Venus | James B. Barnes✔️

liv. 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟼, 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟷

EVELYN WATCHED Steve gently land the jet as she unbuckled her seatbelts. She stood shakily as Bucky stood next to her. He opened a rack full of guns, and Evelyn smiled fondly at Natasha's name on them. Bucky handed her one with a slight smile. She nodded thankfully at him as Steve began to open the hatch.

As they waited for the ramp to open fully, Steve glanced over at Bucky with a fond smile. "You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?"

Bucky glanced over at him with a grin moving onto his face. "Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?"

"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead," Steve told him. Evelyn smiled slightly at how Steve and Bucky were interacting. It felt like before. She felt Bucky grab her hand.

Bucky nodded. "What was her name again?"

"Dolores. You called her Dot."

Evelyn snorted a laugh. "She's gotta be a hundred years old right now," Evelyn admitted to the pair. Steve nudged her with a smirk on his face.

"So are we," he replied cheekily as she laughed and jumped from the jet. Steve placed a hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Let's end this."

Bucky nodded with a small smile toward his best friend.

They jumped off to follow Evelyn. She had already made it to the secret entrance that was set between rocks. She turned, noticing the pain in Bucky's eyes for having to be back there. She glanced at Steve to see he had placed his helmet on.

She gestured to the open door. "He can't have been here more than a few hours," she told them.

Bucky clutched his gun tighter. "Long enough to wake them up."

Evelyn had her helmet direct a light so that they could see. They walked forward through the bunker, and she almost could picture Bucky there—fighting to stay alive. She hated that he was alone all of those years.

They quickly found an elevator, and Bucky nodded for them to go inside. The elevator worked as it began to bring them lower into the bunker. It stopped suddenly, and the doors opened menacingly. Steve nodded to Bucky, which he pulled up the heavy cage door and pointed his gun. They walked through the hallway, about to go up some stairs when they heard a loud thud. The three supersoldiers turned, preparing to fight.

"You ready?" Steve asked them quietly.

"Yeah," Bucky replied while Evelyn stayed quiet.

Evelyn watched the double doors ahead of them begin to peel open forcefully. Evelyn's hands shook as she prepared to fire, and then, she saw the familiar mask of Iron Man. Steve watched as Evelyn and Bucky kept their guns raised. Tony walked forward, opening his helmet to stare at them.

"You seem a little defensive," Tony said to them with a slight teasing tone.

Bucky kept his gun pointed while Evelyn lowered hers slowly. Steve walked forward to meet Tony halfway.

"It's been a long day," Steve told him in response.

Tony glanced at Bucky with a roll of his eyes. "At ease, Soldier. I'm not currently after you."

Evelyn kept her gaze hardened with the grip on her gun not faltering despite it being lowered. "Then why are you here?" she asked him.

Tony shrugged. "Could be your story's not so crazy. Maybe," he said before glancing at Steve. "Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself."

Steve smirked. "Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork." Steve lowered his shield as Evelyn let her tense grip on the gun release as a small smile went to her lips. "It's good to see you, Tony."