star spangled man

James Buchanan Barnes Sergeant Barnes Captain America.

[captxinbarnes-blog]

Even though his heart fell into pieces when he saw a tear rolling down her cheek, he couldn’t let it get the best of him. He knew it was not her he was looking at right now, he just couldn’t let her out until she was back in her normal state of mind. Like hearing her crying wasn’t enough, the words left her lips flew through his heart like knives and it hurt like hell. What he felt was worse than the any and every pain he had ever felt before. James pressed his lips together in order to keep the anger inside but he failed as he punched the glass, keeping his hand on the surface and looking directly into her eyes. “I’m not falling for that. You are not her. The Winter Soldier is not getting out anytime soon. Not until I have my Natalia back.” He growled, his expression sharper than ever.

[winteromanoff]

When James punched the glass it startled Natalia, caused for her to fall back a few feet. She was surprised by his words, she hadn’t expected those to come out of his mouth despite him knocking her out earlier. “Fine then,” she mumbled as she got up and started slamming herself against the glass. “I wonder what’ll break first.. The glass or your poor Natalia’s body,” she shot him a smirk before she clashed into the glass again, making sure not to use her metal arm but the normal one, the fragile arm. “You didn’t really think this true, did you, Bucky?” 

[captxinbarnes-blog]

He watched her getting up and slamming herself against the glass hard with wide eyes as he backed up a bit, trying to take the scene in. She -- whoever it was -- hurting Natalia. Yes, the mind might not belong to her, at least not at that moment but her body? She was the love of his life, he's greatest challenge. James tried to keep himself in his place as long as he could but soon enough he could see how she was hurting her body, she was growing weaker. He couldn't let her hurt the woman he knew he'd been loving for more than seventy years. He just couldn't. When it was clear that he wouldn't be able to take it anymore, he opened the glass cell's door for a few seconds, only enough time to get himself in and close it right after it. The captain stood right in between her and the glass, eyeing the woman with the same sharp expression as before. "Still positive, The Winter Soldier is not getting out anytime soon."

[captxinbarnes-blog]

   His back turned to the glass cell, James had been standing there for a good twenty minutes after he brought her here and let no one have access to the room. He felt bad for hurting her but he knew she’d get hurt more – Tony would probably want her dead and it’d even cause James to fight him for her, no matter what it takes – so he didn’t regret hitting her. Lost in thought, he didn’t know she was awake until he heard her voice through the glass cell. Quickly turning back, he listened to her with a serious face, knowing it was still not her. The soldier shook his head as he stepped closer to the glass, eyebrows furrowed. “I can’t Nat. And we both know why.”

[winteromanoff]

His face was so hard, nothing like the man she’d been dancing with. Well, of course the situation was different, just like the person inside of her. At his words she managed to squeeze out a fake tear. As the winter soldier she never had to degrade herself like this, she wouldn’t get caught, she didn’t feel, but with the memories coming back, so did the person the soldier had been before and it weakened her. “No, I don’t,” she cried. Hopefully that would help. “Are you just going to keep me here forever? Locked up? Maybe you’re worse than Hydra. Maybe I should’ve never come back.”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

Even though his heart fell into pieces when he saw a tear rolling down her cheek, he couldn't let it get the best of him. He knew it was not her he was looking at right now, he just couldn't let her out until she was back in her normal state of mind. Like hearing her crying wasn't enough, the words left her lips flew through his heart like knives and it hurt like hell. What he felt was worse than the any and every pain he had ever felt before. James pressed his lips together in order to keep the anger inside but he failed as he punched the glass, keeping his hand on the surface and looking directly into her eyes. "I'm not falling for that. You are not her. The Winter Soldier is not getting out anytime soon. Not until I have my Natalia back." He growled, his expression sharper than ever.

[captxinbarnes-blog]

   James furrowed his eyebrows when he heard her out, he was so lost in her to think like normal people and his brain was working slower than ever since all he could manage to do was making stupid comments and staring into her eyes but as soon as her lips crashed onto his and her hand found its way to the back of his neck, he understood it all; he had found all the answers he was searching for. Even though he did nothing for a few seconds, he quickly collected himself enough to return the kiss by wrapping one arm around her waist, pulling her closer as he leaned in more. Soon enough it turned into one of those famous WWII photos, where one sailor and his girl were kissing, probably right after he turned back home. He frowned when they had to break the kiss to take a breath but then a smile appeared on his face as he spoke. “So you’re going to ditch Fury?”

[winteromanoff]

Natalia let out a laugh at James’ question after the kiss was broken. “Is that even a question?” she asked as she trailed her fingers down his neck and up again. “I have a favor to ask you,” she mumbled, staring at the wall behind him for the first time since everything went right again. “I don’t wanna live here, I want to be in the city. I’m ready.” She figured maybe it was a long shot to ask this from him, but he was the only hope she had. “Can you help me?”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

James laughed along, shaking his head with happiness. He was so glad that everything seemed to be fine for the first time since they met again. Feeling her touch on the back of his neck, he bit his bottom lip slightly. He nodded quickly, he was so hopelessly in love that he'd jump out of that window if she asked for. "Anything," he mumbled before listening to her quietly. It was good that she felt ready but he had to be sure if she really was, for her own sake. "Of course, of course I can help you. We'll have to find a place, though. Even though it's a hard task these days, I can talk to our friend who can find and buy buildings in seconds just to knock Banner out." He chuckled before his face got serious again. "But... Are you sure you're ready?"

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

Natalia nodded at his suggestion. She didn’t even know what was out there, so maybe doing a bit of exploring would be the best option. “I would hope not, that’d be terrible,” she told him with a smile. At his response there was only one answer that stuck out to her, that she knew no one else except for people that were all dead now, but instead she chose to ignore a part of her that wanted to say that, to speak the truth. “I think I have..” she trailed off before she leaned in to kiss him again, moving her hand to the back of his neck as she moved her fingers through his hair. This time she didn’t break away and she hoped that neither would he.

   James furrowed his eyebrows when he heard her out, he was so lost in her to think like normal people and his brain was working slower than ever since all he could manage to do was making stupid comments and staring into her eyes but as soon as her lips crashed onto his and her hand found its way to the back of his neck, he understood it all; he had found all the answers he was searching for. Even though he did nothing for a few seconds, he quickly collected himself enough to return the kiss by wrapping one arm around her waist, pulling her closer as he leaned in more. Soon enough it turned into one of those famous WWII photos, where one sailor and his girl were kissing, probably right after he turned back home. He frowned when they had to break the kiss to take a breath but then a smile appeared on his face as he spoke. “So you’re going to ditch Fury?”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

Just as Natalia was about to open her mouth to respond to him the shield was thrown. She was too late to duck and so it flew right at the side of her head, causing for her to not only go down on the floor but for the world to turn black. It wasn’t when later on she awoke in a glass holding cell. It was then that she realized maybe she had underestimated him. “James?” she asked puzzled, looking at him through the glass. “What happened? Let me out, please.” She put her hands to the glass, pleading. She knew that if she’d try to break it she’d blow her cover. All he needed to do was to let her out and they could go for a round two.

   His back turned to the glass cell, James had been standing there for a good twenty minutes after he brought her here and let no one have access to the room. He felt bad for hurting her but he knew she’d get hurt more -- Tony would probably want her dead and it’d even cause James to fight him for her, no matter what it takes -- so he didn’t regret hitting her. Lost in thought, he didn’t know she was awake until he heard her voice through the glass cell. Quickly turning back, he listened to her with a serious face, knowing it was still not her. The soldier shook his head as he stepped closer to the glass, eyebrows furrowed. “I can’t Nat. And we both know why.”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

At his words Natalia turned around for a second. “Wouldn’t you want revenge?” She knew his answer the second she asked him that. Of course America’s righteous fella wouldn’t want that, he’d choose for justice in a cell over death. “Howard was my friend too, remember?” She sure did remember just like how she also remembered how jealous James appeared to be when he thought they were an item of sorts. “Maybe I want revenge and maybe Stark deserves the truth for once. So, what’s it gonna be, Cap? Are you finally going to get rid of me or are you gonna let your pal suffer?”

   He furrowed his eyebrows at his words, why would he seek revenge? He was serving for his country and he’d only take revenge from the enemies, like Red Skull. Shaking his head, he knew that wasn’t working and he needed to think quick or else it’d be too late to stop her. James also knew that she was right, Stark probably deserved to know the truth for once but that meant throwing her to his feet to kill her instantly. He couldn’t let that happen, even though it was going to come with a great price. “No. It’s not going to happen.” With that, the shield was thrown at her head, hoping it’d knock her out when the surface hits her.

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

Dammit. If not even the lovesick puppy was going to fall for that, then who would? She shrugged at his question, for as much as that was possible. When he tried to pull her along, she resisted until she noticed his fingers were in a favorable spot for her. Moving her fingers she caused for the plates on her bionic arm to shift around. They didn’t move much but it was enough for them to pinch a few of his fingers. Having her own fingers caught between them, she knew it hurt enough to let go even with gloves on. The second he let go of her one arm, she pulled the other towards her until his was in her reach. “Stop being so selfish,” she groaned as she grabbed his arm with her bionic one, tossing him a few feet away this time, using the few second she had to get the shelves out of her way before she continued to run.

   He thought she was finally giving in when he felt she was not resisting at all anymore which made a pathetic hope grow inside him but soon it was first replaced with confusion, then disappointment, feeling the pain in his fingers. He tried to bear the pain as long as he could but when he felt like his fingers could snap any moment now, he had to let go of her arm. Before he could even have the time to examine his fingers, he was tossed onto the ground. He let out a groan as he tried to get up, keeping his eyes on her rather than his hurt hand. “Nat--” He huffed as he got onto his feet. “Think about Stark. Sometimes unknown is better than tragic truths. If you don’t think about yourself, think about him.” He was trying anything he could think of, even if meant doing something in Tony’s benefit.

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

As the shield flew by her she managed to dodge it, unfortunately the shelf in front of her didn’t and it fell down, blocking her way. Just as she neared it in order to push it aside, he had caught up with her and was pinning her against the wall. “I’m not asking you to,” she stated. “You are doing this, no one else.” She tried to push her arms forward to escape his grasp but she was still slightly lightheaded from the earlier head butt. She knew what she need to do, however. She needed to catch him off guard, which was going to be easy considering their history. Wrapping her leg around the back of his leg she pulled him closer until he couldn’t move any further and that’s when she did what she knew she did best, bring men to their knees during battle. As she pressed her lips onto his she made sure to keep her foot behind his and as soon as he let his guard down all she would need to do was push and trip him before she could be on her merry way again.

   He shook his head slightly as he heard her words. All he wanted was to make her gain her own self back but he didn’t know how. It was like they turned back to the start, where she had no idea who was he but it was worse, she did know him and still decided to fight and hurt him, only in a different way. He wasn’t fighting her or anything, he was just keeping her in her place and he was actually doing a good job until she crashed her lips onto his. He was surprised, he didn’t respond the kiss for a few seconds, his eyes open. Just when he was about to give in, he realized how unfamiliar her kiss was. Not that they had the time to share many kisses but he knew her touch. Trap. He pulled back, looking directly into her eyes. “Did you really think I’d fall for it?” He then pulled her by the wrist, trying to block her arms so he could carry her back to the room, actually anywhere away from trouble. “Come on, Nat. Stop resisting.”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

Natalia let out a chuckle at his question. A quick flashback to the last time she’d asked him on a date made into way into her mind, but she didn’t let that fade her smile. “It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve tried to do that, but so help me, you’ve always been quite oblivious.” She couldn’t help but to tease him back. Maybe one day it was going to be all like old times again. “Then I’ll leave it up to you to choose the movie. I have a feeling I’ll only end up picking a terrible movie.” She paused for a second when he let her know that the movie was still being played. It was weird to her that a part of their lives was to be found in a museum. “I never thought I’d become a movie star,” she joked. Surely he must’ve known she saw the picture, it wasn’t like he was hiding it - it more so looked like he was flaunting it. “This weekend I can’t, I already have a date with Fury,” she joked. 

   He chuckled and shook his head, looking down at his feet. She was right, while he couldn’t bring himself to actually ask her on a date, she was doing it for the second time. “Well, this time we’ll actually go on that date, hopefully.” He pursed his lips as he shrugged, he would do anything to have this date anyway. He nodded, already thinking of a movie. Should he pick a romance or action? Maybe horror? Even children movies came to his mind. He needed to be careful not to pick a movie with things that could trigger her. “Uh -- actually we could just go and pick one, you know, see what seems the best.” He shrugged again awkwardly, trying to avoid the picking the movie himself part. “I never thought I’d become a living fossil.” He chuckled again, shaking his head. He was glad that they could come to the point where they could joke aroun each other now. “You could at least pick someone more... dateable.”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

She knew James wouldn’t let her get away, but she didn’t think he’d actually fight him. Ever since he’d found out who she was he’d been hesitant to fight her, which in the end almost got him killed. “You will be,” she groaned as she got up after flinging to the other side of the room, making sure her metal arm was still working. She hadn’t been in her Winter Soldier after being in it for a long time, and so when she reached to grab a knife, there was nothing. She had no weapons, just herself. With a smirk on her face she lunged towards the Captain, using her full body weight to crash him through the door. “Looks like that plan was a bust.” She remained laying on top of him afterwards, looking into his eyes before she spoke up. “Let me go.” She knew he’d follow her, no matter what, and so in hopes of giving herself a quick headstart she bust her forehead against his. It made her see stars and she hoped it was the same for him before she shot up and started to run, stumbling, through the hallway.

  He didn’t know how they got to this point, one minute they were gazing into each others eyes and saying sweet nothings and next they were fighting each other. Watching the way her hand moved to search for a knife, he knew she was ready to kill him if that was what it would take to reach whatever she wanted to. But like he said, she could only do that over his dead body. When he found himself on the floor, he was grateful that it wasn’t his bare back hit the door but the shield. Shaking his head at her, he quickly got up after her and threw the shield to knock a shelf down to block her way. “Natalia!” He called out as he ran towards her with full speed to get her. Throwing himself onto her to pin her to the wall. “Please, don’t make me fight you.”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

At his words Natalia nodded, she figured he’d have to go back on missions. It wasn’t like he could stop doing whatever just because an old friend popped up from being dead. “Just because..” she shrugged as she trailed off, she didn’t want to put a downer on the mood any longer by answering it truthfully. She had no place in this new found world. All she knew was to fight in a war or to create a new one, but then again, the people probably wouldn’t be too happy seeing her out and about either. “Say, would you like to go see a movie sometime? I can’t help but to be curious as to how it looks now. I’ve only been once, when they showed you guys..” It  was a memory that stuck out the most to her, especially when during the film it showed a picture of her inside of James’ compass. It was then when she knew for sure it wasn’t just in her head.

   Even though he knew there was a reason behind the fact she was desperate for going on missions, he didn’t want to dig more just yet and ruin their moment which they both had waited for more than seventy years. He just wanted it to be speacial for both of them, knowing that was nothing like they imagined before. Hearing her question, a light smile appeared on his face as he brushed a few red locks off of her face. “Are you asking me out for a date?” He teased, even though it felt awkward since it was obvious that he did want to spend time with her. “I’ve seen a few and I can say they are way better now. “I know that one, by the way. They are still showing it in WWII museum.” He smiled once again as his thumb brushed on her porcelain skin. “But yeah, I’d love to take you to the movies sometime. Are you free this weekend?” Well, she probably was but he wanted it to sound as regular as possible, like normal people would.

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

Natalia narrowed her eyes at his words. Was he really going to play this game? “Those were different times, you were surviving, just like the rest. In the end you saved the world,” she told him calmly before pausing for a second. “Are you saying I should punish you for them?” She knew it was just bad wording on his side, or maybe he really did feel like that, but if he wanted to play it like this then he sure as hell got it. “Is that an invite?” The good part about remembering everything was that she also remembered the way she way trained, both by Hydra and the army. Both of them taught her how to fight without remorse, without feeling, and so she liked to believe it meant she could kill him. She didn’t want to, however. “If that’s all,” she told him before stepping away from him, heading towards the door.

   He didn’t know the woman in front of him anymore, the look in her eyes were different and he knew she could kill her right there if she wanted. But like he had promised, he was not going anywhere until he got her back. Maybe it was the time for him to prove that he’d still love and be there for her no matter what. He shrugged, like he didn’t care. “If that’s what it takes.” Watching her heading towards the door, he knew if he let her there was no going back and the worst, he knew he had to fight her to keep her away from the trouble she wanted to put herself into. So he gathered himself and run towards her, grabbing her by the wrist and sending her to the other side of the room. He hated the fact that he probably hurt her but he couldn’t do anything about it. “I’m sorry.” He looked directly into her eyes, before blocking the door with his body.

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

Natalia watched as he gasped for air, part of her was proud - for doing it or for breaking away. She didn’t know. “That you say that proves what I said to be true.” She was stubborn, she had always been stubborn, but she knew for sure she was right this time. “You’re so happy to see me again that you choose to ignore what I’ve done..” She paused for a second, a slight grin appearing onto her face. “Maybe Stark will talk some sense into you.” She knew what she had once done to his parents. Part of her felt sick for using that to win her case, part of her felt like whatever Stark was going to do to her was going to be the punishment she deserved.

   He shook his head, he was nothing if not stubborn, that was something attracted him to Natalia, she was just as stubborn as him. He’d always let her win back then, well she’d usually win anyway but now, when it was about her, he wouldn’t let her win. Never. “Maybe I am. Maybe I am too happy to see you so I ignore anything else.” He paused as he stepped closer. “But you’ve been ignoring my faults too. I know you remember them damn well. Tell me if you want to be punished this bad, who will punish me for them?” He nearly shouted but still managed to keep his voice down once he realized it, shaking his head quickly. “No -- no you’re not telling Tony a thing. I’m not letting you use it as your punishment because I know what exactly would happen if you did. You can only do it over my corpse.”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

A blank look was on Natalia’s face as he kissed the back of her wrong hand. “It doesn’t feel,” she muttered. She figured he probably knew that, but she just wanted it to be clear, as a reminder. “I don’t– I don’t want to see myself like this,” she told him, putting on a fake smile because she felt like that what was had to be done. That was how humans let others know they were okay, even though they weren’t, right? They put on a fake smile. “Do you think they’ll send us on missions again?” The question came out of the blue but despite all the love she was getting from this man, this was the only question on her mind. “I want to.. I need to.”

   He slowly nodded, he knew that the mechanic hand didn’t feel at all, he knew how she was trying to interact with people by using her other hand not to hurt them or scare them, for that matter. He looked down, guilt washing over his body as she told him she didn’t want to see herself like that. He was so convinced that it was his fault that they could capture her and make her this way. “I don’t know... I mean, I have to at times since you know, Avengers stuff --” He shrugged, looking back at her before squeezing her shoulders gently, trying to comfort her as much as possible. “But if you want to come with us, or just with me, then I can talk to them about it.” He then tilted his head to the side, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. “But Nat, why do you exactly need that?”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

It was silent and yet again she found herself staring into his eyes, but this time it wasn’t with admiration but with anger. She knew his words were true, yet her hand closed tighter around his throat. Maybe she just needed to prove to him what she was still capable of, that she wasn’t the best thing to happen to him. Actions spoke louder than words. She watched as his head got redder with the second and even though her hand couldn’t feel like a normal hand could, she felt his heart rate slowing down and that’s when she let go. If she’d held on seconds longer he’d go unconscious, she knew that from experience. She knew when and how to kill a man by just holding his throat, he needed to remember that. “Just because you choose to be blind doesn’t mean it’s the truth.”

   Feeling her grip getting tightened, it was now harder for him to breath and he could feel his face changing color because of the pressure and lack of oxygen. He knew she wasn’t in her killer mindset or something, he knew she was aware of what she was doing. Still, what he only did was attempting to breath properly instead of fighting her, no, he had promised himself that he’d never fight her even if it meant his life. When he was free, he stumbled a bit before straightening himself up again, his hand squeezing gently where her fingers were once on. He was actually hiding the damage so she wouldn’t get worse seeing them. Even though his lungs only wanted deep breaths, he spoke, coughing between words. “I’m not blind. It’s the truth. You don’t know how my life used to be before you were back. How I wish you did but you don’t. You have no idea what you mean to me, do you?”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

As the words came out of his mouth Natalia shook her head. It started slowly, but it became more furiously the longer he spoke. “I almost killed you,” she spat back. She knew he was trying to be sweet, but it just wasn’t the truth. She had killed many people that were in his life. She was the reason for so much pain around him. How could he say that? He just wanted to make her feel better, but after being lied to for so long, she didn’t want to hear any more lies. The longer he defended her actions, the longer he blindly chose to ignore what she’d done, the angrier she got. “Stop lying!” she yelled at him as his neck ended up between her cold and mechanic fingers.

   He wanted to resist, he wanted to list her a billion facts why his life was better with her in it but he tried it before, he tried to make her understand what she meant to him but she was too stubborn to believe him. He knew she didn’t want to be this way, he knew it was not her not believing him but the demons inside her head but what else he could do other than trying? When she yelled at him, he could feel the mechanic hand on his neck, fingers pressing on the skin hard. He said nothing for a few moments, only the sound of him trying to breath properly but he did nothing other than looking at her in the eye. “Nat,” He gulped, still not fighting her. “Nat -- I’m not lying. I’d never lie to you.”

[captxinbarnes-blog]

winteromanoff:

“I’m afraid we don’t have a choice,” she said softly. She wished she had a choice, she wished she could go back to that time, even with all the bad that happened during it. “You may or may not have mentioned that before.” There was a slight grin on her face as she said that, it had been obvious from the start that James wasn’t a ladies man. After the following words her grin turned into a smile. Even after he had been gone the Howling Commandos kept calling her that, which only put salt into the wound to the extend that she couldn’t take it anymore. In hindsight she couldn’t regret it, otherwise she’d be old right now and probably forgetful about who he is. On the other hand however.. She could tell that dancing made him nervous. Time hadn’t changed anything on his part, not from what she could tell in the moment. “You’re doing fine,” she assured him as she put her mechanic hand on his cheek, only to jank it back the second she realized which hand she had used. In the silent moment they did nothing but dance and stare into each other’s eyes, she’d forgotten who she was now and what she looked like. If only every moment could be like this. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I forgot.”

   He nodded at her words, she was right, they had no other choice than getting used to the world they were living in now. He was not complaining at all, though. As long as he had her beside him, the time and place didn’t matter. When she reassured that he was doing fine, he cracked a nervous smile as he let out a breath. Feeling the cold metal on his cheek, he was just as fine as the times she’d use the other hand but it seemed like it was not the same for her. He shook his head as her took her mechanic hand in his, bringing it to his lips and leaving a kiss before placing it back on his cheek. “I love all of you.” He mumbled, thumb caressing her hand. He pulled her gently by the back of her head, placing an another kiss on her temple. “Just how I wish you could see yourself through my eyes.” He sighed before pulling back to look at her face and cupping her cheek with his hands. “You shouldn’t hide yourself from me. Okay?”