Untrue

Natasha is testing her widow’s bites when Peter scares the hell out of him and makes him jump. “Geeze dad, relax a little,” Peter says and Tony frowns.

“Make some fucking noise kid, since when are you so quiet?” He used to run into everything all the time and now he… doesn’t. Not that Tony minds because the sheer amount of times Peter used to trip on tools and nearly die was enough to nearly get him banned from the lab and also the kitchen for life. Guess he grew out of that.

“I made noise but Natasha’s noise is more noise than my noise,” he says. He’s lucky Tony is able to follow all that. “Anyway what’s with you and Bucky?” he asks out of literally nowhere.

Tony frowns, turning to look at him, “the hell does that mean?” he asks. There’s no way Peter knows anything about anything, that’s not possible.

“Um, I have eyes. You two seem to be spending a lot of time together,” he says. “Not that that’s a bad thing,” he adds.

“I spend a lot of time with a lot of people, kid. Should probably spend more time with Bruce, poor bastard is more attached to his lab than I am,” he says, shaking his head. Bruce loves his work though so Tony usually leaves him to it unless he’s needed for something.

“Yeah, but you don’t usually talk to Bucky and I think he might have a crush on you,” Peter says and Tony snorts and starts laughing. Probably good that the reaction is genuine all things considered but coming from Peter’s mouth that sounds absurd.

“Kid, we’re grown men, not teenagers,” he says. “‘Crush,’ that’s adorable. Haven’t heard that since I was like nineteen. Makes me feel young again.”

“I guess. You have some greys,” Peter says, reaching out to touch his hair and Tony catches his hand.

“Don’t touch my not grey hairs. And no one has a crush on anyone,” he says because technically its true. ‘Crush’ is not the word he’d use to describe his relationship with Bucky. ‘Crush’ isn’t the word he’d use to describe any emotional connection with anyone over the age of fifteen.

“Fine then, tell Steve that because he looks pretty pissed off about it and honestly I don’t know how you don’t notice him trying to glare holes through your skull. You guys have marriage problems,” Peter says point blank and yikes. That… probably shouldn’t hurt as much as it does given that he’s right.

Tony sighs, “people go through shitty moments Peter, it happens.”

“‘Shitty moments,’ give me a break. You guys don’t have shitty moments, you have a shitty marriage,” Peter tells him. “Also those widows bites are cool and I kind of want some.”

“Absolutely not, I don’t trust you and Ned not to shoot them at each other for fun just to see what it feels like,” he says and the fact that Peter kind of shrugs and nods does not bode well. And the rest… Tony doesn’t know what to do with that.

When Peter leaves Nat walks over and perches on the edge of his desk. He knows what she’s going to say before she says it. “I’m not going to say ‘I told you so,’ but I was right,” she says.

He gives her a dirty look. “Any tweaks I need to make?” he asks.

“You could start with a divorce,” she says and Tony rolls his eyes.

“We’re really going to do this?” he asks. “Really?”

“Well when you go lying to your kid it might be relevant to bring it up,” she counters and oh fuck off.

“I didn’t lie.” Not technically anyway.

Natasha rolls her eyes back at him. “Based on what, a technicality? Enough with that Tony, you know how much of a stretch that sounds like. He out and out told you he knows you and Steve hate each other in so many words. Dosomething about it since the whole reason you didn’t want to divorce him was for Peter’s sake anyway. And find a mistress that isn’t his best friend. That’s tasteless even for you,” she mumbles, shaking her head.

Tony flips her off mostly because he’s got nothing to say to that because she’s kind of right. So why is it, exactly, that he’s clinging to this marriage at all?

*

Tony’s a difficult guy to accidentally run into and frankly Sam didn’t think it would take his military experience to manage it. He doesmanage to engineer a run in though and he smiles, which he can tell immediately puts Tony off not that he shows it all that much. Sam mostly just sees the strained way he holds himself, probably a reaction he gets often around fans that he more than likely won’t be a dick to, but that strained response turns to suspicion when he talks. “Uh, hey. I’m Sam, good friend of Steve’s,” he says and Tony squints.

“Whatever story you’re trying to sell, don’t. I willruin you,” he says, flat out harsh. Frankly Sam had no idea what to expect here but immediate and harsh protection of Steve wasn’t it.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve done that,” Sam says and Tony squints.

“Like you know anything about me,” he says and Sam shrugs.

“What I see on TV and what Steve tells me, but I’m not stupid enough to think either one of those sources are reliable.” The comment catches Tony off guard but Sam can see the slight change in his expression. He’s suspicious still, but slightly more receptive. “I’m not looking to sell a story, I’m mostly just tired of listening to Steve whine.” Its not wrong exactly, and the description isn’t inaccurate, but he intentionally worded it that way because he’s sure Tony will respond well to it.

He doesn’t, but it doesn’t go badly either so Sam takes that as a win. “Whine about what?” he asks.

“You, mostly. Figured if he was going to keep on about it I might as well get the whole story. Also I’m nosey and like drama,” he says, adding in a small personal touch. Some people respond better to it than others and it works on Tony because he straight up relaxes. Weird, but okay.

“Who doesn’t if I’m involved,” he says and oh okay, he’s hit familiar territory that’s why Tony’s relaxed.

“To be honest, I’m a little bored with it but I figured if you were a soulless harpy I might as well get it straight from the horses ass.” Tony doesn’t seem so soulless. Guarded sure, overly suspicious in a way that Sam can’t say he blames him for based on nothing but knowledge of how he’s been treated by the public his whole life. Everyone knows about child stars and how they always seem to fall into addiction and mental breakdowns, enough that it’s become a joke to people. Sam resents that given that it should have shown people to stop acting like heathens, not to make jokes about treating people badly enough that they lose it.

“Soulless harpy? Seriously? Is that a quote?” Tony asks, eyebrows raised.

Sam laughs, “no, that was my own spin. Steve’s more polite than that.” Even if Sam knows he’s thinking something like that, its just that he’d never say it out loud.

*

Tony knows how to make himself comfortable anywhere at least on the surface. He’s sitting with his legs crossed underneath of him on a chair, which looks uncomfortable but he hasn’t moved in awhile so Sam guesses its fine for him. Under the surface though Sam can see him trying to work through the situation. Constant alert. Maybe this is what Steve meant by Tony never letting him in, not really. But Sam hasn’t seen them together to see if he acts the same around Steve as he does with him.

“No idea,” Tony tells him and Sam raises an eyebrow.

“Oh come on, you have to have someidea of when the issues started.” Steve doesn’t seem to have a time frame either and he’s not buying that both of them don’t know. One does and Sam’s pretty sure its not Steve’s stupid ass. He likes the guy well enough but shit is he lacking some serious self-awareness skills.

He can see the way Tony looks him over a little, eyes shrewd. “Bucky, I think. When we first found out he was alive it was like Steve stopped caring. About me,” he adds when he apparently thinks the implication of his words wasn’t enough. Sam wonders if that’s for clarity specifically or a reference to Steve’s history of depression. Not that Steve knows that’s what that is.

“You think he cares more about Bucky than you,” Sam states more than asks.

Tony snorts, “I don’t think, I know. I have eyes, I can see that he cares more about Bucky than me.”

“He thinks you don’t put effort into the marriage,” Sam says and Tony rolls his eyes.

“Oh bullshit, he was the one who decided I didn’t matter anymore. I tried but he refused to respond to anything I did. That’s not my fault,” Tony snaps and he’s hurt, more than Steve is. Much more.

“That clearly still sings,” Sam notes and gets a dirty look for it. “Sorry, its just the way Steve describes it you don’t care. Clearly he’s wrong.”

That gets him a brief moment of silence as Tony calms some, letting himself relax again. “Obviously it stings, I don’t even know what I did. Doesn’t seem to matter what I try he doesn’t care.” Tony looks away from him, giving the ground a poisonous look and that’s not at all the expression of someone who truly doesn’t care about his marriage. Steve’s got that allwrong.

“Why do you stay? Not to be an asshole, but you’re the one with more mobility in almost every way. I can see that you don’t like being in this situation so why stick around?” Same question he asked Steve but he gets the feeling Tony will answer differently.

For a long moment Tony considers him before he deflates some. “Sometimes I miss what we had. If we had anything at all.”

He looks sad too, and its more than a risk for him to admit something like that to a virtual stranger but Sam has always been good at getting people to open up to him. “Do you really want that back, or do you just like the idea of it?” Tony’s something of a dreamer, always with his head too far in the clouds at least from Steve’s descriptions. Always too far ahead to look even a little behind himself. Lands him in trouble a lot. Like now, maybe, assuming his idea of his marriage with Steve is more appealing than the actual marriage.

Tony seems to realize this too, but he also dismisses it fast. “It was real once,” he reasons and sure, maybe it was.

“You’re not one to be nostalgic Tony,” Sam points out. He doesn’t need to say more than that because he seems to catch his drift immediately. Maybe Tony is more his dumb white guy speed. Guy might have the emotional competence of a gerbil but that’s better than Steve’s emotional competence of an especially stupid pug.

“Rose tinted glasses don’t really seem to do anyone any good,” Tony murmurs and no they don’t. Best to acknowledge things for what they were, it makes it easier to move on from them.

*

When Tony gets back to the Tower he’s mostly confused on how the hell that Sam guy managed to get him to say all that. It didn’t seem like a bad idea at the time but shit, he has no fucking clue who that guy is and Tony’s not in the business of just taking people’s word for things. He better not catch a whiff of this in the public or he’s going to have to do serious damage control.

He’s contemplating how to do that when a voice shakes him out of his reverie. “Hey gorgeous, what’s got you so jumpy?” Bucky asks and Tony sighs.

“Make a noise, apparently I’m getting old and now I spook easily,” he says and Bucky snorts and starts laughing.

“Well, if it makes you feel better you’re half my age,” he points out like he actually looks like he’s older than dirt. Tony wishes he looked the way he did when he was twenty eight. Tony glances behind him and Bucky steps forward, slipping an arm around his waist. “No one’s around,” he murmurs so Tony relaxes, leaning into his touch.

Its nice, the way Bucky immediately draws him in, hands sliding down his back until they rest on his waist. Tony wraps his arms around him too, soaking in the touch for a few moments. He’s missed this simple intimacy, the soft connections of a relationship he hasn’t had in a long time. “Yeah, but you aren’t aging normal,” Tony mumbles into Bucky’s chest.

“Doesn’t matter gorgeous, you look amazing anyway,” Bucky tells him and Tony smiles. Its easier not to feel self-conscious hearing that.