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It had been over a week before Bucky was finally located and it was a week too long. No one knew what could have happened to him during this time but from the case file that Steve had memorized back when he was in search for Barnes, he had ideas, and they all made him sick to his core. Tony and Bruce's combined help was able to reveal Hydra's current location. As careful as the agency was in the past, losing so many of their leaders made them sloppy.

Steve was silent as they rode into the black vehicle for stealth, the other Avengers such as Falcon and Wanda were silently flying by in the darkness of that evening. Bucky had been taken for over a week and they were doing only God knows what to him. Though no matter what, Steve would take care of him. The improvement may be gone and they'd have to start from scratch but he'd do today tomorrow and for the rest of his life if it meant that he could protective his Bucky.

Oh he was going to enjoy making Rumlow pay for this. Bucky brought out his dark side, there was no doubt. And there was no way Steve would allow Rumlow to live after this. This was unforgivable; no one touched Bucky.

Nat went first, her skills unparalleled with any other agent which helped her take out the first row of Hydra that they needed to tackle. Clint Barton was not far behind, assisting her with his unflappable archery. Ensuring that no one could get out, they called in the rest of the Avengers. Vision and Wanda were no match for the snipers that tried in vain to get to their battle stations in time for combat.

"Search the perimeter." Steve announced to the rest. "Sam and I will search for Buck." With Falcon by his side, both men rushed off into the old building, the Avengers never failing to discourage anyone who tried to block their way.

"Cut off one head, two more-!" A high pitched screech was all that was heard from the young agent, who didn't even have time to finish his little war cry before Steve ricocheted his shield at the man before it bounced back in his hand. Sam's wings were like knives as they cut through the mindless Hydra drones. Together they searched over half the building to no avail as to where their friend could be. Captain America and Falcon hadn't been gone too long from the rest of the team before Natasha contacted them on the cons.

"We have Rumlow." Her voice was soft yet it stopped Steve in his tracks.

That gave Steve enough of a reason to stop his rampage along with Sam, who stood next to him waiting for their next orders. Bucky wouldn't be far from Brock. Doubtlessly, he would be the newest handler.

Steve ran back to Nat with even more strength that he ever displayed before.

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A mirthless laugh greeted Steve as he walked closer to the kneeling, bleeding form of Brock Rumlow. The room was dark and felt wet; it had empty gurneys with splotched of blood on them, scattered randomly around the room giving the impression of a haunted hospital. This was where they had been keeping Bucky. Steve swallowed painfully and exhaled shakily, trying to hide his fear at the face of one of Bucky's torturers.

They were settled directly in the middle of the abandoned warehouse yet it seemed more like a torture room. Brock was bleeding no doubt gifts given to him from Nat, and his hands were bound behind him. "Long time, no see Cap." The man responded with the smile still on his face, looking at Steve like they were old friends.

Bile picked up in the back of Steve's throat. The sick fact was that Steve once thought they were friends. They laughed together, they fought together, and Steve even shared his old memories of his old army days with his old friends with Brock. And all that time Rumlow knew where Bucky was and what he meant to Rogers and he did nothing. Bucky Barnes was brainwashed and tortured to the point that would kill most men and still, Rumlow did nothing.

Oh, Steve was going to enjoy this.

Sam looked over at his friend worriedly; unsure of what he would do. The rest of the Avengers were still off taking care of the few Hydra agents, they would not be long. Steve's arms crossed precariously over his chest as he eyed the scarred man in front of him as Rumlow continued mockingly. "Any questions before the power of Hydra comes raining down on you and your little crew?"
"I don't give a damn about Hydra." Steve hissed dangerously. He stepped closer, only a foot away from the other man. "I only care about one person."

Rumlow rolled his eyes and gave a small hiss of pain when Natasha kicked him in the back, her own hatred of the man for causing her friend's pain seeping through. Nat didn't trust easily and when she did, she took it rather particular when men like this hurt her loved ones. "Are you still mad about that? Like I said before, it's nothing personal Cap."

"You could say that but it would still feel personal." Steve responded without any emotion. "Where is he?"

"Why would we still have him Cap?" The man responded in disgust. "He was too broken; not at all useful to as. Shame we didn't get to him in time before you broke him."

Faster than any of them had seen him before, Steve was suddenly griping Rumlow's throat, his eyes dark and his fingers tight. "You broke him." Steve's voice cracked but he pushed himself to go on. "Now, what did you do with him?" Dropping the man like he was a disgusting rat, Rumlow fell limply on the cement ground, spitting out blood. Natasha's foot came back to rest painfully against Rumlow's shoulders, her heels digging into his flesh.

Rumlow scoffed at Steve's question, like the answer was so obvious. "Hydra couldn't have him spilling our secrets, now could we? When we understood he was too far gone, we killed him." He knew where this would end but damned if he wasn't going to have fun with Rogers before he went.

Even though the first thing Steve did was doubt those words, it still pierced him worse than a knife wound. "You're lying." Steve growled, low and guttural. He couldn't accept that answer. They needed Bucky too much to kill him.

But did they need him? Asked a side of Steve that he wouldn't listen to. But it pushed on. They could make more soldiers. If Bucky was of no use to them…what else would they have done to him?

Blinking rapidly, Steve swallowed his fear down before anyone noticed his apprehension, eyeing Rumlow's content and leering grin with a snarl that would have made the mightiest of men shiver.

"If you don't believe me, just check the other room." Rumlow jerked his head towards a a second door that was open in-between two beds. His smile grew as Steve turned towards the seemingly harmless room. "Consider it a small present from me to you."

Looking over at Sam, his friend replied, "Vision scanned the building. There's no explosives." Knowing what Rogers was thinking. With that answer, Steve nodded to Falcon, giving him permission to check the opened door, all the while Rumlow had that same sick grin on his face, as if in on a private joke.

Sam hesitated for a split second before walking over hesitantly towards the room and disappearing from the group, he was only gone a few moments before he returned, utter horror before on his face as he turned to face Steve with a look that stopped Steve's heart.

"What?" Steve's mouth had gone dry. He was both prepared to look in the room and avoid it with every fiber of his being.

"Steve…" Sam's voice was apologetic. Accepting. Revolted.

Steve didn't wait any longer.

As he watched the Captain practically run to him, Sam considered warning Steve; locking the door and begging Steve to calm down before he showed him but Steve was already pushing Sam firmly yet gently back to the side and Steve's eyes caught of an image that rendered him speechless.

There, lying alone on an empty gurney, was Bucky's metal arm. Dried brown blood was on the stump that was connected to Bucky's scarred shoulder, and it was surrounding the left side of the bed…too much blood.

Bucky's blood.

Steve didn't even realize that he stopped breathing.

"Steve, I…" Sam couldn't reply. Everything sort of comfort he wanted to offer would fall on deaf ears because if that arm belonged to Reilly and he knew that he had suffered…Sam would have slaughtered anyone that crossed his path.

Rumlow gave out a barking laugh that turned into a pain grunt as Natasha continued impaling the enemy with her heels. Though she herself could not see what was causing her two friends grief, she could guess and that made her want to kill this monster even slower.

Steve's eyes never left the image that lay before him, his features frozen. His fingers lost their senses and his round shield fell to the ground with a loud clatter. Numb. Yes, that's what he felt. Numb. This couldn't mean that Bucky was gone…this was a trick. A trap. They had gone through so much to get back to each other…through wars, ice, and torture but after all that, they were together. Steve couldn't have lost him so soon. What had Bucky ever done to deserve this?

"I have to admit." Rumlow sighed in mock sadness. "It was pretty pathetic how much he screamed for you when we were cutting him up." He winced mockingly as if he could still hear screams before pushing on to verbally cut open Steve. "He had to be disciplined accordingly after all, can't have the new recruits think about leaving. It's a shame, he had so much potential."

Sam's seething glare was no match for the complete and utter loathing that Steve directed at Rumlow. Steve's body stayed in front of the drawer but his head was turned. Thousands of thoughts ran across his mind, yet the only thing he could utter was-

"Why?" His voice sounded raw, like he had been screaming non-stop for so long.

Rumlow shrugged, his dark eyes never strayed from Rogers's. "Why not?" Was all he could say drily before his smile returned. Bucky was worth less than the mud of his boots.

And Steve snapped.

Looking back, Sam would vow that he never thought that Steve would fly over to Rumlow, that Sam never saw him coming but the honest truth was that he saw that look before; that vengeful look. And he allowed Steve to go.

Nat looked at Steve's blue eyes for one moment before whispering "He's all yours, Steve." And she removed her foot from Brock's back, leaving him open.

Because if their places were switched, both people would tear Rumlow's limbs off.

Quicker than Sam or Natasha ever saw the super solider go before, he was picking up his shield and slammed it into Rumlow's chest. Nat barely had time to move away before Steve pulled the shield out again and slammed it back in. Sam and Natasha watched silently, knowing that if anyone tried to kill or have Steve be arrested for beating Rumlow, they would have to get through them first. Though none of the Avengers would would stop Steve from killing this man, they both knew the traitor had answers to questions about Hydra that needed answering.

Though that was the last thing on anyone's mind.

"You knew." Steve growled to the bleeding form of Rumlow as he laid on the floor, trying and failing to hold back his screams. His chest was bleeding rapidly from the deep gash that the vibrainum shield left in his skin; even his own bulletproof vest was little match against the shield. "You knew!" He roared again before ripping out his shield and going full force once more. Rumlow knew. He knew Bucky was the Winter Soldier and never told Steve. He knew what Bucky went through and he still relished in ripping out all that made him James Barnes and turned him into an asset. He knew what Bucky meant to him and yet he still took him away.

Rumlow knew.

Panting, Steve keeled over the broken form of Brock Rumlow. Captain America's shield was wedge deep onto in his chest that it stayed upright with no sign of falling…and yet Rumlow still was not dead. Brock's facial expression was wide with pain though he was no longer trying to hide it, his eyes switching back and forth from the shield still holding his superhuman organs together and back to Steve, wondering why he didn't kill him.

This was Steve at his dark side. And God help the fool who ever crossed him.

Mutely thankful that Steve left Rumlow alive for further questioning, Natasha was the first to move after the deed was done, questions on how the man was even still alive was put on the back burner of her mind. That was something for the Avengers to solve later. Her hand settled delicately on Steve's trembling shoulders, his breathing heavy. She wanted nothing more than to tell him that she was so sorry, that she was there for him-but that would solve nothing. The only person who could console Steve was gone.

"Nat, Sam…" Steve started, swallowing before continuing. "Can you ask the rest to help me find his-?"Steve couldn't say the word "Body". Rumlow could still have been lying, Steve tried to reason with himself. After so long without each other, he couldn't accept this. Maybe the others had given up because of the man's words, but until he had proof, Bucky was alive and waiting for him and Steve was not going to let him down. "Find him?"

The both nodded, knowing he would not really say. The soldiers turned their head when the door next to them pushed open, revealing Wanda who glanced at the wheezing Rumlow with no sympathy. "I'll make sure he answers your questions." She replied, nodding at Steve. Yanking his shield out of Rumlow who was unable to stop his yell of pain, Wanda quickly used her power to hold Rumlow's body together until help arrived, leaving him unable to use death as an escape from punishment. Steve silently left his three friends in search for one thing.

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Steve hadn't stopped searching even when his com went off with the rest of his team announcing that they had either got rid of or captured the last bit of Hydra, and that Rumlow would survive his wounds thanks to the paramedics that arrived on the scene. He thanked them yet told them that he wouldn't be leaving just yet. He would thank them properly another time.

There, at the end of the building, in the last room he could find, lay before him a door. It was pure metal and was locked, but Steve used his strength to pry it open with ease. It was dark and dank in the small cell but in the corner curled up into a tight ball was a unique figure that Steve knew better than his own.

Bucky.

Alive.

Though barely if looks said anything. And what had drawn Steve's attention first was Bucky's metal arm…or lack of thereof. His left arm was gone and it was done brutally. His light grey shirt that he had been wearing when he was taken was covered in blood from the left side where his arm was forcibly taken. His face was pale and had scattered marks from what looked like fists had embedded in the flesh only a few hours ago and that image alone sprung ablaze a new fiery hatred for all things Hydra for hurting his brother. His eyes glassy and lifeless, staring at Steve like he didn't recognize him as he leaned against the grime-covered wall.

"Bucky?" Steve whispered.

Looking up at the voice, Bucky's eyes amplified in a mixture of hope and adoration as his eyes settled on the form in front of him. His bright blue eyes never looked away from Steve. "They said you were dead." Bucky gasped, wobbling slightly as he tried to get up despite the weakness his head. The blood loss and being awake as they tore off his metal arm would leave even the best solider in pure agony. "They said you were dead…I saw the paper..."

Steve was ready to puke at those words. God, what had they done to his head? When he came face to face with Rumlow again he was going to add a few more scars to that bastard.

Falling to the floor, Steve grabbed either side of Bucky's shoulders and pulled him against his chest. He panted in Buck's brown hair, ignoring everything going on outside of the room as he focused solely on his brother. His emotional hold on himself snapped like a daisy chain he was sobbing harder than he ever remember doing so before, except for the time Bucky fell from the train. Bucky was hurt again and it was just too much for him. Bucky deserved better; why did Steve fail him so many times when Bucky was always there for him? Steve was holding Bucky as close as he could, crouching over him as a human shield to protect him. Now until the end of his days.

Steve's frame was wracked with the violent sobs and he could feel his shirt grow wet from Bucky's own quiet tears. Whether from pain or from joy Steve didn't knew...maybe it was both. "I've got you Buck." He vowed strongly despite his raw throat. "I've got you, I promise, you're safe…I'm so sorry Buck…But I promise I will keep you safe."

Even now in his worn state and pained body, Bucky knew his way around Steve's familiar, warm body and he wrapped his one arm tightly around Steve's waist, his thumb rubbing up and down the spine soothingly to comfort his friend...a pattern he distantly remembered doing all those years ago.

With one hand tangled in Bucky's hair, the other hand was wrapped tightly around his shoulder; his grip firm yet careful, like he was handling something precious and irreplaceable. "I'm so sorry Buck." Steve's tears continued to fall, though more like a steady river than a drowning typhoon. "I almost lost you again…I thought-I thought Brock was telling the truth and that I failed you again…"

Brock lied to both of them...Bucky growled slightly at the thought of Rumlow hurting Steve in this way. "It's not your fault Steve." Bucky shook his head with horror that his best friend could blame himself for what Rumlow had done. Though still in pain from losing his metal limb that was once attached to his body's nerves, Bucky moved back by a fraction, his blue eyes holding on to Steve's. His flesh hand was quickly on Steve's face. Gentle and tender, the loyal protector that was never too far from Bucky's persona coming out because Steve was never to blame. Never.

"You did everything you could." Bucky tipped forward in a slow motion, his eyes were soft; staring at Steve with the look of watching something completely priceless. "You saved me…again Stevie." His brother came back for him. He would have died, or worse, been back with Hydra, if not for Steve.

Steve raised his head as Bucky leaned closer towards him. Tipping his head, their foreheads touched with unsaid love and affection. Bucky's hand was still on Steve's wet cheeks, their noses brushing each other's as they refused to move away, uncaring that the rest of the Avengers could be watching the intimate scene between two brothers in arms.

"You saved me." Bucky whispered again, his grip on Steve's cheek turning into a careful caress as Steve held on to his friend with such tightness it was as if Bucky would disappear if he loosen his hold for even a moment. Rumlow being brought to the government for questioning was the last thing that he was thinking of. The son of a bitch knew that his lie of Bucky's death wouldn't last long; he'd hoped Steve would kill him before Rumlow could be brought in for questioning.

Steve bit his lip to stop from letting out another choked sob. He carefully maneuvered Bucky's head to rest against Steve's chest, his arms still protectively wrapped around Bucky's cold form. Bucky's one arm lowered down to grip Steve's hand, positioning so that he was holding it against his own chest as he showed no sign of moving. They would need to build a new arm for Bucky with Stark's help, and no doubt this would hurt him all over again and give him some time to get used to it, but this would be okay. Somehow, Steve knew that they would be okay.

As long as Barnes and Rogers were together, the world was alright again.

And Steve would fight tooth and nail to ensure that they never were separated again, and he knew Bucky felt the same.

They were together and only God Himself could ever take Bucky away from him. Steve and Bucky were family.

And they were home.