Chapter 7

Checkmate part 1

Tony remained in his lab for the rest of the night. He continued to work on the mind controlling machine he thought he'd never use again. After he was one hundred percent satisfied with the outcome, he left his workspace and walked towards the sleeping chambers.

With heels of his shoes clicked loudly against the marble floor, halls illuminated in faint moonlight, he walked up a staircase, taking a left and nearing the bedroom he knew was Steve's. His eyes were hollow, not a single spark to be found in them, his body moving on autopilot.

He stopped for a second as he stood in front of Steve's door, his hand resting on the doorknob before giving it a careful push.

He let his eyes fall on the spooning couple that was sleeping in a slightly to small bed. Steve had wrapped his arms around Bucky's body, holding the man tightly against his chest. Their fingers intertwined, their breathing calm and their eyes closed. They looked so happy, so peaceful.

Tony walked around the bed without making a sound. He carefully let himself fall to his knees next to the captain's side, his head resting on his arm as he stroked the blond's soft hair with his other hand.

'I love you so much, Steve,' he whispered. 'It should have been us, all along.' He trailed the man's hairline with the tip of his fingers, moving them slowly to the back of his neck and over his bared shoulder blades, causing Steve to let out a soft moan in his sleep.

Tony smiled as his deep love for the man managed to color his eyes in their usual warm hazelnut-brown. He held his breath as Steve rolled to his back, his sleeping face now turned to the playboy. Tony watched him, admiring his perfect body as Steve lay half-naked in the bed, his pants inches below his hipbones, showing the brim of his boxers. 'Don't worry though, sweetheart,' he placed one hand in Steve's, his other hand amiably moving through soft blond hair, his face now hovering over that of the captain, their lips parted by only an inch of cold winters' air. 'I'll fix this. I'll love you and hold you and make sure you will never want anyone else again,' he whispered nearly in a pant, his breath warm against Steve's cold skin.

The muscles in Steve's face contracted softly, making his eyes shut tighter for a second as he tried to turn back in his sleep with a whimper, but it was Tony's gentle but forcing grip that kept the man on his back.

'Ssh, it's gonna be okay honey,' Tony hushed as he placed a gentle kiss on the blond's lips, his hand softly stroking his cheek. 'I'll watch over you.'

'…Ste-'

Tony looked up as he heard a soft mumble.

'…Ste-ve…'

Tony glared at the sleeping man next to the blond. Bucky seemed to be mummering in his sleep, his voice soft but pleading while the muscles in his hands contracted. Tony raised a brow as he heard soft moans following. Was the soldier dreaming of his captain? And if so, what was he dreaming? Was he forcing Steve into giving him a blowjob? Was he pushing Steve face-down into a pillow while forced himself on him?

Tony gritted his teeth, all the muscles in his body tensing as he felt his blood boil. He wanted to stand up, to punch the soldier till there was nothing left of him but the pile of shit that he is. He wanted to, and he would have, were it not that the blond underneath him let out a soft grumble as he tried to move again.

'Hush babe, don't worry, I've got this.' Tony smiled reassuringly as let his muscles relax again, staring at the pale face beneath him. 'I'll make sure he'll never touch you again, I promise.' He whispered and placed a soft kiss on the captain's temple.

He stood up and soundlessly moved around the bed to get to the soldier's side. With his chest flaring in raging heat, he let his eyes fall on Bucky's face, expecting the man's cheeks to be rosy and his skin to be flushed by his lewd dreams. Tony's eyes widened. He found the man moaning again, however, he now saw that it was not a sound of lust and pleasure, but rather a plead in despair. Bucky's cheeks were rosy and his skin was indeed flushed, but it was also covered in tears and sweat. His body trembled softly, his chest heaving in jagged motions as he took sharp breaths.

Tony stood still for a moment, taking in the scene and waiting for any form of compassion to extinguish the rage that made his hands tremble. He waited, for nothing.

The soldier had made his move, and now, now it was Tony's turn.

He leaned forward, carefully, placing his cold hand on the man's lips and covering his nose.

It did not take long for Bucky's eyes to open wide, instinctively grabbing the hand that covered his mouth and kept him from breathing. He looked up at the figure that was hovering over him, desperately clawing at the arm that held him in place. He readied himself to use what oxygen he had left for a kick against his attacker's ribs, but as he focused his vision, he finally came to see that it was none other than Tony Stark who held him down.

Tony moved his fingers slightly, letting the soldier breath through his nose but still kept his mouth covered. He placed a finger against his own lips, signaling Bucky to stay quiet. After a few sharp and deep breaths, the soldier nodded timidly, causing the hand to move from his lips.

Tony straightened his back as his dark brown eyes gleamed in pale moonlight, signaling the man to follow him with a wave of his hand.

Bucky quickly wiped the tears from his face and jumped from the bed without asking questions. He turned around one last time, his eyes falling on the blond and he wondered if he should wake him up, but as he remembered Tony's signal for him to stay quiet, the soldier let out a sigh and walked out of the bedroom, following the playboy to a place he knew not where.

'What's going on?' He eventually asked as the two made their way through the cold and dark hallways, Bucky walking just a few steps behind the playboy. 'Why did you wake me up like that?'

Tony did not respond.

'Is it an enemy attack?' Bucky tried again, his bare feet tapping against the cold marble floor as he fastened his phase to try and match that of Tony.

'Stay quiet.'

'Tony, is it Steve?' The soldier asked earnestly, grabbing the playboy by his arm and pulling him back to face him. 'Is he in trouble? Is that why you didn't want to wake him up?'

'I said stay quiet!' Tony nearly shouted, pulling his arm free from the soldier's Vibranium grip. 'Just- trust me,' he hissed as he turned around again, continuing his way towards his lab.

The two came to a halt at the top of the stairs that would lead to Tony's workplace.

'After you,' Tony said, gesturing towards the stairs with a wave of his hand. He waited impatiently for the soldier to walk, but as Bucky seemed frozen, he let out an annoyed sigh. 'Come on, Barnes,' he tried as friendly as he could. 'Haven't got all night, right?'

Bucky tensed as he stared down the stairs, all his nerves on edge as he felt like he has walked those steps before. He looked up at Tony, his eyes slightly squinting as he saw the man's rather questionable smile. There was something off about this situation, something about the very air that made the soldier hesitate.

'Barnes?' Tony called out, his patience running low.

'Yeah, sorry,' Bucky casted him a quick smile. He took a step forward and placed his hand on the stair railing. He looked over his shoulder and down the hall from which they came one last time, wondering if he should just go back as a growing feeling of restlessness stirred in the core of his stomach. He shook his head and continued to descend, feeling Tony close behind him.

He should trust Tony more, or so Bucky told himself. He was the one who told him to go and talk with Steve. He was the one trying to help him when he himself was crying in despair. Pathetic.

Bucky took a deep breath. If it wasn't for Tony, he would probably be sleeping outside in the snow right now, slowly killing the one he loves so much. He let his head hang slightly, ashamed of even having the feeling that he would not be safe with Tony.

'Take a seat,' The playboy said, passing the soldier as he walked towards a computer.

Bucky stared at all the high-tech objects scattered throughout the workspace. Tons of notes and formulas written on whiteboards, on paper and some even on the white walls. His eye got caught by a pile of red and golden metal in the corner of the room and he recognized the scraps as remains of damaged suits, tossed aside as unwanted and worthless.

'Take a seat,' Tony repeated, more urgent this time but as the soldier reached out to a desk chair, he sighed and grabbed him by his arm. 'Not that one,' he turned the man towards his improved creation. 'That one.'

'… Tony,' Bucky started carefully as he felt his clammy hand on his skin, noticing the rapid and nervous eye movements of the playboy. 'Are you oka-'

'I told you to shut the up!' Tony suddenly shouted, 'Fuck! Can't you even do something as simple as that?!'

Utterly stunned by the man's sudden explosion, Bucky remained silent, letting Tony push him into the cold metal chair.

'J,' Tony called out, 'start the computer.'

'Certainly sir,' the mechanical voice sounded, causing Bucky to first look up at the ceiling and then at his side as a large computer, which was attached to the chair he was sitting on with all sorts of cables, made a loud humming noise.

Bucky felt his heart rate increasing, his blood rushing through his veins with alarming speed as he came to realize that something was wrong.

Something was terribly, horribly wrong.