Assemble Chapter 21, an avengers fanfic

When he woke it was quiet.

The room was completely white, so white for a minute he thought maybe he really had died and went to heaven but when he opened his eyes and saw the men standing around his bed with machine guns he knew he hadn't.

He tried to sit up and several things happened at once.

The soldiers all held him down, barking orders and he tried to talk but there was a tube down his throat and needles in his arms and when he heard Steve yell out, "STAND DOWN!" the room was quiet once again.

Steve was in his field of vision and took the tube from his throat, causing Bucky to cough violently. He held down Bucky's arms, staring down into his eyes. "Bucky?"

He smiled. "Hey soldier."

Steve stared him down, his gaze still hard.

Bucky swallowed and whispered, "Natasha was your first…and your last…woman."

Steve blushed as he let out a breath, hugged him tightly and yelled out, "NATASHA!"

Suddenly he was let go of and red hair was all he saw before she was in his arms, kissing him fiercely and spouting off Russian so quickly he couldn't catch a word of it but felt her shaking against him so he held her tighter.

Natasha pulled back for air and pressed their foreheads together. "Oh James, I was so frightened."

He kissed her again. "Me too, lapochka. Me too."

She lay in his arms after that, refusing to leave and no one tried to stop her.

Steve just smiled at them both, tears in his eyes and when he said, "I'll go get Tony," Bucky didn't even try to stop him.

Stark walked in with a huge grin on his face, stopping at the end of the bed. "Well, seeing as how you're not trying to murder any of us I would call the surgery a success."

Everyone laughed and Bucky said, "Did I…did it happen? I don't remember."

There was silence and he knew the answer.

Tony coughed. "You…uh…put a couple of guys out of commission but no one was killed. T'Challa took you down pretty fast and we knocked you out. I…uh…" he smiled sheepishly, "…wasn't even sure there would be a way to bring you back but once Bruce and I got inside your head it was right there, a tiny little thing and it was just lying against your brain not inside so I just took it out and we killed it."

Natasha held on to him tighter, kissing his neck and whispering, "I smashed it to pieces, darling."

He smiled, kissing her forehead and whispering, "Moĭ krasnyĭ tsvetok, so fierce." (MY RED FLOWER)

She laughed. "Always for you, lapochka."

He didn't want to take his off her so he didn't when he asked, "Nothing else? You're sure?"

"Positive. I did scans myself and used some equipment here as well. You're clean," Tony stated.

"I can't thank you enough, Tony," he whispered, making Natasha smile.

He heard Tony swallow and say, "Uh…you're welcome. I…I couldn't have done it without Bruce making sure I didn't kill you but…"

Bucky looked at him then, smiling. "Don't be modest, Tony. I'm being sincere."

Tony blushed. "Okay. I…you've never called me Tony before you know. Always Stark."

He grinned. "I know."

Steve smiled, taking Tony's hand and squeezing it. The two men smiled at each other and Steve kissed him, making Bucky look at Natasha again. "You wanna tell them or should I?"

Natasha's eyes looked questioning for a minute before realization dawned and she whispered close to his ear, "You."

Bucky looked at them again and said, "Um…guys?"

They stopped talking and both looked at him. "You want us to go? We're cramping your style?" Steve asked, amused.

"Hey now, there's no way I'm cramping anyone's style! They just want to make out in peace. C'mon Steve," Tony joked.

Bucky sighed. "Okay, shut up the both of you. We wanted you two to be the first to hear our kid's name."

Both men were quiet.

He smiled. "Antonia Stevana Barnes."

Tony bit back a laugh, his face lighting up. "AWESOME! You named it after me!"

"SHE Tony, not IT," Natasha said, smiling, "And not just you," she looked at Steve who seemed shocked.

He swallowed and then said with emotion in his voice, "It's a beautiful name, thank you. I'm…quite honored."

Natasha held out her arms and he hugged them both, laughing when Tony came on the other side and did the same. The four of them were laughing when a voice asked, "Am I interrupting?"

Steve pulled back at Nick's voice and so did Tony, wiping their faces. "Of course you are, Nick, but when has that stopped you?" Tony said.

Nick raised an eyebrow at him before looking at Bucky. "I see you're okay. Even two days later."

Bucky looked at the others. "TWO DAYS? I've been out TWO DAYS?"

Natasha nodded against his chest. "I am sorry, James…your accelerated healing was miraculous, most men would take weeks to heal from that kind of surgery and we were surprised but when you did not wake…"

He held her tightly. "It's okay, I just…I don't feel like I've been out that long."

Nick sighed. "Well, now that the crisis is averted we need to get back to the subject at hand. Alexei will come for her. You know he will. We just need to figure out where and when."

Bucky looked down at Natasha, then up at Nick. "You want me to pretend that I'm the Winter Soldier again don't you?"

He felt Natasha tense against him.

Nick nodded. "I wouldn't even ask if I didn't see any other way around it."

He nodded. "I know."

Nick looked at the others, and Bucky did the same. Steve looked quite distressed and Tony was holding his hand tightly, but Bucky was surprised when Steve said, "I agree with Nick, it is the only way to get Alexei to act. I just wish…" he looked at Bucky.

Bucky smiled. "I'm okay, Steve. I can do this. Just," he wiggled his toes, "Give me a day or two to get healed so he doesn't see scars."

Nick smiled. "That I can do, I owe the both of you that much," he said, looking at Natasha who was still silent.

He nodded once more to Bucky and left, the room silent once more.

Tony coughed. "I…um…well I'm glad you're okay. C'mon Steve," he pulled on Steve's arm and Steve looked at Bucky once more.

"You think you can do this?" he asked, his expression grave.

Bucky looked down at Natasha, whose face he saw was now covered in tears. He leaned in close and kissed her cheek. "I have to, Steve."

"I know, Buck. I know. Remember what I said before, it still applies."

Bucky sighed. "Thank you, Cap."

"Always, Sergeant."

He looked up again and saw Steve and Tony were gone, leaving the room quiet once again. Bucky looked at Natasha and whispered, "Talk to me."

"Alexei will kill you if he knows you are lying."

Bucky held her closer. "I know."

She looked at him, her eyes pleading. "There has to be another way, James. You cannot go to him. He promised me he would kill you if he got the chance."

He smiled at her, leaning in closer to touch their mouths together softly. "I've waited fifty years to kill that son of a bitch, 'tasha. I'm not gonna even blink this time."

Natasha smiled, a tear running down her cheek. "I worry, lapochka. You know this."

He smiled, kissing her properly this time, tasting the inside of her mouth and running his fingers through her hair. When they pulled apart she was breathing heavy and her cheeks were flushed. Bucky stared down at her in wonder. "After this is over, you won't need to worry ever again."

She hugged tightly to him, nodding into his chest and whispering, "I love you."

"I love you too, Natasha," he whispered back, kissing the top of her head.

Bruce was asleep, finally. After the surgery it had been physically impossible to get him to relax and it hurt Clint to watch him pacing around Bucky's hospital room worrying. Now that everything was fine he was relaxing and Clint felt like he could too.

He lay next to his Bruce, staring down at the man.

It had been years since he'd joined The Avengers Initiative and first met the awkward, calm, bespectacled Bruce Banner. He hadn't paid much attention to the man much as the years piled up and the real mission began when he was officially a part of the team, but now he couldn't keep his attention anywhere else.

He pressed closer to Bruce, kissing Bruce's neck softly and closing his eyes.

Bruce chuckled, sighing. "You honestly thought I was asleep? I thought you knew me better than that, Hawkeye."

Clint smiled, lifting his head. "I was hoping. Should have realized you were much too relaxed."

Bruce kissed him then, touching their tongues lightly before pulling apart. "Yes, you should have," he whispered, sitting up slowly.

They had been lying in a bed together fully clothed, the room one of many the compound held that Clint had requested and been told to go to. He yawned, sitting up and stretching.

"Why are you getting up again?"

Bruce turned, smirking. "I need to check on my patient."

"He's fine. You looked him over a dozen times already, Natasha has him sequestered in their bedroom you're not getting in to see him, you know that," Clint remarked, walking up behind Bruce and wrapping his arms around the older man.

Bruce leaned back and sighed. "I can't just sit here, Clint."

Clint kissed his neck. "Who said anything about sitting?"

Bruce chuckled, turning in his arms and pulling him close again.

Their kiss was teasing as they playfully tasted their way back to the bed, smiling and laughing in between touching and as pieces of clothing came off and skin touched Clint felt his skin shiver when Bruce's eyes flashed green. He whispered, "I love you," and Bruce swallowed, blinking once as his eyes dilated and Bruce answered back, "You'd better," making Clint laugh when they both fall back onto the bed.

Bruce rolls them over and Clint sits up, letting Bruce lift his shirt off and he does the same for the other man, tearing at each other's clothes and barely getting off their pants when both men began moving against each other groaning.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The scene I wrote as was is against the site's guidelines so I've posted it to my LJ and the editor for the site will not allow me to post a link though there is one in my author profile. My LJ name is kinneytaylor. There will be MANY scenes in this story I will have to do the same to, but I don't want to try and CENSOR them INTO SOMETHING MORE tame so this will have to do. Sorry.

Bruce kissed his throat and Clint sighed, closing his eyes as he relaxed enough to finally sleep. The monster inside Bruce was quiet, growling just beneath the surface but Bruce was exhausted enough to fall over into slumber as well.

Steve Rogers was a worrier.

He always had been, even as a child. After his mother got tuberculosis and he'd watched her get sicker and sicker it became common for him to worry when others were ill or hurt.

The months they'd been apart and he had to watch Tony recover without going to him had been a horrible torture that he'd endured for his own pride and jealousy, and even now when he knew Bucky was perfectly fine sound asleep in his hospital bed below him he worried.

Thankfully Tony was a sound sleeper.

Steve rolled over onto his side, staring at the man sleeping beside him. When he slept Tony looked calmer than he ever did awake always making Steve want to wake him.

He reached out and touched Tony's cheek, sighing.

They were so good now, it was wonderful just to sit here and bask in the effortless ease in which they fit together even as he waited for the other shoe to drop.

Which always seemed to be the case where he and Tony were concerned.

He leaned in close and kissed Tony's lips softly, moving to lie down again.

"You taste like worry," Tony mumbled, suddenly turning and staring at him sleepily.

Steve smiled. "Sorry."

Tony yawned, sitting up on his elbow. "What's wrong?"

The older man shrugged. "Nothing. Bucky is fine, Alexei hasn't even shown his face, and everyone is safe. For now. But tomorrow Bucky is going to go to Russia, he's risking his life on a chance that the Russians will believe he's reverted back to his original programming. A very slim chance."

Tony put his hand on Steve's face and said, "For once, can you just go to sleep happy to have my sexiness beside you? Yeah this all sucks for everyone but we're fucking Avengers Steve. We kick ass and take names. That's what we do. Bucky will do what he's been trained to and come out of it because he has to. He's fighting for his life, Natasha's, and baby Antonia's. Trust that he can do this."

Steve smiled, his eyes a bit watery when he put his hands on Tony's face and pulled him close for kiss, their tongues playing casually before he pressed their foreheads together and whispered, "I'm so lucky to have you. You know me like no one else does."

Tony smiled. "Glad we're on the same page. Now I hate to say it, but I'm fucking beat to hell otherwise I'd ask for more than a kiss right now ."

Steve laughed, kissing him again. "I can be quick."

Tony licked his lips. "It's no fun if you are, Cap, but I'm all for tryin'."

Moments later Tony was next to him again, wiping his mouth. "You were saying?"

Steve kissed him, not caring, and when he whispered, "I love you so much," into Tony's mouth the other man shivered at his touch and nodded back, echoing his words right back to him.

Both men fell asleep seconds later in each other's arms.

Thor and Luke had arrived hours before amidst the aftermath of Bucky's surgery and both felt out of place, standing close together till finally Luke went to Nick and asked, "What happened?"

Nick shook his head. "It's over now, that's all. What are you doing here anyway?"

Thor stood confidently, his chest out. "I have come to offer my services, Nicholas. I was informed that there had been a crisis involving the Widow and her…"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I need your 'services' right now? I have enough problems," he mumbled, turning away from them.

That had been some time ago, and now they were lying in an empty bedroom feeling just as useless as they had before. "I do not think we are welcome, Lucas," Thor whispered to the room.

Luke sat up, his skin touching along Thor's as he moved and making the god growl in response. He smiled. "When has that ever stopped either of us, Goldy?"

Thor smiled, pulling him close and kissing him, tasting the inside of the other man's mouth and running his hand along Luke's bare back. When they pulled apart Luke was gasping, trembling from the onslaught. "Very true, Lucas."

Luke kissed him again and mumbled against his mouth. "Stop looking so damn smug. Not of all us have no gag reflex."

Thor laughed and kissed his forehead. "Yes, Lucas," he whispered before heading for the shower.

Luke fell back on the bed with a sigh and said, "I am one lucky man," before jumping up and running in after him.

Alexei Alanovich Shostakov regarded the man before him with distain.

"It is done?" he asked, waiting for the usual response.

The soldier nodded once, a blank gaze staring into him. "Prostoy," he said robotically. (SIMPLE)

The other man nodded once and asked, "No complications?"

"She died begging," the soldier said, his voice like ice.

Alexei smiled. "Excellent," he took out a flask and drank from it once before holding it out.

The soldier looked at his gun, his face expressionless. He wore very American clothes, covered in blood, as were his hands. "Nyet. Orders, súdar?" (NO. ORDERS, SIR?)

Alexei shook his head, taking another sip again before opening the top drawer of his desk and taking out a gun. He set it down beside him and said, "There is just one more mission to complete."

The soldier waited his next orders patiently as Alexei raised his gun and whispered, "Zavoot smyertch." (YOUR DEATH)

He fired the gun and the soldier ducked, rolling along the floor and with skill that only the American would use, was by his side in an instant, punching Alexei in the face and banging his head onto the desk before taking the gun from his hand and shooting the two guards that came to his aid.

The Russian laughed, coughing up blood. "I take it you did not complete your mission, soldier?"

Bucky hit him again and growled, "I'm about to," grabbing Alexei's neck with both hands, "You're a monster and I've waited fifty years to do this."

Alexei laughed, not fighting. "Yes, of course you have, comrade," He gritted his teeth and whispered, "As have I," before Bucky broke his neck and the man fell to the ground with a hard thump.

Bucky spat on his body, kicking it once and then repeatedly, tears falling down his face.

He whispered, "Eedeh vy zhopu," and signaled his ride before sitting in Alexei's office chair, staring at the aftermath. (GO TO HELL)

"James?" came the voice through his hidden earpiece, cutting through the memories and persona he'd had to put on again.

He smiled. "Hello lapochka, I have a present waiting down here for you."

He heard the relief in her sigh, and thought about what she looked like now, her eyes closed and a smile on her face. "Spasibo," she whispered. (THANK YOU)

"Ya tebya lyublyu," he said in response. (I LOVE YOU)

She said simply, "I love you too, my James. Hurry home."

And then he was all business again, the smile lingering on his lips even as the SHIELD operatives came in to clean up his mess.

He climbed into the helicopter and nodded to the men there, strangers all save for one. Steve nodded to him once and Bucky nodded back, quickly closing his eyes and leaning his head back, sighing.

There was another whisper in his ear. "He is really gone," Natasha whispered, her voice thick.

"Yes, darling. I broke his neck myself."

A pause. "His blood is not on you," she whispered, and he could vividly picture her sitting in their bedroom, her hands on her belly and eyes closed.

"No, lapochka, it is. I just didn't want to waste that much time gutting him when I could be home with you."

He could hear the smile in her voice. "There must be something wrong with me, James."

He smiled. "Why?"

"Because I have never been more in love with you as I am this moment, speaking of death and gutting," she laughed and it was beautiful, free of worry.

Bucky grinned and opened his eyes, meeting Steve's who just smiled back.

"It just means we're perfect for each other, lapochka."

Her laughter brought tears to his eyes. "As I have always known, my James. Hurry home."

"I'm tryin," he whispered.

The earpiece was quiet and he noticed the other soldiers were all trying not to listen to his end of the conversation. Bucky laughed. "It's okay, guys, nothin' to be embarrassed about. Natasha and I keep the important things private, sweet talk ain't one of those things."

The other men just refused to look up from the ground and Steve laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. "Glad to see you happy, brother."

Bucky smiled, staring at the ground and then back at his friend. "Glad to be happy Steve."

Nick Fury stood outside the home Bucky and Natasha had called their own for almost three months, smoking a cigarette and directing his soldiers to their posts. Since sending James Barnes to infiltrate the Russian facility and kill Alexei he'd been on edge, though it had only been hours before.

The others were all on edge as well, the lack of something to fight back at was taking its toll on his men as well as his Avengers. He sighed, letting out a puff of smoke.

"Still have not quit that habit, it will be your death," came T'Challa's voice from his back.

Nick didn't turn. "It's going well so far. Having infinity formula coursing through my veins seems to be keeping my death at bay, if you're concerned."

There was a chuckle and then the bane of his existence was standing beside him, taking the cigarette from his mouth and taking a drag. Nick stared at T'Challa in surprise and cursed when the other man threw his cigarette over the edge of the balcony. "Oops."

"I have more," he whispered, not meeting T'Challa's eyes.

T'Challa laughed and it went straight to Nick's dick, making him shiver. "You always seem to have everything you need, Nicholas that has never changed."

Nick looked at him then and they stared for several seconds before both men looked away.

"I worry for Enzi," T'Challa whispered.

"As soon as Bucky returns, we will return to L.A. I promise you."

T'Challa touched his arm. "I know."

Nick turned and walked off, not able to stay so long in the other man's presence without doing something he knew they'd both regret. As he was reentering the compound there was a voice over the com.

He smiled.

Bucky was coming home.

Nick breathed a sigh of relief and took out his satellite phone, dialing slowly and putting it to his ear. The person on the other end answered on the first ring.

"How is the project coming along?" he asked, sitting on the couch with his feet up.

"Very well sir, we hope to be ready for testing in a week's time," the eager doctor on the other end answered.

Nick didn't smile, but swallowed as he saw Tony Stark walk into the living room.

"Good to hear. Call me if any problems develop," he said quickly, hanging up.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Problems?"

Nick shook his head. "Projects in the making, going into its end stages."

Tony smiled. "Anything you want me to….?"

Nick swallowed and shook his head. "Not especially. Hear from Steve?"

Tony's smile changed into a grin, and Nick suddenly felt guilt deep in his gut. The love in Stark's eyes was so blindingly obvious there was no doubt even if he had once doubted the man's feelings before.

"Yeah, on their way. Natasha cried she was so relieved. It's finally over," Tony whispered, sighing as he sat down beside Nick on the couch.

Nick stood. "Yes. I hope things can get back to the way they should be soon," he whispered, leaving Tony as quickly as he could.

Just then he heard the helicopter arrive and retreated down the stairs, trying to ignore the feeling in his gut telling him to keep the project to himself. There was no need to stir things up now.

Was there?