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[bottledblond]

Not every universe in the far and wide cosmos is as lucky (however unlucky itself that seems) to encounter Thanos during a time where people live who can do something about it. Steve Rogers, a particular version of Steve Rogers who had only just suffered through his first night of basic training in New Jersey as part of the Army’s Project Rebirth and thus had not yet become Captain America, bent to untie his shoes and saw his hands begin to disintegrate. He doesn’t panic, panicking is for people who do not live like every breath is their last. Instead, he blinks in surprise as the barracks fill with shouting. He has time to contemplate two things. One, he wishes he’d done more with his life. And two, he hopes Bucky will do all right.

He’s still thinking about that last issue when he exhales his last in a universe where Captain America never existed and finishes it bent over in the ruins of the barracks, roof half open to the sky and walls a burnt and ashy gray.

It takes him an hour to get to the road and by then, his asthma is already getting the best of him. He blacks out for the second time ‘that day’ and wakes up staring at the ceiling of what is obviously a hospital.

It just doesn’t sound or smell like a hospital. Sure. People are running around and yelling, but it smells painfully clean, artificially so, and there are machines he’s never seen before connected by wires to his body. He does the thing people should never do and yanks them loose. The machines squawk strangely and frantically and Steve is almost out of bed when two large men in green pajamas force him back.

Nothing makes sense to him for days. People come to talk to him, to find out who he is and who his family is. Evidently Steve Rogers is a popular name, because they bring in more people to talk to him, to ask him questions about his life, but no one has any answers.

He explodes, as he’s wont to do when frustrated, demands answers, but nothing they say makes sense.

By then, the war is over. Not World War II, which has evidently been over for over half a century, but this new war. And Bucky Barnes had been told of his presence. Steve is in bed, arms crossed, looking dour and getting an infusion of something that honestly is helping him breathe better when Bucky bursts into his now private room. It’s been two months

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[bottledblond]

“Aren’t you two friends?” It’s not that Sam and Bruce aren’t... it’s just that Sam always get like a secondary Avenger. A runner up. And Bucky was never an avenger but he’d been friends of sorts with the guy’s husband over the course of the Blip.

Still, he accepts the phone to make the call and watches Steve outside looking over the railing for a little while longer before he steps into the hallway leading towards the bathroom.

Steve is a lot calmer than the other two, and gives Bucky a smile as he joins him. “I know you’re worried. You don’t want to be that man you used to be. But I’m with you. I’ve got your back. Always, Buck.”

[woundedwinter]

"I can't.." he bites out as he drags a hand through his hair. He's struggling as it is and he still feels like he failed Bruce when he couldn't protect Tony in the end.

They talk once in a while, but he's trying to get better about recognizing when he's having a hard time.

"That's the thing," he huffs out. "I didn't have a choice. They could just say a set of trigger words and I would.. go away. It was like sinking into ice."

"I never wanted to kill or hurt those people. But I did. I remember all of them." Steve will have to know, if they're going to try this.

He gives him a strained smile. "I know Stevie, and that means more to me than I can tell you."

[bottledblond]

Whenever Bucky calls him Stevie, he might as well melt. He wants to take Bucky’s hand, but they’re in public, in the daylight, and Sam is right inside. Instead, he makes a halting sort of shuffle, one step towards Bucky, and tilts his head almost invitingly. It’s like a touchless hug in a gesture.

“A sew of words would trigger you to become a weapon.” How... awful. And to remember it all? “You would just do whatever you were told?” Because there could well be worse things than killing. Torture, for instance. Bucky could have been made to hurt people for fun, for information, for revenge.

He has to put himself in the shoes of a person that would use another person like a tool. Like he was just an extension of his malice.

Malice to hurt someone enough to keep hurting other people.

“The Bucky I know couldn’t hurt anyone. That’s why I know it wasn’t you. And why this is going to be easier than you think. Just... you can’t laugh at me while I do it.” That’s going to be the hardest part. “Can you... can you tell me about the people that used to send you out on your jobs?”

[woundedwinter]

"I would do anything. I'd get pulled out of cryo, warmed up enough to get thrown into a chair and tortured while they read the words. Then I was ready to comply. I had no choice."

He wants nothing more than to pull Steve close and use his warmth and genuineness to stay centered but he can't. Not now.

"Hard men. Not always cruel but they wanted the job done." Sometimes more but he can't let that slip. That's something no one needs to know about. "I was Soldat. The Asset."

[bottledblond]

“Soldat,” Steve repeats, and since he’s just mimicking Bucky, the pronunciation is perfect. “What language is that?” It’s too soft for German. It doesn’t occur to Steve that HYDRA was so much more than just part of the Nazis.

Steve lifts a hand and, though he hesitates just before his palm touches Bucky’s chest, before he spreads his fingers across his t-shirt. He needs the connection. They’re about to slip into something that will require a whole lot of trust and an undercurrent that they’re going to have to rely on their friendship more than either thought.

“Teach me a few phrases.”

[woundedwinter]

"It's Russian. I was kept there after the war."

He covers Steve's hand with his own. His pulse is skittering with tension and he uses the contract to help ground him. "Okay pal."

He teaches him the words in Russian, then German. Phrases that had been burned into his memory for decades on end. His eyes go distant and he tells Steve about everything. How some handlers would use touch to break him as easily as that damned chair.

They can do this. Steve is smart and strong and the one person he trusts to help him stop this threat.

[bottledblond]

Though his call with Banner is brief, Sam doesn’t interrupt the two on the balcony. Their eyes are locked and whatever else might be happening, he can see that Steve is repeating words Bucky utters first.

He ends up pouring himself a drink from the mini bar and sits down on the small loveseat tucked behind the wall.

From what he can hear, Bucky is more or less telling Steve just about everything. He himself only knows the gist, so this is nothing is not perversely enlightening.

Steve himself is proving as always to be a quick learner. He can recite the words, and his face has molded into something harder and nondescript. Where they are going is a place for misfits. He’ll fit in, he’s sure.

In their time together, Steve has gradually gravitated towards Bucky too. His arm is now bent at the elbow from where his hand has been captured against the other’s chest.

“We’ve got this.”

[woundedwinter]

"Yeah. Yeah we can do this." Bucky looks down, realizing that he's still holding on to Steve's hand.

"Remember when we're there, I won't be able to refuse you. Not if we're going to pull off a meeting to find this Power Broker."

Slowly he lets go of his hand.

"Let's get back inside."

[bottledblond]

Sam looks up from his drink as if he hadn’t just been listening in and cuts right to it. “Banner said he’ll come and pick us up tomorrow.” He leans back on the sofa and makes a show of kicking off his boots.

It’s a good thing that Steve had packed a bag, because he does feel the need to find an excuse to be alone. He grabs some clothes and heads to the bathroom to shower and to stand under the spray to think.

That leaves Sam and Bucky to have their typical stare down contest.

“You wanna fill Steve in on Banner or should I,” Sam says to finally break the awkward silence.

[woundedwinter]

He can't blame Steve for needing time alone and Bucky looks at the mini bar himself before giving up on the idea.

Bucky pulls his gloves off. "Which part?" Yes he's being difficult but it's something he can control.

"Yeah I'll tell Steve about the fact that our ride is close to seven foot and has green skin."

[bottledblond]

It’s not like Steve ever knew Tony Stark so Sam rolls his eyes. It’s only been a few months since Banner lost his husband but there’s really no need to worry about Steve saying something out of pocket on that one. “He’s taking most of it in stride but Banner...”

Well he’s intimidating. The fusion of Banner and the Hulk had been an incredible achievement for the two smartest men in the world but Sam still can’t wrap his head around how he and Tony could have gotten down like that.

And whenever he sees Bruce, he still thinks about it. Unfortunate. He knows. Sam rubs his hand over his face. “You still sleeping on the floor or do we gotta go head to toe on the second bed?”

Funny how ingrained Sam is on that. Despite his proclivities.

[woundedwinter]

"I know, I know." He's intimidating and will no doubt be a surprise when Steve meets him, but he has faith in his best friend not to freak out too much.

"I'll explain it to Steve in the morning. He's heard enough tonight." Bucky's also done enough talking.

He scowls at the question because while he'd rather sleep with Steve he won't, not with Sam here. "Floor is just fine. I don't want your damn feet anywhere near me."

[bottledblond]

“What? You know I got a mani-pedi just in case this happened! “ but Sam does feel better about it. He’d rather the bed to himself. And he doesn’t want to give Bucky the option of a bed with Steve. He’s not sure if their sleeping arrangements at home but he doesn’t want to have to see it.

Steve is in blue again when he emerges and notes the two pair of eyes on him without mentioning it.

They have a long day tomorrow. He’s jet lagged and tired. If Bucky ends up on the floor, he’ll just insist he sleep on all of the extra pillows and let it go.

[woundedwinter]

"Probably a princess pink and I don't wanna see that," he answers easily.

They're tense and off balance. It's not a good place to be, but that's where they are.

Awesome.

He lets Steve fuss over him, replacing the extra pillows back on the bed as soon as he's sure he can. He drops off to sleep easy enough, but is startled awake by a nightmare around dawn.

So he gets up and makes coffee, moving to the balcony to try and clear his head without waking Steve or Sam.

[bottledblond]

Steve isn’t a particularly light sleeper. You can’t be in a tenement environment where you can hear everyone on your floor and two floors up or down from you. Bucky gets his alone time, at least for a little while.

The smell of coffee stirs the other two men, who take turns in the bathroom before Steve joins Bucky out in the balcony.

“I need a codename in case anyone asks. There’s nothing intimidating about Steve,” he laughs.

[woundedwinter]

He's better now, calmer and centered so he turns his head to Steve with a crooked grin, "Yeah? Got any in mind? Cause I do."

All of them old names from the stories he'd read Steve ages back. Steve needs the protection of another name to keep others from realizing who he was. They need to keep him safe.

[bottledblond]

“I was going to say ‘Shortie’ or ‘Crooked’ or something, but now I’m just curious to hear what you have to say and how hard I have to hit you.”

They’re a little bit like mob names, sure, but it’s also what the kids on the block used to call him, so not exactly the most flattering.

[woundedwinter]

He barks out a laugh at the suggestions, "Not even a little bit, pal. I was thinking Lancelot. Elrond or even Glorfindel." All characters of pure light and goodness, strong and good. Everything Steve has ever been to him.

[bottledblond]

Steve’s eyes brighten. He’s never been compared to a knight or an elf before but Bucky is being overly sweet and Steve can’t resist it. He’s about to answer when Sam leans out the door. “El-what and Glorfin-who?”

Actually, Steve doesn’t know Glorfindel either . The Lord of the Rings was published in 1948, but he does love the Hobbit. But for Sam not to know Elrond? It makes the youngest of the three burst out in laughter. “Haven’t you ever read Tolkien? Elrond, Lord of the Last Homely Home?”

“Uh...”

“The Hobbit? Did it really fall out? That’s sad.”

[woundedwinter]

"He's just a heathen," Bucky tells Steve as he claps his shoulder. "But those are my ideas. You do need another name to go by in the field. Nobody needs to know who you really are."

It's Steve's call, and if nothing else? It's a good reason for Sam to get dragged into a movie night.

[bottledblond]

Steve settles immediately on Elrond, if only because he things Lancelot could be considered a funny name if people were as clueless about that character as Sam is about the elf. “You can call me Grant Elrond,” Steve says, head held high as he moves back into the room.

Sam looks like he wants to say something, but shrugs. “So who should I be? Elliot Dumbledore?”

[woundedwinter]

He likes how Steve accepts the name proudly. Sam however gets a smirk, "That's not a question you want to be asking me, you know that."

Even if name calling is now part of their repertoire.

Breakfast is eaten and their gear packed before they go to meet Banner at the set rendezvous point. Bucky really needs to talk to Steve about him first.

"So you know how I told you about Bruce Banner? Tony's husband? He's.. different. As in not completely human."

[bottledblond]

Steve isn’t sure if Bucky is pulling his leg or not. He gives the other man a glance as they slow down their walk to the car while Sam goes off ahead. “Is he part... Chitauri they’re called? Is he an alien?” That would be exciting!

Of course, he knows the man turns into a giant monster on occasion, it’s in all of the books he’d read, but he’s always thought that the mousy haired scientist was still human most of the time.

He’s not going to be prepared to see Banner, no matter what Bucky tells him. Especially because he’s going to have the same problem Sam does.

How could he be like this all the time and married to a regular person?

[woundedwinter]

The massive hulk of a man behind the controls of the jet is still probably nothing like Steve might have imagined. Bruce has a small smile for him, watching the much smaller and younger Steve board the jet.

How he wishes he could turn back the clock himself, to find a way to save Tony.

"Hi Steve. I'm Bruce."

Bucky is close behind, reaching to grip the guy's massive green shoulder. "Thanks for the lift Bruce."

"Any time, you both should know that by now."

[bottledblond]

If there is one thing to say about Steve, he’s eternally easy going and willing to accept what he sees. Ancient Norse gods are real flesh and blood things? Fine. There are aliens? Sure. His best friend was tortured into becoming a killing machine for sixty years? Yes, all right. There’s a giant green man piloting an aircraft that looks like a jet but behaves like a helicopter?

Sure.

“Hi Doctor Banner.” Steve’s smile is large, warm and curious. He’s not afraid. “I know this is probably strange for you to meet me like this.” As if meeting the other is normal? “I hope this isn’t putting you too far out of your way.”

“Just heading to Madripoor for a spa weekend,” Sam grunts and goes to sit down.