Eunoia [Bucky Barnes]

chapter 28

"What's gonna happen to your friends?" Bucky asked Ava as the jet began to land in Siberia.

"Whatever it is, they've faced bigger troubles before. It will work out fine." She took his hand. She knew what it felt like to feel like something bad was your fault.

"I don't know if I'm worth all this, Ave." Bucky whispered as he began to stand up. Walking over to a weapon stand he scanned the different types before settling for a light machine gun.

"What you've done all these years.. it wasn't you. You didn't have a choice." Ava picked up two pistols that lay on a rack.

"I know. But I did it." Bucky moved to walk by her side as the two stepped out of the jet to join Steve. He was peering at the entrance when he noticed his friends.

"He can't have been here more than a few hours." Steve informed them as Ava looked through the doorway.

"Long enough to wake them up." Bucky thought out loud as Ava followed Steve into the building. Inside it was dark, very dark. An elevator door opened ahead which the three of them stepped into, standing in silence as it began to drop. Ava was looking at her feet, thinking about everything that had happened at the airport. She was brought out of her thoughts though as a hand reached down to hold her own, squeezing softly. Looking up she saw Bucky looking ahead, holding her hand was probably a comfort to him as well as her.

The elevator stopped on the ground floor, the corridor completely illuminated. Someone had already been there. Bucky stepped out first as he held out his gun in front of him. Steve and Ava both followed as they crept along the hallway. The sound of the elevator once again falling behind them made all three of them point their weapons to the door. Ava was shocked when they were met with none other than the face of the Ironman suit.

"You seem a little defensive." Tony said to them as he began walking forward.

"It's been a long day." Steve answered as both him and Ava dropped their weapons.

"At ease, Soldier. I'm not currently after you." Tony held a hand up at Bucky, who didn't move his weapon away.

"Then why are you here?" Ava asked him.

"Could be your story's not so crazy. Maybe. Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself." Tony kept looking straight at Ava as he explained himself.

"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork." She lowered her guns and walked towards him. "Can we say we're friends again?"

"We.. we were never not." Tony gave Ava an awkward smiled as he went to sling an arm around her, but she pushed back.

"Hang on a minute, this has happened before-" She started making Tony roll his eyes.

"I'm not tracking you this time, you're not going anywhere." He stated before looking back up to where Bucky was stood. "Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop.."

Ava looked round to motion to Bucky that for the first time Tony wasn't an enemy. He cautiously lowered the gun as he just looked at Ava before turning to continue the walk down the corridor, Steve following.

***

"Is Rhodey alright?" Ava asked Tony as she lifted her guns back up in front of her.

"He'll survive, to what extent they can't say right now." He muttered back through the Ironman suit. "Funny, I actually thought you had moved onto some random European guy."

"Well, when your old soldier turns into an assassin, you can't really drop them." Ava smiled a little as she turned a corner to see both Bucky and Steve paused.