The Avengers fall instantly into mission-mode.

"What's the situation Darcy?" His handler asks, his face settling into a mask of familiar determination as all thoughts of lunch fly out the window.

The woman on the phone, Darcy, takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Okay, so, I don't understand exactly what's all going on, but like, yesterday, Jane and I were in London investigating this science thing and she got infected by something alien I guess," she cuts herself off to have another muted conversation with someone and the Avengers all share a glance as the Asset wonders at the kinds of missions they receive. Everything about it is completely outside of anything he's ever encountered before.

"Anyway," Darcy comes back on. "Thor came down and zapped her back to Asgard for forever and— oh right, I don't know if you've noticed anything strange going on lately, but apparently all the realms of the universe are converging like, today, and that's making for some weird gravity stuff and the lines between worlds are blurred I guess—"

As she speaks Stark pulls out his phone and begins searching something on it with his brows furled. Barton and Romanoff raise their eyebrows at each other, and Wilson folds his arms, seemingly unable to decide between looking amused and concerned.

"So anyway," Darcy continues. "Jane got infected by the alien power stone called the Aether or something and these people called the Dark Elves really want it and they tried to attack Asgard to get it—" Her voice becomes less audible as she turns away to address someone else. "I'm getting them," they hear her say. "It's just a lot of stuff to explain all at once, you keep putting up these gravimetric spike things."

"You guys, go get suited up," Handler-Steve says quietly. "JARVIS, can you play Darcy's phone call throughout the base so everyone can hear it as they get ready?"

The team gets up instantly, moving efficiently towards the elevator and the Asset watches as a tremor seems to run through his handler, before he glances in his direction and looks away. On his way past, Stark pats his handler's shoulder briefly. "You can stay here and use JARVIS to direct us," he says, and his handler nods silently, his lips pursing.

The Asset stays silent, thinking over the strange interaction as the Avengers leave and his handler asks JARVIS to try to trace Darcy's call.

"So," Darcy comes back on as JARVIS projects a map of somewhere called Greenwich. "Thor's dad Odin wanted to keep Jane and wait for the Dark Elves to show up again, but Thor's mom was like 'No,' and she snuck Thor and Jane, and someone named Sif off to the Elves home world."

The Asset grinds his teeth as he listens in on the conversation. He's sure all the information is important, and the Avengers need time to suit up anyways, but part of him wishes the debriefing was a little more efficient.

"The elves pulled the Aether out of Jane," Darcy continues. "But Thor couldn't destroy it and apparently the main elf, Malekith or something, took the Aether for himself and he's now on his way here." The Asset tenses at the same time as his handler at her words and he finds himself glancing towards the windows as if he will be able to somehow spot the potential invasion landing outside.

"Apparently they want to use the Convergence and the Aether to destroy the whole universe from Earth," Darcy explains. "But thankfully Jane and Thor found a portal from the Elf world to here (coz the lines are blurred and everything) and so they came to warn us and Jane and Dr Selvig have a plan against the Elves, but I thought we should probably call you guys in, coz, you know, you have experience with this sort of thing—"

"Do you know when the invasion is coming?" His handler cuts in. "It looks like you're in Greenwich right now," he says looking over at the map. "Even with our quinjets and Tony's suit it will still take us a few hours to get to where you are."

"The Convergence is coming like, any minute now," Darcy says, and the Asset feels his eyes widen as across from him, his handler's frame grows tense. "But it's okay!" Darcy reassures. "Jane and Selvig have these gravimetric sensor spike things so they can control the weird anomalies the Convergence is doing, so as long as you guys can replicate the signal, we can make a portal in New York to send you guys here."

His handler's face goes slack for a second before he shakes his head, his eyes hardening determinedly. "Send the signal," he says authoritatively. "Tony, can you replicate it?"

"Give me a few minutes Cap, and we'll be going through portals in no time," Stark replies over JARVIS' speakers and his handler nods again.

"JARVIS can you get me news coverage of Greenwich please?" He asks, and several more holographic screens pop up around him. The Asset watches in quiet awe as his handler manipulates the screens in front of him, his brow furled in a familiar expression of concentration. Three minutes later and Stark informs the team that they can meet him up on the roof because 'the portal signal is up and running'.

"Is this thing even safe?" He hears Wilson question as the team clusters up on the roof. "Like, we know for sure this is going to work?"

"It worked with Jane apparently," Stark replies tightly. "And if we want to get there in time, this is the only way." He takes in an audible breath and across from him, the Asset can see his handler's shoulders stiffen. "See you on the other side, Cap," Stark radios before presumably stepping through the portal.

They sit for several seconds in tense silence before something crackles over the comms.

"Whaddya know?" Stark says, and his handler relaxes slightly. "It really works, say, how 'bout getting this going for everyday life?"

"It will only work during the Convergence," Darcy cuts in. "And the peak is only going to last about 10 minutes but—"

She gets cut off as, on one of the new screens, the Asset sees a hulking ship shaped like a 'T' materialises and begin to plow its way through the earth to center itself under some newly forming discs in the sky. He squints at the discs a little. It's hard to tell, thanks to the shaky camera work, but the discs look very much like portals to other worlds.

That must be the Convergence, he thinks as he listens to the Avengers radio their positions and start coordinating their attack.

"Someone find Thor and give him an earpiece," his handler orders, leaning over the various screens in front of him. "Tony, can you link your suit up to my screens and give me a visual?" Both Stark and Romanoff reply affirmatively, and soon Thor is on the line with everyone else and his handler is watching the fight through the eyes of Stark's suit.

"Thor, which one's Malekith?" His handler asks as alien looking creatures begin to descend from the landed ship. They wear blank white masks, making their eyes seem like empty voids and the Asset shivers, leaning forward as he looks over his handler's screens.

"He's the one with the half-burned face," a new voice replies darkly. "I injured him when he attempted to kill my mother." The Asset spots the Elf in question and watches through Stark's visual feed as a man with a red cape steps up to confront him and the rest of the Avengers work on engaging the other Elves and herding civilians.

"Anyone who isn't getting away from the windows is getting shot!" Barton snaps after several unsuccessful attempts to get people to take cover instead of gawk at the fight going on outside.

"So, do we have a plan for this stone, power thing?" Stark asks, slightly out of breath as he blasts another elf, and Hulk roars in the background. "Also, if I suddenly fall into another portal and show up on some random street one more time, I'm going to lose it."

The Asset blinks and watches on screen as aliens and allies alike fight each other while getting sucked apart and dropping into unpredictable and invisible portals. He flicks his eyes up to the screen showing the converging worlds and finds himself a little glad that he wasn't chosen for this mission, he cannot imagine what that would have been like.

"We just have to keep Malekith distracted until the end of the Convergence," Darcy tells them. "Jane says about seven minutes."

"Okay, but what about after?" Romanoff cuts in, the sounds of her widow-bites going off. "How do we get the Aether out of him?"

"Can we destroy it?" His handler speaks up, flipping through his screens as he watches the battle. "We don't want Malekith using that on Earth for any longer than necessary—

"We can't destroy it," a new voice interrupts suddenly. "Sorry," she says. "Jane here, and Odin said they don't have the power to destroy the Aether. They just hid it away until I found it by accident."

"What?!" Wilson cuts in, indignant. "You're telling me we don't have a plan to actually stop this thing?"

"We can send him away from Earth if we stick him with one of Selvig's gravimetric sensors," Jane says in a rush. "We can make a portal and send him away for now."

"We still need some way to contain the Aether," the Asset hears his handler mutter as he taps his fingers on the counter in front of him. "Or else he'll just come back or attack someone else…" His brow furls in thought for a moment before inspiration dawns and he sits up slightly. "Go ahead with Jane's plan for now," he tells the team before looking towards the ceiling. "JARVIS, can you get Fury or Maria Hill on the line?"

The Asset is distracted away from his handler's phone call as, on Stark's screen, the man in the red cape arms himself with several long metal spikes and charges towards the dark red cloud that is apparently Malekith. The bloody mist envelops the two and the Asset can only watch with bated breath as they wait for Jane to zap Malekith away.

"Almost there…" They hear her mutter to herself before given a shout of triumph. On screen the red cloud abruptly disperses and Stark pauses his fight to watch as Malekith flies backwards and is sucked into a portal along with part of his ship.

"Okay," his handler speaks up suddenly and the Asset turns back to him, realising he'd completely missed his handler's phone call. "So Fury said he can get a hold of the case they used to contain the Tesseract," his handler explains. "So if we need to, we can contain the Aether—" His words get cut off as, on screen, the giant alien spaceship starts to collapse, its structure compromised now that part of it had been portalled away.

"Thor!" They hear Jane scream as the Asset notices the caped man lying motionless on the ground in front of the crumbling spaceship.

"Tony—" His handler starts, his face tightening as Stark's video feed tilts and the man flies towards his prone teammate.

"Come on big guy." They hear him say as he tries to lift the unconscious man.

"Tony." His handler's voice is urgent, his shoulders stiffening with anxiety as he watches the scene, his eyes darting between Stark and the collapsing ship. "Tony, get out of there." He leans forward, his hands clenched on the edge of the countertop, his entire frame practically vibrating as he watches over the screens. The Asset stares at him and the barely hidden fear in his eyes, and he's suddenly overcome by the realisation that his handler desperately desperately wants to over there, fighting with his teammates.

But he isn't. He's here instead. And for some reason he hadn't even tried to go with the rest of the team.

"Tony," his handler snaps, his knuckles whitening on the countertop and his jaw clenching as Stark continues to struggle, a piece of debris breaking off and hitting the ground a few feet from him.

On screen, Stark finally manages to drag Thor out of the way of the falling ship and the Asset finds himself breathing out a sigh of relief as his handler's shoulders slump. The spaceship lets out a groan as it continues to crumble, and they watch as pieces fall off, the base seemingly sinking into the ground.

"Oh, this is going to suck to clean up." The Asset hears Barton groan as the ship tips over.

A second later, and the ship is suddenly gone, vanishing before it even has a chance to hit the ground, the expected impact never arriving. The Avengers sit in stunned silence for a moment before Wilson lets out a whoop and Stark says something about science and portals and the utter unfairness of how short the Convergence is.

Across from him, his handler relaxes fully and lets out a slow breath, his hands finally letting up on their grip on the counter. The Asset flicks his eyes over him as his handler moves on to coordinating clean up and rendezvous, and he swallows, looking away.

oOo

His handler continues to organise things after the battle, arranging for a quinjet to fly out to the Avengers, and tracking down SHIELD's containment case for Thor to use. The Avengers themselves stick around in Greenwich for a while to help with the clean up, and Thor excuses himself briefly to go back to Asgard in order to hunt the Aether down, check on his friend Sif, and calm any ruffled feathers.

"Make sure you come back soon! I've got a place set up at my tower." The Asset hears Stark insist as Thor prepares to leave. "We also still have that staff thing and, I think we deserve a little celebration after all of this."


Celebrate they do, after everyone returns to the tower. The common room is fuller than ever before with the usual Avengers, plus Thor, Jane, Darcy and someone named Ian. The Asset tries to keep to the edges of the room as everyone miles around. He knows that everyone in the tower is an ally and that he shouldn't be worried, but he can't help the tight feeling that settles in his chest as he scans the room.

Avenger allies or not, new people mean people he hasn't figured out how to read yet, and he doesn't want to mess anything up or make anyone mad by accident. Thankfully, this isn't the first Avengers party he's been to, so he's at least prepared for the casual cycle of food and chatting as everyone catches up with each other.

"Loki has yet to re-surface with the Tesseract," Thor informs them as he sets a giant hammer down on the coffee table and settles on the couch. "For now, my time is mostly spent restoring peace to the nine realms."

The Avengers fill Thor in with everything that has changed back on Earth, and Thor entertains them with stories of his exploits as the night deepens and the group clusters around the ring of couches. The Asset hangs back slightly, close enough to listen but not willing to put himself in the middle of the group.

"So is there anything the hammer can't do?" The man next to Darcy – Ian – asks as he takes a sip from his beer bottle. "It was flying around like crazy during the battle."

"When I first saw it," Darcy speaks up before Thor. "It was in a giant crater in New Mexico, and no one could lift it."

"Right!" Stark sits up sudden, intrigued. "I read about that. What's with that?"

Thor smiles and lounges back, gesturing lazily. "Only those who are worthy can wield the power of Thor," he says and beside him, Barton snorts.

"No way man," he scoffs, shaking his head. "It's got to be a trick."

Thor sweeps his hand out. "Be my guest," he says with a teasing smile before reaching down to grab his glass.

It's immediately obvious to the Asset that the Avengers are a competitive group of people. Barton accepts right away, only to fail just as quickly, and the Asset blinks as the hammer refuses to budge. Stark bites next, standing up with a flare and rubbing his hands together as the rest of the Avengers heckle him.

"So." He loops his wrist through the strap on the handle and looks up at Thor. "If I lift this, I then rule Asgard?"

"Yes, of course," Thor replies deadpanned.

Stark smirks and tugs on the hammer, lifting his leg onto the coffee table to get more leverage. After a second of fruitless effort his brow furls and he steps away, his eyes calculating. "I'll be right back," he says determinedly.

He returns a few minutes later with his Iron Man gauntlet, and when that doesn't work, the competition really starts going. Bruce, Wilson, Darcy and Ian all fail and by the time Romanoff refuses her turn, the Asset is beginning to actually wonder if there really is something to the 'magic' of the hammer.

"Alright Steve, you go," Stark challenges as he takes a sip of his drink, and his handler throws Stark a smirk before standing up and stepping up to the hammer.

The Asset swallows and watches intently as his handler rolls up his sleeves and grabs hold of the handle, preparing to pull. He tugs and there's a creak, and for half-a-second, the Asset swears the hammer moves slightly. He darts his eyes around the group to see if anyone else had noticed, his handler continuing to pull for a few seconds before stepping away with his hands raised.

Thor lets out a seemingly relieved breath before shifting and sitting up, glancing up. "And what about you, my friend?" He asks, motioning with his glass towards the Asset. "Are you up for the task?"

The Asset feels himself still as all eyes turn to him. His breath stutters in his chest and he darts his eyes over to the hammer, trying to figure out the best response. He's spent enough time with the Avengers by now to know that they probably won't get angry should he accept Thor's offer, but since none of them had been able to lift the hammer he doesn't want to risk out-performing anyone. He doubts he'd actually be able to lift the thing, but he'd rather not chance it. He feels a little cautious about refusing too, but Romanoff had done it, so he can only hope that it isn't a problem when he does it too.

He shakes his head at Thor and the man flashes him a gentle smile before turning to Jane and offering her a turn. She fails along with everyone else, but seems hardly upset at all, instead mentioning something about a scientific theory, which inevitably draws Stark back into the conversation, the two scientists leaving everyone else behind as they exchange ideas.

The group disperses a little after that, mostly standing around in groups of two or threes as they chat and graze the provided refreshments, and the Asset tries to keep his back to a wall as he continues to survey the situation.

He narrows his eyes slightly and tries not to tense when Darcy peels herself away from Ian and begins to make her way over to him, a green can of pop in her hand. "You're Bucky, right?" She asks as she plants herself in front of him, her eyes bright. "Bucky Barnes?"

He freezes mid-nod and stares at her, suddenly not sure how to respond. He's gotten used to the name Bucky after his time here in the tower, to the point where responding to it seems instinctual, and while JARVIS calls him Sergeant Barnes… he's never actually heard the two names together before.

Bucky… Barnes.

He finally nods his head, figuring the answer is safe enough and making a mental note to examine the name again when he has some time to himself. Across from him, Darcy lights up and she smiles, sticking her hand out. "That's so cool!" She exclaims inexplicably. "I can't believe I get to actually meet you."

The Asset returns her handshake instinctively but can't help staring at her as he does so, completely at a loss as to why she would even know about him, let alone want to meet him. His missions as the Asset were supposed to be top secret, he was supposed to be a ghost story, no one was supposed to know about him—

"Cool arm by the way," Darcy informs him with a smile, leaving him blinking as she turns to go back to her friend.

He swallows and rubs his hand against his leg, Darcy's handshake seeming to linger along with her confusing words. He flicks his eyes around the room and does a head count, glancing over the entrances and exits before automatically scanning everyone for weapons. Romanoff has a few on her and Barton definitely has something in his sock and Thor has his hammer, which, if he is to be believed, only responds to him, which makes it even more of a threat—

He's distracted away from his threat-assessment when, out of the corner of his eye, he sees Wilson approach his handler and whisper something into his ear. Surprise flashes over Handler-Steve's face for a second before it smooths over into understanding and he glances over towards the Asset. He looks back at Wilson and gives him a nod, patting him on the shoulder before stepping away.

The Asset feels his stomach clench with nerves as he watches his handler's progress across the room and realises that he's making his way over to him. His tongue presses into the roof of his mouth and he darts his eyes around again as he tries to remember if he'd done anything that might have upset his handler. He doesn't think—

"Hey." His handler stops in front of him, his eyes gentle. "It's getting kind of busy in here," he says evenly. "Did you want to head back to our room? 'Coz that would be fine."

The Asset stares at him frozen for a second before blinking twice and scanning the room behind him again. His eyes catch on Wilson and he realises that the man must have picked up on his discomfort somehow and had then reported it to his handler and his handler…

And his handler is… offering him a way out of the situation. The concept is startling because he's pretty sure if Hydra had discovered any kind of weakness like this, they would have thoroughly discouraged it, rather than accommodate it. Of course, his handler isn't Hydra so… so maybe this shouldn't be that surprising.

He slowly nods his head and his handler gives him a consenting smile. "Alright," he says easily, shrugging one shoulder. The Asset stares at him a second longer before quietly turning away. The back of his neck crawls as he walks towards the elevator and a wave of relief washes over him as he enters and the doors close.


He makes up his bed on the couch once he gets back to the room, but he finds he isn't ready to fall asleep yet. Instead he lays down and stares at the ceiling, turning over the events of the party in his brain. He can't stop thinking about Darcy and what she'd called him.

It makes sense now that he thinks of it, and a part of him feels ridiculous that he hadn't put the pieces together before this, but if his handler calls him Bucky, and JARVIS calls him Sergeant Barnes, then of course his full title would be Bucky Barnes. That doesn't explain how Darcy had known that name or why she would have wanted to meet him though—

"I'm Bucky Barnes," he says to the small boy, his grin showing off the gap in his teeth from where he'd lost a tooth. "You okay?"

The boy wipes a streak of dirt off his cheek, his breath wheezing slightly in his chest as he stands up straight. "You didn' hafta do that," he says, his eyebrows ticking down slightly and his shoulders hunching defensively.

He scans the boy for a second before glancing over to where Billy Thomp- had run off with his tail between his legs. He shrugs and shuffles his feet a little. "I know," he says. "But Billy's kind'ov a bully."

The boy flicks his eyes over him for a moment before he relaxes slightly, tugging on his shirt to straighten it out. "Yeah," he agrees before looking down and kicking a little at the rocks on the ground. "Thanks, I guess." He looks up. "I'm Steve. Steve Rogers."—

His eyes are wet and he breathes in shakily as he comes out of that memory/malfunction, trying to make sense of it. The ones with him and his handler together like that are the most confusing. He gets up to write it down, but he doesn't know exactly what it means. In that one, his handler had been small, and he'd been small too. He has a lot of memory/malfunctions like that, with him being small, or smaller, with short hair and two arms and people who are not his handler and he doesn't know why.

The memory/malfunctions after his handler gets big make more sense, they feel more like regular missions, even if they're still a little strange, but the ones where he's small…

He presses his lips together in frustration as he flips open his journal to record the scene and he can't help noticing how it had seemed like he'd been introducing himself to his handler— but he doesn't know why he would need to do that or why there hadn't been another handler or agent or someone around to teach his handler his various protocols like they'd done this time.

His hand shakes slightly as he writes, and he swallows, breathing in slowly. He thinks he has the answer, somewhere in his brain, he can almost feel it, waiting for him to clue in and ask the right questions. But, at the same time, it almost feels too big, and he's not quite sure he's ready to figure it out just yet.

He shakes his head and closes his journal, standing up to put it back in his dresser. Whatever the reason, he isn't ready to confront it just yet. Instead he distracts himself with a concern from earlier, namely, his handler's stressful response to guiding the team from afar.

The puzzle is safe enough and he relaxes back down onto the couch as he re-analyses his handler's strange behavior. By now, he knows that his handler is the leader of the Avengers… but, Handler-Steve hadn't even suggested that he go with the team when the Dark Elves had come. Nobody else had suggested it either, they'd all seemed to know that he wouldn't be coming, which, while strange, wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't extremely obvious that his handler really wanted to go.

His mind flashes back to how tense his handler had been when Thor had been stuck and Stark had been trying to rescue him. He's suddenly totally and completely certain that if anything bad had happened to either teammate, his handler would have blamed it on himself, deciding that if he'd been there, then he would have somehow magically made all the difference and have kept everyone safe.

That knowledge, once in his brain, seems undeniably true, and he also knows that because of this, his handler isn't one to step down from a fight if he can help it. But he had this time, even if he obviously hadn't wanted too and the Asset can't figure out why

His eyes widen as a memory from his first few days at Avengers tower rises up in his mind. It had been his very first meeting with all the Avengers and he'd been mostly focused on zoning out at that point, but he had heard his handler telling the group that he wouldn't be going on their missions with them.

"I know this isn't the best time for me to sit out…" he had said after looking at him. "But I think I'm needed here more."

That's right, his handler had taken time off from leading the Avengers to help train him in his new role in Avengers Tower. His brow furls as he thinks over his recent training. He can't deny that he's learned a lot of new things with his handler and the other Avengers – but he can't say he understands how his training sessions really apply to the types of missions the Avengers seem to receive.

He scowls up at the ceiling, unable to understand why his handler doesn't seem to want to train him adequately enough to go on missions, especially since his handler obviously wants to go on those missions, and he can't go until the Asset's training is complete.

He sits up, his brow furled, trying to find a solution to his dilemma. Obviously, there must be a reason behind his handler's actions… but he doesn't seem inclined to share it and – as his bed has already demonstrated – he's perfectly willing to suffer in silence instead of doing anything to make himself more comfortable.

His hand tightens on his knee and he presses his lips together, the unfortunate solution to his problem becoming clear. If he wants to continue his training and release his handler back into the field, then he's probably going to have to be the one to initiate it.

The thought is daunting, especially since it involves confronting his handler about his handling practices which definitely falls into the realm of not allowed… but… so had a lot of other things he'd done while staying in the tower… and he has yet to be punished for any of it so…

So, he just might be willing to risk it, if only to keep from having to watch his handler's frustration at having to stay behind again.

Anxiety swims around in his stomach as he waits with growing apprehension for his handler to return from the party. He knows that if he overthinks this too long, he will either get swamped by his own programming or lose his nerve, so he clenches his jaw and commits to having this conversation with his handler as soon as possible.

That doesn't mean he's exactly prepared when he finally hears the door open and his handler step through. He stands up from his spot on the couch and his pulse is loud in his ears as he moves over to hover by the kitchen counter, his shoulders tense and hunched as he watches his handler come further into the room.

His handler scans him is he enters, probably confused by his abnormal behavior, and flicks his eyes around the room as if searching for the source of his anxiety. "Do you need something, Buck?" He asks, coming over to stand a few feet from the kitchen island.

The Asset swallows, a faint tremor running through him as he tries to drag up the right words. "I…" He places one hand on the counter next to him, trying to ground himself. "I am prepared to complete my training," he tells his handler, internally bemoaning his inability to accurately articulate his actual concerns.

A look of confusion flashes over his handler's face and he moves over to slowly sit down on one of the chairs lining the island. "Your training?" He asks, and the Asset rubs restlessly at the countertop.

"You are unable to complete any missions until my training is complete," he says, focusing his gaze on his handler's shoulder rather than his face. "I am ready to complete whatever training necessary in order to become an asset to the Avengers' team."

His handler's face goes abruptly blank and the Asset eyes him warily as they sit in silence for several moments. His handler squeezes his eyes closed and runs a hand over his face before looking back at him, almost expressionless. "You want to be cleared to go on missions, is that right?" He asks carefully and the Asset nods slowly.

His handler flicks his eyes over him for another moment, something complicated happening in their depths that the Asset can't quite read. "Is there a reason why?" His handler asks quietly and the Asset stares at him, unsure how to respond.

He feels his brow furl as he tries to understand the question. A reason why he wants to go on missions…? "The Asset is intended to assist his handler," he recites a little uncertainly. "And you cannot go into the field until my training is complete."

His handler's eyes dim for a moment and he looks off to the side, his face contemplative as he taps one finger on the counter next to him. He closes his eyes and breathes in before looking back over to him. "This… might be a little hard to explain," he starts slowly, his other hand beginning to rub along his pant leg. "But… your lack of training is not the reason I haven't cleared you for missions yet."

The Asset blinks at him, not quite understanding. "I can go on Avengers missions then?" He asks and his handler scans him.

"Why do you want to go on missions, Buck?" He asks softly.

The Asset finds himself tensing at the question without quite knowing why. "That is the primary function of the Asset," he gets out, fighting the urge to draw away from his handler.

Handler-Steve nods and looks away again, his eyes distant. "I don't feel comfortable with you going out into the field yet," he says, and the Asset feels his stomach drop.

"But—" He takes a step forward without thinking. "You said my training wasn't a problem," he protests, steadily ignoring the part of his mind that's busy trying to curl up in fear at the thought of arguing with his handler.

For his part, his handler blinks at him a little but doesn't get mad. "You're right," he says evenly. "But I think there's still some things you need to learn and— I'm afraid that if I try to tell you you'll just— just do it because you think you're supposed to." The Asset stares uncomprehendingly and his handler sighs. "It's not a bad thing that you can't go on missions right now Bucky," he says, his shoulders slumping a little. "That's not your primary function anymore."

The Asset takes an involuntary step back, a tremor beginning to settle into his bones as he tries to understand what his handler is saying. "I can't go on missions anymore?" He asks, a little hollowly.

His handler winces and runs a hand through his hair, pressing his lips together. "It's not because you did something bad Buck, it's just—" He drags a hand down his face. "How 'bout this." He looks up at him. "You continue with your mission to live in Avengers Tower for now." He lays his hand on the counter and sits up. "I believe that one day you will be ready to go on missions if you want," he says, meeting his eyes. "I think that once you understand why I don't want you going now, then you'll be able to go on missions. If you want."

The Asset breathes in a little shakily and swallows, his mind whirling at everything his handler has just said. He tightens his grip on the counter and tries to push away his confusion. He doesn't understand why his handler doesn't want him to go on any missions right now (and apparently he has to figure that out before he's allowed) but there's still one major problem.

"But you can't go on any missions," he says quietly, ducking his head to peer at his handler from behind the strands of his hair.

His handler's face does something complicated before smoothing out, his shoulders loosening as well. "Is that the problem?" He asks softly.

The Asset swallows. "You want to go on missions," he says, dropping his eyes.

His handler shifts in front of him and his hand presses into his leg. "You're right," he says finally, and when the Asset looks up again, his eyes are a little distant. After a moment his handler blinks and looks back towards him, taking in a deep breath. "If I go on the next mission," he says slowly, his eyes on him. "Would that be acceptable?"

The Asset's grip on the counter relaxes and he nods, relieved. "Yes," he says.


AN: So, I hope Dark World made sense! In your comments from last chapter, some of you talked about 2023!Thor and Rocket, but they are in a different timeline (remember how Loki was in his cell in that one?) Our timeline Loki is still loose, and I decided that without him there, Frigga gets to survive and fulfill some of his roles in T:DW.

Anyway, Bucky had some interesting revelations today. Also, he worked up the courage to confront Steve. I tried to make Steve's reasons for not wanting Bucky to go on missions yet clear, even though they are not clear at all to Bucky.