Frayed Lines

In which Steve gets tripped up.

The road was quiet and calm. Crickets chirped along the sides of the road as a black car drove past Steve, the breeze ruffling his hair. He had stopped to fill the tank with some extra gasoline he had in his backpack.

Mount Rushmore was alright besides the fact that he had to sign a few park rangers' handcuffs.

"Damn that man." he sighed to himself, still annoyed at the park ranger who ruined his evening. He closed the gas hole and stood back up only to find the car that has gone past him had parked on the side of the road up ahead. Two figures leaned against the sides of the car, both with long hair, one with a metal arm. He bent over again to put the gasoline tank in his pack when he did a double take. Wait, a metal arm?

"Shit." he muttered to himself as he got on his motorcycle. He tried to ride past them casually, going at the speed of 40 when he saw too late a trip wire strung across the road. The wire caught his wheel and made the whole motorcycle flip over. Classic Natasha.

"What the hell was that for?" He grumbled, standing up to face them. "Who are you?" He tried to play it off and it apparently didn't work as Bucky smirked at him.

"We know it's you Steve, give it up. We've been tracking you for weeks." Bucky sneered as Steve untangled his bike from the wire, standing it up and dusting off the gravel.

"Last I checked my ID, my name is James." He continued to lie as he glanced at Natasha. 'Since when were her eyes so green?' He thought to himself. 'Son of a gun, I've fallen harder then I thought.' Natasha stared him right in the eyes as she went up closer and closer to him, stopping only when she was right against his chest. Why does she have to be so damn attractive.

"Oh really? Then what's this?" She grabbed at his jacket and ran her hands underneath only to find solid muscle. Her face twisted in confusion as Steve smirked, glad that he decided against putting it on his back and instead, putting it in the round container specially designed for his motorcycle by Stark. For once, he loved that man.

A quick glance to his bike was all that Bucky needed to know where it is. "It's in his motorcycle pocket." Bucky walked over to the side of his bike and unzipped the compartment to find Steve's shield. 'Why does he have to be so intuitive?' Bucky patted the side of it and grinned at Steve.

"Now come on back, Steve." Natasha said. "There's a new threat we have to face and Shield, or whatever's left of it, assigned the task to us."

"Last I checked, I was a soldier, not an agent." He walked back to the bike and threw one leg over it, glaring at the pair as he closed the compartment containing his shield. "So if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to something I need to do."

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The engine started up and he drove off, nearly leaving Bucky and her in the dust. Now Steve was a very attractive and great guy, but he was as stubborn as a bull. Before he rode off she decided to shout something at him that made him brake so hard, he nearly flew over the front of his bike. Now Natasha usually wouldn't hurt Steve, but if they were able to get him back before Sam and Wanda got too out of control, she had to do this.

"Steve!" She shouted. "Peggy's dead." His motorcycle immediately stopped and he jerked in his seat. It was true, Margaret Carter died in her sleep a few days ago and her funeral was yesterday. She smiled sadly as she knew they had caught him.

"What?" It was that moment that they found out how broken Captain America was. His voice cracked and he turned around, the stars enabling her and Bucky to see a tear glistening down his face. He never cried.

"You had to say that, didn't you." Bucky growled next to her as he glared at her. Shock registered as she learned another thing, Bucky actually cared for Steve.

"Yeah, we need you to come back for her funeral." She stuttered, still shocked by how utterly broken Steve looked.

His eyes hardened as he glared at them, laughing humorlessly.

"Stop lying. I know this is one of your attempts to get me back to Shield but it ain't gonna work." He sneered. Since when did he sneer?! Maybe their wish for Steve to connect with the 21st century shouldn't be fulfilled.

He restarted the engine and drove off before either of them could do anything. Bucky sighed and looked over at her, jaw tight in anger.

"Since when did you do stupid things, Tash?" He shook his head dejectedly and got back in the passenger seat of the car. She then joined in beside him and sighed.

"Should we keep doing this?" She doubtfully said. "Maybe we should leave Steve to his own. He's clearly not wanting to come back."

"No." His response shocked her. After all, he was reluctant to go in the first place. "We have to keep following him. He's the only hope we have to beat... him. His heart is too pure to be contaminated by that filthy weapon."

Bucky turned the keys in the ignition and gestured for her to drive, putting his head on the glass window.

"Stevie is one of a kind, Tash. He saved so many and was so strong on the outside while he was so broken on the inside. We have to find him." Bucky slowly spoke, his words dwindling to a whisper. "I hate losing people I love."

Wow. He does care for him. She smiled as she realized that maybe, Steve and Bucky could be friends again.

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"Sir, we were able to break out of their compound." Wanda kneeled on the ground next to Sam. "I used my tricks and Sam got us out with his wings."

A dark figure grinned maliciously.

"Good job you two. Now see to it that the Captain is given to me with as little damage as possible." The man chuckled. "I want him to be in perfect shape when he fights against the rest of your... Avengers."

The man walked back to see his beautiful weapon in its case, ready to be used.

"They really think he can outlast this?" He smirked. "Every angel has its own demon."