Boys and Bots
Bucky watched in wonder as the robot completed a full lap of the MIT robotics lab, avoiding the various obstacles set in its path.
The bot was a bit clumsy, hitting a few things along the way, but Bucky knew that its mistakes were far from an unfixable flaw. The bot’s programming hadn’t been built for fine manual control, after all.
As if to prove his point, the bot proceeded to crash into the finish line, sending a few tables sliding across the floor before righting himself and running towards the engineers monitoring him. He spun around happily, in a weirdly endearing resemblance of a dog chasing its own tail, all while beeping loudly enough to be heard all the way across the lab in the corner where Bucky often sat to watch the experiments of MIT’s aspiring engineers.
He liked the way that sounded: aspiring engineer. It would be a fitting title for Bucky as well, really, but he knew better than to dream of getting into the robotics program. The number of students admitted each year was ridiculously small compared to the number of applicants, and Bucky knew he wasn’t smart enough to get in, not when competing with some of the biggest names in STEM: Pym, Cho, Lang, Banner, van Dyne, Stark . It seemed like the kids of every well-known scientist were part of the program.
Right now, none other than Tony Stark – child genius and heir to Stark Industries – was finally showing off his big project: a self-learning helper bot outfitted with a groundbreaking, even if still rudimentary, artificial intelligence. Stark had named his project DUM-E, an ironically fitting name for a bot that was designed to learn from its own mistakes.
Everyone had been blown away by the project, from Tony’s professors to his fellow students, including Bucky himself. It felt like every tech publication in America had sent someone to MIT for an “exclusive interview” with the teen who’d created DUM-E.
A teen, because Tony Stark had created his own artificial intelligence at the age of seventeen .
The thought solidified Bucky’s certainty that he’d never get into the program: 19-year-old Bucky Barnes couldn’t even compare to 17-year-old Tony Stark; he was no genius.
Bucky was suddenly shaken from his thoughts when someone waved a hand in front of his face, followed by a teasing voice asking, “You done yet?”
Bucky startled and glared up at the stranger, only for his words to die in his throat as soon as he did. Because right there, in front of him, stood Tony Stark in the flesh.
“I… what?” he asked, dumbly, and then flushed bright red when he realized how stupid that sounded.
Tony didn’t seem to notice, grinning playfully at him. “I asked you if you were done yet, since you’ve been staring at DUM-E for about an hour now. Even my professors weren’t that interested in him, man.”
“Well, they were wrong,” Bucky blurted out, and then blushed again when Tony raised an eyebrow at him. Fuck, he was making a fool of himself. “I mean, he’s amazing. You’re amazing.”
Tony’s cheeks flushed at that. “Thanks,” he said, somewhat bashfully. “You wanna meet him?”
“… for real?”
“Yeah! I mean…” Tony shrugged. “Everyone else already left.”
That was true, Bucky realized. No one had stuck around once the demonstration was over, leaving Bucky and Tony alone in this part of the lab.
“Ok, sure,” Bucky finally replied, not even entertaining the idea of refusing to meet DUM-E. He quickly stood up, following Tony as he moved towards the bot.
“Hey, DUM-E! Over here, boy.”
DUM-E rolled towards them, beeping inquisitively and tilting his camera slightly to the side. Tony had managed to give his bot human expressions, and Bucky couldn’t help but grin at the sight.
“DUM-E, this is Bucky. Bucky, DUM-E.”
DUM-E beeped again before taking Bucky’s hand in its claw and shaking it a bit too enthusiastically. Bucky laughed in delight when the handshake didn’t stop for a good ten seconds.
Tony seemed embarrassed by DUM-E’s quirkiness, but Bucky smiled at him reassuringly.
He was about to say something else when a thought crossed his mind.
“Wait, how do you know my name?”
Tony flushed. “I… I noticed you hanging around the labs a while ago, and I mean, I just got curious, is all.”
“Yeah?” Bucky teased, smirking. “Did I catch your eye, doll?”
He caught Tony whispering an embarrassed “oh my god” as someone gasped in faux shock behind them.
“I heard that, Barnes!”
Bucky turned to grin at Rhodes, who was glaring at him from across the lab. They’d met a couple times, mostly from hanging around Steve and his ROTC buddies, so Bucky knew him well enough to catch the slight twitch of Rhodes’ lips that betrayed his glare.
Tony groaned. “Honeybear, please shut the fuck up.”
Bucky couldn’t help but laugh at that, shaking his head. “Damn, if everyone in the program is like you two, I might have a chance to get in.”
“Wait. You’re applying next year?”
Bucky hesitated in the face of the poorly concealed hope in Tony’s eyes. “I mean, I’d like to, but I’m not- I’m not smart enough, honestly.”
“Bullshit," Tony said, rolling his eyes. "Justin Hammer managed to get in, and he can’t even assemble a motherboard without someone holding his hand through it.”
Bucky huffed. “I’m sure that’s an exaggeration, doll.”
“It really isn’t,” Rhodes sighed, making his way towards them. “Now, quit your flirting and get a move on, Tones. We’ve got class in ten minutes.”
“But Rhodey,” Tony whined, “I just started talking to him.”
“Sucks to be you,” Rhodes deadpanned.
Tony pouted before turning back to Bucky. “If you give me your number, I could... tutor you. You know, to help you get into the program.”
“Yeah?” Bucky asked.
“Yeah,” Tony replied, handing Bucky his phone.
Rhodes sighed. “I’m going to regret letting them meet, aren’t I?” he asked DUM-E.
DUM-E beeped sadly, patting Rhodes’ head in comfort.