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Bucky opened his eyes and groaned, sitting up. His head hurt like a bitch, where was he?
"Hey Buck, how are you feeling? You hit your head pretty hard back there." Came a soothing voice. Steve. Bucky let out a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't alone.
Bucky blinked a few times and focused on Steve. That... that wasn't the Stevie he remembered. "When the hell did you get tall?" Bucky mumbled, staring at Steve.
Steve blinked a few times, then looked a bit horrified. "Bucky... what's the last thing you remember?" Steve asked slowly.
Bucky frowned. His mind felt... scrambled. Think, Bucky, think. "Joinin' the war, goin' to Stark Expo, you were a damned punk and left... yeah, that's what I 'member." Bucky said, looking back at Steve. "Why, Stevie? What-" Bucky reached out to Steve with his left hand and freaked out. "Stevie! My hand is metal!" Bucky stared at the appendage with wide eyes. He jumped to his feet, tearing off his shirt. Bucky was startled to see a full length mirror, and looked closely at himself. The metal hand extended into a metal arm and a metal shoulder that had a red star branded on it, and the metal fused into his skin at his shoulder, surrounded by scar tissue. Bucky looked closely and noticed that he was bigger than he remembered his body being, and his once tamed hair was now long, tickling his chin, which was covered in scuff. "Stevie... what's going on?" Bucky asked, turning to his friend. Steve stood up, and the little punk that once barely reached his shoulder was now eye level, with as much muscle as Bucky.
"Buck... you might want to sit down. Bruce said you might have amnesia. We didn't know how severe it was going to be, and whether or not it may be permanent." Steve explained slowly.
"How... how much did I forget, Stevie?" Bucky asked, his voice shaking.
"Bucky please, just sit down, let me explain-"
"How much did I forget, Stevie?" Buck repeated, balling up his fists.
Steve drew in a deep breath. "About seventy years, Buck."
Bucky blinked a few times, then sat back down onto the bed, dumbfounded. He didn't look that much older, neither did Steve. He didn't feel ninety plus years old. "How?" He asked, his voice small.
Steve sat next to him on the bed, and slowly told a story that if it came from anyone else, Bucky wouldn't believe. The first few parts were easy enough to believe. Being in the war, Steve having some 'super soldier' serum injected into him, being a part of some team called the Howling Commandos, that all made sense. But that's about where the sense ended. Then Steve told him how he fell -Bucky wanted to hug the poor punk for the look on his face when he said that part- and was thought to be dead, and Steve helped win the war, and crashed his plane in the arctic. (If not for everything else, Bucky would've yelled at the damned punk for crashing a plane into the arctic because of course the damned punk did that) Then Steve told how he woke up seventy years later, joined a team called the Avengers with an agency called SHIELD -a team that had Howard's son, which in itself was mind blowing to Bucky- and saved the world more than once. Then Steve got choked up again as he told how SHIELD fell, and they found out Bucky was alive. The story of how Bucky survived made his stomach churn. Seventy years being in the hands of HYDRA, forged into a weapon, brainwashed and forced to kill people, under the name of 'the Winter Soldier'. Steve told how they found him, how his team almost fell apart, and how they slowly were rebuilding themselves with new members, including Bucky. Bucky was now an Avenger, and had apparently hit his head on a mission, and lost his memories.
Once Steve was finished, he looked tentatively at Bucky. "Buck? Are you okay?" Steve asked.
Bucky blinked a few times, and slowly drew in a deep breath. "You crashed a plane in the arctic." He said flatly. Steve opened his mouth to defend himself but bucky cut him off. "I'm not even gone for a month and you go and crash your damned plane into the arctic! You damned punk! Someone gives you a plane and what goes through your head, 'oh, let's crash the damned thing into a pile of ice!' Stevie, how did you even survive without me? Oh wait, you didn't, you crashed into the arctic!" Bucky shrieked, standing up and pacing. "And then, and then you face up against me, a mindless killing machine, and you drop your shield? Stevie, you punk! I coulda killed you! But you were hoping I would remember you?! End of the line... end of the line my ass, punk." Bucky growled, glaring at Steve, and whacking him upside the head.
Steve smiled the same smile that he always did when Bucky berated him for getting into a fight he couldn't win (which face it Stevie, was every fight). "I tell you that whole story about how you're in the future, and that's all you care about?"
Bucky whacked him again. "Yes, you stupid punk!" Bucky drew in a deep breath and let it out. "This conversation isn't over, punk. But... I do have other questions." He admitted, sitting back down.
Steve looked relieved to be off the hook, for now. "Sure, anything, Buck." He smiled.
"So you said I'm an Avenger, right?" Bucky asked, and Steve nodded. "Does that mean that they're our friends?" He asked.
His friend nodded. "Yes. Granted, you get along with some more than others, but we're all a group of friends." He explained.
Bucky nodded, thinking. "Who am I closest to?" He asked.
"Well, Clint, Hawkeye, is pretty close to you. He was brainwashed by Loki once, so he's helped you with coping methods, made you feel less alone and lost. You and Sam, Falcon, bicker like an old married couple, but I think you secretly get along more than you'd like to admit. You get along with Tony, Iron Man, more than I thought you would, considering you killed his parents as the Winter Soldier, but I think you're just nice to him because you don't want to be mean to my boyfriend, and vice versa for Tony. And-" Bucky immediately cut him off.
"Boyfriend?" Bucky demanded.
Steve paled a moment. "Yeah... that's, uh, it's more accepted now. It's even legal for us to get married. Tony and I have been going steady for a few years, now." Steve's cheeks flushed and he got a dopey smile.
Bucky whacked him. "You're a punk." Steve grinned. "He better be treatin' you right. I didn' like Howard much, Tony better be a better man than him." Bucky warned.
Steve nodded gravely. "Trust me, Tony is nothing like Howard. He seems like it when you first meet him... but he's a completely different person. And... he doesn't like Howard, so you probably shouldn't mention him around Tony, and really don't compare them. Tony... Tony had a rough childhood, Howard wasn't a good father, Tony still has nightmares and PTSD about it." Steve explained. Bucky winced, but nodded. "Anyhow, like I was saying. You and Natasha, Black Widow, also have a sort of an unspoken bond with your friendship, I never really understood it. The rest of the Avengers you like well enough and they like you, but you're still warming up to them, they understand that. The only other one that you're really close to is T'Challa, Black Panther. And... well, you're dating him." Steve said slowly, gouging Bucky's reaction.
Bucky blinked a few times, thinking. "I'm datin' a guy?" Steve nodded. "What's... what's he like? How'd we get together?" Bucky asked.
"T'Challa is the best gentleman you'll ever met, I swear. He's formal, polite, patient, and kind hearted. He's a real rock for you, Buck. You guys got together because," Steve chuckled to himself. "Well see, Zemo made it look like the Winter Soldier killed the king of Wakanda, T'Challa's father. And T'Challa was raised to be a warrior, so he sought to kill you for killing his father. He did find out that he was hunting the wrong man, and after the whole thing settled, he felt guilty for letting his emotions blind him and almost killing you more than once. So he was real nice to you, buying you nice things and going out of his way to make you happy. Somehow, he slowly stopped being nice out of guilt and started to actually court you, and you fell head over heels for him. You've hit some bumps in the road, but you guys make a great couple, Buck." Steve assured, smiling.
"Wait." Bucky said quietly. "Stevie, you said his father was a king. Is he a prince?" Bucky asked, his voice small.
"Well, he was, he's a king now." Steve said off handedly, and Bucky's eyes widened. "It's this country called Wakanda, in Africa. They held up this front of being a third world country for the past few hundred years, but they're actually one of the most advanced countries in the world. They were doing things with science that took the rest of the world hundreds of years to catch up with, and no one even knew it. It's also one of, if not the, wealthiest country in the world. Wakanda puts most European countries to shame, even America, in some ways. T'Challa is an incredibly powerful man." Steve admitted, shrugging.
Bucky stared at Steve, with wide, unblinking eyes, "Stevie, you're telling me I'm dating a guy who's a powerful king, and a powerful warrior?" He asked, his voice small.
Steve nodded. "I promise he's not intimidating." Steve thought a moment. "Well he is, but not to people he likes." Steve covered quickly.
Bucky groaned and put his head in his hands. "Stevie." He wailed. "How am I even supposed to survive in the future with a powerful royal boyfriend, Howard's son, a team of superheroes, a metal arm, and your punk ass?" Bucky demanded.
Steve laughed and shook his head. "You can handle it, Bucky. Do you want to go meet them?" Steve asked. "They're all probably watching the live feed of us through a camera right now." He admitted.
"Fine." Bucky grumbled, standing up and pulling his shirt back on. Steve smiled happily and stood up as well, leading Bucky out of the room. Steve lead him down long halls, dragging him along when Bucky stared for too long. Steve pulled him into a room that looked sort of like a living room, but all different, and filled with people.
"That's Tony Stark," Steve pointed to a guy who did look slightly like Howard. "Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanov, Sam Wilson, James Rhodes, Scott Lang, Vision, Wanda Maximoff, Peter Parker -he's not technically an Avenger, he's just a kid Tony's mentoring-, and T'Challa." Steve pointed out each of them. Bucky was positive he was going to mix them up, but tried to pick out striking features. Tony looked like Howard, Clint was a dirty blonde, Bruce had glasses, Natasha was a redhead, Sam had a weird scruff, James had leg braces, Scott had a long face, Vision was red, Wanda wore red clothes, Peter was like, fourteen, and T'Challa. T'Challa was hot. Bucky reminded himself not to stare and instead glared at the ground.
"So is this whole amnesia thing permanent?" Came a voice, and Bucky peaked up to see the dirty blond -Clint- had said it.
"It's hard to tell." Glasses -Bruce- said. "He may slowly get his memories back, which could take days, weeks months, even years, hypothetically speaking. Or he may never get them back. It's hard to say." The man admitted, shrugging sympathetically.
"Well if I were him, I wouldn't want them back. Remembering seventy years of torture doesn't sound fun to me." Tony said, shrugging himself. Steve gave him a wary glare that made Bucky snort.
"Either way," Steve said firmly. "He's still the same Bucky. He may take a bit of time to get back into the groove of things, but nothing should have to change." Steve insisted. Everyone nodded. Then some alarm went off, and there was groaning all around.
"Come on, I'm so done with this shit." Tony grumbled, and everyone got up and started moving.
Steve looked at Bucky. "That's the Avengers call, we have to go, Buck. You can stay here." Steve assured with a smile.
"Can I go, Mister Stark? I promise I'll be a great help." Peter asked, eyes hopeful.
Tony glanced at him. "No. I almost got you killed once, I'm not doing it again. Rhodey, watch him to make sure he stays put." Tony ordered and the man with braces nodded. Bucky figured the man with braces -who seemed to go by Rhodey- probably couldn't go even if he wanted to, with his condition.
"Oh come on, Mister Stark!" Peter complained. "I can look after myself!" He insisted.
Tony stopped in the doorway. "You see, the last time you said that, let's see, you broke the Washington Monument, got a cruise ship ripped in half, hacked into the suit I gave you, ditched the tracker I put on you, and took on the Vulture without bothering to call for backup. Do you see the problem here, Peter?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I beat the Vulture though!" Peter said adamantly.
"Uh huh, and almost got yourself killed in the process." Tony said, unamused. "Look, you can stay here, and keep Bucky amused or something. Rhodey, if there is an accident, I'm blaming you." Tony warned, then left the room. The rest of the Avengers, besides Rhodey, left. T'Challa was the last to leave, giving Bucky a deep smile, which made Bucky blush like an idiot, then following his team.
"Mister Stark always treats me like a kid." Peter grumbled.
"Peter, you're fifteen." Rhodey said, unamused.
"And I can stop a bus with my bare hands!" Peter exclaimed.
Rhodey put down the book he had been reading. "Peter, raw power doesn't equate to knowing how to use it. You should've seen Tones trying to use his suit during the first few marks, he flew right into a wall. More than once. You have to give yourself time to train and learn before you can run around saving the world. It has it's risks. I know better than anyone." Rhodey said with a small smile.
Peter folded his arms and pouted. "I just feel like I could be doing more." Peter mumbled. Bucky thought it was actually comical, a small teenager in a hoodie that reached past his fingertips, dwarfing him even more, complaining about not being able to save the world.
Bucky sighed and took a seat on the couch next to Peter. "You know, you remind me of Stevie, back when he was just a scrappy kid from Brooklyn. Always wantin' to save the world n' help people, no matter how many bruises it'll give you. But lemme give you a word of advice." Bucky said, smiling slightly. "There are times when you can save the world, and there are times when all you can do it help an old lady across the street. But both are just as important as the other. 'Cause both prove you're a good person, willin' to help the little guy as much as you are to fight some big bad guy. A hero isn't always in flashy colors, runnin' around riskin' their life. Sometimes a hero is someone who can make their friend smile, or give a stranger directions. It's the little things that count." Bucky said, smiling crookedly.
Rhodey nodded with approval. "He's right, you know."
Peter sighed. "Yeah, I guess."
Bucky let a moment of silence fill the room. "So, you can stop a bus with your bare hands? What's the story behind all that?" He asked, trying to lighten to mood.
Peter's eyes lit up. "Well see I got bit by this spider, and it was radioactive, the spider died, but I got all these crazy powers, like super strength, and I can stick to walls and the ceiling, and I have this like spider sense thing, and I built these web shooters. And Mr Stark gave me a really cool suit, and he brought me to the airport where the Avengers were all fighting against each other and I didn't really know what was going on, but I got to fight against Avengers, and you were there and I stole Cap's shield, and knocked over the really big guy, and I caught your punch and you threw a car at me and I threw it back at you and it was awesome!" The kid said, vibrating with excitement.
Bucky raised his eyebrows. "I threw a car at a fifteen year old?"
"Well yeah, but no hard feelings, there was a lot of misunderstandings and no one really knew who everyone there even was anyway, so it's cool." The kid waved off. Bucky nodded slowly and looked over to Rhodey, giving him a raised eyebrow.
"Awful summary, but about what happened." Rhodey said, shrugging. "He did pretty good for a kid who had no idea why he was there. He even saved me from crashing into a plane."
Peter's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! I remember that, and you were flying around with me on your tail, it was so cool!"
Bucky shook his head and laughed. "I... I don't know if I want to remember that." Peter and Rhodey shrugged. Bucky shook his head. A king for a boyfriend, a team of superheroes, and the same damned punk of a best friend. The future was weird, but nice, Bucky had to admit.