“Heh.”
Bucky couldn’t help himself - he grinned a bit, the chuckle short-lived due to the situation they were in, but the grin made it honest. The entire situation surrounding John Walker’s rise to prominence during his brief stint as Captain America, and the downfall - it had been complicated. It had taken Bucky time to recognize that his frustrations with the man had been a secondary symptom of his outrage with Sam for giving up the shield, and with the government who so eagerly thought that they could fill Steve’s shoes. His anger at Steve had also been feeding into it, and no small amount of self-loathing. Having stepped back from the situation in the aftermath, Walker had made mistakes, including that murder on the streets of Riga - but Bucky had also made plenty of mistakes in his life, and he’d had to reflect hard on whether or not he would have killed a man who had killed Steve. He had, after all, almost killed Tony Stark in defense of Steve.
Realization had come in time - people were complicated, and people made bad decisions when they were angry, grieving, and under stress. Even highly trained people who should have known better; humanity wasn’t as neatly cut and dry as people would have liked to have them be.
John Walker was a product of the people who made him, the world he grew up in - of the military complex that chewed him up and spat him out when he had served his purpose, not unlike countless other veterans. Not unlike Bucky himself, or Sam. Or Steve. They were both complicated and complex people and would always have their differences, but when push came to shove -
It was nice, to have back up. Bucky found he didn’t even mind his sense of humor.
“Wouldn’t want to subject innocent puppies to this nightmare. Problem is, lust for power, that’s just human nature. Just not all of us take it to the extremes that groups like HYDRA do. Bullies on the playground want power. You gain military rank or job promotions for power. Giving the person riding shotgun in the car music choice - it’s all power plays. These clowns just do it on a world scale level, and people get hurt. People get used. They made soldiers once - don’t want them to think we forgot and that they can do it again.”
Bucky flexed his fingers, and turned to look at John, smiling a bit. “Thanks for being here. I was always better having someone watch my six than I was alone.” Steve, the Commandos, Sam. Only the Soldier had bought alone. “Let’s see what these jerks are after then…”
Reaching out, Bucky wrenched open a door and looked down a dimly lit set of concrete and steel stairs that vanished into a gloomy darkness. He considered it for a moment.
“…Nothing that ever started with this view ever turned out great. Shall we?”
Listening to Bucky talk about HYDRA and people’s lust for power, John finds that he can’t really disagree. What was that old saying about absolute power corrupts absolutely? Well, John would know all about that wouldn’t he? He himself had been so focused on being strong enough, being powerful enough, he had lost sight of what he had been fighting for when he took on the Captain America mantle.
“Yeah you’re right, better keep the puppies away from them. Puppies deserve better.”
Bucky’s comments about power plays and making soldiers made John think more about everything that led to him taking the serum. Nothing had turned out the way he had hoped for. He had let his need to be more powerful, to be strong, to match up to everyone else he was fighting, blind him from all the mistakes he was making. Hindsight is 20/20 they say, but time had given John a new perspective. There were better paths he could have taken but he had been so caught up under the pressure of everything, he hadn’t seen the way. And Lemar died because of it. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t blame himself for that. He had blamed Nico, blamed the Flag Smashers, even Sam and Bucky, but in the end it was his fault. Lemar was his responsibility, he had failed. He should have protected his best friend.
John blinks a bit in surprise when Bucky thanks him for watching his six and is actually smiling at him. He had been prepared for reluctance, or even grudging acceptance to working together. He hadn’t expected this smiling attitude and appreciation. John had wanted to hear that from Bucky since day one when they had met and he had entirely been ready to accept that they were never gonna be truly on good terms. He wonders if Bucky can read his face, if Bucky could see the emotions that well up inside John at being accepted.
He smiles back, actually he’s practically beaming, “I’m better when I have someone too.”
Bucky’s acceptance mattered a lot. Ever since he had lost Lemar, John had felt alone, like something was missing. It had taken a while to get used to being alone with no one at his back. To have Bucky here accepting him, even if it was only for this mission. It made John feel whole again in some ways. John wanted to do good. He wanted to do it right. He’s not Cap anymore but he still wanted to do his part to help. Bucky’s acceptance lifted a huge burden on John’s shoulder. Just maybe, there is still hope for John yet.
When Bucky opens door to dimly lit stairs and gloomy darkness, John lets out an amused scoff as he activates a small flashlight that was attached to one of his shoulder straps, “Well, lucky for us, this view is my specialty. Shady people just love their dimly lit base of operations, sometimes you have to wonder if maybe lightbulbs just didn’t make the budget sheets. Last time I told a group of bad guys this, they threw a grenade at me. Very rude honestly.”
John enters the doorway and carefully made his way down the stairs.
