Chapter Four
Tony smirked as he looked at Steve, who was sitting across from him on the couch across from him. Bucky occupied the seat next to him, staring down at the carpeted floor, wringing his hands in his lap. He was uncomfortable with the way Tony kept glancing over at his arm. The scientist looked at it with wonder filled eyes. Bucky felt like he was on some sort of pedestal for show, he didn't like it. He just wanted to blend into the background unnoticed. He was a little – just a little bit – relaxed whenever Steve patted his leg, still assuring him that everything will be okay.
He took a peek around the room, observing what everyone else was doing. Sam and Barry were at the kitchen counter talking and laughing while Pepper was talking to Tracey at the kitchen table. Pepper had a folder that said 'Stark Industries' with her with papers nearly falling out while Tracey had a computer in front of her. The blonde kept nodding her head to the red haired woman as she talked. Once Pepper was done with whatever she had to say the two woman set to work with the things they had in front of them.
Bucky's observations were interrupted by Steve clapping a hand on his shoulder. The ex-assassin mentally cursed at himself, realizing what he had been doing. Observing the people around him anywhere he went was a habit – a bad one. It was one installed in his memory by HYDRA after so many years of training and missions. He needed to break it if he wanted to keep HYDRA out of his life and start over again as Bucky Barnes. If he was able to get all his memories back that is.
He turned back to Steve to see him still talking to Tony and not wanting to talk to him. Apparently the captain was still letting him know that it was going to be okay.
"I was thinking," Steve started, leaning his elbows on his knees. "That if Bruce isn't too busy, if he could give Bucky a checkup. Just to make sure he's alright."
Bucky tensed at the word checkup only to loosen up when Steve patted his knee, sensing his tension.
Tony rubbed his hand over his chin as he leaned back in his chair. "Good idea, Capsicle." He turned his head up slightly as he called out, "JARVIS, have Bruce come to the top floor with his bag."
"Right away, sir," came the accented voice of the AI.
Bucky still found the disembodied voice unnerving and yet fascinating at the same time.
"I'll also check your arm out, if you want," Tony said, turning to Bucky, who furrowed his brow in confusion and apprehension. "Don't think I didn't notice you flinching every now and then. Something's acting up in that arm of yours and you may not trust me – let alone know me – but I know I'm the only one who can help fix your arm."
Bucky gripped his arm as he stared at Tony wide eyed fright. Steve on the other hand looked at his best friend worried.
"Your arm's acting up?" he asked. "It's hurting you. Why didn't you say anything, Buck?"
Bucky down casted his head, avoiding eye contact with Steve. "…I didn't want to worry you."
"Bucky, if you're in pain you can tell me," Steve said, catching a twitch from Bucky's left shoulder. "We're here to help."
"Like I said, I can fix that arm of yours," Tony said.
"What do you say, Bucky?" Steve said, turning to look at Bucky, who was staring at the carpet yet again.
Bucky's brow furrowed. He didn't know if he could trust anyone to fix him. He was used to being patched up by HYDRA nurses after every mission, sitting in that damn chair, and then being shoved back into the cryo tank. He didn't know what he wanted to do, however, he did know that he could stand the small shocks he would get from the wiring in his arm every minute.
Pursing his lips he looked at Steve, nodding his head. "Y-yeah…"
Tony grinned widely just as the elevator doors opened revealing Bruce walking in with a brown leather bag in his hand. He smiled at Pepper and Tracey `on his way over to the three men in the living room.
Steve stood up, shaking hands and patting Bruce on the shoulder. "Good to see you again, Bruce," he greeted.
Bruce smiled lightly, nodding his head. "You too, Steve." He nodded at Tony, who grinned in return before turning to Bucky. He smiled at him. "You must be Bucky Barnes. Sorry, I uh read the file on you," he apologized, seeing Steve's confused face. "I'm Bruce Banner. I was told you needed a checkup?"
"If you don't mind," Steve said.
"Not at all. It gives me an excuse to get out of the lab and see people for once," Bruce said with a laugh.
He placed his bag down on the coffee table, pulling out the tools needed. Bucky watched, his eyes growing wide as he watched Bruce take out the tools. He saw Bruce approach as he sat frozen in fear. Images flashed through his mind and a familiar and unwanted voice followed.
"Clean him up and then prep him. When you're done put him in the cryo tube." Alexander Pierce's voice rang through his head.
In an instant Bucky was on his feet, throwing Bruce across the room. Gasps and shouts filled the floor as everyone was on their feet. Tony, Sam and Barry were running to Bruce as Pepper and Tracey stood to the side, unsure of what to do and as Steve tried to grab Bucky. The brown haired man pushed the super soldier away, rushing away from him and everyone. Tears were brimming his eyes as he shook his head furiously. He looked around at the scene. He then looked to Steve with the same horrified eyes he had the night he was at the apartment. Steve stood with his hands up as Bucky continued to shake his head, a few tears running down his cheeks.
"I don't want to forget, Steve," he whimpered. "I don't want to forget again."
Steve approached him slowly, eventually wrapping his arms around his friend. "You won't, I promise."
He turned to where Bruce was being talked to and helped up. Tony was patting him on the back as Barry helped him lead the doctor to a chair. Bruce looked up at Steve and Bucky.
"Are you alright?" he asked Bucky.
Bucky stared at him, dazed. He had just thrown him across the room and was being asked if he was alright.
He slowly nodded his head.
Bruce sighed and smiled at him. "I know what you're thinking," he said with a small chuckle. "The answer is I know what it's like to be unstable and not be in control." He smiled warmly as the ex-assassin continued to stare in confusion. "Whenever I get mad, I turn into a giant green monster. I know what you're feeling."
Bucky lowered his head. "I'm sorry."
"Its fine, everything's okay."
"Yeah, Brucie here is our calming and meditation guru. He knows how to handle situations like these," Tony said.
Bruce laughed. Thanks." He turned back to Bucky. "You can take your time. Just let me know when you're ready."
Bucky nodded, a smile playing at his lips as Steve patted his back.
ooOOoo
Once Bruce and Steve had assured Bucky that they wouldn't hurt him, the soldier allowed Bruce to exam him. Tony had suggested that HYDRA may have figured put a tracker on his arm even after everything that had happened in Washington DC. Bruce set to work on seeing if he was okay health wise, while Steve stood to the side leaning against the wall. Tony waited somewhat patiently to exam Bucky's metal arm, his foot tapping anxiously all the while, before he walked over to one of his computers.
All the while Tracey was working on her computer trying to look up a new apartment and helping Tony regain the files from SHIELD at the same time. Every now and then she'd look over at Bruce and Bucky to make sure everything was going okay. She could see Bucky tense every other minute only to relax after a few seconds or so after Steve gave his knee a squeeze, reassuring him everything was alright as he has been doing all day. She couldn't imagine what was going through his head at the moment and after the show that just happened when Bruce tried to look at him the first time she figured that he was having memory lapses from his time at HYDRA. She certainly didn't want to imagine what he could have been through there. She was snapped out of her thoughts as Pepper offered her a cup of tea. Smiling at the red head and giving her a quick thanks she got right back to work trying to figure out what Tony wanted her to do to help rebuild SHIELD. What he thought a non-SHIELD agent like her could do to help the organization was beyond her.
Unknown to her she didn't see Barry walk over to Tony and whisper something into his ear. The two shared grins as they snuck a peak at the blonde woman in front of them. Tony watched as Pepper walked past them, who raised an eyebrow at him as she caught the shared look. He gave her an innocent smile and quickly kissed her cheek before she rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. He turned his attention to the glowing monitors that hovered in the air in front of him and set to work typing something out as Barry silently laughed next to him.
Tracey's eyes roamed her screen as she looked over the programs on her computer that would help with her recovering the files and making sure they were up to date and there were no bugs. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair; she decided to take a break and go back to apartment hunting. Right before she clicked on one of the apartment complex links under Google she had an email popping up. Reading the sender it said from Tony and the subject reading "Important files needed to be dealt with". Raising an eyebrow and scrunching up her face puzzled, she clicked on it wondering what files he needed her to handle. Clicking it she was met with loud descending drum beats that echoed throughout the room. Next thing she knew she was looking at the music video for Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.
"Are you kidding me?!" she yelled, causing everyone to look in her direction. "Tony!"
She whipped her head around to see Barry and Tony laughing their heads off. Barry was doubled over with laughter as Tony just threw his head back laughing. Steve looked over at the blonde's computer screen raising an eyebrow in confusion while Bruce looked on with amusement as he watched Tracey click out of the music video only for two more to pop up. He chuckled a little as more and more music videos popped up. Bucky had tensed when he heard her yell, thinking back to some moments with HYDRA when he would get yelled at for doing something wrong during the beginning of the Winter Soldier training – and memory wiping, but raised an eyebrow as he watched Tracey turn around and yell at the two men behind her and lob a pencil at Tony.
Tony laughed and dodged the oncoming projectile. "Whoa there, Mona Lisa."
"Are you serious? You Rick rolled me? Really? What are you five?" she yelled.
"Hey, it was Barry's idea," he defended, pointing to the male twin next to him.
Barry snickered as he dodged another pencil. "Hey, he's the one who followed through and sent the email. I just gave him the idea."
Tracey scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I swear to God," she mumbled. She got up and walked over to the Avenger and shoved her laptop into his hands. "Fix it."
"You're the hacker. Why do you need my help?"
"You're the one who wanted my help getting SHIELD's files back."
"Yeah, but it looked like you were on Google instead of helping." Tony smirked. "And who can pass up such great music?" he said gesturing to the eighties singer on her screen.
Tracey just stared at him with a glare as she crossed her arms. She rubbed her temples as she saw Tony give her a cheeky grin from over her laptop's screen. "Let's not forget that I was just evicted from my apartment. And I'd prefer to have my own place than stay at Hotel Stark. Or would you rather I show Pepper the files I found on your suits you've been working on?"
"What?" Pepper yelled from over in the kitchen.
Tony's face fell and his eyes widened as he turned to see his girlfriend storming over to him. "Pep, I can explain."
"You said you were done with those suits of yours!" she yelled. Her face was beyond furious as she stood in front of the billionaire.
"You have to understand. The Avengers is still a thing and if the need arose for us to fight I would need a suit," Tony tried to defend himself, putting his hands up in surrender.
"Did you forget about what happened last time? You nearly died!" she screamed, tears forming in her eyes, which narrowed before she stormed back over to the kitchen.
"Pepper," Tony sighed, following her.
Bruce cleared his throat, causing the rest of the people in the room to turn away from the couple and go back to their own things. Turning back to Bucky he gave him the okay to finally sit up before he directed his attention to Tony. "Everything seems to be fine. You're in perfect health," he said, giving the super soldier a small smile.
Bucky nodded before looking at Steve, who gave him a smile as well and a squeeze on the neck.
"Everything is okay, Bucky. I told you."
Bucky pursed his lips before a small smile graced his face. "Thanks, Steve."
"So," Tony said, clapping his hands as he approached the three men having just finished making up with Pepper, who seemed to be in a better mood. "Shall we get started on Robocop's arm then?" Tony grinned, eyeing Bucky's metal arm like a child on Christmas morning.
Bucky shrank under his gaze, grabbing his arm with his flesh one and turning his body away from the grinning man. Steve patted Bucky on the shoulder before turning to Tony.
"Tony, not that I don't appreciate you helping, but you're making Bucky uncomfortable."
Tony placed a hand on his chest, feigning hurt. "Me make someone uncomfortable?"
Tracey rolled her eyes before turning in her seat to face the group of men surrounding the arm chair Bucky was sitting in. "Try not staring at his arm like a kid in a candy shop and you'll be fine, Stark."
Tony snorted at Tracey's comment before turning back to Bucky and Steve. "Alright, what do you say I take a look at your arm, Buckaroo?"
Bucky raised an eyebrow staring at Tony. He looked to Steve for an answer, only to see the super soldier shake his head.
"Just go with it. He gives everyone nicknames."
Tony pulled up a chair, situating himself next to Bucky's. Bucky hesitated as he saw Tony's gaze on his arm again.
"You know what?" Tony said, standing back up. "I just realized I need my tools. How about you, me, and Capsicle head down to my lab. You can come too if you want, Brucie," he said, grinning at the curly haired man, who smiled lightly back in return.
Steve pinched the bridge of his nose as he and Bucky followed the two scientists to the elevator. "Can you stop calling me that, Tony? Being frozen isn't the only thing I've done with my life."
"Okay, Stars and Stripes." Tony grinned over his shoulder at Steve as the sandy blonde haired man groaned. The scientist turned over to the remaining people on the floor. "When we're done I'll show you guys to your floors."
"We get our own floors?" Sam asked incredulous. "I should have met you a long time ago, man!"
"What do you want me to do once the files are retrieved from the internet? It might take a while to extract them from every website that they are posted on, but I'm sure I can get this done in a few days or so," Tracey said, poking her head over her laptop. "Plus I'm positive with it being SHIELD and from what I've heard of them there will be a lot of files."
"Pepper will give you a thumb drive for them. Once you're done, you can upload them onto that and I'll take it from there." Tony smiled at the blonde, stopping the elevator doors just as they were closing. "I knew you were the best choice for this job, Trace."
Tracey smile back at him just as the doors closed.
Barry clapped his hands, breaking the silence that filled the room once the four men left. "So, you ever play Mario Kart before, Sam?"
The other man grinned at the brunette. "Who hasn't? You better be careful though. I'm not just good at flying."
"Alright!" Barry cheered.
Tracey rolled her eyes with a laugh as she watched the two grown men rush over to the couch and pulling out a Wii console. She turned to Pepper, who was giggling to herself at their antics.
Living here is going to be something else. she thought.
ooOOoo
The clanging of metal doors opening announced to everyone on the floor that someone was coming off the elevator. Sure enough Tony, Steve, and Bucky walked off the elevator back to the top floor. It had been at most an hour and a half to fix the wiring in Bucky's metal arm, but it was worth the relief of not being shocked every so often to sit in the chair down in the lab.
Tracey waved at the three from the same spot at the kitchen table they left her at. Tony laughed when he saw Barry and Sam yelling at each other as they played Mario Kart. He walked over grabbing one of the remote control steering wheels and settling on the couch with them. Bucky stood a distance away from the three, intrigued as to what they were doing.
Steve chuckled as he watched Bucky observe them for a second before taking a seat next to Tracey. "How's the hunt going?"
"Pretty good," Tracey said, biting the inside of her cheek. "I was definitely right about the files being extensive. There's so much stuff that they've recorded that can easily be used to start wars or cause some sort of chaos if someone gets a hold of the weapons files. They have files on every member of SHIELD, including you."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Steve sighed. "SHIELD was always full of things that I wasn't aware of." He ran a hand through his hair as he took a peek over her shoulder. "Have you been reading any of the files?"
Tracey shook her head. "Not my business to read them. I'm just here to gather them up and hand them off to Tony to take care of." She turned to him, looking him in the eyes. "Even if I did read them, it wouldn't make me think less of any of you. You were a part of something that kept secrets from what I've heard and you were only following orders. I get that. None of you are bad people, no matter what anyone thinks."
Steve smiled. "Thank you, Tracey."
"So how's Bucky? Was he okay with Tony fixing his arm?"
"He was a little hesitant, but I was able to cope him into letting Tony fix it. He was tense at first, but he seemed to relax a little after a while."
"That's good." Tracey turned to the three men on the couch hearing their yells and cheers. She shook her head. "Three grown men playing Mario. I know Barry and Tony would play, but I didn't know about Sam."
"If I recall you were playing against Tony last time I saw you," Steve said with a grin.
"Oh shush," she laughed, pushing his arm. She smiled when she saw Bucky walk over and take a seat next to Steve.
At that moment, Tony had jumped up from his seat, pumping his fists in the air, steering wheel in hand. Barry groaned, shaking his head in his hand mumbling "Stupid last minute mushroom" while Sam cackled in his seat at the two.
Tony turned around to the three at the table, clapping his hands with a smile on his face.
"Alright, so how about we get you guys in your rooms?"
"I'm gamed," Barry said, standing up and following Tony lead the way to the elevator.
"Come on," Tracey said, grinning at Steve and Bucky as she stood up to follow.
"I have a floor for Barry, Tracey, Sam, you get one," Tony said, smirking when Sam grinned at him. "And I have a floor for the happy couple to share."
Steve rolled his eyes as he got on the elevator with Bucky close behind. "At least there's a floor for me and Bucky to share. I'm not sure you're in the happy couple category as of right now," he said, referring back to Pepper finding out about the suits.
Tony's face fell. "Shut it, Gramps," he said, glaring at the captain as he pressed a button.
Steve smirked before clapping Tony on the shoulder. "I appreciate you giving Bucky and I a floor to share. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to be on his own for a while."
"Yeah yeah, don't get sentimental with me Cap," Tony said, waving his hand in the air. The elevator opened up to a similar spacious floor as to the top floor. "First stop, Mona Lisa's."
Tracey stepped off the elevator, looking around the area, her face broken out into a large smile. "This is amazing!" she awed. She turned to Tony, a grin on her face and eyes squinting slightly in joy. She jumped at the billionaire, trapping him in a hug. "Thank you so much, Tony!"
Tony patted her back, chuckling. "No problem, Picassa. I'm just glad I made the decision to keep your things in storage since you don't want to stay here permanently," he said, a look of mock hurt on his face.
She rolled her eyes, smiling. "Sorry, but I do plan on having Dave over at some point and I know how you don't like him so I figured getting my own place would put you at ease."
"Who said I didn't like him?" he asked as the rest of the group took to looking at the floor as well.
"Tony, it's obvious you don't like him," Tracey began. "You even tol-"
She was interrupted by squeaky barks coming the single hall at the end of the floor. Next thing everyone knew a ball of golden fur came skidding to a halt at Tracey's feet.
"Dexter!" she said, kneeling down to the point where the puppy jumped, putting his front paws on her knees. "Did you miss me?" she cooed.
"You have a dog?" Barry exclaimed as he knelt down. He laughed when Dexter sprinted over to him, yipping and jumping at him as the brunette petted him.
"I rescued him just after you visited me last. He was part of a litter that was too big for the mom to take care of," she explained, watching as Dexter ran to Sam next. "I just couldn't resist not taking him in."
"Yeah, and you left me with taking care of him while you were in DC. I had to deal with him running around and barking at anything and everything," Tony said, trying to show a look of annoyance, only to fail when the golden retriever began to lick his shoes.
"Oh please you like him," Tracey said, catching his smile.
Steve was the next person to pet the dog, laughing when the puppy furiously licked his hand. Dexter then spotted Bucky standing off to the side and ran over to him. Steve walked over, leaning down to pick the puppy up only to have him run away from him and jump at Bucky's legs. Bucky tensed for a second, looking down at the puppy. Dexter's tail wagged and his tongue lolled out of his mouth as he stared up at the man. He continued to stare at the puppy for a few more seconds before slowly bending down and scratching the puppy's ears. Dexter barked happily, licking Bucky's hand before running around the room some more.
Steve smiled at Bucky once the brown haired man met his friend's gaze. He returned it with a small smile.
Tracey groaned when she saw him chewing on Sam's shoelace. "Dexter, no!"
Sam laughed and held up his hand to stop the woman from further walking over to him and the dog. "It's cool, Tracey," he said as he began to drag his foot around, bringing the dog with it.
Dexter clung onto the shoelace, growling lightly as he laid on his belly, sliding around on the wooden floor.
"Alright, alright, enough with the dog," Tony said. "Let's let Tracey settle in and I take you guys to your floors."
"You're just jealous that no one is focusing on you anymore," Steve said with a laugh.
"Geez, even Captain Fuddy Duddy has some witty comeback," Tony said with a smirk as he walked over to the elevator. "Oh and Tracey," he began, bringing the blonde's attention back to him. "I have a little work area over in your room set up. Got all the gadgets you'll need." He grinned when he saw the smile spread across her face.
"Thanks, Tony." Tracey waved goodbye to the men, picking up Dexter and waving his paw at Sam, who gave the pup one last scratch behind the ear. "I'll keep working on those files," she said to Tony, who gave a quick salute. Tracey laughed seeing Steve's eye roll before the elevators closed.
She placed Dexter back on the ground and watched as he ran around again. She saw him run over to the living room where a few of his toys were spread out near his food and water bowl. She made a note to thank Pepper and Tony for setting some of her things out tomorrow.
She placed her hands on her hips looking around the floor. "Well, Dexter, looks like we both get to play with our own toys," she said as she made her way to the bedroom.
So this chapter was a bit longer which I'm happy about. I got to show a bit more of Barry's personality in here and Tony and Bruce were brought in. I also brought Dexter back, which I am excited to write more Bucky and Dexter interactions in the future! I'd like to apologize if any of you wanted to read the part where Tony fixes Bucky's arm, but I didn't want to write that part, plus I didn't know what to write.
I'm sorry this chapter took a while to post again. Life's busy. I'm still looking for a job, but one possible one might happen. From what my friend, who works there, said there's a good chance I'll get the job! So fingers crossed!
Last thing, I created a tumblr blog for this story. I want to try and do a Q&A blog for the characters just for the fun of it and to help learn how to write for each character further. So if any of you want to message me the blog is winter-is-ending. Like I said, it's just something to do for fun :)
Thank you for reading! I'd really appreciate reviews and hear what you guys think. If you have any critiques I'd love to hear them. They help me figure out what I need to work on. Thank you again and have a great day!