Belonging - A Bucky Love Story (Marvel/Avengers)

13

Brenna winced as she felt blood trickle from a scratch that had come from the slap. She looked up at Pierce in both terror and anger. "You don't wanna talk?" He asked in a booming voice, "fine."

The cell door opened and the two gaurds entered with readied guns. Brenna stood herself up as Pierce talked to the men. "I want her wiped by the time I come by tomorrow," he ordered, adding with clarification, "blank slate."

The two gaurds nodded in unison before taking Brenna back to her tiny cell. Her mind was running a million miles an hour. She knew now that she'd made a bad decision in staying this long. No secrets were being leaked; it was time to break out.

But she wanted to see Bucky again first. So she let the gaurds toss her mercilessly into her cell. Landing on the ground with a grunt, Brenna shook her head and sat up.

Having seen this, Bucky found himself walking over to her. He sat down at the bars that separated her from him. When Brenna sat up, she was met with his face just a foot from her own. She jumped away in start before realizing it was only him. "Jesus," she breathed, calming down.

Bucky reached through the bars and grabbed her chin gently with his flesh hand. He pulled her closer, causing Brenna's eyes to widen in alarm. He turned her face to the side to examine the scratch on her cheek, reddened from the slap. Eyebrows drawn in, he asked hesitantly, "..they hurt you?"

He sounded baffled, as if it were completely unexpected. But Brenna knew that this choice of hers would have consequences. In fact, she was quite surprised to have only gotten the little scratch. She pulled away from his hand awkwardly and replied in a quiet voice, "I'm alright."

But Bucky's eyes still held concern. Brenna looked around for a moment, making sure no gaurds were nearby. She then turned her body to mirror the Winter Soldier's. "You said I could break out of here easily," she reminded him.

Bucky narrowed his eyes and nodded in confirmation. "Well," Brenna went on, "I'm going to do that now."

The man leaned back from her, straightening his posture. He looked as if he were about to yell and alert the gaurds. Brenna quickly reached through the bars and grabbed his flesh hand. "I need you, to keep that secret," she told him.

Bucky hesitated. Relaxing his body a bit, he gave her an unsure look. "I don't take orders from you," he told her, his voice sounding hostile and confused.

"It's not an order," Brenna insisted. She squeezed his hand gently, waiting for him to show signs of trust again.
His eyes travelled down to her hand holding his. It was small compared to his own, but soft. He wrapped his fingers around it, finding peace in the physical touch. He met her eyes again with a more calm look.

Brenna smiled and stood. The Winter Soldier stood as well, not letting her hand go. He liked holding it. "I'm gonna go," she told him, "but you need to stay here. Keep doing what you're told for now," she trailed off, lifting her free hand to the scratch on her cheek, "..or they'll hurt you, too."

Bucky lifted his metal hand to Brenna's cheek once again. She was shocked by the action, and the fact that they stood so closely only made her even more embarrassed. The metal was cold, but felt nice on her stinging skin. She watched an assortment of emotions flashed in his blue eyes before he spoke, "..why do you trust me?"

Brenna took a moment to think. It was a good question. She couldn't exactly tell him what she knew, it was far too long of a story. And she couldn't just say that it was because she saw good in him either; in his mind, what he was doing was already good. "Because I want to be your friend," she decided to say.

Mesmorized by the hard look in his eyes, Brenna slowly drifted into a small daydream. For a moment, she forgot all about her need to escape quickly. "My friend.." the Winter Soldier repeated.

Brenna smiled in amusement, instinctively leaning her cheek into the hand that held it. "That's right," she confirmed softly, "can you accept that? Can I be your friend?"

Bucky wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't recalled anyone ever speaking to him with such kindness. It was something he didn't know how to react to. But he liked it, and he wanted it to be something he never had to live without. "Mine," he muttered. It was the one thing he understood out of her gentle words. She wanted to be his friend. His.

Cheeks blushing at the claim Bucky was making, Brenna knew he'd taken it in a different way than she had intended. But that didn't matter right then. She needed to get out; and to get out, she needed Bucky to trust her. So she nodded slowly and confirmed, "yours." Saying it made her heart flutter. And Brenna found herself thinking: maybe if Bucky wasn't an assassin for HYDRA, she wouldn't mind actually being his.