1.
His eyes are heavy, sleepy. His lungs burn and there is a voice in the back of his mind, begging him to wake up. It is a voice he has heard before but one he has not heard in a long, long time.
Come on, punk. Not today.
He is vaguely aware of kicking his legs out once, twice and then giving into the weightless sensation making his skin tingle. He feels as if he is floating but he is aware of the fact that he is sinking. He knows that he is falling down, deeper and deeper and the pressure in his lungs is building until he feels as if he were going to explode.
Something tells him to open his mouth and when he does, cool water floods into his mouth and fills his lungs. His stomach clenches and his muscles spasm as he begins to cough violently, more water filling his mouth and nostrils and he kicks out weakly, his arms scrambling for purchase, clawing their way through the water uselessly.
His body convulses uncontrollably and even in his foggy mind, there is one thing cutting through the mist;
Bucky
There is the glint of metal slicing through the murky waters and that is the last thing Steve see’s before he slips into darkness.
.
Steve feels his lungs heave dramatically before he can find the energy to open his eyes. Warm water trickles from the corner of his mouth and he has never known fresh air to taste so sweet. To his left, he can make out the sounds of footsteps crunching against the sand and his fingers twitch weakly, trying to reach out for the person standing beside him; his saviour. His ears are still ringing from the fall and he turns his head towards the sounds he can make out. A cool, metal hand strokes the hair back from his forehead and Steve wishes more than anything that he could just open his goddamn eyes. One of his arms manages to lift itself and he tries to wrap a hand around the cool wrist but it is very gently tugged out of his grip.
“Bucky…” He croaks before the coughing begins.
The coughing goes on for what feels like hours and water pours from his mouth, his stomach heaving up the gallons it swallowed. Steve still can’t open his eyes, the sun blinding him every time he tries. He is aware of a presence by his shoulder but it disappears once Steve manages to stop coughing and breathe normally. He trails one hand along in the sand, desperately searching, hoping that he will find the person he is looking for. When a hand finally holds onto his, Steve knows that it is not the person he had been hoping for.
Still, he can’t help but ask.
“Bucky?” he gasps and one eye manages to open itself enough to disappoint him.
Natasha squeezes his hand tighter and offers him a small smile.
“Only me, I’m afraid.” She says in a soothing tone Steve has never heard her use before.
Steve tries to shake his head, tries to thank her for coming for him but his throat is raw and he cannot find his voice. She presses a cool hand against his cheek and kneels down beside his head. Her smell is familiar in a way that makes Steve feel warm. She stays with him until the ambulance arrives and even then, she does not let go of his hand. Steve is barely aware of the paramedics around him, checking his pulse and temperature and patting him down for any broken bones. Natasha still sits by his side, rubbing his hand with her thumb and wrapping him in her smell.
“He saved me.” Steve hears himself say, his voice rough and painful sounding.
Natasha doesn’t say anything but her thumb stills on his skin for the barest of seconds. The beeps of the machines around him are like a soothing lullaby and Steve can feel his eyes getting sleepy once again. He doesn’t hear Natasha asking him to stay awake nor the paramedics shouting at the driver that they are losing him.
Steve feels the darkness envelop him but this time there is no glint of silver in the distance.
.
His eyes open slowly, blearily into semi-darkness. There are the soothing sounds of a heart monitor to his right and when he turns his head he can make out the shape of Sam curled into one of the hospital seats. He exhales slowly and winces at the slight ache in his chest when he does so. He watches Sam sleep for a moment, wondering whether he should wake him or not when the slightest of ripples in the corner of his bedroom startles him. The monitor beeps a little quicker as Steve makes out the unmistakable glint of a silver arm step out of the shadows and he is about to shout for Sam when Bucky-the Soldier- presses a finger to his own lips.
“Don’t make me do this.” Bucky orders and Steve can see the knives in his hands.
“Don’t go, Buck.” Steve croaks because he doesn’t know when he’s going to see him again and Bucky saved his life.
The Soldier’s lips twitch a little before he takes a step closer to his bedside, a strange, unfamiliar look in his eyes.
“Tell me why I should stay.” He demands quietly.
Steve hesitates for a moment and that is all it takes; as quick as a flash, the Soldier climbs out of the window and disappears without a trace. He lets go of the breath he hadn’t realised he had been holding and coughs loudly as he does so. Sam stirs in his seat and sits up slowly, a disorientated look on his face. A bright smile quickly clears this, however, when he sees Steve up and awake.
“Well, well, Cap. You almost had me thinkin’ that you were gonna snooze away another seventy years.” He teases as he climbs out of his chair and moves closer to the bed.
Steve cannot help but grin back at his friend and he shrugs one shoulder casually.
“Couldn’t sleep knowing that the world was gonna have to depend on you next time it got into trouble.” He mocks, his grin growing wider by the second.
Sam shakes his head fondly and claps him on the arm gently.
“Only you’re patriotic ass would be lucky enough to fall out of a helicarrier and into a river.”
Steve purses his lips and shakes his head slowly.
“It wasn’t luck, Sam. Bucky saved me.”
Steve knows instantly that that was the wrong to say because Sam frowns at him and his smile fades slightly as he watches him carefully. He removes his hand from Steve’s arm and pats the railing of the bed soothingly.
“Man, I…Natasha will debrief you on what happened when you’re better. You just get some sleep, old man.”
2.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer operational but Tony ensures that they have something. Nobody puts a name on it because none of them want to admit that they have built another organisation but they all know what it is and what it is not. It’s tiny, not even a fifth the size of what S.H.I.E.L.D. was but Steve likes that. He still doesn’t trust Fury completely but as Natasha has warned him time and time again, if he is looking for friends; he’s in the wrong job.
Presently, their nameless, leaderless group, for lack of a better word, is in the middle of Operation: Detonation and Steve has finally been called back to the field.
“It isn’t going to be easy.” Hill says in a clipped tone. “In fact, it’s highly dangerous and you are all putting your lives at considerable risk. This is one of the largest Hydra cells that we know of and is currently the most active.”
“In Moscow…” Steve mutters as he scans the detailed report before him.
Natasha is already making notes to his right whilst Clint reclines in his leather armchair lazily. Steve can tell that he is annoying Hill but she chooses to ignore his apparent lack of interest. Clint is never one to make notes or ask questions. He simply does as he is instructed and he does it flawlessly.
“We are taking no prisoners.” Hill continues. “No one of importance is situated in this cell. Get in, destroy and get out.”
Steve raises his eyebrows at her words and Hill shrugs.
“Fury’s words, not mine.” She says with a small smile.
Steve smirks at this and leans back in his chair to take a glance at Natasha’s notes. They are written in Russian but Steve knows enough to see that she is planning their entry and exit.
“What kind of team are we getting?” She asks without looking up from her papers.
“Just the three of you.” Hill says with a bit of hesitation.
“What about Sam?” Steve asks quickly.
Hill shakes her head.
“Agent Wilson is currently preoccupied with a different mission. For now, it is the three of you and should any problems arise, Stark is on standby.”
Clint snorts at this.
“In other words, don’t fuck up ‘cause you’re on your own, right?” he scoffs.
Hill doesn’t even blink, a cool expression settling itself on her face.
“Got it in one, Agent Barton.”
.
“It’s an Operational Cell.” Natasha whispers as they go over their co-ordinates. “They are involved in a lot of clandestine operations. It’s also where they store most of their weapons.”
“Great.” Clint grimaces. “The place is explosive.”
Natasha gives him a humourless smile.
“Exactly. That’s why we need to kill the people before we attack the weapons vault. Otherwise…”
“Boom.” Steve mutters as he scans the small building before them.
The street they were on is deserted and there is no one guarding the door before them. It all seems a bit suspicious to Steve but he doesn’t comment. He trusts his team.
“If anyone stops answering their comm, we are to presume they are dead.” Natasha grunts as she places her guns in their holsters. “Once I’ve planted the explosive, we have three minutes to get out. I have no detonator and no way of stopping it if someone has fallen behind.”
“So, don’t fall behind?” Clint asks. “Got it.”
He is leaning close to Natasha and so Steve pretends to busy himself with his shield to give them a moment of privacy. His chest aches in an unfamiliar way as he hears the soft sounds of their chaste kiss. Clint’s hand on his shoulder tells him that they are done and that it is time to go.
“Remember, no prisoners.” He warns Steve as he gets to his feet.
Steve follows suit and grins down at them both reassuringly.
“See you guys on the flip side.” He declares before charging off ahead, just as they had planned.
In his comm, he can hear Clint muttering;
“I never should have taught him that one.”
.
The building is deserted and that unsettles them all. They check every floor and every room on their designated floors and find nothing. Natasha manages to come across some files that she believes may be important but other than that they come across nothing or no-one. Steve is wandering along the second floor when Natasha’s voice filters in.
“Cap? Cap, come in. Cap, explosives are on timer. You have just under three minutes to vacate the building.”
Her tone is clipped and professional and that is how Steve knows she is worried.
“This is Cap, I’m on the way out.” He confirms and he breaks into a jog, making his way to the staircase at the end of the hall.
But a flash of metal to his right causes him to stop in his tracks. A figure emerges from the shadows and Steve falters in his movements as he slows to a stop.
“Bucky?” he breathes and the Soldier’s face darkens.
He watches Steve carefully, his knees slack and relaxed, in the perfect fighting stance. There is a gun in his right hand and his eyes are boring into him in an intimidating manner. In the back of his mind, Steve is reminded of the imminent explosion and his heart begins to hammer against his chest uncomfortably.
“W-what are you doing here?” he demands and he knows he won’t get an answer but surely Bucky isn’t still working for Hydra?
Steve doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do if Bucky says that he is.
The Soldier glances to his left and right and Steve knows that he is choosing his weakest side. He grips his own shield tighter and allows his own stance to mimic the Soldier’s. He doesn’t want to fight Bucky, not again, but if the Soldier attacks him, he will have no choice but to defend himself.
“Cap?” Clint’s voice shouts in his ear. “Cap, you got less than a minute, where the Hell are you?”
The Soldier fixes his gaze on him and tilts his head to the side as he listens to Clint’s panicked tone. He straightens into a more relaxed stance and there is a glint of something in his eyes.
“Get out.” He orders.
“Not without you.” Steve declares firmly.
There are 45 seconds left on the clock and Steve’s heart is throwing itself against his chest. He doesn’t want to die but he can’t leave Bucky behind. Not this time.
He sees the flash of annoyance that crosses the Soldier’s face before he charges at him and grabs his underarm, pulling him in a different direction from where Steve’s exit is. Steve is surprised by the attack but he quickly recovers and begins to struggle desperately.
“Bucky! Where are you going?” he yells, trying to break free from his vice-like grip.
The Soldier ignores him and before Steve knows where he is, he is crashing through a window and sailing through the air. His mind quickly clicks into gear and he tries to tucks his shield under their knees but he fumbles and it clatters to the ground beneath them. Steve swears he can hear the huff of impatience escape from the Soldiers lips and as they land, he flips Steve onto his back and cushions their fall by landing on his metal arm. The Soldier grunts but otherwise appears unfazed. Steve rolls off of his back just as the building behind them explodes into the clear night sky.
“Steve? Steve? Are you alive? Do you read me?” Natasha’s voice is ringing in his ears but Steve can’t take his eyes off Bucky who is watching him with a neutral expression on his face.
“Thank you.” He croaks.
Bucky doesn’t react. He simply rolls back on to his feet with ease and holds out his hand, offering to pull Steve up. Steve grins and takes it graciously, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. They stand there like that for a moment, their hands clasped together as they eye each other calmly. Bucky runs one finger down the length of Steve’s palm and the taller man shudders a little at this, the smallest of smiles tugging at his lips as he regards the dark haired man opposite him.
“The window was nearer.” The Soldier answers to a question Steve had never asked. “You never would have made it to the door.”
And Steve is about to thank him again when the Soldier suddenly twists his arm behind his back and spins him around so that his back is pressed against the Soldier’s front. Steve gasps in surprise and struggles against him for a moment. He can feel Bucky’s breath against the side of his neck and it makes him shiver. Steve is confused by the sudden turn of events until he spots Clint and Natasha making their way towards them, their weapons raised and determined expressions on their faces. Steve feels his stomach drop and he is about to tell them to just stop, okay? but then the Soldier jerks his arm in a way that makes him howl in pain.
“Never thank me.” He breathes against the shell of his ear before shoving him away violently.
Steve falls to the ground with a pained grunt. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the Soldier roll into the cover of darkness just before Natasha lets her first bullet fly.
He grits his teeth against the pain and tries to find his voice, to beg Natasha to put down her weapon. His shoulder is dislocated, he knows that immediately. Natasha and Clint run towards him as he catches his breath, trying to push the pain out. When they reach his side, Natasha is glowering at him.
“Fury said no prisoners.” She snarls.
Steve frowns up at her, confused, the pain causing his vision to white out at the sides.
“I didn’t take any?”
“Then he should have been dead.” She snaps, kneeling down beside him and placing her hands on his shoulder carefully.
Steve’s stomach turns a little and he glances at her uncertainly.
“He saved my life, ‘Tash.” He mutters quietly.
A sickening crunch causes him to black out for a few seconds as Natasha pops his shoulder back into place. When he opens his watery eyes, she is watching him with an unimpressed expression.
“He should be dead.” She says firmly.
“Well, without him, I would be too.”
3.
It’s raining and they are in the Parisian countryside, busting yet another Hydra cell. This time, they need prisoners and Steve is hot in pursuit of one of the most prized captains, Erik Duveil. He charges after him through a dense forest, the cold wind whipping against his cheeks almost painfully. He lost his comm some two kilometres back but he’s not worried. The man is unarmed and supposedly untrained in combat so Steve believes he has the upper hand. He jumps a low stone wall and he is gaining on his target. He surges forward, pushing himself to his limit and he doesn’t see the silver bullet that hurtles past his ear and stops his prisoner right in his tracks. The man makes no sound as he falls and as Steve forces himself to stop, he spins around only to come face-to-face with him.
“Buck-” He starts to say but he falls silent when the gun is aimed right at his head.
The Soldier holds the pistol with a steady hand and watches Steve calmly. Steve feels his stomach drop as he takes in the determined look on the Soldier’s face. The wind is causing his long hair to whip around his chin and he looks impossibly dangerous. Steve knows that if he moves, Bucky will shoot and so he stays stock still, his hands open and relaxed by his side.
“What did you want with him?” The Soldier demands as he comes closer, his gun never moving below Steve’s brows.
Steve swallows loudly and shakes his head.
“That’s classified information.”
The Soldier snorts at this and stops a mere three inches away, the barrel of his gun pressed against Steve’s forehead. It’s ice-cold and it makes Steve inhale sharply, despite himself. The Soldier pushes it against his skin with such force that Steve knows he is going to mark his skin. He eyes Bucky uncertainly, trying to decide when it would be best to make his next move. The safety of the gun clicks loudly across the silent countryside and Steve bites down on his tongue to stop himself from saying something he will regret. They are so close now that he can look right into Bucky’s eyes and he can see the glimmer of that old spark dancing behind his darkened eyes.
“You’re men are hunting the wrong people. They’re all dead.” The Soldier snarls.
“Hydra?” Steve whispers, barely opening his mouth.
The Soldier nods and the gun slips a little lower down Steve’s forehead. It rests right between his eyes and he tries not to stare at it, instead choosing to look into Bucky’s eyes.
“How can you be sure?” he pushes, taking a step closer so that they are almost chest to chest.
The Soldier gives him a suspicious look before offering him a humourless smile.
“Because I’ve killed them all.”
There is no pride in the Soldiers voice, nothing that would indicate that he took satisfaction in announcing but his smile contradicts that. His smile chills Steve to the core. He looks nothing like Bucky now, his mouth twisted in a grimace.
“My team are gonna be here in a minute, Bucky. You need to put down the gun.” Steve urges.
“That man, the one you were chasing? He had a taser strong enough to knock a bull elephant. You were going to run right into it.”
Again, the Soldier says it with little to no emotion. His eyelids are hooded and he is watching Steve with a bored expression on his face.
“Bucky…”
The gun slips to the tip of his nose and the Soldier raises an eyebrow.
“Why do you call me that?” he demands.
Steve shrugs, careful not to move his face.
“Because it’s your name.”
The gun drops to his side and there is nothing between them now. The Soldier’s chest is pressed against his own and he can feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes. Steve licks his lips nervously and Bucky’s eyes track this movement.
“I don’t have a name.” he corrects him quietly, his breath hot against Steves’ mouth.
“You do.” He insists gently. “It’s James Buchanan Barnes.”
For the briefest of moments, Steve actually dares to hope that they are about to kiss. He wonders if he remembers the nights they used to spend sharing beds and stealing kisses. Steve had forced himself to forget but if this is something they both want…
The Soldier frowns and looks as though he is about to close the space between them when he suddenly slams his metal arm against Steve’s chest and throws them both to the ground. Steve grunts loudly as his head slaps against the wet grass and is winded when Bucky lands on him roughly, his entire weight crushing his chest. A series of bullets fly past them and Steve is fascinated by the clear, calculating look in the Soldier’s eyes as he decides on the best way to escape. He runs his tongue along the length of his own lips and catches Steve’s eye. He can see the uncertainty in his eyes as he leans down and presses a chaste kiss to the bottom of Steve’s chin.
“We used to do this.” He mutters, his sharp eyes searching Steve’s face desperately.
“You know me?” Steve whispers urgently as Bucky rolls off of him.
The Soldier pauses for a moment before nodding.
“I…remember you.”
The tears that fill Steve’s eyes are too hot. His lip trembles as he watches the Soldier dodge yet another series of bullets. He sits up and sees Agent Hill raising her pistol at Bucky yet again, a furious expression on her face. She has a good shot and she catches his shoulder, making him falter a little, but Bucky still makes it to the edge of the forest and disappear within it. Hill speaks into her comm before turning her attention to Steve, a suspicious look on her face. The dead body of their would-be prisoner lies just a few feet from him.
“He had a taser.” Steve explains as he gets to his feet.
Hill lowers her gun and purses her lips.
“You don’t carry a gun.” She points out.
“Buck…uh…The Winter Soldier…he did it.”
Agent Hill blinks at him a few times before nodding and stepping away to speak into her comm once again. She turns her back to him and Steve swallows the bubble of panic in his chest.
“He saved my life.” He adds quickly. “He saved me.”
“For the third time, I know.”
4.
“Cap, can you take 23rd street? Sam is chasing him in that direction.”
Natasha’s tinny voice filters into his ear and Steve immediately prepares himself for action. He pulls his baseball cap down lower on his face and huddles into his jacket as he slips out of the coffee shop and makes his way down 22nd street.
“Affirmative. Making my way to 23rd. Anything I should know?”
He waits patiently before Natasha answers him with a sigh;
“Yes. The Winter Soldier is flanking you.”
Steve’s brisk walk slows a little and he turns his head to the right, hoping to sneak a glance of Bucky but he notices nothing familiar.
“How would you like me to proceed?” he asks softly, unable to keep the pleading tone from his voice.
“Go to 23rd and help Sam. I’ll deal with the Soldier.”
Her tone is clipped and professional and Steve knows that disobeying her would be disobeying a direct order and so he makes his way to the next street to help Sam take down their perp. He breaks into a quick jog and turns the corner, only to come face to face with the barrel of an AK47. He stops dead in his tracks and lets out a stuttered breath as his eyes meet the cold, red ones opposite him.
“Get a bit of a surprise, Captain?”
Just beyond them, Sam is lying on the ground unconscious. Steve hopes that Natasha and Clint aren’t too far away, his heart hammering in his chest uncomfortably. The civilians surrounding them are screaming and running for cover whilst the terrorist’s men chase them down the street. Steve relaxes his knees and allows his body to go loose, ready to take the dark-haired man on.
“You knew I was going to take this corner.”
The man nods and smirks.
“You’re predictable. My men saw you sitting in Café Crème not twenty minutes ago.”
Steve opens his mouth as though he were about to respond before ducking low and punching the terrorist straight into the stomach. The man doubles over and grunts loudly. Steve then straightens up and kicks the gun out of his hand. The AK47 clatters about on the street beside them and the man charges straight at Steve, head-butting him in the stomach violently. Steve feels the air being pushed out of his lungs and digs his fingers into the flesh of the man’s shoulders, shoving him away with as much strength as he can muster. The man is thrown against the side of a car and Steve races over to Sam to check his pulse. His friend is still breathing and his heart rate is strong.
“Natasha, we need back up like three minutes ago.” He orders into his comm, moving away from Sam and beginning to charge down the street after the rest of the terrorists.
“Cap, you gotta get Sam and clear the street. They’ve planted a bomb. You need to get out of there now.” She demands, a hint of panic in her voice.
Steve halts in his tracks and looks back at Sam. He doubles back and throws the man over his shoulder with ease. He races down the street, shouting at people to get out of there. He doesn’t know how long he has until the bomb detonates, all he knows is that there are people in their apartments right now, watching everything and thinking that they are safe.
“You need to get out of here!” Steve roars, hoping that they’ll hear him. “There’s a bomb! Bomb!”
There is a faint banging sound behind him and the next thing, there is a hand wrapped around his forearm dragging him down an alley. By this stage, Steve can recognise the person by the strength in their arm alone and he allows himself to be led down the dark street as a whoosh of flames passes the mouth of the alley. The hand doesn’t let go until they are sheltered behind a large refuse bin and only then does Steve put Sam down.
“He’s a lot heavier than he looks.” Steve pants as he glances up at Bucky.
The Soldier half-smiles and crouches down beside him.
“You’re always in trouble.” He comments with a warm look dancing in his eyes.
Steve snorts a little at this.
“I’m an Avenger. It’s in the job description.”
“You were in trouble long before you were an Avenger.” The Soldier breathes and that longing is there again, the feeling that they should just kiss but Steve can’t bring himself to do it.
“Why are you following me?” he asks as Bucky comes closer, his eyelids hooded and his sinful mouth wet and shiny.
“You’re always in trouble.” He says with a shrug, pausing just a few inches away from him. “Sometimes I come just to make sure you’re alive.”
Steve hates the helpless sound that escapes his throat as he closes the distance between them, his mouth moulding against Bucky’s just like it used to. He clutches to the Soldier’s shoulders and tries to pull him closer, craving and needing more. The Soldier doesn’t kiss him back but neither does he shove him away. He just kneels before him and breathes through his nose patiently, his human hand wrapped around Steve’s neck. When Steve pulls away, his tongue is tinged with the taste of nostalgia and guilt. The Soldier simply watches him curiously, one eyebrow raised ever-so-slightly.
“We used to do that, didn’t we? Before.”
Steve nods, a flush burning his cheeks.
“Yeah, we did. Before.”
The Soldier blinks as he takes in this confirmation before nodding once and getting to his feet.
“I have to leave now.” He declares as he picks up his gun and shoulders it.
Steve almost asks him to stay but he catches himself just on time.
“Okay.” He breathes as Bucky turns on his heel and marches down the alley with purchase.
Steve exhales shakily as he watches his silhouette disappear and it is only then that he realizes that Sam is conscious. He glances at his friend and waits but Sam simply stares at him, a strange look in his eyes.
“He saved us.” Sam finally says.
Steve nods.
“He did.”
“You kissed him.”
Steve winces.
“I did.”
Sam exhales loudly before shaking his head and sitting up, a disbelieving look on his face.
“He’s…he’s not Bucky anymore, Steve.”
Steve half-smiles.
“He is.”
5.
Operation: Hiver Dernier is also known as Operation: Break Steve’s Heart.
He sits at the coffee table in Tony’s home and he watches as each of his colleagues turn to him and tell him that it has to end. Sam refuses to catch his eye and the grim look on Natasha’s face tells him that she would have ended it sooner if anyone had listened to her. They don’t trust him anymore, they think that he has been compromised, that much is written across Tony Stark’s all-knowing face.
“If he has wiped out all the Hydra cells, then we need to talk to him.” Bruce reasons, a sympathetic look on his face.
“Aye, and we shall cause him no harm.” Thor vows.
“But if he’s still working for Hydra then we need to-” Tony starts but Steve silences him with a furious look.
“If he is still working for Hydra, he would have killed me. He’s had four chances and he chose to save me instead. And Sam.” Steve declares.
Natasha shifts in her seat uncomfortably and fixes Steve with a careful look.
“He might be trying to trick you.” She states calmly. “It might be because he was ordered to-”
“Regardless,” Hill interrupts before Steve explodes. “He is to be brought back alive.”
“He’s a ghost.” Clint sighs. “How are we supposed to even begin tracking him?”
“We’re not.” Natasha says with a grim look on her face. “Steve is.”
.
Steve hates wearing a wire. He hates the fact that he is setting Bucky up and that it has all come down to this. He walks along the river path in a tiny Romanian fishing village, his eyes scanning the empty streets for the familiar glint of metal. He had managed to track the Soldier, with great difficulty, to this town in the middle of nowhere. The Avengers were scattered about around him in various positions, just waiting to be summoned, watching and tracking his every move. He walks until he reaches the end of the pathway, the rest of trail disappearing into thick forest.
“Don’t even think about it, Captain Small-Ass.” Tony’s comm buzzes in his ear.
“He’s not gonna come out with you guys-”
“Cap, watch out.”
Steve turns just in time to see an arrow flying at his forehead. Before he even has the chance to duck, a heavy body slams against his and throws him against the ground. Steve slams his face against the pavement and winces as his ears begin to ring. He groans and tries to shove the heavy weight off of him. He opens his eyes and winces in disappointment when he sees that it is Bucky pinning him to the ground. He had hoped…
He had hoped that they would never find him.
The Soldier reads the disappointment on his face as something else and rolls off of him quickly. He stands and pulls Steve to his feet once again.
“How have you lived this long?” he demands with a wry smile, his lips turned in a way that is achingly familiar.
“Good soldiers like yourself looking out for me.” Steve replies with an easy smile and out of the corner he recognizes the arrow caught in the tree trunk as one of Clint’s.
Bucky follows his gaze and raises his own eyebrows as he takes in the arrow.
“One of your own men?” he questions.
“Someone stole his crossbow.” Steve lies smoothly. “I’ve gotten separated from the team.”
It is all scripted and sounds it too. There is a terribly uneasy feeling settling in Steve’s stomach but he ignores Natasha’s warnings in his comm as he follows Bucky deeper into the forest. He is away from the prying eyes of his team but he is now alone with a man his own people don’t trust. The Soldier is standing right beside him, their shoulders brushing and Steve leans into the touch despite himself.
“You always were a bad liar.” The Soldier says and then he looks confused, as if he too is surprised by the words that have escaped his mouth.
“Bucky…” Steve sighs and he turns to face the Soldier, a desperate look on his face.
He wants to tell him to run and never look back. He wants to help him. Bucky watches him with a closed expression before nodding.
“I know you’re wearing a wire.” He whispers and the comm in Steve’s ear explodes as the Avengers tell him to get the Hell out of that forest.
“My friends want to help you.” Steve explains, ignoring the chaos going on around him. “They want to…rehabilitate you.”
The Soldier smirks at this and he looks so like Bucky that Steve’s heart aches in a terrible, constricting way.
“They want to kill me.”
And Steve knows that he is being disloyal but he shakes his head firmly.
“I won’t let them.”
And he means it. He will stand between them if he has to.
The Soldiers bites on his bottom lip unsurely before shrugging a shoulder.
“I don’t know if I’m the man you think I am.” He says softly.
Steve blinks at him.
“Tell me the truth about Hydra. Are you working for them?”
Bucky shakes his head slowly.
“I told you I killed them.”
Steve watches the Soldier. He looks at the way his hair curls just below his chin, lanky and thin looking. He takes in the dark circles under his eyes and the light stubble speckled across his chin. His lips are chapped and dry looking but Steve still leans into him and presses their lips together in a sweet, barely-there kiss. This time, Bucky returns the kiss and Steve practically falls against him, his hands scrambling for purchase as he knots them through Bucky’s hair. And they are suddenly transported back to that crappy apartment in Brooklyn, pushing one another against the wall as they both fight for dominance. A warm feeling spreads down Steve’s spine and he almost chuckles when Bucky pulls him even closer, their bodies practically moulded against one another and-
“Steve. We’ve got you surrounded.”
The walls of the apartment come shattering down around them as they separate and when Steve opens his eyes, his team are staring at him with eyes that are too wide, too accusing. The Soldier immediately comes to life and pulls out his pistol, aiming it straight at Steve’s chest.
“I’ll shoot.” He declares, a wild, panicked look in his eyes and Steve can feel the energy rolling off of him in nervous waves.
“No, you won’t.” Tony says with a confident smile. “We’ve got you surrounded. You’re going to put down your weapon and you’re going to come with us peacefully. Shoot Rogers and we’ll kill you where you stand.”
The cogs of the Soldier’s brain are visibly turning as he weighs up his chances of survival. Each Avenger has lined their weapon up against Bucky and Steve hates the look of complete and utter fear shadowing his face.
“If you come with us peacefully, I can protect us both.” Steve whispers. “If you put up a fight, I’m going to die in the crossfire.”
And it’s a lie because the Avengers would never risk his life but it works. The Soldier blinks at him wetly before wrinkling his nose and dropping his weapons. He slowly gets to his knees and kneels before Steve, his hands held behind his head.
“Thank you.” Steve breathes as he leans forward and begins to handcuff his wrists.
Bucky looks up at him, a blank expression on his face.
“I told you not to thank me.” He sighs before drawing his head back and head-butting Steve straight into the stomach.
The handcuff’s slip open before Steve gets the chance to lock them and the Soldier rolls away, dodging the shots Natasha is firing in his direction as he races for the cover of the trees surrounding them.
“Motherfucker!” Sam exclaims before racing after him.
Tony blasts himself into the air as Thor follows suit.
“Don’t hurt him! He doesn’t know what he’s doing!” Steve yells desperately.
Clint throws him a sympathetic look over his shoulder and offers him a small smile.
“Cap…the peace talks are over. I’m sorry.”
…
They don’t find him.
He disappears without a trace and no intelligence agency in the world can even begin to tell them where they might find him.
“He’s a ghost.” Clint sighs as Hill pulls the plug on Operation: Hiver Dernier.
“He’s learned from his mistake. He got sloppy but he knows now not to risk that.” Natasha sighs as she hands over her files. “No matter how tempting it may seem.”
Steve knows that they’re talking about him. He’s seen the files; he’s down as Barnes’ only weakness, his pressure point. He hasn’t been allowed out on the field for a while now, Hill and Fury too paranoid that he might decide to join forces with Bucky. The fight that had gone down in Romania between Bucky and Natasha had left her with yet another scar but they don’t talk about that.
“He’s working alone now.” Hill says with a grimace. “I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing but Hydra…he’s made sure he’ll never have to work for them again.”
“Guess we owe him that much.” Tony chuckles. “He took down the entire organisation for us.”
Steve rises silently and makes his way out of the room, his shoulders hunched and his arms buried deep inside his pockets.
He owes him so much more.
He owes him his life.