AN: So, I've been reading a lot of fanfics lately and I fell in LOVE with wing fics, especially Reioka's "Featherbrain" on AO3. You should all check it out!

So, here's my first attempt at not only a wing fic, but a relationship between two real characters and not an OC. I hope you all enjoy!

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Bucky Barnes didn't have wings. At least, not anymore.

HYDRA had made sure of that.

No one made fun of him for it. No one made him feel like he was a freak for being grounded. No one made him feel self-conscious about the macabre scars that cross-crossed his back.

But still, Bucky felt like he had lost a piece of himself bigger than his arm or memories. His wings had been him. Everyone knew that wings were like the physical representation of a person's soul, and now they were gone.

He would never again feel the pleasurable feeling of having his feathers preened. Never again feel his wings flutter with happiness or fluff in annoyance. Never feel the wind in his face as he flew high into the clouds. Never flare his wings in a presentation that would hopefully leave his intended mate swooning.

HYDRA had taken that all from him.

So, he avoided wings like the plague. He didn't look for them. Didn't offer to clean Steve's beautiful golden plumage, even though they had done that for each other a million times before. Didn't seek to figure out people's emotions by watching the way their wings reacted to things. He didn't want the reminder of what he didn't have.

So it was no surprise that seeing Tony's wings was like a sucker punch to the gut when he finally did see them.

The first time Bucky witnessed the wonder that was Tony Stark's wings was at a press conference.

The nation was still wary of letting Bucky be a part of the Avengers, so Tony had decided that the best way to get everything out in the open and dealt with would be a meeting with the media to hopefully calm down the hysteria. Not willing to let Bucky go in without him, Steve had insisted that he tag along. That meant that the three of them were up against multitudes of ravenous reporter hounds that wanted the latest story about the former brainwashed assassin.

It had started off well enough, Tony trading snarky one liners back and forth with some of the better known interviewers to help ease the mood, but soon all eyes turned to Bucky. Not that Steve and Tony didn't do their very best to ward them off, but the media quickly showed themselves to be out for blood. The questions they threw at him ranged from general inquisitiveness to downright nasty and unnecessary. After just a few minutes of the relentless questioning, Bucky felt ready to faint.

Give him a battlefield anytime, the press were terrifying.

Steve didn't seem to notice Bucky's pale face and tensed body, he was too busy trying to corral the crowd, but Tony caught Bucky's eye and frowned. Bucky did his best not to show how affected he was by the onslaught of questions but he must have failed because Tony narrowed his eyes and then turned back to the crowd with a determined and angry aura about him.

"I think that's enough for today." He stated shortly, and began to lead Steve over to Bucky so they could walk off the stage together, in a show of solidarity. However, the voices and questions raged on, and Bucky seemed rooted to the spot, caught in the tide of reporters. Seeing Bucky's dilemma, Steve left Tony's side and went to his, wrapping his arm around his slightly shaking shoulders.

"It's okay, Buck. Let's get out of here." He blinked, still dazed, when one voice rang out loud and clear above the rest.

"How does it feel to be a serial killer?!" The crowd went quiet as a young, blonde woman shoved her way to the front of the crowd, holding a microphone in front of her. When she realized she had the floor and the full attention of the three present Avengers she smirked and called out again, this time softer now that she didn't have to shout above the others. "How does it feel to walk free when people who have done less are in jail for the rest of their lives? Do you think it's fair? Do you think you deserve to be an Avenger?! How does it feel to be a –"

"I said that's enough!" Tony snarled, suddenly standing in front of Bucky. With an ominous whoosh,Tony's wings flared out and hid both Bucky and Steve from view, arching high over Tony's head in an impressive display of anger. Bucky couldn't look away. Not only from Tony, who was an impressive sight himself, but from Tony's wings.

They were magnificent. The purest, inky black that Bucky had ever seen. He could have sworn that the color of Tony's wings could swallow up all the light around them like a black hole, the color was so intense. Bucky had never witnessed anything like them before.

Tony turned around, his eyes still dark with anger, and herded Steve and him off the stage, ignoring the awed look that Bucky was sure was still plastered across his face. Bucky felt a phantom ache ripple across his back and he realized that, if he still had wings, he would be presenting them to Tony.

Right then and there Bucky knew that Tony Stark's wings would be the death of him.

The second time Bucky got to see Tony's wings was in his workshop.

Tony had just gotten done updating Bucky's arm and went about his other work, not minding that Bucky lingered around, as long as he didn't interrupt. Tony's so-called music was playing loudly in the background, though not as loudly as usual, as Tony knew that Bucky's hearing was as advanced as the rest of him and playing it too loud would be painful. Bucky appreciated the thought tremendously, and made sure to let Tony know. However, the genius had merely acted like he always played his music that soft, refusing to acknowledge that he had done it just for Bucky's sake.

Those that said the genius only cared about himself had obviously never met Tony.

Bucky sat on the comfortable couch that was stuffed in the corner of the lab and watched Tony interact with the holograms, JARVIS, and his robots. It always made him smile to see the genius so at ease and in his own element. Before Bucky had really started looking for Tony, all he had ever seen were the fake smiles Tony saved just for the press, and now that Bucky recognized the difference between the press Tony and the real Tony, he couldn't get enough. Bucky was jerked out of his thoughts by a sharp, pained yelp coming from the other man's direction.

"Ouch! DUM-E let go of my wing you useless tin can!" Tony growled as the robot in question tugged at the appendage, apparently having mistaken the black feathers as something that needed to be cleaned off of Tony. Reacting without thinking, Bucky was up off the couch and across the room in an instant, prying the claw hand off of Tony's beautiful wing with his metal hand. He stood in front of Tony, glaring down at the robot menacingly until the robot backed away, beeping nervously. After he was sure the robot wouldn't come to do more damage to Tony, Bucky turned around to face Tony's wide eyes. Realizing what he had done, and to Tony's brain-child no less, he rolled his shoulders uncomfortably.

"Sorry." He muttered. Tony barked out a laugh, startling him.

"Sorry? Don't be sorry, Bucky-boy! I've been trying to get him to stop grabbing my wings for ages. Maybe this time he'll actually learn his lesson."

"You're…you're not mad?" Tony scoffed, wings shifting on his back.

"Of course not. In fact, you're on guard duty whenever you're down here from now on."

"Guard duty? I get to guard your wings?" Tony was trusting him with the guarding of his wings? His physical soul? Bucky knew that that wasn't what Tony saw it as, and was sure the genius was joking, but it was a big deal to him. Tony was trusting him with his wings. His beautiful, magnificent wings.

"Yeah, sure. DUM-E won't know what hit him. But, be warned, he might try to spray you with a fire extinguisher." Bucky couldn't help the giant smile that bloomed on his face as he watched Tony get distracted by his work again.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your wings." He murmured to himself, moving back to the couch and watching the genius work again.

The third time was several days after an engineering binge.

Bucky was in the kitchen with Natasha and Clint about to pour himself a cup of coffee when the genius stumbled in. Bucky could help but feel a little concerned for the man; he looked like he had been through the wringer. Bucky felt the strong urge to bundle up the sleep-deprived man in a fluffy blanket and whisk him off to his bedroom to snuggle. What really tipped Bucky of to how tired Tony was, was the fact that Tony's wings were dragging on the floor, nearly tripping him with every step. Only the truly exhausted disregarded their wings that way. After all, wings were fairly delicate and one wrong step could end in a disaster. Clint and Natasha simply watched in amusement as he half walked, half sagged towards Bucky. Apparently, this was not a new development to them. It was new to Bucky, however, and he stiffened as the genius got to him. Tony looked up at him with big, sleepy brown eyes and Bucky felt his heart melt.

"Coffee?" Tony whined pathetically and made grabby hands at the pot that Bucky still held in his hand. Bucky handed over the pot of coffee without a word. Tony's black wings shuffled happily on his back, gaining a little more life and catching Bucky's eye before Tony actually hugged the coffee pot to his chest, whispering soft words of adoration to it.

Bucky had to remind himself that it would be ridiculousto be jealous of a coffee pot.

"When's the last time you slept, doll?" Bucky finally managed to get out, and inwardly winced when the endearment tumbled out with his inquiry. Tony looked back up at him, blinking slowly, coffee momentarily forgotten and Bucky held his breath. Would he be mad? Amused? Would he like the term?

"…Dunno. What day is it?" Instead of acknowledging Bucky's slip-up, he merely focused on the actual question, slurring his words slightly as he spoke. Bucky didn't know whether to be relieved or regretful. Before Bucky could properly chastise the genius for not getting enough sleep, Clint snorted from his place at the table.

"Jesus, Stark. Just go get some sleep before you fall asleep on Barnes." Bucky blushed, but Tony merely looked lazily at Clint before looking down at his beloved coffee pot.

"Coffee?" He whimpered. Clint rolled his eyes.

"You can take the coffee pot, Stark. Just go to bed." Tony squinted suspiciously at the archer before finally turning and shuffling out of the room, coffee pot firmly pressed against his chest. Bucky watched him go before sighing when Tony was finally out of sight. He looked down at his empty coffee mug. He should have filled it before handing the pot over to Tony.

"You like him." Natasha's smooth voice cut into his thoughts and his head jerked up, getting caught in her piercing stare. Bucky opened his mouth, then closed it. It was no use denying it. Tony was just far too beautiful for his own good. His wings had drawn Bucky in, but the man behind them was who had claimed Bucky's heart.

"Yeah. I think I do."

The fourth time Bucky saw Tony's wings was, unfortunately, in the middle of a battle.

Everything had been going well, the team working with their usual efficiency, when something lit up the sky momentarily. Before anyone knew what had happened, Iron Man dropped out of the sky, landing with a harsh crack against the pavement. After a few seconds of shocked silence, the Avengers began to fight again with a renewed vigor; one of their own was down and Tony wasn't answering the com calls.

"Bucky, you're the closest to his location. Get there and make sure he's alright." Steve ordered and Bucky silently complied, ripping through the enemies easily until he finally caught sight of the downed Iron Man suit. After shooting a few minions that had gotten close to him to see if Tony was truly down for the count, Bucky frantically made his way over.

"Tony?!" He yelled over the sounds of the battle, praying that the genius was okay, that he had been protected from the blast by the suit. After a few agonizing seconds of no reply, the suit slowly began dismantling itself in front of him, leaving behind a very banged up Tony in its wake. Bucky sagged with relief. "You're okay."

"I…I think I broke my wing, Buck." Tony ground out, his voice rough with pain. Bucky immediately helped the other man out of what was left of the suit, all the while making sure no enemies were stupid enough to approach them. When he finally got Tony up and turned around, his vision went red.

One of Tony's gorgeous wings was bent inward at an odd angle, and Bucky could see the delicate bone cutting through the skin and feathers. Bucky had to stop himself from reaching out and touching the broken appendage, if just to try to comfort Tony, knowing that it must hurt like hell. Bucky felt the remnants of the Winter Soldier pushing its way to the forefront of his mind; even his darker side was enraged that Tony had been injured.

"Stay put. I'll cover us." Bucky ordered sternly, before sweeping his eyes over the location to once again make sure that they were still safe. Somehow, Tony seemed to sense the dangerous edge to his voice and for once had no snappy comeback, merely nodding and following Bucky's commands.

Bucky didn't have to worry about their safety long though. The battle was soon over, with the enemy retreating under the furious attacks of the Avengers. As soon as he realized that they were safe, Bucky turned back towards Tony and gently took his arm, leading him towards medical attention.

"I'm okay, really. I've had worse." Tony tried to reassure Bucky but he just growled and moved the faster towards the ambulance that had arrived.

"Was supposed to take care of you and your wings, doll. I'm sorry." Bucky finally managed to choke out. Tony tugged Bucky to a stop, reaching up to cup Bucky's face.

"Hey, no. You can't stop everything. Just get me to the meds and I'll be fine. I promise, Bucky-bear." Bucky hesitated before giving in to the compulsion to nuzzle into Tony's hand. He sighed, catching sight of the broken wings again.

"Come on, doll. You need to get that looked at."

The fifth time was when Tony was still healing from the last disaster of a mission.

"Bucky?" He turned towards the genius, curious at his soft tone. Usually Tony was never soft-spoken unless he was cooing at one of his bots.

"Yeah, doll?" After the mission, Bucky had given up on trying to stop calling Tony 'doll', and Tony didn't seem to mind. In fact, he usually blushed adorably, like he was currently doing.

"I…I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" Bucky rolled his shoulders as the now familiar ghost feeling of presenting rippled across his back. He really wished he could display for Tony, especially when he was acting so cute like this.

"Anything." Tony gave a nervous little giggle, so unlike him that Bucky raised a brow. Tony swallowed the laugh and took a deep breath, seemingly steeling himself.

"Come on then." Tony finally muttered and tugged Bucky towards the elevator. He followed willingly – there really wasn't a place the genius would go that he wouldn't follow – but was shocked when Tony pushed the button for his penthouse. Tony almost never invited people up to his nest, it was a personal place that was a kind of sanctuary for the genius. Bucky couldn't help but puff up his chest in pride at the thought of Tony trusting him enough to let him in. Tony led him towards the couch where he then pulled away, biting his lip nervously.

"Doll?"

"I was wondering…I mean, if you wouldn't mind…if you weren't busy…"

"Never too busy for you, doll." Tony blushed again, and Bucky couldn't help but smile. His smile disappeared into an open-mouthed awe as Tony suddenly unfurled his wings. He did it awkwardly and carefully, since they were still sore from the battle, but were healing nicely. Bucky didn't know what was going on, but he liked where it was going.

"I…I was wondering if you could maybe preen my feathers for me?" Bucky's eyes widened at the thought of being able to touch Tony's gorgeous wings. Tony must have mistaken his reaction as something bad because his wings immediately drooped and he shuffled back and forth. "Never mind, it was stupid of me to ask. Selfish. I know you don't have…you know…so I shouldn't have even…I didn't mean to come off as insensitive I just thought that –"

"I would love to preen your feathers." Bucky interrupted. Tony stopped and looked at him before his wings lifted happily once more and his eyes seemed to glow.

"Really?"

"Really. Sit on the couch, doll." Tony scrambled to obey, sitting down almost eagerly and looking up at Bucky when he moved closer. Bucky licked his lips in anticipation. He was finally getting to touch Tony's wings! Not able to stand the wait, Bucky quickly, but gently, began running his fingers through Tony's midnight feathers, trying to ignore the soft moan that escaped Tony.

Bucky wasn't sure how long the two of them were there, he was too bust admiring the softness of the downy feathers, the spread of Tony's primaries, and the quiet groans of appreciation that Tony let out every time Bucky fixed a feather back into its proper place. Sooner than Bucky would have liked, he was merely tracing each feather, not really doing anything at all, just appreciating Tony's shudders of appreciation. Knowing this private, special moment with Tony would be over soon, Bucky couldn't help but lean forward and brush a kiss against the base of Tony's wings. Both men froze at the action. That was the closest either of them had gotten to actual physically admitting anything to each other. Bucky was worried that he had crossed the line when Tony spoke up quietly, looking up at Bucky with shy eyes.

"You know, I'm feeling a little jealous of my wings right now." Bucky looked at Tony, making sure he was serious, before smiling and leaning forward to meet Tony half-way.

The first time Bucky kissed Tony, Tony's beautiful wings wrapped around both of them and made Bucky feel like he could finally fly again.

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AN: R&R my lovelies!