I Don't Sleep (I Dream)

"Are you looking to drive my dreams? You here to run my screens?
You come, deliver my demons hooray, hooray, hip hip hooray"

'I Don't Sleep, I Dream'
by R.E.M

Steve looked at the coffee cup in his hand with distaste. It was not that the coffee itself was bad but more that he was tired of drinking it. They were on a job that was just as boring as the previous three jobs he had taken. The client wanted to know who was stealing secrets from his company because apparently it was impossible for anyone to be loyal to their jobs anymore. It was just him and Clint because they only needed one level and Clint was more than capable of building one. He was not pleased about the fact that he was running point and building but Clint rarely complained out loud about anything. Things had gone almost perfectly except for the fact that Bucky kept skirting around the edge of the dream, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The thought of Bucky made Steve clench the cup a little tighter. It had been a year since the ‘accident’ and nine months since the first time Bucky’s shade had appeared in one of their dreams. The first time he had managed to tip off the mark about what was going on and made the entire thing fall apart around them. Clint had not been pleased and it had taken some sweet talking to make him come back at all. They were a team, the two of them, and Steve had assured Clint that he had it under control. Clint, who saw almost everything, did not call him out on the lie. They had not taken any high profile jobs since.

“It’s done,” Clint said as he slid into the chair across from Steve. “And the money will be in our bank accounts in an hour or so. We’ll vanish after that. Why do you look like the barista spit in your coffee?”

“Just thinking,” Steve replied, taking another sip. “When I retire I’m never drinking coffee again.”

“Right, when you retire, sure,” Clint said as he leaned against the table, watching Steve with those sharp eyes. Clint did not move for a good five minutes, Steve was not even sure he blinked, as he took in every detail. “Did you get a chance to talk to Bucky before we got the kick?”

“He stayed out of the way this time,” Steve said, ignoring the flare of pain from drinking too much hot coffee. Clint raised an eyebrow. “I’ve got it under control.”

“So you’ve said. Multiple times in fact, yet somehow I fail to be convinced.”

“So why are you still here then, Clint?” Steve asked.

“Because despite how many times you bat those big blue eyes at people, they won’t work with you.” Clint leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “Plus you pay me absurdly well.” Clint looked like he had more to say when he suddenly sat up straight. Steve followed Clint’s line of sight to a man that was walking toward them with purpose. He was huge, looked like he could dead weight a car, with blond hair pulled back into a tight bun and a gray suit. He sat down at their table like he was invited and Steve tried not to show how nervous he was.

“‘Absurdly well?’ I wonder how well indeed,” the man said. The coffee shop was not exactly busy but having people around had never stopped Clint from pulling firearms on people. His hands were in his jacket in seconds but he froze when another man appeared behind him. It took a fairly impressive type of man to sneak up on Clint, and this Chinese man with the black ponytail had a gun, well concealed by a jacket, to Clint’s head in seconds. “I’m here to discuss business, Mr. Barton, I would appreciate if you didn’t pull a gun on me.”

“And I don’t like it when people show off,” Clint replied coolly and he winced when the man behind him shoved the gun into his head.

“That’s enough, Hogun, thank you, you can leave us,” the man said. His bodyguard nodded and shoved Clint none too gently in his seat. Steve had not seen Clint this mad since the first time Bucky had shot him.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Steve asked because while Clint had the patience of a saint, he still got twitchy when provoked.

“My name is Thor Odinson, you may call me Thor, and I would just like to talk a little business,” Thor said.

“It’s called a phone. Next time you should try calling before you drop in on people having coffee,” Clint said dangerously, ignoring the glare of the bodyguard, Hogun, nearby.

“You gentlemen were in town and I decided that going to you directly seemed like a much faster route. JFK can be such an annoying airport to fly into.” Thor smiled at them but Clint did not look convinced. He had a system and it was being thrown to the wind at the moment. Clint liked to examine his employers before he meant them in person, to watch them first, not the other way around. This was making him deeply uncomfortable, Steve could tell just by looking at him, but it was also the first time someone had taken such initiative to get to him in a long time.

“What would you like to discuss, Mr. Odinson?” Steve asked and pointedly ignored the sharp kick to his shin from Clint.

“I have a job I would like to offer to you gentlemen,” Thor said. “My brother seems to know something important and is planning on leaving my family. I don’t want to lose him but all of my resources have been unable to find out why he is trying to leave. I want you to find out what he knows.”

“So you’re asking for an extraction,” Clint said.

“Yes, and then I want him to change his mind about leaving the family,” Thor replied.

“So you want inception then.” Clint was starting to sound a little annoyed.

“Yes, Mr. Barton, I need that as well,” Thor said.

“No,” Clint said without waiting for Steve to say anything.

“Now don’t you think you should talk--” Thor started but Clint shook his head.

“Nothing to talk about. There is no way we’re pulling double duty on one mark. You don’t go into someone’s head twice because you never know how they are going to react. It’s not the way things are done so the answer is ‘no’ and that will be all.” Clint stood and looked at Steve, waiting for him to join him because Clint was right. There was a reason that they did not try again if a job went sour because there was no telling how a mark was going to react. Steve was not standing up though, he was staring at his coffee while Thor watched him carefully.

“You cannot perform the inception without the extraction. Whatever my brother is hiding, no one knows but him.” Thor stood and dropped a fifty on the table. “So you can have another round of coffee while you discuss this. Have a nice day, gentlemen.” If Hogun knocked shoulders with Clint a little harder than necessary Clint did not say anything about it. In fact he seemed to still be waiting for Steve to walk away.

“We should take the job,” Steve said and for half a second he thought Clint was going to throttle him in the middle of the coffee shop.

“Are you insane?” Clint asked as he sat down at the table. “Going in on a mark twice with the second job being inception?”

“The team can do this.”

“What team?” Clint snapped furious. “There is no team, Steve, there hasn’t been a team for years.”

“We can do this. Our team can do this,” Steve insisted.

“No, our team doesn’t exist or have you forgotten that? Tony’s gone legit, he doesn’t build anymore, and he won’t want anything to do with us. Bruce deals and doesn’t leave the country. And last time I checked Natasha won’t work with you. I still refuse to translate what she said about you that day because I really don’t think you want to know. And Bucky--” Clint cut himself off frustrated. “The team doesn’t exist anymore, Steve, it hasn’t existed for a year, why would you even consider this?”

“Because we’re bored, Clint. We were the best team out there and we let it fall apart. TThere isn’t anyone else out there who can do this now that Cobb’s team has broken up.” Steve leaned forward in the chair across the table because he needed Clint to understand this. “Inception is almost impossible but inception with an idea buried so deep it needed to be extracted? No one but us could pull that off and you know it. You’re just as bored as I am, Clint, and we can do this.” Clint stared at him with those piercing blue eyes that saw everything, that always saw everything, and did not move for several minutes. He just stared as if he was waiting for Steve to change his mind.

“If the extraction goes poorly, we’re out. I refuse to do this unless you agree to that term,” Clint said after a long silence.

“If the extraction goes poorly, we pull out,” Steve agreed. “I knew I paid you absurdly well for a reason.”

“Well you’re going to have to keep paying me well because I’m going to get Natasha on my own,” Clint said, taking the fifty off the table. “She won’t want to see you, trust me on that, so let me go talk to her alone. Can you manage to let me handle this one aspect of the job?”

“Clint, I’m an extractor, I don’t have the control issues here. That's your job,” Steve said grinning. “And one day you’re going to tell me what she said.”

“I’m really, really not.” Clint muttered, pulling out his cell phone.

---

Natasha picked up her glass of champagne but made no move to drink it. She had not come all of this way to make the mistake of leaving something like lip marks on a glass behind. Her long red hair hung in curls around her shoulders and her green dress matched her eyes. The party was beyond high class and the people around her were too busy looking down at each other to really notice her. She did not fit into any of their little social groups but these people did not seem to care as long as she fit the profile. She had been following the man of the hour for weeks and was finally ready to make her move. She could con and forge her way anywhere and now Natasha needed the final piece of the puzzle before she swindled this man for all that he was worth.

Natasha smiled and set her glass down ready to move in when a man cut through the crowd. She did not let herself react to his presence enough to tip anyone off but she did not hide the anger in her eyes either. Clint looked stunning in an all gray suit with a deep red tie. He was smiling as he walked up to her, and damn it, this is exactly what she did not need right now.

“Ma’am, I was wondering if you would like a dance,” Clint said, offering a hand. A few people were paying attention now, Clint knew that too, which was exactly why she could not say ‘no’ without drawing attention to herself.

“I don’t see why not,” Natasha replied taking his hand. Clint led her out onto the dance floor and placed a hand on her hip as he began to sway to the music. “What are you doing here, Clint?” she asked after they danced for a few moments.

“Couldn’t I just want to see you?” Clint asked, all boyish charm. Natasha pinched his shoulder harder than she really needed to but he smiled nevertheless. “How deep are you right now?”

“Deep enough that if my mark sees me with you he won’t do what I want him to do,” Natasha replied. She hoped that Clint would take the hint and back off a little but if anything it made him draw her closer to his body. “If you ruin this for me--”

“How bored are you, Tasha, that you’re back to swindling rich men for their jewels?” Clint whispered into her ear.

“This has nothing to do with boredom.” It was a lie, she was bored to the point that Natasha was sure her eyes were going cross eyed, but Natasha did not need to tell Clint that.

“If you’re not too bored I might have a job offer for you.” Somehow Clint managed to align their bodies in just the right places. It was a little much for this crowd and Natasha could feel a few sets of eyes following them.

“I don’t need you to bring me jobs, Barton,” Natasha said digging her nails into Clint’s shoulder. For once he listened and took a step back putting some space between them.

“I know that, I wouldn’t dream of considering myself your handler, but I do always bring you the best jobs.” Clint spun her to the music and pulled her in close. “If you’re ready to dream again meet me in my hotel room." He whispered a room number to her and took a step back. “Thank you for the dance.” He might have even bowed a little and Natasha was going to shoot him in the kneecaps. Clint turned and walked out of the party as Natasha watched her mark eye her suspiciously.

She regretted not having that glass of champagne.

---

Clint popped the top off a beer and looked out the window of his hotel room. He imagined the different vantage points he would need to make a shot if his target was standing at the crosswalk. Mentally he pictured leaning out the window at an almost impossible angle and looking through the scope. Clint could feel the trigger on his finger and imagined pulling it, the kick of the rifle enough to knock a lesser man off balance, but Clint was not that man. The scenario made him smile as he watched the light change and the fake mark crossed the street. He took another drink of his beer and missed the rush from sniping like a limb. Clint loved what he did now, he liked details and plans and the way extractors’ faces pinched when he took apart one of their plans but there was something about sniping that no amount of research and planning could replace. Idly Clint realized he would probably live longer if he had never switched careers but running point was what he did now and that was that.

Speaking of living longer Clint tensed when there was a knock on his door. Off the top of his head he could think of three people that would shoot him dead on sight, two that would shoot him but make sure he died slowly, and four that would not shoot him but make sure he was alive so they could bleed him for information. Clint set his beer aside and picked up his gun from the end table, easing toward the door. He was not stupid enough to look through the peephole but he needed a way to gauge who was behind that door.

"I didn't order room service," he called out and whoever was on the other side of the door did not respond, they just knocked again. Clint clicked the safety off of his gun and positioned himself such that the person on the other side would not be able to shoot him right away. He listened for anything that might give his visitor away but they were silent which did not bode well for him. Clint turned the handle slowly and braced himself.

The door swung open and nearly splintered with the force of the kick. Clint raised his gun to fire but the attacker knocked it out of his hand and slammed their fist across his cheekbone hard enough that he the edges of vision turned white. His instincts were the only reason Clint was able to connect a punch and he could feel a lip split underneath his fist. The attacker kicked his feet out from underneath him and Clint hit the ground hard, knocking the breath from his lungs. Two hands like steel pinned his wrists to the ground and Clint could feel nails nearly breaking the skin.

"Bang, you're dead," a voice said above him and Clint grinned.

"Put me at a distance and you wouldn't be so lucky, Tasha," Clint replied and Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"You won't always have that option," she said coolly.

"Thanks, Mr. Miyagi." Clint grinned as he looked up at her. Her long red hair was pulled back in a messy bun and she had traded her green dress for a v-neck black t-shirt and a pair of black jeans, though Clint was pretty sure Natasha was one of those people that could make a garbage bag look amazing. Natasha rolled her eyes and kicked the door shut without releasing his wrists. “You know I could have shot you.”

“You would have to beat me hand to hand first and we both know that will never happen.” Natasha smirked and looked a bit too smug.

“So how did your con go?” Clint asked and the smug expression melted from Natasha’s face. Clint did not hide the wince when he felt her nails break his skin. “That bad, huh?”

“You ruined everything. I should string you up by your ankles and leave you here for housekeeping to find,” Natasha snapped.

“Kinky,” Clint replied and the hands on his wrists tightened and he knew he would have bruises. He shifted his hips beneath her and watched her pupils dilate a little. “I never knew you were into that type of thing--”

“Oh my god, I am derailing this conversation the only way I know how.” For half a second Clint thought Natasha was going to follow through on her threat but soft lips pressed against his own and god, finally, they were kissing. Natasha released his wrists and Clint wrapped his arms around her thin body, pulling her flush against him. He sat up slowly licking into her mouth as her strong legs wrapped around his waist. Natasha did not let him lead the kissing long before she was threading her fingers through his short blond hair and tugging gently. He deposited her on the bed and grinned down at her. It had been months since he had seen her and now she was smirking up at him with flushed lips and a coy smile. He opened his mouth to tell how stunning she was but Natasha held up a hand. “Don’t.”

“You have no idea what I was going to say,” Clint said as he crawled on the bed and leaned over her.

“You were going to ruin the moment,” she replied as she began to work on the buttons of his shirt.

“Baby, we’re nothing but one continuous moment,” Clint said and Natasha rolled her eyes. She was trying to look annoyed, he could tell, but a smile was hinting at the corners of her mouth.

“And there it is.” Natasha pushed his shirt off and rolled them over so she was straddling his hips. They kissed again, hard and fighting for dominance even though Clint knew he was never going to win, and Natasha’s shirt was almost off when his phone began to ring. Clint groaned and broke the kiss and Natasha glared. “Leave it.” She kissed him again and the familiar ring tone meant that it could be only one person.

“I need to get that.” He tried breaking the kiss again and the constant ringing was the only thing that kept him from whiting out completely when Natasha did something sinful with her hips. He practically growled and reached over, picking up the phone and holding up a single finger. Natasha crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Look, this is a really bad time.”

“What, are you captured or something?” Steve asked.

“No, I’m fine, but this is still a bad time,” Clint replied as Natasha pulled off her shirt. He missed whatever Steve was saying with the plethora of pale skin before him. “What?”

“I asked how you’re doing with recruiting Nat? We need a forger for something with sort of depth we need for incep--” Steve ranted and whatever he was saying was lost to the ether when Natasha began to kiss his chest.

“I’m working on it,” Clint replied, swallowed a groan when Natasha’s extremely talented tongue found one of his nipples.

“What is wrong with you? Are you sure you’re okay?” Steve asked sounding concerned and probably doing his puppy dog face that made Clint talk about feelings even when he didn’t want to, despite them not even being on the same continent. He was about to try and explain the situation without giving away too many details when Natasha took the phone from his hands.

“Hi, Steve. Clint is fine, we’re currently trying to have sex so whatever job he is here trying to recruit me for, we haven’t gotten that far. If you’re extracting you better hope he’s still amazing in bed or it might take some convincing, but considering we haven’t seen each other in six months that probably won’t be a problem. We’ll talk in about it in eight hours; have a nice night,” Natasha said in practically one breath and hung up the phone without waiting for Steve to respond. Clint stared up at her as she turned off his phone, trying not to show how turned on he was, but considering their positions it was really obvious.

“How do men keep any dignity around you?” he asked as Natasha tossed the phone across the room, her smirk obscene.

“They don’t.”

---

Steve stared at his phone and tried to ignore the fact that his forger had just informed him that she was having sex with his point man. He knew that Natasha and Clint were together but that did not mean he thought about it often. In fact he tried not to think about it at all because it made meetings very awkward. Tony never had a problem with it and once told them that they would make a killing if they sold a sex tape, which had ended in a black eye for him and Natasha threatening to bend his straight edge. Eight hours meant that he really just had time to kill because Clint would never let him go and get Tony and Bruce by himself. Steve eyed the PASIV that was sitting on the table nearby and contemplated plugging in. He could hear Bruce’s voice in his head yelling at him about how plugging in by himself was a terrible idea but that did not ease the temptation. Steve just wanted to dream even if it was for just a little while. His apartment was too quiet and he needed to fill it with sound.

The PASIV was a model that Clint had stolen from the military when he decided to go rogue. Steve did not own the PASIV as much as Clint did but Clint was not keen on carrying it around either so it usually fell into Steve’s hands. Not that he minded much because Bucky had taught him everything anyone ever needed to know about a PASIV and then some. For half a second Steve hesitated as he thought about Bucky but continued to set up the machine for five minutes. Just an hour in a dream, that was all, he just wanted an hour without the silence and limitations of this real world. The IV pinched as it entered the vein and the rush of cold that came with Somnacin.

---

Steve blinked and looked around. He was in different version of his first apartment after entering the dream crime world. Outside, Chicago, or this version of it, was noisy and that noise was almost a relief. It was just him in his own mind right now and there was no one to judge him for wanting to see the past even if it was not real. It was winter and Steve tugged his coat closed as he walked through the city. It was not very windy right now but even a small breeze cut like a knife.

“I never understood your love for this city,” a voice behind him said. Steve turned and had a gun out before he could think twice. Bucky raised an eyebrow as he looked at the gun and moved it aside. “Does Clint know you’re playing with guns? He won’t be pleased.”

“What are you doing here, Bucky?” Steve asked lowering the gun slowly.

“Let’s go inside somewhere; it’s freezing and I don’t want to deal with the cold,” Bucky said grinning. He turned and walked across the street to a small cafe. Steve clenched the gun tight and thought about shooting himself out of this nightmare because staying was just going to encourage him. He should leave, he should wake himself up, he should run the other way.

Steve made sure to look both ways before crossing the street and following Bucky inside the cafe.

"What are you doing here?” Steve repeated as he sat down across from his old friend.

“I should ask you the same question. You know you aren’t supposed to dream alone, never know what could go wrong topside.” Bucky folded his hands on the table and smiled.

“I don’t need to explain myself to--”

“--to a projection? Yeah, I’m dead, thanks for the reminder, Steve. You’re such a buzzkill.” Bucky sighed and looked out the window. He looked exactly the same as he did the day of the accident and it made Steve’s heart ache. “You’re getting the team back together.”

“We are the best and I need the best for this job,” Steve replied because there was no point in lying to his own subconscious.

“You won’t have a mechanic,” Bucky pointed out. “If anything goes wrong with the machine you’re screwed.”

“Bucky, you were one of the only mechanics in the world. No one knew the machines better than you besides maybe the ones that designed the things in the original program and those people are probably dead,” Steve said and clenched his fists tight enough that he felt his nails bite into his palms. “You were the expert and you can’t be replaced so I’m not going to try.”

“Good, because I wouldn’t want another mechanic in your life,” Bucky replied evenly though there was a dangerous edge to it. Steve looked up and found that Bucky was staring at him intensely and it was making him feel like he was being judged. There was no doubt in his mind that Bucky would have forcibly thrown another mechanic out of the dream if Steve dared let one in and the fact that he was almost flattered by that was worrying.

“This is going to be a tough job, Bucky. Are you going to make things difficult?” Steve asked despite the fact that he knew the answer already. Bucky also seemed to know that he did not need to answer that question because he leaned forward and kissed Steve gently on the corner of his mouth. Steve’s hands were shaking, fighting the need to shove the projection of his best friend and lover away or never let him go. The dream began to collapse around them and Steve squeezed his eyes closed tight enough that he saw stars and waited to wake up.

---

Natasha was not a cuddler, Clint knew that, so when she rolled off of him to catch her breath he was not expecting a hug or anything else. He was not so big on it either so maybe one day they would get to that point, where they were a functional couple, but right now they were lying side by side and Natasha did not break all of his fingers when he took her hand. They still had several hours before Clint planned on checking in with Steve and while he wanted to spend them with Natasha he was here with a purpose. That did not mean he wanted to ruin the bliss of just having an orgasm with a beautiful woman who could kill him with her bare hands, and it probably spoke volumes about his state of mind that he found those bare hands as attractive as he did.

“So tell me about the job,” Natasha said, rolling over so she was facing him. She did not release his hand, which was surprising but not unwelcome, and Clint turned so he was facing her as well.

“Businessman wants us to find out what his brother is hiding and then use it to change his mind about walking out on his family,” Clint replied.

“He wants an extraction followed by inception on the same mark,” Natasha said, frowning deeply. “That seems risky.”

“That’s because it is risky.” Clint sighed and reached over to touch her tangled red curls. “You should say ‘no’, hell I should have said ‘no’ if I had any smarts.”

“Why did you say ‘yes’ if you think it’s a bad idea?” she asked swatting his hand away from her hair.

“Because Steve pays me obscenely well and pointed out the fact that I’m bored. I got him to agree that if the extraction went poorly we would pull out but.” Clint shrugged. “He wants to get the entire team back together.”

“Bruce hates high risk jobs these days and you can’t sway Tony with payment since he’s worth more than all of us combined,” Natasha said. “Not to mention we’re a member short.”

“I won’t lie to you, Tasha,” Clint said after a moment of silence. “I don’t know what’s going on in Steve's head with that. He’s shown up a few times, put a bullet in my leg and left me to bleed out two jobs ago.You were right to walk away then and you should walk away now. Without a forger we can’t do this job and Steve won’t trust anyone but you. I don’t trust anyone but you.” Natasha released his hand and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She was cataloging, thinking deeply, and he needed to let her have the time.

“When you say ‘obscenely well’ how obscene are we talking about?” Natasha asked after some time. Clint grinned and pulled her into a deep kiss because that was the closest he was going to get to a straightforward ‘yes’ from Natasha.

---

Steve was dozing on his couch when there was a knock on his door. He practically tripped over his own feet and Clint looked bored when he answered. It had been almost two days of radio silence from Clint but Steve had not worried. Clint was not one of the best in the business because he was careless. Steve opened the door and let Clint walk in, surprised that he was alone.

"Did she say 'no'?" Steve asked as he closed and locked the door.

"She said 'yes' but I hope you're willing to pay her well. You know how Natasha is," Clint replied. He tossed his overnight bag on the floor and collapsed onto the couch.

"Pretty sure I know less and less about Natasha every time I see her," Steve said as he sat down across from Clint who scoffed but did not disagree.

"She decided not to come until we can confirm Tony and Bruce. Something about not wanting to watch you get shot down and wasting her time." Clint crossed his arms across his chest and stared at Steve. "Do you have a plan to recruit them?"

"I'm going to present Bruce with a challenge that he won't be able to resist," Steve replied.

"And Tony?" Clint pressed after Steve did not elaborate.

"Stroke his ego until his head is so big the idea of turning it down is an insult." Steve paused when Clint looked apprehensive. "And if that doesn't work I'll get Pepper to help me."

"Oh there's no way any of that is going to blow up in our faces," Clint said.

"Let's go collect our chemist." Steve stood and offered a hand to help Clint to his feet. Clint gave him a rather impressive side eye but accepted the hand. Steve chose to ignore the finger shaped bruises on Clint's wrists but when Clint caught Steve looking at them he smirked but did not say anything. Steve really did not want to know anyway.

---

Bruce liked living the quiet life. Unlike the rest of the people within the dreamshare community he much preferred mailing out the chemicals using increasingly dubious methods than being out there with the action. He was a scientist at the end of the day and he did not need to be running from scary people to get his blood pumping. After years of anger management through college the quiet life suited him. Betty liked him doing his work out of the house as well, for the most part, because they were the type of people that no one bothered. They went to block parties and shook hands with the police chief when an hour earlier Bruce had been wrist deep in Somnacin. It was something they both had a good laugh over in the privacy of their home over cups of tea. Nothing ever happened and Bruce liked it that way.

It was the lack of action in his day to day life that made the simple sound of a door slamming in the middle of the afternoon make his blood run cold. Bruce nearly dropped the Somnacin he was brewing and bolted up the stairs from his basement lab, taking the stairs two at a time. He was surprised to find Betty sitting in the living room reading.

"What happened?" Bruce asked trying to even out his heartbeat.

"What do you mean?" Betty asked looking up from her book.

"I heard a door slam," he said.

"Oh I had the front door open with the screen across to get some fresh air in here and the wind must have caught it," Betty explained, flashing him a smile but for some reason it did not ring completely true. He had no proof but his instincts and that was not enough to accuse Betty of lying. So he gave her his best smile and excused himself down to the lab where he got absolutely no work done for the rest of the afternoon.

Bruce had almost completely forgotten about the door slamming until the exact same thing happened the next day. He narrowed his eyes and sent Betty a text from the lab.

Wind get the door again?

You know how it is :) came almost immediately but Bruce could not shake the feeling that there was something else going on. It had been over a year since he had left the team for this type of life and getting out of the business directly meant that his paranoia should have gotten better, but now all he could think about was that something was very, very wrong. He stayed in the lab the entire day and crawled into bed after Betty had already gone to sleep. Part of him wanted to see if he could find a way to see what was going on in the dream crime world without someone like Clint finding out that he was interested but that was nearly impossible.

Around the same time as the previous two days Bruce wandered upstairs and stayed near the front door. He could not see much from where he was lurking but he could at least see what was going on. The front door was not open and he swallowed the lump in his throat when there was a light knock. Betty hesitated as she walked toward the door. She opened it just a little, barely looking out, before she slammed it shut. The person on the other side said something but Bruce could not hear what they said. Betty stayed with her back against the door for a moment, visibly pulling herself together, until she walked back the opposite way. Bruce eased toward the living room and looked outside just long enough to see a car pull away.

Betty was going to the university the next day and she dropped a not so subtle hint that he should probably just listen to music very loudly and forget the rest of the world existed. Bruce smiled and put in his ear buds. He knew exactly how long it would take until Betty was out of the house and when all was silent Bruce walked upstairs and put the kettle on. Someone was harassing them but it was someone that Betty did not want him to know was coming. That limited who it could possibly be but it also meant that someone that Betty did not like was seeking him out for probably less than legal reasons. The kettle whistled and Bruce poured himself the cup of tea and carried the mug to the front door. Betty had a porch and He sat down on their porch to drink and wait and wait for whoever wanted to talk to him.

The cup was nearly empty when the same car pulled up front. Bruce halfway considered standing up to meet these people that Betty was so desperately trying to keep away but he really did not want to. He took another sip and smiled over the rim of his mug as the two men approached him. He knew why Betty was slamming the door in their faces because he knew exactly what they were going to ask him before they were even in ear shot.

Bruce set his empty mug aside and smiled.

---

Steve was not entirely surprised when Betty slammed the front door in his face the moment she saw him. Betty did not dislike them but they were not her favorite people either. She was the one that had had to hold Bruce’s hand when he got poisoned by a mark as they frantically tried not to let the fever boil the chemist alive. That was the last time they had seen each other so Steve was not expecting a hug and a cup of coffee, but to get the door slammed in his face was a little harsh. The way he could hear Clint snickering behind him did not really help much in the matter.

“That went well,” Clint said as they walked back to the car.

“I’m not giving up. We need Bruce for this,” Steve replied.

“I know I’m just trying to figure out whether I want to make a bet with Natasha about how many times we’re going to get kicked off this property before we get him to agree to this,” Clint said thoughtfully. Steve glared but Clint did not seem to notice or care. They found a cheap motel nearby and prepared to come back the following day.

The next day Betty slammed the door in his face again and this time Clint did not bother to try and hide his laugh. Steve continued to glare and tried to remember if there was a way he could call or text Betty that could not be traced. Clint told him that there was but it would take time to route a line halfway around the world and she would probably kill him for the bill. Steve wanted to argue that he was probably scarier than Betty but Clint reminded him of the time she had screamed at a New York City cabbie and kicked a dent in the door with her shoe. So Steve went back the third time only to have her slam the door yet again.

“Betty, I know you don’t want me here, but I need to talk to Bruce. It’s important,” Steve said through the door. He could hear her leaning against the door. Steve sighed and walked back toward the car without looking back. They were losing time and he was considering just breaking in if this went on any longer.

Which was why Steve’s eyebrows shot straight up when they pulled up and found Bruce sitting on the front steps drinking tea and waiting for them. Steve walked up with Clint staying close behind smiling.

“Bruce, you’re looking well,” Steve said offering a hand. Bruce stood and shook it.

“You too, Steve,” Bruce said. “You seem to have a Clint following you around.”

“I can’t seem to get rid of him, what is your medical opinion?” Steve asked as Clint scoffed.

“I’d be offended if I wasn’t secure in the knowledge that Steve would be screwed without me,” Clint said as he shook hands with Bruce.

“You know you could have just called if you needed supplies.” Bruce picked up the mug from the porch and walked back into the house, gesturing for Steve and Clint to follow him.

“I need more than just a few chemicals, Bruce,” Steve said as they all sat down at the table. “I have a job that requires an extraction and inception performed on the same mark, and I’d like to avoid the risk of falling into limbo.” Bruce raised both of his eyebrows.

“You’re going to need a really good chemist for that,” he said folding his hands.

“I need the best,” Steve said, ignoring Clint’s eye roll because A) it wasn’t a lie and B) a little flattery never hurt anyone.

“You know I’m the best but this type of job requires me to be there. You want me to go out into the field.” Bruce narrowed his eyes but looked a little thoughtful.

“If you could invent a stable blend for three levels without the risk of falling into limbo we could revolutionize the entire dream share market,” Clint said.

“Who else do you have?” Bruce asked.

“Us two, Natasha is set to forge, you would be our chemist and we’re going to get Tony to build,” Steve said.

“Getting the team back together then. Betty is going to be thrilled.” Bruce stood and walked across the kitchen, pouring some more hot water into a mug. Steve watched as Bruce made another cup of tea and he sat back down at the table without offering some to either of them. “If you can get the entire team back together I’m in. I know how Tony builds so that will make tailoring the blend much easier.” Steve grinned and he did not bother to hide it when he heard Betty walk into the house. She froze when she saw him and if the clenching of her jaw was anything to go by she knew that Bruce had agreed to a job. That did not mean he wanted to be around during the fallout and he excused himself and Clint to let Bruce deal with it.

“I will contact you with a meeting place when I have one,” Clint said.

“I look forward to it,” Bruce said, closing the door. Steve walked across the lawn and got into the driver seat as Clint began to mess with his phone.

“I got us tickets on the next flight to New York which leaves in three hours. Let’s go collect a billionaire so we can get this show on the road,” Clint said. “I’ve been trying to reach Tony for the last two days and he isn’t answering any of my calls.”

“Don’t worry about it. You know how Tony is; we need to be a little more aggressive when it comes to him,” Steve replied, pulling out onto the main road. Clint huffed an agreement but remained silent on the way to the airport.

---

Tony was well aware what the rest of the world thought about him. Mostly because he could read what they wrote in the gossip magazines but that was besides the point. Tony loved architecture, and even if that was not what the rest of his company did, that was the section that he paid attention to. He had not slept for five days when the inspiration for the tower struck and he was fairly sure the only reason he fell asleep at all was because someone had spiked his coffee. When he woke up twelve hours later Pepper screamed at him for a good twenty minutes straight, much of which he only remembered bits and pieces of.

The world seemed a lot lighter since he had given Pepper the keys to the Stark Industries car. Tony was an artist, he loved declaring this whenever Pepper complained that he had trashed the apartment again, and he did not need to be running a company. Howard had been all about mechanics and robots, and while Tony was all right with that sort of thing, his mind was much more comfortable designing buildings that he would charge a fortune to build. He used his father’s technology to furnish them so they were elegant and high tech. And if sometimes his assistants had to point out that something in his design would not work in the real world, well then that’s what assistants were for.

Hidden in his desk were piles upon piles of notebooks of nothing but mazes. To anyone else they would appear to be nothing but Tony could not get rid of the itch beneath his skin. He was a legitimate member of society now. Well, if he was honest, he had never really stopped being one. If there was one thing Tony was excellent at, it was bullshitting, and now that he was not building for dreams anymore there was a lot less running around meeting with shady people. It was ironic that he had not given Pepper the CEO position until after the accident and the team broke up. Now he had all the time in the world to build dreams for shady people and he had dropped out of that game.

Tony rubbed his eyes as he walked out of his drawing room and stumbled into the kitchen for more coffee. He had been commissioned by some guy named Hammer to make the most Amazing Factory Ever (at least that is what the file was named) and he really needed more coffee to deal with it. The morning, or maybe afternoon, they tended to blur, got much better when he saw Pepper making sandwiches.

“Pepper, I thought you had a meeting this morning,” Tony said as he poured himself a large cup of black coffee.

“It’s the afternoon, Tony, so the meeting is over.” Pepper handed him a plate with a BLT on it and he just loved her more than anything in that moment. “Investors still want to know if you’re willing to share JARVIS with the rest of the world.”

“And the answer is still a resounding ‘no.’ My dad and I built JARVIS from the ground up and I perfected him. I don’t want him getting into the wrong hands. Can you imagine what kind of evil some sort of super villain could do with such advanced technology?” Tony asked over bites of his BLT.

“This isn’t a comic book and you aren’t a superhero, despite what your ego might tell you,” Pepper said.

“I’ll wait for the conclusive evidence.” Tony finished his sandwich and kissed Pepper on the cheek. “I’ll be in my office.”

“We’re having dinner tonight. Can you try not to forget?” Pepper called out as he walked away.

“Will do my best!” Tony replied as he opened the door to his office and froze as he looked at the two people sitting in front of his desk. “Pepper? We need to improve security.”

---

Steve turned in his chair and smiled when Tony walked in the room. Clint smirked and gave a two fingered salute but Tony looked like was trying to figure out if it was possible to light them all on fire with his mind. This was about the reaction that Steve thought he was going to get when he told Clint his plan was to just break into Tony’s apartment in Stark Tower.

“JARVIS, why didn’t you tell me that someone was in the tower?” Tony asked as he walked to his desk and sat down slowly.

“Because you told me that your friends were an exception,” JARVIS’ voice replied and Clint smirked.

“We need to amend that,” Tony muttered as Pepper walked into the office.

“Tony, what are you--” She froze when she walked into the room and her fierce stare locked with Steve’s. It made him feel small and not just because she could put one of those three inch heels through his eye. “Steve Rogers, you get up and give me a hug right now.” He smiled and pushed himself to his feet, pulling Pepper into a tight hug. “How are you?”

“Oh, you know, same old,” Steve replied pulling away.

“I’d ask if you were staying out of trouble but I know you’re not, especially considering Clint is sitting over there looking a bit too smug.” Pepper grinned as she hugged Clint around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head. “How are you?”

“I’m doing well, Pep, thanks,” Clint replied as he smiled one of those boyish grins that he used whenever he was trying to butter someone up.

“Can we not make nice to the two wanted criminals that just broke into our apartment?” Tony asked loudly. “Give me one good reason not to call security and have you thrown out right now.” Pepper squeezed Clint’s shoulders and excused herself quietly. Steve took a deep breath and released it slowly.

“We need you,” he said.

“You need me. That’s your explanation for breaking and entering when I told you I didn’t want to design dreams anymore and you just come and tell me that you need me. How about I give you two chuckle heads a head start on the way out the door for old times’ sake.”

“I’m serious, Tony. No one else will do this job without you. We’re getting the entire team back together and no one will commit unless we have everyone. You’re the last person we need.” Steve leaned forward, smirking. “We need four levels from you; one for an extraction and three for inception on the same mark.” Tony raised an eyebrow but did not call security like he was threatening.

“Look, Stark, we’ve all always worked best as a team and I know you’re bored just sitting around spending your money. Just say you’ll do the job,” Clint said. Tony glared at Clint and looked like he was about to say something when a voice called out from the hallway.

“You’ve been more insufferable than usual; take the job!” Pepper called out.

“Eavesdropping is bad manners!” Tony called back.

“I’m not eavesdropping. JARVIS is telling me everything.” Pepper sounded like she was about to burst out laughing and it made Steve smile. Tony, on the other hand, looked annoyed.

“Betrayed by my own AI yet again,” he mumbled. “Fine, I’ll take the job.”

“Great. When I get a location set up I’ll be in contact. Just make sure you pick up your cell phone when I call you this time,” Clint said, standing up.

“No, tell everyone to come here; we’re working out of the Tower,” Tony said calmly. Steve had seen Clint glare at a lot of people but he had never seen Clint get so angry that he was almost vibrating so fast.

“I beg your pardon?” Clint asked which was not the way Steve pictured Clint saying those words.

“I need JARVIS to build the best mazes and he is part of the Tower, hence we work out of the Tower. There are entire floors that no one is using and we can be protected with my security--”

“--which can be broken--”

“--and we’ll do it all here,” Tony continued as if Clint had not said anything. “Make it look like our client is commissioning one of my designs and no one will notice Bruce or Natasha coming in or out. We plan here and that is not up for negotiation.” Tony was talking to Steve because it was his job but the statement was directed at Clint who usually went about finding somewhere safe for them to do the planning. Steve did not like the idea of working in such a flashy place but Tony had complete control of the building and once they fixed any security loopholes Natasha or Clint found it would be a fortress. A fortress with warm running water, high speed internet and an open liquor cabinet.

“Fine,” Steve said. “Give Natasha and Clint access to security and JARVIS to find and fix any blind spots and we have a deal.”

“Unlimited access,” Clint amended sounding almost murderous. “And the second it looks like we could be compromised here we relocate.”

“Gentlemen, it looks like we’re in business,” Tony said with a slow smile. Steve tried to smile but it felt forced; this was either going to go really well or he was going to buying a lot of flowers for teammates in the coma ward and he was not sure which option freaked him out more.

---

Clint was on his laptop looking for ways to get Bruce into New York with all of his lab equipment that would not involve driving when his phone rang. He picked it up and answered without looking at who was calling. It was three in the morning the night that they had picked up their final team member; there was only one person that it could be.

“Are you ready to take New York by storm, Tasha?” Clint asked.

“I want to know how Steve is doing,” Natasha said without humoring him. “Is Bucky going to be a problem?”

“We’ve dealt with shades before; we can deal with this one,” Clint said.

“You can pull the trigger and so can I despite how much it might hurt but can anyone else? Can Steve?” she asked. Clint did not know the answer to that because he had not seen Bucky and Steve interact in one of the dreams. So far he had only seen Bucky take him out and then the dream had ended or Steve had kicked him out. “Clint, they were close, they loved each other, and losing him hurt Steve much more than it hurt any of us. Can he pull the trigger even if it’s a shade?”

“I don’t know,” Clint said honestly because he really did not know and he did not like not knowing. “I guess we’ll just have to make sure we’re there to look out for him. Protecting the team is my job and if that means I have to shoot Bucky Barnes in the head then I will. You can trust me to do that much.” A long silence passed between the two of them as Clint finished getting Natasha a ticket to New York. The sooner they started to plan the better.

“You know I trust you. Email me my flight details and I will see you soon.” Natasha hung up the phone and Clint set it aside. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out one single picture. It was the entire team a year ago, before the accident that took Bucky’s life and ripped them all apart. Now they were all going to be in the same room again but it was not going to be like before. They did not have their mechanic and friend anymore, and Clint had to steel himself at the thought that he was probably going to have to shoot a projection of one of his best friends because his other best friend couldn’t do it.

Clint put the picture away and dialed a number on his phone.

“Hey, Stark, Bruce needs a ride from Virginia with all of his toys, you willing to go pick him up?”

---

Steve went down to a small restaurant around the corner from the Tower to meet with Thor. Natasha was on a plane to New York and Clint and Tony were on their way to go pick up Bruce. Now all Steve needed to do was convince Thor to get in contact with Tony and everything would be going well. He was anxious to start the actual planning because that was something he could understand. Everything else, all of the details of this real world, they bothered him. The dreams, however, he could mold those into anything that he wanted. The dreams that defied the laws of the universe were starting to make more sense than the real world. That should have worried him more than it did.

Steve nodded to Hogun as Thor took a seat at their table. The man was still a presence and seemed to command attention wherever he went. Trying to keep someone who took up the entire room on the down low was not going to be as easy as he wanted.

“Do you have your team, Mr. Rogers?” Thor asked.

“Please, call me Steve, saying Mr. Rogers makes me think of that kids show,” Steve said which made Thor crack a smile. “I had my last team member agree to the job yesterday. We’re going to get started in New York soon but we’ll need you to make a cover so you can come and go in the building. I need you to call Pepper Potts and arrange a meeting. You’re hiring Tony Stark to design a building for you.”

“I see. I will make that happen as soon as possible,” Thor replied. “Do you think you’re going to be able to do this job?”

“The extraction should go well but inception is far from a perfect art. We will do our best,” Steve said. Thor did not look entirely pleased by that but he did not say anything else. The rest of the team would be arriving in the next few days and they would have to start to plan the extraction. He did not want to think about the inception just yet because there was still the chance that the extraction would go poorly and Clint would do everything he could to make sure the second part of the job did not happen. He had seen the reports from when Clint used to perform hits, he knew how ruthless his friend was when he wanted to be, and he did not want to be on the receiving end of that gun.

---

Three days later his entire team was sitting in the living room of Stark Tower. Clint and Natasha sat side by side, not quite touching, and speaking to each other quietly in what sounded like Russian. That meant that what they were saying was either classified or dirty though sometimes Steve wondered where those lines blurred. Bruce was settled in a large armchair, glasses perched on his nose, flipping through pages of a notebook. Tony was speaking to Pepper near the door and she kissed his cheek as she left. Thor was standing near a window, taking up what felt like half the room, and looking far too casual considering what he was asking them to do.

“All right, let’s get started,” Steve said as everyone sat down to look over their information. “As you know we’ve been hired to perform an extraction followed by an inception on the same target. I’ve given you all the file that Clint has put together but what we are trying to do is find out why Thor’s brother, Loki, is walking away from his family.”

“Not that I’m against getting paid for this sort of thing but have you asked him?” Tony asked.

“Of course. He denies that anything is wrong but we have evidence that he is planning on leaving the family and I cannot lose my brother,” Thor replied.

“So he’s hiding something and we need to break in there and find out what it is. Then we need to change his mind,” Clint said. “I need all the information you can get me about your brother. I don’t care if you think it doesn’t matter, I promise, the smallest thing can affect a dream.”

“Whatever you need, you will have it,” Thor replied.

“Find me someone close to him that he trusts so I can get my forge together,” Natasha said, watching Thor but speaking to Clint.

“Bruce, we need a stable level. If he isn’t trained we shouldn’t need more than one to get this out of him. Whatever it is, it is prominent in his head and we shouldn’t have to dig too deep. You can get started on the Somnacin that isn’t going to drop us into limbo for inception,” Steve said.

“I’ll need someone to test on,” Bruce said.

“I volunteer,” Tony said grinning. Steve should have known better than to expect anything less from the ‘science bros’ as Tony called them on their last job. “I’ll start designing the levels and tweak them as we learn more about this guy.” Tony and Bruce both left the room, discussing how they were going to test the solution while Natasha and Clint were staring blankly at Thor. It was a little uncomfortable and Steve really wanted to diffuse a situation before it even started. The last thing he wanted was for Clint to decide that he did not trust Thor and for Natasha to have to step in. She was still as lethally beautiful as Steve remembered and it made his chest ache when he thought about how Bucky would describe her.

“Let’s get to work, Tasha,” Clint said standing. “Get me that information, Mr. Odinson.” Clint turned and headed for one of the many empty offices where he would no doubt hole himself up for the next few days. Natasha nodded silently and followed.

“They do not seem to like me very much.Is it going to be a problem?” Thor commented even if he did not seem too worried about it.

“Clint and Natasha are the best at what they do for a reason. As long as you don’t try to hide anything from Clint, he’ll get the job done and Natasha will do what she needs to. They are the best,” Steve said, watching them vanish from sight.

“Mr. Barton is the one who said he will not do the inception if the extraction goes poorly, correct?” Thor asked.

“We decided that as a team,” Steve said not wanting to put Clint in the spotlight.

“I will get you your information, Steve, and we will go from there.” Thor smiled and walked toward the elevator to see himself out.

“Mr. Rogers.” JARVIS’ voice made Steve jump but he trusted that the AI would keep that bit of information to himself. “would you like me to load all of your job information onto one private server?”

“After Clint takes a look at your security but don’t compile anything for now, thanks.” Steve ran his fingers through his hair, picked up the file and began to try and learn everything he could about Loki Odinson.

---

Three days later Natasha strolled into the living room and dropped a file on Steve’s lap. He picked it up and began to look through it. Loki was with a woman with long black hair and a radiant smile. He looked more relaxed in those pictures than in any other pictures Clint had managed to find. She sat down next to him and tilted her head to the side, waiting for him to read.

“Who is she?” he asked.

“Her name is Sif Leifdottir, and according to Thor, she has been with his brother for the better part of two years,” Natasha replied. “If there is anyone he trusts with this secret it will be her.”

“So you need to get to her so you can build your forge,” Steve said, closing the file and leaning back in the couch. “Two years? You tend to know someone very well when you know them that long.”

“I’m aware that intimate partners of over a year are the hardest forges, Steve. I have been doing this for a long time,” Natasha said raising an eyebrow.

“It’ll have to be perfect,” he said and Natasha smiled.

“Do you doubt my skills?” she asked.

“I know you wouldn’t give us a green light on a forge unless you were 100% confident in it. I trust you, Natasha,” Steve said. Her green eyes were piercing at they stared at him and it made him feel like he was being evaluated. After their last job together, the first time Bucky had interacted with someone other than Steve, it was Natasha and it did not go well. This was the first time they had been in a room alone since the night she had said some choice things to him in Russian and left without a word. “Look, Nat, I’m--”

“Please don’t apologize,” Natasha said holding up a hand. “If you try to make an excuse, I will be forced to hurt you, and I really don’t want to do that, and if you just try to rationalize it, I will just get upset and still hurt you. James, Bucky, is gone and you can’t exactly control how he turns up in your head. Let Clint and I deal with it.”

“Asking you to shoot him though, even if it’s just a projection, that’s asking--”

“It’s asking a lot but I can do it and so can Clint so let us deal with it. If you need to pull the trigger I hope you will, but with all of us together maybe we can trick him. I’m not mad at you and I never blamed you.” Natasha reached over and touched his shoulder where there was a mess of scar tissue from the accident. “These things happen.” She stood and brushed off her clothes. “Talk to Thor and Clint, try to find me an in with Sif, she will play a part in this job one way or another.” Natasha turned and walked out of the room without waiting for another response from him. She knew he would do what he had to to get her to her mark. Natasha was one of the best for a reason and if Steve felt a little lighter that she had forgiven him, well no one else needed to know that.

---

Clint was three days into his research when Natasha walked into the room sans the file on Sif he had given her. He knew it was because she had been with Steve and that meantthey had probably had a heart to heart about the time Steve’s shade told Natasha she meant nothing to him in the middle of a job, and Steve was now forgiven. Clint was not sure how Natasha managed to forgive him but she had and it was her business. He was far too busy staring at pictures of Loki, unable to shake the feeling of ice in his stomach every time he caught a glimpse of those eyes. There was something about Loki he did not like, something about this job he could not shake, and he blamed that distraction for why Natasha was able to sit down next to him without him noticing.

“You know I gave you that file, not Steve,” he said without looking up.

“I know but he might come up with a way for me to get close to her,” Natasha replied. “Are you going to try and get some sleep tonight? If you drink anymore coffee your body might start thinking it needs caffeine to survive.”

“I run point; I’m pretty sure my body really does need coffee to survive,” Clint said flatly, rubbing his eyes. He looked at her and Natasha raised a perfect eyebrow. “I’ll come get some sleep in a bit. I need to find you an in with Sif anyway.”

“Don’t stay up too late,” Natasha said, standing. She kissed the top of his head which felt oddly domestic but Natasha could read him better than anyone else. She could probably see that something was bothering him.

“Tasha,” Clint said softly just before she was out of the room. “I don’t trust Loki, something about him rubs me the wrong way, so I need you to be careful out there.” He was not looking at her but he could practically hear the eye roll.

“I’m always careful,” she replied easily.

“I mean it. I need you to watch your back and then some.” Clint focused on his computer but he could almost make out her reflection in the screen. She was watching him the same way she would watch marks, the way that made people uncomfortable, like they could feel eyes on the back of their heads, but Clint was immune to it after so many years. He just continued to work until he heard her say ‘I promise’ softly. Clint smiled to himself because whatever Natasha saw in him had made her make a promise. That was something she never did and it was a relief to know that she was going to be careful.

---

“Is it ready now?” Tony asked, sticking his head in the room where Bruce was working for something like the fifth time that day. It had only been a week since he had started working on the formula that hopefully would not kill them, but Tony seemed to think it should be ready right now despite being told that these things took time. Bruce looked up and tried to muster up a glare that could make Tony go away, but if anything it seemed to somehow encourage him which made absolutely no sense. “Is it?”

“I told you I would come get you when it’s ready, do you not remember that? I’ve only said it the last three times you’ve come in and asked,” Bruce replied, looking down at his equations and trying to think. Tony had been a little more on edge since Natasha had left to do her work in the field; Tony did not like having her out there despite the fact that he knew she could take care of herself, because it meant that there was no one to pacify Clint. That meant that the fateful moment that Tony would have to fight Clint over that last cup of coffee was not going to end with Natasha holding them both back with her pinky fingers. Bruce was not looking forward to that day.

“Yes, yes, of course, it’s all very exact and fun, but can we please get to the testing part? I’m ready for the experimentation,” Tony said, grinning.

“Shouldn’t you be working on the level?” Bruce asked.

“JARVIS is running a complex simulation to come up with the best possible outcome for the maze.” Tony crossed his arms and stared Bruce down; Bruce simply raised an eyebrow. “Fine, I finished the basics, but until I know all of the details I can’t really finish the level. I’m bored, Bruce, you should experiment on me so I’m not bored anymore.”

“What would you like me to do? Drop you three levels and see if you fall into limbo?” Bruce asked dryly.

“Don’t you have the formula from Yusuf that Cobb’s team used for inception? Why can’t you just tweak that?” Tony asked and Bruce clenched his jaw. “Oh, are you two not being bro’s right now?”

“I don’t need any help thank you,” Bruce grumbled. He went back to trying to ignore Tony but the man was like a fly buzzing in his ear even when he was not saying anything. “What can I do to make you go away?”

“Put me under so I can test something,” Tony replied without hesitation.

“Fine, but I’m sending Pepper in after you if you decide to experiment with limbo. You’re just going to test the stability of the one we’ll be using for the extraction,” Bruce explained as Tony lay down on one of the chairs.

“So, you’ll be, what, shaking the chair or something?” Tony asked as Bruce finished setting up the machine.

“Or something,” Bruce said, smiling. Tony seemed to notice something in that smile but did not get a chance to object before Bruce hit the button and sent him into the dream. He cracked his neck and smiled to himself. “Hey, Clint, can I get your help in here?”

Natasha was not the only one who could figure out how to solve interpersonal problems.

---

Natasha smiled and chose to ignore the way the men in the office were leering at her. Sif was a lawyer and that meant that she had a PA. The PA that had sent out various emails to contests for free vacations probably because he just needed to get away. He was a nice enough man but he did not like his job very much. Thor had seen it as a worthy investment to send the young man on a 30 day cruise that he 'won in a contest.' It was all very last minute and young Natalie Rushman was the first person they could find to fill his shoes. Natasha, as Natalie, had smiled prettily, but made sure she came across as the type of person that did not put up with other people's crap. Sif liked strong women and would be more likely to open up to her. That gave her 30 days to learn her forge, which considering how hard Sif worked should be enough time.

“Natalie, could you bring me that file?” Sif's voice said from over the intercom.

“Right away,” Natasha replied as she gathered the file and walked into Sif's office. The bug that she had in Sif's office had revealed that she planned to meet Loki for dinner that night but she had not said anything to Natasha just yet. “Here you are, ma'am.”

“You can call me Sif, Natalie,” Sif replied, taking her file.

“Of course, Sif,” Natasha replied, smiling. “How late do you plan on staying tonight?”

“I have an appointment at six so we can finish up here and then you can go home,” Sif replied. Not many people knew that Sif was in a relationship with Loki and it seemed like they were both keen to keep it quiet. Natasha had a feeling that even Thor was not supposed to know.

“An appointment? Is this something I need to accompany you to?” Natasha asked eagerly because Natalie was always quick to please.

“No, no, it's after six and you should be home by then,” Sif said, waving her off. To anyone else this would have read as an easy dismissal but Natasha could read through the lines. She knew where Sif was going for dinner but she needed to feel out her reactions a little more.

“True. I was thinking of getting some dinner out tonight. Maybe that cafe on seventh?” Natasha said, knowing that was where Sif was going. She watched as the other woman hesitated, a movement so small that anyone not looking would have missed it, but she did not like the idea of someone seeing her having dinner with Loki.

“It's a Friday night so it's going to be busy wherever you go. I would order in,” Sif suggested.

“I didn't even think of that, thank you,” Natasha replied. She smiled brightly and walked out of the office. At five she waved at her boss and walked out of the office. She put away her work cell phone and pulled out her personal one. There was a single encrypted message from Bruce that eventually revealed a picture of Clint punching a sleeping Tony in the face. If it was not completely incriminating she would have kept it forever. Instead she committed the picture to memory and deleted it from the phone.

She had a small apartment across town where Natasha took off Natalie and began to slip into another skin. Amber was a high class socialite from Russia that liked parties and expensive vodka. She was putting an absurd amount of bobby pins in her hair when the phone rang. One glance at the number and she knew exactly who was calling.

"Clint, I'm working," she said casually.

"I know, I just wanted to know what you thought of the picture," Clint replied with false cheer.

"How did it end?" Natasha asked, balancing the phone on her shoulder as she pinned more of her hair back.

"I just gave him a fat lip. I didn't want Pepper angry at me. The only person scarier than Pepper angry is you angry." Clint was smiling but Natasha could picture it in her head and it was forced. "When the time came I got the last cup of coffee."

"I'm so proud," Natasha said as she finished her hair. "Tell Tony I will have specifics for him tonight."

"Keep radio contact, Tash." Clint hung up without another word and Natasha pulled on the blond wig. A few more touches of makeup and she was Amber. Natasha walked downstairs and called a cab. When she pulled up to the cafe where Sif would be meeting Loki, she was not surprised that it was a place where someone could vanish from other patrons. Low lights and dark corners with small tables. She spotted Sif right away and managed to sweet talk a table nearby where she would be able to see both of their faces. She ordered wine and sipped it as she took in each detail of Sif. How relaxed her shoulders were, hands folded on the table, the way she seemed to know that Loki was not going to stand her up. At six on the dot, Sif's dark eyes lit up a little and she smiled brightly. Natasha looked at the door and watched Loki walk in.

Loki was a tall man, over six foot, with longish black hair and striking green eyes. He had the aura of a man that had all of the aces accounted for, and despite his warm smile, the hairs on the back of Natasha's neck stood on end. They greeted each other with the familiarity of two people that were intimate and began to talk softly. Natasha wrote down everything she could on her phone, each facial twitch and eye movement, nothing was considered pointless. The more she watched them, the more she learned about both of them, but Natasha could not shake the lead in the pit of her stomach. When Sif took a break to use the restroom Natasha emailed Tony her level suggestions. Loki had not spared her a glance but she could almost feel his eyes watching her every move. Sif returned and Natasha went back to observing.

---

A little over a month later Steve watched as Bruce slapped Tony across the face to test the stability for their extraction. Tony did not even twitch and Bruce smirked as he looked at Steve. Steve grinned and walked over to Tony, tipping his chair as he jerked awake. Tony grunted as he hit the ground, his eyes a little glazed over but otherwise focused. He glared at Steve and mumbled something about trap doors under his breath. The level was done and Clint was so buried in his research that he was barely talking in complete sentences. Natasha was due back in a few hours where she would hopefully report on a perfect forge.

"Thor Odinson has just entered the building," JARVIS announced.

"Does he know Natasha is due back?" Bruce asked.

"I would assume so," Steve replied, offering Tony a hand. Tony took it and the three of them walked into the main room just as Thor walked out of the elevator.

"Gentlemen, how is our progress?" Thor asked in a booming voice.

"We're getting closer," Steve said as Clint walked in the room.

"I've looked everywhere but I can't find out when this guy found out about dreaming," Clint announced, looking at Thor. "Are you sure you don’t know how much he knows?"

"My brother knows nothing about dreamshare as I have told you," Thor said slowly.

"I thought all of your research said he doesn't know," Steve said, remembering that ignorance was a point in their favor.

"He knows," Clint said lowly.

"Do you have any evidence to prove that?" Bruce asked. Clint glared but said nothing.

"He knows more than he is letting on," a voice from behind them said, and they all turned to see Natasha walking into the tower. "And no, I don't have anything to prove this aside from instinct."

"I can't cancel a job based on instincts," Steve said after a long silence. Clint looked annoyed but Natasha did not look surprised. "Is the forge ready?"

"Yes, we are good to go," Natasha replied, walking over to Clint and putting a hand on the small of his back. He seemed to relax marginally but he still glared at Steve which Steve chose to ignore.

"Let's start to plan the snatch and grab then. Does he have any surgeries or anything planned?" Steve asked, watching Clint.

"No, we're going to have to break in," Clint said.

"He will stay at my place then. That will be easier, yes?" Thor suggested.

“Yes,” Steve said carefully. “That will work great. Let’s work on a date and figure out the last of the details.” The rest of the team nodded as they all went their separate ways. Steve really wanted to jump into the dream and confront his shade of Bucky before the job. He wanted to make sure that everything was going to be okay since they did not have another mechanic, since Bucky knew everyone that was going into the dream, but Bruce would find that odd. So he straightened his shoulders and began to look into what day would be best to break into Loki’s mind.

---

A week later and they were ready to perform the extraction. Loki was going to spend the night at Thor’s where it would be relatively easy to drug him. From there they would drop into the dream and get the information that they needed to perform the inception. On a technical level the extraction seemed very textbook but there was something about the entire situation that had Clint and Natasha on edge. While Natasha said that her forge was perfect, Steve had never seen her uneasy about a job before. Clint was much more vocal about the fact that he sincerely believed that Loki knew about dreaming and they were about to get torn apart. “Oh wait, I’m the dreamer, they’re going to tear me apart,” he said the night before and he vanished into his room. Steve could not call off a job because Clint was convinced of something that was not there .

Thor opened the door and they all slowly filed into his apartment. It was quiet and there was a water glass on the table that had been drugged with a sedative that would be out of Loki’s system by the time the dream ended. There would be no evidence that anything ever happened, none that any crime unit could trace, and Steve watched Loki sleep for a moment as Bruce set up the machine. There was something about the man that felt different in a way he could not describe, and the little smirk on his lips as he slept was a little unnerving.

“Okay, let’s rehash,” Steve said. “Bruce and Tony will stay topside with Thor to keep an eye on our vitals and Loki. Clint will be on the roof of the next building with a rifle ready to shoot anyone that looks at us funny. Nat will be forging Sif who will meet Loki for dinner and I’ll go to the safe in the bank across the street when he drops all of his secrets in the vault. Clint or I will kick ourselves out when we have everything we need. Everyone set?” There was a series of nods throughout the group as Tony and Bruce helped set up everyone’s IV’s.

“One of these days I’ll get you to test the stability of the dream, Barton,” Tony said as he finished Clint’s IV line.

“We’ll see,” Clint said, smirking.

“Ready?” Bruce asked and everyone nodded. “Sweet dreams.” He pushed the button and the Somnacin rushed like ice through his veins as the world faded into white.

---

Steve blinked and he was standing in the middle of the city streets. Projections moved effortlessly around him and he stood still for a moment to see if they would react to his presence. A minute passed, then two, and no one tried to stab him. He felt out the dream in general, how calm it was and the feeling in the air, and everything felt fine. Steve relaxed a little and walked toward the apartment building next door to the bank where he was meeting everyone. It had plenty of windows and the perfect vantage points for Clint to watch them and enough places to run if they caught on to where he was. Steve knocked on the door twice and it opened to reveal Clint looking unimpressed.

“The dream feels calm,” he said as he walked in.

“I know,” Clint replied and he walked into the apartment without a word. Natasha was already there and changing into Sif in the full length mirror. Her long red hair turned black and she cracked her neck as her body changed into that of another person. Clint was putting together his rifle and looked out at the cafe through the scope. “Target in sight. Entered the cafe on a cellphone.”

“Then I’ll be on my way,” Natasha said as Sif walking out the door. Clint did not say anything as he watched the street. Steve wanted to find some way to assure him that everything was going to be fine, that this job was going to be fine, but nothing came. Steve closed the door, locked it and followed several steps behind Natasha. He watched as Natasha sat down at the table with Loki and the two of them began to talk. Natasha was an extractor in her own right, most forgers were, but she needed to stay with Loki while Steve got the actual information. There was no sign of Bucky and Steve did not know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Loki, what is bothering you these days?” Natasha asked as Sif after some time in between conversation. “You have been distant from me.”

“Nothing is bothering me,” Loki denied, and if Steve could not read people as well as he could he would have bought that lie.

“Things are quiet up here,” Clint said over the blue tooth. “Very little movement from all sides and no one is looking at you.” Clint was a lethal sniper in the real world, but in a dream he was like something out of a superhero comic.

“Natasha is baiting him; standby,” Steve replied.

“You can trust me, Loki, you know that, don’t you?” Natasha asked.

“Of course,” Loki said leaning forward. “But this is different.”

“I will always keep your secrets safe, locked away, where no one will ever find them.Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” Natasha asked, and that was the word he was looking for. Loki’s eyes flicked to the bank across the street, just for a second, but he shook his head.

“There is nothing to tell. I have nothing hidden away,” Loki said. Natasha sighed and took a drink of her water. That was the signal that the information should be hidden and Steve was on his feet in seconds. As he crossed the street to the bank Steve could have sworn for a moment he saw Bucky watching him, smiling, but the second passed and there were just nameless projections.

“Cover Natasha. I’m going in,” Steve said over the blue tooth.

“Affirmative.Good luck,” Clint replied. Steve walked into the bank and smiled brightly at the teller.

“I need to open a safety deposit box,” Steve said. The teller raised an eyebrow but had someone escort him back. By the time he was left alone Steve had already found the box he was looking for. There was no one else around and the dream remained calm. Clint did not say anything over the blue tooth and no one came running when Steve popped the box open. There were a few small rooms off to the side where he could look through the box. There were plenty of secrets, lots of papers, but they were looking for something specific. Steve was confident he would know what it was when he found it.

The file had lots of small secrets, bank statements and mistakes made in his past, but these were not what he was looking for. Somewhere in that file was a secret so terrible it was making a brother walk away from his entire family. It was hidden at the back of the file, buried between other pages, as if it was something that Loki himself had tried to forget but could not. Steve pulled the paper out and looked it over. Something horrible clenched in his stomach and he wanted to punch a wall. This was much more personal than he ever thought it could be; this was terrible, this was pretty much the worst possible thing that could happen for the job.

“I’m shooting myself out. I’ll give you the kick topside,” Steve said, pulling out his gun.

“Wait, what? Steve, what did you find?” Clint asked but Steve ignored him, putting the gun to his head.

“We never should have taken this job,” Steve said as he pulled the trigger and the dream faded away.

---

It was nearly three in the morning by the time they all gathered at Stark Tower. Clint was the only one that seemed eager about learning what Steve found in that safe while everyone else seemed to think that it could wait until morning. Tony was making a pot of coffee and drinking it like it was the nectar of the gods when they all sat down to discuss this.

“Did we really have to do this now? Some of us didn’t go into the dream and get any sleep,” Tony said.

“What did you find?” Clint asked.

“Yes, I thought we were meeting in the morning. I do not like the idea of leaving my brother alone like that,” Thor said clearly annoyed.

“Your brother is not really your brother,” Steve said, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. “Loki was adopted. He's done research on his parents, the Laufeyson's, were a bunch of con people. They were the type of con people that took money from poor families and left them bankrupt. He's deeply, deeply ashamed of them. The only thing he hates more than them is the way he feels like an outsider to the rest of the Odinson family.” A heavy silence fell over the room as what this meant for their job began to sink in for his team members. Something like this was deeply personal and it was not something that one would normally try to change someone’s mind about.

“This would explain his distance toward me,” Thor said after a long silence.

“How are we supposed to change his mind about family when he’s adopted? Who knows how deep those issues run?” Clint said, his voice rising. “How are we supposed to implant something like family acceptance in someone’s head?” He ran his hands through his short hair and sent it flying in all directions. “I told you we shouldn’t have taken this job.” Clint turned and walked out of the room without another word.

“How did the extraction go?” Bruce asked.

“It went perfectly,” Natasha replied. “No one even had to fire a single shot.”

“If the extraction went well, will you continue with this job?” Thor asked. All eyes were on Steve as he tried to come up with an answer that was not going to ruin either the job or his relationship with his team.

“We need some time to discuss what our next move will be,” Steve said.

“This will change him. If we continue with this job I will not just keep my brother I will have changed him,” Thor said softly.

“You're going to have to decide if the risk is worth it.” Natasha crossed her arms across her chest and fixed her gaze on Thor. “You're going to have to decide if the risk of keeping your brother is worth changing who your brother might be fundamentally.” It was the hang up about the job that no one had brought up. Changing a decision was one thing but this was going to change Loki's thoughts on a basic level. Thor nodded and wished them all a goodnight as he left the tower.

“I hope you have a great plan for incepting someone with love and a sense of belonging to their family because that’s not something you can fake,” Tony said. He did not wait for Steve to respond as he downed the rest of his coffee and walked toward his bedroom. Bruce glanced at Steve, shrugged a little and walked toward his lab. Natasha was still as she watched him but eventually followed Clint out of the room. Steve sighed and picked up Tony’s empty mug to put it in the sink. All he could hope for now was that everyone would cool off and they could have this discussion in the morning.

“Kill the lights, JARVIS,” Steve said and the rooms faded into darkness as he walked down the hallway toward his bedroom.

---

Steve was not surprised when he woke up to find Clint waiting for him in the living room. There were dark circles under his eyes that spoke of very little sleep and he looked extremely annoyed. There was no way for this conversation to end well. He was also not nearly awake enough for this screaming match.

"Shall we step outside?" Steve asked and he walked toward the balcony, knowing that Clint was going to follow him. As soon as the door closed he turned and faced his point man. "You want to pull out."

"No, we should pull out. This is too personal for us. There could be years of issues that we have no way of knowing about. We would be going in blind," Clint said.

"We said we would pull out if the extraction went south. In your professional opinion, how did the extraction go?" Steve asked.

"Don't patronize me, Rogers," Clint snapped. "The extraction was textbook."

"Exactly, why would we walk away when the extraction went so well?" Steve asked.

"Don't be thick, Steve, when was the last time you had an extraction go off without a hitch?" Clint scoffed. "No team of mine is--"

"But it's not your team; it's mine. I'm the one paying and that means it's my call. We're going in and if you don't like it, you can walk away." It had been years since Steve had had to pull rank on Clint but there was something in his tone that just hit Steve's last nerve. Clint's entire expression shut down in a way Steve had not seen since Bucky died. This was Clint the soldier, Clint the sniper, and a total stranger.

"Yes, sir," Clint said and Steve felt his stomach clench as Clint saluted him. Without another word Clint turned and walked back into the tower. The that look on Clint's face was betrayed and furious and Steve hated being the reason it was there even more but he was not going to walk away from this job because Clint was convinced something was wrong.

Steve stayed outside for a few more minutes before he walked back inside. He was not at all surprised to see Natasha sitting on the couch reading. He was 100% sure that she had heard every word of his conversation with Clint. Whatever she had to say Steve was 100% sure he was not iin the right frame of mind to deal with it rationally.

"If you're going to yell at me could you at least wait until I've had my coffee?" he said.

"Why would I yell at you?" Natasha asked, looking up from her book with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't have any comments about my conversation with Clint?" Steve asked, surprised.

"Of course I do, but not anything you want to hear right now," she said, shrugging. "Clint is a sniper, he sees better from a distance. Just give him some time to see things with some space and he'll be okay. You were right." Steve sometimes forgot how well Natasha could read people, to the point that it was a little creepy, and he was thankful for that. He walked over and sat down next to her. "You miss Bucky."

"Every single day," Steve said without hesitation. "You might have to shoot him."

“I’m sure he’ll deserve it for one reason or another,” Natasha said, shrugging again. They sat together in a comfortable silence for a few minutes and Steve realized how much he had missed just sitting around with his friends, when his teammates were his friends, and how much that had changed over the years.

“Do you think we should go through with this job?” he asked ,not sure if he was really ready to hear what she had to say. Natasha closed her book and stretched.

“Any other extractor would have made the same decision,” she said before she turned and left the room. Steve was tempted to remind her that he was not just any normal extractor, but by the time he found the words she was already gone. He laid down on the couch and closed his eyes.

---

Three weeks later they had a plan. Clint spent the entire first week calling Steve ‘sir’ instead of his name, but by week two he was ‘Steve’ again. Thor looked pleased when he told him that they were going to try and perform the inception but that it would not be easy. They all looked a little relieved when Steve reminded Thor that it was an imperfect art, that there were no guarantees, because Clint had been right when he had said that this was a deeply personal issue that was going to be hard to tackle. At least each team member at some point over the next three weeks threatened to quit. When Natasha tried to walk away, Steve all but begged her to stay, but that was a secret that was going to stay between them (and JARVIS) for the foreseeable future.

The first level would be Bruce’s dream; an office building where Natasha would pose as a secretary. She would mention Thor and that he kept calling the office to check in on Loki to make sure that he was okay. She would drug his coffee and they would drop down a level. Bruce would lock the doors and wait them out.

The second level would be Clint’s; an apartment building shared by Thor and Loki that they still owned. Steve would pose as a contractor while Natasha would pose as Thor. Steve would talk about memories while Natasha egged him on. She would drug his beer and Clint would keep the projections busy.

The third level would be Tony’s; it would be a city so complex that the only person who stood a chance of memorizing it was the person who designed it. Tony was not pleased that he would be the dreamer since that meant that the projections could come after him but they needed Natasha safe. She would be posing as Sif and they would go over a copy of the will left by Loki and Thor’s father. It was not accurate, even Clint was not that good, and Thor did not know the details either, but it was the best shot they had to convince Loki that he was loved by his family.

Steve was looking over some papers when Bruce walked in, grinning from ear to ear. His hair was a mess and it looked like he was running on pure caffeine at this point, but there was something promising about that smile.

“I think I got it,” Bruce announced. “I mean we have no way of testing it outside of dropping down into the dream and seeing if we fall into limbo, but I'm 97.4% sure that if we die on any level of that dream that we won’t drop.”

“I like those odds,” Steve replied. The elevator opened and Thor strolled in. He looked a bit too confident for someone that was about to try and brainwash his brother, but Steve tried not to think about that too much. Thor’s heart was in the right place even if he was going about this the wrong way. When he had mentioned that to Tony a few weeks earlier, Tony had just reminded him that they were not here to judge anyone. He then ranted about how they were not entirely the protagonists in this story because of what they did until Pepper came in and dragged Tony away, reminding him that he was not a comic book style hero nor the star of an action movie.

“Gentlemen, how are things proceeding?” Thor asked.

“I think we’ve passed our last major hurdle so we can start moving forward with the actual date,” Steve replied.

“Good. I wanted to stop by and tell you that I would like to come into the dream with you,” Thor said calmly. Steve blinked a few times and glanced at Bruce whose eyes were a little wider than usual.

“This is going to be a delicate job, Mr. Odinson, we don’t really have room for tourists,” Steve said carefully.

“And I’d like to remind you, Mr. Rogers, that this is my brother and I will do anything to keep from losing him. I am going into the dreams with you,” Thor said. There was no room for any argument in his tone and Clint was not going to be happy at all. They were just going to have to take Thor with them three levels down to keep an eye on him.

“I’ll make it work,” Steve said.

Over the next three days they decided on a date and a time. Everyone was very antsy at the idea of a tourist coming in on a job like this but they all conceded when he explained that he was not exactly given a choice in the matter. Clint mouthed off but began to make adjustments to his own level as he went along. Steve just hoped that Thor knew how to use a gun well enough. Clint had taken him down a few times but always came back grumbling about how it would probably be more effective to let the man beat projections to death with a blunt object.

Everyone had different ways of dealing with the night before a job. Bruce was talking quietly to Betty on the phone and smiling to himself. He would not touch his equations or his chemicals tonight and would most likely fall asleep listening to Betty’s voice. Tony was out to dinner with Pepper and the two of them would stay up late working on building designs in the real world and drinking outrageously expensive champagne. Clint and Natasha locked themselves in their room with a pile of junk food and terrible movies that they would watch until late in the night. If they knew they were going to do a dangerous job, they said ‘goodbye’ instead of ‘goodnight’ when they started to get tired.

Steve considered himself boring because he usually just went to bed early. When he was younger and Bucky was still alive they would go out for drinks and Bucky would hit on every woman in a ten foot radius. He never took anyone home and he smiled easily by the end of the night. The first few weeks after he died, Steve would go under by himself, but taunting his shade seemed like a bad idea. So Steve laid down relatively early and closed his eyes, hoping to finally get some sleep before he risked his life for yet another job the following day.

---

Steve realized that he was in a natural dream right away. It had been years since he had had a natural dream and it was just his luck that he would get one the night before a major job. Despite being lucid he also knew this dream because he had seen it play out before. He saw it every time he closed his eyes and he wanted to wake himself up. He knew where he was and what was going on because this was not just a dream, not a nightmare, but a memory.

Steve had met Bucky when they were both kids growing up in Brooklyn. They had quickly become friends and remained that way all throughout grade school. When Steve decided that he wanted to join the army, he had prepared himself for days to tell Bucky only to find out that Bucky had enlisted the day before, unbeknownst to Steve’s plans. After boot camp, they got shipped off to different places in the world but remained in touch. It was after there was radio silence from Bucky for a month that Steve realized he cared about his friend on a much deeper level, that he was probably in love with him, and that had scared him more than the prospect of dying in combat ever could.

He joined Project Somnacin just before it disbanded so he had not had as much time with the PASIV as he would have liked, but in that little time he learned so much. Steve also learned that Bucky had been killed in combat overseas and that was the first time he saw Bucky in his subconscious. When he told the project coordinators, they said they were going to report it to Professor Miles, but the program fell apart not long after and they kicked Steve back out into the real world like he had never really mattered. When Bucky showed up three months later, a PASIV in one hand and sporting a shit eating grin, Steve decked him and then almost broke his ribs with a bone crushing hug.

Bucky was what they called a mechanic, tech support really, a person who knew the PASIV better than anyone else. He had told Steve about how he met this woman named Natasha who could change her appearance in dreams and a guy named Clint who ran point and took apart the best laid plans with startling efficiency; he had told him about how they needed an extractor for the team that he was putting together and there was no one better to lead it than Steve. Steve remembered agreeing without thinking twice.

Over the next three years they acquired Bruce as a chemist and Tony as their architect. Steve knew that Bucky and Natasha were together, but six months after the entire team was put together, Bucky showed up at Steve’s hotel room door, reeking of whiskey, saying he had left Natasha and kissed him. Steve did not stop to consider the consequences to the team or even anyone else’s feelings; he finally had the man he had loved for years. Natasha was okay, thankfully, and the team ran perfectly. They performed jobs that no one else would dare take. They had a lot of laughs, some good times, even more great times, and those three years were three of the best years of Steve’s life.

Steve wished this was one of those great times but he knew what day he was dreaming about right now. It was an extraction against a mob boss that had gone south. Clint had stayed behind with Natasha to try and hold the bodyguards off as Tony and Bruce took off down the stairs and Bucky and Steve out the window and across the fire escapes. Steve said the things that he had said that day despite his awareness of how this was going to end. He and Bucky came to a gap across the balconies ten stories down. Steve kicked the rusted railing aside so they would have space to jump.

“We need to jump!” Bucky said, clutching the PASIV in hand as the sound of voices began to close in. “You go first.” Steve nodded and jumped across the eight foot gap. He gripped the railing tightly and swung himself over.

“Toss me the PASIV,” Steve yelled and Bucky nodded, throwing the multi million dollar machine at Steve. Steve could feel Bucky's relief as he caught it. “All right, now you, come on!” Bucky nodded and went to make the jump. Just like that day it felt like time slowed down. Just as Bucky was about to jump, they must have been spotted and a bullet grazed his leg. He stumbled and Steve reached out barely catching Bucky so he did not fall to his death. The angle was all wrong but Steve could hold on, he was strong enough. “I got you, buddy, I got you!” Steve reached out so Bucky could take his other hand and their fingers were about to touch when a bullet tore through Steve’s arm.

He should have hung on, he wanted to, but the pain was so sudden that his instincts got the better of him and Bucky slipped from his hand. Steve watched (again and again and again he relived this nightmare) as his best friend and the man he loved plummeted to the ground below. Bucky was scared and he opened his mouth to say something but gravity was heartless and he hit the ground before he could say anything. Killed on impact, an accident, it was an accident, Steve, they had said. Steve could feel the blood running down in his arm, the dull pain of the bullet wound, as if it all had just happened again. Unlike reality, this was a dream, and now he tilted his head back and screamed in anguish.

---

Steve jerked awake and saw that the sun had risen. He was covered in a thick layer of sweat and his heart felt like it was trying to beat out of his chest. There were tears in his eyes and he hoped he had not really been screaming. No one needed to know that he still had nightmares about the person he had let down. There was a job to do and he had to focus on the task at hand. Steve took a few deep breaths and got out of bed.

They were meeting at Thor’s apartment at 2300. Loki was going to stay the night again and they were going to do the job in the safety of a locked apartment with Hogun standing over his boss. Tony had somehow convinced Pepper to watch over the machine since she knew the basics if nothing else. Everyone was quiet as Thor let them in, and there were only a few spoken words as they set up. Tony said something to Pepper quietly, Thor clapped Hogun on the shoulder, Bruce sent a quick text; Natasha stared at the sleeping Loki for only a moment before she knelt down and helped Clint set up the PASIV. They put in their lines and Steve ignored the pinch of the needle.

“Is everything ready?” Pepper asked.

“Machine is a go, Pep,” Bruce said, throwing up a thumbs up.

“Is everyone ready?” Steve asked and his entire team nodded. “Send us under, Pepper.”

“Good luck,” Pepper said as she pushed the button and the world faded away in a bright white light.

---

Steve blinked away the bright light as the dream focused. He was in the lobby of an office building with projections moving around him. He could feel a gun attached to his hip and he waited to see if anything would happen. The projections continued to move past him like he belonged. Steve breathed a sigh of relief but kept his guard up. Fortunately the elevator was not occupied by anyone but himself. It gave him time to get the feel of the dream. It felt stable enough but that did not mean that things could not fall apart. Steve had seen stable dreams blow up in his face enough to know that it could go very wrong very quickly. Clint was rarely wrong and his adamance that there was more than met the eye with Loki did not help ease the tension out of Steve's shoulders.

The elevator doors opened and revealed a row of bright windows. Tony had designed the dream to have lots of bright windows so Clint would have plenty of sightlines from across the way. The two buildings were attached via a sky walk so if things got to be too much for Clint he could make it across quickly. Steve did not know what Bruce had up his sleeve about the level and what he was going to use as protection. Bruce tended to set up booby traps and tripwires when things went bad. Steve kept an eye open for anything because Bruce was not likely to dream any of them up before the projections caught on. If the dream was already compromised, there was no point in being subtle.

Steve knocked on an office door twice and it opened to reveal Natasha. She smiled briefly and stepped aside to let him in. Bruce was already there messing with a PASIV with Tony hovering nearby. Thor was off in the corner looking extremely stoic.

“Have we heard from Clint?” Steve asked.

“I'm in position,” a disembodied voice said from a speaker. “So far, so quiet. No one has even glanced in your direction.”

“Do you have eyes on Loki?” Natasha straightened her clothes in front of a full sized mirror.

“Yes. So far he seems calm and does not look like he suspects anything yet,” Clint said. Steve chose to ignore the 'yet in that statement.

“Are you ready?” Steve asked and Natasha raised an eyebrow. She was going to be Sif's PA coming in to bring Loki a file from her firm. It was not an uncommon thing to happen between the two of them and when Loki was not looking, Natasha was going to spike his coffee. When he started to get woozy she was going to escort him to the conference room where Bruce would be waiting with the PASIV.

“That was a stupid question, Steve,” Tony said smiling.

“I've got your back, Tasha,” Clint said.

“I know,” she said. Natasha straightened her back and a warm smile spread across her lips. Even when she looked like herself there was still some physical changes in her when she became a different persona. Natasha, now Natalie, took a file off of the table and walked out of the room. Steve was going to call her cell as soon as Clint gave the word and they would begin.

---

Natasha strolled through the offices with the air of confidence that a woman like Natalie would need to have. She believed in an equal workplace and took pride in her work despite the fact that she was a PA. If pressed, Natasha could recite entire monologues that Natalie would know if she was a real person, and smiled at the few people that glanced her way. None of them seemed to pay her much attention though, which was a good sign. There was a bluetooth device in her ear because she needed to be able to hear Clint if she needed to run.

“So far, so clear,” Clint said in her ear. Clint was a rare form of point that tended to keep their distance from the heat of the action until he was needed. It was not a bad thing because he often drew crowds away from the dreamer. Natasha stopped in front of Loki's office and knocked a few times.

“Come in,” his voice said from behind the door. Natasha pushed the door open and flashed a smile.

“Good evening, Mr. Odinson,” she said walking into the room. “I'm Natalie Rushman and I'm working as Ms Leifdottir's assistant while Richard is on vacation.” Loki did not know that Richard was back from vacation so he eyed her for only a moment.

“How can I be of service, Miss Rushman?” Loki asked. Natasha was not fond of metaphors but Loki reminded her so much of a snake ready to strike as he watched her. It unnerved her but she was well versed enough to hide her tells.

“I have a file that Miss Sif sent over for you,” Natasha said, handing over the file. As soon as Loki took it, her phone rang and Loki looked up at her. “May I take this?”

“By all means.” Loki did not look up as he waved her off and began to look through the file.

“Plant the seed, Tasha. Use the keywords as many times as possible,” Steve said. “And administer the sedative.”

“Yes, thank you, I will do that,” Natasha replied and she hung up the phone. “Mr. Odinson, Miss Sif said that your brother contacted her.” As she suspected Loki's back stiffened at the mention of Thor.

“And why would he do that?” Loki asked carefully.

“Still all clear,” Clint said in her ear.

“Just to remind you that the two of you are due at a family dinner the day after tomorrow. Mr. Odinson wanted to make sure that Miss Sif was invited since it is a family affair.” All of Clint's research (and stalking, depending on who you asked) showed that Loki drank coffee when he was irritated. The mere mention of Thor was enough to irritate him and he eyed the coffee pot across the room. Natasha followed his gaze to the pot. “Do you need a cup, sir?”

“If you don't mind, Miss Rushman,” Loki said, sitting back in his chair. She could feel his eyes watching her as she made the coffee.

“How do you take it, sir?” she asked. Clint had not been able to give her a definite answer as to how Loki took his coffee so the sugar and cream were both spiked.

“Just cream, please,” Loki said as Natasha finished the cup. The cream was spoiled as well and would be a good enough reason to get Loki to leave the office and follow her as the sedative kicked in. She handed him a cup and he took a long drink. His face twisted in distaste and he looked at the coffee. “Someone let the cream spoil again.” He stood, no doubt to go yell at someone, and went to walk pass Natasha. He stumbled once and she reached out to take his arm.

“ Are you all right, sir? You don't look so well,” she said holding him steady. “Let me help you to the restroom.”

“Very well,” Loki grumbled and they walked out into the office.

“Keep an eye out, Tasha, but they don't seem to be interested. When you're two doors away I'm going to make my way over there,” Clint said. Natasha was two doors away from the office and she knew that no one else was watching. Loki was stumbling as they came to the door and no one seemed to notice when she practically carried him into a conference room. Loki was nearly unconscious by the time they got to the conference room and he did not see the faces of anyone else on the team.. As she laid him down Natasha noticed the small smirk on his lips. He looked amused about something, like he was trying so hard to keep from laughing, and it turned her stomach. Clint joined them moments later and Natasha knew he noticed the smirk as soon as he saw Loki. She trusted Clint, and if he said he did not trust Loki then she did not either.

“Are you ready, Clint?” Steve asked as he helped Bruce and Tony with the lines. Thor knelt down next to his brother and smoothed out his suit. Natasha knew that his heart was in the right place but she could not shake the immorality of the entire situation.

“Yes,” Clint replied tersely.

“I'm all set here,” Bruce said. Natasha laid down on the ground and ignored the pinch in her arm from the needle. “Good luck.” Bruce pushed the button and the PASIV rushed to life. Loki was still smirking, even in his sleep, and as the somnacin rushed through his veins Natasha hoped that Clint was going to be wrong just this once.

---

Steve opened his eyes and immediately knew that something was wrong. The apartment building was supposed to be bright and airy but this one resembled a dungeon more than an apartment. Someone had changed the design, and he knew that it was not Clint. His phone rang and he picked up.

“Please tell me I'm alone in the basement for a good reason,” Steve said.

“No,” Natasha said firmly. “Loki is changing the dream somehow. The maze is completely reworked.

“Who are you with?” Steve asked, putting a hand on his weapon.

“Tony and Thor. Do you know where Clint is?” she asked.

“Right here,” Clint called from down the hallway and he jogged to catch up with Steve. There was a gun on his hip and a collapsible bow on his back. Clint had an creative set of quivers for a job like this and liked the simplicity of it for when he needed to be on the front lines. Steve clicked the phone to speaker. “No sign of any projections or Loki. We're completely alone. This is not my maze.”

“I don't know what that jackass did. I've never seen a mark change a level before,” Tony said and he sounded furious.

“Please hold your tongue concerning my brother,” Thor said firmly. “He is many things but he is still my brother.”

“Well your brother might have botched the entire job,” Clint said. “We need to find him and figure out how to swing this our way.”

“Start to look around and get a feel of what we're dealing with. What did Bruce say about this formula? What are our odds of dropping into limbo?”

“He said he was 95% sure that we would not fall into limbo but there was no way of testing it without dropping someone. One of his rats did not wake up with this formula,” Tony said. 95% was a lot better than what Cobb had had when he had done an inception job but it still made Steve's insides twist.

“Natasha, I want you to keep Tony and Thor with you and start to look around. Keep in regular contact and get in touch as soon as you find something,” Steve said.

“Affirmative,” Natasha replied. Steve trusted Tony and Thor with Natasha, who was one of the most capable people he knew, and he hung up. “Don't say it.”

“I wasn't going to,” Clint snapped. He ran his hands through his blond hair and made it stick up in all directions. “I wasn't going to say that I fucking told you so.”

“And there it is,” Steve pulled out his gun and checked his ammo. “Do you want to stick together?”

“When we find the projections, I'm the one they are going to go after. I should be on my own because I have a feeling they are going to be creative,” Clint said. “I can handle myself.”

“I never doubted that,” Steve said.

“No, you just doubted my instincts.” Clint pulled out his gun and checked its ammo. Steve wanted nothing more than to argue that there was no evidence, but it would be pointless now. Something was not right and fighting was just going to agitate Clint more.

“Keep in contact,” Steve said.

“Yes, sir,” Clint said, turning and starting down one of the dark hallways. Steve watched him vanish around the corner. He was not going to let this job fall apart, he was going to fight for it, whatever it took. They could do this, he was sure of it, his team could handle anything. Steve pulled out his gun and began to walk down the hallway. The sinister feeling in the air and the dreary aesthetics of the dream made him wonder what he had gotten his team into.

---

“I do not understand what is happening,” Thor said as they made their way through the dream.

“Of course you wouldn't,” Tony said not even concealing his bitterness. Someone had destroyed his dream, his maze, and he hated it. “You're a tourist and you shouldn't even be here.”

“Mr. Stark, I am your employer--” Thor began but Tony turned on his heels, glaring. Thor had a good six inches on him and could probably break his spine with two fingers but he was not going to be bullied. The dreams were his home, his turf, and no one told Tony Stark what to do.

“Actually, Steve hired me and you hired Steve. I don't need your money, point break, and you certainly don't get to pull that 'employer' bullshit on me.” Tony stood a little taller as something dark crossed Thor's features. Tony briefly wondered if he was going to find out what it was going be like to get decked in a dream but Natasha stepped between them. Natasha was many things but no matter where she was or what she was doing she was a commanding presence.

“Why don't you both keep talking and alert the entire dream that we're here?” she said. “We need to start mapping this area out. Stay close to me and stop arguing or I'll leave you here to fend for yourself.” Considering the fact that they had no idea how Loki had managed to change the dream so drastically, being alone was the last thing Tony wanted. He was not the dreamer but that did not mean that they would not come after him.

“Yes, ma'am,” Tony said without a hint of mocking or irony. Natasha nodded, satisfied, and looked at Thor.

“I apologize, ma'am,” he said also completely serious.

“Good, now let's get going.”

---

Clint was furious. He was not even sure if 'furious' could possibly convey how angry he was. He knew that there had been something was off with Loki, he had tried to warnhis team, but none of them had listened. Natasha had agreed with him but she had not tried to back him up either. It all just made him so angry he could scream. He had his bow in hand with an arrow nocked, ready to put a projection down at a moments notice. In the real world he was a very good archer, but realistically he needed to use a gun. In dreams, however, he was able to indulge in whatever he wanted and that meant that his collapsible bow was something he was able to use. He had two other pistols strapped to his person as well and there was no use in being subtle with ammo either. Loki was on to them, he was sure of it, he just did not know how.

Clint turned a corner and listened. He had not seen anyone yet, had not heard even a sound, and the dream seemed to go on forever. There was no telling how vast this maze was or what would happen if they tried to kick themselves out. He was halfway down the hallway when his keen ears heard someone moving behind a door on his right.

“I have movement,” he said into the comms. Steve started to say something but it faded into static. “Hello? Can anyone hear me?” He was met with nothing but white noise. There was no reason for that unless something was blocking his signal. Clint pulled the bluetooth device off and tossed it to the side, slowly making his way toward the door where he had heard the sound. There was no use in being careful; Clint kicked the metal door open and held his bow out. The room was small with an adjoining door to the side. He took a step inside and someone kicked the bow out of his hand. Clint turned to pull the gun from his hip but a hand wrapped around his neck and slammed him against the metal door hard enough that his teeth rattled.

“Hello, Mr. Barton,” Loki said, smiling with too much teeth, and he squeezed so Clint was gasping for breath. “I think it's time we had a chat.”

---

“Clint? Can you hear me? Natasha?” Steve asked but he was met with static. He thought he had heard Clint say that he had some sort of movement before the entire line went dead. There was no signal on his phone either. He turned a corner and touched the ground. There were boot prints on the ground, boots like the ones that Clint often wore in the dreams, which made no sense since they had gone in opposite directions. “A paradox maybe? Loop in the maze?” There was no one to answer him and Steve made his way through the dirt and dust following the prints. If nothing else, now that they had lost communication, they did not need to be alone.

Steve stopped and picked up a bluetooth device from the ground where Clint must have dropped it. Clint would have never done that unless he thought it was going to be some sort of distraction. Steve followed the boot prints to a door. There was evidence that the door had been kicked in at one point and was now closed again. Clint would not have done that unless he felt threatened and was trying to gain his bearings. Steve kicked the door in with his gun raised but he felt his blood turn to ice as a warm smile greeted him.

“Bucky?”

---

“We've lost all communication,” Natasha said, saying some rather nasty things in Russian. The entire atmosphere of the dream shifted and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Tony and Thor must have felt it too because they both stood up a little straighter. Natasha raised her gun and turned a corner to find a hallway full of projections waiting for her. Men and women of all ages and sizes looked back at her and smiled the same, slick smile that Loki always did. Tony and Thor stared at the mass of people in front of them.

“We need to run,” Tony said.

“Yes,” Natasha said, taking a step back as the projections began to advance. “Run, now!” The pounding of feet told her that the chase was on.

---

Bruce blinked and glanced at his sleeping team members. For half a second he was sure that he had seen Clint flinch. That made no sense because he should have been too deeply asleep. Deciding he must have imagined it, Bruce turned back to his computer that was currently hacked into the security cameras all over the building. The projections seemed fine, moving through their duties, not snapping at each other, everything seemed fine. All he could do now was wait and hope that everything was going well below. He did not usually like going into the dreams, but having spent enough time with Tony, he felt confident in his ability to manipulate the maze to keep himself safe.

Movement in one of the cameras caught his eye and Bruce frowned deeply as he looked at it. Someone was standing in the middle of the lobby looking directly at the camera like he knew he was being watched. Bruce took control the of the camera and zoomed in on the person’s face and felt his eyes widen as the face became clear; it was Bucky. He pointed his finger at the camera like a gun and mouthed 'bang.'

The entire dream seemed to shift, Bruce could feel it, and every single projection in the building stopped what they were doing. Bucky was grinning like he had just won the lottery as all of the projections turned and looked at the cameras, looking at Bruce, and he knew they were coming.

Bruce triggered the lock down in the building, bolted the door shut and began to set up every trap he knew. Behind him, Clint flinched again.

---

If Clint was honest with himself, he was annoyed that Loki had gotten the drop on him. There were not many people that could do that in a dream or in reality, and the fact that this rich brat had done it annoyed him. The only way someone could have moved that fast in a dream was if that someone knew that physics did not apply here. Someone that was not just militarized but trained. There was a knife to his throat and if he so much as swallowed it would slice him open.

“I knew there was something off about you,” Clint sneered. Loki grinned and pulled Clint's gun out of his hostler, pressing the barrel against his temple. Clint made a mental note that the safety was on, but Loki obviously did not believe in trigger discipline.

“Let's not get snippy, Mr. Barton,” Loki said, pressing the knife in a little closer so that Clint had to try and become one with the wall so he did not kill himself. “We need to have a chat after all.”

“I have nothing to say,” Clint said.

“I was worried you were going to say that,” Loki said but he did not look worried at all. Instead he smashed the butt of the gun into Clint's forehead so hard that he briefly wondered if he was going get knocked out and the entire dream would collapse. He stumbled as pain exploded in his head and blood began to run into his eye. “This is the second time you've been in my mind and I want to know why.” Loki held the gun up and clicked the safety off.

“I knew that extraction was too perfect,” Clint mumbled, unable to stand from the swimming in his head; Loki packed a punch.

“I knew from the moment I walked into that restaurant, but I had a little help, too,” Loki replied. “But we're not talking about that. I want to know why you're here.”

“And I said I have nothing to say.” Clint barely finished his statement before a hard kick to his ribs made it hard to breathe. He coughed and he could feel the grinding that came from broken ribs, like every gasp of breath made it hurt more, and he hated the groan of pain that escaped from his lips.

“I can do this forever, Mr. Barton, but I'll shoot you awake if you tell me what my brother is trying to steal from me. Tell me what is so important that he is trying to perform two extractions on me. Tell me why he is trying to write me off.” Loki was screaming now, waving his gun, eyes so wide Clint could see the white around them. When he did not answer fast enough Loki kicked him again and he tasted blood. When he smiled, Clint knew his teeth were red because Loki did not know about the inception.

---

Steve felt the dream shake as he stared at Bucky. His friend was wearing the same clothes he had worn the day he died, but there was no blood and all of his bones were in place. Just the sight of him made Steve's stomach clench into a tight knot. There was no furniture in the room save for the small chair that Bucky was standing next to.

“Why is the dream shaking?” Steve asked, but Bucky smiled, walking toward him. He looked so real and Steve wanted nothing more than to close his eyes because his heart could barely stand the sight of him.

“Don't worry about that,” Bucky said, taking Steve's hand and pulling him further into the room. The gun that was in his hand was abandoned on the floor near the entrance, removed by swift hands that had once stolen them money for food. “I know you, Steve, I know you better than anyone, and I know you want to know why I'm here.”

“I followed Clint's prints here and I want to know where he is,” Steve said. There was another door connecting this small room to the next but he could hear nothing over the pounding of his own heart.

“I have a better question.” Bucky led Steve toward the chair and pushed him down into it. “How about how much you're trying to absolve yourself of guilt for my death that supposedly was just an accident?"

“Your death was an accident,” Steve said firmly, but he was not sure who he was trying to convince.

“If that was the case, I wouldn't have become a shade. I would have just wandered in your subconscious, popped up every now and then, but you're beating yourself up over it.” Bucky touched Steve's shoulder where the bullet had pierced him. “You hate yourself for letting go.”

“You know I do,” Steve whispered and he did not fight it when Bucky climbed into his lap, at the warm press of the body he knew so well, because he was right.

“And I'm still here because you won't let me go again,” Bucky said, running his fingers through Steve's hair and tugging at the small one's at the back of his neck just the way he knew Steve liked it, because this was Bucky and he knew everything there was to know about him. “I don't want you to ever let me go again.” Bucky kissed him and Steve lost himself in that touch, that talented tongue, and when the dream shook he only fleetingly thought about how Clint was usually so stable.

---

Natasha kicked the teeth of a an old lady in and shot her in the head. She did not flinch because she knew this was a dream, that the blood on her hands was not real; none of those things were making her stomach drop. The dream had shaken and that made no sense. Clint was a sniper and had learned years ago how to stand still in a way that most people could not understand. The reason he had the second level was because things could get dangerous and he was the most competent to keep it all together. She glanced at Tony and he nodded because he understood; if the dream felt unstable then there was something wrong with Clint.

“They are trying to keep us away from that hallway,” Thor said, nodding down a projection filled hallway to their left. “They have consistently tried to back us away from that hall, I am sure of it.”

“Are you absolutely certain of that?” Natasha asked over the gunfire, and the man nodded.

“I know when someone is trying to back me into a corner. We must go that way immediately,” Thor replied. Tony clearly wanted to argue but they could not just stand there and do nothing. The dream was unstable which meant that something was happening to Clint to make him nearly black out. The entire thing would fall down on their heads if he died and possibly drop them all into limbo.

“Lead the way. I'll provide back up,” Natasha said. Thor grinned and pulled a hammer out of nowhere as he began to bludgeon projections with it. Tony laughed like it was the funniest thing ever, and Natasha could only think about how Clint was right: he did do much better when smashing things with a blunt object.

---

Bruce loved traps and tricks but there was only so much they could do against the horde of projections. He was not eager to do so but there were lines of explosives around most of the building. Setting them off, however, could be dangerous to the dreamers under his care. If anything happened to them here they would only die slowly in the dream or fall into limbo. He could not risk any of that because despite his formula and his calculations there was still the chance that they would never wake up. Not to mention there was no way he could wait the dream out now because the projections would get through and tear them all to pieces.

He glanced over his shoulder, folded his hands and tried to buy them some more time before potentially blowing them all straight to hell.

---

Clint could barely see straight. If he died here, the entire thing would fall apart and he would send all of his friends to limbo, but there was only so much abuse he could take. His body was bruised and broken, Loki relentless as he grilled Clint over and over again about why Thor had ordered two extractions. The fact that he knew it was a dream was bad but the fact that he had not guessed they were planning an inception amused Clint more than he could possibly say. He spit blood onto the cold floor and tried to ignore the ache in his bones. None of it was real, he knew that, but it still hurt so much.

“Do you know how I knew about the extraction?” Loki asked, kneeling next to Clint and smirking. “That phone call before I walked into that restaurant with the person mocking Sif to my face. A young man phoned me and told me that it was a dream, and I told him I already knew that. Then he told me your names, where you live so I could find you topside, that my idiotic brother hired you, told me oh so much. Said he used to run with you all, a James Barnes?” Clint had to bite down on his tongue to keep from saying anything because of course it was Steve's shade that had ruined this. “Your friend, Steve, he cares about you, right?”

“Not enough to take my advice and get us the hell out of dodge the second I saw you,” Clint said through his teeth. Loki took his chin in hand and forced Clint to look at him.

“He's in the room right next door with Mr. Barnes as we speak. Your dream is shaking so he must know something is wrong, and he knows you're close because he followed your bootprints here, but he would rather be with his lover than look for you.” Clint spit blood into Loki's face and the kick he received made spots form in front of his eyes. Loki stood up and circled Clint again. He was going to die and possibly send them all to limbo but if he had to spend an eternity with these people he was grateful he would be able to use it to teach Loki a lesson.

---

Steve knew somewhere in the back of his mind that this was not Bucky, that this was not real, and that he was two levels down in the mind of someone that was probably unstable but he could not pull away. He knew he should snap Bucky's neck and not frame his face with his hands. He should get his gun and shoot Bucky, not pull him tight against his body. He wanted this so badly, so much, that nothing else seemed to matter.

“Let me protect you,” Bucky whispered against his mouth. “I can make them all go away so it's just us again but you need to let me help you.” It was tempting, it was so tempting, and he was moments from giving an answer when Bucky's back stiffened. Steve thought he heard movement and the door was kicked open by Natasha. She took one look at them and her eyes widened. “Do you mind? The room next door is being occupied but the rest should be clear.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Steve asked.

“You didn't notice? I mean, he's been right next door the entire time.” Bucky smiled,a sinister smile unlike anything Steve had ever seen on him, and it felt like someone had dropped a ton of lead in his stomach. “I wonder if you were quick enough to get to him this time, Tas--” Natasha did not give the projection (projection, projection, that was a projection) time to finish his thought as she pulled the trigger. Thor, holding a giant hammer that made no sense at all, kicked the other door down and froze. Steve was on his feet in seconds and if he had any food in his stomach he might have lost it. Loki was standing over a beaten and bloodied Clint, smiling like this was the best day of his life, gun in hand.

“Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive,” Loki said. “And my brother tagged along for the ride. Now I can get my answers from the source. Why are--” Loki's speech was cut short when a dart hit his neck and he dropped to the floor in seconds. Steve turned and saw Tony putting away his tranquilizer gun.

“What? I didn't want to hear his villain rant. This is not the time,” Tony snapped as he closed the door leading into the rooms and bolted them shut. Natasha dropped to her knees and began to look Clint's body over to see how bad the damage was. Steve could not believe he had let a projection distract him when all of this was happening mere feet away from him.

“He knows,” Clint said.

“What does he know?” Natasha asked softly.

“Everything that matters. He knows our names, where we live; he's going to come after us in the real world. He knows about dreaming, he knows that we performed an extraction on him,” Clint replied and he swallowed. “He knows our weaknesses.” Clint only glanced at Steve for a second but he knew that it was directed at him. Loki had made sure that Steve was the one that Bucky found because he knew that Steve could not kill him.

“I promise you, nothing will happen. You have my protection, you are all under my protection, nothing will happen, I swear it,” Thor said but Tony waved him off.

“You can't make promises like that,” Tony said before he turned to Steve. “You want to explain why you were macking on Bucky while all of this was going down?”

“It doesn't matter,” Natasha said before Steve could even begin to defend himself, not that he had any excuses. “The job is lost. We should try to kick ourselves out of here and hope we don't fall into limbo. We failed.” An uncomfortable silence fell as Natasha ran her long fingers through Clint's hair and tried to soothe his wounds.

“Maybe not,” Steve said and they all looked at him.

“He knows that he's dreaming,” Clint said.

“Maybe we can use that to our advantage. Make him think that he woke up. Go to him as ourselves and not anything else. If we go down a level and show him that Thor did all of this because he cares maybe he won't come after us.”

“He thinks Thor is trying to cut him out, steal from him,” Clint rasped. “He told me as much himself. He does not know that this is an attempt at inception.” A million ideas whirled through Steve's head as he tried to put it all together.

“Natasha, I need you to forge as Clint. If he sees Clint perfectly healthy then he'll assume he woke up. Tony, I need you to contort the dream to as much of a replica of Thor's apartment as you can. I know your eye for detail and I know you can do it. He'll know how he got there so he'll assume he woke up. Then we find some way of convincing him that we aren't here to hurt him, that this was done with the best of intentions, even if it isn't the best way of doing it.” Steve chose to ignore Tony's scoff at that because it was not important. “If he forgives Thor he won't come after the rest of us. Only a professional would remember what happened three levels down, there is a good chance you won't remember,” Steve gestured to Thor who shrugged, “but it might be the only shot we have.”

“Loki's anger is directed at me.You are just things linked to that anger,” Thor said.

“Who will guard this level then?” Natasha asked. “You need me, Tony is the dreamer, you need to be there because you need to plant this crazy idea, and it won't work without Thor there.”

“I can do it,” Clint said as he pushed himself to his feet. A smart person would have pointed out that no, he couldn't, there was no way, and Natasha looked ready to do just that but he looked straight at Steve. “I can do it,” he repeated. Steve nodded and dreamed a PASIV into the room with them. They could not change the maze but at least they could do this. Natasha was whispering to Clint and he could not understand the words. Steve lay down as Tony began to set up his line.

“I hope you know what you're doing,” Tony mumbled and Steve could not hide the bitter laugh that followed.

“So do I but it's the only shot we have,” Steve replied. Tony finished setting up the PASIV and Clint knelt down next to the machine. “Hold them off until we get back and kick us out if it looks like it's all going to hell. I believe in you.” Through the blood and the bruises Steve saw that cocky grin he knew all too well.

“As you should. Don't have too much fun without me.” Clint hit the button and the world faded away for the third time.

---

Steve blinked and realized that he was far too thankful that he was standing in what looked like a perfect replica of Thor's apartment. Tony's attention to detail was second to none but that did not mean that Loki would not notice. Thor was also not the best actor but he really could not think of anything else that they could do. The sight of Clint was horrifying for a moment until he nodded a certain way that was so un-Clint like that Steve knew it was Natasha. The layout was exactly like the room actually was save for the absence of Bruce and the actual Clint. Steve hoped that Loki would believe that this was reality. He was asleep, still hooked up to an inactive PASIV.

“Whatever happens, just go with it,” Steve said. He wanted to tell them that he had a plan and it was going to be fine, but really he was just going to gauge how Loki reacted in the real world. If he was unhinged in reality as he had been in the dream he was not sure how extreme Steve was going to go. Everyone nodded because they seemed to think he knew what he was doing. Loki was beginning to stir and Steve kept a hand on his gun. Tony looked a little distant but he must have been tweaking the dream. It was going to make Loki's projections catch on. Loki blinked and looked at them.

“I knew it,” he hissed through his teeth. He was so angry that he was almost vibrating but he gave no indication that he knew this was still a dream. Three levels down could throw off the most seasoned dreamers but his team looked grounded. “I knew you were trying to steal from me.”

“The plan has changed, Mr. Odinson,” Steve said, keeping his voice even. “I was told by my associate that you know us.”

“I won’t let any of you get away with this, especially you, brother.” Loki spit out the word 'brother' like it offended him. Steve looked at them all and shrugged. He turned and pointed his gun at Thor and Loki's face fell. Thor looked taken back but he put his hands up slowly. “What is this? He hired you.”

“Yes, and I said the plan has changed,” Steve replied and he gestured to Natasha. She moved across the room as Clint, a flawless forge, and pointed a gun at Loki.

“Now, now, don't do that. I felt everything you did to me, you son of a bitch, but anything I do to you right now won't go away,” Natasha snapped. It was eerie because it was exactly the thing that Clint would say. The muscle in Loki's jaw twitched and it looked like he was holding something back.

“What did he hire you to steal?” Loki asked through his teeth.

“I was not trying to steal from you brother,” Thor said softly. “I just wanted to know why you were trying to cut me out of your life.”

“You're lying,” Loki snapped.

“He's not,” Steve confirmed. “And we did find the information. We know about your adoption and your plan to leave.”

“How boring,” Tony said, speaking for the first time. He looked pleased with himself and Steve almost wished he could see the work that Tony had just put into the level. Loki thought it was reality so his subconscious had not quite caught on yet but it would.

“We got the information, but you decided to try and hunt us down which we can't let happen,” Natasha said, cocking her gun for dramatic effect despite the fact that it was not needed. It was the right move because Loki paled considerably. “I was taught to get rid of the evidence and you're evidence.” Steve was not sure who was talking right now because it could have been either of them.

“Easy, Clint,” Steve said. “We'll make a deal here. You drop this vendetta against your brother and us and we'll let you both walk away from here. I don't think I need to say what will happen if we don't.” Thor looked up at Steve but said nothing. Steve was not sure what was going to happen because he could not shoot Thor without the risk of dropping him into limbo.

“I won't let this pass and you won't shoot either of us,” Loki said but he did not sound too confident.

“Are you willing to put your brother’s life on the line?” Steve said, moving his finger to the trigger and clicking the safety off.

“He's not my brother,” Loki said and Thor looked hurt in a way that was not acting. Steve hoped he was not losing his grip on reality and that he remembered that this was a dream.

“Blood does not matter. You will always be my brother no matter what happens. I hope someday you can forgive me for this act of violation. I will not try to justify myself to you because the only excuse I have is that I would do anything not to lose you.” The apology felt real and Steve wished that Loki would remember the entirety of it. He also hoped Thor would do it again in person.

“Last chance,” Steve warned. He glanced at Loki but then back to Thor. He saw Loki look at the ground and say nothing. Thor closed his eyes and nodded because there was no way around this. Steve knew that as well because threats would not work on someone like Loki. Thor knew the risks and he had nodded nevertheless. Steve pulled the trigger and Thor dropped to the ground,blood seeping from the head wound. Loki's head snapped up, his eyes wide like he could not believe what was happening.

---

Clint could feel his broken ribs grinding against each other as he fired shot after shot at the projections but they just kept coming. They were trying to corner him in the room with the others and it was working better than he wanted it to. He threw a grenade out and closed the door, bracing against it. The hiss of the PASIV was the only sound for a moment as the projections regrouped. He looked toward the team and tried to resist the urge to kick Loki's teeth in for using him like a human punching bag.

Thor gasped awake and Clint would admit to no one (well, he would probably tell Natasha, but she didn't count) that he let out an extremely manly yell of surprise. The man glanced around as if he could not believe what had just happened and wincing like something hurt Clint was about to ask what had happened because someone only got that look when they had just woken up in an extremely unpleasant way when someone slammed against the door. Thor looked up and scrambled over to help Clint hold the door shut. Projections would find a way to get through the steel door if it was the last thing they did.

“What happened?” Clint asked, breathless and wishing he could just lie down.

“I think Steve has a plan,” Thor replied. Clint did not say that Steve always had a plan but that did not mean it was a good one, because it would have been unhelpful and he needed Thor to help him keep the door closed but it was a close thing.

---

Bruce set off the explosions and felt the building rock. They were running out of time because the explosions were the last line of defense. He had some guns but Bruce had never been that great with them. He loaded up a rifle and put himself between the door and his team. He glanced over his shoulder and tried to will all of them to wake up.

---

Steve glanced at Natasha and she nodded slightly. He trusted her and told Tony to guard Loki as she ran out of the room,saying that she needed to do crowd control against anyone who could have heard the shot. Loki did not seem to care much as he crawled over to the body of Thor and looked down at him. There was no doubt in his mind that Loki thought they were in reality now and that he had just lost his brother. Steve knew that look in Loki's eyes, what it felt like to lose someone that you cared about more than anything, and he would not wish it on anyone.

“His blood is on your hands,” Steve said because he knew that feeling, what it felt like to have blood on your hands that would never go away. Steve tried to compose himself because this was a dream, he knew that, but he also knew that look and how much it hurt.

“I heard gunshots!” a voice called from the room where Natasha had gone. “Loki! Thor! Where are you?” Moments later Sif burst through the door and Steve loved Natasha's instincts more than anything right now because that was perfect. She raced over to Loki and fell to her knees. “Loki, what happened?”

“I didn't—” Loki stammered still floored by the sight of Thor.

“Yes, you did,” Tony said walking around them and keeping a gun on Loki. “Tell her what you did.”

“Loki?” Natasha asked, tears in her eyes as Sif. “He's your brother. You love him, and he loves you. What did you do?”

“He's not my brother,” Loki whispered.

“Of course he is!” Natasha was practically screaming. “He would move the world for you and you know it. He's your brother and he loves you.” Loki looked down at Thor and said nothing. Steve was about to add something, to tell him about how this guilt was never going to fade, but the dream tilted and the dream crumbled.

---

Steve blinked awake to see Thor already on the ground a bullet hole between his eyes and Clint barely holding the door closed. Their eyes met as hands clawed at Clint. Without a moments hesitation Clint fired and the last thing Steve saw were people starting to drag Clint to the ground.

---

Steve opened his eyes and looked around. Natasha was leaning over Clint who was still asleep but he gasped awake moments later. He looked a little green and Steve did not want to think about how Clint must have been kicked out of the dream. Everyone else was awake and Bruce was staring at them with wide eyes.

“I'll explain later. Right now we need to get out of here,” Steve said.

“Right away,” Bruce said, pushing a button as a painless toxic gas began to fill the room. It made him sleepy and it was the most painless way Bruce had come up with to wake everyone up. As he collapsed to the ground Steve closed his eyes tight against the sight of his friends dying.

---

Steve eyed his coffee with distaste. It was not that he disliked the beverage but it felt like it was going to replace his blood if he did this any longer. He watched the people walking on the sidewalk for a moment

. It was peaceful and it eased some of the tension from his shoulders. After nearly ten minutes of watching people walk by Steve felt more relaxed than he had in a long time. He barely noticed someone sitting down at the table with him but he looked across without worry.

“Hey, Bucky,” Steve said.

“You're such a cliché with the cafe and perfect spring weather,” Bucky said with a grin. “Couldn't you dream up a better place for us to meet? Maybe something historical. I've always wondered how I'd do in a World War II dream.”

“We won't be meeting again,” Steve said, and it hurt to watch the way Bucky's grin fell from his face.

“Of course we will. You're not going to let me go again so we'll always see each other,” Bucky said.

“Actually I think I should let you go this time, Buck.” Steve folded his hands on the table and stared at the man he loved and missed more than anything. “It was an accident and I think it's time I accepted that. I didn't let you go on purpose soI have nothing to feel guilty about, and you will eventually fade away.”

“You love me,” Bucky said angrily. “You lusted after me for years and you could barely let me out of your sight when you finally got me. What makes you think you can get rid of me that easily?”

“I don't.” Steve shrugged and Bucky recoiled like he had been slapped. “I don't expect that I'll ever get rid of you because I'll never forget you and I don't think I want to. I just hope you become like the real Bucky now that the guilt has gone away. You're part of me, literally and figuratively, and I accept that now.” Steve pushed himself to his feet and leaned down pressing his lips to Bucky's forehead. “I'm sorry that I dropped you but I can't taint your memory anymore by twisting you into something this ugly in my head.”

“What if I've always been this ugly? What if I was always capable of selling you out?” Bucky asked, his eyes fixated on the table. His fists were white knuckle tight and Steve knew that his nails were biting into his palms.

“You weren't.” Steve turned his back on the projection and knew this was not going to be the last time he was going to see Bucky. He felt lighter though and he knew that was not the poison that he had put in his coffee kicking in. He stumbled and fell to the sidewalk. Projections walked around him like he was not there. As the world began to fade Steve felt hands on his cheeks and cool lips on his.

“I love you,” a voice that was barely there whispered and the dream faded.

---

Steve blinked awake and stared at the ceiling of Bruce's lab in Stark Tower. It had only been five minutes in the real world and less than twenty four hours since the job. Everyone was finished with the clean up and Thor was going to confront Loki soon. The man had vanished not long after Thor had returned from being debriefed at Stark Tower. Steve sat up slowly and realized that his cheeks were wet. It had been a long time since he had cried during a dream and when he looked over at Bruce he knew that Bruce was not going to ask why. They all had demons in their subconscious, shadows lurking in the corners, and they were not topics of conversation one brought up easily. Instead Bruce smiled slightly and removed the line to his PASIV.

“You all right?” he asked.

“I will be,” Steve replied honestly. Bruce nodded and helped him to his feet. They both walked out of the lab and into the living room. Pepper, Thor and Tony were all talking to each other quietly but there were easy smiles on their faces. Clint and Natasha were talking as well but they both fell silent when Steve entered the room. Tony looked like he wanted to ask about the dream but Pepper pinched his arm when he opened his mouth.

“Thank you for all of your hard work,” Thor said after a moment of silence. He had admitted that there were flashes from the third dream and moments from the second that he remembered but not all of it. Steve wanted to tell him to apologize to Loki, to try and work something out, but he could not fix the real world. “You all have an ally with me. Feel free to come to me any time you need any help.”

“Are you sure that's the best idea?” Steve blurted out without thinking about how rude that was.

“Yes, I am,” Thor said and he offered Steve a hand which he took carefully. He did not entirely trust this new alliance but having someone to fall back on would be a good thing. Thor went to every member of the team and thanked them personally. He looked like he wanted to say something else to Clint but kept it to himself. “I look forward to doing business with you all again. The money will be in your accounts in an hour. Thank you.” Thor walked into the elevator and the doors closed.

“I should get going,” Bruce said carefully. “Betty is threatening to do things with restraints that do not sound fun.”

“Keep in touch and remember the top floors of this tower are all R&D if you ever need somewhere to play,” Tony said, grinning. Bruce nodded and they all exchanged handshakes and hugs. Bruce could make a fortune with his new formula but Steve had a feeling he would not send it off without a 100% return rate. They were lucky no one had dropped into limbo but Bruce would not forgive himself if it failed.

“Steve,” Clint said. They had not spoken much since waking up from the dream and Steve had not asked when he woke up to the sound of Clint screaming. He could only imagine what kind of memories Loki's torment in the dream must have unlocked and Steve could not make himself ask. “I've decided to work with Natasha for a while.”

“I understand,” Steve replied because Clint did not trust him right now and if they needed time apart then he was more than willing to give it.

“You're going to be lost without me,” Clint said with an easy smile that Steve knew all too well. It was going to take time but he knew that Clint was going to forgive him someday.

“Of course I will but I'll manage until then.” Steve offered a hand which Clint took and they shook tightly. They were going to be okay.

“I'll see you around,” Clint said as he turned to Pepper and Tony. “Pepper, keep that asshole in line. And Tony? Your security might have some weird loophole in it.”

“Really. Would this be a loophole that is going to have your fingerprints all over it?” Tony said but there was a small grin on his lips. Clint smiled to himself as he caught the elevator.

“I can neither confirm or deny that statement,” he called out and the door closed. Tony muttered something under his breath as Natasha stood up. She strolled up to Steve and smiled softly. It was a private smile, one usually reserved for Clint, and Steve had only seen it once before.

“He'll come around,” she said. “And when he does we'll find you.”

“Whether I want to be found or not,” Steve said with a smile. Natasha laughed softly and said her goodbyes to Tony and Pepper.

“You sure you don't want to stick around, big guy?” Tony asked.

“No, I need to get back out into the real world. This luxury living just doesn't suit me,” Steve replied.

“Suit yourself,” Tony said, shrugging but he looked uneasy. Pepper elbowed him and he glared at her which she matched and then some. “Fine. Look, Steve, I know I've gone legit and all but.” Tony paused and Pepper elbowed him harder. “If you need someone for a job you should give me a call. I won't ignore you or threaten to have security haul you off this time.”

“I will, Tony, thank you,” Steve said. Pepper hugged him tightly and Tony refused his handshake for a much more casual fist bump and one armed hug. Steve walked into the elevator and listened to the hum of the gears as it slowly made its way down the ground. New York was warm and crowded and it was easy to fall into step. Steve vanished into the crowd as if he had never been there.

---

Thor pushed the door to his apartment open and was surprised to find Loki sitting on his couch. Since the attempted inception Loki had not been seen or heard from. Thor had promised his protection to the people he had hired and had listened carefully when Steve told him that inception was not a perfect science so there was a good chance it had not worked. The job had been a mess and there was a darkness to his brother that Thor was only now beginning to see. That did not mean he was not elated to see Loki sitting on his couch as if waiting for him.

“Brother, I can explain everything--” Thor began, determined to tell Loki as much as he could without giving his team away.

“I know what you were trying to do,” Loki said, holding up a hand. Thor stopped halfway to his brother and watched as he stood. “I feel like I should be yell at you and tell you that you should have come to me but we both know I would have lied. I was ashamed of my parents, the type of people they were and the things they did ,and I did not think you would see me as a brother anymore.”

“Your bloodline means nothing to me.” Thor took a few steps further and stopped so he was standing close but not too close to Loki. “You are my brother, and some piece of paper is not going to change that. I'm sorry I went about trying to keep from losing you so poorly.” “And I apologize for leaving you no other choice.” Loki smiled and Thor pulled his brother into a tight hug. The inception had taken, his brother had forgiven him, and he was not going to lose his family. Loki hugged his brother back and smirked to himself.