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[starkingenuity]

Nothing would ever be as sweet as this.  Tony Stark had not liked his father much, but every son has a need for revenge when they don't get to take out the big bad in their life personally.  His dad hadn't hit him, but abuse can work down other channels.  And even so, his old man hadn't deserved to die, and certainly not like he did.  It was so ordinary to be shot down, for it to look like a cheap accident.  Though it left Tony free of him, it also robbed him of his mother in the same stroke.  He never understdood why unless it was all just for show.

Though he'd never had a name or a face, Tony had hated Bucky Barnes for a very long time.  That his parents' murderer had been Steve Rogers' best friend, or had been brainwashed to be some sort of mindless slug, he didn't care.  He hadn't cared at all, not until he found him asleep on that birdshit stained park bench with newspapers over him.  And he hadn't cared then either when he stood there, repulsors aimed towards that piece of scum, until he muttered something in Russian and rolled onto his side.

The cap slipped.  His gaunt face showed a man half his own age, looking absolutely wretched and...lost.

Tony Stark had spent the better part of a week on the new suit which, he did tell JARVIS, he didn't quite care if it could kill him or not with the way he disregarded every last safety measure in the book he himself had written.  He'd managed to keep is secret from all of the comers and goers from the Tower too.

And now, now that he's here, now that the Winter Soldier had been tracked down in this park in the slums of DC, he can't bring himself to that revenge that had kept him drunk since he discovered how to track the man.

So Tony stands there.  And waits.  And sometimes forgets to breathe.

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[starkingenuity]

Now that bothers him. More than anything else, seeing Bucky sitting there, salivating-- Tony doesn't wish that shit on anyone. Not on Obi. Not on Hammer. Not on anyone.

Not even the man that ws forced to kill his dad. His friend. Tony's eyes actually well up and he clears his throat, donning dark glasses.

"Have at it. Just don't make a mess, okay?" As in utensils. He'll help you cut the meat if you need it.

[who_is_bucky]

He's obviously relieved when Tony says he can go ahead and eat. He'd been punished for failure--before rectifying it--and he has to say that not stopping Steve on the Helicarrier is probably the worst of them. Not that he remembers, but the entire organization fell apart and his masters are dead, so he can assume.

The last thing he needs is help with a knife. He scowls at the dull steak knife. This is a disgrace. Unfortunately, all of his are missing and he knows that has to be Tony's fault. There isn't a hell of a lot he can do about it.

Well. There is. Food is just more important right now and believe it or not, he doesn't kill people without a mission. He eats as fast as he can get things into small enough pieces to fit in his mouth.

[starkingenuity]

With only one working hand, Tony doesn't expect Bucky to be able to manipulate a knife like he obviously can. The older man huffs lightly under his breath as he watches Bucky tuck into a lasagna.

He sits back. Whatever hunger he has is gone. He won't take anything from Bucky's mouth, despite the large quantities of food that are currently stinking up the whole of the suite.

There's something satisfying about the way Bucky piles it in. He feels... Good. Like he's doing something good with his life.

[who_is_bucky]

He's managed to awkwardly use his functioning fingers to hold the dish well enough he can cut it with the utensil pretending to be a knife in his good hand. Bucky doesn't exactly care if it's neat or if his metal hand gets dirty. After adding a third dish to his pile, he eyes Tony for a moment, trying to decide if the man will take away the food if he gets up to get some water.

[starkingenuity]

Tony's already deemed not to pay attention. He remembers hunger, he remembers being afraid. His chest tightens considerably. "You know, i was a prisoner once. Afghanistan. Sometimes they forgot that people need to eat. They certainly forgot that people needed to drink too."

He could catch Bucky's hesitation in the slight reflection of the mirror.

"I'm never going to take either from you. Ever."

[who_is_bucky]

Bucky watches in the man in the mirror to determine whether he's telling the truth and decides that, yes, Tony had probably been a prisoner at some point. There aren't any questions from him right now. It has nothing to do with his mission. His lips press together and he looks aside at the thought. He doesn't have a mission right now. He might never again. He's not sure that's an entirely happy thought. Being so directionless is killing him.

He slides out of his seat and moves to the pitcher of water sitting on one of the carts and downs three full glasses as quickly as he can manage. It's as much acknowledgement as he's going to get.

[starkingenuity]

"You're going to throw up if you drink and eat that fast though," he cautions. That he remembers. The first set of cheeseburgers he'd downed came back up almost immediately. You have to train your stomach to accept food again. It had been a slow process.

"Then again, I'm not a super soldier like the ex-military in the Avengers tend to be."

Now, wouldn't that just be a kicker? Winter Soldiers can become summer soldiers, can't they? It worked for Steve. Then again, Steve had never been homocidal.

Tony turns to study Bucky's profile with half a frown.

[who_is_bucky]

He pauses before he starts his next glass and considers the warning for a moment. He feels fine right now but it would be stupid to throw up all the nutrients that he's ingested. He's never actually talked to a super-soldier. He knows now that Steve had been going easy in him because for some reason he thinks Bucky is his dead friends. As far as he's concerned, the jury is still out on it. He's not convinced his memories are that or fake ones his brain is creating to fill in the gaps.

Bucky shoots him a look; he knows Tony is watching him. He refills his glass and drops back down in his seat at the table. Bucky isn't homicidal. His alter-ego had been forced into it but he's not, he just wants to be left alone right now. It's my to say he would t if he felt threatened though, it's just not on his agenda right now.

[starkingenuity]

Silence begets silence but Tony does have himself a cheese burger, laden with too many onions and mushrooms to be anything but messy and stops to clean his beard every few bites. He's got another glass of scotch again, this one he's nursing.

He can feel the alcohol working and, sure, he's been accused of being suicidal sometimes, but this totally takes the cake.

He has a murderer, an assassin, sitting across from him. He's too drunk to get into the suit. No one knows he's here. And he's going to push buttons too.

"So what do you remember? I know you keep giving me blank looks so I figure it's easier just to ask."

[who_is_bucky]

He eats slower too at Tony's suggestion and a variety of things. He tends to lean toward things with fruits and vegetables in them. It's a habit from when they were a novelty during the Depression and when he was overseas in a miserable camp. He might not remember but there it is anyway. It's in there somewhere. Luckily for Tony, while he knows the man is drunk because he can smell it, it doesn't matter either. He's more likely to just run than to hurt the other man. So far, now that they're here anyway, he hasn't threatened him and he hadn't hurt him knocking him out before either.

Bucky is quiet while he chews, staring at Tony for a long moment before he answers the question. "Captain America was my target. I was supposed to kill him and stop him from sabotaging those big ships. I failed. He insisted I was his friend. James Buchanan Barnes--Bucky," he took another bite of his fruit salad before he continued. "I didn't believe him." His gaze shifted to the side, "I tried to follow through and he said something. It was... familiar. Him, the name, those words. the floor collapsed and he fell. I saved him from drowning. I don't know... I don't know why."

He shook his head, "I went to that exhibit. I might be him. I don't know. Remembering only gets me in trouble." He mutters the last part distantly, eyes eerily blank as he shifts into the memory and wets his lips. "It's all his fault."

[starkingenuity]

"Hard to get in trouble when I'm the only one here." Unwittingly, Tony makes himself out to be Bucky's new Master and handler. The wording might be a little awkward, but Tony is relaxed around him the same way that his former handlers had all been. The men in charge of the Winter Soldier needed to be calm.

Anything less could be trouble. It was the same for working with animals. You had to be careful with them. You had to keep your cool. You had to be in charge.

Tony was just a man use to being in charge, whether people wanted him to be or not.

[who_is_bucky]

"Maybe," he mutters, eyeing the other man. Jury is still out on that one as far as he's concerned. So far what he knows about Tony is very little and not enough to be comfortable around him yet. "Only takes one."

[starkingenuity]

Now that actually makes Tony laugh and he nods his head a few times in amusement. "It only takes yourself," he counters. "And trust me. You're the one that's going to do the worst damage. It doesn't matter if Steve looks at you with those annoying doe eyes or if people on the street cringe when you pass. It's you, soldier. You're the one that's going to rip yourself open every time you decide to look in the mirror."

Spoken like a man that knows. And oh. Oh. Does Tony ever know. He toys with the empty glass and smirks. Scotch only helps so much. His reflection still makes him sick to his stomach sometimes.

[who_is_bucky]

He's quiet as he listens to Tony and chews his next bite. He's actually starting to get full and that's a good thing. It's not a feeling that he's had for awhile. Tony certainly knows what he's talking about and it's isn't something you can just make up. You have to experience it.

"I don't do mirrors," he mutters. For just that reason. "It's just easier for everyone if I don't. I'm a bad person. You said it yourself."

[starkingenuity]

"That guy you were before you saved our dear captain's life was a bad guy. Bad guys don't drag their enemies to the shore and keep them from dying before their apparent ages match up with their actual ones." He had not come here wanting to make Bucky feel better or more human. He just didn't like the way he looked.

He didn't like the way he looked at all. It reminded him too much of how he felt when he came back. Trouble is? Tony threw himself into his work. What can Bucky do?

Nothing. He's got nothing. "So how do you want to account for that."

[who_is_bucky]

It makes sense. He thinks. Finding out more about who he had been before Hydra might be a good start. He just has to convince himself that it's worth finding out about James Barnes and it's worth figuring out if that's actually him.

"Kill the ones that are left," he mutters, expression dark and his metal arm whirs unpleasantly when he tries to curl his hand into a fist. Will that make him feel more human?

[starkingenuity]

"Careful with that."

The arm? The thoughts?

"Darkness can swallow you up. And no one is going to be around wipe your mind after if you do something that you don't like." Bucky has Tony's full attention. His eyes never leave the younger man's face.

"And revenge? Not as healing as you'd think. I know this sounds insane and cliche but forgiveness? That's better. Not that you should forgive those bastards. Let me fix your arm before you go vigilante though."

ugh sorry I thought this posted.

[who_is_bucky]

He assumes that Tony means the arm just because that's what the man has been fawning over almost since they'd met.

"They aren't going to be around to wipe anyone else either," Bucky responds flatly. Talking him out of that one isn't going to be easy.

His head tilts, eyes on Tony, "You came to get revenge for Howard tonight. Do you forgive me?"

no worries

[starkingenuity]

Tony arches an eyebrow and then shakes his head. "You don't blame a weapon," he says. "You blame the person that handled the weapon." And he didn't know who that was. It could have been anyone. SHIELD was so infiltrated that it's impossible to know who was giving orders to whom.

What he does know is that Bucky was command oriented.

He was the gun, the missile, the bomb.

So while you might not blame the weapon...you can turn it on it's masters. Tony's smile fades. "Take a nap. I'll sober up. I'll get you fixed."

[who_is_bucky]

"I'm just weapon," he repeats, because like it or not Tony is as close to a handler as Bucky is going to get right now and he best start watching how he phrases things or this could go really poorly.

He has, at least, gotten enough to eat but even if he hadn't he would still listen to Tony. It's easier to not think about things and just do as he's told. It's what he does now. He nods at the other man and this time he pulls off his shoes before returning to the bed he'd woken up on. He assumes that's okay.

For a moment, he eyes Tony and then he rolls to the side that's against the wall. It's harder to sneak up on him this way. His eyes close a few seconds later and it's obviously hard for him to wind down but it's an order, so he manages to finally fall asleep.

[starkingenuity]

Were, Tony meant, but he doesn't correct him.

He doesn't sleep either. He's not stupid. Luckily, he's got a lot of experience not sleeping under his belt. He doesn't bother to drink, that could cause him to pass out. He just watches Bucky for a long time, watches his phone for a long time, and tries to figure out what to do.

He's not good at saving people. He could hardly even save himself. How can he do anything with Public Enemy Number One?

Unless he calls Steve.

But if he calls Steve, his new best friend is going to come tottering after too. The super hero community is getting too big for Tony Stark.

So he'll just wait. And brood. Bucky will sleep and he'll be there when he wakes.

[who_is_bucky]

He sleeps well enough. He won't have any complaints about it, not that he would anyway, but it's sleep and sleep in a place he's not liable to be attacked unless Tony changes his mind. It's been awhile since he's managed it so unless Tony wakes him it'll definitely be few hours before Bucky stirs again.

When he wakes up, he runs through what he knows. His name. Steve. The events leading up to now. Tony. He remembers everything since the Helicarrier and it's a relief. He sits up, still in the robe and looks to Tony for directions.

[starkingenuity]

Taking care of other people is something that Tony Stark has never done so when it becomes obvious that Bucky is waiting for a word from him, the genius balks. "No. No. I'm too young to be your father. Or anyone's father. Legally."

He probably has some bastards running around. Pepper likely paid off their mothers with giant trust funds.

"And I don't need a pet. I have JARVIS. And DUM-E."

But...

"If you're still hungry there's food left. Or we can just go. Back to New York. Or I can call Prince Charming."

[who_is_bucky]

His forehead creases at the statement. What does any of that have to so with anything? He's well aware the man is not his father. His head tilts at the pet comment and he looks confused, before he says, "I'm not a pet. I'm a weapon."

You said so yourself Tony.

Bucky does stand and go back to the food. He's still starving and he hates to waste food. He doesn't say anything one way or another. It's not his decision to make. He doesn't know what New York has to do with anything either but he just stares at Tony while he eats.

[starkingenuity]

"Maybe a little bit of both. I sort of want to scratch behind your ears and find a ticklish spot." He was almost offering himself up to be smacked, but it didn't take a genius to realize what was happening with Bucky. He was sort of like a little baby duck. It was probably written into his programing. After a wipe, he listened to anyone that took charge of him.

Shit. That was some pretty crazy stuff.

Tony found a bagel and some honey and sat down with Bucky. He didn't stare back, but he did watch him. "You don't have to be a weapon soon," he said. "I promise you that as soon as we make sure your last bosses are all gone, I'll set you out to stud."