BATTLE BORN ; Bucky Barnes

seven ;

After the events of DC, Scout had grown her hair out as much as she could in the few months she had and dyed it light brown, once SHEILD's files went live, she needed to stay undercover, but not deep cover. Natasha had done all the work for her while she was unconscious from the beating the Winter Soldier gave her, and the overuse of her powers. She was now Scout Livingston, residing at an apartment in Manchester. She had been there for a year, made some acquaintances, lied to all of them. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked, young and natural, short, honey coloured hair that was curled softly. She wore green contacts and glasses. Her wardrobe was full of soft jumpers and white shirts, comfortable jeans. It was the look of someone normal, not a child raised in a science lab. After all SHIELD's files went up, Scout was able to research her past. She didn't remember much from before she was found by Peggy Carter. She was found, 6 years old, crying in an alleyway with only her number printed on the inside of her wrist. Scout looked down at her wrist. 00147. It was normally hidden with intense foundation and colour-correction techniques. But today she hadn't bothered, it was cold and she was wearing a watch over it anyway. She pulled down her sleeve and sighed to herself. Her past was still mostly a mystery. All she remembered was spending six years in England with Peggy Carter, learning English from a little blonde girl who came to visit every Sunday. Then, when she was 12, Peggy took her to America, and she was hugged by a crying woman she didn't recognise, and Peggy left. This soon turned out to be her birth mother, Katrya Brighton. She had changed her name when she remarried, and so did Georgiana. Katrya had another child, a one-year-old daughter, Georgia Emma-Rose, named after the daughters that Katrya thought she'd lost, so Georgiana became Scout, a nickname derived from her middle name, Scarlett. Scout helped Georgia all the time as they lived together. Scout grew to love her step-father and began calling him Pa. She grew up relatively normal from then on. Aunt Peggy visited every so often, more so when she started high school. Scout could vividly remember the day when she lost control at school, accidentally causing a water main to burst because she was being teased. Aunt Peggy showed up and began teaching her how to control her emotions. Life was good, Scout graduated, and went to MIT, and then, applied for SHIELD, the very organisation her Aunt Peggy helped found. She smiled at herself in the mirror, memories were something she liked to keep fondly. Being a new person meant she couldn't share them, every new person she was, she kept the memories safe. She couldn't imagine having someone rip them from her mind and tear them to shreds in a process so painful it left scars on every inch of the mind. That was the reason, or one of them anyway, that she was tracking down James Buchannan Barnes. Working separately from Steve and Sam to cover more ground, they were working the United States, Australia and Asia, Scout had gone missing as far as they were concerned, Nat was the only one to see her after her fall, and she was covering Europe and all of Russia, from the base of her apartment in Manchester. It had been almost a year, with no leads, until everything changed.

;

As Scout walked to her first class of her second year at University, that she didn't really need to attend, she spotted him. Her eyes widened, and suddenly she was in Tempest mode, she was ready to fight, and for a good reason. The Winter Soldier was sat there, he looked completely different than when he was fighting for HYDRA. He looked like a homeless reject on the streets of Manchester. She eased herself out of her shock, turning off her assassin senses. She needed to formulate a plan, but at the same time, she knew she didn't have long. He'd only be here for a few days unless she could help it, and so, she decided to act on instinct alone. Walking up to him, she could tell he was lost, he only had a small backpack and a notebook clutched in his hands. Scout sat down next to him. He looked mad at her, and she hoped that he didn't remember fighting him, he shouldn't, with her new appearance she looked very different.
"Hi, uhm, I noticed you looked pretty lost, do you, uh, need somewhere to stay?" Scout built her character to be a little nervous and shy, keeping it consistent with a little stutter. He looked up at her, his long matted hair falling in his eyes. He looked at her like she was insane, which quite possibly was true. "I'm, looking for a roommate, but, uh, I'm kinda different so everyone's turned me down, I'm getting s-sorta desperate." She smiled sadly. "What do you say?" He blinked once at her, and looked confused.
"Me?" His voice was hoarse like it hadn't been used for a while.
"Yeah, you."
"I don't have any money." He said. "I don't have a job." This was the most she'd heard him say, ever.
"It's fine, my landlord said that that he'd throw me out because in our contract there were two names listed and only I'm living there, I can pay, you just need to be there with your name on the contract," She said.
"Okay." He said. Well, that was easy. She thought, and then he stood up. It was then that Scout realised just how tall he was. It seemed everyone was taller than her. It's not that she was small. It was more like she surrounded herself with super soldiers and assassins and all sorts of crazy people. She stood up too, barely reaching the middle of his chest.
"I have class now, but, I'll meet you back here in a couple hours." She gave him the chance to escape. She didn't want to hurt or force him to do anything. Quickly, she pulled out a tenner from her purse, handing it to him. "Buy coffee or something..." She trailed off. He nodded, staying silent. She walked off, putting her purse back in her bag.
Class went well, the practical components would end up being useful, things like cauterizing wounds and other things she'd had to do on missions before. As she walked out of the building, she looked around for him. She was hoping he didn't just take the money and leave.
"Oi! Livingston!" Someone yelled. Scout flicked her head around, trying to identify who had yelled for her. It was someone from her class, she recognised the southern accent, they were probably from London or maybe even further south, Cornwall.
"Yes?" Scout asked.
"How did you know everything today, are you supposed to be a third year?" He asked.
"Uh, no, my entire family were doctors, growing up around them kinda gave me some prior knowledge." She lied on the spot, it was plausible. Then she spotted him across the courtyard.
"Hey, but-"
"Sorry, I've got to leave, I'll talk to you tomorrow." She said, interrupting him and jogging towards the super soldier.
"I never got your name..." it was more of a statement than a question, but she wanted to be more casual.
"James." He said, quietly. It was that moment that Scout realised he'd be a tough egg to crack. He was constantly on edge, there was no way Scout could take him back to Steve now, Steve would be devastated, there was no hint of the man that James was before.
"Scout," she paused for a second. "Livingston." She added. "Did you get a drink?" She asked and he nodded. "Come on then, I'll show you my place." It had originally been a safe house that Strike Team Delta used a few times on missions in the UK, but after SHIELD fell, it was open for someone to claim. Scout wanted to get away from everything in America, so she claimed it, and moved in. It was a few minutes' walk from the university and pretty close to shops and a laundromat. As they walked in silence, James studied her. She had short hair, he'd never seen anything like it. It was kind of this golden brown colour and reflected the sunlight. Her eyes were green, and her complexion was pale, she wore a large coat over a light green jumper, over a white shirt, and a pair of sturdy boots and denim jeans. He hadn't seen much of this century, but already he could tell what sort of a person she was. The words calm and gentle came to mind. Which was probably the reason he agreed to have a place to stay. She was calming. He hadn't had an episode since the one at the airport, but if he did have another one, she looked like she'd be able to calm him down. She was also a medical student, he wondered if that meant she'd be a nurse one day, he could vaguely remember a nurse from a long time ago. Little did James know, Scout was analysing him too. She watched the way he walked, it was so different to the way the Winter Soldier walked, it was small like he was trying to make himself tiny. They made it to the apartment without saying another word. Scout fished her keys out of her bag and opened the door.
"So this is- our place I guess." She said. It wasn't large, but it wasn't tiny either. The front door opened up to a living room, on the left, a kitchen and on the right, a corridor leading to the two bedrooms and a bathroom. It was dressed nicely, practically. There were two black couches, a medium-sized television, a dining room table made for four people, and the kitchen appliances were all in silver.
"I'll, uh, show you your room." She said, taking her shoes off at the door before stepping on the carpeted floor, she shoved them into a closet by the door. He did the same, trying to be polite. This was the nicest place he'd ever seen, or, as he thought, could remember seeing. Scout lead him through the living room and down the corridor, the bedroom on the left was her own, it had a window looking out over a park, and a fire escape exit. Stored in the bookshelf were guns and ammunition. (Just in case). On the right was his room, it was pretty bare, just a bed with plain blue sheets, and an empty shelf and bedside tables, and a built-in wardrobe.
"This is your room. If you have anything you can store it in wherever." She waved her hands at the wardrobe and draws. "It's pizza for tea tonight, what toppings do you like?" She asked. He shrugged. "Margarita pizza it is then." She said, and James almost asked her what pizza tasted like, as he'd never been able to afford it before, but he bit his tongue. "I'll let you settle in." She said, knowing full well he didn't have much to bring. She walked into the lounge and ordered pizza. It was going to be a long time before he was anywhere remotely normal.
At first, he didn't like any physical contact. After being wiped by HYRDA after the DC incident, he didn't remember fighting Natasha or Scout. So when she let him have a place to stay, he accepted, but he didn't touch her at all, always careful to never brush past her in the kitchen once they settled into a routine. And he always kept his arms covered. He didn't want her to see the monstrosity that was his metal arm. He began to talk more after the second week, and Scout deemed that steady progress. He'd tell her things about his day, what TV show he watched. There was no progress on getting him to do something with his hair, but at least he would wash it in the shower so it looked a little better. Scout continued to go to her classes and work weekends at the local bakery. It was difficult getting James to do anything sometimes, he just stayed in his room, but he was there, under Scout's careful watch, and that was enough. It was a Wednesday, Scout didn't have any classes on, exams were coming up and she was just studying. Unfortunately, the number that Natasha gave was out of commission, and she couldn't text her friend. She was truly on her own. She looked at her phone, but she had no messages, so she turned it off again. It was quite a lonely life.
"James?" She called out, he was in his room, probably writing in his diary again, that was all he ever seemed to do these days. He hadn't been outside the apartment since he got there.
"Scout?" He asked, worry jolting through him. Had his cover been blown? Did she know who he was? What was going to happen? He thought to himself. He put down his pen, running into the lounge.
"Relax James, relax. I was just wondering if you wanted to come shopping with me, we need more bread and milk, and I could do with a winter coat, and you need some more clothes too." She said. It would be good for him to get out of the house.
"I-"
"Please say yes James, I really want you to come, I don't have friends, I only have one, you." She said, and he couldn't say no to her pleading face.
"Okay." He said. He knew he'd have to be on edge, alert for the entire time. He would have to make sure that this innocent girl was okay. She smiled at him, grabbing a jacket from the hook on the wall and putting it on, she grabbed her purse and filled it with everything.
"Ready?" She asked. He just nodded. She decided that the safest bet for them to go out of the centre of Manchester and all the way to the Trafford Centre, it would be busy despite it being a Wednesday, making it easier for them to slip through the crowds unnoticed. It would take around 17 minutes in a car, so she quickly called for a cab. James realised soon that he would have to get himself a job to help pay for everything, the food, clothes, apartment. He needed to help Scout out. The taxi arrived and they descended the stairs and got in the car. Scout sat in the front, giving the driver the address of their location. James sat in the back, quietly thinking about everything. Is this what it feels to be normal? He asked himself. Thinking about jobs, having a stable place to live, a friend. Is this normal? How long can I be normal before they find me? Like Scout said it would, it took just under twenty minutes to get to the large shopping centre. James was in awe of the place, it looked modern but at the same time had an air of elegance that could only have been achieved from an older building. As soon as he walked in and felt the warmth of the heater touch his skin he felt slightly more comfortable. There were crowds of Christmas shoppers already streaming through, mothers with their children rushing around, teenagers who'd skipped school, it was the normality that scared him, shocked him into creating a scene, into assassin mode. The Winter Soldier was back.