Chapter 8

Steve's eyes flashed open suddenly and he quickly got out of bed, heart pounding as he made his way to the spare bedroom where he found it empty. Pushing away his disappointment, he made his way down the hallway and into the kitchen and poured himself a drink, as he entered his living room however, he noted Barnes was sat unnaturally still on his sofa. Nearly dropping his glass in surprise, Steve felt the disappointment leave his body suddenly as he realised that Bucky had stayed in the apartment with him. "Good morning!" Steve called out, feeling chipper as Barnes stared at him. "What the hell is good morning, and why does your face look like that?" Barnes huffed. Steve had to fight back a laugh as his mind caught up to how surreal everything was, "nothing, nothing. Well, good morning is a… greeting that you say but it doesn't matter…" he trailed off as Barnes continued to watch him with an unfathomable look. "You said we would talk today, talk" he stated bluntly; truthfully, Barnes didn't know why he was still here but there was a small part of him that had felt compelled to stay this morning as he was about to leave through the open window.

Steve shifted his weight slightly and ran a hand through his hair, "right well… first off, did you have any questions?"

Barnes eyed Steve with confusion, sure he had questions, but he wasn't allowed to ask questions… he could recall his handler hitting him when he had asked one recently, though he couldn't remember what question he had asked. Staring into the other man's eyes, a question danced into his mind: "You know me, how" Barnes demanded, his eyes flashing. "Speak only truth, I will know if you lie to me" his eyes narrowed.

Steve's reply came even, he must have been anticipating that question: "I told you, we were best friends our whole lives. Why would I lie to you?"

Barnes could think of many reasons why someone would lie, who wouldn't lie? He was surrounded by liars all the time. What did this man sat in front of him, want exactly? "Well then, what is your intended purpose for having me stay here?" Barnes countered, watching Steve for any tell-tale signs of misinformation. Steve paused, then softly, "To help you, Buc-Barnes… you are like a brother to me".

Without warning, Barnes stood up quicker than Steve ever thought possible and with 2 strides, he had Steve by the throat. His eyes squinted in anger as he watched the Captain grasp with futile attempts at his metal arm, the choking sounds he made getting louder as Barnes applied more pressure, "NOBODY EVER HELPED ME, WHAT IS HELP?" he roared suddenly, his eyes mere slits as he glared at the man in his grip. Finally, after several moments, Barnes dropped him and Steve fell back gasping and panting against the sofa, rubbing his throat which was now sore. As he struggled to catch his breath, he eyed Barnes warily then dropped his gaze to the floor. He continued to rasp out, "We knew each other our whole lives… as I said yesterday, we enlisted in the army during WW2, you were a Prisoner of War but I found you and brought you home; you recognised me then. Once we returned, we formed a team called the Howling Commandos where we raided and took down HYDRA's bases, during our last mission together, things went a bit… sideways and you were lost. I never imagined you could have survived that fall… we looked but we couldn't find you" Steve finished miserably.

Something funny was happening as Steve continued to explain, Barnes suddenly found his head full of random images that he did not recognise and could not place. He saw himself fall from a moving train, saw Steve's face looking at him in horror as he fell, saw himself being dragged away by hands he was not familiar with and felt the fear resonating through the years of his damaged mind. "I…remember" Barnes grunted, shocked. Steve stilled as he watched Barnes' eyes widen, his thoughts clearly taking hold in his mind.

"Yeah, B-Barnes… you and me, we were a team… we were… brothers" Steve finished quietly. When Barnes didn't say anything further, Steve continued talking and over the course of the day, Barnes began to remember little snippets. He wasn't sure exactly what he was seeing snippets of, but he found himself feeling slightly more at ease around Steve than he thought he ever had felt around anyone before. His handlers brought feelings of isolation, fear and pain, nobody else would dare look at him, most did not know he even existed and yet, Steve sat there on that sofa talking to him like he was real… like he mattered… how strange…

After some time, when Barnes almost seemed to be more inclined to hear more from the Captain, Steve stood and told Barnes he was going to get a drink, he offered Barnes one, but his offer was declined. Once Steve had poured himself a glass of water and was headed back the way he came, he caught sight of Barnes pushed up against the wall and nearly dropped his glass as he jumped violently. Barnes however, eyed him critically, placed a finger to his lips and… continued looking through the keyhole in the front door. "Barnes! What on God's Green Earth are you doing?" Steve whispered as he approached closer. Barnes stared at Steve, irritation evident on his face as he once again, lifted his finger to his lips before lowering his voice. "There are 2 intruders outside, you would do best to hide. I will dispose of them", he responded coolly.

Steve felt bewildered, he nudged Barnes aside - who flinched at the sudden contact and fixed him with an angry stare - and peered through the keyhole to see for himself. Before he got a good look however, a voice called from the other side of the door:

"I know you're in there, you have until the count of three to open this damn door, Rogers!

1,…2,…3! Barnes stalked back further into the hallway, dragging Steve along with him despite his protesting. The door rattled in its frame as someone delivered a blow from the outside, another rattle followed the second blow and finally, a BANG as the door fell free of its frame and landed inside the apartment revealing… Natasha Romanoff. Barnes steeled himself ready to launch at her when Steve, as though reading his mind, stood between them both as he noticed Natasha mirroring Barnes' moves, shock clear upon her face.

"NAT! STAND DOWN! STAND DOWN!" Steve's voice called out abruptly, Barnes eyed Steve with a disapproving glare as he grumbled and, watching the Black Widow slowly slink out of her crouched position, mirrored her movements, and stood to attention instead. "Steve, what the fuck is he doing here?!" she demanded, eyes wild as Barnes stared at her with hate filled eyes.

"Nat?! What the hell are you doing here… why did you kick down my door?!" Steve countered, "Buc-Barnes dropped by last night, we were… going to talk."

"TALK?!" Nat screeched, causing Barnes to flinch at the pitch, "what the hell kind of talk can you have with someone who tried to kill you a few weeks back?!" she demanded.

"Well, see Nat, he rescued me… and he's been nearby ever since, I think?" Steve looked towards Barnes for confirmation, who nodded his head once.

Nat looked from one to the other, her mood darkening as she stared at the blue bruising evident around Steve's neck. Subconsciously, Steve rubbed his neck realising that of course Nat would notice that mishap. Eyes narrowed, she turned to Barnes and demanded, "what the fuck did you do to him!" Barnes instantly dropped into a defensive position as Steve stayed firmly planted between the two. "Ahh, Nat… c'mon he didn't mean to, he was confused…a misunderstanding…" Steve offered sheepishly. Barnes stared from Steve to Nat and back again, becoming aware of Steve rubbing his neck as he was speaking. Barnes' eyes widened and he found a sudden wave of guilt take hold of him, he straightened his pose and looked down at the floor, frowning and biting his lip. He did not like these new feelings he had been experiencing lately. He almost felt he was supposed to do something, say something, but he could not recall what it was. The awkward silence that followed was clearly too much for Steve as he slowly invited Nat in, not quite meeting her eyes. She stalked through the open space, picked up the battered door and placed it into the frame making a mental note to fix it later as she continued to the living room with first Steve, then Barnes trailing after her.

"You didn't answer your phone" she stated as a matter of fact. Frowning, Steve retrieved his mobile from his pocket and glanced at it seeing the multitude of missed calls and texts he had missed from her during the morning's events. "I have been trying to reach you, for days" Nat hissed at him, "I thought Tin-Man here had finally caught up to you!"

Barnes watched the exchange as Steve looked down at his shoes, "Tin…Man?" Barnes questioned, confusion evidently in his voice. Steve glanced towards Barnes and made a grunting sound, as Nat hissed out, "You."

Barnes took a minute to think this new information over, Tin-Man was a new one and yet again another name forced upon himself. He eyed the woman with anger, he knew she was dangerous, but he did not much care. Steve interrupted them before things escalated, "Nat… I'm sorry, it's not like that. Buc-Barnes here, he saved me during our last mission." Nat stared at him with scepticism, "It's true, Nat. I remember it, he's been in the local area ever since – like I said in the hallway!" Steve exclaimed.

"It's true… I have been neutralising threats since I took up watch over this perimeter" Barnes stated suddenly, causing both Nat and Steve to stare at him in shock. Nat's eyebrows looked like they were going to disappear, with a final frown at Steve, she stalked back to the kitchen where she opened his fridge and helped herself to a bottle of Powerade.

Steve and Barnes stood in the living room waiting for her to return, he turned to Barnes and stated, "I know you're probably on edge about this… but she's my friend too… please, don't hurt her, will you… stay longer?" Barnes watched Steve's eyes full of pleading search his own, it made him feel uncomfortable as he felt compelled to respond. Grinding his teeth, Barnes spit out "Fine. As long as she doesn't come near me". Steve visibly relaxed, although he didn't know why he trusted Barnes' word at this moment, he just knew that Barnes would do as he had requested.

They could hear Nat shuffling about in the kitchen and heard her make her way towards the front door, Steve frowned but then realised that she was repairing his damaged door. When she had finished, she entered the living room with a frown on her face, chose the seat next to where Steve had originally been sat, and looked at the two men stood up. "I fixed your door as best I could… but you're going to have to have someone come out to do it properly. It's not stable and would be easy to break down again" she murmured as she looked at Steve, "Sorry…" she muttered before looking out of the far window.

Steve raised his eyebrows, "thanks… I guess? You didn't have to go Incredible Hulk on it" as he rolled his eyes. He grabbed his phone and placed a call to the janitor who resided within his building. Once he had finished, he sighed and sat down, "janitor will be along in a while, had to tell him it was my doing" he stared at Nat who stared back, unabashed. "Should answer your phone then, shouldn't you" she responded smugly. Steve rolled his eyes at her as Barnes watched the interaction with renewed curiosity. He briefly wondered if what Steve had told him was true, if this Bucky and Steve had ever been this way with each other… so comfortable. As if sensing his gaze, Steve turned to look at Barnes and was about to say something when his stomach rumbled. Chuckling to himself, he stood and offered everyone takeout. Nat accepted instantly but Barnes sat looking confused, Steve quickly elaborated: "you order food… to your house, you know like pizza?" Barnes did not understand this idea but nodded anyway, as Steve went to find the number for the local pizza parlour, he turned his icy blue gaze to Nat who… unflinchingly stared back at him. When Steve returned, he noticed his two friends just staring at each other and honestly, he found it both intensely creepy. Clearing his throat, he stated that pizza wouldn't be long, and 2 pairs of eyes turned to look at him instantly. A shiver ran down his spine as he realised that he was in the same room as quite possibly, two of the most dangerous assassins active in the world at this moment; and he had to pray they didn't kill each other before the night was out. A faint knock sounded followed by a sudden BANG, "Right… erm… well, I think that might be the door, I'll just…" Steve departed slowly, not taking his eyes off the two in his sitting room and with a sigh, walked down the hallway to see who had knocked in his door for the second time that day. The janitor stood there awkwardly, fist still outstretched and a look of shock on his face; "hey man, your door fell inside."

"I know, that's why I called you" Steve responded with exasperation. The man stared bewildered at Steve, "Right, well, I guess I'll just…"

Steve turned on his heel with a quick "yeah… thanks…" and left the man to his work. Once the hinges had been replaced on the doorframe and a new lock had been fitted, the janitor made quick work of placing the door back in place. "So, that'll be $150 man" he called out into the apartment before him. Steve choked on some drink he had just taken a sip of, "$150?! For replacing a door?" Grumbling, he cast an irritated look at Nat who sat there looking like butter wouldn't melt, he paid the man and just as he was preparing to lock the door the delivery turned up. After paying the driver, he took the pizza inside where he placed it on the table inside the living room, he and Nat wasted no time grabbing a slice as Barnes just… sat there.

"Eat, Barnes", Steve stated clearly, Barnes looked at Steve, looked at Nat and then slowly reached forward with a frown on his face, and took a slice of pizza. He bit into it and the look of surprise that crossed his features made Steve pause eating. "Don't you… haven't you ever had pizza?" he asked, Nat had paused her eating too and looked at the Soldier in front of her. Barnes noticed the uncomfortable way everyone was looking at him, "I don't remember." He stated clearly and returned to taking tentative bites. Steve shrugged his shoulders as Nat fixed hm with a confused look, Steve shook his head slightly side to side and carried on. Barnes found he enjoyed the pizza, but he filled up quickly despite his fast metabolism. As the evening passed and Nat had more questions, Steve answered what he could with small titbits of information added in from Barnes when prompted by him. Barnes continued to eye Nat with distrust, but he answered at Steve's request anyway. Nat couldn't help but feel confused by this new… development, when Steve announced that he was going to bed, her eyebrows once again shot up towards her hairline. Knowing exactly what she was thinking, Steve made it clear that both should stay there for the night, he asked Nat if she would like to use his bed; he would sleep on the couch. Nat snorted, ever the gentleman that Steve Rogers was. She declined, opting to stay on the sofa as always, Steve shrugged and brought her some pillows and a quilt, then he led Barnes back to the spare bedroom as Nat called out through the apartment suddenly, "But we WILL speak properly tomorrow".

Once there, he turned to his friend and once again asked, "Will you stay here, again…please?" and once again, Barnes felt compelled to accept Steve's request. As Steve left and Barnes sat on the bed, chin leaning on his steepled fingers, he wondered again why he felt this compulsion to do what the other man wanted from him. Frowning, he led down and waited for another day to come, he was beginning to enjoy staying in the same place without the bitter chill deep within his bones and cruel hands that sought only to cause him pain. He would not sleep though; he did not trust that yet.