Whole Shards
by Griselda Banks is an AU fanfic series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It can be found on FanFiction.Net and Archive of Our Own. It diverges from canon halfway through the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
During the confrontation with Zola, Steve asks him about the strange man with a metal arm. He is horrified by what he hears and decides to reach out to the Winter Soldier… without knowing his identity.
In many ways, saving the Soldier from HYDRA was the easy part.
So far, there are four fics in the series: Make Me Whole, Shards Of Me, Wonders and Dancing On Broken Glass. The author has confirmed there will be a fifth fic called Take Me In.
Whole Shards contains examples of:
- Actor Allusion: Sam wonders at one point if Winter could be from "Romania or something". Sebastian Stan is from Romania.
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Steve kisses Winter's temple at one point where there's a scar.
- Armor-Piercing Question: During one particularly difficult day, Sam asks Steve how he’s holding up. It’s a simple question, but it makes Steve break down and cry.
- Ascended Fanboy: Sam Wilson had been a big fan of Captain America as a kid. In this, he's Steve's right-hand man.
- Beat the Curse Out of Him: When Steve asks Natasha how she freed Clint from Loki’s control, she replies that she hit him in the head. Steve decides to do the same with the Winter Soldier. Downplayed in that the Soldier isn’t knocked out.
- Befriending the Enemy: Steve deciding to help the Winter Soldier is what kicks off the events of the series.
- Call-Back: The Soldier nearly falls to his death from a great height. This – and Steve’s reaction – is what triggers Bucky’s memory.
- Continuity Nod: Sam's desire to be Captain America as a kid, only to be told that he couldn't be because Captain America was white could be a reference to his role in the comics, where he took over as Captain America. Or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he's given the shield.
- Dramatic Unmask: Winter takes off his mask in the final chapter of Make Me Whole. The reunion is every bit as joyous as you might expect.
- The Faceless: Winter until the last chapter of Make Me Whole.
- Going Cold Turkey: Winter’s withdrawal from addiction leaves him shaky and weak, and he’s unable to handle solid food at first because HYDRA always fed him with tubes.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: After the Soldier gets knocked on the head, Steve tries to reach out to him by offering to help him. The first time, it doesn’t work; the second time, he succeeds.
- It's Personal: Sam started helping Winter for Steve’s sake at first, but when it’s revealed that Winter is addicted to a substance HYDRA gave him to make sure he wouldn’t try to run away, it reminds Sam of his brother and the effects drug addiction had on his life.
- Late to the Realization: Steve and Sam don’t know about Winter’s trigger words, so when Crossbones starts speaking them, they don’t know what it means until it’s too late.
- Mama Bear: Sam's mother.
- Only Known By His Nickname: Steve and Sam call the Soldier “Winter” for the entirety of Make Me Whole, since he tells them he can’t remember his name. Emphasis on he tells them. He actually does remember his name, but he's afraid to tell Steve.
- Winter only knows Crossbones by his alias.
- Real Men Hate Affection: Inverted and defied several times in the series.
- Self-Harm: While putting laundry away one day, Steve notices stains on the arm of a sweatshirt that he loaned to Winter, and suspects that Winter is cutting himself. He's right.
- The Prankster: Riley, according to Sam. Once, he let a raccoon loose in bootcamp, and framed the drill sergeant for it.
- Undying Loyalty: Sam. Steve doesn’t ask him to help hide the Winter Soldier. He volunteers.
- Wham Episode: The last chapter of Shards of Me. It's a flash-forward episode, in which Steve is married and has become a father.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Sam hates thunder because it gives him flashbacks to Riley's death.
- Would Hurt a Child: Crossbones blows up a playground and the children’s wing of St Mary’s Hospital to draw Steve and Winter out of hiding. He even leaves a note saying Captain America was responsible for the former.
