"So...you're from Queens, right?"
The Rogues had been pardoned. As much as Steve cared for Bucky, he realized that the way he went about saving his friend was wrong.
"You didn't need to lose one family to keep another," Sam had told him later. "All you need to do is be upfront with Tony. Bucky is your friend, sure, but so is Tony. With time, he'll come around and support you, like he always does."
Seeing the wisdom in his words, he set up meetings with Tony. Months of talking and explaining later, Tony had the Rogue Avengers officially pardoned and back in the Compound.
Which meant introductions to the new recruits.
"Yeah, born and raised, sir." Peter responded, trying not to fanboy.
Steve recognized that expression, though. He had seen it before on Phil Coulson.
"Got something to ask?" he questioned, thoroughly amused with the teen before him.
Peter exploded.
"I have to ask again: are you, like, a master in physics or something, or does your shield have a mind of its own? 'Cause you have a freaky level of control over it."
Steve took a moment to sift through his rambling, but he understood.
"It's got a special centre of gravity." Steve explained. "You've got to look beyond what you want to hit. It's all in the wrist, Queens."
Peter nodded in half-understanding.
"Hey Capsicle, stop hogging my protégé!" Tony yelled faintly from afar. "Go get your own."
The duo laughed at Tony's antics.
"I don't know, Tony. I quite like this one. What do you say, Queens?"
Peter simply laughed, envisioning Tony's pout in his mind's eye.
"This is our thing now, isn't it...Brooklyn?" he asked hesitantly, making sure he was correct.
Steve smirked as he clamped his hand on his shoulder.
"It certainly is, kid."
***
They were at an old HYDRA base in Siberia, doing a usual intel sweep, until one of the intruder countermeasures had activated.
Which naturally, triggered all of the others.
Now, they were trying to get out of there alive.
Well, except for Peter.
"Hand me the drive, Natasha."
She tossed it over to him, which he easily caught and turned to go, but he felt some resistance on his arm, pulling him back.
"I can't let you go in there, son." Steve said in a concerned tone, grasping Peter's arm. "It's just some intel. We can recover it again. I can't risk you getting injured over it."
"Steve, the time is now. I've got to try." he responded, looking Steve dead in the eye.
And Peter jarred him by how much he resembled Steve in that moment, so much so that the super soldier involuntarily loosened his grip.
Peter shook him off and ran through the door.
He didn't know why he was this concerned for the kid.
He's Spider-Man. He's capable of protecting himself.
Until some debris began falling from the ceiling, accompanied with some thunderous cracks.
"That's not good." Natasha remarked.
"Cap, this place is about to come down." Clint called out. "Get the kid and let's go."
"I just got here, Clint." Peter said through the comm link. "I'll be quick, though. Prep the jet."
Steve looked at them. "Go, you heard him. I'll stay behind."
Clint offered him a quick nod, shooting some arrows filled with adhesive agents at the ceiling, and even one with a net.
"That should do the trick," he said before retreating with Natasha.
It did not do the trick. Instead, it proceeded to fail pathetically.
The moment they were out, the support beans finally gave and the ceiling structure collapsed in.
Steve instinctively braced underneath his shield, letting out a graceful "oomph" as the concrete made impact.
Risking a glance around, he saw that he was practically holding up the ceiling, which had more-or-less split in half.
There were more cracks appearing, meaning that regardless of his efforts, the ceiling would break further, blocking their only way out.
"Peter, I don't think I can hold the exit open for much longer. Whatever you've got, just take it and come."
"Almost there, Cap. Just hold on." he replied.
Steve, deciding not to waste his breath arguing, redirected his energy completely into holding up the structure and avoiding the obvious outcome of the collapsed ceiling.
One painful minute later, he heard a "done!" through the comms.
"Great, now hurry." he replied with urgency.
Since he was in a slightly awkward position, the weight was getting a bit much for him. So, he was surprised to feel the load on his shoulders lighten.
Turning around, he saw Peter tossing the concrete boulders aside.
"Spider got your tongue, Brooklyn?" he quipped with a smirk.
"I still forget that you have super strength sometimes." he sighed out.
"Well, let's go!" he hollered, before shooting a web at the stable portion of the ceiling and swinging over to the Captain, who he grabbed by the waist and carried with him.
They made it to the jet.
Clint took off immediately after they had made it to the ramp, pressing a button to activate the explosive charges he had left behind.
Steve and Peter watched in morbid fascination as what was left of the already collapsed base fell apart with a loud boom.
Once they were in safer airspace, Clint put the jet on autopilot and joined them in the main hold.
"So, what was so special about this base?" he asked, turning to Peter.
Steve was confused as to why he was asking Peter. He was the SHIELD agent, after all.
Until he saw Natasha looking at Peter, too.
He put it together fairly quickly after that.
"Wait, this was your op? This wasn't SHIELD-sanctioned?" he asked in realization.
"Of course it was SHIELD-sanctioned," Peter replied. "I was just the one who put in the suggestion. And maybe requested to be assigned to this op."
"Why?" Steve interrogated wearily.
Ever since he had exposed SHIELD as HYDRA in disguise, and the events of the 'Civil War', he had a special disdain for compartmentalization of any sort, especially among friends.
"It's about the drive, isn't it? There's something on that drive that's too valuable for anybody else to see. Whatever's on it is probably very important to you in some way. What's on it?"
"Cap," Peter tried, "I'm not certain about any of the information on the drive, and I don't want to get your hopes up-"
"What's on that drive, Peter?" he gritted out, tensions rising, as he instinctively reached for his shield.
"Back away, Steve." Natasha commanded, holding a gun to his face. A quick glance behind her showed that Clint had an arrow loaded and aimed at him.
Steve responded with a look of confusion, before realizing where his hand was reaching to.
"I'm sorry. It's more of an instinct at this point." Steve dropped his hand, no more reaching for the shield.
"You must know that trust is am important factor for me. Withholding information, especially among family...I've seen the damage it can do."
Peter understood that reference.
Tony had often told Peter that he could read people's minds by looking at the emotions they held in their eyes. Tony himself had to resort to that method when talking with his father, a man who always had very few words for him, and millions of fake people the billionaire encountered on a daily basis.
In the moment, all Peter could see in Steve's eyes was guilt. Peter was not stupid, he knew how important trust was. He understood Steve's message.
"I accept your apology. I understand where you're coming from." Peter replied.
Steve nodded his thanks, before doing the same to Natasha and Clint as they lowered their weapons.
"I think it's best that I show you what's on the drive." Peter stated. "I know that I have your trust. I just want you to have no doubt about whether you have mine." Peter said, before walking over to a nearby dock and plugging in the portable copy drive.
"You do know that I'm a super soldier, right?" he mumbled out to Natasha.
"I still would've taken my chances." she replied with a smirk.
Files and schematics loaded up onto the display, but it was the forefront file which caught Steve's eye, causing him to inhale sharply.
Проект. 17: Программа "Зимний солдат"
Project 17: The Winter Soldier Program
"After talking with Shuri and the other Wakandan doctors, we came to the conclusion that HYDRA had brainwashed Mr. Barnes by setting trigger phrases. They're-"
"-a series of code words which makes the victim relive the most traumatic event of their life. In that moment of vulnerability, the aggressor asserts dominance and takes control of them psychologically." Natasha said. "Textbook HYDRA brainwash."
At this point, everybody on the team had stopped underestimating Natasha, or even being surprised by how much she knew, or how experienced she was. Her gender did not stop her from being on par with the other members of the superhero squad. She was unique, had her own style, which complimented the team perfectly.
Enough said.
"She's right." Peter continued. "From the recordings and both of your descriptions of events, Bucky's words are related to his fall from the train."
The Captain took a deep breath. That was one of the worst moments in his life, loosing his brother in all but blood. Recounting the incident was never a fun activity.
"As much as Mr. Barnes wants to change, those connections are set deep in his subconscious. A quick fix would be to wipe him, but we can't erase those memories from him. Not without creating some serious character deficits. As traumatic as it was, Cap, the fall is an important part of his life. To erase it would be like erasing a part of him." Peter explained solemnly.
"I get that, but I still don't get why the drive was so important. All of this is info that we already know." Steve stated.
"That was the base where Mr. Barnes and the other Winter Soldiers completed the brainwashing procedure. They've most probably saved his code words in some form on their drive." he said, flourishing towards the copy after unplugging it. "HYDRA's smart. They've isolated all of their systems to the base, so it isn't remotely accessible. Intentionally, by the looks of it."
Peter stopped rambling, his face softening as he looked at Steve. "That's why I requested this op, Cap: to help Mr. Barnes. I also didn't call everyone because as much as Mr. Stark says he's fine, he still has the trauma of losing his parents and one of his best friends, you, to the Winter Soldier, a weight that still weighs heavy on him. I knew that he would have agreed to come along, but it's a sore spot for him."
***
Steve had just returned from his customary morning jog. After hitting the shower, he made his way to the kitchen/dining area, where he was greeted with the sight of Peter on the ceiling, sitting in a cross-legged fashion, sifting through some papers.
Which was surprisingly normal.
"How's it hanging, Queens?" Steve called before holding up his hand.
"Good morning to you, Brooklyn." he said, looking up (or down) from his pages and holding out his hand in time to meet Steve's for a high-five. "So far, so good."
A dull noise diverted their attention to Clint, who had just dropped the cereal box.
"Wait, did you just say 'how's it hanging'? Since when did you start speaking like my kids?" Clint asked, surprised out of his mind.
"It's not that he doesn't want to learn." Peter continued, clipping the sheets before calmly dropping down from the ceiling in a three-point landing. "He does. You guys just teased him instead of actually teaching him or showing him how."
"I'm a simple man, Clint." Steve added, filling up a glass with water. "Don't confuse simple with stupid."
"Besides, nobody likes being made fun of. Especially over their lack of knowledge." Peter finished, sitting at the counter.
"That's absolutely right, darling." Pepper said as she walked into the room and hugged him, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Breakfast?"
"Please." he replied, nodding.
***
"Тоска."
Longing.
"Ржавый."
Rusted.
"Семнадцать."
Seventeen.
"It's not gonna work." he called out weakly.
"Рассвет."
Daybreak.
He saw flashes of Zemo. Before he had been possessed and broke out of the cell he was in.
"Печь."
Furnace.
Then, the bridge. Being recognized by Steve for the first time in a long time.
"Девять."
Nine.
The pain of being brainwashed. He could feel it, almost as if it was happening to him in that moment.
The Starks. Causing them to crash into the tree, strangulating Maria Stark. He saw it all over again.
He'd never meant to kill anyone, much less a good friend of Steve's. Who happened to be one of the parents of someone very important to Steve.
"Доброкачественный."
Benign.
At this point, he was shaking, wrestling with the Winter Soldier side of him to stay in control. He felt the pain of being 'wiped'. He wanted to scream.
Hold it in, he told himself when he felt it becoming too much. Control it, for Steve.
"Возвращение на родину."
Homecoming.
He saw his face.
Steve's. He remembered him.
The shock that hit him when he recognized him. Followed by the guilt from seeing that he was the reason for the bruises on his stupidly loyal friend.
What would he do without him?
Probably turn into a Russian assassin.
Sorry, bad timing.
"Один."
One.
Tears ran down is cheeks. All he wanted was for it to be over.
"Грузовой вагон."
Freight car.
He took deep breaths, filling up his lungs as if he were breathing for the first time. Which it might has well have been.
His rebirth. His revival. This was no small feat.
The pain remained in the form of a semi-strong headache and a tightness in his chest, but the knowledge that the Winter Soldier was purged from him gave him more relief than he had expected.
"You are free." Ayo reassured him, proudly.
Despite his pain, a smile spread across his face, as he looked at the camera.
A few miles away, in the royal palace, Steve matched his expressions as he cried tears of joy, emotional after his brother in all but blood was released from his torment as HYDRA's puppet.
"He did it, Cap. He's himself again." Peter, who was also crying, said while clutching Steve's shoulder.
Steve smiled wanly as he pulled him into a hug.
"Thank you, Peter." he said, kissing the top of Peter's head. "You don't know how much this means to me."
"Of course, Steve." was the soft reply he received. "You're welcome."
Peter didn't mind holding Steve for as long as he wanted.
The super soldier cried into his shoulder as he reminisced of the days when Bucky and him were not super soldiers in the wrong time period. Nor the time when they were soldiers, even.
He remembered their days as two kids who had each others backs. Mere children with big dreams and promising lives ahead of them.
What a long way they'd come from Brooklyn.
***
For Queen_is_my_life12 and GloriousPurpose1. I'm sorry that I couldn't dedicate the story to both of you, but this is for you.
Hugs from me,
Jace Lennon.
XOX