Twisted Ends

Bucky slowly drifted towards consciousness, fighting the tendrils of darkness clinging to him like a soft, enticing blanket. It kept creeping up on him like smooth molasses, sweet and comforting and just…

Nice. It would feel nice. To just give back to sleep's welcoming grasp, to fall back into the inky darkness, where no thoughts of any sort could plague him. It would just be so nice, for just once, to not fight it.

But Bucky had never been one to just sit idly by, or at least that was something his Ma had once said, all those long years ago.

“Always so fidgety, Jamie.” He could hear her say, voice so soothing and familiar, a gentle balm on his weary soul. “Idle hands are the devil's playground, but you’re doing so much bouncing about, I’m sure you’ve scared him out of this neighborhood. Now stop your pacing and help me with the baking.” And Bucky swore that he could almost taste his Ma’s delicious apple crumble, the way the heady vanilla scent would flood his nostrils and-

His eyes drifted open, fluttering as he blinked away the last of sleeps hold. Eyes narrow, he slowly scanned his surroundings, noting he was in a darkened hospital room.

Yet again. God Fucking damnit.

Sighing heavily, he made to quietly slouch off the bed, wincing as he felt his injuries make themselves known. But he felt better, much better since the last time he woke.

Christ. He’d really made a fool of himself. He needed to find Sam-

A quick glance to his left found Sam deep in sleep in an armchair, pulled so close to the bed that the armrest was against the metal frame. Sam’s head was leaned back, mouth wide open as he let out an unbecoming snore. A little dollop of drool clung to the corner of his lips, face slack and relaxed.

“He’s barely slept since you’ve been here.” A voice echoed from the far corner of the room, Bucky’s head snapping towards the sound. Rhodey emerged from the shadows, eyes puffy and dark as he cracked his neck, looking about as good as Bucky felt. “Barely slept myself, all the worrying and fighting off good looking nurses.” He came to a stop at Bucky’s side, giving him an assessing look. “ Bout time you stopped hogging the dream fairies for yourself, you dick.”

Bucky nodded slowly, taking the hidden message within the brash tone. ‘Glad you’re not dead,’ is what he took from Rhodes, the man looking relieved at the sight of him breathing.

To be fair, he did almost die, AGAIN, so…he wouldn’t hold it against him.

Funny, Rhodes was starting to go soft on him.

How cute.

“Shouldn’t you not be using slurs like that, Rhodes? Being a Colonel and all, I’d have thought it beneath you-”

Rhodes quietly drug a chair over, scoffing as he sat down. “First off, it’s not 1945 Barnes. And second. You always have to be such a tool? You haven’t been awake for two seconds, and you’re already busting my balls. Giving me half the thought to smother you with that pillow-”

“Don’t you dare, Rhodey. I’d like the pleasure of doing that myself, thank you very much.” Bucky’s head whipped back around, finding Sam looking at him with bleary eyes. Sam’s lips pulled up into a sweet smile, teeth flashing that brilliant light that was just Sam-

SMACK.

“What the FUCK?” Bucky’s hand whipped to the top of his head; eyes wide as Sam abruptly stood up.

“Don’t you, ‘What the fuck?’ me!" Sam yelled in a hushed whisper, leaning over him as he pointed an aggressive finger. "You almost died! AGAIN! When you said you wouldn't! That you had a plan! A plan, that APPARENTLY, involved you almost dying!" Sam jabbed a finger towards his chest, voice quivering as his eyes began to shine in the darkness. "You almost DIED, Bucky. Your heart stopped twice on the way to the hospital. We didn't think-"

Sam's voice cut out, hand going to his mouth as he took a rattling breath in. His voice quivered, eyes shimmering as he spoke. "You died, Buck. You died back there, and I almost couldn't bring you back. I couldn't save you, I couldn't...I wasn't-"

Bucky surged forward with a fierce growl, hands gently coming up to cusp the sides of Sam's face. He didn't care that Rhodey was just a few feet away, watching this all unfold. He didn't care that he wasn't sure the last time he'd bathed was, or that he looked like death. Probably smelled like death too. All he cared about was fixing this, fixing the feelings that Sam was struggling with. To show that he cared. That he was HERE and ALIVE.

He smashed his lips desperately to Sam's, hoping-No, PLEADING, that Sam could feel that he was pouring every ounce of his being into the kiss, could feel the apologies and things that had been left unspoken. He slowly pulled away, eyes drinking Sam in as he fought to find his voice.

He licked his lips, catching Sam's eyes watching the motion with rapt attention. "I know that I scared you." Bucky murmured, swallowing against the anxiety clawing at his chest, making his airway tighten up and constrict. "I'm sorry, Sam. This whole thing. US. It's new to me. I never-" Bucky's voice broke, the bottle of emotions surging violently to the surface."I never had...anyone THERE for me before- before..." he took in a haggard breath. "When I did missions. No one cared if I was hurt. Shit, no one honestly would have cared if I'd died. Well, they probably would have cared they lost the Asset, but me? No one cared about me, Sam. I've always been alone, and having...having a team that CARES, well." Bucky took in another shaky breath. "That scares me, Wilson. More than any alien invasion or neurotoxin, because I would rather take a thousand bullets than to see anything happen to you. Or Rhodes. Or Torres, because I KNOW I can take it. That's all I know how to do. I can take hits. I can take punches, and beatings, and shocks, and things that are far worse. But I can't lose you. Not when I just finally found you."

Sam looked down at him with stunned, honey brown eyes, rimmed with shining tears as a fiery emotion pooled in their depths. Bucky watched with apprehension as Sam slowly sank back down to his chair, bringing his body closer to his. His face hovered just above him, eyes seeming to drink in his features, studying his expressions, seeming to pierce into his soul.

Bucky could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest, sure that everyone in the room could hear it's tachycardic thunder. Sweat was beginning to line his brow, the beads cascading down his temples and collecting into the collar of his hospital gown. He felt exposed like this. So...open and vulnerable, his emotions bare and for the taking.

He'd never told anyone before, about the treatments he'd been dealt while at the hands of HYDRA. The world only knew the facts and, in his exhausting, never ending, hellish experience, that meant they thought they knew what he'd been through. Once Natasha had released HYDRA'S files for the world to see, it wasn't just her colorful past exposed to the public. She had unleashed a can of worms for all eyes to see, and once it was out there, there was no way of putting a lid back on it.

The amount of blacklisted chats and forums going into needless detail over his...time with HYDRA had left him feeling raw and violated all over again, his traumas and shame just a cute talking point for the public.

So he knew that Sam KNEW, or at least knew the facts of what had been documented during 80 years of captivity. But he didn't know the emotional play, the devaluing horrors that he'd endured on a daily basis, to the point he'd BEGGED for cryo. Anything to just stop the continuous onslaught of torture.

"You're not going to lose me, Buck." Sam's hand found his, fingers wrapping around his palms in a warm embrace. "I know none of this is easy, but you DO have people who care for you. And you have people in your corner who will take the bullets FOR YOU. You're not a machine. You've gotta start taking care of yourself. You are NOT invincible. You're family. You're my family now, and you best believe I'm not letting you go that easy." Another warm squeeze. Sam cocked an eyebrow, a tight smile pulling at his lips. "Besides, you really think I'm so easy to get rid of? Going to take more than a few psycho's and friend-turned traitors to take me down."

Bucky let out a weak snort, turning away as he blinked back tears. Rhodes stood up quietly, pulling a face even though he was fighting back a soft smile. "You both are absolutely nauseating." He quipped up saucily, laughing when Sam snatched the pillow underneath Bucky and tossed it across the room. "Don't be killin your boo, Wilson!" Bucky watched as Rhodey ducked down at the second onslaught of pillows and books, quickly launching a book that slammed harrowingly close to the lamp on the dresser, a picture falling from it's perch on the wall and crashing to the ground. Rhodey paused, gesturing at the broken glass. "Wilson! Just say you love him and stop causing destruction to government property! For fuck sakes." He then held up a torn-up envelope, tipping it towards Bucky. "We need to catch our terminator up on some events, so pucker up and kiss your man so we can get to work."

******************************************************************************************************
"What the fuck." Sam observed as Bucky poured over the files spread across the bed, his eyes narrowing as he highlighted and annotated, a pained grimace on his face. He could see the worry lines carving themselves deeper into Bucky's forehead, his lips a pursed line. Sam leaned in close, looking down at the words on the pages.

"What's 'What the fuck' worthy?" Sam gave Bucky's shoulder a gentle nudge, a rejoiceful warmth sparking in his stomach at the slight twinkle that sparkled in Bucky's eye at the intrusion. "She doing tax evasion? "

Bucky looked up from his hunched position, pinning him with a disgruntled glower. "No." He then went back to work, ignoring Sam's hanging look.

Sam took a deep breath in, eyes catching Rhodey's. Rhodey shrugged. "You going to share with the class?"

"No."

Silence filled the room, followed by the faint crinkling as Bucky flipped through more files. Sam pointed a finger, slowly bringing it closer and closer to Bucky's ear. Bucky ignored the act, moving over to the opposite side of the bed. He was definitely in a mood.

"If you fucking poke me one more time, I WILL break your finger Wilson."

Sam raised a brow at the hostile tone. "You're so pissy."

"You're so annoying."

"But you love it though."

Bucky looked up, leaning heavily against his mountain of pillows. "Do I?" He huffed, sliding the rest of the papers back into their folder, moving to set it on the desk beside him.

Sam nodded, reaching underneath his chair to hand Bucky a bottle of water. He took in gratefully, flicking the metal cap off with his vibranium thumb. The motion made heat flood the pit of his stomach. 'Jesus...'

"Are you going to tell us what's got your panties in such a twist?" Rhodey grunted from his corner of the room, pointing Sam with an irritated glare. Sam shrugged, moving to continue poking at Bucky's side. Bucky continued to ignore him; attention pinned on Rhodey.

"You read the same thing I did, Rhodes." Bucky said. Rhodey raised a brow at the haughtily tone, eyes cutting over to Sam. "Uh huh. And?"

"And...?" Bucky drawled out, vibranium finger tapping apprehensively on the glass bottle.

Rhodey threw his hands up in the air. "My guy, enough with the pensive, broody, bad boy act. Sam's digging it, but I'm not. Just tell us what you're thinking before I throw another book."

"And you think I'm the bitchy one." Bucky made to move off the bed, pinning Sam with a withering look as he made to stop him. "I'm not made of glass, Wilson. I need to stretch my fucking legs before they atrophy."

"You NEED to be taking it easy." Sam moved aside anyway, not wanting to risk Bucky's mood souring further. He could see the how tight his traps had become, the veins of his neck bulging as stood and stretched. He was practically emitting a black aura of 'DON'T fuck with me unless you want a knife in unsavory places' sort of vibe, and Sam was many things. A suicidal idiot wasn't one of them.

"Can your muscles even atrophy?" Rhodey jabbed from his corner of the room, sitting down and beginning to dig through his go-bag. Bucky's eyes narrowed to slits at the crinkling, Sam watching as he could practically see the hairs beginning to stand on Bucky's neck.

"Yeah. They can. Ask me how I know." Bucky paced the length of the hospital room, his eyes constantly watching the hallway for movement. Sam watched as his eyes scanned the room, seeming to be looking for something, his head cocking to the side as he turned his gaze back out the window. His eyes never left the hallway, even as a book came flying across the room from Rhodey's bag. His Vibranium arm moved so quickly that it didn't appear to even twitch, one moment the book landing between the metal fingertips and the next becoming embedded into the hospital drywall, not even a millimeter from Rhodey's face. Rhodey's eyes went round.

"Holy shit."

Sam gaped at the wall. "Buck-"

"You can't just CHUCK a book at me, Barnes-!

Bucky turned on a swift heel, quicky striding towards Rhodes with the prowess of a predator, his feet not even making a whisper as they hit the ground. Sam watched as he stopped a few inches in front of Rhodes, eyes just blue slits as he slowly leaned forward. Rhodey stayed frozen to the spot, eyeing Bucky wearily.

"The fuck are you doing, Barnes?" Bucky's metal arm shot out, Rhodey flinching as it whizzed just barely past his cheek and into the wall behind him. Chunks of dust fell to the ground, as well as small pieces of black metal. Bucky's arm sparked as he pulled something out from behind the plaster, throwing it to the ground as he shook his hand, cursing as it spasmed.

"That's what I was doing." Bucky looked Rhodey up and down, quirking an eyebrow as the sparks began to subside. "You really think I was about to kill you over a book?"

Rhodey stared down at the black, sparking box absently. "I dunno. Stranger things have happened, you know?" He pointed at the object. "Like you almost punching me in the face with the force of a locomotive to rip a mystery box out of your hospital room wall."

Bucky sucked his teeth. "Yep."

Rhodey nodded blankly. "Yep."

Sam knelt down, watching as the box continued to send bits of electricity into the air. He could feel the hum pulsing in the air around them, causing his teeth to vibrate in his skull and his gut to clench. "What the hell is this?" He looked up at Bucky, who had that far off, haunted look on his face. "How did you know it was there?"

Bucky knelt down beside him, so close that their thighs touched. "Couldn't understand why I've had a headache this whole time." He reached into Sam's back pocket. "Buck-! Get your hands off the merchandise! There are people present-" Bucky's vibranium hand came crashing down onto the black box, Sam's hunting knife embedded in the middle. The box stopped sparking and Bucky let out a heavy sigh of relief, his whole-body sagging with exhaustion.

"That," he pointed casually, "is something HYDRA cooked up back in the 70's to keep me...well, let's just say compliant." Sam watched as Bucky rubbed at his temples, his steel blue eyes framed by the dark purple hues of his under eyes. "Sends out a frequency that can go from giving me a killer headache to nausea, vomiting, delayed healing, ruptured eardrums, internal bleeding, you name it. They mostly used it to keep me from sleeping, but sometimes they'd send out electromagnetic shocks to fry my brain. Depending on my mental status, they could even-" Bucky gave the box a swift kick. "Could give me orders, force me to do whatever they wanted."

Sam gaped up at him with wide eyes, a multitude of feelings bubbling to the surface. He felt his mouth open and close, unable to produce any sort of sound. Rhodey spoke up first, eyes still planted on the pieces of metal scattered across the room. "You really should see a therapist sometime."

Bucky nodded halfheartedly, blowing a few hairs that had started to stray into his eyes. "Yeah, probably." He motioned for them to get up, pointing at their bags. "We need to go. This area is compromised. And I'm assuming our little box there just stopped sending out a signal."

Sam scrambled to his feet, grabbing the strap to his pack. "Yeah, no shit." He motioned to Rhodey, throwing him an earpiece. "Time to get gone, team." He then turned to Bucky, who was eyeing the hallway with a bland expression on his face. "Internal bleeding? Are you serious?"

"Oh yeah. Really killed my mood. But kept me trim, let me tell you." Bucky snarked, leading the way as they started the trek towards the parking garage. He paused, head cocking to the side. He pointed to a stairwell to their left. "We should go this way. We have incoming."

"By all means, lead the way." Rhodey opened the door, quietly shutting it behind them as a large group of uniforms ran past. They watched as they continued down the hallway, barking orders at staff as they disappeared around the bend. "Think they're off to the Popeyes in the cafeteria?" Rhodey joked, motioning for them to continue down the dark passage. "Heard their biscuits are the bomb."

"I heard they're as dry as dirt." Bucky ran down the stairs three at a time, Sam catching the wince as they turned the corridor. "Maybe they're wanting those cheesecakes they're advertising? Heard those are pretty good."

"Oh yeah, those are pretty good..."Rhodey came to an abrupt halt, hand flying up to his earpiece. "Torres?" Sam turned around, coming to a stand at Rhodey's side.

"Torres?" Sam brought his hand up to his earpiece. "Torres, you there, brother?"

"-Sam? Sam, you copy?" Torres's voice sparked to life in their ears, static causing his transmission to waver in and out.

"We copy." Sam motioned to Bucky, who was leaning against the column a few feet away. "What's the status, lil falcon?"

"Uh, I don't know what you guys did, but you need to get the hell out of dodge STAT." Torres sounded off in his ear, voice bordering on the verge of panic. "There are SWORD teams in route to your location, as well as CIA and other agencies I haven't even heard of before. And they're bringing the big guns. Something about a security threat on the third level, which I'm only assuming is where Barnes's suit is."

Sam felt his stomach drop. "Are they saying they're after Bucky?" Bucky's eyes met his, flashing dangerously in the dim overhead lights.

"That's a negative. No mention of Barnes or either of you, but they're beginning the process of barricading the hospital. Think they're trying to go the more subtle route this go around."

Rhodey let out a laugh, waving towards the next set of stairs. "Subtle, huh? That's one way to put it."

"What's their endgame, Buck?" Sam could feel his heart rate skyrocket, breathes coming in gasps as they fled down the never-ending stairwell. How many stairs were there? Sweet Jesus, he needed to work on his cardio.

"You never said your take. What's the reading between the lines say?"

Bucky huffed. "Same thing it's always about, Sam." Their eyes met; Bucky's pale blue eyes wide in the dark. "Me."

"The hell?" Rhodey said. "I read the same files as you. All I saw were the multiple misuses of government funds towards offshore accounts and undisclosed locations. There was no mention of you. It was all about some Operation Avalanche and anti-terrorism weapons."

"Operation Avalanche was a brief blip, talking about using government funds to help fight World terrorism. Except Operation Avalanche wasn't an Op, Rhodes. It was a code. It was me. They're wanting to recreate the Super Solder Serum. What's the best way to control governments and topple regimes? Right now, they're at a loss. They're killing hundreds at a time to try and recreate it, and nothing is working. People are starting to notice, something I'm sure Sharon is aware of. I'm assuming their template or whatever basis they're using is too watered down. They need the real thing. Why settle for the next best thing when you can just have the original."

Bucky pulled up short, hand motioning to pause. Voices carried from the bottom of the stairwell, as well as the loud slams of doors being forced open, metal slamming violently into brick. Bucky motioned towards another side door, quietly working it open. They piled in, grimacing as the smell of sewage wafted up their nostrils. He shut the door with a quiet click before turning back to them, sweat beading his brow. "This entire time, Sharon hasn't been trying to kill me. That Neurotoxin wasn't meant to kill, it was meant to subdue. The whole room back at that bar in Madripoor was a well thought out Op. She was betting on me investigating. If it hadn't been for Sam, she'd have gotten what she wanted. She was able to knock my healing factor down just enough to leave me right for the taking. And the electromagnetic box? That kept me from continuing to heal, as well as being another test to see if she could get inside my head."

Bucky slide down the side of the wall, pale face glistening as his chest heaved slightly against his dampened black shirt. "Pretty smart."

"Buck, get up. We gotta keep going." Sam knelt down, reaching forward and grasping desperately at Bucky's hand. He was hot to the touch. "Christ, you're still burning up."

"Serum hasn't had the chance to fully fight everything off yet." Bucky murmured, staggering back to his feet. "I'm alright, Sam. Just need a few minutes."

"You guys need to get out, ASAP." Torres sounded off in their ears. "I'm sending an extraction site. Gonna be gnarly getting there but looks to be a straight route."

Sam eyed the lake of sewage in front of them. "What do you mean, gnarly?" Silence over the comms. Sam let out a whine. "Torres, WHAT route are we taking? Because I swear to GOD-"

"I think you already know, Cap. Sorry." To his credit, Torres sounded genuinely upset. "But good news is it's only a mile walk. And a straight way at that. Should be a piece of cake."

Bucky groaned, slowly heaving himself down into the murky water. "Why'd he say that?"

Rhodey pulled a face, shaking his head vehemently. "Absolutely not. These are brand new boots. I am NOT wading in shit for a mile. You're out of your mind."

Voices reached their ears, just a few feet on the other side of the door. Cursing, Rhodes quietly jumped down the platform and into the smelly pit. "I fucking hate my job."

"What, never thought you'd be swimming in huma feces, Rhodes?" Bucky shot out, moving to slink into the shadows against the canal. Rhodey glared, pointing a threatening finger.

"Shut it, Barnes. Or I swear, I'll drown you in this shit."

"Right. Go on, be my guest."

"Don't fuck with me, Barnes-"

"Guys, shut it!" Sam quickly scurried to the side of the wall, brushing up against Bucky as the door to the sewage line swung open. Sam held his breath, watching as a horde of uniformed men piled in through the doorway, eyeing the dirty water with disgust.

"You think they went this way?" One quipped, squatting down to take a better look at the water. Sam could feel Bucky tense beside him, fist curling into a ball at his side. Sam quickly reached down, wrapping his fingers around Bucky's wrist, giving it a calming squeeze.

"They'd be dumber than I thought to wade in that shit. There are a few more corridors to check, as well as the parking deck. The Colonels SUV is still parked in the first-class parking. Doubt he'd willingly leave his ride. We'll cover our basis and work our way out from there." Another voice spoke out. "You just don't want to take a swim in human shit."

"No, I don't. Let's get cooking, ladies. We've got a Super Soldier to track."

The next few moments were silent, the stuffy air hanging like a heavy cloak around them. Only the sound of water rushing by reached their ears, the voices and footsteps slowly receding into the distance. Bucky leaned his head back against the brick, lips pursed into a thin line. Sam watched as he cut a look towards Rhodes, cocking a brow. "Fucking told you."

"I'll still drown you."

Sam rolled his eyes, desperately attempting to ignore how the water was seeping into his waterproof boots and soaking his pant legs. The smell was horrendous, saturating his clothes. "Guys, how about we get the hell out of dodge? I don't know about you two, but I'd really love to get out of this sewage as fast as possible."

Bucky grunted, gracelessly leaving the support of the wall behind him. "You're right. We need to get a move on before they cut us off at our extraction site." Bucky placed a finger on his earpiece, sweat pouring down his face and leaving droplets hanging from his lashes. "Torres, what's our route? Looks like we've got company."

"Follow the flow of water down a few clicks." Torres sounded like he was on the move. "You'll know when you hit the rendezvous site. It's where the sewage meets the Potomac."

Sam gagged. "Oh...oh, I could have gone my whole life not knowing that."

Rhodey nodded in agreement. "This is a messed-up country."

Bucky went to move, cautiously sloshing his way further down the corridor. "We'll meet you there, Torres. Be careful. I'm assuming these guys are packing heat." Torres quickly agreed, wishing them a safe passage before the line went dead. Sam sighed, wading through the knee-deep sludge. Rhodey followed suit, moaning in disgust as the water grew deeper.

"Why can't we have a normal time together?" He asked miserably, hands held high as the water began to reach their chests. Bucky shrugged, cursing as he stumbled and almost went under.

"Where's the fun in that, Rhodes? Where is your sense of adventure?"

"Sorry, think I left that at home." Rhodey deadpanned.

"Alright, gentlemen. We've got a long walk ahead of us." Sam piped up, moving to put a stabilizing hand around Bucky's waist. Rhodey followed suit, taking the opposite side of Bucky's belt loop and giving a supportive tug. Bucky gave a faint nod of thanks, a deep rattling heard over the bubble of the water enough to cause Rhodey and Sam to pause.

He was as white as a ghost, skin a sickly translucent alabaster. Sam could feel that worry rearing its ugly head once again, watching as Bucky feebly dropped his head to Sam's shoulder, eyes fluttering shut.

They needed to move. And fast. Because otherwise, it wouldn't matter if they dodged Sharons goons or not. Bucky needed a place to crash before he dropped dead.

Sam gave Rhodey a determined nod, turning to face their destination. The path ahead was dark and looming, an ominous aura drifting across the putrid wind. Sam sighed. "Let's get this show on the road."