Red Winter [Bucky Barnes]

Chapter Seven: Welcome Home

I sigh as I rub my eyes as light pours through the window, a soft smile crawling onto my lips as I roll to my side, expecting to find Barnes beside me. My eyes shoot open when I feel the disappointing cotton sheets underneath my palm. 

My heart aches when I see Barnes sitting across from me, reviewing our mission files. His eyes flicker up to mine for a split second before he looks back down, ignoring me. I feel my eyes begin to prick with tears and I quickly stand up and rush to the bathroom, not wanting him to see. 

I slam the door behind me, making sure to lock it, wanting to distance myself from him as much as I could. A deep fire burns in my belly as my anger begins to get the better of me, and I watch as my eyes switch to their sinister blue. The smoke dances across my skin as my anger builds, and I notice everything around me begin to rattle. 

Why was he such a fucking dick? Every time that I thought I made progress with him, he'd flick off his emotions, like they were controlled with a switch. Was this a game to him? He probably had bets with the other agents to see just how naive and easy I was to manipulate. 

As my anger intensifies, I feel the floor beneath me begin to shake, the walls beginning to vibrate from the energy surrounding me. "Katerina," I hear Barnes shout as he jiggles the door handle, trying to get into the bathroom. "Open the door," he yells as he begins to bang his arm against the door, still frantically trying to get in. 

I turn towards the door as my cheeks burn, feeling all of my anger and frustration build up inside my chest. I hold up my hand, watching as the blue smoke slithered through my fingers, knowing that with one small flick I could send him flying across the room. 

I feel an anger like I've never known before and every fiber of my being wanted to make him feel the same pain he caused me. All it would take was a quick flick of the wrist and I could make him feel more pain that he had ever caused before. 

The thought crossed my mind for a second, but I flash back to last night, remembering the fear that clouded his eyes. Was that same fear clouding his eyes right now? Shame begins to replace my anger, and I feel the ground beneath me still as I slowly calm myself down, feeling sick to my stomach. 

The door flies open and Barnes rushes in, pausing when he sees me standing there, calm. What was he thinking right now? Our eyes meet and I see dark pools of fear and concern in his. Was this real or was he just that good at faking it? 

Before he can say anything, I walk past him cooly, trying to ignore the sparks that ignited as our shoulders brush against one another. "We should be arriving in Moscow shortly," I say nonchalantly as I begin to pack up my bags, my back turned to him. If he wanted to be withholding then so could I. 

Out of the corner of my eye I watch as he opens his mouth to say something, but he closes it before turning to his bags. I pause for a moment and look out the window as I watch the Moscow skyline come into view, feeling a wave of nostalgia hit me. Suddenly I was a young girl again, running through the crowded streets with the other students. What I would give to be that young naive girl again. 

The train begins to slow down and I collect the rest of my things before I turn to Barnes. I see his eyes light up for a split second and I try to ignore the way it made me feel. "An old friend of mine will be meeting us at the station," I tell him as I grab the mission file, "from there we will go to the Red Room. Clear?"

He nods his head as he swings his bag over his shoulder, looking back at me with cool and emotionless eyes. "Crystal," he retorts as he walks past me, an air of coldness following him. I take a deep breath before I follow him through the train's cabin, wondering if I could take another few months of this.