Book Summary
"How long did you know Buck?" Steve asked in a low whisper as his blue eyes devoured the pale skin, long brown hair and if her eyes were open, the alert brown that warmed his heart, in the hospital bed that was behind the highest security that S.H.I.E.L.D. offered, with Tony Stark's tweaks.
James aka Bucky Barnes leaned against the wall arms akimbo, the right tapping on his left, the metal creating a wordless tune.
"That she was Marquess Winter? Or that you and Peggy were bumping boots back during the war or that you married your girl before you went into the ice? You need to be a little more precise."
Or James "Bucky" Barnes didn't fall from the train so Hydra looked elsewhere. Who else but the newly installed head of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Or some things change but still stay the same.
Chapter 1
James "Bucky" Barnes left arm screamed in pain as he hung on to the corroded hole in the train's side as he tried to swing his body towards Steve's out stretched arm, who once caught starting pulling. It was pure luck that he jerked his body forward when he was falling, making him drop the railing he had so his left hand could grab the corroded hole on the side of the torn train wall.
Once Bucky got inside of the speeding train and took a moment to breathe, aware that he could have been falling to his death instead of being alive and well.
"Never fucking again. Fucking a, Steve!" Steve didn't reply but got Bucky back on his feet. Nothing had to be said.
***
When Steve got onto the plane, he did too. Bucky tried very hard not to eavesdrop on his and Peggy's conversation. His heart ached for his best friend, but didn't start beating again until almost 70 years later.
**
Unlike Steve, Bucky knew how to fake sleep courtesy of Hydra and inwardly frown as he listened to the ballgame that was playing on the radio.
Bucky got up when he heard Steve stirring. He tilted his head towards the radio with raised eyebrows and Steve's nose twitched.
So he wasn't the only one that had caught on to this little ruse. Question was, who was it?
A woman who strongly tried to look like Peggy came into the room and answered Steve's question of where was he.
Bucky snorted and went to cross his arms, but noticed his left arm was missing. Figured with the beating his hand took from keeping him alive. Guess it got infected.
"Sure we're in New York doll." Bucky drawled with as much charm as he could muster as he noticed the woman increasing lack of talent of not answering Steve's questions. His eyes narrowed at whatever the woman was holding in her hand.
But it didn't matter when Steve busted out of there, throwing the men who came into the room right back out. Mentally rolling his eyes, Bucky hasten right after him. Impatient punk.
"Ok so we are in New York." Bucky muttered as Steve stopped and stared at what became of New York.
Bucky kept an eye on the armed guards that appeared and barely listened to what this Nick Fury was saying to Steve. But he did hear about how they could be of use in this new world.
Bucky sighed. 'It always ends in a fight.' he thought.
***
Bucky watched as Steve pounded his frustrations out on the punching bag enough that it flew loose and broke as he had toured New York with Steve to try and find something familiar. New York was a sight to behold, but as Bucky flexed his new bionic left arm, silver and if he had the engineering right, Stark made, without family, the future was nothing. He was very glad he didn't fall off the train.
"Leave some for me." Bucky was not joking as he looked over the recreation of the future's version of a common gym or a old gym. It wasn't that great.
Still at least they had good knifes to fight with, Bucky thought as he experimented in seeing how good his left arm was at throwing.
It needed a little work, Bucky thought as it nicked the outside of the bull's eye. His right was just fine.
**
Bucky smiled at his feet as Agent Coulson blabbered on, his admiration in full force. Bucky was in awe by the massive ship they landed on, but more intrigue by the redhead that greeted them.
"Is there any trading cards of me?" He asked Agent Romanoff a flirty smile on his face as Steve and Banner walked to the edge of the ship. He had to stop from laughing at Steve's face when Agent Coulson asked for Steve's signature.
"I don't have time for trading cards. Too much work to be done." Natasha replied as she lead the way. Bucky just smirked as she walked ahead. Maybe he'll get to work with her.
When Agent Romanoff lead Banner to his science lab, Bucky grinned and leaned over to whisper to Steve as he lost ten dollars, "Told you not to take that bet." as Fury held out twenty to Bucky.
"Punk."
"Jerk."
***
Bucky had stayed back in the plane while Steve went and did what he did best, punch out the bad guy. Which left Bucky on clean up duty, or almost as a tin metal man appeared and took his shot that he had on Loki.
Bucky refused to pout as it was Howard's kid who did it. So instead he took out his frustrations on Loki who was talking about lightening.
"What?" Bucky asked at the looks he received after he punched Loki enough times to knock him unconscious. "I didn't want him to escape and I needed to try out my new arm."
He chuckled at Steve's comment about God before Steve dived out of the plane to follow Tony and Loki's abductor.
"Aren't you going after him?" Romanoff asked as Bucky watched as the door closed.
"Steve can handle it." Bucky replied, still a little shaky after his almost fall, not that he'll mention it.
***
"We all understood that reference Steve." Bucky joked while Thor still looked confused at the 'flying monkeys' comment.
***
"You're Howard, Stark. Howard was a friend. There's a reason why he probably kept looking for us after we crashed into the ice. The only thing that came out of the bottle was Steve's height and all the muscles." 'Among other things' Bucky said as he noiselessly appeared behind Steve, waving his hand dismissively.
Tony was temporary speechless, "What are you? The Sidekick?"
"No, I'm Bucky. Also where is my flying car Stark? I've been waiting since 1943 and I still don't have it."
***
Bucky followed Steve's commands while eyeing the huge hole in the sky. When the second wave came down he tapped his com which was a bit strange to work with.
"Hey Steve remember the fishing technique I honed during the war?" Bucky asked as he mentally kept a tally of shots to compare with Clint later.
"Which one?" Steve asked dryly.
"The ah, Dolores one, no the Dot."
"The one that Howard, "Frenchie" and you made up when you were drunk?"
"No, yes, we were slight intoxicated, well they were, the lucky dogs. Yeah that one. The one I developed at summer camp."
"The one were you picked up dames? Because that one is not useful right now." Steve said throwing his shield at the enemy.
Bucky rolled to the side and stabbed the alien while throwing his knife to one that was sneaking up on Natasha. She nodded in thanks.
"No, the other fishing one. The bigger bait one. It worked to end the war, at least where Japan was concerned."
Bucky could hear Steve sigh and ask, "Tony what kind of explosives do you think Shield has that can take down the carrier beyond the wormhole?"
"Jarvis?" Tony inquired.
Later after clean up, as they all were eating Shawarma Tony asked, "So what was that fishing thing you developed with dad? That's one story I haven't heard."
Bucky swallowed the surprisingly tasty wrap or whatever it was. "Later, Steve needs to be awake for this. Half of it was his plan."
So Tony had to be patient, not his strongest suit, as Clint and Barnes got into their respected sharpshooter skills and how much wind was a factor.
Bucky didn't notice Nat watching him. She held in a smile as Bucky used a butter knife to demonstrate what he meant to Clint as they quickly moved onto knife work.
**
A couple of weeks later the "Avengers" as Tony coined them and the media took that name into infinity, was have a bonding session or Tony's attempt to bring the Capsicle and his Sidekick up to speed on the modern era. Thor had to decline.
It wasn't going so well as Steve was in a funk about something and Bucky was semi-flirting with the scary Nat who to Tony's horror seemed to enjoy the attention.
"We can play board games?" Bruce suggested half-heartily as he tried to be crafty and type up a email to Betty Ross, his one time flame, who insisted on keeping in touch once she saw the Hulk on the news. It was kind of scary how fast she got him to agree. Just the thought of her calmed him.
"No. Especially not monopoly!" Steve and Bucky said simultaneously looks of horror on their faces at the very idea as they stared at Bruce. They had played that game so much when they were young, they never wanted to see another board again.
"Fine then I want to know about 'that fishing technique Barnes and my dad and that one other person came up with.'" Tony said making air quotes as he popped down on the couch with a beer bottle in his hand as Bruce went to his lab to get some peace and quiet to compose his letter.
"Frenchie." They said in concert as Steve grabbed two beers, tossing one to Bucky who caught without looking.
"At least we still have the taste Steve." Bucky said after taking a sip.
"Amen to that. The fishing 'technique' Bucky mentioned started at 'summer camp.' Dang it Bucky." Stave grumbled and taking out his wallet took out a crisp ten dollar bill, handing it to Bucky who smirked at his best friend.
Nat had wandered over where Clint was sitting who had slipped into the room. He smiled and nodded at Nat's unspoken question. His family was doing just fine. Then Clint held up three fingers and pointed at Nat. She didn't notice Bucky give her a quick glance, but the look on her face was lovely.
"Why thank you. Knew over the years it'll finally seep in. Also don't do whatever Tony did, it looks strange. My dad was ex-military who worked at the docks and during the hot summers to give my mom a break, my sister would be sent to our Aunts in the summers for a few weeks. I refused to go to my aunt so my dad asked a friend of his who was still enlisted if I could stay at Camp Lehigh in Wheaton, New Jersey for those few weeks." Bucky grinned at the memory while Steve rolled his eyes.
"As such you fell in love with the military or should I say summer camp?" Steve said shaking his head. "I wonder what happened to all of those letters you first sent to me the second year you deserted me for half the summer. I got real tips for my drawing from that one officer. Officer Baldy you call him?"
"No idea. Becca might have kept them, she's sentimental that way." Bucky noted to see if Becca had them stashed away some where. He moved gingerly as he remembered the bone crushing hug he got from her, 76 years old and she still could bring out the best in him.
"How old were you when you first went?" Clint asked interested as Bucky was as good as a sharpshooter as he was. Maybe better, but slightly.
"Six and a half. I learned how to fish with just a homemade rod and it was awesome. I still have scars from all the knife nicks I got from learning how to throw the knives, very blunted of course. Boot camp was so easy after that."
"Speak for yourself." Steve and Clint smiled at each other, glad someone didn't have fun at boot camp or at least at first for Clint.
"So when did your fishing turned to the fair ladies?" Tony asked.
Bucky leaned back in thought. "Hum, about thirteen, fourteen? The boys aka the military troops o at least the squadron that adopted me as a 'mascot' really helped my game when I hit my mid-teens. That's how I developed the Dolores aka Dot version. I think I was fifteen?" Bucky glanced at Steve in confirmation.
"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?"
Bucky's face lit up,"Was that the time you used our train money to buy hotdogs? I just turned fifteen. Gah I was such a punk." Smiling in fond remembrance.
"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for that redhead. My three dollars I still haven't gotten back. Jerk." Steve said dryly but affectionately.
"That was Dolores, Dot? I swore, wait, she was a redhead, but not a natural one. I brushed her hair off her neck and she was brunette. Not that it mattered anyway since someone decided to start having breathing problems just when I would have started on second base." Bucky mock-glared at Steve who just raised an eyebrow back.
"I'm sorry to stop your rounds of the base." He quipped back.
"I'm not, my best friend is more important then some dame I knew when I was a teenager. Besides she wasn't a real redhead." Bucky retorted shaking his head.
"Sure she wasn't." Tony leered making Barnes laugh and push him away.
**
A few months later, Bucky was up in the catwalks as he silently appraised Nat's workout. She was skillful, beautiful and he frowned, idly tapping his hand against his new still getting use to left arm, timing it so she wouldn't hear or so he thought.
Some of her techniques seemed oddly familiar to him, he just couldn't put remember where he knew them from. Steve and Nat were teamed up more and more with Clint and Bucky becoming partners and fast friends.
Nat's voice rolled through his body like a warm wave of air after you were in the cold. "Join me or get out."
Bucky easily jumped down from the catwalk to the mat covered floor, letting the mats soften his landing. "Your ears are almost as good as mine."
"Why have you been watching me these past few times? You should be asleep. It is after two o'clock in the morning." Nat was dressed in a sleeveless tank top and sweatpants, bare feet with a vivid green that sparkled.
"We probably don't share the same type of nightmares, but anyone who has seen some sort of combat has them." Bucky was dress almost the same, but he had on a black t-shirt instead. He did not have on any nail polish.
"So you decided to spy on me?" Nat stretched in a way that she knew could hook a mark, and Barnes was no different. But somehow his admiring gaze was a tingling sensation against her skin instead of the dread that usually came from her mark's gazes. She felt oddly flushed.
Bucky had to admire Nat's misdirect, and an odd electric current passed between them, but instead of kissing her senseless like he been dreaming about, he threw a punch instead, grinning as she maneuver out of the way.
She retaliated in kind and then they danced. He was a good dancer and that reflected in his hand to hand fights, but Nat, she flowed as if she was really dancing and not sparring.
Natasha found she had to pull out all her moves just to get the upper hand, Barnes was strong, fast and used his dancing skills to his full advantage. Then Nat pulled out a maneuver that seem to throw Barnes off of his game, one that no one could counter.
Instead Nat found herself flipped on her back with Barnes breathing heavily above her, his left arm locking her into place. His eyes were dilated but instead of kissing her, Nat found herself disappointed.
Bucky got off Nat and held out his hand, adrenaline still running through his body. She look good enough to eat, but dessert had to wait. He realized something more important then his libido.
He walked to the changing stations to calm himself down and get a drink, glancing at the clock as he did so. It was almost four in the morning. Once more in control, Bucky turned to Nat who if he could judge her expressions right looked confused.
"Where did you learn that move?" Bucky almost growled, his arm shaking enough to almost crush the water bottle in his right hand, his left was in a tight fist.
"I have many moves Barnes, you need to be more pointed." Nat countered, confused how Barnes, no she's use James, Bucky was just stupid.
"The last one, the one were I had the upper hand at the very end. That one."
When Nat spoke it was slow and precise, "You trained the Marquess Winter?"
"Who?"
"She's a ghost that came to train us in the late 1950's. We called her Margarita or her shorter form was"
James interrupted her a look of horror on his face. "Peggy."
"Yes, how did you know that?"
"Because I only taught one other person that move besides my sister and she never had to use it very often. Agent Carter aka Margret Carter aka Peggy. Steve's girl. She went M.I.A. shy of seven months when she started S.H.I.E.L.D."
Nat denied to herself that the intense look on James face wasn't electrifying as she told him all what she knew about the woman who had trained her personally.