As fast and quietly as he possibly could, which wasn't hard for an assassin, Bucky turned around and left the room and the sleeping man inside it. Tony had always been gone by the time Bucky returned. It was part of their silent agreement. And since Bucky wasn't ready to talk about it, he couldn't risk being there when Tony woke up. So he ran. After a while he ended up in the kitchen. It was lunch time after all. Natasha sat at the table, a Starkpad in one hand, a fork in the other, and a plate of something scary and healthy in front of her. Bruce stood behind the counter, grabbing himself a plate of whatever it was.
"Help yourself. I made some-" Bruce started before Bucky cut him off.
"Don't tell me." He grimaced. "It looks healthy, but I'll only eat it if you don't tell me what's in it. It's easier if I don't know."
"Picky huh?" Natasha said, not looking up from her Starkpad.
"Its ok," Bruce answered for him with a wink. " Green is scary for some people."
Bucky and Natasha laughed at that. Bruce was usually quiet, but he had a sense of humor when he wanted to bless someone with it. And surprisingly enough, the mush in front of him was pretty good, as long as he didn't look at it. They made small chit chat for a while, talking about nothing in particular. And it was good, until he choked on his drink when Tony strolled into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. No one said anything, they all just stared. Tony hadn't crawled out of his lab in weeks.
"A picture would last longer" Tony said without turning around. "But its not as good as the real thing."
"Easier to throw darts at though" Natasha told him, a hint of a smile at her lips.
Tony turned around and leaned up against the counter, slowly sipping at his black coffee. His face turned immediately sour when he saw the goop on our plates. "What is that? Is it going to crawl off the plate?"
"Don't be ridiculous" Bruce told him, "It cant crawl. There's no meat."
"No meat? Not food. Everyone knows meat makes a meal."
"That's not right. That's wrong. Broaden your horizons. Even Bucky tried it, he likes it, and he's almost as picky as you."
"Is that true?" Tony asked, and Bucky almost sputtered. So he just nodded back at him. "Guess it couldn't kill me. Probably."
Tony smiled and tried the smallest spoonful of food out of the pan. He made a face like he was contemplating it, then chugged a mouthful of coffee.
"It would be better with meat. But not bad Brucie. I'll give it a solid 6/10. You should be honored." Tony told him as he walked over to the table, sitting right next to Bucky.
Bucky felt his heart thumping just a little faster. Unsure of what to do he slowly kept nibbling at his food, staying out of the conversation unless directly spoken too, and even then it was yes or no answers. After a while he excused himself and left to go for another run. Maybe he was just over thinking things. Tony barley talked to him that day. It didn't mean anything. So what if it was more of a conversation than they've ever had before. So what if they've been sleeping in bed together for weeks. So what if the only time Bucky could sleep well was with Tony in his arms. For now, Bucky just wanted to shove all the So What Ifs deep deep down and ignore them, it would make life so much easier.
With not much else to do, he cleaned up and went to see Steve. They tried to hang out a few times a week, like they did before the war. Usually they tried catching up on things together. New movies, songs, games, and everything in between. It was better that way, experiencing something for the first time with someone, without others there to judge. Neither of them had to worry about asking a 'silly' question if it was just the two of them. They usually had Friday pick out a movie for them, always making sure it was randomized and something they hadn't seen before. Shoveling popcorn in their faces, they stayed up later than usual just enjoying each others company. Making up for years of lost time.
Sometime in the early morning, Bucky headed off to his room after dozing off next to Steve on his couch. He opened his door and got undressed before realizing there was already someone in the bed. Tony. Maybe Bucky would ask someone how Tony was handling the breakup with Pepper. Maybe he should get Tony some help. How messed up did you have to be to crawl in bed with a man you hate almost every night, with a higher than legal blood alcohol content.
As Bucky crawled in behind the other man, curling around his body, he shivered as he heard a slight groan escape Tony's mouth, followed by a barley audible "Bucky."