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Tony landed outside the cold bunker. To the side, he could see a land vehicle and the stolen quinjet. He could see the captain’s patriotic boot prints leading towards the bunker’s open door, accompanied by those of the recently un-activated Winter Soldier. Former Winter Soldier? Semi-Winter Soldier? Either way the two that had previously been a thorn in is side had been upgraded to pain in his ass.
He entered the bunker, coming upon the superannuitant duo after exiting an elevator shaft. He’d obviously arrived shortly after they had. After a little back and forth between he and Steve, he turned to see Barnes still aiming his gun at him. “Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here.” Barnes doesn’t move until Cap gestures for him to. Tony idly wonders how much of that is Rogers being familiar to his confused brain, and how much is from actually remembering their past friendship.
They move on into the chamber with the cryo-tanks. It’s obvious just looking at them that the integrity of the capsules has been compromised. They were all dead. Each with a bullet in their brain.
“Well, shit.” Looked like these tanks had become their coffins. Or would that be caskets? How did these things open?
“Language,” Steve hissed. Tony noticed Barnes give him a look that totally confirmed that Captain Decorous had a damn filthy mouth. For shame.
“If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep,” a voice—Zemo’s—crackled through a speaker. Tony exited the suit as he continued. “Did you really think I wanted more of you?”
Tony reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out a slightly squished cheeseburger—Sue him, he was hungry. And like Steve had said, it’d been a long day.—pulling back the wrapper. He’d just bitten down on it when the only living Winter Soldier in the room was suddenly very, very close to him. Like, uncomfortably close. If it weren’t for the burger between them, they might actually be nose to nose.
He finished his bite and chewed. Barnes’s stared intently at his mouth before shifting to the burger. He held it up. “…bite?”
If he hadn’t had decades of practice at schooling his expression, his eyes would’ve widened when the man leaned in closer and took a bite while Tony was still holding it. A very large bite. They maintained eye contact as he chewed.
“I'm grateful to them, though,” Zemo continued. “They—What… what are you…?”
Tony may have had a lot of experience in controlling his reactions, but he couldn’t control the blush that overtook him. He was suddenly, lewdly reminded of the very real crush he’d had on a certain Sergeant when he’d been a teenager. He gulped, painfully swallowing his own half-chewed bite. The bastard smirked. Rhodey was never going to let him live this down. So, he must never let James Rhodes find out. Ever.
Steve cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Uh, guys?”
Tony blinked rapidly and cleared his throat. “So... wanna go out for more?” His voice didn’t crack. It hadn’t cracked since puberty. He cleared his throat again. “My treat?” Barnes finished chewing and swallowed, tilting his head, smirk returning to his unfairly handsome face. “Who-oah!” Tony unanticipatedly found himself being carried bridal style as Barnes turned and started walking out of the bunker.
“Bucky??” Steve called after them.
“Shadow Mode,” Tony called back to the suit. It immediately started following them.
“Guys? Hello? We’re in the middle of something.” Steve said at the same time as Zemo’s irritated voice said “Excuse me. There’s something you have to—”
“Deal with it, Steve,” Tony said. He bit into the burger again, holding it up for the Sergeant. He obliged by taking another bite.
Back in the chamber, Steve and Zemo could be heard arguing about… something. Tony waved to T’Challa as the soldier carried him past. He took another bite before feeding the last piece to Bucky.
T’Challa waved back, movement telegraphing his confusion as he turned to watch them go. He shook his head and turned back to enter the chamber they’d just left.
—30—