so bad guys can't see me bleed

•tape twenty-two•

"What's gonna happen to your friends?" Bucky asks from next to me on the plane.

Cap sighs after a moment. "Whatever it is, I'll deal with it."

"I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve," he says.

Cap shakes his head. "What you did all those years, it wasn't you," Cap says. "You didn't have a choice."

"I know," Bucky says. "But I did it."

—

"Do you remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" Cap asks Bucky, turning to him.

Bucky turns to him. "Is that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?"

"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead."

Bucky chuckles and shakes his head. "What was her name again?"

"Dolores. You called her Dot."

"She's gotta be a hundred years old right now."

"So are we, pal."

Bucky shrugs. "Well, I'm more into darker-haired girls now."

"God, you're not subtle," Cap says, shaking his head.

"Well, this was fun," I say, cocking the big gun in my hands before pushing past them and walking out into the snow.

"Your eyes make it more obvious," I hear Cap say.

"Shut up," Bucky laughs.

They walk after me as I walk over to the rocks with doors, only to see the doors open. "Hey, buddy-boys," I say loudly over the howling wind, "we might have a bit of a problem."

They stop behind me and stare at the open doors.

"He can't have been here more than a few hours," Cap says.

"Long enough to wake them up," Bucky says as I start for the doors.

—

"Well, this is cozy," I say while the three of us are close together in an elevator. Bucky and Cap are across from each other while I'm in the middle of them, my shoulders involuntarily touching theirs.

"Do you have to look over the seriousness of every situation?" Cap asks me

"Yep."

The elevator stops and the doors open. Cap looks out before nodding. He bends down and opens the metal gate. Bucky goes first with his gun pointed and ready to shoot. I follow after him, my rifle at my shoulder. Cap follows after me.

We walk against the wall, pointing our guns at any empty space where someone could be hiding. Bucky then leads us up some cement stairs. There's a thud, which makes the three of us snap around. Bucky and I put our fingers on the triggers of our guns while Cap shields himself with his shield.

A door creaks loudly. "You ready?" Cap asks us.

"Yeah," we both say.

The doors across from us are pushed open, showing Tony in his Iron Man suit.

"Huh," I say. "I don't know if this is supposed to be comforting or not."

Tony walks forward, his mask going into his armor. "You seem a little defensive," he says.

"Can't imagine why," I say as Cap starts walking forward.

"It's been a long day," Cap says.

"At ease. soldier. I'm not currently after you," Tony says to Bucky.