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[endsinafight]

Bucky'd been fidgety throughout the debriefing with Fury, even if he hadn't moved a muscle as he listened to the mission -- another HYDRA target, smaller, on a remote island in the Pacific. Not the usual setup, which made him uneasy from the get-go. But there was something else, something nagging at him, something in Fury's tone that told him there was more to this mission than he was willing to divulge. It wasn't a surprise. Fury might not be HYDRA, but in some ways his methods were so similar that it felt like being back there anyway. He definitely believed in the need to know principle, and obviously he didn't feel like they needed to know whatever it was he was holding back. His gaze darted to Steve, wondering if he'd picked up on it, too.

But if Steve had, his expression didn't betray his thoughts.

He pressed his lips together as they were dismissed, Fury addressing him as the others agents involved in the mission filtered out of the room. "Barnes. Hang back a minute."

And there it was, he thought, meeting Steve's eyes only briefly before lingering as Fury requested. One the door was shut again, the other man turned to study him.

"You have a different mission while they're disabling all of HYDRA's operating systems and containing the operatives."

Bucky studied him just as intently, his voice flat when he responded. "Who'm I eliminating?"

If Fury was surprised by his response, he gave nothing away. "Your target is Katya Belyakov."

"Who is she?" His voice was wary.

"You sure you wanna know the details, Barnes?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"If you're asking me to murder someone, yes," Bucky said, jaw tightening.

Fury regarded him for a long moment. "Essentially, she's the of the most dangerous people in the galaxy. Mind control abilities that she's utilized to force others to commit her dirty work. She's likely being accompanied by a former SHIELD operative who turned out to be moonlighting for HYDRA, Grant Ward. I'd prefer him to remain alive. He's got a lot to answer for."

Every muscle in Bucky's body tensed at the information about Belyakov, but also the name Grant Ward, his stomach turning in recognition.

"Ah. See you're familiar with him then."

"Unfortunately," Bucky responded stiffly, struggling to maintain his composure. "I'm assuming this isn't an optional mission." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"You knew when you signed the dotted line that there's no such thing here, Barnes. Is there a problem? Or do I need to go over the fine print of your contract to refresh your memory?"

Fuck you, he thought. "No, Sir. Am I free to go?"

"You're dismissed."

--

An hour later, he was suited up in his tac gear, breathing steady and even despite the wild pounding of his heart as he boarded the quinjet with a team he didn't know or trust, and the only person on the earth he truly did.

Comments

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“The solution is you wise up. Get used to what needs doing. We can pay you, that’s no problem. How about that?” Fury said.

[endsinafight]

Bucky tensed at that, jaw tightening. "No. I'm not going to do that again. Not for you, not for the army, not for anyone."

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“The thing is, Barnes. You say you’re not going to do it for anyone. Let’s even say I believe you. But you can be used. You could decide to be the most dangerous person alive at any time, for anybody.”

“Hey,” Natasha said, mildly.

Fury ignored her. “When you have a nuclear bomb you don’t want to use any more, you either keep it in the tightest imaginable security, or you decommission it. You don’t give it a brownstone in Brooklyn.”

Steve was literally shaking with rage. His fist clenched and he had to strain to avoid clenching the injured one. His tension was enough to pop open a stitch or two—fresh blood scented the air.

[endsinafight]

"You're right. I could." His voice was flat, eyes going cold, made worse by the fact that he could smell Steve's blood. He could feel him shaking behind him and he pressed his hand more firmly against his chest. "And so could you. And so could Romanoff. And so could any one of the Avengers, or anyone else that a secret government agency decides to experiment on and turn into a monster. I offered you a compromise so that I could watch Steve's back. But if that's not enough, then you can consider this my verbal notice of resignation, effective immediately."

Monet growled but he kept his other arm around her securely. "And know this. If you send people for me, you might manage to take me down eventually. But I won't go down easy. I will defend myself." He lifted his chin, defiant.

"Now get the fuck out of Steve's room. He needs to be resting."

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“No need to watch my back,” Steve spat. “I resign too.”

Fury studied them for a long moment—two men and a dog, all pretty much growling. He looked like he was about to say something else when Natasha clamped her hand down on his arm and all but hauled him out.

“You fucked this up, Nick,” she said, short.

“Is that your resignation, too?” he said, more than a little snide.

“Go away. Cool the fuck down.” And then she shut the door in his face.

[endsinafight]

Bucky drew in a slow breath, then exhaled just as slowly, dragging his hand over his face. "Need to get a hold of Sam. And Wanda." He pressed his lips together and he reluctantly set Monet back down on the floor. He glanced at Natasha, rising to his feet and then turning to look at Steve, expression grim.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Natasha nodded. “I’ll take care of it. Start checking on my contingency plans. But I want to say that it is my professional opinion that he’s all bark on this one.”

Steve, nodded at her, tight. “Thanks, Nat. Let’s prepare for his bite anyway. Buck, should you contact T’Challa or me?”

[endsinafight]

"Maybe," Bucky said, voice even. "But I'm not willing to take the chance, either." Not after seventy years of being Hydra's bitch. "I'll call him. You focus on resting." He grimaced, knowing even as he said it, Steve wouldn't. He was too riled up, too upset.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“No,” Steve said, grim. He looked Bucky right in the eyes. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. But I’m going to call Tony. We need to know where he’s going to come down on this.”

[endsinafight]

Bucky had a pretty good idea exactly where Tony was going to come down on this one, and it wasn't going to be on their side of things. But he nodded anyway. "All right. But stay in bed. You already popped stitches." He narrowed his eyes at him warningly.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“I heal fast,” Steve said, trying for a shit eating grin. He mostly came off as exhausted.

“I’m going to ask him down here, if you want to step out. I think this needs to happen face to face.”

[endsinafight]

His stomach twisted into a knot at that. "Are you sure it's safe for you to be alone with him?" Vulnerable and injured. He didn't want to leave the room if there was any chance that this encounter would be like the last one.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“I’m a pretty good judge of character and I don’t think Tony would kill me literally in a hospital bed. He’s cooled down, a little. Or so I hear. I know people have been working on him.”

He’s had the chance to see every Winter Soldier file Steve has seen, at this point, if not more. Steve knows Tony is too curious not to have read every word and he’s pretty sure that Tony has some sort of heart.

[endsinafight]

Natasha looked between them, considering. "I'll stick with Barnes if he wants to step out. Just in case." She truly didn't believe Fury would follow through on anything he'd threatened, but she didn't want to turn out to be wrong.

"I'd rather you stay with Steve. Just in case," he admitted.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“You should definitely have Natasha with you, Buck. Fury is going to be far more constrained when dealing with me, given the givens.”

Steve’s voice was firm, on the edge of a command.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve told him.

"I don’t need your help breaking out of the hospital," Steve promised. "I’ve gotten really good at that. But, uh. Maybe out of the country?"

[endsinafight]

Tony stopped what he was doing at that. "I'll be there in five minutes," he informed him before hanging up the phone.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve’s heart was pounding as he slowly lowered his phone. He pet Monet’s head, slowly and carefully.

"It doesn’t sound like he’s immediately going to tell me to fuck off," he informed her. "That’s good news."

[endsinafight]

True to his word, Tony stepped into Steve's hospital room exactly five minutes later, usual business suit on. He said nothing at first, simply studying the other man. He hadn't seen him or talked to him in months before today.

"Not sure if you know this, but there's a dog in your bed." His voice was flippant.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

"She’s Bucky’s service dog. He’s down the hall. Hey, Tony."

It was really, really good to see him—in a way that Steve hadn’t fully expected. He actually had a moment where he thought about how if this didn’t work, if Tony wasn’t willing to help—this may be it. He’d been hoping the whole time he’s been back in New York, that Tony would come and apologize. He never did and Steve couldn’t bring himself to make the first move.

"It’s good to see you," he said, and his voice was almost too sincere.

[endsinafight]

"Looks like she's your service dog at the moment." His expression didn't change at the mention of Bucky.

He studied Steve, eying the dog when she lifted her head to look at him, yawned and laid her head back down on Steve's chest like she was bored. Rude.

Tony gave a short nod of acknowledgment. "Likewise." He didn't do this level of sincerity for long -- wasn't really capable of it except in very rare moments. Made him feel too vulnerable. "So you need help breaking out of the country?" He couldn't resist the urge to add, "Again?" with raised eyebrows.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

"Sometimes we share," Steve said, petting her head softly.

"Did you know anything about the deal Bucky had with Fury?" He didn’t think Tony did, but it was worth asking. Steve didn’t want to reveal any plans if Tony was going to be positive about it.

[endsinafight]

He leaned against the wall, cocking his head at the question. "Can't say that I've made an effort to keep up with either of them, Cap," he said wryly.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

"Honestly, that’s what I thought. Good to hear. Fury has been threatening Bucky with the fates of me, Wanda, Sam, and Natasha. He’s been forcing him to go on SHIELD missions, including an assassination today. He’s not getting paid. He’s not allowed to say no."

Steve’s voice was steel. "This ends. Last I spoke to Fury, both Bucky and I resigned and Fury said that Bucky was like, quote, a nuclear warhead. If you weren’t planning on using him, you either lock him away or decommission him. He also threatened to lock the rest of us up and use us as leverage. Natasha thinks he’s bluffing, but I’m not risking his life or the life of my friends on that guess."

Steve was getting tenser as he relayed all this to Tony. Monet nudged her nose against Steve’s neck.

[endsinafight]

Tony's eyes narrowed as he listened, complicated emotions flickering over his face. He was silent for a few moments, moving across the room to look out the window and staring out over the city. "Is there any truth to his statement? Fury's? About Barnes' stability?" There was no accusation in his tone, but he had to ask.