Once the house is empty again, Steve tells Bucky good night and retreats to his room. Bucky assumes he'll be on his own tonight, but unless he can find more intel, it'll be a short night. Even with the resources at the warehouse, he's only got one stop tonight.
The place is quiet. Bucky slinks from one shadow to another, slips inside, and locates his route to the basement. He can see a single man off in the distance, furiously typing away at a computer, surrounded by screens. A printer works noisily beside him, covering any noise Bucky might make quite well. He walks up behind the man an grabs his hands, pulling him away from the desk. The man shouts, but Bucky clasps his metal hand over the man's mouth to silence him.
"Hush," he barks, his voice low. "You only speak to tell me what I want to know. Yes?" The man mumbles out what he assumes is an argument, so he begins to squeeze, slowly crushing his wrists. "Yes?" he repeats, and the man nods frantically. "Good. Now, is there information on these computers that can lead me to more Hydra bases?" The man nods again. "Good. How do I find it?" He uncovers the man's mouth to let him speak, shifting the man's hands to his metallic one for a better grip.
"There a locked file. I can get you in it, though. Just please, don't hurt me. I was only here for the incentives program," the man whimpers.
"No. Tell me how to do it."
"I can't do that, it's not that simple," he insists. Bucky begins crushing his wrists again, and this time, he isn't gentle. The man cries out before yelling, "Fine, fine. I'll tell you how." Bucky nods. "You must go into the file marked 8021094, and enter the passcode CRDFLOY. In that file are all the coordinates you'll need."
Bucky tosses the man onto the ground, crushing his ankle underfoot to ensure he stays put. He locates the file and enters the passcode, grinning when the file opens and numbers start scrolling past. He tells the computer to print, shoves the paper into his pocket, then turns to the man who is clutching his ankle. "You say you didn't want to be affiliated with Hydra? I can see the lie in your eyes. I never wanted to be affiliated with Hydra, so don't mock me." He hands the man a tightly wrapped package of explosive that he liberated a few nights ago. Once he's clear of the building, he hits the detonator, feeling the rush of warmth against his back. Steve will be upset with him for this one.
In the morning, Bucky wakes to Steve staring down at him. He jumps, startled, before throwing his pillow at Steve.
"If you're gonna yell at me, at least wait until I'm out of bed," he mumbles.
"You blew up a building, Bucky!" Steve shouts, throwing his hands in the air with exasperation.
"Yeah, but it was basically empty," Bucky replies, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"That's not the point," Steve exclaims. "You blew up a building," he says slowly, placing individual emphasis on each word.
Bucky rolls over, pulling his comforter up and putting the pillow over his head. "Steve," he moans, dragging the word out, "I'm doing this my way."
Steve tugs the pillow out of Bucky's hand and begins hitting him with it. Bucky lets out a distressed shout, hiding under his blanket, but Steve continues to assault him. Bucky bursts into laughter. Steve stops hitting him, and Bucky is just peeking out from his blanket to see if he is safe when 200 pounds of super soldier flop across him.
"Steve! You're going to killing me!" Bucky wheezes, still laughing as he tries to roll Steve's dead weight off of him.
"Sorry," Steve replies, his voice muffled by the blankets, "just doing things my way."
"Steve," Bucky groans, and Steve's whole body shakes with laughter. Bucky is finally able to squirm out from under him. "Punk," he states, hitting Steve with his pillow.
"Jerk," Steve replies, rolling onto his back and making a face.
"I could've died," Bucky states accusatorily, feigning an injury. Steve snorts and gives Bucky a shove, and he tumbles off the bed.
"It'll be worse next time. No more explosions," Steve replies flatly.
Bucky rolls his eyes. "Fine."
"Now c'mon, we're going to brunch with Sam."
At the little diner, Sam informs Bucky that men don't call it brunch.
"That's ridiculous," Steve exclaims. "What is it, then?"
"It's breakfast, man," Sam insists. "Brunch implies mimosas and girl talk."
"Since when?"
"Since forever?"
"Not in the forties!"
"Well then since the fifties!"
"Would putting the word 'man' in front of it make you feel better? Do we need to call it man brunch, Sam?"
"No! It's breakfast!"
Bucky is sitting back with his arms folded across his chest, enjoying the back and forth. The waitress comes, and he gives her his order. She goes unnoticed by the others, still arguing semantics, until she comes back with Bucky's drink.
"Where'd that come from?" Sam asks.
"The waitress brought it because I put in my order," Bucky replies with a smug smile.
Steve and Sam sheepishly place their order, and the conversation turns to casual discussions of sports.