capkink | Prompt Post 1

Prompt Post 1

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At least one of the characters in your prompt must have been in Captain America: The First Avenger or Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

As of May 3, 2014, the spoiler policy is no longer in effect.

Update, April 22, 2014:
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Steve always started the fights, but Bucky was the one who finished them.

That was true on the streets of Brooklyn and the school yard; on the battlefield and throughout Europe. And it remains true now.

It's a shame no one ever warned Hydra of that.

(Also, the government should probably stop 'requesting' that Steve come in for 'questioning.' If they know what's good for them...)

((Can be dark, angsty, fluffy, cracky, whatever.))

THIS!!

Also, the government should probably stop 'requesting' that Steve come in for 'questioning.' If they know what's good for them...

What, exactly, does this refer to?

Think OP meant that, like with Natasha, the gov would most likely be wanting Steve to come in for a hearing/trial and might even want to try and prosecute him in some way (for the events in DC).

But, of course, Steve is off looking for Bucky and can't be bothered.

Yes, yes I did. And also that Bucky's going to break things/hurt people if the government tries to go through with it. ;)

(OP)

[Steve & Bucky, slashy gen, Natasha's POV. CNTW? I kept vague about what Bucky did, which is maybe not quite what the OP wanted. Sorry 'bout that.]

---

Black Widow enters the room.

"You were a Hydra agent," the Winter Soldier says.

"I was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

"There is no difference." It’s possible that the reason Hydra hid his face behind a mask was because his face is not a mask; he has expressions, and some are not subtle. For example: he avoids rolling his eyes, just barely, before his face slips into a false calm. Natasha would do better, but Steve would do worse.

Did Hydra leave him like this to make him easier to handle, or is this programming breaking down? Was he programmed to withstand interrogation, or was that forsaken in pursuit of making him as pliant and suggestible as possible? The files about the Winter Soldier are far from complete.

In the past, Hydra employed the failsafe of suicide before capture. When they brought him down, and before the stun took full effect, he did go for his smallest gun.

She’s glad Steve didn’t notice.

Natasha shrugs one shoulder. "Some might disagree, but I won't argue. I'm working on for an independent team now. Led by Captain America."

"Bring him here."

"In time."

The Soldier uses eye contact as an act of aggression. "I won't believe you until I see him."

"How do I know you won’t try to kill Cap when you see him?” It was an all-against-one vote to send Natasha in first. She’s the master interrogator, and no matter what Steve says (“it’s Bucky!”) they don’t know who they’re dealing with here.

Steve didn’t like it, (but he's not a fool, either,) but she’s glad the Soldier’s arms are restrained. She can see the metal hand flex with dangerous anger. "I’m... Bucky. I’m James Buchanan Barnes. I'm not going to kill my, my best friend."

No need to point out the obvious, is there?

Natasha tilts her head. "Are you angry at Hydra for taking that knowledge from you?” The Soldier destroyed eight Hydra bases before they’d finally caught up to him.

He bares his teeth. Whether he believes her about not being Hydra or not, he says, "They stole it from me, so I stole it back."

“Where’s Steve’s role in that?”

His eyes grow wide. "What did he say?"

"You didn't know him. You shot him and almost punched his face in. You rescued him when he fell into the Potomac, so you must've had a change of heart somewhere."

His mouth falls open in protest at her first sentence, and isn’t that interesting. "Steve said?"

"He didn't need to." Natasha allows the corner of her mouth to twitch. Steve is a terrible liar.

His eyes flicker down and to the right, and--there it is, a ghost of a smile in return. Aw, Steve, it seems to say.

It’s enough.

When he enters, there’s an alarming moment when Natasha thinks Steve is going to ignore all protocol and warnings to do something like… hug the Winter Soldier. Reach out and touch him, at the very least. Steve resists, and tucks his hands under folded arms instead.

“Hi.” Steve smiles thinly. No names, not yet.

There are no chairs in the room; this is the Winter Soldier, whether or not he’s also Bucky Barnes. Steve leans against a wall, and Natasha stands close to Steve. Both of them and the only door to this room are within the Winter Soldier’s field of vision. No need to deny him small comforts, even if he is still restrained.

The Soldier looks Steve up and down several times, eyes lingering on his face and stomach. They give him time, but he might be able to stare at Steve all day.

Steve breaks first. "Do you know who you are?"

"The one-oh-seventh. Sargent James Barnes,” falls out of his mouth in a tired cadence that doesn’t quite match what he’s used until now, and the way his brow furrows says he didn’t expect the slip either. “Bucky.”

Steve’s face is tense with poorly contained emotion, but he nods.

The Soldier licks his lips and stares into the space between the two of them. “Born in...1916 or 1917? The dates, I... The Smithsonian was not clear. Eldest of four, lived in Brooklyn, childhood friends with Steven Grant Rogers, alias Captain America..."

"You've done research.” Natasha intercedes mostly to cut off whatever Steve was about to try to fill in. She’d told Steve to let Bucky do most of the talking, but Steve struggles when his friend struggles. “Different question: what do you remember?"

"I am James Buchanan Barnes." He snarls, emotions abruptly flaring. "Steve calls me Bucky. I remember that."

"What else?"

"Before I worked for anybody else, I was Steve's-- I mean, I finished your fights." The twist in his mouth is not quite a smile.

The gist is clear: I was Steve’s weapon.

Steve breathes in sharply and glances at Natasha, but she doesn’t look away from the Soldier, so Steve focuses on him too. We’re just getting a sense of his state of mind right now, she told Steve, and the Soldier is giving it so easily. It has to be an intentional surrender.

He smiles like he’s confessing a sin, and maybe he is. "Back in school. Before the war, in the war. Steve Rogers doesn't like bullies, so he stands up every time-- and I would hunt down anybody who tried to knock Steve down."

“Like Hydra.” It must be easier to focus on what Hydra did to Steve than engage with what they did to him. Hydra hurt Steve, so hunting Hydra would be familiar, possibly even without their old allegiances taken into account.

“Yes.” The mutinous shifts of his jaw are recognizable, because Steve does the exact same thing.

It's my mission hangs in the air.

"Because you're James Barnes."

“Bucky. I’m Bucky, and he always needs me to... I finish Steve's fights. That’s what I do. Right?" He turns to Steve with naked pleading in his face.

Steve whispers, “Yeah, Bucky. I guess so.”

The Soldier nods slowly. “You knew. Sometimes you acted like you didn’t, but you did know.” His eyes are distant with memory. “I’d say I went dancing, but I didn’t. I didn’t get hit by a dame, or her boyfriend, I just said that I did. You knew.”

“Yeah.”

“The guy who broke your drawing hand, I was the one who-”

Steve’s face is very white. “I figured, Buck.”

Natasha is curious about what on earth Bucky Barnes did to make Steve look so nervous... but the Soldier relaxes minutely, and nods again, and doesn’t explain for Natasha’s benefit.

Instead, he says: “Did you notice the government stopped trying to bring you in for questioning? I finished that, too.”

Steve opens his mouth with “how?” in it, so Natasha pokes him. Gently, and it still makes the Soldier stiffen and glare at her hand like he wants to tear it off.

Whatever he did wasn't pretty, and Steve's not stupid. Open rejection would put their current goal at risk. He fumbles out, “Uh, thank you, Bucky.”

It’s clearly what the Soldier wanted to hear, because his shoulders drop down an inch.

All in all, she thinks this is shaping up well; the possibility of a trap still lingers, but Natasha never lets down her guard. Steve might think otherwise, but this is the best scenario they could actually hope for. He’s Bucky, or at least he wants to be.

She’d warned Steve ahead of time that, if necessary, they would have to play to the person he is, not the person he used to be. Regardless of what he remembers, the Winter Soldier is secure in is his skill and strength. Destroying Hydra is clearly his goal, no matter what motivates him. They’re lucky that his motivation is tied to Steve.

Interrupting the staring contest, Natasha gets straight to the point with recruitment: “You want to destroy Hydra. Steve is leading a team against Hydra, too. It seems we have similar goals.”

“I’m strong. I only made a mistake today because I saw you there too early,” he hurries to explain, without ever taking his eyes away from Steve’s.

He finally confirms what Natasha privately suspected: The Winter Soldier was bringing down Hydra bases like an overgrown cat bringing his owner dead birds. In Natasha’s world, that’s practically adorable.

She keeps her face bland. “Steve could use someone with your skills to help finish his fights.”

“I’m strong,” the Soldier repeats. “I’m a good-” asset? “-soldier, and loyal, because I’m--him, Bucky. You know that.”

"Yeah. I know that," Steve says. He really is terrible at pretending to be calm.

Oh Em Gee this is gorgeous! I'm torn between crying for Steve and cooing at Bucky! >_<

Thank you so much I love it!

OP

Oh, ouch!

Love Nat's voice here!

Also love the thought of Bucky doing the dirty work to keep Steve safe, even when they were kids!

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Prompt Post 1

Steve & Bucky (gen or slash) - Protective Bucky...of doom

Re: Steve & Bucky (gen or slash) - Protective Bucky...of doom

Re: Steve & Bucky (gen or slash) - Protective Bucky...of doom

Re: Steve & Bucky (gen or slash) - Protective Bucky...of doom

Re: Steve & Bucky (gen or slash) - Protective Bucky...of doom

Fill: Finishing Fights Is All I Do

Re: Fill: Finishing Fights Is All I Do

Re: Fill: Finishing Fights Is All I Do

Re: Fill: Finishing Fights Is All I Do