At long last, here is chapter 16!

Writer's block is a bitch – I hope this update finds everyone well. I'm sorry I haven't been able to update, I've stared at this chapter for I'm not sure how long, struggling to complete it. I finally had an idea and rolled with it…and got to explore a little bit of Drunk Case in the meantime.

I do not own the title song, "Sympathy for the Devil" – that belongs to the Rolling Stones. I also do not own "Misfits" – but I have just completed the first season, so that's kind of why it's wormed its way in here.

I hope you enjoy the next installment, and I hope I can get chapter 17 written and up in a lot shorter of a time.

Constructive criticism is always appreciated

June 23rd, 2015 – Manhattan, NY

Case and Ryder were staring up at the ceiling of the latter's apartment in the Avengers' Tower, seated on the couch with their legs stretched so socked feet were resting on the coffee table across from them.

They hadn't said a word to each other in hours, not since Sam left the apartment…this was after he and Ryder had walked in on Case finishing the video that the lovely Kayla Silverfox had handed over – the one where she called her son a liar and shattered her daughter's heart all in one go. The only sound was from the hidden speakers – they had had Jarvis play the same song on repeat.

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and fate
I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moments of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

"You know…you opened a can of worms with this shit, right?"

Ryder frowned, and looked over at his sister, "How do you figure?"

That was when his pocket began to vibrate as his cell phone started ringing. Ryder could hear it buzzing as the device rang, and he pulled the phone out of his pocket, sliding his thumb across the screen to ignore the call before tossing the device on the table next to his feet. "Bitch can't take a hint."

Almost immediately Garnet's voice started crooning from Case's pocket, singing the lyrics to "Stronger Than You".

Ryder gave a snort as Case ignored the call, "Do you think she's mad 'cause she's single?"

"Who knows," Case said in a defeated voice as she closed her eyes and her head plopped back into the cushions.

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game

"Ain't that the truth," Ryder sighed, pinching at his eyes.

"Ever since you reached out, she's been calling on the regular," Case reminded him.

"Has she broken into your apartment yet?"

"Nope…just trailed me around Manhattan a few times."

Ryder gave a nod at that, "You think she's looking for Bucky?"

Case chewed on her lower lip, mulling that one over. "I really don't know what she's after. She asks a lot of questions about Bucky for someone not interested." She gave a sigh, "But that could be more because I—"

"Spare me the visual Cassidy, please," Ryder grimaced. "The image of you and Bucky in the sheets is enough to make me nauseous."

"Don't forget the camp showers and—"

"What did I just say?"

"I'm sorry, and how many times did I have to walk in on you?" Case rolled her eyes.

"I'm just glad I never walked in on you."

Case shrugged, "well…that's not entirely accurate."

Ryder's eyebrows went up and he looked over, "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"You remember when you threatened to drag Steve kicking and screaming to the USO's Valentine's Day dance?"

"Well, yeah but you weren't there for that—"

"Remember the trunk you sat on?"

Ryder gagged, "You weren't…"

Case gave a chuckle and put on a surfer-type voice when she said, "Sixty-nine, dude."

Ryder blinked, "I can't tell if I'm disgusted or impressed…"

"Well we were already in the room—"

"STOP!"

Case gave a shrug but didn't continue. She waited a moment before saying, "There was that other moment in the camp shower—"

She was cut off when Ryder's palm slapped over her mouth, "Please…just stop talking."

It was quiet for a few minutes, and they just listened to the song playing in the background.

Ryder shifted in his seat, then wrapped his arms around his chest as he said, "You never answered my question."

Case, who'd closed her eyes during their moment of silence, opened one eye and looked at her brother, "When did you ask one?"

Ryder sighed, then his gaze went back to the ceiling, "You said you never told Bucky that Hypno-Bitch was our mother…are you afraid to tell him?"

Case scrunched her eyes shut before she answered, mimicking his position by hugging her arms around her torso.

As the silence dragged on, Ryder then asked, "Why didn't you tell him?"

Case took a deep breath, held it as she counted to ten then exhaled. "Ryder, I…" She looked over at her brother, then she sighed and sat up, elbows on her knees as she buried her face in her hands. She took another deep breath and held it for ten seconds and let her hands drop between her legs. "I couldn't…I mean part of it was she didn't want anyone to know that I was her daughter…but how could I explain it?"

"Well, I believe Dad started with 'when a man and a woman love each other very much—'"

"Not like that you dope!" Case snapped, cutting him off. "I just…this is the same woman that had no qualms about sending me into the fusion tank. She supposedly felt bad but not bad enough to help me get out…and that was before I knew they had Bucky."

"But you said he was the one that grabbed you."

"I thought that was some horrible nightmare," Case admitted. She collapsed back against the sofa cushions, "I saw his face for all of ten seconds before I got hit by a tranquilizer dart."

"Supposedly Rumlow took that shot," Ryder told her. "At least according to the notes. Apparently, Bucky had orders to drug you himself but there was an altercation, and so Rumlow stepped in as their Plan B."

"Altercation…that's one way to put it."

"Yeah I guess."

They grew quiet again. Case shifted in her seat before saying, "Thinking back on it…sometimes I wonder how he didn't figure it out…I all but spelled it out for him when the three of us were first together."

Ryder frowned, "Really?"

"Told her she chose Hydra over us over ninety years ago," Case remembered. "Yelled at her for calling me 'Cassidy', and she even went so far as to say you gave me the nickname when we were three."

Ryder mulled that over, "But you're assuming that Bucky had those memories…not to mention while we could pick those out of a lineup because she's our mother, we barely talked about her with Steve and Bucky. I mean did we ever tell them her name?"

"Hindsight's twenty-twenty I guess," Case sighed.

When she did not continue, Ryder added, "There's nothing you can do that will make Bucky hate you…you do know that, right?"

"Except I look like someone who tortured him," Case pointed out. "We didn't go after him, we just left him to freeze to death…not to mention that whole…" She pointed at her closed laptop which sat on the coffee table between them. "Debacle. He not only should hate me but if he's smart, he'll stay as far away from me as possible."

Fairly sure he's already failed on both counts, Cassidy, Ryder thought as he shook his head. "Why did you tell her?"

Case's head snapped toward him, "What?"

"Case, you couldn't even tell Bucky that to his face," Ryder pointed out. "Something you both seem to have in common apparently. But somehow you can tell all that to Mom of all people?"

Case's arms seemed to tighten around herself as she looked back towards her feet, once again resting on the coffee table. Tears started filling her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as she blinked.

As the minutes ticked by, Ryder started to become annoyed. Sure, he knew it was not right to push Case like this – but at the same time, Case was not dealing with it. The fact Sam even said she hadn't said a word to him about how involved their mother was said it all, and while he could understand the reasoning, the whole point of her talking with Sam was to get help regarding the whole situation.

"Cassidy—"

"For the love of God do not call me that!" Case snapped, anger filling her tone. "It's bad enough Hypno-Bitch insists on calling me that, but you of all people—"

"I of all people know that you outgrew that speech impediment of yours pretty early on, maybe a year or two after we moved to Brooklyn," Ryder said in a testy voice. "Sure, you slip from time to time—"

"Get to the point, W—" Case instantly clamped her jaw shut, and through clenched teeth said, "Ryder."

"My point is stop throwing a fucking tantrum when someone calls you by your legal name!" Ryder told her. "Hell, your driver's license, your SHIELD ID, even your Tower passes all say 'Cassidy Howlett'. None of them say 'Case'."

"Fine so they do!" Case was now on her feet, "So all my identifications say my full name, big fucking whoop! Does that mean I want my family and friends to call me that? Does that mean that the woman who fucking abandoned me in a closet and who…"

Ryder frowned as Case instantly went silent.

"No…no she…she lost all privileges like that," Case's voice was a low growl. Anger made her eyes burn as more tears filled them. "She doesn't deserve to be back in our lives…just because she wants it doesn't mean she should get it…especially after…"

She went silent again. She seemed to be having an internal debate, then she sighed, almost immediately switching gears in the conversation. "He went with her willingly…I asked him to stay with me but…he said he couldn't. At least not yet." She gave a chuckle, "God he tucked me into bed and told me to get some rest…"

Ryder frowned, a little confused at the change in topic, "Okay…"

"They left…I was…still loopy on whatever drugs they had me on after all the injuries…so I was half awake…it all happened so fast…I was falling asleep then suddenly I was standing in a room filled with bodies and my claws were covered in blood…"

Ah, Ryder now realized what she meant. "Mom's notes mentioned that…I wondered what the trigger was. It said that you reduced thirty of Hydra's soldiers down to three."

"God…thirty soldiers to…three?" Case cringed.

"Three that were salvageable," Ryder nodded. "You cut off the arms of about ten of 'em, stabbed five, eviscerated six, cut at least one leg off of two of 'em…and cut the rest in half."

"Shit…" Case breathed.

"Yeah…you remember what caused it?"

Case sighed, hugging her arms tightly around her chest, "They were hurting Bucky."

Ryder's eyebrows went up, "That's it?"

"In the most basic sense," Case admitted. "I didn't…" As she followed the train of thought, she gave a weak laugh, "Oddly enough…history repeated itself."

Ryder frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I didn't want him to go on the train mission," Case explained. "I really didn't want him anywhere near Zola, didn't even want the ugly little troll thinking about Bucky. I kept my mouth shut though, and then I lost him." She shook her head, giving another chuckle of disbelief, "Fast forward to Siberia." She rocked backwards and forth on her heels, "He held me…Bucky held me. Not…not the Asset, not James who sorta remembered, sorta didn't…it was Bucky."

Ryder waited for her to continue, but Case just closed her eyes, drifting into the memory. She stopped rocking, and she had an almost blissful look on her face. "That moment you realized he was back…"

Case opened her eyes, which shined with unshed tears, "Yeah…it had been the first time since I got to that god-awful place that I felt safe. For one moment everything had seemed right in the world…because I got Bucky back." She sighed and looked away from him, "I'm sure that sounds…idiotic."

"No, no," Ryder shook his head. "Look, Case, you love him. He made you feel safe…that's not idiotic…not to me."

Case gave an almost smile as she gave a nod, still hugging her arms around her chest. "I didn't know how we would've done it…he wanted to get me outta there, even agreed to come with me. Told me he didn't wanna let me out of his sight again."

Ryder gave a snort, "Sounds like Bucky."

"Yeah…" Case murmured, looking down at the floor.

When she did not continue, Ryder cleared his throat and with hesitation in his voice asked, "What happened?"

Case finally looked up at him, and the anger was back. "Mom…Mom happened. She came in saying they needed him. I didn't want him to go…I asked him to stay with me. But he agreed to go with her. I don't think he knew what she had in mind for him, he probably thought we'd have more time before they tried to put him back."

"But that's exactly what she was trying to do, wasn't it?"

"Yeah…one minute I was dozing off and the next I heard him yell in pain," Case admitted in a soft voice. "After it was all over…she hit me with some tranquilizer dart…next thing I knew I was in her office. She told me that they were…" She sniffled again, and wiped at her nose, "Well…you know. And when she told me what they were going to do…" More tears rolled down her cheeks, as she said, "I…I couldn't lose him. Not again, I'd just gotten him back. And she'd been asking about him the whole time…so I threw out the only bargaining chip I had…"

"Case…" Ryder began.

"The screams…I can still hear him. Almost like I was right next to him…and what you could hear in the video was worse in person," Case told him. "Listening to it…watching what they did, what she ordered them to do…God even the fusion didn't seem to hurt that much."

Ryder took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds and then let it out, "I can't even imagine."

"Yeah…" Case said softly. She checked her watch, "Hey…it's getting late, and I didn't get a lot of sleep this weekend—"

"I'll bet."

"—so, I'm just gonna go to my apartment and crash," Case finished with a roll of her eyes.

Ryder was quiet for a few moments, then called her name as the elevator doors opened. When she turned to face him, he said, "Look…I'm not sure what's…" He chewed on his lip, "Your personal life is your business but…"

Case's shoulders straightened as if waiting for a fight.

"Just be careful, alright? Especially with Mom trying to come around…I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll be fine, Ryder," Case said quietly.

With that, Case stepped into the elevator, headed for her own apartment, blatantly ignoring what they say about famous last words…

In a cheap motel just outside of Manhattan, Bucky was curled up under a thin, threadbare blanket on a rock-hard mattress, trying miserably to drift into the realm of almost-sleep.

All in all, not a bad place – the management kept it clean, he had not found any bugs or rodents lurking in the shadows, unlike a few of the places he had stayed at in the past. The television worked, as did the air conditioning, there was no draft – and when he paid in cash, the front desk asked no questions.

With a yawn Bucky glanced at the standard issue alarm clock, and the glowing red numbers showed it was after midnight. He rolled onto his back and settled in, trying once again to get comfortable – it wasn't the place that caused the insomnia, oh no, it was his ninety-eight-year-old subconscious that was keeping him awake at night.

He was just about to drift into the gray zone when his phone began to ring on the nightstand.

With a sigh he rolled onto his side, reaching over to grab the annoying device. The caller ID on the flip phone read CMH, and with a frown Bucky opened the phone and answered, "Case? You okay?"

"Uh…yeah…I'm fine…" Case said, sounding exhausted on her end of the line. "I…did I wake you?"

Without making a sound, Bucky scrubbed a hand over his face, "No…not exactly…"

"Shit…sorry Buck. I shouldn't have—"

"Case…you're fine," Bucky assured her. With a small smile he added, "Truth be told I missed you already."

Case gave a weak chuckle on the other end, "Even though you just spent the last couple of days with me?"

"You say that like it's enough."

"Never is," Case said, and Bucky could hear her sniffle.

"Case…are you crying?"

"Not…no, of course not," Case denied. "I just…" he could hear more sniffles, "I just needed to hear your voice."

Bucky's frown returned, "Nightmare?"

"Not exactly…" Case admitted.

When she didn't continue, Bucky stared up at the ceiling as he asked, "So then what's bothering you?"

"I…" Case sniffled, and suddenly said, "I love you…"

"I know that Case," Bucky said with a soft chuckle, "I love you too."

"You say that now…" Case whispered; Bucky could barely hear her speaking. "God, I don't know what I'd do if…"

Bucky's smile slowly dropped into a frown, and he started to listen closer on the phone call. "If…what, exactly?"

"Nothing, never mind," Case said, "It's a conversation for a later time."

Fuck, Bucky thought with a sigh, and asked, "Please…talk to me."

"I'm sorry, love," Case whispered into the phone, and gave a hiccup as she added, "Ryder knows you grabbed me that night."

"That…" Bucky repeated in a confused tone, then sat up in bed, "Shit! I need to—"

"Relax, love, he's not mad," Case sighed, "At least not at you."

"What? How can he not be?"

"Not everything with Hydra is about you, James," Case told him.

Bucky blinked, "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Case was quiet for a few moments then it sounded like she started smacking her lips, "You ever had Polish Vodka?"

"Er…what?"

"Yeah, it's supposedly this…hundred something proof vodka," Case said, and it sounded like she was swallowing something, "Called Spirytus Wrek…erm…oh fuck who the hell even cares?"

The muffled sound followed again, "Case…are you drunk?"

"Ah…oh fuck!" Bucky heard a dull thud before Case said, "I don't think I'm drunk…riding a buzz but—"

"Case…think about what you just told me," Bucky frowned, "That's some strong stuff you're drinking, if it's what I'm thinking it is."

"James Barnes even with your modified super soldier genes you still won't be able to outdrink me," Case told him. "Steve even hits a buzz before I do."

Double the affection and the arrogance, Bucky gave a chuckle, "I'm sorry and who is drunk-dialing who?"

"You've only been in the real-world for a year," Case hiccoughed into the phone, "How do you know that phrase?"

"Unlike you who took a solid seventy-year nap in ice, I was actually walking around in the world every couple of years," Bucky rolled his eyes. "So aside from being drunk—"

"James, come on love, don't be like that."

"Love," Bucky repeated with a chuckle and a warmth in his heart, "You really like calling me that when you're drunk, don't you?"

"I'm not drunk!" there was another dull thud and a curse.

"Dropped the bottle again, huh?"

"Oh, shut up," Case grumbled.

Bucky gave another chuckle, and laid back down, trying again to get comfortable, "Buzzed then, on your way to being drunk…is that what you wanna call it?"

"Who cares?"

Bucky cocked an eyebrow, "Do we need to hold an intervention or something?"

"Nah…it's not like I do this often," Case admitted.

"So, what triggered this?"

"Ryder and I had some…uncomfortable conversations about Siberia," Case explained. "Aaaand now I'm sitting in my closet, drinking my troubles away. Except I can't get drunk, so I dunno why I bothered."

"Cassidy—"

"You ever heard of 'Misfits'?"

"Miss…" Bucky blinked, "Like the band?"

"Nah, it was a television show," Case hiccupped again, and it sounded like she was helping herself to more of the bottle, "See, these five…or was it six…?"

Bucky listened to her rattle off names, and cut in, "Cassidy—"

"No, I remember now, it was five…well, they started out as six, then one of 'em was killed—"

What the…? Bucky blinked, "Case, what the hell kinda show is this?"

"A bunch of people get these powers because of a freak storm," Case answered, "Simon can turn invisible, Curtis can rewind time, Kelly can hear people's thoughts and Alisha hits people with uncontrollable lust."

"Well…that's…different…"

"And the fifth one's Nathan, who's just a straight up asshole with no filter," Case continued. "But then it gets really sad at the end of the first season, cuz Nathan dies! They kill him, James! He falls off a roof onto this metal fence—"

Bucky flinched at that, "That's…I'm sorry Case."

"And then Kelly is screamin' that he's not allowed to die," it actually sounded like Case was crying now, "And I had to turn it off, 'cause that's how I wanted to be when you fell…and he was my favorite of them, James! The fucking asshat grew on me!"

"But Case…doesn't Nathan have a power too?"

"That's beside the point!" Case wailed on the other end of the line. "The fact is, they killed him! Right over the edge of the roof with the mind-control bitch! How'm I supposed to get to that part when they kill him first?"

"Case, I'm pretty sure the writers of the show didn't take that into consideration," Bucky pointed out.

"Can you watch it with me, James? I wanna see what happens, but I can't if I can't move past that part," Case seemed to be calming down, sniffling quietly.

"Er…sure Case, whatever you want," Bucky agreed hesitantly. Not that I want to see the poor bastard get impaled on a fence…

"Good…that makes me feel better," Case said with a sigh of relief. "Huh…that's not good."

"What's not good?"

"My bottle is empty," Case sounded confused. "It was full when I opened it earlier…"

Bucky held the phone away from his ear when Case yawned loudly into the phone. "Then with that, why don't we end things here, huh?"

"You promise you'll watch 'Misfits' with me?"

Bucky nearly choked on a laugh as he nodded, although she couldn't see it, "Yes, Cassidy. I promise I'll watch the show with you."

"Good…" Case gave another yawn, "Good night James…I love you."

"I love you too, Cassidy," Bucky smiled as he relaxed into the pillows.

The response was a loud snore.