Tony was in the lab working on updates to the suit when J.A.R.V.I.S. alerted him to a temporal anomaly on the compound's grounds. Cursing the fact that he was the only one in the facility at the moment, he called his suit. Tony hurried to the source of the anomaly, hoping it wasn't aliens again. He arrived to find a group of people unconscious on the lawn, taken aback when he realized that one of the people looked like a younger version of his father.
"Hey J, call the Iron Legion and take these people to the holding cells."
"As you wish, Sir, shall I notify the team to return post haste, sir?"
"Yeah, J, let 'em know it's under control for the moment, though."
"Of course, Sir, Captain Rogers is 2 minutes and 17 seconds out; he cut his run short as soon as I notified him that you were responding to a temporal anomaly alone."
"J, you know how he worries."
"Indeed, sir, but Captain Rogers cares for your well-being far more than even I do, so I thought it prudent to notify him."
Tony watched as the iron legion carried the people away, turning when he heard the sound of his husband running towards him. He couldn't help but admire his husband. Even after all the years they had been married, he was so beautiful, and for some reason, that beautiful good man loved him, Tony Stark. It was still hard to believe sometimes.
"Tony, are you okay? What happened?"
"I'm still not really sure; I have to look at the data maybe see what Brucie Bear thinks. J.A.R.V.I.S. registered a temporal anomaly, and I came out here and found a group of people unconscious on the lawn. The Iron Legion is taking them to the holding cells now."
Tony smiled as he watched Steve's face turn serious as he started planning.
"Come on, Spangles let's go inside, and when the rest of the team gets here, we'll figure out what to do."
Steve smiled down at Tony, "Are you actually taking this as well as you seem to be, Honey?"
"Probably not, but I'll freak out later once we've got some answers."
Tony laced his fingers through Steve's, feeling the wedding ring on his left hand and allowing the security of Steve to sink into him as they made their way to the meeting room. The team trickled in until finally, they were all assembled.
Natasha cleared her throat, "What's up boys? Why did you call us back? What's the situation?"
"Thanks for asking, Red; J.A.R.V.I.S. detected a temporal anomaly above the compound about an hour ago. I went to check it out and found a group of people unconscious on the lawn. I've not seen anything like this before; the readings are all over the place. It's like someone tried to build a time machine, but it doesn't work properly, unlike ours. They're down in the holding cells whenever we're ready to talk to them."
"If I may interject, Sir, the occupants of the holding cells are beginning to wake, and their vital signs indicate distress."
The team made their way down to the holding cells; they got a good look at the occupants, and Steve, Bucky, and Tony all froze.
The woman in the farthest cell spoke, "Steve is that you?"
Steve's voice was faint as he replied, "Hi Peg."
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Something was not right; something was very not right. Steve looked at the faces in the cells in front of him, and he knew some of these people. There were three men he didn't recognize as well. What was happening here? He looked over to Tony and saw his face had lost all color as he stared at the cell that held his father and one of the men that Steve didn't recognize. He reached a hand out to his husband and felt the warmth of Tony's hand squeezing his own. He looked to his other side and saw Bucky's face was dangerously blank.
"You can go if you need to, Buck."
He nodded and turned, walking almost robotically from the room.
"Hey, J.A.R.V.I.S., can you let me know if he starts wintering?"
"Yes, Captain, I will."
Steve noted the reaction from the man next to Howard when he said J.A.R.V.I.S. and the shock of hearing the A.I.'s voice; maybe this was the guy J.A.R.V.I.S. was named for?
Steve cleared his throat, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
One of the men Steve didn't recognize spoke first, "we should be asking you that who do you think you are to imprison Agents of the S.S.R. and the C.I.A.?"
Natasha cut in, "How outdated is your intel that you think the S.S.R. still exists?"
The man seemed to swell with anger but was cut off by a sharp look from the woman that looked like Peggy, "Honestly, Jack, do Shut Up."
Steve sighed out a breath slowly, "Okay, let's try this again. One at a time, who are you? We'll start with you, names, please." Steve pointed to the end farthest from Peggy at a man he didn't recognize.
"Daniel Sousa."
Steve nodded and gestured for the others to continue.
"Edwin Jarvis."
"Howard Stark"
"Jack Thompson."
"Peggy Carter. Now, who are you? We'll start with you."
Peggy pointed at Steve, and he couldn't help but chuckle, "I suppose that's fair. We are the Avengers my name is Steve Rogers. But if you really are who I think you are, you already knew that Peg."
"Steve? How is this possible? Where are we, and how are you here?"
"That's a long story, and I can't tell you that until I know who you really are. All of you should be dead now."
"What year is it, Steve?"
"It's 2028."
The explanations are surprising from everyone went a long way towards convincing Steve they were who they said they were. "What year was it where you came from?"
"It's 1947. We were in our office, and something suddenly appeared in a blue light and shot something at us, and we woke up in these cells. I have no idea what happened to bring us here?"
Steve looked at Tony, "We've got three of the best minds in the world working on it. If anyone can figure it out, they will. We are going to want to run some tests to prove you are who you say you are."
Peggy shot a sharp glare at the men, "We will do whatever you see fit to prove we are who we say we are. In the meantime, how are you planning to prove to us that you are who you say you are? After all, the Steve Rogers I knew died two years ago when he crashed in the Arctic ocean."
Steve stepped forward, "you can do 107 one-armed push-ups; the day Howard gave me my shield, you shot me, you were the one who escorted me the day of project rebirth we drove through Brooklyn, and I told you all the places I'd gotten beaten up and you accused me of not knowing how to talk to women."
"Steve, how are you still alive?"
"I'll fill you in as soon as I know you are who you say you are Peg. If you all will let Dr. Banner here get some blood samples, we should be able to get this all sorted out quickly."
Tony turned and left the room quickly; Steve stayed only long enough to ensure that Clint and Natasha would keep an eye on things while Bruce took his samples. Steve followed his husband and found him in the common sitting room with a much recovered Bucky, Rhody, Sam, Peter, and Wanda.
"How are you both doing?"
Tony walked over and wrapped his arms around Steve's waist, grinning at Bucky, "We're in trouble now, snowflake, Spangles' worry wrinkle is out, and he doesn't know which one of us to fuss over first."
Bucky chuckled, "I'm fine Stevie. It just caught me off guard seeing Howard after…Well after. Seeing Carter was weird too. Should we be asking how you are?"
Steve tightened his arms around his husband, "I'm fine; Peg and I made our peace with everything before she died. I'm more worried about how you two are doing?"
With that, Steve looked down at Tony, "are you okay, Tones?"
Tony buried his head in Steve's chest, "I'm fine, but I do want to get to work on the data J.A.R.V.I.S. got on the temporal anomaly. I'll be down in the lab; come grab me if you need me for anything."
Steve reluctantly let Tony go knowing he wouldn't get a straight answer out of him about his father right now.
Bucky slapped Steve on the shoulder, "go look after your fella Stevie, I'm going to be fine. Oi bird brain, you want to do a little sparing with me?"
Sam shook his head, "I'll show you bird brain; let's go, grampa. I got him Cap do what you gotta do."
Rhody shook his head, "Are you sure we aren't running a preschool here, Cap? I'll take Wanda with me, and we'll do a little digging into the names of the people who got dropped here."
Steve nodded, "That would be great, Rhody, Wanda, thank you. I'll check on Tony and then come help you dig things up. Peter, can you go help Bruce for now?"
Peter bounded out of the room behind Rhody and Wanda, "Yes, Sir Captain Rogers On it!"
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Once Bruce left with the blood samples, things quickly grew restless; Peggy sighed internally as she watched the men around her work themselves up. As impossible as it seemed, Peggy believed that man was Steve Rogers, so she was willing to wait for answers for now.
It was rather amusing to watch Howard try and fail to break out of his cell. It wasn't often he came up against a scientist more intelligent than he is. Daniel seemed to be brooding about something. Peggy had a sneaking suspicion she knew what he was fretting about. Jack was getting himself all worked up, and Jarvis was staring at the ceiling waiting for the voice Steve had called J.A.R.V.I.S. to speak again. It had rattled him that the voice sounded so similar to his own. Ignoring the men, for now, she set herself to remember as many things as she could about what had transpired earlier.
"What are these cells made of? This is nothing I've ever seen before; I need to talk to whoever built this."
"Might I remind you, Sir, it is 2028. There have probably been many technological advances of which you know nothing yet."
"I wonder who engineered this stuff?"
Jack smacked his cell wall, "can we stop talking about how impressive you think the cells are and figure out how we're going to get out of here!"
Peggy cleared her throat, "Gentlemen, it is safe to assume everything we say is being monitored, so I would advise against doing anything rash."
Jack turned to Peggy, his face screwed up in anger, "so we just wait here because you think that big blonde lug head is your old boyfriend."
"Honesty Thompson, just when I think you know how to behave like a civilized human being, we are stuck in what we've been told is 81 years in the future and are stuck inside cells that the brightest engineering mind of our time can't break out of, and thus far no one has demonstrated any hostility beyond locking us up. At present, our best move is to wait and gather more information before we do something stupid!"
A throat cleared from the doorway, "Sorry to interrupt, but we've proved you are who you say you are, and we can put you up in guest rooms until we can figure out how to send you home."
Peggy looked over to see the man who had drawn the blood samples earlier, "it was Dr. Banner, was it not?"
"Yes, but you can call me Bruce. We don't stand for much formality around here, Ms. Carter."
"You may call me Peggy. Are we simply trading the obvious cells for the prettier ones now?"
"No, you aren't prisoners here. You can leave, although I would recommend sticking to the facility grounds. If Steve is any indication, you all may struggle to adjust to future living. I'll get you settled, and we'll explain what we think happened over dinner."
Peggy nodded in agreement and sent a quelling look towards the men; she wanted answers, and this seemed the most direct way to get them.
They followed Bruce to a large building where they were each assigned what seemed to be an unnecessarily large room and told to be in the dining room by six.
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Steve found himself at loose ends. They had done a thorough search on all the people who had appeared on the grounds, and he probably knew more about them than they knew about themselves. He was torn between wanting to talk to Peggy and Howard and wanting to fuss over Bucky and Tony. His husband was sequestered in the lab, and Steve wasn't sure she could see Howard without hitting him. Bucky had gone to spar with Sam brushing off his concern.
Deciding he might try talking to Tony again, Steve headed down to the lab and was surprised to see his lockdown override code worked this time. Tony was standing in the lab surrounded by his holograms, muttering to himself while looking at the anomaly data. Steve was taken aback once again by how beautiful his husband was and how incredible his mind was when you got to see it up close. Steve couldn't help the smile that stretched across his face.
"What are you doing, Steve?"
"Admiring my wonderful husband. How are you doing?"
Tony stepped away from the holograms and wrapped his arms around Steve's waist, "I'm not sure how to handle this. It is Howard, but this is a Howard I never knew; I'm kind of curious about what he used to be like. What about you? These are people you knew friends, your first love. How are you, Steve?"
"I'm fine Tony, it'll be nice to see Peggy again, but I'm not sure how I feel about Howard? I want to hurt him for hurting you. I guess I have until dinner tonight to figure it out." Steve took a deep breath relishing the feel of his Tony leaning against him.
Tony nuzzled further into Steve's chest, "Well, I may not know what to do about Howard, but I do know what brought our time travelers here. Bruce, Pete, and I compared the signatures from this event to the Hydra weapon that de-aged people, and it's a similar frequency. I think they modified that weapon to give us this mess we've got here. The question is, why?"
Steve sighed, "It's Hydra, so probably no good reason." He wrapped his arms more securely around his husband and just took a moment to appreciate.
At that moment, they were interrupted by the alarm signaling their need to assemble. The two men hurried into their gear and up to the flight deck. Whatever was going on with their visitors would have to wait until after they had dealt with this more pressing crisis.
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Drawn from their rooms by the alarm, Peggy led the other time travelers into the central area of the compound where J.A.R.V.I.S. the robot informed them that the Avengers had been called out on a mission. He instructed them to report to the control room where Agent Hill was monitoring the mission.
Peggy stepped into the room and felt her jaw drop at the sight of the screens of what she could only assume were live video feeds from the Avengers themselves. The woman she presumed was Agent Hill was tracking the verbal communications between the teams, watching the video feeds, and helping to strategize while the Avengers fought what looked like robots?
Their arrival must have alerted Agent Hill; she turned to look at them, "Welcome to the control room. A minor bad guy who calls himself the Ultimate has struck again; he occasionally menaces the city with robots. The Avengers were called out to stop them and round him up for the police."
"Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Thank you for the offer Director Carter, but at this moment, everything is under control. You may feel free to stay and observe until dinner if you wish."
Peggy snorted, "We can hardly think about food at a time like this."
Agent Hill had turned back to the screens, "well, either way, you are not authorized to assist with anything right now; feel free to stay or go like we said earlier you aren't prisoners here."
Peggy hurried from the room. The men close on her heels, "What gives Carter, why are you running off?"
"Do try to use your brain Thompson, everyone is out. Agent Hill is busy; this is the perfect opportunity for us to snoop around and check out our hosts."
"If I may interject Director Carter, your hosts are who they seem, and you are welcome anywhere in the facility. I will pull up a map of the facility for you. However, Sir's lab is currently on lockdown due to an experiment of a sensitive nature I am monitoring for him. I cannot allow you to wander into anyone else's sleeping quarters without their express permission."
They stepped back in surprise when a holographic model of the facility appeared before them with a blinking red dot indicating their position.
"Thank you, Mr…."
"I am called J.A.R.V.I.S. Director Carter, which is short for Just a Rather Very Intelligent System. I am an artificial intelligence Sir created. You may call me J.A.R.V.I.S. or J, whichever you prefer."
"Mr. J.A.R.V.I.S. then that is a most peculiar name. We have a man here named Edwin Jarvis."
"Yes, Director Carter, I do not have an explanation for you. Might I suggest you begin your snooping? It ought not take the Avengers too long to dispatch the robots."
Peggy, followed by the men, began a search of the living quarters they were stationed in. True to his word, the robot J.A.R.V.I.S. refused to allow them into anyone's sleeping quarters. Still, they searched all the common living areas, found a ballet studio, a rather impressive array of exercise equipment, a rather large study, and Peggy stopped, taken aback when they walked through the door of what appeared to be an art studio. She saw her own face on the wall.
Peggy approached the wall with care; there were four paintings, one of a blonde-haired blue-eyed woman in a nurses outfit, the second was of the howling commandos she was in this one standing next to Steve in her combat gear, the third was of Steve and five others who she recognized as people she was introduced to earlier. The fourth held so many different people in uniform that she didn't even know where to begin, but she could again pick out Steve and the five others from the third picture.
"Mr. J.A.R.V.I.S., the ceiling Mr. J.A.R.V.I.S. that is?"
"Yes, Director Carter?"
"Could you tell us who these people in the pictures are?"
"Yes, these are Captain Roger's works. The first is his mother as he remembers her. The second is his first team, the howling commandos. The third picture is the original six Avengers. The fourth is of all the superheroes who are currently counted within the Avenger's initiative."
"This really is the Steve I knew in 1945, isn't it?"
"Yes, Director Carter."
Howard cut in, "why do you keep calling Peggy Director Carter?"
"It is her designated title Mr. Stark, Peggy Carter, former director of S.H.E.I.L.D. in my system she is referenced as Director Carter."
Peggy could see Thompson swelling in anger when he was cut off by a voice in the doorway, "What are you doing in Steve's art studio? Let me guess you were snooping and realized there was nothing to find, and you can't get into anyone's rooms."
She felt her jaw drop when she saw the person in the doorway, "Sargent Barnes?"
"Agent Carter, long time no see."
"How is this possible you died, you fell from a train, Steve was nearly inconsolable."
"Almost completely true, I did fall from a train, but I didn't die. The short version is Hydra got me, and I was a P.O.W. for 70 years. When my unit got captured, they had injected me with something meant to be like Steve's serum. It wasn't quite the same, but it allowed me to live long enough for them to capture me and finish the job."
"Bucky I…"
"You don't need to say anything Peg, I've been out from under Hydra for more than a decade now."
"So all this is real then, we aren't being lured into some elaborate trap?"
"Would I really tell you the truth if it was a trap?"
"Valid point. Why aren't you off fighting robots?"
"Steve worries, bringing you all back, having to think about the 40s again. He fusses more than my ma used to. He wanted me to stay here in case you getting dropped here destabilized me. I swear he turns more into his ma every day."
"Oh, how the tables have turned; it used to be you looking after him."
"It still is that self-destructive idiot would definitely have gotten himself killed without me. Wait until I tell you some of the shit he's pulled Peg; you would have killed him."
"I look forward to hearing about it."
"Now, why don't you all come to dinner? I made pasta, and you can introduce me to these three new fellas."
Peggy heard the other men fall into line as she followed Sargent Barnes to the dining room. They all took places around the table and were silent as the food was passed from person to person. Once everyone was served, Bucky spoke, "Okay, lay it on me; I recognize Howard, but who are the other three?"
Peggy indicated to her immediate left, this is my fiancé, Chief Daniel Sousa of the S.S.R., next to him is Agent Jack Thompson of the C.I.A., and the gentleman next to Howard is Mr. Edwin Jarvis he is in Howard's employ."
"Fiancé, eh? congratulations, Peggy, you deserve the best." Bucky leveled a glare at Daniel, "Remember that Peggy deserves to be treated right."
Daniel nodded stiffly, "I know what a great gal she is."
Howard cut in, "Can you tell us more about where we are? Who is the engineer that built all this? I don't know what half the things we saw even are?"
Buckys face grew stony, "That's because our engineer Tony is better than you ever will be Howard in every way possible."
"There's no need to be rude, Sargent Barnes."
"If you knew the whole story Peggy you'd be right there with us."
"Tell me the story then."
Bucky opened his mouth only to be cut off by J.A.R.V.I.S., "Sargent Barnes, the information you are about to share could compromise the future. You must not share anything that could jeopardize the timestream."
The rest of dinner was somewhat stilted, and the travelers retired to their rooms after the meal.
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Steve watched as Clint stuck their handcuffed wannabe villain into the holding cell on the quinjet. The robots hadn't been very destructive, fortunately, but they had been quite a nuisance. Steve couldn't help but smile at Tony; he sat on the floor surrounded by disassembled robot pieces declaring it all junk.
Once the team had all settled in to return to the compound, he drew their attention, "This might be a good time to talk about the situation we're returning to. We've got five unknowns staying with us right now. We don't know why they were sent to us, but Tony and Bruce think they know-how."
Tony cleared his throat, "It seems to be a modification of Hydras de-aging ray gun, so instead of transporting a person backward through their own physical history, it moves a person through history while not altering their own physicality. It's cool, but so far, we can't see any reason for doing this? Why bring this specific group of people here now?"
Natasha cleared her throat, "We also don't know if this is aimed at them or at us. Also, I don't think we can trust the tall blonde one, Thompson; I think he was called."
Steve nodded, "Okay, so for now, we should proceed like this is an attack on both sides of the time travel. We can find out what was happening in 1947 New York and see what we can uncover here in 2028. If this is Hydra, they've got to be up to something."
The other avengers nodded their agreement, and the rest of the short flight was spent speculating about the time travelers. The compound was quiet when they arrived, the ever efficient Maria Hill greeting them on the landing pad and giving them an overview of the night. The time travelers had wandered through all common areas of the compound and had met Bucky in Steve's art studio. Bucky had fed them dinner and convinced them all to return to their rooms to turn in for the evening.
Steve was sitting on the edge of the bed reading an article J.A.R.V.I.S. had pulled up for him on the tablet when he felt the bed dip and his husband's arms come up around him.
"Doing alright, Steve?"
"I'm fine Tony, how are you doing? Getting called out to deal with those robots might have been a blessing in disguise."
"I appreciate what you've been doing all day, Captain, focusing on me and worrying about how this is making me feel, but your worry wrinkle is out in full force, and I know this can't be easy for you either. You were friends with some of these people, you were in love with Peggy once, and now you're here years after even the longest-lived of them is dead married to a man, which was illegal the last time you saw them. You've been driving Barnes crazy checking upon him. I know because he asked me three times today to distract you so you'd stop texting him. So how are you doing, Steve?"
"I wasn't lying earlier Tony, I don't know how to feel about Howard right now. I am a little worried that Peggy might not accept this, accept us, but until I talk to her, I can't say for sure how she'll react."
Tony snuggled further into his husband and started kissing the back of his neck, "She'll accept you the Peggy I knew as a kid wouldn't judge someone for who they love least of all you. Now my love, maybe we can take our minds off our unexpected guests for a while?"
Steve tightened his arm around Tony and pulled his husband further into his embrace.
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Peggy lay awake, trying to decide what to do about Daniel. At present, he was the only problem she could actually do something about. She was reasonably confident the Avengers were who they seemed. It raised questions for her about who had sent them here and why but she would need to coordinate with their hosts who had thus far been unavailable. The look on Daniel's face, though, first when he had seen Steve and then again when she had been chatting with Sargent Barnes, was unacceptable. It seemed likely Jack had been giving Daniel a hard time as well. She would have to speak with him about that as well.
Deciding on a course of action, Peggy pulled her dressing gown around her and hurried out of her room.
"Ceiling, Mr. J.A.R.V.I.S., are you awake?"
"Yes, director Carter, I do not sleep; how may I assist you?"
"Which room is Agent Thompson in?"
"He is two doors to your left, Director, and his vital signs indicate he has not yet gone to sleep."
"Thank you, Mr. J.A.R.V.I.S."
Peggy walked down the hall and knocked on the indicated door. A rumpled Jack answered quickly enough that he must have been awake, and she pushed her way into the room.
"Come on in, Marge, don't mind me. I'll just get out of your way."
"What did you say to Daniel earlier?"
"Come again, Carter, is this some Dame thing I don't understand?"
"Earlier, you were saying something to Daniel, and I could tell it upset him. What did you say?"
"Nothing, Carter, I swear. I was just pointing out how pretty your ex-boyfriend is."
"Of all the juvenile things, Thompson, you are to stop that this instant."
"What are you going to do if I don't."
Peggy pulled the concealed blade from her dressing gown and had Jack pinned against the wall before he could react, "I care about Daniel a great deal Jack, and I will not allow you to torment him. I don't like bullies, and I will hurt you if you don't stop."
She released him and stepped back, slipping her knife back into her dressing gown. With a quelling look at the man behind her, Peggy left the room with a stern, "not a word Jack."
Once again, Peggy spoke in the hallway, "Mr. J.A.R.V.I.S., are you still there?"
"Yes, director Carter."
"Which room is Chief Sousa in?"
"The room immediately to the left of Agent Thompson's Director."
Peggy knocked on the door and waited for a response. She knocked again and heard a quiet come in. Poking her head around the door, she saw Daniel sitting up in bed, his prosthetic propped up by the bedside table.
"What's wrong, Peggy? Are you okay?"
Peggy closed the door behind herself, "I'm fine. I just needed to talk to you. Do you mind if I come in?"
"It's fine Peg, what's on your mind."
"Jack is an idiot."
Daniel laughed, "Okay, well, that's not new; what's got you barging in here to tell me that?"
Peggy smiled, "I could see by your face something was wrong, and even now, you're a bit distant."
Daniel held out his hand, and Peggy took it, allowing herself to be lead to sit on the bed in the spot where Daniel's leg should be.
"I guess it's just a bit odd to see My fiance's ex-boyfriend."
"Is that all that's wrong? You never thought you'd meet an ex-boyfriend?"
"That guy Barnes said it, 'you deserve the best Peggy' and Captain America he's the best. How can anyone else measure up to him."
Peggy laughed, "oh Daniel, I never liked Steve for being Captain America. And you are the man that I chose, so there will be no measuring up or comparisons. I Love you."
"I love you to Peg. It's just hard to be here and imagine what you could have had."
Peggy rolled her eyes, "Come on, put your leg on. We're going."
Daniel looked at her curiously as he complied.
"Mr. J.A.R.V.I.S., can you hear me in here?"
"Yes, director Carter how may I help you?"
"Where is Steve right now?"
"Captain Rogers is in his room. Would you like me to alert him?"
"Yes, please tell him I need to speak with him."
"The Captain will meet you in the kitchen. He says this sounds like a conversation that needs tea."
Peggy led Daniel to the kitchen and was surprised to see Tony in the kitchen with Steve.
Steve turned when he heard them approach, "What's going on, Peggy? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine; this is my fiancé Daniel Sousa; he is being horribly maudlin because he thinks he doesn't measure up to you because he lost a leg in the war."
"Still as blunt as ever I see."
Steve turned to Daniel, "Has she told you how stupid you're being yet."
"She has, but that doesn't change anything, does it?"
Steve looked at the ceiling, "J, can you pull up my pre-serum picture and medical history on Tony's tablet, please?"
"Of course, Captain."
Steve held out the tablet and showed Daniel first the picture and then his medical history. "I am the last person who could ever judge someone based on an injury. I got rejected by the enlistment board 5 times before Dr. Erskine found me and offered me a shot at Project Rebirth. When Peggy first met me, it was a miracle I survived boot camp. When I came out of the ice, Peggy was still alive. I went to visit her, and we had a lot of time to talk and made peace with a lot of things. I will always have a special place in my heart for Peggy. She's a hell of a woman, but the life she lived while I was in the ice was pretty spectacular. She told me about you and your life together. You made Peggy so happy, you were the husband she needed, and nothing will change that. So don't sit there feeling sorry for yourself. You are lucky enough to be loved by Peggy Carter."
Daniel looked at Peggy, "you liked him before he looked like this?"
Peggy snorted, "how vain and shallow do you think I am. Yes, I liked him before the serum because he treated me like a human being deserving of respect. He never once acted like I couldn't or shouldn't do something because I was a woman and that Daniel is precisely what you do as well."
Peggy reached a hand out, and Daniel grabbed hold of her hand while Tony placed mugs of tea in front of all of them.
"Now might be a good time to tell Peggy your news as well, Steve."
Steve sighed, "I don't know how you're going to take this."
"What is it, is it about your wife? Will we get to meet her?"
"of course, you'd notice the wedding ring; you notice everything. Well, that's the thing, I don't have a wife, I have a husband."
"I presume such things are no longer illegal then?"
"Totally legal now."
Peggy turned to Tony with a smile on her face, "I presume you are the husband then?"
Tony smiled cautiously, "yes, I am."
"It's lovely to meet you, although I still don't know your name? He deserves to be happy."
Tony nodded, "I know we make each other happy. I think Steve has a type; there are too many smart, snarky brunettes in his life."
Peggy laughed and stood to pull Steve into a hug, "I'm happy for you, Steven."
The four settled in the kitchen with their mugs of tea, "but really, Tony, what is your Surname?"
Tony cleared his throat, "It's Stark, but I'd appreciate you keeping that to yourselves."
"Stark as in Howard Stark, that means Mr. J.A.R.V.I.S. in the ceiling, is named for Mr. Jarvis, the man? Am I correct in presuming Howard was not an adequate father?"
"Always the sharp one, Peggy."
Peggy paused, "May I ask to hear your story now Steve, none of this explains how you are still alive? You said something about coming out of the ice?"
Steve sighed, glad to pull the attention away from Tony and Howard, "The short version is I crashed the Valkyrie into the ice in 1945, and in 2012 they found me and brought me back to the U.S. When I thawed out, they realized I wasn't dead; somehow the serum kept me in a state of suspended animation for the almost 70 years I'd been under. S.H.E.I.L.D., which the S.S.R. becomes, took me on, leading to working with the Avengers. That's how I met Tony. Sixteen years later, after seeing more weird shit than I ever would have thought possible, here, I am. Are you going to tell me about your life post-war?"
"I suppose that's fair. Phillips sent me to be an agent in the New York S.S.R. office; that's where I met Daniel. I reconnected with Howard and met Mr. Jarvis when I was helping Howard prove he hadn't committed treason. It took some time to prove myself around the office, but things are much better now. Jack was the Chief of the New York office, but he was shot a few months ago when we were in Los Angeles working a case, and he took a job with the C.I.A. after, which allowed Daniel to transfer back to the New York Office, he had been the Chief of the West Coast office. It's been almost two years since the war ended. We're all still trying to get our feet under us."
"How long did it take for you to realize she was two steps ahead of you all always?" Steve directed his question towards Daniel, who looked up a little surprised.
"Longer than I care to admit, but I guess that why they say 'Do as Peggy says.' Can I ask a question about this?" Daniel gestured between Steve and Tony.
Steve cleared his throat, "you can; I might not answer, though."
Daniel nodded, "Fair enough, how'd you know you liked the fellas, or did you always know and just hid it, could you really….?"
Steve snorted, "honestly, back in the day, I didn't really realize. I like women well enough, or rather I've liked a few women well enough. It was only after I woke up in the future and realized that it was okay now that I even really acknowledged that I liked men too. Apparently, it's called bisexual or pansexual. I was never stringing Peggy along if that's what you want to imply."
"Oh gosh no, that's not, I didn't mean, I'm really mucking this up, aren't I? It's just not something we talk about in 1947. I guess I was just curious, and I'm not a tactful as Peggy is."
"Well, gentlemen, have we settled all unresolved issues between us at this juncture? Could we perhaps enjoy the time we have with each other as a gift despite its potentially nefarious purpose?"
Steve and Daniel shook hands and nodded. Peggy looked around the group, satisfied, "well then, I apologize for waking you all."
Tony leaned into Steve's side and felt his husband's arm come around him. "Well, it is very late, and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Maybe we should all go try to get some more sleep."
Peggy and Daniel nodded, heading back to their rooms. Steve raised his eyebrow at Tony, "who are you, and what have you done with my husband?"
Tony snuggled further into his husband's grip, "they interrupted us earlier when they called us in here; I want to go back to bed. I'm just not ready to sleep."
Steve followed a grinning Tony back through the compound to their room, shaking his head at his husband's antics.
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Bucky walked into the kitchen the next morning to find things had settled into a weird place. Steve and Tony were still actively avoiding Howard, Tony was engaged in deep conversation with Mr. Jarvis, the person, Steve was chatting with Peggy and Daniel and Wanda. The concerning bit was Natasha, who looked like she was considering murdering the one called Jack. Bucky couldn't tell if Clint and Sam were trying to encourage murder in the kitchen or prevent it?
"Morning Doll."
Natasha dropped her glare long enough to smile at him, "Good morning, how was your run?"
"Good, is everything okay here?"
Clint groaned, "Come on, man…we were so close to getting Nat to deck this guy."
Sam snorted, "Now you've blown the whole thing, man."
"Have not, this one is still an idiot, and Nat hasn't had her green tea yet; she might still hit him."
Thompson cut in, "I'm pretty sure I can handle one dame."
Daniel cut in from across the room; they had apparently drawn attention to themselves, "You mean like you handled one dame when Peggy took you down?"
"If I recall correctly, Sousa, she took you out too."
Daniel beamed down at Peggy with pride, "yeah, she did."
Clint burst out laughing, "You don't stand a chance dude, Nat is one of the deadliest assassins in the last century. She eats chumps like you for breakfast."
Steve cleared his throat, "As much as I would love to see Nat punch someone this morning, I think we need to get to the conference room and talk about what might be happening here."
The mood fizzled out quickly as they made their way around the table. "We could start by you giving us the info on how you got here and what cases you're working on?"
Thompson snorted, "That's classified. We can't give you any info on our cases. Why don't you give us the info on your cases instead?"
Steve sighed, "J.A.R.V.I.S., can you please pull S.H.E.I.L.D.'s digitized files from 1947 flag anything they were working on with the C.I.A.? Peggy, was it summer in 1947?"
"Yes, it was."
"Can you narrow it down to cases from that summer J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
"Indeed, Captain Rogers, I have a preliminary list now. There doesn't appear to be anything connected to Hydra except one case from the summer of 1947. It was Agent Carter's case working with the C.I.A. to track down remaining Hydra in the U.S. None of the prisoners taken were given deals and allowed to be subsumed into the S.S.R. I've sent the particulars to the screen."
Tony looked from the Screen to Peggy and from the Screen to Steve, "I think this is about you two. We know Hydra remains mostly an underground institution until after Peggy retires. We also know Hydra used a similar ray to de-age you to try to make their own loyal Captain Hydra. What if the only one who was actually supposed to be brought here was Peggy? What if when they couldn't get a Steve, they thought the next best thing was to get rid of a Peggy?"
"It's a good tactic; we know from Coulson's work with S.H.E.I.L.D. that Hydra didn't want to move into the open until Peggy retired. Then when she retired, we defrosted Steve, and we've been after them ever since. If they couldn't take Steve from us in the present, they could get Peggy out of the way in the past to change the future." Natasha smacked a hand down on the table. "it actually does make sense in a twisted way."
Peggy cleared her throat, "I don't want to step on any toes, but there has to be more than just me holding Hydra back."
Tony snorted, "you'd be surprised. Either way, this seems like our most viable lead."
Thompson opened his mouth to speak, so Steve quickly cut him off, "we haven't had any missions related to Hydra in well over a year. Our mission docket has been pretty slow all summer. We've been doing a lot of team training. All our ops have been smaller surveillance or assisting other agencies. The fuss with the robots the day you all arrived has been our biggest mess in months. It's been almost too quiet…."
"Where are you going with that thought, Stevie?"
Steve looked over at Bucky, "It's been too quiet; when was the last time we had 2 months with nothing? What if that's deliberate? We know Hydra is still out there, we know A.I.M. is still out there, we haven't had an alien invasion in months. Thor hasn't been on the planet all summer. I'm just wondering why?"
Bucky nodded, "It sounds like we need to speak to the Ultimate."
The scientist was pulled from the holding cells and brought to the roof. Steve couldn't hide the hint of a smirk that crossed his lips at the confusion on the man's face. He and Natasha made good interrogation partners, and this particular trick had been a favorite of theirs since they had taken down S.H.E.I.L.D. all those years ago.
"You want to tell us why you picked yesterday to attack New York with Robots pal?"
"I'm not saying anything, Rogers. I attack when I see fit, and I don't have to say anything to you."
"I don't know if you've realized this, but it's been a pretty slow summer for Evil. Can the bad guys literally not take the heat?"
"Genius takes time, you buffoon, although I wouldn't expect a meathead soldier such as yourself to understand that."
Steve pushed the scientist back, so he was against the ledge of the roof. Natasha stood by his side, smirking. "you gonna tell us anything useful?"
"How cute Captain America is going to pretend to throw me off the roof as if you weren't some perfect little chorus boy."
"It's not really my style, but it is hers." Steve gestured to Natasha, who swiftly kicked the scientist off the roof.
Stonystonystonystony
Peggy stood up in shock, "What is this? Is this how you conduct investigations in the future? Why is God's name? Did you let that woman push the only lead we may have off a building?"
Bucky chuckled, "Calm down, Peg and keep watching. Steve and Natasha do this all the time. It's a surprisingly effective interrogation technique. Natasha is naturally the bad cop. Everyone sees the Black Widow, an ex-Russian assassin, and expects the worst. Then they see Stevie, and somehow, in all the propaganda they've spun about Captain America, most people have forgotten that he was Steve Rogers first. Steve is a good man, but he's no saint. So together, they make the ultimate good cop, bad cop. Look"
Bucky gestured to the screen again and saw the one she believed was Called Sam with wings strapped to his back holding the man who had just been thrown off the roof. She watched as he dropped the man on the roof, and Steve and Natasha closed in around him. The scientist started talking, and she watched as the words seemed to pour out of his mouth.
"That's a pretty impressive trick."
Bucky smiled, "yeah, it's a favorite of theirs. You'd never know it, but those two are some of the biggest softies here."
Peggy smiled, "and heaven help anyone who confuses that softness with weakness."
Stonystonystonystony
Steve and Natasha returned the Ultimate to his cell. Steve found his mind wandering to the first time he and Natasha had used that particular interrogation technique. Their friendship had come a long way since their time in D.C. He knew the woman behind the Black Widow mask now, and Steve was a fan; she was his closest friend after Bucky, and seeing her happy with his friend made him happy. Now Hydra was messing with the people he cared about again. Steve felt on edge; he was missing something. He just didn't know what that something was.
It was sitting at the back of his brain, and it wouldn't leave him alone. There was something here he wasn't seeing. Tony was most likely right, and Hydra was trying to get rid of Peggy so they would succeed in their plans this time around. All the pieces were there. He just didn't have them in the correct order yet.
It had been too quiet all summer. Peter was home from school and had barely seen any action on his patrols.
Steve could vaguely hear Natasha filling in the rest of the team while he worked away at the problem in his own mind. The scientist had picked that particular day only because there had been a hold on all criminal activities. A group that sounded a lot like Hydra had been stopping villains discretely all summer, but it hadn't happened to their scientist that day. Despite Hydra's unusual actions, they hadn't heard anything from the group all summer. Still, they hadn't until the others had been sent here.
A light bulb went off in Steve's mind. "I don't think Hydra sent you all here on purpose."
Steve could feel all eyes on him, "Or if it was on purpose, it isn't meant to be permanent. This guy says Hydra has been stopping Villains all summer. What if they aren't stopping them, just relocating them? We know that taking out Peggy and the S.S.R. is the most viable plan here, but what if they plan to do it by bringing our fight to 1947? Robots and Aliens and crazy scientists, your people are good, but they're just coming out of a war, and the technology isn't at a point yet where you could do much with some of this future stuff. Look at how much trouble Buck and I still have, and we've been living in the future for years."
Tony picked up his train of thought, pulling up holograms as he went. "So if Cap is right, either Hydra sent you here accidentally as a side effect of their own time travel, or they sent you here temporarily to get rid of the interference until their plan is complete. J get started fabricating suits for those who don't have them. We're going to time travel again."
Bruce cut in, "I can start working on calculations, Tony."
Steve watched as Bruce began to lose himself in the numbers as Tony continued to fuss with the holograms. "Is anyone opposed to going into the past and fighting all the bad guys who gave us the summer off?"
Steve looked at the faces of his team around the table as they all consented to the mission, "okay, then gather your gear we'll leave as soon as the suits are ready. J.A.R.V.I.S., can you pull up a map of New York in 1947 for me?"
"Yes, Captain."
Steve took in the holographic display as his team shuffled out to prepare themselves. Steve looked over at the time travelers still sitting around the table, "okay, let's strategize. We may not know what we're getting into, but we can at least have some contingency plans ready, and you all know the city well."
Peggy cleared her throat, "Let me get this straight; currently, a robot is building us all special suits to travel through time with. You all are apparently old hat at traveling through time, and you didn't mention this as an option previously because?"
Steve snorted, "Still so stubborn…I didn't mention it as an option previously because many things can go wrong with time travel. The particles we use during our time travels are called Pym particles. We don't have a lot of them, so this isn't something that happens very often. J.A.R.V.I.S. is not a robot. He's an artificial intelligence and the next best thing to Tony building the suits for you himself. I can't explain to you the science behind time travel through the quantum realm. There is physics involved that wasn't even invented the last time I was in school. But that is what Tony and Bruce are working on, figuring out the science needed to travel in this way. So contingency planning?"
"What prompted your previous time travel?"
"It's a horrendously long story, the short version is a crazy alien named Thanos decided to eliminate half of life in the universe, he succeeded and time travel was the only way we could bring everyone back."
"So you think you can get us back to where we were taken from just like that, and then you'll jump forwards to 2028 again?"
"Yes, now can we please try to put together some strategy for this?"
An hour later, feeling a bit better now that they had a rough facsimile of a plan, Tony cleared his throat and indicated for Steve to follow him from the room.
"What's up, Tones?"
"I think I should stay here, Steve."
"You volunteering to stay behind; what's wrong?"
"I'm the only one who would be more useful here running the machines. My suit is pretty useless in the past, and I'm the least skilled on the team at fighting without it. I'm useless there."
Steve pulled his husband into a hug, "First of all, Tony, you are not useless; never in any circumstances are you useless. Second, if you want to be the one to run the machines, I'll support that decision, but you need to have Rhody stay with you as well. With his injuries, if the suit won't support him in the past, he should stay here as well. I'll not risk any increased injury to his spine."
"You really mean that, don't you? You would still let me come fight even without the suit?"
"Tony, I may be the team leader and your husband, but I have never let you do anything. But yes, you are an important member of this team, suit or no suit. Although I do like the idea of knowing you're safe, but that is just because I love you and I worry about you, not because I think you are in any way incapable."
Tony snuggled further into his husband's arms, "when are you going to get tired of telling me these things?"
Steve kissed Tony on the top of his head, "Maybe if you ever start believing me, but even then, I love you too much not to tell you. Does this mean you'll stay here with Rhody?"
Tony nodded, "I'll stay here with Rhody, and we'll make sure you all make it back alright."
Stonystonystony
The time went quickly as they readied themselves to go to the past. Steve made sure all the members of his team were ready to go, and Tony and Rhody were set to run the machine from the compound. Steve kept a close eye on Bucky going back to 1947 was sure to be tough on him. Finally, the day arrived, and everyone gathered on the platform. Tony spoke from behind the control panel, "Be careful team, I'll see you in exactly one minute."
The machine clicked on, and they found themselves reliving the day that Peggy and the others had come from just after their departure. They made for the S.S.R. building it was central enough that they could use it as a base and pick up backup from there.
Steve couldn't help but chuckle as he walked into the S.S.R. and saw Peggy take charge and start organizing backup. His chuckle turned to a grin when he heard Daniel, Jarvis, Howard, and Thompson yell 'do as Peggy says.'
The amusement was short-lived, however, because the city soon began taking hits. Steve quickly deployed his team as robots and aliens, and scientists came out of the woodwork and began wreaking havoc on New York.
He had Clint and Bucky take up defendable positions to start picking off fliers. He and Natasha kept the streets clear as S.S.R. agents evacuated people to safety. Sam was aerial support and channeled fliers into position with Vision. Wanda and Peter were working together against a group of Aliens with some sort of magic power, and the Hulk was happily destroying anything that got in his way.
Steve kept the comm lines open and his head on swivel, taking out ground-level combatants while trying to keep an eye on his team. They eventually managed to take down everyone, but there was still no overt sign that this was Hydra.
When the regular police were ready to move in and start taking over, the whole team converged on an empty building within the damaged zone. Steve took inventory of his team, noting the presence of only minor injuries on all of them.
It was only after Peggy and the rest of their time travelers arrived in the building that Steve noticed the Hydra soldiers at the entrance.
"It is too late, Captain. We will take out Peggy Carter and the Avengers in one fell swoop. Or rather two since your beloved husband stayed behind today."
The next thing Steve knew, he was being blown backward by the force of an explosion. When the dust settled, he found himself inside one of Wanda's force fields. The others seemed to be stirring, so Steve rushed to Wanda's side, "Are you okay?"
She nodded, "I could protect us from the force of the blast, but I cannot hold the ceiling above us for very long."
Steve nodded, "Vision can you take a peek at what we're working with? Peter be ready to fire webs anywhere Vision says for support. Bucky and Hulk, the three of us, will be ready to help Wanda support the section of the ceiling above us. Everyone else get into the circle between the four of us."
Steve got himself into position on his section of the roof and felt as Wanda dropped some of the weight she was supporting down onto him. He saw the same happening to Bucky and Hulk. He could hear Vision and Peter as they webbed up the structure above them and hopped it wasn't just his imagination that things seemed more stable now.
"Sam, if they can find us a way out, can you fly people out of here? But be prepared for Hydra to be waiting outside."
Sam nodded, "Anything you need, Cap."
Steve nodded and turned to take inventory again of the people around him, looking for any injuries or signs of distress. Instead, he found Bucky's eyes looking at him in understanding.
"He's gonna be okay Stevie, your fella is tough as nails Hydra won't get the jump on him and Rhodes."
"If something happens to him because I told him it was okay to stay behind Buck…."
"Hey, we've gotten out of worse than this before, Stevie. Peter and Vision are helping stabilize the roof. Birdbrain over here is going to start getting people out of there safely. Then we are going to finally put Hydra in the grave we started digging in '43. Okay?"
"Okay."
Steve waited for Vision and Peter to give the all-clear; they had reinforced the part of the roof over them and created a tunnel out of the rubble for people to get through. There seemed to be something going on outside. Steve heard yelling and what sounded like Hydra weapons going off. He pulled everyone back under the rubble and was formulating a plan when Thompon cut him off, "One arm over there said you have a fella; why should we listen to a fairy-like you?"
Steve heard Bucky growl and saw his team tense, but Peggy had punched Thompson in the face before he could tell them all to stand down.
"What, he is entirely out of line? Do any of the rest of you have an issue with this?"
Steve couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the other men from Peggy's team quickly shake their heads no.
"I believe you were about to give us an update to the plan, Steve?"
"Thanks, Peg; since there seems to be fighting up there, we need to approach this more cautiously. Is there any way out other than the tunnel you reinforced?"
Peter nodded, "Yeah, there's a back way I could guide people through that in case it starts to shift or collapse."
"Good Peter, you take Peggy and her team around the back. Can you drag Thompson along with you? Peggy, your team can get out and then circle around to take Hydra from behind. The rest of us are going to split up. Everyone who isn't currently holding up the ceiling is going to exit through the back and circle around the opposite side from Peggy's team to hit Hydra from the other side. Vision if we start to drop parts of the ceiling, what's going to happen?"
"Well, Captain, the rubble above us will begin to collapse in as well. Peter's webbing should hold well enough that I could stage controlled collapses of the rubble as you all move towards the tunnel. It is directly behind you, Steve, so you will need to be the last out."
"I don't like the idea of sending you all out first blind."
"Hulk, go first, puny weapon no hurt Hulk."
"Wanda and I can follow behind Hulk, and you will be right behind us, Steve."
"I can use a force field to protect us until we get out and into a defensible position."
"If you're all sure, let's do this."
Steve watched as his team members left; he felt the rubble above him shifting when it was finally safe enough to start collapsing the ceiling. He felt a sense of dread in his stomach, wondering what was waiting for his team at the end of that tunnel. Finally, it was his turn to move. He jumped for the entrance and saw Vision phase through the rubble. He inched up the tunnel to see his husband taking out Hydra goons alongside the rest of the team. The Iron man suit is seemingly operational even away from the modern-day.
Steve threw himself into the fight, the feeling of unease finally leaving him now that he could hear his husband's suit behind him. As long she could hear repulsor blasts, Tony was okay. They worked to dispatch the rest of the Hydra soldiers.
In the aftermath, Steve stood off to the side with the team while the S.S.R. took the lead in coordinating clean-up.
"How are you here, Tony? I thought the suit wasn't operational here?"
"Well, after we had that talk, I may have spent all the time I could creating one that was minimally operational. I can power the suit and manually control all the weapons on it, but it really is the bare bones."
"Is Rhody okay as well? Hydra said they were going to attack you all as well?"
"They did almost immediately after you left. It was only a couple of soldiers we took care of them quickly, and I followed behind you. I probably left about 10 seconds before you were scheduled to arrive back."
"Well, If Peggy gives us the all-clear, I think it's safe for us to head back to our own time."
Tony looked at Steve and Bucky, "About that, if there were any people you wanted to see while we were here...I just mean snowflake's family is here, and I know all your family are dead now Steve, but isn't there anyone in this time you'd want to know things turned out okay for you both?"
Bucky nodded, "I think I would like to see my family again one last time, and I know they would like to see Steve again too."
"I'll go see Buck's family with him, but Peggy was the only other person from this time I had unfinished business with."
"Okay, well, let's go, team. We're going to make sure our two super soldiers make it there and back okay."
Peggy dismissed them and ordered them all into cars driven by S.S.R. agents. The trip to Brooklyn was uneventful, and Steve soon found them standing in front of the Barnes family's apartment block. Steve pulled Tony out of the car and noted that Bucky had done the same with Natasha.
He let Bucky take the lead as they headed into the building and walked the familiar pathway to his family home. Bucky knocked on the door, and they heard footsteps approach the door, followed by Joe Barnes suspiciously peering past the chain on the door.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Bucky cleared his throat, "Hi Pa, long time no see."
The color drained from Joe's face, and he staggered back from the door, "Bucky, how is this? You can't be…."
Winifred Barnes hurried over to hover by her husband's shoulder, "Bucky?"
Bucky stepped through the door, "It's really me. My name is James Buchanan Barnes, but you all call me Bucky. I got drafted to fight in the 107th regiment in the war. You received two notices of my death, well I don't actually know if the first one said I was K.I.A. or M.I.A., but my unit was taken prisoner in Azanno, Italy. You got the second letter in 1945 when I fell off a train in the Swiss Alps. We never really told you what happened to Steve. We just told you he got accepted, and we were fighting together, but he's here too."
Steve stepped up next to Bucky, "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Barnes, it's been a long time."
Winifred stepped back in shock, "Little Stevie? How is this possible? Why do you both look so different? Does Bucky have a metal arm?"
They all stepped forward in the apartment and closed the door. Joe gestured for them all to sit.
"Okay, I think we need some explanation. First of all, why were we sent a death notification for our son when he wasn't really dead? Why, if you weren't dead, has it taken you so long to come home? And what the hell happened to Steve? He's a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than the last time we saw him?"
Bucky cleared his throat, "well, as far as anyone knew, I was dead. I guess I have to explain what happened to Steve, so you understand what happened to me. Steve got picked for a special Army program and was given a serum that turned him into this. He well, that's a long story the short version is he eventually got to the front lines where he found that my unit had been captured. That was the first notification. Steve saved my unit, and after that, we fought together until I fell off a train in the Alps and was presumed dead. But while I was at Azanno, a hydra scientist had experimented on me. Whatever they did to me allowed me to survive the fall, and I was captured again. I was kept frozen mostly until 2016, when Steve found me again and brought me back. Steve crashed a plane into the arctic ocean also in 1945 and was presumed dead until 2012 when they found him and defrosted him. We are part of a team now called the Avengers who fight large-scale threats like the ones that happened here today. We came from the future. I know this all sounds so strange, and we probably shouldn't have come, but I wanted to get the chance to say goodbye."
Joe looked stunned, but Winnifred shot across the room and pulled her son into a hug. Steve watched as she whispered into his ear before turning her head to see Steve and pulling him into the hug as well.
Winifred pulled away, and Joe pulled his son into a hug before shaking Steve's hand.
"I can't believe it's really you, son. How are you… what's the…are you doing well?"
Bucky smiled at his dad, "Yeah, Pa, I had a bit of a rough time of things there for a while, but things are good now. The future is very shiny, and it took a bit of time to adjust, but things are good."
Joe turned to Steve, "What about you, Steve? You certainly look less likely to die than you did the last time I saw you."
Steve smiled, "I'm good, Mr. Barnes; I had an easier time of things than Bucky did."
Their conversation was cut off by the sound of the door opening, and Steve saw Bucky looking at the door expectantly. Becca stood in the doorway, looking at the strangers with suspicion.
"What's wrong, Ma, Pa?"
Winifred held out a hand to her daughter, "come in here dear, we've had a rather special visitor. Take a good look at these two men here. Do they look familiar to you?"
Steve watched as Becca's eyes scanned over both him and Bucky. "Is that Bucky? And Steve? But…"
Bucky stood up, "Hi, Becca." Before he could say anything else, Steve watched as Becca threw herself into her brother's arms. When she finally released Bucky, she pulled him into a tight hug.
They would leave soon and go back to their own time, but this little bit of time would be healing for Bucky. He deserved the chance to say goodbye to his parents, and Steve realized Tony must have known how badly Bucky needed this. For now, though, Steve settled into the warmth of the Barnes family with a sense that they had earned this little bubble of peace no matter how temporary.