~Character and Reader~

  Bucky cracked up, grinning at you as you began to laugh. “Bet you didn’t see that coming.”

  “No, I didn’t,” you laughed. Your hands moved to either side of his hand, and it slipped onto your waist. “Are you gonna let me get off of you.”   He hummed quietly, his nose gently pressed against yours. He maintained eye contact. “Oh, just wait, doll,” he murmured, his lips connecting with yours.

 You moved your hands onto his shoulders, delving into the kiss with a hint of a smile. When both of you pulled away, you noticed his face turning pink. “You’re such a charmer, Buck.”

  “That’s what I’ve heard,” he whispered, keeping you close to him. “Y’know. The museum.”

  “James Buchanan Barnes the ladies’ man,” you teased, resting your head against his chest. It rumbled with silent laughter.

  “I only need to be one lady’s man,” Bucky countered. He wrapped his arms around you and rested his head on yours. “Just yours.”

  You buried your face into his neck. “Bucky?”

  “Yeah?”   “We’re gonna get out of this, right?”

  He fell silent for a moment. “(Y/n), we will get out of this. Dalca’s going to stay away from you for good, but we have to confront it.”

  “Confront it quietly,” you mumbled, closing your eyes and wrapping your arms and legs around him. His heart fell into a gentle rhythmic beat. “You’re so awesome.”   “You too, doll.” He ran his fingers through some of your hair. “We should probably get up.”

  You groaned and he chuckled quietly. “I don’t want to.”

  “I have to shower.”

  “Me, too. But I still don’t want to get up.”   He sighed. “If you get up, then... then I will show you some of the stuff in my notebooks.” You jumped off of him and stood to your feet. Bucky grinned, holding his hand out for you to grab. You pulled him off of the ground.

  “Go shower real fast and then I will.” You wiped the sweat off of your forehand, watching as Bucky ventured into the bathroom. You walked to the kitchen sink and washed your face, cooling your skin. Your body ached.

  Exhaustion overwhelmed all of your senses. As soon as Bucky left the bathroom, you trudged to the bathroom, stripped out of your clothes and showered.

  Your hair was completely soaked by the time you realized you forgot your clean clothes. You groaned, pressing yourself against the side of the shower. There was a knock on the door.

  “(Y/n)?”   “Come in.” The door opened. You could see Bucky’s shadow through the shower curtain. He held something in his hands. “Whatcha got there?”   “Your clothes. I think you forgot them.” You popped your head from behind the shower curtain, covering your body with the curtain. He smiled at you, then set a pile of clothes on the bathroom sink.

  You bit your lip, nodding. “Thanks. That just popped into my head.”

  He kept his eyes on you, then cleared his throat. “Right. Anyway, I’ll--um... Yeah, I’ll go.”

  You blushed as he left, slipping back into the shower. What a fella.

  After shaving, you shut off the shower, dried yourself off, changed into your clothing, and exited the bathroom. On the new mattress Bucky bought, he sat there reading through the notebooks. He stopped, his head lifting as you walked to him. You sat beside him leaning against his side. Bucky wrapped his arm around you, keeping you as close to him as humanly possible. “Hey, check this out.”

  You started to read through the section of his notebook. It was a memory of Steve. “He kept the newspaper in his shoes? Gosh, how small was he?”

  “Pretty small,” he mused. “He’d get sick all of the time. We were best friends, practically brothers, so I definitely loved taking care of him. It made me feel important to have that effect on his life.”

  “I guess it affected him enough to want to repay the debt. The whole thing when he saved your butt like in this memory.” You pointed to the next paragraph on the page.

  He snickered. “Yeah. That’s how I see it.”

  Bucky had so many notebooks. His memories were endless. When you finished flipping through all of them, you felt like you knew Bucky and Steve your entire life. His memories served as your introduction to a new world--or an old world. You knew them. The both of them.

  You handed the final notebook back to Bucky. He took in his hand, his metal fingers grazing yours. They stayed there for a moment. You felt sparks. His other hand slipped off of your waist as he dropped the notebook in the backpack in front of him. He stood off of the mattress, walking to the open floorboard away from the bed. You stretched your legs out in front of you as he replaced the board over the secret compartment.

  “Y’know, I didn’t really think you remembered that much from before the whole Winter Soldier thing,” you commented. “When I first met you, you didn’t really let on.”

  “Well, I didn’t know you,” he countered, falling onto the mattress and pulling you down with him. You rested the back of your head on his shoulder and stared at the ceiling. “But I know you better now.”

  “I’d hope so.” You grinned, looking at him in the corner of your eye. “You ready?”

  “For what?”   “Everything. Whatever is happening.”

  He paused, then nodded. “If you mean taking care of Dalca, then yeah, I am.”

  “What else would I be talking about?”   He shrugged, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. “I don’t know. I... I feel like something’s coming. Something big.”

  “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it, okay?”

  Bucky’s chest rumbled. “We make a good team.”

  “It’ll be better when I can actually fight.”

  “You can fight,” he argued, “but you need practice.”

  “Yeah, I’m done for today.”

  He chuckled again. He radiated from his body. “No worries, doll. I won’t make you practice for another five hours.”

  “It’s almost sundown!”

  “Just kidding. We’ll resume practice in the morning.”

  You poked his side. “I think I will be able to walk by then.” He grew quiet, turning his head toward the window. An unsteady feeling attacked your stomach. It had been gnawing at it for several minutes beforehand. That big something. You knew whatever it was, it would change the course of something. History. Life. Death. Something.

  You closed your eyes, reveling in the restless peace. It would have to do for now. Bucky’s fingers traced shapes over your shirt. It soothed your senses.

  “Are you okay, (Y/n)?”

  You opened your eyes, squinting at him. The light hurt your eyes. “Yeah. I’m just thinking.”

  He nodded, wrapping his other arm around you, leaving you two to turn on your sides and facing each other. You buried your head in his chest. Bucky’s fingers gently raked through your hair. His chin rested on the top of your hair.

  You basked in each other’s embrace as you slid your hands around to his back. He breathed, then out, taking in the scent of the shampoo and conditioner in your hair. The same as his, and he loved it.

“Bucky!”

   “(Y/n), take my hand!”

  “Bucky!” you screamed, slipping away from him.

  Your fingers barely grabbed his metal arm. It didn’t help. The rain poured viciously as the clock struck twelve. Your fingers gripped onto a large tubular shape near you. You couldn't breathe. The shadow behind him. The man. The dagger in his hand. The crooked, bloody dagger.

  “Watch out!” you yelled. Bucky whipped his head around, kicking the man in the gut. He fell backward, a yell falling out of his throat. The shadow slid down and away from your sight. Your fingers slipped.

  When Bucky turned his head around, it was too late. There was nothing around you as you glided down into the darkness. You screamed, never finding something that could save you from what was below. Pure darkness.

  Thunder stuck. The light flashed, and you saw Bucky’s for the final time. The fear. The painful and fearful look in his eyes. Your fall caused you to lose sight of the one you loved. The only one you ever loved. It was gone as the darkness consumed you.

  As you fell away from Bucky, that old nursery rhyme echoed in your head. The one that described how Bucky felt. The one he murmured under his breath. One of his memories.

  (Y/N). You froze, staring Sharon down. (Y/N).

  “How are you talking without moving your lips?”   “(Y/N), I’m not,” Sharon whispered, whipping her head around to see the HYDRA agents. “Shoot. Hey, are you good?”

  Good? “We’re good.”

  She paused, pulling out her gun. For a moment, you thought she was going to shoot you, but then she turned toward the door and chased down the HYDRA guards. Both of you followed.

  “We need to get them,” you said. “That’s what we want.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Sharon muttered under her breath. You weren’t talking to her. “But now they’re gone. What happened?”

  You and Sharon pushed the doors open, sprinting to catch up with the agents. “I don’t know. I think the symbiote got to me.”   “Ya think? (Y/N), I thought it took you over! And then it disappeared!”

  (Y/N). You almost stopped again, but kept pushing forward. Let’s go faster. You ran past Sharon, and before you blinked you were nearly on top of the agents but had no one to stop them.

  You blinked. They screamed. The agents fell to the ground. You stopped running.

  You blinked. One of the agents threw himself against the wall. Another flew backward out of the door.

  You blinked, but you caught a glimpse of something attacking the third agent behind you. The forth fell to the ground and started pushing himself away from you. The symbiote grew out of your arm and pummeled the victim.

  “(Y/N), stop!” But it wasn’t you. Or was it? It was both of you.

  We don’t want to stop. Yes, we do. No, we don’t. Your better half won the argument. The symbiote disappeared from your arm, and the HYDRA agents were unconscious all around you.

 You turned to Sharon and watched her carefully. She stopped ten feet away from you, her eyes wild with fear. She had good reason.

  “I’m sorry,” you whispered, looking at your hands. The voice continued to talk to you, and you struggled to ignore it. “It’s... It’s talking.”

  Sharon bit her lip, moving her sight between your eyes and your hands. “We need to go. Now.”   You swallowed the lump in your throat, but you began wondering if it was a bit of the symbiote. You would never know. Sharon stayed a few feet away from you as the two of you headed to the exit.

  “The agents are down,” she said into her phone. “You can come and get them. Agent (L/N) and I are heading back to the base.”

  She never mentioned the symbiote. Maybe she should have.

The symbiote was a gift. With the constant missions, you and Sharon successfully took down two HYDRA bases and some of the top leaders. Like, yeah, it took a turn at times when you were unable to control the voice in your head, but you ended doing a lot of good. This was why you were confused when Sharon tried to dissuade you from these ideas.

  “(Y/N), what I am trying to say is that we need to remove the symbiote.” No.

  You throat dried up. It burned to breathe in. “Why?”

  Sharon walked up to you, holding onto your hands. The metal stool you sat on was cold. So was the lab. Colder than usual.

  “This isn’t you. The symbiote. It’s made you different. I want (Y/N) back. MY (Y/N).”

  You scoffed, though a part of you wondered if that was actually your doing. “We’re fine.”   “Who are you talking about? Me and you, or you and the symbiote? Either way, it isn’t just fine.”

  “Lay off my case, Sharon.” You yanked your hands away from her. Her face hardened with her angry Sharon expression. You stood to your feet, walking toward the door as you hissed, “We don’t need you or your help.”

  “(Y/N), don’t.”

  You stood, looking at her. “Or what?”   “Or we’re going to have to take it out by force.” You scowled at her, listening to the sound of the door self-locking. The room grew colder by the second. You were wearing a t-shirt and shorts. You wondered why Sharon was dressing so warm.

  “Open the door,” you threatened. Stop. Maybe it’s for the best.

  “No.”

  You stormed up to her, your hand colliding with her neck as you pushed her against the wall. “Open the door, Sharon!”

  You could see Sharon’s breath as she struggled to break free from your hold. Stop this. This isn’t what you wanted. Yes. Yes, it is. You need freedom.

  “No,” she croaked, slipping out of your grasp. Heat radiated from her. Her suit was keeping her warm.

  You felt the symbiote cry inside. It started to burn. You were freezing. It was dying. “Stop it!”   Sharon shook her head, steering clear of you. You couldn’t move, but you felt like you were about to vomit. You choked on the liquid, bending over as the symbiote oozed out of you.

  You succumbed to the darkness as Sharon’s voice echoed in your mind.

When you awoke, you sat upright and searched the lab. Sharon. Where was Sharon?

  Your eyes fell on her. The lab was warmer than previously, and she kept herself hunkered in the corner. Her arms are wrapped around her legs as her eyes flicker around the room. They landed on you.

  You could see the anger in her eyes. But it wasn’t her. You remember the feeling of that anger, but this time it was directed at you. Shoot.

  Next thing you knew, she jumped to her feet and sprinted toward you. Sharon’s fist raised over her head, and you stood up, grabbing her arm before she could attack you. She yelled as you twisted it around her back, making sure not to harm her.

  “Guys, cool it down!” you yelled. You felt the lab grow chillier by the moment.

  Sharon wrestled underneath you strength. “Let us go, (Y/N)! LET ME GO!”

  You remained silent as she finagled and yanked. It was no good. You shivered, then pulled her overshirt over her head, leaving her in a black tank top.

Thank you for letting me know about this in advance. Unfortunately, we do live in a society where the “mocking” of Christians is very common. It does not help that Christians are one of, if not the top, group(s) of people persecuted around the world. Like, according to research, 90,000 Christians are killed (per 365 days) because they refuse to agree to other beliefs. As always, we must act like Jesus, for we are Christians.

I am not saying this does not mean other groups of people are persecuted. They are. And that is horrible regardless of anybody’s beliefs. Of course, it is completely wrong to offend any religion or other personal choices people make because that is their personal belief, whether it’s something you believe in.

Thank you for telling me about it, but the only thing we can do about it is love ourselves, God, and the world around us. Just because someone says something, or because societal influencers (i.e. people, Tumblr, social media, etc.) say that it is okay to mock beliefs or verbally/physically attack people that do not agree with them does not mean it is okay. It is never “okay” and will never be “okay.”

For example, there are things that I do not believe in (and many others encourage those things I do not condone), but it is not my job to mock or tell people they are wrong or that their decisions are “horrible.” It’s just not. And, unfortunately, people do not agree with me and others that agree with me.

People, even extremists, say that if you do not like something someone is doing then you can attack the people(s) beliefs. Even if I don’t agree with having sex before marriage, or even in homosexuality, I will never purposefully offend someone if that is something they do, in fact, agree with. It’s almost a level of tolerance.

And even though I don’t believe in homosexuality (and although I actually put a lot of faith in abstinence), I still keep those people who disagree in my life because they are amazing people! God tells us to love our neighbor REGARDLESS of who they are or what they believe. Because I love these people like Jesus did to everyone he met, these people actually want to learn more about why I am the way I am. They feel they can confide in me, and to many people, I am an adviser and some of their most-trustworthy friend.

Did I mention that these are some of the best people I know?

If I treated those people like they were trash, then it would be considered bigotry and disrespect. Unfortunately, when others attack Christians (or even any other religion), it is seen as justice. Hating on people is never good, and will never be, but people condone it regardless. I don’t hate a lot of things (strongly disagree/dislike, yes, but almost never hate), but I hate how society treats conservative or Christian beliefs. While groups like the KKK have twisted things around, that does not mean that every single Christian is worth attacking because every Christian has different personal beliefs.

I know this is long, and I didn’t mean to do that, but I really wanted to put this out there. I am not trying to sound discriminatory–or like I am defending just Christians–if I did, but I need to put this statement out there. I don’t care if you are atheist, Christian, Hindu, etc., but if you believe mocking or stereotyping ANY group is okay, it’s not. And, hey, the Avengers is a fantastic group, and I acknowledge they may not have meant to offend anyone, but it happens. People have stopped carefully choosing what they say, and that is not okay. It will never be okay.

And I am not angry about this, because becoming angry is a choice, whether we realize it. But I just wanted to say this because it is important to acknowledge this, and thank you for bringing it up, friend, because I am taking my older sister to see the movie this Friday and she is incredibly sensitive to that type of stuff. It’s just her personality.