The Captain's Husband

64. Favorite Assassin (Tony)

     From the other side of the glass wall in the compound medbay, Bucky watches silently, still as stone.

     Strange, Bruce, Shuri, Doctor Cho, and I just finished two amputations - one elbow disarticulation and one knee disarticulation - on our Captain.

     The next step is to heal him, we have Ana and Niko for that, and then we'll be able to fit him for vibranium prosthetics, just like what his husband has.

     The only major difference between Steve and Bucky as far as cybernetic prosthetics go is that Bucky hardly takes his arm off. I mean, there's a network of sensors in his brain to control the movement of his arm, and he's been known to have a migraine until he puts his arm back on, so removing it can be a bit of a struggle. But, Steve? He's stubborn, and if he has any pain when removing the prosthetics, he's likely to ignore it until he absolutely can't.

     Shuri looks up at me from the other side of the operating table, and she says, "We can take it from here if you want Bucky to help with designing his husband's prosthetics. He may need a bit of a break."

     "You sure?" I ask.

     She nods.

     A moment later, I'm standing next to Bucky, finally free from my scrubs after eight hours of intense surgical procedures.

     "A few days ago," Bucky says softly, "Steve and I were talking about creating the Avengers Reserve Unit, retiring, and becoming the first two members in the unit. It's hard to believe that between then and now, I've been to a different dimension, watched Thanos die, and come home. What's even harder for me to believe, though, is that Steve is now an amputee and that in the next several hours, he'll undergo brain surgery to implant sensors into his brain for two cybernetic prosthetics just like the one that I have."

     He won't care as long as he's with you.

     He won't care as long as he's with you, your kids, and your family.

     I'm lucky to be included in that family.

     And I'm honored that I was able to help him get through this nightmare - in one piece or otherwise.

     He's alive, and the Universe has been saved.

     I put my hand on Bucky's shoulder, and then I say, "Want to help make it a little easier to believe?"

     He raises an eyebrow, asking, "What do you mean?"

     "Steve would want you and the kids to design his new gear," I smile gently. "Why don't you help me with that while they get him prepped for Ana and Niko to start healing him?"

     "I'm assuming you've already picked their brains for design ideas?" He sighs, putting his hands in his pockets.

     I let go of his shoulder and turn toward the main part of the lab.

     He walks with me as I say, "As far as what they want to see when it's finished, they have all requested that the overall design is similar to yours, but that on the palm of both of his and your hands, I replace some of the segments with ones that match Steve's shield."

     "So black vibranium with gold vibranium inlay, a shield on the palm, and his wedding band?" Bucky asks.

     I nod, "Correct."

     "As far as I'm concerned, I think he'll love it," Bucky says as I go to my workstation and pull up the design program. "The only thing I would like to add would be something on the inside of his forearm."