art for Cut the Wire (How to Stop a Civil War) written by youcancallmearrow (art on AO3 here)
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[Image Description: Animated gif. Stever Rogers and Tony Stark sitting on a roof. Steve asks "what if it was Rhodey?". Tony visualizes Rhodey in the Soldier's Chair (the image appears behind him in a glitchy way with lateral bands shifting sideways), turns to look behind him, and imagines himself (as a red stick figure) jumping from the tower with a big yellow “nope” accompanying him.]
bingo stuff (and slight fic spoilers) below:
Title: Nope - Pairing: Steve / Tony, Tony & Rhodey - Rating: Teen / SFW - Medium: digital art. One animated gif, two still images (sort-of crops of the gif)
Prompts:
- fill for @steverogersbingo’s prompt “James Rhodes“,
- fill for @tonystarkbingo‘s prompt “Tony’s poor life choices“ (because maybe he doesn’t really jump from the Tower’s roof but he does seriously consider it),
- fill for @lgbtqbingo‘s prompt “I’m not ready, sorry“ (because Tony’s knee-jerk reaction is that he really isn’t ready to think about what would have happened if Rhodey had been WinterSoldier-ed, and because Steve asking him that is the first step to - make love not war - and end up together in the fic)
- fill for @anyfandomgoesbingo‘s prompt “nightmares“ because for Tony, Rhodey being Winter-Soldiered is the stuff of nightmares (and if he did not have nightmares about it before that conversation because he was blocking out that idea he definitely will now).
Summary: Hurt, hungry, and on the run, the Winter Soldier doesn’t have a lot of safe options to go to for help. Figuring that any friend of Captain Steve Rogers is unlikely to be HYDRA, Bucky takes a chance and reaches out to the first Avenger he can find. It works out better than anyone could have expected. Eventually.
My thoughts: Ohhhh, this one took me a while to finish, but in the end it was so wonderfully worth it. A recently post-TWS James manages to track down an off the grid Bruce Banner for help, and an unlikely alliance and friendship forms between this odd duo. Bruce’s compassion and utter refusal to see James as anything less than a human being is so heartwarming, and seeing James slowly beginning to trust Bruce and coming to terms with his personhood again is absolutely lovely. I hope you guys love it too.
Science Bros, Slow Build, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bruce Is a Good Bro, Clint Is a Good Bro, Basically All the Good Bros, Hurt/Comfort, Except The Hurt is Past Hurt, Because No One is Going to Hurt Bucky Again Or Hulk Smash, Bucky Barnes Defense Squad, Complete, Happy Ending, Domestic Avengers
(Please feel free to REBLOG as a signal boost for this author and this story if you enjoyed it!)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Characters: Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes, Peter Parker, Clint Barton
Additional Tags: Mutual Pining, Fluff, Light Angst, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) Lives, Happy Ending, Winteriron Holiday Exchange, seriously so fluffy, taco tuesday, The Winter Soldier and Bucky Share a Body But Are Two Separate People, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, He Totally Gets One, Not friends to friends to lovers, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 45-60 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Cover Art
Summary:
This is a podfic of Orbingarrow's Story.
It had been an adventure, navigating the sweetly apologetic Bucky Barnes, who haunted the tower most days, and the the Winter Soldier, who occasionally inhabited Barnes’s body. The Winter Soldier was not apologetic; he was scary. And he was currently chilling out, uninvited, in Tony's lab.
“Leave,” Tony said, because Tony was either a dead man or not, and there wasn’t much he could do about it before coffee.
“Or you could give me permission to be here,” the Winter Soldier suggested.
“I don’t let strangers poke around my stuff,” Tony grumbled, as he walked past the Soldier to take a seat at his workbench.
“Easily solved,” the Soldier deflected. “Get to know me.”
Guardian Angel by EchoSiriusRumme for orbingarrow
The Asset is sent undercover as a MIT student to kill Tony for HYDRA, but after a week without a peep from his target, the Asset needs to switch gears. What starts as snacks to keep Tony from perishing before the mission can be completed, slowly turns into something more.
Art I made for a Winteriron Reverse Bang event, paired up with the lovely @orbingarrow. Thanks again for being amazing to work with. I love the story you wrote for my sketch so much!
Everyone, go check it out on AO3!
Title: Rocket Science
Author: @orbingarrow
Artist: @marsmaywander
Pairing: Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: Sleep-deprived and under-caffeinated, grad student Tony falls asleep in a conveniently empty classroom and wakes up in the middle of Bruce’s Physics 101 course. After seeing a groggy Tony fumble a simple question, actual-student Bucky offers to tutor him. In a moment of “oh no; he’s cute” panic, Tony takes him up on it. Now, in addition to his already complicated life, Tony has to figure out the answer to the incredibly messy question: “How do you look like you’re failing the class, when you literally wrote the book?”
Sam and Rhodey- AU. Our friends are flirting at a bar, and we’re the wingmen so we’re talking and oh god— where did our friends go???
Rhodey rolls his eyes as Tony slides up next to the guy - Mr.Tall, Dark, and Scowly - and waves at the bartender for another round.
Another roundfor himself. Rhodey gives two minutes before Mr. Scowlychases Tony away, and while Tony will need another drink before scouting outthe next target, Rhodey will need another drink to deal with that.
Tony had beenthe one to drag Rhodey to the bar under the clause to find someone for Rhodey, but Rhodey doesn’t mind. Rhodey likes to find people at his ownpace, and Tony’s picks always have a touch more dramatic flair than Rhodeylikes for himself.
“Let me guess,the other one is yours,” a man says, sliding onto the stool next to him andnodding over to where Tony is chatting the guy (who now scowls less, at least.It must be going well).
“Oh no. Youtoo?” Rhodey asks, and gestures for the bartender to refill his new friend’sglass as well.
“Yup, me too.Had to drag his ass out of his apartment, but look at him now. Baby bird isgetting his wings back,” the man teases. The man’s grin is soft, though, andfond in a way that Rhodey recognizes keenly from his friendship with Tony.Rhodey trusts his ability to read people, and he decides that he likes thisman.
“James Rhodes,”he says, holding a hand out for introduction. “Call me Rhodey.”
“Sam Wilson,”Sam replies with a smile, taking Rhodey’s hand. “Most people just call me by myfirst name.”
Sam’s friendturns out to be James Barnes (who goes by Bucky, but Sam wants to know what isso wrong with the name James?). They spend a few minutes talking shit abouttheir friend and what Bucky and Tony get up to, but then the conversationshifts to themselves. Rhodey is pleased with his character assessment when allSam does is raise his eyebrows and snort when Rhodey tells him that Bucky ischatting up Tony Stark, before he asks Rhodey what he’s doing inBrooklyn.
“Slumming it,”is Rhodey’s response, enjoying the way that Sam squawks in protest.
Turns out thatthey both have the Air Force in common, though Rhodey is only on leave whileSam left the pararescue service after his co-pilot went down. It’s a bit of aheavy topic for a first meeting, so they swerve away to finding out if theyhave friends in common or have been stationed together. Rhodey outranks Sam bylike a lot, and Sam tosses “Another drink for the Lieutenant Colonel over here,please!” at the bartender that Sam pays for himself.
“You too, man,”Rhodey says, signaling for another drink for Sam. “Didn’t you learn anything inservice? Have to outdrink your superiors!”
They swap a fewmore military stories and talk about Sam’s job at the VA. They talk about whatBrooklyn used to be, about how Sam is handling the move from D.C., about placesthey’ve been and places they want to go.
Then thebartender is calling last call, and Rhodey looks down at his watch.
“Oh, wow. Damn,look at the time,” Sam says, pulling out his phone.
Rhodey looksaround for Tony, frowning when he doesn’t see Tony or Sam’s friend Bucky.Rhodey checks his phone, and sees a text.
Nice catch,buddy. Use protection and get his number! I’ll distract the friend. Work yourmagic. XOXO
Rhodey shakeshis head at Tony’s text. Rhodey looks up to see Sam realizing that they’ve beenditched.
“Got time forone last round?” Rhodey asks, wrapping his fingers around his almost-finishedglass of beer so he doesn’t give away his nervous tick by tapping them on thetable.
Sam smiles, wideand easy. “Yeah, I got the time. Got to admit though, I’m hoping I at least gotyour number, too.”
Rhodey grins ashe waves for one last round. “The number you have. If there’s anything else youwant, you better bring your A-game.”
Hi there! I has a prompt! Steve has told the Avengers at various points what a ladies man Bucky was back in the day and at some point suggested that he could give Tony a run for his money in the saucy flirt department. Tony doesn't believe it and challenges Bucky to lay it on him. Maybe even in front of the team? Idk, I just picture a tongue tied Tony and oodles of tension. <3
A/N: Hi! I tweaked the prompt a little but I really like how it turned out and I hope you do too! <3 ~Arrow
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Back in the Day (Before the Potted Plants)
“Bucky can do it.”
The entire team groaned. ‘Bucky can do it’ was pretty much Steve’s solution for anything at that point. As if through sheer force of stubbornness, Steve could convince the other Avengers to give Bucky a mission. But that wasn’t how things worked with the Avengers. Not anymore. And Bucky wasn’t ready. Everyone but Steve could see it.
“I can do it,” Clint said.
The ‘it’ in question really shouldn’t be that hard. Tony was going to a fancy party later that evening, and he needed a reason to slip off to a very specific guest bedroom so he could track down some long-forgotten HYDRA microfilm that Maria Hill thought was hidden there. It’d be suspicious if Tony walked upstairs alone. No one was going to give him a second glance if he was kissing a stranger on the way up.
So that was the problem and Clint was a workable solution. He was relatively unknown. If he wasn’t carrying a bow on his back, no one ever recognized him as an Avenger.
“Hawkeye it is,” Tony said.
“Shouldn’t you practice?” Steve asked. From the smirk on his face, he was clearly ribbing them.
“Think I can kiss Stark fine tonight on the first try,” Clint said smartly.
“I dunno,” Natasha said, her smile full of mischief. “You’re going to need to make it convincing, and you are straighter than your arrows.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, look--” Clint stood, marched over to Tony and paused.
Tony didn’t like to be touched. He appreciated that Clint waited. And rather than nod, Tony just leaned up to close the short distance between them and opened his mouth into a kiss. It was brief, but apparently believable, since when he pulled back, they were met with applause.
“Believable enough for you?” Tony asked Steve.
Steve shrugged. “Bucky’d do it better.”
“The Bucky who’s barely said one word to any of us but you in a month?” Tony asked. “And lurks behind the potted plants? That Bucky’s going to come to this party, charm me enough that it’ll convince the assholes who’ve known me since I was a teenager, and then kiss me up the stairs?”
There was no missing Tony’s doubt. His voice was thick with it.
“I’m just sayin’, back in the day, no one was a better flirt,” Steve insisted. “He’d have charmed your pants off in under a minute.”
“The other day I asked Barnes what kind of pizza he wanted and he said “round” and walked away,” Tony sighed. “I’m not seeing the charm.”
Steve started cackling. Cackling so hard he nearly fell off his chair, and Tony looked at Clint for help, because now that he’d repeated the conversation out loud, it did feel a little like maybe Barnes was trolling him. And trolling wasn’t a far jump to normal-enough-to-join-the-team. At least this team.
“Maybe Bucky can help next time?” Bruce suggested. “Flirting with Tony comes up at least once every couple of months.”
“Everyone gets a try,” Clint said cheerfully. “Who would have ever thought your reputation for bagging strangers would come in so handy?”
“I was playing the long game,” Tony laughed. “I’m that damn smart.”
“Sure you are, champ,” Steve smirked.
There was a flicker of movement out in the hall. Probably Bucky skulking again. How Steve thought that was mission-ready behavior, Tony couldn’t guess.
Later that night, he wouldn’t have to.
(Watch out for the break!)
*
The mission went tits up all of ten seconds in.
“Shit, shitshitshit,” Clint swore into the comms. “Julia Clearwater’s here. I gotta go before she sees me.”
“What?” Tony whispered into his comm.
“She knows who I am. She knows what I do. And she is not a friendly. If she spots me talking to you, it’s game over.”
“Nat, can you cover?” Steve asked into the comm.
“Negative. Julia knows me too. She’s ex-SHIELD. Bruce?”
“Right,” Bruce replied. “Just take a few seconds to teach me how to blend into a fancy party like that and also how not to make a face when Tony’s tongue is in my mouth and--”
“Cap, you’re up,” Tony mumbled as he took a drink of his champagne.
“That’s not happening,” Natasha said. “Steve’s way too recognizable.”
“Bucky can do it,” Steve interrupted. “He’s shadowing tonight, so he’s already around.”
“And you were going to tell us he was shadowing when?” Tony asked.
“When anything went wrong and we needed a sniper,” Steve sighed. “Our sniper was going to be occupied by your tongue. Natasha knew.”
“And I agreed it was a good idea,” Natasha added.
“We’re gonna talk about this later,” Tony whispered.
“We’re out of options,” Steve said. “So we call the mission or you give Bucky a chance.”
“What about his arm?” Bruce asked. “That’s a pretty notable feature. An ex-SHIELD operative might recognize it from the ghost stories.”
“He’s got it covered. Literally,” Steve explained. “Nat gave him a photostatic bracelet. His hand will look human.”
“And what about a tux?” Tony asked.
“M’on it,” Bucky’s voice came in quietly through the comm.
There was a telling thud. Tony hoped whoever’s tux Bucky was “borrowing” was asshole enough to deserve the rough treatment.
“Recognized a HYDRA operative about my size,” Bucky said with his ever-spooky calm. “Two birds, one stone.”
“Then come on in,” Tony said. “The sooner the better, before I change my mind. Oh look-- it’s Hammer-- perfect-- exactly what I need.”
The last few words were spoken more to himself, though Tony knew the entire team would cringe on his behalf. Ever since Justin Hammer weaseled his way out of prison, the man had made it his mission to interject himself into Tony’s life whenever possible. Often in downright creepy ways. Like flirting at a party like this and possibly ruining everything.
If Bucky came in and wasn’t convincing, Hammer would be the very first to point it out.
“Don’t want to talk to you,” Tony said plainly as Justin greeted him. “I don’t like you. We aren’t friends. Go away.”
“If you’d let me explain,” Justin pleaded overly loud. To anyone nearby this was a scene waiting to happen. Fuck.
“Not interested,” Tony insisted. “I would rather--”
“Dr. Stark?” a pleasant voice asked, cutting Tony off before he could launch into a Green Eggs and Ham’s worth of reasons why Hammer’s false apologies were going to go unheard forever.
Tony and Justin both turned at the same time, and it was a good thing Justin’s attention was fully on the interruption because Tony’s face muscles definitely twitched and his mouth dropped open at least half an inch.
Bucky Barnes stood in front of them, looking every bit the 28 years old he’d been pre-war and smoking hot. His suit fit him like Tom Ford had hand-stitched it with love, and the way he looked at Tony-- like a mix of hero worship and fuck-me-eyes-- was so incredibly spot on, Tony’s brain did a triple take. From the way Justin was eye-molesting Bucky, the get-up was believable as hell.
“Dunno if you remember me,” Bucky continued easily. “We met at Darla Bishop’s party,” he added, the words almost electric with pleasant (fake) memories. “Thought I’d let you get me that drink you owe me.”
Bucky looked at Tony with hungry eyes. Like after a cocktail, getting laid was an absolute surety.
“You’d be hard to forget,” Tony said softly.
It was soft because his brain forgot how words worked there for a second, but the effect was just right. Justin would certainly walk away with the impression that this wasn’t the first time these two had met up for a tumble.
“I missed Darla’s party,” Justin piped in. “And Tony here should probably avoid drinking too many. He’s got a reputation for trouble after a few, if you know what I mean.”
Justin leaned toward Bucky and tugged roughly at the front of Bucky’s suit.
To Bucky’s credit (and a little to Tony’s disappointment) he let Justin live.
“I don’t know, actually,” Bucky said, taking a step closer to Tony and using his elbow to brush away Justin’s hand in the process. He only had eyes for Tony as he smiled at him and added, “Tony’s never struck me as anything less than a gentleman.”
Bucky’s smile was easy and his eyes were full of mischief. Like that was an inside joke between them. Like there were a hundred other inside jokes between them waiting to be known.
“Gentleman might be a stretch,” Tony said with a small smile of his own. “But flattery will get you everywhere.”
“It ain’t flattery if it’s true,” Bucky said.
God his voice. There was a hint of a Brooklyn drawl, wrapped in heat and warmth and promise. It was like the Winter Soldier had never existed. All Tony (or anyone watching) was picking up from this encounter was Do Me vibes by the boatload.
“Tony? A gentleman?” Justin scoffed. “Pull my other leg while you’re at it.”
“I thought you were looking to be friends with me, Hammer,” Tony reminded Justin.
“Eh, wasn’t going to work out. But this--” he said, pointing between himself and Bucky. “This is much more appealing. I can feel the heat. How much for the night? Two? Three hundred dollars?”
Oh god. Hammer really was looking to get himself punched, and if it would not have blown the mission Tony would have been first in line. Honestly, how important could that microfilm be, anyway?
Thankfully, Bucky had it handled.
“Buddy,” Bucky drawled, the very picture of unimpressed. “I wouldn’t look at you twice if it won me a million dollars both times.”
“But you’ll look at this guy?” Justin asked, annoyed. “They called him the Merchant of Death! Do you know that or are you too young to remember?”
“I know,” Bucky said plainly. “And I also know he’s got four more doctorates than you, a much better sense of humor, a real nice ass and he’s doin’ his part to make the world a better place every chance he gets. Comparatively, you’re a goblin. Go away.”
Tony stood in stunned silence. That might have been the nicest defense of himself he’d ever heard and it was made a hundred times better by the way it shut Justin right the fuck down.
“Your loss,” Justin sneered, before he stormed away.
“Marry me,” Tony insisted, as he turned to Bucky. “We’ll go to Vegas right now. Just say the word.”
It was all part of the act, obviously, but Tony still enjoyed the way it caught Bucky by surprise and caused him to smile. A real, genuine smile. The few nosy people within hearing distance smiled, too.
“What would you do if I said yes?” Bucky asked.
“Call the airport. Have them fuel up my jet.”
“You’re somethin’ else, Tony Stark,” Bucky said, before biting at his bottom lip appealingly. Like he was playfully considering the offer. “M’not one of those guys who buys somethin’ before he tries it out and we didn’t have enough time to get acquainted last time we met. Think we should fix that before you propose.”
“There are rooms upstairs,” Tony suggested, dragging his brain back to the mission at hand since Bucky seemed to be doing fine keeping his eyes on the prize. “If you wanted to catch up somewhere a little more intimate.”
“Intimate is good,” Bucky agreed.
He closed the space between them, took the champagne flute out of Tony’s hand and finished what was left, letting his tongue flick over the rim to catch the last drop of alcohol. Tony’s brain flooded him with unhelpful imagery about all the things that tongue could do.
Not helpful.
They needed to be seen together a little longer. Not everyone who would notice Tony missing had caught sight of him yet in the first place. But they would. Bucky was definitely a head-turner.
“How about one more drink first?” Tony asked. “Then we head up?”
“I’m all yours,” Bucky agreed. “Lead the way.”
Tony put a hand on the small of Bucky’s back to guide him, and forced himself to ignore the growing warmth in his chest when he did. It was probably just the alcohol. He didn’t drink much anymore. Easy explanation.
“It was Nolan, right?” Tony asked conversationally, after he’d ordered them each a champagne. “Like the famous pitcher?”
That was Clint’s cover story and since Clint was on the invite list, it made sense to assume Bucky had the same plan.
“Nolan, yeah. My dad was a big fan of baseball,” Bucky confirmed. “I got a brother named Ryan and everything.”
Tony smiled. “You ever play?”
“In High School. Probably coulda played for a small college but all I ever wanted to do was go to NYU and then be a sports writer. No other dream would do.”
After the bartender handed over their drinks, Bucky angled in toward Tony, leaning against the counter to effectively cut them off from interruption. It was incredible to watch him work. There was just something about the way Bucky carried himself. Something about the light in his eyes. Cap was not wrong. Bucky Barnes was criminally good at flirting.
The only problem (and it wasn’t much of a problem) was that they’d drawn enough attention that people were hovering closer. Any talk at all would have to be in character. Easy enough, really, or it would have been if Bucky’s presence wasn’t so damn distracting. Tony’s thoughts all seemed to lag a second or two behind the rest of him.
“How’s that working out for you?” Tony asked. “That dream?”
“M’here, ain’t I?” Bucky asked. “Still looking for my big break, though. In New York, it’s all about who you know.”
“You know me.”
Bucky turned a little more and leaned in fully against Tony. He looked down at him with an expression of open invitation. “Not really. But I’d like to.”
“I can finish this fast,” Tony said, draining the last of the champagne.
“Already done with mine,” Bucky said more quietly. He tipped his head forward slightly as Tony sat his glass on the counter.
It took absolutely no thinking for Tony to lean in and kiss him.
That kiss with Clint earlier? That had been a mission kiss: convincing without a stir of feeling. This kiss? It was a kiss worthy of romantic acts of stupidity. It was a kiss that would have launched a thousand ships. Tony would have bought ESPN the very next morning and given it to Fake!Nolan for keepsies if that kiss had been real.
“Upstairs,” Tony growled.
By then, no one was going to doubt they were walking up to one of the bedrooms to fuck. If nothing else, Tony’s erection broadcast that for anyone who was looking closely enough to see. (Next time Barnes flirted on a mission, Tony was going to ditch the tight pants.)
They found the bedroom they needed, and it was incredibly surreal to walk in behind Bucky, close the door, then turn around to come face to face with the Winter Soldier. Surreal enough that Tony took a quick step backwards.
Barnes was still gorgeous. That hadn’t changed. But his expression was somewhere between resting murder face and mission report and all the warmth was gone.
“Hey there, Killer,” Tony greeted. “Fancy meeting you here.”
If there was disappointment in his voice, it wasn’t intentional. It just was. And if Tony thought he saw a flicker of hurt pass through Bucky’s eyes, that was likely all in his imagination.
“Where’s the microfilm?” Bucky asked.
“Hill said it’s hidden in a false panel in the desk,” Natasha chimed in through the comm.
For the second time in two minutes, Tony jumped. He had completely forgotten the team could hear everything through their communicators.
Bucky moved to the desk and opened the top drawer while Tony sat down on the bed and watched him work. It took Bucky less than a minute to locate the secret latch and remove the microfilm.
“What now?” Bucky asked.
“We’ve got to stay in here for a while,” Tony said. “Long enough that it’s believable we were up here enjoying ourselves.”
“So that should take what, exactly?” Clint asked through the comms. His grin was audible. “Thirty? Forty seconds?”
The oomph he made a second later was incredibly satisfying.
“Who’s in there defending my honor?” Tony asked.
“My elbow slipped,” Bruce insisted. “Not much room to work in this van.”
“That was totally on purpose,” Clint whined.
“Would I do that?” Bruce asked.
“Muting the comms so Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum here aren’t a distraction,” Natasha chimed in. “We’ll only unmute if we have something relevant to say. You do the same.”
“Good work, you two,” Steve added. “Get out safe.”
“Copy,” Bucky said.
The line went silent. As silent as the room.
“You can sit on the bed,” Tony said, to fill the quiet. “I don’t bite. Not unless you ask me nicely.”
“No one can see us,” Bucky said simply. “You don’t have to keep up the act.”
“What act?” Tony asked. He really was coming up blank. He’d been himself all evening. It was Bucky who had been winning the Oscar down there.
“Actin’ like you don’t mind me bein’ here,” Bucky said. And well, the good news was that Bucky wasn’t in automaton mode any longer. The bad news was his voice was laced with buried hurt. Where in the hell did that come from?
“I don’t mind you being here,” Tony said quickly. He paused. Considered. Spoke gently. “And-- just for the record-- I don’t mind that you took over for Clint. I’m grateful. We’ve got the microfilm, the mission went off without a hitch, and Hammer saw me walk upstairs with the best-looking guy at the party. This is a win/win/win.”
“You told the team I lurk behind potted plants.”
“Because you do lurk behind potted plants,” Tony pointed out carefully.
“I linger; I don’t lurk. I know the difference.”
“Ummm… apparently I don’t?” Tony asked. “Feel free to explain. Believe it or not, I wasn’t trying to be a dick about the… not lurking. It hadn’t occurred to me there were subtleties involved.”
God, though. Whether Tony’d meant it or not, replaying that team conversation in his head was painful. He’d talked about Bucky like he was a thing… not a person. And if Bucky’d heard, well, that sucked. It got worse as Bucky continued.
“I don’t like people lookin’ at me,” he said softly. “S’never worked out well. Not in the war and definitely not with HYDRA. Always meant I was in some kind of trouble. Pain was comin’ my way. Or something’ worse than pain.”
“That wasn’t--” Tony tried to explain.
“You act like it makes me broken,” Bucky cut him off. “That there’s somethin’ wrong with me cause I’m not ready to be out in the open and there’s not. M’not broken. I’m workin’ through a lot.”
Bucky shut his mouth and looked away. Tony had never been so relieved to be off comms. If he fucked up this conversation royally, he didn’t need the whole team listening to him crash and burn.
He watched Bucky for a few seconds. Did some mental recalibration. Channeled Rhodey circa 1987. (Tony’s college peers had not been kind.) (Except for Rhodey, who’d taught him what friendship could mean.) (And Tony could pay that forward. He could.)
“Will you look at me?” Tony asked gently. “Please?”
Bucky turned his head grudgingly.
“I’m sorry,” Tony said simply and sincerely. “That was beyond shitty of me. I don’t think you’re broken. I think you’re amazing.”
“Bullshit,” Bucky grumbled.
“Geezus, what you did down there?” Tony continued. “That was incredible. What you do every day to move forward and get on in the world... that’s incredible, too. I should have tried harder to make you feel comfortable in the tower, and from now on I will-- if you’ll let me. We can be friends. I dunno. Hang out, or something. I’ve seen you eyeing Dum-E and U. I’ll introduce you, if you want. They’re pretty cool. Way cooler than Steve.”
Bucky considered Tony’s words. “I’d like that.”
Tony nods. “I’d like that, too.”
*
Turned out, Bucky was awesome company. Sure, he faded into the shadows a lot and occasionally he stared at Tony with his Resting Murder Face and that was a little unnerving, and every once in a while JARVIS would report that Bucky had done something paranoid like check all the light fixtures in the tower for HYDRA listening devices. All in all, that was small potatoes compared to the fun they had together otherwise.
They shared a love for science and technology, greasy pizza and yelling at the television during bad sci-fi movies. Most nights when Tony and Bruce were in the lab, Bucky’d join them and sit quietly off to the side, taking apart a toaster or reading up on motorcycle repair.
It was a comfortable friendship, and one Tony valued a lot. Which was why, when his thoughts turned a little more toward the romantic side of friendship, he tried to squelch them immediately. Bucky had never given any indication he was interested and Tony didn’t want to push. But he never could quite shake the memory of that kiss, and the dwelling on it always left him wanting more. Sure there was a lot he could lose, but oh the things he could gain.
The very best things.
Yeah.
Cold showers were Tony’s new best friend.
*
It was a month or two later when a new easy-peasy mission came in that would involve Tony and a date. No one batted an eyelash when Bucky volunteered. He could even keep his previous Nolan identity since many of the people from the party before would be attending the new mission party as well.
Tony RSVP’d with Nolan as his date.
They’d just snuck off down a side corridor to get to the room they needed for their mission (under the guise of wandering off to find a less public place to grope each other) when they heard footsteps coming up behind them. Heavy footsteps. The sort you’d expect from goons with guns.
“Shit,” Tony swore.
“Security cameras show you’ve got incoming,” Steve said over the comm.
“No facial recognition available,” Natasha added. “May just be hired help.”
“Only confront if necessary,” Steve reminded them.
“That’d be your cue to start sucking face, guys,” Clint chimed in.
Bucky didn’t need to be told twice.
“You good?” he asked Tony.
“So good,” Tony said honestly.
Bucky had Tony shoved against a wall with their mouths together before another second passed.
Tony’s brain went blank. Bucky was flush against him, warm and protective. The kiss was everything Tony had imagined over and over and over in the weak moments when he’d let himself dwell on their previous kiss.
Bucky’s hand wandered up Tony’s side and grasped at his suit jacket and Tony heard himself make a plaintive, needy noise he was totally going to deny later. There was just something about the way Bucky kissed him. Something that was familiar and head spinning and perfect.
Tony wasn’t content to stay passive, and he let his hands wander over Bucky’s back and then down his biceps and there was the metal arm, and yup-- that did all kinds of things to short circuit Tony’s thoughts and what even was that kink called? Because he had it. He so had it.
Time stood still. Everything but Bucky faded into the background.
“Uh, team?” Steve asked. “The coast is clear. Has been for like five minutes.”
Tony dragged himself out of the kiss and leaned his head back against the wall. “Shit. Right. Mission.” He tried to word-make again with the addition of some verbs. “Heading that way now.”
Bucky pulled back and away, but not before placing one last kiss to Tony’s forehead.
“To be continued back at the tower?” Bucky asked, a hint of hope in his voice.
“To be continued,” Tony agreed breathlessly. “Yes. Absolutely. You are really good at that.”
“Can’t wait to take my time with you,” Bucky said. “Been wanting to try that again since the first night.”
“God, me too,” Tony said enthusiastically. “I just didn’t want to--”
“Keep it off the comms,” Steve groaned. “I’m gonna need brain bleach as it is.”
“Yes, sir, Captain, sir,” Bucky quipped. “But I make no promises once we’re back at the tower. Probably oughtta bunk with Nat for the night if you don’t want to hear us across the hall.”
Tony laughed. They all knew just how much soundproofing had gone into the tower bedrooms, which made it all the more funny.
“I hate you both,” Steve said.
“Not as much as you’ll hate us after tonight,” Tony taunted. And then because he could he leaned in for one more kiss.
“We heard that,” Clint complained, then oomphed. There was a clatter, like people all moving around in the van at once. Then laughter. “Ouch-- hey! No pinching! No fair!”
“Accident,” Natasha said. “Muting comms. You boys behave. Hail us if you need us.”
“Copy,” Bucky said.
The line went silent.
“You really want to pick back up once we’re home?” Tony asked.
He thought he knew the answer but he still needed to have Bucky confirm. Needed to know it wasn’t all some big misunderstanding that was going to end in heartache.
“Haven’t thought of much else for a long time now,” Bucky admitted. “What I said to Hammer that first night-- that wasn’t Nolan talkin’, that was me. Even back when I was hidin’ in the plants, I wanted to know you. Wanted some of your spark for myself. Never met anyone who gives off so much light,”
Tony looked at Bucky in wonder. It didn’t feel true but Tony knew with confidence Bucky wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t. He didn’t do things he didn’t want anymore.
“I don’t know what to say that to that,” Tony replied quietly.
“You don’t have to say a thing,” Bucky assured him. “We’ve got all the time in the world to figure it out. For now let’s finish this mission so we can get back to the tower and find somethin’ better to do with our time. I’m tired of waitin’. Ready to get started.”
“Then I’m all yours,” Tony agreed with a small, pleased smile. “Lead the way.”
