They put Bucky in a big  metal chair which was inside a reinforced glass box. The metal was thick enough to strap down his metal arm and the glass reminded Basil of an aquarium. He watched as Bucky was loaded in a bulletproof transit van. Steve, Sam and T'Challa all marched into the smaller van behind. As soon as the vehicles were driving, Basil let the cuffs slip through his wrists and sighed. He flexed his arms and rolled his shoulders. The streets of Romania passing through the windows.

"So you like cats?" Sam asked.

"Sam", Steve sighed. They had been forced to change out of their suits and into plain clothes. Basil, who hadn't been wearing a suit to begin with, had also been forced to change. The clothes and knives taken away and he had been left with black jeans and a black hoodie. He lounged in his seat, reaching back to help Sam out of his cuffs before doing Steve's. T'Challa was the only one they had not cuffed. Probably because he was royalty.

"What? Dude turns up dressed like a cat. You don't want to know more?" Sam rubbed his wrists and glared at the king's head.

"I'd like to know more", Basil piped up. "The only time I've seen people dressed up in leather and with cat ears is either on Halloween or at kinky parties". Then he paused. "Actually, that usually the same thing. I assume yours means something different". He leaned towards the other man. "Come on Your majesty, spill the beans".

"Your suit", Steve voiced when no answer was forthcoming. "Vibranium?"

T'Challa tilted his head towards them. "The black Panther has been a protector of Wakanda for generations", he spoke finally in a low tone. His voice accented in a way that Basil was unfamiliar with. "A mantle passed from warrior to warrior. And now because your friend murdered my father. I also wear the mantle of king. So I ask you, as both warrior and king". His voice became stern and hard. "How long do you think you can keep your friend from me?"

"I don't think he did it", Basil objected. He met T'Challa's gaze firmly. "I mean, the only evidence you have that it was him is a grainy video. I mean, the winter soldier is a soldier. He was a tool for hydra. Nothing more, nothing less. It was what he was designed for. Taking orders. So even if he did do it then he was nothing more than a weapon deployed. You should be looking at the one who deployed him, not going after the weapon that had no control. Bucky Barnes, the person he was once and the person I hope he can be again, he was my lover. And I will spend the rest of my life keeping him from you if that is what it will take".

T'Challa met his gaze head on. The car was silent for the rest of the journey.

——

The vans stopped in the basement of the local shield building. Basil stepped out of the car to watch as Bucky's cage was moved passed. Bucky's face was unreadable through the glass. He had a air of resignation about him that pulled on Basil's chest. Steve's face was concerned as he took in the room. The blonde female Agent, Karen, Basil recognised from the DC incident was waiting for them with a man. The man was about Basil's height and was dressed in a light grey suit. Four armoured swat agents waiting behind him.

"What's going to happen to him?" Basil asked, walking over.

"Same thing that ought to happen to you", the man replied almost cheerfully. "Psychological evaluation and extraction". Basil grit his teeth, frustrated and worried.

"This is Everett Ross, deputy task force commander", Karen introduced. They ignored her.

"What about a lawyer?" Steve asked.

Agent Ross smiled. "A lawyer, that's funny". Then he turned to his men. "See that their weapons are placed in lock up. Don't worry, you'll get a recite". Basil huffed and turned in the opposite way, walking after Bucky's cage. Ross paused. "Mr Parrish. You need to come with me. You are not allowed to go with him".

"Fucking watch me!" Basil shouted back over his shoulder. A swat man tried to grab him by the shoulder but stumbled as his hand passed straight through. Basil kept on walking.

"You'd better let him go", Steve sighed. "You literally can't stop him. No one has yet to find a away. He won't cause any problems". Ross pressed his lips into a thin line. He didn't look very happy about it, but as Steve said. There was no way for them to stop Basil from doing what he pleased. (Tony had experimented on dozens of theories but had not yet found a away).

Ross sighed. "The rest of you. If you would follow me".

"I don't want to see anybody flying around in that thing while I'm gone", Sam scowled as he walked after the agent. Steve glanced back at Basil's disappearing figure and the glass cage.

Basil walked alongside the cage, ignoring the dozens of armed men surrounding him. The glass box was moved through long corridors before eventually being placed in a big empty room of steel walls and concrete floor. It was cold and empty. Basil pulled a face at it as the cage was locked into the floor. "The lodgings could be better", he commented. The armed guards around them ignored him. He glanced up at the cameras and gave them a wave, positive that Steve would probably be able to see the feed.

He stretched, kicking his legs as he counted the bruises he could feel forming. "Your quite comfortable in there?" Tony's voice sounded from a speaker. In his seat, Bucky didn't react.

"I was tasking to you Basil", Tony sighed. Basil stopped fidgeting and looked up at the camera. "You are technically not supposed to be in there".

"Aww come on Tony," Basil grinned. "When has that ever stopped me before?"

"You're such a little shit", Tony cursed. His voice tinged with mechanical interference. Basil gave a theatrical bow to the room, absolutely certain that Tony Stark was watching. There was a loud sigh through the mic. "So, Basil. I thought you retired".

"Retired, quit. Whatever you want to call it", Basil shrugged. "Heard that Clint did the same. Good for him".

"He did. So, what side are you on? I'm sure Steve has been keeping you informed". Tony's voice was almost conversational if it wasn't for the undercurrent of tension. Basil shrugged and resumed stretching.

"Sort of. I mostly heard about the accord from the news. Actually, I understand why you need them. It makes sense and the destruction of New York and dc was mot fun. I rate it maybe a two out of five stars. Dc was only probably half a star. Definitely no not recommend".

Tony sighed but Basil could her slight amusement in his next words. "Jesus Basil, you have not changed".

"Nope. I'm like a bad omen".

"You most certainly are. A bad omen who doesn't listen when he's asked to come and stay in the office". Basil waved a hand. "It's good to see you", Tony chuckled.

"Same. Well, it's good to hear you".

Tony sighed again. "Please come upstairs Basil".

Basil stopped moving and straightened. He glanced back towards Bucky's blank face. He knew that the man could hear everything. "What about him?"

"He is dangerous".

"So am I", Basil snapped. "You're my friend Tony and I even agree with you on the accords stuff but no. I have known Bucky longer than you and I owe him my life. He means more to me than you will know so I am not going to abandon him". He walked over to the cage and sat down to lean back against the glass. "You're welcome to try and move me. It won't work though".

"For fucks sake basil", Tony snapped. "He doesn't even remember you. He doesn't love you. The man you loved is gone. Wake up!"

Basil flinched at the words. He turned to look at Bucky's face again. It was no longer cold. Bucky was watching him with slight confusion. Blue eyes meeting green and Basil took a deep breath. "I know", he spoke just loud enough for the speakers to pick up, but with a bone deep certainty. "I know that he doesn't love me anymore. I don't expect him to be the man I knew. Too much has happened since then. I am not the boy he knew either. If he never remembers me then that is fine too. He doesn't have to remember me. He just needs someone who won't treat him like a weapon, or a monster. I am here in the memory of the man I loved. It is in his memory that I will stick with him and let him know that he can always have someone to count on. I don't except things back. I don't expect him to owe me anything".

"You can't be that selfless", Tony accused. "Don't destroy your life for him".

Basil laughed without humour. "I'm not that selfless. I am completely selfish. I want closure. That's what I will get out of helping him. I need my fucking closure. I have been grieving my lover since 1944. I need to know that whatever is left of him, even if it's just a body, I need to know that he is fine. Then maybe I could go on with my life! Maybe I could begin to move on and stop destroying myself! I want to stop waking up screaming! I want to stop hurting! The only fucking reason I'm still alive is because there was still things unfinished". His voice had risen as he spoke and he was glaring up at the camera. "I was going to let war kill me Tony! I intended to die back then. But somehow I met someone who made me want to live, even for just a bit longer. He made my world brighter. So don't ask me to give that up, because if I do then I am nothing but that boy on the edge of ending it all again!"

There was a silence on the mic. "That's obsession", Tony stated finally. "Not love".

Basil laughed, high and painful and mad. The few guards who had stayed at the doors visibly shifted at the noise. "No. It's just a fucked up healing process", he grinned. "Now go and bother Steve. Because I can feel our friendship straining Tony. Leave me alone now". Silence then a beep as the microphone was turned off. The conversation ended.

Basil sighed deeply and leaned his head back on the glass with a thunk. The room was quiet and he closed his eyes. "So the love story in the museum was real?" A soft, quiet voice. Basil blinked his eyes open and whipped round to see Bucky watching him curiously, head tilted and his hair draped over his face.

Basil sighed and gave him a small smile. "Yeah. They have my letters, don't they? Embarrassing".

Bucky nodded. His head the only thing he could move. "I saw your interview".

Basil chuckled. "Did I look good on film Sarge?" The nickname slipped out before he could stop it. He froze, while he had been calling Bucky it before, now he realised that he probably shouldn't. If he really didn't remember, then he should probably call him by his name.

There was a slight twitch to Bucky's face that was amused. Basil watched it with the awe of someone watching a flower bloom. His heart shaking as Bucky responded. "Don't be vain Parrish".

The sound of his surname and the familiar lightly scolding tone brought tears to his eyes. Basil giggled as his eyes filled with water. He wiped them on his sleeve. "Don't do that. My heart can't take it. You sound too much like him".

Bucky's expression was sad. "What? Not going to ask me for a kiss Parrish?" Basil froze and met the blue. Bucky looked black, eyes finally seeing him. Eyes that he knew. Basil, tears trickling down his face, let out a choked sob. Then he began laughing.

Unedited