Curious
Everyone was breathing a huge sigh of relief. Starlord had somehow managed to contain his rage after hearing that Thanos had killed his lover Gamora in order to obtain one of the Infinity Stones long enough for Tony and Peter to remove the gauntlet and destroy it. The remaining Guardians of the Galaxy detained Thanos and left to bring him to face the proper justice that he wouldn't face here on Earth. It took a little while for everyone to recover from what happened, but it meant a lot of time to kinda get to know the people Peter didn't.
As of right now, he was currently sitting on a cheap folding chair that Steve had bought for the block party Tony was throwing. It was the 4th of July and Iron Man knew how jumpy Steve, Bucky, Clint, and Bruce get around the holiday so he thought it would be best for them to spend it with people they cared about. They were at one of the many houses Tony has, on the corner of a pretty nice and friendly neighborhood, who were all invited to come and join if they wanted; which was why there was seven kids running around, playing tag with Natasha, Clint, and Thor.
"Kiddo! What did you want on your hot dog?" Parker heard Tony bark over all of the pleasant noise, the 18 year old popping to his feet and jogging over to his father figure. "Just ketchup." "Just ketchup? Really? I thought you said you liked cheese on your hot dogs?" Peter laughed lightly at that. "I do, but not tonight." Tony smiled at him and dressed the bun with two quick lines of ketchup before offering the empty bun to the one manning the grill. Which, to Peter's surprise, was Bucky. "You want an ear of corn too?" He asked, that little smile on his lips that Peter knows all too well. "No, I'm good." Bucky shrugged. "Suit yourself. Steve seasoned them." Tony cooed at that, both men knowing what he's gonna be having.
Peter moved to the table that had all of the other sides and treats, and added a small scoop of potato salad onto his plate, along with two of the cookies Natasha made and grabbed a can of Dr. Pepper before heading back to his spot. Just as he was setting down his unopened drink he sensed something flying right towards him at a high speed. He snapped around in time to see Bucky catching the football with one hand, a plate of food in his other, and tossed an annoyed look over to Sam and Rhodey. "Really?" "Sorry, Buck!" Sam called and the Winter Soldier just shook his head with a smirk, tossing the ball back before taking the chair that was next to Spider-Man.
"...Nice catch." Peter shyly spoke, Barnes glancing at him in concern. "You okay?" "Huh? O-Oh yeah, I'm just..." Bucky's expression softened as he lightly patted the teenager's arm. "It's okay to still be a little flustered about things. I get that I'm handsome and can't keep people off me." Peter sputtered, his eyes falling onto Bucky's steel blues and felt his cheeks turn even redder, which only made Bucky laugh. "God, I wish I could be there on your first date!" "Shut up!" Parker growled, playfully pushing at Bucky's left arm. Barnes was forever grateful for this kid; yes, he--just like all the others--recognized that Bucky had a metal arm, but unlike everyone else, Peter was just so fascinated by it. He cannot tell you how many times he's been bombarded with questions from the kid, never seeing that he was scared of him or his arm; in fact, he would touch his metal arm as causally as he would his flesh one.
"Why so much?" Peter asked after seeing what was on Bucky's plate: a hot dog, an ear of corn, a scoop of both macaroni and potato salad, three cookies, and a hamburger he paused mid-bite of. "Super Solider, remember? I burn more calories than you do." "Oh, right." Peter smiled to Bucky, seeing as the older man returned the grin and they ate in half silence, both of them making a little bit of small talk since Bucky wasn't totally comfortable with too much quiet when he's around a lot of people; it reminded him too much of times he's still trying to fully accept.
Peter watched as Bucky went to get them another can of their chosen drink, Bucky cracking open his can of beer in one hand easily as he handed Parker his second can of soda. "...Is that good?" Peter asked, gesturing to the ear of corn that was half eaten on Bucky's plate. "You wanna try a bite?" He asked, holding it up for the younger to take. Peter, instead of taking it out of Bucky's hand, carefully covered the hand holding the food with his own, using his free hand to steady the food before taking a large bite out of it. "...Oh wow. That is good." Bucky chuckled, taking a bite himself before moving to finish off his burger. The solider glanced over to Peter when he felt him staring at him, and saw that his eyes were locked onto his metal arm, which was now black.
"So...T'Challa gave you that?" "Mm-hm. The people of Wakanda helped get HYDRA out of my head and it's kinda become a third home for me." "What are the first two?" "Brooklyn and Romania." "Wait, you're Romanian?" Bucky hummed. "Family's from Bucharest, but came to New York and got a house in Brooklyn; it wasn't too long after we moved in that I stumbled across Steve and became close friends." "Was he the one who taught you English?" "More like helped me get rid of most of my accent, but yeah. I had to translate a lot of stuff for my mother, so I became pretty fluent in it fast." Bucky saw that little gleam in the kid's eyes and sighed. Here we go...
"So, was Steve always like that? Or was he different?" "He was a lot different. Still had the same heart and morals, but he was much shorter and scrawnier than he is now." Peter giggled at that. He was having a hard time imagining Steve being kinda like him. Bucky moved his eyes away from Peter to gaze upon his closest friend and felt himself smiling when he saw that Steve was working the grill at the moment, Tony's hand resting on the small of his back, both men smiling. Everyone who had helped Steve when the accords were put in place owed Tony big time since he was able to clear all of them of their charges and have them welcomed back into America. Barnes moved his eyes back to the youth when he felt the tips of his fingers gently trace the outside of the wrist of his metal arm.
"Sorry!" Peter quickly retracted his touch and looked away, seemingly embarrassed that he had been caught. "...Tell you what, we finish eating and I'll let you do what you want with my arm. Fair?" Peter's head snapped back around so fast Bucky though he broke his neck. "Fair!" But before Peter could jump his food, Bucky's left hand curled under the teen's chin and turned his head so they were facing each other; Bucky didn't miss the way Peter's face turned a dark red, nor how his pulse quickened as he felt it race under his fingertips. "And no rushing. We're here to enjoy everything going on. I know you're eager to get your hands on me, but have patience, sweetheart." He cooed, gently sliding his fingers away from the teen, seeing as he bit his lower lip and shivered.
"You are such a shameless flirt..!" "Tony's worse." Peter barked out a laugh before muffling it with his hand, his shoulders still bouncing with his laughter. Bucky smirked and ruffled the boy's hair, the duo going back to enjoying both the food and the company around them. Peter was just about finished with his food when he saw Bucky taking a long swig of his beer. The older man noticed that the other was staring at him again and when he saw what he was looking at, he let out a slow breath. "One sip and you do not tell anyone." Bucky flatly stated as he handed the teen his half empty beer. He watched the other bring the can to his lips and tip it back enough to get a mouthful; Barnes smirked when he saw Parker's face twist in disgust as he managed to choke down the beer, coughing a little as he handed it back.
"God, how and why do you guys drink that? It tastes awful!" "Well, it's a taste I don't mind. And don't you dare start drinking, you little punk. If I catch you drinking, smoking, or doing any drug your doctor hasn't given to you outside of the correct amount you're suppose to take, I will bend you over my knee and spank you until you can't sit down, you hear me?" "Y-Yes, Sir!" Bucky let his tone calm down and his shoulders slump after he heard that; he promised Tony that he'd help keep an eye on the kid since he and Peter had become pretty fast friends. They finished their food and Bucky took their empty plates away, tossing them into the trashcan Tony had brought outside since that's where they all were.
As he sat back down, he let his eyes drift over to Peter and gave him a warm smile, offering up his metal arm. "Free reign, kid." Peter's mouth opened and closed for a moment before he nodded his head, letting his hands drift over the arm, but not touch it yet. He's always thought that Bucky's metal arm was awesome, but he's always been conscious of how he touches it; he knows that the ex-military man still had some PTSD and could still have an episode triggered, so he tried to keep any contact he makes on the unnatural limb short. But now that he was allowed to do what he wants with it, Peter quickly finds himself gently pushing the strap of fabric of Bucky's tank top up and away from his shoulder, exposing where his arm attached to his body. Bucky keeps himself calm when Peter traced the scars around his arm, noting that the teen kept a feather touch as he followed the numerous lines. "...They look lighter." "Do they?" Bucky asked and Parker nodded.
"It seems like the skin's been healing a little better for a while." Bucky didn't say anything as the hand that had been on his scars now touched the top of his metal arm, slowly trailing them down the limb, seeing that Peter was taking in all of the details. He let him turn his arm so his palm was now face up and started to draw little shapes and patterns into the metal, Bucky shivering at the sensations they caused. "Sorry." "It's okay. It...actually feels kinda nice." Not like that really surprised him, the years he's spent under HYDRA's control have left him touch-starved, so any time Peter had touched him, it sent the most wonderful of sensations through his body. Peter gave him a hesitant smile before he started tracing little lines on the inside of his wrist, drawing where the lines of his palm should have been.
It was a shock to Bucky when Peter laced their hands together, squeezing as tight as he could before turning his gaze back to Bucky. "It's beautiful, Bucky." "...Yeah?" "Yeah." Bucky grinned brightly at the teen, locking his eyes with Peter's chocolate hues. They didn't say anything else, just held hands as they watched the others mill about.
Tony was in the middle of setting off another firework when Bucky felt something thump against his shoulder. Glancing over as the firework went off, he saw as the bright light and colors danced over Parker's face, highlighting his boyish charm as well as the inherent beauty of his sleeping face, completely relaxed. The Winter Solider had noticed then that Peter's hand was now gripping his own loosely, his fingers barely holding on between his metal ones. "He okay?" Tony asked when he spotted Bucky scooping the 18 year old into his arms.
"Yeah. I'm surprised he managed to fall asleep with all of the fireworks, but he did. I'll take him inside." "Why don't you get some sleep too, Buck?" Steve spoke up and his friend rolled his eyes at him. "I'm not tired, Stevie." "Bucky..." He warned and Barnes sighed in defeat. "...Alright." Bucky quickly made his way inside, heading towards the back of the house since that's where a couple of the guest bedrooms are. He laid Peter down on the bed, but was a bit stuck when the kid didn't release his hand, seeming to have an iron grip on it. Bucky tried to tenderly pry his hand out of Parker's, but stilled when the kid whimpered at the attempts. "Stay...please..." He hushed in his sleep and Bucky chewed on his lip at the desperation in the boy's words.
With a deep sigh, Bucky carefully laid himself behind Parker, spooning the younger man so their hands stayed connected and he wasn't straining Peter's arm, tucking his flesh one under the pillow. "Good night, kid." "...Night..." He muttered, scooting back a little so their bodies were basically formed together. Bucky chuckled under his breath at the action before relaxing his body and joining the teenager in slumber.