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[endsinafight]

Bucky'd been fidgety throughout the debriefing with Fury, even if he hadn't moved a muscle as he listened to the mission -- another HYDRA target, smaller, on a remote island in the Pacific. Not the usual setup, which made him uneasy from the get-go. But there was something else, something nagging at him, something in Fury's tone that told him there was more to this mission than he was willing to divulge. It wasn't a surprise. Fury might not be HYDRA, but in some ways his methods were so similar that it felt like being back there anyway. He definitely believed in the need to know principle, and obviously he didn't feel like they needed to know whatever it was he was holding back. His gaze darted to Steve, wondering if he'd picked up on it, too.

But if Steve had, his expression didn't betray his thoughts.

He pressed his lips together as they were dismissed, Fury addressing him as the others agents involved in the mission filtered out of the room. "Barnes. Hang back a minute."

And there it was, he thought, meeting Steve's eyes only briefly before lingering as Fury requested. One the door was shut again, the other man turned to study him.

"You have a different mission while they're disabling all of HYDRA's operating systems and containing the operatives."

Bucky studied him just as intently, his voice flat when he responded. "Who'm I eliminating?"

If Fury was surprised by his response, he gave nothing away. "Your target is Katya Belyakov."

"Who is she?" His voice was wary.

"You sure you wanna know the details, Barnes?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"If you're asking me to murder someone, yes," Bucky said, jaw tightening.

Fury regarded him for a long moment. "Essentially, she's the of the most dangerous people in the galaxy. Mind control abilities that she's utilized to force others to commit her dirty work. She's likely being accompanied by a former SHIELD operative who turned out to be moonlighting for HYDRA, Grant Ward. I'd prefer him to remain alive. He's got a lot to answer for."

Every muscle in Bucky's body tensed at the information about Belyakov, but also the name Grant Ward, his stomach turning in recognition.

"Ah. See you're familiar with him then."

"Unfortunately," Bucky responded stiffly, struggling to maintain his composure. "I'm assuming this isn't an optional mission." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"You knew when you signed the dotted line that there's no such thing here, Barnes. Is there a problem? Or do I need to go over the fine print of your contract to refresh your memory?"

Fuck you, he thought. "No, Sir. Am I free to go?"

"You're dismissed."

--

An hour later, he was suited up in his tac gear, breathing steady and even despite the wild pounding of his heart as he boarded the quinjet with a team he didn't know or trust, and the only person on the earth he truly did.

Comments

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve’s heart was pounding as he slowly lowered his phone. He pet Monet’s head, slowly and carefully.

"It doesn’t sound like he’s immediately going to tell me to fuck off," he informed her. "That’s good news."

[endsinafight]

True to his word, Tony stepped into Steve's hospital room exactly five minutes later, usual business suit on. He said nothing at first, simply studying the other man. He hadn't seen him or talked to him in months before today.

"Not sure if you know this, but there's a dog in your bed." His voice was flippant.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

"She’s Bucky’s service dog. He’s down the hall. Hey, Tony."

It was really, really good to see him—in a way that Steve hadn’t fully expected. He actually had a moment where he thought about how if this didn’t work, if Tony wasn’t willing to help—this may be it. He’d been hoping the whole time he’s been back in New York, that Tony would come and apologize. He never did and Steve couldn’t bring himself to make the first move.

"It’s good to see you," he said, and his voice was almost too sincere.

[endsinafight]

"Looks like she's your service dog at the moment." His expression didn't change at the mention of Bucky.

He studied Steve, eying the dog when she lifted her head to look at him, yawned and laid her head back down on Steve's chest like she was bored. Rude.

Tony gave a short nod of acknowledgment. "Likewise." He didn't do this level of sincerity for long -- wasn't really capable of it except in very rare moments. Made him feel too vulnerable. "So you need help breaking out of the country?" He couldn't resist the urge to add, "Again?" with raised eyebrows.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

"Sometimes we share," Steve said, petting her head softly.

"Did you know anything about the deal Bucky had with Fury?" He didn’t think Tony did, but it was worth asking. Steve didn’t want to reveal any plans if Tony was going to be positive about it.

[endsinafight]

He leaned against the wall, cocking his head at the question. "Can't say that I've made an effort to keep up with either of them, Cap," he said wryly.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

"Honestly, that’s what I thought. Good to hear. Fury has been threatening Bucky with the fates of me, Wanda, Sam, and Natasha. He’s been forcing him to go on SHIELD missions, including an assassination today. He’s not getting paid. He’s not allowed to say no."

Steve’s voice was steel. "This ends. Last I spoke to Fury, both Bucky and I resigned and Fury said that Bucky was like, quote, a nuclear warhead. If you weren’t planning on using him, you either lock him away or decommission him. He also threatened to lock the rest of us up and use us as leverage. Natasha thinks he’s bluffing, but I’m not risking his life or the life of my friends on that guess."

Steve was getting tenser as he relayed all this to Tony. Monet nudged her nose against Steve’s neck.

[endsinafight]

Tony's eyes narrowed as he listened, complicated emotions flickering over his face. He was silent for a few moments, moving across the room to look out the window and staring out over the city. "Is there any truth to his statement? Fury's? About Barnes' stability?" There was no accusation in his tone, but he had to ask.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

"No," Steve said, with finality. "The only person who’s ever going to suffer again because of what HYDRA did to Bucky is Bucky."

"I don’t even think Fury thinks he’s unstable, as much as potentially very useful as a tool for powerful people. But he has no more triggers and he won’t be anyone’s attack dog."

[endsinafight]

He turned to face him, squinting for a moment and then exhaling. "So whom am I breaking out of the country? All of you? Or just you and Barnes?" he asked finally.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve studied him for a moment.

"We don’t know what we’ll need to do, yet. I just wanted to see where you stood. You’d be willing?"

He smiled slightly. "If Natasha is right, all we’ll actually need to do is cuddle on Ellen."

[endsinafight]

Tony met his eyes. "Willing to piss Fury off by helping his favorite superheroes flee the country? Of course." He made an expression that was the clear equivalent of a facial duh.

But the rest of his statement simply made the older man stare at him until it dawned on him. "Give the public a fake love story that they'll eat up and make it impossible for Fury to follow through. Interesting choice."

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve went a little tense. "Not a fake one, Tony."

[endsinafight]

Tony blinked. "I can't say I saw that coming." He stared at Steve intently. "But that certainly explains a lot." He perched on the windowsill, fitting all the pieces together in his mind. He was surprised he hadn't picked up on that before.

"What exactly happened to you?" He nodded at his bandaged hand.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve smiled at him. "Aren’t you supposed to be a genius, or something? Sam sent me an academic article about some lady theorizing about it. It was called something about queering American nationalism."

He looked away and too casually was like, "Bucky saved my life, but in the process I got hurt."

[endsinafight]

"A genius in science and engineering, yes. In the romantic lives of my friends or colleagues? No." He gave Steve a look. "Honestly, I 100% thought you were asexual, Rogers." There was no hint of kidding in his voice.

"I see." He folded his arms across his chest, knowing full well there was a lot more to that particular story.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

"I was mourning the love of my life," Steve said, seriously. "We weren’t together—but. I was a goner, from a very early age, and it was hard to deal with a world that he wasn’t in. Nobody else seemed worth it."

Steve ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He didn’t want to alienate Tony this quickly. "I was being mind controlled. I held a gun to my own head. Bucky shot my hand to prevent me from blowing my own brains out."

[endsinafight]

He swallowed at that, shaking his head a little. "Just when I think I've got you all figured out."

Tony watched the uneasy way Steve raked his good hand through his hair, and at his explanation, he understood why. "HYDRA, I'm assuming?"

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve said, "I hope that makes what happened a couple years ago make a little more sense to you. I—Tony. You were a good friend. I missed that. But Buck—"

He couldn’t even begin to explain what Bucky was to him. He wasn’t sure he could even try, not to Tony, not after everything.

"Yeah," he said. "HYDRA. The girl that was controlling me was Bucky’s original target, but I ordered him to give the mission to me when I saw how unhappy he was at being given a kill order. That’s how this whole thing came out. He kept it all secret. He wasn’t even allowed to leave the house without me, apparently, and I didn’t notice that he was being coerced."

[endsinafight]

Tony dragged a hand over his face, drawing in a deep breath. "I get it," he said, cutting him off. If their situations had been reversed and Pepper had been in Bucky's place -- Christ. He didn't want to think about it.

His lips tugged downward involuntarily at that, jaw tensing. "So minus the torture and abuse and brainwashing -- I'm assuming that part anyway -- Fury's been doing the same thing to him that HYDRA did."

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

"Yes, precisely," Steve said, grim. "It’s stopping now, though. Bucky is gonna get the peace he deserves."

[endsinafight]

He fell silent, considering. It didn't take him long. "I read his files. All of them that I could get my hands on. Not right at first, after everything. But in the last few months." He exhaled slowly, eyes darker than usual. "No one deserves all the shit they did to him. Pardon my language."

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve met Tony’s eyes, his face understanding.

"It’s hard reading," Steve said. "It’s hard to even think about. He has nightmares, almost every night. He’s—he’s gonna get better. But I’m pretty of sure the files leave a lot of the casual, daily horrors out."

He took a shaky breath. "I’m glad to hear you’re feeling a little—uh. More at peace, yourself. About him."

Steve was awkward, but he thought it should be acknowledged.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve choked, squeezing down hard on Bucky’s shoulder.

It took him a long moment to get ahold of himself. “Bucky,” he said. “We haven’t even kissed!”

His voice was a little high, a little scandalized—but it still had a breathy edge that revealed just how much Steve was now thinking about it.

[endsinafight]

Pain flickered through his shoulder at the tight squeeze, but it was the way that Steve choked on his own tongue that was exquisite. He eased the boxers up til the elastic was around Steve's waist and he let his breath ghost over his stomach before slowly rising to his feet, resisting the urge to squeeze Steve's ass on the way up.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just passing along useful information," he responded without a hint of kidding in his voice.