And Time Is Frozen
For once since Thor had fallen to Midgard, life was relatively peaceful for the Avengers and Company. With a few weeks off from Avenging and all of the Stark staff being released for their two week winter vacation, the Avengers actually had time to relax and go on vacation themselves.
It was supposed to be a fun skiing trip up in a mountain range that Tony bought for the sole purpose of because he could. He’d had a cabin built and for the first time ever it was being used. It was supposed to be a week of relaxing and friendly competitions between comrades.
At least that’s how it started.
On the second day Bucky and Steve went a little too far trying to outdo each other on the course which resulted in both crashing into a tree.
And because Steve was a little punk with the better super serum, he was bruised but fine.
Bucky, however, was a jerk with a knock off serum and so karma deemed him the one to end up with a shattered leg.
So day three of the trip found Bucky stuck in the cabin watching DVDs Darcy had laid out for him while he waited for his watered down serum to do its magic. Bruce had estimated he would only be down for a few days until his leg healed all the way. However, Bucky was grumpy at missing having a day with his girl and so he would definitely be walking by tomorrow morning.
Thor had taken Jane to the top of one of the higher peaks to watch the stars. Everyone else had gone out for the day to try out the other trails Stark had mapped for them.
All in all it was a peaceful if boring day. Bucky sprawled out on the sectional and watched all the Lethal Weapon movies because Darcy had deemed them important to pop culture. It was nearing dark when he heard a whumph sound coming from outside. He jumped up from his seat, ignoring the pain that surged through his still-injured leg. He limped to the window and drew back the curtain. He didn’t see any movement except for a slight wind in the pine trees, rustling the needles and making some of the weaker ones fall to the ground.
His heart began beating in panic because his mind knew what that sound was a warning for.
An avalanche.
He went back and turned off the television, returning to the window and cocking his head to listen for any further sign of disaster.
Maybe it was just his imagination…
…until he saw dark figures rushing towards the cabin. He staggered to the door and opened it as his teammates entered in and then slammed the door.
“I take it the impending avalanche wasn’t my imagination?”
Stark was already on his tablet trying to connect to a server to schedule an extraction via jet. He wasn’t interested in staying on the ground with avalanche warnings. His frown belied the fact that he had no connection to connect to the web.
“Got it in one Robocop, apparently an earthquake fifty miles northeast has triggered all kinds of havoc in surrounding areas. Tell Lewis to get her crap and get ready to fly.”
Bucky froze as the others were all moving to get their own belongings.
“What are you talking about Stark? She’s with you.”
Now everyone else froze and turned panicked gazes toward Bucky.
Stark slowly turned wide eyes from the tablet in his hand to Bucky, fear very real and very apparent in his face.
“No, she ditched us five hours ago to come back here and be with you. Please tell me she got back here five hours ago and nursed you back to health.”
“Stark, the only person here today was me. Please tell me you didn’t leave my girlfriend in a fucking avalanche!” Bucky’s outburst seemed even louder in the silent room. For a moment, the silence seemed to scream at them all.
One of their own was in trouble, and they had no idea how to track her.
Bucky moved, adrenaline and fear ripping through him. His Darcy was out in the dark, on an unstable mountain in freezing temperatures.
“Alright, everyone will pair up and we’ll head out. Tony and Bruce will be Team 1, Clint and Nat Team 2, and Sam and I Team 3. Pepper, you stay here in case she heads back. Don’t worry Buck, we’ll find her.”
“You’re stupider ‘n shit if you think ‘m stayin’ here while my girl freezes to death. She’s not one of us, Steve, she won’t survive seventy years in fuckin’ ice.” Bucky was slipping into Winter Soldier mode. Already he could feel his mind rejecting the pain in his leg and forcing it to perform as requested. He was sure it was going to heal wrong and probably have to be broken, but it was worth it if it meant Darcy was found and safe.
“Buck, you aren’t ready-“
“Don’ fuckin’ tell me what I am and am not, punk.”
And with that he stomped out the door, into the cold to find his girl.
Darcy was seriously regretting leaving the group. All she had wanted to do was spend time cuddled with Bucky. The whole morning she had felt bad that he was stuck in the cabin and she was out supposed to be having fun. Deciding after two hours that she wasn’t going to enjoy herself while her boyfriend was sitting alone, hurt and lonely she told the group she was going back to the cabin.
It should have been an easy walk back but somehow she had gotten turned around. Then there was a sudden drop and she lost her balance, falling forward and getting her ski caught in the snow. The result was a busted ski and a badly twisted knee.
She tried to continue walking the rest of the way to the cabin, but she was hopelessly lost and wishing she had her phone or some kind of communication device. At least Steve had been smart enough to make everyone carry a flare in their jacket pocket “just in case.”
Climbing back up the incline a ways she pulled out the flare, deciding she needed to break it against a tree since the ground was too soft with the snow on it, Darcy did just that.
And got a chest full of chemicals that ignited. Shrieking and yanking her jacket off, she threw it away from her where it burned for a minute before she threw enough snow on it to snuff out the flames.
Darcy tried not to panic but now she was lost, in a snowy mountain, with no jacket and no help.
She should have just stayed with Bucky this morning.
Bucky was trying desperately not to panic, but the snow had shifted down the mountain and covered any possible tracks that Darcy could have left. His throat felt choked up like a ball was lodged in his throat. His stomach turned in unease and his thoughts raced with the kind of pain and terror he knew she must being going through.
There were many nights he and Steve had met in the gym just to be near someone who understood the fear of the cold. The numbness that lulled you into a false sense of security after you spent forever in the biting, stinging cold. The worst part was how deep the cold seemed to seep into one’s body until even their bones felt like they were made of ice. Joints refused to work, extremities shut down to conserve heat for the inner organs, and numbness made the victim feel like they were alright.
It was fucking terrifying.
It was even more terrifying that his civilian girlfriend was going to have the same knowledge as he and Steve. He hadn’t ever wanted her to go through that. He knew of her past with Thor and London and New Mexico but she’d never been alone in those scenarios and she had survived them mostly unscathed.
He ignored the limp of his injured leg and continued carrying on. He heard the others farther out yelling her name, had seen Stark flying through the night sky trying to find any aerial traces of her whereabouts.
Darcy didn’t know where she was, but she was thankful. After an hour without her jacket the biting cold had turned to burning, red as her skin went from its normal white to a blistering red. Now that darkness had fallen and she had sat down to take a breather, it was numb. All that walking and worrying must have kicked in that special survival adrenaline that mothers who lifted cars always talked about. It even seemed easier to breathe as the calmness started to slip over her.
She hadn’t realized she had laid down and closed her eyes until she felt something settle over her and suddenly she couldn’t breathe.
Bucky was using his skills as an assassin to not panic. Darcy would be found and she would be fine. The fact that he found her burned jacket hanging from a tree was nothing to panic at.
She would be fine damn it.
Darcy was panicking. At least her mind was. Her body however seemed to be okay with becoming a human popsicle because it stopped responding to her commands after she burrowed her head out of the snow that had covered her. It was just her upper torso that was above the snow, but apparently her arms and legs thought that was satisfactory. Her mind was freaking out because she should be moving and running and yelling and…
…she was going to die. She was going to die in the snow from frostbite and it was going to kill Bucky because how ironic was that shit?
How even was this her life?
Bucky would never ever in a million years admit he was thankful for Tony Stark. But he was thankful for Stark’s suit and its ability to detect any levels of body heat. Stark noticed a slight temperature increase in a mound of snow and flew down, his repulsors showing Bucky, five hundred yards downhill, where he needed to go.
By the time Bucky sprinted to Stark’s location, he saw Darcy being pulled out. Her skin almost pale enough to blend into the snow. Her long hair was falling out of its braid and her eyes were shut and unresponsive as Stark opened her eyelid.
“I’ll bring her to the cabin, you remember how to get back?”
Nodding, Bucky started running in the direction of the cabin, using his metal arm to ignite flares and set them off, letting the others know to return home: mission accomplished.
Darcy was aware of voices and warmth that burned her skin. It hurt and she didn’t want to think, so she went back to sleep.
The second time she became aware it was of lights that burned through her eyelids and a raw sensation on her hands and feet. She opened her eyes, but all she saw was white light that burned and she went back to sleep. She didn’t want to burn anymore.
The third time she became aware, it was to the low sound of Bucky’s voice whispering in her ear. His warm breath tickled her ear as his hand lightly brushed her hair. She moved her arm up to grab his hand with hers.
It took four days for Bucky to finally see Darcy coherent enough to talk to her. She teared up a little as she saw the blisters covering her skin, claiming she was hideous and had ruined the sexy allure in their relationship.
He’d failed at hiding his smile as he told her exactly how sexy she was and how he intended to show her how sexy she was when she was released from medical. The same night she had been found Thor, who had returned to the cabin after flying Jane to safety when an avalanche in their area had occurred. He’d taken Jane all the way back to the Tower and then come back to help. He arrived at the same time as Stark did with Darcy and rushed her back to the Tower as well. Tony flew back to get a jet and returned for the team.
Bucky had run off the jet and to medical before anyone could say a word. He stayed with Darcy while the doctors heated her body back up, inserted IVs for dehydration, and dealt with the blisters that formed as her body returned to normal temperature. They said there weren’t signs of permanent damage but they couldn’t be sure.
When Darcy was finally released, Bucky took her back to their suite and catered to her ever whim. He waited four weeks before he had to have his leg re-broken and set correctly, and then Darcy took over caregiving duties. She was mad he had hurt himself to help her, but resigned herself to accept that it was over with and no one had been permanently hurt.
Although if Barton called her Ice Princess one more time she was going to superglue his arrows into the quiver.
The next time the Avengers went on vacation, it was to somewhere warm and with white sands and crystal clear water. Stark had bought an island for privacy.
Bucky proposed at sunset as the waves caressed the shorelines. The team celebrated with a cookout and campfire on the beach.
It was the best vacation ever.