(This is short, but I just binged Falcon and The Winter Soldier, it was so good. And I had this idea. So the 'audio' clips are from Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and the second one is from Civil War.)
-PaleWolfsHowl.
Steve felt his eyes go wide, and he tensed. A flair of old, painful memories of Bucky flashing through his mind. All the times Bucky had called him that. All the times, upon times that Bucky had hit him over the head proclaiming something that always ended in 'Stevie'.
And he felt like he was drowning, why did Winter know that nickname? Why had he used it? There had already been something creepily familiar about the masked man, but now…
But what if.. was Winter…?
No. That was ridiculous. Steve had to stop going down rabbit holes of impossible realities that would never, ever happen. Because even if that girl was right, and Bucky was alive- then something was seriously wrong. Steve knew that Bucky wouldn't have wasted a single second tracking him down after he came out of the ice. So it did fit. Like a puzzle. But it was just too ridiculous, too unbelievable. And Steve really shouldn't get his hopes up.
"- teve! Steve, are you okay?" The concerned voice was from Bruce, and it snapped Steve back into reality. He nodded a little, even though it was a lie. How could he ever be okay without Bucky?
"Yeah, sorry." Steve muttered, before once again meeting Winter's eyes, which were wide. Was it because the Assassin had just watched him plummet into a panic attack, or was it something else?
"It's just… why'd you call me that?" His voice sounded ragged, even to himself. He noticed Winter tense up, though the Assassin tried to hide it.
There was a long pause. "Sorry. 'Stevie' just sounded more mocking. I shouldn't have said it though. I didn't have a right-" Winter started rambling, and Steve could see the guilt in the Assassin's icy blue eyes.
Steve raised a hand, cutting Winter's rambled apologies off. The Assassin looked at him with almost vulnerable eyes. And Steve had to force himself not to wince, knowing the other man's past, he was probably expecting a punishment. And Steve just knew that if he ever did raise a hand against the other man, Winter wouldn't fight back.
And that was the most awful thing of all, it had to be Hydra's worst crime. To use a person like that, to take away everything that had made Winter whoever he had been. To steal a life like that, to strip away his humanity. To claim another human being as a weapon and nothing more.
Steve had never hated Hydra more, because what they'd done to Winter… It was just too awful. And Steve knew Winter hadn't even told them one percent of what Hydra had done to him.
But he could see the fear haunting the other man, the pain that would never truly fade away.
"It's okay. I don't mind." Steve said, because honestly, if anyone besides Bucky was going to call him that, it might as well be Winter. He didn't know why he trusted the Assassin so much, maybe it was his backstory. But Steve couldn't help but feel inseparably connected to Winter.
Suddenly, a now familiar snapping noise was heard and the girl appeared and leveled them both with a stern look. Everyone had straightened up at her arrival, including Steve and Winter.
She marched over to Steve and Winter. The Captain couldn't help but tense a little, and he had to fight the urge to put an arm protectively in front of Winter. Steve knew that would be ridiculous, because if the girl wanted to hurt them, she would have already done so.
It was more the fact that if she did try to hurt Winter, Steve highly doubted he'd defend himself. So that meant it was Steve's job.
"Okay, you-" She said, gesturing towards Steve. "Stop doubting what I told you. Like, why would I show you something if it didn't make a difference." She didn't have to clarify what she was talking about, Steve knew she was talking about Bucky. How she'd known what he was thinking, well Steve didn't really want to know how she knew.
She smirked, and shrugged a little. "No, I'm not a mind reader." She said easily, leaving meny confused Avengers and one Assassin. Steve's brow furrowed, but then how would she know what he was thinking! She had to be lying.
She snickered. "My friend, Felix, however, can." She informed them cheerfully before turning towards Winter. She twirled a strand of blond hair around her finger. "And you- stop thinking what you're thinking." She grumbled, before waving a hand towards the screen and a little black box appeared. Steve recognized it from earlier.
Tony spoke up, tilting his head a little. "What are you showing us?" He asked the girl, for once his voice was serious.
"The first one's for Winter, and the second one is for Steve." She said, and Steve assumed it must have something to do with whatever they'd both been thinking about.
She looked like she was about to leave, but flicked a finger at Winter. "Don't worry. I messed with the voices a little." She explained. Steve watched with confusion as she popped out of the room back to wherever it was she came from.
The audio began playing.
"What's going on in that cyborg brain of yours?" The first voice was Sam's. Steve recognized the man from the movie's voice fairly easily. Huh. If the first audio clip was for Winter, then why was Sam in it? Also, what on earth were they talking about?
Clint and Tony seemed to find that line funny, because they both snickered. And Winter's brow furrowed with some unknown emotion that Steve couldn't read. Maybe it was hope? Sadness?... amusement?
"You don't wanna know." The second voice was definitely Winter's, though it sounded like it was being filtered. But why was the girl trying to hide Winter's real voice? What would be the purpose of that?
"Oh yeah, I can see it working. Gears turning. Oh, they're malfunctioning! They're on fire!" Steve was glad that for whatever reason, Winter and Sam seemed to get along. Though, from what the movie was showing them, Steve didn't understand how it was possible. Unless someone had saved Winter, perhaps… but he shouldn't get his hopes up.
"God, I hate you." Was how Winter finished the conversation. In a weird way, Steve was happy about it. It meant Winter wasn't afraid to speak up for himself in the future. Which was a definite improvement.
The black box flickered, then flashed again. Starting the clip that was for Steve. He was fairly worried, if this proved that Bucky was alive and well... then he didn't know what he'd do. Because he wouldn't be able to rest until he found his brother in everything but blood. But what if Bucky didn't want to see him? What would he do then?
"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" The voice that came through was unmistakable, it was Bucky's. Steve felt his heart clench, Winter's hand was tense on his shoulder. Steve remembered Bucky's voice so well, and hearing it again felt like a void in himself was being filled. And it hurt so much to know that he might never see Bucky again. And how was Bucky even alive? How was this even possible? He was so confused. And he didn't like it.
"Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" Steve recognized his own voice easily, and blushed a little as snickers went up around the room. Ugh, Tony would never let him live this down. But on the bright side, in the future, he and Bucky were able to have stress free conversations. He wondered if it would ever really happen though, because he just couldn't believe it. And any thought of Bucky just forced him to relive his worst memory. Seeing Bucky fall….
"You blew 3 bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead." This earned even more snickers, but Steve wasn't paying attention. He listened intently to Bucky's every word, knowing this might be the last time he ever heard that voice. Despite what the girl said, he just couldn't believe it. He felt Winter rub his back a little, something that had become oddly familiar. It was weird, but comforting. Just the fact that Winter was trying...
"What was her name again?" Steve smiled sadly, reminiscing what Bucky was speaking of. He remembered it vaguely, but fondly. He treasured all and any memories he had of Bucky, even the bad ones. Because it meant that Bucky wouldn't be forgotten, and it meant Steve would never forget him.
"Dolores. You called her Dot." Steve nodded a little, though he was questioning why Bucky remembered this and he didn't? Steve would have assumed that Bucky would have forgotten quicker than Steve, though maybe Bucky just had a better memory?
"The real question is why your friend remembers this and not you." Natasha pointed out, being the first to have spoken since the girl left. Steve glared at her half heartedly. Even if it was true, he knew what Natasha was trying to imply.
"She's got to be a hundred years old by now."
"And you aren't?" Tony snickered, brown eyes shining with amusement. Steve sighed, Tony never missed an opportunity to slight Steve. It was actually kinda amusing, but still.
"He's not wrong." Clint snickered, joining in on the 'mock Captain America' club. This club seemed to be, sadly, very popular because literally everyone- including Winter- had joined in on it.
"So are we, pal." Steve listened intently to Bucky's voice once more, but was cut off by laughter as Tony and Clint fell out of their seats. They just had to have their points proven. Winter patted him on the shoulder, and Steve felt like a kid who had just been caught stealing from a cookie jar.
Once again, Winter joined the 'mock Captain America' club. "They're not wrong. You are pretty old." The Assassin said bluntly, which only made it more offensive. Even if it was true, it was offensive.
Steve spluttered. "Like you're one to talk." He muttered, amusement in his voice. Winter's eyes sparked with amusement, and even though Steve couldn't see his face, he was pretty sure Winter was smirking.
"I never said I wasn't old. You're the one who was denying it." Winter said, his voice quiet, but everyone snickered doubled as they watched the two men interact.
Steve's thoughts returned to Bucky for a minute, what would Bucky think of Winter? Would they get along? If- if this future was true, and he had Bucky back, then would Winter be around to? He was pretty sure Bucky would enjoy Winter's personality, the two did act a lot alike.