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1character2025-12-03 02:21 pm
ultra_fic) wrote in 1character2025-12-03 02:21 pm
One Tin Soldier (50 sentences about Bucky Barnes)
Character: Bucky Barnes
Fandom: MCU
Theme set: alpha
Rating: T/PG-13
Warnings: No warnings apply.
Author's Note: Written as one continuous story; also available on AO3, with and without prompt words included.
(Speak) It was one thing to be a man of few words, but they made him a monster of none; on any occasion when he might dare to utter more than a guttural sound, he was always punished, not with a beating he would barely feel, but with another painful, agonising mind-wipe.
(Touch) Each and every time, starting afresh, he knew nothing of what had gone before, no name, no recognition, no history at all, just a blank slate, until one day, one moment, when she reached out a curiously gentle hand and touched his face.
(Memory) The spark of memory was so sudden and clear, he physically reeled from the shock, grateful in the very next moment to realise nobody saw... except for her.
(Vanilla) She was one of them, the girls being trained to be devils, the same they called Black Widows, and yet she was different; a single pale flower in a field of poppies dark as night, and somehow, in spite of what she was, despite of what he was, they cared for each other.
(Chocolate) The first time they kissed, it sparked a memory that didn’t even seem like it ought to be his own, of being in Europe and tasting real chocolate for the first time, all bitter and sweet in equal measure - such was his Natalia.
(Ways and Means) Everything was against them, every barrier set in their path, it ought to be unsurmountable, but there were always ways and means, and when it came to her, she was just worth it to him, and apparently, somehow, she believed the same of him.
(Belief) When she said she loved him, he turned his face away, telling her love was for children, though even he didn’t know why; her hand at his cheek, making him look at her again, the tears in her eyes when he finally met her gaze, it had been enough to make him believe after all.
(Linger) The day they took him away, he only longed for a moment of goodbye, not even needing to speak it out loud, just hoping and even praying that he would be spared the chance of one last glance, but no, all he was left with was a blurry memory that lingered even after they wiped his mind one more time.
(Luminance) When he looked into the light and they asked him again what he recalled from the Red Room, he told them nothing remained, and for the most part, it was true, but even then, there was something, scratching at the edges of his mind, shining like a beacon in the dark, even when he could no longer remember who it was he had left behind.
(Ornament) Sometimes, in-between the nightmares, he would dream of something, someone, a figure that he could barely make out, like an automaton come to life, swirling around the way a ballerina in a jewellery box might, ornamental and beautiful, but untouchable, always just out of reach.
(Coup de foudre - love at first sight) Time was irrelevant since he never knew how long he had been under when they pulled him out of cryo and sent him on a new mission, but when he saw her, he wondered if it was even possible, took off his goggles, pulled in a deep breath, and looked again, his heart exploding in his chest with a hundred emotions, including the love the Winter Soldier should never feel, before realising his Natalia had become his new mission.
(Archway) The dreams intensify after he sees her, and even the mind-wipes can’t shake them loose; a hundred still-frames that make no sense, but always her face, looking out at him from the shadows, under the arch of a bridge, in the mouth of an alleyway, his Natalia, at the centre of everything.
(Fate) Something significant must have led him to this moment, not just to Captain America, who calls him Bucky and swears they were friends, but to Natalia too; for all that he has been through, for all he cannot quite recall, now the soldier knows that there must have been a plan all along.
(Pulse) After the fight that brings on so many memories of the past, of New York, and Steve, and the war, a whole mass of fragments that make no sense, the soldier, who is Bucky once again, is subjected to cold, so cold - yet through all this he remembers the warmth of friendship and home, and he reaches for it, pulling Captain America, Steve, to the surface of the water and up the bank, his pulse beating as strongly as the memories thudding away in Bucky’s broken mind.
(Envelope) He has nothing to hold onto, nothing concrete to ground him, but he tries so hard to keep a grip on the memories that come and go, day and night, which is why he starts to write them down, on scraps of paper, diner napkins, bus tickets, anything, stuffing them all together in a worn envelope that he hides inside his jacket, close to what’s left of his heart.
(Cold) There’s a draught that comes in under the door, even though it’s summer now, and Bucky - because he knows now that is his name - wonders if he imagines the cold, if it’s just got so deep in his bones, that it will never leave him, perhaps because the version of himself he is now was built somewhere cold and dark, or perhaps just because of all the heartless, monstrous things they made him do.
(Need) It’s a yearning, clawing feeling in his chest that just won’t quit, no matter how much Bucky tries to squash it down; he feels too much, so much more than the soldier was ever supposed to, wishing he could track down those he used to know, used to love, but knowing that is not an option - they could never accept him now.
(Drunk) The alcohol doesn’t work, though he tries and tries to take in enough to numb the pain, it cannot work; thanks to the serum that rushes through his veins, he can never be drunk, can never be free.
(Mask) When people stare, he wonders if he was better off before, hiding behind the goggles and mask, silent as the grave and twice as deadly, because now, he has to make his own disguise, and Bucky isn’t at all sure it’s as effective as he wishes it would be.
(Rose) If anyone was going to track him down, he expected it to be Steve, but when he suddenly sees a flash of red hair in a crowd, a woman with cat-like stealth, a beautiful rose in a sea of thorns, he knows it is Natalia, come to seek out her lost soldier.
(Two) For so long, he had been alone, even when surrounded by those controlling him, using him, he was just one alone, an island, but when she was back at his side, he found hope, simply because she was there.
(Fresh) Natalia told him it was a chance to start over, the same way she had, moving over to the side for good and wiping the red from her ledger; it was possible for him too, she said, and Bucky wanted to believe it - wanted to, but wasn’t sure he dared.
(Bribe) When he asked her if she knew what happened, back in the Red Room, before she graduated, she hedged a lot and turned her face away, but the moment he asked if she had been offered an easier time if she stopped asking questions about him, her eyes met his own and were cold as steel - he ought to have known better than that.
(Error) It was his own mistake and he had to own it, because when Natalia said she had always hoped to see him again, he ought to have believed her; after all, even when his own brain was scrambled beyond all sense, she still existed in the part of him that was still Bucky, still James, still a man and not a mindless machine.
(Appetite) After a while, they fell into old habits, acting like the world was only the two of them for as long as they could, but one night over dinner, she pitched the idea of taking him home with her again, and the idea of food suddenly made him feel sick.
(Refrain) The soldier had learned to be James again in the company of Natalia, but wasn’t sure how to be the Bucky that Steve remembered, no matter how hard he tried, at least not until his old friend, his brother pulled out the old familiar smile, the old familiar words, ‘How are you doing, Buck?’ and opened his arms to hug him tight.
(Family) It was the family that he needed, that he hadn’t known he was missing until it was put in front of him, from Steve who he had grown up alongside, to Natalia who had owned a piece of his ravaged heart for too long, and then all the other heroes, who welcomed in a lost soul they didn’t even know and gave Bucky a place to belong.
(Grieve) It wasn’t easy, because nothing could erase what had been done by the Winter Soldier, and like it or not, with his will or against it, Bucky was the one who had completed all those missions, and he was left to grieve the loss of every person he had been forced to eliminate.
(Vapor) Dreams disappeared on waking, evaporating like steam from a kettle, but nightmares lingered, through the night, through the day, asleep and awake, and Bucky wondered how he would ever escape them.
(Tea) Each morning he woke up to a new day, sat on the balcony of the room that had become his own within the tower, cradling a cup in his hands and watching the city go about its business, usually with Natalia or Steve, sometimes both, there beside him, letting him know it was going to be alright.
(Medicine) They all tried, but only when the genius sister of Black Panther got involved did it seem likely that real help was truly at hand, a way to navigate the labyrinth of Bucky’s tangled mind, and somehow free him from the clutches of HYDRA’s programming; he hoped rather than believed it could work, as the needle was plunged into his arm and he went under.
(Moth) He was drawn out of the darkness into the light by the calling of his name, and hearing ‘James’ let him know it was Natalia, holding his hand, telling him it was okay, and even though it wasn’t over yet, because it was her, he believed it was true.
(Perfect) There were moments when everything was so clear, so good, almost perfect; those were the moments that scared Bucky more than any other, because things that were so wonderful were often so fragile, and he feared losing it all again, and all too easily.
(Rope) Bound to the table, he didn’t struggle when he woke, didn’t even panic, knowing the measures were necessary and all part of the process; he just had to keep faith in Shuri, in Steve, in Natalia, knowing they would see him through the worst and out of the other side.
(Wind) She promised he was safe, and still he braced for the worst, not because Bucky didn’t trust Shuri, but because it seemed so impossible for his ordeal to finally be over, until finally she spoke the code words that had triggered the Winter Soldier for too long, and they passed by in the wind, not touching Bucky at all - a miracle.
(Crossroads) What came next was the big question and Bucky only wished he had an answer for it, standing as he was at a crossroads in his life, with so many directions to choose from, only knowing for sure that he was done fighting, at least for the time being.
(Summer) It was as if the sun had come shining through the dark clouds, the first light and warmth of summer after a winter that seemed never-ending, and James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes was basking in the joy he felt, able to be truly himself among those who loved him, at last.
(Candy) She called him old-fashioned and rolled her eyes, yet she was happy enough with the card and the candy, Bucky was sure, because Natalia kissed his cheek, saying, ‘Thank you, James,’ and making it sound an awful lot like, ‘I love you.’
(Photograph) When Steve presented him with a birthday gift, Bucky wasn’t so surprised, until he saw what lay beneath the wrapping paper - an album full of photographs, some old and almost forgotten from their younger days, including the war, and then others from the present day, with friends and fellow heroes, and one special picture of Bucky and the woman they now called Natasha, hand-in-hand and smiling.
(Spoon) They had moved in together at the tower without any real decision or announcement made, and Bucky slept better, without so many nightmares creeping in, with his Nat curled up in his arms, her back against his chest and her fingers intertwined with his own.
(Forest) It was too easy to get lost in the woods, the labyrinth of Bucky’s own mind becoming too dark and twisted, he was unable to find his way clear, even with Nat or Steve doing their best to help him through, and he lashed out and was so sorry after.
(Mirror) Nat told him he could be a better man, while Steve reminded him of the guy he used to be; it helped, and so, as time passed, he started to look in the mirror at the Bucky his old friend knew, at James who Natalia loved, and he believed.
(Smoke) The Winter Soldier, who had worn the face of James Buchanan Barnes for too long, started to fade, floating away like smoke, as days turned into weeks and months and longer, leaving behind a man who once again belonged, with friends, family, and a team of heroes.
(Shine) He never pictured himself as the cape and tights type, but Bucky adjusted as best he could to be a part of The Avengers, doing his best to keep the citizens of the city safe from harm, then smiling for the cameras that flashed, shining like a beacon of hope, just as Steve had done for so long.
(Balloon) On the good days, when he felt happy, and the world didn’t need saving, they would go out, just for the sake of going, doing things just because they could, because he never had, because he wanted to, and Bucky felt so high he might as well have been flying, floating in the blue beyond, never wanting to come down.
(Vine) It pulled at him sometimes, the memories of his dark past, not even just the things he had done, but the circumstances that had led him to meet Natalia, the fights that came after he was supposed to be healed, thick tendrils of angst, wrapping around his limbs and pulling him down, but Bucky always refused to succumb.
(Butterfly) Hope was ever-present in Bucky’s heart and mind, because the world was so full of possibilities - for every villain, a dozen heroes; for every shower of rain, a burst of sunshine; for every cold, dark winter’s night, a bright new summer day, with flowers, butterflies, and all things bright and new.
(Gloves) She worries sometimes, even after so long, but at last Bucky is able to reassure her, telling Nat that he doesn’t need handling with kid gloves anymore; he is stronger now, and a large part of that is down to her.
(Venom) It reaches a point where Bucky can think of all the parts of his past and make peace with it all - reaching back into the poisonous depth, but come out unscathed, untouched, unharmed, almost as if he has become immune somehow.
(Remain) They stayed together, Bucky and Nat, James and Natalia, the names didn’t matter, they never even got married, but sat together, with her hand held in his own, he knows he is where he is supposed to be, where he will always stay; lifting her hand to his lips, he kisses the back and the couple share a smile, a promise that they will always be together, forever.
Fandom: MCU
Theme set: alpha
Rating: T/PG-13
Warnings: No warnings apply.
Author's Note: Written as one continuous story; also available on AO3, with and without prompt words included.
(Speak) It was one thing to be a man of few words, but they made him a monster of none; on any occasion when he might dare to utter more than a guttural sound, he was always punished, not with a beating he would barely feel, but with another painful, agonising mind-wipe.
(Touch) Each and every time, starting afresh, he knew nothing of what had gone before, no name, no recognition, no history at all, just a blank slate, until one day, one moment, when she reached out a curiously gentle hand and touched his face.
(Memory) The spark of memory was so sudden and clear, he physically reeled from the shock, grateful in the very next moment to realise nobody saw... except for her.
(Vanilla) She was one of them, the girls being trained to be devils, the same they called Black Widows, and yet she was different; a single pale flower in a field of poppies dark as night, and somehow, in spite of what she was, despite of what he was, they cared for each other.
(Chocolate) The first time they kissed, it sparked a memory that didn’t even seem like it ought to be his own, of being in Europe and tasting real chocolate for the first time, all bitter and sweet in equal measure - such was his Natalia.
(Ways and Means) Everything was against them, every barrier set in their path, it ought to be unsurmountable, but there were always ways and means, and when it came to her, she was just worth it to him, and apparently, somehow, she believed the same of him.
(Belief) When she said she loved him, he turned his face away, telling her love was for children, though even he didn’t know why; her hand at his cheek, making him look at her again, the tears in her eyes when he finally met her gaze, it had been enough to make him believe after all.
(Linger) The day they took him away, he only longed for a moment of goodbye, not even needing to speak it out loud, just hoping and even praying that he would be spared the chance of one last glance, but no, all he was left with was a blurry memory that lingered even after they wiped his mind one more time.
(Luminance) When he looked into the light and they asked him again what he recalled from the Red Room, he told them nothing remained, and for the most part, it was true, but even then, there was something, scratching at the edges of his mind, shining like a beacon in the dark, even when he could no longer remember who it was he had left behind.
(Ornament) Sometimes, in-between the nightmares, he would dream of something, someone, a figure that he could barely make out, like an automaton come to life, swirling around the way a ballerina in a jewellery box might, ornamental and beautiful, but untouchable, always just out of reach.
(Coup de foudre - love at first sight) Time was irrelevant since he never knew how long he had been under when they pulled him out of cryo and sent him on a new mission, but when he saw her, he wondered if it was even possible, took off his goggles, pulled in a deep breath, and looked again, his heart exploding in his chest with a hundred emotions, including the love the Winter Soldier should never feel, before realising his Natalia had become his new mission.
(Archway) The dreams intensify after he sees her, and even the mind-wipes can’t shake them loose; a hundred still-frames that make no sense, but always her face, looking out at him from the shadows, under the arch of a bridge, in the mouth of an alleyway, his Natalia, at the centre of everything.
(Fate) Something significant must have led him to this moment, not just to Captain America, who calls him Bucky and swears they were friends, but to Natalia too; for all that he has been through, for all he cannot quite recall, now the soldier knows that there must have been a plan all along.
(Pulse) After the fight that brings on so many memories of the past, of New York, and Steve, and the war, a whole mass of fragments that make no sense, the soldier, who is Bucky once again, is subjected to cold, so cold - yet through all this he remembers the warmth of friendship and home, and he reaches for it, pulling Captain America, Steve, to the surface of the water and up the bank, his pulse beating as strongly as the memories thudding away in Bucky’s broken mind.
(Envelope) He has nothing to hold onto, nothing concrete to ground him, but he tries so hard to keep a grip on the memories that come and go, day and night, which is why he starts to write them down, on scraps of paper, diner napkins, bus tickets, anything, stuffing them all together in a worn envelope that he hides inside his jacket, close to what’s left of his heart.
(Cold) There’s a draught that comes in under the door, even though it’s summer now, and Bucky - because he knows now that is his name - wonders if he imagines the cold, if it’s just got so deep in his bones, that it will never leave him, perhaps because the version of himself he is now was built somewhere cold and dark, or perhaps just because of all the heartless, monstrous things they made him do.
(Need) It’s a yearning, clawing feeling in his chest that just won’t quit, no matter how much Bucky tries to squash it down; he feels too much, so much more than the soldier was ever supposed to, wishing he could track down those he used to know, used to love, but knowing that is not an option - they could never accept him now.
(Drunk) The alcohol doesn’t work, though he tries and tries to take in enough to numb the pain, it cannot work; thanks to the serum that rushes through his veins, he can never be drunk, can never be free.
(Mask) When people stare, he wonders if he was better off before, hiding behind the goggles and mask, silent as the grave and twice as deadly, because now, he has to make his own disguise, and Bucky isn’t at all sure it’s as effective as he wishes it would be.
(Rose) If anyone was going to track him down, he expected it to be Steve, but when he suddenly sees a flash of red hair in a crowd, a woman with cat-like stealth, a beautiful rose in a sea of thorns, he knows it is Natalia, come to seek out her lost soldier.
(Two) For so long, he had been alone, even when surrounded by those controlling him, using him, he was just one alone, an island, but when she was back at his side, he found hope, simply because she was there.
(Fresh) Natalia told him it was a chance to start over, the same way she had, moving over to the side for good and wiping the red from her ledger; it was possible for him too, she said, and Bucky wanted to believe it - wanted to, but wasn’t sure he dared.
(Bribe) When he asked her if she knew what happened, back in the Red Room, before she graduated, she hedged a lot and turned her face away, but the moment he asked if she had been offered an easier time if she stopped asking questions about him, her eyes met his own and were cold as steel - he ought to have known better than that.
(Error) It was his own mistake and he had to own it, because when Natalia said she had always hoped to see him again, he ought to have believed her; after all, even when his own brain was scrambled beyond all sense, she still existed in the part of him that was still Bucky, still James, still a man and not a mindless machine.
(Appetite) After a while, they fell into old habits, acting like the world was only the two of them for as long as they could, but one night over dinner, she pitched the idea of taking him home with her again, and the idea of food suddenly made him feel sick.
(Refrain) The soldier had learned to be James again in the company of Natalia, but wasn’t sure how to be the Bucky that Steve remembered, no matter how hard he tried, at least not until his old friend, his brother pulled out the old familiar smile, the old familiar words, ‘How are you doing, Buck?’ and opened his arms to hug him tight.
(Family) It was the family that he needed, that he hadn’t known he was missing until it was put in front of him, from Steve who he had grown up alongside, to Natalia who had owned a piece of his ravaged heart for too long, and then all the other heroes, who welcomed in a lost soul they didn’t even know and gave Bucky a place to belong.
(Grieve) It wasn’t easy, because nothing could erase what had been done by the Winter Soldier, and like it or not, with his will or against it, Bucky was the one who had completed all those missions, and he was left to grieve the loss of every person he had been forced to eliminate.
(Vapor) Dreams disappeared on waking, evaporating like steam from a kettle, but nightmares lingered, through the night, through the day, asleep and awake, and Bucky wondered how he would ever escape them.
(Tea) Each morning he woke up to a new day, sat on the balcony of the room that had become his own within the tower, cradling a cup in his hands and watching the city go about its business, usually with Natalia or Steve, sometimes both, there beside him, letting him know it was going to be alright.
(Medicine) They all tried, but only when the genius sister of Black Panther got involved did it seem likely that real help was truly at hand, a way to navigate the labyrinth of Bucky’s tangled mind, and somehow free him from the clutches of HYDRA’s programming; he hoped rather than believed it could work, as the needle was plunged into his arm and he went under.
(Moth) He was drawn out of the darkness into the light by the calling of his name, and hearing ‘James’ let him know it was Natalia, holding his hand, telling him it was okay, and even though it wasn’t over yet, because it was her, he believed it was true.
(Perfect) There were moments when everything was so clear, so good, almost perfect; those were the moments that scared Bucky more than any other, because things that were so wonderful were often so fragile, and he feared losing it all again, and all too easily.
(Rope) Bound to the table, he didn’t struggle when he woke, didn’t even panic, knowing the measures were necessary and all part of the process; he just had to keep faith in Shuri, in Steve, in Natalia, knowing they would see him through the worst and out of the other side.
(Wind) She promised he was safe, and still he braced for the worst, not because Bucky didn’t trust Shuri, but because it seemed so impossible for his ordeal to finally be over, until finally she spoke the code words that had triggered the Winter Soldier for too long, and they passed by in the wind, not touching Bucky at all - a miracle.
(Crossroads) What came next was the big question and Bucky only wished he had an answer for it, standing as he was at a crossroads in his life, with so many directions to choose from, only knowing for sure that he was done fighting, at least for the time being.
(Summer) It was as if the sun had come shining through the dark clouds, the first light and warmth of summer after a winter that seemed never-ending, and James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes was basking in the joy he felt, able to be truly himself among those who loved him, at last.
(Candy) She called him old-fashioned and rolled her eyes, yet she was happy enough with the card and the candy, Bucky was sure, because Natalia kissed his cheek, saying, ‘Thank you, James,’ and making it sound an awful lot like, ‘I love you.’
(Photograph) When Steve presented him with a birthday gift, Bucky wasn’t so surprised, until he saw what lay beneath the wrapping paper - an album full of photographs, some old and almost forgotten from their younger days, including the war, and then others from the present day, with friends and fellow heroes, and one special picture of Bucky and the woman they now called Natasha, hand-in-hand and smiling.
(Spoon) They had moved in together at the tower without any real decision or announcement made, and Bucky slept better, without so many nightmares creeping in, with his Nat curled up in his arms, her back against his chest and her fingers intertwined with his own.
(Forest) It was too easy to get lost in the woods, the labyrinth of Bucky’s own mind becoming too dark and twisted, he was unable to find his way clear, even with Nat or Steve doing their best to help him through, and he lashed out and was so sorry after.
(Mirror) Nat told him he could be a better man, while Steve reminded him of the guy he used to be; it helped, and so, as time passed, he started to look in the mirror at the Bucky his old friend knew, at James who Natalia loved, and he believed.
(Smoke) The Winter Soldier, who had worn the face of James Buchanan Barnes for too long, started to fade, floating away like smoke, as days turned into weeks and months and longer, leaving behind a man who once again belonged, with friends, family, and a team of heroes.
(Shine) He never pictured himself as the cape and tights type, but Bucky adjusted as best he could to be a part of The Avengers, doing his best to keep the citizens of the city safe from harm, then smiling for the cameras that flashed, shining like a beacon of hope, just as Steve had done for so long.
(Balloon) On the good days, when he felt happy, and the world didn’t need saving, they would go out, just for the sake of going, doing things just because they could, because he never had, because he wanted to, and Bucky felt so high he might as well have been flying, floating in the blue beyond, never wanting to come down.
(Vine) It pulled at him sometimes, the memories of his dark past, not even just the things he had done, but the circumstances that had led him to meet Natalia, the fights that came after he was supposed to be healed, thick tendrils of angst, wrapping around his limbs and pulling him down, but Bucky always refused to succumb.
(Butterfly) Hope was ever-present in Bucky’s heart and mind, because the world was so full of possibilities - for every villain, a dozen heroes; for every shower of rain, a burst of sunshine; for every cold, dark winter’s night, a bright new summer day, with flowers, butterflies, and all things bright and new.
(Gloves) She worries sometimes, even after so long, but at last Bucky is able to reassure her, telling Nat that he doesn’t need handling with kid gloves anymore; he is stronger now, and a large part of that is down to her.
(Venom) It reaches a point where Bucky can think of all the parts of his past and make peace with it all - reaching back into the poisonous depth, but come out unscathed, untouched, unharmed, almost as if he has become immune somehow.
(Remain) They stayed together, Bucky and Nat, James and Natalia, the names didn’t matter, they never even got married, but sat together, with her hand held in his own, he knows he is where he is supposed to be, where he will always stay; lifting her hand to his lips, he kisses the back and the couple share a smile, a promise that they will always be together, forever.