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Bucky could hear music blaring before he even entered the engineering lab. Tony himself was hunched over his workbench in the back, obviously right in the middle of something, so Bucky took his time looking at the half-finished projects strewn around the tables. He nodded at Rhodey and Bruce as he walked past, smiling at the little bobbing dance Tony was doing to the music as he worked.
He knew better than to startle Tony when he had a soldering iron in his hand, so he walked around the table, sitting down on the opposite side to watch. Tony didn’t seem to notice until Bucky popped the cap off the styrofoam cup he was holding and waited the few seconds it took for Tony to register the smell.
“Huh?” Tony looked up at the cup first, then met Bucky’s eyes with a wide grin. “Hey! When did you get here?”
“Just now,” he said, handing the coffee to Tony who took it with obvious glee. “What are you working on?”
“Particle accelerator,” Tony said, sipping the coffee as he looked up at Bucky from under his eyelashes. “But you’re not here to talk science, are you?”
Bucky smiled. “Sure I am. Tell me all about the transistors and the, uh – electric doodads and the –”
“Oh, shut up,” Tony laughed, reaching across the bench to grab Bucky’s hand. “Let’s go for a walk. I could use a break.”
Bucky gasped dramatically, putting a hand to his mouth. “A break? You?”
“You’re right. What was I thinking?” Tony pulled away, picking up a screwdriver. “Thanks for the coffee, I’ll just –”
“Oh no, you don’t.” Bucky walked around the bench to hook his arms through Tony’s and drag him off the chair. “Break time. Let’s go.”
“Are you sure?” Tony asked, tilting his head back to look at him innocently, even as he made Bucky support his entire weight by refusing to stand up properly. “Cause for a second there, it sounded like –”
“I’ll buy you lunch.”
Tony’s eyes narrowed. “Are you suggesting that I can be bought?”
“And another coffee,” Bucky said, and Tony’s eyes lit up as he practically bounced to his feet, dragging Bucky along by the hand.
“I’m going out!” he shouted to the rest of the room. “Don’t break anything while I’m gone!”
“I don’t want to hear that from you,” Rhodey called after them, prompting Tony to flip him the bird. Bucky chuckled.
“Did you mess with his equipment again?”
Tony scoffed. “You drop a man’s project one time, and he’ll never let it go. I stayed up all night to fix it. And it worked much better than before when I was done. Ungrateful bastard.”
Bucky laughed, pulling Tony in so he could wrap an arm around his shoulders, nuzzling his temple. “He’s just teasing you because you’re smarter than him.”
Tony turned in his arms, trying to tug him back towards the lab. “Say that again but louder. Hey, Rhodey!”
“Stop,” Bucky laughed, swinging Tony back on course with a firm grip on his waist. “Coffee first. Trolling your lab partners after.”
“A man after my own heart,” Tony said, batting his eyelashes at him, and Bucky smiled, leaning down for a kiss.
“Right back at you. Even though you're insane.”
Tony sniffed dismissively. “Matter of perspective. Besides, you like it.”
“Where'd you get that idea?”
“Oh, I don't know,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. “Didn't hear you complaining when I built you a custom sex robo–“
“Okay, that's enough of that,” Bucky said quickly, holding Tony's mouth shut with one hand and smiling apologetically at the pair of girls they passed in the hallway. “We don't talk about HAND-E in public. You promised.”
Tony licked his palm like the five-year-old he was, making Bucky let go with a grimace. “Just saying, you appreciate my genius.”
Bucky rolled his eyes. “Yes, you insanity has grown on me. Like a fungus.”
“Wow. Why are we dating again?” Tony droned, steering Bucky to the right where the coffee shop was looming in the distance. Bucky wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
“Because we're both hot, and we're both assholes.”
Tony actually seemed to ponder that for a second before he gave Bucky an assessing look. “You know, that makes a weird kind of sense.”
“I guess you like my brand of insanity too,” Bucky said with a wink, and Tony laughed, nudging him in the side. They'd finally reached the coffee shop, so Bucky held the door open for Tony who pinched his ass as he passed him. Dick.
“I'm paying this time,” Tony said with finality, and Bucky gave a put-upon sigh.
“Fine. But I'll get the next one.”
Tony gave him a shrewd look before he shook his head. “You and Steve, I swear. It's coffee, not a new car.”
“But we have a relationship of equals,” Bucky said, pressing a kiss behind Tony's ear before he turned away. “I'll get us a table.”
“Near the window!”
“Always.”
Bucky sat down at their usual table, which was miraculously free despite how crowded the place was at this hour. He'd just started scrolling through his phone when Tony joined him at the table, a black coffee for himself and an iced vanilla latte for Bucky in his hands.
“Here's your sugar coma,” he said, and Bucky smiled sweetly, grabbing the cup from him and taking a sip.
“Thanks for enabling me, sweetheart.”
“Oh no, right in my guilt complex,” Tony said with an exaggerated wince, holding his side. Bucky laughed.
“You still have one of those? Shocker.”
“Gotta adapt to society somehow.” Tony reached across the table to hold his hand, and Bucky intertwined their fingers, feeling a warm glow in his chest. It was rare that Tony got casually affectionate like this in public, but he'd been making a noticeable effort lately. Bucky appreciated it more than he could say. “So, what've you been up to? Good day so far?”
“Can't complain.” Bucky stroked his thumb across Tony's hand, affection welling up in him at the tiny, pleased smile on Tony's face. “Getting ready for finals.”
Tony groaned. “I can't believe you're graduating already.”
“You and me both.”
“I'll miss you.” Tony said it so bluntly that Bucky paused, his cheeks getting a little warm. “Hey, uh... have you looked into any jobs yet? Like, do you know if you're staying here?”
Bucky frowned. “Of course I'm staying.”
Tony nodded quickly. “Right. Yeah, obviously. Stupid question.”
Apparently Bucky hadn't made it clear just how invested he was in this relationship, if Tony was having these kinds of doubts. He'd have to do better. “I'll still be right here. And, actually, I've been thinking...” Bucky bit his lip. He'd wanted to wait to ask Tony this until his project was over, so he wouldn't be distracted, but – “I'll have to look for an apartment soon. And unless you're super attached to your dorm, maybe we could look at something together? If you want?”
Tony stared at him blankly for a moment before Bucky's words seemed to sink in. “You mean move in together?”
“I know it's a bit fast,” Bucky said, his heart racing as he tried to parse the look on Tony's face. He couldn't tell what Tony was thinking. “But I want to see you as much as possible, and since I won't be on campus anymore... I just thought it made sense.” Great, now it sounded like a convenience thing. “I mean, I want to wake up next to you. And all that. So.” He internally face-palmed. Steve would laugh himself sick if he knew how badly Bucky was fucking this up.
“Yeah.” Wait, what? “Yeah, I'd like that,” Tony said, and Bucky needed a second to process that before the message got through.
“You do?” he asked, joy and relief washing through him, and Tony grinned, nodding enthusiastically.
“Definitely.”
“Holy shit,” Bucky burst out, and Tony laughed, his eyes sparkling with so much happiness that Bucky felt like he was floating. “We're moving in together.”
“And who's fault is that?” Tony asked, but he was smiling too hard to sound even remotely sarcastic. Bucky leaned across the table, almost knocking over their cups as he kissed Tony hard, heedless of the other people around them.
“Thank you,” he mumbled against Tony's lips, and Tony chuckled, knocking him lightly on the head.
“Don't thank me, dumbass. I want this, too.”
Bucky sat back down, beaming at Tony as he raised his cup. “To new beginnings.”
Tony grinned and tapped his paper cup against Bucky's. “I'll drink to that.”