Steve knocks on Bucky's bedroom door. He probably could have guessed that he'd be in here. He does seem to appreciate the peace and quiet these days. He tries not to think too much about that. It's just another reminder of how much he's changed over the decades he'd been stuck in HYDRA's grasp. The Bucky he grew up with would never hide out in his bedroom when he could be hanging out with a group of loud, rowdy friends.

"Who is it?" Bucky asks.

"It's just me," Steve says. He'll know who it is, just by the voice. That's one thing that hasn't changed.

"Is everything okay?" Bucky asks.

"Yeah, no, it's fine," Steve assures him. (He is lying.) "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Steve opens the door to find Bucky propped up in bed with the second Hunger Games book in his hands. Apparently, this is a great series to recommend to people who know nothing about 21st century novels, because both Bucky and Loki seem to really like it.

"Are you busy?" Steve asks him. Judging by the fact that he's just lying in bed with a book that he could read at any time, he suspects he knows the answer.

"That depends on why you're asking," Bucky says, but he slips something into the book to mark his page and closes it, letting it rest on his lap. He pushes himself up in bed, sitting up straighter with his legs criss-cross in front of him.

"I talked to Tony," Steve begins.

Bucky sighs. It's the only reaction he gives, but it's enough. He knows exactly where this conversation is going, just from that.

"He's not happy," Steve continues.

"Of course he's not," Bucky says. "I murdered his parents, and now I'm living in his house."

"You didn't kill them," Steve says. "HYDRA killed them. You don't have to take the blame for that. That wasn't you."

"I appreciate the pep talk, Steve, but that's not the point," Bucky says. "I killed his parents. And maybe I was just a weapon, and maybe it's not really my fault, but I still did it. If I was him, I'd be upset, too."

Steve folds his arms across his chest and presses his lips into a firm line. He understands the logic, but...

"He didn't seem too upset when I talked to him, though." Bucky adds. With an almost teasing lilt, he asks, "What'd you say to piss him off?"

Steve sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "The truth," he says. The truth, or something pretty damn close to it. "I guess that was my first mistake." Lying and keeping secrets from each other has never once benefitted the team in any way in the past, but this might have been the first time it could have. Clearly, the truth is not what he wanted to hear.

"What truth?" Bucky asks. "I already told him the truth."

"He asked me if I knew it was you," Steve explains. "I told him I'd heard rumors that there was someone else involved – but I didn't know it was you."

Bucky shakes his head disapprovingly. "You should've lied."

"I should've lied," Steve agrees. And, technically, it wouldn't actually have been a lie. He really didn't know. It would have been a white lie at best; strategically withholding unimportant information. If he knew ten minutes ago what he knows now, that is absolutely how he would have played it.

"Is he mad?" Bucky asks. "When I talked to him, he just said he needed a drink."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure he's mad now," Steve says. That was not a not-mad kind of storming out of the room. "I think he's more mad at me than he is at you, though, if that makes you feel better."

"I think I'd rather he not be mad at either of us," Bucky remarks.

"Well, that might be wishful thinking," Steve says.

Bucky huffs and nods in agreement.

He should probably mention this part, for transparency's sake (though they did just establish that sometimes, transparency is not a great idea). "Loki knows, too, now."

Bucky doesn't seem phased. "Loki strikes me as the kind of guy who knows everything."

"He said the same thing," Steve remarks, and, in spite of himself and the crappy situation they're in, he cracks a smile. "He was thrilled to finally be surprised by something. He always knows all the shocking revelations we have."

Bucky cracks a smile, too. "That also doesn't surprise me at all."

Steve tucks his hands into the pockets of his jeans. There's really nothing else he came here to discuss. That was the whole issue. They've discussed it. They're on the same page about everything. This is the end.

But, at the same time, he really doesn't want to have to go anywhere. He'll have to check on Loki at some point, but he'd rather give him a little longer before he goes after him. He could go check on Spider-Man, but really...

Really, he'd just rather be here. He'd rather have the chance to talk to his childhood best friend a little longer, about literally anything they might want to talk about. He's not picky. He just wants to keep talking.

Fortunately, it seems that Bucky is in no rush to usher him out of the room, because he asks, "What's his story? I still haven't been able to piece it together."

"Whose?" Steve asks. "Tony's or Loki's?"

"Loki's," Bucky says. "I know what he did in Manhattan and I know what he did in Germany and I know he's a god and that he's stuck here, but I don't really...?"

Steve finds himself hesitating – which is ridiculous, because he knows he shouldn't answer this. Nearly everything he knows about what led Loki to become the person he is today are things that he's not supposed to know. They're things that he'd overheard from private conversations; they're things that he's learned from his nightmare-induced bouts of panics; they're things that Loki wouldn't want him to share.

At the same time, though, this is Bucky – his Bucky. He used to tell him everything, back in the day. They never kept secrets from each other. Even stupid things or embarrassing things or things they swore they'd never tell another soul, they would always tell each other. It just feels wrong not to. This is what best friends do.

But then, best friends also don't gossip about them behind their backs, and Loki's earned the "best friend" title over the last few years more than anyone else.

So finally, Steve just says, "He's been through a lot. I think that's about all I can tell you."

Bucky nods solemnly, and for a moment, Steve thinks he's in the clear. Then, a follow-up question comes.

"Do you know who mind-controlled him?"

Steve balks at him.

How–

What–

Hold on.

"What do you mean?" Steve asks. What does he know? How does he know it? Does he know what they know? Does he know something more? These are not the words he expected to hear come out of this man's mouth right now.

Bucky furrows his brows. "Did you not know that?"

"How did you know that?" Steve asks, incredulous.

That only seems to make Bucky more confused. "He told me?"

Steve scoffs. "He told you?"

"Well, he told you, didn't he?" Bucky counters. "Why wouldn't he tell me?"

"Because he hasn't told me!" Steve hisses. "The rest of us only know because we were listening to his private conversation with his mom – which he does not know about, and you can't tell him."

"I won't," Bucky assures him. He pauses, then looks at him with a brow raised. "He really hasn't told you?"

"He won't tell anyone anything," Steve says. Maybe his mom holds all his secrets by now. He has absolutely no idea. But as for the rest of them, Loki won't say a word. "What did he tell you? Specifically?"

Bucky lets out a sigh, his head falling backward against the headboard. "I don't know; this was years ago," he says. "It was something about how he'd been in the same place, and I asked if somebody messed with his head, and he said yes – or something like that." He shrugs halfheartedly. "Like I said, it was years ago."

Steve doesn't know what shocks him more: that Loki admitted aloud that somebody played with his mind, that he admitted it to Bucky, or that he admitted it to Bucky years ago when they presumably hardly knew each other. Nothing about this makes sense to him right now.

"He didn't tell me anything about it," Bucky offers, like that will make him feel better about this. "It was just a passing comment. I think he was trying to connect with me or something."

"But he still told you," Steve says. "He hasn't even told Thor!" Or maybe he has, by now. Steve can't say for sure. But he does know that Thor found out with the rest of them a year ago, after Loki had already told Bucky the truth. He can hardly wrap his head around that.

Bucky just shrugs. "Well, I don't know what to say," he says. "I don't think it was that big of a deal. He definitely didn't make it a big deal at the time, and it hasn't come up since."

It feels like a pretty damn big deal to him, but, he supposes, the last thing he wants to do is convince Bucky that he should mention it to Loki again (because he's pretty sure that would not go over well), so he stops pushing on the subject. He sure won't be forgetting this conversation any time soon, but...

"What are you doing after this?" Bucky asks him. "Anything more interesting than reading a book?"

Steve shrugs. "I'm not sure," he admits. "I might go look for Loki. I might see what Peter's up to." If Bucky decides to tag along, he'll probably do the latter. Checking in on Loki doesn't seem like a group activity.

Bucky ponders that for a moment, then swings his legs over the edge of his bed. "That sounds more interesting than reading a book," he admits. "Want some company?"

"Always," Steve says. From Bucky? It's never even a question.

Bucky stands up, putting his book down on his mattress. "Alright, let's go."