t w e n t y - f i v e / when do we start?

Cara's limbs never stopped swinging themselves around, connecting fist to jaw, toe to gut, knee to nuts. She just kept going, kept fighting, her mind a blur as she took down every Skull agent that came in front of her.

Until they were all gone. 

She couldn't stop, though, even as Bucky reached out a hand to steady her. Startled, she swiped out a hand to smack his away, just about ready to launch into attack mode again. 

"Cara," he rasped, stepping forward. He held her wrists to her sides, the cool metal of his left arm sinking into her skin. "Stop." 

The one word was enough to bring her back to her senses, merely because it was said with such heaviness. She blinked, and the fight drained out of her in a second, her arms becoming limp with exhaust. 

"I...I didn't hurt anyone, did I?" She asked, peering around Bucky's shoulder to see several bodies laying on the ground, limbs splayed in what she thought were definitely uncomfortable and unnatural positions. Her heart sank.

But the dark-haired man with the metal arm shook his head and let out a breath. "You didn't. And neither did I," he added, the ghost of a relieved smile on his lips. 

The confirmation caused Cara to sink forward into Bucky's arms, and he grunted at the sudden movement, but latched onto her, holding her up. For a few seconds, he seemed uncomfortable at so much human contact, but as he watched her wrap her arms around him in a warm embrace, he began to relax, the muscles in his body loosening. And, though he was still careful about it, his arms tightened around her middle, holding her in a celebratory embrace.

"Cara, are you--" Steve rushed into the infirmary, and saw the two of them in their compromising position. "--okay," he finished.

Hearing his voice, Cara stumbled out of Bucky's arms, and pounced on Steve, bringing her legs up to rest around his small waist. She nestled her head into the crook of his neck, breathing out shakily. "I'm okay," she answered, "we're okay."

-

"So, is that thing, like, magnetic or something?" Sam pressed, gesturing at Bucky's left arm.

He received a very long, very cold, glare for that one. 

"Here," Steve pushed another plate of food towards his friend, "you need to eat."

But Bucky shook his head, shoving it in the opposite direction. "Steve, I'm fine."

"No, you--"

"Steve," Cara whispered, and grabbed his hand under the table, "leave it alone."

He glanced back at her before sighing. "Fine. But if I catch you out in the kitchen in the middle of the night, I'm not going to be very happy."

While Bucky furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, Cara winked at him playfully, and shook her head, rolling her eyes. It's nothing, she mouthed.

"Seriously, though," Peter jumped in, admiration filling his voice to the rim, "that's the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"What?" Bucky asked.

"Your arm," Peter pointed, eyes wide with a small smile growing on his face, "it's awesome, dude!"

The room was silent for a second, and everyone was mid-chew, waiting for what Bucky would say. In a dark, low voice, he replied, "it is not awesome," he spat, but not in anger of Peter, "it is a curse."

Cara could feel the stomp on her heart as he said it. He never asked for this, she thinks sadly, and now he's paying the price for it. I wish there was some way we could get him a fresh start, or at least a relatively new life. He's been trudging through the pain of his past for too long. 

Before she could say anything, the room was clearing out awkwardly, and Steve was grabbing her hand, asking her to come to his room to...discuss something.

She smiled kindly at Bucky before following her boyfriend, confused by the tight grip he had on her hand. "Steve, what's wrong?"

"Not now," he muttered, and when he closed the door, he didn't say anything for a few minutes, just sat on his bed, staring up at her.

"Steve," Cara whined, "what's the matter? You're scaring me."

He buried his head in his hands. "Is there any chance that you--that you...like Bucky?"

"What?" Cara was definitely not expecting him to turn on his nervous boyfriend act. 

"Just answer the question," he said, his voice a little shaky.

"Well, I mean, I guess, he's a--"

Steve's shoulders slumped. He swallowed roughly, and stood up. "That's all I needed to know."

"What are you talking about?" Cara asked again, and then smacked her forehead with her palm as she realized. "Oh my god, you mean romantically? Absolutely not, I just met the guy, Steve!" She knit her eyebrows in confusion and a little bit of hurt as she looked up at him. "Do you really think that I'd just...change my mind on how I feel about you? How I love you?"

"You what?" Steve's eyes were wide, rimming with tears that hadn't spilled over yet, but she was afraid they would if she made another tiny mistake in the conversation. "You..."

"I love you, Steven," Cara repeated, and reached out with her thumbs to rub his cheeks softly, bringing his face down to hers in a soft kiss. 

When he pulled away, he stared into her eyes, an unsure smile on his face. "So...you're going to stay?"

Cara chuckled softly and pulled him down into another kiss. "Steve, you don't have to worry. I'm never going to leave you, I'll always stay. Everyday, one after another, I'll always come home to you, no one else."

For a few seconds, Steve just breathed, unsure of what to do. Then he was lifting her up and holding her to him in the tightest embrace he'd ever given her. Her legs were wrapped around his middle again, and she met her lips with his, causing his breath to hitch as she slipped her tongue into his mouth.

"Are you sure?" He asked her, breaking away and searching her eyes for any sign of hesitation.

She just laughed. 

"I think I should be the one asking you that, don't you think? I mean, you're ninety-eight years old," she giggled, "are you sure you can handle this?"

Steve rolled his eyes and carried her over to his bed.

-

"Did it happen? Did you guys finally do the boogie woogie?" Tony smirked as they walked out of Steve's room awhile later.

"Can it, Stark," Steve warned, but his cheeks had grown redder by the second. 

"All innuendos aside," Nat glared at Tony playfully, "what's the plan?"

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"You've always got a plan, what do we do now?"

Steve glanced over at Cara, who had a faraway look in her eyes. He caught Bucky's eyes, and saw the sad way his best friend had retreated into the corner of the living room. It's all because of Hydra, it's all their fault, he thought bitterly. In that moment, a seedling of a plan implanted itself in his brain, and he said, "We're going to get Hydra the hell out of Buck's head. For good."

"What?" Bucky lifted his head slightly, and his hooded eyes met Steve's carefully. 

The ninety-eight-year-old nodded. "You heard me. We're going to set you free, Bucky."

The Avengers were silent for a second, all of them processing just what this meant for the man sitting at least ten feet away from them. It would mean that he'd have a new life, he'd be able to potentially start over wherever he wanted, and he wouldn't have to worry about becoming the killing machine he'd been turned into over the past seventy years. 

Sam, the one who'd been the most wary of Bucky, cleared his throat, surprising Cara when he said it.

"When do we start?"

SURPRISE!

THAT'S THE END