WARNING: blood in the upcoming chapter.

William woke up in an unfamiliar environment once again. He tried to hold back an annoyed growl when he was met with three cement walls and one glass one. With a bitter thought it seemed to him as if he was an exhibition in a zoo.

When he shifted to his side, he could hear the small sound of chains clinking together. He closed his eyes at the dull headache that seemed to hammer away behind closed lids, scoffing when the situation at hand made fear and a tinge of terror shoot through him. This was all too familiar and he didn't know why.

He didn't know why.

Which was once again an unpleasant reminder how little he still knew.

Lately the screaming people in his dreams had decided to remain gone, which was another concern of his. They usually accompanied him wherever he went, but now the dreams seemed lack of any familiarity. The absence of green eyes, the feeling of rumbling earth beneath his feet and blurry figures charging towards him through the smoke had convinced him that those were memories and not just dreams. And he wanted them all back, no matter how painful or how confusing, he needed those haunting nightmares like he needed air.

As much as he hated the pain and the never ending deaths, it made him feel like a human being not just something illegal cooked up underground.

He pushed himself up slowly, sliding off the soft bed he had been laying on. Instead, he seated himself down on the ground, leaning against the wall and propping up his leg to rest his elbows on it.

He was wary of this place, but he noted the warm floors and soft, grey cotton shirt and sweats he was wearing. Too comfortable. He noted a clear updated on the handcuffs as they now looked more robust and felt heavier around his wrists.

He frowned at the pinching in his stomach, the dull ache that spoke of hunger and starvation. It had been quite awhile since his last meal.

Which reminded him bitterly that he still had to find a way out to get to Dog. How long had he been stuck in this facility?

He listened intently as footsteps neared his holding cell, coming to a stop at the glass wall to slid a plate through a small opening.

Even after the person was gone, he refused to move closer to the food. He couldn't deny the moutwatering aroma that seemed to only get stronger in the small room.

Still, he wouldnt eat. He needed the dog but he would never want her to be stuck like him. Even animals didn't deserve to be locked in a four walled room with no way out.

To his utmost disappointment, he was not left alone for too long.

His eyes tracked the woman's movements as she became to a stop behind the glass, this time, being a lot smarter and not invading his personal space by getting up in his face.

He had forgotten her name, it didn't matter to him. He could, however, never forget her face. She was becoming a target if she didn't stop bothering him soon. He figured she was some sort of doctor or a plaything for the organization since they kept sending her to assess him.

“I see you have rested, there's soup and bread for you if you haven't yet given it much thought. Would you be willing to answer a few questions? I promise I will not step inside unless you allow us.”

Her voice was back to the calm tone she had used last time. Though it only annoyed him when he scented the air and faintly caught the fear in the air. She was hesitant.

Good.

He remained silent, and this time, the woman didn't sit down.

“Would you tell me your name? It would be helpful if I could address you with your proper, given name.”

Will held back annoyed growl. What was she playing at? They knew his name. At least, the man had known. So why was she asking this useless question. Besides, what sort of questioning was this. He was not familiar with those methods. If it could even be called that.

“Are you feeling comfortable in the temporary holding cell? They turned up the heating for you, feel free to let us know if you wish to turn it off.”

William didn't like it. It was uncomfortably warm. And the questions didn't make any sense.

After a beat of silence, she continued.

“Would you feel more comfortable conversing in German? Or any other languages?”

Once again, William remained silent.

It continued on like this for an unknown amount of time, until the woman left after furiously writing in her tablet. Only after she was gone did William realize how cramped his muscles had become from the tension.

He roamed the cell, finding nothing but a small bathroom behind one unlocked door. Nothing else, it was completely bare of anything. Even the matress was a simple foam mattress and missing the usual hard structure. The small ember of hope of finding something to make a weapon out of died as soon as he realized it was just foam.

He sat back down near the bed before sensing another person moving towards his cell. He knew immediately it wasn't the annoying woman asking stupid questions. The footsteps were light at first, but when they got closer, they started slightly stomping as if trying to alert everyone of their arrival.

How idiotic. 

He watched as a man appeared behind the glass, coming to a slow stop near the wall.

William went rigid as he looked into the blue eyes that gave nothing away. He didn't move his stare from the cold gaze. Watching as the man backed away a few steps before slowly sliding on the floor and crossing his legs.

It was the same man who had caught him, but he had shouted at him as well. What had he been saying exactly? Will could hardly remember. Had he told him to run? No, he must have memory issues again. He was also fairly sure he had met the man before that day as well, the scent was familiar.

William didn't realise how tense the air between them had gone before the man dropped his gaze from Williams eyes, breaking the tension between them.

He started studying William carefully, inch by inch his blue eyes slid over his hardened skin that had seen years of abuse.

Just like Bucky himself.

Realizing the man wasn't holding any eye contact to establish his superior status in the situation made William almost frown. He showed no signs of hostility nor was he trying to find all of Williams weak spots like he was trying to find his.

Instead, he just studied him from the distance, giving William the chance to do the same. Which he did with a slight hesitation at first. Carefully, he dragged his eyes away from Bucky's to scan his face to learn who he was up against.

He had fairly square face, a rather defined jaw with a small stubble that seemed to soften the sharp jawline just a bit. His seemingly soft hair was shorter on the sides and slightly longer on the top, the color dark as soil which contrasted his pale skin. He recognised the dark circles underneath his eyes that adorned his tired look.

The man looked exhausted, something William could relate to.

He looked lower, studying the dark denim jacket that could hide a good amount of weapons. Seeing his gaze, Bucky slowly raised his hands off his lap and shrugged the jacket off, letting it drop on the ground next to him. Underneath he was wearing a long sleeved grey shirt. Only then did William realize his left hand didn't look quite ordinary.

He watched warily as the man slowly rolled up his sleeves, crossed his arms before leaning back again.

Williams eyes darted up to his eyes for a second, realizing the man was still quietly looking at him.

Will realized he was showing the metal arm. He didn't show it off to try and intimidated William, he was just showing him his cards, letting him know this was the only weapon in the room with him. He didn't gloat, didn't threaten or try to lock up or protect himself by crossing his arms. It seemed as if he was almost pointing to the arm before relaxing his shoulders and letting his both arms drop, as if saying he's not going to come any closer nor is he trying to be a threat to Will.

His body language was clear: don't be intimidated, I'll stay behind the line.

Will was confused as he looked between the arm and his eyes to try and detect something. Waiting for the moment he'd jump up and say it was just another fucking test that sets soldiers up for failure.

But he didn't do it.

Instead, he just allowed William to look and analyze him as much as he wanted. He wasn't shy on doing the same, but his gaze had turned... Softer.

Bucky's eyes were roaming over the other man intently, his gaze stopping on a few scars that peeked out from the collar or the hem, he'd tilt his head slightly and allow his mind to draw up at least a hundred scenarios as to how they could have been created.

He wasn't sure how long they had been sitting there, just staring at each other. But William snapped out of the small bubble when he heard another set of footsteps coming down the hall.

He immdietaly tensed up, realising to his horror that he had relaxed in a strangers presence. Noticing William pulling back and pressing himself into the wall again made Buck sigh.

A guard halted, holding a plate with fresh food upon seeing Bucky sitting on the ground.

“uh, hello sir, I apologize, I wasn't aware you'd be here.” he said, opening a small latch and sliding the food through a small window before grabbing the untouched soup.

The guard gulped at the scowl Bucky was giving him before scurrying off. With a shake of his head, the man slowly stood up, feeling Williams guarded eyes on him. Without a word, he rolled down his sleeves, grabbed his jacket, and left.

The annoying woman came back the next day, and as William had been sitting in isolation the whole night, his mind had completely twisted everything.

Enemies were everywhere. Dog was alone, and he had failed to take care of one thing that actually mattered to him. He was stuck in a whirlwind of anxiety and distress. Sweat covered his brows and breathing became irregular. It was hard to hold his hands still so he tried to dig his nails into his palms to let pain ground him. It didn't work.

So when the woman showed up, he was off like a bullet. Snarling at her through the glass, banging his fists against the see-through wall as he towered over her. The terror and shock that immediately made her cover away only fueled his rage and fear of being stuck. If only he could make her free him, if only he could get to her to force her to let him out.

He didn't acknowledge the ripped open skin that left blood on the glass, nor the red droplets that flew all over the sterile, gray clothes and his hollow face. More blood ran down with each loud slam against the glass, his wrists were both covered and a steady flow of crimson started flowing down the wall in rivers of red.

She dropped the tablet twice, taking back many steps before furiously trying to push some buttons on it but her shaky hands made it difficult.

Already a familiar hiss made the hairs on the back of his neck stand. He tried to claw out, he needed to get out. He wanted Dog, needed the support of the warm and fluffy animal that made him feel safe.

William was suffocating as the hazy gas filled the chamber slowly and lulled him back to sleep again.

This time there were no dreams, either. He was alone in the darkness. Completely and utterly deserted by everyone. He screamed but no sound left his throat. He tried to move but the darkness was so thick and toxic it only made him fall and stumble.

He was blind and the silence of the dream was killing him.

When he came back to consciousness, he could feel the heaviness of his hands and smell the sterile bandages that covered them. He was afraid to open his eyes, wishing to be dead. He didn't want to do this anymore. Didn't want that woman to show up and ask idiotic questions, didn't want them to try and make him feel comfortable and warm and ask if he's okay.

William was exhausted although he had woken up a second ago.

He allowed himself to swim in the darkness for a few measly seconds before slowly opening his eyes again.

He was met with the already familiar cement wall, and he just knew the chains that were connected to it were much shorter this time, making him unable to reach the glass. Or whatever it was that looked like glass since he was fairly sure he would have managed to break it if it were glass.

He didn't want to get up, he briefly wondered if he could scratch his neck to the point of fatally bleeding out.

But... Dog needed him. And William had lived too long to just let go now.

He groggily pushed himself off the mattress again, crawling against the wall to welcome the coldness that seeped through the now clean and fresh shirt and cooled down his flaming hot skin. He got too warm sometimes.

He tilted his head when he thought he sensed something through his hazy mind, and then he jumped slighly, noticing the figure outside the glass.

It was the same man from before, the one with metal arm.

He was slumped against the wall, sitting on the floor like Will. He looked relaxed, one leg up and the other stretched out as his head rested on the palm of his right hand. He was breathing deep and slow and his eyes were closed as if he had been there for a quite some time now.

Will knew he wasn't asleep although he appeared to be. Men like him could never really sleep, especially outside the cage where they held an injured weapon like William.

He was proven correct when the man's eyelids slowly opened and he looked at William through sleep filled eyes. He rubbed his face before stretching out both of his legs.

Why was he there was a mystery. How long had he been there? What was his motive?

He didn't gloat. He didn't use the advantage of being free, he didn't demand William to tell him things. He was just... There.

And when the man closed his eyes again, William relaxed and slumped back against the wall. Looking him over to see if he may be hiding any more weapons. Finding none he could see, he turned away.

His mind didn't warn him of any threats.

For a while, they just sat in quiet calmness. And as odd as it felt, it was also sort of nice to share to hollowness of a haunting silence.

He wasn't yet sure what to make of the man. But one thing was for sure, William didn't trust him.

So when he heard a quiet shuffling, his eyes snapped open and towards the man outside the cell. He was searching through his pockets, making William weary of him.

When he found what he was looking for, he opened the small window they used to slip plates through and slid a small object into the cell. William leaned away slightly, pressing against the wall as the man stood up and stepped away from the glass wall.

He grabbed his jacket from the floor, slung it over his shoulder and left, not waiting to see what William would do with the small thing he had been given.

Will waited for the steps to disappear and then some more before turning his attention on the tiny object.

He stood up, his knees and back bopping. He hesitantly moved towards the small thing with the sound of clinking chains following him. He picked it up, realising it was simply a plastic cube covered with multicolored squares. He turned it over, figuring out it had a total of six colours.

He went back to his corner to try and figure out what sort of weapon this was. He had never seen any grenades as colourful as this one, nor did it seem to have any ways to load and shoot. How would you aim a cube anyways?

He could not understand the purpose of this colorful cube, why had the man given it was also a mystery on it's own.

That night, William ate the food he was given.

****
WARNING:
there are going to be dark scenes ahead that include thoughts of suicide and self-harm. I try to give you warnings, but sometimes I update really late and completely forget. I just wanted to warn you guys in case it could be triggering for you.

Also, I've got my plans for Dog, don't you worry too much ;)

Does anyone else ever just hate opening drafts? 😩

So. Much. To. Write.

Shoutout to people who commented on last chapter, thanks for being my inspiration!
meabhmcilwaine, Lovegoods_, Xio_fi_chan, christy0800, Holy_Water_123, Iustatia, _Anonymous_Rosetta, Withouthope7, yeeeehawwwww, 1192LittleBean27, blueoatmeal

Thank you all!

Until the next chapter,
- K

(Idk it's 2am don't ask)

Don't forget to drop a comment and let me know if you liked the chapter or not!