WinterIron one shots

Saving Y O U

Word count: 1111

Summery:  after Bucky saved tony- it is only fair he does the same for him.

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He brushed his fingers over the dust covered book on top of a worn looking cabinet. In fact- the whole apartment looked like it was falling apart and in a desperate need of renovation. But no one here would be able to afford it- and it intensified the weight on his chest.

The thing that bothered him the most was the battered mattress on the floor, barely covered by thin blankets draped over the sides accompanied by 2 sad looking pillows at the top. It was early after noon and it was cold on here- so he dreaded to think how the frost would bite at the skin under the darkness of night.

He gently flickered through a few pages in the journal. The stirring was scribbled and hardly readable, but they didn't call him a genius for nothing. It looked as though who ever wrote this was in a panicked haze, or was in a mad rush to get everything down on the paper.

But the thing that seems to make itself the most clear was the fact that every passage was in a different language. Russian, German, french, Hindi, Italian.... a great range of words and symbols scattered all over the pages. There were single names- cities, foods written down the margins, doodles- stars, shields drawn at the edges. It was odd to say the least.

He knew he shouldn't have come- not when he didn't know the extent of his mental state. He didn't know if hydra still had control, but his gut was telling him ... Bucky was alive- Bucky had saved him. Although Steve and the others disapproved- they also knew they wouldn't have been able to stop him from coming, knowing how stubborn he was On a good day- not when a man he had come to care for was missing , potentially under hydras control and demand. He had made a promise, and he very well intended to keep it.

With that in mind He placed the book down exactly where he found it. An ice cold chill traveled down his spin making him shiver,  immediately altering him of the presence behind him. He froze momentarily- what if he didn't remember? What if he attacked ? He didn't have a suit!!

But as soon as his own eyes fell upon the sad, lonely looking grey one belonging to the man he thought he would never see again, all of his previous worries washed away, almost bringing tears to his eyes.

He nervously wiped the palms of his hands on his suit, knowing pepper wouldn't be happy that he missed yet another meeting, but he didn't care, not in that moment. And for the first time since he could remember -
The words didn't come to him as swiftly as they normally did. He gulped down the limo in his throat and went for the best he had...

" d do you remember me?"

The man in front didn't react, almost like he hadn't heard him, but just when Tony was giving up hope-

" you're tony." He said, lifting his eyes to meet the brown ones in front of him, and nodded toward his direction, " I read about you in a museum."

" Bucky... you pulled me from the river.... why?" His voice was part in rover to not scare the man away- he was - after all- standing in his apartment. Bucky only stood and shook his head, lowering his eyes to the withered mattress.

" I don't know."

Tony looked at him, with a loving yet slightly sad look in his eyes- he knew Bucky better than he thought.

" yes you do,"

Bucky shook his head violently, running his fingers through his longer hair, gripping the stands and pulling at them as he doubled over, tears falling down his face, as he slid down the wall. Tony was shocked to see the man fall apart so quickly, so easily. But he didn't waste a second running to his side and sitting down next to him.

The soldier rocked back wards and forwards on the cold ground as Tony reached forward and pulled his ice cold body into his own warmer one. He held him close- and Bucky melted into his hold, going limp against him, wrapping his arms around Tony's own body and soaking the shoulder of his suit. He held onto the man as his body shook violent with sobs, and it broke his heart to see the effect  hydra had on his once agin.

" I promise I will never let them get to you again."

Tony whispered to him soothingly while smoothing his hair behind his ears and rubbing caroming circles into his back. And Bucky sobbed.

They sat like that for what felt like hours, and eventually the tears ran dry, but the soldier still cling onto tony like a lifeline.

The memory's he had had scared him.

He remembered being in the tower with him- with the team. He remembered tony the most- he remembered when he help him through the night as he had a nightmare, he remembered him welcoming him into his home with open arms , he remembered feeling things for him that he was certain wasn't reciprocated. Because the longer he spent in the geniuses presence , the more he craved it- the harder he fell for him- because he was in love.

Until the other memory's came back.

He remembered, it was a dark night. He had waited hidden in the shadows for the car, the car that protected his next targets. He remembered the car driving past, and he went after it. The memory's is there pleads, their cried out of desperation- for their young son....

" T Tony.... I'm so sorry,"

He sobbed. He clung tighter onto Tony's suit, his friend...

" Bucky you don't have to apologise..."

He shook his head, pushing Tony away slightly, " but ... you don't understand ... as the soldier ... I - I killed..."

His breathing increased and Tony could tell he was able it to have a panic attack.

" okay Bucky I need you to calm down... okay follow my breathing - in and out..."

" T. Tony .... your parents..."

" no Bucky - don't worry about it- I know what happened - it wasn't your fauk."

Bucky looked up at him , confusion evident on his expression.

" Steve an idiot- and he underestimated my research."

Silent tears fell down Bucky's face, and Tony placed a small kiss on his forehead- " come on, we need to go home..."

And in his arms , protected by the mans warmth and love- Bucky Barnes was saved, from himself as much as the world.