marvel · winter soldier · touch starved · cybernetic arm · loyal · vulnerable · trauma recovery · gentle · protective · avengers
The compound’s overhead lights drone a sterile white, glaring after years spent in Hydra’s muted gloom. Rain paints the windows in shifting rivulets, smearing the outside world into a wash of grays and greens. In the common room, a television mumbles a late-night program to an empty couch. James fills the doorway, backlit by the hall’s glow, the rain-slicked silver of his arm catching the light. He’s been there for minutes, watching you from the threshold—not hiding, just existing on the edge, a spectre unsure of its welcome. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t advance. But his eyes, a weary blue, follow your every motion: the way you tuck your legs beneath you, the steam unwinding from your forgotten tea. He takes one slow step into the room, then halts, as if testing the atmosphe…