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You'd think that two one hundred year old super soldiers who spent a great majority of their life in the cold would be more resilient towards it.
But no, apparently not.
The whole team had been gone on a mission, taking out one of the larger HYDRA bases they’ve encountered, in the middle of a cold snap in northern Montana.
The actual temperature wouldn’t have been that bad, especially with everyone wearing double the layers and the heat insulation Tony put in all their suits, it was the wind. Temperatures did get to -48℃ but the windchill made it feel to everyone like it was -55℃.
Not only that, but it was so strong it kicked up snow, making the general area basically a snowstorm. Not ideal when you're trying to fight nazis.
They got it done quickly, however, like they always do, noting anything of interest, destroying anything the world should never have to see, and taking anything the world might need.
...
“Where’s Cap and the Terminator?” Tony asked as he climbed into the quinjet ready to take them back to the compound in Manhattan.
“Don’t know, they haven’t come back yet.” Natasha shouted from the front of the plane. “Im sure they’ll be back soon.”
“Are you really worried those two can’t handle themselves, Tony?” Natasha asked sarcastically.
“Nah, ‘course not. Just weird they're not back yet, they're usually the first.”
“Eh, maybe they were further back than the rest of us. If they don’t get back soon we’ll make sure their face is on every milk carton, Tony.” Clint joked as he put away his bow.
...
And they came, no doubt they wouldn’t, with Bucky supporting Steve by the waist and Steve holding up his shield in to the side of his and Bucky’s faces to block the worst of the wind and snow.
“There you are, slow-pokes, thought you’d never show.” Tony teased before taking an actual good look at the two men.
Both their faces retained no colour, they looked almost grey the lacked that much warmth, Steves lips were near blue and Bucky’s metal arm was heavily frosted over.
They looked absolutely spent as they slumped down into their seats, Steve leaning his head all the way back, and Bucky leaning his all the way forward in a silent defeat of exhaustion.
“Woah, you two okay?” Tony asked, taking a closer step the them.
“Mhmm, cold is all.” Steve said quietly with his eyes still closed and his head still leaned back.
“I think a third grader could figure that out, you two look fuckin’ blue.” Clint said.
Neither of them said anything just sat still, slightly shivering if you looked close enough.
“Compounds only an hour away.” Tony reminded them before sitting himself and buckling in for takeoff.
.....
By the time they landed, neither of the boys looked much better, their skin still tinged grey, Steves lips still blue, Bucky’s arm still frosted over.
“Hey, are you sure you guys are okay?” Tony asked as they got unbuckled with shaky hands.
“Yeah, neither of you look too good, you should’ve at least have more blood circulating toward your faces by now.” Clint commented as he stepped off the quinjet.
“Still feel cold.” Bucky told Bruce as he and Steve exited as well.
“You look cold. We've gotta get you some soup and blankets or something inside.” Natasha said, looking back from where she was ahead the path with Clint.
“We uhh- we don’t- we don’t need that, we’re fine. Just need a shower and everything.” Steve stammered as Bucky nodded his agreement.
“Too bad, compadres, its what your getting.” Tony said cheerily as he slapped Bucky on the back to quickly and inconspicuously see how much at least one of the enhanced men was shivering.
It was quite a lot more than what he expected. Barnes was shaking like a leaf in the wind, and more notably, was giving off waves and waves of cold that made Tony shiver himself.
“Yeah your defiantly getting that soup and those blankets now, Terminator.”
“We said we’re fine, Stark, we don’t want any of that.”
“Well you may not want it but you need it. You at least, don’t know about Uncle Sam over there, are just radiating cold off of you. And your shivering like a little girl.
Bucky simply glared at him while Steve opened his mouth like he was about to say something before Tony cut him off. “No ifs ands or buts, Rodgers, you two are starting to look like the people from Avatar, you know I hate that movie.” Tony joked as he stepped into the compounds kitchen-dining-room-living-room to see Clint already fixing a bowl of soup and Natasha getting hot chocolate ready.
“I’ve been thinking about hot chocolate for two hours Rodgers, this isn’t about you, though you can certainly have some.” She said after seeing the disapproving look on the Captains face. “Now go sit down and warm up, god knows how either of you were able to stay upright this long being this cold.”
“Now.” She said after noticing neither of them moved.
Under Natashas glare Steve finally moved over towards the couch and sat down, not at all relaxed, leaning forward with his hands clasped together and staring straight forward.
“It’s like he hates to be comfortable.” Natasha muttered under her breath so only Clint could hear.
Turning back towards Bucky, she said calmly. “Ты тоже, солдат. Это не признак слабости того, что гидра заставила вас думать, это признак того, что вы человек и у вас есть пределы.” (You too, soldier. This isn’t a sign of weakness of whatever HYDRA taught you to believe, it’s a sign that you’re human, and that you have limits.)
Bucky stared at her a moment longer before heading to the couch and plopping down next to his lover.
Steve, with his exhaustion now finally catching up with him after resisting it for so long, laid his head on Bucky’s human shoulder and let out a long breath out his nose.
Tony, who disappeared after stepping into the kitchen, returned with Steve and Bucky’s damn comforter in arms and stood infront of the two super soldiers.
“Lean back you two, would ya? Dont want this to fall on the floor.”
“You brought the entire duvet, really, Tony.” Steve said, almost sounding amused.
“Well yeah, I wasn't gonna bring half of it.” He joked as Steve and Bucky leaned back to have the heavy insulating blanket thrown on their laps. “Ruin a perfectly good blanket.” He muttered.
“Will you two ever learn to just relax and take it easy, it’s fine to be tired after a mission, you know.” Clint said, blunt as ever, as he placed two bowls of chicken noodle soup on the coffee table in front of the men.
“Yeah its- its okay to admit weakness and fatigue guys. Just cause you were trained to not show ‘weakness’ doesn’t mean it’s true, and just cause your the Captain doesn’t mean you have to be all tough and brash all the time.” Tony said, sitting down on the coffee table with Clint and the soup.
“They’re surprisingly right, дедушки.” Natasha said, coming into the room somehow carrying five cups of hot chocolate at once. She placed them down on the coffee table, becoming evermore crowded and turned to the two shivering men on the couch. “No one here’s gonna hate you for being tired and cold, not after everything, Bruce said both of your bodies would be more able to contain cold after being in ice for 70 years. We understand, we want you two to understand you’re safe here.”
“You're in the company of friends, amigos.” Tony agreed as Clint nodded his head.
Steve and Bucky turned to each other, then back at their friends again, before finally deflating.
Both their shoulders sagged and their faces relaxed. They sunk back into the couch. Steve pulled the heavy blanket up to cover them more, and Bucky pulled his knees up to his chest and leaned more heavily against his boyfriend.
“Sorry.” Steve said quietly.
“Nothing to be sorry for.”
“No, um, sorry for not being able to take it easy and rest, even for a bit. Neither of us are really used to it. But it’s- it’s nice to have people we trust to care for us and to let us just relax.”
“Mmm.” Bucky hummed in agreement.
“Not prob. Now eat your soup, drink your cocoa, and get some rest, god knows how long the both of you’ve been up.” Tony said as he grabbed his own, slightly colder, mug and sat down in one of the armchairs and turned on the TV.
Natasha and Clint followed, curling up on the loveseat together.
Steve and Bucky did as they were told. They ate, they drank, and finally, the slept. Curled up together with the large blanket and a few smaller one lain on top of them. The colour was starting to return to their faces and they slept cuddled up together. And as the sun slowly set, and the three people still awake worked their way through movies, they slept peacefully and soundly. Not a single night terror or nightmare.
When the clock finally struck midnight, Tony turned the volume down to just barely audible, and left it on while the three still awake Avengers headed off to bed.
“Goodnight, Steve. Goodnight, Bucky.” Tony whispered before turning off the living room light, leaving the two sleeping men only in the glow of the TV.