Mazanga: I'm so glad that you feel that way about this story! I hope to keep up with the posting.
Teen Shallot: I sure hope it's intense enough, even though I made the character kinda just laugh it all off.
VeronicaChase: Lol, true. Thanks for that.
Leoms6477: Why thank you for the compliments. Also, I never even bothered to figure out how to leave a review on the app, XD.
AgentAW: You know, you gave me a heart attack when I read your review. I read one of your fics a long time ago and loved it. UPDATE.
MCUfangirl666: That's an interesting idea, and I'm glad I deprived you of sleep. LOL.
Prince Gillian: Sadly, no. But feel free to make some if you want. (:
And now for the badly written reveal. I'm so nervous.
~PaleWolfsHowl
Steve glanced at Natasha, trying to judge her reaction to Winter attacking them. Hopefully she wouldn't hold it against Winter, because that would be a problem. Steve doubted she would though, considering the fact that she'd forgiven Winter for the… shooting thing.
Steve felt gratitude towards Natasha for being so understanding about Winter's circumstances, he didn't know why, but he felt like Natasha was doing him a personal favor. It was odd, but he noticed that the rest of the team seemed to be reacting well as well, even Tony.
Steve had really misjudged Tony when he first met him, despite how Tony acted in public, he was a hero. Steve did have a sinking feeling though, in this timeline the girl was showing them, Tony wouldn't have known about Winter killing his parents.
Steve was fairly certain that it would get out of control, if Tony hadn't been told by Winter himself….
He pulls Sitwell out through the window and throws him into the oncoming traffic, killing him,
"Y E S." Winter said in a very overly happy tone, Steve couldn't help but smile a little too. After all, Sitwell was a monster, he didn't deserve life after what he'd done.
"At least one good thing came out of this-" Natasha pointed out, her green eyes piercing into Winter's icy blue ones.
Winter shrugged, but Steve could see the glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I did that on purpose." Winter said, nodding a little. Steve couldn't blame Winter for killing the man, really, Steve or Natasha would have had to kill him at some point anyways.
he then starts shooting at them until Steve pulls the break handle making the Winter Soldier drop down onto the street, as another car smashes into the trio's car and pushes them along, the Winter Soldier jumps back onto their car, smashes through the windscreen and pulls out the steering wheel]
There was a long silence, before Winter ringed his hands. "I'm not paying for that-" He informed them, breaking the tension and making Tony and Clint snicker. Steve smirked a little, shrugging. "Wasn't my car, you'll have to talk to Sam about that." He pointed out, this point only made Winter more sure of himself.
"Good, then I don't care- he'll be lucky if he lives, the car is just…. collateral damage." Winter said, making Tony scoff.
Sam Wilson: Shit! [Natasha starts shooting at him but the Winter Soldier jumps onto the vehicle behind them, as the trio's car is being pulled off the road Steve holds on to the car door]
Steve watched as Winter's eyes met Natasha's eyes, before they both nod. "No hard feelings?" Winter asked, and Natasha shook her head.
"Nope. Honestly, a little action can be fun." The female assassin said happily, and Clint raised an eyebrow at Natasha, before whispering something to her.
Steve was very surprised when Natasha blushed bright red and shoved Clint away from her, he glanced over at Winter to see a disgusted look in The Assassin's eyes.
Had he heard what Clint had said..?
"What'd Clint say, did you hear him?" Steve asked Winter in a hushed voice, and Winter shuddered.
"Believe me, you don't want to know." Winter said, waving his metal hand in a dismissive gesture.
Steve Rogers: Hang on! [he breaks open the door, holding onto Natasha and Sam, they slide on the car door through the streets] [the Winter Soldier is joined by HYDRA agents and they start shooting at them, the trio scatter and run off in different directions with the Winter Soldier shooting at Natasha but she manages to shoot him in his eye goggle mask and run off]
"Ah, bad idea. I liked those." Winter said mildly, earning a snicker from Tony.
"Why are you so calm about this?" Tony scoffed at Winter, and Steve raised any eyebrow, wondering how this would play out.
Winter's eyes took on an evil glimmer. "You do realize who you are talking to, right?" Winter asked Tony sarcastically.
Steve watched as Tony searched for words, before smirking. "Touché, Cyborg Brain." This just earned an almost exasperated sound from Winter, who glanced at Steve.
"Kids these days.." He said pointedly, and Steve choked a little at the disgruntled look on Tony's face.
Winter Soldier: Она у меня. Найди его. (She's mine. ([subtitled as:] I'll take care of her.) Find him.)
Steve was just about to comment on how helpful the subtitles were, but he was cut off by Clint. "Oh, do you have eyes for Nat?" He asked sarcastically, and Steve rolled his eyes.
Of course Clint would take Winter's words that way, Steve turned his attention back to Winter, curious as to how he'd respond.
Winter let out a choked noise. "No. Get your mind out of the gutter, you can keep her." Steve had to stop himself from laughing at Natasha's face, Tony, however, had no such reserves, and was full out laughing.
Winter looked satisfied, Steve just shook his head, at this rate, they'd never finish the future.
[the Winter Soldier goes in pursuit of Natasha as the Hydra agents go after Steve and Sam who both manage to fend them off as they shoot at them, Steve then notices the Winter Soldier in pursuit of Natasha]
Sam Wilson: Go, I got this! [the Winter Soldier thinks he's found Natasha hiding behind a car as he can hear her voice]
Natasha Romanoff: I make an LZ, twenty-three hundred block of Virginia Avenue. Rendezvous two minutes. Taking fire above and below expressway. Civilians threatened. Repeat, civilians threatened. [he rolls a bomb towards where he thinks she's hiding. As the bomb rolls behind the car we see that Natasha isn't actually there but a recording over her voice is being played back on a phone]
Winter looked mildly impressed. "That's a first." He commented and Natasha nodded.
Steve just huffed, though he found it weird how well everyone was reacting to this situation. Really, no one was yelling, no one was even tense.
"I try to be unpredictable." Natasha informed the Hydra Assassin. Winter was nodding, and gave Natasha a thumbs up.
Steve rolled his eyes, the friendship that was beginning to spring up between Natasha and Winter was just weird. All things considered, they should hate each other.
But… Well, Steve didn't really have a right to speak, considering his current friendship with Winter. How had he gone from having a normal day to this…?
I make an LZ, twenty-three hundred block at Virginia Avenue. Rendezvous two minutes. [as the bomb explodes Natasha jumps onto the Winter Soldiers back and tries to kill him
Steve winced at this, as did everyone else. Though Winter looked calm about it, it was probably because he'd been in so many situations like this… right?
Natasha looked a tad bit regretful, turning to look at Winter. "Sorry." She said, but Winter shrugged it off.
"No need to apologize, honestly it's only fair." Winter said calmly, but Steve felt like he was holding something back. Like.. he seemed grateful to Natasha for trying to kill him. But Steve had to be imagining that right…?
Though, it would make sense, if Winter's only escape from Hydra was death…
But Steve wouldn't let that happen, he wouldn't let Winter off himself. He would do everything in his power to get Winter from Hydra's clutches.
but he throws her off, she starts running off as he goes after her]
Natasha Romanoff: [to the civilians as she tries to get away from the Winter Soldier] Get out of the way! Stay out of the way! [suddenly she gets shot in the shoulder,
Winter's brow furrowed, and Steve assumed he was grimacing under the muzzle. Natasha, however, just smirked. "Second times the charm?" She asked cheekily.
Winter rolled his eyes, but relaxed. "Do you want an award? Surviving me twice is no small accomplishment…" He trailed off, blue eyes glimmering.
Steve rolled his eyes, were all assassins like this…? Because Winter and Natasha were getting along freakishly well, though, once again, Steve couldn't really speak.
she falls and looks around her, as the Winter Soldier comes up from behind to shoot her Steve jumps in and attacks him, they fight and in the process the Winter Soldier takes Steve's shield and throws it at him but Steve manages to avoid being hit,
Steve grimaced at that, and Winter looked equally uncomfortable with the thought of fighting Steve, if not more so.
after battling it out more the Winter Soldier's mask comes off,
Winter went as tense as a spring, before bolting up off the couch. "Wait- Possibly Sylvia, can we skip this?" He yelled at the ceiling, and Steve stared at him.
Whatever Winter was hiding behind the mask couldn't be that bad… really, they wouldn't judge him if he had scars.
A note fell from the ceiling, which Winter practically jumped to catch, though he dropped it after a second. Steve realized that Winter was panicking.
"Uh, calm down. We won't judge you if you have scars or something." Bruce said, trying to calm the stock still Soldier.
Winter just shook his head. "No." Was all he said, Steve thought about getting up to try and calm Winter down, but he had a feeling that that would only make the situation worse…
Honestly, Steve didn't understand why Winter was so freaked out about this. Even if Steve had once known Winter, it really wouldn't make a difference. He was about to say something, but stopped himself as he saw Winter's hands clenched into fists.
Now would definitely not be a good time to approach The Assassin, Steve wasn't that stupid.
Winter dropped to his knees on the floor, putting a hand over his eyes. "Let's just get this over with…" He grumbled, and Steve could hear… fear in his voice.
But why would Winter be afraid..? It made no sense- why would someone fear their own identity so much..
as he looks around at Steve we learn the true identity of the Winter Soldier; Bucky Barnes]
Steve felt himself go cold, unable to move. He rubbed his eyes for a second, making sure he wasn't seeing things. No, no this… this couldn't be true.. there was no way.
The screen had paused, and Steve looked between what was obviously Bucky and Winter. Oh gosh. How had he been so blind.
This- this couldn't be true. It was to- to- no. He was seeing things, for sure, he hit his head with the heel of his hand. But- but he still saw the same thing. Winter… Winter was Bucky…?
He wanted to jump up, grab Winter- Bucky?- into a tight hug and never let go, but he couldn't move.
He was so, so shocked. This meant, everything Winter had gone through, Bucky had gone through. This meant that Steve had completely and totally failed his best friend. It made a freakish amount of sense, how Winter had trusted him, why Winter was so similar to Bucky. All the horrible things Winter had admitted to going through somehow seemed worse. Was this why Winter had been scared...Had he thought… Steve would hate him or something?
At this though, he tore his frozen muscles free, and leapt towards Bucky, distantly aware of the tears streaming down his face.
Bucky didn't move, though he tensed, as if expecting a punch or something. Steve shuddered at the thought, falling down in front of Winter- Winter who was Bucky.
He was aware of The Avenger's confusion as he pulled Bucky into a tight hug. Bucky was tense for a second, before wrapping his own arms around Steve.
It was such a shock, after all this time, all this time of thinking that Bucky was dead- to finally be able to hug him again.
Steve's own tears fell onto Bucky's shoulder, and he could feel Bucky's own tears on his neck. He hated Hydra so, so, so much. This was his best friend, his brother, and they'd hurt him so much. They'd stripped Bucky of everything, unmade him, broken him. But somehow Bucky still managed to fight back, until he couldn't anymore.
If Steve had been furious about how Hydra had treated The Winter Soldier before knowing his identity, it was like a volcano of rage now.
Steve then felt a rush of relief. He had Bucky back, and he would never let Bucky skip through his fingers again. Never would he let anything like this happen to Bucky again, never, never, never.
His attention was brought back to the shaking man in his arms when Bucky spoke in a quiet voice, filled with an almost painful hope. "Y- you don't… hate me?" He asked the question so hesitantly, his voice cautious. And still muffled by that stupid muzzle.
Steve shook his head. "No. Never. This- this all- it's not your fault. I- I could neve ha- hate you." Steve managed to say, and Bucky trembled with relief, hugging each other tighter.
It was an odd position, Steve knew, and The Avenger's were staring at them incredulously.
Steve and Bucky were crouched on the floor, Steve had his legs pinned under himself as he crouched, and Bucky had his legs thrown to one side in an oddly royal way. Bucky was leaning on Steve completely, his face buried in Steve's neck.
It was rare for Steve to feel peace… but he did at this moment. He'd never felt okay, not since he lost Bucky- and he couldn't imagine how bad it must have been for Bucky…
"I- I'm n- not who I u- used to be. I on- only re- remember bits and pieces." Winter stuttered out, his voice so quiet that even Steve had to strain to hear his words. Obviously, Steve knew this. He knew Bucky wasn't the same as he used to be, and Steve didn't need him to be the same.
Steve shook his head a little. "I- it doesn't matter. E- even if you never get it a- all back. Yo- you're still Bucky." Steve managed to say, and Bucky trembled more. Bucky seemed to throw all precautions out the window, not holding his strength back anymore. Steve didn't care, and he wasn't afraid that Bucky would accidentally hurt him… even if he did, Steve wouldn't care.
"Be- because I'm- I'm with y- you t- till the end of the l- line?" Bucky phrases it as a question, but Steve just hugged him tighter, nodding. "Yes, that's right. I'm with you till the end of the line. And lines don't end." Steve said, his voice quiet as he pulled Bucky closer.
Bucky let out a sigh of relief, and Steve noticed that his voice was still muffled by the muzzle.
"You- you can take that thing off now, right." He didn't have to clarify what he was talking about, and Bucky nodded, reaching up with a trembling hand to unclip the muzzle and let it fall off.
Steve could only stare, taking in every detail of his brother's face. It had been so, so long. Only yesterday Steve never thought he'd see that face outside of a picture or video.
It was such a relief that he'd been wrong. Though… Bucky had been through so, so much. The selfish part of Steve was glad Bucky had survived the fall, but… was Bucky… he probably wished he'd died.
That was hard to accept even if it made perfect sense, after all, why would Bucky want to have gone through all that? And it was all Steve's fault, if he'd never taken the serum, Bucky wouldn't have fallen off that train.
He felt Bucky's hand grinning his upper arm. "Stop that. It wasn't your fault. Without you it would have happened back in the 107th." Bucky said quietly, and Steve couldn't really argue with Bucky's logic. But he still should have been able to catch him, when he'd fallen off that train. He should have been stronger. Better.
"I don't regret it. I would go through it all again if- of it meant I get to see you again." Bucky said, and Steve marveled at how after all this time Bucky could still read him like a book.
Steve really couldn't have found a better friend. He couldn't have been more lucky when Bucky had offered out his friendship when they'd been five.
He pulled Bucky into an even tighter hug. And Bucky… Steve could tell he wasn't lying when he said he didn't regret, when he said he'd go through it all again… Steve knew Bucky wasn't lying.
Steve could only pray that he could make it up to Bucky…
"Um. This is very touching and everything, but what's going on?" Clint spoke up, and Steve suddenly revered that he had an audience.