#steve going full tilt turned on by rhodey

[pandagirl45]

Steve being the person from the mummy, that the mummy wants.

Bucky being the explorer who meets Tony who isn't native to Egypt but he knows the stories. (They fall in love)

Rhodey joins in (ha! The wareagle, war shield, whatever ship came back up!) Because tony attracts danger like no one business

And the mummy/Pharoah? Ha! About to get funky, and look it up.

Yeah marvel fused with the mummy. It's not because steve got curious, he was on the expedition with Johann and they woke up the mummy, the mummy saw steve with the sun tan and those soft mask features, reminded him of his secret lover (not blonde but the mummy decides he can fix that).

Yeah. Yeah this is good. >:)

[imagines4thefandoms]

Bucky Jr.

so i was planning on writing a small one shot based off of “Ive been watching you” by Rodney Atkins but it grew into a 5K+ imagine.

Takes place during/after endgame so don’t read if you haven’t seen it but it you haven’t are you living under a rock? all of the details based on the movie were written based off memory so if the dialog is a bit off its because i haven’t seen the movie in a while. 

word count: 5k+ like i said i got carried away. 

Bucky Barnes x reader, Steve x platonic! reader

y/n found out she was pregnant three months after they lost to thanos i think you can imagine how this story goes based off the ending of the movie and the song i based this story off of. 

You honestly never thought that you could get Bucky  after you found out that Thanos destroyed the stones. You did everything you could to try and get him back: going to the sanctum to see if there was a spell, pray, hell you even thought you would try to sell your soul. You even looked into the multiverse theory but nothing worked. Three months after half the universe turned to dust you found out that you were pregnant. The thought of having the baby without Bucky there, hurt.  

Steve knew something was wrong when he hadn’t heard from you for a couple of days. He drove over to the house that you and Bucky had gotten.  The only people who knew about the house was you, Bucky and Steve. And because Steve was Steve, he had gotten a spare key, so when he pulled up to the house he just walked right in.  

Steve called out for you but you were too deep into your depression to hear him. You didn’t know that her was here til there was a knock on the bedroom door. You got out of bed so fast cause you thought that Bucky was back.

“Buck,” you asked opening the door.

Your smile fell when you saw that it was just Steve. You had forgotten that Steve knew about the house. Steve game you a soft smile because he knew how hard you were taking the loss. You left the door open and climbed back in into the bed. Steve walked over and sat by your feet.

“He’s not coming back is he,” you asked softly.

“I don’t think so,” he replied.

“I can’t do this without him Steve.”

“Do what?”

You reached into your night stand, grabbed the positive pregnancy test and handed it to Steve. He looked at the text then back at you.

“Did he know,” he asked placing the text on the nightstand.

“No. I didn’t know til last week. Steve I can’t do this alone.”

“(Y/n) you will not be doing it alone. I will be here for you,” he told you pulling the covers off. “Now come on. Time for you to get up.”

“No,” you said taking your pillow and covering your face with it.

“As godfather and favorite uncle it is my duty to get you to get out of bed.”

“Bold of you to assume you're the godfather,” you teased.

~five years later~

Ever since then Steve has been there for you every step go the way. He went to the doctor’s appointments, he helped you decorate the nursery, he even helped you pick the perfect name when you found out it was a boy: James Buchanan Barnes Jr.

Steve moved into the house, Bucky made sure that there was a spare room for Steve, to help you with the long nights after James was born. Every time he woke up to chance a dirty diaper, you would complain and tell him that you got it but he would reply with his same cheesy joke, “I’ve slept for 70 years.”

Steve was there for each step of James’ life. His first word: Steve, well it was te. His first steps, his first day of school. Steve even taught him how to ride a bike. He was like a dad to James, but he never took the role of dad. Every night before bed Steve would tell James stories of Bucky and growing up the two of you made sure that James knew about his father.

“Is daddy ever going to come back,” James asked Steve.

“I don’t think so,” Steve told James sadly.

“Mommy doesn’t talk about what happened to daddy. Can you tell me uncle te,” your son asked.

“Well you know how your parents and I are avengers?”

“Yea.”

“Well there was a bad guy that wanted to wipe out half the universe, so us and the rest of the avengers went to stop him. But we didn’t win so he wiped out half the universe and your daddy was one of those people who got wiped away.” Steve explained.

“Oh you mean the blip.”

“Yea.”

“I wish I met him,” James said pulling his covers up to his chin.

“Me too bud,” Steve tucking him in.

“Uncle te.”

“Yes buck,” Steve responded using the nick he called Buck. He only calls James that when you’re not around as to night hurt your feelings.

“Do you think daddy would like me?”

“I know your daddy would love you,” Steve assured him as he kissed if forehead.

James grabbed the photo of Bucky that you put of his nightstand and held it against his chest. Steve turned off the lights then left his room. Steve stopped when he saw you standing outside James’ room.

“He wanted to know,” he started to say ready to explain why he told James what he told him.

“He’s old enough to know. Im just glad you told him and not me. I would have broken down.”

Steve pulled you in to a hug. You pushed away from him and gave him a small smile letting him know that you appreciated the hug. Steve left to go to bed while you went to the living room and sat on the couch. You grabbed the photo book off the coffee table full of pictures of you and Bucky and just looked at them til you fell asleep.

The next morning you woke up from James pulling your eyelids open. Steve tried to stop him before he woke you up but he was a little too late.

“Sorry I tried to stop him,” Steve said handing you his coffee.

“But mommy had to wake up cause we are going to see Aunt Nat,” James said sitting down at the table eating his breakfast.

After finishing half the cup you got up and went to kiss James’ head. “Your right how silly of me to sleep.”

You finished the coffee and handed the empty up of Steve on your way to your room to get dressed. Going to your closet, you grabbed one of Bucky’s shirts and a pair of jeans. As soon as you finished getting ready for the day there was a little knock at the door.

“Mommy hurry up. I want to see Aunt Nat,”

You opened the door and ruffled his hair as you walked past him. “It that because she shows you all of the old weapons at the compound,” you asked as you grabbed the toast that Steve had made for you.

James stoped in his tracks and looked at you and Steve. “How did you know. It’s supposed to be a secret,” he asked.

“Thats because your mom knows everything,” Steve replied.

“Nu uh, Mommy what’s 12 x 12,” James asked crossing his hands over his chest and tilting his head a little.

“144,” you answered him.

James went over to Steve and held is hand out for Steve’s phone. He pulled it from his pocket and opened the calculator app. He checked your answer and looked up at you with shock and awe.

“Wow mommy does know everything,” he replied handing Steve back is phone.

After ten minutes and James running back to his room to grab his teddy bear Sarge, which he dressed to look like Bucky, the three of you left for the compound. While in the car, James wouldn’t sit still cause he was too excited to see Natasha.

“James, pleas stop kicking my seat,” You asked him.

“Im just too excited,” he replied using his hands to emphasize his statement. “Can we listen to the song?”

“What song it that buddy,” Steve asked looking to James in the rearview mirror.

“Mommy knows the song.”

Steve looked over at you from the driver seat and you smirked at him while grabbing your phone and finding the video. James quickly calmed down once he knew you were going to put the song on.

“Uncle te, you can sing it too,” He said hold Sarge tight in anticipation.

“I might not know the song,” Steve replied.

“Oh you know it,” you smirked.

The song started to play and James pretended to march in place while in his car seat.

Who’s strong and brave to save the American way

“Not all of use can storm a beach or drive a tank. But there is still a way for all of us can fight” James spoke.

Who vows to fight like a man for what’s right night and day

“Series E defense bonds, each one you buy is a bullet in the barrel of your best guy’s gun”

Who will complain door to door for America

Carry the flag shore to shore for America

From Hoboken to Spokane

The Star Spangled Man with a Plan

“How do you know that,” Steve asked James and you.

“Mommy found it. It’s my favorite,” James replied.

Steve looked over at you and just shook his head. You noticed how red his face was and you just turned it up a little. The entire ride James spoke Steve’s part. After the second go around James convinced Steve to do it with him.

You couldn’t tell who was more happy to see the compound James, to see Nat, or Steve, so you could stop playing his song. As soon as the car came to a stop James unbuckled and got out of the car. Natasha walked out of the compound and held her arms open for James.

“Aunt Nat,” James yelled running into her arms.

“Hey JJ.”

After they went inside you didn’t really see either til lunch time. And since you didn’t hear an explosion you didn’t worry. James was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while nat was talking with Carol, Okoye, Rocket, and Rhodey.

After everyone hung up nat teared up a little because of Clint and James noticed. He grabbed Sarge who was in the chair next to him and handed him to her. “Here Aunt Nat, Sarge makes me feel better when I am sad.” James then went back to eating his sandwich while Steve and Nat talked a little. Then you noticed that someone was at the gate.

“Is that Scott,” you asked.

“How old is that,” Steve asked.

“Its live.”

“James stay here,” you told him as the three of you ran to see if Scott was really back.

The four of you came back to the room and James just looked at confusion. Scott explained how he was here and his plan to get everyone back. You, Nat and Steve looked at each other while Scott sat next to James and ate Natasha’s peanut butter sandwich.

“Hi,” James said pushing a glass of milk to Scott.

“Hey,” Scott replied with a questioning look.

“My name is James Buchanan Barnes Jr.,” James introduced himself. “Wait are you Antman?”

“Yes I am.’

“You are so cool.”

“Thanks kid,” Scott thanked him and finished the sandwich. “I knew your dad.”

“Really, were you friends or did he try to beat you up when Hydra was hurting him?”

“Friends, well I helped him when he was in trouble,” Scott explained.

James nodded his head and thanked Scott for helping his dad, then continued to eat his sandwich. Scott finished his milk then walked over to you and motioned back to James.

“Cute kid.”

~time skip~

After the meeting with BruceHulk, you and Steve knew of the only person who might be able to help. James sat in the middle between you and Scott one the ride up to Tony’s cabin. The entire ride James and Scott were talking about Antman things. Once we got to the cabin James’ fascination with Scott disappeared. All he want to do was play with Morgan. He ran past Tony and gave Morgan a hug.

“Hi Morgan,” James said after their hug.

“James you came to play,” Morgan asked James nodded his head and they ran off to play.

“Hello to you too,” Tony called out to your son.

“Sorry. Hi uncle Tony,” James called out.

Steve, Nat, Scott and you talked to Tony and explained what the plan was. Tony didn’t agree with the plan and kept saying that it wouldn’t work. Morgan and James ran inside. Then Morgan ran back out to “save” Tony. He invited you to stay for lunch which you accepted and went in to see James helping pepper set up the table.

“Aunt pep, I need one more fork,” James said looking at the table counting the plates.

“Here,” she said holding one out for him.

He put the fork in its place and then ran to whisper something in Morgan’s ear. She agreed to whatever he said. They went into the kitchen and grabbed a towel and held it over their arms. James opened his mouth then closed it and went over to pepper. He tapped her leg and motioned for her to bend over so he could whisper in her ear. She whispered something back then came back to stand next to Morgan.

“Lunch will be ready in three minutes,” James said.

“Please wait to be seated,” Morgan stated.

They both came over to Steve and asked for his name. After he gave it name they check the “list” on Morgan’s hand and both nodded their heads.

“Right his way, Mr. Rodgers,” James said leading Steve to his seat.

They did this for everyone and then helped hand out the food to everyone. After lunch the kids played a little while longer but then it was time to leave. You had to figure out time travel without the help of Tony.

“Bye Morgan,” James said sadly.

“Bye James,” Morgan replied equally sad.

The entire time you guys where trying to perfect time travel James was standing next to Bruce wearing a lab coat that was too big and hold a clip board holding some of his drawings. You didn’t tell him why you guys were building a time machine because you didn’t want to get his hopes up.

After all the mishaps with Scott you walked over to James and asked for his scientific opinion on what you were doing wrong. He replied with ‘maybe the clock is broken’. Steve went outside for fresh air while you tried to help Bruce solve this. You were surprised when you saw Steve come back inside with not only his shield but also Tony.

“Let me guess, you were messing around and cracked time travel,” you asked throwing your hands in the air.

“Yes,” Tony said walking over to bruce.

“Wow, is that the shield,” James asked running over to Steve and ran his fingers on the vibranium disk. “Its beautiful.”

“Hold it,” Steve said handing it too James.

His eye lit up and he ran around pretending to be Captain America. After Tony explained how he cracked time travel the team split up to get more people to help with the mission. Tony got Rhodes, Nat got Clint, once rocket and Nebula got back to earth bruce and rocket went to get Thor. You called Pepper and asked her to watch James while you completed the mission and she agreed to so you and Steve brought him back to Tony’s cabin.

Once you pulled up you and Steve looked at each other and decided that now was the time to explain everything to him. Before he opened the door you told him that you needed to talk.

“Do you know why your staying with Morgan and aunt Pep for a couple hours,” you asked him.

“Cause you have a mission,” he asked.

“Yes but do you know what the mission is,” Steve asked him.

“No its top secret. Constitutional.”

“confidential,” you corrected him. “The mission is to bring back daddy and everyone who got blipped away,”

“Your going to save daddy,” James asked.

“Yes.”

“I want to help,” he exclaimed.

“I know you do bud but it's too dangerous. And we need you to be safe. Your dad would want you to be safe,” Steve stated to talk him down.

“Fine but you will call me right after.”

“Yes.”

“Ok, be safe and save daddy,” James said kissing you and Steve on the cheek before he got out of the car and ran too Morgan.  

Pepper waved to you to let you know everything would be okay then you and Steve drove back to the compound. Once you two got back, everyone was in a room talking about the stones and when the best time to get them was. It was decided that New York 2012 would be the best time to get the mind, space and time stone, 2013 Asgard would be the best time to get the reality stone, and 2014 Space would be the best time to get the soul and power stone. The teams were Steve, bruce, Tony and Scott would go to 2012, Thor and rocket would get the reality stone, nebula and Rhodes would get the power, while you Clint and Natasha would get the soul stone.

Everyone suited up and we all wished everyone good luck on their missions to receive the stones. You were standing next to Steve and the next thing you knew you where on an alien planet in the year 2014. Rhodes enlarged the Guardians’ ship and flew team soul stone to vormir. There was a long hike to where the stone was supposed to be. The three of you climbed to the top of the twin mountains and where greeted by the Red Skull. It threw you for a loop but decided to focus on getting Bucky back then the head of hydra at least for now. He explained how we were to get the stone and it was along the lines of soul for a soul. So the three of you sat there in defeat.

“There has to be another way,” you said looking between the two former assassins who where having a whole conversation without talking.

“We have to get that stone. What ever it takes,” Nat said and Clint repeated ‘whatever it takes’

They both stood up and then looked confused at each other. Then you realized what their plan was. Nat was going to sacrifice herself for the stone and Clint was going to do the same.

“No way. That is not happening,” you told them.

“Its the only way,” Nat said walking over to you. “Tell JJ I love them. And get everyone back.”

Nat gave you a hug and an electric shock surged through your whole body. The amount of electricity that you got hit with knocked you out and you didn’t wake up it after you go the stone. You woke up next to Clint in some lake.

“No,” you cried when you saw the stone in his hand and Nat no where to be found.

The two of you took a second to gather your emotions then pressed your belt and went back to 2023. You came back to the platform where left on and just dropped to your knees. Steve came over and checked you for any wounds.

“She’s gone,” you cried as you wrapped your arms around him.

Everyone gave Tony the stones so he could build the gauntlet while you went out to the lake. One by one everyone showed up too. There was a small argument over whether or not we gaunt get Nat back with the stones but you and Clint knew you couldn’t. Steve walked over to you and sat down.

“How am I going to tell James that she’s gone,” you asked him.

“You won’t have to do it alone cause we are going to get Buck back and then all three of us will go tell him,” Steve said rubbing your back.

Everyone went back inside to prepare to bring everyone back. Thor really wanted to be the one to snap everyone back but it was decided that Bruce would do it. In his works, “its mostly gamma radiation. I was made to do this.” He put the gauntlet on and snapped his fingers. The power of the stones sort of burned his arms and you ripped the gauntlet off of him while Tony tried to help with the burns.

You couldn’t really tell that it worked but you heard birds. Lots of them. Then a phone started to ring and by the look on Clint’s face you were guessing it was his wife calling and so it worked. You looked at Steve and were about to tell him it worked when the whole compound blew up. The force knocked you out a bit and you woke up later next to Clint. You saw the gauntlet laying a couple feet away so you grabbed it cause there was no was a friend blew you up.

And you were right it turned out to be Thanos from 2014 because the nebula that came back want your nice nebula. You were trying to get out from all the rubble when you heard Steves painful groans. Of course Steve was facing the titan by himself. Once you could breath fresh air you looked out at the wasteland that was once the compound. You saw Steve get up and take a stand against Thanos alone. You were about to run to his side when you heard a faint voice on the comms.

“On your left,” you heard Sam say.

You never thought hearing Sam Wilson’s voice you make you cry but it did. Because if he was back so was Bucky. All around golden circles of sparks emerged and dozens of people stepped out. You made your way to take a stand against Thanos and out the corner of your eye you saw him. You fought the urge to run to him and never let him go. That could wait.

Thanos’s creepy alien army charged at us and we charged at them. You killed a bunch of the dog thingy and eventually found yourself next to Bucky. During a small window of peace you turned to him and jumped in his arms.

“Hey doll,” he said holding you tight.

“God I missed you Buck,” you cried.

“Sorry I was gone so long,” he replied pushing you back and pressing his lips firmly against yours. “You look gorgeous by the way.”

“There is something I really need to tell you Bucky.”

He pulled you close to him and then shot at some aliens behind you. “We are kinda in the middle of a war here doll. Tell me after we win.” He ran off to kill more aliens and you did the same. You were taking a hit but over the comms you heard a plan. To get the stones back before Thanos could use them again. So during the fight there was a game of Hot potato that was being played with the gauntlet. It work for a while but eventually Thanos got the stone. It happened so quickly. He was about to snap his fingers when Tony jumped on him. Thanos threw in aside then snapped his fingers. You closed your eyes to prepare for another loss but nothing happened. Then you looked over at Tony and saw that he had the stones. He snapped his finger and Thanos and the other aliens turned to dust.

You ran over to bucky and jumped in his arms again to celebrate the win but stopped when you noticed that Tony wasn’t getting up. Pepper and Peter when over to him. It didn’t look good. You noticed pepper crying and you knew that he didn’t make it. Everyone took a knee to honor him. The Steve, Thor, and Dr. Strange walked over and helped cover his body and retrieve the stones.  You cried into Bucky’s then thought of James. Once Tony’s body was covered and the stones were safely put in a briefcase. You let go on Bucky and ran to Steve.

“James,” you cried.

Pepper walked over to you and you gave her a hug. She told you how Happy was with the kids. You felt bad for only thinking of James while your friend just died. Pepper looked at you and shook her head like she knew what you were thinking.

“Lets go,” Pepper said and you walked over to strange and asked him to do his portal to the cabin.

Bucky was right behind you completely confused on what you were doing. You looked at him and just smiled as you grabbed Steves hand then his and walked the the portal after Pepper. She ran inside but the three of you stayed outside.

“Bucky that thing I wanted to tell you,” you told him.

“I get it doll. Five years is a long time and you didn’t think I would come back,” he said looking at how you were still holding Steve’s hand.

You followed to where he was looking and stepped away from Steve. “No its not that,” you started to explain but were interpreted by James running out of the Cabin.

“Mommy,” he cried running to you. “Uncle Tony.”

“I know,” you dropped to your knees and hugged him.

You didn’t let go til he look over at Steve and he ran out of your arms into his. “Your okay,” James cried.

“Yes buddy. Just a little come cuts but I will be okay,” Steve replied.

You got up and looked over at Bucky was you could tell what he was thinking by the look in his eye. You went to go tell him he was wrong but heard James from behind you.

“You did it. Thats him right,” you son said wiping his tears away.

“Yea. Thats him,” Steve informed him.

James walked over to Bucky and just looked up at him. Bucky knelt down to meet the boy who he thought was yours and Steve’s kid.

“Hey,” Bucky said.

“Hi,” James replied looking at Buck’s face. “You’re taller than I imagined.”

“Yea,” Buck laughed. “Whats your name?”

“James Buchanan Barnes Jr. and this is Sarge,” James said showing Bucky his teddy.

Bucky looked at James then at you. “I thought…”

“You well you were never the sharpest tool,” you cut him off.

“Im glad I get to meet you dad,” James said wrapping his arms around Bucky.

“Me too.”

~time skip~

It has been a couple weeks since Tony and Nat’s funeral and James was taking Nat’s death better than you expected. You were pretty sure he was to busy getting to know Bucky to let her death get to him and you weren’t complaining.

“What happened to your arm. Mommy and uncle Te never told me that story,” James said poking Bucky’s metal arm.

“I lost it when I fell off a train,” Bucky explained.

“That was back in World War 2. How are you still alive? Did you crash a plane into water like uncle te?”

“No but I was frozen like him for a while.”

“When you were getting hurt by hydra.”

“Yes but now I'm all better.”

“Cool will you feel it if I punch your metal arm?”

“No.”

“Awesome. I want a metal arm.”

“Maybe for Christmas,” you replied laughing.

Steve came into the living room from the kitchen with drinks. James yelled something about doing something important and ran out of the room. The three of you sat in the living room and caught up. You told Bucky everything about James and Steve told y’all about his trip to return the stones. James came back into the living room ten minutes later with a huge smile on his face.

“What did you do,” you asked him.

“Nothing,” he replied.

Steve and Bucky looked at each other and just laughed. They mentioned how much James was like Bucky when he was a kid.

“Mommy can i’m hungry,” James told you as he sat next to Bucky.

You got up to go make his something to eat when you noticed black paint on the floor. You looked over at James and saw that his left hand was black with gold lines.

“James what did you do? And please tell me it comes off,” you asked.

James got up and took off his jacket to reveal that he painted his left arm black and gold to match Bucky’s

“Now I really match daddy, see. Same name and same arm,” he replied showing off the slightly wet arm.

You opened you mouth to yell about how there is paint on your floors and probably on the stairs too and how he ruined his clothes and possible the couch with the paint but just closed your mouth and shook your head.

“Now that you are back this is your problem,” you said walking into the kitchen to feet Bucky Jr.

“Did I do something wrong,” James asked looked between Bucky and Steve.

“No buddy, you just made a mess with the paint,” Bucky said pointing to the black paint on the floor.

“Oops,” He replied.

After eating and cleaning the paint, life started to normal. Steve staying til he found an apartment close by which James couldn’t understand why he was leaving. After Steve told him that he could come over and have guy night he decided that Steve could move out. And with Bucky back James basically pushed you aside and preferred his dad. Everything Bucky did James did. Everything Bucky ate James ate, even vegetables.

“James, I have been trying to get you to eat your vegetables for ever and now that your dad is here you love vegetables,” you asked when you saw him finish his carrots.

“No vegetables are gross but I want to be just like daddy and daddy eats vegetables,” he replied making a face over how gross he thought carrots where.

After he got in trouble for painting his arm James decided to do the next best thing and waste all the foil in the house to wrap is arm. You even caught his pretending to be Bucky while he was playing in the back yard.

“What,” Bucky said wrapping his arms around you are you watched James play.

“Red Skull I am the winter soldier and I am here to put an end to you and the rest of hydra,” James said pointing his toy gun and sarge who was wearing a red hat.

“He idolizes you,” you said resting your head against Buck’s shoulder.

“Jealous,” he asked kissing your neck.

“No just annoyed that he is a mini you.”

“Daddy come play,” James called.

Bucky walked outside and pulled you with him. James explain how Bucky would be on his team.

“We are stopping Sarge, he’s the red skull. And im you so you can be… Uncle Te.”

“What about me,” Steve asked waking into the back yard.

“You can be a bad guy with mommy cause she needs a partner,” James said placing Sarge’s red hat on you.

“Why am I the red skull,” you asked slightly offended.

“Cause you get mad a lot and look like him,” James stated like it was a known fact.

Bucky and Steve started laughing while you took the hat off and changed James around to get back at him.

“Daddy, mommy is crazy help me,” James yelled at the top of his lungs which caused Bucky and Steve to laugh more.

Bucky was too busy laughing so James stopped running and took of his jacket to reveal his foil arm and held it out.

“I am Sargent James Buchanan Barnes of the 107th infantry of the US army and I order you to stop chasing me,” he said and crossed his arms.

You stopped and just took in your son’s appearance. “Mommy you look really pretty,” James said with the same smirk Bucky gives you when he is trying to apologize or get himself out of trouble. Yea James was defiantly Bucky Jr.

[earliebirb]

too close for comfort

I kinda combined the following two prompts from an anon and @ishipallthings​​ into one fic. I hope you guys don’t mind! 

Sorry it’s taking me a century to go through all the prompts in my inbox. 😔 

I hope you enjoy the fic! 🤍

too close for comfort

steve/tony, fluff, getting together, 2532 words

It was born out of a genuine desire to help, but as with many things in his life, Tony soon finds that the situation is rapidly spiraling out of his control.

It all started because Steve had looked so goddamn sad all the time. The guy seemed to have the tendency to turn every single negative emotion inwards and Tony just couldn’t stand seeing him wound up so tight anymore, like if someone were to poke him in the wrong way he would just snap one day.

So maybe when Steve was seated at the dining table one day, shoulders hunched in on himself and a grim expression on his face, Tony’s resolve to just leave the man alone finally broke and he asked, between sips of his fifth cup of coffee of the day:

“Cap?”

Blue eyes turned his way, ever wary and apprehensive.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but—” Tony set his MIT mug down on the counter and took a fortifying breath. “Do you want a hug?”

Steve blinked a few times. To be fair, it was sort of a non-sequitur.

The perplexed expression taking over Steve’s features made Tony kick himself internally, because of course Steve was going to be weirded out—Tony wasn’t even sure if they were friends. 

Tony swallowed with difficulty, deciding to power through for the moment despite his better judgment, “When I was little, my mom used to give me hugs when I had a bad day. I learned to ask for them from my mom from time to time, growing up, and then from Rhodey during college, and then Pepper sometimes, and I just thought— You know what, never mind, pretend I never said anything, this was stupid—”

“I—” Steve blurted out. Tony paused. 

Steve was quiet for a few moments. The lines of his face crumpled up in an awful grimace, looking like it physically hurt him to speak as he gritted out, “I would like one. If you don’t mind.”

Tony blinked three times in rapid succession. Then he shuffled over awkwardly to where Steve was sitting. 

“So, like, do you want to stand up or do I just lean down? Uh, which one would you prefer? Or—”

Steve took the choice entirely out of his hands when he stood up, tall body towering over Tony. He then proceeded to wrap his arms around Tony tentatively, like he wasn't sure how Tony would fit in his embrace.

Their bodies pressed up flush against one another, the dips and curves lining up perfectly. With his arms curled around Steve, Tony tightened his hold around Steve’s midriff just a little bit, the way Tony liked it when he was stressed out, physical touch grounding him in the moment and reminding him to focus on the present. 

By the pleased and almost involuntary sigh Steve let out, he seemed to appreciate it, too. The cold tip of Steve’s nose brushed against the skin of his exposed collarbone as Steve curled even closer into him. 

They stayed like that for a few heartbeats, soaking up each other’s warmth. Tony could even feel himself relaxing, the tension ebbing away from his muscles. Maybe he had needed the hug just as much as Steve did. 

When Steve eventually pulled back to release him, he looked better. Not like he had been relieved of all of his burdens, but looking less like he was going to cave in due to the weight of the world. The line of his shoulders was less taut, like he had acquired the strength to push through at least another day. 

“Thank you, Tony,” Steve said, voice all low, rough, and unmistakably earnest, blue eyes looking down at Tony in wonder. He looked like he was looking at Tony in an entirely new light and Tony was a little bit terrified to find out just exactly what kind of light that was. 

After all, they had gotten off on the wrong foot, meeting under less than ideal circumstances with tensions running high. 

“Anytime, Cap.”

“Steve,” Steve corrected gently with a kind smile, “please call me Steve.”

“Anytime, Steve,” he said, and found that he genuinely meant it. 

Steve seemed to think that Tony had meant it, too, because after that one fateful hug, Steve sought him out for more. He became surprisingly liberal with physical affection when it came to Tony, going to him for not only more hugs but also other kinds of physical touch: claps on the back, shoulder squeezes, and in one memorable incident that Tony remembers with way too much fondness and startling clarity—hand-holding.

Well, sort of. Steve had been watching TV in the common area on one chilly evening and his face lit up the second he saw Tony walking in. 

“What are you watching?” Tony asked, taking the empty seat beside him on the couch. 

Steve glanced back at the TV screen. Tony took in the sight of Steve, clad in a cozy-looking brown wool sweater and a pair of grey sweatpants, his long limbs lax and back sinking into the couch. His eyes lingered on Steve’s easy smile. He seemed more relaxed, no longer looking like he had a stormy cloud looming above his head all the time. Tony thought that maybe Steve was starting to become more accustomed to the twenty-first century.

Privately, he also liked to think that maybe he had helped in some way to make Steve feel more at home at the Tower.

“I’m not sure, actually. Some animated movie.” Steve shrugged, watching the TV absentmindedly, the colorful lights from the screen reflected in his bright blue eyes. 

As he spoke, he rubbed his hands together continuously, skin glistening under the lights. It was then that Tony detected a pleasant and sweet smell in the air. 

“What’s that?” Tony asked, nodding at Steve’s hands.

Steve’s smile widened at the question. He leaned forward and picked up a small tube that was sitting on top of the coffee table, handing it to Tony.

“Hand cream,” he said. “Vanilla and cinnamon-scented. Bruce finds it soothing and he recommended it to me.”

“Huh.” Tony smiled, inspecting the tube of cream in his hand.

“You want some?”

“Huh?”

“Here, I’ll apply it for you.” Steve snatched the tube out of his hands and turned sideways to face him on the couch. “Give me your hand.”

Tony did so obediently and watched as Steve squirted a generous amount of cream onto the palm of his hand. Steve began rubbing the dollop of cream around with both of his hands, spreading it all over the skin of Tony’s calloused palm—rendered sandpaper-rough from all his engineering work. He also made sure to apply the cream to Tony’s fingers, as well as the back of his palm and down to his wrist. 

All the while, Tony found it oddly difficult to breathe, heart fluttering with Steve’s every touch. When he was finished with the one hand, Steve asked for the other. Dazed, Tony gave it to him.

He continued to rub cream into Tony’s hand, pouring his full attention into the simple task, making sure the cream was spread all the way to the spaces between his fingers. At one point, he paused, frowning down at a spot on Tony’s hand. Tony swallowed, nervous for some reason he couldn’t pinpoint.

“What?” Tony asked.

Steve tilted Tony’s hand wordlessly, showing him a bit of discoloration located on the webbing of his hand, between his point finger and thumb. 

“Soldering iron,” Tony explained, voice tight and breathless. Steve nodded silently, but his eyes lingered on the scar for a few moments. He gently pressed on the healed burn mark with the pad of his thumb before caressing it in multiple strokes, like if he did it enough times the mark would eventually disappear.

“Sorry. I know my hands aren’t exactly the softest, what with all the work I do in the workshop.” Tony flexed his fingers, feeling more than a little bit self-conscious under Steve’s scrutiny.

Steve maneuvered Tony’s hand so that it was stacked atop his own, palm facing up.

“Not soft, no.” Steve shook his head, agreeing with Tony. Using the index finger of his other hand, he began to trace the lines of Tony’s palm.

Then his lips curved up into a soft smile, eyes following the movements of his own finger across Tony’s hand.

“But really pretty,” he whispered, voice hushed. Steve looked at him then, warm blue eyes holding his gaze steadily. “I think your hands are beautiful, Tony.”

Tony distinctly remembers the way he floundered for a few painful seconds, struggling to come up with a coherent reply, before eventually choking out a feeble “thanks”. 

That moment lingered in his mind for days afterward, and Tony started to find himself unable to stop his own mind from wandering toward thoughts of Steve on a daily basis, like the man himself had moved in permanently and taken up residence in Tony’s head.

When Tony’s heart couldn’t stop doing somersaults in his chest after Steve had ambushed him with a random hug one morning as the man made his way to the elevator for his run, Tony decided that all of this had to stop.

That is how he finds himself standing in front of Steve’s bedroom, trying to build up the courage to knock on Steve’s door to tell him that he has to start going to someone else for his fix of physical comfort, because Tony just can’t offer it to him anymore without feeling increasingly like he is taking advantage of Steve, greedily savoring every touch that Steve has been innocently giving him. 

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that what Steve needs is physical touch in general for the sake of comfort, and not necessarily from Tony in particular. Steve just seeks him out because Tony is the one person that has given him explicit permission to do so, the one that has offered him physical affection in the first place. 

Tony inhales deeply to calm his nerves and squeezes his eyes shut. His raised fist is about to rap on the door when said door opens abruptly from the inside. Tony takes a few steps back in surprise. Steve blinks at the sight of Tony, equally as taken aback.

“Tony? What are you doing here?”

“I just— I— Um. That is, I was, uh—”

Tony stills when Steve gathers him into his arms, pulling him close. Steve buries his face in the crook of Tony’s neck, breathing him in before sighing in relief. 

“What great timing. I’m having a terrible day. I was just about to go and find you,” Steve confesses, voice muffled, nose and lips brushing against the delicate skin just above Tony’s collarbone. That combined with the tickling sensation of his warm breath has Tony holding his breath and clenching his jaw to fight an inappropriate shiver from running down his spine. 

Tony’s heart is racing in his chest, blood is rushing in his ears, and he can definitely feel his palms starting to get clammy with sweat. 

“Actually, Steve,” Tony squeaks, “I need you to let me go.”

Steve tenses almost immediately around him, muscles locking tight. Slowly, he releases Tony. When Tony pulls back, he gets a clear look at the evident confusion and concern playing out on Steve’s face. 

“I’m sorry, did I hurt you somewhere?” Steve’s eyes travel down Tony’s body, looking for signs of injury.

“No,” Tony says as he shakes his head with a shaky exhale, “it’s nothing like that.”

Steve’s eyebrows draw even closer together. “What’s wrong?”

“I… don’t think I can do this anymore.”

Steve continues to stare at him, eyes unblinking.

“The hugs,” Tony clarifies, the two words leaving his mouth in a rush.

Steve blinks, processing the information. His mouth opens and closes quietly, like he doesn’t know what to say. 

“Oh,” Steve breathes. Tony thinks he catches a flash of hurt in Steve’s eyes.

“Yeah.”

Concern immediately floods back into his eyes. “I’m sorry, Tony. Did I make you uncomfortable? In any way, at all?”

You made me too comfortable, Tony thinks. 

“No. Uh, it’s not you, it’s me,” he says, and then winces at his choice of words. He averts his gaze, looking at Steve’s chest instead. The weight of Steve’s blue eyes has started to become too much to handle. “I… Uh. It’s just that. I’ve started. Developing feelings. For you.”

After a few seconds of silence, he chances a look up at Steve and finds the man staring at him with an intense look on his face.

Tony quickly drops his eyes back to Steve’s chest. To his horror, he begins to ramble, “Non-friendly feelings for you. I mean, not non-friendly in the sense that I dislike you, because I like you. It’s, uh. More in the sense that I like you... too much. I have feelings. Of the— The non-platonic kind. And, uh, yeah. There. Sorry. I really didn’t want to make things awkward between us.”

Steve continues to say nothing.

And then—

Steve chuckles. Tony’s head snaps up. Upon catching Tony’s eyes, Steve bites back a grin.

“What— Are you laughing at me? Is this funny to you?” Tony asks, quickly crossing the line from nervous and embarrassed to offended. Tony is putting himself in a vulnerable position for the sake of their friendship, okay? He is trying to do the right thing here. He expected a polite and painful rejection, but laughter?

“No, no,” Steve says in between chuckles that manage to slip out despite his best efforts, “please don’t be mad. I just—”

“What?” Tony interrupts, unimpressed.

“I’ve, uh… The truth is, I’ve been finding excuses to touch you for months now,” Steve admits sheepishly, cheeks tinged a soft pink. His gaze drops down to the floor. “At first, I really did look forward to your hugs because they brought me comfort. They calmed me down, made me feel better. But then you kept being so sweet and kind, always checking in on me, making sure I’m okay, even when you don’t have to. And you’re so funny, Tony. You make me laugh even on my worst days, when it seems impossible to, and I just…”

The words trail off and Steve shrugs before meeting Tony’s eyes bashfully. 

“After a while, you just made it impossible for me not to fall for you.” 

Tony blinks, heart in his throat. It doesn’t feel real, hearing that he can affect someone else in the way Steve just described. 

Steve swallows, stepping closer to Tony. Carefully, he cradles Tony’s cheeks in his hands.

“You make me really happy, Tony.” Steve looks down at him, sincerity gleaming in his azure eyes. “And I’d be over the moon if you’d be willing to give me the chance to try to make you as happy as you’ve made me.”

Tony’s throat clicks. When he remembers to breathe again, he replies:

“I’d— Love to,” Tony whispers, low voice fraught with emotion. “I’d really like that.”

When Steve’s lips melt sweetly against his, Tony feels him smile into the kiss, the first of a thousand more to come. 

[avengerscompound]

The Tower: Family - 23

The Tower: Family An Avengers Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Pairing:  Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 1945

Warnings:  Pregnancy, smut (MFF bisexual threesome, Vaginal fingering, vaginal sex, oral sex, electro stimulation, the use of wanda’s powers in a sexual way)

Synopsis: With new powers, Thor now living on Earth full time, a wedding to plan, and Natasha and Wanda expecting, a lot is changing for Elly and her large and rather unconventional family.  When Elise’s parents try to reestablish connections, Elly questions what being a family actually means.

Chapter 24: The Photoshoot

The baby shower that had been strictly no gifts had ended up with a handful of gifts anyway.  They were mostly clothes - though Sam’s sister bought a breast pump that she had sworn by, while Loki and Angela had brought protective totems from Asgard.  There were a few plush or little wooden toys from people too.  Rhodey had bought all the kids, starting from Riley and Pietro, Cat in the Hat t-shirts.  Riley’s was labeled Thing One, Pietro’s Thing two, and then there were four tiny baby t-shirts labeled things three through six.  Phil got a little bundle of onesies that had funny little round cat-like blobs on them and the slogan ‘I love all my mommies and daddies’.

The party was fun but exhausting and Wanda, Natasha, and I all ended up going to bed early that night and sleeping right through.

Afterward, Wanda was very excited about doing a pregnancy photoshoot.  It wasn’t too hard to convince Natasha to in the end.  Partially because the pregnancy had been going so well for her and she wanted to commemorate the time she finally got past everything the Red Room had done to her.  But mostly it was just because she loved Wanda so much and she wanted her to have anything that made her happy.

We all headed out to the Avengers facility in upstate New York for the photos.  It was surrounded by forest and by the river so that we could give Wanda the full Earth mother vibe that she’d been cultivating.

We had three ideas in mind.  One was outside and two would be in the old house.�� We started with the tamest version.  Wanda, Natasha, and I all put on long, flowing georgette gowns, our hair loose, with flower crowns.  Wanda wore magenta with matching roses, Natasha - black with black orchids, dotted with red poppies, and I wore a sky blue with delphinium and sea holly.

We were going with a family shoot to start with so everyone else wore white linen.  The kids both had baby’s breath threaded through their hair and were very excited to be out in the woods with the family and the dogs.  We did photos of them kissing tummies.  Of our whole group walking in a line through the woods with Wanda, Natasha, and I in the middle.  All of us lying in the grass everyone cuddles up to the three pregnant women.  Photos of hoards of hands on bellies.   All the standard pictures you see when you think of pregnancy photoshoot in the woods only there was a gaggle of us.

When the kids seemed to grow bored of the photoshoot we all headed back to the house so Wanda, Natasha, and I could change and they could play with the toys they hadn’t seen for the last month since we’d been back.

Wanda, Natasha, and I changed into lace gowns the same colors as the others.  These weren’t normal lace gowns though.  They were strapless, and while the empire cut bodice was solid the skirt was completely transparent and opened right down the middle exposing our bellies.  We paired the dresses with lace boyleg panties.  Wanda wore black, Natasha red, and I wore white.

We stayed inside for these photos and posed in sexier and more intimate poses with each other.  We would drape ourselves over couches and the bed.  We cuddle up to each other and put our hands on each other’s exposed bellies.  There were photos of us kissing and caressing each other.

Finally, we stripped down to our underwear for the last part of the shoot and hopped in a tub with milky white water together.  The photographer decorated the outside of the tub with flowers and candles and floated flowers around us in the tub, so the three of us were all floating, with our heads on the edge and our bellies poking out of the water towards the middle, our legs tangled together in the water.

By the time we were done, I was pretty tired and hungry.  We changed into sweats and ate with the others before the three of us went to take a nap.

I woke up to a shift of the bed beside me as the whole thing swayed.  I opened my eyes as whoever had climbed into bed with us wrapped his arms around me and turned to see Thor.  Natasha was already gone and Wanda had started to stir beside me.

“Good evening, my queen,” Thor said, kissing my neck.  “I was sent to wake you up.”

“You gonna do it by getting me all worked up?” I complained, backing my ass against him.

“You’re always waking us with kisses and soft touches,” Thor said.  “I was merely returning the favor.”

“You’re not an overly hormonal pregnant woman,” I huffed.

“No, that is true,” he chuckled.  “I am a man though.”

I started giggling and Wanda moved closer to us.  “What’s happening?”

“Dinner will be served shortly,” Thor explained.  “I was sent to come and wake the both of you.”

“By getting me all turned on,” I pouted.

“I can tell,” Wanda teased.  “Which isn’t helping me at all.”

“I am sure I can help both of you with your problem before the meal is served,” Thor said as his fingers traced over Wanda’s nipples.  “Who would like to go first?”

“Elise,” Wanda said, quickly.  “The two of you can bring me close before you touch me.”

“As you wish, my love,” Thor said, leaning over and kissing her deeply.

As the two of them kissed, Thor slipped his hand into my pants and began to slowly roll his hips against my back.  I could feel his erection starting to press into me as he rutted against me, but he took his time, teasing my clit and kissing the side of my neck.

Wanda leaned forward and kissed me, her lips parted as they brushed over mine, and I followed her lead, bringing my tongue out to meet hers.  I moaned softly into the kiss and ran my hand up into her hair.  She hummed and shifted closer, our bellies touching against each other.

She pulled back and lifted my shirt over my head.  As she did thor pushed my pants and panties down in one go.  He shucked off his own clothes and pulled me tighter against him, so his erection sat against my asscrack.  Each time he rolled his hips his shaft moved up and down the crevice.

His hand returned to my cunt as Wanda leaned down and pulled one of my nipples into her mouth.  I mewled and tugged on her hair as my arousal started to seep from within me.  Thor’s fingers worked my clit quickly and with practiced ease, sending shivers running through me and making my whole body vibrate in anticipation of more.  A small spark danced off his fingertips, sparking against my clit.  I gasped and came then and there with no warning, jerking between them as my cunt spasmed.

Thor chuckled.  It was a deep booming sound that made me feel warm right to my core.  “That was quick.”

“You cheated,” I teased playfully.

“I am sorry, let’s see if I can do this properly,” he laughed, and lined his cock up at my entrance.

“Don’t do anything to hurt the babies,” Wanda said, looking over my shoulder at Thor.

“My life,” Thor said.  “I am a fertility god, I know what I’m doing.”

I started giggling but it was cut off by a gasp as Thor thrust into me.  He didn’t allow any time for me to adjust, he just began to thrust into me from behind.  Wanda resumed sucking on one breast and then the other.  She was feeding off both mine and Thor’s pleasure, and as we began to moan with it, so did she.

She flicked her wrist and a small ball of pink light ran down my skin, between my legs, and began to vibrate against my already oversensitive clit.  I mewled and jerked back between them, my legs trembling.  One of my hands tightened in Wanda’s hair and I reached behind me and gripped Thor’s arm with the other, tethering myself to them both.

“Oh god,” I gasped, quivering between them.  “Won’t last.”

“Whenever you want, Elise,” Thor rumbled as he continued to snap his hips into me.

I tried to relax, but my muscles spasmed and clenched.  I dug my fingers into Thor’s arm and he wrapped his hand around my throat and tilted my head back to him, fiercely kissing me.

Things became hazy and I couldn’t focus on anything except the building pressure in my cunt and the tendrils of pleasure that spread out from my breasts.  Wanda increased the buzz from her energy projection and moaned loudly as my cunt suddenly seized up.  I cried out, breaking the kiss with Thor as I came hard, shuddering between them.

Thor slowed his pace, fucking me through my orgasm before slipping out of me and climbing over us both.  He positioned himself behind Wanda so he was spooning her the way he did me, and cradled her carefully.  I kissed my way down her body as helping Thor undress her as Thor rutted slowly against her.  When we’d removed her shirt, I latched on to one of her breasts and sucked on her nipple, drawing a sharp gasp from her.  Thor pushed her pants off and began to slide his cock up and down her soaked folds.

I kissed down lower, over her baby bump where the strings of light only I could see connected me to both her and the twins growing inside her, and down to her cunt.  Thor adjusted her hips back and eased his cock inside her.  She moaned softly and I lifted her leg and began to lap at the place where they joined and up over her clit.

“Oh!”  She gasped and her hands tightened in the sheets.

“Are you okay, my beloved?”  Thor asked.

“Oh yes, Thor,” she mewled.

He began to thrust and I sucked greedily on her clit.  The flavor of her arousal filled my mouth as I lapped up her fluids.  They were musky and sweet and heady in a way that almost made me drunk on her.  Each flick of my tongue made her moan more loudly and she seemed to have trouble controlling her limbs.  She gripped at the sheets pulling them free from the edge and she kicked out, her toes curling.

Her clit began to twitch under my tongue as her breathing became ragged and Thor’s hips started moving faster, stuttering as he came closer to his own release.  I sucked Wanda’s clit into my mouth and flicked my tongue quickly back and forth over it and with a loud cry, Wanda came, her powers flaring out and engulfing us like an embrace.

Thor groaned and jerked up into her, releasing.  I could feel the pulse of his cock at the base against my mouth as he filled her.  Their fluids mixed together and leaked from Wanda down Thor’s shaft.  I licked up the cocktail of their arousal greedily and climbed back up the bed as Thor slipped from Wanda.

“Now, now, my loves,” Thor scolded, sitting up.  “We have to join the others for dinner.  You can’t go back to sleep.”

“Just five more minutes,” I joked, cuddling up to Wanda, making her giggle.

Thor gave my butt a playful spank.  “Come along.  None of that.”

Wanda and I got up, laughing as Thor helped us get redressed and we headed down to join the rest of our family.

// NEXT

[fablesrose]

OKAS XXXIII

Description: Y/n, a girl who seems to have found her calling. Being a SHIELD agent is like a dream come true. With a friendship starting to form with the Avengers, she’s the Queen of the world! What could go wrong?

Pairings: Avengers x reader, Loki x reader (eventually)

Warnings: fluff, angst

OKAS Masterlist~Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The days were getting better. I think.

Food was a blessing. I haven't had real food for seven years; I should have cherished it.  Luckily I had the biggest pile of breakfast food I think I had ever seen placed on my plate.

"Are you going to eat all of that?"

I glanced at Steve, then back at my plate, then back at him, then at my plate.

I never answered him.

I've been living on smoothies for the past six months, then before that, I wasn't even sure if what I was eating was food. My stomach was probably not as big as it once was.

Despite this, I dug in anyway. I had forgotten how good food was, even though I've been out of that cell for a few meals now. I just kept eating to the point where I didn't notice everyone else coming into the kitchen.

"Hey Y/n, I wanna introduce you to the rest of the team," Tony placed a hand on my shoulder making me jump.

I quickly swallowed and wiped my mouth clean, "Okay."

He went around the room giving me names one by one.

"This is Vision."

He had red skin and didn't look human with a yellow stone in his head.

"He's an android."

Oh.

"That's Sam." Tony pointed at the man leaning against the counter eating a bowl of oatmeal. He raised his bowl in acknowledgment. He looked nice enough.

"You've met Wanda and Bucky."

I nodded at them. Wanda didn't look at me, but Bucky waved.

"Rhodey is over there." He lifted a hand. He looked older than the others, closer to Tony's age.

Tony looked around the room, "You'll meet Peter later, he's at school."

There was a blur of blue light that came from the hallway that headed towards the fridge before coming back to sit at the counter.

"And that would be Pietro, he's the guy you sparred with. He and Wanda are twins. Any questions?"

"The last time I asked a question under normal circumstances I got kidnapped seven years ago, so I'm good." I looked at Pietro, he looked a little tired, but otherwise alright. "Hey, nice to finally officially meet you, sorry I almost killed you the other day."

He glanced up at me, "Can't say I return the pleasure, and uh, thanks."

"That's fair."

"That was awfully nonchalant of you." Loki took the seat next to me, stealing a piece of toast. I was nearly full, so I didn't mind.

"Hey, I would have said the same thing if I ever got an apology from you."

"I have apologized."

"I don't remember it."

"You've said it yourself, you've forgotten a lot of things over the last seven years."

I tilted my head, "I'm pretty sure I would have remembered if you ever apologized. That would be cemented in my brain."

Loki hesitated, "I'll admit you weren't quite... in your right mind when I did it."

"Oh?"

"You were high."

I thought back, "Which time?"

I heard a snort from somewhere in the room; I had forgotten people were there to listen in.

"You were given a sedative for one of your checkups after the... incident."

"Ah. Still don't remember it."

He sighed, "Fine, I'm sorry."

I smiled, "Thank you."

There was a pause where I took another couple of bites of my breakfast.

"So, anyone wanna tell me the story behind that?" Sam said, looking absolutely baffled.

I side-eyed Loki, "Do you wanna tell them, or should I?"

Do we have to tell the story?

Come on Lokes, it's a funny story!

I don't find it that funny.

Oh, the God of Mischief, otherwise known as chaos, doesn't find a story, where he makes some chaos, funny.

...

"So who's telling the story?"

I glanced up at Bucky before looking back at Loki. He looked slightly uncomfortable.

"I guess I am." I slid the rest of my plate away from me, officially full.

"I'm not staying for this." Loki started to stand before I grabbed his wrist.

"Oh no, you don't. You're gonna sit your ass back down and listen."

"I could just teleport away, you know that."

I looked him dead in the eye, "But you're not going to."

He grumpily rested his head on his fist and didn't reply.

I looked around the room, making sure everybody was there. "Alright, so it goes like this. I'm just coming back from an infiltration mission, full-on Hydra gear, the whole setup. My superior, Agent Brian Fletcher-- how is Fletcher, by the way?"

Tony answered, "He's retired, got a nice cabin in the northwest."

"Good for him."

I continued the story, putting in a few more comedic details than there were. Tony and Loki looked at me suspiciously but didn't say anything.

"And so I'm lying there, can't breathe, and I'm just like, 'You son of a bitch, what the heck?'"

The room erupted in laughter. I looked over at Loki who had a small smile on his face while he looked at his hands on the counter.

I finished the story with grace and excused myself to my room. Social interactions were exhausting now and I still had to get used to "normal life." It was nice; having friends was nice. It's been a while since I've had some.

I lied on the bed--no, on my bed. The lights were dimmed as I tried to recharge a little bit. The bed was soft, I just sunk right into it, but it was almost too soft. Seven years of sleeping on a cot that was only a fraction better than the floor can do that to you. I couldn't get comfortable so I eventually lowered myself to the floor, sitting up against the side. The memory of the cots had stirred something in me.

"Hey, Jarvis?"

A voice that was not Jarvis answered me, "Jarvis has been incorporated into the android Vision on the team and is no longer in service. My name is Friday, is there something that I can help you with?"

I thought on it and mumbled to myself, "I guess his voice did sound familiar." I sighed before asking, "Do you have access to recovered Kingdom files?"

"Yes I do miss, what would you like me to look for?"

"Jasmine Okoro."

Friday paused as the AI searched the files. It then produced a hologram of the file in front of me. Friday began reading it out loud, "Prisoner D2- Jasmine Okoro. In facility from April 2010 to May 2014. Status: Deceased. Occasion of death: Duel. Final Opponent: Asset D1-The Queen. Results-"

Friday kept reading through the report, but I stopped listening. I just kept reading the status and the final opponent over and over.

I killed Jasmine.

Something under my skin started to feel unnatural. More than usual I should say.

"Friday, where's the nearest fortified room? Like a panic room? And the fastest route to get there."

I barely heard its instructions, but I made it there and locked the door behind me. The walls were white concrete and not entirely smooth. I stumbled to the center of the room before collapsing on my knees.

I forced myself to look at my hands as ink sprouted from my fingertips and spread up my arms. These hands killed my only friend while in hell. I pounded my hands against the ground, trying to make myself feel something. Something beyond the unexplainable feeling of my skin.

Eventually, it wasn't enough and I had to release even more. Spears shot from my fingers and shattered against the walls, but I still needed to release more. The anger, the despair, and maybe there was a bit of jealousy there too. She didn't suffer as long as I did. Most of it was the guilt and the grief that seemed to rot my insides.

A cloud of soot exploded from my body with such force that I could hear it hit the walls around me. I collapsed to the ground, trembling and exhausted. This was the first time I had used Noxy's powers. I'm not sure how I felt about it, and I was too tired to care.

Tears streamed down my face onto the ground and I shut my eyes tightly, cradling my hands to my chest. Everything felt empty, my mind, my heart.

I had never been more grateful that there wasn't a thought in my head.

~~~

Loki sat at the counter while everyone else finished their breakfast and dispersed to work on their own tasks.

"That's not really how that story goes is it?"

Loki glanced over to see that Pietro was the last one in the kitchen other than himself. "No, no it isn't."

"What's the truth?"

Loki smirked, "You're asking the truth from the god of lies?"

Pietro's eyes looked weary, but sparked in amusement, "We all know you're about as honest as the rest of us."

A glass of water appeared in Loki's fingertips, "I guess that's true enough, young one." He took a sip. "The truth is, is that I almost killed her that day. She had just gotten her big break to fulfill her dreams and I threw her back to the bottom of the ladder with that severe of an injury."

"And she's able to just laugh it off with you never really apologizing until now?"

"You'll find she's like that." He paused, "Understand, that she will apologize to you as many times as you require of her, but-"

"I get it," Pietro interrupted, "Y/n's got more pressing matters on her plate than a sparring match gone slightly too far."

Loki watched the young man appraisingly, "Quite right, thank you."

The room was quiet for a moment before Loki started to notice some faint noises. His eyebrows wrinkled as he tried to decipher what exactly the sound was and where it was coming from. He looked at Pietro, "Do you hear that?"

"The thumping? Yes, but I figured that was just tired hallucinations, but I guess not."

They both stood and started wandering, trying to identify where it was coming from until there was a louder sound, loud enough for them to feel in their feet. They paused and found that it had gone quiet.

"Friday? Where was that coming from?"

The AI recited what room and they found their way without much hurry, only a bit of curiosity.

They found the room and found it to be locked. Loki turned the knob without too much trouble after a wave of his hand. He cautiously peeked his head through the door to see if it was safe. Once he came to the conclusion that nothing was going to attack him he opened the door wide enough for Pietro to follow. Loki's eyes landed in the center of the room where he saw a huddled form.

It didn't seem to be moving.

Loki rushed to the figure and his breath of relief caught in his throat when he realized that it was Y/n, despite the fact that he saw she was breathing.

"Is she okay?"

Loki looked her over, "I think so... She appears to be sleeping. I can't find anything wrong."

"Well that's good," Pietro sat down on the concrete, "say, Loki, do you remember what color this room used to be?"

Loki subconsciously ran his finger along the floor before lifting his eyes to the ceiling, "I'm not entirely sure, but I do know it wasn't stained black."

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[gothamsglam]

Can I have Your Name? (a SamBucky ficlet)

for @samshield hope you enjoy 😘

(also on ao3 under @/the_fifth_marauder101)

---

“Thanks, can I have your name?” asked Bucky with a charming smile on his face, pulling out a sharpie. However, instead of writing on an empty class as the poor customer thought, he scribbled down “Tony” on one of those ‘Hello, my name is…’ stickers.

“That’s a wonderful name by the way,” Bucky compliments, because fck you Steve, he can be polite. 

He fcking told Steve going into customer service was a great idea. Idiot wanted to continue doing door to door shit, or, even worse, mope around forests for wandering travelers. He told him it wasn’t the 1400s anymore, and to grow up. Damn the supernatural council and their ‘hunt in pairs’ rule, he will go rouge and leave Stevie, he will do it. 

“I’m this close,” Bucky had hissed, holding his fingers in the air so Stevie could see, 

“Your fingers are touching,” Steve deadpanned. 

“Exactly.”

The man doesn’t look up from his flurry of typing, “Thank you, it’s a family name.”

“Sure,” Bucky replies quietly “Alright, your order will be right out,” Bucky grinned, replacing his name tag with the new one without looking away from the brown-haired customer. The second the tag sticks to his shirt, he feels a refreshing rush of energy. Kind of like what he imagines those ‘caffeine/sugar rush’ those damn teens keep harping about. 

“Thank y—” The customer—Tony—looks up from his phone to flash him a grin, only to have it fall from his face when he sees the name tag. 

This was the fun part. Bucky didn’t break eye contact, maintaining it with the same smile, only now he could tell it felt eerie to the human. Like something wasn’t right. 

The man’s brown eyes flitted up and down between Bucky’s face and the name tag, before he surged forward, “What di—”

“Have a good day,” Bucky bit out, still keeping the smile and cheery customer service tone. His eyes were blank, he made sure of it. Honestly, this whole song and dance was unnecessary. Stevie usually just wrote the name tags, and then stuck them on as he was making the drinks. Their shop was typically slow enough that there wouldn’t be people behind to question why the tender had a new name. But Bucky loved to fck with humans. What the hell else was he supposed to do? He’s been alive for 70 generations, let him have his fun. 

However, today was a bit different. Another two walked into the shop, Bucky didn’t see it as much as he felt it. Bucky kept his back turned, hollering “Welcome to Stars and Stripes, I’ll be with you in just a moment,” over his shoulder as he made the three drinks. What asshole ordered three drinks?

Bucky’s question was answered when he saw the two men walk over to Tony’s table. One of them kissed Tony on the cheek and the other just faux-gagged before giving Tony a hug as well. Bucky called out the order, eyes tracking the way Tony mumbled something to the two men and both reacted oddly, as they probably should. Bucky would expect no less. 

Apparently, he jinxed himself, because the man who hugged Tony came to pick up the drinks. 

“Nice name,” said the man.

“Thanks,” Bucky flashed his uncanny valley smile and offered nothing else. The man winked and then walked back to the table. 

Bucky did not look at his ass, he didn’t. 

---

The next day, the man comes in. Not Tony, but other guy. The cute one. 

“Hi my name’s Jacob, how may I help you today?” Bucky asks politely. 

The man, to his credit, didn’t bat an eyelash, “Hi I’ll have three—” And he rattled off the same order that Tony had. Bucky resisted the urge to frown, maybe it was just a two-time thing? This group has only come into their shop once before, what are the odds of it happening again, for a third time?

“Perfect,” Bucky slid the receipt across the counter, “Can I have your name?” Bucky asked, as he reached for a pen. 

“Nope,” the man replied. 

Bucky froze in his moments, “What?”

The man shrugged, face showing nothing but politeness, “I’m the only person in this store, you’ll be able to find me.”

Bucky was stunned as he watched him walk back to the spot the trio was in the other day. As he sat down, the man gave a nod of acknowledgment to Bucky, who was still staring. 

His brown—almost hazelnut with the light of the sun—eyes stared into Bucky’s own, and in them all he saw was mischief. 

Fck.

---

For the next two days, Bucky kept a—subtle, he wasn’t obsessed or anything—watch out for Tony or The Man. And for those two days, he didn’t see hide or hair of them. Bucky figured they must have been college students from nearby campuses, wandering in when Starbucks was too full, which happens often enough. Then on the third day, he returned. 

“Hey, Jacob” greeted The Man, his smile so bright—so bright that Nat would have burned like she does under the sun and threaten to bite the man in the jugular. Bucky, who was too gobsmacked to even deliver his customer service opening, stared at him. 

“Not Jacob,” Bucky said, his voice strangled. 

The Man chuckled, his eyes sparkling with the same look from the first day he ordered, “Ok ‘Not Jacob’, may I have—” And repeated the same order from the last two times. 

“Um, right, uh” Bucky stammered, face growing hot as The Man raised an eyebrow at him smugly, “Can I have your name?”

“Put Redwing,” The Man said, shrugging. The corner of his lips pulled upwards into a happy smirk—how can a person have a fcking happy smirk?—, not that Bucky was only looking at his lips or anything. 

“Redwing?” Bucky asked, stupidly. Because why ask, idiot, why ask for clarification? He read somewhere that the psyche is powerful enough to make the body do things, like fake pregnancies. Whether that’s something only reserved to humans is up for debate, but maybe, if Bucky doesn’t ask and lives in blissful ignorance, he can feed off of a fake name. But no, because he’s a bloody fool, he asked. 

“It’s my pet’s name,” The Man answered, then looked tilted his head, giving a sheepish smile, “Or at least, that’s what I want to name a pet, I don’t have one.”

“Right,” Said Bucky, suddenly feeling empty in ways that have nothing to do with hunger, “Your order will be right out.”

Their conversation was longer than normal, so when the man went to sit down, the couple came in moments afterward. All three sat in the same place as before. 

‘Oh no,’ Bucky thought in dawning horror, ‘Regulars.’ 

---

“Falcon,” grins The Man, now foregoing any attempts to be subtle and simply being a little shit.

Bucky looked at him, face void of any amusement. At this point, he’s shucked the polite customer service voice and snarked back and forth with the regular like there’s no tomorrow—only in this situation, there is a tomorrow, there always is tomorrow.

Their staring contest probably goes on for a bit too long, judging by the way Tony and his boyfriend—Bucky can feel comfortable calling the two a couple, based on how disgustingly affectionate the two get in the cafe—walk in. 

The Man flashed a smile and turned away to greet the couple. An audible ‘Rhodey!’ reached Bucky’s ears. Now, finally, he has a name for one of the dark-skinned men, the one who kissed Tony’s cheek and was currently walking in with said Tony, arm around his shoulders. Only Bucky doesn’t feel that familiar warmth pool in his gut, refreshing his energy levels. 

‘Oh,’ Bucky thinks, and watches as the man—his regular—laughs with his friends but also how his eyes flit back to peek at Bucky as names are spoken. ‘oh, loopholes.’

Bucky is so screwed. 

---

The names his regular gives become increasingly goofy, and Steve teases him about how flirty they get—Bucky absolutely didn’t have a favorite, and it absolutely wasn’t Angel. But Bucky only believed Stevie when he got a number instead of a random moniker. 

“What?” Bucky short-circuited. 

The man just sighed, “Come on, I gave you my number, work with me here.”

“You finally did it, huh, Sam?” Tony called out from where he was typing away on his computer, which rested on Rhodey’s legs. Rhodey, who was sprawled out in one of their chairs, nudged Tony with his foot, “Shush, let them have this.”

‘Sam,’ Bucky thinks,  and all he can come up with in his blue screened mind is, ‘Perfect’.

In his phone, the name Sam’s contact is under is ‘Angel’.

Steve heckles. 

---

“How did you know, Angel?”

Sam looks at Bucky, and Bucky’s struck into silence, The whole world falls around them in muted sounds and lights fade into balls of blurry color, because as they lock gazes all Bucky can notice is Sam’s eyes. Sam’s eyes—his wonderful, soul-deep eyes that shine with mischief and laughter, that glow so bright and rival the heavens when the sunlight reflects off it just so—are sad. 

“My friend,” Sam says quietly, “Riley. He was one of yours.”

Bucky nods, and reaches out with his metal hand—an injury from decades ago and a gift from a shapeshifter who hissed that his debt was repaired before slithering off into the night—pulling Sam closer to him. They watch the sun go down from the top of the roof, the stars revealed one by one, twinkling against the darkness of the dusk. 

---

(One day, Bucky will ask for Sam’s name again, specifically his last name. Only then, will Sam reply honestly.)

---

AN: This is a more bastardized version of faeries/fae, I just made up my own creature for what Bucky and Steve are. Simply because I just wanted to write a little ficlet about SamBucky and didn’t do much research. Don’t think too hard about it :)

(and the link to the Tik Tok I saw on tumblr that inspired this is also linked on my ao3 fic)

Hope you enjoyed! 

-vix

[justsomeoneunordinary]

An “Assassin”

Day 2 of @winteriron-week: Assassin & Recovery

T, 2.3k, Crack, Humor, Sam Wilson Is a Little Shit and We Love Him for It, Background Sam/Nat, Team as Family, Bucky Is an Idiot in Love | AO3

(Day 1 / Day 3 / Day 4)

—

Muzzy is not a word Bucky thought he’d describe how he feels like with ever since he got injected with that bastardized version of the Super Soldier Serum. And yet it’s exactly how he’s doing after waking up and being blinded by the brightness all around him. A groan leaves his lips as he closes his eyes again.

Fucking hospitals and their stupid bright lights.

There’s a snort to his left, followed by a “Finally, you’re awake.”

Bucky slowly turns his head and blinks up at Sam who’s seated at the visitor’s chair, a grin plastered on his face, all shiny glinting teeth and tooth gap. The sole sight of the mischief in those black eyes is enough for his memories to come back.

And boy, do those hit harder than a truck on the highway.

“Oh man, that was hilarious.” Sam’s grin widens even more at that and Bucky can feel his cheeks heat up. “Can’t wait to tell the rest of the team what happened. I even got a video of it!”

Oh, hell no. Sam is already taking his phone out but before he can click on the video, Bucky shoots him an angry look and growls, “Don’t you even dare.”

He tries to get up in a sitting position, so he can throw a pillow for emphasis but with each movement the room spins even more and he loses orientation anew. Faintly, he feels a pain in each of his joints, but his head is too dizzy to register it properly. God, the last time he had been like this was in 1937 when he got high in the queer bar down the street of Steve’s and his apartment with that tiny guy from the neighborhood who knew to give one hell of a blowjob. 

“Sure. I already quiver in fear,” comes the deadpan reply.

What an ass. Not for the first time does he wish to kill Sam. Just a little bit. As a treat.

So, he pulls his winner card: “You tell anyone what happened and I tell Nat where you hid that strap-on of hers she’s been missing so much.”

Sam’s grin immediately falls at that, changing to an expression of pure outrage. “You son of a bitch.”

Hah, checkmate. Bucky still can’t feel any of his face muscles, so he doesn’t know if they’re doing the right thing, but he imagines he’s grinning smugly right now.

“Have you even seen that strap-on? That thing is deluxe! You wouldn’t want that up your ass either!”

No, Bucky had not seen it, and he’d like to leave it that way too, thank you very much. But knowing Natasha, he can only imagine what it must look like. She tells him much more about their sex life than he’d ever want to know. And he still doesn’t know why she tells him these things of all people, instead of Clint or Wanda or hell, even Tony (Tony would absolutely participate in any sex talk there is (Bucky wouldn’t say no to sex talk when Tony is involved in it)), but he suspects it’s her own way of hobby torture.

Sam wrinkles his nose while he gets up, flips him the bird and says, “Fine, you win.” Then he walks to the door and Bucky squints at him, because there’s no way it would be that easy, Sam would definitely want to have the last word—

“Good luck explaining to Tony what happened, because he’s waiting outside already,” Sam tells him while opening the door, winking at Bucky and leaving the room, his snickering still lingering in the halls outside.  

… Fuck.

Okay, he’s got like… ten seconds before Tony comes in, he can easily just climb out of the window and up to the roof. He just needs to get out of the bed which shouldn’t be a problem, broken bones or not, because he’s a high-profile assassin and—

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Busted.

“Trying to disappear before you can see me?”

Tony blinks at him and Bucky blinks right back, because seriously, what the fuck Barnes? He didn’t mean to say that, it just… slipped out.

“Well, that doesn’t sound like a good idea. You might have enhanced healing, but you broke nonetheless more bones than you have in your body, I don’t think getting out of that bed any soon could end well for you. And it would be such a shame too. After all, I brought you a get well soon balloon.”

And sure enough, there it is. A red balloon. With a ‘get well soon’ inscription in golden letters. Bucky feels quite touched by this gesture. Tony thought of him. He brought him a balloon. In Iron Man colors even. That has to mean something, right?

As Tony comes closer, Bucky seizes the opportunity to appreciate the way Tony’s suit hugs his figure perfectly in all the right places. If Tony were his, he’d unwrap him out of it as if he was a present. He’d trace the material with his fingers, take slowly each layer off and soak in every inch of newly revealed skin.

“Hey, I know I look irresistible, but there’s no need to drool, Buckaroo.”

Damnit. Bucky would like to order a shot in the head right about now, please and thank you. He tries to wipe the drool off, but neither hand does what he wants, so he settles for living in shame forever.  

“So,” Tony sits down at the same chair Sam had been just a minute ago, “can you tell me what put you, a Super Soldier, in such a state?”

This is exactly the question Bucky had been afraid of. See, Bucky has a tiny little bit of a… problem.

It started only three weeks after he had moved into the Avengers Tower on a completely ordinary and uneventful morning. Bucky had sat himself down at the kitchen bar, as always on the second last chair on the left side, which was the exact right angle for him to get a look at Tony’s perfect round bubble butt when he would come and bend over the counter to get himself coffee, so his pants would stretch over that wonderful butt and Bucky would have an eyeful of perfection without being creepy about it, because he was “just sitting there” and “looking normally straight ahead”.

On that particular morning however, had Tony loudly cursed after opening his coffee can, and whirled around to glare at each Avenger with a look that promised murder and bloodshed. “Which one of you used the last bit of my coffee and then didn’t even tell J.A.R.V.I.S. to order more of it?”

The answer to that was obvious. No one else would’ve done something risky like that but Clinton “I have a death wish” Barton. Which wasn’t something they would tell Tony, because no one on this team was a snitch.

Well, and then Tony’s eyes landed on Bucky and it took only three seconds of having Tony’s full attention, that he blurted without a second thought, “Clint was it,” and even pointed with the finger towards him. That earned him a gasp and spluttering and an utterly disappointed “How could you? I thought we were sniper buddies!”

After that there was a pattern. One Nat didn’t take long to notice and confront him about it.

“You can’t lie.”

“What? Of course I can lie.” Which was true. You can’t be a high-ranking assassin and go on undercover missions without being able to lie—you’d die on the spot.

“Fine, I correct myself: you can’t lie at Tony.”

Which Bucky denied vehemently and then didn’t talk to Nat for a month.  

Fact is though, which it always is when it comes to Natasha Romanoff, that she was right. For some even to him inexplicable reason, Bucky is simply unable to not tell Tony the truth when he just looks at him. And it’s absolutely ridiculous, because Bucky should be able to. He is the Winter Soldier. The Fist of HYDRA. Instructor of the Black Widows in the Red Room. A weapon—a ruthless killer responsible for numerous assassinations. Tony’s big brown eyes, shining golden in the hospital’s light, framed by those surreal long eyelashes, which makes him the most beautiful person in the entire world, should not be a reason for—

“Sam bet that I wouldn’t manage to roller skate and I had to prove him otherwise.”

… Damnit. Bucky doesn’t need a mirror to know that his face is redder than a tomato. The memory of it alone fills his entire being with embarrassment and Tony knowing what happened makes this situation definitely not a single bit better. He still can’t believe it happened in first place. Bucky is a well-trained Super Soldier! A pair of ugly shoes with some tiny wheels on it should not have been his downfall, for fucks sake!

Tony tilts his head at that, his brows furrowed in confusion. “Wait a moment. What exactly happened then? Did you just… fall?”

Bucky gulps and focuses on Tony’s tie pattern instead of answering. There are little Hulks on it. He likes it, it’s very Tony.

“In my defense; there was a staircase,” he murmurs at last, still not looking up. The Hulks on the tie wear purple pants. He’s pretty sure Bruce would like that tie too, he’s got a dorky humor like that, even though he’d never admit it.

A few seconds of complete quiet pass, and when Bucky finally does look up, he can see Tony’s corner of his mouth twitch, until he apparently gives in to his urge and throws his head back, laughing so hard that tears of laughter start forming and running down his cheeks.  

Bucky wishes for an instant divorce. Sure, this might be the most beautiful sound he has ever heard in his life, but he still wants a divorce.

Not that they’re married or something—or at least not in real life. Bucky did dream of it once, though. It was a spring wedding. Nat and Pepper were their “best men”, because neither wanted Steve and Rhodey to hold a speech. The decorations were in Arc Reactor blue. It was very beautiful, people even cried.

“You are something else, Bucky Barnes,” Tony shakes his head, the humor still audible in his voice, and a look in his eyes, that could almost be described as fond.

Bucky takes the divorce-wish back.

“Now see,” Tony begins as he gets up and slowly gets closer to Bucky’s bed, “you’re not as subtle as you think you are.” He sits down at the edge of the bed an sends him one of those brilliant smiles, that make Bucky’s head all dizzy and his heart sing with want. “Those looks you always give me are unmistakable.”

Tony takes that weird looking pudding from the nightstand and starts opening it up. “And all this time,” he continues, “I waited for you to finally make a move.” At that he rams the spoon with the pudding right into Bucky’s mouth without any prior warning.

Bucky almost chokes and it’s only thanks to his control over his reflexes that he ends up swallowing the pudding, instead of spitting it out. He coughs a few times and looks up at Tony in shock and disbelief. If this is how Tony takes care of injured people, Bucky doesn’t have any interest to ever do a nurse role play with him.

Tony gasps in indignation. “Are you telling me you would not want to see me in a nurse costume?”

This time Bucky does choke. On nothing but his own spit.

He imagines Tony in one of those tight short dresses, his legs all exposed, wearing heels as well as rich red lipstick and—and stops before his blood can rush anywhere south.

“Yeah, thought so,” Tony smirks and proceeds to slam another spoonful of pudding into Bucky’s mouth. At this point Bucky doesn’t know if his face is red from embarrassment, horniness or almost chocking, but red it sure is.

“Where was I again? Ah right, so I waited for you to make a move, but had to face reality, that you’re just too chicken to do anything about your crush on me. Which is kind of ironic, because aren’t you supposed to be a feared assassin or something?”

Bucky’s brain officially short-circuits at that, because Tony did… what?

“Yes, yes, I figured out your little secret, keep up with the class, I don’t like repeating myself. So anyway, this is me—” another spoon makes its way down his throat— “asking you for a date, because you apparently weren’t going to.” And Tony smiles at him so brightly, Bucky is sure he could lighten an entire country.

Bucky holds his breath and waits to wake up, because this can’t be real, this must be a dream. But when after a while nothing happens, but Tony’s smile slowly falling apart and making room for an unsure expression, he asks, “A date?”

“Yup.”

“With me?”

“Preferably, yes.”

“Okay,” he croaks, so he doesn’t do something dumb like start crying from happiness for example or jump at Tony who’d crush under his weight.

“Okay?”

Bucky clears his throat. “Yes, okay. I’d love to go on a date with you.”

“Okay.” And back is that smile finally Bucky would like to kiss one day.

“Now that that is settled,” Tony digs into the pudding again (fucking hell, is that still not empty?), “how about a deal while I take care of you, since we have to wait until you have healed anyway before we can go anywhere: you tell me where Wilson has hidden Nat’s deluxe strap-on and I tell the rest of the team that you got your injuries from a heroic fight protecting civilians against a criminal. Hm, what do you think?” The glinting mischief in Tony’s eyes when he winks at Bucky is unmistakable.

Bucky thinks that this is the best day of his life.

[ifmywishescametrue]

like no one does

written for my @stb-bingo square: G1 - Tuxedo, with 1.8k of soft stevetony, love confessions, and single dad tony

also on ao3

Tony slumps back against the wall of the elevator, leaning his head against the cool metal and hooking his fingers under his collar to loosen the bowtie. There’s a dull throbbing at the base of his skull that’s been slowly spreading upwards all night with every painful conversation. He hates nights like this, where he has to dress in his absolute best just to talk to a room full of people he either doesn’t know at all or knows too well and doesn’t like. 

Playing the game never gets any easier, he’s come to realize. Sure, he knows all of his lines now and knows how to play the part, but he still feels just as numb and empty at the end of each night as he did right at the beginning. The only difference now is that there’s someone waiting for him on the other side, and tonight he’s lucky enough to get two someones. 

The elevator doors open, and Tony huffs as he’s forced to stand up straight again. The entry to the penthouse is dark when he walks in, setting down his wallet and keys on the side table. Light is flickering from the television in the living room, and Tony follows it like a beacon to find a blonde head poking out from the couch. 

Tony flops down over the back of the couch, letting his head fall onto Steve’s shoulder without so much as a hello first. Steve must not have heard him come in, because he jumps at the sudden contact before relaxing when he sees it’s just Tony. Steve’s fingers thread through his hair, and Tony lets out a heavy sigh as his nails lightly scrape against his scalp. 

“Hi, sweetheart,” Steve murmurs. He stretches one arm out for the remote without dislodging Tony’s head from his shoulder and turns down the volume of the TV so it’s just a hum in the background.

“Hi,” Tony mumbles. “Peter in bed?”

Steve nods, “For a couple hours now. He wasn’t a fan of how I did the voices in his book, because apparently Grover doesn’t sound like that. I thought it was pretty spot on myself, but hey, Peter knows best.”

Tony snorts, knowing exactly what Peter’s face would have looked like when Steve didn’t do the voice the way he likes it. The little frown on his lips and big brown eyes that always make him feel like he’s committed some kind of horrible offense by not getting his accents exactly right. 

“If it helps, Rhodey is the only one who actually does it right. He banned me from reading that one to him a long time ago.”

“Oh, good,” Steve laughs. “I thought I was the only one on the banned list.”

“Nah, it’s you, me, Pepper, and Happy. The kid’s got specific tastes.”

“Wow, I wonder where he gets it from.”

Tony pouts, “Don’t be mean to me. I had a long night.”

Steve twists himself so he can press a kiss to Tony’s temple. “Why don’t you come sit next to me for a little while? I can tell you all about how you can make a grilled cheese wrong.”

Tony debates just throwing himself over the couch and seeing where he lands, but the consequences probably aren’t worth saving himself twenty seconds. He straightens to walk to the other side, then sets himself between Steve’s legs with his back to Steve’s chest. Steve shifted when Tony stood to rest against the corner of the couch, and their legs stretch out together. He’s badly wrinkling his tuxedo, but he can’t bring himself to care. 

Tony twines his fingers with Steve’s on his stomach and tilts his head back to rest against Steve’s shoulder, sighing contently. “Alright, enlighten me on how you make a grilled cheese wrong.”

“First, you start by being anyone but you, apparently,” Steve says lightly. “Then you proceed with the rest of the steps exactly as you left in the instructions, and by the end, Peter looks at you like you’ve just insulted his very being.”

Tony laughs, covering his eyes with his hand, “Oh, God. I’m sorry. He didn’t do this to you all night, did he?”

“No, he was actually great,” Steve says, and Tony can hear the smile in his voice. “He said I’m better at coloring than you are, so watch out, because I’ll be his favorite soon.”

“You’ll be taking it from Rhodey, not me,” Tony jokes. 

Steve holds him a little tighter, hand finding its way back to his hair. He massages the base of Tony’s skull with gentle pressure, alleviating some of the tension from the headache that Tony isn’t sure how Steve knows he has. “I don't know about that. He spent the whole night telling me all his favorite things to do with you. It was really sweet.”

“So things were good?” Tony asks hesitantly. It was the first time Steve has been alone with Peter for more than five minutes since the start of their relationship eight months ago, and he wasn’t really sure if they were ready for that yet. The gala forced his hand though, as his usual babysitter couldn’t make it and everyone else had to be in attendance at the same event. He was intending just to skip it when Steve offered to look after him for the night.

“Things were good,” Steve confirms. “We had grilled cheese, colored together, played with legos, then we watched Finding Nemo, and he handed me a tissue when I cried.”

Tony grins, “You cried?”

“He told me you cried during Up the other day, so don’t even start.”

“Everyone cries during Up, Steven,” Tony defends. “Well, except for Peter, because I don’t think he really understood what was happening at the beginning.”

Steve hums, “I can watch him anytime you need me to, you know. I like spending time with him, and,” Steve pauses like he’s deciding on the words, “I like that you trust me with him.”

“Of course I trust you. I wouldn’t still be with you if I didn’t,” Tony says. He tilts his head, pressing a kiss to the underside of Steve’s jaw. “Peter, he’s my most important thing, and you’ve never made me feel bad about that. You understand it when I have to cancel sometimes or when I’m late because Peter was having a bad day. And he doesn’t really like a lot of people, but he asks about you every day he doesn’t see you. 

“I don’t really know where I’m going with this, because I’m tired and I don’t think I’m making any sense, but I guess if there was a point it would be that he likes you, and I know you care about him, and I really like that. It’s - it’s good.”

“I do care about him,” Steve says, leaning forward so he can kiss Tony’s lips softly. “And I care about you, which is why I’m going to take care of you and get you to bed.”

Steve slips out from behind him and gets one hand under Tony’s knees while the other arm wraps around his back. Smiling, Tony holds onto Steve’s shoulders and lets him carry him down the hall. 

“How’s your headache?” Steve asks.

“It’s gone thanks to you,” Tony says as Steve pushes the bedroom door open with his elbow. “I don’t know how you knew I even had one.”

“Your eye was doing that twitchy thing.”

“That twitchy thing?”

Steve nods, setting Tony down on the edge of the bed. “Your left eye does a thing when you have a headache and the lights are too much.”

Steve kneels in front him and unties his shoelaces, while Tony tries to swallow around the lump in his throat. “You know that, huh?”

Putting the first shoe to the side, Steve puts the sock with it and starts on the other. “And I also know that you’re probably hungry still, because you never really eat at those things, but you can’t eat right now or else you’ll get a stomach ache because it’s too late at night.”

The second shoe and sock join the first, and Steve rises to his feet to work on undoing Tony’s bowtie with nimble fingers. “You should have some water before bed, though, or you’re going to wake up with a new headache. I’m sure you only had one glass of champagne, but you’re a lightweight nowadays, darling.”

Steve sets the tie on the bed and reaches down to undo the buttons on his jacket, then the ones on his vest. The cufflinks come off next, and while Steve sets them back in their box on the dresser, Tony shrugs out of the jacket and vest. Steve straightens them out of the crumple Tony left them in when he comes back. His hands move to the buttons on his shirt, and Tony catches his wrist before he undoes anything. 

“You don’t have to,” Tony says, even though he wants him to. “I can do it myself.”

Steve smiles, dipping his head down to kiss Tony’s forehead. “I know you can, but I’m taking care of you.”

There are unspoken words behind the statement, and Tony thinks about them while Steve takes his time working open the buttons on his shirt. They haven’t said them yet because Tony wanted to wait. He said from the start that he needed slow, warned Steve that he would need more time than most, and Steve surprised him by not only saying he was okay with it, but actually being okay with it. 

But eight months in, Tony doesn’t know why he’s waiting still. He’s felt it for a while now, and he knows that Steve feels it as well. It’s plain on his face every time he looks at him, in his eyes as clear as if it was written there. 

Steve reaches the bottom of his shirt, and gentle hands push the fabric from his shoulders to leave him in the undershirt and black trousers. He turns after that, heading for Tony’s closet and opening a drawer. 

He comes back with Tony’s favorite pair of gray sweats in his hand and asks, “Are sweatpants alright, babe?”

Tony doesn’t know why, but he laughs. Steve gives him a confused but amused look in return, not following along with wherever Tony’s head is at, but knowing well enough that he isn’t laughing at him. 

“So they’re either okay or it’s a hilariously bad suggestion,” Steve says.

Tony stands up, walking over to where Steve is standing, backlit by the light from the closet. He stands on the tips of his toes and wraps his arms around Steve’s neck. Steve returns the embrace automatically, strong arms enveloping him in comfort and warmth. 

He says it before he can talk himself out of it or find a reason why not to. “I love you.”

Steve gives him a soft smile and lifts one hand to cup Tony’s cheek. “Well that’s really nice to finally hear.”

“I wouldn’t know. You haven’t said it back.”

Steve laughs, and he leans down to kiss Tony soundly. When he pulls back, he rests his forehead against Tony’s and whispers, “I love you, too.”

[imaginetonyandbucky]

The Gift of Jab

For the prompt: Hi! I'm always up for some sparring hotness, so how about Tony being present for physical training sessions (working/watching), but says no everytime Nat/Clint/Steve/etc invites him to do it. Rhodey laughing every time the team says that it's bc Tony doesn't want to embarass himself. Bucky suspects his BF is actually well-versed in hand-to-hand/martial arts/self-defense; so he gives himself the challenge of getting Tony onto the mat. When he does he ends up a)on the floor & b)really aroused.

A/N: This ended up more meet-cute than PWP, hope you enjoy! 

By @dracusfyre

Click here for AO3

Natasha’s thighs tightened around Bucky’s neck warningly, threatening his air supply and reminding him that anyone else’s neck would already been broken. Bucky smacked the mat with an open palm and the pressure disappeared; he lay there for a minute, getting the air back in his lungs from where he had hit the mat so hard, then he took Nat’s hand and climbed back to his feet. “Who taught you to be so fast?” he complained as he traded places with Steve, who had been waiting on the sidelines for his turn to spar.

“You did,” Nat said with a grin. She grabbed her bottle of water while Steve bounced a little on his toes and jabbed the air, not so much warming up as getting in the right mindset.  The sparring mat was in the middle of the room, and on one wall Sam was tearing up the treadmill and bobbing his head to whatever music he was listening to and Tony was doing his own thing in the corner. Clint was sitting in the corner watching, having already reached his fill of getting thrown around the room.

Steve must have noticed Bucky staring goofily at Tony because he followed Bucky’s gaze and watched Tony for a while, frowning in confusion at the strange pattern of movements Tony was making in the air with his arms and legs. “What’s he doing?” he finally asked, tilting his head towards Tony when Nat looked at him questioningly.

“Wing chun,” Tony called out, apparently able to hear them even over the sound of Sam’s treadmill and the music on the loudspeakers.

“Like Bruce Lee,” Clint added helpfully. Bucky and Steve just looked at him blankly.

“You’d like it,” Nat said, elbowing Steve in the side. “It’s really popular with old Chinese grandmothers.”

“I heard that!” Tony said, raising his voice but never pausing his movements. “Also, what you’re thinking of is Tai Chi.”

“But what is it? Is it like yoga or something?” Steve kept watching as Natasha took a moment to put her hair back up in a tighter ponytail.

“It’s a martial art,” she mumbled around the hair band in her mouth as she raked the hair back from her face. “Like karate or jiu jitsu. Ready?”

Steve tore his eyes away and let Bucky do the admiring from afar while Steve concentrated on his match. He lasted longer than Bucky did, which was understandable given he’d been sparring with Nat longer, but she suckered him in with a feint and hooked his legs out from under him, hitting the mat hard. She stood over him, made finger guns at him and said, “Pew pew,” and Steve obediently flopped back against the mat and played dead.  This time, Natasha traded out with Bucky and Steve did a kip up to his feet as Bucky stepped out onto the mat.

“Does he ever spar or is it just to stay in shape?” Steve asked. “I mean, it’s not like he…I mean, when he’s in the suit he doesn’t…” He realized what he was saying as he was in the middle of saying it, especially when he noticed Natasha giving him an unimpressed look. “Of course, he doesn’t always wear his suit,” he muttered, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, cheeks turning pink. “Right.”

“I can hear you,” Tony said in a high sing-song voice.

“You should join us,” Natasha called back, smirking when Bucky’s eyes jerked to hers in alarm.  “I think the boys want a closer look.”

Tony was silent for so long that Bucky thought he was back to ignoring them, but right as he was turning back to his mat Tony stopped what he was doing and said, “You know what, sure. I haven’t sparred with anyone but Happy for a while.”

He caught Sam’s eye as he came by the treadmill, and Sam took out his headphones. “You going to spar?” he said with interest. Tony never sparred hand-to-hand, he always demurred with a joke or an excuse. When Tony nodded, Sam turned off the treadmill to watch.

“I didn’t realize this was going to be a spectator sport,” Tony complained even though he was smiling. “Who am I sparring?”

Bucky felt the back of his neck burn as everyone but Tony turned to look at him. “I’ll go first,” Bucky said when the silence stretched for long enough that Tony was starting to look confused.

As Bucky shook out his arms and joined Tony on the mat, Clint leaned over to Natasha and said, “I bet Bucky has to tap out because he gets a boner.” Bucky gave him a dirty look over his shoulder, then gave Natasha one too when she shook Clint’s hand.

She just smirked and said, “Keep it clean, boys.”

Bucky brought his hands up in blocking position and closed his hands into loose fists, squaring up while Tony was turned slightly to the side, hands open and in front of his torso instead of protecting his face.  Bucky jabbed at him a couple of times experimentally as Tony dodged and then when he swung a little more seriously Tony blocked it easily and jabbed at the inside of arm, making his fingers go numb for a second.

“Whoa, what was that?” Sam said, raising his eyebrows. “Never seen that before.”

“You have,” Clint insisted. “Bruce Lee, remember?”

Bucky shook his hand out and took up his position again.  He led with an uppercut this time, a little faster and with more power, and Tony turned to the side, letting it swing past where he used to be, and hit Bucky’s throat, temple, chin, and jaw with a flurry of punches and chops, making Bucky stagger backwards from the unexpected onslaught. Then there was a foot in his chest that shoved him backwards and he almost landed on his ass.

“I want to change my bet,” Clint said. “Tony’s a ringer.”

“Buckaroo here isn’t going full speed or strength,” Tony said with modest shrug, though there was a smile playing on his lips.

“Just warming up,” Bucky said, though the truth was that this was a fighting style he wasn’t familiar with. Until Natasha, he’d mostly been from the “stand and slug it out” school of fighting, something you naturally fell into when you were stronger and more impervious to damage than most. Also, well, Bucky was much more used to having a gun in one hand and a knife in the other.

He eyed Tony and tried to slip on a little of the Winter Soldier, rolling his shoulders and trying to imagine what he would do if he were really trying to bring Tony down. So this time, when they squared up, he charged, trying to bodycheck Tony and get his hands on him, ready for Tony to try to dodge. Instead, Tony stepped into the charge, turning so that his shoulder drove into Bucky’s upper chest, pushing him off balance. At the same time his foot was between Bucky’s and his knee drove into the inside of Bucky’s thigh, making him lose his footing. Bucky rolled into the fall, coming up on his feet. He jabbed a couple of times, making Tony give ground, then followed up with a side kick, expecting Tony to dodge or block. Instead, he ducked by leaning back and kicking the thigh that Bucky was standing on, then catching Bucky’s other leg on his shoulder, forcing him to land on his back. Tony kept a grip on Bucky’s leg and followed him to the ground, pressing his knee to the side of Bucky’s. It was clear that in a real fight Tony’s next move would be to tear the ligaments in Bucky’s knee, and Bucky tapped out. He lay there for a moment after Tony released him, heart pounding with more than just the rush from the fight, before he accepted Tony’s hand to get back on his feet.

“Again?” Tony asked, bouncing a little on his toes, smiling widely. His hair was slightly damp with sweat, tank top clinging to his torso. “Best two out of three?”

Bucky’s mouth went dry and he swallowed, skin feeling tight. He stalled for a moment by grabbing a towel and swiping it over his face, worried that going another round would be a bad idea. But in the end he was helpless against Tony’s enthusiasm. “Sure,” he said after a minute, and the rest of the team cheered.

As they squared up again, Bucky assessed his next move; in a real fight, he would try to take Tony to the ground, but there was no goddamn way he could grapple with Tony without embarrassing himself. Having Tony kneeling between his legs for just a second had already been bad enough. 

He started out with a flurry of kicks, keeping them low so Tony couldn’t try the same trick again. Tony didn’t return them, he only deflected them while stepping back, a frown of concentration on his face. The last kick, however, he caught Bucky’s leg and stepped forward, making Bucky hop backwards or fall over. When Tony tried to sweep his leg Bucky did a backflip, curling his legs in tightly to avoid hitting Tony on the chin. He landed gracelessly, but he was on his feet; backflips were not his thing because the arm itself and the supporting metal in his shoulder made him lopsided, which affected him in the air. Tony took advantage of Bucky’s unsteady landing to attack with a flurry of lightning fast jabs. Bucky brought his arms up to protect his face and got sharp jabs to the solar plexus and ribs, threatening to knock the wind out of him; he tried to punch back to get Tony to back off, and got hit in the throat. Finally he tucked his head and barreled into Tony, who turned on his heel like a matador and push kicked him in the small of the back. Bucky stumbled forward and when he finally turned back around to face Tony, Tony look so goddamned pleased with himself that Bucky had to laugh.

“Come on, then,” he said, doing the come here gesture.

Tony shook his head, hands up in the same starting position as before. “Wing chun doesn’t really start fights,” he said. “That’s not why I learned it.”

Clint hooted from the sidelines. “Hear that? Tony doesn’t start fights, he ends them.”

Tony and Bucky rolled their eyes and shared a grin. “Alright,” Bucky said, and swung at Tony again, a jab with his left followed by a hook with his left; as he anticipated, Tony blocked and countered with a chop to his neck like he’d done earlier. This time, though, Bucky dipped and twisted so that the blow hit his shoulder instead and grabbed Tony’s wrist. Tony lunged and hit Bucky in the chest with his elbow, hard enough that it would have knocked the wind out of a normal person. Bucky countered by hitting Tony in the side with his free hand and felt bad when he heard Tony grunt, but without hesitating Tony drove his heel into Bucky’s instep and then his knee into Bucky’s thigh. Bucky felt his leg twist at the impact but stayed on his feet and kept his grip on Tony’s wrist.

Until Tony somehow twisted in his grip, sweat-slick wrist slipping from between his fingers as Tony trapped Bucky’s arm against his body then ducked under it, twisting Bucky’s am behind his back. He kicked the back of Bucky’s knee, making it buckle, then with a knee to the center of Bucky’s back Tony drove him to the floor.  Bucky struggled just enough to know that Tony had a solid lock on his arm; Tony was a heavy weight pinning him to the mat and Bucky’s breath caught in his lungs. He felt himself flush hot and then cold, skin tingling, and knew if he struggled too much Clint would win his bet. He tapped the mat with his free hand and Tony released him immediately. Bucky blew out a breath and rolled over, only to find Tony standing over him.

“I’ve known Natasha for longer than you have,” Tony said with a smile as he held out a hand to help Bucky pick himself up off the floor.  “You taught her to be fast, and she taught me. Taught me some of her tricks, too.”

“Even the leg thing?” Bucky asked, and wished he hadn’t because then he pictured having his head between Tony’s thighs and he had to force his thoughts to something else. Behind them, Clint was scowling as he handed Natasha money from his wallet.

“No, not the leg thing. No one but Natasha can do the leg thing,” Tony said ruefully. Then he looked at Bucky expectantly and Bucky realized he was still holding Tony’s hand.

Bucky felt his face get hot and let go quickly. “We should do this again sometime,” he offered a little breathlessly. “It was fun.”

“Even if you were taking it easy on me,” Tony said, taking a towel from Sam and running it over his face.

“I went as fast and hard as I would go with anyone but Steve and Thor,” Bucky countered. He pulled his shirt up to wipe off his face and when he lowered it, he caught Tony staring at his stomach before his eyes flew up to met Bucky’s.

“That’s fair,” Tony said, and his grin said he knew he’d been caught looking and didn’t care. Bucky grinned back because all of a sudden it had become the best day ever. “You know, I think I’m done for the day. Are you hungry?”

“Sure,” Clint said, and he was about to climb down off his perch when Natasha grabbed his arm, fingers digging in with warning.

“He wasn’t asking you,” she said, and though she was smiling it was all teeth. “Don’t fuck this up,” she hissed, impressively managing to say it without moving her lips. "They might not try again for weeks." Bucky’s neck burned and he hoped Tony couldn’t hear her, even though Steve’s carefully blank expression said that he definitely could and furthermore, he agreed. Behind Tony’s back, Sam gave him a discreet thumbs up, and Bucky was ready to murder all of them.

“I am, yes,” Bucky said, resolutely ignoring the chuckleheads in the peanut gallery. "I just, uh, need a shower and I'll be ready."

"It will be faster if you shower toge-" Clint started, and Natasha elbowed him off the bench before he could finish.

"You kids have fun," Sam said, and Bucky left before his face could get any redder. 

[loveforpreserumsteve]

Part of Me: "ALN" Story (Pre-Serum Omega!Steve and Alpha!Bucky Modern Domestic AU)

Twenty:

"Where the hell have you been?" Bucky questioned as soon as Steve walked into the house. He looked like he was one second away from having a complete full-blown panic attack.

Steve's eyes widened at seeing his husband so worried and he asked, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Bucky repeated. His own eyes were large, and his voice took on an edge to it, "What's wrong?! Ollie said that you left for the store, three hours ago! And you weren't picking up your phone! For fuck's sake, I was about to call the police, Stevie!"

"Oh," Steve worried his lower lip. Looking into the living room where the kids were all just as concerned as the alpha was, Steve tried to assuage their anxieties, "I had to... do something."

"Oh, god," Oliver's expression turned grave, "You didn't kill John, did you?"

"No, I didn't kill John," Steve chuckled at the ludicrous statement. Then, he added, "Not that he doesn't deserve it after what he did to you. But no, I didn't commit murder today. I would've taken your dad with me if I was going to do something like that."

Just then, the garage door opened, bringing Rhodey into the house. Impossibly so, Bucky's eyes widened further. Of course, Steve understood, he had gasped when he had first seen the bruising and cuts littered over the boy's swollen face. Surprisingly, Rhodey had been injured more severely than Ollie had.

"Hi, Mr. Barnes," Rhodey sheepishly greeted, lifting his arm to awkwardly wave, only to then remember that he had sprained his wrist and the Velcro brace wasn't for fashion purposes.

"What the fuck did you do?" Oliver asked, rushing over to his friend.

"Don't be mad," Rhodey started.

"'Don't be mad.' Don't be mad?!" Oliver scoffed at the absurdity of it all, "How am I supposed to react?! I told you – I fucking told you – to leave him alone and to not do anything stupid!"

"When was this?" Steve asked while Bucky pulled the young alpha into his side so he could affectionately ruffle his short afro. Proud of the boy, just as Steve was, Bucky praised, "I always knew I could count on you."

"Don't encourage him," Oliver told his alpha father. Rhodey shrugged out from beneath Bucky's prosthetic and Oliver punched him in the upper arm. Not hard enough to hurt him, just enough for a warning, "You could've gotten really hurt. He didn't like you."

"And now he has a real reason not to," Rhodey good-naturedly chuckled.

"Wait," Pepper joined them in the kitchen, "You went there alone? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Um, because you would've talked me out of it?"

Steve hid his face in his husband's side so the strawberry blonde wouldn't see. After all, she probably would've. She was never one to agree with violence. Wholeheartedly believing that words were enough to solve anything.

Of course, she wasn't the only one considering how Ollie kept glaring at his friend.

"Hell, yeah, she would've! The party pooper," Tony giggled, wrapping his arm around Rhodey's shoulders, despite the omega being the shortest of the four. Tony stood on his tiptoes and tugged Rhodey down so he could kiss his uninjured cheek and mock, "My hero!"

Pepper fought the small smile trying to break free and crossed her arms tightly along her chest. Lifting his arm, Tony gestured for her to join them in a group hug. Rolling her eyes, she caved and joined them just as Rhodey pulled Ollie closer.

"Who wants some chili dogs with the World's Greatest Hotdog Chili Sauce?!" Bucky clapped his hands together.

Instantly, the not-so-little littles and the teens all eagerly confirmed. Bucky kissed Steve's temple, and the omega tilted his head up so his husband could give him a proper, chaste kiss.

When Steve returned his attention to the kids, he noticed how Oliver was carefully holding Rhodey's face so he could examine the wounds that had already been cleaned and bandaged. There was a deep sorrow in Ollie's steel-blue eyes, but there was a vengeful fire there too. Steve knew that Ollie wasn't one to just sit by to let his loved ones be hurt. Especially not when it was in regard to himself.

"I'm okay," Rhodey assured, but Ollie didn't seem so sure.

After studying his friend for a beat longer, Oliver pulled the lanky alpha into a tight bear hug. Steve knew that the teen needed it as much as he had the day picked up as son from the hospital. John hadn't just kept Ollie from them, he had kept him from his friends too. More specifically, the alphas in the friend group.

Holding each other for a moment, Oliver pulled away first and shoved Rhodey's broad shoulder. Commenting, "Asshole. You should've listened."

Mouth dropping open in mock surprise, Rhodey looked over at Steve and playfully tattled, "Mr. Barnes, Ollie said a bad word!"

Teasingly, Steve narrowed his eyes at his son. Oliver rolled his in silent reply, and Steve pulled him close. Tucking him under his arm where he was safe. Right where he belonged.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch40: I Went For The Head

Intro: The Avengers track Thanos down and confront him for a final time, but it doesn’t go according to plan, and leaves them facing the horrible fact that there is simply nothing they can do to set anything right.

Warnings: Bad Language words. And a helluva load of angst.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Please heed the warnings… thanks to @angrybirdcr​ for this edit- the first one of Katie in the Supernova suit... 

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 39 Part 2

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

“Can I have a cheeseburger yet?” Tony grumbled.

“Probably best to start with something a little less greasy.” Bruce stated, checking the drips attached to Tony’s arm. “It will play havoc with your stomach.”

“Porridge?” Pepper suggested.

“What?” Tony pulled a face “For real?”

“Good idea.” Bruce ignored Tony as he continued to check the readings on the monitor besides the bed. “With honey, it will help your energy levels”

“And then a cheeseburger later? “ Tony persisted. 

“What is this obsession you two have with cheeseburgers?” Bruce looked at him, then to Katie as Tony shrugged.

“But seriously…” he began and Pepper cut him off

“No, Tony!”

“I’m gonna go get that porridge before this turns into a full scale domestic.” Katie grinned. 

“’ll have it in the living room.” Tony sat up a little more.

“No, you won’t.” Katie looked at him at the same time Pepper protested but Tony cut them both off.

“Yes I will.” He shot back, “We need to talk, de brief, plan.” “Steve, tell him it can wait.” Katie looked round at her husband, who had up until that point been observing silently from the side of the room. He made the mistake of hesitating, just for a split second, and she glared at him.

“Honey…” He began and she held her hand up.

“Don’t wanna hear it.” “Look, Tony’s right.” Steve tried to explain but she shook her head.

“No, no he is not. Bruce, help me out here please!” She looked to the Doctor for help who sighed as he shook his head.

“What’s the point? He’ll do it anyway.” Bruce’s voice was resigned. “I’ll fetch a chair.” “I don’t believe this.” Katie groaned and ran her hands over her face as Pepper and Tony were now full on arguing. She looked at Steve and he visibly recoiled at the look of pure anger on her face “If anything happens to him I swear to God, Steve, I will kill you!”

Steve knew Tony should be resting, he really did, but the Billionaire had been adamant earlier that they needed to do something, and fast. And they’d been on tenterhooks for over three weeks now. Steve was itching to see if Tony knew something that could help. Simply put, he didn’t want to wait any longer.

Half an hour or so later they reconvened in the conference room, Katie still extremely pissed off. Tony was sat at the table, perched in a wheelchair with an IV bag connected to his arm, hung from a pole behind him, the remnants of a bowl of porridge were in front of him. He was busy looking at the pictures of those that were lost flashing on the holographic screens all around the table as Natasha was talking, his chin resting in his hand as he concentrated. Katie shot Steve another angry glare and he sighed, looking back at Natasha as she spoke.

“World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working, are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did-” Natasha paused as she swallowed, “he did exactly what he said he was going to do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent of all living creatures.”

“Where is he now?” Tony asked looking right at Steve as he lifted his head from his hand.

Steve sighed before he spoke. “We don’t know.” He opened his hand, allowing it to dall to his side. “He just- opened a portal and walked through.” He leaned back against the back of an arm chair, his arms folded across his chest.

Tony sighed and looked around the room, frowning as he glanced over to where Thor was sat on a bench outside, deep in thought as his hands wringed together. Katie knew the sight of Tony looking so ill last night when he had seen him,  had knocked the god further back into his dark mood, the one she’d tried, and so far failed, to coax him out of.

Tony gestured to the God “What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s pissed. He thinks he’s failed.” Rocket sighed from his spot sitting on the floor against a wall. “Which, of course, he did, but you know, there’s a lot of that going around, ain’t there?”

Tony leaned forward in his chair, mouth agape at the talking raccoon, “Honestly until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-a-Bear.

Katie grinned, the familiar Tony Stark sass coming back out to play was music to her ears.

“Maybe I am.” Rocket answered, and Steve steered the conversation back.

“We’ve been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep space scans, and satellites, and we got nothin’.” He took a deep breath, almost afraid to ask the next question. “Tony, you fought him-”

Tony furrowed his brow, cutting Steve off, “Who told you that? I didn’t fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street magician gave away the stone. That’s what happened. There was no fight. Because he’s unbeatable.”

“Okay,” Steve softly cut in. “Did he give you any clues? Any coordinates, anything?”

Tony blew air out loudly through his lips as he gave a sarcastic salute to Steve.  Steve narrowed his eyes and accross from him Katie let out a silent groan, and glanced at Natasha who gave a loud sigh.

“You know, I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision, you remember that Kiddo?” Tony looked at Katie as she took a deep breath. “But, I didn’t want to believe it. I thought I was dreaming.”

"Tony, I’m going to need you to focus-” Steve started as he stood, taking a step closer to Tony.

”And I needed you. As in past tense.” Tony tilted his head and looked up at Steve, dropping his hand from where it had been rubbing against his lip. “That trumps what you need. It’s too late buddy, sorry.”

Tony’s words echoed round Steve’s head and it felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Tony was right, he’d let them down, he’d let them all down. He tried his best to keep his face from falling as he breathed deeply and he saw Katie watching him intently, her face expressionless.

“Ok, that’s enough.” She started, moving towards Tony but he shook his head, and waved her away. 

"You know what I need?” He asked, his voice rising in volume and Steve’s attention turned to him as he stood, throwing his hand down and sending the remnants of his bowl of porridge flying across the table. “I need a shave. And I believe I even remember telling all of yous, alive or otherwise-” he began to rip his IV out of his arm as Katie stepped forward at the same time Rhodey did.

“Tony, Tony, Tony, stop!”  Rhodey said gently, as Tony ignored him and continued.

“-that what we needed was a suit of armour around the world.” He snapped voice raising as his breathing increased without the IV bag feeding him nutrient any longer. “Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not, that’s what we needed.”

Precious freedoms…Steve’s face fell further as he took in Tony’s word, his brother-in-law still blamed him. He took a deep breath and looked at him. “Well that didn’t work out, did it?” he finally said, his voice full of sadness, tone soft.

But Tony was just getting started, and he paid Steve’s remorse no attention as he continued. “I said we’d lose. You said, ‘We’ll do that together too.’” He mocked in a deep voice. “Well, guess what Cap? We lost, and you weren’t there. But that’s what we do, right?” Tony looked around. “Our best work after the fact? We’re the A-vengers? We’re the A-vengers, not the Pre-vengers?” he questioned rhetorically to Katie as she moved to stand in front of him, placing herself in between her brother and her husband.

“Okay, you made your point Tone, just sit down.” Her hand gently pressed to the middle of his chest.

“She’s right.” Rhodey looked at him, taking hold of his shoulder.

Tony ignored both of them completely, instead he turned to Carol and pointed at her. “She is fantastic by the way. We need you, you’re new blood. We’re a bunch of tired old mills.” he gestured around,  shrugging off Rhodey’s grasp, and gently pushing Katie to one side as he stepped right up to Steve pointing a finger in his face. Steve swallowed and looked down at Tony as Katie hesitated behind him, ready to intervene if Tony did anything stupid.

“I got nothing for you Cap. I’ve got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero, zip, nada. No trust, liar.” His whispered the last word.

Another punch to the gut. Steve took a deep breath, his chest falling. It was true, he had no defence or response.

“Tony, that’s not fair.” Katie began, glancing at Steve who looked like he had just been slapped. As she did, Tony reached up and ripped the arc reactor off his chest and shoved it into Steve’s hand. Steve looked down at it in utter incredulity.

“Here, take this. You find him, and you put that on.” Tony then turned to Katie. “And you, seeing as you follow him everywhere, you hide.”  

Before the last word was fully out, Tony stumbled, tilting forward and Katie caught him, dropping to her knees keeping his weight supported as best she could, as Steve and Rhodey also crouched down.

“I’m fine. I…” Tony’s protest was cut off as he collapsed, out could.

“Get him into the medic bay.” Bruce instructed immediately, as Steve effortlessly picked him up and followed Bruce out of the room, Rhodey close behind. Katie hurried after them, with Pepper, as Steve gently lay him down on the bed before he stepped from the room as Bruce began hooking him back up to the drips.

“I told you!” Katie followed him out, blazing with anger. “I told you he wasn’t up to this. When are you going to realise you don’t always know better?”

“I’m sorry.” Steve gulped and looked down at his hands, before he took a deep breath, his chest shaking. “And for the record, I realised that a long time ago.”

He looked utterly dejected, and Katie felt the anger in her system ebbing away, and she let out a sigh.

“Steve, I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

“Don’t.” Steve shook his head, his eyes dropping to the floor. “Don’t say you didn’t mean it, because you did. Just like Tony meant what he said before.”

“He was lashing out.” Katie gently lay her hand on Steve’s arm. “He feels guilty. And probably hasn’t had the chance to process and think about it like we have.”

“Thing is you’re right, and he’s right. I am a liar.��� Steve sighed and shook his head, raising his eyebrows as he continued to look at his feet. “I did say we would fight together, and when it came to it, we didn’t, because I couldn’t swallow my damned pride over the Accords.” “Hey.” Katie’s voice dropped as she reached up to turn his face to look at her. “Those accords, that entire situation was complicated, Steve. It was never as simple as just swallowing your pride.” “Yeah it was.” He shrugged, shooting another sad glance in Tony’s direction as Rhodey came out of the room, leaving Bruce to bustle about and check the IVs.

“Bruce gave him a sedative. He’s probably going to be out for the rest of the day.” Rhodey informed them. Steve nodded but his attention flew to Carol when she spoke.

“You guys take care of him, and I’ll bring him a Zorien Elixer when I come back.” She stated before walking away.

“Where are you going?” Natasha questioned, her tone laced with confusion.

“To kill Thanos.” Carol said simply as she kept walking away. Steve and Katie turned to each other, then looked at Natasha before they all followed her down the few steps back towards the conference room.

Natasha reached her first, “Hey, you know we usually work as a team here, and between you and I, morals a little fragile.”

“We realize up there is more your territory, but this is our fight too,” Steve added, as Rhodey chipped in.

“Do you even know where he is?”

“I know people who might.” Carol replied

“Don’t bother.” A different voice came from the doorframe behind Carol, and they all whipped around to face Nebula. “I can tell you where Thanos is.”

Katie exchanged a glance with Nat, then Steve, and they followed the blue woman to the common room where Rocket was waiting. Rhodey arrived shortly after with Bruce, who looked around questioningly.

“Nebula had an idea and we ran some scans.” Rocket hopped up onto the table as Nebula began talk, bending over the keyboard at the holograph.

“Thanos spent a lot of time trying to perfect me. And when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled I wanted to please him. I’d ask ‘where would we go once he’s plan is complete?’ his answer was always the same, 'To the Garden.”

She finished typing in some coordinates.

“That’s cute.” Rhodey scoffed. “Thanos has a retirement plan.”

“So where is he?” Steve asked, not hiding the edge in his voice.

“When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power source of ridiculously cosmic proportions, no one’s ever seen anything like it.” Rocket explained pulling up a hologram of Earth, then a simulation of the power source he was talking about swept over the simulation before the hologram morphed into another planet, “Until two days ago, on this planet.”

“Thanos is there.” Nebula said, matter of factly.

“He used the stones again.” Katie breathed, her mouth going dry as she leaning forward to get a closer look.

“Hey, hey, hey, we’d be going in shorthanded, you know?” Bruce stuttered.

Rhodey joined in. “He’s still got the stones, so-”

“So let’s go get him. And use them to get everyone back.” Carol shrugged, as she looked around.

“Just like that?” Bruce questioned.

“Yeah. Just like that.” Steve replied nodding as did Carol. He was done waiting now, it was time to act. This was the best chance they were going to have.

Katie looked at the holograph before looking up to Natasha.

“I mean, even if there’s a small chance that we can undo this, we owe it to everyone who’s not in this room to try.” Nat argued, her voice almost breaking at the words.

“If we do this, how do we know it’s going to end any differently than it did before?” Katie asked, looking around.

“Because before you didn’t have me” Carol stated simply, her hands on her hips.

Steve almost smiled at the look on Katie’s face, her eyebrows disappearing into her hair they’d shot up so fast. But it wasn’t his wife who replied, it was Rhodey.

“Hey new girl, everybody in this room is about that superhero life. And if you don’t mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?” His tone was clipped.

“There are a lot of other planets in the universe,” Carol shot back before she sighed, her tone softening, “Unfortunately they didn’t have you guys.”

Katie glanced at Nat, then Steve who raised his eyebrows in a “fair enough” gesture a small smile flickered across his face. But, before anyone had time to comment, there was the sound of a chair scraping against the floor as Thor stood from the table he’d been eating at and stomped toward Carol, making Katie jump as she’d completely forgotten he was there.

He came to a stop in front of the woman, staring at her for a beat before lifting his hand. His axe flew past her, mere inches from her head, whipping her hair around her face.  Not even a flinch. Instead she looked up at Thor appraisingly, her mouth twisting into a small smile.

Thor pondered for a moment, both hands resting on the top of his axe. Eventually he nodded and turned to Katie. “I like this one, Little Stark.”

Katie gave a huff of a laugh before she looked at Steve.He was staring at the alien planet on the hologram before him, jaw twitching. This was it, their chance to bring everyone back. They had to go for it, they had to. The instruction the team was waiting for came in the form of a low growl, the steely Captain America determination emanating from every word Steve spoke as he glanced up.

“Let’s go get this son of a bitch.”

*****

“Alright, now, who here hasn’t been to space?” Rocket asked.

Katie raised her hand and in front of her Natasha did the same as did Steve and Rhodey. Thor looked round, grinning.

“You better not throw up on my ship.” Rocket warned, turning back to the front.

“Approaching the jump in three-“ Nebula said loudly.

Katie clamped her right hand into the side of her seat, reaching her left across the space between them to grab Steve’s hand.

"Two.”

He laced his fingers into hers as he turned his head to look at her, giving her a soft smile.

“One.”

The pure force of the ship’s speed pushed Steve back against his seat as they shot through space, and his eyes widened. It was stunning, the stars and galaxies whirred past in a flash of purples, pinks, silvers and then the ship slowed to a stop.

Rocket opened the hatch and Carol headed out, turning back to the ship as she floated in front in the air outside.

“I’ll head down for recon.” Her voice came over the speakers and she turned and flew away.

Katie unbuckled her seatbelt and stood, stretching her legs before she turned and headed towards where Thor was sat, eyes focussed on a spot on the chair in front of him.

“You okay?” She asked, sitting down next to him. He turned his head to face her and took a deep breath.

“I’m going to kill him.” He said simply before he looked towards the front of the ship. Katie glanced up at Steve who was watching her, turning his compass over in his hand. He gave a small smile before turning to Natasha as she looked up from the tablet she was poking around on and spoke to him as he glanced down and opened it, looking at the photo of him and Katie inside. That day seemed like an age ago, happy, carefree their faces looked back at him, cross eyed and grinning into the camera.

“This is gonna work Steve.” Nat said, confidently.

“I know it is.” Steve replied simply, snapping his compass shut as he looked up at his friend, before he glanced back at Katie who had her head led on Thor’s shoulder. This was their last chance, the hope they’d been clinging onto, not only to bring everyone else back but the precious thing that had been taken from them. And if it didn’t work…well he didn’t even want to think about that. “Because I don’t know what we’re gonna do if it doesn’t.” He finished eventually.

Natasha gave him a small squeeze before they both glanced up as a bright light filled the ship. Carol had returned.

“No satellites. No ships. No armies.” She spoke incredulously as she hovered outside. “No ground defences of any kind. It’s just him.”

Nebula spoke as she stared straight ahead at the planet “And that’s enough.”

Rocket piloted the ship, following Carol, and landed at the bottom of a hill, a small hut perched on top of it. Steve stood up, turning to everyone and he noticed Thor’s eyes were flashing with lightning as he grit his teeth together.

“Think he’s in there?” Katie asked, squinting up at the hut. Nebula nodded.

“Alright team, just as we planned.” Steve instructed. Katie took a deep breath and walked down the ramp, glancing around. It looked just like a farm. Rhodey, even though the comment had been sarcastic, had hit the nail on the head. He’d killed countless people and then fucking retired to a farm.

“Are you ready?” Rocket asked.

Katie nodded and twisted her bracelet, the nano-tech of her replacement suit flowing over her. She leaned her arm down to allow the raccoon to climb up onto her shoulder and at the same time she saw Thor’s hand gripped round the handle of his axe, as Bruce picked up Natasha in the Hulk buster.

One by one those who could fly, crashed into the hut, surrounding Thanos on all four sides, taking him completely by surprise. Carol gripped him in a choke hold, and before he could so much as retaliate, Thor took a swipe at his hand, cutting it clean off taking the Infinity Gauntlet with it, as Thanos let out a scream of pain.

Katie stood in front of Thanos, her repulsors raised as she heard Steve and Natasha head up the steps into the hut. She turned to watch as Rocket jumped off her shoulder, kneeled and rolled over the severed gloved hand, where he recoiling instantly, clanking up.

Katie felt her stomach clench. The stones were gone.

“Where are they?” Steve bit, drawing level with Katie as he stared at Thanos.

Thanos’ breathing was laboured, almost as if he was struggling to draw oxygen, and Carol tightened her grip around his neck.

“Answer the question.” She growled.

Thanos shifted uncomfortably. “The universe required correction.” he grit out between deep breaths “After that, the stones served no purpose beyond temptation.”

“You murdered trillions!” Bruce yelled as he kicked Thanos against the wall of his shack.

“You should be grateful.”

Bruce punched Thanos again, and Katie moved forward to look down at him, and when she spoke her voice was shaky.

“Where are the stones?” She demanded, retracting her helmet.

“The stones are gone. Reduced to atoms.”

"You used them two days ago?” Katie bit back, not wanting to believe what he was saying, desperate for him to be lying.

“I used the stones to destroy the stones.” Thanos looked down at his arm which was horrifically burnt right up to his neck. “It nearly killed me. But the work is done, it always will be.”

She glanced at Steve, whose face had slipped ever so slightly. The Captain took a deep breath, his eyes locking onto hers which were now filling with tears as the magnitude of the situation sunk in. The stones were gone, and without him, there was nothing they could do.

“I am inevitable.” Thanos breathed out, and at his words a dark hopelessness flooded Steve’s system as Rhodey began to desperately stutter.

“We’ve got to tear this place apart! He…he..has to be lying,”

But as Steve turned to look Thanos, he could tell instantly he wasn’t.

“My father is many things.” Nebula said softly, stepping forward as she looked down sadly. “A liar is not one of them.”

“Ah, thank you, daughter.” Thanos looked at her and praised, “Perhaps I treated you too harshly.”

At that point, Thor gave a growl and swung his axe aggressively and with a single swipe, he took off the Titan’s head, and Steve could do nothing but look down at the headless body, his chest heaving.

“What?” Rocket gasped, “What did you do?”

Thor was silent before he looked round the room and his eyes locked with Katie’s “I went for the head.” He answered simply before he turned and left.

“Thor?” Katie called out shakily stumbling after her friend. “Thor? Where are you going?”

“It is over. There is nothing more we can do.” His voice cracked as he turned to face her, placing his hand on her shoulder as he looked her square in the face. “I bid you farewell Little Stark.” With that he dropped a soft kiss onto her cheek and stared straight into her face, his eyes full of tears. “You have a big heart, full with fire. Never let that fire go out.”

And with that he held his axe high above his head. The Bi-Frost engulfed him and in seconds he was gone.

Katie’s legs gave way and she collapsed to the floor, numb. Thor was right, it was over. And there was nothing they could do about it. She jumped slightly as a hand dropped to her shoulder and she spun to see Steve, his eyes shining with his own tears, face giving away the devastation he felt inside as he knelt besides her, pulling her to him.

This was it, the absolute end of any hope they had.

****

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The pummelling noise his fists were making on the punching bags was like a mantra in Steve’s mind. With every blow he was landing, a different person and how he had failed them flashed in front of his eyes.

Katie, their baby, Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Tony…

This had always been his standard way of coping. When the pressures of his new life got to be too much, and he couldn’t sleep or cope, he would take out his anger on a punch bag or by running, but as the years had gone he had started to do it less and less, until he had pretty much stopped altogether.

In fact, he hadn’t done this really in any real anger, since Katie had gone missing, but then he hadn’t felt as angry and as useless as he did right now since then.

He pulled back his right fist and gave a particularly violent punch, scattering sand from the bag all over the floor. That one had hurt. He stopped, glanced down at his fist and grimaced. His knuckles were split wide open.  

“Steve?”

He heard Katie’s voice and he took a deep breath, grabbing the bag in front of him with his hand as he pressed his forehead against it, the bag gently spilling its contents onto the floor.  

“Stevie?” She repeated, stepping close and saw that her Soldier was trembling from head to toe, his T-shirt soaked with sweat as it clung to his body, his hair plastered to his forehead.  For a moment he didn’t speak, until he took a deep breath, and Katie almost didn’t hear him his response was that quiet.

“It’s my fault.”

Katie took a deep breath, blinking back her tears. Steve had been stoic since they had returned to the compound almost four weeks ago. But now, here he was stood before her, completely undone, his every part of his soul was dripping with guilt.

“We failed, remember?” Her voice shook at little as she took a step towards him, reaching out for his arm, but he jerked away, glancing at his hands which were trembling, blood dropping from his split knuckles to the floor.

He continued to look down, avoiding her gaze and gave a derisive snort. “Appropriate huh, blood on my hands. What kind of father would I have ever made?”

Before Katie could stop herself she’d slapped him across the face, hard enough to whip his head around to the side. His eyes widened slightly, the shock of the blow worse than the actual slap itself, but still he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. 

"Don’t.” She managed to say, stumbling over her words as her voice cracked. “Steven Grant Rogers, don’t you fucking dare!”

Steve shuddered as her words bounced off the walls of the gym and he finally looked at his wife. Katie’s anger drained away instantly and she reached up, cupping his face and smoothing the cheek she had slapped.

“Steve,” she looked straight into his eyes, “Tony always told me as a kid that as long as you can tell yourself honestly you did the best you could, then there is nothing else left for you to do. And we did the best we could.” She took a huge shuddering breath. “Yes, it wasn’t good enough but that is not on you, okay?” Her hands tightened their hold on his face as her own tears fell in time with his. “You’ve led us through thick and thin, been there, taken countless hits for us. The Avenger’s couldn’t have asked for a better Captain and I…” her voice cracked again as Steve stepped into her embrace and she whispered her last sentence into his ear, “I couldn’t wish for a better husband to be by my side.”

Steve buried his face in his wife’s hair, breathing in her familiar smell as the damn broke inside him and he simply cried until he had no more tears left to shed, Katie doing the same as she pressed her faced into his chest, her hands tightly fisting in his damp shirt.

“I don’t deserve you.” He croaked eventually. And he didn’t. She was so brave, strong and pure hearted. What had he ever done to be worthy of that?

“Yes, you do.” She sniffed, looking up at him. “You’re a good man Steve, and you’re my man. I love you more and more with each day that goes by.”

She slid her hands up to his cheeks again and he closed his eyes, breathing deeply, relishing her touch, allowing it to calm him the way it always did. Eventually, her hands moved down to take his, and she pressed a soft kiss to the ring on his left hand.

“Til the end of the line.” She whispered, before she leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close once more, her hands gently brushing through his hair as she soothed him softly, her lips brushing his cheek.

They stood there for a little while, neither speaking, Steve simply seeking out the comfort she was offering before she stepped back into his eye-line and reached up once more, brushing the tears off his cheek.

“Come on, Soldier.” She leaned up to press a soft kiss to his lips. “You need to rest.”

Steve didn’t argue, he was exhausted. Her fingers of her right hand tangled with his left, gently so as to not aggravate his bruised and battered hands, and he allowed her to lead him from the room.

**** Chapter 41 Part 1

**Original Posting**

[riotwritesthings]

Ode to Yoga Pants

OR the continued terrible mating dance of Bucky and Tony

AKA when betting on your friends stops being fun

Title: Ode to Yoga Pants Collaborator Name: Riot Bucky Barnes Bingo Square Filled: K5, Team Dynamics StarkBucks Bingo Square Filled: O5, “I’d like it if you stayed.” Ship/Main Pairing: WinterIron Rating: M Major Tags & Triggers: Mutually pining morons, humor Summary: OR the continued terrible mating dance of Bucky and Tony, AKA when betting on your friends stops being fun Word Count: 2,282

Here on AO3!

-

Tony is heading to the gym for Steve’s newly mandated team training time and yeah, he’s late, but he does have coffee. So at least he’s on brand.

It looks like everyone else has beat him here, which isn’t really surprising, and Tony tosses out a grin and wave in response to the unimpressed look Steve shoots him.

Then his eyes land on Bucky. Who is doing one armed pushups. Completely vertically, pointed toes up in the air and strands of hair falling loose around his face where it’s come loose from the hair tie. And he is in yoga pants.

They hug his calves, his ass, his thighs, tight black spandex with gray piping up sides and Tony is weak.

Forget team bonding, Tony needs to get out of here right now, before he makes a fool of himself. Except he spins too quickly, hot coffee sloshing over the rim of his mug and onto his fingers, and he’s so busy hissing over the sharp burst of pain that he walks straight into the door as it swings shut.

“Ack, fuck,” Tony gasps, more hot coffee splashing out across his hand, rubbing at his forehead and apparently he’s a little dizzy because he goes to take a step back and tilts to the side instead, bouncing off the wall.

He’s almost caught his balance, and then he trips over Sam’s stupid jump rope, and then his thighs hit the weight bench and he tumbles backwards over it, the last dregs of his coffee somehow ending up entirely on his chest.

“Damnit Wilson,” Tony grumbles, “I knew you were out to get me!”

There’s a soft chuckle from somewhere above him, and Tony pries his eyes open. He’s half expecting to see Sam, ready to defend himself and deny that he’s trying to kill Tony with workout equipment even though he very clearly is.

Instead it’s Bucky, leaning over him all shirtless and sweaty and concerned.

“You okay, doll?”

When Tony tries to speak all that comes out is a strangled gurgling sound, and Bucky’s concerned look gets deeper.

-

“Gross, they’re doing it again,” Sam complains, pausing mid situp to shoot a glare across the gym.

When Steve glances away from sparring with Natasha she takes the opportunity to pop him in the throat.

“This isn’t even funny anymore,” Natasha says while Steve coughs and hacks and gives her a dirty look.

“It stopped being funny weeks ago,” Rhodey says as he leans against the ropes of the boxing ring and shakes his head in disappointment.

“You’re just saying that because that’s when you were officially out of the betting pool,” Clint says with a snort.

“I really didn’t think it would take them this long,” he says with a morose sigh, “I’m ashamed.”

Steve makes a sound that might be agreement.

“New bet, how much worse can it possibly get?” Sam tries to joke, but he has a terrible feeling that it’s not a joke at all.

“I think we’re all the losers in that bet,” Natasha says as they all watch Bucky help a still clearly-swooning Tony out of the gym.

The poor pining morons don’t even notice they have an audience. Just like Bucky somehow doesn’t notice that Tony is literal putty in his hands, and Tony mysteriously doesn’t notice Bucky giving him the sappiest heart eyes ever.

It’s shameful, is what it is.

-

Tony lets Bucky drag him into the kitchen, sinks onto one of the stools when gently pushed in that direction, and he’s becoming uncomfortably aware that his shirt is still splattered with cooling coffee and probably clinging to his chest.

He should probably go change, and then maybe go hide out somewhere until he figures out how to deal with Bucky in yoga pants.

But before Tony can figure out how to convince his legs to actually move, Bucky is done digging around in the freezer and by his side again.

“Ow,” Tony says with an exaggerated wince as Bucky presses a bag of ice to the back of his head, and then nearly melts out of his seat when Bucky shushes him with a wide palm running down the back of his neck.

He’s not actually as rattled as Bucky seems to think he is, but Tony certainly isn’t going to correct him. It’s a much safer excuse than admitting his brain went to mush the second he saw Bucky’s thighs, all wrapped up and accentuated in tight black spandex, and it still hasn’t quite come back online.

From here, with Bucky standing beside him and gently holding his head still while Tony stares studiously at the floor, all Tony can see of Bucky is his foot. The tight black fabric ends just above the delicate bones of his ankle, his bare toes wiggling against the tile floor as he pulls the ice away and inspects Tony’s head.

Forget getting his brain working again, Tony is just trying to keep his stupid heart from crawling its way up his throat over ankles. Like some kind of repressed Puritan, Jesus.

Which means he can’t at all stop himself from nervously stuttering out “Those-those are uh, nice... you like yoga pants huh?”

There’s a vague sense of motion beside him, like Bucky is shrugging, as he says “They’re comfortable.”

“Uh huh, they-“ Tony starts to say, and then nearly swallows his tongue when Bucky steps around in front of him again.

His eyes automatically drag upwards, and it takes everything Tony has not to let himself linger, not to get caught staring at the frankly mouthwatering bulge of Bucky’s cock that his skin tight leggings are not doing a very good job of hiding.

He jerks his gaze up higher and it doesn’t help because oh god there’s Bucky’s chest, still bare and so close and by the time he finally manages to make himself look up at Bucky’s face he can’t breathe.

“They- uh, s-sure look it,” Tony stutters out, and furious blushing is totally a symptom of a concussion, right?!

Bucky’s smile stays warm and friendly, so he’s probably alright.

And all Bucky says is “You should try them! I can send you the site I got ‘em from, Nat recommended it to me.”

“Okay,” Tony squeaks and damnit he’s actually going to have to buy some yoga pants now. There’s no other way to play off his sudden fascination with them.

-

A week later, everyone has lost the bet.

They find the two morons asleep together on the couch, legs tangled and blankets wrapped around them both.

The entire team agrees it’s the most disgusting thing they’ve ever seen.

-

Steve is taking his frustrations out on a punching bag when Bucky suddenly ducks behind the bag, grabbing it and holding it still so he can hide behind it.

“What is this, why are you doing this?” Steve demands, rhythm thrown and half-debating just punching the bag anyways in the hopes that it’ll shake Bucky loose.

“Steve,” Bucky hisses, like he somehow hasn’t noticed that he already has Steve’s full attention, “Steve, I’ve made a terrible mistake.”

“What are you talking about?”

Bucky’s head pops out from around the punching bag, eyes fixed on something across the gym as he hisses “Tony bought yoga pants.”

Steve turns and sure enough, Tony and Natasha are standing near the sparring mats in matching black and gray patterned spandex.

“Does Nat get money every time she talks someone into buying those?” Steve has to wonder, because she has been relentlessly texting him the link too.

“Steve,” Bucky hisses again, “Steven. I can’t- how do I even- Steve-“

“What?!” Steve demands impatiently, because he really wants to go back to punching things, and not thinking about the awkward mating dance of his best friends.

“Look at his ass!”

Steve huffs and resists the urge to gag at the open reverence in Bucky’s tone. He does turn though, just in time to watch Tony bend over in a low stretch.

“Perfect little bubble, I just wanna bury my face in it and live there,” Bucky sighs.

“Huh,” Steve says, tilting his head a little to get a better view because damn, Bucky is not exactly wrong- “Ow!” He squawks when Bucky swings the punching bag into him, “you’re the one who told me to look!”

“Not like that!” Bucky snaps back. It looks like he’s considering hitting Steve with the punching bag again, and Steve holds up a single finger in warning.

“Do not,” he says sternly.

Bucky settles for just hugging the bag instead, gaze already drifting across the gym again. Steve has a terrible feeling he’s not going to get back to his workout.

“Please just ask him out,” Steve says plaintively, “pretend to act like a functional person.”

“How am I supposed to function when faced with The Most Amazing Ass Ever™️?!” Bucky demands, and then makes a weird whimpering sound as Tony no doubt does something. Like existing.

Steve refuses to look over, instead just sighing out “Get off my punching bag, you’re making this so weird.”

“I’m filin’ a complaint,” Bucky says, clearly not listening to him anymore and still staring with rapt attention at where Tony is apparently doing something fascinating. “These pants are supposed to be ‘super stretchy’ but they clearly did not count on boners cuz my dick is strangled.”

“Excuse me,” Steve says, already walking away, “I need to go vomit.”

Hell, next week he might skip mandatory team training.

-

Tony is laying on his stomach on the common room floor, propped up on his elbows as he pokes at his phone and kicks his feet lazily in the air.

He’s wearing bright red yoga pants today, and even Clint is not immune.

He catches himself after a couple seconds of staring at the swell and bounce of Tony’s ass, and gives himself a vigorous shake. That’s a good way to earn the Winter Soldier Death Glare.

Even if said Winter Soldier is too much of a disaster to actually do anything about his super obvious crush.

“So are yoga pants just the new thing?” Clint asks, climbing over the back of the couch and keeping his eyes safely on Tony’s face, because he does not want to be assassined to death today. “You’re just gonna wear them all the time?”

“They’re comfortable,” Tony says with an absent shrug, then grins up at Clint and wiggles his eyebrows as he adds “Plus, they make my ass look great.”

And Clint can’t exactly argue that, so instead he just flatly says “You’re going to give Barnes a heart attack.”

Tony looks confused for a split second, and then smiles widely.

“Because I pull them off so much better than he does?” he asks, striking a pose, and Clint seriously considers running away to join the circus. Again.

He’s not even sure if things will actually be better if they eventually get together at this point.

He should make that the new bet.

-

“I’m just saying,” Tony insists, and then raises his voice when Steve put his head down on the table and starts humming under his breath, “If I thought Bucky was actually interested, I would 100% be here for him. With open arms-“

“Well that’s actually kind of-“

“And open legs-“

“Tony-“

“And an open mouth,” Tony finishes, grinning and winking when Steve looks up at him with a glare.

“Tony, please, I don’t want to hear this,” Steve says, hands over his ears and he does actually look a little green.

“This is nothing,” Tony says with a scoff, giving Steve an unimpressed look, because he is weak. “You should hear the shit I say to Rhodey.”

“I would like to hear those things,” says a voice directly behind him.

Tony freezes, his entire body going cold, because he knows that low, warm, rumbling voice. He hears it in his dreams, and oh no oh no oh no, now Bucky knows.

So much for his plausible deniability.

His brain kind of goes staticy with panic for a second, and he’s only dimly aware of Steve rolling his eyes.

“Yeah my part in this conversation is done,” Steve says, and promptly bails.

When Tony’s brain finally reboots he finds that Bucky has taken Steve’s seat across the kitchen table.

Bucky is also just grinning at him, like he doesn’t find Tony’s borderline-obsessive crush at all creepy.

All Tony can think to say is “What.”

And then he realizes he doesn’t actually want an answer, doesn’t want to find out if Bucky is going to make fun of him, or if he thinks it’s all a joke. He can’t decide if that would actually be better or worse than being turned down gently, and he doesn’t intend to stay and find out.

“I’m just...” Tony sputters, face burning as he flails his way out of his chair, “Gonna- gonna go. Run away. Yep.”

“Wait,” Bucky says, eyes wide and halfway out of his own chair.

Tony freezes, because Bucky looks a lot like he feels. Thrown, surprised, confused and so hopeful that it’s terrifying.

“I-I’d like it if you stayed,” Bucky says slowly, then smiles crooked and nervous as he adds “Not that I don’t like watchin’ you walk away.”

It startles a laugh out of Tony, face flushing as he sinks back into his chair. “Okay,” he says, heart racing and smile almost painfully wide, “um, what?”

Bucky laughs, soft and low and warm, and finally finishes reaching across the table to take Tony’s hand in his own.

-

Clint wins the bet on how much worse their lives get once the love-struck morons start making out all over the place.

[machi-kun]

For the writing prompts, 48 ‘meeting again at the high school reunion’ :D

👀👀👀👀👀

****

“That’s Steve Rogers.” Tony gasps. “It can’t be. It - That’s Steve Rogers. Oh, my God!”

“Oh, my God.” Pepper says, long-suffering.

“Did you know about this?!”

“Yes, Tony, I keep tabs on every single one of our former classmates - of course not, why would I know this?”

“He’s tall!” Tony exclaims, maybe a little too hysterically, because a few heads turn in his direction, shooting him confused and worried looks. “He used to be shorter than me! And he was skinny, he had asthma, he - what happened to him?!”

Because something must have happened! Something, because people don’t just grow like that out of nowhere! Not that it hasn’t been years, because it has, but Tony thinks has the right to be shocked; He is not one for wet sciences and genetics, but he can’t imagine how much can he assign Steve Roger’s utter and complete transformation to “grow spurt” and not straight up “scientific experiment gone incredibly out of hand”, because that shouldn’t be possible. 

Steve used to go up to Tony’s shoulder - look at him now! What the hell.

“Can you calm down for a second, it’s not a big deal.” Rhodey says unimpressed.

“How can it be not a big deal-”

“It really isn’t.” Rhodey insists, sounding maddeningly bored. “People get grow spurts all the time, just because you didn’t doesn’t mean other people can’t either.”

Tony sputters, wildly offended. 

“And it’s not like he’s all that different. You can still definitely tell it’s him.” Rhodey muses, taking one long, considering glance at tall, built like a goddamned tank Steve Rogers, and he dares to snort a laugh at the sight of Tony’s utter bafflement. “And don’t act like you didn’t have the most ridiculous crush on him when he was small, because you did, and everyone knew. This is nothing new for you.”

“Not everyone.” Tony rebuffs, which is stupid, because what he meant to say is that he didn’t, he didn’t have a crush on tiny Steve Rogers, except maybe he kinda did, okay, and who is Rhodey to make fun of him for it, when he had a crush on Wilson for an entire year?

“Wow.” Pepper says, blinking slowly, halfway through a laugh. “That was very convincing, I am very impressed.”

“Actually - you know what, I will not stand here and have all these lies about me - I am leaving you both here.”

“Go talk to Steve, then.” Rhodey dares.

“Fine!” Tony says, huffing. “I will!”

He takes two steps forward - and stops.

“I-”

“Tony.” Pepper threatens before he can even turn. “Go.”

Alright. He can do this.

It’s just Steve Rogers. No big deal.

Christ, it’s Steve Rogers.

It should not be a big deal, but it kind of is. It is for Tony, at least. Okay, maybe Rhodey is right and Tony did have a bit of a crush on Steve back then, but - how could he not? Okay? Tony’s pretty sure half the class had been kinda in love with the guy, even if Steve used to be, and Tony’s quoting here, “like that” and “no one wanted to go out with him”. Which was, for starters, not true, because Tony would have definitely gone out with Steve if Steve had asked, and two - Tony knows for a fact that Steve and Sharon dated for a couple of months just after their graduation and Steve had definitely still been tiny when that happened, because they still talked back then.

Tony missed him, when he moved to the West Coast. He didn’t want to stop talking to Steve, it just happened. Steve had always been amazing. And gorgeous. And Tony liked him, a lot. Of course he missed him.

Tony just... He never told him that, because how could he? How could he tell Steve that and not completely give himself away, with that ridiculous crush of his? 

But he’s an adult now. He can handle Steve Rogers, as pretty and incredible and freakishly built he might be. He’s fine. He’s got this.

“Steve Rogers!” Tony bellows, with practiced ease and smugness, gesturing to Steve with unabashed appreciation. “Look at our leader, ladies and gentlemen!”

Steve turns to face Tony and - oh. 

Oh, Tony doesn’t have this. At all. Nope. 

“Tony.” Steve says, and his voice is deeper now, Tony feels like he’s going to combust. “God, it’s so good to see you!”

Tony has to look up to face him now - his absurdly blue eyes, his cheekbones, his lips - oh, Christ, Tony might still be a little bit in love with Steve Rogers.

“Great to see you too.” Tony pats him on the shoulder - all muscle, just like the rest of him now - and pretends he’s not shaking. “How long has it been?”

“Too long.” Steve smiles, and steps back so he can make room for Tony to step forward, and only then Tony realizes that the other people present, meaning the people he just rudely and loudly interrupted in favor of his flawless act of totally not being affected by the sight of Steve, are Wilson and Sharon. 

“Tony, hey.” Sharon greets him kindly, and Wilson surprisingly also cracks a smile and raises his drink in a welcoming gesture.

“The whole class rep team together!” Tony exclaims, a little delighted, a little fucking terrified. “Where is our resident troublemaker, then?”

“Standing right next to you?” Sharon laughs, and pays Steve no mind when he shoots her a very unimpressed glare. “C’mon, Steve, we all know between you and Barnes, you are definitely worse.”

“Yeah. And hey, you know just because we ain’t kids anymore doesn’t mean Barnes can’t kick your ass, right, Stark? In fact, he might kick your ass harder, so you watch out for that.” Wilson jokes, his expression full of amusement.

“Barnes loves me too much.” Tony says, and Wilson full-on snorts, the sound echoing in his cup as he takes a sip. “What? He does. We all know that his problem with me was because he secretly loved me and totally not because I broke his arm on PE once.”

“Was it now?” Steve teases, and Tony has to lock all his muscles like they’re made of stone to prevent himself from shivering. 

“Sure it was. You should know, Rogers.”

“Yeah.” Wilson laughs, half-hiding his shit-eating grin on his cup. “You should know.”

“You shut up.” Steve says, and when Wilson and Sharon laugh, his ears go adorably pink. “Why don’t you go talk to Rhodes?”

“Oh, yes, please do.” Tony exclaims, jittery with joy at the idea of making Rhodey’s life just a little bit harder. If he can poke fun at Tony, Tony is definitely allowed to poke back. “He’s gonna love seeing you, Wilson. Tell him I sent you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you just tryin’ to get Steve alone, you ain’t subtle.” Wilson jabs, but before Tony can even process the words fully, let alone react to them, Wilson claps a hand on his back and steps out, supposedly, to find Rhodey. “Good seeing you, man.”

And he just leaves. Worse, Sharon leaves too, with a nod and an all-too-knowing look in her eyes, and then, Tony is suddenly left alone with Steve goddamn Rogers, who Tony may or may not still have a ridiculous crush on!

“So.” Tony exhales, harshly. “No Barnes?”

Steve looks at him like he’s amused, smirking at a private joke. “Jerk’s late. I set him an alarm and everything, but you know how he is.”

“I do? I guess I have vague memories of our glorious highschool days but clearly, I missed something.” Tony jokes, trying to be suave, but Steve is smiling like the way he used to smile when Tony fumbled with his words, when Steve made him flustered; and it’s making him flustered all over again like Tony is still fifteen and very very charmed by the tiny class president. “Because I don’t remember you being...”

“This size?” Steve gestures to himself, and Tony is a weak man, because he can’t refuse the excuse to look.

“Guess you could say that.” Tony teases. “I didn’t know art school could do that to you. I would almost guess you joined the army.”

“You knew I went to art school?” Steve asks, delighted, and - shit. 

“You always talked about it, when we were younger. And I knew you could do it.” And because Tony’s mouth doesn’t know how to stay shut, he accidentally says, “And I’ve seen a show you did once. A gallery, I mean, an exhibition. The one in Boston?”

“The one for my family.” Steve clarifies, eyes going all gentle and fond. 

“Yeah, that one.” Tony clears his throat. “Sarah must have been really proud. How is she, by the way?”

“The same as always. Nothing can stop her from kicking my ass when I need it.” Steve admits, a little embarrassed, and Tony can’t help but give a hearty laugh because yeah, that’s the Sarah Rogers he remembers, and suddenly, he’s overcome with nostalgia for the afternoons he spent at the Rogers’ place, feeling far more comfortable than anywhere else in the world. 

“God, I miss Sarah.” Tony confesses.

Steve pauses, and he looks at Tony with such an intense gaze Tony can’t look away. “And she misses you. We still talk about you sometimes.”

Tony blinks. “You do?”

“Tony.” Steve tilts his head, playfully, like he can’t believe Tony’s surprise. “Ma practically adopted you the moment you stepped a foot inside her house. If I hadn’t stopped her, she would have trapped you there and never let you leave.”

“Well, for Sarah Rogers, I wouldn’t have minded that.” 

“Neither would I.” Steve says, to Tony’s complete shock, and his face blooms ina flush of heat, mortifyingly. “But I had enough problems on my plate without Jarvis breathing down my neck.”

“Jarvis loves you, he always did.” Tony complains, childishly, in reflex. “I was the one always getting a speech when it was you who was always getting into fights and getting us both bruised!”

“You didn’t have to fight with me.”

“I definitely did.”

“You should come over, sometime.” Steve offers, suddenly, talking fast, as if he’s trying to get the words out all at once. “See Ma again. She would love that.”

“I-” Tony chokes. “Are you sure?”

“Tony. I really missed you. We both did.” Steve gulps down hard, his jaw working almost hypnotically. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep in touch.”

Tony shakes his head frantically. “That wasn’t your fault. If anything, it was mine. It just - a lot of things happened, and-”

“We both had a rough time.” Steve interrupts, gently, and Tony gives him a silent nod. “I know it. But I think we both could use a win now, couldn’t we?”

Tony pauses. “Is taking me home to meet your mom a win, Rogers?”, he says, feeling daring.

“Definitely.” Steve says, coy, and slowly, he looks Tony up and down, all of him, as if he’s drinking in the sight, and that look, in Steve’s blue, sharp eyes, make Tony tremble where he stands. “And this time, I might not let you leave either.”

What happened to Steve Rogers! Tony wants to scream, mind going a hundred miles an hour, hysterical. I don’t know how to handle this!

“We can do that.” he says instead, nonsensical, short on breath.

“Alright.” Steve says, satisfied. “Give me your number.”

“What?” 

“Your number.” He smiles. “I’m not giving you the chance to second guess this, Tony. I know you. I’m calling you, and we’ll go out sometime. Does that sound ok?”

“Sounds awesome.” Tony admits, just a little winded. “I’d love that.”

“Good.” Steve puffs his chest out, just a little, like he’s proud of himself, and when Tony finally gets out a business card from his wallet and awkwardly writes his personal number on the back, it takes all his strength not to react to the brush of Steve’s cold fingers against his when he grabs the paper.

Steve stares at the number like Tony has just given him the greatest of gifts. 

And when he looks up at Tony and the sentiment in his eyes does not fade, Tony can’t do anything but exhale slowly, deeply, a ridiculously infatuated sigh.

“It’s great seeing you, Steve.” He says.

“You too.” Steve echoes, just as fond. “Can I call you tonight?”

Fuck.

“Yes.”

“Then I will.” He smiles.

Crap.

Tony definitely still is a little bit in love with Steve Rogers.

[mshermia]

Meet Cute - Webpril Day 12: Identity Reveal

summary: After Peter's identity is revealed, Tony's new favorite pastime is to tell the story of their first meeting to everyone that would listen. Repeatedly. Peter knows though, that the day Tony came to the apartment to recruit him wasn't really the first time they had met.

Or: Tony finds out that Peter was the kid at the Expo (tumblr prompt)

Read on AO3

###

It was safe to say that nobody had found more enjoyment in Peter's Spider-Man Identity being revealed than Tony.

Over the past few months since Peter's name had been everywhere from newspaper headlines to trending Twitter hashtags, Tony had used every occasion that presented itself to tell one story in particular. A story he had apparently been withholding from the world at great personal suffering.

"To be fair, I was a bit desperate for help so I had to move fast, but honestly..." Tony arched his brows with rehearsed ease. "...it's not like the kid was hard to track down. It was more like he was begging to be found."

It had been embarrassing at first. Well, truth be told it still was, only Peter had grown used to Tony's performance.

Tony sat up a little straighter, gesturing to himself. "I, of course, had been sitting on his aunt's sofa for the better part of half an hour trying to make small talk before Pete even showed up." With an exaggerated sigh, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "On time for once in my life and the kid goes dumpster diving on his way home from school."

Thor held his stomach laughing, at Tony's antics or Peter's own face in reaction to it, Peter wasn't sure. Now that he took the time to look around the group, he did notice that there weren't even any new people present that Tony could try to amuse with the story. No, it was only the team and MJ still standing next to him. They had all heard this story before, but apparently, that wouldn't stop Tony either.

"Of course, you know me, I tried to keep things subtle—"

Natasha huffed out a laugh. "Yes. Don't we all know that side of him... Tony Stark, paragon of subtlety."

But Tony wasn't phased by her interjection, if anything he only raised his voice a little to be heard above her bickering. "I did the whole thing, staring at him intently, winking, as I was laying the foundation with the internship. The kid..." Tony laughed like he just remembered it for the first time. "He was just staring at me like all his dreams had just come true. Well," Tony smirked. "Can't really blame him for that, right."

While Bucky looked a little bored, Sam and Wanda seemed thoroughly amused to hear this story for the umpteenth time.

"Honestly, it was just adorable. His little bambi-eyes widened in awe, sparkling. That little smile on his face... like the sun had come up. It was precious." Tony sighed with overacted bliss. "I don't think even Morgan has ever looked at me with that much adoration."

"Jeezes," Peter mumbled. He sucked in a deep breath, trying not to roll his eyes.

"Hey now..." Tony pointed at him. "Don't give me that look. You know it's true. We were both there."

Peter scratched the back of his neck and met MJ's eyes with a shrug. It's not like she didn't know the story. She might have even been one of the first ones to hear it, years ago, long before the public had known about Peter's secret identity. That was back in the good old days when Tony had had a lot fewer opportunities to tell it.

Just then, Barton walked up, his eyebrows raised. "Man, you still not done? I've heard this story like 50 times."

Tony's head spun towards him. "Listen, for 13 years I had to keep this basically to myself!" He pointed at Peter. "That one should be thanking me for all those years of self-control. It's a miracle that it didn't burst out of me somewhere along the way revealing his big secret."

Rubbing a hand across his face, Peter tried to estimate if a trip to the buffet might take long enough to skip the rest of the retelling. He jerked in surprise as a hand clapped his shoulder.

"Don't feel bad, Pete," Rhodey sighed. "He's majorly embellished the way we met as well."

"That's not really..." Peter scrunched up his nose. "I mean, it's pretty accurate, minus the way he talks about how my 'bambi-eyes widened in awe' when I saw him."

MJ turned to him, eyebrows raised. "That's what you think is embellished? You still look at him like that whenever he enters the room."

"Oh, shut up," Peter mumbled into his drink.

As Rhodey broke out in laughter, MJ moved a little closer. "It's really cute," she whispered in his direction.

Peter frowned, stealing a glance at her. "Huh?"

"You know..." Her hand clasped his, their arms entangled, her voice still low, only for him to hear. "All his teammates had abandoned him, he was separated from the woman he loved, and then he found you and fell in fatherly-love with you. You were like..." She tilted her head a little, before the smile on her lips widened. "...like his life raft. And here he is, bragging about it in front of them. It's adorable."

Peter grimaced, eyes shifting back to Tony. "That's so not..."

He hesitated, not sure what he felt. Tony was just reenacting the part of the story when he had found Peter's suit hidden in the hatch on the ceiling of his bedroom. There was something about the broad smile on Tony's face that Peter couldn't argue away.

"It's adorable," MJ repeated, squeezing his hand.

"Yeah, well..." Maybe... maybe she wasn't wrong. There was something about how much Tony seemed to love to tell the story, not even just when Peter was around. At one dinner party, Peter had walked in on a group of research assistants clinging to every one of Tony's words while he was already in the middle of telling the story. And as much as Tony tried to make it sound like a joke, his eyes were always soft, the smile on his face genuine.

No, MJ wasn't wrong. And Peter couldn't deny that he too enjoyed that part. Not the story, really, but the sense of enjoyment as he watched Tony's animated gesturing. As he watched how content Tony seemed, telling it.

He shrugged. "Yeah, well that might be the reason, I haven't said anything about how this wasn't even the first time we met." 

"Wait a second," Steve called out so loudly, it didn't just stop Tony but every other conversion in the room. He pointed at Peter. "You're telling me I've had to listen to a story that has Tony fawning over how much his kid fawns over him for like 10 times and it's not even true?"

"Er..." Peter's eyes went wide, painfully aware that the attention of the room was suddenly squarely on him. Super-senses were really no fun when you were on this end of it. "I mean, it's just.... I was definitely surprised to see him then..."

"Underoos!" Tony's hand clutched his heart, but his eyes sparkled with humor. "There's no shame in your adoration for your old man. You don't have to lie about how much it meant to you to meet me!"

His lips pursed, cheeks a little hot, Peter shook his head in irritation.

Rhodey frowned at him. "Wait, so you're saying it did happen like that?"

"I mean, yeah..." Peter shrugged, avoiding Tony's eyes. "It's just not like it was the first time I had ever laid eyes on him or whatever."

Next to him, MJ gasped. "Oh please, please tell me that it was at like an autographing session that you camped out in line for!"

"No..." Peter scratched his head.

"Go on, go on." Clint leaned a little towards him now, waving for Peter to continue. "I do want to hear that story!"

Peter's eyes flickered over at Tony but his face had gone blank. He didn't remember. Of course, he didn't. Peter had never expected him to. It had been a long time ago and it would be absurd to think that Tony could have picked him out from a crowd of people like that, that he could remember with all the people he had saved over the years. Peter bit the inside of his cheeks. It wasn't even a great story. In fact, objectively they hadn't met-met then just like... stood close to each other. It didn't even really count and—

"Hey, stop..."

Pulled out of his spiraling thoughts by Tony, Peter looked up, finding everyone's eyes still on himself.

"It's okay, kid." Tony's voice was surprisingly soft. "It's nobody's business, okay? And you..." He pointed at Natasha, no trace of the softness now. "Stop giggling like that, will you?"

"Oh, come on, you're just worried you made an ass of yourself." She leaned back in her chair, head cocked to the side.

"He didn't," Peter swallowed hard. "It wasn't like that, just..." MJ shifted next to him, her hand slipping back into his. "It was just a long time ago and..." He blinked up at Tony. "You wouldn't remember. It's fine. It's not a big deal. Your story is... is a lot more amusing and..."

But Peter still had the room's full attention on him, some eyes now narrowed, some eyebrows raised. His face had only grown hotter to the point that Peter could feel the heat in the tip of his ears.

"Well, erm..." He grimaced, giving in after all. "You, er... you remember the Stark Expo? Few... few years ago."

"Oh, do I..." Rhodey groaned.

"Yeah, well..." Peter struggled not to trip over his own words. "It was that. I... erm... I was there with my uncle and... and that's where I saw Tony for the first time."

There was a moment of silence.

"Yeah, no," Clint called out. "Doesn't count."

"Stop!" Natasha signaled for him to be quiet, then pointed at Peter. "You said met. So, did you see him or did you meet him?"

Peter blew out a low breath. "I mean... it was just... there was a whole lot of stuff going on with Hammer's soldier thing-ys and then stuff started to explode—"

"Hold up." Rhodey sat up straight all of a sudden. "That's the day you were at the Expo with your uncle? The night Vanko tried his little revolt?"

"That wasn't a revolt," Tony interjected, his face a little paler. "He made a bit of a scene, that's all."

Rhodey huffed, then mumbled, "Don't let Pepper hear you call it that."

But Tony's attention was squarely on Peter, along with everyone else's. "You were at the park that night?"

"Wasn't that in like..." Clint looked over at Natasha. "Like, in '09? Or '10?" His eyebrows raised, his gaze shifted back to Peter. "Weren't you like 5 then?"

Peter pulled in a long breath. No longer getting flustered by the other Avengers had taken him some time to learn but now, he had almost mastered it. "I was 8, actually."

Waving both his arms, Rhodey signaled for him to stop. "Let me get this straight. You met him during the attack? But Tony was—" Rhodey stopped himself, then cast a glance at Tony in turn. "That must have been during the evacuation?"

Tony didn't react at all though. He was still looking right at Peter, just sitting there almost eerily quiet.

"Yeah, well..." Peter cringed at the memory. He hadn't even realized then how real it had truly been. It had all seemed like part of the show. "Things got a little crazy and people started running. I lost Ben for a bit." It was easier looking at Rhodey, like he was speaking just to him, not a whole room full of Avengers, including Tony. "One of Hammer's drones landed right where I was standing and then Tony swooped in, came to stand right next to me, and blew that thing to smithereens."

Nobody had to know that Peter had thought it was just a show, raving to Ben about it all the way home.

There was a beat of silence until Clint slapped both his thighs and burst with laughter. "Oh god, that's epic."

Just like that, the rest of the group joined in, exchanging laughs and looks of disbelief.

Steve held out his hands in a futile attempt to shush the chatter and hearty laughter. "That can't be everything. You're trying to tell us, there was nothing dazzlingly smart-ass he said?"

"Well, actually," Peter bit his lip. "He said 'nice one, kid' and then just flew off."

Spluttering with amused laughter, Steve turned to Tony. "Do you even remember that?"

Carefully, Peter glanced over at Tony as well, finding his eyes still waiting. "Hey, if I had a list of all the heroic deeds I've done..." He shrugged, lips pulled into an crooked smile but Peter knew him well enough to recognize that it didn't hold the same ease as it had before.

With a couple more quips from Thor and Clint, the mood in the room quickly shifted back to it's prior camaraderie, but Peter didn't miss it when Tony got up. Without any fuss, he gestured to the door that led out to the balcony. Peter gave MJ's hand a soft squeeze before he followed Tony out there. It was a balmy late August night, the air so much purer, the sky a lot prettier than it was in the city.

Tony had his arms braced against the balustrade, looking up there with the serenity like they hadn't once see space up close and personal.

"Why did you never tell me?"

Peter shrugged as he stepped up next to him. "It's not important, is it? It was so long ago and I knew you wouldn't remember so—"

"Oh, excuse me!" Tony squinted at him from the side. "Who said that I don't remember, huh?" He tilted his head, one eyebrow raised. "Very sneaky by the way to leave out the ultra cool Iron Man mask and gauntlet that you tried to fight the evil robot with."

Peter's jaw dropped. "But... that's impossible."

Lips pulled into a soft smile, Tony looked at him with something in his eyes that had Peter blush once again. "You know, it's pretty adorable that you think I meet a lot of kids who put themselves on the line like that, breakneck as that particular fever dream was. Granted, I didn't put it together until just now but..." Tony blew out a soft laugh as his hand came up, squeezing Peter's shoulder. "Yeah, you really always have been that hero at heart, kid, hm?"

His eyes stung and he looked down at how his hands clasped the railing, trying to blink the emotions away.

The room behind them had gone back to normal. There was roaring laughter from Thor that drew everyone's attention and Tony was good enough to look away as Peter wiped at his eyes.

After a moment of silence, Tony cleared his throat. "I'm gonna petition the court to add this to the rescue tally."

Peter snorted out a genuine laugh. "It's so cute how you still think you'll even have a chance to beat me."

"Hey, I'm still in the lead! 54 to 36." He pointed a finger at Peter. "55 now!"

Peter smirked. "Yeah, whatever. I'm catching up quick and you don't go out there anymore, so it's only a matter of time when it's only me rescuing you anymore."

Tony gasped. "Did you just call me old?"

"I think I called you a pensioner. If you want to jump to the being old part, well..."

Biting his lip like it would stop him from grinning, Peter shot a couple of glances at him until Tony simply shook his head. He waved Peter closer and Peter went without a second thought. Tony's arms pulled him in a tight hug.

"It was a pleasure saving you from your overachieving kamikaze mission, kiddo," Tony sighed. "Again."

Peter laughed into his shoulder. "Yeah, thanks, dad."

"You keep using that word like it's a big gotcha," Tony mumbled.

Peter chuckled, couldn't even really pretend that he was embarrassed being called out like that.

"Alright then," Tony clapped a hand on his back but didn't loosen his hold on Peter at all. "Let's go and tell them all about your Iron Man merch, hm?"

"You wouldn't dare..."

At last, Tony pulled away from him, the smirk on his lips dangerously sparkling. "Oh, wouldn't I..?"

A nervous giggle bubbled out of Peter. "They'd never believe you though." He would have to act fast and destroy all the photographic evidence that May had surely still stored in some of the boxes of old prints.

"Yeah..." Tony pursed his lips. "Too bad that I don't ever keep the footage from old missions..."

Peter's jaw dropped. "No..."

"It's alright," Tony grinned. "I'll let you bribe me with cookies and hot milk."

"Isn't that Morgan's deal?"

"Hey," Tony shrugged. "I'm all for treating all my kids equally." Then his grin widened. "We can make it cookies and egg nog for you."

As Tony's arm came to rest around his shoulders, still joking about how cute he had looked in his Iron Man mask, Peter already knew what his next mission would be. Now all he had to figure out was how to bribe an AI.

[buckybarnesdollface]

The Beach House

Summary: Reader is insecure about her body on a vacation with the Avengers, but a certain supersoldier shows her he thinks she’s stunning.

Warnings: Smut

           When Tony had said he was taking the team on a retreat, a private beach house in Malibu certainly hadn’t been what I’d expected. The place was enormous, with over a dozen bedrooms, a home theatre, a pool, and access to its own private beach. After what the team had been through in the past year, Tony had insisted we all deserved to spend a little time relaxing and being pampered.

           In all honesty, I felt a little out of place being here with the rest of the Avengers. I’d only been recruited six months ago, and on tenuous terms – I’d originally worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. as a Level 6 agent, although I’d started in Level 5 as a biomechanical engineer. It was my knowledge of biomechanics that landed me at the Avengers compound. The Avengers had been in need of someone familiar with the subject, and Maria Hill – who had been my commander at S.H.I.E.L.D. and whom I’d remained close with after – had recommended me to Tony Stark. He had been reluctant considering him and Maria had been on unsteady terms since he’d fired her from Stark Industries, but when I created an implant for Rhodey that meant he didn’t have to wear the braces to walk I had been eagerly welcomed onto the team.

           Since then I had assisted with things such as successfully allowing Vision to hold his human appearance even without the mind stone, helping Dr. Banner control when he changes into the Hulk, and repairing/upgrading the tech in Sergeant Barnes’ arm. My place had initially been strictly in the compound, but when Tony found out I was also trained in espionage I was sent out on a few recon missions. And although in the last six months I had created friendships with the other Avengers, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t really belong here.

           “You do know that the whole point of bringing the team here was so that we could enjoy the sunshine, right, (Y/N)?” Tony said wryly as he walked into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of scotch. With a glass of lemonade in hand and a book tucked under my arm I had just been about to head to the den to curl up and read, which I explained to Tony. He shook his head.

           “You can read outside,” he said. “At least go sit by the pool and be around the rest of the team and act like you want to be here.”

           “I do want to be here,” I protested.

           “Then get your butt out there. I didn’t spend a fortune on this place for people to sit inside by themselves.”

           With a sigh, I allowed Tony to usher me out the patio door. Most of the team was either at the beach or in the city, but Steve and Bucky were in the pool tossing a football back and forth. I took a seat on the wicker rocking chair under the cover of a large umbrella and had just cracked open my book when I noticed that Tony was leaving.

           “Where are you going?” I accused, and he grinned.

           “Pepper is waiting for me on the beach.”

           I glared at him. “Then why did you drag me out here?”

           “Because some sun would do you good,” he replied, “and because you have to stop spending so much time alone. Now I gotta go, enjoy!”

           He waved as he disappeared down the path that led to the beach, and I was so annoyed I contemplated going back inside just out of spite. It was a beautiful day, though, and I had already settled in so I turned my attention back to my book.

           For awhile, it was nice – I read my book while in the background the guys continued their game of catch. It wasn’t as peaceful as being alone, but Steve and Bucky were the two least rowdy members of the team and I’d be lying if I said it bothered me having the two shirtless supersoldiers there. If I was going to be forced into company, at least theirs was unobtrusive and pleasant.

           It didn’t take long before more of the team returned, though. Sam came out of the house, having woken from a nap, and Natasha and Wanda had returned from shopping and had decided to come sunbathe by the pool. Suddenly I was feeling less than relaxed. With Sam thrown into the mix, Steve and Bucky’s game of catch was much louder and more aggressive. And with Nat and Wanda, who both looked like poster girls for a Playboy magazine, laying by the pool in the new bikinis they had bought I was feeling even more out of place than usual. I glanced down at the denim shorts and baggy t-shirt I wore and suddenly felt like a whale next to a couple of mermaids.

           “Sam, god dammit!” I heard Nat shout and I looked up to see that the football had landed in her lap, spraying her with water. Sam had the decency to look apologetic only for a moment before he snickered.

           “Maybe you shouldn’t sit so close to the pool if you don’t want to get wet,” he pointed out.

           “Maybe you should learn to throw a football,” Natasha retorted, tossing it back at him with a perfect spiral.

           “Those are fighting words,” Bucky taunted, and Sam grinned.

           “I propose a match. Guys against girls,” he said. “Losers cook dinner for the winners.”

           Wanda shook her head. “There’s only two of us and three of you. That’s unfair.”

           “(Y/N)!”

           Steve’s voice startled me, and I cursed internally as I looked up to see the five of them looking expectantly at me. I shook my head.

           “I’ll pass,” I said. “Football’s not really my thing, and I’m not in the mood for swimming.”

           “Oh, c’mon!” Nat said. “It’ll be fun! We can show these boneheads how it’s done.”

           “You wish,” Bucky snorted. I shook my head again.

           “Really, guys, I’m good. Maybe some other time.”

           I was hoping they’d drop it, but of course it was never that easy. “Is it that you can’t swim?” Sam asked.

           “I can swim,” I defended. In fact, I normally loved swimming. But with both Natasha and Wanda looking like goddesses in their skimpy bikinis and the three very fit guys, there was no way I was going to go put on my basic one-piece bathing suit and come back down just to feel insecure.

           “You haven’t been in the pool once since we got here, (Y/N),” Steve pointed out gently. “There’s got to be a reason.”

           “Tony said the retreat was for relaxing,” I replied, a slight bite to my tone. “Your idea of relaxing may be playing games in the pool, but mine is not.”

           Steve held up his hands in surrender and I felt bad. He truly was one of the nicest people on the team and I hadn’t meant to snap at him, but my patience had expired and I was starting to resent Tony for forcing me to be more social.

           Not knowing what else to say and feeling awkward, I got up and headed inside. I looked out the kitchen window to see that Nat and Wanda had jumped in the pool and the five of them were laughing and having fun. With a pang of jealousy, I retreated to the den with my book.

           The next day, I stood in the full-length mirror in my room and stared at my reflection. I’d put on my bathing suit – a black one-piece with a corseted neckline that showed a modest bit of cleavage. Although it did make my breasts look good, I couldn’t help but take note of everything I hated – the less-than-flat tummy, the cellulite on my thighs, the rolls that even the black material couldn’t hide…I thought of how Natasha and Wanda had looked in their bikinis, and a noise of disgust pushed its way from my throat. I peeled the bathing suit off and threw on some shorts and my old Star Wars t-shirt before making my way downstairs and out the patio door to the deck.

           It was still fairly early, the morning sun warm and the birds chirping. Most of the team was still asleep or watching TV in their pyjamas so I had the backyard to myself. I walked over to the pool and sat down on the edge, letting my bare feet dangle in the water. It was cool but not cold, just enough to feel refreshing in the Malibu heat. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, letting the sun warm my face.

           “I…I don’t mean to intrude,” a soft voice said behind me, and I turned to find Bucky standing there with an apologetic look on his face. “Steve made breakfast; he saw you were awake and was wondering if you wanted some.”

           I blushed and ducked my head, embarrassed that he’d caught me in a vulnerable moment. “Uh, yeah, sure,” I said. “I’ll be right in.”

           Bucky nodded and then headed back inside. I waited a moment and then followed.

           Later that night, we decided to throw a party on the beach to celebrate our last night in Malibu before returning to New York and to work. A big bonfire roared on the beach, and some of the team had started a game of beach volleyball. Clint and Scott were manning the barbecue, and the guys were pounding back hamburgers and hot dogs as quickly as they could make them. I had to admit it was nice seeing the whole team so carefree and having fun. I even convinced myself to join in on a game of volleyball with Peter, Wanda and Thor, and found myself laughing as Thor tried to rein in his strength to make it a more even playing field.

           As it got dark the party only intensified, but I found myself growing tired of the prolonged social interaction. Waiting until I was sure no one would notice, I slipped away from the party and made my way back up to the house.

           At night the back deck was lit with thousands of fairy lights. I once again sat down on the edge of the pool, contemplating going for a swim while everyone else was down on the beach, but before I could get up to change into my bathing suit a shadowy figure appeared on the path. I stiffened, but when he stepped into the light and I saw it was Bucky I relaxed slightly.

           “This feels like deja-vu,” he chuckled, and I gave him a small, shy smile.

           “How come you aren’t at the party?”

           “I saw you leave. I wanted to make sure everything was alright.”

           I flushed as a weird feeling blossomed in my stomach. “I’m fine,” I assured him. “Just needed some air. I love the team, but sometimes these parties can be…”

           “A little too much?” Bucky finished for me and I nodded. He gave me a small smile before coming to sit next to me, dipping his own feet in the water. He stared down towards the beach as he spoke. “I know better than most how it feels to be overwhelmed around people,” he murmured. “I know how easy it is to isolate yourself when you’re the newest team member and you feel out of place, but trust me when I say that everyone wants nothing more than to make you feel like a part of the family. Speaking from experience, they will keep trying to include you in things until you cave and just go with it.”

           I pursed my lips and shook my head. “I don’t isolate myself –”

           “(Y/N), c’mon. If you aren’t on a mission or in your lab working, you’re off somewhere alone with your nose buried in a book.” Bucky chuckled. “I get it, it’s tough when everyone else already has a history with each other. But the team thinks you’re great. Trust me.”

           I finally turned my head towards him to find he was already looking at me. I bit my lip, my cheeks still warm.

           “When I was a part of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” I explained, “I felt like I was on an even playing field with everyone else. Sure, there were those with higher clearances than me, but we were all just human. But now…” I trailed off. “I’m surrounded by highly trained assassins and the world’s smartest people and superhumans and a god. Of course I’m going to feel out of place, I’m the least qualified to be here.”

           Bucky’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “If you were unqualified to be a part of the team, (Y/N), then Maria would have never suggested you for the job and Tony would have never recruited you. The team is lucky to have you.” He grinned and flexed his metal arm. “Besides, if it weren’t for you, I would have to go all the way to Wakanda whenever I needed maintenance on this thing. You certainly give Shuri a run for her money.”

           For what felt like the hundredth time that night I blushed. Bucky and I had been alone together on a few occasions when I was working on his arm, but this felt different. It was personal, and if I was being honest, I’d had a small crush on the supersoldier since I’d met him six months ago. I was suddenly highly aware of the fact that we were alone.

           “So this is the second time I’ve found you out here by the pool,” he pointed out after a moment of silence. “I know you like to swim, (Y/N); you use the pool at the compound all the time.”

           I shot him a confused look. “How did you –”

           “You aren’t the only one awake at ungodly hours,” he chuckled. “I have a hard time sleeping. Nightmares. I’ve seen you sneak to or from the pool on a few occasions.” He shook his head. “So why were you so reluctant to swim here? The pool here is so much nicer than the one at the compound.”

           Suddenly my throat was dry and I turned my head away from him. “If I tell you, you’ll think it’s stupid,” I mumbled.

           “I promise I won’t. Tell me, (Y/N).”

           “I just…I don’t feel comfortable around the team,” I admitted, my eyes trained on my lap. “Everyone is all so in shape. Hell, Nat and Wanda look like frigging supermodels walking around here in their bikinis. And then there’s me. I already feel like an outsider, but if I was next to them in their bikinis, I just…I couldn’t do it. It’d just make me feel worse about myself.”

           For a moment we sat in silence, but I could feel Bucky’s eyes on me. I had never told anyone about my insecurities like that before, especially not to a man as gorgeous as Bucky Barnes. When he still hadn’t spoken I began to panic, worried I’d made a mistake in opening up, but finally his soft voice broke through the silence.

           “(Y/N)…(Y/N), look at me.”

           When I didn’t move, he shifted his body towards me and then lifted his flesh hand to take my chin gently between his thumb and forefinger to direct my gaze to his. His blue eyes were soft as he looked at me.

           “Are you kidding me?” he breathed. “You wouldn’t join us in the pool because you were scared of what people would think of you in a swimsuit?”

           I frowned and pulled away from him. “You don’t get it,” I snapped. “You’re just as in shape as the rest of them, if not more so. I’m the only one on the team without abs.”

           Bucky shook his head. “Do you think you’re the only one with insecurities, doll? We’ve all got ‘em,” he said to me. “You seem to think that Natasha is so perfect, for example, but you know how much she hates that scar on her abdomen from the time I shot her.”

           I shook my head. “It’s a little scar, I don’t know why it’s such a big deal to her.”

           “And what about me? Do you know how long it took me to feel even somewhat comfortable wearing short-sleeved shirts, let alone no shirt at all, around the team? I was ashamed of my arm and I hated the scarring on my shoulder from it. A year ago, I wouldn’t have been in this pool because I always felt like everyone was staring. But you know what? I was tired of missing out on things because of my anxiety and I quickly found out that everyone on the team had better things to do than judge me about a metal arm and some scarring.”

           “I know it sounds ridiculous,” I groaned. “But it’s the way I feel. Whenever I’m around the two of them I feel like a boulder next to diamonds.”

           Bucky snorted, and I glared at him. He shook his head apologetically. “I’m sorry,” he breathed. “I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that you think you’re any less beautiful than Natasha or Wanda.”

           “I’m not blind,” I retorted. “They have supermodel bodies. I can’t compete with that.”

           “Why do you feel like you have to? This isn’t a competition, (Y/N). Your size doesn’t determine your worth as an Avenger or as a person, so it shouldn’t matter.” He grinned before standing and tugging his t-shirt over his head. “And for what it’s worth,” he said as he tossed the shirt onto the deck, “back in my day, a woman with a body like yours drove men wild.”

           My eyes widened as I felt the blood rush to my face. “What are you doing?” I asked him.

           “Going for a swim. You gonna join me?”

           I shook my head in protest. “I’m not wearing a bathing suit…”

           “Neither am I,” he laughed. “That’s what underwear are for.” Bucky slid his shorts from his hips, leaving him in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. He grinned mischievously at me before jumping into the pool. “C’mon!” he called when he resurfaced.

           “Bucky, I don’t…I can’t…” I stammered, but he was already swimming over to me. He stood, his hands on the concrete on either side of my thighs as he looked up at me.

           “Come on, (Y/N),” he murmured. “Please? Just let yourself be carefree for once. If it makes you feel better, I won’t look until you’re in the pool.”

           I pursed my lips, but there was no way I could say no to him, not when he was looking at me like that with those impossibly blue eyes. Finally, I rolled my eyes and groaned.

           “Fine.” I said. “But turn around. Don’t move until I say.”

           Bucky obeyed, a grin on his face, and I stood up to yank the t-shirt over my shoulders before shimmying out of my shorts. For a minute I stood there with my arms crossed over my chest, feeling terrifyingly exposed. At least I had thought to put on my matching black lace bra and panties earlier that night. Taking a deep breath, I slipped into the water quietly, making sure the water was deep enough to come up past my chest before I spoke.

           “Okay,” I said softly, and Bucky turned. He grinned at me.

           “Was that so hard?” he teased.

           “Harder than it should have been,” I admitted, and Bucky’s grin turned into a sympathetic smile.

           “I don’t want you to ever feel insecure or uncomfortable around me, (Y/N). I’ve always got your back, okay?”

           I could only nod, at a loss for words. Hesitating, I let myself step deeper into the pool until my feet no longer reached the bottom and I had no choice but to swim. I had to admit it felt good; swimming had always been my favourite way to relax.

           “So, are you sure you don’t mind missing the party?” I asked Bucky as I swam a lap around the pool. He shook his head.

           “Nah, I’m happy where I’m at right now.”

           Warmth spread through my body, and I smiled to myself. We swam in comfortable silence for a little bit, just enjoying the peace and quiet. At one point I came up for air, pushing the hair back from my face and not realizing I’d come up in the shallow end and the water barely reached my hips. I opened my eyes and found Bucky standing a few feet away, his eyes locked on me and his jaw slack.

           Cheeks burning, I quickly dropped to my knees in the water and wrapped my arms around myself tightly, horrified. “You’re staring,” I accused in a shaky voice, and Bucky’s eyes widened as if he’d just realized what he’d done.

           “Shit, I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to, (Y/N). It’s just…you’re…”  

           He was rambling, clearly uncomfortable, and I frowned as tears stung the backs of my eyes. “I get it,” I muttered, but Bucky shook his head.

           “I don’t think you do get it, doll,” he murmured, his voice huskier than it had been before. When my brow furrowed, he took a couple of steps towards me, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “It blows my mind just how much you don’t get it.”

           “Do you have a point to make,” I snapped weakly, “or are you just going to keep making me feel shitty about myself?”

           “You have no reason to feel shitty about yourself, (Y/N); especially not with me.” He took another step closer, then another. “You’re perfect.”

           “Wait…what?” I shook my head, confused. “Bucky, what the hell are you talking about?”

           “You, silly girl. I’m talking about you,” he murmured. “You’re beautiful. I’ve thought so since the first time I laid eyes on you, and it kills me that you don’t see it. If you could see what I see, see how absolutely stunning you are…”

           At this point my head was swimming. This was a joke; he was messing with me, knowing that I was at my most vulnerable right now.

           But Bucky wouldn’t do that – He was one of the kindest people I knew. And all I had to do was look at his eyes to know he was being sincere.

           “Why?” I whispered.

           “Why what?”

           “Why me? You could have any girl you wanted…”

           “I want you, (Y/N),” he insisted. By now he was standing in front of me, and when I wouldn’t stand he sank to his knees so we were more at eye level. “I don’t know how to say it to make you believe me, but I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen and god, I would spend every day of my life making sure you knew it if you’d let me.”

           For a minute I couldn’t speak. I just stared at him, shocked as a lump formed in my throat, and then tears were spilling down my cheeks. Bucky’s eyes widened.

           “Don’t cry, doll, shit. Did I say something wrong?” he breathed. “I didn’t mean to upset you…”

           “No,” I said, shaking my head as I swiped at my tears in embarrassment. “You did nothing wrong, Bucky. I just…I keep waiting to find out this is all a joke but you’re serious, aren’t you?”

           Bucky’s face softened. “Of course I’m serious! I’ve been wanting to tell you this for months but I just never knew how.” He chuckled, his cheeks tinted a light pink. “You’ve got no idea what you do to me, doll. Walking around the compound in those leggings and your loose t-shirts, hinting at what’s underneath. You’re sexier all covered up than those other girls are in their bikinis.” He bit his lip. “Do you know how many times I’ve had to leave the gym while you’re training because of what you do to me?”

           Heat flooded my body, and if I weren’t already on my knees those words certainly would have brought me to them.

           “Bucky…”

           “I don’t want you to think I got you into the pool just so I could get you to take your clothes off,” he said quickly, looking suddenly embarrassed. “I truly did just want to help you move past your insecurities. But then I saw you and honest to god, doll, you took my breath away.”

           I ducked my head. “Not even a part of you wished I was thinner?” I asked in a quiet voice. Bucky reached out to cup my cheeks in his hands.

           “Absolutely not,” he said firmly. “I grew up in a different time, doll. One where women had curves and were desired even more for it.” His hands slid from my face to my shoulders, then down my back to rest on my waist. The contrast between the warmth of his flesh and the chill of the vibranium sent shivers through me, and he grinned. “Besides,” he murmured, “I like having something to grab onto when I’m with a woman.”

           Bucky’s fingers dug gently into the flesh of my waist and I inhaled sharply. He held my eyes and I could feel heat pooling in my stomach as I watched the blue in his eyes slowly turn black as the reflection of the fairy lights made them glitter.

           “Bucky?” I whispered breathlessly.

           “Mmm, doll?”

           “Kiss me.”

           Bucky’s grip tightened on my waist as he pulled me closer, and then he inclined his head until his lips just barely brushed over mine. He waited a few seconds, uncertain, but when my hands reached up to clasp behind his neck and pull him back to me his lips pressed against mine with more pressure. My fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck, tugging gently, and Bucky groaned into my mouth, giving my tongue access to explore. I dragged it lightly over his bottom lip before touching it to his, and suddenly we were no longer on our knees. Bucky had pulled me up and lifted me into his arms, my legs straddling his waist as he carried me over to the edge of the pool. He sat me down, his body still between my legs, and kissed me with fresh vigor as his hands roamed over my thighs.

           I broke the kiss, ducking my head. Suddenly I felt too exposed and Bucky could tell because he took his hands from my thighs to instead intertwine them with my own hands.

           “(Y/N), hey,” he murmured. “It’s okay, if you don’t want to do this…”

           I shook my head. “It’s not that, I just…” I trailed off, biting my lip. The next thing I knew, Bucky was lifting my hand to lay it flat against his chest, right where flesh met metal. My eyes widened slightly and he gave me a small smile.

           “Bucky…” I whispered. I had touched the arm countless times when I was doing maintenance on it, but he had made it very clear from the beginning that no one was to touch the scars. And now here he was, encouraging me to do so.

           “It’s okay, doll,” he murmured, his voice husky. Hesitating, I ran my fingertips lightly over the puckered skin, still an angry pink even all these years later. I could feel him shiver underneath me but he didn’t move, his eyes trained on my face as I traced the jagged lines.

           “Do they still hurt?” I asked quietly, and Bucky shook his head.

           “Not really. Once in awhile I’ll get a ghost pain as a reminder of how it happened, but more than anything it’s just ugly.”

           I leaned in to press my lips softly to the scars. “Nothing about you is ugly.”

           Bucky pulled my lips back to his as his hands slid back to my thighs. “That’s the point I’m trying to make, doll,” he murmured. “I could say the same thing about you.” He slid his hands further up my thighs and I could feel my body reacting to his touch. The heat in my stomach had returned and my body shifted until I was pressed against him, my legs wrapping around his torso while he deepened the kiss. His hands moved from my thighs to my hips, fingertips gliding over my flesh and sending shivers up and down my spine.

           When his fingers reached the clasp of my bra I froze, and he pulled back from me to meet my eyes. “If you want me to stop…”

           “No, I don’t, but…right here? Bucky, we could get caught…”

           He shook his head. “Everyone’s too wrapped up in the party, no one will bother us for awhile.”

           “And if you’re wrong?”

           With a noise that could only be described as a growl, Bucky was climbing out of the pool and pulling me to my feet. Before I knew it his hands slid under my thighs and he lifted me up as if I weighed no more than a bag of flour, wrapping my legs around his waist and carrying me towards the house. Shifting my weight to one arm to open the door, his lips attacked mine as soon as we were inside. My hands tangled in his hair as our lips fought each other for dominance, and when my legs tightened around Bucky’s waist he backed into a table and knocked a vase of flowers to the floor. It shattered and Bucky disconnected his lips from mine in annoyance.

           “Shit,” he swore as I giggled.

           “You might wanna be more careful, Sergeant,” I teased. “Tony’s probably gonna get charged for that.”

           Bucky’s eyes met mine, blue irises nearly swallowed whole by his pupils. “Call me that again,” he growled, and I arched an eyebrow.

           “Sergeant?”

           “Fuck,” he groaned, his fingers digging into the flesh of my thighs as my back hit a wall. His mouth was all over me and his touch was dizzying, and I tightened my grip on his shoulders. I could feel my control fading, more quickly than it ever had with anyone else. I pulled my lips away from him with a gasp.

           “If we don’t get to a bedroom right now,” I said to him, “then someone’s gonna walk into this kitchen and get a show they aren’t expecting.”

           With a wicked smirk, Bucky made for the stairs and took them two at a time. His room was closer and we crashed through the door, lips still locked together and hands exploring hot, damp skin. Bucky kicked the door closed behind us and then set me on my feet, hands still lingering at my waist.

           “Fuck, you’re so beautiful,” he murmured huskily, and my cheeks burned. Suddenly I was shy again and my legs felt weak. I set a hand on his arm to steady myself and his grip on my waist tightened. “(Y/N), if you don’t want to do this we can stop right now,” he said in a quiet voice, his tone gentle and sincere. “I would never ask you to do something you don’t want to do.” He lifted one hand to brush a wet strand of hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear. “All I want is for you to know how stunning I think you are.”

           My breath hitched and I looked up to meet his ocean-blue eyes. “I do want this,” I whispered. “I want you, Buck. More than anything.”

           “That’s all I needed to hear,” Bucky murmured, and then he was leaning in to kiss me. It wasn’t like the other kisses, that had been all passion and lust; no, this one was soft and sweet and fueled by pure emotion. When he slowly pulled away, he nuzzled his nose against mine affectionately before meeting my eyes.

           “It would be so easy to just ravage you right now,” he said in a low, even voice that sent shivers through my body, “but shit, doll, I want to do this right. I wanna take it slow and memorize every inch of you, have you squirming underneath me till you’re beggin’ me to stop and I’ve ruined you for all other men.”

           As he spoke his Brooklyn accent came through and that, paired with his words, sent a wave of heat crashing through my body. I couldn’t stop the whimper from escaping my mouth, and Bucky’s lips curved into a smirk.

           “That sound good, baby doll? You want it nice and slow? Want me to ruin you so I’ll be the only one to ever be able to satisfy you again?”

           I had never heard Bucky talk like this; I hadn’t even known this side of Bucky existed. He was usually so reserved, and on the occasion that he did let his guard down he was still the early twentieth-century gentleman he had been raised to be. But this…Now I was starting to understand why Steve was always saying that Bucky had been such a ladies’ man back in the day. If he’d talked like this to any woman, she would’ve been lifting her skirts for him in seconds.

           I wanted to say something witty, something along the lines of “Why don’t you use that talented tongue of yours for something else,” but in that moment my wits had completely escaped me and I was a hot, flustered mess. Instead, I barely managed to muster a breathless “Yes” as I looked up at him with half-lidded eyes. He lifted his flesh hand to run a calloused thumb over my lips. In a brief moment of bravery, I grazed his thumb with my teeth and then sucked it into my mouth, my eyes not leaving his.

           Bucky’s eyes widened. “Shit, doll,” he swore softly, and then his hands were tugging me closer until my body was flush with his. His hands moved to grip the flesh of my backside, one cold and one hot on my skin, and I moaned into his mouth as he kissed me. I could feel the outline of his manhood against my hip, solid and large, and when I shifted against it his hands on me tightened.

           He backed me up until my legs hit the bed and then he was lowering me onto the mattress, crawling up after me until his body hovered above mine. He held my eyes for the briefest of moments and then I was pulling him back into a kiss. He pressed his hips down into mine and in return I bucked up into him, craving the friction I needed to relieve the pressure building inside me.

           Bucky slid a hand underneath me to undo the clasp of my bra with deft fingers, and then he broke our kiss to trail his lips down my throat to my collarbone as he slid the damp garment from my shoulders. My nipples, hard from a combination of the cool dampness of my bra and my arousal, stood erect as my chest heaved with ragged breaths. Bucky’s eyes were pools of black in the dark room, tongue darting out to wet his lips as he drank in the sight before him.

           “Touch me,” I begged in a raspy whisper, and then his hands were on me – one cool and smooth and the other hot and rough – roaming over my curves but purposely avoiding my breasts. He finally cupped them softly, fingers kneading flesh, and when his thumbs brushed over my nipples, I arched up into him with a soft moan.

           “Such a good girl,” he murmured. “Promise I’ll take real good care of you, doll.”

           His hands slid down my body at an agonizing pace, and with them so did his mouth. He latched onto a nipple and sucked it gently into his mouth and his name left my lips in a breathless plea. He moved onto the other nipple, his hands slowly sliding further down my body. When the fingertips of his metal hand reached the waistband of my underwear he hesitated, his eyes meeting mine.

           “Tell me what you want, doll,” he murmured.

           “I want you…” I whined, but Bucky shook his head.

           “That could mean anything. I need you to tell me exactly what you want; I’m not doing anything until you do.”

           I was so strung out already and he’d barely even touched me – I wasn’t even sure I could form coherent sentences at the moment. “Your hand,” I managed to rasp, and when his flesh hand inched up my thigh I shook my head and reached out to grasp his wrist. “No. The metal one.”

           Bucky’s eyes widened. “(Y/N), I –” he choked, but I cut him off.

           “You asked what I wanted,” I pointed out, and then in a softer voice I added, “Please.”

           Blue eyes burned as his left hand slid up my thigh slowly, pushing the black lace aside and exposing the heat between my legs. He let out an almost-silent groan at the sight.

           “Already so wet for me, doll,” he whispered, voice thick with desire. His metal digits swiped through my wetness, spreading it over my folds, and I let out a shuddering whimper at the contrast of his cool fingers on my aching heat. He continued to run his fingertips through my folds, and once he was satisfied he sank one and then two fingers into me, drawing out an obscenely embarrassing moan from my lips.

           “Don’t hold back, doll,” he murmured. “I wanna hear every pretty little noise that comes out of that pretty little mouth.”

           As he spoke, Bucky flexed his fingers inside me and I cried out, back arching off the mattress. He smirked.

           “So tight, doll,” he praised. “Gonna feel so good around me when I’m inside you.”

           “Bucky…” I whimpered, and when he pulled his fingers out of me I let out an exasperated whine that set him to chuckling.

           “Don’t worry, doll, it’s only for a second,” he assured me, and then he was on his knees between my legs and tugging my damp panties from my hips. “I gotta make sure you’re good and ready for me, you’re so tight I wanna make sure I don’t hurt you.”

           I didn’t have time to respond before two thick metal digits were once again filling me up and his tongue left a hot, wet stripe up my folds to my clit. I let out a strangled gasp, hips bucking up into his face as my hands instinctively tangled in his damp hair. I tugged on the dark locks and Bucky groaned against my folds, sending vibrations through me that freshly slickened his fingers and tongue. He began to slide his metal fingers in and out of me at a steady pace, not rough but not exactly gentle either, and the feel of his fingers curling against my inner walls combined with the way his tongue drank down everything I had to offer him and his lips wrapped around my clit had me on the edge in no time. With one last hard suck my moan evolved into a strangled scream, his name falling from my lips in heated ecstasy. He brought me down with kitten licks as his fingers slowed, and then his teeth nipped the inside of my thigh affectionately before he slid up my body to kiss me languorously.

           I could taste myself on Bucky’s lips and it fueled my desire. I locked my legs around his waist, grinding my still-sensitive wet heat against the bulge in his boxer briefs. He let out a grunt and rolled his hips into mine, teeth grazing the skin of my throat.

           “No more teasing,” I said breathily. “Need you inside me…Now. Please, Buck, I can’t wait another second…”

           Not needing to be told twice, Bucky shed his boxer briefs and then his body was over mine again. I could feel his length, hot, heavy and solid against my hip, and I reached down between us to take him into my hand. Bucky let out a small hiss, and butterflies filled my stomach when I realized how large he was. Now I understood his comment about getting me ready had been more than just dirty talk. As I slid his length through my slick folds to coat it in my juices, though, I concluded that he would have no trouble; the feel of his hard cock against me was enough to have me dripping with fresh arousal.

           “(Y/N), fuck,” he said through clenched teeth, and with a demure smile I lined him up with my entrance and let go of him.

           “Ruin me, Sergeant,” I murmured, and with a purely animalistic growl Bucky sheathed himself fully in me in one slow thrust.

           We both let out long, low groans, and Bucky held himself still as I squeezed my eyes shut and adjusted to his size. The stretch of my walls around him bordered on painful, but it was overshadowed by the deliciously satisfying feeling of being so completely full of such a beautiful man. A beautiful man who was looking down at me with both undeniable adoration and feverish restraint.

           “Just tell me…just tell me when,” Bucky grunted, and I realized he had been holding his breath. Wickedly, I squeezed my walls around him and he gasped, blue eyes wide as he let out a string of curses from his kiss-swollen lips. He fixed a glare on me and shook his head. “Do that again, doll, and this is gonna be over before we’ve even had a chance to start.”

           “So start, then,” I said in exasperation, and with a glint in his eyes Bucky pulled out almost all the way only to thrust back into me with force, knocking the breath out of me. In a few thrusts I was matching Bucky’s rhythm, hands on his back pulling him as close as humanly possible to me as nails dug into flesh.

           The room quickly filled with the grunts and moans of passion, accompanied by the sound of skin on skin. Bucky’s hands slid under my thighs to lift my legs and wrap them around his waist – This new angle not only let him hit that elusive spot in me that even I often had a hard time finding, but it also had his pubic bone grinding against my clit every time he pounded into me. Within seconds this new position had me keening, and Bucky grinned down at me before nuzzling his face against my neck.

           “That feel good does it, baby girl?” he panted into my ear, every word punctuated by a calculated thrust of his unforgiving length into my yielding heat. “You got me so fucking hard, seein’ how wrecked you are underneath me. Wanna draw those pretty noises from you all night long till everyone knows how good I make you feel.”

           “Bucky…” I whined, nails biting deeper into the taut flesh of his back as he drove into me fiercely. “Buck, I’m…”

           As quick as he started, his movements stopped. I opened my mouth to protest, breathless and hopelessly strung out, but with his length still inside me he flipped us over so I was straddling his hips. In this position I could feel him even deeper inside me, something I hadn’t thought possible, and with a moan my head fell back. I could feel him chuckle beneath me, and then his hands were on my hips and he was rocking me against him slowly.

           I took over the movements, grinding my hips against his until we were both groaning in pleasure. Bucky’s hands slid up my thighs, over every curve and up to my breasts. He took them into his large hands and brushed his thumbs over my nipples, bringing a breathless moan from my lips as I arched into his touch.

           “So beautiful,” he murmured, and the softness of his tone had me opening my eyes to see that he was looking up at me with absolute adoration shining in his eyes as his thumbs traced across my breasts, still cupped in his hands. It was in that moment that I realized this had not been a heat-of-the-moment thing, nor did he intend for it to be a casual thing. This man – this beautiful, remarkable, supersoldier of a man – was as infatuated with me as I was with him. Dizzy with this revelation, I placed my palms flat on his hard chest to steady myself.

           Bucky rolled his hips up into mine gently, and then with more vigor as the seconds passed. It took no time at all for me to find myself on the edge of release. I could tell Bucky was close, too; his thrusts, which had been delivered with precision up until now, were sloppier and more erratic. I leaned down to capture his lips in a fiery kiss.

           “Come for me,” I panted, my voice barely above a whisper. “Come for me, Buck, I wanna feel you.”                      

           He let out a soft curse in what sounded like Romanian, and then one hand was on my waist pulling me onto him while he drove up into me, while his flesh hand snaked between us so he could press his thumb onto my still-sensitive bud. That did it, and with a cry I came undone. Bucky was only a few seconds longer, spilling into me with a quiet groan that sent a small wave of heat through my spent body.

           Exhausted in the best way possible, I collapsed on Bucky’s chest, and his arms wound around me to hold me closer to himself. He rolled us over so that I was more comfortably snuggled into his side, smoothing my damp hair away from my face and pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. It was like that that I fell asleep, the soft rise and fall of his chest lulling me into a peaceful slumber.

           A sharp knock on the door woke me up the next morning. Sometime through the night Bucky must have pulled the covers over us, but now I poked my head anxiously out from under the cocoon he had created. Another knock sounded, and this time I sat up and elbowed Bucky in the side. He let out a grunt in annoyance, still half-asleep, when Steve’s voice followed the knock.

           “Buck, are you awake in there? C’mon, Tony’s rounding everyone up. He wants to leave by eleven.”

           At this Bucky’s eyes opened, and he glared at the door. “I’ll be on time,” he snapped. “Worry about yourself, punk. I just have to pack.”

           Steve muttered an indistinguishable response. When Bucky was sure he was gone he rolled over to nuzzle his face against my neck, arms pulling me tight to him.

           “Mornin’, doll,” he murmured into my skin, sending a shiver through me.

           “Morning,” I replied, the feel of his lips on me temporarily making me forget we had just almost been caught. I wanted to continue where we had left off the night before, but I knew that Tony was very strict in his scheduling and the clock on Bucky’s nightstand said it was already ten-thirty. Reluctantly, I went to pull away from Bucky, but his arms around me tightened.

           “Not yet,” he mumbled, metal hand skimming over the skin of my hip and raising goosebumps. “We still have time.”

           “Buck, I still have to pack,” I protested unconvincingly. “Besides, Steve almost caught us…”

           As if on cue, more voices sounded out in the hallway. “Has anyone seen (Y/N)?” Wanda asked. “She isn’t in her room.”

           “She left the party early last night, haven’t seen her since,” Peter replied, and I cursed under my breath. As I went to sit up, Bucky’s door swung open and Steve’s large form filled the door frame. His eyes widened as he took in Bucky and I together in bed, me holding the blankets up to hide my nakedness, and then our underwear discarded on the floor. Shock quickly dissipated into a mischievous smirk, but he at least had the decency to blush. Before anyone could say anything, Sam’s voice was yelling up the stairs.

           “Yo, I think I know where (Y/N) is!” he said, glee underlining his tone as he jogged up the stairs. When he caught Steve standing in the doorway and Bucky and I in the bed with flushed cheeks, a shit-eating grin spread across his face.

           He tossed something onto the bed, and I realized it was the clothes we’d left by the pool the night before. “I figured you’d need those before you snuck back to your own room,” he said to me with a wink, and then he turned to Steve. “C’mon, Cap, let’s leave these two to get dressed.”

           Both of them fixing us with one more smirk, they shut the door and we were alone again. I buried my face in my hands with a groan, but all of a sudden I was on my back and Bucky was on top of me.

           “Well,” he murmured, “since everyone knows we might as well make a good impression.”

           I grinned up at him. “You’ve got fifteen minutes before Tony storms in here and drags us onto that quinjet by our ears,” I teased. “Think you can manage that?”

           “Oh, doll, fifteen minutes is plenty of time to let everyone know you belong to me.”

[wannabe-fic-writer]

Natasha Romanoff x Reader : Thin Line

Summary: You’re wild and free. She’s strict and trained. You and Natasha are polar opposites and it drives her crazy. Each move you make annoys her to no end. But, there’s a thin line between annoyance and adoration.

Rating: 18+ Violence, Language, Blood, Death, and Smut.

Chapter 10

You did not want to be back here.

The compound had been your home but it’s colder than before. Much much quieter. And damn near empty.

On the way in you and Natasha don’t even bump into an overly excited recruit like you use to. Almost as if they know what had happened between the team mere hours ago.

You do, however, find Tony, Vision, and Rhodey. The inventor is in his lab tinkering as usual and Vision is just around.

The lack of Wanda’s presence has left the android feeling more than lost.

And Rhodey is in the medical wing. You stop by for a short few minutes to talk with him. When you pull a laugh from him your mood instantly perks up.

Then you and Natasha settle into your room.

You take a shower and change, before collapsing on the bed.

With the quiet of your room swirling around you, you fall into your thoughts.

Mainly, you think about going to see Wanda, all of your friends, but mostly her. Reservations stick with you though. Seeing her with that shock collar on made your blood boil, you hate to imagine how they have her in that cell.

Those thoughts shift to Steve. You couldn’t even begin to guess where he is. Tony have you no explanation of what happened. Just sent a three worded text - They got away.

And that left you even more confused. You had no idea Tony had even gone after them. Why hadn’t he said anything? What did-

“Penny for your thoughts.”

Looking from the cieling, you drag your eyes over to Natasha.

Your eyebrow immediately rises as you shamelessly take in Natasha, who is standing in nothing at all at the bathroom door.

“Uh, every single one of them just flew out the window.”

Natasha smirks, taking small deliberate steps toward you, before throwing her leg over yours. Her hands push against your chest as she straddles you, guiding you to lay back on the bed.

Instinctively your hands meet her bare waist and you lick your lips.

“I’ve missed you” She husks, full pink lips hovering over yours.

“I’ve missed you too Pretty Girl.”

You don’t miss the light blush that coats her cheeks right before she kisses you.

She trails kisses down your jaw and to your neck, biting and sucking at the soft skin she finds. She can’t help but smirk at her handy work, then pushing her hands up your shirt.

Her eyebrow raises at her discovery of you braless.

You blush,“ I wanted to be comfortable.”

“I didn’t say anything.” She shrugs a little, continuing her actions.

Her thumbs trail up the curve of your breast, cupping them, and rolling your nipples between her fingers. Not being able to help herself anymore, she practically yanks your shirt off, placing her mouth where her hands had been.

You moan at the feeling of her mouth on you, pleasure spiking through your body almost dangerously.

“Wait,” you sound breathless and desperate, despite you stopping her.

She pulls back instantly, worried she may have hurt you or overstepped.

“What’s wrong? I didn’t hurt you did I?” Her hands hover over you as if she’s uncertain about whether to touch you or not.

You shake your head,“ no, god, no you didn’t I just-” you rake a hand through your hair,“ should we be doing this?”

“Are you feeling guilty about having sex with me?” Her tone is teasing but she’s also serious, for your sake.

“Kind of. I mean. All this shit is going on and we’re-”

“Y/N, baby, we’ve been through so much these past few weeks and we’ve barely had any time together. I don’t feel guilty for wanting to sleep with you.”

Processing her words, you agree. It’s not the most ideal timing but you haven’t spent any alone time with her, this is your chance to.

“Right. Right. Sorry, I didn’t just kill the mood did I?”

Natasha chuckles and shakes her head,“ not at all.”

As if nothing had happened, she has her lips on you again. This time gliding her fingers down your body and into your shorts.

She brushes over you through you underwear and your hips involuntarily jerk move against her hand. After pressing against you once, a moan slipping from your lips into her mouth, she pushes your underwear aside.

Gathering your wetness on her fingers, she starts to circle your clit. You revel in the feeling it gives you and you bite down on her bottom lip, tugging on it as you pull away.

“Nat, I-” you become even more breathless with each rotation of her fingers.

“What is it baby?”

“I need to taste you.” You sigh, watching her eyes.

She nods,“ if that’s what you want.”

You could’ve cum on the sight of her licking you off her fingers alone.

“Fuck,” you groan, immediately flipping her over.

You quickly rid yourself of your remaining clothes, before diving into her wetness. One broad lick through her folds, before sucking her clit into your mouth.

Her hands grip your hair, pulling you closer to her center, her hips rutting up against your mouth

Enjoying every sound and move you earn from her, you decide to slip two fingers into her. And she takes them with ease.

With every flick of your tongue, you move your fingers faster. You feel your own slick coating your thighs, completely turned on by everything that she is.

“Right there.” She moans as you press your fingers against her spongey insides.

She clenches around your fingers, sucking them back in every time you pull them out.

Like the snap of a rubber band, Natasha comes, quicker than ever before, squirting over your fingers and the bottom of your face.

“Holy fuck!” Her green eyes screw shut as her whole body twitches.

You eagerly drink in all that she has as she grinds through her orgasm.

“Now that,” you smirk up at her,“ has never happened before.”

After evening out her breaths, she looks into your eyes,“ never.”

Instant shock,“ wait, I’m the first to ever make you squirt?”

You try not to get cocky as she nods at you.

Her hand reaches up, and her finger curl around your jaw,“ which I think deserves a reward.”

She’s kissing you immediately after, pulling you flush against her, and then flipping you.

Natasha loves the taste of you, if you couldn’t tell by the eager strokes her tongue makes against you.

Her fingers leave light circles over your clit as her tongue ran through your folds and teased at your entrance. She slips into you with a moan, the vibration eliciting one from you as well.

“Jesus Christ,” you whisper, one hand clutching the sheets as the other laces with Natasha’s.

You feel her smirk against you, but you’re too far into ecstasy to remark.

Feeling you clench around her tongue makes her increase the pace of her fingers. Her circles brought you closer and closer to the edge.

It’s her tongue, pressing against that oh so glorious spot, that tips you over.

Her name is a repeated breath on your lips as you twitch beneath her.

She licks you through your orgasm, hand having abandoned your sensitive clit.

Your labored breaths cause your chest to heave, fingers uncurling ever so slowly from the sheets and Natasha’s hand.

Finally sobering up, you pull her up your body, and kiss her with fervor.

This was needed more than you thought.

You can’t feel an ounce of stress in your body anymore.

It’s still there, but it matters so much less compared to the euphoria and love you feel right now.

Both you and Natasha pull the covers back and snuggle close underneath. You run your fingers through her, still slightly damp, red hair, and shut your eyes.

The warmth of her body mixed with the warmth of yours.

Neither of you say anything, tired and also happy to have each other.

With her head resting on your chest, fingers brushing over your bare skin, she mutters,“ ya tak tebya lyublyu.”

She doesn’t mean for you to hear those words, what with her saying it while you’re “asleep” and also saying it in Russian, but you do. And you know that she said she loves you.

You hesitate, unsure if she’s ready to acknowledge it. Truly truly be in love with someone. You take a risk.

“I love you too Pretty Girl.” You say.

And you wait.

And wait.

And- she kisses above your heart and tightens her hold on you and you grin like an idiot, sleep creeping up slowly on your ecstatic body.

******

The last thing anyone would expect after a night like that, is to find the bed empty.

You slept soundly the entire night, which you hadn’t been able to do recently, and when you woke up, you cuddled closer to what you thought was Natasha.

Except it was much much too soft. You opened your eyes to see her gone, her pillow in your arms instead of her.

The bathroom door was wide open so you know she isn’t in there.

A glance at the clock shows the bright red numbers 8:15 and you deduce that Natasha is in the gym. She couldn’t sleep in if she tried.

You take a long shower, still relaxed from the previous night’s activities, and pull on the most comfortable outfit you own: sweats and a t-shirt. The outfit, however, isn’t complete until you’re pulling on a hoodie of Natasha’s.

She’s sure to make some sly comment about it but you don’t care, it smells like her and after last night you really wanted to feel close to her.

Before heading to the gym, you stop by the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and fix Natasha one.

Unsurprisingly, you find Tony.

His exhausted form leans against the counter, his gaze fixed on the objects in front of him: his phone, a flip phone, and a tablet.

“Jeez Tony, taking a break won’t kill you.” You joke.

His brown eyes slowly trail from the counter to you. They search your eyes and they don’t find what they had been looking for.

He expected devastation, maybe some anger. You seem far too happy to know what had happened and he hated having to tell you.

“The Raft was broken into last night, Wilson and Maximoff are gone,” before you can reply he adds,“ I also so Romanoff leave earlier.”

You frown, tilting your head and smirking in disbelief. A humorless chuckle escapes you,“ so she went for a run, she’ll be back.”

But that isn’t it. Tony’s face gives it all away. You knew he didn’t mean it casually but you hoped.

“She took the other Quinjet, had a bag, and left her phone on the table.”

Truly, devastatingly, not wanting to believe him, you abandon your coffee and walk into the common room.

Through the window you see both landing pads empty of the jets and a glance at the table reveals Natasha’s phone.

Each step you take toward it is weighed down with your hurt.

If she’s gone gone, why hadn’t she said anything? Did she genuinely not want you anymore? Had last night scared her off? So much so that she couldn’t even say goodbye?

Angry, heartbroken tears pool in your eyes and immediately rush down your cheeks. But you wipe them away harshly.

You grip Natasha’s phone in your hand and the screen comes on as you pick it up.

The, seemingly permanent, frown on your face deepens.

It’s unlocked.

You swipe up.

The password was removed.

Anybody, the dumbest person, could guess that Natasha always kept a lock on her phone.

Paying even more attention, you look closer at the folders on her phone. Each one holding one singular letter underneath.

N

O

T

E

S

Much much too obvious, but part of you thinks that, maybe that’s the point.

Of course she wouldn’t have left without a goodbye. You’d become such an important, vital, part of her life. She loves you.

But she also wouldn’t have blatantly told you she was leaving.

Not after having seen how much you wanted to keep the Avengers together. Her leaving aided the idea of the Avengers breaking up and she couldn’t tell you face to face that she’d be doing so.

Her phone is her hope.

She hopes you find her. She hopes you want to. She hopes that you love her enough to be with her, selfishly, instead of sticking with Tony.

The easy part of it all ends with clicking the Notes app. From there you tap the note titled with your name and find it locked.

Now this is the Natasha you know and love.

Without hesitation, you set toward your room.

Hacking a spies psssord won’t be easy, no matter how much you know about her, so you’d better start now, before whatever information was no longer useful.

******

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