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Who the hell's Bucky? is what buzzes through his foggy brain as his target calls out to him.
He remembers feeling confusion as he glares at the blond alpha. A painful twinge inside his heart. He doesn't know this man but....
Bucky. He called him Bucky.
Who the hell's Bucky?
×××××××
Everything comes back to him, not all at once--thank fuck. Gradually, memories of the past floats through his mind. Then, he realizes--he knows this man. The man with beautiful eyes. Steve, his Stevie. He gets glimpses:
Of Steve, scrawny and sickly.
Of Steve, stubbornly picking fights with men twice his size.
Of Steve, wrapping his skinny arms around him.
Of Steve, kissing him, breathily calling out his name--Bucky, Bucky, Bucky--
He blinks, once, twice, thrice.
It occurs to him, that the man he was attempting to kill, was his mate.
×××××××
(Because fate has finally, finally decided that Bucky has been through enough, it returns him to Steve's arms. He's broken, missing an arm, littered with physical and mental scars. He's a mere shadow of his former charismatic self--but Steve loved him, loves him still. Thank fuck.)
×××××××
Then, he's no longer Asset.
He's no longer Winter Soldier.
Steve calls him Bucky.
×××××××
Bucky thinks: Tony's an enigma. Tony's a contradiction. Sharp words, as opposed to compassionate actions. Blinding ego, yet quick to apologize. A man with lavish, affluent lifestyle but spends most of his days wearing a faded rockband shirt covered in grease, working on upgrades for his team.
The persona he displays is a man who's absorbed with himself, but the world has witnessed how Tony was ready to die just to spare them from a fucked up tyrant alien.
Steve loves this man. And Bucky?
Bucky starts falling for the man who captured his mate's heart.
×××××××
Tony rarely calls him Bucky, or Buck.
It's often Bucky Bear, Metal Bro, Buckaroo, Man Bun, Sweetcheeks, and other variations of endearing nicknames. But that's alright because Tony's fond of bestowing nicknames to people he loves.
It doesn't really bother Bucky that much, but one day he asks why.
"Buck rhymes with Fuck. Honestly, Steve should have chosen a better nickname, hon." Tony tells him. "Besides, it sounds better when Steve says it."
Bucky snorts and raises a brow. What an eccentric reason.
Tony just stares amusedly at him and asks, "Would you rather I call you Buchanan?"
He makes a face and Tony lets out a short laugh.
"I'd stick to your cute names." Bucky comments as he stretches his arm and puts it around Tony's shoulders. The alpha smirks devilishly and adds, " 'sides, I love how you moan 'babe' when I'm fingering you."
"Want me to moan 'Buchanan' instead?"
Bucky laughs. "As if you can make that sound sexy." Because, Buchanan is a mouthful and not at all sexy. Bless his mom for giving him a unique name, but it isn't the kind of name one screams passionately during orgasms.
Tony wiggles his brows playfully. "Wanna bet, Buchanan?"
×××××××
Because Steve's a little shit, he joins Tony's quest to make Buchanan sound sexy. Condition Bucky's name and associate it with mind-blowing climax.
Post-orgasms and covered with body fluids, Bucky smacks his mates soundly on their arms. They snicker in response. Steve kisses his cheeks and Tony sleepily cuddles closer.
"Love you, Buchanan." Steve says and kisses Bucky once more.
Bucky huffs lightly and feels sleep consuming him. "Love ya too, punk."
Buchanan will never be the same.
×××××××
Steve rarely calls him James.
When he does, it's either whispered like a lover's soft caress or a beginning of a mother's stern lecture.
The night Bucky opens up that he faintly remembers their first kiss, Steve reverently whispered 'James' and embraced him tightly.
"We were in your apartment, you were in the bed, umm, you were sick i guess" Bucky quietly says. He recalls Steve trying to sit up but failing to do so. He recalls reaching out assisting the skinny blond as he lies back down to the bed.
"I had a terrible asthma attack and lucky you were there." Steve supplies. There was a small, warm smile on his face. Something that never changed all these years.
"It was me who leaned first though." Bucky comments. Steve laughs and agrees because it was true. He presses their foreheads together and lets his lips hover.
"James, James Buchanan Barnes." Steve says his name like a lover swearing his devotion. He closes the distance between them and kisses him.
Bucky would never forget how Steve's eyes glistened and how his voice sounded so sweet.
×××××××
The first time Tony called him James happened when the green-eyed monster was roaring and wrecking havoc inside his chest.
Bucky's not a jealous mate--he's pretty much a cool Alpha. He doesn't believe that omegas should not be allowed to interact freely with alphas who weren't their mates--A common mindset in the 40s but something that he and Steve always found absurd.
But looking at Tony smirking playfully at that magic doctor and hearing them engage in a so-friendly-it's-bordering-on-flirty banter, it makes his blood boil.
Maybe it's because the doctor is an unmated Alpha who boasts of several degrees and a doctor attached to his name.
Whatever, Steve was Captain fucking America. Their Alpha is the Captain Fucking America. and Bucky? He was, uh....he was--
--why the fuck is Tony letting letting the doctor touch him?--
Bucky swallows the growl threatening to spill out of his mouth. Tony would find it ridiculous.
"Hey Buck."
Steve comes up beside him and thankfully interrupts his thoughts. Bucky clears his throat before muttering 'hey' back to his alpha and plants a kiss on Steve's cheeks.
Steve hands him a spoon and offers the tub of Ben & Jerry's Stark Raving Hazelnuts.
"The good doctor gave this to us." Steve informs him.
Wait, what? "How kind of him. Also, why the fuck?"
"Apparently, he lost a bet with Tony and this," Steve taps the tub of ice cream with his spoon. "This is the prize."
Oh. Their omega's fond of taking bets so that doesn't sound unusual. What's unusual is Tony taking bets with someone who doesn't live in the Avengers compound. Nevertheless, the flavor is something they all liked so he takes a spoonful.
"Tony's close to this guy huh." Bucky fishes, tries to play it off coolly. He hopes he does sound nonchalant. Steve can be a bit obtuse sometimes. He's especially weak at detecting Bucky's jealousy, the dummy didn't even notice how green-eyed Bucky got whenever Peggy would come near Steve.
Unaware of Bucky's internal turmoil, Steve replies, "Yeah. Dr. Strange's his favorite doctor after Bruce."
Bucky clenches his jaw and steals another glance at their omega. Oh great, Dr. Fuckface and his silver streaked locks are charming the pants off of Tony. Juuust wonderful.
He scoops another mouthful of the ice cream, shoves it in his mouth and winces as he gets a massive brainfreeze.
×××××××
"Having fun, doll?"
Tony flashes a smile. "Hi Bucky bear, more fun now that you're here." He tilts his head up and kisses him. When they separate, Tony licks his lips and smirks.
"Stark Raving Hazelnuts, yum!" Bucky shakes his head fondly and dives back to kiss him once again.
"Stevie said the doctor gave the ice cream to you."
"I won a bet against the wizard. Stephen assumed that his magic cloak only comes near me because of the armor and he was absolutely wrong."
"What cloak?"
"You've seen it. The floating cloak that has a mind of its own?"
Ah. That cloak. "The red one?"
"Yep. The red one. It totally adores me."
Bucky frowns. Jealousy is once again creeping back to his heart. The cloak belongs to Strange, the alpha with a doctorate degree, magic hands, and a fucking infinity stone as his necklace.
The cloak apparently adores Tony and from the looks of things, the feeling's mutual.
"Do you like Strange?" Bucky asks.
Tony gives him a weird look, puzzled at the sudden question. "Uhh, yeah. I mean, he can be an ass sometimes but he's a decent man."
Tony thinks Strange is a decent man. Tony calls the doctor by his first name.
"He's an unmated Alpha." Bucky comments. He struggles to make his voice sound light. "He's rich, smart, has magic."
He's perfect. He'a a decent man who doesn't have a red ledger. An alpha Tony would be proud of.
"James."
Bucky's breath hitches. Did he just--? Oh he did. Be absolutely didn. This was the first time he called him 'James'. His heart is singing.
This was doing miracles to calm the raging green eyed monster.
"James, Buckaroo, cupcake." Bucky melts at the sound of his own name coming from his beautiful omega. Tony wraps his arms gently around Bucky's shoulders. "I don't want the magic doctor. I want you."
Tony nuzzles Bucky's neck and inhales his scent. "I love you and Steve."
"You sure?" Because, fuck. Jealousy's a bitch and it's fucking his head. It's not that he doubts Tony. It's more on disbelief that he gets to be incredibly fortunate, loved by two perfect mates despite his past, the blood on his hands, his fucked up brain.
Tony huffs out a soft laugh and seals their lips together. He presses closer to Bucky. He doesn't answer his question and instead, whispers a question, "Can I trust you with a secret?"
Curious with the diversion, Bucky nods in assurance. Tony looks...unsure, like something's bothering him
"The bet isn't just about the cloak."
Tony presses his lips together before continuing, "I lost in another bet and just as the doctor predicted, in nine months, if I don't fuck up, I'll look like I swallowed a huge ass watermelon."
What? Another bet--Nine months? Fuck up? Watermelon? What is Tony's--
...Oh.
Oh. Sweet holy fuck.