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“Tony? Doll, have you been up this whole time?” Bucky asked, squinting against the kitchen light.
Tony froze, knuckles turning white around the pen he was holding. He glanced up quickly at his boyfriend, guilt thrumming through him at the sight of Bucky rubbing his eyes and yawning widely. He looked around their kitchen, grimacing at its disastrous state.
About a dozen cups of coffee holding various amounts were scattered around the counter and their rickety table, and pens, laptop, and his mess of papers and post-its covered the rest of the table. Admittedly, there was a nice chocolate smell emitting from the oven, from the cupcakes that Tony had randomly had an intense craving for. But the counters were an absolute mess, coated in flour and chocolate powder, an egg that hadn’t entirely made it into the bowl, and some spilled milk dripping steadily onto the floor.
Tony looked back over at Bucky only to jump in surprise when he realized the man was right next to him. Letting out a nervous laugh, Tony asked, “What are you doing up? You have an early day tomorrow, you should get some rest.”
Bucky scoffed. “And you don’t? It’s 2:36AM, you have to leave by 5, and if my guess is correct, you haven’t slept since our nap two days ago.”
Tony stared at him, guilt, anger, and frustration warring within those brown eyes. Bucky’s heart broke when, after a minute of stony silence, Tony’s face crumpled, a sob breaking through. He stepped forward, holding his smaller boyfriend close against him, rubbing Tony’s back slowly. He hated how Tony was shaking against him, clearly breaking down but still trying to hold it in. ‘Because of that damn father of his.’ Bucky sighed, humming softly and rocking back and forth as Tony cried over whatever was keeping him awake.
Eventually Tony calmed down, sniffling against Bucky’s chest. He took a deep breath, then said softly, “I’m sorry. I just got so stuck in my head, with our finals coming up, and that stupid weapons demonstration Howard set up for me, as well as that meeting to discuss my future to take over Stark Industries even though I don’t want to, I hate it so much,” he sobbed, clutching Bucky tighter.
Bucky shushed him quietly, hating how tense Tony got while talking about the company and his father, and breathed deep with Tony until he was pliant and soft against him once again. “How about we go take a shower? It’ll help you feel better, refreshed, and I’ll throw in a little massage at the end too, how about that?”
Tony laughed wetly, before nodding. “That sounds nice.”
Bucky hugged Tony tightly another few moments, then said decisively, “All right, let’s get you settled down.” Holding Tony’s hand, he gently tugged his boyfriend into their in-suite, releasing him for a moment to turn on the shower.
Turning back to Tony, he carefully pulled the sweaty, worn shirt off of him, placing a quick kiss on Tony’s nose when his head was out. Kneeling down, he tugged Tony’s sweats and boxers off, making sure his feet didn’t get tangled when he lifted each one out.
He ushered Tony into the shower, then quickly undressed himself before following him in. Tony had already gotten his hair wet, so Bucky grabbed his coconut scented shampoo and began gently massaging it into those brown curls.
Bucky’s heart warmed at the sight of Tony’s visibly relaxing under his hands. The ever-present lines on his forehead and around his eyes smoothed out, the stress melting away and down the drain with the bubbles. Carefully keeping the soap away from Tony’s eyes, Bucky washed the shampoo from Tony’s hair and moved onto the conditioner. Continuing with the scalp massage, Bucky smiled when Tony sighed happily at the feeling.
After washing the conditioner from Tony’s hair, he quickly rinsed himself down, having taken a shower the previous night, while Tony washed the rest of his body. When they were both clean, they got out quickly, Tony giggling when Bucky tickled up his sides while he was drying off.
The warm feeling in his chest only grew when Tony leapt onto their bed, snuggling into the blankets. Bucky couldn’t resist following, wrapping his wriggling, warm, and naked boyfriend up in his arms, placing a trail of kisses up his neck and nipping on his ear.
Tony whined when Bucky started kissing across his shoulder, saying, “Bucky! You promised me a massage!”
Bucky placed another kiss on Tony’s jaw, smiling when Tony leaned into it despite his complaints. “I did?” He teased, kissing Tony’s cheek, then his neck again, laughing when Tony whined again. “OK, OK, hang on.”
He reached into their bedside drawer for the massage oil, quickly tipping a few drops onto his palm and rubbing it between his hands until it was warm. Kneeling next to where Tony was lying on his stomach, Bucky starting rubbing the oil into Tony’s shoulders and back.
Tony had said time and again that his hands were sinful, in various situations, but Bucky hadn’t been more thankful for learning to give massages until now. Tony had already been flagging since the shower, but as Bucky slowly moved down Tony’s back, he was relaxing further and further into the bed.
By the time Bucky finished, Tony was thankfully asleep. Or so he thought. He washed his hands quickly, crawling back into the bed and chuckling softly when Tony rolled into his arms. A feather soft kiss was left on his chest, Tony whispering, “Love you James,” before his breath finally evened out into sleep.
Brushing another kiss onto Tony’s cute curls, Bucky whispered back, “Love you too Tony.”