IT WAS WELL past noon before anyone that had been liberated the night before spoke up. Sure, as they all found one another in the treeline and went about hijacking what trucks they could salvage from the burning factory there was a rush of chatter and activity as the walking wounded were helped under the canvas and what guns were taken were distributed among those with the best skill. After that, as the sky started to turn blood red over the mountains, talk seemed to die away, the long walk back stretching out before them. It was inevitable, even if Rogers’ radio hadn’t caught a bullet there was doubt that any transport would come for all of the. There was simply too many, Allied nations and local resistance forces alike. As daunting as the walk seemed, especially to to those walking wounded and sick, it was nothing compared to staying in the factory. And Bucky, for one, was not in the mood to hang around.
The chatter started somewhere near the middle by a group of young boys that barely looked eighteen that finally got up the nerve to break the silence by telling jokes. The confidence spread slowly, a murmur that rippled outwards like a stone thrown into a pond, until almost everyone was engaged in conversation. But not Bucky. His hands sat loosely on the gun slung across his torso, frame as loose as he could make it without drawing attention to the burning pain that radiated from the three broken ribs on his right hand side and the wheeze in his chest every time he took a breath. Off to his right, the shock of blonde hair keeps snagging the attention of his peripheral vision and he fights every urge to glance sideways with an expression that turns ever so slightly more grim.
He’s not mad at her. He has to keep telling himself that so that he’d actually believe it. She had just saved his life and the lives of hundreds of others. She had shut down one of Hydra’s factories and given Schmidt a metaphorical bloody nose to boot. He’s not mad at her. She’d joined the army. She’d let them experiment on her. He didn’t need for her to spell it out for him, he’s concussed not brain damaged. Whatever poison Zola had pumped into him still burned it’s way through his bloodstream and all he can think about is that she let them do something similar to her willingly. He’s not mad at her. She’s stupid, naive, foolhardy, bullish, stubborn. He’s not mad at her.
He takes a sharp inhale as the incline they’re on starts to bite at his lungs and it’s followed by a pair of barked coughs that sound as wet and frothy as he’d heard coming from Steph’s own lungs multiple times before the war. The effort pressed on the broken ribs and he can’t fight the grimace, the hiss that escapes him before he can stop it. He doesn’t look sideways because he knows by now she’d be looking at him and he can’t face it. While he shouldn’t be grateful, before she can say anything there’s a loud bang from somewhere behind them, followed by a commotion. The entire company stops and turns to the source; behind the tank, one of the trucks lists and a young soldier bolts to the front, throwing a haphazard salute to the Captain as he staggers to a halt.
“Tire’s given out on the number 2 truck, ma’am,” the private starts in a thick London accent. “There’s a spare in the back but it’s going to take a while to get her jacked and replaced.”
Bucky’s eyes drift towards the truck before drifting skywards, watching a plane fly overhead towards the sacked factory - too high up to discern the livery. “We’re sittin’ ducks out here,” he comments to Rogers, eyes lingering on where the plane doubled back on it’s self. “A convoy alone will attract less attention than a convoy surrounded by too many soldiers. You might want to suggest the men move into the treeline, Captain.” He emphasises the title as his attention snaps to her for the first time in hours; there’s no negativity or aggression there, but she is the de-facto ranked officer of the group. The order had to come from her.