Chapter Text
Bucky was exhausted. He was tired of not knowing what he was doing wrong. Even when he was trying his hardest to get things right, it seemed that nothing was easy, nothing was understandable.
All he knew was that he wanted Tony. Wanted it to work out, wanted to be able to walk with him around the campus. Eventually, he’d like to do something like fighting supervillains together. To be able to protect Tony, both from the world, and from himself, because Tony really did seem a little self-destructive. Quick to take offense. Quick to read things the wrong way. Quick to see himself in the worst light and to believe that others saw him that way, too.
For right now, Bucky was going to do something he did understand.
He went to the race.
Loki had hurt some of Bucky’s friends, and Bucky aimed to see him utterly humiliated and cast down for it.
At least the car was finished. He and the rest of the Commandos piled into it; Coulson was driving and his hands were on the wheel, eyes bright and fierce.
Bucky went over the upgrades with him, once they got there. “Here’s for the repulsors,” he said, indicating the switch that he and Tony had spent a good hour or so rewiring.
“So that’s what that button does,” Coulson mused thoughtfully.
Loki and his gang were already there, their car, Sleipnir, was a thing of dark beauty. Evil and yet so very cool. Bucky paused for a moment to consider that it was a shame they were enemies. He shook the thought away; Loki was evil, Loki meant to hurt people.
“You’ll do great,” Bucky said, patting Coulson on the shoulder.
“You’re gonna be my second, right?” Coulson asked. “Aside from me, you’re the best driver in the bunch, and you know how to run Lola, right?”
Bucky blinked. “I thought you didn’t want anyone else touching Lola.” That was sort of true, Coulson had a tendency to be a little defensive about his car, even though he’d let most of the Commandos borrow it from time to time. Except for Steve. No one who ever wanted to see their car (or motorcycle) in one piece again let Steve get behind the wheel.
“Come on, man,” Coulson said. “We can’t lose this race!”
“Nothing’s gonna happen to you,” Bucky said. “But yeah, sure, I can do that.”
“Hey, Phil!” Steve called. “Look, I got something for you.”
Coulson walked around the other side of the car; Steve had a couple of cards in one hand and was waving them around. Bucky scoffed; Steve had managed to dig up some “rare” collector cards -- was it cheating if Bucky told Coulson that Steve got those things from his publicity rep for free? -- and had signed them. Good lord, Steve’s ego was enormous.
Except how it really wasn’t. It wasn’t that Steve was trying to show off -- even if he was -- but that Coulson was a collector of super-hero paraphernalia and Steve took care to know Coulson’s preferences. It was actually kinda cute.
“Oh, wow, Cap, that’s…” Coulson was staring at Steve like Steve had just floated down from heaven. Bucky was rolling his eyes, which was probably why he missed it. The wind picked up and the cards slipped from Coulson’s hands. He bent over to pick them up and someone else opened the back seat door, slamming Coulson into the ground.
“Damn,” Steve said, dropping to one knee.
“Language,” Peggy scolded him from the sidelines. “Let me see, is he -- oh, hell, he’s out cold.”
“You’re gonna have to drive in his place,” Steve said, handing the keys over to Bucky. “We can’t let him drive like this.” Peggy was pulling Coulson to his feet, waving a sharp-smelling sachet in front of his nose.
“I was just saying that nothing was going to happen to you, you idiot,” Bucky fussed. He took the keys and grabbed a pair of driving gloves from Coulson’s pocket.
“Well, then,” Steve said, glaring at Bucky like all of this was his freaking fault, “you’re to blame, so you better fix it.”
Bucky rolled his eyes. “Yes, sir, Captain, sir,” he muttered. He pushed the driver’s seat back; he was a little taller than Coulson, and adjusted the steering wheel. Checked the rearview mirror. The crowds of students gathered to watch the race were impressive and…
Was that Tony in the crowd there?
Bucky tried to hide a smile. Not that it mattered, Tony couldn’t see him clearly from his spot in the crowd, but at least Tony was here. No matter how it had happened, Tony couldn’t stay away from Bucky any more than Bucky could stay away from Tony.
They’d figure it out.
“Drivers ready?”
Bucky nodded. He strapped in, looping the five-point crash belt around his shoulders and clicking the latch in the center buckle. He checked the mirrors again, there was Tony, standing with his friend Janet, watching nervously.
He threw the car in gear and rolled over to the start. Loki was in the driver’s seat opposite him. Loki rolled his window down smoothly, and Bucky hit the retract button on the passenger side window to hear what the bastard had to say.
“I thought that Coulson was driving,” Loki said, icily. “Did he have to go to bed without supper?”
“Why don’t you let Thor take over, clearly he’s the better driver,” Bucky mocked. “You’re gonna lose.”
“Am I?”
“It’s in your nature,” Bucky quipped. He gunned the engine, listening to Lola purr like the tiger she was. Good car. He ran a hand over the dash, admiring. Tony had done good work. He could trust in Tony’s work. “In the end, you’ll always lose. You lack conviction.”
“You lose, you kneel,” Loki snarled. “Where everyone can see you.”
There was no answer to that, and Steve was already out on the road, waving his starter hanky.
“In the end, you will always kneel!”
Bucky swore. Loki was off and going hell bent for leather. Bucky threw Lola into gear and slammed his foot to the ground, hitting the clutch at every turn, trying to regain lost speed.
And then it was driving. Losing himself in the feel of the road. He loved his mechanical arm in times like these; it was just so responsive. He could feel the vibrations in the car long before the tachometer told him to shift up, he was on top of it. He and the car were one, Lola moved at his every thought, barely before the wheel turned in his hand.
It didn’t take very long to catch up with Loki, even as fast as Sleipnir moved, its larger frame kept it from being quite as maneuverable. Lola was sleek, she was designed for spirited performance and nimble handling. Her lower center of gravity gave her the advantage on roads, the repulsor discs gave her the ability to go beyond roads.
Bucky was behind Loki, directly. Staring up the tailpipe. The bigger car zigged back and forth across the road. Pinned in by the low hills on either side of the road, Bucky couldn’t pass. Loki drove like a madman, wild as a bag of cats, heedless of the possibility of a wreck.
“JARVIS?” Bucky asked. He was sure that Tony had been extending his AI into the suits and wasn’t sure if he’d messed with the car as well. “Can I get a visual on the road ahead?” He needed an advantage, just a little one. Once he was past Loki, he could eat up the road and everything would be over except the screaming.
“Of course, Mr. Barnes,” the AI’s smoothly cultured voice came over the radio’s speaker. “Projecting on the passenger glass.”
It was good that JARVIS had warned him, otherwise Bucky might have lost control of the vehicle when the full color overlay popped up on the windshield. Bucky could see the two rapidly moving dots that represented Loki (in green) and himself (in red).
“Got a good spot where I can pass him?”
“Point six miles ahead, on the hairpin, activate left repulsors at two seconds into the turn. You will gain a burst of speed and minimal clearance needed to pass. From there --”
“Yeah, give it to me as we go, Jay,” Bucky said, downshifting for better traction on the uneven road surface. “Two step directions are all I can manage.”
“You may wish to note that compliant features of the repulsor upgrade will misbehave ungracefully,” JARVIS said.
“Meaning what, exactly?”
“Compliant behavior of the feature is not guaranteed.”
“It won’t work?”
“Those upgrades were left accessible in case they were required.”
“Meaning it might work,” Bucky suggested.
“A very astute observation, Mr. Barnes,” JARVIS replied.
“I thought Tony fixed the repulsors,” Bucky whined. He shifted again, riding right up Loki’s tailpipe.
“Mr. Stark was distracted,” JARVIS said, “by emotional issues.”
“I pissed him off,” Bucky said.
“You might have done so,” JARVIS said. “Prepare to fire repulsors on my mark, Mr. Barnes.”
“Don’t be a nag, sweetheart,” Bucky replied, finger hovering over the button.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Mr. Barnes,” JARVIS said.
“You can call me Bucky if you want.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mr. Barnes,” JARVIS said. “Mark.”
Bucky triggered the repulsors and whooped with delight when the trademark click and whine sounded, boosting Lola up around the side of the curve.
“Repulsor capacity is down to thirteen percent,” JARVIS informed him as they tore down the road, leaving Loki and his demon-car in Lola’s dust.
“Hopefully I’ll only need twelve,” Bucky said.
***
“What the hell is he doing?” Tony demanded, grabbing Janet’s arm and squeezing.
“Um, winning the race?” Janet said. She raised a pair of ridiculously yellow binoculars to her eyes and studied the track. “Really, he would have looked better doing it in a new jacket. I’ll have to talk with him about it.”
“I don’t care about his fashion!” Tony burst out, ignoring Jan’s gasp of horror. “I care about him running the repulsors.”
“They’re your tech, Tones,” Rhodey said, all reasonable from a few feet away, one arm around Carol’s waist.
“They’re not properly aligned!” Tony yelled. “I didn’t… I got… distracted. I was upset. He shouldn’t be--”
Even over the sound of the crowd, Tony could hear the repulsor whine, shaky, unsteady. Failing.
“Go, go Commandos!” Someone started the chant and soon the crowd was a roar of noise and enthusiasm.
“Come on, Rhodes!” Tony grabbed Rhodey’s arm.
“What?”
“We gotta help him,” Tony explained, yanking Rhodey along with him through the crowd. “If he tries to fly in Lola right now, the repulsors aren’t balanced for the load. He’ll crash!”
“You know I can catch his stupid butt if he falls out of the sky, right, Stark?” Carol quipped, hovering alongside them.
“If you do it, he’ll be out of the race,” Tony said. “Besides, with your strength, I’m not sure you wouldn’t accidentally put him in orbit, and Lola’s not equipped to visit other celestial bodies.”
“What, you’re gonna fix the repulsors. From under the car? While he’s airborne? Are you crazy?”
“Crazy like a fox,” Tony snarked. “JARVIS, get me a suit!”
Carol picked Rhodey up under the arms like he was an oversized teddy bear and practically dropped him on top of War Machine. “Go, go, go,” she chanted as the two of them hopped into the suits, repulsors blasting even before the mask closed over Tony’s face.
“Hey babe,” Tony said as he shot across the sky toward the race course. “You need a pit-go.”
“Tony?” Bucky’s voice was startled. “A what?”
“You can’t stop, no time. Launch Lola up here and let me fix her before you crash into the earth at ninety-miles an hour, or send yourself spinning into space,” Tony explained.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Keeping you from getting killed because I’m an idiot,” Tony said. “Launch her, now.”
Tony slid under the chassis as soon as Lola was airborne, tools already out.
“I gotcha, Tones,” Rhodey reported, gauntleted hands coming up under Tony’s hips, holding him steady while he worked.
“Don’t fly low,” Tony cautioned. “I really don’t wanna get scraped off on the trees.”
“Doin’ the best I can, kitten,” Bucky said, his voice shaking a little, “but it’s not really very stable in here at the moment.”
“Tell me about it, stud” Tony said. He popped open the rear-passenger repulsor disc. “Just give me three minutes.”
“Under the circumstances, sir,” JARVIS said, “two minutes is about all you have.”
“I love pressure,” Tony said, grabbing the two cross-leads and yanking them loose. “I eat pressure for breakfast. And gluten-free waffles.”
“I wasn’t aware you even knew what breakfast was, Tones,” Rhodey commented. “Usually you’re just running on coffee and anxiety.”
“Shut up before I tell everyone about your--”
“You want me to drop your ass, Stark,” Rhodey growled, “just keep talkin’.”
Tony would have said something, he should have said something, but he was a little busy right now, goddammit. He tightened the conductive motivator and plugged the cross-leads back in. “Okay, Bucky, baby, give me a count of three, turn ‘em off, then back on, okay?”
“We’re going with the Microsoft solution, Tony? Have you tried rebooting?” Bucky’s voice was high and faintly panicking.
“I’m right here,” Tony said. “If it doesn’t work, honey, I’ll catch you. I promise.”
Tony could hear Bucky’s sigh over the comms.
“One, two,” Bucky said. “Three.”
Tony and Rhodey scrambled to get out from under the vehicle before gravity claimed one of her own.
The car went dead.
“Come on, come on, come on,” Tony chanted under his breath.
The engine turned over with a roar.
The repulsors came back online with a click and a whirr.
“Oh, thank Tesla,” Tony murmured. “Go get ‘em, babycakes!”
Bucky shifted, hit the accelerator and the car zoomed away.
“Hey, Tones,” Rhodey said. “Ain’t you gonna go to the finish line and kiss your boy?”
“Yes,” Tony said, turning. “But I need to go home and change clothes, first.”
***
“Hey,” a soft voice near Coulson’s ear got his attention.
God, his head hurt. And he wasn’t exactly calm, watching Bucky Barnes almost wreck his car, almost lose to Loki Laufeyson. But maybe… maybe everything would be all right.
He pressed his lips together and turned. It wasn’t exactly making him happy that Clint was still talking to him, with all the rumors going around. Bad enough that Clint had hurt him, had either spread those lies, or let them be spread. But now, to --
“Aw, Phil, no,” Clint said. He put a hand on Coulson’s arm. “Look, lemme explain, okay. I know it looks bad.”
“Looks bad?”
“It… look, it was poison ivy, okay? I went to the clinic and got checked out. Nothing happened. It wasn’t you, it wasn’t me, it was just some damn weeds, okay?”
“On your dick?”
“Ok, I know it looks bad, but trust me on this. Feels worse,” Clint pointed out. “Come on… come on, Phil, make the call. I’m still rooting for us.”
“Clint, you idiot,” Coulson said. He put an arm around Clint’s waist and drew him in.
“Yeah, well, you love me anyway,” Clint said, leaning against Coulson’s side.
“Yeah, I do.”
***
Bucky climbed out of the car, triumphant.
It didn’t take long before Carol and Steve had him up on their shoulders, displaying him to the cheering crowds. Loki barely even stopped at the finish line, just spun a plume of dirt everywhere and took off. He might have yelled some cheesy I’ll-be-back sort of one-liner, but no one could hear him over the cheers.
And no one cared.
Of course Loki would be back. Villains were always back. (Even death wasn’t a career ending event.)
“Where’s Tony?” Bucky asked, staring around. He’d hoped to get his triumphant kiss or something. No matter how angry Tony had been with him, when the chips were down, Tony was there for Bucky. And now that they’d won, that they were the victors, Tony deserved to be there for the accolades.
Always.
“I’m here,” Tony said.
Bucky nearly fell off his perch.
Tony had taken off the Iron Man armor. Which was nice. Hugging a metal suit hadn’t sounded like a lot of fun anyway.
But he’d also taken something else off.
Tony was dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a tank top that showed off his muscular biceps.
But also had a little hemmed window in the exact center.
Through it, the arc-reactor glowed, blue and beautiful, visible to everyone.
“Tony…” Bucky couldn’t speak coherently, could only stare.
“Hey, Dr. Kimble,” Tony said. He was smiling a bit uncertainly, like he wasn’t sure if Bucky was going to run to him, or run away.
Bucky made a face at him. “Pretty sure that’s messed up and backward, kitten.”
“Details. They’re for other people,” Tony said. “Look, I… if you still… I’m an idiot and I’m sorry.”
Bucky stepped closer, put his hand over the glowing reactor, feeling the heat and the whirr of machinery. “You’re okay, showing this off to everyone?”
Tony smiled. “Yeah. You’re the one that I want,” he said. “It’s you, it’s always been you. And my stupid insecurities almost messed that up.”
“I didn’t make it any easier on you, kitten,” Bucky confessed. “I… wanted to seem tough and cool and it almost drove you away.”
“Well, you better shape up,” Tony said. “Because my heart is set on you.”