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Steve yawned as he got into his temporary apartment in the Avengers towers, stretching and shoving the door closed behind him.
He thought it was weird that Jarvis didn’t greet him, but maybe Tony finally gave in to his moaning and turned it off in his room. Thank god.
He hung his leather jacket up on its hook, kicked off his trainers and walked into his room. Something was off. Steve froze, eyes flicking round the dark apartment. It smelt sweaty. Did he leave his work out kit out from earlier? Usually the invisible cleaners came and took care of it though, even if he did.
“Jarvis?” he called. No reply. He went over to the interface. Jarvis manually disabled.
He got out his phone and text Tony.
Did you disable Jarvis in my room?
No of course not, why?
He sent him a picture of the interface. Steve could do that with a phone now.
I think there’s someone in my room.
Get out. I’ll call security.
Steve ignored him, walking forward out of stupid curiosity, and some strange familiarity to that smell. It smelt like something…old.
For a second Steve thought it was a bundle of clothes in the corner of his room. Then he noticed it ever so slightly moving.
“Hello?”
There was no reply. Steve turned on the bed side lamp. He shouldn’t. It was stupid. He did it anyway, his heart thumping in his chest.
He gasped. Bucky.
“Initiating tower lockdown,” chimed over the loudspeaker.
“Ah shit,” he muttered.
He ran back to the door and met Tony about to barge in in his Iron Man suit flanked by Natalia and a reluctant looking human Banner.
“Stop, wait, It’s fine it...it’s just Bucky.”
“Oh, just the murderous winter soldier?” Tony said cheerily.
“I...he’s...” Steve stumbled, “he hasn’t tried to kill me yet.”
“Low bar, but okay. He broke in here, disabled Jarvis....” Tony looked at the interface and shook his head. “I’m actually a little impressed.”
Tony peered round the corner to look in the room. Bucky was huddled in a corner. Shaking a little.
“He needs medical attention, look at him, he’s got tremors,” Banner said behind him.
“Let me talk to him. Don’t... Don’t hurt him,” Steve said.
“Yeah he sure looks breakable and delicate from all that footage I’ve seen of him kicking your ass on the Helicarrier.” Tony rolled his eyes.
Steve rolled his eyes.
“Just wait here.”
Steve walked into the room. The Solider flinched back into the corner and muttered something under his breath.
Steve crouched down, held up his hands palms flat and visible.
“Bucky?”
Bucky looked up at him with terrified eyes.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re safe.”
Bucky drew back further into the corner.
Steve held his hand out to him like he was approaching an animal.
“St-eve” he said.
Steve had to hold it together and not burst into tears in front of the Avengers.
“Hey, Bucky, you remember me?”
Bucky moved onto his knees and crawled over to him. He looked awful. Pale, washed out, bloody and bruised and he smelt even worse. He was still wearing the same clothes he’d been wearing before on the Helicarrier, and that was weeks ago. His hair was matted at the back.
“Can you talk to me?”
Bucky took Steve’s hand and smelt it, licked it, leant all the way into Steve’s neck and breathed in.
Bucky said a string of words in what Steve thought might be Russian.
“He’s missed you,” Natasha said. “Russian.”
“English, Buck? You remember English? Shall we get you in the shower?”
Bucky said something back to him in Russian into his ear.
Natasha choked on a laugh and tried to hide it in a cough. They all turned to look at her. She composed herself.
“Yes, he wants a shower.”
Tony narrowed his eyes.
“Why do I feel like that was not what he actually said?”
“I summarised,” Natasha said.
“Please don’t repeat what he actually said,” Banner winced.
“You speak Russian too? I’m feeling left out.” Tony pouted.
Steve just looked between them both from the floor, baffled.
“If you’d like a non x rated version, he said yes he would like a shower, with Steve, that would be lovely,” Natasha said, grinning.
Tony’s mouth dropped open and he looked between Bucky and Steve.
Steve turned a whole new shade of red and buried his head in Bucky’s shoulder.
“You... You...but you’re old!”
“How exactly do you think you were conceived, Tony?” Banner said. “You know people have been having sex for hundreds of years, right?”
Steve groaned into Bucky’s shoulder but eventually lifted his head up when his sensibilities took over.
“Can you ask him where it hurts? If he can remember how to speak English?” Steve asked.
Natasha walked a few steps into the room and Bucky growled, low in his throat, and covered Steve’s body with his own. Steve tried not to shiver at the possessive gesture. Mine. My Steve.
“Oh wow,” Banner muttered under his breath.
Natasha and Bucky conversed briefly in Russian from the other side of the room.
“He hurts all over. He’s,” she winced, her amusement long gone. “He’s not allowed to speak English.”
“What?” Steve frowned. “Why not?”
“I don’t know, he just said it’s not allowed, I guess they programmed him that way.”
“Oh Buck,” Steve held him tighter and Bucky sighed happily.
“Should we take him to the med bay and lock it down or?” Banner asked.
Tony was distracted, fiddling with the interface for Jarvis.
“Do you think he’ll let us take him?” Natasha said.
“Bucky, you wanna come with me?” Steve said, reluctantly trying to lift the deadweight in his arms.
He spoke back in Russian.
“Jarvis, translate please,” Tony said, grinning at his own cleverness as he rebooted Jarvis.
“Sargent Barnes says ‘I’d rather stay here and let you fuck me all over this apartment, but I think it might kill me. I think I’ll just go to sleep here.’”
Steve looked anywhere but his teammates eyes as Bucky near enough passed out in his arms.
“Okay, Buck. Let’s get you to the med bay and get you checked out.”
“Shall I keep the lockdown active, sir?” Jarvis asked.
“Until we get to med bay,” Tony said. “Then just lock down that area.”
“Yes, sir.”
There were a lot of people with guns waiting outside Steve’s room. He felt Bucky bristle and look up at them.
“Shh, ‘s okay Buck. I got you. We’re gonna go get you some help.”
Bucky muttered back in his ear in Russian.
“Sargent Barnes asks if you’re sure you don’t want him to take down these idiots, so you can both get back to bed.” Jarvis said.
Steve grimaced.
“No thank you, Buck, there’s a bed where we’re going, I promise.”
They get to the med bay, and everything is dazzling white. Bucky flinches. Stark turns down the bright lights.
Bucky sees the CT scanner, the monitors, the IV drips on the side, and he is gone. Gone where Steve has no idea. He was a silver blur in front of Steve’s eyes. He feels the instant loss of the warmth of Bucky’s body.
He swears.
“Don’t shoot please,” Steve yelled. “God, he’s just scared. Jarvis, did he hurt anyone?”
“Negative, Captain Rogers.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s in your bed, Captain Rogers.”
“Of course he is,” Tony muttered under his breath.
“Please, don’t hurt him I’m worried that if we try and use force someone will get hurt,” Steve pleaded.
They all frowned.
“Well,” Tony shrugged. “So far he’s not hurt anyone. See if you can talk him round. We’ll keep some people outside on standby. That sound good to everyone?”
Natasha and Banner nodded.
Steve relaxed in relief.
“Thank you. I’ll let you know.”
Steve ran through their armed escort and back into his apartment.
“Jarvis lockdown my apartment,” he said and the door slammed shut behind him.
“Yes, sir.”
Steve found Bucky face down on his immaculate white sheets.
He breathed out slowly. He placed his hand on the back of Bucky’s matted hair.
“Bucky, Bucky, hey, I need to see if you’re hurt. Can I take off your jacket?”
Bucky didn’t object so Steve knelt on the bed and peeled off Bucky’s jacket. He was fairly cooperative but made no effort to take them off himself. That was okay. Steve could deal with that.
So many god damn layers. He wondered when he’d last even taken them off. They stank. He found a knife strapped to his bicep.
“Can I take this?”
“Da.”
“Alright that one I understand. But, Bucky, you can speak English here, no ones going to hurt you.”
Bucky stayed silent.
“Did you want something to eat? You thirsty?”
He spoke back in Russian and Steve sighed.
“Jarvis?”
“He said he already emptied your fridge. And drank several pints of water.”
“Oh. Well, good. That’s good, Buck.”
Bucky nodded.
He caught Steve’s eyes, he looked like he was spaced out, glazed, on another planet.
Steve peeled the layers off and threw them in a pile on the floor and eventually Bucky was naked. He was covered in so much dirt Steve couldn’t even see if he was bruised or cut badly anywhere.
“Okay,” he turned Bucky onto his back. Bucky shook.
“Sorry, sorry, you cold?”
He pulled up the blanket over him.
Bucky shook his head and pushed it off. Steve sighed.
“Okay, okay. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
He went to run Bucky a bath.
Bucky followed him quietly, he sat down next to where Steve stood over the bath, curling up next to Steve’s legs the floor waiting for it to fill. Shaking still.
“Oh Bucky,” he sighed, he stroked the back of his hair. Bucky moaned softly and Steve sat down next to him. Bucky curled into him, his head buried in Steve’s neck.
“You’re safe, you’re safe,” Steve murmured to him, kissing him on the head periodically.
Something else Russian.
“Jarvis?”
“He said he loves you, sir.”
“I love you too, Buck. I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.”
Bucky just hummed against his neck.
“Okay, Buck, up we get.”
Steve managed to get him into the water. Bucky made no effort to wash himself, just closed his eyes.
Steve sighed and grabbed a washcloth, soaping it up and trying not to get angry about what these people had done to him. There would be plenty of time for that later. He had to change the bath water several times, Bucky would just about sit up to let him wash his hair, tipping his head back and closing his eyes.
“You want me to cut this long hair off, or?”
Bucky shook his head and smiled, saying something in Russian that made Steve sure he was making fun of him.
“He says he doesn’t want to end up looking like you put a bowl on his head, like that time in 42.”
“Of course you remember that,” Steve rolled his eyes. “Out of everything. It didn’t look that bad, Buck,” he said, combing the conditioner through Bucky’s hair carefully. Wincing along with his best friend as he got out every knot. “And in my defence, they were awful scissors.”
Bucky laughed and opened his eyes and looked at Steve in amusement and Steve’s heart did a somersault. Focus Steve.
“Okay, okay I think we got all the knots out.”
His skin was still dirty. He sighed, picking the washcloth back up and scrubbing at Bucky’s human arm, his chest, those abs, still there despite Bucky obviously not having eaten probably in a few days. Steve hoped it was just days.
He found a few nasty bruises and cuts, but none that looked like they needed stitches or were anything deep. Certainly no breaks. He still wanted to get Bucky checked over by a doc though.
Bucky groaned and arched up into Steve’s touch. Steve blushed, looking down into the water and moving the cloth over Bucky’s thighs. Bucky moaned.
“Steve.” He grabbed Steve’s hand, chucked the washcloth to the other side of the bath, and put Steve’s hand on his cock.
Steve stuttered.
“Uh, Buck, I mean I want to but…but…are you sure I…”
Bucky gave him a look like he might knock his head off if he didn’t do it.
He gulped and did as he was told.
Bucky swore in Russian and his head dropped back on the side of the bath.
“He says – “ Jarvis started but Steve cut him off.
“Jarvis stop translating.” Steve said quickly.
“Yes, sir.”
Steve moved his hand slow, the angle was awkward, but god he didn’t care. He stared at Bucky, the way his lips parted just a little. He looked so beautiful Steve wanted to take a picture and draw him forever like this. The picture of pleasure, lying back in the bath.
God he was so beautiful. How did Steve ever not see it before. It taken about a month in this century in all its pride and queer filled glory for him to realise he had clearly been attracted to his best friend. Likely they had been in love with each other. He couldn’t be certain it was reciprocal, but he was pretty sure it was. It all seemed painfully obvious looking back. It had felt like a smack to the face. Everything they’d missed out on. Or maybe not now.
“Steve,” Bucky sighed happily, his hips bucking into Steve’s large hand. He muttered away in Russian, and Steve couldn’t stop staring at those lips as they moved. His tongue. Steve groaned then blushed and looked back into the water. Bucky’s eyes snapped open again and looked at Steve hard.
He said something insistent. Steve could guess. He couldn’t deny himself this now. It would be utterly stupid to. Having spent the last few years berating himself for not realising what he wanted until it was too late. Not again. Never again. He took off his top, already wet from Bucky splashing around, and chucked it to the corner of the bathroom.
Bucky’s eyes still looked dazed, but lust filled now, as he looked over Steve’s naked chest.
“Fuck,” Bucky said quietly and it went straight down Steve’s spine.
Steve was nervous, sure, but he reminded himself this was his best friend. There was nothing to be afraid of anymore.
He kicked off his jeans and his underwear and Bucky groaned pushing himself up in the bath and pushing his face into Steve’s crotch.
“Oh shit, Buck, I...”
Bucky stroked him, rubbed Steve’s cock all over his damn face then swallowed it down.
“Ah!” he grabbed on to the side of the bath.
Water was going everywhere. Steve barely noticed. There was only the utter bliss of Bucky’s wet mouth. The sound of splashing as Bucky pumped his own cock in the water.
“Bucky... Oh god that’s so good. You... Oh god. So good.”
Bucky moaned around his dick in agreement. He pulled back, looking up at Steve with big eyes. Pulled himself up out the bath, or tried to. He slipped and stumbled and Steve grabbed his hips.
“Easy, easy, I got you.”
Bucky stepped out on shaky legs and Steve grabbed him a towel, trying to dry him off when all Bucky seemed to be interested in was getting his hands all over Steve.
Steve eventually gave up and chucked the towel on the floor.
Bucky’s lips crashed into Steve’s and Steve moaned in surprise. In that second he wished he’d have let Natasha set him up on more dates so he would have at least had a bit of practice. Not that Bucky seemed to care. His kisses were hungry, as eager as his hands, his tongue tangling with Steve’s, groaning in his mouth like it was all he ever wanted.
He pushed Steve back against the wall and Steve let him, groaning as their hard cocks pressed together. He took them both in hand and pumped then together.
Bucky groaned in his mouth. He reached over for the lavender oil on the bath and slapped it in Steve’s free hand.
Steve blushed dark red.
“Are you sure I mean you’re – “
Bucky rolled his eyes at him and took the oil back, slicking up his fingers and sitting down on the bathroom floor. Steve mouthed wordlessly as Bucky opened his legs, staring at him as he slid his fingers into himself. Bucky panted, his hard cock jutting out from his body.
Steve knelt down on the floor. Tentatively he leant forward, wanting to do what Bucky had done to him. He slid his lips down Bucky’s cock and Bucky swore.
“Steve!” he went on muttering in Russian and stroking the back of Steve’s head.
He didn’t let him do it long, shaking Steve’s shoulders to get him to stop. Steve pulled back. Bucky passed him the oil again. Steve gulped, but this time he opened it, poured it on his dick and slicked himself up. Once again regretting that he didn’t have any practice at this.
Bucky shoved Steve onto his back, straddling his lap and positioning himself.
“Oh shit, Buck. I...” Steve said as he felt Bucky’s hot skin on his cock. He was cut off as Bucky pushed down.
He yelled out and Bucky let out a low moan.
“Steve.”
He watched Bucky’s face as he started to move, found a rhythm and his mouth dropped open. He stared at Steve. Steve pushed up, trying not to do it too hard, God knows he still didn’t know his own strength at times.
Bucky gasped.
“Da!”
Steve shivered. Did it again. He felt hot tight and blissful and Steve never wanted to do anything but ever again but stay here, with Bucky slowly riding his dick.
“Captain Rogers, Mr Stark would like an update of your progress and to check on your safety.”
Steve groaned and smacked the back of his head off the floor.
“I’m fine, Jarvis turn off.”
“Mr Stark is requesting you check in at the door sir to ensure you haven’t been decapitated.”
“Jarvis disable.”
“Authorisation, Captain?”
Steve groaned.
“Disable Jarvis, authorisation, Rogers Steve.”
“Access denied.”
“Buck?”
Bucky looked up at the panel and spoke in Russian to Jarvis.
“Access Denied.”
Bucky rolled his eyes, got up off Steve, much to Steve’s protesting and punched a hole in the wall where the panel was with his metal arm. Steve jumped. Bucky shook the glass from his arm.
Bucky looked at him and shrugged, then grabbed Steve’s arm and pulled him up, pulling him into the bed room.
Bucky lay back on the bed and Steve followed him, desperate to feel his skin on his again, that tight slick heat. He pulled Bucky’s legs up over his shoulders and Bucky was moaning before Steve even pushed in. Looking up at him with desperate eyes. Steve pushed forward, careful, didn’t want to hurt him.
Bucky grabbed Steve’s hips and pulled him in hard and moaned.
“Okay, alright, you want it harder, but if I’m doing it too hard Bucky you gotta say.”
Bucky said something in Russian.
“Ugh, English Buck please, we’ve lost Jarvis remember. You broke him.”
Bucky huffed then leant up to whisper in his ear.
“Harder.”
Bucky winced as soon as he whispered the English word.
“Sorry, sorry, its okay, you don’t have to speak English if it hurts.”
Bucky rolled his eyes and pulled Steve’s hips towards him again.
Steve smiled.
“Alright, alright, loud and clear, Buck.”
He did as Bucky told him, pushed Bucky down into the bed and Bucky moaned, his mouth dropping open in a blissed out smile as Steve fucked him hard.
Steve groaned at the look on Bucky’s face. He could get off just on that, let alone the bliss off fucking into his perfect, hot, tight, body.
“Steve, Steve,” more Russian followed.
Steve was losing it. Losing every bit of stamina he had to Bucky’s beautiful perfect body, so pliant beneath him, his hands gripping the bed frame as he gazed up at Steve with adoring eyes.
“Please tell me you’re close and I’m not about to disappoint you.” Steve muttered in Bucky’s ear, grabbing his ear lobe with his teeth.
Bucky groaned and thankfully nodded enthusiastically, reaching in between them to grab pump his cock.
Steve groaned as Bucky clenched around him.
“Fuck yes, Bucky, oh my god, you feel so fucking good I can’t believe we never... Fuuuuck...”
Bucky came a second before, the hot liquid hitting Steve’s stomach and his muscles clenching, and the guttural yell he let out sent Steve over.
Steve came hard, cursing and moaning, and pounding into Bucky’s ass.
He got his breath back just as they broke the door down. He grabbed the duvet and pulled it over them both as Bucky sat up bolt upright with a knife in his hand pushing Steve behind him.
“Oh my god, where did you even get that from?” Steve asked Bucky, then groaned at Tony coming in with the men with guns behind him. “I’m alive, I’m fine, please...leave and put my door back?”
“Told you it was a sex yell.” Natalia called from the corridor. “I win. Ten bucks, Tony.”
“Damn it.” Tony shook his head. “I’m appalled by this behaviour. Both of you.” He pointed at them both then turned to the busted wall panel and turned back.
“I can’t imagine which one of you did this.” He rolled his eyes at the fist shaped hole into the wall.
“I don’t like the best sex of my life being interrupted by robots.” Bucky said.
There was no wince this time and Steve sagged in relief.
“Can I have the knife, Buck, please?”
Bucky shrugged and gave the knife to Steve. Tony waved the rest of the swat team out of Steve’s apartment.
“Would you care to escort Mr Barnes to the medical bay now he’s had his shower?” Tony asked.
“What do you think, Buck?”
Bucky sighed and nodded.
“Wonderful, we’ll meet you both there.”
Tony left, carefully replacing the door and balancing it against the frame.
Bucky grabbed Steve’s face and kissed him hard and slow. Steve groaned.
“I promise we’ll do more of that later. But right now we gotta get you checked out. Shall we get you some clothes?” Steve got up, grabbed him some grey sweat pants and an over sized captain America t shirt.
Bucky cleaned himself up, pulled on the clothes and stood at the side of the bed, waiting for...instructions? Steve wasn’t sure.
Steve put on something similar and took Bucky’s hand.
“You okay to walk?”
Bucky nodded silently.
“Okay. It’s this way,” he led the way out of the broken door, holding Bucky’s hand.
“There’s cameras everywhere out here,” Bucky said quietly.
“I know, Stark likes his security.”
“Another Stark?”
“Uhuh, younger model. Twice as sarcastic, twice as brilliant, but don’t tell him I said that.”
He led Bucky to the med bay.
“Okay, scanner in there, that gonna be okay, bud?”
Bucky nodded.
“Fine.”
The glass doors of the room slid open. Steve kept his hand on Bucky’s back and as he watched Bucky’s eyes flicking around the room. Clocking the cameras and the ct scanner and it’s flat table in the middle of room.
He looked back at Steve. His eyes roamed over his face, like he was checking it was really him. His eyes settled on Steve’s.
“If you guys are going to get at it again I’m leaving.”
Steve rolled his eyes and glared at Tony.
“Could you lose the suit?” Steve looked at Tony who was still in his Iron Man suit from the neck down.
“Could he lose the menacing stare and the metal arm?” Tony smiled.
Bucky gave Tony the fakest sweet smile going and Steve laughed.
“Okay no that’s terrifying,” Tony said. “Carry on with the menacing stare if it’s working for you.”
“Do you even need to be in here?” Steve sighed.
“Not really.” Tony made no attempt to leave.
“Mr Barnes, if you’d like to lie back on the table.”
Bucky lay down on his back, his face blank.
“Just don’t put me back on ice. I hate the ice.” He said quietly and Steve grabbed his shoulder.
“No ones putting you on ice, Buck.”
“Though I feel like you two could use a cold shower,” Tony chipped in.
“Oh please, before Pepper you had a different woman falling out your room every morning,” Natasha leant against the glass door.
“Could you all just?” Steve shoed them towards the door and thankfully they left.
“Your friends an asshole.”
“Friend is a strong word.”
“I can hear you, you know? Who’s building do you think you’re in?” Tony’s voice echoed over the speakers.
“I preferred his father,” Steve whispered.
“Same.”
“Okay I need to take some blood, that gonna be okay?”
Bucky nodded.
Steve watched as the doctor tied elastic round Bucky’s arm, cleaned the skin, and pierced with a tiny needle. Bucky didn’t even flinch.
“You okay, Buck?”
“I’ve had a lot worse.”
Steve winced.
“Bucky…”
“S'kay. They’re all dead now.”
Steve leant down and kissed Bucky on the head.
“Okay now you’ll have to step out, Captain Rogers, we’ll be using radiation.”
Steve nodded.
“You gonna be okay, Buck?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He looked tired again. As tired as he did when Steve had first found him in the corner of his bedroom.
Steve kissed him again and Bucky smiled, a proper smile this time. Steve’s heart flipped and he walked through to the observation room.
“Just don’t,” Steve said as Tony was about to make no doubt another smart remark.
Tony closed his eyes and smiled instead.
Bruce was stood behind the technician, waiting for the scans came up on the screens. The machine whirred, Bucky tensed.
“How do I talk to him?” Steve asked.
Tony pointed to the microphone with a button on it.
“You’re alright Buck, we won’t be long. You want me to talk to you?”
Bucky nodded as the ring of the CT scanner started to whir and the table moved back and forth.
“You know that place we used to get pastries when we could afford them, down past your aunt’s street? Well I went down there the other day and I found out it’s the same damn family, selling the same damn pastries. We’ll go down there, Buck, when you’re feeling better. We’ll go and get you one those horrendous things you used to like, that was lemon middle, glazed pastry all the way round then dusted with sugar, cos obviously it needed more sugar at that point? I uh… been looking at a lot of our places and I mean most of em are gone but the odd ones still there. Though your favorite dance hall, I went there one night and they turned it into a rock club. I really wasn’t sure what you’d think of that, Buck. I sat in a bar across the street all night and watched people coming and going, almost thinking if I stood there long enough, you’d come striding out of there in your full military uniform, a girl on each arm, smiling that smile.”
The room had gone quiet. Steve realised he was crying. He closed his eyes for a second. Natasha passed him a tissue. Tony for once, didn’t comment.
“But I mean, we can still go see the Mets play, and we can just dance round the flat if that’d be better. Tony’s got a grama phone, but now you can get music on your phone and I mean that’s pretty great.”
The scanner stopped whirring and Steve glanced at the screen with the scan imagines coming up. Not that he had any idea what any of it meant.
“He’s got a lot of drugs in his system,” the doctor came into the room, holding the lab report.
“The fun kind, or?” Tony asked.
“Is he gonna be okay?” Steve interrupted.
“He’ll be fine, but he is going to start withdrawing. He may already be withdrawing, that’s probably why he was shaking, I think they may have given him some slow release implants of drugs. That’s one of the things I’m checking for. He’s got opiates, meth, and sedatives in his system. I need to have a closer look at these scans. His vitals aren’t great, but about what I’d expect given he’s not had anything to eat or drink in days. His salts are off. We’ll need to keep a close eye on him. Give him some fluids and meds to help the withdrawal. He’ll need a full physical evaluation too. And that’s before we even get started on the arm.”
“I wanna have a look at that arm.” Tony stared at it through the window.
“Can I go back in?”
“Yes, Captain.”
Bucky smiled at Steve as he came back in.
“Can we go back to bed now?”
Bucky looked exhausted.
“Well you’re going to bed, you need some treatment, they’re gonna keep an eye on you here okay, but a comfy bed, not this table, and I’ll stay with you okay?”
Bucky frowned but eventually nodded.
“Okay. If you stay.”
*
The iv pump started beeping again and Bucky looked about ready to crush it in his fist. Steve quickly muted it.
It had been 24 hours. Bucky was as they thought, withdrawing, but the doctors could give him stuff for that. He woke screaming a couple of times but settled immediately when he saw Steve. When Steve stroked his hair.
“I love you.” Steve was making up for lost time by telling Bucky at least once an hour, whether he was awake or not.
Bucky smiled even though he’d already closed his eyes.
“I love you too.”
The doctors said there weren’t any implants, though they all agreed Stark was the best to look at his arm.
He eat food, kept it down, let them keep pumping him with ivs, and Steve thought sooner or later they’d be letting him take Bucky back to his bed for a real nights sleep, not interrupted by beeping and the rattling of metal trays.
“So can I look at the arm?” Tony came and leant next to the door.
Steve looked at Bucky and Bucky shrugged, keeping his eyes closed, his hand still gripping Steve’s.
Steve nodded.
“Can you feel the arm?” Tony ran his hand down it.
Bucky shook his head.
“Flex your fingers?”
Bucky stuck his finger up at him.
Steve hid a laugh.
Tony just smiled.
“Thank you.”
Bucky kept his eyes closed but smiled and flexed them properly and follow all Tony’s instructions. Tony moved up to where the arm met his body.
“This is crude work.” He muttered, shaking his head. Bucky winced.
“It hurt?” Tony asked.
Bucky shook his head.
“Only when they did it.”
Steve winced and held Bucky’s hand tighter.
“Do you mind if I look down here?”
Bucky took off his gown and let Tony look all the way around the join.
Tony shook his head again.
“Okay put your shirt back on before your boyfriend gets excited.”
Bucky glared at him but did as he was instructed.
“I’m gonna xray it. You want to keep it?”
Bucky looked at it and considered, flexing his fingers.
“You don’t have to decide right away. But we could give you prosthetic that looked human, that moves better than this. I could do better than this. I mean. Of course I could…” Tony was still examining the arm. “I could probably make you able to feel it, we’ve been working on that, neural pathways, and stuff, it’s very cool and…”
Tony looked up to see Bucky’s blank stare.
“Yeah, I’m gonna come back later.”
Tony left and Bucky opened his eyes and looked at the arm again.
“You think I should get rid of it?”
“It’s your choice, Buck. I don’t mind it. You can think about it.”
Bucky nodded and closed his eyes.
“I’m tired again.”
“Yeah, not surprised, go back to sleep, Buck.”
“You still be here?”
“Like I’m leaving your side ever again, Buck, forget it.”
Bucky smiled and drifted off to sleep. Steve kissed the back of his hand.