Chapter 8- Perspectives


"Stop fidgeting.

"Kurt, you need to try and relax.

"Kurt.

Kurt rolled his eyes each time Bruce spoke about his coping methods. After the Avengers sans Bruce had raced out to rescue Santana, Kurt had increasingly more time to think about the whole situation. He had put his best friend in danger because of who he loved. No matter what he felt for Steve, Santana came first and risking her life for his relationship was inexcusable. Nothing was worth losing Santana over. He was responsible for all of this and, even if Loki had done the actual taking, Kurt was still to blame.

And Bruce knew that Kurt thought so, apparently.

"It's not your fault, Kurt."

Kurt's head snapped up. As lovely as Bruce was (and as much as Kurt didn't want to anger him), he couldn't hold his frustration inside. "What makes you say that? Loki wouldn't even have had Santana on his radar if it wasn't for me."

Bruce shrugged, conceding that as the truth that it was. "That may be true, but nothing you did actively encouraged Loki's actions. Loki is highly dramatic and extremely powerful; put the two together and this is what you get. He won't hurt Santana, I'm sure of it."

"Well then, I have nothing to worry about. Because you sure, I'm just supposed to calm down?"

"What else can you do? Letting yourself be consumed by your emotions isn't going to help Santana. Trust me, I know."

Kurt nodded quietly, slowly letting the red hot rage inside of him temper down into a gentle blue sea. "You're right. Of course you're right. I'm sorry for getting mad at you, Bruce. I just feel so guilty. Steve might feel guilty for putting me in danger, but that was my choice. I chose to be with him knowing there would be trouble. Santana didn't want any of this."

Bruce nodded understandingly. "I think you should go and talk to Bucky. I think he'll really help to calm you."

"And there I was thinking that you would be the expert on calm," Kurt quipped.

"If you think you're about to turn into a huge green monster, I'm your guy. Come back upstairs if you need me for anything, Kurt."

"Thanks, Bruce," the boy replied, "and I'm sorry about how I've been talking to you today. It's not right of me."

Bruce shook his head. "No need for that. I understand you're worried. It's perfectly normal. Jarvis will tell you where to go."

Kurt nodded as he walked into the elevator.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hummel," Jarvis greeted warmly. Well, as warmly as a machine could. Kurt was still astounded that the program could operate at such great lengths.

"Hi, Jarvis."

"Sergeant Barnes is on his floor. Should I take you there?"

Kurt nodded. "Please."

"Then it's done. Try not to worry, Mr. Hummel. Your friend will be just fine with all the help she's getting from the team."

Kurt tapped his fingers against the railing behind him as the computer spoke. "Thanks, Jarvis. I know they're going to do their best, I'm just scared. Loki didn't hurt me, but he could very well hurt Santana and I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to her."

Jarvis arrived at Bucky's floor with a beep. "I can keep you updated on the team's progress on finding her if you'd like."

"I'd really appreciate that, Jarvis, thank you. Is this Bucky's floor?"

"Affirmative. Dr. Banner called up and Sergeant Barnes is expecting you in his bedroom."

Kurt snorted at the euphemistic implications being spoken by a machine and left the elevator.

It turned out that Bucky's "floor" was just one big space. There was a room just off the main space, clearly his bedroom but the rest was wide and open with very little light. Kurt sensed that there was a story there, but he wouldn't pry. He knew the basics of Bucky's story before he was captured, everybody did. He was a national hero and, even with his identity as the Winter Soldier public, nobody forgot about the heroic efforts of James Buchanan Barnes. Kurt thought that counted for a lot, no matter what Bucky had done under the influence of Hydra.

Kurt made sure to knock before entering, something he had learned from the time that he and Sam shared a room.

"Come in."

Kurt entered, seeing Bucky sitting on the floor, leaning against the side of his bed and throwing a rubber ball at the wall at different angles, testing the reflexes of both of his arms. The metal one was surprisingly limber, Kurt noticed as it shot in front of Bucky's face to catch the ball.

"I wonder what people would say if they knew that the Winter Soldier passed the time by throwing the ball against a wall."

Bucky laughed. "They'd say 'I don't' believe you' and move on with their day."

Kurt shrugged. "Probably true. Did Bruce tell you why I'm here?"

Bucky's smile faded and he nodded. "Your friend. Clint mentioned that an Avengers mission was happening, but it was all very quick. Despite what people are saying, the Avengers are efficient and highly trained. One of them alone is enough to do the job, but you've got five of them looking for her. You've seen firsthand what Stevie can do." Bucky laughed again. "He's the worst one."

Kurt took a seat on the pristinely made bed and knocked his fingers against each other, a sign of discomfort. Bucky picked up on that immediately.

"Clearly you need a distraction. Can I tell you a story?"

Kurt blinked passively. "Sure."

"This story takes place seventy years ago. Steve and I were just kids. He was sick like all the time. I know you've heard the stories, but it doesn't accurately show what he was. He could barely walk up or down a flight of stairs without risking serious complications. I ended up having to carry him up the stairs after a school day."

Kurt shook his head, chuckling, not really being able to picture Bucky carry Steve anywhere. Even if Bucky was just as built as Steve was, Steve was pretty heavy. His muscle mass would cause problems for anybody.

"One time I was carrying him home, all eighty pounds of him, then I lost my footing. Slipped. We both tumbled all the way back down. I was carrying him bridal style and somehow he managed to stay in my arms the whole way down. I don't know how he did it."

Kurt stopped him. "You must have done that."

"What?"

"You mustn't have put your hands out to stop your fall. Instead, you wanted to protect Steve from harm," Kurt explained and Bucky seemed not to realise.

"Shit, you're right. What I was trying to say was, you're the Steve in this story and he's me. Even if he was in danger, you'd come first."

Kurt blinked several times before replying. "He told me he talked to you about this and you said he should go for it, no matter what his concerns are."

Bucky sighed. "Look, I've never seen Steve truly happy before. When we were kids, he had health problems and well…then there was the war. Becoming Captain America didn't cure his mind. He was still plagued full of all of that self-doubt and self-hatred being in a new body didn't change that. When people look at Steve, most of them only see Captain America. They forget that there's a person under there; a person who has survived more than anybody else I know.

"You see through him. I know you do. For you to stand by him as Steve means the world to him. I'm the only one who's ever done that before."

Kurt cleared his throat, unsure how to posit his next thought. Fortunately, Bucky did that for him.

"Let me guess: you're wondering whether Steve and I were a thing?"

Kurt blushed and chuckled. "I mean, there were rumours. Considering how taboo it must have been, I just assumed."

Bucky shook his head fondly. "If the question is if I was in love with him, the answer would be yes. Eventually, I realised Steve would only ever see me as a friend and moved on. My feelings are purely platonic. It'd be like dating my annoying kid brother.

"As for Steve, in his eyes we were just best friends."

"Best friends?" Kurt echoed. "It sounds like your bond is something deeper than that. Deeper than even romantic love. From how excited he sounded when he talked about me meeting you, you're pretty damn special to him."

"He's a punk," Bucky muttered. "Hey, are you feeling any better?"

Kurt smiled genuinely. "Actually, I am. Thanks, Bucky. I just wish someone would call."

"They will, kid. You wanna hear a story about when Steve was eight years old and clumsy?"

Kurt just nodded, thankful for a calming presence in such a dire time.


Natasha Romanoff surveyed the scene with narrowed eyes. "This seems like a trap."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Good looking out, Miss Paranoia."

Clint scaled the wall with unmatchable finesse and hung from one of the stronger beams. "Nat's right, Stark. Loki made this way too easy to find. He may as well have written us specific directions."

Steve and Thor grouped together, going deeper into the building. It wasn't unlike the one that Loki had used to detain Kurt not so long ago. The lighting was dark, the windows all blacked out pointedly.

Steve smashed a door open with his foot, darting inside and checking for any signs of life.

"Hello?" An irritated voice called out from the adjacent room.

Steve inched towards the noise, watching out for any potential traps or alarms. Caution was a strong suit of his, no matter how much he wanted to save Santana and bring her home safely to Kurt. "Stark, you detect anything?"

"All clear, Cap," Tony chirped from his defensive position aside Natasha.

"You sound way too happy about being on a rescue mission," Natasha commented dryly.

Steve ignored them and signalled to Thor to open the door.

Thor stumbled over to the corner and slammed Mjolnir into the wood, the flimsy material crumbling under the brute force.

It was a plain room that greeted them next. Boring white walls and no windows. In the dead centre of the room was Santana, limbs bound by thick cables that kept her attached to the chair. Her mouth wasn't bound and there was nobody else in sight.

"Oh, it's about time," she snarled. "Aren't you guys supposed to be Earth's mightiest heroes? I've been stuck in this padded cell for two hours now."

"Santana," Steve began. "Where's Loki?"

The girl frowned. "Oh, you mean the Shakespeare dude? I don't know. He tied me up and talked for what seemed to be three days about some big invasion. I figured he was just rehearsing some long as fuck monologue for an absurdist play in some outdoor location. I'm pretty sure he left."

Thor growled. "Which means he's probably still here. Show yourself, brother!" He yelled at the ceiling. "Captain," he added, getting Steve's attention. "There seems be some sort of note on the floor over there."

Once Santana was free, Steve wasted no time in reading it.

Be ready.

You have three days.

Consider this your warning.

Steve wordlessly passed the note to Thor as he went to get Natasha to use her phone to text Kurt that Santana was safe.

"What is my brother planning?" Thor asked himself.

"Okay, that wacko's your brother?" Santana scoffed. "And I thought Kurt had it bad in the sibling department."

Thor frowned. "Whatever evil poison has befallen Loki, he is still my brother and a good man at heart. We need to rid the dark clouds from his sky and this will all be over."

Santana sighed. "Great, Hamlet Mark II. Just what I needed today."

"She's safe," Steve was saying in the main room. "Loki doesn't seem to be here, though he did leave a note. An invasion's coming, apparently."

"How long?" Natasha prompted.

"Three days," Steve replied sombrely, opening a new message to Kurt.

Santana's safe. On our way back x – Steve

Thor led Santana out of the white room and she gasped.

"Holy shit, it's Black Widow," she whispered.

Natasha took a quick second to preen. "You can stop staring, you know."

Santana giggled uncharacteristically. "No, I don't think I can."

Clint took that moment to drop down from his makeshift nest, slinging his arm around Natasha. "Hi, Clint Barton. I'm her better half."

Santana smirked. "I don't think anyone believes that."

Tony shook his head from behind them. "Excuse me, billionaire over here. Your soon-to-be landlord, too."

As Thor announced that they should leave, Santana took a moment to speak to Steve as they dawdled.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

Steve smiled. "Don't mention it. Seriously, Tony's ego does not need inflating. Whenever we rescue anyone, he takes maximum credit."

Santana shrugged. "Well yeah, there's that. But I meant for making Kurt happy. He's been through a lot of shit so it's nice to see someone who genuinely wants to put a smile on his face."

"It's one of my favourite things about him."

"I feel like I should warn you now that if you ever hurt him, I'll make Black Widow over there seem like a fun day at the beach."

Steve chuckled. "Not that I would ever hurt him, but noted. I'm glad he has someone like you. And now that we'll all be living together, I get to learn more about you. Kurt's told me some, but I'd rather hear it from you."

"Thanks for that, too, I guess. Wow, I've never said that word as much in my life as I have in this whole conversation."

"Seriously, it's nothing. After you both move in, there'll still be twenty unused floors."

The girl gaped. "Seriously? Man, I don't even know what'd I'd do with that much money."

"The novelty wears off after a while, trust me."

"Oh, I don't doubt that. You know, Rogers, you're not so bad."

Steve regarded her with a grin. "You're pretty cool yourself, Santana."

"You're no Natasha Romanoff, but you'll do."

Steve shook his head fondly and realised just how similar Kurt and Santana were. It was probably why they were friends.

He also realised how much Kurt was going to need friends during these next few days. It wasn't going to be pretty.

Steve just hoped that they all survived whatever was coming.