Countdown to 2026: Dec 16 - winteriron / hallmark movie / candle
Tony threw his suitcase into the trunk of the taxi with what he intended to be determination and probably came out more like petulance. He refused to look back at the giant Christmas tree in the center of the quaint town square, or the little B&B they were leaving that was decked out with lights that sparkled and called to him, a candle shining in every window.
He slid into the back seat of the taxi and folded his arms.
Damn Ty for agreeing to go back to the city early. He'd promised they could have a whole two weeks here together. They hadn't even made it to Christmas Eve before he'd gotten a call from the firm insisting that Ty was the only one who could untangle the problem they'd found, and no, it absolutely could not wait until after New Year's.
They'd barely gone a handful of blocks before Ty reached over to put a hand on Tony's thigh. "I wasn't entirely sure that you were going to come with me," he admitted.
Tony raised an eyebrow at him. "Why would I want to stay here if you're going home? It's not a romantic getaway if I'm by myself."
Ty laughed thinly. "I guess not. I thought you might invite someone else to join you."
Tony twisted in his seat to stare at his fiancé. "Someone else," he repeated flatly.
Ty held up both hands in surrender. "I was wrong, I admit it."
Tony was not appeased. "Just who did you think I might invite, Ty?" He knew exactly who Ty was thinking of. But he wanted Ty to say it.
"Now, Tony, don't get upset," Ty said. "You have to admit, you were spending a lot of time with that Barnes guy."
"Because you didn't want to do anything with me," Tony pointed out. "If you'd just--" He pressed his lips together. There wasn't much point in arguing. "Never mind," he said shortly. "Just... Have a little faith, Ty. You can't get jealous every time I make a friend."
"I'll work on it," Ty promised, his eyes wide and blue and radiating sincerity and charm. Somehow, they still weren't as warm as James's icy gray eyes.
Tony patted his pocket and groaned. He leaned forward and said, "Hey, can you stop at the Pine Branch drugstore up ahead? I'll only be a minute."
"No problem!" the driver said cheerfully.
"Tony, we don't have time to stop," Ty protested.
"It will only take a minute," Tony insisted. "I'm out of gum."
"Babe, we can get gum at the airport."
"No, I want the kind they make here, with the local peppermint. I'll just grab a couple of packs for the trip and then I can order more online when we get home. I'm not going to make us late, I promise."
"Fine, whatever," Ty sighed.
When the taxi pulled up to the curb, Tony jumped out and dashed into the store. Every store in Pine Branch had a huge display of local peppermint products, it seemed, so it shouldn't take him long to find.
He dashed down the first aisle, and-- whump! -- slammed right into someone. He would have fallen if they hadn't caught one of his arms. "Shit, sorry--"
"Hey, you o-- Tony?"
Tony looked up. It was James. Because of course it was James, of course it was. "James," he sighed.
"You're leaving town?" For just an instant, James looked hurt, wounded, and then he shuttered his expression, but Tony knew what he meant was, You're leaving me?
"I have to go," Tony said, though it felt like ripping thorns out of his lungs to get the words out. "I made a promise to him, James."
"Yeah," James said softly. "I guess you did." He took a breath and squared his shoulders, the pinned-up sleeve swaying a little with the motion. "I'm sorry you'll miss the Christmas Eve candle-lighting in town, though. It's really something. Wait--" He reached into his pocket and came out with a little votive candle. "Here. Take this with you. Light it on Christmas Eve, and... and maybe think of me, from time to time."
"James, I--"
"Nah, s'okay, Tony," James said. "I got my wish. I got to meet an angel." He brushed his thumb across Tony's cheek. "I hope you'll be happy."
"You too," Tony whispered. He hesitated for an instant, then kissed James's cheek before he turned to leave.
When he got back into the taxi, Ty sighed. "Finally," he said. "Are you ready to go, now?"
Tony looked down at the little votive candle in his hand, the beeswax soft against his palm and smelling faintly of peppermint and honey. "I..."
Be happy, tesoro, his mother whispered in his memory. I only want you to be happy.
You could have all the money in the world, Pepper had told him, just a couple of years ago, and it still wouldn't guarantee you'll be happy.
Rhodey had looked into his eyes when he'd broken the news about the engagement with Ty, and said, You're my brother, Tones. If that's the guy who's going to make you happy, you have my blessing.
"Do I make you happy?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Ty said. "Of course you do. This is absolutely the smartest move we could make. We'll own Wall Street and Silicon Valley."
"Yeah, but do I make you happy?" Tony pressed.
Ty frowned. "Babe--"
"Aside from the business," Tony said. "If both our companies went belly-up overnight and we were left with absolutely nothing, would you still want to be with me?"
"Of course I would," Ty said, and for an instant, Tony felt like sagging in relief. And then Ty said, "No one knows the tech market better than you, and with my business savvy, we'd be back on top again in no time. Besides, that prenup we both signed had a hefty payout if either of us backs out."
You keep your promises, Howard snarled in Tony's ear. If your word is worthless, then so are you.
But Howard's angry tirade was faded and old, and the man who'd been more of a father to him than Howard had said, If you are happy, Master Anthony, then I am content.
"Stop the car!" Tony said.
"What? Tony, what are you doing?"
Tony fumbled off his engagement ring -- the huge, gaudy thing that he'd never liked -- and pushed it into Ty's hands. "I'm going to the candle-lighting ceremony on Christmas Eve," Tony said, and got out of the taxi again, shaking and giddy. "I'll have my lawyers call your office after the New Year to settle up on the prenup," he promised, and then he was running back the way they'd come.
"Tony!" Ty called, but Tony barely heard him.
Three blocks ahead, a familiar figure had just stepped out of the Pine Branch drug store.
Tony held tight to the candle James had given him, and ran faster.
This is a fill for today’s @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt [#FFF310 Could Have Been Worse] as well as the @yearoftheotpevent June prompt Relationship Reveal
Fandom: MCU/Marvel
Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers
Rating: Mature
Tags: New Relationship, Interrupted Sexual Encounter, Relationship Reveal, Bisexual Bucky Barnes
Summary: This wasn’t the way Bucky had wanted Steve to find out that he and Tony were involved – not by a long shot.
Word Count: 388
“It could have been worse, Steve,” Bucky said, quickly tucking himself back in his shorts and zipping up his jeans
“Yeah, if you’d been five minutes later, your bestie would’ve probably have had me bent right over this workbench,” Tony added, rising to his feet and wiping the back of his hand across his mouth with a smug grin.
“I, uh, didn’t …” Steve stammered, his cheeks flushed a dark red, “I mean, since when were you into fellas, Buck?”
Bucky shrugged. “Since always, I guess.”
Tony gave him a look of mock-offence. “You mean I didn’t corrupt your morals and convert you to the dark side, sunshine?” He pouted. “I guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”
“But, but, what about all the gals you used to step out with?” Steve went on, shaking his head in disbelief.
“I like women too,” Bucky shrugged. “I mean, they’re soft and cuddly and they smell good.” He turned to face Tony, “Of course, so do you, darlin’.”
“At $250 an ounce, I smell fantastic, thank you very much,” Tony replied, then gave Steve an arch look. “You have a problem with any of this, Cap?”
Steve took a deep breath, “Well, other than the fact that my best friends have been keeping a secret from me, no, no I don’t.”
“To be fair, we didn’t realize we were this into each other until just a few days ago, right? ” Tony asked, slipping his hand casually into Bucky’s back pocket and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“It did happen awfully fast,” Bucky explained, giving Steve an apologetic look. “As for back then…”
“I know, I know,” Steve sighed, “You’d have gotten beat up or worse if word got out that you were a pansy. But you know you could have trusted me with it.”
Bucky flinched slightly at the hurt expression on his best friend’s face. “I didn’t want you worrying about me, Steve. You had enough to deal with back then. We both did.”
“Yeah, well, you’re still a jerk for not saying anything.”
“Speaking of not saying anything,” Tony broke in, “what the hell, JARVIS?”
“You failed to initiate any sort of privacy protocol, Sir,” the AI responded dryly. “My apologies, Captain Rogers, for not providing adequate warning.”
My gift for @spacewinter for the @highflierexchange ! This was a super fun prompt, and I loved working on it :D Hope you like the final product as well!!
“But we want to keep him. He is part of the family. He can stay.”
“I’m sorry, Alexei, but you don’t have room for a third child and looking at your finances, you can’t afford one either, nor can you afford to move to a bigger home. We have a family ready and willing to take him. They have room, they have a son about his age.”
“But we love him,” Melina insists. “That is the most important thing for a child: to be loved. We love him, we want him. The girls adore him.”
“I know, Melina. And I wish he could stay, but he can’t. My hands are tied.”
He shakes, quietly whispering, “No, no, no, no, no…”
A tiny hand slips into his and Lena whispers fiercely, “We won’t let you go.”
But she’s too small to stop them.
He buries his face in Melina’s shoulder and drinks in the familiar smell of her perfume and her shampoo and tries not to cry.
“We love you, little one,” she whispers, her hands gentle on his back. “You will always be part of our family.”
I made this moodboard literally more than three years ago but I've never shared it. I was saving it for... I don't know, maybe a future fic in the Safe Harbor verse. But since it's taking me a while and I have a free space to fill in the @winterirondiscord to fill, I decided now was the time to share it.
Featuring young Bucky, Natasha and Yelena as Melina and Alexei's foster kids (and Ursa Major the bear), during the happiest six months of Bucky's life (until he ran away to Maine and met his BFF and the love of his life).
So I’ve recently been playing around with something I know nothing about and trying to learn new things so I figured I would start with a fun subject like Tony, Bucky and Alpine :) I thought for a first attempt at learning it turned out alright and figured I would share :)
discoholicmusic
janainaart
prguitarman
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