Chapter Text
Here when I say “I never want to be without you,”
somewhere else I am saying
“I never want to be without you again.” And when I touch
you
in each of the places we meet
in all of the lives we are, it’s with hands that are dying
and resurrected.
When I don’t touch you it’s a mistake in any life,
in each place and forever.
Bob Hicok, Plus Shipping
It was not a place Steve ever wanted to return to.
The snow-swept Alps were the same, but the villages were different – bigger, busier, and entirely intact.
The train tracks were still there. Steve saw them from the jet as they skimmed familiar passes, heading for the last HYDRA hideout and their mission finale.
It was going to be an easy one: early detection squads had confirmed that there were no life signs in the dilapidated outpost. All the same, Steve felt uneasy as they flew between the white peaks; this place held no good memories for him, and he had never intended to come back.
“What’s on your mind?” Nat, as always, never missed anything.
Steve offered her a half smile. “Just old memories,” he said, gripping his shield a little tighter.
“Touchdown in five,” said Tony’s voice from the cockpit.
Nat didn’t say anything more; she just watched Steve with an expression of mild curiosity until the jet had safely landed on a natural rocky outcrop. Steve led the way into the icy chill; he heard Tony swear as the cold hit him. “One sec, I’m suiting up,” Tony said into the comms, “I knew climate control would be useful one day.”
Nat, to her credit, appeared completely unfazed by the air temperature. Not that this surprised Steve; she was tougher than anyone he’d ever met, superheroes included.
“We go in quietly,” Steve said above the whistling wind. “Assume nothing. We don’t know what’s in there.”
“You seem a little tense, Cap. Something wrong?”
Steve ignored Tony’s probing question and concentrated on the door in front of him. It was falling apart, literally. Whatever this base was used for, it had never been particularly secure, though the way it was built into the mountainside camouflaged it well. So it was more of a hideout than a military outpost, perhaps.
Steve prised the door open easily, though the hinges had rusted almost into nothing. Inside the air was dank and stale. It certainly had the feeling of abandonment. They stepped inside and Tony shone his torch through the main corridor.
It was empty.
“Nat, find whatever information you can. Tony, take the left wing. I’ll take the right. We’ll meet back here in thirty minutes.”
“On it.” Nat immediately melted into the shadows.
“Catch ya in a few,” Tony said as he zipped through the nearest door.
Steve took the closest right and headed down another corridor, placing explosives ever twenty feet or so. Compared to other bases, this one was small, and Steve finished quickly.
“I’m all done here,” Tony said just as Steve placed his last device.
“Me too. Nat, have you found anything?”
“Negative, Cap. Except…” her voice trailed off.
“What is it?” Steve said sharply, his heartbeat picking up a notch.
There was a momentary silence, then Nat again: “A door, and a staircase going down. I’m checking it out.”
“Hey! Wait for us,” Tony said indignantly.
Steve began to run. He didn’t know why, just that this felt like it could be important, or dangerous. Or both. “Nat, stay where you are.”
“Too late for that,” she said, half amused. Then, “Shit.”
Steve started to sprint. He turned a corner and found the doorway and flew down the stairs. He could hear Tony behind him.
They emerged into a chamber, Nat just ahead and apparently uninjured. It was quiet except for a low humming noise. “Nat?” Steve said, slowing to a walk. “What is it?”
Nat turned to him and the blood was gone from her face. Her expression was unreadable. “Steve…” she said.
“Hey,” Tony had reached whatever it was Nat saw. Something in the centre of the room – a sort of steel capsule that was emitting the humming sound Steve could hear. “Is that…?”
“Steve,” Nat said, and her voice betrayed her anxiety. “This could be a trap.”
But Steve was already walking towards the object, heart hammering for reasons he didn’t know. Up close he saw there was glass in the top, frosted with time but still translucent. He peered inside.
And his heart stopped.
“No,” he said. “It can’t be.”
But it was. Lying still, frozen in an ancient cryo chamber, his face peaceful in sleep. Steve’s childhood best friend.
Bucky Barnes.
*
“Steve, this could be a trap.” Natasha’s voice was as distant as words through water. Steve touched his hand to the smeared glass and stared at the face in front of him.
“Neutralise all the explosives,” he ordered.
“Steve,” Nat grabbed his arm. “Think this through. How do you know that’s really him? We need to be careful.”
But Steve shook her off. “There’s no one here. This place is abandoned, has been for decades. Look.” He swiped his finger over the capsule. It came away covered in a thick layer of dust. He showed it to Natasha, then Tony. “Neutralise the explosives. Now.”
“Cap…”
“NOW!”
“All right, all right. Hey, JARVIS, do what the captain says, will you?” There was a pause, then Tony shrugged. “It’s done. Now what?”
“How’s this thing powered?” Steve circled the machine; by some miracle of technology the pod was still working; Bucky was frozen inside it, and Steve didn’t let himself think about what that might mean.
Tony was silent for a minute, then he gasped. “Oh, that’s good. That’s, wow, that’s impressive.” He put his hand on the pod and patted it affectionately. “You are way ahead of your time.”
“What is it?” Steve said, unable to prevent impatience bleeding into his voice.
“Solar,” Tony stated.
Behind him, Steve could sense Natasha was surprised. “Underground?” she asked, disbelieving.
“Yup. Look at these.” He pointed to a thick rope of cords that ran from the pod and up the walls, into the ceiling. “Somewhere up there is a solar panel; an early twentieth century solar panel but a solar panel all the same.”
“But that’s…”
“Impossible. The technology wasn’t around this early.” Tony shrugged. “Except that apparently it was. And it appears it’s been keeping Steve’s old pal here alive for literally decades.” He was practically vibrating with the desire to take the thing apart and inspect it, Steve could tell.
“Can we move it?” Steve asked.
Tony retracted his mask. “No,” he said. “Not like this. This tech’s impressive but even the slightest movement could cause a malfunction.”
“So how do we get him out?”
Natasha tensed. “Is that a good idea?”
Steve knelt beside the pod and touched the cool metal. “There’s a chance Bucky’s still alive in there.”
“There’s only one way to get him out,” Tony said, peering into the glass. “We have to wake him up.”