Avengers || WinterIron || Avengers || Assembling the Avengers || Avengers || WinterIron || Avengers
Title: Assembling the Avengers – Living at Stark Tower
Fandom: Avengers; Marvel Cinematic Universe
Avengers Disclaimer: All rights concerning the Avengers reserved to Marvel. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Warnings: m/m, Canon Divergent Post-Avengers (2012), Team as Family, families of choice, adoption, fluff, hurt/comfort, PTSD, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, m/f, f/f
Main Pairing: Bucky/Tony
Side Pairings: Hope/Darcy, Bruce/Jane, Clint/Natasha, Rhodey/May, Happy/Pepper
Marvel Characters: Anthony 'Tony' Stark, James 'Bucky' Barnes, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Thor Odinson, Hope van Dyne, Sam Wilson, Sharon Carter, Katherine Keener, Harley Keener, Gwen Stacy, Miles Morales, Edward 'Ned' Leeds, Peter Parker, May Parker, James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Maria Hill
Summary: After the battle of New York, Tony invites the Avengers to live with him in Stark Tower. Everything evolves from there on out. Living together in the tower changes the team-dynamic, changes the fate of the Avengers and how their line-up grows differently over time.
Assembling the Avengers
Living at Stark Tower
Chapter 7: New Normal
"When you said 'vacation', I somehow didn't expect you to come back with a new Avenger."
The look on Steve's face was mostly bemused as he side-eyed Hope, who simply waved in greeting before passing him with a gym-back in her hand. She was following Natasha out of the headquarters to be shown to the gym and for some sparring. Nat had been surprised at the new addition, but was eager to spar against someone new; she had wiped the floor with all the boys often enough at this point. Tony turned around on his chair to look at Steve.
"Focus, soldier boy, focus", huffed Tony, pointing at the screen. "I am explaining your buddy's new arm to you. Hope is one more Avenger to fight at our side! That's good."
"Did you... relax at all during your vacation?", sighed Steve as he stepped up to Tony.
"I helped the kids build their Ghostbuster gear", offered Tony. "That was relaxing."
"Ghost... oh no", grunted Steve before he sighed loudly. "Those news were about you guys. The teenagers breaking into Alcatraz trying to 'capture ghosts'-"
"Focus, Wonder Boy, focus", repeated Tony, pointing at the screen once more. "New arm!"
Shaking his head, Steve obliged to listen to Tony rattle down every function this arm had. Steve listened patiently, as he had listened to the recounting of the two week trip.
"Now, all you need to do is bring your buddy to my workshop and I can install it."
"...What?", asked Steve surprised. "I... but... you want to give him the arm? And... you want to install it? Tony, I understand, I'm sure someone else can-"
"I gotta face him at some point", interrupted Tony with a sigh. "Besides, don't think I haven't kept tabs on him. I talked to Helen about his progress. I know he's gonna need a lot of therapy – I mean, obviously, all things considered – but the triggers have been removed. He's safe to be around."
"I know that, but Tony...", started Steve unsure, eyebrows drawn together.
"How's he doing?", asked Tony instead. "I mean, outside of the... How's he really doing...?"
"I don't know", admitted Steve, looking at his hands. "He has nightmares. He... talks more. About the past too. He remembers. But... he's not the same man anymore. I know that, I'm not blind. He's been through hell, for so many years, he changed. He... prefers to be called James now. I try to keep it in mind, but I still sometimes slip. Bucky's always been... Bucky."
Tony hummed in reply, not looking at Steve. Of course it'd change a man. Afghanistan had changed him, he couldn't imagine how much what Barnes had been through must have changed him. It was good to see Steve accept that though; he guessed that Steve's own therapy was helping with that. Sam's idea. Steve didn't just have his own PTSD to deal with, he also had the survivor's guilt and he had to adjust to the changes of the future. Tony smiled faintly, patting Steve on the back.
"Come on, Cap. Let's fetch your buddy and give him his new arm."
/break\
Tony Stark had very pretty eyes and very cunning fingers. James just sat and observed him curiously. How gentle those fingers were as he fastened the new arm on James' shoulder. The engineer was constantly babbling, had been since James had entered the room. Nervous. Tense. Not comfortable being in a room with James. To show he was no threat, he tried to fold himself as small as possible, which was quite hard considering his size and bulking muscles.
"Why... are you giving me this?", asked James when they tested the arm.
Tony was still working on it, trying to calibrate it for James while James was supposed to try and wiggle his fingers, so Tony knew what to connect. The arm was lighter, James could already tell, the weight on his shoulder, it carried much easier than the bulky old one.
"Because it's easier to do stuff when you have two arms", offered Tony with a smile.
"I am... more of a danger with two arms", pointed James out. "You are... already afraid of me."
"I'm not", started Tony, pausing for a moment to push away and look at James. "I'm not afraid of James Barnes. I'm... wary of the danger the Winter Soldier posed. Which is why we got rid of that. And... I will be haunted by the image of my mother's death for a while to come. But that's instincts. My logical brain knows that it wasn't you and that you were used. Give my brain some time to adjust and catch up with you not being a danger. Which... something you need to adjust to too, mh? Maybe the two of us can slowly get adjusted to that together."
James felt strangely warm at the smile Tony offered him, so he just nodded awkwardly.
/break\
The new arm was good. It moved more smoothly, it didn't pinch him the way the HYDRA one had because it had only been about practicality and not about his personal comfort. A synthetic skin to make it look as real as possible – no more silver arm as a stark reminder to all the things he had done with that arm. Sam was overseeing James' physical therapy, the adjustment to the arm. Despite being a pain in James' side, Sam was good at his job and understanding. While James was getting used to his arm, he saw Natasha and the new one, Hope, sparring in the other section of the gym. Gwen, the girl, was sitting with them, watching to learn from them.
"You're doing good, Barnes", praised Sam reluctantly. "Need a break?"
James shook his head and returned his focus from the women to Sam. Sam. Names were one of the things he was trying these days, trying to adjust to being among people again. No more falcon and widow. Names. He even tried to socialize more. Sometimes, he ate in the common kitchen. But when it was more than two other people in the room with him, he'd flee still. He suspected that the Avengers had caught on with that, because they usually times it to not crowd him too much. This morning, he had eaten breakfast with Clint and Natasha. Last night, Bruce had heated up left-overs for him and eaten them with James, talking softly about a science project he was working on. They were trying to integrate him into their everyday life. Even Tony.
"The other James is still here", noted James as he watched the entrance.
The man in question walked in, together with Steve. The two men were talking, laughing.
"Rhodey, yeah. He's still sticking around. I suspect the girlfriend. She's cute", replied Sam.
No. No, James knew he was the reason. James Rhodes was protective of Tony, they were friends, old and best friends, the way James and Steve were. Rhodes knew the truth about what the Winter Soldier had done and that was why he was here to begin with; he wasn't an Avenger, not officially. He wanted to protect Tony from the possible threat of the Winter Soldier – even if that threat were only the nightmares and haunting images caused in Tony.
/break\
"Oh. Hey. I... didn't know anyone aside from me was awake."
Tony smiled awkwardly, tapping his fingers against the wall as he stared at James. James, sitting hunched on the counter, eating cereals. He was wearing a Captain America shirt and a messy bun, looking at Tony like he was caught with his hand in the cookie-jar. Cute. Not even remotely like a dangerous assassin. More like an oversized raccoon one would find in their trashcan. Tony's smile turned less awkward at that, it relaxed him somehow. So he approached, went to his coffee-machine to make himself one and put two slices of bread into the toaster.
"I assume you met the kitchen?", asked Tony rhetorically. "Trip and Bobby. They're good to you?"
"Only when Clint isn't around", replied James with a sharp nod. "They have a... feud."
"They do", confirmed Tony, barking out a laugh. "So hey, how's the arm been treating you?"
It had been two weeks now since he had gotten the arm. Instinctively, James lifted his hand up, turning it and balling a fist a few times. He nodded pleased. The arm was good. Very good.
"No problems. It's great", replied James after a moment, noticing an answer was expected.
"You're downright chatty these days, huh", quipped Tony, though the smile on his lips was genuine. "You're settling in well, aren't you? That's good. Very good. Steve's been like an excited young puppy running around all day. It's adorable. I keep wanting to give him treats."
"Golden Retriever", grunted James, earning a confused look from Tony. "Is what we used to call him. Runt of the litter, but that litter was, specifically, a litter of Golden Retrievers."
"Oh. Oh, I can see that. Oh, I really can see that", whispered Tony before laughing.
Genuinely laughing. It was a nice laugh. James liked it. It filled him with that warmth again.
/break\
Tony grinned broadly as he watched the exasperated, flustered look on Steve's face as he walked through the common area. Gwen's laptop was popped open, at the back a sticker. On the fridge in the kitchen, two magnets with similar motifs. Every Avenger he passed was grinning or giggling to themselves. When Steve turned around with his coffee in hand, he froze.
"Tony, that's too much. What...", groaned Steve frustrated.
There was a huge painting on the wall opposite him. Tony smiled brightly, motioning at it.
"Miles made it! It's amazing, isn't it? We have to put it up, to honor him. The kid would be like a kicked puppy if we didn't honor the gift", offered Tony teasingly.
The painting was of a Golden Retriever puppy, proudly holding Cap's shield in his snout as he stood tall, on his head the cowl with the wings. The magnets and the sticker on the laptop were all of a puppy with various Captain America motifs. The other Avengers broke out into laughter.
"Don't blame him. I gave him the idea", interjected James softly.
Steve turned around startled, staring at James, who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Even though Tony, Steve, Bruce and Hope were in the kitchen. Slowly, James was getting used to being around more people. But this, even more so? Making jokes like that, with Tony at that? How could Steve be mad at that. Smiling faintly, he sat down and shook his head.
"So you remember that, huh", grunted Steve amused.
"Steve! That is a wonderful mug! The likeness is striking!", exclaimed Thor as he approached.
Frowning, Steve turned his mug around just to see yet another Golden Retriever, this one standing with his paws up, the shield as the tag on his collar. Steve heaved another sigh, shaking his head. He later on stopped finding it as amusing when he found a Captain Ameri-PAW sticker on his shield, a happy puppy poking his head out between the words.
/break\
That had been the beginning of a wonderful friendship. Seeing this side of James had softened Tony up and seeing the way James behaved, it was so very different from the Winter Soldier, it made it easier to separate the two. James was... soft. He was all hard muscles, but when he smiled, he was soft. The way his hair fell into his face, his soulful eyes.
"You're not listening to me—e", complained Darcy, slapping him on the arm.
"Ouch. So sorry. Where were you? Hope's biceps or her eyes?", asked Tony teasingly.
Darcy glared and flushed. "I will have you know that I don't always talk about Hope."
"Well then, apologies. What were you saying?", asked Tony more sincerely.
"...I was talking about Hope's thighs in her new suit", grumbled Darcy with flushed cheeks. "But I still don't always talk about Hope! Stop looking at me like that."
Tony smiled bemused at that, nodding in reassurance. Ah, young love. Such a beautiful thing. Tony couldn't remember what that felt like. He paused, blinking slowly as an image of James' shy smile flashed before his eyes. How peculiar, where had that come from...?
"Okay, Miles has his art showing coming up next week", stated Darcy more seriously. "And we, very subtly, invited the people from that fancy art school Miles wants to attend."
She had a sly grin on her lips at that. The Morales family had grown on Tony a lot and while they would never, understandably, accept Tony to actively pull strings, he had talked about this with Rio and if Tony could get the committee to pay attention to Miles, then they'd accept that. After all, they wanted the best for Miles too. But they wanted it to come from Miles' talent, not Stark money. Tony had complete faith in that; Miles was incredibly talented.
/break\
Miles had a lot of talent. James smiled as he looked at the Stevie-puppy on the front of his notebook. Miles had done the designs based on Tony's request and Tony had made it happen for them to find their way onto stickers, notebooks, mugs – and not just for the Avengers' amusement, no, Miles was selling the merch in his online store, which apparently sold well, especially after some promotion from the official Avengers twitter account. A lot of new layers to this world that James had to get used to, but the internet did fascinate him a lot. He had immediately bought a notebook, one with puppy Steve baring his fangs threateningly, the shield strapped to his back. He kept it as his diary; something his therapist had advised him. Note down things about his new life that he liked, or didn't like. His thoughts. To make sense of them.
These days, many of his thoughts circled around Tony Stark, which he couldn't make sense of.
"You... Are you doodling the arc reactor?", asked Gwen curiously.
She sat opposite him at the table, doing her geography homework. James blinked and looked down. Yes, he had doodled the arc reactor in blue pen. Clearing his throat, James closed his notebook.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, I just caught sight of it and...", started Gwen, looking sheepish.
"It's... okay", assured James. "Not your fault. I have been thinking a lot about him? The arm, the... device that helped heal me. He is on my mind a lot."
"Because you li—ike him", declared Gwen with a broad grin.
"I suppose I do like him for all he has done", agreed James after a moment.
"No", laughed Gwen, shaking her head. "You like-like him. Like, boyfriend material."
"What... makes you think that?", asked James confused.
"It's what I did too", shrugged Gwen, skipping a few pages back in her school notebook.
She turned it around to show it to James. In the corner was a doodle of a little figure with red hair, above it inside a heart GS+MJW, in bright pink and orange colors. James tilted his head curiously.
"See, at first I just... absentmindedly doodled her during class", explained Gwen. "I figured it was, you know, she... stands out. Red hair and all. MJ is in my class and we've been friends for a while, but then I started realizing that she's always on my mind for other reasons."
James hummed curiously at that. Like-like. James remembered like-liking people, back in the day. But he surely couldn't be like-liking Tony Stark. Right...? Frowning, he looked up at her.
"He's a catch. You two have been spending a lot of time together", offered Gwen. "I think you make for a cute couple, you know. Don't overthink things."
Nodding, James accepted that he was getting relationship advise from a fourteen year old.
/break\
Tony smiled to himself as he entered the kitchen. "Fancy meeting you here, again."
Him and James both had bad sleeping patterns. They ran into each other in the kitchen a lot. Just sitting together and talking. Tony had found himself really enjoying that. He enjoyed James' company, he enjoyed being with the other man, talking to him. They even played the occasional prank on Steve these days – much to Steve's utter exasperation. He kept claiming that if he grew gray hair despite the super soldier serum, it would be entirely Tony and James' fault. Tony gladly accepted the blame for that. He smiled as James pushed a mug toward him.
"Made you coffee", whispered James softly, offering a smile in return.
"How are you holding up without Steve?", asked Tony after a moment. "You've been kind of hiding behind him for a long time. This is the first time he left. You doing okay?"
"Steve is... comfort. He is my best friend", replied James. "But I have to learn to live without him at my side at all times. I'm okay. He... needs his own life too, after all."
Steve was on a mission with Clint and Natasha right now, following another lead on another HYDRA base. Tony nodded, glad to hear that James was getting used to doing his own thing, even without Steve protectively hovering by. The smile on his lips turned a little softer.
"Reminds me of Rhodey, after he got me back from Afghanistan. He would not leave my side, at all", whispered Tony softly. "It's good you have your own Rhodey, who'll never let you hanging."
"It is", agreed James with a short nod. "But he made a life for himself in this... world. And he basically put it on hold to babysit me. I need him to get back to it. And I need... my own life."
"You do", agreed Tony encouragingly, patting James on the shoulder. "What would that life of your own entail? You know you're free to stay here. Take your time. Just, putting that out there, in case you think getting your own life would have to include moving out. It can! If that is what you want! I wouldn't want to influence your decision either way, just... giving you... options."
"Will you... Would you...", drawled James, unsure how to put it. "Go out with me?"
"Go out where?", asked Tony with a kind smile. "I can be your company, if you're unsure."
"No. Go out, not just... out, but... a date", tried James again, a little frustrated. "I... know we have a rocky past. I know... but... I like you. Very much. And Gwen tells me not to overthink things."
"You took love-advise from a fourteen year old", grunted Tony amused. "Wait. Me. Really?"
"I know our past, what I – what the Winter Soldier did-", started James once more.
"I know that's not you. I know... You couldn't be more different from the Winter Soldier, James", interrupted Tony gently. "I had problems looking at you at first, I know. But... you, talking, your behavior, your smile... I... There is nothing of the Winter Soldier in you anymore."
James took a stuttering breath. That made his heart feel full, somehow. His therapist kept telling him that, Steve kept telling him that, but they seemed biased. Someone who had been directly affected by the Winter Soldier though? His words meant so much more. Especially since it was Tony. Wetting his lips, James watched Tony carefully, waiting.
"A date. Yes. Sure. Okay. I can. Yeah. We can do that", replied Tony after another moment. "If... you're sure? I mean, uh... Just yes. Don't mind the rambling."
"I like when you ramble", argued James softly. "It's very nice."
"Oh. Uh. That's new. I don't hear that often", whispered Tony, lost for words.
The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment, before Tony started to scoot closer toward James. Closer and closer, until they could feel each other's body-heat.
"One condition to dating", whispered Tony as they leaned into each other.
"Anything. What?", asked James, tensing a bit.
"You have to protect me from Steve's shovel-talk", declared Tony, cracking a smile.
James blinked and laughed. "Only if you protect me from Rhodes' shovel-talk."
The two of them leaned even closer into each other, until their lips met in a gentle touch. Tony smiled to himself into the kiss. Well, this was an entirely unexpected outcome, really.
Author's note: Next one's gonna be the epilogue to wrap up the story!