Jekyll & Hyde

There's just so much goddamned weight on your shouldersThat you can't just live your motherfucking lifeThe story's getting old and my heart is getting colderI just wanna be Jekyll, but I'm always fighting HydeYou've got rocks in your head, I can hear them rolling 'roundYou can say that you're above it, but you're always falling downIs there a method to your madness, is it all about pride?Everyone I know, they've got a demon inside

-Five Finger Death Punch

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Siberian Facility, Russian Federation; 17 March, 1992

(WARNING: There shouldn't need to be a trigger warning at all since the story is meant for mature audiences already, but be aware that there is a small bit of light smut in the second part of this chapter. Just look for the decorative scene breaks as featured above.)

Tessa couldn't describe the way her mouth tasted of betrayal and acid. She had never had something be so close and still slip through her fingers the way freedom had been snatched away from her and James both.

Ivan made good on his promise, though; he tucked the Indian Scout in its storage facility then took his own transport back to the facility to join everyone else. On the following day, her father would arrive, and Tessa would find out just what the extent of his ire would be this time.

Around the area where she had lived most of her life, there were no murmurings of her actions and she lost not a single iota of respect from the men serving beneath her. None of them dared to accuse The Winter Soldier or his handler for anything that had supposedly happened. Until now, they had no reason to question the way Tessa ran anything.

Unfortunately, what they did know was that this experiment of keeping the Soldier out of stasis wasn't a viable option if they wanted to keep him their Asset. The longer he was out, the easier it was for the dominant personality of James Barnes to at least blend into that of his mental counterpart.

Tessa understood the mindset of HYDRA, but she would never agree with them. Hell, she didn't agree with James taking all of the blame on any of this despite his pleading that she do just that. She didn't want to lose him again and not know when he might ever come back to her. Something told her that she wasn't going to be able to just request The Winter Soldier for a mission anymore. She was going to have to fight her father tooth and nail about it.

Currently, Tessa was standing in the dim lighting of the residential corridor that housed herself, her Soldier and Major Sidorov. She'd had every camera inside and out of the rooms removed so that their comings and goings weren't questioned. Right now those same workers were putting the new knob on her door that would allow her to lock herself inside and away from the others.

She was done. She was positively over people in general, but most assuredly she was over HYDRA and their bullshit. She wasn't certain she'd be able to keep from putting a fist through her own father's face when he showed up the following day.

Ivan had gotten a new, locking knob as well, but James' room would be dismantled once he went back on ice. He was given this one last night to sleep like a normal person, but then he was going back into stasis and would only be given his former accommodations if/when he was released for another mission.

"Be done by the time I get back from dinner," Tessa said, frustrated that it was taking them so long to get her door done.

Without further words, she turned and made her way off toward the chow hall in a stalk of her own. Platinum hair fell to curtain the sides of her face as she bowed her head and watched the floor while she walked down the corridor. She felt so dejected right now, so disappointed in herself for getting careless and caught. Most of all, she blamed herself for the fact that the Siberian cold was seeping back into not only her bones but James' as well.

It was difficult to put that glimmer of freedom behind them. Just the day before, there had been so many emotions, but hearing his laughter, putting up with his silly humor... those things had been so incredible to experience.

And now it was all gone, carried away by the icy chill of life as a pawn in HYDRA.

Tessa wanted to go on a rampage through the facility. She wanted to burn the records room until nothing remained but ash. She wanted to set an explosive puck on each level of the bunker and wallpaper the walls and cells of the silo with them in order to collapse the place in on itself. She wanted to watch HYDRA burn to the ground.

Instead, she made her way into the chow hall and grabbed a tray from the window. She turned and made her way over to her typical table, not even noticing James was already there until she had seated herself on the metal stool anchored in the cement floor.

She gave him no smile, but she did rest her foot against his own beneath the table. It was just like that -- them wordlessly touching -- that they ate their meal in silence. Her heart ached so terribly, and so did his. They could both sense it in the other, and they both wanted to go back to being able to comfort each other.

Whether it was true or not, Tessa wasn't about to let the others in the facility believe that The Winter Soldier had kidnapped her or broken the trust his handler placed in him. She would never allow anyone to believe he would do anything that would put her in harm's way.

Regardless, they had been oh-so-careful since getting back to the facility they were forced to call home. That was going to end once the majority of the people were asleep tonight, though. Heaven and hell would be moved for Tessa to spend one last night tangled up in the sheets with the man she loved.

Fuck everyone else.

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It was 02:00 when James wordlessly eased into the darkness of his lover's quarters. Everything was dark, but he knew from the hitch of her breathing that Tessa was very much awake where she laid in the bed. He didn't waste much time before locking the knob then pulling and locking into place the slide bolt that added more security to the door.

The bed shifted as Tessa rolled onto her back and looked toward the shadow of him backlit by the ever-present corridor glow that passed under the slit beneath her door. Nothing was said, but the sound of her moving over in the bed could be heard in the hush of the night air. There was a palpable tension making the air thick with anticipation between the two of them.

As eyes adjusted to the darkness of her room, James could see that she'd been waiting for him. He could see the faint tone of her beautifully ivory skin, and he could see a lot of it right then. She was wearing nothing at all.

Licking his lips with a sudden hunger raging through him, James peeled his shirt off over his head with his left arm. He could tell through her heartbeat alone that she saw what he'd done, and the knowledge of the effect he had on her made his insides raw with need.

Choosing not to sit on the edge of the bed, he sat in her chair and pulled off his heavy boots and socks. His pants and anything beneath were an afterthought and gone seconds later. When Tessa saw his distinctive gait heading toward the bed, she threw the blankets out of the way and let her gaze take in the predatory stalk that carried him to her bed.

He eased up onto it down at the foot of the bed then turned and started that slow crawl upward to where she was leaning against the headboard. It was sheer torture for Tessa to observe just how slow he was taking things, but she couldn't make herself hasten him along.

A soft croon of sound was pulled from her when she felt his warm lips lay a trail of kisses up from her ankle, over her shin, against her kneecap and then... He licked upward over her thigh, twisting enough to let his tongue dance dangerously against her adductor longus.

Just when she thought his mouth might reach the apex of her legs, he pulled back then repeated the process all over again to her other leg. It was then that Tessa realized what he was doing; he was memorizing every inch of her body in the desperate hope that he would remember everything about her the next time he woke up from his frigid sleep.

By the time he'd made his way back up, Tessa was trembling. One set of fingers was curled tight into the blankets while the other was raised and contorted so she could grasp the top edge of the headboard in the effort to hold onto her senses. It wasn't working.

Bypassing that velveteen flesh, his kiss and hot breath spilled along the curve of her right hip bone just so he could nibble along her lower stomach and across to kiss the other hip. Blinded by pleasure, she loosed her grip on the blankets and moved her hand up into his hair, slender digits tangling into a hold against the back of his head.

Further up James crawled, taking the time to attend to every inch of her belly, the curve of every rib on each side of her torso and then up into the valley between her breasts. He moaned against her skin when he felt her brush her mouth against his forehead, and it took every ounce of resolve for him to stay right there for the seconds that he managed it.

When he could stand it no more, he turned and let his mouth drift across her right breast until his lips could close around her nipple. Every second of suction was gentle and soothed by a tongue that was eager to lay its attention on the tightening bud of blush pink. He lingered just long enough before desire made him move to the left breast and repeat the process. Meanwhile, his hands gripped against her sides, almost covering every inch of skin there with the spread of his fingers and the size of his hands.

Reaching down between them, James let one curled, metal index finger brush against the aching folds he had yet to shower with attention. Immediately, he felt his beautiful goddess shudder against him, a moan escaping her lips. He found her delicate skin slick with excitement, and his body quaked against hers as breath was expelled with zeal against her breast.

He wanted to escape his current positioning and situate himself between her thighs right then and there, but he refused to rush this last night between them. Instead, he slowly eased her legs apart with his own so that he could lean up and consume her mouth with a languid outpouring of affection that immediately found his tongue in search of hers.

Again, Tessa moaned out, this time into his mouth where it could mingle with a groan that spilled free of his throat. With better access open for him now, his finger continued to tease with circular friction over the sensitive bundle of nerves that always adored his teasing.

The way she squirmed set his insides on fire with the need to utterly devour her, and while he knew they would both love that, there was just something inside of him that wouldn't allow this last time to be anything less than thorough and loving.

Little coos and throaty moans escaped the blond as he continued with his finger, slow and gentle and damn near torturous while his mouth went right on rediscovering hers and committing it to memories that he would likely forget the following day.

Tessa felt the core of her become molten after very little teasing, but she let him do as he wished, to take his time and express every single emotion he needed in that moment. It was difficult to focus on each sensation individually, but the whole of it was setting her insides alight like a spark of flame in the driest, thickest brush one could imagine.

Her body moved of its own accord, hips rising and falling in the effort to make the friction of his finger hit more pointedly where it was needed. She gave a whimper when he pulled that finger back only to dip it down and moisten it again then return it to its previous attentions.

James felt her breath beginning to hitch and her body starting to shiver and pulled his mouth away from hers so that he could watch her face as she was overcome with pleasure and orgasm finally crashed blindly through her body.

His sharp jaw tensed and his own breath quickened while keen eyes took in the way her expression melted into passion, the way her lips parted for the cry that escaped her, the way she couldn't hold her eyes open when she was overtaken by pleasure.

When over-stimulation had seized the moment, he eased his hand back away from her and inched his body closer. Her legs splayed beautiful out to either side of his body, and the sight of it made the heavy, hard length of him lurch in its own response against the very flesh his finger had just showered with attention.

Tessa felt the jump of excitement that his body gave against her, but she ignored that for the time being. Instead, she breathlessly released her hold on the headboard and reached to take his left hand into her own. Watching his eyes, she brought the metal up to her mouth and dipped his index finger between her lips in order to run her tongue against the moist metal. The moan it pulled from him made it a successful mission in her opinion and caused those icy blue eyes to dance with mirth.

There was a demon building inside of James, one that wanted to seek out Tessa alone and utterly destroy her body with rough, passionate moments, but he didn't want tonight to be more than James Barnes worshiping the body of the woman he loved. A soft look of warning was passed from him to Tessa, and she gave a wordless promise to not tease him right now by simply dragging her lips off of his finger and releasing his hand.

Metal was soon cradling gingerly against the side of her neck while his eyes searched her own in the dim light. She leaned into the metal knowing full well that he could feel everything with its built-in, bionic sensors.

"You are my everything, Tessa Pierce," his voice was low and rough with desire, but his words were sweetly given and brought a loving smile to the small blond's perfect mouth.

"I love you with all of me, James," she cooed back to him with her own desire-laden voice. "Always and forever."

"Until the end of the line, Doll," he returned immediately and leaned forward to kiss her again.

This time, he could wait no longer.

Reaching down between them, he guided himself to the entrance of her heat then pressed forward. James didn't rush; he didn't immediately overtake her body with his own. He took his time, backing his hips up now and then before pressing forward just a little bit further than the last time. 

Entranced by the sounds she made, he adjusted until he was seated fully within the grip of her body. While titanium remained against the side of her neck, the softness of his flesh hand moved around to her lower back to help brace her as well as pull her into the slow thrusts that began soon after.

James was so completely gone on this beautiful creature that made him feel. A woman who brought him back time and time again. It might not have returned his mind fully, but her adoration for him would always bring back the pieces of their lives that they had shared with one another.

For the next hour, he worshiped her, made love to her with such reverence that no one would ever be able to compete and brought her over and over to embrace her release. At long last, her final orgasm unmade him and the grip against her neck tightened a small bit which made her give the softest little squeal and tremor that forced his head to drop against her shoulder. There he growled and bit at her skin before he unleashed a groan and spilled ribbons of heat into the core of her.

Only in the early dawn did they part company with soft I love yous and sweet kisses that poured affection into each of them in a last burst of effort to preserve the memories of one another.

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When Alexander Pierce walked into the Siberian facility via its door into the bunker, he could already hear music blaring from the silo itself. It was so rare that such a thing would even happen that he paused and canted his head from right to left like a dog hearing a strange but intriguing noise. Without a word to anyone, he simply followed the sound of it until the scene unfolded before him.

The staff was gathered around the room in wait for their boss' boss/father, but not a single one of them was looking at Tessa herself.

While Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song blared through the speakers, Pierce's only child was situated before the Mind Crown's chair, her arms extended out to either side of her and her body moving in a rhythmic circle that was almost tribal in nature. She had her head leaning back and was lost to the sound, shock of blond tossing about each time she marked the rhythm with her body.

She was dressed in a loose, navy shirt with sleeves flowing and reminiscent of the 1970s and jeans that were tight enough on her that Pierce wasn't certain how she was even moving, especially with heavy boots tied tight to her feet.

Tessa felt the familiar buzz of her father's synapses, but she didn't halt her motion until the song had ended. With a wave of her head in Ivan's direction, he killed the turntable and the silo was plunged into polar silence. Every eye turned, found the elder Pierce and each body straightened -- except for Tessa.

Seeing her father made her power leap on its scale and halos of electricity were almost immediate in chasing through her irises.

"Button," Alexander stated as his hello.

"Pierce," she replied coolly.

Her father quirked a brow upward and watched his daughter stare him down, but he couldn't say he was entirely surprised by her actions; she did get her stubborn nature from him. The display wasn't much of a shock beyond that initial reaction.

"I received the report you wrote on what happened while you were gone," he started, his hand reaching up to remove his glasses from his face only to fold them and settle them into the breast pocket of his blazer. "You killed ten HYDRA soldiers at the Canadian border. Why?"

"Well," she stated, her hands tucking into her back pockets as she squared up her shoulders and faced him. She knew full well every eye in the place was on them right now. "They shot me, for one. I tend to take things like that a little personal."

"They were under direct orders not to shoot you," he said, his mouth setting into an odd, crooked line for the time being.

"And yet," she stated and reached down to tug up her shirt high enough for him to see what little scarring was left behind. "Had it not been for The Winter Soldier, I would be dead. I took their attempt on my life seriously, and ordered them taken out."

Pierce watched her, his eyes flicking to the remnants of the gun shot wound before returning to the face of his daughter.

"I see," he stated and let silence linger a moment before continuing. "And the trackers?"

"I was trying to blow out the security cameras in the area but got a little carried away," she said without missing a beat. "I didn't even know it blew the trackers until Major Sidorov informed me of it when he found us."

Pierce's eyes narrowed some as he scrutinized his only child. Usually he could tell when she was lying, but none of her tells were present.

"I assume since you never checked in that you were still searching for LeBeau," he tilted his head a little to the right and watched her.

"We ran into him in New Orleans," she stated then continued on smoothly. "But he was much stronger than anticipated. He beat the shit out of both of us then took off. We were on his tail until you panicked and your soldiers showed up to collect us and bring us back. Had I known the trackers were blown, I would have checked in with you."

Tessa wanted to cave in the face of her father. She wanted to watch James tear off his limbs. At that moment, more than anything in the world, she wanted to watch him fall from grace and be destroyed beneath the boot of justice.

"I'm sure," Pierce stated. "Where is the Asset now?"

"My Soldier," she corrected with a pointed change in her tone. "Is currently in his room awaiting his time in the chair. I'm sure that's why you're here, right? To assure that you break him down into mindlessness all over again, hm?"

"Just because you're my daughter doesn't mean I won't knock you on your ass, Tessa," Pierce replied with a harsh tone to his voice. "I am still your boss, and you will respect that even if you can't respect me as your father."

"You haven't been my father in a long time, Pierce," she stated with a smirk.

Tessa's stance shifted, her feet widening a small bit and her arms coming up with a rustle of material to cross beneath her breasts.

The muscles in Alexander's jaw tensed and worked for a moment as he cooled down the voices in his head that told him to break his daughter as he had so many years ago.

Once he had control on his temper, Pierce finally spoke again, "Fetch the Asset and bring him to the Crown."

The words weren't meant for anyone in particular, but two soldiers were quick to turn and head off to do just as they were ordered.

"This time, Tessa, I am the one who says when he is released from stasis," he began, his fine shoes carrying him forward to stand before his daughter. "No special operations to plan in order to sneak him out. No making plans, no releasing him for training unless I say so. For now, Operation: Winter Soldier is mine until you can prove that you deserve to have it back."

Tessa felt a stone sink in her belly, but she didn't outwardly react to her father's words.

"You will be his field handler," he stated almost casually. "But we will go back to resetting him with the Suppression Machine, just to assure we're thorough in removing his memories."

The arcs in Tessa's eyes brightened, and the lights all around them began to flicker. While Pierce was wary of what his daughter could do, he was placing his bet on the fact that she wouldn't strike him dead, especially once the Asset was guided into the silo.

"One of these days, dad," she began, her voice a little on the growly side as she closed the distance between them just a pace. "One of these days, I'm gonna cut you into little pieces."

Pierce's hand flew in a flash, busting her lip and spinning Tessa's body around. The instant her back was to him, his arm was in a choke hold around her throat, and it was with enough force that she was desperately gasping for air that couldn't make it into her lungs. James almost tore free and carved his way through the soldiers to get to Alexander Pierce, but the wide eyes of his goddess warned him away from what she knew he was thinking right then.

Tightening his grip, Alexander stared holes into James' eyes but his mouth was brought to his daughter's ear. His voice was a hiss of a whisper that was sharp enough Tessa was certain he might draw blood with words alone.

"You will not speak to me like that," he growled and brought his other arm up to brace the first and tightening the grip around her throat. "You will give me respect. You will do what I say. You will fall into line, or I swear to Christ you will regret me ever squirting you into your mother's belly."

With a fling, Pierce tossed his daughter away from him, watching her small body hit the railing around the Suppression Machine then crumple onto the frozen concrete of the floor. Tessa could do nothing but lay there and pull in gulps of air that would ruin her throat further. Trembling hands grasped at her throat, but she said and did nothing except let her body take over and make her remember how to breathe again. 

"As for you," Pierce said, his shined wingtips stepping over the felled body of his daughter to close the distance to The Winter Soldier. "I should have you permanently deactivated."

As with Tessa, Pierce delivered a shockingly solid backhand to James' face that rattled his brain against the insides of his skull and stunned him momentarily. 

"Put him in the goddamn chair!" Pierce's order echoed through the silo and carried enough weight to it that, for the span of several seconds, everyone was shocked into stillness. 

Quickly after, the soldiers holding onto James continued to the chair and shoved him down into it. Tessa could hear James' heart slamming inside his chest, but she couldn't make her body cooperate with her brain. She tried to grip the rail and heft herself to her feet, but her grip slipped and she ended up back on the floor, coughing and rasping air tainted with razorblades  into her lungs while she watched helplessly.

The clamps of the chair wrapped around James' arms and adjusted to hold him tightly in place while the electricity began to warm up the rest of the Mind Crown. Tessa reached out toward her lover's boot only to have her father brutally kick her arm away. He reached down, grabbed her by the leg then hefted her several feet away. 

With the pivoting crown falling into place around James' head, he desperately watched Tessa. His breathing was erratic and fearful, not of the process anymore but of the fact that he would soon be gone and unable to protect her. 

"When you're done, put him on ice." Pierce stated. "Once that's done, put her in the chair and triple the output. It might not wipe her mind, but she'll learn a lesson." Maybe.

Before the shocks ever began, James began screaming and fighting the machine, but that was the last thing he did before he felt his thoughts being ripped free of his mind. 

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Posted: 17 August, 2021