This means war

Chapter 9

A shrill ring forcefully dragged Steve from his slumber. He groaned irately and blindly patted at the glass surface of his nightstand. His fingers finally reached the metallic object and he pulled it to his ear. "Hello."

"Steven, come to my house right away," with no greeting or farewell his mother ended the call.

Steve rolled to his back and groaned. This couldn't be good. As tempted as he was to ignore the summoning, the edge in his mother's tone pulled him out of bed. He was sliding into his car only a few moments later, trying to figure out all the possible mistakes he could have made. 

Nothing came to mind, maybe there was a threat? Or this was for an important mission? But his mother never gave him missions from the comfort of her own home. He sighed again. First his fight with Bucky, now what ever this was.

He pulled up to the grandiose house sooner than he would have liked, nevertheless, his feet carried him to the front door. He rung the door bell to alert them of his presence before inputting the security code, scanning his finger prints and looking into the camera for a retinal scan.

"Mum, dad I brought breakfast!" Steve lifted his peace offering as he walked into the living room. His mother and father were hunched over themselves staring at the coffee table blankly. No trace of humor or joy wore their expression as it usually did when they saw him. Panic instantly trickled into Steve's heart, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

His mother finally raised her strained gaze to meet his, "What's your relationship with Hydra's Winter Soldier James Barnes?"

Steve didn't even skip a breath, "What relationship could we possibly have?"

"Be honest with me Steve!" Sarah slammed her hands against the soft cushions of the dark velvet sofa.

Steve feigned ignorance once again, "Mum, what's up with you?"

Sarah captured Steve's gaze in an intense stare. With a sharp intake of breath, she produced an opened envelope and flung in carelessly onto the glass table. Steve peered at the envelope curiously, his thoughts clouded with confusion. He took the paper in his hands and fished out the contents.

He took one look at the pictures in his hands and exhaled deeply.

They all captured moments him and Bucky had shared together. Holding hands, laughing happily, hugging lovingly and kissing in the mall.

"I am going to ask you one last time. What is your relationship with him Steve?" Steve couldn't bring himself to look his mother in the eyes. He knew the expression which would be awaiting him and didn't want to face it. Instead he sighed and leaned back onto the sofa.

"Steve, is this some sort of elaborate joke?" His father finally spoke up.

"No. No it's not. We're dating."

Sarah made a sound of distress and tucked his face in her hands. "How long?"

"Since I knew I liked guys or..." Steve's attempt at humor was not well received.

"I do not care that you're gay Steve! How long have you been with James?"

"Three years."

"Three years!" Joseph's eyes widened as surprise overtook him. "Steve!"

"Since that first mission we ended up doing together," Steve clarified. He finally looked up at his mother.

"That's why you took a bullet for him?"

Steve wordlessly nodded.

"Steve!" Sarah run a hand through her hair. "He's from Hydra! You can't betray our faction like this! Do you know how many of our agents, agents you consider as friends and family, he has injured and endangered? Do you know how many times he alone has screwed us over? How can you be with him?"