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Tony drops his head back against the couch with a groan, letting his hands fall limp in his lap and his phone thump down to the carpet. Bucky looks over at him with concern while Alpine crawls her way across the back of the couch to gnaw on the tips of Tony’s hair.
His phone continues to buzz away on the floor, but Tony ignores it. He doesn’t even move when Alpine graduates to batting at the top of his head and Bucky is starting to worry that the little wrinkle between his eyebrows is going to become permanent.
Tony had been so excited when his parents agreed to come to their wedding, Bucky hadn’t been able to say a word despite the fact that he’d just known something would go wrong. Then Tony’s dad hadn’t shown up, the asshole, and while Bucky maintains that only improved the wedding Tony has now somehow gotten sucked into playing mediator in whatever fight his parents are having about it.
He knows Tony is still holding onto the spark of hope that he can patch things up with them, but it’s enough to make Bucky fondly remember the times when they were both sure they’d never hear from Tony’s parents again. And then he feels like the asshole, because he’s still only beginning to understand Tony’s complicated relationship with his family and Bucky wants to be supportive, he really does, but his best advice boils down to 'fuck 'em' and he doesn’t know what to do.
So when Tony drags in a deep breath like he’s preparing to speak Bucky all but bolts upright from his lazy sprawl, painfully eager for something he can do to help.
“I need some goddamn serotonin,” Tony says heavily, and still doesn’t react to Alpine’s attack on his hair.
“I’ll get you some,” Bucky says instantly, shoving himself up off the couch before he even processes the words.
Then he freezes, wondering if he can possibly play this off, but when he glances back Tony has lifted his head to look at him, both eyebrows raised. Bucky opens his mouth to defend himself, but Tony's lips are beginning to curl up into a grain and it's far too late. So instead Bucky just sinks back down with a sigh while Tony breaks out into laughter.
"Don't," Bucky groans even as he revels in the sound. It might be more subdued than Tony's usual laughter, but it's still the most Bucky has heard from him since they got back from their honeymoon and Tony promptly got dragged into his family drama.
"You were going to go get me some?" Tony asks around lingering chuckles, leaning his head back against the couch again and he still looks tired, but the smile he fixes on Bucky is real and gorgeous. "Just going to run down to the chemical store for me? Can you pick up some extra dopamine while you're there?"
"Don't tease me, I'm just trying to be a good husband," Bucky pouts, crossing his arms childishly just so Tony will smile wider and reach out to tug his arms loose again.
"Were you going to rob someone for their serotonin?" Tony asks, pulling at his wrist until Bucky turns towards him, "because that's illegal, but very cool."
"So mean to me," Bucky says with a sigh and it's so hard to maintain his pout in the face of Tony's teasing grin, when Tony is lacing their fingers and bumping their shoulders together. So Bucky quickly gives up and just returns the smile, stroking his thumb over the back of Tony's hand as he sheepishly says "I would get you some, if I could."
"You do," Tony says, his smile a little smaller but no less real, "you always do."
And really, Bucky has no choice but to lean in and kisses him, slow and deep and sweet. He presses Tony down into the couch and kisses him over and over and over, until neither of them can think about anything else.