated bedtime, so I decided to head straight to the bathroom to get cleaned up first. Luckily, I hadn't met anyone from the company on the way up because when I looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, it was obvious that my lips were kiss-swollen and I had several marks on my neck that looked suspiciously like hickeys.

As I stripped and inspected myself, I discovered small bruises from his hands along my sides and several patches of beard burn that would be gone by morning. Seeing the evidence of Bucky's touch, the reality of what had almost happened between us hit me hard.

My emotions were a tangled mess; while I'd needed to know if James was Steve's Bucky, I shouldn't have let things get out of hand. I turned on the water and began to lather up, wishing that I could wash away my guilt as easily as the soap. 

Steve Rogers was hands down the nicest person I'd ever met - and I loved him. There was also the small – okay, maybe it wasn't that small – matter that I was a doppelganger for Peggy Carter, whom Steve - and apparently Bucky as well, had loved back in the 40's. I was going to pay her a visit when I got back to DC because while I knew for a fact that she and Steve had never been lovers, after tonight, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that she and Bucky had been lovers.

I dried off and wrapped the towel around myself to quietly walk to the bedroom I shared with Natasha. She turned on the lamp as I opened the door and I was glad she didn't have her gun in her hand for once, so she must have still been awake. 

I pulled on a nightshirt and wrapped my hair in the towel as I padded over to sit on the edge of her bed. "Can I ask you a question?"

Her sharp eyes lingered on the marks on my neck as she raised one eyebrow. "Does your question involve an explanation?"

I nodded and tucked my feet under me. "Yes; has Steve ever talked to you about Bucky?"

"Sometimes," she shrugged. "Mostly when he misses him. I've watched all the old SSR footage of them - including the propaganda films."

"So you know Steve still blames himself for Bucky's fall?" 

"That doesn't exactly surprise me."

"What if I told you Bucky's still alive?"

"I probably wouldn't believe you," Natasha said, flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

Most people wouldn't notice, but I could tell she was hiding something - her body language was off - and I bet it had something to do with Bucky. I slid the towel off my head and grabbed my phone, handing it to her to show her the pictures I had taken with him today. 

"I wouldn't have believed me either, until now. Look at these, Tasha - he's very much alive."

She scrolled through them with an inscrutable look. "If I hadn't known what you were wearing today, I'm not sure I wouldn't have assumed this was just a scruffy Jace. Did he know his name?"

I shook my head. "While he let me call him Bucky, he said his name was James." 

"Of course he did," Natasha murmured so quietly I had to strain to hear her. "Only his American friends would have known him as Bucky before he was under the Kremlin's control. It seems like a lifetime ago when I was just a student at the Red Room. And James - well, even then, he was already a valuable asset."

"What do you mean?"

"Back then, James was only known as the Winter Soldier. Most of the intelligence communities don't believe he exists, but those that do believe he's Soviet affiliated." Her lips twisted wryly. "And they're right. What did you think of his arm?"