Bucky and Steve worked in the common floor kitchen in a beautiful show of teamwork. They never spoke a word to each other but moved around the kitchen grabbing things from cabinets and handing it to the other without any prompting. Hell, Bucky was humming, and practically dancing around the blond as the worked, cooking and cleaning as they went about making another large breakfast spread for the whole team. It had become a Saturday tradition, at least on Saturdays they were at the compound.
They weren't shy about their proximity, touching each other with gently hands as one would move behind the other. It was intriguing to watch, and soon a crowd had gathered as the two super soldiers acted as close as two lovers. Darcy was used to it, and was by no means threatened by the old friends closeness. She and Bucky had been together for months now, and she had already come to grips with the fact that Steve just came with the package. She had questioned Bucky early on about his and Steve's closeness, and he had just laughed off her suspicions. The two men had never been more than close friends, so close they might as well have been family.
As they finished cooking and started placing the food out on the long dining table Tony just couldn't help but speak up. "I know you guys were close and all, but is this some Flowers in the Attic kinda close?" Tony raised an eyebrow and smirked. Darcy just rolled her eyes.
Steve stopped and looked at the dark haired genius in utter confusion, completely missing the reference. Bucky on the other hand made a face of utter disgust before dropping the plate of bacon on the table, "Oh god Stark, no. Jesus, where the fuck is your mind?" Darcy knew the reaction was totally over the top and completely fake just to throw Tony off.
It worked to, as Tony suddenly jerked back and had a look of shock on his features, "You got that reference? Hydra has some weird recommended reading lists."
Darcy just giggled, "I gave him that one to read last month when he didn't get my powdered sugar equals poison joke." Steve just watched the exchange with a blank stare. He felt he should be embarrassed, but without knowing the context he was just left confused. Bucky smiled and promised to let him borrow his copy later..
It was a few weeks later and the whole team was together again, going over the latest mission plan before heading out to take down another AIM base that had been up to some serious weapons violations. As was usual Steve was standing beside Tony, leaning into the other man more and more as the meeting continued. Bucky and Darcy both watched this with little grins at each other. It was obvious where Steve affections were, even if the other man didn't seem to have a clue.
Steve had been pointing out their entry point and where they expected to find the most resistance, as well as escape plans if things got out of hand. Tony slapped a hand on his shoulder and looked at him with his usual smile and said, "Well, at least we know we'll have the ability to cut and run if need be." Steve stared at Tony, his mouth flapping like a fish and his face turning bright red before he had to quietly excuse himself from the group. Tony stared after him, "Was it something I said?"
Darcy, who had fallen into a fit of giggles, gasped out "Boy have I got a book series for you!"
A few weeks later, much to Steve chagrin, Tony took to calling him Lonestar just to watch him go red and run from the room. Although after one drunken evening, where the two men ended up alone in the common room, Steve started calling Tony Meow Mix, causing almost as much discomfort. The fact that they believed no one had noticed their stolen touches or kisses in dark corners just added to the entertainment of the others.