Joana

Joana hissed.
"Oh shut up." Danika pressed the wet cloth to the cut on Joana's cheek. It was one of many on her face. "I don't know how you can even see."
Joana could barely see through her swelling eyes.
"This should have been dealt with as soon as I took you from that room. Not after a 30 minute conversation with the Commander. Your wounds could be infected."
Joana remained silent. Danika sighed and let her hands fall.
"I know why you did what you did," she said softly. "But you went to far. I'm glad you didn't kill Aleksi, more than I can say, but you shouldn't have-"
"I know." That was all she said for a while. Danika delicately cleaned Joana's wounds. Joana held a pack of ice to her ribs and winced when Danika moved her.
"You're so stupid," Danika whispered. Joana turned her face away, trying to hide the fact that her eyes were filling with tears.
"I know."
Danika lowered her hand and pursed her lips. She didn't know what to do.
"What did you promise him?" Joana asked all of the sudden.
"What do you-"
"So I could see Bucky, what did you trade away? What did you promise to give him?"
Danika lowered her head, a small smile on her face.
"You eaves drop too much, Joana."
Joana turned back to Danika and lifted her face with her hands.
"You give so much to me, Danika. Why? Why do you care so much?"
Danika's eyes averted away, unable to stay locked with Joana's cold gaze. She seemed to think for a long time before pulling her face from Joana's hands.
"Because I don't want you to be like me," she said, her voice quiet and hoarse. "Because I'm trying to help you fight them. Because I hate them. Because I hate who I've become and I don't know what I'd do if you became like me."
Joana had no words to respond to her. Danika scoffed lightly and pushed herself off Joana's bed.
"Rest. Keep that ice on your ribs. The Commander wants to get you back to training as soon as possible."

"One, two-"
"French."
"Trois, quatre-"
"Russian."
"Pyat, shest-"
"German."
"Sieben, acht-"
"Spanish."
"Nueve, diez-"
"English."
"Eleven, twelve-"
"Portuguese."
"Treze, quatorze-"
"Good, Joana!"
Danika blocked all of Joana's punches and kicks, but she knew Joana's patterns. Danika continued calling out different languages and making her say different things in those languages.
The Commander stalked around them, arms crossed. Every now and again, he whispered something to the scrawny girl following behind him. She would scribble on her clipboard and continue listening to what he said.
Joana made no mistakes in her languages, and she didn't stumble when Danika blocked her attacks. She didn't know how long she'd been fighting, but she could feel her muscles weakening.
"That's enough," the Comamnder said. Danika and Joana dropped their arms and stood, straight and stiff, standing at attenton. The Commander continued to walk circles around the two, eyes scannng every inch of their sweaty bodies. Joana tried to keep her breathing steady.
"Alright. Stark, you can sit out. I want to try this one out myself." The Commander grinned at Joana, and it made her stick to her stomach. Danika dripped her head and steppedoff of the fighting map. One of the onlookers was brave enough to speak up.
"Are you sure that that is safe, sir?" He asked, his german accent thick. "I mean, we've seen what she can do-"
"Quiet!"
The man shut his mouth instantly.
The other trainees, whom Joana had only known existed within the past five years, all sat by the wall looking on. Some of them kept stoic expressions, while others murmured to each other.
Joana swallowed, her mouth dry and took a fighting position. She lifted her hands and balanced her weight. The Commander took off his suit jacket and tie and threw off his shoes and socks. Danika sat beside the other trainers and put her chin in her hands. She nodded at Joana, who nodded back. She could do this.
"We won't be speaking this time. Just fighting. If you beat me, you'll get something special."
Another angry murmur went through the other trainees, all of whom were men.
"Enough!" The Commander snapped. They shut up immediately. "Shall we begin?"
The two lunged at each other. 15 minutes later, the Commander had a broken nose, two broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and a very bad bruise on his neck. Many of Joana's old wounds had reopened, she had three cracked ribs, a dislocated hip and shoulder, as well as a rapidly swelling left eye. They were both on the floor when the Commader called the match a duce. Danika rushed to her side, a grin on her face.
Helping her up, Danika ushered her to the medical bay.
"You did great, Joana."
"But I didn't win," the bleeding woman grumbled.
"But you're no the one who called the macth over. You didn't give up." Joana groaned loudly as the doctor readjusted her shoulder. "Which gives you extreme points. You're the only one the Commander decided to fight, which means he thinks you're good enough. You'll beat out all of those boys by a landslide."
Joana groaned again when her hip was put back into place. Danika smiled ad put her hands on Joana's knees, kneeling down to give the doctor room to finish fixing up Joana's wounds.
10 minutes later, Danika was walking Joana back to her room.
"Why is beating the other trainees so good? Doesn't that mean have to start killing soon? I can't do that."
"I've got that part covered. You won't be killing people for a long while. But you will have a very good standing place with the Commander, which is good for your plan."
Joana nodded.
"Will he let me see Bucky?"
"I do hope so, but first, he needs to talk to us."

"She's strong," the Commander said, looking at Danika, speaking as though Joana wasn't there. "Like fine whiskey. She gets stronger and harder with time. You're doing very well teaching her, Danika. She speaks, how many languages fluently?"
"Four, including English. Russian, French, and German are the other three.
"Impressive. The others are still learning French. She has the accents down and everything?"
"Yes, sir. She can speak English with all four accents, as well as the three languages in an English accent."
"What is she learning now?"
"Greek."
"Good, good. That's very good." The Commander scratched his crooked nose. "I think she'll do very nicely. Yes, very nicely."
"Sir, what about that reward you promised her?"
The Commander put his chin on his hands and stared at Joana. She stared back, not averting her constantly cold gaze.
"Would you like to see Barnes, Miss Kegley?"
Joana swallowed, her mouth going dry. She wanted to see him so badly.
She nodded once, afraid that if she looked too excited, he wouldn't allow her to see him.
"Would you like to be alone with him?"
She nodded again.
"You've been a very good girl, so we will allow it."
Joana's stomach twisted and churned. Happiness flooded her system, but she allowed herself only a very small smile. Her hands went clamy.
"No tests, no soldiers, no cameras, just you and Barnes."
Tears pricked Joana's eyes and she lowered her head. She would finally get to see him, after so long, she could finally see him.
Danika was freely smiling.
"Thank you, sir, thank you very much."
"Anything for my girls. You'll be in my quarters later?"
Joana's stomach dropped. She looked over at Danika, who's happy smile looked fake and forced.
"Of course, sir."
That's what she traded away. That's what she promised the Commander to allow Bucky and Joana to see each other. It made Joana sick.
"Follow me."
The Commander stood and walked towards the door. Joana timidly followed suit. He let her and Danika walk out before shutting the door behind himself. He lead them to a room that looked just like all the other rooms in the building.
"You get to see him on one condition: when we come to get you after your time is up, you don't fight. You don't kick or scratch or bite. You will come with us willingly. None of my soldiers will get hurt."
Joana nodded.
He opened hthe door and gestured for Joana to step inside.
Her heart pounded against her chest. She could hardly hear and she could barely see through the tears in her eyes. She looked back at Danika, who nodded her head. Joana stepped through the door.
There he was, standing in the middle of the room. He wasn't bound to a chair or being tortured. He was just standing there. His hands clenched and unclenched at his side. He looked almost nervous. Joana didn't hear the door close behind her.
"Jo-" before Bucky could say anything else, Joana ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. He lifted her off the floor and held her tight against him. Tears rolled from her eyes as she pressed her face into Bucky's neck. Her throat tightened and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. Bucky shifted his arms, holding her tighter and tighter. Joana inhaled his scent. It had changed over the past few years, but it was still him, it was still him.
She pulled away from him to press her lips against his. She could taste her own tears and his. Bucky set her down and put his hand on her face, brushing away her tears as he held the kiss. Joana pulled away from him and pressed her forehead to his.
"I'm so sorry," he started, but Joana shook her head.
"Don't." Her voice broke. "Don't."
She finally pulled away from him completely, soaking in every inch of his face. She still said nothing, she just stared at him. His blue eyes were duller. He had scars on his face that weren't there before. She saw his sunken cheeks and his gaunt eyes. His longe hair looked unwashed and unbrushed. He was stronger than he was before. She could feel it when he held her.
She lifted her hand and started to trace the lines of his face. His eyes cosed at her touch. She ran her fingers delicatly over every scar, every crease, every feature. She brushed her thumb over his lips. She closed her eyes and touched his nose with hers, like they used to do when they hadn't seen each other in a long time. That was enough to make him smile. His smile brought one to her lips.
"I've missed you," she said quietly, afraid that they would take her away if she talked too loudly.
"I've missed you too. How did you convince them to let you see me?"
"I've been a good girl. I haven't bitten anyone in a long time. Nor have I hit anyone I wasn't supposed to. I started eating again. I've been studying. I thought that if I showed them I could be good, they'd let me see you."
Bucky looked down and her throat tightened.
"I haven't killed anyone, I promise. I'm doing the best I can-"
"I know you are, Jo, I know. We both are. They're trying to make me forget. They're trying to make me forget everything. They're trying to turn me into something I'm not," he told her.
"How? That's not possible. They can't-"
"They can. They've tried it a few times already. It's worked. I forget everything for a few seconds then it all comes rushing back, but the time is getting longer. I'm forgetting for longer. Jo, I don't know how long I can do this."
Joana ran her hand through his hair and lifted his face to look back at hers.
"You have to keep fighting, Buck. We both do. When I'm strong enough, I can get you out of here. You and I can escape."
Bucky was at a loss for words. He kissed her again. He pushed his forhead against hers and held her waist tight in his arms.
"I never want to let you go," he whispered. She felt a smile creep up her lips.
"I promised the Commander that I wouldn't fight them when they came for me," she said.
"So I don't get to see my Baby Doll beat anymore people up?" He asked with a smile playing at his lips.
"I thought you wouldn't like me being such a savage, a heathen?"
"We do what it takes to survive, don't we?"
There was a few seconds silence.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear you call me that again," she told him before kissing him again. She hugged him again and he just held her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
The door opened behind her and they both flinched. The tears returned to Joana's eyes and she held tighter to Bucky.
"I love you," she whispered in his ear as the soldiers neared.
"Joana, come," the Commander said, a slight shake in his voice, as if he wasn't sure she would do it or not.
"I love you, too," Bucky whispered back. She slowly unwrapped herself from him and helped him stand. He brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear with his metal hand.
"I'll be back," she promised him and he nodded. She held his hand for just a second longer before kissing his metal knuckles.
She turned and slowly dropped his hand, the loss of his touch like a weight on her shoulders. She choked back a sob as she walked towards the Commander and out the door, away from Bucky. She kept walking down the hall as he shut the door behind her.

The Commander smiled to himself. He felt like laughing as he walked away from the door.
He had tamed the beast. She was his to control. Who would have thought that all this time Danika was right? Joana would do anything to see Bucky, anything.
"Even kill someone," he said aloud to himself. At that thought, he did laugh as he marched himself to his room, where Danika awaited him.
It was a good day.

________

Hello again you beautiful people. I very much enjoy writing this story, idk why, it's super dark but whatever. I really do love my characters and I'm really sorry for what I have to do to them in the future.

Anyway, enough about me. Here's to you, my readers. You're the reason I can keep writing because I know that the words that are floating endlessly throughout my head are going somewhere and not into a dumpster. I love you all so much and appreciate the time you spend reading my work.

Thank you all for your cooperation and I dearly hope you continue to enjoy my writing.

Go with confidence,
authorsbane