Archive of Our Own ^beta

Bucky was extremely lucky he understands that he has complete access to Tony’s lab with his one fingerprint unlocking the glass sliding doors that Tony keeps locked. The lab is Tony’s sanctuary and to have any access means that Tony trusts him which Bucky didn’t think when he followed Steve into the Avengers tower.

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“Who is this?” Tony says not in the nicest tone of voice, Steve had been getting on Tony’s nerves. He had given him a home, a new uniform, and food, yet none of it seemed to be enough for Steve, for somebody who came from nothing Tony thought Steve would appreciate the luxury he provided. Instead, Steve seems to take advantage of his kindness by dragging in a lost puppy behind him, “and what does he think he is doing here?”

Steve smiles not sensing the strained sense of tone in Tony’s voice, he has a smile on his face, “this is Bucky, he came out of the ice. I thought he could stay here, maybe train with us and,” Steve's face drops as he looks back to his friend, and moves over an inch, this is the first time Tony sees why this guy is such an underdog, “maybe you could help with his arm?”

Tony knows who Bucky is, he was Steve’s bestfriend, his right-hand man, and his Rhodey (without all the relationship stuff), Tony read history books about this man and went to museum collections detailing his fall from the train and how devastated Steve supposedly was. Never in any of the books, collections or articles did they mention a silver arm, a rusted, badly built silver arm that must be killing him from the weight alone. Tony hates to admit it but that arm is reason enough for Tony to house the man.

“Yeah I’ll give it a look at, um” Tony blinks a few times before taking a deep breath, this has changed his day of pace, “the spare room on your floor is clean right? If not I can call the cleaner but I’m not quite sure when she will get here…” Steve smiles brightly and quickly reassures Tony, “yes one of the rooms is clean he can definitely stay there, thank you, Tony.”

Steve quickly pulls Bucky away from Tony and leads him to the elevator to move up to Steve’s.

Tony hates to admit how quickly he pulled up blueprints and began sketching a new arm, Steve’s new friend is cute and Tony can’t get him out of his head, because it is clearly because of the arm, just the arm.

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When he does sit in the workshop with Tony sometimes it is because he is getting his arm looked at and Tony has exciting new blueprints to show him, but other times it because he just wants to sit and watch Tony.

These are the times that Bucky notices the wedding band.

There are all ways words unsaid in the situation because how do you bring it up to the man that you thought might be flirting with you.

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Bucky sits in the lab one day because he felt like he needed the quietness that the lab brings, he feels bad because Tony isn’t here and he is in Tony’s space but he needed it. Steve had been nice since moving into the Avengers tower, but he always feels like he was intruding when he sees Sam and Steve cooking in the kitchen, or lounging on top of each other during movie nights.

The lab offers quietness that the spare room or the floor he is taking residence in can’t. “You’ve come to escape have you?” Tony jokes announcing himself to the room, laughing along with his own comment. Bucky nods along as he watches Tony sit and pull up blueprints and doesn’t seem fussed by the fact that Bucky just let himself in, asking JARVIS to play some music as they both just appreciate each other's presence.

Bucky doesn’t get out a stark pad or read like he normally does when they are both in the lab, he just watches Tony which is when he notices the ring. “Are you married?” The question comes out of nowhere as he watches Tony stop fiddling, “sorry,” Bucky winces when he realises his upfronts, “it’s just you were playing with what looks like a wedding ring and it’s definitely on your ring finger so I just assumed, sorry.”

Something Tony and Bucky both have in common is their rambling and when Peter is also in the lab with them both it becomes quite a lot for anybody else that may join them, but as both nerds the rambling is normal.

Tony doesn’t stop what he’s doing, “yeah in 0’11, right after the bill was passed, we had been engaged for years but it wasn’t until then that we actually tied the knot.”

Two things in this conversation shock Bucky, 1. He’s right and Tony is actually married which feels weird because he thought they were flirting and 2. Tony is gay (or bisexual, or whatever term he chooses) which he assumed but Tony also just seemed charming to anybody he meets.

But Tony is married with a ring and everything, and Bucky is nothing.

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Rhodey is extremely nice to Bucky and doesn’t wear a wedding band which seems like the perfect situation in Bucky’s predicament. Rhodey is Tony’s best friend but when Tony sees Bucky sitting on Rhodey’s lap he doesn’t complain or fight it, most of the time he smiles with warmth over at them.

It makes his heart tender thinking about being with Rhodey but them he remembers the moments in the lab and his heart seems caught between.

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“Movie night!” Peter screams as he enters the lounge on Clint and Natasha’s floor, this month's movie night location. Movie night traditionally transferred from floor to floor each month, except for Tony, Tony never seemed interested in hosting a movie night and so he was never included in the mix.

Rhodey was happy to include Bucky in movie night when he joined the tower despite the weariness of Steve and Tony, Rhodey saw the excitement Bucky had in his eyes when he discovered new things, completely different to the confusion that used to show on Steve’s face when being introduced to the new world. He quickly introduced Bucky to all new types of work, “are we continuing James Bond tonight?”

Bucky smiles brightly which is enough for Natasha to roll her eyes and turn on James Bond, as Peter talks about random James Bond facts he found out since last month.

The movie plays with minimal talking as everybody finds themselves intensively watching You Only Live Twice, and Bucky’s head slowly falls onto Rhodey’s shoulder for the first time and suddenly Rhodey is no longer interested in the movie, as the smile on his face may suggest.

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Bucky never thought of himself as an underdog he was a soldier who thought in war, but now he feels like he is the most underdog of them all.

When Natasha tells him that Rhodey and Tony are married Bucky’s tender heart breaks because it just can’t be true, he is dating Rhodey, they made it official just last week, and they were dating. Now Bucky just feels like he’s a mistress.

“How could you do this to me!” Never before had he questioned that they slept on the same floor, never had he questioned that Rhodey always sleeps in his room when they sleep together, never even being invited to Tony’s floor.

Bucky for the first time steps onto Tony’s floor yelling a storm. There is a part of him that is glad the elevator didn’t lock him out of getting there, that eventually, he would have found out on his own because the elevator door opens and he can see wedding photos on the grand piano with them both in matching white suits.

He is met with confused looks from Rhodey and Tony who are sitting on the couch next to each other, arms around each other, sharing a StarkPad. Bucky breathes a hard breath, fuming, “you’re married, to each other,” you can tell he’s really angry from the wild hand signals he is using, “and neither of you, my boyfriend nor my friend thought you would tell me!”

Rhodey pushes his eyebrows down and together even more confused than when Bucky walked in, if Bucky wasn’t made he would call it super cute, “you didn’t know?” And Tony begins to laugh so loud that he is nearly falling off the couch, hitting Rhodeys knee forcefully, “he doesn’t realise we’re open and both dating him,” Tony explains in a fit of laughter.

Bucky tilts his head like a lost dog, “open relationship? But you’re married?” He’s no longer screaming and is instead the one confused in the whole situation.

“Open relationships can relate to marriage, and in our case it does, it just so happens to be that we both really like you,” Rhodey explains with a wincing smile. He moves over to the lounge while simultaneously pushing Tony back onto the lounge as the older man recovers, “sit down” he pats the spot he just made, “and we can discuss this all. No words unsaid this time, we promise”

Listening to the suggestion Bucky sits down between them and leans his head on Rhodeys shoulder looking at Tony, “this would explain the coffee dates, and kissing my forehead in the lab,” he says and Tony spills out into more laughter.

Bucky can work with this. Laughter, relationships and partners.