Chapter 6
Phil felt a stress headache growing as he watched Dean and Bucky study each other. Unsurprisingly subtly was not one of Dean’s strengths, it was, however, supposed to be one of Barnes’. Phil made eye contact with Natasha who just shook her head with a slight smirk; he knew they had come to the same conclusion. Phil repressed a sigh as the hunter and former Hydra asset continued to be oblivious to the silence that surrounded them. Phil glanced at Sam Winchester, the man clearly purposefully ignoring his brother as he continued to flip through the file. Steve’s face told another story, the Captain’s jaw somewhat slack before realization flashed across his face. Phil watched wholly amused as Steve shot a protective glare at Dean which went unnoticed.
“Alright, well if the Manchurian Candidate and Buffy could stop making eyes at each other for one minute, could we please figure out how we’re going to take down this Hydra base and retrieve the scythe,” Stark’s voice snapped both Dean and Bucky out of their silent appraisal of each other. Phil watched Dean glare at Stark’s smug smile while Bucky blinked, eyes darting to Steve in confusion.
“We have all the information we need on the base, it’s the extraction of the scythe which we need your help with,” Phil addressed Dean and Sam.
“Just get us in, you guys take care of Hydra and I’ll grab the scythe,” Dean stated with an unconcerned shrug.
“Wait, you know that thing kills whoever touches it,” Wilson piped up, eyebrows arched.
“Don’t worry about it,” Dean’s smile was small, his eyes dark as they met Sam’s.
“I’m worried about it, anyone else worried about it?” Falcon gave Dean a skeptical look before he glanced around at the other Avengers.
“Look Sam, Dean and I have been doing this for a long time, we’ll get the scythe out safely,” Sam Winchester placated, hazel eyes catching Phil’s.
“They’re the experts, they will handle the weapon,” Phil stated as Stark and Wilson grumbled in resigned acceptance.
Phil listened intently over the next several minutes as the details were hashed out among the group. Dean wasn’t too thrilled about flying across the Atlantic but it was unavoidable. They would leave in the morning and Phil sadly was not going to be accompanying them, instead he would remain at the Tower and monitor the group’s activity with JARVIS. It was lunch by the time the meeting wrapped up, Dean and Clint complaining about the lack of food as both men ambled towards the kitchen. Natasha offered to show Sam to his and Dean’s room which the younger hunter readily accepted. Stark grabbed some coffee before heading back down to his workshop most likely completing last minute alterations to the suit. Phil turned and caught Wilson and Steve eyeing Bucky, the brunette soldier had a cornered look as the Falcon and Captain advanced on him. Phil just smiled as he made his way to the elevator and down to Stark’s lab.
****
Bucky eyed Steve and Sam warily as the two men barricaded his escape route, arms folder over their chests and stern but intent looks on their faces. Bucky felt a flush creep up his neck as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet unsure of why Steve and Sam felt the need to box him in. The three soldiers moved over to the bar, Sam and Steve taking a seat while Bucky moved behind the counter giving him some space. He knew what this was about; although he was honestly surprised Steve had picked up on his curiosity about Dean. That’s all it was too, curiosity. How could he not be curious about this man, this hunter? Bucky withheld a groan; he didn’t even sound convincing to himself.
“Buck, are you going to be alright with this mission?” Bucky huffed in disbelief at Steve’s question. Leave it to his best friend to try and go about this delicately as if Bucky was made of thin ice just waiting to shatter.
“Of course Steve,” Bucky gave his friend a resolute look.
He knew what Steve was asking about; this would be his first time going up against Hydra since Steve had found him. Truthfully, Bucky was nervous. He didn’t truly know the extent of Hydra’s conditioning and he did not have full control over the Winter Soldier. Add in the new supernatural threat, well, Bucky’s control was shaken.
“Barnes, therapy is about being honest with yourself and us,” Sam’s voice was reassuring, his eyes kind.
“Last time I checked this wasn’t a therapy session,” Bucky said with a half-smile.
“No, but we’re your friends and you’ve been making good progress with coming to terms with the past. You’re much more self-aware and you need to continue to be and not shut down,” Sam was firm as he continued to hold Bucky’s eyes.
“You know when you shut down it just gives the Winter Soldier programming more control,” Steve gave Bucky a stern look, one he remembered from back alley fights in Brooklyn all those decades ago.
“I don’t really know how much of a problem that’s going to be,” Bucky rubbed a hand through his hair as he looked at two confused and suspicious faces.
“I think he likes Dean,” Bucky murmured, unsure of the looks he was receiving.
“The Winter Soldier programming?” Sam cleared his throat, voice strained in disbelief. Bucky just nodded in confirmation, eyes slipping over to Steve.
“How can you tell?” Steve’s face was impassive and Bucky would have been impressed if he wasn’t slightly worried at the sight.
Bucky didn’t know how to answer that, didn’t know how to explain to Steve what it was like having the Winter Soldier in his head. Bucky knew he wouldn’t be able to tell Steve about how he and the Winter Soldier became less dissociative around Dean Winchester because it made absolutely no sense. Bucky could admit he was attracted to Dean and the Winter Soldier seemed protective of Dean. It wasn’t like Bucky knew what it meant any more than Steve did, for all he knew he was misinterpreting the feelings. After all, he couldn’t fully trust his own mind.
“Just a feeling,” Bucky deflected as his eyes shifted towards the kitchen, ignoring Steve and Sam’s dissatisfied looks.
****
Clint was a cool guy, Dean decided as he polished off his sandwich and Barton made his way out of the kitchen. The archer was damn funny now that Dean and Sam weren’t seen as a complete threat to the Avengers and could be somewhat trusted. Clint made that clear, he saw Dean and Sam as allies and even though they were helping out now, Dean should be prepared for an arrow through his chest should anything bad happen to Barton’s team, his family. Dean could respect that, after all, the same went for Sam. Although, Dean refrained from telling Clint that killing him would probably not be in the Avengers best interest. His arm itched, the Mark running hot as Dean tossed his plate into the sink. Dean rubbed his arm, most definitely not in the Avengers best interest.
Sam was coming out of the elevator as Dean made his way out of the kitchen, quickly glancing at the three soldiers in deep conversation at the bar. Bucky looked up at that moment and made eye contact with Dean, the former assassin flushing red and Dean had to smile and wink. Bucky’s mouth dropped open and his apparent shock brought Wilson’s and Steve’s heads around, two sets of eyes landing on Dean. Falcon grinned, a small chuckle escaping before turning back to Bucky whose eyes were still lazily trailing Dean’s face. Steve on the other hand was in full Captain America mode or possibly just protective best friend mode, Dean didn’t think the two were that different when it came to Bucky. With a nod to each man, Dean turned back to his brother startling at the smug look on Sam’s face.
“What?” Dean asked as they climbed into the elevator, Sam pressing the button of the floor they would be staying on.
“You seem pretty okay with this whole thing,” Sam gave him a perceptive look.
“You saw that file Sammy, they have barely anything on us. I mean sure, it mentioned the FBI records, the bunkers location which admittedly sucks, Chuck’s books and all but who would really believe that,” Dean shrugged as they exited the elevator. The floor they were staying on was simple with a kitchen, living room, and what looked like two bedrooms with a bathroom down the hall.
“Yeah, I noticed that too, there’s not a lot of mention of the monsters we’ve killed only just an overview of some over our more known cases,” Sam inclined his head as Dean opened the door to the first bedroom.
“Exactly, and even those cases you can see Coulson had to do some major research on,” Dean snorted as he flopped down on the bed.
“True, he didn’t seem to get much right either,” Sam’s sigh of acceptance lifted some of the weight off Dean’s shoulders.
“How much are we going to tell them?” Sam asked after a few minutes of silence.
“Only as much as they need to know to stay safe,” Dean groaned as he rubbed his hand over his face, arm itching under his flannel.
“Safe,” Sam huffed, “they’re not safe as long as they’re near us.”
“No shit Sam, you think I like this. I just spent the last year as a demon; I tried to kill you and Cas and now we have to help a bunch of superheroes who don’t know shit about what they’re getting into. What do you think would happen if demons decided to get cozy with the Avengers because we happen to be helping them out?” Dean’s voice was harsh, his breathing uneven.
“Dean, they’re the Avengers, they can take care of themselves,” Sam said, exasperated.
“Sam, they don’t know anything about our world and it will be safer for them if it stays that way,” Dean’s voice brokered no argument.
“I think you’re seriously underestimating them. They fought aliens or did you forget that,” Sam retorted.
“I did not, though I’m pretty sure I was in Purgatory at the time,” Dean rolled his eyes at Sam’s pursed lips and glare.
“How do you feel about this plan?” Sam changed the subject and looked at Dean after a moment.
“Not a big fan of the flying part, but it should work as long as no one gets any funny ideas about grabbing the scythe and those Hydra goons are taken care of,” Dean’s lips curled in disgust, eyes flashing.
“You can’t kill anyone Dean,” Sam’s voice was soft, “when we enter the Hydra base, you have to let the Avengers take care of everyone. You cannot kill.”
“Where was this condition when it came to the vampires?” Dean ground his teeth, arm burning.
“Different circumstances and you know that,” Sam was exasperated and Dean had to look away from the concern on his brother’s face.
Silence echoed through the room as Dean stared at his brother. He understood where Sam was coming from; Dean knew what he was capable of. Dean’s bloodlust was temporarily sated after the vampire hunt and the Mark had been suspiciously quiet since their first meeting with the Avengers. Dean didn’t like it, he hated being a ticking time bomb and everything about this case was setting him on edge. Dean knew he wasn’t able to guarantee the Avengers safety from Hydra and whatever the organization was doing with Death’s scythe. It bothered him, but not that much because he knew the team was better equipped to deal with Hydra and he was capable of handling the scythe. It was the fact that he couldn’t guarantee everyone’s safety from himself and the influence the Mark still had over him.
“The Avengers need to know for their own safety. Dean we have to tell them, we can’t keep doing this and I know we can trust them. They saved the world,” Sam implored.
“Sammy, I get what you’re saying, but how the hell are we supposed to explain the Mark to them and still expect them to listen to us,” Dean was sure the moment the Avengers found out about the Mark of Cain he and Sam would lose what little trust they had from the superheroes already.
“Give them a little credit, they’ll understand,” Sam crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.
“Understand. They’re a bunch of heroes who, yes, have had shit experiences in life but let’s be honest, nothing compared to us. I mean sure, apparently Barton has had some experience with mind control, but that’s not the same as possession and you know it,” Dean snapped as he watched his brother lowered his eyes in acknowledgment.
“And Bucky?” Sam countered as his eyebrows rose to his hair line, a small knowing grin on his face.