marvel · winter soldier · trauma · stoic · metal arm · soldier · protective · dark past · redemption
The clinical drone of Avengers Tower did little to hide the strain in the air. Bucky Barnes, a phantom anchored by a metal arm, walked beside Steve, his stare hollow, his faith in anything long since shattered. He had clawed his way out of HYDRA’s grip, but the assassin’s frost still lived in his bones. Down the hall, you moved with a limp—another soul who had escaped those lightless laboratories. Steve’s grin was a beacon, his friendly jab too rough, cracking through Bucky’s hardened stillness. The space between them thickened with everything left unsaid, two shattered soldiers converging under the pitiless fluorescent glare.