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“Wow. Uhm…you sure we don’t wanna crash with aunt May for a while longer?” Peter asks after surveying the hospital-white, empty apartment.
Bucky has to admit it is definitely a downgrade from their previous flat and even May’s modest apartment, but finding an affordable place somewhere in or close to New York that’s not completely decrepit or in the most crime-ridden areas of the city narrowed down their options a lot.
Pete will already have to take the earliest bus into the city just to get to his school in Queens. He told him it’d be easier to transfer – again – but the thirteen year-old suddenly matured right in front of his eyes and said ‘it’s all about compromises and I’m willing to make one!’.
They shouldn’t be making any at all.
If Bucky wasn’t a stupid idiot, they could have still been living their cozy life in the suburbs of Kingston instead of scraping at the bottom of NYC real-estates with no job and one hand.
“Still better than one job and no hands,” Steve told him back in the hospital during his unrelenting attempts to lighten up the whole situation.
Needless to say, it didn’t work.
“We’ve imposed on her enough,” Bucky answers, throwing the huge bag that literally contains his entire wardrobe onto the floor.
“She wouldn’t mind,” he retorts, moving further in to inspect the completely barren apartment.
“She really wouldn’t,” Steve adds, putting a couple boxes next to his bag. “And my offer still stands, too.”
“Uhhh thanks, but no. The last person I need to in any way interfere with Pete’s upbringing is your boyfriend.”
Steve puts a palm over his chest and widens his eyes like the drama queen he is. “What?! I thought you love Sam!”
Bucky squints at him. “He’s cool. Funny, knows how to party…and turns every phrase that has the word ‘bird’ in it into an innuendo. Among other things.”
His best friend chuckles and joins Peter in exploring the place.
There’s not much to explore. Two little bedrooms, a bathroom and a living room with a kitchen corner squeezed into it. Tiny, simple…empty.
But it is new – no cracks in the walls, no suspicious stains on the wooden floor, no broken windows and most importantly, the rent is almost ridiculously low. Sure, it’s small and bare but it’s in Little Falls, just outside of New York City - a decent area and the apartment buildings on the street all look renovated.
When Steve took him in here few days ago, he couldn’t believe they’d be able to afford a place in here. In fact, he still doesn’t believe the monthly price tag.
“Are you sure about the rent, Stevie? I don’t wanna get punked at the end of the month and go broke.”
“Yeah, Bucks, it’s legit. I told you Peggy’s got it covered,” he winks at him.
“Got what covered?”
“The rental agreement and everything…you know, the legal stuff. She knows the owner.”
“You said that. You also said she negotiated the agreement. Which in Peg’s case means she either blackmailed them, threatened them with physical violence or probably already killed them just to get this apartment for us at this price.”
Steve sighs, his eyes going slightly vacant for a moment there as he must have remembered the last time Peggy negotiated something. “Well, he’s not dead…I think. And I’m pretty sure she just explained the situation this time around.”
“The situation,” he repeats in a flat tone.
In other words, Peggy told some random guy that Bucky’s a good-for-nothing former special-ops that got his arm blown off and can’t afford to pay proper rent because he’s got no job or even a prospect of a job.
“Great. So I’m a sob story she can bargain with now, huh?” he whispers, eying Peter, who’s now busy looking out of the kitchen window.
“That’s not – no. No,” he says more vehemently. “You’re not a sob story and Peggy sure as hell ain’t paintin’ you as one!”
He deserves that deeply offended, angry tone Steve says that in. Peggy always had their backs, ever since they were kids. Only a bitter asshole such as him would ever doubt the good intention behind her every deed.
“Whatever,” he dismisses it with a shake of his head, trying to ignore the hurt now clearly visible in his best friend’s eyes.
“Damn! This place is sweet!” Sam bursts through the open front doors behind them, carrying more moving boxes. “Tiny…but cute. Not as cute your next door neighbor but still cute!”
The three of them stare at him like he’s just fallen from space.
“Cute next door neighbor, huh?” Steve repeats, his judging eyebrow of doom rising with every word.
“Uh oh,” he hums and places the boxes down on the growing pile of them. “Did I say next door neighbor? I meant Steve. Not as cute as Steve,” he tries but is now met with two eyebrows of doom and one snickering lil’ teenager.
“Smooth,” Steve rolls his eyes and walks around the now sweating bird-man. “Okay boys, let’s get the furniture up in here!” he commands and heads back down to the van.
Few hours later, the formerly empty apartment is cluttered with boxes, furniture and a single pot of white violets – Peggy’s housewarming present.
Peter closes himself in his new room to unpack while the three of them celebrate the move with a glass of whiskey Sam brought. It’s bitter and stings in all the right ways, definitely the good stuff, so at the end of the day Bucky proclaims the move a success and forgets about everything else for just a moment.
The next couple of days go by so slow Bucky wonders if someone is intentionally messing with time and space continuum.
Having spent months lying in a hospital bed and even longer in the rehab center doing basically nothing, he hoped getting back into normal life would bring back the usual…rush.
Instead, it falls into a routine.
Wake up at five. Exercise a bit. Have breakfast with Pete. Walk him to the bus stop and then walk some more in the park nearby. Read the news on the phone, looking for work. Check his zero emails. Go grocery shopping. Stare into a wall in the living room. Have dinner with Peter, talk about school, watch a movie, go to sleep.
Or try to sleep anyway. After hours of just lying awake in the dark, he sits by the opened window and stares into the empty streets.
The calm never lasts though. Around midnight, his most likely vampire neighbor comes to life.
He’s starting to doubt Sam had even seen the man, because Bucky sure didn’t. The next door apartment seems vacant, considering how silent it is during the day. And Bucky has fuck-all to do during the day so he would know.
But midnight is a different story.
The mysterious neighbor stumps around the place, speaking…to himself or on the phone because there are never any answers, he curses a lot, sometimes even yells and always seems busy doing something; clinks and clanks of metal clearly recognizable amidst the sounds.
It’s not that loud or even disturbing. But with the neighbor’s window open as well and Bucky focusing on every sound around him, it’s hard to miss.
What a weirdo. Him and his neighbor both.
After coming home from an afternoon walk one day, he stares at the messy posted-note pinned to the fridge, suddenly wishing he dropped by to meet the strange neighbor to at least make sure the man’s not some kind of a psycho creep.
‘Doing homework with a friend next door! xoxo’
So with all the alarm bells ringing in his head, he changes from the sweatpants-sweatshirt combo into jeans and tee and bolts to the hallway, ringing the only other apartment on this first floor.
He’s not sure about a lot of things these days, but he’s absolutely certain he could battle a man into the ground with just one hand if that man so much as bent a hair on his son’s h –
“DAD!” Peter flings the door open and gives him a quick side-hug. “Come on in! We’re discussing pi problems!” he continues, excited as ever.
He stares at his flailing kid that just casually invited him into a stranger’s apartment and takes a few cautious steps inside, closing the door behind him. “Uh…okay?” he says, following him through the darkened hallway into the same kind of joined kitchen-living room area that’s just slightly larger than their own. “Didn’t know pi had any problems,” he quips, earning a chuckle from Pete and an all-out laugh from the only other two occupants of the room.
A girl about Peter’s age is sitting at the dining table, books and notes scattered all over it and standing behind the kitchen isle is none other than his never-before-seen neighbor.
“That’s a good one!” the man laughs some more and Bucky is reduced to speechless staring. “I’m sure pi is fine, but this pie is gonna be in need of therapy by the end of the day,” he says, placing a large plate full of a doughy mess up on the isle.
So…his weird neighbor is not a vampire and not a psycho creep – he thinks. Instead, he’s…trying to bake a pie. Wearing a suit that looks more expensive than this entire apartment block underneath a pink apron that looks like it was made by a four-year old.
Cute does not even begin to describe the guy. What the actual f –
“Oh! Sorry! I’m Tony. I don’t think we’ve met yet,” he introduces himself, walking over the counter to offer his hand in greeting.
“Bucky,” is all he manages to say while his brain is trying to get a hold of the scene in front of him.
“Barnes…right. I remember now. Sorry for not bringing any…neighbor-welcoming meals or whatever. Got kinda lost in my work the past few days and forgot all about having new neighbors,” he smiles sheepishly, keeping a firm and warm hold on Bucky’s hand as he shakes it.
“Among other things you forgot this week,” the girl pouts, eying Bucky with curiosity.
“Hey now! If it’s about the expo trip – it is, isn’t it? I promise we’re going on Saturday! And we’re having a ton of ice-cream – each!”
“Bribing us with ice-cream doesn’t change the fact you forgot,” she replies, completely unmoved by the earnest guilt in…Tony’s voice.
“I’m sorry,” he holds a hand over his chest.
She gives him a tiny smile and shrugs. “Will the pie be done any time today?”
“Pheeew…bossy, aren’t we young lady? This is my niece Shuri by the way,” he turns back to Bucky for a second and then floats back behind the counter to work on the pie.
Bucky looks between the two of them a couple of times with an unconvinced expression.
“Not my actual niece,” Tony adds, rolling his eyes at him. “But they both call me uncle so I thought…might as well be. They’re my friend’s kids,” he adds and Bucky wonders what’s with the plural. “And I end up babysitting a lot.”
“We’re not babies anymore,” Shuri glares at him.
“Uhuh.”
“We met in the science club!” Peter tells him, already back to filling out his homework next to Shuri. “Found out we’re neighbors! For a while anyway.”
“The scien…oh, the after school program,” Bucky remembers, thankfully. He knows Peter is all kinds of crazy about science but he’s only joined the club after moving in with May…because Bucky was busy blowing himself up on a mission gone to shit.
“It’s awesome! We’ve got a new teacher. Doctor Bruce!” Peter continues, his excitement expanding faster than the universe.
“I told ya he prefers to go by Bruce only,” Tony chuckles.
“He’s cool,” Peter states. “But a little…strange.”
“Really? How?” Tony asks, while Shuri giggles.
“He looks angry all the time…even though he’s not.”
Tony bursts into laughter, bits of dough and flour flying around him from the spatula in his hand. “Yeah…he’s weird like that. But nobody I know has such a grasp on theoretical astrophysics.”
Bucky finally reboots and takes in the scene, realizing just how…domestic it is. His crazy weird neighbor failing at pie, while his niece and Peter are doing homework at the table, talking about the events of the day.
He can almost feel the tension and anxiety he’s felt up until few moments ago dissipate at the sight. No danger here, just…home.
“Are we gonna order pizza, or what?” a new voice startles Bucky enough to flinch and whirl back to the open entrance to the room. An older teen boy is standing there with a bored expression and Bucky finally puts the final piece of the puzzle together. “That pie is never gonna happen,” he shakes his head and looks Bucky over.
“Your lack of trust in my baking abilities deeply hurts me, T. And your lack of manners too,” Tony scolds him and it naturally has zero affect on the teenager.
The boy shrugs and reluctantly greets him. “Hi. I’m T’Challa. You the squirt’s dad?”
“T!” Tony half-yells at the teen but Bucky actually chuckles.
Him and Steve were such punks back when they were sixteen that the annoyed, blunt approach this kid has doesn’t even surprise him. “I’m Bucky. And yeah, that lil’ guy would be my son.”
Which is Peter’s queue to yell. “I’m not little!”
“Whatever. Call me when the pizza arrives, I’ll do a couple routines in the meantime,” he informs them before disappearing back into the hallway.
“Routines?” Bucky raises a questioning eyebrow at Tony.
“He’s into martial arts. Better not enter his room while he’s practicing…I almost got decapitated once when he was going all taichi with a sword in there.”
“He’s so cool!” Peter chimes in. “We watched him after school in the gym beat a kid twice his size into the mat! He’s like Bruce Lee!”
“Uhuh. That’s pretty cool, alright,” Bucky chuckles.
“Okay…this isn’t gonna work,” Tony sighs and throws the pie attempt into the sink. “We’re ordering pizza. You guys in for pepperoni?”
“Yeah! It’s my favorite!” Peter nods, his endless excitement making Bucky roll his eyes.
“Pete! Just finish your homework and let’s head home for dinner. We can’t just - ”
“No no no, I insist!” Tony stops him. “As you can tell, I suck at baking so…how does neighbor-welcoming pizza sound? This Italian place is awesome, you’re gonna love it,” he grins and Bucky all but caves in under Pete’s pleading eyes. And maybe a little underneath Tony’s curious gaze as well.
“Alright then. But we’re paying our bit.”
“Pfffft, nonsense,” Tony laughs it off. “You can have us over for dinner someday, how’s that for a deal?” he offers instead and Bucky wonders if the man’s a businessman or something. Would definitely fit his flare.
He agrees and sits down across from Shuri while Tony makes the order.
When the kids finish their homework, they all sit down together to eat the pizza. It should feel awkward sharing a meal in an unfamiliar place with barely familiar people, but there’s no time for being awkward when Pete and Tony are involved. Pete can usually talk the ear off of anyone he meets and now it seems he’s met his equal. So he just listens to them spin scientific tales, enjoying the homey atmosphere and the warmth that it brings to his cold mind.
In the upcoming days, Peter usually spends at least an hour or two next door hanging out with Shuri and T’Challa. There aren’t many kids his age around the neighborhood so Bucky is glad he found some friends to spend time with. And just like that, Bucky’s never-ending stereotype is broken because more often than not, Pete drags him along.
“You got anything better to do? You can stare into your phone or into the wall next door too!”
He makes a solid argument so Bucky just goes with it. He doesn’t get to stare into his phone nor the wall though. If his time isn’t occupied by T’Challa, who really is into like five different types of martial arts and all but interrogates Bucky for exercise tips and military fighting tricks, Tony invites him to his room slash lab slash secret NASA outpost – judging from the tech alone – to chat or have a drink.
And Tony can do all that at the same time. Talk about a funny pub story, sip on whiskey and weave wires through what Bucky can only guess is some kind of engine.
It only surprises him for a moment when he eventually learns that not only is Tony working for Stark Industries, he’s in fact a Stark himself.
“What do you mean ‘I didn’t know’? It’s on the doorbell and everything,” Tony laughs it off and Bucky just does the same. It all made sense just then.
Peggy’s family had been friends with the Starks for generations, which would explain how she ‘negotiated’ this whole apartment deal. She even mentioned the younger Stark occasionally, mostly praising his newest invention or another.
While SI specializes in weapons and overall military tech, Tony decided to leave that area to his father – much to his dismay – and indulge in gadgets instead. When the first line of StarkPhones hit and basically destroyed the market few years back, Howard Stark ran out of arguments and put Tony in charge of this new brand of Stark products.
Tony talks about it like any other funny story from the past, but Bucky catches onto the strain behind his usually cheery smile and decides to steer clear of family and business matters in their conversations from then on. And somehow, there’s still enough to talk about. For hours. Even after the kids are all asleep and it’s more early in the morning than late at night, they don’t run out of stuff to talk about and when they do, they just stay silent, enjoying each other’s company.
There’s no awkwardness in it. There’s nothing in it, really. Which Bucky knows is a complete lie because obviously there’s something. He doesn’t realize it until a month go by, he’s returning home with great news from his job-hunting afternoon in town and without thinking goes straight to Tony’s.
“Aha! Someone’s got that job,” is how the engineer greets him when he spots him barging into the kitchen.
Bucky reels back a bit, finding the dining room otherwise empty. “Uh…yeah,” he chuckles. “Is it that obvious?”
Tony shrugs, walking around the kitchen isle with fresh coffee in hand. “Nah, not at all. Maybe except for your unusually upbeat walk…and that excited ‘hey!’ you shouted from the door…oh and that miles wide smile you’re sporting,” he points at his face, grinning.
“Ah…well. So much for subtle,” he rolls his eyes when Tony laughs at that. “I thought Pete would be here.”
“They’re actually at your place,” he nods in the direction of Bucky’s apartment. “Some big hunk of a guy Peter called uncle Steve stopped by earlier and mentioned home-baked chocolate-chip cookies…immediately earning himself three volunteers to help out. Little does he know that their help will most likely include only eating those cookies, not actually baking them too.”
He nods. “True. Wait…T’Challa was sold on cookies?” he frowns, watching Tony hide a growing smirk behind the coffee cup.
“Let’s just say your best friend might have accidentally found his weak spot. Chocolate-chip cookies and cats. I’m not kidding,” he adds when Bucky sends him a doubtful look. “All kinds of cats. From little fluffy kitties to panthers. Rhodey thought it was just a phase, you know…like Pokemons and dinosaurs. But I’d say if it survives his sweet teen drama years, it’s probably gonna stick.”
“Yeah.”
“Anyway. Congrats on the job! Peter’s gonna go nuts, you should go tell him,” he smiles, mocking a toast with the coffee.
“Ugh, Peter I can handle but Steve’s gonna be all over me, showering me with his I told you so’s.”
“He told you there are plenty of jobs you can do with just one arm?”
“To the letter,” he sighs.
“I hate to break it to you…but he was kinda right,” he gives him a sympathetic look and continues before Bucky can argue. “Go easy on the guy. Best friends are the worst sometimes. They’re usually right though.”
“Can’t argue with that,” he agrees, noting Tony’s unusually hesitant tone. He doesn’t know where he finds the guts; maybe he’s feeling confident after landing the teaching job, maybe it’s something in Tony’s eyes just then or maybe it’s Mars crossing through some constellation or whatever…maybe it’s the realization that he just really wants to share this happy moment with Peter and Steve and everyone he loves…which includes Tony? Either way, he takes a step sideways to stop the engineer from disappearing straight back to his lab. “Speaking of things that can’t be argued about…how do the chocolate-chip cookies sound?”
“You mean other than instant diabetes?” he grins and Bucky hopes that what he hears really is coy and not some low-key rejection. “Your bestie was carrying like six pounds of sugar, so unless he’s baking enough cookies for ten scout groups, I’m guessing they’re going to stop my heart after two bites.”
“So? We let the kids take those on and we’ll just have a drink. Or ten. I’m celebratin’ after all!”
“You are indeed,” he nods and after a moment of just studying Bucky’s likely way too happy…and way too hopeful face, he spins back into the kitchen, leaving the coffee rest on the counter and dives into one of the cupboards underneath the oven. “I’m thinking bourbon, unless you want to skip the celebration part and go straight for ‘let’s get so drunk we gonna go blind’ part, in which case I’ve got a bottle of home-made vodka that has a real good chance of actually blinding you,” he emerges with a bottle of each drink in his hands. “Nat has a great family recipe…she always marks it being sixty percent though, while it’s more like…ninety-five. At least. I honestly just use it to clean metal and kill off sink bacteria, but if you’re feeling adventurous…” he trails off into the sound of Bucky’s laughter.
“The bourbon will do just fine.”
“Oh good,” he breathes out, shoving the vodka away. “We’re too young and pretty to die from drinking a re-bottled surgical disinfectant.”
“My thoughts exactly,” he chuckles and leads them both next door to where Steve is busy baking cookies while Peter, Shuri, T and Sam are…playing poker.
He berates the man and instantly regrets it when Sam greets Tony with his usual, nonchalant “Ah, here’s the cute neighbor you’re talkin’ about all the time. Damn, dude.”
Failing to keep the blush at bay for the rest of the night, he shares the big news with everyone and they spend the evening and night celebrating.
After a week at work, Bucky is slowly starting to get used his new daily routine. It’s almost just as busy as his military days used to be and he has to admit he enjoys it. If there’s anything that he misses, it’s those late night hang outs in Tony’s lab. He gets to spend more time with Peter in the morning, that’s nice. And he still gets to hang out with Tony while Peter is tackling science with Shuri, but that little routine is also about to end.
Isn’t it?
Rhodey and Okoye are coming back from their mission abroad so the two kids are going back home to Fairfield. Peter is already making plans on how they’re going to keep meeting with Shuri after school and in the science club of course. Bucky’s only plan is sneaking into Tony’s apartment and taking a chance with the bottle of vodka, because…now there’s going to be no excuse to visit Tony.
Peter will always find some; he’s got no doubt about that. But Bucky’s not really ready to drop the excuses and just go and be bold about it. He used to be like that…before. Not just the arm, before the war and everything that came with it. He’d be the cocky guy at the bar confident to seduce any man or woman Steve pointed at.
The cocky flare was the first to go and the confidence followed eventually when he woke up with a stump instead of an arm one day.
So all he can do now is list all the ‘neighborly’ excuses he’s going to have to make in the upcoming months and enjoy their last weekend together.
He’s nervously pacing in the kitchen, trying to muster up enough courage to ask Tony and the kids if they want to go hang out somewhere but Tony beats him to it.
“You guys wanna go to the expo with us?” he waltzes into the room with Peter in toe. “It’s closing tomorrow so we thought we’d check it out…again,” he rolls his eyes.
Bucky doesn’t need to look at Peter to know he must already be channeling his puppy eyes. They won’t be necessary this time to persuade him though. “Yeah, sounds like fun.”
“Yesssssssss!” Peter hisses and disappears into his room with a victorious jump.
“Cool. Suit up and meet us outside in ten,” Tony winks at him and leaves Bucky to reboot for five minutes in the kitchen.
They end up using public transport – despite Tony’s dislike for it – to get to Fairfield where the science expo is and he finds himself just as excited about it as Shuri and Peter is. Pete didn’t get his fascination for science from just anyone after all – but unlike Bucky, the kid’s got a brain for it too. Even T’Challa finds himself intrigued by the robotic animals section – not that he’d admit it of course, maintaining his bored expression.
Tony lets them fuss over the futuristic tech and eventually joins them with milkshakes in hand at a small theatre projecting a space documentary about exoplanets. When he gives the shakes to the eager teens, he joins Bucky on the bench outside.
“You’re awfully quiet today,” Tony frowns, nudging him playfully with his elbow. “What gives?”
“Nothin’. Just…enjoying the afternoon.”
“Enjoying, right. I usually wear the same expression of doom when I’m enjoying a day outside on a nice Sunday afternoon.”
Bucky chuckles, shaking his head. “Sorry. Got some stuff on my mind is all.”
“I see. Well, how about a night out to clear up those things?”
“A what now?” he frowns at Tony, too slow to catch onto what the man’s suggesting.
“I’m thinking a movie, dinner, walk in the park…the whole shebang?” Tony smirks at him, but it falters after getting no response from the now stunned Bucky. “Wow, okay. Here I thought I was being obvious. ‘S what Peter said anyway. Maybe I’m just getting this all wrong. Am I getting this all wrong? Shit…I am, aren’t I?”
“Wh…hold on,” Bucky finally comes out of his stupor. “You mean like…going out tonight. The two of us. Like…a date.” He realizes then that he sounds like a blabbering idiot and suddenly wishes the ground would just open up and eat him whole right there.
“Yes,” Tony answers, his expression turning unreadable. “That’s exactly what I meant.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? As in…okay, let’s go or okay, so that’s what you meant, what a weirdo, never talk to me again?” Tony asks in jest, but his eyes betray something vulnerable.
And that just won’t do. Bucky discards the doubts and questions and insecurities the instant. He’s a soldier for God’s sake. And now’s not the time to cower and run, not when Tony’s right here making the first step.
“As in hell yeah, let’s go on a date,” Bucky lets out the breath he’s been holding and relaxes when Tony’s expression breaks into a grin once again.
“Great! Say…six o’clock? I know you’ve got work tomorrow so…”
“Yeah, that…that sounds like a plan,” he chuckles. “Oh, but the kids?”
Tony’s grin widens as he glances toward the teens still occupied by the documentary. “It just so happens that your pal Steve and that cute fella of his are coming in later today for uh...board game night. Peter set that up…for obvious reasons.”
“Pete…oh no. Don’t tell me he’s been playin’ m…wait, cute fella? As in Sam?” he squints at Tony, but finds himself smiling anyway.
“Yup. He and I are apparently the epitome of cuteness. And yes, your son and those two inventive teens over there are behind this whole thing. They said, and I quote – just go out and kiss already, morons.”
Bucky laughs, inspecting the gentle smile that settles on Tony’s face. That one’s new. “Leave it to the kids to be the sensible ones. I’ve been wanting to ask you out for weeks!”
“Dude, I was trying to low-key ask you out ever since you walked into my kitchen with that silly math joke.”
“Damn. We are morons.”
“Yes, you are. Now, can we go get ice-cream?” T’Challa asks, walking up to the bench with Shuri and Peter snickering behind his back.
Tony shakes his head and nods. “You had milkshakes just now and you still want ice-cream?!”
The teens all shrug at the same time, grinning.
“You little shits, okay. Ice-cream?” he turns to Bucky, who is yet to lose his smile.
“I’m all in.”
“I sure hope you are,” Tony mirrors his smile and starts herding the teens toward the shopping area.
Bucky takes in a steadying breath and follows them.
Definitely all in.