[CLOSED TO disassembling - Not really a vacation

[whatsfondue]

Las Vegas had changed quite a bit in the last 70 years. The last time he was here this was only a back water town, a pit stop on the USO tour on their way west. Now it was an entire city that catered to tourists. Steve wandered around among the flashy buildings and (mostly) gaudily dressed tourists in the strip, looking for signs that matched the descriptions in the report he was given for HYDRA.

Nothing. Nothing that stood out to him of course.

Usually something like this was best assigned to Natasha or Clint, but Clint was on medical leave, and he'd been outvoted when it came to another mission that Bucky and Natasha had left on a day before he'd left. Thor and Bruce wasn't even considered and Tony had meetings Ms. Potts had said he was not allowed to get out of unless it was a global emergency. Tony had clapped on on the back and told him to go wild, which Steve had rolled his eyes at. He shook his head at a poster advertising spa and massages and decided to find somewhere quieter for lunch away from the main strip.

Of course, it was on his way out that he spotted a familiar face, a HYDRA agent they'd been on the lookout for the last few months. Of course Steve will put off his lunch to follow. And of course, something will go wrong and the last Steve remembered was feeling a pinch at the back of his neck and then blacking out

Comments

[disassembling]

Natasha and he had been sent to investigate a Soviet cell, and given their backgrounds and fluency with the Russian tongue, they found it easy to slip in and get the information that was required. It was one of their easier missions, and he worked well enough with the Widow that they even got out without making much of a fuss a few days later under the claim they had to return to Russia to take care of business.

He had ignored Natasha's subtle and pointed questions about him and Steve. Her knowing looks were met with flat stares. He and Steve had agreed to silence about their relationship, and so he held his piece on that.

When they returned to New York, they were met with a nervous Tony and Bruce informing them that Steve was off the map after investigating a HYDRA cell that wasn't supposed to really exist. The truth of the matter didn't make a difference to him because it turned out that HYDRA was in Las Vegas and had seen fit to use the opportunity to use previously unknown knock-out drugs on Captain America. He, of course, knew that HYDRA had existed there but have given little information about it, since he and Steve tended to do missions together.

He had said he was going as the only known agent who was capable of getting in and out of HYDRA facilities. He didn't mention that he knew where most were either, but he instead shipped out with only stocked weapons and a change of clothing since he was going in his Winter Soldier uniform. HYDRA would know him when he arrived, and he intended that because his arrival would come with completely intentional violence as he moved to find and secure Steve.

[whatsfondue]

He hadn't wanted to go to Las Vegas, but he was glad to be away from the looks and questions coming from Natasha and Sam about him and Bucky. The rest of the Avengers had remained thankfully (and mostly) clueless about their current status. While Sam had readily accepted (as always) that Steve didn't want to talk about it, Natasha didn't. And Natasha was far too good at cornering him somewhere private.

Waking up in the dark in a strange place with a headache and a bad taste in his mouth, he'd take Natasha's well-meaning interrogation about his relationship status than this. Steve blinked blearily into the low-lit room and tried to move, only to find he's been tied down. There was also something going into his arm, an IV he guessed. In the distance he could hear gunfire and screaming and guessed rescue? wasn't far away.

He started trying to get out of the restraints anyway. Steve had no intention to be a waiting duck, especially if HYDRA got it in their heads to try to use him as a hostage.

[disassembling]

His entire goal was to find and rescue Steve, assuming that his friend was still in the many little underground connecting rooms and tunnels. Even if he couldn't, there would be information as to where they had moved Captain America and for what purpose. A part of him suspected that Steve would be here to draw him in, to have the match-set of super-soldiers.

HYDRA sometimes forgot that taking one away from the other made them more brutal than ever.

He killed without mercy, pausing here and there to stand over dying men to demand to know where Steve was. Most appeared to not have any idea where Steve was being kept, others tried to hide the information and a few laughed in his face. None of them survived, and he moved on until he grew closer and closer to where his friend was being held.

He began to check rooms in a higher technical service area, and upon the fourth door, he bashed in the locks and forced the door open. His face lit up as he spotted his friend. "They send you for vacation, and you still manage to find trouble."

[whatsfondue]

The gunfire and screams seem to be getting closer and Steve redoubled his efforts into getting free. He had half-rescued himself by the time the door in the cell he was being kept in blew open. He'd gotten his hands free (spraining one wrist for that), the iv out of him and was in the middle of trying to get his feet free from the blocky and heavy restraints they were trapped in. The job was made harder with the way his hands were shaking.

Steve smiled blearily at his friend and gave one last heave against the restraints with his hips. "They said HYDRA was here, not that it was a vacation. And guess what, I found them." Why they felt the need to send him away under false pretenses he had no idea. It wasn't like he was overworked or anything and if he wanted a vacation, he'd have preferred to just stay quietly at home with Bucky. "They called you back from your mission early again?"

[disassembling]

He watched Steve struggle, leaving it to his friend to get out of the mess of restraints without his help unless asked. Steve was more than capable, even if his eyes picked up on the trembling and shakes, but he suspected that had something to do with the IV fluids. He leaned out and checked to make certain that they were secure before easing more into the room.

"Tony said it was a ruse to get you to take some time," he replied, his movements the usual deadly. "No, Natalia and I finished quickly, and a good thing too... how did they manage to catch you?" He lifted his gloved fingers to stroke his fingers down Steve's temple. He almost missed the smaller body, but this one was very pleasant to sleep against.

[whatsfondue]

A second heave and a shove finally got the heavy restraints off of his legs and he swung his legs down from the medical bed they'd tied him down two. Steve swayed into the light touch against his temple before pushing off against the bed to test his balance with two feet on the ground.

Nope, no good. He had to shut his eyes against the sudden feeling of vertigo that simple action caused. Just what in the world did they give him that could cause this? No doubt the serum would take care of it in time and he was grateful to be back in a body where the serum was working again because no doubt whatever they'd given him would have killed him with its numerous medical issues.

"Tony should take his own advice. Ms. Potts has been trying to get him to go on a vacation for ages. They could have just told me I need a vacation and I'd have stayed home with you or something." Steve grumbled, opening his eyes when the dizziness passed. He straightened up slowly and took a proper look around the room before answering Bucky's question. "I spotted Crowley from the files on my way to lunch and followed him out of the tourist areas. Next thing I know I'm waking up here. Did you see my shield anywhere? I was carrying it on my back in its soft case when they got me."

[disassembling]

He stepped aside to allow Steve to stand, but he was close enough to catch his friend if Steve happened to fall again. He reached out a hand when his friend swayed, but so far, it seemed that Steve could handle it. He instead glanced up at the IV bag hanging nearby, but aside from a little added lettering that made no sense to him, he didn't know what was in it. The fact that it could falter Captain America was worrisome.

"I believe the actual point was to give you an opportunity to enjoy yourself without me hanging off of you, given that I was on a mission," he said with a shrug. He knew that a few members of the team were still determined to see Steve dating and probably figured that sending Steve out alone would somehow make that happen. "Every evening we are together provides the sensation of a vacation."

He nodded at the name and slipped away from Steve to investigate the doorway again, but aside from warning flashing lights, the hallway remained deserted. "They had drugs strong enough to knock you out?" He stiffened before shaking his head. "No, but these facilities have armories, which is probably further down. Your shield might be there."

[whatsfondue]

It took a few seconds of deep breathes and bracing himself before he could move without feeling the overwhelming urge to throw up (he really didn't want to do that to Bucky). The first thing he did was take a look at the label on the IV bag; a mostly eidetic memory came in handy like this. He might not understand what was written on it but Bruce probably would or could find out. Then maybe they would find a neutralizer for whatever it was that could knock even him out. It was too bad that it wasn't really feasible to bring a sample back as that would have been the easiest way.

"I have no idea what is it that gave them the impression I would actually enjoy all that gaudy flashing lights and gambling." Steve responded, shaking his head. There were a few exhibits and art galleries he did find interesting just from descriptions provided on several brochures on the whole Vegas wasn't really for him. His eyes softened at Bucky's words and he leaned over to press a kiss against Bucky's temple. "You always did have a silver tongue on you." Before the war Bucky would most often use that charm and glib tongue on the ladies or to get out of trouble, Steve remembered nostalgically.

He sighed and followed Bucky to the doorway. The longer he was up and about, the faster his nausea seemed to be dissipating. Whatever it was HYDRA gave him, it didn't seem to last long against the serum. "Maybe something to with the way I reverted to my old body last month. I don't know. They've always been obsessed over the serum one way or another. Alright...let's go to the armories and assuming my shield is there, then get out. We should probably make sure they won't be able to sue this base again as well."

[disassembling]

He had his own theories about that, given how Natalia had been after him with prodding for details and looking for aspects of his relationship with Steve. While few of the other members of the team were as astute as Natalia, he suspected that they had some issue with how much time he and Steve spent together, no doubt limiting his friend's time to look for a person to date or at least have sex with. Steve was a very eligible man after all.

The Soldier hummed softly at the affection that Steve placed upon him, despite it neither being the appropriate time and place for that. He still savoured it all the same. "It appears that I require it to woo you," he replied as he stepped forward into the hallway when it appeared that Steve would have little trouble keeping up with him.

"This way," he said and moved swiftly down the hallway, pausing at intersections to both listen for opposition and think where the armoury. He shot only four guards, and it was clear that the facility was probably evacuated by now since he and Captain America were on the loose. They arrived at the armoury with little opposition, and indeed Steve's shield was inside and it obvious that someone had been investigating it based on how the paint had been scrubbed off in parts.

[whatsfondue]

He knew his friends were concerned about what they call 'co-dependancy' issues but he was beyond caring at this point. Or rather Steve cared, but only up to a point and certainly preferred the current state of affairs to anything else. He had Bucky had been apart for too long and to be kept apart now that they've found each other again would be painful. And Bucky, missing memories and all, still understood more of him than anyone else.

Steve followed after Bucky, trusting the other man would know where he is going and to watch out for attack while his own senses remained compromised. "You barely have to do anything really." Steve knew himself well enough to know that he was a sure thing for Bucky. "And what do I require to woo you return?" He bantered back playfully. "It really shouldn't be one-sided after all."

Once inside the armour, he made a beeline for his shield. Steve took it up again gratefully, happy to have it back on his arm where it belonged, giving it a quick look-over to check that no one had tampered with it beyond scratching a bit of paint off. He made a mental note to ask Tony to give it a repaint once they get back home. "Do you need to do anything else here?" Now that he had what was important back, Steve was eager to be gone from this place.

[disassembling]

He was aware that Steve favoured him over the others, but he had considered that to be due to their history, being displaced in time and a mutual attraction that had never actually gone away between them. He glanced back at the idea that Steve thought it was even necessary to make any kind of attempt to woo him. "You already have," he said simply. "Just be yourself and who can resist?"

He waited at the armoury door, not about to suspect that HYDRA might not try something on them despite this place being underneath a hotel in Vegas. He shook his head at the inquiry and instead slipped a grenade out of his belt when it was clear that Steve wouldn't be taking any more than the shield.

"We will make enough noise to draw attention and then this place can't be inhabited anymore," he murmured and flicked the pin out. He tossed the grenade into the room with the rest of the munitions and walked out, heading back to the way that they had come. "You have a hotel in Vegas, then?"

[whatsfondue]

"Fair's fair. You know you don't really have to woo me either, right? Despite what Natasha has to say about the subject. She didn't think much of my wooing skills back when she was trying to set me up with all sorts of people." To be honest he wasn't trying very hard during those days. Too busy being depressed for the world he lost and trying to catch up to the new one. She's thankfully stopped the matchmaking but has instead replaced that with pointed questions about him and Bucky.

Steve has no idea where they were right now, just that it shouldn't be too far from Vegas. He guessed he shouldn't be off the grid for more than a day. He looked around the armoury but there was nothing more of interest to him. Just weapons that shouldn't be in HYDRA's hands and better off destroyed.

"Yes. Tony paid for a totally overly ostentatious penthouse suite that's too large for me alone." He wants to sleep off, a true sleep not the drugged one they kept him under, the rest of the drugs still in his system, eat and bathe, then get back to his familiar apartment in New York. "Join me?"

[disassembling]

"Natalia has been asking me about you," he said with a bit of a shrug, glancing back at Steve as he lead the way towards where he knew there to be a relatively safe exit. "She was asking me today questions about you, and I think she suspects we have moved beyond what many consider an unhealthy co-dependency." He had heard some of the group calling it that anyway, but he hadn't bothered to file the idea away.

The area behind them exploded as his grenade went off, but he just kept walking as several other explosions sounded right after. He took them down a different hallway after they had passed the room that Steve had been kept in, pausing at the offer to stay with Steve at a fancy penthouse. "Someone will recognize you, and I wouldn't want to tarnish your reputation," he murmured.

He hummed and continued on, taking them up a manhole into an alley on the outskirts of Las Vegas. "I have missed sleeping next to you though."

[whatsfondue]

"Natasha's just plain nosy sometimes." Steve said, a bit exasperated. "They all are." They, of course, means the Avengers. "I think Sam had guessed but he's more or less given up on me regarding you." Eventually, he hopes the rest of his friends would leave it be. They weren't hurting anyone else after all, unhealthy or not.

"Bucky." Steve said, sounding exasperated again at his friend's mention of his reputation. "Do you really think I care about that? People will think what they want to think anyway." He knows there are some things he has to keep in mind for but this was not one of them.

Steve followed Bucky up the manhole and looked around. He didn't recognize this part of Vegas but it didn't worry him too much. "Do have I. I need to sleep for a bit, and I want to shower and eat after that but we can leave Vegas after if you like. Go home."

[disassembling]

He doubted that she would call her interest 'nosy', perhaps 'investigative' instead. If she had decided to be malicious, he probably would tried to kill her by now, but he had started to get along with her. "Your friends just want to see you happy," he said with a shrug. "Has he? Sam seems to be logical enough to know a lost cause when one presents itself."

Steve might not care about that, but he was certain that the media would and he was against making his friend's life unnecessarily difficult. Still, it would be interesting to not have to sneak around making excuses to attach himself to Steve in a non-platonic way. It was getting harder to find closets and abandoned rooms lately.

He waited for Steve to adjust before he turned and headed off, purposefully leaving the manhole uncovered. He pulled up the hood on his jacket and slipped on a pair of sunglasses from his pocket. "No, you will do all those things here. I refuse to listen to Stark whining about how you didn't use the room or enjoy yourself. We will stay until tomorrow."

[whatsfondue]

"I know they do. I just wish they were less enthusiastic in their attempts and actually let me be once in a while. And Sam's the only one with the common sense the rest of us seem to have lost somewhere along the way." Or never had in the first place, Steve had to admit. He really was glad that Bucky was getting along with Natasha now, instead of the unspoken threat of hidden weapons being brought out every time they spent more than five minutes together.

The media's persistent interest in the Avengers personal lives alternatively baffled and irritated him. He couldn't deny that they did have the ability to make his life outside Stark Tower difficult when they wanted to push. It wasn't in his nature to hide things, especially if he feels he has nothing to be ashamed off, though he liked his privacy. And there was nothing to be ashamed of in Bucky. It was even fun occasionally to be pulled into private places in the Tower for makeout sessions, something he never got to do as a teenager.

Steve followed along beside Bucky as they headed off and as they moved closer to the main streets he began to recognize their location. "Tony has no reason to whine; I've been here for two whole days already. But alright. I'll rent a car tomorrow and we can take the slow way back if nothing comes up before then. Since they're so insistent on me relaxing and all."

[disassembling]

"I believe the appropriate response is that they are doing it because they care," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. The Avengers seemed to poke around Steve's life a little more, most likely because his friend was the easiest target for such antics. "Sam might have lived the most normal life of all of those present as well."

He knew the hotel that Tony had gotten for his friend and took them towards that, thinking that time away from the scrutiny of the team might also do Steve well. Of course, his friend was going to have to check in with the Avengers to keep them all away for the rest of the night, but it would be quiet and just them. That was getting rarer now.

"Tony always believes he has a reason to whine," he pointed out as they moved along the streets casually. Or as casually as Steve could with a shield. "Think of all the sight seeing we could do," he said thoughtfully. And he was also thinking about how much they could use a back seat in a car well.

[whatsfondue]

"True enough." Steve admitted with a fond smile. "And you know they care about you too, right? Especially if Natasha is starting to poke at you about me. And I'll be subjected to a thorough questioning when we get back, especially if we do the road trip back." He suspected Natasha was already quite certain on what was going on between him and Bucky and only wanted him to actually say it. "And good for Sam...it's good for the rest of us too to have him around."

It was getting late and thankfully the crowds had thinned out some. However something as eyecatching as the shield was still getting stares and whispers and Steve could see some people taking out cameras and cell phones for a shot. No doubt there'll be some sort of report and speculation tomorrow in the news. It was a good thing, he mused, that they were leaving tomorrow any way.

"He does like the sound of his own voice a bit too much." He agreed. He smiled at the idea of sightseeing the way back. "That'll be nice. Right after I was...unfrozen and the battle at New York against the Chitauri, I did a bit of a road trip on my bike from New York down to Florida. It was interesting." And a bit lonely. He learned a lot of things about the modern world but ultimately the lack of something more concrete to do at driven him back to working in SHIELD.

[disassembling]

"They seem to be warming to my presence," he agreed, even if he knew that it was more than that at this point in time. He knew that the Avengers let him do missions with them, let him stay in their presence and even felt no fear of sleeping near him because they had some level of trust for him. "Don't you think they all will be asking if you found yourself a nice young woman, except Natalia and Sam?"

He ignored the gawkers, secure in his own personal disguise and kept his sunglasses on despite the fading light of the day. The shield marked Steve, and it was something that they had to deal with as always, especially when it got onto the internet as he heard a few phones clicking along with the giggling. Many found Steve very attractive.

The Soldier slowed as they neared the hotel that Steve was staying in, looking for signs of trouble but it appeared to just be people going about their business. "You did a road trip by yourself?" He glanced at Steve, seeming to pick up what was left unspoken. It was only because they were in public sight that he didn't lean right in to kiss his friend on the mouth. "This time I will be with you, and I can hold my bladder longer than you can."

[whatsfondue]

It was more than 'warming up', in Steve's opinion. Any one of them would be happy to spend time with Bucky even with Steve not there. It's just they think Bucky himself still feels mostly uncomfortable with it, so they don't push. "They won't be surprised by the 'no' I'll tell them if they ask." Steve answered with a shrug. "And some of them will whine about lost opportunities but it'll be nothing new." They really should know by now but he knew they still hope he'll get lucky or something. The thought of it had him making a face.

Steve had gotten used to random people taking pictures of him, not just journalists and paparazzi out to make a quick buck. Cell phones were really convenient that way and this was one of the times he wished it wasn't. And he was always disconcerted by the giggling he hears. Does have have a dirty nose or something? Or was his fly open?

Steve sighed in relief as they passed through the front doors of the hotel and headed for the front desk to check for messages and order some food to be sent up. "Yeah, I did. I didn't know the other too well at that time and they all had their own stuff to take care of." He had been at loose ends at the time and had nothing much beyond a bike, a meager amount of personal things and seventy years of backpay. "There's no need to do that...if one of us needs to go, I'll find a gas station or a rest stop."

[disassembling]

He might have still kept himself mostly aloof with the other Avengers, but he was more frequently at their little get-togethers. He didn't particularly participate in their jokes or their needling of one another, but he was present for it, which was an improvement. Aside for icecube jokes, they also didn't try to mock him. "No one will be surprised by that answer," he said with a shake of his head.

He loitered a little away from the front desk, stuck in the busy movement of people in the lobby but watching Steve. He knew his friend would order enough food for them both, and he pretty much ate anything that Steve put in front of him.

Once finished order, he lead the way to the elevator. "Well, I'm here to do those things with you," he said with an attempt at a smile. "People don't just pull over to the side of the road and urinate in the bushes anymore?" What a disappointment.

[whatsfondue]

"Then they shouldn't bother asking, though I suppose hope is eternal." He answered dryly. Steve knows he'll be in for more ribbing and poking about his answer but he'll take it all with as much patience as possible. Sometimes he considered 'coming out' to the other Avengers just to get them to stop their matchmaking attempts but that will invite a different sort of concern and talk he doesn't really want to handle, at least not yet. Though if Natasah and Sam had guessed, eventually the others will too. It was something to consider later.

The receptionist assured him with a smile that the food will be sent up shortly and informed him of the dozens of messages he's received while he was 'away'. Steve sighed, knowing that the first order of business was to calls his friends so they stop worrying and harassing the hotel staff. Done, he followed Bucky to the elevator, thankfully with only just the two of them, and pressed the button for the topmost floor. "Have I told you that I'm glad you're here?" He gave a delighted smile back at Bucky at his friend's smile (it was more than enough that Bucky tried for him). "No....there's a lot more people around now, so you can't just urinate anywhere you want." They'll never hear the end of it if someone sees, especially if there was a photograph involved.

[disassembling]

Eventually, he thought that Steve would be pushed too far and just tell them to get lost or just plain make it obvious that they were together as something more than friends. Aside from make-out sessions in dark deserted places, he had gotten a handle of his insistent urges to be close to Steve and explore the extent of what pleasure they could find from each other. He knew that once people knew, they would be given a talk.

He looked at the messages that Steve had and shook his head. "Clearly they don't trust me to get you out," he said as he leaned back against the wall of the elevator, a little surprised but relieved that they were alone. His posture softened at the compliment. "Not in the last thirty minutes, no," he said before pushing off and stepping up to Steve to kiss his friend's neck. "Life seems far too complicated to not be able to take a piss in the bushes."

[whatsfondue]

"No, it's me they don't trust. They don't trust me to stay out of trouble even after you're here." To be fair, most of them were from the day he neglected to call in to the day before Bucky finished his mission. The elevator and modern and quick and to Steve's surprise it didn't stop in any of the floors in between but deposited them directly on the top floor where the penthouse suite was. "Then clearly I have been neglecting you, so I'll say it now. "I'm glad you're here." And it was not just the 'here' of the moment, but by his side, still his friend, still pulling him out of trouble. He returned the kiss with one to Bucky's cheek, then his jaw.

He swiped the new keycard he'd gotten from the reception desk to the door of suite (the old one, like his wallet was taken by HYDRA). "I didn't say you can't do it at all, just there might be consequences you won't like because of it." Sadly, that was the way of things with everything. "I asked for room service to be sent up: sandwiches, soup and fruit. They told me it shouldn't take more than twenty minutes. I'm going to shower first. The shower and the tub here's as big as the one in Stark Tower."

[disassembling]

"You are generally out of trouble when I am around," he pointed out, though it was partially true. Steve had a knack for finding trouble, even in highly populated areas or in the secluded ones like elevators. "It will be nice to have time alone, though I do enjoy sneaking around looking for opportunity to assault your decency." He hummed at the return kisses and sucked on Steve's jaw before the elevator opened and they were deposited on the floor that Steve could call his own.

He shrugged his shoulders, knowing better how to hide his appearance, and a road trip sounded very nice. "Are they?" He followed Steve into the bathroom in order to properly investigate this claim and admitted that it was true. He then began to slip from his clothing to join Steve in the shower. "I have to make sure you stay out of trouble in even secluded places."