Red Winter [Bucky Barnes]

Chapter Five: Pin You Down

I groan as I roll out of bed, struggling to block out the throbbing pain in my head. A side effect of my new powers, the scientists had told me. A small price to pay, they said, considering all of the powers that I had gained. Of course they could say that, they didn't have to deal with them.

I stretch out my arms as I walk into the bathroom, stopping when I see myself in the mirror. I watched as my eyes flickered from dull hazel to electric blue. As my eyes change I feel a static electricity flicker in my hands and I look down at them, noticing neon blue smoke dance through my fingertips.

Lucky me. A new side effect.

My eyes shut as I grab the edges of my sink, trying to control the anger that was filling my chest. If I had known that this was what they would have done to me I'd have let myself die during the transformation. A scream escapes my lips as I grip harder on the sink, feeling the porcelain shatter in my palms.

I hear the door to my room open and I snap out of my trance, my eyes searching for the intruder. To my surprise Barnes stands in the doorway, his eyes for a moment filling with concern. "You sound like you could use a good spar," he speaks up as I walk out of the bathroom.

I raise my eyebrow as I cross my arms, "If you just want me to pin you down, Barnes, all you have to do is ask." I pause for a moment, watching for his reaction. He was such an enigma; I had been trained to read people, so I should be able to read him and yet I couldn't.

He just looks at me, completely unamused, "Would you just shut up and follow me," he asks as he walks out of the room. I sigh loudly and roll my eyes as I follow him. "Are you always like this," he asks as he turns his head to look at me.

I smirk as I shrug my shoulders, "Come on Barnes, as much as you acted annoyed, you know that deep deep down some part of you thinks I'm pretty great." For a hot second I swore I saw his lips curl into a smile. Perhaps there was some hope for him yet.

Barnes locks the door behind us as we enter the sparring room and I squint my brows as I look at him. "What's wrong, don't want anyone watching you get beat up by a girl," I tease him as I begin to pull my hair back into a ponytail.

In one swift move he grabs my hair and yanks back, forcing me to look into his eyes. "I was actually trying to save you the embarrassment," he smirks and I try to ignore the subtle flutter in my chest. Our eyes lock for a second and the room stands still. What the hell was this thing between us?

I bite my lip as I look into his eyes defiantly, "I always knew you had a kinky side," I smirk as I look him up and down. "What are you going to do next," I ask, "tie me up and pin me down?" His eyes go black as he slowly looks me up and down, his breath becoming increasingly strained and his cheeks flushing a dark red.

"Your cockiness is going to get you killed one day, Katerina," he says as he releases my hair, breaking the moment. "You're a good fighter, I'll give you that, but I'm worried that now with all of these powers that you're gonna think you're invincible."

I groan as I begin to stretch out my arms, "Are you worried about me, Barnes," I smile as I step away from him. Out of the corner of my eye I watch as he softly smiles. "Be careful, I might think there's something underneath that cold exterior of yours," I gently tease him.

He shakes out his wrists as I turn to face him. "Are you going to keep talking or are you actually going to fight me," he taunts me as he balls his hands into fists. He smirks as he bends down into a fighting stance, "Last time I checked fighting didn't involve so much talking."

My smirk grows as I lunge towards him, and knowing that he favored punches, I slid underneath him, sweeping his leg out from under him. He hisses as he lands on his hip, his arm reaching out and grabbing my ankle. I quickly roll out of his way before he can grab it, meeting his eyes as we both stand up.