The first time the soldier meets Tony they're sitting in a locked cell. He had woken up, confused and disoriented. He was slightly familiar with the feeling although he couldn't quite recall how. The soldier couldn't recall anything. He was sure it had all happened before, except the stranger. The stranger wasn't supposed to be here.

The stranger runs his hand gently through his tangled hair and calls him a name he doesn't recognize. He tells the soldier that his name is Tony with a sad smile.

It's all rather confusing. At first he thinks the stranger is one of technician, with his long slender fingers moving quickly and precisely and faded oil stains dot his hands. He shakes the thought from his head, the man touched too gently to be a technician.

"It's okay, Buck. They're coming for us." He whispered softly.

The soldier didn't move, didn't know if he was permitted to move. He simply looked up to the stranger and asked, "Who?"

The stranger's frown deepened. "Our friends. They're coming to get us. Don't worry." He said softly. "My name is Tony. You don't remember, but that's okay."

The soldier didn't respond. He tried to recall how he came to be lying on the floor, how the man who treated him like a friend came to be there with him, but nothing came.

It wasn't long before more men came, these ones weren't as gentle and grabbed up the stranger to drag him away. The soldier sat quietly, that was what he was certain he was supposed to do. The stranger screamed and kicked as they forced him out of cell and into the hall. He was alone now.

...

It was several days before he saw Tony again. His handler had spent much of his time making sure he hadn't forgotten his training and that he still followed orders. The soldier did everything he was asked and took down anyone he was asked to fight.

He followed his handler into a large room. Tony sat on the ground, surrounded by several technicians and a man who held his head higher than the rest and was probably in charge of the group. Tony smiled at the soldier as he entered, as if everything was fine and he wasn't covered in bruises and had shaking, bloody fingers.

"Mr. Stark doesn't want to cooperate. He's too valuable to kill but absolutely useless if we can't get him to do what he's ordered to." The soldier's handler said. "We thought you would like to try to convince him before we move on to more… drastic methods. Don't damage his hands too much, we still want him to be able to work when this is finished."

It wasn't a suggestion. It was an order. He sat down on the floor across from Tony and reached towards the tray of sterilized equipment waiting for him. The technicians were laughing and joking while his handler stood off to the side with the man he could only guess was Tony's handler. The soldier wasn't permitted to know any of their names, he didn't deserve to know.

"It's okay, Bucky." Tony said, frowning down at the tool the soldier held in his hands. "I understand. I'm not mad. Just try not to mess up my face."

The soldier went to take the pliers to Tony's finger nails, only to find that they had already been ripped off. He only paused for a second before moving the pliers up and forcing it into Tony's mouth and grabbed onto a tooth.

He knew what he was doing, his hands moved with practiced ease as he went for the areas that would be painful without causing too much damage. Whenever he put down one bloody tool and moved to pick up another Tony would whisper to him that it was okay, that he didn't blame him. The soldier didn't dare stop, it would only earn harsher punishments for the both of them.

Eventually Tony passed out, multiple lacerations were bleeding sluggishly and his cheek had swollen to make his face appear lopsided. His handler nodded. They were finished.

...

The next time the soldier saw Tony several weeks later, the man didn't recognize him.

He sat completely still and didn't even glance the soldier's way. It was wrong, he was supposed to be speaking or moving or something. Instead he just sat there.

A technician dropped a box of scrap metals and wires in front of Tony and his hands quickly dug into the box. The soldier relaxed slightly, the sight of Tony quickly building something without sparing a glance at the blueprints that sat on the table next to him was comforting. Tony didn't look up from his work and the soldier couldn't look away.

His handler slapped him harshly across the face, the soldier's head snapped to the side and he waited. Either more punishments would come or he would be given orders.

"Do I have your attention?" His handler asked. The soldier nodded slowly. "We've been keeping your little friend quite busy. Once his mind was wiped clean he was easy enough to control. We have a few weapons we want you to test."

Tony still hadn't looked over to him. It was odd but the soldier was slightly uncomfortable to see him making weapons. His hands moved quickly and naturally, building things as they should, but he didn't like the idea of him building weapons for HYDRA.

The soldier nodded to his handler and a small pistol was dropped into his hand. He passed it between his metal hand and his flesh one, memorizing the weight. It was light, well-balanced, and felt comfortable and familiar in his hands. He aimed it at the target on the far wall, out of the way of everyone working, and fired.

Tony had made the gun, he knows because he remembered. Tony used to upgrade all of his weapons, making them lighter and more efficient. He knew what it felt like to hold something Tony made him.

The soldier remembered who Tony was, remembered who he was, and knew exactly who they were with and what was happening. Before he could rethink any of his actions he knocked back his handler, flinging him across the room. Bucky rushed forward and wrapped an arm around Tony's waist, pulling him into a corner and pulling carts of shelves around them protectively, crushing his metal arm through the cart and into the floor to prevent it from moving.

Tony was frightened, his wide eyes locked on Bucky as he went completely still and prepared for a blow he didn't know what he did to deserve. Bucky knew that look, he had worn it enough times.

"Tony, we're okay. You don't remember, but we're okay. Don't worry, I'm going to take care of you." Bucky said quickly. There was no way they could escape, not without outside help. He didn't know where they were, how big the facility was, how many people were in here. Too many unknown variables, he should have been patient instead of grabbing Tony and dragging him to a corner where they would have only a temporary safety. "In a little while they won't be able to hurt you anymore. They're coming to get us."

Tony blinked a few times. "Who?" He asked, a slight shake in his voice.

Bucky was about to answer. To tell him that Steve was coming. Steve, Bruce, Thor, Clint, and Natasha, they were all coming and they were going to rescue them. He wanted to apologize for so many things that had been burned from Tony's memory. He needed to apologize for torturing him until he broke down and begged him to stop, for making that one small mistake during the mission that led to their capture, for not being able to get them out.

A sharp sting spread across his shoulder as a dart flew down from above the cart he had used to close them in and struck him. They were going to drug him, drag him back to that horrible chair, and take his memories again. He would forget himself, he would forget Tony. There was no way to stop it, not now that his vision was blurring and his body growing heavy. He pulled Tony close, curled his arms around him, and fell asleep.

The soldier woke up slowly. A familiar burn lingered in his skull and he felt too weak and tired to move. It didn't matter though, no one had given him permission to move. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around. He was sitting in an uncomfortable chair that made a shiver run u his spine, large metal equipment hung overhead, and two people were in the room with him.

One stood off to the side, he was tall with light hair cut short and stared at the soldier coldly. Fear welled up in his stomach, as if the sight of the man somehow meant he was to be punished and beaten. The other man was small, pale, and had messy dark hair that fell over his forehead. He was curled over himself to the soldier's left, poking at the metal arm and carefully fixing the slightly dented plates that the soldier didn't remember damaging.

At first he thought the smaller man was a technician, but he worked so gently and took great care to avoid crossing wires and accidently electrocuting him that it seemed unlikely for the man to be a technician. The soldier thought of technicians as harsh and unfeeling for reasons he couldn't understand, this man seemed kind.

He caught the small stranger's eye, frowning slightly. The stranger didn't say anything as they looked at each other, he just offered the soldier a soft smile and returned to his work.

...

He was being sent out on a mission. The soldier had proved his training to be up to standards and had gotten back into the habit of following orders. As they were prepping him to send him out into the field he felt that the process was familiar. Random, nameless men strapped his weapons onto him and avoided looking him in the eye.

The stranger was there too. He saw the smaller man often as they both moved through the facility and followed orders. Every time he saw him he was hunched over one project or another and the soldier felt a noticeable amount of relief to see him. Today he sat in the corner, checking over each piece of equipment before handing it off to be added to the soldier's arsenal. He noted several small bruises around the man's jaw, but didn't say anything.

The soldier looked away quickly, afraid of the consequences for both of them if he was caught staring for too long. They finished preparing him for his mission, briefing him quickly on who he was supposed to kill, and loaded him into a van. His mind wandered, he couldn't recall the last time he had been on a mission or even been outside the facility. All he was certain of was that completing the mission was what his handler wanted and he had to do what he said.

They arrived to the location within a few hours. They showed him a photo of his target, told him where to find him, and left him in an alley. He quickly climbed up the fire escape and looked out over the edge of the building.

His target lived in an apartment building across the street. The lights were on but the curtains were mostly closed. He could just make out the silhouette of a person inside and two people on the tv. His eyes lingered on the screen as the two characters spoke to one another and eventually embraced. He wasn't sure if he ever watched tv before.

It took him a few minutes to determine where in the room the light was coming from and from there he could pinpoint his target's location from the shadows. His shot was perfect. It went through the wall and the shadow jerked. It didn't fall over though, hardly even moved. It was a decoy.

The soldier whipped his arm around behind him when he heard movement. His metal fist collided with the red, white, and blue shield that was speeding towards him. It clattered to the ground loudly as a blond man grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground.

How his target knew where he was and how to find him, the soldier had no idea. All that mattered was the he was here now, gripping tightly at his clothes and trying to hold him down. The soldier managed to get a foot up above him and kicked the man off.

"Bucky, it's me. Steve." His target said. "I know you don't understand right now but we're best friends."

The soldier grabbed his handgun, appreciating how light and comfortable it felt in his grip, and raised his hand to aim at his target. He dove towards the shield, lifting it quickly to block the bullets that were fired at him.

"You tried to kill me before. You don't remember but you actually saved my life." His target yelled from his small area of safety behind the shield. The soldier dropped his gun and took a small, cautious step towards his target. "We haven't given up on you, we've been looking for you and Tony for months. Please remember."

The soldier took another step forward, grabbing onto a knife as he slowly moved closer. It could be a trap, his target was trying to distract him and get him close enough to kill him. His target jumped up and backed away quickly.

"Bucky, you're my best friend. We would die for each other." Steve said quickly.

The soldier stopped his advancement. He stood still several yards away from Steve, his target, and just watched him carefully. Something had changed, he couldn't quite tell what was different but it felt as if a switch had been flipped somewhere in his mind.

"Is Tony alive?" Steve asked. He wasn't fighting back, just looking the soldier over carefully. "You remember him, right? He was this short, brown haired idiot who talked a lot. You guys were friends. You both liked to team up to gang up on me and call me names."

The soldier rushed forward quickly, throwing up his metal fist to collide with the shield and sent the unprepared man flying several feet. He turned and jumped off the edge of the building, landing on his feet and dashing into the alley and down several back roads until he found the van. He needed to get back to the HYDRA base.

Something was wrong. He couldn't bring himself to kill Steve but he couldn't stand around and let him fill his head with nonsense. They drove back in silence. No one spoke to him, no one looked at him. His mind jumped from one image to the next. The small man huddled in different corners of the facility, the man smiling softly as he fixed his arm, the man telling him he'd be okay because friends were coming, the man sitting obediently while he yanked out teeth and sliced and burned his skin, Tony sitting in his lab and introducing him to his robots, Tony joking with him about being an 'old man'.

The soldier recalled just a small pile of specific memories and mentioned them to no one. His handler was furious with him for not completing the mission, yelling about how it took them weeks to pin down Captain Rogers's exact location. He simply said that the target got away.

The beating was short and the soldier took each hit quietly. He remained unmoving until he was ordered back to his cell and await orders. They had to set up another mission, track down Steve again.

He walked through the halls slowly and methodically, no one expected him to disobey orders, no one expected him to go anywhere other than where he was ordered to go. He walked alone, past his cell and further down the hall. Tony was in the same room most almost every day. Whenever he had seen the man it was curled up over some hunk of metal with tools in hand.

As expected, he was there. He didn't look up as the soldier entered, the technicians in the back didn't glance over to him. If he was here than they would guess that someone ordered him to be here. He walked up to Tony quickly.

He pulled the man away from whatever he was working on and into a tight embrace, resting his chin on the top of Tony's head. He was smaller than he was supposed to be, far too thin. Tony stilled in his arms, muscles tensing and his breathing came to a quick halt.

"It's okay, Tony. I'm not going to hurt you." The soldier whispered softly. "We're going to be okay. They're coming to get us."

Just as quickly as he had come he let go of Tony and turned to leave. The technicians didn't look at them, hadn't seen them, Tony would be alright for now. The soldier walked back to his cell and waited, just as he was ordered to do.

...

The rescue went smoothly. Steve had come for them, just as Tony had promised when they were first captured. Bucky should have expected there to be a tracking device planted on him when Steve tackled him to the ground.

Tony went everywhere he was told willingly. Steve had come into his room, told him they were leaving, and he simply nodded and followed him. It worried everyone. The archer muttered about never seeing Tony so willing to follow orders.

"If someone tells him to do something then it's almost guaranteeing he won't do it." He had said.

The soldier sat next to Tony when they were transported out of the building. He sat Tony down in the corner and pressed himself gently next to him. No one came too close, no one stared too long, and no one said anything.

It was a quiet trip to the large tower in New York. Tony stared at it as they entered, frowning slightly. He didn't remember, didn't say anything when Natasha told him it was his tower, that he built it. He looked over to the soldier every time someone asked him a question.

They walked in, a timid man with glasses started ushering Tony away. They all paused for a moment when the soldier moved to follow but recovered quickly, letting him go down to the medical floor in the tower with them.

Tony sat obediently on the table as the doctor gently poked at him, his eyes growing wide whenever his fingers ghosted over the many bruises.

"Do you remember anything, Bucky?" The doctor asked, turning towards the soldier. He shook his head. "So you don't know what happened to the two of you?"

"I hurt him. They ordered me to and I did it without hesitation." The soldier said. He couldn't remember being called 'Bucky', but the name felt oddly familiar and he ran it through his mind several times. It didn't quite feel like his name but it would certainly be easier if everyone had something to call him. Tony probably didn't know his name either.

"I don't think he blames you." The doctor said.

"He doesn't. He told me he didn't." Bucky muttered. "I ripped out his tooth. I bound his hands and burnt him until he screamed and begged for me to stop."

The doctor winced slightly. "You remember doing that."

"I'm remembering some things."

"Is Tony remembering anything?" The doctor asked. He looked Tony over carefully. "Do you remember me Tony? It's Bruce, we're friends. You keep buying me yoga dvds as a joke." He said softly.

Tony didn't say anything, instead he looked over to Bucky. He was confused, questioning. No one was ordering him to do anything and therefore he did nothing. The rest of the examination was done in silence. Tony did everything he was told to do and also climbed into the large MRI machine without complaint.

He gave Bucky a quick medical examination as well, noting his already healing scars and attached several sensors to his head while muttering about his arm damaging the larger machine.

The results would come within a few days.

...

Bucky and Tony were put in rooms right next to each other, mostly because Tony would hardly do anything unless Bucky was close by and Bucky kept on sneaking around in the middle of the night to make sure Tony was okay.

It was normal to find the two of them together. They walked around the tower together, ate together, and watched old videos of themselves together. Bucky was slowly remembering the whole team and everything they had done for him. He remained relatively calm around them. Tony didn't remember them though and each time one of them came too close too quickly he would tense up and look away, as if expecting punishment.

It had taken weeks for Tony to be comfortable around all of them. It was a lot better now. Even if Bucky wasn't around Tony would join in on team meals and activities with little fear.

Tony still hadn't said a word to anyone but Bucky quickly caught on to his many nonverbal methods of communication. If Tony started tapping his fingers it meant he was bored and needed something to do with his hands, if he grabbed onto the fabric of his shirt it meant he was frightened by something, if he started swinging his feet back and forth it meant he was happy.

Bucky's favorite part of being at the tower was that Tony gradually started smiling more, and most of them were sent his way. For the first time in as far back as Bucky could remember, he felt happy and safe.

...

Bucky had a super soldier serum, his body was healing quickly. Tony had nothing but nature on his side. It was sad, but not entirely surprising when Bruce said that Bucky's brain was healing itself rapidly from all of the electric shocks it had sustained but Tony's wasn't.

"The damage is in a very small, very focused area." Bruce told them. "While you'll regain most of your memories, he probably won't."

"Is that why he isn't talking?" Pepper asked. She had shown up to the tower just a few days after their rescue. Although she and Tony had ended their relationship they had still been very close. Tony still loved her and she still loved him. Tony didn't seem to recognize her but had taken an immediate liking to the woman, smiling and calming whenever she walked into the room.

Bruce shook his head. "No, he should be able to speak just fine. He just isn't."

Tony looked down, leaning slightly towards Bucky. The smaller man reached over slowly and grabbed onto his hand. Bucky understood and gradually led him from the room. Tony liked to sit by the large windows that looked out over the city so that's where they went.

They sat there for hours, watching the small cars rush by beneath them and the sun gradually lower. As it grew darker the thousands of lights in the city lit up like a clear night sky. He wasn't sure if that's what Tony loved or not, but it was Bucky's favorite part.

"I can talk." Tony whispered next to him. Bucky raised his eyebrows, surprised.

He nodded. "I assumed you could."

"I just have nothing to say." Tony said.

"That's okay. No one is demanding you to say anything." Bucky said, letting Tony lean over and rest his head on his shoulder.

"But they expect me to." He said quietly. "You've seen the tapes, I used to be funny and loud. That's what they want."

"They want you to be happy." Bucky said. "We all just want you to be okay."

Tony was quiet for a moment and Bucky assumed that was all that was to be said. He was just happy to hear Tony speaking again, even it was only just a few words.

"Am I broken?" Tony asked. Bucky frowned, giving Tony's hand a light squeeze.

"No, you're not." He said firmly.

Tony turned his head, burying his face into Bucky's shoulder. "Then why am I like this and you're not?"

He wasn't sure how to answer that. He was healing, remembering. Tony's world must have seemed so small, his memory only going back several months.

"I've been through it all before. I once spent seventy years with those people and when I got away I had you and Steve and you all helped me cope. Now I'm just trying to do it all over again." Bucky said slowly. "I can't sleep most nights, I'm can't eat most of the time, and sometimes I think they're going to come back and it's going to happen all over again. I just have to relearn how to be okay again."

Tony nodded slowly. He understood, of course he did.

Bucky continued slowly, pulling Tony close. "I think we'll both be okay though. I'll look out for you and you could look out for me."

"Do you remember when we first met and you told me you'd take care of me?" Tony asked.

Bucky shook his head. He doesn't remember saying it. He remembers grabbing Tony after they wiped his mind clean and pulled him into a corner. The memory was spotty and he doesn't remember saying much.

"Oh, that's okay. You said it and you told the truth." Tony said. "You probably don't remember, they put you in the chair a lot, but you used to sneak me food and glance over at me whenever I was scared or hurt. You once even gave me a hug, right before they came to get us." Tony looked back at the now empty kitchen. The team had long since dispersed.

Bucky smiled, he did remember that. It was silent then, neither of them had anything more to say. Tony curled into Bucky's side and squeezed his eyes closed. It wasn't long before he fell asleep. Bucky didn't move though, he didn't want to risk waking him.

So he continued to sit in front of the large window and watch the city move and light up even in the middle of the night. Everything was going to be okay. They were both going to be fine.

After a while he started to feel tired too. He gently picked Tony up and carried him back to his room. Tony was too light, too thin, and weighed almost nothing in his arms. He was small, delicate, and something he needed to protect.

He laid Tony down on his bed and pulled the blankets over him. He looked so peaceful Bucky couldn't help leaning over and kissing him lightly on the forehead.

"You're a huge sap." Tony muttered, not opening his eyes but smiling at Bucky. The smile was wide enough to show the small gap in his teeth from where he had yanked one out. He was about to leave, probably for another sleepless night when Tony reached out and grabbed his hand, running his thumb lightly over the metal fingers. "Stay."

Bucky did.