Day 2
Tony woke up in a bed he didn't recognise and a room he didn't know. He sat up confused before the memories of the previous day came rushing back.
"Good morning, young sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Tony started a bit,
"Umm…JARVIS could you…is there any clothes I can change into?"
"Last night Colonel Rhodes and Miss Potts put some new clothes in your wardrobe to fit your current…situation."
"Thank you," Tony whispered and quietly wandered into the closet. He couldn't help but giggle at the t-shirts he saw and grabbed one at random. It was sarcastic and science-y, what more could he ask for? "Is anyone up?" He asked once dressed and ready.
"I believe Dr Banner has yet to go to sleep, he has an experiment running. Would you like me to call him up?"
"No!" Tony exclaimed before clapping his hands over his mouth, "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout. But please don't disturb him if he's doing something important."
"It really wouldn't be a problem, young sir."
"No, really it's okay, J. Thank you though."
"It is perfectly alright, sir. Would you like to go down to the workshop? Perhaps you'd enjoy some tinkering?"
"I…if that's alright? I'd really like that. Yes please."
"I should warn you that the laboratory and workshop are next to each other and are connected. Though, before you worry, this will create no problem toward Dr Banner and or his work, he is quite used to you being next to his workspace and has become accustomed to your music amongst other things that tend to go on down there, just like you -older you- became accustomed to his."
"If you're sure I won't be a nuisance, JARVIS."
"I am, young sir, I promise that Dr Banner won't mind. In fact, he will most likely enjoy your company and ask you for some assistance."
"Me?"
"Yes, sir."
—LINE BREAK—
Instead of tinkering with the scrap metal JARVIS had pointed out, Tony instead wandered around looking at everything with a gaze of awe and incredibility. He lingered at the Iron Man suits all lined up in glass cases. Mind made up, Tony went back to the communal living area and sat down on the sofa. He kindly asked the AI to pull up some feed of him as Iron Man and the rest of the team. JARVIS obliged and pulled up a mixture of feed from the Avengers battles and their time living in the tower.
The boy's eyes were wide as he watched the Avengers taking hits and getting hurt. He gasped and smiled where appropriate.
"Hey, Tony." The voice startled the boy away from where he was watching older him and the sorcerer-doctor interact. Tony could do nothing but look at his lap with an incredibly shy smile. "You sleep alright?"
"Yes, sir."
"That's good." There was an awkward silence, Tony's eyes flickered back to the screen where he saw older him and the sorcerer sharing a gentle kiss. "No one told you." Bruce murmured looking at the kid's shocked expression.
"I…am I happy…with him?" Bruce smiled at the shy and quiet boy.
"I have never seen you happier," Tony said nothing.
Bruce sighed before sitting down on the coffee table in front of him and taking the boy's hands into his own,
"Tony… when I was a young boy…my father murdered my mum." He felt the youth tense up and all but freeze, but Bruce just gripped his hands tightly in a comforting and grounding way, "Ever since I could remember, my dad abused me. He made me feel worthless and he killed my mum because she got in the way of one of his rages when she tried to protect me."
"…why are you telling me this?" Tony whispered before Bruce could continue, the older man lifted Tony's chin so the youth was looking at him,
"I'm telling you because I know what it's like to be shunned and beaten down by one of the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally. I…I know how scary everything can be. How someone simply walking behind you can make you cower in fear, how a mere touch can have you flinching and how a raised voice can make you freeze in terror." Bruce was proud to note that Tony had kept eye contact with him since the doctor had raised the youth's chin. "I want you to know, it gets better and if you ever -ever- want to talk to someone about it, I'm here. I would never judge and I know what it's like. Okay? Promise me, you'll come to talk to me if you need or want to. Whether it's at one in the morning or one in the afternoon." Gently, Bruce wiped the tear that was trickling down Tony's cheek away.
"I…I promise. Thank…thank you, Bruce." The older man smiled and ruffed Tony's hair before standing up,
"Would you like to help me out with something? I can't quite get this equation right and I reckon the help of another genius would do wonders."
"I…I'd love to, yes please." Bruce led them away with a small victorious smile, he didn't quite need Tony's help on this particular thing, but he wanted it.
—LINE BREAK—
The two were so immersed in their science experiment that they didn't notice the door opening. Silent footsteps walked into the room.
"Dr Banner-" Before the man, who had walked in could continue Tony jumped. His knees smacked against the table and he fell to the ground, the stool cluttered to the ground as Tony hid beneath the desk. His arms were wrapped around his legs, which were held against his chest. His body was trembling as he rocked back and forth. Mumbled apologies and pleads fell from his lips.
Bruce wasn't sure what to do. He went to sit in front of Tony when Bucky beat him to it. The ex-Hydra-weapon shoved his metal arm in front of the boy and waited patiently until Tony saw it. Cinnamon eyes flickered up and down the metal arm and his rocking came to a stop as his breathing calmed. Tentatively, Tony reached out and delicately placed a finger on it.
"I'm sorry for scaring you, kid. I was coming down to ask Dr Banner if he could help me with my arm, you usually do I." Tony looked at him incredibly quickly before casting his eyes back to the arm. "If you'd be up for it, could you have a look?"
"Me?" Tony exclaimed before smacking his hands over his lips and looking apologetic,
"Yeah. You." Bucky smiled slightly and held the metal arm out for Tony to grab as he stood up. Slowly, the boy did.
Tony worked on Bucky's arm whilst Bruce and the man had a silent conversation with their expressions. By the time he was done with the arm, Bucky managed to get Tony to come out of his shell little by little as the trio spent some time tinkering and talking.
"We should probably go up now." Bruce murmured as he checked the time, "The others should be up and breakfast will be ready soon." Quietly, Tony followed the pair, he hid behind Bruce as Bucky carefully placed a hand on his back, leading the young boy into the kitchen. Tony relaxed into the touch after several moments of being tense. The sight of all the others gathered around the table -save for Steve, who was finishing up with the cooking- made the youth freeze up and cower ever so slightly into Bucky's hand.
"It's okay, kiddo," Bucky whispered as he and Bruce sat on either side of Tony.
—LINE BREAK—
"You three were up early. I thought teenagers didn't wake up till the afternoon." Clint joked as he reached across for some bacon, Tony just looked down at his plate as he nibbled absently at some toast.
"Would you like anything to drink, Tony?" Steve asked suddenly appearing next to the boy causing him to jump.
"Umm…I…no…no thank you…I'm fine…" He whispered and Steve nodded looking downtrodden and worried as he shared a glance with Clint and Natasha.
"Anyone got any plans for today?" Steve asked a few minutes later,
"Training," Natasha stated after sharing a look with Clint, who nodded,
"Same."
"Bucky? Bruce?" Steve asked, his eyes turning to the youth, "Tony?"
"I was planning on going out to the mall. Want some plums and some books."
"I've got an experiment running that I need to continue. I probably won't emerge from the lab till dinner." Bruce murmured and turned to Tony who didn't say anything,
"If you want, you can come out with me?" Bucky asked looking at the kid before looking at everyone else, "Assuming that'll be alright with y'all."
"Well at the end of the day, it's up to Tony, though as no one knows about the… de-aging, there shouldn't be any dangers."
"And Bucky can protect them both if need be." Steve murmured agreeing to Natasha.
"You up for it, Tony?"
"Umm…yes, please."
"Alright, Doll." Bucky smiled before turning back to Steve, "What about you Stevie?"
"I was thinking about going for a run with Sam." Bucky made a face causing everyone at the table to chuckle even Tony giggled ever so quietly.
—LINE BREAK—
"Anywhere you want to go, Tony?" Bucky asked as the pair wandered through a market, the ex-soldier had bought himself a bag of fresh plums and put them in his backpack as the two headed towards the mall.
"Nowhere in particular…" He murmured, his fingers were twitching and Bucky watched as they brushed against his metal hand. He saw the boy attempt to hide against Bucky as people walked by quickly. He grabbed Tony's hand and allowed the boy the comfort he was seeking.
"Well there's this really nice independent bookstore just outside the mall that I want to go to and then we can have a wander if you want before having some lunch."
"That sounds good." Tony smiled up at him shyly as he agreed.
They wandered into the bookstore, Tony followed Bucky as the man picked out some books -fiction and non-fiction.
"You want to look at anything, kid?" Tony just shook his head but Bucky wasn't deterred and lead the youth to the teen section, "Come on, my treat. I'll buy you a couple of books." Hesitantly, the boy reached out and grabbed a couple of books that caught his eye. He spent a good few minutes trying to find what he wanted to read. "Harry Potter and Sherlock? Good picks, I've actually got those back home, if you want to read them." With another shy nod, Tony put the books back and looked around again. He grabbed 'Norse Mythology' by Neil Gaiman and looked at Bucky. "I've never actually read that one." Bucky murmured with a small smirk, he couldn't help but wonder when Thor would return and how Tony would react.
"Please, can I get this one?" He whispered,
"Of course, doll. Do you want to grab anything else?" Bucky asked offering to hold the book but Tony just held it to his chest and he shook his head. After the older man paid, Tony thanked him profusely yet quietly.
—LINE BREAK—
They headed into the shopping centre for some lunch. They were seated outside, near the barrier so they could watch the lower ground of the mall along with their level. Tony absently picked at some fries as Bucky munched away at a large burger.
"Doll, I hope you know that no one on the team will hurt you." Bucky murmured a few minutes into their meal. Tony didn't say anything and continued to eat the fries.
"What…who is the team?" He asked quietly, Bucky smiled and began to explain the Avengers,
"Then there's Steve, who looks big and scary but really he's just a big, happy golden retriever."
"Which one is he?"
"He's Captain America." There was a bang. Tony's hand was ripped away from his own and Bucky looked up at the boy. His face was the colour of death and his toffee eyes were wide glassy with terror. "Tony?" He asked face etched with concern as he stared at the boy,
"…Cap…Captain…Ame…America…he's…he's alive?" Tony stammered,
"Tony. Doll, what's wrong?" The youth just shook his head, hands buried in his hair as he made himself smaller. Bucky reached out, but Tony just flinched away. Looking around, the ex-soldier could see nosy civilians watching them. "Come on Tony, let's head home." He whispered.
—LINE BREAK—
They got in the elevator to go up to the living floors and a sneaky redhead slipped in just as the doors were closing. Tony, who hadn't said a word since the Captain America debacle, hid behind Bucky at the sight of Natasha. The redhead smiled as kindly as she could at the kid, but he only averted his eyes.
"Hey, Nat. Thought you and Barton were training."
"We were but the moron tried a move he's never done before and on me at that so now he's got a broken arm and bruised ribs." Bucky grinned but withheld his chuckle as he knew Tony probably wouldn't react well to him laughing at another's suffering, also the kid couldn't see his grin. Natasha seemed to get the same idea, "But then Pepper called and told me her 1 o'clock was cancelled and we had lunch."
"Sounds fun."
"It was. Two hours gossiping about boys and other girl things? Believe it or not but count me in." They both chuckled at that.
The elevator opened seconds later and the two adults got out, Natasha wandered off but Bucky turned to Tony, who was still in the lift.
"Tony? You coming out, doll?" The boy just clutched his book tighter as he'd been holding it like it was his lifeline for the majority of the day and shook his head.
"JARVIS, can you please take me to my room?" He asked quietly,
"I'm here if you need me -just ask J for me or Bruce if you want or need anything, okay?" Bucky said as the doors closed and he caught Tony nodding once.
—LINE BREAK—
"Where's Tony?" Bruce asked as Bucky wandered into the communal living area where the rest of the team barring Thor and Tony, of course. The others turned to look at Bucky, who slumped into the sofa beside Steve as though all of his energy had been drained from his body.
"Bedroom."
"What happened?"
"Everything was going well until lunch. I said the name 'Captain America' and he just…got really scared. He hasn't said a word since then except when he asked JARVIS to take him to his floor." the group looked incredibly confused and Steve had that sad puppy look that made everyone sad.
"Me? He's scared of me?"
"Technically, Steve, he's scared of everyone. He's just not as terrified of me and Bucky as he is you guys." Bruce inserted as he cleaned his glasses,
"Why isn't he that scared of you two?" Clint asked with a frown from where he lay on the other sofa, a casted wrist laid ever so gently across his torso.
"I…umm…I told Tony about…well, I can relate. My dad…he…he was an abusive man. So…so I told Tony…told him that if he ever wants to talk about it, I would understand." The others nodded and turned to Bucky, the doctor looked relieved that they hadn't drawn out the conversation.
"I more or less completely freaked the kid out and we-" He pointed to himself and Bruce, "-didn't know how to calm him down, so I showed him my metal arm in the hopes that it would grab his attention like it does with, well, normal Tony. And it did. I then let him tinker with it and he became comfortable with me. Well, a little bit at least."
"I…do we know why he's scared of me?" Steve asked after a few silent moments.
"Sorry, Stevie." Bucky murmured shaking his head, "He didn't say." Steve just nodded with a weary sigh.
—LINE BREAK—
Tony spent the rest of the afternoon curled up in a large armchair in his living room on his floor reading his new book.
"Young sir, Mr Barnes has some books for you and was requesting entry." Tony stopped reading as JARVIS' voice echoed into the quiet room. He stared at the page blankly as he thought.
"He can come in, JARVIS. Thank you." He whispered in response several minutes later.
"Sergeant Barnes, Young Anthony says you can come in. He is in his living room."
"Thank you, J."
"You are welcome, Sergeant Barnes."
Entering the room, Bucky couldn't help but find the sight equally adorable and equally pitiful. Tony was wrapped in a blanket that seemed to cloak him and in a chair that all but consumed him.
"Hey, doll." Tony nodded at him and kept his gaze on his closed book, Bucky internally sighed and held the books he was carrying up, "Brought this for you. Thought you'd like them on hand." He placed them on the coffee table in front of the boy.
"Thank you." Tony whispered and held up the book in his lap, the Norse one, "perfect timing, I…umm finished this one…already." His voice continued to be quiet even as he spared a glance at Bucky and shared a sheepish smile.
"Was it good?" Bucky asked and Tony handed it to him with a nod. "Good. Can I borrow it?" Another nod. "Thank you, doll." Tony shrugged clearly not used to genuine gratitude. The thought made Bucky's blood boil and the Winter Soldier, who was like a split personality and only came out if he needed to protect Bucky, roared in the back of his mind. The ex-soldier stood there awkwardly as the room fell silent. "Well, I guess…I should get going. Umm, dinner will be in about an hour. JARVIS'll tell you." Tony nodded and when Bucky went to move a small hand grasped the sleeve of his left arm. "Tony?"
—LINE BREAK—
After several silent moments, Bucky decided to sit down on the couch in front of him as Tony reluctantly let go of his sleeve.
"Da…dad…he always tells me that…that if Captain Amer…America was….was alive, that he'd…he'd agree with dad…that…that he'd say I…I deserved it. Dad…he even said that…that Cap…Captain America would…that he would join…join in too. I…I never used to…to be scar…scared but dad…dad found out about…about my umm crush…and so…so he…he wasn't…wasn't umm happy. It…it was really scary." Tony stuttered and stammered quietly as he stared at his white and clenched knuckles that lay in his lap, "I…I still get…get scared but…but I…I didn't think he'd…he'd ever be found…at least…at least not alive…and…and so…so it really…it really scared me when…when you…you said he…he was…"
Another moment of silence fell on them before Bucky slid to the ground and sat in front of Tony on his knees. He slowly took the boys hands and cupped them in his own larger ones.
"I know you won't believe me when I tell you that no one here would ever -ever hurt you. You are an incredible boy and an incredible man. We all love you so very much. And I know for sure that Steve would never lay a single finger on you."
"How do you know?"
"I never finished telling you but I'm James Buchanan Barnes, the World War Two soldier, who was and is Steve Rogers, Captain America's best friend." Bucky continued to explain what happened to him and Tony could only listen with wide eyes. "…so when I tell you that Steve would never hurt you, I'm telling the truth. That punk would never do anything to hurt you." He finished several minutes later.
"I…I…I'm sorry I…I want to believe you and…and I know you are telling the truth but…but at the-"
"At the same time, you don't want to believe because if something happens then you won't be as emotionally hurt as you would If you came to trust us." Tony nodded, "I understand kid. It's alright."
Bucky stood up and held out a hand for Tony,
"Do you want to come down to the living area, doll, whilst we wast for dinner? You can bring your book if you want, the others will be down there." Surprisingly, Tony grabbed his hand and stood up. He eyed his books before grabbing the large Sherlock Holmes complete collection book. "Good choice, you read it before?" Bucky asked as the two walked to the lift.
"I…I started it when I was nine, but I didn't get that far into it. Dad…he didn't umm approve."
"I see." Was all Bucky said because what else could he say?
—LINE BREAK—
Dinner was a quiet affair. The adults sent curious and concerned glances to the silent boy as they spoke to one another creating a nice atmosphere. After, when they were all tidied up and everyone was in their pyjamas, they settled around in the living area. So did Tony, though he curled up with his book.
One by one, everyone shuffled off to bed as the night grew darker and the stars shone brighter with the moon gleaming beside them.
As dawn grew closer and the residents of the tower were deep in the land of nod, a startling echo of thunder shook the building alongside a booming exclamation.
Here's my tumblr if you're interested, it also has the story collages: anxious- - -soul (no spaces between the dashes but sucks and wouldn't allow the dashes without spaces)
Anyway,
Thank you for reading,
Hope you enjoyed this,
Please review,
No hate -don't like, don't read
Bye~