"Wait, what?" Tony asked for what must have been the tenth time.
"Bucky's programming, there must have been a contingency plan or some remote to reactivate him, Alexei was here…" Steve tried to explain, holding the phone to his ear again and cursing.
"I understood that, Steve, I just…" he shook his head, "I don't understand how…Bucky wouldn't hurt her, he…"
Steve slammed the phone down on the metal of the airplane, wanting nothing more than for Tony to be with him instead of flying ahead of them in the Iron Man suit. "It…it's out of his hands, Tony….I just…I hope he was lying, he…Bucky can't live through this again. If he hurts her…them…"
He covered his face with his hands and jumped at the arm on his shoulder, tears in his eyes when he looked at Nick who was just as worried.
"The guards aren't responding at the compound, I've used every resource I have as of now until we land or Stark does."
Nick, Steve, Clint, T'Challa, and Bruce were all headed towards the island Natasha and Bucky had been sequestered in. They hadn't waited to get a hold of Thor and Luke. There were fifteen SHIELD agents with them, armed and dangerous, and Steve hoped to hell that was enough.
"It'll be okay, Steve. I…it has to be," Tony said, and then cut off communication.
T'Challa put a hand on Steve's other shoulder and said, "James is a fighter, Steve. Remember that."
Steve pressed his eyes tight and prayed.
About ten minutes ahead of them Tony landed on the porch of a large house, near a mansion, wooden and just as secluded as he'd imagined it would be.
No noise greeted his arrival and his insides turned cold. "Natasha? Bucky?" he called out, walking inside.
He kept his arm out in front of him and his visor up, scanning the area as he walked. He was halfway across the living room when he bumped into Natasha, holding a gun and wearing only a towel.
"Tony! You…what are you doing here?" she asked, holding her chest.
Tony let his visor down, scanning her body for bruises and finding none. "Why aren't you answering your phone! We've been calling for almost an hour!"
She laughed. "We turned off the phones and sent the agents home for the evening, James and I were," she blushed, "Showering."
Tony grabbed her shoulders tight and whispered, "We need to go. It's…it's Bucky. He…"
Natasha frowned. "James? He's in the shower waiting for me, I…what is going on?"
He looked down at her towel covered belly and swallowed. "Alexei, he…he came. He said they were going to make Bucky hurt you or something and I…"
She laughed, shaking her head. "No, no…James is fine, he's waiting I must…" she tried to head back towards the bathroom and Tony grabbed her tighter.
"NO! Natasha you have to come. You…"
"I am not dressed for flying! And James is fine! I just…we…" her voice was cracking and she started to breathe faster, her chest rising and falling quickly.
Tony cursed and grabbed her into as good a hug as he could wearing metal. "Honey, trust me. Just this once. Let me go get Bucky."
She was shaking against him so hard he could feel her hand vibrating against his chest.
"He…," she looked at him with tear filled eyes, "…will be angry at you. James does not…"
Tony smiled, his eyes filled with tears as he kissed her forehead. "I can take care of myself. I…"
Before he could finish a shot went by and he grabbed her, rolling them both into the room beyond them.
She began crying then, trying to swallow her sobs as she whispered, "Ne svidaniya, oh pazhalusta, ne svidaniya." (NOT AGAIN, OH PLEASE, NOT AGAIN)
There was another rolling and there was another shot, and someone called out, "Pomni, ya vsеgda ryadom, laphochka!" (REMEMBER I AM ALWAYS NEXT TO YOU, DARLING!)
Natasha broke free from Tony and ran, making him curse and follow, trying to get ahead of her before she could find Bucky. As soon as the other man was in view he stopped, letting out a breath.
Bucky was holding her tightly, completely nude, as was she. She was crying, and Bucky was glaring at Tony murderously. "What the FUCK are you doing here?"
Tony swallowed. "Um…."
Natasha turned in his arms, glaring at Tony through her tears.
Bucky leaned in closely and whispered to her, making Natasha smile and kiss him, grabbing on to his neck and pulling them closer.
Tony turned, embarrassed at the blunder and their nudity. "Um…sorry? I mean, it was just really convincing with Alexei showing up and no one answering and…"
"Wait, wait, hold on. Alexei came to the mansion?" Bucky asked.
Tony still didn't turn. "Yeah, and…oh shit," he turned on his radio and said, "Steve, everything is.."
Just as Steve and the rest of the squad crashed through the room.
They all had guns trained on Buck and Natasha, who was staring with red rimmed eyes.
Steve stared at the three of them, taking in the scene. He narrowed his eyes at Bucky.
"Buck?"
Bucky grinned. "Your mother's name is Sarah and your dad's Joseph. You were born so small the doctors all thought you'd die by ten but your mother did instead and…"
Steve ran at them both, hugging the pair tightly. "Jesus, don't scare me like that," he whispered, kissing Natasha's cheek and letting out a his breath.
He let them go and turned. "False alarm, guys, stand down," he turned to Bucky and Natasha, "Go get dressed."
The pair disappeared from the room and Nick went to Steve, frowning. "Steve, we don't yet know it's not going to happen just because it hasn't happened yet."
Steve nodded. "I know, and that's why Tony is gonna scan Bucky and check for implants."
Tony paled, coughing. "Um…Steve, see Bucky doesn't really like me too much so…"
He smiled at Tony. "If it's for Natasha, he'll live through it."
Minutes later the pair emerged and Tony went to Natasha while Steve spoke with Bucky. She was still frowning at him. "You frightened me, my Tony, I…I have never been so lost," she whispered, her eyes filled with tears.
He nodded, pulling her into a hug. "You scared me too."
She sighed and he whispered, "Can you help me do something? Just for a bit?"
She smiled up at him. "Steven wants you to check James for implants from Russia, yes? You are…afraid…of my laphochka?"
Tony looked over at Bucky, who was still standing with Nick and Steve but looked over at Natasha in his arms, his eyes looking murderous. He swallowed. "No…never. He looks like a great big…"
"Grizzly bear?" she offered, teasing.
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth lightly, grinning. "Now look again."
Tony swallowed and turned, yelping when he saw Bucky was headed for them. "Oh shit, he's coming."
She laughed and said, "I will protect you, my Tony," turning to stand between them.
Bucky stopped. "Why did you kiss him?"
Natasha smiled. "We are good friends, laphochka. Tony is not going to steal me away, are you my Tony?"
Bucky growled. "Don't call him that. I don't like it."
She smiled, pulling him into a kiss. "You do not own me, darling. I can call my Tony by whatever name I please."
The big, bad grizzly bear stuck out his bottom lip and mumbled, "Finedowhatyouwant," before looking at Tony. "Let's do this scan and get this over with so I don't have to talk to you again."
Tony nodded. "All right then."
Natasha stepped back from Bucky as Tony put down his visor. "Okay, Jarvis. I want a thorough scan of any electronic and internal devices."
"All right, sir. Scanning now."
The scan took less than two minutes before Jarvis said, "Done."
He showed the results to Tony who said quickly, "There's something in your head by the left temple, it's small but I can't get a reading on it."
"It's from a bullet, my Tony. James was shot in the head on his very first soldier outing," Natasha offered.
He heard Bucky chuckle. "Can't believe you remember that."
"I remember everything you've ever said to me, lapochka, I…I have repeated your words in my mind for years," she whispered.
He heard Bucky sigh and knew they were kissing again.
"Left of your ear, close to the jugular?"
Silence greeted him and he pulled up his visor. Bucky had stepped away from Natasha, his eyes wide. "I can't," he looked at Tony, "Is it active?"
"It's small, again, but I don't get anything from it. That's it though," he offered.
Bucky looked at the others and said, "Lock me up then and then you," he looked at Bruce, "Get this thing out of me."
Bruce swallowed. "I'm not a…I'm not a surgeon. I can't…"
Tony coughed and then swallowed before declaring, "I'll do it. I…I can do it."
Bucky looked at him, nodding once and then looked at Nick. "Lock me up, Fury. Now."
Natasha went to come to him and he shook his head. Her eyes filled with tears. "James, please…"
"Not this time, darling," were the last words she heard before they escorted him to a secret room and she began to cry again.
The facility underneath the compound was even more impressive than the upstairs. Tony's eyes widened as he took in nearly ten times the space the house itself had occupied filled with prison areas, medical, and weapons storage which looked to include training if the pairs of fighters in close combat were anything to go by.
They took Bucky straight to the prison area which was currently empty and looked quite similar to the cell he had been in when Tony had first seen the man nearly half a year before. He felt Steve tense beside him as Bucky was led inside and the door was closed.
"He'll be okay," he whispered, though his own mind was telling him otherwise.
Steve let out a breath and said, "You don't know that."
Tony looked at him. "I need to believe that, for all of our sakes. Especially theirs. I can do this, Steve. I can."
Before Steve could open his mouth again Bruce Banner said, "You have no medical training, no previous experience whatsoever. What makes you think…?"
Nick Fury cut him off. "I've seen what Tony can do, Bruce. The man has an above genius IQ and the talent to go with it. He can create machines and weapons so intricate even the most talent surgeons would weep at the complexity. He can do it."
Tony stared at Nick in shock, unable to think of a comeback. He stared at Bucky, who suddenly turned and said, "I want to talk to her…before. We're doing this as soon as possible. No waiting."
Tony swallowed again. "Okay. I'll get things ready," he said quickly and left the group alone together.
Steve coughed. "I…um…could you all leave Buck and I alone for a second? I know we're not really alone but…"
The others all nodded silently and Steve came closer to the cell. "I'll do it," Steve said before Bucky could speak. "This time I will," he whispered hoarsely, tears in his eyes.
Bucky nodded back, biting his lip. "I know you will."
"And I'll take care of her and the baby. They'll stay with Tony and I. We'll…" Steve said, suddenly biting back more tears.
Bucky looked down, nodding again. "I know."
"If something happens. We don't know it will. That's just if something does."
Bucky whispered, "I…"
"Lapochka." came the whisper cutting off anything further.
Steve wiped his face, nodding once to Natasha and walking away, putting a hand on her shoulder as he passed.
Natasha came closer than Steve had, pressing her face nearly into the plastic. She put her hand on it and Bucky did the same. He smiled. "Hey."
"They…you wanted to…speak to me?" she said quietly, her eyes filled with tears.
He nodded. "Yeah, I did," he sighed, closing his eyes, "Do you remember our first kiss?"
Bucky opened his eyes and saw her smile, nodding. "I remember our first everything."
He pressed his forehead against the cell and she did the same. "I was so afraid you were gonna hit me."
Natasha laughed her voice thick as she whispered, "I had dreamt of it for months before you kissed me, though afterwards I entertained the thought of hitting you still."
He laughed. "I want you to remember me as I am now, laphocka. As a man who loves you more than his own life. Who would rather die than hurt you. Who longs for a hundred more years together, who'd die in your arms if it meant kissing you one more time."
Natasha shook her head, a sob escaping as she looked away from him. "No, no, no…"
"Lapochka, look at me. I'm not saying I'm gonna die, or I'm gonna go back to being their monster, but I could. I could. And I don't want the last words you here from me to be me calling you a whore or telling you to kill me. I won't do that, baby. Not to you. Not again."
"James. Mne ne zshit bez tebya," she sobbed, her shoulders shaking violently. (I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU)
"You can, darling. If you have to, I know you can. For our daughter," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
Natasha looked up, her face covered in tears. "Daughter?"
He smiled. "You keep saying it's a girl, right? So she has to be. What are we gonna name her?"
She swallowed another sob. "You will be here, James. You will. We need to you to be here."
He stuck his fingers through the holes in the plastic and she touched them, shuddering.
"I'll try, lapochka. You know I will. If I'm not…I need to know her name," he whispered.
Natasha smiled. "Antonia."
He laughed, shaking his head. "You want to name our kid after Stark? Are you shitting me?"
She smiled, wiping her tears with her free hand and touching his fingers with her other.
"Yes, darling. Antonia Stevana Barnes," she said, sniffling.
Bucky smiled, nodding. "Yeah, that's her name all right. You did good, 'tasha."
Natasha tried to smile and sobs came instead, wrenching out of her violently.
"Natasha, Ya tebya lyublyu," he said, and she nodded. (I LOVE YOU)
"Ja…mes…I…I love…I love you," she sobbed, and suddenly Steve was there behind her, his strong grip on her arms as she pressed her lips against the plastic and they let go of their fingers leaving Bucky alone, his head down and his tears silently his own.
They spent the rest of the afternoon in bed making love to the point where Luke must have passed out because when he woke the sun was setting through his window and Thor was staring out silently, fully clothed.
"Mmm…what time is it?" he mumbled, wiping his eyes.
Thor frowned at him. "It is nearly five in the evening, Lucas, and I must take my leave."
Luke sat up then, suddenly wide awake. "You…you're leavin?"
Thor came at him then, smiling. "Aye, though not for fear of staying. There is something wrong and I must go find out what."
Luke touched his face, sighing. "Avengers thing?"
Thor nodded. "I have tried to contact my friends at the mansion and have been informed that there was a crisis with the widow and her lover. There may be need of my strength. I must go."
Luke kissed him then, slowly and methodically, and when he pulled back Thor's eyes were still closed. He grinned. "Okay, let's go."
Thor opened his eyes quickly. "Let us go? I must go alone, Lucas. This could be very dangerous, I do not…"
Luke took his hand, kissed it and said, "I'm unbreakable, remember Goldy?"
Thor smiled. "You are sure? You are not an Avenger, there is nothing to bind you to this endeavor."
Luke sighed. "Of course there is, Goldilocks. You. Now let's fly."
Thor grinned and said softly, "You do need clothes for the occasion, my Lucas."
Luke laughed. "Well that's the first thing. Then we're gone."
He got out of bed and quickly dressed, making sure to take some hand to hand weapons though Thor was too busy staring out the window to notice. When he was done and ready he called out, "Ready to go?" and Thor turned, staring at him with wide eyes.
Luke frowned. "What's wrong?"
The thunder god swallowed and said softly, "I do not believe that is the proper attire for this journey."
Luke looked down at himself. He was wearing a pair of black jeans, a yellow shirt that was tight enough to nearly show his stomach and boots. He looked back up still frowning. "What's wrong with it?"
"I do not want others to see you in those clothes."
Luke grinned. "Well tough shit, Goldy cuz all my clothes look like this."
Thor stalked towards him then, stopping when they were close enough to touch. "You are mine, I do not like to share."
Luke sighed, still amused. "Neither do I gorgeous, but these are my clothes. Let's get out of here."
Thor mumbled something under his breath and Luke ignored it, biting his lip to keep from laughing. He was suddenly pulled tight against Thor's frame. "Thor?"
"I need to carry you, Lucas. This is going to be hard."
Luke swallowed. "Ready when you are."
Thor pressed in closer to him then and he bit back a moan when he felt the god's hardness against his thigh. "I always am," Thor whispered before they took off.
T'Challa watched everything around him with quiet observation.
He watched Tony Stark get ready to perform an operation for the first time in his life, looking like a true surgeon as he ordered those around him what to do and was required for his new mission.
He watched Nicholas as he stood watching Stark work, nodding when the agents would look at him for confirmation but Tony was so busy he didn't notice which boosted his confidence.
He watched the archer and his doctor lover as they spoke in hurried whispers, Doctor Banner looking angry but not angry enough to cause damage and Hawkeye looking mildly upset himself.
He watched Steve Rogers mourning for his friend before the surgery had even begun, holding Natasha in his arms as she slept off her own grief. Their eyes met and he nodded once to T'Challa who nodded back silently.
He watched James Barnes be led into the operating room, suddenly going berserk and attacking six doctors, speaking Russian and spouting off death threats, and T'Challa quickly reacted subduing Bucky in record time as an orderly gave the man a needle in the neck sedating him.
T'Challa turned then, looking to Steve but saw that both the man and woman were gone.
He looked to Nicholas, who nodded once and threw a glance over his shoulder where he watched Steve carry Natasha up the stairs.
T'Challa nodded once to Tony before letting go of James and taking the empty seat Steve and Natasha been sitting in, watching the operation that could fix Barnes's memories once again or kill him.