[AU] these are not the parts and poems of the body only, but of the soul

[from_the_outside]

They've all entered a kind of tense détente after the ill-advised dinner party. Tony throws himself into work, Sharon and Pepper mostly avoid each other, and Steve, Vision, and Nat continue with oversight duties.

And the thing is... Tony's working it out. 

Not a removal, exactly, but he's getting close, he'd told them, to at least blocking the commands. It's not perfect and it's not a permanent solution, but it's a step in the right direction. It's also a step in the direction of Tony needing to test the words on Bucky himself, and so Sharon and Steve are on extra high alert, keeping an eye out for any indication that Bucky's retreating into himself again. Sharon's mostly moved into the room they share in Steve's apartment for that very reason, though she still isn't wholly comfortable with being in Steve's space all the time.

He's away today, working with Sam and Rhodey on a veteran's outreach program, so it's Sharon who walks with Bucky through the halls of the compound towards Tony's rooms. "It's you and Vision with Tony today," she tells him, and glances across the distance they're careful to maintain when not alone behind closed doors.

"How are you feeling about everything?"

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[nerves_of_ice]

It's not working. With every word he can feel the pressure mounting, an ache growing in his temples and at the back of his neck, but somehow the block stays solid across whatever traps have been laid in his own mind, standing between the commands and his very self.

He shakes his head over and over again, affirming to Tony, to Vision, and most of all to himself that he's free to do so, even as his breath grows ragged and uneven with fierce, desperate hope.

[marvel_npc]

His chest is heaving, rapidly lifting up and down, but his voice stays steady. Gruzavój vagón," he says, and silence falls over the lab, except for his own ragged breaths and those of Bucky Barnes.

Tony can't bring himself to ask, can't say anything else – what if it didn't work, and the Soldier looks to him for orders? It's Vision, who, after a moment of listening to the silence, says, very gently: "Bucky?"

And Bucky Barnes looks up at Tony, his gaze clear and unclouded, not a hint of the Winter Soldier's blankness anywhere to be seen.

[nerves_of_ice]

For a second or two he's afraid he's going to start sobbing with relief. Bucky swallows, hard, trying to clear his throat of its sudden tight feeling.

"It didn't work," he whispers. "They didn't work. I'm still me."

[marvel_npc]

Tony drops to a crouch, his hands on the surface of his desk, and has to breathe slow and even to keep from throwing up. Finally, he pulls himself up.

"Okay," he says. His voice isn't anywhere near normal, but he can't give a shit just now. "Then let's finish up and go home. How did it feel?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Pressure," he says. "Like something pushing against a door, or a dam, or something like that. It kept getting heavier, until the end, then stopped."

He frowns a little, considering. "Not like a switch shutting off. Like water draining away. But it's almost gone now."

[marvel_npc]

Tony frowns. "Well, it's not great, but I'll take it," he says. "FRIDAY?"

"Running analysis now, boss," the AI says, and is quiet for a few moments before she says: "Pre-experiment levels stabilized. Analyzing."

The graph she throws up now shows the increasing curve of pressure as the words were spoken and the swift decline of that same mental pressure once they were complete. Tony studies it, gesturing at Vision. "Get those things off him," he tells Vision, referring to the diodes. "We don't need them anymore."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Seems pretty great to me," Bucky counters, holding himself still as Vision removes each diode from his skin.

"It's the first time in a long, long time that I haven't been someone else's -- someone else's."

Even though it's still there, even though he knows that with enough pressure anything can break, it's more freedom than he's known in over half a century.

[marvel_npc]

Tony scrubs both hands over his face and comes around the tables, still maintaining a reasonable distance, but no longer keeping the lab equipment and surfaces between them. "We'll get the rest," he promises. "This is just a... It's a first step. It gives us a little breathing room."

He stops about three feet away, his fingers rubbing together, wishing he had something to fiddle with. "How do you feel?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"I feel fine," Bucky says, looking up at him. "I feel... lighter. Good."

[marvel_npc]

Tony nods, a quick jerk of a movement, then sticks out his hand before he can think not to, offering to help the man up.

"Good," he says, simply. "That's good."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky takes his hand and gets to his feet, noticing as he does that Vision, off to the side, looks somehow quietly pleased.

"Thank you," he says. "I mean it."

[marvel_npc]

Tony nods again and pushes his hands into his pockets, rocking on his heels. "Thanks for letting me try," he says.

"How about a break? I think we deserve a break. Take the win for the moment, come back to it fresh in a few days."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Sounds good."

Bucky tips his head slightly toward the door. "I'll let Steve know. And Agent Carter, too."

[marvel_npc]

"Good," Tony says, again, and doesn't look at Vision, who is smiling gently at both of them.

"Then I'll clean up in here and see you both later. Let me know if you get any headaches or anything feels off, S – uh, Bucky. But you should be good."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I will," Bucky says. The corner of his mouth quirks up in a faint, slightly wry smile as he starts for the door.

"Try to get some sleep."

[marvel_npc]

"Yeah," says Tony, and waits until they're through the door and it latches behind them before he sits heavily down in a chair and puts his head back, his eyes closing.

"FRIDAY," he says, "please call Ms. Potts and let her know we'll be celebrating tonight. That's all."

[nerves_of_ice]

As he and Vision start down the hallway, Bucky tells him, "Agent Carter asked that you bring me to her office."

It occurs to him that they can change the protocols soon, and a wave of relief sweeps over him at the thought.

[marvel_npc]

"Very good," Vision says, walking, rather than drifting, by his side.

"You must feel quite relieved. That could not have been an easy procedure to undergo."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It wasn't," he agrees, "but it was worth it."

Bucky glances over at him. "Thanks for your help."

[marvel_npc]

"I have been happy to give it."

He's pleased: pleased with Tony and a little proud of him, also, and he finds he feels similarly towards Bucky. "I hope that once you no longer require a chaperone, we will still socialize. I've enjoyed our talks together. As they say: do not be a stranger."

[nerves_of_ice]

“I’d like that,” Bucky tells him, without hesitation and with clear sincerity. “As long as I’m not a bother.”

[marvel_npc]

"I find it difficult to imagine you would be," Vision says, gently amused.

"I imagine Captain Rogers and Agent Carter will be pleased to hear of this newest development." For differing reasons, of course, but pleased nonetheless. Vision wonders how long the Task Force will require oversight once the Winter Soldier program itself has been neutralized.

[nerves_of_ice]

“Oh, I don’t know, I can be pretty annoying if I set my mind to it,” Bucky drawls. “Ask Steve, he’ll tell you.”

But as he says his best friend’s name, a slow smile forms. “Yeah, they will, I bet.”

[marvel_npc]

"And rightfully so."

Tony will share all of his work with Rochelle and Alan, Vision knows, to give them more fuel for their argument to give Bucky Barnes an official pardon. "It is a very happy day."

[nerves_of_ice]

“You sure I’m not dreaming?” Bucky glances over at him. “Feels like it could be, but my dreams aren’t usually this good, so…”