Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 2728

A Relaxing Touch

Tony was like a kitten.

That was the impression Bucky got at least. He'd been at the Tower for a few weeks when the thought first crossed his mind. He hadn't seen much of the genius in his time there, sticking to Steve's shadow as he had been, and then he'd suddenly arrived to a movie night.

He'd stumbled into the room in low slung sweatpants and a too big tank top, and practically collapsed over the laps of Natasha and Clint. He squirmed over them until his head was resting comfortably on Clint's legs, and his legs were draped over Natasha.

Bucky stared at the scene for a long moment before he looked at Steve, who was also watching with a familiar fond smile.

None of the Avengers seemed to find anything strange about it.

Clint's hand moved to thread through Tony's hair, and Natasha ran her fingers up and down Tony's calves, pressing gently in certain spots.

Tony was asleep before ten minutes passed by.

Bucky found his attention split between the TV and the sleeping man, his gaze moving across the room time and time again.

When the movie was finished, Steve stood, and Bucky followed suit as he always did, but Steve put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hang on here, Buck, we'll watch another movie in a few," he said quietly before he moved over to the other couch, where Natasha, Clint, and Tony were. With gentle hands, Steve picked Tony up in a bridal lift, shushing him gently when he let out a whine at the movement.

Tony settled against Steve almost immediately, and Steve left the room, JARVIS opening the elevator for him when he reached it. Bucky turned back to the TV, feeling awkward without Steve there to act as a buffer for him.

Thankfully, the others didn't try and make conversation, instead moving around the room, getting fresh drinks and more snacks while they waited for Steve to return. Bucky twisted his fingers together, only relaxing when the elevator dinged, signalling Steve's return to the room.

…

As Bucky got used to the freedom he'd been given and the occupants of the tower, he relaxed more into his place, getting more and more comfortable with people he now thought of as his friends. While Tony was still the one he saw the least of, he got used to the man stumbling into the common lounge and collapsing over Nat and Clint.

He figured that the three of them were closer than he'd realised and wrote it off as a quirk of their friendship.

He still didn't see much of the movies whenever Tony was there, his eyes drifting to the man more than the screen, but thankfully nobody called him on it, and Tony, genius that he was, remained oblivious to the ever-growing pining.

Not that he was pining. He wasn't. Of course not. Shut up, Steve.

Except… then Thor was there, and Tony made a beeline for the God's lap as soon as he arrived in the living room, curling up against his chest. Thor hugged him close, as though this was normal behaviour.

"Are they… um, a thing?" Bucky asked Steve quietly, nodding his head to the cuddling men.

Steve looked over and smiled at the sight before he shook his head. "No, of course not."

Apparently, that was the end of that conversation because the room darkened and the movie started, and Steve turned his attention to the TV.

Bucky was growing more and more confused by the odd behaviour. He couldn't find a pattern to it, and the next time Tony appeared, he returned to his regular place of being sprawled over Nat and Clint.

Deciding that there was no logic to it, he pushed the thoughts from his mind.

…

Until.

It was a cold night. Even Bucky and Steve, with the serum making them run at hotter temperatures than usual humans, had felt it on their way home from a battle against Doom. The Avengers quickly convened in the lounge, a takeaway was delivered, and the heating was turned up.

Tony sat on the floor with his back to the sofa that Steve and Bucky were sitting on while they are. Another quirk of the intelligent man, he'd announced that eating Chinese should only be done while sitting cross-legged on the floor.

They'd all chuckled at him, but only Clint indulged him, joining him on the floor. The delighted smile on Tony's face had left a warm ache in Bucky's chest, but he forcefully ignored it.

Tony shivered violently, knocking against Bucky's leg. The genius offered a quiet apology, shifting over on the floor slightly to lean more firmly against Steve's legs instead.

"Are you still cold?" Clint asked, his brow furrowing. It was warm in the room, and the rest of them had well and truly thawed out.

"Hmm. Even with the undersuit, it's not the warmest event to fly around in a metal suit. Besides, I've run at a lower temperature in general since I had to fit the arc reactor, so." Tony shrugged. "I'll be fine in a bit."

Bucky watched him tuck himself a little closer to Steve's legs anyway.

When they'd all finished eating and the containers had been tidied away, they arranged themselves in their usual seats to settle in for a movie. Bucky watched Tony closely, wondering where the man was going to sit. Thor was there, which meant it was possible he'd cuddle with the god, but Bucky couldn't help but hope he didn't.

While he knew that Tony sprawling over Nat and Clint was entirely platonic, he wasn't too sure about Thor. Green wasn't a particularly good colour on Bucky, but he couldn't stop his jealousy when he saw Tony curled up in Thor's arms.

Surprisingly, Tony didn't go to any of them. Instead, he tilted his head slightly to the left as he stared at Steve. Steve didn't even seem to think about it, he just held his arms out for Tony to climb up onto his lap.

As soon as Tony was settled, his face resting in the crook of Steve's neck, Steve started rubbing his large hands up and down Tony's arm, creating friction in an attempt to warm the smaller man up. The way Tony relaxed into his embrace was both adorable and frustrating for Bucky.

Oddly enough, as the movie progressed and Tony fell asleep, Bucky noticed the way the tension seemed to drain from Steve too. By the end of the movie, Steve looked… peaceful.

More peaceful that Bucky had seen him since… before.

Following the regular routine, Steve carried Tony up to the penthouse and then returned to the floor he and Bucky shared.

"That… that was the first time he's sat with you… like that I mean," Bucky said, as the two of them pottered around their shared kitchen.

Steve nodded. "It's because it's coming winter. Nat and Clint are his favourites in the summer unless Thor is here of course, and then he sits with me in the winter because I'm warm."

"It… do none of you… mind? The way he just… sprawls?"

Laughing, Steve shook his head. "Have you seen Tony? He's adorable. When we all first lived here, when it first started being a thing, we were all ridiculously jealous of whoever he chose to sit with. Now he has a pattern, and it's evened out."

"I don't… why does he do it?"

Steve sighed. "Tony didn't have… the best… Howard was an asshole. He's never really had love, at least, not real love. Not familial love, like he has with us. With us, he can just be himself, and he… he's a clingy, needy, adorable pain in our ass, but he's ours, and he knows that we're his just as much. Does that make sense?"

Bucky nodded. "Yeah… yeah, it does. He seems to help you too. I haven't seen you relax like that for. Well. Ever."

"It's nice to feel wanted and needed," Steve replied like it was obvious. Nodding to his bedroom, he said, "I'm gonna hit the hay. Night Buck."

"G'night, Stevie."

Bucky was left alone in the kitchen, his hands wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate. He wanted to feel wanted and needed too. He just… didn't know how to ask for it."

…

Turns out that asking for something isn't quite as easy as it should be. Weeks passed by and Tony was still curling up with Steve at every opportunity, and Bucky didn't quite know how to bring the subject up without sounding like a jerk.

Then Tony asked him to come down to the lab for a check on his arm. Bucky loved Tony's lab. He loved the holograms and the bots and the tools and the cars. He loved all of it, and listening to Tony ramble about what he was working on was one of Bucky's favourite ways to pass time.

He also appreciated the way that, when he was working on Bucky's arm, he gave a running commentary of what he was doing.

"Why don't you ever sit with me the way you do the others?" Bucky asked, interrupting Tony mid-sentence.

There was a clang as the screwdriver Tony was working with hit the side of the plate he was fixing. Tony was frozen for a moment before he sat back on his seat, looking at Bucky with an assessing look in his eyes.

"I… when you first came here, you flinched. Every time someone that wasn't Steve touched you, even if it was just brushing past you in the kitchen or wherever, you flinched. Brucie isn't a big fan of physical contact, and I kinda figured you were the same. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

Bucky swallowed hard. "I just… Stevie said that you do it because you… you want love. And, I, well, I erm, if it's love you want, it's all I have to offer, but… well. It's… I…"

Shaking his head, Bucky stopped talking, cursing himself. Once upon a time, before he'd spent decades in and out of cryo, he'd actually been smooth.

Nobody listening to him now would believe him of that.

He chanced a glance up to see Tony staring at him with wonder in his eyes. "Bucky…"

"It's fine if not," Bucky managed to force out. "It's not… if you… with the others, it's fine. I just… I guess I wanted you to know that if you wanted to… with me… It's okay. I'm going to…"

He stood up, glad that Tony had more or less finished with his arm, and scurried from the lab with his head down and his shoulders hunched, reprimanding himself silently.

…

Bucky's stomach was squirming uncomfortably as he and Steve took their usual seats. He hadn't seen much of Tony since his word vomit, and although the genius had treated him normally, there had been an odd look in his eyes occasionally that Bucky couldn't work out.

Sure enough, as they were about ready to start, Tony entered the room, looking adorably rumpled in a forest green jumper that was clearly either Steve's or Thor's with the way it hung from him, and his hair a mess.

He made his way over to Steve and Bucky felt his heart sink before Tony seemed to change direction. He stood in front of Bucky, eyeing his arms like they'd done him a personal disservice, until Bucky took the hint, and opened them for Tony to collapse into.

The feeling of shocked elation was somewhat overwhelming for a long moment as Tony got himself settled, stretching his legs over onto Steve's lap, making Steve chuckle.

Tony rubbed his face against Bucky's neck for a moment before he still, his breath tickling the bare skin of Bucky's collarbone.

Bucky cautiously settled his arms around Tony, being careful not to hurt him with the metal one.

"You're comfy," Tony murmured, sounding tired and pleased. Bucky grinned to himself and settled himself more comfortably on the sofa, his fingers tracing nonsensical patterns on Tony's back.

He suddenly knew exactly what Steve was talking about when he said that Tony sitting on him was as relaxing for him as it was for Tony.

Steve shook him gently, and Bucky blinked his eyes open.

"Movie's over, Buck," he said gently, a small smile on his face.

He moved to take Tony, but Bucky tightened his grip slightly, unwilling to give up his human blanket just yet. "I got him, Stevie. I'll take him."

Readjusting his arms, Bucky stood steadily, unencumbered by the weight of Tony, and walked to the elevator. JARVIS opened it up for him and then moved them silently up to the penthouse. Bucky found Tony's bedroom easily enough, and, after a bit of a muddle pulling the blanket back, placed Tony down gently on the mattress, covering him up with the blanket.

Turning away, already missing the weight in his arms, he was drawn to a stop when Tony put his hand on Bucky's wrist.

"Stay."

Bucky turned to see Tony blinking up at him with sleepy eyes.

"I…"

"Stay," Tony repeated quietly. He released Bucky's wrist and pulled the sheets back on the opposite side.

Bucky hesitated, but he knew, the moment Tony's hand met his wrist, that he'd do whatever Tony asked of him. He climbed into the bed, feeling a little bit awkward as he pulled the sheets over himself, but Tony immediately shuffled towards him.

He wrapped his lithe body around Bucky's larger one, and settled his head on Bucky's chest, his face shifting back into the curve of Bucky's neck the way he had on the sofa.

Bucky sighed happily and wrapped his arms around the smaller man loosely, closing his eyes.

…

Bucky blinked away slowly, feeling more rested than he could ever remember feeling. The warm press of another body made his lips tilt up, and he nuzzled his face against Tony's hair for a moment before he pulled back to look down.

He was surprised to see Tony watching him with a fond look on his face, his clear eyes saying he'd been awake for quite a while.

"Morning," Bucky murmured, his voice sleep rough. He felt Tony shudder against him slightly.

"Morning, Bucky-bear."

"That's a new one," Bucky said, his lips tilting up. He hadn't escaped Tony's proclivity for nick-names, but they tended towards names based on his metal arm, or occasional, his time in Cryo.

"You're cuddly," Tony replied with a cheeky grin.

They fell into a comfortable silence, and Bucky was almost lulled back to sleep when Tony traced patterns onto his stomach with the very tips of his fingers.

"You know, what you said about I sprawl over people for love," Tony said quietly. "It's true in a way. It's… the easiest way to feel connected to people that I feel like are my family. And it helps me sleep. There's a reason I don't sleep much."

Bucky stroked his fingers down Tony's arm. He could tell the man hadn't finished speaking yet, so he stayed silent, waiting patiently.

"But with you… I wasn't lying when I said I didn't sprawl on you because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. That's the truth. But also… I, I really like you. And not in a family way. And… well. I think… maybe you like me too?"

Bucky felt like his heart was about to swell out of his chest. Gently rolling them over so that he was leaning up above Tony, he smiled down at the smaller man.

"You think right."

The happiness that sparkled in Tony's eyes was breathtaking, and Bucky slowly closed the gap between them, pressing their lips together. When he pulled away, he rubbed their noses together before putting his weight back onto his elbow.

Tony raised a hand, caressing Bucky's cheek. "You look happy," he murmured.

"I am happy," Bucky confirmed. "You make me happy."

…

Tony still sprawled on Nat and Clint, he still cuddled with Thor and Steve, but Bucky never felt jealous of them anymore.

He was the one who'd carry his boyfriend to bed at the end of the night.

He was the one who got to hold him through the night, every night.

He had nothing to be jealous of.

Written for;

Days of the Year - 14. Something that relaxes a character.

Autumn - Cold Night

Colour - Forest green

Birthstone - Opal - "If it's love you want, it's all I have to offer."

Air Element - Fly

Dessert - M&Ms - Theme; Pining

Ravenclaw - Intelligent

Star - Leonids Meteor Shower - Frozen

Auction - MCU