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“Woah”
Bucky froze at the quiet, very young voice behind him. He waited for a second, half hoping he was going insane and just imagined it, before slowly turning away from the sink to face the young boy standing across the room.
Yep, it was definitely Stark’s intern kid. Shit. Bucky had been trying to avoid the kid as much as possible, knowing that Tony probably wouldn’t trust him with Peter. He couldn’t blame him, he wouldn’t trust his parent’s murderer with a kid either. Yet, here he was, a few feet from the kid who was just staring back at him, jaw dropped.
“Uh, sorry kid. I’ll go.” he said, awkwardly, drying his hands and moving to leave.
“What? No! No, don’t go because of me! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
The apology caught him off guard, making him look back to find the kid nervously wringing the hem of his shirt, looking guilty? That didn’t make sense. He expected to see fear, anger, mistrust, any number of reasonable emotions to feel towards the assassin, but guilt was definitely not one of them.
“What? What are you apologizing for?”
“I- I just- well I didn’t mean to intrude, Mr. Bucky sir. I can go, if you want. I just…”
Bucky raised an eyebrow at the kid, still confused by his apologies for simply existing in a tower he was employed in, but intrigued enough to let him finish.
“Well, I help Mr. Stark with some of your guys’ equipment and I started a prototype for an improved arm for you but Mr. Stark didn’t want me- I mean I haven’t had the chance to talk to you or see the arm much and I was wondering if I could look at it and if you had any suggestions for anything you want to improve or get rid of or whatever. I mean of course it’s totally up to you, if you’re not comfortable with it, it’s obviously no big deal and it’s totally fine and really you don’t have to, I just thought I would ask but of course that’s weird and I shouldn’t have asked I’m sorry, I’ll go, sor-”
“Of course you can look at it.” he found himself saying, partially to stop the poor kid’s rambling apologies, but also out of curiosity. He braced himself for the tension and nervous glances that always came from pretty much anyone – even some of the Avengers, still – that got close to him, never fully trusting the soldier regardless of how much time they had spent together, but the boy simply bounded over, smiling wide as he took in Bucky’s arm. It had been a long time since someone besides Steve or Sam had seen his arm as anything but intimidating, much less as something so genuinely fascinating.
The boy simply looked up at Bucky for permission to touch his arm, and, when given a small nod and soft smile, grabbed it gently, moving it around to examine it.
“Wow. This is so cool. The structure is incredible, I’ll definitely be building on it, but I think we can do better. Right now how much can it hold?”
Bucky was slightly shocked that he really was looking to improve it, clearly already having plans formed, instead of just using it as an excuse to look at it. “Uh, I think around two tons, but I haven’t really tested it.”
“Yeah we can definitely do better than that.” What? Better than two tons?
Peter paused again, examining different joints and various things that Bucky knew he had no understanding of.
“Okay, yeah. I think I have the weight problem figured out. You’ll also be able to punch harder and stuff, which could be helpful. I’m also formulating reinforced vibranium I can use to make it more durable, especially at the joints which can become a weak spot otherwise.”
“Oh. I haven’t really had problems with that before.”
“Well, yeah. But it’s better to be prepared for potential future issues. Plus, it’s fun! Your arm is so cool.” There was that reverent tone again, the one that made Bucky feel, for a moment, like he wasn’t an assassin, but a hero, like the kid seemed to think he was.
“Oh! Also, ” the kid exclaimed, bouncing slightly with excitement, “I’ve figured out a way to add other stuff like in the suits. I have a few options I wanted to go through with you, plus some customizations that need to be made. Like, what are your main weapons and combat styles? I can stylize the arm to specifically fit those best to make it easier. Also, are there any uncomfortable areas with this arm? Like does it pinch or anything anywhere? Because I can totally refit it and redesign how the force is distributed so it doesn’t hurt and is a bit easier.”
Bucky stared back at the kid, unable to believe what he was hearing. This random kid he had barely met was willing to redesign a bunch of stuff with his arm just to make him more comfortable? Sure, his current arm hurt sometimes because it dug into his shoulder and the force was weirdly distributed around the edges which sometimes left sharp metal cutting into his skin a bit, but he figured hey, this is more than I could’ve asked for. I should be grateful. And anyway, don’t I deserve some pain? God knows I’ve caused enough. But here was Tony’s intern, willing- no, happy to help Bucky be more comfortable. It was almost too good to be true.
But, as Peter looked up at the man, eagerness shining in his eyes, he couldn’t help but smile back. This kid was really just that nice.
“Yeah, that would be nice. Thanks, Peter.”
“Of course, Mr. Bucky! I noticed you bleeding after one of our- your missions and realized it was from the arm. That’s why I started the project. You shouldn’t be hurt by your own arm. Plus, it’d be so cool for you to have like rocket launchers or lasers in your arm!”
“Sorry, what?”
“Oh yeah! Those are the add-ons I was talking about! The reinforced vibranium means there can be more hollow space in the arm which can be used to store cool stuff! I have a list of some ideas, mostly inspired by Mr. Stark and Mr. Rhodey’s suits, like rocket launchers, a pulsar, lasers, machine guns, trackers, y’know, basic stuff. I think I can fit up to 7 in the arm with Tony’s new compact designs for his latest suits. You should come down to the lab so I can show you all of them so you can choose and we can test stuff out and figure out what works best!”
Bucky allowed the kid to pull him towards the lab, too shocked to resist. He barely had any choice or comfort in his life, especially with Hydra. But this kid was offering him the choice to completely customize his arm to his preferences and weapons and fighting style and to make it comfortable, all without even having had so much as a full conversation with him before. Peter was unlike anyone he had ever met, and he found himself making a mental note to thank Tony for bringing him into their lives, and to let him know that Bucky would do anything to protect the incredible kid that was currently gently gripping his arm.