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With all things considering the ‘Civil War’ finally breezing over, and Bucky finally being treated properly, the man felt lighter. No longer did he feel that weight of HYDRA in his mind. Bucky felt like he could finally breathe better. Though, due to the past, the man tended to avoid many of the residents at the compound. Such as the Scarlet Witch, with whom he felt uneasy around. There was also Stark. Being around him made him feel many different emotions; guilt, fear, and regret.
Bucky couldn’t help but think the deaths of Howard and Maria Stark was his fault. Sure he wasn’t in control of his own mind, but it was still his hands that murdered them. Thinking about his time in HYDRA brought even more guilt and regret. How many other men or women had he killed from 1944 to 2014. Bucky often found himself alone, away from the others, even Steve.
That night Bucky was wandering in the middle of the night again with no real destination. Soon enough he found himself in the lounge area, where the only light was from the buildings outside. He found himself staring out at the view.
“Nice, isn’t it?” the sudden voice caused him to jump, swinging his head around to see Stark. Stark’s facial expression looked neutral, and he looked to be wearing an old tank top covered in grease and oil. His hair was also matted up, from all the hours of him being in his workshop and sweating.
“Not going to say anything?” no response, “Alright, well, don’t mind me. I just came up here for some coffee.”
Bucky watched him casually walk into the kitchen area as he started to brew his beverage. He just watched him, not making a sound. Why could he find no traces of anger and repulsiveness in the shorter man?
“You know, the team would like to hang out with you, but you’re never around. Maybe try socializing instead of watching people in the night,” Stark said, holding his mug of coffee and then leaving.
The whole interaction confused the one-armed man. The man showed no hate to him, yet he was the one that killed his parents. It made Bucky very confused.
It was the next night, and Bucky was waiting for Stark this time. It was around three in the morning when the man entered the lounge area. The ex-assassin then approached him.
“Why do you not hate me, Stark?” he noticed Stark barely had a reaction to his approach.
“I don’t hate you, just… mad. It’s not exactly on you, more on Rogers. He knew about my mother’s murder and didn’t say anything, neither did Romanov,” Bucky caught him saying only his mother.
“You said mother, nothing about Howard,” he stated.
“Yeah, well. I never had a good relationship with Howard. He was a shit father,” he turned his attention back to his coffee. “So, how’s life outside of HYDRA?”
“It’s… better. There isn’t weight over my mind anymore, and I’m finally free,” Bucky sighed.
“That’s good,” the two men were left in silence, except for the coffee maker pouring rich coffee into a mug.
“Hey, what do you think about coming with the team to the children’s hospital with the team next week?” Stark asked.
“May I ask why, Stark?” Bucky said.
“First off,” the shorter man said, “It’s Tony, Stark reminds me of Howard. Also, the team wants to bond with you.”
“But what if I hurt one of the kids?” Bucky shot off.
“You won’t trust me,” Tony said.
Bucky a week later found himself standing beside Steve and Natasha, in the hospital lobby. In just minutes they would be meeting many different kids, the thought alone gave Bucky anxiety. Steve seemed to have noticed that and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be great, Buck’.”
Bucky had dressed in a leather jacket to the hospital and ignored how warm it was. As for his metallic arm, a leather glove was sported, covering every inch of the prosthetic. He stayed off to the side while the others interacted with the kids, all until he felt a tug on his pant leg. Looking down, he saw a little girl with a head of black hair and big blue eyes.
“Hey, little miss,’ Bucky said gently, crouching down to her level ‘What can I do for ya?”
“We wan’ed to meet y’u,” the little girl said.
We? Bucky looked up to see two other kids, one who was in a wheelchair… and was missing his legs. The other one was missing his hand. Then he realized, they wanted to see him because he was also missing a limb. Slowly he took off the leather glove, exposing the metallic hand. The three looked at in awe, wanting to touch it.
“So what are your names?” Bucky asked.
“My n’me is Isabella. This is Joseph,” she pointed to the boy missing his hand, “And this is Mandy,” she then pointed to the girl missing her legs.
“You three can call me Bucky,” he smiled.
The three kids stuck with him the two hours they were scheduled there. The man felt lighter than before, and it was because of three kids. Isabella, Joseph, and Mandy all wanted a hug from him before he had to leave. Isabella was the last to hug him, and what she said made him almost tear up.
“Y’u’re my hero.”
Bucky could see Tony smiling knowingly at him. He knew a weight would be lifted from his shoulders by meeting some kids. Later that day Tony had approached Bucky.
“How’re you feeling, Buckaroo?” the genius asked.
“It’s James,’ the eldest of the two said. Bucky smiled, ‘Call me James.”