Black Star: HYDRA War

ภเ︎𝓷𝓔︎𝐓︎𝓔︎𝓔︎𝓷

MM." You smile and lick up the drops of shake that have somehow escaped the cup and spilled onto your hand.

    "I told you Easy Freezy has the best ice cream," Peter gloats after swallowing a mouthful of cookie dough ice cream.

    "Yeah, yeah, you make amazing food choices and know places to get amazing ice cream because you're just so amazing."

    You meant the words as a joke, but as they leave your mouth, they gain weight, both in the air and the meaning, so by the time they reach Peter's ears, they become a fully genuine compliment. He reddens and looks away.

    "Um... thanks," he stammers.

    "Yeah, uh, no problem."

    An awkward silence fills the space between you, and you silently curse yourself for ruining the moment.

    Steve's birthday was four days ago, and since then, the temperature has only climbed. For the past couple days, Peter has been talking about this local ice cream shop he loves. Now that it's the hottest day this summer has had so far, you finally gave in and let him introduce you to Easy Freezy. You've spent most of the day invisible as you wandered around Queens with him (you made a stop to go get his phone fixed), though now that you've taken refuge on the roof of his apartment building, you've gone visible.

    The last time you went incognito like this was, of course, when you were on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D.-that-was-actually-HYDRA. Turns out, it's a lot more fun when your life isn't at stake. Though, at the moment, it's not that fun. You scramble to think of a topic to relieve the tension, but before you can-

    "Do... do you think you'll be able to find Mr. Rogers's friend?"

    You hesitate. For the past few days, you've started to have some doubts. Maybe it's time you talk to somebody about them. "Honestly? I... don't know. Natasha told us he'd be super difficult to track, but I didn't want to believe her. It's been almost two weeks since we built the tracker, though, and still no sign of him." You frown, hating the possibility one of your inventions might fail you and you'd be letting Steve down in one fell swoop.

    "How does your tracker work, anyway?"

    "AVIS manages it. She's spending all her time scanning news outlets. TV shows, articles, what's being printed in newspapers. Every outlet from every country. Dad even called in a favor so she's got access to some United Nations intel."

    His eyes widen. "This is really important to you guys."

    You pause, thinking how best to explain it. "Everyone talks about what a great American hero Steve is. They pat him on the back for sacrificing himself and put him up on a pedestal. They admire him from afar, this shiny hero up on his pedestal, but never get close enough to do anything more than look. But I'm close enough. I know. Sure, he didn't die, but he lost everything and everyone he had ever known. Peggy Carter was still alive when he woke up, but by the time Steve learned that, she was already on her deathbed. And she died last year, so Steve's been adjusting alone ever since. Bucky is the last 40s connection he has left. I want to give him that connection back."

    "Wow, I- I never thought about it like that. I guess I never considered how being put 70 years into the future could affect someone." He frowns. "I feel bad now."

    "You don't have to. It's not really your fault. Everybody talks about the crash. They don't talk about the aftermath. The... the anxiety attacks and the bouts of depression. It was hard enough to get him to open up to me about it, let alone the entire world."

    He doesn't respond, and you worry if you've gotten too dark. But when you look over at him, he's not staring at you, weirded out and concerned. Instead, he's staring at a random point in the distance, a thoughtful expression on his face.