[Bucky Barnes, Cast; R] In Derelict Sidings The Poppies Entwine Character/Series: Bucky Barnes, Cast; Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: R Notes: So I had - way back when - a very different ending for Bucky and Mama's not-romance. That was before I realized that Steve and Bucky would have to relocate. I decided to close up their storyline rather than leaving that potential thread dangling. Title: In Derelict Sidings The Poppies Entwine: Chapter 18 Author:yuuo Word Count: 3935 Summary:It was around eight-thirty that evening when MPs- not Jordan and Kovanda, who'd been their nightly guards -showed up, Steve and Bucky's bags in hand.
It was around eight-thirty that evening when MPs- not Jordan and Kovanda, who'd been their nightly guards -showed up, Steve and Bucky's bags in hand. They were told to change and pack their things, and to do it quickly.
Bucky suddenly desperately wished that they had their weapons and tactical gear. Steve's uniform was basically useless except to look shiny, but Bucky's was made from nomex thread and kevlar fiber. Gave him a bit of an advantage against small arms, and made it easy to carry his weapons on his person. Here, he had no weapons, nothing he could grab in half a second and have killed his target in the latter half of that second.
And something was going on. Something very, very wrong was happening. They were being escorted somewhere, leaving the stockade in a hurry and put into the back of what looked like a normal vehicle, but this was the military. Bucky would not be surprised if it had more surprises to it than what its looks alone would account for.
Every time one of them tried to ask a question, they were either ignored, or told to be quiet. The knot of nerves in his stomach tightened. He slipped back into the old familiar skin of the sniper, the assassin. The Winter Soldier. He marked time, relative speed, as close as he could tell from watching the passing scenery, calculating how far they'd traveled, how far they were going. His internal compass showed them going south, a touch west.
Forty minutes passed, and they'd traveled just under thirty miles. They crossed into the city limits of Washington DC. Bucky wondered if the bank in the city was abandoned, rather than stripped by the government. If it had been left alone, damn the memories the chair would bring back, there'd be a way to open communications with Tony and get his help getting the hell out of there and to safety somewhere. He knew of a few other small places in DC they could go to, assuming they hadn't been raided after most of Hydra's information was dumped on the internet. They probably had been, but without any other plan, his mind fell back on 'find the safe house.'
Bucky found it somewhat comforting when they pulled into the back entrance of the White House. It wasn't damn likely that they'd get tossed into the Bog of Eternal Stench or anything from there. That'd be too many questions, and it'd be too easy of a situation for Steve and Bucky to get out of, and if any of these people had paid any attention to the news about their jobs, they'd know that. Hell, they didn't even have to know about the Winter Soldier's work, just Steve's. They would not get away with anything in the White House.
Not unless they wanted a repeat of the War of 1812.
It was past nine at night by the time they were escorted into the Oval Office, to a waiting President Ellis. Special Service remained flanking the president, something that wasn't often seen by Bucky. Usually, the president was discussing confidential affairs with Steve and Bucky when they interacted, and the guards were not present. Obviously, they weren't taking any chances this time.
President Ellis was sitting behind his desk, watching them like a disapproving parent. He didn't speak for a minute, which invited nothing from Steve or Bucky, and neither were inclined to try to start this conversation. Finally, the president sighed. "I don't suppose you're going to explain why you couldn't just have told me any of this when I called you here weeks ago?"
"To be honest, sir," Bucky said, "I just wanted to be left alone. I didn't want any government agency having anything over me. Had a few decades of that, didn't want to go through it again."
"And yet you turned yourself in," Ellis said. "Why?"
"By that time, I didn't have much choice," Bucky said. "Hydra had pushed me into a corner. It was either continue to run, or come clean and remove their method of blackmailing me."
The president nodded slightly, frowning. "And you trusted that coming to us would grant you protection?"
"Not exactly," Bucky said. "I had that information set up elsewhere to be released if you guys decided you didn't want to do it yourselves."
Ellis raised an eyebrow. "Tony Stark." When Bucky refrained from correcting him, Ellis sat forward, leaning against his desk. "I've been contacted by an Agent Carter in the CIA. Her credentials passed muster. She says that the CIA is prepared to take charge of your protection and care. Mister Stark has volunteered to move you to New York and make you part of the Avengers at the Tower. Between the two of them, you'll be mostly safe from Hydra retaliation."
Bucky count three seconds off before he steeled his nerve to pull out the accusation on the tip of his tongue. "And retaliation from the US government?"
Ellis sat back, blowing out a huff of frustration. "The government can't safely touch you anymore, your friend saw to that. My administration has no intention of pressing charges against the Winter Soldier." One side of his lips quirked up. "I'll even be nice enough to give you a pardon on going AWOL. You still get that discharge, this time effective immediately. You're on your own now, boys. As far a the Army's concerned, anyway. The CIA will still be shadows."
"I've worked with Agent Carter before," Steve said. "She's discreet, we won't notice her."
President Ellis didn't comment on that, just studied Bucky. "I'm just sorry you didn't trust me with that information. This whole mess could've been avoided."
"Don't feel bad, sir," Bucky said. "I didn't trust anyone with it."
"And Stark?"
Bucky took a second to figure out how to answer that. "A friend. He asked nicely."
That didn't seem to have amused the president much, but he didn't push it, either. "You'll be escorted back out. The CIA agents that are now in charge of your care are waiting. They'll take you back to your apartment. From there, I imagine they'll help move you from DC to New York." He was quiet a moment. "I do hope we'll still be able to call on you two when we need you."
"For the right price," Steve said, and Bucky had to choke back laughter. "Just as always."
"Very mercenary of you, Captain," Ellis said.
Steve shrugged. "Even mercenaries need to eat."
After giving Steve an unamused look, Ellis looked back at Bucky. "I'll refrain from making you appear on national television," he said as he stood, much to Bucky's relief. "But I'll say it now." He saluted. "Welcome home, soldier."
Bucky hadn't been expecting that, wasn't even sure what he was expecting at this point. Unlike weeks ago when he last saw the president, he automatically saluted. "Thank you, sir." He held his salute until the president lowered his arm, then had to resist the urge to relax into an at-ease position.
"Dismissed," Ellis said, and the escorts that had led Steve and Bucky in guided them back out of the office, and through the White House, until they were out back again. There was another car waiting for them, this one less ominous-looking, a regular four-door family car, simple, white, possibly a Ford. Bucky couldn't tell. It wasn't a very flashy car, though.
It was Sharon waiting for them by the driver's door. "Looking for a ride?" she asked, smiling in a way that made Bucky feel at ease. She was an ally, a friend, possibly someday more for Steve if Bucky could get them to stop worrying about their jobs so much. Shouldn't be hard now that Sharon wasn't deliberately keeping hers a secret.
Steve smiled. "Nice to see a friendly face finally," he said.
Sharon motioned to the car. "Get in. I'll take you back to your apartment, let you get some rest. We'll worry about moving tomorrow. You don't have a lot to pack, I hope?"
Bucky let Steve take the front seat to sit by his not-sweetheart, climbing into the back.
"No," Steve said. "If we're moving to the Avengers Tower, I don't think we'll have need for our dishes or furniture. So just our clothes, really." He paused. "And my record player and records. It took me forever to find those."
Bucky rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Steve, you can find all those songs on iTunes, fer chrissakes."
Steve made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a whine. "Yeah, but the sound quality is different. The songs just don't sound the same in digital sound. You have your hang ups, let me have mine."
Sharon laughed quietly, glancing in the rearview mirror at Bucky. "Taking the player and records with us is doable. Especially if all you have besides that are clothes."
"And one box of books," Steve said. "I mostly use the library, Bucky has a digital library on his tablet." He paused. "We can keep the tablet and laptop, right? They're not compromised or anything?"
"No," she said. "We've made sure of that. They're clean and ready for you to come home."
"Thank god," Bucky said. "I was getting bored without my books."
"Don't let him get bored," Steve said. "He starts acting like a toddler when he's bored."
Bucky could see Sharon pursing her lips in the reflection of the mirror, and he scowled at Steve's back. "Shut your mouth, Rogers," he said. "You get cranky, too."
"You were a sniper, weren't you?" Sharon asked. "How did you avoid boredom doing that? There's a long time between shots sometimes."
Bucky shrugged, although he wasn't sure she saw it, her eyes on the road. "When you're behind the scope, you're in a different mindset. You're counting seconds, heartbeats, keeping your breathing even. There's a lot to think about to take one of those shots. Trajectory, wind speed and direction, target motion. Even a half degree off and your target gets away and people can die because of that. There's too much on the line to get restless."
"Mm." They turned off into an area of town that didn't exactly qualify as the projects, but it wasn't middle class, either. "That sounds difficult. I thought keeping up with you two was hard."
Bucky watched the familiar buildings go by. They were almost home. "It's not for everyone, or for every reason. I was usually covering Steve's back, rather than looking for specific targets."
Unlike with Hydra.
That thought stayed unsaid, fortunately, as Sharon pulled up in front of their apartment building. Bucky looked up at the building through the window. Home for one more night. It was nice that they were getting one more night in familiar surroundings before setting down permanent stakes somewhere else. The CIA could've easily just whisked them off to New York and sent their stuff to them later.
Sharon had her own place to sleep, that mythical place in the ether that she'd been hiding in the past two years where neither Steve nor Bucky noticed her, so it was just them. Thank everything, he thought. He wanted one last comfortable night, where he only had to worry about sharing a bathroom with Steve, where they were nearby without practically having to snuggle each other in bed, where they could sit at their own table- a table! what a fucking novelty after Natasha's place -and read, passing hours in companionable silence.
It'd make more sense for them to pack than to do that, but it wasn't like they had boxes already.
Steve unlocked their apartment door and led Bucky in. Both stoped just past the coat closet and stared.
There were boxes everywhere.
Bucky heaved a deep sigh. "Do we have to?" he demanded.
Steve didn't sound any more pleased than Bucky was. "I think Sharon will forgive us if we don't start tonight. It's already past ten."
"Good." Bucky immediately walked over to the table, dumped a couple of boxes off it, dropped his bag full of clothes, some of which were dirty, some were clean, and at that point, it didn't matter, they were all getting washed, and sat down at the table. He grabbed his tablet. "I don't know how we survived without the internet, Steve," he said. "It makes keeping up on the news so much easier."
Steve put his bag on the ground next to Bucky's and sat down at his usual spot. "Well, I can tell you what's been in the news lately. Bucky Barnes is alive and well, Bucky Barnes may have killed a few people, and now Bucky Barnes was a POW and should be cleared of all charges." He paused. "Oh, and the Huskers won against Miami. But that might not be nationally noticed."
"Fucking fireworks," Bucky grumbled, booting up his tablet. "What crazy-ass state sets off fireworks when they win a college football game? It's not even professional football."
"Well, to answer that question, I'm going to have to remind you of Nebraska," Steve said. "God, it feels nice to be sitting at a table for more than to just eat and leave."
"No shit," Bucky agreed.
Steve was right about the news; even in the international community, his reappearance and the accusations and Tony's statements pretty much dominated everything. It was interesting to see the different opinions on the matter, some were favorable in his defense, there were a lot that were condemning, too. Well, Tony's press conference was only a few hours ago, the rest of the world would catch up and opinions might change.
Russia would probably forever hate him, though.
They didn't stay up long, didn't even bother to do more than a cursory inspection of the internet before calling it a night. They hadn't been sleeping poorly at Meade, but it'd still been a taxing few weeks. Sleep in their own proper beds sounded nice.
They both decided to sleep in. They actually woke at about the same time, the same time they'd been ordered up every day for the last week, but after taking turns in the bathroom, they both went right back to bed without having to discuss the issue. The CIA agents wanting to move them could just wait.
Bucky got up first. Their alarm clock said it was about ten in the morning. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept in that late. Not that it mattered, he rather felt he deserved staying in bed until close to noon every now and then.
Since Steve was still asleep, Bucky decided to hole himself up in the bathroom for a shower where he didn't have to use shampoo stolen from a hotel, or shaving cream that smelled like tropical flowers. He had time to actually shave, for that matter. He'd gotten furry again in the stockade, to his annoyance.
He might've stayed under the hot spray for a lot longer than he already had, but he knew Steve would be up soon, if not already, and would want a shower of his own. Bucky liked Steve enough to not leave him with a cold shower. An unnecessary one, anyway.
Steve was no longer in bed when Bucky went back into the bedroom to change. He had a feeling that before he got done changing, Steve would already be in the bathroom. He grabbed some clothes out of his closet. Oh glorious clean clothes that hadn't been sitting in a bag for two weeks! It was amazing how the little things seemed like the best things in the world after a long mission. It was nice to be home. For at least part of the day.
Bucky had been right about Steve being in the bathroom, the shower running, as Bucky passed through the hall into the kitchen. He opened the fridge, and then scowled. It'd been about two weeks, it was past Thanksgiving and into December now, and that milk had expired on the twentieth. The eggs probably weren't any good, either, and he could see the wilting vegetables in the crisper. He closed the fridge door and eyed the bread on the counter. Growing a few different sorts of mold, one of which was about as blue as Steve's uniform.
"Looks like we're going to Mama's for breakfast," he said to himself, going back to the table and flopping down in his seat, turning on his tablet.
About ten minutes later, the water turned off, and he could hear Steve swearing. He glanced towards the hallway. He had a feeling the water had gone cold. Either that, or Steve hit his foot against the edge of the tub. Or sliced himself shaving. But probably the water.
"You're a jackass," Steve said once he was dressed and joining Bucky in the dining room.
"Not enough hot water?" Bucky asked, tone unaffected and attention on his tablet, although he really wanted to just be an asshole and laugh in Steve's face. God, it felt good for things to be back to normal.
"How long of a shower did you take?" Steve demanded, logging into his laptop.
"Not that long," Bucky said. "I just had the water hotter than usual."
"Jerk."
Bucky smiled. "I think after everything, I deserved a damn hot shower." He looked up at Steve. "And you look a thousand times better without that beard you were growing."
Steve made a vague noise in response. "I've never looked good with facial hair."
"Don't feel bad," Bucky said, going back to his tablet. "After a point, neither do I."
Steve looked over at the kitchen. "Our food's all spoiled, isn't it?"
Bucky nodded. "Yeah, I checked. We're probably going to be eating at Mama's." He smiled faintly. "Which is just as well, I wanted a chance to say goodbye to her."
"It's too bad you never got to ask her out for coffee," Steve said.
Bucky shook his head. "It's not like I could offer her much," he said. "A few months at best, put her in danger from anyone who doesn't like me. Pepper's gotten in trouble, and at least she's got a permanent relationship to make it worth it."
"Are you ever going to settle down?" Steve asked.
Bucky shrugged. "If I ever find that right partner you keep talking about. But likely? No."
Once they were braced for the December cold, they took their car to Mama's. Bucky was sure they were followed by someone from the CIA, possibly even Sharon herself. Bucky didn't care. All he was interested in was some hot food and a chance to talk to Mama. Maybe find out her real name before leaving.
The hostess didn't look as happy to see them as she usually was. Bucky would accuse her of being afraid, and he supposed he couldn't really blame her. "I'll get Mama," she said. "Table's open."
They both felt uncomfortable with the sudden coldness, but all told, neither of them could blame the hostess, so they simply went to their table and waited. It wasn't Mama that came out to serve them, but a waitress that was acting as equally tense as the hostess had. She took their orders without a single smile, and left to put those in. She stopped by with drink refills occasionally, but that was it.
Not one sign of Mama.
They managed to go the whole meal without even seeing her, much less talking to her. Did people suddenly think he was more dangerous as a former assassin than he was as an active mercenary?
Feeling disappointed, Bucky dropped a couple twenties on the table, roughly a fifty-percent tip, and got up to leave with Steve.
They'd only just gotten to the door when they heard Mama's voice behind them. "Winter?"
Bucky paused and glanced back over his shoulder. Mama's red hair was pulled up in its usual bun, stray curls escaping and framing her face. She wore her work uniform and a messy apron, but she still managed to look beautiful.
He turned, stuffing his gloved hands into his coat pockets. "Wondered if I was going to get to see you."
She looked on the verge of crying, her expression brave, but her eyes wet. "Did they really do those terrible things to you?"
Bucky had to resist the urge to walk out without answering. That was one bad thing about that information being public: questions from others. But this was Mama, she was a friend, not a stranger. He shrugged. "Yeah. Long time ago."
Mama crossed the few feet between them and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face against his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, I should've been out here for you, I was just scared," she cried.
He sighed, putting his arms around her soothingly. "It's okay, Mama. I'm used to intimidating people."
She pulled back, face wet, looking up at him. "But you'd never frightened me before. I wasn't even scared, I just wasn't sure I could face you without wanting to do this."
Bucky chuckled. "I'm not exactly the kind of guy to turn down a hug from a pretty lady."
That made her smile. "Does that mean I can expect an invitation for coffee someday?"
The faint smile on Bucky's face faded. "Afraid not. We're getting relocated to New York."
She looked like her heart fell out of her chest. "Oh." She looked down at the ground. "Will you visit, sometime?"
Bucky didn't bother looking back at Steve to see Steve's opinion on that; if Steve didn't want to, too bad for him. "I'll try, yeah."
Mama looked back up at him, wiping away tears off her face. "Well, I guess I get to say goodbye, Winter."
"It's Bucky," he corrected her.
Despite the red-eyes, the flushed cheeks and red-tipped nose, the smile she gave him was dazzling. "Maggie," she said, finally offering her real name. Before he could acknowledge that, she'd gotten up in her tiptoes and kissed him firmly. His nerves tingled at the warmth of her lips, though it lasted only a few seconds. It felt nice to kiss a woman again.
She was an even darker shade of red when she pulled away. "I need to get back to the kitchen," she said. "Lunch rush is coming. Stay safe, Bucky." She glanced around him. "You too, Steve."
"I've got him looking out for me, that's the best I got," he said.
She smiled. "Then I'm sure you'll both be fine. Goodbye, you two." She waved, then turn and went back to the kitchen.
"So was that your first kiss since 1941?" Steve asked once they were outside, like a complete jackass.
Bucky kicked his shin. "Shut your mouth, Rogers," he said. "Not all of us have had the freedom to look for girls."
"I'll have to make you change that in New York," Steve said, getting into the car.
Bucky settled into the passenger seat, buckling his seat belt. "Let's let the news die down a bit," he said, not saying no. It was just a matter of finding someone that wouldn't be scared off by the name. That seemed rather daunting, but he wasn't going to let it stop him. He'd missed being with women, they were pleasant company, fun to dance with, and even more fun to kiss.
Maggie hadn't been too bad at it, either.
Steve put the car in gear and took off to their apartment to pack up and move.