Part 2 – Buckaroo Barnes

Tony opened his eyes slowly, groaning at the pounding headache he'd developed overnight. He felt sick to his stomach, and remembered the constant supply of fruity alcohol he had access to. Beside him, Bucky was snoring softly, and Tony was vaguely alarmed to find that they had shared a bed. However, they were both still fully clothed, so it was likely Bucky just slept next to him out of convenience.

Tony sat up slowly, trying not to accidently make himself vomit or something. He checked to see if he'd disturbed Bucky, but the older boy was dead to the world. Tony took the opportunity to gently roll up his sleeve and get a look at him prosthetic arm. It was Stark technology, the good stuff, must have been expensive for him. But Bucky seemed very poor, on account of his clothes, his car, and what Tony remembered about the apartment from drunkenly stumbling into it, so maybe he had it donated or something?

Bucky was quite handsome, rugged and charming. Not like Steve Rogers, who was completely perfect from top to bottom, but incredibly boring. Bucky had looks, charm, the perfect amount of angst, and a killer leather jacket. Tony had learned a lot about him since the first day they met in gym class. Well, they didn't exactly 'meet' per se, but Tony had accidently collided with him trying to avoid getting hit in the face with a ball. Bucky had only good-heartedly, his blue eyes shining bright, and asked if he was okay.

So, Tony decided that maybe some stalking was in order. James Buchanan Barnes, best friend to Steve Rogers, but otherwise unpopular, ex-football player, high grades in all his classes, and the victim of a terrible train accident less than nine months ago, which claimed his left arm. It never occurred to Tony at the time to look up who replaced the arm, but seeing it was Stark Industries he could easily access the file.

His thoughts interrupted by a quiet knock coming from the other side of the bedroom door. Tony froze, staring wide-eyed, terrified of who was on the other side. He couldn't remember anyone else when he and Bucky came in last night, but he couldn't remember much about coming in at all.

"Bucky," a female voice called, "are you awake, dear?"

"Bucky!" squawked a much younger sounding female voice, "Get up! Get up!"

Tony held him breath as the door opened, cowering into Bucky's side. A young girl sprinted towards the bed. She wore a pretty white dress and had dark curly hair. Following behind her was a middle-aged woman Tony guessed was Bucky's mother.

"O-Oh," the woman blushed, "I'm sorry, I had no idea Bucky had a… friend stay over."

Tony couldn't find the words to respond, embarrassment spreading through his body like wild fire.

"Bucky!" the girl squealed, stirring him awake.

Bucky groaned, rolling into him and pressing his face against Tony's neck, "Becca, shut the fuck up," he mumbled lazily. His mother gave an embarrassed chuckle, watching sleepy Bucky cuddle the smaller boy. Tony gently shook him to wake him up.

The girl jumped on the bed and promptly smacked Bucky's face, "Who's in your bed, Buck?" she asked in a sing-song voice.

This seemed to grab Bucky's attention, and he pushed himself away from Tony, realising the position they'd been in, "Mum!" he gasped, "Rebecca! Oh my god, get out!"

His mother smiled in amusement, "Okay Buckaroo, just wanted to let you know breakfast is downstairs, and Rebecca and I are going shopping. You and your friend are welcome to come if you like."

"Who's in your bed, Buck-ey?" the girl demanded again, "Who's that boy? Are you gonna smooch him?"

Clearly embarrassed, Bucky hid his face in his hands, and Tony lay beside him awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

"Come on now, Rebecca, leave your brother alone," Bucky's mother instructed firmly.

Rebecca gave Tony one long considering look, "You're very pretty," she decided, "I bet Bucky did smooch you." With that, she jumped off the bed and followed her mother out of the room.

The moment they were out of the room, Bucky started apologising. For sleeping in the same bed with him, for snoring, for his family, especially his family. Tony just smiled at him because he looked so embarrassed, it was kinda cute. He was glad not to be the only one embarrassed by the situation.

"It's okay," he assured Bucky softly, "really, they seemed… nice."

Bucky smiled at that, his eyes lighting up with affection for his family. "They're great, if not embarrassing. Well, er, do you want some breakfast before I take you home? I bet you feel real terrible right now, and I promise it will help."

Tony nodded enthusiastically, following Bucky and the smell of bacon downstairs.

oOoOoOoOo

Tony was nervous walking into school Monday morning. Bucky had promised to meet him at his locker, but Tony wasn't entirely convinced he would show up. Sure, Bucky and his friends were really nice to him, but he was still four years younger and probably a lot more immature.

He'd been coming to SHIELD High School for little more than two weeks, and the only person who he had any kind of prolonged conversations with were his teachers and Gil Hodge. His teachers were all wildly impressed by his skill, which pleased him, but they weren't exactly people he could pursue as friends. And Gil Hodge was only interested in humiliating him. Everyone else was perfectly nice, but no one had seemed interested in hanging out with him outside of the classroom. He didn't blame them, not really.

At his last school, he had Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy. But now he lived half a country away, because his father deemed that New York City life wasn't good for him, and he needed to dedicate more time to his study. So, he was sent to live in the in the middle of nowhere, while his mother and friends stayed in New York. He had to live alone with Howard. Well, not exactly alone, Howard had taken Jarvis with them. And, even though Tony adored Jarvis, it wasn't nearly enough.

"Hey Tony." Bucky said with a grin, bumping his shoulder, "how was your weekend?"

Tony felt relieved with his presence, Bucky looked particularly happy today, his whole aura was warm and welcoming. It was the first time Tony had seen him in a short sleeve T-shirt, his metal arm out in the open, some people were staring, but Bucky pretended not to notice.

"It was good. Dad was working all night, I don't think he even noticed I got drunk. And my friend Rhodey called yesterday." He cut him off from saying anything more, realising that Bucky probably didn't care, and was only asking out of politeness, "How was yours?"

"Mine was… well, I can now say that I've seen all three Little Mermaid movies for the hundredth time, I think that pretty much sums it up."

Tony laughed, "And here I was thinking there was only the one. Was this Rebecca's doing?"

Bucky shrugged, "They're better than most Disney sequels, so that's a plus. And yeah, Becca is a demanding little bitch, that girl is gonna be scary when she grows up."

The shrill school bell ran, interrupting their conversation and signalling they go to class. Tony had Advanced Physics, a class he was already excelling at, and one of his favourites. But he was reluctant to leave Bucky.

"Well, I guess we should head to class. Hey, if you like, we normally hang out in the art building during breaks – you should join us. It's such a nice day, we might even go outside, for once." Bucky said enthusiastically.

Tony paused, unsure, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, they all feel really sorry about what happened at the party."

"I don't need pity friends," Tony frowned.

"We won't be," Bucky said sincerely, "and Bruce really wants to be friends with you too, he thinks you're a genius."

Tony perked up at that, "Bruce Banner? Bruce Banner wants to be friends with me?"

For a second, Bucky almost looked… jealous, but he quickly shook it off. "Yeah, I think he's into all that nerdy science stuff, and I mean, he was the first one to jump to your defence the other night…" Something about the way Bucky spoke was strange, but he was clearly not wanting to deter Tony from hanging out with them.

Tony seemed to mull over the information in his mind, "…Okay," he decided, "I guess that would be, er, nice. Thanks, Bucky."