1943

Y/n let out a small yelp when she felt her body come in contact with the cold ground. She had her eyes squeezed shut on the way down, causing the sudden change in atmosphere to be a little dazing.

"Y/n, come on we gotta go." Steve shook her gently.

She looked up to see that they were amidst trees and dense forest, taking Steve's offering hand to stand up.

She brushed herself off and gave him a readying nod, allowing him to take the lead.

They slowly pattered through the trees and shrubs until they came across a building heavily guarded by HYDRA guardsmen.

Y/n's head snapped to the left, pulling Steve down to a crouch by his sleeve. He looked past her shoulder and watched as a series of German force vehicles emerged from the fog and towards the facility.

"Ready?" Steve turned to her as soon as the vehicles passed.

"As I'll ever be." She smirked, following him out of the forest.

He raced after one of the vehicles and raised his hand for Y/n to wait. He then launched himself into the back of the vehicle, concern etching onto Y/n's features.

"Steve! What are you-"

Suddenly, the flimsily placed tarp that covered the back of the truck ruffled from the commotion occurring on the inside. Two German soldiers flew out from the back, before Steve stuck a thumbs up out from the tarp for Y/n to get in.

She hastily climbed inside and shot Steve a baffled grin. "If anything's gonna get us killed tonight, it's you."

"We're doing fine so far." He laughed quietly. "Wait for my signal."

Y/n felt the dirt path beneath them turn to jagged gravel, signifying that they'd made it passed the gates to the facility.

Once the truck came to a rolling stop, Steve motioned for her to get behind the cheap, metal shield that Y/n was sure would serve no purpose throughout this rescue.

Someone from the outside curiously lifted the tarp, being met with Steve's shield. Steve quickly jabbed him with the shield, sending him flying backwards, and stepped out from the vehicle with Y/n following closely behind.

They weaved through a couple of HYDRA tanks, the eerie octopus emblem causing a wave of nausea to wash over Y/n. She clenched her jaw at the thought of Bucky held captive somewhere in the depths of the facility.

Steve scanned the layout ahead and noticed a lone tank placed conveniently by the large wall that separated them from the building. He tugged Y/n's hand, alerting her to stay close as they quickly sprinted towards the tank.

"Jeez slow down." Y/n muttered under her shaky breath. There was still some getting used to of Steve's new abilities. He leapt on top of the tank with ease, holding out his hand for Y/n. The tank was just high enough for them to easily reach the top of the wall, leading them straight into the building.

Y/n felt her mind go numb as they entered the building, letting Steve lead them both through the hallways. Not only Bucky, but hundreds of other 107th soldiers were being held captive in this appalling place.

Steve stopped in front of a metal door at the end of a large corridor, and peered into the tiny window in the middle.

Y/n took note of the man approaching from the other side and clung her body to the wall beside her, staying out of sight. Steve waited for him to open the door before jamming the man's head between the door and the frame, knocking him out temporarily.

Y/n dragged his limp body to the side and slipped into the rather large hall, housing many ginormous HYDRA weapons and explosives.

"Steve look at that." She pointed towards the luminous blue light coming from behind a series of missiles. They quietly made their way towards it and stopped to view the source of the glowing.

It was some kind of ammunition with a sort of powering element. They shared an unsure glance before Y/n picked one up, stuffing it hurriedly in her pocket.

The facility was impossibly giant, with halls and passages that felt seemingly endless, but they had managed to make it this far on their own. They were not planning on leaving this wretched place empty handed.

"Shouldn't we split up?" Y/n questioned as they continued to search the grounds for any sign of the soldiers.

"No, it's better we stick together Y/n."

"Steve I'm not a child. I've been trained by Peggy Carter for God's sake."

"Y/n." Steve repeated more sternly. "I made a promise to myself and to Bucky. If anything were to happen to you I'd never forgive myself. I know Bucky wouldn't either."

Y/n opened her mouth to argue, before pulling Steve to a stop. "Over there."

She didn't give him time to question her as she pulled him down to a large entrance, leading to a room with what looked like vents on the floor. A HYDRA soldier was circling the vents, with a blue device attached to his gun.

"Are those vents? Or..." She trailed off.

Steve's lips tilted into a hopeful grin "Definitely not."

She followed closely behind, waiting for him to knock out the soldier. She joined his side and let out a sigh of relief as a group of 107th soldiers gazed up at them puzzlingly through the bars.

"Who are you guys supposed to be?" One of them asked.

"I'm..." Steve hesitated, glancing at his shield. "I'm Captain America."

Y/n's eyes flicked around the crowd of soldiers, her shoulders slumping dishearteningly.

"C'mon." Steve nodded down towards the soldiers, understanding her intention.

Steve broke each of the locks, freeing the captive soldiers who all whisked past them out of the claustrophobic space.

"Is there anybody else?" Steve asked promptly.

"We're looking for a Sergeant James Barnes." Y/n told them, biting her lip as each moment passed without finding him.

"There's an isolation ward in the factory." One of the soldiers informed them. "But no one's ever come from from it."

Y/n's hands began to unwittingly shake at his words. She felt Steve grip her shoulder reassuringly.

"The tree line is northwest, 80 yards past the gate. Get out fast and give 'em hell." Steve instructed them. "I'll meet you guys in the clearing with anybody else I find."

"Wait." One of the soldiers stopped behind him. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah. I've knocked out Adolf Hitler over 100 times." Steve said before disappearing into the depths of the building.

"Make that 200!" Y/n added.

Steve and Y/n made their way through the building in the direction the man had given them, taking out the dozens of HYDRA soldiers that came flooding their way.

All that training with Peggy had finally proven to be as impressive as Y/n hoped. Her veins pumped what felt like fire as her fists collided with the jaws of the numerous soldiers that appeared one after another.

Steve stole occasional glances at his best friend mid fight, who had clearly become a completely different person within those
months of training.

"Well that's new!" Steve threw Y/n a stupid grin as they fought their way through a wave of HYDRA soldiers.

"Told ya!" She replied, finishing off the last one.

The walls around them rumbled ever so slightly, notifying them that the 107th soldiers had managed to adhere to the instructions given by Steve, and were engaged in battle outside.

Y/n stopped to wait for Steve as he hoisted one last soldier over the metal railing of the second level. Her gaze traveled to the view of the weaponry ahead, where HYDRA soldiers were frantically hurrying around at the sound of the blaring alarms.

They knew Steve was here. Their biggest threat, Captain America.

They reached the inside of what seemed like an older wing of the building. The once mahogany bricks were decaying into an ashy grey, evidently fitting for the things that happened within the walls of the building.

"Who the hell..."

Steve copied her gaze straight ahead to the rather short, man exiting one of the few rooms in the corridor. His eyes enlarged behind his round glasses as he made a run for it, seeing that he wasn't one for fighting and would surely lose against Steve and Y/n.

"Wait Steve." Y/n put her hand in front of him before he could chase after the suspicious man. She made her way to the room he had came out of, and almost as if a switch had been flipped, she lowered her strong soldier facade and rushed to the center of the room.

Steve immediately followed her inside, hearing a series of groans from an awfully familiar voice.

"Sergeant... three-two-five-five-seven.

"Oh my God... Bucky!" Y/n's heart dropped into her stomach as she hurried to the examination table where her best friend was strapped down. She cupped his face that was now peppered with stubble, watching as he continued to murmur incoherent phrases under his breath.

Steve quickly joined her side, shaking Bucky gently."Buck? It's me, Steve."

Y/n's eyes quickly shifted to the straps, which she quickly got to undoing.

"Is that..."

"Buck it's Y/n, and Steve."

"S-Steve." Bucky's eyes flickered open, a small smile making his way onto his lips. "Y/n."

"C'mon we gotta go." Steve told his as he helped him off the table.

Y/n let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Bucky's eyes told stories on their own of the tremendous things he had seen during his time on the field. If only she could have been there with him at the time.

Her hand flew to her face as she frantically wiped the tears that brimmed her eyes, praying neither Steve nor Bucky saw the small action.

He had fully regained consciousness as soon as they got him on his feet. His eyebrows knit together as he took a quick glance at Steve, which turned into a long and confused stare.

"We thought you were dead." Y/n whispered from beside him.

"I thought he was smaller." Bucky gawked, glancing to Y/n. "What the hell did I miss?"

"I'll fill you in later." She let out a chuckle at the sound of his voice, something she had longed to hear for months. "Let's get outta here."

Steve wrapped an arm around Bucky as he stumbled, still slightly disoriented from whatever HYDRA had done to him. Y/n supported him from the other side, draping her own arm over his shoulder.

"What happened to you Steve?" Bucky questioned as they headed for the door.

"I joined the army." Steve said simply.

Once they had made it halfway down the hall, Steve let go of Bucky, who had managed to regain enough strength to walk.

"Y/n, I'm okay, you can let go." Bucky told her, chuckling slightly when she quickly dropped her arm to her side.

"S-sorry."

"Don't be." He smiled softly. "I missed you so damn much."

"I feared the worst." She breathed, letting her eyes linger on his for a second. "I was so scared Buck I-"

"Hey hey..." He squeezed her hand, sighing at the feeling of her soft skin against his once again. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying by your side."

She nodded, letting a smile form on her lips briefly. "Okay."

Bucky returned his attention to the now towering Steve, who was freakishly taller than the little Steve Rogers he had left in Brooklyn a few months ago.

"Did it hurt?"

"A little, but Y/n was with me through it." Steve told him.

"S-she was?"

"Through it all." Steve quipped. "She was just about as shocked as I was when it happened."

Bucky let out a light chuckle, having to shake his head and remind himself that he'd never been the jealous type. Steve was his best friend after all.

So was Y/n...

His best friend.

"Is it permanent?" He asked.

Steve shrugged, continuing to lead them out of the facility. "So far."

"As much as I'm dying to catch up, we need to hurry and get the hell out of here." Y/n's pace quickened, stepping ahead of Steve. "I can't be the only one who heard those explosions."

The boys nodded and followed close behind her, making their way back down to the nearest exit.

"This way." She pointed. Just as they had made it to the top of the weaponry hall, a sudden rumble sent all three of them stumbling into each other. They scrambled to their feet to see that the hall was now completely ablaze, with every explosive having been set off at once.

The confidence that had been drilling through Y/n's chest had suddenly vanished. Steve quickly pulled his two friends behind his shield as incoming debris flew their way.

"Up there!" Steve ran over to the stairs that led up to the catwalk just above, leading them to the highest point where they could hopefully avoid the roaring flames below.

"Captain America! How exciting!"

The three turned to the other end of the platform, where two men stood seemingly awaiting Steve's arrival.

"Schmidt." Y/n scowled to the Nazi leader.

"I am a great fan of your films!" Schmidt exclaimed. He slowly made his way down the catwalk from the other end. "So, Dr. Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement, but still, impressive."

Steve slowly made his way towards him, meeting him at the middle. He suddenly delivered a quick blow to Schmidt's face, throwing him off balance.

"You've got no idea." Steve muttered, watching as he slowly stood up.

"Haven't I?" He grinned menacingly, throwing an equal punch towards Steve. Steve lifted his shield up in time, only for it to be dented in the shape of a fist.

"He's wearing a mask." Y/n whispered under her breath, loud enough for Bucky to hear.

"How can you tell?"

"Look at his eyes." She pointed. "There's some kind of loose skin pulled under them. Judging by the big dent he put in Steve's shield, he has a similar kind of serum."

"Yeah, but something's definitely wrong." Bucky noted. "What did he mean when he told Steve that-"

Their conversation was interrupted when the other man from behind pulled a lever, separating both ends of the catwalk and leaving a giant gap between them. Steve was pulled back to where Y/n and Bucky were idly standing.

"No matter what lies Erskine told you, you see I was his greatest success!" Schmidt shouted over the flames, drawing his hand to his face. Their mouths hung open as he began stripping his own flesh right off his face, revealing a completely red, sunken face that looked straight out of a horror movie.

"...You don't have one of those do you?" Bucky murmured to Steve, completely dumbfounded.

"You are deluded, Captain." Schmidt went on. "You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality, you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind!"

He smirked as Steve remained silent. "Unlike you, I embrace it proudly! Without fear!"

"Then how come you're running?" Steve questioned as Schmidt entered the elevator behind.

Schmidt closed the doors and simply grinned, leaving the three with no answers, and worse, no way out.

They flinched as another explosion followed his exit, resulting in more flames that climbed higher as the building around them became engulfed in their depths.

Y/n's eyes lifted to where a thick beam could be seen stretching to the other side. "C'mon let's go up!" Steve and Bucky followed closely behind.

"Dear God." Y/n's breath hitched as she gazed anxiously at the shaky beam that hovered over what looked like hell itself, below them.

"Take a deep breath." Bucky told her calmly, grasping her hand. "I've got you."

She nodded and waiting for him to climb the railing.

"Wait Y/n." Steve grabbed her shoulder. "It's not stable enough, we have to go one at a time."

"Y/n you go first." Bucky blurted, lifting her over the railing. "We gotta hurry."

"But-"

"C'mon, don't worry about us! Go!" Steve urged, not allowing her to protest any longer. "The longer we stay here, the more likely we are to get cooked alive."

Y/n's eyes drifted once more to the angry flames that were only climbing higher each passing second.

She chewed on her lip, not daring to look down as she carefully stepped across the beam, feeling it begin to lose it's durability. Her heart threatened to jump right out of her throat as she felt the heat of the inferno blazing beneath her feet.

She kept her eyes glued to the platform ahead, only realizing that she had only made it just over halfway.

Steve and Bucky's voices had been toned out completely. There was no room for panic, they were counting on her. She was counting on herself.

She let out a sigh of relief and collapsed forward into the railing, lugging herself over to the safety of the other side.

"Alright Buck, now you." Steve offered him a reassuring nod, before Bucky carefully climbed over and onto the wobbly beam.

"C'mon... c'mon..." Y/n muttered under her breath as Bucky slowly made his way toward her.

More explosions continued to tremor from the depths of the fire, nearly throwing Bucky off balance. His injuries ceased to help at the moment either.

"Bucky!!" Y/n gasped as a forceful explosion caused the beam to jerk downwards, still managing to stay up in place.

Bucky stumbled as he tried to regain his balance. He locked his eyes with Y/n's, who had become his new objective of reaching.

Steve watched anxiously from behind, his focus going back and forth from the fire to Bucky.

Curses shot past her lips as another explosion caused the beam to shift downwards once again.

Bucky looked towards Y/n as his small steps turned into a sprint. Y/n nearly leapt over the railing as she caught both of Bucky's hands into her's just as the beam plunged straight into the flames.

She pulled him over into the safety of her arms, turning her focus to Steve, who was left completely stranded on the other side.

Bucky shook his head in disbelief. "There's gotta be a rope or something!"

"Just go! Get out of here!" Steve waved dismissively.

"No, not without you!" Bucky yelled from across, gripping the metal rails.

"You're a damn idiot if you think we're leaving here without you Steve." Y/n scoffed, her voice breaking ever so slightly. "I promised that I'd leave here with both of you."

Steve muttered a curse under his breath before glancing at the broken metal railing. He began bending it back far enough for there to be a large opening.

Y/n's eyes widened as soon as she realized what his intentions were. "There's no way in hell he's..."

Steve stepped backwards until his back hit the wall, keeping his on gaze fixated on his best friends, rather than the explosions below. Anything for reassurance.

Like almost every other moment like this one, it seemed that time liked to create the illusion that it had slowed. As if every detail, every passing second, had to be savored as best as it could.

Was it the fire that burned? Or the adrenaline?

The three of them couldn't seem to tell.

All that mattered, was the feeling of Steve tumbling into Y/n and Bucky, throwing them into the wall while relieved and breathless laughs drowned out the chaos for a second.

Just a second.