Just a Kid from Brooklyn

When Tony arrived at the place on the shore where Steve lay, it was in time to see the last of the hellicarrier disappear in to the Potomac and a figure running off into the distance. Tony didn't bother to go after him. He didn't really care about Bucky Barnes or the Winter Soldier. He didn't care about the bike that was kicking up rocks as he jumped from it and sprinted towards the prone figure on the ground.

Steve was still breathing, and that was the only thing that Tony cared about. He vaguely remembered waking up to see Steve's face laying over him after his face plate had been ripped off and the Hulk roared at him to stir him after the fall from the vortex.

He remembered, however, locking eyes with the gentle blue above him and that their heartbeats had synced.

Tony knelt on the rocky beach over Steve now, their roles reversed, and lightly nudged their noses together. "You better wake up, Steve Rogers, or I will go down after you."

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He heard the voice, vaguely, almost like part of a dream and it was hard to claw himself out of the darkness, but his instincts told him he needed to go to it. His Guide. Was his Guide safe? He forced through the pain and ache shooting through every inch of his body to blearily open his eyes.

The Sentinel's hand scrapped across the ground and he groaned in pain, spitting up even more water. His eyelids flutter as he scrutinized his Guide for injuries. He wasn't forming words very well right now.

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"Shhh," Tony breathed, feeling heavy in his chest as he leaned over Steve to press his forehead briefly to his shoulder. He let out a relieved sort of laugh, not really happy, just getting out all of that pent up energy.

His head was swimming as he told JARVIS to get them some help and the sat beside Steve until they were both collected.

Tony stayed by Steve's side during his recovery. No one could locate Bucky and Banner swung by to continue testing. He'd been told that all of SHIELD's secrets were released... Including Steve initially being a Guide... And all of his finances. And his stocks. And half of his plans and--

There was a lot of mess to clean up.

But Tony didn't leave Steve's side.

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His eyes stayed on Tony the entire time they were on the beach. He was so sure he was dead before this that he was concerned if he closed his eyes he wasn't going to wake up again. He mumbled a handful of things, mostly apologizing for this and probably for the failed bond as well. 'I love you' is mumbled out as well.

When he wakes up in the hospital, he feels a little better but he's still tired. Of course, given his injuries that's probably to be expected. He hears about everything going on and he doesn't care. He's a Sentinel now and that's all that matters. He assumes that Pepper will take care of some of the PR.

"Should you go?" he asks a few days later. "I'm pretty boring just laying here."

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"Bout time I get involved with something boring," Tony insisted, clicking off the television. He didn't really want to hear all of the new things that kept getting dug up. It was depressing. It made him angry. He needed his full focus to be on his Sentinel.

Yes. Sentinel now. No matter what he might have started out as. Tony was a lot of things but he didn't do Guide on Guide.

"I am more worried about depriving you of my face for too long."

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His senses were very certain that he was a Sentinel. As far as what Banner and FitzSimmons have dug up, science seemed to agree. They just need to figure out how to hook the two of them together properly and hopefully sooner, rather than later.

"I think I'll be alright," he told him with a small laugh. "It'll be that much sweeter when you come back."

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"Would you leave me?"

The question ought to not be a startling one, but the intensity of Tony's eyes and the whole demeanor he had had for months now since they had discovered their intense compatibility probably would account for some of that. He had been aloof. This had been something he wanted, but it wasn't always romantic. They were more like friends... Friends that were sexually attracted to each other, sure, but not much else.

Not until this whole bonding thing had gone South. And now?

Tony was acting decidedly more attached. More affectionate. Perhaps even needy. It was just weird.

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It was startling to Steve because the Sentinel was nothing but loyal and if the Guide needed to ask, then he wasn't showing how much he cares about him properly. Was that because they weren't sleeping together?

"No," he told him, blue earnest and concerned. "I wouldn't. I love you, Tony."

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Well. "Then you should know that if have no intention of leaving you."

And if possible, even less of an intention once those words came tumbling off of his tongue.

Tony sighed. "Idiot. I love you." It was followed by a smile. And a deserved kiss. One of those long, terribly romantic kisses that required Tony to be in bed with Steve despite the other's near death experience. One that caused a very untimely visit from a nurse to be put off until the end of her rounds to give them time.

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He smiles back, though he's still recovering, and returns the kiss. He's healed enough that it's not a problem for Tony to climb up on the bed with him and he's fairly certain that it's more than one kiss, but he's not going to protest it.

Steve's hands roam, just a little, ignoring the 'oh!' from the nurse that immediately vacates the room. He's too busy kissing his Guide.

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Once Steve was better again and Tony's arm had healed, it was back to gene therapy for Steve and a more than significant manhunt for Bucky Barnes. Sam was more or less on the case as Natasha tried to downplay the mess she had caused with the government.

The only real strides that they were making was with Steve, however. Bruce and Tony had managed to reverse some of the danage to Steve's DNA, to at least partially turn off the Guide receptor cells. It was still going to be a long, difficult road but at least there was an end in sight.

Banner and FitzSimmons seemed sure that they were on the verge of a breakthrough...and Tony had already started to order some expensive Egyptian cotton for a nest. That was when Sam called them at the lab to speak with Steve.

"Found him, Cap."

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After he got the call from Sam, Steve made sure that the science team had everything they needed from him for a little while. They could work in the background while he was gone to make that breakthrough so when it was all said and done, he could finish his bond with Tony.

"I have to go after him," he told his Guide. "I have to."

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Tony rubbed a hand through his hair as he leaned back in his seat. "I-- Cap, I'm going to sit this one out. We're just so close--" He wanted Steve to understand that this bond was important to him. "But you go." At least they were on the same wavelength this time! That was a step in the right direction!

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He nodded, understanding that Tony wanted to keep working and he leaned in to give the man an appreciative kiss. "Thank you," he murmured, eyes warm as he pulled back and then turned to leave.

Steve had an old friend to find.

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A friend who was holed up in a warehouse, stuck in a vice grip. He stared at Sam as the man paced in front of him. He felt like a dog...or like bait. His mind kept reverting back to mild blankness and then immediately to terror and confusion. He was remembering more and more each time, but it wasn't enough.

And everything still muddled his thoughts. "He'll be here soon," Sam promised.

And Bucky wasn't sure which blond man he was hoping to see.

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He took a jet but walked out in plain clothes with the shield in a bag he was carrying. He didn't think Bucky would appreciate seeing Captain America after the fight on the carrier and he didn't want to trigger any memories or his need to kill Steve.

Steve slipped into the building and blinked to adjust his eyes, following the sound of Sam's footsteps to the room. "Buck," he said as soon as he saw them. "Do you remember me?"

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Bucky looked up at that familiar voice and felt emotion catching in his throat. He wanted to cry but he wasn't a crier. He'd never been. Steve had needed someone to be strong.

The poor kid-- Bucky still remembered feeling that call from the alley as he passed... But Steve wasn't a Guide. He had never given off that particular scent to him and so Bucky assumed he was just his hearing that had alerted him to that shuffle.

"I know you," he said, swallowing. "Steve... Steve Rogers. Your mother' snake was Sarah--"

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"Good," He smiled, though there was a tinge of sadness to it, just because of all the terrible things they've both gone through to get to this point. Steve couldn't even imagine how horrible Bucky's side of things must be.

"Let's get you out of this," he said, taking a step forward so he could take a closer look. "Hopefully we can."

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Sam made a sort of warning noise for Steve to keep his distance but Steve wasn't the sort of person to listen to anyone. At all. He did step back to give the pair their privacy, though he had his gun drawn just in case.

"Steve--" Bucky hadn't really seen him in so long. There were brief flashes of memory between wipes. They were mostly filled with pain. He tried to articulate more of his memory but they fell short and they were so very depressing. "I'm sorry."

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He couldn't free the man and take him home without getting close to him but Sam was right, Steve wasn't much for warnings. He eyed the machine and the vice, frowning at the arm. How had Bucky gotten stuck in this thing?

His attention shifted to his friend and he crouched so he could be on eye level with him. "It's not your fault. You were being controlled by Hydra."

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"I don't know what I was doing," Bucky confirmed. He still wasn't entirely sure and he didn't know how he had even gotten here. It was during one of his fugues. The Sentinel shifted back on his heels to relieve the pressure from his knees and gazed back up at Steve. He smelled...good. Then again, Bucky smelled like sweat and body odor so anything smelled better than he did right now.

Sam cleared his throat. "What's the call here, Cap? I'm pretty sure that it's not going to be this cozy for very long."

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He glanced back at Sam and eyed the machine again. "The one time Tony doesn't come, I need him," he shook his head. He didn't know anything about this machine. "I don't even know where to start with this thing."

Steve pulled out his phone, "JARVIS?"

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"Yes Captain? How can I assist?"

Tony was too busy zapping cells with Banner and having a fantastic time nearly blowing himself (and everyone else) up. He still acted like that seventeen year old at MIT, causing all sorts of hassle. FitzSimmons were half afraid to enter the lab at all!

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"Can you me tell how this thing works?" he asked, gesturing toward the machine Bucky was trapped in. He didn't feel like they had a lot of time. He should have called for more back up than this but it was too late.

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