Chapter 1
"Hug him, dammit!"
"Language, Rogers." Usually the mockery was playful. Tony's face was set and cold now. The kind of look that suggested he knew a million ways he could beat you to death with a cheese grater – but was just trying to decide which one would be the best way to use on you.
"You agreed to work with him! You wouldn't have done that if you weren't at least beginning to-"
"I agreed to work with him for one mission because he's useful. The minute he becomes expendable you can't expect me to sit down and braid the hair of the monster who killed my mother."
"Hydra killed your parents Tony, there's just no one left for you to take it out on."
"You're wrong actually. There's one person left, and he drank the last of my juice."
"That was me, actually." Clint corrected. He and Nat stood in front of Bucky, having stopped him from lashing back at Tony after Stark had punched him in the face. Steve had pulled Tony away, leading to the current argument. Bucky stood behind the master assassins, nose bloody, arms folded - stoic and silent as usual, but looking a little sick as he kept his head down and glanced between Steve and Tony.
"Not surprising." Tony said. "It's a wonder that new arm of his has any grip at all."
"If you think it's that bad then make him a new one." Steve fought back. Tony scoffed. Bucky's new arm wasn't that bad. It looked identical to the old one, minus the communist star. T'challa had put his best people onto creating a new one. It worked pretty well. Almost as well as Hydra's science. Not as good as Tony's. Tony liked to point that out. "If you hug him it will make you feel better."
"Steve - " Bucky began. He wasn't a fan of this plan either.
"You wanted to work with him because he's useful. You can't work with someone if you're going to keep punching them in the face. Hug him. Neutralize the threat."
"Ah!" Tony broke out in a smile. "So you admit he's a threat?"
"Not as much as you are right now." Steve rebutted. Tony rolled his eyes, turning to Clint and Natasha.
"Back me up guys. You might not want me to rip his throat out but you've gotta admit Steve's being ridiculous."
Clint and Natasha shared a glance. Nat turned back to Tony, voice as nonchalant as usual.
"I think you should hug."
Tony's fury redirected to her. Natasha shrugged.
"C'mon Stark, I agreed with you once. It's not gonna happen again any time soon."
Tony wasn't the only one surprised by Natasha's declaration. Bucky was also looking at her with a fierce plea of why? WHY!
"Seriously? I already apologized for trying to choke you and shooting you twice."
Tony interrupted before Nat could reply.
"Oh well if he apologized that makes everything better. I didn't realize Barnes was sorry about killing my parents. I've clearly been out of line this entire time."
"None of you seemed to have a problem accepting Nat in the group. Same thing happened to her." Clint pointed out. Apparently deeming Bucky and Tony safe where they were, he leaned against the kitchen counter and twirled a pen in his fingers. "Y'know, different mind games I guess and just…less ice. More limbs."
It was Clint's turn to get the look from Bucky that implied the people on his side didn't know the definition of a delicate topic.
"Thanks for that."
Clint beamed back at him. Nat continued his argument.
"It's not like Barnes is the only one here with red on their ledger. The difference between you and him, Stark, is that he didn't get a choice in whether he set the bombs off or not."
A line in Tony's jaw pounced.
"Don't fight dirty, Romanov. I changed Stark industries."
"And Bucky's not changing?" Steve insisted. Tony had fizzled down a little bit, which wasn't common for him, but he was remarkably outnumbered. "Hug him."
Tony burst into another string or protests but was bombarded with;
"Just hug him."
"Hug him."
"You know you want to."
"It'll calm you down."
"Look at that face."
"Hug him!"
Tony's fury grew until their insistence snapped him.
"FINE!"
Tony flung his arms around the Winter Soldier without thinking about what he was doing. As long as it shuts them up! The room went quiet. Bucky patted him on the back awkwardly. Glaring at Steve over Iron Man's shoulder. Tony didn't look any less angry to the outside world - but he couldn't help but feel a little… comforted. He still loathed Barnes – he just didn't get hugs that often, especially since Pepper had left. With everything that had been going on, the loss of his parents resurfacing, Tony had needed comforting. He hadn't even realized it.
Tony pushed himself away and kept his hands in fists. Bucky stared at him. He knew those murders hadn't been him exactly. He knew it didn't matter how sorry he was, anyway. After what he'd done to Tony he couldn't pretend he didn't feel heavy under the weight of the Winter Soldier. It kicked him in the gut every time he looked at him. Tony's jaw jumped again.
"You're a monster, Barnes, and a murderer."
It shouldn't have bothered him. Bucky knew they were just two facts. Two facts that rolled around his head every day. They'd found a way to fix the words buried in his mind that would turn him back into a blank slate. Not that it mattered much, most of his life had been spent as the Soldier. That had left him with a lot of skills and baggage he didn't want.
"I know."
Tony stormed out of the room. Talking to FRIDAY about plans for building a new arm. Steve looked immensely smug.
That was the day the Avengers learnt that James Buchanan Barnes gave magical hugs.
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The following weeks were a bombardment of affection to the great menace to society, the assassin with hundreds of kills to his name, the cold and ruthless killer that was the Winter Soldier. Tony wasn't the only one who had needed comforting. Pepper had left a few months ago. Bucky had been dead to everyone who'd loved him for decades - and Hydra masterminds weren't all that soft and fuzzy towards their weapons to say the least.
Steve Rogers, in all the grace that was Captain America, tripped over a pile of laundry. Bucky rolled his eyes as the others in the room made jokes, and stopped stirring the sugar into his coffee to offer his hand out to his friend. Steve grinned, effectively tackling him across the room the minute he got to his feet with a lot of; "You need this." And "You've been through so much." in his fits of his laughter.
Bucky was grateful he was holding his coffee in his metal hand, there was only so long you could skid across a room without spilling a hot drink.
When Bucky dragged himself into the kitchen to get a protein bar. Scott Lang jumped out of the high cupboard and threw himself at the assassin's forehead, growing to full size to wrap his arms around him. He didn't say anything. Bucky kept his eyes wide. That was one long hug.
In the middle of the night, after a particularly nasty batch of nightmares, Bucky tried to get a glass of water in peace. The sound of wire rattling against something in the ceiling alerted him. Clint was already stood behind him by the time Bucky turned around. He took him in his arms before Bucky could do anything else.
"You're okay." Clint soothed. He was in his full suit and everything, waiting in his nest for god knows how long.
"I think you took this a little too seriously." Bucky mumbled.
"Shh."
Wanda wasn't as clandestine. Or so Bucky thought. She chased him around the kitchen before The Vision came through the back wall and trapped him in his arms, nuzzling the crook of his neck. Wanda laughed and took him in what became known as the Vanda sandwich.
Natasha was the only one who dared to get really stealthy about it. She was quiet. Pouncing at him from behind when he was walking down a hallway. Jumping and wrapping her legs around his head like it was an inside joke. Bucky's instincts kicked in and he tried to flip his attacker over. He still struggled when he realized who it was, killer mode off, because by this point he'd been tackled by a lot of the avengers in their attempts to get their hugs in. Nat managed to push him onto the floor. Bucky lay defeated. Nat let out a deadpan "There, there" before getting back on her feet. She walked away cackling "it looks like I fell for you." And finding herself a little too funny.
Sam was on the other side of the kitchen, yawning over his porridge, clad in dressing gown and bed socks. Bucky leaned over a newspaper, trying to find the actual news through celebrity gossip. Slliiippppp. Sam thudded into a hug behind him, having skidded across the kitchen on his socks to get him. He leaned his head against his back and sighed.
"Steve paid me to do this."
"BARNES!" Bucky hadn't even met Thor before he saw the Norse God charging across the Avengers' field. By this point the super soldier just closed his eyes and accepted his fate. Thor caught him in a bone crushing hug. The God bounced him up and down in the air until he laughed. He laughed until he could barely breathe, even once he was released. Through the tears in his eyes he saw the other Avengers grumble or hold out their hands with smug faces as they exchanged their bet money. Apparently they'd decided his hugs might be magical, but his laughter was as rare as Vibranium.
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Bucky thought it was over. It should have been over. No one knew where Bruce Banner was. T'challa was in Wakanda. Rhodey spending time with family. All the Avengers had hunted him down. All the Avengers had gripped him tight to comfort his soul. Bucky was alone, ready to leave the Avengers' gym. Nat had been the only one to really surprise him with her hug. The Winter Soldier had made him alert, prepared for anything, given him a hyper-awareness in his senses. The gym was quiet. The gym was empty.
Apart from a short shot of blue. A man catapulted into him. Wrapping his arms around him. Patting him on the back.
"Who - ?" Bucky began.
When the reply came back he sounded a lot like Wanda.
"Hear you fell off a train. It sucks to die, doesn't it?"
With that – and another shot of blue – the stranger was gone.