Quick AN- This story is a disgrace to the MCU's established sequence of events. I'd like to apologize now, and to offer a somewhat reasonable explanation by saying this story is an AU set after Age of Ultron where the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier did not occur. Hopefully that works. :) Thank you for reading, PLEASE like and comment. Thanks again, and enjoy!

Chapter One: A New Popsicle for SHIELD's Collection

Captain Steve Rogers strolled down the hallway of the Avenger's base, smoothing the sleeve of his suit. His shield was clipped to his back, faintly glimmering in the morning light. He scratched the short stubble growing on his chin, then ran his hand through his hair. With a stifled yawn, he turned a corner, barely avoiding a collision with Wanda Maximoff.

"Whoa!" Steve exclaimed, stopping short of plowing her over. She jerked to a stop as well, her eyes wide in surprise. The cup of coffee she was carrying jolted out of her hands, tumbling to the ground. Before it could get there, she reflexively dropped her hand and caught the spill with a force field.

"i'm sorry" He apologized, impressed by the reflex action. "Nice catch, though."

She offered a quick half smile, flicking her wrist to turn the cup right side up and send the liquid back into it.

"Thank you. Where are you headed this morning?" She asked, plucking the styrofoam container out of the air.

"Heading out with Tony to check on some reported sightings." He lied, smiling at her. Heading out with Tony was true, but their mission was actually a bit more complicated.

"Ah." She nodded. "Tell Stark I said hi. Well, actually," she made a face, "Don't."

Steve laughed. "It was nice bumping into you." He slipped past her, anxious to get going.

"See you later." She called, before turning around and continuing on her way.

HE felt a little bit guilty for lying to her, but it needed to be done. There was no doubt in Steve's mind that he could trust her, but he didn't have time to explain the whole story. And he didn't want her to ask questions to the wrong people.

Almost exactly two months earlier, an attacker had killed two council members and injured a third one. The next day, Steve had seen news coverage of the incident. He'd been at his apartment with Nat and Clint, playing cards, when the story came on. Shushing the rowdy pair, he watched the anchorwoman give the name, age, and profession of the victims.

"Did you know about this?" Steve asked them, gesturing towards the television screen. Nat and Clint shared a look of unease, and then Nat was fumbling for the remote.

"Of course not!" Clint reassured him, trying to draw his attention away from the TV. It didn't work. Steve was still staring at the screen when the photo of the suspect came up. The anchorwoman was still talking, but none of the words registered with him. He stared blankly, trying to connect the dots. It couldn't be. The man in the photo was dead. Long gone. Way too late, Nat found the remote and smashed the channel button, turning it to Food Network.

"Bucky?" Steve whispered in shock, glancing from the red haired assassin to the guilty looking archer. "Did you know about this?" He said again, more angrily. Neither of the guilty party spoke.

"It can't be him. He fell- I was there."

"SHIELD is after him. They've known for a while now. It's him, Steve."

"Do they have DNA? Fingerprints?" Steve was in disbelief. He saw Bucky fall. His best friend was dead, this had to be a mistake.

"Yes." Nat said softly. "It's definitely him. Hydra got him. The brainwashed him, broke down his mind. He's been linked to over one hundred unsolved murders since he disappeared. SHIELD's known for a while."

Steve was astonished and infuriated. He opened his mouth, ready to scream at them, angry for not being told sooner. Instead, after a pause, he surprised himself.

"We need to find him and help him, before SHIELD does." Steve set his jaw. He could be angry later.

"It won't be easy." Clint warned, and Steve nodded.

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

The next day a small task force was assembled. Steve, Nat, Clint, and Tony began their search, looking through every file that could potentially contain a trace of Bucky. The were assuming Fury had already gotten to all the obvious information. Tony was working on tracking down SHIELD's file on Bucky through their encrypted online database, but Steve had a sneaking suspicion that the information was in physical form. It took two months of searching, but Steve finally found a lead. He had borrowed a couple boxes of stolen Hydra files from one of SHIELD's storage facilities. The boxes were marked Base 024. They were mostly empty. Steve had been reluctant about taking them, because they weren't dusty like everything else in the warehouse had been. He figured that any information he could use would already be gone. He was wrong. Inside the last box, stacked between a blueprint of the Hydra base and an old map of Northern Europe was half a page torn from some kind of report. There was a scribble on the back in some kind of cursive handwriting that Steve couldn't begin to understand. It looked like it was in another language straight from hell. Fortunately, the front was printed in t good ol' English.

Feb 26, 1947. Cryogenic chamber with American located in storeroom 2.

It wasn't much to go on, but they could still be keeping Bucky there. And if they weren't, he might still find something helpful. It's not like the flight would be a bother to Tony, who had been complaining of boredom less than a week after they had cleaned up his Ultron mess. Base 024 was located in Sweden, in the mountains. SHIELD had found it through satellite imaging years back, but never investigated it fully. None of the team expected to find much there, but it could provide a much needed clue.

Now, after searching for months, armed only with his small scrap of hope, Steve approached the quinjet. His collected exterior didn't betray the apprehension he felt inside. This would either wind up being a dead end, or he was going to find Bucky very soon. He wasn't quite prepared for either outcome. In his mind, Bucky was still dead. Taking a deep breath, Steve glanced up at the blue sky, feeling the warm sun on his face. He would find his best friend one way or another. Squaring his shoulders, he entered the small jet.

"Ready to go?" Tony asked, when he entered, turning the pilot's chair around to face him.

"As I'll ever be." Steve answered quietly.

"That's the spirit." Tony crowed sarcastically.

Ignoring his friend, Steve made his way back to his seat, crouching to avoid bumping his head on the ceiling. He could've sworn that Tony made it low on purpose. As he made his way back, he was surprised to see a familiar redhead.

"Hey, I thought you couldn't come?" When Nat didn't answer him, Steve walked over to her. He smiled slightly when he saw the thin white wire connected to her phone. He reached over and hooked a finger around the cord, popping her earbud out of her ear.

"You're going to kill your hearing if you have them up that loud, you know."

Startled, Nat whipped around defensively, but relaxed when she saw it was Steve.

"Asshole." She waved him off.

"I didn't know you were coming." He said, sitting down beside her, in what was customarily Clint's seat.

"Me neither. I finished my last job a little early, though. Figured you'd need moral support."

Steve nodded. "Thank you. Is Clint hiding here somewhere too?" It was rare to see the couple separated.

Nat shook her head. "Nah, he volunteered to take Sam and Wanda out today and put them through their paces."

"That's good. They're good kids." Steve rubbed the back of his neck, failing miserably at the small talk.

"You're nervous." Nat observed, leaning back in her seat. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's not true."

Steve was silent for a minute, reluctant to voice his concerns. "I guess I'm a little shook up. The last time I saw the guy I dropped him off a train. What if we don't find him? What if he never remembers me?"

Nat patted his back. "Listen, Steve, his fall was an accident. He can't blame you for that. You guys were best friends. You don't let something like that go. He'll remember you. And if this is a dead end waste of a trip, we get to laugh at Tony for spending the gas money, and then we keep looking."

Steve smiled. "Thanks."

She smiled back at him. "Now go read a book or something, I need to brood mysteriously." She shooed him away and he settled in his usual seat, shaking his head and smiling slightly.

It was a shame things hadn't worked out between them. They had gone on a couple dates, and tried things out, but they both decided it was better for their working relationship just to end it there. She taught Steve a lot during that week, and he was eternally grateful. After they parted ways, Nat and Clint started dating, with much nudging from both Tony and Steve. It was for the best. Steve couldn't help but smile when he saw them together. He filled the gaping void in his own heart by becoming overly invested in other people's, which is a normal response. Although sometimes he couldn't help being a little bit jealous of the pair, only because he'd missed his own date with the right partner. He thought of Peggy a lot, and it made his heart ache terribly.

Steve scratched his stubble fiercely, and shifted in his seat, preparing for the longest forty five minutes of his life. He felt like a little kid again, waiting in line to get on a roller coaster. Bucky used to make him ride all the big ones. They'd wait in line for what felt like hours, Steve getting more nervous by the second while Bucky got more excited. For a while, Steve was too small to ride most things, but once he passed the standard height requirement he never got a break. He would complain miserably the whole time, scream his heart out and declare how terrified he was, but as soon as they got off the ride, it was usually Steve who drug Bucky back in line for round two.

A very long time later, the quinjet was parked in an empty field not very far away from the actual base. The three avengers piled out of the jet, preparing for the short hike in the cold snow. Nat slipped into a hooded parka and mittens, tying snow boots on her feet. Steve and Tony just went in their suits. They both almost immediately regretted their decisions. The cold hit Steve first, raising goosebumps on his arms. He'd felt worse, but this was no picnic. Nat seemed perfectly at home, taking off across the snow almost cheerfully. Tony, on the other hand, was shivering in his suit.

"Goddammit!" He swore, squirming around in an attempt to bang on the back of the suit. "My heating system is all messed up."

Steve patted him on the back, a little forcefully. Tony staggered forward, but there was a soft hum as the heat came on.

"oof!" The smaller man exclaimed. "Well, I do like it rough."

Steve couldn't see Tony's face, but he had no trouble envisioning the cheeky grin spreading across his face.

"Let's just look for Bucky." He sighed, starting in the direction of the base. Nat was way ahead of them, looking perfectly at home in the frosty atmosphere. Tony popped open his helmet, glancing at Steve.

"Last one there is an expired capsicle!" He called cheerfully, springing into the air. In a few seconds he was gone.

It took Nat and Steve nearly twenty minutes to make their way to the base. The snow varied in depth, going from less than a foot to waist height in the span of three steps. but the duo pushed on, arriving at the entrance far too late for Tony's taste. The structure was underground, with a large metal door built into a rock face. Tony was sitting under the overhang, beneath the keypad that opened the door. His helmet was off, and he was slurping noodles from a takeout container. The code had been cracked, and the door was open just a hair.

"Did you guys know there's a town about ten minutes that direction? The takeout is amazing."

"Tony-" Nat started, a frown on her face. This was ridiculous.

"Did you want some?" Tony tipped the container towards her, offering her the chopsticks. Nat reached for the container.

"Nah, I'm just kidding." He pulled the food back before Nat could take it. "I got you your own." He handed her a box and a pair of chopsticks. "And I got a fortune cookie for the star spangled man with a plan." Tony pulled out a fortune cookie and tossed it to Steve, who made no move to catch it. The cookie bounced off his chest and then hit the ground, cracking.

"Wow. You know, there are children starving in Africa." Tony pointed an accusing chopstick in the blonde man's direction.

"Stark, stay on task." Steve headed for the popped open door, slipping his shield onto his forearm.

"Well, you guys took two hours to get here." Tony rolled his eyes, peeling himself up off the ground and standing behind Steve. "I got hungry."

Steve let out a quiet noise of disgust and then opened the door. It creaked open slowly, letting sunlight stream into the dusty room. In the center of the room there was an assortment of sinister looking equipment. A desk sat to one side, covered in papers. There were old uniforms scattered around, and half finished inventions laying everywhere. It seemed to be some sort of science lab. On the wall hung a huge map of Europe, with pins pushed in at certain places. Steve recognized the pattern immediately- they were all locations where he and the Howling Commandos had fought Hydra forces and won. Towards the back of the room were double doors. He moved across the large room cautiously, while Nat and Tony followed behind him single file, shamelessly slurping their noodles.

Steve pushed open the double doors slowly, cringing at the squeaking noise of the rusted hinges. They weren't locked, which struck Steve as odd. Shield ready, he slipped into the hall. It was even more deserted than the other room. They made their way down the hall, passing what appeared to be offices.

"Can we snoop around in these?" Nat asked, opening one of the doors and looking inside.

"Yeah, I want to see who kept fuzzy handcuffs in their desk drawer." Tony snickered.

The implication was completely lost on Steve, who responded with: 'Probably no one, as fuzzy handcuffs would be ineffective in restraining a prisoner."

Tony smirked. "Not a prisoner of looove."

"Shut the hell up, Stark." Nat rolled her eyes. "Let's find this storage room."

"Do you have the map?" Steve asked Tony, still hung up on figuring out the purpose of the handcuffs.

Tony nodded and raised his arm up horizontally. A projection of the blueprint Steve found in the box spun in mid air, showing their location and their intended location.

Following the map, the trio went down the hall. They navigated the labyrinth of rooms and hallways, groping for light switches and batting away cobwebs, until they finally found storage room number one. Steve stood outside the door, staring at the number. This was it. Holding his breath, he put his hand on the knob and turned, slowly opening the door. Light from the hall filtered into the abandoned room. It was unnecessary, however, because the glow from the cryogenic tube provided enough illumination for the trio to make their way in without tripping over any obstacles. Everything was covered with dust. Whoever was in that tube hadn't been out. There WAS someone inside, though, as they could see a vague outline of a person. The glass was too grimy for them to see inside, but Nat thought the outline was too small to be Barnes. The three Avengers picked their way across the room, gathering around the container.

With bated breath, Steve raised a gloved hand and wiped away some of the dirt and dust, revealing the occupant's face.

"Holy shit." He breathed, dropping his shield.

"Language!" Tony scolded mockingly, peering around the tube to see who it was. When he caught sight of the person, his jaw dropped, and his takeout fell to the floor with a clunk. "Is that...?" He asked, stepping over the spilled noodles to get a better look.

"It is." Steve confirmed, studying the face behind the glass.

"Holy shit."