Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 5362

Fic Detail - TonyBucky / Post Civil War / Not canon compliant

Better By The Day

"Did you know?"

The look on Steve's face told Tony all he needed to know and he lashed out. He was so angry, but more than that, he was deeply hurt that Steve had known about this.

Known about it and hadn't warned him.

He'd thought they were friends. They were, at the very least, teammates.

Truly, Tony would have a stranger more respect than Steve had offered him when he his such a huge thing from him, and at the same time, berated Tony for keeping secrets.

He wanted to hurt them, both of them. He wanted them to feel the same pain he was feeling, even though logically, he knew that physical pain was much easier to cope with than emotional.

"I'm not going to fight you," Steve said, ducking away from a repulsor blast. He managed to get behind Tony, and even in the suit, managed to hold him. He turned them, pressing Tony against the wall of the bunker.

"I know you're mad, I'm so, so sorry I hurt you, Tony," Steve said, his tone frantic and apologetic and Tony didn't want to hear it. "I should have told you and I didn't and that's on me. I know that, I know it. Tony, he was brainwashed. Hydra did this, he was the gun, not the one that fired it."

Tony knew that. He did. It didn't change that he'd just watched Barnes murder his parents. He'd watched the man strangle his mother.

And Steve knew about it.

"You were the gold standard," he said, shaking his head. "You were the good one, Cap. You were the one that had morals. And yet… you're the worst one of all of us. I hate you."

Tony threw him off and took one long look at Barnes. He could kill him. Could kill both of them, serum be damned, because his suit had enough firepower to level the bunker in one fell swoop.

He wouldn't though.

Raising his hand, he threw a punch at Steve and felt a satisfying crunch when it made contact.

"Good luck, Cap," he sneered, stepping away from the pair of them and turning his back. "You're on your own."

…

"Tony?"

Pepper stepped into the dark workshop, frowning when he realised Tony was sitting on the sofa in the dark, staring at nothing.

"Tony? Are you okay?"

"You go through life, you try to be nice to people, you struggle to resist punching them in the face, and for what? To be betrayed over, and over, and over again."

She sat down beside him. "What happened?"

Tony looked at her even as tears filled his eyes. "He killed them, Pep. Barnes killed my mum and dad, and Steve knew about it."

Before she could really comprehend the sentence, she had an arm full of sobbing genius. She held him close as he cried and stroked a hand through his hair.

"Oh, Tony. I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

…

"Tony didn't have you locked up," Natasha said, scowling at Clint, interrupting his rant. She'd arrived in Wakanda to find Steve, Clint, Sam, Wanda and Scott already there. Barnes had gone back into cryo—at his own request—and T'Challa had offered them sanctuary until the situation could be worked out.

"Of course he did!" Clint replied.

"No, Clint. You got you locked up, because you broke the damn law! All of you did! People have died, Clint! Did you, any of you, honestly think you could just hold your hands up and say, 'oh, my bad'?"

"If it wasn't for the Accords—"

"Did you even read them?" she asked, looking around at them all. "Did any of you actually read them, or did you just decide that you weren't going to sign them on principal?"

"Well—"

"You let us go," Steve said quietly, interrupting their argument. "At the airport."

"I knew you weren't going to stop," she spat. "That didn't mean you were right."

"Nat—"

"No. Ross is gone. He's been sacked, and is pending trial. Tony's work by the way, and always the plan. The Accords are being worked on, and he's getting amendments passed left and right with T'Challa's help. Again, always the plan. But none of you wanted to hear that, did you? None of you wanted to listen, because it was Tony, and who would trust Tony over Captain America?"

Steve opened his mouth but Natasha glared him into silence.

"None of what happened was really about the Accords, at least not on Steve's part. You all got pulled into a game of 'Protect Bucky Barnes and fuck the consequences'. Well, congratulations. You protected him while making the world believe even more in the Accords, and you fought with and abandoned a man that has done everything for this team."

"Since when have you been Stark's biggest fan?" Clint asked incredulously.

"I'm not," Natasha admitted. "He's made mistakes, the same as everyone else. I respect that his intentions are always good, even when he fucks up, and even more than that," she raised her voice when Clint tried to interrupt her. "Even more than that, I respect that he works to make up for his fuck ups."

"He didn't even call me," Clint muttered, shaking his head. "You say that he'd do anything to keep the team together, but he didn't."

"And that's what you're angry about," Nat said, shaking her head. "I asked him, you know? I asked him why he didn't call you. You know why, Clint? Because you were out. You were safe at home with your kids, and he didn't want to take you away from them. Go ahead, be mad at him for that, I dare you."

"He put me in prison!" Wanda said, shaking her head. "He can't justify that! You can't justify that!"

"He didn't put you in prison," Natasha scoffed. "He asked Vision to keep you at the Compound because it wasn't safe for you to go out. Yes, he should have told you that himself, but he was a little busy putting out fires elsewhere to have the time to come and see you. People are scared of you, Wanda, and there was a big debate about ejecting you from the US entirely! Of course he said you had to stay inside. But prison? The Compound is not and never will be compared to a prison."

"You've seen him," Sam said, tilting his head slightly. "Before you came here."

Natasha nodded. "I have."

"How is he?" Steve asked, swallowing hard at the look she gave him.

"Angry," she replied honestly. "Hurt. Really hurt, Steve. You told me you'd tell him."

"Tell him what?" Sam asked, looking between her and Steve. "What didn't you tell him?"

"Tony did come to Siberia to help," Steve said, running a hand through his hair. "He thought there were more soldiers, we all did, and he didn't think Buck and I could handle it ourselves. Which… was probably a good call, but the soldiers were already dead. Zemo… he showed Tony a video of his parent's dying—"

"Try again, Cap," Nat snarled.

Steve closed his eyes. "Zemo showed Tony a video of the Winter Soldier killing his parents, and Tony… he was angry."

Sam stared at Steve with wide eyes. "Tell me you didn't fight him. Tell me that you didn't fight someone that emotionally compromised."

"Of course I didn't," Steve snapped. "I'm not that stupid. I restrained him best I could until he punched me and then flew off but… he hates me. With good reason."

"Wait, Nat said that she thought you told—you knew!" Clint accused. "You knew his parents had been murdered, and you didn't tell him!"

"He found out by watching a video of it happening, with the murderer right in front of him?" Sam asked, horrified. "Jesus, Steve! I'm surprised he didn't kill the both of you there and then! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I just wanted to protect—"

"Bucky," Clint sneered. He looked at Nat. "You were right. None of this was about the Accords. It was all about protecting Barnes."

She nodded once.

"What's going to happen now?" Sam asked, his brow furrowed.

Nat shrugged. "I don't know. Normally, I'd say that Tony would fix it but… honestly, I wouldn't blame him if he left us all out to rot."

"All of us?" Steve asked. "You—"

"Broke the Accords when I let you leave," she said. "It was the wrong call, and I'll have to live with that. Tony… he understands, I think, but at the moment, he's trying too hard to turn the Accords around to be fighting my corner so… he told me to come here. Where I'd be safe."

"He knows where we are," Clint said, shaking his head. "Of course he does."

Nat snorted. "Of course he does. For now, there's nothing for us to do but wait."

…

"Tony?"

Tony spun around in his seat, smiling when he saw Rhodey standing at the door. The exoskeleton—after many, many upgrades—was doing a great job of helping Rhodey get around, and he was almost back to normal after months and months of Physical Therapy.

"What's up, Honeybear?"

"Pep told me that you sent B.A.R.F to Wakanda. You know you didn't have to do that, right?"

"It can help him," Tony said, shrugging. "Seems cruel to hold back the technology that can help the longest known POW that we've ever had."

"He—"

"I know what he did, Rhodey. It wasn't… It was him, but it wasn't his choice. That makes all the difference. Roger's got one thing right, I suppose. I'm not going to take my anger out on the gun, when really the ones at fault are the ones that fired it."

"Hydra."

"Exactly."

"Pepper also told me—"

"You're a bunch of gossips, you know that?"

"— that you're working on pardons for them."

"We're going to need them, all of them," Tony said. "I don't have to like them to acknowledge that."

Rhodey shook his head. "They don't deserve you."

Tony shrugged. "It is what it is. My personal feelings don't mean more than the safety of the whole world, Platypus."

"They don't deserve you," Rhodey repeated. "And since you're not working on anything that can't wait another day, you can come eat dinner with me and watch a movie."

Tony snorted, but nodded. "Sure thing, Rhodey. Whatever you want."

…

"Buck…" Steve shook his head. "You're okay?"

"I'm okay," Bucky confirmed. "The… it worked. Shuri said that all the triggers are gone."

"That's incredible!"

"I still…" Bucky ran a hand through his long hair and sighed. "You need to understand that I'm not the Bucky I was before. I'm still Bucky but… different. It's been a lot and it's been a long time, and you need to understand that."

"I know."

"I'm not sure you do," Bucky admitted. "Because I don't think you see the way that you've changed from the little punk I knew back on the streets of Brooklyn either."

Steve frowned. "I'm still—"

"You're still Steve, but you're different," Bucky said. "Because the Steve that I knew? He would have told Tony Stark the truth about what happened to his parents the moment he found out about it. He'd have hesitated before he fought his teammates, his friends."

"Buck, you don't understand—"

"Maybe not," Bucky allowed. "But maybe you don't either. Because you told me that Tony Stark wasn't a good man, but he decided to help the man that murdered his parents. Whatever else you tell me about him, I'll never believe that he's not a good man."

"He… what?"

"Stark sent the equipment that helped fix me," Bucky told him. "He's the son of my victims, but he still helped me. I owe him more than I can put into words, because he didn't just ignore me which would have been the best case scenario, Steve. He helped me."

"I don't… know what to say," Steve admitted, his mind whirling with half formed thoughts. How had he got Tony so wrong?

"I'm not saying you were completely wrong. I'm sure he's made his share of mistakes, but it's not always about the mistakes, Steve. It's how we make up for them."

…

"Sir, they've arrived," J.A.R.V.I.S said, his tone stiff with disapprovement.

Tony nodded. "Alright. I'll be up to greet them in a few, J."

Rhodey was already on his way, Tony knew, and he'd give his Platypus a few minutes with them before he went upstairs. After everything Rhodey had been through, he deserved that much.

He didn't really know how he felt about seeing the team again. It had been months, after all, and while the hurt had dimmed, it hadn't vanished. It would be difficult, he knew, to trust them again.

Steve especially.

But one way or another, he would have to. If Stephen Strange was to be believed, the team had to be functional in a short period of time, or the entire world would be in jeopardy.

Sighing to himself, he stood up and checked his reflection in the mirror. He looked okay, better than he had a few months ago, when his sleeplessness and disregard for his health had been at an all time high.

He knew what he had to tell them, and he trusted himself that he could get through it. Over the next couple of weeks, they'd be kept so busy that he should get an adjustment period at least.

He could do this.

Stepping into the elevator, he nodded at the camera. "Let's go, J."

…

Watching Tony walk into the entrance hall was slightly surreal. Steve wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or say. Seeing Rhodes had been hard enough, and the words he'd spat at Steve had hit him straight in the gut. If Tony had more to add, Steve wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle it without curling up in a ball and crying.

"Welcome back," Tony said, striding towards them. He looked good. Healthy, at least, though Tony had so many masks that Steve wasn't sure if he could trust it. It dawned on him then how much he'd actually missed the genius, and he barely managed to abort the sudden desire to hug him.

"Your rooms are all as they were, and Barnes, we've put you next door to Steve, though there are other options if you want them. A member of the Accords Committee will be here tomorrow to begin taking you through them, and making sure you understand them before the signing ceremony next week. Until the Accords are signed, the UN asks that you remain on the Compound site, since your pardons are connected with you signing the document."

They all nodded to show their understanding.

"Let me be clear. This is not me keeping any of you prisoner, or forcing your hands. This is all the UN, and it's through them that the Pardons have been arranged. If you have any complaints, send them to the UN representative tomorrow."

"Tony—"

Tony shook his head.

"There is a threat coming, one that is going to need all hands on deck and then some. Carol Danvers is the current head of the Avengers Initiative. She'd a powerful super in her own right, and goes under the moniker of Captain Marvel. She, along with Stephen Strange, who is the current Supreme Sorcerer, will be coordinating the team along with other teams across the world. More will be discussed with you about the threat and the plan to deal with it, after the signing ceremony. There's going to be a lot of work over the next few months, for everyone that's willing to fight, and you need to understand that you are allowed to say no. It's going to be hard, and it's going to be rough on your bodies, your minds and your emotions.

"If you don't think you can handle it, you can still sign the Accords and remain at the Compound, but you'll be kept away from the meetings and the combat training. All of this will be explained in full to you, after the signing."

Tony looked at Rhodey. "Did I cover it all?"

Rhodey nodded. "For now. Carol will go more in depth with them next week."

"Okay," Tony agreed. He looked back at the team. "Any questions?"

"Can we talk," Steve asked, gesturing between the two of them.

"I'd say that since you just spoke to ask, and I'm speaking to answer, that yes, we can talk, Steve," Tony replied dryly.

Steve's lips tilted up slightly. "May we have a conversation, Tony. Just me and you. I have… a lot to apologise for."

Tony sighed but nodded. "Okay. If nobody has any other questions, I'll leave you all to settle in. Carol, Stephen and Hope will all be here tomorrow to meet you most likely, although busy as everyone is, that could change. Oh, and Barton? There's a surprise in your room so, you know, don't go in with weapons drawn."

…

"What surprise is waiting for Clint?" Steve asked, when he sat down in the chair across from Tony's desk.

"Laura and the kids," Tony admitted. "I figured he wouldn't want to wait to see them, but the UN was serious about all of you remaining on site for now."

"That… was a really kind thing for you to do, Tony."

"I'm not a complete monster," Tony replied, rolling his eyes, "despite what you seem to think of me."

"I don't think you're a monster!"

Tony raised his eyebrows but he didn't reply. He waited instead, for whatever it was that Steve wanted to say.

"I… am so sorry, Tony. When I found out that your parents had been murdered, I didn't know it was Bucky. I swear I didn't. I should have told you, I know that. Especially since I lectured you about keeping secrets," Steve said, shaking his head. "Not my best moment, admittedly. I just… I thought I could save Bucky, and then tell you everything later. It was stupid, irresponsible and cruel, and if I could go back and change it, I would."

Tony nodded. "I believe that."

"I never wanted to hurt you; if anything, I was trying to avoid that. I just… so much happened in such a short space of time, with Hydra and Project Insight, and Ultron, and Peggy and then the Accords, and through all of that, Bucky and I just… I lost my head. I don't have an excuse for it, and if you never forgive me for it, I wouldn't blame you. I fucked up and left you to deal with the fall out. There is no excuse for that, and I'm so sorry, Tony. For all of it."

"You weren't the only one that made mistakes during that time, Steve. We all did, and we've all got to take some of the blame for what happened, you and I the most of all of us. Taking away that you hid the truth from me, the rest of it… it's shit, and we really messed up. People died. We have to live with that, and do better next time. But I can't afford to hold onto this. I can't, because if we can't work together, the whole world, hell, the universe, is going to pay the price for it."

"Does that mean that you forgive me?" Steve asked, hope rising in his chest.

"It means that I'm working on it," Tony admitted. "And it means that I'm willing to put it aside to do whatever we need to do to work together. I thought us friends, family even, and I don't know if I was wrong about that. For now, I'm willing to settle back into teammates."

Swallowing hard, Steve nodded. "I'll earn your trust and your friendship back, Tony. We'll get through this."

"Together?" Tony asked, lips tilting up slightly.

"We're better that way," Steve agreed. "We always have been."

…

Tony didn't have much contact with the team over the week that the Accords Committee were around. He saw them briefly in passing occasionally, but it was good to have the time to adjust.

Clint took a moment to thank him for bringing his family in, and Nat hugged him during a midnight coffee run. Sam nodded at him when he saw him, and Wanda seemed to be avoiding Tony as hard as Tony was avoiding her.

At the ceremony, Tony stood to the side with Hope, Carol, Rhodey and Stephen, as the current team, as the old team signed their names on the document that would join them all together.

"Meeting room B, when we get back," Carol told them all, when the ink had barely dried. "We need to get moving on this, and we can't afford to delay any longer."

"I, uh. I'm going with Vision to see Professor Xavior," Wanda said quietly. "He'll be at the Compound to pick me up tonight."

Tony and Stephen nodded.

"That's a good idea. Charles will be able to help you get a firmer control on your power," Stephen said. "He's also helping us coordinate for the coming threat, so if you find that you do want to help, you can do it via him."

Wanda nodded. "That… sounds good."

…

Planning took over the compound. Thanos was the biggest threat any of them had ever and likely would ever face. They worked tirelessly, even as more and more super's and mutants poured in, willing to set aside any differences to fight against Thanos.

It was definitely a bridge builder, the many hours spent in enclosed rooms, training together, sparring together, and then, when they were done for the day, collapsing onto the sofas, every single one of them tired and aching.

"When this is all over, I'm going to spend a week lying on a blanket on the beach," Tony muttered, stretching out his aching back.

"I could go for that," Bucky agreed, smiling at him across the room. The two of them hadn't had much contact, but Tony had ensured that the man knew he held no anger towards him. It would have been shitty to leave him in limbo, and Tony really was trying.

"Team vacation?" Clint suggested.

"Don't say that, you'll jinx us," Carol complained. "You know if we all had a vacation, the scum would choose that exact time to come out and play."

"Besides, Carol and Rhodey will probably be on honeymoon, so we'll have to wait for our turn," Tony quipped, grinning when Rhodey glared at him. He turned back to Bucky. "Sorry, Snowflake."

"I reckon you're worth the wait, Doll," Bucky replied. There was a soft blush on his cheeks, but when Tony just grinned, he smiled sheepishly.

"Shall we watch a movie?" Steve offered. "And order food. I don't know about anyone else, but the idea of cooking just hurts my muscles."

Tony snorted. "I've got paperwork to do. It's alright for you layabouts, I've got to go do my actual job now."

"You can take one night off, Tones," Rhodey said. "Can't hurt, right?"

Tony hesitated, but Steve looked at him so hopefully that he sighed and slumped back against the sofa. "If we're watching a movie, it better not be something sappy. You know they give me hives."

…

The day before Strange saw Thanos arriving, Thor and Bruce appeared with a whole bunch of Asgardians. It was strange, seeing Bruce again, and Tony hung back as the others greeted their lost teammates. Bucky sidled up beside him.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale."

"Ahh, blast from the past is all," Tony replied. "You should go and meet them. You'll like Thor, he's great."

"And Dr Banner?"

Tony swallowed hard. "He's great too."

Bucky just nodded and stayed at Tony's side. Eventually, Bruce found his way over, looking uncertain of his welcome.

"Hey, Tony."

"Bruce. Welcome back. You're just in time for the party."

"You still have a strange idea of what constitutes a party, Tony," Nat said, looking over at the pair of them.

Tony snorted. "That's probably true. We should catch Thor and Bruce up on the plan though, there's not much time left now."

"I was hoping we could talk," Bruce said.

"After. We can… after, okay?" Tony offered, because he really couldn't deal with this right now. He could tell that the other man wanted to protest, but in the end, he just nodded.

"Okay, Tony. After."

…

Thanos came and it was almost instant carnage. Despite the planning, despite the sheer force that they had amassed, between the many superhero forces, they were still hard pressed to hold Thanos' army back.

Every single one of them took a beating before Thanos even arrived, and Tony was beginning to wonder if they had any chance at all of beating him.

The Gauntlet on his arm was still lacking two stones, and they could only fight to keep it that way, because if he got all six, they were finished and they all knew that.

Carol took the lead against him, and she held her own, but even she couldn't get close enough to get a deadly blow.

Rhodey was thrown away when he tried to help her, and it took every single ounce of self control that Tony possessed to not leave the battle and go to the aid of his fallen friend. When, less than five minutes later, Rhodey rejoined the fight, the relief blindsided Tony for a minute.

"Focus on Thanos," Strange said through the comms. "If we can take him out, his army will fall."

Tony flew at Thanos head on, and at the last minute split off to the right, distracting him in hopes of giving Carol an opening. It didn't work and Thanos managed to get a lucky swipe at Tony, sending the suit careening off course and he hit the floor hard, groaning in pain.

He could hear Thanos laughing about how the mighty Iron Man had fallen at his hand and he scowled. He'd show that purple nut sack exactly what he could do!

Tony flew up behind him, his chest beam ready. "Too bad that didn't kill me," he said, before he pushed all of his power into the chest beam and shot it directly at Thanos' shoulder. With Thor swinging his Stormbreaker at Thanos' neck, and Steve pulling on the Gauntlet, Carol had the opening she needed.

The backlash of her attack threw the three Avengers back, and as Thanos scattered to the winds, so too did his army. Strange was there, to deal with the remains and for a moment, there was stillness.

"Tony? Oh My God, Tony! Tony, talk to me!" Rhodey leant over Tony, trying to pull the armor off him. He didn't respond and fear struck every single one of them.

Tony had never ignored Rhodey; not for anything.

…

Bucky propped his feet up on the end of the bed, folding his arms. He was tired, but he didn't really want to fall asleep. Having a nightmare—which was almost certain if he was honest with himself—wasn't the greatest idea when he was in a hospital room.

Waking up in an unfamiliar place still confused him as well, and he didn't want to hurt Tony if he had a freak-out. Tony had been hurt enough.

They were lucky he was still alive, given the damage he'd taken from the fight. He'd already been in bad shape before the last attack and the blow back had done Tony the most damage.

Given that he was still baseline human, it had been a miracle it hadn't killed him outright.

"Buck?"

"Hmm?" he looked up to see Steve standing in the doorway.

"You should go and get some rest. Sleep awhile. I'll sit with him."

Bucky shook his head. "I don't want to leave him. I don't know what it is, or why I'm even here but… I need to know he's okay, Stevie."

Steve sighed but nodded. "Okay. Mind if I join you?"

Bucky gestured to the chair beside him. "Of course I don't. Think you're gonna be fighting for that chair when Rhodes gets back though."

Steve snorted. "Bold of you to think he'll be the only one wanting a seat."

…

Steve's words proved true. By the time Tony actually woke up, the whole team were sprawled around the admittedly sizable medical room. Even at it's size, it was crammed, and when the doctor came in to check on Tony, he eyed them suspiciously.

"Why do I think that you lot have been menaces to the doctors?" Tony asked, when the doctor left. "That poor guy looked harried to death."

"We were worried about you," Bucky said, entirely unrepentant.

"That right, Snowflake—oh my god what in holy hell happened to your arm?" Tony stared in horror at the mangled metal that had once formed an arm. "Why haven't you had anyone look at it?"

"My mechanic was taking a nap," Bucky said dryly. "It's fine."

"That's not fine! That's like, the opposite of fine! Where are my tools, oh my god. Rhodey, go and get my travel—"

"You're supposed to be resting," Steve interrupted. "Bucky said it's not hurting, so take the time to heal first, would ya?"

"But—"

"Nuh uh, Doll," Bucky said, shaking his head. "When you're better, I'll let you tinker all you want."

"This is cruel and unusual punishment, I hope you all know that," Tony muttered, looking at the arm with pained eyes. "Cruel and unusual!"

Bucky softened. "I'm glad you're going to be okay, Tony."

…

"There, all done," Tony said, closing up the last plate on Bucky's newly repaired arm. Tony had decided to do a full overhaul on it, and it had been a blessing in disguise, since it had kept him occupied enough in hospital that he hadn't complained too much about being stuck there.

"It feels great," Bucky admitted, clenching the fist and then stretching the fingers out. "I can't remember it ever feeling so good."

"Of course not," Tony agreed. "Those goons got nothing on me."

Bucky laughed. "So, uh. I… maybe I can take you to dinner? To say thanks?"

Tony's eyes widened and he looked up at Bucky, giving him his full attention. "Is it… just to say thanks?"

Bucky felt his cheeks heat and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Honestly. I was planning to work up to asking you on a real date but uh… if you're interested?"

Tony smirked. "I'm interested."

…

Butterflies fluttered around the grass, bees buzzed over the flowers and Tony loved every moment of it. They walked slowly, hand in hand, onto the sand and Tony immediately bent to take his sandals off, enjoying the sensation of sand under his toes.

It had been far too long since he'd indulged himself in a day at the beach. It wasn't quite going to be the week he'd professed to wanting, but a long weekend was just as nice. With most of the team back in New York, they shouldn't be called back unless it was absolutely necessary.

"I can't believe we actually made it here," Bucky said, smiling at him. "I haven't been to the beach in… I don't know if I've ever been to the beach. I don't remember if I did."

"Well, do you like it?"

"You're here," Bucky replied. "How could I not?"

"Smooth talker," Tony said, grinning. "You know, if someone had asked me, a year ago, if this could happen, I'd have laughed in their face and sent them to medical to get checked for a concussion or drugs. I never expected this. I never expected you."

"But are you happy?"

"Of course I am, sweetheart. You make me happy."

Bucky kissed him softly. "That's all that really matters."

"Are you happy?" Tony asked.

"Never been happier, Doll. And it's only getting better by the day."

They strolled along the sealine hand in hand, and Tony couldn't help but agree. Life really was getting better by the day.

Written for:

Disney - T2. Two people coming together despite obstacles

Angel's Archive - 1. "Too bad that didn't kill me."

Film Festival - 17. Victim

Basement - 1. "You go through life, you try to be nice to people, you struggle to resist the urge to punch them in the face, and for what?"

Marvel - 16. Bucky Barnes

Pop Figure - Grey Worm - 1. Combat / 2. Butterflies / 3. Beach / 4. Unexpected Romance

365. 225. Honeymoon

1000. 337. Fighting with someone.