#mouseolaw

“Do you have – do you have a Bucky?” Steve asked, and immediately regretted it. “Don’t, you don’t have to answer that – “

“Of course I do. You must too, if you asked.”

“Not right now,” Steve murmured. The other man frowned. “He – Hydra got hold of him. They did something to him. Brainwashed him, I don’t even know if he knows who he is anymore. I’m trying to find him now but I’m not having much luck.”

The other Steve exhaled sympathetically. “That’s rough. That’s really dark, I’m sorry.” 

Steve shrugged. “Guess I just wanted to know if he’s okay, if yours is…safe.”

“Sure. Safe and happy.” Steve nodded at the window, where Sam and Vision were discussing some kind of dive maneuver. “He and Sam are engaged.”

“…Bucky and Sam?” Steve asked, shocked. 

“Yeah. Where I come from, Buck came back from the war with some real problems. I don’t know if you’d say Sam saved him, but – yeah. Actually. I think Sam did save him. Sam’s amazing,” he said, and Steve had to agree. Sam was amazing.

“I uh. I wouldn’t mind the saving, but I hope that doesn’t happen here,” Steve said, rubbing the back of his head. 

The other Steve laughed. “You and Sam? For real? Man, that’s lucky for you. I mean, I wouldn’t give up Tony for anything, but Sam’s a real catch – “

“You and Tony. Tony Stark?”

“Why is everyone so surprised by that?” he asked, sounding amused. 

“Just. It’s Tony.” Steve shook his head. “I like the guy but I really have to spend a lot of time reminding myself of that so I don’t strangle him.” 

“I did notice a significant absence,” the other said. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“This day just gets weirder. Sure,” Steve replied. 

“You want to spar with me?” 

Steve blinked down at him. “You. And me. Sparring. Look, we both know how tough you are, but – “

“Just, I want to see how our fighting styles measure up. Come on, it’ll be fun. Bet I floor you at least once.”

Steve glanced outside. Vision was hovering at the window with Wanda on his back, both of them peering in; Vision smiled and waved when he saw Steve looking. Next to him, Sam was sitting on the shoulders of the War Machine armor, fiddling with one of the smaller shoulder-mounted guns. Natasha was hanging upside-down from a grappling rope, calmly checking her email on her phone. Rhodey was watching the little guy with a faint smile on his face. 

“You mind if the team watches?” he asked. “If you do mind, I’m afraid you don’t have much choice.”

“Bring it on,” the other Steve said with a laugh. “I’ll do my best not to embarrass you.” 

***

Half an hour later, Captain America lay on the mats in the sparring room and blinked.

“Holy heck,” he said, when he got his wind back. “How are you so fast?”

Agent Rogers – Steve decided he’d definitely earned the honorific – reached down and helped haul him to his feet.

“Natasha,” he said. Natasha, sitting nearby, beamed at him. “If you can’t be strong, be fast. If you can’t be fast, be sneaky. You’re a nice guy, Big Rogers, but you’re not sneaky.”

Steve shot a rueful look at the others, who knew this better than anyone. “No, that’s not one of my strong suits.”

Agent Rogers was bruised, bleeding in a couple of places, and looked worn out; he’d taken several falls already. But Steve had to admit he’d given him a run for his money in the sheer stubborness department, and he was a better fighter than Steve could have dreamed of being as a little guy. Steve had to work for every victory, and Agent Rogers was doing better than men literally twice his size had sometimes done. 

“I’m not certain I understand the end goal of this exercise,” Vision said, studying the pair of them with keen eyes. “Emotionally, testing one’s strength against oneself may be cathartic, but you are hardly very alike.”

“I think we’re probably more alike than either of us wants to admit,” Steve said. 

“Besides, variety is the spice of life,” Agent Rogers added with a smile, but it was fleeting; his eyes seemed to unfocus briefly, and he staggered a little, one arm going wide to maintain his balance.

“You okay?” Steve asked, catching him by the elbow.

“It’s happening again – be out of your hair real soon,” Rogers said. “Hey, listen – about Bucky – “ 

“Don’t worry about that, what can we do for you?” Steve asked.

“Nothing, I’m fine. When you find him, hold on tight, okay? Bucky an’ me, we’re not meant to be apart.” Rogers looked up at him, face pale, lips bloodless, and gave him an attempt at a grin. “And hold onto Sam, too. Don’t let that asshole steal your man.” 

There was a brief flash of light, not even much brighter than a firecracker, and he was gone. 

“Wait,” Wanda said, into the silence that followed. “You and Sam?”