𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗛𝗘

𝘚𝘈𝘍𝘌 𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘚𝘌

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Every step she took felt like a nightmare. She thought she would eventually get used to this pain, but she was wrong. She had to take the long way home, she couldn't risk being followed by anyone, so it took her a while to get there and by the time she reached her front door, she was barely conscious anymore.

Her vision was already slightly blurry due to the blood loss. Her hands were shaking, she couldn't even insert the key into its hole on the first time. Hurry, Arielle. Somebody might see you. And if she didn't hurry, she would make a bloody mess in front of her apartment's door and it would alert the neighbors. She let out a relieved moan after she managed to get inside her place.

She pressed her back against the door and closed her eyes, slowly sliding down until she was sitting on the ground. Her hands were both pressing against the wound, trying to make the bleeding stop for a little while, so she could feel slightly better and move to the bathroom. But as long as she was in this condition, she surely couldn't get anywhere.

The blonde frowned. She thought she heard something coming from the living room, but she was probably hallucinating. Nobody knew about her safe house and even if someone did follow her, they couldn't reach this place before her. No, it had to be a consequence of the large amount of blood she lost because of her gun shot wound.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself back up after a couple of minutes spent on the floor. She placed her bloody hands against the wall, using it to support herself, and slowly walked to the bathroom. Shit, why the hell did I leave the door closed? She mentally cursed herself, then reached for the doorknob.

When she did, however, she lost her balance and fell back down to the floor, making a loud noise. She bit her lower lip and dragged herself across the floor, trying to make it to the cabinet in which she had the first aid kit.

Before she could reach it, another hand gently caught hers. So she hadn't been hallucinating at all. Somebody was indeed inside her apartment. Arielle wanted to fight back, or at least to turn around to see the trespasser's face, but she was too weak to do that.

"You made quite a mess."

That voice. Where did she heard that voice before?

With all the strength she had, the woman curled up her hands into fists when she was turned around by the unknown man. He helped her support her back against the nearest wall, a seriously concerned look on his face.

She had to blink a few times to get a good look at him. "It's you.." Arielle whispered under her breath. She couldn't take a good look at his face because of his mask and his cap that hid his features, but his metallic arm was enough for her to figure out who he was. The man she met at the facility. The man from S.H.I.E.L.D. "How the hell did you find this place?"

"Save your energy for now, you can ask me about it later." Bucky reached for the first aid kit and opened it, then put it on the ground next to her. Before he could take a look at her wound, he needed her permission. "May I?"

It took her a while to find the energy to give him a proper reply. "Why are you helping me?"

That was as good as a yes for him. He took a sharp knife and he was about to cut the material of her suit around the place of the wound, but the woman caught his hand and squeezed it as hard as she could. Which, right now, wasn't hard at all.

"I asked you a goddamn question," she hissed.

Bucky sighed, then placed the knife down. He understood why she didn't trust him with sharp items around her, particularly around her gunshot wound, but he would have preferred if she let him help her first. She seemed pretty weak already and he couldn't bring her to any hospital, so complications were out of the question.

"I'm not your enemy, Mrs. Henderson. Please, let me treat your wound and then we'll talk. I promise I mean no harm to you," he explained. "Plus, don't you think I could have killed you already if that's what I came here to do? I don't mean to be rude, but you're pretty defenseless right now."

Arielle growled, but she released the grip of his hand. He nodded once, then cut the fabric around her rib cage, revealing the still bleeding wound. This didn't look too good.

"Why didn't you get down when I told you to do so?" Bucky muttered under his breath, then took a closer look at the wound. "The good part is that the bullet's still in there, which means there's not a hole on the other side too. The bad part, however, is that I can't risk to remove it and make you bleed to death, so the best I can do is to clean your wound and seal it shut. Do you know anyone with medical training that could help you later?"

When she shook her head in denial, he clicked his tongue.

He took a sterilized cloth and applied some disinfectant on it, but he didn't make any further moves. "This is going to hurt. Like hell." He extended his metal arm to her and laced their fingers together. "I won't feel a thing, no matter how tight your grip is. This won't be of too much help, but it's the best I can do. I'll be quick. Are you ready?"

She knew she couldn't scream in pain. And she knew she'd wish she could. She was definitely not ready, but she couldn't waste any more time. Arielle nodded and took a deep breath.

She didn't close her eyes until he touched her wound and the first wave of unbearable pain. James Barnes was right about something—gripping on his hand did not help too much, but she did it anyway. She threw her head back and rested it against the wall, several muffled pained groans leaving her lips, one after another.

Bucky held his promise: he cleared her wound as quickly as he could. He expected her to pass out, she didn't look that tough anymore, but surprisingly, she didn't. Arielle succeed in fighting the pain and staying awake until he finished clearing the area. He took a look at their hands laced together and noticed her knuckles were white. She has such a strong grip even when she's this close to passing out, he observed.

"I'll seal the wound now. It's not going to take long," he informed her, then waited for her to release his other hand so he could use them both. When she did, Bucky started to stitch her wound until it was completely closed, then he cut the string and made a secure knot. After he finished, he slowly put down the needle and the string, then backed off.

He knew better than to stay this close to her without giving her a reason.

Arielle was still panting, obviously still in pain, but she didn't look like she was dying anymore. This man saved her life and yet she didn't trust him more than she did when they met at the facility. Which meant she didn't trust him at all.

"I will keep my word and answer your questions now. But first, let me help you move to the living room at least. Or to the bedroom, whatever you prefer. But I doubt you want to spend any more time on your bloody bathroom floor," he pointed out, gesturing to the blood stains she made when she dragged herself across the floor after she fell. "I'll clean those for you."

She didn't have any other option but to accept his help again. Her body was too weak, she couldn't lift by herself. "Bedroom. And you better start talking," she ordered.

He had to make sure she kept her her torso as straight as possible. Bucky rose to his feet and placed both of his hands on her shoulders, slowly lifting her to her feet as well. He held her still, then he wrapped one of her arms around his neck and placed one hand on her waist, supporting her weight.

He took a small step and waited for her to do the same, analyzing how her body reacted to the slight movement. Good, she was moving. Slowly, but surely. "As I have told you back at the facility, I work with S.H.I.E.L.D.," he started, helping her walk around the house. "But I'm not here on their behalf."

"Then why are you here? And how did you find my apartment?" Arielle asked, making one small step after another. "What do you want from me, James Barnes?"

"I didn't find your apartment, a close friend of mine did. There are very few this she can't find out." At the thought of Nat, Bucky chuckled. "I came here because I knew you were hurt and I thought you needed some help."

She stopped in the doorway, turning her head to the side so that her eyes could meet his. "You said you were looking for me. I know you found me thanks to that snitch, but I want to know why you were searching for me in the first place."

"You're not under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, if that's what you want to ask. Officially, they don't even know you exist." When he saw the wary look she gave him, Bucky was quick to add: "And I don't intend to tell them, neither does my friend. We just happened to be headed to the same HYDRA facility you attacked recently. We saw smoke coming out the windows and we figured something happened. When we got there, one of the scientists told us about you. He said you took something and left and we were obviously curious to find out what you took. We wouldn't have known if you didn't drop a picture."

"A picture?" But nothing looked like it was missing, what could he be talking about? "A picture of what?"

"The Knights Bay, headquarters of what was once known as Project 13," he admitted. "I already suspected it, but Kamenev confirmed that you have been part of it. You and one more subject were the only ones that left before the project was completely turned off. All the records have been destroyed, there's no evidence of you two at that orphanage."

"It still doesn't explain why you've been trying to find me." So far, it didn't seem like he knew much about her.

"All the other subjects of Project 13 are placed under SHIELD's close observation because they're unstable and dangerous for the public, but mostly for themselves. My friend wanted to bring you there too, he considers you to be a threat." He have her a gentle nudge to get her moving again, then he helped her lie down on her bed.

"And you?" Arielle asked. "Do you consider me a threat, James Barnes?"

Bucky shook his head. "I've had my own reason to find you. I was a little afraid you'd be unstable too, but Philip Khan reassured us you're not."

"I swear that man couldn't keep his mouth shut even if—"

"Don't get so worked up. Your body is badly injured, in case you forgot."

"What was your reason for following me?"

Bucky thought for a little while, then he decided to tell her the truth. "I've been captured by HYDRA too. It was a long time ago, but I know what it means to be used as a weapon."

"So you followed me because you pitied me?"

"No." He shook his head. "I followed you because I've been through a similar situation and I know what you're trying to do, but it's dangerous and reckless to do that alone."

"Oh, really?" She scoffed. "And what do you think I want to do?"

"You want to get your revenge. You want to find Valentin Kamenev and make him pay." Bucky took a seat on the side of her bed. His eyes searched for hers, their eyes meeting again. "Am I wrong?"

"Just a little."

Bucky nodded his head, but he didn't reply. There was nothing else to add. They sat in silence for a while and then he rose from his seat, but not before checking up on her wound again. "You need rest. I'll clean up the blood and leave. Don't worry, you're still safe here. Don't even consider switching safe houses, you can't hide from me. Take some weeks off and get better. I'll bring someone to take your bullet out tomorrow. I'll find you after you recover."

"Are you going to stop me, James Barnes?" Arielle asked, her question making him stop in the doorway.

He turned around to look at her one more time, his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm not sure yet."

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would it be too early if i asked you guys to think of ship names ? all i could come up with is wintercat 😂

if you know me, then you know how much i love slow burns and tension and i'm already starting to feel it !!!

yours truly,
vic