The Quinjet hums around him, a sound he'd had to get used to on the way over and one that now only gives him the feeling that nothing has really changed. Not with Tony conversing animatedly with Romanoff, and not with Loki, whose gaze keeps flicking back to Bucky and staying there, sometimes for minutes at a time.
It makes his skin crawl, but still, for a while he manages to keep his cool. Sits in one of the seats across from their captive, and glares right back, fingers interlocked and resting just before his chin.
…Loki only smiles, like this is all a game to him. It chips away at Bucky's resolve piece by piece, until finally, he can't stand it anymore and retreats to the other side of the jet, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. He can feel Loki's eyes boring into the back of his head, but forces his shoulders to relax and keeps his face neutral. Not like the bastard can see his expression, but hey, even so.
"Is this a soldier thing?" Tony's exaggerated whisper makes him realise that another gaze is on him, waiting for an answer to a question Bucky hadn't heard. He starts guiltily. "Woah. At ease?"
Tony breaks into a grin, but Bucky just feels left out of the joke. He just hikes his shoulders up in a defensive shrug. "Were you saying something?"
"Oh, nothing. You have a really scary look sometimes, you know? I'd hate to have that directed at me, personally. What did that guy do, kill your dog or something?"
"No. Something's off, though," Bucky admits in a lower voice.
"Ah. Interrogation tactics. I get you." Tony pauses, glancing at Loki before looking back at him. "…off, how?"
"It was too easy. To get him, I mean."
Tony makes a half-horrified noise in the back of his throat. "Kind of looked to me like you were this close to being turned into dust. You call that easy?"
"He gave up too quick," Bucky says, fixing Tony with an unimpressed look. The man holds his hands up in surrender.
The Quinjet groans, a sudden burst of lightning followed almost immediately by thunder. The slightest sound behind him makes him turn, only to see Loki's gaze fixed on the sky through the window, a wince on his face.
"Scared of a little lightning?" Tony quips.
"…I'm not overly fond of what follows."
Before anyone can ask him to elaborate, there's a heavy thud on the roof of the jet. Loki pales further than Bucky would have thought possible, and Tony snatches up his helmet before moving to push past Bucky, reaching out for a button.
Bucky holds out his arm in front of the man, stopping him. Tony shoots him a look that he can see even through the metal of his helmet.
"Wait," Bucky orders. "Don't open it."
Footsteps clang above them.
"I'm not gonna be a sitting duck, Barnes," Tony says sharply.
With a screech of protesting metal, the hatch is forced open. Tony pushes in front of him now, as the intruder lands heavily in the back of the jet. A tall, caped man, expression stony, holding a – hammer?
Tony surges forward, but this new threat only swings that hammer and throws him backwards – Bucky only just steps out of the way of the flailing metal limbs – before going straight for Loki, ripping him straight out of his seat, all but by the throat, and leaps right back out of the jet.
"Well, now there's that guy," groans Tony, clambering to his feet.
"Another Asgardian," Romanoff informs Bucky tiredly, suddenly behind him, pulling off her headset.
Bucky's still trying to wrap his head around what just happened, but the word Asgardian rings a bell. "A friendly?"
"Doesn't matter," Tony growls. "If he frees or kills Loki, Fury's not getting anything back."
Tony jumps out into the dark clouds without another word, and Bucky just about catches a glimpse of light before both it and Tony disappear below the clouds.
Bucky shakes himself back to attention and grabs a parachute.
"Bucky," Romanoff says sharply. "These guys come from legend. They're basically gods – you don't stand a chance."
"I'll be careful," he shoots her a grin, yanking the buckles of the chute into place. "Bring the jet down where you can. We'll bring our guy back."
Romanoff nods, and with that, Bucky turns, heart dropping as he steps out onto the edge of the hatch. Yeah, this was never his favourite part. Taking a breath, he steps out into the empty air, and plunges down.
He finds Loki, first, idly sitting on the side of a rocky hill. When Bucky approaches, the god only spares him a disinterested look before turning his attention back out to the forest beyond. Bucky follows his gaze just in time to see a burst of light. Definitely Tony, probably fighting that guy.
"I wonder," Loki comments, "how long it will take my oafish brother to demolish your metal friend."
"Not on my watch," Bucky growls back. "Come on. Up."
To his surprise, Loki actually obeys, dusting himself off. Bucky's bad feeling returns tenfold, but he brushes it off. The two of them pick their way down the hill, Bucky shadowing the captive intently, hand on one of his guns. Still, Loki doesn't make any escape attempt whatsoever. They reach the woods, just in time for Tony to be hurled right past them.
Tony staggers to his feet, the front of the helmet swinging up. He has a cut on his cheek, but otherwise seems fine. "You couldn't have brought something useful?"
The other god-man lands before them, grip so tight around the handle of his hammer that Bucky can actually see his knuckles whitening.
"Wait," he calls, raising his hands placatingly. Steve was always better at this. He casts back, trying to think of anything to say that could de-escalate this, preferably before the Asgardian crushes them all with that hammer. "What do you want with Loki?"
The Asgardian makes a sound reminiscent of a growl. "He must be brought to Asgard to face justice. Do not attempt to deny us that, it will end poorly for you."
"You're right," Bucky reasons. "And we want the same thing."
"I do not see—"
"Your dear brother stole a space cube from us," Tony snaps. "We want it back."
The Asgardian's gaze flickers to Loki, just behind Bucky, glaring at his brother in a way that Bucky finds very familiar, before looking back to Tony. "I know not what my brother has done on this planet, but I do assure you all will be set right."
"So come with us. Help us save our world, and then we'll make sure he goes straight to you," Bucky replies.
"Uh, I'm not sure Fury would appreciate that," Tony says in a lower tone to Bucky. Bucky silences him with a look.
"Do you really care what Fury thinks?"
Tony cracks a grin, a genuine one. "Not in the slightest."
"Good. So," he says, louder, returning his attention to the Asgardian. "What do you say?"
"You have reason, human," admits the man. "Let him not leave my sight, then. He is treacherous, make no mistake about it."
"Deal."
"My, my, brother, you certainly haven't lost your touch," Loki comments snidely.
The newcomer's name, Bucky learns on the flight back to the helicarrier, is Thor. Tony's occasional bold comment or jab here and there aside, it's him and Thor who strike the friendliest conversation. Throughout that flight, Bucky remains in one corner, taking stock of his weapons, keeping Loki in sight.
Bucky's thoroughly grateful to have his feet back on the helicarrier, to be out of the oppressive metal walls of the Quinjet. Most importantly, to not be stuck in that space with so many people.
As guards march Loki away, Bucky slips away. He doesn't know where he's going, but anywhere in this vast maze is better than in Fury's presence right now. He catches sight of a camera tucked in the corner of a ceiling and clenches his jaw, turning away down another hall.
He finds himself in the armoury again, not sure how he's ended up here. He casts a long look at the now-empty glass behind which his suit had been. He wonders if he's supposed to leave his weapons here. No, scratch that. Whether Fury likes it or not, Bucky's keeping what he's got now.
Still, Bucky lingers there for a while, staring at that empty casement. What would you have wanted?
He almost wants to ask it out loud, even though he knows he'll never get that reply.
A touch against his shoulder. Someone starts to speak, but pure, screaming instinct has Bucky whipping around, prosthetic arm slamming down on the attacker's wrist before he can even think—
It's Tony's voice that lets out the surprised yelp. Bucky freezes, brain caught between action and confusion, and he blinks hard. "The hell," he manages, after a long moment. "Are you doing?"
"The hell are you doing, trying to – karate chop my wrist off?" Tony objects, producing said wrist with a stingy glare right back before withdrawing it, rubbing at it ruefully.
Bucky tries to force his heart's adrenaline-fueled pounding to slow. "Just don't… don't sneak up on me."
"I was not – !" Tony silences himself. Squints at Bucky. Then sighs, letting his shoulders slump. "…sorry."
Bucky nods tightly.
"Well, Fury wants us to meet him," Tony says slowly. Hesitantly. Guilt suddenly claws at Bucky, and he averts his gaze. "Come with?"
"Okay."
A moment so long ago that he's almost forgotten. Nurses, doctors, shrinking away from him just like Tony had done. Watching him as if he were a caged animal ready to pounce on whoever dared let their guard down. People whispering behind his back. Torture. Experiment.
Their voices ring in his ears as he follows behind Tony, gaze fixed on the floor, a choked-up feeling in his throat. You hurt Howard's son. How can you make that right?
Bucky, don't even worry about it, Tony will probably forget it even happened.
To my horror, my formatting for previous chapters got lost in the arduous posting process of this site, so I went back and fixed it. There should now be dividers between scenes.