Chapter Text
It wasn't particularly common to have the whole team together for breakfast. Each one of them had their own personal schedule preferences, and even if they were used to one another by now, they still were a group of very difficult people. And yet, Bucky couldn’t help the comfortable warm feeling growing in his chest at the scene in front of him.
There was spilled milk by the right corner. A broken jar of strawberry jam making everything sticky. Crumbs — of white bread, Australian bread, whole grain bread. Couldn't they agree on just one bread type, for God’s sake? — scattered all over the table. The place was a mess but, if he was honest, so were the people.
The last four months were simultaneously their hardest and easier period as the Avengers. After that messed up mission with Sam’s team, they were forced to review some things that were hidden away until that moment, which ended up with vulnerabilities exposed and a whole lot of new security procedures to learn and implement. But, on the other hand, the team was closer than ever, bounded by their fear of exposure, and it was impacting positively on their missions.
Even if they were still suffering from the hate of the general group — not without reason, after all, they all had done very public and terrible things — it was impossible to ignore that they were more coordinated and organized than ever. Their last three assessments had not only been victories, but they managed to not destroy one single piece of urban equipament, which was a miracle just by itself. For Bucky, to see this team of misfits to merge their skills into a not only functional but pretty competent team meant more than he was willing to let show, but he could not deny it. The Avengers were back and they were killing it.
Bucky let his lips curve upwards slightly at the sound of the discussion beginning in front of him. When all was said and done, each one of them were a pain in the ass, sure, but they surely were his pain in the ass.
"I just don't get it, you know?" Ava started speaking, still holding a big red mug, filled to the brim with hot coffee. "We are the Avengers. We are endorsed by the government. Valentina is like a billionaire or something. Why are we still drinking shitty coffee?"
"It is sponsored coffee. We got like an infinite amount of it in the deal, and I don't think Valentina got this rich by refusing free stuff." John replied with conviction, also drinking his coffee. He was the only one in full combat suit, a strong argument that, sometimes, you can take the man of the military, but not the military of the man. "And it is not shitty coffee. I actually like it a lot."
"Of course you do. It has your face on it." Yelena pointed to the ugly package of coffee by the table. She nudged Bob to keep eating his toast, before looking back to her own omelet. "And she is right. It is shitty coffee."
"You two are just jealous they didn’t want you on it." John put his mug down, crossing his arms in front of his chest, the annoyed expression he got every time the girls started to gang up on him.
"If it was good coffee, they wouldn't need to rely on your face to try to sell it in the first place." Yelena argued back. She sounded nonchalant, but Bucky could hear the change in her tone. The slight bright on her eyes. She was having fun. "Also, everyone knows Valentina asks for more money if they want me or Ava on their products."
"Oh, so we get shitty and cheap coffee. That's so great." Ava shrugged, pretending annoyance but clearly amused.
"Okay. Screw you." John said, pointing at Ava before turning to Yelena. "And screw you too. Bobby, come on, back me up here, man."
Bob looked up from his half-eaten toast, clearly not following the conversation around him. Bucky couldn't help chuckling at the younger man’s sleepy face — of all of them, Bob was probably the most prone to sleeping in, and it was clear he was not happy to be awake at all. Bob looked between Walker and the girls, trying to get some clue on what was happening. "Back you up on what now?"
“Bobby, keep up, will you?” Walker narrowed his eyes at him, but Bucky knew better. "They are saying my coffee is shitty, man. Back me up."
"Oh, I am not allowed to drink coffee anymore, so I wouldn't be a good judge." Bob grabbed his own mug, filled with chamomile tea. He looked apologetic, even if there was a flash of a playful smile on his lips. "The photo is good, though. The flexes arms are very – what is the word? – manly."
"Shut up, Bob." John rolled his eyes, flushed cheeks, while Ava and Yelena laughed.
“That’a why you are my favorite one, Bob.” Yelena smiled at him, her hands staying just a second too long laid on Bob’s arm.
"Don't mind them, Walker." Alexei intervened, finally taking his eyes from the phone in his hands. "It is a great privilege to be chosen to represent such an important part of the American breakfast. I mean, coffee is not as big of a deal as bread–" Alexei pointed at his own face, decorating the wrapping on the white bread on the table. "–but important too. And the flexed arms are indeed very manly."
"I hate all of you." John declared, but Bucky could see the amusement behind the annoyance.
Bucky opened his mouth to join the banter when he felt his phone vibrating and looked it up.
Sam:
I know you are mister busy man nowadays, especially trying to keep all these weirdos alive, but it is getting hard not to feel like you are avoiding me, you know?
Call me. I really need to talk to you.
And just like that, Bucky's humor was ruined. He felt the same pointed guilt that came every time Sam crossed his mind for too long. He wasn't ignoring the man completely, but he was stringing him along. It wasn't that Bucky didn’t want to talk to Sam. He wanted to. A lot. Sam was one of the most amazing people in Bucky’s life. One of his best friends. But he knew what Sam wanted to discuss, and the answer was no.
No, he didn't have anything dirty on Valentina.
No, he hadn’t heard anything from the Sentry Project from their insiders.
No, he did not convince the team to drop the Avengers name.
And no, he didn’t get Bob any professional help.
Bucky was so grateful to have Sam back in his life, but the cost was just too high. Bucky wasn't a spy like Yelena, he wasn't trained on lying and keeping masks on like second skin, especially around people he really cared about. Having Sam so close, and still being forced to keep him at arms length had been just as painful as he first expected.
It wasn’t like he wasn’t trying to give something to Sam, but none of his demands seemed like a real possibility. Bucky had even tried to convince the team to get Bob a therapist, a small compromise, but everyone simply refused to consider it. He even suggested his own doctor, but the conversation ended up in a very bad argument with Walker about it, and it was hard to win when there wasn’t anyone on your side. In the end, Bucky gave up. He knew it was a lost cause because even Ava and Yelena stayed on Walker’s side of the discussion.
So yes, he was avoiding Sam a little. Waiting a couple of hours before answering texts. Not picking up calls. Sending other people to events Sam might attend. And the worst part was that Sam was being so understanding and nice about it, like he was willing to wait on Bucky to meet him halfway. Because Sam was a good man that just wanted to be included in his friend’s life once again.
The Winter Soldier was debating answering the text when everyone heard the unmistakable sound of the elevator doors, followed by high heels tapping the floor. Bucky turned to the door just in time to see Mel entering, dressed in one of her signature skirted suits, pulling a clothes rack behind her.
"Hey guys. I brought some gifts for tonight." Mel said in an upbeat voice. She had assumed most of the communication with the team after the fight last time Valentina and Yelena saw each other. In general, Mel could act quite nice and the team liked her. Well, most of the time.
"Wonderful. I do hope your guys got it right now. Last time, they gave me pants that were too short, and I want to be in my best shape tonight." Alexei said quickly, getting up and running towards the rack.
"They guaranteed that all your measurements were correct." Mel replied, a little annoyed. "I double-checked."
"Do we have options? Not to question your taste, but I would like to have options." John asked from his seat, still trying to finish his coffee.
"Yes. I brought three options for each one of you, based on your specifications." Mel hesitated when six pairs of eyes focused on her, none of them believing that for a second. "Okay, they are following Valentina's requests, but I did consider some of your inputs. You know, when possible."
"Whatever. Just give us the clothes and let's be done with this." Ava got up too, clearly curious about the big bags with her name on them.
"Actually, before that, Valentina wanted me to revisit the proposal of not including everyone in tonight’s event." Mel talked fast, not really making eye contact with anyone. “To avoid any unnecessary exposure.”
"No." Yelena replied dryly, arms already crossed in front of herself.
"What the hell do you mean?" Alexei asked, confused from behind Mel, still trying to gather his new clothes.
"Valentina doesn't want Bob there tonight." Now John got up too, coffee forgotten, looking at the girl with narrowed eyes.
“That’s ridiculous. We are doing the gala here just so he could be on it.” Alexei kept talking, unaware of the tension slowing to rise, moving closer to Bob and dropping a heavy hand on the man’s shoulder. “And Bob is part of the team. We can not celebrate our one year anniversary without him.”
“I understand, but I have to agree with Valentina on this one, guys.” Mel was looking at Bucky, clearly thinking he was the one that she may actually convince. “There will be several journalists and photographs, and if one photo ended up getting to someone who knew Bob before he would be exposed again.”
"Look, Mel. Despite your affiliation with the Wicked Witch of the West, I like you.” Yelena started, walking in the assistant’s direction. “So I will tell you the same thing I told Valentina, but with a better attitude. It's the New Avengers one year celebration. We understand that for Valentina, it is this big mark of success, but for us, it actually means something. And we are willing to participate in this whole gala circus of tonight if we celebrate the date as a team. And that includes Bob."
"I see.” Mel locked her eyes with Yelena, making Bucky fear a little for the younger woman’s sanity. “Will you follow that plan even if it means putting him at risk?"
"He will be safe. We will make sure of that." Ava intervened as well.
"Yelena, I really don't mind it. I can stay put if you guys think it is for the best." Bob tried to talk, smiling timidly, but he was shortly interrupted.
"I do mind it." Yelena left no doubt in her tone. That was final.
"So do the rest of us, by the way." John reinforced.
"Also, as Alexei reminded, the party will be at the penthouse, full of superheroes, and the whole masked gala theme was only to make sure Bob could be there without being identified." Ava was closer to Yelena and Bob now, behind their chairs. "We got it covered."
"You are really making my life harder, you know?" Mel let out a slow breath.
"Well, too bad. Good luck with your boss. Can we get the clothes now?" Yelena uncrossed her arms, resting her hand on top of Bob’s.
Mel only shrugged and pointed to the rack, one second before Ava appeared beside the bags, searching for the names on each and distributing them to their rightful owner. Yelena grabbed the ones marked for her and Bob, earning a knowing look from Bucky.
"What? Bob is going to be my date for the night." She declared nonchalantly. John and Ava raised their eyebrows in her direction, but Yelena just rolled her eyes. "For his cover, I mean. You guys are no fun."
"That's a terrible idea." John declared.
"Really bad." Ava agreed.
"That's not going to work at all." Even Mel had to intervene.
"You are a celebrity, Yelena. As much as it pains me to say it." Bucky argued. "If he shows up as your date, everyone will try to find out who he is. That's the opposite of what we want."
"Guys, I really–" Bob tried to speak up but was interrupted by Ava.
"Well, we need a reason for him to be close by the whole night. It's not like it will be unsuspecting to have a random person following me around." Yelena reply back frustrated.
"He doesn't need to be with you all night. We can take turns so it just looks like he is a guest who wants to get to know the Avengers." John was moving toward the clothes, already bored with the conversation.
"Okay, I kinda want to–" Bob tried again, but once more was stopped by some of his colleagues.
"Oh, he could be my assistant. I feel like I should get an assistant anyway." Alexei pondered, scratching his goatee. He was trying different styles of facial hair. So far, Bucky had hated every single one of them.
"That's just ridiculous, Alexei. Why would you have an assistant?" Bucky questioned.
"Valentina has an assistant. Why can't I have one?"
"We will not do this. It's a terrible plan."
"I agree with Yelena. It is terrible." John considered. "But it is still better than the fake date thing."
"Shut up, Walker."
"It was a very bad idea." Ava replied, earning a very bad look from Yelena.
"I actually have an idea." Bucky stood up finally, realizing this was going to last. "You could try to hear what Bob thinks about the whole thing."
"Oh, do I get to talk now?" Bob asked with fake enthusiasm, sarcasm dripping in every word.
"Sorry, Bobby." Walker shrugged.
"I am sorry, Bob. What do you think?" Yelena looked guilty, but just turned to Bob, giving him her full attention.
"I think I really don't have to go to this thing." He continued as the others started to speak. "But I get the whole team anniversary thing. I do. So why don't we pretend I am some guy that works in the tower and got invited? We don't have to oversell it, you know?"
"If he worked here, it would explain how he knows the team and give us an excuse to even take a photo with him during the event. We just have to be careful." Bucky agreed. "It's a good idea, Bob."
Bob blushed from the complement, as Yelena gave him a smile, putting his and hers bag of clothes on his shoulders. As the others gathered around the clothes to see what they would find, Bucky approached Mel.
"Can I ask about the guest list for tonight?"
"I don't have it here right now. But I didn’t include Captain America, as requested." She looked at him. "Which was really hard to do. I had to convince Valentina and she thought it would send the wrong message -which I agree with- but I was able to spin her around it."
"Thank you, Mel. I really appreciate it."
"This job would be a lot easier with him backing you guys up." She started to turn to the door. "Try to talk to him, Bucky."
"I will."
She said her goodbyes and left them with some general instructions about which floor to find the people available to do their hair and make-up, if they wanted to. The others started to disperse, taking their clothes and moving, but Bucky stayed behind.
He looked at his phone and felt his heart jump as his thumb passed over the call button. He should call Sam.
He was going to call him.
Just not tonight.
Joaquin tried to use his small green towel, laid down on the chair by the corner of the gym, to dry out the sweat dripping from his forehead, but at this point, with so many hours of training behind him, the towel was wetter than he was willing to admit.
Sam's Avengers — well, at least this was how the Falcon was calling them in his head — were on their fourth training session, and finally Joaquin was starting to see the real changes in their dynamic. Sure, a long weekend per month to train was not the same as living together in an overpriced tower, but their improvement had been significant for the little time they had as a team. Also, the original Avengers didn't stay together perpetually, and they got the team vibe down to the notch, so Joaquin really believed that it was not just about the amount of time spent together, but how the available time was being spent.
As a military man, Joaquin considered himself a good team player, but even he knew that all groups had to lay down a good foundation before being able to work as one. True unity wasn't a happy accident, but a very intentional decision. It was like a band, really. There was no point in having amazing singers if they couldn't harmonize for shit. And that was what they were trying to do here — they were all great as individuals, but they needed to learn to harmonize with each other's fight styles.
The first training session, a couple of weeks after the showdown against the New Avengers, was not bad at all, but soon it became painfully clear how much they needed time and familiarity with one another. If they wanted to be the Avengers, they would need to get to the point where they could recognize the patterns and strengths in each other without hesitation. And to be honest, right now, Joaquin was confident they would achieve that faster than expected.
Sure, the New Avengers had a couple of advantages over them. Government money that seemed infinite. A team that already worked very well together. One extremely overpowered, if a little unstable, person who could, and had, kicked the asses of everyone on Sam’s team. But Joaquin was pretty sure that at the end of the day, his team was better organized and focused, with a more cohesive structure and more versatile set of skills, besides being better received by the general public.
As a matter of fact, as he remembered some moments of the group fighting session they had just finished, Joaquin was completely sure that if another fight between the teams were to happen right now, the New Avengers would be effortlessly crushed. Sure, they would still need to find a way to deal with Bob beforehand, but he was pretty confident about their odds against the rest of the team.
He dropped the awfully wet towel back on the chair and moved toward the others, trying to pick up on the topic being discussed. Sam had a playful smile on his lips and his arms crossed in front of his chest, listening to Scott.
"Look, all I am saying is that if I had to take someone as my plus one to a superhero event, I would choose the guy that had more time and experience being a hero." Scott argued, moving his hands around. "It's just more respectful, you know?"
"Oh, you think so?" Sam asked, laughing.
"I disagree." Shuri replied from the place where she was seated unceremoniously on the cold floor. Her face still flushed from the workout. "Given the opportunity, I do believe that bringing an ally from a country that is a worldly known technological powerhouse shows how politically well established Captain America is. Especially in comparison to our not-so-liked hosts."
"She brings solid arguments, Scott. I am not gonna lie." Sam shrugged, clearly having the time of his life, as Scott dropped his face, dramatically putting one hand in his chest.
"I think you all are looking at this from the wrong angle." said Shang-Chi, as he played absentmindedly with his powerful rings - a powerful reminder of their capacity. "All of that sounds just predictable. Old. You should show how your team is betting on newer heroes. New strategies, you know? Show them you are not afraid of thinking more outside of the box in the whole hero scene."
"Wow, there's really no respect for seniority here, man." Scott complained before turning to Joaquin. "What about you? Not gonna rest your case?"
"Nah. I have been to enough superhero events to not really care about them anymore." Joaquin just shrugged, picking his nails nonchalantly.
"Liar." Shang-Chi laughed.
"As if, bird boy." Shuri said, kicking his leg from where she was.
"That's just bullshit, man." Scott punched him weakly on the arm.
"Joaquin is just not going to spend his energy on a lost battle." Sam declared between laughs. "I already know who I am talking to the new Avengers’ gala, and it is not any of you. Now, let's take a break to wash up, you guys smell terrible. We meet in the auditorium in one hour to discuss tactics and combat strategies, okay?"
As each one of his teammates nodded and dispersed in different directions, probably eager to find a cold shower or warm meal, Joaquin followed Sam into the main room of their complex. He really wanted Sam to rethink his participation tonight. It wasn't that Joaquin hated the New Avengers, okay? He just thought they were not the most trustworthy heroes to be around, but after Sam and Bucky’s timid reconciliation, Sam was insisting on trying to be more diplomatic, and they meant to be more receptive to that particular group.
"So you don't think it's weird that you got invited to the one-year celebration of the New Avengers?"
"No, not really. Captain America is still the biggest symbol of heroism in this country, so it would be weirder to have something like this and not include me." Sam pondered.
“And yet, you being there sends a message to the public.” Joaquin really didn’t feel great about it. “It will look like you are giving your approval to this whole circus. I get the stopping shittalking them around, but to validate that group as the real Avengers just sounds complicated to me.”
"I am not validating their claim on the title. I will make this very clear in every official declaration I give tonight. I am just positioning myself to show that I am willing to give them a chance and play together.” Sam looked at Joaquin with soft eyes. “Also, I can imagine that Bucky spent a long time convincing Valentina to let me being there."
"Are you sure of it? I mean, man, isn't he ignoring your calls?"
"Yes, he is, and it's starting to piss me off, but I know Bucky." Sam exhaled. "Things between us were pretty bad for a long time, and last time, seeing him working with them and trying so hard to find a way to explain… I just– look, I am not stupid. I know there is some sketchy thing going on. But I want to give him the opportunity to come clean."
"I want to be more optimistic about it, I really do. But what if he doesn't come clean soon?"
"Then I will cross that bridge when I get there."
"I hope you are right. Are you sure that I shouldn't go with you?" Joaquim pushed. “We work well together and if anything happens I can be useful.”
"No, man. I appreciate it, I really do, but even I have to admit that Bucky is not going to meet me halfway with the whole Bob-needs-professional-help thing, so I am going to try a different approach."
From all of Sam’s demands to the New Avengers, that was probably the most important one. Joaquin could still remember so clearly the way Bob had destroyed them all in battle - and all of that while he was in some sort of panic attack, so he could only imagine what Bob could do if he was controlled. Or completely out of control, for the matter. Joaquin wanted to suggest something more drastic, maybe to force an intervention of some type, but he couldn’t forget the pain and fear in the other man’s face when Scott exposed him. A danger to the other or not, Bob was someone in desperate need of help, that much was clear.
"Well, good luck to both of you. When are you leaving?"
"After our next session." Both of them hear the robot voice of their AI assistant warning about an airplane asking permission to land on the premisses and smiled. “I guess my plus one just arrived.”
As Sam jogged out of the room, running to receive his guest, Joaquin couldn't help the apprehension on his chest. Something was going to happen and he was sure it was not going to be something good.