Pretty in Pink

Since Bucky found himself friendless, he’d spent most of his time in the dorm. When he wasn’t in class, he was watching trashy reality shows and was ashamed to admit that they were the high points of his days now. Sometimes, Rhodey and Bruce would come over and they were cool, but he didn’t feel like imposing on Tony, so he politely secluded himself to his room.

“We’re going to the movies. Wanna come?”, Tony would ask occasionally.

“No, thanks. Have fun.”, Bucky would smile, insisting he was fine.

Out of the blue, Natasha showed up one evening when Tony was gone.

“What happened?”, she asked bluntly as soon as Bucky opened the door.

“What are you talking about?, Bucky took immediate offense.

“Why are the Three Stooges moping around my dorm all the time now? Why haven’t you come around in weeks?”, Natasha demanded, stepping inside and making herself at home.

“They didn’t tell you? I kicked them out.”, he answered without an ounce of shame or regret.

“Why?”

It was odd to see the genuine surprise on Natasha’s face.

“They were talkin’ shit about Tony.”

“Your rich friend?”, she asked, tilting her head. Bucky rolled his eyes because, of course, that’s all anyone ever cared about.

“Yes. It was pissing me off, so I told them to stop and it escalated.”, Bucky explained, beginning to pace around the room. The anger he felt from the incident had barely begun to quell.

“You got mad because they hurt your friend’s feelings?”, Natasha cooed, pushing her bottom lip out and batting her eyes for added effect. Bucky sneered at her, cocking an eyebrow.

“Yeah, so?”

“Sweet of you, Barnes. When did this whole caring about people thing start?”

“It’s not that I care, it’s about the principle.”, Bucky defended.

Bucky didn’t know Natasha that well, she was Clint’s friend first. He wasn’t about to profess his feelings to her not knowing if she would go running back squealing to the other three.

“I want to meet him.”, Natasha stated, finality clear in her tone.

“He’s out with his friends.”, Bucky said.

“When is he coming back?”

“I don’t know.”, Bucky shrugged.

“I’ve got time. It’s a Friday, I don’t have class or work tomorrow.”, she laid herself on the couch, reached for the remote, and turned on the tv.

“By all means, make yourself comfortable.”, Bucky suppressed a growl, sitting in the armchair adjacent to the couch.

They waited, but not for too long. Tony came back, calling to Rhodey and Bruce to say goodbye. He saw Bucky sitting on the chair with a deep scowl on his face.

“What’s wrong?”, Tony asked.

Natasha popped her head up over the back of the couch.

“Hello?”, Tony offered.

“I’m Natasha. I’m the one who called you when Bucky passed out at the Halloween party.”, she explained.

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you.”, Tony smiled and Bucky’s tension eased.

“I was just talking to Bucky. Catching up, ya know? Isn’t that right?”, she looked to Bucky.

“Yeah.”, he answered shortly.

“Then I guess I’ll leave you to it.”, Tony almost walked away.

“No, stay. I like making new friends.”

Bucky knew that was bullshit. Natasha was easily the second most antisocial person in the state, Bucky being the first.

Natasha moved to one end of the couch to let Tony sit at the other end. They both quickly forgot about Bucky on the chair as they talked about nonsense things well into the night. They got along, though, which was nice. It was nice to see Tony smile again. It was also interesting to note that Natasha seemed calm around Tony. Clint had her riled up all the time with his shenanigans, but they were the best of friends either way.

Bucky wasn’t sure how long they’d talked, but Natasha eventually wished them both goodbye and left the dorm.

“She’s nice. I like her.”, Tony said cheerfully.

“That’s what she wants you to think. She’s really like an annoying little sister that wants you to buy food for parties all the time.”

“If you say so.”, Tony shrugged and went to his room. Tony noticed that Bucky’s mood had changed since Steve, Sam, and Clint didn’t come around anymore. Bucky kept saying he didn’t regret breaking off the friendship because of how they treated Tony, and Tony didn’t doubt that for a second. Still, Bucky was lonely and Tony couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

“Want to watch a movie?”, Tony asked. It was getting late, but Tony could stay up for Bucky.

“Sure.”

They watched Star Was: Empire Strikes Back with popcorn and blankets. It was cold, so Tony found himself scooting closer and closer to Bucky, who was a human space heater. Bucky brought one of the six packs from the fridge, but by the middle of the movie, they’d downed that one and two more and were a little tipsy. Tony was getting giggly and handsy, not that Bucky was going to stop him. Bucky was a sleepy drunk, so the touches were lulling him to sleep even more.

“C’mon, Bucky. Ya gotta stay ‘wake for th’ movie.”, Tony said into Bucky’s neck.

Bucky had this spot just behind his right ear that could get him hard in point two seconds flat. As Tony talked, his breath puffed over it, teasing him.

“Tony, you’re makin’ my ear wet.”, Bucky pushes him lightly. It wasn’t a lie, though. Tony was breathing really hard.

“But you’re fallin’ asleep.”

“Wha’d’ya wan’ me t’do?”

Apparently, Tony was a sexy drunk, much the opposite of Bucky. While Bucky was dozing off with a beer in his hand, Tony was undoing his pants.

“Please, Bucky.”, Tony slurred sweetly, nipping along Bucky’s jawline. It roused Bucky awake enough to assess the situation and find that nothing was wrong here.

Bucky helped Tony unzip his pants, as his hands were unsteady. Tony did the rest, ending with jerking Bucky’s dick until it was hard. Tony mumbled and moaned against Bucky’s neck, close to that spot, while Bucky’s breath caught in his throat. He squeezed Tony’s thighs and ass, eliciting giggles and sighs from the younger man.

Bucky’s dick was big, to put it simply. It had a length and girth to make anybody drool. It had a slight upward curve and a vein that ran along the bottom of. Tony ran his thumb along the vein, making Bucky moan lowly in his chest.

“God, I wanna fuck you.”

The statement alone was enough to sober Tony up and make him pause his movements. Bucky, half-infuriated by the ceased handjob, picked his head up from where he’d been leaning against the back of the couch.

“What’s wrong?”

“You wanna fuck me?”

“I mean, not if you don’t want me to. I just kinda said it-“

“I’m a virgin.”

Bucky stopped talking. It was strange position they found themselves in. Looking each other in the eyes as Tony was faced with a very important decision with his hand firmly wrapped around Bucky’s still rock hard erection.

“We don’t have to...if you don’t want to.”, Bucky voice shook as Tony unintentionally squeezed his hand as he thought for a moment.

Tony started moving his hand again, flicking his thumb over the head, collecting precum. Bucky’s breath caught in his throat again, bucking his hips upward.

“Do that thing by my ear again.”, Bucky begged, tightening his grip on Tony’s thigh. Tony didn’t quite know what he was talking about, as he hadn’t been paying attention before. Through some quick trial and error, he found out that if he licked the spot behind Bucky’s ear, he could reduce Bucky to a shaking, keening mess.

“You like that, huh?”, Tony teased, doing it again.

“Fuck, Tony, I’m gonna cum.”, Bucky had his eyes screwed shut in pleasure. Tony was now rutting against him and he could feel Tony getting harder in his pants.

Bucky released his grip on Tony’s thighs and pulled at Tony’s waistband. To his delight, he found lavender colored panties beneath the dark gray sweatpants Tony was wearing. His eyes darkened with lust, looking back up to Tony.

Tony got that Bucky had a kink. It was fine that Bucky had a thing for panties and lingerie, he understood it completely. It still hurt, though, to think that he finally got to be with his crush, but not because Bucky like him, he just liked what he wore.

Bucky touched Tony through the underwear and watched his thighs shake as he did so. Tony’s head dropped to Bucky’s shoulder as he rutted harder against the bigger man. Bucky laughed lightly, pulling Tony’s pants down further to his knees. Tony quickened the pace of his hand stroking Bucky’s cock, earning more moans of pleasure and appreciation.

“I’m close.”, Bucky choked out, working hard to bring Tony to his own orgasm. Tony couldn’t focus as Bucky put his hand inside his underwear and jerked him off.

“Please, Bucky, faster.”, Tony whined. His thighs wouldn’t stop shaking as his release got closer and closer.

Bucky finished and long, thick strings of cum fell on his shirt and Tony’s fist. As good and relaxed and tingly as he felt, he still had a job to do. Now able to focus on the task at hand, he moved his fist with more purpose and steadiness than he had before. It wasn’t long until Tony’s cum was all over his hand and staining the lavender fabric he was still confined in. Bucky couldn’t help but stare at it like it was a work of art. Like paint expertly striped across a light purple canvas.

Tony squirmed under Bucky’s intense gaze as his words came bubbling back up in his mind.

“Did you mean it?”

Bucky’s head shot up at the sound of Tony’s breathy voice.

“Mean what?”

Of course, Bucky had forgotten what he said. It was worth a shot, though, wasn’t it?

“Did you mean it when you said you wanted to fuck me?”, Tony clarified, biting his lip in anticipation for Bucky’s answer.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

Tony had to physically restrain himself from erupting from Bucky’s lap and dancing around the dorm in utter elation.

“Are you really a virgin?”, Bucky asked.

“You don’t believe me?”, Tony calmed down a bit and furrowed his brow at Bucky.

“I mean, I kinda figured girls would throw themselves at you...because, y’know...you’re rich and stuff-“

“Yeah, I’ve fooled around with girls before, but I’ve never had really had sex. And girls aren’t really my type.”, Tony squirmed again, feeling uncomfortable. He was thankful that Bucky didn’t ask any more questions, but instead hooked his finger under the waistband of Tony’s underwear, lazily dragging it back and forth. It kept him quiet and thoroughly distracted, giving Tony some time to wind down.

Tony wanted to have sex with Bucky. He was sex on legs that swung both ways, he’d be out of his mind not to. The only thing bothering him was that all he’d ever be to Bucky was someone to fulfill his primal desires and nothing more. Sure, they’d become good friends and Bucky was a caring person, but he didn’t care about Tony the way he wanted him to.

“I’m down if you are.”, Tony said, catching Bucky’s attention again.

“Really?”

Tony felt Bucky’s hands squeeze his ass again. Tony put his hands up to light push on Bucky’s chest.

“Not tonight. Some other time. If you want to, though, we can.”, Tony said, leaning down to softly kiss Bucky’s jaw.

—

Tony left the next morning to meet his mom for lunch. Bucky was left in the dorm all by himself. Again. It was nice outside - light snow and not too windy. He decided he would go for a walk for a while. Maybe visit the park and grab something to eat that wasn’t potato chips from the vending machine.

Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket, he walked down the sidewalk in pleasant silence. He passed through the park, saw a few couples sitting on benches bundled together, the frozen pond and the suspended fish inside, and amused himself by puffing clouds of hot air in front of his face to watch them disappear in the cold.

Bucky walked to a small restaurant near the park. They had amazing soup that was perfect for the winter weather. He picked a booth in the corner to sit at and spooned some warm broth into his mouth. He heard a familiar voice, then another, at the front of the reasaurant. He almost choked when he saw Sam and Steve walk to a table on the other side of the room. Bucky finished his soup quickly, paid, and tipped the waitress before going to leave.

“Bucky?”

Shit.

He kept walking, throwing his hood over his head and darting quickly from the scene.

—

“How have you been, darling?”, Maria wrapped her arms around Tony tightly.

“I’ve been great, mom.”, he wheezed. She released him and inspected him thoroughly.

“You’re getting skinny, caro mio.”

“I’ve been eating, I swear.”, Tony lied. He and Bruce often pulled all-nighters in the lab trying to finish projects for class.

“Come, Ana made lunch for us.”

She pulled Tony into the mansion excitedly. He’d only been gone for a semester, but Tony felt like everything was brand new. The wall decorations, the staircase, the tiled floors. They got to the table and lunch was laid out beautifully.

“You don’t have enough food in that tiny kitchen you have. É il tuo compagno di stanza, vero? Sta prendendo il tuo cibo?”, Maria asked sharply.

“No, mom, he’s not taking any of my food.”, Tony rolled his eyes and smiled. Maria saw it and was taken aback. Tony hadn’t smiled like that in a long time.

“Do you like your roommate? Is he nice?”

“Yeah, he’s great. Not too loud, doesn’t touch my stuff.”

They ate and talked for hours. Howard wasn’t there, so they were free to talk and laugh as long as they wanted without being drunkenly told to shut up.

“I’m glad your happy, sweetheart. I haven’t seen you this way since you were a child.”, Maria said, hitting a more serious note. She reached out her hand to take Tony’s. He tightened his hand around his mother’s reassuringly.

“What about you, mama? Sei felice?”

Maria turned away sharply, ashamed to cry in front of her only son. She looked back with a smile and smudged makeup.

“Seeing you like this makes me happy, Tony. I can tell you don’t think about him as much.”

Tony looked down at his empty plate, tightening his grasp on Maria’s hand once more.

“Vorrei che tu potessi lasciarlo anche lui.”

“È un vecchio. Morirà presto.”, Maria said dryly. Tony let out a burst of laughter and wiped his eyes before tears could spill down his cheeks.

“Don’t worry about me, bambino. I’ve dealt with him this long.”

“He’s your husband. You’re not supposed to just deal with him, you’re supposed to love him. He’s supposed to love you, too.”, Tony tried not to sound like a child, but he failed miserably.

“Then let this be a lesson. Don’t fall in love too hard too young. Make sure they love you for you and won’t make you a trophy wife.”, Maria tried to take the edge off her words with a smile and a small bout of laughter.

Tony always felt guilty leaving his mother at the mansion. Sooner or later, Howard would come home. He’d get his hands on whisky, scotch, or vodka and lay his hands on Maria in every way expect in love. He could see her bruises and he felt bad that his had finally faded.

—

“Bucky!”

Bucky finally stopped walking and turned around fast enough to break his own neck. Sam and Steve stopped before they crashed into him.

“Usually, when someone avoids you for fifteen minutes, it means they don’t want to see you.”

“Bucky, we wanted to apologize.”, Steve said, his breath heavy from having chased Bucky down the sidewalk.

“I’m not the one who you should apologize to.”, Bucky snapped.

“Look, at least we’re trying.”, Sam said defensively.

“Yeah, after all that shit we said, do you think he’d listen to us? We never even talked to him before. We know we were being assholes and we’re sorry.”, Steve pleaded.

“Could you at least tell him for us?”, Sam asked.

Bucky thought it over for a moment. The whole thing bothered Bucky more than it did Tony, but a little apology wouldn’t make up for all the terrible things they said to Tony. All the things Bucky agreed with for the sake of having friends.

“Fine, I’ll tell him. You’re still jackasses, though.”

Sam and Steve sighed in relief.

“Thanks, Bucky. And we do owe you an apology.”, Steve said.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I broke your nose.”

“I’m sorry I broke that lamp. And that end table. And that there’s a hole in your wall now.”

“Don’t worry about it. Tony already got a guy to fix it and bought new furniture.”, Bucky waved them off. He saw the disgruntled looks on their faces and decided to press even further.

“You wanna know why? ‘Cause he’s rich. His daddy’s a million-bajillionaire and he’s got money comin’ out his ass.”, Bucky joked.

“I just don’t like him flashing his money everywhere.”, Steve snapped.

“He doesn’t flash his money everywhere. He’s got nice shit, sure he does, but he’s not rubbing it in anyone’s face. You’re not pissed that he’s rich, you’re passed that you’re broke. So am I. So is everyone else on planet Earth.”

There was a tentative truce and they went their separate ways. When Bucky got back to the dorm, Tony was there. He was at the table working on more designs for something fancy, but he looked troubled.

“Hey, you okay?”, Bucky asked.

“What? Yeah, just thinking about some stuff.”, Tony answered quietly.

“I saw Sam and Steve. They said they’re sorry about all the stuff they said.”, Bucky sat down across from Tony.

“It’s fine. It’s not anything I haven’t heard before.”

“It’s not fine. You shouldn’t be used to that.”

Tony went silent and Bucky went to his room.

—

Natasha threw another party, but this time she invited Tony along, as well.

“You’re underage, right? Stay in the backyard. That way, if the cops come, you can be the first to run.”, she pointed to the back patio.

“Thanks, that’s sweet.”, Tony smiled.

“How old are you?”, Sam asked.

“Nineteen.”

“You look twelve.”, Clint said, handing him a beer.

“Don’t get all high and mighty over there. You’re only twenty.”, Bucky snapped jokingly.

“I’m legal to drink in two weeks.”, Clint defended himself.

“Stark! Outside!”, Natasha called from across the house. The house was getting a little crowded, but it was nowhere near the amount of people that would end up coming.

“I’ll go with you, Tony, so you’re not by yourself.”, Bucky hopped down from where he was sitting on the cabinet and followed Tony out. Once there were enough trees to block the view of the house, Bucky yanked on the back of Tony’s pants. He saw the light blue panties tightly fitted over Tony’s round ass.

“Do you wear these everywhere?”

“Yes, they’re the only underwear I have.”, Tony batted his hand away. There were a few couples already making out at the edge of the woods behind the house.

“Is that why you never let me do the laundry?”, Bucky asked in realization.

“Yeah.”

Bucky leaned down to catch Tony’s lips in a harsh, but fleeting kiss.

“You’re friends are gonna come out here and see us. I know I’m not the only one with secrets that could damage my reputation.”, Tony pushed him away.

“Worried about me?”, Bucky smirked.

“I just don’t want Steve coming after me for being the twink that turned his friend gay.”, Tony blubbered a terrible impression of Steve.

“You’re right. Stay here, I’ll go get something stronger. This beer tastes like shit.”

‘Something stronger’ turned out to be half a bowl of jungle juice.

“This is what you brought? What took so damn long?”, Tony asked, sitting down against a tree trunk.

“I got caught in a game of beer pong and won. Then, Natasha couldn’t reach a bag of chips, so I got them for her. After that, I ran into somebody and we hand to fight a little bit - I won that, too. Then I found a bowl of jungle juice.”, Bucky presenter it proudly, swaying a little as all the alcohol in his system took effect.

“Sit down, sunshine, before you spill it everywhere.”, Tony guided him to the ground.

They could hear music playing from the house. The sun had just set and the sky still had a bit of an orange glow. Other couples were outside so, much to Bucky’s annoyance, they couldn’t do anything Bucky planned for them to do. Outside. Alone.

“Calm down, you horndog. We can still go back to the dorm later.”, Tony glanced at him knowingly.

As the night progressed, the party got louder and louder. Tony stayed sober enough to recognize the sound of sirens. He sprang up, dragging Bucky with him.

“C’mon, we gotta go!”

—

They made it to their dorm safely, not having been seen by anyone. They were both stumbling and Bucky was half asleep on his feet.

Tony tried to go to his room, running into several walls along the way, when Bucky grabbed him with a heavy hand.

“So pretty.”, he slurred, placing open mouthed kisses up and down Tony’s neck.

Apparently, that was all Bucky had in him. That was all it took for him to drop to the floor, passed out. Tony sighed, stepped over him, and went to his room.

—

“Anthony Edward Stark!”

Howard’s voice echoed off the walls of the mansion as he stormed down the hall.

“Yes, sir?”, Tony answered. His entire body went rigid.

“Why the hell is there women’s lingerie and makeup in your room?”

Tony had gone back home for the day to clean up some old stuff left in his room. When his father offered to help, Tony wished he could refuse.

“I had a girl over before I left, she must have forgotten it.”

The beating Tony got for bringing whores into the Stark mansion and being a smartass was nothing compared to the one he would have gotten if he’d told Howard the truth. Howard threw down the red set of lingerie, the lipstick, blush compact, and mascara tube beside Tony. Tony stayed on the floor until he couldn’t hear his father’s footsteps anymore.

Thank God he didn’t find the other ones.

—

Bucky saw Tony walk in the dorm with his head down and a box in his hands. Tony rushed to his room and slammed the door.

“Tony?”, Bucky knocked softly, feeling a sense of deja-vu.

Nothing.

“Tony, I’m coming in.”

Upon entering, Bucky was rushed by Tony. He wrapped his arms around Bucky’s strong torso and sobbed into his shirt.

“Why does he hate me?”, Tony cried.

“What are you talking about, baby?”, Bucky lifted Tony’s chin. He was met with a swollen black eye.

“Who did this?”, he asked roughly. His tone made Tony flinch, so he guided Tony to the bed and sat beside him.

“My dad. He found my-“, Tony broke into more sobs, leaving the sentence unfinished. He really didn’t have to finish it because Bucky saw the contents of the box. Several sets of lingerie, panties, and makeup filled it to the brim.

So, there were several revelations on Bucky’s part. Tony was abused, which meant his mom more than likely was, too. Tony liked makeup. And had he really just called Tony ‘baby’?