Ascertainment || Bucky Barnes (2)

18

Steve found him sitting on the edge of the grass over the rushing water below. The car they had arrived at his back and a cigarette in his mouth. Basil had pulled off his ruined shirt and just sat there in his filthy jeans and bloodied trainers. His skin was grubby with smoke and soot and his dog tags hung over his sharp collarbones. In the other hand he was flicking a lighter as he exhaled smoke into the air. His empty knife sheaths stacked next to him. At the sound of Steve's footsteps, he looked up and exhaled a perfect ring of smoke out over the water.

"You know that's bad for you", Steve greeted as he crouched down to sit at Basil's side. The younger man, though only younger by two and a half years, looked incredibly young in that moment. Steve always had a edge to him that made him seem older. Maybe it was the seriousness in his face, but he seemed older than his physical age of twenty six. Basil looked twenty three. He looked his age, or younger. It was always a sobering realisation. Steve realised that Basil's birthday was coming up. He hadn't said anything and they hadn't talked about it.

Basil flicked the lighter and took another drag of the cigarette. "Aren't I supposed to be the one to say that? I am the doctor here". He blew another smoke ring. "Besides. I'm ninety three. The super soldier serum doesn't let us get sick remember? I can afford to live a little on the edge". He grinned slightly but blew the smoke away from Steve. He wasn't mean enough to blow smoke at a friend who had grown up with brittle asthma. If he was nicer, he wouldn't be smoking at all but he wasn't feeling nice.

"Where did you get those anyway?" Steve asked.

"Found them in the car". Basil jerked his thumb at the car they had stolen. He held up the lighter. It was a proper metal zippo. "It's a good lighter. I'm going to keep it". He flicked it open and closed.

Steve watched him as he took a few more breaths. "Are you okay?"

Basil raised an eyebrow. "Did you not hear my speech in there? Of course I'm not fucking okay. I'm angry Steve. I'm furious. It feels like my heart is being ripped out of my chest and my organs are bubbling up my throat. I want to scream. I want to blow things up. I want revenge. I want death and"- he took a deep shaky breath. "- I want to go home. I want to go back to that time when we were travelling across Europe. Back to when we were happy and Bucky was the man I loved".

Steve exhaled deeply. "Yeah. So do I. None of what has happened is our fault. You know that, we can't blame ourselves".

"You're the one for self blame Stevie", Basil snorted. "I don't blame myself. I regret certain things but I can't go back and change them. No. I don't blame myself. I blame greedy fools in power. I blame this selfish government. I blame hydra. I blame shield. Those are who I blame for putting me in this situation". His voice was sour with bitterness and anger. Steve had never heard the usually silly guy sound like this before. There had always been a dark part to Basil. Something off, something slightly manic. It was in his laugh, the way he fought in battle. The darkness in his jokes. But now, it was fully exposed with no buffer and no shield. Basil had let his facade crack, or Steve realised, it had been shattered under the stress of the past few days. Basil had been stripped bare and the thing inside was feral and raw and vulnerable.

"You're angry", Steve stated.

"How are you not?" Basil replied. He flicked the dying ember of his cigarette to the dirt at his feet and ground it in with his shoe. He turned to Steve with his green eyes. "You've gone internal Stevie. What's on your mind?"

Steve sighed and smiled slightly. Even in his current state, Basil could still read him like a book. "I'm angry too", he turned his head up towards the sky. "I can't trust shield anymore. I'm not sure that I ever could. He didn't recognise me either. I have known Bucky since I was four and he was five. All those years of brotherhood and there was nothing in his gaze. I want to take hydra down. We need to take hydra down. I like having a enemy or punch. When that is over, then I will deal with it".

"If we go free hydra then we are going to have to fight him again", Basil pointed out.

"Yeah. Can you handle it?" Steve asked.

"Can you handle it?" The two of them locked gazes. Sky blue and jade green. Both assessing the other, waiting for the first to answer. After a few minutes, Steve exhaled with a huff.

"I don't know. But you know me".

"Stubborn as hell and willing to always go the extra mile". Basil plucked another cigarette from the box and stuck it between his teeth but didn't light it. "When we get there. Can you leave him to me?" The question caught Steve by surprise.

"Are you sure? You don't have to do this you know. The fight earlier left you pretty messed up. I can take him".

"Like you're any better", Basil muttered. "Face it. We're both mentally drained from today. I want to do this Steve, I need to. The two of us might be able to shock something out of him. But if it comes to it and he's beyond saving. Then I want to be the one to capture him. Bucky deserves better than being hydra's dog. Someone who loves him should do it. You knew him longer Steve, but Bucky can't hurt me. I need to keep you safe and the way to do that is by dealing with him while you do your captain America thing and take down hydra".

Steve sighed loudly but reached out to put a hand on Basil's shoulder. "Okay. Just know that I've got your back too. Bucky will never let us hear the end of it if either of us die".

Basil snorted. "Oh god. You're right. You know he had this look he'd wear whenever I opened my mouth to say something that he knew was going to be ridiculous".

"Just like that time you had that Molotov cocktail!" Steve laughed. "You and Frenchie using Hyrda's alcohol supplies to set fire to their base. You took such joy in that. And there was Bucky. Face set and eyes just staring at you".

Basil laughed shakily, but this time with joy. "Yeah. He would just do this stare thing and it would make you rethink all your life's choices. Once I whispered something in his ear and he gave me the look of 'really'. I swear that look could get half the squad moving. Any fights and he'd just turn up with a smile and if they didn't break it up then he would just drop into that stare, usually followed by a upper cut which sorted things out quickly".

"The amount of times I got home from fights as a kid and he'd just be waiting with that look", Steve chuckled.

"Total parent friend", Basil nodded. "You're the mom friend but also the himbo friend Steve".

"What's a himbo?"

"Oh god, I'm not going to try and explain that".

Steve chuckled and sighed. "Come on", he said, voice turning serious again. "We need to suit up. I'll explain the plan on the way".

Basil huffed but got to his feet. He tucked the up light cigarette back into his pocket and scooped up his stuff. "We don't have any suits", he pointed out.

"War needs to be fought in a uniform", Steve grinned. Basil scowled.

"Well I'm not wearing my old uniform. That thing is hideous".

Unedited