Chapter Text
Bucky stood admiring the view from the roof terrace garden of Avengers Tower. It was mid-morning and the city was bustling below. He clutched a large mug of coffee in his hands, warming his right hand on the mug, even though he wasn't particularly cold. He could feel some sensation that approximated warmth in his left hand too. During the time he'd spent in Asgard, Tony had been working on upgrades for his metal arm. Not long after he returned, Tony had talked him through the improvements he could make to the arm and proved he understood not only how to maintain the arm but also how to improve things for him.
A few days later, the obsolete circuitry had been removed from his metal arm. Then Tony's upgrades had been installed. For the first time in longer than Bucky could remember, the metal arm no longer gave him pain and he could actually feel more with it. While it'd never be the same as his right arm, it was a vast improvement. Except, of course, now it could look like his other arm, if he wanted. Tony's new technology included a hologram generator. It gave the arm the appearance of a real flesh and blood arm, though it still felt like a metal arm to the touch. “This is just a first pass, let me have feedback. I can work on making it feel like a real arm to the touch later, Buckaroo.” Tony had assured.
Bucky's thoughts were brought back to the present as he heard footsteps behind him. “Morning Steve.” Bucky said without bothering to look round.
“Morning, you sure you're ready for this?” Steve asked, hoping the concern he felt didn't show in his tone of voice.
“What? The big announcement Tony's PR people have arranged? Yeah. I'm ready.” Bucky's voice steady and even.
“A few dozen reporters in a room and lots of questions to deal with, doesn't sound like the kind of thing you'd have liked to do before your trip to Asgard.” Steve replied sounding bemused.
“Yeah.” Bucky let out a hollow laugh, “But with the Hydra programming gone, my mind is my own again. Plus, the time is right, after all, I’ve spent a lot of time with the PR team. Anyway you have to introduce me, so you don't get off Scot free.”
“The official unveiling of James Barnes, the Winter Soldier, as an Avenger. Who'd have thought the public would accept Winter Soldier as a good guy?”
“The PR team have done a great job on selling the whole POW, heroic sacrifice, victim-not-villain thing, plus they're okay with Black Widow, former Soviet Assassin. The work Nat, Sam and I have been doing with the public helped.”
“True. But if you don't want the next thing you're remembered for is being late for your big moment then you best get ready.”
“Yeah, I'll see you outside the press conference room in about an hour. Got just long enough to make myself presentable.” Bucky laughed and started to walk back inside with Steve trailing a few steps behind. “You best clean yourself up too, Pal.”
Once back in his newly redecorated quarters Bucky checked everything was ready for him. When he had returned from Asgard he had changed things around, finally started to use the bedroom and re-furnished the whole place. He had even stopped leaving the privacy glass tinted during the day.
He showered, dried off and pulled on a pair of briefs and a black, sleeveless, baselayer top that fitted like a second skin. With Pepper’s words about appearance and presentation still fresh in his mind, Bucky decided now was probably the time to make a change.
He picked up a his brush and untangled his long hair, before opening the bathroom cabinet and picking up some newly acquired styling product, working it into his hair, brushing it back, ensuring it was neatly slicked back in a manner similar to how he styled it before the war. Only now his hair was considerably longer. In order to make it neat he grabbed a hair tie, gathered his hair up and secured it in a neat manbun at the nape of his neck.
After checking his handy work in the mirror, he turned his attention to his beard, while not particularly untidy, it was longer than it had been recently.
Around 20 minutes later he left the bathroom clean-shaved with neatly trimmed sideburns, the same as he had back-in-the-day. Crossing the hall into his bedroom he picked up the garments that comprised his new “super suit,” as Tony had called it.
The outfit was very similar to the one Hawkeye wore, but the jacket had sleeves. Bucky had looked at Tony when he showed it to him and said “What part of ‘no left sleeve’ do you not understand, Stark?” Tony’s response was to smile before showing off a series of buttons concealed inside the collar of the jacket. “Don't get your panties in a twist, Princess. These retract the sleeves individually, this adjusts the fit, make it as form fitting as you like. Whole thing is armored but flexible, it’ll keep you warm when it's cold, cool when it's hot and there's a remote sensor that allows us to tighten the collar up and choke you out, if you decided to go all psycho Soviet assassin on us again.” Further discussion revealed that Tony was joking about the collar choking him out, but Bucky still wasn't quite sure he believed him.
The black trousers initially loose fitting adjusted to fit snugly when he fastened them and activated the button concealed inside the back of his belt buckle. His new boots were both sturdy and comfortable. The new leather jacket slipped on and fastened easily, before Bucky retracted the left sleeve and tightened it up so it fit snugly. As soon as the jacket finished adjusting, straps emerged from the shoulders and waist forming a harness and holsters that would allow him to carry his choice of weapons.
Looking himself up and down in a mirror, Bucky temporarily froze in place, before snapping himself out of his thoughts. He drew in a slow, deep breath before letting it out just as slowly, then turned on his heel and strode confidently out of his quarters.
A few moments later, he arrived in the corridor outside the press conference room. Steve in his Captain America uniform, shield clipped to his back, was talking to Nat and Sam, both of whom are dressed in normal clothes. Tony, dressed in a very expensive looking three piece suit, was talking to Pepper, who is equally smartly dressed.
Pepper is the first to notice him. “Wow, you look amazing.”
Tony chimes in, “Here with five minutes to spare. Can I make a minor adjustment to the suit?”
Bucky looks at him warily. “If you're gonna cover up the metal arm then no.”
“No, no, don't worry, Robocop. Just going to retract the weapons harness. Holsters and such, empty or not, are not really the look we're going for.” Tony replies smoothly, as he carefully reaches inside the collar of Bucky's jacket and presses a button and the harness disappears.
Bucky looks over to Steve who is still wrapped in conversation. Bucky raised his voice asking, “Anyone told him he looks like a turtle with that thing on his back?”
The conversation between Steve, Sam and Nat stops immediately and they all look round at Bucky, but before Steve can speak Sam replies, “Quite a change there Barnes, you almost look presentable.”
“Shut up, Birdy.”
“Oh Sam, be nice to him! He looks very handsome.” Pepper chastises.
“Almost time Sarge.” Tony states, “You ready?”
“As I'll ever be.” Bucky replies, looking a little apprehensive.
Nat steps over to him and gives him a hug, “You'll be fine. Sam and I will be at the back of the room as moral support.”
“Thanks Nat, that means a lot to me.”
Bucky looked at the others. Pepper stood next to the door to the press conference room and nodded to Tony who lined up next to her, with Steve on his other side. Bucky hesitated for a moment.
Spotting this Steve says in an encouraging tone. “Come on. It's time, James.”
Closing the gap between himself and the others Bucky replies in a loud and clear tone, “My name is Bucky.”
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