Work Text:
“Umm.”
“Umm.”
Tony squinted at the half-eaten birria burrito in his hand in suspicion. The ingredients weren't spoiled, were they? And Mrs. Sanchez in that Mexican restaurant two and a half blocks from the Avengers Tower surely wouldn't try poisoning him. He was a paying customer and surely his charms hadn't faded yet for her to start putting something in his food.
“Umm, hi?”
But you couldn't be sure. When a rebellious alien prince suddenly brought a large army of aliens bent on world domination on your door and you have a team which was made of ex-assassins, a scientist with a large anger issues, said alien prince’s older brother who had come to pick him up like a disobedient child and a supersoldier who’d just woken up after being frozen in ice for nearly seven decades and was still slowly getting to used in the twenty-first century before he was unceremoniously dropped into another battlefield, one couldn't be sure what could they find in their water and burritos.
The only silver lining was it didn't seem that he was the only one having an internal crisis or seeing things; Bruce had spat his coffee, Steve was blinking rapidly, as if he was in the middle of an internal debate if what had just taken place in his presence was one of the oddities of the future and Natasha, reacting as would expect from an ex-assassin turned covert government super spy, had quickly dropped her nearly-finished PBJ, jumped like a cat in her toes and pointed a gun at the young man who had suddenly appeared on thin air and literally dropped on Tony’s lap, her eyes as hard as steel.
“Umm, Mister Tony Stark?” the young man who was currently lying over Tony's lap and unknowingly suffocating the billionaire Avenger muttered shily, inquisitively, as if he truly wasn't sure that Tony was the real one. His eyes fleeted towards Natasha’s location, not looking even a little bit alarmed. “Umm ma’am, can you put that gun down? I mean no harm but the other guy won't be happy to see me being threatened and I promise you that the other guy is really mean,” he babbled.
Natasha didn't put her gun down.
“Who are you?” she asked coldly. Any ordinary man would wither under her gaze but their unexpected guest didn't look one bit intimidated.
Tony was getting light-headed. The man who looked to be in his mid to late twenties, had an unassuming appearance, didn't look threatening and seemed to be as confused as Tony and the others but it could be an act to make them drop their guard and easier to be attacked.
Not to mention that the guy was built like a brick and probably weighed as much as the good ol’ cap over there. Tony felt like he was slowly losing blood in his legs.
“JARVIS?”
“Do you have an idea on how our little Casper here managed to get inside the Tower?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but I can't find any footage of our esteemed guest entering through any of the available entrances and there were no signs of magic or teleportation technology used.”
“There is really nothing that could pinpoint where this guy came from?"
“Sorry sir. I’m only working in the same capacity in which you’ve built me. Please forgive me for not giving you a better result.”
Tony’s shoulders slumped down. “Why did I even design you to have intelligence and the ability to talk back at me?” he murmured, testily.
“Because, in your own words, you’re a mad scientist who has created me during a moment when you were having a delusion of grandeur,” JARVIS sassed.
Okay, he had been asking for that one.
Steve cleared his throat. “Everyone, please calm down. Let's talk and see what our visitor has to say.” He turned his eyes towards the man on Tony’s lap, eyes like icicles.
The man trembled liked a frightened guinea pig.
So, apparently they have a time traveller with them (“Calm down, Tony!”) who in his own words, wasn't really sure how he arrived fifteen years in the past (“That never happens in any sci-fi movie, ever.”) and was hoping that the Avengers could help him back to his time without breaking the timeline and causing a multiversal rift (“Wait, did something thing like that happen sometime in the future?” “Banner, focus!”)
So, now they were all inside Tony’s lab in the Avengers Tower. Tony and Bruce were talking in hushed tones as Bruce faced the upgraded version of the STARK laptop, Natasha was currently testing a sample of Bob’s blood just to make sure that he didn't bring any bacteria which hadn't been discovered yet and would prove to be very dangerous while their dear old captain was doing his best to make Bob comfortable while keeping an eye on him.
“So Bob,” Steve began, his lips twitching. Tony found the name of their visitor from the future very hilarious and even Natasha had a small amused smile on her lips after their visitor nervously introduced himself to them. It turned out that Steve wasn't any different. “Is there something that you can tell us that won't affect the future? It will really help us send you back to your right time and none of us wants to accidentally send you to the wrong one. Or just anything you can remember before you found yourself in the past.”
Bob sighed over his mug of hot chocolate. “I’m sorry, Captain America, but nothing I can tell you will help you. I was just inside my home doing the dishes when suddenly, the floor shifted underneath my feet and I was falling for a long time. Then I dropped down at Mister Stark’s lap and you know,” he finished with a helpless shrug. “I really want to go back home. My friends are waiting for me and I’m sure that they're losing their minds looking for me.” Bob’s lower lip trembled and his eyes looked suspiciously misty.
Steve looked at the young man’s large brown eyes and felt a pinch at his heart.He looked so young that Steve's parental instincts were on overdrive. Not to mention that Bob’s situation was similar to his own with some variations. He patted Bob at the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. “Don't worry, son. Tony and Bruce are two of the smartest people that I know. They'll find a way to bring you back to your time soon.”
“Thanks, Captain,” Bob said, smiling shakily.
Just then, Natasha entered. The ex-assassin was wearing a white lab coat and her expression was no longer hard when she looked at Bob. “The results are all negative. Your blood is clean. And I–” she paused, then shook her head. “Nevermind.”
All tension seemed to deflate from Bob’s whole body when he heard that. He gave Natasha a thankful smile and Natasha responded with an understanding nod.
Steve looked at Natasha sharply. Her eyes met his defiantly and Steve realized that he couldn't ask her questions regarding Bob. At all.
Bob was finishing his hot chocolate when Bruce and Tony started cheering and babbling ‘Science Talk.’
Steve looked at Bob. "I believe that we have good news coming.”
“Capcicle! Bobby! You two won't believe what I found! Or you both will because I am a genius and all geniuses are–”
The smell of burned wires and a crackle of electricity made Tony pause his speech while Bruce, Natasha and Steve all tensed.
A portal opened right in front of Bob and a woman’s hand, covered in a fingerless glove, reached out.
“Bob!”
Bob’s eyes widened in surprise. “Yelena?”
Natasha’s breath hitched. Steve’s head whipped towards her in concern. She looked pale and shaken.
Steve looked back when he heard someone exited the portal and reached out for Bob with a dark metallic arm. Bob almost stumbled on his feet in order to reach it.
Steve felt dizzy. The man–his face, his hair and posture, those were all very familiar. And despite the fact that he looked older than the last he’d seen him, Steve would recognize him anywhere.
“Bucky?” he whispered, hoarsely.
‘Bucky’ turned to face him, the shock in his expression mirroring Steve’s.
Before he could say another word to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating his dead best friend, another person left the portal. This time it was a stocky-built middle-aged man wearing a white and red suit with a red star on the chest area. He wrapped his big arms around Bob and ‘Bucky’ and before Steve could move, hauled the two of them inside the portal.
That snapped Steve out of his shocked state. “Wait!”
Bucky’s pale face was the last thing he saw before the portal closed.
A heavy silence upon the lab as everyone tried to recover from what they’d just witnessed.
Then,
“Does anyone want some drinks?” Tony asked, clearing his throat.
“I swear I only looked away from you for five seconds–five seconds!–and you just spoosh! Gone!”
“I-I’m sorry, Yelena, I really don't know how it happened! It wasn't my fault! I swear!”
“That doesn't matter! From now on you’re going to wear a tracker so I can always find you, even of I have to look in another universe or in the past!”
Bob lowered his head. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Lena.”
Yelena sighed. “I was so scared when I couldn't find you. I was looking everywhere. But you're here now and I'm glad. Come here. Give me a hug.”
As the two young people hugged behind him, Bucky stared at the window, his expression lost and confused.