THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING: CIVIL WAR SPOILERS!


Summary: Rhodey said that it was the right thing to do by signing themselves over to the Accords. But then they tried to take Vision in to experiment on him, and since Rhodey have been the only one there at the time, he was the one to say no. That's how he found himself on the run. Vision went in search of Wanda afterwards. That left only Tony, regretting everything from signing the documents to blaming Bucky for something he couldn't control. So he was very surprised when none other then the one-armed Winter Soldier shows up at his doorstep.


It had been so simple. So goddamn idiotic.

Tony hadn't been at the base when Ross showed up unannounced with four armed, expressionless guards. He hadn't been there when he demanded that they hand Vision over for a 'check-up.' But Rhodey wasn't dumb enough to think that they weren't going to give him back. He knew they were planning to do something a lot more then a doctors check-up to the red skinned Android.

So he'd refused. But he was still having Physical Therapy and the cybernetic skeleton Tony had built for him still felt strange and awkward, so there was very little he could do when they shoved him to the floor after he'd refused for the fifth time.

Rhodey, naturally, had called his suit. The metal armor helped him stay upright and it didn't hurt as much as if could have. In the end, two of the guards were killed and there was a large hole in the wall to Wanda's old bedroom. Vision fled at Rhodey's demand, who stayed to try and reason with Ross. But it was as if the General had gone mad. He declared treason on both Vision and War Machine, and they were from that moment on fugitives. Just like the others.

He knew it had been a mistake to sign the documents as soon as the words left Ross' mouth. Rhodey turned tail and fled after Vision as reinforcements arrived. He wished he could send Tony a message, telling him what happened, but he knew the billionaire's accounts will be searched for such messages. So he didn't bother. He could only hope they didn't tell him a lie and, if they did, that he knew it wasn't the truth.

And Tony did know it wasn't the truth. At least not all of it.

He regretted signing the deal too. They all did.


Tony blinked slowly, trying to process what was standing in front of him. It was raining, miniature rivers streaming down the sidewalks, thunder booming above the dark clouds and forked lightning flashing. And right there, standing in front of him on the porch, soaking wet, bruised, left jacket sleeve empty of any arm, and covered in sparkly pink glitter, was Bucky Barnes.

They stood, starring at each other, for almost a full minute before Tony got his mouth working again.

"So... going for a new, glitterly look, are we?"

"Is that even a word?" asked Bucky, voice a bit hoarse but probably not as hoarse as it had been when he'd first escaped HYDRA. "Glitterly?"

Tony shrugged. "No, probably not." A rather loud boom of thunder made him wince and, after a moment of hesitation, Tony stepped aside to allow Bucky entry. The Soldier rose his eyebrows at him in surprise, but didn't comment and seemed more then happy to get out of the rain.

"What are you doing here? I thought you and Rogers went on the run." Tony asked, closing the door behind him. Bucky glanced at the hole in the wall that was created during Rhodey and Vision's fight with Ross and his men, before turning to the genius.

"Wakanda- the place where me and Steve went- it got attacked."

"By who?" asked Tony.

Bucky shrugged. "It was either Ross or HYDRA, I think. Unless there's some new crazy villain out to get us." He glanced around, "Where's Rhodes and the Red Guy?"

"Gone." Tony admitted, stalking into the living room and deciding to ignore the fact that his mother's killer was in his house (not his home. It stopped being his home when the others all left). He flopped down on a chair, looking at the dripping Sergeant thoughtfully. "Why are you covered in glitter?"

Bucky actually gave a sheepish smile here. "Who knew Wakanda would have a Glitter Factory?"

Tony gave a loud snort, before sitting up again. "You still haven't really told me why you're here. If you came here for safety, I hate to break it to you, but this has got to be one of the least safest places either you and Steve can possibly be. Speaking of which, where is Spangles?"

The other man's face fell, and he looked at the ground, swallowing. "I don't know. I'm not even sure if he was in Wakanda or not during the attack. I was... I was in cryo. I was supposed to be until they found a cure for my brainwashing, but... something broke the glass and I woke up right smack damn in the middle of a bloody invasion."

"It's not safe for you here."

"How so?" Bucky asked, although now he looked strangely guilty, as if the Accords making them sign that document was all his fault, "Is this... is this because I-"

"Killed my mom?" Bucky flinched, but he didn't deny it. For a moment, Tony seriously considered saying yes, that he wasn't safe here because he was about to be killed by an Iron Man suit, but he caught himself.

"It's not your fault." it was barely a whisper, accompanied with a sigh, but with his enhanced hearing Bucky caught it and his head snapped up, wide eyes looking at the billionair in shocked surprise. "You were brainwashed," said Tony, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. "I shouldn't... I shouldn't have attacked you. Or Cap, for that matter. I was just... angry."

"I don't blame you." whispered the Soldier, "Hell, I came here expecting to get a repulsor to the head. I hurt- no, executed your mom. I don't know why I came here, I really don't. I guess... I guess it's because Steve trusts you. Even after you tried to kill him, he trusted you enough to give you that phone. To offer assistance. Besides, I would have gone further then an arm if you'd killed mine."

Silence descended on them after that, neither knowing what else to say. After a moment, Bucky continued, slightly louder then before.

"It's not worth anything, but I am sorry. Probably could've fought harder... could've stopped myself. But I didn't. Not at that point, anyway. Fifty years is a long time after all, and I'm not a man of Steve's caliber. I'm not strong enough to hold out fifty years of torture."

"I don't know about that."

"Sure you do. You don't give up easy, Stark. Not even if you were tortured for fifty years."

"I give up easier than you'd think."

"No. You came after us even after you signed yourself over to Ross. You looked hard enough to figure out I'd been framed when everyone else immediately accused me. Even Steve thought I did, at first. He didn't say so, but he did."

Tony sighed, stood up from his chair. He rubbed a hand over his forehead. "I was wrong. About signing. About you. About the Accords. About everything. This whole thing is just one hell of a shitstorm and I just went with it. Hired a fucking kid to do my dirty work."

"Most of the people fighting the war where kids, me and Steve included. It's not the first time it's been done and it's far from the last. A martyr complex will only make you more unbearable, Stark. No offence."

"None taken."

"I just..." Bucky sighed, crossing his one arm across his chest and clutching the empty space where his left arm used to be. "I feel like everything's about to get worse. I've got no idea where the others have gotten to, or what's happened at Wakanda. And with whatever's coming, I think we're going to need all the help we can get. So, naturally, I'm getting it."

Tony rose an eyebrow. "You're hunting down the others?"

Bucky nodded. "I didn't know where to start, so I supposed that's why I came here. Maybe I could convince one of you's to help me, even if it's just a lead on where one of the others might be. I didn't expect to only find you, though. What happened to the other two, anyway?"

The genius sighed, shoulders slumping. "I don't really know. I wasn't here when it happened, and when I got back there was a giant hole in the wall and the dinning room table was snapped in half. Ross told me Vision and Rhodey went crazy and attacked them."

"Do you believe him?"

Tony scoffed. "No. Rhodey would never do that, he thought signing the deal was seriously the right thing to do and Vision only ever attacks when he really has to. He didn't even want to hurt Barton when he came for Maximoff."

"The witchy girl?"

"Do you even know any of their names?"

"Er... I know Sam and I think one was called Ling..."

"Lang."

"Right. Tiny guy."

"So... you came here for my help?"

Bucky nodded. Tony let out a breath and bit his lip.

"I'll see what I can do."


Tony didn't keep everything on his computers. Just in case, for pure and usually unnecessary backup, he has almost all of his works in folders, printed out and tucked away in the back of a closet. He also had things for emergencies, things he's had even before he became Iron Man. Such as safe houses, money, places to stay low. He remembers making it when he was in MIT. He does't remember why, but he never got rid of it.

Thank god for that.

He and Bucky are sitting at the kitchen table, the Soldier having just gotten out of the shower and wearing dry clothes that he'd probably found in Steve's room. Some sort of black makeshift bandage is over the arm that Tony had ripped off, and there's three files sitting between them, unlabeled, one open and the other two closed.

"I've got places where you and the others will be able to stay." said Tony, shuffling through pictures of houses all across the world, from apartment's with four bedrooms in the middle of Tokyo to giant mansions with indoor pools in the France country side. "No one knows about these places but me and you. Never saw the need to tell anyone and I didn't seriously ever think I'd be using any of them."

"Then why buy them?"

"When I was a kid, I planned on running away. Hell, I did runaway when I was thirteen but I got dragged back within a week and it was all hushed up. I had been planning to have another go at it while my parents were away, but they, ah, well, never made it to the airport and, uh... after that I saw no real reason to leave."

Bucky bit his lip, casting guilty eyes to the tabletop. "Why'd you wanna runaway?"

"My dad was an asshole. The only reason I tried to kill you was because of my mom, and she was the only reason I had doubts about leaving." Tony shrugged, setting the papers down. "Looking back, I wish I had left anyway. Then I wouldn't have become CEO of Stark Industries and Stane wouldn't have sold my weapons to terrorists."

"He'd have tracked you down."

"Yeah," the genius agreed with another sigh, "Yeah, he would have. But it would have been worth a shot." He shook himself, brown eyes coming up to lock on Bucky's blue-grey ones. "Anyway, I've got places where you lot can stay where no one will even think to look. You can use them for breaks while you're on the road and once you've got everyone together you can stay in which ever one you like, although you'll probably have to move from place to place every now and then."

"What about you?"

Tony blinked, taken aback. "What about me? What do you expect me to do, drop everything and go on the run with you, hunting down our friends in tights? I'm the face of the U.N., I've got diplomacy to be working on."

Bucky actually snorted at that, face twisting into a disgusted sneer and voice slipping into an old Brooklyn accent. "Shit like that ain't never been about diplomacy and you damn well know it." The Soldier blinked, apparently surprised at having slipped into an accent he hadn't used in a very long time.

Tony rose an eyebrow at him. "Well, can't deny that. But Tony Stark just vanishing into thin air? That'll be on the news, and that's not my ego talking. Okay, it kinda is, but there's a pinch of realism in there too. Cross my heart."

"Who gives a flying-" Bucky cut himself off with a sigh, before continuing more slowly, "I know you tried to kill me and Steve only a month at most ago, but you're the leader of the Avengers, and your team is out there, scattered and who knows in what kind of trouble. There's no one else in this building but you, Stark, and the government."

"So you do want me to just drop everything and leave?"

"I want you to head out there and get your team back together so that you can stand up to those bullies, because the Avengers are the only team that can do that now. Steve can't do it alone, even if I track him down and join him, it won't be enough. But there are more than I can count on my hand- even if I had two- that will willingly follow your lead. My question is, Stark," Bucky leaned forward, elbow on top of one of the closed files, looking Tony right in the eye, "Why are you still here when they are out there?"

"They'll think you kidnapped me." That was a lame excuse. Even Tony could see that.

"Then let 'em think that."

"They'll come after us. After you."

"You said you got places."

"I didn't mean it like that, I meant go there and stay low, grow a knee-length beard or something, live low until it's at least relatively safe. I didn't mean go there and beg them to attack!"

"I ain't begging fer nothing. They couldn't find me for two years, Stark, and they won't find me now. Even if I'm with a snarky billionaire in a flashy red and gold suit."

Something in Tony's stomach twists. He wants to agree. He wants to agree so bad, just leave, throw it to the wind, send the government office a 'Bite Me' basket filled with empty chocolate boxes with a little piece of the ripped up contract in each bit where the chocolate was supposed to me. And here Bucky comes strolling in giving him the opportunity to do just that.

"Why the hell am I even considering this?" he mutters, more to himself then Bucky, but the Soldier answers anyway.

"'Cause you know it's true. You know it's what you want, what's right. They attacked Rhodes and Red Guy, right? If they really are you friends, that should be reason enough to get one of them suits, put it in stealth mode and give the Accords yer middle finger." Bucky leans back in his seat now, hand moving to rest in his lap, "It'll be a statement. It'll say we're not just gonna sit down and let them walk over us like dirt under their shiny boots."

"But it goes against everything I believe in," said Tony, shaking his head and putting his elbows on the table, "Against actually picking up the pieces-"

"We're still picking up the pieces," insisted Bucky, "I know why you signed the deal. Steve told me. You think it's going to stop something worse, but it's not. Maybe working with us will stop it, but maybe not. It's better then sitting on your arse and feeling sorry for yourself though. No offence."

"The more you say these things the less I think you actually mean no offence."

A small chuckle rose from Bucky's throat, "You're probably right. But only because no one else can do it, 'cause nobody else has as little to lose as I do. World already hates me, doesn't matter if I was framed or not. I'm still a killer. There's even tapes to prove it; you saw so yourself."

Tony swallowed thickly, bile rising in the back of his throat. "If you want a new arm, don't bring that up."

The Soldier lets out a snarl. "I'm a shitty person- hell, not sure I even qualify as that anymore- and I sure as hell have done some shitty things. You better face that or you're gonna end up like them, too blind to notice how corrupted their own system's gotten while they've been scared shitless while twiddling their thumbs up their asses."

"You said you remembered it." whispered Tony, Bucky casting his eyes back to the tabletop. "All of it."

"Yeah. I did."

"What did she say? When she-"

"Nothing." the Soldier interrupted, "Her nails were in my hand... she was... she was shaking but she wouldn't let go, not until she was dead. Your mother was a fierce woman, I'll give her that."

"Damn straight." the other man whispered, face pale and looking like he was about to throw up what he'd had for dinner earlier that night.

"I didn't want to." whispered Bucky, hand curling into the borrowed shirt, "I tried not to, but they-"

"I get it." Tony said, some color coming back into his face, "You were brainwashed. It was done at your hand but not at your mind."

Bucky swallowed; closed his eyes, head bowed. "Steve's wrong. You're wrong. It was me that did those things for all those years. It's what I'm capable of, brainwashed or not. Always have been, just even more so after they trained me. But it's not what I wanted. I'd never want that."

They sit in silence, neither man looking at the other. Thunder booms outside, rain splattering against the large windows, lightning flashing above them. Tony watches the raindrops race each other to the bottom of the glass pane. Finally, he sighs.

"Alright, I'll go with you. The others couldn't have gotten too far after all."

Bucky opens his eyes then, giving him a weak, grateful smile. "Last I saw Steve and Sam was before I went into cryo. None of us knew where Natasha had gone off to, T'Challa had been in Siberia but he didn't last long. No idea where Lang and the others are."

"Well, we're gonna find them all."

"Even the sticky kid in the weird get-up?"

Tony shrugs. "Only if he wants to. I can probably cook something up for his aunt about him joining me on a science journey around the world or something."

"Think that'll still work when it gets on the news that you've disappeared?"

Tony gave another shrug. "I'll think of something. Now, how about we do something about that arm of yours before we go? I'd rather you have two fists to punch with."


Edited on 5/16/2016