The next day, Steve didn't have high hopes for Bucky's recovery despite Tony, of all people, trying his best to cheer him up well into the night. Hermione, on the other hand, was still hopeful despite the apparent failure from the previous night that ended with both of them sick. She was determined, and would have gone to Bucky's room as soon as she opened her eyes if Steve had not dragged her to the kitchen for breakfast first.

"You know damn well you'll need all the energy you can get," Steve scolded as he rummaged through the cupboards to set all the foods he knew she liked in front of her to entice her appetite.

"Last time you did it, you had your wand and a willing participant, and it still tired you out."

Once he was satisfied breakfast had taken over her priorities, Steve sat with her.

"What happened yesterday?" he asked.

The question had kept him tossing and turning all night. Hermione knew if there was any trace of Bucky left in him, and Steve was burning to know for himself, to know if there was still a chance…

"It was awful," Hermione admitted, dropping the bread roll to look him in the eye. "I couldn't find him. He's so empty. And cold."

She shivered and picked the rest of her roll apart with her fingers.

"I have to try again," she said and stood. "There's gotta be something left of him. They can't just wipe out a person like that, like… like he's a blackboard. That's impossible. I'll find him. I'll bring him back."

"I know, love. I know."

When it was clear Hermione had lost all appetite despite eating so little. Steve forced a smile on his face.

"Come on. Let's take Bucky some breakfast. He must be starving after yesterday."

They chose foods they knew he liked, and some they thought he might like, but most importantly, coffee. If the smell of his beloved strong black coffee didn't stir his memories, Steve was fairly sure nothing would. Once outside the Hulk-proof room, they paused to assess the situation.

"Sleeping?" Hermione asked, eyes narrowed at the prone form lying on the mattress with his back to them.

"Not sure, but your spell made him even sicker than you were, so it's possible." Steve shrugged. "Ready?"

Hermione squared her shoulders, her knuckles turning white as she grabbed her platter too hard. As soon as they entered, Bucky sat bolt upright and glared at them, his eyes lingering on Hermione, or in her general direction anyway. Was he looking at her feet? Or just avoiding eye-contact?

"No," Bucky rasped, surprising the both of them. "Don't," he added.

Steve exchanged a puzzled glance with Hermione.

"Don't what, Buck? It's just breakfast. See? You must be hungry," Steve explained.

He lowered his platter to show him it only contained food. What had he thought they were carrying? Torture instruments? Bucky stared with distrust at his platter, even as Steve set it on the ground and pushed it towards his mattress. Hermione followed his lead, but when she got closer, Bucky stiffened.

"Not you," he growled. "Don't… don't mess with my head again."

Her platter shook in her hands, her face ashen as Bucky's words hit her like a slap. Steve was surprised too, that he spoke to them at all for a start, but also that he was communicating instead of just attacking like a mindless machine.

Steve took the platter off her hands, and their eyes met, amazed and thankful they were able to communicate with just a look. With a firm nod of her head, Hermione backed away and left the room. Steve took a deep breath, only now realising he'd had his back to Bucky all this time, completely open for an attack and yet, none came. Steve turned around, set the second platter next to the first , then sat on the floor facing Bucky.

Don't get him wrong, the man in front of him didn't look or feel like his old friend, but his behaviour had undeniably shifted since last night.

"Do you still like your coffee black?" Steve asked as casually as he could, reaching for the thermos.

Bucky frowned, more frazzled by the simple question than he should.

"I don't know…"

"That's okay. Just try it out, and if it's not to your taste, we'll just find something else," Steve said, plastering a smile on his face despite feeling like crying or punching something, because Hydra had taken everything from him: not only his memories, his personality, but all the little, insignificant details, his quirks, likes and dislikes… everything.

Bucky accepted the sturdy mug of coffee, his metal hand even more dexterous than Ironman's. Tony was no doubt dying to study the metal arm, but that wouldn't happen anytime soon, seeing how skittish Bucky was.

As Steve looked at him expectantly, Bucky grimaced with his first sip of coffee.

"Not good then?" Steve asked, heart sinking at more proof this was not his Bucky.

"It's… bad, but… in a good way."

"That's coffee for you," Steve chuckled.

Maybe there was still hope, because Bucky took another sip, then another, relaxing a little more every time.

"You should eat, too," Steve added, nudging the platter closer to him. "You really shouldn't drink coffee on an empty stomach."

Bucky glanced down, but appeared equally as unimpressed by the breakfast food as he had been with the coffee at first.

"Didn't they feed you?" Steve asked with worry.

Bucky didn't answer, grabbing a pop tart, seemingly at random, and shoving it in his mouth before spitting it out.

"The fuck?" he muttered.

Steve bit back his smile, because that must have been the first genuine emotion he had gotten out of Bucky that wasn't anger.

"I should've listened to Hermione. She said you wouldn't like those," he chuckled.

"Hermione..." Bucky repeated under his breath, eyes unfocused.

"Do you… Do you remember her? Or me?"

Bucky blinked, frowned at him, then looked away.

"Should I?"

"We grew up together, Bucky. Right in this city, in Brooklyn, but… well, a long time ago. You always took care of me-"

Bucky threw him a glance like he didn't believe a word of it.

"I didn't always look like this. I was always sick. You called me a runt. Got angry when I got into fights, but you'd always have my back," Steve said rapidly, afraid Bucky would lose interest and stop listening, but he was, so Steve continued more slowly. "It was just you and me for a long while, especially after my Ma passed. Til the end of the line, you said back then, and you kept your promise."

Steve paused, sensing Bucky had stiffened at those last words. He almost looked pained, but before Steve could ask if he needed a break, a bucket to puke in, or anything else, Bucky urged him to continue.

"What about her?"

"Hermione?" Steve asked, a smile curving his lips as it always did when he said her name. "Well, she's something else…"

He hesitated, knowing there was no privacy to be had in this room. He wouldn't be surprised to know Tony, Hermione, and whoever else was lurking in the tower at the moment, was watching them at this very moment, but he trusted his witch to take care of secrecy management if she felt the need for it, be it by magical means or "accidentally" frying the monitoring equipment. Getting Bucky back was more important than any secret.

"When you were at boot camp after you got drafted, she literally dropped out of her dimension, and into my lap."

"Literally?" Bucky asked.

Steve nodded with a smirk.

"It did involve fighting a bully in a back alley, the usual. Got my ass handed to me, to be honest, but I got the girl in the end, took her home, and we started dating after a while."

Steve shrugged. It was so simple resumed that way, when you smoothed out all the ups and downs: his asthma attack, hunger, looking for work, getting fired, overwhelming misogyny, Hermione's panic upon realising she wasn't even in her dimension, his momentary jealousy when the army hired her because they kept refusing him…

"Then you came home without warning, walked right in without knocking," Steve chuckled. "Remember that, Bucky? The first time you met Hermione?"

To his surprise, Bucky really seemed to give it some thought, face screwed in concentration until he shook his head in the negative. Steve internally sighed and continued the tale, because even if he didn't remember anything, Bucky at least seemed to be interested in the story. The Winter Soldier wouldn't give a damn, he was sure, so there had to be a little progress in getting Bucky back.

"You walked in on Hermione taking a bath, and then you just stood there leering at her while she screamed and threw God knows what at you until I came to check out what all the commotion was about. Luckily for you, she accepted your apology and you became fast friends."

Steve then explained how they had each been catapulted to their own part of the world to fulfil their own duty, but that they'd promised to find each other as soon as they could, whether on the battlefield or back home.

"Turns out it happened sooner than any of us would have guessed. Hermione had been captured by the Red Skull in Finland and brought to Azzano where most of your company was also made prisoner. You were… Do you remember Dr Zola?"

Bucky flinched at the doctor's name, and yet he shook his head in denial. Steve couldn't hold it against him for lying to his face. After all, he had basically kidnapped him and was holding him prisoner, even if it was in a very civilised manner, it was normal Bucky would still see him as the enemy.

"Well, he had been experimenting on you, but we never found out what exactly had been done to you, and the place was falling apart. We went after the Red Skull, took Hermione out of his clutches, and walked back to base."

He told Bucky a ton of stories about them and the Howling Commandos. He probably didn't realize it, but Bucky made eye contact more and more often, and he was eating one thing after another until the platter was quite empty.

"I guess you were hungry. Want me to get you a refill?" Steve asked, interrupting his account of the time the Commando's prank war got so out of hand, they almost got captured because of a farting cushion going off at the wrong moment.

"No. What happened next?" Bucky demanded.

Steve smiled and continued his never-ending supply of Howling Commando's shenanigans, right until Bucky interrupted him, which was another first! It was all Steve could do not to show how excited he was at the way the other man was asserting himself, showing his curiosity, asking for something himself…

Yet, this was as far as Steve could go. He hesitated several times over telling him the three of them were more than friends, but seeing how he didn't remember anything else, it didn't seem necessary. Steve didn't want to confuse him even more, or worse, scare him off, so he bit back on the few times it almost slipped out.

"I'll let you rest now," Steve finally said, seeing the bags under his eyes. "If you need anything, you can ask the building's AI. His name is Jarvis. He'll give me your message, alright?"

Bucky didn't say anything, just looked at him with his expressionless mask back on while Steve did his best not to let his smile falter at seeing him go back to the Winter Soldier persona so fast.

Once outside he sighed. Hermione was right there, her nose glued to the glass and her eyes moist. Steve hugged her as tightly as he dared.

"Give him time, love," he whispered and kissed the top of her head.

It had to be harder for her since Bucky wouldn't even let her come close, let alone talk to her. But she hugged him back and nodded, understanding the need for patience when determination wasn't enough.

Over the next few days, Steve visited Bucky, bringing him his meals and staying to talk to him about before: growing up together, their families, their New York and the war. Bucky listened, asked questions, but what was promising was that he remembered what they talked about before. It seemed that he could retain his memories if Hydra didn't wipe him clean every time he finished a mission.

Well… it was good news, of sort. It could only get better from here, but it did make Steve wonder about how exactly they wiped his mind, and in what state his brain was after years, decades of mistreatment. Hell, might as well call it what it was: torture.

After sharing his worries with Hermione, she ran off to Tony's workshop and returned with the two of them bickering over a box.

"Well if I'd known you were going to play doctor with your old pal, I would have magic-proofed it too!" Tony told her, sounding exasperated before shoving said box his way. "Here. You take this."

Steve mechanically took the small box and peaked inside at what looked like a metal headband with wires and… stuff.

"And do what with it?" he asked.

"Crown patient zero," Tony said with a vague gesture towards where Bucky's room was. "I'd go, but I'm afraid he'd stab me with it, so tag, you're it."

"I still have no idea what this is, Steve pointed out.

"It's a sort of portable, head-MRI. It's not perfect, but it'll give us an idea of what the inside of his head looks like. Depending on that…"

They might never recover Bucky.

Steve knew that, although he did his best not to think about it. But if this was all that was left of him, he was going to do his damnedest to make sure he didn't suffer any more.

Tony explained how to place it on Bucky and make it work. He would collect the data and Jarvis would help them analyse it.

"But we might need to call in a doc, you know?" Tony said. "I know you want to keep him safe from Hydra and keep everyone safe from him, but I know this doc who's pretty much indestructible…"

"Banner? Do you even know where he is?"

"I'll find out."

Tony left with a spring in his step.

"Guess he misses his own pal," Steve commented.

"He calls him his science bro," Hermione said. "I think he's getting annoyed at us not understanding half of what he says."

Using the head device Tony had given him was easier said than done. The first time Steve brought it in and showed it to Bucky, he clammed up completely and then ignored him for three days.

Steve brought it up again when they were back on speaking terms, but Bucky shot him down.

"I will never let anyone mess with my head again," he muttered. "I don't know you. I don't know what that thing does, but I sure as hell ain't lettin' it anywhere near my noggin'."

Steve's eyebrows shot up at slip in Bucky's usually flat voice. He had never sounded more like Bucky than in that moment. It had to mean something. Was he remembering? Getting better? If Hydra had used the supersoldier serum on him, or at least a version of it like the Red Skull's, did it mean that the brain lesions Bucky might have had from the torture were healing? Was that why Hydra wiped his mind so many times? Because Bucky kept remembering?

Steve looked Bucky in the eye, for a trace of him, anything, but after a mere second, Bucky looked away.

Maybe he didn't want to remember, because he would remember his past as Bucky Barns, sure, but also as the Winter Soldier, and God only knew what he had done as a tool for Hydra… Steve couldn't blame him. Living with that kind of guilt… well, it might not be worth it.

"You want to get out of here? You've been locked in this room for almost two weeks now. It can't be doing you any good."

Bucky narrowed his eyes at him, as if trying to read what the trap was on his face. There wasn't one, and to be honest, he had just taken this decision on the spot. Everyone was going to give him hell for it, but if he was going to treat Bucky as poorly as Hydra, what was the point? He couldn't keep him prisoner in this small room forever.

"No catch," Steve said. "Just promise me not to run away or Hermione is going to explode in my face, and no amount of flowers is going to save me this time."

Bucky shrugged, mumbled a "I won't", and that's as good as he was going to get. Steve wasn't going to let him slip between his fingers anyway. He had found him once, he would find him again.

If it was weird walking out of the safe-room with Bucky in tow, it had to be even more so for Bucky. He walked through the threshold as if expecting it to close in his face or something, but once he was out in the corridor, he relaxed a bit.

Steve led him up to the main room where everyone always gathered. From there, there was a breathtaking view of the city, and it was as much of the outside as he was going to get for now. They stood in silence for a while, until there was a soft gasp behind them.

Bucky whirled around, ready to attack, his strange arm whirring mechanically.

"Sorry," Hermione said, careful not to make eye contact with Bucky as she stepped back. "I didn't know. You could have warned me, Steve. I'll just… go."

Before Steve could explain or apologize, Hermione had already turned on her heels and walked briskly towards the elevator.

"Damnit," Steve muttered. "I thought she was out."

Bucky grumbled as he so often did nowadays, but Steve noticed he was still looking at the elevator where Hermione had disappeared from view.

"Sorry, but I won't take you outside just yet," he said apologetically. "I hope you understand."

"It's not that," Bucky muttered.

"If you're worried about Hermione, she won't go into your mind again. She feels real bad about last time, but I promise she was only trying to help."

Bucky huffed, a clear sign of annoyance. Had he gotten it wrong again? Bucky was so hard to read now, so he tried blunt honesty.

"What is it?"

Bucky bit his bottom lip, then Steve berated himself for staring at the abused lip with less than innocent thoughts. He hoped Bucky hadn't noticed, but the way he was now glaring at him…

"You… Her… You look, you feel familiar, but everytime I chase a memory, it just…" he made a vague gesture in the air with his fingers.

"Slips away?" Steve asked, as nonchalantly as he could manage when he wanted to summersault with joy.

Bucky nodded.

"That's great, Buck. It means your memories are still there. They're just… misplaced. Or hiding. Hermione would know, she's used to that kind of thing. She told me she organized her mind like a library. Sounds neat, right? I can't say mine is organized in any way at all. It just is, I guess. How about you? How does it feel?" Steve asked, tapping his temple.

Bucky frowned in thought.

"Confusing?"

"Yeah, makes sense. I'm sure it'll get better. We'll just give it time."

"We-ARGH!"

They both turned at the strange sound, Bucky's arm raised and poised to slash as it whirred and ticked, but it was only Tony, breathing heavily as he held his luminous heart.

"A little… warning... next time, Cap. Almost had… an arc-attack."

"It was spur of the moment. Sorry. Did you need me?"

"Yes, actually. The Terrible Two haven't called in. Last known location just blew up. Ready to suit up? Where's Little Liberty?"

"Hermione just left. I'll go suit up. Bucky," he glanced at the other man who had his expressionless mask back on. "Sorry to cut this short. I'll take you back to your room and visit you as soon as I get back."

Steve could swear Bucky was angry at being left behind, but he couldn't very well take him along, especially because what Nat and Clint had been investigating was an important Hydra lead. The last thing he wanted was them getting their grubby tentacles back on his friend.