I too would like to be tagged in that story please. :)

I will add you!

The Guardian - Part Three

Preview / Part One / Part Two

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Death, Sorrow

Word Count: 1,013

In the morning, dragging yourself out of bed had gone from the hardest part of the day to become the easiest part of your day. Memories of soft lips and a firm, secure grip that were both no longer present could quickly drag your mind to dark places. Wasting your day feeling sorry for yourself was not on your agenda.

You had promised Ida and Hazel that you would meet up with them for a late breakfast, and you were hoping to have enough time to visit the museum before heading to the park to walk with Peggy. Admittedly, you weren’t living the most exciting life, but you were grateful for the people you had left.

After straightening the covers on the bed, you walked to the window and opened the curtain, standing for a moment in the warm light of the early morning sun. Outside, some of the neighborhood children were horsing around with each other on their way to school. One of them, a rail-thin boy that was a good six inches shorter than the others, was thrown off-balance by one of the others and fell onto the pavement in a swift motion that made you wince sympathetically. As the other children either kept moving toward school or stood awkwardly near the fallen boy, one of the larger boys stepped in and helped him up. You couldn’t help the smile that made its way onto your lips as you left the window to get ready for the day.

——

The Winter Soldier kept watch across from the woman’s apartment building throughout the night and into the morning hours. He would wait as long as it took for her to exit and allow him a chance to investigate. One way or another, he would find out who she really was.

It wasn’t until a few minutes before ten thirty that the woman finally left her apartment. The Winter Soldier waited until she disappeared around the corner and no other prying eyes seemed to be present. He briskly crossed the street and strode to her door, making quick work of the lock and slipping inside.

The apartment itself was kept tidy; it was clear from the state of it that she was the only one living there. He stepped closer to the mantle over the small fireplace and looked at the framed photos that were placed across the wood. There was a photograph of the woman with an older version of herself, who must have been her mother. The next photograph was one that made his blood turn cold: the woman stood in a wedding dress next to a beaming man in a neat suit.

The man was the problem in the photo; the man had the Winter Soldier’s face. His eyes darted to the man’s left hand, but it was clearly flesh and not machine. He looked to the other photos lining the mantle, and the man was almost in every one of them. Other than his left arm being made of apparent flesh and bone, he was identical to the Winter Soldier in every way. They even shared the same small scar on their right cheekbone, though the Winter Soldier could not remember where the scar came from.

Flashes of images crowded into his mind, fleeting thoughts that felt more like memories, but they refused to solidify enough for him to concentrate on. He moved away from the mantle. His feet carried him as far away from it as he could get and he settled his broad frame into the chair of a small writing desk nestled against a window frame.

He sat still for a few moments, forcing his breath to slow and his heart to return to its normal pace. There must be a logical explanation, but all that he could come up with was that he and the man in the photographs were the same person. How could that be? He had no memory of his life before the facility that held him. He was created to be a weapon, to help move the world forward and suppress evil. It had been his understanding that he had not been born in a traditional sense, but could that be wrong?

A garbage truck rumbled down the street, breaking the Winter Soldier’s thoughts and drawing his attention to the window. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a neat stack of papers tied with ribbon on the corner of the desk. The papers looked worn and so did the ribbon, as if someone handled them frequently.

He reached out and moved the stack in front of him on the desk, carefully untying the ribbon and setting it to the side. The papers it had kept together were handwritten letters. The dates on the top of the pages indicated that they were written during World War II, before the Winter Soldier’s time.

The names at the top must have been the woman’s and her husband’s, James. Something about the name pulled at the back of the Winter Soldier’s mind. He knew that he was at a turning point: he could tie the letters back into their bundle neatly and leave them and the woman behind, returning to his assigned objective, or he could read them. If his suspicions were true, he knew the turning point might be one of no return.

He picked up the ribbon, tying it in an identical bow to the one it had previously been knotted into. As he stood, he returned the chair to its exact spot on the floor it had been in when he entered the apartment. On his way out the door, he paused. Almost involuntarily, he was suddenly back in front of the mantle, staring at a photograph of James and his wife, sitting on the same park bench the woman sat at each day and smiling in the afternoon sun.

Something inside of the Winter Soldier shifted, and he returned to the writing desk chair, removed the ribbon for the second time from the bundle of letters, and began reading.

Tags: @melconnor2007 @lroa46 @polkadottedpillowcase @marvelgoateecollection @partypoison @hisredhenley @themcuhasruinedme @buckyappreciationsociety @axelinchen @saharzek

Halfway through Part Four. I’m hoping to finish and post it today. The reader will finally see the Winter Soldier.

Master List

The Asset (Finished)

Bucky’s past contains a lot of things to be guilty about, and one of the heaviest weights on his soul is his role in the death of a young girl during his days as the Winter Soldier. In the present day, he will come face to face with his past and a shot at possible redemption.

Prologue / Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight / Part Nine / Part Ten / Part Eleven / Part Twelve / Part Thirteen / Part Fourteen / Epilogue

Astronomy in Reverse

College!AU Bucky Barnes. Bucky is a veteran who decided to go to school after finishing his service. He is studying Astronautics and wants to work for NASA after graduation. The reader has been through some rough things of her own, and the two find comfort in each other. The title comes from the song “Venus” by Sleeping at Last.

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four

Interlude

Bucky takes work at a bakery in Bucharest to make ends meet while he tries to pull himself together. It takes place between the events of The Winter Soldier and Civil War movies in the MCU.

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six

зима  (Winter)

AU!Bucky Barnes. The Winter Soldier is a member of the Vesna, a splinter rebel group in the country where your family rules. The main rebel forces take drastic measures, and the Vesna task the Winter Soldier with protecting you from the rebellion.

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four

Burn/It’s Quiet Uptown (Finished)

This two-part set takes place during WWII. It focuses on Bucky’s wife (the reader) and her life stateside while he is at war. The titles are from the “Hamilton” song titles that served as loose inspiration.

Burn / It’s Quiet Uptown

The Guardian

This series takes place after the events of Burn/It’s Quiet Uptown. Bucky is now the Winter Soldier, and the reader is still grieving the life they lost together. When they cross paths, the Winter Soldier’s programming begins breaking down.

Preview / Part One / Part Two / Part Three

Birthday Cake - Steve Rogers

A one-shot story about a certain super soldier trying to surprise his girlfriend for her birthday. Note: This story is Steve Rogers x Reader instead of my usual Bucky Barnes x Reader. It was written as a gift to my friend.

Birthday Cake

Coffee Shop - Sam Wilson

A one-shot story in response to an anon request. Sam Wilson loves his local barista. Since this was a request, it doesn’t actually have a title.

Coffee Shop

I want to get some writing done at some point in the next few days, but I’m not sure which story I want to work on. Any requests?