It's been 2 months since Bucky was found and brought back to Avengers Tower.
Bucky hasn't spoken at all since he was found.
Not a word has left his mouth. When Steve and Sam discovered him in Boston he came with only slight hesitation. He arrived at the tower, was given a tour, introduced to the rest of the gang, shown his room, and that was that. He was ordered by S.H.I.E.L.D. to attend weekly therapy sessions, which he does, but he never speaks.
~*~
Today was just like every other day in the Avengers Tower. Except today Tony decided to join the team for breakfast, which is rare to say the least. Bruce was sitting at the table, as per usual, reading the paper on his Stark Pad, Natasha and Clint were out eating their breakfast on the balcony, Sam and Steve were sitting at the table with Bruce discussing support group events, and Thor was snoozing on the couch. Bucky, as usual, was sitting at the breakfast bar quietly eating his cereal, when Tony strolled in and headed straight for the coffee machine.
"Nice of you to join us Tony, how long has it been now...three days?" Steve sarcastically greeted Tony.
"76 hours actually. Thanks for caring."
"Caring? Tony we tried to get you out of there at least 10 times. Jarvis told us you went on blackout mode. We weren't allowed in unless your vitals dropped below 50%!" Steve had been trying to get Tony out of his lab all weekend but to no avail. Sometimes he was too stubborn for his own good.
"I've been awake for longer Spangles, no need to get your tights in a bunch."
"Tony, I don't wear tights, I wear a combat uniform. It's made of Kevlar."
"Whatever you say Spangles."
"Hey, you two, stop fighting. I've lived here a total of 4 months and it's already getting old." Sam hates in when they get into their stupid little fights. He can't even imagine how it was when Steve and Tony had hated each other. At least now they tolerated each other.
"Clint and I are going to go train. Steve do you want to spar with me while Sam and Clint do their bird thing?" Natasha asks as her and Clint entered the kitchen and placed their dishes in the dishwasher.
"Sure Nat, hey Bucky you want to join us?" Steve inquires only to be answered with absolutely no reaction whatsoever. "Alright Buck, well if you need me I'll be in the gym." Bucky wouldn't need him.
At this point Sam, Steve, Clint and Natasha were heading for the elevator when Bruce stood up and announced he was going to head down to his private lab to run some tests. The only people were left in the kitchen were Bucky, who was still sitting at the breakfast bar with his empty bowl of cereal in front on him, Tony, who by now had had at least 6 cups of coffee, and Thor, who, seeing as he had gotten back from Asgard at 3 that morning, wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. Seeing as Thor was sleeping and Bucky never spoke to anyone, Tony decided to get some sleep after being awake for 76 hours straight. He left Bucky in the kitchen with a nod and headed up to his apartment.
~*~
He was in the cave again. It was dark and damp and his arc reactor was gone, the car battery was back in its place. There was banging on the door and he knew they were back to torture him until he said yes to building the Jericho missile. He started to hyperventilate, and he couldn't stop shaking. They were in the room now and two guards had him by the arms and were holding him in place as the leader repeatedly punched him in the stomach. They were bringing the water bucket and Tony started to scream. He couldn't get dunked again. If they did it as long as they had last time he would surely drown. He still hadn't caught his breath after the beating he had just gotten and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold his breath for very long. This was it, he thought, he's going to drown in a bucket of water surrounded by a bunch of terrorists. He screamed his heart out hoping somehow, maybe, someone would hear him. As his head started being pushed towards the water, he felt something on his stomach. It felt as though someone was rubbing it back and forth, as if trying to shake him. His head hit the water as he continued to scream.
Tony sat bolt upright in bed. He was covered head to toe in sweat, he was screaming, and his face was soaked with tears. It took him a few seconds to realize he was back in his bedroom and he wasn't in any danger. He blinked the tears out of his eyes and relaxed a bit and finally realized someone was sitting beside him holding him and rubbing circles on his back to help him calm down. He sat back for a moment enjoying the soothing movements, not caring who it was coming from. After he got his breathing under control and had wiped the tears off of his face he looked to his left and was surprised, to say the least, to see Bucky sitting beside him with his eyes full of concern. In the two months Bucky had been at the Tower he hadn't spoken or acknowledged anyone, much less come in physical contact with them. Tony wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't exactly embarrassed but he didn't feel totally comfortable either. He hated people seeing him at his lowest.
"I'm okay now. Just a...bad dream...that's all, if you know what I mean. I just- they happen pretty much every time I fall asleep. That's why I pretty much try to avoid sleep for the most part. Some are worse than others...today was....worse." Tony finishes hoping Bucky won't think any less of him because of what just happened. Rather than getting up and leaving like Tony half expected Bucky to do, Bucky simply leaned in closer and embraced Tony in a gentle side hug. It was a really comforting gesture and Tony had to fight the urge to ask him to stay like that. Tony turned his head to look at Bucky and Bucky looked back with sentiment and understanding in his eyes. A moment later Bucky gave Tony's back one last pat before standing up and giving a small wave before heading for the door.
"Hey Bucky?" Tony called after him. Bucky stopped at the door and turned to face Tony. "Thank you for this. I mean it, you helped a lot. Thank you." Bucky replied with a wide but timid smile, then turned and left the room.
~*~
Bucky had just been aimlessly roaming the tower when he heard screaming. Considering he was in the emergency stairwell and he happened to be right outside Tony's floor he guessed that's where it was coming from. He tentatively entered the apartment and the screaming increased in volume. He sped up, heading toward the screams which sounded as though they were coming from Tony's room. He knocked, but the screams only continued. He entered the room to find Tony sprawled across the bed with all his limbs tangled in the sheets, covered in sweat, with tears flowing from his eyes. He immediately recognized that Tony was having a PTSD nightmare. Bucky had had enough of those to know what one looked like. He crossed the room to the bed where he quickly but gently placed his flesh hand onto Tony's stomach and rubbed back and forth, trying to gently shake him awake. After a few rubs Tony began to stir, and suddenly he sat bolt upright. Bucky immediately dropped to the bed and started rubbing circles onto Tony's back trying to calm him down. Eventually Tony realized it was him and he looked a little surprised but nevertheless he began to explain the nature of his dream. Bucky listened intently to what Tony was saying, genuinely caring about what he had to say. He knew the feeling and it was never easy to wake up alone to one of those nightmares. Of course he himself had never had anyone there to comfort him but after hearing about what Tony had been put through he could almost relate to him. He was just happy to finally be able to be there for someone else this time. Then Tony thanked him, genuinely thanked him, and he could feel warmth spreading inside of him. After he left he decided to go to the kitchen to grab some lunch.
~*~
After Bucky left Tony decided to take a shower to clear his head and get his thoughts together. He hadn’t gotten much sleep, maybe three or four hours, but he couldn’t go back to bed and risk another flashback. They had been getting worse lately and he wasn’t sure why or how to deal with them. Now he tries to avoid sleep altogether, and the longer he stays awake, the more he starts to think maybe they won’t come back. But they do come back, and they come back worse than ever.
~*~
Just as Bucky was finishing up his lunch the rest of the team came in after their post training showers. Steve and Natasha were discussing sparring techniques while Sam and Clint were talking about bird things. Bruce walked in with Thor who must have woken up awhile ago and made his way down to Bruce’s lab. Tony came down in the elevator a few minutes later and went straight for the coffee maker. Everyone was at the table eating while Bucky was at the breakfast bar and Tony was standing at the counter.
“Tony I thought you were going to get some sleep? It’s only been four hours! You need to go back to bed.” Steve said to Tony sounding concerned.
“I’m not tired Spangles, leave me alone.”
“Tony I don’t care if you’re not tired I really think you should go back to sle-”
“I told you I’m not tired. I’ve slept enough for today okay?”
“Tony-”
“I’M NOT GOING BACK TO SLEEP STEVE! I CAN’T GO BACK TO THE CAVE TODAY. NOT AGAIN.” Tony screamed grabbing the attention of everyone else. His breathing was ragged and his face was red, his hands were in fists by his sides and there were tears rimming his eyes. During his outburst his coffee mug had fallen off the counter and shattered on the tile floor. Everyone was silent and staring at him, all except Bucky who had silently started to pick up the shattered pieces of the mug and cleaned up the floor. After he was done he wrapped his arm around Tony’s shoulder and led him out of the room and into the elevator. The rest of the team was shocked; Bucky never interacted with them, so to witness what he just did came as a surpris