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

Chapter Eight

Third person POV

A million miles away, the enemies of the Avengers were plotting their downfall carefully.

Hydra was desperate to get their asset back, because he was the only man that could get the job done. They needed to find out where he was, drag him back, and once again wipe his memory. Then, they would have him carry out their master plan; in which they plot the assassination of every political figure there is in the entire country, and then replace said official with a Hydra agent.

They will use their seats of power against the people, passing laws and killing to get society to accept them. Then they could finally reign. S.H.I.E.L.D., and both the national and state government, would collapse and make way for Hydra.

Loki, on the other hand, was plotting the deaths of every single avenger. How could he take over the world with them in the way?

That's the thing; he couldn't. He knew that he alone could not overpower the strength of all the Avengers. He may be a god, but not even a god could overcome them alone.

He needed to kill them with an insider, someone who knew them personally.

He knew exactly how to do that.

And he was just about to go hatch his plan.

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*Sarah's POV*

I slid down the wall, hands over my eyes. I took a deep, shaky breath, trying to avoid crying. Crying was a sign of weakness; and weakness was something I couldn't afford to show.

I stretched my legs out and brought my sweatshirt sleeves closer around me. Right now, we were at a hotel near the hospital. The doctors had finally told us that we had to leave.

So of course, it was Tony Stark's time to shine, and he got us a super expensive but super nice hotel. By now, everyone was asleep, trying to catch up on rest, and recover a bit.

We were all still shaken from the blast. I don't know if we'll ever fully recover from it.

Me on the other hand couldn't sleep. I desperately wanted to, but at the same time I was too jumpy to be sleeping right now. I could see the hospital from my room, and I could picture Bucky still sitting in his room crying.

Before we left, I told the doctors that he hadn't been eating, and informed them that if they didn't make him better, I would tell Cap. Their eyes went wide when I told them that, and they nodded hurriedly. They knew that if I didn't come back to a healthy and strong James Buchanan Barnes that there would be hell to pay.

I looked away from the window sadly, turning my attention to my hands. I used my powers to create ice, and absentmindedly twirled it around my fingers, unable to feel the coolness of it. I discovered quickly that my powers made it impossible for me to feel cold. The powers dropped my body temperature way down too, so of course that confused the hell out of the doctors when they first brought me in. I kinda wish I had been awake to see their reactions.

Eventually, I got bored of the ice. And sleep wasn't working.

So, I decided to take a walk. Get out of the disgustingly fancy hotel, away from the hospital that held so much pain, and just walk somewhere in the dark night.

I slipped out of my room without a sound, careful as to not alert anyone. I didn't want them to come with me or think I was doing something bad. I just wanted to clear my head.

It was about one AM, the darkest time of the night. Everything had an unsettling silence to it as darkness clung to street corners and sidewalks. The humming of bugs and frogs, as well as the usual sound of traffic, were the only noises breaking through the silence.

I took off down the sidewalk, heading away from downtown, which was noisy and bright. I walked towards the part of the town where the neighborhoods and forests were.

My shoes scratched against the sidewalk and I looked up and sighed, once again sinking into my own thoughts.

What was I going to do about Bucky?

I loved him, I really did. And I can't let him go no matter what.

But what if he was right? What if this was the final straw for us? What if I never stopped being scared of him and he never stopped feeling guilty?

As usual, I had an infinite amount of questions and absolutely no answers.

It was selfish of me to need Bucky; he doesn't want to be with me if I'm scared of him, so if I run to him and then shy away, that's just cruel.

I've always heard the phrase 'if you love something, let it go.' And right now, it dawned on me that I might just have to say goodbye to Bucky, which shook me to my core. If I didn't have Bucky anymore, what would I have? Who would I have?

I rubbed my eyes tiredly, suddenly feeling worn out just from thinking. I looked around and sat down on a bench nearby, putting my elbows on my knees, and closing my eyes for a brief second to get my bearings again.

But it was a second too long.

A hand clamped down over my mouth, and my eyes flew open. The person's arm was around my neck tightly, their other hand pointing a sharp knife directly at my throat.

A low voice hissed in my ear, and I knew exactly who it was.

"My darling." Loki whispered, and I growled in response. He just chuckled as his hold on me tightened.

"I couldn't help but notice that you're in a bit of a predicament. That Bucky fellow hurt you pretty bad, didn't he?"

He rubbed his thumb across my chin, circling the bruises. The pain made me flinch.

"You're scared of him, yet you can't live without him." He said, letting go of my mouth and turning to face me. "What's your plan to fix that, sweetheart?"

I glared at him and clenched my teeth, wanting to strangle him. This was the last thing I wanted to talk about with one of my least favorite people in the world.

"It's none of your business you asshole." I spat, glaring so hard it felt like my eyes were turning red. He just chuckled.

"You are feisty, and I commend you for that; but without my help you can say goodbye to your relationship with Bucky."

I frowned, staring at Loki confusedly now. What the hell was he suggesting?

"What are you talking about?" I questioned. He had a mischievously evil gleam in his eyes, that made me suddenly want to throw myself off a bridge to get away from him.

"Sarah, I am here to offer you a deal. Your poor Bucky is currently lying in a dark hospital room on the cold floor, a shell of his former self. He is broken and you cannot fix him, or your fear of him. I come forward with this; I will heal you two, make everything with you guys back to normal, and all I ask in return- is a favor to be collected at a later date." He proposed, watching me as I processed what he just said.

I had to help Bucky. I had to.

But owing the god of mischief a favor? How stupid could I be?

Maybe I'm just stupid enough to save the person I love.

I looked up at Loki, chewing my lip as I prepared to say the word that would change everything. But I had questions first.

"On a few conditions. First, the favor you have me do will not kill or injure a single avenger. Second, you will make Bucky no longer feel so guilty about what happened to me and make me not scared of him anymore. And third, you will leave us completely alone and not attack us while we are still scattered, wounded and broken. Understood?"

Loki rubbed his chin and pondered my requests carefully, probably searching for anything about those conditions that would be bad for him. But apparently he didn't find anything wrong with them.

He stuck his hand out for me to shake.

"Deal?" He asked, and I took a deep breath before grasping his hand and shaking it quickly.

"Deal."

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