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“You goin’ to be on your best behavior tonight, doll?” James practically purrs from where he lays nude and strewn across the bed.
Tony glances over his shoulder and gives him an incredulous look. “I think we both know the answer to that.”
James looks like a Greek god when he’s sprawled out indecently over the sheets like he is, and Tony has a hard time not dropping to his knees at the site. It was a damn shame he had an important Stark Industries investors meeting that he would be late for if he didn’t drag his eyes away from his attractive boyfriend and get dressed.
James chuckles at his response, a true hearty laugh that warms Tony to the bones. “You did promise Rhodey that you would.”
“No, I promised I would try. Plus, I was under duress when he flashed those puppy dog eyes. Those things should be illegal,” Tony grumbles halfheartedly.
Tony examines himself in the mirror and struggles with his tie in his haste to be on time. He feels James’ body press flush against his as he extends his arms around Tony to assist. The feel of James' arousal against his ass has Tony calculating how late he can be without feeling Pepper's wrath. His thoughts are cut off when the moment ends far too soon, as his boyfriend deftly fixes his tie and gives a swat to his behind. "You're goin’ to be late if you don't get movin’."
"I could call in sick, and we could—"
"You're insatiable darlin'," James snickers. "Go. If you're good later, maybe I'll reward you tonight."
"You drive a hard bargain, soldier," Tony teases in response, turning around to face James. "What kind of reward are we talking about?"
He leans in to whisper in Tony’s ear, his foul mouth and promise of a toe-curling evening making Tony’s body shiver in anticipation. One of these days, James’ mouth will be the death of him.
"Jesus,” Tony chokes out, reluctantly pushing himself away out of arm's reach to compose himself. “Fine, you win. I'll be a good boy."
Behaving would be easier said than done though. The rogue Avengers had finally returned a few days ago after being on the run for two years. Naturally, their first order of business was to rile Rhodey’s feathers as soon as they arrived with endless demands like they weren’t international terrorists a week ago. Tony felt bad for his best friend — not enough to want to trade places — but he commiserated with him, nonetheless.
The past two years had been a whirlwind for Tony. He had returned from Siberia friendless and black and blue. While his body had recovered fairly quickly, his pride and mental stability had required a lot longer to heal. He spent months throwing himself into work and attending therapy sessions voluntarily, which had made Pepper and Rhodey thoroughly concerned for him.
Therapy turned out to be an essential way to kill two birds with one stone. Surprisingly, the sessions helped him process the multitude of issues he had buried deep within over the years. With all the soul-cleansing he had done and the amount of time he saved from wallowing in self-pity, he had burned through dozens of new creations he had meant to get to for years. Stark Industries had so many new prototypes to be released that if he had genuinely wanted to, Tony could have taken the rest of the year off. He didn’t, but the sentiment itself was a nice enough thought.
The free time he amassed had allowed him to tinker on personal projects, which finally led him to complete the Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing project he had been meaning to work on for years. It had been done for a while but the programming had to be debugged and he had just never found the time. The topic of two super-soldiers had come up during one of his therapy sessions ironically around the same time he had finalized BARF, which had led him down a dark hole of testing the program with numerous flashbacks.
Rehashing his pent-up feelings had led to what Tony could only describe as a miracle. The rage he had been harboring from Siberia had transformed into understanding — for Barnes — Rogers could still rot in hell as far as Tony was concerned. The Winter Soldier had been stripped of his autonomy and forced to commit heinous atrocities that he would never remember, and if he did, he only suffered more as they wiped the last traces of humanity in him they could find.
Tony knew a thing or two about torture. He understood the pain that one experienced in those moments and worse, the extensive road to recovery after. The more he thought about the state of Barnes’ mind after seventy years in the hands of HYDRA, the answer seemed obvious. Which is how Barnes had come to reside at the tower while Tony worked on his pardon.
Even though Tony had thrown himself into this idea with good intentions, their interactions were strained and sparse. Seeing the Winter Soldier in person had set back some of the progress Tony had thought he had made. The former assassin seemed to sense his panic though and graciously avoided him at all costs, only leaving his floor to attend the BARF sessions Tony scheduled, which were mandatory per his pardon.
Barnes had a way about him though that always left Tony feeling like the bad guy. He was reserved, and his posture constantly left him hunched in on himself, like he was trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. His face had been the worst, though. It was undeniable the soldier was attractive, but his shell-shocked eyes and always present frown only added to the kicked puppy look Tony’s mind conjured.
As Tony became adjusted to Barnes’ presence, he settled into his usual charm with ease. Gradually, glimpses of Bucky Barnes appeared and Winter Soldier appearances dwindled. These moments came in the form of a deep rumbling laugh, gray eyes that sparkled and the coy smirk that had secured the soldier his title of lady killer back in his hay day.
Shortly after, their time spent together had grown exponentially. Mornings consisted of Barnes preparing breakfast for the two of them and pleasant conversations over coffee. The evenings were devoted to unwinding from the day's activities with a marathon of whichever show James was currently hooked on and talked Tony into sitting through. It had become such a frequent occurrence for them to be so involved in their daily lives that any free time Tony managed to scrounge up was spent seeking Barnes' presence.
Tony’s not sure when their friendly dynamic changed. He can’t pinpoint the exact moment that Barnes became James. It could have happened when the penthouse floor had become their floor, although he couldn't identify when James had stopped returning to his floor either. Somewhere along the line, their mornings had turned into slow, intimate and languid movements that ended in matching euphoric orgasms. Their marathon binges had evolved into cheesy snuggling on the couch until they both retired to the bedroom, where James fucked Tony into a pliant blubbering mess, retching multiple orgasms from him that left him dead to the world until his alarm went off at the start of each day.
Now as he thinks back to these new developments, Tony doesn’t care when or how it all happened. All that matters is that it did. He had known James for over a year now and he’d be damned if it wasn’t the best year of his infamously impressive life. James Buchanan Barnes is the love of his life, a relationship born from deceit and anguish that had evolved into a fortified bond, a fairy tale born from a tragedy that Shakespeare himself would have wished to write about.
Tony’s unabashed feelings for James are what makes the prospect of behaving at their brief meeting tonight so difficult. He wants to be good. He absolutely does. Part of his desire to behave stems from his desire to be a sweaty writhing mess as James puts his nonexistent refractory period to good use later, but another part merely wants to please him, because nothing makes Tony happier than making his boyfriend happy.
The problem Tony faces in complying comes in the form of one Steve fucking Rogers, better known as the sole person alive who would challenge Tony’s true admiration for James. The brute had a conniption when his precious Bucky had returned to New York without him, and an even bigger meltdown with Rhodey and SHIELD when he returned to U.S. soil a few days ago and hadn’t been allowed to see his lifelong friend.
Tony found it all melodramatic, which spoke volumes considering his character. Over the past year, James was thoroughly aware of Steve’s attempts to reach out to him and had every capability to call, text, email or send a damn carrier pigeon if he felt inclined to do so. When the pardons came through for the rogue Avengers, Tony made sure he was adequately informed on their arrival date. It just so happened that James didn’t feel the need to reach out to his former friends, something along the lines of him needing to heal on his own and not being ready just yet.
Sharing isn’t one of Tony’s strong suits, but as much as he despises Rogers, he would never intentionally hinder the man from seeing James. If his boyfriend wanted to hang out with the traitorous bastard, Tony wouldn’t stop him. He never spoke ill of Rogers to James or allowed the slightest inclination that he despised the man. James has been programmed for most of his life, and Tony wanted him to have free reign to decide for himself who he designated to occupy his time with.
The great Bucky and Steve saga that was historically documented was exactly that though, history. It was a notion that James could read about online and experience briefly through BARF, but it would never be here and now. James had admitted to Tony that when he relived those moments in time it was more like a dream than an actual memory. He enjoyed remembering them because he could tell he was happy and it provided a glimpse into his former self, but he wasn’t that same person anymore, and even with all of Tony’s help, he would never genuinely be that person again.
It was an unfortunate side effect of life. Time never stopped moving. You have to adapt. It makes people change, for better or worse.
Rogers should have grasped that better than anyone else. One day he was fighting HYDRA in the nineteen-forties and the next thing he knew he was fighting the God of Mischief in the twenty-first century with a team, the majority of which were enhanced in some way. No one could fault him for his apprehension towards technology or his lack of general knowledge of the modern world he currently inhabited. Choosing to stay stuck in the past was a choice though, and one he could only blame on himself.
He spent years clashing with Tony — the embodiment of everything innovative about the future — and the rest of his time with a hard-on for the Winter Soldier, the last living tie to his precious life. And that is how Tony knew that the impromptu Avengers meeting that Steve had requested via the current Avengers captain, Rhodey, that nothing good could come of it.
For one, it was already off to a brilliant start. The Stark Industries investor meeting had run longer than expected and Tony had to break numerous traffic safety laws to arrive at the compound in a timely fashion, which is why he’s currently bursting through the door where Rhodey, Rogers and James are already waiting.
Tony is twenty minutes late. It isn’t his fault, not that Captain America would believe that. Arriving on time is easily one of the Ten Commandments if America’s golden child had some, and by the end of the meeting, Tony is positive he will secure his spot in hell by breaking the remaining nine. He can practically smell the disappointment emanating from Rogers.
“Sorry I’m late, platypus. The investors were full of questions, and Pepper wouldn’t let me escape.” Tony can see the eye roll Rogers gives him. He just can’t tell if it’s because of his tardiness or the informal nickname he uses for their current captain.
The room they are presently in is small. Only four chairs are surrounding the table in the center, two on each side, and Tony curses under his breath at the predicament he finds himself in. Rhodey flashes him a sympathetic look from his seat next to James, which leaves the chair beside Rogers the only one available. Obviously, Tony elects to stand.
“Alright, we’re all here. Rogers, the floor is yours,” Rhodey prompts, and Steve jumps headfirst into a long-winded rant.
As it turns out, this meeting is all about Roger's feelings. Every sentence has been about Steve this and Steve that. He goes on in nauseating detail about how he felt when Bucky left, how it hurt to be unable to talk to his friend and how unfair it is that Bucky wasn't allowed to see them. All of this is, of course, Tony's fault. He's the big bad wolf that tricked the innocent former HYDRA assassin into his lair where he toyed with his already fragile mind and led him astray from the angelic morals Steve believes he held beforehand. For someone who claims to love the soldier, Tony can't help but notice that not once — not one single fucking time — does Steve bother to ask if the trigger words were removed, what he can do to help, or how his precious Bucky has been managing living with someone who Steve assumes hates his guts.
One glance at James and Tony knows that he's noticing as well, and his heart breaks for his boyfriend. He hadn't made a conscious effort to meet up with his former friends yet, but he was undoubtedly excited about seeing Steve today. It was pretty much the only thing he talked about last night as Tony plastered on the most sincere smile he could manage. Now, the vibrant man he's come to love looks as he did during their first encounter, downtrodden and abused. Rogers is apparently blind, because he just continues the verbal onslaught of negativity directed towards Tony, missing the pain his supposed friend is in.
“Since he’s left Wakanda, you’ve kept him under lock and key and distanced him from his friends," Steve vehemently complains, jabbing his finger sternly at Tony. "For a whole year, he’s been what? A prisoner? You kept him locked up in your tower and blocked all interactions. How is that beneficial?”
"In accordance with his pardon, he was required by law to stay in the tower where FRIDAY could supervise, but he was by no means trapped," Tony replies monotonically, allowing the boredom he feels to seep into his tone. "He was allowed to move freely within the confines of the compound and was capable of contacting anyone except HYDRA, without restriction. I'd say that was pretty fair given his reputation."
"Tony, you know that was the Winter Soldier and not Bucky. You’re trying to twist this around. I know how you are and—"
Tony couldn't listen to another second of the garbage Rogers believed. He jumps in, cutting him off in his haste to prevent this conversation from going even farther down the rabbit hole of what Tony could have done better. “He’s not Rapunzel, Rogers. If he wanted to let his glorious hair down so you could climb up and talk about the forties, he would have. In fact, I gave him your old floor in the tower. Tell me, did you feel trapped? Because I don't seem to recall hearing any complaints from you and your gang of misfits when you were living off my dime.”
Bewildered by Tony’s retort, Rogers is now red-faced and Tony is mildly concerned that all his huffing and puffing as he tries to come up with a response might blow the whole compound down. It doesn’t seem logical, but up until a few years ago the idea that a man could survive for seventy years on ice hadn’t been either.
“Can everyone stop talking about me like I’m not sitting here?”
All eyes snap to James who suddenly looks pensive under the scrutiny. Tony let Rogers goad him and in return, he was speaking for James who for the first time in his life could voice his opinions freely. He tries conveying an apology through his eyes before gesturing for him to continue.
“Steve, everyone in this room has taken care of me since I’ve been here, even though they didn’t have to." His eyes flicker to Tony's, and the gratitude that Tony sees makes him want to gather his boyfriend into his arms and never let go. Fortunately, Rogers doesn't witness the brief exchange. Tony’s not sure the man could handle news of their relationship right now and he doesn’t want to find out what Steve would do if he did. "I’m sorry I didn’t reach out to you, but removing HYDRA’s influence wasn’t easy, and some days were harder than others. I just needed time to focus on myself and my well-being without outside influence or someone whispering in my ear what I should be doing, thinking, feeling or even who I’m supposed to be.”
James seems keen on leaving out the details of how ninety percent of his time is spent buried within Tony, so he doesn’t bring it up either. The man has completely fixed Tony’s moral compass, which is unfortunate because he’d love to see Captain America’s face when he finds out his most beloved friend is not only dating Tony, but is also having kinky relations with him.
Steve at least possesses the awareness to look forlorn when called out. “I'm not mad at you, Buck,” he sighs. ”I was just worried. You're my best friend, and I had only just found you before you left again.” Rogers' eyes shift to Tony, pinning him with a look that screams hatred. “Tony is a master manipulator, and I didn’t want him to take advantage of your fractured state of mind or have him fill your head with nonsense about the rest of us.”
Tony can’t help scoffing loudly at the insinuating statement. “He’s not fragile, Rogers. He’s a fucking assassin for god's sake. He could probably eliminate all of us with that paper clip on the table before we could even react. I think he can handle a snarky, five-foot-eight man who, what was it? Oh yes, is nothing without his armor.”
In the corner of his eye, Tony can tell James is slowly realizing that asking him to behave at this meeting was a lost cause. He wants to turn and plead his case but that would mean losing the staredown against Rogers, and that's a hard no. Every petty bone in Tony’s short build is on full display. His shit-eating grin is plastered all over his face. He's aware, but he can’t stop it. Harassing Captain America just happens to be one of his favorite pastimes.
“Tones, shut up,” Rhodey demands dryly. Rhodey must be feeling the same way as Tony because he has his head buried in his hands on the table, probably rethinking his life choices and what led him to have to attend this ridiculous meeting.
“Sir, yes sir,” Tony mock salutes.
“Captain Rogers, as you can see, Barnes is completely fine,” Rhodey says, finally lifting his head to make eye contact with the other three. “Every hair on his head is accounted for, and he is currently HYDRA free, thanks to Tony who has assured us that he had full capability to do whatever he pleased within the guidelines his pardon recommended. Can we adjourn this fucking meeting now? You guys do realize I have shit to do other than babysitting three grown-ass men with emotional constipation, right?”
Tony can see it in Steve’s eyes that he’s far from done with this subject but he at least seems appeased now that he’s seen James is unharmed and spoken to him. “Yes, thank you, Colonel Rhodes. I appreciate you investigating the matter,” Steve responds respectfully.
“Great, everyone’s dismissed.” Before Tony blinks, Rhodey is out of the room. He’s never seen the man move that fast, even before the braces, but he can’t say he blames him.
Rogers follows suit and makes his way past Tony. He’s putting in every effort to appear as domineering as possible. He comes dangerously close to Tony and levels him with a look of complete disdain. Two years ago, Tony would have flinched. He would have been frightened. Now, he can’t help but stand his ground, doing his best to project himself larger than his small stature.
It feels like they are posturing for minutes but the moment only lasts a few seconds before Rogers is in front of James. He’s spouting some emotional verbiage about the end of the line that Tony doesn’t even pretend to understand. Whatever it is, James offers him a smile — a genuine one — the kind that always makes Tony’s insides feel like mush. They embrace each other, and the genius does his best not to bristle at the prolonged contact and the fact that he will always share his lover with the enemy.
As Rogers walks out and the conference room door slams shut, Tony releases a deep exhale and feels all the tension he didn’t realize he was holding exiting his body.
“Well, that could have gone better,” James huffs as he sits back down.
Tony can’t tell if he’s upset or not, but takes the risk and plops himself on James' lap with his legs straddling James’ thighs. He leans forward and entwines his hands around his boyfriend's neck, bringing their faces inches apart. “I take it that I wasn’t appropriately behaved?” James responds with an arched brow that makes Tony let out a stifled laugh. “That’s unfortunate because I was really looking forward to my reward.”
James’ hands enclose around his hips as he closes the distance between them and plants a tender kiss against Tony’s lips. “Is that so, darlin’?”
Tony shivers at the Brooklyn accent seeping through. The drawl never fails to ignite his arousal, and the bastard knows that, but two can play at that game. He knows he’ll enjoy a mind-blowing evening, whether or not they make it to their bedroom however is still up in the air. If he plays the naughty card, he’s reasonably certain James will just bend him over the table and take him right here and now. Admittedly, Tony’s already made up his mind. He prefers that idea. He wants that. His hands run through James’ hair as he mumbles a halfhearted apology in his best pouty voice before pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's lips, jaw and neck.
As he pulls back, Tony flirtatiously mutters, “I guess you’ll have to punish me instead, soldier.”
James’ eyes darken at the prospect just as a garbled, “What the fuck?” echoes throughout the small room. Tony and James’ heads whip towards the intrusion, only to find Rogers standing in the doorway. His normally pale skin is cast with a tinge of green to it as if he’s on the verge of being sick. His eyes dart around, taking in the compromising position, the flushed expressions and the smell of arousal that Tony imagines wafts in the air.
The usually stoic super-soldier doesn’t move. He doesn’t speak. He just continues gawking. Tony can’t help but smirk. If he had known that was all it took to shut the man up, he would have mounted James a long time ago.
“Bucky...” Rogers is desperately seeking confirmation that he’s having a nightmare and not witnessing Tony seducing his friend.
Unfortunately, for him, James is currently distracted by the genius in his lap and is unaware of his dilemma. “Stevie, can we talk ‘bout this later?” James’ eyes are back on Tony, unmoving, and Tony wants to wither at the intenseness of it all.
“What is there to talk about? This completely proves that every atrocity I imagined when you came here is valid.” Rogers is lacing as much authority he can muster into his voice when he barks, “Tony, get off of him. Now.”
“Don’t move, sweet thing. We’re not finished,” James practically growls. The hands holding Tony’s waist tighten as if James is worried he will vanish. Tony has no intention of moving, though. He’s in his fucking compound, in his office space, straddling his man. If anyone needs to move, it’s Steve, and he preferably needs to make a quick exit so Tony can take care of the erection he feels hardening below him.
“Sorry, Rogers, no can do," Tony breezily replies with far too much cheer in his voice. What can he say, he's enjoying this little exchange. "It appears there’s a sale on clothing, and everything is about to be one hundred percent off. If I were you, I’d leave before you forever associate the name Bucky with the sound of me moaning.”
“This isn’t a joke. You took advantage of him when he possessed no free will,” Steve says as his face continues to harden in anger.
“Trust me, Cap, if anyone’s being taken advantage of, it's me. Consensually, of course,” Tony adds with a smirk directed at James.
Rogers throws up his hands in annoyance and apparently decides he’s done with this conversation. “Bucky, let's go,” he says as he turns to walk away, only halting when he realizes his best friend isn’t following. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Not yet, but he will be,” Tony taunts as he ruts against his boyfriend. A groan escapes James’ throat which has Rogers looking fifty shades of disgusted as he bolts from the room with a mortified expression.
“You jus’ opened a can of worms, suga',” Bucky sighs, but there's no heat in his words and Tony can tell he's still enjoying himself, despite the intrusion.
“I’m sorry. In my defense, you know how undignified I become when this work of art,” Tony says gesturing to James’ body, “is pressed against me in all the right places. If anything, my sexual deviancy is your fault.”
“S'that right?”
“Mhm,” Tony hums as he rocks his hips against his boyfriend’s. “Now, let's hurry up before he comes back with an army to liberate you. As interesting as an orgy of superheroes sounds, I don't think I'd survive it."
James' hands grip tighter to Tony’s hips, possessively bruising in the best way as he sets up a rhythm, causing delicious friction between the two of them. "Ain't nobody touchin’ you but me, baby.” The words are practically snarled, and they send a shiver through Tony like James is claiming him from within.
"If this is your idea of punishment, I might have to misbehave more often."
"When have you ever behaved? I'm havin’ a hard time recallin’ one specific moment,” James chides.
"Cute,” Tony sarcastically retorts as he dismounts James and kneels before him. “Maybe I should jog your memory.” James’ eyes are tracking his every move and Tony relishes in the devilish glint that appears in them because of him.
James’ face is already flushed and Tony knows it’s only a matter of seconds before things get hot and heavy, so he can’t resist one last quip. "I'll have you know that when I want to be on my best behavior, I am remarkably good,” Tony says in his best sultry voice as his fingertips dance lightly up the inside of James’ thighs. ”I just so happen to be better when I'm bad."
“Yeah?” James asks, amusement seeping into his voice as he smirks down at Tony. “Well, do your worst then, doll.”