Tony

Tony was the one who suggested it. He mentioned casually that they should move somewhere more comfortable and when Natasha looked at him curiously, he shrugged as if it was no big deal.

Thankfully, his teammates didn't question him and they began to file down towards a floor that none of them really recognized.

Bucky stops at the door and looks at Tony. "Is this for—-"

"Mhmm." Tony nods, "for if there's ever a day that the lullaby doesn't work. I have this little palace all set up to contain the big guy."

"Contain?" Barton asks, eyeing the reinforced furniture and tapping on the windows that are obviously not glass.

"Never needed it." Tony says, eyeing the Asset who stands in the corner, muscles rigid and eyes focused on the wall, "hope to never need it. Good to have just in case."

The group nods and they settle in. Jarvis switches on the screen, playing the footage he's been sifting through down there.

Tony hears a gasp and he looks over to see Barnes staring at the screen.

"I remember this." He says, a rare smile appearing on his lips, "This was a day with the commandos when it was Phillips' birthday."

They watch as a group of rowdy men sing a clashing rendition of happy birthday to a man who stands there with a frown on his face.

The camera swoops around and Howard's face appears. "Tough crowd" His dad says, winking at the camera before swiveling it back towards the men.

Steve stands off to the side, just barely visible in the camera lens, a smile on his face. Barnes points out the commandos as if they haven't been learning about them in history class their entire lives.

"Get back to work." Phillips barks, and the men scatter.

Bucky sucks in a sharp breath, looking towards the Asset as Peggy pops into view, face too close to the camera and she rolls her eyes and must hit Howard because he grunts. Her crisp voice comes over the speakers, "did you tell him?"

"No." Howard says with a sulky tone, "I was instructed to wait until he's alone."

Peggy gives another eye-roll and steps towards Phillips'. "Colonel Phillips?"

"Yes, Agent Carter?"

"There's a time sensitive item in your tent you'll need to attend to."

The man nods and turns around but Peggy smiles mischievously at the camera and they creep behind the old man. Following him to his tent. The lens of the camera peeks in and watches as the man stops and stares at the item on his desk. A small cake with a tiny paper banner sticking out of the top.

Phillips looks at it flabbergasted, frozen in surprise.

"He made it himself, you know." Peggy says, startling the man out of his reverie.

The man frowns, looking at the agent who appears and slightly blocks the camera's view before Howard must shift and enter the tent.

"Who the hell was in my tent?" Phillips' blusters, before his eye catches a small card tucked under the plate the cake is on. He opens it and the camera catches the barest of a smile, a fraction of softening in his eyes before the man huffs and tosses the card down on his desk. "There's a war on Carter. We don't have time for frivolity."

"Sir." Peggy says crisply, "with all due respect you're turning 60 today. That's a feat to be proud of." Her voice pauses before a knowing tone enters it. "It's lemon poppyseed." Phillips' head snaps up and Howard stifles a laugh. Phillips' doesn't ask, but there's a question in his eyes that Peggy answers. "He wrote to your wife. Asked what your favorite flavor is, and then used some of his pull to get the ingredients shipped over here in time."

"Waste of resources." The stern man says. "Wasting sugar while a war's on." But the man is staring at the card, and his hand is set firmly on his desk. And the camera pans to Peggy who is smiling gently. "Tell him to stop wasting taxpayers money." They hear Phillips admonish.

"I'll tell him."

Then Phillips' looks up and the camera shows him sit behind his desk and stare at the cake. "Agent Carter?"

"Yes, Colonel?"

"Tell him…" the man pauses and Peggy nods.

"I will."

The film reel snaps off and Tony's about to speak when his dad reappears. Much older and clearly not in the war anymore. The quality of the film is much clearer as is the audio.

"This is Howard Stark, 1968. Phillips' passed just a few weeks ago and I was allowed to look through his files. I'm attaching this to this film reel. Because…" the man pauses, and frowns.

"Because you're a sentimental old goat even if you won't admit it." Peggy's older but still warm and crisp voice says from somewhere out of view.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't pretend you didn't—"

"Just show the card would you?"

Howard huffs and steps closer to the camera. Lifting up a yellowed piece of paper. A card that he opens and shows to the camera. Tony hears multiple people react to what's on screen. A picture of a monkey on a tightrope wearing a silly version of Cap's original costume.

Dear Colonel Phillips'

Happy 60th Birthday.

Hope this cake brings a piece of home to you here on the battlefield.

The Chorus Girl.

Howard's voice pops back through. "Original artwork by Steven G. Rogers in 1944. Handwriting confirms this is the original copy and will be stored in my archives, box #257."

Peggy, looking older but still just as beautiful, moves into frame and gently takes the card. Her fond smile at the drawing is wistful and Tony feels the weight of that look with the man standing so rigidly in the corner. "He drew something similar once before, in that notebook that's in the Shield files."

Howard nods and the video cuts out.

Tony looks up to see Bucky standing, eyes glued to the now blank screen and hands clutching at his jeans.

"Barnes?"

Solemn blue eyes meet his and slowly blink. "I didn't know."

"Know what?"

"About the cake."

"He didn't tell you?"

"No."

Four pairs of eyes trail over to the Asset, who is standing tightly, dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.

"Count?" Natasha asks quietly.

Tony looks at his watch and the running timer. "8 days, 4 hours, and 37 minutes."

Clint looks over at the Asset and then back to them with a look of disbelief. "This is ridiculous. He's going to end up damaging his brain from sleep deprivation."

Barnes sighs, palms rubbing at his temples, "I've run hours with him everyday. He gets more quiet and more removed each run, but never sleeps. How do I convince him that sleeping is safe?"

"Oh boy." A new voice says. They turn to see Sam, leaning on the doorframe. He'd had to leave for a few days and had now returned, looking at the Asset curiously. "Still no Zzz's huh?" He walks over to the Asset and stands before him, at attention. "Asset, you with me?"

"Affirmative."

"Functionality report."

"Asset functional."

"At what level?"

There's a pause, the first admission that the Asset knows he's not in great shape.

"The Asset is capable."

Sam nods, taking in that information. "If we received a mission tomorrow would you be able to perform at optimal capacity?"

"A-affirmative." And with just that stammer, Tony can tell the Asset doesn't like being untruthful.

"What's the longest the Asset has gone without sleep?" Sam asks, cutting to the point.

"The Asset has remained awake and functional for 14 days and 19 hours. A two hour reprieve allowed for an extra 3 days of functionality."

Tony feels his breath leave him. How could they go through another almost 7 days. All of them were growing weary of the ever tensing string that was the Asset's behavior.

"And the Asset chose to remain awake that long?"

A heavy pause. "Negative."

"But you're choosing to remain awake now."

"Affirmative."

"For what purpose?" Sam asks, and Tony watches with bated breath as the Asset glares at the floor. "I asked you a question, Asset." Barnes stands, tense and unhappy at Sam's commanding tone, but Sam looks at him with a purposeful look and turns back towards the Asset. "Asset?"

"Sleep allows the possibility for the Asset to not be in control. For optimal efficiency on missions, the Asset needs to be in control."

Sam nods as if he expected those words. "And if I told you that the Asset wasn't needed for a mission for the foreseeable future? Would you sleep then?"

"Negative."

"Why not?"

The Asset's eyes flick towards Barnes. "The Asset is capable of defending the team."

Sam takes a large step back. "The team." The Asset's eyes follow Sam's movements. "Everyone on the team?"

"Affirmative."

Long seconds pass as Sam backtracks to where he stands directly behind Barnes. "Protect the team from what?"

"Harm."

"Any type of harm?"

"Affirmative."

Tony watches in shock as Sam's hand swipes the back of Barnes' head, a resounding smack echoes through the room.

"What the he—" Barnes starts to say, but Tony blinks and the Asset has grabbed Sam's hand and is bending it backwards painfully. "Hey!" Barnes calls, "Asset let him go! Stop!"

The Asset obeys, dropping Sam's hand and stepping back, but his muscles are coiled tightly, ready to spring.

Sam looks unphased, holding his hands up in surrender. "Asset. Your lack of sleep impedes your decision making. You were willing to harm me, to protect him. However you were unable to understand that my slap to Barnes was playful. How can we trust you to protect your team on missions if you can't tell the difference?"

The room falls silent, the Asset's breathing elevated as they watch him try to wade through Sam's reasoning in his sleep deprived brain.

"Sam." Barnes hisses, clearly not pleased with his methods.

But Sam doesn't answer. Watching the Asset's face. "Asset. You are not functioning at optimal performance. Your physical body requires rest. Will you do so?"

"Negative."

Sam seems unphased, "okay, will you allow your physical body to rest even if that does not include falling asleep?"

The Asset does not respond right away, the dark circles under his eyes like targets. "Mission parameters unclear." He eventually says weakly.

Sam steps forward, gesturing to the couch. "You do not have to fall asleep. But will you sit down? Let one aspect of your body rest if you won't allow it to recharge mentally?"

It begins to click in Tony's mind what Sam is aiming for.

"No sleep required?" The Asset clarifies.

"Nope. No sleep. Just you sitting on this couch. Not standing guard every second of the day. The team is in no immediate danger."

Barnes must catch on too because he sags and slips down onto the couch cushions, leaving plenty of room for the Asset to sit.

"Will you sit?" Sam asks one last time.

"Resting will positively affect the team?"

"Yes." Sam responds. "You will work better with some rest. Will you sit down?"

A pause where his eyes flash again to Barnes and then he nods. "Affirmative." The Asset says, relenting. They watch in baited breath as he sits carefully on the edge of the seat, still rigid.

Sam smiles at the motion and then gestures wildly to the group, "what do we want to do? Movie? Game?"

No one says anything for a second and then Natasha suggests, "movie? Games might be a little difficult, you know… all the decisions and stuff."

Tony nods, that's true, the more decisions the Asset has to make the more irritated he's gotten. Trying to stay awake and think at the same time is getting difficult.

"Okay," Sam agrees, "Bucky, any suggestions?" The meaning is clear, anything that the Asset or… Steve might enjoy.

Bucky doesn't pause a second before saying, "Meet Me in St. Louis."

Sam nods thoughtfully and Tony speaks, "Jarvis?"

"On it, Sir."

—-

Bucky

He hears it first. It's everything he hoped. He sits silently, listening, barely breathing so he doesn't miss a note.

—-

Clint

Clint is sitting next to the Asset. Clint tries not to stiffen, and he stays still as the realization of what is happening processes through his mind. Ever so slightly, he shifts his head and gets a confirmation, from the shaking hands that Barnes is clenching on his jeans, that what he's hearing is actually what's happening.

He uses his peripheral vision and then turns his head when he sees that the Asset's eyes are closed.

But he's not asleep.

The Asset is barely, just barely singing along with Judy Garland as she sings, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas".

His eyes are closed, head tipped back against the cushion. He's relaxed and his mouth is forming the words and the softest voice is passing through those lips.

He makes eye contact with Barnes whose eyes are red and Clint can hear his breathing and it's shaky.

Clint glances at Tony who looks sleepy and hasn't noticed or heard yet.

The last verse is approaching and Natasha is now leaning into Barnes, holding him steady and laying her head on his shoulder.

Clint texts Tony:

Can you keep looping this song?

Tony's eyes squint at his phone and his head pops up, confusion as he tries to gather context. He looks at Barnes, who is watching the Asset as he sings, and then it clicks. He nods in Clint's direction and taps something on his phone.

One of the lights blinks, and Tony nods, confirming.

When the song seamlessly begins again, Sam leans out a bit, eyeing the group in question.

Clint juts his chin towards the Asset and Sam looks, his smile is wide and he holds out his hands mouthing, wait.

For what? Clint mouths back.

But Sam just holds out a finger.

—-

Natasha

Natasha hasn't known Sam all that long, but she already finds herself trusting his choices. He's separated enough to be able to remain above the emotional toll, but caring enough to be conscientious of how he treats the unbelievable situation they're in.

She watches as Sam slowly and gently stands, not causing any ripple of movement to hit the Asset. He then gently and slowly directs James, who is on one side of the Asset, and Clint, who is on the other side, to slowly, ever so gently, wedge themselves up and against the now sleeping man.

After they manage the contact without waking the Asset up, who actually seems to fall deeper into sleep at the contact, Sam smiles and then rubs his hands together, warming them, before pulling the Asset's arms up and around the two men sitting next to him. Not in an embrace, but so Clint and James can fully rest against his torso.

Natasha's a little lost on the purpose, but she doesn't argue as the Asset's face seems to continually relax the more the contact happens. Natasha almost laughs when Clint points at James and signs, he's warm like you.

James nods, and Natasha can see how he's struggling to not let the emotions overtake him. She shifts, adjusting her body and laying her head in his lap, looking up at him. He looks down and understands, breathing in and out slowly and resting the hand that isn't against the Asset on her stomach.

Sam taps on Tony's shoulder and directs him to sit on the ground against the Asset's legs. Tony complies and Sam mouths, blanket?

Tony points to the hallway and makes a turning motion and mouths, closet.

Sam reappears a few minutes later with two large blankets. He drapes one directly over the Asset and Clint, and another over James and she lifts her head so that he can tuck it under her.

Then Sam breathes deeply and looks at them. "Everybody, relax. He's exhausted, but we have no idea how long he will let himself sleep. So settle in. If you need something, let me know. Just exude calm and relaxation." He's barely whispering but they're nodding along.

"What if I have to pee?" Tony whispers.

"Hold it." Clint snaps quietly.

Tony just rolls his eyes and settles back against the Asset's legs. "He's like a heater."

"Just like Barnes." Clint says.

Tony's head turns to James and his eyebrows are in question. "Really?"

Natasha suddenly feels the tension. "You haven't noticed?" Clint asks in disbelief.

Tony's hand snakes out of the blanket and wraps around James' calf. He holds it there for a minute before nodding, "you do run warm. Wow… Guess I never noticed."

Natasha feels James shiver and she looks up, "what was that?"

"Nothing." He says quickly whispering.

But Tony's eyes are wide, and he must do something because James jerks and hisses, "stop that!"

Tony snorts then covers his mouth quickly at the look of annoyance from Sam.

Tony's eyes find hers and he's got a huge grin on his face. "You didn't tell us that Barnes' calves are ticklish!"

Natasha feels surprise cross her face as she feels James shift, "I do not have ticklish calv—" he jerks again in surprise and reaches out, smacking the back of Tony's head, "stop that!"

Tony's shoulders are shaking as he laughs and Natasha tries to hold back laughter at the furrowed frown James throws her way, but it slowly morphs to an annoyed smile and they settle back, exuding calm.

—-

Steve

He wakes up, feeling heavy and comfortable and really, really warm. He barely opens his eyes and tries to keep from jolting in surprise.

Bucky's on his right, tucked under his arm and mouth parted in sleep. The woman he introduced him to briefly… however long ago that was, he doesn't know… is laying on his lap, part of her long red hair laying in his lap. He gently touches a few of the strands.

A blonde man he doesn't recognize is on his left, tucked tightly against him. The man that is Howard's son… he knows he was told his name, it's vague, but he knows he knows it… he can't remember it though. He's up against his legs. The blanket is soft and he sighs deeply, enjoying the moment. A moment of comfort he hasn't had in… forever.

His eyes finally land on the screen, where a song… a song that echoes deeply in his soul and memory, resounding in emotion makes his throat go tight. He takes in a shaky breath and watches, as the song finishes and begins to replay.

He finds his mouth moving along with the words unbidden, "next year all our troubles will be miles away…"

He tips his head back and squeezes his eyes shut, pressing the tears out and down his cheek.

—

Bucky

It's some sort of feeling, a far removed but strongly ingrained sense of Steve in distress that brings him out of his slumber and his head angles to face the Asset.

But the tears he sees slowly slipping out of those eyes has his heart beat raising. The Asset's head pops up and his eyes open, finding Bucky's.

They stare at each other for a moment before the Asset opens his mouth and Steve's voice speaks instead.

"You remembered."

"Steve?" He nods and Bucky's chest clenches in relief. "You're here…"

"Yeah, Buck. I'm here."

"What did I remember?"

"The song." Steve juts his chin towards the screen.

Bucky lets out a watery laugh, "what do you mean 'you remembered'? You wouldn't stop humming this song for weeks. How could I forget?"

Steve laughs softly and his eyes close briefly. "I feel very tired."

Bucky rests against his side. "The Asset refused to sleep for over a week. It's like you said. He doesn't want to lose control."

Steve nods, "he's quiet now. I can't… I don't feel him."

Bucky's eyes widen, and he feels something hopeful fill his chest. "You think he's gone?"

Steve's head shakes 'no'. "Just quiet. I think. I don't know. I don't know how this works. I've…" his voice grows weary, "he's who was there to fill the space when they put that device in my brain. Maybe…" he takes a deep breath and Bucky watches as Steve's hands sift through Natasha's hair, gently working his fingers through the strands, "I think I just need to be patient." Steve looks at Bucky, true trepidation across his features, "are you… are you okay with waiting as I— we figure this out?"

Bucky reaches out, grabbing Steve's hand and grasping it tightly. "You're my brother. I'm not going anywhere. As long as it takes. Whatever you need."

Steve smiles and Bucky can feel the relief flooding off of him, "thank you."

"Steve?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry… about the train, about not finding you, about everything…"

And that makes Steve's head tilt, "wait…" he frowns and his face gets upset, "Bucky… My memories feel really muddled. How are you here? Did Hydra have you too?"

Bucky shakes his head, "No, no. I uh—- I got stuck, fighting Red Skull on his stupid plane and… I had to put it in the ice to keep it from hitting the Eastern sea board with bombs."

Steve's eyes widen in alarm, "what? Bucky! You—"

But Bucky shakes his head, "no, no. Stop. I'm not wasting this time discussing this right now. We will deal with that later. Like Peggy said, one way or another, we both would have ended up here. I am just grateful it's not one of us alone like I thought when I woke up."

Steve looks like he wants to talk about it more, and Bucky has to smile, classic Steve. With a guilt complex through the roof.

"You remember when we made that bet with the Commandos, about this song?"

Steve looks back at the screen. "You guys were the worst. It was stuck in my head! What was I supposed to do?"

Bucky laughs softly. "Oh man, Phillips almost hit you with the back of a rifle I swe—-" he pauses, shifting direction, "speaking of Phillips—" Bucky looks at Steve, "you never told me you baked him a cake."

"Huh?"

"For his 60th birthday, remember when we ambushed him during drill and sang Happy Birthday?"

Steve's eyes get a faraway look and then he smiles softly, "oh yeah…" then he looks puzzled, "how'dya know about the cake?"

Without being asked the screen glitches and the previous film reel they'd seen of Howard and Peggy sneaking into Phillips' tent and him finding the cake plays, the volume low, but still plenty loud for their hearing.

Steve leans forward, eyes the size of saucers, he watches enraptured and then when it finishes (Jarvis does not show the scene of Howard and Peggy in the future) Steve looks back at Bucky, eyes alight, "are there more?"

Bucky has to swallow thickly against the emotion that's threatening to burst, "yes," he chokes out, "there's a lot more. Jarvis?"

"Loading all film reels."

Steve looks up at the ceiling and looks back to Bucky with concern, "who's that?"

"Robot in the ceiling."

—-

Tony

"Robot in the ceiling."

He snorts. He can't help it. He opens his eyes, forgetting to pretend to be asleep and angles his head back. "How many times do I have to tell you, Barnes. It's an A.I., not a robot. And he doesn't live in the ceiling. He's programmed into the building."

"Details." Bucky says waving him off.

"What bet?" Tony asks, and when they look at him in confusion, Tony sighs and waves at the T.V. "You guys were just talking about how you made a bet. About the song."

Steve looks sheepish and Tony watches as Bucky ruffles his hair, then freezes halfway through the ease of the motion. Tony looks between the two and Bucky withdraws his hand. "Sorry, old habits die hard, I guess."

Tony looks at Steve who is beaming, and it makes Tony's chest constrict at the familiarity of it.

"Steve, you owe me another cigarette."

"Dugan, I swear, if you tell Buck about this—"

"I won't. If you pay up."

Tony turns to the screen where Jarvis is playing a reel, showing Steve and 'Dum-Dum' Dugan sitting around a fire. He can feel both Bucky and Steve lean forward towards the screen.

"It's been weeks since the USO brought that movie, you're still singing it. We had a deal, you broke it."

Steve in the video groans and "I can't explain it, I can't get it out of my head. It's not my fault! Don't tell Bucky. He'll never let me forget it."

"Steve, he heard you humming it in your sleep. You need to find a new song."

Tony hears Bucky laugh behind him, but he keeps his eyes on the screen as his dad turns the video around to show his face.

"Howard Stark here, trying to understand if the serum enhances memory and/or solidifies those memories. Steve's inability to let the tune go makes me think 'yes'."

Something thunks off of Howard's head and he frowns, "hey!" The camera turns back to Steve who looks amused and annoyed at it, "when are you gonna stop following me around with this thing? I'm not a monkey in a zoo."

"You are a living breathing miracle, pal." They hear Howard say, "gotta document for the future." They watch as Steve rolls his eyes and looks at Dugan.

"No one in their right mind is going to want to watch a bunch of idiots interact." Steve says with a laugh.

They hear Howard laugh, "Never be too sure. But not to worry, this is mostly for science."

"You guys harping on me about having a song stuck in my head is science?"

Dugan laughs and Steve and Howard join in.

The film reel ends and Steve taps Tony's shoulder, "is Howard…?"

The air grows tense and Tony looks up at him, "you don't remember?"

Steve looks at them, and Tony can practically hear the gears turning. Tony watches as the color drains out of Steve's face. Suddenly he's leaning forward, gasping and clutching at his chest.

"Steve!' Bucky shouts, waking up the rest of the group, "Steve, calm down!"

Tony turns around and grips Steve's knee, "it's okay, it's okay. It wasn't you, you stopped. You stopped."

"I was there-" Steve gasps out, fingers white from gripping his arms so hard, "I didn't stop them. I should've stopped them—"

He's gasping and Tony can see Barnes is about to lose it, panicking. So Tony stands up, gripping Steve's shoulders, "Steve, I need you to look at me."

The man can't seem to hear him. "Steve-" he grabs the super soldiers' face and forces him to look, "my parents were killed by Hydra. Not you. This was over 20 years ago. Breathe. Breathe. You're freaking out Barnes."

And that does it. If the last few weeks, and hours of reels have taught Tony anything, it's that Steve and Barnes would do anything for each other.

Steve's eyes flash to Barnes, noting the panicked expression and Tony watches as Steve sucks in a sharp breath and lets it out slowly.

"Tony!" Barnes hisses, "you—"

"Buck." Steve says, reaching out and grabbing his leg, "It's fine. He's right, I shouldn't be causing you to worr—"

"TONY!" Barnes snaps, "No, Steve, listen to me, you have a lot to process through. It's okay to feel overwhelmed by it."

Tony nods, "Barnes is right." He looks meaningfully at Steve, "you had a device implanted in your brain and you still fought it. You didn't kill my dad, and he—-"

Tony gets an idea, "Jarvis? Play the first half of that footage."

Steve watches in shock as the footage of him attacking Howard and then running away plays over the screen. Tony stops it before it shows Steve in the van.

"See?" Tony points, "you're like… what my dad said, 'a living breathing miracle'. Even with an implant you fought that. After everything. So, let's take things one step at a time, calmly."

Steve nods, hands still tightly clenched. Barnes looks annoyed at him, but says nothing.

Clint is watching with concerned eyes, "Steve?" The man turns towards him, "I'm Clint, and I just wanted to say sorry."

Steve's brow furrows, "for what?"

"I— I uh, I made the Asset reappear the last few times, and I wanted to say that I'm sorry about it."

The room pauses to see Steve's reaction, but the man just huffs a laugh, "it's nice to meet you, Clint. I'm Steve." He stretches out a hand and Tony watches as Clint takes it, shaking it in awe.

"I can't believe I'm shaking Captain America's hand."

Steve wrinkles his nose. "Haven't been that for a long time, it's just Steve."

Clint laughs and nods, "okay, Steve, you got it."

But Tony looks back to Barnes who looks… sad.

—