Archive of Our Own ^beta

The door to the common room of their alpha frat house bursts open, revealing Tony Stark, the president of their sister omega sorority and current crush of over half the fraternity members.  

“I’ll give a hundred thousand dollars to the first alpha who volunteers to be my fiance,” he says, no preamble.

Bucky’s hand shoots into the air, almost of its own accord.  

“Barnes,” Tony says, pointing at him right away, “Sold.”  

Several other alphas in the room make “aww, man” noises at having been too slow.  

Tony ignores them and gestures toward the stairs, “Alright, upstairs, Barnes, chop chop.  We need to discuss the terms of your service.”

Several of the other alphas around whistle and grin at that, which finally gets Tony to acknowledge them.  He gives the common room a wink, goes over and grabs Bucky by the arm as the alpha stands, then drags him toward the stairs.  Steve gives Bucky a look that asks him if he’s sure he knows what he’s doing...

Well, the jokes on him, because Bucky hasn’t known what he was doing since he was discharged from the army.  Winging it and kind of just going with the flow have become his specialties lately.

“I guess I’ll catch you later, Stevie,” Bucky says, unable to wave since Tony still hasn’t let go of him.  

Once they get up to Bucky’s room, which he coincidentally shares with Steve, Tony closes the door and does a sort of half-assed perimeter check.  Bucky sits down in his desk chair, turning it around to face the room so he can see Tony.

“So, what’s up with this needin' a fiance thing?”  

“Is this room secure?” Tony asks, making a pointing motion toward the floor, as if there was possibly some other room in question.

“Not at all,” Bucky says honestly, wondering why he’d think the equivalent of a dorm room would be secure to begin with…

Tony sighs and comes over to him, sitting himself down in Bucky’s lap, much to Bucky’s surprise.  He grabs on to Tony’s hip to steady him, because swivel chairs really aren’t made for this.

“My dad’s business partner is a creep, but he thinks I don’t know that, and he’s been trying to get my dad to amend the terms of my trust fund so that I won’t get it until I turn 25, instead of 21.  That way they can continue to exert control over me, since I’m obviously running wild as it is and can’t be trusted with full freedom,” Tony tells him, “So I need you to pretend to be my fiance to show him that I’m settling down, and hopefully he’ll just leave things as they are.  I mean, absolute worst case scenario, all omega trusts have a clause in them that allows for the immediate release of funds upon marriage, so we end up having to get hitched and then file for ‘irreconcilable differences’ a year later.”

Bucky just blinks at him, still processing.

“I'll even make sure you get a good, separate payout in the prenup, to compensate for all the having to deal with my family bullshit.  What do you say?”

“Uh, sure?” Bucky says.  

“Great!  Ok, let’s fuck,” Tony replies, peeling off his shirt.  

“What?” Bucky freezes as the man is suddenly half naked in his lap.  

“No one is going to buy that you’re my boyfriend, let alone fiance, if we haven’t had sex,” Tony points out.  Then he reaches for the hem of Bucky’s shirt, which gets Bucky moving again.  He lets go of Tony and stops his hand from pulling up on the fabric.

Tony gives him a quizzical look.

“It’s just, uh, I haven’t really had sex since I got discharged,” Bucky says, tilting his head toward the side of his body that his stump is on for emphasis.  

“...  Did you lose your dick too?” Tony asks, looking at Bucky’s empty sleeve and obviously not seeing what the problem is.  

Bucky stares at him in disbelief for a second.  

“No.  … I meant because I’ve got a lot of scarring and shit.  No one wants to see that,” Bucky says gruffly.

Tony waves him off.  

“I don’t care about that.  Unless your scarring somehow prevents me from having an orgasm…  But if you want, you could leave your shirt on I guess?  Did I mention that I’m an insensitive ass sometimes? That’s kind of part of the package,” Tony says, trying to stay sort of semi-flippant about it even as he’s realizing what he’s done.  

Bucky is silent for a moment, thinking over the possibility that Tony really may not care…

“Well, I guess if we’re going to be affianced , then it would be weird if you couldn’t say you’d seen me naked…” Bucky supposes.  

“There’s always lying too, I mean, don’t overlook that, I, uh, really need this to work out, so if it’s going to make things strained between us for you to show me, then let’s hold off,” Tony suggests.  

“It ain’t me I’m worried about,” Bucky sighs, but he grabs a hold of the hem of his shirt at the same time.  He pulls it off with a newly familiar motion, sitting back in the chair and letting Tony get an eye full, even though it makes him twitch.  

Tony takes a moment to look, nodding as if confirming that yes, that is a lot of scarring.  Then he runs his hands up over Bucky’s abs and pecks, coming in close to whisper, “Let’s move this to the bed, soldier.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.  Definitely.  We have some celebratory sex to engage in,” Tony winks at him.  

“Oh.  Ok.”

They move to Bucky’s bed, shedding the rest of their clothing as they go.  Tony pushes him back against the sheets, intending to give him a nice long ride while they feel out each other’s bodies.  It takes a few minutes for Bucky to get into it, but as soon as Tony slides down onto him, he tips his head back and moans.  His hand flexes and grabs at Tony’s hip where he’s holding onto him.

“There you go…   Fuck .  Just let me do all the work, babe,” Tony groans, rocking his hips against him.  Bucky complies for a little while, watching Tony move up and down his cock with a rapt attention.  After a few minutes, Tony takes a gentle hold of Bucky’s hand, sensing the alpha is still a little skittish, and urges him to touch the rest of his body too.  “Come on, don’t you want to get a hand on my beautiful cock?” Tony grins at him in between moans.

Bucky nods.  

Yeah, Tony could definitely come like this.  Just as he’s really starting to get into it, Bucky finally speaks.

“Would it be ok if I tried bein’ on top for a bit?...” he asks.  He’s a little breathless, and his eyes are bright, watching Tony, but his body is almost unconsciously straining up toward him.  It gives Tony a gorgeous view of the man’s six pack, but it’s obvious the alpha in him wants to be closer .

“Sure, we can do that,” Tony agrees, easing off the pace he had set.  

Bucky lets go of Tony’s cock and wraps his arm around Tony’s hips, keeping them pressed together firmly.  Then he flips them over in one too-fast-to-register motion, making Tony’s stomach swoop and his arousal kick up a notch.

“Holy shit,” he says, panting as Bucky braces himself and begins thrusting into him properly.  Bucky’s cock is an excellent shape, hitting all the right spots inside him.  Plus, there’s something instinctual in Tony that will always like being held down and fucked.  He comes hard, clinging to Bucky’s back while the alpha finally finishes inside him.  The way Bucky grunts and groans in his ear makes Tony shiver even after he’s come down.  

“Jesus, and you said it’s been how many years since you did that?” Tony pants when they’re done.

“Two,” Bucky rumbles, still buried inside him.  

“Well, you haven’t lost your touch.  Jesus, what a ride,” Tony sighs happily.  Even after Bucky pulls out, they stay snuggled together for a bit.  

“Wouldn’t it have been better for you to pick an alpha who was like, respectable?  You know, who had money and manners and all that?… Not that I’m complaining,” Bucky hurries to add.  He never stops tracing a circuit over Tony’s skin as he speaks.

“Pffft, are you kidding?  My dad would know it was a scam immediately that way.  Picking someone without any regard to whether Howard would approve or not makes it seem much more authentic,” Tony assures him.  He likes the contact Bucky is keeping, returning the soft touches gladly.

“I guess that makes sense…”  

They both decide to stay snuggled together for a while, for the purposes of getting comfortable with each other as quickly as possible, but they end up falling asleep somewhere along the way.  

An hour later, Tony’s friends Rhodey and Pepper come looking for him.  Steve agrees to show them up to the room, but when he knocks, there’s no answer.  Taking out his key, Steve gets the door open only to be greeted with a pistol in their faces.  

“Jesus, Buck, put the gun down,” Steve says, putting his hands in the air and frowning at his best friend.  

Being woken suddenly, Bucky reacts on instinct to put himself between the threat and Tony.  

“And put on some goddamned pants, none of the rest of us want to see your junk,” Steve rolls his eyes.  

“Wow, that was super hot...” Tony says from beneath Bucky, “Also, did you have that gun in bed the whole time?  Kinky.”

Rhodey face palms.  

As soon as he realizes he’s completely naked in front of all these people, Bucky gets self conscious again, lowering the pistol and tucking it away in the special mattress holster he has for it.  He ignores Tony’s “kinky” comment.  Tony hands him his shirt right away though, earning a grateful look from Bucky.

“Barnes,” Rhodey gives him a head nod of acknowledgement once the gun is put away.

“Rhodes,” Bucky acknowledges back.  

“I’m here for that one, actually,” Rhodey says, pointing at Tony who’s still shimmying back into his pants.  

“Do you two know each other?” Tony asks, looking between the two of them suspiciously.

“We go to the same vets group on campus,” Bucky informs him, blushing a little at the accumulated embarrassment of all these situations.  

Tony sits down in Bucky’s lap again once they’re dressed.  Even though this time they’re on the bed and much more stable footing, he puts his arms around Bucky’s neck as if for support.  Bucky’s arm comes up to hold his waist.  Tony preens internally.  Ok, maybe not completely internally.

“It’s probably for the best that they saw you naked anyway.  Us being engaged and having not had sex is almost as unbelievable as us being engaged and Rhodey and Pep not having seen you naked at least once either,” Tony tells him.  

“Engaged?” Rhodey and Pepper both exclaim at once, making Steve close his mouth on whatever incredulous thing he was going to say.  

“Yep.  Ok, here’s the plan,” Tony says with a smile, never letting go of Bucky.  

Bucky has a feeling that this might end up being a little bit more of a bumpy ride than Tony imagines, but he’s willing to give it a try.

After the plan is laid out, Rhodey and Pepper offer to give Bucky a crash course in “Tony Stark” while the two of them get ready to go ring shopping.  Bucky thinks it’s a little odd that his best friends are so willing to see Tony attach himself to a practical stranger…  Well, he knows Rhodes some, but not Pepper.  

“Oh, do you have a checkbook?” Tony asks, opening up one of Bucky’s desk drawers and rooting around in it.  

“Uh, yeah…  Why?” Bucky asks, getting it out of a different drawer.  

Tony makes grabby hands for it, opening it up and taking a picture of the check with his phone.  

“I guess you don’t really have to worry about him stealin' your identity…” Steve says, giving Bucky a look at how easily he just handed it over.  Bucky just shrugs.

Tony rolls his eyes as he continues typing away on his phone.  “There, the transfer’s complete.  I threw in a little extra for the ring too, so you can “pay” when we get there.  That’s an alpha thing, right?  Getting to pay for the ring.”

Bucky’s phone chimes with an incoming alert.  He opens it up and takes a look at the number that his bank says was just deposited.  “Uh, all that extra is just for the ring?...”

“You’ve never bought diamonds before, have you?” Tony says, a question that’s not a question but a statement instead.  

“Nah, this is my first pretend engagement,” Bucky says, closing out of his account again.  

“We’re looking for a 24 karat gold, trinity style ring with at least 3 carat princess cut diamonds,” Tony tells him with an authoritative nod.  

Bucky nods along slowly as Tony speaks.  

“You get all that?” Tony asks.

Bucky shakes his head.  “How about you do the talkin’, and I’ll just stare at you in awe in the background.  That would be believable, right?”

“Now you’re getting it,” Tony beams.  “And oh, by the way, I’m a very physically affectionate person, so just a heads up, I’m going to be all over you all the time,” he adds, coming up to Bucky and wrapping his arms around the alpha’s waist.  

“Guess I’ll just have to deal with the hardship,” Bucky teases him a little.  

Tony pinches his side, but he’s smiling.

They take Tony’s limo over to an uptown jeweler.  He explains that they just got engaged and rattles off his dream ring’s description while clinging to Bucky happily.  Bucky does his best to look happily lost in the conversation.  It isn’t difficult.

“Of course, sir, did you have any particular designer in mind?” the jeweler asks.

“No, just as long as the diamonds are no less than flawless ,” Tony smiles.  

Tony spends every bit of the extra 100k that Bucky saw go into his account.  

Afterward, Tony puts the ring on and does take a moment to admire it in the limo, but then turns to Bucky.  

“Alright, next stop, Mom’s weekly tea with the other D.A.R. rejects.  Are you ready for this?”

“Uh, what?”

“To meet my mother.”

Bucky looks down at his outfit, which is just jeans and the random t-shirt he’d pulled out of his drawer today.

“Don’t worry about your clothes, Buck-o, Mom doesn’t know the difference between Lucky and Wal-Mart jeans, we’re both dressed equally as trashy to her,” Tony assures him with a pat on the leg, “There isn’t anything in your wardrobe that would impress her anyway.”

“Ok…  What’s the D.A.R.?” Bucky asks, cycling back over the conversation.

“Ugh, the Daughters of the American Revolution.  It’s a hoity-toity group of omegas that base membership on having been descended from someone who fought in the Revolutionary War.  On America’s side, of course.  And since grandpa Venicio was born in Florence, Italy, it’s a membership that’s forever out of her reach.  Tragic, I know.  So she and a few other super wealthy European transplants get together for tea on the same days that the D.A.R. has their meetings, only they talk about how much more refined and dignified European culture is compared to these trashy Americans,” Tony says in a snooty, affected tone.  

Bucky can see how ridiculous Tony finds the whole thing, from how he’s making fun of it and the exaggerated accent.  “...My great-great, like, great to the fifth power, great-grandfather was paid 1600 acres of land in Pennsylvania for serving in the Revolutionary War, under George Washington directly.”  

Tony immediately loses his playful posture, turning and fixing a serious gaze on Bucky.  “Can you back that up, or is that just a story they tell in the family?”

“My great aunt Ethel paid to have a genealogy done a couple decades ago and my dad got a copy of it.  He told me about that George Washington thing when he showed it to me for the first time, so I guess I just kind of assumed it was somethin’ they’d found out because of it?…”

Tony smiles, wide and mischievous.  

“Buckaroo, you just made my fucking day.”

<//>

Tony bursts into the private dining room of some hotel Bucky’s never heard of and probably couldn’t even pronounce, immediately singling out his mother and making a b-line for her.  Bucky can already see the disapproving set of her mouth as she takes in Tony’s presence.  And appearance.

“Mom!  Bucky proposed!” Tony says almost a touch too gleefully, waving at her from across the room.  

The shift is instant.  Maria’s face blanks, then she takes in the ring being shoved in front of her and a smile spreads over it instead.  

“Oh, Tony, really?” she says, as if some miracle has happened that she never expected in a million years.  

“I know, can you believe it?  I’m thinking a June wedding, since we’re both still in school, isn’t that right, honey?” Tony says, giving Bucky a fake smile and batting his eyelashes.  

Does he really think his mom is going to buy that?...

“Of course, whatever you want, babe,” Bucky nods.  

“This June, or next?...” Maria asks carefully, like the question means more than she’s letting on.  

“Oh, we don’t mind a long engagement.  That just gives us more time to get all the details right,” Tony nods conspiratorially.  

Maria seems relieved, immediately going back to being ridiculously happy, especially as whispers start running through the crowd of gathered omegas.  

“That should give us time to get the Russian Tea Room then, I’ll call them today,” she beams.  

“Perfect.  Have you ever had those little Russian tea cakes, Bucky?  They’re like little shortbread cookies covered in powdered sugar, they’re awesome,” Tony nods.  

“Are those like German tea cakes?  My mom makes those at Christmas…” Bucky offers.  

“Exactly, they’re the same thing, just different names in different places,” Tony nods, examining his ring again while everyone is watching them.  

“And we have to have the wedding at this Russian Tea Room place to have them?...” Bucky asks, trying to follow along.  

“Oh, not at all.  You can’t serve something like that at a wedding, that would be a disaster,” Maria pipes up, looking concerned.  “I’ll have Jarvis make you a plate next Sunday, how about that?” she offers overly sweetly, letting Bucky know it’s not an option.

“That sounds great, ma’am,” Bucky says, tipping his head.  

“Perfect, we’ll be by Sunday then to discuss the details,” Tony says, “We should really get going now though, I have a class at three.”  

Maria waves them off, letting Tony go without a hug or even a hand shake.  She just calls after them, “And Tony? No jeans at dinner.”

Tony rolls his eyes and shoots a “Yes, mom,” over his shoulder as he’s dragging Bucky back out with him.  

“Do you really think she bought that we were together from that?” Bucky asks once they’re back in the limo.  

“What?  Who cares, she’ll play along no matter what now that it’s ‘out there’ in society that I’m engaged.  It’s not like she would have known even if we’d been together for months,” Tony shrugs.

Bucky just nods, letting Tony hold his hand as they ride.  

“Are we going to meet your dad next?” Bucky asks.  

Tony raises an eyebrow at him.  “Uh, no. You’re nowhere near ready for that yet.”  

<//>  

By the time Sunday rolls around, Tony has gotten Bucky as ready as he can be for meeting Howard.  At first Bucky thinks that Tony is going to teach him proper table manners and stuff like that, but Tony is actually much more concerned with Bucky knowing what subjects to not bring up while they’re there.  

“Rich people table manners are easy, just start on the outside and work your way in with the silverware.  When in doubt, drop something on the floor and Jarvis will bring you the correct one.  That’s really the least of your worries here.  What you need to watch out for are bringing up anything to do with the 1988 presidential election, Pauly Shore, or individually wrapped prunes.  And for the love of god, do not bring up IRAN CONTRA,” Tony instructs him.  

“That’s quite the diverse list…” Bucky says.

“Well, those are the top three things guaranteed to set him off into a rant, I didn’t say they made sense ,” Tony says as he finishes putting on Bucky’s tie for him.  

“IRAN CONTRA makes four things...”

Tony stops what he’s doing and looks up into Bucky’s eyes searchingly.  

“You do realize my father is that Howard Stark, the weapons developer, right?”

It takes a second, but it does finally click.

“No bringing up weapons scandals, got it.”

“I’d appreciate it,” Tony nods, giving him an askance look.  

“I did know that.  I just, uh, hadn’t thought about it?” Bucky defends.  

Tony sighs.  Then he runs a hand through his hair.  “Look, there isn’t anything that’s going to keep Howard from losing his temper at some point tonight.  I’m just hoping to keep it to a minimum of reasons, namely us, and not have to go into the whole digression of everything that’s ever been wrong with the world ever, ok?”

Bucky nods, studying Tony carefully.  It isn’t his place to ask him just how much of an asshole his father is though...he has a feeling he’s going to find out part of it tonight anyway.  

“Ok, Tony, I can do that.”

“Thanks,” Tony sighs gratefully, giving him a smile that’s already tired.  

<//>  

Dinner is stuffy, overly formal, and filled with conversation that Bucky can barely follow, since he doesn’t know anyone in the Stark’s circles.  Howard and Maria both ask him questions about if he knows a certain someone, or has ever been to a specific place, and each time all Bucky can do is answer, “no” and let them share their knowing looks.  

Honestly, Bucky’s almost relieved when Howard asks him what he’s majoring in at school, because he feels supremely uncomfortable just sitting here like a lump on a log.  

The look on Tony’s face suggests otherwise, but Bucky isn’t going to not answer him…

“I’m studying computer science.  That’s all the rage these days,” Bucky says with a shrug, “I just started at MIT this year though, so I’ve still got a few more left to go.”  

“What’s your GPA like?” Howard asks, staring him down.

“In the high 3’s, won’t know exactly ‘til the semester’s over,” Bucky explains, not embarrassed at all to not have “perfect” grades..  

“Do you have any job prospects lined up?”

“Not yet?...  Usually when you apply for a job, they like you to already have the degree you’re claiming,” Bucky jokes.  

No one laughs, or even chuckles.  Howard gives him a sort of pitying look and then sighs.  “Alright, I’ll put you in touch with Sharon in HR.”

“Dad, Bucky does not need to come work for you,” Tony says, sounding flabbergasted.  

“Of course he does,” Howard snorts.  

“No, he really doesn't.  Bucky can get himself a job on his own just fine when the time comes,” Tony insists.  

“I’m sorry, are you or are you not marrying this man?” Howard says, raising his voice a little.  

“Of course I am,” Tony says, defiant.  

“Then he needs a respectable position.  And he’s certainly not going to get that anywhere else,” Howard says, motioning toward Bucky.  

“What is that supposed to mean?” Tony asks, his nostrils flaring.  

“You know exactly what I meant.  How’d your latest paramour lose his arm anyway?” Howard asks, directing the question to Tony and not Bucky himself.  

Tony is obviously fuming on Bucky’s behalf, which Bucky thinks is sweet, but unnecessary.  He’s certainly heard worse than that before.  Suddenly the anger falls away from Tony’s face and is replaced by an innocent, almost childlike expression.  “He masturbated too much and it fell off.  It’s just like my teachers at boarding school always warned me-”

Howard slams his hand down on the table, making Maria flinch.  Tony doesn’t though, like he was bracing for it, expecting it.

“Damn it, Tony, this disrespectful shit is exactly why you couldn’t find a normal alpha willing to put up with you!” Howard yells.  

“Now wait just a minute,” Bucky says, but his objection is lost under Tony’s shouted reply.

“Oh, so now you want me to find some average, run-of-the-mill ‘commoner’?” he sneers, “Fuck you, Howard .”

“Keep it up, Tony, you’ll just drive this one away too, I’m sure,” Howard says, making a waving motion in the air that does make Tony flinch, even as he remains defiant.

And with that, Bucky has officially seen enough.  He pulls out his cell phone as Howard and Tony continue to argue, hitting the button to redial his most recent call. 

Tony’s phone starts ringing, the opening notes of a Nine Inch Nails song starting to play in an attention grabbing bid that works perfectly in this situation.  Tony blinks mid-yell, turning to look at his phone.  Howard looks even more mad for having Tony’s attention diverted from him.

But then Tony looks from the screen over to Bucky, who is clearly holding the phone to his ear at the other end of the Starks’ massive table.  That draws Howard and Maria’s attention to him too, effectively halting the shouting match out of confusion.

Tony answers the call, staring at Bucky the entire time.  

“Hey babe, sorry to bother you, but my car broke down.  I was wondering if you could give me a lift?” Bucky asks casually, looking right at Tony as he speaks.  

Tony stares back at him for a second in hesitant wonder, then he says, “Bucky, you don’t even own a car…”

“Well yeah, but they don’t know that,” Bucky says, hitching his head toward Howard and Maria, who are both looking at them like they’re insane.  

A slow, happy smile spreads over Tony’s face.  

“Sure, I can pick you up, babe, no problem,” he says cheerfully.  Then he hangs up and sticks the phone back in his pocket. “Well, it’s been horrific, but I’ve got to go pick up my fiance.  Please never invite us to do this again,” Tony says with a charming smile as he scoots his chair out from the table.

Bucky puts his phone away and gets up at the same time, flashing Howard and Maria a fake smile as well.  It doesn’t reach his eyes, like when Tony does it, but he has a feeling that Tony’s had a lot more practice at it than he has.  

He puts his hand on the small of Tony’s back as they walk out.  

“Be safe, sir,” the butler tells them as he opens the front door for them.  

Bucky doesn’t think he’s imagining the approving look the man is giving him, so he nods back.  

“Always, Jarvis.  See you around,” Tony waves to the man.  

When they get outside, Tony’s driver is already in the limo and has the engine running.  He hops out to get the door for them, telling Tony, “Wow, 67 minutes. That’s a new record, boss.”

“Was that the shortest ‘meet the boyfriend’ dinner you’ve ever had?” Bucky asks him as they’re buckling in.  

“No.  The longest,” Tony says, looking at him contemplatively.  “I’m sorry you had to hear all that, like I said, my dad’s a Grade A asshole, but I was hoping he might have toned it down a little , under the circumstances…” Tony sighs.  

“Yeah, I can’t believe he said that about you,” Bucky nods, huffing in irritation.  

Tony looks surprised.  “Me? You’re not mad about the stuff he said about your arm?”

Bucky shrugs, “Eh, I was kind of expecting that…  Your thing about masturbating was pretty funny though, I’m going to have to remember that one.”  

Tony chuckles, but he does look a little chagrined.  “I’m glad you’re not upset, because it kind of just came out, I didn’t plan on saying anything like that, I swear...”

Bucky shrugs, looking out the window at the fancy houses passing by.  “I’ve met a couple guys who dealt with it by bein’ funny, making light of it…  I kind of always wished I could be like that, like, if I could choose , I would…  I know it is a choice, at least everyone says it is...but maybe it was all just too fresh before…” Bucky sighs.  He feels Tony take his hand, giving it a squeeze.

“I could help you come up with some jokes, if you’d like?” Tony offers, giving him a quirk of a smile.  

“Yeah?  That might help, if I had some memorized…” Bucky supposes, giving Tony a “go for it” look.  

“Exactly.  So if Steve ever tries to take you to like a Salvation Army or a Goodwill or something, you could stop in front of the entrance and tell him, ‘I can’t go in there’, and then when he looks all confused and asks why, tell him it’s because it’s a secondhand store,” Tony grins.  

Bucky nods along with the plan, until Tony delivers the punchline.  He looks shocked for a moment, but then he bursts into laughter. “Oh god, I can just picture the look on that little punk’s face,” he snickers, “I have got to do that.”

Tony watches him crack up, suddenly realizing that Bucky’s kind of gorgeous when he laughs.  

“That’s all I’ve got off the top of my head, but I’ll let you know if I think of any others,” Tony tells him, giving his hand another squeeze.  

Bucky squeezes back and says, “That would be great.”

<//>

Steve and Bucky aren’t in the habit of locking their door, but even so, most people usually knock , so it startles Bucky a little when it just swings open on Friday night.  Thankfully he’s only doing homework on his bed, not half asleep and out of it, so he curbs the instinct to reach for a weapon.

“Ok, there’s a small snag in this whole ‘pretend fiance’ thing,” Tony says, letting himself in.  He goes right over to Bucky and climbs into his lap on the bed, making the alpha move his textbook or have it be crushed.  “I’m horny as fuck, and sleeping with someone else would just be rude, if we really were together, so I’m hoping you don’t mind taking one for the team, so to speak, to keep up appearances.”

“What?” Bucky says eloquently.  

“Great!  Your place or mine?” Tony says with an over the top, teasing seductiveness.  

“I can bunk with Sam and Scott tonight,” Steve volunteers right away, a shit eating grin spreading over his face as he gets up from his bed.  

“You’re a real pal, Steve, it’s nice that Bucky has such good friends he can count on,” Tony says over his shoulder as Steve packs up a few things.  “We should get him a fruit basket or something,” Tony tells Bucky, who has yet to say anything intelligent, “Does he like Harry & David?”

“I have no idea.  What is that?” Bucky asks, trying to hold back a moan as Tony makes tiny little rocking motions with his hips against him.  

“Fancy fruit, Buck, and yes, get me the one that has baklava in it and you can have the room all weekend,” Steve bargains.  

“Done,” Tony says, pointing a finger at him as if that seals the deal.  

Steve gives them both a mock salute as he leaves the room with his bag.  He locks the door behind him.

Tony kisses Bucky right away, with the alpha opening up to him immediately, encouraging him with lips and teeth and tongue.  It’s a messy, exhilarating kiss, but they do need to breathe eventually.

“You just got played,” Bucky tells him as soon as they take a momentary break for air.

“What?” Tony asks, confused, partly by Bucky’s statement and partly by the fact that kissing isn’t happening again.

“Steve and Sam are seeing each other.  You just paid him off to spend the weekend with his boyfriend,” Bucky informs him.

“That little punk!”

“Welcome to my world,” Bucky chuckles.  

But then the kissing does start again, so Tony decides to let it go.

<//>

The school year ends, and summer arrives with a flurry of activity.  Bucky had no idea rich people threw so many boring parties…  They spend the majority of their vacation getting Bucky acquainted with high society, though thankfully Howard rarely ever makes an appearance.  The few times he does, Bucky and Tony make it a point to sneak out early.

Bucky’s almost glad when school starts up again, because it means spending less time around these out of touch people.

<//>

“Bucky, get up!  Today’s the big day!” Tony says, bursting into his and Steve’s room in what has become an all too common occurrence over the past few months.  

Steve just pulls his blanket over his head.  

“I know, I know, I’m up,” Bucky says, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  

“You’re not even dressed yet!” Tony whines.  

“Tony, our appointment isn’t until noon,” Bucky reminds him.  

“Hey, cake tastings wait for no man!” Tony argues, going over and yanking the covers off Bucky in a bid to get him out of bed faster.  Bucky still takes his time, stretching and scratching at a spot on his stomach, no matter how much Tony pulls on him. He leans in and nips at the omega’s mouth, as if telling him to behave. 

Tony huffs and seems to take it as a challenge, continuing to try and get him to move faster, dress quicker, brush his hair already, come on, let’s go ...

Finally Bucky pins him against the closet, having to use his whole body for the move since he’s down an arm, but it works.  “Tony, stop pawing at me already, we are not showing up to the tasting four hours early , ok?”  

“First off, you’ve never complained about me pawing at you before,” Tony points out with a wink and a smirk, “And secondly, they do open at eight, we could totally show up then and it would be fine.”

Bucky gives him a look.  “Is this a rich people thing, where you just assume everyone will and can cater to your every whim?  What if they’re still baking the cakes?”

“It is not a ‘rich people’ thing, it’s a ‘knowing how fancy cakes work’ thing,” Tony says haughtily, “You do not put together a five layer cake the morning of , let alone a selection of a dozen different flavors of them.  Trust me, those cakes are already made and ready, just waiting there to be tasted,” Tony says, making a fist of determination.  

“Oh my god, just fucking leave already, some of us are still trying to sleep,” Steve says, sitting up in bed just for the purpose of flipping them off, then rolling over and laying back down again.  

“Hey, no comments from the baklava con-artist gallery,” Tony says, flipping him off in return.  “I still bought him that basket and he didn’t even share,” Tony grumbles as Bucky lets him go.

Steve doesn’t respond from his lump of blankets.

“Alright, alright, we’ll go right now then,” Bucky sighs, shaking his head, “But just for the record, you never said he had to share, in the original terms of that agreement.”

“Who’s side are you on?” Tony gasps indignantly.  

“The side of keeping the peace?...” Bucky offers.  

Tony narrows his eyes at him.  

“I suppose that’s acceptable...for now…  Alright, on to the tasting!” Tony exclaims.  

Steve’s pillow hits Tony in the side of the head while he’s posing dramatically.  

“Oh, that is it , you little shit,” Tony says, picking up the pillow and advancing on Steve.  He starts whacking him with it while Steve tries to hold his hands up in self defense.  

Bucky just laughs.

“A little help here, Buck?” Steve says, doing his best to dodge Tony’s swings.  

“Oh, now you want my help in a fight?  You brought this on yourself, Stevie,” Bucky continues to chuckle.  

“The more you hit me, the longer it will be until you get to your cake tasting!” Steve points out with an ‘oof’ as he gets hit right in the face.  

Tony stops his assault after that, dropping the pillow and putting his nose in the air as he goes back to Bucky’s side.  “We were going to bring you back a piece of cake from the tasting, but now we’re not.”

Bucky gives him a look.  “Don’t you think that’s going a bit far?...”

Tony twists his mouth into a sour pout.  

Bucky leans down and kisses him, quick little pecks over and over until he isn’t pouting anymore.  

“Fine, Steve can still have cake,” Tony concedes with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, proving the whole thing was just for show to begin with.  

After they’ve finally left, Bucky gets a text message from Steve.

//he sure does like attention...//

Bucky barely even pauses before responding.

//yeah, i guess it’s a good thing i like giving it to him//

<//>

“Oh, you have got to try this one with the strawberry cheesecake filling, this is to fucking die for, it’s incredible, I want to name our firstborn after it.”

“Tony, our maid of honor is deathly allergic to strawberries…”  

“Damn it…  Can I get one of these ‘to go’ then?” Tony signals the baker.

<//>

Bucky doesn’t go back to his own room until that evening, with Tony walking him up to his door and dropping him off with a kiss and a styrofoam container full of leftover cake.  

“I thought you guys were just kissin' and stuff in public, to make it believable?...” Steve says knowingly as he’s eating a slice of lemon huckleberry that Tony had wrinkled his nose at.  

Bucky shrugs.  

“Or is this another one of those, ‘since we can’t with anyone else, we might as well with each other’ things?  Like the sex?” Steve asks, grinning.

“Shut up, Steve,” Bucky tells him, blushing a little.

“I mean, you might end up havin' to marry this guy, would it be so bad if you actually liked each other?”

“No, it wouldn’t…” Bucky admits, but he shrugs again.  “But just because I like him, doesn’t mean that he likes me.”

Steve gives him a look like Bucky fell in a vat of stupid and decided to just float around in it instead climbing out.  “He doesn’t act like he doesn’t like you…”

“I really don’t want to talk about this right now, ok, Stevie?  I was having a good day…” Bucky sighs, knowing how much of an expert Tony is at showing the world what he wants them to see.

Steve doesn’t want to push him too hard, so he lets it go.  “Ok, Buck, I didn’t mean to pry.”

Bucky snorts.  “Yeah you did.”

“Ok, you’ve got me there…  I didn’t mean to distract you from basking in the glow of Tony’s attention being on you all day,” Steve corrects himself.  

“He does kind of have a glow, doesn’t he?” Bucky smiles.  

<//>

“Nice suit, Barnes…” Natasha, the president of their fraternity tells him on his way out.  

“Thanks.  Tony’s grandmother is flyin' in from Italy to help us pick out a china pattern,” Bucky informs her.  

“Do you speak any Italian?”

“Just some swear words Steve and I picked up in the gutters of Brooklyn…”

“...Good luck.”  

Tony is agitated that day, but Bucky isn’t really able to ask him why, not and expect a straight answer, considering their company...  Apparently Tony’s only met his grandmother like twice before, but they’re both perfectly cordial and aloof with each other, so it must not be that.  Tony will usually act out directly at the thing that’s bothering him.  The fact that he’s mostly compliant during their outing means it must not have anything to do with his mother or grandmother.

“What do you think, James?” Mrs. Carbonell refuses to call him by an atrocious nickname like Bucky .  “You’re the alpha here.”

She and Maria are at odds over which set would be best for a young couple just starting out.  Bucky picks the one he saw Tony running a finger along the edge of earlier in their initial walk through.  He knows with how tactile Tony is, that will have been the one he liked most.

“Unless you think something else would be better, babe?” Bucky makes sure to try and include him.  

Tony gives him a look like he knows exactly what Bucky did and observed.  

“No, that one’s fine with me.”  

It isn’t until they’ve sat through a stiff and tasteless lunch, then escorted Mrs. Carbonell back to her private jet, that Bucky gets a chance to speak to Tony alone.  

“You doing ok?” he asks, bumping his nose against Tony’s hairline.  

Tony shrugs.  

“Obadiah Stane, that’s Howard’s business partner, is still pushing hard for me to not get anything until I turn 25.  He doesn’t believe an alpha like you is going to be able to control me, he thinks things will fall apart before we actually get married anyway, so he wants Howard to try and wait it out…  So it looks like we might actually have to get married after all…” Tony sighs. “Not that that would be the worst thing in the world!  I didn’t mean it like that!  I just meant, you don’t like a lot of drama, and having to go through with this is going to be tons of drama, especially when we get divorced…”

“It’s ok, that’s kind of what I signed up for…” Bucky says, realizing that if they do have to go through with the wedding, that will mean he gets to keep Tony in his life for a lot longer.  

“Right, that’s true,” Tony nods, reminding himself that yes, Bucky is technically getting paid for all this.  He shouldn’t be worried about him getting scared off, because he’s not actually with with Tony in the first place…  

“So, in what is I’m sure an effort to further along the demise of our relationship, Obadiah volunteered to go with us and mom, in Howard’s place, to go look at real estate next weekend,” Tony informs him.

“Is he as bad as your dad, as Howard?” Bucky asks, correcting himself.  

“Nowhere near as bad in some ways, worse in others,” Tony sighs.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there’s no way he’d cause a public scene, he’s too smooth of an operator for that.  On the other hand though, I’ve always gotten this kind of creepy vibe from him, like he’d love to be the one who got to put me in my place himself,” Tony grimaces, leaning into Bucky’s side for support.  

Bucky’s spine stiffens at the thought.  He wraps his arm around Tony, giving him all the comfort he can muster.  

“You want me to play innocent, or do you want me to deck him the first time he tries anything?” Bucky asks.

Tony snorts.  “As amazing as it would be to see, please don’t attack him.  His lawyers would eat you alive.  And then I’d be a widower instead of a divorcee.”

“How so?”

“Babe, you wouldn’t last two weeks in prison.  You’ve got the fluffiest marshmallow insides of any alpha I’ve ever met.”

“...Is this about the cat?” Bucky says playfully, hoping to lighten Tony’s mood a little, “Because it was a baby , and it was rainin’ something fierce, I couldn’t just leave the poor guy!”  

“Yeah, like I said, marshmallow,” Tony says, rubbing his face against Bucky’s chest as he pokes him in the side.  

“Well…  You like it,” Bucky says, rubbing Tony’s back soothingly.  

He can’t see the small, happy smile on Tony’s face when the omega says, “True,” but it’s still there.

<//>

Obadiah Stane is a smarmy jackass who wears too much cologne.  Bucky hates it when girls in his classes, or even sometimes guys, drench themselves in cologne or perfume when then haven’t showered in a little too long.  Stane is immaculately groomed though, so it’s probably that he’s just a jerk and not that he hasn’t showered.

“This first house is on the Upper East Side, I think you two are really going to like it,” Stane says with a fake smile and a clasp of Bucky’s good shoulder.  

“And we have a couple lined up in Soho if you don’t like any of these,” Maria assures them, since Tony had indicated he wanted to live in New York and not stay in Boston forever.  

The first house is a 10 bedroom 12 bath row house whose HOA fees are over five grand a month.

Bucky stands in the living room and scratches his chin.

“What’s up babe?  I know the lighting in here is less than ideal, but that’s a quick fix,” Tony prompts him.

“I’m just tryin’ to think of what we’d do with 10 bedrooms…  We don’t even have 10 friends combined between the two of us…”

“Well, hopefully, it won’t always be just the two of you,” Maria says, giving him a knowing look.  

Tony rolls his eyes.  “Mom, I told you, we’re not having kids until after Bucky finishes his degree,” Tony answers in a put-out tone.  

It is him who would be having the children in question, after all.

“Besides, when it's time for kids we’ll probably be looking for a different place anyway,” he adds.

“Why?” Bucky wonders.  

“White carpet and child rearing don’t exactly make a good mix,” Tony points out.  

“We could just replace the carpet?” Bucky suggests.

Tony grimaces.  “Well, I mean, you could , yes.  But it’s easier to just move.”

“This is just how these kinds of things are done,” Stane says, like he’s lending Bucky some sort of sage advice, “You move to a place already prepared to meet your needs, and keep this one as a rental, or offload it, if the market’s up.”

“Right…” Bucky says, looking back to Tony for guidance.  

The slight is not lost on Obadiah.

“This one is a bit too crowded for me anyway, though.  I’ve never been a fan of row houses,” Tony wrinkles his nose.  

“The next one on the list comes with a manicured rooftop space, maybe that would be more to your liking?...” the realtor suggests, hanging in the background.  She knows that the truly filthy rich won’t be swayed by anything she has to say, so simply being knowledgeable when called upon is a better course of action.

“That could work…” Tony says, staying optimistic.

Bucky holds his arm out for Tony to take, so he can escort him back out.  

They look at five different ridiculously extravagant “houses” that day, with Tony finally picking one based on no real criteria that Bucky can determine, other than that he likes the water feature in the living room.  

Stane looks pleasantly vindicated by Bucky’s deference to Tony in almost everything, as if that proves he’s not enough of an alpha to “control” Tony, even though he couldn’t manage to get a fight started between the two of them.  

Tony brings it up, just in passing, later.  

“If you were trying to show him that you’re alpha enough to stand up to me, you failed miserably,” Tony says, spread out like a starfish over Bucky’s chest while the alpha reads.  

“Well, I don’t know anything about real estate, so it didn’t seem like a good hill to pick dying on…” Bucky says, continuing to rub his foot against Tony’s the entire time.  

“Good point.”

<//>

Sometimes, Bucky dreams of Afghanistan.  He wishes he knew when it was going to happen ahead of time, like, what triggers his subconscious to occasionally spit out blood and sand and death while he’s sleeping…  But he has no such forewarning.

He’s gotten kind of complacent, he’ll admit, over the last year.  His nightmares have been few and far between since he started seeing Tony.  He remembers his early therapists telling him that an omega’s pheromones sometimes help with PTSD, but it isn’t an exact science, so he’d mostly dismissed it.  

Bucky’s spending the night at Tony’s place, his suite at his sorority to be exact, when he gets hit with a nightmare out of the blue.  

The IED goes off and all Bucky can feel is pain .  He watches the rest of his unit get killed one by one, a familiar guilt that will probably never quite leave him.  The pain intensifies as one of his teammates gets a tourniquet on his arm, pulling it tight. The soldier with him, Private Williams, Bucky will never forget, gets it secured just before his head is blown off, the spray of it landing all over Bucky.

That’s the point where he wakes up screaming, with every nerve in what’s left of his arm on fire with pain.  

Then Tony leans over him, mirroring almost the exact same position Private Williams was in before-  Bucky doesn’t think, he just grabs Tony and rolls them over so the other man is sheltered beneath him.

“Get down!” he orders in a raw hiss, his voice desperate and scratchy.  

“Ok,” Tony says, not putting up any resistance, “Ok, we can stay down.  We’ll stay down for as long as you want, ok, babe?”

Bucky just stares at him for a second as the last vestiges of the dream fall away.  

Then the tears come, with Bucky’s face slowly morphing from terrified to horrified.  

“Shit…” Bucky says as he buries his head against Tony’s shoulder, “Shit.”

“It’s ok,” Tony shushes him, running his hands up and down Bucky’s back soothingly, “It was just a dream.”

“No…  That’s the problem.  It’s not,” Bucky tells him, crying more forcefully with each breath.  

“Well...  It’s over now...” Tony tries again, putting out every calming and soothing pheromone he can.  

Bucky just nods as he cries, letting Tony continue to comfort him.  

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Bucky thinks to ask a moment later.  

“No, I’m just fine.  I woke up because you were flailing around…  You kept saying, ‘Don’t help me’, so I wasn’t sure if you were awake or not at first…” Tony tells him, keeping his voice even and calm.  

“Sorry,” Bucky croaks out, still keeping his face hidden, “Jesus, I’m so sorry, Tony…”

“Hey, it’s ok.  It’s alright.  I’m fine.  It’s you I’m worried about…” Tony says, nuzzling the side of Bucky’s head.  

“Uh, actually, my arm really fucking hurts right now,” Bucky confesses with a sniffle, starting to pull himself up onto his knees.  

Tony’s face is filled with concern.  “Tell me what you need,” he says, helping Bucky to get sitting on the bed normally.  

“My pain pills.  They’re in my bag,” Bucky tells him, gingerly touching the skin near the top of his shoulder and working his way down toward the stump, trying to feel out if he’ll be able to massage it or not.  Sometimes touch just makes it worse, but thankfully this isn’t one of those times.  He rubs gently over it while he waits for Tony, brushing the back of his wrist over his eyes in between circuits, trying to get the worst of the tears out of them.  

Jesus, his arm hasn’t hurt this bad in a long time.

“Ok, the dose says a max of two at a time, do you want them both?” Tony asks, kneeling on the bed with the pills and a bottle of water.

Bucky nods.  Tony parses them out for him and opens the bottled water so it’s ready to go.  Bucky gives him a grateful smile, even though it’s pained, after he swallows them down.  “Thank you,” he makes sure to say, handing the water over and going back to rubbing at his shoulder right away.  

“Do you need anything else?  What about some IcyHot or something?” Tony offers.  

“Won’t know until it’s on if it’s going to react badly or not…  I don’t want to risk it when it’s already hurtin’ this much,” Bucky explains, his breathing short and pained.  

“Do…  Do you want me to help massage it?” Tony asks, sounding unsure of his welcome.  

The only other people Bucky has let rub him down when he’s in pain are his Ma and Steve.  

“You wouldn't mind?” Bucky asks, like he has to make sure Tony isn’t forcing himself to do something he doesn’t really want to.  

“No, of course not.  I want to help you not be in pain anymore,” Tony says, looking slightly distraught.  

“Ok.  Just, be gentle.  There’s still like, nerve damage and shit…  Sometimes I can’t touch it at all when it gets like this,” Bucky tells him.  

Tony nods seriously, understanding the depth of the trust Bucky’s displaying in him.  “How about some regular lotion?”

“Sure, that should be ok,” Bucky says, never stopping his own movements, not until Tony is ready to take over.  

Tony warms some lotion in his hands, then gently takes over the circuit up and down that Bucky was making.  “Does it need to be this exact movement?  I don’t want to make it worse,” Tony asks.

“My Ma would do a motion from the side of my neck, down, and over, that would help sometimes,” Bucky answers.  “Yeah, with both hands at once… Fuck, you’ve got it, that’s actually helping a lot,” Bucky says, sighing in between each stroke as the pain starts diminishing.  

“Good, that’s good,” Tony whispers, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on Bucky’s skin, well away from the affected area.  He keeps up the sweeping, easy pressure for the entire half hour that it takes the pills to kick in.  Bucky is practically sagging in relief by that point, his back bent and head hanging forward.  

“Do you think you’ll be able to go back to sleep tonight?” Tony asks.

“What time is it?  With those pills I took, if I go back to sleep, I’ll be out for hours,” he says.  

“It’s only a little after 2 a.m.,” Tony tells him, still rubbing even though his own arms are incredibly tired at this point.  

“Ok, that should be alright then.”

They lay back down, with Tony snuggling up against Bucky’s arm so there’s less danger of him bumping his hurting shoulder while they sleep.  

Bucky sleeps for another eight hours after that, not waking up until 10 a.m. the next morning.  Tony wakes up a couple times before that, but he manages to drouse a little, lulled by the warmth of his resting alpha.  

“I missed my class,” Bucky says with a sigh as soon as he sees what time it is.  

“Oh…  Were you going to try and go to it?” Tony asks, afraid he messed up by letting Bucky sleep.  

“Not really, not when my shoulder's this bad.  I’ll have to stay on the pills for the rest of the day probably, so I’ll be high as a kite,” Bucky says, “I hate that this keeps me from just, getting on with my life, sometimes...”

“Oh, I didn’t think about it that way…  And it’s probably not the fun kind of high either,” Tony sticks his bottom lip out a little.  

“No, it ain’t the fun kind,” Bucky says, eyeing him suspiciously.  

“What?  Like every single high schooler on the face of the planet hasn’t tried pot at least once,” Tony says, sticking his tongue out at Bucky.

“Steve hasn’t.”

“ Steve would literally keel over and die if anything even resembling smoke entered his lungs en masse.  And don’t think I didn’t notice how your immediate rebuttal was his name and not your own,” Tony says, wagging his eyebrows.

“...No comment.”

“Ah hah!”

“Hey, be nice to me, my shoulder hurts,” Bucky says gruffly, but then he sticks his own bottom lip out a little to make sure Tony knows he’s not actually in the same amount of pain as before.  

“Alright, alright, I’ll leave grilling you about your checkered past until you’re feeling better,” Tony concedes.  

“Thanks, babe.”

<//>

“Pepper!” Tony bursts into her suite without knocking, as usual, “I need your help!”

“With what?  If this is another back acne emergency, you’re going to have to wait until at least after three, because Natasha and I are going out for lunch today,” Pepper tells him.  

“What?  No!  I need your help shopping.  Natasha can come too then, it’ll be fine,” Tony assures her.

“What on earth do you need to go shopping for so urgently on a Wednesday afternoon?” she asks.  

“Bucky asked me to go home with him to meet his parents this weekend.  He’s been talking me up to them since we got engaged, but only as a boyfriend, so, we’re going to go over there so he can tell them in person that we’re engaged.  Obviously, I cannot go meet his lower-middle-class Brooklyn family dressed like the rich bitch that I normally am,” Tony explains, tearing at his hair.

Pepper gives him a long, penetrating look before she answers, “So you’re going to go buy a whole new cheaper wardrobe, to try and not impress his family as much?...”  

“Exactly!  Wait, it’s not like that .  I just…  I do want to make a good impression, Pep, and you know for a fact that my current wardrobe screams I don’t care what you think ,” Tony points out.  

“The way you wear it, it does…  Not that I’m ever against shopping, but trying to be something you’re not probably isn’t going to end well,” Pepper points out.  

“It’s not like I’m trying to put up a whole fake front, it’s just not rubbing it in their faces that I wear $700 jeans to weld in,” Tony explains.  

“Tony…  Why do you even care about overwhelming your fake fiance’s parents?”

Tony huffs.  “It’s just the principle of the thing.”

Pepper raises an eyebrow at him.  

“I’m not in love with him.”

“I never said anything about being in love with him,” Pepper says.

“I’ll admit, I had no idea what an amazing guy he was before we got fake engaged, and I’ve never felt like alphas were worth bothering to try for an emotional connection with before meeting him, but I am not in love.  I do not love him, Pepper, jot that down right now,” Tony says, getting aggravated.

“Riiiight…”

Tony decides he doesn’t have to take this, walks back out the door while flipping her off, and goes to Target by himself.  He buys seven generic button up shirts and six pairs of jeans, plus a couple pairs of sneakers, all of which total less than the price of the underwear he has on at the moment.  

When he gets back to his own suite, he dumps all his bags on the floor and flings himself onto his bed dramatically, even though there’s no one else around to see it.  

He’s still face down on the comforter when his phone rings a few minutes later, so he has to roll over to answer Bucky’s call.  

“Hey, babe.”

“Hi, Tony.  I just wanted to check with you to see if it was ok that we head over around four or so on Friday?”

“Why so late?  My last class is at noon, and yours is at one on Fridays…” Tony asks.

“Yeah, but Steve doesn’t get out until three, and I figure it’ll take him a few minutes to get back to the room, take his afternoon meds and everything…” Bucky explains.

“...And why do we have to wait for Steve to get back before we can leave?” Tony asks, not getting it.

“Uh, because it would be silly to not all travel together?...” Bucky says, sounding confused.

“Ok…  Where is Steve going though?” Tony asks, just to be absolutely, abundantly clear…

“With us, Tony…  You know he’s practically my brother, babe, my parents took him in when his mom died, he’s part of the family,” Bucky says.

“I know, I know that.  But I’ve already met him, so he needs to be there why?...”

“Tony…”

“I’m kidding!  You know I just like teasing him.  Ok, four o’clock on Friday, got it.  I’ll be there.  With bells on.”

“Alright, it’s settled then.  I’ll see you tonight, right?” Bucky asks.

“Oh, we are definitely still on for tonight.  I’ll be there, but with no bells on, with no anything on…” Tony smirks into the phone.

“I’m lookin’ forward to it,” Bucky tells him, his voice getting just a tiny bit huskier over the line.  

“Me too.  Alright, get to your class before you’re late,” Tony admonishes him.

“Yes, sir.  Bye, babe.”

“Bye, Buckaroo.”

After Tony hangs up the phone, he looks at the bags of clothes on his floor disparagingly.  Well, there goes that plan…  Steve really isn’t that bad, but there’s no way he wouldn’t say something about the wardrobe change, ruining the subtle and delicate nuances of all Tony’s hard work.  

“Fuck it,” Tony says, picking up the bags.  He goes and dumps them in the sorority’s lost and found, knowing that if no one “claims” them within a month, they’ll be divided up among the members anyway.  

He’ll have to just wear what he’s always worn and hope for the best.  

<//>

They take the four o’clock bus to Brooklyn.  If Tony had known this was the plan he would have just had Happy drive them all.  He makes Bucky and Steve each sit on one side of him so that he doesn’t have to have strangers leaning against him.

“It was only a couple hours,” Steve rolls his eyes as Tony stretches dramatically once they get off.  

“Uh, try five , Steve.  The driver was going the speed limit the entire time, I was watching,” Tony gripes.  

Steve rolls his eyes.  

Bucky makes sure they all have their bags and no one forgot anything on the bus while they wait for his dad to come pick them up.  If it wasn’t February, they could just walk, Bucky tells him, it’s that close.

“I hope your dad hurries, I’m freezing my fucking balls off,” Tony says, pouting and wrapping his jacket around himself tighter.

“Language, Tony,” Steve says.

“Are you shitting me right now?” Tony turns to him first, then to Bucky, after seeing the seriousness on Steve’s face.  “Oh, no.  No, no, no.  No one ever told me I was going to have to watch my language ,” Tony says, looking horrified.  “I can’t do this, Bucky, I’m going to fuck it up within the first five minutes.  See?  I just said fuck right then, and I didn’t even realize it!” he says, starting to freak out.  

“You’ll do just fine, Tony.  And it ain’t that you can’t swear at all , just…  Try to keep it to a minimum?...” Bucky winces.  

“They’re going to hate me,” Tony cries, covering his face with his hands.  

“They ain’t going to hate you just for swearin’, Tony,” Bucky says reassuringly, rubbing Tony’s arm comfortingly.  

“Yeah, there’s plenty of other, much more legitimate reasons for them to hate you,” Steve says.  It’s said playfully, but Tony is not in the mood right now.  

“Uuugh, come here, you little squirt!” Tony says, turning on Steve, “I saw some yellow snow outside with your name on it!”

Steve takes evasive maneuvers, which he would never do in a real fight, dodging behind a trash can and making Tony chase him around it a few times.  That only serves to piss Tony off even more, and he starts throwing the wrappers in his pockets from their snacks on the train at Steve.

“Littering!  He’s littering!” Steve yells.  

Tony makes to tackle him, but Bucky’s arm wraps around his waist just before he leaves the ground, pulling him backwards.

“Jesus, knock it off you two, you’re causin’ a scene,” Bucky grumbles, but he’s kind of half laughing at the same time that Tony’s feet kick in the air ineffectually.  

Then a voice calls out from a few feet away, “I’ve already called the cops, so break it up!”  

“Yeah?  Fuck off and mind your own business, old man!” Tony spits out, wriggling in Bucky’s hold.  

Bucky drops him in shock.

“Oh shit,” Steve says, his eyes as wide as saucers.  Then he starts busting up laughing.  Deep, uncontrollable laughter that he can barely breathe around.  

“So this is funny to you?” Tony says, righting himself and advancing on Steve again.  It’s difficult to call up the annoyance he was feeling to attack him when the guy is laughing so hard though.  So Tony settles for looming over him menacingly as Steve is doubled over.

“It’s…  Oh god…” Steve says between peals of laughter.  

Tony frowns and looks back at Bucky to see if he knows what’s going on.  

Bucky has his hand over his eyes, but then he cracks an opening between his fingers to look at the old guy who approached them.

“You- …  You didn’t even last- …  Five seconds!” Steve wheezes.  

Oh shit.

Tony colors instantly, realizing he just told Bucky’s dad to fuck off, and kicks Steve in the shins.  

“Ow!  Hey!” Steve says, still laughing.  

“Knock it off, or you’re going to give yourself an asthma attack, dumbass,” Tony frowns, studiously avoiding looking at Bucky’s dad.  The last thing he needs is to have told Bucky’s dad to fuck off and to have killed Bucky’s best friend from laughter induced asthma all in one evening.  Christ, this moment just couldn’t get any more awkward…

Tony kicks Steve in the shins again, just for good measure.  

“Hey!  Control your fiance, Bucky!” Steve grouses, a well worn complaint whenever Tony is roughhousing him.

Bucky gives Steve a look like he’s going to take him out behind the bus station and give him a few good kicks himself.  

“Uh…  Shit.  Sorry, Buck...”

“Hah!” Tony says, whirling back on Steve and pointing a finger at him, “I’m not the only fuck up here!”

“You must be Tony, then?” Mr. Barnes asks, receiving a nod from everyone, “Why don’t we move this to the car,” he says calmly.  

“You didn’t really call the cops, did you?” Tony ask as they’re gathering their things up.  

“What?  Oh, no, I didn’t.  I just always say that to help break things up quicker.”

“Broken up a lot of these then, have you?” Tony says conversationally.

“Too many to count.  Though none involving either of the boy’s fiances before,” Mr. Barnes says, giving Bucky an expectant look.  

“Right,” Bucky clears his throat, “Uh, dad, this is Tony, my fiance, though I didn’t meant to tell you like this …  Tony, this is my dad, Rutherford Barnes.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir, officially,” Tony says, almost starting to ramble, but stopping himself.  He holds his hand out to shake as they exchange pleasantries, and it’s all very pleasantly pleasant, with an underlying current of ‘fuck my life’ to the proceedings.  

“Well, we’d best be getting home, your Ma and the girls are dyin' to meet your ‘boyfriend’.  And I’m sure they’re glad you boys are home for the weekend too,” Mr. Barnes jokes with his son, “And Tony, don’t worry about when I first walked up.  I always knew anyone Bucky fell for would have to have a lot of... spirit .”

“That’s very kind of you.  Thank you,” Tony says like a reasonable adult.  See?  He can do this.  “Your first clue was probably when he picked a best friend full of piss and vinegar.”

Goddamnit, he can’t do this.  

Mr. Barnes just laughs though, giving Steve a good natured slap on the back that he turns into a half hug.  “Well, he’s obviously got your number Steven.  I guess you’re going to have to learn to get along with this one though, aren’t you?”

“This one?” Tony says, tilting his head inquisitively.  

“Uh…” Mr. Barnes looks to Bucky with apology in his eyes, blushing a bit himself.  

“Oh my god,” Bucky grouses, “How about nobody does anymore talkin’ for the rest of the ride home?”  

“No, no, I want to hear more about this ‘other one’...” Tony says, adding a little extra drama into his voice, just for show.  

“He left me after I lost my arm,” Bucky says point blank, effectively killing the teasing atmosphere Tony was trying for.  

There’s a beat of silence before Tony asks, “What was his name?”  

“No, Tony,” Bucky says, already knowing exactly what Tony will do with the information.

“Brock Rumlow,” Steve says at almost the same time, scowling something fierce.  

Tony locks eyes with him and nods.  

Steve nods back.

“Can we please just go home now?...” Bucky sighs, shaking his head and putting his hand on his hip.  He’s pretty sure Tony and Steve won’t actually team up to destroy Brock’s life…  Pretty sure, anyway…

“Right, I’m parked just outside,” Mr. Barnes says sheepishly, leading the way.  

It’s a quiet car ride.

It’s also only like five blocks, so thankfully it’s short as well.  

Mr. Barnes shouts a completely unnecessary, “We’re back!” as soon as they get in the front door.  Bucky’s mother and his three younger sisters are crowded around the entrance already, waiting to pounce.  Even before introductions are made, Tony is put in the queue for the round of hugs, sandwiched in between Bucky and Steve.

“You must be Tony!” Mrs. Barnes says as she hugs him.

“Yep, the one and only,” Tony agrees.

Mr. Barnes clears his throat.  

“Tony, this is my Ma, Alice.  Ma, this is Tony...my fiance,” Bucky says, heeding his dad’s reminder .  

“Your... fiance ?  Oh my goodness…  Bucky!  Fiance?  Really?  I just knew there had to be some reason you were coming to visit all of a sudden in February when you couldn’t even make it back for the holidays,” Mrs. Barnes says, starting to tear up a little.

“In Bucky’s defense, my family had that trip to Europe planned for a long time,” Tony pipes up, knowing the lack of going home for the holidays last year had been a bit of a sore spot.  

Mrs. Barnes waves him off though, as if it’s unimportant now.  “You’re really getting married?” she asks again, as if she just can’t quite believe the happy news.  

“We sure are.  June 10th, actually.  So I’ll need a list from you, by the end of the weekend, of everyone you want to invite,” Tony smiles as Bucky wraps his arm around his waist. 

“June 10th?  Of this year?” Mrs. Barnes says, to clarify, glancing at Tony up and down.  

Tony gets it, he really does, but that isn’t what’s going on here.  

“Yeah, when I first told my mom, she thought I must be pregnant, but I’m not, we just didn’t want to wait,” Tony says smoothly.  “I was kind of hoping Bucky’s sisters wouldn’t mind being my bridesmaids, since I only have like one friend who’s an omega, and she’s going to be the maid of honor,” he flows right along, diverting the attention back away from his midsection.  He doesn’t have anything to hide, but he’d rather not dwell on it either.  

“Oh, can we mom?” the girls all exclaim at once.  

“My family’s paying for everything, of course,” Tony jumps in, before the potential cost of three bridesmaids’ dresses can become a problem.  “They’re very traditional, in that respect.  If you have any out of town family members, we’ll fly them in too.  Mom’s already reserved the Waldorf Astoria for the rehearsal dinner.  And the reception.  And like half their rooms to put potential guests up in too-” 

Bucky leans in and gives him the kiss to his temple that lets Tony know he’s rambling a little too much.  

“But we can talk details later.  We haven’t even finished introductions yet, have we?” Tony tries to remember to breathe like a normal human being.  

“I’m Rebecca.  You can call me Becky,” Bucky’s oldest younger sister says, holding out her hand to shake.  She’s a couple years younger than Bucky, so right around Tony’s own age.

“Charmed,” Tony says, shaking her hand firmly, “I’m Tony.”

“I’m Hannah, you can call me Hannah,” Bucky’s middle sister says with a grin.  She has the air about her of someone so close to graduating high school that they can almost taste it.  

“I’m Tony, nice to meet you,” he smiles.

“I’m Rosie.  Are you sure you’re not pregnant?  You’re kind of glowing…”

“...I’m not pregnant, I just moisturize ,” Tony says with a wink.  

Steve rolls his eyes.  “He always looks like that.  I’ve had to listen to nothing but Bucky waxin’ poetic about it for the last year.  Hey!” Steve is watching for a reaction from Bucky of course, but he still makes a fuss about the flick to the ear he receives.  

“Shut your trap, punk.”

“Why don’t you make me, jerk?”

“Boys…” Mrs. Barnes says with a sigh as the minor scuffling starts.  

“No, no, let them fight over me, it’s cute,” Tony says, watching the scene with a mockery of rapt attention.

Steve stops right away, scowling at him.  “We are not fighting over you .”

“Pot-a-toe, pot-ah-toe,” Tony says in a singsong voice.

Steve scrunches up his face further, picks up his bag, and heads up the stairs.  

“You all should get settled in, it’s late, we can talk about wedding plans tomorrow.  Unless any of you boys were hungry?  I could heat up some leftovers?” Mrs. Barnes offers.

“Nah, we had about a million snacks on the bus and ruined our dinner,” Bucky says, giving his Ma a grin.  She gives him an indulgent smile and another hug.

“I’m sure you remember where your old room is.  We laid out the mattress from the futon on the floor of the girls room so you two could have your beds back.  Tony, I hope you don’t mind that Rosie’s bed is only a twin…” Mrs. Barnes says as they all start gathering their things to head upstairs.  

“Of course not, it’s no problem.  Thanks for making room for me,” Tony says easily, having been warned already about having to sleep with the other omegas.

“We’ll show you our room!” Hannah says excitedly, grabbing Tony’s hand and starting to drag him up the stairs.  

Tony shoots Bucky an amused smile as they go by.  Bucky smiles back.

“Guess I’ll come tell you goodnight later,” Tony chuckles.

“Sure thing, babe.”

The girls show him where to set his things and which bed of the two in the room is for him.  It’s a cheap, metal tubing set up that’s been painted white and has little gold bulb things capping off the ends.  The paint is flaking off and some industrious teenagers have covered the rungs with stickers where they could.

“Sweet, I love the Powerpuff Girls,” Tony says, laying over the bedspread and resting his hands behind his head.  

“Really?  Which one is your favorite?” Becky asks him, like he might be lying to impress them or something.

“Oh, that’s Buttercup, easily.  I’ve always felt a special, almost spiritual connection to her, even though I do have to admit that green really isn’t my color,” Tony tells her.  

Bucky’s sisters giggle.  

Through the shared wall of the bedrooms, Bucky and Steve can hear the giggling and laughter keep coming and going.  

“What do you think they’re talking about over there?” Steve asks, giving Bucky a pointed look.

“Don’t know.  But I’m glad to hear them getting along…”

Neither of them need to point out how the girls had never really liked Brock, from the very beginning when Bucky first started dating him in high school.  A good twenty minutes pass with off and on laughter sounding through the walls, before there’s a knock at the alpha’s door.  It turns out to be Tony along with Bucky’s Ma.

“I was making the rounds for lights out, but Tony said you have a routine he helps you with, to sleep better?” his Ma says, “I was wondering what you’ve found that helps, if you don’t mind showing me?” she asks.  

“Sure.  You want to grab the lotion from my bag, babe?” Bucky asks Tony while he takes his shirt off.

Mrs. Barnes does a commendable job of hiding her surprise at how easily her son removed his shirt without being prompted.  

Tony digs around until he finds the lavender scented lotion in its own separate baggie, aside from Bucky’s bathroom kit.  “Yeah, I actually got him this as a joke to start, you know, because if it works on babies, then it should work on alphas,” Tony quips, “But Bucky was like, well, lavender is supposed to be relaxing, maybe we should try it.”

Bucky smiles and sits sideways on his old bed, leaving room for Tony to climb behind him.  Tony squirts a generous dollop of lotion into his hands and starts warming it.

“And as it turns out, every little bit helps, you know?” Tony keeps talking as he starts massaging the lotion into Bucky’s neck and shoulders, even upper back.  “Obviously this doesn’t help with the brain stuff, if his mind decides to spit out a nightmare, a little calming scent isn’t going to stop that…  But there’s definitely a reciprocal element, like, you start to get a stiff neck while you’re sleeping, so your dreams can shift around that, and with what Bucky’s been through, the dreams that brings on just make him tense up more, and makes the pain worse, so it can become a vicious cycle,” Tony elaborates as he digs his thumbs into muscles made extra tense by their long bus ride earlier.  

“And you do this routine every night?” Mrs. Barnes asks knowingly.  

Bucky colors just a little, knowing exactly what that implies to his mom.  But it’s true, because he and Tony haven’t spent a night apart from each other for months now...but it’s still his mom.  

“Of course.  Bucky deserves the chance to have a good night’s sleep every night,” Tony answers easily, not stopping his massage.  He leans forward a bit and places a kiss on the back of Bucky’s head.  

Steve is on his phone and doesn’t add anything to the conversation, which also tells Mrs. Barnes that this really is a very commonplace activity between them.  It takes everything in her not to start crying out of joy, that her son has found someone so loving and supporting.

“That’s wonderful.  I’m happy for you, Bucky,” she says instead.  

“Thanks, Ma.”

After Tony finishes the massage, he moves out of the way so Bucky can lay down.  The alpha’s eyes are already drooping in relaxation.  “Ok, time for all good little alphas to go to sleep,” Tony says, “And Steve too.”

A rolled up sock flies at Tony’s head, but he swats it away almost without looking.  Steve never looks away from his phone or says anything either.

“Hey, don’t forget the best part,” Bucky says sleepily.

Tony grins, leaning down to give him a kiss.  Bucky sneaks his arm around Tony’s waist, keeping him leaning down over him for an extra minute while he just breathes in his scent.  

“You want my shirt, babe?” Tony offers.

“...Maybe?”

Tony gives him another quick kiss, then peels his t-shirt off, draping it over Bucky’s chest before he pulls the covers up.  Then he picks up Bucky’s discarded shirt and puts it on himself.  “Goodnight, babe,” he says as he finally moves away.

Bucky’s eyes drift downward the rest of the way as he says, “Goodnight, babe.”

“Night, Steve,” Tony says as he makes his way toward the door.

“Night, Tony.”

Mrs. Barnes says goodnight as well, following Tony out the door.  In the hall, she gives Tony another hug before he goes back to the other bedroom.  “I know it can be difficult falling asleep in a new place, but don’t let the girls keep you up too late, alright?” she tells him.  

“Of course,” Tony agrees, though he isn’t really sure how much control he’ll have over that…  

Bucky’s Ma pulls back and just looks at him for a moment, which makes Tony kind of twitchy, but she must like what she sees, because she smiles genuinely at him.  

“You know, this all makes a lot more sense now,” Tony’s mouth starts going before he can stop it, “You’re an omega, his dad’s a beta, all the girls are omegas too…  Bucky didn’t have any toxic alpha influences growing up.”

“Aside from Steven,” Bucky’s Ma jokes.

“Eh, he’s not that bad.  Steve’s a fucking angel compared to most of the alphas I’ve known.  Uh, … Freaking , angel?  Sorry,” Tony winces.  

Bucky’s Ma just chuckles though, and tells him to sleep tight.  

Tony feels like he just barely scraped by that one with the skin of his teeth…  And he still has two more days to go…  No pressure.

In the girl's room, the lights are out, but the other omegas are very clearly nowhere near asleep.  

“Isn’t that Bucky’s shirt?” Rosie stage whispers at him in the dark.  

“Uh, yep.”

“Why are you wearing it?  What happened to yours?” she asks, the others listening with rapt attention.  

“Well, he has mine.  The, uh, scent exchange , helps us both sleep better…” Tony tells her.  

Simultaneously, all three girls make an “aww” sound.  Tony can’t help it, it’s so cute that he ends up chuckling a little.  Which makes all the girls start to giggle too.

“So, mom told us we weren’t allowed to show you any baby pictures of Bucky without them, but...  Do you want to see his freshman yearbook?” Becky offers, mischief in her eyes even in the dark.

Tony barely even has to consider it before he says, “Yes, please.”

When Steve hears the third round of badly suppressed laughter coming through the wall, he sighs and turns over to see if it’s keeping Bucky awake too.  Bucky’s laying there with his eyes closed, but the smile on his face only gets bigger whenever the sound picks up next door.

“Just leave it, Stevie.”

“Fine.  But I’m blaming them for the bags under my eyes in the morning.”

“It’s 10pm on a Friday night, Stevie, if any of us manage to fall asleep in the next 2 hours, it’ll be a miracle…” Bucky retorts.  

“Point.”

It’s quiet for a moment, then Steve speaks again.  

“You think that deck of cards is still on the bookcase?”

“...Probably.”

The next morning, Bucky pulls on a shirt as he stumbles out of bed and heads for the bathroom.  He and Steve stayed up past midnight playing poker, but he’s certainly survived on less sleep than this before.  The girls and Tony are all up already, and Tony is doing each of their makeup for them in the single mirror that the bathroom has.

“Hey, can I use the bathroom real quick?” he asks, knocking on the door frame.

“Uh, hold up right there, mister, you cannot come in here, or you’ll infect it with your alpha cooties, this is an omegas only zone.  No knotheads allowed.  Also, you’re going to stretch out my shirt, what the fuck,” Tony says when he realizes Bucky decided to wear his as some point.  

“Oh, oops…  I just pulled it on when I was gettin’ out of bed…  Also, this is the only bathroom, so you’re going to have to deal with the cooties at some point,” Bucky tells him.  

“Ugh, fine, but you go back and change right away after you’re done,” Tony wags a finger at him as the girls file out real quick, “And don’t you touch any of our stuff,” he says, spreading his hands out over the accumulated makeup.  

“Sure thing,” Bucky says, holding his hand up in acquiescence as he squeezes past Tony in the doorway.  He leans down to give him a peck of a kiss as they pass each other, since he hasn’t brushed his teeth yet.  And since he may not get another chance for hours, he goes ahead and brushes them while he’s in there too.  The counter is covered with various products, which Bucky can’t help but look at while he’s brushing.

“Thanks for letting me in there real quick,” he says as he exits the bathroom, “What is ‘contour ’ anyway?” he asks, holding up the bottle.  

“I told you not to touch our stuff,” Tony groans, face-palming.

“If the alphas find out we can shape shift, they’re going to tell the church!” Rosie screeches, pointing at Bucky.

Bucky raises his eyebrows and quickly puts the bottle back on the counter, then backs away from the bathroom slowly.  

“It’s too late, you know too much now,” Tony says, shaking his head.  “Go on, finish up girls, I’ll take care of this,” Tony says, cracking his knuckles.  The girls all laugh as they head back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind themselves.  Tony gives Bucky a wink as he backs him up against the wall.  “Any last words?” he asks, going up on his tiptoes so that their mouths are only an inch apart.  

“Eh, I had a good run…” Bucky grins, leaning in the last inch to seal their lips together.  They lose track of time a bit while they’re making out, finally getting interrupted by Bucky’s dad coming up the stairs to tell everyone that breakfast is almost ready.  

“We’ll be right down,” he assures his dad, “Let me just change my shirt real quick.”

Tony goes to finish getting dressed too.  The girls pop in once their makeup is done as well, and they all head down together.  Tony obviously doesn’t have any siblings, but if it’s anything like this, well, it might not have been so bad…  

As soon as he enters the kitchen, Tony scopes out the scene, looking for Bucky.  He’s already sitting near the corner of the table.  They both smile as soon as they see each other.  Tony makes a b-line for him while everyone tells each other good morning.  Bucky angles himself away from the table in a near automatic movement these days, letting Tony plop down happily into his lap.  Bucky wraps his arm around Tony’s waist and just holds him for a moment.  With not getting to sleep next to each other, he feels almost deprived of Tony’s presence.

Neither of them notice the slightly surprised looks being exchanged around the table.  

The quiet makes Steve turn around from the stove to see what’s going on.  He rolls his eyes though and goes back to flipping pancakes.  “Try to keep it PG-13 at the breakfast table, guys,” he says while his back is turned to them.  

“Yeah, yeah...  Who put you in charge of the kitchen…” Tony grumbles.

“Uh, I’m the one actually helping with breakfast,” Steve fires back.

“Hey, you know that me and food preparation are a bad combination, Steve.  Do you really want everyone to spend the whole weekend with food poisoning?  I don’t think so,” Tony replies.

“There’s nothing in pancakes that would give anyone food poisoning,” Steve argues.  

“But still.  You know the only thing I can make reliably are margaritas.  And they are not exactly a breakfast food.  At least not in this weather,” Tony adds.  Bucky snickers and buries his face against Tony’s shoulder.

“You made a sandwich one time,” Steve brings up, grinning.  

“Yeah, and no one would eat it.  Not even Clint, and Clint eats pizza off the floor,” Tony reminds him.

“That’s because you put so much horseradish on it that it was making my eyes water just to look at it,” Steve tells him.

“It’s got the word radish in it!  Radishes are vegetables!  Most people would not think it’s an ‘out there’ assumption that vegetables go on a sandwich!” Tony defends himself, grinning ear to ear all the while, because Bucky is laughing outright as he continues to snuggle against him.  

“That really was a horrible sandwich though, babe…”

“See!  Bucky agrees with me!” Tony says, barely able to hold back from laughing himself.

“Oh, I’m not arguing that,” Steve says, waving the spatula at him, “That sandwich was a crime against humanity.  My point was- … Ok, nevermind.  Don’t touch anything in this kitchen,” Steve concedes.

“Exactly!” Tony holds a hand out toward him, as if accepting his concession, “Thank you.  You need an artificial intelligence created, I’m your man, but making pancakes?  Not so much.”  

Everyone chuckles along with the banter, even if they find some of the things Tony says a little odd...  

Once the pancakes are ready, Steve sets the stack of them on the table next to the eggs and bacon Bucky’s mom made.  She gives him a kiss on the forehead after he’s sat down.

“Ooo, are those blueberry?” Tony asks, perking up.

“Bucky said they were your favorite,” Mrs. Barnes tells him with a nod.  

“Oh, wow, thank you,” Tony says, preening a little that they would do something like that for him.  “And thank you too, Steve, for making them,” he makes sure to add.

“You’re welcome,” Steve says cordially.  

Tony makes him and Bucky a plate, cutting off the first bite and offering it to his alpha.  Bucky accepts it happily, not minding at all to be fed, as long as it means he gets to keep his arm around Tony the entire time.  

When Tony takes a bite himself, he moans in approval.  “Oh my god, Steve, these are amazing,” he says, barely taking the time to swallow before he starts talking, “If that whole ‘art degree’ thing doesn’t work out for you, I will totally hire you to come be our personal chef,” he continues, pointing his fork at him.  

“Does it include room and board?”

“Of course,” Tony frowns, like he’s insulted that Steve would think he wouldn’t provide for his every need.  

“...I may take you up on that,” Steve sighs, shaking his head a little.  

“Is everything alright, Steven?” Mr. Barnes asks.

“Oh, no, things are fine right now,” Steve explains, “It’s just, everyone knows that being an artist doesn’t exactly pay well.”  

“And I keep telling you, you’ll be fine,” Tony interjects, “Pepper really likes your stuff, and all you need is one rich person to decide you’re the right kind of ‘abstract’, and you won’t be able to keep pieces on the shelves.  Because once one snooty elitist has something, all the other snooty elitists want to have it too.  How do you think people like Bang & Olufsen ever got popular?”

“And this ‘Pepper’ is rich and elitist enough to have that kind of influence?” Mr. Barnes asks.  

Tony, Bucky, and Steve all look taken aback.

“What?  Of course not.  Pepper is a delight.  She’s the kind of person that woodland animals wish they could talk to,” Tony says, putting a hand over his heart.  

“I’m sorry, I’m a little lost too…” Mrs. Barnes admits.  “It’s just that you said she liked Steve’s art and then went right into talking about catching the eye of rich people…”

Tony rewinds the conversation a little in his head.  

“Oh, Pepper is one of my best friends.  She’s actually my maid of honor.  I trust her judgement, because I know shit about art, let me tell you.  Just ask Steve if you don’t believe me.”

“He really doesn’t,” Steve confirms, shaking his head.  

“But she likes his stuff, so I figure, it must actually be pretty good.  So we’ll hang one of your older works in the living room, and when some hoity toity omega is over for a dinner party, they’ll inevitably ask me ‘who the artist is’, and I’ll say something insanely pompous, like, ‘Oh, that old thing?  That’s just one of Rogers’ first pressings’ or something like that, then bam!  All of a sudden everyone will want to have one.  We’ll leak that you’re taking a limited number of commissions a few weeks later, and before you know it, you’ll be a millionaire,” Tony assures him.

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose, “You don’t press paintings, Tony.”

“Oh, whatever, you can coach me on the terminology beforehand,” Tony waves him off.  

“And if for some reason Tony’s incredibly well thought out plan fails, then you can come be our live in chef,” Bucky smiles at Steve across the table.  

“Thanks.  You’re a true friend, Buck,” Steve says flatly.  

“I’ve got your back,” Bucky nods solemnly, but the grin on his face kind of ruins the effect.

Steve snorts.  “The only person whose back you’ve got right now is Tony’s.”  

With the omega in question literally sitting in his lap, Bucky’s not in a position to deny that accusation.  He just shrugs and opens his mouth as Tony feeds him another bite of pancake.  

“So,” Tony pipes up, before the conversation can devolve any farther down paths that have the potential to become inappropriate, “Since we’re on the subject of the wedding,” he says, giving Steve the stink eye to dare contradict him, “Let’s talk numbers.  How many seats do you think we’ll need for Bucky’s side of the family?” Tony asks, effectively diverting the topic.

They talk about the wedding for the rest of the meal, thankfully.  

Afterward, Tony sits down with Bucky’s mom and works on entering the contact info into his phone for all their friends and relatives.  

“But we haven’t seen great aunt Ethel in decades…”

“Nonsense, this is a wedding , she’d be insulted not to get an invite, even if she doesn’t actually want to come,” Tony insists.

“That’s got to be pushing a hundred people though…” Mrs. Barnes points out.  

Tony blinks at her.  “Well, maybe you can add some work colleagues, esteemed members of the community, etc., to round things out.  I’d suggest inviting the mayor, but he’s already on my mom’s list,” Tony shrugs.  “I wouldn’t worry about it too much, honestly, my mom will fill whatever seats you don’t, no problem.”

“Oh…  Exactly what number of seats are we working with?”

“Mom was originally assuming 250 to 300 for you guys, but if you know for sure you won’t end up using them all, I’ll give her the green light to spill over,” Tony tells her, “Do you guys have any work associates you’d like to invite?”

“Well, Rutherford has a few other teachers he’s friendly with, but I give private piano lessons, so I don’t have any coworkers,” Mrs. Barnes tells him.  

“You play the piano?  My mom does too,” Tony smiles.

“Oh, that’s wonderful.  Did she pass any of it on to you?  I tried teaching my kids, but none of them really took to it,” she sighs, making a ‘what can you do’ gesture. 

“I, uh, play a bit, yeah,” Tony nods.  

“You do?” Bucky asks, “I didn’t know that…”

“Well, your frat house doesn’t have a piano.  And neither does my sorority, so it’s never really come up,” Tony points out.  

“Would you play us somethin’ now?” Bucky asks.  

“Sure.  I’m warning you now though, this is like, the only ‘classically trained omega’ thing I’m good at, so don’t set your expectations too high,” Tony replies, already stretching his fingers out.  

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Bucky responds playfully.  

Tony pinches his side as he passes, following Mrs. Barnes into the living room.  She shows him to a beautifully maintained upright that’s positioned perfectly for the sun to fall on it through the front windows.  

“Ok, any requests?” Tony says as he sits.  

“Beethoven!”

“Rachmaninov!”

“Yuri on Ice!”

Tony raises an eyebrow as Mrs. Barnes shushes her daughters.  

“We don’t have the sheet music for half of those, girls, and you know it.”

Tony launches into the opening sequence of “Yuri on Ice” anyway.

“What?” he says to Bucky over the noise of the girls’ squealing, “Sam loves that show.”  

“I know he does,” Bucky says, watching Tony’s fingers fly over the keys.  

“That’s not a beginner’s piece…” Steve says, suitably awed for once.  

“Well, I’ve been playing piano since I was three, so I hardly count as a beginner,” Tony informs him, never losing a beat.  

The conversation dies out around him as the intricate notes swell and taper, build and fly.  By the end of the song, everyone is just staring at him.  It’s not a feeling Tony is unused to though, so while he has everyone’s attention, he launches into Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 3 in D minor, just because he can.  

“Show off,” Steve says, rolling his eyes.  But he doesn’t leave the room or look away either.  

Ten minutes later, Tony finally tapers off, stopping to shake out his hands a little.  Everyone claps enthusiastically, which is more than Tony’s ever gotten from his tutors, so he blushes just the slightest bit.  

“That was amazing, babe,” Bucky tells him, leaning down and giving him a kiss, “Sometimes I forget just how much of a genius you are, but you always end up doin’ something that reminds me all over again...”  

“Thanks.  I, uh, don’t remember any more of that particular Concerto than that though…” Tony says, rubbing the back of his neck as he stands up.  

“You could be playing at any concert hall in the country, how come we’ve never heard of you?” Becky asks.  

“You’ve never heard of me?” Tony asks quizzically.

“I mean as a pianist, you know what I mean,” she comes back with, hands on her hips.  

“Well, you become a prodigy in too many areas and they stop making a big deal about it,” Tony says, scrubbing a hand through his hair.  

“Yeah, don’t any of you play chess with him either,” Steve snorts.

“Hey!  I was saving that one for later!” Tony says in an accusatory manner, but he’s smiling.  

“But, Steve, you love chess?” Hannah says, frowning at him.  “He was the captain of the chess team in high school,” she tells Tony.  

“Well, Steve likes winning at chess, but he doesn’t like getting creamed in chess quite so much,” Bucky chuckles.  

Steve flips him off.  

“Boys…” Mrs. Barnes sighs.  

“I know what Steve’s chess scores are like, and if you can beat him that often, well, you must be like, an actual genius genius then, right?” Mr. Barnes says, looking contemplatively at Tony.  

“Uh, yeah?…  No, that, that part is real.  I mean, I know sometimes you don’t know what to believe with the media and all that, but the genius thing is certified.  I’ve been a member of the Prometheus Society since I was 17,” Tony explains, flashing them a smile.

“That’s the one that’s way more selective than Mensa,” Bucky points out with a grin, wrapping his arm around Tony’s waist.  Tony turns his face up to him and beams, which makes Bucky need to kiss him, right then and there.

“I’m sorry, Bucky, but, are you trying to tell us that you’re dating the real, actual Tony Stark?” Mrs. Barnes says incredulously.  

“Is there more than one of me?” Tony asks jokingly, because he is not equipped to handle where this conversation just went, not at all.  Jesus, he thought Bucky told them from the beginning who he was…

“God I hope not, the universe would implode ,” Steve says, keeping things light.  He gives Bucky’s parents a raised eyebrow though, like, get with the program.  

“So when I told you I met Tony Stark on campus, and we ended up hitting it off, and started seeing each other, you thought I meant some other, random omega whose name just happened to be the same as the famous one known to attend school there…” Bucky says, looking at his parents with disappointment.  

“You went to high school with a kid named Buzz Aldrin too, Bucky, and we didn’t just assume he was the same one who went to the moon,” Mrs. Barnes says.  

“That’s different, and you know it,” Bucky says, sounding agitated.  His scent turns sour at the same time too, letting Tony know this isn’t just some minor annoyance to him.  

Tony twists around in Bucky’s arm so that he’s in more of a hug than just under his shoulder, wrapping his arms around Bucky’s waist in return.  “Hey, it’s ok, just take a deep breath, babe,” he says soothingly.

“If I still had both arms, they wouldn’t just assume you must not be you,” Bucky says, his voice already thick with emotion.

“Pfft, of course they still would,” Tony snorts, “No one who was born and raised in, and will probably die in, the bad part of Brooklyn, is just going to assume their kid is dating a celebrity, no matter how many limbs they have.  Hell, you could have three arms and they’d still never in a million years expect that,” he points out, swaying slightly from side to side.  

“But that just means they’re thinkin’ badly of you instead, that your mentality is why they’d never think of two people like us being together...and that ain’t ok either,” Bucky says gruffly, looking up to give his parents a scowl.  

Tony nuzzles against his chest.  “Well, actually, if we’re keeping score here, the truth is that I am kind of an asshole…  You remember the first time we had sex, right?’ Tony raises both eyebrows at Bucky, daring him to contradict his assertion.  

“I remember…  You’re not an asshole though, you’re just...very direct,” Bucky bumps their noses together, the tension finally starting to drain out of him.  

“Societal conventions are for losers, that’s my motto,” Tony grins at him, bumping noses back.  

Bucky huffs and tucks his face into the crook of Tony’s neck.  

“Tell you what,” Steve says, interrupting and pulling out his phone, “I’m going to have a little family talk with everyone.  You two...just keep doing that,” he says, putting on some nice calming music for them to sway back and forth to.

“Aye, aye, captain ,” Tony says, starting to use his swaying motion to turn Bucky around in little circles, making it into more of a dance.  

They hold each other for two songs while Steve goes off to set things straight.  By the third, still no one has come back into the living room, and when the latest song from Hozier comes on, Bucky starts humming along with it.  Part way through, he starts actually singing, which makes something instinctual just unfurl and bask in the attention within Tony.  He puts his ear against Bucky’s chest, letting the vibration of his alpha’s voice soothe him and sink somewhere deep inside him. 

For Steve, he’s just thankful he doesn’t have to lie at all when he tells the family how ridiculously, stupidly in love Bucky and Tony are.  He also makes sure they know that they better not treat Tony any differently now that they realize who he is.

“I can’t believe you guys didn’t realize he was Tony Stark ,” Rosie says, “I mean, it’s obviously him, he looks exactly like in the magazines.  I thought we were just doin’ one of those, ‘make him feel like he’s a regular person’ kind of things...”

“Well, keep doin' that,” Steve instructs her.

“So, when he was joking about hiring you to be their personal chef…” Mrs. Barnes winces, realizing exactly what it was they had been missing from that conversation.

“Oh, he was joking, but not joking.  That’s just how Tony is.  His parents already bought a house for him and Bucky to live in, and it’s got like 15 bedrooms,” Steve says with a shrug.  

“Right…  They’ve been engaged for a while, haven’t they?  And they just hadn’t told us…” Mr. Barnes asks.

“They…  It’s been a little while, yeah…” Steve says, apologetic.  

“And we probably just validated every reason they had for putting off telling us…”

“No, it wasn’t that,” Steve says right away, “It’s just, well…”  He doesn’t know what more to say though, what he can say without betraying Bucky and Tony’s trust…  It’s not his fault, or their family’s fault, that the two idiots haven’t realized that they’re both really in love with each other and are getting married .  Because they definitely are.  The morons.

Thankfully, just then, the sound of Bucky’s voice singing starts to carry through the house.  Normally that kind of thing would be a wooing gesture, but something in the tone of Bucky’s voice, probably coupled with the lyrics of the song, makes it clear he’s singing to someone who’s already his mate.  

Bucky’s parents just listen for a moment, obviously moved by the emotion in their son’s voice.  Then Mrs. Barnes reaches over and takes her husband’s hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Apparently, we have three sons now,” she tells him, nodding as if making sure he understands that this is just the way things are going to be.  

“I guess we do,” he nods back, giving her a smile.  

The rest of the weekend goes off without a hitch, except for the part where Tony refuses to take the bus back to Boston and has Happy show up to drive them instead.  Even then, things are smoothed over once Happy shows up and turns out to remember Rutherford Barnes from the middleweight boxing circuit in the 80’s.

“My dad got me into boxing a bit in high school, but the army paid better…” Bucky tells Tony while they’re standing around letting the two betas reminisce.  

“Yeah?  Happy’s shown me a move or two over the years…  I try not to get into situations where fists are flying at my head though, not when I can help it anyway…” 

Mrs. Barnes comes over to them while her husband is occupied.  “I just wanted to apologize one more time to you boys,” she says, giving them each a hug.  “Social status doesn’t mean anything when love is on the line, and it’s obvious how happy the two of you make each other, how much you love each other.  I’m extremely happy for the both of you, never doubt that.”

Both Tony and Bucky blush and nod along, wondering if the other of them is able to see their true feelings that easily as well…  

Steve gets his inhaler out and takes a puff of it to keep from screaming.  

<//>

Unfortunately, Tony’s mom eventually finds out they went to visit Bucky’s parents for a whole weekend and insists they come over for dinner again.  

“Because we all know that in-laws are for competition and nothing else,” Tony gripes on the ride over.

“Well, if things get real bad, I could always fall and pretend to break my arm,” Bucky says, making Tony snicker and laugh.

“Oh god, if it comes to that, you’ve got to do it in like the most ridiculous slow-motion fall ever,” Tony tells him, “And then I’ll rush to your side all concerned.”

“And I’ll be totally deadpan and serious when I say I think my arm is broken,” Bucky supplies.

“And I’ll be all reassuring, and tell you I’ll take you to the hospital right away, but really, Happy will just take us home,” Tony grins.

“Perfect.  We can even play ‘nurse’ later, to keep with the spirit of things, if you want,” Bucky suggests.

“You, sir, have got yourself a deal,” Tony leers at him.  

Strangely enough, dinner is actually fairly cordial, maybe because Obadiah Stane makes a surprise appearance at the table and takes over almost the entire conversation with Howard.  Well, his appearance is a surprise to Bucky, anyway.  Tony waves it off and says that he shows up pretty regularly without necessarily having been “invited”.  It’s almost a standing invitation, as far as Howard is concerned.  

“Why don’t you join us for an after dinner whiskey, Bucky,” Obadiah says, clasping his arm around Bucky’s shoulders, “Howard keeps a nicely aged Macallan in his office that I bet you’d enjoy.”

Bucky looks to Tony for help, or maybe a clue as to whether or not he should pretend to fall down, but Maria points a finger at her son and says, “Seating arrangement,” in a tone that brooks no argument.  

Tony’s shoulders slump as he sighs and says, “Ugh, fine .  But you better be planning to bribe me with 30 year old whiskey too.”

Maria rolls her eyes and makes a nodding motion to Anna, their maid, who brings over the planner right away.  

Bucky lets himself be lead away to Howard’s office, against his better judgement.  

The two older alphas start talking about work, and their employees, and Bucky mostly just stays out of it unless they ask him a direct question.  They obviously have somewhere they’re going with all this, maybe they’re just trying to gauge Bucky’s reaction to all the manipulative shit they discuss doing to the people working for them…  

“At least a man is still free to discipline his own household as he sees fit,” Howard huffs, taking another sip of his whiskey.

“To a certain extent,” Obadiah interjects smoothly, but he nods and tips his own glass toward Howard so it’s obvious he’s in agreement with him.

“Not like these fucking, unionized, OSHA loving bastards that I have to deal with all day.  At least when I come home, I know I’ll be obeyed .  Or if not, I can make them…” Howard trails off.

“Corporal punishment being taken out of schools is when it all started going downhill,” Obadiah sighs.  

Bucky stares at his whiskey and counts up the days in his head until the wedding, until Tony will finally be free of these fucking assholes.

“I’m sure you know what I mean, Barnes,” Howard turns his attention on Bucky in a casual way that’s anything but, “Sometimes you just have to take a firm hand to the situation, remind them who’s boss.”

Bucky stares at Howard for too long without answering, feeling sick to his stomach at the implication of what he’s being asked.  But at the same time, a man as powerful as Howard could probably easily put a stop to the wedding entirely, if he decided to...

“Well, I was in the military, so I certainly do understand the, uh, chain of command,” Bucky finally says, hoping that will be enough to get him off his back.  

Obadiah nods along.  “You know, that’s important, understanding where you are in the power structure,” he says, giving Howard a pointed look that makes it obvious the two of them are far above Bucky in it.

“Can I use your restroom?” Bucky says, “This whiskey is a bit more than I’m used to,” he adds, needing to get the fuck out of this office, post haste.  

Howard gives him a look up and down, then finally tips his head and points toward the right, never letting go of his glass the entire time.  “It’s down the hall,” he says dismissively.

They all know Bucky isn’t coming back.  

He bypasses the bathroom entirely and heads right back to the dining room, looking for Tony.  The only person left in it is Anna though, clearing off the table from dinner.

“Did they finish the seatin’ chart already?” he asks from the doorway, making sure to announce his presence.  

“Yes, actually, there were only a few positions left to nail down.  Master Tony went up to his room, afterward,” she tells him.

“Thanks, ma’am,” Bucky tips his head after getting directions from her.  

He practically jogs up the stairs and down the series of hallways to Tony’s bedroom, knocking to make sure he has the right door.  

“Come in,” Tony’s voice answers, so Bucky does.  

He finds Tony sitting on his bed, playing with his phone.  He obviously didn’t have a good time of it either, so Bucky barely sets a foot inside before he hitches his thumb and says, “Hey, let’s blow this joint.”

Tony nods and puts his phone in his pocket.  He’s quiet as they leave the mansion, saying subdued goodbyes to Jarvis and Anna.  Even in the limo, he buckles up and crosses his arms, staring out the window morosely.  

“Hey, is somethin’ wrong, babe?” Bucky asks, seeing how closed off he is.  

“It won’t appease him for long, you know,” Tony says, switching to a fake-casual demeanor, but doing a pretty horrible job of it, for how good of an actor Bucky knows he is.  

“What?”

“The implication of agreement,” Tony says condescendingly, “He’ll keep pushing for outright, explicit agreement , to the point of making you prove it, eventually.  I mean, you might as well just slap me around a little right now and get it over with,” Tony tells him, the nonchalance in his voice at odds with the moisture gathering in his eyes.  

Bucky reels, like he himself has been hit.  

“What?  Tony, you know I would never, ever do somethin’ like that,” he says, “How did you even…”

“Oh please, I have a hidden camera in my dad’s office, Bucky.  Are you kidding me?  How do you think I knew about the trust fund thing to begin with?  I put a camera in there when I was 15, so I could at least have some tiny bit of forewarning when my life was about to go to hell,” Tony says, starting to get angry, “So yeah, I saw your little exchange with him and Obadiah, and how you didn’t feel the need to contradict any of their bullshit.”

“Of course I felt the need to, but maybe I just didn’t want to piss him off badly enough that he would keep us from getting married at all,” Bucky says defensively.  

Tony makes a flippant huff of a noise, glaring at Bucky outright now, “This isn’t the 40’s, Bucky, where an omega couldn’t marry without their parent's permission.  We’ve at least come that far since then.  But thanks for not ‘making waves’ with my abusive father, I guess,” he says sarcastically, struggling to hold his tears back. 

Shit.  All the defensiveness drains out of Bucky instantly.  “Tony?  I’m sorry.  I didn’t… I just didn’t think of it like that…”  he says, feeling like a piece of scum now that Tony’s pointed it out.

“Well, you’re an alpha, you have that luxury,” Tony says, turning to look out the window again.  He’s crying silently, his arms only uncrossing to wipe angrily at his face.

Bucky may be an idiot, but he’s smart enough to understand that trying to touch Tony right now would only upset him further.  So Bucky just sits quietly in his seat, chastised, until they reach the sorority.

“Tony, I really am sorry…” Bucky says again as they’re pulling to a stop.  

Tony nods, but he doesn’t accept his apology or make even the slightest indication of forgiveness.  

“Look, we’re still getting married,” Tony says as he leans forward toward the intercom, “But I need some space,” he presses the button down that lets him speak to the front of limo and says, “Happy will take you home,” while the connection is up, everything coming out as one smooth sentence.  Then he opens the door and lets himself out, closing it too forcefully behind him to be anything but mad.

Bucky jolts a little when the door slams, but he doesn’t move.  After a second, Happy starts driving again.  Bucky tips his head back against the seat and tries not to cry.  Once they stop again, Bucky lets himself out, not waiting for Happy to open the door.  The man still gets out of the vehicle though, catching Bucky’s attention before he can get inside the frat house.  

“Hey, hold up a sec,” Happy says, obviously intending to intervene a bit in the drama, though Bucky doesn’t realize exactly how much until the man grabs two fists full of his shirt and slams him up against the side of the wall.  “Now listen up, you little punk.  I know everything that goes on in that limo, whether he pushes the button or not, you get me?  You will fix this, or I will end you.  Capice?  Don’t you dare give him hope, and then pull this bullshit.  I’ve kicked your dad’s ass, I’ll kick your ass, I’ll invent a time machine if I have to so I can kick your kids’ asses too, don’t even try me,” Happy practically growls at him.  

Bucky nods as he starts to cry, his voice escaping him at the moment.  

Happy releases him abruptly, stopping to straighten his jacket and cuffs as he studies Bucky’s face.

“Fix this,” he orders one more time, pointing at him menacingly before turning and heading back to the limo.  

Bucky just nods some more, finally getting out a weak, “I will,” as the man is leaving.  

“You better,” Happy says, then he gets in the limo and takes off, presumably back to the sorority.  

When Bucky gets back into his room, Steve and Sam are making out on Steve’s bed while some anime plays on Sam’s laptop.  

“Hey, I didn’t think you were- Shit, are you alright, Bucky?” Steve says.

“Yeah, man, you don’t look so good,” Sam echos, for once not giving him crap about having interrupted them.

Bucky goes right to his bed, laying down on it and closing his eyes as he says, “I fucked up.”

In a sorority a few blocks away, Tony collapses sobbing into Pepper’s lap, letting her run her fingers through his hair soothingly as he tells her what happened.  

“I just,” Tony hiccups after getting the story out, “I just hoped that for once in my fucking life someone would stand up for me, you know?  I really thought he would have…”

“Tony…” Pepper pauses, like she isn’t sure if pointing out the obvious will make things worse or not, “Isn’t this supposed to be a ‘pretend’ engagement?...  It… It may not be entirely fair to expect him to put himself out on a line like that when he doesn’t know that you’re in love with him…”

Tony just cries harder.  

<//>

Bucky really hopes that the “space” Tony wanted was mostly just from his physical presence, because there’s no way he can try to make things right without communicating with him at all.  He sends Tony a text the next morning that just says, “I’m sorry,” not wanting to push it, but not wanting to seem like he doesn’t care.

Tony doesn’t respond.

Bucky waits another day before trying again, apologizing more profusely via voicemail.  He still doesn’t get a response, but he doesn’t give up.  He has a feeling that sending Tony flowers would just make things worse, because Tony doesn’t like or care about flowers and it would just come off as a stereotypical gesture…  So on the third day, he has a cheesecake delivered to him instead.

He gets a text message from Tony afterward, saying “Thanks for the cheesecake.”  

Something inside Bucky’s chest loosens in relief at the contact.

<//>

Two weeks later, the alphas of the wedding party all have their first tux fitting.  Bucky knows Tony hasn’t really forgiven him yet, but he’s going to keep trying for as long as it takes.  They’re talking again, mostly about things to do with the wedding, because there’s still a hesitance on Tony’s part in all their conversations.  Bucky can only imagine how deep the wounds of a lifetime under Howard must run, so he knows he hurt Tony really badly, and he doesn’t expect there to just be a magical “enough” amount of time that passes in order for things to go back the way they were.  

Bucky keeps apologizing, whenever the timing feels right, but Tony never does more than nod and say, “Ok.”  

Sometimes it seems like Tony wishes things could go back to the way they were too, like when he teases Bucky about prying Steve and Sam apart long enough to get them to the tux fitting on time.  But it never goes past that.

As it is now, it’ll be easy to see the two of them getting divorced within a couple years, and the thought makes Bucky feel disgusted with himself.  

They do manage to make it to the fitting on time, in fact, they get their right as Rhodey is arriving too.  

“Hey, Jim,” Bucky gives him a nod as he holds the door open for him.

“Hey, Bucky.  Thanks.  You ready for this?...” he asks, tipping his head toward the inside of the building, where Howard and Obadiah are already waiting.  

“Honestly, the thought of bein’ in the same room with that man makes my skin crawl,” Bucky says, smiling all the while just in case they’re watching through the glass.  

“I feel you there,” Rhodey nods as he wheels himself in.  

Bucky’s glad to see that the tone he’s setting is cordial, even friendly.  He wasn’t sure what to expect from one of Tony’s best friends right now…  Steve and Sam follow his example.  It helps that they all kind of knew each other before, from the vets group.

The last person to arrive is Bucky’s dad, who even though he’s on time, still gets a condescending look from Howard.  They go through introductions, then the staff take them to a private room where those not being fitted can wait.  They tackle Bucky first, with him being the groom and all.  Plus he’s got the sleeve issue to be dealt with.  

Bucky asks the beta placing his pins if they offer any discounts for only needing half a shirt, but the man completely misses the joke and just looks up at Bucky like he’s a moron.  

“Sorry, I was just tryin’ to lighten the mood,” Bucky says with an apologetic wince.  

The taylor nods and goes back to work.  

When Bucky gets back out to the group, he discovers that Howard’s still in his fitting, even though he doesn’t have a sleeve issue.  

“What’s the matter, Bucky, first time getting your inseam measured?” Rhodey teases him, seeing his discomfort upon exiting.  

“It was actually, but that’s not the embarrassin’ part,” Bucky sighs, “I was trying to make a joke about getting a discount for only needin’ half a shirt, and the guy didn’t get it at all, and now he thinks I’m an idiot.”

Rhodey busts up laughing though, which does make Bucky feel a little bit better about the situation.  “Oh, man, that sounds exactly like something Tony would say. Only I bet you didn’t pull it off with anywhere near his confidence,” Rhodey says knowingly.

“I sure didn’t,” Bucky agrees.

“Word to the wise,” Rhodey says, as Howard is finally exiting his fitting and Steve and Bucky's dad head in for theirs, “Half the stuff Tony does, he only gets away with because of the presentation .”  

“I’ll try to remember that,” Bucky chuckles.  

Howard rolls his eyes.  He has no idea what they’re talking about, but for some reason he feels the need to interject.  “Hopefully marriage and having to present properly will finally calm the boy down some,” he scoffs, making it clear with his tone that yes, he is implying the 'presenting' in a sexual manner.  Like forcing an omega to submit is commonplace and acceptable.  

It’s dead silent as Howard fixes his tie in one of the many mirrors around the room, though he doesn’t seem to notice.  Obadiah does, but Bucky is already out of his seat before the man can say anything.

“I’m sorry, did you just imply that your son would be better behaved if he was raped a few times?” Bucky says, mad enough to fucking chew glass, “And that as his future spouse, I should be the one to do it?”  

He doesn’t even realize he’s advancing on Howard until the man’s back hits the wall.  Howard raises an eyebrow at him, like he can’t believe Bucky’s audacity.  

“You’re fucking delusional if you think I would ever lay a hand on the man that I love,” Bucky spits out, grabbing a hold of the front of Howard’s shirt to keep him in place, “And if you ever lay another hand on him again, I’ll fucking cut it off.  We’ll see how you deal with livin’ the rest of your life as a cripple,” Bucky seethes, his tone low and menacing as he gets right in Howard’s face.  

If the man is intimidated at all by Bucky’s actions, he does a good job of hiding it.  Howard fixes him with a penetrating stare, then gives him a nod and says, “Huh… It’s about time you grew a pair, Barnes.”

Bucky lets go of him so that he can haul back and punch him, but Obadiah grabs his arm before he can even wind up, as if he knows exactly what’s going through Bucky’s head.

“You’ve made your point,” Obadiah says, calm and evenly, “This is a public place.  Let’s just all, take a deep breath,” he mimics the action, looking back and forth between Bucky and Howard, “And move on.”  

Bucky takes a step back, yanking his arm out of Obadiah’s grasp, and goes to sit back down.  He’s still absolutely fuming, but the reminder of where they are helps him realize that if he actually does punch Howard Stark, the only way that’s going to end is with Bucky in jail.  

When Steve and Bucky’s dad come back out from their fittings, Bucky is still glowering.  Obadiah and Sam go next, and Howard steps outside to take a call rather than have to talk to any of them.  That’s probably for the best.

“You want to know why he said that?” Rhodey offers while it’s just them, “Not the first part, obviously everyone knows he said that because he’s a misogynistic asshole, I meant the second part.”

“Sure, enlighten me,” Bucky says, still trying to calm down.  

“Because with men like Howard, and Obadiah too, everything is about saving face, about public image and opinion.  The truth is, they know most alphas don’t beat their omegas anymore, but they only talk about it in private where they know they can get away with it,” Rhodey emphasizes.  “Half the battle in learning how to deal with Howard is learning to only deal with him in public if you can help it.  He said that to make it look like he’d been goading you on purpose, so that he could play it off to the store owner or employees if they saw anything,” Rhodey informs him.  

Bucky nods, because that actually makes a lot of sense.  

“Did we miss something?” Mr. Barnes asks.

Steve looks concerned too.  And ready to fight.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” Bucky says, “Let’s just try to get through this fittin’ without any bloodshed.”

“That’s the spirit,” Rhodey says, patting him on the back.  

Thankfully, as soon as Obadiah’s fitting is done, he and Howard take off to some meeting.  The rest of them go out to eat and have a much better time without them than they would have with them.  Bucky waits until the end of the day to tell his dad and Steve what happened, and they’re both suitably pissed, in their own ways.  Bucky is glad for their reactions on Tony’s behalf, because that’s the real issue here.  Bucky’s dad says they’re going invite them over to Brooklyn again, to make sure Tony knows how welcome he is in their household.  Steve volunteers to beat Howard up himself and take the fall so that Bucky doesn’t have to go to jail.

“I’m pretty sure that just knowin’ you were going to do it and not saying anything would get me in trouble still,” Bucky says, but he’s smiling.  

“I think that’s only if I actually murder him,” Steve says.

Mr. Barnes just sighs.

<//>

“What gives, Tones?” Rhodey asks him about a week after the tuxedo fitting, “You’re still all mopey and shit…”

“Uh, why wouldn’t I be all mopey and shit, as you so eloquently put it?” Tony asks him, frowning.  

“Well, I thought you would have made up with lover boy by now, after the tux fitting incident…”

“What tux fitting incident?” Tony asks, putting his soldering iron down.  

“He didn’t tell you?  Have you not talked to Bucky at all since then?” Rhodey asks him.

“I have, but he didn’t mention anything about there being an incident ,” Tony informs him.  “Alright, spill , sour patch, what’s going on?”

So Rhodey tells him, as word for word as he can remember, not leaving anything out.  

By the time Rhodey’s done, Tony is sitting there with his mouth hanging open.  He snaps it shut, looking up at the clock hanging on the wall of the lab.

“Just go, Tones, and don’t come back until you’ve told him you love him!” Rhodey yells the last part after him as Tony’s heading for the door.  Tony flips him off affectionately as he goes through it.

Twenty minutes later, Tony bursts into Bucky’s room in a way that used to be comfortingly familiar, and hopefully will be again soon.

Bucky had just been starting to get used to their door not swinging open without warning anymore, so it startles him a little when it does happen again after all these weeks.  He almost starts crying just from the sight of Tony standing in the doorway with his hair wild and lab coat still on.  

“How dare you,” Tony says as he starts advancing toward Bucky on the bed, “How dare you tell my father that you’re in love with me before you’ve even told me .”

Steve is out the door in 3 seconds flat, locking it behind him.

The click makes Tony briefly turn his head toward the sound.  When he looks back at Bucky, he’s lost his fake-accusatory demeanor.  “Ok, I guess we’ve earned that assumption…” he says, referencing Steve thinking that there will be something going on in the room worth locking the door for, now that Tony’s here.  

“I’m sorry?...” Bucky says, not sure which part of all this to address.  

“You better be,” Tony gets right back into it immediately, “And why didn’t you tell me you threatened Howard?  Were you embarrassed about the loving me thing slipping out?” Tony asks, climbing into Bucky’s lap.

“Um, yeah, actually…  You don’t mind?  That I love you?  Like, for real and not pretend?” Bucky asks, even as they’re scenting each other.  

“Of course not, I’ve been in love with you for months, you idiot,” Tony says, kissing him soundly.  “Why would I have been upset in the first place if I didn’t love you?” he asks when they break apart for air.

“Oh…   Oh ,” Bucky says, grinning happily as he surges forward for another kiss.

Tony laughs in his arms as they reconcile and prove Steve right.  

<//>

Two days later it’s Friday, and Bucky finds himself once again stocking up on all Tony’s favorite snacks and drinks for the weekend.  Thursday, Tony had come into their room with a tray of baklava and just stood next to Steve’s bed with it.  It looked like there was going to be a staring match to see who would give in and address the issue first, but then there was a knock on their door and Sam had come in.  

“Hey, Tony, you wanted to talk to me about something?” Sam said.

“Yeah, thanks for coming down, Sam.  I’ll give you this tray of baklava in exchange for keeping Steve occupied this weekend,” Tony offered casually.

“Hey!”

“Man, you don’t have to bribe me to spend time with my boyfriend,” Sam had told him.

“No, no, let him bribe you,” Steve said, giving Sam a wink.  

Sam shook his head, but accepted the baklava.  “Y’all need therapy.”

“Eh, probably,” Tony had admitted, “Hey, do you think they’d give us a group discount?”

Bucky is still thinking about the exchange and how well Tony had pulled off the joke while he’s in line at the store.  Since it’s Friday afternoon, the lines are long with everybody having the same idea to stock up for the weekend.  A conversation going on a couple spots in front of him catches Bucky’s ear, because it has Tony’s name in it.  

“No way, Johnny Storm barely even counts.  Now, if you’d slept with his sister…   She’s a celebrity.  But even then, I’ve got you both beat.  I’ve slept with Tony Stark.  No, seriously!  We fucked just last weekend!” some dude-bro with a blond dye job is saying, bragging to his friends.  

Bucky knows he has no right to it, but it still hurts.  He stays in line, and makes his purchases, and reminds himself that he and Tony were technically nothing more to each other than pretend fiances until two days ago.

Mostly, Bucky clings to the absolute truth in Tony’s eyes when he’d told him he loved him.  Yeah, it stings a little, but Bucky didn’t have a claim on him before, so Tony hasn’t actually done anything wrong …  While he’s heading home, Bucky tries to put himself in Tony’s shoes, and he totally understands wanting to find a little uncomplicated companionship in the wake of all that…  

But it does still sting.  

That’s something Bucky will just have to work on then, because the reality of it is, Tony didn’t owe him shit.  

It helps a little, to get tough with himself.  There is nothing, absolutely nothing that is going to keep him from being happy with Tony now.  Not now that they’ve finally confessed and are actually together for real.

When Bucky gets home, Steve is already gone.  He puts the food away and does a little straightening up while he waits for Tony to get there.  Bucky is more than ready to put everything he heard at the grocery store behind him when the door finally opens.  

It’s less of a “bursting” than usual though, and much more hesitant.  

“Hey,” Tony says, giving him a subdued smile.  He closes the door behind him, but he doesn’t make a b-line for Bucky like usual.  “So, I was talking with Pepper this morning, and, uh, I realized that, I fucked up?” Tony says, looking pale and apologetic.  

Bucky blinks once, taking only half a second to make his decision.

“Sweetheart, come here,” he says, holding his arm out to Tony.  

Tony comes to him right away, starting to cry before he even gets there.  Bucky hugs him tight and shushes him, telling him it’s alright. “Shhh, I’ve made mistakes too, babe, it’s ok.  I love you so much, Tony, so much,” Bucky reassures him, rubbing his back gently.

“I’m so sorry, I ruined everything,” Tony says in between his tears, “All our plans are out the window now, or at least, I made everything so much more difficult…  Shit, I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, you didn’t ruin anything.  We’re still going to get married, I promise, I don’t care if you slept with other people, I know we weren’t even technically together until a couple days ago,” Bucky says.  

Tony stiffens in his arms, his body all of a sudden resisting the slight back and forth motion Bucky was rocking him in.  He leans back from Bucky’s chest so that he can see his face.

“You think I cheated on you?” Tony says incredulously.  

“Uh…” Bucky says intelligently.

Tony keeps looking at him like he’s lost his mind.

“When I was at the store, there were these guys in line in front of me, and one of them was bragging about how he’d slept with you to his friends…”  

“And you just, believed him?  Bucky, you do realize that according to the local gossip , I’m sleeping with the entire student body and half the faculty at once on any given weekend, right?” Tony asks him, starting to look put out.  

“Oh…  Actually, yeah, I have heard those rumors a lot, even when I knew they couldn’t be true…” Bucky realizes, feeling like an absolute fucking moron.  The only shred of hope he’s clinging to in the situation is the fact that Tony is still holding him and hasn’t let go of him yet.

“Exactly.  I haven’t been with anyone else since the first ‘fake’ time we got together, the baby’s yours , asshole,” Tony tells him, frowning, but still holding onto him. 

“Baby?”

“Yes, baby .  I messed up because I got pregnant, fuckface, not because I cheated on you,” Tony tells him, pouting.  

“You’re pregnant ?” Bucky says again, a slow, ridiculous smile spreading over his face.

“Yes.  Me.  Preggers.  With your child.  Hey, I’m trying to be mad at you, here!” Tony says, unable to keep from grinning as Bucky starts scenting the hell out of him. 

“Oh my god, I can smell it,” Bucky says, rubbing against Tony and taking another big whiff.  

“I can’t believe you thought I’d cheated on you...” Tony mumbles, rubbing against Bucky in return.

“I’m an idiot?” Bucky says apologetically, running his nose up and down Tony’s neck.  

“Damn straight, you are,” Tony says, returning the gesture.  

Bucky pulls away just a little, just enough to see Tony’s face as he says, “I know we’ve only officially been together a couple days, Tony, but, marry me?  For real?”

Tony bursts into tears again, but the happy kind this time.  

Down in the common room, no one is expecting Tony and Bucky to come down from his room only twenty minutes after Tony got there.  

“Guys!” Bucky shouts as they practically jog through, “We’re getting married!” he tells them, grinning from ear to ear.  

“Yes, we’re getting married and nothing else ,” Tony laughs, practically giggling as he puts a hand over Bucky’s mouth.  Bucky laughs too, nipping at Tony’s fingers as they tumble out the front door together and into the waiting limo.  

“I thought they were already engaged?” Clint says, scratching his ear with a dart.  

“Man, who knows, they’re probably just drunk or something...”

Tony and Bucky make out for the entire drive to the mansion.  Bucky can’t stop from running his hand over and over Tony’s abdomen, even though it hasn’t begun to swell yet.  When they finally arrive, Happy pulls into the garage instead of dropping them at the front steps. Tony leads Bucky through a side door that has a placard on it labeling it as the “Servant’s Quarters”.

“Jarvis,” Tony stage whispers as he knocks, though there’s no one else around but them and Happy, “Jarvis, Anna, wake up…”  

When the door finally opens, Jarvis is in his pajamas and a robe, with Anna hovering behind him.  “Master Tony, is everything alright?” he asks immediately, seeing them all crowded into the hall.  

“I really need to talk to you, I wanted to tell you guys first before anyone else,” Tony says, squeezing Bucky’s hand as he pulls him inside along with him.  Happy follows too, closing the door and standing at it almost like a guard instead of the "driver" he ostensibly is.

“What’s going on?” Anna asks, concerned, looking from them to Happy and back again.  

“Well,” Tony says, glancing at Bucky and then kind of spreading his arms out in a ta-da motion, “I’m pregnant!” he says, beaming happily.  

Jarvis and Anna’s faces immediately melt, and Anna starts crying.  “Oh, Tony!  Congratulations!” she immediately hugs him, holding him tight.  Jarvis does the same, then they both hug Bucky too.

“Oh, we need tea for this, go and get the kettle on, darling, I’ll fetch some of those biscuits Tony likes,” Anna says, leading them to the couch.  They stay for hours, talking and planning and giving advice, making sure Tony knows what foods and drinks to stay away from, making sure he plans to keep all his doctor’s appointments, etc.  Tony smiles and glows the entire time, holding Bucky’s hand tightly.  It’s nearly midnight by the time they leave.

“Ok, let’s crash at a hotel so Happy can get a few winks, then it’s on to Brooklyn!” Tony says.  No one questions why they don’t just sleep at the mansion.

The next morning, they drive to Brooklyn so they can hand deliver the news to Bucky’s parents too.  Mr. Barnes looks appropriately surprised to see Bucky and Tony on his doorstep.

“Is Ma home too?” Bucky asks, unable to keep from grinning as he asks.  

“Alice,” Mr. Barnes calls, “Can you come to the door, honey?”

As soon as she sees the two of them her face lights up.  “What on earth are you two doing here?”

“Well, we wanted to tell you in person...Tony’s pregnant;” Bucky beams, feeling ready to burst at the seams from happiness.  

“And I have the pictures to prove it!” Tony winks, pulling out the ultrasound the doctor gave him yesterday.  It’s kind of also to prove that he was not pregnant when they met a couple months ago, but nobody brings that aspect up.  There’s a little blob of cells labeled “Stark baby” on it and a tentative due date that will be a good 5 months after they’re married.  Tony’s pretty proud of that, all things considered in his life.

“Oh, Bucky, Tony, we’re so happy for you,” Mrs. Barnes says, pulling them both into a hug.  Mr. Barnes gives them hugs too, asking if it’s ok to tell the girls. Tony says sure, as long as they don’t post about it on social media or anything, since he hasn’t told his own parents yet.  The girls squeal and the congratulations go on for almost an hour.  By the time they leave later that afternoon, Tony is happily exhausted from all the emotions and questions and planning over the last 24 hours. 

“Are you sure we can’t just send your parents an email or something?” Bucky suggests.  

“As much as I would love to be able to get away with that, I don’t think we’ll actually be able to get away with that,” Tony sighs.  

Back at the mansion again, they pop in to Maria’s study, so Tony can say, “Oh, by the way, I just found out I’m 9 weeks pregnant,” as casually as he can muster.  

Maria sets down her pen, eyeing Tony’s waistline calculatingly.  “I’ll set a last minute fitting for you a week before the wedding then, just to be safe.  Thank you for letting me know.”

“You’re welcome,” Tony nods.  

Maria nods and picks up her pen again.  Bucky gently pulls Tony back out the door.  

“You sure you want to do Howard right now too?  We could wait, we could wait as long as you want.  Until after the wedding, until after it’s born, whatever,” Bucky says, lightening the mood a little.  

“No, I just want to get it over with,” Tony says with a sigh.  “And please don’t call our baby an ‘it’ again.”

“Got it.  ‘He or she’ only from here on out.”

They find Howard in the first place they look for him, in his office.  

“Hey, heads up, pops, I’m pregnant, so...just wanted to let you know,” Tony says, his nonchalance well practiced.  

Howard gives a huff at the announcement.  “Your due date isn’t before the wedding, is it?”

That throws Tony off a bit, because he didn’t realize that in addition to being a raging misogynist, Howard also knows virtually nothing about an omega’s reproductive cycle, if he’s asking a question like that…  Tony looks down at his completely flat stomach, then back up at Howard.

“Uh, you do realize that the wedding is like 2 months away, right?  There’s literally no way I could be far enough along right now to give birth before that?” Tony says incredulously.  

Howard waves him off.  “Weren’t you pregnant to start?  Isn’t that the only reason you’re really marrying someone like Bucky?”

Tony is so insulted that he’s actually speechless for a moment, but he does finally manage to find his voice, telling Howard, “You do realize that if I’d been pregnant when we got engaged, that our kid would not only have been born, but be like 3 to 5 months old right now?”

Howard blinks at him.  “Then why decide to get married back then?” he asks, like the possibility of them being in love is incomprehensible to him.  

Before Tony and Howard can really get into it, Bucky wraps his arm around Tony’s waist, gently, and tugs him back toward the door.

“You know what, dad ,” Tony says condescendingly, letting Bucky draw him away, “I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.”

As they walk back down the hall to the front door, with Tony tucked under Bucky’s arm, Bucky bends his head a little and buries his nose in Tony’s hair.  

“Just picture the look on his face when he finds out omegas run in my family.”

<//>

A couple weeks before the wedding, Bucky’s sisters present Tony with a hand crocheted baby blanket.  

He cries at the gesture, because no one has ever made him something like that before.  

Bucky’s Ma is glad to hear that they’ll be moving to New York after they’re married, because she worries about Tony having a proper support network after the baby is born.

<//>  

The wedding itself is only marginally hampered by Tony’s pregnancy, due to all the strangers’ attention on his pregnant mate sending Bucky into a sort of mild rut.  It’s not bad enough to call the event off, these sorts of things just happen sometimes after all, but Bucky can’t stop himself from growling at any alphas who try to get too close to Tony.  

They have to switch out priests last minute, because the one they originally scheduled was an alpha.

“Don’t lie,” Tony says as they’re having their first dance as a married couple at the reception, “You’re totally faking it just to have an excuse to keep Howard away.”

“I ain’t fakin’ it, that’s just a happy side effect,” Bucky says, nipping at his neck.  

Tony chuckles, pinching Bucky’s side in retaliation.  “At least I know for sure that the next time I’m pregnant we won’t have to worry about you going all over protective at our wedding,” Tony teases.  

“Yeah?  You want to have more kids?” Bucky asks.  

“I think so, at least at this point it’s on the table…”

“How many?” Bucky asks, his voice getting gruffer for a second as his alpha instincts preen at the idea.

“I don’t know, I haven’t exactly put a lot of thought into it yet,” Tony says, basking in the way Bucky is holding him close.  

“Well, we should probably stop at three,” Bucky suggests, nuzzling Tony’s cheek.  

“Three, huh?  Why three?” Tony asks, thinking he answered that awful fast for there not to be some reasoning behind it...  

“Because after that, we’ll run out of arms.”

THE END