Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bucky Barnes is a charmer. Or, was a charmer. He’s practically written all the tricks in the book. He has done all the techniques and bagged every dame and fella he’d ever wanted. So, when Tony Stark catches his eye once the whole “Civil War” thing is over, Bucky thinks he might be ready to try the whole flirting thing again.

Let it be known that it was much easier said than done. In theory, he should be great at this. What’s one guy vs. the full James Buchanan Barnes charm package? A lot. That guy is a lot. It wasn’t even that Tony was trying to be attractive. He just was. Hotter than hell when he’s all dressed up, verbally bashing reporters and congress people. And he has the nerve to look even better when he hasn’t slept in days, wearing a tank top and jeans, with the most adorable bambi eyes Bucky has ever seen. So yeah, Bucky’s got it bad.

Bucky had panicked, the day he truly realized it wasn’t just a crush anymore. He’d broken things and cursed his dumb heart. This wasn’t the plan. He was supposed to charm, not be charmed! He tried to keep it to himself but in a tower with geniuses, spies and best friends, nothing stays secret for long. The first person to find out was Natalia, or Natasha as she’s called these days. No surprise there. How she found out, though, was kinda embarrassing.

---LINE BREAK---

Bucky was in the gym, hitting a punching bag and minding his own business. Natalia had walked in, greeted him, then started her own routines in the other corner. Then came the problem. Tony walked in, waved at them, and got on a treadmill just across from Bucky.

Now, Bucky was stuck right behind Tony. He tried to think about random things, kittens, grandmas, the next mission, but nothing could be more distracting than Tony Stark’s ass. It also didn’t help that he was wearing a skintight workout suit. Unfortunately, he got so distracted, he’d forgotten all about his training. The super-soldier weighted punching bag came swinging at his, knocking him flat on his back. Rubbing his face to hide his flush, he looked to see if Tony noticed. Luckily, Tony was listening to his terrible rock music through his ear buds and was none the wiser. Maybe Bucky was actually lucky for once.

He’d forgotten about Natalia though, who looked him dead in the eye and raised a single eyebrow. Never mind, not lucky at all. He blushed harder. Natalia jerked her head towards the door, a silent invitation to join her outside. Once the doors to the gym closed behind them, she turned to him.

“Stark? Really? Come on, Yasha!” She said. Maybe if he plays dumb, she’ll ignore him altogether.

“What about him?” He tried. Natalia tilted her head, eyes piercing into him, as if daring him to lie to her again. Oh, he’s definitely screwed now.

“Не ври мне, Яша! Вы любите его, не так ли? Я вижу это в твоих глазах.” She muttered, switching to her native tongue. (Don’t lie to me, Yasha! You love him, don’t you? I can see it in your eyes.)
“Мне жаль! Вы видели этого человека? он красивый, наталья!” He grumbled, also falling into Russian, gesturing wildly back at the gym. Maybe if he makes it seem like it’s purely visual or that it’s just a passing crush, she would let it go. (I’m sorry! Have you seen this man? He’s handsome, Natalia!)

She turned on me, protectiveness shining through her green eyes. “Это все? Это единственная причина, по которой ты его любишь? Я тебя знаю, Яша! Ты лучше этого.” (Is that it? Is that the only reason you love him? I know you, Yasha! You are better than this.)

He grimaced. Natalia had been like a sister to him for many years now. She definitely knew that he wasn’t telling the whole truth. He sighed.

“Нет, это еще не все. Я хочу поцеловать и обнять его. Я хочу быть последним, что он видит перед сном, и первым, что он видит утром. Я хочу быть с ним до конца своей жизни!” Bucky blew out a breath, cheeks heating from having revealed so much. (No, that’s not all. I want to kiss and hug him. I want to be the last thing he sees before bed and the first thing he sees in the morning. I want to be with him for the rest of my life!)

Natalia studied him, face blank. After a moment, she smiled, eyes lighting up with pride, joy and fondness. She chuckled and replied, her accent thick from the language change and emotion in her voice, “ I know, Yasha. I’m happy for you. You deserve some love in your life. But enough with the staring, yeah? Tell him how you feel. He’d be a fool to say no.” With a half hug and another snort of laughter, she turned and walked away, leaving Bucky by the gym doors, wondering what the hell just happened.

---LINE BREAK---

After that day, it was only a matter of time until the others found out. Clint kept giving him and Tony weird looks. When he brought it up, Clint confessed to having been eavesdropping from the vents during his talk with Natalia, his girlfriend. He winked and ran away, yelling something about tapping that or he’d tell Tony himself. Bucky wasn’t too worried about it though. His shooting buddy wouldn’t rat him out like that and, if he did, Natalia would kill him.

---LINE BREAK---

Bruce finding out was a complete accident. Bucky needed a weekly check up for his arm, or “watching a wild Stark in his natural habitat” as he liked to call it. Said genius was hunched over some weird techno-gizmo thing, muttering to himself. Absolutely adorable. Next to him was Bruce, who was tapping away on his own project. Okay, this shouldn’t be too hard. Bucky sat himself on the bench and cleared his throat to catch Tony’s attention. Tony looked up and, wow. He had that bright, excited and almost maniac gleam in his eyes that he always had when he was working on something. Bucky was weak.

“Buckaroo? Hello? Winter Wonder? Are you there?” Apparently, Tony had been talking to him. And he’d completely spaced out. Staring at him. How embarrassing!

“Um, yeah I’m fine.” Smooth, Bucky. Fantastic. Why doesn’t he just become a public speaker while he’s at it?!

Bruce snorted, then went back to his tablet. Right, he was still there. Bucky mentally shook himself off. Focus! After about a half hour of trying not to melt while Tony Freaking Stark worked on his arm, body pressed flush against his, the check up and upgrade session was over.

“Um, thanks Tony. Dunno’ what I’d do without ya’.” Bucky said, perhaps a bit too honest. He tried not to blush because of his Brooklyn accent getting stronger whenever he got embarrassed or awkward.

“No problem, Freezie! Tell me how the new upgrades feel!” Tony exclaimed, oblivious to what his presence was doing to Bucky. He turned and sauntered out of the break, saying about eating something then coming back to work.

“Hate to see you go, love to watch you leave.” Bucky muttered. A loud snort from behind almost scared him out of his skin. He turned to see Bruce doing his best not to laugh and failing miserably. Damn it.

“I’m assuming you heard that?” He said. Bruce nodded, practically wheezing at this point. Great.

“You’re in love with Tony?! God, this is perfect!” Another round of chuckles. “Good luck getting him to notice unless you tell him out right!” Bruce said, wiping away the tears of laughter.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that Tony has tons of people flirting with him every day. Unless you specifically say that you’re really into him, or show it in a really obvious way, he won’t really think about it. I think you got a good chance though.”

Bucky blushed. Bruce smiled, patted him on the shoulder and went back to his work, snickering to himself every couple minutes. That makes 3 people who know. What kind of spy was he?

---LINE BREAK---

Unsurprisingly, Steve was the last person to find out. It was at a movie night and they were all spread out on the couches with their popcorn and beers. Bucky and Steve were sharing a couch and they were watching some random Disney movie. In the middle of the film, Tony made an innuendo and everyone laughed. Tony had turned and winked at Bucky, who had started his best imitation of a dying fish. His face was flaming red and he stiffly turned back to the screen. As oblivious as Steve was, there was no way he missed that. After it was over, Steve volunteered the two of them for clean up once the others left. Uh oh, he definitely knows.

“So, what’s up, Stevie?” He tried.

“Really Buck? You like him.” Steve accused, leaving no room for argument. But, Bucky is nothing if not stubborn.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Steve looked at him with his Baby Blue Puppy Dog Eyes of Doom™ in full force and Bucky knew it was over. “Okay, fine. Maybe a little bit.”

Steve smiled, immensely pleased with himself. “So, what do you like about him? Come on, tell me!”

Let it be known that when it comes to romance, The Star Spangled Man with a Plan is a 12 year old girl at heart. Bucky groaned.

“Well, Tony’s obviously good looking, even a blind man could tell you that. And he’s funny. Really funny. He is nice to others, he cares about people, he’s a genius and everything about him just makes me happy.” Bucky cursed himself. Now he sounded too excited to be just a little into him.

Steve giggled. Captain America just, honest to God, giggled. What is his life coming to?

“ I knew it! You love him! God, Buck, I haven’t seen you like this sense before the war! You seem happy.”

“I think I actually am.” Bucky answered softly.

Steve beamed. “Then go for it pal. I’m with you till the end of the line.”

With that, he turned and strode out of the room, leaving Bucky alone with his thoughts.

---LINE BREAK---

The next day, Fury announced that the Avengers and co. will be attending a red carpet event so they all have to look their best. Natalia and Clint already had some mission clothes saved so they were in the clear. Bruce wasn’t going in case of a Code Green and Thor hasn’t been on Earth in a while. That leaves him, Steve and Tony.

“Alright that leaves me and the Super Soldiers. We’re heading suit shopping tomorrow morning !” Tony said, already tapping away on a Starkphone to book the appointment. Steve turned to look at Bucky, then to Tony, then back to him. Slowly, a shit-eating grin slid onto his face.

“Actually, I think I already have a suit. Bucky, why don’t you go with Tony? So that he doesn’t go alone?” The wheels in Bucky’s head turn until he sees where this is going. Clint choked on his coffee, Bruce smiled mischievously and Natalia smirked. Traitors, the whole lot of ‘em.

“That works for me! What do you say, Bucky Boo?” Tony asked. He opened his mouth to decline but when Bucky looked into his eyes, excited and hopeful, maybe a bit hesitant, he knew what his answer would be before the words even left his mouth.

“Alright, tomorrow morning.” The others didn’t even try to stifle their laughter. Steve winked, as if Bucky didn’t already see what that sneaky bastard was doing. But, looking at Tony’s face, it’s kinda worth it. The hesitation was gone and he was positively beaming.

“We have an appointment at 9 am sharp! I’ll make you look fantastic, Bucky Bear!” He turned and left, still tapping away, probably contacting his tailor. As soon as he’d left the room, all the other Avengers turned to him in unison.

“I’ll just be.. I’m just gonna’ go.” He mumbled, rushing out of the room while feeling all eyes on him.

---LINE BREAK---

The next morning, someone was knocking on his door. Bucky turned to look at his clock. 8:30. Who could be knocking at 8:30 in the morning? Rolling out of the bed, mumbling to himself, Bucky rubbed his eyes and yanked open the door. It was Tony. Tony was looking way too gorgeous to be awake so early on a Saturday.

“Hey, um, hi, sorry did I wake you up?” Tony Freaking Stark stuttered. His eyes kept drifting down, away from Bucky’s eyes. Bucky looked down at himself, realizing that his pajamas consisted only of shorts. Well, that’s just great.

“Nah’ m’fine. Di'ja need somethin’, sweethear’?” His accent was also strongest when he just woke up.

“I, um, sweetheart? Never mind, um, did you always have such a thick accent?” Tony wondered aloud, then blushing. His mouth must have been running faster than his mind.

Bucky smiled, leaning against the wall. Even all dressed up and fancy, Tony was still the same adorable genius who came out of the lab tired and hungry and fell asleep on the first horizontal surface he saw.

“Nah’, jus’ in the mornin’. Again, can I help ya, hun’?” Bucky didn’t even process the pet names flowing off his tongue, his sleep-addled brain supplying them as he spoke.

“Hun’? Wow, tired Bucky is way bolder. Whatever, not the point. Are you ready to go suit shopping? If you don’t want to it’s fine. Totally, no hard feelings! It’s fine you just said yes to make Steve feel better. I get it. I’ll just go, um, you can go back to bed or whatever. Sorry for bothering you!” Tony babbled, already turning to leave at the end of his self-deprecating spiral. Bucky rushed to correct him.

“It’s fine, Tony. I’ll be ready in 10.”

“Ok great, um, yeah. That’s perfect.” Tony was still standing in front of the door.

“I might need to close the door to do that.” The smile still hasn’t come off Bucky’s face. Tony flushed even harder.

“Yes of course! I’ll meet you by the front.” He turned and ran away, leaving Bucky standing, wondering if he’d even woken up or if this was all a dream.

----LINE BREAK----

Dressing as quickly as possible, Bucky made his way to the kitchen. He muttered some hellos to the others who were sitting around the table, eating their breakfasts. He reached over and grabbed a plate of pancakes that were waiting for him. Before he could even take a bite, he looked at his watch. 8:45! The appointment is in 15 minutes; he doesn’t even have time to eat! Grumbling to himself, he put the pancakes back. Steve looked worried.

“What’s wrong, Buck?”

“I’m fine! I just have to go meet Tony to go shopping. Like, right now. Ain’t got time for breakfast.” Bucky answered, watching the concern on Steve’s face morph into amusement.

“Oh, I see. Well, buy something nice and have fun on your date!” The little bastard had the nerve to try to look like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, eyes dancing with mischief.

Bucky blushed. “Not a date, Stevie!”

“Fine, enjoy your not-a-date!” Steve smiled and turned back to the stove, where the next batch of pancakes was coming along. Natalia stood gracefully, having finished her morning coffee.

“Go on, Yasha. You’re going to be late!” Like an old fashioned Russian mother hen, she kissed his cheek and patted his shoulder, ushering him towards the elevator. He stepped in and waited to go down to where Tony was waiting.

--LINE BREAK HERE--

The car ride on the way there was relatively quiet. They stayed in a comfortable silence, each lost in his own thoughts. Bucky had never really spent a long period of time alone with Tony. Even the arm check ups were done with Bruce hanging around in the back. Well, no time for nerves because they were now pulling up at the store, Suit Yourself. Everything looked so expensive, Bucky wondered if he had to pay just to walk through the door. Tony, however, was a billionaire. So, he walked in and started looking at suits that probably cost more money than Bucky’d ever had in his 100-some years of life. A severe looking man with glasses and a mustache appeared from the back.

“Mr. Stark! Welcome back to our store.”

“Ah, George, you guys are my favorites! I don’t trust a suit from anywhere else.” The man was preening at the compliments. “Anyways, I need a suit for myself and Bucky over here. If anyone can do it, it’s you, George.”

George gave Bucky a once-over, humming and muttering under his breath.

“I think I can work with this.”

Tony smiled, “I knew you could!”

Half an hour later, Bucky had tried on so many different things, he could barely tell the difference between the suits. Tony, though, was watching him carefully, discussing with George while Bucky stood in front of a mirror in yet another suit.

“I think this is it! I think this is the one!” Tony exclaimed suddenly, bringing Bucky out of his thoughts. George stroked his mustache like a cliché villain from the movies.

“Yes, this one seems best.”

Bucky let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness that's over. Bucky was one suit away from losing his mind. Tony stood up, stretched and walked over to George.

“Alrighty Georgie, it’s my turn now! I was thinking…” Tony continued to give George his ideas while the other nodded and responded. Bucky, however, was not fully there. Tony would be trying on suits. Tony Freaking Stark would be trying on suits. In front of Bucky. Oh no! Now he had to seem interested and give opinions but not be obvious that he’s so totally in love with him! While he was thinking, Tony had stepped out of the dressing room, clad in a several thousand dollar suit. Bucky tried to keep his jaw off the floor.

“So, what do you think, Bucky Bear?” Tony asked.

“I-it’s nice.” He managed to choke out. Tony looked at the mirror again, spinning around to see all the angles. He shook his head, marching back to his dressing room.

This process happened three more times, Tony coming out in a suit, Bucky mumbling a response and Tony deciding he wanted another one. By now, it was almost 3 pm. Finally, Tony walked out in another suit. Woah. He looked somewhere between heavenly and looking like sin itself. Bucky could feel his face heat just looking at him, practically drooling. Tony cocked an eyebrow, showing that he knew just how good he looked.

“What do you think of this one, babe?” Tony asked, posing in various different angles. Babe? Bucky choked on air, coughing and wheezing. Tony just smiled.

“I, um, it’s, um, wow, I, uh, yeah.” Wow, how eloquent. Bucky didn’t have the energy to form sentences when all his willpower was directed towards controlling his urge to kiss Tony. Tony’s grin widened, thoroughly enjoying the look on his face.

“I think I like this one. George, could you give us a moment, please?” George nodded and walked out of the room. Tony strode closer to the seating area.

“What’s wrong, babe? Suit got your tongue?” Tony teased, eyes however looking almost genuine.

“I think you know the answer to that.” Bucky muttered, cheeks flushing brighter when he realized he said that out loud. Tony had a smug smile.

“No, I don’t think I do. Care to enlighten me?” He asked coyly. Bucky had enough. Feeling a surge of confidence, he stood up and pressed Tony against the wall, leaning right up to his ear.

“You sure you wanna’ know, babe?” He whispered.

Tony made a sound that was most definitely not a whimper. Absolutely not. “And if I do want to know?

Bucky smirked, backing up just a few inches so that Tony could see his face. “Now, why would’ja wanna’ do that, darling?” His Brooklyn accent was slipping back into his words, making him feel like he was almost the same Bucky from the 40’s, the charmer, not the charmed.

Tony blushed. He opened his mouth to retort but closed it when he realized he had nothing to say. Bucky’s confidence grew even more.

“What’s wrong, babe? Something got your tongue?” Tony’s blush deepened. He threw his hands up in exasperation.

“This! This is exactly my problem! You and your stupid good looks, stupid sense of humor and that stupidly beautiful Boy from Brooklyn™ accent! All of it! Why do you have to be so perfect!?!” Tony blew out a breath, probably just realizing that he’d said much more than he’d planned. Bucky was in shock. His mind was still buzzing.

“Me?! I’m so perfect? You’re Tony Freaking Stark! You are literally the definition of perfection! You and your stupid genius brain, your stupidly hot self and your stupidly cute personality!” Bucky’s brain and words were running on autopilot.

It seemed that Bucky’s words started to make sense to Tony. He smiled, kind of shyly.
“So you like me?”

“Yeah, I do. You’re the last person to find out! And you like me?”

“Yeah. Tony Freaking Stark, huh?” Tony asked, gaining back some of his usual charisma.

“No comment.” Bucky laughed. “Did anyone else know that you liked me?”

Tony thought about it for a second. “Um, I told Bruce when he noticed me making more upgrades on your arm than anyone else’s stuff. It was actually a couple days ago and we stopped talking just before you came for your check up.”

His jaw dropped! “That’s why Bruce was laughing!”

“What?”

“That was the day that Bruce found out that I liked you! He was literally dying with laughter!”

Tony snorted. “ I guess we’re both just stupid, huh?”

Bucky nodded. “So stupidly stupid.”

Bucky thought back to Tony’s words. “Wait, you like my accent?”

Tony’s cheeks got pink. “I mean, yeah! Have you heard yourself? The pet names too, God I thought I had an aneurysm this morning!”

Bucky blushed. He’d always been self conscious of his accent in the 21st Century. But Tony really likes it!

“Well, we wouldn’t want that, now would we, doll?” He drawled, letting his accent color his words the way they used to. Tony’s face flushed.

“So, should I buy this suit? I think it got a pretty good response.” Tony waggled his eyebrows dramatically and Bucky chuckled.

“Definitely.” Bucky hesitated. “So, what does this make us? Are you sure you wanna’ be with me? I’m pretty broken, darlin'.”

Tony pretended to think about it for a moment. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. We’re all a little broken. I think I wanna try this. See where it goes.?”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya, babe.”

“Nothing surprises me and I think I can definitely handle you.” Tony teased.

A cocky smile appeared on Bucky’s face, clearly ready to take him up on the challenge. He stepped forward again, grabbing him by the suit lapels and Tony was pressed into the wall once more. Their lips met and Bucky had never been happier. The air felt charged when they separated, Tony gaping at him, shocked, with a blush and sparkling eyes. Bucky winked smugly, his old charming grin on his face.

“Suit yourself, doll.”

Chapter Text

The Avengers’ living room was a sight to behold: scattered pillows and tools, giant TV that wouldn’t be available on the public market for a long, long time, and a pile of heroes, squished together on one of the many couches.

“This was the single most exhausting week of my life,” Bruce groaned, rubbing his forehead tiredly as he set down his book.

Clint nodded, sympathizing with the scientist. “Tell me about it. Who would have thought it would take this much work to get them to get their heads out of their asses?”

Steve shrugged. “To be fair, we don’t know that they’ve worked it out yet.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow, from where she was leaning into Clint’s side. “Aside from an undercover mission, when was the last time you’ve ever gone shopping for formal clothes with a teammate that you not-so-secretly enjoy undressing with your eyes?”

“Aside from mi-, wait, hold on, when have I ever done that?” Steve defended, eyes wide and startled.

Clint rolled his eyes. “Cap, we weren’t born yesterday. You know, for someone who does a lot of bitching and moaning about how Bucky and Tony won’t get their shit together, you spend an awfully long time mooning over a certain Deputy Director. What was that saying about pots and kettles?”

Steve’s face flushed as the other three heroes laughed. “Whatever. This isn’t about me! I’m just saying that I hope things work out for them.”

Bruce gave him a smile. “Yeah, we all do, Steve. But I wouldn’t worry, if I were you. I think they’ll be just fine.”

And, when Bucky and Tony came home a few hours later, hand in hand while carrying bags of new clothing and sporting matching grins, the Avengers knew that all was well that ended well.