Word Count: 1118

Warnings: NA

No Complaints Here

At ten years old, a number appeared, an allotted number of words for the recipient to speak. Tony had never understood why it happened at ten, but he was thankful that whichever greater power made it a thing wasn't cruel enough to punish toddlers for babbling rambunctiously.

Tony's number was low; one of the lowest ever recorded, in fact. Not that it had really made all that much of a difference to him. He'd spent so much of his childhood being quiet, that he was naturally quite silent as a general rule.

1987 words.

That was all of his words—words to last a lifetime, if he were to never meet his soulmate and recharge them. A big enough number for a conversation or two, sure, but for a lifetime?

Tony may as well be mute.

He used sign language with Pepper and Rhodey, and built a text-talk programme for board meetings, and the like, when he took over Stark Industries as the CEO. He didn't bother to actually talk unless absolutely necessary, with no other option available.

Still, by the time Tony had turned forty, his words had dwindled their way down to just about one hundred, and Tony had begun to wonder if he would ever find his soulmate.

He had no illusions that they would want him, but a recharge of his words would be helpful anytime now.

…

Hosting the Avengers in his tower was… challenging.

They all understood his lack of the spoken word, though only Clint and Natasha were fluent in sign language. Thor was difficult, because his all-speak didn't seem to extend to physical language, and Bruce made Tony want to talk, because it was exciting to have a new science friend to science with.

Still, they managed to get along fine.

It was probably better, sometimes, that Tony couldn't speak often, because he imagined that he'd spend quite a lot of his time arguing with the good Captain if he could.

Not so much in a bad way, either, but Steve Rogers was a little shit, and Tony wanted to argue with him for the giggles he was sure it would produce.

They were both sassy, and sarcastic, and Tony could only imagine what the two of them would come up with given the chance.

…

Barnes arrived with a bang, a crash, and quite possibly a "Jesus Fuck!"

Tony wasn't completely sure how it had happened, exactly, but the team had been enjoying a movie in the large common room one minute, and the next, they had a bonafide Winter Soldier in their midst, and all hell broke loose.

When the air cleared, it turned out that Barnes had managed to fight off the majority of Hydra's mind control, and while not completely free of his conditioning, he'd somehow claimed his mind back as his own for the most part.

Steve was practically in raptures about the entire thing, and it made Tony happy to see him so happy. That was why he didn't argue about Barnes staying at the tower while he underwent a barrage of tests to see about getting the triggers in his mind removed, and the conditioning completely reversed.

Tony kept to himself in his lab—as he generally did anyway—and if he started working up some blueprints for a new arm… well. That was his business.

…

"You're avoiding Bucky."

Tony looked up from his phone to frown at Steve. Once he was sure that the blond had seen his confusion, he typed a reply into his phone, denying that he was doing anything of the sort.

"He thinks that you don't like him."

What do you want me to do, roll out a literal red carpet, Cap? Has someone explained the talking situation to him?

The sheepish look on Steve's face immediately removed Tony's confusion, and made him laugh.

That'll be why he thinks that I don't like him then.

…

It happened by accident. They were mid conversation—Tony talking through his phone—when Bucky laid his hand on Tony's arm. It should have been a negligible touch.

All of the Avengers were comfortable around one another, and Bucky had slipped right into the fold, fitting in within weeks as though he'd always been there.

Except, it wasn't negligible because Tony watched as the number on his wrist went up.

He blinked.

"Okay," he murmured. "That's… new."

"You… you spoke!" Bucky gasped in awe, staring at Tony. His hand slipped away, and the numbers stilled just short of 700.

"You just gave me a few more words to use," Tony replied quietly. "So I guess that I can spare a few."

Bucky's eyes widened, and he laid his hand back on Tony's arm, both of them now watching as Tony's number started to go up again once more.

"So… that means… you're…"

"Your soulmate," Tony agreed, nodding his head. "Yeah."

And then he fled the room.

…

"Are you going to tell me why you're hiding down here?" Steve asked, leaning against the door frame. "Instead of sitting upstairs with the rest of us, for movie night, that you never miss."

Tony shook his head, his lips pressed together.

"Tony… Bucky wants you to come and sit with him. To recharge you fully. And… he wants you to come and sit with him because you're his soulmate, and he just wants you."

"He wouldn't if I wasn't his soulmate though," Tony murmured.

"Are you kidding me?" Steve asked, chuckling. "All I've heard since he got here is 'Tony did this', or 'Tony said that'. He'd liked you since the moment you met; before he ever knew that you were soulmates. Why do you think he was so sad when he thought that you didn't like him?"

Tony could feel hope coiling up in his stomach, and though he tried to push it away, it was to no avail.

"Really?"

Steve stepped forwards, and let his hands fall on Tony's shoulders. "Really. Come on, the movie is paused, waiting for us. And Clint is making your favourite popcorn."

…

Bucky offered his hand, palm up, for Tony to take.

"You don't have to charge me up so often," Tony teased, though he didn't neglect the offered hand, sliding his own against it and linking their fingers together. "I'm used to not speaking much."

Taking advantage of the hand he was holding, Bucky tugged Tony closer, until he was sitting on Bucky's lap.

Stealing a kiss, he murmured, "But I want to know everything going on in that beautiful mind of yours. I want all of your words, and if that means that I get extra cuddles to charge you up… I'm not going to complain about that."