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There was nothing to be nervous about.
Tony and Bucky had been dating for three months. The sex was amazing, they got along well outside of the bedroom, their politics and religious beliefs were compatible, and Bucky’s friends actually seemed to like Tony. Most of them, anyway.
So now it was time for Tony to introduce Bucky to his friends.
Tony didn’t have as many friends as Bucky did. Bucky had Steve and Sam and Clint and Wanda and Nat.
Tony had Rhodey. And Pepper.
And the last time Tony had introduced them to someone he was dating, it had not gone well. Not at all. Even worse than the time before that, which was really saying something.
So Tony had a rule, now, when he started dating someone. He wouldn’t introduce them to Rhodey or Pepper for at least three months. He wanted to be able to figure out on his own if the person he was seeing was a complete asshole before they did. Three months seemed about right -- enough time for the shiny-newness of the relationship to wear off and for them to start showing each other their real selves and not just their Sunday best.
He’d explained that to Bucky shortly after he’d met Bucky’s best friend, Steve, shortly after their fourth date. He didn’t want Bucky thinking he was trying to keep Bucky a secret or that Tony’s friends were homophobic or anything. He just... preferred to wait a little while. He didn’t have family any more, really, so there was no “meeting the parents” hurdle to jump through. So it seemed only right to make meeting Tony’s few real friends a little bit of an event.
Bucky had nodded understandingly and pulled Tony into a hug and said very earnestly that he didn’t want to do anything that Tony wasn’t completely on board with, and that included stuff they did for fun as well as sex, and if Tony wanted to wait before bringing Bucky into his friend circle, then Bucky was happy to wait.
Tony... hadn’t really known what to do with that.
A guy as nice as Bucky, there had to be something wrong with him that he was covering up, right?
But in three months of looking, Tony had yet to find a flaw more egregious than leaving his dishes in the sink instead of loading them into the dishwasher right away, or the fact that he never bothered to balance his checkbook.
So if there was something wrong with Bucky -- a big thing, a deal-breaker of a thing (like being a corporate spy who was only in it to steal Tony’s tech, which had happened not once but several times) then Tony was going to need Pepper and Rhodey to suss it out and tell him.
So it was time. Tony was taking Bucky out for dinner, where they would meet up with Pepper and Rhodey. And there was nothing to be nervous about.
Tony wasn’t nervous.
Not much. Maybe a little bit, because shit, what if Bucky didn’t like Tony’s friends? What if Tony’s friends didn’t like Bucky? Was that a deal-breaker all by itself?
He was maybe a little nervous.
But he hadn’t told Bucky that’s what was happening, because he didn’t want Bucky to get nervous, to spend half the afternoon stressing over what to wear and what to say. As far as Bucky knew, it was just. Dinner. Nothing fancy or romantic, just a regular burger joint with a great selection of craft beers and a dartboard at the back. They’d been there a couple of times before, even; it was only a few blocks from Bucky’s apartment.
There was nothing to be nervous about, Tony told himself. He liked Bucky. A lot. Maybe even more than that, though it was probably too soon to start throwing the L-word around, but Tony could definitely see it from here. Surely, if Bucky was secretly an asshole, Tony would have noticed by now. So there was nothing to be nervous about. Nothing at all.
(Maybe a little bit.)
“You okay, doll?” Bucky asked. “You haven’t said a word for two whole blocks.”
“What?” Tony looked around and sure enough, several blocks had gone by. They were almost there. “No, I mean, yeah, I’m fine, just... Thinking about stuff. Sorry, didn’t mean to ignore you.”
“Nah, s’okay.” Bucky took Tony’s hand and squeezed it gently. “You don’t actually have to talk all the time. It’s just, you usually do.” His eyes twinkled as Tony pretended to be offended, and god, Tony was so gone on this man, and he really, really hoped that Rhodey and Pepper liked Bucky.
“So, uh,” Tony said as they approached the restaurant. “I hope it’s okay, but I, uh, invited my friends to join us for dinner.”
“What, really?” Bucky’s face lit up. “Aw, sweetheart, that’s big! I mean, that you’re ready for that!”
Tony smiled helplessly. “I know, it’s dumb that I wanted to wait, I just--”
“Nah, you explained it all,” Bucky said. “I get it. It’s good.”
And then they were through the door, and while Tony’s eyes were still adjusting, Bucky craned his neck around and said, “Oh, there they are!” and tugged Tony by the hand across the floor.
Pepper stood up as they reached the table, and Bucky leaned over to kiss her lightly on the cheek. “It’s good to see you again,” she told him.
What, Tony thought.
“What,” Tony said aloud.
Bucky and Pepper both looked at him.
“What?” he demanded. “You know each other already?”
“Don’t be mad, doll,” Bucky said, reaching out for Tony’s hand again. “We didn’t meet until about a month ago. You remember that day I was over at your place and you had that meeting?”
Tony remembered. Saturday meetings were the bane of his existence, but sometimes it was the only way to get everyone on the same conference call at a time. He’d told Bucky to hang around while Tony ran into the office for a couple of hours, watch a movie or something, and then when he got home, they’d go out and do something fun. Which... they had. Tony remembered that. He definitely did not remember Pepper meeting Bucky that day.
“So while you were gone, Pepper came over to see you about a thing. She was, understandably, a little surprised when I answered the door, so I kinda had to spill the beans. But I told her what you said about not being comfortable with me meeting them yet! So we agreed to keep it under wraps until you were ready.”
Bucky was making the big puppy eyes that Tony couldn’t resist, so he looked at Pepper instead.
“Really, Tony, I don’t know why you worried. James is an absolute darling. And he’s been very good for you. I’d been wondering what had happened that you seemed to be actually sleeping on a somewhat regular basis.” She bestowed a warm smile on Bucky.
“You. You...”
“And then Pepper brought him to lunch one day,” Rhodey put in.
“You too?” Tony almost screeched.
“You know I like to keep an eye on you, Tones.”
“They gave me the most impressive shovel talk I’ve ever had,” Bucky confided, eyes twinkling. “I’m not sure which of them was more terrifying.”
“Pepper,” answered Rhodey and Tony in unison.
“If you’re not at least a little bit terrified of Pepper,” Tony added as he held Pepper’s chair for her and then sat next to her, across from Rhodey, “then you have not been paying attention.”
“Well, maybe a little,” Bucky said as he slid into the booth next to Rhodey. “But all those threats were aimed at making sure you didn’t get hurt. Can’t help but like someone who loves you that much.”
“I know you’ve had some bad luck in the past,” Rhodey added, reaching for his beer, “but Barnes here looks like a keeper.”
Tony looked up, and Bucky was blushing, adorably bashful, but smiling at him nonetheless. “I sure hope so,” he said. “‘Cause I’d really like to be kept.”
“Yeah, okay,” Tony said, “you’re all forgiven. But you owe me for this,” he told Bucky. “You too,” he added, pointing at Pepper.
“I’ll just mark off one of the several dozen you owe me, then, shall I?” Pepper suggested, smiling a little.
While Tony was sputtering about that, the waiter came to take their orders. Tony slumped in his seat a little, blowing out his breath with a sigh.
His boyfriend had met his friends, and nothing terrible had happened.
Which was, of course, exactly as Tony had expected it. He hadn’t been nervous at all.