fossilised | military mistletoe

Bucky snorted quietly, voice also a little hoarse. He hadn't had the feeding tubes like Tony, but he had been quiet for a long time now. He had mostly refused to talk to the military people who kept coming through wanting him to sign official secrets papers, or being cagey about declaring him alive again.

Some bullshit about it not reflecting well on the military to be seen to be wrong in the eyes of the public. So what the hell is he supposed to do to keep them from being wrong? Be legally dead forever?

"Yeah? Because you still smell like ass."

“My ass smells great,” Tony shot back, curling and uncurling his fingers just as a team of medical professionals rushed in to lol him over. The process took forever and while he did want to be left alone, it was pretty nice to have some hustle and bustle around to keep his mind occupied.

His personal assistant was here to see him, but Tony didn’t want any visitors. Bucky might not feel that way, though, and so he glanced at his friend, also being tended to, and arched his eyebrows at him.

“Let’s get the sergeant’s family here. Three sisters and a best friend?” He had no idea about the whole play dead scenario and if he did, well they’d be on a plane already out to California. Tony liked to throw his money around. His legal and financial teams were often appalled but what did he care? This was for a good cause.

"I'm afraid the sergeant's family are otherwise engaged," one of the doctors replied smoothly, prompting a snort from Bucky that was anything but amused.

"What they mean is that they haven't told them I'm not dead, and they're not letting me do it either. I'm a walking PR disaster because they already shipped condolences about me months ago, and if I show up alive then it looks like they're heartless assholes who give up on missing soldiers too soon. They're scared the public won't like that."

"No," the doctor said, looking a bit nervous. "That's not it at all, the situation is a lot more complex than that. And now isn't the time to discuss it, if you don't mind, we need to get Mr. Stark checked over now he's awake. How are your pain levels, Mr. Stark?"

“Manageable. More manageable if you would just do your damned job. Actually, you know what? Bring in my PA. I’d like a press conference set up.” Tony had stopped being diplomatic. He was tired of being confined and told what he could or could not do. He also didn’t grasp the larger issues at hand, he didn’t know half of what was going on or why.

Tony just had too much money and a powerful tech company to back him up. He thought he was invincible and if their escape from Afghanistan was worth anything, it just proved to him that he could do whatever he damn well pleased by virtue of brain power alone.

“I want to recognize the hero who lost an arm saving my life and who kept me alive when I was going to die any number of times. Oh, get hair and makeup in here too. He looks terrible for the camera.”

"I'm sorry, but we can't do that."

Tony might have a lot of money, and they might be hoping for a sizeable donation in thanks for saving his life, but that didn't mean that he was all powerful. They had their orders from the PR department, and those superseded most others.

"Someone will be by later this afternoon to explain the situation and go through some documentation with you. After that, we'd be happy to let you hold a press conference. Alone."

Alone? If they thought Tony would keep his mouth shut, they had another thing coming. Of course, by then, his assistant would be in to help smooth down his rough edges and to keep him from getting too angry. He was seething, though, by the time that he and Bucky were alone.

“What is this? Embarrassment? What are they covering up? You’re a god damned hero,” Tony grunted, wheezing a little. The more worked up he became, the harder it was for him to breathe. He wasn’t even worried about that, however.

If he pooped a stitch, they’d put a new one in.

Conspiracy theories reigned in his head as he tried to find a comfortable place to lay and tried not to think of ways to McGuyver a bomb to totally destroy this building.

“No offense, Barnes, but I’m sticking to Air Force from now on.”

Bucky wasn't feeling in a much better mood, and the only thing keeping him from snarling and punching people was that they couldn't force him to sign the damn papers and he wasn't about to let them keep him away from his family.

"They don't care either, Tony, open your eyes. They want you to come on TV and thank them for saving you, give them a big cheque to build more weapons, and then shut up and go away. They don't care that you're actually alive, and they're mad as hell that I'm alive."

He sat up slowly, painfully. Tony would see that his whole torso was bandaged, and what had been left of the stump of his arm was gone right up to the socket of his shoulder, just a blank nothingness.

"If I had a cell phone, I'd already have called my people and let them know."

A quick scan of the room revealed that there wasn’t a phone in here either. It would have been simple to get an outside line. Tony didn’t have a cell. His assistant might, and even if not, he’d just pass along phone numbers Bucky wanted called.

They couldn’t keep them in a black hole for long.

“My weapons days are over,” Tony said, his anger leaving him exhausted to the point where he could barely speak. He just needed to heal, and Bucky did too, though Tony thought he looked much better without the stump. It would just be more difficult to fit s prosthetic on later and limit his control.

Then again, it would likely launch a new part of Tony’s career if he could figure out what to do about that. His lips pursed together, design schematics forming on his eyelids.

“This is going to sound crazy, but it’s weird to have you over there.” They'd spent most of their nights close together to ward off the cold.

Bucky wasn't a naturally tactile person, especially not after being captured twice and held as a prisoner, but with Tony it had been a matter for survival and he kind of got that it would have been comforting. They were bonded now in a way that he thought would last forever, even if he knew Tony well enough by now to know that the idiot would assume Bucky wouldn't want to know him now they were free.

"Sorry, pal, but we're both hooked up to too much shit for any relocation, guess you're going to have to live without my firm butt next to you."

He smiled, something half hearted.

"...this wasn't how I pictured us getting out, you know? I thought I'd at least get to see my family, I didn't think I'd be treated like a goddamn criminal for surviving."

“Your butt isn’t as firm as you seem to think it is, Sarg,” Tony grinned. It was easier to tease than it was to just lay here and feel sorry for themselves. “And I didn’t know your people were such absolute dicks. Should have guessed, judging by you, but I thought you were a one off.”

Tony himself didn’t like to be touched. He hadn’t before being left for dead in the Middle East and there was no way that was going to change now, but he’d just grown used to having Bucky right next to him every time he shut his eyes that it was honestly difficult to relax with just some steel bars keeping him in place.

Man. He just really hated all of this.

“You’re going to see your family again. Soon. You’re going to owe me another drink.” People tended to be dismissive of Tony Stark. It didn’t matter how often he showed his genius, he was still just Howard’s kid.

But it was odd that Rhodey hadn’t been here. Or Happy. Or even Obadiah.

Little did Tony know that Obadiah had been working under the assumption that Stark wouldn't return, he wasn't supposed to return, and now he was doing some fast thinking and some damage control so that he could maintain his image as that one kindly friend of Howard's who had Tony's affection and confidence.

Damn it.

Happy was actually there, in the waiting room, but had been denied entrance about fifteen times thanks to security protocols, and Rhodey was currently on a deployment that meant he wasn't yet free to come to California. Not that either of them knew any of this.

"We're both gonna see our people again, we just need to find a phone. Come on, Tony, I thought you were some kind of genius, can't you jimmy a phone out of what we have in here or something?"

“Isn’t what I’ve already done for you enough?” He snorted, cracking one eye open just to double check that Bucky was still there. It was crazy how attached he had gotten and the numbing thought that this wouldn’t last forever was just starting to seep in. Buck would go home. And that would be that.

Maybe he could offer him a job? Tony tended to solve friendship matters with employment. People stayed for the money and he got their friendship out of it.

It seemed like a good plan to him.

“Tell you what. Start working that boyish charm on one of the nurses and get yourself a phone. No one leaves them in their lockers. They all have them in their back pockets. Maybe you’ll even get a number out of it?” Tony was still strapped down to keep him from moving too much so his arms were no longer in service. And Bucky still had at least one.

"I saved your life too, pal. Pretty sure you owe me at least one crappy phone, tell them you need to call your bank to prepare them for the massive cheque you're gonna write or something."

He wasn't interested in the nurses even if they would be keen to look in on him, and that was doubtful given that he hadn't had anything other than a sponge bath in literal months and was down an arm.

"How about you start pulling your weight around here, huh, Stark?" He grinned, because it was easier to joke. Easier for them both, it was just something they had got used to. "Such a damn slacker, acting like you have a right to slob around just because you've had open heart surgery."

“And you lost an arm? Big. Deal. You have another perfectly good one. You didn’t even lose your jacking arm so i have no idea why you’re throwing such a damned fit.” Anyone watching this would very likely be utterly appalled. “Best I can do with just a heart monitor and IV drip is wait until these idiots let me out or try to get me to build a missile for them.”

Not to sugar coat things but they were still stuck here under the whim of someone else. That was the worst part really.

Tony had expected at least a little bit of autonomy. This was by and large ridiculous.

“A few days won’t make a difference,” he murmured. “Take a god damned nap already and let me think.”

It made a difference, but Bucky didn't want to articulate why. Some things were just too personal and awkward, but he was worried about how his sisters were coping with finances - Becca was the next oldest and she was still in high school, what if she dropped out so she could support them all? What if his sisters were in foster care now because his money wasn't coming in any more to let them be semi-independent?

And Steve, too. He had no idea how Steve would have reacted to the news that he was dead, but he was damn sure it wouldn't have been well. He needed to see them all again, he needed to make his absence right.

"...you know why I enlisted?" Maybe he did need to talk about it a bit. "To support my sisters. I couldn't go to college and earn money to keep them out of foster care, but to be a legal guardian I had to be able to support them all. The army gave me a place to earn money where all of it could go to them, room and board paid for, and they'd pay for me to go to college after. I did everything the damn army asked of me. I got caught, fucking twice, and I never told anyone anything, I never broke, I just-- I don't get it. What the fuck did I do wrong? Why the fuck won't they let me call my family, why are they treating me like a criminal?"

Oops, that was a bit much, but once he started it just seemed to keep coming, voice tight and a bit thick. He had given everything for his country, he had fought as hard as he could and lost so much, and they were acting like they'd rather he'd died.

"I just want a damn phone call."

“We had four months and you never told me this?” Tony asked, eyes staying closed because he didn’t need to see Bucky’s face. He knew the man must be totally heartbroken just from the way his voice cracked.

He exhaled slowly, biding his time, and not making an offer he already knew that Bucky would accept because he had no choice. He’d be proud but this was for his family.

“I owe you more than the welfare of your siblings. You didn’t do anything wrong. The world is just a shitty place and then you die.” He didn’t like to hear the sudden frantic pressure from the mouth of the guy who had been holding him sane for months now. “I’m getting you that phone. I’m finding your sisters. You trusted me once so keep on doing that.”

"I didn't tell you because it was too hard. I didn't know if we were really gonna make it out of there, and talking about them hurt too much."

His voice was still thick, but also muffled in a way that might tell Tony that he was trying to surreptitiously wipe his face on his sheet so there was no trace left of any unmanly tears.

"It's not that I didn't want you to know, and I do trust you. Hell, it's pretty much you, Steve, Becca, Beth, and Lizzie. That's it. Jesus, it's been months since they said I was dead, do you think they gave them any kind of compensation payment? Steve's medical insurance was being paid for by my salary too."

Bucky had kept literally nothing of his pay for himself, he was kind of a moron that way. When he went all in for someone, he was loyal til the end, no matter what.

"But, I mean-- yeah, okay. If you say you can get me the phone, I believe you. Just don't leave it too long, slacker."

It was a poor attempt to get back to the lightness of teasing, spoiled by the way his voice was still wavering a bit.

“If you’re dead, they get your pension,” Tony said, which sounded right but he wasn’t sure. He didn’t know a lot about the world to be honest. He might not be in a literally ivory tower but he certainly was in one inside of his own head, plugging away at the world without consequence.

He made a huge gesture of swallowing, mostly because he needed to with the pain, and then, closed his eyes again.

When his assistant was allowed in, they could make a plan. Until then, there wasn’t much he could do. He needed a friendly face who wasn’t locked down to a hospital bed to visit first, but without knowing that he was being railroaded, that the mess left was being covered up, he was stuck here with Bucky.

Stuck? It wasn’t exactly a hardship. They’d become very close but a lot of the personal stuff— Shit. It was hard to realize how little they actually knew each other.

It wasn't that they didn't know each other, it's just that Bucky had been careful while they were trapped to keep his stories more upbeat because he was trying to keep morale up. He told Tony about how Steve got his nose busted by yet another bully the day before school photos, or how he had embarrassed his little sisters by trick or treating with them while dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

He had just glossed over the hardships and worries, they had been worried enough in there without adding depressing stories to it. Besides which, he had never really wanted to hammer in how poor the Barnes and Rogers families were, in case Tony had thought he was angling for a handout if they ever got out.

Things fell silent for a while, and after a few hours a man in full dress uniform with a general's stripes entered and sat down next to Tony's bed.

"Mr. Stark, good to see you awake and getting better. I'm here to discuss some delicate details of the situation with you. I'm sure you understand that military intelligence is a classified business, and so there as aspects to your confinement that would be better kept out of the public eye. Of course we're happy for you to talk about being rescued, or some of the conditions you were kept in, but details of the weaponry, names of any of the insurgents or other prisoners, and exact locations should be kept quiet. I'm sure, as the head of a large company with corporate secrets to keep, you understand our need for discretion."

Tony let the man talk. He had finally gotten a good meal (cheeseburgers and a chocolate shake) and he was feeling more human. Human enough that he could actually appreciate what was being told to him, even if he didn’t agree. “Our if curiosity, what would happen if the world knew Sargent Barnes was a hero who saved my life and kept me alive for four months while you guys gave up on us? And I’m only asking this as a private citizen.”

Because there was nothing that the army could hold over him except deny him any future contracts.

“What you should come to me as is a business man yourself. We both have something the other needs. I need you to discharge James Barnes honorably and will fill military rank and privilege. And you need me not to be a huge dick. Get what I’m saying?”

"I'm afraid the situation with Sergeant Barnes is a more complex one, and is something that will be discussed privately with him."

Which means that they're not prepared to admit that they found an arm and a large pool of blood, and wrote him off as dead without even bothering to look for him. That reflected badly on them, especially if that soldier had then distinguished himself with exceptional bravery in the face of capture. Twice.

Damn it all.

"Please be reasonable, Mr. Stark. I'm sure you understand that these are delicate times for the USA, with threats of terror and war overseas, the people need to believe in their military and support us. Something damaging to morale will only hurt us all."

Tony lightly cocked an eyebrow upward. “So it’s better PR for you to bury this story than to make Barnes your poster child for all things great about the military? He’s not that guy that went AWOL and turned up as a POW seven months later. So you wrote him off as dead? Fine. This is a god damned redemption story.” The Officer didn’t look convinced. “Then don’t mention my part in it. The joint military spent the last few months hunting for us. You found us while we were forced to conduct a missile test. That’s all. It’s a feel good story and you guys can have your double win.”

It didn’t make a lick of sense to him why the hell Barnes would have to take this fall to save face.

“All it takes is one leak. One conspiracy theory. I thought you guys were smarter than that. Now get me a phone. And get whatever lie you want to tell ready before you pay this man for his sacrifice. Money and a ticket tape parade. You like parades, Barnes?”

The officer ground his teeth for a moment before smiling in a way that was much more like a grimace, but he really really wanted some of that sweet Stark Industries cash.

"...if you'll excuse me for a while, gentlemen, it appears I need to have a talk with my colleagues to see if there's a way that we can move forward to our mutual benefit."

Which meant that Tony was being damn difficult over one stupid soldier, but he needed to be coddled somewhat because they wanted a donation. Bucky just snorted and half rolled over to stare at them both.

"I don't need a parade, I just want to be acknowledged as alive."

“Have you ever been in a parade?” Tony asked, feeling exhausted, eyes barely open. “Because neither have I and I want to be.” Really, he just wanted to make sure that the Army gave Bucky what he deserved. He wanted to make sure that they understood that embarrassment would mean keeping s hero dead instead of alive and on his road to recovery.

They were always so short sighted. Men in charge tended to be. The Army had a PR team for a reason. They could spin this to their own desires easily enough.

Especially if they wanted an edge with Stark Industries. Too bad they didn’t know that Tony was taking his company out of the weapons business.

It was a good job that the army didn't know that Tony planned to be out of the weapons industry, or they would be doing this in a whole different way with threats instead of trying to butter him up. It was only because they hoped for a large contract with him, and a substantial donation, that the PR team was eventually convinced that they could spin James Barnes' story into something that would work for them.

Hero soldier survives against all odds and protects American citizen, they'd have him do press tours and give him a good pension and a medal, make him a poster boy. Gloss over the mistake as much as possible, maybe even have him issue a statement about how he would have made the same call in their place.

It was early the following morning when a sharp-eyed young woman came back into the room with a smile that didn't reach her eyes and a set of contracts in hand.

"Good morning, gentleman. Mr. Stark, Sergeant Barnes, I'll just need both of you to read and sign these documents."

Bucky rolled his eyes and took his, giving it a cursory scan before looking up in surprise. "The hell? Is this a joke? Medals? Promotional tour?"

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