Sometimes, Bucky could be a lot to deal with.

It's not really his fault. It's a simple fact of the universe that, on some level, all of the Avengers could be hard to handle. Tony practically wrote the book on being a brat.

Bucky, however, was a whole other can of worms. Usually, he was one of the tamer of the group, easy to get along with and charming in a shy, subdued sort of way. This changed whenever he had a bad transformation.

Often times it was as simple as keeping him in the Hulk-out room and feeding him every few hours, making sure that to keep him occupied. The problem comes when his transformation sneaks up on him, on nights like tonight.

###

Tony huffs, opening his eyes briefly before shutting them again and rolling over. He reaches out, only to be met with cold sheets.

He pauses in his half-asleep confusion, opening his eyes. Steve was sleeping peacefully on his side of the bed, but there was no sign of Bucky.

Tony blinks, sitting up and looking around the room. Bucky didn't usually get up in the middle of the night and when he did, he woke up screaming.

Tony carefully scents the air. Bucky's scent is there, but it was somewhat faded. He hadn't been here for at least a few hours.

Tony slips out of bed, cringing when the springs creak.

Steve shifts awake, squinting at Tony in the low light. "You're not going to the workshop, are you?" He asks with a hint of reprimand, keeping his voice low.

Tony shakes his head. After two days in the workshop, he was all good until morning. "Bucky's missing," he says.

Steve frowns, looking down at the otherwise empty bed. "Shit," he says, sounding a lot more awake. He throws the covers off of himself, standing. Bucky never woke up in the middle of the night.

They make their way through the penthouse together, tension in their shoulders. "J, where's Bucky?" Tony asks, his quiet voice sounding like thunder in the dead of night.

"Sargent Barnes is currently sleeping in the common floor kitchen, Sir,"

Tony frowns. "You don't think that he..?"

Steve shrugs, shaking his head. "He isn't due for another week," he reminds.

"No, but you know those predictions aren't an exact science," Tony says, stepping into the elevator. "Common floor, J,"

Steve hums, following. Tony anxiously springs on his toes, biting his thumbnail. He can see Steve's concern in the set of his brow and the line of his shoulders, betraying his otherwise calm exterior.

A ding signals their arrival, and Tony slips through the doors before they fully open, only just restraining himself from running to the kitchen.

Tony freezes in the archway, letting out a shaky breath.

Bucky was curled up on the floor, surrounded by the debris of the trashed kitchen. The fridge door was ripped off its hinges, and blood steadily dripped down from the top shelf.

His ultra-stretchy pants just barely clung to his hips, his arm whirred angrily, and blood was smeared onto every inch of his skin.

He feels Steve rest a hand on his shoulder, and he sighs.

"Call a cleanup crew and restock the fridge and pantry, J," Tony says. He shifts on his feet, wanting to help the soldier, but unsure how to.

Steve's grip tightened. "Get him cleaned up, I'll do damage control," he says, rubbing his thumb along Tony's shoulder soothingly.

Tony nods haltingly, warmed in the face of Steve's trust in him to be able to take care of their lover.

He stepped over the remains of a cabinet to get to the brunet, wincing when a splinter of wood dig into his barefoot. He gently placed his hand on Bucky's good shoulder. "Bucky, wake up," he says, shaking him lightly.

Bucky's eyes snap open and he jolts slightly, but otherwise, he doesn't react.

Tony gently sits him up, and Bucky follows his hands without any protest.

Tony sighs, taking Bucky's hand and standing, pulling Bucky up with him. "C'mon sweetheart, let's go get that mess off of you," he murmurs, guiding Bucky through the minefield of wrecked kitchen wear and food scraps.

Bucky tripped over an empty Pringles tube, stumbling before Tony steadied him. Panicked blue eyes met his brown, a soft, terrified whimper escaping from bloodied lips, and Tony's heart broke.

"Hey, hey now, you're fine," Tony soothed, brushing a strand of hair from Bucky's face. "everything's alright, sweetheart," he said, running his hand up and down his arm.

Bucky's eyes clouded once more, dull and lifeless. Tony bit his lip to keep himself calm. Damn HYDRA. He'd need an off-record mission after this, the desire to spill the blood of Bucky's tormentors almost overwhelming.

Tony took a deep breath, smiling reassuringly at the unresponsive soldier.

He guided the brunet up to the penthouse, and then to the bathroom, grabbing a change of clothes along the way.

He stood Bucky in front of the shower, tossing the clothes on top of the counter.

"Turn on the water, J," he called absently, trusting JARVIS to know Bucky's preferred temperature after an Incident.

JARVIS murmured a low conformation, followed soon after by the sound of shower spray hitting tile.

"C'mon, darling, let's get you cleaned up, yeah?" He tugged at Bucky's waistband, removing the stained pants.

Bucky didn't stop him, but he didn't help him, either, and Tony had to lift each leg up individually to remove them.

Gently, Tony eased Bucky into the shower, sitting Bucky down the tile, and gently splashing little bits of water on his shoulders to get him used to the new stimulation. He wasn't exactly prone to lashing out after an Incident (as in, it had happened before, but not often enough for it to be a problem. Tony or Steve had always been able to subdue him before he became a danger to others and himself.) but he could take longer to shake the catatonia if he was startled.

Once he was confident that Bucky wouldn't freak out, he guided him underneath the spray.

Tony lathered up a loofa with soap (lavender scented, Bucky's favourite) and began scrubbing him down, watching grimly as a combination of blood, dust, sweat, and God knows what else washed down the drain.

After he'd cleaned Bucky's skin, he got to work on his hair, lathering shampoo into the blood-soaked locks.

It took a couple of washes, but Tony was confident he'd gotten most of the blood out.

They stepped out, and as Tony was drying Bucky with a towel, his phone chimed in the other room.

Frowning, Tony gathered Bucky and his clothes before heading out to check his phone.

It was Pepper. Urgent, she'd said.

Tony sighed, and hit the call button, leaving it on speaker as he helped Bucky into his clothes.

"Tony," Pepper's voice said from his nightstand, sounding strangely alert for half-past two in the morning. "Jarvis says that it's a bad time,"

Tony hums, sitting Bucky on the edge of the bed so that he could towel his hair some more. "Buckaroo's transformation came sooner then we'd thought it would," he said.

"Oh my god,- is he?!-"

"He's fine Pep," Tony reassures with a giggle. "Just a little bloody is all. He got into our meat again"

Pepper sighs in relief. "Thank god," she murmurs. "Is he responsive yet?"

Tony shakes his head despite knowing that Pepper can't see him, "No, he's still dead to the world. But I can tell him you said hi?"

"Yes, please do," she agreed readily. "Are you up for some gross business talk?"

Tony tskd, running his fingers through Bucky's tangled hair. "Not yet, Pep. But I probably will be once the sun's up,"

"Okay, Tony." She says, going quiet.

Tony gently scrapes his fingernails over Bucky's scalp, breathing a relieved sigh when the brunet leaned into the touch.

"You should call Rhodey," Pepper's soft voice suggests. "It's sometime in the afternoon, where he is,"

Tony smiles minutely. Pepper was a gift. She knew talking to Rhodey always made Tony feel better, no matter how shitty things got. He's going to need that, once Bucky breaks out of his daze and begins to freak the fuck out over trashing the kitchen. Their little wolf always put others before himself, which was just as much of an annoying trait as it was endearing. A trait that Bucky and Steve shared.

"I will, Peps. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a werewolf to cuddle,"

Pepper giggles. "You are excused," she said. The line disconnected, further proving that JARVIS is too good for this world. Not that it needed further proof.

"Alright, snowflake," Tony murmured, helping Bucky recline on the bed, "How about Friends? That always cheers you up,"

Tony had JARVIS cue up a season of Friends, then brought Bucky closer to cuddle up next to him, throwing their biggest, fluffiest blanket over their legs.

Steve came in seven episodes later, taking a quick shower before joining them in their Cuddle Sesh. Bucky ended up falling asleep sandwiched between them, no doubt exhausted after a surprise transformation like that. This is what happens when you don't load up on calories. They're going to have to feed him soon...

Tony feels Bucky shift slightly and turns to look at him. His eyes are bleary and he's blinking rapidly. Tony simply continues to comb his fingers through his hair, sharing an understanding look with Steve.

The blond tucks the blanket more firmly around Bucky's legs before nosing along his throat. "Go back to sleep, Buck. We got ya,"

Bucky grunts, eyes sliding shut once again.

Tony sighs. Feeling fingers on his wrist, he looks up to find Steve looking at him with a soft smile. "How's about we go back to sleep?" He asks softly.

"No, I-" Tony cuts off with a yawn. "I'm fine. You go ahead."

Steve tsks. "You're exhausted, Tony. You'll be a lot more useful to Bucky when he wakes up if you're awake yourself,"

Damn him, he always saw through Tony's bullshit. Tony bites his lip, contemplating.

Steve smiles and strokes a thumb over his wrist. "Lights, J,"

The lights slowly dim until they turn off entirely. Tony shifts down, reluctantly untangling his hand from Bucky's hair in order to let Steve move him into a more comfortable position.

Tony curls an arm over his wolf's stomach, smiling when he feels Steve do the same. Feeling safe and comforted by the sound of his mates' breathing, he soon grows sleepy.

A groan. "Wha' happened?"

Tony's eyes flicked up to Bucky's face.

"You turned unexpectedly,"

Bucky made a discontented sound. "Did I hurt anyone?"

"No. Only trashed the kitchen,"

Bucky huffs, moving to sit up.

Steve pushes him back down. "Go to sleep, Buck. Deal with it in the morning,"

Bucky reluctantly complies, grumbling. Steve smiles and Tony huffs a laugh.

Moments later, they're all asleep.