Adopted By a Billionaire

Chapter 13

So, Civil War isn't technically going to happen but the characters from the movie will appear and events will still happen.

-- Yuki 🐳

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It wasn't that Bucky didn't want to be found. He did, he honestly, truly did. But how could you find a man that couldn't even remember his own life? He knew his name but was it really his name? Sure, he was called it but without memories to back it up, the sound of a mother's voice crooning it softly, he never did feel like it was right.

So, he went by James.

It was easier, less personal and memory-ridden. Just James.

When Steve found him later, the Black Widow and some winged man beside him, he didn't really fight. He was confident enough in that he had made his own little identity in place of the one HYDRA had ripped away. Sam would call him James, only because he wasn't close to him to call him Bucky. He was a friend Steve had made on a run and seemed to stick with the hero and bond over the military and what-not. He seemed fine, the tower seemed fine.

If only Steve would just stop calling him Bucky.

"But it's your name," The blonde frowned, tilting his head, eyes big.

"No, it's not," James shook his head, grounding his teeth together. "My name's James."

Things were a bit tense between the two after and it was obvious at some points that Steve was holding himself back from talking about Bucky. James took to sitting a bit away from him whenever he came near. He knew it hurt the man but he was still trying to work through his memories and what was real or not. He withdrew from the others, too. Trust was something he did not give out too often and he often found himself fleeing the room when it became too much.

That's when he ran into Percy.

The kid had, somehow, made it on his floor. He was holding a two bears; one he recognized as Iron Man and the other... him? Why did the kid have a Bucky Bear? He put that thought aside for now when he saw the tears making its way down the child's cheeks. He didn't have much experience with kids - being the Winter Soldier and all - but he knew that you had to be gentle.

James sat in front of the kid on the floor, crossing his legs, "Hey, Bud. What's wrong?"

The kid looked up in surprise and seemed to realize he was on James' floor. He gave a small squeak, burrowing into his stuffed animals more before he froze. He hesitantly looked up, eyeing the man, before he lifted one of the arms of the Bucky Bear shyly.

The soldier looked at the bear before looking at his own arm, "Yup." He raised the metal limb enough for the kid to see it and he was surprised when he latched on it. "You wanna tell me what's wrong, kid?"

He had heard about Percy from Steve when he rambled about the tower. He was Tony's kid, taken from a bad home and practically adopted by all of the Avengers. He was a selective mute for an unknown reason except for that it had to do with his old home. The kid was a ball of energy, all smiles and squeaks, but, sometimes, he would be prone to nightmares that made him scream himself hoarse.

"Mm," Percy shook his head, playing with one of the metal fingers. He seemed to curl around the arm, like it was protecting him, and James let him.

"You know, sometimes, I don't like talking either," He started and the kid looked up in surprise. "Some mean people hurt me really bad, made me cry. I didn't like it so I didn't speak. It hurt too much. No one could hear me anyway."

The child's eyes went big at the last sentence before he reached up and touched the star on his left shoulder. Then, he did the sweetest thing to James. He touched his own chest lightly before tapping his ear and poking James' chest.

I hear you.

It made the soldier pull the kid close in a hug. That was something he needed to hear, even if he didn't actually say it. Now, he wanted to hide the kid away, beat up his nightmares, and never let the world touch him again.

"I can hear you, too, Bud. I hear you."

--

The next day, the Avengers - minus Tony - were located in the kitchen, making breakfast. The Stark was in his workshop making something explode and James was told that Percy had gone down to get him not five minutes before he had come in. Apparently, the kid was a miracle worker because Tony Stark came up from the lab with the kid holding onto his hand with a smug smile.

When Percy saw Bucky standing awkwardly in the dining room, he beamed and zoomed over, crashing into the soldier's legs. James was aware that everyone in the kitchen went silent, except for Tony who was whining for coffee, but he didn't care, really. He hugged the kid back and felt a smile form on his face, the first one since he came into the tower. "What's up, Bud? Want pancakes?"

James' grin got bigger when Percy squeaked in excitement and he could vaguely see Tony choke on his coffee with a red face and Bruce patting his back and holding out a napkin, "Pancakes it is. Wanna help me make them?"

Somehow, as days passed James became fluent in Percy Speak, too. Whenever the six year-old wasn't with Tony, he was glued to James' side and flailing his arms about something no one could figure out but made Tony laugh when he came by. Slowly, the soldier was opening up but he was still a bit skittish around people who weren't Stark and Percy. It was slow progress, with Tony working on his arm and Percy being an adorable little shit, but James almost found himself thinking that maybe it was okay that he wasn't Bucky anymore.

--

James was sitting on the couch on his floor, reading a book by Thomas Hobbes called Leviathan, when footsteps got his attention and Percy ran in looking excited, clutching a piece of paper and tape. "Hey, Bud," He marked his page and set the book aside, catching the boy as he launched himself in his arms. "What'cha got there?"

"Mm, mm," The sounds were different this time because James didn't recognize them. The boy grabbed some tape and stuck his paper on the soldier's left shoulder, right over the star, "Mm, f- For Jim Jam!"

James' eyes widened at the sound of the kid's voice and his earnest expression and looked at his shoulder. Right over the star was a drawing of James and Percy smiling widely. His voice wavered as he tried to form words, "What-"

Percy looked up at him with wide doe eyes, "You speak, I speak, too."