Work Text:
Friday night at the Avengers HQ can be spent in a lot of different ways, but usually –and whenever they aren’t on a mission– the heroes like to spend it together doing something that would strengthen the bond they have. It can be watching a movie, just having dinner together, playing a game, or just talking amongst themselves.
One particular Friday night, they chose to sit down for a little chitchat after having some Chinese takeout. They delved into trivial topics, just enjoying each other’s company and having an all-around good time. Eventually, the conversation started to steer towards deeper subjects, sooner than later ending in the bizarre territory of conspiracy theories.
Steve, Bucky, Natasha, Sam, and Clint were discussing different kinds of theories until they landed on the one regarding the assassination of John F. Kennedy. While Rogers was adamant that it wasn’t an inside job perpetrated by the CIA, Romanov was pretty sure that the KGB had nothing to do with it either.
“There’s no way a governmental entity would kill the president of their own country,” Steve defended passionately.
“Can you really say that after what happened with S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Sam questioned without batting an eye.
“That’s different.”
“How so?” Butted in a skeptical Clint.
“Well, how about the KGB? Couldn’t they have been the ones to do it?” Rogers asked Natasha, to divert the conversation.
“I’m pretty sure they had nothing to do with it either, as far as I know,” she confirmed, to the Cap’s dismay.
As their discussion on the topic progressed, Clint began to micro-analyze all the details regarding the crime, like the bullet trajectory, the line of fire, and more. In the meantime, Sam and Natasha were listening intently and adding their own opinions and observations here and there.
It was only Steve (who took a moment to withdraw from the animated chat in order to see why Bucky hadn’t said anything for a while) that noticed his best friend’s state of puzzlement and worry. The Sarge was sitting off to the side of the group, googling everything that was being said.
Because Rogers didn’t want Barnes to feel left out, despite his lack of in-depth knowledge about the event they were discussing, he decided to include him in the conversation by asking about his opinion. After all, they were all talking out of their asses at that point, more or less.
“Hey, Buck, who do you think shot President Kennedy?” Rogers asked as the rest of the Avengers present fell silent to let the other man speak.
“I think I did.”
Barnes’ soft answer, muttered while he looked at his teammates, was enough to baffle everyone into breathless stillness. And the look he was sporting on his face, a combination of confusion and understanding, didn’t help to ease any of the rising tension.
After he answered, the whole room grew deadly quiet for a while. Because, honestly, what could anyone reply to a confession like that?
But despite having to take a moment to process what they had just heard, the heroes managed to get a grip on themselves rather quickly, trying to avoid making the Sarge feel even worse about what he just realized.
In the end, they all did their best to reassure Bucky that it wasn’t him who did it, but that it was Hydra pulling the string and forcing him to do it as the Winter Soldier. ‘Cause even if Kennedy was just another addition to the list of targets he had taken out while under Hydra’s control, they all still weighed heavily on him.