Winter's Revenge [winter soldier//Bucky Barnes AU]

Chapter Twenty

*Valerie's POV*

I left the room about halfway through the show when I received the text.

I got up and announced that I was tired, and was told goodnight by Steve and Sarah. The rest were too busy with their show to even notice me leaving.

Once I made it out of the room, I crept down the hallway, careful to not be noticed. If I were caught by anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. and they found out I would surely be killed.

I walked faster, ducking behind employees and desks and furniture, trying to stay hidden the best I could. I moved my feet quickly and silently, begging for no one to find me.

At last I got to the room.

I entered, slowly and silently, and laid eyes on the shape before me.

"You promised my sister would be safe." I said immediately, anger laced in my words. The man stood with his back to me, not reacting when I spoke.

"Report." The man demanded, completely ignoring me, but I knew if I said it again he would hurt me. So instead I cleared my throat nervously.

"They are tracking Mr. Bones using a tracker system that Stark developed. They've also deducted that Mr. Bones was frozen, and discovered much about his past." I said, standing up straight, at attention. The man leaned on the table for a moment, hunched over. You could clearly see the ruined and misshapen shape of his bones and muscle. Then quickly he stood up, whipping around to face me with an expressionless face.

"Do they suspect you?" He asked. I shook my head no, and he growled at me.

"N-no sir." I stated, deciding not to nod again.

"Good girl, Selena," he said, and I scowled at his use of my real name. That information was meant to have died with my parents. "It's almost time to reveal who you are, and crush their trust."

My eyes widened. No, I thought, not this soon. I wished with everything I had that somehow, in some way, I could stay with the Avengers. They were the kindest I've met in a long, long time. But in my situation, I would be killed long before that happened. My dreams of a happy life were over when Hydra took my family.

"Y-yes sir. When d-do you think I'll have to tell them?" I asked, stammering as my lip trembled. I didn't want to betray my only friends.

"Mr. Bones will surely want to pay those Avengers a visit soon, possibly tomorrow at dawn. You'll tell them then. And, Selena, we'd hate to kill you, so make sure you survive the attack." He remarked, leaning down and planting a sloppy kiss on my cheek, that disgusted me every time he did it. I was still surprised he used my real name. No one who doesn't love me should know that name.

"Yes sir." I mumbled, wishing that he would tell me why they promised my sister's safety if they couldn't keep it. But I never got an answer when I asked a question.

So I just wiped the tear that fell from my cheek, not letting the man see how much I hated this.

If he didn't have my brother in captivity, my only surviving relative, I wouldn't follow his orders. But I can't be responsible for another family member's death.

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The next morning

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*Bucky's POV*

I walked into the bedroom, somewhat comforted by the warmth of a space that was considered mine. I had very, very few things I could call mine, and it felt good to 'own' this. Even temporarily.

My metal arm was aching, pulling at the skin on my shoulder blade. I peeled my shirt off and went into the bathroom, flicking the light on and looking in the mirror. More blood was pooling from the wound, where my skin met the cool, unforgiving metal. The weight of the arm was tearing my skin.

I grabbed a towel, pressing it firmly against the wound. The towel turned red as it absorbed my blood.

I sighed in relief once it stopped bleeding, putting the blood-stained towel in the hamper, and rested my arm on the counter. I needed to lie still for a while and allow my flesh to heal.

I ran my real hand through my hair and left the bathroom, lying splayed out on my side of the bed. Sarah came in a few minutes later, spreading out next to me.

"Hey." She said quietly, leaning over and kissing me. I kissed her back, and then winced in pain as I moved my arm too fast.

"Dammit." I cursed. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked at me confused.

"What's wrong?" She asked me, her eyes scanning for anything that could be causing me pain. I exhaled, smiling slightly, and considered lying. But I couldn't lie to her, not after everything we've been through.

"My metal arm is pulling at my skin and ripping it." I explained, motioning to my metal arm with my real arm. She looked over and gasped slightly- it must be bleeding again.

"Buck, let's get you to the bathroom." She said, holding my hand as I stood up. My metal arm hung limply at my side.

When we got into the bathroom, Sarah grabbed a towel and pressed it against the wound as I had done earlier. She looked at me in the mirror, rubbing my shoulder to comfort me, and I gave her a small smile of gratitude.

"Does this happen a lot?" She asked, looking away to tend to my shoulder blade.

"No. It hasn't happened since we were at the abandoned house together, before all this started." I said, my voice scratchy. She rubbed my back with one hand and finished cleaning the wound with the other, going into the cabinet and grabbing a cream. She smeared it across my wound and it instantly felt better.

I sighed in relief, stretching out my arms. Sarah smiled at me in the mirror.

"The cream heals the skin quicker than it would heal on its own, and will keep the pain and bleeding down for a day or two, as long as you don't do too much with it." She told me, and I nodded. She walked out of the bathroom and I followed her, as she laid back down on the bed next to me. We laid face to face, and I reached for her lips.

I traced the outline of them with my fingers, tickling the perfectly soft edges that I've kissed before. Her bright, curious blue eyes looked up at me in wonder, as she enjoyed my touch, and I enjoyed her just being with me for the moment.

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We laid like that for hours. When I glanced up, and the clock read 11:00 AM, I thought it was wrong. Surely we hadn't spent three hours doing that?

I shook Sarah, who was lying in my arms, and pointed to the clock. She laughed out loud, and I laughed with her, giving her a quick hug from behind before pulling away.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and padded over to the door, pausing to make sure Sarah was following, which she wasn't. Instead she was sliding on Nat's catsuit.

"Why are you putting that on?" I asked her, as she peeled her shirt off. I had never seen her like this before- and I admired her curves, her flawless skin. She was beautiful no matter where you looked.

She looked over at me and grinned.

"I like wearing it. Makes me feel like part of the team!"

I laughed at her response as she slid the catsuit on, zipping up the top and covering her chest up. She threw her clothes in the hamper, running a brush through her curly hair, and joined me at the door.

I swung it open.

And was met face to face with Crossbones himself.

"Well, well. Funny seeing you here, eh?" He asked.

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A.N.

I FINALLY UPDATED YAYYYYY

IM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG

***Tell me if there are any mistakes though, please. I was writing super fast so I could update tonight!

***What do you think about Valerie's/Selena's double-crossing? Is she a bad guy?

-Jordan💕