Chapter Text
Bucky didn’t mean to, but he found himself walking into Tony’s lab the next afternoon.
“Bucky! What can I do you for?” Tony called out as soon as he saw him. Butterfingers and You were diligently helping him with some kind of work, but DUM-E took off to come greet him. “Hey, you! DUM-E, did I dismiss you? One more inch and I’ll donate you to City College – don’t think I won’t!”
DUM-E stopped in his tracks and turned back to Tony, drooping sadly.
“Aw, it’s alright,” Bucky said, striding over and patting him on his pinchers. “I’ll just go steal ya back anyway, if he does it. Don’t think I won’t.” He was pleased to see DUM-E perk right up at his words.
“Sgt. Barnes, are you encouraging my bots to mutiny?” Tony asked, mock anger in his voice.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, dollface,” Bucky said, getting caught up in their game. “’Specially not when I happen to have a favor to ask you.”
Tony waved his hand to dismiss his other two bots before abandoning his current project to meet Bucky halfway across the lab. “Favor?” he asked.
“I –” Bucky paused, knowing what he had to say, but having trouble forming words nonetheless. “I was wondering, if you wouldn’t mind. I want to move down to Stevie’s old floor. Think the penthouse is getting a bit crowded.”
Tony blinked at him a few times. “Have you talked to Steve about this?” he asked.
“Didn’t think it was his call,” Bucky told him. “I know he wants me around, but –”
He shrugged, hoping Tony wouldn’t make him actually say the words.
“I hear you, Robocop,” Tony said, just a bit sadly. “For the record, I like having you up there. If you’re doing this for me or Steve, don’t -”
“That’s not it,” Bucky interrupted. It killed him to see Tony sad, and he could just imagine what Steve’s disappointment was going to do to him, but he needed this. “Just – I need some space, yeah?”
“Yeah, I get it,” Tony said. He looked up at the ubiquitous man in the ceiling. “Jarvis, you heard the man. Schedule some movers to come in, let’s say tomorrow afternoon?”
Bucky wanted to ask for it to be sooner, but he knew how that would sound. He didn’t want to give Tony the impression he didn’t want the two of them around at all.
“Of course, Sir. I can schedule them for three o’clock.”
“That’s perfect,” Bucky said.
“Good,” Tony told him. Then, pointedly: “Plenty of time to tell Steve.”
“Yeah,” Bucky hedged. “He’s out with Sam right now. Mind if I stay here while I wait?”
“Only if you don’t mind helping me out while you’re here. I could use that soldier strength.”
“Sure thing, doll,” Bucky said, the word slipping out again before he could stop it. “Whatever you need.”
Tony glanced over and gave him an odd look, but he didn’t call him on the pet name. “Just hold this torso piece up for me – I’m gonna have you rotate it while I work on the seams here.”
Bucky followed Tony over to the armor, glad to be useful.
…
Steve and Sam had a regular workout set aside three days per week. It gave them a chance to catch up, gave Sam an edge in his training, and was usually generally good for their friendship.
Today, though, Steve needed more attention than Sam could afford in training. So he asked Sam if they could switch to having lunch at a restaurant a good dozen blocks from the tower.
“So, clearly you want this to be private,” Sam pointed out as soon as the waiter took their orders.
“I need to talk about something personal,” Steve confessed. “If you’re alright with that.”
“Does this have to do with Tony and Bucky?” Sam asked.
“That’s exactly what it has to do with,” Steve said, looking down.
Sam sighed. “Alright, go ahead.”
“Thanks,” Steve acknowledged. “I don’t know what to do with them.” Once he started talking, the words flowed quickly, uncontrolled. “You know, Bucky and I were a thing, back during the war? Before, even - since we were just out of school, really. All the way up until he fell from that train. And Tony and I - well, I love him. He knows that. But I love Bucky, too. I don’t think there’ll ever be a way I don’t love Bucky. Especially now that he’s got himself back again.”
Sam tilted his head, clearly wondering if it would do any good to call Steve an idiot. It wouldn’t. Steve already knew he was.
The waiter came and placed their meals in front of them. Steve thanked him politely, but didn’t pay attention to the food otherwise.
“So you’re living with both your boyfriend, and your ex –who’s only an ex because you thought he died – and now you need to know what to do,” Sam said eventually.
“And they’re bonding,” Steve added. “Hell, I think they spend more time together in the lab than with me. And the way Tony looks at Bucky - it might be time for me to bow out.” The thought hit him like a blow to the gut, and he knew there was no way he’d be able to follow through with the idea, but he had to say it nonetheless.
Sam rolled his eyes.
“Have you tried, I don’t know, talking to either one of them?” Sam asked.
“What’s there to say?” Steve asked.
“Well, exactly what you told me, to start,” Sam suggested.
“Sam, you know -” Steve started.
“Hear me out, Steve,” Sam said, putting one hand up. “You know you’re living in 2014, right? This is not 1942?”
Steve gave him an annoyed look. “I might have noticed.”
“Well, in this century, particularly in New York, you’re not so bound to old fashioned norms and family values. Let me explain.”
As they ate, Steve hung onto Sam’s every word as he explained the many communities and lifestyles that apparently existed in the twenty-first century. Although Steve had spent a lot of time on learning about the LGBT movements of the last century, there was still apparently a lot he needed to learn.
…
Steve came back to the tower that afternoon with a million thoughts running through his head. He needed to talk to Tony - and hope his boyfriend wouldn’t be upset with the words that came out of his mouth - then Bucky. He had to do it right, make sure they were all honest and on board. Sam had recommended some literature for him to read first, but he didn’t want to wait.
“Jarvis, where’s Tony?” Steve asked as soon as he was alone in the elevator.
“Sir is in his lap with Sgt. Barnes, Captain Rogers. Shall I tell them to expect you?”
“No, thank you,” Steve said. “Actually, I think I’d like to go up to the library and get some research done. Can you redirect the elevator to that floor? And could you please ask Tony if he could join me for dinner? Just the two of us?”
“Certainly, Captain,” Jarvis replied.
…
For the second time that day, Steve found himself eating in a restaurant instead of the tower. This one was more upscale, had a better bar, and allowed them more privacy in a secluded booth in near the back.
Steve sat across from Tony, not altogether sure how to say what he wanted to say.
“So, what do you think of Bucky?” Steve asked, finally, the words sounding lame even in his own ears.
“You mean, how is he settling in?” Tony asked. “He’s doing better than I expected – but then, I didn’t expect him to really know who he was at all by now. I thought we’d have a team of shrinks here every day trying to get through to him, so anything’s a step up.”
“He’s not all there yet,” Steve reminded Tony, letting them start with this line of thought. “He still gets lost sometimes, or reacts according to Hydra programming.”
“Steve, sweetheart, none of us are there yet,” Tony reminded him, almost flippantly. “I wake you up with dreams of Afghanistan or space one night out of every three, and I know you’re still recovering from the ice.”
Steve nodded. “You’re right. None of us may ever get there, huh?”
Tony shrugged. “Maybe we will, maybe we won’t. But I think our Winter Soldier’s done more with less than any one of us.”
Our. Steve liked the sound of that.
“I agree,” Steve said. “What do you think of him, now that he’s more himself, though?”
Tony smirked, ever so slightly. “I like him,” he said simply. “He reminds me of you.”
“Yeah?” Steve prodded.
“All Brooklyn accent and old slang, with an instinct for doing what’s right. But he loves technology, too, which I have to respect. I was thinking of getting him a vintage motorcycle to restore, maybe give him a corner of the lab.”
“Really?” Steve asked. Tony didn’t share his lab with anyone.
“I’d have to do a bit of a redesign. Make sure I have a partitioned section I can hole myself up in when I need to work alone,” Tony admitted. “But yeah, maybe. I can see why you love him.”
“Tony,” Steve said, so many emotions rattling through him that he didn’t have words for. “I love you, too.”
“I know you do, Steve, and I love you,” Tony reassured him. “I’m just saying, I can see it.”
Steve smiled. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so hard. “I talked to Sam today.”
“Oh yeah? About Bucky?” Tony asked.
“About us, actually,” Steve said. “I – ah, I have a confession to make?”
“Is that a question? I gotta admit, Cap, I’m getting confused with all the turns this conversation is taking.”
“I’m sorry,” Steve said. “I’m trying to say something. Just.” He paused. Took a breath. “I love you, Tony. So much. You know that. But – I still love Bucky. I don’t think I’m ever going to not love Bucky. He’s – he’s been with me as long as I’ve been me. You know?”
Tony gave him a sad smile. “I have come to realize that, yes.”
“I want to be with you more than anything, but.” Steve took another deep breath. “Sam told me that nowadays, couples aren’t always two? If everyone’s on board – and I only want to consider this if you’re one hundred percent on board – sometimes, they date more than one person?”
“Captain America, are you asking me if you can date both me and Bucky?” Tony asked, and though his tone was light, there was an undercurrent of hurt there.
“No!” Steve said, too quickly. “I mean – not exactly. I, ah.” Another breath. This was, indeed, as hard as he thought it would be. “I’d only be interested if it was all of us. Together. Sam called it a triad. He – uh, he thought I’d want to talk, and he did some research for us, apparently.”
Tony’s eyes shot up to his hairline. “Are you actually asking me if I’m on board to date both you and Sgt. Bucky Barnes? Am I thirteen again and dreaming?”
“Um. Yes? To the question. Not the teenage thing; that’s weird,” Steve answered. “I mean, if Bucky’s even interested. I didn’t ask him yet – didn’t think it would be right to before I talked to you, you being my fella and all.” His voice got low and shy with the last.
“Well, thank you for that,” Tony said, voice serious and soft. He reached out and took Steve’s hand over the table. “I appreciate that, I really do. And I am very, seriously, intently interested in this idea.”
“You can take some time to think about it,” Steve offered.
Tony shook his head. “Definitely do not need time. Not only is this, like, a teenage fantasy come true , but I think I’ve spent enough time with both you and Bucky to do the equations on this one. Don’t argue – you know how fast my brain works, even if it is kinda broken by Captain America asking me to have a threesome with Bucky Barnes, and yes, I am going to keep saying it like that, don’t even try telling me not to – and I know you’re offering more than that, yes, but the sex is implied. It’s implied, right?”
Steve nodded, because although he hadn’t actually taken the time to think about it, there was no way it was not on the table. Not now that the idea with in his head.
“Good,” Tony continued, words quick and confident. “This is the best possible solution, and I’m just amazed that not only are you okay with it, but you were the one to offer it. Thank you for that, by the way. Thank you so much.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t be?” Steve asked.
“Let’s face it, you’re a bit traditional about some things,” Tony reminded him. “Glad this isn’t included on that list, by the way.”
“I was a queer artist in the forties,” Steve reminded him. “I’m used to being a bit different.”
Tony gave him a blinding smile, so bright it took him a few seconds for him to remember how to breathe. “This is good, Steve,” he said, finally. “This is real good. Necessary, even.”
“Yeah?” Steve asked.
“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “I didn’t think there was a way out of this without someone’s heart getting broken. And here you bring the perfect solution, one I didn’t even think to hope for.”
“So, you feel that way about Bucky, too?” Steve asked, needing the clarification.
“Maybe not as deep as you,” Tony admitted. “But yeah, I’ve started to. I was actually starting to worry about that. I want him to be ours, Cap. I really do.”
Steve smiled. “Alright, then. How’re we gonna get our boy?”
…
Bucky was in the lab when Jarvis announced that Steve had returned, and that he wanted some time alone but would like to meet Tony for dinner that night. He had stiffened up at the words, feeling awkward about hearing their date plans, and had excused himself soon after.
He tried to find Steve himself, but the super soldier was avoiding everyone, it seemed. Jarvis wouldn’t even tell him where he was.
So instead he went to his room and started to get together his few belongings, making sure they were packed up. His father’s watch stand, rescued by Steve and given back soon after he returned to the tower, was one of the last things he left out. He didn’t wear a watch anymore, but having it sit on his nightstand reminded him of another time, when he and Steve shared a small flat together in Brooklyn.
He looked out the penthouse window, marveling on how far they had come since then, and how much he wanted to go back.
He heard as Tony came into the penthouse to change, quick sure steps too recognizable to be anyone else. Steve came up shortly after – Bucky recognized the sure, even stride – and Bucky thought about intercepting him, but he didn’t want to interrupt. He knew his news would ruin Steve’s date, and that wasn’t fair. He’d catch Steve over breakfast.
“Jarvis, can you make sure to keep the elevator and things quiet for me?” Bucky said near one of the speakers he had never gotten around to dismantling. “I get the feeling Steve and Tony need some privacy, and I just want to go up on the roof.”
“I can,” Jarvis said, just as quietly.
Bucky nodded, and leaned into his Hydra training to make his way out of his room and into the already-open elevator as silently as he could. Jarvis shut the doors and the elevator lurched upward toward the roof without his direction.
“Thanks, J,” Bucky said, using Tony’s nickname for him, when the elevators opened up to a view of the sun lowering over Manhattan.
“Of course, Sgt. Barnes,” Jarvis replied cheerily.
Bucky strode out to the edge of the rooftop, where he sometimes liked to sit and think, but found it was already occupied. He would have turned around to find somewhere else to go, but he was already spotted.
“Barnes! What brings you up to the top of the world?” Clint asked, apparently unperturbed by having his solitude interrupted.
“Needed to think,” Bucky told him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were up here.”
Clint shrugged. “It’s a big roof. I won’t bother you if you need space, but I wouldn’t mind company.”
Bucky gave him a suspicious look. He had only met Clint once, at the movie night, and he didn’t know if the archer was playing a game.
Clint read right through him and put up his hands. “Just an offer. I figure, if you’re living here, too, we’ve got to get to know each other some time, right? Better when Nat’s not around.”
“Why’s that?” Bucky asked, sitting down on the ledge beside him.
“Because she’s a spoilsport,” Clint said with a wink. Bucky felt like he missed the joke. “Not many people like it up this high.”
“I used to be a sniper, in the war,” Bucky said, words coming surprisingly easily. “Heights were good.”
“I hear you,” Clint agreed. “I like being able to see what’s going on around me. Makes it easier to see what’s coming.”
Bucky couldn’t argue that. “I used to think I could do that. Funny how life blindsides you.”
Clint huffed out a laugh. “Ain’t that the truth?” he agreed. He turned his head to look at Bucky, but Bucky kept his eyes trained on looking down at the Empire State Building. “What’s it like, living on the same floor as Steve and Tony?” Clint asked after a moment.
Bucky shook his head. “Weird. They’re – I mean, they work so well together, and I’m just there.” He shrugged. “I’m moving down to Steve’s old floor tomorrow. They deserve some privacy.”
Clint’s eyebrows shot up and he whistled lowly. “Didn’t expect that answer,” he admitted.
Bucky gave him a questioning look.
“We all saw it last night. You three dance around each other. Didn’t think they’d let you out of their sight so easy.”
Bucky shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. “I think you’re seeing things.”
Clint shook his head. “Nah, you don’t get it. These eyes? They’re the only thing that let keep up with the big boys on this team. They’re all I have. If I see something, I trust it.”
“Maybe with a bow,” Bucky conceded. “Weren’t you asleep through most of the movie last night?”
Clint shrugged. “I sleep with my eyes open.”
“Definitely seeing things,” Bucky told him.
Clint shook his head, not backing down, but also not fighting. “When was the last time you were on a firing range?” he asked instead.
“What?” Bucky asked.
“I bet you miss it,” Clint pried. “The feel of a weapon in your hand, the solid certinty of it.”
“I –” Bucky started. It was true, but where was the archer going with this.
“C’mon,” he said. “The tower has a whole floor dedicated to training, and I know for a fact it’s empty tonight. We can get in some range time, or get Jarvis to set us up with an obstacle course or something. It’ll be good for you.”
Bucky started. “Yeah, I could use a workout,” he admitted.
Clint was already up and starting back toward the elevator, but he looked back at Bucky. “Excellent. You know, if you want, we can program ourselves into the Death Star. I feel like killing Stormtroopers.”
Bucky stood up to follow the archer with a smile. “How does that even work?” he asked, thinking back to the kinds of ranges he practiced in with Hydra: old abandoned warehouses and Cold War-era bases far enough from civilization that no one would notice the sound of gunfire.
Clint laughed. “Haven’t you heard? Tony’s a genius.”
Bucky’s face fell. It seemed like every day he found another way to find Tony amazing. That was just the problem, wasn’t it?
Still, he kept his voice somewhere between neutral and joking when he replied, “Yeah, I got that memo.”
…
When Bucky got back from training with Clint, sweaty and full of adrenaline and energy in a way he hadn’t been in a long time, he found Steve and Tony sitting on the living room couch. They were sitting close, looking a little guilty, as though he had caught them in the middle of something inappropriate.
He could only imagine they forgot he still lived up here, too, and thought the couch was more enticing than their bed.
“Hey, Buck,” Steve said as soon as he saw him.
“Steve,” he said, making his way to his room. “Tony.”
“Would you mind sticking around a few minutes?” Steve asked. “We – Tony and I – we want to talk to you.”
Bucky looked down at himself, painfully aware of his sweat-stained shirt and the way his hair clung to the back of his neck. “Ten minutes?” he asked. “I need a shower before I’m decent.”
Steve chuckled. “You know seeing you all sweaty never bothered me.”
Bucky frowned. “Well, it bothers me,” he said, a little sharper than he meant it to come out. “Ten minutes.”
“We’ll be here,” Tony said before Steve could respond.
Bucky turned and rushed back to his room, not giving the other super soldier a chance to contradict Tony.
He couldn’t believe Steve. Couldn’t fathom what his friend wanted from him – how he thought Bucky was supposed to react when he said shit like that. He knew Steve would never toy with him, but he wasn’t sure what else to see it as.
He tore his shirt off, almost ripping it in the process, and drew a scalding hot shower. The pain of the water on his back as he washed was a welcome distraction.
Well. This was why he was leaving the penthouse, wasn’t it? He needed space, distance. He needed to fall out of love with Steve, to stop himself from falling for Tony.
Tony must have said something to Steve, given him some warning. Why else would he be waiting for a conversation? Hopefully the punk was going to tell Bucky how great an idea it was.
When he went out there, all he had to do tell Steve that he’d be leaving, maybe reassure him that he wouldn’t be gone from his life or anything stupid like that, then he could come back to his room and wait here until tomorrow.
It was a good plan. He took a breath, steadying himself. Put on a confident face, the kind he used when he was flirting with dames back in Brooklyn.
All he had to do was stick to the plan.
…
Steve sat patiently next to Tony, waiting for Bucky to get out of the shower.
“You think he’ll go for it?” Steve asked.
“Of course he’ll go for it. Relax, Cap,” Tony told him, but Steve could hear a note of nervousness in his voice.
Steve leaned over to kiss him: the only way he knew how to comfort his Iron Man when he couldn’t find the words to comfort himself.
Tony pulled away. “Much as I’d love to indulge, I don’t think we want our boy to come out and find us like this. Might give him the wrong idea.”
Steve nodded, stomach knotting in apprehension. “You’re right. Of course you are. It’s just –”
“I know,” Tony agreed. He got up and moved a bit further away from Steve, arranging himself on the only armchair in the living area. The move would force Bucky to sit on the couch next to Steve when he came out. “It’s just for now,” Tony reassured him.
Bucky chose that moment to come out of his room.
“Feel better?” Steve asked, smiling tentatively at him.
“A little,” Bucky told him. “It was nice to get in some training. Clint showed me around the simulation room.”
“What did you think of it?” Tony asked, pride clear in his voice. He never could resist asking after his tech.
“I think you definitely earned that genius title, doll,” Bucky told him with a smirk. “We killed a few dozen Stormtroopers.”
Isn’t that interesting? Steve thought, catching the pet name. He relaxed infinitesimally, more positive that this could possibly work.
“That sounds excellent, Bucky,” Steve told him. “Why don’t you come have a seat?”
Bucky looked at Steve with a hint of concern, though he was clearly trying to cover it up. He still couldn’t hide anything from Steve. But he yielded and sat at the empty spot on the couch, putting himself between Steve and Tony.
“We wanted to talk to you, Buck,” Steve said, really not sure how to start, despite his conversation with Tony. “Um. Living in the penthouse together –”
“I agree,” Bucky blurted out before Steve could finish his sentence.
“You agree?” Steve asked, incredulous.
“It’s – I know, you and Tony are used to having your own space. And it made sense to have me here, at first, when we didn’t know if my memories would come back or not, but it really doesn’t anymore does it? I mean, I’m mostly me, here, and I really don’t need that much looking after. No reason to have me in your pockets, not when I’m used to being on my own.”
“What are you talking about, Buck?” Steve asked, anxiety rising in his chest. Bucky couldn’t really be thinking of leaving. “You know you’re welcome here as long as you want. You don’t have to be on your own.”
“I know. But I don’t need to be right here,” Bucky explained. “I’m moving down to your old floor. Tomorrow. I’ll still be in the tower. Just not in the penthouse.” He looked at Tony. “You didn’t tell him?”
“Not my place,” Tony said.
“You knew?” Steve asked, glaring at Tony.
“Like I said, not my place,” Tony repeated, putting up both hands defensively. “Didn’t think it would be a big deal after we talked to him, anyway.”
Bucky looked between the two of them, confusion clear on his face. “What were you going to talk to me about?” he asked Steve. He looked at Tony. “What do you mean, it wouldn’t be a big deal?”
Steve sighed. He reached out, put a hand on Bucky’s thigh and leaned forward slightly, but not so much as to startle him. Bucky’s leg was hot beneath his hand, and Steve could feel him tensing up under the thin cloth of his pants. “Us,” he said finally. “I – Tony and I both – like having you here. Love it, actually. You know how I feel about you – how I’ve always felt about you. You know I lo–”
“Stop,” Bucky said, cutting him off. His eyes flashed with pain before they closed off, going dark and blank. He pulled his leg away, out of Steve’s grasp. “Just, stop, Steve. Stop.”
“Bucky,” Tony said, pulling his attention to him. “Bucky, it’s okay. Steve’s just an idiot.”
Bucky glared at Steve, and Steve couldn’t argue with Tony. He was making a mess of this.
“What he meant to say,” Tony said very carefully, “is that we’re both mad about you. Absolutely over the moon. Neither one of us want you to leave.”
Bucky raised a suspicious eyebrow.
Steve blushed. He couldn’t help it. This was not the kind of conversation he ever thought he’d have with anyone, much less Bucky. “You can – you can do whatever you need to,” Steve said. “If you need time to think, if you really want to move downstairs, whatever you need. But Tony and I, we’d like to date you. Together.”
“You –” Bucky started, looking between the two of them again. “You want to date me. Both of you?”
“I was hoping we were past the dating phase and closer to the moving into our room phase,” Tony said.
Steve glared at him while Bucky’s eyes popped open in surprise. “But like I said, Buck, we can take this as slow as you want. If you need, we can forget this conversation even happened, go right back to how we were.”
“No,” Bucky said. “No, let’s not do that one.”
Steve felt the smallest smile creeping onto his face. Hopeful, he prompted: “So, does that mean?”
“Yeah,” Bucky said slowly, reaching out and grabbing Steve’s hand hesitantly. Steve grabbed it, twining their fingers together. “I – I’d like to try. If we can. Is this even something we can do, Stevie? You’re not messing with me?”
Steve laughed. “I have it on very good authority that we can,” he said.
“Technically, we can do whatever we want,” Tony chimed in. “We’re Avengers. No one’s gonna care about our relationship when they want us to save the world again.”
“I want this, then,” Bucky said, voice just a little more confident now. “I want you. Both of you.” He reached out with his metal arm toward Tony, grabbing him by the hand.
Steve couldn’t help the bright smile he sent Bucky’s way. He reached out, put a hand on Bucky’s cheek. He was clean-shaven, like he had always been before. Steve let his thumb trace the still-familiar plane of his cheekbone. “Buck, can I?” he asked, echoing the same words he’d said before their first kiss.
Bucky nodded, still a little shocked, from the look in his eyes, but certain. Steve leaned forward and pressed his lips against Bucky’s, one hand still on his cheek and the other going around to tangle in his damp hair. Bucky kissed back eagerly, tongue darting out to lick into Steve’s mouth, tasting of long Brooklyn nights in a depression-era walkup. It reminded Steve of Bucky getting home from the docks and Steve getting home from the shop where he worked sweeping floors and counting inventory, both exhausted but laughing because even though it was hard work, they were glad to have it.
For a moment, Steve was back in 1942, and all that mattered was the man in front of him coming home safe from the war.
It was a desperate, hungry kiss, which ended with Bucky nibbling his lip to pull him back in. It made Steve let out a small, desperate sound. How had he forgotten what Bucky did to him?
Bucky pulled back and gave him a self-satisfied smirk. Then he turned to his left. Steve’s gaze followed.
Tony was sitting there, eyes wide and pupils dilated, leaning back away from them. The hand that had been in Bucky’s was firmly in his lap, and he was leaning back against the opposite arm of the chair.
Knowing Tony, Steve saw it before Bucky did. Tony was getting ready to run. For a genius, he sure could be a real idiot sometimes.
“Wanna join us on the couch, Sweetheart?” Steve asked before he could get a word out.
“You two look perfect together,” Tony said hesitantly. “Are you sure –?“
“I’m dying to taste you, too, dollface,” Bucky cajoled, sounding just like he had with the dames back in Brooklyn.
If his heated expression was anything to go by, Tony had the same reaction to those lines as Steve himself did.
“Who am I to argue that?” Tony asked, slowly moving off the chair and toward them.
As soon as he was within reach, Bucky grabbed his hand and pulled him in so he stumbled onto Bucky’s lap. Steve watched as Bucky used his right hand to grab Tony’s chin, thumb rubbing over his lower lip, as his left arm wound around him and held him straddled on his lap.
“I really get you, too?” he asked.
“That’s the idea,” Tony told him, voice a little husky.
Bucky pulled him in with the finger under his chin. Steve watched as he kissed Tony, exploring him, gently and hesitantly compared to how he had nearly devoured Steve. Tony was the one pressing deeper, hands coming up to Bucky’s shoulder and neck to pull him up closer.
They looked perfect together, too.
Steve warmed at seeing these two, the suns around which Steve orbited, together. Bucky had always been his light, his life back in the 40’s. Tony had given him the world here, showing him he could have a life beyond Captain America. There was nothing he wanted more than the two of them.
He couldn’t wait to get his hands on both of them. Together.
When they pulled apart, Tony turned over to leer at him. “Whatcha thinking, Cap?”
Steve opened his mouth, but couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t come off as absolutely filthy. He wasn’t sure if Bucky was ready for that.
“Look at that, doll, we’ve got our Stevie tongue-tied,” Bucky teased.
“Mmmm,” Tony agreed thickly. “He looks delicious like that.”
“Doesn’t he?” Bucky asked.
Steve’s eyes widened, realizing they were ganging up on him.
“Can’t wait to get my hands all over ‘im,” Bucky said. He turned back to Tony. “All over both of ya. We really have to wait on that?”
“Not if you don’t want to,” Tony said, hands running down Bucky’s chest. Bucky’s eyes went dark with lust, making Steve choke.
“Get over here, ya punk,” Bucky said, reaching out and pulling Steve in by his wrist. Steve let him, happily falling into them, each of his shoulders hitting one of their biceps.
“Bossy,” Steve teased, finding his voice.
“Well someone’s gotta be when you’re just sittin’ there starin’,” Bucky told him, accent good and thick now. Steve couldn’t help it, he turned and caught Bucky’s lips with his own for a quick, biting kiss, then turned to kiss Tony in the same way.
“Well, as comfortable as this is, three grown men necking on a couch, maybe we should move this party?” Tony asked when they broke apart.
“Yes. Yes, please, yes,” Steve said, already getting up. Bucky kept an arm around Tony as he stood, leaving the smaller man no choice but to wrap his legs around Bucky’s waist and be carried into the bedroom.
Steve laughed. He knew from experience that Tony wouldn’t put up with being carried very often, but he couldn’t help finding it adorable every time he did.
He led the way to the bedroom with his two best fellas, veritably floating with happiness and hope.
…
Hours later, Bucky blearily drifted from sleep to wakefulness.
He had been having the best dream. He and Stevie had been back in their old walk-up, sharing a bed too small for two with a third. Tony had looked good in a wartime era suit and vest on the streets of New York, and had looked better out of it in their flat.
His stomach clenched as he woke, remembering that he wasn’t in Brooklyn anymore. Here in Manhattan, Steve was with Tony. He’d be moving downstairs today, making sure to put some space between them all.
“Everything ok, Sweetheart?” Steve’s low voice in his ear surprised him, making him tense. The hand that reached out to stroke his ribs quieted him, though.
“Thought it was just a dream,” Bucky said, just as quiet. “You, me, ’n Tony.”
He opened his eyes, saw the inventor in front of him. It was his hand that reached out to stroke him. Steve was warm behind him.
“Mmmm,” Steve agreed, pressing close to nuzzle against Bucky’s neck. “Best kinda dream. Dream you don’t hafta wake up from.”
Tony grinning sleepily. “Much as I love your romantic streak, Cap, you two wore me out. Maybe a little less talking, little more sleeping?”
Bucky chuckled at him, sound coming from low and deep in his chest. “Whatever you want, dollface,” he said. He reached out and pulled Tony in closer, cuddling to his chest, metal arm around his back protectively.
Tony hummed into him appreciatively and nuzzled into him, arranging himself comfortably against him. Bucky could tell from his breathing that it only took him a few moments to drift back into a deep sleep.
“Love you,” Steve whispered, careful not to wake Tony again. “Both of you.”
Bucky felt warm and grounded, hearing those words again. “Me too,” he whispered. “Til the end of the line.”
“Til the end of the line,” Steve agreed.
The blond wrapped his arm around both Bucky and Tony, holding both of them close. Bucky relaxed into Steve’s back, and let himself drift back to sleep.