The Winter Warrior // Captain America

«Chapter 13»

A few years passed, and Steve Rogers had become Captain America again. He was a national hero who had saved New York from an alien attack alongside Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, Thor Odinson, Bruce Banner, and Clint Barton, who were better known as Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor, Hulk, and Hawkeye. Together, they formed the Avengers. 

They had caught Loki and stopped the Chitauri aliens from conquering the planet. Loki went back to Asgard, his home, with Thor where he would face the consequences of his actions, and the city of New York was left to restore the damage.

After New York, Steve tried to live a calmer life, but he had joined SHIELD, the extra-governmental agency that dealt with earthly and unearthly threats such as Loki and the Chitauri. Steve continued working with Natasha Romanoff, and the two formed an exceptional pair that never failed a mission. He had been assigned a team, and they were called STRIKE. 

To make sure he could join as many missions as possible, Steve moved to Washington DC. He had asked Bucky to join him, and to his luck, his friend agreed. The two moved into an apartment that was big enough to give both of them their own space.

Even though they lived together, Steve and Bucky didn't see each other very much. Steve was on missions a lot and the spare time he had left, he spent training. To make sure they stayed in touch, they went on a run every Saturday morning. The two also regularly went out for drinks when Steve didn't have a mission the next day. 

Bucky kept himself occupied by helping war veterans work through their PTSD and traumas. Ever since waking up from the ice, he had struggled with his own PTSD, and while it was not fully gone, talking with others who went through a similar thing helped him to deal with his past. 

It was 5 in the morning, and the sun hadn't fully risen yet. However, Steve and Bucky were on a run. And not a casual jog. Oh, no. They sprinted through DC at top speed without breaking a sweat. 

A few dozen feet ahead of them, Steve spotted a dark-skinned man in a grey sweater casually jogging along the pavement. As the two passed him, Steve said, "On your left," and Bucky added, "On your right." 

Ten minutes later, they passed him again, and they repeated, "On your left," and, "On your right." 

"Uh-huh, on my sides. Got it," the man said. 

And another fifteen minutes later, before they could even say anything, the man warned, "Don't say it. Don't you say it!" 

But Steve said, "On your left." 

And Bucky said, "On your right." 

"Come on!" the man shouted and he sped up, but there was no way that he could catch up to the two supersoldiers. He gave up and collapsed against a tree, breathing heavily to recover from the run. 

"Need a medic?" Steve joked as he and Bucky came up to him.

The man laughed. "Dude, you guys just ran, like, 13 miles in 30 minutes." 

Steve and Bucky were barely out of breath. "Guess we got a late start," Steve chuckled.

"Really? You should be ashamed of yourselves. You should take another lap," the man said. "Did you just take it? I assume you just took it." 

Bucky pointed at the military emblem on his sweater. "What unit are you with?" 

"58th pararescue," he answered. "But now I'm working down at the VA." 

"Me too. What group do you have?" Bucky asked. 

"The weekends. You?" 

"Weekdays," Bucky said. 

The man nodded, holding out his hand. "Sam Wilson." 

"Bucky Barnes. This is Steve Rogers," Bucky said, pulling him off the floor. 

"Yeah, I kinda put that together," Sam chuckled. "Must have freaked you out, coming home after the whole defrosting thing." 

Steve let out a sigh. "It takes some getting used to." He turned to Bucky, who nodded. "It's good to meet you, Sam." 

"See you around," Bucky said, turning away. 

"It's your bed, right?" Sam called and the two turned back around. 

"What's that?" Steve asked. 

"Your bed. It's too soft," Sam said. "When I was over there, I'd sleep on the ground, used rocks for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed and it's like..." 

"Lying on a marshmallow," Bucky finished his sentence. "Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor." 

"How long?" Steve asked. 

"Two tours," Sam nodded. "You must miss the good old days, huh?" 

"Well," Steve sighed. "Things aren't so bad. Food's a lot better. We used to boil everything. No polio is good." 

"Internet," Bucky added. "So helpful. We've been reading that a lot, trying to catch up." 

Sam pondered for a second. "Marvin Gaye, 1972, Trouble Man soundtrack. Everything you missed jammed into one album." 

Steve nodded, fishing the small notebook he carried with him everywhere he went. Bucky rolled his eyes at his best friend, finding the notebook dorky, but at the same time, it reminded him of the Steve he had once known. 

"I'll put it on the list," Steve grinned, jotting the album down under the rest of the things he needed to check out, such as the Berlin Wall and Star Wars. 

The sound of Steve's phone dinging cut the conversation short. Steve fished the device from his pocket and read the message he had received. 

Mission alert. Extraction Imminent. Meet at the curb. :)

There was only one SHIELD agent Steve knew that used emoticons in mission alerts. Natasha Romanoff. 

"Alright, duty calls. Thanks for the run," Steve said, holding out his hand. "If that's what you wanna call running." 

"Oh, that's how it is?" Sam laughed. 

"That's how it is," Steve confirmed with a grin. He turned to his friend. "I'll see you later." 

Bucky saluted. "You got it, Cap." 

"Hey," Sam called at Steve as he walked off. The blond turned around. "Anytime you wanna stop by the VA to make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know." 

Steve grinned. "I'll keep it in mind."

A sleek, black sports car arrived at the sidewalk. The passenger's window rolled down to reveal the red-haired Black Widow. "Hey, fellas," she greeted them. "Any of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil." 

"That's hilarious," Steve commented as he walked up to the car. 

Natasha greeted Bucky with a nod of her head before her eyes found Sam, who looked at her with a grin. "How you doin'?" he said. 

"Hey," she replied.

"Can't run everywhere," Steve grinned. 

"No, you can't," Sam agreed, chuckling while shaking his head. 

Steve closed the window and the car sped off. Sam turned to Bucky. "Does he do that every time?" he asked. 

"Yeah," Bucky said, smiling while the car disappeared in the distance. "Unfortunately, he does."