Frostbite

Nine

We camped out in a huge, abandoned warehouse, sure that no one would find us here until we came up with a plan. There were helicopters scouting the city, looking for us. Especially Bucky. He was currently out cold with his metal arm clamped in some industrial vice. That had been Sam's idea.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I asked for probably the twentieth time as I approached Steve. He was standing in the doorway, surveying the area outside. The corners of his mouth twitched up.

"I'm fine. I promise."

He stared at me for a moment and then the next I was in his arms. I wrapped my arms around his torso and buried my face into his chest, inhaling his earthy scent that I loved. His chin rested atop my head, and we stayed like that. Basking in a few moments of peace together during all of this chaos. It wouldn't last long.

"What are we going to do now?" I muttered, peeking up at him. His thumb trailed the length of my cheek as he thought.

"We'll figure something out... I'm sorry, Mel," he sighed, shaking his head grimly, "I never wanted for you to get this involved. You wanted out; you wanted to step back. I should have told you that it was okay for you to do that. Just because I always throw myself into these situations, doesn't mean you have to. Now I've gotten you into something that I don't know I can get you out of."

My eyes widened in surprise. He was feeling guilty? It was plainly written all over his face. I reached up on my toes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"You didn't force me to come. I made that decision, and I knew the consequences if it all turned to shit. I'd never turn my back on you when you need me. You shouldn't feel an ounce of guilt over this. Bucky is innocent. I'm not the kind of person to let an innocent man die for something he didn't do," I assured him earnestly. Yeah, I had wanted to be done, but it was foolish of me to think I could sideline myself.

My words seemed to cause him to relax slightly, and he leaned down and kissed me. His hand settled gently on the back of my head, pulling me closer. I melted into him, temporarily forgetting everything. Raw emotion and desire took over, and he backed me against the wall. God, I loved him.

When I looked at him, I could see the rest of my life in front of me. I'd rather die than be without him. Maybe that was a bit dramatic, but it didn't make it any less true. It wouldn't matter what we had to deal with in the coming days, because we had each other even if we had nothing else. We finally broke apart, both of us breathing heavily, and he pressed his forehead to mine.

"I love you," he smiled, pulling back slightly to gaze into my eyes.

"Back atcha," I grinned like an idiot.

"Hey, guys!" Sam called, poking his head around the corner. His brows shot up and a mischievous smirk lit up his face. "Am I interrupting something?"

I gave him the bird, attempting to hide my smile. He burst out laughing, and Steve shook his head at the two of us. We quickly untangled ourselves and jogged over to the dimly lit room Bucky was in. He was finally awake.

"Steve," Bucky said, his voice strained and tired. His eyes bounced between Steve and I, taking in our close proximity before resting on my left hand for a moment. He actually grinned, but it was brief and lasted for only a second. That had been the first trace of any positive emotion I had ever seen on him.

"Which Bucky am I talking to?" Steve asked, his voice hard.

"Your mom's name was Sarah...You used to wear newspapers in your shoes," he remembered, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. I almost laughed at that fact. I could easily picture Steve doing that.

"Can't read that in a museum," Steve chuckled.

"Just like that, we're supposed to be cool?" Sam asked incredulously, tossing Steve a crazy look.

"What did I do?"

"Enough," Steve told him simply.

"Oh, God, I knew this would happen. Everything Hydra put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words," Bucky told us, shaking his head in frustration.

"Who was he?" I asked, hoping he'd some clue.

"I don't know."

"People are dead. The bombing, the setup. The doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you. I need you to do better than 'I don't know'," Steve replied seriously, crossing his arms across his chest.

"He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where."

"Why would he need to know that?"

"Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier."

"Oh, for Christ's sake," I moaned. This just got a lot more complicated.

"Who were they?" Steve ignored my outburst.

"Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in Hydra history. And that was before the serum."

"They all turn out like you?" Sam asked in shock.

"Worse."

Well, that's just fantastic.

"The doctor- could he control them?" Steve continued questioning.

"Enough."

"He said he wanted to see an empire fall," Steve murmured quietly. That settled over us for a moment. This could be catastrophic if he found them.

"With these guys he could do it. They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night. You'd never see them coming," Bucky told us solemnly, his eyes going distant. The three of us walked away from him for a moment to weigh our options.

"This would have been a lot easier a week ago," Sam sighed, a scowl appearing as he thought about it. I didn't disagree. With the whole team we'd have a chance.

"If we call Tony..." Steve suggested. My spine stiffened. I had been trying not to think of Tony since we escaped. He had to be pissed. And disappointed. I shoved my guilty thoughts to the back of my head.

"No, he won't believe us."

"Absolutely not," I argued at the same time Sam spoke.

"Even if he did-" Steve tried to continue, but I cut him off.

"He won't be able to help because of the Accords. We're not dragging him into this. I don't want him involved," I shook my head sharply. I placed my hands on my hips, daring him to argue. Tony didn't deserve to be locked up for trying to help. To be a fugitive. No way in hell I'd let that happen.

"We're on our own," Steve sighed, choosing not to poke the bear. I relaxed slightly.

"Maybe not. I know a guy," Sam half smiled. We stared at him questioningly. He insisted we'd just have to trust him.