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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]

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.

[endsinafight]

Bucky rolled his eyes at that. "Fine," he responded, if only because he didn't want to argue with Steve. "We won't be going far." Down the hall at the most. Enough for him to be out of sight lest he be the one to set Stark off again.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve nodded and looked at Bucky for a long moment. He really didn’t want to let him out of his sight. He considered asking for—well. Too much, probably.

Instead he tried to smile, tried to keep it light. “Gimme a hug for luck?”

He couldn’t help but worry this was the last he was going to see Bucky and he tried to brutally suppress that thought.

[endsinafight]

Bucky gazed back at him, wondering the same thing. His heart was beating a little faster again and he moved toward the bed, wrapping his arms around him, careful not to jostle his injury. "You don't need luck," he said gruffly, voice quiet. "You could do this all day."

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“Yeah,” Steve said, a universe of warmth in his voice. “Maybe I just wanted to steal a hug."

[endsinafight]

He closed his eyes, exhaling inaudibly. "I love you," he murmured against his ear. He needed Steve to know that, regardless of what happened from this point on.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve squeezed him tight for a long moment. He really didn’t want to let go.

“I love you, too. Let’s keep saying that forever.” Let’s not die, he said.

When he finally released Bucky, he had to tear his eyes away and look down at his phone so that he could cope with the idea of him walking away. He texted FRIDAY, first, and started asking to make sure that Tony would pick up the call.

[endsinafight]

"That's the plan," he murmured. And with them, he wasn't sure either of them had any real idea of how long forever would be. He held on a moment longer, then let him go when Steve released him. "I'm leaving Monet here with you," he said quietly as he headed for the door, Natasha right behind him.

Tony picked up a moment later. "Well, this is a surprise."

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Monet crawled up into the warm space that Bucky had left at Steve’s side. He rested his good hand on her head and scratched, grateful more than he could say that he wasn’t alone.

“Hey, Tony. Not sure if you heard, but I’m in the hospital and some shit has hit the fan. Could you come by? Please.”

Steve tried to keep his voice calm and pleasant.

[endsinafight]

There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

"No, I didn't know," he said after a moment. "Are you dying? Is that why you're calling me?"

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“The plan is to avoid dying,” Steve said, somewhat amused. “But I’m fine, in terms of what put me in the hospital. ‘Tis only a flesh wound.”

Tony has shown him that movie.

[endsinafight]

"Hmm." There was a loud beeping on Tony's end as he adjusted one of the robots he was currently working on. "What hospital are you in? I'm warning you that if you're calling because you think I'm going to break you out, you're mistaken, Cap."