When I don't remember you
The first few months of life in the tower were an adjustment. People mostly seemed to avoid him unable to hide their fear when they looked at him. Peter on the other hand had welcomed him with open arms. He was always happy to show him something or just sit and enjoy his company. With the schools on winter break Peter was around all day which was better than normal days where it seemed everyone was too busy. He couldn’t go out on missions yet he wasn’t cleared, he couldn't go out of the building alone because he wasn’t cleared. He and Peter had so far managed to sneak out twice with Friday’s help. Once to go get doughnuts and once to go to Starbucks because apparently that’s the best place for pumpkin spice anything.
Today he appeared with a set of DVDs in hand and after removing his coat revealed he was still in his pj’s. He raised an eyebrow. "Movie day means pj’s." He smiled. The kid always had something planned. He always made time for him. “Well what's on the list today?” He plopped down on the couch next to him “Adventure time!” he yelled excitedly. He began to explain the plot of the cartoon and all the silly characters until Friday broke in. “It might be better to let James watch the show rather than just telling him about it.” They got the dvds set up and got comfortable on the couch. They were having a good time watching the show until season four rolled around and some of the Ice king's problems became a bit too familiar. It wasn’t until season five that Peter could tell the series had lost some of its appeal for him at the moment but he wasn’t sure what the real issue was.
“Hey Friday? Time out. You good Mr. Barnes?” He looked pale as he sat quietly on the couch his jaw clenched. “I…..could we take a break from this?” He nodded “yea sure sure. We could get some lunch. A new pizza place just opened nearby we could slip out and try it. They have a really good deal on pizza for their opening.” He got up and grabbed his coat without another word. He was silent all the way to the pizza shop and well after they had each gotten their pizza he finally spoke.
“Kid what do you know about me?”Peter looked up from his pizza “Well I know you used to be an assassin and you were frozen like Cap. I know you lost your arm in the fall from the train and that Captain Rogers speaks the world of you which is pretty much the highest voucher for character in my book.” He let out a sigh. “I wasn’t exactly frozen like Steve. I was put in a cryotank whenever I wasn’t needed. Hydra would wipe my mind after every job. The longer I was on Ice the worse my mind got until I was nothing but a weapon. I had no clue who I was and every time a little piece of me would break through I would be wiped and frozen until next time.”
Peter felt awful. He had never considered the dirty details of a former assassin’s life. He learned with Natasha around it was best to leave it be. “Just like Ice King” he muttered. Bucky smiled a little. “Kinda. Course I wasn’t chasin skirts like him. I would rather have been doing that.” He finally picked up a piece of his pizza. “So is Steve your Gunther?” He couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “I guess so or maybe he’s more like Marceline except he can’t really sing.” They finished the rest of their lunch and headed back for the tower. “Do you want to finish the show?” He shrugged. “I guess so but maybe give me a heads up on some of the Ice king episodes?” Friday took its upon herself to scan the remaining episodes and warn them if the subject matter might be troubling. It proved helpful when Peter had forgotten that Finn loses his arm and has a hard time dealing with that. The warnings made it possible for them to finish the series that day. Tony was a bit caught off guard when he walked in to find them teary eyed on the couch. After Peter assures him they are ok, he went back to what he is doing. Leaving them to appreciate the show together. Bucky places a hand on his shoulder. “So what’s next?”