Deja Brew

The moment Steve walked into the in-tower briefing room, he was engulfed in a hug. Bucky clung to him, putting his face in the crook of Steve’s neck. Steve immediately wrapped his arms around Bucky's waist, holding him tightly. They stood there for a few moments, silently holding on to each other.

“Hi,” Bucky mumbled into his neck.

“Hi,” Steve whispered back, dropping a kiss onto the top of Bucky's head. “How are you holding up?”

“Better now that you’re here.”

Someone behind Bucky cleared their throat.

“I hate to interrupt this little moment, but we have more pressing matters to attend to,” Fury stated. “How about we all sit down.”

Everyone made their way over to the conference table. Steve made sure that Bucky was sitting next to him, their seats as close together as possible.

“So,” fury began once everyone had been seated, “if you weren't aware, SHIELD thinks that Mr. Barnes if responsible for leaking Captain Rogers identity. Everyone here knows he didn’t, and so does the man waiting at our front door. Agent Romanov and I have been doing some digging and it runs out that pierce has had agents tailing Rogers since he was found.”

“Excuse me, what?” Steve interrupted. “I would have known if I had a tail.”

“Not the way SHIELD does it,” Natasha jumped in. “They have plain clothes agents all around whatever city the target is in. If I were trailing you, I would follow you for a maximum of ten blocks. There would be someone close enough, tracking me, to jump in when I hit that mark. If you went into a store, they would send another agent to follow you out. If there is a place you go regularly, they have an agent planted as staff. SHIELD makes sure there is no way to know you’re being followed.”

Steve was fuming. How could SHIELD do something like that to him? Though, he has to begrudgingly give them credit. The system seemed perfect. There was no way to detect it if you were a hostile who needed to be observed. But he was Captain freaking America, he didn’t need to be tracked by the agency he was working for.

Bucky, on the other hand, looked somewhere between mad and confused. Before Steve could ask what was wrong, he piped up.

“So who was it?” He asked, much to Steve’s confusion.

“Kate,” Natasha said, still leaving Steve wondering what was happening.

“Technically Parker too,” Tony jumped in. “But he isn’t SHIELD, he’s just one of my interns who likes to gossip.”

“Anyone want to clue me in on what’s happening?” Steve finally asked.

Bucky and Stark turned to Natasha, while she kept eye contact with Bucky. It was Bucky who caved to answer.

“They had someone planted in my shop. It was Kate. Though apparently Peter was a little spy for Tony.”

Steve turned to Fury, making sure his ‘Captain America is disappointed in you look’ was plastered on. Kate was such a sweet young girl and he wasn’t happy to hear that she has been dragged into this.

“We are going to table this conversation for a later date,” Steve told them. “I am not happy about any of this, but we have more pressing issues at hand. Why would pierce do this? Why now?”

Fury and Natasha exchanged a look before Fury spoke up.

“We don’t know.”

“You don't know?” Steve asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Obviously he’s up to something nefarious,” Tony jumped back in. “I mean, look at the guy. He is textbook villain material. He’s a guy in a position of power who tracks the hero and tries to kidnap his lover and hold them hostage.”

“Well he’s not going to get to Bucky, you can be damn sure of that. How are we planning on figuring out what he’s up to? And how are we going to keep him away from Bucky?”

“Oh, I’ve got a plan for that Capsicle,” Tony said, borderline maniacally. “First of all, Jarvis is making his way into all of Pierce’s electronic devices and the devices of people that he is in regular contact with. They probably avoid using tech for evil, but it’s best to cover all of our bases. Then, when he showed up at my tower I sent out an unmanned quinjet to make him think that we were using that to smuggle Bucky bear out of the building. I also sent out a few cars to be safe. We’ve also got a man on the inside. Well, woman. Her name is agent Carter, yes she related to Aunt Peggy. She’s her niece, but as far as the world is concerned, she resents the SHIELD founder. It’s probably why Pierce has her so high up. I’ve also built bug out rooms on each of the floors that Bucky is permitted on. Pierce and his cronies break in, and we can make it look like your boy isn’t here. Everyone here has also been told to avoid elevators at all costs, in case of a power cut. We stick to Avengers floors only, unless absolutely necessary. If you need something from the outside world, we have Happy for that.”

Steve felt a sense of relief for the first time since this whole situation began. They had a plan to keep Bucky safe. They had a man on the inside. They were going to figure out what Pierce wanted and then they were going to put an end to it.

The group stayed for another hour or so to go over what each team member could contribute to the effort. They were also told where the bug out rooms were on each floor. And when it was all over, they took the stairs together to their individual floors.

When Bucky and Steve made it back to Steve’s floor, they immediately went over to the couch. Steve sat down first, pulling Bucky on top of him. They sat in silence for a while, Bucky’s face tucked into the crook of Steve’s neck and Steve’s arms wrapped around Bucky.

“So, I watched your interview,” Bucky said, breaking the silence.

“Oh yeah,” Steve chuckled. “What did you think?”

“Tony and I couldn’t stop laughing. I can’t believe you called the host out on being a bigot. I’m shocked they didn’t cut the interview when you started bashing the Vietnam war. Then I figured it would get cut when you pointed out that most terrorists are homegrown. But the thing that absolutely killed me was that he kept going even after you told him you fucked your way through the army. Like, why would Fox let that keep going.” Bucky was laughing now, every breath tingling against Steve’s skin.

“I’m shocked they let me get that far too. Would you think less of me if I told you that I spent the entire thing trying to see how much I would have to press to get them to cut it short?”

“Not at all. I already know you’re a little shit. It’s one of the many things I like about you.”

“You like me?” Steve teases.

“I do,” Bucky tells him, looking up at him and biting his bottom lip. “I like you a lot.”

“Buck, I hate to break it to you, but that makes you sound super gay.”

Bucky breaks down laughing at that point. He buries his face back onto Steve’s neck and cracks up ,and Steve laughs along with him.

“That’s rich from the man who publicly admitted to being a power bottom,” Bucky teases when he calms down enough to speak.

“Shit, I did do that, didn’t I,” Steve facepalms.

“Yeah, you did.”

“Is that going to be a problem?” Steve teases.

“Take me to the bedroom and I’ll show you that it isn't,” Bucky teases right back.

Steve’s breath catches in his throat at that. He looks at Bucky, eyes widening slightly, as if to ask if he really meant it. Bucky shuffles so that he is straddling Steve’s thighs and presses a chaste kiss to his lips.

“I feel like we should switch positions,” Bucky jokes.

“Take me to the bedroom and we can,” Steve says, mimicking what Bucky said moments before.

Bucky gets up off of Steve’s lap and extends a hand out to him. Steve takes the offered hand and stands up from the couch.

“I wouldn’t mind a little distraction,” Bucky admits, making sure to keep a teasing tone.

“Well, then I would be happy to provide you with one,” Steve tells him, leading the way to the bedroom.

Steve plants a kiss on Bucky’s lips, pushing him down onto the soft mattress at the center of the room. They continue like that for a while, completely oblivious of the chaos erupting below them.