Chapter Text
The world had been monotonous and gray for the past last year. And James could feel his energy leaving him like an ink stain into blotting paper. He struggled to feel anything these days and when he managed to feel anything at all, it had been anemic emotions that had no substance. They were flat and drained and swallowed him up a whole.
Today was one of those days, too. The car was filled with excited chatter from people he had come to despise deeply over the last months. They were talking about all the things they would do once the car would finally reach their destinated goal; The Avengers compound. His formerly best friend which occupied the seat next to him was talking eagerly about their future, and how he always knew that this day would come since the world needed their protection.
James tried to ignore the man's pointless babbling most of the time, the words sounding shallow in his ears. Once he might have thought of Steve as something resembling a brother but things had changed drastically and so had Steve. The man wasn't the small and weak boy he had once known nor the selfless man he had grown into... And James supposed that this was their end of the line.
To which extend Steve had changed, James had to realize the hard way when Princess Shuri had informed him about what really had happened between Steve and Stark after James had left the bunker. To hear what Steve had done to the man, how he had almost killed their friend's son and left him behind like some sort of filthy trash... James couldn't take it. Steve had said Stark was fine. He had lied to him without hesitation, had smiled at James as if nothing had happened at all. And for what? To protect the man who had killed Stark's parents. His body felt as if poison was coursing through it instead of blood. His once fondly childhood memories of Steve suddenly felt as if they were tarred, disfigured into something grotesque. Shuri must have known exactly what he was thinking at that time. It must have been written all over his god damn face. Because he saw it in her gaze. He couldn't stand Shuri's gaze on him, the way her face had morphed into pitty when she realized that he hadn't known. It was almost as if she couldn't bear to look at him but forced herself to do so. He was glad that she had avoided him since that day because he was sure that if they ever made eye contact again, James thought he might have to vomit his guts out under those pitting eyes of hers.
James, unlike Steve, knew that it wasn't like the world had needed them to come back. The world was just fine, even without them. They had Stark and the people who stood by his side. He had followed every step of the man since Siberia happened and knew that the man had built a new and even better Team from scratch. A Team filled with people who seemed to care about him. Those people... They were his friends, his real friends. Not such pathetic individuals as Steve and the others.
He knew, that it was thanks to one Anthony Stark that they got their pardons and were allowed to return to the States under various conditions... He doubted that it was out of goodwill, but rather in order to keep Steve and those idiots in check. They had done enough damage to the world and the people around them over the past few months, probably enough for more than one lifetime. That Steve acted so god damn happy around him could only mean that he nor the others had cared to take a closer look at the conditions under which they were allowed to return. James couldn't help but sigh at the sheer stupidness of them. Why hadn't he realized what a selfish man Steve had become? Or maybe, Steve had always been a selfish man, but James had never seen it before or rather, never wanted to. Maybe, just maybe James had been blinded by Steve's righteousness... Whatever it was, James wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.
The chatter went on and on, and James found himself imagine how nice it would be if the car just crashed. How sweet it would be to hear how the laughter of those idiots died down in an instant, replaced by desperately raps for air because their lungs were filled by blood, their bones all cracked and broken into various angles. Muscles and joints and organs sputtering through the car like they were being crumbled and smashed into a tiny box. The Archer's torso and head smashed up against the windshield while the Widdow's arms and legs were torn off in the most gruesome way one could imagine. The world flickering its figurative light on and off before she goes limp and closes her eyes for the very last time due to the immense blood loss... He had to chuckle at that thought. He wasn't the same. Wasn't that Bucky Barnes Steve so desperately wanted him to be. He was more Winter Soldier than all of them believed him to be. There was no second personality. Just him; James.
To James's demise, the ride went on without further complications or accidents and after one too many comments about Stark, he found himself thinking about breaking that stupid Archer's neck himself. Unfortunately, he never got the chance as the driver announced that they had reached their destination.
The excitement in the car reached its heights, then. Everyone's voices started to mix into a cacophony of words, ringing terribly in his ears.
When he finally got out of the car, he walked with his head bent, averting the eyes from the people he had to spend a whole year with and dispised to his very core. His aim was to be invisible, blend. Any social interaction would just be annoying and he would risk killing someone before he could get the chance to apologize to Stark. He made his way to the entrance, keeping a rather large distance between Steve and the others and himself.
It wasn't until the cacophony of voices in front of him died down, that he briefly considered lifting his eyes up from the ground he had stared daggers at. If the idiots became silent, something good must have been going on. Maybe, Stark himself had decided to greet them? James could feel the excitement rising in his chest.
When he lifted his gaze up to take a look, he immediately felt outright disappointment at the unfamiliar silhouette of a man who was standing in front of Steve and his idiotic sidekicks, successfully blocking the entrance of the compound.
He was a scruffy-looking man with blond short hair and piercing blue eyes, idly smoking a cigarette without any care in the world. His facial hair was short but gave him the look of someone who didn't give one fuck about his appearance and a clean shave. He wore a long, rumpled trench coat, white shirt, and a black-tie around his neck which probably had seen better days at one point. The large scar on the man's left cheek, and a missing left thumb, which looked like it had been severed didn't go unnoticed by James, nor Steve's hand which he reached out in greeting.
"Hello. I am Steve Rogers and this is-"
"Keep the small talk to yourself, kiddo. I'm just here to show you around the compound and bring ya guys to your quarters. Follow me, I don't have all day. Also, don't talk to me when it's not necessary. I'm not your mom, just the poor sucker who drew the shorter straw here... So, do this old man a favor and keep whatever you want to say to yourself."
He mumbled and turned around, making his way to the entrance before Steve got even the slightest chance to say something in return.
The bewildered faces of the others were priceless and James got the distant feeling that he would get along quite well with that old geezer.
'A foul-mouthed cynic - I like that.'
He chuckled, making his way past Steve and the others's who wasted their time with unnecessary complaining about how rude the mysterious man had acted towards them.
"Excuse me! Ahm- What did you say your name was? I'm afraid I haven't-"
Steve walked up to the man but was immediately cut off again.
"Hell, you are really as dumb as I thought you to be, aren't ya?" He said, almost sounding personally offended. "Listen, and listen closely, because I won't repeat myself here; I'm not your friend, nor do I plan to become your friend in the near future. I am here to show you your quarters, that's all. So, it would be nice if you and your merry band of sidekicks would shut the fuck up and keep that befriending stuff to yourself. Just let me do my god damn fuckin' job, okay?"
With that being said, the man turned around again, walking ahead and not waiting for them to follow. James could make out that he was mumbling to himself, something about 'Matt's going to pay for that' and 'That sucker cheated for sure'.
James had problems stifling his laugh, given the stupid face, Steve and the others were making. It was clear as day that the man disliked Steve and the others probably even more than James and that fact alone made him smile like a madman. It was clear that the man was just here because he had to, not because he wanted to. Yet, Steve didn't get the hint. James, already quite amused found himself wondering who that mysterious cheater might be if he had the balls to piss that old grumpy geezer off. That guy would certainly get a lot of fun out of pissing Steve off, too.
His thoughts were interrupted by the annoying voices of Steve's so-called Teammates and James couldn't help but walk faster to get more distance between so much stupidy and himself.
"What the fuck?" Who does that guy think he is?!"
The Archer seethed, hands balled into fists.
"Does he even know who we are? We saved his goddamn ass from a fuckin' alien invasion!"
'Nah, that guy would have probably been a bigger help back then, than you were. A fuckin' Archer against an alien army? Don't make me laugh. I saw the footage. Stark did most of the work.' James thought amused, hiding his shit-eating grin from the others.
"Calm down, Clint. It's clear as day that Stark is behind that. That guy's obviously just here to piss us off. We will call him out on it as soon as we get the chance to talk to him. You know how childish he is - It can't be helped."
The Widdow drawled while laying a hand on the Archer's shoulder, softly squeezing it in a reassuring matter.
'The only children I happen to see here are you guys.'
"Natasha's right. Let's follow that guy and wait until we get a chance to talk to Stark."
The Ant guy added in that annoying cheery voice of his. All James knew about the man was that he had a daughter and was practically useless without that Suit of his which wasn't even his own.
The other's nodded and started to get into motion again, following behind the man but not without complaining about various other things James simply didn't give a fuck about.
It took around ten minutes until they reached their destination, and it was written all over Steve's face that he was about to complain yet again after the man had shown them around their new living quarters.
The rooms were small and obviously not meant for people to stay longer than necessary. There was a small kitchen and living room they had to share and two bathrooms with showers, one for the women and one for the men. It was nothing special but better than most of the apartments Bucky had lived in.
"What- What is this supposed to mean?"
Steve asked bewildered. "Before we left, each of us had our own floor! And now you expect us to live in such a small bedroom?"
"Stark that fucker is doing this on purpose!"
The Archer yelled at particular no one while the Hydra girl whined about how small her bed was and that the common living room wasn't big enough to fit all of them in.
"Those are the quarters for new members who haven't decided where to stay yet." The man said unimpressed, totally ignoring the yelling and whining. "Until you have found somewhere else to stay or decided to rent one of the bigger apartments at the compound you will have to stay here. You are free to leave at any time or rent a place which is more to your liking. No one will stop you. But have in mind that no one will pay the rent for you, nor help you find a place to stay. Though, I have to add that there is probably no citizen in their right mind who would rent you guys an apartment anyways. There are villains out there who are more popular among the citizens than you guys."
"Wait. What do you mean we have to pay for the apartments? The compound belongs to Stark! Why should the Avengers have to pay for staying here?"
The Archer asked bewildered and James couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. The fact that the Archer wasn't bothered about the last part spoke volumes about his stupidity.
"Does that mean we will have to stay in these tiny rooms? And what about new clothes? Mine are old and filthy." Wanda whined.
"None of you have read the accords, haven't you?"
James couldn't help but ask, the distinct urge to just punch them all straight into the face brooding within his chest.
"What do you mean, Bucky?"
Steve asked in confusion.
"James."
He snapped back without hesitation, but Steve just looked at him with these understanding eyes, even though he didn't understand rats shit.
"Buck I know this is all rather new for you but-"
"God damn. Steve. Could you stop that shit? Why is it so hard for you to get the hint? I am not Bucky. I stopped being him when Hydra got their dirty hands on me."
James growled, irritation and anger flooding his mind.
"The same goes for the accords! If you would stop your righteous shit for just one damn second and actually use your fuckin' brain, you would know that these rooms are just temporally and we'll have to either pay the rent for them or leave."
"Calm down, Bucky. You are just confused. I didn't mean to upset you. We can talk about it later I promise, but now is not the time for that." Steve said in that typical 'Don't worry- I know that's best for you' voice.
'God damn!' James couldn't take this shit anymore. Maybe It would have been best if Stark had killed him on that day in Siberia. Then, he wouldn't have to deal with Steve's verbal bullshit all the time.
"What are you even talking about? What do you mean we have to either pay or leave?"
Natasha intervened. The only one of them who seemed to have at least some sort of a functional brain.
"What your little friend means to say, is..."
A voice drawled from behind, startling them from their conversation.
"That you guys have to either pay the fuckin' rent like all of us do or take your fuckin' leave and get your own apartment in the city - For which you will have to pay as well."
A rough around the edges looking woman said dryly, the sarcastic undertone in her voice more than audible.
"Damn. Jessica. What the fuck are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to look after Wade? You know that you can't leave that sociopath alone."
The man sighed resigned, obviously not happy to see her.
"Don't worry, old man. Wade is with Peter."
The woman said easily, rolling her eyes at the man as if the answer should have been obvious. James got a good look at her and could tell almost immediately that she wasn't someone you should fool around with. Everything, from her appearance to the look on her face, screamed that she was rather dangerous.
"You left Wade... Alone with Peter?"
The man said, his face suddenly getting paler. A hint of worry in his eyes.
"Damn, John. Don't look at me like that. Of course, he's not entirely alone with Peter! For how dumb do you take me? The others are with them. Tony would kill me if I let that pervert anywhere near Peter. I asked Matt and Stephen if they could take an eye on that shit-head for me."
She said, sounding partly annoyed and partly bored.
"I just came to see if these Idiots were still in one piece, or already send down to hell or wherever those little portals of yours lead."
"You know that it's Constantine for you! And excuse me for being concerned about Peter's well-being. We all know what happened the last time Wade got the chance to be alone with him. I had to clean the remains of his brain from the fuckin' floor than Carol and Hope were done with him! Also, unlike other people, and yes, that's directed at you, I am perfectly capable to keep my-"
"Sorry to interrupt, but could someone explain to us what's going on? I would really like to speak to Tony about-"
Steve intervened, leading three pairs of eyes (James included) to stare at him in utter annoyance.
"Shut up, Dick-head. The adults are talking!"
Came the united replay and at that moment, James couldn't help but start laughing out loud. Steve's dumbfounded expression and the faces of the other Idiots were just too priceless.
This dull day had morphed into a hell of an interesting mess and James couldn't wait to see what would happen next.