It had been seven months since the battle of New York, all the avengers were pretty shaken by the whole thing, but Steve was the one who seemed to have the hardest time adjusting. It's not like he had it easy before, after losing his best friend during the war and then falling into a coma for more than seventy years. To then wake up in a different world and have to immediately fight aliens. Well it wasn't looking good for the star spangled man with a plan, as Tony liked to call him.
Steve was currently isolated from everyone, he rented a small apartment in Brooklyn and told everyone to leave him alone, at least for a while. Natasha visited him a few times still, and she didn't like what she saw, poor Steve looked trashed, it looked like he didn't sleep. There were bags under his eyes and sketches everywhere, since he liked to draw when he wasn't able to sleep.
Natasha and Bruce were the most worried of all the avengers, at least of the ones still on earth, Thor had left to Asgard to take care of his brother Loki, and Clint went MIA. Tony kept saying Steve was going to be fine, he just needed time. Natasha didn't seemed convinced. The poor blonde didn't seem to have the will to keep living, she noticed that since the day they met.
The remaining avengers, Natasha, Tony, and Bruce, were at the avengers tower drinking a few beers and passing the time when they received an incoming call from Director Fury himself. Natasha didn't even finish listening to the call when she already changed into her black suit and was gone to meet Fury.
He only said it was an urgent case and he needed to see them soon.
Tony finished his drink, as if he had all the time in the world and then proceeded to get into his suit.
Bruce went to the quinjet and was out just a few minutes after Natasha left.
________
The Avengers arrived and Director Fury was waiting for them at one of his secret installations, he looked as if he had seen a ghost.
"Director Fury, what is the urgent case?" Natasha walked passed Tony and Bruce towards the Director.
"Follow me agents" He said as he turned around and started walking inside, cape flowing gracefully.
Inside, there was Agent Hill and two more agents that they didn't know. There were a few men in lab coats running around from room to room and rapidly discussing terms Bruce was unfamiliar with. Since he wasn't paying much attention to what they said. It was supposedly his day off after all.
"What I'm about to tell you is classified information and you must not tell anyone without my permission" Fury said, looking at all of them directly with his eye.
They all nodded
"Some of my agents have found a body while investigating the Mountains on the European region." He paused, examining the expressions of his fellow agents. He took a step forward "the body was identified as James Buchanan Barnes"
"Isn’t that Steve's-" Bruce started, mouth wide open and taking a step back
"This will crush him Director, don't tell Steven" Natasha said abruptly, leaning towards their fellow agents.
"I'm not finished agents" Fury paused, sigh, and continued "He was found in the same state that Captain America was found, frozen, alive, but barely." He stopped to let the avengers absorb all the information, a guy in a lab coat appeared and whispered something to the Director. He nodded and the guy left in a hurry.
Natasha did a quick scan of her peers and Agent Hill to access their thoughts and they looked as shocked as she felt, but of course she hid her emotions, after years of training it was like second nature.
"Sergeant Barnes is currently defrosted and in a coma, we have agents running some tests to see how he survived this long. However, he is missing an arm". Fury said, walking away to another room without waiting for his agents to respond.
_____
Three months had passed after they found James Barnes in an ice block, near the mountains and his vitals were just starting to get better. The doctors estimated that he could wake up any given day now, so they had Agent Romanoff and Bruce on the facilities at all times, partly because one of them was the best agents and Bruce could help if needed. Romanoff was the best asset at the moment, mainly, because she knew Steve well and could try to help Bucky out. Tony decided that he had other issues to worry about, something about his girlfriend ex being a psycho or something. And left.
It had been three months, and still no one had dared to tell Steve. Not until it was certain his best friend was back. It's not like they kept much communication anyway, Natasha was the only one who talked to him at this point, Steve promised her that he would check in every few days, so Natasha would confirm he was still alive and well.
Agent Hill and Coulson were reassigned at a level 8 agent of Shield mission so they were not of much use because of that. However, Nick Fury stayed in the facility at all times. Romanoff thought of it strange, since he never stayed in the same location this long. At the moment, James Barnes recovery was the main mission
______
Two weeks had passed by, and Coulson's team arrived at the facility, Fury assigned these scientists to work on a prosthetic arm, not specifying why. The scientists known as Fitzsimmons nodded, after being instructed on what to do and got to work
Bucky was still in comatose state.
____
It had been five months, five months since they found Bucky in the ice. And within these said months Natasha had a glimpse of hope for the wellbeing of Steve Rogers. Yet, Bucky was not showing any signs of actually waking up, no matter how many times the doctors repeatedly said, that he could awaken any day from now
Director Fury decided to send Bruce Banner and Agent Romanoff back to Stark Tower, since this seemed like a dead end on the mission, Bruce obliged and left. On the other hand, Natasha was not going anywhere, she was going to do the best she could to help her friend get his best friend back.
She decided to do the unthinkable, at least for her.
She went to visit Sergeant Barnes in his room. There he was, hooked to machines to read his vitals, and dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, she definitely found it odd how he wasn't wearing hospital gowns.
She sat next to the bed and stared at him for a while, in silence. She was thinking how she was actually doing this, even though she found it so stupid in the past. 'Why visit them if they can't hear you anyway '
But there she was, sitting next to Barnes, who she didn't even knew. But she knew how important he was to Steve, she knew how Steve would have wanted to be here if he could. Not like she could tell him though, if for any reason Barnes didn't recover it would give Steve false hope and that wouldn’t end well.
"James Buchanan Barnes" she whispered to herself before raising her voice a bit "Steve called you Bucky didn't he?" She paused "Poor Steve, he hasn't been doing so good you know, he misses you, his old life." She took a deep breath and covered her head in her hands "I can't believe I'm doing this, talking to someone in a comatose state" she laughed "and who I don't even know" she sat up straight again. "Guess this is what happens to a person when they are locked up for months here"
She inspected Bucky's face, how he looked so peaceful, she frowned, knowing too damn well that his whole world would fall apart when he wakes. He has no idea he has been frozen for 70 years. Natasha takes one last look at the comatose man before standing up and walking out of there without another word.
_____
It has been two weeks since Natasha went to see Barnes, everything seemed as normal. Fitzsimmons had just finished working on the prosthetic arm they were asked to make, and still very confused to why they made it, and were packing their stuff to leave the next day, as Fury had asked them. Director instructed them that if the arm was or was not working they would be notified.
Natasha was currently in her room listening to her playlist, watching Netflix, as she liked to multitask. The super spy, who could murder in seconds, was curled in a blanket watching Friends. She was not dealing with shit that day. It was her first day off in a while. Director Fury decided, or better said, demanded that she needed a day off, since Barnes wasn't showing any signs of waking and Natasha had been on duty for the past months. She accepted it with only minor complaining, but she was relieved to finally rest.
Nat was currently watching season 6 of Friends when the alarms sounded.
______
Barnes woke up and the first thing he saw was a white room with no windows in sight. He had a frown on his face and slightly panicked when he felt things attached to him, monitoring his pulse. It didn't make sense to him, this machines were too advanced and, oh what was he wearing? Some t shirt and pants, but it was odd since he was what looked to be in a hospital. He heard a game was being discussed in the radio, he remembered that game, why did the radio talked about it when it happened a few months ago, he knew that because he went with Steve. STEVE! Barnes face notoriously frowned and he panicked, where was Steve? What happened to himself? He started remembering fragments of him and Stevie on the train, when the train wall was blasted off... him falling from the train, seeing Steve in the distance. And then he remembered nothing. How the fuck was he alive? He was pulled away from his thoughts when a lady walked in the room. Something was off. The lady asked something about his arm, he became confused until he saw his left arm was missing. How did he not noticed he was missing his arm, it was literally a part from his body and he didn't realized, and he thought Steve was the oblivious one.
Bucky looked at the lady and saw that she was asking something again, Bucky didn't pay attention, again, he instead had questions of his own.
"Where am I?" Barnes said sitting on his bed, looking straight at her.
"Mr Barnes, you are in a hospital, near a small town in Europe." She smiled, her smile was fake and Bucky saw right through that.
"Don't lie to me ma'am" Barnes voice was dry, a sense of anger rising up. Standing up from his bed and walking towards her.
"Mr Barnes" she said cautiously, slowly reaching for something in her pocket, an alarm to alert Shield.
Four men came in, armed, walking towards Barnes, his instincts surfaced and he was now fighting the four of them at the same time with only one arm. He kicked one of them in the crotch and then smashed his head on his knee, he took another two men by throwing one of them to the other and the last men he punched him in the face, it was awesome.
He left the room and saw he was in some kind of facility, it wasn't clear if he was dealing with Hydra, he wasn't going to stop to ask either. He scanned the room, looking at all entry points, realising that no one was coming at him but one redhead, she had a black one-piece suit, clearly armed, but she wasn't pointing guns at him, she was just walking towards him, slowly and cautiously.
Barnes frowned, why weren't they attacking him? This was clearly not Hydra then.
"Barnes" she said sternly "You need to calm down, I don't want to take you down-" she said as she moved towards him, in case she needed to control him.
"Why? Why aren't you attacking me? Where am I? Are you Hydra?" He said, voice lowering each question he asked, still in fighting position.
"No need for harm, we aren't Hydra, we are from Shield, you have heard of it haven't you? She asked, with her most calm voice.
Barnes nodded. "Will you tell me what is going on?"
"Buck- Barnes, I will answer all your questions, we just need to make sure you aren't taking on our guys again." The redhead said, minuscule smile appearing on her face.
Barnes shot her a glance about to complain about something, but he decided otherwise. Then he nodded.
"Follow me" the redhead stated, walking away towards a room at the end of the hall.
_______
"So you are telling me, I fell off a train, lost my arm because of it, then I was asleep for 70 years, and still survived? How?" Barnes said, putting his head on his hands. Barely processing the information he was told.
The redhead, which he had now learned that her name was Natasha Romanoff, nodded.
He couldn't believe it, his whole life was gone, his family was dead by now, if not they were in their old age. His friends, his family, was gone, his Steve. He barely escaped a gasp when he thought the last part.
"Agent Romanoff-" Barnes started but was cut off by her.
"Call me Natasha" she demanded
"-Natasha, can you tell me what happened to Steve Rogers? Did- did he had a nice life?" He said, voice filled with sadness, he saw Natasha was looking at him with awe, and something else he couldn't pinpoint.
"Oh Barnes, you're in for a treat"
_______
"He is alive!?" Barnes exclaimed, eyes wide and hands shaking. His Steve, his best friend had survived this long too. He did not lose him. He couldn't believe his luck.
Natasha had explained everything, from when after he fell off the train, what Steve had done, and what had happened to him on the jet, what happened at New York. She had also explained to him Steve's current situation, but barely. She just said he wasn't coping well. Oh Stevie, always being so righteous.
______
"We will call him in, the only way he will come is if he is going on a mission, he wont come under any other circumstances, we can't tell him about you till he is here, or he won't believe us. Hell, he will probably not believe us when he comes." Natasha said, the last part mostly to herself, putting her weapons on her suit and walking to the main room.
When they entered, a man with a leather black trenchcoat and a eye patch was there, along with two other people, agents probably. The eye patch man greeted him and the other two made a nod of welcome.
"This is Nick Fury, the Director of Shield" Natasha said, introducing him to the eye patch man. "She is Agent Hill, second in command, one of the best agents we have" she motioned to the lady next to Nick.
"And this is Agent Coulson, he is also one of the best, he almost gave up his life during the battle of New York" Nat motioned to a slightly small guy in a suit next to Agent Hill. Coulson extend his hand and gave Barnes a handshake, he looked pleased.
"Sir, it's an honor" Coulson said as he retrieved his hand from the handshake.
A few minutes later, a few people showed up, and they were introduced to Barnes as Bruce Banner, who was also named.. the Bulk? Hulk? Barnes couldn't remember. And some guy named Tony, apparently he was Howard's kid. Barnes was glad his friend got himself a family in the end.
_______
Steve Rogers was in his small apartment in Brooklyn, currently surviving on too many cups of coffee, since he had been without sleep for about five days now, because of the nightmares that had began, again he tried to sleep the least possible. His apartment was a bit of a mess, drawings everywhere, drawings of his life in the forties, of his family, of his Bucky, and of the battle of New York . His mind was still trying to catch up on everything, for him everything had happened in less than a year, Bucky falling, him crashing, the battle of New York. All of that in the course of a month, for him at least because for the rest of the world it had been 70 year difference.
Steve was currently drawing the damaged streets of New York, in his clothes that he had been wearing for three days now. And was simultaneously drinking coffee straight from the pot. Oh boy, if the news knew about him right now they would be having a field day.
He was finishing the last details when his eyes started to close, even for his super soldier body, 5 days without sleeping was too much. He set his sketchbook aside and laid on his small couch, not bothered to go to his actual bed, and fell asleep.
He was woken up about three hours later by a phone call, he knew he had to answer, they only called him it it was a important mission he had to assist. Steve, who wasn't that tired anymore, went to take a shower, got into his spandex suit, and got his things ready, for when the Shield jet was going to pick him up. He was hoping on doing his mission quickly so he could be back on his apartment.
The jet picked him up and they started their route towards Fury’s secret location.
“What's the mission? Where are we going? Director Fury did not tell me anything except that it was important.” Steve said to the pilot as he sat down in the seat next to him.
“No clue on the mission Captain, I was only sent with orders to pick you up, and whereas the place, well that is confidential, even for you sir” the pilot responded, not taking his eyes on front.
Captain nodded, this was going to be a long, awkward ride.
They arrived at the secret base and Captain was in his full uniform waiting for his orders, he was greeted by Director Fury himself, and immediately thought the mission he was assigned was probably priorities since the Director himself was here.
“Captain,” Fury made a nod as he said it. “Follow me”
Steve walked in and saw Natasha, Bruce and Tony, he got anxious thinking this was another world threat. Not again.
_______
Barnes had his new metal arm and was very pleased with it, he could feel it as if it was his own and was still perplexed as to how that could even happen. He was testing his arm and lost in his thoughts when Natasha interrupted him.
“Remember Barnes, he might not believe it’s you, you will probably have to convince him” Natasha said briefly, as they were just informed Steve was in the premises, going towards them.
“Oh he will know it’s me alright” Barnes said, a huge, knowing, smirk appeared on his face.
Natasha became confused, it sounded ominous to her. Barnes placed himself in the corner of the room, while Natasha, Bruce, Tony, Hill and Coulson were in the middle of the room, waiting for Steve to arrive.
The doors opened and Steve walked in in his full Fighting outfit, looking really worried and confused, he looked more confused when he saw the Avengers were there.
_______
Steve looked around from Natasha to Coulson to see if someone was briefing him on what was going on, when he heard someone behind him.
“Is that a new suit? I hate it” Steve turned around to see if he heard that voice correctly, and saw no one but his Bucky, looking seriously at him.
“Bucky?” Steve whimpered , almost in a whisper. His teary eyes widened
“Yeah it’s me you punk” he said in a kind of angry voice.
Steve was standing there, a few feet apart from Bucky, clearly very confused and in a state of shock. Bucky walked towards him and punches him in the face with his flesh arm. There are audible gasps from the Avengers and Agents.
“I WAS DEAD FOR A DAY AND YOU LITTLE SHIT DECIDED TO NOSE DIVE INTO THE ARCTIC” Bucky started screaming, making all the people in the room but Steve get their weapons ready, he did just punched Captain America.
“Uh-“ Steve said, not even able to formulate words.
“YOU STUPID PUNK I CANT BELIEVE HOW IDIOTIC YOU ARE!” He continued screaming at him, then sighed. “What were you thinking!! Oh my impulse control fell out the train with Bucky?” The screaming began again, the avengers feared for Bucky.
“AND YOU IDIOT THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA CRASHING YOUR PLANE AND NOT GIVE A SINGLE COORDINATE!!” Bucky took a deep breath and with a low voice he said “and I thought that time at that Hydra camp was bad, but congratulations you outdone yourself this time” a sense of mockery and sarcasm in his voice.
“JESUS STEVIE! DON'T GET ME STARTED ON NEW YORK! TEN DAYS OUT OF THE ICE AND YOU FUCKING GO FIGHT ALIENS!” He slaps him, this time with his metal arm. “Did you thought of the logical thing to go on a vacation? noooo” the last part he said it in his most sarcastic tone he could. “You thought, oh I am Steve Rogers, the most righteous man of America! I must go and be righteous! Have a rousing discussion about truth! Honor! freedom! AND FIGHT SOME FUCKING ALIENS!” Bucky exploded on his rant and continued screaming at him until he is out of words.
Steve stares at him. Tony whispers to Bruce and Natasha “ten bucks that Steve breaks his other arm off” Bruce accepted and Natasha told them to be quiet. Fear showing on her face, as she had no clue to what was going to happen, she was expecting a fight. She knew better to not interrupt two super soldiers so she was ready to evacuate the room if necessary.
Steve stared at him
“Bucky?” He says in the most soft voice possible, sounding as if he is about to cry. And he clings to Bucky as he was his world.
“Yes it’s me you punk! You don’t have to blubber all over me” Bucky cries, holding onto Steve as tight as possible and burying his head on Steve’s neck.
They both found each other again and were safe on each other’s arms.
Natasha, Nick, Hill and Coulson are paralysed.
Tony gives Bruce ten bucks.