Bucky wakes up to Steve telling him he's lost his memory, but not to panic, it'll only last a few days. Easier said than done when the last thing Bucky remembers is fighting Hydra with the Howlies in WWII.
He tries to make the most of it however, and there's this guy... Tony Stark. It's pretty clear the guy hates Bucky's guts, which is unfortunate because god damn is he a sight.
He tries to figure out what he did to wrong Stark, but everyone just tells him he doesn't want to know.
Tony Stark disappeared shortly after the Avengers started coming into their own. All traces led to dead ends, and time marched on. In the spring of 2017, it came to light that Hydra was deeply intertwined with SHIELD, and Captain America found out his best friend still lives. Now, James "Bucky" Barnes has come home, more or less. His mind is his own, including the fractured memories that flit just beyond his reach. A drop-in appearance by former SHIELD director Fury clarifies one thing: the Winter Soldier had met Tony Stark.
It's good. This little banter thing. It keeps them steady and keeps the silence that follows from feeling too heavy.
It's not familiar in any way, but nothing is. Because in reality he has no idea why he and James bonded, how they first met, when they fell in love... There's just a white wall of nothingness in his mind. That should bother him. In fact he's pretty sure it will later, down the line... But if you can't flirt with your own bonded alpha that you broke out of an evil cult's secret lair with, then what's the point of living? None, that's what.
Yeah, no, fuck this, Tony would like a refund thank you, 110% would not prefer to die today, die, die like mom and dad who were dead back in that car-
December 16th, 1991. It's an important day for HYDRA. The acquisition of the means to create several more soldiers for their cause- and the day that Anthony Edward Stark falls into their hands. The handler likes to think of it as the day of birth for their second greatest asset.