#winteriron comment bingo

[42donotpanic]

FIC WRITING REVIEW 2023

Thank you @loki-is-my-kink-awakening for coming up with this!

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

(I just copied @voiceoffenrisulfr who copied @foxywrites thank you both for tagging me <3)

Before we start I want to note that I hope to post 6 more fics this year and make it to 100 posted works before 2024 ^^

Words and Fics

335,338 words published in 2023

70 fics worked on

62 completed fics

most productive month: July with 74,045 words

monthly words average: 27,945 words

Top 5 Pairings

Clint Barton/Matt Murdock [16]

James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton [13]

Matt Murdock/Franklin "Foggy" Nelson [6]

Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier [6]

James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark [6]

Top 5 by Comments

Purple and Red; all the same to me (AUgust Writing Challenge 2023) - 78

The quiet life - 17

Building a Relationship - 14

Safe Place - 13

3 Times Matt's date didn't take his blindness well (+1 where it wasn't the biggest surprise that night) - 6

Top 5 by Kudos

3 Times Matt's date didn't take his blindness well (+1 where it wasn't the biggest surprise that night) - 255

Couch already taken - 208

The Reporter and The Lawyer - The Devil and The Protector - 146

Daredevil: The Man with Trauma - 131

Fuck Ninjas - 122

Top 5 by Hits

The Reporter and The Lawyer - The Devil and The Protector - 2,251

3 Times Matt's date didn't take his blindness well (+1 where it wasn't the biggest surprise that night) - 1,725

Purple and Red; all the same to me (AUgust Writing Challenge 2023) - 1,724

Coming Untouched - 1,722

Building a Relationship - 1,529

Fandom Events in 2023

For this part, I'm only adding in Bingos that I was able to get a bingo/blackout for If you want to know more feel free to check out my masterlists in my pinned post <3

Bingos

[5/9] Any Fandom LGBTQ Bingo - Bingo

[5/5] July Break Flash Bingo - Black out

[9/9] July Break Mini Bingo - Black out

[25/25] July Break Bingo - Black out

[15/25] Marvel Rare Pair Bingo Round 1/2 - Bingo

[6/25] Masturbation Midsummer Bingo - DNF

[13/25] WinterIron Bingo - Bingo

[9/9] Writers Pride Month Bingo - Black out

Writing Challenge's

[30/30] Slash Mulitverse Daily Pride Prompts

[31/31] AU-gust Writing Challenge 2023

[5/31] Flufftober 2023

Upcoming Plans

Fic's I'm hoping to continue/complete next year:

[Clint/Bucky] Soul Marks and Metal Arms

[Clint/Natasha] To see the Bruises

[Matt/Foggy] Learning to Live again

[Clint/Bucky] Now I wear my scars just like Tattoos

[Clint/Rhodey] Bring them back (to get you back)

[Clint & Matt] Who even am I?!

[Clint/Matt] Hawkdevil AU

[Clint/Bucky] Domestic WinterHawk AU

[Clint/Matt] Building a Relationship

Writing Reflection

After I got back into writing fic this year it was something I really enjoyed all throughout this year. I discovered a bunch of fun challenges and servers, met many lovely people (sadly all online) and learned a lot. I have hyperfocused a lot, especially in the summer and I collected a boatload of prompts I would like to fill in the coming year.

I have a lot of fics already planned for the next year. There will be a lot of feels, fluff and angst/whump alike and I hope I can keep the run I had this year going.

A big thank you to everyone who supported me along the way, be it with ducking/spaghettiing fic ideas, sprinting with me, participating in challenges, commenting, sharing or even just reading and liking my fics. You folks mean the world to me and I love every single one of you. Take care and remember, as long as you do what you love you get a good grade in fandom <3

Tagging: @stripedscribe @ravenmold @endlesstwanted and everyone who wants to participate (totally not a cop-out because I lost track of my tumblr, no)

[sierranovembr]

✨✨ Winteriron Comment Bingo put on by @winteriron-is-commenting​✨✨

B1: Tony Stark's Home for Wayward Assassins by gryvon I1:  The Further Adventures of Tony Stark by MassiveSpaceWren, tisfan N1:  the smell of coffee (reminds me of your love) by scriptatur G1:  Rest and Care by nepenthe_writer O1:  Mail Order Bucky by 27dragons, tisfan

B2:  Tattoos and Tulips by MassiveSpaceWren I2:  Far Removed by dracusfyre N2:  Mafia!au Art by Ibreathebooks_42 G2:  Tear Down These Walls for Me by ali_aliska (ch 2) O2:  Five Drabbles:        1.  It’s Candy by Trashcanakin        2.  Wings of Change by Trashcanakin        3.  Many by periwinklepromise        4.  Just Relax by 27dragons        5.  Upon Reflection by 27dragons

B3:  I’ll help you chase away the nightmares. by LadyUkkey I3:   Tear Down These Walls for Me by ali_aliska (ch 3) N3:  Nyctophilia by swtalmnd G3:  Mer-creatures by beir O3:  Melt into Me (Your Words Are My Own) by RiotFalling

B4:  Extremis Tony and Hurt Bucky by massivespacewren I4:   Mechanical Problems by Kamaete N4:  Conclusions by StrivingArtist G4:  Spread Your Wings and Fly by Shi_Toyu O4:  California king by withered

B5:  don't break my curse (just stay with me) by Menatiera I5:   The Tutor by 27dragons, tisfan N5:  Missed By a Mile by aliaoftwoworlds G5:  The Winter Witcher by 27dragons, feignedsobriquet, tisfan O5:  On Offer by FestiveFerret, hundredthousands

[juuls]

So, this is from last year (Oct 1, 2020 end date) and I’m not sure if they’re doing prizes/reblogs again this year (2021) — though I have sent in an Ask to see — but the cards are still up and I am absolutely going to be using these (for WinterIron + poly) along with the @cap-ironman (Stony) Comment Bingo (latest round ends April 30th so you have plenty of time!) anyway. I’ve found a new love for Marvel and my favourite ships in doing this, which is such a lovely feeling.

Thought I’d pass along this hidden gem to others!

Enjoy; I know I will! ❤️💙💜

Cards are HERE!

We’re so excited to get this commenting bingo round rolling! Short version : pick a card, any card, and start commenting and recommending away on all the great Tony & Bucky works! 

For the long version, see our Rules & FAQ, which also include helpful links to the events that are in some of the squares.

There are FIVE cards to choose from (with text-only versions here), so be sure to take a peek under the cut!

Keep reading

[psychiccatpanda]

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandoms: The Avengers (Marvel Movies); The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types

Relationships:

James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark

Peter Parker & Tony Stark

James "Bucky" Barnes & Peter Parker

James "Bucky" Barnes & Harley Keener

Harley Keener & James "Rhodey" Rhodes

Tony Stark & James "Rhodey" Rhodes

Tony Stark & Jessica Jones

Matt Murdock & Harley Keener

Shuri & Harley Keener

Shuri & Peter Parker

Scott Lang/Sam Wilson

Pietro Maximoff/Loki Laufeyson

Bruce Banner/Thor Odinson

Michelle Jones/Ned Leeds

Michelle Jones/Shuri

Summary:  Barnes, 107th Infantry 32557038.Barnes is not Bucky. Barnes is not the Winter Soldier. Barnes doesn't know who he is, or even sometimes, what he is.  Maybe Tony Stark can help him figure that out. Or maybe, if he just gets all the tools, he can fix Tony along the way too.

Rest of the tags are under the line.  :)  Rec-cing for the Winteriron Is Commenting Bingo, card 3, square I1.  Commented on Chapter 9 for sure.  :)

I’ve been meaning to read this one for awhile and I’m really enjoying it so far (I’m up to chapter 10!)

Additional Tags:

Slow Burn; Long Haul Ship; not team Cap friendly; Lone Ranger Bucky Barnes; Bucky Barnes Recovering; Brief suicidal ideation; Protective Tony Stark; Stark Tower; Wakanda (Marvel); Wakandan Technology; A Finding Yourself Story; Domestic Bucky Barnes; Bucky Barnes loves science; Malibu; Protective Bucky Barnes; Protective FRIDAY; everyone is protective; Cooking; Height difference; Mild panic; Panic Attacks; Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm; The Bots; soft tony stark; Tony Stark Has A Heart; Irondad; Tony Stark as a Father Figure for Peter Parker; Tony Stark as a Father Figure for Harley Keener; ironfam; Harley Keener's Attitude; Pescetarian Harley Keener; Pescetarianism; Intimacy Starved Bucky Barnes; Exasperated Harley Keener; UST; Trans Harley Keener; Trans Character; Trans Male Character; Bucky goes by James; Bucky Barnes as Father Figure for Harley Keener; Competitive Harley Keener; Competitive Tony Stark; Soft Bucky Barnes; Tony Stark Playing Monopoly; Domestic Fluff; Domestic; Domesticity; Insecure Harley Keener; comforting bucky barnes; holiday celebrations; Christmas; Yule; Hanukkah; Bucky Barnes Feels; Tony Stark Feels; Peter Parker Feels; Harley Keener Feels; Dad Bucky Barnes; Rom-Coms; Romantic Comedies; Nightmares; Full Sap; Light Angst; Just so fucking sappy tho; Therapy; PTSD; ADHD; Hyperfixations; Actually Talking About Your Problems; The Boys Go To Therapy; Loom Knitting; Motorcycle Bucky Barnes; Interruptus?; Return of the Wakandans; Knitting; Return of the Rogues; The Dora Milaje - Freeform; BAMF Dora Milaje; Anxiety; not wanda maximoff friendly; Not Clint Barton Friendly; Friday Says a Bad Word; Not Steve Rogers Friendly; Protective Peter Parker; Homesickness; Crochet; God the Domestic Fluff; Physical Ticks; Protective Harley Keener; Being Purposefully Off-putting; Familial PDA; Brooklyn 99 References; Les Mis References; Italian; Italian Tony Stark; Italian Peter Parker; angry harley keener; Protective Jessica Jones; Protective Matt Murdock; One Punch Knockout; possessive thoughts; Fighting; Violence; blood mention; Jessica Jones Kicks the Shit Out of Clint Barton; physical affection; hella fluff; Self Hate Mentions; Bickering; Banter; Snark; Companionable Snark; Cuddling; First Kiss; WE’RE FINALLY THERE BITCHES; the slowest burn; PDA; really mild sexual content; like definitely not something one can count as smut; but it’s still sexual in nature; flirtation; discussion of nudity; Yelling; Steve Rogers Redemption Arc; Discussion of past Stucky and Stony; Declarations Of Love; Steve Rogers Redemption Two: Electric Boogaloo; Tastes Like Resolution; Clint Barton Redemption; Natasha Romanoff Redemption; Wanda Maximoff Redemption; Pietro Maximoff Resurrection; Love and Appreciation of Michelle Jones

Language:  English

Words:54436

Chapters:25/25

[honestmischief]

Winteriron Is Commenting Fic Rec

Square B5: Work with less than 250 kudos  

Name: Nyctophilia

Creator: swtalmnd

Rating: G

Ship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Tony Stark

Major Tags: Fluff

Summary: Bucky looks for quiet in the empty workshop and finds Tony. But also quiet. Prompt: “Shh... I’m sleeping.”

Link: http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/StarkBucksBingo2020/works/23978485

This was a wonderful fic filled with fluff and cuddles in Tony’s workshop! Also features DUM-E :)

@winteriron-is-commenting

[saganarojanaolt]

Multipli-cat-ion - Collab with @polizwrites and illogicalkat for @starkbucksbingo

Summary: Tony likes his boyfriend's cat, even if the furball is a little...*moody.* Turns out, Bucky forgot a key point of information during the introduction, and an offhand comment by Steve only muddied the waters. Several months later - Tony makes a startling discovery about Alpine

Find the story here on AO3!

Fill information under the cut!

Title: Multipli-cat-ion

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33359950

Collaborator1 Name: PoliZ

Card Number: 220

Square Filled: I1 - Denial

Collaborator2 Name: Illogicalkat

Card Number: 213

Square Filled: B1- cats

Collaborator3 Name: Sagana Rojana Olt

Card number: 223

Square Filled with Art 1 - N2 mistaken identity for Starkbucks bingo, C5 - in hiding for @buckybarnesbingo , and T1 - Fluff for @tonystarkbingo

Square Filled with Art 2 - O3 Domesticity for Starkbucks bingo, K3 - Fluff for @buckybarnesbingo , and S3 - animal for @tonystarkbingo

Ship/Main Pairing: WinterIron - Tony/Bucky

Rating: General

Major Tags & Triggers: Fluff, Modern No Powers AU, Dating, Alpine, Cat Confusion

Word Count: 1915

Summary: Tony likes his boyfriend's cat, even if the furball is a little...*moody.* Turns out, Bucky forgot a key point of information during the introduction, and an offhand comment by Steve only muddied the waters. Several months later - Tony makes a startling discovery about Alpine.

[27dragons]

Tony Stark Bingo Masterpost

I didn't get much done with this bingo, but I'm letting myself be okay with it, because ::waves at everything::

That said, I did post a small flurry of three fics this weekend when I realized that I had one already written and just hadn't posted it and that I could do two more to claim a bingo, at least. And I got so many comments on those fics that said something along the lines of It's nice to see you back that were so sweet that I nearly cried. I'm going to try not to disappear for so long next time!

Anyway, here's my fics for @tonystarkbingo Mark V:

K1: Missed Connections - Missed Connection (Winteriron, 100 words)

K2: Holding Hands - Cleanse Me (of My Sins) (Winteriron, 1533 words)

K3: AU: Fantasy World - Run Away (but not like that) (Winteriron, 644 words)

K5: AU: Horror Movie - My Own Personal Monster (Gen, 864 words)

Adopted - Kink: Messy/Dirty - Get Dirty For Me (Winteriron, 100 words)

Adopted - Art Style: Cubist/Surreal - Cube Cuties (Winteriron, N/A - craft)

[tonystarkbingo]

SCRAP SPOTLIGHT!

From now until about the middle of May, we'll be doing Scrap Spolights on a hopefully frequent basis to showcase some (or possibly all!) of the wonderful scraps we've collected in the box. To start us off, here is a handful of our Short and Sweets!

Tossed in the box by: Amber!

Stony

Somehow, different versions of Steve (Avengers Academy, Avengers Assemble, etc) keep showing up...and they’re all sweet on Tony which irritates the real Steve (overprotective and possessive as he is) to no end and who won’t leave Tony alone with any of these wannabes.

Avengers Academy Steve: Whoa, you just get hotter with age. I’m so excited!

Tossed in the box by: Faustess!

"Bucky has been researching everyone on the team and it seems like the media has nothing better to do than to gossip about Tony Stark's vices - women, booze, and expensive cars mostly. The trashier gossip bloggers openly speculated on what (or who) Tony's latest mistake would be. 

When Bucky gives Tony a judgmental look after he's returned from being out (much longer than the hour Stark had said he'd be gone), Tony frowns. The bag clanks like metal. What the hell had Tony meant when he'd said he needed to 'go pick up some new vices'??

((hint - it's actual vices. It always takes longer at Home Depot or any hardware store because Tony has to look at everything before he leaves!))

Tossed in the box by: Magica!

WinterIron, Celtic warrior/warlord Bucky

Tossed in the box by: Nasha!

This convo happened while mentioning bingo fills (nerds & artificial intelligence) 

Science!!

Tech!!

i almost heard bruce and tony yelling those in unison xD

And Bucky chiming in from the back because he's a super nerd too even if he doesn't have the fancy degrees

On that comment, now I want a fic where Bucky takes online classes as part of his recovery and ends up with a minor degree and he almost can't believe he did it!

Tossed in the box by: Rebelmeg!

Tony took art classes in college, to get a degree in drafting.  He’s very skilled at it, and got top grades with his industrial art works.  That’s how he managed to make that suit in the cave, making all those sketches.  He did all that work himself, and it was all precision work.

Want to see the rest of the prompts? Click here to see the GDoc!

[stb-bingo]

Badge Claims - Round 2

Congratulations for whatever of your STB card you did, whether it was a blackout or merely admiring its beauty from afar. We are all winners!

If you’d like to claim a fancy pantsy badge with your very own name on it, the claim form is now open here: https://forms.gle/SdnH5KdpUaHnMUgR8

Here’s the list of badges and how to earn them if you might have forgotten: https://stb-bingo.tumblr.com/post/672124072834056192/badge-list-round-two

There are a lot of fun badges, so even if you didn’t make a bingo, check the list! There might be something you can claim.

Badge claims are honour-based. We won’t be checking your fills to make sure you’re being truthful. If you feel like you earned the badge, claim it and you’ll get it. It’s that simple. If having the badge would bring you joy, we want you to have it! If you made a masterlist, tag us and we’ll reblog it!

We are also all winners because the collection has 91 works in it!! That’s an incredible number of delicious Stuckony, Stony, Stucky, and Winteriron pieces newly in the world for you to consume. Make sure to comment, kudos, and bookmark your favs!

(If Stuckony fanwork events are your jam, we invite you to check out our sister event: Stuckony Summer Stocking. Watch that space! Exciting news coming soon!)

[ad1thi]

@starklysteve  rhae asked for some winteriron recs (read: i volunteered to spam rhae w buckytony fics because i adore them), so in no particular order, and based on my memory alone, here are some of my favourite buckytony fics!!

(please remember to leave kudos and comments!!)

American Memorial: @/spqr

“Pick up the shield,” Tony said. Understandably, Bucky told him to go fuck himself

Losing You (Is My Supervillain Origin Story):  @amethystinawrites

There are a lot of things that Bucky regrets. The list is, quite frankly, longer than he can handle on most days and, right at the very top, is lying to Tony about who killed his parents. Bucky has known even from before they started dating, but he simply can't bring himself to say anything — to ruin one of the few good things he has in his life. It's selfish and wrong, but Bucky just doesn't know how to tell Tony that he is the one responsible for Howard and Maria Stark's deaths.

So when he starts receiving anonymous emails, threatening to expose the truth to Tony and the rest of the world, Bucky is desperate enough to agree to the blackmailer's terms, even if it means breaking up with Tony. Bucky cannot, under any circumstances, let Tony find out about his parents from anyone but Bucky himself.

Too late Bucky realizes that there is much more to the blackmailer's scheme than just having Bucky break Tony's heart. Too late Bucky realizes that despite his best intentions, he will still end up losing everything — in a much more permanent way than he could ever have imagined.

Hindsight: @amethystinawrites

Ever since he was a little boy, Bucky has dreamed of becoming an astronaut together with Steve, and he can hardly believe their luck when both of them are picked for the Ares 3 crew — the third expedition sent to explore Mars. It is, quite literally, a dream come true.

Things get complicated when Bucky finds himself inconveniently attracted to their mechanical engineer, however. Tony Stark is funny, competent, and absolutely captivating, but considering NASA's strict non-fraternization policy, Bucky knows it's better to keep his interest to himself — at least until they return to Earth. He can wait.

Not once does Bucky consider the possibility that all of them might not make it back alive, or just how much he'll come to regret not acting when he had the chance.

Arsenal: @tangodancer91 (part of a series) (also my all time favourite buckytony series ever)

Two years after the Civil War that tore apart everything she’d bled to build, Toni Stark sacrificed herself for her newly-reinstated teammates and ended up stranded in the past. Freed of her name, her fortune, and her hostile ex-teammates, she built herself a life as an agent for the OSS, the American secret service, and, having nothing to lose, accepted a mission to infiltrate the newest player in the war: an organization that call themselves HYDRA.

Then, she met a young draftee with a dreadfully familiar face, and they clicked like she had never clicked with anyone before. By the time she realized she’d fallen for the man who’d cost her everything, it was too late, but she’d always been an all or nothing type of girl, and if she was damning herself, well then…might as well go all the way.

Yield: @aurumacadicus (this is an a/b/o verse fic)

All Bucky has ever wanted was to win the contest for Tony's hand in marriage. It's a bit harder now that he's down to one arm, but luckily his friends are willing to help make up the difference.

Barnes Family Motors Inc: @phlintandsteel-ao3 (this is an a/b/o verse fic)

In a world where alphas legally own omegas, Bucky is just a small time mechanic from Brooklyn who gets lucky in a poker game. Tony is an omega whose life is fraught with abuse, until his luck suddenly takes a turn for the better.

In the grand scheme of things they may only be able to make little differences in the lives of those around them, but that doesn't mean it's not worth making them. After all, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

The Long Con (don’t kid yourself): @phlintandsteel-ao3

When Tony finds out that Howard is thinking about changing the terms of Tony’s trust fund, he embarks on a not-so-elaborate scheme to prove that he’s totally settling down and not in continued need of Howard’s “guidance” until 25 instead of 21. Step 1: Get a fiance Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit (Finally be free of Howard)

Unfortunately, Tony Stark is the worst con-artist ever, and may only be kidding himself..

Hot Mess:  @/niki

“Would serve him right if we had the world's most ill-advised one night stand.”

Imperceptions and Assumptions: @/NarutoRox

Afterward, Bucky would look back on their first meeting with fondness and a healthy dose of amusement. At the time, though, he’d mostly been confused - and more than a little embarrassed.

Bucky hadn’t paid much attention to the media in his early days, and hadn’t bothered really reading up on the team or anything, either, so when Steve had said ‘Tony Stark’, Bucky had just assumed.

The same way he’d looked at the three people who’d walked through the door - an imposing redhead in heels, a bored-looking brunette who dimpled when she saw him and Steve, and a sturdy-looking man wearing a slight glower - locked eyes on the man, and assumed him to be the infamous Tony Stark Steve wouldn’t shut up about.

It was Bucky’s first lesson when it came to Natasha Antonia ‘Toni’ Stark - never assume.

~

In which Tony Stark is actually Natasha Antonia 'Toni' Stark (which everyone knows) as well as Iron Man (which everyone does not know), assumptions are made, and there are misunderstandings.

From this prompt: How about a cross between my two favorite tropes? Nobody knows who iron man is other than Natasha/Antonia Stark's bodyguard but Bucky is in love with one or both of them

i know, you know (that i’m not telling the truth) : @imposter-human

psychic tony stark is called to work a routine case with detective bucky barnes; only, he seems to be more connected to the case than anyone thought

or, a psych au!!

the new romeo and juliet: @imposter-human

Bucky and Tony weren’t dating, because a firefighter and a detective couldn’t date (never mind that Tony hadn’t slept with anyone else since their thing had started, and he and Bucky hung out with an alarming frequency, and the whole precinct thought that they were an item). It didn't matter how many nights they spent together, how Bucky had a drawer of Tony's things and vice versa, they just couldn't.

It was a classic Romeo and Juliet situation, if Romeo and Juliet actively disliked each other on top of everything.

if found, please return to: @capnshellhead

Tony Stark shows up at Bucky's bar after a really tough break up and Bucky decides to look after him

gods of carnage:  @deathsweetqueen (part of a series)

On May 29, 1970, the Winter Soldier feels a burning sensation and looks down at his wrist to find a single name written in enduring ink: Antonia Margaret Stark.

HYDRA, fearing the defiance of their greatest asset due to a bond that cannot and will not be denied its due, immediately dispatches the Soldier, to locate, collect and deliver this newborn girl to HYDRA, which will become her new home, her new family and her entire world - to be raised as another one of HYDRA’s great warriors: their Engineer.

But the Engineer is a faulty asset. She thinks things that may get her killed one day. She wants things that she shouldn’t, that are not hers to want. She has a mind and body that belong more to herself than any handler, than any commander she may have.

And if she cuts her strings, when she cuts her strings, well, when you put sheep next to wolves, you ask for a bloodbath.

where i walk, you follow (where i burn, you burn):  @deathsweetqueen

At his father's command, Anthony Stark trades in his northern keep for a southern crown, wedded and bedded by Alexander of House Pierce, First of His Name.

Tony does his duty, becomes a wolf in name only, toothless and clawless, and a dark, gleaming ornament for the King, even if he would make himself a widower a hundred times over.

Honour demanded it of him, and so he did.

But it is Ser James Barnes, named the Kingslayer for his sins during the Rebellion, that draws his eye, gives him comfort in this pit of liars and monsters

So, what is honour compared to a good man's love? They are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love.

[Fic by deathsweetqueen, Art by MassiveSpaceWren]

Cat Parenting (And Other Meet Cutes):  @singingwithoutwords (this is an a/b/o verse fic)

Of all the ways Bucky could have finally gotten a chance to speak to his crush, why did it have to be his cat getting Tony's cat pregnant?

Codename Heartbreaker:  @rinnwrites (part of a series)

Today was a day that, contrary to popular belief, Tony Stark had most certainly not been looking forward to. It was election day, or election night, rather, and the polls were closed, the results were in; Howard Stark was the next President of the United States of America.

or

Tony Stark Bingo - R3: Election Day

Fate Strings Not Required: @akira-of-the-twilight

“Hey doll,” a new voice said from Tony’s side.

Tony glanced at the person approaching.

Someone was working the rugged, bad boy look. The new guy rocked a leather jacket and blue jeans.

His blue eyes lit up with joy as he approached Tony. “Something wrong here?” The new guy gave the first guy--the one insisting he was Tony's soul mate--a once over then turned his full attention on Tony. “You’re looking a little stressed, anything I can do?”

Tony took the hint.

Tony wrapped his hand around the new guy’s elbow. He kept his touch light and breakable in case he’d misread the cue.

“Just some guy claiming to be my soul mate, babe.”

The new guy’s eyebrows rose to his hairline in surprise. He chuckled and gave the first guy a smirk. “Strange. Last time I checked we were soul mates.”

Siren’s Treasure: @akira-of-the-twilight

Prompt: I really love the idea of playboy!Bucky flirt of the seven seas first-mate to Captain Rogers, falling completely overboard in love with our Blacksmith-Inventor Inexperienced!Tony who goes from confident captive to shy woe-begone man in the presence of Bucky's fierce affections. Virgin!Tony wonders what a siren like Bucky could possibly want with him. Bucky wants to know what the fuck Logan thinks he's doing flirting with the man who stole his heart like sunken treasures. Happy ending please?

“Sirens killed your crew?” Steve repeated.

The dark haired man nodded. Just an hour ago the Avenger crew had found the man clinging to driftwood in the middle of the ocean. Now he clutched the flask of rum Bucky had given him like it was all that kept him buoyant during these tumultuous times.

The man—Tony—had already downed more than half the flask and was still sober. “Not exactly my crew, but close enough. Yeah.” Tony uncapped the flask and threw back a mouthful.

Steve frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

Tony shrugged. “I wasn’t captain of the ship.”

“So what were you?” Steve pressed.

Road hazards: @riotwritesthings

Steve and Bucky's BFF road trip is not going well. For starters, Steve couldn't even make it, and for some bizarre reason asked Tony to take his place. The fact that it’s only a couple days before someone is trying to kill them isn’t nearly as stressful as the fact that Bucky and Tony have never really had an actual conversation.

It’s hard to avoid someone when stuck in a car with them though, and if they manage to stay alive they just might learn a thing or two.

Once Upon a Wintertime: @iam93percentstardust (this is an a/b/o verse fic)

Look, Bucky knows that he’s fulfilling every cliché in the book right now. He knows that, as a bodyguard, he’s not supposed to fall in love with his client. But Tony’s good and sweet and so, so lonely and how could Bucky not? He thinks he’s got a shot after Tony breaks up with his boyfriend but on a trip across the country, he finds out that Tony needs a bondmate or the board will steal SI—and Ty’s already said yes.

little bird: @thxngam

Bucky laughs, and it’s loud and unbidden, a way he hadn’t laughed for years before, tugging his giggling omega into his lap. Tony quiets and nestles into Bucky’s chest like he was made to belong there, and Bucky has noticed several times that Tony is much smaller than he is, but he never quite noticed how Tony always seemed to curl into him as a reason for his size.

Tony nestles like a little bird.

Teenage Dream:  @anthonyed

Tony Stark develops a crush on the school's bad boy who is too cool to hang out with anyone. At least, it's what Tony thinks. He never considered that James Barnes is probably as lonely as he is.

(in the process of editing)

The Best Laid Plans (of Mice and Men):  @arboreal-elm-ash-oak

His Dark Materials AU

It was Annalise who noticed their small visitor first.

“Tony,” the spider daemon said softly, skittering up the collar of his dress shirt, two of her eight legs resting delicately against his cheek, “Don’t startle them, but I believe we have a guest. Look, by the coffee table.”

A Kitten and a Soldier: @/ThatDamnKennedyKid

Bucky hadn't heard from Rumlow in years - since the whole Winter Soldier fiasco in Siberia. They've been discharged for nearly six years, but when he gets a message that only says "I need your help" , he grabs his jacket and keys.

The Prince’s Bride: @hddnone

After Tony loses the love of his life to pirates on the high sea, not much matters to him. He agrees to wed Prince Justin Hammer to gain access to vibranium and shut himself away in his workshop until the end of time, but a group of ruffians kidnap Tony to take him to Hydra.

Tony's rescue takes on an unlikely form - the Dread Pirate Rogers, who killed the love of his life five years ago.

A Princess Bride AU

A Kind of Destiny: @weethreequarter

A chance meeting at a wedding brings together an American war veteran and the Prince of Wales. Little do they know, the wheels have been set in motion for a relationship which will change not only their lives, but the monarchy itself. Bucky and Tony strike up a friendship at Steve and Peggy’s wedding, a friendship that soon develops into more. But it’s not so simple: Tony is the Prince of Wales, and heir to the throne of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Any relationship is played out in the press and public eye, and then there's that pesky issue of succession to consider too. But Bucky is no coward, and when he finds something he wants, he’s prepared to fight for it. And fight he will, at Tony's side, for their very own fairy tale ending.

[festiveferret]

2020 Report

Oh my god, it’s OVER! We made it through. 

This year’s wordcount is 466,528 which beats my goal of 420,000. I didn’t hit my goal every month this year (lol surprised?) but I made up for it in other months!

I posted 55 works to AO3, and 55 ficlets in my ficlet collections. OH MY GOD THEY MATCH WHAT ARE THE ODDS?? Of the main works, 1 was pbj, 9 were stuckony, 5 were winteriron, and the rest are Stony. The majority of the ficlets were for Steve-Tony Games and two bingos I did.

My fav non-collab this year is tricky... a lot to choose from! Two-Point Perspective is definitely up there. And Must Be in Want of a Wife. Bloodbag, The Mysterious Affair at Stark’s, and of course A Matter of Efficiency needs a shoutout too :P

Most indulgent fic this year was probbbbbbably Bloodbag, but it’s close with TPP.

The hardest to write was The Mysterious Affair at Stark’s. Writing a murder mystery was super fun but sooo hard and I was terrified every chapter that someone would discover some horrible plot hole that ruined the whole thing. I’m really proud of how it turned out, though!

For collabs this year, @ashes0909 and I finished Held and started Held: Remix! We also wrote Stop, Droll, and Roll in the Hay. @sirsapling and I did a Little Bits. @franzwantscoffee and I finished posting Hypothesis! @hundredthousands and I made On Offer, @jehbeeeh and I wrote Stealth Mission, @betheflame and I wrote That’s What She Said, and @latelierderiot and I made Unknown Number!

2020 Fandom Highlights:

- @ashes0909 - @thewaythatwerust - @s2ma​ - @betheflame & starting @podonthesuit !! - @sabrecmc-archive - Surviving successfully running @marveltrumpshate for another year and raising a record-breaking amount! - The STB discord server, Stuckony stockings, and the STB Bingo - My record-setting 30 straight days of hitting wordcount min (thank you lockdown unemployment) - Getting drunk with you nutters - the FindingStony empire - Getting to make a bunch of spreadsheets and several websites for people! - I can’t think of much else because phew what a year, but I’m sure there were lots of other great things in there amongst all the crazy! :D - Everyone who kudosed, commented, recced, pm-d me to cuss me out, or just read something I wrote. I write for me, I share for you, so THANK YOU <33

Here’s to 2021!!

[sierranovembr]

Pretty dang excited to have earned my monobuu badge.

[winteriron-is-commenting]

Round Extension!

We’ve been a bit too quiet on this bingo, and so we’re extending the round until the end of the month! Quick, grab a card if you haven’t yet and get to commenting!! 

Badge claims are open (they’re super cute!!) and can be claimed at anytime. 

Give those authors and artists of fantastic works featuring Tony Stark and Bucky Barnes some more love!! 

[psychiccatpanda]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark Characters: Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Ultron (Marvel), Clint Barton, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Sam Wilson (Marvel), Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes Additional Tags: Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Roomba!Ultron, Crack Treated Seriously Series: Part 2 of I am robot (hear me glitch), Part 7 of Tony Stark Bingo 2019, Part 4 of Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019 Summary:

Due to some small but very significant differences, Ultron ends up in a Roomba. He is somehow collectively adopted by the Avengers as their little murder robot.

Written for the TSB - K3: Interrupted by Supervillains and the BBB - B3: Fluff.

For the Winteriron Is Commenting Bingo Card 3, I3 - Rec a story that made you laugh.  If this doesn’t do it, not much will!  XD

[menatiera]

The Auld Triangle

The Auld Triangle is an Irish bar in Brooklyn. The Auld Triangle is Steve’s inheritance. The Auld Triangle is the place you want to be part of.

Moodboard for Betheflame’s amazing IMBB story that has an athmosphere that will make you fall in love with traditions, second homes and pining boys all over again.

Story title: The Auld Triangle Author: betheflame Artists: Huntress79 & Menatiera Relationships: (established) Winteriron, (endgame) Stuckony Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Rating: Mature Tags:Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub; Alternate Universe - No Powers; established bucky/tony; Mutual Pining; Fluff; shameless flirting; Irish Steve Rogers; Irish Sarah Rogers; Polyamory; Polyamory Negotiations Summary: In which Steve owns a failing Irish bar and Bucky works at that bar and is also married to Tony and the latter two desperately want to bring the former one into their relationship...But this is Steve, Tony, and Bucky we're talking about. So they're idiots about it.

Read on Ao3

Second moodboard (with the boys, yes) is under the cut!

This is under readmore because a: spoilers (not like you didn’t know what you’ve signed up for, right?) and b: it’s in the second chapter of the story, so go figure, I won’t give it to everyone right away either :D Enjoy! 

Also please, please leave comments for flame on the story! You know she’s awesome and her story is awesome too, it brought you enjoyment, - honor it with dropping a few kind words!!!

@ironmanbigbang​ my contribution to this collaboration! :)

Also my fill for the Tony Stark Bingo: A2 - Labyrinth @tonystarkbingo​

And a fill for the Bucky Barnes Bingo: K5 - Pining @buckybarnesbingo​

[ceealaina]

Title: In My Dreams I Turn You On - Chapter 2 Collaborator Name: ceealaina Card Number: 3088 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K5 - Mutual Pining Ship: WinterIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Alternate Universe - No Powers Summary: Tony’s crushing hard on his new massage therapist, but doesn’t want to be a sleazy businessman. Bucky’s crushing hard on his latest client, but doesn’t want to take advantage of him in a vulnerable position. So they handle it like any sane adults - pretend it’s not happening and refuse to discuss it. At least they both have terrible friends to help them through it. Word Count: 11,067 Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

And that makes a bingo!

Tony tried to resist, really he did, tried to be logical about it all. Look at the facts: James was exactly his type, as much as Tony had ever had one. And he’d had his hands all over Tony’s body — professionally, but for someone as tactile as Tony was, touch was touch. It made sense that he’d react to that, especially since it had maybe been awhile since he’d had someone in his life in that particular capacity. Tony had thought, or at least hoped, that with a bit of space and a good night’s sleep, he’d move on. 

But when, nearly a week later, he was still thinking about James’ laugh, thinking about how loose and relaxed he had felt afterwards, when he was still trying to keep his mind from drifting to blue eyes and a low husky voice when he jerked off at night… He caved. Telling himself that he’d probably built James up in his mind, that if he saw him in person again he’d be able to find a flaw, talk himself out of his silly crush, he booked another massage. And then he may or may not have slipped into the system to ensure that it was James who was assigned as his therapist.

He jerked off beforehand this time, just in case. It had been awhile since he’d been laid. Maybe last time he’d been a little touch starved, and his body had just felt good and his brain had run with it. 

Tony had always been very good at mental gymnastics. 

But the second he walked in the door and spotted James, he knew all his planning had been for nothing. 

James was leaning casually against the table where he kept all his supplies. He had one leg crossed over the other at the ankle, which pulled the fabric of his pants tight across his gorgeously thick thighs, and made Tony want nothing more than to straddle them right here. James was peering down a chart in his hand, tongue poking out between his teeth adorably, but he looked up with a smile at the sound of the door. 

“Hey Mr.-- uh, Tony.” He gave him a brilliant grin, a little flustered, and Tony honest to god felt his knees go weak. 

“Hello, James,” Tony replied, and then immediately wanted to kick himself because his voice had dropped to a lower register, and really, could he sound like more of a sleazy businessman? He smiled, hoping to offset the creepiness, and he could feel his face stretch into something ridiculous and manic. Oh god, is that what his smile always seemed like? He suddenly couldn’t remember what felt normal for his face, or his hands for that matter. Clearing his throat, he tried to come up with something — anything — normal to say. “‘Sup?” 

That… Was not it.

If James had noticed what an absolute weirdo Tony was being, he didn’t comment, just smiled at him brightly. His smile was somehow even more gorgeous that Tony had remembered. 

“Nothing much,” he told him, like ‘sup’ was a perfectly normal, non-90s way of greeting someone. “Headed up to Boston over the weekend. Birthday trip?”

“Really?” Tony latched onto the fact like a dying man. Boston he knew. Boston, he could talk about with something almost resembling normalcy. “I went to school in Boston.” 

James arched an eyebrow at that, and Tony hid a wince because duh, Stark, everyone knew that. 

“What, uh… What did you do there?” 

“Um…” There was the faintest hint of a blush staining Bucky’s cheeks “Well. We had a whole bunch of stuff planned, but then we accidentally spent an entire day at the Museum of Science, so…” 

Tony’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god,” he breathed. “You’re a nerd.” 

A second later it occurred to him that most people probably wouldn’t take that like the compliment it was, but fortunately James didn’t seem offended. 

“Little bit, yeah,” he admitted, rubbing at his lower lip to hide what Tony personally thought was an absolutely adorable smile. 

“What did you see? Did you get to the new exhibit on advanced AI?”

James huffed out a little laugh. “Tell you what,” he offered. “We’re cutting into your ninety minutes, so why don’t we get started and then I promise I’ll regale you with science stories while I work.” 

Tony had honestly forgotten why he was even here for a moment. He blinked at James a moment. “Am I dreaming right now? A massage from— from you.” He stumbled a little awkwardly over the words. He’d been about to say ‘a gorgeous man.’ “And we get to talk science? Sounds fake, but okay. Also, I would just like to point out that I am kind of the boss. If we want to take more than ninety minutes, I’m pretty sure we can do that.”

James snorted. “I like how you assume I don’t have anything else going on after this.” 

“Do you?” Tony asked, before he could stop himself. 

James shrugged. “Not really,” he admitted, grinning. From what Tony could tell, he seemed genuinely amused and not ‘you technically employ me so I’ve gotta laugh’ amused. “I’ve got another appointment, after you, and then that’s it. All free and clear.” 

There was a long moment then, both of them looking at each other in a way that, to Tony at least, felt heavy. Expectant. It would be so easy to just ask if he wanted to grab dinner, or coffee after. 

“Professionalism,” he managed to get out instead. “I like that.” 

James grinned back at him, and Tony told himself that he was imagining the slight tinge of disappointment to it. 

***

True to his word, once they’d gone over Tony’s problem areas, and he was settled comfy-cozy beneath the sheets, and James had returned to the room and gotten started on Tony’s back, he told him in perfect detail about his time at the science museum. He hadn’t been kidding about being ‘a little bit’ of a nerd; the way he’d get distracted on tangents, practically yelling in excitement until he remembered where he was and tamped it down again, was making Tony all kinds of nostalgic for being at MIT with Rhodey. 

He could feel himself falling a little harder with each passing second. 

Tony resisted the urge to jump in, to go into science teacher mode, because he’d gotten feedback in the past that that was a bit of a turn off. He didn’t point out that he’d actually been a consultant in the museum’s collaboration with MIT on the AI exhibit — James probably would have read that in the exhibit info, and if he hadn’t then Tony bragging about it wasn’t going to endear him in any way. But he couldn’t stop himself from fishing for a bit more information.

“So,” he managed, when there was an appropriate lull in the conversation (thankfully not cutting James off mid-word, like he had when he’d gotten a little too over enthusiastic about nanoparticles). “Who’d you go with? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Your... more intelligent than the average bear?” 

He could feel his neck heat, was glad that the room was dark, that he was lying face down so James couldn’t see the truly ridiculous facial expressions he was probably making right now. 

James made a faint noise that Tony couldn’t quite interpret. “Uh. No, nothing like that. I mean, Stevie’s dumber’n a bear sometimes, but no. Just some friends.” There was a brief hesitation, and then, softer, “Besides, you’d have to have one of those to take them with you.” 

Tony felt a stupid grin cross his face, even more relieved that he was facing the floor. “Yeah, that, uh… That’ll help,” he managed. 

The rest of the session passed entirely too quickly, and before he knew it James was taking a step back, telling him to take it easy and drink lots of water today. Tony hummed out a vague agreement, staring a little dazed up at the ceiling. James huffed out a soft laugh and then hesitated for the briefest of moments at the doorway. 

“It was nice seeing you today, Tony. Hope I’ll see you again soon.”

And then he was gone, leaving Tony blinking helplessly at the ceiling. He stayed there for a long time after he left. 

“Fuck.”  

***

There was really no going back, after that. Tony set up a standing appointment for every other Friday, and it very quickly became the highlight of his week. He also didn’t think he’d jerked off this much before in his entire life, but that was neither here nor there. Because the thing was, yes, James was hot as shit. But he was also ridiculously easy to talk to, and after just a couple of weeks, Tony felt like he’d known him forever, the same sort of instant connection that he’d felt when he’d first met Steve. 

Except, of course, he and Steve had fallen into an easy friendship while with James he just kept thinking of all the ways he wanted to take him apart, so maybe Rhodey was a more apt comparison. 

Tony knew he was driving his friends crazy. He’d started getting JARVIS to mark off his calendar with racquetball, just so he wouldn’t have to endure the looks that Pepper had started giving him when he told her he was going for another massage appointment. Not the usual ‘oh my god, are you kidding me’ looks that she got whenever he was doing something else gross — those he could have handled — but soft, sympathetic looks, like she thought he was in love or something. Perish the thought. Steve, on the other hand, had flat out banned Tony from talking about James anymore under threat of not hanging out until he either stopped going, or pulled his tits up and asked him out. Tony still managed to work him into every conversation. Pining was hard. 

Rhodey, at least, was a little more understanding. He and Sam had been roommates first, danced around each other for months without even knowing if the other one was into men before Sam had tripped and Rhodey had fallen and they’d ended up with their mouths on each other’s dicks. And then it had been another few months of “it’s just sex,” and “it doesn’t mean anything, Tony, really, shut up about it,” until they’d finally admitted that it was, in fact, a lot more than just sex. So Rhodey understood. Tony was still driving him absolutely bananas, but he at least understood. 

***

Tony didn’t know it, but Bucky wasn’t doing much better. Almost from the moment one session would end, he’d be counting down the hours until the next one. Every day that they didn’t have an appointment, he’d get a — frankly embarrassing — thrill low in his belly, wondering, imagining if he might run into Tony somewhere in the building. And on the days when he did, when he and Tony would make eye contact and Tony would give them that smile, like just seeing Bucky had saved him from a terrible day? Bucky knew it was probably just a reflex, born of being trained to be the consummate businessman since he was a kid, but it never failed to make his entire day, leaving Bucky smiling like a fool the whole day long.

He was kind of a ridiculous romantic like that.

It would be easier, maybe, if he thought it was completely one-sided, if it was just a hopeless crush on his part that he could wallow in and then get over. But try as he might, he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that it wasn’t entirely unrequited. He’d caught Tony giving him a look once or twice, when he thought he wasn’t looking, eyes lingering over his ass or thighs. But more than that, he’d say things sometimes, something innocuous that could almost be taken to mean something else. It wouldn’t be such a big deal, except then he’d get this look on his face. If Bucky blinked he’d miss it, but for just a second his eyes would go wide, and he’d have an ‘oh shit’ look on his face, like he hadn’t meant to let that slip. And then there’d been that long moment, their second appointment. He had been so absolutely sure that Tony was going to ask him out, had held his breath as he waited. 

And then the moment had passed and Tony hadn’t said anything at all. But Bucky couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t imagining it, that he wasn’t the only one who could feel how instantly they had connected, how ridiculously well they got along. 

Bucky had a tendency to flirt as natural as breathing, always had. It had gotten him in trouble once or twice as a kid in school, when he’d been caught kissing girls under the slide on the playground. It was hard for him to tamp that down, when he had Tony on the table, not to make everything sound like an innuendo. Not to turn on the charm, to up their banter, to do everything he could to get that smile out of him and make him laugh until he was just as smitten as Bucky was. He was just so easy to get along with. Maybe it was just the years long crush talking, but Bucky couldn’t help thinking that Tony saw him. He seemed to really get him, to understand him on a more-than-professional level. They had the same stupid sense of humor, the same style of arguing, and Bucky could listen to Tony go off on science tangents for literal hours. And sometimes he’d share things, stories from university, or about his best friend, or the most recent thing he’d done to exasperate his phenomenal PA, and Bucky couldn’t help thinking that these weren’t the kinds of stories that he shared with just everyone. He just wanted to take him out for dinner and learn everything about him, every secret he had. But like, in a sweet, totally non-creepy way. 

And as an added bonus? Good lord, Tony was gorgeous. 

Bucky had always known that, logically. His crush had to come from somewhere. But he was infinitely more gorgeous in person. Sometimes it was really hard not to let his voice drop into something low and wanting and sexy when the lights were dimmed low, and Tony was almost naked on the table, making those noises when Bucky got close to his ass, and all he could think about was dropping to his knees and sucking Tony off until he screamed.

Just the thought had Bucky twitching as he lay in bed, trying to will himself to just go to sleep. He normally tried not to think about it too… vividly, in his day to day. It felt like an invasion of privacy, imagining Tony like that, especially when he frequently dealt with him while the other man was in a pretty vulnerable position. And, irrational though it may have been, there was a part of him that worried that, if he let himself imagine it too much, he might just forget one day, greet Tony with a hot and heavy make out session, or something even worse. 

At night, though… 

Bucky shifted on the bed again, squirming a little as he felt his cock thicken in his shorts. It felt okay at night, when he was lying here in the dark. LIke he was a step removed from it. It was too easy to picture Tony, to imagine that there was something there, that he could just have him, whenever he wanted. It went against every bit of his sense of professionalism, but the idea of fooling around under the guise of giving Tony ‘therapy’ sent a delicious thrill through his stomach, made him groan as it thrummed in his balls. 

“Shit,” Bucky breathed, palming absently over his dick through the silky material. It was fine, he was a grown ass adult who was in complete control of his physical reactions. He wasn’t going to jerk off thinking of Tony (again). He wasn’t. He just had to adjust himself, and…

Bucky hissed out a low breath, eyes rolling back as he gripped himself. He couldn’t resist dragging his thumb up the length of dick, hips jerking when he rubbed just underneath the head. Then he grit his teeth and pulled his hand away, willing his cock to calm the fuck down. He’d just jerked off this morning, he was fine. He huffed loudly, scrubbing a hand over his face. There was an itch on his thigh, and reached down to scratch at it, squeezing his eyes shut like he could somehow force himself to sleep. Instead, his mind offered up the image of warm, brown eyes, Tony’s face scrunching up as he laughed at something Bucky had said; apparently he daydreamed about Tony so frequently now that picturing Tony was automatic. It was just so easy to imagine him, the way his tongue would always dart out, swipe over his lips before he’d suck the lower one between his teeth. It killed Bucky every time. 

He shivered, and abruptly realized that scratching the itch on his thigh had turned to dragging his blunt fingernails back and forth over the hyper-sensitive skin, a light, thrilling, tease. He groaned out loud, tugged at his hair in frustration which backfired spectacularly when it made his cock twitch. 

“Jesus Christ, Barnes,” he said to the empty room. “Pull yourself together.” 

He sat up enough to flip the pillow over to the cool side, flopping back down and turning onto his side so he could shove his face into it, spreading his legs a little to accommodate the weight of his dick. He closed his eyes again, trying to focus on deep breathing, but inevitably his thoughts turned to Tony again. It wasn’t even the top of the list of things that Bucky adored about him, but the man was stupidly beautiful. Picturing his smile, Bucky could imagine himself stepping closer to him, the way Tony’s eyes would drag down his body, catching on his thighs the way they always did, when he thought Bucky wouldn’t notice. As easy as if it had really happened, he could imagine himself moving closer still, Tony’s eyes going wide and dark when Bucky got up in his space, lips parting on a soft breath. Every once in awhile, after a long day, Tony’s normally coiffed hair would be reduced to a mess of curls. Bucky was picturing it like that now, imagining carding his hand through it the way he always wanted, tugging just a little until Tony gasped, head tipping back to look up at him, eyes soft and wide and hungry for it. 

Bucky’s hips jerked involuntarily, and he whined as the motion ground his dick against the mattress, sending a sharp shock of pleasure through his body. God, he just… He wanted so bad, wanted Tony’s hands all over his body, wanted to get his own hands on that gorgeous ass and haul Tony right up tight against him, the two of them grinding against each other, so overwhelmed they couldn’t so much as undress. Wanted to take Tony to bed, spread him out, take his time kissing every inch of his body until he was gasping and pleading, wanted Tony to do the same to him in kind, to feel those calloused fingers wrapped around his cock. 

“Fuck,” he muttered. He’d known all along, really, that this was inevitable, and he pushed down the guilt as he shoved his hand into his shorts, eyes nearly crossing as he closed his fist tight, the pressure sending tingles all the way down to his toes. He wasted no time with teasing himself, jerking off with a steady, firm grip, trying to emulate how he thought Tony, with his technical mind, might set about taking him apart. His hand moved faster at the thought, imagining Tony watching him with a serious expression, cataloguing every shift of his body, every twitch of his face, figuring out how to take him apart in the best possible way. Tony, leaning in close, biting at his lips, crooning at him to go ahead and come, and Bucky… Bucky would… 

His balls drawing up tight, Bucky turned his head back into the pillow as he came, biting down against the fabric so that he didn’t actually let Tony’s name slip past his lips like he desperately wanted. 

After, when he’d kicked off his shorts and cleaned up with the tissues he kept on the bedside table, and lay sprawled out on his back, still catching his breath, he couldn’t help thinking of the afterward. He and Tony laughing goofily, still a little orgasm high. Tony pressing up against his side for cuddles, the way he’d fit perfectly under Bucky’s chin. For a brief moment, his arms actually ached with the desire to just hold him. 

Worse, he was pretty sure he wanted that comfortable intimacy even more than the imagined amazing sex. 

He was a goddamn mess.

***

“Fuck,” Bucky whined, pillowing his head in his arms on the table. 

“Dude.” Sam’s hand grabbed the back of Bucky’s t-shirt, yanking him upright. “What are you doing? We’re in a bar, you freak. Quit embarrassing me in front of the ladies.” 

“What ladies?” Bucky grumbled. “You’re gay, Sam. You’re married. To a man.” 

Sam just shrugged at him, like he was missing the point, and Bucky huffed. 

“You don’t understand. You don’t know what it’s like to be in love with someone who doesn’t know you’re alive. You and Rhodes moved in the first night you met.”

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. “Because we were roommates. He was fresh off a tour and needed a place? Mutual friend set us up? And then we spent the next few months dancing around each other before we finally admitted we had feelings for each other? Any of this ringing a bell?” Sam shook his head, stealing Bucky’s beer. “Jesus Buck, how much have you had?” 

“Uh… A few?” Bucky offered, because he couldn’t actually remember how much he’d had to drink, waiting for Sam to show up, but now that it had been called to his attention, he was definitely feeling it. 

Sam just shook his head, obviously trying not to smile. “You got it bad, huh?” 

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” Bucky burst out, waving an arm in the air and narrowly avoiding clipping a server and sending their tray flying through the air. “He’s…” Bucky tried to think of a way to describe how wonderful Tony was, but he’d signed an NDA, and was drunk enough that he couldn’t figure out if it applied here, so it was probably safer not to describe him at all.

“Gotta admit man, never thought you’d go for some corporate schill.” Sam was blatantly laughing at him, and Bucky glared.

“He’s not!” Bucky tried to keep the whine out of his voice. “He’s perfect. He… He’s brilliant, and funny, and so kind. He knows everyone’s names, literally everybody. And… And his body?” He leaned in close, conspiratorial. “Okay, you can’t repeat this, but his first session, he got hard, man. Like, hard. His dick was perfect. I just wanted to drop to my knees and—“

“Jesus.” Sam made a gagging noise. “Too much info, Bucky, come on. I may be gay, but that doesn’t mean I wanna picture you having sex.” 

“Whatever.” Bucky heaved out a sigh again, and this time, when he pillowed his head in his arms, Sam didn’t try to stop him. “I am so fucked.” 

Sam’s hand settled on his back, smacking him in a way that Bucky was pretty sure was intended to be comforting. “It’s okay, man. It’ll get better.”

***

Bucky woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and a numb left arm. For probably a too long moment, he thought he’d just slept on it wrong, cut off circulation and hadn’t woken up enough in the night to roll over. 

And then awareness cut through the hangover as he realized that he couldn’t have lost circulation because he didn’t have a left arm. Cursing under his breath, he pulled himself to a sitting position, wincing at the bright sunlight that was filtering through the window -- drunk Bucky was a dick, who hadn’t bothered closing the curtains. The prosthetic was completely dead, and he couldn’t help glaring at it like he could somehow will it back to life through sheer force of his irritation. This had happened once or twice before (the arm going dead, not the willing it back to functioning part), but it was a pain in the ass to reset, and he squinted at it as he tried to remember the proper sequence. It was entirely too early in the morning to be dealing with this shit, and he kind of wanted to punch his past self in the face for drinking this much on a work night. 

Eventually he dragged himself out of bed and into his kitchen, knocking back a glass of water and a couple advil and digging through his junk drawer until he found the instructions he’d written out the last time this had happened. He sat at the kitchen table as he opened the hidden control panel and followed the instructions, rubbing his face and then leaning into his right hand, half dozing as he waited for the reset to complete.

And then he yelped and nearly jumped out of his chair when, instead of the normal return of sensation that he’d expected, there was a sharp, jarring buzzing feeling, stretching from his fingertips right up through the nerve connectors that let him use the arm with a thought. “Aw, fuck,” he grit out, the sensation making his teeth clench and his head throb. There was an emergency shut off button -- he’d always pictured the arm going rogue and trying to murder people -- and he practically slammed it now, slumping in relief as the arm went back to being dead weight. 

“Well, fuck,” he mumbled out loud. “That’s probably not covered in the instruction manual.” He sighed, weighing his options. There was no way he’d be going in to work today; even if he could get an appointment with the prosthetics team, it would likely take up a fair chunk of his day, and until he got in, he didn’t think anyone would be thrilled with a one-armed massage. Which colossally sucked, because it was his standing appointment with Tony today, and he’d been looking forward to it all week. 

For a minute he was tempted to go in anyway, maybe get his other appointments covered but meet with Tony, ask him about it personally. Even if he hadn’t worked on it himself, the man was a genius. He’d probably have some idea of what the problem was. But Bucky knew he wasn’t really going to do that, tempting as the thought of Tony working on him personally was. He’d be cheating Tony out of massage appointment, for one thing, and while he’d gotten to know Tony well enough that he was pretty sure he wouldn’t actually mind, it just felt like a little too much of an abuse of his position for him to really be comfortable with it. 

Of course, when he finally got through to the prosthetics department, and it turned out it was going to be a three week wait before he could even get in to see somebody, and who knew how long after that before the damn thing was actually fixed, he was kind of regretting his decision. But hey, maybe Sam was right and this was the ‘getting better’ that he had been talking about. Some space from Tony would probably be good, really, let him adjust to his feelings, maybe give him the chance to accept that it was never going to happen and move on. 

He kept trying to tell himself that, but he couldn’t shake the ache at not knowing when he’d even have the chance to see Tony again. 

***

Tony’d had the morning from hell -- board meetings were awful on a good day, and when he had to spend the entire time arguing with a bunch of old men who didn’t even understand what they were talking about, it made them even worse -- but that didn’t stop him from humming to himself from lunchtime on. It was probably a sign of just how far gone he was, but knowing he was seeing James in just a few hours kept his mood up. He’d been talking with one of his work contacts at JPL the night before, and he’d mentioned some new developments that he knew James was going to lose his mind over. He was practically bouncing by the time he finally headed off for his appointment, all but bursting into the room. 

“Hey, so, guess what I just hea… Hi.” He blinked, bemused, as he was met with Louise instead. Recovering quickly, he offered her a bright smile. “Hey Louise!” 

She grinned back at him. “Hey, Tony.” Her eyebrows arched. “Long time no see.” There was something knowing in her gaze, and Tony shifted a little. 

“Yeah, uh… I guess my appointments got switched over to James, when he started working here.”

“Mmmm. Lucky you then, huh?” Louise gave him a wink. “He’s a gorgeous boy.”

And sure, of course he was, but that didn’t really explain why he wasn’t here. Louise didn’t offer any further comments on James though, just set about beginning the session, and Tony just went along with it. He was missing some social cues sometimes, but he was pretty sure demanding to know what happened to his other massage therapist would be rude at best. 

Still, despite the small talk, and Louise’s story about her trip to Prague, Tony couldn’t stop thinking about James, wondering where he was and if everything was okay. He lasted about fifteen minutes -- thankfully managing to catch an appropriate break in the conversation, before he couldn’t wait any longer and had to ask. 

“So, uh…” He closed his eyes, even though Louise couldn’t see his face anyway, and hoped that he wasn’t as obvious as he thought he sounded. “Where is James, today?” He was struck by the sudden fear that he’d made him comfortable enough to want to quit, or at least not face Tony again, and felt himself tense up. “Hope everything’s alright?” 

If Louise felt his back go tight, she didn’t comment. “Nah, everything’s fine,” she assured him. “Just a sick day.” 

Immediately Tony’s mind went to the frankly adorable image of James, curled up on his couch with a blanket, coughing and sniffling his way through his Netflix queue. He felt the inexplicable desire to take care of him, and was wondering if it would be overstepping to send him get-well flowers, or maybe soup from that tiny hole-in-the-wall diner over in Alphabet City, when he realized that Louise was still talking. 

“He mentioned something about his prosthetic not working. Said it would be a few weeks before he even gets in for an appointment, so it’ll probably be awhile before he’s back.” 

And okay, if Bucky’s arm was acting up, that was… Well, embarrassing was what it was, since it was a Stark Industries product, but more importantly, that was something that Tony could fix. He was barely conscious for the rest of the massage, mind already whirling a mile a minute as he thought of all the ways he could improve the prosthetic, how he could tailor it, increase the sensation, bring up the response time. He didn’t know what James needed specifically, but it would be easy enough to bring up the schematics for the most recent improvements, see what more could be done -- especially if he stepped in personally. 

He’d had an informal business dinner that evening, but he cancelled it as soon as Louise left the room, almost forgetting to get dressed again in his hurry to get back to his personal lab. The second he’d had JARVIS bring up the necessary schematics, he’d been beset upon by ideas, had worked through night, pausing only for a couple hours sleep on the cot he kept down there before he was back at it again. 

It was… Sometime the next day when Pepper came in, arching an eyebrow at the pants and rumpled shirt that he was still wearing from the day before. “Well. Someone’s been busy.” 

Tony hummed out a distracted answer, and Pepper stepped closer, her other eyebrow shooting up when she realized what he was working on. 

“Really, Tony?” 

Tony did look up then, eyes wide as he tried to hide his guilty expression. “What?” he asked, a little defensively. “It’s a matter of professional pride.” Pepper didn’t answer, and Tony huffed, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. “The prosthetic stopped working! This is an SI product, and we have to stand by our products, and -- DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, PEPPER!” 

Pepper just sighed sympathetically and then leaned over, kissing his temple. “Just don’t work yourself too hard, okay? I know how you tend to throw yourself into things when you’re personally invested, and…” She pressed her palm flat against his chest, right over his heart so there’d be no mistake of what she meant. “Just take care of yourself, Tony. Make sure you eat. Get some actual rest,” she told him, heading for the door again. “And maybe take a shower!” she called back over her shoulder. “You kind of stink.” 

Tony had rolled his eyes, refusing to let her see how genuinely touched he was by her obvious concern, and though he did shower and even ordered an entire pizza, he still worked through the weekend. By Monday morning, he had a working prototype, one that was specifically tailored to James. And while he’d been supremely tempted to track down James’s address and show up with the arm as a surprise, possibly while wearing a trench coat and nothing else, he was pretty sure that was the lack of sleep talking, and quite likely a good way to end up calling Rhodey for bail (again). Forcing himself to keep a respectful, professional distance, he had instead taken it over to the prosthetics department, explaining the updates and laying out how they should be applied to all the prosthetics moving forward, and then politely suggesting that, since he’d used him as an example, they should trial it on James, and push up his appointment. Preferably to today. 

Then he’d gone up to the penthouse with plans to collapse into his bed for the next twelve hours.

If he was being totally honest with himself, there was a tiny part of Tony that had thought James would maybe call, that he’d want to thank Tony personally and in the process admit to some reciprocated feelings. But the day passed without so much as a word, and the one after that as well. By Wednesday, Tony caved and called Fred in prosthetics, who assured him that Mr. Barnes had in fact been fitted with the prosthetic arm on Monday, as… suggested, and had seemed inordinately pleased with it. 

So that was that.

Tony tried to tell himself it didn’t matter, that maybe James wouldn’t have known just how much of an overhaul the arm had received, or even realized that Tony had been the one to do it. Tried to tell himself that it wasn’t a rejection, that it hadn’t changed anything between them. Or hell, maybe it was a rejection. Either way he had to move on with his life. He was going to Rhodey and Sam’s that night for tacos -- because they were that married couple -- so he could focus on the people he knew loved him back. 

Of course, this newfound resolve lasted long enough for him to let himself in the front door of the house and throw himself on the couch, ignoring Rhodey’s attempts at beating whatever video game he was playing in favour of shoving his head in his lap. “Rhodeyyy,” he whined. “I don’t understand. Why doesn’t he just love me?” 

“Oh jesus,” Rhodey muttered, making a half-hearted attempt to shove Tony’s face off his knee. 

“Rude. You’d think you’d have more sympathy. I very clearly remember more than one occasion of having to pour you into bed after getting drunk and crying over your ‘unrequited’ love for Sam.” 

Rhodey gave an exaggerated sigh. “Oh boy. Here we go again.” 

Tony ignored that, snuggling in closer. “This would be easier with you, Honeybear. Even if you worked for me, you’ve never taken me seriously anyway, no abuse of power, right? Let’s start dating again!” 

Giving up on his video game, Rhodey rubbed a hand over his forehead. “I’m with Sam now!”

“That’s fine! The more the merrier!” 

“Oh my god,” Rhodey muttered, laughing despite himself. 

“I built him a new arm, Rhodey!” 

“What’s going on now?” Sam asked, walking into the room with a round of beer and an arched eyebrow, and the impeccable timing of a man sensing that his husband was in need of rescue.

“Don’t ask,” Rhodey told him, not quite cutting off Tony as he launched into a very detailed overview of his long and tragic love story. Rhodey covered his mouth. “Tony’s pining again,” he added succinctly, before scrunching up his face when Tony licked his hand in retaliation. 

“Ah,” Sam laughed sympathetically, sliding the bottles across the table as he settled into the armchair. “Your physiotherapist, right?” 

“Close enough,” Tony muttered, finally pulling away so he could sit up and drink the beer without spilling it all over himself -- never let it be said that Tony didn’t learn from his mistakes. “Point being, I’m in a position of power. If I make any kind of a move I’m gonna be that guy, which is the last thing I want. And then it’s all. ‘Does he really want me? Did he say yes because he thought he had to? Is that gonna define our whole relationship?’ That’s if he even feels that way.” Sam was eyeing him suspiciously, and Tony finally sighed, giving him a somewhat dirty look. “Okay, what? Are you making fun of me too?” 

“No, I’m not making fun of you,” Sam assured him. 

“I am,” Rhodey muttered, just loud enough for Tony to hear. Sam ignored him. 

“I’ve just got the strangest sense of deja vu right now. I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.”

“Probably because it’s the only conversation Tony has lately,” Rhodey offered. “And I’ve recounted it to you so many times that you feel like you were there.” 

Tony stuck his tongue out at him. “Hey Rhodes? Fuck you.” 

Of course, Rhodey couldn’t take that lying down, and they very quickly devolved into a wrestling match, with added effect of Sam worrying so much about the two of them destroying the antique vase inherited from his grandmother that he completely forgot to try and parse out why the conversation had seemed so familiar. 

***

At least, he forgot about it until the next day, when he was meeting Bucky for lunch. He’d barely sat down when Bucky came bursting into the restaurant, looking around wildly. He spotted Sam and nearly knocked over an entire (thankfully empty) table in his rush to get to him. 

“Holy shit!” he yelped, apparently uncaring of the dirty look that earned him from the elderly couple a few tables over. “Guess what he did!” 

Sam blinked at him, utterly lost. “Guess what… Who did what now?” 

Apparently too overwhelmed to properly explain, Bucky started waving his left arm wildly through the air, catching his water glass and nearly sending it flying. “He built me an entirely new fuckin’ arm, Sam.” 

For the briefest of moments, Sam thought he was having an entire out of body experience. “He… He built you an arm,” he repeated weakly. Bucky was too busy gesticulating and waxing poetic to notice as Sam’s mind melted for a minute. “Of course he did. Because my idiot and Rhodes’s idiot are the same fuckin’ pair of idiots.” 

And then, because he wouldn’t be a real friend if he didn’t try to get the maximum amount of possible entertainment out of this, he grinned. 

“Hey, Buck? Why don’t you come with me ‘n Rhodey to the SI gala tomorrow night? Rhodey’s got a… contact. I’m sure we could get you an extra ticket. And hey, maybe your hunk of handsome’ll be there, huh?”

The way that Bucky’s face went pale, mouth opening and closing like he couldn’t even comprehend the idea, was absolutely priceless. 

@tonystarkbingo