Bucharest, Romania [Tuesday morning, NFB]

[heroic_jawline]

Steve wasn't in London any longer. He'd slipped out of bed, grabbed his suit and left Tony a note--the gist was "I have to do this, please don't hate me"--and then grabbed Sam (whose expression when he didn't see Tony spoke volumes that Steve was just...not dealing with right now) and hopped a flight to Vienna where he'd managed to both track down Sharon and avoid Natasha, so score one for his sneaking skills.

Sharon had given him the one informant tip that wasn't spotting Bucky at a Gold's Gym somewhere near Stuttgart or Paris or Helsinki--a market in Romania--but also warned him that she was about to brief her boss on the lead and so Steve had about ten minutes before the task force mobilized. And they'd been ordered to shoot on sight.

Steve's jaw had clenched to hear that. This was the reason he'd inserted himself into this damn mess: to stop them--whoever them ever was--from killing his best friend. And so here he was, shield up, cowl on, and Sam's voice in his ear as he poked through a darkened apartment in Bucharest. Bucky had a very basic set-up: he wondered for a moment if this was how he lived in Fandom too, with a cooktop, a refrigerator, and a mattress on the floor. And then he felt guilty for not knowing, for not being able to make enough headway to even be invited inside.

A notebook on the top of the fridge caught his attention, edges worn and tabs out to mark certain areas. He opened it and found a printed out picture of himself in the Captain America outfit. Rumlow's voice echoed in his head: He remembered you. He got all weepy about it.

Steve eyes snapped up as soon as he heard the first footsteps and he shifted his balance to the balls of his feet, ready to move in any direction as he turned to see Bucky in the corner of the room, over by the bed. Steve stared back, fighting past memories of their fight on the Helicarrier, his frustrations with Tony's Bucky's absolute dismissal of him, the way the Bucky of Fandom flitted in and out of his life. If he had to, he would launch himself at this Bucky's knees and physically prevent him from disappearing.

Sam's voice in his ear broke the tense silence. "Head's up, Cap. Armored task force approaching from the south."

"Copy that," Steve murmured. He maintained eye contact with Bucky: he wasn't sure he could stop looking at Bucky. "Do you know who I am?" he asked. He wasn't sure he knew which way he wanted that answer to go.

"You're Steve," Bucky replied softly. "I read about you in a museum."

"They've set up a perimeter," Sam told Steve.

"I know you're nervous," Steve said, keeping his hands where Bucky could see them, "and you have plenty of reason to be." His mouth tightened, thinking of the book he'd just found. "But you're lying."

"I wasn't in Vienna," Bucky said. "I don't do that any more."

The relief Steve felt to hear that was immense, but he kept a straight face as Sam's voice came urgently in his ear: "They're entering the building."

"Well, the people who think you did are coming now," Steve said, willing Bucky to make the leap to understanding why Steve was there, "and they're not planning on taking you alive."

"That's smart," Bucky said, pressing his lips together and glancing away. "Good strategy."

Steve wanted to punch everything at that response, especially as the approaching footsteps grew loud enough for both pair of enhanced ears to hear. He hated how defeated everyone seemed. He hated how he was the only one who seemed to be standing up and saying no. He hated how he was going from one disaster to another with no time to breathe. "This doesn't have to end in a fight," he said.

"It always ends in a fight," Bucky said, looking tired as he pulled the glove from his hand to reveal his metal fingers.

"Five seconds," Sam said in Steve's ear. Steve ignored it. "You pulled me from the river," he said instead, voice heating up. "Why?"

"I don't know," Bucky said.

"Yes, you do," Steve said, looking and sounding frustrated just before the windows exploded and he and Bucky settled into fight patterns like it hadn't been a century since World War II. Their aim was to disarm, disengage, and then disappear. Their opponents were not interested in any of those things, and the task force had sent a truly ridiculous number of people to bring Bucky in: they came in through the windows, blew up the door, were rappelling in from the roof, and were waiting on the stairs. He and Bucky were getting past them, but he was very annoyed about the amount of blunt force trauma he was forced to dole out.

Didn't stop him from doing it, though.

It took him a little bit to realize that while he thought he was fighting with Bucky, Bucky was fighting entirely on his own, and when he got a chance to break away, was out the nearest window without even a backwards glance.

It was enough to give a fella a complex, if he hadn't been working on one already. He called out for Sam to serve as backup until he could get clear himself. "Sam, southwest roof."

And that was when someone in a black suit and a full-face mask--vaguely cat-like--bodied Bucky on the roof.

"Who's that guy?" Sam demanded.

"About to find out," Steve grunted, leaping out a fifth story window to land on the adjoining roof and wondering as he fell if Tony and Natasha might've had a tiny point about this making things worse.

By the time he'd almost caught up, Bucky had gotten free of the newcomer and was racing by foot through an underpass with what felt like half of the Bucharest police force behind him. Steve requisitioned one of their cars, evicted the cop, and went driving after him. He heard a thunk on the back of the car and looked in the rear view to find he'd picked up a catsuited stowaway. Juking from side to side didn't get rid of the guy, who seemed hellbent on killing Bucky.

Steve hadn't gotten here to let that happen. "Sam, I can't shake this guy," he admitted, He sped up, desperate to close the gap as Bucky got himself a motorcycle and was viewing the oncoming traffic lane as a place where other people didn't drive against the flow. So now Steve was also doing it. There was probably some kind of metaphor in that but he didn't have the time to think about it. The chase ended, rather predictably, in a small explosion (Steve wished he was more surprised that Bucky'd been carrying charges), a rolled car, and Steve, Sam, Bucky, and the catsuit all on the ground, facing a legion of cop cars with a helicopter hovering menacingly overhead.

And that was when War Machine arrived.

"Stand down now," Rhodey said, slamming to the ground in his suit in front of all of the police cars and drawing his weapons. His mask focused on Steve, standing with his shield up, in front of Bucky and between the catsuited man, Rhodey, and the police. "Congratulations, Cap," he said, sounding tired and angry. "You're a criminal."

Catsuit retracted his claws and removed his mask. Steve blinked. That face was familiar from a Parents Weekend a few years back.

"Your Highness," Rhodey said dryly and it all slotted into place.

T'Challa. T'Chaka. Black Panther.

Shit. He was out for vengeance for his father's death.

After Rhodey rounded them up, Bucky was placed into a separate vehicle while Sam, T'Challa, and Steve were left to be driven to the airport by a stone-faced Rhodey. Steve sat ramrod straight, staring through the window to the armored vehicle Bucky was in.

Rhodey	Well, luckily for Steve, Rhodey had nothing to say to interrupt his self righteousness as he drove. Because he didn't need to say anything, it was all in the unimpressed look he had in the rear view mirror.
Steve	Well, if he was expecting Steve to look anything but stubborn about it: well, Rhodey knew Steve enough not to, right?
Sam	Well, duh. But that was okay because Sam was there to break this very uncomfortable silence with a, "So...you like cats?" to T'Challa.
Steve	"Sam," Steve said with a quick shake of his head. It probably wasn't wise to provoke the leader of a sovereign nation who was apparently also on a one-man mission to take Bucky out.
Sam	"What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don't wanna know more?" Sam muttered. Also, now you cared about sovereign nations, Steve? Now?
T'Challa	"The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations," T'Challa replied with an icy glance back at the pair. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. And now, because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king."
Steve	Steve figured that now was not the time to say that Bucky said he hadn't done that. Or that T'Challa's sister had seemed like a nice kid when he'd been a student back at the school where Steve taught. He pressed his lips together and stared at Bucky's armored vehicle instead.
T'Challa	Not unless he wanted to also be the subject of T'Challa's rage-filled grief. "So, I ask you," T'Challa said in a tone that did not brook argument. "As both warrior and king, how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?"
Steve	"As long as I need to," Steve said evenly. "He didn't kill your father."
Rhodey	Rhodey did that one sigh that was normally aimed at Tony, but then Steve had to go and be even dumber than him with his righteous bullshit. "I'm going to ask you to stop talking now, Captain."
Steve	Oh, when had Steve ever taken good advice when he didn't want to, Rhodey? "Really," he said flatly.
Sam	Sam rolled his eyes. "So," he said to Rhodey. "Where are you taking us?" Now that his ass had been Lojacked, as predicted.
Rhodey	Weird how they fucked around and now were finding out. "To the airport so we can attempt to minimize the damage you two decided to cause with this little stunt," Rhodey said after glancing over at the king to see if he wanted to explain the extradition of Barnes to Wakanda or not. Looked like not for the moment.
Steve	"Are you sending us home?" Steve asked, frowning.
Rhodey	"Oh, that stopped being up to me the moment you decided to interfere with the apprehension of James Barnes," Rhodey said. But he'd come along here to make sure this arrest didn't turn into a blood bath and giving Tony some time to run damage control.
Steve	"He didn't do it, Rhodey," Steve said heatedly, "and they were going to shoot him anyway."
T'Challa	"He won't be harmed until he faces Wakandan justice," T'Challa said, not at all trying to appease Steve with that statement. Which was possibly why Rhodey sighed at it like he was really not enjoying being the adult in the vehicle today.
Steve	"Terrific," Steve said dryly. "Why do you think the UN will turn him over to your people?" You'd been king like an hour and a half, T'Challa. How good were you at this stuff, really?
T'Challa	"Because, if they do not, they would be making a terrible mistake." Someone was really struggling to maintain that 'country of goat herders' cover, wasn't he?
Steve	Steve's face did a little bit of a journey because he might have been thinking, just for a second, that tiny African countries didn't generally have much clout in the United Nations. "Or we could figure out who was actually behind the bombing," Steve said.
Rhodey	"We have a suspect in custody, so that's a good step forward I'd say," Rhodey said, making a face as he phone dinged. Then dinged again. And then again.
Sam	"Your phone's blowing up there," Sam pointed out.
Rhodey	"Yeah, because someone left a note." And now Rhodey was forced to play middleman between Steve 'Immovable Object' Rogers and two versions of Tony 'I'M NOT BEING DRAMATIC' Stark.
Steve	Steve might've slunk just a little bit down in his seat. A little. "Oh."
Rhodey	"Yeah. Oh," Rhodey shot back. Because if he had to deal with this, so did Steve.
Steve	Steve began nervously rotating his wedding band with his finger. "He's upset."
Rhodey	"He's at the airport," Rhodey said neutrally, ignoring the confused little frown on His Highness' face because as far as he knew, Tony Stark was still in Berlin.
Steve	Sam was outright smirking at Steve's discomfort. "How long a flight are we looking at?" Steve asked. Because he had a feeling he was getting an earful for all of it.
Rhodey	"Oh, at least an hour." Rhodey shouldn't enjoy that discomfort as much as he was, but...he'd had a long day. He was taking what he could get here.
Steve	"Great," Steve said softly, staring at the back of Bucky's transport again.
FH!Tony	If Steve was hoping for a warm welcome at the airport, he'd be sorely mistaken. Instead, there were more soldiers waiting to take over on the transport of Bucky along with a familiar blonde and possibly an even more familiar brunet. So, there was that.
Steve	Steve clenched his jaw stubbornly as he was pulled from the van, making eye contact first with Sharon, then with Tony. "He's still alive." That had always been his priority.
Sharon	"Steve," Sharon began in a warning tone before nodding a greeting to Rhodey and T'Challa. The latter strode past them all without a second glance.
Steve	"Thanks for the head start," he added in the same, slightly sharp, tone. "Your guys weren't pulling any punches."
Sharon	Sharon took a deep breath at that, pursing her lips. "My guys were dealing with a dangerous individual," she replied.
Steve	Steve gave her an echo of the disappointed look he'd shot her when he found out she'd been spying on him. "Right."
Rhodey	Rhodey cleared his throat at that. "I'm going to make sure your gear--" meaning the shield and Sam's wings, "--is safely stowed away." And he actually meant that. They might be in some shit, but it was important to them, so it was important to Rhodey.
Steve	"Thanks," Steve murmured sincerely.
Sharon	Sharon gave Rhodey a tight mouthed nod as he passed and stepped closer to Steve to try to reason with him. "I'm doing my job here. Do you understand that?"
Steve	"You really don't want an honest answer to that," Steve said, watching with clenched fists as Bucky was put into his confinement pod. "Do I want to know why your people had something like that just around?"
Sharon	"I think you already know the answer to that," Sharon replied, brushing past him to check in on the process there. Cruelly leaving him with just Sam...and Tony.
Steve	Sam was finding the ceiling absolutely thrilling right now as Steve swallowed around the nerves and walked closer to Tony.
FH!Tony	"You can go hide if you want, Sam," Tony said. Since there wasn't much of an escape route here. And he didn't think Sam would run. Steve, on the other hand...
Sam	"I'm blaming you if I end up tazed and drooling on the floor," Sam warned, taking a small walk.
FH!Tony	Tony then turned his full attention onto Steve once they were alone. Just looked at him for a nice, long while without saying anything as he tried to get his thoughts together. Something he hadn't been able to accomplish since he woke up to another note.
Steve	"They were going to kill him," Steve said finally into that awkward pause.
FH!Tony	"So you had to come here," Tony said, not making it a question, more a confirmation of Steve's tunnel vision logic.
Steve	Steve nodded. "And I'd do it again."
FH!Tony	Tony sighed and turned away to keep an eye on everything else happening as the plane was loaded up. "And why did you decide to leave note instead of talking to me?"
Steve	Because it was easier to apologize than ask for permission. "I thought you'd try to talk me out of it."
FH!Tony	"Because I would have," Tony said, letting out some of the anger over this in his tone.
Steve	"Bucky is still alive," Steve said. "You think if I hadn't been here that would be true? T'Challa or one of Sharon's guys could've had a good day or Bucky could've killed the king of Wakanda."
FH!Tony	"I don't know because you decided to shut me out," Tony replied, keeping his voice down as best he could here.
Steve	"I left a note," Steve said a little faintly.
FH!Tony	"A note," Tony repeated, letting that sink in a little. Or trying to get that through Steve's skull.
Steve	"I didn't want you to worry." That probably wouldn't help, Steve.
FH!Tony	"How has that worked for you in the past?" Tony asked.
Steve	Zero percent success rate. "Not well," Steve admitted.
FH!Tony	Tony let out a sigh and gestured at him for that. "You're so eager for a fight."
Steve	"When something needs to be fought for, absolutely," Steve said.
FH!Tony	"When it involves Bucky and you... you get blinders," Tony shot back.
Steve	"He's Bucky," Steve said, looking helpless. "I'd do the same thing if it was you."
FH!Tony	"I understand," Tony said, some of his anger leaking out of his tone as he stepped closer to grasp Steve's forearm above the cuff. "But it's not that simple. Not here. It's so much more than just you."
Steve	"So, what? I'm supposed to sacrifice my best friend for the United Nations?" Steve demanded. "He didn't do it, and even if he had, tracking him down and shooting him in his apartment is no way to go out."
FH!Tony	"No one is asking you to do that!" Tony replied. "But if you want to prove he's innocent, what you're doing isn't the right way!"
Steve	"T'Challa's out on a one-man vengeance spree with diplomatic immunity," Steve shot back. "The Accords doesn't cover that, does it?"
FH!Tony	"Unless this T'Challa is wildly different from the one I know, he is not going to kill a man in cold blood," Tony replied firmly.
Steve	"I don't know that!" Steve snapped, jerking his hands apart and accidentally breaking through his handcuffs.
FH!Tony	"Then listen to me!" Tony hissed, reaching for Steve's hands to keep this from becoming more of a thing than it needed to be.
Steve	Steve held on tightly to Tony's hands, desperate for something to ground him right now while it felt like the entire world was spinning completely out of control.
FH!Tony	"Please, Steve," Tony asked quietly. "Please."
Steve	Steve rocked forward, resting his forehead against Tony's and squeezing his eyes closed. "I'm trying."
FH!Tony	"Let us help you, okay?" he asked, not about to pull away even with the weird looks some folks were giving them.
Steve	Steve was very much afraid he didn't know how to, but he nodded. "We should probably get on the plane," he murmured.
FH!Tony	"Okay," Tony agreed, looking around at the people around them before nodding in agreement again and walking with him there.
Steve	And because there were that many people watching, including Bucky in his glass-walled containment unit--Steve wondered darkly if it was Hulk-proof--Steve kept his shoulders square and his walk measured and sure. He would not break in front of them. He hadn't been wrong and he wasn't sorry.
FH!Tony	Nothing was really Hulk-proof. "Thank you," Tony said, taking this as a good sign that they could figure this out.
Steve	"We'll see what happens on the other side," Steve muttered back. "Berlin, right?"
FH!Tony	"Berlin," Tony replied with a nod. "Natasha and... Tony are working on what they can."
Steve	Steve blew out a breath, squaring his jaw like he was getting ready for a punch. "Okay."
FH!Tony	"Trust your team," Tony chided. Which was totally helpful, right?
Steve	Steve bit back an unhappy little noise at that. "I'm trying. I brought Sam with me."
FH!Tony	"I'm aware," Tony replied. Would he ever let go of the whole leaving a note behind thing to avoid talking to Tony? Nah.
Steve	Steve should apologize for that. He wouldn't, but he should. Instead he nodded, chewed on his lower lip for a moment, and walked onto the cargo plane, positioning himself so he could see Bucky in his containment unit. He was 80, 85 percent sure that T'Challa wouldn't let them open the cargo bay and make a problem disappear, but not 100 percent.
FH!Tony	Tony's expression went tight and unhappy for a moment before he pushed it all down to focus on the task at hand. "Can you promise me that you'll listen when we get there?"
Steve	Steve nodded. "But I can't promise I'll do it," he said softly.
FH!Tony	There was that tight expression again, but Tony just nodded in acceptance of that. Because it was better than Steve running of half-cocked again.
Steve	Steve hated being the cause of that expression, but he couldn't think of a way to fix it as T'Challa, Sam, Sharon, and what felt like half of the task force--some still sporting bruises from their fights with Steve and Bucky--trooped onto the plane.

[OOC: Continued from here, an apologies in advance for the incoming spam. Canon beat like a pinata until all the good parts came out, then added to about 150 percent more talking.]