Lives We've Lived

United

It took 6 hours to get back to the Tower. It took another 3 to track down the HYDRA bases in the states most likely to still be in use, and another hour after that to get confirmation of cloaked helicopters landing at one of them. It helped that the entire team was working on it, and Natasha had called Fury from the plane to get SHEILD on the case as well.

Oh, and Tony intercepting and translating HYDRA codes helped a lot.

James and Peter weren't too far, actually, they were at a base in Maryland. It was the only one in the area that had aircrafts for cross-continental flights, so they knew they were on a time crunch. James would be wanted back in Russia for reprogramming, and Peter would need to be wiped and broken from scratch. The thought alone made Tony's skin crawl.

The team didn't even get a shower in before they were flying again, each one less than happy to be on yet another flight. They had to be careful. If anyone saw them, or they accidentally tripped a scout, they'd be dead before the plane even landed.

"We'll find them," Natasha assured Steve, reaching over to hold the super soldier's hand.

"You're comforting him and not me? It's my son who went missing," Tony huffed. Natasha just shot him a look.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before keeping Steve's best friend a secret."

Tony just rolled his eyes.

They were landing after just 30 minutes, their plane skimming just under the cloud coverage before coming down quickly. It was what Clint called 'decent with determination', but Tony thought that was stupid and absolutely never used the phrase himself to describe the seemingly vertical drop to the ground.

"Just once, I'd like to glide into an airport runway," Tony murmured. No one laughed, though.

He was definitely in the doghouse. 

The team was decked out in stealth suits - all black Kevlar and sound-dampening shoes and silencers tucked into their gun holsters next to their guns. It was a bit of a trek to the base, but not as far as some missions took them. Natasha took the lead with Clint right behind her. The two almost looked fake, like CGI villains in a movie or something. They glided through the underbrush easily, not a single twig snapping under their boots.

Steve, Sam, and Tony tried their best to follow behind them, but they were far less silent.

The trees opened up into a clearing, the HYDRA base peeking out from over a ridge on the opposite hill. It was simple, then. Just skirt the edge of the forest until they'd gotten over the other side of the hill and then they were there. Tony thought about Peter, all bright eyes and bouncing curls, and nearly had a panic attack when he realized he couldn't remember how Peter's shampoo smelled.

Tony pushed his anxiety away and kept going. As the team rounded the edge of the trees, Tony scanned along the rest of the clearing.

There was something moving through the forest, coming right at the team. Natasha noticed it just as Tony did and she put her hand up to stop the team in their tracks. She pointed two fingers towards the gently moving branches, then the movement stopped all together. For a whole minute, no one breathed or moved a muscle. Then-

"Was it a bird?" Clint asked.

The movement was back, this time more hurried and less careful and the whole team was scrambling back, assuming it was a HYDRA patrol or another spy or maybe a large bear, but whatever it was, it was bad news and-

James crashed through the underbrush just behind the team, Peter hot on his heels. 

They were both in the clothes they'd been in at the Tower, but they were now ripped and dirty. Peter's curls were matted down with sweat and blood, and Tony took a closer look at his boy. There was blood splattered over his clothes and skin, and when Tony looked up at James, he saw that he too was covered in blood.

"What the hell-"

James was pushing people out of the way and pulling Tony in for a hug. "Antoshka."

"James! Peter, I was so-" Tony cut himself off as he peered over James' shoulder and looked over at Peter, who was staring. His eyes were cold and blank, like he wasn't seeing Tony at all.

"Peter? Peter, Bambi, what's-"

"Кто ты?" Peter asked, his voice even and harsh with Russia. (Translation: Who are you?)

Tony felt his head spin and the ground was getting closer - when had he gotten so close to the ground? - and the air around him felt electric and-

Peter was laughing, his eyes bright again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just knew you'd be a little freaked and-"

The teen didn't get another word out before Tony had marched up and smacked him upside the head, then pulled him into a rough hug.

"Ow!" Peter said, dragging a hand through his hair to massage the spot where Tony had gotten him. "A little help here, James?"

"Not a chance in hell, kiddo, you scared him." At the sound of James' voice, Steve seemed to jump into action, his hands finding James' shoulders and pulling him around. Brown eyes met blue. James felt a headrush, not unlike the kind he got right after a session with Tony in the lab. It was like he was reliving his childhood again, chasing a scrawny boy through the park and looking up at a woman with kind eyes and being drafted.

"Stevie."

"Buck!"

Steve pulled James in for a hug and James gave him a few claps on the back. "I'm going by James now a'days."

Steve just let out a gasping laugh. "Sure, whatever you say, Buck."

Tony looked around at the team, his arm slung over Peter's shoulders, not even bothered by the blood. It was gun splatter from close range, Tony recognized it from his own encounters. "So. Who's up for dinner?"

"Oh, no, no way," Natasha was shaking her head. "Nope. We're going home and Peter is going to tell us how he escaped and James is going to get to know us all. Capishe?"

"Aye-aye," Peter said with a mock salute. He turned to walk away, but Natasha caught his arm and pulled him back.

"And a shower, too. You're covered in blood."

"Happens to the best of us," Peter said with a shrug. The team started walking again, but before James could fall in step, Steve pulled his arm back.

James turned. Steve opened his mouth to speak. There was a tense moment of silence as Steve searched for the right thing to say and James tried not to get impatient enough to sigh in exasperation.

"I'm glad you're home," Steve said finally. "I'm glad you're home, even if it was a secret. Even if I'm still mad at you."

James gave a genuine smile - the first smile he'd given anyone besides Peter and Tony - and clapped Steve on the shoulder. "Me, too."