𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙙 - 𝙈𝘼𝙍𝙑𝙀𝙇

thirteen

- Captain America : Civil War -

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[Quinjet]

Steve brought the Quinjet in to land beside Zemo's caterpillar truck on the remote icy mountain top. 

As the jet's wings folded up beside the fuselage, Bucky pulled out a rack of guns labeled "Romanoff" and took a light machine gun.

Steve and Bucky stood together near Alexei, waiting tensely for the exit ramp to descend. Alexei paced back and forth, seeming on edge. "What about Wanda?" he asked sharply. "Is she safe?"

Steve placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We'll make sure she's okay. I promise."

Trying to break the tension, Steve said to Bucky, "You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?"

"Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" Bucky replied, the barest hint of a nostalgic smile touching his eyes.

Steve went on, "You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead..."

Alexei turned to them in confusion, before he looked away with a slight frown.

What redhead?

Now wearing his helmet, Steve walked with Bucky and Alexei up to the entrance set into the rock face, the door still open. "He can't have been here more than a few hours," Steve assessed grimly.

"Long enough to wake them up," Bucky said darkly.

As they continued inside, double doors suddenly parted, forced open violently by Iron Man. Steve stared in surprise as Tony stepped towards them and retracted his helmet.

"You seem a little defensive," Tony noted sarcastically.

Bucky kept his gun aimed warily at Tony while Steve walked cautiously to meet him, shield at the ready. "It's been a long day," Steve said wearily.

"At ease, Soldier," Tony said flippantly to Bucky. "I'm not currently after you."

"Then why are you here?" Steve asked Tony suspiciously.

"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 admitted begrudgingly.

"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork," Steve replied, a hint of amusement in his tone as he lowered his shield. "It's good to see you, Tony."

"You too, Cap," Tony said before turning to an upset Alexei, "Hello."

Alexei didn't acknowledge the flimsy greeting. "Where is my sister?" he demanded, eyes blazing. "Is Wanda safe?"

Taken aback, Tony held up his hands. "Whoa, yeah she's...locked up but okay last I checked," he answered, tripping over his words.

"Locked up?" Alexei repeated menacingly.

"Hey, hey, let's all just take a breath here," Steve intervened, placing a cautionary hand on Alexei's shoulder. "Wanda knew the risks. But this isn't the time or place for this conversation." He stared firmly into Alexei's eyes.

Jaw clenched, Alexei wrestled down his swirling emotions and finally gave Steve a curt nod. But his hands continued to faintly glow as he glared warily at Tony.

Tony shuffled his feet, clearly unsettled by the confrontation then looked at Bucky was still had his gun raised. 

He sighed gesturing to Bucky, "Hey Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop..."