A/N: This is my companion fic to the third trial (chapters 20-23) in "Skyfall!" The fic is told from Steve's POV and shows what the Avengers, who didn't go to the past, were up to. I hope you all enjoy!
I don't know anything about Sharon aside from her origin and relations to Steve and the Avengers.
Oh and as a side note, Steve and the others don't know who she really is. She only gives them her first name.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers
Chapter 1
Watching Tony walk through that portal alone is one of the hardest things Steve ever had to do.
Well, technically, Tony isn't alone. He has three Avengers with him, but he doesn't have Steve and that means something to him anyway. The thought of Tony being in another time worries the blond deeply. He knows his boyfriend can take care of himself, and he trusts his teammates, but Steve wants to be the one to protect him. It sounds childish, he knows, but he cares for Tony and wants to defend him with his own hands.
The blond feels a comforting hand on his shoulder. Bucky.
Things have been improving between him and the other man ever since the Avengers released him from his brainwashing, despite a rocky start. Steve knows that things will never go back to how they were before the war. They have a stronger connection now, especially since their talk. Three months ago, his friend had come to him red-eyed and shaking before his morning run, asking if they could talk. When Steve agreed, he had no idea the horrors his friend was about to unleash on him about his memories of being Winter Soldier.
He bites the inside of his cheek. He knew he should have forced Bucky to stay behind. He shouldn't have let his friend get on the train with him. Bucky would have followed him anyway, but he should have tried harder.
"Hey, man, you still with me?"
Steve snaps out of his thoughts and turns to Bucky, who's wearing a curious look on his features. "Yeah, I'm here."
"Awesome; Bruce suggested we should go to the cafeteria and mooch some food. Loki's coming too. Are you in?"
"I don't know if—" his stomach growling and Bucky's laughter interrupt him.
"Dude, you should know better than to try to pull one over on me," the brunet responds, his blue eyes dancing with amusement. "Come on. We need to go before Thor eats everything." Bucky moves his hands from Steve's shoulder to his arm and starts tugging the man towards the door.
Steve rolls his eyes, and continues letting Bucky pull him out the door and towards the Shield cafeteria.
"Don't eat the mystery meat. It'll give you the runs," Bruce warns as Steve and Bucky join him at the cafeteria's buffet.
"Personal experience?" Bucky questions.
"And some," Bruce says with a snort and a shake of his head.
Steve grins and grabs a plate before pilling it with a variety of foods: peas, mashed potatoes, chicken (the biggest piece he could find), Buffalo wings, the list goes on. Bucky has twice the amount Steve does with a slice of pie to boot. He's not judging; a man has to eat.
Bruce leads the way to the table where Thor and Loki are already seated next to each other. Thor is tearing into a turkey leg the size of his head, while Loki is giving his brother a look of disgust.
"Ugh, can you be any more repulsive?" Loki asks.
Thor gives his brother a knowing look, implying that he can. The god swallows his food and wipes his dirty hand Loki's shirt sleeve.
Loki shudders in disgust and glares at his brother, who is smiling without regret.
Thor turns to grin at his friends, who are just arriving. "My friends, we feast!"
Bucky laughs as he plops down across from Thor. "You know it, buddy! All we need is some booze and this will really be a feast!"
"Agreed!" Thor says, enthusiastically.
"I'm pretty sure none of us can get drunk," Steve says as he sits next to Bucky.
"It's the concept of the matter. I haven't had a beer since forty-two, okay, I deserve a drink or five," Bucky says. "Besides, Bruce might be able to get drunk."
"I honestly have no idea," Bruce says with a laugh from his spot at the head of the table. "I've never tried it before."
"One day, if you're up for it, we totally should," Bucky says.
"I'm up for anything, but if the Other Guy wants to play too, well, that's on you," Bruce says.
The five men continue talking throughout their meal, shifting between topics and making fun of each other with relative ease. Steve finds himself zoning in and out of the conversation, his mind wandering to Tony. He's hoping that everything is going alright with the trial and that Tony won't put himself in unnecessary danger. The blond knows that Rhodey, Clint, and Nat won't let anything happen to his boyfriend, but he can't help but worry.
"Hey, Stevie, you with me?"
"Yeah, sure Buck," Steve answers, distracted.
Bucky looks like he is about to continue questioning his friend, when the Shield alarms begin blaring.
"What the hell?" Bruce asks. "Are we being attacked again?"
"My friends, we must prepare for battle," Thor says, with his hammer secured in his hand.
"We need to speak with the Director first to figure out whom we're up against," Steve says, slipping into Cap mode.
"I'm on it," Loki says before teleporting the five men to the meeting room.
Fury has his back to the group. When he turns around, the Director does a double take before sighing. "Motherfuckers and their fucking magic," he mutters.
"Director, what's happening?" Steve asks, moving to stand next to the other man.
"There are reports of suspicious activity in Holdrege, Nebraska," Fury answers.
"You mean the place where that Hydra base is?" Bucky questions.
"Precisely," Fury says. "I'm dispatching the four of you and Coulson to the town to eliminate this threat."
"I'm going too," Loki declares.
"Absolutely not," Fury says, firmly.
"Director, you only have half of your precious Avengers. I will be a valuable asset," Loki argues.
"Loki, I will not permit you to leave headquarters unsupervised," Fury says firmly.
"I will prevent him doing any harm," Thor announces, placing a firm hand on his brother's shoulder, which the lithe man glares at with a frown.
"Because that's worked out so well before," Fury mutters.
"Sir, if I may. We could bring Agent Thirteen to serve as Loki's guard," Coulson says. At Fury's skeptical look, he adds, "I trained her myself, and she is not a pushover. She'll do fine."
"Alright" Fury reluctantly agrees. "I trust your judgment, Agent Coulson."
"Thank you sir," Coulson says with a nod. He turns to the Avengers and says, "Let's move. I'll get Agent Thirteen on the phone and have her meet us at the Quinjet hangar."
"Agent Thirteen, sir?" Bruce questions with a furrowed brow.
"Don't worry; she's one of the best," Coulson answers as he pulls out his phone. "Hey, it's me. I have an assignment for you. Meet me in the Quinjet hangar." The Agent hangs up before turning to the Avengers. "Come on."
Coulson leads the way out of the meeting room with the Avengers trailing behind. They navigate through the maze that is Shield Headquarters, eventually reaching the Quinjet hangar without incident.
Thor opens the double doors, and Coulson continues leading the way through. In the hangar, there is a blond-haired woman standing next to one of the few remaining Quinjet's. Her back is to them, but from what Steve can see, her uniform is nearly identical to Natasha's, aside from the fact that Agent Thirteen's is white.
"Agent Thirteen," Coulson says in greeting.
The woman turns at her name, and nods in greeting before looking over each of the Avengers with a curious and suspicious eye. Under her gaze, Steve feels like he's in the army all over again.
"These are the Avengers—or half of them anyway," Coulson says. "Avengers, this is—"
"Agent Thirteen," she says, interrupting Coulson. "Which one of you is Loki?"
"That would be me," Loki says with a sneer.
"Listen, Loki, I'm not here to play games with you, and I will not be your friend. I'm here to do an assignment and if you get in my way, I will make your life a living hell, understood?" Agent Thirteen says.
"Understood," Loki says, amused.
Sharon frowns before turning to Coulson. "I've secured this jet for us, and everything is prepped and ready."
"Excellent," Coulson says. "Let's move."
The Avengers, Loki, and the two Agents arrive in Holdrege five hours later, only to be immediately engaged by the Hydra Forces battling with Shield.
"The area is too hot; I can't land," Coulson says.
"We don't need to land," Agent Thirteen says, as she grabs a parachute and pulls it on.
"Avengers, let's move!" Steve calls, jumping out of the jet.
Thor and Bucky are the next to follow. The god flies from the back of the jet, and hovers over the battlefield before dropping Bucky into the mix of soldiers and agents.
Bruce is next, following the other Avengers and transforming into the Hulk on the way down. Tony had designed new pants for Bruce that will transform with him, so Bruce won't have to be embarrassed about being naked anymore.
Agent Thirteen parachutes from the jet, while Loki teleports to the ground. She pulls the parachute off her back when she lands, and immediately runs for cover.
"Loki, we're going to hang back and provide support," Agent Thirteen shouts over the noises of combat.
"I will be on the front lines, Agent Thirteen," Loki sneers.
"If you don't do as I say, I will give you something to fear," Agent Thirteen threatens.
Watching Agent Thirteen interact with Loki, reminds Steve of when Natasha told him about her encounter with Loki while he was held prisoner before the battle of New York. Like, Natasha, the Agent commands respect and won't take anything less.
Steve throws his shield, knocking down the soldiers in front of him, and charges into the sea of people, carefully avoiding hitting one of his allies. He hears Thor blasting away soldiers with his hammer, Hulk literally tossing people away from himself and the Shield Agents. Bucky is running all over the battlefield, taking down his enemies with a grace that only he could manage. Coulson is providing support from the air, circling on the perimeter and taking out the Hydra Soldiers that try to escape. Loki and Agent Thirteen are providing cover fire from the back. Steve wonders if the reason she offered to cover is because she either doesn't want Loki to slip away while the battle is going on, or she doesn't trust him.
Probably both.
The Avengers and the Shield Agents battle in this fashion for some time, taking down as many Hydra Soldiers and covering each other as much as possible. As of right now, Shield has the advantage and are slowly diminishing Hydra's numbers. Just as Steve thinks they might be able to defeat the soldiers in one go, a chant of "retreat" is heard through the mouths of the enemies.
Thor moves to pursue, but Coulson's words stop him.
"I'm going to follow them, and find out where their base is. In the meantime, Agent Thirteen will lead you to our temporary headquarters," Coulson says.
"Alright, be careful, Coulson," Cap says.
"I will," is the response.
"The Temp HQ isn't far from here," Agent Thirteen announces. "Follow me."
Sharon leads the Avengers and the remaining Shield Agents to a warehouse a few miles outside of town. She quickly ushers everyone inside before peering around the area with a careful eye as if checking to make sure any Hydra Soldiers that may have survived the battle didn't follow them.
Steve leads the team further into the base and gazes around. While the outside of the warehouse looks like it's been abandoned for thirty years, the inside is completely refurbished with machines, computers, and other forms of technology scattered around the large area. Shield Agents scramble around the area, taking their places in front of the instruments and immediately setting to work.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Agent Thirteen walk towards them. She's wearing a tired smile on her face that contrasts the sharpness in her eyes. "If you take the stairs over there, it will lead you to the underground barracks. You should clean up and get some rest while you can. Oh, Dr. Banner, there's also a lab on that level if you want to check it out. I'm sure our technicians would love to have your opinion on their work."
Bruce smiles. "Thank you, Agent Thirteen."
"Please, we're off duty. Call me Sharon—that goes for all of you."
Bruce nods his confirmation. "Thank you, Sharon. While I'm down there, I'll see if we can find out any information on the Hydra Base."
"Good thinking. I'll see if I can get in contact with Coulson and find out if he knows the base's general location," Sharon responds before pulling out her phone. "Loki, you're coming too."
Loki lets out a frustrated huff, but ultimately follows Sharon out of the general area with Thor trailing loyally behind them.
Later, Steve finds himself lying on top of one of the cots in the barracks portion of the underground level. He just finished cleaning up in one of the many bathrooms, finding that the minor cuts and bruises he received during the battle have already healed. He sighs to himself, finding his thoughts drifting back to Tony and the trial. The blond really does hope everything is going okay, and that his boyfriend and friends aren't putting themselves in unnecessary danger.
Familiar footsteps shake Steve out of his thoughts before he feels Bucky's cold metal hand nudging at his side.
"Scoot over," Bucky says.
"We're not going to fit," he says with a snort, but it doesn't stop him from complying.
It takes a few moments, but eventually they get themselves to fit, with the blond still lying on his back and Bucky's cheek pressed against Steve's stomach. They used to lie like this all the time before the war and their positions were always reversed. Steve used to find great comfort, especially when he was sick, laying with his head on his best friend's stomach to remind himself that this person who cares for him deeply is alive and well underneath of him. He has many memories of falling asleep with Bucky's hand carding through his thin blond hair and humming songs from the radio.
Without even thinking, Steve begins combing his fingers thought Bucky's hair working out the tangles, and humming one of Frank Sinatra's songs. His friend lets out a contented sigh and fully relaxes against him, molding his body into Steve's side.
"I used to do this to you, when you were a little guy," Bucky mutters into the fabric of Steve's uniform.
Steve snorts before resuming his humming.
"We used to do a lot of things together before the war . . ."
The blond furrows his brow. Bucky doesn't like to talk about the times before the war, and he's curious as to why he's bringing it up now.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For falling, and failing you. For becoming this . . . monster."
Steve pauses in his motions completely, which causes Bucky's head to shift so he's looking into the blond's eyes. He can't identify the look on Bucky's face, but he doesn't like the thoughts of what his friend could be hiding from behind that expression.
"It's like I told you: It's not your fault."
"It was still me."
"No, it wasn't."
"Steve—"
"Don't argue with me, Bucky. I don't blame you."
"I tried to kill you."
"It wasn't you."
"You would have let me," Bucky says, suddenly sitting up and looking over Steve with panic crossing his features. "You have let me kill you. Why?"
"I knew you wouldn't hurt me. Besides, you're my best friend," Steve says, simply. He would go to the ends of the earth for his friend, and he knows the Avengers would do the same. "I got your back."
Bucky's features soften at the phrase. It was something the brunet used to say to him all the time before and during the war. The words were always a comfort to Steve, something to fall back on whenever he was getting beat up in an alley or having to face down an army of German Soldiers. Bucky was always there, watching Steve's six and making sure no harm came to him.
The other man seems satisfied with Steve's words for he stays silent and lies back down, once again resting his head on the blond's stomach. Steve resumes running is hand through Bucky's hair, humming "You're My Best Friend" by Queen, which is one of the songs on the playlist Tony gave him to introduce him to modern music classics.
A few hours later, Steve gets a text from Sharon, asking if he would like to join her for lunch in the mess hall. He shoots back a text with his agreement and says he'll meet her in ten minutes. Steve slides his phone back into his uniform pocket and looks down at his friend. Bucky had fallen asleep on him, with his metal hand curled loosely around his belt.
The blond frowns, trying to figure out how he's going to move without waking his friend. Before the war, Bucky used to be such a heavy sleeper and nowadays, the slightest of movements can wake him. It also doesn't help that his friend rarely sleeps as it is, remembering Bucky telling him that he probably gets eight hours of sleep over the course of an entire month.
It takes Steve five minutes, but he finally works himself out from under Bucky without waking the other man. At one point, Bucky had shifted and Steve thought he was going to wake up, but the other man had mumbled something in Russian before rolling completely off Steve and stretching out over the entire bed. The blond frowns. That asshole was waiting for him to go so he could have the cot all to himself.
He shakes his head before heading upstairs and towards the mess hall, waving to Sharon who is sitting a table on the other side of the cafeteria. Steve grabs a plate and piles food onto it, suddenly finding himself hungry. He also grabs a basket of dinner rolls, and brings his food over to Sharon's table. He sets the objects on the surface and sits down across from the woman, who grabs a roll and munches on it without taking her eyes off the newspaper in her hands.
The pair sits in silence, with Steve eating and wondering why Sharon called him up here if they weren't going to speak, before they are joined by Bucky ten minutes into their meal.
Bucky yawns and rubs at his eyes as he plops down in the chair on Steve's right. "Why didn't you wake me?"
"You just look so damn adorable when you're not talking, I just had to take advantage," Steve responds, not mentioning his curiosity at how Bucky was able to find him. Then again, Bucky used to joke that he had "Stevie Senses" and always knew where he was.
Bucky snorts and shoves Steve before furrowing his brow. "Where's Loki?"
"He wouldn't stop whining so I put him to work for Dr. Banner. Thor is with him, as well," Sharon responds without taking her eyes off the newspaper.
"Wow, you really have a handle on him."
"Don't even try, buckaroo, I'm not interested," Sharon says, while continuing to flip through the newspaper in her hands.
"It's funny, you should mention that—"
"Dude, come on," Steve says sounding exasperated.
"Stevie, relax, I know when I'm not wanted," Bucky says. "I was just going to point out the irony of Sharon calling me buckaroo since I go by Bucky."
"Bucky?" Sharon questions. She lowers her newspaper and gives Bucky a curious look. "What the hell is a Bucky?"
"It's short for Buchanan."
"Like the president?"
"Yeah; you're the first person to guess that and not be an asshole about it."
Sharon snorts, amused. "Why would I be an asshole about the name Buchanan? It's not like your name is Moon Unit."
Bucky lets out a loud laugh. "We should all be grateful it's not that."
Steve watches the pair interact, while a wave of nostalgia washes over him. When Steve looks at Sharon, he can see flashes of Peggy—from her walk, her manner of speaking, and the way that she knows what she wants. Hell, watching her interact with Bucky (despite the fact that Peggy and his friend were never formally introduced), he can imagine that they're conversations would have been something similar to what he's seeing now.
A sad smile crosses Steve's face. While he's grateful for his life in the modern era and the people in it (especially Tony, who's been nothing but wonderful), he finds himself missing his old life. He misses the Commandos. He misses his mother. He misses the way he and Bucky used to joke around without a care in the world. Nowadays, if Bucky allows himself to be too comfortable, he gets a panicked look in his eyes, like this is all a dream, and he's going to wake up as Winter Soldier again. Of course, this isn't something Bucky can help, but it still pains him that his friend is suffering so much, and Steve can't do anything to help him.
Out of all the people from his past, he misses Peggy the most. She was one of the few people who believed in him. She was the one who was by his side, and rallied Howard when he wanted to go behind enemy lines to rescue Bucky. She was the one who encouraged him to continue fighting despite the fact that his best friend was gone. She was the last person he spoke with before he went under.
After he awoke, he thought he was alone. Fighting during the battle of New York reinforced his loneliness at being at war without his friends by his side. The Avengers were great—are great—but at the time, they weren't The Commandos. He and Natasha came up with great strategies together, but she wasn't Bucky. And Tony . . .
Steve will always love Peggy, just not in the same way he loves Tony. Peggy was his inspiration, his first crush, the person who stood by the skinny kid from Brooklyn, and the person, who both raised him up and kept him grounded at the same time. But, Tony. Tony is his world, his lover, his friend, and the person who keeps him going.
Even though Steve will always wonder what life could have been like if he and Peggy had a chance, he has never once regretted the events and actions that led him to the modern world—and to Tony.
"Steve, are you okay?" Bucky asks, concerned.
"I'm fine," he answers before clearing his throat. "Have we devised a plan to deal with Hydra?"
"I'm still working on it, but unless you're up for blowing down the front door, I have nothing," Sharon says.
"What about sneaking in?"
"I've thought about it, and I was going to suggest it, but while you were wrapped in your head, Coulson called. He said Hydra is planning something big, and they're going to launch it tomorrow morning," Sharon informs. "This means if we want to stop them, we need to do it tonight."
"We can do it," Steve says with confidence.
Sharon raises a skeptical eyebrow. "You think we can not only plan, but also launch a lengthy night stealth operation in only a few hours?"
Steve shrugs. "The Commandos did it. I'm sure we can too." He looks at Bucky from the corner of his eye, and notes the fond smile on the other man's face.
"Alright," Sharon says, sounding convinced. "I'll inform Coulson, and see if I can hack into their security to access a map of the facility. I'll meet you two back here in one hour." Without another word, Sharon folds up her newspaper, stands from the table, pulls out her phone, and leaves the two men alone.
"You've become a nostalgic fool in your old age, Rogers," Bucky says, while wearing a large grin.
"So have you, Barnes," Steve says with a fond smile.
Bucky's grin widens. He grabs a dinner roll out of the basket in the center of the table, and nibbles on it without taking his eyes off Steve.