The series so far in chronological order: Family Meeting, The Rubble or Our Sins, Cut Up the Same, One Step Closer, Out Here in the Deep, My Calloused Heart, Nothing to Hide or: Earth's Mightiest Weirdos, and Picking Up Pieces. This is a slow build Steve/Tony story.
Leave a comment if you want me to continue this... I wildly appreciate everything you have to say about my work, even if it's concrit (I actually have a deep love for concrit).
Disclaimer: No money being made here. All our Avengers are belong to Marvel and Disney... as does my soul probably at this point.
Reach out a hand to somebody who needs a hand.
And reach out a heart to somebody torn apart.
Its hard, this livin', this life we've been given.
Locked in your soul, or locked up in prison.
Remember you have to reach high to be risen.
The day you let go is the day you are forgiven.
Nobody Right, Nobody Wrong - Michael Franti
Tony stood over a still sleeping Bucky Barnes; with a timed device in his hands that would set off an EMP once Tony was far enough away. He was quiet and hesitant to get started. "What's wrong?" Steve asked.
"I can't. Not with him asleep. He has to consent, Steve. We need to wake him up." Tony replied.
"But it will hurt him." Steve said.
"Bruce, do you think you can give Barnes a local based on the schematics I gave you?" Tony asked.
"Possibly, but you would know better than I would how it would affect someone with cybernetic enhancements." Bruce said.
"I just don't want him to wake up with the arm missing, or as a dead weight. Either will be traumatic. Trust me. I know." Tony said, and touched his sternum, once again reassuring himself that while the arc reactor was long gone, that he was indeed whole once more. "We could ask Wanda. She's over with Pietro." Tony suggested.
"No." Bruce said too quickly. Tony let out a gentle sigh and gathered his thoughts before speaking instead of reacting on instinct. Steve was a good influence that way.
"She's not going to set us to kill each other, Bruce. I've seen parts of her mind up close now... She's... okay." Tony said. Bruce took a turn taking one of the many calming breaths he did throughout the day to soothe the Hulk within him.
"I'm sorry. Forgive my kneejerk reaction... But when I think about it logically, I don't want Wanda rooting around in the mind of anyone with HYDRA programming. That could be traumatic for her, and we should actively avoid trying to do that based on what happened after the other traumas she's endured." Bruce explained.
"Damn." Tony said. "Good point. I mean, we know Steve is our best bet to communicate with him. He's said he remembers Steve now. Even if he's in pain, if he wakes up to Steve, and Steve brings us in to help hopefully he won't think we're another set of handlers."
"What if you train me on how to administer a local anesthetic? That way I could give it to him and he'd trust the source." Steve said.
"I don't want you doing anything to him that could go wrong." Bruce said. "He needs you. He needs to know he can trust you. If something went wrong, I want him to be able to look to you to get it fixed." Bruce said.
"Okay, so we keep Steve as the good guy. How was he with you, Bruce?" Tony asked. "Did he trust you? He wasn't holding you hostage was he?"
"He did trust me to a certain extent. He was... distant, but not unkind or cruel. He was lost in his own mind most of the time. I had to relay a lot of modern history to him, and clarify a lot of things to the best of my knowledge. His memory is patchwork at best, but he's been gaining more and more back. I don't think he was awake much for the past seventy years. Just for missions, and then they would put him back on ice. He gets excited when he remembers things from before the war, and despondent if they are from his time as the Winter Soldier... I wasn't a prisoner. He found out about me using the dumped SHIELD files. How he tracked me down, I don't even think he knows. He... fades sometimes. Gets lost. He doesn't become threatening, but you can't touch or get near him. He holes up until he gets his head straight. Somewhere dark, quiet, and easily defendable." Bruce said. "I can usually talk him back by claiming I'm a friend of Steve's and that he would want us both to be okay."
"Thanks Bruce." Steve said softly.
"Look, Tony, there's one thing I have to let you know in the interest of full disclosure." Bruce said.
"About the Winter Soldier and Howard and my mother? I already know, Bruce." Tony said softly. "I understand why you think I need to be informed, but I want you to know that as I would hope people won't blame me for the violence caused by weapons that I designed, I will not blame James Barnes for what happened to them. He was used as a weapon. He had no choice." Tony said. "And really, wouldn't the biggest fuck you I could give to HYDRA, who hold the real responsibility for my parents' murder, be to take their asset and bring him over to the side of the angels and give him his life back? I've thought this through. This is one of those glorious situations where compassion can be the big winner, and I'm willing to embrace it."
The stunned silence was palpable. Steve was suddenly holding back tears and Bruce was looking at Tony like he had two heads. Rhodey was leaning on the wall, apart from the situation, but on hand to deal with the EMP when Tony had to be out of the room. There was pain and worry in his eyes. "How long have you known, Tony?" He asked.
"I always suspected. Had it confirmed after sifting through the HYDRA based files that were within SHIELD's database." Tony said. "What gets me is how well they were encrypted before they got dumped. That stuff wasn't in what JARVIS and I found."
"Why didn't you say anything about your parents?" Rhodey asked, unconcerned with HYDRA's encryption methods. He came off the wall, and got close to Tony, and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Because the police reports were definite and double checked. They just never added up. Obie made me drop it, gas lit me into thinking I was stupid and childish for doubting the facts. The night wasn't right for icy roads for one. Wet roads, yes, but not ice. They were roads that even drunk, Howard knew well, for another. He knew where to ease up for the sake of control. Also, mom was in the car. He might have been harsh and absent to me, but he worshipped her. He might have been absent a lot due to his obligations, but he cherished her like a treasure... I think it's the reason why he tolerated me at all... And holy shit does that explain a lot of my relationship with Pepper..." Tony said and stopped for a moment to shake his head.
"Anyway, yeah, I just... Long story made even longer, if he had been drinking, mom was perfectly capable of driving. She drove his Corvette more than he did. If they both had been drinking, they could have called Jarvis to pick them up. He was off sick that night, but not incapable. Howard did not play dice with the universe. He had shit to do... None of the details fit the scenario that made it into the official report. Obie convinced me that even if the police had bungled the whole thing, that it didn't change things. S.I. still needed to be run... But I don't blame Barnes, and it would be hypocritical of me to try. I would rather see him free and healed than anything else. HYDRA did far more wrong to him than they ever did to me." Tony said, summarizing his thoughts. He wasn't exactly paying attention, but Rhodey's hand had fallen away, and Steve swept into his space, and pulled him into a soft, sweet, kiss that Tony melted into. He wrapped his arms around Steve and curled his body in as close as he could possibly get. Tony laughing lightly made Steve pull his mouth away, but only far enough to look Tony in the eye.
"You are one of the best men I know." Steve murmured. Tony returned the affectionate gaze.
"Ya know, when you say it, I can almost believe it." Tony replied. Steve gave him a patient, warm, smile.
"Some day you will." Steve said.
"Try harder, Rogers. I might have worshipped Pepper Potts in an unhealthy manner, but I got over my Captain America worship long ago." Tony said. Steve laughed.
"Well, isn't that what makes it more believable then? You're not one to take the word of the divine, so what about the word of someone who has always tried to be honest with you?" Steve asked.
"Aww, dork." Tony said. Steve let the subject drop. "Given mine and Bruce's history with non-consensual medical procedures, we have to have Barnes awake for his consent to go digging in the arm. Updated scans show an anomaly near the elbow that is probably the source of his pain. There's internal damage there. I think I can get at it, and remove the SSD and the power source if I remove the forearm and some of the outer plates." Tony said.
"I'm with Tony on that." Bruce agreed. "We need him to be all right with it."
"Science bros, all about the medical consent." Tony said and gave a nod to Bruce, who smirked at Tony.
"Okay, so what do you need us to do?" Steve asked.
Bruce started dialing down the painkiller and sedative slowly, and Steve stayed close, out of uniform, but in subtle tactical gear, designed to avoid intimidation.
When Barnes' eyes started to flutter, Steve sat on the edge of the rolling gurney. Tony and Rhodey were finishing up hashing out the contingency plans on the EMP quietly in the corner of the room, surrounded by Butterfingers, U, and Dum-E. Tony wanted to make polite introductions before the bots got up close and personal with the former Winter Soldier. Natasha and Bruce observed from closer to the door, though they stood apart. Bruce carefully observed Bucky's vitals, and Natasha was on hand to provide translation from Russian if needed. Vision was ensuring the room to shield the EMP was fully functional.
Bucky's eyes didn't take long to open, and there was a moment where everyone stood stock still while he assessed the room. Steve remained planted on the edge of the gurney, holding Bucky's right hand in his.
"Hey Buck." Steve said. Bucky's eyes flew to Steve. "Don't try to move too much yet, okay? We still haven't fixed the problem in your arm." Bucky nodded and blinked slowly a few times. "You're at the Avengers HQ in upstate New York. When you fell asleep on the Quinjet, we figured the best thing to do was let you rest. It's late September 2015. Do you know who I am?" Steve asked. His voice was quiet and patient as Mr. Rogers' addressing his home audience of children after school every day. The comparison made Tony smile sweetly at a memory of afternoons spent in the kitchen either in California or New York, with Jarvis, watching PBS on the small television he kept there. It was secret indulgence that Jarvis had permitted, feeling Tony needed common experience of children, no matter how intelligent he was. Tony was going to have to make sure that Steve knew about Fred Rogers too, and added it to his mental list.
A slow smile crept across Bucky's face. "Stevie." He said softly. "Your mom's name was Sarah. She was a nurse. Died from TB. Your father took mustard gas fighting with the 107th, and survived, but may as well have died there for all the recovery he ever had... Little Stevie Rogers who used to put newspaper in his shoes."
"Hey, it was good insulation against the cold, all right?" Steve said. His expression was delighted and exasperated, broadcasting his happiness at being well and truly recognized by Bucky.
"I remember now. A lot of it. The war. That you changed... That they changed you... The fall... I remember the train." Bucky murmured.
"Oh god, Buck... I'm so sorry." Steve said, his voice mournful.
"Not your fault, Steve. There was a war on. All I could think though, when my hand slipped, is that you would think that your life was over too. I hoped you would take up with that dame... Agent Carter... I hoped she'd be enough to get you through me not coming back." Bucky said. "It took forever to fall... felt like forever." Steve's other hand clasped around Bucky's, his head bowed. He was relieved though when Bucky squeezed back.
"Hey... Hey punk... It's okay. I remember now. I got you back. I came back. Fucking miracle or something." Bucky said. Steve smiled through his silent tears, wanting to sweep Bucky up into his arms, but not wanting to hurt him either. Instead he sniffed loudly and swallowed.
"About fucking time, jerk. What took you so goddamn long?" Steve teased and met Bucky's gaze. Tony wanted to bottle the beatific smile they exchanged and save it for days when he was feeling down. He settled for a zoomed in photo from FRIDAY's cameras.
"I been busy." Buck said, old Brooklyn accent slipping through. Steve chuckled quietly.
"So long as you ain't been slacking off, Buck." Steve teased. "You're okay here? You're with us?"
"Yeah Stevie, I know where I am."
"Okay. Good. We have to ask you a few things."
"What's going on?" Bucky asked.
"The prosthetic arm. We need your permission to remove the forearm. There's information in the upper part that could be dangerous, but we're not sure of that. It would also be easier to get at the problem that's causing you pain. Tony's got it down to a bit of circuitry that's damaged... You remember Tony? From Madripoor?" Steve asked. Bucky nodded and looked over at Tony, Rhodey, and the bots. Dum-E, Butterfingers, and U cameras came up in an inquisitive manner, but not forcefully.
"Take it easy, guys." Tony said softly to his bots. "Just like Bruce said. He might be scared of you." The bots turned back to Tony and poked and pulled at him gently, as if urging him to make friends on their behalf. Tony rolled his eyes at them, but cast his gaze over to Bucky. "Hello Mr. Barnes." Tony said softly.
"Mr. Stark." Bucky replied.
"Oh god no. Tony, remember? Just call me Tony." He said and smiled at Barnes. "Can I call you James?"
Bucky leaned back into the pillow behind his head, and his eyes closed part way. "Sure. That'd be nice." He said.
"Great... Are you all right with us removing the forearm of the prosthetic?"
"Yeah, I think so." Bucky replied.
"We can have you out for it. You don't have to be awake."
"No, I... Any chance you can get the whole thing off?" Bucky asked softly. "I just... I never got to get used to not having it. I think I should."
"Full removal is going to be difficult, and Bruce and I would have to work on it. The wiring that interacts with your body is so intricate that I'm fairly certain that technology associated with the Tesseract was used to create it and connect to your mind. That's why it's worked so well up to this point. I can remove the forearm, and possibly the section up to your shoulder joint. The cap over your shoulder and down your chest will have to stay for a bit, until I can protect the wiring in your body some other way so it doesn't get damaged and hurt you... Then, I can repair the existing arm, update it, or build you a completely new one." Tony explained quietly.
"Really?" Bucky asked, as intrigued by this quieter, more serious, next generation Stark, as he had been by Howard.
"Sure, James. As you can tell by my compatriots here, and the fact that I have the world's most advanced battle armour, robotics is a thing I excel at." Tony said.
"Okay... For now, I want this goddamn commie star off of me." He said. Tony nodded understanding well the idea of loathing tech you relied on.
"You got it. I can do a temporary removal of the plates, and get Butterfingers to grind down the paint until you decide what you want to do. She can fabricate you temporary new ones if you'd like as well. Butterfingers is a champ at that kind of thing, ain't ya sweetie?" Tony asked. Butterfingers nodded shyly and preened.
"Your robot's name is Butterfingers? And she's a she?" Bucky asked, confused and curious, but not threatened.
"Yup. Don't let her name fool you. She's an absolute doll. Their names are also a big reason why I should never have human children. The other two are U and Dummy." Tony said, pointing out the bots' designations, which were laser etched on their chassis. "Butterfingers is great at metal fabrication. U is fantastic with wiring and circuitry. And Dummy, despite his eccentricities, taught the other two everything they know. I'll need their help to get the prosthetic off." Tony patted each bot affectionately by turns.
"Oh?" Bucky asked.
"They're only loveable robot agents of chaos on the surface. Underneath, they're actually a precision team when they can be convinced to do it." Dum-E reached up and ran his claw gently through Tony's curls. "Seriously buddy, you're not helping me project competence right now."
"Not my issue. You talk meat-sack. I don't." Dum-E replied, and laid his head on Tony's shoulder. Tony sighed in a defeated manner and patted him affectionately.
"The plan is to disable the prosthetic and then the bots and I will come in to complete the uninstall. We're pretty sure the disconnect function is a mostly mechanical and not computerized. Emergency thing built in for quick access if needed." Tony said.
"Okay." Bucky said.
"You can still say no." Tony offered. "I'm not trying to push you into anything. It's all on how you want to deal with it."
"I know. But I want it gone... For a while at least. I got no good memories of it." Bucky said. Tony nodded.
"Okay, we'll remove as much of it as we can. It should have the added bonus of taking away the pain that you're in." Tony said. "We have to take you down to a shielded room and set off an electromagnetic pulse to disable the prosthetic. Is that all right with you?"
"I just said so."
"James, I need your consent every step of the way. Not only for you, but also for Bruce and myself. He and I both have suffered medical procedures done to us without our consent, and we need to have you're okay for every step." Tony said patiently. Bucky nodded again.
"Can Stevie be there?" He asked.
"Anything you want, Buck." Steve said.
Tony let Bruce take over as they transferred Bucky to the shielded room. Bruce explained gently that it might hurt, but probably only briefly until the prosthetic was overloaded and went down. He also explained that it would become inactive dead weight. Bucky nodded and murmured that it would be fine.
Steve once again told Bucky that Tony and the bots would come in and remove the forearm and hard drive, with Vision in the background in case anything went wrong. He then told Bucky about his interactions with the bots over the years and how amazing they were in order to try and set him at ease.
Vision waited by the door of the shielded room, and Bucky took the time to give him a double take. "That's Vision. He's on our side. He helped Tony find you and Bruce." Steve said softly. "You might not have noticed him before."
"Stay with me?" Bucky asked.
"'Til the end of the line." Steve said. Bucky reached out with his right hand and grabbed Steve's wrist. "Hey, didn't I tell you not to move?" Steve asked gently.
"I'm scared, Stevie. I don't know what happens next." Bucky whispered. Steve stopped the gurney, and everyone else moved off to give them some distance. Steve put the brakes on, and sat on the edge of it. He leaned in and over Bucky, covering him protectively, and trusting him not to go after all the soft parts he had exposed as he did.
"What happens next is we get the prosthetic off. At least part of it. Then you and I go back to that sunny room in the medical wing, and we talk if you're up for it. We'll talk for the rest of the day and all night until you can sleep again. About anything you want. About nothing if you want. I can catch you up on what I know about what's happened between then and now. The rest of the team can tell you what I don't know. And if you don't want to talk, I'm sure that Dum-E, U, and Butterfingers are up for a game of catch. And if you just want quiet, I'll be there for that too, okay? I'm right here."
"The robots play catch?" Bucky asked, a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Yup, and chess, and a bunch of other games. Dum-E has a chess obsession." Steve said. Dum-E huffed, and made the motion of rolling his 'head' and hence his eyes at Steve. Steve pulled back off of Bucky a little, searching his face for assurance that Bucky was okay. Bucky nodded at him.
"Okay, I'm ready. Let's do this." Bucky said.
Things went quickly after that. Bucky was rolled into the shielded room, and Tony popped up one of the venting plates of Bucky's prosthetic with a button under a sliding plate near the elbow. His hands were gentle and efficient, and Bucky noticed a very tangible resemblance to Howard Stark in Tony's hands. They were too scarred and ragged for a rich man living off of inherited wealth. Tony's hands worked for a living, and Bucky took comfort in that.
Tony placed the EMP and explained that he would have to wait outside with the bots due to some tech he had in his own body, and that piqued Bucky's interest. "Wait, you too? Did HYDRA get to you too?" He was trying his damndest to stay still to let Tony work.
"No, James." Tony assured softly. "It was tech that I placed in me out of necessity by some shitty things that happened to me. I had been hurt and I needed it to survive. I wasn't ready to go yet." Tony smiled sadly at Bucky, who gave him a knowing expression. "Steve's gonna be right here beside you." Tony assured. "And my friend, who's also a James, will be here too. He's an engineer like me. We went to school together like you and Steve." Tony nodded over and indicated Rhodey, who smiled at them.
Bucky seemed to be responding to Tony's quiet tones and it gave Steve a strong sense of relief. Steve took a moment to remind himself that before Iron Man, before the fear and the terror plots, before the torture, there had been a damaged, but incredibly competent man who hid things well. This time though, Steve wasn't seeing fear being masked. Instead Tony was projecting calm confidence, because this was his element. He was at home when at work. He wanted Bucky to be calm and happy about what was going to take place, and so they both were. Steve saw Tony's demeanor and savoir-faire as an oasis in the desert of confusion and pain that Bucky had been wandering in.
Tony gave Barnes a touch on his right hand, Rhodey a quick hug, and planted a quick kiss on Steve, and left the room, as calm as he had been while he was in it. Rhodey took over, just as steady and calm. It was the kind of calm that only years of combat training left one with. He gently triple checked the connection of the EMP device placed inside the prosthetic arm. He unceremoniously gave a warning, let Bucky give him a nod to indicate his readiness, counted down, and set the device off.
Bucky flinched. For a moment, if felt like his entire left side was on fire, miles beyond the pain he had been feeling and then... blessed relief. The arm was silent and inert beside him. It was so incredibly heavy when none of it was supporting itself, and it felt like he had an anchor attached to his body, but it was no longer causing him pain. Bucky gasped in relief and sagged into the gurney.
"Bucky, are you okay?" Steve asked in hushed tones.
"Yeah... Yeah Stevie." Bucky said after a moment. "Doesn't hurt no more." He mumbled. Rhodey had gone to retrieve Tony, Bruce, Vision, and the bots. Tony rolled up the to gurney with two carts, one for tools and parts, and the other for the arm. The one for the arm had a special case for the SSD that would block any signal it would try to emit.
Normally shy Butterfingers started, finding the locks that popped up all the cover plates on the arm, and U followed behind her, snipping wires and pulling connections here and there. Dum-E followed both of them with an impact driver attachment, removing bolts and then screws, while Tony collected them carefully before they hit the ground, and oversaw the process.
Steve and Bucky watched in rapt fascination as the bots worked. "Forearm section coming off." Tony warned about ten seconds before it happened. It dropped into Tony's arms, which easily took the weight. Despite the strain that showed in Tony's taught muscles, he didn't so much as grunt. He set it down on the cart, and stepped in with Rhodey. He silently pointed out the drive, and the two old friends got to work without need for spoken words. Tony unhooked the connectors, but it was Rhodey who took the actual drive in his hands and placed it in the signal blocking case.
No one paused though, and they kept going. The bots rolled in closer to the gurney, and started working at removing the section of the prosthetic that was under and around what remained of Bucky's deltoid and upper biceps muscles. Again, it came away quickly and easily. But what shocked Steve and Bucky was the soft-lined, precision-molded, carbon fiber cap that Tony gently placed over the end of Bucky's remaining flesh and blood part of the arm. He didn't stare at angry scar tissue covered stub, just covered it, explaining softly that the cap could be removed, and the lining cleaned and replaced, and that it was there for Bucky's comfort against the pieces of the prosthetic that were still embedded in his body.
Butterfingers then reached down to one of the lower levels of the parts cart, and retrieved a bundle wrapped in thin, pliable, styrofoam. "Sweetie, what do you have there?" Tony asked her. Butterfingers shrugged innocently and handed the bundle to Tony, who took it with implicit trust. He unwrapped the foam and grinned. "Where did you get the time to make these?" Butterfingers shrugged again. "Let me guess, a lady never tells." Butterfingers kept working.
"Do you want us to replace the plates with the star on them, James? Looks like Butterfingers here has been busy while I was getting the EMP together." Tony asked.
"Fuck yes." Bucky said.
"Okay you three, get the corresponding plates off, and I'll pull these out of the packing plastic." Tony snorted when he pieced the new plates together on a tray puzzle style. "Oh my god, really, sweetie? He's gonna kill us." Tony said. The bot shrugged for a third time and kept her head to her work.
"What's wrong?" Bruce asked.
"See for yourself." Tony said and held the tray at an angle they could all see. The pieces, when they were arranged properly, had an insignia that formed a stylized wing. It was the badge that the Howling Commandos had stitched on to their uniforms, partly as a joke, and partly seriously, after the SSR had made them up for them.
Tony was never more relieved when Bucky snorted and laughed out loud. "That's amazing. She thought to do that on her own?" Bucky asked.
Butterfingers had always been the least confident of Tony's bots. She was the one that needed the most reassurance that she'd done things correctly. She didn't brush off failure like Dum-E did, and she wasn't like the more stoic U, who wasn't as motivated by praise as his compatriots. She moped or obsessed until she had something right. Tony hadn't noticed her wariness of strangers for years because of the isolation of the lab and workshop in Malibu. He wondered sometimes if someone like Obie or even Tiberius hadn't traumatized her in her early days that she hadn't, wouldn't, or couldn't tell him about. It was why Tony called her sweetie, the most affectionate pet name of all the bots. Someday soon though, with the new level of communication he had with them, Tony was going to have a long talk with Butterfingers.
But now, as the bots so often did, she was in the process of surprising him and filling his heart up. Butterfingers pulled away from her task to look directly at Bucky, who was smiling delightedly at her. "Hi." Bucky said. Butterfingers opened and closed her grasping claw at him and beeped her standard greeting.
"She's saying hello." Steve said softly.
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss." Bucky said. "Did you find that insignia on your own?" He asked. Butterfingers nodded. "It's wonderful. I love it. Thank you." Bucky said. Butterfingers looked bashful for a moment, and then reached out and pulled a strand of hair away from Bucky's face with the gentleness of a new mom.
"She has pressure sensitive plates on the tips of the grasping claw, behind the camera head, and on most flat panels, so she can feel when you touch her. She likes to be touched here." Tony said and pointed. He'd taken over for her in helping Dum-E and U. He would always let spontaneous social interaction like this play out, especially if it was his shy girl that was doing it. "I'm hoping I can work in that tech if you want me to design a new prosthetic for you." He added.
"You mean I could feel things?" Bucky asked, eyes full of wonder.
"Sort of? It won't be perfect, but it would be enough to know if you've got your hand on the stove or if you're going to do damage to it."
"That's incredible."
"Well, it's a work in progress. You tell me what you want, and I'll try my best to do it for you." Tony assured.
Bucky tentatively reached over and gently scratched Butterfingers behind her camera head, like he might with a dog's ear. Butterfingers leaned in to the touch, the apertures on her cameras closing part way. Tony was a bit gob smacked, but kept a lid on it. He'd never seen Butterfingers interact so easily and affectionately with a stranger before. He'd never seen her trust so easily. Then again, she comprehended that Bucky was placing his trust in her when Tony had explained that Bucky might be nervous of machines in his immediate vicinity.
Butterfingers' empathy for Barnes astounded Tony. He was definitely doing something lovely for the pack of bots as soon as he dealt with Extremis. They were due for complete upgrades and tune-ups. Perhaps even an increased allowance. She eventually pulled away when it came to install the new plates and affixed them precisely, with the same dedication to craft that she used to complete every task. It took some doing, but eventually Tony, Rhodey, and the bots pulled back to survey their work.
"Okay James, you can try to sit up, but if anything hurts I want you to stop and tell us." Tony said.
Bucky nodded, and slowly sat up, using his right hand to support him. His eyes were locked on the empty space where his left arm had once been. The majority of the aching weight was gone, but he was hyperaware of the tech still in his body. He could feel it in a way he'd never been aware of before. He wasn't in pain per say, but it felt fucking weird. He took comfort in the edge of the Commandos insignia over his deltoid though. It felt much better. A fresh start. Tears formed in his eyes, and he stretched his neck and shoulder, relieved to be free of the shocks the arm had been giving him. He looked at Steve, and then over to Tony, Rhodey, Bruce, and the bots.
"Thank you." He said. His spine settled into a relaxed straight line for the first time in seventy years, and he let out a long sigh. "Oh god, it feels so good."
"I bet. We need to trim the excess weight on that thing. Weighs a fucking tonne." Tony said. Bruce moved in quietly, and had FRIDAY check Bucky's vitals, to note them on his chart.
"Think he knows that, Tony." Rhodey teased. "Now let's go get them some tissues. There's probably gonna be crying. I'm gonna cry if I stay here any longer."
"You're an old softie, Honey Bear." Tony teased.
"So are you, Sour Patch." Rhodey retorted. Bucky laughed at their camaraderie, and reached out for Steve, who pulled him into a gentle hug. And if there were manful tears, Tony sure as shit wasn't going to say anything about it.
"You gonna be okay if I go horizontal for a bit, guys? I'm exhausted." Tony asked. Steve loosened his hold on Bucky for a moment, and met Tony's eyes. Tony hadn't been wrong about the manful tears.
"Thank you Tony. So much." He said, and leaned in for a kiss. Tony gave a glance to see that Bucky wasn't going to pop him one for kissing Steve, and seeing his serene expression, did so. Steve's face was flushed and his lips were hot against Tony's. Tony smiled in the kiss. He couldn't help it. Steve's happiness was contagious. The fact that Steve could hug Bucky one moment, and was then turning to him for smooches put him over the moon. Steve still wanted him, and he wasn't ashamed to show people that. It felt like Tony had really done worthwhile work today, and he'd done it as a team with people he loved. Life was almost perfect... He paused, but lingered close to Steve at the arresting thought that he was well and truly in love with Steve. It was like coming home from some kind of long quest.
"Get some rest, Tony. I'll see you soon." Steve murmured to him when their mouths parted.
"On it, Cap." Tony assured. He left Steve's embrace slowly, reveling in the contact, but eventually grabbed hold of the cart with the parts, and let U take the one with the tools, and gave everyone a smile as he left. Rhodey followed him out, offering to help put the tools away and to ensure that Tony actually made it to his bed.
Butterfingers lingered with the reunited friends the longest, clearly having taken a huge shine to Bucky, but was convinced to leave by Vision's gentle prodding, stating her need to charge. Soon enough she followed him out, curious about the man/machine who sounded so much like their old JARVIS that she couldn't resist him. She waved to Bucky on the way out though, who grinned and waved back at her. "See ya around, doll." He said. Butterfingers preened.
The End (for now)