Steve

The sun slowly peeked over the buildings and the horizon glowed a fiery orange and a brilliant red. Steve was sleeping on his side of the bed. He was breathing lightly. Natasha lay next to him, her head rested against his shoulder. Her left hand was resting on his chest. Steve opened his eyes and he blinked a few times. He rubbed his eyes and he looked over at the clock: 7:22 am. He always woke up before her.

He looked at Natasha and he smiled. She looked so peaceful when she slept, yet he couldn't tell if she was dreaming or in a nightmare. Steve held a smile and closed his eyes. The golden glow of the sun slowly crept through the window as if it was afraid of being caught. The warmth of the ray of sunlight moved over Steve's chest and up to his face. He felt the warmth of the rays and he kept his eyes closed and let the warmth envelope his face. Steve opened his eyes and he looked at Natasha again.

The past few days have not been great. The past two nights Steve woke up in the middle of the night and he would find Natasha missing. The first night he found Natasha in the corner of the room with her gun ready and she was checking the room frantically. It took Steve the rest of the night to calm her down and take the gun away. The night after Steve woke up with a cold blade to his throat. Natasha was sitting on top of him and was going to kill him. Steve looked into her emerald eyes and there was nothing in them, they were emotionless and cold. Nothing was there, it was as if she was back as the person who didn't believe anything, she was just a cold assassin.

The night ended with Steve getting her to snap out of it and Natasha apologizing frantically the rest of the night. She had made a small cut on his throat and she got mad at herself for it.

Steve kissed her head softly, he moved her hand off of his chest and he held her head and he rested it against the pillow. He stood up and he walked toward the bathroom and he opened the door and turned on the shower.

Natasha opened her eyes and she could see Steve standing in front of his dresser. He had tan cargo pants on and he was pulling a white shirt over his head. Natasha watched as his back muscles shifted and moved with every movement he made. Steve turned around and he smiled at her.

"Sleep well?" he asked

"Well enough" Natasha responded tiredly

"Well I'm off to the Tower" Steve said grabbing his blue jacket and slipping it on.

"What?"

"It's the day before Thanksgiving. I have to get the food ready"

"I'm coming" Natasha said and she started to get out of the bed

"Ah, no you're not" Steve said walking toward her

"What?"

"Remember, we are arriving at different times, because you wanted to keep us a secret" Steve said pointing at her then himself.

"Right, sorry. The last couple of days have been a blur"

"I will see you tonight" Steve said sitting next to her on the bed.

"You'll see me at three" Natasha said

"So earlier than planned, don't miss me too much"

"I can miss you as much as I want" Natasha said teasingly

"Ok, three. See you later" Steve said

Steve went to stand, but Natasha put her hand on his face, which stopped him.

"You're growing a beard again"

"Yeah, haven't found the time to shave it"

"Keep it, try a new look for a bit"

"Yes ma'am" Steve said smiling and he lightly kissed her

Location: S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, seven miles above D.C.

Agent: James 'Bucky' Barnes

Bucky was in his quarters and he was sitting on his bed and he was in Indian style. He had his hand on his knees and he had his eyes closed. He breathed slowly and he exhaled slowly. He felt the wave of relaxation wash over him then it was jettisoned away as someone knocked on his door.

Bucky rolled his eyes and he stood up. And he was barefoot and he was also shirtless. He didn't care who it was. If it was about something incredibly stupid, he was going to throw them off the Helicarrier. Bucky opened the door and it was Hill.

Hill saw Bucky and her eyes widened and she caught herself staring.

"Hill?" Bucky said plainly

"Uh… yeah, Fury needs us in the conference room ASAP" Hill said going back into a stare and the idle worship of his defined muscles.

"Hill?" Bucky asked

"Yeah, I'll go" Hill said slightly stuttering at her words.

She disappeared and he frowned and he closed the door. He turned around and he saw himself in the mirror and he raised his eye brows and he nodded his head slightly "Oh"

Bucky was dressed in his regular attire and he entered the conference room. Fury wasn't there yet, but Hill was. She was sitting in the chair farthest from the door. Bucky sighed and he walked over and sat in the chair farthest from the door, just in the other side of the table. Bucky could sense the uneasy tension. He glanced at her and her eyes darted away when he ever looked.

He would have chuckled years ago, but now it was more of an awkward feeling. Bucky put his metal hand on the table and it made a loud clunk. Hill slightly moved when he did. Bucky saw the micro-movement as a sense of fear. He hated being feared, he wouldn't let anyone know that, but he does. He looked at Hill again and he was going to say something when Fury walked into the room with his I-pad.

Bucky inhaled and he looked at the I-pad.

Fury- Do you really think this could happen?

Agent 19- It's always possible, we've seen worse.

Fury- I don't know if you've ever seen this man Niko.

Agent 19- Nick, I can take care of myself.

Fury- I would feel better if you took someone with you.

Agent 19- And who would that be?

Fury- You can choose

Agent 19- Really?

Fury- Its limited options.

Agent 19- Ok who's on the list?

Fury- Agent 3,5,12, and 15.

Agent 19- Not going to work Nick.

Fury- It's all I have available

Agent 19- Fury I need someone who won't bitch about things.

Fury- Everyone bitches around you.

Agent 29- Hence why I work alone.

Fury- I have an idea who.

Agent 19- Who?

Fury- He won't trust you.

Agent 19- I don't need him to trust me.

Fury- actually you do, but he would be the best qualified for the mission.

Agent 19- This guy have a problem?

Fury- With S.H.I.E.L.D? No, with me sure. That's not important, he doesn't like going into things blind.

Agent 19- Convince him then, Nick this is extremely important.

Fury- He won't care.

Agent 19- Sounds like a charmer.

Fury- And your new partner, I'll contact him.

That was all Bucky could read before Fury put it face down on the table. Fury stayed standing and he looked at the two agents and he saw something a little different. They were sitting closer. He dismissed it from his mind when he saw Hill's face.

He turned to the screen and he pulled out a disc and put it in.

"Barnes, I think this might be your guy Niko" Fury said

Bucky instantly sat up straight and he turned the chair around so he could see the screen. The screen showed white noise and it turned black and then slightly became full of static.

"When did this come in?" Bucky asked

"It was in your mail"

"You went through my mail?"

"Yeah"

"Back in the day, that's like punishable by a beating" Bucky said

"Yeah, forties, you sound like Rogers" Fury said annoyed

The screen switched from black to be able to see the area it was filmed in. It looked like a warehouse at a guess. Bucky inhaled then a man stepped into view. He was tall, with brown hair and brown eyes. He had a scar across his right side of his neck. He had a few more on his face, they were light but they were still visible. One went straight through his left eye brow. Another was on his left side of his jaw. He had the most relevant one on his cheek bone and it went across his nose and ended by his lip.

He stood with perfect posture and he put his hands together and he smiled. His teeth were pristine and his hair was dirty and oily. He sat in a metal chair and he looked straight into the camera, almost at Bucky by the angle. He smiled and spoke.

"Ah, Barnes, Fury, Hill" He said shifting his focus into the direction of Hill.

"Hill, do you like it rough, or consensual?" He asked and he lightly chuckled

Hill shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"I know, what am I doing, who am I, and what do I want?" he said

Bucky glanced at Fury, who had no emotion on his face.

"I am Niko Constantine and I was with Red Room years ago."

Bucky's eyes widened at the last name.

"I was the male equivalent of the Black Widow program, which your best agent Natalia Romanova is famous for. I haven't seen her since she was twenty, and yet that was seventy years ago."

Bucky looked at Fury uneasily.

"Fury I am here to destroy you, and I will do it the only way you fear, by the people that helped build it."

Niko chuckled and he looked at Hill.

"So do you do anything wild at night alone Maria?" Niko asked and he chuckled again

Hill slightly frowned and she became even more uncomfortable.

"Oh, you do. Man I wonder if they know. Well, she… you know what nay I can see it anytime I want, I do have it on tape" Niko said smiling

Bucky didn't look back at Hill, but he could tell she was climbing into a shell.

"I will admit, it is very sexy, what you do to yourself hmm" Niko said in a disgusting manner "Man you could use a man. Well in the coming weeks, that may be filled."

Fury was tempted to turn the tape off, but they had to watch it in case there was anything that Niko would say that would give them a lead.

"Anyway, Maria, later. Barnes" he said with his voice darker "I don't expect you to remember me, I mean how you could, and you spent seventy years in and out of cryo and brain washing whenever you remembered something from the past. You did train me anyway, how is little Romanova? Last time I saw you to you were having a good time. What is it like to kiss death Barnes? Hmm maybe I get a taste and find out. I am coming for you Barnes, but you won't die first after everyone who has ever crossed your path dies then you can die"

Bucky had his metal hand gripping the side of the chair in ager and he was leaving a hand print in the metal.

"How they taught us how to deal with emotions. Cast them aside they said. They didn't understand that emotions make you strong, they wanted machines that would kill without hesitation. They got just that didn't they? My program was deemed as a failure and I was put on ice and humiliated. You could have stopped it to, and yet you did nothing. I woke up seventy years later in a prison and I was abandoned by Red Room. Do you know what that feels like, oh yeah, you were Hydra's. Well I grew out of the prison. After I took it over and then I hunted down Red Room and killed them all. Now I'm Red Room and I am going to destroy everything."

Bucky scolded at Niko.

"I'm coming for the team first, they have something I need" Niko said and he stood up and walked out of frame.

"I will kill them all James, all of them" Niko said off camera and then the screen went black.

"So that is who Niko is?" Fury said

"Yeah, I remember him now, he's good very good. But he was too volatile and he was taken out or so that's what they said"

"Barnes, get on him. I will warn the team and I don't know that is?"

"What do you mean?"

"I have fifty teams, he could be talking about either one of them"

"I will work on finding out more about where Niko is in the video"

"Good, Hill, go home" Fury said

Hill didn't move.

"Hill?" Fury asked

"Yeah, I'll get going" Hill said and she slowly got up and walked out of the room.

Bucky watched as she walked out of the room and he made a mental note to talk to her.

Steve

Steve slowly walked up the sidewalk toward the entrance of the Tower. He wanted to take his time, it was his first time back in two months. Steve smiled at the doorman and he opened the door for Steve.

"Thank you"

The doorman nodded excitedly and he smiled and let Steve walk past. Steve chuckled to himself, what does Stark do, hire fans? Steve walked toward the elevator. He waited for the door to open and he walked in and pressed the top floor where everyone would be at. Steve felt the elevator lift and pull and then he was off up into the Tower. Steve closed his eyes and he listened closely as he came to the top floor. He could here two people at the moment, but it was faint.

The elevator chimed when he came to the desired floor and the door opened. Steve went to take a step then he heard Stark's voice.

"When will people learn not to use my private elevator?" Stark said annoyed

Steve chuckled and he took a step out of the elevator and he waited to see Stark. Tony came around the corner, he had some weird thing on his head wrapped around his forehead and his face. It looked like a neurotransmitter. He seemed to be on a caffeine high. He has been in the lab for a week.

"When are we going to be able to see what you're working on?" Clint's voice asked from the kitchen.

"Not now" Stark said as he stopped and saw Steve.

"Hello Stark" Steve said politely

"You look different" Tony said

"Yes, I have a beard" Steve said

"It's not that, it's something" Tony said trailing off

"Cap, you're here" Clint said coming into view

"Legolas, doesn't he look different?" Tony asked looking back at the wrong side where no one was.

"Uh, yeah sure Stark" Clint said

"Hey Clint, any word on Natasha?" Steve asked

"Ah, I just spoke to her. She will be here earlier than expected." Clint said smiling

"Earlier?" Steve asked knowing very well what she was doing.

"Yeah, and Stark why are you staring at Cap with crazy eyes?"

Steve looked back over in Stark's direction and he was staring at him with his eyes wide open.

"You have a beard!" Stark said quite loudly

Steve raised his eye brows at him.

Clint chuckled nervously "Hey Cap this way, Bruce is in the living room" Clint said grabbed Steve by the shoulder and they both left Tony standing and staring at Steve.

Clint brought him close so he could whisper in Steve's ear.

"Thank God you're here Cap, he won't eat or sleep. He is like a druggy to building things. He is going to crash soon and it won't be good"

"How many days had he gone without sleep?" Steve asked

"Too many" Clint said as they entered the Living room.

Steve saw Bruce sitting on the couch and he was drinking some tea.

"Dr. Banner very British of you" Steve said

Bruce looked over at Steve and he swallowed fast.

"Hey Steve, yeah I was in London for a time and I always went to this café and had tea, it helps the stress"

"I thought your secret was that you're always angry?"

"Well when you're around Tony for long periods of time, you need some extra help" Bruce said and he quickly took another sip as Tony entered the room. Bruce emptied his glass and he looked down. "I'm going to need some more"

Steve slightly smirked and he turned toward Clint. Clint shrugged in a manner that said 'See what I was talking about'

Steve walked into the kitchen and he offered to make Tony a cup of coffee. Tony graciously accept.

"Cap what are you doing?" Clint mouthed

Steve nodded in a way that made Clint calm down slightly.

Steve made his famous coffee that no one beside Natasha has had and handed it to Tony. Tony took it and drank it and downed the whole cup.

"Slow down Stark" Steve said

Tony put the cup back down at the island in the kitchen and he gave Steve and thumbs up and went to walk away. He stopped and he put his hand to his head.

"Ooh I don't feel too good" Tony said as he turned back towards Steve.

"What did you give me?" Tony asked

"My famous coffee, it does this when you're too tired" Steve said slightly smirking

"I couldn't even taste it" Tony said

"That happens to" Steve said

"Caps… you are a…" Tony said and the he fell to the floor

Clint became alarmed and looked at Steve.

"What the hell?" Clint said

Steve put his hand up toward Clint "Wait for it"

"Wait for what?" Clint said then a loud snore came from Tony on the ground.

Clint looked down at him and he looked back at Steve.

"He'll wake up around nine tomorrow" Steve said and he walked past Clint and patted him on the shoulder "You're welcome" Steve said walking toward the fridge.

"Well that's what your coffee does when you're tired, how about when you're awake and fine?" Clint asked

"It's the best cup of coffee you'll ever have" Steve asked

"So can we have some?" Bruce asked

"No, Natasha is the only one who can" Steve said

"Come on, really?" Clint asked

"She is my partner" Steve said speaking in two ways that Clint understood, but Bruce didn't

"So why can't I have it?" Bruce asked

"Bruce, it would end badly for you and us" Steve said

"Huh look at that, I'm not even aloud to have the best cup of coffee ever, way to go Hulk way to go" Bruce said as he walked toward his room to get more tea.