The line went dead.
If there was ever a point in her life when everything seemed like a scene from a movie, this was it for Avery. She felt suspended in time, falling back into the chair at their kitchen table as Bucky listened to the voicemail again.
Why didn't she answer her phone earlier? And why the fuck didn't she think to listen to her voicemail messages?
It took all of her energy to keep from hyperventilating, focusing on the glass of water Sam got for her as both he and Bucky sprang into action. None of Avery's senses seemed to be working properly, her ears were ringing and her vision was blurry - from tears, probably - as life moved around her. This wasn't real, right?
Words echoed around her. Sam was on the phone with someone, Bucky with someone else. The front door opened then slammed again and eventually people seemed to arrive at their house…
"Ave, baby. Hey. Look at me, please." Bucky slid into the chair beside her, reaching down and patting Rocky's head as he stayed at her feet under the table.
"Bucky, I didn't even say I love you when we hung up. I just.. what if we never see him again?"
"Stop. That's not going to happen." Bucky's words were firm, an absolute.
Avery closed her eyes, leaning her head into Bucky's shoulder. "How do you know that?"
"Because I won't let that happen. Wherever he is, we'll find him. And whoever did this, I am going to kill them."
Avery didn't have time or even the mental capacity to comprehend what Bucky meant as their house was being transformed. A few unfamiliar agents were setting up laptops and monitors, Sharon showed up with coffee and eventually even Bruce was walking into their house. Avery stayed at the table, staring down at her phone as if Steve was going to call her back at any moment.
It was the only way she could stay upright, focusing on Steve. As if thinking about him hard enough would manifest him walking through the door, spilling out a big apology about where he had been and happily accepting the angry cries from both Avery and Bucky.
But her phone stayed silent.
She wasn't sure how true that old adage was - about the first 24 hours being the most critical if someone is missing. But it seemed these first few hours were of utmost importance, given the gathering of minds happening at their dining room table.
In addition to the agents working quickly at the pop up stations, they were also joined by Everett Ross himself - who seemed to have left directly from his bed, having rushed over to their home in a pair of sweatpants. With a cup of coffee in one hand, he commandeered the room. After taking a long drink from his cup, Ross used his free hand to drop a file folder on the table.
"As of ten minutes ago, the Liberty Protocol has gone into motion."
Avery could feel Bucky tensing up at her side. Her eyebrows narrowed as she turned to look at him, then over to Ross directly. "The what?"
"Barnes, you never told her?" Ross dropped into one of the open chairs and flipped through the sheets of paper in front of him.
"Why would we ever tell her about this? It's archaic."
Avery sighed, trying to ignore Bucky's intensity and stiff positioning. He was angry already and whatever this was seemed to be upsetting him even more.
Thankfully, it was Bruce who stepped in to try and diffuse whatever was about to explode between Bucky and Ross.
"When it was just us, uh, original six, there were a lot of contingency plans in place. For when things went bad during missions or..." Bruce lifted up his shoulders to shrug. "I mean, it depended on the person and circumstances but there was always a plan in case someone went missing. I think Green Protocol has been engaged for a decade now."
Ross nodded. "For lack of better explanation, for high profile superheroes, we always consider what might happen if the bad guys retaliate."
"Or other reasons someone may go missing," Sharon finished off, biting her lip as she took a seat beside Ross at the table. She reached for a stack of papers and scanned through it.
Frankly, maybe it was the lack of sleep and general chaos but Avery still wasn't following. "Steve's been retired for a long time now, from the public at least. He's not fighting bad guys anymore."
With a swift motion, Ross started to shuffle through the paperwork ahead of him. "It's not just about bad guys per se. We maintain a watchlist for any potential targets regarding these same superheroes, actively working in the public eye or not."
"Steve and I - we get an update on the lists every few weeks," Bucky turned in his chair and watched Avery as she took in all the information. "None of them were ever a concern to us."
Avery blinked once then twice, dragging a hand down her face. "So you're just constantly under threat and it's a nonissue?"
"Yes. Most of the list is angry people hiding behind their keyboards anonymously," Ross pulled a list from the folder and scanned it. "A smaller percentage of the list is people directly tied to Captain America or The Winter Soldier. I think we're looking at two possible situations here regarding who is behind this - someone Captain America sent away who has some fantastical revenge plot or the bigger worry and what our Government agency is most concerned about: an unhinged lunatic who wants his genetic material for their own personal gain."
"This is insane, this is insane." Avery dropped her head down onto her arms, doing everything in her control to continue breathing properly. After all this time, how could Steve not have peace in his life? Why were people still treating him like some fantastical commodity, an ongoing science experiment they could try to evolve and experiment on for all the wrong reasons? Bucky grabbed a nearby pitcher of water and refilled her a glass, while his free hand rested on her knee under the table.
"This is why we have the Liberty Protocol." Ross clapped his hands together and motioned to Bucky and Avery. "Step one is keeping anyone close to Captain America secure and safe. I think you should be moved to a safe house location and -"
"Absolutely not." Bucky scoffed. "I should be out there looking for him right now." He pressed a firm finger into the table. "I'm better than any agent you have searching the city."
"Barnes, without a lead - you have nowhere to look, okay?" Ross sighed and motioned to one of the agents working nearby at the kitchen counter, typing at some laptop screen aggressively. "We will make a plan once we have a lead. Keep in mind that if someone has gone through the effort of making Captain America disappear, they clearly want him alive."
"I want to search his office and that parking garage and -"
"Barnes, as of ten minutes ago-" Ross repeated, "- this is a CIA matter. You don't make the decisions."
Sharon cleared her throat and tapped the paper ahead of her, looking around the table quickly before moving her eyes to scan the text ahead of her. "Since we are discussing the Protocol, I think all the possible situations should be on the table." With a swift motion she slid the paper towards Ross, her finger pressed delicately on the page.
Bucky groaned, snatching the paper from the table and crumpling it into a ball. "This is ridiculous. Based on the voicemail and evidence, Steve hasn't disappeared by choice."
"What?" Avery felt like her head was a pinball, looking around the table again to try and analyze all the concerned faces. "What does that mean? By choice?"
"It's too early on to consider anything with certainty, really." Ross frowned, shooting a look at Bucky who had slumped back in his chair, eyes narrowed with anger. "But we may have to examine that angle, too. It's in the protocol."
"Fuck the Liberty Protocol." Bucky growled, the timber of his voice shaking. "Steve has not gone AWOL, he has not had a mental break, he has no reason to–"
"Captain America was on the run once before," Ross countered, letting out a sigh. "I'm not saying that it is likely, but it's not impossible."
That comment clearly didn't sit well with Bucky, because it took less than a second for him to continue the argument with Ross.
Amidst the back and forth, with Sam peppering in plenty of his own opinions in Bucky's favour, Avery felt like she was reaching a breaking point. She reached forward on the table and retrieved the piece of paper Bucky had discarded, quietly unfolding the crumpled edges as she scanned the document.
Section 12 - AWOL STATUS AND OTHER SCENARIOS
Avery's eyes grew wide as she looked through the subsections, outlining situations she could never imagine. Captain America breaking safety protocols, disappearing for unethical reasons, compromising national security, acting without good conscience, unprovoked attacks, retaliation. And even worse than that, it talked about how to put him down if the situation escalated and—
She didn't even realize how hard she was gripping the water glass in her other hand as everyone else argued. When it shattered against her palm, there was barely any time to react as she pushed her chair back and stood up.
She pointed directly at Ross, then motioned to Bucky. "His name is Bucky! Or Sergeant Barnes. And I don't care about this protocol - because we aren't looking for Captain America, we are looking for Steve Rogers! He is just a person, not a superhero. Did you not hear the voicemail? He was attacked or - or targeted or whatever. This wasn't by choice. He would never leave, he wouldn't. We need to find him. Steve. We need to find Steve."
She couldn't be certain if she had been shouting but by the end of it, Avery recognized the crack of her own voice. Her breathing had picked up again and in the silence that followed her outburst, as she avoided sympathetic looks from around the table, she closed her eyes and quietly tried to swallow her hiccups.
Someone's phone started to buzz. Ross finally spoke through the silence. "Let's take five then regroup, alright?"
Avery felt a hand at her back and the next thing she knew, Bucky was ushering her away from the dining room towards their small half bathroom near the kitchen. When did she start shaking?
"Hey, let me look at your hand." Bucky sat her on the closed toilet seat, crouching down and slowly opening up her palm on his own. He didn't see any piece of glass but some of the broken shards had left her with a gash near her thumb. "Maybe we need to invest in plastic cups."
"Sorry for yelling at your boss," Avery said quietly, head tipped down as she watched Bucky clean her hand. "Though I think he deserved it. So maybe I'm not sorry."
A barely noticeable smirk grew on Bucky's face momentarily as he wiped at her palm. "I appreciate the support, sweetheart."
She sucked in a breath and collapsed forward, sandwiching their hands between their bodies as she rested against him. "I'm scared, Buck. I don't like any of this. Going from 'oh maybe he's just stuck in traffic' to…the idea of someone hurting him and.. And.. he wouldn't just leave us, there's no way. He'd never.."
"I know, I know. Shh, shh." Bucky took in a deep breath, using his free hand to rub against her back. "We're going to find him, I promise."
Steve managed to get through most of his grading work but it had been an arduous task. Since getting off the phone with Avery, and then Bucky, he could feel the emotional toll of their whole disagreement weighing on him. That and his sleepless nights - it seemed everything was leaving him feeling more fatigued than he usually felt after his classes.
After giving up on his last few essays, delegating them to tomorrow's to-do list, Steve grabbed his coat and headed out. He did consider his afternoon productive, mostly. Victoria had left shortly before him now and they had kept to themselves, both neck deep in semester ending paperwork and course documents.
As Steve headed from his office to the parking garage, he went back and forth about his approach with Avery. Bucky was, of course, going to be there to help them mediate whatever came from this follow up discussion but Steve wanted to go in prepared. He figured maybe stopping for a bouquet of flowers - when was the last time either of them brought flowers home? - or maybe a pint of their favourite gelato would be a good peace offering.
Crossing from the campus building to the parking structure, he made one important decision. He wanted to call Avery to pre-apologize and check in. So many thoughts and feelings were swirling through his head as he waited, and well, maybe it was worth letting some of them out now.
When her phone went to voicemail almost immediately, Steve sighed. Well, maybe getting it off his chest to her ignored voicemail box would help clear his head. Climbing up the stairwell to where he parked near the top of the garage, he patiently waited for a beep before diving into an impromptu speech.
"Sweetheart, I know we'll see each other soon enough but I just wanted to tell you that I love you. You know that right? I love you and I'm so proud of you for everything you do. And if you want to fight, okay. I'll get on board."
He continued to climb the stairs, finally reaching the level where he had parked the Jeep. "Because if it makes you feel better, if it makes you proud of yourself… I've just gotta be honest - Avery, you're one of the most important people in my life and the idea of you getting hurt scares the shit out of me."
He used his shoulder to push through the final door and headed down the rows of vehicles. It felt unusually quiet, though Steve mostly blamed that on being so high up away from the city noise below. "Yeah, me, Steve Rogers.. Scared. Promise you won't hold it against me. You're strong Ave, but you've been strong since way before your muscles changed. It's your heart that makes you so strong, your mind, your soul." He stopped a few feet away from the Jeep, a strange twist in his stomach appearing suddenly.
Huh, that was new. He turned his head from left to right, trying to split his focus between what he was saying into the phone and taking in his surroundings. Was that footsteps somewhere down the way?
He slowed down for a second, clenching his free hand into a fist as he continued to scan the area. "I know this has probably been my worst speech yet but I'm out of practice so give me a break this time. I love you and I'll see you s–'' That's when Steve felt it, a sharp sting at the back of his neck. "What was tha–"
He cut himself off, pulling his phone away and turning around. What the fuck had just hit him? His hand went to that spot immediately and was that a… dart sticking out of his neck? Oh god, he didn't have much time. That's when he figured it out, four or five people heading in his way from all different directions. It's not that he wasn't prepared for situations like this - but, well, it hadn't happened to him in a long time. He used to be so sharp and ready for anything, easily calculating his best course of action for taking down multiple men at the same time. Even without a weapon, he could accomplish that on even his worst days.
But for some reason, as his phone fell to the ground and Steve tried to apprehend the closest person who was approaching him, it felt like he was moving in slow motion. Worse than that, his entire body seemed to start failing him entirely. He threw his arm forward, completely bypassing the man in front of him.
Then Steve felt his knees collapse and hit the pavement. He tried to stay alert and see the faces ahead of him, but it blurred together slowly and eventually, all he could see was darkness.
Normally Avery didn't mind staying late at the lab, especially when Bruce specifically asked for her help getting one of his presentations ready. He was preparing for a new launch with the energy division of Stark Industries, the latest revolutionary update in clean tech. But it had made for a lot of late nights when Avery, Steve and Bucky were only weeks out from moving into their new house. She still had a lot of things to do outside of work.
Bucky had taken on most of the heavy work when it came to packing up their apartment. In fact, she knew that's how he had been spending his last few days off. She was heading to their apartment to join both him and Steve, if her timing was correct. Although she was grateful for the later sunset as the summer approached, she had left before sunrise and was barely getting to see the pink sky when she climbed up the stairs from her subway stop.
She was very much looking forward to seeing her boys.
As she made her way up to the seventh floor, she reminded herself that soon enough these treks upstairs would be part of their past. Ahead, the future looked exciting and fresh - at their very own brownstone in Brooklyn.
God, she couldn't wait. Mostly because she knew this was a dream come to life for Steve and Bucky. Finally returning to the neighbourhoods they grew up in, starting the next chapter of their lives, creating a new normal routine together.
Before that could happen, of course, they had to pack and donate and specifically Avery knew now was the best time to downsize her closet and..
She wasn't entirely familiar with the music that caught her attention as she approached their apartment. But it crackled softly, like it was flowing from on Bucky's record player. She was quiet as she opened the door and as the music grew a tiny bit, she quickly found what she was looking for.
There stood her boys, in the middle of a slow dance together. Although this had clearly derailed their productive packing evening, Avery couldn't help but overflow with joy at the sight.
Bucky's left arm curled around the small of Steve's back, while Steve's right hand cradled Bucky's neck. Their opposite arms were held together, up like the bow of a ship as they made small circles around the sea of boxes in the living room.
Swaying together to a slow jazz band, as if their little Brooklyn apartment was some dance hall of the past.
Avery was tempted to take out her phone and capture a photo, but she knew there was no point. No picture could capture this better than the memory forming in her mind, in her heart.
"You gonna keep staring or you gonna join us, sweetheart?"
Her face flushed red when she heard Bucky's comment. She dropped her backpack and shrugged off her jacket, taking a few unhurried steps in their direction.
She raised an eyebrow as her feet slowed down. "Just based on, you know, personal space and logistics - three people can't dance together.."
Steve scoffed, breaking away from Bucky long enough to tug her towards them. "Listen, if the three of us can have sex in my shower, then we can dance, too. C'mere."
All of a sudden, Avery was nestled between them both. Her head rested against Steve's chest while Bucky wrapped his arm around her torso. Her right hand joined theirs, resting in midair. Bucky crooned along to the music, barely loud enough for them to hear.
She let out a happy sigh.
Avery had crashed on the couch in the office, refusing to go to bed upstairs if Bucky wasn't joining her. Instead, she had parked herself in the office with Rocky and Alpine, trying not to obsessively think about where Steve could be and all the crazy worst case scenarios everyone downstairs had been trading.
"When it rains, it pours, huh."
Avery opened one eye, relieved to see Kasey crouched down in front of her. Avery figured her cousin would show up soon enough - given that Sam had been so quick to leave his girlfriend at his apartment while giving Bucky a hand with the whole mess.
"Finally got a lock on Jeremy then Steve had to go and give you guys a run for your money, too." Kasey dropped down onto the couch beside Avery as she sat up, wrapping her arms around her cousin in a warm embrace. "Sorry, I know the bad commentary won't help at all. Just trying to… I don't know."
"Lighten the mood?" Avery gave her cousin a small nudge as they broke apart. "Thanks for being here, Kase. I assume Sam filled you in?"
"Mostly, yeah. I'm hoping this will all just turn into some big misunderstanding," Kasey let out a long sigh as she shifted on the couch, turning to face Avery directly. "What can I do for you? Have you eaten anything lately?"
Avery pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes, relishing in the strange pressure as she contemplated that question. She hadn't eaten anything in a while but her appetite had gone missing, too. Until they had some news or information to go off of, the weird in between nothingness about the situation was leaving her beyond unsettled.
Before she crashed, Bucky and Sam had finally gotten some sort of permission from Ross to go and circle back to where they had already looked. Sharon was taking the lead on tracking down the Jeep and Bruce was reaching out to everyone in their extended circle to see if they knew anything or had heard from Steve.
Avery felt useless, really. While hiding herself away with the pets seemed like the only way she could contribute, her anxiety was stirring out of control. All she wanted to do was sit and talk to Bucky, or be able to help in a productive kind of way, but she was a sitting duck.
"I'm not really hungry," she finally admitted, leaning back into her cousin's side as she listened to the faraway voices downstairs. She couldn't hear Bucky or Sam, so she assumed they were still out running around. "Just sort of.. I don't know." After taking a deep breath, she pushed through. "Kasey, I've gotta say something out loud."
Kasey narrowed her eyes, clutching Avery's hand in her own. "Okay, I'm right here to listen."
Avery took another breath, squeezing her eyes shut. "Guess who asked her doctor for a pregnancy test?"
Kasey gasped. "Stop. You're not serious. Are you..pregnant?"
Avery sighed and filled her cousin in about everything Mickey had said to her earlier, omitting some of the details about potential genetic mutations and risks about their potential future kids. By the end of the entire explanation, Avery wasn't sure if it was the exhaustion or just her overwhelming feelings causing her to cry, but there she sat - collapsing into Kasey's arms, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Oh, Avery Ray. You're alright, it's okay." Kasey ran a hand down her cousin's back and encouraged her to breathe. "What did Bucky and Steve say?"
"I haven't even gotten to tell them. I want them to know at the same time but now with this whole mess, and the last conversation I had with Steve didn't end well and I just.. I don't know what to do."
"Right now, this very second, you don't have to know what to do yet. But wow, seriously, you're resilient, Ave. Because I was wrong, when it rains it monsoons and then apparently floods your home too."
The first thing Steve noticed when he woke up was the temperature. While he had adjusted to being cold over the years, this was different. He felt the cold down to his bones this time - why was their house so cold?
No. The sheets were all wrong, and and and the blanket was completely absent, no warm bodies or animals at his side. As he opened his eyes and saw nothing, he realized that no, this wasn't their house. He wasn't home. Where was he? And why was it so cold and so dark? His head especially was so cold. His hand moved up and brushed through his hair.. Which had been cut short, buzzed off. What the fuck?
The last thing he remembered was the parking garage, the pain in his neck, the way his body collapsed to the ground before he could defend himself. He tried to think rationally just for a moment. Focus, Steve. If you can't see, what can you hear?
He listened carefully. The bed creaked quietly as he shifted, vents above him filtered the air. A machine hummed somewhere further away. The room had a door somewhere, though he couldn't pinpoint where in the dark but he could hear something or someone moving on the other side of it.
And the smell - clean and chemical driven, like a hospital. He licked his lips, tasting the same potent cleanliness in the air.
The worst of it all was the pain that had slowly gotten worse as he laid there awake. His left knee especially radiated a growing ache. He reached an arm down underneath the sheet, against soft sweatpants, and as he brushed his hand across the joint of his knee, he winced. Was it broken? Had his fall to the ground had that much impact? Whatever it was, it hurt like hell.
Focus, Steve.
He needed to figure out where he was and how to get out. Slowly he sat up on the bed, swinging his legs off and crying out when his feet touched the ground. God, that pain in his knee was suddenly a thousand times worse. He pushed through it though - feeling his way to the nearest wall and searching for any sign of escape, preferably a door frame or -
Ah, yes. His hand landed on a metal handle and though of course it was locked, he heaved as hard as he could and.. What had happened to him? That small amount of exertion alone seemed to ricochet though him, as his limbs grew heavy the more he moved.
The light above clicked on, blinding after being in darkness so long and startling. Steve squeezed his eyes shut reflexively and blinked rapidly until his vision cleared. When he finally looked, he scanned the entire room. The bed rested against one wall and a door frame on the far side of the room led to a washroom, but otherwise, it was empty. Completely void of anything but white walls and this locked door.
A burst of air pushed through the room, streaming down from the vents overhead. Warm air, at least. But once Steve took a deep breath, he realized this wasn't just oxygen. He growled as he collapsed to the floor again.
"Whoever you are, I'm going to.. I'll figure out… You have no chance..no cha.."
He returned to the darkness.
Bucky had taken on the task of cleaning up the backyard patio, mostly to make sure their backyard was in good enough shape to invite a few friends over for a small housewarming barbeque. Admittedly, considering they had barely just moved in, it didn't make much sense to already host people. But Avery was excited about it, so it gave them good reason to get a few parts of their house put together.
He had left Avery and Steve inside, taking care of touching up some paint in the rooms on the second floor. He had a feeling their productivity wasn't going to be very good and once he was done with his own chore, he'd probably have to help them finish up.
Once all the leaves had been raked up and the small patch of grass tended to, he went back inside. In the kitchen, he grabbed a glass of water and tried to listen to what was happening upstairs. He heard just a few footsteps and Avery's laughter echoing through the empty rooms.
The quiet tone of Steve's laugh followed. "Ave, you have to keep still or you'll ruin it."
Bucky couldn't hide his smile and confusion as he headed up the stairs and across the second floor landing. That's when he figured it out - his two partners were not being productive. In fact, why was Avery laying facedown on the ground and..
When Bucky pushed the door all the way open, the answer was staring him right in the face. "And here I thought you were painting the walls.." Avery was laying on her stomach, spread out across the drop sheet without a shirt on. Without even a bra on, even. And at her side Steve was seated back on his knees, poised with a thin paintbrush in hand in the middle of decorating Avery's bare back with some inspiring piece of art.
"Is that stuff safe on skin?" Bucky took a step in, a wide grin creeping across his face.
"I switched to my acrylics.." Steve looked up at him with an equally devilish smile. "Which are apparently nontoxic but Ave was the one insisting here.."
"Oh, big talk from you, Rogers." Avery twisted her head and looked toward Bucky too. "He told me I was a masterpiece and one thing led to another and.."
Bucky laughed, sliding down against the unpainted wall and watching them both. "Well, he's right."
Avery dragged her tongue across her lips then turned away, avoiding Bucky's stare. "There is a joke somewhere here about being nailed against a wall.."
Steve stopped his paintbrush wielding hand, eyebrows shooting upwards as his grin grew even bigger. "Speaking of.. I was going to propose a challenge actually. See how long it takes us to christen every room of the house…"
Avery let out an excited yelp as she flipped over. "I love that idea."
"Hey, I wasn't done yet.." Steve laughed, immediately reaching for more paint on his brush and getting to work on her front side instead.
"So are we starting with the guest room then the shower?" Bucky sat up on his knees and reached for Steve's small palette that was laid out, using a finger to collect a dollop of paint. He reached across Avery and dragged the paint down Steve's neck, towards his collarbone. "Because I don't think Avery is the only work of art in here, you know. You're a masterpiece too, Stevie."
The first 24 hours proved useless. They had no new information, despite thoroughly scanning through video footage of the school campus and nearby security cameras in the blocks where Steve's Jeep may have travelled when leaving the property.
Bucky, Sam and a few additional agents had searched Steve and Victoria's office, the parking garage and Steve's old apartment.
Everett Ross had dived headfirst into making a case for any potential suspects for who may be involved with Steve's disappearance. They interviewed anyone who had been in contact with Steve, including Victoria, at Avery's insistence.
"She was in his office that afternoon! I heard her when I called him."
"She's already on our list," Bucky had assured her as they all sat around the dining table again. "I filled Ross in on what we've found."
Most other names on the list Avery wasn't familiar with. Someone named Batroc, anyone still connected to the Osborn family, a few war criminals from Eastern Europe, Bruce had mentioned possible alien threats…
Nothing came from any of it. Even Victoria had some alibi about where she went after leaving campus that day.
As much as Ross had Government pull, not everyone they flagged was on American soil and not everyone seemed agreeable to a conversation, either. And if they were, they also had alibis and proved useless when it came to anything close to a lead.
"When do we start plastering Steve's face on the news?" Avery had asked, calm and collected. She had been practicing patience when it came to all of this, despite her simmering anger.
"It's too big of a risk at this stage," Sam had been her voice of reason. "Whoever is behind this, we don't want to scare them. It's better to leave them thinking they've succeeded."
To Avery, it felt like nothing was happening. She knew that wasn't true and she knew better than to argue, but every hour that passed without substance, she worried they were growing further and further away from Steve. God, she hoped he was safe.
By day three, she had emailed her professors and friends at school that she was in the middle of a personal crisis. She appreciated the kind words of her classmates and ignored most of her instructors' responses, knowing that there was no way she could even fake an interest in the subject matter while this was all unfolding.
She also reached out to her family - despite Ross' insistence that this should stay within a small circle. But this was Steve's family, too. How could she keep such a heavy secret from them again?
Her dad and Suzanne were visiting some of Suzanne's family in Texas and immediately started to travel back home, offering any support they could in the meantime. Lora nearly broke down on the phone, promising that she and Allie could get to the city as fast as possible, if needed.
Nash didn't say much on the phone but arrived at their house within the hour, sitting down with Sam, Bucky and the team right away to see how he could help. Nash offered a different perspective which proved helpful, even if they still didn't have much to work on. He had stayed late into the night and before he headed out, he pulled Avery aside in the front hallway.
They had left things so distant weeks ago when Nash had stormed out of their house, reeling in the news about their brother. And the communication between Avery and Nash had been practically non-existent since then. Until that night, until right then.
"How you holdin' up?" Nash kept some space between them as he lingered at the door, looking down towards Avery as she sat on the staircase.
Avery chewed on her thumbnail, avoiding looking at her brother as she figured out her answer. "Barely holding on, really."
"Shit, Ave." Nash took a few steps towards her and extended his arms out, encouraging her to stand so he could embrace her. As she stood on the first step, she let him envelope her and, god, of course she was crying again. "I wish I had something helpful to say but I just.. I've got nothing."
Avery laughed into her brother's shoulder before pulling away. "It's okay. I appreciate your honesty though. And for showing up."
"Of course." Nash left his hands on his shoulder as he watched her for another moment, before glancing back towards the kitchen where Sam and Bucky were still talking with another agent. "I know Steve and Bucky don't always like me but-"
"They don't…dislike you, Nash," Avery shook her head and gave her brother a gentle nudge. "They're just protective of me, that's all."
"I know, I get it. But.. Well, Steve is a good guy. Whatever happened to him, I'm praying it's a safe resolution."
Avery just swallowed the painful lump in her throat.
She was praying for the same thing.
When Steve woke up again, the same aching feeling lingered throughout his body. But it felt worse somehow. He was still on the floor, in the exact spot he had collapsed before. The lights in the room were still on, bright and blinding just like the walls.
He dragged himself over to the bed, pushing up into a standing position again as he tried to regain his bearings. Focus, Steve.
Some sort of clinical setting.. Was it a hospital? Not a real operating one. Who would lock him in a cell? And how long had he been there now?
God, his knee ached. Under the lights, he scanned over the rest of his body to assess any other damage. His arms were okay, just weak. No, wait.
He ran his thumb across the crook of his opposite elbow. A tiny indent remained where blood had been drawn from his arm. Fuck, that was it.
In the past, there had been instances where he knew enemies and powerful people had an interest in Steve - an unsavory interest, with plans of their own on attempting to replicate Erskine's serum. He knew how valuable he was to any of those mad scientists and for years he had lived extra cautiously to stay as safe as possible, hidden away or prepared to fight against anyone who wanted him for this reason.
But somehow he had let his guard down.
Aside from the pain in his knee, everything else seemed to be in working order on his body. It unnerved him that he was dressed in clothes that weren't his own, though.
Focus.
He needed to figure something out, anything that could give him an indication of where he was. How long had he been there? How long would it take Avery and Bucky to figure out he wasn't going to make it home?
God, they were smart. Both of them, scrappy and ferocious and brilliant. Everything was going to be okay. They'd figure out where he was or he'd fight his way out somehow. They were going to be okay. They had to be.
Steve stilled, clearing his head of his partners and listening as a set of footsteps sounded somewhere close by. His eyes darted in that direction, bracing himself as the handle rotated and the door pushed open.
The person on the other side stepped in. "Hey - I'm so happy you're awake. I think it's time we talked about everything."
"Isn't it crazy to think this could be our new regular place?" Avery ran her fingers against the edge of the booth table, eyebrows moving up and down quickly as she motioned around the bar. "We could come here every Thursday for happy hour."
Bucky choked out a laugh. "We barely go out as it is, Ave."
She just shrugged, flipping open the menu and tipping it towards Steve as he sat beside her, looking over her shoulder. "Should we get celebratory sparkling wine?"
After weeks of staring at listings and going to open houses, they finally did it. Well, Steve had a lot of paperwork to figure out with his bank and a lawyer still but unofficially, they had found a house.
A home.
Soon enough, their bank accounts would be lighter but they'd be proud owners of a Brooklyn brownstone. The house had plenty of charm left, and some projects for Steve to work on, but it was ready for them to move in once everything was signed off.
Steve couldn't believe it. Truthfully, when he came out of the ice years ago, he never imagined getting to this point. He finally got to start the rest of his life with the two people he loved the most in the world. Their dreams of a house with a big kitchen and room to grow into, a backyard for their future dog and a garden, in a quiet neighbourhood - it was coming true.
He could only imagine what the next five years could look like as their lives evolved. Their house would grow into even more of a home, with not only pets but also kids in the mix…
Steve grinned and scanned the menu, before looking around, eyes directed towards the bar. "Not sure this is a sparkling wine kind of place, sweetheart."
"Whatever," Avery waved her hand briefly before reaching for one of Bucky's across the table, then Steve's at her side. She twined her fingers with theirs and raised them up. "We're really doing this."
"I can't wait to supervise you both in the kitchen every night," Bucky said with a laugh. "And should we start shopping for the biggest possible bed now? Because for someone who's only five and a half feet tall, you take up a lot of bed real estate, Ave."
"Wow, rude. Big talk coming from the guy who doesn't understand what a clothes hamper is for." Avery dropped Bucky's hand and crossed her arms.
Bucky rolled his eyes, biting back a smile. "Maybe this is a good time to downsize your plant collection, too."
"You're insane!" Avery shook her head. "If anything, a whole house means I can get even more plants. Right, Stevie?"
"Hey, that's not fair. You know using 'Stevie' on him means he'll do anything for you. If there is one thing I've learned from living together this past year.."
Somehow, amidst Avery and Bucky's bickering, Steve had gotten the attention of a waitress and drinks were being delivered to their table.
"Are you two done?" Steve's own smile had become a permanent feature as he passed a beer to each of them. "We've got time to figure out all the logistics."
Avery was practically jumping in her seat as she looked between them. "Is it clear how excited I am? Because I am so excited. I get a forever sleepover with you both!? I don't even care about having to pack."
Bucky smirked. "I'm gonna remember that." He raised up his glass. Steve and Avery did the same. "To the next chapter of our lives!"
Five days. Steve had been missing for five days and they still barely had a lead about what could have happened. His Jeep was still missing. The parking garage and nearby security cameras had been checked and rechecked a hundred times.
Nothing.
Ross was holding strong about a theory related to Batroc and had sent a team of agents to search his properties, but to everyone else, it seemed like nonsense.
The more hours that passed by without any important information, the worse Avery felt. She could see Bucky's facade slowly deteriorating, too. Although they were constantly in each other's orbit, outside of a few quiet check-ins about how they were feeling, their conversations lacked any real substance.
Bucky had pushed against every single one of Everett Ross' dumb rules about the Liberty Protocol and placed himself in charge of the investigation, with Sam was right by his side too. Avery mostly stayed at home, which was feeling less and less like a place they lived and more like a headquarters for finding Steve.
Some authorized people came and went, some had moved to work from the office in Manhattan instead. Mostly it was people they knew popping by, at least. A rotation of CIA agents patrolled the neighbourhood too. Ross wouldn't budge on that one, despite Bucky insisting it was unnecessary.
"Pick your battles, Sergeant," Ross had said calmly. "Whoever did this, they could be keeping an eye on you and Miss Felix, too."
They.
Whoever had been involved in this Steve situation, whoever they were, Avery's own personal rage about them had been growing. Her mind flipped between scenarios of where Steve might be at any given moment - hopefully somewhere safe enough, fighting against the forces set out to take advantage of him. But god, what she wouldn't give to have a piece of them too.
It was a hard conflict - trying to subdue Bucky's anger while mediating her own. Bucky had taken so many steps backwards in the past few days, regressing to short answers and angry sarcastic comments when someone asked an innocent question. Certain agents truly didn't deserve any kind of hard treatment from him, but when all his energy was being directed elsewhere, his short fuse was hard to avoid.
It had been many nights that he had slept properly, too. Avery could say the same for herself, of course. So when things had quieted down on the research front and everyone but the lone agent outside their door had finally exited their house, she all but dragged him to bed.
"I need to go over these notes again," Bucky pulled his arm away from Avery's hold as she stood near the bottom of the stairs. "Those agents might have missed something and-"
"Bucky." Avery took in a sharp breath. "You can't run yourself into the ground, that's not helping anyone. Please, just come to bed with me"
"Avery."
"For just a few hours, please." She took a step forward and reached for his hand again. "I want everything to feel normal for…" Another sigh escaped her. "Please, Buck."
Bucky closed his eyes, dragging his free hand across his jaw before tipping his head into a small nod. "Okay."
They were quiet as they headed up to the bedroom, the heaviness of many unsaid things weighing down the space between them. Their bedroom was a disaster - the pace of the last few days had gotten the best of them. Laundry was put on a backburner, but so was everything else apparently. Clothes spilled out of their hamper, Avery's school books were stacked near the window, their bed hadn't been properly made in days.
Bucky stripped down and pulled on a fresh pair of boxers before climbing into bed. Avery ditched her clothes for one of Steve's sweatshirts from the closet then crawled in beside him. They barely even uttered any kind of goodnight message, simply turning to one another once their heads were against the pillows. Avery reached out for Bucky's hands, clutching them tightly against her chest as she closed her eyes.
She couldn't even bring herself to cry. Their bed felt so empty without Steve.
Everything felt empty without him.
The rest and comfort Avery had been seeking was short lived.
That momentary return to normal had been short lived.
She wasn't stirred awake but startled, sitting up in the bed when she heard the noises coming from Bucky.
No, no. Not again. Not now.
"Bucky?" She glanced to her side, where Bucky was writhing in his sleep. His body rocked side to side as he mumbled.
"Pozhaluysta, derzhite yego v bezopasnosti."
Avery's eyes grew wide. She filled her lungs with a deep breath and sat up on her knees, shifting to watch him. Last time this happened, last time Bucky had a nightmare.. Last time everything changed. They couldn't go through that again, not now.
She couldn't do this without Steve.
"Bucky?" She called for him again, quiet still as he stayed in his trance. God, what was she going to do? Her hands started to tremble and she clasped them together, breathing as deeply as she could manage. She anxiously adjusted the cuff on her wrist and..
"Gospod' nado mnoy zashchiti yego."
Avery had to make a decision. No, she didn't even have time to consider her options. She didn't have Steve, so whatever was about to happen with Bucky - she needed to try and control the situation. First and foremost, maybe he was going to wake up from it himself. Maybe he'd fall back asleep, back to normal. Maybe he'd…
Bucky sat up in the bed, suddenly silent, and Avery moved quickly. She shuffled backwards off the bed and stood near the doorway, turning on their overhead light before hitting her wrists together twice. She hadn't even considered ever needing the special gloves - covering her wrists quickly thanks to the magic of Wakandan nanotechnology. Ever since Bucky had gifted her the piece on her birthday, she had treated it as something she'd likely never use.
But now, well, she remembered what Bucky had said that day: "Those are reinforced - there is a special shock absorbing system weaved into it that can help if you ever need to… really fight someone off. Having increased strength is one thing but if you break your hand in the middle of a fight, you'll be outta luck."
Avery stood with her arms out, held up in a defensive stance as she looked at Bucky on the bed. He barely moved, frozen in place as he stared straight ahead.
"Bucky?" Avery called for him again, a bit louder than before but still cautious. "Are you.. Are you Bucky?"
Then she saw it, heard it - his trembling lip, his chattering teeth. Wait, this wasn't a nightmare like before. This wasn't a repeat of The Incident. Something was wrong.
She slowly walked closer to his side of the bed, her breathing getting more and more steady as the fear in her chest was replaced with something deeper, something more painful.
Bucky's breathing picked up as she approached, as he collapsed forward on the bed, escaping his dazed state. His fists gripped the sheets, collected under his shaking hands as he tried to center himself. Then Avery heard it - his sobbing.
"Bucky, baby.." She rushed forward, hitting her wrists together once more to collapse her gloves. "Hey, hey, Buck, I'm right here. I'm right-" The moment her knees touched the bed he reached for her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. She kneeled awkwardly between his legs, cradling his head against her chest. His breathing was laboured but she did what she could to soothe him, running her fingers through his hair, smoothing her hands across his shoulders.
Bucky mumbled against her chest, a nearly silent prayer as he cried. "Let him be safe, please.."
Avery couldn't bring herself to reply, to reassure him. How was she so unable to find the right words? So she didn't say anything. She just stayed right in front of him, right where he needed her to be.
Bucky showed his vulnerabilities in ways that weren't always this obvious. He shut down, he grew quiet, he argued. But to see him cry - to hear him weep, choking on his own sobs, needing to be reminded to breathe. This was new to Avery. She figured this part of him had been exercised a lot before, when he was in the depths of recovering from the trauma of his past.
But, healing was not linear. And these ebbs and flows of their relationship weren't uncommon. God, Avery knew Bucky and Steve had helped her through a lot of these moments before. They had picked her up off the ground as she cried, held her through panic attacks and combatted her anxieties without hesitation. And right now, she knew Bucky needed her to just be there.
"Buck..what can I do?" They had shifted slightly, laying back down together but this time Avery had her arms wrapped around Bucky instead. Her fingers skated against the lines of his back, over his scars and muscles.
"Steve used to.." Bucky had barely said anything since waking from the nightmare he had been trapped in. He pushed himself back slightly, glancing up at Avery for a brief moment before closing his eyes again. "He used to read. He'd read to me. It'd help me sleep. I know you're tired too but could you.."
"Of course, yes. What do you want me to do?" Avery let out a long breath, running through a rolodex of reading material in her mind. "Wanna hear my thesis?"
It had been a joke, really. But she heard Bucky laugh, just barely. "Yeah, I'd love to."
Avery pressed a kiss to the top of his head, promising she'd be right back as she trekked downstairs to the office to grab the latest printed copy of her thesis. It had been marked up by Bruce and herself, with hopeful promise that she was near the finish line. Not that she had been thinking about her school work lately. It had suddenly become incredibly unimportant.
When she returned to the bedroom, she turned off the overhead light and flicked on one of the bedside lamps instead. Rocky, who had been downstairs, had come back up and joined them on the bed too. His head rested against Bucky's feet.
Avery situated herself against a pile of pillows at the top of the bed, pressing her back against the headboard. Before she started to read, Bucky twisted in the bed and laid his head in her lap. With one hand, she caressed the crown of his head. With the other, she held her stack of papers and started to read.
Bucky fell asleep first but Avery continued through the whole document, hoping the lure of her voice and the boring words would help keep him from waking again. And she too fell asleep eventually and they remained mostly undisturbed. For a few hours, they simply stayed in the bed, twined together as their heartbeats fell into a rhythm.
The early morning light had started to spill through their windows as they woke up together. Bucky stirred awake first, untangling himself from Avery as he reached for his phone. All he had was a simple 'nothing to report yet' message from Ross, sent a few hours ago. He tried not to get worked up over it.
When he started to sit up and edge off the bed, a hand stopped him.
"Just a bit longer, please." Avery said through a yawn, gently tugging at Bucky's bicep and pulling him back down to her level. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, his nose, down towards his jaw as his head returned to the pillows.
"Thanks for taking care of me last night," Bucky murmured against her head as she nestled herself closer to him. "I hope I didn't scare you."
Avery stilled. "I was a bit… worried."
"You used your gloves though? Did I dream that?" Bucky squeezed her waist. "I'm glad you did."
"I mean, I put them on. I don't know if I would have been able to…" She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. We're on the other side of it now." Through a sleepy yawn, she continued. "I love you. You know that right? Every part of you."
"And I love you." Bucky tightened his arm around her back, sliding his hand up behind her sweatshirt and dancing his fingers against her spine. "All of you."
Maybe it wasn't intentional for either of them, but after tearing back so much of themselves recently, this lead up didn't come as a surprise. The way Bucky started whispering against her earlobe, confessing every single thing he loved about Avery.
And god, for Avery - how her breath caught in her throat as his touch, how her own fingers clawed against his back, it was a response she couldn't control. Before she could even figure out what was happening, they were rolling across the bed, discarding their clothing.
"Do you want this?" Bucky slowed down and met her eyes, scanning for any kind of resolve before things escalated further. "We don't have to.."
"No, I want it. I need it." Avery latched her lips to his, gasping as he bit at her lip and kissed alongside her jaw. "Need you. Now, please.."
Bucky took the lead, laying her back against the bed as his lips explored every inch of her skin. After last night, after feeling so lost in the darkness, he was grateful for the morning light.
The light that warmed his heart, that illuminated Avery's body before him, that set the tone for the rest of their day. The light gave him hope, it told him the next day would always come. And how lucky was he to start this day with someone he loved, safe in their bed.
Bucky's mouth went to work as he put himself in position between her legs, pressing kisses to the inside of her thighs while he worked his fingers into her. He spared one last glance upwards to watch her before his tongue started to gently lash against her, too. His fingers crooked as they moved in and out, finding that spot to send her over the edge.
And god, Bucky didn't hold back. Between the suction of his mouth and how his fingers effortlessly played her like an instrument, Avery was sliding off the edge as her climax shook through her.
Bucky couldn't hold back. Once she recovered enough to open her eyes, Bucky was instructing her, encouraging her to flip over, on her hands and knees, pulling her backwards, lining up as he gripped her hips from behind. She was more than ready for him now and when Bucky thrusted his hips forward, she nearly collapsed back onto the bed.
Her voice was quiet, strained, barely above a whisper. "Oh fuck, yes. Bucky, please."
Bucky grinned before taking advantage of her distraction and driving into her again, hitting home deep within her. Maybe this is exactly what they needed to anchor themselves – a culmination of all of their feelings for each other, their feelings this week, their feelings for Steve, their longing and pain and heartache.
This wasn't a solution, but it was a temporary balm.
A low growl escaped from Bucky, using one arm to snake around her wrist and bring Avery towards him, her back flush against his chest. He kissed through her hair, across her neck as his hips snapped into hers again and again.
"Avery, baby - you're incredible, Christ. Holy fuck, I.. touch yourself, I want to feel you come for me. Please."
She complied without hesitation, reaching a hand up to run through Bucky's hair while the other did as he asked - adding just enough pressure, enough delicate circles around herself to..
"Bucky, I'm.." She tensed up as it washed through her, shrieking as Bucky's hand moved down and picked up where she left off. "Oh fuck, fuck.. Bucky, I can't.."
"Yeah, you can. C'mon. Do it for me, baby.." Between his fingers on her clit, his hand pressing against her neck and the unmatched force of his thrusts, Avery found herself arching her back and coming apart for him once more. Her entire being felt pulled and pushed, focusing on this moment between them, on Bucky. She wanted to feel everything he could give her, that he could take care of her and satisfy her, that he knew every inch of her body.
Bucky was helpless to stop himself as Avery's last orgasm ricocheted through her. His lips sunk into her shoulder, letting out a deep guttural growl as he came. His arms gave out as they both went slack, collapsing into the bed as their lungs caught up to them.
This little shared moment of euphoria wasn't going to last long, they both knew that much as they pulled apart. Their heads each tipped to the side, locking eyes as a way of checking in, making sure they were okay.
And they were, they were okay.
Bucky leaned in and met her lips once more. Before he could say anything, his phone started to buzz on the bedside table. He groaned and reached for it, sitting up in bed as he looked at the message. He looked over his shoulder at Avery.
"We've gotta meet Ross uptown. They have something."
Bucky and Avery didn't waste any time - skipping a shower as they got dressed and headed out the door. Bucky cursed the traffic as they headed into the city but they still managed to get to the uptown office in record time. Sharon met them in the parking area and barely said anything as she ushered them inside.
Bucky squeezed Avery's hand as they made their way down deeper into the building, silently praying that whatever this something was… well, he needed a sign. Something, anything - if he didn't get some sort of proof of life for his Steve soon, he worried he'd be falling off the edge.
As they approached the offices, Everett Ross was waiting for them. He tucked his phone away into the pocket of his suit jacket and rested his hands against his waist.
"Okay, so our plan to quietly leak some information about Steve's disappearance paid off. Steve's advisor at NYU mentioned it to a few people and someone came forward." He motioned to the nearby door of a boardroom, encouraging Bucky and Avery to follow himself and Sharon as they headed in.
Bucky held his breath as they walked in, uncertain about who would be waiting for them. He glanced at Avery, whose jaw had dropped open slightly.
Sitting at one side of the table was someone Bucky didn't recognize, though given Avery's reaction he assumed she had some clue as to who the girl was. His quick analysis put her in the college age range - her eyes looked tired and it seemed as if she had thrown on whatever clothes were available as she had rushed in. Her hands twisted together on top of the table, chewing on her lip as she avoided looking at anyone else in the room.
"I'm not sure either of you met Cassidy Munroe, who was assigned as Steve's teaching assistant earlier this semester," Sharon proceeded to fill in the blanks for Bucky as he and Avery sat across the table from Cassidy. "She said she has some information to share with us."
Author's notes:
hey ya'll! it's been a while. life has just been, you know, life. my time for creative writing has been less and less but I'm trying to set some goals and time for myself over the holidays and in the new year. I miss these folks so much and writing this chapter has been such a nice creative boost. it doesn't hurt that I went back and re-read the first 15 chapters then immediatealy wanted to read more.. so I guess as the writer, I'm in charge of that lol
anyway! thank you for still being here and for being patient. I know this story has been going on for a while and it will be a little bit more until we get to the finish line, but I promise there is some exciting things and some fluffy things and a handful of angsty things coming, too. but as a disney fangirl, trust me, I believe in a happy ending.
thank you again to everyone who has been reading and invested in this story! if you've been here since chapter one or you're new, I'm so happy to have you along for the rest of the ride. a special thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: Katie MacAlpine, alka16555 and Casual Cosmophile. i love hearing your thoughts and reactions along the way!
coming up next: whooooo opened that door? what's Steve's old TA got to say about things? will Avery get to try out those fancy gloves for real? where. is. steve?
