Chapter Text
He doesn’t tell Tony and Bucky about T’Challa’s offer before they leave. They need time to rest and recuperate a little before he brings it up, although he knows he will need to mention it soon. Rumlow and his media storm won’t wait for them, in fact, it has probably already begun. If they leave for Wakanda soon, then they might at least be able to avoid the worst of the initial backlash.
For now though, Tony calls Clint, and they wait in the hangar as the quinjet is piloted expertly inside. “Sight for sore eyes,” Bucky mutters next to him, and Steve nods emphatically, following Tony as he steps towards the waiting plane.
The door opens and the platform drops, revealing Natasha waiting for them at the mouth of the quinjet, her hands on her hips. It’s a relief to see her, after everything that has happened, and Steve watches as she flicks her eyes over them, taking in the effects of the last 24-hours.
“You guys look terrible,” she says bluntly, and Bucky lets out an abrupt laugh at her words. Steve grins at the sound, because he’s pretty sure it is the first time Bucky has laughed since any of this had started, and he makes his way forward towards the jet, Tony and Bucky following along behind him.
Natasha smile slightly as they come in and watches as Tony rolls his shoulders and lets out a groan as he sits down. “I feel terrible,” he says, slouching in his seat as Steve and Bucky get themselves settled. “You’d think the CIA would have better accommodations,” he continues, waving his hand at Natasha as she moves to sit down. “One out of five stars, at best! Terrible customer service, I won’t be going back any time soon.”
Steve chuckles as Clint starts up the jet, and he moves to strap himself down, noticing how Bucky winces slightly as he reaches for his own buckle. He frowns at that, remembering how his friend had complained about soreness in his shoulder after breaking out of his cell. Hopefully, Tony will have a chance to look at it soon.
They still have to go get Bruce though, and for the rest of the flight back to England, Steve, Tony and Bucky give the other Avengers a brief rundown as to what had happened to them in Germany.
“Geez,” Sam mutters, once they are finished and nearing their destination. “I mean, I knew Rumlow was crazy, but you gotta admit, this was pretty desperate.”
Steve shifts and nods, flicking his eyes over to Tony as he thinks. While Rumlow’s plan had been a huge risk, he also knows that the man must have been reasonably confident that he would be able to accomplish it. A lot of things had needed to work together in Rumlow’s favour in order for him to succeed, including making sure Bucky wasn’t in the building in Vienna, and that Rumlow could be armed once inside the bunker in Germany.
Simply put, Rumlow wouldn’t have been able to do his plan without those two things, and he wouldn’t have tried it without being sure that they were in place… which means that it is very likely that he had had some help on the inside to make sure those parts of the plan went off without a hitch.
Steve isn’t sure if the insider help is necessarily high up, but he is willing to bet that at least some of the security team for both places were moles.
It is a disturbing thought, but it isn’t exactly that surprising, given how Hydra had infiltrated other organisations before this. It is definitely something that he is going to have to investigate though.
Wait, he thinks suddenly, hardly noticing as Clint circles around to land the jet as they arrive in London. I won’t be able to investigate it at all. His stomach twists as he remembers all over again that with the Accords in place, he won't be able to hunt down Hydra anymore.
He had known that would be the case, and he hadn’t wanted to risk signing the Accords just so that he could continue his hunt… but it feels wrong knowing that Hydra heads are still out there and he can’t even fight them anymore.
Beyond that, he is even thinking about leaving entirely. How can he justify going off to Wakanda while bits of Hydra still linger all over the place—
It’s not your responsibility to take out Hydra, Jason’s voice rises in his mind and he closes his eyes, remembering his last session with the man. Just because you fought Hydra before, doesn’t mean that you have to fight them forever.
Jason’s words seem more poignant than ever, especially after the Accords, and now with T’Challa’s offer. In his last session with him, Steve hadn’t known the UN’s plans for the Accords, and he hadn’t known that he would soon be forced to retire, but Jason had already been trying to get him to plan for the future.
It’s your choice, he had said. You can take a break, you can choose your battles. Hunting Hydra isn’t just your responsibility.
Around him, the Avengers shift in their seats, chatting lightly as they wait for the hangar door to settle and for Bruce to com on board, but Steve hardly notices, his mind mostly focused on his internal dilemma.
It isn’t exactly his choice anymore to retire. It is a choice in a way, but it had been made between a rock and a hard place, and now he is going to have to learn how to live with it. As Jason had said, it isn’t his actual responsibility to fight Hydra… and as he has said to Tony not long ago, he does trust his friends to be able to continue the fight without him.
So… even without Rumlow’s recent actions, and the implications they have, he can still step back. He doesn’t really have a choice about that anyways – unless he wants to sign the Accords— and Jason had said that he could take a break…
What had Bucky said? Living a life is a good way to fight Hydra?
How much of his life has been dictated by fighting Hydra? His whole world had been turned upside down when the war had started, and he had been chosen for the super soldier program in an effort to fight the organisation. His serum had even been initially developed for Hydra, and he had spent the next two years hunting them down throughout Europe.
It had been because of Hydra that Bucky had been captured – the event that had ultimately pushed him into leaving the USO tour – and it had been because of Hydra that Bucky had died.
He, himself had died fighting Hydra too, and then he had been frozen for seventy-years in a final effort to thwart their plans. Even after he had been reawakened, it hadn’t taken long before he was back at it.
It had only been a few weeks out of the ice before he and Tony had discovered time-travelers in the Tower, and with them the presence of Hydra, soon forcing him to go undercover in the very group he had fought for so long.
Even after blowing Hydra’s Helicarriers out of the sky and finally being able to hunt them more vigorously, Hydra had continued to leave lingering touches on his life. It had taken months of work and slow progress for Bucky to relearn his personhood and grow out of what Hydra had turned him into, and now, four years after he had woken up, and three years after he had found Bucky and started fighting Hydra again, Rumlow comes in and tries to destabilise everything again.
Hydra had been a constant, controlling factor in his life for years, and… that probably isn’t going to change.
Hydra thrives on power-imbalances and corruption. Just like neo-Nazis, he doubts they will be able to stamp out Hydra completely – not without a worldwide shift in human behavior.
So… he is going to have to figure out how to live a life, even with Hydra still in existence.
He doesn’t exactly like the idea. It was simpler back in the war, when Hydra was a clear enemy, and he had complete jurisdiction to hunt them down. It was easier when they could be clearly found in bases and camps, rather than hiding in governments and organisations – and deep within people’s own psychology.
But times have changed… and maybe the fight has changed as well.
The traditional method of raiding bases works, but only when there are bases to raid. It does nothing to fight the ideologies that spawned Hydra in the first place, and it doesn’t fight the underlying social injustices that do Hydra’s work for them.
Even if he can’t fight Hydra physically, that doesn’t mean that he can’t hurt them. There are social justice causes that he can support, and as Captain America, he has a powerful voice he can use. People might be less inclined to listen to him, now that he isn’t actively fighting, but he imagines there is still a lot he can do.
Including taking a break, he thinks tiredly, rubbing a hand over his face as, around him, the Avengers lean forward to greet the returning Bruce. He will still have to discuss it with Bucky and the others, of course, but he imagines that Jason would probably approve of a sabbatical to Wakanda.
Bruce sets down his overnight bag in the seat next to him and offers Steve a small smile as he moves to sit down. “It’s good to see you,” he says as Steve glances over at him, noticing how the man flicks his eyes over him in a not so subtle doctor-scan. “A lot happened.”
Steve huffs out a breath and runs his hand over his face again. “No kidding,” he says tiredly, knowing that Bruce doesn’t even know the half of it.
oOo
It is late evening and raining by the time they get back to the Avengers compound, and they disperse quickly, worn out and tired by the exhausting week. They pause long enough to plan a meeting for tomorrow, and Tony makes plans to look at Bucky’s arm, but they all retreat quickly enough to their own rooms for the night.
Steve relishes in changing clothes and finally showering off the soot and grime from the Vienna explosion, and he wolfs down a late meal, before collapsing in an actual bed to sleep in.
He does not turn on the news.
The next day, he is still tired, but rested enough to entertain the thought of the meeting later in the day. It is scheduled for after Bucky’s appointment with Tony, but it doesn’t take long before Steve finds himself sitting in the meeting room, the one where – just days ago – Secretary Ross had come in and dropped the Accords on them.
So much had happened since then, it is almost hard to fathom, and Steve knows that with his announcement of T’Challa’s offer, he is just going to add to the multitude of revelations and changes happening in the compound.
He doesn’t bring it up right away, instead waiting until after he and Tony and Bucky have finished reporting everything from Berlin, and Natasha finishes summing up the recovery efforts in Vienna.
“Besides king T’Chaka, eleven people were killed,” she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “And over seventy people injured. Clean-up efforts are ongoing, but it’s going to take a while before things return to normal.”
Next to him, Steve sees Bucky’s hands clench on the table at the death toll, and he nudges his friend slightly with his foot. He knows Bucky still feels some measure of guilt over the attack in Vienna, even though it is ultimately Rumlow’s fault, and his friend offers him a weak smile in response, his hands relaxing slightly as he turns his gaze to listen as Natasha continues.
“The UN has started to release a statement about Bucky’s innocence and the apprehension of the true culprit but…” She taps her fingers on the table and flicks her gaze over him and Bucky. “This is a high-profile case, and Bucky’s name was a hot topic. Even with his innocence, his past with Hydra has been violently brought into the public eye. It isn’t going to die down soon.”
She sighs and slumps slightly in her seat. “When Hydra fell, Tony had JARVIS pull our files and Bucky’s, so while people know he was the Winter Soldier, they don’t have a lot of concrete knowledge about his missions.” Her lips press together. “Of course, now, every high-profile case is being assigned to him and conspiracy theories are going wild.”
Steve winces, remembering how Rumlow had brought up conspiracy theorists as well. While Bucky may be more or less innocent in the eyes of the law, the same can not be said for the whole of humanity, and Steve would not be surprised to learn if Hydra heads are actively feeding the rabid corners of the internet.
Across from him, Tony curses and runs a hand through his hair. “What a mess,” he mutters, and Steve can’t help agreeing. It is becoming increasingly clear that the next few weeks, even months, will not be pleasant for any of them – but Bucky specifically.
He shifts in his seat and draws the attention of the group. “I actually have something that has to do with that,” he says, before taking in a breath and starting off with what T’Challa had told him. It doesn’t take long to explain to them all the offer, and by the end of it, he sits back, flicking his eyes over the group as they think it over.
“Just you two?” Clint asks after a moment.
Steve nods, “Yeah, I think so,” he says. “Wakanda isn’t really open to outsiders, so I think T’Challa would have said if anyone else was invited.”
Next to him, Bucky shifts. “Did he say when he wants us there?”
Steve shakes his head. “No. I think it’s up to us,” he says. “He left me his number if we decide to accept and go, so I guess we could go whenever, if we want.” His eyes linger on Bucky, the unspoken question of What do we want? in his gaze.
Bucky sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “It is tempting,” he says after a moment, his eyes a little distant.
Tony speaks up from across the table, his arms folded over his chest. “You’d be safe there,” he says bluntly. “Didn’t you say Rumlow said that other groups would be going after Bucky? They now know he exists.”
Steve’s mouth twists as he remembers Rumlow’s threats and he looks down at the table, his fists clenching.
“We can’t hide forever,” Bucky says softly. “There will always be groups out there. They will always be a threat, unless we stay in Wakanda forever.”
Silence falls, and Steve swallows. He hadn't thought of that. It hadn't crossed his mind that some kind of permanent residence in Wakanda might be on the table. He tries to imagine it, and he can’t. Even with the Accords, and all the changes to the Avengers, he hadn't been expecting to leave them forever. Even if he can’t fight with them, they are still practically family—
“You don’t have to leave forever,” he looks up, and Bruce is speaking from the head of the table, his hands clasped in front of him. The man’s eyes flick up and he offers them a crooked smile. “I had to go on the run because of the Other Guy, but I don’t have to now. Ross leaves me alone now, even if he doesn’t want to.”
Steve nods slowly and breathes in, drawing the attention of the room back to him. “If we try to run from danger, we’ll never be able to stop,” he says, his mouth quirking up as he remembers saying something similar to Peggy, ages ago. “But…” He looks over at Bucky. “If we wanted to go to Wakanda for a few months, just to ride out the media storm…”
He shrugs. He doubts they will be able to avoid it completely, because Rumlow will eventually go to trial, and the story might get picked up again, but there is no reason that he and Bucky need to stay and be lambasted while they wait.
Bucky’s eyes flick over him for a moment before he turns his gaze to look at Natasha. “Would it be worse if we left?” he asks. “Would the media tear us apart for not being here?”
Across from him, Natasha purses her lips in thought and looks down. “It’s possible,” she says eventually. “But you are innocent, and we can spin your choice to leave in your favour. If we play up the psychological effects of Rumlow’s attack, we can pull public sympathy in your favour, make them understand why you left the spotlight.”
Bucky nods slowly and Steve glances over at Tony, knowing that if he and Bucky decide to leave, Pepper will be on top of controlling the media for them.
“If you don’t leave,” Natasha continues, tapping her finger on the table. “Then you won’t have as much of an excuse for avoiding media interviews. You’ll either have to give them what they want, or be critiqued for refusing to comment, and given your history, I imagine some of those interviews could get kind of hairy.”
Bucky grimaces and looks away, his eyes dropping to his metal hand as he thinks over what she had said.
“Besides,” Tony speaks up again, drawing the room to him. “We can always say we originally planned for you to head off before this all started.” He waves a hand. “The Accords are in place, neither of you signed, it’s the perfect reason to want to vacation for a while.”
Steve nods as he thinks over his words, and Bucky shifts next to him. “My semester at Lincoln tech is almost over,” he says, and Steve’s eyes widen, because he had completely forgotten about Bucky’s schooling. His eyes flicker over his friend, and he imagines that going back will feel strange after everything that has happened.
“It’s June,” Bucky continues. “So I only have a few finals left to do for my summer classes. If I finish those, then we could go to Wakanda for the summer.” His eyes flick over Steve and he shrugs. “After that we can decide when we want to come back. I can take a semester off if we need.”
Steve nods at the plan, although privately he hopes that they won't have to stay through the fall semester. Bucky’s classes usually have a physical component to them, so it is unlikely that he would be able to do them online, but he is close to graduating now, and Steve would hate for Rumlow to have messed that up.
“So… I guess we’ll go then,” he says finally, looking around the table at the Avengers around him, silence settling heavily over the table. It feels weird doing this. He had never imagined leaving them like this, never for this reason. And even though they will be coming back, it still feels—
“Oh for heavens sake!” Tony bursts out, throwing his hands in the air and jerking their gazes over to him. “It’s not like they’re falling off the face of the planet. We can still call and text while they’re gone.” He looks up at Steve, catching his eye. “And they’re coming back.”
Steve meets his gaze and nods. “And we’re coming back,” he confirms.
oOo
He texts T’Challa and makes arrangements to be picked up by him and taken to Wakanda a few days after Bucky’s last exam. T’Challa seems pleased at their acceptance, and with the date set, all that is left to do is wait for Bucky to finish school.
He hardly knows anything about Wakanda, and even with T’Challa’s help he still feels slightly clueless as he works on figuring out what to pack. Part of the problem is that going to Wakanda still feels unreal, in a way. Even though they’ve made the choice and set the day, it still doesn’t feel real. He… hasn’t actually traveled for personal reasons much. For missions and for war, yes. But not for this.
It may feel odd to prepare for such a big change, but change seems to be the theme of the compound lately. It is inevitable, thanks to the Accords, and Steve finds that he is not the only one with new plans thanks to their implementation.
“I’ve been thinking of working more with the Other Guy,” Bruce tells him one day over coffee. “I don’t know if you remember, but when you guys were telling us about the time travel, Fury said that there were reports of another Hulk in the city.”
Steve nods, and Bruce gives him a crooked smile as he continues. “I eventually found the files after JARVIS pulled them when SHIELD fell. I think it’s fair to say that the Other Guy is a different one.” He shrugs and his eyes go slightly distant. “He looks… calm. I don’t know how to explain it. He just looks… more balanced. I want to see if I can figure it out.”
Steve reaches for his coffee and takes a sip, glad that he can spend a little bit of time with the Avengers before he leaves. “You’re not worried about being bothered by the UN or anything while you try?” he asks.
Bruce shrugs and shakes his head. “As long as I do it on the compound, and as long as I don’t injure anyone, then I should be fine. I didn’t sign the Accords, so I don’t owe them anything, and despite what Thaddeus Ross likes to think, he doesn’t own the Other Guy. It’s my choice what I want to do with my body.”
Steve’s mouth quirks up a tad bitterly and he nods, understanding Bruce’s feelings all too well. The line between personal and scientific property had become uncomfortably blurry with a few of the officers and medical staff around him during the war. Part of him is honestly a little surprised Ross hadn't tried to claim ownership over his body too, since he had tried to do so for Bruce in the past.
He suppresses a shiver at the thought and gets distracted away from the dark subject as JARVIS announces the arrival of two newcomers to the compound. “Mr. Lang and Miss Lang here to visit,” he says, a distinct note of warmness in his tone as he refers to Scott Lang’s daughter.
Steve smiles and sets down his mug, sitting up as he turns his head to where he knows Scott and his daughter will soon be appearing. After making contact with the Avengers, Scott hadn't exactly begun working with them – because the owner of his suit had objected – but he had kept in contact, and was very much willing to check in every once and a while.
He had only had to mention his daughter a few times before Tony had insisted that they meet her, and she had won their hearts easily. Steve is even pretty sure that she had had a few playdates with Clint’s kids, delighted to safely share news of her own superhero father with other children.
Cassie bounds in, and Steve smiles at the little girl’s energy. “Hello!” she calls, her brown hair flying as she skips towards the table, Scott following behind at a more leisured pace. The two of them smile and greet her warmly, before Cassie glances around. “Is Bucky here?” she asks. “Dad says he’s going on a trip, and I wanna say goodbye first.”
Steve’s mouth quirks up at her question. It had been no surprise to him when Cassie and Bucky had become fast friends. Bucky had always been good with children, and that hadn't changed even after Hydra.
“I think he’s in his room studying,” he tells her. “But I’m sure if you ask JARVIS to call him, he’ll come. I’m sure he wants to see you too.”
Cassie grins and turns away, moving over to hop on one of the couches as she calls to JARVIS to ask for Bucky. Next to the table, Scott watches her with a soft expression, before he turns back to them, taking a seat next to Bruce. “I’m glad I caught you guys,” he says, his eyes flitting between the two of them with his usual nervous energy. “With how crazy these Accords have been, I wasn’t sure.”
Steve nods and takes a sip of his coffee. “Did the UN finally contact you about them?” he asks. “Have you made a decision?”
Scott shrugs, running his hands along his pants. “They did,” he says. “And I’m kind of bummed about having to be more careful about experiments and stuff now, but I’m not going to be signing them either.” He rubs his hands together, glancing over at Cassie before looking back at them. “Hank wouldn’t ever sign his suit over to them anyways,” he says, before flicking his eyes to Steve. “And to be honest Cap, if they’re too sketchy for you to sign, then I’m not going to risk it.”
Steve’s eyes drift over to where Cassie is waiting on the couch, and he isn’t surprised at Scott’s choice. He goes to drink his coffee again, when an exclamation from the couch sends his eyes back over, and he watches as Cassie leaps off, a smile on her face as Bucky steps into the room.
“You’re here!” she calls, darting over. “Dad said I could try to visit you, but he wasn’t sure if you’d be busy.” She reaches up to grab his right hand, her eyes flicking over him. “You’re not wearing your arm today.”
Bucky smiles down at her and lifts her hand slightly. “No, not today,” he says.
Steve’s eyes flick to the pinned sleeve of Bucky’s left arm, and he takes a sip of his drink. Bucky had been leaving his arm off more often since Vienna – although his check up with Tony had gone well. The decision seems to be mostly a personal choice, since he will still put it on when he needs to, but he leaves it off for the most part. Steve is certain part of it stems from everything that had happened back in Europe, but he isn’t too worried.
Both he and Bucky had been sure to set up appointments with their respective therapists after everything had gone down, as well as schedule virtual appointments for during their stay in Wakanda, so he knows that right now what they both really need is simply time.
Back by Bucky, Cassie doesn’t seem bothered by the missing arm – it isn’t the first time he’s gone without it around her after all – and she leans her head around him to look over at the table, her eyes catching on Bruce. “Can we go visit your gardens?” she asks, swinging Bucky’s hand slightly. “You said you were growing tomatoes.”
Bruce chuckles and gives his consent, his eyes crinkling as Cassie gives a cheer and begins to tug Bucky back towards the door, chatting excitedly about the gardens Bruce had started for himself on the grounds.
“So is that what you’ll be doing?” Scott speaks up, drawing their attention back to him. He shifts a little awkwardly and taps his fingers on the table. “You know, since you’re not signing the Accords.”
Bruce smiles and begins to explain his plans with the Hulk, and Scott sits up, his hands waving as he details some of the experiments that Hank wants to do with the suit. “I mean, it’s our suit,” he finishes. “They shouldn’t be able to take it away as long as we’re not fighting with it, and, anyway, we’re going to keep a low profile about it.”
Steve sits back and listens as Bruce begins to ask scientific questions that are beyond his understanding – and mostly seem to be beyond Scott too, and he flicks his eyes over his friends. He is glad at least that Scott will be able to keep his suit and even work with it a little, but it is too bad that he won’t be able to fight with it.
His mind flashes back to the small figure they had seen in the time traveling scenes, and he wonders about that a little. Evidently their time traveling selves had been working together and still fighting, so either they didn’t have the Accords in that timeline…or something had happened, and they had needed to fight anyways.
Personally, if something major were to happen, and the Avengers were to need his help, then Steve doubts the Accords would stand in his way. He flicks his eyes up to Scott and he imagines the same would be similar for him, if something were to threaten his daughter.
oOo
Scott isn’t the only one on a similar wavelength. “Will you be alright?” Steve asks, leaning against the doorframe of Sam’s room as he watches his friend pack.
Next to his bed, Sam looks up and flashes him a smile. “Yeah,” he says. “You forget, I probably have the most transferable skills out of all of you. The VA in Manhattan said they’d take me back already.”
Steve nods and folds his arms, his eyes flicking over the room. “You know that doesn’t leave you off the hook, right?” he says. “You’ll still be expected over for holidays and family dinners. I’m pretty sure Tony will hunt you down if you don’t regularly supply us with your mother’s brownies.”
Sam laughs and shakes his head, leaning back as he stretches out his back a little. “Believe me,” he says. “I doubt very much that I could get rid of you guys. I’ve seen Natasha's tracking skills.”
He rolls his shoulders and shrugs, moving to grab some books off of his bookshelf. “And, anyways,” he continues. “Tony is keeping my wings in storage. If the Accords ever get revised into something I’m comfortable with, or if something happens…” He looks up at Steve. “I’ll be there,” he says. “Same as everyone else.”
Steve swallows and nods. “Yeah,” he says roughly.
oOo
He makes sure Tony knows the same is true for him. “I don’t really care about the Accords,” he tells him, standing in Tony’s lab, his one hand on U as he looks over to where Tony is sitting. “If I get in trouble later, that’s fine, but if you need me for something – even if I’m in Wakanda, please call.”
Tony offers him a thin smile and leans his chin on his hand. “You sure Bucky won’t give me a Glare of Disappointment for getting you in trouble?” he says, his eyes flicking over him. “You don’t have to worry, you know. It’s good that you can have a break.”
Steve huffs out a breath and shakes his head, rubbing his hand along U’s arm. “If there’s something big enough that you need me to come out of retirement for, then I think Bucky will be right beside me,” he says. “He once told me he’d fight aliens with us if he had to.”
Tony’s mouth crooks up at that, and Steve swallows, giving U one last pat before turning to step over towards Tony’s table, settling down in front of him. “Actually,” he says, breathing in and glancing over the man. “I wanted to talk to you before I left... I think you need to be careful Tony.”
Tony blinks and Steve looks down, his hands coming up to twist together on the table. “I won’t be able to hunt Hydra with you anymore,” he says. “Not like I used to anyways, but…” He glances up and catches Tony’s gaze. “I think you should dig around the UN, and probably the CIA for Hydra heads,” he states.
Tony sits up straighter and Steve’s mouth twists, his eyes dropping back down to his hands. “We don’t know everything about Rumlow’s plan,” he says, his thumb running over his knuckles. “We don’t know if he knew the UN was working on the Accords when he blew Lagos but…” He looks up at Tony. “In order for his plan to work, he had to know that Bucky wouldn’t be in that building with us in Vienna.”
In front of him, Tony stays silent, his eyes fixed on his own, and Steve sighs, lifting his hand to run it through his hair. “I don’t know if the security agent that wouldn’t let him in is Hydra, but you should look into it.” He drops his hand. “Also the fact that Rumlow got into Bucky’s cell with a gun. Someone must have covered for that. Even the security guards that didn’t go into Bucky’s cell before we got there are a little suspicious.”
Tony nods and Steve huffs out a breath. “If Hydra has infiltrated any part of the UN or the CIA then…” He flicks his eyes over Tony. “Then they could have had a hand in the Accords as well,” he says. “And they might not take too kindly to you trying to change them. I know why you signed the Accords, and I think you can do a lot with them, but please be careful.”
After his speech, Tony sighs and runs a hand over his face, his shoulders slouching. “Yeah,” he says tiredly, dropping his hand to look at Steve. “I thought there was something fishy going on with Rumlow too.” His eyes flick away for a moment before darting back to Steve. “I’ll keep an eye on it. I think Ross, Everett Ross, is going to be doing his own investigation, so it won’t be too suspicious if I dig around a little.”
He mumbles something about the other Ross, and shakes his head. “That guy is a piece of work,” he says. “Even just knowing what he did to Bruce… I think he’ll have some skeletons in his closet too, even if they aren’t Hydra. I think if I dig, I can make his life difficult, and hopefully temper the Accords a little.”
Steve nods at that, and can’t help smiling a little. A vindictive Tony is a sight to behold, and Thaddeus Ross deserves every bit of it.
He lets out a breath, relieved to know that Tony will be keeping an eye on things. “Thank you, Tony,” he says, leaning forward slightly. Tony shrugs, but he continues. “I mean it,” he says quietly. “Knowing you’ll be here dealing with the Accords and Ross is part of the reason I can even stand to leave.” He swallows. “It’s… hard, knowing Hydra is still out there.”
Tony’s mouth twitches upwards, although his eyes remain soft. “Well, if anyone deserves a vacation, it’s you,” he says. “And it’s not like you’ll be completely in the dark. You might not be able to be on the team, but there’s nothing Secretary Ross can do to keep me from consulting you in the privacy of my own compound.”
Steve smiles at that, and his shoulders loosen. “Well.” He leans back. “If I deserve a vacation, then I’m sure you could use something similar.” He catches Tony’s eye. “Don’t work too hard, okay? You have Nat and Rhodey, and Pepper and her team to help you. Take care of yourself.”
Tony’s eyes flick over him and his mouth presses up into a gentle smile. “I will,” he says softly.
oOo
The day of the trip seems to arrive suddenly, and Steve finds himself standing in the compound hangar, his bags at his feet and Bucky at his side, the Avengers clustered around them as they wait for T’Challa’s ship to touch down.
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Clint says, shoving his hands in his pockets, glancing away from the landing ship to look at Steve. “You know, most people buy a big car for their midlife crisis, going to a country you know almost nothing about is a little over the top.”
Steve’s mouth quirks upwards and Bucky laughs, shoving his shoulder. “Steve has always been overdramatic,” he teases, his voice raised to be heard over the sound of the jet. “Besides, we went into all sorts of countries we didn’t know during the war, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”
Steve grins and shakes his head, looking over to the plane, the engines beginning to power down as it settles. “T’Challa seemed to think we’d enjoy it,” he says. “And I’m sure there are sides to it that the media hasn’t shown us.”
Bucky nods, and in front of them, the door to the jet begins to lower. Steve isn’t exactly sure if the ship is T’Challa’s personally, but the man had insisted that he fly them to Wakanda himself, rather than have them come on their own.
He watches him come out, and he smiles as the man comes over, his eyes flicking over the group. “It is good to see you again, Captain,” he says, meeting his eyes. He nods back, and T’Challa makes quiet conversation with the Avengers about his upcoming coronation for a few minutes as he and Bucky turn to start gathering their bags.
He knows already that he and Bucky won’t be invited to the coronation, since their invitation to Wakanda is more or less a private, somewhat secrete, affair, but he is curious as to what else they will be able to do in Wakanda. T’Challa’s only words on the matter had been that ‘things will be clearer once they get there’.
It doesn’t take long to gather their things, and soon, their bags are stored on the ship, the Avengers clustered outside as Steve stands on the walkway.
“We’ll be coming back in a month or two,” he says, looking over them. “I know—” He swallows and breathes in, moving to put his hands in his pockets. “I know things have been changing a lot, and we won’t be able to be a team like we used to be but…” His eyes trail over the group and he offers them a small smile. “I just want you to know that, well, that doesn’t matter. We’re more than a team. And I’m proud to have you by my side, no matter what.”
He heavily suspects that he has managed to make a few of them cry, and his own eyes are feeling rather wet as he smiles at them.
In front of him, Tony shifts and he looks up. “See you when you come back,” he says, and Steve nods.
“See you then,” he says.
oOo
He sits with Bucky on the plane and he watches the clouds float outside the window as T’Challa flies them away. It’s a long flight, but as the sky begins to shift into a rich orange and the sun begins to set, T’Challa informs them that they are soon to reach their destination.
Steve breathes in. This is really happening. He is really doing this.
He leans slightly into Bucky’s shoulder, his eyes still on the orange sky. “You saw Hannah right before you left, right?” he asks.
Beside him, Bucky nods. “I visited her and the family a few times,” he says. “She was pretty worried, but she’s doing better now. She’s insisting I take pictures for her.”
Steve smiles and shifts, his eyes darting over a passing cloud. “We’ll have to ask T’Challa if that’s okay,” he says. “Since Wakanda is pretty private.”
Bucky nods and smiles. “Yeah. Gotta admit I’m curious. I don’t think I ever went there as the Asset.”
Steve shakes his head. He doubts Hydra would have ever had a reason to send Bucky to Wakanda. The country seems to be relatively poor, and even its vibranium seems to be more or less depleted, so the country wouldn't be much of a temptation for the organisation.
Still… T’Challa had seemed to imply that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to his country, so Steve wouldn’t be surprised if—
Up front, T’Challa turns to him. “We’re here,” he says.
Steve blinks and leans forward, before standing up with Bucky, the two of them coming forward to stand behind T’Challa’s seat. Outside the window, green trees rush under them as a rainforest spans for miles all around.
It is beautiful, but it doesn’t exactly seem like a destination, and Steve’s brow furls in confusion for a second as he opens his mouth to ask T’Challa where they plan to land.
The words don’t get a chance to leave his mouth, because T’Challa seems to be aiming for the trees, and Steve’s eyes widen, his shoulder’s stiffening as—
The ship breaks through some kind of holo-shield, and the trees vanish, revealing instead a sprawling city next to a glistening river, the sun’s light bathing everything in an orange glow. In front of them, T’Challa continues to expertly pilot the ship, a mischievous grin now finding place on his face.
“Welcome to Wakanda,” he says, an almost playful note to his voice. Steve’s mouth falls open, and next to him, Bucky throws back his head and laughs, his hand coming up to clasps his shoulder.
“I think I’m going to like this place,” he says, and Steve finds his own smile growing as he darts his eyes over the hidden landscape.
“Me too,” he says warmly.
The End