Ever since Bucky had woken up in the future, he had been amazed by all the technology surrounding him. He’d always loved the things people could create and tried his best to understand them, reading countless engineering books and going to science expos whenever he had spare time. In the 1940s, he’d thought Howard Stark was the best engineer the world would ever see. Now, he knew how wrong he’d been.
Tony Stark wasn’t the best engineer on Earth. Shuri held that title, and Bucky didn’t see that changing anytime soon. But Tony intrigued Bucky, drawing him in for some inexplicable reason. And he was more available, since Bucky was currently living in the Avengers facility.
Bucky spent most of his time in the lab with Tony, observing his work, sometimes asking questions, sometimes just sitting and watching. Tony didn’t seem to mind. Once he told Bucky that he liked having him there, then blushed and went to tinker with the prototype for a robot.
Bucky’s favorite days were maintenance days. His arm needed to be kept in good shape, so about once a month he would sit on a stool and let Tony make whatever adjustments were necessary. He liked the closeness he got to have with the engineer those days. He liked the way Tony’s touches lingered a little longer than strictly necessary. Most of all, he liked how the lab was locked, so nobody could intrude upon their privacy.
Of course, Bucky had realized that he had feelings for Tony almost immediately. He’d never been as oblivious to his own emotions as some people seemed to be. He was, however, oblivious when it came to others. Unfortunately. This was what left him constantly wondering if Tony’s flirtatious remarks were casual or if they truly meant something. Especially on days such as today.
It was a maintenance day. Bucky followed his usual routine of eating breakfast, making sure to grab something for Tony, and heading down to the lab.
“I got you cereal.” He handed Tony a bowl of Froot Loops. The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile as Tony devoured the food. “Please tell me that’s not the first thing you’ve eaten since you’ve been down here.”
“Nah, I finished Bruce’s takeout last night. Thor came in to drag him to bed, and he said I could have it.”
“I’m glad you ate something,” Bucky said, pulling his shirt over his head and sitting down on the stool.
“Whoa, moving a little fast there, Barnes. You haven’t even bought me dinner.”
Bucky laughed. “I did bring you Froot Loops.”
Tony grabbed a wrench and walked over to Bucky. “I’m hurt by how low you think my standards are.”
“Did you want Cheerios? We were all out of the kind you like.”
“You’re not making this any better,” Tony chuckled. He ran his hands up and down the arm, checking for spots that needed attention. He only found one, near Bucky’s shoulder. “I need to get closer to that, so if you could…” he made a spreading gesture at Bucky’s legs.
Bucky complied with a smirk. “Trying to get between my legs, doll?”
Tony raised an eyebrow challengingly. “Would you mind?”
“Not at all.”
And suddenly Tony was so close, and Bucky knew it was just to fix his arm but a blush still crept up his neck. It only took a few minutes for him to finish, and suddenly he was putting the screwdriver on a table and Bucky wished it had taken hours.
“Let me just make sure everything is good.” Tony was back, closer than before, and Bucky felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest. He ran his fingers gently down Bucky’s arm. When he reached his hand, Bucky laced his fingers with Tony’s.
Now or never, Barnes.
“Tony.”
The engineer took a breath. “Yes?”
“Tell me if you want me to stop.” He slowly leaned closer to Tony, reaching up his flesh hand to cup his cheek. Closing his eyes, he pressed his lips to Tony’s, briefly, barely more than a brush of lips. Before he could even react, Tony pulled him into another kiss, burying a hand in Bucky’s hair. His tongue flicked out experimentally, and Bucky broke away with a laugh.
“Now who’s moving fast?”
Tony shrugged. “I was a notorious playboy, you know. But if you don’t want to—”
Bucky stepped off of the stool to cut him off with another kiss, “Trust me, I do.”
Tony smiled and kissed him again, pulling him down onto the lab couch.
“Really, Stark? You want to defile this nice couch?”
Tony snorted. “As if Thor and Bruce have never done anything on here. Plus, it’s technically my couch. So I can do whatever I want on it.” He locked eyes with Bucky. “Or whomever.”
Bucky rolled his eyes. “You’re terrible.”
“You know you love it.”
“Yes,” Bucky breathed. “I do, doll.”
***
Tony lazily ran a hand through Bucky’s hair, lost in thought. God, he had just had mind-blowing sex with the man he’d been wanting for months. He was halfway convinced that he was dreaming.
“We should do this again,” Bucky murmured.
Tony smiled. “Next month?”
“Why so far away from now, doll?”
Tony sighed. “I don’t really want everyone to know, and maintenance days are the only ones we have an excuse to lock the lab. As much as I enjoyed this, I’d rather not get lectured by America’s golden boy for sleeping with his best friend. Kind of puts a damper on things.”
Bucky considered for a minute. “Stevie knows next to nothing about modern technology,” he started out slowly. “He won’t suspect a thing if I have to come down here for maintenance more often than usual. I doubt anyone else would give you a hard time about it.”
“When should I schedule your next appointment for, then?”
“How about Saturday night? I’ll buy you dinner.” Bucky smiled warmly.
“That sounds perfect.”