CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX, "Captain America"

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

IVANNA WAS IN disbelief at the man on the screen. The poser. Sam had given that shield up for a reason, and it wasn't for it to be used by other people. Ivanna felt betrayed by people all over again, and she truly felt that feeling would never exist again. She turned around to a visibly angered Steve, his jaw clenched and buried in his hands while his elbows rested on his knees. He stared intently at the television across from him, his blue eyes seemingly filled with hatred.

"Steve," she spoke and went to approach him, but he rose to his feet and rushed toward the door. Grabbing his jacket and phone.

"I'm going to call Sam," he said silently, the front door closed just as quickly as those words came out of his mouth. She understood Steve's anger but knew not to pressure him to talk to her. He'd vent to Sam about the new Captain America, and then return to the apartment, and maybe talk to Ivanna.

She hugged herself, staring at the door before turning back to the TV as the cameras slowly zoomed in on this new man. Ivanna scoffed grabbing the remote and hurriedly shutting the TV off, then threw It onto the couch in a rage. She wondered why she ever thought people would let such things as Captain America be at peace. Ivanna was unsure of when Steve would return,

A few days later, Steve and Ivanna sat on the sofa, her watching him warily as his eyes were trained on the TV across from them. Ivanna herself found it odd as to why they never considered asking Steve to be a part of this decision, she always believed it was his shield, and that nobody else could make a decision for it. There was a marching band performance on the TV while the new Captain America walked around and signed autographs and greeted people.

"This doesn't feel right," she mumbled softly, turning her gaze back to the screen as he was introduced to the crowd. John Walker removed his helmet for his interview, people cheering him on as questions began flowing toward him, "A tour for Captain America?"

Steve nodded at her words, having not said much since the broadcast began. Ivanna had tried to encourage Bucky to come up and speak with Steve, help clear Steve's mind, but that wasn't working the way she hoped it would. When John began speaking about how he "knew" Steve and felt like he was a brother, Ivanna switched the TV off.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk," she said softly, "want anything while I'm gone?"

Steve simply shook his head, "I might try to call Buck."

"Okay," she smiled in his direction, truly concerned for him, "Steve-"

"Stay out of my head, Vanna," He sent her a warning look and then rose to his feet, disappearing toward the bedroom.

Ivanna sighed and walked out of the apartment, pulling the door firmly shut behind her. She wandered down the stairs and ventured outside. Unsurprisingly, people were celebrating this new Captain America, and she could do nothing but shake her head and continue her walk. It didn't take much longer for her phone to begin ringing, and when she looked at the caller ID it was revealed to be Sam.

"Sam," she sighed as she answered the phone and lifted it toward her ear, looking back and forth before crossing a street, "hey."

"Hi,"

"I've got a proposition for you, Vanya,"

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Ivanna pulled her jacket tighter around her body, approaching the jet that Sam had a team loading up. She sighed and looked around, her eyes landing on Sam and Bucky a few feet away.

"No, you're not!" Sam suddenly shouted making his way toward Ivanna and the jet. She smiled at him, Sam returning it, "Steve doesn't know?"

The blonde shook her head, seeing Bucky a few feet behind Sam, "No, I really think we should've told him."

"I'm pretty sure Steve is taking this Captain America situation harder than Staring problem over here," Sam gestured to Bucky who glared in his direction but nodded at Ivanna. She returned the gesture, following Sam onto the jet, "Besides originally it was supposed to be a Sam and Ivanna mission."

Sam sent a pointed look to Bucky, and Ivanna held back a grin as she removed her jacket, revealing her catsuit as she threw it onto a seat, looking around the jet. A younger man came into her view, wearing a military uniform. His eyes widened at the sight of Ivanna.

"When Sam told me Black Widow would be coming along-" he suddenly cut off when Sam walked on, shaking his head. Ivanna looked at Sam.

"Black Widow was Natasha,"

"You both were," he countered with a small smile, "and you've been avoiding wearing that title with pride for years."

She tilted her head and watched him sadly before returning to getting her things ready, "So, where are we going?"

"Munich," Sam said shortly, grabbing his suit and going to change, "I sent you a file with everything you need to know."

She nodded, ready to begin going through the file while Bucky situated himself on the jet. After a while, they were all changed and sitting silently on the jet. Ivanna was watching Bucky and Sam, then Joaquin entered the bay.

"One minute till drop off, Sam," he spoke, provoking the trio to rise to their feet.

"Finally," Ivanna mumbled and grabbed a comm, watching Sam as she hooked hers up, "I was beginning to think I'd need to start placing bets on who'd win."

She received an unamused look in response, Bucky's voice breaking through, "So what's our plan?"

Sam busied himself with getting ready and avoiding the super soldier's question, "Great, so no plan."

"30 seconds!" Joaquin interrupted.

After grabbing her weapons and confirming to Sam that she was ready, he turned to Bucky, "Enjoy your ride, Buck."

"No, you can't call me that," Bucky replied.

"Why not? That's what Steve calls you."

"Steve's known me longer," Bucky explained, "and Steve has plans."

"Because jumping out of a window a SHIELD headquarters is a brilliant plan," Ivanna muttered in response, recalling the initial shock she had felt when she watched the incident happen.

"15 seconds to drop!"

"I have a plan," Sam said defensively. Bucky was quick to get to his feet while Sam and Ivanna walked toward the door of the jet.

"Really? What is it?"

Bucky's question remained unanswered while Sam put his glasses on and looked to Ivanna who nodded confidently. Sam leaned out of the doors and fell, his wings activating. Ivanna followed suit, long used to the drill she and Sam used when on missions. Only they normally didn't have Bucky complaining after them. It didn't take long for her to hear the sounds of Bucky shouting as he fell, Sam, grabbing onto her wrist firmly as he flew. They found the building they were looking for and Sam released Ivanna, letting her land on the ground.

"I have all of that on camera, you know that right?" Ivanna turned to Sam in a confused manner but realized he was talking to Bucky.

"Get that out of my face Sam," Bucky spoke, "or I'll break it."