Little Steve

by BookwormBpants

Steve is small again. How will the Avenger's handle a pre-serum Captain?

The call had come in just before lunch a crazy dude with robots and what seemed to be a piece of alien tech was menacing Manhattan. Things had gone well. They had quickly dispatched the robots, captured the crazy dude, and were headed back to the Tower so Tony and Bruce could start work on the alien tech when Bucky looked around and couldn't find Steve.

"Wait, where is Steve? Has anyone seen him?"

"Capsicle come in; what's your location?" Tony looked concerned when Steve didn't answer, "FRIDAY, what is the last GPS signal you have on Cap?"

"Captain Rodgers is in the alley a quarter mile to the East. His vitals are unstable, and he has not moved for twenty minutes."

"FRIDAY, we are going to rewrite the protocols on what you feel warrants a notification."

Bucky and Tony rushed to the alley, followed by the others, and stopped short at the sight before them. Laying in the alley unconscious with a blue tinge around his lips was a pre-serum Steve Rogers.

Bucky quickly ran to his friend and picked him up, "We've got to get him back to medical it looks like he had a bad asthma attack."

He turned to see the other Avengers standing in shock, "come on, people move; you can be shocked about little Steve once we make sure he's not going to die."

Bucky rushed his friend onto the quinjet and put the oxygen mask over his face. As the others filled in around him and the jet took off for the compound, Bucky watched some color return to his friend's face and allowed himself to relax when Steve's breathing became less labored.

"Okay, get it all out now because I'm not going to let anyone give Steve shit over this when he's awake."

Tony was, of course, the first to speak, "This is insane; it's one thing for us to know Cap was a shrimp, but to actually see it. How did this dude survive long enough to get the serum, much less survive the serum?"

Natasha shrugged, "is it wrong that I think he's a bit adorable like this? I kind of want to pinch his cheeks."

Bucky chuckled, "I wouldn't. He hates that."

Bruce spoke up, "Could I take some blood samples from him while he's unconscious? I can start running tests while Helen does her exam."

Bucky nodded his agreement, "That sounds good, Bruce. We should also talk about how Steve will react when he wakes up if he knows what's going on. The way I see it, one of two things has happened here…."

Tony cut in, "either this is really pre-serum Cap, in which case how did that happen, or the serum has stopped working. Once we know which we're dealing with, we'll know how he'll react."

"If it's pre-serum Steve, he's going to be pretty confused. That might actually be our best option because if the serum no longer works on Steve…." Natasha trailed off, looking to Bucky for confirmation.

"If the serum doesn't work on Steve anymore, he's going to quit the team and cut himself off from all of us. It's the same shit he tried to pull on me after his mom died."

They arrived back at the Tower, and Bucky hurried Steve down to Medical while Bruce and Tony headed to the lab to start running Steve's blood tests. Natasha trailed after Bucky and slipped into the room while Helen was beginning her assessment. As the list of allergies and ailments got longer, Natasha couldn't help but agree with Tony that it was a miracle Steve had survived long enough to receive the serum. Eventually, Helen finished her exam, "First, let me say Steve is a fine as anyone with so many chronic illnesses can be. I know you wish to speak with him to determine what may have happened. Still, I am going to keep him sedated through the night to give his body some extra recovery time and so that I may finish running some tests before I start prescribing pills; for his conditions."

Bucky ran his flesh hand over his face, "Thanks, Doc, medicine is so much better these days; maybe he won't be on death's door nearly as much if this is going to be a permanent thing."

Dr. Cho smiled, "I will most certainly do everything I can to ensure that does not happen."

Tony and Bruce had run every test they could think of on Steve's blood, and they still weren't sure about anything.

"Is this as weird for you as it is for me, Tony?"

"Are you referring to the fact that our team leader has turned into a 90lb invalid? Because yeah, I'm still processing this one. I mean, I knew, we all knew, we'd seen pictures, we've all heard the story, but actually seeing it. Barnes is probably the only person alive who has seen Cap all shrimpy."

"You know you are going to need to be a lot more tactful around Steve, right?"

"Don't worry, I'm going to tread carefully with tiny Cap. I won't antagonize him."

The doors whooshed open, and they turned to see Natasha sauntering into the lab, "Helen is going to keep him sedated tonight, and tomorrow hopefully, we can get some answers from him. Did you find anything?"

Brue shook his head, "Nothing conclusive there is currently no serum in his blood, but we don't know if that's because it's gone or it hasn't been put there yet."

Natasha nodded, "Well, it's been a long day. I think it's time to call it. We can start fresh tomorrow."

Bucky sat up in the hospital chair when he heard Dr. Cho enter the room the following day, "How's he doing, Doc?"

"Captain Rogers is all things considered, doing fine. I can't do anything about the colorblindness. Still, I've got a hearing aid for his deaf ear, a daily inhaler and a rescue inhaler for the asthma, a blood pressure pill, and a heart pill. I'm also going to recommend he drinks two of these nutrient smoothies every day to try to build his body up some. He also needs to avoid Gluten. I believe gluten intolerance is the source of his digestive problems. I also have an epi-pen in case he comes across any of his allergens. Do you have any questions?"

Bucky looked at the tray of things; he pointed to each one in turn and repeated Helen's instructions back to her to make sure he understood what they all did and how to use them. "Are you going to wake him up today, Doc?"

Helen nodded, "Yes, it would do him good to rest, but I fear you all will not rest until you know what happened to Steve. He should start coming around within the next hour. I will come back to talk to him then, but I trust you will be able to convince him to follow doctor's orders?"

Bucky nodded, "This I know how to do. I spent the first two decades of our friendship keeping Steve alive. "

Dr. Cho left the room, and slowly, as the hour drew to a close, the rest of the Avengers wandered into the room and took up seats around Steve's bed. Bucky moved his chair so he would be the first thing Steve saw. Either way, this could turn out Bucky would be best equipped to deal with Steve.

The atmosphere grew more tense as they waited for Steve to wake up. Finally, his eyelids fluttered open, and he blinked up at Bucky, confused.

"Hi Stevie, how are you feeling?"

"What happened, Buck? Where am I?"

"You had an asthma attack, a terrible one; what's the last thing you remember, Steve?"

"I had just got done selling papers for the day, and I was headed to meet you when you got done at the docks. You set us up on another destined for failure double date."

"What year is it, Steve?"

"Why are you asking all these questions, Bucky? Why is your hair so long? Why does this hospital look so weird? Where are we?"

Bucky could hear one of the monitors Steve was hooked up to start beeping in warning, and Bucky recognized the early signs of an asthma attack when he saw one. He grabbed the rescue inhaler and held it up to Steve's face. "Suck this in, Steve, and Hold your breath for 10 seconds if you can."

Steve followed Bucky's instructions, and his breathing evened itself out, "What's happening, Buck, and why am I here? You know I can't afford the hospital."

Bucky cleared his throat, "Well, this isn't exactly a hospital and what happened is a really long sort of unbelievable story." Bucky stood up and shucked his jacket and gloves putting his metal arm on display for his best friend.

"Bucky, what happened to you? Who hurt you?"

Bucky was touched by the rage he saw in Steve's face. Even confused and sick, Steve still cared about him, "Calm down, Punk, the short version is we are in the twenty-first century. We are part of a team of people that defends the planet from threats, and we technically are in our 90s right now. You got hit with some sort of weapon that has deaged you to your 20 something-year-old self as far as I can tell. I have no idea how or why, and I don't know if we can reverse it."

"You skipped over the part where you don't look that much older than you did in 1940, Bucky, not to mention where the metal arm came from? Also, don't kid yourself. I'll be lucky to live to see 50, much less 90. Not to mention no way a team that has to do any fighting takes me you've heard the army's feelings about my suitability for combat."

"How about we listen to the things the Doctor has to tell us, and then we can get you dressed, and I'll show you around this story will work better with visual aids."

Steve nodded his head, "he looked around and noticed all the other people in the room for the first time. He looked at Bucky questioningly."

"They're your friends Stevie; they just want to know you're alright. Let me make some introductions, and then they can wait for us in the living room while I finish explaining." Bucky introduced each member of the team, and they all trickled out of the room.

The team all settled themselves in the living room to wait for Bucky and Steve. Thor was the first to break the silence, "I know no the norms for your Midgardian bodies, but the good Captain seems far punier than is normal for your kind?"

Tony snorted, "That is an understatement, Point Break. Although it seems like rabid attention to snowflakes wellbeing is just a part of who capsicle is."

Natasha cut across Tony, "You have got to try to be nicer to Steve while we have this Steve here." Clint crossed his arms and glared from Natasha's side to indicate his agreement.

Bruce cleared his throat, "I think we're all going to have to be a little careful with this, Steve; we don't really know this one, and having all the issues he has could complicate things."

"Alright, Jolly Green, we get it you and the super spy twins are going to baby capsicle, and the rest of us will fall into line. I've already got Friday running analysis on the Alien tech, and SHIELD is working on breaking our evil scientist. We'll have our old stick in the mud back before you know it."

At that moment, Steve and Bucky walked into the room; it looked like Bucky had put him in Natasha's clothes, an old pair of SHIELD sweat pants, and a t-shirt. They came into the living room, and Steve seemed to hide behind Bucky on the couch. Natasha noticed the differences in his mannerisms and demeanor. She wondered how much of his old self Steve had lost when he became Captain America.

Bucky looked around the room expectantly. Steve noticed Bucky's gaze and sat up straighter, looking around the room with a very familiar stubborn expression, "I get that I'm not your Steve, I'll stay out of everyone's hair until you figure this out, and if you can't figure it out, I'll head out and get out of your hair. I'm not going to impose here." Bucky rolled his eyes, "Could you have started off on a less adversarial tone Stevie, even I might not be able to stop you from getting killed if one of these people actively decides to hurt you."

Natasha snorted, "You aren't imposing, Steve, and you are crazy if you think we'd let our friend out to fend for himself. Especially since many things have happened in the last 80 years, and even the you that came out of the ice hadn't quite figured them all out yet. I can help with the getting beaten up in an alley bit though, if Dr. Cho says it's okay, I can do some physical training with you and maybe teach you how to fight more effectively?"

Steve nodded, "Thank you, ma'am I'd appreciate that."

"Natasha or Nat will suffice, Steve. Well, Boys, I'll leave you to it. I've got some people to get in contact with."

An uncomfortable silence stretched across the room again in Natasha's absence. Tony was the first to break it, "I'm sorry, Capsicle, but this is just so weird. How do you survive the winter?"

Steve looked uncomfortable, "Sorry, and I don't know…."

Tony hooted, "Capsicle just told me sorry FRIDAY, please tell me you recorded that so I can watch it again?"

"Yes, sir, the sequence of events has been recorded, but per your previous agreement with Captain Rogers, I cannot allow free access to the footage."

"Damn, I forgot about that, still keep it in the vault; I want to know it exists."

"Yes, sir."

Steve looked up at the ceiling, "Who is that woman?"

Tony looked at Bruce then back at Steve, "Any ideas, Brucie? I don't know how to explain AI to a dude from 1940."

Bruce looked at Steve, "It's ah a Ceiling Robot that runs the building? You can talk to her, her name is FRIDAY, she can help you with stuff."

Steve nodded, "Ms. Friday, Ma'm nice to meet you."

"Thank you, Captain Rogers. If you need anything, just say my name."

"Thank you, Ma'm."

Tony got up and dragged Bruce with him, "We're going to go work on figuring out the weapon that hit you, Capsicle. Feel free to come down to the lab whenever."

Steve nodded at their retreating backs, "Why does he keep calling me Capsicle Buck?"

Bucky chuckled, "It's one of Tony's favorite nicknames for you because you are a Captain, and you were frozen for 70 years like an icicle. It's terrible, but his other nicknames for you are worse. Don't be offended by Stark; you guys are friends, he just doesn't have a filter, but he's an okay guy."

Clint smiled, "Nice to re-meet you, Cap. See you around." With that, Clint flipped himself up into the air vents.

Steve watched him open-mouthed, "We certainly keep interesting company in the future."

Bucky chuckled, "Come on, Steve let me show you around the Tower and introduce you to some of the future stuff you need to know about."

It was three days before Natasha saw little Steve again; she was in the training room and heard the doors woosh open.

"Hi Steve, did you want to join me in some training?"

"Apologies, Ma'm Bucky had to go into work, and I was just wandering around; I didn't mean to bother you."

"You aren't bothering me, Steve; I wouldn't have offered to train with you if I wasn't willing."

"I don't know how much training I can actually do."

"Well, you survive boot camp, or you will, and Helen gave you a rescue inhaler in case you have an asthma attack; let's try it." Natasha noticed how uncomfortable Steve seemed and wondered if there was anything she could do to ease his discomfort.

"I know you don't know me well, Steve, but I am your friend. I don't want to do anything that will make you feel uncomfortable. We used to train together a lot. I'd like to be able to teach you a few things."

"Let's try it. What do you have in mind, Ma'm?"

"First of all, Steve, Stop calling me Ma'm. My name is Natasha, or you can call me Nat."

"Yes, ma…I mean Natasha. Where should we start?"

"Let's start with something simple; we'll try some weight lifting and see what you can manage. If you can handle more after that, we'll work on the bag for a while so I can get a sense of your fighting style. I should be able to make a training plan for you."

"You don't need to go to all that trouble. I might not be here for long, and if I am here long term, I meant what I said about not imposing on you all."

"It's no trouble at all, Steve. I oversee everyone's training, usually with your assistance. And if we can't figure out a way to get you back to 1940, no one is going to let you just wander into the 21st century to fend for yourself. Even if you stay you, Steve, you are still a part of this team. Now no more stalling time to train."

Natasha watched Steve carefully as she put him through his paces. He struggled with even the lighter weights, but he persisted and didn't complain. When she moved him to the punching bags and began putting him through his paces there, she began to realize just how stubborn Steve truly was.

"Okay, let's call that there for the day, not too bad, Rogers. How are you doing?"

Steve pushed his hair out of his face and smiled at her, "I could do this all day."

"I see some things never change. But you did well. Who taught you to fight?"

"Bucky, he said I needed to start fighting smarter since I'm not exactly the biggest guy. I think he just gets tired of hauling me out of alleys."

"You get into a lot of back alley fights?"

Steve just blushed and cleared his throat, "Thank you for showing me some things today. I know you're probably more used to Big Steve, so thanks for slowing down for me."

Natasha smiled at him, "No thanks are necessary, Steve, if you want, we can do this again tomorrow same time?"

"I'd like that; thank you."

The doors opened, and Bucky walked into the training room, "Hey, Punk did Nat kill you today? Maybe she'll have better luck than I did at teaching you not to start fights you can't win."

"I'm pretty sure she took it easy on me; how did your meeting go?"

"It went fine. Sam and I are getting send out later this week; just for a quick mission, we leave tomorrow morning and should be gone just a couple of days."

"Where are you going?"

"I can't tell you that, Steve."

"Will you be careful?"

"I'm always careful, Steve. It'll be okay; this will give you a chance to get to know the others a bit better as well. Just don't do anything stupid until I get back."

Steve smiled at his friend, "How can I? You're takin' all the stupid with you."

Natasha cleared her throat, "Well boys, how about we get cleaned up? After all, it is team dinner tonight, and Thor has promised us a Traditional Asgardian meal. I heard him talking to Tony last week about getting alligator, so something tells me we are in for an interesting night."

Bucky snorted, and Steve looked slightly horrified, so Natash shooed them along, "Get going, you two hang out for a bit together, but don't be late for dinner."

Steve wasn't sure the alligator had agreed with him, but he hadn't wanted to be rude. Thor already seemed to be disappointed by how little Steve ate until Bucky reminded him that Steve's appetite would be much smaller than expected without the serum.

It was still a lot to wrap his head around; the idea that he would be chosen for a super-soldier program seemed laughable, and yet Bucky had shown him a picture of himself, and he certainly looked like a super-soldier.

Everything about the life Steve had supposedly lived for the last 80 years seemed weird and impossible. With Bucky gone, Steve felt a bit adrift. No matter what the others said, he wasn't their Steve. They had gotten saddled with a weakling who couldn't fight with them when they were used to a super-soldier. This wasn't okay, and Steve wasn't sure how to fix it.

He was wandering through the Tower again when he heard an explosion behind one of the doors. He ran into the room and saw Tony being sprayed with a fire extinguisher by a robot?

"Are you okay, Tony?"

Tony saw Steve leaning over him looking concerned, "I'm fine; I set things on fire pretty regularly. It's a hazard of being me. What are you doing down here?"

"I was just wandering around when I heard the explosion. Are you sure you're okay?"

Tony nodded, "I'm fine. Are you sure you're fine?" There was a bit of a wheeze when Steve took a breath.

Steve nodded, but FRIDAY cut him off before he could speak.

"Sir, I believe Captain Rogers is in the early stages of an asthma attack. I would recommend the use of the rescue inhaler now."

Steve nodded as he wheezed and pulled the inhaler out to use with shaking hands. Tony hovered, feeling useless, while Steve's breathing began to even out.

"FRIDAY, clear the air in here, please."

"Yes, Sir."

Steve cleared his throat, "Thanks, Tony."

"Do you want to sit in here while I mess with this stuff?"

"I don't want to get in your way, Tony. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"You aren't getting in my way. You used to come down here all the time to sketch while I worked. We didn't get off to a great start working together, and we've had our differences, so we sit in here together and try not to argue with each other too much. I kind of miss the company."

"I don't have a sketchbook, but I could sit down here for a while."

"Have a seat. Are you okay with snowflake being away?"

"Why do you call Bucky Snowflake?"

"I nickname everyone; they usually aren't flattering."

"Bucky said you call future me capsicle?"

"Oh yes, or spangles, you know, since you're all patriotic and such."

"What do I call you?"

"Tony usually, Stark if you're mad, Damnit Tony if you're really frustrated with me."

"Does that happen often?"

"Oh yes, I am not great at following the rules. It drives you crazy."

"I get on someone about not following rules!"

"Yes, are you not a religious follower of rules and regulations currently?"

"No! Bucky is always on my back about doing what I'm supposed to do. I can't help it, though. I know what I think the right thing to do is, and sometimes the rules just get in the way."

"Yes! That is exactly how I feel; how did we not know this about each other?"

"I don't know; maybe that's something that changed about me when I got big. Bucky said there are some differences."

"I gotta say, Cap, I think you and I might be able to be better friends than big you and I are."

"I've only ever had Bucky. I'm not sure I know how to be friends with someone."

Tony threw down his tools with a manic look in his eyes, "Well, for starters, do any of your medications say not to drink when you take them?"

"I don't think so…."

"Good, then let's start this friendship off with a drink and see where the night goes."

Bruce walked into Tony's lab expecting to find the inventor had spent the night working and was surprised to see Tony and Steve apparently passed out on the floor together. Tony was sprawled out mostly on the couch in the lab, and Steve was sitting upright by his head leaning against the armrest. There were three empty whiskey bottles between them, and Bruce couldn't help but chuckle. Tony had always wanted to see what Steve would be like if he drank, and it seems like now he finally found out.

"UHG, are we dead?"

"Shhh, Stevie, I haven't decided yet."

"Neither of you is dead, but you might be if Bucky gets back and sees this."

Steve cracked open an eye experimentally and hissed, "Bucky is coming today?"

"Yes, he and Sam should be back from their mission by lunchtime today. Plenty of time for me to get you two sober and recovered. Now both of you get up and get showered."

Tony groaned again, "Five more minutes Jolly Green, please!"

"Nope, up now, or I'll make the other guy do it, and he is not going to be as nice as I will."

Bruce watched as the two men staggered to their feet and made their way to the elevator. Bruce was pretty sure Steve was going to throw up, and Tony was still walking with his eyes closed.

"I'll be waiting for you both in the common area kitchen. You've got 20 minutes."

Bruce busied himself in the kitchen, making breakfast for the two wayward Avengers. Clint wandered in and gave Bruce a questioning look.

"Tony and Steve got very drunk last night. They should be up soon for breakfast. I sent them to shower."

Clint whistled lowly, "Are you planning on telling Barnes?"

"Telling Barnes what?" Natasha slid onto the stool next to Clint.

"Steve and Tony got drunk together last night; Bruce here is trying to get them cleaned up before Bucky and Sam gets back. Speaking of getting back, where were you this morning?"

"I dropped Wanda and Vision off in the city; they are having a date day starting with those pastries Wanda likes from that place by the art museum with the exhibit Vision wants to see."

All further conversation was cut off by Tony and Steve emerging from the elevator.

"I've got to say, Stevie, I haven't had that much fun in years."

"It was definitely worth the headache, Tony; after all, some rules are made to be broken."

"I think you're my new best friend, don't tell Rhody."

The two stopped short when they saw the three avengers waiting for them. Bruce cleared his throat, "Well, you two look less like death; come get some breakfast. Tony, I've got coffee for you. Steve, juice for you."

The two men joined the others at the table, and for a few moments, everything was quiet until Natasha cleared her throat, "I think you boys need a training session with me this morning. Finish your breakfasts and meet me in the gym."

Natasha wandered off, leaving a sniggering Clint and an amused-looking Bruce behind. Tony and Steve looked at each other in dismay.

Time passed quickly for the team, and soon having pre-serum Steve around began to feel normal. Tony and Steve spent long hours together while Tony tried to explain the technology. The two explored the boundaries of the rules together. Natasha and Steve trained together three days a week. While he would never be strong, his health and overall physical fitness had improved. Bruce and Steve spent quiet time together reading. Clint and Steve played video games. Steve had taken the time to get to know and tried to look after both Wanda and Vision. Thor had been off-planet for most of the time, and Steve and Sam frequently cooked together. The most significant change, though, was in Bucky. Everyone had noticed a big difference in Steve when Bucky returned, but now they were beginning to see the shadow of pre-war Bucky for the first time. Seeing how he and Steve interacted and supported each other, the whole team had a new appreciation of why Steve would risk everything for this man.

The team had been called out, and Steve helped them with pre-planning and was waiting when they returned to help out after a mission was over. It was becoming the new normal for them. Which is why they all noticed when Steve didn't greet them when they had returned from their most recent mission.

They quickly searched through the Tower and checked their phones for missed messages.

"FRIDAY, when was the last time you saw Steve?"

"Welcome back Sir, I last saw Captain Rogers three days ago. He left the Tower for an unspecified purpose and has not returned."

"And why didn't you alert one of us?"

"My protocols did not deem it necessary, Sir."

Bucky began to look frantic, "Let's got look in his room, maybe there is a clue there about what he was doing. Tony, can you try to hack into his phone?"

He didn't wait for the man to respond and instead rushed off to Steve's room. He looked around the room and couldn't find anything out of place. Steve's clothes were neatly folded, a book with its spot marked sat on the nightstand, and steve's sketchbook and pencils were sitting on the desk. There wasn't a single sheet of paper out of order, and Bucky sat cursing his friend's neatness. Bucky pulled out drawers and rifled through the trash; there was not a single thing that could indicate where his friend had gone.

Tony entered the room, staring at his stark pad, "I've got nothing on his phone either he doesn't have it, or it's been disabled in some way. The other Avengers trickled in, all empty-handed.

They made their way to the common living area. They asked FRIDAY to start scanning through security footage to track Steve's movement. He was wandering around the Tower Three days ago when he got a phone call. They watched as he hung up the phone and rushed out of the Tower. From there, he headed into the city, and FRIDAY followed him from Security camera to security camera. He took another phone call and hung up with the determined Captain look on his face. He stomped on his phone and threw it in the nearby trash can before walking into an alley with no camera coverage. From there, he vanished; no one came out of the alley, no one went in, and Steve never came out.

Natasha and Clint left to case the alley while the other continued shifting through security footage and tried to figure out who would want to kidnap Steve. They had kept things very quiet after Steve had been hit by that alien ray; the public just thought Captain America had been sent on a long-term undercover mission. They hadn't wanted any of Steve's enemies to try to come after him in his weakened state.

Natasha and Clint returned and reported that they had taken Steve into the sewer system in the alley. After searching for any clue to their lost leader, they were pleased to note that Steve was resourceful. He had left smears of charcoal all along his path as he's gone. The two had followed his trail until it got close to the end, and they had started to detect surveillance ahead. The team quickly readied themselves and retraced the spy's steps. They were surprised to find a Hydra base hidden under the city. They stormed the base taking out everyone they could in their attempts to get to Steve.

Bucky is running through the halls of the base, desperate to find Steve. This version of Steve was never supposed to meet Hydra. This Steve was sickly and breakable, and all this was basically Bucky's worst nightmare come to life. He bashes his way into a lab and subdues the scientists. He looks across the room, and his heart absolutely shatters when he sees Steve tied to the table covered in blood and bruises. His friend was unconscious and hanging from his restraints. Bucky tore the restraints from the table and picked up Steve, trying not to jar the man too severely. Steve let out a pained groan when he was moved and tucked his head into Bucky's neck. He hurried out to where Bruce was waiting; he had been sent back to retrieve the Quinjet when it became evident that this wasn't going to be a code green situation.

Bucky loaded his friend into the jet, and Bruce began tending to his wounds. As the team filters into the quinjet, the base exploded behind them. They had one of the scientists cuffed and shut him in the holding cell as they headed back to the Tower.

Bucky sat at Steve's bedside for three days waiting for his friend to wake. Natasha had been ruthless in the interrogation room, but the Hydra scientists caved and told them everything. They had more super-soldier serum and were planning to break Steve turn him to Hydra, and then redo the serum to have their own loyal super-soldier; no brainwashing required. Bucky still saw red every time he thought about what Hydra had planned for his friend.

Finally, on the fourth day, Steve's eyes cracked open, and he let out a groan. Bucky quickly lifted the water to his lips to sip.

"What happened?"

"Hydra had you, Steve; why on Earth did you give yourself up to Hydra?"

"I had to; they said they had you and were going to turn you back into the winter soldier unless I came to them willingly. I couldn't let anything else bad happen to you, Buck."

"But it was a trick Steve, you are my best friend, my brother, and the one person I couldn't survive losing you. Why is it no matter if you're big or small, you are still this annoyingly sacrificial." Bucky felt the frustration he had felt in Steve's absence and the days he'd lain unconscious rising in him. "Why can't you realize that other people actually care about you and don't want to watch you destroy yourself. There are at least a dozen ways you could have gone about dealing with Hydra that didn't involve just giving up."

"I didn't mean to worry you, Buck; I just would rather it be me that gets hurt than someone I care about. It seemed like the right things to do."

Bucky slumped in his seat, "and you always do what you feel is right. Damnit, Stevie."

Steve sighed, "I won't apologize for doing what I did, but I am sorry I worried you."

Bucky chuckled, "I guess I'll take that. I should also tell you that when you're healed, we have the alien tech that Hydra used to reverse the serum process, and if you want, we can make you Big Steve again."

"If I want, you're giving me a choice?"

"It's your body, Steve. If you want to stay the way you are now, you can stay here and keep helping us with strategy and planning. Nothing has to change unless you want it to."

"I don't want to stay like this Bucky, apart from the fact that it sucks being sick all the time, I can't help as many people or help in the ways I want to like this."

Bucky nodded and watched as Steve slipped back to sleep. Steve would continue to find trouble, and Bucky would keep being there to make sure he didn't hurt himself too badly.