Things Bucky Barnes Doesn't Do Well

Enjoy Modern Movies

Bucky suffered from nightmares. Of course he did. He wasn't the only one, though. One night, when they were particularly bad, he gave up on trying to sleep and left his room. It was a comfort to find that lights came on when he walked past, perhaps motion sensory, or perhaps it was JARVIS. In any case, they were dim enough to be comfortable but bright enough to make him feel less frightened and alone. He paced the floor for a while, contemplating the disorganized mess of memories that was his brain before he heard voices.

Following the sound to the living room, he was surprised (and slightly embarrassed) to find Pepper and Tony occupying the space. Tony was sprawled on the couch, complaining assiduously, while Pepper sat next to him with a fond smile on her face. Upon hearing his approach, both of them looked up at him sharply, Pepper friendlier about it than Tony.

"Sorry," he mumbled, starting to turn away.

"Nightmares?" Pepper suggested, arresting his movement.

He turned back enough to nod, and waited.

"I'm sure Rogers is thrilled with how much we have in common," Tony grumbled, and Bucky frowned at him, intrigued by the comment.

"When Tony has trouble sleeping, we usually come here to watch something familiar. Like old Disney movies. Did you ever watch those?" Pepper explained.

He shook his head slowly.

Tony sat up a little more, apparently more interested in the comment than he was in complaining. "Did you read Grimm's Fairytales? Hans Christian Anderson? Carlo Collodi?"

Clearing his throat, he glanced between the two of them. "Yeah, Steve's mom used to read the Fairytales to us," he offered slowly.

This news brought a grin to Tony's face, while Pepper just smiled. "Did you watch any of the Disney movies before you ... before the war?" Pepper asked.

The name rang a bell, but he shrugged. "It's possible," he said noncommittally.

"JARVIS?" Tony said, not looking up at the ceiling like most everyone else did when addressed the AI.

"Yes, sir?" the disembodied voice responded politely.

"Cue up some Disney classics. We need to educate Sergeant Barnes, here," Tony said, settling back down with a pleased look on his face.

Apparently without a say in the matter, Bucky sat down in the couch across from them, while Pepper gave him a reassuring smile.

They started with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It seemed a little familiar to him, and he had a flash of little Steve sitting on his right while a girl sat on his left, but he couldn't place much more than that. It seemed appropriately violent, given what he could remember of the source material. Next was Fantasia. Tony started to doze off during this one, his head on Pepper's lap while she played with his hair, and Bucky was considering sleep himself. It was soothing, for the most part. Except for that section with the dead things coming to life and dancing around the evil creature on the mountain top. That was upsetting, and he shifted uncomfortably until Pepper told JARVIS to skip ahead. He gave her a small smile in relief.

By the end of it, Steve was awake and ready for a jog, given his attire. A smile quirked on his lips at the sight of the three of them, and he dropped onto the couch next to Bucky.

"What are we watching?" he asked.

"Tony says we need to watch Disney movies," Bucky replied.

Tony stirred and blinked in their direction. "Hey, Cap. Your BFF tells me your mother used to read Grimm's stuff to you two," he said.

Turning his gaze to Bucky, Steve lifted an eyebrow. Surprised he remembered it. "Yeah, she did. Why?"

"I'd like to see what you fellas think of the Disneyification of them," Tony answered, smiling mischievously.

Steve glanced over at Bucky and shrugged. "Alright, what's next?"

"Cinderella," Tony said, both to them and to JARVIS.

The four of them settled back to watch. Bits of the story put Mrs. Rogers' voice in his head, reading to them when Steve was sick. But a lot of it seemed wrong. He didn't remember animals being so helpful (they had been in Snow White, too – is that what Tony meant by Disneyification?). Fairies were much less friendly in Grimm's tales. And the evil step-family was definitely let off a lot less severely than in the original. The violence of the stories was what made two young boys willing to listen, and, while not entirely absent here, certainly decreased substantially.

When it ended, Tony looked at them expectantly.

"Well, that was a nice story," Steve muttered, bemused.

"Not what you expected?" Pepper asked.

Steve shrugged. "I remember a lot more gore in the originals. The sisters cut off parts of their feet to try to fit in the slipper. And something bad happened to the three of them at the wedding. Do you remember what, Buck?"

It was his turn to shrug. "Didn't birds take out their eyes?"

"Gross," Pepper said, wrinkling her nose.

Tony looked up at her with a laugh, and sat up. "Yeah, that's what happens. Heavenly doves or something."

"Probably not the best ending," Steve offered.

"For a kid's movie," Pepper agreed.

There was plenty of violence in kids' entertainment before, but apparently not anymore. He hadn't realized Disney was considered for children, though the fact that it was animated was a good indicator. Adults preferred to see actors, not ink. Though he couldn't recall seeing many adults at the pictures anyway. So the surprise was more from the idea of shielding children from violence. Not that he necessarily disagreed with the idea.

"I'd better get going," Steve said, getting to his feet.

Tony stood as well, stretching. "You have fun exercising, Cap. I think I'm going to get some more sleep."

A sharp look from Steve as he realized why they were all out there, and then he paused, uncertain, watching Bucky. "Sounds like a good idea, Tony," Bucky stated, still looking at Steve. Then he turned to Stark's kid. "I'd like to watch more of these sometime," he offered.

Tony smiled. "Sure thing, anytime. Except for right now," he amended.

"Well, you strong men have fun watching Disney princesses. I'd better get to work. You know, running your company," Pepper said dryly.

It wasn't often that Pepper made jokes, mainly since Tony was pretty effective at filling any silence, and Bucky and Steve laughed in response. Pepper flashed them a smile as she led Tony out of the room. Lingering, Steve glanced over at him.

"You okay, Buck?" he asked softly.

"Yeah. Just couldn't sleep."

Steve nodded slowly. "Anything we can do to help with that?"

With a shrug, Bucky stood and started heading toward his room. "I don't know, but animal sidekicks are starting to sound like something you superheroes should invest in."

Steve just laughed.