rekindleme | closed

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Who: Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Tony Stark.
Where: Tony's apartment
When: Backdated to July 4th
Summary: Steve brings Bucky to Tony in hopes of him repairing his arm. It doesn't work out so well.
Warnings: People being idiots.

Ever since he reunited with Bucky, Steve had been doing his best to help him adjust to Saeng Seong. Of course he probably didn't need the help in doing so, but Steve just wanted to be there for him now and spend as much time as possible with Bucky. After all, who knew what was going to happen here. Bucky might be sent home or he could go back, something that he didn't want even though he was going to eventually meet him on Earth.

But for now, he wanted to concentrate on what was happening here. His memories of this city were going to disappear later, so he had to make sure that he made the most of their current situation.

Bucky still wouldn't give out any details about what happened, other than he forgot a lot of things. Mostly their childhood. But he couldn't help that if he had amnesia from the fall, even if it really saddened him. He tried a couple of times to bring up some of their shared memories, but he didn't get much of a reaction. It was upsetting, but Steve just had to stick by him, even if the process was going to be slow. It sorta gave him more of a purpose here anyway, someone that he could help.

Of course, he was just as worried about him not giving any details about his future, even if there was probably a reason for it. Steve didn't like it, but he never pushed the topic too much. He wasn't about to force anything out of Bucky and maybe he would eventually give out some details on his own.

But if he was honest about everything, it had been sorta stressful dealing with this new Bucky. Steve didn't regret being around him though, he would gladly deal with the stress and the confusion. Steve just hoped that Bucky would talk to him more or smile more again, instead of that blank gaze he now had. Luckily, Steve wasn't the type to give up on people, especially if it was his best friend.

It didn't take him long to notice that Bucky's metal arm wasn't working all too well. He hadn't moved it since Steve had been around him, so it wasn't hard to figure out. It was a complex piece of technology and he had no idea how to fix something like that, but luckily he knew someone that probably could.

Tony Stark.

It wasn't hard convincing Bucky to go along with him; after Steve promised that he'd stay with him during the procedure he just nodded silently. So, he was here in front of Tony's apartment, knocking on the door and waiting for the engineer to answer. He probably should have let Tony know that he was coming, but he was just so wrapped up in trying to help Bucky that he kinda forgot to be more polite about this.

He really owed him once this was over.

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The action of Steve wiping his bloody nose like that made the soldier pause. He'd... seen that before. He knew he had--countless times, he was suddenly aware. As his mind raced to pull on that thread of memory and stitch the pieces together into something coherent, the tension left his shoulders and he stared at Steve unblinkingly, mouth slightly open. By the time his name was mentioned, he'd already tuned the outside world out.

Tony turned the sheet back to look at it again.

"Okay, ah, no offense to your drawing skills, Rogers, but he kinda looks diff--"

He certainly didn't recall a death glare on that sketch. He looked from the drawing of Bucky Barnes to the real thing to compare, but was very quickly distracted by the expression on Bucky's face.

Or, uh, lack thereof.

That wasn't creepy at all.

"Is, ah. Is that normal?"

Steve looked back at Bucky when Tony started to trail off, instantly noticing the catatonic expression on his face. That... definitely wasn't normal. It was worrying. He had never seen Bucky have that kind of look before and it honestly frightened Steve a little.

He didn't answer Tony's question, completely focused on Bucky again as he tried to figure out what was going on with him. Why did he get like this suddenly? He just didn't understand at all.

Steve placed his hands on Bucky's shoulders, holding him in a steady grip but nothing that would be painful. "Bucky, Bucky. What's wrong? Talk to me." His voice sounded mostly calm, but it was obvious that he was a bit distressed as well.

The soldier did not respond, no longer truly looking at Steve but through him, even though the image of his face was what brought the memory forward. Not even the touch brought out any kind of physical reaction; he was too occupied with the senses and feelings he was trying to put back together. He still didn't blink.

"Apparently not."

Tony put the drawing down and made a little gesture with his hand. The armor on his arm immediately unlatched and fell off. Barnes appeared to have given up attacking him, at least for the moment, and in any case he clearly wasn't in any condition to do so now. And no matter how creepy that blank face was, Tony was more than okay with not being attacked.

"So what are you and Thousand Yard Stare doing at my apartment?" Tony continued, ignoring Steve's distress.

"Besides attempted murder. Obviously."

Edited 2014-07-13 08:44 (UTC)

Steve gave Bucky a tiny little shake, still trying to snap him out of whatever state he was in. "Bucky!" His voice was a little louder this time and it definitely didn't sound as calm as before. He didn't answer any of Tony's questions still, his voice just something in the background until he could get Bucky back into the present.

He didn't know what suddenly brought this about, but he just hoped that Bucky would eventually respond.

"Really? Nothing?"

And apparently Rogers wasn't planning on responding until Barnes did. That was annoying.

"Okay."

Tony sighed and lightly set the drawing down, selecting a random magazine from the general clutter. He casually rolled it up, tapping it against his opposite palm as he strolled closer to the distracted super soldier and his catatonic buddy.

And whacked said buddy in the back of his shaggy head. Even if it didn't wake him up, bastard deserved it.

His head jerked forward from the hit by the magazine as he was snapped out of his thoughts. After a short moment where he blinked and his brow furrowed, he looked up at the man who had him by the shoulders. He didn't acknowledge the man that struck him or even that he'd been struck, though it had hurt somewhat.

"You... got in a lot of fights," he said slowly, like he was still half in a daze.

"Tony!" Steve really didn't see that coming (he should have been paying more attention but. Something was happening with Bucky), but he sent the engineer a small glare for his trouble. What was that going to solve- oh, Bucky snapped out of it.

Well. Good.

He looked down at his friend again. His hands still hadn't moved from their spot, but his grip had loosened at least. So, Bucky was remembering something? His comment made Steve think that was the case. But... that was good, even if it was also surprising. For a while, he didn't think Bucky would be able to gain back any of his memories, just staring at him blankly all the time and not reacting to anything. But he remembered Steve, even if it was just him getting into fights.

It was something. And it gave him hope. He just needed to support Bucky and stay by his side like before. That wasn't going to be a problem for him.

"Yeah, I did." He slowly pulled his hands away, thinking that it should be okay now. "Had a hard time keepin' my mouth shut."

Edited 2014-07-14 05:51 (UTC)

Huh. That actually worked. In that Barnes seemed aware, at least. Well, mostly aware.

He didn't seem to even have noticed getting whacked in the head, and the guy had taken way more offense to way less in Tony's experience. Which... okay, Tony wasn't too torn up about, since he could do without Bucky's special way of showing he was offended. What he said was far more concerning--if these two knew each other since they were kids, shouldn't Barnes know how much of a little shit Rogers was? Even Tony knew that. What the hell was going on?

"Hey, yeah, okay, uh. Sorry," he said loudly, hoping to get their attention.

"What?"

The soldier had a special talent for tuning out things that weren't currently relevant, and he was using it at this moment, even if it wasn't entirely conscious. He only kept staring at Steve.

"You were so small," he said as if he needed confirmation. His working arm almost moved towards the other man to keep himself on his unsteady feet, but he let it fall back to his side before it even made it halfway to touching him.

"Thought you were gonna... snap like a twig," he said, trailing off before shutting his eyes in a grimace and letting his head fall forward, as if it had taken a great deal of effort to put it all together and get the words out. This time his hand moved to his own face to cover it as he took in a breath through his nose.

Steve wasn't trying to be extra rude to Tony, but answering him didn't seem all too important right now. He would explain everything to him later, but right now he wanted to talk to Bucky about the memory he just regained.

"I was." He confirmed, of course Bucky would remember him when he was still small. He was that size for most of his life and Bucky had the most memories of him when he was in that state. "Spent a lot of my time gettin' my ass handed to me."

He smiled a little, even though he was a bit concerned about the grimace on his face. Probably took a lot to remember just that. But at least he was trying. "And you were always worried about me. Saved my life on numerous occasions too."

"Really? Nothing?"

Tony was displeased. Was he talking to himself here?

"No reaction. At all. Okay."

He glanced around as if looking for support from the rest of the room, but the only answer he got was U slowly raising his claw on the other side of the room. Tony glanced at the magazine still in his hand. Eh, good enough.

He spun around and smacked Barnes in the back of the head again.

He was in the process of thinking of a response--asking a question, most likely--when he was struck again, though not so hard as before. Still, given it was the same spot, it did sting a bit.

His gaze no longer focused on Steve's face, he slowly turned his head to locate the one who hit him, and his eyes landed first on the magazine and then on Stark's face. The expression on his face was slightly irritated, maybe, but nowhere near as murderous or full of rage as it had been.

The whack on top Bucky's head was enough to get his attention this time and Steve sent Tony another agitated look. He was getting through with Bucky, at least somewhat, and Tony had to go do that. Couldn't they just have one moment? He hadn't been able to talk with Bucky like that since he got here, so the interruption put him in a sour mood.

Also, completely unnecessary what he did.

"What is it, Stark?" Yep, Steve was definitely irritated.

"Hey, I exist!" Tony said, with just enough venom behind his words to be noticeable.

"I was wondering, since. You know. No reaction and everything but hey, turns out you were just ignoring me in my own apartment. Weird, right?"

He gave an especially pointed look at Rogers, after a glance showed him Barnes wasn't about to rip his throat out again. Apparently his... seizure or whatever it was had pacified him. Well. Good. He supposed.

"So, ah, touching moment there, but how about we talk about this first?"

He pointed sharply at his own neck, where he knew there had to be bruises starting to form. No way Barnes wasn't enhanced somehow, and Tony was about fed up with super anythings.

"Funny thing, I'm actually not well enough acquainted with attempts on my life to not care about an explanation."

With the automatic reaction out of the way and his brain essentially resetting itself concerning his surroundings, the assassin took a second to reassess the situation.

They'd come here on Steve's suggestion to get his arm back in working order, but now that he knew it was Stark he'd been referring to, it seemed clear to him that it was pointless to pursue that goal any further. They were not on good terms, and even if Stark was willing to do it, the assassin wasn't certain he was willing to let him do it, even with Steve in the room. He didn't trust that Stark wouldn't do something to it to his own advantage.

He looked away a moment later and began to step towards the door. He never owed his targets a reason anyway.

Edited (boo repetition + argh missing a negative I'M SORRY) 2014-07-15 17:26 (UTC)

A lot of his irritation was replaced by guilt when he saw the bruises that were forming around Tony's neck. That was something that shouldn't have happened and he regretted not being able to stop Bucky in time. He should've been more careful about all this.

Steve glanced over at Bucky and noticed that his friend was going to leave, so maybe he should give a quick explanation for now.

"Bucky's memories are gone." Steve finally managed to answer Tony back. "Doesn't remember our childhood or much of anything. I brought him here because his arm wasn't working and I thought you'd be able to fix it." He didn't think Tony was going to fix his arm now and he couldn't hold that against him, even if he wanted Bucky to get better.

It wasn't a very good explanation, and Tony had assumed most of it. Barnes obviously didn't remember their childhood based on that little moment they shared, and it was clear the metal arm wasn't operating up to par. Why else would they come to Tony if not for tech?

He weighed his options. And didn't like any of them.

"I'll fix it," he said with a heavy sigh. It wasn't directed at specifically either of the other two, just the room in general.

He couldn't afford to lose the only other Avenger, not with the (failed) Clean Slate Protocol in place, and it looked like these two were a package deal. Plus, Rogers' kicked puppy look could level cities. Tony's eyes went to Barnes.

"If you're with him, then like it or not we're on the same side. Ish. So I'll, ah, fix your arm."

He halted when he heard Stark's response, and after a moment taken to replay the sound in his mind, he turned his head to look at the man to assess if he was being sincere. It was clear by the soldier's wary expression that he hadn't been expecting that answer.

He found that people were surprising him more often the longer he stayed in this place, and he wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

He was also surprised by the offer, he didn't think Tony would want to help someone that almost killed him. But if he was willing... Steve wasn't about to turn him down. Bucky needed his arm to be fixed and at least Stark's words were able to stop him from leaving as well.

"Thank you, Tony." Have a completely sincere looking expression directed at you Tony. He was so grateful and he really owed him for offering to do this still. Of course he planned on staying here during the operation, he wasn't about to leave those two alone with each other. That wouldn't be a good idea.

Tony met Bucky's wary stare with a flat look before turning his thoroughly unamused and unappreciative scowl to Rogers. As far as he could tell his options were vastly limited: a) avoid Rogers, get stalked by his murderous buddy who now knew where he lived b) not avoid Rogers, not fix robot arm, get stalked by his murderous buddy or c) not avoid Rogers, fix robot arm, maybe make murderous buddy slightly less murderous. None of them were good, due largely to Barnes knowing where he lived thanks to Captain Screw-up, so he could only choose the path with least chance of death.

"Whatever," he grumbled tersely with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.

"So you know? I reserve the right to call on you for some pretty huge favors one day. You owe me."

He waved a finger from one geriatric human disaster to the other to indicate that both indeed owed him. Big time. Said gesture remained directed at Barnes, punctuated by a few finger snaps, even as Tony moved further into his apartment to gather a few tools he assumed he'd need.

"You. Kubrick Stare, find a place to sit."

He pointed at Rogers without looking at him.

"You. Bodyguard."

Even as he moved to sit in a chair, the assassin narrowed his eyes and kept Stark in his sight. Although highly suspicious of the man and what he could and might do, he was confident enough that Steve could convince him to keep it to repairs and no modifications. They must have been fairly close allies if Stark was willing to do this despite what the soldier had done and attempted to do.

He only ignored the comment about favors and the strange nickname. Weapons didn't owe anything to the ones that repaired them.

Well, Tony really didn't look happy about fixing Bucky's arm, but he decided to not say anything about it. He figured if Stark really didn't want to do it, he wouldn't bother to. No one was really forcing him to do this, right? Whatever his reasons... he probably just had to ask a bit later.

"Alright, Stark." He was in his debt and it wasn't like he was against helping Tony in the first place. It didn't seem like a bad deal to him.

Steve stayed nearby, but he didn't take a seat. He was fine with standing up and watching over the both of them, he could do that much.

Gathering up a handful of tools, Tony turned back to Barnes, who'd apparently found a seat and was, as expected, giving him a Kubrick Stare. Seriously, he couldn't just lift his head a little? Always staring through the eyebrows? Whatever. There were bigger problems to be addressed.

"Alright, unless your other mechanics can somehow see through shirts, you know what's next, and I know you have to have had other mechanics so don't try to play that card," he said, still sounding grouchy. He dragged a TV tray to Bucky's left side with his free hand, clearly meant for the man to set his arm while Tony worked on it, and nudged a chair with his leg into position in front of it.

"Off. And start listing problems: where it's stiff, where it's twitchy, I don't know. Technical as you can get, I want to know what I'm dealing with here. Gross noise doesn't count, I already know that one."

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