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The first time Steve woke up with someone in his bed, it came as a surprise.
He woke up early in the morning for his run. He never needed an alarm, he just always found himself naturally waking up at about five-thirty in the morning, just in time for him to get ready and go for a run. Except this time when he opened his eyes, he found a brunette man who smelled strongly of whiskey cuddled up to him, one arm draped over his waist and his face pressed into his chest. He was snoring loudly, clearly out cold.
He wasn’t exactly sure when Tony had joined him in bed during the night, but he supposed it wasn’t the worst decision he could’ve made while drinking. And at least he was getting sleep.
Steve managed to extract himself from his Tony’s hold without waking him, then stood beside the bed trying to decide how to handle the situation. He could wake him up, but the ensuing conversation was bound to be awkward. So instead he decided to just get dressed for his run and let him wake on his own.
He spent longer than usual on his run, and when he came back to shower, Tony was gone.
The next time he woke up with someone in his bed, it was Bucky.
It was about a month after he’d woken to find Tony curled up to his side, and he was starting to think it may have just been a one-off thing. And maybe it was, for Tony. But apparently waking up with people in his bed was going to be a reoccurring problem.
Well, maybe not a problem. He didn’t really mind it. And when he woke up to Bucky partially on top of him, his face in his neck, his first thought wasn’t ‘why’ or ‘how’, it was, ‘well, at least he’s getting sleep’.
Unlike Tony, Bucky didn’t snore. He just breathed deeply and slowly, everything about him exuding a sense of peace and comfort. Steve didn’t want to move. Bucky never slept, and the fact that he trusted him enough to sleep practically on top of him made him smile.
Waking him up was actually an accident. He’d reached down to push a piece of hair out of Bucky’s face and the gentle touch was enough to make him wake with a start.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up,” Steve said softly, smiling down at Bucky.
Bucky pushed himself up into a sitting position, pushing his long hair back out of his face. “Sorry. Thought I wouldn’t be here when you woke up.”
“I don’t mind.” Steve didn’t mention that it wasn’t the first time someone had climbed into his bed recently. “Why are you here? Not that I’m mad. I’m just curious.”
“Nightmares,” Bucky said simply. “I remember I used to sleep with you. Back in Brooklyn? I didn’t think you would mind, and I thought it might help.”
“Well, did it?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” Steve sat up and stretched, then climbed out of bed and started gathering his running clothes. “You know, you’re always welcome to spend the night here if it helps you sleep.”
“Really?” Bucky looked surprised.
“Yeah, of course.” Steve grabbed a t-shirt out of the closet. “I’m going for a run, do you want to come?”
Bucky considered it for a moment, then shook his head. “I think I’ll let you have a little space.”
Before Steve could protest that he’d love having Bucky with him and that it wouldn’t be an invasion of his space at all, he was gone.
From that moment on, waking up with Bucky in his bed became a normal occurrence. About once a week he would wake up early, only to find Bucky lying partially on top of him, breathing deep and completely relaxed. It always made his heart ache fondly.
Another month passed before he woke up with Tony in his bed again.
He knew something was different the second he started drifting back to consciousness. The body beside him was smaller, and in a different position. And he was snoring.
Right. Tony.
He could smell whiskey again, which he guessed explained that.
Despite the initial disorientation of waking up next to an unfamiliar body, he really didn’t mind the surprise. He lay there for a long while, listening to Tony snoring, finding himself drifting in and out of sleep with the sound. He sleepily combed his fingers through his messy hair, smiling a little at how calm he was. It was nice to see him getting some sleep, and watching his peaceful expression made affection blossom in his chest.
It was about six when Steve decided to get out of bed. He managed to do it without waking Tony, which he was glad for. The man needed the sleep. He got dressed for his run, then when he was ready, he went and found a bottle of aspirin that he hadn’t ever actually touched. It wouldn’t do him any good, and he really only kept it around because he couldn’t exactly give a normal person painkillers made for a super soldier. He shook a couple pills into his hand, then put them on the nightstand along with a glass of water and a note in his neat handwriting.
Tony-
You know you don’t have to be drunk to use my bed. If it helps you sleep, you’re always welcome. Please take the aspirin and drink the whole glass of water. Not just a sip. There’s food and coffee in the kitchen.
-Steve
Before he left, he put a pot of coffee on for Tony to wake up to.
When he came back, Tony was gone, and so was half the coffee. But so was a banana, the water, and the aspirin, so he considered it a success.
After that, just like Bucky, Tony became a fairly usual visitor in his bed. Despite the invitation to climb into bed with him whenever he wanted, most of the time when he joined him he smelled like he’d been drinking. Steve didn’t really mind. As long as he was getting sleep, right?
Despite the two of them coming and going fairly often, they didn’t really overlap. The nights that Bucky was in bed with him, Tony was absent, and vice versa.
That was until about three months in.
One morning Steve slowly drifted to consciousness, realizing that he was warmer than usual. The second thing he realized was that there were two other bodies in his bed instead of one.
Bucky was partially on top of him as usual, sprawled out with one arm and one leg draped over him. He was on his left side. On his right was Tony, who had his face pushed into his neck, his arm lying over both Steve’s waist and Bucky’s. As usual, Tony was snoring softly.
There really wasn’t any way for Steve to move with the two of them on either side of him, so he quickly just decided to surrender to the situation he’d found himself in.
It was around eight when Tony woke. Unlike Bucky, who usually woke fairly quickly, albeit reluctantly, Tony woke pretty slowly and was very clearly unhappy about it. He mumbled something incoherent and pushed his face harder into Steve’s neck, cuddling closer.
Steve had never actually been in bed when Tony woke up, and he found himself faced with the revelation that Tony was incredibly cute when he was fighting consciousness. He was more cuddly than he was in his sleep, and he was adorably affectionate, even if he hadn’t quite realized what was going on yet.
Eventually Tony looked up at Steve, blinking drowsily and yawning. He stared at him for a moment before mumbling an apology, saying something about how he would go despite the fact that he clearly wasn’t awake yet.
“It’s okay. You can stay, I’m not upset,” Steve said quietly.
Tony frowned, realizing something. “Why are you still here?” he asked, mimicking Steve’s hushed tone although he clearly didn’t know why. “You’re usually gone by now.”
Steve nodded to his left where Bucky was starting to open his eyes, most likely woken by the noise.
Tony sat up, looking over at Bucky. Bucky looked up, looking completely unbothered by Tony’s presence.
“Morning,” Bucky mumbled, then yawned and sat up.
“…Morning,” Tony responded, like he wasn’t quite sure what to say.
Bucky rolled out of bed, and Tony continued to stare at him, likely because he was dressed only in boxers and one of Steve’s t-shirts.
“Did I interrupt something last night?” Tony asked cautiously.
“What?” Steve frowned, then realized that Tony probably put together the pieces of Bucky wearing Steve’s clothes and sleeping in Steve’s bed and come away with the conclusion that they were sleeping together not just literally but euphemistically. “Oh. No, no we’re not… doing that.”
“Naw, not since the forties.”
Steve’s face went pink at the same time Tony opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. One of the few times Tony Stark chose silence.
Bucky rummaged through Steve’s drawers until he found a pair of sweatpants and pulled them on. He had a bad habit of stealing Steve’s clothes. But to be fair, a lot of people in the tower stole Steve’s t-shirts, the general consensus being that they were big and soft and smelled good. Tony just tended to be a lot less open about it than Bucky was. That didn’t mean Steve hadn’t noticed when he occasionally forgot to take them off before going about his day.
“I guess I should probably go,” Tony decided, sliding out of bed. “Um… thanks. For everything.”
“There’s aspirin in the kitchen cabinet on your way out. And drink some water.”
“I wasn’t drunk last night.”
Steve blinked in surprise. “Oh?”
“No. Just… really tired.”
Tired enough that he either hadn’t noticed Bucky in bed with Steve or didn’t care.
“Alright. I guess I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah. Probably.” Tony gave him a little smile, then left.
Bucky watched him go, then looked over at Steve. “Your bed gets a lot of traffic, huh?” he teased, making Steve flush yet again.
“I know what you’re implying. But no, apparently I just attract insomniacs.”
Bucky chuckled. “Alright. Well, I’m gonna go shower. See you later?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you later.”
For a while, Tony didn’t come back to his bed, much to Steve’s concern. He knew his sleeping habits weren’t exactly healthy, but he also knew that he seemed to sleep soundly and peacefully when he was in Steve’s bed. He wasn’t sure if he was actually getting sleep when he wasn’t with him.
On top of that, he found himself missing him. He always enjoyed waking up with Tony’s face in his neck and his arm around his waist, his breath warm against his skin as he snored. He loved how spending that time cuddled up to him made his heart beat faster and ache happily.
Then again, he got the same feeling waking up beside Bucky. Well, maybe not the exact same. The feeling from Bucky was more familiar. Comfortable, like an old, worn down t-shirt from years before. But the affection was still there.
Two more months passed before Tony joined him in bed again.
He smelled like he’d been drinking again, which wasn’t ideal, but Steve was glad to have him back. When he woke to find him cuddled up to his side, instead of moving and leaving him to sleep, he wrapped an arm around his waist. His free hand went to play with his hair.
Half an hour passed with Steve just holding Tony and combing his fingers through his hair. He was smiling down at the man, listening to him snore with his heart beating happily in his chest. After a little while he gave in to a creeping urge in the corner of his mind and ducked his head down, pressing a kiss to the top of Tony’s head.
Tony didn’t wake up.
Steve buried his face in his hair, breathing in the smell of his expensive shampoo. He was enjoying cuddling with Tony, maybe a little too much. He wanted to stay there forever, just holding Tony close and listening to him snore.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Tony started moving around, cuddling closer to Steve and pushing his face into his neck with a soft noise of discontent. Steve smiled at the action and moved his head up but didn’t move his arm.
“Good morning, Tony,” he said softly.
Tony mumbled something that sounded vaguely like the word ‘morning’ and pressed closer. Steve just held him a little tighter, combing his fingers through his hair.
After a couple minutes, Tony managed to drift to something close to full consciousness. He didn’t move from where he was lying close to Steve.
“How are you feeling?” Steve asked quietly.
“Head hurts,” Tony mumbled. “Quiet helps. And this. It’s distracting.”
“‘This’ being…?”
“You playing with my hair. Being close to you. Your arm. It’s all distracting.”
“And that’s a good thing?”
“Very.”
For a while they just lay there, cuddled close together. Tony finally spoke up again after a while. His voice was still hushed and a little drowsy.
“Why are you still here?”
Steve looked down at him, then shrugged. “You seem like you needed the sleep. And it’s been a while since you’ve been here.”
“You still could’ve gone. Probably wouldn’t have woken me up.”
“Maybe I enjoy this.”
Tony looked surprised. “What?”
“You think I’d be letting you sleep in my bed if I didn’t enjoy this at least a little bit?”
“Actually, yeah. You’ve got a habit of being self-sacrificing even when you don’t need to be.”
Steve couldn’t really argue with him there. “Well, I don’t mind you being here, and it’s nice waking up next to someone sometimes.”
“Does Bucky mind?”
Now it was Steve’s turn to look surprised. “Why would Bucky mind?”
“Well you two are pretty close, and he sleeps with you too…”
“We’re not romantically involved, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“Huh. Well I guess I owe Rhodey twenty bucks.”
Steve chuckled and twisted a piece of hair around his finger. “We used to be. Back in the forties. But I didn’t know he even remembered it until a few months ago.”
“Do you still love him?” Tony asked softly.
Steve paused, considering his options before deciding to answer honestly. “I never stopped.”
“Then why are you holding me like this?”
Steve was quiet for a moment. “…Because it makes me happy.” Not much did that anymore.
“Oh.” Tony fell silent, tucking his face back into the crook of Steve’s neck and cuddling close, apparently deciding that his explanation was sufficient enough for him to stay. Steve had no problem with that. He just slid his hand up and down his back, burying his face in Tony’s hair. He wondered if Tony could hear his heart beating just a little faster than usual.
He hadn’t been lying. Holding Tony did make him happy. It prompted a mixture of protectiveness and affection to surge in his chest. He wanted to keep him close, make sure nothing could touch him.
They lay like that for maybe another half an hour before Tony’s stomach started growling. Steve pulled away, smiling at him. “Breakfast?”
“Yeah, that sounds good. Want me to order something?”
“I can cook.” Before he could really think about what he was doing, he placed a kiss on the top of Tony’s head, then climbed out of bed and headed into the kitchen to cook, leaving Tony in bed to wonder if he’d really just done what he’d done.
Steve ended up making eggs, bacon, and coffee. Tony was quiet for most of breakfast, and Steve had the sinking feeling that he’d probably messed up.
But apparently he hadn’t messed up too badly, because about a week later, he woke up with Bucky once again on his left and Tony on his right.
Bucky was the first to wake up. His eyes opened, and he looked up at Steve tiredly. “Mornin’ Stevie,” he greeted, then yawned and sat up. He smiled when he saw Tony fast asleep beside Steve. “He’s pretty cute when he’s sleeping, huh?” he asked, his voice quiet.
“He is. You are too.”
Bucky looked down at Steve, giving him a little smile. “You’re not exactly neutral on the whole thing, though.”
“No, I’m not. But I also think I’m right.”
“Of course you do.” Bucky’s smile softened into something dangerously fond that made Steve’s heart beat a little faster. Then after a moment, he leaned down and kissed Steve’s forehead. “I’m gonna go get breakfast. I’ll see you later.”
With that, Bucky grabbed a pair of Steve’s sweatpants, pulled them on, and left.
Steve just lay in bed for a while, his heart beating hard enough against his ribcage he was irrationally worried that it would bruise something. The spot he’d kissed felt strangely warm.
Eventually he decided to leave before Tony woke up. He needed to go for a run.
Apparently Tony didn’t take his departure personally, because Steve woke up several days later with Tony at his side.
Steve spent half an hour in bed with Tony, holding him close and playing with his hair, enjoying the fact that for once, the scent of whiskey wasn’t lingering on him. Eventually he decided to pull away, finding sweatpants to pull on and heading to the kitchen to start making breakfast.
Tony emerged from the bedroom after about fifteen more minutes, walking over to where Steve stood at the stove and hoisting himself up to sit on the counter. “Omelets?” he asked, voice rough with sleep.
“Yeah. Omelets,” Steve confirmed, looking up at Tony with a little fond smile.
Tony hummed in agreement, holding Steve’s gaze for a moment. Then suddenly he was leaning down, capturing Steve’s lips in a kiss.
Steve made a surprised noise, his eyes going wide. To his credit, Tony immediately noticed the reaction and pulled away.
“Shit. Sorry. Was I misreading things? I thought after that other morning, and the way you were just looking at me…”
“Give me a minute.” Steve finished up the omelet, glad it was already almost done. He moved it off the heat, turned off the burner, then moved to stand between Tony’s legs. He could see the panic on his face. It was clear he thought he’d screwed something up, and badly at that.
Steve leaned up and kissed Tony softly.
This time Tony was the one who reacted with surprise, but he quickly relaxed into the kiss. His hands slid into Steve’s hair around the time Steve’s hands went to rest on his thighs.
It was Tony who pulled away first. He had to be. Steve could hold his breathe for a long time, but he knew Tony was not only unenhanced, but likely had reduced lung capacity thanks to the arc reactor in his chest. They’d only been kissing for a couple minutes and Tony was already trying to hide the fact that he was panting.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I… I’m fine. Just give me a minute.”
Steve waited patiently until Tony managed to get his breathing under control before speaking. “What exactly do you want from this?”
Tony frowned. “What?”
“Is this your attempt at a hookup, or…”
“What? Fuck, no. No, I just…” Tony chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment and Steve could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he tried to think of a way to express his emotions in a normal and healthy way. It wasn’t something he had much practice with.
“I really like you, Steve,” he finally said. “And I know I’m not exactly good at relationships. But if you wanted to, I thought maybe we could give this a shot?” There was a sort of fragile hope in his voice. Like he was bracing himself for a ‘no’ but praying for a ‘yes’.
“The whole discussion we had the other day didn’t bother you?”
“Which one? The one where you said you never stopped loving Bucky?”
“That doesn’t bother you?”
“If I’m being honest? Not really. It probably should, but… it doesn’t.” Tony shrugged. “He’s a good guy. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about him the same way I thought about you sometimes. Or about the two of you together…” He trailed off for a moment before snapping back to reality. “Besides, I trust you. Doesn’t matter how much you love Bucky, you wouldn’t go behind my back with him.”
“You’re right about that.” Steve loved Bucky. He always did and he always will. But he wasn’t about to cheat on a relationship with him. “So… I guess I’m willing to try this out.”
Tony’s face lit up, like he hadn’t been expecting him to agree. “Great. You free tonight? I know this great diner…”
The date went well. Really well. It was the first time he’d woken up with Tony in his bed two nights in a row.
The two of them agreed not to make a big deal out of the new relationship, but it seemed like people caught on pretty quickly. That was around the time Bucky stopped coming to bed with him. He seemed to draw the line at sleeping in the same bed as someone else’s boyfriend, no matter how platonic the action was. On top of that, he seemed to be spending less time around Steve in general.
That was, until about a month and a half in.
Steve woke in the morning to a familiar weight on his chest. Bucky was lying there, sprawled partially over Steve, sleeping soundly. He was starting to think he just started beside him when he came to bed but moved over the course of the night. Given his reluctance to share the bed with him recently, it seemed unlikely he’d immediately drape himself over Steve the second he crawled under the covers.
He decided to stay still for as long as he could, not wanting to wake Bucky. That lasted about fifteen minutes. Steve wasn’t good at lying perfectly still. He eventually shifted his weight a little too much and Bucky’s eyes opened with a soft groan. He looked up at Steve, blinking a few times before pushing himself up into a sitting position. The first word out of his mouth was, “Sorry.”
Steve frowned, sitting up as well. “What are you apologizing for? I told you it’s always okay for you to climb in bed with me.”
“Yeah, that was before you started dating Tony. Look, I didn’t mean to get in the way of anything, but the nightmares were really bad, and-”
“Bucky,” Steve interrupted. “You don’t have to make excuses. The fact that I’m dating Tony doesn’t mean anything has changed between us. You don’t need to avoid me or not come to me when you need me.” He paused. “Why have you been avoiding me?”
Bucky paused before sighing, running a hand back through his hair and pushing it out of his face. “No reason. It’s stupid. I didn’t make a move, Tony got to you first, and that’s on me. I’m glad you two are happy.”
A look of confusion crossed Steve’s face, then realization. “Bucky…”
“No, don’t give me that look. I’m fine. I’m happy for you, really. It’s weird, I thought I might be jealous, but seeing you two together is… nice. Maybe I just like seeing you happy.” Bucky shrugged, getting out of bed. Steve noticed he was already wearing sweatpants, and for once, they were his own. He hadn’t been stealing Steve’s clothes lately.
Steve wasn’t completely sure what to say to that. He was head over heels for Bucky, but by then, he was pretty gone for Tony, too. And Tony had been right. He wasn’t going to act on anything behind his back, no matter how he felt, even if those feelings were returned.
“I…”
“It’s fine, Steve. I’ll see you around.” With that, he was gone.
Steve wasn’t quite sure how to broach the topic with Tony. He kept quiet for most of their next date, but it was clear that something was on his mind. But Tony didn’t bring it up until later when they were lying in bed together, Tony tracing patterns on Steve’s bare chest, the two of them half asleep.
“What have you been thinking about all night?” Tony asked softly, looking up at him.
Steve was quiet for a while before responding. “Bucky feels the same way I do. Or… similarly, at least. He said something about how he didn’t make a move in time and you beat him to me, or something like that.”
Tony was silent for a moment. “…So this is it, huh?”
“What?”
“You love him, and he likes you back. I’m not going to be upset if this is the end for us. You deserve to be happy, and you’ve loved the guy since the twenties. I get it.”
“Tony, I’m not breaking up with you,” Steve said firmly.
Tony’s brow furrowed. “You’re not? But…”
“I love you. I know it’s probably too early to say that, and you don’t have to-”
“I love you too. Have for a while now.”
Steve didn’t respond. He just pulled Tony up into a kiss that carried some heat but was mostly all love. Tony went easily into it, melting against him and wrapping his arms around his neck.
When they broke apart, Steve gave him a little smile. “I’m not going to leave you, Tony.”
Tony paused, considering something for a moment before speaking. “You know, there is another option.”
Steve’s smile turned to a confused frown. “What do you mean?”
“You could always just… date both of us.”
His frown deepened. “Isn’t that cheating?”
“Cheating means going behind your romantic partner or partners’ back. There are options that involve other people without being cheating. Like open relationships or polyamory.”
“I don’t know what either of those things are.”
“An open relationship means that the people in relationship are allowed to date and/or sleep with people outside the relationship. Polyamory is a relationship that involves more than two people. The specifics of each relationship vary.” It sounded like Tony had given that explanation before.
“So if I was dating Bucky and you, that would be polyamory.”
“Exactly.”
“And you would be okay with that?”
“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have brought it up.”
Steve thought for a moment. It was unusual, sure. And it might take him some time to get used to. But it had taken him time to get used to a lot of things about the twenty-first century. And if doing this meant he got to have both Tony and Bucky, he thought it seemed like an excellent idea. He’d never been one to overthink things either. So after a minute’s consideration, he nodded. “Let’s try it.”
Tony pulled Steve into another kiss.
They didn’t go to bed for another hour.
The next morning, Steve woke early, showering before getting dressed and going to make breakfast. Tony woke up about halfway through his batch of pancakes and showered, then wandered into the kitchen in Steve’s shirt and sweatpants. He’d gotten a little bolder about stealing his clothes once they’d started dating, like he’d taken the relationship as an open invitation to wear Steve’s shirts.
Tony raised an eyebrow at the mountain of pancakes on the plate Steve was using to hold them as he shuffled them off the small griddle. “Any reason you’re making so many of those things?”
“I was thinking we could invite Bucky to eat breakfast with us. Maybe bring up the whole ‘polyamory’ thing.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Tony grabbed the syrup and butter and started setting everything on the table. “You think he’ll go for it?”
“I’m not sure yet. We’ll have to see.”
As it turned out, Bucky was just as confused as Steve was. He sat at the table, a forkful of syrup-soaked pancakes halfway to his mouth, staring at Steve like he’d just grown a second head.
“…So I’d be able to date both of you. If you say yes, anyways.”
Bucky put down his fork, looking over at Tony. “And you’re okay with this?”
“I suggested it, why wouldn’t I be okay with it?”
Bucky shrugged, then looked back to Steve. “And you think you can handle two relationships at once.”
“I’m not sure if I should be insulted or not.”
Bucky thought it over for a moment, then shrugged. “You know what? Fuck it. I’ve done weirder shit in my life, why not this?”
Steve’s face lit up like the Fourth of July, which was very appropriate, all things considered. “Really?”
“Yes, really. Calm down. I’ve been in love with you since we were kids. Of course I was going to say yes.”
That confession stated like a fact made a grin spread across Steve’s face. “I love you too.”
Tony snorted into his coffee. “Dorks.”
“Shut up, you love him,” Bucky shot back with a little grin.
“Yeah, so what? I can love him and think he’s a complete dork.”
“You got a point there.” Bucky looked over at Steve. “You know what, I agree with him. You are a dork.”
“Hey, he said you were one too.”
“And I’m choosing to ignore that part.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Steve laughed, smiling at him with nothing but love in his eyes.
Bucky shook his head and stood up, walking around to the other side of the table and placing his hand on the back of his head. He gave him a look of pure adoration before leaning in to kiss him.
Bucky tasted like maple syrup and pancakes, and even though he kept the kiss clean, likely worried about doing anything too intense in front of Tony, Steve absolutely melted beneath his touch. When he pulled away, he stared up at Bucky with a little grin.
Bucky immediately looked over at Tony, like he was looking for his approval, and Steve followed his gaze. Tony was grinning at the two of them.
“Wonder how long the two of you have been waiting to do that.”
“A few years,” Bucky said at the same time Steve said, “Decades.”
Tony chuckled, walking over to the two of them. He leaned down, mirroring Bucky’s kiss. Steve leaned into it happily. Bucky’s hand was still on the back of his head, his fingers in his hair. When it broke, Tony turned his attention to Bucky, looking at him curiously. His gaze flicked down to his lips, then back up to his eyes. “I want to try something.”
Bucky shrugged, seeming to catch on. “Sure.”
Bucky let go of Steve’s head as Tony leaned over him, kissing Bucky. It was soft, hesitant, like he was trying to test the waters. After a few seconds he deepened it slightly as Bucky slid a hand into his hair.
After a long moment, Tony pulled away, giving Bucky a lopsided grin. “I could get used to that.”
“Yeah? Well you’ll get more of it if you just ask for it, doll.” Bucky winked at him, returning the grin.
Steve watched the two of them with a little smile. The sight of the two of them interacting like that made his heart beat a little faster. Seeing the two people he loved most in the world exploring a romantic connection was enough to make him strangely happy.
“Can I finish my pancakes now?” Bucky teased with a raised eyebrow.
“What, you’re tired of kissing us already?” Tony teased right back.
“Not at all, but I was promised pancakes, so I’m going to eat pancakes.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” Tony laughed as he went back to his seat.
The rest of breakfast passed with Tony and Bucky flirting, seemingly exploring the new space they were in with the method they found easiest. Steve watched all of it happily, occasionally contributing to the conversation. Breakfast ended with plans to return to the diner Tony had introduced Steve to, but with Bucky this time.
That night, as Steve lay in bed, Bucky on one side and Tony on the other, he realized that in that moment, he was the happiest he’d been in a long time. He turned his head to place a kiss on the top of Tony’s head, then Bucky’s, receiving a content hum from both of them.
“Goodnight. I love you,” he said softly, even though the two of them were too close to sleep to respond.