Okay I got this idea in physics bc we were talking about bungee jumping Like one of Tony's friends thinks it's a great idea to take him bungee jumping for his birthday Bucky is a dude that works there And Tony is sorta pissed at his friend bc this is not something he wanted to do So Bucky is securing him and everything But then another guy who works there and jokingly pushes Tony a bit to scare him And Tony just clings to Bucky and that's how they become closer
“Ty, you can’t be serious.”
“What? You’re not scared are you?”
The grin on Ty’s face is too sharp and knowing for Tony to bother answering that question. Still, Tony isn’t going to back down - not to Ty - so Tony scoffs and follows Ty.
A high-pitched bell jingles above their heads as Ty pushes open the door.
“Welcome! How can I help you today?” a man behind the counter with a name tag reading ‘Jasper’ asks. He has a polite smile on his face, and Tony tries to return it.
Tony’s feels more like a grimace stuck on his face, though.
“We’re bungee jumping,” Ty replies, and Tony’s stomach twists. “It’s that one’s birthday,” Ty says as he thumbs at Tony, “and he’s all about the adrenaline rush.”
Tony takes a deep breath and approaches Jasper and the counter, telling himself that Ty is right. Because Ty is right, Tony loves an adrenaline rush. ‘Twenty years stupid’ is how Howard likes to phrase it, but usually Tony does his stupid stunts with both of his feet on the ground. Speed racing his Audi is a whole different thing than jumping off a cliff with nothing but a rope.
Besides, Tony isn’t scared. He’s just… anxious, that’s all. He’d much rather put his life in the hands of a car engine than latex. The physics of bungee jumping are completely acceptable on paper, but Tony still thinks people should hesitate to challenge the theory of gravity with nothing but a stretchy rope.
Still, Tony signs the liability waiver. He only hesitates for a moment over the impressive safety hazards section before he scratches his signature at the bottom.
Ty smirks as he signs his own paperwork, and Tony takes a deep breath. Tony would rather go through with the jump and deal with the stress than to hear about this moment from Ty for the rest of their lives.
Tony breathes out. He can do this.
The safety video that they’re made to watch isn’t particularly helpful. Tony already knows the how and the why of how bungee jumping works. It’s called physics. He knows about the rope stretching, the load the the rope can take, that Tony will get yanked back up at the end.
What Tony can’t change - and can’t control - is the biology of his own system. What if his blood vessels give way under pressure and he loses his eyesight? What if his bones don’t hold up, and he breaks his neck? What if the latex rope frays from one too many jumps, and it snaps on the stretch?
When the video ends, two men in matching T-shirts and khakis collect them.
Tony holds back a sigh. Their instructors just have to be attractive because Tony wasn’t already on edge. Both have their shirts clinging to their biceps, so at least Tony can appreciate that. Both have dark brown hair, though the taller, smiling man wears his tied back in a bun while the shorter, smirking one has short spikes.
“You guys ready to jump?” The smiling one asks.
“Do we finally get to do something now?” Ty replies.
The instructor’s smile hardens at the edges, but he continues on with enthusiasm, “Yes, now we get you into harnesses and ready to jump. I’m Bucky and this is Brock. We’ll be your guides today.”
“Bucky?” Ty snorts. “Seriously, what kind of name is that?”
Tony elbows Ty in the side. Even if Tony agreed - and he does, though only a little and he’s hoping it’s a nickname - he doesn’t like how Bucky’s smile flattens.
“He gets that a lot,” the other instructor, Brock, says.
Brock is still smirking, and Tony decides he prefers Bucky.
“I’m Tony and this is Ty - short for Tiberius,” Tony introduces, dragging out Ty’s full name with a dry voice.
“Fuck off,” Ty says, shoving Tony.
“Alright, this way please,” Bucky directs, waving them through to another room. He gives Tony a subtle wink when Tony passes by, and Tony grins in return.
Maybe this won’t be so bad.
Tony is fine as he straps into the harness. He’s fine as they walk over to the platform extending out over the edge of a cliff. He’s fine as Ty smirks and teases him about the nerves that Tony admits are now showing on his face.
“Uh oh, do we have someone scared of a drop?” Brock teases.
Tony is not fine when Brock jostles him on the platform, Brock’s shoulder knocking Tony closer to the gap in the failing where there’s nothing but open air.
It doesn’t matter that Tony is still several feet from the edge, what matters is that the open air stretches out in front of him and Tony doesn’t have that practically-medieval stretchy rope attached to him yet.
Tony scrambles backwards, not even trying to be graceful or discreet about it. He can already feel himself falling, hearing the wind whistling in his ears and the scream getting caught in his throat.
“You’re fine, you’re fine,” Bucky’s warm voice assures Tony as Bucky grips Tony’s arms.
Tony can hear Ty laughing at him over his own panicked wheezing, and he turns into Bucky’s embrace.
Bucky pulls him back, away from the gap in the railing, and away from Brock and Ty.
“Sorry. Brock is an ass,” Bucky murmurs. “I’ll report him again, but he’s related to the owner so…”
“It’s fine, just a joke,” Tony wheezes, trying to get his heart to stop racing.
“Ain’t a funny one.” Bucky says, gently squeezing Tony’s arms. “It’s fine to be nervous. Normal, even. It’s the arrogant assholes who aren’t afraid of what can happen that bug me. That’s when things do happen.” Bucky nods back to Ty, who stands on the edge and looks down but who still doesn’t have the bungee cord around his feet yet.
Tony tries to slow his breathing. “Yeah, that’s Ty for you.”
“You got something to prove, that’s why you’re here?” Bucky guesses, eyeing Tony. “Because I can take you back, get you a full refund. Don’t let that jerk-face goad you into this.”
Tony manages a smile. “Thanks. No refund necessary though. He’s paying. It’s my birthday.”
Bucky shakes his head. “Well, happy birthday, but in my world that usually means you get to do something you want to do.”
“One jump and he can’t hold this over my head,” Tony explains. He realizes he’s holding onto Bucky’s shirt, fingers digging in and clinging to the fabric, and Tony lets go.
Bucky tries to smile, but he doesn’t look happy about it.
“You got some kind of friends.”
They head back toward the gap, and Tony appreciates Bucky staying close.
Brock is wrapping Ty’s feet with the bungee cord when they walk back over, and Bucky keeps a careful eye on the proceedings. Brock talks Ty through the fall - the arms out, chest out pose, and that they’ll winch Ty back up to the top after.
Tony gulps as Ty smirks, still completely at ease, and jumps off the ledge.
The rope doesn’t snap and neither does Ty’s spine. Everything is fine, and soon enough it’s Tony’s turn with Ty red-faced from the rush and jeering at him.
Bucky is the one who bundles Tony’s feet up in the jump rope and securing everything into the harness. Bucky waves Brock away every time he comes close, and Tony appreciates that.
“You good?” Bucky asks softly after he walks Tony through the pose, the fall, and what happens after.
Bucky’s hands are warm on his back, Tony notes, even as he breaks out in a cold sweat.
“Could be better,” Tony admits, his heart racing. All this air, and it feels like none of it is going into his lungs - or his brain, which is maybe while this feels like it could be his last moment and he might as well go for it all. “Don’t suppose you’d be open to a kiss for good luck?”
Bucky eyes spark, and he leans close. He kisses the corner of Tony’s mouth, tongue darting out for just a fraction.
“Come back in one piece and I’ll give you a kiss for succeeding,” Bucky whispers.
Tony sucks in a breath. “Well, then.” He shuffles to the edge, the bungee cord wrapped tight and thick around his feet. His arms are out, his chest up. “Make sure to beam me up at the end, yeah?”
