"I've already beat the hell out of you once," Barnes snapped, whirling around to face him. "You really want me to do it again?"

"I'm prepared this time." Steve smirked in the way he knew got on Bucky's nerves. "You won't kick my ass this time."

With a snarl, Barnes finally got frustrated to throw a punch at Steve.

Steve blocked that one, actually a little relieved he was finally engaging.

That didn't mean that Bucky didn't hit him at all, though. But it wasn't bad.

Barnes lunged forward again, throwing another punch. If Steve wanted a fight, he'd give him one. He tried to channel his frustration into the fight, which turned his fighting style more aggressive than usual.

Fortunately Steve was prepared, and fended him off. He'd already fought Bucky before, he knew how this went, he knew how to protect himself.

Although he was grateful there were no weapons in the mix this time.

It still didn't take too long for Barnes to have Steve pinned, metal arm across his throat. After a moment, he let him up.

"Again," he said.

Steve didn't complain, just settling into the next sparring match. He could keep going as long as Bucky needed, after all.

Barnes pinned him to the mat three more times before he stopped. The sparring was only helping a little; he was still angry and frustrated with everything.

Steve sighed when he saw that. "Just don't actually kill anyone," he said. "Yet. Okay?"

"No promises," Barnes muttered, flexing his fingers a bit to recalibrate the arm. He sighed a bit. "Damn it, Steve, it's like I can't ever escape them."

"That just means we have to make sure every last one of them is gone," Steve said, because he absolutely would be a little vicious about this. "We'll figure it out, Buck. We will."

"I'm never going to be able to get away, Steve," Barnes said. "The arm, the kid... It's all them."

"It doesn't have to be." Steve shook his head. "You're already helping out, not just using that to hurt people." He nudged the metal arm. "And the kid, yeah, the kid is because of Hydra, but we're raising that kid, not them."

Barnes just growled wordlessly and yanked his arm away from Steve. He wasn't in any mood to listen to Steve's optimism right then.

Steve let him be after that, sort of. He didn't try talking again, but he did keep an eye on Bucky, just in case.

A month or so later, the girls were finally allowed to leave the tower, albeit with supervision. Maya was now just over six months pregnant, and the baby was kicking actively as she walked with Colbie out of the tower.

Colbie was still paranoid about going out around people, but that was more because she had no experience with people than anything else. Her programming was mostly gone, by this point, anyway.

"So, coffee first, then park?" Steve asked, looking between the girls for opinions. The park had already been agreed on, and he was trying to get them a little bit of interaction today.

Maya considered it for a moment, and then nodded.

"Tea?" she asked cautiously. "No coffee for me, too much caffeine." She couldn't help but smile a little when the baby kicked. "Though I think the little one's happy to get out of the tower, too."

Bucky still kind of flinched a little at the mention of the baby, but didn't say anything.

"Sure, we can get you tea." Steve smiled and fell into step next to her, walking at an easy pace towards the coffee place.

Colbie fell in next to Bucky, still a little too tense, but she was outside and walking and not trying to hide Maya behind her, so it was progress.

Maya smiled and walked with him.

"It's nice to be out again," she commented. "I was kind of feeling confined in the tower."

Bucky glanced at Colbie.

"How are you handling being out again?" he asked her.

"We can leave whenever you want," Steve said. "I don't mind, I'm usually out of the tower every other day or so anyway."

Colbie considered his question for a few moments before she shrugged.

"There are too many unknowns," she said, glancing around again. "It's still unsettling. But it's... not as bad as last time."

"Are you sure?" Maya asked, glancing at him. "I mean... I know it's a lot to ask..."

"Yeah," Bucky agreed. "There are always too many unknowns out here. You get used to it."

"It's fine," Steve assured her. "You'll know if it's a bad time because I'll be in uniform." He shrugged a bit.

Colbie made a noncommittal sound, still looking around as they walked.

Maya couldn't help but grin a little at that.

"I suppose so," she said. She paused when the baby gave a particularly hard kick. "Oh!" She smiled and put a hand on her belly. "She's active. I can even feel her from the outside now."

Bucky just kept an eye on her, but otherwise let her do what she wanted.