Title: The Lucky Ones
Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes & Loki
Captain America/Thor crossover, started during Captain America timeline, but has now moved to post-Avengers.
Rated M for slash
A/N - Long time reader, first time writer. I don't own the characters, just the plot.
HUGE thank you to kaszz-chan, WS, & Oceane Meldagon for your lovely reviews, as well as to everyone else who has given my little story love on Twitter & Tumblr. You guys make everything worth it! This chapter is really the first in a 3-part section where Bucky finally comes to understand what has happened to Loki while they were apart and what exactly he's done during the two movies. I wish I could combine them into one chapter, but it would be way too long. Here he talks with Steve, then he'll talk with Thor, and finally the big talk with Loki. I'll try to write the next two parts quickly, so they flow together easier. As always, please review or send me some feedback on Twitter( Loki_Can) or on Tumblr, .com. Thank you for reading!
-The Lucky Ones- Chapter 11
"They did not just stop the alien attack. They stopped me. I was the one who brought the aliens, who led the attack."
Bucky's heart began to pound as he heard those words. Confusion set in as he sat up and turned to look at Loki. How could this man, about whom he knew only good things, have caused such destruction?
"What are you saying, Loki?" he asked. Before Loki could answer, there was a noise at the window.
"Time to go, love birds." Came the tinny, muffled voice of Iron Man, who hovered outside the hotel window in his metal suit.
"Shit!" Bucky exclaimed, realizing that they were laying naked on top of the bed sheets, fully exposed. Loki calmly waved his hand toward the window and the curtains drew themselves closed.
"Aww, don't shut me out! I was hoping for a show!" the voice behind the curtain quipped. Loki rolled his eyes. He stood and walked over to his discarded clothes. Another wave of his hand and he was fully dressed, even his armor in place. Meanwhile Bucky was scrambling to get his clothes on.
"Must be nice," he muttered under his breath, buttoning his jeans. Barely trying to hide his amusement, Loki sat on the edge of the bed and watched Bucky trying to get his shirt put on correctly. It took him three tries. Once he was fully dressed, he looked to Loki and pouted.
"Thanks for the help, by the way."
"You never asked for help." Loki smirked. Bucky cursed under his breath, but he couldn't help but grin at the god.
Then the reality of their situation flooded through him like ice down his back.
"What's going to happen now?" Bucky asked soberly, sitting next to Loki on the bed.
"They will be here any second. I will be taken into custody again, and returned to Asgard where I will be sentenced for my crimes." Replied Loki with a sigh. His shoulders drooped and Bucky's heart sank, too. He desperately wished they had more time. He needed to understand what had happened. But time was not on their side, as always. They heard a pounding on the door, accompanied by a harsh command from Thor to open it.
Both men stood and faced each other.
"I won't lose you again," stated Bucky, meeting Loki's eyes. "I will find a way to help you."
Loki gave a sad smile to that. "I am beyond help, I think. It was enough, having this time with you. It was more than I deserved."
"Loki, don't say that. I -" But his words were cut off by the door slamming open. Bucky moved to Loki's side, grasping his hand with his own. Thor entered the room, followed by two Avengers dressed in black. The red-headed female had her gun drawn, and the male had his bow, arrow, and a scowl aimed right at Loki. Bucky glared at them, but they stayed where they were. Thor alone approached.
"Loki, what were you thinking? You knew you could not hide from us, from me. " Thor said, as he produced another set of shackles, identical to the ones Loki had been been wearing before. Loki said nothing, he just looked down, dropped Bucky's hand and held his arms out, allowing the chains to be fastened to his wrists.
"Thor, wait!" Bucky said as he saw the muzzle appear in the god's hand. Thor held his other hand up, stopping him.
"This is not your concern any longer, human. Please do not interfere." The tall god wore an expression of anger mixed with regret as he replaced that hateful muzzle around Loki's mouth. Again, Loki put up no resistance. He only looked to Bucky with sad eyes as Thor led him from the room. Bucky rushed into the hall after them, not sure what he could do, but not wanting to stand by and do nothing. His chase was stopped, however, as Steve stepped into his path.
"Bucky, stop. There's nothing you can do now." said Steve. Bucky watched as Thor led Loki around a corner and out of sight. Desperate hope that he could do something, anything, to help Loki, is all that kept his heart from breaking into a million pieces. Finally, he looked up at his friend. Despite everything, he was glad to see him, a familiar face.
"Steve," Bucky breathed, and wrapped his arms around broad shoulders as Steve drew him into a hug.
Steve pulled back and held Bucky's shoulders at arms length, looking him over. "I can't believe you're here! I thought you died!"
"I almost did. Loki saved me. Steve, tell me what's going on. Please. Are they taking him back to Asgard right now?"
"Thor is taking him back to our headquarters for now. Until we can sort this all out, he will be a prisoner there. I'd like you to come there with me, so you can tell me what's going on. We can catch up."
At Steve's words, relief washed over Bucky. At least they weren't taking Loki away just yet. He nodded and followed Steve out down the hall, towards the elevators, the other two Avengers following behind them. The elevator ride was spent in uncomfortable silence, neither Bucky nor Steve knowing what to say, or even wanting to try speaking in front of the imposing-looking assassin duo. Once in the car - a sleek, black SUV with darkened windows that screamed "government secrets inside"- it didn't take them long to reach their destination. The new, but recently damaged, Stark Tower still looked impressive from the ground. Bucky looked up at the skyscraper, remembering the news videos he had seen - the aliens, all the chaos, all those people who died. He just couldn't wrap his head around what Loki's involvement in all that could have been.
"Come on, let's go up." Steve said, leading the group inside. Once they were in the lobby, however, he instructed the other two to go on ahead. Turning to Bucky, he said, "You and I need to talk before we meet with Fury. We can go up to our personal quarters. I'm sure we can get you a room there later, if you want."
"Okay," replied Bucky as they got into the elevator. Loki was somewhere in this building, which meant this was exactly where Bucky wanted to be. "Who's Fury?"
"He's the director of SHIELD. He'll have a lot of questions for you, I'm sure." Steve answered.
Bucky knew SHIELD, he had worked with them under Phillips back when he first returned from Asgard. Those were dark days for him though, and he didn't like to think about them. He should have been more surprised than he was, to end up involved with the organization again. But he was tired of surprises.
The elevator opened to a sparsely, but stylishly decorated great room. Modern furniture and floor to ceiling glass windows made the room look elegant, but hardly lived in. Steve led Bucky to the kitchen, and asked if he wanted anything. Bucky declined, but took a seat on one of the bar stools.
"Nice place," Bucky said, looking around the gourmet kitchen.
"Yeah. It's Stark's, but he's letting us use it as our headquarters for now. We've only just moved in," explained Steve, as he got two bottles of water from the fridge and passed one to Bucky. He stood on the opposite side of the counter and regarded his old friend with a smile.
"I just can't get over the fact that you're sitting here." he mused. "Talk about a sight for sore eyes!"
Bucky gave a small laugh. "Yeah...same here. I couldn't believe it when I saw you in the news. I looked for you, after your plane went down, you know. Howard and I..." He trailed off, his mind thinking back to those days of trying to find anything to keep himself busy. Keep his mind off Loki.
"But the train, Bucky... How did you survive that fall?"
"I almost didn't. I think it was a combination of what Schmidt had given me...and Loki. He found me after I hit the ground. I blacked out, but he brought me back to Asgard and the healers there took care of me."
"Wow..." Steve breathed. "Of all the things, I never would have expected that. What was Loki doing down there anyway? I don't remember hearing anything about him causing problems back then."
"He wasn't causing problems!" Bucky bristled at the implication. "He went there to get away from his brother, if I remember correctly. He just happened to be there at the right time."
"Hmmm. I guess I can see how Thor can be...uh...overbearing at times. Still, it's hard to imagine Loki being here without starting trouble." Steve shook his head. "So what happened when you were on Asgard? Is that where you've been this whole time?"
"No, I was only there a few days." Bucky said, bitterness lacing his words. "They kicked me out once I was all better."
"You wanted to stay, I take it?"
"Well, yeah. Loki and I...well, we kind of hit it off. I don't know what it was. It seems so cliche to say 'love at first sight,' but it really was." Suddenly Bucky felt a bit sheepish. Steve only knew him as he used to be, before the war. When he used to chase anything in a skirt.
"So you...and Loki?" Steve sounded incredulous, and Bucky couldn't blame him. "Uh...wow, that's not an easy one to swallow. Bucky, he's a bad guy. He's killed so many people. He tried to kill all of us."
"He didn't use to be, Steve. The Loki I knew would never have done those things. I don't know what happened to him to turn him into this person you're talking about, but it can't be his fault." Bucky insisted. "What did he do? Will you tell me?"
"Do you remember Hydra's secret weapon?" he paused and Bucky nodded. "Loki transported himself into a top secret SHIELD facility and stole it from them. Turned Clint and some others into his own personal zombies. Then he used it to create the portal that brought the aliens here. He fought along side them, led them against us. He tried to take us all out, tried to kill his own brother. Hundreds of people died that day, some of our own, and their blood is on his hands"
Bucky sat in stunned silence for a few moments, letting Steve's words sink in. He knew he should be recoiling in disgust over Loki's actions, but instead his heart was breaking for the pain Loki must have been in. What other reason would he have to resort to such actions? Bucky refused to believe that Loki was truly evil.
"No!" he shouted, slamming his fist down on the counter. "If Loki did those things, it was for a reason. They must have done something to him. Thor, Odin, someone must have hurt him...hurt him badly enough that he thought he had no other option."
Steve just shook his head, and sighed. "Maybe you should talk to Thor about that. He seems to think his brother is redeemable. I'm not so sure, Bucky. I don't really like seeing you side with him. It means you're not on my side anymore."
"Steve, I'm always on your side. You know that. Nothing has changed. I just can't believe Loki is the enemy. I can't. I love him." Bucky closed his eyes, stopping the flow of tears that threatened to spill. He needed to see Loki. He needed to hear this all from Loki's own mouth.
"Well there's something that's changed." Steve smiled. "Since when does Bucky Barnes fall in love?"
"Yeah, I guess that's changed," said Bucky, with a bitter laugh. "But that was a long time ago. I've been in love for a long time now. I never saw him again, you know. After I left Asgard. I thought he'd come back for me, but he never did. He said they wouldn't let him. But I've spent the last seventy some years loving him. I never really got over him."
"Wait, you've been here for seventy years, and you haven't aged?"
"Yeah, again, I think it's something Schmidt gave me. You probably noticed it too."
"Well, I've spent most of my time in a block of ice. I haven't really been "alive" long enough to notice. Huh." Steve grinned as he pondered this new bit of information.
"It's not all that it's cracked up to be, trust me. It was hard saying goodbye to Becky and Adrian. Their kids are still alive though, if you ever want to meet them. They don't live too far from here. They're older now, too."
"I missed saying goodbye to someone..." Steve replied sadly.
"Peggy, right?" Bucky could definitely commiserate with Steve, and Peggy, on their twist of fate. "I saw her, after I got back from Asgard. She missed you a lot. She left the army shortly after you disappeared. Went back to her family. I don't know what happened to her after that, I'm sorry."
Steve thanked him, happy to know that Bucky had seen her. The two men chatted for a while longer, mostly reminiscing about good times.
"Mr. Rogers, your presence is requested by Director Fury in the conference room." said a disembodied voice. Bucky looked around, but didn't see anyone.
Steve laughed. "That's JARVIS, Stark's robotic secretary."
"I am not a secretary. I am an advanced, highly functioning AI system. Sir." the voice replied, managing to sound haughty. The two men laughed.
"Sorry JARVIS!" Steve rolled his eyes. JARVIS ignored them. "Ah, he's probably mad at me now." said Steve, chuckling. "I guess we should go. Fury is going to want to know about you and your ties with Loki. What are you comfortable telling him?"
"I'll tell him everything. I've got nothing to hide. Nothing to be ashamed of." Bucky replied, cooly. Fury was the key to getting Loki released, and Bucky was actually looking forward to speaking with him. Returning to the elevators, Steve stopped and put a hand on Bucky's shoulder.
"I don't necessarily agree with you about Loki, and I don't know what's going to happen now, but I am glad you're here, Bucky." he said sincerely.
Bucky smiled. "Thanks Steve. I'm glad you're here too."
The elevator stopped short of the top floor, and Bucky was surprised to see a very normal looking office corridor just outside the elevator. A few doors down the hallway, there was a perfectly ordinary looking conference room. What wasn't ordinary however, was the collection of people in the room. Steve led Bucky into the room. He recognized Tony Stark, now dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans. He looked less imposing out of the suit, but then he smiled and winked at Bucky. Bucky blushed, remembering the last time he had seen Stark. God, he hoped the billionaire kept his mouth shut. Doctor Banner was there too, along with the two from the hotel room. An imposing looking dark skinned man dressed in a black trench coat, wearing a black eye patch stood at the end of the table. "That must be Fury. A lot different than Phillips had been," Bucky thought. Except for Thor, the whole team was gathered, and Bucky felt like crawling into a hole, because they were all looking right at him.
Steve pulled out the chair next to his and motioned for Bucky to sit. Grateful for anything to do other than stand there awkwardly, Bucky did so quickly. Once everyone was seated, in what must be the most unusual group of people ever to sit around a conference table, Fury spoke up.
"James Buchanan Barnes, ex-Army, served with SHIELD in the 40's. After receiving unknown experimental treatments from Johann Schmidt - and after having survived a fall that would have killed a normal man - disappeared from SHIELD's radar in the 50's, returns in 2012 and allows our most wanted villain to escape right under the noses of every single one of you." He looked around the room, glaring at each Avenger in turn. The sounds of squirming filled the rooms, as each person shifted uncomfortably under the directors one-eyed gaze.
"He came out of left field, Fury. How were we supposed to be prepared for Romeo here, to come break Juliet out of jail?" Stark said with a smirk. "Besides, Thunderbrains was the one who took the gag off."
Fury turned to address Bucky. "Mr. Barnes, would you care to enlighten us as to why you helped Loki escape? I need a good reason why I shouldn't have you locked up in the next cell."
"I didn't know, sir. I had no idea why he was in chains. It was the first time I'd seen him in...well, a long time." Bucky refused to be intimidated by this man, and being locked up didn't sound half bad if it meant he'd be close to Loki. "And I had no idea he would teleport once the muzzle was taken off."
"You mean to tell me you hadn't seen any of the news reports on the attacks? I find that very hard to believe."
"I saw the alien attack, but none of the reports I saw mentioned anything about Loki. It was a complete surprise to see him there. I was going there to see Steve...and Thor." Bucky added, after a pause.
"What was your interest in Thor?" demanded the director.
Bucky looked around at the others, whose eyes were bouncing between him and Fury like they were watching a tennis match. "I was hoping to talk to him about Loki." he admitted.
"How do you know Loki? Were you helping him?" Fury looked, well, furious.
"I met him back in the 40's. He is the reason I survived the fall from that train. He saved me. But I haven't seen him since then. Not until today in the park."
"Why were you looking for him?"
"I hardly see how that's any of your business."
"We have a vested interest in keeping Loki from destroying the world. You gave him a chance to do just that today, and he probably would have if he hadn't been.." Fury's uncovered eye looked pointedly at Bucky. "...busy with you." It was Bucky's turn to shift uncomfortably in his seat. Damn that Stark, he thought, of course he wouldn't keep his mouth shut.
Bucky sighed. He might as well come clean. They knew the dirty details anyway. "After Loki saved me, I spent a few days on Asgard with him. We fell in love." God, he hated how trite that sounded, but it was the truth.
Surprised murmuring broke out among the group, until Fury shushed them. "You fell in love with the God of Mischief, with a murderer?"
"He wasn't like that then!" Bucky shouted. He was sick and tired of people saying that. "Look, I don't know what happened to him in the seventy-odd years we were apart. Something bad happened to him, something or someone hurt him and made him become the person you know today. But the man I love is still in there! I saw him today. He just needs a chance."
Fury just stared, unmoved by Bucky's speech. After a few moments, he gave a small nod. "That is not for us to decide any longer. Thor is taking him back to Asgard. His fate is in their hands now. We are just here to make sure he returns there, without causing any more damage."
Before Bucky had a chance to say anything to that, Thor walked into the room. The god looked even more out of place in this room, oversized and overdressed in his armor and cape. He approached Fury and spoke quietly, but still plenty loud enough for everyone to hear.
"He is secured, for now. I do not wish to keep him there for long, Director. We will return home soon, but before we leave I would like to exchange words with Bucky." He glanced toward the human. "In private," he added.
"Very well, but he does not go near that cell!" insisted Fury. "And I want him watched at all times." Bucky wasn't surprised to hear this. He knew they wouldn't trust him, and they shouldn't. He'd let Loki escape again, any chance he got.
"I'll keep an eye on him," Steve spoke up. Stark snickered at this, earning a glare from the Captain and Fury both. Thor gave the director a short nod, and then looked to Bucky, who stood and followed him from the room. His heart was in his throat, he was so anxious to speak with Thor. He knew Thor would have more answers to why Loki had done these things. Also, if anyone could help him to convince SHIELD to let Loki go, it would be his brother. All he wanted was to forget all this nonsense and go back home with Loki, whether it was to New Mexico, Asgard, or somewhere else entirely. Now that he had Loki again, there was no way Bucky was going to let him go. At least not without a fight.
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