"I cannot leave you alone with him."

Tony sighed and despite Jazuats warnings, he stepped into the cell, the door closed behind him immediately. He didn't seem bothered at all when Uma nearly dropped her tablet and took a step back, eyes wide as she tried to gather herself and tell Tony to slowly back away and remove himself from the cell.

"FRIDAY, have we installed soundproof system into this cosy little bedroom?" he asked, looking around the small room as he headed towards the only small door he could detect. He didn't want to look at William for too long. The man looked like death. His outgrown hair was greasy and fell into his eyes. His haunted eyes were red from the lack of sleep and his skin looked unhealthily pale under the cold lights. Even his shoulders seemed to have shrunk in a short amount of time. 

"Yes, all cells have been updated, sir."

Tony looked horrified as he peeked into the bathroom, closing the door immediately as he looked down at William who was covered in slobber and dog hair. The spy looked anxious as he looked around for the source of the familiar voice, trying to detect where it came from.

"You don't even have a bathtub and a mirror in there. No wonder you look like shit. Also, that's FRI, the AI that keeps me updated on everything but shush, don't tell the Director. And yes, she's here and back home as well."

The man said, going to sit on the bed but thinking against it when he noticed the dried blotches of blood on the blankets. He looked displeased as he simply leaned against the wall, refusing to sit on the floor.

"FRI, activate the soundproof mode. We want our privacy, oh, and do disconnect the cams and coms. Now, Spy. Long time no see"

"Activated."

There was silence between the two as William carefully studied Tony and his silver suit. He wondered how many weapons would he manage to hide underneath his jacket. The man looked slightly tired, but he could detect a spark of intrigue in his coffee coloured eyes. He didn't like the look, but he also didn't feel like attacking the man either. He glared at him, wanting to hear what he had to say for himself. Was he part of the reason Will was now chained in a glass bowl?

Noticing the accusing stare, Tony raised his finger, wiggling it in front of his face.

"Nu huh, don't you dare to give me that look! I only figured out you were here like, an hour ago. or maybe two, I don't know. I got the distress signal from your dog. Wanted to check out what was wrong. Found the pet, no Spy. So, as a genius that I am, I figured you'd found your sorry ass in a cell. I wasn't wrong." he muttered the last part.

William wasn't sure how much he should believe, but he did think Tony had nothing to do with his hostage situation. He relaxed slightly, focusing back on the dog who was laying on his lap.

"Got nothing to say?"

He noted the irritation in his tone, and it almost made the corners of his lips perk upwards in a smirk. Almost. But the feeling of amusement felt odd, and William frowned instead.

"Thank you for fetching Dog." he said slowly, hesitation sweeping through his every word.

He raised his eyes as he noted the swarming of agents behind the glass door, making his hands freeze as he had been sliding his fingers through Dog's fur. Tony noticed his murderous look and peeked over his shoulder, letting out a small scoff at the agents.

William stood up, catching Tony's eye again as he towered over the other man.

"You're welcome. Ignore them, I do that all the time and I don't know if you believe me but it actually works most of the time. Now, stop glaring at them, they can't come inside because FRIDAY keeps them out. Now do you want to see what other gifts Santa got you or would you rather have a stare off with those idiots outside?"

William looked startled as he snapped his eyes away from the agents and looked back at Stark. He had placed himself between Tony and the people outside. He usually stayed as far away from the glass wall as he could.

"Santa?" he asked, tilting his head as he tried to rack his brain for the person. It sounded familiar, really familiar, but he couldn't exactly put a finger on it.

"Yeah, here." he slid off the backpack and tossed it over to William who caught it and clutched it to his chest as if Tony was about to take it away again. His eyes flickered between the bag in his hands and Stark, who simply waited for him to say something.

Dog pranced over to Will, laying down in front of him and rolling herself onto his feet. He couldn't understand the man's gesture. And Tony felt as if someone had hit him in the chest when William looked at him again. Gone was the icy glare that he used to scare people away, nor was there a confused frown. Instead, his eyes were wide and bewildered. He blatantly stared, analysing the man's every action in the past and present. His mind was a jumbled mess and he couldn't understand, for the life of him, what had made him do it.

"Why?" he asked, although his face was a disarray of emotions that he was trying to push down, his voice was void and completely blank.

"Because I was bored. And that makes you owe me an explanation. So go ahead, I've got all day."

He looked around, pursing his lips as he ignored the waving Uma Jazuat behind the wall, still adamant on getting Stark out.

"On the other hand, I think you need some furniture and change of bedsheets. What's your favourite colour?" he asked, trying to see if the pillow had a pillowcase or was it just a pillow.

"I don't- I don't have one."

"Go figure. I can't relax here! What's this?" he asked, picking up the rubiks cube that had rolled off the bed. William had immediately snatched it away, hugging it to his chest as well as he glared at Tony who looked up at him unamused.

"Mine."

"Clearly a better toy then the grenades in your bag. Which, I confiscated again."

William growled, stuffing the cube into the bag as Tony studied the chains that went into the wall. What kind of middle aged prison was this?

"FRIDAY, can we get rid of the handcuffs?"

There was a small click, and the handcuffs pooled in front of William, startling the dog who looked excited as she barked at the slithering movement as the chains disappeared into the wall. She waited for them to come out again, but was disappointed when they didn't.

Once again, William looked bewildered as he looked over his wrists, he could feel beast stir somewhere deep down, though still slightly weakened from the odd cuffs.

"Much better, someone needs to tell Fury there are some kinky clubs out there and he doesn't have to chain up his... people of interest."

"Kinky clubs?"

"You've got a lot to catch up on, buddy."

William looked back on the people outside, they were unmoving but their guns were raised, making the hair on the back of his neck rise as he realized Dog was as vulnerable as he was. He didn't care if Tony got hit. But he didn't want Dog to be on the line of fire.

"Hello, eyes over here. I said ignore them." he tore his gaze from the unmoving agents.

"Good, now, what do you remember?"

Tony asked nonchalantly, as if he was talking about bathtubs and furniture again. But there was a small hint of reluctance and worry. Will narrowed his eyes.

"You know something."

Tony didn't bother to deny it as he simply nodded, meeting his cold stare head on. Now that he looked at his eyes, he could see the similarities between him and Steve, they were clear as a day. Though William's eyes were lighter, and although there was a sort of darkness to him that even Tony couldn't comprehend, he could also see that the looking into the man's piercing blue eyes was like swimming in a pool of confusion and fear.

He couldn't really understand the modern world and he was terrible at socializing. He never had to do it before, he wasn't allowed to.

"I was asked to do some research on you by a relative of yours. They thought you were dead. So I kind of figured it out when it was already too late."

His eyebrows rose, and Tony could clearly see the youth that was hidden underneath the façade of a killer. The realization that this man had probably killed a lot made Tony uneasy. William didn't miss the familiar look of hesitation, was he afraid the news would trigger something?

Tony was smart enough to know it wasn't 100% safe to be in such a close proximity with someone who was rather unstable, but Tony had faith.

"I-I have relatives?" Once again, the hopeful blue eyes were staring at him intently, wide and full of intrigue as he wanted to know more.

Was it this Bucky who was idiot enough to let William beat him up?

He did have memories of the man, he thought. Or maybe it was his mind just making up dreams. But he had seen him in a few of those. But how did he know what was real and what wasn't?

He felt uneasy as Tony smiled, crossing his arms confidently.

"Yes, but look, I'm a business man. You want answers, I have questions, you have questions, I have answers, you see where I'm going with this?"

He wasn't happy with that, not at all. William didn't want to talk about the things he thought he knew. He didn't want Tony to know. He didn't want to discuss himself. It wasn't none of his business, what was it to Tony anyway?

William had a hard time believing the man was just curious. No one was just curious. People always had an ulterior motive. Some sort of dark intention.

"I don't believe you."

Tony snorted, rolling his eyes. Hoping the conversation they were having was enough to keep Williams attention away from the agents and the new addition in the face of another ex-assassin glaring daggers at him from the hallway.

"What do you think I'll do? Plot world domination with you as my sleight dog?"

A low growl and the brief flash of red in his irises swiped Tony's smirk from his face. So William wasn't a fan of sarcasm. Well, he better get used to it.

"No."

"Obviously I was kidding. I almost forgot that you don't have sarcasm in your vocabulary. But all jokes aside, I do think you should tell me where you've been hiding the last hundred years and please, do not go all Barnes on me and start screaming your head off when you do so."

William couldn't tell him much even if he wanted to.
He knew what he'd done. Knew what had been done to him. He didn't have all of the pieces yet, but he didn't want to know. What he wanted to know was who he was before all of the monstrous things he had done.

And if Tony were to know what he'd done, how cruel he'd been to his victims, he'd loathe him.

No, Tony couldn't know. No one could.

William was a murderer before anything else. To top it off, he was an abomination. A beast who lusted for blood, who'd been taught that the only way of survival was to track down his targets and kill them on sight.

"I don't need your help."

He decided to say, looking past Tony towards the ajar bathroom door. The man squinted his eyes, gesturing towards his face.

"What's this... Thing on your face? Is this shame that I detect? Bud, if it is, you're an idiot."

He grumbled, the sound rumbling through his chest in a warning towards Tony. William didn't like to be disrespected, and he wasn't even sure why he was letting Tony act like this. He stopped when dog whimpered, showing him her belly in submission. He felt his heart drop at the fear that turned into sheer happiness when he lowered himself on the ground and offered her belly rubs as an apology.

"okay okay, I get the feeling you're not too keen on talking about it. But at least consider it. I do wish I could stay and chat but I do have places to be, strays to find, a child to stop from taking over the institute. You want to talk with someone other than the four walls and your dog, tell FRIDAY to call me, it will connect immediately."

He didn't want Tony to go and leave him alone with the strange people. Tony got in without anyone stopping him, he could surely let him out?

"Wait, I- uh. Please, let me out of here."

Tony looked sympathetic, making William avert his gaze immediately and instead of looking at him, he stared at the wall again. He wouldn't help.

"I can't do that. Trust me, if it was up to me you'd be out of this place," he said bitterly, throwing a heavy glare towards the agents still standing outside before continuing.

"I don't run this place. But I will make sure to do my best and tell them to move you somewhere more comfortable. I'll send over some normal food, what do you feel like having? Pizza again? Want me to send over some liquor as well? And gods above don't you have a shampoo to wash your hair? You look terrible."

There he goes again with his insults.

"I don't need your things."

"Too bad you're going to get them anyways. Also, I'm not sure who's going to walk your dog daily, but my suggestion would be Nick Fury. He absolutely adores animals, especially big fluffy dogs." 

The name sounded oddly familiar. Which only managed to frustrate William even more. Tony had no idea that all he said was only confusing him more. When he got no answer he sighed, dropping his hands. 

"Well, it was fun seeing you. Sorry about the prison thing. But trust me when I say I don't think it's permanent. This brother of yours is pretty belligerent towards everything that seems harmful towards his band of misfits."

There he goes again confusing Will with his talk of nonsense. 

"What?"

Tony rolled his eyes and made his way past William towards the glass wall, straightening his suit and flicking dog hair off his shoulder. How had it gotten there was beyond him. 

"Nothing. Also, want any video games? Rubik cubes are sort of outdated. Or maybe I should look up some older things like board games. Anyway, if you feel like killing someone, don't. You're bored, call me. And do take more showers, wash off those dark circles and eat before you turn into Slenderman. The food isn't poisoned. FRIDAY, deactivate soundproof mode."

The door hissed open on command, making William turn around. He felt his heart drop when he made eye contact with Bucky who was staring at him through the glass. He was standing the closest while the team clad in black were a few steps behind him, ready to jump in should he show signs of hostility. 

"Like I said, ignore them. Eat, drink, and sleep. I'll go and bother the boss-man. So, bye." 

Before William could voice his gratitude, the man was out of the door, letting it automatically lock behind him. He ignored William and Uma who was hissing at him rather venomously by the way her body moved in aggravation as she followed him. The agents lowered their weapons and left with the two. The only one who stayed was Bucky. 

He couldn't tell what he was feeling, his face was unreadable. William realized they were standing closer to each other than they ever had. He realized they were almost the same height and he could see the tiny scars on his face and the small details of his irises. His eyes flickered down and only then did he realize that Bucky was holding a tray of food. 

He could identify a glass of water, bread and some kind of meat with vegetables and chicken. 

He stood frozen, clutching the bag still to his chest when the man behind the glass door slowly inched towards the door Tony had exited only seconds ago. Once he stood in front of it, it hissed open.  

The response was immediate, red covered his otherwise blue irises and he took a couple of clumsy steps back as low growl rumbled through his chest in a warning. Dog backed away immediately, trotting towards the corner William had occupied most of the time. 

Bucky froze, casting his eyes downwards as he stood in the doorway in silence, letting the warning growl die down before he lowered the tray on the floor. Dog's ears perked up, her buffy tail thumping against the floor as she couldn't help but wag it in excitement.  

Bucky ignored her as he stepped back, letting the door close. He threw one last, fleeting glance towards tense William before leaving him alone. 

Dog couldn't hold herself back as she dashed towards the food, making sure to gulp it all down. Will ignored her as he made his way back into his corner, sliding down the wall. He crossed his legs and placed his bag in front of him. He pushed a piece of hair out of his eyes before unzipping it. He found some of his clothes, the weird wooden animal, letters, his journal and pens. He didn't dare to take them out. He pulled out an old book, the one he had taken from John's apartment. Agatha Christie. He closed his eyes at the pain that he felt when he thought of the man. 

John had been his friend. And he had told William to trust again, he had wanted Will to find help. Was Tony the person he was supposed to trust? Or was it Bucky? Or his brother? Whoever that was. 

His head hurt at those thoughts. A cold nose sniffed his face, a warm breath that smelled of veggies made him crunch up his nose in disgust as Dog tried to wiggle her way onto his lap.  He opened up his arms, letting the dog lay on him with a huff as she made herself comfortable. Will leaned back, one hand petting the dog as he rested the book on her and turned the first page. 

He was left to his own devices for a while, and he didn't mind. He had dog. 

Tony had brought a new wave of nightmares with himself.  The first time Will woke up disoriented, screaming and slamming his fists into the wall was the first time he had realized something terrifying. 

He could hurt Dog if she wasn't careful enough. 

He had tried to calm himself down immediately,  tried to make sense of the sound of his own screams in stale smelling prison, tried to understand if the cuts that had been carved into his skin was done as a punishment or was it a lesson that he was forced to do upon himself.  Tried to make sense of the rubble that fell and the unmistakable eyes of the woman who called herself Clara. 

He had laid in the corner for a long time before realizing another warm body was pressed against his, the dog's head resting on his neck as she curled herself around him. 

The woman had clearly seen it and was adamant on prying William for answers as to what were his nightmares about. He ignored her completely, patting the dog and reading the book as she kept asking questions over and over again. 

Until the next day, when William looked sadly as Dog was sitting near the glass wall, whining quietly as she looked up at him. 

It didn't take long for a familiar face to appear behind the glass. They both stood in silence, just looking at each other. 

"I can take her out if you're alright with it. I will bring her back to you afterwards. Is this okay?" 

His voice was low and quiet as if he was afraid to disturb the silence they had created. 

William squinted his eyes, assessing this Bucky from head to toe. He had shrugged off his jacket again. Would he really bring her back? Tony had said to call someone named Nick Fury, but William didn't like the idea of a complete strangers handling Dog. So would this person take out his dog and bring her back unharmed? 

A whimper tore his gaze away from the burly man. He didn't like it, in fact, he hated the idea of it but nevertheless, he took a hesitant step back and gave him a small nod. 

Relief and surprise washed over him as if he had expected rejection. 

He entered the cell, lowering his gaze as he clasped the leash on Dog's collar. William watched as the two walked away. Dog looked back numerous times, trying to drag Bucky back to get Will. 

Will wasn't happy with it either, already five minutes later his anxiety spiked when he found himself pacing back and forth near the back wall. Was the dog okay? Could Bucky be trusted? He had drawn up numerous scenarios in his head how he'd maul him if he had let any harm come upon Dog. 

His chest was tight and only then did found it was easier to breathe when he heard the sound of paws trotting over the smooth floor and heading towards the cell. His eyes zeroed in on the black mass of fur as the animal came barrelling into the room as soon as the door opened. She was panting heavily and dropped a tennis ball as she ran up to William to greet him with all the slobber and fur that she could. 

He looked her over, making sure there were no wounds before looking back towards Bucky who, to his surprise, was standing inside the cell again. He had been there before, but never had they stood. They had kept their respectful distance. 

"I-" Bucky started, sighing and looking down before flickering his eyes up again. 

William refused to show him his curiosity. What was their history? 

"I can take her out in the morning again. And whenever she needs." he said, stuffing the leash into his pocket. He wanted to say something more but thought against it and scratched the back of his head instead. 

"They are prepping a better room for you, something more comfortable. It will be done soon. I hope you'll like it." 

He tried to get some sort of response out of him again but with no success. 

Bucky nodded, turned around and left. William could feel the sadness that radiated off him. Why was this man so sad? 

The night came, and as much as Will tried to get Dog to sleep on the bed instead of floor, she still managed to worm her way next to William on the floor. 

He didn't dare to sleep much, but realized that when nightmares paralyzed him, Dog would step away and let him be until he had stopped fighting the phantom enemies. She would then inch closer and sleep very close to him. Sometimes she'd lay down on his chest. 

Bucky became a more regular quest and even Dog got used to him. Jazuat on the other hand didn't like the animals presence in the cell. Nor was she too happy with the distractions William had found. 

Until one day the usual schedule was broken when Bucky came to sit outside the glass wall again, something he hadn't done for quite awhile since William had allowed him into the room.

It was different since he had someone with him. 

William felt every muscle in his body tense and he pushed down the urge to snap his teeth as his eyes looked deep into the ones of the same man who had plagued his dreams many times. His eyes were filled with sympathy and swirling with unanswered questions. 

He sat silently on the floor next to Bucky, completely still. 

Only then did Will realize that the room was filled with a low rumbling growl that slowly died down as time passed. 

He wouldn't take his eyes off Steve. He knew Steve. And he also realized Steve was the brother Tony had mentioned. Steve and Bucky. Bucky and Steve. Cookies, the smell of sugar cookies and apple pies. The rushing of water, radio and laughter. Steve's laughter. Steve, Steve, Steve... Was this really Steve? Something was wrong with him. He didn't seem like William's Steve. Didn't seem right. 

His head hurt again. 

*****

Sorry if it's a mess again, it's nearly 2am and I'm not sure what's going on. 

I'm sad when I realized Realization will probably have more reads than Oblivion. But Realization is already longer than the first book anyways. 

And ugh, don't we just love Dog? I think she's becoming the main character here. 

How do we feel after this chapter? 👀

Thank you everyone who commented and read, I'm a bit too tired to do the mentions tonight, but will definitely do one next time. 

Until next chapter!

- K