Work Text:
Tony looked down at his phone as it buzzed discreetly against his leg.
Situation downtown , JARVIS wrote. Loki spotted.
Tony cursed softly. He looked up at his husband, a sheepish smile on his face.
“Work?” Bucky asked, fondly exasperated. “I swear, you’re married more to your job than to me, doll.”
“I know, I know,” Tony said. He felt terrible about lying to his husband, but he couldn’t just admit to being Iron Man. He had enemies, people that would target his family if he did. The thought of Bucky getting hurt because of him was something that kept him up at night. “I’m sorry, babe, really.”
Bucky waved off his apology with a chaste kiss. “It’s fine,” he promised. “I know how hectic your job is. Tell Pepper I say hello, okay?”
“I will!” Tony called, running out of the penthouse and taking the elevator down to his basement lab.
It was secret, not on any plans and only accessible by Tony. The suit was kept there, under security tighter than the Pentagon’s. All of the tinkering he did on the suits, even just adjusting a gauntlet, was done in absolute secrecy. If Tony was going to keep a secret identity, he figured he should go all out. He slid off his ring regretfully, putting it in the bowl on his desk (he had tried to wear it under the suit and came away with some nasty bruises).
JARVIS deployed his suit quickly. As it assembled, he explained, “Loki appears to be waiting for something. He’s done nothing but conjure some green flames to catch attention.”
He smothered the guilt he was feeling; Iron Man needed to be clear headed for the fight.
“He’s waiting for an audience,” Tony groused as his HUD lit up. He wanted to be cuddling with his husband on the couch, not getting beat up by a magical Mean Girls reject. “Let’s go give him one.”
---
Bucky didn’t mean to rush his husband out the door. But Tony’s work thing had come at the perfect time: Steve had messaged him about a situation brewing downtown. The Winter Soldier was needed, and Tony didn’t exactly know that Bucky was the Winter Soldier. To him, Bucky was a veteran who worked at the VA with Steve and Sam. And he did, he just had a side job that involved a lot of kevlar and a large gun.
He couldn’t tell Tony. If Tony got hurt because of someone targeting the Winter Soldier, Bucky would never forgive himself. It was safer to keep Tony in the dark. It didn’t mean he liked it, though.
“I’m in position,” he said, settling onto the roof opposite where Loki was putting on a show. “Orders?”
“Hold steady,” Steve said, in Captain mode. “I heard Iron Man’s on his way. If he engages, back him up.”
“Roger that,” Bucky propped his rifle up and adjusted his goggles as Iron Man flew into view.
Iron Man’s suit was a marvel of engineering. The only person that Bucky knew on the same level of expertise was his husband, but Tony didn’t have any connection to Iron Man. Bucky supposed that they were all lucky that the man in the suit used his technology for the better, like Tony did. He would have been a formidable enemy.
“Rock of Ages!” Iron Man called to Loki, voice staticky over his PA. “Doth Mother know you weareth her drapes?”
Loki scowled spectacularly. “You mock me?” his voice was dangerous.
Iron Man did not seem to care at all. “No, no, of course not. I’d never mock you, Loki-dokes,” Bucky breathed out a sigh of relief; maybe Iron Man had some common sense, after all. “Just the cape. It’s fucking hideous. Like, green, really? Go for a neutral black, if anything. Capes are so overrated.”
Bucky couldn’t help it; he let out a laugh. Iron Man sounded honest-to-god offended by Loki’s poor fashion choices.
Loki wasn’t having any of Iron Man’s insults. Without another snipe, he shot a barrage of green fire out of his hands at the armor. Iron Man swerved to dodge it and Bucky took it as his cue to help out. As he launched a volley of bullets, he saw Steve run in, shield first, like an idiot.
“Captain!” Iron Man greeted, somehow in their coms even though Bucky knew they had secured the frequency. “Fancy seeing you here!”
“Iron Man, what’s your play?” Steve said, throwing his shield with deadly accuracy at Loki.
“I’m trying not to get scorched, mostly,” he said, doing some fancy flying. “And if you could please tell the Winter Soldier that he should be shooting at Loki and not me, I’d appreciate it.”
Iron Man had indeed flown in front of Bucky’s line of fire, a bullet pinging off of his shoulder. “Don’t get in the way, then,” Bucky retorted. “My shots are fine.”
“You missed,” Iron Man pointed out cheerfully when Bucky’s next shot went wide.
“Suck my dick,” Bucky grumbled, seriously considering shooting Iron Man.
“No thanks, Snowflake,” he said. “I don’t think my husband would be very happy about that.”
“Chatter,” Steve grunted. He knocked Loki down.
“You’re not the boss of me,” muttered Iron Man, hovering to defend Steve anyway.
But Loki seemed content to lay on the ground like a drama queen, letting Steve and Iron Man draw closer to apprehend him.
“Be careful,” Bucky warned. Loki was never one to accept defeat, though he would play possum and strike when guards were lowered. “It could be a trap.”
Iron Man snorted. “When is it not?”
Loki raised his hands in surrender. “No trap,” he clearly lied. “I promise. You heroes have won the day.”
“It’s a trap,” Steve muttered. “Does he think we’re dumb?”
“Yes,” Iron Man and Bucky chorused in unison.
“Stop lying, Lokes,” Iron Man continued. “We know the game by now. Frankly, I’m kind of tired. Do you think we can call it a day early?”
Loki smirked thinly. “Are you really one to talk of lies, Man of Iron?” he said, waving a hand. “Let’s see how you handle the truth.” He teleported away and Bucky heard Iron Man gasp instead of his usual creative curses.
Iron Man’s mask disappeared in a flare of green. Before he could cover his face, Bucky saw it through ihs goggles.
“Tony?” he breathed in confusion. The terrified expression looked out of place and unfamiliar, but the whiskey eyes that met his, filled with guilt and horror, were most definitely his husband’s.
---
“Tony?” the Winter Soldier said, astonished.
Tony cursed himself. His secret was out, thanks to Loki. He considered roasting the asshole with a repulsor on high power, but… “How do you know my name?”
“Get over here,” the Soldier replied. “I’m on top of a building on Broadway. You can’t miss me.”
“This feels ominous,” Tony said, but he flew anyway. Curiosity had always been his blessing and his curse. He needed to know how the Soldier knew him (and if the Soldier would spill the beans). “I see you. Coming in for a landing now.”
His traditional three-point pose was less intimidating without the mask, he was fairly sure. The Soldier stalked towards him. Tony readied his repulsors, just in case.
Then the Winter Soldier unclipped his mask.
“Bucky?” he asked in shock.
“Hey, doll,” his husband said. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Small world,” Tony agreed, dazed. “I don’t… I don’t understand. I thought you worked at the VA?”
“I thought you had an SI emergency,” Bucky countered.
Tony tried to focus, but his brain was not computing. It might’ve been all the leather Bucky was wearing; it was awfully distracting.
“Why are you dressed like a BDSM club reject?” Tony blurted out. He clapped a hand over his mouth. “Sorry! Oh, god, I have no filter.”
Bucky started cackling, doubled over with laughter. “If I had any doubt you were Tony Stark,” he wheezed, catching his breath. “That would’ve done it.”
“I love you,” Tony said, tone suddenly serious. “You know that, right?”
“I know,” Bucky smiled, walking over and laying a gloved palm on Tony’s cheek. “I love you, too.”
Tony leaned in for a kiss and Bucky met him halfway. He knew they’d have to talk about everything at some point, that they both owed the other some explanations, but he also knew that they’d be okay, regardless.
He pulled away slowly, filled with nothing but love for his amazing partner.
“Well, hey,” he said, eyes sparkling with mirth. “I guess this means I can suck your dick after all.”