Two days had passed without incident at the Avengers compound. For the most part everyone got along. It was mainly Tony, Steve and Bucky that they had to watch out for. Tony worked in his lab only coming out when it was time to eat. Bucky stayed in his room for the most part except when he went outside. Both Tony and Bucky avoided each other.
Steve, on the other hand, stayed in his room. At first, they all assumed he was tired or avoiding Tony, which is very un-Steve like. But it got to the point where he didn't come out for meals either. It finally got to the point where Bucky went to his room. What he found next startled and sent a course of worry through the Winter Soldier.
Steve sat on the floor in the corner of the room. His head rested in his hands, while his entire frame was shaking. Sweat acted as glue, sticking his hair to his head. Closing the door quietly, he cautiously approached his friend, making sure he was within his eyesight if he happened to look up.
"Steve," he called keeping his voice quiet. The man remained where he was, sending another message of worry through Bucky's body. "Steve," he called louder as he crouched down, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.
Steve jerked reaching up to grab the hand that was touching him but Bucky, expecting it, moved out of the way, grabbing the other man's arm. Tightening his grip, he gently shook the blonde man. Steve looked up at his friend.
"Easy." was all Bucky said as he released the other man.
"Sorry, didn't see you there."
"Clearly. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Steve said as he attempted to stand but Bucky pushed him down. "What are you-"
"Who do you think you're talking to?"
"Bucky-"
"Listen kid, I've known you for a long time. I know when you're lying."
"I'm fine."
"Steve-"
"Drop it Bucky," Steve snapped. Bucky raised an eyebrow. After a moment, Steve looked like he was going to apologize but the words never came. Nodding, the winter soldier stood, holding out his hand. Steve stared at it for a moment before taking it. Both on their feet, Bucky stared at his friend.
"When you're ready to talk you know where to find me." With that he left the room leaving Steve alone.
All seemed to be fine after that. Steve came out of his room and interacted with the others, minus Tony. To anyone who didn't know him, they would say he was fine, but to Bucky Barnes, the man knew his friend was faking it. Steve Rogers was a time bomb that was ready to go off any second.
Sure enough that happened, the day of the mission.
Everything was going great, at first. They reached the site, listened to Steve go over the plan again before going into battle.
"Our target's name is Jirham Naki. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury want him alive."
Everyone went off in their directions and on Steve's command they stormed the base. HYDRA soldiers came running out the moment they saw Iron Man blasting people into oblivion. The smell of flesh burning on an open flame mixed with oil filled the air. Birds in the nearby trees took flight at the sudden boom that filled the area.
Word got out quickly, as people started running towards the North and South. The sound of Clint's voice filled the Captain's ears.
"Now!"
A boom filled the air as smoke drifted into the air. Steve saw Natasha and Clint jump out of a tree, landing on the ground back to back, fighting together as one team. It was as if nothing ever happened between them, like they never chose a side.
A HYDRA Agent came rushing at Steve, with his gun raised. Steve lifted his shield just as bullets from the gun came at him.
Focus, Steve thought, scolding himself. Smashing his shield down he hit the man in the face, leaving a bloody mess behind. Running, he headed towards the base camp.
"Does anyone have eyes one our Target?" Steve asked in his com as he threw his shield at a row of HYDRA soldiers.
A chorus of Negatives filled his ear.
"Shit!" Tony shouted as someone almost blasted him out of the sky.
"Language." Steve said immediately.
Silence filled the com's as Tony hovered above Steve. They stared at each other for a moment before Iron Man's arm lifted, sending a blast in Steve's direction.
"Stark, you son of a bitch!" Steve yelled while lifting his shield. However, the blast never reached Steve. In fact it flew right past him, hitting a group of agents coming up behind him.
Steve glared at the man. "A warning would have been nice."
"A simple thank you would suffice." Tony said through his suit. "And for gosh sakes, watch your language." With that he flew off, leaving Steve alone surrounded by bodies.
He shook his head before looking down at the number of bodies that lay around him. All twisted and turned in odd angles, blood coming out of various body parts. A loud boom filled his head as the bodies morphed into the bodies of young soldiers. All too young to die.
The sound of gunfire in the background filled the quiet space, killing the silence that once captured the air. Their blood seeped into the ground.
"Steve?!" someone shouted. Steve jerked looking around. His eyes found Sam's who stared at him in confusion. He nodded to show the man that he was okay. Sam nodded back before taking to the sky.
"Boys, I don't think Naki is here," Natasha said casually as she stabbed two agents at the same time, before shooting a few more that were trying to shoot Tony out of the sky.
"He has to be," Steve said as he looked around at the carnage his they created.
"Well, he's not." Tony said. Steve looked around, silently pleading for his eyes to find their target. He can not go back to S.H.I.E.L.D and tell them they failed.
As if someone heard him, he heard a groan. It sounded foreign to his ears but Steve still heard it. His eyes found a form faced upside down in the pile of bodies Tony created. He rushed forward, his gut screaming at him.
Kneeling down, he rolled the body over only to come face to face with Naki. Blood flowed from his mouth as he stared up at Steve. A look of fear filled his eyes.
"Stay with me," Steve whispered, shaking his head as Naki's face threatened to turn to the face of a young soldier in the US army.
Naki smiled, showing the blood on his teeth. His words came out in a struggled breath but Steve heard him.
"H...Hail HYDRA."
Steve gripped him tight hoping the strong hold would keep him from slipping into death's tender embrace. Life slipped from Naki's eyes only leaving a blank stare for Steve to look at. Despite the sadness he knew he should be feeling, rage boiled in Steve's gut as he threw the body of their target over his shoulder.
Jogging into the clearing, Steve gripped the body tight before taking a deep breath. Twisting his body, he released his shield into the air, watching as it spun right into Tony who was flying around.
Tony yelled into the com's and Steve watched as he fell. After a moment, Tony picked himself up, looking to his right. His voice came over the com's, for all to hear. It was a firm tone full of danger and unspoken threats.
"Rogers, did you just throw your shield at me?"
Time seemed to freeze as all the Avengers looked at them. Tony stood, staring at the other man who glared.
"Yes I did."
Tony picked up the shield before stalking over to the Captain, leaving the other Avengers to catch up. Eventually they all ended up in a circle. Tony took a deep breath praying for patience.
"Would you like to explain why?"
In answer, Steve threw the body of Naki at his feet. They all looked down at the man before Tony looked up. "You found Naki. You couldn't have just said that?" Steve snatched his shield out of the other man's hand, the heat of his glare getting hotter.
"I found Naki," Steve said hotly.
"Yeah, I see that. I thought you wanted him alive. Why'd you kill him?"
Steve stepped into the other man's space. "I didn't Stark, you did."
