Dr-TrainVerse
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"Aren't you hot underneath all those sweaters?"

"Says the guy who used to cling to me like I was a heater."

"Hey!"

"Just sayin'."

Steve shot Bucky a glare and playfully slapped his back, though the hit was cushioned by the several layers of clothing that the former assassin was wearing. It was cold in Manhattan, he wasn't just gonna go outside in a t-shirt and jeans like Mr. America over there. It took tons of convincing to even get him to put on a jacket!

Bucky just cracked a smile and wrapped his arm around Steve's shoulders as he walked, his mind drifting back to the good ol' days where he'd be walking with a much smaller Steve to the market. Times were so much different now, but some things still felt the same. "Wanna stop and get some hot cocoa? It'll warm up your core." He suggested, though it was sort of meant to be a joke.

"I like how you make it, though." Steve whined a bit, stifling a snicker as he looked ahead. "I had to get through the layer of marshmallows before my lips could even touch the cocoa. Shops today just sprinkle a few in there and call it a day."

"That should be illegal." Bucky snorted in amusement, rolling his eyes. "Guess we're headin' back to the tower then. I'll make some cocoa for everyone." He smiled, brushing a few strands of hair out of his face as he turned around and started heading back towards the tower.

The duo walked for a few minutes, exchanging comments about the things that they didn't understand and reminiscing about the time they spent together in their apartment. While they were walking, Bucky thought he heard something and stiffened slightly. His senses were still heightened, which put him on edge all the time.

"What?" Steve asked, frowning when he didn't get an answer. "What's wrong, Buck? Another bad memory?" He questioned, setting a hand on Bucky's shoulder.

Bucky shook his head, his gaze staring off down an alleyway. There. He heard the noise again. Pulling away from Steve, he cautiously headed down the alleyway with one hand on the dagger that he had in his pocket. He knew the sound of crunching snow behind him was Steve, but what was that other sound? His breath formed into a foggy white cloud in front of his lips, dissipating into the frigid air almost immediately.

When he heard the sound again, he held Steve back with one hand and stood still. He listened intently, his facial expression changing from hard and intense to soft and perplexed. It sounded like.... crying? Careful not to step on any snow, he carefully peered around the corner of the building and saw a girl curled up beside a dumpster. She was crying her eyes out. Poor thing.

Steve looked over Bucky's shoulder, his gaze softening upon the girl. He noticed that she was freezing and was about to take off his jacket when Bucky gave him his. The captain nodded and slowly approached the girl, careful not to spook her. "Hey.... are you okay..?" He asked quietly, his heart hurting when she flinched away from him. "I promise I won't hurt you......"

The girl sniffed and looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot and her face thin and pale. She trembled harder and pulled her legs closer to her chest. It really bothered Steve that she looked just like Bucky did when he first brought him back to the tower. "P-Promise.....?" Her raspy voice barely came out as a whisper, indicating that she had been crying and possibly screaming for quite some time.

Steve nodded, crouching down before her and holding out the jacket. "Promise." He replied softly. "Listen... I'm going to give you this jacket and then I'm going to take you to a nice, warm place. Does that sound okay?"

The girl hesitated, but nodded soon afterwards and wiped her eyes. She allowed Steve to wrap her up in the jacket and pick her up, curling up into a ball against his chest. She was quite small and light, therefore easy to carry. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw Bucky, especially when she saw the glint of his metal arm, and she ducked her head into the folds of the jacket. "D-Don't let him hurt me!" She sobbed, her voice cracking several times.

Bucky's face fell and he looked away, his eyes growing cold. Steve noticed this and felt hurt, trying to comfort the crying girl in his arms while also consoling his closest friend. He gently shushed her, rubbing her back with one hand. "He won't hurt you. He's my best friend, his name is Bucky." He murmured, glancing up at Bucky.

'His name is Bucky.' That name didn't resonate as a threat in the girl's mind. She shuddered, cautiously peeking her head up to look at this 'Bucky'. He looked so much like.... him. "N-No... scary Winter man...?" She whimpered, her gaze locked on the portion of Bucky's metal arm that was visible.

Steve knew that had to have hurt Bucky, but he couldn't frighten the girl anymore. He drew in a slow breath and nodded, nudging Bucky so that he would start walking. "Nope. No scary Winter man..." He whispered, following Bucky back out onto the sidewalk. "You're safe with us, okay?"

The girl sniffed and perked up a bit, looking up at Steve with wide, stormy grey eyes. "O-Okay....." She mumbled, the tiniest of smiles tugging at the corners of her lips.

Steve couldn't help but smile back before focusing on following Bucky back to the tower. This would result in an explanation to Tony for sure.... but hopefully he would understand. One thought still nagged at his mind, though.

'How did she know about The Winter Soldier?'

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