A/N: Okay, I lied. Three chapters now.

Tony was a little freaked out the next morning when he woke up hearing Bucky and Steve talking in the living room.

Oh god, Bucky wouldn't have told Steve about his stupid dream, would he? Of course he would. Bucky was a little shit and this was perfect blackmail material.

But Tony hadn't believed he would tell him so soon. That was mean, even for Bucky.

Tony slipped into a pair of reasonably clean clothes and frantically combed his hair into order. Normally, he'd roll right out of bed in the morning and wander into their shared kitchen in his boxers because he didn't give a shit what Bucky thought about his appearance. But Steve couldn't see him like that.

Bucky grinned widely when Tony finally made his entrance. "There you are. I was beginning to think you'd sleep the day away."

"It's still early," Tony argued. "Nothing to do at this hour."

"Oh, bullshit. Steve and I had time to take a few laps around the track, have breakfast, go to econ class, and print out movie tickets for this afternoon. All before you dragged your lazy ass out of bed." Bucky shook his head. "I don't know how you manage to get anything done."

"The miracle of coffee?"

Steve snorted like Tony had just told a mildly amusing joke.

Okay, that was a good sign. Steve wouldn't be laughing if he hated Tony. And he wouldn't hate Tony if Bucky hadn't told him about the dream. He breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good.

Of course, it meant he'd have to be on guard against Bucky's tricks the rest of this visit. But it was worth it to spend a little more time with Steve.

Steve cleared his throat. "Hey, Buck, you want to hit the gym before lunch?"

"Sure. Let me grab a shower first."

Steve's forehead wrinkled. "A shower before we work out?"

"I'm going to need it. My dreams last night left me feeling a little dirty." Bucky shot Tony a malevolent smirk.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Make it quick."

Bucky tossed a sloppy salute over his shoulder and disappeared into their shared bathroom.

And now Tony was acutely aware that he was alone with Steve.

He swallowed nervously and edged towards the kitchen. "Can I get you anything?"

Steve shook his head. "Bucky and I already ate."

Oh, right, right. They'd already had breakfast. What an idiot he was, forgetting that already.

"Anything to drink?" he offered. "Coffee?"

Steve chuckled. "No, you probably need it a lot more than I do."

Tony felt a little of the tension in his chest ease. He liked being able to make Steve laugh. He had a nice laugh. And nice eyes and a nice mouth and-

Wow, he needed to stop this train of thought right now.

"Well, I'm going to make myself some coffee then," Tony announced, quickly backing into the kitchen.

He poured himself two cups of extra strength coffee and chugged them, before pouring himself a third to take into the living room and sip like a normal person.

With caffeine in hand, he felt on more even footing. He returned to the living room and sat backwards in Bucky's desk chair because there was no way he was brave enough to sit next to Steve on the couch.

"Got your morning coffee I see," Steve murmured, but he wasn't looking at him. He was hunched forward on the couch, clasping and unclasping his hands and glancing at his watch.

He wasn't here to see him, Tony reminded himself. He was waiting for Bucky. But it was up to him to entertain Steve until Bucky got out of the shower, make Steve's wait as painless as possible.

"So, how was econ class?"

Oh, wow. That was the most painful attempt at smalltalk Tony had ever heard. Steve even looked up, one eyebrow raised in a clear 'Are you kidding me?' expression.

Tony hastily added, "I'm a business major, so if you ever need a study buddy, I'm available."

Steve smiled faintly. "I'll keep that in mind."

He hadn't rejected the offer outright, which was nice. It left Tony a little time to entertain his fantasies. Maybe Steve would invite him over to his place to study, which would give him a lot of insight into Steve's life. And maybe, if he was really helpful, Steve would reward him by-

Abort, abort. He was abandoning that line of thinking right now.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked. "You've got a really weird look on your face."

"Oh," Tony said. "Uh." He swallowed. "Bucky's sure taking his sweet time in the shower, isn't he?"

Steve frowned. "Yeah. That's not like him."

And now that Tony was really paying attention, he wasn't hearing the shower running.

There was the buzz like the sound of a lightsaber and Steve fished his phone out of his pocket with a muttered, "Sorry." A moment later, Tony's phone chirped like R2-D2 from the end table.

He stared at the screen for a long time. Bucky had texted him a single emoticon. :)

Well, that couldn't be good.

"He says he stepped out for some fresh air," Steve said slowly. He looked up from his phone, his brow furrowed in concern. "He couldn't have, could he?"

Tony marched down the hall and threw open the bathroom door. Bucky wasn't in there, of course. There was no place to hide in their tiny bathroom. But his eyes were drawn to the open window.

Ah, shit.

He heard footsteps and then Steve was right behind him, his breath tickling the back of Tony's neck as he peered through the doorway.

Tony quickly shifted to the side and let Steve into the bathroom.

Steve immediately clambered into the bathtub to put his head out the window. "What on earth was he thinking?" he muttered. "We're three stories up."

With great difficulty, Tony tore his eyes away from Steve's ass. "I'm sure he's fine. He keeps bragging to me what a parkour master he is."

"But why?" Steve said. "Why would he throw himself out a window when there's a perfectly good door?"

Tony had a fairly good idea why. But he wasn't about to tell Steve. Instead, he just shrugged. "Who knows? Bucky's an oddball."

Steve's phone hummed again. He glanced down at it and then looked grimly off into the distance.

"He's not coming back, is he?" Tony asked quietly.

Steve shook his head. "He says he's not coming back until everything's sorted out. So that means no gym time together. And no movie." He heaved a sigh. "Bucky's just stubborn enough to cut class and stay with a friend for awhile."

Tony bit his lip. He knew how much Bucky meant to Steve. They were the best of friends, practically inseparable. Steve already looked miserable at the thought of losing him. Tony didn't want to lose Steve either. But if sacrificing what little he had with Steve would bring Bucky back, he'd do it. Maybe Bucky was actually doing him a favor and forcing him to realize just how hopeless his crush was.

"I'm so sorry, Steve," Tony said. He hesitantly touched Steve's shoulder, the first and probably last physical contact he would get. "This is my fault."

"Your fault?" Steve shook his head vehemently. "Tony, this isn't-"

"I had a dream yesterday," Tony interrupted. "And you were in it."

He could feel the weight of Steve's impossibly blue eyes as he stared at him, almost as if they were piercing his soul.

"We were-" He swallowed convulsively. "We were fucking. For some strange reason." He turned his head, unable to look Steve in the face. "You had me pinned to the wall, kissing my lips and my neck. And I had my legs wrapped around your waist while you pounded into me."

He risked a glance at Steve and the blonde looked shell-shocked, his eyes wide and dilated.

"You really dreamed about me?"

"It wasn't my first wet dream," Tony confessed. "Just the first time Bucky caught me. You're all I dream about these days. I've got a crush on you the size of Saturn. It's a lost cause, I know. But better to have you reject me outright than pine over you forever."

Steve pressed a finger over Tony's lips. "It's not a lost cause. I happen to have a crush on you the size of Jupiter."

"Don't patronize me, please. I don't want your pity."

"It's not pity." Steve held up his phone so Tony could read the screen: Tell him how you feel! I'm not coming back until you idiots get together.

"Imagine that," Tony said faintly. All along, Bucky had known Steve wanted him back. And this had been his plot to get the two of them to realize it.

Steve smiled ruefully as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. "And here I thought I'd never see my best friend again because there was no way this teenage genius could ever want a boring art history major."

"Are you kidding me?" Tony said indignantly. "I've had a crush on you since I was fifteen and overheard my dad complaining about this brilliant kid who was wasting his time on art instead of going into business."

When Steve's brow furrowed, Tony hastily added, "Dad's words, not mine. I admire you for sticking with art. I've seen a couple of your paintings. They're really good."

Steve smiled faintly. "I might have been done well in my accounting class, but I hated it. And that's what I told Dean Stane when he tried to talk me into the school of business. I could never be a businessman. Art's what I'm really passionate about."

"That and Star Wars," Tony said with a smirk.

Steve grinned. "Oh yes, I'm very passionate about Star Wars. What's your view on the midichlorians?"

What followed was a thrilling fifteen minute debate. Tony had longed for someone like Steve to indulge his geekiness. Bucky just wasn't as into sci-fi as he was. Whenever Tony tried to convince Bucky how great Star Wars was, Bucky would call the characters by the wrong names just to piss him off. At least Bucky had genuinely loved Space Balls. And anybody that loved Space Balls wasn't a total lost cause.

Steve picked a piece of paper up off the desk. "I've got two tickets for the new Star Wars movie right here. Since Bucky's bailed on me, what do you say to getting lunch together and then going to see it?"

"I've already seen it," Tony admitted.

"Twice," Steve said with a sheepish smile.

Tony grinned. "I wouldn't mind seeing it again. If it's with you."

Steve brought Tony's hand up to his mouth and kissed it. "Good. It's a date."