Riding Out This Storm

And by the Holy Ghost

"Of course," he said slowly, wondering at the coincidence. Not that he wasn't familiar with similar ones. "That does sound awkward."

"It was alright. We went out for drinks after, had a good time catching up. Until we saw the news and she had to go back to work in Berlin."

Bucky was only momentarily confused. "Oh. Right." He stood up and stretched, glancing around at the other passengers doing so. "Well, I hate to say it, Steve, but I think interrupting your date is one of my more minor transgressions."

Grabbing his bag out of the overhead compartment, Steve snorted again. "That's too bad, man. Well, try not to do it again."

"I'll see what I can do," Bucky glanced over his shoulder with a grin.

******

It had been nice to see Bucky really smile again. More than just a wistful one. Maybe there would be more of those in the future. Still, Steve reminded himself, Bucky would certainly want to go back to Wakanda, back to sleep, as soon as they were finished here. He might want to stick around to see that the loose ends of this mission were tied up, but might not. It was important not to get his hopes up.

The cab was driving them toward the safehouse Nat had suggested. It was cramped with the two of them in the backseat. Bucky had gone silent, as Steve was noticing he did quite a lot these days. Perhaps because he hadn't been invited to speak much while working for HYDRA. Or it could just be nerves. Or guilt. He had a feeling it was probably the last one.

Was it stupid to have taken him out of cryo? He'd been safe there. If someone was after him, then leaving him in Wakanda would have been better. But they had no way of knowing what the person was planning. Steve was sure he hadn't just woken him up as an excuse to see him – or Sharon – again. If Sharon and Nat thought there was reason for concern, they were likely right. And if they thought this was the best course of action, he didn't have enough information to disagree and suggest something else.

Of course, they didn't know that Bucky had been in cryo. They didn't know he'd requested to be left asleep until something could be done about his programming. They didn't know what being called upon to relive his previous work would do to him. They didn't know Bucky.

Since he did, maybe he should have tried harder to protect him. "Hey, Buck," Steve said as the cab came to a stop. They were following Nat's suggested method of getting there, so they would be going on foot a ways before getting another cab to drive them a bit closer.

"Yeah?" Bucky replied, climbing out of the vehicle.

Steve joined him on the sidewalk after paying their driver and they started walking. "You don't have to do this."

"What, walk?"

"You know what I mean."

Bucky stopped and turned to face him. "You had them wake me. You got me this," he gestured to his hidden left arm. "You wouldn't have done those things without good reason. Even if you're doubting your good sense now. If there's any information I can give, you know I want to do that. You know I want to help people if I can. If someone's going down my kill list and crossing off names just because they're similar, you know I'd want to put a stop to that, no matter what."

That was possibly more than Bucky had said all at once since before he went into the ice. It made him smile despite the gravity of the situation to hear his old friend sounding so much like himself again. Well, maybe a little more guilt-ridden than he used to be, but still. "You're right."

"You feeling okay, Steve? You gave up awfully fast," Bucky said, regarding him.

"I'm doing just fine."

It was clear that Bucky didn't consider that to be a particularly satisfactory answer, but he kept walking. "You always say that."

"Do I?"

"Well, yeah." Bucky fell silent, and Steve was relieved he didn't pursue the matter.

They caught another cab at the next corner and rode along without a word until they stopped again. One more double-back and they would be at the place, Steve thought, looking around.

"Black Widow told you to do this, didn't she?"

Bucky was walking ahead of him and didn't glance back, so Steve wasn't sure what he was thinking. "She did. Why?"

"It's just... it's what my handlers used to always insist upon, too."

"It's a smart move," Steve offered.

"Yeah. Smart. Not very efficient, though."

"I suppose not. You aren't enjoying the nice fall air?"

That made Bucky snort. "I'm doing just fine."

Steve grinned at the phrase. "Is that what I sound like?"

"You're less convincing," Bucky replied in a long-suffering tone.

"Well, I'll just have to practice, then," he replied, shaking his head. He couldn't see his face, but he was sure Bucky was rolling his eyes again. "Come on, we're almost there."

He would enjoy his friend being willing to tease him again. He would not think about how short this interview would probably be, how quickly Bucky would be gone from his life once more. It was a pleasure to see him now, regardless of the circumstances, and he would honor his wishes when this was over. But he would enjoy it for now.

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