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Looking back, Tony thought it started three months ago, after he almost died in a fight with a mage that tried to open a black hole in the middle of Manhattan.
Not that Tony really remembered most of said fight, what with the almost dying and all. The rest of the team told him he’d been electrocuted by one of the magical lightning bolts their new villain had been tossing around, but Tony had had to take their word for it. Mostly the only things he could remember were after he’d been hit, which had been… not fun, to say the least, and only came to him in flashes. (Pain; someone - probably himself - screaming, and the smothering sensation of being buried under rubble.)
What did stick out in his memory, though, had to be the haunted, terrified expressions of the two super soldiers who’d been digging him out of the rubble when he’d regained consciousness.
Even thinking about it now made Tony’s stomach swoop unpleasantly, because no one should ever feel as absolutely wrecked as Bucky and Steve had looked, especially on Tony’s behalf. Bucky had nearly sobbed when Tony had mumbled his first word, and Steve had squeezed Tony’s hand so tightly, Tony had been able to feel it through his gauntlet. He’d kept on squeezing, too, until he’d been forced to let go, and even then it was only long enough for Tony to get the armor off.
Things had gone a bit fuzzy again, after that, but when Tony had next woke he’d been in the Tower’s med bay, Steve and Bucky still by his side. They’d been talking in hushed voices - about what, Tony wasn’t sure - but the second they’d realized Tony was awake they’d stopped, all attention on Tony as they asked him how he was doing.
Tony had barely been able to answer, too out of it to really understand individual questions, and distracted by the way Bucky had been leaning over and running a hand soothingly up Tony’s right arm, smiling so sweetly at him that Tony could hear his heart rate pick up on the monitor he was hooked up to. Bucky hadn’t commented on it, just given an even wider smile that Tony hadn’t been able to help trying to return. Then Tony had felt his left hand being squeezed, and looked down to find Steve holding his hand again, a strange look on his face, though it had quickly morphed into a smile when he realized Tony was looking at him.
Tony thought that there had been an undercurrent of something in the atmosphere, after that - some kind of tension, maybe, though he hadn’t been able to place it and had been too drugged and tired to really try, so he’d let it go.
Bucky had been missing the next time Tony had woken up, and Steve had still been firmly in place, sketching, which quickly become part of a pattern. It hadn’t mattered what time of day it had been, or who else had been in the room - the entire time Tony was recovering, Steve was always there.
Even after Tony was released from medical, Steve remained a near-constant presence, asking him how he was doing, making sure he ate and took his medicine, and keeping him company while he was on bed rest.
Even now, three months later, with Tony completely healed and cleared for Avenging, Steve was still sticking to his side like glue. If Tony had work in the lab, Steve tagged along, sketching in his own corner of the workshop while Tony tinkered. If they were all eating together, Steve made sure he had the seat next to Tony’s, gently prodding him to take another bite.
And Tony hadn’t thought anything of it, at first. Why would he? Steve had always been a bit of a mother hen, when he thought someone was hurt, and he and Steve had become pretty close as of late. And besides, there had been several minutes where everyone - Tony himself included - had thought Tony was dead.
Steve had already lost a close friend to the good fight once before, and if the experience left him feeling especially clingy, who was going to call him out on it? Not Tony, that was for sure.
But then things started to get a bit, well… not uncomfortable, per se, but...
“Smothering,” Bucky said around his mouthful of burger. “The term you’re lookin’ for is ‘smothering’.”
Tony shrugged helplessly, torn between agreeing and wanting to defend Steve. Loyal, sweet, well-meaning Steve, whom Natasha had had to distract just so Tony could escape - er, slip out - with Bucky unchaperoned for lunch.
“Yeah, but I don’t need to be smothered,” Tony grumbled, reaching over and grabbing some of Bucky’s fries, since he’d eaten all of his own. “I’m fine! Completely, one-hundred-percent healed!”
“Well, you really scared him,” Bucky said, putting down his burger and placing a hand on Tony’s wrist. “You scared all of us,” he added softly, running his thumb along Tony’s pulse.
Tony suppressed a shiver, hoping Bucky wouldn’t notice. God, the effect Bucky had on him… it never ceased to amaze him. Tony didn’t think it was one-sided, either, if the way Bucky was looking at him now was anything to go by.
They’d been dancing around each other for months, now - the casual flirtation and long afternoons in Tony’s workshop slowly growing into something more. Tony was sure they’d been on the cusp of taking it further, but then he’d been injured, and between that and Steve’s constant attention Tony had barely gotten any alone time with Bucky.
It had been driving him almost as batty as Steve’s babying, and was one of the reasons Tony had wanted to take off with Bucky today.
“Still, I don’t need a babysitter.” Tony said, reluctantly pulling his hand back to scrub at his face. Especially one that was inadvertently cock-blocking him, though he didn’t voice that bit out loud.
“I think he blames himself,” Bucky sighed, then grimaced and looked down at his lap guiltily. “And maybe me, too, a little bit.” he mumbled quietly.
Tony looked up sharply at that, frowning. “Why would he blame you?” he asked incredulously. “I mean, himself, yeah - he thinks everything that happens to one of us in the field is his fault - but why you? Last I checked, you weren’t the one who threw magic lightning bolts at me.”
Bucky shrugged, expression lost. “But I was the one who was supposed to be watching your back,” he said, sounding upset. “And ever since we brought you back to the tower, Steve’s been…”
“Smothering?” Tony suggested, deciding Bucky’s earlier term was perfect after all. “Clingy? Overprotective? A giant, well-meaning pain in the-”
“Distant,” Bucky finished wryly, mouth quirking up at the corners. “With me, anyway.” he clarified, when Tony frowned in confusion.
“How so?” Tony asked, because now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Bucky and Steve together much lately. “And are you sure it’s not because he’s been using up all of his focus making sure I don’t stub my toe and die on my way to the bathroom?”
Bucky smirked, which was what Tony had been aiming for, but his eyes still looked troubled. “I dunno, it’s just…” He shrugged again. “He’s been giving me the cold shoulder, lately. Especially when-” He hesitated, then huffed when Tony raised his eyebrows and made a ‘go on’ motion at him. “Especially when I’m with you,” he sighed finally, leaning back and running a hand through his hair.
Tony blinked as he thought about that, then shook his head. “Me?” he asked, wrinkling his nose. “That… still sounds like him taking his baby-sitting duties a little too seriously. Are you sure he not just, I don’t know, distracted?”
“I know when he’s in a snit about something.” Bucky replied stubbornly, shaking his head. “And he’s definitely in a snit. It’s just odd that he hasn’t actually said anything.” he huffed in frustration. “It’s not like Stevie to beat around the bush. If you do somethin’ to piss him off, he’s got no problem just coming out and saying it. ‘Passive-aggressive’ isn’t his style.”
“You got that right,” Tony sighed. “Maybe-” His phone chimed to let him know he’d received a text, startling both him and Bucky.
“Sorry,” Tony said sheepishly, checking it when Bucky motioned for him to go ahead. He winced as he read it and looked guiltily up at Bucky, who frowned back at him.
“It’s Steve,” Tony groaned, holding his phone up to Bucky. “He wants to know if I want to go grab some lunch.”
Bucky grinned sympathetically, which erased some of the unease their conversation had put on his features.
“Guess that’s our cue to head back,” he said, popping the last of his fries in his mouth. “If he asks, tell him I made you eat a vegetable.” he added as Tony texted a reply, and snickered when Tony flipped him off in response.
Steve was waiting in the common room when they stepped out of the elevator, and visibly perked up when he saw Tony.
Tony wondered if this was what it felt like to come home to an excited golden retriever, and immediately felt bad for thinking it.
“What’s up, Cappuccino?” Tony said cheerfully, determined not to let Steve’s puppy-dog eyes make him feel guilty. “Sorry about lunch - you weren’t waiting up for us, were you?”
Steve shrugged, his smile dimming a little. “You should have told me you were going out,” he said, his tone not quite reproachful, but close. “I could have gone with you.”
Tony forced himself not to cringe. “Ah, well, you know.” he said breezily, casually edging his way around Steve so he could get to the kitchen. “I felt like getting some fresh air, and Bucky said he was going for a burger, so,”
Steve’s face twitched, a micro-expression Tony never would have seen if he hadn’t been paying attention. “Oh, you… you went out with Bucky?” he asked in an odd voice.
Tony paused, trying to decipher Steve’s tone, and caught Bucky’s eye over Steve’s shoulder. Bucky raised his eyebrows, his expression saying I-told-you-so.
“Yep. Just the two of us,” Tony said carefully as he pulled a mug out of the cupboard. He made sure to keep his eye on Steve as he said it, and, now that he was looking for it, could see the way Steve’s jaw clenched. “Something wrong, Cap?”
“What? Oh, no,” Steve said, with a smile that looked forced. “Uh, just… there was this new place I was looking forward to trying, is all. It looked like your kind of thing, and I was hoping we could go there today.” And, oh God, he was doing the put-out puppy face.
“Well… maybe we can go there tomorrow?” Tony suggested weakly, because he could not handle Steve’s sad puppy face.
To his relief and dismay, Steve’s face lit up while Bucky shook his head and mouthed ‘Sap’. “Great! I have a briefing tomorrow, but I should be finished by lunchtime.”
“Great.” Tony repeated faintly and, seeing an opportunity, added “What do you say, Buckaroo? Want to join us?”
Steve’s face twitched again before settling on something more neutral. Well, crap. Bucky was right - Steve really was in a snit about something.
“Sure, count me in.” Bucky replied cautiously, eyes darting between Tony and Steve apprehensively. “Sound okay to you, Stevie?”
“I can’t see why not,” Steve answered with noticeably less enthusiasm than earlier. He smiled when Tony patted his arm as walked passed him, though, so Tony still counted it as a win.
“It’s a date.” Tony said cheerfully, giving them a jaunty little wave as he headed towards the elevator and missing the way they both flinched at the word ‘date’.
Tony ended up missing lunch, thanks to a meeting at SI going over. He wasn’t too broken up about it, though, since he figured it would be a good opportunity for Steve and Bucky to hash out their issues.
Or at least, it would have been, had they actually gone.
“What do you mean, Steve never showed?” Tony asked, pulling his welding mask up to glare at Bucky, who shrugged.
“I mean he didn’t show. Not much else to it.” Bucky said, unconcerned, as he made himself at home on one of Tony’s work benches. Tony couldn’t help but notice he didn’t seem surprised, either. “Called about five minutes after I got your text, and said he had some stuff come up.”
“What a coincidence,” Tony grumbled, turning off the soldering iron and yanking his welding mask off entirely.
“Hey, he might have.” Bucky said, tossing the tennis ball he’d brought down with him across the room for Dum-E to fetch. “You took off early for your meeting, so maybe he thought he’d catch up on some work while Pepper was keeping an eye on you.”
Tony scowled, which made Bucky raise his arms in surrender. “I’m serious! I think today is the longest amount of time you two have been apart in weeks. I was half-expecting to come down and find him here with you now.”
Tony opened his mouth to protest, then shut it, because Bucky had a point.
“I figured he wasn’t here because he was with you,” Tony admitted, walking around the workbench until he was standing in front of Bucky. “You don’t seem too torn up about him skipping out on you, though.”
Bucky leaned back and stretched, exposing a line of skin on his stomach, and making Tony’s mouth go dry. Bucky noticed him looking, and smirked wryly down at him. “Well, I get some alone time with you, so...”
Tony swallowed, hard, as Bucky straightened up and licked his lips, and found himself taking an involuntary step forward.
Bucky chuckled low in his chest, his gaze flicking down to Tony’s mouth. “Been thinkin’ about doing this for weeks,” he murmured quietly, settling his hands on Tony’s hips. “Is this… is this okay?”
“More than okay,” Tony rasped back, and then he was leaning in, his heart beating loudly in his ears -
“Sir, Captain Rogers is about to enter the workshop.” JARVIS interrupted, startling them both.
“What?” Tony asked dumbly, while Bucky jerked back and swore.
Almost as soon as he said it the doors swung open, and in came Steve, walking like a man on a mission. He froze when he saw Bucky and Tony, gaze moving straight to Bucky’s hands, which were still on Tony’s hips. Tony felt himself flush and stepped back, ignoring Bucky’s grunt of disappointment, and could have sworn he saw Steve’s mouth twitch up in a smile before his expression shuttered completely.
“Hey, Tony. Buck, I was just looking for you.” he said as he drew closer, hands in his pockets.
Tony and Bucky looked at each other.
“You were?” Bucky asked dubiously, then winced when Tony pinched his thigh. “I mean, uh, yeah?”
Steve’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah. I was hoping for a sparring partner, and Natasha fights dirty. Whattaya say, feel like beating the snot out of each other?”
It was friendly, the way Steve said it, yet Tony couldn’t help feeling that there was something off about it, something that made him feel uneasy. He wanted to be relieved, because Steve seeking Bucky out and wanting to hang out with him had to be a good sign, and yet…
Bucky seemed to have picked up on it, too, if his hesitation was anything to go by. “Sure, Stevie,” he said finally, shooting Tony a furtive look and hopping down off the workbench. “But only if you don’t mind me fightin’ dirty, too, Mr. ‘Oops, I didn’t mean to pull your shirt over your head’.”
Steve shrugged. “Sure, evens the field more. I can’t pull Natasha’s shirt over her head in good conscious.” he said, smirking.
Then Tony realized what was bothering him: Steve’s body language. It was standoffish - aggressive, even - which didn’t match up with his easy tone and the supposedly friendly teasing, and set off all kinds of alarm bells in Tony’s head.
“Steve? Are you okay?” Tony asked, stepping forward and cautiously placing a hand on his shoulder.
It was like flipping a switch - Steve blinked in surprise, then visibly deflated. “Yeah, just…” He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck, the crooked smile he gave looking much more genuine. “Bad day, is all. Guess I’m feeling a little strung out. Nothing a few rounds on the mat won’t fix, though.”
Tony frowned, not quite believing him, but not sure how to call him out on it, either.
“Guess we’d better get on that, then, shouldn’t we?” Bucky said, clapping Steve on the shoulder companionably as he started heading towards the door. Steve nodded and turned to follow, his smile fading, though not before giving the hand Tony had had on him a quick squeeze.
Tony bit his lip as he watched them go, feeling apprehensive, and unable to shake the notion that he was missing something important.
Tony paused in the doorway of his office, blinking in surprise at the sight that greeted him. Not that he was really surprised to find a super soldier sitting on his desk; no, what surprised him was the fact that it was Bucky, and not Steve.
“I don’t think Stevie wants us to get together,” Bucky said without preamble, swinging his legs and paying no mind to the papers he was probably crinkling.
Tony scowled and closed the door. “Oh, really? I hadn’t noticed,” he sniffed, scrubbing his face and grimacing.
It had been two weeks since the day Steve had walked in on the two of them almost kissing in Tony’s workshop, and in those two weeks, Steve’s behavior had become, well…
‘Distressing’ was probably a good description. ‘Worrying’ would also have been acceptable, though at the moment Tony was leaning more towards ‘annoying’.
It had started that very first evening, when Bucky and Steve had finally come out of the gym - Steve still looking tense, and Bucky sporting a limp and weariness that had had Tony feeling even more bereft than he had when they’d left his workshop. Bucky had kept shooting Steve furtive looks, too, but Tony hadn’t been able to ask him about it due to Steve sticking to him all night, and had decided to bring it up the next time he got Bucky alone (something Tony had been looking forward to, after what had nearly happened in the workshop).
Only, the next time Tony had gotten him alone Steve had interrupted again, this time to ask Tony if he could look at his bike. He’d thought maybe he’d have his chance the next day, when Bucky came down for routine maintenance on his arm, but Steve had appeared less than a minute after Bucky had, planting himself on the nearest couch with his sketchbook and watching them with the kind of single-minded focus Tony would have expected on a stake-out.
Tony hadn’t started getting suspicious, though, until he and Bucky had both found themselves in the kitchen at three in the morning only to have Steve interrupt them yet again, this time claiming a late night craving for bacon.
Twice was a coincidence, three times was a pattern - and one Tony hadn’t been able to ignore, especially if he was right about what Steve’s problem was.
So, testing out his theory, Tony had made a point of mentioning to Steve that he had plans to go down to Bucky’s room to talk to him later - and was not at all surprised to find Steve already there, watching TV with Bucky despite the fact that he hadn’t voluntarily done so in weeks.
There had been no denying it: for some reason, Steve had a problem with Bucky and Tony being alone together. Or, more specifically, he had a problem with Bucky and Tony being together , period, which confused Tony almost as much as it pissed him off.
Take movie night, for instance. Before Steve had started his strange campaign against Tony and Bucky’s new relationship, Tony’s usual spot had been in the middle of his favorite loveseat, sandwiched between Steve and Bucky. (A strategic move on Tony’s part - he got cold easily, and since they both ran warm it was like cuddling with a furnace. Plus, they always accumulated the most snacks.)
When Tony had let himself be led up for movie night last week, though, Steve had led him to the corner of the loveseat and plopped himself down beside him - putting himself between Bucky and Tony, and making it practically impossible for Tony to move by wrapping his arm around his shoulders and resting his head atop Tony’s (which Tony admittedly might have found cozy, if he hadn’t been silently seething).
It was the same at meals, too. Tony would sit down, and somehow Steve would always manage to arrange things so that Tony and Bucky were never directly across or next to each other, almost as though he were afraid they might jump across the table and start making out in the middle of dinner.
Even the others started to take notice, at first in the form of teasing and gibes from Clint, but later with concerned glances from Bruce and Sam. Natasha, too, had been shooting Tony concerned looks ever since movie night, and he’d overheard both his and Steve’s names during a hushed conversation between her and Bucky in Russian one afternoon.
If Bucky and Tony happened to be in the same room, Steve almost always stood between them. If Tony tried to leave with Bucky alone, Steve made an excuse and tagged along. If Tony made any attempt at physical contact with Bucky - even to brush past him and pat him on the arm - Steve intervened, often by physically putting himself between them, or practically manhandling one or the other out of the way.
Tony didn’t think Steve was even trying to be subtle about it, anymore. He more or less shadowed Tony all day, and, when he couldn’t - like today - stuck to Bucky instead, apparently in an attempt to make sure they didn’t try to meet up when his back was turned.
Which, speaking of…
“How did you get out of the tower without him noticing?” Tony asked warily, crossing his arms and leaning against the door.
“I didn’t,” Bucky sighed. “Natasha said she needed me for something and whisked me off, and Sam’s supposed to be distracting him so he wouldn’t come here right away.” He scowled and huffed angrily, running a hand through his hair. “He’s still probably going to come busting through that door in about five minutes, though, tryin’ to make sure I’m not having my way with you on your desk.”
Tony felt a inappropriate little spike of desire shoot through him at that comment - because, wow, mental image - but he ignored it.
“We have got to talk to him,” Tony groaned, slumping. “This is just... I mean, I get it, to a degree, I really do - I’d probably freak out if I caught, say, Pepper and Rhodey in a compromising position like he did - but this is ridiculous! He’s being, well -”
“A jerk.” Bucky finished for him, shaking his head. “And not like Stevie at all. Usually he just mouths off if he was a problem with somebody.”
Tony nodded and drummed his fingers against his thigh anxiously. “He hasn’t said anything at all to you about it?” he asked, biting his lip.
Bucky hesitated, pricking Tony’s interest. “Not… not exactly, no.” he said slowly, which was news to Tony.
“‘Not exactly’?” Tony pressed, pushing himself off the wall to stand in front of Bucky.
Bucky sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Nothing, it’s just… something he said when you got hurt, and while we were waiting for you to wake up. It… it stuck out to me, but I didn’t think much of it at the time, either. Only now, with the way he’s acting…” He eyed Tony cautiously, consideringly. “He hasn’t… he hasn’t said or, uh, done anything to you? Besides the smothering and the, er, thing with us?” he asked carefully, squirming uncomfortably for some reason Tony couldn’t discern.
“Noooo,” Tony said slowly, cocking his head and feeling confused. “Though I’m not entirely sure what you mean… He’s been more touchy-feely, I guess, but I’m pretty sure that’s so I won’t get really touchy-feely with you.” Though, now that Tony thought about it, that had started right around the same time the smothering had, so maybe it was more to do with that. “But what do you mean, he said something when I got hurt? What did he say?”
Bucky stood and waved his hand. “I… don’t think that’s somethin’ I should be sayin’ to you.” he said softly, not meeting Tony’s eyes. “Not if Steve hasn’t, anyway.”
Tony blinked, perplexed. “Well, that doesn’t sound ominous at all.” he grumbled, reaching out and grabbing Bucky’s sleeve before he could walk off.
Bucky’s mouth quirked up at the corners, though Tony thought his eyes still look sad. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, taking Tony’s hand in his. “I might be wrong, even. Either way, I’ll talk to Steve and see what he has to say. One way or another we’re getting this sorted out.”
He frowned and shot a quick glance at the door, then pulled Tony closer and took a deep breath.
“I love Stevie to pieces, and the last thing I want to do is hurt him, but I’m not gonna let him make me choose between two people I love, either.” he said firmly. He then leaned over and placed a quick, chaste kiss to the corner of Tony’s mouth before stepping back and grinning at Tony’s dumbfounded expression.
By the time Tony’s brain turned back on Bucky had already turned and headed out the door, leaving Tony to mentally berate himself for not responding or seizing the moment while he’d had the chance.
Tony watched him go, feeling warm and more than a little flustered as he realized Bucky had just indirectly told him he loved him.
Tony was still feeling bright and upbeat when he walked down to the workshop later that day, enough so that the sight of Steve waiting for him on the couch didn’t even bother him. In fact, he saw it as a good thing - maybe Bucky had already talked with him, and, if not, this would be a perfect opportunity for Tony to do so.
“Hey, Capsicle,” Tony called, wandering over to the couch and resting his elbows along the back by Steve’s head.
“Hey, yourself.” Steve said, looking up from his sketching and grinning at him. “You sound like you’re in a good mood.”
“Eh, had a nice day. Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about something,” Tony said, drumming his fingers against the couch nervously.
Steve smiled up at him fondly. “For you, always.” he said earnestly, and patted the cushion beside him. “I was waiting up for you, anyway. What’s up?”
Tony grunted and plopped down beside him, then took a deep breath. There wasn’t really any use in beating around the bush, so… “It’s about Bucky,” he said, turning sideways to he could face Steve.
Steve’s shoulders stiffened. “What about him?” he said, the smile dropping from his face. “Is something wrong? Is he bothering you?” he added urgently, face steely, and startling Tony.
He didn’t know what he’d expected, but that wasn’t it.
“What? No, no, nothing like that,” Tony said quickly, shaking his head. “It’s just, uh… did you guys have a, a fight, or something?” he asked, and, wow, Steve’s expression went blank awfully fast.
“Are you talking about today?” Steve asked, voice tight. “Because that was between him and me, and if he said something to you-”
“Wait, what?” Tony asked, taken aback. “I was talking in general, but - you had a fight today?” Well, maybe Bucky had talked with him, though it looked like it hadn’t gone well if he had.
Steve winced. “Nothing, forget I said anything,” he said, glaring unhappily off to Tony’s side. “It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s not nothing,” Tony snapped, losing patience. “You’ve been terse with him for weeks, and this weird… thing you have about the two of us together has gotten out of hand. I want to know what the hell is going on!”
Steve blanched and put his hand on Tony’s leg. “Tony…”
Tony scowled. “Nope, nuh-uh. Bucky is your friend, and so am I. If something is bothering you, you’ve got to speak up and say it, because this passive-aggressive shit is getting old, and I-”
“Bucky has feelings for you.” Steve blurted, then looked horrified with himself.
Tony frowned, once again finding himself confused by Steve’s reaction.
“I know,” he said slowly, and then, at Steve’s blank look, added “That Bucky has feelings for me. It’s… not hard to figure out.”
Steve looked upset. “And you’re okay with that?” he asked incredulously, which confused Tony even more.
“Well… yeah.” Tony said dumbly, suddenly noticing the grip Steve had on his leg had gotten a little painful. Something dawned on him, then, something he thought he should have seen a little sooner. “You know… you know it’s not unwanted, right?” he asked carefully, watching Steve’s face morph into something unreadable.
“What?” Steve asked, his voice oddly flat.
Tony cleared his throat, feeling his face heat. “Well… I like Bucky, too, so, uh... it’s not like the feeling isn’t mutual-”
“No.”
Despite the fact that they were the only ones in the room, it took Tony a second to realize it was Steve who had spoken. Because while it was Steve’s voice, and he’d seen Steve’s mouth move, there was something about the cadence and tone that was so dark, so very not-Steve, that it made Tony stiffen.
“...Steve?” Tony asked, uncomfortably aware of the pressure on his leg increasing.
“No,” Steve repeated softly, eyes bright with an intensity that made Tony want to back up even as Steve started to push into his personal space. He then reached out and hooked his free hand around the back of Tony’s neck, squeezing lightly and running his thumb along the base of Tony’s skull, which - oh. Oh.
Well, that explains a lot, Tony thought faintly, before Steve tilted his head and tugged him closer. Once his brain stopped screaming at him and he realized what was happening, Tony turned his face away, letting Steve catch the side of his head instead of his mouth.
“Uh, okay,” Tony mumbled, swallowing hard and feeling a little like he wanted to cry. He put a hand between them and pushed gently at Steve’s chest. “I’m sorry, I really can’t-”
Tony froze, alarmed, because Steve didn’t move when he pushed back - if nothing else, his grip got tighter, until Tony was practically crushed up against his chest, dread racing up his spine.
“I said no,” Steve murmured into Tony’s ear, hand stroking gently up Tony’s back despite the dark, steely edge of his voice. “I’ve lost enough. I love you, and I’ve loved you too long to lose you to anyone else. Especially my best friend,” he added bitterly, pulling back to look Tony in the eye.
Suddenly, Tony was furious. “Well, you’ve got a funny way of showing it,” he snarled, shoving hard at Steve and trying to turn his body to get some leverage. “Steve, let me go, right the fuck now, or I swear to God, I’ll-”
Before Tony could finish his sentence a fist connected with the side of Steve’s head, knocking him clean off the couch and nearly pulling Tony with him.
Tony scrambled quickly away - helped by someone grabbing his arm and yanking him over the back of the couch - and looked up to find Bucky standing there, shaking with barely suppressed rage.
“He said no,” Bucky growled, breathing hard as Steve wobbled to his feet. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
Steve’s face twisted viciously. “Me? What about you? What are you even doing here?” he snarled, wiping the blood from his face and looking almost as furious as Bucky did. “What happened to letting me say me piece?”
Bucky shook his head angrily. “Oh, no. You did say your piece, which led to JARVIS calling me down because he was worried about Tony’s safety! What the hell is the matter with you? I know I told you earlier that you were being a bully, but this?”
Tony took a few discreet steps back and silently motioned for JARVIS to get a suit ready, because Steve looked ready to launch himself over the couch at Bucky. He must not have been as discreet as he thought, though, because Steve’s eyes landed on him.
“Tony-” he started, face contorting in both anger and hurt when Tony took an instinctive step back, towards Bucky.
Bucky’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I thought you were acting weird, but this just cinches it,” he growled, drawing Steve’s attention back to him. “The Stevie I know would never have acted this way, no matter how he felt. Who the hell are you? And what have you done with my best friend?”
Tony’s stomach dropped, because if this wasn’t Steve, where was the real one? Steve - or whoever he was - didn’t respond, though, or at least not verbally. He kicked the couch hard enough to send it skidding across the floor into Bucky, then launched himself over it and slammed into the other man while he was off-balance, knocking them both to the floor in a blur of kicks and punches.
Tony swore and ducked out of the way as Bucky kicked Steve into one of the work tables, nearly colliding with Dum-E, who beeped at him in distress. Gritting his teeth, he righted himself to find the two super soldiers now doing battle atop his work tables, Steve using the broken chest-plate from the armor he’d been working on as a makeshift shield.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Tony hissed, stomping over and holding his arm out for the gauntlet JARVIS helpfully sent his way. He hesitated before he could actually shoot Steve with it, though - a niggling instinct in the back of his mind rebelling against the notion. “Hell. JARVIS, where are the others?” he demanded, wincing as Steve smashed the chest-plate into Bucky’s face.
“They have been informed of the situation, and are making their way down as we speak.” JARVIS replied. “If I may, Sir, I believe you might be safer if you would put on the rest of the armor.”
“I’ll take that under advisement,” Tony replied, and, taking a calculated risk, fired off a blast that shot the chest-plate right out of Steve’s hand.
The move gave Bucky an opening, and let him pull off a truly impressive maneuver that started with a backflip and ended with him getting Steve in a headlock. Steve yelled and flipped, trying to throw him off, but Bucky held fast, adjusting his weight and wrapping his legs around Steve for more leverage.
Tony heard the doors open and jerked his head up to see Natasha and Clint barreling towards them - Clint with his bow, and Natasha uncapping a syringe that looked big enough for an elephant.
Clint skidded to a halt in front of Tony, watching Bucky and Steve with wide eyes, but Natasha didn’t hesitate; she jumped into the fray, twisting her body to avoid a blow from the arm Steve had managed to free and plunging the syringe into his bicep.
Steve snarled and rammed his elbow into her stomach, thrashing harder until all three of them fell to the floor in a heap. His struggling got weaker, though, and his eyes started to droop as whatever Natasha had dosed him with started to take effect.
“Sedative. Cocktail of Bruce’s.” Clint said at Tony’s questioning noise. “Stuff’s supposed to be strong enough to knock out the Hulk - figured it would work on rampaging super soldiers, too.”
Steve made one last, feeble attempt to break free before he finally dropped, out cold - though not before he looked up and caught Tony’s eye, expression one of utter devastation.
For lack of anything better to do, they locked Steve in the Hulk-containment room.
Bruce looked him over while he was still unconscious, which was how they found the mark - an angry, red-glowing symbol, almost like a rune, on Steve’s chest, just over his heart.
Thor recognized it right away.
“It’s a spell, and a vicious one at that,” he said grimly. “I’ve seen it before - it has felled many a great warrior. It takes one’s deepest, darkest desires - no matter how insignificant - and amplifies them until they completely consume the one who has been spelled.”
Bucky paled. “That wacko from a few months ago - the one that hurt Tony. He hit Steve with somethin’, right before Tony went down, but he got right back up and didn’t look hurt, so…”
Tony swallowed, feeling sick. “Can it be removed?” he asked, watching Steve stir and feeling guilty for the trepidation it brought.
“Aye, though it may take some time to find someone from Asgard willing to come here to do so.” Thor said, frowning.
“There’s always Dr. Strange,” Natasha suggested. “Though getting ahold of him might pose a problem.”
“J, let’s get on that,” Tony said tiredly, rubbing at his eyes. Bucky slid an arm around his shoulders. “Do you think he’ll remember this?” he asked Thor, leaning into Bucky’s warmth.
Thor’s face said it all. “I can not be certain, but I am afraid the it is more than likely he will.” he replied sadly, mouth turned down. At Tony’s groan, he reached and placed a reassuring hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Fear not, Tony. Our good captain is strong - he will get through this, just as has with everything else.”
Tony nodded and bit his lip, but didn’t voice his real worry. He knew Steve would recover - he always did.
It was their friendship Tony was worried about.