Chapter 2
"Are you alright Tony?" Natasha asked him. She wasn't the most maternal person in the world, she would be the first to admit that. But she would do anything for the people she cared for, even if they didn't know that she actually did. Somehow Tony had managed to wiggle through her defenses, with his quick sarcasm and restless thought process, and had joined Clint on the other side.
"You look like crap," Clint said, much less subtle than she was. Tony snorted.
"Thank you Captain Subtle," Tony said, though it lacked his usual bite and even he knew it. He had barely gotten any sleep the night before, worrying about Bucky. Of course, he didn't sleep very often without Steve but usually he managed to get in about two hours of sleep a night. He probably got less than ten minutes last night. The funny thing about Clint's comment, at least funny to him, was that he actually had a butt ton of makeup on. Pepper helped him put it on every day to help him pull off the whole twenty to thirty years older than he really was look.
"I'm not a captain, that's Stevey-boy over here," Clint said, wrapping a playful arm around Steve's shoulder. Steve didn't even acknowledge it. He was lost in a sea of hopes and dread. Hope because it was Bucky and he missed his old life so much that it hurt. Dread because it was Bucky and what if he blamed Steve for what happened? Admittedly, his slightly painful crush on Tony was helping with the former.
"He doesn't seem to be in the mood for nicknames," Tony said, showing once again the kindness that the tabloids said wasn't there and the Avengers found surprising every single time. He glanced sideways at Steve for about the millionth time since they had gathered at a S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, this time to check once again that he was still breathing regularly. Tony knew that he no longer had asthma since he was injected with the serum but who knew when his body would fall back on its old habits? That was the reason for him checking on him half the time. The other half was because Steve was fine and he couldn't help it if he was the most beautiful person on the planet and he wanted to stare at him. It had been a lot easier to appreciate Steve before, when he had exclusive staring rights.
"He's ready," Fury said, coming out of the small room that they had Sergeant James Barnes in and joining the Avengers in the hallway. Steve and Tony got unsteadily to their feet, everyone assuming because Steve was emotionally distressed and Tony was hung-over. The rest of the Avengers followed suit. Fury opened the door and they filed in.
Bucky was having a strange day, though certainly less strange than yesterday. Yesterday, he was woken up, been greeted by a pirate, told that his best friend Steve was a superhero, told nothing about his second best friend, and, oh, yeah, been told that he was seventy years in the future. So, yes, yesterday was odd. Today had started out slightly better. His breakfast had been crap but he was greeted by a slightly less piratey agent named Coulson and told that he was finally get to see Steve. He was slightly worried about that, because he had no idea how well Steve was functioning with Tony. That boy had been his reason to get up every morning. So when the door opened and he saw more people than the pirate agent, he raised his eyes to see Steve with a little trepidation and a lot of joy.
"Bucky," Steve breathed and then found himself crossing the room and wrapping Bucky in his arms. And suddenly he felt a little better, like another piece of him had come together again. It was something he felt since he was unfrozen, like he was missing parts of himself. And he didn't think that it was missing the time period. More like missing people. Right then he couldn't spare a thought to imagine who else held a part of him that he needed to get back.
"Steve," Bucky said, hugging him the best he could with his one arm. If having to readjust to a different time period wasn't enough, then having to do it while adjusting to only one arm was even worse. When he finally managed to raise his eyes, and undeniably, it was quite a time before he managed, he was shocked to find himself staring right into Tony's eyes.
"Tony!" Bucky said. He released Steve and only after a brief moments pause to wonder why pirate agent had not informed him of Tony's survival too, he crossed the room and gave Tony an awkward yet warm one armed hug. Tony sagged into his grip as though suddenly a load had been pulled off his shoulders.
"Wait, you know Tony?" Steve asked confusedly. Bucky stared back at him just as confusedly.
"Wait, you don't?" Bucky asked in alarm.