ʟᴏꜱᴛ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʀᴇɴ || 𝟙

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 15

"Look who's back," Bucky quipped as Demetria slumped into the nearest chair, head in her hands.

"Mr Barnes, please." Peter begged, trying his best to keep the peace.

Shrugging, he turned to Sam and Clint.

"So, what's the plan?" they asked, in unison almost as if they had planned it. 

"You guys go back to the compound." Peter replied. "Let Mr Banner go through these files, see if he can make sense of what they were doing here. Demetria and I are going to go look for the coroner."

"Just the both of you?" Clint asked, swiveling the pilot's chair as he questioned the move. "You really think just the two of you should be traipsing into Russia's backyard? What if she goes all nuclear or freaks out again when she sees the doctor who probably tortured her?" he turned to Sam and Bucky looking for some support.

"As much as I don't like her, he has a point kid." Bucky sighed as Peter hid a smile. The Winter Soldier had a softer side to him than most people expected or saw, but if he was worn down long enough, he would eventually do what was right.

"Okay, then one of you can come along and the rest of the team can fly back. Any volunteers?" Peter asked, looking at the three of them.

All heads turned to look at Bucky who glared. "Fun fact folks, I'm not that fond of Russia."

He was met with stony silence from Clint and Sam. The worst part was when he looked at Peter, who had whipped out the signature "puppy eyes".

"Guys you don't seriously think – I – after the last time I was here!" he groaned, rubbing his eyes in exasperation, trying to force them into recalling the previous debacle. 

The rest of them took that as confirmation. Slapping him on the back, grinning all the while, Sam took his place in the co-pilot's seat.

Bucky looked around frantically. "Wait, we're going right now?" He as the jet began to power up.

"What were you waiting for? An invitation?" Sam retorted, as he prepped the plane for flight.

Fifteen minutes passed as Demetria slowly pieced herself back together, Bucky grumbling while reloading his ammo and Peter stocked up on provisions and currency before Clint and Sam gladly kicked them out and back into the cruel Russian air.

"Be an Avenger Steve said, it'll be fun he said." Bucky grumbled as they watched the Quinjet become a small speck in the sky.

--

"Oh yes." she breathed, the first time they had ever heard her sound happy, eyes tracing the outline of their rides lovingly.

"Yeah, Clint thought you'd like it," Peter smiled.  Bucky was already astride his. "It was um... your mother's according to him,"

"Huh, a Harley Davidson LiveWire. She had taste." Demtria stroked its handles lovingly, almost as if it was a beloved pet. "Do you even know how to ride one of these?" just as she realized that there was no third bike.

"God, no. Aunt May would kill me if I ever got on a motorcycle," he said, tapping a button on his forearm as the nanites in his suit formed into thrusters at the soles of his feet levitating him a few feet off the ground. "Tony Stark patent." he said proudly.

"I would have gone with jetpacks, you know add some pizzaz to it," Bucky commented loudly as both he and Demetria revved their engines, the loud purr filling their ears.

"Well, the thing about jetpacks, the physics itself-," Peter began to ramble.

"Nope, let's ride," Bucky cut him off, slipping on his helmet, executing a roundabout turn before burning rubber and shooting ahead as Demetria followed close behind.