Quinjet things
Tony’s fingers were twitching. “So he dented the quinjet huh?”
“Don’t even think about it Tones, they are still there!” Rhodey replied.
“If you wanna fix it, I can lead them away boss!” Happy smirked.
“Do not enable him, my love, he has his bots to fill that role!” Pepper, the spoilsport, called out.
“You will have to see them sooner or later Tones” Clint supplied. Tony knew that Clint had no clue that he was in love with the Brooklyn boys. So he gave Clint his undivided attention, so he would elaborate “I mean, I know what happened in that bunker was something that really hurt you, but they love you just like we love you and you love them too. We have too little family left to cut them off. If you want to have some rules on how and when they can see you but you can’t lose them. None of you will survive it!”
“You are right Clint!” Happy said, never changing from his pro super soldier thruple stance.
“Fine! But they can’t come close enough to touch him! Tony might get a panic attack and they can never be alone with him. Fri, tell them if they agree to this, then they can see Tony!” Rhodey grumbled.
“Boss, Colonel Rhodes they have both agreed” Friday addressed Tony and Rhodey. “Boss, if I may, I do not believe Sergeant Barnes in his promises but Captain Rodgers seemed genuine, remorseful but genuine”
“Don’t worry Fri-baby, Cap won’t let Barnes break his word! Yayy I get to fix the jet!” Tony ran past the rest of them to the lift. Then paused, glaring at Rhodey who smirked but followed obediently
“Fri slow it down” Rhodey commanded before turning to Tony “Are you sure? Barnes was not stable Tony, he has not been ever since you have been on that bed. He kept trying to touch you. We had to put a spell in the tower to lock them in to keep them away from you. I don't think this is a good idea”
“Don’t pout sugarbear, I will make the parameters clear. You are still in the suit so you can hold him back if you need to, Cap… will not try anything. Open up Fri!”
He saw both the other super soldiers snap their eyes at him, he was certain that if they were normal humans they would have, at the very least, sprained their necks. They rushed forward and Friday started a loud siren to halt them. Tony smirked at that until the weight of being face-to-face with the men he loves the most in the world sobered him up real freaking quick.
“Tony” They both breathed, rushing towards him only to stop a foot away.
“I know Fri has already asked but I am still getting nightmares from our little party in the bunker in Siberia so I can't be too close to either of you and we will never be alone, just the three of us. Do you still agree to this?” Tony asked nervously.
“Yes, anything you need!” Cap answered.
“For now” Bucky gritted out.
“Well then” Tony breathed out smirking, walking towards the quinjet. “My boobear told me a certain someone dented out main transportation”
“He shouldn’t have been your decoy, he is lucky it wasn’t his head” Bucky spat.
“Control your hound, Rogers! Or I'll neuter him!” Rhodey barked.
“Bucky, can… can I talk to you?” Tony asked tentatively.
“Any time doll, anywhere!”
They walked a little ways away, still within earshot of Rogers and under the watchful eye of Rhodey.
“Bucky… he is my best friend and he had to watch you and your best friend beat me to near death and then leave me. I am Rhodey’s and it is taking everything in him to let you near me, I am warning you not to provoke him because if he tells me I am no longer allowed to see you… I will listen to him. Okay?”
“Sorry Tones! I promise to behave, doll. I just want to touch you and talk to you and he kept you from me!”
“He is protective! He has a right to be! And I want to try being friends but if you or Rogers touch me you will never see me again!” Tony growled knowing Cap was listening to every word.
He was happy. The message got through, and both soldiers looked thoroughly chastised and resigned to their new reality.
“Just… I need you Tones! I am agreeing to your conditions even though I want to hug you more than anything right now. Just don't cut us out. I will not survive it… you are my… my best friend!”
“You guys are mine too... I mean… my best friends… not mine… i um I didn't mean mine… um”
“We ARE yours Tones!” Steve yelled towards them smiling, even Bucky was smiling fondly at Tony.
Fond is good. Fond means he is not going to lose them. Fond means he can avoid touching them and live in the delusion of a “maybe” and an “it could happen” rather than a reality of rejection. It really was unfair how easy it was to buy into the delusion.
Tony skipped back to Rhodey and kissed him on the cheek, missing the flicker of green in Steve’s eyes paired with his faltering smile, and the dark cloud that rested across Bucky’s face as he clenched his jaw so hard all the veins magnified at the kiss.
“Be nice to the Brooklyn twins honeybear, they are America’s heroes”
“Whatever!”
“Now let’s see how badly you damaged this beauty!” He looked at Bucky accusingly, who had the good sense to look sheepish.
“Sorry doll!”
“Rhodey you exaggerator! It's barely a dent! I can pop this out in a second!” Then lowering his voice to a futile whisper, they had super hearing “You acted like he had gone psychotic and rageful!”
“Oh, he had!” Steve spoke up defending Rhodey, “but Rhodey, still in your suit, yanked his hand back in time before he could do real damage then locked him to the floor with nanobots until he calmed down. It was a disaster avoided for sure!”
“At least I wasn’t just standing there frozen and weepy like someone when they found out Tony wasn’t in the suit” Bucky retorted.
“No, you just went into a murderous rage!”
“It's what I do!”
“Okayy okay!!!! As much as I would give anything to see Bucky’s murder strut, we should avoid it… right?”
“YES!” Steve and Rhodey shouted.
“I’ll strut for ya any say doll!” Bucky drawled.
“Um… well… um we, we should um talk… I am back. Decidedly not dead and young again… also I am alllll healed up! I can’t feal pain in my chest, its so foreign, like its so easy to breathe and live I feel like I might fall because it does not require any effort at all, there is like no resistance!”
Rhodey looks so happy for his best friend, Steve is crying quietly and Bucky’s eyes are shining, as Tony rants.
“I mean I know it's not normal to be in pain all the time but to go from that to become a partial supersoldier, you gotta admit it is quite the leap. And I know I am just one person in a sea of billions but, it's crazy! I survived. My little irrelevant ass made it to the other side bitches!”
"Tony!" Steve choked out, his voice thick with emotion. Tears welled in his eyes, blurring the sight of his friend. "I can't even begin to say what this means to me. You're… you're so important, Tones. More than you'll ever know." He reached out, a hand trembling slightly, to grasp Tony's shoulder pulling back at the last minute to Tony’s relief.
"Doll, you're really here!" Bucky practically gasped, his own voice rough with relief. A wide smile, shaky but genuine, spread across his face. "With us. Alive. Thank God. Don’t you dare minimalize your importance!”
“Buck… why is it that even when you say something warm it sounds threatening?” Tony asked, emotional conversation forgotten in favor of dissecting Bucky’s incomprehensible behavior.
“Talent doll, it's a talent!” Bucky winks “Now, you fix the jet and talk, it's been too long since I heard your voice and I need to look at you and I need to hear you. Please!”
“Me too Tones, neither of us has slept, and it is making me feel like I am back on the ice and the only thing warm in the world is you!” Steve adds.
Rhodey is looking Tony straight in the eye and making gagging gestures. Does anyone want to trade best friends?
“Um, o-okay… so when Thanos and Gamora …” Tony ranted on about how unfit Thanos was as a parent and how no child deserves to be forced to be born into a life with crappy parents. He fixes the jet and then turns around "There should be a licensing exam for parenthood!" Tony roared, brandishing his toolbox like a weapon. "A galactic screening process to weed out the Thanoses of the universe! No more twisted souls inflicting their cruelty on innocent lives!"