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It took him two hours to be ready, but as he looked at himself in the mirror, Tony thought it was worth it. Since Pepper had asked him - threatened really - to not be late, he made sure to have enough time to put on his Frank-N-Furter costume, apply his make-up and practice walking in his heels. Was the fact that he was wearing a real pearl necklace too much? Maybe, but there was no point in doing something half-assed. See dad? I can do something well, he thought to himself before deciding he would not let Howard’s memory ruin tonight.
He texted Happy and made his way downstairs. He got in the car when Happy opened the back door for him. “You’re actually letting me do my job today, boss?” Happy asked with a smile just as he closed the door behind Tony.
“I can fire you, you know?” Tony said when Happy was in the driver’s seat. He knew that was nothing more than an empty threat. He and Happy had been through too much together, and Happy knew it, if his eye roll was something to go by. “We’re picking up Cap and his bestie before we pick up Pepper.” He quickly sent a text to Steve to let him know he’d be there soon.
Tony was so distracted on his phone that he didn’t even realize when they’d arrived at Steve and Bucky’s place. He gave a very manly screech, when he heard the front passenger door slam. “Hey, there Frosty,” he greeted Bucky, who just raised his left hand in greeting. “Try not to give me a heart attack next time, yeah? You know I have a bad heart.”
Steve chose that moment to get into the back seat. “Tony?” He said as he looked at him with a faint blush. “Won’t you be cold?”
“I’m too sexy to be cold,” replied Tony, who had actually forgotten his coat at home. “Besides, we’re going to be inside the theater for the most part.” He eyed Steve critically and raised one of his eyebrows, “Are you supposed to be a mummy? We had a theme Rogers!”
“But I am --”
“A THEME!” Tony yelled.
“I am Rocky,” Steve said. “No one specified which Rocky costume I had to wear though.”
Tony made a beautiful impression of a fish when he heard that before he recovered enough to laugh. “I blame you Barnes.”
Happy chose that moment to let them know they had arrived at Pepper’s apartment building. They only had to wait a minute before she was opening the door next to Tony. Before he could say anything, Pepper was opening the front passenger door as well and most likely giving Bucky The Look™ because the next thing he knew, he was being pushed to the middle seat by a biker’s jacket and the faint smell of coffee. And ok, he probably shouldn’t have drank that second cup of coffee because his stomach did a little flip just then.
“Hey! My car. My driver,” he said when he realized he was going to be sandwiched between two giants. “I should be in the front or at least sitting by the window,” he mumbled.
Bucky turned to look at him and winked. “You can always sit on my lap, sugar,” he said and yelped when Steve reached around Tony to smack the back of his head. “What was for, jerk?”
“Behave, punk,” was all the reply he received.
As the car moved, Tony tried not to lean too much into Bucky. “Rocker is a good look on you,” he said to Bucky. “But I’m still blaming you for depriving the world of a scantily clad Steve.”
**********
When they got to the theater, there was a mad rush as everyone greeted everyone else like they hadn’t just seen each other the night before. He began cataloguing all their outfits and was pretty sure Bruce’s Brad Majors costume was actually something he’d just worn the week before.
He was about to comment when Bucky put his arm around his shoulders. “Please don’t let Nat sit next to me?” He whispered to Tony, who silently agreed that it was probably smart to stay away from her. She made for a terrifying Magenta.
The entire group entered the theater as soon as everyone had received their toast, newspapers, kazoos and party hats. Tony would buy the popcorn inside to be used instead of rice. He was feeling that light buzz underneath his skin; the same buzz he felt any time Bucky was close.
Bucky had not removed his arm from around Tony yet but instead pulled him closer. “You gonna protect me from this bunch too?” He asked Tony with a smile.
This was Bucky’s first time at a Rocky Horror Picture Show and seemed to be trying to hide his nerves by playing it cool. It went well with his costume, though. The sleeveless leather jacket, tight jeans and WW2 style helmet did something for Bucky, if the looks he was receiving from girls and guys was something to go by. As usual, Bucky seemed to not notice and continued talking to Tony while they waited for their turn at the concession stand. Bucky had turned the charm up to 11, and Tony was smiling like a loon.
Once they got their part of the snacks, they headed into the theater where their Brad and Pepper as Janet had saved them their seats. Tony and Bucky sat down and began fighting over the armrest, each stating that it belonged to them.
“Didn’t know you liked pearl necklaces babe,” Bucky whispered in Tony’s ear just as the latter was taking a sip of his iced coffee causing him to splutter and hit Bucky’s arm.
“Did you have to say it like that?” Tony asked Bucky while trying to dry the coffee from his legs. He was not fooled by Bucky’s sweet smile though, he knew that smile. Once was all it took to know not to trust that smile.
“Don’t know what you mean, pisoiaș,” was all Bucky said taking advantage of Tony’s distraction to lift the armrest up and scoot closer to Tony. “I could help you dry though.”
The show was just as crazy and fun and the wonderful disaster he remembered it being. He was pretty sure his voice would be hoarse tomorrow from the singing and laughing.
*********
Somehow, they all ended up falling asleep in Tony’s living room with a movie still playing. Tony was pleasantly warm when he woke up a few hours later. The TV’s soft blue screen shining on his friends. He smiled and burrowed further into his pillow, a pillow that smelled faintly of coffee and popcorn.
The next time he woke up, he had a heavy metal arm draped over him, holding him tight against its owner’s chest. Tony tried not to stiffen in response to the nuzzling on the back of his neck, but he must have failed because he heard a soft, “go back to sleep, doll.”
And there was that strange feeling he’d had in the car again, a feeling that now he thought about it he’d been feeling with alarming regularity. He’d felt it the first time Bucky had smiled at him after Tony made that awful physics pun that earned him handfuls of popcorn being thrown at him during a movie night. He’d felt it the night Bucky shared his cup of coffee with him after Tony had accidentally fallen asleep at his and Steve’s place. He had also felt it when their hands touched as they studied together at the library.
And oh shit, did Tony like Bucky? Did he like him like him? Sure, he knew Bucky was a good looking guy - he wasn’t blind, thank you very much; but he also thought Steve and Thor were hot; and Bruce had that college professor look going for him. He had never thought he was straight, but he had never really looked at a man twice either.
Except.
That wasn’t totally true. He knew what shade of blue Bucky’s eyes were. He knew Bucky liked plums and made sure to always have some just in case he stopped by. He considered learning Romanian after he heard Bucky speak it over the phone. He knew his favorite color was red, and if after that discovery Tony began wearing more red, it was just a coincidence.
And here was Bucky now, hugging him close with his head on the back of Tony’s neck, breathing warmth onto it. And Tony could not deny his body’s reaction to that. “Shit, shit, shit,” he mumbled to himself as he tried to slowly untangle himself from Bucky, who was impersonating an octopus quite well.
When he finally managed to get up, he practically ran to his room. He put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and left before anyone had a chance to figure out he was gone. He sent a text to Clint letting him know he’d be at the library working on his project and that he’d left his credit card on the table so they could order some lunch or something.
thnx but dont text me agian utnil its after 11 asshole, was Clint’s reply.
Tony spent the next few hours working on his A.I. coding. It was a good distraction; once he began working, there was no time to freak out; he could put off thinking about his discovery for a little longer.
He wanted to have the A.I. finished by the holidays anyway. Then he’d have some time to install it without worrying about classes. Not that classes were actually stopping him now. He just needed an excuse to stay behind during the holidays. He didn’t want to ruin Clint’s first Thanksgiving with Phil and he knew how he got in the weeks leading up to Christmas. So, he had extra time to make the AI. perfect, and to come up with a name for it.
He was so immersed in his work that he didn’t hear Clint approach. “Hey,” he said when he realized his roommate was leaning against one of the work tables. “How long have you been here?” he asked but switched to sign language when Clint pointed at one of his ears. He wasn’t wearing his hearing aids today. Knowing him, he forgot them at Phil’s place and was too lazy to go back to get them.
He was asked quite pointedly to save his work, turn everything off and go home. Tony knew it’d be a quiet drive back and he was surprisingly ok with that. Before getting in the car, he asked Clint if he wanted a ride to Phil’s to pick up his aids. A smile was all he got in response.
They drove with some AC/DC playing in the background, bass turned up a bit higher than usual. Tony knew Clint liked the vibrations in the car. “Can you wait for five minutes?” Clint asked. “I promise I won’t be long,” he signed before getting out of the car without waiting for Tony to reply.
“Who’s the asshole now?” Tony yelled out the window even knowing Clint would not hear him. Tony pulled out his phone and noticed 45 unread texts in the group chat. Most of them were along the lines of “Where are you?” “Come home” and “Thor’s eating your Thai.” There was one text from Bucky sent just to him. Heart beating in his throat, anxiety about his realization coming back full force, Tony opened their text chain that mainly consisted of memes and puns, and saw Bucky’s face on the screen. A selfie taken in his kitchen full of people behind him with the caption, “Come Save Me!”
“Thanks Tony,” Clint said as he sat back in the car 15 minutes later. “We saved you some Thai at home,” he added after a moment.
“Are you ok dude?” He asked Tony when he received no answer or even A Look™ for being 10 minutes late.
“Oh, yeah, I’m just tired, might take a nap and work on DUM-E later,” he finally said and began driving back home filling the drive with chatter about the A.I. and the progress he’d made that day.
“So you and Bucky were pretty cozy this morning,” Clint said seemingly out of nowhere, trying for nonchalance but utterly failing. “Anything you want to share with the class, short stack?”
“Yeah, that he’s a blanket hog and I needed bodily warmth to avoid frost-bite,” he said a little too fast. Thankfully Clint dropped the subject, or so Tony thought until they parked outside his home.
“You can talk to me, you know?” Clint told him before Tony turned off the car. “About anything. I know I fuck around a lot but you’re still my best friend and I’m here for you.”
“I know Clint, I do.” He took a deep breath before continuing, “I just don’t even know where to start.”
“Just talk to him.”
********
They went inside, Tony yelling, “Honey, I’m home!” And receiving a cacophony of hellos. His eyes searched for Bucky, and found him sleeping on his couch face down, his left arm hanging off of it. He fought the urge to go cover him with the softest blanket he owned. That’s not something friends do, is it? He asked himself as he walked past the couch.
Now that he’d realized he might like like Bucky (what was he? A 12-year-old?), he couldn’t help but stare at him and catalogue every facial movement as he slept. Had Bucky always had those dimples? Feeling like a creep, Tony walked into the kitchen in search of his food. He found a box labeled “Tony’s Noodles, eat and die” in Bucky’s handwriting with a tiny-Bucky holding a knife drawn on it. This time, he was more prepared for the feeling in his stomach. More prepared but no less freaked out. He could imagine a big sign saying “I Want to Have Barnes’ Blue-Eyed Babies” in flashing red lights.
Either way, it is a panic and his friends will know. He’s never been able to hide his thoughts well and he is sure this will be no different. He knows himself and he knows he’ll be making a fool of himself in front of Bucky for a while, at least until he figures out what he is feeling. So he decided to take a trip to New York for the weekend under the pretense of needing some books he had at home.
“Oh come on!” Steve said when Tony let them know his plans. “We were supposed to go dancing. We promised Pepper.” And oh right, he actually had pinky promised and Nat would kill him for breaking a pinky promise. It was code. Or something.
“I guess I can go next week,” he agreed reluctantly and began eating his food. He was so deep in thought, he didn’t even realize what he ate. He did use the time to come up with a plan. A good plan, if he said so himself, and he did say so: He’d do nothing. No thinking, no worrying, no trying to figure out why or how he came to be in this situation. Procrastination had always been a good friend.
***********
By the time Saturday evening rolled around, Tony hadn’t seen Bucky in two days. He had convinced himself that he had been overthinking everything. So he was feeling much better as he got ready to meet everyone at the club. He was pretty sure even Bruce had been sworn to attend.
When he finally got there, all his friends were at a large table, sharing drinks and trying to figure out who was dancing with whom and when. He smiled at them and sat down next to Bucky. He tried to tell himself it was just the only seat available, the quick beating of his heart was just the double shot of espresso he drank before leaving home.
“Tony’s here now so there’s no excuse for any of you boys to not dance,” Pepper said to the group at large.
Clint made an annoyed sound, but Tony knew it was just for show. Clint absolutely loved dancing. “Gonna dance with him?” He asked Tony as he got up, and messed up Tony's perfectly styled hair.
“Don’t know what you’re signing about,” he signed back at his friend. He grabbed the drink closest to him and made a show of drinking it. Clint rolled his eyes and just gave him the finger laughing loudly.
“Pisoiaș, you’re gonna let me dance alone?” Bucky asked him raising one eyebrow. He then grabbed Tony’s arm and practically dragged him to the dance floor. Not that Tony put too much of a fight.
Tony could not stop staring at Bucky’s behind as he was being pulled. He thought Bucky had looked good dressed as Eddie, but these jeans? These jeans did something funny to Tony, and he was not sure what to do with that.
Once they were inside the dancing area, Bucky pulled a little harder and Tony ended up flushed against Bucky’s chest. So he did the only thing he could do at that moment and threw his head back in a laugh. Bucky tightened his hold on his waist and began moving to I Wanna Dance to Somebody. Right, it was 80s night which was why Nat and Pepper had been so excited.
Usually, they ended up dancing as a group, no clear dance partners but so far, Tony had only danced with Bucky. They’d danced like Egyptians, partied like it was 1999, and Tony had a very physical reaction to Bucky dancing Like A Virgin against him. By the time Never Gonna Give You Up came on to signal the end of the night at the club, Tony’d had to stop himself from licking the line of Bucky’s throat so many times he’d lost count. He was pretty sure he’d grabbed Bucky’s ass at some point during Take On Me; and he knew for a fact HIS ass had been grabbed right back during the Lambada.
He didn’t remember having so much fun while dancing before and wondered why they didn’t come out more often. He wanted the night to keep going; once the noise stopped he’d go back to overthinking everything.
“I’m tired and I want my bed,” he said to the table at large when he and Bucky went back to the group. He avoided looking at Clint; he didn’t want to see the knowing look on his face right now. “Who’s up for movie at our place?”
“I’m beat,” Steve answered with a shrug. “And I promised the girls, Clint and Phil that I’d take them home too.”
“Stevie, you punk,” Bucky turned to his friend with a frown. “You’re supposed to give me a ride.”
“I’ll take you home,” Tony said quickly. “I mean, if you want. You don’t have to say yes. I can even drop you off home before I get food. Unless you’re hungry too, but if not --” the last words were cut off when Bucky put his hand on Tony’s mouth.
“Feed me,” he told Tony and promptly moved his hand in surprise. “Did you just lick my hand?” He asked, a bit of pink around his ears.
“Don’t know what you are talking about,” Tony said primly, grabbing his jacket and raising an eyebrow at Bucky. Everyone was getting ready to leave, so Tony assumed he and Bucky were free to go too.
They said their goodbyes and headed to the parking lot, Bucky singing, It’s Raining Men and still dancing around Tony, making him laugh.
In the end, they stopped by a drive-thru and took food to Tony’s place. They were both still keyed up from their night of dancing so they put on a movie in Tony’s bedroom. If anyone were to ask Tony, he wouldn’t be able to say what movie it was. All he could do was stare at Bucky from the corner of his eye. He was almost 100% sure that Bucky was doing the same, making him feel what he now realized were butterflies in his stomach.
Tony didn’t know when they’d fallen asleep, and once again, he found himself in Bucky’s arms, and just like last time, he felt Bucky tightened his hold on him and nuzzle his neck.
“If you get up without saying good-bye again, I’ll be offended sweet thing,” Bucky said kissing his shoulder.
“Wasn’t gonna,” Tony mumbled under his breath and fell back asleep.
The next morning, when Tony woke up he was alone and tried not to feel too disappointed. He forced himself to get up and walked to the kitchen where it sounded like Clint was making breakfast? Lunch? Food. It smelled like coffee too. Tony was sure to get some if he looked pathetic enough, which shouldn’t be too hard considering he’d expected to still be in Bucky’s arms.
“Clint, I’m heartbroken!” He yelled from the living room as he made his way into the kitchen. “I’m in unrequited love and I need my best --” he stopped short when he realized it was Bucky making breakfast. A shirtless Bucky, which first of all, wow. And secondly, it was an immense show of trust. Bucky didn’t normally take off his shirts. He was comfortable enough around their group of friends to show his metal arm more often than not, but no shirt? This was a first for Tony.
“And who, um,” Bucky swallowed before turning around. “Who broke your heart, pisoiaș? Do we need to break any legs?” He asked with a smile.
“No one. Just, you know,” Tony took a deep breath, waving his hand around and sitting on a chair at the table. “Just being me, needing coffee. I turn into a drama queen when not caffeinated properly, just ask Clint. He’s gonna tell you my morning hasn’t started until I’ve whined about everything from the bird singing outside my window to the weatherman on TV to, um…” he trailed off and laid his head on the table, hoping that Bucky wouldn’t ask any more questions.
Thankfully, Bucky seemed to read his mind and just served him a cup of black coffee. Tony thanked him with a faint smile and before he could help himself, he started talking. Foot meet mouth. “I thought you had left without saying good-bye,” he told Bucky, hating how unsure he sounded just then. “Not that you owe me anything, I just, you know. I thought we’d,” he looked up to find Bucky watching him with an unreadable expression. “Anyway, what are you up to today? Anything interesting? Need company?” Just shut me up, Tony thought to himself as he hit his head against the table.
“Oh, come on doll, don’t hurt yourself,” he heard Bucky say from above him before he felt a kiss being pressed on top of his head. “I am just studying today.” He sounded nervous but Tony refused to read anything into it.
“Yeah, sure. Of course you’re studying. Midterms and all that coming up. Yup.” Kill him now.
He leaned into the touch when he felt Bucky’s hand on his shoulder. “I could always use some company sugar.”
***********
That week, Tony decided that pining loudly, constantly, and to anyone that would listen was the way to go. But it’s Tony, so of course no one took him seriously. Tony half hoped they’d realize how deeply and absolutely in love with their friend he was. Tony half hoped they’d never figure it out. It’s a confusing time for him ok? How could he have missed falling in love?
He’d asked Steve what Bucky’s type was. “Short, mouthy, smart and with an ass that won’t quit, his words not mine,” Steve had replied without pausing his workout. There was no way Steve wasn’t making fun of him so he flipped him off and walked away.
Only Happy seemed to have any compassion for him, and he wasn’t sure if it was because Happy didn’t know what was going on, or if it was because he knew more than he let on. Either way, Tony’d take all the pity he could.
“Ugh, I hate this,” he said to no one in particular during a study session, causing a concerned frown from Clint across the table and a nudge from Bucky. Studying at the library was less effective once Tony became aware of Bucky’s metal arm brushing his.
“Right,” he said as he began putting his books away and giving up studying as a lost cause for the day. “I’m blowing this joint for some pizza, you guys wanna go? My treat?”
Bucky immediately got up, “Thank god, my back is killing me on these chairs.” He then stretched and Tony felt his throat go dry. Bucky’s red Henley rode up, and Tony tried not to swallow his tongue or stare a hole into his pants.
He made the mistake of looking at Clint instead, who had a shit eating grin as he said, “You guys go. I’m swamped here,” and pointed at his empty table. He’d been done with the course work about a half hour ago. Tony threw him a glare, but got distracted by Bucky pulling him away from the table.
“Come on sweet thing, you said pizza,” Bucky said as he threw his arm around Tony. “No take backsies now. See ya Clint,” he threw over his shoulder. It was moments like this when Tony didn’t mind being much shorter than Bucky. He could just imagine what it’d be like to tip up to kiss him, or just wrap his arms around his waist and feel Bucky resting his chin over him.
“Aaaand you’re not listening to me, are you, Tony?” He heard Bucky say.
He could feel his face heating up as he replied that yes he was listening and would Bucky just choose a place to eat, please. He hoped that wasn’t what Bucky’d been saying.
No such luck apparently. “As I was saying, Tony,” he gave him a pointed look. “We could get take out from that place you like and take it back to my place? Steve’s out for the rest of the day, so we could have some privacy?”
“Privacy, right,” Tony said and that was not his voice getting all high pitched. No sir.
“To finish watching Master Chef without Steve’s commentary,” Bucky was quick to add. Tony hoped he’d hidden his disappointment well.
And so they went to pick up pizza. Tony refused to let Bucky chip in saying he had said it was his treat. He did let Bucky buy dessert though - jamoca almond fudge ice cream.
They ate the pizza and sat on the couch sharing ice cream and yelling creative insults at the dishes being prepared. When the ice cream was almost finished, Bucky took Tony’s spoon and put it in between the couch cushions.
“What the fuck? Give me your spoon,” Tony demanded while trying to reach for said spoon. Bucky held it above his head and stretched away from Tony, shirt riding up and once again leaving Tony breathless with the need to touch. He didn’t realize he had stopped moving just above Bucky, one hand on the back of the couch, the other holding onto Bucky’s shoulder.
The spoon fell from Bucky’s hand and he reached to cup Tony’s face. Tony could feel his heart trying to jump out of his chest and tightened his hold on Bucky’s shoulder, eyes dropping to his lips.
“I’m going to kiss you now, is that ok?” Bucky said softly, maintaining eye contact and moving the hand not currently touching Tony to his hip. All he heard from Tony was a small gasp. “I’m gonna need a yes or no, sugar.”
A small nod was all Tony could manage before seeing Bucky reach up to gently press their lips together. “Been wanting to do that for months now,” he said against Tony’s lips with a smile. Tony pushed down and kissed him again, not able to say anything quite yet, but that was ok. He told Bucky all he needed to say in that moment with only a kiss.
It was a while later, they separated for long enough to pick up the forgotten spoon, and melted ice cream. They walked to the kitchen hand in hand to put their dishes in the machine, unwilling to let each other go for even a moment. Once that was done, Bucky pushed Tony against the counter and placed his hands on either side of Tony, leaning down to kiss him again. Somehow, Tony ended up sitting on the counter, legs wrapped around Bucky, loving the sounds he was drawing out of Bucky with just a kiss.
“Oh come on! Not where we eat!” Steve said when he caught them in that position, causing Bucky to flip him off without turning around.