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This is not the first time Tony casually walks into the flat Steve and Bucky share.
He has done it countless times in the past few months, luckily avoiding awkward entrances. It is a wonder, truly, given that each time Tony shows up at the door to their living room, he half expects Steve and Bucky to be tangled in each other on the couch. (If he made a bet he would catch them doing anything nasty before New Year's Eve, Rogers and Barnes surely don't know about it.)
He knows Steve is out on an op somewhere in New Mexico so he won't be around at this time of the day (which means Tony won't win the bet today - it's a sad, sad day) but he has a stack of comics in one hand as he crosses the doorstep. His visit is purely because he wishes to spoil the newest member of their little team, and winning his affections with comics seemed like a pretty smart idea.
And one that Clint didn't think of before him, so that's already a win.
"Ready or not, here I come," Tony yells as he walks through the hall to the living room.
If Tony were to be dropped in this flat without knowing where he was, he still would've known it was Rogers' apartment. It couldn't have been more obvious, even if the wallpapers yelled "STEVE ROGERS' FLAT" at him with huge red capitals. The furniture, the (careful lack of) decoration, the smell in the air, even the way the sun shone through the windows had that touch of Steve that immediately gave him away. Tony would have swallowed his tongue before living in such a small place, but he had to give it to Rogers that it seemed cozy.
Cozy enough to pop up once in a while and bring goodies and try to catch them exchanging saliva.
Tony makes his way to the kitchen and places the comics on the isle before glancing into the living room. He expects Bucky to sit there and watch some crappy reality show with a bowl of cereal in his hands, but the sight that welcomes Tony is completely different. Actually, it's so different that Tony's hand freezes midway as he plans to take his jacket off.
There is a woman on the couch, looking at him like a deer in the headlights. She has long brown hair, a pretty, heart shaped face and huge dark eyes that couldn't be shouting for help more obviously. He runs through the mini database in his head, trying to match a name for the face but he comes up blank. He frowns at her, then, he spots something dark on the floor.
There are two options from here. Either Bucky dropped the remote control and he is looking for it under the couch or he is unconscious. Given that he is not moving and, as much as Tony sees, not even breathing really, he goes with the latter option.
Then, he hears himself yelling.
"What the hell?"
She's on her feet once Tony crosses the doorstep and runs to Bucky, dropping to his knees next to him. Bucky seems completely unharmed, no blood dripping from his skull, no missing limbs (okay, no more missing limbs), and he is most definitely breathing which eases Tony, at least a little.
Then, he suddenly remembers that he is not alone in the room.
"Who the hell are you? What happened to him?" he looks up, his whole face twitching from nervousness and accusations unsaid. The girl looks at him like she is fearing her life but finally she has her voice back.
"I have no idea what happened," she shakes her head, placing her weight from one leg to another. Tony raises, still keeping his eyes on her, unblinking. "We were watching Discovery Channel and then he just-"
"Who the hell are you?" Tony cuts her off. She sees that his patience is running thin, so she just takes a deep breath and runs a hand through her hair.
"My name is Skye. We were supposed to hang out today, until Steve got back..."
"You know Steve?"
"Of course I do. I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
Tony frowns at that, again, folding his arms in front of his chest slowly.
"Don't take it personally but that's not a really convincing explanation anymore."
Skye sighs with tangible annoyance and she looks for the ceiling for a moment.
"Call Coulson and he will convince you if I can't," she says sharply, her glance dropping to the floor. "What should we do with him? Is he unconscious or asleep or what?"
Oh yes. He almost forgot about Bucky.
"I wouldn't try waking him up if I were you," he stares down at the guy who is supposed to be a terrifying, cold blood ex-Soviet-assassin-murderer-soldier. Now, he just looks like he drank too much of the good stuff. "Unless you want your neck broken, of course."
"Let's put him on the couch at least," she waves towards the couch with desperation and Tony nods at her in agreement.
"Yes, that might be a good idea."
Tony would have never thought Bucky could be heavier than Steve. He had to lift Steve once or twice already, both in armour and without it, and the guy is pure muscle. It felt like doing bench press with a sack of potatoes. In the meantime, Bucky misses one arm, his metal one is easy as paper (thanks to some upgrades from Bruce and Tony, might I add), yet, he weighs easily twice as much as Steve.
Tony and Skye are basically heaving by the time Bucky is comfortable on the couch and they both wipe their foreheads in unison.
"Now what?" he looks at her with honest helplessness, but she looks like a huge question mark.
"Steve is going to kill me," she looks back at Bucky who is snoring quietly in the abundance of pillows. "I was supposed to look out for him. Now look at him."
Tony has to admit that Bucky looks quite peaceful in this state. He heard from Steve that he isn't sleeping too well to say the least, but right now he looks like he was hit in the head with a chair. Tony almost expects Bucky to start drooling in any minute, to be honest.
"I don't think we should panic," he shrugs, walking closer to Bucky. He waves one hand directly in front of Bucky's face, snapping his fingers a few times and jumping back almost immediately, in case Barnes would wake up and try to rip his fingers off. It does nothing, though, and Bucky keeps snoring like the grandpa he is. Tony is surprised to feel a smile tugging at his lips at the sight. "He seems okay to me."
"But he just fell off the couch!" Skye exclaims, turning to Tony with her whole body. "It shouldn't be a normal thing, should it?"
"Well, were you watching something extremely boring per chance?" Tony raises his eyebrows carefully, almost awaiting the glare he is given by Skye. "God, please tell me it wasn't one of those from-ugly-to-pretty transformation shows teenage girls your age watch?"
"You really are the ass the others told me you were," she smiles dryly and Tony feels a proud grin tugging at the corners of his lips, like he's been told the most flattering compliment in the entire universe.
"Depends on who told you."
"We were watching Discovery, but I already told you that," Skye returns to the question at hand and Tony turns to the television. Of course, it's commercials at the moment. "It was about satellites. He seemed really interested, I highly doubt he fell asleep because of that."
"Our boy has a boner for space? That's sweet," Tony looks down at Bucky with something that's akin to affection in his dictionary. "Describe to me the way it happened."
Skye looks dumbfounded for a moment before she just shakes her head a little and sighs nervously. She looks pretty harmless to Tony, but that doesn't mean he automatically trusts her. She most likely wasn't the one causing this cat nap of Bucky's, that he can tell for sure, but he will really have to talk to Coulson. If she's one of the good guys, the least Tony can do is to get to know her properly.
"The narrator on the TV spoke about Cold War and Space Race and all that. It came to me that it might not be the best thing to watch with Bucky, just in case it triggers something, but he looked really excited so I didn't have the heart to change the channel," she shrugs with empathy written all over her face. Well, he knows the feeling. It's hard to take away something from a kid when you spend so much time trying to make him happy with it. And to Tony, Bucky's a kid who needs all the love and attention in the world. Which he is happy to give, by the way. It seems he's not the only one. "When they mentioned the Sputnik 1, Bucky suddenly sat uptight and muttered something I couldn't understand. I asked him to repeat it but he just fell off the couch and then... You walked in."
Tony furrows his brows, looking down at Bucky again. He really doesn't understand the whole thing and he knows he should be more upset about it, yet, he isn't. Bucky seems absolutely peaceful, not at all hurt or battered. He's just... sleeping. Maybe, just maybe, there would be no nightmares this time, who knows. Maybe whatever happened to him actually helped him.
It's really not like Tony to be this optimistic, but he can't find a single reason to be nervous for. So what he does is sighing and walking around the couch to go to the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" he hears Skye's exasperated voice, but he just drops his jacket on the back of a chair and walks to the fridge.
"I'm gonna make us dinner," he states casually. He doesn't even have to look to feel Skye's shocked gaze at him. It's like she's shouting 'did you completely lose your mind?', only without making any actual noise.
"Shouldn't we call Steve?" Skye asks, still quite incredulous to say the least, but Tony just waves her off. He finds some cheese and tomato souce in the fridge, along with some meat. Finding pasta afterwards is not difficult and, with a triumphant look on his face, he's ready to make the best spaghetti in his life.
"Nah. He doesn't like to be disturbed on ops. And it's not exactly a crisis, I mean, kid is asleep."
"He fell off the couch. You don't think that's suspicious?" She furrows her perfect eyebrows and it makes Tony smile how much she reminds him of Pepper for a moment. Which brings to his mind that he will have to send her a message that he will be out babysitting tonight.
"We will stay with him, okay? Hell, if you have anything better to do, you are free to go. I will look out for him until Steve gets home."
"I'm not going anywhere," she shakes her head with a snort. He feels a challenge in the air but says nothing. "And what are you going to tell him exactly?"
"Jesus Christ, do you see blood anywhere?" Tony turns to her with arms wide open, his voice full of exasperation. "Is the furniture ruined? Is he barely alive? No, he is fine! He is asleep! I will tell Steve just that! It's nothing we can't deal with, so sit down and watch the TV or braid his hair or I don't know, but stop freaking out! Or else you won't get dinner."
She doesn't seem too satisfied with that answer, but she keeps silent and sits down on the couch with a pout, placing Bucky's head in her lap. Bucky just makes a content, small sound, and Tony grins as he continues on with cooking the only thing he knows - or more likely hopes - he won't screw up.
Minutes pass in silence, only with the television humming quietly as a background noise. Minutes grow to half an hour, then, just when Tony is about to finish cooking the pasta, Skye speaks up.
"I didn't want to ask him, but is it true about his arm?"
Tony glances at her with surprise, especially when their eyes meet. Bucky's face is still pressed against Skye's stomach and he's lying on his side now, as if he laid down purposely to sleep close to Skye. The sight reminds Tony of Clint and Natasha having movie nights in the Tower, Nat sleeping in the exact same manner as Bucky now. Hell, Tony is pretty sure Natasha is only capable of sleeping like that when she's with Clint. Seeing her without her guards up is a rare thing, and Tony feels almost inclined to thank them for trusting him so much.
He is not used to having more than one or two close friends. Neither is he to having a group of people he can call family.
"People say many things about his arm, so you have to be more specific," Tony takes the pasta off the fire and rinses it before setting it aside to cool.
"I mean when it broke in two?" Skye's voice is suddenly smaller than before and Tony turns to her, leaning against the counter with the dish cloth in his hands.
"Yeah, that did happen," he nods and he can see Skye swallowing. A smile creeps onto his lips after he decides he would spare her the ugly details. Details that include screaming, mental breakdowns, several broken bones for most of the group and a completely unleashed Winter Soldier. Even with only one fully operable arm, he managed to even an abandoned factory to the ground. Tony was simply glad that no one was buried underneath it. "We took a look at it with Banner, though. Now it's better than ever."
"How did he... you know, adjust?" Skye shrugs lightly, glancing quickly at Bucky before looking back at Tony again.
So she isn't about to let it go, then. Tony presses his lips together slightly, his eyes lingering on the two of them on the couch. That mission happened about a month ago, but Tony still has the shivers whenever he remembers.
"It was his first mission and he lost his most valuable weapon in the middle of the fight. Let's just say he didn't take it so well," Tony replies dryly, twisting the dish cloth between his fingers absently. "Coulson was there. You didn't interview him?"
There is a small smile on Skye's lips as she looks down at Bucky again, stroking his hair out of his forehead. It's such a motherly move, it nearly touches Tony. Bucky doesn't even stir, he just keeps sleeping peacefully.
"Classified."
"We told him not to take it so hard on himself. I mean," Tony shrugs and drops the dish cloth on the counter, "he has been a director for what, three months? He didn't even screw up in an honest-to-God manner, it was just a glitch in the mechanism - regarding the mission, of course. It was a screw up for Barnes, but he wasn't Coulson's responsibility."
"He was Steve's, right?" Skye asks quietly and Tony nods, staring down at the floor.
He remembers how painful it was to watch Steve trying to pick up what was left of Bucky Barnes that night, the desperate wish in his eyes that he wouldn't have to lose his best friend again. Bucky just got back a good chunk of his memories, he was ready to be placed on the field. Then, he lost his arm and went on a rampage, as if the previous months of healing meant nothing. Bucky smiled a little bit more since that day, and there was a little less sadness in Steve's eyes with each visit Tony paid them, but it was still far from where they were before that mission.
It makes Tony sad, but he knows he does the best he can. He visits, he brings goodies, and he loves the kid as much as Bucky lets him. And, on the long run, that should be enough, at least Tony really hopes so.
"Now, enough with the angst," he claps his hands carefully enough so he won't wake Bucky, even though he highly doubts anything would be able to wake him right now. He takes one last look at the cooling dinner on the counter before he joins Skye in the living room, falling into one of the chairs unceremoniously. "Spill the beans. How did you become besties with this very dangerous, very intimidating man?"
They both start grinning when they look down at Skye's lap and fail to see what Tony just described. Tony makes a mental note to snatch a few pictures before Bucky wakes. This might be a once in a lifetime chance to see him so vulnerable and... well yes, adorable.
"I was there when Steve and Sam found him. Actually, Coulson had the intel first," Skye explains patiently.
Tony can't help but feel a little bit jealous for missing out on that op. He would have loved seeing Steve's face finding his long lost friend finally. Ever since D.C., Cap kept saying that Bucky would come back to him when he feels ready, that he would wait patiently and avoid luring him out. Months passed and Bucky was nowhere to be seen, and understandably it caused more and more sleepless nights for Steve. It was a relief to the whole team when they found Bucky, not just because he didn't end up in the hands of HYDRA again, but - obviously - because of Steve. Mostly because of Steve.
"Bucky was battered, confused and, to say the least, afraid. He didn't want to talk to anyone when they brought him onto the Bus, only to me and occasionally Steve," Skye continues. "Steve said it was because I look like Bucky's sister so he had... instinctive trust towards me."
"Weren't you afraid of him?" Tony raises his eyebrows in wonder. "He might look like a well fed day-boarder, but he can really freak people out when he shows up in the grocery store."
Skye chuckles lightly at that.
"Are you afraid of him?"
"No way," Tony snorts, even though he wasn't always this open towards Bucky in the beginning. Especially when he put two and two together and figured out the exact role Bucky played in the fate of his family. That wasn't easy to swallow but, even then, it wasn't really fear that he felt. More like a wound opening up again that he thought was healed. "But I am Iron Man."
Skye rolls her eyes at that, but she's still smiling. She knows he's just teasing, so she doesn't comment on it.
"I knew what our task was. We had to make him feel safe, and showing any sign of fear would've sabotaged our entire mission. He would've never talked to us if we were deadly afraid of him. You don't really have to be an agent to figure that out."
Tony's first mistrust towards her is completely gone by now, especially after listening to her. Actually, he is more fascinated with her than suspicious, and that must be a record time friendmaking given his history with people.
"I'm sad I've never heard of you before," Tony leans back in the chair, folding his arms in front of his chest. The setting sun is falling on Skye and Bucky from a perfect angle, but not even the light disturbs Bucky's sleep. The way Skye smiles, Tony can tell she is already thinking of the perfect response. "S.H.I.E.L.D. hid you in the closet so far? Were you some sleeper agent and Coulson could finally settle in the comfy director's chair and switch your button, bring you home?"
Skye is laughing now and Tony can hear her response, he just can't process it. He hears the words, but they feel like they come from the other end of a mile long tunnel. It's a feeling Tony could compare to being high, but much clearer.
It's weird.
They often watch House MD with Bruce when they are waiting for tests that take hours for JARVIS to run, and the pattern they can surely spot in each and every episode is the moment of realization that hits House whenever he figures out the mystery. His face lights up, he grows distant from the people he was talking to a moment ago - it is the true moment of realization.
Tony never thought he would have one of these, ever.
"Have I told you the story of my life for nothing or you were actually listening but you're just simply not interested?"
This time he hears Skye speaking to him, but his eyes are wide and fixed on Bucky. He is still fast asleep, snoring gently against Skye's thigh, and Tony stares like he's seeing a ghost.
"What is it?" Skye asks one more time and there is worry flashing in her eyes. It's gone when Tony slowly starts smiling, like he just figured out time traveling.
"Sleeper agents. They have an on button, right?" Tony asks on a tone that he knows it's way too childish and excited for a man in his age. He doesn't even try to hide it. "Like, you mutter them some word or sentence and they are activated."
Skye looks at him like he went mental for a moment, but she just furrows her eyebrows and nods slowly.
"Yes. In every spy and espionage movie and book ever created," she keeps nodding, but he seems like he can hardly stay sitting anymore. He is way too excited for that - and he loves knowing something before others way too much to just sit around and guard his brand new knowledge. Oh no, that wouldn't be Tony. "I am not a sleeper agent, Tony."
"Not you!" Tony all but squeaks and points at Bucky with a grin. "Him."
Skye slowly follows Tony's gaze, but her face still gives her away.
"You've finally gone mad. It was only a matter of time," she looks back at him but he is laughing by now. He knows he sounds crazy, he just can't help himself.
"Listen. If sleeper agents can be activated, they can be deactivated, too. You said you were watching a documentary about Sputnik, right?" Skye tentatively nods, but even her incredulous face can't stop Tony in his train of thoughts. "Sputnik was a Soviet satellite and they were damn proud of it. Of course they would use something like this to neutralise one of their assets in a pinch!"
"What you are saying is completely impossible, Tony," Skye shakes her head, but the smile on Tony's face won't be easy to wipe off. He leans back in his chair so sure of himself, he would love to pat himself on the back right now. "How could it even work? You say a word and he shuts down like that? He literally fell off the freaking couch!"
"He was heavily brainwashed multiple times, do you think planting a word like that in his thoughts was any more difficult? Also, you said he muttered something before he fell," Tony smirks and that catches Skye off-guard for a second. "I would take a wild risk and say it was in Russian."
It takes her a few moments while she thinks. Her expression doesn't change much, though.
"I didn't really understand, it could've been in Klingon as far as I know," she snorts, but she keeps looking down at Bucky with doubt. She doesn't speak for minutes, as if she is trying to convince herself that the scenario is legit, and Tony can tell that he hit the nail on the head this time.
People don't just fall asleep like that, especially not Bucky who probably still hasn't got even the significance of sleeping since he'd been out of cryo. Something must've clicked in his mind and, as much as it sounds like a bad sci-fi novel, Tony wouldn't be surprised if the whole sleeper agent thing would be the case.
"If, and that's a huge if there, what you say is true, don't you think it triggered something inside him?" Skye asks quietly, worry obvious in her voice when she speaks after long minutes of complete silence. "Do you think he will wake up being worse than how he was before?"
"Nah. His mind is fragile, but we are talking about a real strong kid here. He went through things I don't even like to think of," Tony leans forward, with his elbows propped on his knees. "Steve told me Bucky couldn't stay asleep for more than half an hour without nightmares. Right now, I think he's already been out for more than half an hour and, besides his adorable purring, I don't seem to notice anything about him. He is sleeping peacefully while we're talking over his head. The kid is fine."
It's that motherly movement again when Skye gently touches Bucky's forehead and runs her fingers through his hair, drawing a soft moan out of his lips. He really is like a cat, Tony thinks as he shakes his head with a smile. He stands up and looks down at Skye.
"While we eat the dinner the master chef prepared for us, you could tell me if you wanna join the bet," Tony says with his hands in his pockets while Skye gently sets Bucky down on the couch. She follows him to the kitchen.
"What bet?" she furrows her brows with an expression that clearly yells for challenge again, and the shiteater grin reappears on Tony's face.
It might not be such a sad day after all.
*
It's 4 AM when Steve gets back home.
He can faintly hear the TV and he wonders if Bucky has another sleepless night. Guilt is slightly tugging at him for leaving him alone for the whole day so he swiftly kicks off his shoes and drops his bag on the kitchen counter before turning to sneak a peek into the living room.
The sight that welcomes him is not at all what he expected on the way home.
Bucky is snoring on the couch, with his head resting in Skye's lap and his legs on Stark's thighs. All three of them are fast asleep, and the television is nothing more than a background noise and a faint light in the complete darkness. There are plates on the table and the smell of spaghetti in the air, and it's only then that Steve spots the stack of comics on the kitchen isle.
He smiles as he turns the television off. He might not have a problem going on missions in the future.