Right, so I'm back, and yeah, it has been a really long time! I'm sorry about that, life has really gotten me stuck in the mud and I've struggled to get things back on track. But here I am, and hopefully back to stay. Enjoy chapter 9 of this story! As always, I make no money from this story and no copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Nine- Finding the Trigger

Tony watched Clint pace around his infirmary room, clearly running through the ideas and optioned that he had thrown at him. For the first time for as long as he could remember, he was worried how he was seen by this man he had come to call a brother of sorts.

"Clint...do you think I've been behaving like a spoiled shit?" He asked quietly.

Hawkeye paused in his pacing and blinked several times before he answered. "I wouldn't go so far as to say you've behaved spoiled, Tony. But I would say that you have been too hard on Buck. I know you dislike him and your reasons aren't invalid, but at the same time, you have to accept that he was not in control the night your mom died."

Tony raised his head and smiled tightly. "I know, Clint. I know that I shouldn't be so bitter towards him, but I can't help it. Just seeing him makes my blood boil and I want to wring his neck."

Clint laughed and shook his head. "Some days I want to wring your neck, Tony. Just...try to give him a chance to prove he isn't the asshole you think that he is."

There was a soft snort and Clint glared until Tony partially relented. "Alright, I'll try not to give him such a hard time. Christ, Bird Brain, you really know how to ride someone don't you?"

The excellent archer just shrugged and threw a grunt his way. After some time, they wrapped up their ideas and Clint left so that Tony could get some more rest. While he was healing nicely, he still had a long road before he would be declared a hundred percent fit again.

With his departing came Barnes' arrival and Tony felt a vein in his forehead start to throb slightly. But Clint's voice rang through his head so he took a deep breath and pasted a minute smile on his face. "What can I do for you, Barnes?"

Barnes shuffled foot to foot for a moment. "I just came to see how you were recovering. And to ask if you had made any headway on working out what happened that day?"

Tony shuffled around until he was more propped up. "A little. Why don't you take a seat, shiny, before sparky fingers out there can blow an aneurysm?"

It appeared that Barnes was trying hard not to burst out laughing, but he took the chair and rested his elbows on his knees. "Okay, so what have you figured out?"

"Well, we've worked out so far that the only person who can really stand up to your strength is Thor. I don't really want Sergeant Red, White and Blue involved right now, and there's too much of a risk that Bruce could Hulk out and kill you, along with everyone else."

Barnes nodded as he spoke, and Tony could see the burning intelligence behind those normally cold, blue eyes. For once, Tony did not have the burning desire to rip the super soldier to shreds, but there was the ever-present urge to be heavily sarcastic.

He bit his lip though, and carried on explaining his ideas, the plans they had made with Clint and everything else that had come up. At the end of it all, Barnes rose and hovered awkwardly. "I just...I'm really grateful that you're willing to help me. If there's anything I can do, tell me."

Nothing more was said and the door softly closed as Barnes left. Tony rubbed his chin thoughtfully and grimaced as bristly stubble dragged across his hand. "Need a shave," he mumbled.

-oo0oo-

The day finally came when Tony was released from the infirmary and he could not have been happier. Staring at the same four walls had begun to drive him crazy and he itched to get back to his lab. The cast wasn't allowed to come off just yet, but Tony supposed he could live with that if it meant that he could escape that cold and clinical room.

First port of call was straight to his lab where he ran his hands over the smooth metal of his suits and sighed when he could smell the oil and grease in the place. He called up the plans to pitch Thor against Barnes and went over them again, making sure that the gym room could withstand the two of them going head to head.

Now that he looked through it all, Tony began to doubt if there even was an actual trigger or it was just Barnes' subconscious reaction to being provoked. But in the name of science, he had to find out.

His thoughts were interrupted when Bruce knocked gently on the glass wall and entered the code. "Hey, they said that you were finally up and about. Given up on the woe betide me act?"

Tony laughed. "Yeah, absolutely, couldn't take having to pretend I was in constant pain and that my cast bugged the shit out of me."

Bruce lightly rapped on the plaster cast and laughed. "Uh huh, sure. Are you going to explain to me why it takes you nearly getting killed for you to talk to me?"

"Come on, Brucie, you know I've been busy with, well, stuff. You're always welcome here, man, it's not like you need a written invitation. Everything that's been going on with Barnes has had me busy and…I don't know. I just locked myself away, I guess."

Bruce cleared off a counter and directed Tony to sit on it, shutting down his protests at being evaluated by the doctor. He ran all his tests he normally ran when he came to visit and also checked his blood for any poisoning from the chest piece.

He worked in silence, knowing Tony was growing more uncomfortable at the lack of communication, but he was thinking, and slightly upset that Tony hadn't bothered to let him know that Barnes was back, and in the Tower with him.

Tony stuck it out for a solid fifteen minutes before he caved. "God damn it, Bruce! Will you cut the cold shoulder and at least yell at me?"

Bruce laughed and took off his glasses. "I'm not gonna yell at you, Tony. I'm not your father but I can't deny I'm not miffed you didn't tell me Bucky was here. I would have been here for you."

"To do what? Tell me to calm down and stop giving him a hard time? Check my blood pressure so I don't keel over?" He snapped.

The doctor rolled his eyes and put away his kit. "Probably all of the above, but at least I would have been here. You know I like Barnes, but there's no doubt I wouldn't have stood at your back."

Tony nodded and gave him a quick hug, going to work on his newest suit, albeit slowly now that he was hindered by having one hand out of commission. He was soothed by the presence of Bruce in the lab and for some time, he forgot all about the man who had killed his parents and the deep ache in his chest at the Avengers drifting apart after their spat.

He thought back to the Accords, ran over all that happened and came to the conclusion that at the time he thought he was fighting for what was best for them all, before there were chains put on them all. Only allowed to attend disasters that the UN saw fit, and that wasn't what the Avengers Initiative was about.

But now, when he looked back over it, he began to see that Steve was probably more right than he had originally thought the super soldier to be. That making them sign the Accords and bending to the will of General Ross would have spelled disaster for them all, and somewhere, deep in his heart, he couldn't help but fear that Ross would have used the Accords to get his hands on Bruce again.

Tony hated himself for not thinking of that, for not realising that even though he was trying to do the best for the team, he was in fact putting them all in danger. The Accords would have left them unable to help those they wanted if told not to, and to go against the UN would have resulted in prosecution and a lifetime sentence to The Raft.

He looked at Bruce and rushed over, hugging the man tightly and inhaling his scent, allowing himself to be held for a moment. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Bruce rubbed his back. "Tony, just because you didn't tell me Bucky was here doesn't mean I'm not your friend anymore. You don't actually have to apologise to me."

Tony shook his head and pulled back, rubbing his eyes and sniffling. "I put you in so much danger when I pushed for the Accords to be signed."

Confusion crossed the doctor's face. "What?"

"Ross wanted the Accords signing and now that I think about it, it would have given him the chance needed to take you back in and make you his lab rat."

Bruce laughed and waved him away. "Don't be daft, Tony. Do you really think the Other Guy would have let that happen? He could never control him, as soon as the Other Guy came into play, Ross knew he had lost."

It wasn't enough to fully take away Tony's guilt, but it eased the pain in his chest somewhat. "How about giving me a hand?"

Laughter filled the lab as they chatted and messed around with Tony's suit. Tony was relaxed, happy now that his best friend was with him. He really didn't know why he hadn't called Bruce the moment Barnes had turned up. But he was glad someone did.

Probably Natasha when he thought about it, or Clint. Definitely not Steve. He liked Bruce well enough, but Tony had always noticed how Steve would slightly edge away if Bruce even looked mildly cross. Tony, however, was continually goading his friend. He trusted Bruce to have a lid on his temper, and they both knew the safety protocol that had been installed into FRIDAY.

Sometimes he wished the team would come back together again, that it hadn't become so broken that Tony pottered about in the Tower alone. He wished he hadn't been the one to break the team, that he hadn't pushed so hard for the Accords. But, above all else, he wished his mother was here.

-oo0oo-

It would be a solid week until Tony actually felt strong enough to be able to truly work on his plans without falling asleep on his worktop, exhaustion on his face and a deep ache in his bones. Finally, he was able to explain to Barnes what was going to happen, and an added bonus was that Thor was back on world and currently embracing Tony in a hug so tight he was certain his ribs were cracking.

"All right, Point Break, you can put me down now. I've just recovered from several broken bones and I don't need any new ones," he said, desperately trying to wriggle out of bear hug he was locked in.

Thor lowered him to the ground and looked at Tony like a wounded puppy. "I am sorry, I do not wish to cause you injury in any way."

Tony raised his eyes heavenward and smiled. "Honestly, Big Guy, I'm okay, just I need air more often than you do."

Barnes entered the kitchen where they had been gathered and stared at Thor, his stance a cross between attempting to be at ease, but ready to break into battle at any second. Thor immediately assessed him and offered his hand, the grip tight when taken.

"So, you are another metal man, though only partial."

Barnes grimaced but nodded. "Not by choice though."

Thor nodded in sympathy and clapped his mallet hands together. "So! Tell me all."

Natasha took the time to fill him in, keeping it brief, to the point, and never took her eyes off Barnes. But it was not a wary look, Tony noticed, more like she was looking at a long-lost friend. He remembered something about Natasha having a trainer, someone who had made her the assassin she was today.

He made a mental note to look into that later, perhaps she had known him while she had been trained, or her trainer had known him. After all, she came from HYDRA too, and no doubt their success at creating the Winter Soldier had to have made rounds quite frequently, even if he spent the majority of the last seventy plus years on ice.

"Okay, so, now you know the plan, Thor, did you get my message about the metal?"

Thor looked confused for a moment before he nodded. "Yes, I managed to acquire some for you. It is waiting in your lab, I will later explain how to manipulate it, the metal is not quite like Earth metals."

He was about to wave off the lecture and say he would figure it out for himself, but the look Thor gave him made him pause and simply nod in agreement before going back to his plans.

"The general idea is that Thor will use most of what I said to Barnes in an attempt to get the same reaction, to try and work out exactly what the trigger is, if it's specific word, or if it's something that triggers an emotional reaction." He looked around to make sure everyone followed. "No one else will be in the room besides Barnes, Thor and myself, and FRIDAY of course." He raised a hand at Bruce's protests. "If Thor can't elicit the reaction then I will try, and Thor will, essentially, take my place as the punching bag, and fight back to subdue Barnes until we can make the next attempt, if required."

Tony knew Bruce didn't like the idea of him being in harm's way, but it was a risk he was willing to take. "Additionally, I will have the briefcase suit with me, so I will be encased in strong metal in seconds, enough to stall Barnes until Thor can divert his attention. Now, FRIDAY will be recording everything, but I will be relying on you all to take notice of what's going on, FRIDAY is an AI, not human and there is a chance she could miss something. Not a dig, lass, but it's a possibility."

FRIDAY piped up from her speakers. "Don't worry, sir, I'm used to my integrity and intelligence being questioned, after all, you frequently ask me why you even built me."

Tony glared at the nearest camera and rolled his eyes. "Like I was saying, it could be a facial expression, maybe a tic, something that could be an indicator to when the change is going to happen, or when he's starting to react to something."

Natasha, Clint and Barnes all nodded, but Steve shook his head. "No, I don't like this at all, Tony. You're playing with fire here and you will get burned."

He faced the blond and stared him down. "What don't you like exactly? The fact that I want to poke an angry bear until it reacts, or the fact that you can't quite believe I want to help him?"

Steve flushed red in anger and invaded Tony's personal space until their noses were nearly touching. "You actually want to help someone? The only person you want to help is yourself, Stark."

Tony laughed, a deep, belly laugh that had him wiping tears away from his eyes. "Oh, that was a good one! You mean like how I only helped myself when I flew that missile into space? How I only helped myself when I sent Fury a shitload of Helicarriers and Quinjets? Or how about when I let your sorry ass back in this Tower after leaving me alone for months and never bothering to get in touch!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't think…"

Tony cut him off. "Yeah, that's your problem, you don't think. If I get hurt that's on my head, Rogers, so leave it out."

Steve raised his hands in surrender and stalked off, shoulders hunched in defeat and misery. He glared at Bruce when he tried to get him to calm down and turned to Barnes. "I won't be going easy on you, if what I said in the gym doesn't work I'll work out new things to say. I will trigger you one way or another. But listen well, this does not mean in any way that I forgive you…yet. I will help you, because at the end of it all, you're just a brain washed, messed up kid just like all of us are messed up. So, don't…" Tony swallowed. Hard. "Don't think you'll be tossed out on your ear is this does sideways. You won't be."

Barnes' eyes softened and Tony saw something he couldn't recognise, but it was gone before he could analyse it. "Thank you," Barnes whispered softly.

Tony snorted but nodded. "You're welcome, sunshine. Now, let's get down to business, shall we?"

He picked up the briefcase suit and led them to the gym, most of the floor cleared of equipment so Barnes couldn't launch it at Tony, or at the observatory where the rest of the gang would be, watching them closely.

A part of Tony hoped to God this wouldn't work, that there was no trigger and it was just a freak accident. But deep down, he knew he was to find the trigger and put a stop to it, otherwise it would mean Barnes had to go back in to cryo stasis, and do some reason unknown to him, he didn't want that to happen.