Battle Scars (A Bucky Barnes Fanfic)

Twenty-Two

I stand by Steve in a glass-walled office that overlooks the control room. We are looking at the screen, watching Bucky who is in some secured chamber and a guard is connecting a large cord to Bucky's prison pod. The lights dim for a moment and then go bright again; I watch as he squints his eyes in response to the brightness.

Dad enters the office, finding me and Steve.

"Hey, you wanna see something cool?" Dad asks "I pulled something from Dad's archives. Felt timely." Steve and I sit at the table and Dad shows us two pens in a black presentation box. "FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941. Provided support to the Allies when they needed it most."

"Some would say it brought our country closer to war," Steve tells him.

"See?" Dad says "If not for these, you wouldn't be here. I'm trying to... what do you call it? That's an olive branch. Is that what you call it?"

Dad sits across from us as he talks.

"Is Pepper here?" Steve asks "I didn't see her."

"We're kinda... well, not kinda . . ."

"Pregnant?" Steve asks and I look at him then Dad, waiting for his answer.

"No. Definitely not." Dad says, "We're taking a break. It's nobody's fault."

"I'm so sorry, Tony. I didn't know."

"I'm sorry, Dad," I tell him, even though I'm still mad about the cuff and am slowly dying, I do feel bad about this.

"A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits. Then, we had to mop up HYDRA... and then Ultron. My fault. And then, and then, and then, I never stopped. Because the truth is, I don't wanna stop. I don't wanna lose her. I thought maybe the Accords could split the difference." Dad says as he stands up and paces. "In her defense, I'm a handful. Yet, Dad was a pain in the ass, but he and Mom always made it work."

"You know, I'm glad Howard got married." Steve tells him, "I only knew him when he was young and single."

"Oh, really? You two knew each other?" Dad says sarcastically, "He never mentioned that. Maybe only a thousand times. God, I hated you."

"I don't mean to make things difficult."

"I do, that's kind of who I am, always has been" I am slightly joking and I get ignored by Dad but Steve cracks a smile at me.

"I know, because you're a very polite person," Dad says to Steve. Dad walks around to the side of the table Steve and I are at.

"If I see a situation pointed south..." Steve says, turning his chair to look at Dad, "I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could."

"No, you don't," Dad tells him.

Steve smiles thinly. "No, I don't. Sometimes . . ."

"Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth. But I don't wanna see you gone. We need you, Cap. So far, nothing's happened that can't be undone, if you sign." Dad says and gestures to the Accords "We can make the last 24 hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-center... instead of a Wakandan prison."

Steve frowns thoughtfully and picks up one of the fountain pens. He stands up and paces, then turns to Tony. In the control room beyond, there are multiple screens on the walls.