Chapter 16
You were currently squeezed into the back of an old VW Beetle next to the Winter Soldier while the four of you waited for Sharon Carter to arrive. Steve had called her to explain everything that was going on and she had volunteered to bring your confiscated equipment to you. Although you didn’t voice your concerns to Steve, you had the sneaking suspicion that this was going to end up being a trap of some kind.
Next to you, Bucky shifted awkwardly in the seat. It occurred to you that it must be very uncomfortable for a man of his build to be sitting in the backseat of such a tiny car, especially since it looked like Sam had his seat all the way back.
“Hopefully she’ll hurry up and get here soon,” you leaned over and whispered to him.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if somebody would move his seat up,” he muttered, staring at the back of Sam’s head.
“Have you asked him to?”
“No. I know he’s doing it on purpose.”
You snorted and shook your head in awe.
“By the way, I’m sorry about earlier. How does your head feel?” He asked.
From the look on his face, he seemed to genuinely be concerned.
“It’s fine. I’ve had worse.”
You watched as he cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Okay, so getting beat up by a super soldier is pretty close to the top of the list. I’m still fine.”
He gave you a half-smile and simply said, “I’m glad.”
“Y/n, is he bothering you back there?” Sam asked.
“Why don’t you mind your own business?” Bucky snapped back.
“Guys, cut it out,” Steve said from his spot in the driver’s seat.
The car went back to being awkwardly silent. The four of you stayed that way until another car pulled up and parked in front of you.
“That must be her,” Sam said. “What the hell is he doing here?”
You leaned to your right to peek past Steve’s seat to see Everett getting out of the passenger side of the car. Beside you, you felt Bucky’s body tense. He must have known who was in charge of putting him in that box. Without thinking, you reached over and placed a hand on his leg as a comforting gesture. He turned to you with a surprised expression.
“It’s okay. He and I go back a long way,” was your only response.
Once Steve was out of the car, he moved his seat and offered you his hand to help you get out. Then he walked over to Sharon on her side of the car while you joined Everett on his.
“What are you doing here?” You asked.
“I could ask you the same thing. Helping an international war criminal escape isn’t going to look good on your job application.”
“He wasn’t behind that explosion. We’re going after the guy that was so we can stop him before he does anything else. There’s a whole team of Bucky’s that he’s planning to let loose on the world. Only difference is, they are much worse. How can I sit that one out?”
“How do you know you can believe anything he’s telling you? What if he’s making it all up?”
“He might be. All I can do is trust my instincts, and they’re telling me he’s on the level.”
Everett sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I answered yours, but you didn’t answer mine,” you said.
Behind you, you heard the sound of the trunk popping open and a few seconds later, Steve was standing beside you handing you your equipment.
“Rogers,” Everett said, turning his attention to Steve. “Could I have a word with you, privately?”
“Sure, excuse us a minute, y/n.”
As they walked a few feet away, you decided to use the time to sort out what was bothering you. Moving over to Sharon, you asked, “So, who was it that got to you? I’m betting it was Natasha.”
“Um, sorry?”
“Come on, be straight with me. Sure, you’ve helped us with the Bucky thing some…gave us his location a couple of times, let us listen to his interview…all very minor stuff. But stealing evidence from the CIA, that’s a big jump. I know you like Steve, but this doesn’t feel like you. I’m guessing Natasha set this up. You offer to bring us our equipment, it makes Steve trust you so he goes along with it, then you tell Stark and the others where we are so they can swoop in and try to stop us before “The Big Ross” gets involved. I know Nat too well to not see her written all over this plan.”
She stared at you and you could tell she was trying to come up with a response.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to say anything,” you said. “We wouldn’t have gotten far without our stuff, and I expected Tony and them to try something. But, I would recommend that you reevaluate this little thing you’ve got going with Steve. You ever try to double-cross him again, no matter what your reasons, and you’ll be dealing with me. Understand?”
She nodded slightly and you gave her a smile before turning and walking towards where Everett and Steve were still talking.
“I thought we were in a hurry. You boys going to chit chat all day?” You asked.
“No, I think we’re done,” Steve replied. You watched as he headed back in the direction of the cars.
“No chance you’d change your mind about going?” Everett asked.
"My mind is made up.”
“Do you remember when I said I wasn’t giving up on you? That still stands.”
You reached up and put your hand on the back of his neck before taking a deep breath. This was going to be the hardest thing you’d ever have to say to him, but it needed to be done. You didn’t know where this mess was going to lead you, but you had decided that you couldn’t drag him down with you.
“But maybe it’s time you gave up on me, Ev.”
“What?” He asked, his expression a mixture of disbelief and sadness.
“Look at us. I’m not the girl I was twenty years ago. This is my life now. These people are my family. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are, and where I am is that I’m about to go on the run with a couple of former superheroes and a brainwashed assassin with memory problems. Any connection to me is going to ruin everything you’ve built, and I think I’m past the point where I can change who I am, even for you.”
You gently ran your fingers through his hair and leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. You pulled back only a couple of inches and whispered, “This is just who we are. But don’t doubt that I love you, Ev.”
Then you turned and rushed back to the car, determined not to look back at him.
—————————————-
When you reached the place where you were going to meet the rest of the team, Steve and Sam got out of the car first and moved their seats to let you and Bucky out of the back.
“I’ll get out in a minute,” you whispered. Steve gave you a knowing look and said, “Take your time.”
“Are you getting out or not?” Sam asked Bucky.
“I will.”
“All you’ve done is complain about not having enough leg room and now you won’t get out?”
“Sam,” Steve said, cutting him off. With a loud sigh, Sam slammed his door shut and Steve followed suit, leaving you and Bucky alone in the car. You felt his eyes on you and it made you very uncomfortable.
“No offense,” you said, “but could you stop staring at me?”
“You’ve been crying ever since you talked to that guy. I don’t like to see a girl cry.”
“I haven’t been crying,” you replied, reaching up and rubbing your eyes.
You were taken by surprise when he tentatively wrapped his metal arm around your shoulders and patted you gently. The pair of you sat like that for several minutes, making no sound except for your occasional sniffle. When you had finally dried it all up, you thanked him and got out of the car. Steve moved over to stand beside you and you took ahold of his arm. He smiled at you, and without him even saying anything, you knew he was checking on you.
You cleared your throat and asked, “So what did you and Everett talk about?”
“You. He said he had offered you a great opportunity and that if wasn’t for your blind devotion to me, you would have taken him up on it. And that if I cared about you, I should let you go.”
“What did you say to that?”
“I told him he was right, for the most part. But that I respected you enough to not second-guess your decisions, and if he really loves you, he’ll learn to do the same. That having your back doesn’t necessarily mean he has to agree with you.”
“Is this them?” Bucky asked from where he was standing on the other side of the car. You turned your attention to the ramp to see a van coming up fast and sliding to a stop alongside the Beetle. Wanda jumped out of the passenger seat and ran to you, pulling you into a tight squeeze. After the incident with her invading your mind, you weren’t sure how it was going to be having her on the team. But she had earned Clint’s trust, so you gave her a chance, much like he had given Natasha one for your benefit so many years ago.
“Hey, honey,” you said, returning her hug. “Glad you decided to come.”
“I needed to get off my ass,” she replied, looking over her shoulder at Clint and then back at you with a smile.
“Hey, baby,” he said as walked up to you. He was wearing that familiar smirk that you had always loved so much.
“Hey, dumbass. I see you were stupid enough to come running when Cap called.”
You wrapped your arms around his neck and let yourself melt into his strong embrace. God, had you missed him since he’d retired.
Whispering in your ear, he said, “Figured my best girl might be needing me. Couldn’t say no to that.”
You two must have been holding onto each other for longer than you realized, because when Steve asked about the new recruit, you still hadn’t let go.
Finally pulling back, Clint said, “Oh yeah. Might need to pour a little coffee in him.” Then he slid open the van door to reveal a guy jolting awake from the noise.
“What time zone is this?” He asked as he got out. As he caught sight of Steve and began an awkwardly enthusiastic introduction, you focused on Clint and thought about all the things you wanted to say to him. How you wanted to scold him for coming in…and you wanted to ask him how the kids took the news…and how Laura reacted…but then you remembered what Steve said about loving and respecting someone enough to not second-guess their decisions. So when he looked at you with a weird expression and asked “What?” all you said was, “I’ve really missed you, partner.”
A voice over the airport’s PA system suddenly announced that it was closing. Steve looked out over his newly formed team and said, “Time to suit up.”
———————————————————
While waiting for the others to finish getting ready, you found Clint leaning against a wall fiddling with one of his arrows. From the distracted look on his face, you knew his mind was a million miles away. You leaned against the wall beside him and sighed deeply.
“Been a long day?” He asked.
“You have no idea. Went to a funeral, tried to apprehend a murder suspect, got arrested, got a job offer, got my ass kicked, smuggled said murder suspect to safety, lost a friend, made a new one, I think, and now I’ve got to fight all my old ones so I can fly out and probably get my ass kicked all over again.”
He chuckled beside you and said, “First chance we get, remind me to buy you a drink. Sounds like you need one.”
“You look like you need one, too. You want to talk about it?”
“Laura and I had a fight,” he said after awhile. “I explained the situation to her. Told her Cap needed me and I didn’t want to let him down. She said…well, it isn’t important what she said. Why don’t you tell me about that job offer you were talking about?”
You hesitated for a moment before you decided that, with everything else going on, there was no reason not to be blatantly honest about the whole thing.
“Everett was the one who arrested us. He wanted me to join his team. I told him I’d think about it. Then all of this happened, and let’s just say it put my life into perspective. I can’t be who he wants me to be. Even though he loves me, I just can’t be that person.”
“Laura said that I was only doing this for you. That I ought to put my wife and my children ahead of you for once. I know I’m not perfect, but I thought I’d always taken care of my responsibilities to them.”
“You’re a wonderful father, Clint. Sure, you’re not always home every night to tuck your kids into bed, but you love them and they know it. Their dad is a hero. They’re proud of you. She ought to be proud of you, too.”
He reached over and took your hand in his.
“So, how long have you and Everett been a thing without telling me about it?” He asked, obviously changing the subject.
“We aren’t a thing. He confessed his feelings to me. I told him it wouldn’t work.”
“Why? Is there somebody else?”
You felt your cheeks grow hot and you suddenly became very conscious of the fact that the “somebody else” was holding your hand and asking about himself without even knowing it.
“We’re moving out,” you heard a deep, masculine voice say from around the corner. When Bucky came into view, you noticed how his eyes darted down to yours and Clint’s enclasped hands and his brows furrowed in confusion. Quickly letting go of Clint’s hand, you hurried over to join Bucky.
“I’m ready. Let’s go, soldier.”