(Halloween AU) okay so I know they had their first time together recently or well the most recent post but how long does it take for Tony/Bucky/Steve know that they love the others and like confess? Do they move in together, whats Tony like domestically? Does steve ask more weird questions? sorry this is like my fave AU
Steve realizes first. It’s a few months after their first time together, lying in bed, watching Tony smile this adorable little smile as Bucky peppers lazy kisses from his ear, over his cheek, down his neck, and over his shoulder. Tony is incredibly tactile, soaks up affection like a sponge, curls into every touch. Steve loves him.
“I love you,” Steve says as soon as he mulls it over for a moment.
Tony’s eyes snap open, and he looks… heartbreakingly concerned as his eyes dart between him and Bucky.
“I still love Bucky,” Steve adds, and Tony relaxes just a hair. “But I love you too.”
“Steve’s got enough love for both of us,” Bucky explains gently. “He’s got a big heart.”
“That’s called cardiomegaly and he can die,” Tony starts, and Bucky and Steve leap to correct him that out of all the medical ailments Steve has suffered, that is not one of them, they definitely don’t mean literally. They’re touched that Tony frets about Steve’s health, though.
(They are less touched when they realize that Tony is somewhat obsessed with it. He’s got lots of books and he’s used up three highlighters marking illnesses that Steve could have.
“Tony, no. Modern medicine has it covered,” they sigh when Tony earnestly explains that he can pay for him to get every illness fixed–or push comes to shove, make a deal with Pepper to heal him.
“And I don’t have Lyme Disease,” Steve adds tiredly. “That’s one thing I don’t have.”
Bucky takes a little longer to come around, but that’s only because of his wolf hind-brain. A lot of dating Tony involves fighting his instincts. The first time he even sensed Tony is brain went ‘threat! threat! threat! DEFEND.’ (And then his mate had gone out and confronted him oh God Steve definitely wants to give him ulcers.)
Even now, when they go to bed together, his instincts still thrum with DEFEND, even if it is less ‘there is a vampire on my turf’ and more ‘he’s taking my mate HE’S TAKING MY MATE.’ It takes a long time for the wolf part of him to recognize 1) Tony is not taking Steve and 2) Tony is another mate. Of course, once that finally slides home, it’s like his instincts click into place and he melts on top of Tony, running his nose along his skin as he scents him, memorizes it. Tony smells like home. It’s a different kind of home than Steve but it smells right.
Tony notices immediately that something has happened because Bucky has always low-key been tense around him, but he’d understood, and he’s kind of bewildered that Bucky is sort of like… goo against him all of the sudden.
“I love you,” Bucky explains, and Steve smiles so wide his eyes crinkle, and Tony looks even more bewildered at that, but also incredibly happy.
(He’d never expected Bucky to love him, they realize later, and it hurts, but they understand. Werewolves and vampires have had a mutual distrust since the beginning. But he’d let them court him anyway. Tony was amazing.)
Tony doesn’t ever realize, he just… knows. From almost the very beginning, he’s loved them, ever since Steve went out and bought a sign that said ‘welcome’ and Bucky rolled his eyes fondly when Tony ordered ice-cream for himself and the baby swamp monster.
He just doesn’t realize he’s never said it before until Steve is kissing him, deep and slow, purposely in Bucky’s way as he tries to mop, and Steve leans back and smirks at Bucky when he snarls at them and Tony says, “I love you guys.”
It feels like the air has been sucked out of the room for a moment and Tony is scared he’s ruined… something, but then Steve’s eyes go all soft and he gently takes Tony’s hands and says, “We love you too, sweetheart.” Tony blushes the faintest pink, and then yelps when Bucky lunges at them.
“Bucky what the fuck,” Steve exclaims, trying to push Bucky off of them, but Bucky just grunts and settles more firmly on top of them.
“Of course we’re yours but that doesn’t mean you get to lay on top of us in the fucking diner!” Steve shouts, and thumps him on the head. Bucky still doesn’t get up for several minutes. Steve shouts the entire time.
They don’t know where Tony lives but he keeps a separate residence, even if he does spend most nights with them now. It’s okay, though–he’s been alone so long that sometimes he needs solitude to decompress. Besides, Jarvis has stayed at their apartment exactly once and it was once too many. Jarvis is creepy. Jarvis can live elsewhere.
Tony’s slow to get up in the morning, waking in stages, awareness coming to him slowly but steadily. It’s beautiful to watch, his eyes fluttering open and shut, fingers twitching around sheets, against skin. But as slow as he is to wake, he’s just as slow to sleep. Steve and Bucky are uncomfortable the first few weeks of Tony sleeping with them, dozing off and then jerking awake to find Tony watching them–or worse, staring up at the ceiling, silent, unblinking.
Steve finds it more unsettling than Bucky does. “You could at least shut your eyes,” Steve suggests desperately.
“But why,” Tony asks, guileless as always.
Steve has no way to nicely answer “because you creep me the fuck out, Tony” so he just drops it and resigns himself to get used to it.
(It gets comforting, later, waking up with a jolt from nightmares and having Tony turn to look at him in concern. Tony’s sleep schedule is bizarre but it actually helps a lot more than it hurts.)
Steve keeps his questions to himself after the bat-dick thing. He is actually a little scared that he might drive Tony away by being unexpectedly insensitive.
Still, he does manage to ask, “So, can you have children?” without it sounding anything but curious.
Tony stares at him for a long time before saying, “No, I can’t. And I don’t sparkle in the sunlight, either.”
Steve is incredibly embarrassed up until Bucky points out ‘how would Tony know about that if he hadn’t also read Twilight’ and then Steve is INCENSED.
