Brothers Reunited

Chapter Seven: Bucky PoV

"The 'make Nico's life easier pact.' There's one for each of the seven, Reyna, and the head medics of each camp," he explains.

Nico shoves his money back into the guy's hand while muttering some choice curses in Italian, but the cashier just hands it back. Nico grumbles in frustration and walks back to our table in concession.

"I want some explanations," I say as we sit back down. Steve nods in agreement.
Nico starts talking, "The camp we got to is for 'troubled kids.' Most of us have ADHD or dyslexia, and a lot of us have had hard pasts. We're all really close, like family," he pauses a moment, "I guess there are some of us that have just had tougher pasts than others or have helped a lot of people. That's why they had those weird pacts. Anything else?"

"Both camps?" Steve questions.

"We have a partner camp in California,"

"The scars?" I ask.

"Rough pasts," Nico repeats.

I continue, "What about the PTSD?"

"I was transported from the 1930s to the 2010s as a ten-year-old. I lost my mother in the process and my sister shortly after we arrived. I was homeless for a while. So I have PTSD," Nico replies defensively.

His eyes dart around as he says it, and I know he's leaving something out. At least he has Will. After seeing how my brother's boyfriend handled Nico's flashback, or whatever that was, I can no longer find it in me to feel jealous.

"You're going to be staying with us on the weekends. How should I help with your PTSD? Do you have any other mental disorders?" I ask. Steve nods in agreement.

Will jumps in then, "Nico has ADHD, Dyslexia, PTSD, C-PTSD, Depression, Severe Anxiety, some paranoia, and he's been suicidal before,"

He says the suicidal part while glaring at Nico, "He's taking pills, and I'm trying to get him to start therapy. When he goes into a flashback, call me. If you can't get ahold of me, this shop is probably the best place to find help,"

I flinch. Even the Avengers have fewer problems than Nico.

Will rummages through his jacket pockets, "Here is my phone number, use it only in an emergency," he hands me a small slip of paper and then grabs another gigantic piece of paper from his pocket, "and here are all of Nico's triggers. It's impossible to avoid them all, but you can try,"

Steve takes the list of triggers and starts glancing through them, "Pomegranates? What does that have to do with anything?"

Will just shakes his head, "That's up to Nico to tell you. Don't push him, please,"

Nico stares at his feet.

After a moment of awkward silence, Will picks up the conversation, "Other things you should know; make sure Nico eats. A single grape does not count as a meal. Make sure he doesn't hole up in his room either,"

Will turns to his boyfriend, "Remember, Neeks, if I'm not there doesn't mean you shouldn't try,"

Nico looks up with a determined look in his eye, "I'll try. I want this to work, but too much time has passed for things to go back to how they were. Everything's changed,"

I jump in then, "We're family. No matter what's changed or how long it's been, we will still be there for each other,"

I move closer to Nico and hug him.

We finish up our drinks, and Nico opens up a little. We talk about readjusting to the 21st century and reminisce about the 30s. Will listens quietly with a smile. I practice my Italian a little too.

Around 12:30, they leave for their camp. Then, Nico will come over tomorrow. I still want Nico to get that check-up from Bruce, but I'm nervous about how the rest of the team will react when they learn about all of Nico's mental disorders.

Le time skip brought to you by Brian the Balloon and his family of Narwhals.

"Hey, Steve. Nico and Will were definitely hiding something, right?" I ask Steve. We're sitting in the living room of Avengers Tower. Bruce and Tony are in their labs. Natasha's at Shield. Clint's with Laura who's now living with their kids in the city. Thor's up in Asgard.

"Definitely. I don't know how Nico ended up with all those mental disorders, but his explanation did not work for everything," Steve confirms my thinking.

"What do we tell the team?" I ponder aloud.

Steve considers it for a moment, "Bruce needs to know everything when he gives Nico a check-up, but the others might not need to know everything,"

"We could just let them know he has depression and some C-PTSD?" I suggest.

AN: C-PTSD is Complex post traumatic stress disorder and is more connected to anxiety than to a traumatic experience. It's often connected to repeated trauma rather than a single event.

"That could work," Steve muses.

I remember what Will said earlier, "It's up to Nico to decide how much more he wants to explain,"

"We'll see him tomorrow. In the meantime, let's look over his list of triggers," Steve suggests.

I agree, and we start reading.

AN: Word count: 1374

If you're looking for other Bucky-Nico crossovers, I suggest Time and Time Again by T1m3W4RP

Any suggestions for a ship, chapter, scene, or plot direction? Any constructive criticism?