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Tony was incredibly competitive.
He wasn't proud of it, but at this point in his life he'd accepted it as a part of his personality. It wasn't always a bad thing either, when his competitive streak spurred him on to always build bigger and better things to snuff out the competition.
Sometimes it did mess with his personal life though. Not just while playing games or during training exercises, but in the way he always compared himself to people who were better than him at something. It was hard to live with the Avengers sometimes, considering how competent they were in pretty much everything.
Tony usually got over those feelings by reminding himself that nobody was perfect. Natasha couldn't cook for shit. Clint never seemed to get the hang of bowling of all things. Steve was an absolute grump in the mornings, even after having his coffee. It made them much more approachable in Tony's eyes, subverting his raging inferiority complex – as his therapist kept reminding him – and allowing him to bond with the team. Tony knew his weakness, but he also knew how to keep it under control. That was how it had always been.
Of course, that all changed when Bucky started living in the tower.
Bucky fucking Barnes was good at everything. At first Tony had thought it was a fluke, but after several months of watching Bucky excel at every task ever handed to him, Tony felt ready to tear his hair out in frustration. The perfect person wasn't supposed to exist, god damn it.
Sure, Bucky struggled with his mental health after everything he'd been through, but Tony couldn't count that as a flaw. All things considered, the fact that Bucky was able to even get out of bed in the mornings was a big fat win in Tony's book. And Bucky went above and beyond, facing his fears and overcoming his obstacles with a drive that Tony could only admire.
It was... well, it was fucking attractive is what it was.
These days, Tony couldn't even watch Bucky toss paper planes in the trash across the room without thinking how sexy it was. Bucky was the most competent person he knew, and instead of being jealous, Tony thought it was the hottest thing ever. There was clearly something wrong with him.
But Tony knew how to compartmentalize. And if a hopeless crush on an ex-assassin centenarian was going to be on his mind in the near future, then he knew how to deal with it.
Tony was a pro at ignoring his problems.
Today had been a shitty day. The shittiest of all. A no good, very bad day. But because this was true for all of the Avengers, they raised their spirits by getting drunk together and loudly complaining about it. 'A problem shared is a problem halved' at its finest.
Tony raised his glass. “A giant fuck you to all villains in the city.”
“Fuck you!” the other echoed and downed their shots. Clint refilled everyone's glasses before lifting his.
“A fuck you to incompetent law enforcement!”
“Fuck you!” They drank, topping up right away.
“A fuck you to the New York sewage system!”
“Fuck you!” they all shouted with feeling before they drank. The smell was still lingering in the room somewhere, but hell if Tony was going to get up and take another shower.
“What's going on here?”
They all turned to Bucky who looked at them with a quizzical expression. Natasha raised her glass.
“A fuck you to everyone who judges us for drinking the pain away!”
“Fuck you!” they all echoed, and Bucky rolled his eyes.
“Alright then. I know when I'm not wanted.”
“No,” Tony piped up immediately, his tongue loosened by the alcohol. “Grab a glass. Drink with us.”
“You know it won't do anything for me,” Bucky said, and Tony raised an eyebrow, pointing at Steve.
“He's drinking.”
“Solidarity, Buck,” Steve said, and Bucky sighed but obediently grabbed a glass from the kitchen before he came back to the couch. He wrinkled his nose when he saw the empty bottles on the table.
“Jesus. How sloshed are you guys?”
“I can still smell the sewage, so – not enough.” Clint refilled everyone's glasses. Then he toasted them with his own. “A fuck you to stupid questions.”
“Fuck you!” they all said, and Bucky snorted a laugh.
“What is this? Rag on Bucky night?”
“You're lagging behind. Catch up or deal with it,” Tony said, his heart lurching when Bucky raised a cocky eyebrow at him.
“Well, if that's how you want to play this.” Bucky grabbed a bottle of rye and considered it for a second. At least a third of the whiskey was still in there. He shrugged and chugged it all in one go, to much cheering of the other Avengers.
Tony shifted in his seat, hoping that his cheeks weren't flushed beyond what alcohol could explain. Fucking Bucky could make anything look sexy.
Bucky finished with a loud “Aah”, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. “Yeah. That hits the spot.”
“That's a hundred dollars you just guzzled, you heathen,” Tony drawled to hide his slip in composure, and Bucky winked at him.
“I'll pay you back some other time.”
Tony took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Fucking hell. He was too tired for a heart attack.
“Now, can I join the circle of shame?” Bucky asked, and Clint flung his arms wide.
“Be our guest. We've got booze.”
“Yeah, I noticed.” Bucky dropped down in the seat right next to Tony, sending him into a mild flurry of panic. The alcohol was really churning in his system now, and Tony wasn't known for his impulse control even when he was sober. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Tony said, holding his glass out to Clint to avoid eye contact with Bucky. It wouldn't help his case if he got lost in those baby blues right now. “Good day?”
“Better than yours, apparently.” Bucky looked around, taking in their sorry state. “What happened?”
“Giant sewer alpacas,” Tony said. “They spit poop water right in your face.”
Bucky blinked. “Jesus Christ.”
“A fuck you to alpacas!” Clint said, and Natasha booed him. “What? They all spit. Even the nice ones.”
“But they're cute,” Natasha said, sprawling out a little more on her end of the couch. Tony didn't think he'd ever seen her so relaxed. Must be the vodka. “I'll drink to alpacas. Fuck the sewage ones!”
Clint rolled his eyes. “Fine. A fuck you to sewage alpacas in particular!”
“Fuck you!” Tony took the shot before he slumped back against the couch, leaning his head on the backrest. It took him a second to notice that Bucky was watching him, but when he did, Tony turned his head and raised an eyebrow. “Something on my face?”
“Other than the rat you call a beard?” Bucky asked, and Tony gasped, punching him in the shoulder.
“You take that back.”
“Just cause you can't handle the truth.”
“My beard is majestic. It's a work of art. It's –“ Tony winced when something hit him in the head. “Hey!”
“That's about as much beard talk as I can stand,” Clint said, and of course it was him, that little – “Hey, you know what we should do? We should play a game.”
“We're too tired for games,” Steve said, but Clint was already sitting up, fumbling through the drawer below the couch table until he procured a piece of paper and a pen. Tony frowned.
“Who put that analogue shit in my living room?”
“It's the common room, Tony. And I happen to like writing on paper,” Bruce said. Tony pondered that for a second before he shrugged.
“Fine. But only because it's you.”
“My gratitude knows no bounds,” Bruce said in the flattest tone imaginable. Tony considered flipping him off for a hot seconds, but in the end it was still Bruce. Tony liked Bruce. Even when he was advocating outdated tech.
If one could call a piece of paper tech. The pen probably passed on a technicality.
“We're playing the Ousama game,” Clint declared, holding out a cup – a clean one, fuck knew where he'd found that on this table – with tiny slips of paper inside. “Everyone draws a number. The one who gets the paper with an X on it gets to tell the numbered people what to do for that round. Then we draw again, and so on.”
“Tell them what to do?” Bucky asked, and Clint smirked.
“Like 'numbers two and four need to swap spit for five minutes'. That kind of thing.”
“What are we, twelve?” Tony drawled, and Steve sighed.
“That sounds like a terrible idea.”
Clint rolled his eyes. “Ye of little faith.” He shook the cup. “Come on. Everyone draw.”
“I think I'll sit this one out,” Bruce said, and Clint pouted at him but nodded in acceptance.
“Fine. Party pooper.”
Tony raised his hand. “Count me out too.”
Clint gave him an incredulous look. “Seriously? Come on, just one round.”
Tony was about to say no when Bucky shrugged and took two of the paper slips, holding one out to Tony with a little smile.
“Come on. Might be fun.”
Tony glared at him. “If I end up having to give anyone a lap dance, you owe me big time.”
Bucky didn't even blink an eye as he said, “Deal.”
When everyone else had their papers, they all fumbled them open. Clint whooped, waving his at the rest of them.
“Fuck yeah! I'm the Ousama, bitches!”
“This game is rigged!” Tony shouted, his hands cupped around his mouth, and Clint flipped him off.
“Okay, let's see...” Clint seemed to think about it for a second before his lips pulled up in an evil smile. “Alright. Number three has to do a striptease on the table.”
Tony looked down at his slip of paper. A four. Lucky him. He sat up to toss it back into the cup when he noticed that Bucky had gone utterly still beside him, staring at his own piece of paper.
“Ohohoho,” Clint laughed obnoxiously, pointing right at Bucky's face. “Aw man. I can't wait to see that.”
“I'm not drunk enough for this,” Bucky protested, but Steve was already pushing him out of his seat, a cheeky grin on his face.
“Come on, Buck. You always said you were the best dancer in the club, didn't you?” he asked, and Bucky glared at him in a way that would send a regular person running for the hills. Steve, confident bastard that he was, didn't even flinch.
“I'll remember this,” Bucky said darkly, glancing at Tony for a second before he sighed and took his shoes off. “Clear some room. I'm not stepping on glass tonight.”
They all started moving the bottles onto the floor, Tony included. If only so he could keep himself from staring at Bucky and probably doing something embarrassing like drool on the floor. The thought of Bucky dancing, writhing, fucking swinging his hips as he took off his clothes – shit, this was bad. Tony should really get out of here.
“You want to pick a song?”
Tony startled, glancing up at Bucky who was looking at him expectantly.
“Me?”
“Yeah.” Bucky smiled. Tony couldn't be sure, but it almost looked a little nervous. “Pick something.”
Tony frowned, trying to figure out the best strategy for this. He should probably pick something completely unsexy. Some cringy anime opening song. Hell, maybe a commercial jingle.
Instead, what came out of his mouth was, “Pour some sugar on me.”
Clint whooped as Natasha raised an eyebrow at him. “Cliché much?” she asked, and Tony shrugged.
“What? It's a good song.” Especially for stripping. Tony knew that from years of business trips to Vegas. “J, pull it up for us?”
“Of course, Sir,” JARVIS said mildly, long since accustomed to being made an unwilling accomplice in the Avengers' harebrained ideas. The music started blaring, and Clint whooped when Bucky stood up and stepped onto the table, hands at his collar and legs spread. Tony's mouth went dry before Bucky even started moving, his hands clenching in the fabric of his jeans. He'd thought that Bucky would turn it into a joke, but it seemed like he was seriously going to – huh.
Tony's eyebrows rose as Bucky started moving, swaying his hips to the beat – well, approximately to the beat. And swaying was perhaps a bit of a generous description. He looked more like a wooden plank rigidly moving from side to side, one arm raised above his head and the other held awkwardly at his side. Tony still cheered along with the others, even though he was honestly a little baffled at Bucky's display. From the way he'd started, Tony had thought that he would actually try to make it good. Though really, this made a lot more sense. Why would Bucky do that, in the middle of a goddamn Avengers gathering?
They all whooped when Bucky went for the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. Bucky's chest was always a sight to see, but the reveal was like watching Bucky in a locker room, no tease or finesse about the motion. When Bucky tossed it away and ran his hands over his body, it looked like he'd never touched a human before, just moving awkwardly to the music. Clint was laughing his ass off to the side as Natasha whistled obnoxiously, and Tony couldn't help but smile until his eyes landed on Bucky's face.
Bucky's jaw was clenched, his eyes burning with determination. He looked like a man on a mission, and Tony was startled when Bucky glanced over at him for all of a split second before he looked away, his ears and the back of his neck turning a bright red. He'd seen that expression on Bucky's face before, usually when Bucky was concentrating very hard on something. Though why Bucky would look like that here, when he was just – oh. Oh.
It belatedly occurred to Tony that Bucky was seriously trying. He was just really, really bad at it.
Tony's mouth went dry as he watched Bucky fumble his way through the chorus with what one might generously call a series of dance moves. Bucky was nervous, he realized, and the sight was so novel that it made Tony's heart beat a little faster. He had never once seen Bucky fail at a single thing, ever. And yet here Bucky was, swinging his shirt above his head with a pinched expression, tossing it to the side like he was throwing a knife rather than anything sexy. His face was bright red with embarrassment, far from his usual confidence, and his movements were choppy, like he was second-guessing himself every step of the way. It was – objectively – a terrible striptease.
Tony was harder than a fucking rock.
He nursed his drink, determined to will it away, but he couldn't stop staring at Bucky, his pulse thundering in his ears as every awkward move somehow made Tony even hotter. He'd always chalked his attraction to Bucky up to the guy's competency in everything he did. But this right here was Bucky at his most incompetent.
And Tony still found him devastatingly attractive.
Apparently this was a Bucky thing, not a competence thing. Probably had been all along. Tony was so fucking screwed.
“Lose the pants!” Natasha jeered, and Bucky gave her a dirty look before he started dragging them down his legs, hopping awkwardly on one foot to get them off. His thighs were just as muscled as Tony had always imagined, and he had to tear his eyes away lest he embarrass himself, looking up at Bucky's face instead. He startled when Bucky's eyes met his, and Bucky seemed to read something on his face, because he froze for a second before his lips pulled up in a devilish smirk. Tony had the feeling that he was completely fucked.
Bucky's next body roll was as smooth as butter, ending in a forward thrust of his hips. Someone whistled over the rest of the cat-calling, but Tony only had eyes for Bucky who had yet to look away, his gaze firmly locked on Tony as he kept grinding in the open air, suddenly all confident and sexy. Jesus Christ.
“Oh god, my eyes,” Steve moaned somewhere to his right, holding out his hands. “Make it stop! JARVIS!”
“Shut up, punk,” Bucky said good-naturedly when JARVIS killed the music. “See if you get invited to my show again.”
“I think we all know who's invited,” Clint said with a raised eyebrow at Tony. So the whole team had noticed, huh? Great.
“Yup,” Bucky said brightly as he hopped off the table, gathering his clothes with his usual easy grace before he walked – right towards Tony, oh shit, he was way too close – and held out his hand. “Come on.”
“Huh?” Tony asked dumbly, and Bucky cocked his head with a smirk.
“We did our one round. Let's scram.”
Tony looked at the others who were doing a good job of ignoring them. Aside from Clint, who widened his eyes at Tony, making a 'go on then' gesture with his hands.
“Right.” Tony cleared his throat before he grabbed Bucky's hand, letting him pull him to his feet. Bucky led him right out of the room, to much cheering from the rest of the team. Tony had the feeling he'd been thoroughly played. “Did you plan this?” he asked, and Bucky winced, giving Tony a sheepish smile.
“I didn't. But Clint was threatening to intervene if I don't make a move soon, so...”
“Oh.” They were missing a crucial step here. But looking at Bucky, still mostly naked, he couldn't give two shits about what it was. “So are we just going to fuck this out of our system? Or did you want – you know. Other shit?”
“Other shit,” Bucky echoed sarcastically. “Gee, sweep me off my feet, why don't you?”
“So you do,” Tony said, and Bucky sighed, stopping in front of the door to Bucky's room.
“I want whatever you're comfortable with. But yeah, if it's up to me? I want that other shit.”
“Okay.” Tony cocked his head. “And just to be clear, that other shit is –“
“Oh my god,” Bucky groaned, and Tony only had a second to brace himself before Bucky pushed him up against the door and kissed him within an inch of his life. To his credit, Tony got with the program right away, opening his mouth to let Bucky in. If someone had asked him if he'd expected anything like this to happen today, he would have scoffed, but now that it was happening? Tony wasn't going to waste his chance.
He fumbled for the doorknob, remembering belatedly that it wasn't programmed to his bio signature. Luckily, Bucky noticed what he was trying to do and reached behind him to open the door, allowing them to stumble inside. Bucky guided him straight into the bedroom, kissing him all the way, and Tony gave as good as he got, taking off his clothes as they went. He was naked by the time Bucky pushed him down onto the bed, standing over Tony like the sexiest kind of marble statue. Tony's mouth watered when Bucky reached down to take off his boxer briefs, the last item of clothing that still stood between them. Bucky's cock was nice, big but not too big, and already flushed a dark red at the tip. Tony couldn't wait to get his hands on that. So much so that he crawled forward until he was sitting on the edge of the bed, dragging Bucky towards him with both hands on his hips.
“This is part of that other shit we're doing, right?” he asked teasingly, and Bucky rolled his eyes only to close them in bliss when Tony licked his cock, sliding his tongue down so he could draw a circle around the head. It was a little awkward having to bend his neck like that, but Tony persevered, if only so he could keep that look on Bucky's face.
“Shit,” Bucky sighed, gripping Tony shoulder for a second before he tapped it. “Wait. Let me –“ He sat down on the bed, allowing Tony to slip onto the floor between Bucky's legs. Bucky handed him a pillow, and Tony nodded gratefully as he stuffed it under his knees. “That's better, right?”
“Much. Thanks,” Tony said before he got right back to nuzzling Bucky's cock. Bucky let out a slow, controlled breath, and Tony abruptly wanted to shatter that composure into a million pieces. So he leaned up to get the right angle and took Bucky's cock all the way down in one go, straight into his throat. It made his eyes water as he fought the urge to cough, but Bucky's reaction was more than worth it.
“Fuck!” Tony's spine tingled at the startled shout, eyes sliding shut when Bucky gripped his hair, pulling just a little too tightly. He groaned when a particularly hard pull tugged on his scalp, and Bucky's fingers twitched before he let go, breathing heavily already.
“Sorry,” Bucky grunted, and Tony squeezed his calf to let him know it was okay before he started bobbing his head, as quickly as he could manage while still taking Bucky down his throat. “Oh fuck. Christ, I can feel you swallowing – That's so fucking good, holy shit.”
Tony preened at the praise, silently pleased that Bucky was a talker. He liked his partners to be vocal.
“Aw, shit,” Bucky moaned when Tony sucked him so hard it hollowed out his cheeks. Bucky laughed breathlessly, looking at Tony with twinkling eyes. “Fuck, you want to make me lose it, don't you? Gonna – fuck, it's not gonna take long.”
Tony knew that already from the way Bucky's cock was throbbing on his tongue. It was flattering really, to know how much he did it for Bucky. Tony loved knowing when he was doing a good job. So he rewarded Bucky by pulling most of the way off his cock so he could tongue at the head, digging into the slit. Bucky jerked so hard he almost dislodged him, sucking in a breath through clenched teeth.
“Jesus Christ.” Bucky grabbed Tony's hair again, guiding him back down onto his cock. Tony closed his eyes at the feeling, his own cock aching as he moaned. Fuck, he loved being used like this. Bucky seemed to realize it a second later, his voice breaking when he said, “Oh my god. You like this, don't you?”
Tony looked up at him, and Bucky cursed, his grip tightening just enough to give Tony that edge of pleasure-pain he loved so much. Tony relaxed his shoulders and neck, letting Bucky maneuver him as he pleased and reaching down to give himself some relief instead. His cock was so hard it felt like iron in his hand, slick at the tip and throbbing in his grip. He stroked himself in time with Bucky's slow thrusts, eyes rolling shut at the friction. After not touching his cock for so long, it felt extra sensitive, and Tony couldn't help but speed up right away, fucking up into his fist.
“Yeah, that's right,” Bucky growled, and Tony shivered. Christ, he could feel that voice in his bones. “You're so fucking good, Tony. Getting off on sucking my cock.” He pulled Tony a little further down, and Tony opened his throat so Bucky could slide in without making him choke. “Fuck. God, you take it so well, you're unbelievable.”
Tony's eyes watered when Bucky did it again, fucking his throat carefully. He wanted it harder, but he could tell they were both close already, and he did have that conference tomorrow. He should probably still be able to speak for that.
Something for later then.
The thought of that hit him hard, that there would be a next time, shit, they could do this again, as many times as they wanted, and Bucky would let him –
Tony made a downright desperate noise, throttling his cock in his grip. He swallowed around Bucky's cock, right as Bucky pushed in deep, and they both groaned, Bucky's thighs trembling on either side of him.
“Shit – shit, Tony, I'm coming,” Bucky gasped, and Tony doubled his efforts, sliding his tongue up and down Bucky's cock as his thrusts turned erratic, getting a little careless in his pleasure, and Tony soaked it up, the knowledge that he'd made Bucky lose control sparking a fresh wave of arousal in his gut –
They came almost at the same time, Bucky burying his cock deep in Tony's throat as he spilled, right before Tony went off in his own hand. Tony twitched when his cock immediately became unbearably sensitive, letting go even before he was finished coming so he could ride it out with his cock throbbing in the open air. He dared to touch it with two fingers when he was done, an almost painful shiver running down his spine when he rubbed at the glans, forcing another dribble of come out of his dick. Fuck, that was good.
Bucky let out a deep, satisfied sigh as he pulled his softening cock out of Tony's mouth, letting it drop between his thighs. Tony watched as it shrunk back into its foreskin, smiling at the sight. He couldn't wait to do that all over again.
He startled when Bucky suddenly reached down and slipped his arms through Tony's, hooking them under his armpits. “Heave-ho!” Bucky grunted as he dragged Tony up like a sack off potatoes, falling back onto the bed so Tony landed on top of him in an undignified sprawl. Tony snorted, knocking his leg against Bucky's where they were dangling awkwardly off the bed.
“Nice move, genius.”
“I do try.” Bucky started shimmying up the bed with Tony in his arms, a slow, inefficient movement that made Tony laugh, especially when Bucky buried his face in his neck and growled playfully. He felt years younger as he let Bucky finish moving them up the bed in his awkward shuffle, never letting go of him.
“Happy now?” Tony asked, and Bucky looked up at him, practically beaming.
“Yes, I am.”
It was so sincere that Tony felt his cheeks heat a little, pushing a hand against Bucky's obnoxious, grinning face. “Shut up.”
“Never. Come here.” Bucky pulled him down into a gentle kiss, and Tony couldn't even pretend to be mad, his heart melting at the way Bucky was smiling against his lips. They only pulled apart when they absolutely had to, and Bucky's eyes were almost unbearably fond when he said, “So. How about that other shit, huh?”
Tony snorted, letting his head thunk down onto Bucky's shoulder. “You fucking asshole.”
“Hey, you started it. Just wanted to make sure we were on the same pa–“
“Let me take you out on a date.”
Bucky paused, and Tony pushed himself up to look at him, taking great pleasure in the stunned look on his face. “Oh,” he said, a smile spreading on his cheeks. “Sure. I'd like that.”
“Great.” Tony flopped back down on top of Bucky, making sure to put all of his weight behind it. The bastard probably barely even felt it. “Not now though. Sleep first.”
Bucky hummed, wrapping his arms around Tony and holding him tight. Tony practically melted into the hug, smiling when he felt how hard Bucky's heart was beating in his chest. “Date after though?”
“Yeah,” Tony said, closing his eyes when Bucky stroked his hair, feeling more content than he had in months. “Date after.”