Iron Will (sequel to Iron Soul)

Chapter Six: Welcome Home

Jet's POV

        I open my eyes slowly, the light burning them. I groan and grab at my head. It pounds heavily, making every thought I process like a death sentence. I sit up, twigs and leaves stuck to my sweat slicked skin. Bucky lays passed out on the ground, drool falling from the corner of his mouth. I nudge him with my foot and he groans. I nudge him again and he doesn't move. I kick him in his side and he opens his eyes quickly.

        "What do you want?!" he yells. I grab at my head, the excessive sound like knives in my brain. I curl up into the fetal position, my migraine pounding. "I'm sorry Jet. I'm so sorry." he says, rubbing my back with his hand. I nod and try to get up. The world slants in alarming ways and I stumble back. I can't seem to find my balance or clear my head. Bucky catches me every time I fall, his hands supporting my arms and back.

        "You are in no condition to walk." he says, holding me steady. I wave him off and try to walk again. I trip over a tree root that I didn't see and begin to fall forward. I put my hands out in front of me to catch myself and meet the hard, dirt ground. I groan, my hands screaming in pain as my wrists absorb all of the shock. Bucky chuckles at me and helps me back to my feet.

        "Maybe you're right." I say, grabbing my head and rubbing my temples.

        "Yeah I know I am. Here, hop up on my back. We'll piggy back our way to S.H.I.E.L.D." he offers. I nod and stand behind him. I get a slow, managable running start and hop onto his back. He stands straight up and begins walking, his arms supporting my legs. I lay my head on his back and close my eyes.

        "I think I have a concussion." I mumble to him.

        "I think you do too. Don't worry. Just keep your eyes closed and we will be there before you even know it." he mentions reassuringly. I nod and settle into his back. The hours go by, my migraine eventually fading, my vision returning to normal. I mention this to Bucky and he sets me down. I test out  my legs to find that they are sure and strong beneath me. We continue walking along in silence, neither of us really wanting to talk. I kick a stone across the forest floor. It becomes a game. But then I kick it a little too hard and it flies off into a bush. I sigh and keep walking, having lost the only form of entertainment I could have had. My stomach aches and my throat burns, begging for water that it won't receive. I feel exhausted, even though I haven't done anything but walk today.

        "This is terrible." I comment.

        "Yeah it is but it's a hell of a lot better than Hydra." Bucky responds.

        "Yeah I guess I can agree to that." I say. He flashes me a half smile and keeps walking.

        "Hey Jet?" he asks me.

        "Yes Bucky?" I ask back.

        "Can you tell me a story?" Imagines from our first stay at Hydra together come floating through my mind. Bucky screaming in pain, whips lashing across my skin, smacks and punches delivered to us both. I shake the thoughts from my mind and try to think  of a story to tell him. My mind settles on one, one my father used to tell me all the time.

        "There once was a boy named Tony. He was, in no relation, Tony Stark or anything like that. He grew up in a simple home, his dad and mom almost always too busy with their own work to pay much attention to him. He was a very smart kid. He got it from his father and from watching his father when he would work. He had a pretty lonely childhood, not very many friends but just enough to keep him happy and satisfied. Tony started to become cocky and somewhat of a jerk, the wealth of his parents getting to his head. He was the king of his high school, everyone always looking up to him. But then one day when he was 17, his parents died in a car accident. This left him orphaned, alone, and scared."