Storybook (5/?) (R|Steve\Tony)

[kijikun.livejournal.com]

Title: Storybook (5/?)
Authors:kijikun and pandanoai
Rating: R
Pairings/Characters: Steve/Tony (implied), James "Bucky" Barnes
Beta: empty_splendor
Warning: Strong Language, AU
A/N: This fic disregards Secret Invasion. These are not the skrulls you are looking for. Con-crit is love.
Word Count: 4978
Fan Art - Amazing fan art from chapter 3 by dorcas_gustine
Summary: Chapter 5 - In which our heroes leave the woods and the nature of James' curse becomes clear.
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4


Chapter 5: The Village

Tony was almost certain that he started his nightmare in the same location every single time. The ice always had the same opportunity to creep its way into his bones; his muscles always felt just as weary by the time he reached the cave.

He always managed to find his way back to the cave now that he knew it was there. It was almost like shooting himself in the foot, but Tony trudged his way to the cave every single night in the hopes that the fire would be burning bright and that Steve would be waiting for him like he had been that first time.

As Tony neared where he could finally spot the cave this time, he briefly noticed that he could almost see the outline of the great mountain into which the cave was cut.

Tony wanted to shout in relief at seeing the light of the fire inside of inky blackness as he reached the mouth of the cave. Steve was sitting beside the fire as he had been the last time Tony had found him.

Steve lifted his head and smiled when he saw Tony. "I was afraid I would miss you again," he said, simply.

"I've been here every night since the last time," Tony told him, sitting beside Steve. He pressed himself close to Steve, relishing in the warmth of the other man's body.

"I haven't been able to come until after dawn these last few days." Steve almost sounded guilty. "If I could only remember during my waking hours -- you're cold. Here." Steve reached out and wrapped his cloak around Tony's shoulders, pulling him closer.

Tony realized that Steve was dressed differently than he'd seen him before. He wore an outfit that looking amazingly like his uniform -- leather pants and a blue tunic with a white star emblazoned on it. He also wore a warm blue cloak.

He would look right at home in many of the towns Tony and James had walked through, Tony thought to himself.

"What do we do once we leave the forest?" Tony asked, unable to put it off – he felt as though there was the chance that Steve would disappear at any moment.

Silence stretched between them until at last Steve spoke. "I - I'm running out of time, Tony." The words were quiet, but urgency laced through them. "In a week you won't be able to help me."

"Tell me what to do then!" Tony demanded, curling his fingers into the soft cloth of Steve's tunic.

"There is a town near the base of a mountain. There is a castle built into the side of the mountain." Steve rubbed his fingers over Tony's shoulder. He smiled faintly. "Red suits you."

Tony wanted to pump Steve for more information, but the look in his eyes... a look of such longing and desire, he hadn't seen that look from Steve in so long.

"It attracts all sorts of bad things." Tony countered, thinking of Lycaeus. He shook his head as Steve ran his hand down the fabric of Tony's hooded tunic and paused as his fingertips found the gold trimmed bottom hem.

"We get to the town and we find the mountain and the castle, then what?" Tony asked, momentarily aware of the prospect that Steve could discover his new clockwork heart.

He wasn't sure how Steve would take that.

Steve’s fingers stole under the fabric of the tunic and brushed against bare skin. The light touch sent shivers through Tony that had nothing to do with the cold.

"I don't know," Steve finally said, closing his eyes. "I - " he broke off suddenly and opened his eyes.

"Steve?" Tony asked, urgently.

With a soft growl that reminded Tony for an unsettling moment of Lycaeus, Steve tangled his fingers in Tony's hair and kissed him. Steve's other hand splayed over the small of Tony's back, and the touch felt like it would brand Tony from the heat of it. Tony shuddered once in Steve's grip.

"No matter what, remember that I need you," Steve told him with an almost frantic quality to his voice. "Remember that."

***

Tony opened his eyes to a starlit sky. The dream he had was already fading away but he held onto its visages as they slipped from his mind like scarlet after images of a bright light.

The forest was silent around him and their fire had burned down to embers. The blanket he lay on was little protection from the dew soaked ground. As he lay there staring at the dying embers he just couldn't shake the feeling that he had made a horrible miscalculation in continuing all of this. This could end very badly for all of them, and he'd had no right to drag James down with him.

Tony sat up slowly, pushing past pain he felt in his chest. Compartmentalizing the pain had been second nature to him once and he could make it so again. He rubbed a hand over his face and looked over at James. He was still asleep, or was at least not actively moving. It was difficult to tell, as the stars only provided a rudimentary light, and only his silhouette could currently be seen.

Tony held his head in his hands and fought to better remember his dream. He and James had been on the "right" path for almost 3 days and Tony had finally had another dream of Steve. That much he remembered. He grasped at the details, desperate to remember something that could help them both, and in turn, help Steve.

He remembered Steve telling him to remember -- there had been urgency in his voice and -- Tony closed his eyes for a brief moment. What had Steve wanted him to remember? Tony knew that they needed to head for a town at the foot of a mountain with a castle built into its side, but nothing more. Nothing more than feel of Steve's hands on his bare skin and the strong memory of blue enveloping him.

But there was no sense dwelling, they should be out of the forest by nightfall and then -- then they'd be closer to finding Steve.

Shifting, he noted to himself that he'd have to get James to help him wind his heart again. The key still wouldn't budge for Tony. Whoever that witch had been, she'd known how to impose a curse. A condition that made Tony dependent on the last person he wanted to depend on. Something that reminded Tony just how much he'd tried to ignore his heart over the last few months. A reminder of why he'd put on a suit of metal to begin with.

To be a better man.

He stood. He glanced over at James again as the sky grew lighter. Dawn was approaching. James looked -- younger? Was the possible?

Tony shook his head. It was probably just a trick of the light, but James' face looked slimmer and there almost looked to be freckles across his nose. Tony frowned and rubbed his hands over his eyes.

James, as if he'd felt Tony's gaze on him even in sleep, opened his eyes a slit. "Whtustarnat?" he mumbled, lifting his head slightly. His hair was a mess, with a chunk of it standing straight up.

"Go back to sleep. The sun isn't quite up yet," Tony told him. For a moment he had the impulse to smooth down the boy's unruly hair like he was sure Steve must have done a hundred times.

Rubbing his eyes, James sat up and shook his head. "I'm up, I'm up," he muttered, sounding more than a little disgruntled.

Tony suspected it had to do with the fact that once they were both up, the only thing they had to look forward to was walking for miles and miles.

He would have been just as disgruntled if he hadn't even been sure of where they were going. James had no choice but to trust Tony and his dreams...

"James," Tony said, quietly. "I had another--" Tony closed his mouth when he was really able to better see James.

"You...feeling okay?" Tony worded carefully, as James stood up in the clearing of the forest.

James stretched, turning his head to look at Tony. "Yeah, why?"

James looked to be no more than in his late teens -early twenties. He was a bit slimmer -- still muscular but --

"You look --," Tony hesitated, unsure of how to explain it. "Younger. You look younger, James."

The response was a sharp snort, as James bent to pack things up in the pack. "Yeah, right. That’s funny.”

Tony reached out and grabbed James’ shoulder. "I'm not joking with you, James." He turned the younger man towards him. "Look at yourself. You've lost muscle mass, even without a mirror you can see that. I don't know why your clothes still fit."

James paused to look down at himself. When he looked back up at Tony, he'd gone pale. "Professor Marvel said the clothing would always fit me. He said --." James sat down with a thud. "He said I'd need it."

Tony contemplated sitting down next to James, but opted to stay standing, uncertain of what to say to comfort him.

"This has to be related to the clock-work heart that witch gave me." Tony said, hoping that just stating facts about their situation would alleviate some anxiety. "We-- we'll fix this, we just need to keep moving."

James didn't get up.

"Professor Marvel told me so many insane and random stories from his travels. Trust me. I'm sure we'll be able to find someone to fix things." Tony tried again.

James put his head on his knees. "I can't do this," he whispered.

"Fixing this will be our first priority," Tony assured him.

James didn't lift his head.

Tony sighed and sat down next to him. "James, it'll be okay. And look at it this way, Natasha likes younger men," Tony tried to joke.

"I don't think it would matter. She left me," James said, lifting his head slowly. "She said I trying to be someone I wasn't and she couldn't watch it anymore."

"I'm sorry," Tony told him softly. Natasha was a hard woman to lose, he knew that personally.

For several moments they sat in silence.

"I can't be Bucky," James finally said. "I can't be that boy again. I don't want to be just Steve's kid brother again no matter what I do."

Tony hesitated in what he tried to say next. He wanted to say that James wasn't just a little brother to Steve, but he couldn't force the words out of his throat. Steve did think of James as a little brother. The little brother that he had dragged into a war. He'd had conversations after Steve had woken up, back in the mansion, and couldn't get back to sleep- the death of Bucky on his mind.

"We'll fix this." Tony said, aloud. "And you're not just Steve's little brother." Tony continued. James looked up at him. "You weren't just Steve's little brother back when you were Bucky, either."

Tony ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know if I'm made of the kind of stuff that could hold it together through the things you must have seen... in that war."

James looked back at his feet. "I wanted to serve my country. I wanted to stick with Steve," he said, after several moments. "Steve got to be everyone's hero and I got to shoot people in the head through a sniper’s sight."

"James -- " Tony stopped unsure of what to say.

"They told me who to kill and I killed them. Didn't ask questions, didn't ask why, didn't tell Steve," James went on. "And -- I wish he hadn't made me remember. Killing me would have been kinder." James lowered his head once more.

Tony took a deep breath.

"He loved you, James. He wanted to save you," Tony pointed out. "You were one of the most important things in his life. Never doubt that. You might have blood on your hands from the War but you thought you were doing the right thing."

James shrugged.

"Do you know why I became Iron Man?" Tony asked, suddenly.

"Vaguely," James said, looking up. "You were never one of my main targets, and your earlier history wasn't important during the Civil War."

Tony scrubbed his hand over his face. "I was a rich boy who wanted to prove I was something more. A man died to save my worthless hide, and I didn't start putting on that armor to honor him or to undo wrongs -- I put it on because I was angry. It was always about me, not other people." He tipped his head back and looked at the stars fading into nothing in the pink sky of sunrise. "I think Steve always knew that."

Tony tried to smile.

"He just had this way, didn't he? He could make you feel like you were worth something." Tony continued. "Like you could always be better, like you could overcome yourself. He knew I was... selfish, always selfish, but he still didn't want to give up on me."

Not until I didn’t give him any other choice.

Tony didn't say the last part aloud, but it was implied in the way that he stood and turned in the direction he knew they needed to go not taking a chance on seeing the look on James' face. He picked up his pack, and started walking.

He could hear the other man stand, the sound of the shield being strapped on. "You might have started being Iron Man because you were angry, but you wouldn't have kept doing it if it didn't mean something. If you didn't think it was the right thing, too."

Tony stopped walking. "We really going to have this much of a heart to heart, Barnes? I think you'll win. I don't even have a heart anymore." Tony looked down at his chest.

"You asked me to put on the mantle of Captain America, and I did so. But I know I did it for selfish reasons. I did it for Steve, and not for the truths that he believed in. I just wanted to prove that I was worthy of his memory." James went on, ignoring what Tony had last said. "And so I'm here, in this place... with you, and-- I can't disappear before I prove something to him. I don't even know what it is-- maybe I just want to save him for once."

Tony shut his eyes, his lips forming a small line. "I know how you feel."

"Did you have another dream?" James asked, as they started down the dirt path.

Tony nodded. "We're heading for a town at the base of a mountain - a mountain with a castle built into its side."

"Is there a red bull that captures unicorns in the sea as well?" James asked.

Tony almost stopped in his tracks. "You've read the Last Unicorn?"

"It was left in Steve's apartment," James said, half-defensively. "It looked well read."

Tony remembered the copy well. He'd lent it to Steve after all. "I'd forgotten he'd had it there," he said absently, rubbing his hand over his clockwork heart. "I kept meaning to buy him his own copy, but he said he loved reading mine."

James inhaled sharply and Tony noticed the absence of the sound of footsteps. James had stopped walking. "You...you were in love with him," he blurted out, sounding more than a little shocked.

"Does it matter?" Tony asked, looking straight ahead. "Come on, if we're lucky we should make it out of the woods today."

"Yeah," James said in return, and Tony ignored the slight burn on the back of his neck and kept walking down the seemingly endless path as James followed behind him.

***

James tried to hide his frustration as the backpack on his shoulders seemed to get heavier the longer they continued on their trek. He was more than a little annoyed at his less than stellar ability to manage all that he could just a few days ago.

He had to admit, though, that he wasn't as bad off as Tony. James paused for a second, to look back at the other man as he fought to hide how he was struggling to keep up.

Tony had told him that they were supposed to find a castle in the side of a mountain, and that once they did they'd be closer to finding Steve. James wasn't sure what to think, but he'd come this far, and it was becoming difficult to look at his life without thinking about Steve and how what Tony had said resonated with how he already felt: the man just didn't give up on people. He wouldn't give up on Tony and he hadn't given up on him.

James knew that he was going to become less and less of a help. His age seemed to be slipping away in bigger chunks now, as they had discovered that morning in the barn where they had spent the night. He had gone from passing for twenty to looking around sixteen -- though that was Tony’s estimate. Without being able to see his own reflection he couldn't tell for sure.

"Need me to take the shield?" Tony asked, as they paused to drink the cider the pretty farmer's daughter had given them. Her name was Cindel, and she'd seemed very taken with Tony. She had been the one to convince her father to let the two strangers share dinner with them and spend the night in the barn.

She'd also given them a good piece of advice, in the next town there was a wizard named Jenkins that might be able to help James. She'd whispered to Tony that she'd heard of such a curse before and that he would need to remind the 'boy' of the important things of his life as he got younger. And that she wasn’t sure if there was a cure, just a way to stop the de-aging. A wizard in the town they were trying to find…

They hadn't thought James was listening.

"You can barely keep up, I can handle it," James muttered, leaning against a tree.

"Sorry, I don't have the energy you young people do," he teased with a smile, but his smile was strained. "I think my heart is going to need rewinding tonight."

"Think we'll make it to the town?" James asked, forcing himself to let Tony set the pace as they started off again. It wasn't Tony's fault his heart had been turned into a mass of clockwork gears.

"With any luck."

***

Nightfall came and the only luck they had was Tony finding an abandoned hovel for them to take shelter in. It was just in time too, as it had just begun to pour.

They shared the bread and cheese Cindel had given them.

"She liked you," James said, the words almost an accusation.

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "I think she just likes strange men." He was sure there was a fairytale about a girl like that, he just couldn't remember it.

James raised an eyebrow. "Strange men?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," Tony chuckled.

James kicked him.

Later Tony leaned against the wall of the hovel, watching James. He almost thought he could see the change happen -- the years slowly dissolve from James' face.

Finally, Tony fell into an uneasy sleep, hoping to dream of Steve.

***

Tony was out. James paused for a moment to look the man over. He'd just wound his heart, but he still didn't look like it was working like it ought to. He was a lot paler than James was used to seeing him.

James sat up in the corner of the shack, the shield still strapped to his back. He could hear the steady beat of the rain against the branches of the trees outside, and against the own material of the poor excuse for shelter they had found.

James closed his eyes and tried to work past the shiver of either cold or fear that worked its way across his skin.

He'd heard what that woman, what that girl, had said about him. She didn't know what she was talking about. Maybe generalizations about things... He was going to be fine.

James looked at his metallic hand, noticing how it was shrinking in size to match how much younger he was. A part of the curse, James reasoned. He hoped it would still remain durable against whatever he and Tony came up against.

James hugged his legs closer to his chest, trying not to admit that at the moment the memories of this place and the memories of the war were those that were shining the clearest in his head. Everything else that Tony now talked about, everything they used to argue about was starting to haze out at the edges, simply not important enough for James to ever even think about.

The one thing that always did remain in his mind though, was the thought of saving Steve.

***

The town was a medium-sized one, but it seemed quieter than even the tiniest villages they'd passed through. While most places seemed full of life and color, this town seemed almost painted in shades of gray and brown. Tony shifted his shoulders, still trying to get used to the weight of the shield on his back.

"I don't like this town," James complained.

Tony glanced down at the boy. "Neither do I. Let's go find that wizard, then I'll see about trading a few hours of my work from some place for us to stay."

James looked up at him, a scowl on his young face. His nose was dusted with freckles, and his hair was more red than brown. "I can help. I could have still carried the shield."

"I know you could have," Tony assured him as he started forward. He suppressed the urge to take James' hand, as if he'd wander off.

Most of the people ignored Tony's polite 'excuse me's as he tried to get directions. They kept their heads down and went about their way. Finally, he stopped in front of a red-headed girl selling brightly colored flowers. She reminded him a bit of a younger Pepper. "Excuse me, miss, but could you direct me to the Wizard Jenkins?"

She nodded and pointed down the street, then pointed to the left. She put up three fingers and gave Tony a little smile.

Mute, Tony realized. "Down the street and to the left, third house down?" he asked, making sure.

She smiled and nodded.

James was looking up at her as well. "She's pretty," he whispered to Tony.

The girl clapped her hands together as if delighted. She leaned down and kissed James on the cheek, then handed him a bright blue flower. She gave Tony a strange white flower and smile.

Tony continued on his way, with James at his heels and looked back to see the boy looking over his shoulder at the girl, a look of apprehensive curiosity on his face.

They walked toward the wizard's abode, Tony twirling the flower he was given within his fingers the entire way there.

Everyone around them seemed subdued. Slow in a way, as if an invisible weight was on their shoulders.

Finally, the duo came to the place the girl had said they should be. Tony looked it over, wary in concern that looks were ever deceiving in this place. It looked innocent enough, only slightly more dapper then the surrounding houses, but nothing to really make it stand out.

Color didn't seem to be something they valued around here.

Tony lifted his hand to knock on the door, and then he sighed hesitating at the thought of inviting even more magic into their lives.

But, this was for James.

The door creaked open revealing a young woman with silver hair. "Can I help you?" she asked, politely.

"Yes, I hope so, we're looking for the Wizard Jenkins," Tony told her.

The woman frowned and started to close the door. "I think you have the wrong house."

"But the pretty flower girl told us," James protested, sounding very much like the eight year he appeared to be. Tony had noticed that as the day wore on -- and it worried him to no end.

The woman's face cleared and she smiled. "Oh, well that's okay then. Please come in. You both must be tired." She paused as she opened the door wider, blinking at James. "Oh yes, I can see why you need to see him. That's quite a spell."

Tony looked at her for a second before simply nodding and being directed into a side room of the house to wait for the good wizard. He could have sworn the fire in the hearth had muttered at them as they passed.

Tony was actually having trouble getting James to sit still when the woman returned and beckoned them to follow her with a flick of her finger.

Tony made sure James stayed by his side as they traveled to the back of the house. They came up to a curtain that separated two rooms. The woman held it open for them and they walked through.

When they had traveled into the new room Tony turned to look for the woman, only to see that she had not followed them in.

Tony held a hand on James' shoulder as they both looked about the room. If Professor Marvel's carriage had been packed to the teeth, this place seemed to be mainly filled with necessities. There wasn't much in the room, but what was in it was so intricate and elaborate and delicate-looking, it seemed to Tony that they were all one of a kind.

The spartan air of the room made it easy to find the Wizard they were looking for. He was hunched over one of the detailed devices, perhaps checking a cosmic reading of some sort.

Tony cleared his throat to try and get the man's attention.

It didn't work.

Tony frowned, about to try again.

"Hey!" James called out suddenly. Tony looked down at him sharply. James didn't seem to notice.

The Wizard looked up with a startled expression. "Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you come in." He looked to be thirty at most, but Tony knew better than to let that fool him as to the power the man might have. "You must be the two Sophie was telling me about."

"Yes, we were wondering if you could do anything for James," Tony said, gesturing to the boy. "He's been --"

"Cursed, yes, yes, I see," the Wizard said in a distracted tone, looking James over carefully. "Interesting curse indeed you have on you, young man. Normally with age curses, one who knows how can see the person's true age. You look no different than you appear."

Tony almost gritted his teeth. He hated magic, he really did. Doctor Strange would probably love this man. "Can you help him?"

Jenkins's smiled slightly but shook his head. "No, I can't break the spell. That power is tied to someone else."

Tony felt the urge to lash out at the man raise tenfold. "Then can you point us to someone who can?" Tony asked, curtly.

"What?" The wizard asked, distractedly, tilting James' head and looking at him from another angle. "Oh, no. No one else can break it, doesn't work like that."

Tony steeled his jaw tightly shut, not wanting to vent his frustrations on the man. It wouldn't do anyone any good.

"Well, then why'd we come to you anyway?" James asked, not bothering to cover any frustration from his voice.

"Ah, yes, well that is a good question young man." The wizard answered; going back to the instrument he'd been working at when they first entered the room. "I can modify the curse, alter how it is affecting you. But I can't remove it. You know how certain things cannot be created or destroyed and all that some such." He finished.

Tony cringed inwardly at the thought of a logical and scientific saying being abused in the hands of magic.

"So you can at least help him?" Tony tried to clarify.

"Yes, yes." Jenkins's waved offhandedly.

"And, what can we do to repay you?" Tony asked, always conscious of the barter system this world seemed to have.

The man looked up at him and then seemed to eye the flower that Tony held in his hand. Tony watched the man shift his eyes from Tony's flower, to the flower that James had manhandled to the point that not many petals were left anymore. "That won't be necessary," the wizard replied, earnestly.

"Are you sur--" Tony started to ask, wary about unpaid debts.

"There is a blacksmith in need of an assistant, I believe. You should be able to find work and lodging with him," the wizard told Tony. "He and his wife have a soft spot for children; they will treat him like their own son.” the wizard said of James. “When we're done here, I advise you seek him out. You can find him just off the square by the water mill."

Tony nodded. "Thank you." He looked down at the boy in his care.

James was leaning against Tony, tired from all the walking they'd done earlier in the day.

"You haven't picked an easy road," the wizard said, softly. "But the best ones often aren't, I've found. Now let me see what I can do..."

Chapter 6

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4