He called from the brink of the day
"Look, I understand that you and Barnes have always been frat bros or some shit, but we needed them-"
"Tony, stop. You don't - you don't understand"
He let his arms drop with a heavy sigh. "Then explain it to me."
"I- I can't explain it. If I could show you, I would." He faltered at the end of his sentence. This was when someone, finally, broke their argument.
"Actually," it was Wanda, her voice soft, "I can show them."
"You can?"
"Yes, but it will be very personal."
"I don't care. Buck?" He turned to his friend, who had been quiet throughout their argument. Their argument about him . James had this itch inside him, settled deep in his ribs. Another person was - still - swallowing him, keeping him locked away. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was merely a shadow. These arguments didn’t help. He knew he wasn’t yet strong enough to look after himself, but they could pretend.
"Whatever makes you happy," he mumbled. Steve continued to stare at him, one eyebrow raised. "Steve, there's not much anyone doesn't know about me anyway." He knew Steve didn’t want to pressure him, but his feelings tended to overwhelm him, rendering him speechless. The cause of these arguments. That was something he remembered; something he still knew.
They sat beside each other, Wanda stood behind them. She placed her soft hands on their temples, fingers spindling a red string into a cloth, masking their minds. The others feigned disinterest. Entering someone's mind was not a comfortable prospect.
A soft voice echoed through the air, "I'm James." "Steven," was the reply. Another voice spoke, "You boys be back before the rain starts - don't want ya gettin' another cold," "Don't worry Mrs Roger's, I'll make sure Stevie don't get too wet." More phrases floated through the atmosphere, blurring together yet completely coherent. "Is he gonna be alright?" "What's it like?" "Hm?" "Kissing." Sobbing. "I miss her. Dammit Buck, I miss her so damn much." "I know pal, I know. Ya gonna be fine, we're gonna be just fine. I know." Laughing. "We looked for you after. My folks wanted to give you a ride back from the cemetery." "I know, I'm sorry. I just.. kinda wanted to be alone." "How was it?" "It was okay. She's next to dad." "I was gonna ask," "I know what you're gonna say, Buck, I just.." "You can put the couch cushions on the floor like when we were kids. It'll be fun. All you gotta do is shine my shoes, maybe take out the trash. Come on." "Thank you Buck, but I can get can get by on my own." "The thing is.. you don't have to. I'm with you 'til the end of the line pal." "What the fuck was that Steve!" "Buck, I had em-" "No! Don't start with that bullshit Steve. God, if the coppers hadn't come, we'd be dead," " May I have this dance?" "Punk," a laugh. "Jerk." A heavy thud. A slam of a bottle. "Ya don' mean that Buck, ya drunk." "Come 'ere doll." "Shuddup." "Cmon, y'know ya love it." "You got your orders?" "107th Infantry, shipping out to England tomorrow." "Where are we going?" "The future." "Don't do anything stupid until I get back." "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." "Stevie, when I go.. I want'chya to find someone. A nice dame." "Buck-" "I want ya to be happy pal, so don't wait around for me." "I don't want to kill anyone. I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from." "Whatever happens, stay who you are, not just a soldier, but a good man." "And are these really your only choices? A lab rat or a circus monkey?" "Steve?" "I thought you were dead." "I thought you were smaller." "Did it hurt?" "A little." "Is it permanent?" "So far." "Go on, get outta here!" "No, not without you!" "That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb to back down from a fight.. I'm following him." "Carter, when I go-" "If you go." "When I go, look after him for me. Please." “I know you’re strong enough to do this on your own.” “Steven? Goodness, whatever did you do?” “Fuck, is he dead?” "I had 'em on the ropes." "I know ya did." A scream. A sob. "Barnes is dead." "Did you believe in your friend? Did you respect him? Then stop blaming yourself. Allow Barnes the dignity of his choice. He damn well must of thought you were worth it." "I'm going after Schmidt. I'm not going to stop until all of Hydra is dead or captured." A scream. A grunt. A slap. "Useless." The sound of a saw. "What's your name?" A pained shout. "What's your name?" "Soldier?" "Ready to comply." “Are you going to kill me?” “What’s your name?” “I..Steve? No, no. Barnes? Yeah, I think that’s it.” "..Barnes? James, please, don't do this." "You've been asleep Cap.. for almost seventy years." "Everything special about you came from a bottle." "It's so cold Peggy. So cold." Sobbing."..that to build a really better world, sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies." "I know who killed Fury. Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last 50 years." "So, he's a ghost story." "Believe it or not, it's hard to find someone with shared life experience." "Your death amounts to the same as your life. A zero-sum." "Bucky?" "Who the hell’s Bucky?" "I knew him." A whirring. A crackle. A scream. The sounds began to blur into each other. "You're gonna kill someone." "I'm not gonna kill anyone." "Happy birthday pal," "You know me." "Get me out of here." "Желание. Ржавый. Семнадцать. Рассвет. Печь. Девять. Доброкачественный. Возвращение на родину. Один. Грузовой." "Stop, please. Stop it. Stop." "I'm your friend." "You're my mission." "I don't think I'm worth all this Steve." "I forgot my name again." "I'm here." "He remembered you. Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky. Got all weepy about it, 'til they put his brain back into the blender." "Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky." "Stevie.." a thud. A sob. "You're my mission." "I'm not going to hurt you.. 'cause I'm with you till the end of the line." "He doesn't know you." "He will."
They were all in the common room again, 'Tangled' ("Look Thor - it's you!") playing on the large flatscreen TV.
"So Capsicle, are we going to the ‘pictures’ today?" Tony questioned, chewing slowly on some sugared popcorn.
Steve shrugged. Then, as an afterthought: "Don't talk with food in your mouth,"
A few minutes into the film and Bucky, who was sitting against Steve, whispered "We can do it today if you'd like," The blonde smiled down at him, moving to run his fingers through his long hair, "Sure."
When the movie had ended and everyone was a lot more relaxed, Steve nodded to Wanda and she moved to seat herself behind the two.
Red strings bloomed from her palms and swirled around their heads. They glowed and glistened, swirling through the atmosphere and pulling up a large screen in the centre of the room - a kind of illusion, visible from all corners of the room. When Steve sighed softly, an image sprung up in the hazy red.