Author's Note:
Hello there everyone, and here your update! Sorry for not uploading on Saturday like I usually do, but I decided that I really did need a break from writing since my brain was overloaded with how long certain chapters were, and how much time and effort I was putting into making them.
Now I do want to say I apologize if Steve, or Tony, or anybody is OOC. I tried to capture their original personality as best as I could, and even dough I addressed this before I still wanted to address it again. I wanted to capture the inner turmoil that Steve while going through all of this, and capture how deeply he feels about the loss of Tony. I am also trying to develop their relationship, so hopefully if you get to the middle and end of this chapter, you will be happy with the feels between them.
I would also like to say that maybe I will alternate between uploading on Friday and Saturday. Considering I am still working on Chapter ten and it is going to be the longest chapter of this installment, uploading Friday and Saturday would make it so that I would have to work on the chapters and I would be behind (and might make you guys wait longer than I want. Can't have that now can we xD)
Long author's note aside, the usual disclaimer is that I do not own the characters, and the dialogue/quotes, those belong to Marvel. Without further interruption, please enjoy!
He felt claustrophobic, like the air was being squeezed out of him. The smell of smoke invades his nostrils, making its way towards his lungs. He calmed himself a bit, trying not to panic before using his super soldier strength to push the rubble off of the shield. He kept pushing, until finally, a glimpse of daylight shone as he got both of them out of that small pit. He took a moment to calm his shaking body before grabbing Natasha and pulling her out, the aftereffects of a near death experience taking a toll on Steve and Nat, as Steve tried to remain calm while Nat was shaking violently.
"They're gonna be looking for bodies soon Nat, we gotta get going. I know just the place." Steve said. Natasha nodded her head, not uttering a word as she followed Steve on shaky legs.
Steve's mind wouldn't rest with the thought of him almost dying, and almost losing Nat in the process. If he managed to live and she died, hell he would never forgive himself knowing he could've been stronger. It might have even killed him if he lost two people he cared about. Yes, Steve indeed cares for the Black Widow. She might have secrets of her own that she never would tell him, and lied to his face, but she was a good friend. She even felt like a sister at times the way she could just read through his facade and comfort him. It made him oddly happy in a way he wouldn't admit.
He knocked on the door of the apartment he memorized from the card given to him at the old folks home. He prayed to all things good that Sam was home so they could escape this nightmare. To his luck the door had opened and the man in question appeared to be a little bit out of breath and sweaty, most likely coming back from a morning run.
"I'm sorry, but can we please stay here. We have nowhere else to go." Steve said, a small tear slipping down his face. He doesn't know what came over him, but he and Natasha have been through so much, and even after he met the guy there was this glimmer of hope for them when Sam opened the door.
"Everybody we know is trying to kill us,' Natasha added, trying to get the point across as to why they had nowhere else to go. Sam looked out of his apartment, turning right and left before saying,
"Not everyone," and invited them in.
The two of them had decided to take a shower in order to get the dirt and grime off of them. Natasha had already taken hers, and Steve had just finished his. He looked at himself in the mirror, taking note of how worn out he looked. His baby blue eyes lost a little bit of their shimmer, a small hue of green making its way to the front. He sighed at his reflection and made his way over to Natasha, who was still drying her hair. She noticed his presence from her spot on the bed. He took a chair from the desk that was situated near Natasha, sitting in front of her and looked directly into her greyish green eyes.
She smiled at him, taking in the comfortable silence for a bit. It was a few seconds later when she broke the ice saying, "When I first joined S.H.I.E.L.D., I thought it was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for Hydra. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but… I guess I can't tell the difference anymore." Her posture had been reduced to a slump of her shoulders, and a slouch in her back. She never really opened up to anybody before, and what she and Steve had been through, well, she figured she could trust him.
"Well there's a chance you might be in the wrong business," chuckled Steve. Despite how serious the situation was, he could find a little sense of humor to lighten the mood in the room.
She chuckled in response and shook her head. "I owe you," she responded. He saved her life back in the bunker, how could she not repay him for his actions.
"It's okay."
"If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life, now, you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it?"
He stared at her intently, his eyes not leaving hers as he was lost in thought. He didn't expect her to ever ask something like this from him, and even if she lied and kept secrets, the fact she had told him her innermost feelings made him trust her much more. After all, Black Widow was starting to become Captain America's closest friend.
"I would now. And I'm always honest." He told her.
She smiled at him and said, "you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing." This earned her a chuckle from the blonde. He shook his head and said,
"Well I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting." He looked down at his hands, smiling sadly to himself. He sighed heavily and looked at Natasha again. "I don't know what to do Nat. I'm lost."
"What do you mean Steve?"
"I mean… What should I do now? I'm supposed to be "the star spangled man with the plan" and now I'm just "the star spangled man with no plan." I wish Tony were here, he would know what to do."
She took one of his hands in hers, holding it gently as she gave him a sad smile. They sat there in comfortable silence, neither knowing what to say.
"Geez, I didn't know you were so hopeless without me, Capsicle. Careful, people might start to think you care about me." A familiar voice said.
Steve felt all muscles within his body tense. He knew who the voice belonged to, but he wasn't sure if he was just hearing things, or if his subconscious was playing tricks on him. He knew Tony fell to his watery grave, and there would be no way that he could still be alive. However, his eyes widened as he saw the man there, standing in the doorway with a smile on his face as he looked at him.
"Tony…" Steve said, getting up from his seat abruptly and running over towards the genius and enveloping him in a hug. He held the man close to him, scared that if he let go he wouldn't be here. He felt himself start to shake, a sob escaping past his lips as he felt the arms wrap around him in return. He felt warm, a hand rubbing his back, and the other in his hair, soothing him as he tried to relax.
"It's ok soldier, you can stand down now." Came the reply from Tony. Steve didn't want to let go, but he did regardless. His teary eyed baby blues found themselves lost in caramel browns, as he smiled at the man he was infatuated with. The same smile was replicated from the genius. He tore his eyes away to look at Natasha and said,
"Hey, Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?" A cheeky smile grew wide on her face, and she shook her head.
"You're full of surprises Stark, I'll give you that."
"Ah, I see the reunion is going well." Sam said, suddenly appearing behind Tony. "I made breakfast for you guys, and when you're done I think we should make a plan." Sam then proceeded to go back out to the dining room, giving the three occupants time to catch up before they got hungry.
"Tony I… How are you still alive? I thought you died,"whispered Steve.
"Well, you see Steve, JARVIS was the one that actually saved me. The suit was running on 5% power when I felt myself plummet to the ocean, and as the rubble was coming down trapping me at the bottom of the ocean, JARVIS took over control the suit; helping me out of the rubble and then getting me back to Avengers Tower where I could recuperate." Explained Tony.
"Avengers Tower?" Steve questioned, eyebrows raised.
"Oh, right. After uh… The whole New York thing I had Pepper redo the tower. So instead of being Stark Tower, it's now Avengers Tower. We all get to live there now once all of this is over."
Steve visibly noticed that Tony tried his hardest not to mention the Chitauri invasion, and visibly shook for a bit when he did. He made a mental note to not bring that up unless Tony was comfortable with it. He nodded at the other male and turned towards Natasha. He motioned for her to go out of the room. She nodded her head in return and made her way to the dining room.
"I'm glad you're safe Tony. To tell you the truth… I've been struggling. I'm supposed to be the leader of the team, and every time I was faced with a difficult obstacle I just cracked and I could only keep thinking how much I needed you there. How much I wish you were there to help me…" Steve trailed off and he rested his forehead against Tony's.
"Hey, it's ok Steve. We all have moments of weakness. I'll be damned if I let you think that, however. You're strong Steve, and not just because of the serum, but because you have heart. I can't imagine the shit you went through, but I'm glad you were strong enough to keep going." Tony told him, smiling as their forehead rested together, taking Steve's hands in his.
Steve could feel his heart beat a mile a minute, a smile plastered on his face, and a small chuckle erupting from within him. He looked back into the caramel brown eyes of the genius, and was completely mesmerized. Thoughts ran through his head of how beautiful Tony's eyes were staring back at him, but all he could think of was placing his lips against the other's, and that's exactly what he did.
He leaned forward a bit, catching Tony off guard as he kissed him. It was a kiss that conveyed how much he really missed the other male, and how he was scared of losing him. He savored the moment, squeezing Tony's hands lightly before pulling away. His smile grew wider as he pulled away, and so did Tony's, both of them being able to look into each other's loving gazes once more.
"You taste like coconut, and metal." Tony laughed at Steve's comment, making the blonde's heart flutter at hearing the genius laugh once again. When Tony calmed down, they stood there for a moment, enjoying each other's company before Steve told him they should go eat. Tony simply nodded his head, and held Steve's hand as they made their way to where Sam and Natasha were.
When they were finished eating, Sam had come up to Tony and Steve with a file. When asked what exactly this was, he simply said to call it a resume. When Tony opened the file, his eyes widened. He saw the familiar set of falcon wings he remembered making for someone back in the day, but he never knew exactly who. Now, Sam stood in front of him as the person he made these for, and Tony instantly wanted to make him an Avenger. As nice as that was, Sam kindly declined the offer for now and just wanted to help the other three Avengers. He told them the story of Riley and, needless to say, how could any of them say no.
They devised a plan for Steve to infiltrate the now Hydra invested S.H.I.E.L.D. base. In order to do that, however, they would need the help of Jasper Sitwell, the man who was captured on the rescue mission Steve was sent on by Fury.
Once the plan was made, it was placed into motion. Steve asked Tony if he would be coming with them, but he told the blonde instead, that he would be helping them through JARVIS. When they got the information they needed from Sitwell, Tony would have JARVIS hack into S.H.I.E.L.D. to take control from the inside, and proceed to help from there. Steve nodded in understanding, and proceeded to follow Natasha and Sam.
Retrieving Sitwell and getting the information they needed from him went according to plan, however, having the Winter Soldier kill Sitwell by throwing him out of the car and in the way of an oncoming semi-truck, and then wrecking their car by tearing off the steering wheel, was not.
Steve grabbed his shield, as well as both Natasha and Sam, before slamming the door off its hinges, and causing it to skid along the hard gravel as the car crashed into a barricade. When Steve stood up, he saw the Winter Soldier with a rocket launcher, aim fixed directly at Steve and Natasha. Sam was already rolled off of the door a few meters back so he was safe, but Steve had to push Natasha out of the way as the marble shaped rocket came barreling towards him.
He felt the shield take the full impact of the rocket, but in return it sent him flying in the air. He felt pain in his back as it hit the hood, and glass window of a car, elevating him into the air higher. He was disoriented as his body kept hurling towards the earth, but it soon impacted through the window of a bus, and was slammed against the inside hard. The bus soon tipped over due to another vehicle crashing into it, and shortly after the people inside had left. He felt the pain rack his body. He laid there, his vision fluctuating as the fighting continued outside.
On Natasha's side of the fight, she was busy trying to take care of the Winter Soldier and some other Hydra agents by his side. She was doing a good job so far, but she had to get the fight off of the highway and into a more favorable position. She jumped over the barricade to avoid an explosion the Winter Soldier launched at her, and then jumped over the last barricade avoiding gunshots and another explosive. She was plummeting towards the earth, but activated a grappling hook from the watch on her wrist, to propel herself safely towards the ground as more explosives started to be launched at her.
As she touched the ground and started to run, she could see the shadow of the Winter Soldier. She had to act fast as she noticed from his shadow that he turned his gaze from the street, over to where Steve had crashed. Once she saw him take aim at the bus, she let loose a few rounds from her guns, effectively cracking the goggles he was wearing, starling and distracting him.
He ducked behind the barricade, and she made her way over to take cover behind the vehicle that had crashed into the bus. When he got back up, his goggles were off his face, and his focus was on her as he kept firing at her. This didn't deter her from standing her ground and shooting back at him with her dual pistols. When she heard the guns start to click, she swore under her breath realizing she ran out of ammo. With no other option she took her leave from behind the vehicle as he kept shooting. She needed another plan, one that would hopefully get the drop on him.
When Steve's vision had corrected itself, he rolled over onto his stomach and collected himself. The moment to regain his self awareness was cut short as the sounds of bullets from a machine gun started to pelt the exterior of the bus, and pass through to the interior. He started to run, trying not to take any bullets to his body since his shield wasn't with him at the moment. As he got to the glass window at the end of the bus, he saw the signature colors of the red, white and blue object. He propelled himself through the glass, effectively shattering it, grabbed his shield and knelt down to the ground using the object to defend himself.
He studied that the Hydra agents weren't the least bit smartest as they kept their assault on the vibranium shield. He used their bullets against them, angling his shield up a bit so the bullets took out one of the members. He then proceeded to advance forward, keeping himself shielded from the other two. One of them was trying to circle around, but sadly found his death the same exact way the first one had; a bullet ricocheted off Steve's shield and made its way back towards its owner. When the last agent was down, Steve found the strength to run forward with all his might up to the last standing Hydra agent, jumped onto the car and over the man bringing his back crashing into the car. When he landed on the other side of the vehicle, he looked up to see Sam giving him cover from the bridge, shooting at a stray Hydra agent from behind a car.
"Go, I got this!" He yelled at Steve. The blonde simply nodded his head and started to run off to find either Natasha, or the Winter soldier.
The aforementioned Soldier was casually walking down the street, blowing up a cop car in the process, before his enhanced hearing had kicked in. He heard what sounded like… Natasha's voice coming from behind a silver van. He took out a small spherical object, knelt down, and gently rolled it towards the car. When it hit the destination and gently tapped the wall, it exploded not a second later. He stood there watching, as if he expected her body to be there, but he was surprised a few seconds later when he heard something behind him.
Natasha was smart enough to set up a recording of herself, acting as if she was hiding behind the car this entire time. When she found the opportunity to strike, she jumped out from behind him, kicked the gun away to prevent him from using it, and planted herself on his shoulders. She used a thin yet very durable string to pull his human hand back towards him. He stumbled back into a car behind him, before reaching up with his metal arm, grabbing her jacket and throwing her off. She collided with another car stationed in front of them, bouncing off of it and landing on her side as the impact left her a little disoriented.
When she came to, she saw the Winter Soldier hold up his explosive launching gun at her, and in return with quick thinking, used a small disk like object that held the same electric shock as her widow bites, threw it at the metal arm of the male, and effectively made it impossible for him to shoot her. With his arm incapacitated, she made a run for it.
Natasha was not one to show fear in the face of danger, the red room taught her there was no room for error, and any hesitation could get you killed. The only other times she ever felt this fearful of her life was when she had to retrieve Bruce Banner, and when she came face to face with the Hulk. She remembered her heart beating really fast, not knowing whether or not she was going to be ok. This moment resembled that exact same instant, only she knew this situation was highly likely to end in possible death.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" She yelled at the civilians. She had to get as far away from the man as possible, to devise a new strategy to deal with this threat. Her mind was racing and she felt like she was running out of time.
Her blood went cold, body jerking slightly and glass from the car next to her shattering as a bullet entered her left shoulder. She dropped to her knees and held the wound, fear being the only facial expression she had on right now. She had no idea where the shot came from. She had no sight of the Winter Soldier, and it scared her as flashbacks from Odessa clouded her mind.
Just then she heard footsteps on top of a car nearest to her, her eyes widened as he lined up a shot for her. The shot never came however, as Steve took his attention off of her and put it on him by running towards the threat.
When he got closer to the man, a sound riverbed off the shield thanks to the metal arm of the male making contact with it. The shield was then moved away from Steve and he was kicked off the car and made contact with the gravel. After the Winter Soldier tried to shoot Steve only to fail, the fight seemed to escalate from there.
They traded blow for blow, and Steve couldn't shake one thought from his mind. Why did the Winter Soldiers eyes look so familiar to him? He felt like the man he was fighting seems familiar somehow, but he had to shake those thoughts since he was practically fighting for his life. The fighting style of the other super soldier rivaled that of Steve's, and it got more intense as not only did he end up using his shield against him, but he also had a knife in hand.
Steve had to concentrate super hard to make sure that the knife did not come into contact with him, and possibly end his life. He found himself up against a metal van, blocking the knife from coming into contact with his head. He fought the strength of the other super soldier, managing to get behind him and suplexing him onto the gravel. He then performed a kickstand, popping himself up from the floor and grabbing his shield that was embedded into the van earlier thanks to the Winter Soldier.
As the two started fighting hand to hand again, Steve caught a lucky break when his shield blocked an elbow from the metal arm, effectively lodging itself partially inside. Within seconds he was able to bring his shield around, knocking it against the other males head, wrapping around him and placing them back to back, then grabbing him by the mask and flipping him over his shoulder. That's when he saw the mask fall off, and the face he saw when he turned around broke his heart.
The Winter Soldier, was none other than Steve's supposed dead best friend,
James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes.
Steve felt his entire world come crashing down as he stared into the blue eyes of his best friend. It all seemed to make sense now. Why the eyes were familiar, and why it seemed as if the before unmasked Winter Soldier knew his fighting style. He could feel his hands start to shake slightly, before only one word flew past his lips.
"Bucky?"
"Who the hell is Bucky?" Came the reply.
Steve felt his heart break in two after he heard those words. He felt sick to his stomach and wanted to throw up. What had they done to his best friend? Why didn't he remember who he was, or who Steve was. This wasn't the Bucky he knew.
Bucky took advantage of Steve's wandering mind and readied to take a shot at him, but Sam luckily came swooping down and knocked him a few feet away from Steve. He went rolling for a bit before he sprung back up and looked at Steve. He felt confused, as if his mind was slowly starting to put together bits and pieces. As Steve just stood there staring at him, he held the gun up again to fire.
A shot was heard, but not from Bucky. Instead it came from behind Steve. He held his shield up to his face as he thought Bucky was the one who fired it, but as he ducked he saw a small explosive sphere fly past him towards his best friend. As the explosive came into contact with a red truck, he turned around and saw Natasha. He saw her weakened form, saw how she struggled to stay upright even as she leaned against a red van. He could see her body shaking, and he felt guilty for allowing her to get hurt.
When he looked back to where Bucky used to be, he didn't see his best friend, but instead he heard the sound of police sirens. Before Steve knew what was happening, he and his friends were surrounded by Rumlow and other Hydra pledged S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. He felt the fight drain from his body as he heard Rumlow shouting at him to drop his shield and get on his knees. He did as instructed, dropping his shield and holding his hands in the air as he got down on his knees.
He was too lost in thought to care about much, his mind only caring about Bucky at this moment. He could feel the handcuffs around his wrist as Rumlow contained him, and he could feel the cold barrel of a gun on the back of his head. Maybe they were sent here to kill him instead? He didn't even care that his breath hitched as he could faintly hear fingers brushing over the trigger. He was lost and confused. He could barely hear Rumlow speak to whoever it was that had the end of the gun on the back of Steve's head, as he watched Natasha and Sam be taken away. It didn't help that as he was being taken away too, that all he could do was feel guilty and blame himself.
He didn't know what to say to his friends. He wanted to apologize for dragging them down with him, but the words couldn't get past the lump in his throat. His mind was in a state of shock as he looked towards the two, and even if they told him that none of this was his fault, he would still find a way to blame himself. He looked at Natasha and saw that her shoulder was bleeding really badly, and they needed to do something about it. Sam had followed his gaze and looked at her shoulder as well. It was really bad, the blood was coming out faster and Natasha was sweating really badly. There was no exit wound, so the bullet was still lodged in her shoulder, but they needed to get her medical treatment otherwise she would bleed out to death.
"Hey, we need to get her medical treatment otherwise she's gonna bleed out to death." He said. No response came as the guard he was talking to didn't move. He got a little more agitated, and continued with, "do you hear me? She needs medical treatment immediately or she will die."
The guard pulled out an electric stick and held it up to Sam's face, he backed away from it, scared that it would be used on him for lashing out like that. Instead, the stick was turned around and was used to attack the other guard sitting next to them.
The three of them stared at the sight with raised eyebrows. The guard started to take off their helmet, and they were surprised to see the familiar face of Agent Maria Hill.
"God, it was hot in there. It felt like my brain was being squeezed," she said, bringing out keys to each of their restraints. Once that was over, she then proceeded to tell them about where she was going to take them when they broke out of here.
And so, as they escaped from the van taking them to who knows where, Maria had non-Hydra agents drive them to an abandoned facility somewhere away from the public. Natasha could feel her body start to give out as they kept walking, the blood loss getting to her badly. Steve just held onto her, making sure to support her.
"I'm sorry." He blurted out to her. She looked at him in shock, eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his actions.
"What are you sorry about?" She asked weakly. Her head rolled a little bit as she held onto him tighter.
"I got you hurt. I should've been able to prevent that-"
"There is… No way in hell you could've prevented this. I will always put my life on the line, if it means helping you or anybody else. I'm an Avenger, Steve. Not a quitter."
He smiled at her as they reached their destination. The area was filled with S.H.I.E.L.D. technology, and a few S.H.I.E.L.D. employees who were not Hydra. What stood out the most was the curtain in front of them, as if something or someone was behind it.
"There's someone you should see, Agent Romanoff," Hill spoke, pulling the curtain back and revealing a very much alive, yet still physically hurt Nick Fury.
Steve and Natasha were both in shock. They thought he was dead back at the hospital, they saw his heart monitor flatline. They just stared at Fury before he had told them what was wrong with his body, and explaining to them why he had flatlined at the hospital. Leave it to Dr. Banner to invent something to calm down his heart rate to practically zero so he wouldn't Hulk out!
Once Natasha had gotten her medical treatment, the occupants of the room had gathered around a table. They had discussed the details of Project Insight, and how they were running out of time to stop it. Fury was so damn adamant about trying to save S.H.I.E.L.D. and only just destroy Project Insight, but Steve had to put his foot down. He didn't agree with what Fury thought was more important, and that they needed to destroy all of S.H.I.E.L.D., not just Project Insight. The director was at a loss for words, numbers against him as he looked at Natasha, Hill, and Sam who all sided with Steve. He pulled out a small case that held three identical computer chips, and explained how these were going to take down the helicarriers; by replacing one of the many chips inside the aerial vehicle, with one of the newer ones presented. When all three were in place, the helicarriers would target each other instead when they reached the max altitude of three thousand feet.
"Well Captain, looks like you're leading this operation." Fury said once he was done going over the plan. Steve simply nodded at him before going off to the side, and taking a moment to call Tony.
"Hey, Tony. You there?"
"God how long does an interrogation last? I've been sitting here for who knows how long. Did you get what you needed?" Tony rambled. Steve sighed heavily and Tony felt something was wrong.
"Something happened didn't it? What did you find out?"
Steve found it hard to tell Tony about what had happened, but he knew that he trusted this man to see and hear him when he's vulnerable and weak. "I found out that… You remember Bucky right?" He started off, trying to keep his emotions in check.
"Your best friend and one of the Howling Commands from squadron 107th. What about him?" Tony was confused as to why Steve would bring up his dead friend from nearly 70 years ago, it just seemed too random, but he wanted the blonde to explain.
"He… I-I…" He struggled to say. He let out a shaky breath, "He's alive Tony. Hydra has him brainwashed. I fought him today and… I need to save him Tony."
"Steve, I want you to be careful. I don't know if we can save him, but I won't stop you from trying." The words from the genius had left a smile on his face. It was nice to know that he was supported by the man he had a crush on, and once this was all over, he wouldn't mind planting another kiss on those soft lips of his.
"Thanks Tony. I'll fill you in on the details of the mission, I'm gonna need you and JARVIS to hack into the Triskelion. Should be easy right?"
"You're talking to the Tony Stark about hacking. Who do you think I am? Some other genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist? Frankly I'm hurt Steven." A small laugh made its way past Steve's lips, a smile following shortly after. God, the way Tony made him feel was making him fall head over heels for this man.
After debriefing Tony on the situations, the genius got straight to work hacking into the Triskelion. He had found loads of data about Project Insight and relayed that information to Steve, as well as Fury and Maria Hill. To be honest it was kind of weird for Tony to be working with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on this type of stuff, but he wasn't going to argue. There were a lot of lives at stake, him being one of them, so he was doing as much work as he could to help out.
When they reached the communications room of the Triskelion, Steve decided to send a message to all of S.H.I.E.L.D. He told everybody how Hydra had invested itself inside of S.H.I.E.L.D., and he revealed that Secretary Alexander Pierce was behind this whole mess. The organization was shaken to its core as Steve finished his speech, and that's when all hell broke loose.
"Steve, JARVIS is being kicked out of S.H.I.E.L.D. database. Project Insight has just been launched and I can't get JARVIS to override it. It's all up to you Cap." Tony informed him.
Steve adrenaline had kicked in when Tony had given him the message. He took Sam with him to help deal with the helicarriers, while Natasha would secretly pretend to be one of the secretaries that Alexander Pierce had invited, and stop him from the inside.
Sam was in charge of Bravo, and Steve was in charge of Alpha. That would leave Charlie, the only helicarrier left for both, or either of them to take out.
The first two helicarriers were taken care of, Steve having no problem dealing with Hydra agents on Alpha and setting the chip in place. He informed both Hill and Tony once he got the chip in place, and Maria informed him about the time left before the carriers reach max altitude and fire, while Tony programmed the Algorithms into the carriers to override their existing function.
Sam had a little bit more trouble with the aerial aspect on Bravo, considering the jets would not leave him alone. With a lot of evasive maneuver and banking, he was able to finally secure the chip into Bravo, also relaying this info to Tony and Maria.
"Hey Sam, I'm gonna need a ride!" Steve yelled into the comm device. Backup Hydra agents had started to come to the surface of the Alpha helicarrier, armed with rocket launchers. Steve started to run towards the edge of the carrier.
"Let me know when you're ready!" Sam yelled back. At this point Steve had already jumped off, and said,
"I just did!"
Sam located Steve, and grabbed his hand. The two then made their way onto the helicarrier Charlie. It was smooth sailing from here as they were ready to bring down Project Insight.
Steve felt the wind get knocked out of him as the boot of his best friend was placed against his check, knocking him back and over the guard railing, and plummeting towards the earth. Sam sprung into action trying to save his friend, but was stopped when Bucky grabbed his wings and flung him back onto the carrier. As Steve hung on to the side of the carrier, Sam was busy trying to hold off Bucky. The fight ended when Bucky ripped off one wing of the Falcon jetpack, and Sam had to parachute himself safely towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Sam had told Steve what happened, hoping the man was still alive, and to his relief Steve responded and told him he was still on the helicarrier.
"Cap, you're running out of time. We need to get that last chip in." Tony said. He used his strength to climb back up, making his way towards the center of the flying vehicle.
When Steve got there, he came face to face with his best friend. He looked back at the cold blue eyes in front of him, murderous intent written in them. He didn't want to have to fight Bucky, but countless lives were at stake and he couldn't falter. He needed to get him away from the control center before it was too late.
"People are gonna die Buck. I can't let that happen." Steve told him. Bucky didn't respond, nor did he move either. He just stared at Steve the entire time, as if he were calculating whatever move Steve was going to do. Steve felt his hand tremble a little, but willed them to stop. "Please don't do this," his voice cracked. Once again, his best friend didn't move. If he couldn't reason with Bucky, then he had no choice but to fight him.
The first move came from Steve as he swung his shield forward, but was deflected by the metal arm of Bucky. A gun was pulled out in response and two bullets were fired at Steve, which were blocked by the vibranium shield. A lucky bullet had grazed the side of Steve, cutting open his suit and wounding him a little. This did not stop him as he continued to disorient his best friend. As the hand to hand combat got more fierce, Bucky began to falter a bit, allowing Steve to pull one of the chips out, and now all he needed to do was put the chip in.
When Steve had thrown a punch at Bucky's face that knocked him back a little, that managed to piss him off and tackle both him and Steve off the side of the railing, landing on a small platform right above the glass floor just a few feet below where they were. The chip was knocked from Steve's hand, and sat at the edge of the platform.
As the two engaged in hand to hand combat once more, Bucky delivered a punch to Steve's face that sent him spiraling into the air a bit, and landing on the edge of the platform. The blonde grabbed the chip as Bucky came over towards him. The black haired male effectively knocked the chip out of his hand sending it further below them to the glass floor, and this caused Steve to punch Bucky in the face once more, disorienting him, and then kicking him off the ledge and to the floor below.
Steve's mind was only on the chip at this point, and as he ran over to its location he was met with his own shield hitting his back. He stumbled a little before rolling over to face Bucky pulling out a gun, shooting two bullets that were blocked by his shield, before Steve pulled his arm back and launched his weapon at him. He used his metal hand to deflect the shield then ran over to Steve holding his signature knife.
Just like back on the highway Steve had tried everything not to get stabbed, but an awkward angle had given Bucky the ability to plunge the knife deep inside Steve's right shoulder. He screamed out in agony as he felt his flesh tore, contorting to the knife as a throbbing pain followed at the stab wound. He also had to ignore the sound of Tony's voice, worrying about him. He couldn't focus on that right now, and instead headbutted his best friend two times in a row before he finally threw Steve off to the side.
The blonde took the knife out of his shoulder, gritting his teeth as he felt the flesh tore the other way, and saw Bucky grabbing the chip. Anger coursed through him as he grabbed Bucky by the throat, lifting him into the air, before slamming him and flipping him over back onto the surprisingly strong glass floor.
He managed to hold Bucky's arm tightly under his own arm, as his other hand pushed his face away. The black haired male tried his best to punch Steve in the face to get him to let go, but to no avail.
"Drop it!" Steve yelled the first time. His best friend didn't comply as he still tried to hit Steve. "Drop it!" He said a second time, and this time he put a little bit more force into his hold. He bent Bucky's arm upwards a little bit, and a sickening crunch sound was heard, followed by a scream of agony from Bucky as Steve broke a bone in his arm. The man would still not let the chip go. That's when Steve had enough.
He dropped himself onto the floor, wrapping one arm around Bucky's neck and applying pressure, effectively putting him in a choke hold. The Winter Soldier tried his best to struggle out of the suffocating hold, but Steve was too strong for him. He used his metal arm to try and pry one of Steve's arms away, but the blonde simply used his strength to overpower that of the other man, and place the metal arm beneath his leg. As Steve held his position, the struggling had ceased to slow down, until suddenly it stopped and the chip was dropped. He let out a sigh of relief and grabbed the item, making a hasty upwards scaling back to the control center to place the chip.
"One minute." He heard Maria's voice say. He was running out of time and he needed to get there fast. Millions of people were counting on him!
As he got up on top of the platform, he screamed out in agony again as he felt the flesh in his left calf tear. The sound of a gun going off, and a bullet being placed inside. He looked back and could see Bucky standing there, eyes trained on him as he held up his gun. He couldn't stop now, he had to keep going.
He ignored the pain and jumped on to the smaller ledges just below the railing. That was when the sound of another gunshot was heard, and a searing pain shot through Steve's right shoulder. He grit his teeth, and held on tight. He had to keep going.
"Steve..? Are you ok?" Tony voiced his concern. The voice of the genius was enough motivation for him to keep going, he didn't need to answer right now. He needed to save him, and everybody else.
"Thirty seconds Cap!" Maria shouted shakily. He managed to reach the controls, body feeling heavy as he willed himself to stand up straight. He could feel the pain coursing through the bullet holes, it was hard to ignore at this point.
"Dammit…" He whispered to himself. He fumbled for the chip in his pocket. When he finally grabbed it and was about to enter it into the vacant slot, he felt the most excruciating amount of pain in his life.
Bucky had managed to shoot a bullet straight through Steve's abdomen, causing the blonde to fall onto his knees, turn around, and rest his back against the cold steel of the wall. He felt his breath being taken from him, he could feel all the pain coursing through him. His vision was fading in and out, blood loss becoming imminent. He looked down and saw the impact the bullet had caused, and fear had started to take its course.
Steve's Captain America outfit was tainted red from where the bullet had exited, and he couldn't be more sick. He was having a small panic attack as he struggled to find his breath. Paralyzed by fear, the seconds ticking by, and he could feel the failure already setting in. A voice he was familiar with, and missed so dearly, was able to break him from his thoughts.
"Steve… I know you're in a lot of pain right now, and I'm sorry I can't be there to help. I wish I could, but right now this is your mission, and we need you… I need you. I know you can do this. I want you to come home. I don't wanna know what it feels like to lose someone you care about. So please… Finish the mission for me?" Tony said. Steve grit his teeth, and struggled to get back up. He felt the seconds tick by faster as he turned around, and with a shaky hand, he inserted the last chip.
"Charlie locked," trembled Steve. It hurt to speak for now, but he completed his mission and got to relax for a few minutes to catch his breath.
Tony saw the green light go off for the last helicarrier, and immediately put in the last algorithm to lock the helicarrier. When that was done, all red dots had disappeared from Maria Hills monitor, and now the only red dots were the three helicarriers.
"Ok Cap get out of there." Hill commanded him.
"Fire now," was his weak response. Maria stood there frozen, she knew he was still on there, and hesitated to give the order to Tony.
"But, Steve-"
"Do it! Do it now!" He yelled, cutting her off.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, and uttered the words, "fire now Mr. Stark."
Tony wasted no time with running the last algorithms, and pushing the button that started the heavy fire of the helicarriers onto themselves. He sat back, knowing that if Steve died today, his blood would be on his hands, and he wasn't ready for that.
As the explosions became more fierce, one thing in particular stood out to Steve as he struggled to get up. The scream of his best friend, trapped underneath a large support beam. Panic invaded all his logical reasoning, and he forgot about the Bucky that had tried to kill him, and only saw his best friend that needed saving. He used his super strength to lift the beam, and Bucky crawled out from under it.
The destruction outside was less tame than the destruction inside. Alpha had crashed into the water below him and near the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, breaking in half and flooding the entire base. Bravo had crashed into the Triskelion, effectively destroying the entire building. Charlie was the last one to remain in the air, but even it started to break apart inside as it was starting to hurdle towards the ocean.
Steve looked at Bucky, wanting to find his best friend who was lost in the confusion of what Hydra had done to him. Both men were tired and panting heavily, but Steve was not leaving here without his best friend back.
"Bucky, you've known me your whole life." He stated simply. Bucky was trying to process the words coming out of Steve's mouth, wanting to find the logic in them. The only thing he found instead, was anger and he backhanded Steve with his metal arm, disorienting the super soldier.
"Your name… Is James, Buchanan Barnes-"
"Shut up!" Yelled Bucky, cutting Steve off and punching him in the gut. This laid the blonde sprawled out on the floor, face first. He didn't fight back however, he wasn't going to hurt his closest friend anymore. He just wanted him back, to know that his old friend, Steven Grant Rogers, the scrawny kid from Brooklyn, missed him so much.
Steve got back on his feet, throwing his cowl off so that Bucky could see him. Confused blue eyes stared back into determined ones as Steve spoke to him. "I'm not gonna fight you," he started off, dropping the shield from the helicarrier as it made its descent into the water below. "You're my friend."
Tony sat there, listening to every word come out of Steve's mouth. He couldn't do anything except listen to the poor man trying to get him back, he just hoped that somehow this would work.
Bucky retaliated by tackling Steve to the edge of the helicarrier, sitting over him as he gripped the collar of his Captain America suit tightly, and with venom in his words said, "you're my mission." That's when the strings of punches from his metal arm started to connect with Steve's face. Each blow sent the blondes head backwards a little, and the skin on his face started to crack away, leaving a swollen bruise and a small patch of blood.
Tony could hear each punch given to the man, and the shouting of the words, "you're my mission," coming out individually before the punching stopped. He couldn't take this anymore. He got up from his seat and had JARVIS bring him a suit. He needed to go see Steve, sitting here after the mission was over wasn't part of Tony's plan.
Steve strained to open his eyes and look at the pained expression of his childhood friend. He could see the anger and confusion, and he didn't blame him. His face hurt like hell, but that didn't matter, he didn't want to hurt Bucky anymore. If he was Bucky's mission, and killing him would help his friend, then that's what he would let the man do.
As Bucky finished yelling those words at Steve's, the only thing Steve could say in return was, "then finish it." As he looked into Bucky's blue eyes, he could see the hesitation in his eyes. He was conflicted and didn't know what to do, so he took this chance to say something that he knew Bucky would hopefully remember from their childhood.
"Cause I'm with you to the end of the line."
He saw Bucky's facial feature morph into one of remembrance, his eyes widening at what Steve just said. Steve could feel the pain all over his body, and the most noticeable one was the pain in his heart. It didn't matter that Bucky shot Steve multiple times, or busted up his face, it was the fact that Bucky was alive, but was reduced to being an assassin for Hydra, and only finally realized who Steve was.
As the tears flowed down Steve's cheeks, the glass floor gave away as a flaming support beam fell on top of it. Steve felt himself falling, and as his eyes stayed fixated upwards, he could still see Bucky looking down on him. Steve felt his body start to shut down, but it never really hit him that hard until his body had collided with the freezing cold water below. His mind and body went into shock, both shutting down, but Steve could vaguely see someone crashing into the water before the world around him ceased to exist.
Beep…
Beep…
Beep…
The continuous beeping sound was all Steve heard as his senses came back to him. He felt in less pain than he was in before, but the stinging sensation on his face didn't really seem to fade. His eyes had started to flutter open and he noticed that he was in a hospital. He hated hospitals ever since he was pre serum Steve, always being in a hospital thanks to how sickly he was. He was distracted from his distaste as he also took into account that one of his hands was currently occupied. He looked down, and his heart melted at the sight in front of him.
Tony was sleeping next to him, head rested on the bed he was in, and his hand laced with Steve's. He could make out a few dried tears, and his ruffled hair as if he'd been pulling on it. He thought the genius looked absolutely stunning, and couldn't believe he stayed here by Steve's side until he woke up. The thought makes him wonder how long he's been asleep for, but that can wait for another time.
Steve used his other hand to gently run his fingers through the brunette's hair. A soft sound of pleasure was heard, and he felt the genius squeeze his hand slightly. He smiled as he was met with the sight of those caramel brown eyes he loved so much, and loved them even more when they widened and a smile spread across his fellas face.
"Steve…?" Whispered Tony. A tear slid down his face, and Steve used his thumb to wipe it away, the smile never fading from his face.
"I'm here Tony," he whispered back, squeezing the hand holding his. He felt arms wrap around him, and Tony's head snuggled against his neck. He returned the gesture and held onto the technically older male, rubbing a hand up and down his back trying to soothe him.
"Don't you ever fucking do something like that again. I was scared I lost you…" Tony said softly. He pulled back and looked at Steve, sad Caramel eyes finding happy baby blues as they stared at each other. Steve chuckled a bit before saying,
"Only if you promise first."
Tony smiled and nodded his head, whispering, "I promise," before placing his soft lips against Steve's.
The blonde held the brunette close to him, scared to let him go. He wanted more moments like this, and wanted to spend them all with Tony. His infatuation had grown more ever since the first kiss they shared. Even if Steve's first kiss since 1945 had been with Natasha, Steve's first official kiss with a guy was taken by none other than Anthony Edward Stark, and as they kissed, the thought made Steve smile into it more. He was so happy to be alive, so happy that Tony was alive, and even more happy to be right where he wanted to be.
Falling hopelessly in love with, and kissing his one true fella.
Author's Note:
Alright, and this concludes Winter Soldier. Now next events will happen right after this chapter is done, meaning that Age of Ultron is next, and after that comes Civil war. Time skips will continue after Civil War is finished, either directly after everything is concluded, or a little bit more down the line.
ANYWAYS, I just wanted to say to those of you who have made it this far in the story, that I appreciate you. Knowing that you took time to get this far puts a smile on my face. I hope you are being safe and healthy, and enjoying your life as much as you can during this Pandemic know as COVID-19.
I accept any and all constructive criticism and positive feedback. If you feel like it, please leave a review and tell me how I am doing, or if you want you can private message me!
Until next chapter! Bai Bai!
