Chapter Text
Steve is where you'd always find him in the early morning of a warm summer's day, on the roof terrace garden in Avengers Tower looking out over the city of New York as it woke up and started the day.
He found himself staring off into the distance, re-running the events of the last few months since he'd discovered that his best friend was not only alive, but also who he had become. He couldn't begin to imagine what Bucky had gone through, the things he'd seen, the horrific acts he'd committed. He could only hope the brainwashing and memory loss prevented him from recalling the worst of it.
Then there is the image stuck in his head, of falling from the heli-carrier into the water and of a metal arm reaching down into the water as he passed out, undoubtedly saving his life.
"Hey Cap?"
The voice cut through Steve's thoughts, bringing him back to the here and now. "Oh hey, Sam. I was ... miles away" he replies forcing a slight smile.
“I just saw Bucky in the corridor and completely ignored me” says Sam taking a sip of his coffee, “I said ‘Hi’, and he just stared at me blankly. Then he turned and walked off in the opposite direction.”
That's odd. Bucky doesn't say much to anyone these days, but not speaking to Sam is a bit of a surprise. The two of them had hit it off and even gone running together a few times, until Sam had realised that once Bucky got warmed up he'd consistently lap him in a similar way to the way Steve does, Bucky may even be a little faster.
"Thanks Sam, I'll go find him and see what's up" Steve says as he walks back inside as Sam sits on a bench with his coffee.
Where would Bucky go? He hadn't been here long, having only just gained his security clearance and been transferred here from the SHIELD facility that was debriefing him. Steve still had to find out exactly what that meant, but suspected lots of tests, scans, talking to psychologists, just like he had gone through when he woke from the ice. Though he suspected it was probably with more threat assessments designed to reveal if Bucky was still a danger to those around him, and, of course, himself.
Steve isn't sure if Bucky is still in the tower, but there's one way to find out. He heads to the towers operations centre to check the internal CCTV and locate him. Steve is somewhat surprised to discover that Stark is already in there staring intently at a monitor. "A little early for you isn't it, Stark?"
“Maybe a few years ago that'd be true, but Pepper is kind of making an honest man of me these days” Tony replies dragging his gaze from the monitors to look Steve up and down.
To what do I owe the pleasure of your company? I'm sure you didn't come here to make small talk with me, Rogers. What brings you here?”
“I'm not here to talk to you, I'm here check out the CCTV, I need to know if Bucky left the building or not.”
“Well that's easy enough to resolve”, Tony turns back to the bank of monitors, "Jarvis."
"Yes sir."
"Give me the location of the Captain's boyfriend."
"If by boyfriend you mean James Barnes, Sir, then I can confirm he is in the gym with Thor and it appears things are getting somewhat animated.", the AI replied in an even and measured tone.
"I'd get down there Rogers, he might fall for Thor's charms, and you don't want him running off with another guy", Tony dead pans to a now empty room, as Steve had left the moment Jarvis finished speaking.
"Huh..." Tony realises he's been talking to himself, "Jarvis, show me the security camera feed from gym area, this should be worth watching"
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The gym in Avengers Tower occupied the majority of one floor, just below the habitation levels. The remainder of the floor housing a swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi and steam room. The gym is fully equipped with cardio equipment, a weights area, a boxing zone including a boxing ring, plus a matted area where everything from martial arts to yoga could be practiced, though as Tony had said, ‘Not at the same time’.
Thor finishing his workout. In his now customary attempt to blend in with humans, he's wearing a white t-shirt, black sweatpants and Converse, with his long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail.
Thor would be the first to admit he didn't need to exercise for fitness reasons, but he did need to do some physical training. He could not sit idly waiting for the next mission to come along. On Asgard he'd train with his warrior companions, but he was a lone Asgardian here on earth and he knew most humans would not cope well with the training he was more accustomed to. He suspected Steve would be able to withstand the rigours of Asgardian battle training, but hadn't had an opportunity to test this assumption.
It came as a surprise to see the Tower’s newest resident walk in. Thor had read The Winter Soldier file, but hadn't had a chance to speak to the man it referred to. From what Stark had said after his first meeting with Bucky, he gathered the former assassin was a man of few words.
This is the first time Thor is able to get a really good look at Bucky. He notes Bucky is fairly tall, strongly built, with long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, a day or two beard growth and striking grey-blue eyes. Then there is the metal arm he'd read about. The only other time he’d seen Bucky before the arm was covered by his shirt, now however the brunette is wearing a sleeveless top. Thor can see the arm for the first time and is struck by both the workmanship of its construction and the strange beauty of its appearance. Realising he's been staring at the arm for quite a while, Thor drags his gaze away from it and introduces himself.
“Good morning, I do not believe we have had chance to become properly acquainted, I am Thor.”
Bucky stands perfectly still and fixes Thor with a cold hard stare, saying nothing. His metal arm’s armour plates open and close slightly and a faint whirring noises come from the arm. The internal mechanisms spring into action as Bucky clenches and unclenches his fist. His flesh hand follows suit with the metal arm.
Thor notices this response, but is unsure why Bucky appears tense. Continuing to watch him very closely, he continues, “I shall not get in your way, I have just finished here”, as he goes to walk towards the door, “I shall leave you to your workout.”
The second Thor finishes speaking Bucky lunges at him, pushing him. Thor taken by surprise stumbles backwards, narrowly avoiding a punch bag hanging from the ceiling.
Bucky goes to punch Thor using his metal arm. Thor sees it coming and dodges sideways, causing Bucky to miss him. Instead the punch connects solidly with the punch bag. The impact causes it to fly off the hook it was suspended from, bursting open and spilling sand across the floor.
It seems to take Bucky a second to register what happened, but then refocuses and goes after Thor again. The next punch hits the mark landing solidly in Thor’s midriff, followed quickly by a second to the same area. Thor stumbles slightly from the blows as his mind races, then he quickly formulates a plan to defend himself while inflicting minimal damage to Bucky.
“Bucky, I do not wish to hurt you. But I must stop you”, he states calmly while dodging the next blow.
Bucky seems to become more determined, but the next blows are less controlled. Thor can use this lack of control to his advantage, he feels he can get the better of Bucky, but he can see he may have to knock Bucky out.
“Bucky stop!”, he exclaims in a commanding tone.
He continues to block or avoid blows, causing Bucky to become increasingly enraged the more this happens, then in blind frustration Bucky overreaches himself. Thor sidesteps the blow and sweeps Bucky's legs from under him, causing him to land face down on the floor with a heavy thump. He moves quickly to pin Bucky to the floor, sitting astride him holding the metal arm to the floor beside Bucky's head and his flesh arm quickly bent up his back in an armlock.
“Bucky, you must stop” he says in a more quiet and even tone.
All fight seems to leave Bucky as suddenly as it arrived. Then, in a quiet voice that sounds like it's seldom used, he replies, ‘I'm not Bucky, don't call me that’ His voice cracking and tailing off as he finishes speaking.
Thor is somewhat taken aback by this response and it takes him a second to register that the brunette has tears rolling down his face. Seeing that Bucky is no longer a threat, he releases his grip on Bucky's arms and climbs off of him. Bucky rolls on to his right side, curling up into a ball using his metal arm to shield his head as the tears flow more freely. Loud sobs tear themselves from his body, causing his entire being to shake.
He remains squatted by the former assassin for a moment, unsure of what to do next. As the sobbing continues unabated, he repositions himself to sit on the floor close to Bucky, but behind him. Then in a soft and gentle tone he admits, “I am sorry, I do not know what to say to help you, Bu…”‘, he stops himself, ‘“my friend”. Reaching out he gently places his hand on Bucky's shoulder.
The sobbing subsides into a series of long drawn out gasps and sniffling as Bucky fights to regain his composure. As he calms and his breathing becomes more regular, he moves his metal hand away from his head and gently places it on Thor’s hand. He looks down at the metal hand, the coolness of it on his skin makes him shiver slightly.
“It's ok”, Bucky says between sniffling noises, in a voice barely louder than a whisper. “Nobody knows how to help me”. Removing his metal hand from Thor's hand, and turning his face towards him.
He looks down at Bucky's tear stained face removing his hand from the brunette’s shoulder. The two men stare at each other briefly, before he pulls away slightly, allowing Bucky the space he needs to roll onto his back and sit up. Bucky raises his right hand to his face and starts wiping away the tears.
When Bucky looks towards Thor again he is momentarily lost in thought. Realising Bucky is looking at him says “Things are not as bleak as they seem, My friend”.
“Call me James”.
“Very well then, James it is,” he replies smiling slightly as he sees Steve entering the room his face etched with concern.
Thor stands, turning to face Bucky extending his hand, which Bucky grabs and he helps pull him up. Both of them turn to face Steve.
“Ah, Captain, James and I were…. Err…. Becoming acquainted”, he says, placing a hand on Bucky's shoulder, a huge warm smile spreading on across his face as he looks from Bucky to Steve.
“James?”, says Steve looking utterly baffled.
“Yes indeed, he assures me that he prefers James”.