Author's note: The man Bucky sees on the jet-ski is absolutely Mobius. Lez goooooo!
Steve and Natasha walked along the adorable cobblestone pavements of the town as the late morning sun shone in the sky. People were out and about, and going about their daily lives. There was no threat of war or imminent danger, and Steve could just breathe the air and know that he was perfectly safe. Well, Natasha was called here to handle a supernatural threat, but Steve was an optimist, and while he was here he my as well enjoy himself. He looked to Nat and smiled.
"This was a really nice idea, thanks again." he said.
"Wow. You are the most adorably humble man I have ever met." Nat replied, smiling back. Their peace was interrupted however when they saw a man dash away at lightning speed as the crowd looked on, as if a ruckus had just occurred.
"You think he's okay?" Cap asked. Nat shrugged.
"Hope so." all Cap could make out was long, brown hair as the man disappeared into the nearby woods, his hair was so similar to…
No.
He was here to take his mind away from missions. He needed to think about something else.
"So," Cap began "what about this supernatural threat, huh?" He asked. Nat sighed.
"They briefed me on the situation. There's been rumours of people gaining sudden... special abilities."
"Like what, super-soldiers?"
"Kind of. People with enhanced abilities, possibilities of money laundering, people suddenly becoming rich with no explanation."
"What's so supernatural about that? Sounds like your average basement crook scheme."
"Here's the thing..." Nat lowered her voice slightly. "The people who get these things… they just disappear after a while." Cap raised an eyebrow. "SHIELD thinks there might be some sort of dark sorcery going on, possibly from another dimension."
"Well, with Loki and New York, that wouldn't exactly be impossible…" said Cap.
"Exactly. SHIELD thinks the source of these sudden enhancements is because of a thing called the Scarlet Witch. In mythology, she's supposedly able to grant people wonders in exchange for… things, I'm not exactly sure. However, if they don't pay up, she devours their souls and uses them to enhance her magic." Steve looked on, intimidated. After the attack on New York with Loki at the helm, a creature like this sounded completely possible.
"When's your first mission?" he asked.
"I'll be heading out to SHIELD'S base camp tomorrow, but tonight, there's a ferry tour around the water down there, and I suggest we go attend to blend in, look like tourists." Steve nodded. A ferry trip sounded nice. Maybe it would help him get his mind off of...
Stop it, he told himself.
That night, Bucky sat at the edge of a cliff that overlooked the water down below. A forest trail led down to the docks where residents parked their boats and jet ski's. Bucky noticed a certain man with a bushy, grey moustache who had been riding a jet-ski all day until the sun set. Bucky longed to be as free as him someday. As the sun set and the sky became yellow and pink, Bucky saw some people down at the docks decorating the town's ferry with string lights, getting it ready for some sort of event that night. He had told Zemo he'd be out on a walk, and he had found the trail that led to the cliffside, which was a mixture of rocks, sand and grass, with a really nice view of distant mountains that would have looked amazing in winter.
Winter...
The train...
His failure...
The man…
NO!
He cursed himself for letting his mind slip. Just look at the scenery… He told himself. Look at the scenery… Look at the scenery… Bucky brought his knees into his chest, and watched the world go around without him. It felt peaceful, and he stayed staring at the setting sun as storm clouds appeared in the sky.
Cap and Natasha made their way down to the docks, both in business casual-wear and ready for a fun night.
"You glad that you can dress up nice and not have to kill anyone on the same night?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. Nat smiled and nudged him in the arm.
"Oh please, I'd never do missions in these heels." she replied. "But, it is nice to go to a normal event. Just for a night." she said, thinking of all the times she had been recruited to go to a fashion show, or a bar, or to crash a party, only to have to shoot or kidnap or stab someone, often resulting in blood being splattered on whatever expensive dress she was assigned to wear. Natasha would never share these feelings with anyone, but she liked dressing up for her, so that she could feel good. It wasn't that she disliked her job at SHIELD, It was just, if she could, she'd take a year off and go live with Clint. But he had a family, and she had missions, and the Black Widow knew that no one could ever have everything they wanted.
The duo boarded the ferry, which was dolled up with colourful string lights inside baubles, beneath which, tables were lined with smart tablecloths and appetisers. Even a mobile bar stood to one side of the deck. Steve and Natasha made their way to the centre of the array, Natasha grabbing two champagne glasses, and Cap took the one offered to him despite the fact that super soldiers couldn't feel the effects of alcohol.
If Natasha knew how to do anything, it was mingle. She had seduced many a man, and woman on missions, in many a language. She introduced Cap and herself in German, and impressed the people on board with her linguist skills as one spoke French and the other Italian. Cap just stood and watched in awe of his friend.
The sun finally set behind the horizon, covered by a thin layer of storm clouds. The small party aboard the ferry was in full swing and the atmosphere was as warm as a fireplace despite the coldness of the water beneath them. Several dozen people stood in small groups around the sides of the open deck, and the ferry rode along as swift and clean as a hot knife slicing through butter. Natasha was busy chatting with a group of people near the north side of the deck when she noticed that Steve had slipped off. Excusing herself and placing her champagne glass on a nearby table, Nat looked around for the blond super soldier. She had imagined groups of people would be swarming around him with questions about his life as Captain America, but it seemed this crowd was kind enough to leave him alone.
Finally, Natasha found him at the Ferry's south end where there were less people. Cap was leaning over the ferry's railing, a beer in one had and a melancholy facial expression. Nat walked up.
"Hey, big guy." she said as she rested her arms over the side of the railing, her long and shiny fingernails glistening in the moonlight as she interlocked her hands. "Not one for parties?" she asked. Cap gave her a nervous smile and took a swig of his beer.
"Just though I'd come back here." he said. "Clear my head." Nat's face remained unchanged, but she had a hunch as to why the blonde was feeling down.
"It's that man again, isn't it?" she questioned. Cap didn't move, which only confirmed Natasha's suspicions. "If I may ask, what is it about him that's so captivating? I've fought him myself and believe me, there was no attraction there. Remember, I showed you my scar?" she said.
"I'm not sure." Cap replied. "It was his eyes. They were just so… pained. This man, he was a HYDRA machine, a man made to kill. But his eyes just looked so helpless. I wanted to help him." Cap answered. In truth, that was only a small part of it. Cap wanted to do more than just help this man forget his painful past, he wanted to hold him, to tell him everything was gonna be ok, that he didn't have to kill anymore, that he was… loved.
Nat nodded and looked out towards the water.
"Kinda like me and bruce." she said. "His anger is his greatest strength, but, poor guy keeps so much inside." Cap nodded in turn and the two looked out towards the ocean.
"Do you love him?" Nat asked Cap.
"Who, Bruce?"
"No. The Winter Soldier." Cap let out a sigh.
"I don't know. When I find the right guy, it'll just… hit me, I guess. Like lightning." no sooner had he said those words, when a whip of lighting slashed against the sky. Thunder grumbled and groaned and the two avengers wondered if Thor was making an entrance, but there was no Biforst to be seen. Nat and Steve were just about to head back to the main group of people, when a stroke of lighting sent itself flying into a row of string lights and they exploded, catching fire instantly with sparks of electricity falling into the open glasses of alcohol held by the people on board, causing them to drop their glasses immediately where the flames would eat into the wood as soon as the glasses were dropped and smashed.
People started to scream and Cap turned to Nat who nodded in understanding, and the two set off to help. Nat made her way to the ferry control centre down a corridor in the seating area and took over the radio system, signalling for the nearest SHIELD helicopter to send immediate assist, while Cap made his way to the safety cabinet in the ferry's seating area and began launching lifeboats immediately, signalling for people to help inflate as many boats as possible.
Cap and a group of two others prepared to launch the red flotation boat into the water below when a beam from the deck above crashed in front of them, blocking their way and acting as a bridge for the fire to creep onto the lower deck. People screamed. Cap immediately threw himself in front of the others to shield them from any falling debris or flames, and luckily no one was hurt. Cap signalled for the others to pick up the boats and launch them from the other side while he tried to push the board out of the way. He pushed hard but the beam was stubborn, eventually crashing into the sea and extinguishing the flames as Steve's muscles did their duty.
Cap ran to the other side of the ferry where the majority of people had loaded into lifeboats and began drifting back to shore. Cap saw the two helpers from earlier help more people into the boats, and he nodded to them and signalled for them to continue, then made his way towards Natasha. Grabbing a nearby fire extinguisher, he made his way down the small hallway to the control booth where he saw Nat at the motherboard.
"Almost everyone's off, we better go." Steve said, and Nat turned and gave him a thumbs up.
"...yes, make sure they receive any necessary medical attention when you land." Natasha said into the headset, and turned to leave with Cap. The two made it to the lower deck, until they noticed the flames had grown much larger and blocked all possible exits. The situation was made worse when the flames found the ferry's gas tank, making a massive explosion that rocked the vessel dangerously. The rain had started to poor furiously outside but the fire raged on, and the waves turned extremely rough and rocked the relatively small ferry. Nat turned to Cap, for once not knowing what to do.
Seizing his opportunity, Cap scooped up Natasha despite her protests, hugging her close and shielding her head, and ran through the wall of flames, throwing her overboard and into a lifeboat.
"Steeeeeeeeeve!" she called after her as she landed, caught by the others as they helped her settle into the boat. Cap was relatively unharmed despite his skin tingling and soot marks staining his clothes, but the super-soldier serum made him tough in so many ways. Steve looked around to make sure everyone was off the ship. He was just about to jump into the awaiting lifeboat below, when he heard the faintest cry.
"Help!" exclaimed the voice. "I'm up here!" Cap heard it again. He looked around, left and right, behind him, above him, until he saw the small figure of a person on the upper deck. Steve immediately leapt onto the upper deck's railing and hosted himself up, jumping over a wall of flames and running off towards the voice. He found the source of it. It was a young girl, about 18, stuck in a corner behind one of the small tables from the party.
"I'm here!" Steve exclaimed over the fire. "Listen closely! I need you to pick up that table and use it as a shield. Then walk through the fire towards me, and do it really quickly!" he said. The teary-eyed girl did as she was bid, and picked up the plastic table by the legs, the tablecloth falling to the floor. The girl quickly ran through the fire with the table splayed out in front of her like a flat umbrella, and arrived on the other side, unharmed. As soon as she was clear of the smoke, Cap scooped her up and ran back to the lifeboats, the girl coughing all the way. He climbed down the railing with one hand and landed steadily on the wood below, running towards the edge of the deck when suddenly his foot got caught in the floorboards as they broke under his feet. Cap stumbled forward, the girl flying directly over the wall of flames and into the water below, soaking wet and freezing, but safe.
Steve tried to pull his foot from the beams, but it was stuck good, even with the serum flowing through his veins. That's when he saw it. The ferry kept boxes of gunpowder meant for occasional firework displays on board, and the flames finally found them causing the ferry to explode in a colourful array of rainbow fireworks. Steve was sent flying, when he finally landed unconscious in the icy waters.
Bucky watched the ferry sail along the smooth sea, the music on board reaching his ears even as he sat high above it. The night was cool and peaceful. He had watched the people board the ferry, so small from this distance, happy and oblivious to the faults of the world. He had seen the man from the train and his female accomplice board the vessel, and his heart had skipped a beat when he saw him. Bucky wanted to stay and watch the little ball of light float on forever, but it was getting late. Getting up and heading back down the trail towards town, Bucky heard the huge streak of lightning crash through the sky, startling even him. Bucky turned when he heard screams and saw that the ferry had caught on fire, no doubt from lightning colliding with electricity. Bucky's breath caught in his throat. His man… no... the man was on there.
Bucky ran back to the edge of the cliff, watching the scene unfold. He saw how all the passengers made it off safely, how Captain America and the red-haired woman had courageously helped the civilians. But when the colourful explosion went off and Bucky saw the blonde man go flying, he panicked. With no time to think, Bucky ran down the mountain trail, jumping off the cliff when the fall was safe enough to land. Somersaulting in mid-air and landing by pounding his metal fist into the ground, Bucky ignored the shakiness in his limbs and ran to the water, hidden by the cover of night and the colour of his clothes.
Nearing the water's edge, Bucky dived in. His metal arm granted him extra strength in all areas, including swimming, and he managed to make it over to where he had seen the Cap vanish despite the harshness of the waves threatening to keep him back. From above, a rescue helicopter came to escort the passengers back to safety, although they ignored Bucky, obviously not seeing him.
The Winter Soldier squinted his eyes through the storm, desperate to find where the man had went, when his prayers were finally answered. A short ways away, Captain America was limply draped over a broken beam... unconscious. Bucky knew what he needed to do and swam like hell towards him, his pace made even quicker when he saw the blonde head slip below the water. Bucky dove beneath the waves as Captain America sank deeper and deeper, and placed his metal arm around the man's chest and kicked to the surface, every drop of super-soldier serum coursing through his blood. Eventually, the two broke the surface of the water, and Bucky pulled an unconscious Cap to shore.
The Winter Soldier reached the shallow part of the water's edge and dragged the blond onto the rocky bay. They had ended up quite a ways away from the dock, and it would take a while to get back to town, but Bucky would deal with it. The moon shone from its perch in the heavens, casting a silvery light onto everything beneath it. The storm had died down, leaving the two men in peaceful moonlight together. Bucky stood over Captain America's body, panting heavily as he tried to regain his breath.
He was here…
So close…
Right next to each other…
Bucky knelt down and examined the man's face. Even while unconscious, there seemed to be colour in those cheeks. The water had soaked his clothes, and his chest was so much more defined. Bucky turned away. He had saved him. That's it. The mission was done, time to go. Bucky's mind told him to go, to leave, to turn the other direction and never come back. But he didn't. He stayed. A clump of sand was stuck to the man's cheek, and Bucky couldn't resist touching him as he leant over to brush it off. He wanted to say something, to shake him or wake him up, but he knew he couldn't be discovered. If anyone knew he was the Winter Soldier, there would be SWAT teams there to arrest him in an instant. But he couldn't resist.
"There isn't anything I wouldn't give to live a life like yours…" he whispered. "I'd give anything to make our lives normal. So you could be allowed to… smile at me." Bucky knew these words were utterly ridiculous, but they were his innermost feelings, and he couldn't stop himself from saying them out loud. "But what would we even do if we were normal?" he said as tears began to form in his eyes. "Where would we even go? If we could just stay in one perfect moment forever, I would do it. I just want us to be… free." He whispered as a single tear dropped down his cheek and onto Cap's. When Bucky started to notice Cap open his eyes, a voice inside him told him to run, to get away, to not be seen. But he just couldn't leave. As if an unseen force was taking control of his body, Bucky moved his hand from Cap's cheek to his hair, running a hand through it as he said those final words.
He's so beautiful… he thought. Bucky wanted to stay there forever, but his bliss was cut short when someone called out for Captain America off in the distance.
"Steve? Steve, where are you?" it called. So that was his name. Steve. It suited him, Bucky thought. He immediately scrambled away, knowing if he was caught, there would be an endless stream of questions. Heading off into the bushes and back up the cliff trail, he didn't notice a glowing orb of red magic that was watching him from afar…
Author's note: The guy riding the jet-ski is totally Mobius ;)
