As he fell, Steve caught sight of Stark smashing Thor into a mountain, and then both of them crashing into the forest below. He angled his descent to land near them, but not in the middle of the ongoing battle. Lightning flashed and crackled, and Steve saw Stark's suit light up like a lamp before he blasted Thor across the clearing. Thor retaliated, and the two of them started close-quarters combat pretty evenly matched.
Steve landed on a felled tree that stuck up at an angle and threw his shield to disrupt the fight.
"Hey!" he shouted, and both men looked up at him. "…That's enough," was all that came to mind, now that he had their attention. He jumped out of the tree, hoping to think of something on the way down. Talking him down might work. "Now I don't know what you plan on doing here—" he started.
"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" the blond man exclaimed.
"Then prove it," Steve challenged. "Put that hammer down."
"Uh, yeah, no! Bad call!" Stark warned. "He loves his hamm—" he was cut off as the blond man hit him and he flew back into the forest.
"You want me to put the hammer down?!" the armored man exclaimed, jumping high into the air and swinging his hammer in a powerful arc.
Why do I get myself into this stuff? Steve thought, bringing up his shield just in time to save his head.
The resulting collision produced a bell-like peal that created a crater of destruction in the forest. Steve stood stiffly, ears ringing, trying not to breathe in the dust.
"Are we done here?" he asked, and received answering glares from both Stark and the blond warrior.
They retrieved Loki from the mountaintop where he'd observed the fight. Steve noted his smug expression, but the dark haired man said nothing as they loaded him into the jet and completed their journey to SHIELD's helicarrier.
On the way, the blond man introduced himself, quietly, as Thor Odinson. Loki stiffened upon hearing the name, and Thor explained they were brothers, and he'd come to bring Loki home.
"I apologize for my intrusion," he stated loudly as they landed and departed from one aircraft to another. "But I wanted to settle this matter quickly."
Steve noticed Loki looking away toward the horizon, where the sun was setting. He seemed to be on edge, waiting for something else to happen.
"Captain," Coulson greeted him, followed by ten younger agents, all with guns at their sides. "Thor, Mr. Stark. We're here to escort Loki to a holding cell."
Steve just nodded and headed back into the main viewing platform to see what new information they'd come up with. Thor and Romanov walked with him in silence until they left the elevator.
"Rogers," Romanov said, causing Steve to turn back and appraise her. She jerked her head toward one of the many sliding doors in the hallway leading to the control room. "In here."
"Sure," Steve followed her in, Thor on his heels. They entered a shiny gray room with a semi-opaque table that had flashing screens at each seat. It overlooked the control deck, separated from it by a flight of stairs and beams on each side. Fury's console was right in front of the table, flashing intermittently. Banner was already there, standing behind one of the chairs and looking thoughtfully ahead.
"Settle in for show, boys," Romanov beckoned, and seated herself a couple of seats away from Banner. Steve went to the other side of the table and sat, watching as the screen flared to life. It showed an image of Loki being led into a large, clear cell set in the middle of an empty room. He looked around, thoughtfully calm. Steve saw a hint of crafty planning behind his eyes before it was hidden in interest as Fury walked up to a small control panel outside the enclosure.
"In case it's unclear," he said, not looking at Loki, and pressing buttons on the board in front of him. "You try to escape… You so much as scratch that glass…" he moved a small box up and pressed a button inside it. A hatch opened below the cell, admitting a howling vortex of wind. Loki walked up to the edge to gaze into the dark abyss.
"Thirty thousand feet, straight down, in a steel trap." Fury finished, looking intensely pleased with himself. "You get how that works?" He shut the hatch and the room was quiet again. "Ant. Boot."
Loki laughed, stepping back from the perimeter. "It's an impressive cage," he raised his hands in a 'you got me' gesture. "Not built, I think, for me."
"Built for something a lot stronger than you," Fury jabbed.
"Oh, I've heard," Loki turned and looked directly into the camera. "The mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man."
Steve saw Romanov looking apologetically at Banner, who seemed unbothered by the taunt.
"How desperate are you," Loki continued, his voice soft and cultured. Steve wasn't fooled, but still, Loki sounded so calm. Like he was still in control. "You call on such lost creatures to defend you."
"How desperate am I?" Fury asked in a low voice. "You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill 'cause it's fun." He walked up to the glass as he spoke, every movement intense. "You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."
"Oh," Loki scoffed at him. "It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract. To have power. Unlimited power. And for what?" Loki smiled knowingly. It gave Steve a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Loki looked into the camera again, as if sharing a joke with the observers. "A warm light for all mankind to share?" He turned back to Fury, and his attitude changed to scorn. "And then to be reminded what real power is."
Fury just stared at Loki for a moment before grinning slightly and walking away. "Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something."
Loki said nothing to reply, instead turning and walking back toward the camera, stopping a few feet away to stare menacingly into it. The screen in front of Steve closed with a hum.
"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner asked sarcastically, looking to Steve with a small smile.
Steve wanted to get down to business, not make small talk. People had died in Stuttgart, and in the base when Loki had attacked it. Preventing more casualties was priority number one.
"Loki's gonna drag this out," he stated, looking around the room and settling on the blond demigod brooding at the end of the table. "So. Thor. What's his play?"
"He has an army called the Chitauri," Thor replied somberly. "They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people." He paused and looked seriously at Romanov. "They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."
"An army," Steve said, noting Agent Hill listening in the background. "From outer space." He looked around at the others, who seemed to take it in stride. I guess things have only gotten weirder since I was invented. Steve was already feeling exhausted by this mission. Why didn't Howard leave the damn cube in the ocean with me?
"So he's building another portal," Banner inferred. "That's what he needs Eric Selvig for."
"Selvig?" Thor asked, his attention drawn to Banner for the first time.
"He's an astrophysicist," Banner explained.
"He's a friend," Thor replied, looking troubled.
"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Romanov interjected, drawing in a breath. "Along with one of ours."
Steve saw her concern, but ignored it for the moment. "I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here."
"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner commented, speaking mostly to Steve. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him.
"Have care how you speak," Thor warned. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother." Steve understood the family ties of protectiveness Thor must feel. If Bucky had done something like this, Steve would be looking to save him too.
"He killed eighty people in two days," Romanov pointed out, her voice flat with annoyance.
"He's adopted," Thor amended awkwardly. A short silence followed in which Steve caught a flash of movement from the door. Stark and Coulson were making their way into the room, Eleanore and Darren close behind them. The couple caught Steve's eye at the same time and smiled in greeting, and he nodded back.
"I think it's about the mechanics," Banner theorized, unaware of the approaching entourage. "Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?"
"It's a stabilizing agent," Tony Stark answered, strutting into the room. Steve was starting to resent the man, and the lack of respect he held for others. Stark turned his attention back to Coulson for a moment, muttering something about flying to Malibu for lunch.
Coulson politely nodded and gestured back to the group at the meeting table, breaking off from Stark and going to stand behind Steve.
Eleanore and Darren each took seats, Eleanore next to Romanov, with whom she got into a whispered conversation. Darren sat next to Eleanore, nodding to Hill and Dr. Banner.
"Means: the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD." Tony walked up to Thor, "No hard feelings, Point Break. You got a mean swing." Thor looked offended as Tony tapped his arm lightly and continued. "Also means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." Stark came to rest in front of Fury's display panels. "Uh, raise the mizzenmast. Jib the top sails." The agents at the control panels looked up at him in confusion.
"That man is playing Galaga," he called suddenly, pointing to a young man in the middle of a row. Steve looked around in confusion, wondering what Galaga was, and if it was dangerous. Eleanore smiled at him and rolled her eyes, so he assumed it was safe. "Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did."
Stark put his hand over his eye, and turned his attention to the screens in front of him. "How does Fury even see these?"
"He turns," Hill explained, unamused.
"Sounds exhausting." Stark started fiddling with the controls. He was annoying Steve more and more with his constant banter. "The rest of the raw materials, Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source of high energy density. Something to…" he snapped and clapped his hands together, "kick start the cube."
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill asked suspiciously.
"Last night," Stark replied, and Steve saw Darren nod. "The packet. Selvig's notes. The Extraction Theory papers?" he looked around. "Am I the only one who did the reading?"
Steve was tired of the jabbering scientist. "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" he asked, hoping that would bring them to a main point.
"He'd have to heat the cube to one hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the cooling barrier." Banner was trying to explain it to him, Steve could tell, but only the numbers in that sentence made sense to him. He looked at Eleanore who mouthed "Tell you later," and pointed her thumb at Darren. He wondered if that meant that Darren had explained it to her, or that she would ask him to explain it to both of them.
"Unless," Stark rebutted, "Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnel effect."
"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet," Banner said, and it seemed skeptical. Steve couldn't tell what they were saying. Darren and Eleanore seemed focused, though.
"Finally," Stark said, sounding relieved. "Someone who speaks English."
"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked, looking around at everyone else. Romanov was impassive as ever, and Thor looked like the conversation had sailed over his head.
Stark was shaking Banner's hand and greeting him scientifically. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner," he said, seeming to mean it. "You work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster." Steve couldn't tell what was sarcasm and what wasn't.
Banner looked similarly confused. "Thanks."
"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube," Fury interjected, looking pointedly at Stark. "I was hoping you might join him."
Finally, Steve had an idea that might help. "I'd start with that stick of his," he said, turning to the scientists and back to Fury. "It may look magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon."
"I don't know about that," Fury replied. "But it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."
"Monkeys?" Thor asked, confused. "I don't understand—"
"I do!" Steve was so excited to finally know something without having it explained. He looked around to stares, and an encouraging smile from Eleanore, who'd made him watch the Wizard of Oz just a couple days ago when he needed to unwind after visiting Peggy. "I understood that reference."
Stark rolled his eyes and turned to Banner. "Shall we play, Doctor?"
"This way, sir," Banner agreed, not meeting Steve's eyes. Together the scientists walked away. Steve felt embarrassed and resolved not to speak out that way again. Not around Stark, at least.
"I'm going with them," Darren said, kissing Eleanore on the temple and walking quickly from the room. He shot an apologetic glance at Steve, who shrugged in return.
"Let's go find Jet," Eleanore suggested, standing and beckoning to Steve. "Natasha, want to come?"
"No thanks, I'll stay here and help monitor," Romanov said, and the way they spoke to each other sounded friendly and familiar. They must have known each other a long time.
"Where to?" Steve asked, coming around the table, thankful for someone he actually knew.
"I don't know," Eleanore said, shrugging. "But hey." She gestured him closer and leaned up to whisper in his ear, "How do I get a look at Loki?"
"I know what level he's on," Steve suggested, thinking of the number that had appeared on the screen.
"Care to escort me?"
"Of course," Steve said. But first, will you get me up to speed on what just happened in there?"
"Thermonuclear, like heat energy. Kelvin is a way of measuring temperature that's really exact. Really, it measures energy and waves. And Kelvin regards absolute zero as… a huge lack of energy. So one hundred twenty million Kelvin is a Lot of energy to put behind something. So that narrows down the power sources Loki could use, at least. I don't know what the quantum tunnel effect is, but I'm going to infer that it's a problem that arose when they tried to use the Tesseract before. And heavy ion fusion is not possible with our current level of technology. We're trying for it, though, and fission. Cleaner energy." She explained some of the terms they'd just heard from the scientists so well that Steve was beginning to think she was abnormally intelligent, and just surrounded by super-geniuses so she felt average. At least he felt like he knew a little more about the conversation he'd just witnessed.
They talked on the way down, Eleanore telling Steve about preparing to leave and letting her professors know she was going to be gone, and Steve telling her about the awkward quinjet ride, the briefing, meeting Loki and Tony Stark, and fighting Thor.
"God, Steve, he could have squished you!" she laughed after he told her about the crater he and Thor had made.
"I'm tougher than that," Steve protested, grinning. It was nice to have her here, and Darren too. They acted like he was normal, not stuck in the 1940's.
"Wait," Eleanore stopped in the middle of the hallway, eyes unfocused. Steve felt concerned, but stood silently until she straightened and walked quickly down the hall.
"What is it?" he asked, catching up to her in a few easy strides.
"I can feel him," she said mutedly, still focused somewhere else. "Here," she pulled his arm to stop him outside a windowless door in a hallway of windowless doors. "Jeeze, he's like a fireball of calculating rage."
"You can tell that from here?" Steve was impressed, and wary. If she could sense things from that far away, was she checking on him in his apartment?
"Stop it," she ordered, sounding annoyed.
"What?"
"Stop suspecting me. It's distracting." This was the least-courteous he'd ever seen her, and it took him by surprise.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked, feeling confused and annoyed at being bossed around without reason.
"Just… Know what? Here," she laid a hand on his arm and turned to stare at the door.
He was more surprised than anything at her sudden invasion of his personal space, but he tried to focus on what she appeared to be showing him. At first, Steve felt nothing except for the physical touch. Then a weird burning started behind his eyes, and it spread to his chest. It was distant. He wasn't feeling it, but it came from somewhere close by. White-hot, painful, heart-wrenching rage and sadness. Loneliness. He couldn't analyze all the emotions at once. Eleanore was still there, staring at the door, showing him this tangled web. Despair? Confusion? Calm thoughtfulness. Staggering, crushing misery coupled with a bitter frenzy of passion. His breath started coming in short gasps as he was overwhelmed by the feelings that weren't his own, and the panic that was. He couldn't stop it, couldn't block it out. His vision was there, but his eyes wouldn't focus for long. He was looking inward, trying to escape the feeling of madness that threatened his very being.
"Sorry," Eleanore's voice drew him back to the present. The emotions slowly faded, and Steve pushed them away gratefully. She took her hand from his arm. "I just wanted someone else to see that. It's…"
"Insanity." Steve supplied.
"No, it's not that." Eleanore corrected him. "More like incredible devastation. I've been around insane people before. Clinically insane." Steve nodded, because she seemed to want a response. "This is so different. It's like every emotion he has is amplified by something else… He feels it, then it grows. I wonder what his thoughts are like."
"Maybe it's best if we don't know," Steve suggested, drawing her away from the door. "We may never understand it."
"Isn't that scepter a mind-control device?" Eleanore asked, following him as he walked away, frowning thoughtfully. "I wonder if that's his problem."
"I think he has more problems than we can deal with, and besides, we have our own. That he caused." Steve didn't like how focused she had gotten on those emotions, and he worried if she had to feel that way all the time.
"I'm fine, Steve." Eleanore assured him, apparently reading him as well. "Tired, though."
"You look tired," Steve agreed, and she did. Not the same as when she'd healed Peggy, but weary all the same. He knew normal humans couldn't stay up as long as he could, and Eleanore had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before.
"Thanks," she yawned. "Sorry again for freaking you out."
"I'm fine," Steve told her, and it was true. "But warn me next time."
"Sure. Hey," she looked him up and down. "Why are you still in your suit?"
"I'm…" Steve searched for an explanation other than 'I like it,' "breaking it in."
"I wore mine to fly here with Jet. He hates planes."
"How fast can he fly?"
"Pretty fast. Darren clocked him once at two hundred fifty miles per hour. It's hard to hold on."
"I bet," Steve remembered the Valkyrie battle, and losing his grip slowly, inch by inch, sliding toward that propeller that spelled his certain doom. Watching the other Hydra agent get chopped into a million bloody pieces. "Don't fall off."
"I don't. Obviously."
"Obviously." Steve agreed, thinking of those straps on the saddle. "What did you do with Charlie?"
"Left him at home. Invited a college friend to come stay and eat my food, sleep on my couch, and use my Internet until I get back. They'll both have company."
"Who's the friend?" Steve wondered if he'd meet them, then discarded the idea. Eleanore could have a life outside of the thawed Super Soldier.
"His name is Brogan. I've known him since high school." They got on an elevator and went back to the floor Steve's room was on. "Charlie was so cute last night, though. I played with him for a while, then he jumped in my lap and hugged my arm!" Steve had to grin at her enthusiasm. "Then I went to bed and he slept on my back."
"Sounds… cute." Steve didn't know how to properly enthuse over an animal. Cats were generally used for rodent control back when and where he grew up. People could seldom afford to feed the felines, so they wandered around and ate out of the trash, some getting free meals for compassionate housewives, most fighting it out in the alleys. Otis was the one Steve remembered the most because he was the meanest, and the toughest to catch. He didn't want to tell Eleanore that, though.
"Is your room near here?" she changed subjects anyway, so Steve was saved from recanting his alley cat stories.
"Yeah, a couple doors down."
"Darren is between us, and Tony's across the hall. Not that he'll sleep," she yawned again. "But it's nighttime and I'm going to get some rest while I can."
"What about finding Jet?" Steve asked, figuring she probably actually knew where he was.
"He's exploring the ship. He'll find me later," she smiled. "I just used him as an excuse to go investigate Loki."
"Clever," Steve said sarcastically. "They saw us on the cameras."
"I know, but it's better to ask forgiveness than permission."
Steve froze, memories bubbling beneath the surface. "Where did you hear that?"
"My pastor, growing up." Eleanore laughed, seemingly unaware of Steve's disquiet. He tried to act natural so she wouldn't press him about it. "His wife always yelled at him for saying that in church, though."
"I bet. Well, have a nice… sleep." Steve forced a grin, and she gave him a funny look before shrugging and opening the door to her room.
"You rest too, if you can," she told him. "We don't know what will happen next, or when."
"I'll keep that in mind," Steve promised, and she finally entered her room, identical to his, from what he could see, and shut the door.
Not intending to rest, but hoping to be alone for a while, Steve went to his own bunk and lay down with his hands behind his head. He let the memories wash over him, forming images and snatches of conversation that seemed to be from just yesterday, even though his childhood on the streets of Brooklyn was a long time ago.
"C'mon, Buck." He called, rushing through the crowd of adults easily, his small stature an advantage for once.
"Steve, damn it, hold on!" Bucky finally caught up to him, and together they pushed to the front where an impromptu ring had been formed.
People stood around a flat stretch of cobblestone on which only two men stood, facing each other. One was dark-skinned and wore gray pants, the other was white and wore black. The crowd was cheering and placing bets, calling out moves for their favorite to perform. There was excitement in the air, and tension as well. Prohibition was in effect, and many of the people in the crowd had been to speakeasies before attending the spontaneous fight for more entertainment. The smell of whiskey was strong in the air.
"Your mother is going to kill us if she finds out," Bucky cautioned, whispering in Steve's ear.
"That's why I won't tell her," Steve replied simply. It was not lying. And there was nothing wrong with seeing a street fight.
"Better to ask forgiveness than permission," Bucky chuckled, and the boys settled in as the fighters readied their stances.
The first punch fell from the dark man's fist with a resounding crack. The white man shook his head and stayed standing, spitting blood and insults onto the ground. Steve had never heard words like that before. His mother had kept him away from areas, so far, that would contain rough characters who used such language.
The black man did not react to the words, only rolling his neck and keeping his eyes on his opponent.
The white man lunged forward suddenly, and was caught again by a solid punch right to the jaw. He fell to the ground, to the yells of the crowd. They jeered at him, and insulted both him and his opponent, and the white man's eyes glazed over with fury.
Steve could tell he would lose from the cold abandon in his eyes.
The white man, "Springer," the crowd called him, rose to his feet and attacked once more. The black man, called by no real name except slurs, sidestepped him easily and landed a final punch to the side of his head. Springer fell down, breathing heavily, and did not get up.
"Cheat!" someone in the mob called out, and Steve suddenly felt surrounded. He looked at Bucky and saw his own fear reflected in his eyes.
"Let's get out of here!" Bucky yelled, and Steve nodded. Before they could turn, however, they were being kicked from all sides by striding feet that could not wait to catch the black man in the human ring. The man turned to run, too, but he was caught by the crowd. Steve could only watch as fists began flying from everywhere, beating him until he fell to his knees.
"Steve!" Bucky was pulling him along, through the now-thinning crowd. "Come on, we gotta run!"
Snapped out of his trance, Steve followed Bucky down long streets and side alleys, only stopping when his breath turned into painful wheezing. Which didn't take very long.
"Come on, breathe through your nose." Bucky patted him on the back as they stopped on a deserted street corner.
"What—" Steve tried, but he could only get so much air through his lungs at a time. "—Happened. To… him?"
Bucky's eyes darkened. He knew who Steve meant.
"Maybe he got away." His voice didn't carry much hope.
"We should… Go back and help."
"Steve we can't. Look at us," Bucky gestured to his torn and dirty clothes, and Steve noticed his own ragged appearance for the first time.
"Buck—"
"No." Bucky said firmly. "By the time we got back, it would be too late anyway."
Steve straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath. "I have to try, Buck."
"I'll tackle you."
"No you won't."
"Fine, I'll come with you. Punk."
"Jerk."
The ribbing made Steve feel a little better as they made their way back to the alley. It was dark, and the crowd was gone. There was no sign that anyone had been there at all, except for some blood on the cobblestones.
"They're gone Steve," Bucky whispered. "Let's go."
"Wait," Steve held up his hand, and both boys stopped breathing. A low moan issued from a pile of trash off the side of the alley.
"Hello?" Bucky called, and Steve shushed him. They pressed forward hesitantly, and the trash morphed as they got closer into the battered figure of a man.
"Hey," Steve said, trying to make his voice as grown-up as possible. Bucky grabbed his arm, ready to pull him away and run again.
"What are you doing here?" the man groaned at them. He moved his head and the street lamp shone on the lumps and blood on his face.
"We wanted to make sure you were okay." Steve knew that sounded stupid the moment he said it.
"What, were you gonna fight that mob?" the man asked sarcastically, with a gurgling chuckle.
Steve looked him over, and decided to ignore the question. "We could help take you home. Where do you live?"
"You two boys can't carry me, and I can't walk that far." The man sighed. "Just leave me alone to rest."
"My mom says it's not good to stay out on the street all night," Bucky retorted, and Steve felt glad for the support.
"Then why the hell are you here with me?" the man asked logically.
"Never mind, just tell us where you live and we'll go get someone to help you." Steve was getting tired, and his throat hurt, but he wanted to finish what he'd started by coming here in the first place.
"A block and a half north," the man conceded, pointing with a shaking hand. "239 Britton Avenue. My brother should be there. Tell him James got in trouble."
"I'll run there," Bucky volunteered. "Steve, you stay with him."
"Okay."
"Hey," Bucky turned just as he was about to leave the alley. "James is my name too."
"Well ain't that the end all," said James, and Steve saw him roll his eyes. Bucky grinned and took off faster than Steve could ever hope to run on his own.
Steve and James sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the occasional car passing and dog barking.
"What were you doing here?" James asked again, breaking the quiet.
"We wanted to see a fight," Steve admitted. "You were really good."
"Not good enough," James corrected him. "Or you gonna argue that too?"
"No, you got beat up," Steve grinned, and James scoffed.
"Just wait 'til I tell your mother on you boys."
"Please don't," Steve said quietly, thinking to himself. "I'm going to tell her myself, I think."
"Are you now?"
"Yeah, I don't like lying. Even if it's just staying quiet."
"That's good. She'll forgive you."
"Better to ask forgiveness than permission," Steve grinned, and James gave a short bark of laughter that turned into a wheeze.
Footsteps approached, and Bucky whispered, "Steve?"
"Still here," Steve replied.
"Damn it, James," another tall man rounded the corner after Bucky, rushing over to his brother. "What happened this time?"
"I'll tell you at home," James promised him, grunting as his brother picked him up and slung his arm over his shoulder. "You kids gonna get home all right?"
"We'll be fine," Bucky promised, and Steve nodded. They were only a few blocks from home themselves.
"Be sure you are," James said, reaching out and tousling their hair. "I'll be seeing you around."
The boys made it back to Steve's house before his mother got home from her night shift of nursing. Steve told her in the morning about sneaking out to see the fight, and about James. His mother was mad at first, but she softened when he told her about James and Bucky having the same name, and James' brother coming to get him. She said that she was proud of him for telling the truth, even if it got him in trouble. Then she washed his mouth out with soap.
Steve smiled at the memory and closed his eyes, suddenly feeling tired. Maybe a nap wouldn't hurt. He sighed and drifted into slumber with good memories to guide him.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but here's a really long chapter to make up for it! I've been working on future ideas for this story, so don't think it will end anytime soon. Please read and review!
KnowInsight: Thank you, I really wanted to get inside his head. Avengers happened so quickly after he woke up, it's hard to tell exactly what he was thinking.
starspangledpumpkin: Thank you for all your reviews! I tried to make the scenes as authentic as possible, and add memories where they would logically go.
Please let me know what you think of the continuation!
~PettyWhiteRose