Bucky sat in the living room, watching the Lord of the Rings. He had been really happy to learn that Tolkien's masterpieces had been made into movies. The soldier hadn't seen Steve in the last couple of days, but he was ok with that. It had only been a dozen of days since he woke up, and he wanted to discover things and make friends by himself now. Maybe the other supersoldier had figured that out too.

"Hey Buck, catching up on all the pop culture ?" Called Clint as he walked in the room.

"Yeah. I like the books better though. I didn't picture the characters like that when I read them."

Clint sat down next to him on the couch and put his legs on his lap. Bucky tensed at the unexpected contact, but it felt nice, so he slowly relaxed.

He could feel the spy's eyes on him.

"Hey Buck, are you ok with being here ?"

The question startled the soldier.

"What ? Why ? Of course I am."

"Come on Buck, don't think we don't notice how you seem to avoid Steve and Tony as much as possible." Said Natasha, sitting on the other side of Bucky. The soldier startled.

"Is she always like that ?" Asked Bucky to Clint, who chuckled but didn't answer.

"Bucky, this is important. You need to know that you're not a prisoner here, you can get your own place."

The soldier suddenly remembered Bruce's words.

"I wish Bucky would go away."

"I like the guy, but Tony's not the same. It's like all that's left is an empty shell."

"I'm sorry. About Tony. I know it's my fault. You're right, I'll go." Bucky mumbled, staring at the floor.

"Natasha, this guy needs a hug." Stated the bowman very seriously. "THOR !" Clint called.

Bucky still refused to look up. He felt so guilty, Tony's black eyed face and sad eyes refused to leave his mind.

And then two strong arms lifted him from the couch and wrapped him in a hug.

And it felt... Bucky sighed. Nice.

"Brother of Winter, are you okay ?" Thor questioned, concerned.

Bucky put his chin on Thor's shoulder and returned the hug while observing the two spies, who were sharing glances.

"Bucky," Natasha sighed and waited for the soldier to look her in the eye. "This is about you. You need to know that you're free. You can get your own place and spend your days at the tower, or get your own place and just stay there all the time, or simply stay at the tower, and no one will judge your actions. You're free, Bucky."

Bucky opened his mouth, and closed it. He was still pressed against Thor and he felt protected, accepted even in his vulnerability. He felt like a little brother.

"Buck, we're not pressuring you into making any choice right now. You've got time. Take as long as you want to figure it out, okay ?" Clint looked so serious, Bucky wasn't used to see him like that. He had thought that the bowman was more of a joker.

"Okay" He repeated.

Thor released him only to guide him to the couch and settle between Natasha and Clint so that Bucky had now a bowman on one side, and a god on the other. When Natasha put her legs on all of the men's laps, Bucky felt a warmth blossom in his chest. These persons were his friends.

The soldier then refocused on the movie, but not for long.

"I wish to see one of those spies movies !" Boomed Thor out of the blue.

Clint burst out laughing. "Why the fuck would you want that, Thor ?"

"I must learn about my friends' work !" Replied Thor, beaming at Clint and Bucky. Behind him, Natasha smirked and talked to Clint in sign language.

'Show him the crappiest one possible' she signed.

Bucky kept his face blank, deciding to hide the fact that he knew sign language for now.

"Alright big guy, I know just the movie to show you !" Clint told Thor.

They watched something about a man on a 'secret' mission with the maturity of a ten years old destroy everything all the time and give his name to everyone he met. Talk about undercover.

Clint and Natasha weren't paying much attention to the movie, though. Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky could see her signing with Clint. They used a sign language only taught to spies because it was discrete. If one wasn't looking for it, they wouldn't even notice it.

How Bucky knew that language was a mystery.

'We can't let Bucky be on his own'

'We won't.' Clint replied

'He needs us to be there' Added Natasha. 'Look, how relaxed he is now'

Bucky had trouble hiding his blush. They were talking about him. He didn't like being the center of attention, but at the same time it meant they cared.

"I want to be a spy !" Boomed Thor, making Clint and Bucky jump. Natasha only raised an eyebrow.

Two days later, Bucky ran into Tony. Neither of them had been paying attention.

Bucky was haunted by the cruel voices again, and the scream of terrified people. People he had killed.

Tony was focused on his Starkpad, trying to think of a more effective way of building Clint's explosive arrows, and avoid anything that had to do with any supersoldier.

The choc would have sent Tony to the ground if Bucky hadn't catched him. But what followed was a total mess.

It was Thor who found them.

Tony curled up against one wall of the corridor, shaking, eyes and cheeks wet with tears, and his breathing was jerky. He wasn't really there. Thor knew that look, he had seen it on way too many warriors : his brother of iron was stuck in terrible memories.

Bucky sat against the opposite wall, looking straight ahead, but not seeing anything. It was the same look. Thor wondered what happened but decided that it wasn't the moment. He needed to help them.

"Brother of Winter ? Bucky ?" He asked first. He knew the man had a dark side, and that it was dangerous to ignore him to pay attention to Tony first. The god had to check if Bucky was himself.

Bucky turned an unfocused gaze on him, and said something in russian.

"He said : ready to comply" Translated Natasha.

Thor turned to her, surprised. He hadn't noticed her coming.

"JARVIS told me Tony is having a panic attack. I think Bucky is having trouble telling the past from the present. We might have to call for a code Winter."

"Code Winter ?" Repeated Thor while kneeling next to the supersoldier, who was staring at him with empty eyes.

"What is the mission ?" Asked the Winter Soldier.

Natasha took a few steps towards Bucky, placing herself between him and Tony.

"The mission is fall asleep." Natasha told him.

Immediately Bucky closed his eyes, and started slowing his breathing. Thor settled next to the Winter Soldier, determined to watch over his friend, but his eyes were on Tony.

"Will our brother of iron be alright ?" Questioned Thor.

Natasha was crouching next to Tony and speaking to him softly. She turned to nod at him before continuing to talk to the inventor about the date, the place and the recent events.

Slowly, the genius' eyes became more aware of the real world, and his breathing returned to normal.

"Tasha ?" He asked, confused.

"Yes. Are you okay, Tony ?" She replied, putting a hand on his cheek and another on his shoulder. She knew friendly touches from people he trusted comforted him.

"What happened ?" Tony was watching Thor and Bucky, who had fallen asleep and was now leaning against the god.

"I found you and our brother of winter in the corridor, you both were trapped in your pasts." Explained Thor quietly, so he would not wake Bucky.

"Did the Winter Soldier...?" Asked Tony, fearing the answer.

"Yes, but not quite. He was listening to orders, he didn't care that we weren't Hydra." Replied Natasha.

"Ok. Alright. We can work with that." Breathed Tony, already thinking of ways to totally and finally get rid of the Winter Soldier.

"I don't think it would be a good idea, Tony. The soldier is a part of him now. He is not who Steve used to know. It's pointless to try to turn Bucky back into was he used to be." Natasha said, squeezing Tony's shoulder in a comforting way.

Only then Tony realized just how vulnerable he was being right now.

"Ok uh, I'm gonna go, got work to be done and all that."

Thor frowned.

"I am not leaving one of my mind wounded brothers alone !" He boomed, making Bucky frown and move in his sleep.

Upon seeing that, Tony stood up and took a few steps away from the others.

"I will, uh, go work with Brucie then." He said in a shaky voice.

Natasha stared at him, reading him and his lie.

"I will check on that, you know. You better go to Bruce for real."

Tony's shoulders slumped. "Yes, mom." He sighed.

"Tony, are you okay ? What happened ? Natasha just called me to tell me you had a panic attack."

"Apparently I ran into Bucky." Replied Tony in a monotone voice. He was so tired.

Bruce frowned.

Clint was heading to the kitchen on the communal floor to see if he could steal some of Bruce's food – the scientist's food was the best – when he saw Thor and Bucky sitting against a wall. They seemed to be leaning against each other. Clint smirked when he realized they were asleep, and silently left the corridor to go get a few things.

He quickly made the flower crowns and put a few petals on their clothes and around them, before putting the crowns on their heads.

He took a few pictures, and then left them there, trying not to laugh too hard.

Bucky woke up to Thor laughing loudly.

"We have been crowned my friend ! Princes of flowers !" Laughed the god.

Bucky frowned, trying to hold back his laugh as he assessed the situation. They had indeed been crowned.

"I'm not the prince of flowers." He said in a dark tone.

Thor's smile disappeared, and he stared at Bucky in confusion.

"I'm the king of flowers." The soldier continued, very seriously.

They burst out laughing.

That night, Bucky went to Steve's room and stood in the doorway. Steve was curled up under the covers.

"You did it, didn't you ? You hit Tony." He asked the blond in a low voice.

There was a long silence.

"Yes." Steve's voice was hoarse. It sounded like he had spent the day crying.

"I'm going to move out of the Tower. Find an apartment somewhere, but not Brooklyn."

Steve didn't answer. After a while, Bucky left the room.