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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"HYDRA had tech that was far advanced for our time." He was sure that Tony would know about that a little bit at least, it was probably in the SHIELD files and Howard probably talked about it a bit. Stark knew about all things technology, well most at least, and he was able to talk with Dr. Banner about all that biology stuff.

And Dr. Erskine's formula for him still hadn't been replicated fully.

Bucky's reaction confirmed his guess about HYDRA though. It made him sick that they got their hands on his friend again, but this time, he wasn't there to rescue him. Come to think of it... he probably survived the fall due to whatever Zola did to him. But HYDRA was supposed to be gone now, right?

"Is... HYDRA still using you? Even in the present?"

Of course Tony knew HYDRA's tech had always been advanced, but... He looked at the metal arm. This was advanced even by his standards, and if he were truly honest almost beyond his skill to even cook up from the beginning. That this would have been built by somebody in HYDRA 70 years ago was painfully humbling.

Ugh, what was that HYDRA scientist's name? He was in Operation Paperclip, Tony remembered. He always kept track of tech guys in history, especially his father's era, occasionally trying to one-up them for shits and giggles.

His eyes were still on the arm and the little gap where he could peek at the inner workings when Rogers asked the question, and Tony was immediately sidetracked by a sickening realization. Oh. Oh. The arm was shiny, and Barnes said it had been only a month since he got it serviced. He looked perhaps a touch on the thin side, but still fit and strong--Tony could testify to the strength of his grip--enough to make a personal trainer cry. He seemed to lack personal skills but could become a deadly killing machine at the drop of a hat. He hadn't attacked Tony until he saw his face.

"You're their hit-man," Tony said abruptly, distrust coming to his expression.

His breathing sped up slightly, as if he was working himself up for a fight that might happen at any moment, and his working hand tightened around his knee.

He hadn't thought that he'd be found out so quickly, but he should have known that he wouldn't be able to keep such a vital piece of information away from Steve, especially when he had an equally intelligent ally to help. He averted his gaze from the both of them as he thought of some way to salvage the situation, despite the danger of not keeping them in his sight.

At least they still didn't know about his last mission. But if he didn't say something to appease them, for both the fact that he worked for HYDRA and having kept that from them, he'd surely be--something. Attacked, punished, he didn't know. He didn't think it would be pleasant. He licked his lips as he prepared to speak.

"I'm not... following their orders anymore," he said, sparing a brief glance at Steve and Tony in turn before turning his eyes to the corner of the room.

To hear Bucky confirm his deepest suspicions... it didn't make anything better. He felt his throat tighten up and he couldn't focus on what was happening anymore. HYDRA survived. Or rebuilt itself after Steve dove into the ice. Everything that they fought for during the war... was it for nothing?

Steve shook his head, no. What they did was still important. They stopped Schmidt and prevented millions of deaths. That still mattered. He just didn't finish the job when he should had.

Instead, they captured Bucky and tortured him this entire time, probably forced him to fight. It was probably why they were going to fight in the future. But then, why didn't Bucky remember all that? Steve guessed that they kept him under ice until recently, which explained why he wasn't any older.

"I believe you, Bucky. And you won't have to follow their orders anymore."

That quick glance was met with level stare as Tony calculated the likelihood of the assassin's claim. On the one hand, he couldn't have been here for longer than around two weeks, so that still left some time for him to have defected. And his arm was pretty beat up after a month, which he agreed was a long time.

Of course, that was with the big assumption that anything he said could be trusted. And since he'd kept a pretty damn big secret from Rogers, Tony wasn't too sure about trusting him. Not to mention the fact that this shifty guy who had tension in every fiber of his body and looked pointedly away from everyone else couldn't be more different than the cold, vicious killer who met his eyes unflinchingly last week. One of those personas had to be an act, and Tony knew which was easier to fake.

He also knew how easy it would be for someone who looked like Rogers' best friend to tug on his stupid heartstrings and get exactly what he wanted.

"Hm," Tony grunted, sounding unimpressed. He stared directly at the side of the guy's shaggy head with highly skeptical expression.

"Next time I'd lead with that. You know, instead of angry Russian and strangulation."

Though the look on Steve's face and the way he shook his head initially worried the soldier, the words seemed sincere and calmed him a bit. Hopefully he could keep any more incriminating information under wraps, though he figured it was likely only a matter of time. He didn't have enough experience in long-term plans or keeping secrets, and had quickly discovered he was not really great at either.

He largely ignored Stark's quip but returned his attention to the engineer, giving him a look between resentment and acceptance of the fact he'd made a mistake. He decided that the sooner the man was concentrated on his task again, the better.

"Can you fix it?"

He gave the engineer a small glare at that comment. Steve knew that Stark had his reasons for being wary around Bucky and he knew that they were legitimate reasons, but he couldn't stop himself from being upset still. "He's not going to hurt you again, Tony."

Steve believed that Bucky wouldn't hurt Tony anymore, especially since he was helping him with the arm. Additionally, Bucky seemed to listen to Steve about a lot of things and he told him not to attack. He felt a little bitter that he had to 'order' Bucky around, but he didn't want anyone hurt.

The statement from Rogers merited nothing more than a scornful glance. Talk about wishful thinking. Tony turned his attention back to Barnes immediately, pursing his lips in obvious distaste. What the hell kind of question was "Can you fix it?" An insulting question, that's what. He looked down at the metal arm.

"Well, it's the most advanced articulated manipulator I've ever seen," Tony began after a very brief pause, voice level but somewhat softer than his usual boisterous tone.

"But not much more complicated than my suits. Probably some damage to the links due to external trauma. Easy fix with the application of a little heat and grease, and it could be the source of the noise. A lot of your issues could probably be solved with some lubrication."

He stopped for a full second, realized nobody else in the room would hear how that sounded, and continued.

"I need to check out what kind of actuator you've got, but I'm willing to bet it's an AC servo motor, maybe more than one. That's a longer fix, I'd need to take it out and take it apart. Connections from the controller to the motor, easy, I've got like ten of those lying around. Cross your fingers it's not a problem with the controller system, though. I'm working on a budget now, so I'd have to actually repair whatever's messed up instead of just replacing it. So why should I trust you when you say you're out of HYDRA?"

No, there wasn't any segue there, barely even a pause. The only acknowledgement at all was Tony looking up at Barnes somewhat smugly after the question.

The basics of the explanation were simple enough to follow for the assassin, and for a few moments he thought he was successful in getting Stark to move on from the topic of HYDRA. He quickly found he was wrong.

He paused and stared at Stark, searching his mind for a concrete reason, but despite a few seconds' worth of thinking he could come up with nothing. He'd been HYDRA's asset for decades, executed who knows how many missions without fail until the most recent one. The only reason he left was because of a feeling he hadn't understood that conflicted directly with his orders.

So all he could give the engineer was his word, which wasn't very good, especially not when he still viewed the man as a threat. He looked to Steve, a plea for help in his eyes. He couldn't give a reason, but he really didn't want to answer the question with you shouldn't.

Edited (ew wtf) 2014-07-25 19:25 (UTC)

He saw the scornful look Tony sent him, but he just decided to not respond to it for now. Instead, Steve just kept quiet while Tony talked, he figured that Bucky wanted to hear all this anyway. Not to mention, he wanted to listen on it as well.

...Admittedly though, a lot of what Tony was saying didn't make much sense to him. It was a good thing that he could recognize everything in Bucky's arm though, because Steve sure wouldn't have. Something about actuators and control systems? There was a reason why Steve just carried a shield and did battle strategies, the ins and outs of a mechanical arm was a little beyond him.

Steve noticed Tony's last remark and he scowled a little at it. He trusted Bucky, he believed that he wasn't a part of HYDRA anymore. Besides, the look he was getting from his friend... he couldn't ignore something like that. Bucky wouldn't fake that kind of expression. He really wanted Steve's help.

"Bucky wouldn't follow them willingly and he's out of their hold now. And I'm HYDRA's enemy, if they wanted me dead, Bucky would've done it already." Bucky knew where he lived, he could have easily killed him by now. But so far, Bucky had only tried to reach Steve for help, help with his memories and just basic social interactions. A HYDRA agent wouldn't go through all that just to kill him.

Tony didn't take his eyes off of Barnes despite Rogers speaking.

"Mm, yeah," he replied, as if he were actually considering Steve's idiotic claim for a moment.

"Unless he's using your big bleeding heart and non-violent social skills to get his busted arm all fixed up before he knifes you in your sleep. Speaking of--"

He snapped his fingers next to Bucky's face.

"Hey, Anastasia, focus up. Don't look at him, he can't help you. If you want me to believe you, you gotta be a man, look me in the eye, and tell me you're not HYDRA. Got it?"

Edited (you didn't see anything....) 2014-07-26 07:06 (UTC)

The soldier forced himself to look away from Steve when the topic of him being a target was breached, and he clenched his jaw to remind himself to keep silent. But Steve's reassurance apparently wasn't enough for the engineer. He was used to being talked about while in the room and saying nothing, so he didn't bother to argue, though he was tempted.

He didn't flinch or blink at the snapping, but it did get his attention. Stark only wanted him to look at him and say it? Would that really get him to believe the soldier? It was worth a try, he guessed.

"I'm not..."

He paused, not daring to break eye contact as he wondered if the statement was true. For so long, he was HYDRA, and that was all he knew. In some ways he thought he must still be what HYDRA wanted, though he had no intention of doing as they asked.

He didn't know what he was, but he did know what he was doing.

"I'm not following HYDRA."

"I'm not being used, Stark. I trust him." Bucky hadn't done anything so far that would break his trust in him. The only thing he did that was bad was attacking Tony, but he stopped and won't do it again. Maybe if Bucky did something else, he would start to question things a little more, but right now, he had no doubts about him.

He was going to continue on with his speech until Tony turned towards Bucky again. Would Tony believe him if he really did that? Steve wasn't sure but he looked towards his friend, watching as he slowly started to talk. He was taking a little while to respond, but he did admit that he wasn't following HYDRA while looking Tony in the eye.

"He said he's not, Tony."

He supposed that was the best he was going to get. Tony peered at the guy with Bucky Barnes' face--he was almost definitely hiding something, was acting way too weaselly to not be, but Tony couldn't see any signs in his body language or expression that he was lying about not following HYDRA. Tony finally pulled his eyes away from the assassin and looked up at Rogers for a moment. Hope you know what you're doing, Cap.

"Fantastic," he grumbled with a sigh, at last turning his attention back to the metal arm.

"Fixing a Russian Nazi guy's crazy cyborg arm on Independence Day. Happy Fourth of July."

Given that the engineer was apparently satisfied with his answer, he allowed himself to relax a bit and was prepared to ignore Stark's comment--he was obviously American, even if he knew Russian, and he didn't really know what a Nazi was exactly--but he paused as he began to realize something. For a moment he frowned slightly to himself, not out of confusion but curiosity, and he looked over to Steve again.

"Today is your birthday." He'd read it on the exhibit. It seemed like an interesting coincidence.

Tony looked satisfied for now, so Steve left it at that. He knew that Stark probably didn't trust Bucky all that much still, but Bucky would just have to work on that. Of course Steve would support him along the way, he would always have his back. Make sure that he didn't get into any more trouble either.

Steve was a little surprised when Bucky brought up his birthday, but he smiled and nodded to the comment. "You remembered?"

Tony'd coaxed off three more plates by the time Barnes spoke. Great, remembering stuff. That would keep him busy so Tony could work undisturbed. He had a fourth halfway off when the realization hit him.

He looked up at Rogers, an expression of barely restrained glee on his face.

"Captain America's birthday is July the Fourth?"

"I read it in the Smithsonian," the assassin corrected Steve, not realizing that it might cause the man to be disappointed. He spared a glance at Stark when he spoke, noting how pleased he seemed at the information. For some reason, the coincidence must have been a good thing.

That look. On Tony's face.

It could only mean trouble for him in the future. ~~Thanks Bucky.~~

Steve resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose as he answered Tony's question. "It always has been." He tried to ignore Tony again and keep his attention on Bucky, but it was a little difficult when the engineer was standing so close to him.

Although, what Bucky said made it easier to just focus on him.

So, he didn't remember. Didn't remember all the times Bucky tried to get something for Steve's birthday or say that the fireworks were really for him, no matter how cheesy that sounded. It always made him smile.

Steve couldn't stop himself from looking disappointed.

Ouch. Buzzkill Barnes was more accurate. Tony winced, momentarily distracted from his amusement, to glance at Barnes to see if he even realized what he'd said. The engineer assumed not, the guy was about as good at conversation as a brick wall.

"Next time just say 'yes,' okay, big guy?" he told the assassin, patting the metal shoulder. He turned his attention immediately back to Rogers, because transitions are for people who aren't Tony Stark, using the same hand to point at the soldier. The side of his mouth soon tugged upward in a smirk again.

"Did they know that when they made you Captain America? Because that's, ah, that's a pretty fantastic coincidence. Oh! Hey, is your favorite food apple pie too? Tell me it is."

Steve's response was less than optimal, but the soldier had never been expected to lie to make things easier. He didn't understand why the other super soldier looked the way he did, but Stark enforced the thought that it hadn't been the right response. They were trying to get the truth out of him, and now they wanted lies?

People were so damn confusing. The soldier simply disengaged from the conversation, lowering his head as his gaze found the far corner.

Steve shook his head, no he didn't want Bucky to just say 'yes' if it was a lie. "Bucky, I'm glad you told me the truth." He didn't want his friend to lie just to make him feel better, it would be a bad habit to get into. It was also make it harder for him to trust his friend and that would be the last thing he wanted.

He could handle disappointment.

Steve glanced over at Tony, not much in the mood for his comments anymore. Maybe on another day he'd be okay with it. "No, it's not."

Barnes not remembering had obviously put Rogers in a sour mood. Tony couldn't really blame him--best friend not remembering your birthday had to sting. His mouth twitched a bit as he considered his options before finally shrugging, relinquishing the amazingly coincidental birthday topic ~~for now~~.

"Little white lies are a part of life, Rogers," he said casually, unable to let go of the other ~~probably even worse~~ topic yet. He turned back to the arm, ready to at last start working on the damn thing without any more interruptions.

"Just getting him prepared. Anyway, I've got a highly advanced, highly damaged neural prosthesis to repair, and believe it or not it's not actually going to be a walk in the park. I'm not used to working with people all up in my space, so keep it down and keep me out of it, shouldn't be too hard for you two--Dr. Sulky and Mr. Hyde."

It sounded like Stark was finally going to make some progress, thankfully, so the assassin tuned out the voices of the other two and turned his head to watch. The faster this got done, the better, and conversations had proven to be disruptive.

"Maybe, but I don't want Bucky to lie to me just so I can feel better."

At least Tony seemed to drop the birthday topic for now, for which he was grateful for. He didn't doubt for a second that it was going to come up at a later time, but Steve would be in a better mood to talk about it at least. Hopefully. Ideally. He couldn't really promise anything.

But for now, he stayed quiet so that Tony could work on the arm in relative silence. It didn't look like Bucky wanted to talk anymore and that was fine with him for the moment.

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somewhere an actual robotics person is crying

shh... no one has to know

it will be our secret

i... googled a lot...?

that's all that anyone can ask you to do

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