“Welcome home Bucky.”
Clint
Clint could’ve been working on his archery, not that it needed much work, or he could’ve been on his way home, getting there just in time to tuck in his kids with a good night story. He wasn’t going to see them for another month however, because they, and his wife, were leaving tomorrow to see their relatives on the other side of the country. And he was here, because Cap needed him to be. At least this time it wasn’t risking his life in a flying city. Just a meet and greet, albeit an important one. Clint was sitting with everyone else in the living area. Steve had said they’d be back by now, but obviously something was taking them longer than planned.
He leaned back, drumming his fingers on the back of the couch, observing the others. Sam was the only one who had already met this guy, and the rest of them only knew that he had been brainwashed to kill for hydra, until he went to Wakanda to get his mind fixed. He didn’t know how Wakanda could fix 70 years of brainwashing, how anyone could. It seemed dangerous, but Steve had vouched for him, so Clint and the rest of the team were listening. Wary, perhaps, but who didn’t have a dark past here. He remembered his mission. The one where he was supposed to kill Nat.He was thankful he hadn’t, and instead gave her a chance, just like Steve was doing for his friend now.
Clint continued watching the others. Nat had a neutral face, similar to Clint’s, just listening to the other Avenger’s worries and concerns.
Clint could tell that Tony was tense. Earlier that evening, Maria Hill had taken Tony into a different room and from the way Tony was acting, Clint guessed that it hadn’t been good news. With the timing though, he wondered if it was connected to the Winter Soldier. Tony was voicing his concerns about the brainwashing not being totally gone, or worse, not completely being the reason for his previous violent actions.
When Clint had been brainwashed, he had done a lot of things he regretted, and he still felt guilty about them, even though he knew it wasn’t him. He suspected, especially with Cap's seal of approval, that this guy felt similarly, but he didn’t say anything- nothing would convince Tony otherwise once he had his mind set.
Thor looked rather bored, and Loki, hovering behind his brother, looked almost excited. Loki always made Clint’s stomach turn. Probably because Loki was the one to control his mind. It didn’t matter how much better Thor said he had become, Clint would never trust Loki. Thor had decided that leaving Loki on Asgard alone was not a good idea, and brought him here to have almost constant surveillance. But still, Loki didn’t need a tesseract to make a mess of things, so seeing him around always put Clint on edge.
Bruce was looking nervous as always, his hands running through his hair and looking at the door every five seconds, as if he expected The Winter Soldier to come through, guns blazing. Pepper and Rhodey were trying to reason with Tony, a seemingly impossible task. Clint had to give it to them for trying though. They were about the only ones who would. Vision seemed a little concerned, listening to Tony’s worries, but wasn’t actively adding to the conversation. He also wasn’t actually sitting on the couch, but rather hovering over it, which annoyed Clint, for some reason. Wanda and Pietro were playing rock paper scissors to pass the time.
Behind them, the door clicked open and all the talking stopped. Sam walked in first, and then Steve with his hand on the other guy’s shoulder. Clint had seen the Winter Soldier once, and the guy standing next to Steve looked nothing like him. His hair looked soft, and there was a sadness in his eyes as he gave a polite smile to the group and a small, “hi”
A chorus of hellos answered him, and Steve looked at him like he was the best thing since sliced bread.
No one spoke for a minute, skirting around the touchy subject, but Clint wasn’t afraid to say what everyone was thinking, “So.. Is he good?”
He could tell the question hit a nerve with the Soldier, not that Clint was surprised, but it needed to be asked. The Soldier looked anywhere but the group. Steve, though, put his arm around his shoulder and looked right at Clint with a big grin on his face, “Yup! Bucky’s back to his normal self!”
Clint had plenty of other questions, like, what was his normal self? He was sure the others did as well, but he could tell Bucky was becoming a little overwhelmed. He put faith in Cap’s words, and walked up to Bucky and held out his hand. Bucky looked up at him and shook his hand.
“Welcome home Bucky.”
Everyone took turns shaking his hand, telling him their name. They started to disperse, going back to their normal everyday routines, but Clint stuck nearby, wanting to talk a little more with Bucky one on one. Get a feel on the guy.
Tony walked up to Bucky last, but instead of shaking his hand, he put his arm around Bucky’s shoulders and walked him to a nearby room. In fact- the same room Hill had previously taken Tony too. Clint looked at Hill and only barely caught the slightly concerned look on her face before she hid it, although she didn’t stop watching the door. Steve asked her what was happening, but Hill just replied with “nothing to worry about”.
Clint grunted under his breath. Somehow he doubted that.
It was ten minutes before they heard anything. When the silence was finally broken, the noise that came out of the room was unexpected. It sounded like choked back sobs. Clint fiddled with his hearing aids in case he was hearing it wrong but no, someone was crying. Fifteen more minutes until they left the room, both of their faces damp and eyes red. What had they been talking about?
Clint decided his questions for Bucky would have to wait. Bucky was already too emotional right now, and nothing good would come of Clint asking more questions.