BRAVERY
His face looked different; as Bucky could tell, there were many traits that suggested his identity. Many little details, faint mannerisms that made Steve who he was,despite that photostatic veil that altered his features.
They walked down the road, filled with people rushing to their work, or to go shopping. It was easy to lose the person walking alongside you, let alone a target at this time of the day in Belgrade.
“She's staying on course, Cap”.
Sam's voice was heard through the intercom, himself on another route, on air. Bucky allowed himself to form a faint smirk,whilst Steve didn't exactly appreciate the name calling.
“Not anymore, Sam”,Steve huffed out.
Sam wasn't to stay in Belgrade for too long, if not at all. As Daisy had made quite clear herself, Sam had a role to play. Shoes to fit into his feet, and that part couldn't take place in Steve's shadow, to paraphrase her exact words.
“Their meetings have grown more frequent..”,Daisy stated.
She was to stay in the base, take care of things off the grid. Tail each camera to be set on the street, trace every call and every bug there was to be found and traced back. Her background was of great consideration, and an measurable asset on this mission.
A significant part of going undercover while after a target was keeping appearances. Bucky and Steve made sure to keep a meaningless conversation go, as they were vigilant enough to notice each movement made by those they knew to be their target's men.
Daisy clicked her tongue, feeling herself to be in the mood for some teasing.
“Heard your girl gave Stark a hella hard time in Asgard, Rogers”,she chuckled. “Watched her kick his cane down. Scolded him pretty hard, if you ask me”.
Steve bit the inside of his cheek, trying his hardest to not fall into that trap. Nevertheless, he smiled, carefree enough to turn to Bucky.
“Remember that time we took the 3rd to get to that coffee shop? Almost crashed two buses on our way there”,he hummed to him.
Bucky's eyebrow arched, his eye wondering over to interpret Steve's signal. Soon enough, he took notice of three men approaching from a distance on their far right, and two more tailing them from their left.
“Nah, you remember it wrong”,he shrugged. “Was the 4th street man. Remember that cute cashier? Man, she was always ahead of herself, always knew what we wanted before we asked..”
Daisy stretched her neck. She began typing as the many screens on top of her began processing the images sent by the street cameras.
Steve chuckled, waiting for Daisy's confirmation. He put his hands in his pocket, preparing himself to take action on cue.
“Barnes' right,boys. Esme is a cunning woman, ain't she?”,she chuckled. “Got four more tailing your asses two blocks in now”.
Sam's eyes were stuck on Esme, him being the only one with enough of a headstart to be following her directly. As Daisy had said, she knew that she was being tailed. Did so for quite the time, if not from the start.
“Guess being the empress of an underground fight club can turn a person a bit paranoid”,Sam puffed out.
“I wouldn't stress about it, Captain 2.0”,Daisy hummed,leaning back to her chair. “If she wanted you dead, you'd be on your way to the morgue by now”.
“How very considering of you, Johnson”.
Bucky eyed Steve; his unfamiliar avoidance of speaking too much. They'd been on many mission together by now, be it in the forties, or in the modern world- they had their fair share of undercover tailings.
But things, as Bucky had figured, weren't quite the same as they used to.
He'd most certainly not admit that to the other two, or anyone asking, but Steve wasn't himself. Not ever since pulling that stunt on the other members of the team. Not ever since leaving Theo.
He wished there'd be some spare time to talk about this. To figure this out a little, for Bucky to at least make sure Steve was better than he looked. But Steve wasn't exactly known for talking his problems through. Not when it was about something like that; never was this kind of man, and that wasn't about to change now.
“She just made a withdrawal”.
“Let me guess; wasn't to pay that coffee and burek ,was it?”
Daisy motioned her brows, her smile faded from her face a while ago. She could be quite the carefree person, as long as the situation had enough lines around for her to be like that. But, as it soon became apparent to her, things were getting a tad serious.
“Depends,Wilson. Know any place that charges two millions for brunch?”
Steve almost stopped moving. He had a decent idea of where Daisy was going with this. And..he didn't exactly like it all that much. His mind wandered back to his and Maria's last meeting. As she had told him, this was a high profile mission. And, the reason was only beginning to unravel.
Bucky was quick to pick that up. His facial features growing stiff as he tightened his left fist. It was all connected, and Bucky resented the end where it was all leading to.
“She's putting out a hit”,he stated, his voice raw.
“Keep it down, rough boy. We still don't know if you're the ones she's tailing, or if she's purely out the box paranoid. Leading an empire at twenty tends to do that to a person; don't blow your cover just yet”.
Steve breathed in, smiling as he patted Bucky's back.
“Sorry buddy, I think I lost the ringset”,he sighed. “How about we post a listing?”
Bucky knitted his eyebrows together for a second, before connecting the dots of Steve's measured words in that sentence. Then, he chuckled lightly, while hoping this conversation about rings didn't bring back too heavy memories for him.
Knowing how Steve had kept Theo's ring, the one he never got the chance to offer, still carried in his inside picket of every piece of clothing he wore, he figured it was a rather delicate subject for him.
“Sounds about right,buddy”.
Daisy clicked her tongue once again, cracking her knuckles. Pursing her lips as to make that thought work out in a designated process, she took a sip from her cold brew.
“Gotta be honest here,Rogers. Kinda missed working with you. That whole fast brainy process you got. Gives me the chills sometimes”,she said, speaking rather fast.
“Want me to look into it? I could try and locate her brother”,Sam said, the wind alienating his voice a tad.
Bucky pulled a cigarette out his pack, one he had kept on the pocket inside his jacket. The gloves he had to put on just so he could hide his left arm weren't all that convenient, and so he removed the one on his right hand.
“I'd say we could call my brother-”,he said, taking in a puff as he put his lighter back inside his pocket, “ but I'm afraid he won't be much help in this one, bud. Hasn't been on the grid for a while now”.
“Is that so,now?”
Daisy pursed her lips, listening to the boys' words cautiously. She began looking for something in the system. For a few moments all they could hear through the intercom was the forcefully loud tapping of the keyboard,as Daisy was mumbling something while searching.
“Ah...”,she exclaimed after a while, “I'm afraid Barnes' right on this one, boys. Big brother's been busy alright.. Hasn't been on the radar for the past six months, supposedly in a confidential mission. Orders on his file say that he is to not be disturbed about anything. If this hit is about what we think it is- ...then I'm afraid we can't ask for his help”.
Sam landed on a roof top, closing his feathers inside. He stood there for a few moments, his goggles and gadgets making sure he wasn't about to lose Esme either way.
“How the hell is Fury expecting us to do our jobs if he ain't gonna share all the story with us,Daisy?”
“Gotta have faith,man”,she hummed. “Fury's always got a plan B. Thankfully, so do we”.
Tony chose to sit on the chair's hand, his leg as stretched as possible in order to keep the pain minimized. Grinding his teeth as to keep his mind somewhat busy, he tried really hard not to think about what place Theo might have been in at the moment.
They had all moved to the living room, a rather coercive decision, seeing how they'd messed up most of the dining room in their not-needed in the end attempt to stop Theo.
“I should go check up on her. Someone has to..”,Wanda whispered,rubbing lightly her right eyebrow.
“Don't”,Tony said. “Let her be for a while..”
Wanda's eyes fell down. Being unable to act, or to help, or do anything at all was her biggest pet peeve. A despicable place to be in, as she thought.
William himself was sitting on the couch; his hands resting on top of his knees as he starred down. It'd been quite some time since he last spoke, if he even spoke at all. Marissa was tapping her foot down repeatedly, and Natasha hoped she wouldn't do what she expected her to do. But she did.
“I can't believe she almost shot me down..”
“I wouldn't exactly blame her if I were you”,Tony almost snapped at her.
Natasha arched an eyebrow at him. Sure, they'd all figured out that what Marissa had said was out of line for some reason, but to Natasha it seemed as if Tony knew more than he cared to share.
Marissa clicked her tongue. “It wasn't intentional. I'm sure one of you had a slip once as well,upon a heated fight or something-”
“They don't know about Ian,Marissa..”,William said quietly, his voice suggesting an everlasting exhaustion. “Nor about Amelia and Eli..”
Tony clenched his jaw, whereas Marissa pulled her face behind. For a moment her eyes looked lost on the room, as she tried to connect the pieces of the puzzle. Then, she turned towards her father.
“Wait..really? She hasn't..?”
“No. And I'd like to keep it that way. You took it too far today,Marissa..”
Marissa's lips parted. Could have been that she truly realized just how far she had taken it- or perhaps, that this was the first time in her life she'd listen to her father speak to her with so much disappointment in his voice.
Natasha huffed out some air and then stood up. For a while she merely paced over the room, her hands crossed against her chest. But she couldn't exactly hold herself.
“What's going on?”
But no reply was heard. Wanda and Pietro both looked over at Marissa and William, expecting some sort of response, even by their eyes. But nothing came out.
Natasha walked towards Tony, her steps rushed.
“Tell me”.
“What are you talkin-”
“Cut the crap Tony, I can smell your guilt all the way here. What's going on?”
Tony's face grew stiff. Still, he wouldn't speak up.
Pietro scratched the back of his head as he stood up. If someone was to ask him, he'd say these days had been quite the roller coaster ride.
This wasn't what he signed up for when he agreed on working as an Avenger. Back then, he thought he'd be actually doing some good.
But, seeing things from here, Pietro quickly came to realize that these past five years were mostly situations like this one. Sure, there were the missions. The saving, the good stuff.
But,mostly, what Pietro had to really remember from all these years was the drama; the fights and the parties and the crawling to one another. He couldn't help but wonder if being an Avenger was an actually good choice.
For, at this point, he truly wished he could help Theo.
And yet, they'd just won. Half the population was back, and after five years of missing, things ought to get hard. They were supposed to be helping out. With the rehabilitation, the camps, everything which needed aid.
“Her old man's right”,he said,his hands deep in his pockets. “It's not our place,and it's not as if it'll change anything. If you wanna help her,Romanoff... then stop askin' questions and go be there for her”.
Natasha pulled her lips to a thin line, some guilt forming inside her stomach. But, it wasn't about finding out the truth. What bugged Natasha more was that there were things important enough to drive Theo to the edge, that she herself didn't know about.
Theo and Natasha had shared quite the number of missions. Shared rooms, and beds and floors on cold nights of stake out. She had her back, as did she. Natasha trusted Theo enough to have her stand behind her, but Theo didn't share that feeling.
“It's not about that..”,she exclaimed ,her tone more soft now. “Something doesn't add up”.
Her eyes wandered before landing on Tony's again. He clenched his jaw, hoping she'd read the situation and not talk too much, not more than she should.
“Doesn't matter much, now does it?”,Pietro huffed out. “Fury's already sent out directions for an assigned mission. Man doesn't like to watch us sleep too much”.
“Fury as in SHIELD's director?”,Marissa asked,though was in no need whatsoever for a response. “He can't possibly expect you to go back to the field so early”.
“Vacation has never been our forte”,Wanda said quietly.
Marissa breathed in,then out. Pursing her lips, she remained silent for a while, though she couldn't exactly help herself. It wasn't as if the others weren't already thinking about it.
“You can't ask Theo to go back right away- “,she shook her head, “And where the hell even is Steve at a time like this? This isn't like him, to be absent”.
But nobody dared to speak again. To Marissa, it seemed as if the atmosphere grew too heavy all too suddenly. She knitted her eyebrows together, still waiting for a reply, for a response of some kind, hoping she hadn't just screwed up as much as she feared she had.
“Steve left,Mari”,William exclaimed quitely.
This one managed to catch Marissa's attention, and as the pieces came closer, that knot in her throat only grew in mass. Her lips curved downwards as she attempted to speak.
“Steve..left?”
“Yes. Catch up already”,Pietro puffed out,obviously tired.
She gulped down; a nervous chuckled emerged as she slowly closed her eyelids.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
William knew this question was meant for him. And he also knew that no matter what he'd answer, Marissa wouldn't be pleased. It was moments like this one that he wondered if he'd actually been cursed. Cursed to live a life of unhappiness, of being nothing but a mere watcher as his family unraveled in front of him,unable to do a single thing about it.
“Why didn't you tell me?”,she raised her voice at him. “Why didn't you tell me it was happening again? How could you let me speak like that without first informing me that Steve left too?”
Tony tapped his cane down, the echo from the wooden floor making enough noise to catch her attention.
“Calm down,Betty White”,he muttered. “Don't act as if this is your dad's fault”.
Marissa pursed her lips,straightening her back.
“No. I guess it's not..”
She massaged her temples, not speaking for a while. It was as if she was forcing herself to feel even worse than she did. As if she knew she deserved so much, and she so she had no other choice than to make herself to be the villain that she'd actually been.
“She wasn't all that wrong,you know. At times.. I have felt some sort of need to up myself in front of her..”
William knitted his eyebrows together, this being the first time he actually raised his glance to look at her. Marissa's eyes though were glued down.
“Theodora..- she's quite the character. Not an easy person to live up to as the youngest.. “
Marissa took a big breath,her voice growing a little raw over the time. William wished he'd stop her. But he lacked the strength to do so.
“She's won four medals as a marine,and a SEAL. The last one being the Medal of Honor..”,she chuckled lightly as she lowered her head a little, a faint smile still visible on her lips.
“Do you even know what it takes to receive such a medal?”,she asked in an arched eyebrow, not expecting an answer. “performing above and beyond the call of duty in the face of danger”,she changed her voice, as to mimic someone.
William smiled faintly. This was one moment he'd never forget in his life; when Theo casually told him she'd receive the medal of honor.
“Only those who fought in Vietnam or in Korea used to get those,you know..”
“Does she really have that?”,Tony asked, genuinely surprised.
“Never noticed how she's getting saluted by officers?”,Marissa queried. “Even if she didn't tell you about it, you must have come to such a situation when a marine has saluted her, called her ma'am or something...”
“What did she do that got her the medal?”,Pietro asked quietly.
“It's about Iraq...isn't it?”,Wanda chimed in, though the answer was quite obviousl.
Marissa took a big breath. Then,she smiled faintly.
“Doesn't matter”,she whispered. “Theo never cared for medals anyway.. You know, that just adds up to the reasons I get infuriated at her,at times. Her complete absence of self recognition. She- “,Marissa laughed a little, “She hasn't even worn that damned medal. None of them- ever. Always keeps them locked in a drawer, as if to hide them..”
Pietro went ahead and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Coming back, nothing had changed. They were all trying to take in what Marissa had said. It wasn't all that surprising,though. Truly enough, Theo never bragged. She'd talk about her platoon days, about what a great soldier, what a great sniper she was, but she'd never brag about things such as heroism or valor.
Just then, Theo stormed out. Looking as if nothing had happened, as if she didn't lose composure and her chest wasn't about to burst open. Looking at them all sitting around in the living room, her eyebrow arched.
“You all still here?”
“You expected us to leave?”,Wanda asked,her eyebrows raised quite a bit.
Theo grimaced,and nodded. She didn't show enough care as to drag the conversation any longer. As they soon noticed, she had changed her clothes, re braided her hair as to keep them in place.
She,for some reason, was wearing her army rangers. Tony stood up, slowly approached her,looking her up and down.
“Anything to share there, Bennet?”
“I was called in,just now. I need to go to the HQ in Virginia”.
William arched an eyebrow, slowly struggling to stand up, holding on to the couch's arm to help himself. Theo rushed to help him,offering an arm which William took.
“Why- Why did they call you in for,Dora? Did something happen? You're not to be sent off again, are you?”
His face suggested some hints or worry, along with traces of terror. Surely enough, having his oldest daughter sent to Iraq was something William himself was never too fond of. If he had to be honest, he had prayed many times that Theo would never go back again.
“No- no,dad. I was asked there by an old friend. I'm not sure what he wants but.. I still gotta go, out of courtesy”.
“We'll give you a lift. I can call Jarvis, the jet will be waiting where it left us”.
“There's no need, Stark-”
“It's fine”,he stated. “Also, I still need to take a look on your left arm. Noticed a few twitches before. Still feels numb?”
Theo clenched her jaw. She impulsively touched her left arm, horrifyingly noticing how it indeed was feeling mostly numb. Tony had offered to help before, seeing how nano technology was on it's peak nowadays.
“Yes”,she whispered. “Alright. But.. I can't exactly guarantee you'll be allowed inside. I still don't know what Marcus wants of me”.
“Marcus,you say Dora?”,William asked. “Oh my, how's that boy doing? He's still hanging in there?”
Theo smiled faintly,lowering her head. “Yes.. I believe so. Hadn't heard of him in four years”.
“Well, do pass him my best wishes,Dora”.
Theo nodded faintly, her smile a little too forced. Her eyes then fell on Marissa, whom as soon as their eyes met, lowered her head. Theo sighed; surely enough, her and Marissa never did get along. Still, she was her kid sister.
“Do me a favor,Stark”,she huffed out then.
Tony arched an eyebrow at her; those words coming out Theo's mouth together in a sentence meant to him didn't go all that well.
“Sign a card to send to my niece, will you?”