Chapter 15
Tony curls up in Bucky’s lap despite the more than inopportune time because he was going to enjoy his calm before the storm. He thought maybe Steve might have reacted badly to finding him and Bucky but Bucky didn’t seem to want to take chances with it so when Steve stepped forward he turned and walked away. Tony obviously followed because he didn’t want to see Bucky get hurt or get hurt himself by staying behind. Now though Bucky presses his face into the top of Tony’s head and sighs, “maybe I should apologize to Steve,” he murmurs and Tony snorts.
“For what? Kissing me instead of him? Because that’s what he’s mad about,” Tony points out. “And… in the interest of honesty my initial interest in you- technically Yasha- was mostly just to piss him off. You’re all he has and he lied for two years to me about you murdering my parents without knowing Nat already told me. And did his best to manipulate me into using my resources to find you. I eventually agreed because it made sense to find you but you should know about my initial motivations. Yasha already knows, but it occurs to me that you didn’t.” Not that he wanted to confess that twice, especially not to someone who would be far less understanding of such a selfish motivation but he deserved to know. Lies never ended well, even if they were by omission. If he’s learned anything he’s learned that.
Bucky looks hurt, which he expects, but then he frowns. “When did that change?” he asks.
“When you came to me- literally, you. Before it was always Yasha and I thought… thought it was a different side of you. Technically I wasn’t wrong but still, at least on a conscious level the way I felt about you changed. And I’m sorry by the way; it was selfish of me to use you as a pawn in my own vendetta. Its not exactly my proudest moment.” Actually it might make his top ten regrets and that was a fucking feat when he spent most of his life war profiteering and also once accidentally made a genocidal AI that nearly wiped out the whole planet after five minutes on the internet.
Wow, his life is needlessly dramatic.
“That is an asshole move,” Bucky tells him, looking disappointed enough that Tony feels his heart squeeze.
He nods, “I know,” he says. There wasn’t much more to say about that, he knew at the time it was a shitty thing to do and like always his bas decisions came around to bite him in the ass.
Bucky remains silent for a long few moments, “you could have never told me and I wouldn’t have known better,” he says finally but Tony shakes his head.
“Lies always come back around, and even if they didn’t what’s the point of being in a relationship when one of the people in it doesn’t even know how it started?” he asks.
“You tell me a lot of things you don’t have to,” Bucky murmurs, frowning a little. “I… still think that was shitty but I appreciate the honesty. And probably need some time to digest that,” he says.
Tony nods, “okay,” he says and he moves to get up but Bucky pulls him back in.
“Time, not distance,” he says and Tony laughs a little nervously.
“I’ll take that,” he says, settling back into his spot in Bucky’s lap.
*
T’Challa and Tony exchange a look. “Do you know if her information is good?” he asks and Tony sighs, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
“Both Shuri and I were able to locate the bunker she was talking about. Whatever’s in it, well, that’s anyone’s guess at the moment. Whatever is in there was important enough that most HYDRA records of it were erased and all Shuri found was that it existed.” He went through HYDRA records himself- Shuri shouldn’t have to read Nazi ramblings- but even with both of their considerable resources they couldn’t find much. For the first time since they started working together Shuri found less than he did.
“So we don’t know what we’re walking into?” T’Challa asks, raising an eyebrow.
He sighs, “at the moment no. But we’ve faced everything from aliens to bank robbers, whatever this is I doubt our not knowing will make us less effective,” he says. Between Natasha and Steve’s strategy skills, his ability to think faster than everyone else except maybe T’Challa combined, T’Challa’s badass tech and intelligence, and Bucky’s potential knowledge on the bunker they’d be fine.
“Then lets go get this over with. I am tired of being led around like a dog on a leash,” T’Challa says, a touch of anger leaking into his words. It’s the first sign Tony has gotten from T’Challa that he was still grieving since he all but broke into his house, but more so it was a sign the king was clearly still pissed. Tony didn’t envy whomever was behind this that was for sure.
*
When they get to the bunker Natasha notices the palatable hate between Tony and Steve first, and the obvious nervousness Bucky was holding in. She glances between them, trying to determine if this was going to be a problem but when she catches Steve’s eye he gives her a small nod. Whatever was going on with him he was at least going to cooperate for this. For that she’s grateful.
“Are we prepared to go in?” she asks, looking out at the cold bunker.
She looks to Tony and T’Challa as she says it and Tony nods immediately, but T’Challa looks at him. “You’re sure about this?” he asks and Tony, who apparently has run out of patience, rolls his eyes.
“You followed me all the way here, whatever this is it feels… final. We’ve been strung along enough so uh, guess we should see what this is,” he says, looking up at the building. T’Challa nods and they all step forward, Bucky trailing behind a little for reasons Natasha would like to know. She could see recognition there and she was curious about that, but for now it wasn’t relevant.
When Tony reaches her she smiles a little, “thank you,” she says softly. How he managed she had no idea but that didn’t matter. Plus it was Tony- she’s never met someone with a will so strong. Whatever he wanted he got, which was probably why he should be careful what he wished for.
“You should probably thank Bucky. Pretty sure without him I would have had to get T’Challa to save my ass,” he says in a low tone. Not low enough to avoid super soldiers overhearing if Steve’s cocked head was any indication but she doubted Tony cared much about that.
“I’ll thank him later,” she murmurs. “Right now we should figure out whatever the hell this is.” T’Challa wasn’t the only one tired of being led around like a dog. It wasn’t often things got to her- she’s long been trained out of that- but this… whomever this was she has to admit they were brilliant in all the worst of ways.
Tony nods to her and they continue on, getting to the door and finding it slightly ajar. Steve turns to Natasha and frowns, a sentiment she shared, but she nods for him to open it. Carefully he pushes the door open and T’Challa slips in before anyone could say anything.
“It’s clear,” he calls out softly and Steve turns to face her right as Tony steps in.
“Seriously?” she hisses at him as Steve turns to glare after Tony.
“Wakanda has tech that’s way beyond what I have. If he says its clear I trust him,” Tony says from inside the bunker. Natasha raises an eyebrow but follows, ignoring the dirty look she gets from Steve for dong so. Whatever his issue with Tony was this week- besides the obvious Bucky drama- he could put it aside and deal with it for another few hours while they dealt with this.
Tony lifts a hand and light shines from his palm as they continue to walk down the hallways of the bunker. Natasha snorts softly, “you’re a fucking flash light,” she says, earning a look from Tony.
“If you want to stumble around in the dark I’m happy to let you do so,” he says, shaking his head at her.
“She’s enhanced,” T’Challa says softly from behind them. “The only one stumbling around would probably be you.” Natasha barely manages to suppress her laugh at that, especially when Tony’s offended noise fills the hallway.
“Rude,” Tony tells him, shining his light around another corner. “Also Villain of the Week could have picked a bunker that doesn’t smell the way I think Mothman would,” he mumbles. Natasha can’t help the snort at that.
“You think Mothman would smell like metal, dust, human desperation, and a little urine?” Bucky asks. “You have an overactive imagination.” Natasha had to agree but she’s known about Tony’s overactive imagination for years. Sometimes she had no choice but to listen to it too and while she appreciated that Pepper was well taken care of in bed she didn’t really want definitive proof of that. Or of Tony’s creativity in non Mothman related areas of his life.
“You guys are lacking in imagi- whoa,” he says softly, raising an eyebrow as he round another corner and Natasha does too, when she sees what’s in the room.
Five tanks, or what looked like tanks, with people in them. Natasha didn’t need to get too close to know that they were dead- living people weren’t that pale. “What the hell is this?” Natasha whispers.
“No need to stop at the doorway,” a voice says and she exchanges a look with Tony. “Like it? They were Winter Soldiers- don’t look so surprised- Bucky couldn’t have wracked up that many bodies on his own. They weren’t as easy to control though. Pity. But they do serve as a useful bit of foreshadowing. Do remember them, Barnes?” the guy asks. Natasha spots him behind glass in the center of the room looking out at them and she frowns, looking around for some kind of trap. Setting five Winter Soldiers lose on them would have been a good plan, so this guy obviously had something better. And Bucky, though she didn’t want to admit it, was better than her when it came to spying and killing.
They turn to face Bucky, who looks pale and shaken, and he shakes his head. “I… only vaguely remember this place,” he whispers.
Their villain must hear him because he sighs. “well that’s a shame. Perhaps I can jog your memory,” he says.
Steve must have enough because he pushes to the front of the group, stalking forward until he’s in front of their latest villain. Natasha glances over at Tony because if anyone realized that five dead Winter Soldiers were about to be topped it was him. He looks just as confused as she did though.
“What the hell is this?” Steve asks once he gets to the small window their villain was behind.
The guy behind the glass tilts his head to the side, examining Steve for a moment. “you have a bit of green in your blue eyes. Nice to find a flaw,” he says. Natasha didn’t need to see his face to know he looked confused about that. If the situation weren’t so serious she’d yell ‘gay’ but at the moment she was hoping there weren’t aliens hiding somewhere in here.
“You had five Winter Soldiers, why are they dead?” Tony asks, apparently keen on cutting to the chase.
“Do you think I seriously wanted more of them? They met their end peacefully, which is more than I can say for their victims. They aren’t why I’m here, they’re just my method of drawing you all out here,” he says.
“You’re Savokian,” Steve says, “is that what this is about?”
He shakes his head. “No. It was already a failed state before you all blew it to hell. I’m here because of a promise.”
If it wasn’t for Steve standing where he was she might have missed the light of the television screen blinking on but she doesn’t. Neither does Tony. “What is this?” he asks, looking back to the man behind the glass.
This earns him a small laugh. “I’ve learned a lot from Sakovia. Something destroyed by enemies can be rebuilt; I’ve watched it happen. But something that’s destroyed from within? There’s no coming back from that,” he says. Tony and Natasha exchange another look and when she looks to Steve he looks just as confused. “You know it almost did it on your own- I’m impressed Stark, sleeping with Steve’s long lost love was certainly a nice touch. But I prefer assurance that the job is done right.”
The screen flickers and two people appear on screen. Natasha squints at it a little as she walks up, gasping softly when she recognizes herself on screen. What wasn’t explained was why Bucky was there glaring down at her. She looks down, noting the tape in its player and frowns- this was from nineteen fifty one… more than twenty years before she thought she was even born.
“What is this?” she whispers, moving closer to the screen.
“You don’t remember training?” the man asks just as Bucky reaches out… Natasha winces as she doesn’t dodge quite fast enough and for that she goes careening into a wall. She gets back up, she was trained to do that, and quietly circles Bucky, who doesn’t move. Bold considering how dangerous she ended up but he clearly wasn’t concerned. When she strikes again it was just as fruitless as the first time, and when she tries again she fails just as fast.
“I don’t… I don’t know what this is,” she says softly.
“I’m sure you remember your past as a ballerina,” the man behind the glass says, “this is what those memories are covering. When you defected in the nineties it wasn’t the first time,” he says. The screen flickers again and this time Natasha is older. Clearly Bucky’s training paid off because she was clearly better at her job, taking out whatever came her way with ease. It isn’t until Bucky comes around the corner and neatly dodges her attack that anyone gives her any kind of a match. Her improved talent does wonders against him, but it didn’t change that he was better. When her head hits the wall she turns away, unwilling to look anymore.
“I thought Bucky was with HYDRA?” Tony asks.
“HYDRA worked with the Russians,” Natasha says, “you read the-“ she pauses, turning to Tony. “You read those files,” she realizes, speaking in a low, dangerous tone.
Tony’s eyebrows draw together, “Natasha, there are barely any files on Bucky when HYDRA first picked him up. I found almost nothing on how they initially broke him down, nothing until like nineteen seventy or so. Well, some, but not anything substantial- actually it’s kind of weird considering the meticulous detail they kept after that but... I don’t know, maybe I didn’t find the files.”
If anyone would find the files it’d be Tony, except the only other person with more to gain than the person trying to read every detail on his parent’s murderer. She turns to Steve, who’s already looking away and that’s as good as an admission to guilt for her but she asks anyways. Maybe, and that was a big maybe, she would be forgiving if he was at least honest. “Did you know?” she asks.
Steve shakes his head, still looking away.
“Don’t bullshit me,” she hisses, “did you know?” Out of the corner of her eyes she watches Tony shift a little towards Bucky, blocking her way to him.
“It wasn’t really him,” Steve whispers, “you can’t hold him responsible for that.”
No, she couldn’t. But she could hold Steve responsible for his secret keeping on a subject he knew she was sensitive to. How much about her past- her past- did he know without telling her? She was stupid if she ever thought Tony was the only one he’d keep secrets from; she thought it was because he didn’t like Tony. But it wasn’t that at all, it was his selfish love for Bucky fucking Barnes.
*
T’Challa had to admit that Natasha Romanov had a good poker face. He wouldn’t have predicted her outburst until it happened and from there things devolved quickly. He wasn’t entirely sure who Natasha’s actual target was but it was clear there was no love lost for Steve on Tony’s end- he was intent on ensuring that Steve was more of a target than Bucky by doing his best to make sure Steve was in between Natasha and Bucky. It resulted in Steve getting a nasty beating from what he witnessed before he slipped out after his father’s murderer.
He walks up to him quietly, surprised when he tilts his head in T’Challa’s direction. “You are a dutiful son,” he says, ignoring the crashing sounds behind them. T’Challa glances back as he watches Steve’s shield slam into Tony, who was trying to block Natasha from Bucky, who looked like he was trying to flee the scene.
“You lost someone,” he states more than asks.
“I lost everyone,” the man says, turning something over in his hands. T’Challa looks back at the ensuing fight behind him and then to the man in front of him. He lifts his gun and T’Challa dives for it, catching it before it makes it to his mouth.
“Grief consumed you, its consumed them too. And I am done with it consuming me. But the living aren’t through with you yet.”
*
Shuri winces, “you two look like shit,” she says bluntly, looking Tony and Bucky over.
Tony sighs, “bit of a fight, involved a couple super people and some hidden information. I almost died, we’re good,” he says dismissively. She looks over to T’Challa, who shrugs a little and nods.
“You’re a crap body guard, I told you to make sure he didn’t die, not bring him back looking like he had a battle with Bast and lost,” she says, waving a hand around at Tony. He looks confused but Bucky, or the other personality she didn’t know, laughs. He looked better than Tony but not by a whole lot.
T’Challa gives her a look. “I was busy catching our father’s killer, Shuri,” he says in that irritating lecturing tone he got sometimes. Just because he was the older sibling didn’t mean he knew more than her- actually she usually knew more than him. He couldn’t even manage a conversation with his ex without wheezing like a fool and last week she invented an anti gravity device she’s been using to amuse herself when she got bored or sad. Its come in handy lately.
“T’Challa, we both know you’re accomplished enough to have managed both. What happened?” That bunker looked like… well like the Avengers went through it. Lately they didn’t have a good track record and two of them have straight up told the government to stuff it. She could see why they were causing such an international commotion. T’Challa disagreed with the politics but Shuri wondered if it was warranted, even with her admiration of Tony.
They had a lot in common, but he drew his lines differently than she drew hers. Invading countries was not something she would ever do, not without a damn good reason and tracking down a teammate’s war buddy when he seemed to pose no danger was not a good reason. But that was perhaps because of her own history within an isolationist nation that did not take kindly to invasion. Wakanda did not start wars, but if someone brought one to them, well. They ended them.
Tony lets out a long sigh. “The guy- Zemo- was pretty pissed that his whole family died in the Ultron thing. Poor bastard was Sokovian. Anyways instead of just trying to kill me like your average villain would he got inventive, studied us all with the intent on making us destroy each other and T’Chaka was a convenient way to send Natasha running, me scrambling, I accidentally fuelled his plan by sleeping with this one,” he gestures to Bucky, “and then we all found out that Steve stole a bunch of HYDRA records on Bucky. Namely everything on that time he trained Natasha as a Black Widow. Go figure that’s the only thing that would send her off the deep end and uh, she kicked our asses.”
She looks to T’Challa, who nods. “We already knew she was on edge, but it appeared that Steve knowing more about her past than her pushed her over it. For now she’s gone, but we suspect she will come back eventually.”
“Hopefully I can talk her out of murder before that happens,” Tony adds. “But your brother was nice enough to offer us sanctuary in the meantime.”
“Well at least you managed to do something right,” she tells him.
T’Challa throws his hands up in the air, “I captured our father’s murderer, is that not enough for you?” he asks.
Shuri shrugs, “the Doras probably could have done it in two days but they let you do it,” she says, shrugging mostly unapologetically. T’Challa looks unimpressed and Tony bursts out laughing.