A/N: Here it is! If you're new here i need to let you know that THIS IS A SEQUEL TO MY OTHER STORY 'NOT THAT LUCKY'. Thanks to everyone who has been keeping up with the story and leaving me comments and reviews! I love you guys so much!

Chapter #01:

A Father's Son

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What? You, too? I thought I was the only one.'" –C.S Lewis

Bucky Barnes had never been a nervous soul. At least, he didn't think he had. He couldn't completely remember if he were being honest. The way he felt right now, sitting on the white cushioned couch in a quiet, empty apartment felt unusual for him though. According to Steve, he had been a pretty confident guy back in the day. He vaguely recalled that. He had glimpses of memories, dates and girls, and holding his head high as he parted a crowd. Bucky believed Steve, the man had no reason to lie, but he sure as hell did not feel confident right now.

Was it weird that he was sitting in Aj's apartment alone?

Yes. Probably yes. He didn't need a working memory to see that.

Bucky was kind of weird guy now, though, so at least he was consistent in that sense.

He had been at the Compound for about three weeks? Today was the seventh of May, and the tenth would officially be the third week. On the topic of episodes, he hadn't had a full one while here yet. Still had nightmares every night, but in the morning when he stumbled out of his room in a daze he'd spot Steve in the kitchen and it'd help. Seeing Steve made him feel safe. If Steve were here then HYDRA didn't have him. Then, he'd wander out of the apartment and see Aj. Seeing Aj made him remember who he was.

Not the Winter Soldier, HYDRA's asset and weapon.

Not James Buchanan Barnes, the confident kid from Brooklyn.

Just Bucky. Broken, but maybe healing Bucky.

The healing part was yet to actually come, but that's technically the path he was on. Just…early stages. Really early. That's why he was here. Sitting nervously in his favorite gal's apartment trying not to look like the creepy weirdo he most definitely felt like right now.

The front door opened, and he stiffened. His hands rubbed against his thighs. They felt clammy. Could a metal hand feel clammy?

"Honey, I'm home!" Aj's cheery voice rang out and Bucky physically felt his entire body unwind. Aj came around the corner with her usual bright grin. She had spandex shorts and a t-shirt on. Her dark brown hair messily slung up in a bun and the shine of fresh sweat on her brow. Now that she was allowed back in the gym that's where she spent the bulk of her time. "What're you doing here?"

"I need a reason to come see you, doll?" Bucky replied.

"Well, when I gave FRIDAY permission to add your handprint to my apartment's lock, I meant for you to use it when I was actually here." Aj smirked and bounced to her kitchen to pull a water bottle out of her fridge. "It was my solution to being too lazy to get up off my couch and open the door for you."

Bucky chuckled, "That's a fair point, I guess."

Aj leaned against her counter and after taking a quick sip she spoke, "Are you excited? Today's the day!"

Today was the day. Today was the day he went to Tony's lab and got poked and prodded so the genius could fix his arm. It's not that Bucky didn't want this. He'd trade a kidney to go a day without his shoulder aching to all hell. The thought of being exposed though wasn't exactly filling him with joy.

"Uh, yeah. Definitely." Bucky nodded quickly.

Aj raised an eyebrow at him, "Yeaaaah. You sound real enthused."

Bucky quickly pushed himself up off the couch and the fact that Aj didn't even flinch or blink at the sudden, jarring movement eased his nerves. He took in a steadying breath, "I wanted to ask you for a— a favor."

"Oh." Aj's eyes widened then she shrugged, "Anything, Bucky. You know that."

He rubbed his hands against the sides of his sweatpants, "I was wondering if you'd come to the appointment with me? Stark says I'm not allowed to bring anyone, but I figure, you know, he loves you so…"

Aj set her water bottle down and walked over to the small dining room table on the other side of the island counter. The table was covered in books and papers that had piqued his curiosity, but Bucky wasn't about to start digging through her belongings. She came back over with a folder and handed it to him.

Bucky slowly took it from her and flipped it open. Inside were papers upon papers with various notes on human anatomy and shoulder replacement surgeries. It was a thick file too. Steve had complained that Aj was ducking out of Netflix nights with him with the excuse that she was too busy. Was this what she had been doing?

"Bucky, if you thought I wasn't going to be a part of this every step of the way then I have bad news for you." She said with a sheepish look. "I'm afraid you're a big, dumb idiot."

He let out an actual laugh and hung his head in amusement. When he looked back up, Aj was grinning at him impishly. Bucky held the folder up slightly, "You did all this research yourself?"

"Of course. Tony is more engineering. He's gonna make you an amazing arm, but the biology side of it isn't his favorite kind of thing. With Bruce not around I decided to pick up the slack." Aj said in a matter-of-fact tone. She took the folder from his hands and set it on the coffee table beside them. "I mean, I'm no super genius but—"

"No, no." Bucky stopped her from insulting herself. "You're wicked smart, doll. I'm lucky to have you on my case. Luckiest guy on Earth."

Aj scoffed and gave him a light shove, "Sweet talker." She let her gaze trail down his body and then back up to his eyes. Bucky felt himself stiffen and his mouth go dry. A simple look from a dame shouldn't make him so weak, but goddamn… "You need to change clothes."

Bucky snapped out of his daze and glanced down at himself. Sweatpants that were oddly tight around his ankles, joggers according to Steve, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. It was hot outside, but the Compound was cool enough, and he didn't think the others would be comfortable seeing him flash his arm. "What's wrong with it?"

"Hey, I like the clean, grunge hobo look." Aj set her hands on his chest and if he wasn't so distracted by her touch then he might've been insulted at her description of him. "But Tony is gonna wanna take a look at your entire arm and shoulder. If you're wearing this then he'll just make you strip, and I know you don't wanna sit in Tony's glass box lab half naked."

Bucky chuckled, "That wouldn't be my idea of a good time." He pressed his lips together. "Thank you, doll. All of this…"

Aj gave him a soft smile, "You don't have to thank me for that. And we're all proud of you, you know? For doing this. I know it makes you uncomfortable, but this is a really good first step."

"I…I know."

"Okay. You're gonna get a gross, sweaty hug now." Aj chuckled and threw her arms around him. Bucky wrapped his own arms around her midsection carefully. Touch was still an uneasy topic for him. A couple weeks ago he had told Aj that she didn't need to ask to touch him anymore. Bucky figured that would be a good step too and he hadn't regretted it. Not one bit. Aj pulled away after a second, "I'm gonna take a shower and get dressed and then I'll meet you in the lab."

Bucky nodded, "Yeah." He took a step away then paused. "Why did Stark tell me I couldn't bring anyone?"

"He didn't want you to bring Steve. Duh." Aj replied, then furrowed her brow, "Tony is still upset about…you know."

Bucky did know. It seemed like everyone who lived on this Campus knew about it. What he didn't know was what was going on between the blond and her. Bucky tilted his head slightly, "Can I ask why you're avoiding Steve?"

Aj stiffened and nervously began to fiddle with the metal bracelets around her wrist. His eyes darted down to where two braided bracelets sat above her left one. Most of the blood had been washed out, but a single stain remained. You could see it on the bracelet that represented him, and Bucky thought that was fitting.

"I'm not…avoiding him, per say." Aj shrugged. "I've just been… busy." Bucky raised an eyebrow at her, and she sighed. "It's complicated."

"Do you need to talk about it?" Bucky asked. Aj shook her head with a tight-lipped smile. He reached out and tapped under her chin with the side of his knuckle. "I'll see you in the lab."

Bucky walked out the apartment still stewing over his last question. Aj had been avoiding Steve and both him and Steve could see it. It wasn't like Tony who was doing it with a glare. Aj still gave him kind smiles and talked to him when she had to, but she wouldn't do more than that. It was nothing like it used to be, according to Steve, and his blond friend was crawling up the wall in desperation for answers. He wished he could do more to help the scenario, but he wasn't willing to push Aj beyond what she felt comfortable with. Bucky would stay a bystander, at least for now.

I wanted to get there before Bucky did so I could lecture Tony into reigning in his personality. This was a nerve-wracking thing for the man and the last thing he needed was Tony's sarcastic remarks. It was why I had the folder of all my research held between my teeth while I braided my hair and walked out of the elevator.

"Aj, you hate me!" Pietro yelled loudly from the kitchen island as I walked by. He was leaning on his elbow with a frown. Books and papers lying untouched in front of him. "Why does my sister not have to do this?"

Finished with my braid, I pulled the folder out of my mouth to speak with a chuckle, "She did. She just finished it a week ago and didn't wait until the last day that it's due. For someone so fast, you're working real damn slow."

Pietro grumbled in Sokovian and I continued on my path to the lab. I flipped through the contents of my folder one more time making sure I had everything. A lot of work was going to go into his shoulder and since I was far from an expert on the topic I spent extra time finding any sort of information I could. When the soundproof glass doors slid open, a wall of yelling and alarms slammed into me. My eyes snapped up from the folder to see Peter standing on the ceiling pointing to a fire in the corner, Harley was holding a metal block of something that was still sparking in the center of the room, Tony was barking at them while patting a singe mark on his shoulder, and an odd little metal crane sat by the fire spraying it with a fire extinguisher.

At my entrance they all froze and turned to look at me. The only sound now came from the extinguisher and fire alarm overhead. Harley smirked at me, "Oh, hey, Aj. Welcome to our shit show!"

"Language." Tony snapped at him.

"Why?" I breathed and moved to a computer to silence the alarm. The alarm that should've been echoing through the entire Compound if there was a fire, and since it wasn't that meant Tony disconnected it. Again. "Just, why?"

"Why what?" Peter asked still hanging upside down.

"Why everything?" I replied. Harley opened his mouth, but I immediately decided I didn't want to know. I shook my head, "As excited as I am to see you boys, what the hell are you doing in the lab?"

Harley, who had grown again since I last saw him, shrugged, "Tony said we could watch him work on the robot man."

I snapped a glare to Tony who immediately turned around as he found the wall to suddenly be more interesting than me. Peter flipped down, landing on his feet with ease, and gave me a broad smile, "So it's really James Buchanan Barnes? The Howling Commando? Mj did a report on him in history class last year you know and—"

"Again, I love you boys with my entire heart and soul, and I would gladly walk into traffic for both of you…" I held my arms out to them, one hand on Peter's shoulder and the other on Harley's, "But if you don't get out of this lab in the next five minutes, I'm gonna lose my shit." They gave me sheepish looks and the robot crane rolled over into view chirping and beeping in excitement. "Also, what the hell is that?"

"That's DUM-E." Tony finally decided to join into the conversation. "He's their older brother." Peter and Harley both looked over their shoulders at him in question. "I made him ages ago, then I got him killed when my Malibu home went into the ocean, but then I saved him. Didn't have room in the Tower so he's been staying with Harley in his garage lab."

Harley gave me a thumbs up, "And I brought him along because he's been missing Tony." The crane bobbed its robot arm up and down as if in agreement and my eyes widened. Harley nodded once, "See?"

"There is so much happening at once." I mumbled to myself. I set the folder down on the lab counter and turned back to the boys, "Bucky is gonna be here any minute now, and he doesn't need two toddlers staring at him while we poke and prod." They both complained about their ages, but I continued. "Go hang out with Pietro. Tell him I said he could take a break from his report."

Harley gave me a nonchalant shrug while Peter beamed in excitement. They both left, still talking about whatever had gone wrong in the lab, and despite the chaos I couldn't help but smile. Neither boy had any siblings so they had taken their pseudo-sibling bond very seriously despite living in different states.

"The fire was definitely their fault." Tony said.

I turned back around to glare at him, "Well that's what happens when you three play in the lab with no adult supervision."

He opened his mouth to argue, paused, then nodded, "Fair assessment." Tony glanced over at the robot and whirled his finger in the air once, "DUM-E start clean up, yeah?" The drone chirped again and began to move around the room grabbing things that had been dropped to the floor in chaos. Tony shrugged at me, "I can clean the fire thing up after we deal with Barnes."

"Thank you." I said, "Did Dr. Cho drop off her portable x-ray?"

"Yeah, and she said she was sorry she couldn't stick around to help." Tony replied and pointed over to where the large machine sat off to the side. "She did send us a list of doctors that she thinks will be able to help us. I wish Bruce were here, he'd be so much better at this."

I gave him a tight-lipped smile. We all missed Bruce. The last time I had seen him was when I said good-bye to him as he boarded the jet to fight Ultron. I just hoped that wherever he was that he was safe and happy. My fingers were still crossed in hopes that he was taking an extended vacation on some island. The poor guy sure as hell needed it. The main worry though was that Betty would call us to see if we had heard from him because he wasn't even reaching out to her. That had us all anxious.

The doors slid open, and I glanced over to see Bucky standing there. His shoulders were stiff, and he had changed into a white tank top with the hoodie jacket over it. Bucky's hair was pulled up in a half bun and he motioned behind himself, "Is there a reason why Pietro is being attacked by Stark's kids?"

"Speedy Gonzales owes me money. If this doesn't get it in his head, then I'm sending sunshine here next to break his kneecaps." Tony replied. The corner of Bucky's lips twitched up in amusement and I felt myself relax at it. Maybe Tony's remarks weren't so bad. "Now come on, Terminator, let's get that HYDRA hunk of shit welded to your spine looked at."

Or maybe they were.

Tony, ignoring my glare entirely, led Bucky back towards the x-ray machine and motioned for him to strip out of the jacket. I took it from him, and Bucky sat in the seat's chair nervously. His hands clenched and unclenched. Before I could comfort him, Tony spoke up, "Relax, man. We're just taking pictures of your fucked up shoulder. All you gotta do is sit and look pretty."

Surprisingly, I watched as Bucky relaxed to a small degree.

Tony grabbed the lead vests and handed me one before slipping his on. I wrapped the strap around me then Velcro-ed it to the front. Tony set the lead neck piece around my neck and clicked it close in the back before doing his.

"Alright, she said the first few pictures would be shit and we'd have to adjust some of the dials to account for the metal. Otherwise, his arm is just gonna wash the entire thing out." Tony grabbed the remote and pressed down on the red button. Just like Cho had warned, the computer screen, where the picture was saved, showed a bright white blur and the only bones visible were in the bottom right corner away from his arm. "Okay you play with the dials I'm just gonna keep hitting the button."

We worked in tandem. Me making adjustments and Tony snapping a picture after each one. Eventually it got to the point where the glow coming from the metal resembled a small halo around it. We could finally see bone.

"This is amazing." I breathed.

"Yeah, Cho designed this thing herself. It's the next level of x-ray tech."

I moved to the opposite side of the screen where Bucky sat and gave him a smile, "You doing okay?"

"Peachy, doll." He gave me a reassuring smile.

"Alright, we're gonna take pictures at different angles now. You got this one, Tony?" I asked and he nodded. I had Bucky hold his arm up above his head, then I shifted his chair so the camera was getting a side angle instead of a front and back one. I let him set his arm down and we took a few more. "Enough?"

Tony hummed in thought, "I want some focused on his neck and upper back. Shift the bar up." I stepped forward and unlocked the arm of the machine and lifted it up a few inches. "Yeah, there is good. Barnes look up. Good. Now tuck your chin to your chest. Got it. Now rotate him around, Aj." I had Bucky shift again, so we were getting a front back view again. "Slouch over. And…got it. We're done."

Bucky's eyes widened in surprise, "That's it?"

"That's it for the boring part." Tony replied and pulled off all the protective lead. He shot the man a smirk, "Now it's my turn to play. Engineering only."

I rolled my eyes as Tony walked back to the main part of his lab and began to rip off MY lead vest. I jumped in surprise when I felt Bucky's hands at the back of my neck unclipping the lead there. He chuckled, "I thought I was supposed to be the nervous one."

"Thanks." I said and hung up both pieces, "Look, if Tony says something or if he goes too far just let me know and—"

Bucky set his hand on my lower back and offered me the charming smile he usually only shot me when we were hidden in his apartment or mine away from the other Avengers that he was still getting used to. He chuckled, "What? Are you gonna beat him up for me?"

"Absolutely." I grinned.

"Stop flirting and get the hell over here. I'm a busy man."

I rolled my eyes and we walked over to him. Bucky sat down on the stool Tony had grabbed for him, "No, you're not. I know for a fact you took off this entire week to hang out with Harley and Peter since they're out from school."

"Details, details." Tony mumbled. "Can you take your shirt off? I wanna see your back too." Bucky stiffened, but Tony didn't even pause. "FRIDAY, frost the walls and turn on our doorbell."

The glass walls grew white, blocking the view, and I knew the doorbell feature meant people would have to ask for entrance before the doors slid open. While Bucky pulled off his tank top, I gave Tony a small smile and he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sorry, I thought the tank top would be enough." I said.

Bucky shook his head, "It's fine."

Tony ignored us both and began to look over the arm. He scoffed, "Jesus, did they make this thing in the fucking dark?" He set his hands at Bucky's elbow, lifted it, and then told Bucky to relax his arm. Tony grunted at the weight in his hands, "How heavy is this thing? How have you been able to hold it up?"

"I got used to it." Bucky replied.

"Well, it's no wonder the skin around it looks so raw. It's constantly pulling there." Tony let go of Bucky's arm and focused his attention at where the metal shoulder met his skin. "I wanna video tape this exam so I can refer back to it instead of calling you into my lab all the time. Sound good?" Bucky nodded once. "DUM-E, bring the camera!"

"You're gonna have DUM-E record?" I asked skeptically.

"Who the hell is DUM-E?" Bucky asked at the same time.

Tony shrugged, "He's done it before." The drone rolled over with a lens in its hand and Tony took it from him and replaced the claw with the screw on lens. "Zoom in on the arm and don't touch him. Can I touch you?"

It took Bucky a second to catch the question since it was spoke in the same breath he used to speak to the drone. He cleared his throat, "O—Oh. Yeah. Sure."

Tony began to press his fingers into the flesh around the joint. Bucky's face twisted in discomfort and I quickly stepped forward to grab his right hand. He squeezed it once as Tony began to talk through the exam for the camera, "Alright prosthetic stretches out to the clavicle. I can feel the thin plating in his pectoral muscle that showed on the x-ray, but I can't feel the anchor they attached to his rib. Scapula limits full rotation of the joint. Hindered backward extension of shoulder and both horizontal and vertical abduction. No external rotation whatsoever."

This went on for a few more minutes until he motioned for DUM-E to back away. I nodded once, "You done?"

"Sort of. He's probably gonna need a CT for his spine, but his giant metal arm will screw with any image we take." Tony said and the look in his eyes told me he was mostly talking to himself. "We'll have to fix the shoulder's base then tackle the spine issue."

I twisted my lips, "We can't do it all in one surgery?"

"Nah. It'll have to be two I'm thinking. Maybe three depending on how bad the connections to the spine look."

"Okay, so an ortho surgeon for the shoulder and a neurosurgeon for his back."

"I also think we should put him under anesthesia once here, without cutting on him, just to see how he wakes up from it. If he reacts badly and wakes up as the Winter Soldier he's just gonna muck up any work we did. We need to know about that before we start."

"That's three, maybe four, times of going under." I shook my head. "That's too much."

Tony shrugged, "Yeah for a normal human. He should be fine though. Cap reacted fine to it when he had to go under."

"Wait, wait—" Bucky pulled his hand away from mine so he could hold both up in thought, "Repeat all of that. What are we doing?"

I crossed my arms and gave him a soft smile, "We don't know for sure yet. I don't want to tell you anything until the ortho surgeon we get can confirm, but…" I glanced at Tony and he shrugged at me. "We want to make it so your prosthetic is removable."

Bucky's eyes widened, "Like…Like I could take it off and put it back on whenever?" I nodded in confirmation and he let out a soft sigh, "You really think you can do that?"

"I can most definitely build that." Tony replied. "The question is if we can find a surgeon who will be able to carve out everything HYDRA put in so we can replace it. We're also heavily banking on your knock-off super soldier serum being able to hold it all in place."

"Are you okay with that?" I asked softly.

Bucky nodded, a tired laugh slipping from his lips, and his voice was hoarse, "Yeah. I, uh, yeah, I like that plan."

"Cool. Any other requests?"

"What?"

"Anything else you want for the design?" Tony clarified. He motioned to the arm, "Obviously we're making it removable and I'm gonna make it a hell of a lot lighter, but do you want it to do anything else? Glow in the dark? Spinning rims? XM satellite radio?"

Bucky glanced at me with wide eyes, and I nodded, "He mentioned once that he wished it was darker. A matte color so it isn't so obvious from a distance."

"Great idea. He's a damn fire hazard right now." Tony chuckled. "It's a good thing he refuses to step outside because the moment the sun shines off that thing he's gonna be like a kid with a magnifying glass over an anthill."

Bucky cleared his throat, "Can you…" He hesitated for a second. "Can you make it more sensitive? To touch and temperature?"

Tony bobbed his head in thought, "That's a good idea. I don't know how much I can crank up the sensation since I haven't seen your spine yet, but I can guarantee you it'll be better than what you have now."

"Thank you." Bucky breathed. Tony slapped him on the back once, making him jump, and walked away with a smirk. While Tony fiddled with the x-ray machine, I handed Bucky back his discarded shirt. When I came back with his jacket, Bucky gave me a confused look, "Why is he being so nice to me? He doesn't have to do any of this and after what I did—"

I shook my head and held the jacket behind him to slide his arms in, "Tony's good like that. He sees a problem, and he finds a solution. Plus, he likes you." Bucky gave me a firm look and I chuckled. "Okay, he doesn't hate you."

"Even that seems like a stretch." Bucky mumbled and stood up. "He's just doing this as a favor to you, isn't he?"

"Nope." I said with a smile. "Tony's the kind of guy that takes care of the people he thinks he's responsible for, and since you now live under his roof… he feels responsible for you."

Bucky shook his head, "He doesn't have to do that. I—"

"You're family now, Buck." I chirped and stepped away to start working through my folder and finding an ortho surgeon who will work with us, "Now maybe Tony sees you more as that weird cousin that he loves to hate, but family is family." I winked at him. "Better get used to it, bub."

Steve leaned against the island counter as Sam spoke. Wanda was on the couch in the living room reading a book while her brother sat at the island counter scribbling in a notebook. Down the hall, Bucky was with Tony and Aj still. He wanted to be in the lab more than anything, but he knew that wasn't for the best right now. Especially since Tony refused to even look at him.

"Our options are limited." Sam shrugged. "Ross is appeased for now, but he's never gonna stop sniffing. We're at a lull in our own case trying to find Strucker. Now may be the best time to act."

Steve nodded, "You're right, but Bucky's in the process of getting his arm fixed. I don't want to add the extra stress of trying to get the government to pardon him."

"Call me crazy, but looking at his life, I think the guy can handle a little stress." Sam responded with a raised eyebrow before bringing his coffee mug to his lips. He cleared his throat afterwards, "Though I don't think the government is gonna write him a pass without something in return."

He rubbed the back of his neck. The government would ask for something in return and it would probably be something ridiculous like having Bucky work for them. Steve wasn't going to let him get tossed to another organization for their agenda. Never again. Sam clicked his tongue and Steve looked back to him.

"I have an idea, but it's a bad one."

"Nothing could be worse than involving Ross."

"We could arrest him. Get him put on trial. United States vs Barnes."

Steve's eyes widened, "Never mind. That's a worse idea."

"Not if he wins." Sam shrugged. "If Barnes is ruled as not guilty then he gets his life back. He won't owe anybody anything. It's a terrible idea, but it has the potential to be an amazing one."

Steve sighed, "High risk, high reward."

"That is how we do it around here." Sam lifted his mug in a 'cheers' like fashion. Steve let the idea roll around in his head a little more. Bucky was innocent. He was a victim in all of this, and if they could just show the public that—prove it to a jury of peers—then it would fix the entire situation. They wouldn't have to sit around waiting for Ross to kick down their door.

They briefly began to go over mission specs when Steve heard Bucky coming down the hall. He turned just as Bucky stepped into the kitchen. His friend spotted him and walked over. Steve offered him a smile, "How'd it go?"

"Good." Bucky nodded and Steve could tell he looked a bit lighter today. He wondered if that had to do with the appointment he just came from. Bucky glanced around before nodding his head toward the elevator, "I'm gonna go change real quick."

"Sure thing." Steve grinned. Bucky began to walk out, and his eyes landed on Sam. He gave the man a small greeting, a brief nod, and Sam responded by winking at him. Bucky's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he kept moving. Steve glanced over at his friend, "Really?"

Sam smirked, "I wanna see how far I can push. It's a therapist thing. Trust me."

Seconds later, Harley and Peter rushed into the room like a storm and Peter hopped over the couch to start shoveling items into his bookbag. Steve's eyes widened when he spotted the item in Harley's arms. He was carrying a car battery, God knows where the boys grabbed it from, and the kid also had one of Tony's prototype repulsors.

"Harley", Steve called out with a concerned nod, "Don't you think you're a little young to be messing around with that repulsor without Tony?"

Harley gave him a sneer, "Aren't you a little old to be alive?"

Sam literally spit out the coffee he had been drinking in a spray while Steve just stood there in shock. Wanda looked up from her book in surprise and Pietro literally fell off his stool, howling in laughter. Peter slung his bookbag on his back then began to push Harley out, "Sorry Mr. America, Captain, sir!"

The boys disappeared and Steve felt two fingers press against the side of his neck. He sighed and without turning to look spoke, "Sam. What the hell are you doing?"

"Checking for a pulse, man, because that kid just murdered you." Sam snickered.

Steve swatted his hand away with a light glare. He wasn't surprised by the boy's remark and he really didn't take it to heart. Honestly, Steve had always been impressed by how quickly Harley always seemed to have some kind of retort. He didn't think the boys knew what was going on exactly, but they could obviously tell that him and Tony were going through something.

"FRIDAY!" Pietro, who had finally stopped laughing, called out, "Tell Aj I am dying, and it is all her fault."

"Mr. Maximoff, I have passed along your message and Ms. Bradshaw told me to tell you that you are being a dramatic brat." FRIDAY replied. Wanda giggled from the living room while Pietro slumped against the island counter in a theatrical fashion.

"FRIDAY", Pietro said again but now his voice was muffled by the table, "Tell Aj I need help. Can she come out here?"

Steve pushed off the island to straighten out his posture, eyes darting to the hall, but FRIDAY spoke again, "Ms. Bradshaw requests you to come to the lab."

Pietro scooped up his belongings and disappeared in a blink. Steve ran a hand through his hair in frustration and leaned back against the counter again. When he glanced over at Sam he noticed the man was staring at him with a raised eyebrow. Steve quickly cleared his throat and crossed his arms, "What?"

"Trouble in paradise?"

Steve rolled his eyes, "Really, Sam?"

"What is going on between the two of you?" Sam questioned firmly. "Seriously."

"Nothing. We're fine."

"When was your last movie night with her?"

Pre-Ultron was the answer, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Every time he suggested it, Aj always had a reason why she couldn't. Doing research for Tony, writing lesson plans for the twins, training with Natasha, dinner with Sam. It got to the point where Steve stopped asking because he could see how awkward she felt anytime she named a new excuse.

Steve had tried everything, but Aj seemed content with avoiding him. She was nicer about it than Tony, but anytime he tried to strike up a conversation with her she'd smile and find a way to slip out of it. Steve missed her like hell though.

"You got that pining look on your face so I assume it's been a while since the two of you hung out." Sam hummed. "I know you don't hang out together with Bucky. It's like you guys are divorced parents and Bucky's the poor kid getting bounced back and forth."

Steve shook his head and wished he had an argument to the statement, "I don't know what's going on."

With anything. Steve felt like he had no moves left on the board. His relationship with Tony and with Aj were shadows of what it used to be. The ironic part was, he knew that if Aj would just talk to him she'd have an answer on how to fix things with Tony.

Steve was at a loss of what to do.

The mass email I had sent out to dozens of Orthopedic surgeons across America was replied to within the hour. As it turns out, when you email people from Tony Stark's account it turned heads. I couldn't give a lot of details of what we needed from them, but the line 'an Avenger needs major surgery to repair a shoulder joint that has been decimated' got their attention. Every surgeon wanted to be the surgeon that saved an Avenger's arm.

I didn't want just any surgeon though. Finding someone capable would be easy, but I needed more than that. I needed someone who would respect Bucky's privacy and treat this entire case with tact and care. It was why I set up 10 video interviews for tomorrow. Talking to them and looking them in the eye was gonna tell me what I needed to know.

"How many surgeries on YouTube are you gonna watch?" Tony asked from over my shoulder.

I shrugged and hit pause, "YouTube videos taught me how to be a PR manager."

"Learn how to replace a shoulder yet?" Tony smirked. I swiveled in my seat, following him, as he went back to the blueprint he was playing with midair. "That could've been your life, you know?"

I narrowed my eyes, "What do you mean?"

"Medical School. Doctor." Tony tore his eyes away from the screen in front of him. He gave me a soft smile. "It's never too late. I'd offer to pay for you to start this Fall, but I know you wouldn't take it. But…if we start working on your application now you could start next Fall." I sighed, but Tony didn't stop. "You'll have to retake the MCAT, your scores expired two years ago, but—"

"Tony." I said firmly. "That part of my life has passed. The door is shut."

"The door to learning never shuts." He argued. Tony swiped in the air and the work he was doing disappeared. He set his hand on the counter beside me and leaned on it, "Aj, you love this stuff. I asked you to look up one thing—one thing—for this project and look." Tony motioned with his head toward the thick folder sitting beside me. "You went above and beyond."

I shrugged nonchalantly, "I wanna help Bucky."

"Yeah, but you're having fun learning about the anatomy and finding a solution to this problem."

Tony wasn't wrong that's the sad part of it all. I spent the last week and a half reading a hundred studies and case reports and watching dozens of shoulder surgeries online, and yes it was my passion to help Bucky that pushed me forward, but I enjoyed every little fact I learned. Being a student was fun and I loved it. It was why going through four years of undergraduate without a single friend was so easy. I threw myself into my degree. It was all I needed.

"Aj, listen to me", Tony reached out and set a hand on my elbow, "You're smart, and that intelligence was wasted in that damn ring you got stuck in. Now though? Nothing is holding you back. We love and support you and we'd be ecstatic to see you thrive." Tony raised his eyebrows at me twice, "Dr. Aimee Jane Bradshaw. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

I let out a small laugh and reached out to squish his cheeks with one hand. Tony just kept looking at me in a smug, knowing manner. With a sigh, I gave him a smile, "I'm content with what I have. I don't need a medical degree. Now go back to designing an arm."

Tony nodded in my hand and when I let go he went back to his station. Swiping in the air to bring back all his screens. I turned back to my own screen and hit play on the video. It went on for another 37 seconds before I hit pause again and turned to Tony. He raised an eyebrow at me curiously.

"I have an idea for the shoulder, but it's… experimental. I read some studies on extreme shoulder replacements, but they were all limited by the human's body healing capabilities and the technology." I said quickly. Tony looked intrigued and nodded for me to continue. I shifted in my seat, bit down on my lip, "I don't know if it would work."

Tony grinned in excitement, "Nobody ever does. Not until you try."

Bucky put on real clothes. With everything Steve, Aj, and Tony were doing for him the least he could do was put in an effort on his part. The gray sweater and jeans fit him well. Apparently, the Black Widow was slowly filling up his closet, and honestly he had never been more baffled by anything in his entire life. He had no idea what that was about, but he wasn't gonna question it. If Natasha Romanoff wanted him to wear a dress and heels he'd do it without question. The name of the game was 'don't piss off the deadly assassin'.

That didn't change the fact that he wasn't crazy about what he had on. It wasn't really his style, but the clothes were nice in quality. Considering he only had one shirt to his name before he got here, he had no room to complain.

"No, no! Hold it up higher!"

Bucky, who was on the third floor making his way to meet Steve in the game room past the dorms, paused at the young voice. He stepped off to the side and walked out onto the side balcony that faced the back lawn of the Compound. This was the side with the patio and outdoor pool, but the two kids were standing in the open lawn messing with something. The taller of Tony's kids had something metal wrapped around his arm that was connected to a battery sitting on the ground. He held his arm up, pointing at nothing, while the shorter of the two was recording him on a phone.

"You ready? On three! One, two, three—"

The taller one shot a glowing ball of something out of the metal around his arm into the air, but the blast made the arm swing back and slam into his face. The kid dropped like a bag of potatoes.

"Shit." Bucky gasped. Without thinking, he set his hands on the railing and jumped. Bucky's feet hit the patio, he heard the crumbling of brick, but then he was sprinting out into the lawn.

"Peter?" The shorter kid was shaking him. "Hey, are you still alive?"

Bucky slid on his knees to the kid's side and the shorter one gasped in surprise. Peter, apparently, had a gash in his left eyebrow and an already forming bruise. Bucky quickly felt for a pulse and found one with ease. With a groan, the kid's eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, you alright?" Bucky questioned.

Peter's eyes narrowed, obviously still in a daze, "Jesus?"

Bucky blinked in surprise and leaned back on his legs. Peter slowly sat up and the other kid shook the injured one's shoulder, "Dude, Jesus has a robot arm."

"Stop calling me Jesus." He shook his head and pulled his sleeves down. Peter's eyes slowly widened in surprise and Bucky motioned to his head, "You're bleeding."

Peter lifted a hand to his face and flinched, "Too much power, Harley. We gotta bring it down a bit."

"No shit." Harley replied then held up his phone, "I got it on video though. It's hilarious."

"Can I get you inside before your dad comes out here and loses it?" Bucky questioned.

Both boys glanced at each other, meeting one another's eyes, then turned back to look at him. They both nodded, but Harley was the one to speak, "Yeah, sure, wouldn't want dad to see us like this."

Peter was still bleeding pretty bad, face wounds and all that, but before he could do anything about it Harley shrugged out of his button up shirt, wadded it up into a ball, and then shoved it into Peter's face. The kid held it to his face while pulling himself off the ground.

"You dizzy? Can you walk?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks, Mr. Jesus."

He couldn't help but chuckle to himself while walking the kids back, "It's Bucky, kid."

The back of the Compound was off limits to the public, only the front of the first two floors being public space, so he wasn't worried about being spotted by someone he shouldn't be. Harley bounced beside him, "Hey, how's your arm work? What's the power source? Is it biological or is it built into the system itself?"

"Uh, I have no idea." Bucky admitted.

"Does it need recharging?"

"Well, I—"

"What sort of additional features does it have?"

"Not—"

"Do guns pop out of it? Or other weaponry?"

"No."

The prodding should've been a lot, but Bucky just found it amusing. Harley didn't ask anything with an ulterior motive or mal intent. The kid was just curious. Excitable. Passionate. Bucky chuckled to himself until Peter wobbled a little. Both him and Harley froze and reached out to make sure he didn't fall.

"Dude, shouldn't you be healing by now?"

"I am." Peter replied, and pulled the shirt back, it was soaked with blood, "Cut was just deep. I think it stopped bleeding, but I already lost a lot."

Bucky scooped up the kid and Harley told FRIDAY to tell their dad that they were heading to the medical bay. The kid weighed nothing, and he hopped into the elevator with Harley beside him. He nodded once, "You still feel okay?"

"Yeah, just a little dizzy. Thanks for holding me, Mr. Jesus." Peter smiled.

"Peter, don't call me Jesus."

The elevator doors opened, and it was a quick walk to the medbay where Tony and Aj were already waiting. Bucky set Peter down on the bed and Aj was quick to pull the shirt away and look at the wound. Tony, on the other hand, had his hands on his hip, "I told you two not to mess with the repulsor without me there to check your math!"

"We're sorry." Harley said sheepishly. "We checked our numbers twice, and we thought Peter would be strong enough to handle that amount of blowback."

Tony glanced over at Peter, motioning with his arm, "He could've lost his eye if that hit were any lower! His healing ability isn't gonna do shit if he has no eye to heal!"

This was the third time he was hearing something about a healing or strength ability and Bucky was beginning to think he was missing a piece of a puzzle. Aj waved her hand at him and he looked over, "Hey, can you look in that cabinet over there? I need the suture kit and alcohol."

Bucky quickly did what she asked. Behind him, he could hear Peter talking, "His robot arm is so cool, Aj. I can't wait to tell May that I met Jesus Christ and he has a metal arm."

"Peter, you're Jewish."

Bucky came back over and Aj snickered, while looking over the kid's head to grin at him. He handed her the items and Aj went to work cleaning up the wound that had stopped bleeding finally. She spoke while cleaning, "It's really not that bad, but I'm gonna put in one stitch to help the healing along, okay Pete?"

"You never told me you knew how to suture." Bucky said softly. Tony was still scolding Harley in the background.

Aj shrugged and grabbed the small vial of local anesthetic. She drew back just a little then after warning Peter about a small pinch, she stuck it by the wound. Aj glanced at him briefly, "It never came up. We didn't talk about first aid over the phone."

"We talked about odd skills though."

"I used to suture myself up after some fights. Would suture others too." Aj replied and prepped her needle. "Never had such nice materials though. Definitely no anesthetic. Once I sutured a gash on my leg with dental floss."

Peter sat patiently as Aj quickly put in a single stitch. The kid beamed up at Aj as she cleaned the mess around them. When she moved to throw away the trash, he stuck his lower lip out in a pout then pointed to his forehead. Aj rolled her eyes in good nature then leaned over and placed a small peck above his wound.

Tony whipped around and pointed at the bed, "And you! As soon as your head gets screwed on right, which shouldn't be long, Spider-man, then I'm ripping you a new one too."

Bucky paused in alarm. He held up one hand, glanced from the kid in the bed then to Tony then back to the kid, "He's Spider-man?"

"That's a secret." Peter grinned in a dopey manner while holding his finger up to his lips.

Bucky had seen the red and blue hero all over the news, but he never would've guessed that the puppy dog type kid lying in front of him would be said hero. Harley came to sit by the bed and Aj wandered back over to talk with them. Tony, on the other hand, caught his eye and nodded toward the door. Bucky followed him over curiously.

"Thanks for watching idiot 1 and 2." Tony nodded once.

"I was passing by. Coincidence." Bucky shrugged. Tony hummed in thought and he motioned back to the boys, "They're, uh, they're good kids. It's obvious where they get their love for science."

Tony stared at him, blinked once, then nodded, "Yeah, they definitely get that reckless passion for experiments from the Stark side."

"I don't mean to ask, but, uh…" Bucky began awkwardly.

"Pepper isn't their mom. They have different moms actually." Tony answered with a shrug. "Haven't spoken to them in ages."

Bucky shook his head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a sore topic."

"No, no. Not at all." Tony clapped him on the back again once then pointed at him with the same hand, "My past is just that. My past." There was a weight in his words that Bucky wondered if he was reading too far into. Tony gave him a smirk, "Energy is better spent on the present. Can't change the past, but you can change the future."

Bucky's mouth felt dry, "R—Right."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go yell at my sons a little more." Tony chuckled and walked away. Bucky stood in the doorway and watched as the man stood at the end of the bed with his hands on his hips. Tony Stark was an enigma. He was also nothing like his father. Sure, Bucky could see that drive for science, for knowledge, but Tony had a passion that he never saw in Howard.

"I'm taking you upstairs and you can sit in the corner with DUM-E while Aj and I work. Dunce caps for both of you." Tony said with a small smirk while the boys in front of him laughed. He only had love and care in his brown eyes.

Tony Stark had a passion for family.

Bucky's thoughts were interrupted when Aj wandered back over to him. He offered her a smile and when she looped her arm through his to pull him away, Bucky let out a soft sigh of content. Months ago, Bucky considered any day where he wasn't actively fighting the darkness in his mind a good day. His best days were ones where his nightmares only haunted him for half the day, and he got to talk to Aj on the phone. Never, never, would he gave guessed he'd ever have good days like today. He hardly deserved it, but he was so damn thankful.

"I like your outfit." She hummed.

"Yeah?" Bucky chuckled.

Aj shrugged, "Nat has really good taste. She's 75% of my wardrobe."

"What's the other 25%?"

"Clothes I steal from the guys." She squeezed his arm. Bucky smiled down at her and let her drag him wherever she wanted. They got back onto the main communal floor, but right before they stepped out of the elevator, he heard a familiar voice. Bucky pulled Aj back then hit the button to take them up one more floor. Aj gave him a curious look, "You okay?"

Bucky opened his mouth, hesitated, then answered, "Steve was in the living room."

Her eyes briefly widened, but she gave him a soft smile and nod. He didn't like the fact that Aj was avoiding his best friend. He saw the pain and frustration it caused the blond, but Bucky also saw the pain that flashed across Aj's face anytime she fumbled out an excuse. He didn't know her thought process, but he knew he hated seeing that look on her face. Maybe Bucky wasn't as much of a bystander as he thought.

"Thanks." Aj said softly. "Thanks for being there for Pete too."

They stepped off the elevator onto the fourth floor and Bucky shrugged, "It was nothing. They're good kids. Tony is…Tony is a really good father." Aj tilted her head slightly and he cleared his throat. "I just mean…I never had Howard pegged as the soft and comforting kind so Tony must get that from his mom." The brunette's lips curled up into a slow smile and Bucky wasn't entirely sure what it stemmed from. He found himself babbling again, "They don't call Pepper Potts mom, right?"

"Oh, Bucky." Aj cooed and set her hand against the side of his face. Her fingers scratched at the scruff on his jaw and he almost melted in place until she suddenly tapped said hand against his cheeks a couple times. "You are so cute when you're being gullible."

"When I'm— Wait, what?" Bucky blinked and just watched as she walked toward her apartment door. He chuckled under his breath and leaned against the corner he stood by. Bucky called out to her, "You know, you're the only person I'd let call me cute and gullible then just walk away."

Aj glanced over her shoulder with a smile that reassured him of his statement. He'd let his girl get away with murder. She shrugged with a shake of her head, "Oh, come on. I'm not that special."