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Stark men are made out of Iron.
Stark men are made out of Iron, but Tony didn’t feel like he was made of iron. He felt like he was made of palladium when moments like this happened. Sure, Rhodey and Pepper to a degree have seen him like this, but they haven’t. What was the point of keeping himself hidden from outsiders if they were going to find out anyway? Why did he even agree to this? He didn’t like swimming, especially after Afghanistan. So why was he here at the waterpark on the hottest and busiest day of the year?
“Come on Tony, just a small smile for Steve’s birthday,” Natasha teased, jabbing him in the ribs a little.
He knew she meant well, but that didn’t mean he was excited. He had asked Steve what was the one thing he wanted for his birthday. Afterall, what more could Capsicle want now that Bucky was back with him?
“Been in the twenty-first century for a few years now. I have yet to go to Disney World, and I hear it is fantastic. Or at least, if every football team claims to go to Disney World after winning the Superbowl, why can’t we? Plus, Peter makes it sound swell.”
Of course it was Peter to blame, but Tony didn’t have it in his heart to blame the kid. It was easier to blame Steve anyways. So here he was, on the Fourth of July, in Typhoon Lagoon, surrounded by complete strangers and kids running around with parents. Tony had tried to put on as much as his water proof make-up as he could. That way he wouldn’t stick out amongst the team when they all were in shorts. They even were able to convince Snowflake to go without his long layers, and Tony didn’t want to be alone in his layers. Sadly though, he hadn’t realized how low he was on his concealing make-up. He called Pepper and she was having some personally delivered to him soon. It was some comfort but not as much as he would want.
He had tried to convince the others that today would be the best day to see Downtown Disney and play video games since it was going to be one of the hottest days during their trip. But then he got out voted cause everyone thought since it was the hottest day, might as well go to one of the water parks. He just hoped he could keep everything under control, then there would be no incident. If he could make it through today, the rest of the trip would be a breeze. The team only wanted to go to Typhoon Lagoon, the old timers didn’t want to go Blizzard Beach and everyone understood.
Tony must have been so deep in thought that he didn’t even hear his favorite snowflake sneak up behind him. Suddenly though he was off his feet and slung into someone's arms.
“Come on, Doll. You are getting in the water. Whether you wanna or not,” Bucky teased as he carried Tony.
Tony tried to keep his face as neutral as humanly possible. Yet on the inside, he was screaming and kicking. He definitely did not want to be thrown in. He knew that his make-up was waterproof, but not completely. He was planning to maybe get into the lazy river, and not have to deal with being splashed. Yet the Winter Soldier had different plans. He could hear Steve chuckling at his situation, and he wasn’t excited about it.
“Barnes! I order you to put me down this instant! I do not swim!” Tony demanded, wanting to go back to the chairs they set up as base.
“Tony, it's best not to fight him. Trust me, he used to do that to me all the time. If it's easier if you just let him do what he wants,” Steve instructed, walking up next to Bucky and Tony.
“I do not want to get drenched. I didn’t bring a towel, I will be whining all day. Do you really want me to spoil your birthday, Capsical?” Tony inquired, trying to think of any reason for Bucky to put him down before they reached the water.
“What? Can’t swim, Stark?” Clint chimed in the teasing and Tony was sure if he didn’t have the make-up on, he would be sunburn red at that moment.
“No! I just don’t want to get wet. I thought as my teammates you would respect that! Besides, butt out, Legolas. I wasn’t talking to you!” Tony snapped, feeling slightly bad.
He usually got along with Clint better than the rest of the team...Well, apart from Peter. He was just glad that Peter was off showing Thor the wave pool to even notice the embarrassing situation his mentor was currently in. He just wanted to be put down and read his book. He would join the others in the lazy river at his own time. That way he could know how much contact with water he had to be in and knew how to handle it. Pepper said the new make-up took time to set before it would be safe to step in the water. Stupidly, Tony couldn’t remember if it had to be an hour or half hour. Either way, he hadn’t been out in the sun long enough for it to soak in.
“You throwing him in, Buck? Or are you going to jump in with him in your arms?” Steve teased, as if knowing something Tony didn’t.
“I don’t know. He’s not as squirmy as you were when you were small enough to be slung around my shoulders, Punk. Maybe I will jump in with him.” Bucky spoke, as if Tony wasn’t in his arms.
“Is that the answer to get out of this situation? Be squirmy? I will be a worm on your shoulder, Buckaroo, don’t you think I won’t be,” Tony threatened, looking ahead of them and saw how close they were to the deep end.
“Don’t worry Doll,” Bucky reassured, “I won’t let you drown. You will be in my arms the entire time and we will resurface together.”
Tony tried not to enjoy hearing those words. Sure, he has had a massive crush on the metal armed man since he first read the Captain America comics. Getting to know the man behind the comic character made it even grow. When Pepper found out, she laughed at him while he turned bright pink. It was why he went to Pepper to help with the make-up. One slip up, and Bucky might catch onto his deep secret. He would then be mortified and lock himself in his lab for days. Which was hard because all the bots seemed to love Bucky and him. Pepper kept saying he needed someone to look after him when she couldn’t. Part of him wanted it to be Bucky, but he knew that was silly. It was Bucky and Steve ‘till the end of the line’. He wasn’t going to get in the middle of that, no matter how much he wanted to claim Bucky as his own.
“As assuring that would be, Jimmy, I would rather not get wet. So please, put me down.” Tony thought if demanding wasn’t going to work, he would try and be nice.
“Not happening, Doll. I suggest holding your breath and pinching your nose if your the sort to do that,” Bucky warned right before he jumped off the pavement.
“BUCKY!!!” Tony shouted at the top of his lungs, bracing himself for impact.
The water was..between cold and warm. Like it wasn’t as frigid as it would be if they went to the other water park, but it wasn’t a hot tub either. Bucky was true to his word at least, he didn’t let go of Tony the entire time they were underwater. He pulled Tony closer to his own chest, one arm draped over Tony's chest. The arch reactor hasn’t been there for a few months, but it still felt weird to feel someone else press their arm so close to Tony’s chest. They did surfaced together, just as Bucky promised.
“See? Now was that so...Tony?” Bucky started to ask, using his free hand to move his hair out of his eyes.
Tony knew by that reaction, the makeup was starting to smear. He quickly looked at his hands and he saw he was turning a certain shade of indigo. He had luck finally back on his side, cause in his surprise, Bucky’s grip loosened. Tony took this chance and swam as fast as he could to the edge of the pool so he could get out. He could already hear the whispers all around him. Why didn't he just buy out the park for the day? Then he wouldn’t have to deal with as many people if this had happened. But Pepper ignored Tony’s request and bought them the regular person tickets, saying he would be perfectly fine with people for a few days. It's days like these that reminded him of his childhood.
“Why is he that disgusting color?!”
“Why can’t he be normal?!”
“What the hell are you doing to my son?! First he is unnatural and you're making him feminine?!”
Howard Stark wasn't thrilled when Tony’s...ahem...gift appeared as a child. It was why Tony was shipped to boarding schools in colder climates. Why Tony was sent to MIT instead of somewhere else. Tony was sure if he wasn’t a child prodigy, his father would have had him shipped off to the nearest orphanage and forgotten about. Jarvis and Ana seemed to be understanding at least with his unique skin condition. They helped him identify what emotions made which colors. They helped him figure out how to cover it up with clothes. They even got him his first makeup kit that actually helped with the problem. Sure, it needed to be adapted because at first it didn’t like it when Tony sweated. But by the time that Afghanistan happened; the only reason the kidnappers saw his ‘true colors’ was because they waterboarded him.
“Hey Tony! Doll! What is going on?! Your turning blue! Can you breathe?” Bucky shouting at him finally snapped him back to it.
Tony didn’t realize how far he walked but apparently he got back to where their stuff was. Tony put on his sunglasses that had JARVIS connected to and grabbed Bruce’s robe he brought down to the water park with him. It was big enough that Tony could cover most of his body so the world would only see a bit of his indigo skin. He grabbed Peter’s cap and put it on to try and shade his face a little bit and held up ‘one moment’ to Bucky.
“J, call Ms Potts,” Tony directed, feeling his heartbeat go down but that didn’t make things any better.
“Right away, Sir.” JARVIS answered, lacking any sass and Tony was thankful for.
“Tony what is it? I am in the middle of..What happened?” Pepper quickly changed gears when she saw Tony waving his indigo hand in front of the camera in the sunglasses.
“Pepper, light of my world. How soon is soon for my new ointment going to get here? Because our favorite sergeant thought it would be fun to throw me into the pool.” Tony explained, looking at Bucky to show Pepper that the soldier was also wet.
“Would before the birthday dinner be soon enough? I am just putting the finishing touches on Cap’s celebration dinner with Snow White.” Pepper stated, and Tony knew that was the best he was going to get.
“Love of my life, that would be perfect. I will see you then my miracle worker.” Tony spoke before hitting the hang up button on the sunglasses and stood up.
“Well Buckaroo, thanks for the fun. But I think I am going to head back to the hotel room before I get questioned if I'm an alien or not.” He stated before heading towards the exit.
“Wait, Tony..Doll...What the hell happened? You can’t just..Turn blue on me, make me think you couldn’t breathe and not tell me what is going on.” Bucky said, trying not to spook Tony apparently and grabbed Tony’s hand with the real hand.
“First off, it's indigo so you don’t have to give me mouth to mouth. Second, I told you I didn’t want to go into the pool. When I get...” Tony paused for a second, he wasn’t going to admit to Snowflake he was scared was he? No that would be stupid.
“When I get overly emotional, I change colors. For example, I’m excited to be here with the team and for Cap’s birthday. But I try to hide it because of all the looks I get because of it. Now if you will excuse me, I will see you back at the hotel.”
“Wait..Doll, at least let me walk you back. I kinda am the reason your bl..I mean indigo. That way if anyone glares at you, they can glare at my arm instead,” Bucky offered, knocking on his metal arm.
“I..You sure? You don’t want to stay and spend time with the birthday boy?” Tony inquired, surprised by Bucky’s offer.
“The old man would appreciate some alone time with Natalia, I won’t be missed I promise.” He assured Tony with a warm smile.
Tony could feel his cheeks heat up and hope they were still purple. He didn’t exactly trust his emotions right now. He had to go neutral or who knows what his body will let slip out.
“If you are sure, Snowflake, then let us go.” Tony said, knowing Bucky’s sense of duty wouldn’t let him out of this.
Tony and Bucky gathered up their things from everyone else’s and started to head to the exit. Tony didn’t know how to make conversation with the guy, they haven’t exactly been alone before. Sure, Bucky came down to the lab every once in a while, but Steve was usually right behind him. Even when Tony tinkered away at Bucky’s arm, Steve would hover as if to make sure Tony wasn’t hurting his best friend. Since most of their conversations were on it, it wouldn’t hurt to ask about the arm...Right?
“So how’s the arm?”
“So since when could you..” Bucky started at the same time Tony did, but stopped and decided to answer Tony’s question instead.
“Oh it's fine. I never thought I would be able to swim again with it. Thanks, Tony. It means a lot to me and ol’ Stevie.”
“Yeah, yea no problem. Anything for a teammate. Plus I’m sure Cap would give me puppy dog eyes if I didn’t have it fixed in time for the trip.” Tony said with a slight chuckle, trying to keep conversation light.
“Haha yea...I think he must have learned to use those while I was gone or somethin..Cause the punk wouldn’t use puppy eyes to get what he wanted when we were kids. He would just do what he wanted and got his ass kicked more often than not because of it.” Bucky said, chuckling with Tony.
“From the stories, I can’t say I’m all that surprised.” Tony admitted before he began to whistle.
“We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig in our mine the whole day through..” Bucky started to sing along with Tony’s whistling.
They finished the entire song that way until they were outside of the park. They then went to where one of the cars that Tony rented for the vacation was parked. He was glad that he didn’t lose the keys to the one he drove or he would be sad to be stuck with the minivan. He thought the minivan was useful but he preferred his bright red convertible.
“So, Doll, you gonna tell me why you change colors?” Bucky asked as he hopped into the passenger seat.
“If you answer why you call me ‘doll’,” Tony teased back, figuring that was a fair trade.
“I uhh..Well...” Bucky said, scratching the back of his head, turning pink while doing so.
“I never thought I’d see the day when I make a super soldier blush. You’d think Steve would be the easier one, but here you are blushin' like a schoolgirl.” Tony spoke before getting into the car himself and starting it up.
Bucky looked out the window, as if he was unsure how to respond. Tony was worried he may have done something to upset the big Snowball. He looked over to Bucky before starting to back up and cleared his throat. An eye for an eye right? When they were safely out of the smallish parking spot, Tony took a deep breath and dove in.
“I have always been able to do it. It's an automatic response, I don’t know why it happens. I have had to deal with it for as long as I can remember. The original Jarvis and his wife helped me with it all...They helped me figure out what emotions made what colors. Before today, the only people still alive who knew were Pepper and Rhodey. I doubt it will stay hidden for much longer now. I think I will live in my suit if I ever have to go out anywhere.”
“Is it..Is it ever...Not multicolored?” Bucky asked so quietly, that Tony almost missed it.
“Yeah...Howard was thankful for that fact. Once I have control of my emotions again, I go back to normal. See? Look, my hand is already turning back to normal.” Tony said, showing off his hand before returning it to the steering wheel.
“He wasn’t impressed?” Bucky asked, gaining some confidence in asking questions about the situation.
“Nope...He...he hated it quite frankly. He probably would have put me on the street if I didn’t keep up with him intelligently. It's why we never went on family vacations anywhere that it would be too warm for me to be so ‘open’. Thankfully with the help of Ms Potts, and the Jarvis’ when they were still alive, I have a solution I can use on moments like these. I just had to wait for it to sit before I could get all wet.” He explained, trying to be as clear as he could be. He knew sometimes he wouldn't make sense to some.
“So earlier when you said you were putting on sunscreen...” Bucky muttered, mostly to himself, it seemed.
“Oh my god...Tony, Doll...I am so sorry. I would never have forced you in the pool if I had known.” He said, reaching out to Tony’s knee.
“No one did, Buckaroo. That was kind of the point. Stark men are supposed to be iron, not multicolored aluminum. I am sure Pepper is already working on a press release to make it seem like no big deal.” Tony said, taking a sigh of relief.
He was kind of surprised by the apology, but he appreciated it either way. Bucky could have easily walked away when Tony was going on his own, but here he was. In a car with Tony, he could feel his own skin start to heat up. He would probably debrief the whole team when they return to the hotel room before Steve’s birthday dinner. That way they were all in the loop, no more hiding. Maybe then he wouldn’t have to wear so many layers around the Tower anymore. That would be nice, and maybe Natasha would have tips on how to make it better during galas or something.
“Does that mean when you blush, you blush everywhere?” Bucky asked after a small pause, as if gauging if he was okay to tease about it or not.
“Something like that, yeah.” Tony admitted, surprised how easy it is to talk to Bucky about this.
“Woww...You could be a chameleon or somethin'! That's real swell, Doll. I am sure a lot of people would want to turn different colors!” Bucky said excitedly, taking Tony by surprise again.
“Not quite like a chameleon, Snowball. Chameleons blend into their environment...Mine are more emotional based. Like if I blush, I will be pink all over..If I get ….excited, I turn indigo like you saw,” Tony explained, making sure he kept up with his lie.
It was then that Tony remembered that Bucky’s hand was on his knee. It felt nice to have comfort, he was ready to be teased relentlessly for this. Yet here was Bucky, being super super nice to him. Almost too nice if he knew better. But then again, this wasn’t Barton, Bucky could have let him go in the pool and let him suffer his embarrassment alone. Yet here was Bucky, heading back to the hotel with Tony so he wouldn’t feel alone.
“You..ahem...You sure you are okay with missing the water park? It seemed to be what Steve was looking forward to the most. I could...I could uh turn around and drop you back off if you want.” Tony offered, not wanting to ruin Bucky’s day if he could help it.
“Nah, this is okay Doll. Plus there wasn’t much I could do with the mechanical arm anyway. That's what Ms Potts was tellin' me this mornin'? She wanted to tell me that while going on roller coasters and stuff was fine, water park rides were apparently off limits. So I decided the best way to get out of there was to drive someone - who wouldn’t destroy the park - mad. So since I couldn’t choose Dr. Banner and I don’t know how to drive Thor wild, I went for you Doll. For that I am truly sorry, I guess I wasn’t thinkin' would be an issue for you.” Bucky explained, sounding almost sincere. If Tony didn’t know better, he would think Bucky was going to start crying.
“Uh..It's okay Buckster...You didn’t, you didn’t know...” Tony said, feeling a little uncomfortable for Bucky.
The rest of the drive was pretty awkward. Neither of them really said anything. Tony turned on the radio, but none of the stations seemed to work, so he quickly turned it off. When they got to the hotel, Bucky got out and looked like he wanted to say something but he didn’t seem to know what to say.
“We good, Buckaroo?” Tony asked, reaching for Bucky’s shoulder.
“Yea...Yeah we’re fine Tony...But there is somethin' I wanna try first.” Bucky admitted before turning around to face the man.
“Oh yea? What's that?” Tony teased, barely getting the words out before.
Bucky reached for Tony’s chin and brought the genius close to him. Tony didn't quite grasp what was happening, but he really really hoped it wasn’t an elaborate prank. He could just smell Bucky’s cologne and it made him feel pink all over.
“This is why I call you, Doll...” Bucky whispered before kissing Tony.
Tony didn’t know what to think. Was he dreaming? Was this all a nightmare turned into a dream come true? Why was Bucky kissing him? Wasn’t he with Steve? ...Wait… Steve. Tony broke the kiss and looked for traces of regret in Bucky’s face, but wasn’t seeing any.
“What's the matter, Doll?” Bucky asked, sounding confused as to why they were no longer kissing.
“But...I thought...You and Steve...End of the line...” Tony stuttered, feeling his skin heat up.
“Oh, that, we have always said that thing to each other. Call it a frilly thing, but it was our way to make sure we knew we had each other’s backs. Plus, Doll, didn’t you hear me earlier? Stevie wanted to be alone with Natalia.” Bucky said with a chuckle, stroking Tony’s cheek gently, “What does pink mean?”
“It means...You can kiss me again...” Tony admitted softly before kissing Bucky again.
.
.
.
For the first time in his life, he didn’t mind his colors being shown. It made him feel more secure in his life and in his tea...in his family. They really came through for him when he told them the truth...Well, half truth. He told them that his indigo tint was his excited coloring skin, and only Pepper knew he was lying. She glared at him while he lied, but she was happy like the others when Bucky and he told the others about seeing each other. Cap was the most supportive, apparently Bucky had been harboring feelings and that's why he let Tony start to tinker on his arm. Now Bucky was a staple in his lab whenever he wasn’t off running with Steve or training with Natasha. It was one of those lazy days, and Bucky was playing catch with Dum-E when their world came crashing down.
“Okay Dum-E...You ready for this one?” Bucky had asked and Tony couldn’t help but think how lucky his life was.
Then the alarm went off, and Tony and Bucky shared a look. They headed to the elevator together and got ready for the debriefing. Life of a superhero was never easy, but there have been days where Tony questioned if he should have retired like Pepper told him to. But if he did that, he may not have Bucky Bear as his favorite comfort companion. Thankfully when he has woken up from a nightmare, the lights have been dimmed so Bucky has yet to catch on to the little white, well, little indigo lie yet.
“Avengers, we have civilians being under attack by Doom Bots in an apartment building. Objective is to get civilians out and have no one get stuck in the building. Bruce, I want you to be our eyes. You will have the scope of the whole building and let us know when it is about to cave in. The rest of us will try to give the civilians cover while they get out. Any questions?” Steve stated, taking charge like he always did.
“Why are we on this and not Reed again?” Tony asked, feeling tired of the Doom Bots.
“Any relevant questions?” Steve said, ignoring the question Tony pointed out.
“No? Then move out everyone. Keep in contact and get help if you need it.”
“Strong words from you, Stevie.” Bucky teased before Steve and the others left towards the quinjet for a quick ride to the scene.
“Give me a ride, Doll?” Bucky asked, smirking at Tony.
“Anytime for my Sugarplum.” Tony said, smirking back before calling his suit to him. He picked up Bucky and off they went.
When they arrived at the building, Tony could see that some walls were already blasted away.
“J, give me the plans for this building. Best escape points and important walls. Anything you can share to help the civilians. Then send the plans to the quinjet so Brucie can have access to the information too.” Tony instructed, looking around the building for the best entry point.
“Fastest way to the people would be the fire escape.” Bucky stated, apparently knowing buildings like this better than Tony did.
Tony nodded and flew them over to the nearest fire escape entry. There was so much screaming coming from inside, it almost made Tony worried that they would be too late to save everyone.
“I’m gonna go around the other side and lead them to you. Think you can handle that, Tones?” Bucky asked once Tony let him go.
“What? No, no Bucky. It would make more sense for me to go inside.” Tony countered.
“Tony, you can get people to the ground faster than I could if needed. Plus the rest of the team will be here shortly. Just be ready to help people, and we will be out of here soon.” Bucky promised, giving Tony’s visor a quick peck before dashing inside.
“Damn it Barnes...” Tony muttered to himself as he started to help the people who were already on the fire escape down.
“Bruce, don’t land on the roof. Your best option is to drop everyone off at street level and then hover around. From the scans I got from J, the building wouldn’t be able to support the weight of the quinjet.” Tony instructed as he started to look at the designs that JARVIS was able to get access to.
“Doom bots are still inside though, so enter with caution.” Bucky added from wherever he was in the building.
“Got it, guys. Thanks for the entail.” Steve answered for the team inside the jet, and that's when Tony saw it approach the building.
“Glad to see the backup has arrived. Nat, you and Capsicle should go after Bucky inside. Legolas, I think I found the perfect nesting place for you and you can help me get the civilians out.” Tony instructed, waving at the jet so they knew where he was.
“I’m assuming the building next to you?” Clint inquired, as if he was getting ready to jump out of the jet.
“Exactly.”
“On my way.”
Overall, the mission wasn’t the hardest the team had ever faced. It was nice to have Bruce in the wings to spot something if the others didn’t right away. Tony felt like they may be able to walk away from this incident with no harm to anyone. Then the worst thing to come across the comms came.
“Uhh..Guys...There's a bomb in here...” Bucky said, as if he didn’t know what to do.
“Where?” Tony and Steve demanded at the same time.
“ I am already on it. You two stay where you are! That is an order!” Bucky barked back, not risking his brother’s and lover’s life on something he could do on his own.
“J, find me Bucky. Now.” Tony demanded of his A.I., trying not to panic.
“Sir, I regret to inform you that Sergeant Barnes removed his comms. I have no way to track him down.” Jarvis stated.
“Damn it!” Tony snapped, frustrated with Bucky and himself.
He should have been the one who went in. He knows how to defuse a bomb, did Bucky? In the whole time they have been together and all the stories they have shared, Bucky never once made it clear he knew how to defuse a bomb. He didn’t hear anything from Cap, and that made him worried. Then he heard him, not on the comms but in front of him.
“Tony! Help me finish the mission then we can hunt his sorry ass out of here.” Steve ordered, using his patent ‘Captain America voice’.
All Tony did was nod, he didn’t trust his voice. He felt sick, leaving Bucky alone in the building. He didn’t get how Steve was so calm, unwavering in his goal. That was the man that Bucky had called repeatedly brother in every way but blood! Yet here he was carrying out business as if Bucky didn’t just cut off communication with the rest of the team. As if Bucky didn’t just announce there was a bomb in the building they were getting people out of. Tony just didn’t understand, so he just did what he was told so he could hopefully help Bucky soon.
“Sir, that is all the civilians that I can read on the scanner.” Jarvis said, five minutes after Bucky’s last message.
“That means there should be one heat signature left...JARVIS, find me my special Snowflake!” Tony demanded, flying into the building.
“Looks like going towards the ground for exit. I suggest taking the fastest route which is getting out of the building and then meeting him at the bottom.” JARVIS instructed.
“Got it.” Tony stated, moving out of the moving to the front of the building.
He just landed in front of the building when it seemed time had slowed down. He turned his head towards the front of the building when it happened. He saw the glint of Bucky’s arm and got excited, removing his visor already when it happened. Just before Bucky could get out of the building, there was an explosion, caving in the building.
“BUCKY!!!!!!!” Tony shouted, snapping his visor back down.
He flew right into the mouth of the building. He scooped Bucky up in his arms and then blasted his way out of there. When they were out of the building, Tony lifted up his visor again and looked over Bucky. He was unconscious but Tony didn’t see anything immediately pressing.
“Buckaroo? Can you hear me? Honey?” Tony asked, gently shaking Bucky to see if he would awake.
“Tony we should take...Take him to the medbay...” Steve instructed, but he seemed off for some reason.
“Right...Right...We should probably..He should be looked at by Bruce..” Tony said, trying to figure out what's with Steve.
With Steve’s help, Tony was able to get Bucky to the medbay no problem. What was weird though was everyone was giving him a look. He didn’t quite understand, it was almost as if they thought he was a Hydra spy or something. Once Bucky was laying down on a bed in the medbay, Tony took off the suit so Bucky could wake up to normal Tony. He grabbed Bucky’s hand and caressed it like Bucky had done so many times before.
“Heyy Bucky Bear, just know when you open those beautiful blue eyes of yours, I will be right here. I’m not going anywhere...” Tony whispered, pecking at the man’s cheek.
“He’ll be fine Tony, he just needs time to heal.” Bruce reassured Tony, but it didn’t help much.
He felt scared for the first time in a long time. Why was he so scared? Bucky had the super serum, just like Steve, things would be fine. But Tony was terrified of thinking what would have happened if Tony was even a second later. His Bucky Bear may be superhuman, but that didn’t mean he could survive a 20 story building coming down on him. He was so lost in thought, he didn’t even hear Steve come in. He even jumped when he heard Steve clear his throat.
“Jesus! Steve, heart condition!” Tony snapped, placing a hand on his chest to catch his breath.
“I don’t get you.” Steve said simply.
“What don’t you get? That I actually have a heart? That I am here instead pushing myself into my work?” Tony inquired, wanting to get to the bottom of why Cap was acting so weird when he thought they were actually getting better.
“Why are you excited? Steve interjected.
“What?”
“You heard me. Why are you excited? You are as indigo as some of my paints. You told us that meant excitement. So why the hell are you excited when Buck is laying there unconscious? I thought you cared for him or was it just about his arm? A clever way to get back at me?!” Steve demanded, sounding more and more frustrated as he went on.
“What the hell are you on about Rogers? I am scared out of my mind! The last time I was this freaked was when I was taking the missile through the wormhole! I might love Bucky so don’t you dare go all high and mighty on me Rogers! I know we didn’t get off on the right foot but I thought we were getting better!” Tony snipped back, not wanting to mess with Steve’s ‘shovel talk’ right now.
That’s when Tony noticed what color his skin was. He stopped wearing long sleeves around the tower since he told the team the semi truth. He was actually starting to enjoy his coloring, Bucky reminded him how beautiful it was when Tony changed colors. “Like my own little chameleon.” Bucky would tell him whenever Tony turned colors during team movie nights. Tony quickly let go of Bucky’s hand, his mind going twenty million miles a minute. He could already hear Bucky’s disappointment when he woke up to see Tony like this. Pepper had warned him this would happen, that he would be caught in a corner and wouldn’t be able to get out.
“It...It doesn’t mean excitement...” Tony muttered, mainly to himself than to the captain.
Tony stroked Bucky’s cheek once more before getting up.
"Look...Look after him for me..." Tony muttered to the Captain before heading for the door.
He didn’t want to be there when Bucky woke up, not when it was obvious that Tony had been lying. He knew it was the beginning of the end for them because of it.
“If you lied about your colors, what else have you been lying about? Do you even care? Or were you lying about that too?!” Tony could already hear Bucky yelling at him.
Everyone did at some point, why wouldn’t he? Plus at some point, he knew his fantasy would end, no one wants to stay with Tony for very long. He was honestly surprised how long Pepper and he survived considering his track record.
“J, to the workshop.” Tony spoke once he arrived at the elevator.
“Sir, would you like me to update you on Sergeant Barnes condition when he comes to?” JARVIS inquired as Tony walked in.
“No...No he has Steve. He doesn’t need me...” Tony instructed, and leaned against the back wall, feeling the elevator go down.
“Yes, Sir.” Jarvis responded, and then the elevator went silent.
Stark men are made out of iron, they do not cry. They step on people to get the upper hand, they don’t get happy ever after. Tony’s father made sure Tony knew that was true. When he got to the workshop, he activated the ‘Black out’ procedure. He hated doing that, especially since the next weekend was when Peter was supposed to swing by for a visit. Tony just couldn’t handle anyone right now. He pushed himself into all the paperwork he was behind on for SI that Pepper had sent him last week.
.
.
.
Before he knew it, Tony was getting drowsy. He kicked himself for still not getting a coffee maker for the shop. He keeps wanting to bring one down, but he had promised Bu...He had promised the Sergeant that he wouldn’t bring one down. Otherwise he would be down here for even longer than he wanted to.
“J, what is the time?” Tony asked, stretching a little as he stood up.
“It is 3 am, Friday October 2nd, Sir. May I suggest instead of getting some coffee, get some sleep? For you have been up to close to 60 hours at this point.” JARVIS stated, but Tony just shrugged it off.
He grabbed his mug from his desk and headed to the elevator. He wanted to ask JARVIS for an update on Bucky, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He knew that if he was awake, Steve would have explained everything. He was just doomed to hear the music whenever Bucky decided to storm into his safety zone. Tony just figured that Bucky hadn’t woken up yet since he hadn’t been disturbed in the few days he’s been down here. Which is why when he saw Bucky sitting outside of the workshop, leaning against the wall next to the door, it made Tony drop his cup.
“Uhh...I didn’t...Ho...” Tony stuttered, gripping his chest and unsure what to think.
“Hey, Doll...You okay?” Bucky asked, as if he wasn't the one who was hurt a matter of days ago. He proceeded to hold Tony’s hands to make sure they weren’t harmed in the breaking of the glass and brought Tony over to him.
“I’m...I’m fine...When...When did you wake up?” Tony Inquired, trying not to look directly at the man.
“As of now? About 54 hours ago. Banner finally allowed me out of med bay about, oh I’d say 42 hours ago. I have been sitting here for about 37 hours after I was done talking with Stevie about some things...Does that sound about right, JARVIS?” Bucky inquired, looking up at the ceiling before back at Tony.
“That is correct, Sergeant Barnes. I did tell you to stretch every few hours. Are you as stiff as Dr. Banner feared you would be?”
“I am as fit as a fiddle, thank you for helping with reminding to stretch or who knows how sore I’d be.” Bucky stated with a smile for the AI before looking back at Tony.
“Now, care to explain to me why my fella wasn’t at my bedside when I woke up? Why it was Stevie callin himself an idiot?” He asked, stroking Tony’s cheek to try and angle Tony to look at him.
“Well that depends, what did Capsicle tell you?”
“He said that you were as purple as some of my plums. Then you had a slight yelling match with each other before you basically ran out of the room. Doll, you know how Stevie gets when he’s scared. He gets protective, and he feels like now that he’s bigger he has to protect me like I did to him when we were kids. So you wanna tell me what is going through that big brain of yours?” Bucky suggested, leaving a kiss on Tony’s forehead.
“I lied...about a color...I just...I just didn’t want to admit it...I was terrified at the waterpark...But I knew the moment I said it...Everyone would look at me funny..” Tony admitted, basically melting against Bucky’s touch.
“I know...” Bucky whispered, pecking at Tony’s cheek.
“I...Wait what? How?” Tony demanded, being pulled out of his trance.
“Because Doll, my eyesight is better than most. You were scared when we first shared a bed together and you turned into that beautiful hue of indigo. Then we started goin, you turned into a magnificent red that reminded me of your suit. I knew then that was your excited hue instead of the blue. I just figured you would tell me when you were ready.” Bucky explained, stroking Tony’s cheek gently.
“I...Really? I thought...” Tony started, but couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
“JARVIS showed me the recording, Doll...I’m sorry Stevie scared you off, if it means anythin he’s sorry too. He just had protector mode on and didn’t know how to turn it off. I’m not scared off...I am not going anywhere for a long time. Now how about we go to bed hm? We both haven’t slept in a bed for a good bit, and I’m sure we could use some,” Bucky suggested, starting to stand up himself.
“I...I guess some sleep will be some good...Carry me?” Tony asked, tilting his head to the side.
“Come here, Doll.” Bucky said softly before kissing Tony.
Tony could feel his whole body changing color through the kiss. He felt warm for the first time in sixty hours. He hoped Bucky knew that he appreciated all the love and attention he was giving him. The kiss was tender but it made Tony feel like they were the only two in the world. When they parted, Bucky smiled sweetly at Tony and Tony had a feeling Bucky understood.
“I love you too, Tony...” Bucky spoke before swooping Tony up in his arms bridal style.
“How’d you…?”
“Because that’s the same hue you turned when we first started this, Doll. I know your colors, and it is my privilege to color you in.”
Tony snuggled tightly along Bucky’s chest, breathing the best he has in the last few days. He could smell Bucky’s musk and it he finally, finally felt like he found home. Tomorrow he will make it up to Capsicle. But tonight, tonight he would sleep with his Bucky Bear and forget about the rest of the world. He could have sworn he heard Bucky bid him sweet dreams before he fell asleep in the safety of his fella’s arms. One could get used to being carried everywhere...