-EPILOGUE-

Nicholas J. Fury strode down the hallways of SHIELD HQ with the air of a man who had already had a long day at work and was angry at the world in general for forcing him to endure another few hours. Nervous interns scattered out of his way, but he didn't pay them any attention. He had a meeting to get to, and he wasn't particularly looking forward to it.

He ran over Hill's new information in his head as he walked. Those Maximoff twins were going to be trouble if they weren't located soon. And Hill had also told him she had suspicions that Stark and Banner were working on a new project, and judging by the fact that they hadn't told anyone else on the team (which may be typical of Stark, but Banner at least was usually more responsible), it was probably something incredibly stupid. Just another problem to add to the list.

When Fury reached his office, the person he was meeting was already waiting outside. Barnes was as eerily still as always, though his face had filled out and lost some of that icy, starved look HYDRA liked to instill in their agents.

Barnes stood up straight when he noticed Fury, arms settling behind his back. "Sir."

Perfect military attention, indicating deference to authority. Black, easy-to-move-around-in clothing, likely borrowed from Rogers. No visible weapon holsters, though Fury doubted the Winter Soldier would ever go anywhere without at least one or maybe ten assorted guns and knives - perhaps Barnes was concerned that SHIELD might still consider him a threat?

These were all things Fury noted as he looked Barnes over.

It had been only two weeks since he had last met with Barnes, the Captain, Romanoff, Barton and Stark after their mission. Well, Stark hadn't actually had any part in it, but he was making a habit of barging in on private military affairs, apparently.

Still, just half a month later and Barnes looked better, at least on the outside.

Fury opened the door to his office and gestured inside. "Have a seat, Barnes."

"Yes, sir."

Fury sat down at the other side of the desk and steepled his fingers together. "So. You're probably wondering why I asked to meet with you."

Barnes said nothing.

"Well, the truth is I still don't entirely trust you. I know your Captain seems to think you've reverted back to your usual Bambi self or whatever, and it's true that you helped successfully complete a mission. But until I get some more hard proof, you're going to continue to be under surveillance, just so I can breathe easier."

Barnes nodded. Fury took this as a sign to continue. "That being said, you have the potential to be a valuable asset. And if you want to prove yourself, actions speak louder than words. I see no reason why we can't use you." He paused and glanced at Barnes, analyzing whether his callousness provoked any response other than blankness. An eyebrow twitched slightly, but that was it.

Fury studied him for a bit in silence. His arm was gleaming and fully functional, thanks to Stark technology (despite Barnes' admission to literally murdering Stark's parents, after three days of sulking and contemplating elaborate revenge plots, Stark finally just made some flippant remark about Star Wars and dragged Barnes off to his lab to tinker with his arm). Despite Stark's adjustments, however, that bright crimson star remained gleaming on Barnes' bicep. Why hadn't it been removed? Perhaps Barnes still felt a lingering connection to Mother Russia. Fury mentally filed that information away for later.

Rogers had said they had made progress with Barnes' psychological problems, as well. Something about dissolving mind blocks. Fury didn't care; he hadn't even bothered to read the medical report. He could see the truth in front of him now. Barnes' eyes, such a bright and icy blue, should have glimmered with vivacity, but instead there was a vague deadness to them, the kind that was hard to see unless you looked closely.

Barnes had a darkness in him, a twisted yet deeply ingrained streak of self-loathing and sadism, and unlike the Captain, Fury recognized this for it what it was. He had seen it before. This quality, combined with Barnes' instinct to follow orders, would make him easy to exploit.

Fury liked that. There were already too many wild cards on his watch.

Finally, after the silence had stretched on uncomfortably long (Fury often used this as an intimidation tactic, but Barnes, once again, seemed unaffected), Fury cleared his throat. "I know you've done things in your past that you regret. We all have. Just look at Romanoff, for one. And I'm guessing that right now, the thing you want most in the world is to make up for it, to show Rogers that you're the same man he knew back in Brooklyn. To wipe the red from your ledger, so to speak. Well, I'm gonna offer you an opportunity to do just that."

Fury leaned forward. "How would you like to officially join the good guys, soldier?"

Barnes looked up, his eyes flickering with an indecipherable emotion. "Sir?"

Fury smiled.

"What do you know about the Avengers Initiative?"

-FIN-

Okay, first things first - I'm SO SORRY for not updating in literally forever. I had planned to have this completed before AoU, but life got in the way, and I've been so busy I completely forgot about this little fic. Then one day I logged onto FFnet, saw this was still unfinished, had a low-key panic attack, and speed-wrote a brief epilogue to wrap everything up in a nice little bow.

If you made it all the way to the end, thank you so much for your support. This was my first fanfic I ever wrote, actually, and I was so amazed by everyone's response. I know I still have a long way to go to improve my writing, but this was a fun little project and if even just one person enjoyed it, that would make my day.

tldr: I love all of you! thanks for sticking with my lame story till the end of the line :)