Work Text:
It wasn’t easy to get a seat in the fanciest restaurant in the city on Valentines Day, but Steve had quite literally called on February 15th of the year before to make a reservation and called on the fifteenth of every month following to reconfirm, and then once a week through January and the beginning of February.
He had probably made a life long enemy of the poor hostess who had to reconfirm his reservation no less than a twenty times, but damn it, he had a reservation at the fanciest restaurant in the city on Valentines Day, and he and Bucky were currently getting drunk on overpriced wine at the best table in the place.
“I still cannot believe you actually got into this place.” Bucky looked around the room admiringly, up at the crystal chandeliers and at the floor to ceiling windows that offered a panoramic view of the city below. “How much did this table cost? How much did this wine cost? Stevie you’re a fucking starving artist, ow on earth did you afford–”
He squinted a look at his boyfriend. “Stevie?”
“Huh?” Steve jerked back to the moment, his smile too wide in an attempt to cover his distraction. “Sorry, baby. What were you saying?”
“I was saying that you’re a poor, pitiful, penniless artist who obviously is sleeping with the hostess to afford a reservation at this place.” Bucky raised his eyebrows pointedly. “But you’d know that if you were listening. What the hell has got you so distracted?”
“Nothing.” Steve shook his head quickly, reached across the table and squeezed at Bucky’s hand. “Nothing, I’m one hundred percent right here with you.”
Then his nose scrunched. “Bucky, I’m not a penniless artist, I’m professor of Art History at the university, I make more money than you do, even without counting my pay from my other job.”
“Yeah, well.” Bucky pushed his shoulder length hair off his shoulders and shrugged. “That’s good because I wouldn’t put up with you ignoring me over Valentines Day dinner if you weren’t paying for this ridiculously good steak.”
“You’re dumb and I love you.” Steve tugged Bucky over the table, placing a soft kiss on his lips. “And I’m sorry I’m not very present right now, but I’m a little distracted by the couple behind us.”
“What’s going on with the couple behind us?” Bucky went back to his steak, stabbing at a big bite and swiping it through the gravy and potatoes. “By the way, this steak is so good I’m never eating regular steak again. This has ruined my life. I am going to be so high maintenance from now on.”
“Pain in the ass.” Steve grinned.”If you weren’t so sexy, I’d make you pay for the dinner.”
“Well then thank god I’m sexy.” Bucky emptied his wine glass and waved the waiter over for another. “So. Couple behind us? Is something going on or are you just ogling them and I should be jealous?”
“I’m not exactly sure what’s going on.” Steve said slowly. “But I think the brunette is in trouble.”
“He’s what now?” Bucky whipped around to stare at the table behind them, and then whipped right back around with his mouth open. “Holy crap Stevie, that guy is hot. Let’s take him home!”
“Oh my god, focus.” Steve rolled his eyes. “Look at how the blonde is treating him. Maybe this time don’t stare like an imbecile, and later we should have a talk about how you suddenly are open to taking home strangers.”
“Okay okay.” Bucky turned around slower this time, casually rotating in his chair until he could see the couple again.
The tall blonde wore a perfectly tailored suit of soft gray, a diamond tie pin glinting in the low light, a heavy, boldy expensive watch on his wrist. He lounged back in his chair looking entirely at ease and entirely comfortable in such a fancy setting, a cocky smile on his lips and hardened steel in his eyes.
His date on the other hand, a brunette that Bucky was still eyeing rather greedily, was dressed all in muted colors and hunched over in his chair, arms crossed over his body as if he were trying to hide, dark eyes flitting around the restaurant anxiously and then down at his untouched plate.
“I… I don’t like that.” Bucky said slowly and Steve nodded in agreement, adding a quiet– “Keep watching, tell me if you see what I see.”
The couple was holding hands across the table, but the blonde was the only one holding, the brunette looking for all the world as if he wanted to pull away but couldn’t. When a waiter came to freshen their drinks, the brunette shook his head, but the blonde snapped his fingers and pointed towards a still nearly full wine glass to be topped off anyway.
“I don’t like that.” Bucky said again. “Not one bit.”
“We should do something.” Steve decided. “I don’t know exactly what that should be, but–”
“Oh I do what we should do.” Bucky tossed his napkin down and jumped to his feet. “I’m gonna go ask the brunette if he wants to take a ride on the Bronco, you go break the blonde’s collarbone, huh?”
“Bucky!” Steve hissed, scrambling up as well when Bucky started heading towards the other table. “Bucky I swear to god, don’t you dare ask him if he wants to ride the–Hey fellas.” he pasted an easy smile on his face when they came upon the other couple. “Happy Valentines Day. You mind if we join you?”
“You want to join us.” The blonde said cooly, arrogant gaze flicking over first Bucky and then Steve. “I’d say no thank you, but I don’t want to pretend to be that polite. Go back to your own table and leave us the hell alone.”
“Ty.” Quietly from the brunette, his gaze catching Steve’s and then skittering away. “Don’t make a scene, please. Let’s just have a nice dinner.”
“Don’t make a scene.” Ty repeated, his tone hardening in a way that made Steve’s jaw set angrily and Bucky’s shoulders square up in the way they only did before he delivered an ass kicking. “Anthony, I think perhaps you should reconsider your tone. You wouldn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of–”
“You know what? M’bein’ an asshole, haven’t even introduced myself.” Bucky crowded into the booth next to Anthony and slung a friendly–and protective– arm around him. “Names James Buchanan but friends call me Bucky and pretty people like you get to call me Bronco.”
He winked and Anthony blushed nearly scarlet, stammering uncertainly. “Well, I–I– you– um–”
“You wanna know why they call me Bronco, sweet thing?”
“Now see here!” Ty started to object but shut up abruptly when a rather large hand clapped down on his shoulder, Steve having to apply next to no pressure to keep the other man seated.
“Now see here.” Steve repeated, voice lowering dangerously. “I thinkyou should reconsider your tone, because if you start a scene I can guarantee me and Bucky will finish it and you don’t want that to happen.”
“Sure would be a shame if I had to ruin this pretty table by putting you through it.” Bucky added, and when Steve sent him a look, Bucky ever so casually tugged at Tony’s sleeve so Steve could see just the start of finger shaped bruises at his wrist. “Tell me, Anthony, how do you feel about coming over and finishing your Valentines Day dinner with us?”
“Um–” Anthony hesitated, and Ty tensed under Steve’s hand. “I– you guys– um–”
“Stevie here is a professor.” Bucky drummed his fingers on the table before turning his palm over, smiling when Anthony slowly slowly let go of Ty’s hand and took his instead. “Makes all sorts of money and bought me a real nice dinner, no reason why you couldn’t share it. The steak’s bigger than my head and tastes about as good as I bet your lips do, what say we go give it a try?”
“I’m not super hungry.” A weak gesture towards the steak that was growing cold on his plate, and a wary look towards an increasingly agitated Ty. “But thank you.”
“That’s fine, Anthony.” Steve said clearly, calmly. “Everything’s fine, but why don’t you go sit with Bucky for a minute anyway. I think Ty and I need to have a quick chat.”
“Please.” Anthony turned towards Bucky and whispered, “Please, I have to go home with him, we live together. I appreciate what you’re trying to do but you’re just going to make things worse in the end, please just leave it alone.”
“You don’t have to go home with him.” Bucky whispered right back, holding Anthony a little tighter when the brunette started to shake. “You don’t have to go home with us either, but you definitely don’t have to keep sitting here, alright?”
“Alright.” Barely audible. “Okay, I’d like to sit at your table please.”
“That’s all I needed to hear.” Bucky basically hauled Anthony out of the booth with one arm, sending Ty a smile that was more of a snarl. “Have a fan-fucking-tastic rest of your evening, ass-wipe.”
“Thank you, Bucky.” Steve only kept from rolling his eyes at his idiot boyfriend because he was still about an inch from attempting to snap Ty’s collarbone. “Ty, let’s you and I have a chat.”
“Do you have any idea who I am?” Ty bit out when Steve sat in the booth across from him. “Do you have any idea what I can do to ruin your life just because you’ve pissed me off?”
“I don’t care who you are.” Steve said lightly, mildly. “And I know you don’t care who I am, so I won’t bother with any introductions. But you should know that if you so much as look at Anthony wrong, I’m going to hurt you in a way that not even that stupid suit will cover, you understand?”
“Are you threatening me?” Ty was absolutely incredulous that a man in a cable knit sweater vest and button down was somehow trying to be intimidating. “Because you didn’t like how I handle my partner?”
Steve leaned across the table, voice deceptively calm, eyes blazing in anger. “I’m out here trying to have a nice dinner with my boyfriend, celebrate Valentines Day like a normal couple, but I look over here and see you so obviously mistreating your date? Leaving bruises on him? He’s over here cowering like he’s afraid you’re going to hit him and you expect me to not have something to say about that?”
“It’s none of your damn business.” Ty retorted. “And I don’t care whoyou think you are–”
“You should care.” Steve said flatly. “Because I’ve killed men for a whole lot less than mistreating their partner, and I wouldn’t even have to collect a paycheck to be willing to take you out.”
“I–” Ty’s mouth fell open, then closed a few seconds later as he started looking increasingly uneasy. “I– what?”
“Have a nice rest of the night.” Steve stood up and straightened his vest. “And when Anthony comes over to get his stuff from your place it would be great if you weren’t around.”
“I–I–you–” Ty had nothing to say at all, and after another moment of flailing, he shoved away from the table and stomped from the restaurant.
“What do you think he said?” Anthony said nervously, watching Ty storm out. “I don’t want to be any trouble, I don’t want to start any trouble, I swear, I just–”
“Don’t worry.” Bucky said easily. “Steve’s fine, Ty won’t bother us.”
“Well what– what does Steve do?” Anthony asked then. “He certainly doesn’t look like a professor.”
“Oh he’s a professor alright.” Bucky cut a big chunk of steak and placed it on the plate by Tony, scooping over some of his potatoes too. “But he also leads black ops missions overseas. Assassinations. Overthrowing governments. That sort of thing.”
“What?” Anthony’s jaw dropped. “He does what? You can’t be serious.”
“Sure I’m serious.” Bucky pointed at himself. “You don’t think he just keeps me around cause I’m a hot piece of ass, do you? I’m his second in command. All of this? The fancy restaurant and all that? We missed Valentines Day together last year because he had to kill someone somewhere secret so he is making up for it this year. And lucky us, you happened to be eating here too, and now we get to have this awesome bonding moment.”
“Lucky us.” Anthony repeated numbly. “So you guys– you could actually help me with Ty?”
“If you want us to.” Bucky’s gaze zeroed in on the bruises on Tony’s wrist. “And you should want us to.”
“But that’s his decision to make.” Steve appeared at the table again, bringing an extra chair with him. “Anthony we didn’t get the chance to properly meet each other, my name is Steven–”
“You don’t have to pretend to be normal, I already told him we kill people.” Bucky interrupted. “He didn’t think a professor in a sweater vest could handle Ty so I had to tell him.”
“I feel like you didn’t have to tell him.” Steve shook his head in exasperation. “But if that’s how we’re doing it, I’m Captain Steve Rogers, professor of art history at the university. This is my boyfriend and second in command Master Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes–”
“Bronco.” Bucky interrupted with a sly wink.
“He goes by Bucky.” Steve corrected. “So now that you know us, can we know you?”
“Anthony Stark.” Their new friend said quietly. “But my friends call me Tony. And thank you.”
“Ain’t no thang.” Bucky kicked Steve under the table and cleared his throat meaningfully. “So you coming home with us or what, sugar?”
“Christ, please forgive my boyfriend.” Steve cut in when Tony paled rather drastically. “What he means is, it doesn’t seem like you want to go home to that asshole, and if you’d rather not spend the night in a hotel by yourself, you’re more than welcome to crash at our place, we have a super comfy couch.”
“Yeah?” Tony picked at the tablecloth uncertainly. “That could be okay. I’d rather not be alone tonight.”
“Then you’ll stay with us.” Steve said decisively. “And in the morning we’ll go get your stuff from your ex boyfriend and we’ll figure it all out from there.”
“…okay.” Tony nodded once, then nodded again before digging into the shared food. “This is um– this is the best steak I’ve ever had.”
“Look at that.” Bucky declared. “He’s a snappy dresser, hot as hell and knows a good steak when he sees it! He is definitely coming home with us. Happy Valentines Day to us!”
“Oh my god.” Steve sighed and went back to eating his food. “Tony, I’m sorry about him. I’d say it gets better, but we’ve been together like ten years and he just gets worse. He has no filter and next to zero tact and–”
“I like him.” Tony interrupted and Bucky grinned triumphantly. “But I like you too. You guys are like knights that rushed in to save a damsel in distress. Thank you.”
“It’s Valentines Day.” Steve brushed off the thanks. “You should be eating good food and laughing, not sitting with someone you hate.”
“Well, thank you anyway.” Tony managed a smile. “Happy Valentines Day to me.”