#36 text/letter fic + #97 time travel

Some people can time travel. Not on purpose, and not controlled, but a few thousand people every generation have the ability to move back and forward through time. No one is sure why, or how, but the more romantically inclined say it has something to do with soulmates, since most of the time, travelers seem to get pulled towards one specific person.

The first time Tony travels, he’s five. He ends up in a dirty alleyway he recognises as being somewhere in New York only because he can see the Brooklyn bridge in the distance once he stumbles out into the street proper.

“Your clothes’re silly,” a boy about Tony’s age says, grinning all gap-toothed when Tony scowls at him.

But before Tony can reply, he’s back in his bedroom in Manhattan, and the calendar above his desk says it’s 1975.

The next couple of times Tony travels to meet the boy are equally short. His mom tells him it’s normal, that the visits will grow longer the older he gets, the more used to his “powers” he gets. Tony thinks that’s stupid, so that evening, he writes his name, address, and favourite hobbies down on a piece of paper, which he carries everywhere with him from then on.

It takes another couple of years and visits, but Tony finally stays long enough to pass along the letter. And then, the time after that, he gets a letter back!

The boy he visits is called Jamie, he’s 10, he’s from Brooklyn, and the year during which he he writes his note is 1927. Tony is ecstatic to get as much.

Over the next couple of years, Tony and Jamie start a habit of exchanging letters during their short, 1 to 4 minute visits. Jamie isn’t always Tony’s age, and sometimes Tony visits a Jamie who hasn’t seen Tony (as much) yet, which is a little weird, but all in all, they get along great, and almost always have notes for each other.

They exchange funny stories, about their families and friends, or about what life in their respective decades is like. Somehow, oddly enough, if Tony tries to go into detail about something that hasn’t happened for Jamie yet, the notes always seem to get smudged or damaged? When Tony asks his mom about it, she says it’s because the universe won’t allow Tony to change history.

Then, when Tony is 19, he visits for the longest amount of time yet. He lands in the alleyway he’s come to know as the one behind Jamie’s apartment, but this time, Jamie isn’t there to greet him.

Somehow, though, Tony knows where to go. It’s hard to tell how, but there’s a tug in his chest, pulling him towards the harbour, towards what Tony knows, without a doubt, is where Jamie is. Tony isn’t sure he should be there, because the streets get more dinky and suspect the farther he goes, but Tony is stubborn and determined, and if Jamie’s there? Tony will go pretty much everywhere.

He eventually lands in a sidestreet behind a club, and isn’t sure where to go from there. Until the backdoor of what he assumes is a club or bar opens, and Jamie stumbles out, laughing and flushed, arms loosely wrapped around another boy’s neck. It’s that guy who notices Tony first, going stiff and tense, and prompting Jamie to turn around.

As soon as he recognises Tony, Jamie pushes the other boy away, face growing pale. The other boy flees back inside immediately, and Tony doesn’t understand at first, until he remembers the decade, and—

“Hey, no,” Tony says, hands held up, speaking as gently as he can. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not totally fine where—when I come from, but it’s okay. It’s, uh, legal? Mostly? And people are still assholes about it, but it’s okay. No one gets put away for it anymore. And, uhm. Also,” he clears his throat, “I’m—too? Me too?”

There’s a flurry of emotions flickering across Jamie's face, eventually landing on tentative hope. “Legal, huh?” he asks, smiling shakily.

“Yeah.” Tony takes a tentative step closer, then another when Jamie reaches for him. “Not everywhere, but New York? A huge, flourishing gay scene. Uh. Queer? Whatever you’re calling it right now.”

And Jamie—he looks relieved, but also overwhelmed, clutching at Tony almost desperately. They’re holding onto each other tightly, Jamie breathing hard, holding eye contact until—

Tony can’t tell who moves first, but they meet in the middle, lips pressing together. Tony moans, and Jamie does the same, threading a hand into Tony’s hair. And, as strange as it seems, it feels like coming home, like kissing someone he’s kissed before, tens or hundreds or thousands of times, familiar and—

Tony blinks, and he’s back in his apartment, Jamie nowhere to be seen, but Rhodey looking at him funnily from the couch across the room.

It’s the last time Tony goes to visit Jamie for a long time.

And Tony doesn’t forget about Jamie, not really, but after five years, and another ten, and then twenty in total, it’s difficult to tell how much of it was real, how much he really felt, how much was just childish or teenage imagination and exaggeration.

The next time it happens, Tony is in Afghanistan, and he can’t even tell if it’s real or not. He’s floating, high on pain, and one minute it’s Yinsen dabbing at his forehead with a wet cloth, and the next it’s a man with Jamie’s pale grey eyes, looking terrified. But then Tony blinks, and he’s back in the cave, and everything’s full of pain again.

It’s years again, after that. Tony thinks he might have visited again, shortly after Loki and the Chitauri, but he can’t tell if him seeing Jamie’s face, hardened and devoid of recognition, was an actual instance of time travel, or just him wishing for a warm, familiar face after a week full of stress, confusion.

Sometimes, Tony misses Jamie, and the simplicity of him. But it’s difficult to hold onto someone who doesn’t even seem entirely real, who’s been little more than a ghost for most of his life.

Until 2014, shortly after Steve—without calling anyone for backup, because he’s an idiot like that—took down SHIELD and HYDRA, all in one fell swoop.

JARVIS alerts Tony to someone sneaking around his parents’ old mansion, and Tony, despite suspecting it’s just kids trying to get a glimpse into Iron Man’s childhood life, decides to check it out. He dons the armour, flies over to the Manhattan mansion, and uses the underground tunnels Howard built in a fit of paranoia to get in.

The intruder is still there, according to JARVIS, but hasn’t damaged anything or taken any pictures so far. They’re in the back yard, so Tony opens the sliding doors, stepping onto the terrace, activating the automated lights.

It makes the person creeping around the yard freeze, so Tony calls out, “It’s fine, I’m not going to call the cops. Well, I mean as long as you’re not planning on doing anything stupid, I suppose?”

The person, after hesitating for a long moment, slowly walks closer, and Tony’s breath stutters in his chest when they—when he steps into the light, fidgeting nervously, twitchy and obviously scared.

But Tony knows that guy, even if he hasn’t seen him in years. He looks different, sickly and exhausted, but those eyes. Tony has seen them on a face that was five, and seven, and ten, and twelve, and barely twenty, and—

“‘S a long shot,” the guy rasps, as if he isn’t used to talking, and—and holy shit, yes, that’s a metal arm he uses to brush his hair out of his eyes. “But someone gave me this address eighty or so years ago, an’ I—I thought, maybe—”

“Jamie,” Tony breathes, and the guy’s whole body relaxes, somewhat, his whole demeanour softening.

#2 (modern) royal AU + #34 vacation fic

When Lord Howard Stark announces the engagement of his son Anthony, it’s a complete surprise to everyone.

Tony has always been a little—wild, to put it mildly. As far as the public is concerned, he’s never had a real, stable relationship that’s lasted for more than a night, but those nights? Those nights have happened a lot, especially during Tony’s years at MIT. There are hundreds upon hundreds of pictures documenting Tony’s drunk, high, and often more or less naked escapades to be found online.

And it’s true that Tony has calmed down somewhat over the last few years, after founding his own green energy company, but still. An engagement? That’s coming out of nowhere.

So, naturally, everyone assumes that Howard must have arranged something with a well-to-do lady or duchess. It makes sense, after all; it’s what some of the more traditional royals still do, even today.

But then, a few days later, Tony posts a picture to his official Instagram account, and it instantly goes viral. Most of the picture is taken up by a gorgeous sunset over the sea somewhere in the Caribbean, but at the bottom, there are two pairs of legs stretched out on a beach chair, and two hands with engagement rings lying between them.

Two pairs of male legs. And two definitely male hands.

The internet goes nuts.

Everyone is desperate to find out who Tony’s fiancé is, but the guy has virtually no online presence, and by the time someone manages to find out where, exactly, the picture was taken, Tony and the mystery fiancé have already left again.

It goes on like this for weeks.

The second picture is of a busy street in what might be India, the shadows of two men holding hands just barely visible on the floor. Then there’s one taken in a restaurant with a view of a snowy mountaintop, Tony in profile and smiling softly, while only a hand of the mystery fiancé is visible, cupping Tony’s slightly blushing cheek. Then one of Tony kissing a sunburnt cheek of someone who’s must’ve been wearing ski goggles for a couple of days. Then one of rumpled white hotel sheets, and two pairs of loosely tangled legs sticking out at the bottom.

People keep digging even once Tony stops posting the pictures, but no one can find anything.

Until a couple of teenagers spot Tony in a random Starbucks in Brooklyn, sitting all snuggled up on a couch with a tall, ripped, blond guy. Who’s wearing the engagement ring that’s been in most of Tony’s Instagram pictures.

(“Oh, him?” Tony asks, when he notices the teens gawking at them. “That’s just Steve, head of my security detail.”

“Tony,” Steve sighs, but it sounds fond. Then he turns to the teens to explain, “I quit before proposing. I’m a professional.”

A few tables over, a guy with a prosthetic arm bursts out laughing, and yells over, “The fuck you are, Stevie. Hey, do you guys wanna hear about—”

“Bucky!”)

#56 awful first meeting + #54 secret relationship

After CA:CW, once everyone has calmed down a little, Tony somehow ends up helping with Bucky’s recovery/trigger removal. Not in person, but he does give Shuri access to B.A.R.F. and is happy (and excited, let’s be real) to have her improve it however she wants so it can be used to help Bucky get better.

Eventually, once Bucky feels up to it, he contacts Tony. To thank him, and to apologise for Howard and Maria. Tony’s had time to let everything sink in, by that point, so he can honestly tell Bucky that he doesn’t blame him (anymore), and apologises for that day in Siberia. There are a lot of apologies all around, let’s put it like that.

After that first phone call, they keep texting, emailing, and calling sporadically, mostly about Bucky’s recovery and Tony’s attempts to get the ex-Avengers pardoned. At first. The more they talk, though, the more they realise that they actually have a lot in common, and that they get along great.

Soon, they talk almost every day, and Skype/FaceTime whenever they can, crushing hard on each other. (Shuri and Rhodey definitely text about their respective dumb, oblivious white boys.)

Tony, because he’s Tony, probably never would’ve said anything, but Bucky? He grew up poor and gay in the 30s, went to war, got captured by a guy who ended up not having a face, fell off a goddamn train, was captured again, tortured, brainwashed, and experimented on, so, really. Whatever Tony has to say in answer to Bucky’s confession about his feelings? It can’t be worse than what Bucky’s already been through.

But, obviously, Tony’s surprised but happy about it. They officially start a long-distance relationship, which makes them realise they’ve probably already been dating for a while, because the only things that change, really, is that they tell each other, “I love you,” before hanging up, and have lots of phone sex.

They agree to not tell anyone about their relationship yet, though. Because some of their friends probably wouldn’t be entirely happy about it, yes, but mostly because they don’t want to risk it getting out since, officially, Tony has no idea where the fugitive Avengers are, and definitely isn’t helping them in any way whatsoever.

Eventually, though, things are resolved, and the ex-Avengers are allowed to come back to the States. Bucky and Tony are excited to finally meet in person—for real, with no one triggered into Winter Soldier mode, or in a grief-stricken rage this time.

And it’s great for about twenty seconds, while Bucky and Tony smile at each other across the landing pad, but then Steve’s there, and just. Doesn’t go away anymore.

(The first couple of days, both Tony and Bucky begrudgingly accept that Steve pretty much follows them around. It’s the first time in over a year that Steve and Tony get to see each other, and yes, fine, Tony’s pretty happy about them being friends again, too. And yes, sure, Bucky gets it that Steve’s excited about having two of his best friends finally meet properly, and get along.)

(It’s Bucky who snaps eventually, literally shoving Steve out of the elevator on his and Steve’s floor, because, “I love you, Stevie, ya know I do, but if I don’t get Tony’s dick up my ass in the next ten minutes I can’t be held responsible anymore for what I might do. So get the fuck out if you don’t wanna get an eyeful.”)

#2 royal AU + #54 secret relationship + WinterIron

After yet another scandal involving his out-of-control son, King Howard has finally had enough. Since nothing else has worked so far, Howard decides to take a different, not entirely traditional approach; he cancels all of Tony’s credit cards, freezes his money and assets, kicks him out of the apartment he’s paying for, gets him put in a dorm at MIT, and tells him to find a job if the small, weekly stipend Howard sends him isn’t enough for him.

Bucky has no idea who the pouting, mulish, definitely hungover teenager skulking around the VA center is, but his boss, Sam, tells him he’s the latest intern, so Bucky puts him to work.

It’s a complete disaster. The kid is clearly smart as hell, but it becomes obvious pretty quickly that he has no interest in being here. Bucky has no idea why Sam isn’t firing him after he turns up late for the seventh shift in a row, or why he hired him in the first place, given his general lackluster attitude, but whatever. Bucky was a Sergeant for years, he can handle one spoiled teenager.

And it takes a while, but ever so slowly, Tony starts coming out of his shell, stops hiding so much behind his snark and sarcasm. He’s amazing with the kids attending the free daycare, he flirts outrageously with Stan the mostly deaf WWII vet—who jokingly, or so Bucky hopes, proposes to Tony about once a week, offering to whisk him away to Florida—and even fixes their ancient computer that’s been acting up for ages, and then updates their, admittedly horrible, website.

Bucky learns that Tony’s a student, that he’s going to be an engineer, and that there are a lot of unresolved issues between him and his father. After a couple of weeks, they start going out for lunch together, which eventually turns into dinners whenever their shifts align. Or, mostly take out and Netflix on Bucky’s couch, but it’s not like Bucky’s super eager to spend time in enclosed spaces with lots of people, so he’s more than okay with that.

Tony’s the one who kisses Bucky first. And then he looks adorably terrified, starting to stammer out apologies before Bucky pulls him back in, and kisses him quiet.

They still don’t really go out much, and Tony is extremely reluctant to talk about his family, and sometimes gets a little cagey when Bucky tries to hold his hand or kiss him in public, but Bucky honestly doesn’t mind. Not everyone is into PDA, and Bucky knows a few things about a shitty homelife, so he slows things down, and Tony relaxes, and things are good.

Until about a month after they have the determing the relationship talk, when Bucky wakes up to Steve pounding on his door, and then immediately demanding why the fuck Bucky hadn’t told him his Tony was Prince Anthony, heir to the throne.

“I didn’t know?” Bucky offers, mind reeling as he scrolls through the news article on Steve’s phone, stomach sinking the more he reads.

Because it all makes sense now. Tony not wanting to be seen in public with Bucky as his boyfriend. Tony not talking about his father—the fucking king, for fuck’s sake—or introducing Bucky to any of his friends. Yeah. Bucky’s been kind of stupid.

Before he can drown in his self-pity and hurt, though, there’s another knock at the door. Steve goes to answer, and when he comes back into the living room he’s wide-eyed, and being trailed by none other than King Howard and, more hesitantly, Tony.

“Well, you must be James,” King Howard says, and then chuckles when Bucky belatedly remembers to bow. “My son has been talking about you,” here he shoots a chastising but fond look at Tony, “but, somehow, mentioning your relationship status must have slipped his mind.”

When Bucky fails to say anything, too stunned, King Howards claps his hands together, smiling widely. “All right. I would love to take my son and his boyfriend out to lunch. Do you like Indian food, James?”

(Tony apologises profusely once they’re back at Bucky’s place, finally alone. For his father just barging in like that, and for not telling Bucky who he is. And, really, Bucky kind of gets it. It must be hard, making friends and building relationships when the first thing people think when they look at you is prince. Which doesn’t mean he isn’t still a little angry about the whole thing, but the King seems to approve, and Tony’s puppy eye game is really strong, and he’s kind of hopelessly in love with Tony, so. They’ll figure it out.)

(Howard makes a habit of showing up announced to kidnap Bucky for lunches or little trips. Bucky’s super confused and, honestly, kind of terrified at first, but it’s the King, so he always goes. Especially once he figures out that it’s because Howard is insecure AF when it comes to his relationship with his son, and just about as dumb as Tony when it comes to talking about feelings, and that he’s actually just trying to be supportive. So. Bucky becomes casual buddies with the king. No big deal.)

(“What do you mean you can’t come over for a lunch quickie because you have plans with my dad? What the fuck, Bucky? I don’t care if it’s awesome steak, what the fuck?”)

#97 time travel + #32 pregnancy fic

Tony and Bucky have a casual friends with benefits thing going on. They’re both pining and want an actual, committed relationship, but think the other one wouldn’t want that. They’re both too broken and raw to be mature about the situation, still haunted by everything that’s happened (between them and the Avengers in general), and not in any position to be good for each other, even though they can’t even really admit that to themselves. So neither one says anything. They don’t stop sleeping together, though, because they’re idiots.

Then Tony gets pregnant, of course. Because, as previously stated, they’re idiots. Somehow, Tony gets it into his head that Bucky wouldn’t want to have anything to do with the whole thing, so he decides the best option is to break things off with Bucky. They argue. Bucky is hurt and angry, Tony is desperate and scared, and some things that can’t be taken back are said in the heat of the moment. (“Fuckin’ fuck off to Malibu, then, ‘s not like we’re together or anythin’, Tony!” — “What makes you think I would want to be with someone like you, huh?”)

Tony moves to Malibu, and manages to keep the pregnancy a secret, cutting off contact with most of the Avengers. (Which he isn’t actually too sad about, after the whole CW bullshit.) Bucky, despite everything, tries to call at first, but eventually stops when the first paparazzi pictures of Tony leaving the hospital with a little boy hit the papers. Because, well. Tony obviously didn’t wait very long after ”dumping” Bucky to get knocked up by someone else, so Bucky will probably have to accept that he doesn’t have a chance (anymore).

The Avengers drift more and more apart, building several smaller teams all over the globe. Tony stays in the US, Bucky leaves for somewhere else, trying to move on. Years pass this way. Things aren’t bad, and both Bucky and Tony have other good, loving relationships, but neither of them ever gets entirely over the other.

They meet again during one of the Potential Destruction of The Universe™ incidents that seem to occur every other decade. Everyone involved somehow ends up at Tony’s house after everything is said and done, most of them meeting Tony’s kid properly for the first time.

Because, for the last ~15 years, Tony’s done his best to keep his kid out of the public eye as much as possible, to spare him all the (negative) attention he’s had to deal with for most of his life. So Bucky (and Steve) has never actually seen the kid, but he knows he was involved in making that kid as soon as he lays eyes on him. Because Bucky’s memories might’ve been fucked with over the years, but he goddamn knows what he looked like as a teenager, okay?

Tony and Bucky have a huge fight about it. Bucky is justifiably angry about having missed so much of his son’s life. Tony has always felt guilty about not telling him, but they weren’t good for each other back then, neither was healthy or ready for a proper relationship—which, in hindsight, they can admit now—and Tony just. Couldn’t tell him, not after everything they’d thrown at each other.

Their fighting is interrupted by the arrival of some alien/deity/being who’s come to thank the heroes of Earth for stopping the Potential Destruction of The Universe™ villain. In true fairytale fashion, they promise to grant each of the Avengers their most desired wish. To become reality when the clock strikes midnight.

Everyone’s understandably dubios, but both Bucky and Tony quickly realise the alien/deity/being meant business when they wake up the next day and it’s—it’s the day after their “break-up” fight, when Tony first found out he was pregnant.

They’re getting a second chance.

(It doesn’t magically fix everything. It doesn’t erase the ~15 years they’ve lived apart from their memories, even if no one else can remember any of it happening. They’re both still angry and hurt. And it’s a slow process, but they do grow closer again, in a healthier, better way this time around. They talk. They are open with each other. They start caring again. They fall in love once more. And, eventually, things are not only good, they’re perfect.)

#26 massage fic + #73 stranded due to inclement weather

Tony really should’ve known better than to trust Steve—his super fit, outdoorsy, athletic, boy scout co-worker—when Steve’d told him he had a private little cabin Tony could use to for his anniversary getaway with Tiberius. And he really shouldn’t have let spite rule him, and gone anyway after he’d found Tiberius cheating just a couple of days before their trip.

But he did, and he had, so now he’s stuck in a shack in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees, and with shaky reception at best. Oh, and with one of Steve’s army buddies, because of course Steve had forgotten to tell his buddy that Tony was using the cabin for the weekend.

Honestly, Tony would’ve turned right around and headed straight back to civilisation had Bucky—And what kind of name is that, anyway?—not pointed at the admittedly imposing black clouds slowly inching closer, and told Tony he better stay unless he wanted to get washed off the road.

It’s not that Bucky is bad company—he’s quiet, knows how to use the stove, and actually got a fire going once the rain started, and the cabin turned freezing—but Tony’s in what he thinks is a justifiably shitty mood, and has no patience for niceties and boring small-talk.

They spend the afternoon reading and napping on opposite sides of the couch, but by the time Bucky’s starting to make noise about cooking something, Tony’s calmed down enough that he actually gets up to help. For five minutes, until Bucky banishes him to the table to, “Jus’ sit tight an’ look pretty before you set somethin’ on fire, for fuck’s sake.”

Dinner ends up being simple but delicious, and once they get talking, Tony’s surprised to notice that they get along great. Tony insists on helping with the dishes, and once they’re done cleaning up, they move back to the couch with cups of coffee.

Tony doesn’t realise how much time has passed until he’s yawning and wincing, unable to find a comfortable position. He reassures Bucky he’s fine when Bucky asks what’s wrong, that he’s just a little sore from driving for too long that morning.

Bucky hesitates for a moment, but then asks, a little shyly, if Tony wants a backrub. “Unless you’re not okay with that, you know. With me bein’ gay an’ all.”

So Tony ends up on his stomach on the couch, ranting about Tiberius while Bucky kneads the tension out of his stiff muscles. And then Bucky doesn’t even make fun of Tony (much) when Tony has to admit that the massage got to him a little too much, just gets up, chuckling, to get them some hot chocolate while Tony finishes blushing, and adjusts himself.

And, maybe, Bucky sits a little closer to Tony when he comes back.

And, just maybe, Tony isn’t entirely opposed to that.

#51 accidentally married + #81 the missus & the ex

Once the whole mess with Thanos is finally over and done with, the Avengers decide they’ve earned some time off. T’Challa supplies the jets, Tony the tropical island (“What? I’m an eccentric billionaire, of course I have my own personal island, Steve.”), and they’re off.

They have a huge party the first night there, and yes, okay, Tony might indulge a bit too much. To be fair, though, he’s barely been drinking the last few years, and he didn’t even know he could get drunk off, like, three beers and a cocktail? It was Asgardian ale, but still.

Tony wakes up with the hangover to end all hangovers, in a hammock behind the villa, with what feels—and also tastes, ew—like half the beach’s worth of sand in his mouth. He struggles out of the hammock, and then squeaks when he steps on Steve, who, apparently, has passed out under the hammock? Yeah, definitely Asgardian ale.

He goes to shake Steve’s shoulder to make sure the guy’s still alive, but stops short when he sees the—the aluminium foil ring on his finger? Because what?

“Congrats,” Steve says hoarsely, eyes still closed, but when Tony asks what the hell he’s talking about, all he gets in reply is a loud snore. Which, rude.

After putting one of the pillows from the hammock under Steve’s head, Tony stumbles off towards the villa, across the lawn full of still mostly passed out or distinctly Zombie-like Avengers and friends. Then he rounds the corner onto the porch, and there is—

Barnes pulling a face at Tony, telling him to call him Bucky.

Tony grinning while Bucky gossips about Steve, with Steve pouting at them from across the table.

Bucky teaching Tony how to make s’mores, outraged that Tony’s never had them before.

Bucky licking chocolate from his fingers, blushing but grinning when he catches Tony watching.

Then Bucky licking chocolate of Tony’s lips, to the sound of cheers and wolf-whistling from their friends.

Dancing with Bucky on the lawn. Grinding with Bucky on the lawn.

Stumbling back out of the bathroom after making out with Bucky.

T’Challa casually mentioning that he has the power to marry people, and then—

—Bucky, wearing nothing but a very flattering pair of swim trunks, grinning up at Tony. While Pepper refills their glasses, the unholy glee clearly visible on her face, despite her huge sunglasses.

“Mornin’, husband,” Bucky says, teasing, then chuckles when Pepper starts laughing.

“Sit down, Tony,” she says, patting the chair between them. “We were just talking about you, actually.”

Tony falls into the seat with a groan, and a muttered, “Kill me now, please.”

(When T’Challa, a little sheepish, says that he can also divorce them/annul the marriage later that day, Bucky and Tony share a look, smile at each other, blush, and both mumble versions of, “Not right now, I think.”)

#72 stranded on a desert island + #54 secret relationship + WinterIron

Tony and Steve get stranded on a deserted island during a mission. The quinjet is too damaged to fly, their comms are on the fritz, and there is absolutely no signal or anything, so Tony can’t even call one of his back-up Iron Man suits. All in all, it’s a pretty shitty situation.

And the fact that Tony and Steve have never actually reconciled after the superhero civil war isn’t helping, either. They’re civil with each other, which they mostly accomplish by spending as little time together as possible unless they have to. They can work together without fighting (too much), but they definitely tend to avoid each other whenever they can.

But neither of them wants to die before they’re found, so—after pointedly ignoring each other for a couple of hours—they come to a mutual, silent agreement that they should, maybe, work together for now.

Between Tony’s engineering prowess and Steve’s general handiness, they build shelter for the night, get a fire started, and put together a filter to make the salty sea water drinkable. There’s no wildlife on the small island, but there are some bushes with berries, and Tony crafts a speer for Steve so Steve can catch a couple of fish to smoke over the fire.

They don’t really talk to each other apart from the bare necessities, and it’s actually kind of comfortable. Nowhere near like it was before the whole civil war mess, but not bad, either.

That is until Tony slips on some rocks on the beach, and nearly brains himself. Steve is furious as he cleans the wounds on Tony’s hands and knees, ranting about how reckless Tony’s being, how he always does that etc. Tony snaps back that Steve’s no better just because he acts all righteous about it, and then they’re off arguing and yelling at each other.

Eventually, they both stomp off to opposite sides of the island—which means about 200 feet apart, because the island is tiny—to pout and stew.

Where they stay until it gets cold enough that they slowly, reluctantly migrate to their little hut for the night. They start out back to back, not touching, but Tony’s shivering hard enough that Steve eventually turns around to spoon him. Tony tries to scoot away, but Steve just keeps holding on and tells him not to be stupid, that he doesn’t want Tony to freeze to death.

They must fall asleep at some point, because Tony wakes up to sunlight on his face, and a warm hand on his stomach under his shirt. He presses back against the body behind him, murmuring a quiet, “Mmh, Bucky,” and is about to drift off again when not-Bucky behind him demands tightly, “What?”

(They’re on the island for about a week. They bond, eventually, after fighting some more. Bucky considers staying on the island himself when the rest of the Avengers finally get there, because there’s not much to do on an unknown island, so Tony and Steve have mostly been talking about the one topic they both like; Bucky. It’s terrible.)