Chapter 4- Alternate


The sunlight streamed through the open window, the morning making Bucky's eyes flutter as the light hit him. Feeling the comforting presence behind him, he hummed contentedly. Wiggling back into Steve's grasp, his scantily clad ass nestling right where he liked it, he gasped when he felt something cold on his neck.

"Good morning, James."

That voice.

It wasn't Steve's at all.

Well, it was, but it wasn't. And since when did anyone who wasn't Nat call him 'James'?

It was harsher, more threatening and at least half an octave lower. Not the kind wake up greeting that Bucky was used to.

"Make a move and I cut."

Bucky gritted his teeth. "Steve, what the fuck? If this is some kind of game, I'm not playing."

"Of course you're playing. You have no choice, I have a knife to your throat. As you'll realise, your metal arm is no longer functioning and your flesh arm is holding my hand. Isn't that cute?"

"I don't…"

"Understand? That's not really my problem now, is it?" Steve snapped impatiently. "We have much to do today."

Bucky frowned in thought for a second before blinking harshly. "You do realise that Jarvis can see you."

A faint ping sounded from the corner of the room.

"You mean Vision? Vision isn't here, James."

Bucky frowned once more. Vision? What the fuck is a Vision? And what's wrong with Steve? This isn't him. First, he's trying to kill me and, second, he's rambling shit. Steve doesn't ramble unless he's nervous.

"I don't know what Vision is, so you're clearly insane."

"Oh, quite the opposite. I've finally awakened to what I was supposed to do with my new abilities. Wipe out the unworthy. I already did it once when you fell from the train and I just couldn't reach you. Now I get to do it all over again."

A knock at the door made both of them pause.

"Steve? James? Everything alright in there? You guys missed breakfast."

"Don't say a word," Steve whispered, pressing the blade tighter into Bucky's skin.

"I know you guys aren't asleep. Okay, I'm coming in."

Steve quickly withdrew the blade and held it to his side. As quickly as Bucky's superhuman reflexes would allow him, he rolled off the bed and got to his feet, crouching slightly, watching Steve as Natasha barged in, electric guns by her side.

"What the hell's going on in here?"

Steve frowned, looking to Bucky. "Why don't you tell her, James?"

Natasha opened her mouth slightly. "Since when do you call him James?"

Steve shrugged. "Since always."

Bucky eyed Natasha pointedly. She nodded and held her wrist to her mouth, walking away. Bucky heard her talking to who he presumed was Tony, but could've been Clint. Thor was always doing Asgard stuff and Bruce was doing research in a country Bucky had never heard of before.

Steve made sure the coast was clear and whipped the knife out once more.

"Steve, seriously, what the fuck is going on?" Bucky tried to reason with him, but it was no use.

"No more interruptions." Steve ran to the door and slammed it shut. "Just you and me, James. The way it was supposed to be. No distractions." Steve sauntered towards Bucky with the knife stretched out. Bucky turned frantically and grasped the golf club from behind him, quickly realising that he was going to have to fight Steve…and fight him one handed. Already he was at a disadvantage. Though he had spent some time without an arm before, just not during hand to hand combat with a maniacal version of his boyfriend.

Steve lashed out with the knife and narrowly missed Bucky's bare chest. It was only then that Bucky realised he was fighting in just a tight pair of boxer briefs. Talk about disadvantaged. He and Steve had wrestled before, play-fighting in their underwear was a thing. But they were never out to hurt each other. This Steve (because they couldn't be the same person) was out to hurt and kill him and that made it a lot different.

Bucky side stepped the next advance and lunged at Steve with the club. It poked Steve in the chest, but he barely flinched. On a regular human that would've left a hefty bruise. But on Steve? Yeah, not so much.

Bucky's back hit the wall and he paused as he realised Steve was coming at him. Luckily, he predicted Steve's jab to the face and ducked, charging at Steve head on as he tried to pull the knife from the wall. Steve toppled over from the force of Bucky's attack and dropped the knife as he freed it. Bucky placed his legs either side of Steve's shoulders (a manoeuvre he was wholly used to, just under different circumstances thank you very much) trapping his arms and reached backwards and somehow grasped both of Steve's legs with his one arm. He felt rather useless with his metal arm out of play.

"If you weren't trying to kill me, this would be so hot."

At that very moment, Natasha rushed in with Tony and Clint in tow and they all stopped at the scene in front of them.

"Wow," Clint nodded appreciatively. "Was this a ruse to get us to come in for an orgy? Cause I mean…"

"Clint," Natasha snapped, "this was not a trick. Steve is legitimately trying to kill him."

Steve struggled against Bucky's restraints with a grunt.

"Okay, but can someone come and help me pin him down?"

Clint chuckled as he rushed over. "Sounds like an orgy to me. Seriously, though, what's the issue with him?"

Tony brandished a strange looking device that Bucky had never seen before and scanned Steve's eyes with it.

"What's that do?" Bucky asked curiously.

"Checks for signs of possession. Developed it after the Loki situation."

Clint scoffed as he sat on Steve's legs, trying to stop the man from wiggling so much. "Could we not?"

Natasha knelt down by Steve's head. "Tell us who the fuck you are. I'm not asking."

Steve, however, was still looking at Tony. "How are you alive?"

Tony, very much taken aback, frowned. "I mean, the arc reactor that I…"

"Tony, I don't think that's what he means," Bucky interrupted. "How did Tony die, Steve?"

Steve swallowed. "He sacrificed himself during the Battle of New York and flew into the portal. He never came down again and Banner said that the atmosphere would have killed him in seconds."

Natasha groaned. "Not this."

"What?" The boys chorused.

"I had something like this once with Clint. This is Steve from another universe. One where Tony died and he wants to kill James. Let me guess, fake Steve, in your world, after Tony's death the Avengers scattered. Then, Loki didn't have to play divide and conquer anymore. He somehow got us all to work for him and then we went to war with each other. Since then, you've been on a mission to kill us all due to some Loki brainwashing power?"

Steve said nothing and Natasha knew that she was right.

Bucky put more force down on Steve's arms now that he knew the man underneath him wasn't actually his boyfriend. "So what do we do? What happens if we…you know?"

"Kill him?" Tony questioned. Bucky's body clenched at even the thought. "Does it disrupt the universes and mess with time and space and all of that nonsense?"

"Well, last time, I killed fake Clint. I think it just continues the Universe he came from without him actually in it. It messes up that Universe but this one remains the same, as far as I'm aware."

Bucky had a sudden thought. "Wait, so where's the Steve from this universe?"

A sudden rattle from the en-suite bathroom sounded.

"Really? All this time?" Bucky chuckled ironically. "Nat, take my place?"

"Not yet, James! We need to…dispose of this Steve before our Steve sees him. It could mess with him. Tony, Clint, can you guys take Steve out back and shoot him?"

"He could overpower us," Clint pointed out. "He may not be our Steve, but he's still a super soldier."

"Good point," Natasha replied, "here…" He quickly whipped out her stun gun and shot Steve in the chest. "That should put him to rest for about…ten minutes. You'd better be quick."

As the boys left with Fake Steve, Bucky turned to Natasha. "I never want to see something like that ever again."

Natasha regarded him seriously. "James…you mustn't think of Steve in that way. Steve loves you and you know that."

Bucky grinned. "I know. We tell him though, right?"

"That's up to you…I'll leave you to untie him. If that's what you choose to do." She winked and left the room.

Bucky opened the bathroom door and grimaced at the sight of Steve. His arms and legs were bound together, thick tape stuck over his mouth.

"Poor little super soldier can't even get out of his binds," Bucky teased as he deftly untied the knot, feeling the pseudo sensation return to his metal arm. Ripping the tape from his mouth harder than was necessary, Bucky pressed a quick kiss to the affected area.

"Buck…what the fuck happened?" Steve blinked, getting used to the light coming in from the bedroom. Bucky smirked and picked him up bridal style, carrying him to the bed. Dropping him gently, Bucky crawled next to him, glad to see that Steve was in his usual half naked state, just one thin layer of material away from all his naked glory. Bucky leaned forward on his elbows and smiled. Laughed.

"You are not going to believe this one."