Hey! I'm ba-ack! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! Here's the next chapter of Film Reels, also known as the last real chapter! There will be an epilogue to close things up, then it will be done. I have been asked, but I'm not doing this for the other Avengers, as this is exhausting to write. Speaking of exhausted, it's 1:50 am right now, and most humans are asleep, but some couch cushions on my bedroom floor are not very comfortable, and I'm suffering from a bit of insomnia at the moment. It may have to do with the fact that I went see LES MISERABLES a few hours ago and it was AMAZING! Definitely go see it! I cried. I never cry during movies!
Speaking of Les Mis… I'm working on the next chapter of "A Little Fall of Rain?" so if any of you Avengers fans are also Les Mis fans… (Hint hint)
Thank you to all of my lovely reviewers, here are the replies to your equally lovely reviews!
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Squee the magical bunny- Sorry, not her. I'm not doing this for the others, sorry.
snowdancer119- I'm glad you liked! Hmm, I guess you'll find out!
.98- Glad you like it!
GuidedByHarbourLights- Wow! I'm so glad you liked it! Was you tearing up good? I hope so!
Lollypops101- Sorry, it wasn't them. I think Peggy's still alive.
vampyfreak- Glad you liked it!
Rika100- Thanks for the review! It was bittersweet.
jwstahle- Sorry, not him. Hope you like who I chose!
Miso Muchi- Hmm, who did you think it was?
CluelessItalian- Sorry, neither one of them. The idea about Steve's mom was interesting, though. I wouldn't have thought of that.
Cookie-the-Rookie- Yeah, there's no way to not make the chapter sad...
silmarlfan1- Lol! Planning on it!
Preferably- Glad you liked it, those were my favorite scenes too. Sorry if there was a lack of Howard/Steve scenes in the reels, I have some trouble writing sorta-serious Tony.
OptimusPrimeAddict- Lol! Glad you liked!
Kind of Cloudy- Hey, nobody's gotten it right! Who did you think it was?
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DISCLAIMER- I don't own it!
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"Guys, I think there's one more." Clint's quietly spoken words caused all eyes to fly to the canister in his hands.
"But, that was everything in the stack, wasn't it?" Steve asked, looking back through the other canisters. "Are you sure we haven't already seen it? What does it say on the label?"
Clint frowned, turning the metal container over to check the other side. "It's completely blank, nothing's written on it." He looked up at his teammates. "Should we watch it?" Steve shrugged, "We might as well. I have no idea what this." Curiosity sparked in the others' eyes as they all headed back to their previous positions, settling in for the next view into their friend's life, all of them rather subdued from the previous video. Even Tony didn't speak.
Steve looked at the reel apprehensively as he set it up, wondering what on earth it would be, and sat back down once he was finished. "JARVIS, can you play it please?"
"Right away, sir." The lights turned down and the screen flickered a few times before the image of a room came into view. The Avengers could tell immediately that this wasn't security footage, as the camera seemed to be a bit lower than eye level, as opposed to a bird's eye view. Steve gasped, a hand over his mouth and understanding coming into his eyes. Everyone looked at him questioningly, but he ignored their gazes and stared at the screen, murmuring something too quietly to be heard. They turned back to the screen and observed the image.
The room was small, sparsely decorated, with wallpaper so faded that the pattern was indiscernible. A small picture hung on the wall, and the top of a wooden chair was visible in the center of the screen. The image shook slightly, like someone was setting the camera down, and someone came into view. Steve gasped at the sight of the person who settled himself down on the chair.
"Bucky." Steve's eyes were wide, and everyone looked at him with sad eyes; they all knew he missed his best friend. After watching the interview, however, they determined that Bucky more than they knew, judging by the pain and regret in their captain's eyes.
Bucky looked down at his hands for a moment before taking a deep breath and staring right into the lens, his dark eyes reflecting the light of a lamp, probably placed behind the camera. Then he spoke. "Hey, Steve. Wow," he chuckled, "That's kinda weird. You know, saying hi to you when you aren't here-" He broke off, rolling his eyes at himself and running a hand through his dark hair. "Yah know, if you were here right now, I know exactly what you'd say to me.
"Quit it with the blabbering, Buck," Steve said, a sad smile playing around his lips.
"You'd say 'Quit it with the blabbering, Buck.'" He grinned.
"Spot on!" Tony said, obviously trying to ease some of the tension in the room. "It's almost as if you said it before!" Natasha rolled her eyes and Pepper smacked him lightly upside the head, but Steve smiled a bit. Tony's humor was often unwelcome, but there were moments such as these where he was grateful for the comic relief.
"That's exactly what you'd say." Bucky's mood seemed to shift, and he looked down again. "I bet you're wondering why I'm doing this right now. I'm not great with words, you know that. Matter of fact, neither of us are. But I guess the best way to explain this is…" He trailed off and started over again. "I'm going to be shipped out soon, heading to camp, and you're gonna be all alone here. I know you know how to survive. Hell, we practically lived on the streets when we were kids, avoiding the St. Mary's crew.
The teammates exchanged glances. How much about Steve didn't they know? They knew much more about their friend than when they started, but there were still so many unanswered questions about his past, the one on the forefront of everyone's mind was what he had let slip about his father while watching the interview.
'You survived that, and the years since, but you know I'm worried about you. You can barely last a day without getting beat up in some alley, and soon, I won't be there to pull those guys off of you. You'll be on your own.
"Why did you get beat up so much?" Tony asked, eyebrows raised. Steve grimaced.
"I was a small guy who never knew when it would be a better idea to just shut up and let the other guy believe they were right for once."
"And that's changed… how?"
"Well, I'm not a small guy anymore."
"Well-"
"Tony, Steve, leave it."
"Every time I went to go rescue you, I guess I pictured you as the little kid who came to the orphanage, scared of everything. I know you give me flack about going all," he used air quotes, "'Mother hen' on you, but you've been through so much, and you're like my little brother. And I don't care who's older- you're littler."
"You're older?" echoed around the room, all in varying types of astonishment. Steve raised an eyebrow.
"'Course I am. I'm what, ninety-something?" The group chuckled at Steve's rare show of humor, but Bucky's next words made the mood go down, as they all knew just how true they were.
He smiled lopsidedly for a moment before frowning. "I'm making this film just in case. Just in case I don't come back. I borrowed the camera and bought the film, because honestly, I don't care that I might have a bit less to eat tonight and tomorrow until I get my next paycheck. We both know I can live without food for a bit, but I had to leave this for you." He looked off to the side, probably out a window before sighing and looking back at the camera. "After everything you went through with your dad," he grimaced here.
The others exchanged worried looks; what had happened?
"and your mom dying, I hate the fact that I'm leaving you too. If I could, I'd stay here, but we both know that I can't stay. I also know that you'd do anything to be able to enlist, but for obvious reasons, you can't. I know you'd probably kill me for saying this, but I'm glad you can't join. It's for your own good- Don't you dare give me the look I know I'm getting right now!" he accused, pointing a finger at the camera. "You know, the one with the one raised eyebrow and the look that tells me that I'm an idiot! You give me that look a lot."
The Avengers all looked at Steve and laughed when they saw that expression on their leader's face. "He really knew you too well, didn't he?" Bruce chuckled.
Steve sighed. "He really did know every single little quirk I had, but I knew every one of his. It really helped when we were kids, running from-" He broke off and looked down awkwardly. "Yeah, we knew each other better than we knew ourselves."
The others watched Steve sadly. They would probably never understand him that completely, but they would definitely try to.
He sighed and ran his hand tiredly down his face.
"What I'm trying to say is that, you are more family to me than anyone who's blood related. They abandoned me, you didn't, and you're like a brother to me. I hope that I come back from the war to find you home and safe, but just in case I don't, I need you to know that you are not like my brother, you are my brother in everything but blood, and I love you like a brother. You and I were there for each other for all those years at St. Mary's, and the years after that, living paycheck to paycheck, and I hope that we can continue to be there for each other after I get back. And," He added, losing the serious air and grinning, "One of these days, one of the blind dates I set you up on are going to work, and you're gonna find someone."
"Hmm," Tony seemed glad that the sad moment was done. "How'd that work out?" Steve rolled his eyes and threw a pillow into the billionaire's face.
He leaned a bit to the side and studied something for a second. "I'm starting to run out of film, so I'm ending this. I hope you don't find this before I leave, because I'll never hear the end of it. Probably most of it would be about what I said about being glad you can't get sent over. So if you're watching this, you've obviously looked on the top shelf in the hall closet."
Steve sighed, "I never got the chance to look."
He checked the amount of film left and sighed. "Steve, remember what I said. And remember this- it was not your fault what happened to your mom. I know you still feel guilty about it, but don't. It wasn't your fault, it was his." As he said this, he stared straight into the camera, as if trying to see out the other end. "Bye for now. I hope that I'm still here when you eventually watch this, but just in case, bye, Stevie." He smiled for a minute at the old nickname before the image flickered and disappeared.
Steve continued staring at the screen, expression unreadable. The other Avengers looked at each other before heading over to their friend, who seemed slightly lost. Pepper separated from Tony and sat next to Steve, putting an arm around him in an almost motherly way. The younger man instinctually turned into her, and she wrapped the other arm around him and pulled him into a hug, resting her cheek on the top of his head. She was slightly surprised to find his shoulders shaking, but she masked that and rubbed his back soothingly, ignoring her boyfriend and the others. After a few minutes, he pulled away, seeming a bit embarrassed.
"Sorry, it's just… He was all that I had for so many years, and I hardly got the chance to mourn while the war was going on, then when I woke up, it was the Chitauri attack, then…" He trailed off, looking lost again. Pepper shook her head and rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb. "We don't blame you, Steve. It's okay." Steve looked around at his new family, and knew that it would be okay. It really would.
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A/N- Hope you liked it! I'm surprised that nobody guessed Bucky! Anyway, the last chapter will be up as soon as I write it! Anyway, please review! These reviews mean a lot to me and they really brighten my day! (or night, depending on when I read them…)
-Little-Miss