Part 8 of "The Search for Bucky Barnes."
Set after the earlier pieces in this series: "Visiting Hours," "Breaking the Leash," "Chasing Ghosts Part I," "Inseparable," "168 hours," "Realists," and "Chasing Ghosts, Part II."
Takes place about one month after Chasing Ghosts, Part II.
With the events of 'Age of Ultron,' this series is officially AU, but since the basic lineup of these stories was set up a year ago after 'Winter Soldier,' there's not much to be done about it. There may be some references to the new film's events along the way.
Special thanks to geminigrl11 for her editing skills and patience. I own nothing.
Sparring
December 11, 1941
Goldie's Gym
Brooklyn
"Oof!"
"Did that hurt?" Bucky asked, pulling back a little, but not lowering his gloved fists. Rogers was liable to take a cheap shot.
"I'm fine," Steve replied quickly.
"You need to tell me if I hit too hard," Bucky warned.
"I said I'm fine," Steve retorted brusquely, moving in with a barrage of energetic but poorly executed jabs which Bucky blocked easily.
He was trying to get Steve into shape for the Army's entrance exam. They'd decided on boxing, since it neatly encapsulated the strength, endurance and speed training Steve was liking to need the most if by some miracle—or curse—he actually passed and got sent to Basic Training.
Bucky had already volunteered, the day after they'd heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was waiting for his orders. His own departure for Basic had been delayed for lack of an available train, but that wouldn't last long. He didn't have much time to whip Steve into some kind of respectable shape.
Frankly, he wasn't hopeful, but he didn't dare mention that.
In more than a few ways, he hoped Steve failed. He didn't want to see his frail best friend shipped off to a war that had already cut down thousands of bigger and more resilient men.
He didn't dare mention that, either.
"Keep your arms up!" Bucky instructed.
"I got it," Steve replied irritably. He was tired, and Bucky knew the attitude was as much a cover for exhaustion as it was self-recrimination. No one berated Steve Rogers for his physical limitations more harshly than Steve himself.
Bucky moved in with a series of rapid blows. Steve's meager attempts to block were brushed aside easily, and Barnes landed a left hook that knocked Rogers to the mat. Steve frowned and looked up at him crossly.
"You're enjoying this a little too much."
No, I'm really not. Barnes held out a hand to help him up, resisting the urge to tell Steve how he really felt. He covered his discomfort with his usual smirk, and pulled Rogers to his feet. "I'm the only man in New York allowed to smack you in your smart mouth, punk. I might as well enjoy it."
"Ha. Ha." Steve shot back caustically. He resumed his fighting stance and they started again.
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Present Day
15 Months After the Fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Avengers Tower
New York City
James held the punching bag still as Steve worked out. He couldn't help but compare the difference between the Steve currently hammering the poor, hapless leather bag to the smaller Steve in his memory who'd struggled to make an impact at all. He shook off his musings when he realized that Rogers was talking again.
"—we could take this into the ring. You've gotta be bored just holding the bag for me."
Stifling an irritated groan, James shook his head. "I'm fine doing this."
"Thor and I spar all the time," Steve observed. "Tony and Rhodey, Natasha and Barton..."
He's not gonna let up, James thought sourly. "Seeing you beaten to a bloody pulp once was enough."
Steve frowned at him. "It's just practice, Buck."
"I get enough practice."
"It's not like we'd actually be fighting—"
"I said no, Steve," James said in a low voice.
Steve blinked at him for a moment, but relented. "Sorry."
James shook his head once. "Don't be."
They kept silent for a while, Steve going back to abusing the punching bag. James let him work a little longer before speaking again. "You still going through with it?"
Steve paused, looking at him, then shrugged. "The tour might be fun. Besides, it's more of an order than a request. I hear the idea came straight from Ellis."
"From his campaign manager, you mean," James jeered.
"Same difference."
Steve had been "asked" to make a tour of several U.S. Army bases where special forces troops were trained. He would talk about his own work behind enemy lines, and give a few close-quarters combat lessons. It was pure PR and photo op material. Steve had tried to decline at first, since there was a definite air of politics to the request. President Ellis' re-election campaign was shifting into high gear, and Captain America's name and image seemed to be popping up more and more often.
Unfortunately, the Army loved the idea, and since Steve's deal with them had explicitly included such events, Steve had little choice in the matter. Which made James hate the idea even more.
"It's not safe."
Steve frowned at that. "I don't think I have much to worry about when I'm surrounded by Rangers. Besides, from what I've heard, the guys are getting excited about it." At James' look, he added, "It's better than the USO. At least I don't have to sing and dance this time."
James grimaced. "I think I was the only one awake during that call from Talbot. Rumlow escaped. Do you really think he won't try and take another shot at you?"
"Even Rumlow isn't crazy enough to hit an Army base," Steve said evenly.
That was debatable. "I'm going with you."
Steve stopped and looked at him. "You think that's a good idea? You're supposed to be laying low."
James stood his ground. "Call me a bodyguard."
Steve laughed. "I don't think I—"
"Colorado was only a few months ago," James said sternly. It wasn't negotiable. "I'm not letting you out of my sight."
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Present Day
Camp Mackelroy, Arizona
Just before they left New York, the tour was expanded to include several of the bases where troops were rotating home from Ghudaza. Given Captain America's public captivity there, the Army's brass thought a personal appearance would go over well with the soldiers. James grudgingly admitted that they were correct. Steve was probably a bigger celebrity in this century as he'd been in the last.
The typical visit included a tour of the base, a lot of handshaking with colonels and generals, a few hundred photographs, a Q&A, and a few Close Quarters Combat demonstrations. Nearly all of the soldiers seemed to relish the notion of going up against Captain America, even if they lost.
Which they always did.
Few knew who James was, but that didn't stop them from asking if he was going to participate. He sat out, claiming "an old war injury." That was enough to stop the conversation. Most were too polite to press him for details.
So, James stayed in Steve's corner of the mobile boxing ring that the tour officials set up for each visit and urged him to victory. His oft-repeated, and totally unnecessary cry of "Come on, Steve! Kick his ass!" drew laughs from the assembled soldiers.
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December 1943
S.S.R. Training Camp
Hertfordshire, England
"No worries, this is just like the last time we boxed."
Bucky laughed out loud. "Last time I had to look down at you, Steve. You're three times bigger than you were then!"
"I admit," Steve said with mock seriousness, "I might be a little better equipped to box now than I was before."
"A little?" Bucky scoffed.
Steve winked. "A bit, yeah."
"Fine," Bucky sighed. "It's my funeral..."
They traded a few punches, more playfully than seriously. Steve seemed to remember the basics fairly well. "You're faster than you used to be."
"Better reflexes, yeah. They said that'd be part of it."
Bucky shook his head. "Still can't get over—"
Steve's fist connected a little too hard, and Bucky found himself on the ground, dazed, staring up at his remorseful friend. "—how different you are."
Steve was contrite. "Sorry. Kinda still learning to control myself."
Bucky rubbed his sore jaw. "You think so?"
Holding out a hand to help him up, Steve laughed. "Pulling a punch is harder than throwing one. I'm working on it."
"You're enjoying this a little too much." Bucky observed irritably. He stumbled when he reached his feet, but covered it quickly. Even after three weeks, his body was still aching from the experiments Zola had performed on him.
He didn't cover it quickly enough.
Steve's concerned stare was burning holes in the side of his head. "The docs clear you for duty, yet?"
Bucky rolled his eyes. "Yes, Ma Barnes, as a matter of fact, they have."
Steve raised his eyebrows expectantly.
Bucky deflated a little. Kid always sees through me... "For desk duty. For a few days. Long enough to get your crazy suicide squad's paperwork squared away. God knows, I'm the only one of us qualified to get it done."
"I can do paperwork," Steve protested. "I filled out the Army entrance exam six times."
That brought a little smile to Barnes' face. Captain America, the Allies' Super-Hero...and he almost didn't get into the Service at all. Whatever his qualms about his best friend getting hurt on the front lines, he had to admit that—as usual—Steve Rogers had kept at it until he got what he wanted.
He just hoped it didn't blow up in Steve's face.
A brief cough interrupted his thoughts. "Excuse me, Captain? Sergeant?"
Peggy Carter stood near the entrance of the makeshift gymnasium. Bucky straightened his posture a little, noticing Steve doing the same beside him. "Ma'am."
He smiled politely at the attractive agent, but he noticed something else in Steve's expression. He'd spotted it in the pub, too, the night they'd recruited Dum Dum and the others. Stevie was smitten. Hm. Maybe the transformation had given Steve's self-esteem a boost, too.
"The Colonel wants to go over a few things with both of you, if you have a moment."
"Of course," Steve said. "Where are we meeting?"
"You and Sergeant Barnes, in the Colonel's office in twenty minutes." Carter turned and headed toward the door. "I'll meet you in my quarters afterward."
"Y-your quarters? You'll meet me for..." Steve stammered, shifting his weight from left to right. Bucky frowned at him.
Carter arched an eyebrow. "Yes, Captain. We're supposed to go over your report of what you saw in the HYDRA factory."
"Oh, right," Steve said, looking almost relieved. "My report. Of course."
Carter turned and left, though Bucky thought he spotted a coy smile on her lips before she rounded the corner. Perhaps she had Steve's number after all. He turned a glare on Rogers.
"Smooth, Stevie. Real smooth."
"I thought she meant—"
"All those double dates, and that's the best you can do?"
Steve's cheeks flared red. "She surprised me, that's all. God, I'm so embarrassed."
Bucky shook his head sadly, but clapped Steve on the shoulder as they headed for the door. "Don't be. I'll be embarrassed for the both of us."
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Present Day
Fort Hodge, Alabama
"Sergeant Nuñez! You're up!"
James watched from the sidelines as the female sergeant entered the ring with Steve. Her fatigues disguised her build, but she was a tall, confident-looking redhead. Uh oh, Steve's type, he thought with a smirk.
He was aware that women were just filtering into the special forces units in recent years. Only a handful had completed the Ranger course so far. Unfortunately, he knew from his own experience in the war that women weren't often welcomed in traditionally male roles, even if the Army's official policy had finally been altered to allow them into those combat divisions. The few he'd met on the tour tended to be a little defensive about it, which was understandable.
Nuñez, like many soldiers they'd encountered, clearly knew of Captain America, and seemed a little star-struck meeting him in person. Steve shook her hand politely. James' inner troublemaker couldn't help himself. "Ask her out, Steve!"
Steve shot him a dirty look, but didn't reply. Instead he addressed the crowd around them. "All right. Let me start off by saying that I was raised not to hit women..."
Whatever he intended to say next, Nuñez took his opening the wrong way. Her expression shifted from anticipation to anger. She opened with a fairly aggressive move that forced Steve to step back. The attack was controlled and impressive, considering that Rogers was twice the sergeant's size, but Steve's counter cut her short and he slammed her to the mat hard in just two moves.
"...but," He continued. "Out in the field you have to check chivalry at the door. The bad guys aren't always guys, and they won't hesitate to take the initiative. You can't either."
Nuñez, far from being embarrassed, was beaming. Steve extended a hand to help her to her feet. She spoke to him quietly. "You're full of surprises, Captain Rogers."
"Trust me, he's not that interesting," James said sotto voce.
Steve smiled at her. "Try again?"
Nuñez nodded. "You're going down this time, sir."
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Fort Kirkland
California
James made a concerted effort to stay in the background. Aside from a few sarcastic comments during the sparring matches, he didn't speak during the Q&As, he avoided being photographed, and generally stayed out of Steve's spotlight. Overall, it worked...for the first few weeks.
It soon became obvious, though, that word was getting out about him, and a handful of soldiers had seemed to recognize him. He supposed it was inevitable. All the history buffs and Captain America aficionados—which Barton referred to as "fanboys" and "fangirls" for reasons James didn't understand—they encountered, Bucky Barnes' face was bound to catch someone's eye, even with his sunglasses and long hair.
There was more to it. James' enhanced hearing was picking up references to Washington, and several other events that weren't so friendly. Steve had noticed as well, and was concerned, but the tour was almost over, and neither of them wanted to make a bigger deal out of it than it already was. They agreed, however, that it was likely that details of James' identity had probably been leaked somewhere along the line, and they both had a good idea of the culprit.
Rumlow.
He still had military contacts, some more savory than others, and he was no doubt still looking to cause trouble for Steve any way he could. James was beginning to regret sparing the bastard's life.
The lurking problem finally reared its head during their last stop. A tall, athletic-looking young soldier asked if James would be participating in the demonstration. When James declined, it was met with a muttered disparagement.
"Do you have a problem, Corporal?" Lieutenant Shipley, one of the squad officers, barked.
"No, sir," the clearly angry soldier replied. "Just wondering if Sergeant Barnes prefers getting the jump on someone instead of a straight up fight. Sir."
The lieutenant started to rebuke him, but Steve interrupted. "It's all right, Lieutenant. Maybe the corporal wants to go first?" At the young man's surprised look, Steve motioned him to enter the ring. "Show me what you got."
It didn't last long. Steve dropped the man like a sack of potatoes in six seconds flat. After two more demonstrations, he heard Steve speak softly into the kid's ear.
"Watch your mouth, son."
Steve glanced at James. He shrugged back. It had been bound to happen.
The usual seminar followed the combat exhibition. Steve seemed to get the same questions all the time: most about the war, some about New York. James had heard them too many times, and had long before stopped listening to the answers.
He did like listening to Steve talk, though. The traces of optimism, which still permeated his best friend's words despite a deep cynicism that James knew was just below the surface. As much as James had teased Steve about being a starry-eyed dreamer in their youth, he knew that really wasn't so. Rogers had taken so many hard knocks that James found himself surprised that he hadn't given up altogether.
Somehow the fact that he hadn't gave James hope.
He was busy waxing poetic in his mind when the next question came, and it took a moment for the words to sink in.
"Actually, I have a question for Sergeant Barnes..."
The speaker was a young female sergeant in the front row. She'd been eyeing him all afternoon, though he wasn't sure why. He glanced at Steve, who was staring at him with a questioning look. Their Army hosts were similarly waiting to see if he would take the question.
Uncomfortably, he stood and stepped over next to Steve at the podium and cleared his throat. "Um, yes?"
She seemed to brighten a little. "Captain Rogers has been kind enough to share his experience, but I was wondering, as sergeant for the Howling Commandos, if you could share anything you learned during the war...from an NCO's perspective?"
Frowning, Barnes thought about it. His eyes tracked to her left, where he found the heckler from that afternoon, sneering derisively and murmuring with another man. James wasn't sure if he'd put the young woman up to calling him out or was just laughing at him on spec, but the sight angered him regardless, and when he opened his mouth to answer something had hardened in his chest.
"Yeah. If you go down behind the lines, and the enemy is closing in, never let them take you alive."
He could have heard the proverbial pin drop in the auditorium. The sergeant sat down, looking chastened. Even the heckler's accusing expression faded to a frown.
James returned to his seat, ignoring the concerned stare he felt from Steve and the disturbed looks on the Army's PR men on the stage. But, the master sergeant sitting on James' left was struggling to smother a laugh.
"Jesus," the man whispered. "You just made my day, Barnes."
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Steve was making the final round of handshakes and thanks with the base officers when James noticed the female sergeant from the seminar, watching from a distance and looking mildly embarrassed. He felt somewhat bad about it, so he got Steve's attention and excused himself.
He edged his way through the crowd and came up behind her. "I think I owe you an apology."
Startled, the young woman turned and smiled sheepishly. "Oh. No. No, it's okay. I shouldn't have asked. Pete put me up to it. He wanted to see what you'd say."
James followed her glance to the other side of the lobby, where his heckler stood. "Pete's an asshole."
She smiled. "Yeah, he is. I keep telling him that if he survives long enough to become an officer, he'll probably get fragged by his own squad."
James nodded. "Hm. I had one of those in North Africa." She arched an eyebrow at him. "And, no, I didn't 'frag' him."
She laughed. James glanced over his shoulder toward Steve, who was waiting near the doors with a curious expression. "You want a better answer?"
"Sure," she said.
"If you find a C.O. you like and respect, keep 'em out of trouble." He looked over at Steve again. "Their hearts are in the right place most of the time, but you'll wonder where in the hell their brains are."
She laughed again. "Yes, sir. I'll remember that."
"Don't call me 'sir,'" he said sternly. "I've done a lot of things I'd like to forget, but I was never an officer."
She seemed to like that, and nodded respectfully. "Thank you, Sergeant."
James made his way back through the crowd, catching up to Steve as he was herded toward the waiting SUV by his PR entourage. Rogers eyed him as they reached the car. "What was that about?"
"Just answering a question," he replied innocently.
Steve glanced back at the woman, then smiled. "Still picking up girls at your ripe old age? What would Natasha say?"
"She wouldn't say anything," James said quietly as they climbed into the car. "Because you're going to keep you big trap shut."
Steve grinned. "Oh? How much is my silence worth to you, Buck?"
James eyed him. "You really want to start sharing secrets, Rogers? I think I have Sharon's number here somewhere..."
Steve's eyes widened in alarm and he shook his head. "No. No, I think I'm good."
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Avengers Tower
New York City
Bucky had always had Steve's back. During the Depression, during the war, in the field against Rumlow—that had never changed. So, James was proud to say that he still had Steve's back.
Except when he didn't.
Steve and Thor squared off in the fighting ring in Stark's gymnasium. Sam, Natasha, Barton, Jane and Darcy watched from the bleachers. James stood in Steve's corner, like he had all through the tour. Accordingly, he called out his support as the match began.
"Come on, Thor! Kick his ass!"
The others laughed. Steve twisted around to glare at him, just as Thor charged. "Hey—oof !"
END
A/N: "Mackelroy Army Base" appeared in War Machine Vol. 2, No. 6 in a different capacity.
"Kirkland Army Base" appeared in Iron Man #225.
Hertfordshire, just north of London, was one of the filming locations for Band of Brothers, which Sebastian Stan took inspiration from on the first Captain America.
I named Fort Hodge for Gilmore Hodge, the "runner up" in Captain America: The First Avenger. He was passed over in favor of Steve to undergo the experiment. Maybe he went on to achieve fame in his military career after all.