A/N: This takes place post Winter Soldier and pre Civil War. Tony and Pepper are not an item and have never been. Soulmate!AU

For Bex. It's short, but hopefully sweet.

Not According to Plan

Tony had processed the fact that Bucky Barnes, AKA The Winter Soldier, AKA Steve's best friend had killed his parents. He'd processed it, appreciated that the true blame lay at Hydra's feet; Bucky Barnes had been the weapon, not the wielder.

It didn't mean he had to like the guy. No one could blame him for that, could they? So, the day that Steve was meant to be bringing Bucky to the tower to meet the Avengers, Tony found himself with some urgent business at Stark Industries. He dressed up smart, actually attended a meeting with his board of directors, terrorised R&D, dropped in to say hello to Pep, and finally acknowledged that he had no other reason to be there other than to avoid Steve and his pal.

"JARVIS, are they still there?" he asked, holding his phone to his ear so that it didn't look like he was talking to himself.

"I'm afraid so, sir. Steve has informed me that they're happy to wait until you're done with your business for the day. They have nowhere else to be."

Aw, hell. If that didn't make Tony feel like a jerk, he didn't know what would. He scowled at some interns that twittered as he stalked past them and jabbed his thumb at the button for the lift.

"Bring the car around, J."

Tony raced through the streets of New York, confident that JARVIS would take care of any speeding tickets he accrued. He ignored the happy masses crowded on the sidewalk. It was spring and couples were abound. When the sun came out, people who'd found their soulmates took to wearing their skimpiest outfits, displaying the mark for all to see. Even some people who hadn't found their other half liked to display their markings, hoping their perfect match would materialise.

The garage doors buzzed open as Tony approached and he parked the Audi in it's spot. There was someone else in the garage, a man with dark scruffy hair, a leather jacket, and a denim-clad ass bent over one of Tony's nicer motorcycles. Maintenance, or a mechanic that Pepper had called in, maybe.

"That ass just won't quit," Tony murmured, admiring. The other man was out of earshot, or so he thought.

"Kind of you to say, Mr Stark."

Tony froze, clutching at the soulmark on his collarbone as the man straightened and turned to smirk at him. He was even better looking from the front than he'd appeared from behind.

"JARVIS, did I hear that right?"

"Your hearing seems to be intact, sir."

"It's a real pleasure to meet you," the man continued. His blue eyes were sparkling with mirth. "Stevie's told me all you've done for him and for me, sending your tech over to Wakanda and pointing him in the right direction when he started chasing rumours."

It clicked, all of a sudden: the man before him was Bucky Barnes.

He was also Tony's soulmate.

Barnes shrugged out of his leather jacket, revealing a grey short-sleeve henley beneath. His metallic arm gleamed in the artificial light of the garage, but he flexed his right, the flesh one. Along his biceps, in writing to small to read at the distance Tony was standing from him, was the scribble of a sentence—a soulmark.

"I hope you've got one to match," Barnes joked. "Else this is going to get very awkward, very quickly."

Tony covered the ground between them in a heartbeat. He recognised the handwriting (his own), and the words (the one he'd just spoken).

"Shit."

"You don't half scrub up well." Barnes was eying him with appreciation while Tony processed this new development. His gaze settled upon Tony's collarbone, where the mark was hidden behind the white of his dress shirt. Tony knew that it looked like a black smudge on his skin when hidden behind cloth, but Barnes could obviously make at least some of it out.

"Hello, darling," Barnes said, his voice low, setting Tony's heart racing. Barnes checked every box on Tony's list.

"Hi. … this is unexpected." Tony swiped a hand over his face and peeked between his fingers. Yup, Barnes was still there, looking gorgeous beyond belief.

Barnes scoffed, raising his eyebrows. "Ya think?"

"Yeah, okay." Tony shook his head, acknowledging he'd stated the obvious, and ran a finger along the mark on Barnes's skin. "Huh. Guess this means I can't go through with my plan to passive aggressively avoid you."

Barnes snorted. "Pretty sure you're the type of guy that might go through with that anyway."

"You got me in one." Tony took a step back, taking all of Barnes in. This changed… well, it changed a lot, but at the same time, very little.

"Bucky Barnes, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," Tony said. He smirked, realising that his life was about to take a turn for the better. Barnes grinned back at him. "Welcome to my home."

"Trust me, darling," Barnes replied, gaze smouldering. "The pleasure is all mine."

Auction Prompt D24/3. Write a gift fic for a member of Slytherin house [835 words = 16 coins]