The opening presents itself, and Bucky doesn't hesitate for so much as a second. His left hand's around Steve's throat in the blink of an eye, long before Bucky even processes what the hell it is he's doing -- though when he does, he stays the course, nevertheless. With the strength of S.H.I.E.L.D. technology, he's able to lift Steve clear off the ground, his grip necessarily tight, but not enough so to kill.

Buckys reminded, suddenly, of the last time he fought a man with Steve's face, and how that ended: three bullets aimed with a deadly accuracy. This isn't how heroes act, he said then, and while he knows that to be true, even now, he's been messed with too many times over the past few months with no chance at retribution to care, his frustration at the island's unseen forces locked onto a cause far from noble. He's less convicted with every passing moment, but it's just too late.

Breaths equally as labored from unbridled anger as they are from the fight itself, Bucky's body is all but shaking as he stares up at Steve, his throat raw and his eyes burning from unshed tears.

"Is this the making of a good man?" he demands. "Is it?"