Bucky Barnes One Shots

Welcome Back

Steve watches anxiously as the men and women in lab coats tend to his best friend, gathering around the glass case and tampering with computer screens. 

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Steve murmurs to Wanda and Stephen, a nervous knot in his stomach.

"Absolutely," Stephen insists.

"Sorry, I just don't want anything to go wrong." Steve huffs as he rocks on the balls of his feet, crossing his arms across his chest impatiently.

"Steve, I know you're worried about Bucky but trust me, we've been practicing this for weeks now. We wouldn't have said we were ready if we weren't," Wanda assures him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Steve looks down, giving her a small, kind smile. "Thank you Wanda."

There is a sharp sucking noise and a cool breeze as the cryogenic case unseals and opens, foggy air billowing out to reveal Bucky Barnes looking just the way he had done when Steve last saw him before the glass frosted over.

Of course Steve came and visited Bucky many times over the months that he was frozen, but the thick glass between them just made it seem so lonely and cut off. Even though he's still frozen, a wave of relief washes over Steve. He can touch him now, get close to him, see the specific details of his face.

Although the grazes on his cheekbone are still there as a reminder of the war they fought in not so recently anymore Bucky looks so peaceful, almost like he's sleeping. It's as if he is safe and protected, out of harms way, like all of the bad things that have happened to him never actually had. If only that was the truth.

As tempting as it is for Steve to just leave him here, hidden away for the right reasons he misses him too much. And even though he knows Bucky would be happy to stay cryogenically frozen forever for the good of everyone else Steve believes that what Bucky thinks isn't true; he would be a great addition to the modern world. He deserves more in life than to be locked away in a freezer for another seventy years.

"Oh good I was worried I would miss it," T'Challa says as he comes up behind Steve unexpectedly.

Steve gives him a confused look.

"I was busy with the team putting the finishing touches on his arm and lost track of time," he explains. "I think you're going to like it."

"As long as it's nothing too out there, Bucky wouldn't like that," Steve reminds him.

"As I told you it would, it looks pretty much exactly the same as the old one, it's just lighter weight and made of vibranium, still all the same movements and enhancements and feeling-"

Steve shudders at the thought of him being able to feel with that thing. It means that when Tony blasted it off it would've hurt. He can't even imagine the kind of pain that must've caused him.

"Is everything alright Captain?" T'Challa frowns, noticing the change in Steve's demeanor.

"Hm? Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking," Steve mumbles.

"I see, well as I was saying, the only thing that looks different is the star. Of course we weren't going to redo the Hydra star and since Tony said - and these are his words - that he is not aloud the Avenger's symbol because he isn't an Avenger and never will be and he because didn't want to have anything to do with the arm in the first place, we chose to put a little bit of you on his arm because you guys are like brothers from what I've heard, so the star matches the one on your shield," he goes on to explain.

Steve sighs. "Thank you T'Challa." Although he and Tony apologised and made up, there's still a lot of healing to do in the Bucky department. He just hopes that once Bucky gets a chance to talk to him himself Tony might understand a bit more, if Bucky even wants to talk to him that is.