Title: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair
Disclaimer: The Avengers and their hangers-on aren't mine. The rest of the characters are. Title from Langston Hughes. Some of the quotes are from either of the Cap movies; some I made up because they seemed like things Bucky might say.
Warnings: implied bad things happening to a child in the past; everything the presence of the Winter Soldier implies; violence/death/roaring rampage of revenge; speculation on Cap2
Pairings: definitely pre- and post-Steve/Bucky, fullstop.
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 3190
Point of view: third
Prompt: Steve is going to come out of the woodwork at some point, and I think that could be interesting in a variety of different ways. Steve's reaction to the child acquisition could go all kinds of ways.
Note: please leave prompts for what you'd like to see from this 'verse! Or a pov you'd like to hear from.
Another note: also, if anyone's curious, when I picture Yasmin, I see Quvenzhané Wallis with long hair.
Bucky goes to the nearest prep-site, which is in Orlando. Along with the cryotube and the chair, which he avoids looking at or thinking about, there are also tools for dealing with the not-arm. He knows that it is not at full-function, and has not been since the asset's failed mission. It is adequate for everyday living, as well as minor fights with the dregs of Hydra or street toughs, and will be for some time – but he must be at optimal operation for what is to come. Nothing can be left to chance, including his battle readiness.
There are no technicians or handlers waiting for him. He maneuvers around, senses at full alert, and turns no electronics on.
He wants to destroy the tube and the chair but does not go near them. There can be no evidence of his continued survival until he is ready, until it is far too late.
Bucky works on the arm in the dark, settled into one of the furthest corners with the tools. The asset was never given any information about the not-arm; as a man, he now knows that was intentional. They wanted the asset helpless without their handling. But is common sense and the asset's perfect recall (when not being recalibrated) that he uses now.
He slides the last panel shut and grins down at the not-arm. He is far from helpless.
He puts everything back exactly as he found it and then runs through a series of checks and exercises: the not-arm works perfectly. He is fully operational for the first time in over two years. He grins down at the not-arm again.
As Bucky turns to leave, he looks towards the chair.
You shaped the century. I need you to do it one more time.
His not-hand clenches into a fist but he resolutely walks to the door. After, when he has informed Steve of the danger – then, he will return to destroy the chair, all of the chairs. Until then, there can no hint of his survival.
.
Grant Jamison catches a flight from Orlando to Frankfurt. The Avengers are currently dealing with Ultron (what the fuck ever that is, Bucky thinks, hefting his duffle and calmly heading towards the exit) in Rome, all thought of Hydra and its threat forgotten for the moment.
(Well, probably not by Steve, Bucky admits, hailing a taxi. Steve's true anger has always been a cold, slow burn of rage. He doesn't explode. He gets quiet and he gets mean.)
Bucky shakes off the introspection, wondering where it came from. Why are things becoming clearer?
His eye is caught by one of the big television screens visible through the large window as the taxi pulls away – Captain America punching a robot so hard its head flies off.
That is why, he realizes. He has a mission again. He needs intel, and there is only one place to get it.
You are so fuckin' stupid, Rogers! I told ya, didn't I, I told you to wait for me!
He watches as Frankfurt passes by. He knows where to go and must get there unnoticed; there are only so many places the new Heads of Hydra can regrow and regroup. All of them have held the asset at one time or another. The Winter Soldier was their prize possession, their greatest weapon. They took great care to keep him unknown.
Until, he thinks, not-fist clenching inside the bright purple glove Yasmin made for it, the asset became useless. He was meant to die on that last mission. In the world created by Project Insight, the asset would be a weapon without a purpose. And far too dangerous to be allowed to live.
What better place to reveal himself than where he was killed and resurrected?
He pays the driver, hefts his duffle, and exits the taxi.
.
Bucky spends three days in Frankfurt gathering and checking intel, and then three days traveling. He texts Yasmin each morning as he eats breakfast.
Many of Hydra's bases and safe-houses have already been located and ransacked by a grieving and enraged Captain America, but Bucky knows those bases had nothing truly sensitive. They were meant to be sacrificed.
There are other locations, though, that are known only to the Heads of Hydra and their Fist. There are locations never mentioned to anyone, never written down, never recorded in any fashion but in someone's mind.
They wiped him over and over, eradicated his soul and replaced him with their asset. They killed him and brought something to life inside his body, something that obeyed without question.
And now… he stands on the corner, watching cars pass by, and stares at the first of his targets: an innocuous house that hides horrors beneath its floors. And he thinks, hands tucked into his pockets, body language that of a young man woolgathering, he thinks, They want to do to Steve what they did to me.
As he ambles away, he texts Yasmin, Have fun at the movies. I love you.
.
He returns very early the next morning, before the sun has risen.
Half a dozen agents currently live in the house; there is one experimental subject in the rooms below. The agents die before realizing anyone else has entered and he copies everything on their computers before the failsafe kicks in to destroy the information.
He asks the experimental subject, a woman old far before her time, "What do you want?"
She whispers, with a voice long torn away, "To die."
Bucky eases her suffering, collects his newly-acquired data, and leaves.
.
And so begins a silent, brutal war. It takes his targets far too long to catch on, as he hits location after location, but they eventually do. They try fighting back but all of their truly efficient fighters are out in the field; he was always their greatest, anyway.
The death of Johan Schmidt taught Hydra to have more than one Head; Zola learned that lesson well. Alexander Pierce was merely the Head in the Americas.
He slaughters each of the European and Asian Heads with all the efficiency and brutality Hydra should expect from their Fist. He executes every scientist and technician, whether they know the wiping procedure or not. He puts bullets into the head of every agent and handler he can find, and he can find them all.
It takes him three months of intensive work, focused on nothing else, and then he stands before Zola's greatest pupil.
The man is old, withered, and trembling. Bucky remembers him. It is clear he remembers Bucky.
Bucky Barnes, that Brooklyn boy, might have ranted about vengeance and justice. Bucky Barnes, Captain America's sniper, would have just killed the man without a word. The Winter Soldier would do exactly as ordered, no more and no less.
He could ask why, could demand answers and explanations, could draw it out and make this man feel every one of those 70 years before his flesh gives out.
But he is tired. This man is the last Head of Hydra and he is given far too easy a death for the suffering he's caused the world; Bucky gathers up his kit, returns to his nest, and calls Yasmin.
"Bucky!" she shouts into the phone. "Bucky, I pet an alligator today!"
"You did what?" he asks, certain he must have heard that wrong.
"An alligator!" she laughs, and he curls up in the blankets, listening to her detail out every single thing she has done since the last time he called.
.
Without the Heads, Hydra falls. The Avengers and their new SHIELD pick the lower echelons up easily, as they panic. Every member above a certain level is dead and the bodies are steadily recovered.
It is an easy path to follow. Bucky knows it will not be long before he is found, if he stays.
He could go home. Steve is safe now. Bucky could destroy every chair; all of the data is already gone, every record, every file. He could destroy every chair and return to Yasmin, pick his life as Billy Taylor back up, Lucia's shop and the kids.
That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight… I'm following him.
Yasmin's Captain Ameribear catches his attention, from where it rests just inside his duffle, on top of various firearms. As always, the sight of a bear wearing Captain America's uniform makes him smile.
He packs everything up, hides it away, and then goes to lurk in the vicinity of the last target. Sometime in the near future, the Avengers or SHIELD will begin sniffing around.
If Steve is with them, he will either allow himself to be found or approach them himself. If Steve is not – if Steve is not, he will go home to Miami, satisfied with Hydra's death and the assurance of Steve's safety.
.
The Black Widow is the first to access the site. Iron Man follows, attempting to recover any data, along with Hawkeye, guarding the perimeter. Bucky back-tracks them to where they have contained Captain America: Hulk and Thor, together, are keeping him from leaving their base of operations.
Steve is wounded (from a prior battle, Bucky determines, which is the only thing that keeps his teammates from getting bullets in their skulls [Must find some other way of damaging the Hulk, he also determines]) and arguing with Falcon about his containment.
None of them have even realized Bucky is in the building. Sloppy. Where is Stark's AI?
He does not want to reunite with Steve in the company of his team. He does not want to be contained or interrogated. He just…
Steven Grant Rogers, I swear to God – so what if you're invincible now? You don't gotta keep testing it!
"Let me go!" Captain America shouts. "Fucking – what if he's hurt? Let go!" He finally yanks out of Thor's grasp, but then Hulk catches him with one giant hand.
"Steve!" Falcon is shouting back. "Steve, we have to make sure it's safe! I'm sorry, but you – you're too close to see it."
Iron Man's repulsors alert them long before Iron Man arrives, carrying Black Widow and Hawkeye. "Barnes is long gone," Hawkeye reports as he drops to the ground.
"Hey, Hulkie-poo," Iron Man says, retracting his armor, "can we have Bruce back? I need to do some science."
Bucky silently retreats to his supplies and then makes a new nest. It is clear the team will not allow him contact with Captain America. Should he return to Miami, then? Steve is safe.
I'm with you 'til the end of the line.
No. He will speak with Steve Rogers and then return to Miami.
.
It is a full day before Steve slips away from his team. Bucky does not believe he actually escaped; he knows that Steve is being carefully watched, that any aggressive move on his part will cause all of the Avengers to strike.
But he is no longer a threat to Captain America.
Steve watches him as he carefully moves in; there is in tension in every muscle in Steve's body. In Bucky's, too: he wants to run just as much as he wants to burrow into Steve's skin and let himself be held so tight he aches with it.
He announces, "I cut off the very last Head," because he did it for Steve and Steve should know that.
It is a relief to hear, "I know."
The mission – by the memories, by the non-fiction texts he has studied, the historical record, the forums on the internet, the comics Yasmin loves… he knows that his mission was always Steve Rogers, even before the asset was born of his flesh.
He can see Steve's team trying to stealthily approach, so he begins, "I" and then hesitates because – he does not want to say the words. Not yet. But he must, so he finishes, "I have to go home now." Yasmin is waiting for him. Steve is safe.
Steve says, "No, Bucky, don't leave," something panicked in his tone.
And that – that reminds Bucky so sharply of the memories , of the nightmares, of the dreams. So he meets Steve's eyes and he says, "Stevie, I'll find you again, I promise." He even tries on a smile to say, "But you're safe now. That's all I wanted." And then – he cannot remain there for another moment longer and he flees.
Behind him, he hears Captain America shout, "Let him go! That's an order." He does not look back.
.
When Bucky returns to Miami, he goes immediately to the shop, where Yasmin is sitting at the counter, flipping through a National Geographic with Martina.
"Bucky!" she shrieks, launching over the counter at him. He catches her and spins around, holding as tight as he safely can.
Lucia comes out of the back, Yelena and Simon trailing her. Rodrigo, Bucky knows, is at his apprenticeship to Devon the mechanic.
Yasmin is chanting, "You're back you're back you're back," into his neck and Bucky feels… relief, he thinks. He can breathe again.
"Welcome home," Lucia says, coming over to hug him, despite the fact that Yasmin is still in his arms.
.
That night, Bucky and Yasmin eat pizza on the couch, with Yasmin curled into Bucky's side. He tells her about the things he saw, the people he interacted with, a few of the places he went. He redacts a great deal of the information, of course.
Her first question is, "What about your friend?"
Bucky replies, "He is safe."
"Good," she says. "That's good."
On the beanbag Yasmin requested for her end-of-school present, she has set Bucky Bear and Captain Ameribear side-by-side.
.
That night, Yasmin sleeps curled up beside Bucky for the first time since the turn of the year. He actually sleeps the whole night through, not waking till Yasmin slips out of the bed somewhere after dawn. He heads to the kitchen, where she joins him after brushing her teeth and relieving herself.
"What do you want for breakfast?" he asks.
She shrugs. "I guess I missed your ham&cheese eggs," she says. "Martina never got it right, and she wouldn't let me use the stove." Yasmin pouts a little. Bucky smiles down at the milk as he pulls it from the fridge.
.
Bucky slips back into life in Miami like he never left. He takes Yasmin shopping for school supplies, works between 5 and 8 hours every day at Lucia's shop, shows all of the neighborhood children moves to bring down any attackers.
Everyone asks him about the emergency that calls him away; he assures them that the situation is handled. Everything is fine.
Captain America has been in the news, making the rounds with interviews. His favorite hosts seem to be Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, and Yasmin has him record every time so she can watch them all over the weekends.
Bucky knows why Steve is making himself so visible. He knows that Steve is waiting.
But he can't – not yet.
.
Yasmin loves third grade as much as she did second. She's friendly with everyone, though still best friends with Angelo and Megan. She spends two afternoons a week at their houses while Bucky picks up a few hours at Lucia's friend Addy's brother's jewelry store as a security guard.
He begins recording his memories every evening before going to sleep. He starts chronologically and it takes two months before it's all down, filling an entire sketchpad with precise print. Mostly, he remembers the asset: nearly three years, all told, he was awake and on missions. Before that, he has impressions more than actual memories. He knows that the knowledge he has acquired since the asset's failed mission has filled in some of the blanks, so he cannot even be sure that his memories are accurate.
.
Yasmin asks him one morning at breakfast if he ever regrets letting her adopt him. She does not look up from her plate of toast and eggs; he stares at her.
"No," he says after a moment. Taking care of her is the first good thing he did of his own volition; her continued survival and happiness is the greatest thing he has done since the asset died.
She fiddles with her fork, spreading the egg around. "Kim said that we're not a real family," she says softly. "That you'd be better off without me."
"Kim is wrong," he says firmly. "There is no part of me that would be improved with your absence."
She lets the fork fall from her fingers, sniffling. "I just asked her if her brother was coming home for Thanksgiving," she says. "She, she talked about him last week." Yasmin looks up from the table. "He got hurt fighting bad guys, like you."
There are tears in her eyes. He wants to kill something – but harming a young child, even whoever this Kim is, would not be right.
So instead he walks around the table and picks her up, holding her close. "We should go to the garden today," he says. "Surely you can miss one day of school?"
"Just one," she whispers, wrapping her arms around his neck.
.
Bucky calls the school to say that Yasmin is sick; he texts Lucia that he won't make it in to work. They spend the day wandering through gardens. Yasmin makes up stories as they go, talks about her schoolwork, about Megan's baby sister (adopted and brought home while Bucky was gone) and Angelo's new kitten. There are movies she wants to see, books she's read, and she never runs out of words the whole day.
Bucky listens, comments when he thinks of something worth saying, and just basks in the sunlight, the flowers, Yasmin's voice. It is the best day he has had in – a long time.
For lunch, they have hot dogs at a movie theater and then see the new Jungle Book. After, they both agree that it was entertaining, but will need to watch every other version to see which is the best. They return to the apartment for Netflix and spend the rest of the day watching every single Jungle Book they can find.
For dinner, Bucky heats up fishsticks and they eat sprawled on the couch, cheering on Mowgli.
That night, Bucky dreams of tigers hunting in the snow. He wakes up and goes to Yasmin's room, where he curls around her and does not remember if he dreams again.
.
In the morning, after he drops Yasmin at school, he goes to Lucia's shop. She greets him with a smile and says she's glad he's feeling better. She puts him in the back room with some small electronics that need to be repaired. It is a quiet day and he loses himself in the work.
At lunch, he goes to the nearest beach to walk along the water. He nibbles at a ham sandwich while his not-hand stays wrapped around his phone.
Before heading back to the shop, he stares out over the water for a moment. He then keys in a phone number and texts two words:
Hey, Stevie.