twenty-six.
With Peter at school for the first time in days, Bucky felt stressed, to say the least. He wasn't worried about Deadpool, because at least he knew that if somehow Peter ended up in the mercenary's presence, he'd be safe there. The socializing with his friends might do Peter some good, but Bucky was worried about what it'll be like dealing with those bullies. He wasn't worried though, because Peter knew how to handle himself if need be, and now those assholes knew it too.
He didn't think that any of those bullies would think about bothering Peter now that they'd seen what he can do when he gets angry. Bucky thinks kids like that are the reasons for school shootings, and the online statistics only helped to further his theory... But Bucky didn't care much for statistics, he mostly cared now about results, and he'd do whatever it took to get them.
Like how all week Stark has had an attitude, Nat's been stressed, and Steve's been stressed AND worried. It left Bucky to be the rock of the group, and it wasn't hard to see the obvious irony in their scenario. With each member of their relationship being in a different mood, Bucky knew that he had to tend to them all differently. Each lover needed something different.
Natalia's been stressed, so what she might need is a massage, a good quiet evening and maybe some really good head... Steve's level of stress has been much higher, mostly because of how much time he spends around Stark. He won't let it show, but it really takes a toll on him. Steve will need something a little different to calm him down, like a good homecooked meal, some smooth 30's tunes, and a candlelit bath.
Now, Bucky Barnes had been intimate with plenty of men and women alike. He also used to have a younger sibling, and he was in the military, so if there's one thing he knows how to handle, it's an immature brat with an attitude... Which meant he knew just how to deal with Stark.
He looked down at the stubborn brainiac where he was, kneeling motionless on the floor at Bucky's feet, waiting for instructions like he was meant to do. He could see the guilt on Tony's face, he knew what he'd done to deserve whatever punishment Bucky decided to dish out to him, and he knew he needed to behave and take it like he always did.
Now, this may sound bad, but Tony and Bucky made an agreement long ago when their relationship blossomed from a seedling to a sprout and Stark had been added into their relationship. Bucky was the oldest, he'd seen the world, he knew how to handle people and nearly anything the world put in front of him. It'd been made clear to Tony from the start that looks can be deceiving. Steve wasn't really very dominant. Every once in a while he'd get in a mood where all he wanted to do was be on top and make love to Natasha or fuck Bucky senseless, and they let him do as he pleased.
Nat was more dominant, easily giving commands and dolling out praise and punishment when need be; Bucky was a whole different story. Cut from a much nicer type of dominant cloth, he was about as dominant as one could be. He was the lead in their relationship, the one the others went to when they needed something, whether it be advice or to be put in their place. The three of them knew that Bucky could take care of them. He knew their minds better than they did, even on the days when he didn't know himself.
So when Bucky first approached him in the bedroom after he'd become part of the group and told him to kneel, Tony didn't hesitate to drop down onto his knees and shut his mouth. He was quicker then, but since he seems to have forgotten his place.
His place was here, kneeling, when and where he was told to. If he had to be told twice, he'd be sorry.
Bucky pet his hair and told him what a good boy he was for being so quick to listen even after all this time. Bucky hadn't touched Tony like this in a hot minute, so every moment he had under Bucky's hot gaze was a blessing to Tony.
"Sucha good boy for listenin' so quick..." Bucky trailed his thumb across Tony's bottom lip before sliding it into his mouth and over his tongue. He loved the way Tony responded to the smallest things. "You know why it's been so long since we've done this?"
Tony shook his head as best as he could while sucking on Bucky's thumb. Bucky took a moment to pull his hand away, leaving Stark in the middle of the floor with no contact once again.
"Haven't bothered to touch ya 'cause ya haven't bothered bein' good." Bucky watched the look on Tony's face. He saw the way his words stung Stark's ego, the way they stabbed his heart. "You ain't been nothin' but rude and inconsiderate to e'ryone around you, and m'gettin' really tired of it."
Tony's eyes dropped to the floor and all it took was for Bucky to snap his fingers loudly before Tony was holding his gaze again. "You're startin' fights with Stevie... Gettin' snippy with Nat... Yellin' at the kid... And don't think I don't know about your lil' secret, Tony."
Tony's eyes widened, and he looked so goddamn afraid that Bucky had learned something terrible. And in a way he had. Bucky squatted down to look Tony dead in the eye.
"I know you've been with Banner behind our backs... You can consider this your first 'n' final warnin' Tony. You get two choices... You can apologize, and break it off with Banner... Or you can be only with Banner."
Tony takes a shaking breath but Bucky shushes him before he gets a chance to speak. "You don't have to answer me now... For right now, you just need t'be taught a lesson about your attitude..."
Bucky runs his fingers through Tony's hair a couple of times before resting his metal hand on the back of Tony's head. Tony doesn't resist as Bucky guides his face into his crotch until he's smushed against the denim tent at the front of Bucky's jeans. Bucky always got off on having power in the bedroom, but he also really got off on taking care of his lovers. Right now Tony needed a little bit of hard love and a quick attitude change.
Tony knew this was his place, on his knees in front of a powerful man like Bucky, or maybe just Bucky period. He'd fallen more out of love with Bucky and the others and now saw it more as lust holding him to the group. Steve would be heartbroken, he thinks, but it's for the best that he leaves them.
For now, he didn't hesitate to open his mouth for Bucky's hardened length, but Bucky didn't move. Bucky watched him with hawk-like eyes for any sign of misbehavior. For any sign of guilt or remorse. Any sign of anything but lust. Despite the situation, the last thing Bucky wanted right now was to be intimate with Tony.
After a minute, Bucky pulled away entirely and yanked Stark by the hair until he rose to his feet. He tilted his head back to lessen the pull on his hair and the action exposed his neck for Bucky to grab onto with his free hand. He could feel Stark's pulse racing against his metal fingers. He felt Stark's nervous swallow against his palm. They both knew that Bucky was angry enough to be able to strangle Stark to death without a second thought right now.
In his already angered state, standing here with Stark only made it worse. He was more than furious, he was pissed because Tony Stark betrayed not just him, but Steve and Natalia as well. He tried to calm down because as angry as he was, he'd once begun to love Tony, but that just made him angrier. Knowing that the man in front of him, the man he'd started to really love, threw the three of them away for Bruce... It was heartbreaking and sickening all at once and he really could have just strangled Stark to death where he stood.
He knew it was only lusting keeping Tony here in this room. If he thought he was in any real danger, he'd have Friday do.... whatever it was she could do in this situation. He knew there were no less than 150 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents bustling about on base at all times.
Nevertheless, Bucky started to squeeze, slowly increasing the pressure on Tony's throat, and only then did the so-called genius begin to panic. "B-Buck-"
"Shut up... You don't get to call me that... Not anymore. Not after what you've done." He squeezed tighter and Tony's heart rate quickly elevated. He was afraid... Good. He should be. With the way Bucky was staring at him, eyes darkened with pure hatred and rage, he was lucky he was still alive.
"Do it then, if you want to so badly... Kill me." He choked, already struggling for air.
Bucky pressed his thumb down harder and brought Stark's face closer to his as he growled out, "Don't tempt me."
It didn't seem to be the response that Stark was looking for. Bucky could tell by the way his eyes widened farther and he began to claw at his metallic grasp. Bucky lifted him up so his kicking feet barely scraped the floor. Stark started to struggle harder, but it was quickly becoming clear that the more he fought, the harder Bucky gripped onto his throat. The old Bucky, The Winter Soldier, wouldn't have even taken this long to end Stark, but the closer he got to taking the life out of Stark, the less inclined he felt to do it.
It was getting too easy. Why hadn't anything happened yet? Friday was meant to alert someone at the first sign of Bucky turning on them, so why hadn't anything happened?
Bucky lifted Tony up farther and listened to the pained attempts at air and the weak, scared whimpers... Then the door opened, and standing there was Steve, with Natalia and Bruce behind him. So Friday had alerted someone. That someone just so happened to be the one person in the world that Bucky would listen to while he was like this.
"Don't try and stop me, Steve, you know what he did."
Steve takes a step forward. "Yes, I know what he did, but that's no excuse, Buck. He doesn't deserve to die for it."
Bruce moves to step forward and it makes Bucky's grip twitch, effectively cutting off that one little bit of airflow Tony'd had left. Nat blocks Bruce's path, fully aware that him entering the room would be a fucking bad idea.
"He betrayed you!" Bucky all but cries over his shoulder at Steve. Tears had made their way to his face. He didn't want to be a killer anymore, but Tony betrayed two of the only people he cared about in this world, and he had to pay for it. He had to. "He's never been my favorite... To me, he's just a scientific piece of scum, but the two of ya cared for him, so I did my best, but he's betrayed ya both now, and it's my job to protect you! What the hell m'I good for if I can't protect you?"
Steve and Nat were stunned. Bruce was startled, to say the least, and Stark was downright terrified as he desperately fought Bucky's grip. The world's number one most deadly assassin, The Winter Soldier, was halfway between murder and a mental breakdown (though one supposes they go hand and hand sometimes) right in front of them... The most terrifying man in the world was in tears.
And it made him even scarier.
Steve wasn't sure why Bucky was so worked up about it, but it didn't matter. He had to think quickly, Tony only had a few more seconds at most and as much as he'd like to see him choked, he wasn't about to let Bucky go down for killing Tony Stark.
"Buck this isn't you anymore. It's time to go. Let him go." He stepped up to Bucky and stood behind him, sliding his hand up his chest and settling it over his heart. He slid his other hand along Bucky's metal arm until their fingers touched. "Let him go, Buck."
Bucky hesitated for another beat before loosening his grip ever so slightly, and then all at once. Tony fell and crumpled to the floor, coughing and gasping for air, doubled over in a fit.
Steve kept his arm around Bucky and still held his hand as he walked him from the room. Natalia joined them on their walk, an arm slung around Bucky, leaning on him while they made their way out and down the hall to their bedroom.
Bruce waited for them to be a few steps away before he rushed in and to Tony's aid. In all the years of knowing Stark, he doesn't once remember being so scared for Tony's life before. He knelt down next to Tony who was still panicking as he fought to take a decent amount of air into his lungs and ran his fingers over the place where the bruises would sit atop Tony's throat. He could see the finger-shaped indents and the creases of the metal plates from Bucky's palm.
Tony looked up at him and asked, as best as he could manage, "Are you okay?"
Bruce shook his head quickly. "Don't you worry about me. Let's get you some water and get you some rest so you can heal." He began to scoop Tony from the floor. Tony protested but was ultimately too weak to deny the help.