Winter's Redemption [winter soldier//Bucky Barnes AU]

Chapter Six

STEVE'S POV

Slowly, I opened my eyes. It was bright in the room, so it must've been around eleven or twelve. My arm was around Nat. I was going to move it right away, but she was asleep, and I didn't want to wake her. She looked peaceful as she slept, her battle scars and torturous past momentarily forgotten, and her fiery red hair lay messily across her face. I moved it from her eyes and they fluttered open. My arm slipped out from under her.

"Morning," I greeted, feigning a stretch and a yawn to increase the distance between us. She closed her eyes again and smiled.

"Hey, Steve."

I turned and stood up, stretching some more, before sliding a sweatshirt on over my t-shirt. Natasha got out of bed and headed to the bathroom without another word. I could practically feel the awkwardness; she saw my breakdown, and she knew that she had triggered something but didn't ask about it.

I really like Natasha, I do, but sometimes she reminds me a little too much of Peggy. And when that happens, it's hard for me to stop the inevitable breakdown.

We finished getting dressed and headed out of the room together, going to the top floor to find breakfast. When the elevator opened, we were welcomed with a table full of food, probably prepared by Pepper.

"Thanks Pepper," I told her as we walked by. She gave me a warm smile and a friendly hug- she smelled of pancake batter.

"Anytime!" She replied happily, giving Nat a hug as well. I then caught sight of Sam flailing his hands behind Pepper to get my attention, and I glanced at him, confused.

"Yo, you HAVE to try the hash browns. They are actual perfection," he said, sitting at the end of the table with a plate of just hash browns. I laughed at his suggestion and nodded, grabbing a plate and piling on a little bit of everything. Nat did the same. I took a fork and bit into my pile of hash browns the second I sat down. I have to admit, Sam was right.

"So, you guys all sleep well last night?" Pepper asked, still bustling about in the kitchen. No one answered, so I decided to be polite and reply.

"Best sleep I've gotten in a while. Beds are much more forgiving than cement," I jested. She smiled, but it seemed a bit forced, as if she was picturing me sleeping on cement and it troubled her.

"Well, I'm glad we can help you guys. Tony isn't always thrilled about having guests over, but he seems to like you all much more than he would care to admit," she told us, picking up utensils and bowls and placing them in the dishwasher. I took a quick glance at Tony, who was frowning at Pepper's words, and nodded.

"We are certainly grateful for the help he's given us, and of course being allowed to stay here." I replied, taking a bite of the warm waffles next. The food was absolutely delicious.

Tony eventually got up to go get something a few minutes into the meal, and we sat in silence for a little while longer before Sam suddenly perked up.

"Hopefully we can bring down Hydra soon. Kind of sick of undercover stuff, you know?" He said. Several of us nodded in agreement.

"Hopefully we can find and save Bucky soon, too." Natasha added- I looked at her with a small smile of hope.

"Speaking of that," Tony announced, walking back in the room. "Someone in DC said they saw a man with a metal arm walking in the woods, headed away from the city. So he's probably around the DC, Maryland and Virginia area." He looked towards us and I took another bite, hiding my obvious excitement and queasiness. Tony continued at my silence. "Also, Coulson replied. He said that Hydra has also taken down The Fridge. Hydra is basing themselves where the most known S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters are so they have a better defense, although tactically that's a really dumb idea, so I'm thinking that that may be a trap. Coulson thinks he can manage to gather more agents on our side, and he'll try and rain some hell on Hydra camps, but he's not sure if he'll have enough people. Oh and he also says...hi to Steve."