Chapter Text
Given that his apartment in Washington D.C. had recently been destroyed by a certain seasonal soldier, Steve was currently setting up shop on his designated floor of Avengers Tower. He would’ve liked to have stayed closer to where he’d last seen his lifelong best friend, but after the necessary mess Nat had made when she’d released Hydra's files, it was decided by those higher up on the ladder that Steve was needed in New York.
Needed for what, he didn’t quite know yet. He wasn’t really allowed to do much of anything at the moment. According to the doctors who had reluctantly agreed to his early release from the hospital a few days ago, he was supposed to be “relaxing.”
How in the hell was Steve supposed to relax?! He couldn’t afford to relax right now! Not when he now knew that his best friend was out there somewhere, alive, hurt, and no doubt horribly confused.
Bucky was in an incredibly vulnerable state of mind at the moment. He’d likely be swayed by whoever next crossed his path, whether that was Steve, the authorities, or whatever remained of Hydra. Worse, Bucky could feel threatened by whoever next crossed his path, which would only lead to more bloodshed. In Steve’s eyes, the best case scenario required him to be the one who found Bucky first.
As Steve tried to relax on the comfiest couch money could buy, tried to invest himself in whatever mindless television show he’d put on, tried not to go completely stir-crazy, his mind wandered.
Where could he have run off to? Where could he be? Why didn’t he just stay with me? He knows I’m on his side, right? That I’d help him out no matter what? That I’d never turn him in or let Hydra take him back? What if he-
“Captain Rogers, the tower’s security cameras are indicating that one ‘James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes’ has entered the premises.”
“What?!” Steve shot up from his reclined position on the couch, wincing as it pulled at the still-healing gunshot wound in his abdomen.
“I repeat, ‘Captain Rogers, the tower’s security cameras are-’”
“Show me!” Steve didn’t have the time to be as courteous as he normally was with Tony’s AI system.
JARVIS cut off the retelling of his initial message to instead pull up the live feed of the tower’s entrance level. There, standing smack-dab in the middle of the lobby, looking incredibly dirty and even more out of place, was Bucky!
The crystal clear footage showed him with his long, unkempt hair tucked haphazardly beneath a ballcap, a scruffy beard, wrinkled clothes, a metal hand peeking out the left sleeve of his jacket, a pair of muddy boots, and a set of wide, wild eyes.
The other bystanders of the lobby were starting to give him nervous looks. Someone would likely be calling for security any second now, that is, if they weren’t already on their way. Tony, or at least one of his suits, might join the mix too. Steve needed to get down there before all hell broke loose.
Steve moved his semi-mended body as quickly as he dared as he hurried to the nearest elevator. He jammed his finger into the buttons hard enough to crack their casing, not having the wherewithal to control his superhuman strength when he was as frantic as he was.
As the elevator began a quick descent, JARVIS’s voice filtered into the car, “Captain Rogers, Sir has requested backup to the lobby.”
“Tell him not to engage, and that I’m on my way.”
When the elevator finally arrived at the destined floor, and the doors finally opened just wide enough for Steve to squeeze through, he was in the lobby. Not a moment too soon, as the situation was already getting out of hand.
The lobby had been cleared of civilians, and a lockdown had been issued throughout the tower. Such measures had spawned thick metal panels that covered all the doors and windows. Flashing red lights and an obnoxiously whiney siren provided an incredibly over-stimulating accompaniment.
Tony was armed with his suit, and aiming his repulsors at Bucky. Happy and his own squad of security personnel were right alongside Iron Man with their own guns drawn. Everybody was shouting different orders and directions, but nothing intelligible could be distinguished over the sound of the siren.
Bucky was standing as non-threateningly as he could, putting his hands in the air. He appeared unarmed, but Steve knew he probably had at least a dozen different concealed weapons on him.
Steve also couldn’t help but notice the way Bucky’s hands were shaking, the way he couldn’t seem to stop fidgeting. It wouldn’t be long before his freeze response to this traumatic situation turned into fighting or fleeing. Steve needed to step in before either of those things happened.
In the end, Steve hadn’t needed to though. As soon as Bucky caught sight of the man he’d traveled so far to see, the agitated look on his face softened. Steve would swear he could read the utterance of his own name off Bucky’s lips as Bucky lowered his arms and began walking over.
The movement had the Iron Man suit’s repulsors charging, the security guards’ guns cocking, and somehow, people yelling even more than before. Steve cursed himself for not taking his shield with him before he darted forward, putting himself between the firing line and his best friend.
The action had the agitated look returning to Bucky’s face. It told Steve everything he needed to know: this was his Bucky. This wasn’t the Winter Soldier, or someone who needed to be treated like a dangerous criminal. This was the man who would always be there to protect Steve.
Not knowing what else to do, Steve turned to the firing squad, and brought his hands up to form the universal sign for “time out.” Nobody lowered their weapons, but thankfully, after a few tense seconds, the siren ceased. Tony must’ve ordered JARVIS to call off the alarm. The lights were still flashing, but they could at least hear one another now.
Steve brought his hands down, “Thank you.”
The faceplate of Tony’s suit lifted. “What’s goin’ on here, Cap?”
“Before I explain anything, if everyone could lower their weapons, that’d be greatly appreciated.”
Nobody moved. “Not likely, Cap. I know you think you know this guy, but based on those Hydra leaks everyone saw a week ago, the man you’re currently protecting has killed a lot of people, including my parents.”
Steve’s eyes widened in horror. Of course, he’d meticulously poured through all of Hydra’s leaked data, and known Bucky had been the one responsible for the death of Tony’s parents. Telling Tony was right at the top of his list of priorities, just underneath finding Bucky, but it looked like Tony’d already figured everything out for himself.
It’s not that Steve was truly surprised. After all, why wouldn’t Tony have studied the flood of leaked information just as thoroughly as Steve had? Steve just wasn’t prepared for this conversation to be taking place right now in this context: with an armed Tony, and an unarmed Steve and Bucky in the same locked room.
Sensing Steve’s fears, Tony was quick to reassure, “Don’t worry, Cap. We’re not doing this right now. Later. After we’ve got him contained somewhere.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed. “He doesn’t need to be contained, Tony. He needs help.”
“Help, containment, tomato, tomahto.”
Steve bristled, “Tony.”
“Alright, fine! If you can convince him to cooperate, then maybe we can get something going here.” Tony dropped his repulsors, leaving Happy and the security team to gradually lower their own guns.
With the immediate threat out of the way, Steve turned his full attention to the man behind him. “Bucky?” Steve asked, hopeful but wary.
Bucky nodded.
“You know me?” Steve had to be a hundred percent certain. He was pretty confident Bucky had said his name earlier, but he had to be sure.
Bucky nodded again.
“You're not here to hurt anybody, are you?”
Bucky shook his head, and just as Steve was starting to worry about his lack of speech, he spoke. “Came here… to find you… to get help.”
The remaining tension that had squeezed around Steve’s chest like a vice finally loosened. He nearly sighed in relief. “You came to the right place, buddy. I’ll help you. I’ll always help you. Come with me.” Steve led them both over to the elevator, Tony joining them and following close behind.
They made for a bit of an odd trio in the elevator. Once the doors had sealed them inside, Tony and Bucky both glanced at the display of buttons before simultaneously turning to look at Steve. Really, it was comical how in sync they were.
“What floor did you have in mind, Cap?” Tony knew what level he had in mind: the basement level, where all the holding cells were located for emergencies just like this one .
Steve had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. He knew where Tony was going with his question. “Let’s start with my floor.”
Tony was silent for a while, his eyes shifting pointedly at Bucky, “...You sure that’s a good idea?”
Steve’s reaching out and pressing of the button that led to his floor was answer enough. As the elevator began rising, Bucky started to sway. He nearly tripped at one point, but righted himself with a jerk and a rapid blinking of his eyes, as if he were trying to refocus them.
Tony was eyeing the behavior with suspicion, while Steve was eyeing Bucky with nothing but concern. “You feeling okay there, pal?”
Bucky nodded, which only made him dizzier. He stumbled again as the elevator slowed to a stop on Steve’s floor. Steve reached out to grab him, stopping himself at the last second, lest he force any unwanted contact on Bucky.
The doors opened to Steve’s floor, and Bucky lurched out of the car, desperate for stationary ground. He leaned against the nearest wall, trying to regain his bearings.
Steve stepped out of the elevator, then held an arm back to stop Tony from doing the same. “Thanks for following us up, Tony, but I think it’d be best if I took it from here.”
“Rogers, are you kidding me right now?!” Tony hissed. “What exactly is your plan here?”
Since Steve didn’t actually have a plan to share, he countered Tony’s question with a question of his own. “What’re you so worried about?!”
Tony’s eyebrows raised to the ceiling. “Really?! You’re asking me what I’m worried about?! I’m worried about leaving you alone with the fist of Hydra! With the guy who was actively trying to kill you just a week ago!”
Bucky groaned, clutching his head, and sinking to the floor. Whether the pain was caused by the truth of Tony’s words, the aftereffects of the dizzying elevator trip, or some combination of the two, Steve didn’t know. All he knew was that all this commotion wasn’t good for Bucky.
“Listen, Tony,” Steve was trying to bring the shouting match down, “I understand and appreciate your concern, but this isn’t the Winter Soldier, this is Bucky. He’s not going to hurt me, and frankly, even if he wanted to try something, I don’t think he’s in any kind of condition right now to be fighting.”
“You know, you’re not exactly in the best fighting condition either, Cap.”
“There isn’t gonna be any fighting, and anyway JARVIS is monitoring everything. Watch the footage if you feel like you need to, but I think he’ll do better if it was just him and I, without a threatening metal robot standing sentry.”
Steve made a good point, but Tony was still reluctant. Eventually, he crossed his arms, knowing this wasn’t a battle he could win. “Fine, figure out what you can from him. For now, I’ll have JARVIS keep an extra close eye on this floor.”
Not necessarily wanting to thank Tony for spying on them, Steve just nodded. By the time Tony was gone, Bucky had more or less recovered from his vertigo episode.
Still wanting to give Bucky his space, Steve crouched down opposite him. “Are you okay?”
Bucky nodded, then groaned again, still clutching his head.
“Here, stop moving your head if it bothers you, okay? Just do a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Are you good to walk to my apartment? It’s just a few feet to the door.”
Rather than giving any kind of hand sign, Bucky simply rose to his feet and started walking towards one of the only doors in the hallway.
“Okay, great,” Steve mumbled as he followed behind. He hadn’t locked the door in his earlier speedy exit. Bucky let Steve open it and enter first. Bucky did a quick visual sweep, mapping out the apartment’s layout.
Still standing just inside the entryway, Steve asked the first bit of information that was crucial to know: “Before we get into anything else, I’ve gotta know, do you have any weapons on you?”
Bucky gave Steve a look that said “duh.”
“Right. For the time being, I’m gonna have to ask you to remove all those. I won’t throw them away or anything, but you won’t need them here.” And despite what I’ve been trying to convince Tony and myself of, I can’t entirely trust you just yet.
Bucky didn’t make any moves to remove the no doubt wide assortment of weapons from his person.
“I don’t have any on me either. We’re both perfectly safe here in the tower.”
That seemed to be enough to convince Bucky, who began robotically removing all the concealed weapons he had on him. When he started stepping out of his dirty clothes to get to the guns and knives he had holstered and strapped to his body, Steve left to grab him a clean set of loungewear.
Steve came back carrying comfy clothes from his own closet. He’d picked out a black long sleeved shirt and a dark gray pair of sweatpants. Bucky put them on in the same robotic manner he’d used while disarming and disrobing.
Considering Bucky was still covered in grime and filth, the purpose of the clean clothes was kind of defeated. Still, this new outfit would hopefully help Bucky feel more comfortable, as well as make it more difficult for him to conceal any weapons. They could worry about showering and cleaning up later.
Steve guided Bucky over to the couch, and they both sat, Steve still leaving a cushion of space between them. “Now, I’m glad you came here to find me, because it was only a matter of time before I went off looking for you, but you said that you came here to get help? What do you need help with? Is someone after you?”
Bucky was looking around, not particularly focusing on any one thing. It’s as if Steve hadn’t even addressed him.
“Bucky?” Steve asked a little louder, finally getting Bucky's attention. “Are you listening to me?”
Bucky started wringing his hands. “Something’s wrong.”
Yeah, I kinda figured. “What’s wrong?”
Back to the wide, frenzied, shifty eyes. He looked incredibly jumpy. Not jumpy like I’m-gonna-try-and-kill-you-again jumpy. Jumpy like on-something jumpy. Jumpy like just-coming-off-something jumpy.
Steve knew the look. He’d seen it plenty of times before. Washington D.C. was rampant with people suffering from different substance abuse disorders. So was New York. So was any village, town, or city in the nation if a person knew where to look.
Maybe Bucky had taken something, or somebody had given him something. Steve would never blame him for it. He seemed awfully impressionable at the moment.
“You’re not looking so hot, buddy. What would you say to going and getting you checked out real quick? Does that sound like something we can do?”
Bucky gave a thumbs up. Steve wasn’t sure if he was really listening to what had just been asked of him. He seemed really out of it.
The lack of speech was starting to concern Steve too. Bucky had said a few words, a few little sentences made up of broken fragments. He’d shown he could talk, but he wasn’t being the most talkative. For now, Steve wasn’t gonna push it. Bucky likely just needed time to open up, to get his mind back in order.
Steve rose from the couch. “Alright, let’s go.” He held out a hand to help Bucky up, gauging his reaction towards physical touch.
Bucky instinctively reached out to latch onto Steve’s hand, hauling himself up. “Where?”
Bucky obviously hadn’t been processing what all Steve had been telling him. Not a problem. Steve was ever patient when it came to Bucky. “We’re gonna take a little trip to the Medbay.”