#rinrinp42

“Getthe beast to open a mouth,” Loki said. Thor was practicallycarrying him; the young mage was powerful, but easily wearied.“Natasha, throw this down its throat.” He handed her a packet;Bucky’d seen dozens of those little packets, they held Loki’sspell components and were stored carefully in a waxed and enchantedleather bag, to keep them safe.

“Iam shooting him!” Clint yelled back. “What do you think I amdoing up here? Getting altitude so that I can yodel? That armor ofhis is thick as dragonhide.”

“Wecan’tlethim get away this time!” Tony said, a hint of desperation slippingthrough his usually composed demeanor. “My backup heart won’tlast much longer!”

“Wewon’t let you die, Tony,” Steve promised, sounding all sincereand paladin-y.

Tonydidn’t respond to that. He was too busy peering under the Hydra’slegs. “I can get to him,” he told Bucky in a voice low enough notto carry over the hydra’s roaring and the others’ shouting. “ButI need him distracted while I disable his armor.”

“Ifthere’s one thing I’m good at, doll,” Bucky said, “it’sbein’ distractin’.” He did trajectory calculations in his head-- his father, and his grandfather, and his great-grandmother beforehim had all manned ballistas and catapults in the days of the GreatWar. Arc and trajectory were in his blood and bones.

“Steve!Shield!” he roared, getting a running start.

Thepaladin glanced over the situation, his keen eye putting all thepieces together in an instant. “Right.” He faced Bucky, trustingNatasha’s fiery brands to protect him for the moment, and angledhis shield toward the dwarf.

Buckywas no elf, but a short (ha ha, bad joke) leap he could manage. Helanded on his toes on Steve’s shield and the paladin launched himupward. Bucky tucked and rolled with the momentum, barely missingscraping his head on the roof of the cavern (that would be first indwarven history and he almost regretted the lost opportunity) and hetouched down on the Hydra’s back.

Howin the nine realms did Clint do that, Bucky wondered, irritably, ashe stumbled and fumbled his way down the beast’s back, dodged thelashing tail and ended up with his boots firmly back on the groundwhere they belonged.

“Dwarves,”he announced, “were not meant for flyin’. Oi! Stane!”

Theywere lucky in that the cavern had partially collapsed in the southernquadrant when the Hydra came up; Stane was still trying to clearenough debris to get to the tunnel. Bucky’s dwarven senses told himthere was only perhaps another four or five arm’s length to clearbefore he’d be free to run down the tunnels, and even a dwarf’skeen sense of underground design, they’d probably lose him.

Andthen, they’d lose Tony. There was an odd, squeezing pain in Bucky’schest at that thought. When they’d first put together their band ofheroes for hire -- Steve was the main catalyst for that -- Buckyadmitted to some dubiousness over the little gnome, absent-minded,sarcastic, insanely wealthy, and, to be fair, just insane. But Tonyhad proven himself useful, heroic, and… if Bucky had to admit it,and maybe he should, if only to himself, kinda cute.

Speakingof… where was Tony?

Tonyran straight under the hydra, his tiny body twisting and flippingaround its flailing limbs, and rolled up to a stop just behind Stane.From his bottomless bag of tricks he pulled a gizmo that lookedsomething like a metal arm, and aimed it toward Stane. The armextended, even as Stane gestured and mouthed a spell that was boundto mean trouble for Bucky.

Stane’sspell released in an explosion of vile red power, but not beforeTony’s gizmo had unfastened the catches of his armor, making itslip down, exposing the wizard’s chest and dropping his belt to thecavern floor.

Thearmor’s removal caused Stane’s hand to jerk, the blast went wild.Bucky tracked it, automatically. It struck one of the hugestalactites that dripped down from the roof; there had been dozenswhen they arrived, but this one, so far, had resisted falling prey tothe writhing Hydra. No more. It was going to come down. Buckyscrambled for the nearest shelter; that much rock coming down wasgoing to be ugly. “Get clear, get clear!” He yelled, wavingfrantically at Tony, who was busy with Stane.

Tonyignored Bucky’s warning, intent on the fallen belt which surelyheld Tony’s heart among the spell components. He dove for it, butfailed to grab it, succeeding only in knocking it out of Stane’sreach. “Blast!” He scrambled for it, kicking at Stane’s legs.

Buckycould see everything in that second; the way the roof was going tocome down, the way Stane and Tony and Tony’s heart were all goingto be crushed. The path was very, very clear. He didn’t hesitate.

Dwarveswere natural sprinters, is what Bucky’s Uncle Gimli had alwayssaid. Wasted on cross-country. He only needed to run twenty lengthsof a man laying down. Bucky ran. He ran like he’d never run before,not even when that entire horde of goblins were chasing them, andClint had mocked that he only needed to outrun the dwarf.

Thestone floor was flat, almost polished toward the rear of the cavern.Bucky threw himself down, momentum sliding him across. Snag, and hegrabbed the belt of components. Slid further and knocked Stane’slegs out from under him.

Scrambledto his feet ad got an arm around Tony. The gnome was short, slender.Barely weighed more than a sack of grain. The ceiling was coming downin chunks all around them. A huge, gaping crack opened in the floor.

Shit.

Buckypinwheeled to a stop, Tony still thrown over his shoulder like achild. The edging of the cavern was steady, a deep root of bedrockunderneath. Half the rest of the floor was going to go at any moment.

Anddwarves... Dwarves couldn’t jump. On the few occasions it had beena problem, Steve usually tossed Bucky, but Steve… Steve was on theother side of the Hydra, which was going through its death throes andprobably not helping with cavern stability at all.

“Go,go,” Bucky said. “Tie on a rope on the other side, hurry.”

Hegrabbed Tony by the belt and the back of his thick vest, swung, andthrew him across the crevasse, not even breathing for fear until Tonyrolled, fetching up against the cavern wall.

Tonydidn’t stop to catch his breath, but scrabbled at his belt for alength of rope and tied it with quick, deft movements to an outcrop.He wound up to throw it back across the gap to Bucky.

Behindhim, Stane was climbing back to his feet, cursing... No, make thatcursing.

Trajectoryand arc.

Tonywas the target. Bucky would live, and all he had to do was nothing.

Heknew he wouldn’t make it across the chasm, it was too far. But hemight be able to land on the slight outcropping, about twenty feetbelow. He jumped. The curse hit him, a glancing blow, striking hisshoulder. Pain, brilliant, blinding pain, seared through his leftarm.

Thecavern roof collapsed; a million tons of rock and dust came down onStane’s head.

Theblackness of the chasm below was a soft, cold comfort. Bucky tumbledin and let gravity take him… Tony’s screaming followed him intothe dark.

“No!!!”Tony screamed. Not Bucky, gods of Light, notBucky.He scrambled for the edge of the chasm, not caring about theaftershocks still shaking the ground, not caring about the flailingof the hydra, or even about his heart that Bucky had been holding.

Light,he needed... He fumbled in his bag until he found a lantern and shoneit over the edge, terror pounding cold through his veins.

Don’tget attached to the Bigs,his mother had told him, but he hadn’t listened. He’d grown tolove his friends -- Steve’s easy sincerity and Clint’s readyjokes and Natasha’s quick wit and Thor’s good humor and evenLoki’s cleverness. But most of all, mostof all,he’d come to love Bucky, steadfast and true, reliable in a way thatBigs seldom were.

Thelight reached down and there was Bucky, lying in a pool of oh, god,so much blood. One arm was outstretched, Tony’s heart shining likea beacon in its grasp. “No,” Tony said again, barely a whisper.What use was his heart if Bucky was gone?

Hechecked his rope -- the least they could do was see Bucky’s bodyreturned to his home, buried properly -- and swung over the side,shimmying down to the ledge where Bucky had landed.

Closer,the stench of the blood was unbearable, and he could see the pulpymess that was all that was left of Bucky’s left arm, which musthave borne the brunt of not one but several impacts. Tony choked backbile; he had more important things to do first. He wasn’t strong,but he could sling Bucky to his back and have one of the others pullthem up.

Butwhen he rolled Bucky over, the dwarf’s breath hitched with pain,and Tony’s eyes nearly fell out, they felt so wide. “Bucky!”

“Tony?”Bucky’s eyes were open, but they flittered around like he couldn’tsee. “Tony.. z’at you?”

“It’sme, I’m here,” Tony babbled. Change of plan, right. He wrappedthe rope around the stump of Bucky’s shoulder to make a tourniquet,though he didn’t know if he was strong enough to make it tight.“Thor!” he yelled. “Come fast! We need your healing at once!”

“Igot it, doll,” Bucky said. He’d started their adventures bysaying Tony was no bigger than a doll, and what use did they have forchildren’s toys in the wild, but it had become more… affectionatethan that, over time. “Your heart.Igot it. Takeit. Before I go home t’ meet the Gods.”

“Don’tyou dare,”Tony scolded. “You weren’t supposed to dietoget it back, you stupid Big! I don’t even wantitif you’re going to leave me!” He was aware that he sounded like apetulant child, but he didn’t care. Whatever it took to make Buckystay with him. “Thor!”

“Well,gotta say, it wasn’t the plan,” Bucky pointed out. “You gonnamiss me, doll? Give us a kiss to bear me away. Always… it wasalways you…” His face contorted with agony, blood still spurting,despite the tourniquet.

“Bucky,don’t talk like that,” Tony panted. “Stay, and I’ll give youall the kisses you want. Wanted to kiss you for months now, anyway,just... just staywith me.”He tried to tighten the tourniquet, but it was useless. Stupid gnome;he should have a device for this! He would get right on that, as soonas they were back to civilization, as soon as he could sit and thinkabout anything but the way Bucky’s skin was growing pale.

Loki’spretty face -- not so pretty when covered with sweat and dirt andblood -- peered over the side. “Hold fast to him, tinkerer, and Ishall lift you both out of the pit.” Beyond Loki, Tony could hearClint and Nat arguing, as they often did.

“So,your grand idea is to wrap us all up in your web arrows and stick usto the wall? Thanks, Spiderman.”

“I’mnot Spiderman!” Clint protested. “No one knows who Spiderman is!It’s certainly not me. Maybe it’s you. I’ve never seen you andSpiderman in a room at the same time!”

Loki’spower always felt unpleasant over Tony’s skin, like licking abattery, a jolt and buzz and tingle as it wrapped itself around them.Just in time, the veil of weightlessness draped around them and theledge they were resting on crumbled and dropped into the abyss below.Loki strained, lifting his arm and they moved in response to hiswill. He backed away from the ledge and drew the two up and out. Themage went to his knees, panting for breath and let them drift gentlyto rest on the solid ground.

“Luckily,neither of you weigh so much as two men, or I’d not be able to liftyou,” Loki said, thin chest heaving for air.

“Cleara space for the gods to work,” Thor bellowed. He went to one kneeat Bucky’s side and placed a thick, powerful hand over the dwarf’schest. “I pray to thee, Allfather Odin, to heal this dwarf ofwounds obtained because he was tooslow to get out of the way.”

“Hewasn’t!” Tony argued. “He wasoutof the way and he jumped into it to save me!” His chest hadn’tached so fiercely since Stane had stolen his heart and he’d beenforced to switch it out for the old one, the one that was slowlykilling him... He took Bucky’s hand and rubbed it. “Why isn’tit getting better?”

Lokiwas already on his feet; the mage never could stay in one place whenthere were mystical items to examine. He’d taken Stane’s belt andwas thumbing through the thick tome that--

“Isee and I understand,” Loki proclaimed. “Here, brother, let meslow the passage of time, that we may confer on what best to do.”Loki pulled a single crystal rod from his own set of pouches andpockets. “Tony, let him go, lest you be caught up in the spell. Weshall need, I think, your expertise. Steven, take Nat and Clint;explore the tunnels. According to the maps we saw, there should be adwarven forge nearby. Get it going and come back for us.”

Lokiturned to Thor and Tony. “The wound is cursed; with the loss of hisarm, it cannot be healed. I will place him in an amber sleep. Timewill have no meaning for him, until we can fashion him a new one.”

Breathcaught in Tony’s throat. “A new one?” He glanced toward Bucky,and then looked back at the brothers. “If this is another one ofyour tricks,Loki...” He knew the mage didn’t take him seriously, but he woulddestroyLokiif this was just a way to poke fun at Bucky, or worse.

“Anew arm,” Loki said. He gave Tony a serious glance. “You can dothis? Fully articulated, functional. We shall use it; Thor can bondit to his shoulder, and I can enspell it, to work as well as hisflesh and blood arm. It will confuse the curse. It will not endthecurse, but it will give us time.” He stretched forward one pale,long-fingered hand. “I do this to help heal him. You can trust mein this.”

Itwas Bucky’s only chance. Thor would have said, already, if he wereable to lift the curse with the power of his All-Father. Tonyhesitated only a moment longer, then nodded, reached out to lay hishand over Loki’s. “I can do this,” he agreed. “It will bebetter than functional.It will be magnificent.”

Lokinodded. He broke the crystal over Bucky. The dwarf took one, lastshuddering breath and stopped. Everything stopped. His breathing, thebleeding, the soft pained moans he was making. Frozen, perfectly,between one moment and the next.

Lokitook a flat, round stone from out of his pouch and placed it on theground. “Get up, you,” he told it, prodding at it with a bootedtoe. “We have work to do.” The stone, Tony could have sworn,humphed,offended. It slid under Bucky and lifted him, hovering at aboutLoki’s knee. “Give him a push, Tony, and let’s find the forge.We have much work to do.”

Thesounds and heat of the forge was familiar; the glowing orange lightshed from the coals a comfort. The Outsiders always thought of thedwarven mines as cold and lifeless, dark and silent, but Bucky knewthey were full of light and love, warmth and wonder. He snuggleddeeper into his bed. He was awake, but he was not yet ready to facethe day. His brothers and sisters would rouse him soon enough. Therewas work to be done. His mother would be at the forge already,foredwarf for a huge task-force. Father would be at the fire, cookingbreakfast. Bacon and eggs, grilled mushrooms and small beer. Freshrolls, with butter. Mmmm…

Heinhaled, trying to smell the first hints of breakfast. Odd that therewas… nothing.

Heopened his eyes. Instead of the round, smooth ceiling of hishearthroom, there was an endless vaulted ceiling above him; ancientdwarven work.

Buckysat up, raising his hands to rub at his eyes and stopped again.

“Bythe gods,”he gasped. What… what had beendonetohim? One hand he knew as well as he ever had, work-rough and strong.Except his hand looked almost soft, as if he’d been months awayfrom work. The other… dear gods…

Theother was gleaming metal, silvery and strange. It moved at hiscommand, seamless as his arm had ever been. He clenched a fist andwatched glittery fingers, reflecting the light of the forge, close.  

“Bucky?”The voice was familiar, even if Bucky couldn’t quite place it, andsmall with uncertainty. “Are you awake?”

“What…what happenedtome?” Bucky’s voice had no power behind it, shock had robbed himof his lungs. He was panting for air and there was no air, turninghis strange metal arm over and over, trying to understand.

“Youdon’t remember?” The voice belonged to a gnome, hoveringhesitantly nearby, between Bucky and the light of the forge.“Nothing? What... Do you know me?”

Therewas… something. It niggled and wriggled in Bucky’s brain. Like aworm on a flat rock. He couldn’t see the gnome, he was standing inthe shadow, the light behind him. “I… whatis this?”He held up the arm, fingers spread wide. “Is it… me?”

“That’s...a question for the gods,” the gnome said. He took a hesitant stepforward. “You were hit with a curse that was meant for me, and yourarm... You lost the arm. We would have lost you altogether, but...”He took a gulping breath. “The curse is still in you, in yourshoulder. Loki’s been studying it, and he has ideas of how we canget it removed, but in the meantime...” He gestured. “It shouldwork like your real arm. I made it, and Thor attached it, and Lokianimated it.”

Buckystretched it, worked the fingers, one at a time. Reached out, graspedthe gnome’s wrist and tugged him closer. Out of the shadow and intothe light. “You made this? For me?”

Therewas a strange light coming from the gnome’s chest, hidden by avest, but peeking over the edges. Bucky raised the metal fingers andtapped the gnome’s chest, just over the strongest point of theglow. Metal against metal. The gnome’s heart. A mechanicalcreation, a wonder of magic and steel.

Buckyinhaled as the rush of memory flooded him. “Tony!”

Tonygasped. “You remember,” he said, slumping in relief. “Oh,Bucky. Thank the gods.”

“Youmade this?” Bucky turned the arm again. “Well, of course Iremember. Dwarves always pay their debts. And they rememberadebt owed them.”He gave Tony a fierce glare.

Tonydidn’t seem the least bit put off by the glare. He stepped closer,mouth curving into a smile under his small, neat mustache. “Do you,now? That must be something we have in common, you know. Gnomes areexcellent accountants, very precise in our calculations.”

“Thinksomeone denied me a death kiss,” Bucky said. His stomach was inknots; maybe Tony had just made that up, had been terrified andpanicking about losing a companion. “That I might stay. And get allthe kisses I wanted.” He made a grand gesture at himself, the bed,and the sly, adorable gnome in front of him. “I stayed.”

Tonytook another step closer, close enough now for Bucky to feel hisbreath. “So you did,” Tony agreed. “And a Stark always pays hisdebts.” His chin tipped up, inviting. “How would you like tobegin?”

Buckythought it was oddly fitting, as he’d one held Tony’s heart inhis hand, that he use the new hand that Tony made him to draw thegnome closer. His lips were so close to Tony’s that he could feelthe way they quivered with anticipation. “You were terriblyunspecific,” he cautioned. “All that I want… may take th’rest of our lives to get to.”

Tonyhuffed. “I,” he said fussily, “am an engineer, and I am nothingif not preciselyexactinmy terms. I offered what I intended to offer. No more, and certainlyno less.”

Bucky’smouth slotted to meet Tony’s lips. Those wide, lush lips, barelyparted, but begging for his kiss. He didn’t resist that siren’scall; didn’t even try.

Tonytasted like steel and fire, like bronze and bravery. The thoughtexploded through him with the force of a powderkeg bomb. He liftedhis hands, both of them, to cup Tony’s face, to cradle it. He ranhis tongue over Tony’s bottom lip, and when he gasped, Bucky didn’thesitate, delving the depths of that mine with eagerness.

Tony’sarms came around him, clenching, as Tony’s mouth fell open, eagerand hungry for Bucky’s kiss. “Oh,” he said when Bucky pulledaway, and would spend years denying that it came out as a squeak.“Oh, that’s... that’s even better than I thought it would be.”

Therewas a stirring in his blood and heat in his bones. Bucky tugged Tonyoff balance; they had this nice, convenient, comfortable bed righthere, and apparently nothing urgent to do. He swallowed hard, thenpulled Tony closer, tumbling the gnome into the bed with him. “Comehere, my treasure,” Bucky said, “an’ I’ll do m’ best to putall your dreams t’ shame. You said kisses… I never specifiedwhereIwas gonna kiss you.”