The conversation with the Secretary and the team went about as well as anyone could have expected, leaving a hard line drawn in the sand about who agreed with this new set of rules that the Accords were trying to enforce, with those who didn't agree left standing on their own to find a way to move forward. For you, it was a little hazy, trying to not be that person who would sign just because their significant other was doing it; you wanted to have your own reasons to sign or not, and it didn't escape Tony's notice that you had yet to place pen to paper.

Adding insult to injury, Steve had left abruptly, and only after Natasha had broken him down did he tell the group why he had to excuse himself with so little attention to his manners. His first, real love had passed away, and he was immediately packing to leave for her funeral in London. Tony didn't push for his signature before he left; even he could never be that insensitive despite the pressures on himself to get it done. He would do his best to stall Ross for as long as he could, but you knew as well as he did that the situation was tenuous and barely hanging by a thread.

Sam had called a few times with updates on how Steve was doing and how the services were going, but only because you had asked him to, and only because you knew that Bucky would probably want to know. His life had crossed Peggy's as well, even if he didn't fully remember it yet. You wanted the option of being able to share it with him should it come up. You had toyed with the idea of being the one to text Bucky first, when he had always been the first to do so thus far, but you held back because you had no idea at all what his life looked like, and it felt strange to you to interfere with even so much as a hastily typed message. You put your phone onto your bedside table and stood with a long stretch and a last yawn before fully waking for a new day, only to be startled immediately into it.

"Honey," Tony called to you, poking his head through the doorway, "I need you to pack a bag. There's been an explosion at the U.N. in Vienna and Ross wants me there."

You nodded in agreement without a second thought, hurrying to your closet to follow his direction. "Nat's there. Is she okay?"

"She said she's good, just a little shaken up. Not everyone was so lucky."

"Did you call Steve?"

"Was I supposed to?"

"Tony," you gasped in shock, dropping your bag on your closet floor and stepping out to see him, "you're not serious. He's still a member of this team, and Nat is one of his closest friends. You need to call him."

"Fine, how about a cursory text," he grumbled, taking his phone in hand. "I'm sure he's heard by now anyway, so this is just formality."

"Are we starting this already? Just because he hasn't signed yet, it doesn't mean that he won't."

"You haven't."

"Same answer," you replied flatly, turning your attentions back to gathering your belongings and hurriedly throwing on the first coordinated outfit that you could find. Tossing the bag on the floor towards where he stood, you glanced back to him as you crossed the room. "I'll be down in a few minutes. We can talk about this on the way there."

Tony looked down at your bag and fought an inner battle as to if he would pick it up or not. Normally, he wouldn't give it so much thought and would have been on his way to the jet with it already, but these weren't normal times for anyone anymore. In a moment of indignant disregard, he turned and walked away without it, as wrong as it felt to him to do so.

"Yep, we're starting this already," you muttered to yourself. This was going to get messy.

~~~

Do you know me?

"Oh, my god."

"Hmm?" Tony asked you, not even looking up from his phone as he sat next to you on the jet.

"N-nothing," you answered breathlessly, as you watched a scene that he could never see as you were now. The telltale wave of dizziness struck, and you reflexively grabbed the sides of your chair for support, though you weren't the one moving at a frantic speed to keep yourself alive.

Buck, stop! You're gonna kill someone!

"Just run," you tried to tell him, hoping that he was hearing you. You slammed your eyes shut so that what your eyes were seeing here wouldn't distract him, so that he could keep his focus on staying alive. As you continued to see through him, you wouldn't allow yourself even a second of relief, watching him run with amazing speed through the run-down apartment building that had been his home. When he got to the ledge of the balcony and threw himself towards the building across the street, you couldn't help but open your eyes and grab a nearby bag just in time to throw up into it.

"Hey, whoa, what's going on?" Tony jumped, finally having something worth prying himself away from work. "(Y/N), you okay?" His hand rested instinctively on your back and rubbed gentle circles, trying to calm you and slow your breathing enough so that you could answer.

"Just...a little motion...sick."

"You've never had that before."

"No, no, no," you groaned, seeing that Bucky's first jump wasn't his last and readying the bag for another round. "Stop doing that..."

"Sorry," came a low, whispered reply in your mind, from the man sending your gut into a tailspin.

"Buck, who the hell...is the other guy?"

"I don't know, but I think he really likes cats."

"(Y/N), where is he?" Tony asked, realizing exactly what was happening. "You need to tell me right now, if you see anything that gives you a clue. He's the one who blew up the U.N., and we need to bring him in for extradition."

Tony's voice nearly broke your connection with Bucky, as your vision through his sight began to grow hazy. You honestly hadn't seen anything that would give him the answer he wanted, but you weren't exactly sure if you would tell him if you had. "I can't tell."

"You can't, or you won't?"

And just then, the chase ended as abruptly as it had begun, and the connection was stopped. Bucky had become very skilled in closing his mind to you, which you could only assume was a remnant of what Hydra had left behind within him. You pushed yourself back against the chair, allowing Tony to wipe the sweat from your face as you brought yourself back into the moment. He took the bag from your hands and moved it aside, his eyes never leaving you as he continued to wait for the answer you had yet to give.

"You can ask Rhodey," you finally replied, "he was the last thing I saw before I lost him."

~~~

By the time that Bucky was brought in, you were there with Tony to greet him, but not in the way that either of you would have ever expected. Steve and Sam were taken into custody with him, as was King T'Challa, whom you had yet to meet, but could tell that he would be a commanding presence in all of this no matter what anyone had to say about it.

Tony was adamant that you not be allowed to visit Bucky alone, and in retrospect, that was likely for good reason. He had no idea what state of mind that Bucky would be in, and no matter what restraints were currently holding him in place, Tony had no faith in their ability to keep them there. He also had no idea of what seeing you in person might do to the man, and he wasn't about to take any chances. As it would ultimately turn out, seeing you barely slowed the Soldier down once his persona had been forcibly triggered; you had hoped that you could stop him, and that he would understand, but the cold stare at you from the other side of his stolen gun stripped that hope away.

"You could at least recognize me," you offered, but his stance held. You were cornered at point-blank range and there was no one there to stop him. At least, that was your final thought before it all went dark as you were hit by a sonic blast from Tony that barely pushed the Soldier back, but it was enough to buy a few minutes, and enough to save your life from the man who was never supposed to threaten it.

"(Y/N), open your eyes!"

"No..."

"Sweetheart, I need you to look at me, okay?" Tony urged, desperation in his voice to just know that he hadn't hurt you in the process of saving you. That would do him in, and as much as he wanted to see the color of your eyes right now, he couldn't live with himself to see them with pain behind them by his own hand. "Are you okay? Just please, tell me that much."

"I'm okay...but where..."

"T'Challa went after him," he answered, not even needing the rest of your question. When you finally granted his wish and opened your eyes, nothing else around you mattered.

"Tony, you're hurt," you gasped, coming immediately into your senses. You sat up and reached out, your hands and eyes moving urgently to see how bad it really was. "What else did he do? Tell me."

"Hey, it's just a black eye, not my first. I'm gonna make it."

"Okay, good," you sighed, "but we have to find him-"

You tried to push your way up and past him, but you should have known better; there was no force on earth that would move you from Tony's sight now. "Like hell we do. Come on, let's get you off the floor and somewhere that I feel safer with. Steve and Sam went after him when the lights went out and no one has seen them since. Once we're cleaned up, I'm gonna need your help. We're seriously understaffed, and I've got an idea."

"Why do I feel fear instead of relief at that sentence?"

"Because you've known me too long, honey."