The pain ripped through him as if he was losing his left arm all over again. He was losing his left arm all over again. Blood, metal lubricant, shards of bone and aluminium and steel littered from the jagged remains of his singed left arm-stump. He stared, dumbfounded at the space where his arm had been only moments ago, the blinding pain not even setting in yet. It wasn't until Stark kicked him in the ribs that the waves and waves of agony slowly eased in.
The air was expelled from his lungs so quickly it made his throat ache, he couldn't even make a sound it happened so fast, there wasn't even time for a ragged scream to tear through him.
Steve fought it out with Tony, tenacious as ever. Bucky didn't have time to admire his friends bravery, his ferocity, didn't have time to wallow in his own guilt ... Bucky had caused all of this, he knew it. Stark was giving Steve a thrashing, Bucky watch Steve wobble unsteadily on his feet, fists drawn up "I could do this all day". Bucky knew he couldn't, the fight had to end soon, and he had no fight left in him, and Cap had little fight left.
He grabbed Stark's boot, a swift kick to the head sent him reeling but it had given Cap the opening he needed to finish the fight. Bucky was seeing stars by the time it was over. He swallowed a scream of agony as Steve hauled him up to his feet, dropping his shield on the way out.
The pain was unbearable. Bucky kept swallowing down the screams, the pain. Maybe Steve thought he didn't feel it ... the arm was made of metal, it wasn't real ... and yet, it had become as real to Bucky as the flesh and bone parts ... He had felt it, but hopefully he could spare Steve the pain of knowing.
Despite taking such a fierce beating, their fight wasn't over yet. Bucky hated to admit it, but they had to go bail Sam out of the Raft prison ... Not to mention Scott, Wanda and Clint were there too. And so Steve was flying out to meet Sharon in a hotelroom in Vienna, right where they'd left her. She'd have the details, she'd get them what htey needed to break into Raft and bust out the rest of the team. She'd also roughly patch them up while they were there.
Bucky passed out from the pain a couple of times during the flight back, he hoped Steve mistook it for sleeping ... they were both exhausted, so it was a convincing excuse. Finally, they went undercover and wound up in Sharon's care, roughly getting patched together by the agent.
Sharon worked quickly on Bucky's arm, he waved her off when she contemplated tending to the other injuries, busted ribs, cuts and scrapes, they were superficial compared to his arm ... He kept his head down while she roughly taped up the stump, just enough to get through the Raft mission, Coulson would have a team to properly fix him up later once they returned from the Raft. For now he just needed something, anything to cover the damage up. He kept his head down so she wouldn't see him wince in pain, so she wouldn't know that he felt every single touch.
With the stump taped up, she moved her attention to Cap's injuries, applying basic first aid, glad to put a little distance between herself and Bucky. Although she knew it was safe ... last time she was face-to-face with him, he'd been the Winter Soldier and he threw her across a table and choked out Black Widow ... She was still just a little jumpy even though she knew better than to fear him. He's with Cap now, he's not the Soviet's weapon ... not anymore. That was a bit of a lie ... 10 little words transformed him back into Hydra's puppet. He was safe for now, but for how much longer was anyones guess.
"Natasha said to call ... as soon as you get a moment." she glanced at Bucky for a moment, but kept her attenion on Steve. "She wants to talk about him as well" she added quietly. "Just let her know you're okay. She's worried"
She turned back to pack away some of the medical supplies scattered on the bloodied bedspread and pulled out a file. "This is all you need to know about Project Raft and as soon as you're finished up, rendezvous in New York. Coulson said you'd know where to find him, he didn't specify a meeting point, he just said he'd be ready and waiting and will have everything prepared.... Steve ... Please be careful."
Bucky had already saved up enough energy to get back on his feet unaided ... the painkillers weren't nearly strong enough or quick enough, but they dulled the pain a little, just enough for him to get by, without making his head too fuzzy. A short drive away and they were back in the air, flying out to infiltrate the Raft. Bucky wasn't looking forward to Sam's smart comments about "lending a hand" or whatever dumb puns he'd come up with ... Despite the lack of an arm, Bucky could handle himself, he had a sidearm and a knife and he could still punch his way out. It wouldn't be easy, but he'd get through it.