Snarky ColdWinter #2

[fist_of_hydra]

The team had been arguing for a while now, and getting nowhere. They'd narrowed Savage's location down to Italy in September of 1944, but couldn't get any farther than that. James thought he had a pretty good guess what Savage wanted - this was where HYDRA had most of their facilities, and the Red Skull would be the perfect ally to Savage.

The only people who would have any further intelligence about Savage's possible movements were the Allied or Axis forces. Neither were going to hand the information over to a bunch of strangers. Ray wanted to play dress up and march in, pretend to be an officer and demand the information. Sara wanted to go in at night and steal it. There were half a dozen other ideas floating around, and all of them were bad. Quite a few of them were likely to get them shot at.

Ray might be onto something, though. At least, if you turned your head and looked at the idea sideways. Trying to march in and claim to be an officer nobody in the camp had ever seen was asking for a swift visit from the MPs.

Marching in and claiming to be an officer everyone in the camp had seen was another matter.

James had been lurking by the doorway, as was his habit, rather than sitting around the table with the others. He hadn't been contributing, so he was able to slip out without inciting comment. Once in the hall, he strode toward the fabrication room. "Gideon. Do you have any footage or photos of me in uniform in this time period?"

"Of course, Mr. Barnes."

"Good. I need a copy made, and make sure it looks worn and used. Can you do that?"

"Certainly."

"Then do it." James strode into the fabrication area, where a uniform was already synthesizing. He paused, looking at it, and rubbed a hand over the scruff on his chin.

Five minutes later he strode back toward the main room. It felt odd to be back in this uniform. Gideon had even managed to make it smell right - which was to say, like blood and gunpowder and harsh lye soap. Even stranger was not feeling his hair brushing against his cheeks and neck. He hadn't had short hair since HYDRA took him, and he found he already missed it long.

This wasn't him, anymore. It felt like the ghost of Bucky Barnes was riding his shoulders, and the weight was pressing him down.

"...are we supposed to do, walk in and ask them nicely?" Sara was saying, her tone full of exasperation as she threw her hands up at Ray.

"That's exactly what we're gonna do." James rose his voice enough to cut through the babble. Everyone turned to look at him, and most of them did a wide-eyed double-take. He raised an eyebrow at them. "It's just a matter of the right person doing the asking."

Comments

[fist_of_hydra]

Steve would definitely come looking for him, which was part of why Bucky thought it made more sense for Len to head upriver - he could meet the search party halfway and lead them back, it would be a lot faster.

Bucky couldn't quite bring himself to protest again, though. Not when he didn't WANT to be left behind, at all. At least the man's insistence on saving him and staying with him meant he probably wasn't intending to kill Bucky for having seen... whatever the hell he'd seen back there.

Probably. Unless he didn't realize Bucky had seen it.

Damn it, he had to know the answer, though. It was going to eat him alive. "So, I don't suppose you'd like to tell me what exactly happened, back there? Because I gotta tell you, watching one of your guy burst into flames is gonna be nightmare fodder, and I've got plenty enough of that already."

[coldlenny]

Len figured Bucky might have seen some things, but he wasn't sure how much the other man had seen - or remembered after the head injury - so he hadn't seen much of a reason to tell him all about it.

But Bucky clearly did remember, and Len sighed faintly. "We told you we're a special ops team, right? You starting to realize why you haven't heard of us, and were reluctant to have you come hang around with us?"

[fist_of_hydra]

"And I thought Red Skull was the weirdest thing out there," Bucky muttered, shivering. Then he shivered again, racked with cold, and had to clench his teeth to keep them from chattering.

Ahead he spotted a dip in the ground, a little pseudo cave where one of the forest giants had fallen and its trunk mostly covered a natural hollow. "Over there," he suggested, jerking his head. "We can line it with boughs and dig in until this damn dizziness passes. I'm not going to make it far like this."

[coldlenny]

Len snorted faintly. "The Red Skull is nothing compared to some of the things I've seen, babe." He began to move them in the direction of the hollow Bucky had pointed out. "They'll find us. They can fly over and we'll hear and see them. So all we have to do is hole up and wait. We don't have to worry about running into any HYDRA if we wait for them to come to us."

[fist_of_hydra]

"Fly over. Of course they can." Bucky was pretty damn sure the guy didn't mean in a plane. Nobody was ever going to believe all this if he tried to tell them. Not even Steve.

Though Steve would at least believe Bucky wasn't making it up. He'd think his best friend had gone crazy, instead.

He collected a few branches as they passed by them, dumping them into the hollow, but when he tried to turn and go after more he staggered and nearly fell. "Okay, maybe you'd better get the branches, and I'll pack 'em into place as you pass them down." He glanced over the fallen trunk. "At least it'll keep the rain off, if we get any. Of course, it's gonna be freezing once the sun goes down."

[coldlenny]

Len was pretty sure the cat was already out of the bag with respect to the powers and advanced technology his team came equipped with. Somehow they'd need to figure out how to stop that from changing the future.

He sighed as Bucky tried to push himself too much. He really hadn't changed at bit over the years, when it came right down to it.

"We'll just have to cuddle up and keep warm," he purred, catching Bucky by the elbow and trying to steer him over to the hollow. "Let me do the heavy lifting. You sit and try not to pass out."

[fist_of_hydra]

The purred comment earned him a slightly nervous sideways look from Bucky. For a moment it looked like he was worried Len would try something with him, but his words showed differently a moment later. "That, uh, friend of yours isn't going to take exception to me getting too close, is he? 'Cause he was growling every time I got near you, and he strikes me as the type I really don't want to piss off."

He slid down into the hollow. There was just about enough room for the two of them if they didn't mind getting close, which was just as well since they had to anyway. Hopefully, it would warm up quickly with body heat, or they'd both be missing some fingers and toes by the time they were found.

Groaning, he settled himself on his knees, packing the branches against the sides and bottom. The dirt was just loose enough that he could press them in, not so much he was worried about it collapsing on them.

[coldlenny]

Len smiled with true amusement at the question. He looked up at the sky, grinning, and then turned that expression on Bucky. "Oh, don't worry. He would never hurt you."

He turned and began to gather up branches, laying them over to disguise the hollow from casual view. When he was done, he bent and crawled inside with Bucky. "How're you doing?"

[fist_of_hydra]

"Depends. Do you have a twin brother who showed up recently?" Bucky squinted at him, trying to focus so there was only one of the man. "I'll be okay, I've been through worse. What about you, are you hurt?"

He shifted to make room, but they still ended up pressed close together. Which was just as well, because the shivering wasn't making his headache any better, and it really was their only option for getting warm.

[coldlenny]

"Bumps and bruises." Len slipped his arm around Bucky. He knew he was probably making the other man uncomfortable, but he didn't actually care that much. One day, James wouldn't even remember this, and wouldn't be uncomfortable about being close to Len anyway.

He snuggled in closer. "You know, I like the cold usually, but this is a bit much even for me."

[fist_of_hydra]

"Not real fond of it, myself," Bucky admitted, his voice wry. He was stiff against the other man, holding himself awkwardly, but didn't protest the closeness. If anything, he hitched himself closer as well, shivering. "You're sure about that fella of yours, right?"

He was half joking, but it was a real concern. Between that and the proximity, he could hardly stop thinking about the whole thing. Or maybe that was the concussion talking, because his brain did seem to be wandering in strange directions.

"You two really don't give a shit, do you?" he asked, shaking his head. "Don't care who knows. Aren't you worried about, you know, being discharged? Arrested? Neither of you are fairies, not even close, so how does that even work?"

[coldlenny]

Though Len didn't really worry about these things much, it was still good that Bucky wasn't freaking out about being close. Being warm was more important, and it was key that Len keep Bucky safe. Little was more important than that.

"Oh, I'm sure," he murmured. "He might look like an attack dog, but trust me, he's a softy inside that armour."

He shifted to get comfortable on the hard ground, drawing Bucky against his shoulder, and laughed softly at the comment about fairies. "No, I don't care who knows, and I don't care about being arrested. But I'm not sure I understand your question. How does what work?"

[fist_of_hydra]

"Well, who... I mean..." Bucky's brain finally caught up to his rambling mouth, and he shook his head. That proved to be a mistake, and he squinted as the world spun for a moment. "Never mind, none of my business at all. Ignore me, I think the head injury is making me stupid."

Stupid enough to keep talking, apparently. "It's just... you guys don't fit anything I know about... that kind of thing. The area we grew up in, it was pretty rough. Lotsa mob bars, places that catered to that, ran pansy acts. Fairies hanging around by the docks, looking for johns. So it's not like I don't know how it works."

[coldlenny]

Len might not be ashamed of who he was, but he didn't know a lot about how homosexuality was viewed in the forties. He wasn't surprised by Bucky's discomfort, but what he heard sounded completely different from what Bucky meant.

"You think I'm a prostitute?" he exclaimed, more baffled than offended.

[fist_of_hydra]

"What?" Bucky stared at him. "No, Christ, that's not what I... How the hell did I even get into this conversation?"

He had only himself to blame, and he knew it. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose, pained from more than just the concussion. "I'm just saying, usually it's a fella and a fairy, seems like. Which obviously, neither of you are. So I can't figure out how it works, but it's none of my business, like I said."

[coldlenny]

Len blinked at Bucky for a few moments in utter incomprehension before he just resolved this strange terminology into something like 'top' and 'bottom' and decided to move on from there.

"First of all, you're the one who got curious, which is why you're in this conversation. But to answer your question - James and I trade off," he said finally, because he didn't give a fuck about keeping that a secret from James himself, and he wasn't about to get prissy about it. "We're both control freaks in different ways, so we switch it up. That help?"

[fist_of_hydra]

They traded off? Bucky tried to wrap his mind around that. All the dirty jokes and snide innuendos he'd ever heard implied it was one guy who took the woman's position, the one people said made it 'wrong' and 'unnatural'.

No denying either of these two men were absolutely men, though. James could practically give Steve a run for his money, and while Len was a little more... flamboyant... he was still very masculine.

"Well, I still think you're both crazy, just flaunting it like that, but it's your lives." He shrugged, and tilted his head back to rest against the branch behind him. "But I guess if it works for you, it works."

[coldlenny]

[Just a reminder note to us when we're editing that we want to do an A/N on this chapter to give the readers some more information about how homosexual sex was in the 1940s.]

"Who's gonna arrest us out here in the woods?" Len pointed out with a smirk. "And who's gonna arrest us when two of our friends can set themselves on fire? Don't worry about our skins - we're not nearly as crazy as you think."

There was an urge to poke the bear, to ask Bucky if he had ever thought about trying it out. But even Len wasn't that cruel. Not right now, anyway. Maybe later, if he got bored enough.

But before he could decide to do it, he realized that the younger man was snoozing, head still tilted awkwardly back against the branch. Len drew him closer and Bucky curled against his chest, warm and protected.

Len kept his eyes on the skies through the criss-cross of branches, and hoped for the sight of wings or flame, or the rushing sound of the Atom's thrusters.

[fist_of_hydra]

---

The battle took far longer than it should have. The HYDRA troops had reinforcements, men not in a HYDRA or Nazi uniform. James picked off as many as he could from a distance, then closed in and did what he did best - acted as a killing machine.

In this company, he wasn't the only one capable of doing so, either. He heard the distinctive whine of Len's gun to one side, Rory's flamethrower on the other. Saunders was in the air with Firestorm, and Sara was covering Palmer while he got his gauntlets on so he could use the weapons. Hunter appeared to have decided that since none of them were bothering to use their period-accurate weapons, he wouldn't either, returning fire with his laser pistol instead.

By the time the dust settled, even James was breathing hard and sweating. He'd taken a couple of shots, a graze on his thigh and a through-and-through on his right bicep. Both would heal quickly enough that he wasn't worried, though they'd slow him down a bit until they did.

Glancing around, he did a quick head check. Palmer and Sara, Rory and Firestorm, Saunders and...

Swearing, he looked again, harder this time. "Where's Len?" he demanded, heart squeezing in his chest. "Where the fuck are Len and Barnes?"

"Over here," Rory grunted, picking up the cold gun and pointing at an icy patch... at the edge of a cliff, James discovered when he made his way over. There was a clear path of broken branches and disturbed dirt where someone - or maybe multiple someones - had tumbled over the side and into the river far below.

No matter how James strained to see, there was no sign of them in the water downriver.

Saunders was hovering just below the top of the treeline, hanging over the ravine where she'd be better able to see. "Nothing," she reported, swooping back and landing beside them. "They must have been swept too far downriver to see."

"Then we're going after them." James turned on the others, daring any of them to argue with him.

Apparently, Hunter was stupid enough to take the dare. "The extra troops must have been Savage's people," he said. "If Savage is already working this closely with Schmidt, our top priority has to be stopping that alliance at all costs. Mr. Snart can take care of himself, and clearly Sergeant Barnes is just fine and will remain so."

[coldlenny]

Mick snarled and pointed his gun at Rip. It charged up with a whine as he pointed it at their captain's head. "You're just fuckin' gonna abandon Snart and his pretty-boy? What if he's drowning right now?"

[fist_of_hydra]

Hunter crossed his arms. "Of course we'll come back for them, but at the moment our priority needs to be..."

James flipped his long knife into his hand from the sheath on his thigh. When he took a step forward to stand beside Rory, he didn't need to say anything. The message was clear. He was not leaving his lover behind.

Sighing, Hunter ran a hand through his hair. Apparently, for once, he recognized a battle he couldn't win. "Oh, very well. The two of you hunt downriver for Mr. Snart and Sergeant Barnes. Head back to the ship after, and either we'll meet you there, or Gideon will give you our current coordinates."

[coldlenny]

Mick glanced over at James when he came to stand beside him, and gave him a fierce grin of pleasure - all teeth. "For once we're on the same side, huh, pretty-boy?" he growled gleefully. "Let's go."

He turned his back on the rest of the team immediately, starting in the direction he judged to be downstream.

[fist_of_hydra]

James turned as well, and waved at the others as he went... the wave might have involved a single finger sticking up, aimed at Hunter.

"I'm going to check near the water, watch for any sign of them coming out," he told Rory. "You stay up here, keep watch for any patrols or things I might miss from too close." He started to step off the cliff, then paused and held out his hand. "Gimme the freeze gun, might help me get across the river if I need to. Nothing says they came out on this side."

[coldlenny]

Mick rumbled a laugh at the sight. He loved it when James proved he wasn't stuck up.

He had picked up the gun, but hesitated at James' request. Thing was, it was obvious that Len would want James to have the gun. So he reversed it and offered the handle.

"You gonna jump?"

[fist_of_hydra]

"Slide," James corrected, taking the gun and clipping it to the equipment harness across his back. He could draw it quickly if necessary, but it should take the least battering there as he went down. "Looks like it gets shallower downriver, at least, so you should be able to meet me there. Let's go."

He jumped off the ledge where the ice was, leaping from point to point down the hill until he reached the bottom. Crouching, he examined the point where Len and Barnes had gone into the water. "There's blood on a rock here," he called up to Mick. "One of them hit hard. Let's follow it downriver."

Standing, he headed down the bank with an expression as cold as anything the gun could produce. He was getting Len back, if it killed him.

---

Snart had been waking Bucky up every so often, checking to make sure he hadn't passed out completely from the concussion. What the guy thought he could do if Bucky had, he had no idea.

This time he came awake all on his own, though. "Did you hear that?" he blurted out, forcing himself upright. Somewhere, not nearly far enough away, there was shouting.

In German.