Frostbite |The Alternate Timeline

At it Again

Sam greeted me warmly when I arrived at the airfield. We embraced for a long moment before he motioned for me to follow him. It had been a few months since the last time we'd seen each other, though we had kept in touch frequently. I had insisted he call if he ever needed any help since he started working with the Air Force again.

"I just want you to know; I didn't know they'd take the shield, Mel. I'd have given it to you or Buck if I had," he admitted, his face long with regret.

I nodded, saying, "I figured that. It's not your fault. Just don't be surprised if it ends up missing."

He chuckled as we walked through the building at our own pace.

"How have you been? How much of a nightmare has he been?"

"I've been... coping," I sighed, my face twisting as I said, "Bucky's been- well, Bucky. A pain in the ass, but-" I shrugged as we went through a door and met with another man in uniform. He offered his hand and I hesitantly took it.

"Hey, I'm Torres."

"Melanie Stark."

"I was just finishing up the checklist and then you'll be good to go," he told Sam, leading us down a flight of stairs.

"Look I know five years went by, but not for us. Everything is still fresh and raw so if you need to talk about what happened in Nepal..."

My jaw clenched at that and I inhaled deeply. I did everything to not think about it. He was right, it was like it had happened only months ago, but the world had kept on going without us. There was no reason for me to dwell on it. Sam was the only other person who I had talked to about it other than Steve. The only one who really knew what happened. And I was fine to leave it at that.

"Thanks, Sam. I'm fine though," I elbowed with a wry grin, "So what am I here for? You were pretty vague on the phone." I had brought my fighting gear with me, but that was it. He opened his mouth to reply when a familiar figure caught up with us. I gaped in disbelief.

Bucky sauntered forward, giving me a questioning look before addressing Sam, "Shouldn't have given up the shield."

"Good to see you too, Buck."

"This is wrong."

Sam stopped to face him as he grew agitated, "Hey, hey, look, we're working, all right? So all this outrage is gonna have to wait."

"You didn't know that was gonna happen?"

"No, of course I didn't know that was gonna happen. You think it didn't break my heart to see them march him out there and call him the new Captain America?"

"This isn't what Steve wanted."

"Oh, my God. So, what do you want me to do? Call America and tell 'em I changed my mind? Huh?" he chuckled, "Yeah, right. It's a great reunion, buddy, be well."

"You had no right to give up the shield, Sam."

"Hey. This is what you're not gonna do. You're not gonna come here in your overextended life and tell me about my rights. It's over, Bucky. Besides, I have bigger things to deal with now."

Bucky gazed at him with his sad eyes, "What could be bigger than this? And what the hell are you doing here, Melanie? You got here awfully fast; I thought you couldn't teleport or whatever anymore."

I snapped, giving him a pointed look, "No- I've told you I can't use the Mystic Arts anymore, Bucky. And Sam was getting ready to tell me before you came over and threw your temper tantrum."

His eyes narrowed at that and I could tell we were going to get into it again, right in the middle of all these airmen. Bucky was still trying to get me to tell the truth about what had happened, even though he knew I didn't wanna talk about it- why I wouldn't. It was a sore subject for me. It was the reason I had left the sanctum and Stephen behind. Not that I didn't keep in contact, I just couldn't live there anymore, no matter how much Stephen pushed. The loss of the magic had been hard, especially on top of everything else.