It had been roughly four years since Hydra had located and recovered the frozen body of Steve Rogers CAPTAIN AMERICA. By the time that they had thawed him out of the ice, Bucky Barnes THE WINTER SOLDIER was already under Hydra’s complete control, unable to recognize his former lover when they were first ‘introduced’. Believing that Steve could be just as much of an asset as Winter was, Hydra began the same torture treatment that they had used with Bucky. Over time, he was made to remember less and less, until he was at a state where they could mold him into what they wanted him to be. They erased all previous meaning that the name ‘Captain America’ had and replaced it with their own meaning, disguising their reasoning behind things like ‘America needs a soldier to save it from it’s inevitable downfall’ and ‘we’re doing this for America; they’re refusing our help when they know what we’re doing is right’. He had been put under Winters ‘care,’ both of them under the impression that they’d be PARTNERS ( after all, there was an opportunity that Hydra wasn’t going to miss– why send one person to do a mission when they could send two and do twice the damage? And in order for partners to work together, there had to be some sort of bond, regardless of what side they were on ), Winter training Steve CAPTAIN AMERICA in various modes of combat ( knives, hand-to-hand, even weaponry ).

As expected, a bond quickly formed between the two assets…but it wasn’t exactly the bond that Hydra had predicted.

No– it was far from what they predicted. The bond that they shared was something more akin to a ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP rather than just a simple partnership. Yet, again, to their surprise, such a relationship didn’t impair them during their missions, implying that they were fully aware that there was a time and a place for such feelings. That they knew, no matter what, the mission had to be completed. So for the time being, Hydra simply watched and waited, curious to see how their top two operatives would develop and if it would result in needing to step in.

“You’re the best thing I have.”

The words echoed in Winter’s head as he processed them fully, eyes remaining fixed on the knife that he about to toss at a target for practice ( practice that he didn’t need, but it was better to sharpen skills rather than let them diminish into nothing by not using them ). He certainly was the best at (most ) things that he was required to do, but being told that he was the best thing that someone had?That was foreign to the man and it almost stirred a bit of confusion within him. But this was Captain America– his Cap, his partner. There was no need for confusion.

Slowly, he flicked the knife upward so that he would be able to catch it by the handle, only to shove it back into its sheath at his side. There were no missions– no orders, no requirements to do much of anything at the moment, so he decided to skip his practice for once ( as odd of a feeling as it was ). Slowly his head tilted toward Cap, eyes following so that they could lock onto the blondes’. Being verbally ‘mushy’, as Winter liked to put it, wasn’t exactly his favorite thing…but he’d do it, for him.

“…The feelings mutual, Cap.”

❝ This world will try to bend you, break you. Scare you, shake you. Make you question all the things that make you. It will hurt, it won't be easy. Sometimes it's barely worth believing. But hope is light and fear is heavy. ❞ Ⓒ

Ind. & Selective BUCKY BARNES as told by Rae.
Post-Civil War, slightly canon divergent. NSFW+

ANY CIVIL WAR SPOILERS WILL BE TAGGED AS "CW SPOILERS".
Spoilers will be tagged until mid-june.