The gym was old. With dim electric lights and a high ceiling and concrete pillars holding it up. The paint was peeling and the boxing ring in the corner was dusty. It looked like it hadn't changed in half a century, which was just like Basil and Steve liked it. The blonde man stood in the middle of the floor. A leather punching bag full of sand in front of him. The sounds of his fists hitting the bag echoed round the windowless room. Thud, thud, thud. Basil was lying on his stomach on the floor, feet kicking as he tapped at the Stark touch screen phone in his hands. He poked at it with one finger, squinting at the screen but also looking slightly nervous, as if the phone was going for turn sentient and eat him. (You never know with Stark technology. Both men had learnt that with Howard Stark. They had no idea what his son was like).

"Hey Steve", Basil called. Steve grunted, barely stopping his repetitive punching. "According to this Wikipedia thing, I am a historical Lgbt icon. My brother gave my letters to that exhibit they have of you in the museum. Apparently my, I quote, 'love affair' with Bucky is well known and famous". He scrolled down the phone a bit more. Shield had given him the item but it had been Phillip who had taught him how to use it. Actually it had been Phillip who had tried to catch him up on what he had missed over the last sixty six years. It had been kinda mind boggling but Basil believed his brother more than he did any shield agent. Still, he didn't trust most modern technology as far as he could throw it.

He frowned as he read the next part aloud. "The tragic love between Sargent James Buchanan Barnes and Corporal Jahi Basilton Parrish is just one example of the hopelessness and alienation of lgbtq people that was experienced. They really were the Achilles and Patroclus of that generation". He turned to give Steve a confused stare. "Achilles and Patroclus, really? Does that make Bucky Patroclus then? Or am I because I'm the medic? I cannot believe that they compared us to them. I mean. They make us seem so beautiful and romantic like Romeo and Juliet but our relationship was literally me whining until I got on Bucky's nerves. Wait, there's a link to a thing called tumblr, I'm going to click it".

There was a short silence. Steve's fists pounding agains the bag. Then Basil's eyes widened. "Oh fucking hell!" He yelped, rearing back and dropping the phone. He rubbed his fists into his eyes as if to remove what he had just seen. "The internet is a cursed place Steve", he whispered in horror. "I'm scared".

"Serves you right", Steve snorted. Basil glared at him grumpily. His curls had grown slightly from the short army cut he'd had when they had come out of the ice. They bounced slightly as he moved.

"They had art of us having sex", Basil whimpered, pressing his hands to his face. "I'm no virgin but oh god, the positions! Also, why am I top? I'm too lazy to do all that work". He wrinkled his nose at the phone.

"Basil. I really don't want to know about your and Bucky's sex life", Steve grumbled, punches increasing in speed.

"We didn't have much of one. It's quite hard to have one at all when you are surrounded by other people twenty four seven", Basil muttered as he picked up his phone. He peered at it again. "Aww okay that art is actually adorable. They gave us flowers".

With a loud crack the rope holding the bag onto the hook ripped. It flew across the room right towards where Basil was sitting. He looked up and the bag passed right through him and hit the wall behind with a thud before sliding to the floor. A hole in the leather was leaking sand. Basil huffed at it. "I swear you aimed that at me on purpose", he called. "Are you done yet?"

"Now why would I do that?" Steve called back as he walked to the other side of the room where five more punching bags lay on the floor. He picked one up and carried it back over to hook it on the chain. His blonde hair was damp from sweat and his white tshirt had dark stains on it. He was wearing beige sweat pants (weird name) and a pair of basic white trainers. Basil wasn't dressed much differently except that his sweatpants were navy and his trainers were black. His tshirt didn't cling to his chest like Steve's, instead it was way too big for him.

"Hey Steve, listen to this. 'Since it is pride month I just want to shout out to my favourite historical icon Basil Parrish. A queer man of colour who fought alongside our national hero captain America. He inspired me to be the person I am today'. Aww that's cute. Maybe I should make a tumblr account".

"Modernity has corrupted you Parrish", Steve grunted as he resumed punching the new bag.

"Honestly, I feel like this is all one convoluted fever dream. It's probably why I'm so chill. I'm sure it will sink in at some point", Basil sighed. There was the sound of a door opening and he turned to watch as Nick fury entered.

"Trouble sleeping?" The dark man asked. He was dressed once again in his long leather coat and black clothes. Basil glanced at the little clock on his phone. (These things told the time and calculated numbers and found articles. What couldn't they do?) It was Four fifteen in the morning.

Steve barely glanced up as he kept punching. "Slept for seventy years sir. I think I've had my fill".

"Then you two should be out celebrating, seeing the world". Basil pushed himself to his feet as Fury approached, tucking his phone into his pocket. Steve looked up from his punching bag, panting. He turned and walked over to the old boxing ring as he began unwinding the bandages from his knuckles. Basil followed him and stood at his side as he spoke.

"When we went under the world was at war. When I wake up they say we won. They didn't say what we lost".

"This world is alien", Basil murmured. "It's too much, too loud, too bright. I went into the ice hoping to die. And now I, out I'm expected to live in a world completely foreign to me?" He sighed with a shake of his head. "The only reason I haven't gone back to the artic to freeze myself again is because I promised my brother I wouldn't abandon him twice. Also I have to keep an eye on this star spangled idiot"-

"Hey", Steve protested with a slight amused grin.

"-out of a favour to someone I loved. So tell us why you're really here".

Nick Fury looked at them both with his one eye as if he was sizing them up. "I'm here with a mission".

"Trying to get us back into the world?" Steve remarked as he stuffed the bandages into his gym bag.

"Trying to save it". Fury held out a file and Steve took it. He sat down, Basil peering over his shoulder as he flipped it open. Inside were about a dozen documents on a object labelled as the Tessaract. It was a blue glowing cube that Basil faintly remembered as being the thing that killed Schmidt.

"Hydra's secret weapon", Steve murmured as he read over the documents.

"Howard Stark fished that out of the sea when he was looking for you".

Basil snorted. "Looking for Steve. I only met the guy once".

Nicky fury ignored him and continued talking. "He thought that the tessaract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs".

Basil looked up at the man with narrowed eyes. "Who took it from you?"

"He's called Loki", Fury sighed as Steve closed the file and handed it back. "He's not from around here. There's a lot we're going to have to bring you two up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger, as you'll know".

Steve stood up. "At this point I doubt anything would surprise me".

"I have just discovered the wonders of Tumblr and the internet", Basil shrugged. "If war and being frozen in ice for almost seventy years didn't traumatise me, I'm pretty sure that did".

"Ten bucks says you're wrong".

Basil and Steve shared a look. Then Basil sighed and picked up Steve's gym bag as the blonde walked over to the line of punching bags. He swung one onto his shoulder and Basil huffed. (How come Steve got the super strength? All he got was increased metabolism, faster running speed, night vision and the ability to fall through things. Unfair). Together, they walked towards the exit.

"There's a briefing packet in both of your apartments", Nick fury called out. "Is there anything about the tessaract that we should know?"

"You should have left it in the ocean", Basil replied as they reached the doors. Steve pulled it open and it slammed behind them. "We're not reading that packet right?" He asked the blonde. Steve sighed and pushed his sweaty hair back out of his face. He kept walking and Basil followed him towards where they had parked their motor bikes. "Steve? You can't seriously be considering this? As your doctor I say it's a bad idea. Steve?"

They ended up reading the damn packets.

Unedited