Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/709699.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage, Rape/Non-Con
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      The_Avengers_(2012), Captain_America_(Movies)
  Relationship:
      Steve_Rogers/Howard_Stark, James_"Bucky"_Barnes/Tony_Stark, Clint_Barton/
      Phil_Coulson
  Character:
      Maria_Stark, Howard_Stark, Tony_Stark, James_"Bucky"_Barnes, Steve
      Rogers, Edwin_Jarvis, Obadiah_Stane, Original_Female_Character, Clint
      Barton, Phil_Coulson, James_"Rhodey"_Rhodes
  Additional Tags:
      AU, Dirty_Talk, Genderplay, Daddy_Kink, Age_Difference, Teen!Tony, Tony
      Stark_Needs_a_Hug, Howard_Stark_is_secretly_not_a_dick, Bucky_does_not
      have_time_for_this_shit, Neither_does_Steve, Step-parenting_is_hell,
      Impregnation!kink, Rimming, Sex_Toys, Other_Additional_Tags_to_Be_Added,
      Obadiah_is_a_creepy_mother, Cock_Rings, Phone_Sex, Masturbation,
      Consensual_Violence, References_to_Abuse, Past_Rape/Non-con, Comeplay,
      Prostitution_Roleplay, Smoking, Tony_Stark_Feels, Maria_Stark_is_a_shit
      mother, Spanking, Night_Terrors, Tony_Needs_To_Stop_Opening_Doors_Without
      Permission, Angst, Rape, Statutory_Rape, Rape_Aftermath, Implied_Past
      Molestation_of_a_Child, Violence
  Series:
      Part 1 of The_Joys_of_Step-Parenting
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-03-05 Completed: 2013-03-27 Chapters: 20/20 Words: 75496
****** Steve Rogers and The Joys Of Being A Step-Parent (A.K.A. Tony Stark
needs a hug, Howard Stark needs a hug, and Bucky Barnes does not have time for
this shit) ******
by MoMoMomma
Summary
     Steve's life is going fantastic; he's got the best friend a guy could
     ask for, his art is better than ever, and every night he gets pounded
     into a very lush mattress by the richest man in the world. However,
     good is only good for so long. When Howard's teenage son Tony comes
     to stay the summer after graduating from MIT, Steve's suddenly thrust
     into the role of step-father to a boy who can't even spend 10 minutes
     in his own father's presence without screaming profanities. It's now
     his job to make father and son get along again. When did his life
     become a Hallmark movie?
Notes
     From the kinkmeme prompt: Howard and Maria have been divorced for a
     few years but teenage Tony's still pissed off at his dad and blames
     him for the breakup of his family. Howard's not a bad dad but due to
     his workaholic lifestyle, often forgets his son is living in the same
     house, more and less the same continent. Cue Howard meeting younger
     artist!Steve at one of the gallery openings that the head of Stark
     Industries is forced to attend and falling in love with him, followed
     by a whirlwind romance and proposal.Tony? He's not happy at all that
     he'll soon be having someone 10 years older than (or whatever age, I
     imagine Steve to be in his mid 20s) becoming his new step parent, and
     antagonizes the hell out of Steve since he thinks Steve is only in it
     for the money. Cue sugar daddy digs and gold digger remarks from
     Tony! But not to worry, Steve actually manages reconcile father and
     son and the Starks like happily ever after.
See the end of the work for more notes
***** Meet Anthony Stark *****
“Who the hell are you?”
Steve brought his head up from sketch he was curled over, Howard’s form half
laid onto the page with gentle strokes of the no. 2 he was holding. Turning
towards the doorway of the sunrorom he'd claimed as his art studio, he met the
eyes of…well, of Howard 30 years ago.
The boy standing in the doorway, feet planted firmly and arms crossed over his
chest, couldn’t have been more than 16 or 17 and truly did look like a younger
version of Steve’s lover. Well, younger and about 15 pounds heavier. Even at
his age Howard was still whipcord thin, no doubt because the man lived off food
he could eat on the go and coffee. Steve had seen this boy before, in pictures
on the mantle, in Howard’s desk drawer, and under the visor of Howard’s
favorite car.
He placed the pencil to the side and stood, the rolling chair sliding smoothly
backwards.
“You must be Tony, Howard’s told me a lot about you.”
“Really? Fascinating, because he’s never once mentioned you.”
The ice in Tony’s stare and words nearly made Steve think twice about extending
his hand. But if Steve could shake hands with Howard’s skeevy business partner
Obadiah and not be cowed, the teenager in the doorway didn’t stand a chance.
Offering up his palm, he smiled at the younger boy, keeping his shoulders
relaxed even under the force of the boy’s withering glare.
“I’m sure you had better things to talk about. I’m Steve, nice to meet you.”
Tony sized him up and down before begrudgingly shaking his hand, manners over-
riding any distaste he might have had with the situation. Footsteps echoed down
the hall, Steve had learned early on to distinguish the sound of Howard’s
wingtips from the other shoes in the household, and the way it sounded, the
billionaire was hauling towards the room. Steve felt his brow crease in
concern. Howard never ran anywhere, except on the treadmill in his state of the
art gym. He stepped around the still frowning teen and stuck his head into the
hallway, bracing himself on the door jambs.
Sure enough, Steve’s lover was coming down the hall at a quick pace, only to
slow himself considerably once he saw Steve. He smiled gently at the man,
taking in the tie pulled loose at his neck, the disheveled hair and the
tightness around his brow. Howard must have had quite the day at work.
He waited until the older man was within arm’s reach before snaking an arm out
into the corridor, wrapping it around Howard’s waist and tugging him in for a
kiss.
Well, it was supposed to be a kiss.
What happened instead was that Howard twisted his head at the last minute and
Steve’s lips brushed his temple. He blinked as the man slowly extracted himself
from Steve’s arms and gently pushed him back into place inside the sunroom,
leaving him face to face with his son.
Steve tried to not let the hurt show on his face, he really did, but the
tightening at the corners of Howard’s eyes told him he wasn’t completely
successful in that endeavor. Howard was usually incredibly affectionate when he
got home, especially after a bad day. He’d throw himself into the massive
chaise lounge in his study and have Steve curl up between his legs, letting the
feeling of Steve’s nimble fingers tracing patterns on his stomach lull him out
of his irritation.
But today there was a tenseness to his shoulders that wasn’t generally present
and Steve had a pretty good idea of what was causing it.
“Tony, welcome home. How was your flight in?”
“Great, stellar, would’ve stayed longer if I’d been able. Who’s your cabana
boy?”
Steve felt his cheeks flush and looked down, rubbing one bare foot on top of
another as he heard Howard growl. He’d heard worse, of course, but coming from
a family member it seemed so much harsher.
“Dammit, can we have 5 minutes of normalcy?”
“Normalcy? I suppose we could, if I hadn’t come home to some random twink
hanging out in my house. Here, how about I’ll flip him a couple hundred, he
leaves early and we can sit down and play a nice game of Parcheesi, yeah?”
“Jesus Christ, Anthony, he’s not a rent boy!”
The true anger in Howard’s voice brought Steve’s head up and he blinked at the
scene. Howard and Tony had taken on identical positions, arms crossed, legs
planted and equal looks of anger and irritation on their faces. Like this, it
was so beautiful to see glimpses of a younger Howard reflected in Tony’s body,
and to see the mature version of Tony reflected in Howard. Steve grasped all
the nuances he could, saving the image to put down onto paper later. He glanced
backwards towards his sketchpad, wishing desperately the situation would be
appropriate to grab it and rush out a rough sketch.
But right now, staying as still and as quiet as he could seemed the best
option.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Dad. What is he then? Pool boy? Gardner? Oh, wait! Wait, no,
I’ve seen this movie before, he’s the personal assistant here to make sure you
‘have everything you need, Mr. Stark.’”
Steve bit back a grin. He could practically see the air quotes Tony had thrown
up around his words. It was insulting, that much was true, but the band of gold
around Steve’s finger assured him he had a place in this household, a place of
value. So this whole scene was uncomfortable, yes, but also a bit funny. He
thought idly that if Tony and Bucky ever came face to face, the world would
spontaneously combust in self-defense.
The crack of flesh against wood brought his head around sharply and he blinked
at the fist Howard had slammed into the sun room wall. Tony hadn’t flinched but
Steve instinctively brought his hands up, though he froze at Howard’s next
snarled words.
“He is my husband. He, Anthony Edward Stark, is your new step-father. You show
him the respect he deserves or you will find your access to everything in this
house restricted so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
Steve had only heard Howard use that tone once before, near the very beginning
of their relationship, when Bucky had gotten 2 inches from the man’s face and
asked him if Howard thought that he, a former boozehound womanizing workaholic,
was good enough for Steve. If he recalled correctly Bucky and Howard had damn
near come to blows, and then a couple days later Bucky had called Steve up
swearing a blue streak about how Howard had apparently bought him a new car and
had it left in the driveway with the words ‘good enough now?’ scribbled on the
windshield.
Bucky had raged that his acceptance could not be bought by rich, arrogant
bastards. Steve had suggested Bucky just return the car. Bucky had gotten very
quiet, hung up, and then showed up the next night for dinner in said car, with
a pair of aviators, the only type of sunglasses Howard would wear, perched
jauntily atop his head. He’d defended that he was proud, not stupid, and that
it would have taken him 5 or 6 years of living on nothing and saving every
penny to afford even half of that car.
Don’t get Steve wrong, Howard and Bucky still almost came to blows sometimes,
but it was now rare and their affection for each other was thinly veiled behind
taunts about age and profession.
That wasn’t the case with Tony and Howard, though.
Tony’s face twisted and he shot a disgusted look at Steve, directing his next
words to him.
“Husband?! You’re old enough to have graduated college, and you live here so
what are you fishing for, huh? Enough time to get spousal support post-divorce?
My dad’s lawyers aren’t stupid, you signed a pre-nup, but there’s still gotta
be something you want. Info on StarkTech, a look behind the scenes for your
tell-all book, something. What’s in this for you? What do you get out of this
arrangement?”
That’s it.
Steve was a generally nice person, and fighting was never really his style, but
Tony was being a brat and a bully, neither of which Steve had any patience for.
He held up a hand to stop Howard, whose mouth was already open to no doubt fire
a barb right back at Tony and smiled in the boy’s direction.
“I get screwed through the mattress every night by one of America’s most
influential men. That’s what’s in it for me.”
Tony’s features curled immediately in disgust and he held his hands over his
ears and groaned dramatically, though Steve knew he saw a momentary flash of
respect in those eyes.
“Jesus, Mary, and Jenna fucking Jameson, I DO NOT wanna hear about your sex
life. God, has R&D invented a brain bleaching device yet? No? Up to me then,
I’m gonna need it, fuck.”
“Watch your mouth, Tony,” Howard snapped at him, though he too was looking at
Steve with a gobsmacked expression.
Tony removed his hands from his ears and rolled his eyes.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I used such filthy language in front of your
obviously virginal boytoy. Whatever. I’m going to find Jarvis.”
And with those words he spun on his heel, exactly how Howard did when walking
away from arguments, and strode down the hall, muttering the whole time about
old men and mid-life crisis’ and how he hadn’t signed up for this shit.
Steve grinned at his back, feeling immaturely victorious about the whole thing
before turning to face Howard and stopping dead. Howard’s face was still in the
incredulous expression it had been, arms now hanging loose at his sides.
“Uh, I…I’m sorry?” Steve chuckled nervously, unused to seeing Howard Stark, of
all people, at a loss for words.
That seemed to snap Howard out of his trance and he sputtered before charging
forward, wrapping his hands around Steve’s biceps and pushing him backwards as
well. Steve let himself be shoved along, suddenly fearful that he really had
screwed up big time. He knew Howard had never seen him snap at anyone, let
alone use language like that, but he thought…maybe with Tony because he was
younger, it’d be alright. He talked like that with Bucky when they were alone.
Dammit, he’d made a huge-
“Do you have any idea how fucking hot that was, darling boy?”
Ummm….what?
Steve’s thighs hit the edge of the table and Howard kept pushing until he was
sprawled back against it, the tips of his toes brushing the floor and Howard
looming between his spread thighs, hands unwrapped from his skin and planted on
either side of him.
He grinned at Steve, the light from the massive French doors that opened into
Steve’s private garden catching the gray at his temples and the lines in his
face, showing Steve just how beautifully Howard Stark was aging. Steve smiled
back and pushed himself up onto his forearms, tensing up his pectorals and
relishing in the way Howard’s eyes naturally dipped to ogle him.
For someone who’d grown up as a skinny, asthmatic nothing who still had the
heart and fight of a mastiff, Steve had always prayed one day he’d look more
like Bucky, not insanely ripped or tall, but a nice normal 6’ with maybe not
huge muscles but at least clearly defined ones.
The answer to his prayers had come in the form of Doctor Abraham Erskine, a
medical genius who was working on a revolutionary plan to enable the human body
to reach its peak potential in a way no one else had. However, after allowing
Steve to be the guinea pig for the treatment, Dr. Erskine was killed by a drunk
driver and took the final portion of his formula to the grave, leaving everyone
unable to unlock the secrets of human DNA like he had.
As for Steve? He’d started packing on weight and muscle overnight, as well as
shooting up another foot almost. He didn’t have any more asthma attacks, hadn’t
had a cold in the ten years that had passed since then, and could run faster,
jump higher, and was just, in general, better than anyone else he’d ever met.
He’d learned a few new things about himself after meeting Howard as well, like
his ability to drink and drink and drink and stay sober as a nun, and that his
refractory period for sex was practically non-existent, a fact Howard often
grumbled about.
A slow stroke over his stomach brought him out of his thoughts and he blinked
at the man still leaning over him. Howard’s brown eyes sparkled with a
mischievous glint that only showed up when they were alone and he leaned
forward to press their lips together, chuckling at the feel of Howard’s
moustache brushing against his skin.
He could practically see Howard rolling his eyes as he mumbled against Steve’s
mouth.
“A year and you still aren’t used to it.”
Steve pulled back and grinned widely, scooting himself down the table until his
thighs pressed tight against the outside of Howard’s.
“Well, no one my age wears moustaches anymore. It’s a different feeling.”
Howard groaned and dropped his head onto Steve’s shoulder, idly nuzzling the
skin of his throat. That was another surprise Steve had gotten when Howard had
taken him to bed the first time; he’d only seen Howard Stark how everyone else
saw him, a ruthless businessman with cutthroat tactics who probably fucked like
he did business, efficient and to-the-point. Instead, he got a man who
preferred to cuddle post-sex and nuzzle his partners.
Though he hadn’t been wrong about how Howard was in bed, the man was incredibly
competent and worked hard to wring every moan and cry out of Steve that he
could.
“Stop reminding me how much younger you are, Tony will be doing enough of that
this summer as it is.”
Steve threw his head back and laughed at Howard’s disgruntled tone. It’d taken
a lot of convincing to Howard that Steve wanted him, and wouldn’t rather be
with other men his own age and he still asked Steve if he was sure he’d made
the right decision being with someone more than two decades older than him. He
pressed a kiss to Howard’s temple and thought back over the man’s words.
“Summer? He’s staying here for the summer? I thought you said he normally
spends summers with his mom.”
Howard leaned back with a peevish look on his face until he was once again
braced above Steve.
“He usually does but Maria’s off in Aspen playing snowbunny for her new fling
so she’s shoved him off on me.”
Steve’s hand landed against Howard’s shoulder in a disapproving smack and he
frowned at the man.
“Howard! He’s your son, not a dog you got roped into watching for the weekend.
You should be glad for this time with him! Maybe now that he’s out of college
and you’ve gotten your company sorted out you two could bond a bit.”
Howard huffed and stood straight to cross his arms over his chest.
“Let it go, babe. I can see the look in your eyes already. This is not a
Lifetime movie, we’re not going to go to some party where I suddenly realize
that Tony is just me when I was younger, and we have this touching moment where
I put a hand gently on his shoulder and I call him son and he smiles back but
doesn’t call me dad yet because they’re saving that for the big climax. You saw
about how well he and I get along.”
Steve sighed and pressed a kiss to Howard’s Adam’s apple, holding onto the
man’s shoulders.
“Why?”
“Why what, darling?”
“Why do you two hate each other?”
The tensing was Steve’s warning and he crossed his feet behind the older man,
effectively ending his attempts at escape. Howard sighed and ran his fingers
through Steve’s hair, mussing the blonde locks.
“I don’t hate him, though I can’t say the same for Tony. I was a shit father
when he was younger, too concerned with trying to make weapons and keep my
company from being taken over to pay attention to a child who was desperately
hoping for my attention. And then after I walked in for the umpteenth time with
yet another man in my bed and finally threw Maria out, I was too deep into the
liquor bottles and loose women to take care of a kid who needed his father. I
ordered nobody tell him why Maria and I had split, I was sober enough to know
he didn’t need to know that about his mom so he thinks it was just me being an
asshole. But that’s about the only good thing I ever did, and he still to this
day blames me for the divorce and just about everything else.”
Steve frowned and pressed another gentle kiss to Howard’s throat, holding the
man close. Talking about his past was still something Howard struggled with and
every piece he gave up to Steve was like pulling teeth.
“Thank you for telling me that.”
“Not much I can deny you, darling. So do you understand why Tony and I getting
along is about as likely as water mixing with oil?”
Steve pulled back and set his shoulders, locking eyes with the older man who
sighed. He was determined to set things right with Howard and Tony, his own
unfortunate relationship with his father pushing him to patch up their
relationship.
And now he had the whole summer to do it.
“You’re not going to let this go are you?”
Steve’s response was cut off by what sounded like cannonballs hitting the still
open door and he leaned around Howard to see Tony twisted with one hand over
his eyes and body facing away, fist stretched out and resting against the door.
“Jarvis says dinner’s ready. If you guys are done defiling the sunroom, you’re
welcome to come eat.”
Steve smiled and hopped off the table, pressing a loud and sloppy kiss to
Howard’s cheek and whispering just loudly enough for Tony to hear, “maybe later
you can feed me some dessert.”
Tony’s anguished wail, and Howard’s groan, was almost drowned out by Steve’s
happy laughter.
This summer was going to be very, very fun.
***** Body Armor Is Appropriate Stark Dinner Attire *****
Chapter Summary
     In which the dining room becomes a battle ground, Steve helps Howard
     relax, and hatches a plan.
Chapter Notes
     Warnings for; slight genderplay, impregnation kink, consensual name-
     calling, technical Daddy!kink, and the Stark boys' filthy mouths.
This summer was going to be hell.
They’d sat down to a delicious spread of food twenty minutes ago and so far
Tony had insinuated Steve was; out to take over Howard’s company, shacking up
with a sugar daddy so he didn’t have to get a real job, and, in a particularly
wild accusation, a private assassin hired by Howard’s competitors to take him
out.
If Howard drank his scotch any faster he was going to be unconscious by the end
of the meal.
Steve honestly found the whole thing amusing and kept himself occupied during
the barrage of insults by running his still bare feet up and down Howard’s
calves, delighting in the annoyed looks the man kept shooting him.
He hummed and nodded along with Tony’s monologue, pausing for a moment when
Jarvis stopped by his elbow and went to re-fill his wine glass. Steve put his
fingers atop to glass and shook his head, smiling up at the older man who’d
been nothing but polite and was one of the few people who hadn’t judged their
relationship.
“No thank you, Jarvis, I’ll drink water from now on.”
Tony noticed this, which wasn’t all that surprising; the boy had a mind like a
super computer and noticed everything from the fact that Howard was eating more
to Steve’s habit of eating his food by groups.
“You’re stopping after one glass? Either you’re a lightweight, or living with
Count Drunkula over here has put you off the hooch for good.”
Steve turned but his reply was cut short by Howard slamming his glass tumbler
down and rising half out of his seat, hands planted on the table.
“Anthony Edward Stark, I’ve had just about enough of these ridiculous
insinuations.”
Tony copied his pose, throwing his napkin down onto the table. Steve could feel
the tension flow through Jarvis as the man stayed paused at his side.
“I’m sorry, but I just don’t get it. I don’t even get a simple call saying you
met someone and I get home and you’re married to a man I’ve never even seen
before. Color me confused Dad, because every single time I’ve seen you in the
papers you were wrapped around some whore with huge tits. Hell, I’m the damn
conductor of the equal-love train so I’m the last person to judge, but it’d
have been nice to know you were straddling the compartments.”
Howard’s face flushed red with rage and he stood up fully, whole body a tense
and trembling mass of fury.
“A call?! Every goddamn time I tried to call and talk to you, you acted like it
was a pain in the ass and gave me some shit excuse to get off the phone five
minutes into the conversation. And that’s when you bothered to answer the damn
call. What I do in my personal life is none of your business Tony, and neither
I, nor Steve, have to explain myself to you. So shut your fucking mouth and
let’s have one normal dinner. Sit. Down. Now.”
“Fuck you, old man!” Tony snarled, and picked up his wineglass, shattering it
against the far wall.
Now Steve was on his feet too, ushering Jarvis back into the kitchen and
stopping any of the cooks or servers from entering the new battle zone. He
slumped against the wall next to the swinging door and winced at the sound of
escalating screams and dishes being shattered emanating from the dining room.
He cast a look at Jarvis, who was shooing away the kitchen workers back to
their duties, and gestured to the room with a toss of his head.
“Is it always like that?”
Jarvis turned back towards him with a sad expression on his face, putting the
wine bottle onto the kitchen island.
“Unfortunately, yes. Mister Stark and the young sir have never gotten along
particularly well. The divorce exacerbated the problem, teenage hormones did
even more damage but I fear this now will deal the heaviest blow of all.”
Steve winced at a particularly loud boom that sounded like someone had flipped
the dining table.
“Is it-I mean, I can’t help but feel like this is all my fault.”
“I can see how you would feel that way, sir, but I assure you this was not your
fault. Mister Stark deserves to be happy and you bring him much happiness, I
can’t see how that can be a bad thing. Those two haven’t been in the same room
together for over 3 years now, since before young Anthony left for college. I
expected some discord though,” Jarvis stopped his speech and winced as Tony let
out a string of filthy profanity and something else shattered in response.
“This is more than even I expected.”
Steve huffed out a frustrated breath and straightened from his slump, setting
his shoulders. He’d had enough of this. Howard and Tony were both acting like
children and he was done with it.
Spinning, he shoved open the door and stepped into the room, pausing in horror
at the chaos. Even if one ignored the fact that Howard and Tony were still a
foot away from each other screaming at the top of their lungs, the room alone
told the story of the fight.
The table was over-turned, the dinner laying scattered over the floor. A scotch
stain was on one wall, matching the blood red one where Tony’s wine glass had
shattered. Plates and bowls lay in pieces on the floor, along with some of the
vases that had sat around the room. Howard’s liquor cabinet had been ripped
open; a hole in the glass of one door suggesting someone had used alternative
means to open it.
A few of the bottles from said cabinet also laid smashed on the floor, one
still cracked open on the side table with a few swallows worth missing.
Steve hooked two fingers into his mouth and let out a piercing whistle,
bringing Tony and Howard’s heads around towards him, effectively stopping the
screaming. His ears rang in the sudden silence and he put his hands on his
hips, surveying the two.
“That’s enough, from the both of you! I know you two don’t give a damn, but
look at what you guys have done! It’s going to take everyone a ton of time to
clean up this disaster.”
Tony snorted and turned on his foot, heading out of the room.
“Not like it’s anything they’re not used to from the old man’s drunken rages.
I’m going to call mom and tell I’ll sit in the hotel during all of her
meetings, but my ass isn’t staying here. Later, Pops, it’s been…fucking
horrible. See you in another 3 years. Maybe we’ll wreck the living room next
time.”
With a final jaunty wave over his shoulder, he slammed the open dining room
door behind him. Steve shook his head and looked back to where Howard was
righting an over-turned chair. He slumped down into it, elbows braced on wide
spread knees, face buried in his hands. Steve crossed the room carefully,
avoiding stepping on anything and wishing for once he wore shoes more often
around the house.
Kneeling in front of Howard, he pulled the man’s hands away from his face and
held them in his own. Howard’s head came up slowly and Steve blinked at the
completely wrecked look on his lover’s face.
“Oh, Howie, baby.”
He cupped the man’s hands in his face and pressed their foreheads together,
scooting closer. Howard sighed shakily, the scotch on his breath scenting the
air between them.
“Every time, every damn time I try, and I try, and Tony pushes me away. How the
hell am I supposed to get through to someone who doesn’t want me around?”
Steve ran a hand through the man’s hair, dislodging it from the neatly gelled
style Howard had swept it back into before dinner.
“Sweetie, to be honest, I think you try too hard. Tony has a lot of anger and
resentment and trying to act like it never happened isn’t working, so stop
trying. You act like his father-“
“Because I am his father!”
Steve leveled a glare at his lover, pulling back and arching a brow.
“You yourself said you were a shit father when he was younger. And now when he
comes back you jump back in like you were always there. It’s natural that he’s
going to rebel against it. Maybe you need to change tactics?”
Howard sighed again and dropped his head back into his hands. Steve glanced
over to where Jarvis had just entered the room and shook his head, motioning
for the older man to leave for the moment. Jarvis nodded and mimed that he
would lock the swinging door before stepping back through it.
Steve looked towards where Howard was lying slumped on the chair, head resting
on the high curved back. He bit his lip, and shrugged to himself. Howard was
tense and stressed and Steve knew at least one way to make him feel better.
He slid his hands up Howard’s inner thighs, laying a soft kiss on the inside of
one knee. Howard’s head snapped up off the back of the chair and he looked down
incredulously at Steve.
“Baby, what the hell are you doing?”
He grinned up at Howard and fluttered his lashes.
“I just thought I could make my Big Daddy feel better.”
Howard huffed out a breath and narrowed his eyes.
“Really? You’re going to do this now? Surrounded by the remnants of a knock
down drag out with my son?”
The thickening bulge in his pants belied his words and Steve grinned, setting
his chin on one knee.
“Aww, c’mon Big Daddy, your little slut just wants to make you feel good. Is
that so much to ask?”
Howard swore and reached down to cup Steve’s face, pulling him up for a kiss
that was more teeth than anything else. He pulled back as he shifted his grip
on Steve’s face, one hand gripping Steve by the jaw and the other dropping to
his knee.
“My little slut wants to make me feel better, huh?”
Steve nodded furiously, tongue poking out to wet his lips.
“Yes, Big Daddy, I wanna make you feel good. Can I? Can I make you feel good?”
“Yeah,” Howard breathed out, one hand fumbling with his belt and zipper. “Big
Daddy wants you to make him feel real good, darling little slut.”
Steve scooted closer as Howard slid his hand to the back of Steve’s head, his
other fist gripping his freed erection. Howard pulled his head down gently, not
that he had to put much pressure into it anyways, and Steve eagerly leaned
forwards, wrapping his lips around the very tip.
Howard groaned low and let go of his cock, reaching around to cup both hands
behind Steve’s head.
He grinned around his lover’s erection and went to town, wrapping a fist around
him to pump in time with the harsh sucks.
Pressure disappeared from his head and from the corner of his eye he saw Howard
shift his hands down to the arms of the chair, the skin of the knuckles white
from how hard he was gripping them.
“Fuck, yes, suck me little slut. Suck me down.”
Steve moaned and dropped his hand to Howard’s other thigh, bracing himself as
he started swallowing down more and more of Howard’s cock.
Heady groans filled the silence of the room as Steve worked, relaxing his
throat and swallowing with an ease born of practice.
God, he loved this. Loved being on his knees with Howard’s cock down his
throat, spit slipping out of his mouth and slicking down the length he hadn’t
swallowed yet.
He hadn’t discovered the need to be treated like this, the arousal that came
from being called names and shoved around, until one night about 3 months into
the relationship when Howard came home from work in a rage. Someone had tried
to hack his servers and had almost gotten through due to a back door one of his
employees had installed. He’d been in a foul mood, it’d been a whiskey night if
Steve recalled correctly, and he’d taken it out on him.
And Steve had loved it.
Howard, when they’d woken up the next morning, had not.
He’d apologized profusely and offered him everything from a new car to a villa
in Spain. Steve had laughed it all off then blushingly confessed how much he’d
liked it. Howard’s shocked expression still made Steve chuckle today and he
huffed out a laugh as he pulled back for air.
“Something funny?”
He stood Howard’s erection up straight and began to curl his tongue in
intricate patterns along the underside in between his words.
“Just remembering the first time we did this, Big Daddy.”
“Ahh, that’s right. God, you looked so cute blushing like that baby slut,
telling Big Daddy you liked being called filthy names. Wanna make you blush-ah
fuck,yes-like that again. How do you think I can do that?”
Jesus, he’s surprised he wasn’t already. This conversation was making him
squirm and he reached down with the hand not holding onto Howard, ripping open
his jeans and gingerly pulling out his cock, pumping a hand up and down it.
“I dunno, Big Daddy. Everything you do makes me feel good. I like it all.”
“Yeah, but you don’t blush at it all, do you? No, there’s something in
particular that makes you blush isn’t there? I know eating you out does for
sure, and making you wear those cute little dresses Big Daddy buys you. But
what else? Hmmm, I know there’s got to be something.”
Steve moaned around Howard’s cock and re-doubled his efforts at stripping his
own, shuddering as he listened to the man’s low growls. Howard was playing with
him; he knew exactly what made Steve blush every single time. But Steve wasn’t
going to give up the game.
“Ah, fuck yeah, you’re going to make me cum, darling boy. You want that? You
want Big Daddy’s cum?”
Steve nodded and fastened his lips around the head again, slurping noisily as
he bucked into his own hand, getting closer and closer to his orgasm as well.
One of Howard’s hands slid to the back of his hair, clenching tight and Steve
knew that what came out of his mouth next was going to be what threw them both
over the edge.
“Yeah, that’s what makes you blush, little cum slut. You want Big Daddy to pump
you full and knock you up, huh? Get my little slut pregnant, right? Fill you up
and plug you so every drop stays inside. Ah, fuck, Steve, I’m going to cum.”
Steve whimpered and sucked hard, relishing in the feeling of Howard’s hand
tightening further in his hair and was quickly rewarded with spurts of warmth
hitting his tongue. He twisted his wrist and came hard onto the floor at
Howard’s feet, pulling his mouth off once Howard had finished and moaning out
his own pleasure with his face half pressed into Howard’s slacks. A thin line
of cum slid out of the corner of his mouth and Howard’s hand came down to scoop
it up and push it back through his lips.
He licked it off with a neat twirl of his tongue and grinned up at Howard who
was laying back against the chair once again, panting like he’d run a marathon.
“Like that, Big Daddy?”
Howard groaned and brought his hands up to press his palms into his eyes.
“Yes, sweetheart, I liked it. Dangerous little boy, you’re an unhealthy
addiction, you know that?”
Steve stood, tucking himself back into his pants and zipping up, looking around
for something to wipe his cum up with. There were some things even the best
housekeepers shouldn’t have to deal with and mopping up after their employer’s
sex encounters was one of them.
He spotted a napkin lying a few feet away and snatched it up, kneeling once
again to start scrubbing at the spot. Luckily, they’d been atop the hardwood
flooring, so he didn’t have to work on getting it out of the carpet. Once it
was clean, he folded the napkin carefully, for once happy that Howard had
expensive tastes and actually owned and used cloth napkins, and shoved it in
his back pocket to throw in the hamper later.
He leaned forwards and propped his chin on Howard’s knee again, smiling at the
way a hand drifted down immediately to lazily card through his hair. Post-sex
Howard was cuddly and liked to nuzzle, post-Big-Daddy-sex Howard was lazily
affectionate and sweet enough to rot out someone’s back teeth.
The first time Steve had brought up calling him ‘Daddy’ Howard had
understandably blanched and immediately vetoed the idea, but Steve was
persistent. He knew Howard needed to be called something else too, to have
another personality to slip into during their games.
‘Sir’ brought up thoughts of his employees, they’d agreed ‘Master’ sounded too
much like domination which neither of them cared for, and pet names were too
soft for the acts.
They’d both spent a few weeks thinking on it until it had hit Steve one night
when he was lying with his head in Howard’s lap, watching re-runs of the Golden
Girls while Howard did paperwork.
He’d twisted his head around until he could see Howard and asked him if there
was any way he could help “Big Daddy” relax. Howard had damn near upended the
couch in his scramble to bend Steve over the far arm and Steve had limped with
a smile for the next two days. A few encounters since then had come close to
how frantic and hot that had been; but that memory would always stick in
Steve’s mind as the closest he ever got to making Howard Stark snap.
“Stevie's addicted to what Howie's dick did.”
Howard’s groan at Steve’s singsong pun made him laugh and he pressed a kiss to
Howard’s knee before climbing to his feet and nudging the man with the side of
one foot.
“C’mon, lazy bones, we’ve got to clean up and you need to go apologize to
Tony.”
Howard looked up at him like he was insane and Steve huffed out a breath,
propping his hands on his hips in what Bucky called his “Angry Momma” pose. The
other man sighed and stood up, tucking himself away and surveying the mess.
“One, I have people I pay very good money to clean up after me, even my worst
messes. And two, I’m not apologizing to someone who started it.”
“Oh, yes you are, Howard Anthony. Tony may have been being a brat but you
escalated it by cursing at him. And it doesn’t matter if they’re paid to fix
it, just because busboys are paid to clean the tables doesn’t mean you empty
the ketchup bottle onto them. Now, hop to mister!”
He punctuated the command with a slap to Howard’s ass, laughing at the older
man’s outraged squawk as he strode towards the swinging door.
Maybe this summer wasn’t going to be so bad after all. If he could get Howard
and Tony to get along, it might even turn out to be fantastic.
And he knew just the person to call to ask for help on that.
***** A Plan Is Afoot! *****
Chapter Summary
     In which vacations are no longer voluntary, Howard Stark cannot say
     no to Steve, and Tony isn't as much of an ass as he seems.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
“Bucky, come on! You promised we’d hang out this week anyways, what does it
matter if it’s here or at your house?!”
Steve was completely aware of the whiny tone his voice had taken on.
He was also aware it worked.
“Steve, I told you, I’m not hanging around if his bratty son is there. Last
thing I need is to deal with another Stark.”
“But Buck, he’s really not that bad. Yeah, he’s antagonistic and rude and
insulting, but otherwise he seems like a pretty good kid.”
“Insulting?! Is Stark letting that little shit talk down to you? Forget
tomorrow, I’m coming over there right now and I’m gonna-“
“Bucky!” Steve laughed and effectively cut off Bucky’s rant. “I’m fine. It’s
nothing I can’t handle, I promise.”
Bucky’s frustrated huff sounded through the phone and Steve grinned, adjusting
the ear piece and straightening his pajamas for the last time before exiting
the bathroom. He started when he saw Howard bent over with a hand braced on the
top of the beds baseboard, pulling off one shoe.
The last time Steve’d seen Howard they had both been tired and dirty from
cleaning up the mess, and he’d sent him off to talk to Tony while he showered.
That had only been a half hour ago; Howard shouldn’t be back just yet.
“Hey, Buck, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”
“Yeah, yeah, bright and early. I want coffee, punk.”
“Always. See you, jerk.”
He waited until the click echoed through the bluetooth, indicating Bucky had
hung up, before removing it and tossing it onto the dresser.
“How did it go?”
Howard tossed the other shoe off to land near the one he’d already dropped on
the floor and straightened to face him.
“He told me he talked to Maria, apparently she’s going to look at her schedule
and see if she can get him out there.”
Steve cocked his head and followed Howard as he strode towards the bathroom.
“I thought she was in Aspen?”
“She is. She’s lying to Tony, she’s going to come up with some excuse as to why
he can’t come this week, and next week she’ll come up with a new one. And it’ll
go like that the rest of the summer and somehow it’ll all wind up being my
fault in the end.”
“That’s not fair! You…you could always tell him the truth?”
Howard whipped around, leaving his belt hanging open, still threaded through
the loops.
“No! I’m not going to be the one to tell Tony about that. And neither are you.
Tony will find that out on his own, but we’re not going to help him along.”
Steve nodded and reached out to unbutton Howard’s shirt, helping him strip it
from his shoulders.
“Alright, alright, fair enough. But what else happened?”
Howard shrugged as he pulled the belt free with a whisper, expensive leather
moving against even more expensive fabric. Steve shivered at the sound and
Howard shot him a devious grin, folding the belt in half and swinging it lazily
in the air between them. Steve huffed and tugged it from his grasp to lay it
atop the counter.
“Stop trying to distract me, Howard. What else happened?”
“He told me to stop trying to be his father. That it wasn’t going to happen.
And to just leave him alone until Maria sent for him.”
“Oh, honey,” Steve crossed the short distance and took the other man into his
arms, leaning back against the counter.
“No, no, Steve, he’s right. It’s not going to happen. I screwed up when he was
younger and now I can’t fix it. I wasn’t around then, I can’t just show up
now.”
He blinked down and let a grin slide across his face. Howard quirked a brow at
him and stepped out of his embrace, stripping off his pants and underwear in
one go. Steve licked his lips and reached out to grab a handful of Howard’s
ass, grinning at the older man’s yelp. Howard reached back to swat his hand
away before leaning in to start the water on the shower.
“What if you could be around?”
“What do you mean?”
Steve spoke over the rush of the water as Howard stepped in and pulled the
glass door shut behind him.
“You got the company settled finally right?”
“Yeah, fucking finally. After firing half my staff, cutting ties with
bloodthirsty shareholders, and running extensive background checks on all new
hires I’m finally content in the knowledge my company will not be ripped out
from underneath me while I sleep.”
“So, you’re over-due for a vacation!”
The crash and bang from inside the glass had Steve pulling the door open and
sticking his head in, careful to avoid the water. Howard was bent over
scrambling to pick up the shampoo bottle leaking out onto the floor and Steve
waved the shower door to send a blast of cold air into the steam.
Howard yelped and spun around, glaring at him.
“Out! I didn’t bother you when you were showering!”
Steve laughed and closed the shower door once again, stepping backwards to lean
against the counter.
“So why’d you have a spasm, darling?”
“Because I the last time I took off was when Maria was giving birth to Tony.”
Steve clapped his hands together and started out of the bathroom.
“All the more reason! You’re incredibly over-due, Howie. I’ll go let Tony know
you’re taking a week!”
As he crossed from the bathroom into the bedroom he could hear Howard
sputtering and hollering over the fall of the water and laughed to himself.
He didn’t feel bad in the slightest making Howard take time off. In the year
they’d been together Howard hadn’t even taken a half day and he’d seen numerous
emails on his phone from Obadiah telling him about his golf game that day. If
he could get away with it, there wasn’t any reason why Howard couldn’t.
Taking his time, he strode down the hallway towards the other wing of the house
where Tony’s room was. He felt a pang of sadness for the boy as he became more
and more aware of just how far Tony had slept from his parents. What if he’d
had a nightmare as a child? Crossing a dark house would only make the problem
worse. Though the way Howard had made it sound, Tony was more likely to find
comfort in his blanket and pillows than from his parents.
Steve paused in front of Tony’s door, cocking his head at the faint voice
emanating from within. He raised up a hand and rapped sharply on the door twice
before stepping back.
The talking stopped abruptly and he heard a few bangs before the door opened
slightly.
Tony rolled his eyes once he caught sight of Steve and swung the door open
wide, leaning against the frame with one arm.
“What.”
“Just wanted to let you know Howard’s going to take a week off work, so be
thinking of thing’s you’d like to do, okay?”
Tony let out a short bark of laughter, the look of astonishment on his face
making him appear even younger.
“He’s taking a week off?”
“Yeah, I asked him to so you guys could spend some time together. His last day
is tomorrow.”
What was a little white lie to help along a father and his son’s relationship?
Tony’s eyes narrowed and he blurted out, “wow, you must be fucking awesome in
bed.”
Steve offered up a wry grin before chuckling at the red stain spreading across
the boy’s cheeks.
“I think I do alright. But why do you think that?”
“My dad doesn’t take time off. Ever. He never has, so either you’ve replaced
him with a newer model, or you’re, like, pornstar good.”
Steve grinned and shot the boy a wink.
“Now that is definitely between me and your dad. So whattya say, got anything
in particular you’d like to do?”
Tony shrugged, the very picture of disinterest, and to someone older it
would’ve looked like he really had nothing in particular in mind. But Steve
wasn’t older; he was closer to Tony’s age than to Howard’s and knew what it
looked like when a teenager was trying to hide something.
“C’mon,” Steve wheedled, “Tony, there’s gotta be something you want to do. You
haven’t been home in 3 years and you’re telling me you didn’t miss anything?”
Tony twitched uncomfortably for a moment before quietly muttering, “the yacht.”
“Hmmm?” Steve leaned forward slightly. “What was that?”
“The yacht, okay? I miss going out on the yacht. But it doesn’t matter because
I’m not staying here anyways.”
“But it’s always good to have a back-up plan right? So you guys seriously have
a…wait, what am I saying, of course you have a yacht. It’s probably at your
summer home in Tampa Bay.”
Tony shot him a curious look and shook his head.
“We don’t have a summer home in Tampa Bay. The yacht stays at the one in Maui.”
Steve blinked dumbly at the boy. In moments like this, it really did occur to
Steve that he had married into one of the richest families in the world.
He noticed Tony staring at him with a bewildered expression and laughed
nervously, waving a hand in front of him.
“Of course, of course. Well then!” Steve clapped his hands together, making
Tony jump slightly.
“We’ll go yachting. I just have to charter a flight-“
“On the StarkJet.”
“On the…excuse me?”
Tony arched a brow at him and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Wow, really? How much do you know about everything you now have half of?”
“Umm,” Steve scratched the back of his neck. “Not…a lot...apparently. But I’m
always up for a lesson!”
Tony shook his head and stepped back from the doorway, ushering him in with a
lazy wave.
“Come on, step-father dearest. Let me give you a run-down of just good life is
when you’re a Stark.”
He paused, halfway turned away from Steve, and spun back, eyeing him
suspiciously.
“You are a Stark right? Dad didn’t do something stupid like take your last
name?”
Steve rolled his eyes and impulsively shot Tony the bird.
“No, we decided that we’d do it old fashioned. Y’know, me in a white dress,
waiting until the honeymoon, him carrying me over the threshold. Why, if I’d
given in to temptation the town would label me a harlot and I’d no longer get
invited to Lord Barrington’s Winter Solstice Ball.”
Tony’s laughter, Steve decided, when it wasn’t in anger or sarcasm, was
remarkably like Howard’s and he smiled in response.
Maybe being a step-parent wouldn’t be so hard after all.
Chapter End Notes
     I'm so sorry this is so short! I know I fail *hangs head*. But! The
     next chapter contains smut and Howard!POV and hopefully enough good
     writing to make up for this awful short thing.
***** Steve Rogers: Bridge Builder and Big Daddy's Little Girl *****
Chapter Summary
     In which Steve attempts to build bridges, Jarvis is more than just a
     butler, Obadiah is not a dick (yet), and Howard knows just how to put
     his baby girl to bed.
Chapter Notes
     WARNING: This chapter contains genderplay/feminization and rimming.
     It's fairly obvious where it starts and you can skip it without
     missing any valuable plot information. That being said, I hope this
     makes up for the awful short creation that was last chapter.
     Enjoy! :D
Howard re-read the email to Obadiah one last time and sighed before hitting
send.
He figured he’d shortly get a call from the man and just knew the conversation
would leave him feeling more irritated than ever. But what could he do?
Contrary to the norm of the younger women his colleagues dated, Steve actually
asked for very little. Getting the man to admit when he was running low on
things like the oil paints he liked so much was like trying to pull a rope away
from a pit bull puppy, let alone getting him to ask for more important things.
In fact, to date Steve had asked for one extravagant thing from Howard, and
he’d been joking at the time.
Well, extravagant for Steve.
The 10,000 dollar Harley Davidson Forty-Eight that sat proudly in the garage
next to Howard’s own Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster had been a present
for Steve’s birthday and he’d damn near started crying when Howard had unveiled
it.
And then he’d pushed Howard into the back seat of said car and sucked his
brains out through his dick.
So if Steve wanted him to spend a week trying to talk to the brick wall that
was his son, he could do little else but acquiesce.
He stood from the desk in his study, closed the laptop and wandered out into
the hall.
Sticking his hands into the pockets of his dressing gown he strode towards the
main staircase that divided the wings of the house. If Steve wasn’t in their
bedroom, there were numerous other places he could be. Howard had learned early
on the boy had an insatiable curiosity and would randomly wander off, only to
be discovered in strange places, fascinated by the rooms in the place he now
called home.
He chuckled to himself, remembering once finding Steve stretched out on the
floor in the arboretum, having fallen asleep watching the stars through the
high glass ceiling.
He stopped at the top of the staircase and leaned over, looking around the
foyer.
“Ah, Jarvis!”
The lone figure that had been halfway across the floor stopped and turned
towards him, raising his head slightly.
“Sir?”
“Have you seen Steve wandering about?”
Jarvis’ soft laugh echoed in the silence and Howard grinned back, propping his
arms on the banister.
“Lost your young lover again, have you sir?”
“The children of today, Edwin, I swear, they’re simply unable to stay in one
place. Do you think Steve would mind terribly if I asked him to wear a tracking
collar?”
“I believe he would smile and politely inform you where you could put such a
collar, Mister Stark.”
Howard threw his head back and laughed, knowing that Jarvis was correct of
course. That had been an early stipulation of Steve moving in with Howard. He
might have all the control in the bedroom, but Steve was still a free spirit
and would chafe under too tight restrictions.
“But, I do believe I heard one of the maids mentioning she’d seen him heading
towards the direction of Anthony’s room.”
“Tony’s room?”
Howard straightened and shot Jarvis an alarmed look.
“She’s certain?”
“I can’t say for sure, sir, but as I said it’s what I believe I heard.”
He waved to the man and threw a quick thanks over his shoulder as he hurried
off in the direction of Tony’s room. That well-meaning bastard, he’d probably
thought to go and further bond with the boy. God knows how Tony was terrorizing
him without Howard there to intervene.
He paused just outside Tony’s door and, starting a bit at the laughter he could
hear, pressed his ear against the door to hear the loud conversation inside.
“No, you’re not serious! You have to be pulling my leg, kid!”
“I am, I am serious! Why the hell would I lie about that?!”
“Sorry, but I don’t believe your dad had stripper poles installed on the
private jet!”
“Hey, believe what you want dude, but I’m telling the truth!”
Howard dropped his face into his palm and resisted the urge to groan. One time,
one time he’d agreed to let Tony use the jet and forgot to take the poles down
and he was still hearing about it, two years later.
Of course he shouldn’t have had them to begin with, but at the time he was
trying to bury feelings of insecurity over Maria’s infidelity and stupidly
thought the best place to bury said feelings was inside of 20 year old
strippers.
He straightened and squared his shoulders, determined to stop this little chat-
fest before Steve learned any more about Howard’s stupid mistakes.
Swinging open the door, he stopped short as two heads that had been bent
together over a laptop came up in sync.
God, sitting together like they were, Tony folded like a pretzel taking up one
side of the bed and Steve likewise curled on the other, both sharing space as
they looked at the laptop between them, they looked like the perfect young
couple. They were closer in age; it wouldn’t be too far-fetched an idea to
think that Steve would want Tony rather than Howard. He quickly shook his head
to clear it of such thoughts as Steve grinned widely and leapt off the bed to
cross the room and plant a kiss on his cheek.
Tony’s expression had turned thunderous the moment he’d stepped into the room
and he crossed his arms over his chest while Howard wrapped one arm around
Steve’s waist.
“What is it, pops, did your fun sensors go off telling you to come crash the
party?”
He ignored Tony’s barb and pressed a matching kiss to Steve’s cheek.
“I wondered where you’d ran off to.”
“Sorry, Howard, but Tony was showing me everything you guys own and it’s
incredible! Did you know that the Stark Jet is the fastest-“
“-Commercial or private jet in existence, barring military grade planes? Yes,
sweetheart, I built it.”
Steve blushed and batted at his chest, sticking his tongue out at him
tauntingly.
“So Tony and I were just talking about how we’d like to spend the week.”
“Were you now?” Howard looked to where Tony still sat brooding. “Changed your
mind about leaving then?”
“Fuck no. It’s all purely hypothetical.”
Howard frowned and opened his mouth to chastise Tony when Steve tugged on his
arm, effectively stopping him.
“Howard, please.” He murmured from the corner of his mouth and Howard sighed.
God, what he wouldn’t do for this boy.
He heaved a sigh and pasted on a faint smile, looking to Tony.
“Well either way, the vacation is happening and you’re welcome to join us if
you’d like. We can discuss this more tomorrow morning, if you’re still here,
and decide where to go from there. In any case, we should all be getting to
bed. Goodnight, Tony.”
Tony opened his mouth, no doubt to rebel against Howard’s suggestion, but Steve
cut him off quickly, ushering Howard back into the hall and speaking over his
shoulder.
“Great idea! Tony, thanks so much for the lesson, I hope we can do it again!
Night, sleep well!”
Tony’s door slammed shut in response and Howard stopped where he was, turning
with the intent to stomp back to the room and demand Tony bade Steve a good
night in return.
“Howard, no. It’s all right.”
“The hell it is! He was raised better than that! I didn’t pour money into
private tutors and instructors so he could act like an un-mannered ass.”
A bing went off in the silence after Howard’s statement and Steve frowned,
pulling his phone from his pocket. Thumbing across the screen, he laughed and
held it out for Howard to see.
There on the screen was a message, from Tony, that read simply said ‘night.’
“See? He’s trying, Howard.”
Howard raised a brow and internally sighed at Steve’s naiveté.
“Did you give him your phone number, Steve?”
Steve blinked and looked down at the phone, turning it back towards himself.
“Umm…come to think of it, no.”
“Then he’s not trying. He hacked into your phone to get the number. Wishing you
a good night doesn’t make up for the invasion of privacy.”
Steve’s eyes softened as he looked back up and he wiggled the phone slightly.
“Howie, it wasn’t just me. You know Tony, if it was meant for only me, he would
have stuck my name at the end of the text. It was meant for both of us.”
Howard blinked at the man who was staring at his phone with a small smile still
on his face.
The last time Tony had wished him a goodnight…hell the last time he’d been
around for Tony’s bedtime was Howard’s 40th birthday. Tony had stayed up
incredibly late waiting until Howard and Maria had stumbled through the front
doors and greeted them at the staircase, smiling and holding out his arms for a
hug. He’d wished him a happy birthday and how had Howard responded?
He’d half-heartedly patted the boy on his head and scolded him for being up so
far past his bedtime.
Tony’s face had crumpled immediately and he’d quietly apologized before
striding off towards his room. The softly whispered ‘goodnight’ almost had
Howard turning around, but all night he’d been brainstorming the design for an
armor piercing bullet that could be loaded into the new tanks and instead had
rushed down to his lab to sketch out his ideas.
He winced at the wave of shame that washed through him and looked up to see
Steve staring.
“What?”
“Lost in a memory?”
Howard shrugged and started off down the hall, hearing Steve pat after him.
Steve’s next question stopped him so fast the man slammed into his back and
almost sent them both tumbling to the ground.
“If he hacked my phone, does he have access to my pictures?”
Howard whirled around and gripped Steve by the shoulders.
“I thought you deleted those!”
Steve burst into laughter and curled himself forward, his huge body dwarfing
his own as he rested his head on Howard’s shoulder.
“Your…pfft…Howie, your fuh-face!”
“It’s not funny!” Howard gritted out between clenched teeth.
“Oh, ba-baby, yes it is! Psssh…of course I deleted them!”
He slumped under the boy’s weight and sighed, reaching up to run a hand over
his face.
God that could have been so very bad. Howard knew he shouldn’t have done it in
the first place, that should have been the sign he needed to take a vacation,
but a week ago Steve had been sending him lascivious texts during a
particularly boring shareholder meeting. He’d ordered the man to stop and Steve
had replied with a cheeky text of ‘what do I get if I behave like a good boy?’
Howard had snuck off to his private bathroom during a smoke break and shoved
his pants down and shirt up, sending Steve a few pictures of his abs and heavy
cock. Normally it wouldn’t be an issue, there were probably 50,000 other people
out there who looked like he did naked, but in one picture he’d wrapped his
hand around his cock and you could clearly see his MIT ring on his index
finger, placement he was well known for.
Steve hadn’t replied after that and Howard had come home to an extremely horny
naked artist in his bed.
But regardless of what had happened, the pictures getting out wouldn’t ruin
him, hell he’d been photographed naked before. If they got out, however, people
would start asking where they’d come from and Steve had been very clear at the
beginning of their relationship that he wanted to be out of the limelight as
much as possible.
“But if I hadn’t, it would’ve taught Tony a lesson, right?”
He gently shoved his lover off and spun, making the trek back to their bedroom.
“Oh, yes, I’m sure it would have. It would have also been another couple years
of therapy I’d have to pay for.”
“Aww, Howie, don’t be like that. You’re a catch and those pictures highlight
your second best feature.”
A hand reached around while they walked and cupped him through his clothing,
hot even through the layers. He pushed Steve’s hand away and shot him a look
over his shoulder.
“I’m out of commission for the night, darling. And if that’s second best,
what’s the first?”
Steve wrapped around him, effectively stopping him at the top of the grand
staircase, and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, burying his face there.
“Your face, of course.”
He rolled his eyes at the sentiment and looked over to where Jarvis was coming
up the stairs, a tall glass of something disturbingly orange balanced on the
serving platter he held.
“He still…after all these years Jarvis?”
His old friend nodded, a small smile on his face.
“I’m told even when he’s with his mother, Mister Stark.”
Howard felt a small flush cross his cheeks and nodded sharply, grabbing a
confused Steve and tugging him along.
“Good night, Jarvis.”
“Good night sirs.”
He could feel Steve at his back practically radiating curiosity and dreaded the
conversation that would occur. Howard was saved by the jaunty jingle of his
cell phone and he pushed his dressing gown to the side to wrestle it from his
pajama pocket.
“Stark.”
“Howard! I got your email and I’m a bit confused.”
“Obadiah, what was confusing about it? The company’s settled and I think I’m
long over-due for some time off.”
“No, no, I completely agree, completely. But see, I’ve been looking out my
window and it’s not raining fire and there aren’t any flying barnyard animals,
so what in the world brought this on?”
He growled into the phone as Obadiah laughed at his own joke, shoving open
their bedroom door and ushering Steve inside.
“Funny, Obi, you know it’s good to have a backup talent in case something would
happen to mysteriously cause you to be out of a job.”
Obadiah chuckled for a couple more moments before clearing his throat. Howard
watched as Steve stripped out of his shirt in one smooth motion, leaving him
clad in only silk pajama bottoms, one of the few luxuries Steve allowed
himself. He licked his lips at the sight and wished, for not the first time in
their relationship, that his body, one part in particular, hadn’t succumbed to
the failings of old age.
“I’m just curious is all, Howard. It’s not like you to take long lunches, let
alone a week off out of the blue. You’re not sick are you?”
“No, Obi, I’m not sick. Tony’s here for the summer-“
“He’s not staying with Maria?”
Howard tracked as Steve tossed his body across their mattress, letting out a
truly indulgent purr as his body sank into the bed. He must have uttered a
small sound because Steve flopped onto his back and shot him a grin, arching
and stretching in a deliberately enticing manner.
“W-What? No, she’s off in Aspen. So Tony’s here and Steve suggested I take some
time to spend with him.”
“The boy convinced workaholic Howard Stark to take some time off? Seriously,
Howard, is he that good in bed?”
Howard snarled before he could help it, the noise wiping the grin from Steve’s
face and replacing it with a frown. Obi backtracked quickly, a note of apology
tingeing his words.
“Hey, hey, sorry, I know that’s a line. I’m just trying to say he’s good for
you, Howard. I didn’t mean offense, you know that.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face before crossing to sit on the bed, waving off
Steve’s look of concern.
“I know you didn’t, I’ve just heard more than my fair share of digs today at
the relationship. Little sick of it all to be honest.”
He reached down and threaded his fingers through Steve’s hair when the boy
curled up around him, knees bracketing one hip as he pressed a light kiss to
Howard’s opposite one.
“I understand, I do, my apologies. I won’t keep you then; sounds like you’ve
had a hell of a day. I’ll get everything set up so we can go over it tomorrow,
and I’ll drop by in the morning to say hi to Tony, alright? Goodnight Howard.”
He bade Obadiah a goodnight in return and tossed the phone to the side,
bringing his newly freed hand down to stroke over the soft skin at Steve’s hip.
Steve hummed his pleasure against Howard’s skin and when he glanced down at the
boy his eyes were half-lidded in lazy contentment, like a cat who’d found a
sunbeam.
“Is he okay with it?”
“Whether he’s okay with it or not doesn’t really matter. But yes, he said he’ll
get everything together for us to go over, and he’s dropping by in the morning
to see Tony.”
He felt more than heard Steve groan into his clothes and twisted to face him
more fully, quirking a brow.
“Problem?”
“Bucky’s coming bright and early tomorrow!”
“He’s back from deployment?”
“Yes! And we were going to spend the day figuring out what we were going to do
this summer while he’s on leave.”
Howard shuddered at the thought of Obadiah meeting the tornado that was Bucky
Barnes. The boy had absolutely no filter between his brain and his mouth and
would argue a tree down if he thought it had slighted him or Steve. As far as
best friends go, Howard couldn’t have built a better one for Steve, but the
idea of one of the most pig-headed men he knew meeting the most hot-headed man
on the planet was enough to make him wince.
The look on Steve’s face, as well as the teeth worrying at his lower lip, broke
Howard from his thoughts.
“Steve, what are you planning?”
He glanced up and smiled, the picture of innocence, and if Howard hadn’t had
his cock buried down the boy’s throat less than two hours ago he might be
inclined to believe the window-dressing.
“Steven Grant-“
“What’s the story behind the drink?”
The non-sequitur made Howard blink and he shook his head. There were some
things even Howard wasn’t willing to part with, not just yet.
Steve gave up fairly easily, something must have shown on Howard’s face that he
wasn’t up for discussing it and he nuzzled into Howard’s hip once again, his
next words a bit muffled but clear enough.
“Maybe Bucky could come with us on vacation?”
Howard Stark would like it to go on record he is normally a very well-spoken
and composed man, who is very gentle with his lovers unless they ask for
different.
Therefore, planting a hand on Steve’s forehead and pushing it backwards so
their eyes locked and squeaking out a ‘what?!’ was extremely out of character
for him.
Though he didn’t regret it.
“It’s a good idea when you think about it, Howie! That way I have someone to
hang out with when you and Tony spend time alone together-“
“Alone time? Unlikely!”
“-and if we ever want some time together, I’m sure Bucky could keep Tony
entertained for a little while-“
“Oh, yeah, send the army trained spitfire out with a boy who makes it his job
to piss people off. That’ll work out well.”
“-and me and Buck have never actually been on a real vacation together, we
never had enough money for it.”
That made Howard’s mouth, open and ready to fire off the next counter-argument,
snap closed.
Shit, now he felt like a heel. Steve asked for so very little and here Howard
was making a big deal out of something that was obviously important to him. If
it made Steve happy he’d let Barnes move in to the damn mansion. A vacation
wouldn’t kill him.
“Alright, darling boy, you win. Barnes can come with us, wherever we decide to
go.”
Steve brightened at that and leaned up to lay a smacking kiss on Howard’s lips.
“Thank you! You won’t regret it; I promise I’ll keep him in line!”
Howard chuckled at the youthful exuberance and shook his head. He’d seen how
Steve and Barnes acted when they thought no one else was around. It was like a
puppy promising he’d keep another in line; highly unlikely and Howard just knew
something was going to get ruined or, knowing Barnes, peed on.
He shifted backwards and started when his hip bumped into a very familiar
bulge, shooting Steve an incredulous look.
“Already? You came two hours ago!”
Steve bit his lip and blushed, shifting his hips minutely.
“I, ah…you look really hot in your pajamas?”
Howard shook his head and laughed a bit.
“I’m certainly not up for another round, kiddo.”
“Oh, no!” Steve shook his head so violently Howard was temporarily concerned
for the possibility of a concussion. “No, it’s fine. Let’s just go to bed,
it’ll go away on its own.”
Which, in all reality was probably something other couples often did, and was a
fine plan.
If Howard wasn’t an insecure bastard married to a gorgeous man half his age.
Placing a hand on Steve’s hip, he shoved and rolled his lover until he was
stretched out onto his stomach in the middle of the bed, whining softly and
rocking into the mattress at the sudden pressure. Situating himself on his
knees between the boy’s spread legs he placed a hand on Steve’s lower back to
halt the movement and grinned when the boy twisted around to look at him.
There was one sure-fire way to make Steve cum so hard it put him out of
commission for a while, the amazing refractory period of youth notwithstanding.
“Want me to eat you out, baby girl? Get you soaking wet with my tongue?”
Steve immediately moaned and bucked his hips into the bed, head falling back
down for a moment as he fought for composure.
Howard grinned smugly and stripped his dressing gown from his shoulders with
quick movements, tossing it off the side of the bed carelessly. He enjoyed this
just as much as Steve did, though it had taken a while to convince Steve to
allow him to do it. Even to this day he’d only let Howard do it if he’d
showered recently, and if it hadn’t been too long since his last waxing
appointment.
Which, luckily for Howard, had been yesterday.
It wasn’t always coupled with a bit of genderplay, but he needed to knock Steve
out well, and this should put him down for at least enough time to get in a
solid nights rest.
“Please, yes, please.”
“Please what, darling?”
Oh, Howard was well aware he was a bastard. He just couldn’t find it in him to
care as he yanked Steve’s pants and underwear down to his knees, careful to
ease them over his young lover’s cock first.
“Please, do…that to me.”
“What is ‘that’? Come on sweetheart, I know you’ve got a filthy mouth. Let me
hear you beg for me to eat your cunt.”
He punctuated his words with a sharp smack to one of Steve’s perfect cheeks,
leaning down to kiss the spot gently afterwards. Steve bucked and whined, his
head whipping around to watch Howard, a deep cherry flush staining his cheeks.
It still amazed Howard to this day how the very same boy who would greet Howard
at their bedroom door after a long day at work and mischievously inform him he
was already stretched and ready got so quiet and embarrassed during this.
The first time he’d ever slipped up and called Steve a girl in bed he’d thought
for sure the younger boy was going to knock him out. But Steve had clenched
down on Howard’s dick so hard he’d almost blacked out and came instantly.
They’d had a long discussion afterwards about how Steve had always gotten
taunted for being girly when he was little, always got handled with kid gloves,
before the medical testing, and once he was big everyone treated him roughly.
And sometimes, if it was okay with Howard, he’d just like to be treated like
something delicate again. Maybe even like a girl again?
And that was definitely okay with Howard.
“Please eat me out, please, please. Lick me until I’m soaking wet. Shove your
fingers into my hungry little pussy until I’m cumming.”
Howard groaned into Steve’s flesh at the whispered pleas and, placing firm
hands on either cheek to spread them, complied.
The first touch of his tongue to Steve’s tight hole, still so goddamn tight no
matter how many plugs Howard stretched him with, had Steve bucking so violently
he had to pull back or risk a bloody nose.
He waited patiently until Steve settled again, rubbing slow circles with his
thumbs in an attempt to help the boy relax.
“You are hungry for it, aren’t you babydoll? Ah, but that’s my fault. It’s been
too long since I’ve done this, and my little girl can’t go that long without a
tongue in her pussy, can she? Wouldn’t want you going elsewhere looking for it,
now would we?”
He leaned back down and swirled his tongue over the hole again, prepared this
time so when Steve bucked he tightened his grip and shoved down, keeping the
boy pinned to the bed. Steve sobbed and Howard heard the whisper soft sound of
the comforter moving against the sheets as Steve bunched it in his hands.
“No…nowhere else, no one else. Can’t…nobody could do it like you.”
A flush of pride shot through Howard at the whimpered words and he rewarded
Steve with a harder thrust of his tongue, slipping just the tip inside. But
there was still the niggling feeling of doubt running through him, damn his
insecurities, and the next words tumbled out of his mouth before he could help
it.
“You sure? Sure you wouldn’t want someone younger, someone better? Someone who
could keep this hungry pussy full all the time, not just once a day?”
He brought his head up slightly and was rewarded with the sight of Steve’s face
turned over his shoulder, glaring at Howard through lust-darkened eyes. Howard
dropped his head back down, unable to stand the question and irritation in that
gaze, fucking his tongue harder, easing Steve open so he could lick deeper and
deeper inside.
“I’d rather have your cock once a day than anyone else’s all day long. Nobody
fucks me like you do, Howie, nobody gets me wet like you. You’re perfect no
matter how you’re splitting me open, I’m only this slutty for you. Only spread
my legs for you. Your tongue’s the only one that’s ever been, and is ever gonna
be, inside my cunt. You own my little pussy. Please, please fuck it? Can you,
Howie, can you fuck your little pussy?”
Jesus. Christ.
Howard moaned and yanked back, sliding his hands under Steve’s hip bones and
tugging sharply, bringing the boy to his knees. He leaned over for a moment,
fumbling in the bedside table for the flavored lube they kept there, distracted
by the sight of Steve reaching down to lazily wrap a hand around his cock.
Finally closing his fingers around the damn tube he leaned back and brought a
hand down sharply on the curve of Steve’s ass, grinning at the yelp.
“Hands off, babydoll. You’re going to cum from my fingers and tongue and
nothing else, hear me?”
Steve groaned his assent and Howard slicked up his fingers, leaning down to run
his tongue teasingly around the rim, enjoying the way it clenched and relaxed
at the light touch.
He dropped the bottle onto the bed, uncaring of if it spilled or not and raised
a hand up to slide two deep into Steve in between strokes of his tongue. Steve
jumped and his thighs trembled at the sudden intrusion and Howard smirked
against his flesh.
Two at once was pushing it for most, but during this Steve was ridiculously
immune to pain, everything that would hurt only serving to jack the pleasure
higher. He twisted his fingers, stretching Steve out and licking in between
them, tongue dipping inside every so often to keep Steve on his toes. Howard
was very careful to avoid Steve’s prostate, which was shockingly sensitive. A
couple of times Steve had cum just from the press of Howard’s cock firmly onto
it, begging Howard to fuck him through the shivers and aftershocks.
That would be how they’d discovered his fantastic refractory period.
Steve was so close now, writhing and thrusting back onto Howard’s fingers,
begging him to fuck him harder with words and movements. Howard had moved on
from teasing licks and was complying, using his fingers to hold his lover open
as he slid his tongue in and out, fucking him as surely as he would with his
cock. He rolled his eyes upwards and was rewarded with the delicious sight of
Steve’s back flexing and rolling with the movements of his hips, sweat
gathering in the hollow at the base of his spine.
Pulling back, he thrust his fingers in and out roughly, enjoying the way Steve
ground back on them, the way his body opened and accepted them so beautifully
but wrapped iron tight and hot around the lengths inside.
“Does my babydoll want to cum? Does she want to cum just from my fingers and
tongue like a naughty little girl?”
“Yes!” Steve sobbed out, his voice high and tight as he desperately moved his
hips in time with Howard’s thrusts. “Yes, please, please, please make me cum. I
wanna cum for you, wanna be a good girl. I wanna show you how much I love your
tongue in my cunt, please let me cum! Please let me be your good girl Big
Daddy.”
Dangerous, deadly little addiction.
Howard leaned down and, in a feat of balance that impressed even him, managed
to bring his other hand up to Steve’s opposite cheek, using it and the one
currently buried inside him to stretch him out, pull his skin tight. He leaned
down and thrust his tongue in alongside his fingers just as they caught the top
of Steve’s prostate, circling gently in a teasing motion. Steve howled and
screamed and over the rush of blood in his ears Howard could hear a litany of
“be your good little girl” and “wanna cum, gonna cum, please Big Daddy” and
“fuck, yes, please fuck my pussy”. He shifted his grip and pressed the two
fingers down firmly just as he pulled back slightly to lick just inside the
rim, where Steve was most sensitive.
Steve came with a hoarse scream of Howard’s name, rolling and grinding well
enough to beat any pornstar out there. Howard fucked him through it, keeping
his fingers pressed to the small gland and his tongue stretching the rim, until
Steve reached back with a shaking hand and tapped at Howard’s forearm. He
carefully withdrew and watched with a smug smile as Steve collapsed onto his
side, away from the wet spot of his cooling cum, chest heaving with exertion.
“Feel better, darling?”
Steve shot him a weak glare in response to his ribbing and Howard laughed as he
moved from the bed, crossing the room to the bathroom. That was really the only
drawback of rimming Steve until he turned into a big gooey mess of artist;
Howard was a stickler for cleanliness and had to immediately leave the bed to
clean off before he kissed Steve.
He had just taken a swig of the mouthwash, swishing it from cheek to cheek when
rustling from the other room made him stick his head into the doorway. Steve
had gotten up and was in the process of stuffing the soiled comforter down the
laundry chute, thighs trembling so hard he could see it through the pants Steve
had pulled back up around his waist. He leaned back to spit the mouthful into
the sink and called out into the room.
“Baby, I’ll get that, just go lay down!”
Steve’s response was drowned out by the rush of water as Howard pumped a small
amount of soap into his hands and, lathering them up, washed his moustache out.
He cupped his hands under the fall and rinsed, grimacing at the feeling of cold
slipping down his throat and wetting the collar of his pajamas. He shut the
water off and reached for the hand towel hanging nearby, patting his throat and
hands dry before hanging it back up.
Clean-up complete he spun and headed out of the bathroom, freezing in the
doorway as he caught sight of one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen.
Steve was sprawled back on the bed, obviously having listened as there wasn’t a
new blanket spread over him, arms curled under the pillow his head rested on,
one leg extended and the other brought up just slightly. All in all, an
adorable sight for sure, but what made it beautiful was that Steve had stripped
off his clothes sometime while Howard was gone and lay completely naked, body
stripped in shadows from the lamp on Howard’s side table. A shiny slickness
marked the visible curve of Steve’s ass and while Howard knew the boy was going
to bitch and moan in the morning about feeling wet and weird, he couldn’t bring
himself to clean it off of him.
Not only would it disturb his peaceful slumber, Howard rather liked the idea of
Steve going to bed like he was an actual girl who’d gotten her pussy tongue-
fucked, slickness from her lovers tongue marking her body.
He crossed the room and opened a side closet to tug out a new blanket, hefting
it up for a few steps before tossing it onto the bed, letting it unfurl in the
air. Steve barely flinched at the new pressure and Howard smiled as he
stretched and smoothed the material before climbing into bed next to the boy.
He had just clicked off the light and settled in when Steve’s body attached
itself to his side; a heavy thigh settling over one of his, a leg twining
between, an arm tossed over his stomach and Steve’s head resting on his
shoulder.
Howard grinned into the darkness as he slipped one hand down to rest it high on
Steve’s leg, one the flat of his thigh just before the curve of his ass, and
slid the other one up Steve’s arm until his fingers could curl lightly around a
heavily muscled forearm. He yawned at the sudden lethargy that over-took him
and let himself sink into the mattress.
Between one deep breath and the next, both lovers drifted off into a peaceful
sleep, content, warm, and most of all, safe in each other’s presence.
***** Bucky Barnes Does Not Screw 12 Year Olds, and Obadiah is a Creepy Ass
*****
Chapter Summary
     Bucky Barnes is a good friend, Tony Stark is an unrepentant slut, and
     Obadiah Stane makes Steve's spidey-senses go haywire.
Chapter Notes
     A subplot! Original characters! This is becoming a real story! I knew
     Steve needed an ally other than Jarvis in the household and this
     story will eventually be Bucky/Tony too, but at the moment Tony's too
     young and Bucky's too freaked out by this child who keeps making lewd
     comments to have it develop into anything worthwhile.
Steve shifted and groaned, burying his head into the pillows and desperately
trying to avoid the one beam of light that seemed insistent on hitting him
directly in the face every morning. He heard Howard’s low chuckle off somewhere
to his left and growled at the man, face still smashed into fabric that smelled
like his lover.
“Find a way to shut off the sun.”
A warm palm landed on his lower back and Steve felt the scratch of Howard’s
mustache as the man placed a kiss onto his shoulder blade.
“I would and all, darling, anything for you, but studies have proven we do
actually need the sun to survive.”
He huffed into the pillow and went to flip over, only succeeding in getting his
body halfway there before the slick squish of lube between his cheeks made him
grimace and freeze.
“Darnit, I knew I should have cleaned up before I went to bed. Yuck.”
“I was going to do it for you but you looked so peaceful.”
“Yeah, well, now I know how girls must feel when they wake up and find out they
got their period.”
Howard laughed in a sharp bark and his voice had an odd echo to it as he spoke.
Steve figured he must have moved into the bathroom to finish getting ready for
the day.
“Yeah, go ahead and tell that to any woman. See how fast you get punched in the
face.”
Steve grumbled and climbed out of the bed, quickly making his way into the
bathroom and shoving around Howard who stood in front of the mirror, midway
through the process of slicking his hair back. He went about his normal
bathroom routine, grabbing a pack of moist towelettes from under the cabinet to
quickly clean himself off. He hit the handle on the toilet and turned to
playfully bump Howard out of the way with his hip.
“Watch it, kiddo.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Steve fluttered his eyelashes at the older man. “Are you gonna
spank me?”
Howard blinked at him while they washed their hands in the sink, shoulders
rubbing as they playfully fought for space under the rush of water.
“Someone woke up feeling frisky.”
Steve laughed and leaned over to press a kiss to his lover’s cheek, snatching
away the towel Howard held in his hands as he did.
“I woke up in our bed, still wet from your tongue; of course I’m feeling
frisky.”
Howard took the towel back and tossed it over one shoulder, fitting his palms
against Steve’s hips and dragging him in for a kiss. Steve threw himself into
it, tongue tangling with his lover’s, but then just as quickly backed off,
scooting around Howard on his way out of the room.
“Now, now, Howie. We have company coming, can’t just canoodle in the bathroom
all day.”
A disgruntled “I’ll canoodle you” was all the warning Steve got before the hand
towel snapped against the meat of his ass. He yelped and turned to see Howard
staring at him innocently, towel nonchalantly thrown back over his shoulder.
Steve stuck his tongue out and whipped around, crossing to the massive dresser
and scrounging for his running wear. He had just finished pulling on a pair of
sweatpants, dark boxer briefs, and one of Howard’s old MIT shirts when the man
in question came out of the bathroom, adjusting his shirt cuffs. He looked
different in the sunlight that spilled into the room and Steve was struck
stupid for a moment, as he usually was when he got to see Howard before he left
for work.
The white shirt stretched over the man’s shoulders, hugging his figure down to
where it tucked into black pants, that same damned belt from last night
wrapping around his lovers waist. He distantly heard himself make some half-
aborted moan and Howard’s head came up from where he was threading his tie
through the collar of his shirt. Red today, with inlaid silver stripes in
varying thicknesses. The man smiled at him softly and Steve couldn’t help but
grin back.
Bucky had asked him once, when he’d found out about Steve and Howard’s
relationship, what Steve could possibly see in a cold, callous bastard like
that. Steve had replied he saw just the opposite, and it rang true to this day.
In business maybe Howard was a complete ice man, but at home and with Steve he
was infinitely patient and calm, barring situations in which they both wanted
to opposite.
The Howard Stark Steve had quickly fallen head over heels for was not the
asshole weapons magnate everyone else saw him as, nor was he the neglectful and
cruel father Tony saw him as. The Howard Stark he knew brought him new
sketchpads for no good reason, he kept pictures of the son he dearly loved and
yet couldn’t bond with tucked away in places only he would see, and he was the
man who bickered back and forth with his secretary like they were the ones who
were married, but never forgot to send her or her wife flowers on their
birthdays.
“Be back before Barnes gets here or I’m not going to be held responsible for
damages done to his face.”
Broken from his musings by Howard’s command he laughed and nodded, crossing to
drop a kiss on his lover’s cheek before slipping into his socks and running
shoes and taking off through the house.
He dodged around maids and housekeepers as he headed towards the grand
staircase, shouting out a cheerful “Good morning!” to Jarvis as he sped out the
front door the man always had open for him.
Steve felt his whole face break into a smile as he hit the fresh air and
sunshine that heralded a perfect summer day. He hummed quietly to himself as he
jogged the path he followed every morning, save for Sundays when he laid in bed
until Howard called him on his lunch break and woke him, trekking the 3 miles
that made up the square footage of the property.
There was a lot to be done today; he had to figure out how to charter the
StarkJet, convince Bucky to spend a chunk of his leave with Howard and Tony,
attempt to not look like an idiot in front of Tony as he tried to plan out the
vacation, and he wanted to start work on the plan he was going to present to
Howard as to “Why This House Needs a Puppy and Why I Should Get One For
Christmas.”
Curving back around, he upped his pace when he saw Bucky kill the engine in the
massive stone circle driveway and step from the car Howard had bought him,
sunglasses firmly in place.
“Bucky! Bucky!”
His calls brought Bucky’s head around and the other man grinned, waving a hand.
Steve sped the rest of the way to him, catching his old friend in his arms and
sinking into the sense of security and peace that always pervaded him when he
was around Bucky.
When he’d gotten news Bucky had gone M.I.A for a while there, he’d spent many
nights curled on Howard’s lap scared out of his mind every phone call or knock
on the door was going to be the “we’re sorry for your loss” speech he’d been
terrified of since Bucky joined the army when they were 18.
But instead he’d gotten another call about a month later that said Bucky had
been found, half out of his mind from dehydration and starvation, but alive and
was well on the way to recovery.
Bucky clapped him on the back as they separated and Steve grinned, gesturing to
his sunglasses as they turned to stride into the house.
“Why do you wear those, Buck? You can’t stand something so big on your face,
you’ve said it before.”
“Because they’re Stark’s favorite glasses and it irritates the hell outta him
when I do this.”
Bucky shoved the glasses off his nose and up into his hair, the floppy strands
falling over the lenses and giving Bucky a rakish look. Steve had to laugh at
the smug grin on his best friend’s face.
Howard had indeed went on a couple different rants about how aviators were real
sunglasses and weren’t meant to be used as hairbands, nor were they meant to be
any color other than black. So, naturally, Bucky took pleasure in finding oddly
colored aviators and parading around Howard in them, lavishing praise on how
well this color blocked out the light and this color brought out his eyes and
‘Steve, don’t you think this color would look fantastic on Howard? Here, Stark,
put these on your face!’
Yes, before you ask, Steve was completely and utterly aware his best friend was
an asshole.
Sure enough, the aviator’s tucked into Bucky’s brown locks were a dark forest
green, matching the plain green tee Bucky had thrown on along with his black
leather jacket and favorite broken in, ripped-to-hell-and-back jeans. He shot
Bucky a grin as they crossed into the cool darkness of the house, thanking
Jarvis as he closed the door behind them.
“Soooooo, what are your plans for leave?”
“No.” Bucky held out a hand, following Steve to the kitchen. “No discussing
whatever harebrained scheme you’ve cooked up until I get me some coffee. Marta,
you lovely, lovely woman you, please tell me you’ve got some magic juice for
your favorite man.”
The main cook for the house spun from her place at the stove and placed one
hand on her hip, the other brandishing a spatula at Bucky’s advancing form.
“I don’t see you for months and that’s how you greet me? Madre de Dios,
children these days! My niños at least have good manners.”
Steve laughed at Bucky’s hangdog expression as he tried to wrap his arms around
the plump Hispanic woman who was batting at him with her free hand. Marta was,
next to Jarvis, his favorite member of the household. She didn’t take any crap
from anyone, and the first time he’d met her she was giving Howard hell for
only taking a few bites of breakfast before trying to rush off to work. She was
another one of Steve’s only friends in the house and there had been more than a
few nights she comforted him with hot chocolate and hugs when the pain of a
barb from one of the people at a party Howard had drug him to drove him from
the bed in tears.
“Marta, I give you full authority to beat him to death for his insolence. I’ll
double your pay if you do it with the frying pan.”
Steve glanced up from his seat at the massive kitchen island as Howard strode
in, ignoring Bucky’s offended huff as he pulled the man into a heady kiss.
A sharp whack landed on the back of his head and Steve yanked back, turning to
frown at Marta who was making her way back to the stove.
“That hurt, Marta!”
“The kitchen is a place for food and wholesome fun, not necking and groping.
I’m not sorry.”
“You tell ‘em, Marty.”
Steve turned his gaze towards where Bucky lounged back against the counter in
an elegant sprawl, sticking out his tongue and receiving a sarcastic salute
with the cup of coffee Bucky held in one hand.
Howard strode over and took down two cups, pouring them full of the delicious
smelling dark brew before beginning to make them to his and Steve’s
preferences.
That had been another thing that had shocked Steve when he’d trudged down to
the kitchen the first morning he’d stayed over. Howard had Marta to cook,
various people running around his home doing odd jobs, and Jarvis doing
everything else Howard didn’t trust others to do, but he still poured his own
coffee and preferred to eat at the kitchen island instead of in the breakfast
nook or dining room.
“Good mor- Well, hello, handsome.”
Steve craned his neck away from the cup of coffee Howard had put in front of
him and looked towards the doorway where a sleep-rumpled Tony stood in pajama
pants and a muscle tee, eyes roving over Bucky like a lion sizing up its prey.
Bucky arched a brow over the rim of his cup and pulled it away, looking to
Steve for an explanation.
“Uhm, Bucky, this is Tony, Howard’s son. Tony, this is Bucky Barnes, my best
friend.”
Tony slid smoothly across the room until he was leaning on the counter next to
Bucky, arm braced and body opened to the older man. Steve instinctively knew
the low groan from behind him meant Howard had dropped his head into his hand
in exasperation and shot Bucky a warning glare that he hoped conveyed, “I need
this kid to like me, Buck. Don’t be you.”
Bucky scoffed and took another sip before he spoke, eyeing Tony sideways like
an old woman who’d sat down next to a punk rocker.
“Nice to meet’cha, kid.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s very nice. What brings you to my humble abode so early on this
fine morning?”
“It’s my humble abode.” Steve heard Howard grumble from behind him, and he
lightly elbowed the man in response.
“Oh, y’know, normal stuff. Seeing Steve, bothering Marty, trying to get my
friend away from the ogre that is Howard Stark.”
“Ah, agree completely. The man’s an absolute troll. We should discuss this
more. Privately. Over coffee perhaps?”
Bucky raised up the cup in his hands with a pointed look.
“Already got coffee, kid.”
“Dinner then. I know a great restaurant down on 52nd street that has the most
amazing Dover Sole.”
Apparently single-minded pursuit of a romantic interest was as dominant as dark
hair and brown eyes in the Stark genes.
“I don’t know what that is, for one, and for two, I don’t screw twelve year
olds, bucko.”
Tony straightened and laughed, a rich sound that, if Steve hadn’t heard Howard
use it when schmoozing with fellow billionaires, he’d think it was completely
real.
“Sixteen, actually, and seventeen in a month. Legal age of consent, so not
really an issue. And it’s a fish, a delicious one, which you’ll see at dinner.”
Steve could see the twitch in Bucky’s right eye at Tony’s arrogant behavior and
hid his head under stacked arms, just knowing that whatever Bucky said next was
going to end any hopes Steve had of Tony liking him.
“No go, kid. But, tell you what, you call me when you start growing hair in
your no-no place and maybe we’ll figure something out, yeah? Now, run along and
go play in your sandbox while the grown-ups talk.”
The sputtering and coughing behind him had Steve spinning from the awful sight
that was Tony’s godsmacked expression and turning into the more horrific sight
of Howard red-faced and choking on his coffee. He leapt up but before he could
get there, Marta materialized and whacked Howard one good time between the
shoulder blades. Steve relaxed at Howard’s sharp, long inhale and slumped back
down into his seat as Marta whipped around to face Tony and Bucky.
“That’s enough, both of you. James, stop being mean to him, that boy’s already
graduated college. And Tony, stop being a puto. Now, who would like an omelet?”
Four hands went up as she smiled serenely, like she hadn’t just called Tony a
slut in front of her employer, and turned back to the stove, busying herself
with dishing food onto plates.
Tony plopped down at the table opposite Steve and glared at his father who was
easing into his seat, absently squeezing Steve’s knee when he settled.
“You’re just gonna let her call me that?”
Howard gave Tony an amused look as he reached for the paper Jarvis had laid out
and snapped it open.
“She changed your diapers, and she knows where I sleep. I’m going to let her
call you whatever she wants. Besides, it’s not like it’s untrue.”
Tony huffed and crossed his arms, a small glint of pleasure sneaking into his
gaze when Marta dropped a kiss to the crown of his head as she strode by,
neatly depositing plates in front of everyone.
Steve grinned and immediately dug in, glad for the excuse to ignore the awkward
situation that was Tony still trying to flirt with Bucky and Bucky steadily
growing more and more annoyed.
Howard finally had enough and brought his coffee cup down onto the table with a
sharp clack.
“Tony. Enough. He’s ten years older than you, let it go.”
Tony glared at his dad, taking a long pull from his own cup of coffee Marta had
dropped in front of him.
“Oh yeah, because age is such a big deal. Hey, Steve, how many years is it
between you and the old man?”
“SO!” The sharp clap of Steve’s hands brought Bucky’s head around from where
he’d been glaring a hole into the side of Tony’s head.
“Bucky, I was wondering if you want to come with us on vacation for a week.
We’re leaving tomorrow and I thought it might be nice for us to have a real
vacation for once.”
Bucky looked back at him, twirling his fork absently in his fingers.
“What’cha got planned?”
“Well, Tony said something about wanting to go on the yacht which is in...Maui,
right Tony?”
“Yeah, at our beach house.”
“And I figured there’s probably plenty else to do there too!”
Bucky frowned and took another drink from his coffee, seemingly mulling it over
in his head.
“I dunno Steve. As nice as a week in Hawaii sounds, a week stuck with Stark’s
is the equivalent of voluntary torture. Besides, I do know when I’m not
wanted.”
“Oh, you are most certainly wanted.”
Steve resisted the urge to facepalm at Tony’s sultry pun and looked back to his
friend.
“No, it’s fine, Buck. It’ll be fun. Besides, Howard said he wanted you there,
didn’t you Howard?”
“Oh, yes. I will openly weep if you do not accompany us.”
Both Steve and Tony shot glares in the direction of the older man’s dry tone
while Howard indifferently turned another page in the paper.
“The day Howard Stark openly weeps is the day I streak through Stark Industries
lobby.”
“Obi!”
Tony leapt up from the table and hurried to the entrance of the kitchen,
eagerly throwing himself into the arms of the man who stood there, dressed down
in shirtsleeves and dress pants. Steve tightened his grip on the fork at the
way Obi gripped onto Tony’s hips instead of his arms or shoulders once the boy
stepped out of his embrace. He saw Bucky’s confused look out of the corner of
his eye and shook his head minutely as Howard climbed from his seat, striding
over to the pair.
“Obi, thanks for coming. Did you want to head in today or-“
“Hell, Howard, let me get coffee first! Work, work, and more work, it must get
annoying, eh Steve?”
Steve grinned tightly as Obadiah crossed the room to clap a hand on his
shoulder, fighting the urge to shrug it off.
“He’s dedicated. It’s nice to see in this day and age.”
“He’s a workaholic is more like.” Tony piped up from where he’d trailed after
the man, pausing next to Bucky. Obadiah grinned and turned to muss Tony’s hair
while Howard grumbled from the kitchen doorway. The more and more he touched
Tony the tighter the coil of dread spun in Steve’s stomach. He could never
place it, but there was something in Obadiah’s eyes, something cold that made
Steve want to bury his face in Howard’s stomach and cling like a child.
And whatever it was seemed so much more sinister when he looked at Tony.
Bucky gave him an odd look and he inclined his head slightly towards Obadiah in
response. Understanding flooded his friends face and he reached out with one
hand, hooking a finger in the hem of Tony’s shirt and tugging. When Tony spun
to face him, Bucky pasted on his sweetest smile and practically fluttered his
eyelashes at the boy.
“Hey, Tone, wanna give me a tour while these old geezers talk shop? Never
actually seen the whole house before.”
Tony’s face lit up like someone had told him he was spending his birthday at
the Playboy manor and he gallantly held out a hand to Buck.
“But of course, good sir. I’ll give you the grand tour of Casa de Stark, let
you see the opulence you could live in one day.”
Bucky shot Steve a look that clearly said Steve was going to be spending quite
a bit of money on Bucky when they went on vacation and he mouthed a thank you
as Tony tugged the man up out of his seat and into the hall, chattering as he
went.
Obadiah frowned after them before crossing to accept the cup of coffee Marta
had ready for him.
“Friend of yours, Steve?”
“Best friend, actually.”
Howard shot Steve a look at his short reply and he internally sighed before
stretching his mouth into a grin and looking over to where Obadiah had slid
into Tony’s empty seat.
“He just got back from deployment. We were actually just in the middle of
discussing vacation plans before Tony stole him, so I’m going to go chase after
them, if you don’t mind.”
He drained the last of his coffee and stood, leaning over to accept Howard’s
brief kiss and striding away. He paused for a moment only to give Marta a
gentle kiss on the cheek before fleeing the room completely. Steve swore he
could almost feel Obadiah’s eyes on his back as he hurried away and ducked into
the nearest hall, slumping against the wall and pushing a hand over his
forehead to wipe away the sweat.
Steve Rogers had never been scared of anyone in his life, gladly taking on guys
three times his size when he was younger, but there was something about Obadiah
Stane that scared the crap out of him. He would catch glimpses of the man’s
eyes when he thought no one was looking at him, and Steve didn’t like the way
they lingered over Howard at times. He’d thought that was bad enough, but the
darkness pervading them when Obadiah had looked at Tony was enough to threaten
to bring Steve’s omelet and coffee up for a second round.
“Sir? Are you alright?”
Steve looked up to see Jarvis paused in front of him, looking at him with
concern. He threw a glance over his shoulder and stepped closer to the man,
lowering his voice. Before, when Obadiah looked at Howard, Steve hadn’t been
concerned. He’d seen the man spar with his personal trainers before and Howard
was still spry and strong for his age. But Tony was young and thin and if
something happened, God he hoped nothing ever happened, would Tony be able to
stop it?
“Jarvis, can I talk to you? Privately?”
The man straightened, something in Steve’s tone letting him know this was
important, and ushered him down the hall and into the nearby room Howard smoked
his cigars in, acquiescing to Steve’s request to keep it in one room so the
smell didn’t pervade the house. Steve relaxed the moment the dark smell that
lingered in the room wrapped around his senses. Jarvis had chosen well, he
must’ve seen how worked up Steve was getting. It wasn’t that Steve didn’t like
cigars, on the contrary he’d curled up at Howard’s feet while the man smoked
more than once, enjoying the shivers of heat that ran through him every time he
looked into the antique mirror on the wall across from the seat. Between the
squat glass that usually sat on the small side table, the cigar in Howard’s one
hand and his other tangled in Steve’s hair while he nuzzled into the spread of
Howard’s thighs, they made the most delicious picture of an old mob boss and
his paid boy.
Steve threw himself into Howard’s chair and watched as Jarvis quietly closed
the door behind them, crossing the room to seat himself on the loveseat across
from Steve.
“Is everything alright?”
“I just-Jarvis, what do you know about Obadiah?”
“Mister Stane?” Jarvis’ brows lifted for a moment before furrowing in thought.
“He and Mister Stark met when they were young boys; they attended the same
boarding school. They grew close and Mister Stane has helped Howard build up
Stark Industries into what it is today. He’s been a large part of young
Anthony’s life as well; in fact, he’s Anthony’s godfather. Why do you ask?”
“He just,” Steve bit his lip before pushing on. Jarvis had given him no reason
to distrust him.
“The way he looks at Howard sometimes.” And Tony, he mentally added, though
that was better kept to himself for the moment.
“Ah. There is reason behind that that is not mine to tell, sir. Perhaps you
might want to ask Mister Stark about that.”
Steve felt a cold flush run through his body at the words and he froze in
place, processing what the older man had just said.
“Did they…Jarvis, were Howard and Obadiah lovers?”
“Not to my knowledge, sir, but as I’ve said there is history there best told by
Mister Stark.”
Steve nodded numbly and filed it away to question Howard about later. He shook
his head to clear out the dark wave of insecurities that whispered, ‘yes, they
were’, ‘how many late nights at the office have they spent together while you
waited at home’, and ‘why would Howard be satisfied with a child when he could
have his intellectual and societal equal?’
Steve immediately hated himself for the thoughts he couldn’t stop. Howard had
done everything humanly possible to prove that he was head over heels in love
with and devoted to Steve and he repaid the kindness and generosity by thinking
he was cheating on him with his business partner? He shoved them all into the
black box they’d started to spill out of and re-focused on Jarvis, who was
watching him with a touch of concern in his eyes.
“Has he ever, I dunno, made you feel…weird?”
“Weird, sir?”
“Like, hell, um, just,” Steve was at a loss for how to describe it, but luckily
Jarvis must have picked up his meaning in his waving hands and stunted words.
“Rather like a wounded mouse that can hear the cat but can’t see it?”
“Yes!”
Jarvis frowned and smoothed out an imaginary crease on his pants before
answering, his words obviously carefully chosen.
“I am not one to cast dispersions on others, sir, but yes. Mister Stane has
always made me a bit uncomfortable personally. I do not care for the way he
acts around Mister Stark or young Anthony at times, but it is not my place to
judge or speak up about it.”
Steve sighed at the knowledge he wasn’t alone in his feeling and nodded. He
leaned forward, about the question the man more when the door to the room swung
open to reveal Howard and Obadiah in the doorway.
“Steve, there you are! I’ve been looking for you.” Howard paused, eyes touching
on Jarvis who was smoothly climbing to his feet.
“Is everything alright?”
“Quite, sir. Mister Steve was merely asking for some advice on things I thought
young Anthony would enjoy doing on the vacation.”
Howard nodded, accepting the lie at face value and Steve sent up a small prayer
for Jarvis’ apparently awesome poker face. The man nodded to him once before
excusing himself and scooting from the room. Steve rose from the chair and met
Howard halfway across the room, smiling easily at him and carefully avoiding
catching Obadiah’s gaze.
“What’s going on?”
“Obi and I are going to head into work for a while to get everything settled
before we leave. Just wanted to let you know in case you came looking for me.”
Steve nodded and happily leaned down when Howard’s hands cupped his face and
pulled him in for a kiss. He twisted his head slightly and deepened it, sliding
his tongue over Howard’s in a defiant display of ownership, well aware of
Stane’s gaze as he did so. Howard pulled away with a chuckle and leaned forward
to whisper in his ear.
“Still frisky, huh?”
“Oh yeah, hurry home tonight and I’ll show you just how much.”
Howard shivered slightly as he pulled back and Steve internally whooped at the
darkening of his lover’s eyes. Yes, the insecurities and questions were still
there, and he’d discuss it all with Howard later tonight.
After he rode the man until he screamed.
“I actually want to talk to you about commissioning a painting, Steve. Though
I’ll save that talk for tonight.”
His head whipped up at Obadiah’s words to meet the man’s stare.
“W-what?”
“Hmmm? Oh, yeah, Obi’s going to come back for dinner since he didn’t get to
spend much time with Tony this morning. I need to let Marta know before we
leave, Obi, don’t let me forget. The last time I invited someone without
telling her I got salt in my morning coffee. Bitter woman… Speaking of bitter
people, please make sure neither of those two idiots running around ruin our
house while I’m gone, alright darling?”
Steve couldn’t help but smile at Howard’s scattered thoughts and nodded his
assent, mumbling vaguely about discussing the painting with Obadiah later. He
dropped one more kiss onto his lover’s cheek before bidding them both a
goodbye, gnashing his teeth at the companionable arm Obadiah threw over
Howard’s shoulders as they strode away.
The tendrils were starting to escape from that little black box again and Steve
firmly slammed the lid shut as he strode off to go save Bucky from Tony’s
clutches.
He wasn’t a simpering heroine in an old school romance who pined and lamented
her life while her sweetheart was stolen by another. No, Steve Rogers was a
scrappy little shit from Brooklyn who’d grown up learning how to fight for what
he wanted.
And what he wanted tonight was to make Howard Stark beg.
***** Insecure Steve and A New Friend *****
Chapter Summary
     Obadiah is the King of Creepers, Howard is actually pretty
     understanding, Steve has devious plans and makes a new friend after a
     break-down.
Chapter Notes
     This was originally not going to include Clint/Coulson who happen to
     be my favorite OTP, but they snuck in anyways. The smut will happen
     next chapter! And it may be a few days before said chapter, my muse
     is trying to straddle two stories at once and only being semi-
     successful. :/
By the time Howard texted him that he and Obadiah were on their way back for
dinner, it felt like they’d only been gone moments. In the time they were away
Steve had wrangled Tony and Bucky into sitting down and actually discussing
what they wanted to do on vacation (ignoring Tony’s half-hearted protests that
Maria hadn’t gotten back with him yet and the vacation wasn’t a sure thing),
figured out how to charter the StarkJet, and found time to slip off to his room
to ready Howard’s surprise for the night.
After seeing Bucky off with the promise the man would be back bright and early
tomorrow so they could fly out, Steve parted ways with Tony, who mumbled
something about calling a friend, and made his way back to the sunroom.
He laid down on a lounge placed in the fading sunlight of the day, fighting
back a shiver as the plug inside him shifted and his muscles stretched in
response. God, he couldn’t wait to get Howard alone. It was amazingly hot to
see the billionaire’s pupils blow wide when he finally figured out Steve was
plugged and ready for him, and it always pushed him that much closer to the
edge.
One day, Steve was going to find out exactly what it took to make Howard Stark
snap and he was going to enjoy that day immensely.
He bit his lip and guiltily ran his hands from his chest down to his thighs,
arching up into them as he did. The touch only served to wind the coil of
desire in his stomach tighter and he was momentarily happy he’d chosen to slip
on a cock ring while he was preparing himself, otherwise he’d be walking around
with a perpetual hard-on, and that tended to scare most people.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t still sensitive to touch, and Steve hissed as he
cupped himself through the jeans he’d changed into after breakfast. They were
Howard’s favorite, paint stained, ripped in both knees, and so often worn the
material clung to his ass in a way even Steve had to admit was delicious. Steve
planted his bare feet on the lounge and brought his hips up, moaning low at how
the clench of his muscles felt around the plug.
“Well, well, well, what have we here?”
It was, Steve decided, very hard to simultaneously jump up off a lounge chair,
back away, and still look like you hadn’t been caught doing something wrong.
Obadiah leered at him from where he leaned in the doorway, running his eyes
over Steve’s body in a way that sent chills down the younger man’s spine, and
he barely resisted the urge to shudder.
“Please, by all means, don’t stop on my account.”
Steve shook his head and squared his shoulders, glaring at the man. This was a
man who was a potential threat to his step-son, a potential threat to his
husband and Steve wouldn’t be cowed.
“I don’t think that’s particularly appropriate, do you, Mister Stane?”
“Obadiah, please. And it’s a completely natural act, no reason to be ashamed of
it. Though, if you need to do that in your spare time, maybe Howard wasn’t such
a great choice for you. I’d hate for you to go looking elsewhere when your
wrists get bored and break the man’s heart.”
The glint in Obadiah’s gaze told Steve just how much he’d hate that and Steve
gritted his teeth at the insult. Regardless, Steve knew how to play these
games; he’d seen Howard play them enough at fancy parties. The trick was to
keep it polite, even if you openly hated the other person. See who could keep
up the illusion longer.
“Howard keeps me plenty satisfied, if you must know. I don’t have any
complaints in that area, not that it’s any of your business Mister Stane.”
Obadiah’s grin made something inside Steve’s chest clench tight, and the man’s
low rolling laugh didn’t help matters.
“Oh, I’m well aware of just how satisfying Howard Stark can be.”
Steve instantly thought back to the conversation he’d had with Jarvis and felt
his heart stutter in his chest. Had the older man been wrong? Had Howard and
Obadiah actually been lovers when they were younger?
“There you two are! Marta says dinner will be ready in ten which is a very
polite way of saying you will be here in ten minutes to eat, or you will eat
the silverware.”
Obadiah turned with a blinding grin as Howard’s footsteps echoed through the
hall. The man appeared in the doorway beside Stane, who clapped a hand on his
shoulder and offered Steve one last smirk before disappearing. Howard strode
into the room, grinning at Steve and reaching up to pull him down into a kiss.
Steve allowed their lips to brush only slightly before pulling away, feeling
the ball of ice that has taken residence where his heart once sat melting a bit
at the confused look in Howard’s eyes.
“Darling, is everything okay? Did Tony say something today?”
Steve shook his head mutely and crossed the room, glancing to make sure the
hall was empty before closing the door and leaning against it. Howard had
turned with him and stood with his hands on his hips, looking like he was ready
to hunt down and kill whatever had displeased Steve.
God, if he only knew…
“I’m going to ask you something and I want you to be one hundred percent honest
with me, Howard. The answer doesn’t matter so much as the honesty does.”
Howard nodded sharply at the lifeless tone Steve had, brows furrowing as his
arms crossed. Steve swallowed sharply at the position and reminded himself it
was Howard’s natural defense mechanism to stand that way when a conversation
became serious and it didn’t indicate anything.
He steadfastly ignored the venomous voice that hissed that it did.
“Were you and Obadiah lovers?”
Howard blinked and Steve’s heart fell for a moment before the other man shook
his head.
“No, God no, Steve, where in the world would you even get an idea like that?”
He shrugged and mumbled what Obadiah had told him, cheeks flushing at Howard’s
bark of laughter.
“Steve, darling, we shared a room together at a co-ed boarding school. I had
girls in and out of there all the time, that’s probably what he was referring
to. Besides, ask any of Obi’s four ex-wives, they’ll tell you he’s extremely
straight.”
Howard crossed the room and took Steve’s cheeks in his hands, pressing a gentle
kiss to his mouth to punctuate his last words.
“Besides, even if he was, my tastes run to young blonde artists, not balding
cranky businessmen.”
Steve felt like an ass as Howard tried to sooth his fears and buried his head
in Howard’s shoulder, whispering that he shouldn’t have even asked.
Howard walked them both backwards until he was seated on the same lounge Steve
had laid on, settling Steve between his thighs. As Steve curled his legs under
him the plug shifted, sending dual waves of heat and shame through him.
God, would Howard even want to fuck him after this debacle?
“Hey, sweetheart, look at me.”
Steve brought his eyes up slowly, locking them on the way Howard had taken his
hand and was rubbing slowly over Steve’s wedding ring before continuing,
eventually meeting the older man’s gaze. Howard’s eyes were impossibly soft as
he carded a gentle hand through Steve’s hair, nails tracing slow patterns from
the front to the back of his skull.
“What’s really going on, Steve?”
Howard’s soft tone opened the floodgates and he blurted out everything; his
fears about not being good enough for Howard, fears about Tony hating him,
fears about this vacation being the worst thing in the world and them growing
apart for it.
He realized halfway through his rant that tears of frustration were streaking
down his cheeks and in response buried his face in the soft weave of Howard’s
pants, clutching at the man’s hand and his pants hem. The whole time Howard
simply kept up his strokes on Steve’s hair and his ring, softly whispering that
he loved him and that he was always going to be good enough. That Tony already
liked him more than he ever had Howard, and that this vacation was going to be
the best he’d ever had because he was going with Steve.
Steve’s sobs eventually died off but he kept his face buried, unable to look at
his lover after the spectacle he’d made of himself. Howard wasn’t having it
though and took the hand that been stroking his hair and lifted his head with
two gentle fingers under his chin. Steve took both hands and scrubbed roughly
at his face, trying to wipe away all the traces of tears on his cheeks.
Howard waited patiently until he was done before cupping his face and kissing
him gently, their tongue’s tangling in a lazily affectionate way, not a heated
one. He drew back and wiped away a stray tear from the arch of Steve’s jaw, his
face shifting from concerned to determined.
“Darling, do you remember the friend I used to talk about? The one who I met
during the Special Ops work?”
Steve thought back and nodded. When their relationship had begun, and Howard
did something that Steve thought he’d never think of, he’d pestered the man
into finally admitting he was getting his ideas from an old friend he’d met
during his time making weapons for Special Ops troops. He’d said the man was in
a similar situation to them, his lover being very much younger than him as
well, and gave great advice on how to bridge that gap. Howard hadn’t told him
much else, Steve got the feeling he wasn’t really allowed to, but the memory
had stuck.
“Yeah, what about him?”
“He told me once that if you ever felt like this, were ever struggling with
this, that you could call anytime and he was sure his lover would be more than
happy to talk to you. Steve, honey, if I’d have known you were feeling like
this, I’d have offered much sooner, but you always seemed to have it so
together.”
Steve nodded in understanding and shifted into a more comfortable position
between Howard’s legs, ignoring the pleasurable ache and pull aside from a
stray thought that Howard was going to be able to fuck him as hard as he wanted
tonight after all the stretching he was doing.
“I guess it all just hit me when I met Tony how in over my head I was. And then
the thing with Obadiah…I’m sorry Howard.”
“No, no sweet boy, no,” Howard kissed his forehead softly. “I’m the one who
should be sorry. I should have offered it to begin with; I should have asked
how you would feel about
Tony coming here. I assumed and it was a mistake and I’m sorry.”
Steve grinned up at the man, suddenly struck by the thought that wouldn’t Wall
Street like to see Howard Stark as he was now, humble and apologetic and still
holding Steve’s hand.
“I’d…I think I’d like to talk with him, if that’s alright?”
Howard nodded and pulled out his phone, hips twisting in a particularly
interesting way as he dug in his pocket for it. Steve licked his lips, laughing
at the arched brow Howard shot him as he pressed a few buttons on the screen.
“I pulled up his contact information; all you have to do is hit call. Just tell
him who you are, he’ll understand. I can’t promise he’ll be in our time zone
but he said anytime, and he owes me.”
Steve nodded as Howard dropped the phone into his hands, giving him one last
kiss before shooing him out of the room, telling him to go make excuses for
their absence and promise Marta he’d be down shortly.
He climbed to his feet and paced the room for a minute, glancing at the screen
as he did. Unlike the rest of Howard’s contacts that had a photo linked to them
and their full name, this contact card simply read Chicago and in place of a
picture had the infamous Ranger symbol. He finally made up his mind and hit the
call button, bringing the phone to his ear as he pushed open the doors to the
private garden, wandering out and looking around at the beauty that was the
sculptures and plants in the fading light.
A click sounded through the line and then, “Stark?”
The voice sounded rough, like he’d pulled someone out of their sleep, and Steve
winced before replying.
“Um, no, actually this is Steve, Howard’s husband? He said that I could call
and talk to-“
“Oh, yes, I remember. One minute, if you please, Steve.”
The way the voice immediately went from sleep-roughened to completely awake and
distantly polite had Steve blinking, dumbfounded as small noises emanated from
the speaker, indicative of someone moving around, before a whispered
conversation. The phone stopped moving and another voice came through, this one
tinged with a slight Midwestern accent and garbled like the man was trying to
speak with a mouthful.
“Yellur?”
“Um, hi? This is Steve, um, Steve Stark? Howard-“
“Stark’s husband, yeah, how ya doin’?”
Whatever had been in the man’s mouth was suddenly gone and the clink of dishes
in the background made Steve think he’d caught the man at the tail end of a
meal. Damn, his timing was sucking all around today.
“Good, um, if I’m interrupting I can-“
“Naw, you’re fine. Just finishing up breakfast. What’s goin’ on?”
Breakfast? Where in the world were these two?
“Well, Howard said I could call if I ever needed someone to talk to so…”
“Yeh, not a problem. Are you insecure because he could do better or insecure
that he has done better?”
Steve blinked at the insight. It was startling to hear his own fears and
insecurities drawled back at him through the phone.
“Ah, both, I guess.”
“Alright, answer this, how’s your sex life?”
Steve felt his cheeks flush once again and reminded himself there had to be a
reason behind it. He didn’t particularly want to discuss his private life with
a complete stranger, but
Howard trusted this man’s partner, and that said a lot.
“It’s…well, it’s really good. Fantastic. Every day usually.”
“Well lookit you, lucky bastard.” He could hear the man’s grin through the
phone and couldn’t help but grin back. This man, whoever he was, was incredibly
easy going, and Steve thought if they’d ever met, they’d probably get along
swell.
“Alright then, so it’s time for the lightning round. I’ll ask the questions,
you answer immediately, alright?”
“A-Alright, fair enough.”
“Who does he come home to every day?”
“Me.”
“Whose name is he screaming out when he comes?”
“M-Mine.”
“Who’s got the ring, his last name, and access to all his shit?”
“I do.”
“Aaaaand for our final question, who does he love more than anyone else in the
world?”
“Me.”
Steve blinked at the last question and the answer that had slipped so easily
from his lips. He…oh God, he was a moron. He let out a short, slightly
hysterical laugh.
“I-Oh, wow, I can’t believe how easy that was.”
“Being in a relationship with someone older ain’t always simple, but it is
actually pretty easy. You just gotta remind yourself they love you a little
more frequently. As Dr. Phil as it sounds, key to a happy relationship is
opening your trap once in a while and tellin’ the other person what you’re
feeling, or thinking. Well that and, y’know...”
“I know?” Steve was honestly curious and he’d take every scrap he could from
the man who seemed to know it all.
The man chuckled and Steve heard rustling and creaking like he’d laid himself
down in bed.
“Be able to suck the chrome off an exhaust pipe.”
Oh, sweet Lord.
Steve’s face, he was sure, resembled a tomato and the squeak he let out had the
other man bursting into laughter. There was a slight scuffle and then the man
who’d answered the phone came back on the line.
“Everything alright now, son?”
“Yes, sir, thank you.”
The low, collected voice made everything snap into place and Steve realized the
Ranger symbol wasn’t because Howard had met him during the assignment. This
guy…this guy was, or used to be, a real life Ranger.
“Don’t be afraid to call back if you need something else. And a word of advice
from the other end of the relationship; we get just as insecure as you do.
Stark may not show it as easily, but he’s gone through exactly what you are.
Just remember that when it seems like he’s off.”
Steve nodded before realizing the man couldn’t actually see him, thanking him
profusely. They said their goodbyes and right before Steve hung up it occurred
to him he’d just asked a complete stranger for relationship advice.
“Wait, wait, wait!”
“Hmm?”
“What, uh, what’s his name? Your partner’s, I mean.”
The phone was passed over and that same lazy drawl came into the speaker.
“Clint. Name’s Clint.”
“Well, Clint, thank you again.”
“No problem Steve, like he said, I’m here to please. And if you’ll excuse me
I’m going to do just that.”
The line went dead before Steve could process exactly what he’d meant, but when
he figured it out he resisted the urge to bang his forehead into the screen.
On second thought, if he ever did meet the man, he’d probably be too busy
trying to cool his cheeks off to even speak up.
***** How To Satisfy The Man Who Has Everything *****
Chapter Summary
     Dinner is finally a quiet affair, Obadiah is still a creepy mother,
     and Steve's plan blows Howard's mind.
Chapter Notes
     This chapter contains...er, I'm not exactly sure how to phrase it.
     Consensual insults during sex? Sure, let's go with that. And
     gratuitous use of the f-word, in all it's forms. Enjoy the smut!
     Hopefully it makes up for last chapter's lack :D
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Dinner was, thankfully, much less combative this time, Tony too caught up
quizzing Steve about Bucky and Howard discussing business with Obadiah to
really talk to each other enough to bring about a fight. Something told Steve
that Howard had let Marta know what was going on because instead of glares and
harsh words he got a gentle kiss on the cheek as she bustled out to let
everyone know dessert would be served in 15.
Obadiah leaned back and patted his stomach, huffing as he did.
“Dessert? Good god, Marta, marry me.”
“Flattering, Mister Stane, but I have no interest in being ex-wife number 5.”
He grinned at her words as Tony and Howard chuckled, watching her stride back
into the kitchen, the swinging of the door letting the smell of warm apple and
cinnamon into the room. Steve sniffed appreciatively, regretting his actions
quickly when it brought Obadiah’s attention back to him. The man sat forward
once again, taking a sip from his tumbler and gesturing to Steve with an
extended finger.
“So, the commission I was asking about.”
“Wait, what? Commission?” Tony’s head lifted from where he’d been texting on
his phone. Steve could see he’d somehow wrangled Bucky’s number from him but he
couldn’t see the conversation and merely hoped Bucky wasn’t being too hard on
the kid. Steve remembered what it was like to be 16 and have a crush.
“Yes, Tony, Steve’s an artist.”
“Really?” Tony’s head swiveled towards him.
Steve nodded and took a sip from his drink.
“That’s actually how your dad and I met, at an art opening.”
“Best night-I-wasn’t-looking-forward-to ever.”
Howard shot him a wink and a salute with his wineglass, and Steve grinned. He’d
been surreptitiously pushing Howard more towards the wine than the scotch
tonight, knowing that wine made him more desperate and sensitive in the
bedroom. It would appear his plan was working.
He turned his attention back to Obadiah reluctantly, pasting on a smile as
Tony’s phone beeped and his attention was instantly gone from the conversation
they’d been having.
“Yes, what were you thinking?”
“Something for my office, one of the secretaries mentioned off-hand that the
walls could use a little color and I realized she’s right. So, of course, I
went snooping to see what
Howard had and he’s got the most gorgeous view of NYC at night with your name
in the corner.”
Steve couldn’t help but grin with pride at that. Howard buying that painting
had been the catalyst for their first conversation, Steve apprehensively
walking over to the billionaire to thank him after he’d been told it had sold.
Of course, once Howard saw him the conversation shifted from the generic
“you’re welcome, it’s a nice piece” to “what are you doing later? I have a
fantastic idea that involves you, me, and a very nice restaurant down the
street.”
“You can’t have something like that. That’s mine and Steve’s thing. Pick
another landscape.”
Howard winked at Steve again over the rim of his glass, as Obadiah laughed,
knocking a friendly hand against Howard’s shoulder.
“Don’t monopolize the artist, Howard. You’ll stifle his creativity! So, Steve,
what do you say?”
He propped his chin on his fist and thought for a moment. Art was his way of
expressing himself, putting his emotions and thoughts down onto canvas or
paper, saving them as memories he could share with others and let their own
feelings and memories sink into the piece. Staring at Obadiah, he realized that
he could use this as another way to express how he felt to the man.
“Of course, yeah, anything for a friend of Howard’s. I’m thinking a winter
scene, maybe of a cabin during Christmastime? Something that inspires feelings
of warmth and home.”
To remind Obadiah he didn’t have that warmth, and was the one standing out in
the cold.
“Hey, there you go Obi, now when you’re tearing down the competition, they’ll
feel like they’re back with mom!”
Everyone laughed at Tony’s smart remark, Obadiah barely getting out that the
idea sounded perfect before the couple of people who helped with serving came
in with plates full of what looked like Howard’s choice dessert.
“Ah! Marta, you fantastic woman, is that the apple betty with-“
“Almond cream, yes, I thought Tony might enjoy getting his favorite dessert
tonight since last night I’m told you didn’t really get to that portion of the
evening.”
It was amazing how two men who were so very confidant and sure of themselves
could wither under the glare of an unassuming woman in a bright pink apron.
Steve took note that the dessert was a favorite of Tony’s too; saving the
information for the next time Howard claimed they had nothing in common. He
thanked the man who put it in front of him, clearing away his other plates with
a nod and a polite smile. Inhaling the sweet smell of baked apples and fresh
cinnamon, he opened his eyes to see the others doing the same.
Well, Obadiah and Howard were, Tony was, it appeared, attempting to fit half
the bowl in his mouth at once.
“Tony, Jesus, manners.”
Howard’s tone was not quite as sharp as it had been the night before, and Tony
merely grunted into his bowl, chewing the frankly impressive amount he’d
managed to cram into his face. Marta simply rolled her eyes and strode around
the table to plant a kiss on the back of his head, saying her goodbyes and
insisting Jarvis walk her to the door. Marta always got Saturday nights off,
Howard had told him, because she had volunteered at her church on Sunday
mornings and the one time she’d stayed over Howard had walked into the kitchen
at 4 am to see cookies for the Sunday school children covering every flat
surface he owned.
It wasn’t the cookies themselves that had bothered Howard; it was the repeated
smacks he got on the back of his hands when he kept trying to thieve some.
Tony swallowed hard, letting out a tiny gasp and reaching for the milk they’d
been brought with the dish, gulping like his life depended on it.
“Tony!”
Howard’s snap made Tony pull the glass from his lips and by the look in his
eyes Steve knew he had to move quickly to avoid another fiasco like last night.
He grabbed for his own drink, nonchalantly letting his fork come down into the
empty spot in his bowl with a soft clang, bringing Howard’s eyes to him for a
moment. Deliberately tilting his glass too far back, he pulled it away and
curled a slow tongue over the milk staining his upper lip, mentally cheering at
the way Howard’s pupils widened.
Just like that, his focus was off Tony and Steve gave himself a pat on the back
for successfully avoiding another argument. If he could just keep this up a
while longer, maybe their urge to fight constantly would just eventually
disappear.
He turned his head to make sure Tony had dropped it too and froze when he
realized that in drawing Howard’s attention he’d also drawn Obadiah’s, whose
gaze lingered on his lips. Steve shook off a shudder and brought his napkin to
his mouth, cleaning off the lingering wetness. Out of the corner of his eye he
saw Tony slip his phone into his pocket, pushing away from the table and
standing.
“Well, I’m gonna head to bed, pack up and everything. Night, Obi, guys.”
They said their goodnights in return, Steve shooting Howard a meaningful look
at Tony’s broad inclusion. He scowled in response and drank deeply from his
wine, setting his fork down in the almost empty bowl. The air thickened between
the three, unbeknownst to Howard who looked to be merely enjoying the feeling
of being full and comfortable.
“Wellllll, we better be getting to bed too, sweetheart. We’ve got just as much
packing to do as Tony, and we won’t have much time to do it in the morning.”
Howard nodded and was readying himself to stand when Obadiah cleared his
throat, speaking up suddenly.
“Actually, Steve, you won’t mind if I borrow Howard for a few more moments,
right? I’ve got just a couple more tiny things I’d like to go over with him,
you know, to avoid having to interrupt your vacation.”
No, Steve wanted to shout and stomp his foot, you can’t have my husband for any
longer!
But he wanted an uninterrupted vacation more than he wanted to thwart Obadiah
and he grinned tightly with a short nod, dropping a possessive kiss onto
Howard’s smiling mouth and striding away, calling his goodbyes over his
shoulder.
He made his way to their shared room and decided packing could wait until after
he and Howard got their alone time in. Instead, he strode into the bathroom and
turned on the water, watching it spill into the massive tub before
straightening and rolling his neck to alleviate the tension gathered there.
Steve tossed in one of the foaming bubble bath balls Bucky had bought him as a
joke for his ‘bachelorette party’, which consisted of Bucky and some of their
college friends buying the stereotypical girl things for Steve and drinking
until they could no longer look at them without bursting into laughter.
He hit the button on the side to turn on the Jacuzzi jets and laughed at the
foam that immediately started bubbling up, an obnoxious pink color that he’d
been saving to use last. Steve was sure Bucky hadn’t thought he’d actually use
the things they’d bought for him, but some things, like the bubble bath and the
candles Morita had tossed at him for ‘mood lighting’ actually came in handy
some nights.
Steve began stripping out of his clothes, moaning at the stretch he’d been
ignoring up until now. That was the unfortunate part of Doctor Erskine’s tests.
Steve had a rapid healing factor that made it less scary to work with X-Acto
blades, but it also made it impossible for him to stretch himself completely,
as his muscles would re-tense after a while. Luckily, Steve liked a bit of pain
during sex, or they wouldn’t be able to go at it as hard as they did sometimes.
He reached down and slipped off the cock ring, hissing at the way his cock
immediately filled and rose, halfway to rock hard just from the pressure of the
plug inside him. Steve hid it in a drawer before carefully stepping into the
tub, moaning when he settled and the jets of water seemed to hit right on every
ball of tension he had, releasing them slowly.
“Now that is one pretty sound.”
Steve looked up quickly at Howard’s drawl and smiled at the man lounging
against the door frame, arms and legs crossed loosely, his shoulder holding his
body at an angle. He crooked a finger at his lover, silently urging him to join
him. Howard pushed off from the doorway and immediately began to strip off his
clothes, tossing them into the chute that led to the laundry. He strode over to
the tub once he was stripped bare and waved a hand at Steve, who complied and
slid forward so Howard could settle himself behind him. He leaned back once the
man was settled, laughing at the slide of their slick skin and the press of
Howard’s partial erection into his lower back.
Howard pressed a kiss to the back of his neck and Steve shivered, half tempted
to just turn and beg the man to fuck him. But he had a plan and he wanted
tonight to go perfect, to make up for his break-down earlier.
When Howard and Steve had first gotten together they’d talked in depth about
any fantasies they had, laying out boundaries and what they were and were not
okay with. Howard had revealed, one late night in the smoking room while Steve
curled up between his legs, stealing sips from his brandy, that his fantasy was
his lover just using him for their own pleasure. He’d explained that he was
always the one to get his lover off, had been told his whole life he was
fantastic in bed and his lovers were never left wanting. But, he’d confided, he
wanted someone to flat out tell him he sucked and the only way they were going
to get off is if he just laid there and let them use him how they pleased.
Steve had been waiting for the right moment to fulfill the fantasy, not wanting
to waste it on something trivial or cliché, like doing it after an argument or
just on a random night.
He twisted in the man’s arms, rubbing against him more than was technically
necessary for the motion, and kissed him, letting Howard take control of the
kiss for the moment. Steve pulled back after a while, nudging their noses
together and breathing out the question that would change the quiet atmosphere
he’d so carefully set up.
“Safeword?”
Howard yanked back slightly, one brow arched up in question. Steve kept his
face neutral, meeting his lover’s eyes and matching the brow raise with one of
his own. Howard smirked and pursed his lips in an ‘alright, fine’ gesture,
eyebrows bobbing with the motion.
“Fondue.”
Steve nodded and pulled him into another kiss, waiting patiently for Howard to
take control once again before planting a hand on the man’s chest and pulling
back, twisting his features into a scowl of disgust.
“God, you suck at kissing, you know that?”
Howard’s eyes widened for a moment before Steve saw the light bulb go off over
his head, arousal glinting in his eyes as he frowned at him.
“I’m sorry?”
“You should be,” Steve scoffed, pulling away further and crossing his arms.
“You know, when I got into a relationship with you I figured, what the hell,
right? With age comes experience. But you really haven’t learned shit have you?
I mean, it’s like trying to screw a virgin.”
Howard’s eye darkened and Steve internally cheered. He wasn’t aiming for this
to become too charged, he wanted to still be able to cuddle with the man
afterwards, but if Howard just passively went along it wouldn’t feel right.
“I’ve never had any complaints before.”
Steve rolled his eyes and poked a finger in the middle of Howard’s chest,
fighting the grin that threatened to spread at the brush of hair. God, he loved
that Howard had hair on him. Not a lot but enough to prove he was a man of age
and distinction.
“Well it’s certainly not me because I’ve always been able to cum before. But
with you? I’ve got a better chance at getting off if you lay there and just let
me fuck myself on your cock than if you were to actually try.”
Howard spread his arms wide, glaring at Steve despite the fact that his pupils
were huge and his cock was rock hard against Steve’s thigh.
“Have at it, kid. Just don’t start begging me when you can’t get yourself off.”
Steve glared and stood in a rush of water, stepping out in a deliberate wide
spread of his legs so Howard could glimpse the base of the plug. The low choked
off sound his lover emitted told him he’d been successful and he toweled off
quickly, striding into the bedroom and standing at the base of the bed.
“Get in here; I’m not gonna fuck you in the tub.”
He heard Howard’s grunt and the splash of water as the man complied with
Steve’s shouted order, looking over when he strode into the room. Steve
swallowed at the bounce of Howard’s thick cock as he strode towards him, almost
breaking character as his mouth watered to taste it. He locked his knees and
shook the thoughts off, telling himself that this was about Howard not him.
Steve snapped his fingers impatiently and whirled his finger in a hurry-up
motion.
“Come on, I don’t have all day. God, this is almost as bad as you fumbling
through foreplay.”
Howard glared at him and stomped the remaining few feet between them, stopping
inches from Steve so the tip of his cock bumped Howard’s stomach, sending
lighting up his spine at the contact. The glint was still in his eyes and his
cock was still rock hard so Steve knew this was working out perfectly.
He reached up and bunched a hand in Howard’s slick hair, grasping hard enough
that his lover would feel it but that it wouldn’t hurt.
“Standing there glaring at me isn’t doing shit to get me off. Let’s see if
fucking your throat can get me there.”
Howard dropped immediately, more fluidly than most his age would be able to,
and Steve kept his grip as his lover sucked in the head of his dick, hand
grasping the base to steady it. He bit back a moan at the hot, tight pressure
of Howard’s mouth and gritted his teeth to stave off the need to buck until
he’d set up a way out for Howard.
“Here,” he sneered, ripping away the hand Howard had wrapped around him and
placing it on his thigh.
“You can squeeze if it’s too much for your delicate throat.”
Howard nodded sharply and Steve took that as permission, bringing his other
hand up and shifting his grip so he had a hold on either side of Howard’s head
before thrusting forward harshly. Howard’s throat tightened for a split second
around him before he blew a gust of air out of his nose and relaxed it. Steve
set a brutal pace, keeping his hips still and using his grip on Howard’s head
to fuck into his lover’s willing throat. Howard took everything Steve gave;
careful to keep a loose grip on his thigh so it wouldn’t stop.
By the time Steve felt himself getting close, Howard’s eyes were glistening
with liquid and he had reached his free hand down to fist himself in time with
Steve’s thrusts. He yanked his cock free from the man’s mouth, shuddering at
the gasp Howard let out as he used the grip on Steve’s thigh to steady himself.
Using the fists still clenched down he tilted Howard’s head up, loving the
sharp bob of his lover’s Adam’s apple as he swallowed hard.
“Ridiculous. You can’t even blow me right and I was doing all the damn work.
Plus, you were fucking your own hand. This isn’t about you, for once in your
goddamn life. Get on the bed.”
Howard stood and quickly moved, sprawling on his back, his dick so hard it damn
near stood straight. Steve straddled the tops of his thighs and guided Howard’s
hand down until
it brushed the base of the plug. As expected, Howard groaned and bucked up
against him at the motion, eyes fluttering as he felt around it gently.
“See? You’re so lousy I’ve got to buy shit to keep me feeling good.”
Howard’s eyes popped open and his glare made Steve think he’d crossed the line,
but what came out of his mouth certainly wasn’t the safeword.
“A toy can’t match up to a real cock.”
“Hell of a lot better than wasting my time trying to get an orgasm with you.”
“If you want one so fucking badly, then stop talking and do something.”
Steve gritted his teeth at the condescension in his tone. Somewhere along the
lines, he’d fallen completely into the role he was supposed to be playing, as
had Howard. Reaching over to the bedside table he fished out a plain container
of lube and tossed it at Howard, who caught it just before it hit his chest.
“Slick your cock, this is gonna be shitty enough without trying to do it raw.”
Howard complied, pouring a fair amount into his hand and sliding his fist up
and down his cock. Steve reached back and gently eased the plug out, whimpering
when the last bit slid free, before placing it out of the way to the side. He
knocked Howard’s hand away and moved up, gripping the base of the thick cock
and, with a prayer he really had stretched as much as he thought, lined it up
and let his body drop.
Their mingled shouts as Howard slid balls deep in one go echoed around the room
and Steve braced himself on his thighs, breathing heavily at the sudden
feeling. Howard’s fists were white-knuckled in the comforter, his chest heaving
up and down. He opened his eyes and locked them with Steve’s, desperation
shining in them. Steve nodded mutely and started to move his body up and down,
whimpering on every downstroke as Howard’s cock brushed his prostate. He
planted his hands on Howard’s chest and used it as leverage to bounce more
furiously, rolling his hips on the way down to make sure the head of his
lover’s cock hit his prostate dead on every time.
“Fuck, fuck, yeah. God, this is the only damn thing you’re good for, being a
fucking dildo to help get someone off. Yeah, yeah, I’m gonna cum. Howard, fuck,
fucking jack me, c’mon.”
Howard groaned and reached up to wrap a hand around Steve’s cock. Within a few
strokes Steve was screaming through his teeth, slamming himself down on Howard
and spurting cum all over his lover’s chest. Howard braced his feet and used
the bed to flip them, Steve landing hard on his back as aftershocks still
worked their way through him. He palmed the undersides of Steve’s thighs and
shoved his legs wide, somehow still inside him after the movement, pounding
into him like a man possessed, mouth spilling filth into the heated air between
them.
“Fucking hell, baby doll, you have no idea how hot it was watching you use my
dick to get yourself off. Feeling your cock down my throat. If I’d have known
you were plugged I’d have bent you over the damn table and gotten my dick in
you right then and there. You’re fucking perfect Steve, goddamnit, I’m going to
cum so hard.”
Steve writhed as every hard thrust sent shivers through him, Howard’s cock
feeling thick as his forearm to his sensitive flesh.
“Yes! Yes, Howard, please, cum inside me. I want to be fucked loose and filled
with your cum. Please, c’mon, fill me up.”
Howard slammed in twice more, so hard Steve felt the impact rattle his back
teeth before stiffening and moaning out Steve’s name, his nails biting into
Steve’s flesh as he gripped hard. Steve reached up and tugged his lover to lie
flat on his chest, Howard’s forehead falling onto the top of his shoulder and
his breath brushing his collarbone. He smiled at the way Howard kept their
chests separate, trying to not get Steve all dirty too. After a few moments
Howard slowly drew back, both of them whining at the feel of him pulling free.
Once he was out he guided Steve’s legs to the bed as Steve clenched his
muscles, trying to keep his lover’s cum inside him. Howard’s eyes darkened as
he looked down and brushed a finger over Steve’s swollen hole, smirking at the
whine Steve couldn’t choke back.
“I’ve got so much I want to do on this vacation baby. Want to take a whole day
to just keep fucking you, spilling more and more of my cum inside you, and
plugging you. Keeping it there like I’m gonna knock you up. Want to dress you
up all jazzy, Big Daddy’s little slut, and come all over your pretty face. And
I want to fill you up and then suck my cum out of you. Want you to cum knowing
that I’m licking you open and tasting me.”
Steve whimpered and nodded along. He was okay with that, he was okay with all
of that.
Jesus, was he ever okay with it.
But there was aftercare to every scenario and he pushed gently at Howard until
the man moved, standing and keeping his muscles tight as he turned to face his
lover who’d shifted to the edge of the bed. He leaned down and pressed a gentle
kiss to his mouth, pulling back to press their foreheads together.
“You know all that stuff I said was just for fun, right? You’re the most
amazing thing I’ve ever had, Howard.”
His lover grinned up at him and pulled him in for another kiss.
“Of course I do,” he said once they’d separated for air. “And you’re the most
amazing thing I’ve ever had, darling boy. And I’ll always have you, only you.”
Steve grinned at the sudden wave of happiness that flowed through him at the
words, straightening and shifting his stance absently. He gasped as a trickle
of Howard’s cum slid free at the motion, tightening his muscles once again. It
had been enough to catch Howard’s interest however, and his lover reached
through his legs, blindly zeroing in on where the cum had slid down onto his
thigh and scooping it up onto one finger. He drew his hand back and neatly
licked it off, grinning darkly at Steve, who shuddered at the action.
“Alright, alright,” Steve started, pulling Howard to his feet and walking
towards the bathroom.
“No more, we still need to clean off and pack and if I let you have your way we
won’t get anything done tonight!”
Howard’s laughter echoed in the enclosed space as Steve leaned over to re-fill
the tub Howard must’ve had enough mind to pull the drain of before he’d climbed
out. He grinned over his shoulder at the man lounging against the bathroom
counter, watching him with hooded eyes.
God, he was one lucky, lucky boy. And he was going to spend this vacation
proving that he knew that. But Howard was mistaken if he thought the trip was
going to be all about them fucking on every surface in the beach house.
“You realize our plans are all well and good and we can definitely do them, but
you do still have to bond with Tony right?”
Howard groaned and dropped his head into his hands, muttering how he hated
Steve as Steve turned to pat his head condescendingly.
Oh yes, this vacation was going to be amazing.
Chapter End Notes
     The next chapter will be Tony's POV, rewinding to what he was doing
     while Steve and Howie were getting down :)
***** Tony's Night In: A.K.A Bucky Barnes Has A Filthy Mouth *****
Chapter Summary
     Tony's POV from what he was up to when Steve and Howie were getting
     down. (Shout-out to Aikoss who gave me the fantastic bargain Bucky
     comes up with! :D)
Chapter Notes
     WARNING: CONTAINS ADMITTANCE OF PAST SEXUAL ABUSE FROM FAMILY
     MEMBERS. Brief, but it's there. If it's something that squicks you,
     skip all the italicized text messages part and you'll be good.
     Also: Bucky Barnes has a filthy mouth. Like...worse than Howard or
     Steve filthy. And Tony's not much better. This chapter contains talk,
     (though not actual actions) of consensual marking/face-slapping/
     extremely rough sex. If this is not your cup of tea, please feel free
     to skip over this one and we'll return to your regularly scheduled
     programming tomorrow :D
     Text messages=italicized :)
Tony whipped his door open and kicked it shut behind him, throwing himself
across his bed. He resisted the urge to squeal like a teenage girl at a boyband
concert when his phone went off with another beep, signaling a new message,
though he was sure the excitement levels were about equal.
Man, it had been hard as hell to get Bucky to give him his number, he’d had to
all but beg, but the man had finally given in. And what’s more, he was actually
responding to Tony! Without Tony having to send him ten texts first!
Rolling onto his back he opened the message, wondering what Bucky had said. He
normally never got so excited over talking to someone, but there was something
about the soldier that had caught Tony’s attention like a net.
Other than the fact that he was smokin’ hot.
He read off Bucky’s message aloud, seeing the computer screen light back up at
his voice, screen brightening as it went back from power-saving dimmed.
“At least you’re eating an actual meal. I got mac n cheese, hot dogs, n JD.”
“Sounds like a shitty meal for someone so rich.”
Tony frowned and flipped back over to look at his computer screen, where he’d
left the video chat he’d been having with Rhodey up to see the other man still
propped against the wall, papers spread around him on the bed.
“Not me, you ass. Bucky, Steve’s best friend. Why didn’t he just stay for
dinner? He was welcome to, I heard Steve offer it.”
Rhodey shrugged and continued to sort through the massive stack of papers while
Tony switched between glaring at his phone and at his friend. He and Rhodey
would often do this; just leave their video chats pulled up on the computers
while they both did other things. It was nice to be able to bounce ideas off
one another when they would have them, and since Rhodey was sequestered away in
a far off military base doing top secret stuff for the government, he needed
someone to talk to about something other than work.
Why didn’t u stay? Could have
Naw, ur dads friend gives me the heebs
Obi?! He’s harmless, swear
Hate to tell ya kid, he don’t look at u like hes harmless
Tony blinked at the last message. What…in the world could Bucky mean by that?
Sure, Obi was intense and stared Tony down but he always figured it was some
alpha male bullshit like the stuff his dad was always trying to pull.
Wat do u mean? Looks at me how?
Can’t explain it, take it from sum1 who knows, it’s not gr8
Wait, u think he wants to fuck me?! LMFAO! He’s my god-dad!
My Dad was blood. Didn’t stop him. Or my Uncle.
Tony froze, a ball of ice forming in his stomach at the plainly stated words.
Bucky was…he’d been…
It was impossible. The guy was ripped, completely confidant, and smart as hell,
and Tony had only spent a couple hours with him. There was no way someone like
that had been a victim.
But if he’d been a child, he was none of those things, an insidious voice
whispered to him.
And the lecture when he’d first gotten to MIT had taught him anyone can be a
victim, but it’s not their fault. Victims are blameless. Victims are the ones
who are shattered. He shook his head hard to clear the thoughts of Bucky having
the dead look in his eyes he’d seen some of the ‘victims’ in the PowerPoint
have and typed back with shaking hands.
I’m really sorry. That fucking blows.
It’s the past. I told you so u cud watch ur back. And so u realize Hwrd isn’t
as big a dick as sum
U don’t understand, he was a cold, callous. Didn’t ever tell me he loved me,
didn’t even tell me he liked me. He wasn’t the happy go lucky fuck he is now
U don’t understand kid. He changed n hes tryin. Ur the ass now.
Doesn’t make up for the past.
Jesus, let it go. He was a dick, u were a dick, ur even now
Tony was irrationally angry at Bucky’s flippant tone and he gritted his teeth,
hopping up to pace the length of his room, seeing Rhodey lean forward to look
into the camera at the sudden noise and movement.
“Who the hell does he think he is?! What, he thinks just because I want his
dick he gets to talk to me like that? Fuck him! He doesn’t know shit. I oughtta
call and give him hell. Y’know what, I’m gonna. I’m gonna call and ream his ass
out.”
“You do that buddy. I’ve gotta run these files up to Colonel Phillips anyways,
not that I want to hear you fight with some dude you apparently want to bang.
FYI, information I could’ve gone my whole life not knowing. Rhodey out.”
The video window blinked closed as Tony threw himself back on the bed on his
stomach, grabbing the hands-free off the side table with a stretch and shoving
it into his ear, hitting the button to call Bucky.
“’Lo?”
“Where do you get off?!”
“Mmmm, usually inside a warm, willing, legal adult. Why?”
“Oh, fuck you, Barnes. You’ve got no right telling me how to fucking feel about
Howard.”
“Oh for fucks sake, really? Really, kiddo, you’re gonna bitch me out like
you’re my girlfriend and I got you the wrong flowers for our anniversary?
Alright, listen to me-“
“No! Fuck that, I don’t have to listen to anyone-“
“SHUT UP!”
Tony blinked at Bucky’s yell, feeling his cheeks heat and, as strange as it
was, his cock thicken at the snarled words.
“Shut up and listen to me little boy. I’ve been inside that man’s labs, inside
his fucking cars, and you know what I can always find? A picture of a smug
little shit that looks an awful lot like you. So he was a shitty dad when you
were younger, are you young now? No. So put on your big girl panties, clean off
your mascara and stop whining because you look fat when you cry. I’d have
fucking killed someone in cold blood to have a dad who actually tries. Howard’s
a boozehound asshole, yeah, but he loves my best friend and so as much as I
hate him, I’m gonna protect him. Because if he’s upset, Steve’s upset.”
Tony couldn’t seem to close his mouth after Bucky’s rant, astonishment curling
through him. No one…no one had ever talked to him like that. He was Howard
Stark’s son, godddamnit. People bent over backwards for the chance to kiss his
ass!
But, a tiny voice that sounded an awful lot like Rhodey whispered, Bucky
doesn’t give a damn about that. You’re not Anthony Stark, prodigal son set to
inherit the Earth. You’re a young punk kid panting after his dick.
“Did I hurt your feelings princess?”
“God, I want you to fuck me.”
Tony groaned at the words that spilled from his lips, slamming his face into
his bedspread as Bucky’s laugh echoed through the phone.
“Direct, ain’t’cha? I already told you kid, I don’t screw twelve year olds.”
“I don’t see why it’s such a big fuckin’ deal. I’m a college graduate, I can
consent just fine. Besides, you wouldn’t be the first, not even close.”
Bucky’s growl made the hair on the back of Tony’s neck stand up and he blinked
at the wave of heat that spread from his stomach outwards.
“Should kill ‘em. Nobody should put their hands on a kid until he’s good and
damn legal.”
Tony flinched at the low threat hanging behind Bucky’s words. Perhaps this
wasn’t the best topic to argue with a man who’d just admitted he’d been
molested as a kid. But Tony couldn’t stop himself. It was like the one time
he’d had to get stitches. They hadn’t casted him and Jarvis had to drive him
back to the ER in the middle of the night to get them re-stitched because Tony
had pulled at them until they unraveled.
It was also better than discussing his dysfunctional relationship with his
pops.
“What if there wasn’t any touching?”
“…Y’lost me kid.”
“If you were here right now, what would you do to me?”
Bucky laughed harshly, inhaling in a way that made Tony realize he must be
smoking as they talked.
Jesus, that shouldn’t be as hot as it was.
“You want me to have phone sex with you? Kid, I just met you.”
“We’ll be spending the whole week together. We need to bond quickly anyways
right? Besides, people fuck after talking for five minutes. I think, in
comparison, we’re doing pretty good at taking it slow.”
Bucky hmm’ed thoughtfully and Tony held his breath. Was he really considering?
Fuck, he hoped so.
“Tell you what, bucko, I’ll make you a deal. I get you off, over the phone you
little punk, and tomorrow you go the whole day without picking a fight with
your pops.”
Tony whined and bit his lip, thinking over his options. It was hard to control
his temper around his dad, year of neglect and disregard pissing him off beyond
belief. But he wanted so badly to hear Bucky growl sin at him in that voice and
since his mom had sent him an email saying she hadn’t been able to find
anything and she would look tomorrow, he was stuck with them for at least the
beginning of the trip. So it’s not like he could promise it and duck out.
Decisions, decisions.
“I can’t promise I won’t fire back if he’s being an ass.”
“Not askin’ ya to. I’m askin’ you to not be a punk lil’ shit for one day.”
“Fuck, fine. I won’t pick fights with the old man tomorrow, alright?”
“Alright.”
Tony waited in the silence, kicking his feet back and forth impatiently. He
knew if he rushed the man he wasn’t going to get anywhere and certainly wasn’t
going to get off with him.
After a few moments of silence punctuated by Bucky’s inhales and exhales, Tony
was practically vibrating with need and took the leap.
Starks were not known for their patience.
“Well?!”
“Well what?”
He groaned and slammed his head against the mattress again, speaking with his
face mashed into the comforter.
“You’re supposed to be getting me off.”
“You really don’t have any patience do you, rich boy?”
“No!” Tony snapped, bringing his head up. “Not when I’m hard as a fucking rock
and someone won’t open his mouth and pay up.”
Bucky’s low laugh curled around his spine, sending shivers of pleasure through
the boy who shifted on the bed in response.
“Alright, alright. Jesus, kid. Can I preface by saying I don’t usually do
this?”
“What, phone sex? Apparently not.”
“No, you little ass. Getting off underage kids.”
Tony grinned slyly at the grumble. Bucky was one hell of a guy. So concerned
about Tony when others had shoved him down and screwed him without a thought to
his age. Warmth spread through him at the thought that someone actually gave a
damn and he shook his head. He could get addicted to the feeling of being cared
for.
“You’re so focused on my age, is that a kink for you? Make you hot and hard?”
“My kink isn’t little snot-nosed brats who need to be put over someone’s knee
and taught humility.”
Tony groaned and rocked his hips into the bed at the idea of Bucky pulling him
over his lap and bringing one of those big hands down on his ass. Bucky must’ve
caught the soft sound he tried to hide because he laughed again, low and dark
and scraping another layer away from Tony.
By the time this ended, he was going to be stripped raw from this man.
“Apparently one of yours though. What gets you hot and hard, kiddo? What makes
you wanna fuck your hand until you’re half outta your damn mind?”
“You.” Tony blurted out, hips still rolling gently into the bed, his cock rock
hard by now.
“Me? What about me?”
“Everything. God ,your mouth, your hands, your body. Everything about you makes
me wanna fucking explode.”
“Your dad’s right, y’know? You really gotta watch your mouth.”
“Can we not talk about my dad right now, please?”
“Aww, I thought all spoiled little shits had Daddy issues out the ass. You
don’t wanna call me Daddy?”
“No, I wanna call you sir.”
The words slipped out of his mouth and Tony wished he could swallow them back
down. That is, until he heard Bucky’s sharp inhale and groan.
“Shit, kid. Yeah, alright, you can call me sir. Want me to put you in your
place? Kid like you needs a firm hand and since you rage against anyone else
who tries to rein your ass in, might as well be me, right?”
“Yeah,” Tony breathed, flipping onto his back and palming himself through his
jeans. “Yeah, want you to put me in my place. Put me right where you think I
belong.”
“And what if I think you belong on your knees with my cock down your throat?”
He gasped and gripped harder, his hips bucking up to meet the pressure of his
palm.
“Fuck, yeah, yes. Want that. Wanna suck you down. Please?”
Bucky cursed a low filthy snarl that made Tony whine and buck up again.
“You alone, kid?”
“Mmmhhmm, yeah. In my room.”
“Door locked?”
Tony shot up off the bed and quickly crossed the room, locking the knob and
throwing the deadbolt for extra measure. He rested his forehead against the
heavy oak, catching his breath before he answered.
“Is now.”
“Good. Now strip. And I mean everything off, kid, even your socks.”
He damn near busted his ass twice trying to rip off all his clothes in record
time. Once he had everything off, he picked up his shirt and crossed to where
his computer was still open, screen bright, and folded his shirt before draping
it over the camera lens.
No point in not being cautious.
“Alright, I got it all off.”
“Good boy.”
The praise was as effective as a hand gripping onto his dick and he stumbled on
his way back to the bed, catching himself on the chest that sat at the end.
“What about you?”
“’S not about me, punk.”
“No,” Tony cleared his throat at the ball that formed from the words. No one
had ever made it all about him before, all too concerned with chasing their own
orgasms to worry about if he enjoyed it.
“No, I mean, what are you doing? Describe it to me, so I can see it in my head.
I’m…I’m a visual person, I need details. All the details.”
“Fucking wunderkids and their weird shit. Alright, fine, I’m sitting out on my
balcony.”
That’s right, Bucky had mentioned the house being a hell of a lot nicer than
his penthouse apartment. Tony had commented that a penthouse wasn’t anything to
shake a stick at and Bucky had shrugged, explaining it was easy to afford with
an inheritance and no one to send his army pay back to. He’d vaguely told Tony
about the building, not that Tony didn’t instantly know when he’d mentioned
private balcony.
There was only one tower of apartments close enough that Bucky could afford
with private garages, which he’d bitched about having to get after Howard had
bought him that sweet ass Shelby GT500 Tony had seen him climb into when they
saw him off. Rhodey and his mom lived in the same building, in a penthouse as
well.
And Rhodey was a fantastic friend who loved his bestie Tony and was getting
back in a month and not dropping by to see him if he stuck around this summer
would be a crime.
Aaannnnnd if Rhodey just happened to not be getting home for another hour and
Tony wound up wandering around and finding Bucky’s apartment, what could be the
harm in letting him in for a cup of coffee?
“Okay, and?”
“Pushy, pushy. I’m smoking and drinking, all things you’re not allowed to do.”
Tony growled in frustration and sat on the edge of the bed, studiously ignoring
the almost painful erection between his legs.
Who said sixteen year olds had no self-control?
“Stop being difficult and tell me what I want to know.”
“What do you want to know? Jesus, punk, I’ve never had anyone give a damn what
I was doing before.”
“I want to know everything. What you’re wearing, how you’re sitting, what hand
do you hold your cigarette in, how’s the Jack feel when you drink it, is it on
ice….Everything.”
Bucky snorted and Tony could hear him take a harsh drag before he blew it out
in the familiar controlled rush of air that meant someone was getting
frustrated.
“Alright, fine. I’m wearing shit for bed, which I was going to climb into until
someone called me freaking out like a girl who got stood up for prom.”
“What is it?”
“Black basketball shorts and my PT shirt.”
“Mmmm, yeah, that’s a nice visual.”
And it was. The idea of Bucky, who’d kept his jacket on the whole time he’d
been there, dressed down for comfort was very appealing. Tony wondered if he
had any tattoos on his arms, like other soldiers did. He wondered if the hair
on his legs was as dark as what was on his head.
He wondered….
“How’re you sitting?”
“Like a whore. Thighs spread, slumped down in my chair because I’m at my own
damn house and there’s no commander to tell me to sit up straight.”
Oh fuck. The idea of those powerful thighs spread wide was a delicious image
and Tony eased himself onto his back in the middle of the bed to distract from
the pulse that’d run through his body.
“Bet I could fit between them real nice. Want that? Want me sitting between
your thighs like a pet?”
Bucky grunted and Tony thrust a fist triumphantly into the air at the sound. He
knew that sound, knew it meant he wasn’t the only one getting hot and bothered
by this.
“Maybe later then. Alright, so hands; where are they, what are they doing?”
“I’ve got a cigarette in one, my right one, and the other’s on my thigh. Hands-
free are the best damn inventions of the century.”
“Agreed. So, Jack, huh? I pegged you for a whiskey man. Bet it tastes fantastic
off your tongue. How do you take it? On the rocks?”
“Kid, what part of I’m in my own damn house did you not get? I’m drinking it
from the bottle. Not everyone has fancy ass glasses to pour their drinks into
at their houses.”
“Tumbler,” Tony corrected faintly, the idea of Bucky clenching a bottle in his
fist and tipping it to swallow shorting out his brain for a second.
“What?”
“Glasses that your pour whiskey and scotch, any sipping alcohol really, into.
Called tumblers. Look, so not important at the moment. How does it feel? Does
it burn?”
“Burns in a good way. Never drank Jack before?”
Tony rolled his shoulders against the bed as he considered the question. He
could lie, like he’d done all the way through MIT, tell Bucky if he’d read the
papers he’d know Tony was apparently just as big on the hooch as his pops. But
lying to Bucky, to someone he was genuinely interested in, seemed wrong.
“Never drank anything but wine.”
“Good. Kid like you doesn’t need to crawl into a bottle.”
He’d accepted it without a question, and that, in and of itself, was amazing.
“Love to taste it off your tongue though.”
“Be a good boy and maybe I’ll let’cha.”
And there went that hot pulse again.
“I’ll be your good boy, sir. What do you want me to do?”
“Shit…Alright, kid, fine. You bare?”
Tony nodded before palming his face and realizing Bucky couldn’t actually see
him.
“Yeah, am. On my bed, completely naked.”
“Hard?”
“Fuck yes,” Tony breathed out, reaching a hand down to press his palm over his
cock, jumping at the feeling.
“Watch your mouth, punk. You’re asking to get put over a knee. And get your
hand off your cock.”
He ripped his hand away like he’d been burned, writhing at the sudden rush of
air against heated skin.
“How did you-“
“Because you’re a kid. Can barely go five minutes without thinking about sex,
knew you’d fist your dick as soon as you were naked.”
“But I….come on, man, I wanna-“
“I know exactly what you want. Figure out a proper way to ask and you can have
it.”
Tony smirked, clicking his fingers to lower the lights in the room. He knew
what Bucky was getting at, and really, he should have expected the control.
Once the darkness set in around him it was easier to focus on Bucky’s voice,
and his own responses.
“Please, sir, can I please touch myself? Please? Want to so bad, you’re making
me so hard.”
Bucky cursed and there was the metallic click and hiss of a zippo before he
spoke again and Tony grinned at the fact he was making the man damn near chain
smoke.
“Yeah, fuck, yeah do it. Wrap your hand around your cock but don’t move it just
yet.”
Tony reached down and wrapped a fist around himself, groaning at the hard
pressure around the hot flesh.
“God that shouldn’t sound as hot as it does.”
“But it does?”
“Yeah, punk, it does.”
“Are you-“
“As a fucking rock kid, but this ain’t about me remember?”
God that visual alone was enough to make Tony whine and tighten his grip hard,
shoving against the need to come that was trickling up his spine.
Bucky, sitting sprawled with his legs open, the fabric clinging and outlining a
thick and hard cock. Shirt bunched up his back from the slouch, pulled tight
across his abs. A glowing cigarette in one hand and the other wrapped around
the neck of a JD bottle like Tony wanted it wrapped around his cock. He was
outside, so the light would spill from the doors behind him, throwing his face
into shadows.
Tony’s own personal dark lover.
And how fucking Harlequin was that?
“Want you to enjoy this too though. Want to know what you sound like when you
come.”
Bucky groaned and huffed in amusement for a moment before he spoke.
“What’ya think the odds of being seen out here are?”
Tony’s mind, thankful for the distraction from the pounding need to jack off,
immediately began processing nearby building heights, likelihood of aerial
views, and triangulations of windows that had views of the man’s balcony.
“About 14.38% with a 7.9% rise if you don’t turn out your lights.”
There was a sudden silence and then…
“You’re making that shit up, right?”
“Nope,” Tony popped the p on the word. “Calculated with tons of variables, it’s
the most precise numbers I can round to.”
“Jesus,” there was a creak and a sliding sound, like Bucky was moving around.
Tony flushed hot when he realized the man was going inside. To turn out his
lights? The sounds repeated and his hypothesis was confirmed when Bucky
groaned, the sound of someone settling back into a comfortable position.
“You really are a genius, aren’t you?”
“Not right now. Right now I’m just your good boy and I really really wanna come
with your voice in my ear.”
“Alright, alright, pushy. Move your hand, slowly, tip to base and back again.
And tell me how it feels.”
Tony moved his hand and winced at the feeling of his callouses tugging against
dry skin, making a soft noise of displeasure.
Bucky picked up on it instantly and cursed.
“Alright, no, we’re done. You don’t want this kid, and I’m not-“
“No! No, sorry, I want it, want you!”
“Then what the hell was that noise?!”
“It was…I didn’t…dry and it chafes.”
There was a silence and then Bucky uttered a sound like an dog who didn’t
understand why it couldn’t get to the cat on the other side of the fence, a
confused low whine.
“You didn’t..fuck, Tony, were you just gonna jack yourself dry?”
He jolted at the snarl of his name. Bucky had used it a few times today,
usually to interrupt Tony when he went off on a tangent, or to get his
attention when he was lost in his thoughts and a foot from meeting a wall face
first. But this…like this and in this scenario it only served to make him
hotter.
“You didn’t tell me to grab lube.” He muttered and Bucky laughed, a
disbelieving note coloring the sound.
“You…you were going to rub yourself raw because I didn’t tell you to slick up?
That’s…shit kid, that shouldn’t be fucking hot either but it is. Alright, grab
lube, or whatever, hell, spit works in a pinch, but don’t do it dry.”
He fumbled in the drawer next to the bed grabbing the small bottle he’d stuck
in there earlier and centering himself again. Pouring a ton over his fingers,
he re-gripped himself and hissed at the slick slide of flesh.
“Shit, yeah, feels good.”
“Good, kid. What’d you use?”
“Lube, had some in the bedside table.”
“Fancy. Fancier than me at any rate.”
Tony opened his mouth to question the words when he heard Bucky spit and it
shorted out his thinking process completely.
“Did you…Are you jacking off?”
There was a huff and a quiet, “yeah”.
Tony tightened his grip on his cock and fought to keep his motions slow and
even. The image of Bucky, shorts shoved down to his knees, shirt rucked up
exposing his stomach, and big fist wrapped around what was no doubt a big cock,
was enough to make him want to just thrust and buck until he came all over
himself.
But he wanted Bucky’s voice in his ear while he did.
“Can I-Talk.”
“Can you talk? Kid, you haven’t shut up since I met you.”
“No, no, no. You talk. Please. I’m half-fucking desperate for it.”
“Mmmm, you sound like it. You whine pretty kid, would you whine for me? Whine
and whimper and beg for my cock?”
Jesus.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Tony babbled, knees bending and heels digging into the
mattress and he tossed his head from side to side and fought to keep his
strokes slow. Bucky hadn’t told him to quicken yet.
“Bet it’d be a sight to see. But not for a while. Not until you turn 17.”
“And then? Then what? What’re you gonna do?”
“I’m gonna fucking destroy you, punk. Fuck your fist while I talk, fast as you
want. But do not come without permission, hear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Heh. You gonna call me that when I’m balls deep inside you? Gonna beg and
whine in the hopes I’ll fuck you hard?”
“Yes. Yes, sir. Please, sir, fuck me hard. Wanna feel you.”
“Oh, you’ll feel me. Get your other hand slick, I know you’ve got an earpiece
in. Let me know when you’re ready.”
Tony yanked his hand away from where it had been furiously stripping his cock
and snapped open the lube bottle, pouring it over his fingers. Even his best
wet dreams hadn’t been this good, and no one he’d ever met had gotten him this
desperate to be fucked.
“Done.”
“Done what?”
“I’m done…sir.”
“Good boy. Now, take those down and slide two into you. Let me know how it
feels, it’s gonna burn but that’s what it’s gonna feel like when my cock
stretches you out. You tell me if it’s too much.”
Tony pushed and pulled at the covers with his feet until they bunched under his
lower back, bringing his hips up, and reached down to shove two fingers in
roughly. The stretch and burn had him gasping out Bucky’s name and squeezing
the base of his dick hard, trying to stave off the orgasm that shot to the
surface at the pain.
“Too much kid? Don’t you dare fucking hurt yourself again.”
“N-No. It hurts but…good hurt. I like it. Want it.”
Bucky let out a raw curse, and there was a heavy pause where all Tony heard was
his harsh breathing.
“You like it? You want pain? Wanna be broken and bleeding when we’re through?”
“Yeah, fuck, yeah. Want you to ruin me. Want to be bruised and bitten and hit.”
The radio silence that started immediately when he said the last word made him
want to roll over and bury his face in the pillows. His cheeks burned red as he
stopped his hand and the slow twist of his fingers. He wouldn’t apologize for
what he wanted, and fuck Barnes if it got too heavy for him.
“Oh, you’re fucking dangerous little boy. You make me wanna do all that shit.
Shit that would get my ass thrown in jail to rot if your Daddy ever found out.
Don’t stop fucking yourself on those fingers or jacking your cock.”
Oh. Well, alright then.
Tony restarted the movements, moaning at the fresh wave of sensation as he
bucked his hips up into his fist then down onto his fingers.
“You want me to hit you, huh? Want me to leave bruises all over that pretty
body? Tell me. Tell me when you want me to hit you. What’s your fantasy, kid?”
Here went nothing. If Bucky was going to back out, he’d back out after this.
Tony had never revealed the desire to anyone but Rhodey, one late night on the
phone as he lamented why he’d never be satisfied with anyone. Rhodey hadn’t
understood, but he hadn’t judged Tony either. It made sense from a
psychological standpoint, he’d reasoned to Tony. His whole life he’d been
praised, told he was to inherit everything, that he was the smartest, the
quickest, the best. Wanting something else was completely logical, if squicky
to someone like Rhodey who’s biggest kink was wanting anal.
“I want to suck you off, get you almost there, jerking my cock as I do it. When
you’re about to come, I want you to jack off and come all over my face, telling
me that’s all I’m worth. Just a slut to cover in come. Then you notice I’m
jacking off and..and..”
“And what kid? How do I punish the little whore for acting without sir’s
permission?”
Alright, no more diving board left. Time to jump.
“I want you to slap me across the face, tell me how fucking worthless I am, how
I can’t even follow simple orders. I want you to grip my jaw so hard you leave
bruises, so it hurts to open my mouth the next day, and press your palm against
my throat. Then I want you to tell me because I did so well, was at least good
at sucking your cock, you’ll let me rub against your leg. Let me hump against
your pants until I come. Oh, god, Bucky, Bucky, I’m so fucking close.”
“Don’t come. Don’t you dare fucking come, you little shit. Take your hand off
your cock right fucking now.”
Tony sobbed and slammed his palm down onto the bed next to his hip, chest
heaving as he scrambled back from the ledge he’d been so close to. He could
hear Bucky’s harsh pants and groans in his ear and he slipped another finger
in, despite not having permission. The burn took his mind off the gotta-come-
wanna-come-gonna-come litany that filled it.
“God, kid, you’re fucking twisted. Depraved. And I fucking love it. Gonna do
that, gonna do all that. Bet you look so pretty covered in come, marking you up
like the slut you are. Put your hand back, fuck, Tony, I’m so goddamn close.
Put it back and tell me when you’re ready. I’m gonna talk and I wanna come
hearing you scream my name. Do it, Tony, now. Tell me when you’re close.”
His palm instantly gripped his cock again and he jerked it fast, thrusting his
fingers roughly inside himself.
“Done. Done, please, sir, please talk.”
“Good boy. Good little whore. God, I’m gonna make you my good lil’ boy, gonna
stretch you out on my cock until nobody else can fuck you. Until you’re begging
for me to come. Tony, I’m going to leave bite marks all over you, show anyone
else who sees you that I’ve fucked you, marked you, and that you’re so
stretched from my cock theirs isn’t going to do a thing for you. Want
everything, kid. Shit I shouldn’t fucking want. Wanna watch you fuck yourself
on a dildo with a cock ring on, begging me to come. Want you tied to the bed,
ropes so tight they leave marks around your wrists, and jack off on you, make
you lick my come off your lips. I want to plug you up, keep you slick and open
for me so I can just bend you over whenever I fucking want and deep dick you
hard. I want you to come on my cock, and just on it. Come just from the feel of
me fucking you. Fuck, Tony, come. Let me hear you come.”
Tony thrust his fingers in hard and moved his hand so fast a cramp started up
in his forearm, but he was going to do it. He could feel the rush building up
quickly, almost spilling over. Almost there, almost there, almost-
“Ah! Fuck, Bucky!”
Tony wailed as his cock jerked and spilled hot come onto his abdomen and
fingers, stroking himself through it and shaking so hard he thought he’d come
out of his skin when he heard Bucky grit out his name through clenched teeth,
coming almost immediately after Tony did.
There was an easy silence between them afterwards; Tony reaching into the same
drawer to yank out a pack of baby wipes and clean himself off, the shuffling
telling him Bucky was doing the same.
Tony waited for the spit and hiss of the zippo before he spoke up again.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome kid. Don’t forget what you said, don’t be an asshole tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Tony slid under the covers, reveling in the feeling of silk sheets
against his bare, sweat-slick skin.
“Can we do this again?”
“Insatiable little bastard, aren’t you?”
Tony grinned, clicking his fingers once more to send to room into darkness.
“For you.”
He heard Bucky swallow what he assumed was a mouthful of Jack and shivered in
dull pleasure at the idea of tasting it from his tongue.
“Alright, yeah, maybe. If you’re a good boy and deserve it. But I’m not budging
on the whole waiting until you’re legal thing.”
“I can dig that, especially if I can do this with you more.”
“Jesus, too much and you’ll send me into an early grave. You’re more dangerous
than IED’s, punk.”
Tony worried at his lower lip at the reminder. In the heat of the moment, he'd
forgotten exactly who this man was. Bucky wasn’t a spoiled rotten socialite
with an internship at Daddy’s firm set up for him. He was an American soldier,
who fought and gave sweat, tears, and blood to protect his country. There was a
good shot if he left he wasn’t going to come back. Tony snarled at the ball of
ice that formed at the idea, reminding himself harshly that he was just some
stupid kid to Bucky. He wasn’t going to get a folded up flag or a pair of dog
tags if Bucky died. He was just someone Bucky was going to fuck around with
until someone better, someone older, came along.
“Yeah. Well I gotta go, gotta pack and whatnot.”
“What? Hey, no, don’t you get off the phone. What the hell was that?”
“What was what?”
“Don’t play stupid, kid. Your whole demeanor changed. Now you’re pissy again.
What happened?”
“Am I just some random fuck to you?” Tony blurted out, brave in the cover the
darkness and phone offered him. He heard Bucky sigh heavily and the shhh of
skin against skin that meant he’d scrubbed a palm over his face. The moment
stretched until Tony was just about ready to hang up before Bucky spoke again.
“No.”
“No? No what?”
“No you’re not some random fuck, kid. You’re an obnoxious, young, know-it-all,
smart-mouthed asshole who needs to be put in his place and makes me want to
cuff him upside the head half the time…but you’re not something random. I’m not
gonna give you my class ring and ask you to go steady, but I’m also not gonna
fuck anyone else until I figure out what the hell I’m gonna do with you.”
“Then I won’t either. I won’t fuck anyone else.”
Bucky grumbled something about the fact that he shouldn’t be fucking at all and
Tony happily ignored it as his lids grew heavy, the idea of packing in the
morning becoming more and more appealing.
“Tired?”
“Yeah,” Tony said around a yawn, hearing Bucky move around on the other end of
the line.
“Then we’d best say goodnight kid, got an early ass morning tomorrow.”
“Wait, wait, Bucky!”
“What?”
“If I can’t have your class ring, can I wear your dog tags?”
“Shit, why don’t we just rent a billboard across from your dads office that
says ‘Hey, your husband’s bff is getting your underage son off!’ Not a chance
kid.”
“Aww, c’mon. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t love to fuck me while I’m wearing your
tags, knowing they’re under my shirt when I walk around, know that I’ve got
your claim on me wherever I go.”
Bucky groaned low and swore.
“Damnit, punk. We’ll fucking see.”
“And plus, you could pull them tight while you’re fucking me on my hands and
knees, leave a mark around my throat for days-“
“Goodnight Tony.”
“Goodnight Buck!” He happily chirped back at the man’s growl, hearing the phone
instantly click off, signaling the end of the call. Tony yanked the ear piece
out and tossed it onto the dresser where he’d carelessly thrown his phone.
Turning, he burrowed deeper into the pillows and grinned into the fabric.
Whattya know…maybe being here until mom came and got him wouldn’t suck so bad
after all.
***** Bucky Barnes Should Destroy His Phone *****
Chapter Summary
     In which Steve and Tony have no respect for hangovers, Howard is an
     ass, Steve is a fierce bitch, and Bucky Barnes should destroy his
     phone; it gets him into far too much trouble.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Six a.m. the next morning found Steve standing in front of the stove, making a
little more noise than was generally necessary to make sausage bits inside
scrambled eggs and delighting in the twin groans from behind him every time he
banged something down. He slid the mixture onto four plates, sprinkling cheese
over the food and turning, two held in his grasp.
At the island, Bucky and Howard sat side by side, in the exact same pose. Both
had their aviators on, their forehead dropped into one hand, hunched over with
their other hand wrapped around cups of coffee they’d both re-filled twice.
Howard had been so out of it this morning he hadn’t even mentioned the fact
that Bucky’s glasses were a neon pink, though Steve wasn’t wholly sure that
Bucky had opened his eyes wide enough that morning to know himself what color
they were.
“I can’t believe you two are starting the vacation with hang-overs. Bucky, I
understand you a little more; you haven’t drank in a while, though it still
doesn’t excuse this. But Howard, you know your limits and you still drank way
too much wine last night!” He snapped the plates down in front of them with
loud clangs, smirking at the way they both clapped hands over their ears and
groaned.
“Steve, baby, honey, love of my life, I will buy you your own art gallery if
you please, please stop screaming at me.”
He rolled his eyes at Howard’s low groan, taking the man’s cup and striding
over to re-fill it once again.
“No. And I’m not screaming Howard; I’m talking at a completely reasonable
volume for a normal morning. If you hadn’t drunk yourself stupid last night,
this wouldn’t be an issue.”
“New tactic. Barnes. Hey, Barnes.”
Bucky grunted from where he’d buried his face inside the arms he’d crossed on
the table.
“I’ll buy you a mansion if you kill Steve.”
“He keeps talking ‘n I’m gon’ do it for free.”
Steve glared at the two, setting Howard’s cup down with a clang and scoffing at
the way the man’s hand instantly shot out to bring it to his lips. Something
moved in his peripheral and he turned to greet Tony who’d just slid into the
kitchen doorway, looking fresh and eager in an old Henley and khaki shorts. He
stopped when he noticed the two men bent over the table and looked to Steve
with an eyebrow raised, making a drinking motion with one hand. Steve nodded
and crossed his arms across his chest, looking at the two with disappointment.
“Good morning guys! Who’s ready for vacation?! This kid is, yeah I am. Hey,
Steve, morning pal! What’s for breakfast? Mmmm, smells delicious! Why aren’t
you guys eating yours, it smells fantastic!”
Even Steve winced at the loud cheery voice that Tony spoke in, before laughing
when Tony sat down across from the two and kept at it, poking at their crossed
arms with his fork in between bites.
“Stark, I’mma kill your kid.”
Bucky’s growl from underneath his arms made Steve huff from where he was
setting a cup of coffee down in front of Tony, smiling at the boy’s nod of
thanks. Tony really did seem to be in a great mood today, maybe he was looking
forward to this vacation after all.
“Go ‘head. I can have another.”
“Thanks Dad, love you too. Seriously, what the hell you guys? Eat, we’ve gotta
be on the tarmac in an hour and a half.”
Howard lifted his head from the table and glared at the boy, eyebrows tugging
low under his glasses.
“It’s my jet, I don’t have to be anywhere until I want to be. Now, Tony, be a
good boy and let Daddy die.”
With those words, he collapsed back down onto the table. Steve could feel his
ears heat at Howard’s mean words. Tony’d done nothing to deserve the snap and
he was going to give Howard an earful once they were in private. He opened his
mouth to say something to Tony, to distract him from the glare he was leveling
at his dad’s hunched form, when Bucky’s hand reached out and snagged his empty
cup, dangling it from two fingers hooked into the handle and bouncing it in
Tony’s direction.
“Re-fill.”
“What am I, your waitress, Barnes? You need to get off your hung-over ass and
get it yourself.”
But, despite his words, Tony grabbed Bucky’s cup and took it over to the
massive pot Jarvis had brewed them when Steve had popped into the kitchen at 5
to let him know they were going to start packing then they’d be down. Bucky had
shown up a half hour later, just as Steve had moved the last of the bags to
outside the room so they could be stowed into the cars. He’d met Howard in the
foyer, where Howard had been making a beeline for the smell of coffee, and the
older man had simply waved a hand for Bucky to follow, probably sensing a
kindred soul of misery.
Steve blinked at the way Bucky’s head came up to watch as Tony poured the cup
full, even taking care to wipe up the little bit that spilled onto the counter.
Bucky usually didn’t move more than he had to when he was hung-over, why in the
world make the effort to watch Tony make his coffee? Did he think the boy was
going to stick something in it?
Though, Bucky had been a bit off all morning, Steve had attributed it to the
hangover but he made a mental note to double check that everything was okay
when they had a moment alone.
“Okay,” Steve clapped his hands together, ignoring Bucky and Howard’s grunts
and sliding into his seat next to Tony.
“So, I figure we should probably go over the game plan for the day. Howard, eat
your food. Bucky, eat the eggs too, don’t just pick out the sausage. We’re
going to get to the tarmac at 7:30 like Tony said, luckily for us it’s only a-
Tony, how long of a drive? Ten minutes?”
“Fifteen.” The boy answered around a mouthful of food.
“Fifteen, thank you. So, we’ll leave here at about 7:05 just to make sure we
give ourselves enough leeway. Then board the plane and arrive in Maui at 3:30
in the afternoon our time, which is…crap, I forget what time it’ll be there.”
Steve went fishing in his pocket for his phone to bring up the world clock when
Howard and Tony’s voices filled the silence, voices that would have been
identical if Howard wasn’t talking into the bottom of his coffee cup and Tony
wasn’t speaking around a mouthful of eggs.
“9:30 in the morning.”
He brightened at the sounds, even more so at the fact that neither acknowledged
that they’d spoken over the other, choosing to go back to their respective
breakfasts. Steve scooted Howard’s almost untouched plate closer to him and
surreptitiously moved the ketchup bottle Tony was using to drown his food a bit
further away before continuing.
“Alright, so we’ll get there then, Howard, you said it’s about a thirty minute
drive from the airport to the house so that will put us around 10:30, adding in
a half hour for us to stretch post-flight and get everything situated in the
cars. Now, cars, is there a rental agency there or what? I’m assuming you’ll
want your own car Buck, and Howard and I will just share one. Um…Tony, can you
drive yet?”
Tony looked over at him, wiping off a smear of ketchup from his lip before
smirking and reaching over to poke Howard with the clean handle of his fork.
“He really doesn’t get the whole ‘you’re rich, bitch!’ thing, does he?”
Howard cast the boy a shrewd glare but didn’t comment on the language, turning
to face Steve and swallowing the food in his mouth before replying.
“Sweetheart, we’re just going to take our cars. The StarkJet is capable of
transporting three full sized trucks in its undercarrier. You can take your
bike, if you’d like, I had the men lay out all your riding gear in case you
chose to. And Tony’s been able to drive since he was thirteen, but he wasn’t
actually legal to drive a car since this year.”
“Which reminds me, pops, you missed my super sweet sixteen. Can I have a car?”
“Sure. You can get one here or you can go look once we get to Maui,” Howard
said with a shrug as Bucky’s head came up off the table and he looked at Steve
in disbelief over the rim of his glasses.
Steve shrugged helplessly in response, it’d taken him a while to get used to
luxury and he still was thrown by the fact that Howard was so blasé about
something most parents saved and scrimped for months over.
“Hey, you two could go buy one together! It’d be a neat experience for you
two!”
Howard and Tony shot him matching pained looks at his enthusiasm, neither
commenting on it, choosing to avoid eye-contact with one another instead. Steve
sighed but then straightened his shoulders. They were going to bond with one
another on this vacation if it killed him.
“So what’s the plan for the rest of the week? We just gonna hang out at the
cabana and sip Mai Tai’s?”
Bucky swallowed the last dregs of his coffee after he spoke, setting the cup
down and finally, after 4 cups and an entire plate of food, looking a bit less
like he was going to murder the first person that talked to him.
“Cabana?” Tony scoffed, spinning his fork absently in his fingers. “You’re
kidding, right? The beach house has five bedrooms equipped with en suite baths,
a massive pool, a sunroom, movie class entertainment room, and the jungle
room.”
Bucky quirked a brow at him in response, a line of tension running through his
shoulders as he leaned forward against the table, so faint if Steve hadn’t been
his friend since they were five he wouldn’t have been able to see it.
“What’s a jungle room?”
Tony looked panicked for one moment, like he hadn’t meant for that to slip out
and now that it was being called into question was terrified he’d actually have
to answer. To Steve’s surprise, however, Howard intervened, pulling Bucky’s
attention away from the boy and onto himself.
“It’s called a solarium, Tony’s called it the jungle room since he was a kid.
It’s an all glass offshoot of the main house with a grotto, fully-stocked bar,
and a massive hanging bed with a canopy draped around it. It’s packed with
exotic and native plants, hence the name jungle room.”
Bucky grinned over the table at Tony, who was staring down at his plate, the
barest hints of red on his ears. It was obvious Tony hadn’t meant to call it
what he did, something left over from his childhood, and Steve knew Bucky was
enough of an ass to not know when to leave something alone. Thinking quickly,
he reached out and ran quick, dexterous fingers over Howard’s forearm, trailing
them over his watch as he spoke.
“Hmmm, hanging bed, huh? Sounds like you and I are gonna need to check that out
right away.”
It had the effect Steve was shooting for, Bucky rearing back to clap hands over
his ears and moan about how he changed his mind, he wasn’t going with them
anymore, he’d stay here and rot, fuckyouverymuch. Of course it also had the
effect of Howard licking his lips and grinning at Steve while Tony protested
and told them they weren’t allowed to turn his childhood playroom into a den of
iniquity, damnit.
Steve stood from his seat and wiggled his fingers at the three, smiling at
Howard’s wink as he went to check that everything had been loaded up and double
check they really had laid everything out that they needed to for his bike. The
idea of cruising on it in a foreign city was incredibly exciting and Steve
couldn’t wait to throw himself on it, maybe finally convince Howard to get on
behind him, and go once they arrived. He made sure that everything was secure
before giving the men the go-ahead to take it to the Jet, waving merrily as
they rolled his baby out of the garage and into the bright sunlight.
Once he’d done all that, including chasing down Jarvis and making sure the man
was actually going to relax while they were gone, and calling Marta to let her
know they were leaving soon and that he’d call her once they arrived to let her
know they’d gotten there safely, he made his way back to the foyer. As he got
closer and closer the chatter he heard got louder and louder, and his feet
quickened in response until he was almost jogging towards what sounded like
Tony and Howard’s voice overlapping and echoing.
He burst into the foyer, expecting to see the two going at it, to instead see
Bucky watching with fascination as Howard and Tony stood a couple of feet
apart, the holo-projections Howard used to help with everything from figuring
out where he’d left his keys to ordering dinner reservations pulled up in front
of them. Their hands were moving quickly, discarding shapes and piecing things
together, taunts and jeers being thrown back and forth like they were kids at a
baseball game.
Steve strode over to stand near his best friend, whose eyes were still shining
as they watched Howard and Tony race to put together what looked like-
“Howard, is that an engine?”
“Internal combustion engine, sweetheart. The kid thinks he can assemble and
disassemble faster than me, and I told him maybe in ten years he’ll be quicker
than me.”
With those words and a shove of his hand, Howard sent his completed engine into
a slow spin, a pop-up of statistics next to it showing it was put together 100%
correctly. Tony shoved the last two pieces into place on his and crossed his
arms as the statistics showed he’d done his correctly as well, but completed it
3.58 seconds later than Howard had.
The look on his face was that of a child who’d tried so hard but got shoved
down at the very last second, bitter disappointment and frustration with
himself. Steve walked over to nudge Howard under the guise of looking at the
engine and threw a nod in Tony’s direction, shooting Howard a meaningful look.
Howard cleared his throat awkwardly before walking through the projection over
to Tony’s, spinning it as well while Tony looked on with a suspicious glint to
his eyes.
“It’s good, kid,” Howard finally said roughly, patting the bottom to make it
float upwards and disappear like Steve had done to the one he’d been observing.
“Assembly just isn’t rote to you yet. I was sixteen before I learned it, so
you’re not that far behind me. A little more focus and you could be just as
good.”
Steve resisted the urge to groan as the slight hope that had entered Tony’s
eyes at the compliment vanished under Howard’s next words. He huffed and turned
to stride outside, calling over his shoulder that he was ready to go and that
they were wasting time.
Bucky chuckled into his travel cup of coffee and followed the boy, while Howard
turned to look at Steve with a confused expression. He couldn’t even be mad at
the man, not when it was plainly obvious Howard had no idea that he’d actually
done anything wrong.
“Howard, next time you have a compliment followed by criticism, just say the
compliment and then shut your trap, okay?”
“I didn’t…It wasn’t supposed to make him…damnit, Steve, I didn’t have a girl!
He should be able to take a little bit of constructive criticism.”
Steve planted his hands on his hips and glared at his lover, ignoring the
‘oooo’ Bucky called out from where he could see them through the open front
doors. He didn’t feel bad laying into Howard because he knew they couldn’t hear
them, only see them.
“I want you to think about what you just said, and realize how hard Marta would
hit you, for one. And for two, Howard, it’s harder to accept the criticism when
it’s all you hear, all the time.”
Howard opened his mouth to respond but Steve held up a hand, stomping out after
the two that had already left. He may not have been mad that Howard had
criticized the boy, but he certainly was mad that Howard had said that Tony, of
all people, needed to learn to accept criticism. This from the man who’d raised
him on it and little else!
He was beginning to see why Tony threw wine glasses.
“Where’s the fire, buttercup?”
“Get in the damn car, Bucky. Let’s just go.”
Bucky looked taken aback at Steve’s snarl, shooting Howard, who was coming out
of the house hot on his heels, a glare.
“What the hell did you do, Stark?!”
“I didn’t do a goddamn thing, Barnes. Steve, get out of that car.”
“No!” Steve opened the door and leaned out, nailing Howard with a venomous
glare.
“Ride to the tarmac with your son. Leave me the hell alone.”
With that, he slammed the door shut and crossed his arms, locking eyes on the
dashboard in front of him and studiously ignoring the ever growing shouts from
outside. They cut off suddenly and Bucky ripped the door open, throwing himself
into the driver’s seat and viciously starting the car, the engine roaring under
the sudden action. He shoved it into drive and hit the gas, tearing out of the
driveway and onto the main road, white-knuckling the steering wheel and
gritting his teeth.
They got about a mile down the road before Steve finally gave into temptation
and glanced behind him to see Howard and Tony were following, both of them
talking and moving their arms expressively in the sunlight that poured into the
convertible, though Tony’s motions were less combative and more…soothing?
“What the hell, Steve?”
He twisted and dropped back into his seat, staring at Bucky who was glancing at
him every so often. Buck’s face was still flushed with anger, but his grip had
loosened slightly, and his shoulder’s weren’t a steel rod of tension any
longer. He sighed and let his head fall back against the headrest with a thump,
picking at a loose thread in his shorts.
“Howard’s an ass.”
“Well, yeah, I tried to tell you that, and you fucking married him anyways.
What’d he do?”
“He just,” Steve carded a hand through his hair in frustration, “Howard comes
down so hard on Tony, and Tony’s just trying to be noticed, y’know?”
Bucky shrugged, a tight roll of his shoulders, and there was an odd note in his
voice when he spoke.
“Kid’s not too innocent, sounds like he provokes some of it.”
“Yeah, some of it, but Howard takes the bait every single time. I just wish
he’d try a little harder to actually bond with his son, Buck.”
In the silence that followed, Bucky’s phone dinged and he fished it from his
pocket, handing it to Steve without taking his eyes off the road.
“Read me my adoring fan mail.”
Steve rolled his eyes at the old habit and glanced down at the screen. Ever
since they’d seen the “It Can Wait” PSA about texting and driving in high
school, and really, their teacher didn’t HAVE to pick the most gruesome car
accidents photos he could find to show along with it, Bucky refused to text
while he was driving, either not responding or just calling the person.
Steve expected it to be Dum Dum or maybe Falsworth that had texted, but instead
Tony’s name was written under the little envelope icon and Steve snuck a quick
glance at Bucky, whose eyes were still glued to the road. He knew he shouldn’t
just open it, even if Bucky said it was okay it was an invasion of Tony’s
privacy, but he was curious. Maybe it’d give him some insight on to what Howard
and Tony were talking about back there.
With a silent apology to his mother for snooping, he clicked open the message
and felt ice drop into his stomach at the words.
God, ur lucky u made me cum so hard. Really hard to not just snap at the ass
rite now.
He fumbled with the phone and it dropped onto the floorboards with a loud
sound. Bucky whipped his head around and when Steve met his best friend’s
stare, there was a look of horror that crossed Bucky’s face before it went
blank. In that moment, Steve knew he was fully aware of who had just texted
him, and the topic of what he’d just read. Bucky’s eyes shifted back to the
road, flat and dull, his whole body a vibrating mass of tension, knuckles
clenching tight and releasing before he spoke quietly.
“I didn’t fuck him.”
Oh God, the last time he’d heard Buck sound so lifeless he’d been telling Steve
about his dad and his uncle. He reached out and laid a palm on Bucky’s knee,
one hand dropping from the wheel to clutch it almost desperately.
“No, Buck, I know you wouldn’t. I know how you feel about underage kids. But…I
guess…I don’t understand?”
The grip tightened and he exhaled in one long sound.
“I just…I was drinking, half-way to smashed already. And he called bitching and
moaning and brought up the sex and I told him no, so…he compromised. Phone
sex.”
Steve nodded and rubbed a thumb over Bucky’s knuckles soothingly. He wasn’t
angry with either of them, in fact the idea of Bucky having to chase around
Tony’s hyperactive teenage self was actually rather cute and amusing. But Bucky
obviously wasn’t happy about what had happened, and that was what Steve had a
problem with.
“You don’t sound happy. Was it that bad?”
“Course not. Kid’s a hell of a talker, I came harder than I have in about five
years. That’s not the point Steve, point is he’s a kid and I shouldn’t have
done it. I don’t give a shit that he’s some college graduate, he’s only been on
this Earth for sixteen years and I shoulda hung up the damn phone the minute he
suggested it, not whacked off listening to a punk kid with a filthy mouth. And
I certainly shouldn’t have told him we were exclusive, at least on my end.”
Steve blushed at the crude wording, before trudging on. There was something
Bucky still wasn’t telling him, he could read it in the way his thigh kept
flexing under their hands and the way he absently thumbed Steve’s wedding ring
around and around.
“Then why did you?”
“I…shit, I dunno, buddy. I was lonely as hell and it’s not like my ass can just
go to whatever dive is closest and get a girl.”
“Why not?”
Bucky had never had trouble picking up women before; in fact, he usually would
manage to pick up both a girl for him and a guy for Steve in the same night.
“What if a fight breaks out? What if some guy takes a swing at me and suddenly
I’m back in that fucking desert with people who’re out to kill me? What if I
hurt someone, Stevie?”
The broken sob in Bucky’s voice made Steve look over in alarm and he cried out
softly when he saw the tears slicking their way down Bucky’s cheeks.
“Oh, Bucky! Pull over. Right now.”
He braced himself as Bucky complied, slowing to a stop at the side of the road.
He quickly climbed out and made it around the car; passing Bucky who’d tore out
his door and already had a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth as he stalked
toward the tree line on Steve’s side.
Howard and Tony were idling next to the car, both wearing matching expressions
of concern, though Howard’s eyes lingered on Steve and Tony’s on Bucky. Steve
strode around to the driver’s side, stacking his arms on the side and leaning
down towards Howard. It didn’t matter that they’d been fighting only moments
ago, what mattered now was that he help out Bucky.
Howard looked up at him, his whole face an expression of concern and Steve felt
an abrupt over-whelming rush of love for his husband. The man he’d been yelling
at mere minutes ago had forgiven the whole thing already and looked ready to
kill if Steve required it of him. He cupped his lover’s face in his hands and
pulled him into a deep kiss, whimpering as Howard slid a hand to the back of
his neck. He drew back and propped their foreheads together, glancing over
momentarily to see Tony had his phone clenched in his hand and was staring at
Bucky. He’d probably texted the man wondering what in the world was going on.
“Hey, you and Tony go on ahead, alright? We’ll meet you there in a couple of
minutes.”
“Is everything alright, darling boy?”
Steve couldn’t help but smile at the endearment. It meant I’m sorry and I
forgive you all in the same moment and he pressed another light kiss to the
older man’s lips.
“Everything’s fine baby, Bucky just wanted to talk about something real fast in
private.”
Howard nodded and with one last kiss, drove off. Steve marveled for a moment
that Howard Stark, who all the gossip mags painted as the paranoid bastard,
would simply accept something so vague. He let the smile linger from the warmth
that spread through him at the knowledge he was trusted and strode towards
where Bucky was leaning against the passenger side of the car, smoke curling
around his body as he took deep drags.
He crossed around the car to the other man and plucked the almost new cigarette
from the man’s hands, taking his own drag as Bucky shook another free and lit
it. He frowned at the taste, then chuckled inwardly when he realized the reason
it was so odd was because he’d gotten so used to sneaking puffs off Howard’s
cigar’s. Steve copied Bucky’s pose, leaning his shoulder into the other man’s
and let the silence fall between them. Bucky was the last person you wanted to
push for information; he’d clam up tighter than a bear-trap at the first sign
of digging.
“I can’t stop thinking about it, y’know?”
“The war?”
“Yeah. I did shit, saw shit, had shit done to me that I wouldn’t wish on my
worst enemy. But I come back here and everyone’s tells me to be happy, that I’m
home and I’m safe. And I’m not. This isn’t the home that I left, and I’m not
safe from the nightmares. Even old Jack can’t drown those, and believe me he’s
made some strong efforts.”
Steve nodded, content to smoke along as Bucky talked. He’d know when he needed
to interject, now wasn’t the time.
“So there I am, half into this bottle of Jack, and I open my mouth to try to
tell Tony to stay away from that creepy Obi fuck. And it spirals. And I told
him about my dad and my uncle and he didn’t linger on it, thank fucking god,
but he wouldn’t let up on the sex thing. I was stupid and I was weak, but for
one phone conversation I meant the entire world to someone. It was an
adrenaline rush, knowing that I held so much power. I want more of it, want it
more often.”
“You mean the world to me, Buck.”
“Ah, shit, bud, I know I do. But you don’t need me to be your world. You’ve got
Howard now; you don’t need me to fight off your bullies any longer. I’m
unattached, and I’m half-way in the wind all the damn time.”
“But Tony needs you.”
“Needs someone. For right now, let the kid think it’s me he needs. When he
grows up a little he’ll know different. But for right now, Steve, that cocky
little bastard is the only solid damn foot hole I’ve got in this world.”
Steve wrapped an arm around Bucky’s shoulders, pulling the other man into a
tight hug. If he’d have known how Bucky was feeling- Ah, but then what
difference would it have made? Bucky didn’t need a best friend anymore; he
needed a lover, someone to hold him through those nightmares and replace the
Jack with kisses and touches that hold more love than lust. Maybe Tony wasn’t
the right person for the job, but then again maybe he was. Either way, it would
only be time that could tell them what they wanted to know.
“Look, Buck, I can’t speak for Howard, but as far as I go? You and Tony are
good together. He gives you a foothold and you give him an anchor. So if you’re
going to pursue this with him….well, just know that I won’t stop you.”
Bucky chuckled into his shoulder, arms coming up to squeeze him hard once,
locking them together from head to toe, before stepping back and taking a slow
drag. He regarded Steve through the haze, smiling in a cocky curl of his lips.
Steve let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, flicking the ashes off
the end of his cigarette absently. Bucky looked like Bucky again, eyes dry,
mouth curled into a smirk, hip cocked, and ready to take on the world.
“Stark’s gonna pitch a bitch when Tony turns legal, you know that right?”
“And I’ll tell him not to be a hypocrite, and that Tony deserves to be happy.”
“And you’re gonna have to keep this from him until then, Stevie. Don’t want my
pretty ass in jail.”
“You can’t arrest someone for phone sex with a consenting minor, Bucky. But
I’ll let you two tell him on your own time.”
“Pretty sure Stark could get my ass arrested for breathing wrong in Tony’s
direction if he wanted to. Seems like he could go all Poppa Bear on someone’s
ass in a second if he needed to.”
Bucky wasn’t wrong, Steve mused, remembering back when he’d been shanghaied
into almost signing a pre-nuptial agreement before Howard had burst in the door
and stopped him. He hadn’t had any issue with signing it, had agreed completely
with the need for it and hadn’t even read it through before reaching for the
pen one of the men held out to him. Like he’d told Howard, after the third time
Howard had shown up for their date with an extravagant gift, he wasn’t dating
him for his money.
He was dating him for the fucking awesome sex.
Oh, and Howard’s stunning personality, of course.
…..But no, seriously, mostly the sex.
Howard had explicitly told them, in no certain terms, that he not going to make
Steve sign a pre-nup because he trusted Steve. He knew Steve wouldn’t screw him
over in the divorce.
That night, Steve had rode Howard in his chair in the cigar room, murmuring how
much he loved him while Howard stroked up and down his sides, returning every
phrase, swearing on everything he had he’d destroy anything that hurt him.
“You’re not wrong,” Steve muttered under his breath, taking one last hit before
tossing the cigarette onto the ground and crushing it under his shoe. He
climbed into the car, picking up Bucky’s phone from where he’d dropped it and
thumbing the screen so it lit up. By the time Bucky moved around and slid into
his seat, Steve was damn near in tears from laughing so hard.
“What’s so funny, jerk?” Bucky growled, starting the car and pulling out onto
the road once again.
Steve flashed him the screen, which showed 8 texts, all of them from Tony.
Bucky groaned and hit his head against the headrest, hard.
“I changed my mind; I don’t need a foot hold. I’ll be fine. This kid’s gonna
kill me.”
Chapter End Notes
     Sadly, no smut :( But next chapter; you've heard of the mile high
     club, yes? :D
     I hope this gave everyone a little background into Bucky's mentality
     on the whole him/Tony thing as well as properly showed that Tony can
     play nice, and it's not him that starts every fight.
     As always, I hope you guys enjoy!
***** Arrival at Last *****
Chapter Summary
     Howard Stark is (not really) a shitty father, and Bucky Barnes has
     things that he would like to go on record. Also, Steve is not turned
     on by Bucky, and Tony is, as always, an unrepentant slut.
Chapter Notes
     I'm....so sorry. But hey, Bucky POV!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Hours later, Howard came into consciousness slowly, like surfacing from a
perfect dive. He was aware of a comfortable warmth surrounding him, not too hot
nor cold.
He was also aware of the tight, powerful body that lay wrapped around him
rocking an impressive erection into his hip.
He stretched, stuttering the roll of Steve’s hips before he settled again and
began moving. Howard looked over to see Steve was still asleep, looking even
younger with the lines of daily stress and worries relaxed in slumber. He
grinned, and gently maneuvered them so that Steve lay flat on his back, still
moving against the sheets in waves. As he scooted down the length of his young
lover’s body, he mentally congratulated himself. Convincing Steve to leave the
other two alone while they took a nap had taken all of their loading and take-
off, but he finally gave in after Barnes and Tony had started bickering, the
older man too hung-over to deal with Tony’s loud presence.
Unbuttoning Steve’s worn khaki shorts, he gently eased them off the man’s hips,
looking up every inch or so to make sure he hadn’t woken him. Steve, amazingly,
stayed asleep as Howard worked both his shorts and underwear off and Howard
felt a twinge of guilt once he settled back between Steve’s bare legs. Maybe he
should just go, and let Steve sleep as long as he pleased. The boy was
obviously exhausted, if he’d stayed asleep this long.
But Steve was still rock-hard, and his abs were tightening rhythmically as he
curled his hips minutely up and down.
He reached up and grasped the base of Steve’s cock tightly, smiling broadly at
the way Steve, still completely unconscious, murmured his name and shifted into
the grip. Bracing his weight on his forearm, he leaned up and took Steve into
his mouth, twirling his tongue lightly over the sensitive head. Howard began to
work his way down Steve’s thick cock, taking in inch after inch until Steve’s
sudden gasp and buck told him he’d finally woken his lover. He pulled off with
a grin and looked at the boy, whose eyes were wide and looking down at him with
an astonished expression.
“H-Howie?” He stuttered out, and Howard gave a lazy pump of his wrist in
response.
“Consider this my apology for being an over-bearing bastard earlier.” Howard
murmured before sucking Steve back down, pushing his tongue hard against the
thick vein on the underside. Steve’s hands landed in his hair, holding and
gently massaging, in contrast to the hard hold he’d had last night. He’d just
gotten Steve to the point where he’d shaken off all the vestiges of sleep and
was bucking and gasping with every hard suck, when what sounded like
cannonballs began hitting the door to the bedroom.
“Hey, lover-boys, pilot says we’re landing here soon. Get’chur asses out here.”
Bucky shouted through the door, and Howard groaned, dropping his forehead onto
Steve’s thigh. He blinked in surprise as he felt Steve soften in his hand, and
looked up with wide eyes. Steve flushed and sat up, rubbing a hand over the
back of his neck.
“No faster way to lose an erection than to hear your best friend’s voice.”
Howard chuckled and dropped a kiss on the flesh under him, snagging Steve’s
discarded clothes and passing them to the boy before climbing out from under
the covers.
“At least I don’t have to worry about any past drunken fumblings coming to
light between you two.” Howard said and Steve snorted, buttoning his pants and
reaching for his shoes.
“Please. Bucky isn’t my type.”
“Oh yeah? And what is?”
Steve grinned impishly as he passed Howard on his way out, stopping for only a
moment to whisper in his ear before darting away.
“Billionaires with big cocks.”
He chuckled and followed after the boy, sitting down across from Bucky and Tony
and strapping in just as the fasten seatbelts sign came on. The Bucky was
scrolling idly on his phone while Tony chatted with Steve about everything
there was to do at the beach house. For a moment, Howard felt an over-whelming
sense of peace. This…this ragtag group of people he’d cobbled together and tied
to himself, was his family. For better or worse, he was stuck with them for the
rest of his life.
The thought wasn’t as grating as it would have been a year ago.
He felt the plane start to descend and saw both Steve and Bucky absently start
to work their jaws, popping their ears. Tony, however, was trying valiantly but
kept wincing with every mile they dropped. In an attempt to fend off any
bitchiness from Tony having an earache, Howard reached into a side compartment
and fished out a pack of gum, tossing it to the boy. He took it without looking
at Howard, popping a few pieces into his mouth and chewing furiously, the pain
vanishing from his face within moments.
Steve shot him a blinding grin, which Howard dutifully ignored, tapping on the
table to bring up the weather and other news on the area. Barnes looked over at
him and then down at the table in front of himself, putting his phone down with
a frown. He elbowed Tony who turned and, once he caught sight of Howard, tapped
a few times to bring up a browser for him as well. Barnes grinned like a kid at
Christmas and began tapping furiously, while Tony turned back to the window.
Finally they felt the jerk as the plane landed and began to taxi down the
runway to where they could get off. As the roar of the engines died down,
Howard opened his mouth to ask Steve what he wanted to eat for lunch once they
got settled, but was interrupted by a low moan that emanated from the speakers
to his right. All eyes turned to Barnes, who looked up and hit a few buttons,
leaning back with an unrepentant grin. Howard felt a twitch start up below his
left eye as he realized what had been going on.
“Barnes, were you watching porn on my jet?!”
“Yes.” Bucky answered simply, tucking his phone into his pocket and leaning
over to see out the window. He unknowingly, or uncaringly as this was Barnes,
smashed Tony between him and the plane wall and Howard braced himself for the
boys hollering and swinging fists. To his surprise, Tony merely grunted and
leaned forward so that Barnes was sprawled over his back, still chewing on his
gum.
Howard frowned and made a mental note to have Tony check in with the doctors
nearby, to make sure nothing had happened to his ears.
He didn’t care, he just didn’t want to hear Tony bitch the whole vacation once
pain set in.
Yeah. That was it.
He shook off the inner voice that sounded suspiciously like Steve and stood the
moment the lights went off, striding towards the exit. He’d done very good on
the flight, not fought with Tony or Barnes, and even managed to keep off his
phone for anything other than answering Obi’s texts about how it was going. But
even Howard knew not to push his luck, and the moment the door was pulled open,
he slid on his aviators and trotted down the stairs.
He stopped a few feet away from the bottom of the stairs and turned, watching
the other three amble down to join him. Howard ignored the obnoxious pink color
of Barnes’ glasses and held out a hand as the man shook a cigarette from his
pack. Barnes obligingly shook out another and handed it over, lighting his own
and holding the Zippo out to Howard. Once he had his lit, Barnes smirked and
tucked the lot back inside the side pocket of his cargos.
“Thought you liked wrapping your lips around bigger things, Stark.”
Howard opened his mouth to reply when Tony stopped next to Barnes and mimicked
his earlier gesture, holding out a palm expectantly. He was about to light Tony
up for even suggesting it when Barnes looked from the boy’s hand to his face.
“Low five, alright!” He shouted and brought his hand down sharply onto top of
Tony’s, knocking to back down to the kid’s side. Tony narrowed his eyes and
glared at the man but Barnes merely turned to watch them pull the cars out,
uncaring of the teen drilling holes in his back.
After they had them out, their luggage taken away to be dropped at the house
and put away, and Steve had sent someone off with his bike, they all moved over
to the cars.
Steve shot him an uneasy look, glancing at where he and Howard had
instinctively moved to the side his car while Tony had migrated to stand next
to Barnes’. He arched a brow at the look. Why in the hell did Steve think he’d
care if they stuck Barnes with Tony and got a few minutes of blissful silence
on the way there? Howard shrugged and went to open Steve’s door, ushering his
husband inside and closing it before turning to speak to Barnes.
“Follow us and try not to throw the kid outta the car.”
Barnes nodded sharply, and went to get into his own, Tony bouncing around to
the passenger side like a puppy. Howard wondered idly why in the world the boy
had been so well behaved today and shrugged the thought away; blaming it on the
fact that he barely slept at MIT and Tony had probably gotten his first good
night’s rest in three years the last couple of nights. He slid in next to
Steve, grinning at the man who’d fished his own wraparounds out of the glove
compartment and was fiddling with the radio, no doubt trying to find the oldies
station. He leaned over to press a kiss to Steve’s forehead, jolting when
Barnes laid on his horn and then laughing at the finger Steve shot him.
This was turning out to be an alright vacation anyways.
***************************************
This vacation was going to be shit, Bucky thought bitterly as he followed
Stark’s flashy car through the streets of Hawaii. Oh, it was going to be fun as
hell and he had absolutely no problem conning Stark into throwing money around
so he and Steve could have the vacation they always dreamed about. But he was
still going to be in proximity, close proximity actually, to Tony.
Who was doing his damnedest to get his hand on Bucky’s cock.
He brought his hand down on the kid’s knuckles for the third time in ten
minutes and stuck a finger in the kid’s face, glancing between Tony and the
road.
“If I have to smack your hand one more goddamn time, kid, I’m gonna send you
through this windshield, hear me?”
Tony huffed and threw himself back in the seat, crossing his arms over his
chest and pouting.
And….seriously? How was this kid a college graduate?
“You’ve got tinted windows and we have at least another twenty minutes before
we get to the house. What’s the harm in a roadjob?”
“What’s the—“ Bucky could hardly believe this little shit and he slammed his
palm down on the steering wheel in frustration. “Did we not just have the ‘not
until you’re fucking legal’ conversation, punk? Keep your hands, and everything
else, away from my cock until you blow out those candles.”
Tony groaned theatrically and ran slow hands down the front of his shirt,
ending at his groin and cupping himself through the material.
“But Buuucccky, I’m so horny.” He whined, grinding his palm down and Bucky
tightened his grip on the wheel, resolutely ignoring the teen writhing in the
seat next to him. After a few moments, Tony huffed again and started to un-
button his shorts.
Bucky would like it to go on record that he’s normally a very good driver, and
to be fair, pedestrian’s take the chance when they step off the curb.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” He hissed at Tony, glancing up to
where Stark and Steve were chatting while they waited for the light to turn
green.
The boy shrugged and toyed with his waistband, licking his lips and staring at
Buck with hooded eyes.
“You look fucking hot in that outfit. I’ve got time; why not take advantage of
the show?”
Bucky would also like it to go on record that he’s not a very violent person,
war notwithstanding, and so reaching over to clap a hand against the back of
Tony’s head is not normal behavior.
Tony yelped and brought his hands up to cover where Bucky’s palm had landed;
looking for all the world like Bucky had just told him he’d shot his dog. Bucky
ignored him once again, eyes back on the road as Stark took a turn that led
them down a road lined with palm trees, further away from the city. Tony was
buttoning his pants back up and now had an elbow propped on the windowsill,
glancing moodily out at the passing scenery. The image hit Bucky as proof of
just how young Tony actually was, and for a moment he felt sick to his stomach,
remembering large hands and the stench of vodka on hot breath.
He must’ve made a small sound because Tony whipped around and blinked at him,
cautiously reaching a hand out to lay it against Bucky’s bare forearm, fingers
resting lightly like he was scared he’d get whacked again. He felt bad when he
saw the slight red staining Tony’s knuckles where his slap had landed and,
cursing his own damn weakness, took one hand off the wheel to tangle their
fingers together, dropping them down to rest on the center console.
Tony beamed and practically wriggled in his seat, tightening his grip like
Bucky was going to pull away. It yanked painfully inside Bucky’s chest, that
this kid was already so attached to some fucked up veteran like him. But he’d
warned him and warned him and Tony hadn’t listened. It would just be up to
Bucky to make sure they didn’t get too close, not close enough for it to hurt
Tony when it all shattered at their feet, like anything Bucky tried to do well
did.
He had to chuckle at the boys enthusiasm, though, and looked over at him.
“You act like it’s the first time someone’s ever held your hand, kid.”
“It is. Not much call for hand-holding when the only people you spend time with
just wanna quick blow or bang.” Tony said nonchalantly and Bucky ground his
teeth at the thought of Tony, young and scared and surrounding by elders,
people who should have thought about that fact that the kid was in college, and
probably still had Batman pajamas. It enraged him beyond belief and he blew out
a long breath, turning a little too quickly to follow Stark onto another more
secluded road.
“Shoulda told ‘em no, punk. Shoulda waited.”
“Yeah, because my husband will be so disappointed that I won’t be able to wear
white to the wedding. You probably didn’t wait, when was the first time you had
sex…er….con..sen..sually?” Bucky grinned at the way the kid drew out the last
word, before outright laughing at the horrified look on his face.
“Relax kid, I’m not gonna go into convulsions because you brought it up. It’s
something that happened, just like me going to war or your parents getting
divorced. Past shit that you shouldn’t have long ass conversations about, but
you can’t pretend it didn’t happen.”
Tony nodded like he understood completely, but the tight grip on Bucky’s
fingers told him he really wasn’t sure he hadn’t crossed a line. He impulsively
ran a thumb over the kid’s knuckles, and cursed himself when Tony relaxed
instantly.
Oh yeah, this little boy was fucking deadly. And if Bucky didn’t watch his ass,
Tony’d wind up wrecking him.
“So?”
“Soooo?”
“Bastard. When did you first have sex?”
Bucky thought back, running through the random fuck’s he’d had over the years
and landing on the very first one, grinning at the memory. Man, he’d been so
damn proud, he’d rushed over to Steve’s to tell him, ignoring the way his
friend had tried to protest and bury his head under his pillows.
Maybe he did deserve it when Steve tried to make out with Stark in front of
him.
“I was 16, kid, and so was she. Camille Johnson, head cheerleader. Out in the
parking lot during the Sadie Hawkins dance. She wore this tight little red
dress, woo…fucking filled it out nice too.”
He blinked at the rush of air from beside him and glanced over to see Tony’s
thunderous expression, eyes glinting with jealousy. Bucky untangled their
fingers to bop the kid on the nose, Tony’s eyes crossing and the look
disappearing for the moment.
“But that was ten years ago, and last I heard she’s married with two kids. So
get that green off your face, kiddo.”
Tony crossed his arms and leaned back into his seat, grinning over at him
arrogantly as they pulled to a stop in front of a truly massive house, Steve
and Stark climbing out of their car already.
“Doesn’t matter anyways. Once you fuck my ass until I’m screaming and make me
yours, everyone else is gonna seem like a distant, shitty memory.”
Bucky Barnes would also like it to go on record that he totally saw Stark in
front of the car and if he didn’t want to almost get hit then his ass shouldn’t
have gotten so close to a moving vehicle.
Chapter End Notes
     I knowwwww! There's no porn! And I'm so sorry *hangs head* I tried
     and they were like....no. And it kept coming out all forced and
     awkward and aajhdgskjfsd. So enjoy this chapter of split POV, and I
     promise, porn tomorrow.
***** This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things *****
Chapter Summary
     Steve plays a game, Howard Stark is actually not a bad dad, Bucky
     Barnes should've been a marathon runner, and Tony is still just a
     broken, insecure kid.
Chapter Notes
     WARNING: For...ahm...hell, I'm so bad at this...prostitution play?
     Definite cum play. If it squicks you, it can be easily skipped, (I
     don't put plot in my porn :D).
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Later, once they had thoroughly gorged themselves at lunch and dinner and
explored the house, Steve left Bucky and Tony relaxing by the fire pit and
strode into the house to find Howard, who’d disappeared a while ago to wash off
the chlorine from their dip into the pool. As he padded through the house in
bare feet, the cool hardwood feeling good on the soles he’d warmed by the
flames, he thought back to the fun they’d all had swimming around in a pool
that was bigger than Howard’s massive one at home.
He wanted to sketch out the expression on Tony’s face when he’d seen the
intricate tattoo on Bucky’s left arm after the man had stripped off his shirt,
the strong lines and clean angles making it appear as though the limb was made
of machinery from the elbow to the shoulder, separating around the star high on
his bicep. It was Bucky’s memento from the army, an allusion to him being the
‘star’ shooter in the ‘war machine’ that was the armed forces.
Steve didn’t particularly care for tattoos but hey, at least Bucky had let
Steve design his rather than risk it to Joe Nobody on the streets.
The truly amazing part of the evening had been watching Howard haul himself out
of the water to join Bucky for a cigarette. His body had been dripping, the
drops of water clinging to lithe muscles until the last moment, as if even they
couldn’t resist him. Steve had only gotten a moment to drool, however, because
Tony was a smart, opportunistic little shit and had sent a wave of water
splashing up into his dumbstruck expression.
Steve swung into the doorway of their room and caught sight of Howard standing
on the balcony that overlooked the pool and fire pit, staring down below with
his arms crossed, a squat glass on the ledge next to him. He smiled at the
familiar sight and strode towards his lover. Howard had actually slowed down on
his drinking after he’d met Steve, but it wasn’t unusual for him to still
absently sip from a glass when he had things on his mind.
He stopped behind Howard and slipped his arms around his waist, dropping a kiss
on the man’s temple. Howard turned his head toward him and smiled absently
before looking back down at where Bucky was lounging back in his chair while
Tony waved his arms around, no doubt telling some wild story.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
“Tony was…unusually well behaved today. I’m hoping nothing happened with Maria
and now he’s scrambling to make sure I don’t—hell, I don’t know—kick him out on
his ass or something.” Howard said, turning in Steve’s arms and running his
fingers through his hair.
Steve grinned at his lover’s frustrations and bumped their noses together
playfully. It worked to his advantage that Howard needed his mind cleared, what
he had planned for the older man would certainly do just that.
“I’m sure it’s just because of the excitement of the day. Watch, tomorrow he’ll
be screaming that he’s leaving and tossing glasses again.”
Howard grunted and picked up his glass, taking a small sip before catching
Steve’s look and tilting it towards him.
“Want some?”
Steve shook his head and plucked the tumbler from his hands, placing it back on
the balcony before leaning in.
“Rather get a taste another way.” He mumbled before pressing their lips
together, delighting in the way Howard opened easily for him, accepting the
slick thrust of his tongue. Steve let the kiss carry on for a while, enjoying
the dark tang on his lover’s tongue, before he pulled back, moving his hands to
cup Howard’s hips.
“So, I’m not up here just to idly chat with you.”
Howard’s expression shuttered at Steve’s words and he cautiously nodded,
running gentle hands up Steve’s forearms. Steve almost laughed at the sight,
internally shaking his head at how guarded Howard still was, as if he expected
at any moment for Steve to turn and tell him it’d all been a joke and he’d be
out the next afternoon. He sobered up and reached up to trail a slow finger
over Howard’s jaw, noting the clenched tightness of it.
“You hired me for the night, Mister Stark. I’m here to pay up.”
Howard tilted his head like a retriever that had been asked to translate
Hungarian before realization dawned in his eyes, followed swiftly by a dark
hunger.
“Yeah? Ready to do your job?”
Steve nodded and bit his lip, gazing up coquettishly at Howard through his
lashes.
“Of course. But…just be gentle with me, alright? I got used hard last night.”
Howard barked out a laugh and, grasping onto Steve’s forearms, marched him
backwards until they cleared the doorway so that Howard could kick the door
shut with one heel. It slammed with a loud sound that made Steve wince for one
moment. So much for keeping it on the DL that they were screwing. The thought
immediately vanished as Howard walked him to the bed and shoved, sending Steve
sprawling back against the sheets. He propped a knee on the bed between Steve’s
thighs, looming over him.
“Gentle? Little slutty fucks like you don’t get gentle, darling. No, you get
quite the opposite.”
Steve shuddered at the naked desire in the tone, spreading his legs wider
almost instinctively.
“W-what’s the opposite, Mister Stark?”
Howard came down over him, other knee coming up to spread him wide and hands
landing near Steve’s ears. He pinned Steve in place with his eyes more than his
body, and his next words sent a violent shudder through him.
“Whores like you get fucked sloppy and ruined.”
Steve whined and tugged at the loose shirt Howard had slipped on, fists
clenched in the material as his hips rolled. Howard laughed at his enthusiasm,
leaning up to strip the shirt off and stepping off the bed to pull on Steve’s
swim trunks. At first, getting Steve to admit that he had the kink had taken
Howard pouring half a bottle of liquor into him and pumping his cock until
Steve thought he was going to go mad.
He’d finally sobbed it out when Howard had stopped his orgasm for the second
time and Howard’s reaction had been nothing like he’d been expecting. Normally,
people would react with disgust, the recent campaign against slut-shaming
making it taboo to desire this sort of treatment, but Howard had groaned like
he’d been hit and dropped down to suck him off, growling how hot that was and
how he couldn’t wait to do it.
Steve distantly heard the smack of his still damp trunks hitting the floor
before his world spun and his face was slammed into the bed. Howard kicked his
feet wider from where Steve had managed to plant them and shoved Steve forward
until he was completely bent over the bed, ass up and hole damn near fully
exposed from the spread stance.
“Stay just like that, slut. I’m gonna go get what I need.”
He nodded at Howard’s command, groaning at the smack he landed to punctuate his
words. Steve turned his head so it wasn’t buried in the bed, hearing Howard
yank open the case they’d shoved into the back of the car and brought
themselves to the house.
“You’re gonna wear a condom, right, Mister Stark?” He asked softly, and Howard
chuckled, padding back to him and letting Steve know he was there with a stroke
down his flank.
“No more of that Mister Stark shit. Call me whatever you want, but not that.
And no, little slutty fucks like you don’t get condoms. What part of sloppy and
ruined wasn’t clear?”
The pop of the lube cap was Steve’s only warning before two slick fingers
shoved into him. He arched and cried out, but shoved back onto them, the slight
burn not in the slightest diminishing the erection that hung heavy between his
thighs. Howard pumped them in and out, stretching him slowly as Steve moaned
and bucked. A hand suddenly wrapped around his cock and he jumped, whining as
the tight grip.
“Jesus fuck, you like this don’t you, tramp? No wonder you bend over for any
stray dick that wants to get inside you. Do you cum when they fill you up,
hmmm? Do you go nuts for the feeling of their cum leaking out of your wrecked
hole?”
Steve sobbed his affirmation into the comforter, his breath hitching when
Howard shoved a third finger in with the other two. He was half out of his mind
already, quickly caught up in his own game. He hadn’t expected Howard to be so
very good at playing the part of an abusive john, nor had he expected his own
extremely favorable re-action to the behavior. He was brought out of his
thoughts by a hard smack to his ass, jolting and shoving back onto Howard’s
fingers.
“Christ, look at how fucking desperate you are for my cock. Why don’t you beg
for it sweetheart? Beg me to screw your tight little fuckhole until you’re
screaming.” Howard said, yanking his fingers away and gripping onto Steve’s
hips so he couldn’t buck backwards.
“Please! Please, please, please. Fuck me, fuck my ass until you cum. Please, I
wanna feel you split me open on your huge cock.” Steve wailed, rolling his hips
desperately against Howard’s hold.
One hand lifted from his hip and he felt the hot press of Howard’s cock pushing
against him. Steve took one deep fortifying breath before shoving backwards
suddenly; surprising Howard to the point where the man couldn’t stop him, and
getting his lover’s entire dick inside in one go.
Howard groaned and his hips bucked once before a hand came out and fisted in
Steve’s hair, yanking his head back in a tight grip.
“Did I fucking say you could have my cock, you goddamn slut?! Worthless whore,
I should throw you out on your ass, let you find another cock to fill you up.
God, if you weren’t so tight… How in the hell are you this tight, hmm? I know
you must have a dick wrecking your ass every night, are all the other’s that
tiny?”
Steve arched hard at the words, cock jerking as he nodded as best he could
against Howard’s tight grip. He knew others might have a problem with the pain,
but to Steve it was the only thing keeping him from coming all over the bed at
this point.
“Y-yeah, yeah, no one’s as big as you…Big Daddy.” He whimpered, before having
to muffle a scream in his forearm as Howard let go of his hair and gripped hard
onto his hips, pounding into him with harsh snaps of his hips.
“Big Daddy, huh? Want me to be your sugar daddy, sweetheart? Want me to buy
your ass off your pimp and just have you as my little fuck-toy? Not a bad idea,
could just leave you with your ass up in the air all the time, whenever I get
bored just go over and fuck another load into your sloppy hole. Want that?
Wanna be Big Daddy’s little cumbucket?” He asked, not stopping in the slightest
as Steve bucked and thrust back against him, his words raking trails of fire
across Steve’s brain.
“Yes!” Steve whimpered, unhooking his teeth from where he’d bitten down and
licking over the blood that welled up on the meat of his forearm. “Yes, please,
please buy me Big Daddy. Please just give me all your cum. Wanna be soaking wet
and loose from you.”
“Heh, you’re already loose, bitch. At this rate, I might as well be fucking my
own hand, at least it can tighten back up. Can’t believe you stretched around
my cock so fast. Your ass must’ve been hungry for a dick in it, huh? Come on,
tighten up around me or I’m not even gonna get close.” Howard commanded with a
sharp slap to Steve’s ass.
He tightened reflexively at the hit, moaning like the whore he was pretending
to be when it made Howard’s cock, already disproportionately huge for his size,
feel like a damn baseball bat. Howard must’ve enjoyed it though because his
thrusts became harsher, the hard slams indicative his lover was getting close
to the edge despite his words. Steve just let himself take every push of
Howard’s hips, turning his face to the side so he could breathe, paying no mind
to the drool that was slipping out from the harsh fuck.
Howard, however, did pay it mind and suddenly Steve had two fingers thrust deep
into his mouth. He instinctively sucked at them, relaxing in his decision when
he heard Howard laugh darkly at the sight.
“Should’ve known a little slut like you wouldn’t be satisfied with only a cock
up your ass. Next time I’ll buy you a gag so something can fill your pretty
mouth. Or, hell, maybe I’ll let you pick out a nice fake cock so you can
deepthroat it. You’re gonna need practice after all, I want to be able to feel
you lick my balls while my cock’s buried down your throat, hear me? Shit, I’m
gonna cum after all. Think I should cum inside you? Think you’ve done a good
enough job that you deserve it?”
This was the part where Howard left all the choice up to Steve. If Steve said
he had deserved it, Howard would yank out and not cum inside him, but if he
swore he didn’t deserve it, Howard would accuse him of not wanting to be marked
up for his next john and spill every single drop inside him. Steve wanted to
feel Howard’s cum fill him up, but he also loved to see what Howard would do
when he said he deserved it. It was always amazingly hot.
“Yes, yes, please. I was a good boy, right, Big Daddy? Bent over so nice for
you. Please, cum inside me?”
Howard, true to form, snorted and ground in hard once before stepping back,
pulling himself completely out abruptly. Steve barely had time to cry out at
the sudden loss before Howard was shoving him further onto the bed and flipping
him, so that Steve was facing him with his bare ass hanging off the edge,
pressed against Howard’s thighs. Howard reached down and gripped himself, cock
hard and shining with the lube he’d used. He began to jack himself quickly,
glaring down at Steve’s form.
“I only cum inside lovers, and you’re just a hole for me to fuck until I get
bored with you. No, no, you’re gonna wear my cum. All you’re good for anyways,
why not show it off? Now…the only question is where do I cum? Should I cum over
your tits like you’re a chippie I picked up? Or maybe on your face, make you
walk outta here with your cheeks dripping so everyone knows what you are?
No…no, none of those. I got it.” Howard grinned maliciously at him and worked
his arm faster, the clench of his jaw telling Steve he was insanely close.
Steve wondered for a moment where in the world Howard was going to cum. The
only places he’d done it before were the two he’d vetoed.
His answer came quickly as Howard groan and bucked, tilting his hips down and
striping Steve’s own rock hard cock with his cum. Steve bucked and writhed at
the feel of the hot liquid covering his sensitive erection as it gave a violent
jerk and spilled some pre-cum from the tip just at the action.
Howard finally stopped and, panting harshly, braced himself with a hand on
either of Steve’s thighs, shoving them even wider. He locked eyes with Steve
and grinned, inclining his head to the white cream that covered Steve.
“There you go, tramp. Jerk yourself off with my cum. Bet you’ll explode within
seconds, ridiculous little whore. Do it. Now.”
The thought of disobeying the snarled order didn’t even cross Steve’s mind and
he reached down, wrapping a tight fist around himself and pumping. Howard’s cum
made the perfect lube and within the seconds Howard predicted, the fact that he
was using his lover’s cum to jerk off got to him and he was spilling over his
own hand, crying out Howard’s name.
He must’ve passed out for a second there, because when he came back around
Howard was finishing wiping him off with a warm, damp cloth. He leaned over
when he saw Steve’s eyes flutter open and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Steve
smiled up at him softly and Howard chuckled, bumping their noses in a
ridiculously cute gesture at odds with the previous act.
“You really are a deadly little boy, you know that?” He asked, tossing the
cloth atop Steve’s trunks and crossing to the dresser to pull out a pair of
running shorts and an old jersey of his.
“Your deadly little boy.” Steve muttered, grinning at Howard’s suffering groan
and tugging the clothes on quickly. Howard shook his head and put the lube
bottle into the bedside table before crossing to the door.
“Darling boy. Wanna go grab us some water bottles while I go make sure Barnes
hasn’t killed my kid?” He asked, and Steve nodded, following him down the hall
until they split at the archway, Howard heading outside while Steve padded into
the massive kitchen.
He went to tug open the fridge when his attention was caught by a piece of tech
lying half under it and he leant down to pick it up, task forgotten. Huh, it
looked like Tony’s cell phone. But what in the world was it doing laying on the
floor with the screen shattered? Throwing a look over his shoulder, he hit the
button to bring up the screen, not expecting much. To his surprise it glowed,
but there was nothing on it but the screen that came up when you finished a
call, letting you know the call time and whatnot. Looks like Tony had been
talking to his mom, right before he’d come out to swim with them.
He’d just laid the phone onto the island, choosing not to snoop further, when
Howard’s loud ‘what the fuck?!’ brought his head around and he went sprinting
in the direction of the pool. God, he hoped Bucky and Tony hadn’t been doing
anything. Definitely not the way he wanted Howard to find out.
He skidded to a stop, heart beating a fast tattoo in his chest as he surveyed
the scene. Bucky sat back in his lounge chair, seemingly unaffected, and if
Steve hadn’t been incredibly used to seeing Bucky he wouldn’t have noticed that
the man’s hair was mussed beyond normal and his clothes sat a bit awkwardly.
That wasn’t what Howard was staring at though. No, his husband was glaring at
Tony who was standing there looking like a puppy who’d gotten his nose whapped.
Steve looked around wildly before zeroing in on the smashed bottle at Tony’s
feet. He winced when he saw the familiar blue label lying on the ground, face
up for the world to see.
“Damnit, Tony, what the hell are you thinking?! You’re sixteen goddamn years
old and I catch you trying to drink whiskey?!” Howard shouted and Tony’s fists
clenched before he snapped his head up and glared at his dad.
“And so what? How fucking old were you when you started, Dad? Maybe I was just
trying to get a start on the whole drunken bastard thing so when I inevitably
fuck up and knock up some chick, I’ve got an excuse for why I can’t spend time
with my kid too!” He snarled back and Howard’s face grew blood red in the light
of the flames.
“Ever think maybe I drank because I knocked some chick up?!”
Steve saw the moment that Tony took Howard’s words the wrong way, his whole
body shutting down. He knew Howard meant that he drank because of Maria,
because he’d explained to Steve that he’d only married her because she got
pregnant with Tony, even though he knew she was fast and loose. But Tony didn’t
know, so he took Howard’s words at face value and the shattered look on his
face meant he thought Howard was saying he drank because of Tony.
Steve lifted a hand to stop the boy but Tony was already gone, taking off down
the path and vaulting over the gate that separated their home from the beach.
He was tearing off down the sand at a break-neck pace and Steve was instantly
terrified he was going to hurt himself, or worse. Howard shoved his hands
through his hair and spun to face Steve with a horrified look, silently begging
him to fix something he had no idea how to.
“Bucky, please—“ He’d barely gotten the words out when Bucky went sprinting
past them, hauling himself over the gate with one hand and heading for the boy.
Tony was young, but Bucky was army trained to haul ass when he needed to and
Steve breathed a sigh of relief when he reached out and snagged Tony’s arm,
yanking the boy to a stop. Tony pushed and shoved at him, voice but not words
carrying over the sounds of the waves. Bucky merely held tight, his responses
also unclear but the deep rumble of his shout just as audible as Tony’s. His
eyes were torn from them for a moment when Howard threw himself into a nearby
chair, burying his face in his hands.
Steve ran a hand down the man’s trembling back, casting one last look down the
beach and breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that Tony had sagged against
Bucky’s chest. He knelt down onto the concrete and laid his forehead against
Howard’s temple, listening to the man pant harshly.
“I am the world’s biggest fuck-up of a father.” Howard breathed out, fingers
shoved into his hair and gripping tightly. Steve shook his head and pulled the
hands free, laying gentle kisses on Howard’s cheek until his breathing evened.
“No, you’re not. Tony misunderstood, baby. You reacted like any other parent
would have when they found their kid drinking and it escalated because you two
are too much alike.” Steve soothed, rubbing a hand up and down Howard’s back.
The man nodded numbly and they sat in silence like that for a long while,
breathing in the smell of the fire and relaxing in each other’s presence until
footsteps brought their heads around. Tony was trudging up the path in front of
Bucky, his eyes red and swollen from tears and his whole body a mass of
exhaustion.
“Tony!” Howard leapt to his feet and rushed to the boy, tugging him into a hug
Tony didn’t even try to fight. “I’m sorry. Fuck, I didn’t mean you. I didn’t.
You’re…you’re my greatest creation, Tony.”
Tony lifted his head and smiled dimly at his father, pulling back slightly.
“I know, Dad. I know. I know you didn’t mean it.”
“You…you can go to your mothers if you want. I’ll have someone take you on the
Jet tonight.”
Tony’s expression shuddered and he shook his head, stepping out of Howard’s
arms.
“Nah, s’okay. She’s….really busy. Maybe after we get back, her, ah, meetings
will have slowed down and I can go then. Look, I’m pretty exhausted. Sorry I
tried to drink, it was fuck stupid of me, won’t happen again. Can I go to bed?”
Tony sounded about as exhausted as he looked and Howard nodded sharply, not
even commenting on Tony’s language, stepping aside and letting the boy pass.
As he did, Steve caught a glimpse of a familiar silver chain poking out from
beneath the collar of the huge hoodie Tony’d tugged on after swimming and
blinked dumbly. Those were…was Tony wearing Bucky’s tags? He shot the man in
question a look, but Bucky shook his head minutely and strode over to his seat,
shaking out a cigarette and lighting it with almost angry movements.
Howard had turned to watch Tony go, thankfully not noticing what Steve had, and
had a thunderous expression on his face. Steve reached out and laid a hand on
his arm, confused at the shift in mood.
“Howie, baby, what’s the matter?”
“Did you hear his voice when he talked about Maria?”
“Um..tired? He sounded tired that whole sentence, so I don’t—“
“No,” Howard cut him off, ripping his phone from his pocket and tapping the
screen with harsher movements than necessary. Things clicked into place for
Steve just before Howard spoke again. Tony’s hesitation over the word
‘meetings’, the shattered phone with the call from Maria, the way Tony had been
overly happy when he’d come out to the pool, like he’d been forcing it…
“He knows. Goddamnit, Tony fucking knows.”
Chapter End Notes
     Uh-oh. Here comes Papa Bear Howie.
     So yes, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! (See? When there's time
     between chapters and lack of porn, I usually try to make it up really
     well!)
     The next chapter will be...ugh. It's gonna be hell.
     But, keep an eye out for an out-take of what Bucky and Tony did while
     HnS were getting busy, as well as the beach scene. It doesn't fit
     into the story flow, so it'll just be a standalone post to the series
     :)
***** Secrets Revealed; a.k.a Howard Stark and Bucky Barnes: New Friends? *****
Chapter Summary
     Maria Stark is a shit mother, eavesdropping never works out well,
     even accidentally, and Howard and Bucky bond.
Chapter Notes
     WARNING: Semi-explicit recounting of childhood sexual abuse by family
     members. Derogatory language toward a a female, and Stark family
     feels.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Howard could barely hold the phone steady as he held it tight to his ear, every
dial tone wracking his rage up higher and higher. If Maria didn’t fucking
answer, he was going to—
“What, Howard.”
“You fucking whore!” He burst out, seeing Steve jump out of the corner of his
eye. He heard her offended gasp and spoke over whatever she was going to
sputter out.
“No, no, shut your fucking mouth and listen to me, Maria. Would you like to
explain to me why Tony, who doesn’t touch anything stronger than wine, just
tried to swallow whiskey?!”
He heard her moving around before her tone came down the line, pissed off and
arrogant, just like old times.
“Maybe because he’s your goddamn son? And apparently being an alcoholic fuck-up
runs in the genes?”
Howard snarled and paced, snatching the lit cigarette Barnes held out and
drawing deeply, relishing the burn in his lungs that matched the one in his
cheeks.
“You do not call my son a fuck-up, Maria. That kid’s the only good thing you
ever managed to put on this Earth.”
“Oh, sure, he’s your son now. But when he was six and needy and clingy, he was
my responsibility, right? What’s going on, Howard? Did your little fuck-toy
make you call me and hash it out?”
“Leave Steve out of this, you bitch. He’s got absolutely nothing to do with
this. This is about the fact that my kid just came to me looking fucking
wrecked and I’ll bet my damn fortune it’s because of something you said to
him.”
Maria sighed like this whole conversation was as bothersome as realizing you
had on the wrong pair of shoes right before going out the door. He damn near
dropped the cigarette he was holding because of the rage making his normally
surgeon steady hands tremble. Only the sight of Steve smiling gently from where
he had plopped down next to Barnes stopped him from becoming a raging mess.
“I didn’t say a thing to him, Howard. He called, bothering me about coming out
here and accidentally over-heard Thom talking to me about our plans for the
night. Plans you’re interrupting, I might add.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Howard growled, taking one last long drag and crushing the
cigarette into the nearby ashtray. Both Barnes and Steve were looking at him
with equal looks of anger and appreciation and Howard felt a momentary rush of
peace at the fact that these men were behind him, were angry because he was
angry.
It was odd having someone have your back.
“I’m so sorry I’m interrupting your precious mattress time, Maria. I know how
you so value the time you get to spend on your back.”
“Of course you do,” Maria sneered. “You loved having me on my back. The only
time we ever got along, actually. Is it like that with your new boy? Only
valuable when he’s lying under your disgusting body? Does he know you’ll
divorce him too when he stops putting out like I did?”
Howard literally saw red at her words and spun on his heel, gripping the phone
so hard he heard it creak.
“No, it’s nothing like it was with you, Maria. It doesn’t feel like I’m trying
to fuck a goddamn coffee can. And the only reason we got a divorce is because
you stopped putting out for me, but not for every other dick that sniffed in
your direction, you fucking cunt.”
He figured Steve’s gasp was because of his language and looked over, meaning to
shoot the man an apologetic glance, when he realized Steve wasn’t looking at
him. No, he was half out of the chair, eyes locked on the doorway to the house.
Howard turned slowly, already knowing with a sense of dread exactly what he’d
see. Sure enough, Tony stood a few feet from the doorway, looking insanely
young with the helpless expression on his face. Howard cursed and hung up,
cutting off Maria’s shrieks of indignation and anger.
“Tony,” he began, clapping his mouth shut when the boy held up his hands in
front of him. Tony lowered them slowly, keeping his eyes locked with Howard’s.
“Is it true?”
“Tony, I never meant—“
“Is it true, Dad?”
Howard let out a harsh breath and planted his hands on his hips, shaking his
head at the ground before meeting Tony’s pained gaze once again.
“Yeah. It’s true, Tony.”
Howard could almost see Tony’s entire world shatter around him at the moment
and he’d never before ached so very much to take his own child into his arms.
But the way Tony hugged himself and curled inwards told Howard it probably
wouldn’t be well met and he was trying to lessen the blow, not augment it.
He felt like his feet had been nailed to the floor, unable to move even when
Tony’s shoulders began to shake and sobs floated out into the silence. Movement
next to him barely registered until Steve came into his line of vision,
crossing to Tony and cautiously wrapping his arms around the boy. Howard
cringed when he saw just how quickly Tony re-acted to the warm presence,
clinging to Steve and burying his face in his husband’s shirt. For Tony to
cling so quickly to a man he’d met only days ago, it showed just how desperate
he was for affection, how starved he’d become for simple comforting human
contact.
Comfort.
Yes, that was it. Howard may be complete shit at affection and love but he’d
managed to do one actual fatherly thing in Tony’s entire life. Something the
boy apparently still clung to.
He strode forwards, locking eyes with Steve as the man rocked Tony gently and
whispered soft words that seemed to be working, as Tony’s full-body shudders
were growing further and further apart. Steve’s eyes were brimmed with tears of
sympathy and Howard felt yet another pang of love for the amazing man he’d
managed to convince to love him. He inclined his head towards the open door and
Steve nodded before returning his attention to the child still clinging to him.
Howard was just pulling open the door to the fridge and reaching in to grab the
iced tea when Barnes strode around the corner, dragging a chair out from the
kitchen island and settling in it. He could feel the man’s eyes on him as he
puttered around, grabbing out the licorice and chamomile drops from the
cupboard as well as the food coloring package. He stuck the tea in the
microwave, letting it heat while he tossed the other ingredients into a martini
mixer. Barnes finally spoke up once Howard had grabbed the tea and poured it in
as well, speaking over the sloshing as he shook up the mixture.
“Steve and him are sitting out by the fire, talking.”
Howard nodded and grabbed a tall glass from the cabinet underneath, pouring the
bright orange mixture into it. When he turned back from setting the mixer on
the counter next to the sink, Barnes had the glass halfway to his mouth. Howard
leaned back against the counter and watched Barnes take a small sip, smacking
his lips as he set it back down.
“Hmmm, tastes like someone spiked a long island iced tea with Jaeger.”
“Yeah, it does, doesn’t it? Tony used to have trouble sleeping when he was a
kid, looking back now though, I wouldn’t be able to sleep either if I’d have
lived like he did. So one night when Maria was out and Jarvis was down sick, he
came into my lab. Kid was almost falling over exhausted but his eyes were wild,
that look you get when you need to sleep so badly you’re almost begging for it,
but your brain just won’t shut off? So I took him up, grabbed some tea Marta
had made, chamomile because everyone knows about that, and licorice. Tony would
eat just about anything if it was licorice flavored. Of course, he was five at
the time, and looked at it like it was poison. So I threw in food coloring. The
minute it turned that bright ass color he chugged it. Within about five minutes
he was passing out in the chair and I had to carry him to his room.”
Howard smiled at the memory, eye glazing as he remembered the soft weight of
Tony’s sleep warm body against his. At the time, he’d actually had enough of a
break to realize how precious the moment was, and he’d even brushed a kiss over
Tony’s forehead when he’d settled his son’s dead weight into bed. Of course,
that was about the only good thing he’d ever done for his kid.
The thought broke him from his reverie and he looked up to see Barnes staring
at him with an odd expression on his face.
“What?” He snapped, suddenly self-conscious.
“How many people have you told that to?”
The question made Howard start and he blinked, mentally counting in his head.
The number was…surprisingly small.
“Ah…Jarvis. And now you, I suppose.”
Barnes nodded and looked down at his clasped hands atop the counter. He seemed
to sigh and shrink in on himself before he spoke again.
“You’re not a shitty dad.”
Howard barked out a laugh and shook his head, tightening his grip on the
counter lip.
“Oh, yeah I am. Barnes, my kid just walked out on me calling his mother a cunt.
He just found out I’d kept a massive secret from him all these years. And
that’s cake compared to the way I treated him when he was a kid.”
“Did you ever shove your hands down his pants?” Barnes asked, nailing him with
a hard stare. Howard choked at the words and vehemently shook his head.
“No! Fuck, no, Barnes. Why in the hell would you even ask that?!” He sputtered
out and Barnes let out a low laugh of his own, the sound hollow.
“Story time, right? You show me yours; I guess I can show you mine. I know
you’re not a shitty dad because I grew up with one of the shittiest. When other
kids turn 7 they expect to start getting more grown-up toys, electronics and
shit right? I got my dad walking into my room at 3 in the morning, picking me
up by the back of my neck and cramming his cock down my throat. He said I was
finally a man now and I needed to take it like one. Got worse as I got older,
of course. Shit always does. I made the mistake of telling my uncle, thinking
maybe he’d help me out. Turns out, he just wanted a piece of the action. I lost
count how many times I’d have to shove a fucking pad in my underwear so I
didn’t bleed through my pants at school. So, no, Stark. You’re not a shit dad.
Not by any means.”
Howard swallowed back the bile that had steadily rose up his throat as the man
talked and lifted his hands in an aborted motion that was stopped when Barnes
nailed him with a glare.
“I don’t want your pity, Stark. I told you so you’d realize there are other
people out there who would’ve done a hell of a lot worse to Tony than you did.”
Howard dropped his hands back down and glanced at the floor, thinking over the
protective glint in Barnes’ eyes when he talked about Tony.
“You care about him, don’t you?” He asked the floor, and he heard the soldier
inhale sharply before answering.
“Yes.”
He looked up and crossed the short distance, leaning his weight on the palms he
planted on the counter.
“Will you be there for him? After all this, it’s gonna be even harder for me to
build bridges. I’m still going to try like it’s my dying wish, but I can only
push so hard. And Steve’s good, Steve’s damn good, but Tony isn’t comfortable
around him the way he seems around you. So, will you?”
Barnes, no…no, this was Bucky. This was a soldier who’d survived torture, a
child who’d survived rape, a man who’d been broken and beaten and spit on and
still managed to laugh and joke. Bucky nodded sharply, wetting his lips before
speaking.
“On my honor, as a soldier and as a man, if Tony needs me, I’ll be there for
him.”
Howard nodded sharply and stuck out his palm, relief gripping him as tightly as
Bucky did when they shook. They were both just pulling back as Steve and Tony
appeared in the doorway, both of them looking emotionally and physically
exhausted.
And painfully beautiful to Howard. The perfect contrast of Steve’s golden boy
good looks against Tony’s dark and scared countenance. In that instant, taking
in the gentle hand Steve had clasped on Tony’s shoulder, Howard had never loved
the man he married more.
Steve guided them both in, shooting Howard a meaningful look as he let Tony go
and started out of the room. Bucky sent him a sharp nod, resting a gentle hand
on Tony’s shoulder as well before he followed. Howard made a mental note of the
way Tony’s hand twitched like he wanted to grab onto the man, realizing he’d
made the correct choice in asking Bucky to look out for him. Tony settled into
the seat Bucky had vacated, pulling the glass towards him and taking a sip
before looking at Howard with eyes that were too old for his young face.
“We need to talk.”
“Yeah, kiddo, I guess we do.”
Chapter End Notes
     It's short, I know, but this time I can't even say I'm sorry. My
     heart hurts too much right now to continue. But they say it's always
     darkest right before the dawn, let's hope that rings true for our
     boys.
***** Howard Tries to Fix Things (And Bucky Succeeds) *****
Chapter Summary
     Howard and Tony finally have a chat, and still don't manage to
     accomplish what Bucky Barnes does.
Chapter Notes
     WARNING: Corporal Punishment that's enjoyed by the receiver. Also,
     technically underage, even though that wasn't the point. (Because
     Tony's a slut)
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Howard reached into the fridge once more and grabbed his own tea while Tony
sipped at his drink. He knew he was stalling, but this conversation wasn’t one
he’d thought he’d ever have. He assumed either he would die or, more likely,
Tony would just cut all ties with him before the truth came out.
“So, did you guys ever love each other?”
Howard sighed at the question and turned around, leaning back against the
counter and cracking open his drink. Tony was looking straight at him, and
Howard felt a flush of pride that his son’s reality was crumbling and he was
determined to look it in the eye and tell it to blow him.
“I think…maybe we loved the idea of each other? I loved that she was going to
give me an heir, and I think Maria loved the idea that she was marrying into
the wealth and power that she was.”
“If you didn’t love each other, why in the hell did you stay together for eight
years?”
“It…hell, kiddo, I honestly don’t know that one. I didn’t wanna lose my kid? I
didn’t wanna bother with divorce? I thought, maybe, she’d change?”
Tony quirked a small smile at him and moved his glass around in circles on the
counter.
“You’ve got better control than me. If I’d have found her cheating once she’d
have been out on her ass, kid or no.”
Howard inclined the glass bottle at him and took another sip, rolling the
flavor around in his mouth in an effort to buy some time. A part of him that
wanted Tony to respect women wanted to remind him that was still his mother and
talking about her like that wasn’t alright. On the other hand, a very bitter
part of him wanted to let Tony rant and rave about how much of a bitch she was
and turn this into a real Maria shame fest.
“Did Obi know? Jarvis? Marta?” Tony asked, leaning his forearms on the counter
and raising his brows. Howard winced but nodded.
“Yeah. Everyone knew but I told them not to tell you. I didn’t want you opinion
of your mom to be colored by what she’d done to me.”
Storm clouds gathered in Tony’s eyes and he straightened in his chair.
“So I was just an oblivious fucking idiot and everyone around me was told to
shut up so they didn’t hurt my feelings?!”
“No! Tony, everyone was told to shut their mouths so you could form your own
opinion of her.”
Tony visibly deflated, muttering about how well that had turned out, and taking
another sip from his glass. Howard rolled the cold tea between his hands and
thought about what in the world Tony was going to say next. It could be
anything from rage at his mother, at him, at the world, to depression. If he
had to cut the vacation short and go home Steve wouldn’t give a damn, but
Howard was really hoping that wasn’t the case.
“Dad?”
“Hmmm?”
“Can I...not see her again?”
The way he curled into his hoodie and wrapped his hands around the glass made
it achingly clear to Howard that this was his sixteen year old son who’d just
found out his mother didn’t want a damn thing to do with him. He crossed the
floor and laid a hand on Tony’s shoulder, bringing that dark head up so their
eyes locked.
“You don’t wanna see her, I’ll make sure it happens. Hell, I'll get Steve on
it. He'll stand outside the mansion with a baseball bat.”
Tony snorted and the seriousness of the moment was abruptly broken for a split
second and they were just a father and son laughing over a shared joke. It
quickly sobered once again and Tony picked at a loose hangnail with his teeth,
looking over his shoulder to where Steve and Bucky had disappeared.
“Steve’s a really nice guy.”
“Yeah, I kinda like him.” Howard replied, leaning forward and waiting to see
where Tony would take this line of thinking.
“So’s Bucky.”
“When he’s not being a complete asshole, sure.”
“Will you tell me one day about how you guys met?”
Howard nodded and straightened. He would gladly tell Tony all he wanted to know
now, no point in hiding anything any longer since the biggest skeleton in the
closet had been laid out on the dining room table. Tony nodded and stood,
gulping down what was left in his glass and shaking it with a nod that showed
his thanks before plopping it down.
“I think I’m gonna head to bed, been one hell of a night.”
“Agreed. Sleep well, kid.”
“Yeah, you too. Oh hey, can I ask a favor?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Think maybe Obi wouldn’t mind flying out? I kinda want an outsider’s take on
things, y’know?”
It would be hell and it would make Steve uncomfortable but at this point Howard
was ready to damn near take a nosedive into the pool to take the wrecked look
from his son’s eyes.
“Sure thing, pal. I’ll give him a call tomorrow and see if he’s got time.”
Tony nodded and, waving a lazy hand, disappeared down the darkened hall. Howard
set the tea on the counter and leaned onto the granite, stacking his forearms
and resting his head on them, just breathing in the silence. Today had gone
nothing like he’d wanted it to, but he couldn’t say a part of him wasn’t
jumping for joy at the prospect of getting to send people in to carry Tony’s
shit out of Maria’s house. Even if she didn’t want Tony, she didn’t like to
lose, especially not to him, and seeing her try to worm her way back in would
be amusing, if infuriating.
Soft footsteps alerted him to another presence and he grinned at the warm press
of Steve into his back, lifting up and turning slightly to accept the man’s
kiss. He’d showered and smelled of Howard’s shampoo and soap, damp locks still
slicked back from his face. Howard fully spun in the loose arms Steve had
wrapped around his waist and cupped the man’s cheeks, pulling him into a deep
kiss that, Howard hoped, conveyed his love and appreciation for all Steve had
done tonight.
When they pulled back, the light flush beneath his hands told him it’d been
effective and Steve, in a motion that should’ve made Howard feel delicate but
really didn’t, lifted him onto the counter he’d just been propped on, stepping
between his legs. He nuzzled into Howard’s throat, relaxing under the gentle
stokes of Howard’s hands up and down his broad back. Howard dropped a kiss onto
his hair and propped his chin on the top of Steve’s head, holding him close.
“So, how did it go?” Steve asked, voice muffled by Howard’s skin.
“Not…awful. He’s understandably overwhelmed. But he did ask to not have to see
Maria again so that’s a plus. He also asked if Obi could come out here, so he
had someone from the outside to talk to.”
Howard winced at the tension that instantly flooded through Steve and kept up
the strokes of his hands, hoping to ease it away. Steve and Obi had never
gotten along fantastically, something about each other making it impossible to
form a friendship. Howard had assumed, after Steve’s break-down, that on
Steve’s side it was suspicion.
Apparently not.
“I can always tell him Obi’s too busy?”
“No!” Steve whipped back so fast Howard had to kick his head back to avoid
smashing his teeth together. “He’s been lied to enough, Howard. No more!”
Howard held up his hands in surrender and nodded, making a mental note to call
Obi tomorrow and see if he could squeeze in a day with them. The good thing
about the time delay was that if he timed it right he could still get a lot
done.
For right now, however…
“So, do you know what I would like to do now?”
“Hmmm…what?” Steve asked, as Howard shot him a grin and hopped from the
counter, wrapping a hand around either of Steve’s hipbones and pressing another
kiss to his mouth.
“I would like to take my very handsome, very fantastic, and very wonderful
husband to bed, wrap him in my arms, and fall asleep. Sound good?”
“Oh, God, yes.” Steve all but moaned out and Howard laughed, letting the man
tug him out of the kitchen and down the hall.
Movement from behind him almost had him turning his head but Steve stopped in
their doorway and drug his head around for a dizzying kiss. Howard returned it
just as eagerly, following the man into the room after they separated. Steve
whipped off the shirt and pants he’d pulled on and climbed into the far side of
the bed, already settling himself. With a note to shower first thing in the
morning, Howard stripped down to his briefs as well and climbed in behind his
husband, loving how easily the man fit under his arm. They didn’t often get to
spoon, Steve’s tendency to latch onto him before he’d turned onto his side
stopping that, but when they did it was amazing.
It also led to the advanced chance for morning sex since even at his age,
waking up with Steve’s perfect ass pressed against him was more than enough to
get him rock hard.
Howard pressed a kiss to the back of Steve’s neck and smiled at the peaceful
sigh the man let out in response.
“I love you, darling boy. Sleep well.”
“I love you too, Howie. G’night.
**************************************
Tony waited until he heard the creaking of the bedsprings from his father’s
room before opening the door the rest of the way and creeping out into the
hall. He’d almost stepped out too soon, only Steve’s fantastic timing with the
kiss making it so his dad didn’t catch him. On bare feet, he crept silently to
the door at the other end of the hall from his dad and Steve’s. The chain Bucky
had slipped around his neck were a comforting weight as he opened the door a
crack and slipped inside, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness.
Once he did, he became abruptly aware of the fact that the little glint of
light that was hovering in front of his face was the barrel of a gun.
“B-Bucky!” He squeaked out and the man swore, the gun swinging down and
footsteps pounding away before the bedside light flipped on.
Bucky started admonishing him about sneaking into people’s rooms and how he
could’ve shot his ass and what the hell did he want anyways, but Tony really
wasn’t listening.
In his defense though, who would be?
In his anger, Bucky had apparently forgotten he’d stripped naked, or maybe in
the army he’d just gotten so used to it he no longer cared, and his powerful
body bathed in the glow of the lamp gave Tony the perfect view. Broad
shoulders, lean hips, rippling abs, scars that added to the whole picture, not
detracted. And then the piece de resistance hanging between Bucky’s legs, thick
and long and not even erect. Tony licked his lips at the thought of what in the
hell it must look like hard and had the sudden urge to drop to his knees, open
his mouth, and find out.
But Bucky, even if he had put the gun back under his pillow, still had his
fists and Tony wasn’t in the mood to get brain dusted again today.
He came back to reality as Bucky cursed, shut the light off, and scrambled for
his shorts lying in a heap by the side of the bed, apparently catching on to
just what Tony was staring at. He pulled them on with quick movements and
crossed his arms, pinning Tony in place with a glare he could feel, even if he
couldn't see it.
“What the hell’re you doing here? Go to bed, it’s been a long fucking day.”
Tony shook his head and took a small step forward, wringing his hands like an
old maid. This was risky and there was, based on past experience, a 94.375%
chance Bucky would tell him to get the hell out. But he had to try, if only so
he could get some actual sleep tonight.
“I…ah…I don’t wanna be alone.”
“Beg pardon?”
“That is, um,” Tony cleared his throat and waved a hand around the room like an
idiot. “I don’t…I don’t wanna be alone right now. Feeling pretty alone
emotionally, not really wantin’ the physical aspect too, y’know?”
Bucky cursed and ran his hands through his hair, sitting down hard on the side
of his bed. He reached for his cigarette’s and lit one, the glow almost neon in
the darkness. Tony cautiously took a few steps into the room, shifting his
weight from foot to foot.
“Did you and your pops talk?”
“Y-Yeah. Got a few things out in the open. We didn’t talk for very long, I’m
too damn tired for that.” Tony answered and Bucky nodded, smoking slowly, his
face thrown into shadows by the glow.
He took the man’s relaxed shoulders as an invitation to creep closer and closer
until finally he gingerly sank his weight onto the mattress next to the man.
The immediate ache that popped up in his lower back once the weight was off it
made him groan and Bucky looked over at him, still silent. Tony bit his lip and
shook his head, cautiously and slowly leaning until his head was pillowed on
Bucky’s shoulder. He inhaled the scent of the man, cigarettes and some other
clean smell Tony assumed was his soap. Buried under all that was a dark scent
that was entirely Bucky.
Bucky’s shoulders moved as the man leaned forward and stabbed out the cigarette
in the ashtray, the thoughtless hand he propped on Tony’s back to keep his
steady spreading slow warmth over his skin. He settled back down once again,
heaving a sigh and running one hand through his hair once again. Tony saw his
resolve cracking and sat straighter, knowing if he was going to get his way,
now was his shot at convincing the soldier.
“Please? I’ll be really good and I’ll keep my hands to myself. Dad and Steve
won’t ever know because Dad gets up at 7 on the dot if he doesn’t have anything
going on that day and by then I’ll be long gone. I promise. Please, Buck? I
just…I feel like the world’s crashing around me and I don’t have a grip on
anything anymore.” He pleaded, one hand coming out to wrap around Bucky’s
bicep. Tony was momentarily distracted by the muscles shifting under his
fingers and missed Bucky’s response.
“W-what?”
“I said alright, kid. But only for tonight, you keep your damn hands to
yourself, and if you’re not gone before your pops gets up, I’m gonna hang you
from the ceiling fan, got it?” He said and Tony nodded furiously, resisting the
urge to bounce up and down in place. Bucky reached over and tapped out a few
things on his phone, Tony could see he was setting a 6am alarm, before
replacing it on the side table and standing, motioning for Tony to get under
the covers.
Tony stood and shucked off his shirt, deciding not to test his luck and keep
his shorts on, crawling under the thick covers and settling on the far side. He
felt Bucky slide in behind him and wriggled backwards until the man’s chest was
pressed against his back. Tony was bounced around for a few minutes as Bucky
tossed and turned trying to get comfortable before the man assumed his earlier
position, but this time draped his arm over Tony’s midsection. He couldn’t
resist burrowing further into the heat at his back, grinning at Bucky’s grunt
when his ass ground against a familiar bulge.
“I could help you out with that, y’know.”
“You can help by shutting your mouth and going to bed.”
“Come onnnn.” Tony wheedled, rolling his hips in a slow grind and almost
moaning when a hard hand clapped down on his hip, stopping the movement.
“Go. To. Bed. I’m not touching you, you’re not touching me. We’re gonna sleep.”
“I don’t have to touch you. You could just flip onto your back, wrap your fist
around your dick, and let me talk about how I want you to fuck my throat, call
me your little pretty whore, fucking break me with that thick cock.” Tony
nearly fist pumped in satisfaction when Bucky’s hips jolted against him at the
words, before startling when the man suddenly jumped out of bed.
He sat up quickly and looked to where Bucky was standing at the side of the
bed, hands on his hips, almost invisible save for the light of the moon
filtering through the sliding glass doors. Sure enough, the fabric on his hips
was distended to a length that made Tony want to drool. Tony shoved the covers
back and crawled towards him, putting an extra sway into his hips as he did.
“Come on, Buck. I’ve had a hell of a day. Letting me suck the cum out of your
cock is the least you can do to make me feel better.” He begged, reaching a
hand out to grab ahold of the hard flesh.
Bucky’s hand came down on his once again and Tony hissed at the burn, yanking
the appendage back. They froze there for a long moment, both waiting to see
what the other would do, before Bucky exhaled hard and climbed back into the
bed. He lit another cigarette from his pack and brought it to his lips, lying
flat on his back. Tony figured at this point Bucky was gonna kick him out any
second anyways, why not go for the gold?
Moving quickly, he swung one leg over Bucky’s hips and brought their erections
together, moaning at the friction. Bucky merely grunted, otherwise reaction-
less and Tony blinked in surprise. Was he not going to do anything? Was he so
pissed at Tony he just was going to ignore him? No. Nonononononono.
“You have five seconds to get off of me and lay down on your side of the bed
like a good little boy or I’m going to beat your ass.” The voice that came out
of Bucky’s throat was like nothing he’d ever heard from the man before. It was
low, almost a snarl, and sent shivers of apprehension down Tony’s spine.
This…This wasn’t Bucky Barnes of the neon aviators and flower swim trunks. This
was a soldier, hard battled and scarred from his experiences, and as dangerous
as a hungry wolf who’d scented blood.
But Tony wasn’t about to give up his seat, or the glorious friction, and ground
his hips down once again, rolling his eyes at the finger Bucky held up with his
empty hand.
“Whatever, you aren’t gonna do it.”
Another finger and a long exhale of smoke.
“If you won’t kiss me, you certainly aren’t gonna spank my ass.”
Three fingers now and a hand reaching over to tap ashes off the end. Tony
jolted his hips once again, so hard the tags on his chest bounced.
“Come on, Buck, just let it go. We’ll pretend I coerced you. You know you wanna
fuck me.”
A fourth finger, and Bucky leaned over to balance the cigarette on the edge of
the ashtray, a curl of smoke rising lazily.
“Stop pretending like you don’t wanna grab my face and make me beg for your
cock.”
Tony caught the flash of five fingers before the hand shifted and palmed the
back of his neck, arm stretching between their bodies. The world spun as Bucky
yanked him down, smashing his face into the pillow he’d been laying on, and
brought his other hand down hard on Tony’s ass. The sharp burn only served to
wrack the pleasure higher and he moaned, rubbing himself against the solid
swell of Bucky’s hip. He kept going, bringing his hand down again and again,
letting Tony keep humping his hip, until the world went white and Tony
shuddered as his cock spilled between them, soaking straight through his
underwear and shorts.
Bucky was panting harshly by the time Tony had come back to reality and Tony
realized he was still hard against Tony’s thigh, rock hard in fact. But when
Tony went to move, Bucky stopped him with a hand on his lower back, rubbing
gently.
“You alright?”
“Um, I just came so hard my vision whited out. Yeah, think I’m good.”
“Wasn’t my intention.”
Tony grinned at the grunted words, easing himself onto his side and off of
Bucky’s lap, taking care to nonchalantly drag his thigh over Bucky’s cock as he
went. The burn on his flesh soothed him in a way, pain internal made external
by way of a firm hand.
“Not your fault I’m a slut for punishment.”
Bucky groaned and dropped back down, grinding his palms into his eyes. Tony
scooted until he could wrap around the man, delighting in the absent hand that
wrapped around him, tracing designs on his back.
“Want me to do you?”
“Go the fuck to sleep, Tony.”
Tony grinned and pressed a quick kiss to Bucky’s pec before complying, sleep
falling over him like a warm quilt, much like the one Bucky was tugging over
them both. The last thing he thought before he was gone completely was that
he’d never felt quite so safe going to bed before.
Chapter End Notes
     I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, figured I'd give you a little
     Bucky/Tony since they won't really show up in the next chapter.
     It's Howie/Steve bonding time!
***** Role Reversal *****
Chapter Summary
     Howard and Steve switch it up, Bucky believes in gender stereotyping,
     and Tony Stark needs to learn to knock.
Chapter Notes
     WARNING: Comeplay/swapping and consensual insults (I feel like this
     is all coming to be expected from me). Also, an instance of
     derogatory language referencing the man in a gay couple who receives
     penetration.
     Sorry it took so long on this one! Enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Howard stirred his coffee the next morning, absently sucking the remnants off
the spoon as he watched Steve pause by the pool and stretch, returning from his
run. How in the world the boy had the drive for that after the morning
activities, Howard didn’t have a clue.
Ah, the boundless energy of youth.
He ran his tongue along the metal in his mouth, eyes stuck on Steve as he lost
himself in the memories of their slow love-making while the day broke. Steve
straddling him, slipping him inside in one slow motion, whispering sweet
nothings and coming to the sound of Steve sobbing out his love. It wasn’t rare
that he and Steve had moments where all that was said was soft ‘I love you’s’
and gentle compliments, but lately it seemed like that had fallen to the
wayside in deference to harsh words and rough touches. Howard made a note to
fix that one of these nights, to pamper and sooth his lover like the man
deserved. Steve may have had a list of kinks a mile long, but he was also an
artist, with a soul as pure and clean as Howard’s was blackened and dark.
“-and then I’m gonna strip naked, cover myself in oil, and go tan on the hood
of the Lambo.”
He blinked and started at Tony’s words, whipping around to see the boy sitting
on the island, grinning wildly at him.
“W-What?!”
“You were off in la-la land, pops. Grounded now?”
Howard grumbled and, tugging the spoon from his mouth, launched it at the boy
who dodged it neatly, laughing. He took a sip from his cup and regarded his
son, looking for any signs Tony was still hurting from last night. He was
shifting every so often on the counter, like he couldn’t find a comfortable
position, but otherwise looked like a million bucks in his faded band tee and
deconstructed shorts. All barely contained energy and joy, and if he wasn’t
proficient in seeing shadows in eyes, Howard would think last night hadn’t even
happened.
It was an odd juxtaposition to Bucky, who was yawning and stumbling through the
entranceway, eyes barely half open with a ratty pair of shorts hanging onto his
hips desperately. He made his way to Howard and fumbled around with the
cupboard doors until Howard took pity on him and pulled a coffee cup from the
stand near the pot. Bucky nodded and poured the cup full, blowing on it before
taking a huge gulp. His sigh of satisfaction had just echoed through the room
when Steve came through the back doors, crossing to give Howard a gentle kiss.
“How was your run?” Howard asked, shamelessly enjoying the view as Steve bent
inside the refrigerator for a bottle of water. He chugged half of it before
pulling off with a gasp, sending a shiver down Howard’s spine as he recalled
Steve making the same noise when Howard gave him a small reprieve while fucking
his throat.
“Not too bad, it was really neat to see everything, it’s so pretty here. I
passed this cute little restaurant and chatted with the owner, she said we’ll
have to come for breakfast one day. Best pancakes in all the islands, or so she
claimed.”
Howard nodded and, finishing his coffee and batting Bucky out of the way to
rinse it and put it in the dishwasher, mentally ran over his plans for the day.
It would be a deviation from what he had planned out, but it would be worth it
in the end.
“We could go today, if you’d like? I was planning on us going to breakfast
together, sounds like you’ve already got a spot picked out.”
Steve opened his mouth to reply, grin already stretching across his cheeks,
when Bucky interrupted, waving a hand around.
“What about me, Stark? Not very hospitable to leave your guests starving.”
Howard rolled his eyes and took his wallet out of his back pocket, thumbing off
two fifty’s from the stack of bills and shoving them at the man.
“Here, fly and be free. That should cover you until we get back for dinner
tonight.”
Bucky took the bills happily before glancing at Tony with a frown, looking
between the money and him. Tony grinned and swung his feet, tapping the slight
bulge in his front pocket.
“Spoiled rotten rich kid, remember? I’ve got more than enough to keep me
occupied. I figured maybe I’d go wander around; see what car dealerships
they’ve got around here.” He said, with a look at Howard who nodded, already
following Steve back into their room to get changed.
“Sounds good. Don’t buy anything without me there, you know they see a kid and
see an idiot.”
Tony snarked something in response but it was lost as Howard shut the bedroom
door behind them, watching avidly as Steve shimmied out of his jogging clothes.
He noticed Howard’s stare and did a little wiggle, grinning at the man. Howard
crossed the room to pull him into a kiss, one hand slipping down to wrap gently
around his half-interested cock and pump. Steve moaned against his lips as he
swelled in Howard’s hand, letting the older man guide him backwards into the
bathroom.
Steve whined when Howard pulled away, shoving him into the shower and quickly
stripping off his own clothes before joining him. He pulled the door shut
behind him and set the water temperature on the pad near the front, setting
three of the six shower heads to massage in an attempt to loosen any muscles
Steve may have tightened during his run. Howard knew he’d made the right
decision when the rush of water started and Steve moaned at the pulse against
his shoulders, shifting fully into the spray. He grinned and started on his own
routine, batting away any hands Steve may have tried to lay on him. Steve
eventually gave up with a pout and Howard waited until his back was turned,
hands braced on the back wall and head dipped under the spray to rinse out his
shampoo before stepping behind him, pressing his thumb firmly onto Steve’s hole
and bending his fingers so they applied equal pressure to his perineum.
Steve jolted and bucked backwards, moaning while he let his head fall further
forwards. Howard reached around with his free hand, wrapping it loosely around
Steve’s hard cock and stroking in a slow rhythm, pulling away every time the
man bucked. Once Steve was writhing, caught between staying still so Howard
wouldn’t take his hand away and thrusting back onto the hand still applying
pressure, Howard stepped away completely. Steve whined, a confused tone in his
voice while Howard soaped up his hands, washing himself quickly before
lathering up again and running them along Steve’s tight body. He kept it almost
clinical, except for when he scrubbed between Steve’s cheeks, letting just the
tip of his finger slip into the tight heat before withdrawing and continuing on
his way. Once he’d scrubbed the boy clean, Steve was making little aborted
movements with his hips, undulating with his hands braced behind him on the
back wall.
“Alright, c’mon sweetheart, time to get out.” Howard said, flipping the water
off and pulling open the shower door.
 He’d just gotten one of the large fluffy towels that lay on the warming rack
wrapped around his hips when Steve stepped out, cheeks flushed and erection a
dark, painful looking red between his thighs. Howard grinned and planted a hand
on his husband’s lower back, guiding the confused man over to the sink. He bent
him forwards with a hand on the back of his neck, so that Steve had to brace
his forearms on the marble and was staring at his reflection in the massive
mirror. Howard could see the question on his face, the same one he was forming
with his lips, and cut him off before he could speak.
“Consider today my thank you for last night. I’m going to lick you open until
you cum all over yourself, and while I do that I want you to talk to me. Tell
me everything, how it feels, what you want me to do to you tonight, how you
look in the mirror. Don’t be shy, I wanna hear every thought in your head. And
if I think you’re holding back? I’ll put a cock ring on you and a vibrator up
your ass and see if I can make you beg in public. Got it?” Steve nodded, cheeks
already flushed with lust, and Howard knelt behind him on the plush rug, hands
spreading the boy wide.
He leaned in and, with a wicked smile, dove right into the action, shoving his
tongue hard against the tight hole. Steve cried out and braced himself wider,
hips already moving against Howard’s mouth. The man grinned and stroked his
tongue over Steve quickly, like trying to lick up an ice cream cone before it
melts. He was just about to remind Steve to talk when his lover’s reedy voice
filled the room, the whining desperation making Howard’s cock give a valiant
twitch.
“Oh, God, feels so good. Love it when you lick me open. I look like such a
slut, Howie, your little slut. Bent over for you with a tongue up my ass. Want
this, want it so much, but I can’t—Can’t ever just ask you for it.”
Howard pulled back to slip two fingers in his mouth, quickly drenching them
before sliding them inside his lover, nipping at the meat of Steve’s ass.
“Of course you can just ask me darling, I love doing this. Love watching you
come apart on my tongue. When would you ask, boy? When would you want this?”
Steve sobbed as Howard brushed lightly over his prostate, bringing his mouth
back down to thrust his tongue deep inside.
“W-Would come to you, at the office, at lunch. I’d pull your blinds and stretch
across your desk and ask you to eat me. Oh God, Howie, I’d love that. See you
all dressed up and neat while you fuck me with your tongue.”
Howard hummed against Steve’s flesh, mentally putting the fact that Steve
apparently liked him ‘all dressed up’ away for future reference. He’d already
known Steve loved it when Howard came home from work and bent him over, only
pushing his pants down far enough to pull his cock out. Maybe he’d make Steve’s
fantasy come true one day.
“Oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah, right there! Please, please make me cum. I want to, do
anything for it.”
“Anything?” Howard mumbled as he used his fingers to stretch Steve’s hole wide
and lick around the rim. Steve must’ve heard him because he whined and pressed
backwards, thrusting his hips.
“Yeah! Yes, do anything for you Howard. Do anything to cum. I’m so desperate
for it. P-Please!”
Howard drew back slightly, fucking his fingers in and out in a fast rhythm that
had Steve jerking and whimpering. He yanked his fingers out only momentarily,
flipping Steve around with a firm hand on either hip so that he was leaning
back against the marble. Howard pushed his legs wide and reached behind him,
filling his hole once again and mercilessly stroking over his prostate with
firm touches.
“I wanna push your boundaries, little boy. Pump your cock until you cum, then I
want you to feed it to me.”
Steve choked off a cry at the words, obediently wrapping his fist around his
cock and jerking. It was only a few pumps of his wrist before he was bringing
his other hand down quickly, covering the head. He writhed, coating his palm in
the thick, white fluid before he settled, panting and looking between his hand
and Howard uncertainly. Howard removed his hand, settling back onto his heels
and letting his arms drop to the sides, giving Steve a patient look. He wanted
to push, because if Steve wasn’t comfortable with this there’s no way he’d be
comfortable with Howard sucking his own cum out of Steve’s loose hole. But he
also wasn’t a bastard, not to Steve, and if it was something the boy truly
didn’t want, then it would just remain an unfulfilled wish.
Steve inhaled sharply, seemingly reading Howard’s mind, and dropped to his
knees in the space he had, legs spreading wide to fit Howard between them. He
offered up his slick hand and seemed to brace himself before speaking, like he
needed a moment to settle and control himself.
“You wanna lick it up, Big Daddy? Wanna taste the cum your little slut
produced? You can, I promise, on one condition.”
“What’s that, sweet boy?” Howard asked, leaning forward to catch a stray drop
that was about to fall from Steve’s long index finger.
His lover flushed a deep red, a color so deep Howard knew exactly what it
meant. Steve only blushed that hard when he was revealing a kink, something
he’d kept hidden. Howard resisted the urge to grin like a mad man. He’d figured
after a year there were no more secrets between them, but damned if he was
going to get mad.
“Can you…Can we…We share it? Can you share it with your little slut?” He said
meekly, not meeting Howard’s eyes and the billionaire groaned, wrapping a hand
around Steve’s wrist.
He tugged it towards him and motioned for Steve to freeze there. Steve
complied; watching with avid eyes as Howard quickly stood and washed out his
mouth, rubbing some of the wash on his face to clean it before kneeling back
down in front of him. Steve had a dopey little grin on his face, no doubt at
Howard’s determination to clean off, but his next word’s wiped the smile away.
“Yeah, you want that? Want Big Daddy to lick up your cum and feed it to you?
Can’t wait, little slut. Here goes.”
Howard leant down and licked up as much as he could, getting most of it on his
tongue before raising up and cupping Steve’s face, pulling him into a kiss.
Steve moaned as Howard’s tongue slid against his, letting the cum slip from his
mouth into his lover’s. They lazily kissed like that for a while, Howard simply
content to enjoy the happy moans and sighs his lover emitted as they shared his
cum. Eventually, Steve pulled back and licked his lips, grinning at his lover.
“That was exciting.”
“Exciting? Boy, much more ‘excitement’ and we’re not going to make it out of
this house today.”
Steve laughed, a high, happy sound, and hopped up, snatching a towel from the
rack as he strode into the bedroom. Howard climbed to his feet and followed
after him, ignoring dressing in favor of checking why his phone was blinking
green, indicating a missed alert. He thumbed it open and saw that Obi had tried
to call while they were in the bathroom. Howard hit button to call him back,
wiping out one ear before sticking his hands-free in and setting the phone back
down on the dresser. Steve mouthed that he was going to go get the car ready,
accepting both the keys and Howard’s kiss, and striding from the room just as
Obi picked up.
“It’s awful early in the morning for someone of our age to be so active, Howie,
are you sure it’s good for your heart?”
“Are you sure lobbing such jokes at your boss is good for your future at Stark
Industries?” Howard quipped, tossing his towel in the hamper as he crossed to
the massive walk-in closet.
Obi laughed in his ear as Howard grabbed a pair of light dress pants and a
polo, remembering one of Steve’s offhand comment early on in the relationship
that he loved seeing Howard’s forearms.
“I kid, of course. No, just checking in, making sure everything’s going
alright.”
“It was. I was actually going to call you today.” Howard dressed quickly before
sitting down on the edge of the bed, hearing Obi inhale sharply.
“What happened? Is Tony alright? Are you?”
“We’re fine, Obi. But Tony found out about what Maria’s doing this summer and
then walked in on me screaming about why our marriage ended.”
“Oh, God. Is he alright?”
“Not…exactly.” Howard winced, running a hand through his hair. “He was
reasonably mad that everyone had kept it from him. But we talked and he seemed
to settle, at least for the moment. He asked if you could make time to come
out, to get an outsiders view on the situation.”
“Of course. I’ll charter the Jet right now, get there tomorrow.”
“It’s not a rush, Obi, if you’re busy—“
“Howard, the kid is important to me. I’ll do anything for Tony, you know that.”
Howard chuckled a bit at the possessive tone in his oldest friend’s voice. Obi
had been told very young, when they were both still in college, that he was
sterile and wouldn’t have kids. At the time he’d been overjoyed, taking it so
far as to almost ritualistically burn his stash of condoms, but as they grew
older the man seemed to re-consider his stance on them. It was no wonder Obi
had doted and spoiled Tony like he had. When he was younger it was a saving
grace, Obi dropping by randomly to take Tony to amusement parks and other
places he thought the boy would enjoy, getting him out of Howard’s hair for the
day. He winced at the thought and heard Steve in his head.
‘He’s not a dog you got roped into watching for the weekend, Howard. He’s your
son!’
“Yes, if not for you Obi, Tony would be far less spoiled, I think.”
“No point in denying the boy anything, Howard. Besides, he’s got those big
brown eyes. How was I supposed to say no?”
“To paying for a seven year old to swim with an Orca? Quite easily, actually.”
He remarked, and Obadiah’s laugh rang through the phone, amusement and a touch
of regret tingeing it.
“Maria waspissed at me about that, wasn’t she?”
“No, she was angry with you, she was pissed at me. You didn’t have to hear a
two hour lecture on ‘Why Obadiah Stane is Spoiling Tony Rotten’. I never did
thank you for that experience, did I?”
“If I remember correctly, we called it even for that time you told those twin
Swedish foreign exchange students I had the clap.”
Howard laughed as well at the memory. All he’d wanted was one good night’s
rest, and of course it had been the night Obi had chosen to bring his own girls
back to the room. If he recalled correctly, once the girls had rushed off with
wide eyes, his friend had actually tried to put him out the window of their
fourth floor dorm room.
“Yes, that was the deal, wasn’t it?”
“Yep. Hey, I’ll let you go, Howard. One of the secretaries wants to talk to me
about something. I’ll charter the jet and text you later with the E.A.T, sound
good?”
“Woah, woah, since when does Obadiah Stane cut short conversations for
secretaries?”
“Since secretaries are blonde bombshells with double d’s and a propensity for
both low cut shirts and leaning over my desk. Goodbye, Howard.”
He bid Obi a goodbye amidst roaring laughter, pulling the piece from his ear
and standing to stick it in his pocket as Steve re-entered the room.
“What’s so funny?” He asked, as Howard linked their arms and tugged him out of
the room, leading him towards where he could hear the car idling.
“Obadiah.” He answered simply, pulling open the car door and ushering Steve
inside.
“Oh.Is he coming out here?” Steve asked, fiddling with the strap of his
seatbelt. Howard reached over once he’d slid into his own seat and linked their
fingers together.
“He is, though I can still postpone it until we get back home. But, darling, if
you’re worried he’ll pull me back into work I promise it’s not going to
happen.” He assured and Steve grinned weakly at him, pressing a kiss to his
cheek.
“That’s what I’m worried about. Just…make sure you don’t alright?”
Howard furrowed his brows at the meek tone. Steve was hiding something…but he
didn’t have a clue what. Whatever it was, he was sure Steve would let him know
eventually. For the moment it was best not to push, he decided, putting the car
into gear and squeezing Steve’s fingers affectionately as they drove off.
Hours later, once the sun was beginning to sink back into the horizon, painting
the sky in beautiful splashes of color, Howard and Steve pulled back into the
driveway. They were both fantastically full and exhausted after a day of rich
island food, playing on one of the private beaches, and shopping in the outdoor
markets. It was nice for once to Steve so carefree about money, buying
something in at least every shop they went into. Howard unloaded the bags from
the back with his help, laughing at the way Steve’s eyes widened and he
stuttered when he saw just how much they had accumulated.
“I’m so sorry, Howard! I didn’t mean to spend this much!”
Howard laughed and set the final pair down in the entranceway that was now
jammed full of colorful bags. He strode towards Steve, backing him against the
wall and pressing their bodies together from thighs to shoulders.
“I like it, darling. Spend all you want. Makes me feel good, making sure my
baby doll has pretty things.” He murmured before laying a deep kiss on Steve’s
lips.
The man responded instantly, tongue curling skillfully with his own. They were
so wrapped up in one another they missed the footsteps until a throat was
cleared behind them, separating quickly to see Bucky crouching by one of the
bags, pulling out a spool of colorful fabric.
“What the hell is this thing supposed to be?” He asked, uncurling to his full
height and letting it spill from his hand, the red fabric with gold hibiscuses
printed on it brushing the floor as he did.
Steve pushed Howard back gently and mimed wrapping it around his hips.
“It’s a sarong. You wear them around your hips over swimsuits and whatnot.”
Bucky blinked at the fabric then back up at Steve.
“You mean women wear them, Steve. Please tell me you bought this for Marta.”
“No! I’m not into gender stereotypes, Buck. Men can wear them too.” Steve
huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as Tony joined them, absently chewing
on a toothpick.
“What’s that?” He asked, taking it from his mouth and pointing to the length
Bucky held. The soldier grinned and tossed it at him.
“Steve says you wrap it around your hips. G’head kid, try it on.”
Tony shrugged, catching the fabric and obediently wrapping it around his lean
hips, confident in a way that made Howard think he’d done something similar
before. Once he had it wrapped and tied neatly above one hip he shook his hips
a little, the longer end swaying a couple of inches above the floor. He seemed
completely comfortable in the cloth and Steve strode over to compliment how
easily he’d tied it, scooping up a red, white, and blue length from a different
bag, asking Tony to help him put on his own. Tony grinned at the attention and
unwound his, slowly walking Steve through the steps as Bucky crossed to stand
next to Howard.
“I think they’re trying to out-gay each other.” He remarked and Howard laughed,
accepting the cigarette the man passed him as they watched the two dance
around.
“Maybe, I think it may be a close case.”
“Hey!” Tony protested, stopping the awkward grinding and thrusting Howard knew
kids his age called dancing. He raised a hand and snapped it, moving his head
back and forth. “Don’t hate because you ain’t, soldier boy.”
Bucky rolled his eyes and fired back, the two going at it while Howard smoked
along and Steve started moving the bags, his quickness in returning each time
telling Howard he was stashing them in the living room. He finally stabbed out
the cigarette in a nearby ashtray, he was beginning to think Barnes was putting
them everywhere since they seemed to be multiplying, Howard took Steve’s arm
and tugged him away, leaving the two bickering back and forth.
“What about dinner, baby?” Steve asked, letting Howard guide him back into the
bedroom and lay him out on the bed, sarong pulling tight as he flattened out in
the middle. Howard crawled up the length of his lover’s body and grinned
wickedly, nipping at where his pulse pounded under a strong jawline.
“I’ve got something else I’m hungry for at the moment.” He said, letting their
hips come together.
Steve arched at the feel of Howard’s erection brushing his own, a moan tumbling
from his mouth.
“Y-Yeah? What sounds good?”
“Mmmm, I think I’d like you to fuck me.” Howard answered absently, shoving up
Steve’s shirt and raking his teeth gently over each nipple. Steve made a soft
noise and buried his fingers in Howard’s hair, pulling his head up so their
eyes met.
“Really? You want me inside you?” He breathed and Howard momentarily felt bad.
Steve was shocked over something so simple?
He made a mental note to have Steve do it more often, it wasn’t as if he didn’t
enjoy it, anyone who’d seen what Steve was packing under his shorts would think
it would be an awesome experience.
Quite rightly, he might add.
“Yeah babe, want you to stretch me out on that thick cock. Can you?” He asked,
licking over Steve’s Adam’s apple as it bobbed when he swallowed hard.
Steve nodded and carefully rolled them so that he was hovering above Howard’s
body, holding himself up on his forearms. Howard spread his legs, arching up
and rolling their erections together once more. Steve moaned and dipped his
head to kiss Howard, lazily moving against him. He could feel Steve’s
apprehension and decided to take it a step further, to push yet again. In this
scenario, it might pay off for the best and serve to relax Steve.
“My safeword is fondue,” he said conversationally, as Steve’s eyebrows furrowed
in confusion.
“I know that.”
“Alright then. So do what you want, take control, use me like I use you. Let me
see how dirty you can get, Steve. And know that I’ll stop you if it goes too
far.”
Steve swallowed hard once more and nodded, a quick dip of his head, before
climbing off Howard and standing.
“I’m going to take a minute in the bathroom, okay? I’ll be back shortly?” He
said, biting into his lower lip and hooking a thumb over his shoulder. Howard
nodded and stretched in a languorous undulation of his body, smiling at Steve’s
shiver.
“I’ll be waiting.” He said, barely waiting until the bathroom door had swung
shut before quickly tearing off all his clothes and, after fishing out a
container of lube from the side dresser, throwing himself into a deliberate
sprawl in the middle of the bed.
Howard shoved a pillow under his lower back, raising his hips off the bed, and
planted his feet wide. He spread a generous amount of slick onto his hand and
moved it down to rub over his hole firmly, gasping at the pressure. No wonder
Steve went so wild when Howard would spread him out and play with him, tongue
and fingers working to drive him into incoherence. It felt amazing and he
groaned low as he slipped a finger inside, biting his lip at the pressure. He
continued this slowly, reaching down a hand to pump lazily at his cock once
he’d fit three inside himself.
“Well, what have we here?”
Howard’s head came off the pillow at the sound of Steve’s lazy drawl and looked
up to see him looming over the end of the bed, hands braced on the footboard.
The look in his eyes was all hunger and want, and Howard shivered at the
intensity on his lover’s normally placid face. He went to remove his hands when
Steve shook his head, speaking as he crawled up the bed to settle, gloriously
naked, between Howard’s legs.
“No, no, go ahead. I know slut’s like you can only go so long without something
inside you. Did you get so hot and bothered thinking of my cock that you
couldn’t help yourself? Had to stretch yourself out on your fingers?” Steve
trailed one finger down the underside of his cock as he spoke, grinning darkly
when it jumped at his words.
“Yes, had to. Wanted your cock so bad. Can I have it? Will you stretch me open
on it? Please?” He whimpered, moving his hand off his cock when Steve rapped
him sharply on the knuckles.
“You think you deserve it? Being such a bad little boy and fucking yourself. I
personally think you should be punished.”
“No! Please, I’ll be good, I swear. I’m sorry, I just wanted you so badly I
couldn’t help myself.”
Howard was shocked at the whiny tone that emanated from his throat, starting to
understand why Steve looked so shocked at some of the things he said when the
roles were reversed. It was like there was someone else controlling his voice
box, someone else telling him what good boys said to their lovers. He snapped
back to attention at the firm slap Steve delivered to his inner thigh, jolting
and whining at the way the pain traveled from his thigh to the tip of his cock
“Tsk, tsk. You really are asking for punishment, not paying attention like a
naughty boy. Well, I’m going to give it to you. Take your hands and put them
under the pillow behind your head.” Steve commanded and Howard eagerly
complied, only distantly concerned about the lube still on his fingers.
Steve reached down and hooked his elbows under Howard’s knees, spreading him
wider than he’d ever been and tugging him closer. Howard whined as Steve cupped
his ass in both hands, fingers dipping in to brush over Howard’s still wet hole
teasingly.
“Are you ready, slut? Ready for your punishment?”
Howard could do little else than nod furiously, before crying out as Steve
hitched him higher and slid deep in one firm thrust. His husband barely gave
him time to adjust before setting a brutal pace, using his grip on Howard to
yank him forwards at the same time he thrust so the movements were that much
more powerful. Howard immediately saw the ‘punishment’ in this position; the
fact that Steve had basically lifted his entire lower half off the bed meant he
could get no leverage, no counterpoint to thrust back. He was, quite literally,
unable to do anything but lay back and take it.
Something in his expression must have let Steve know he’d figured it out as the
man grinned widely and stopped, deep as he could go inside Howard. He tried to
buck, to get Steve to start moving again, and in return for his efforts, Steve
pulled out of him halfway.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Please! Please, I need your cock, need you to fuck me. I’m sorry, I’m so
sorry, I’ll be good.” Howard babbled, only distantly shocked at his desperate
behavior, the craving for Steve to fill him over-riding any shame he may have
had.
“Yes, you will. This isn’t about you, slut. You’re nothing but a fucktoy for
me, do you understand? Just something to pump into until I cum. I don’t care
about if you cum or not.” Steve snarled and Howard grunted as the words
suddenly unraveled something inside him.
For the first time in his life, and he really thought he’d experienced all his
firsts by now, he came completely untouched. Steve went wide-eyed for one
moment before narrowing them and snapping his hips hard, driving the full
length back inside.
“You bad little boy! I didn’t tell you that you were allowed to cum!” He said,
yanking away and ignoring Howard’s cry at the loss, flipping him roughly so he
stretched out flat onto his belly.
Howard sobbed as Steve roughly spread his cheeks and sank deep once again, hips
pumping furiously. At the noise, Steve slowed a bit and before he could break
character by asking if Howard was alright, Howard started babbling into the
pillow he’d shoved his face into.
“Fuck, yes! Yes, feel so thick, so good. God, Steve, want you to fuck me open,
leave me dripping. Come on, do it hard, make me fucking feel it.”
His words pulled a low moan from Steve and his hips started again, shoving in
with rough, pounding thrusts that Howard felt all the way through his body. It
only took a few more moments before Steve was screaming through gritted teeth
and Howard felt a spill of warmth that sent a shiver racing up his spine. Steve
came down atop him, keeping his weight braced on his forearms but pressing his
chest to Howard’s back, nuzzling behind his ear softly. Howard grinned into the
pillow, ready to turn and compliment him, when footsteps echoed in the hall. He
felt like he was living every awkward movie scene he’d ever seen as the door
swung open and Tony stepped inside, hollering over his shoulder.
“—they promised us dinner, and I’m gonna collect. Besides they wouldn’t be
screwing with us right—“ Tony trailed off as his eyes landed on the two and he
flushed a bright red before spinning around and letting out a sound of anguish.
“Tony—“ Howard tried, before Tony batted a blind hand behind him and went
tearing down the hall, shouting.
“My dad’s the bitch!Buuuuccckkkkyyyy, my dad’s not allowed to be the
bitcccchhhhhh!”
“TONY, GODDAMNIT!”
Howard Stark would like it to go on record that Steve’s louds snorts of
laughter as he wiggled wildly in an attempt to free himself and beat his only
heir, preferably with something metal and capable of doing severe cranial
damage, were most certainly not sexy nor appreciated.
 
Chapter End Notes
     E.A.T stands for Estimated Arrival Time :)
     I hope you guys enjoyed this happy chapter! In the next couple, a lot
     of things are going to come to a head and it's going to be traumatic
     :( I apologize in advance and accept all curses and punches that are
     thrown.
***** Obadiah Enters and A Nightmare Is Had *****
Chapter Summary
     Howard and Tony bear witness to the aftermath of Bucky's abuse,
     Obadiah arrives and something is wrong. Something is very, very
     wrong.
Chapter Notes
     TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of someone re-living past abuse through
     a night terror.
     I described it as best I could, though I've only dealt with the
     terrors on the opposite side of the POV. The method described in no
     way is the only or best method of handling such things.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Steve roused slowly the next morning, following the sounds of Howard’s voice
out of dreamland and into reality. He opened his eyes to see his lover sitting
on the side of the bed, speaking into his phone. He was apparently giving
someone directions and once he noticed Steve, quickly disconnected the call.
Howard stretched out beside him and planted a playful kiss on his nose. Steve
knew instantly who was on the phone and felt his gut clench in self-
preservation.
“Obadiah’s here?”
“Yeah, he got in about a half hour ago, he’s on his way to the house now.
Sweetheart, I swear, no business.” Howard looked half panicked and Steve
couldn’t help but brush a slow kiss across his lips.
It wasn’t Howard’s fault his best friend gave Steve the heebie-jeebies no more
than it was Steve’s fault that Bucky lived to torment Howard. He stretched
against the sheets and hauled himself out of the bed. The house was unusually
quiet, especially for seven in the morning, and Steve was just about to make a
joke that Bucky was slipping off military training when a hoarse scream broke
the silence of the house. Steve’s heart dropped into the pit of his stomach at
the sound, taking off out the door with Howard hot on his heels. He skidded
into the doorway of Bucky’s room to see Tony backing away from Bucky’s bed with
his hands up and his face white. On the bed, Bucky was twisting and turning,
alternating between whimpering like a wounded animal and screaming like a
banshee.
“What did you do?” Howard shouted at Tony over Bucky’s thrashing, while Steve
made his way closer, thinking about how to best approach the man who was quite
clearly in the throes of a nightmare.
“I didn’t do anything, I swear! I just came in to get him for breakfast and
when I touched his shoulder to shake him awake, he flipped!”
Steve held up a hand for them both to be quiet before settling on the chest at
the foot of Bucky’s bed, crossing his legs and relaxing before trying to speak.
“Bucky, it’s Steve. You need to come out of this now. You’re not where you
think you are.”
The reedy voice of his best friend made tears well up in Steve’s eyes, and the
words he uttered hurt so bad Steve was sure if he looked down he’d see his
chest torn wide open.
“No! Daddy, please, no….I’ll be good…don’t hit me, Daddy, please…”
He saw both Tony and Howard freeze dead at the words out of the corner of his
eye and ignored them in favor of speaking to the man.
“He’s gone now, Bucky. He can’t hurt you anymore. You need to come out of this.
You’re strong now, you’re a soldier. You’re not that scared little boy.”
“Daddy…no, please…I’ll be good, see? See how good I can be? I can do it, Daddy,
I can take it. Can take it all.”
Steve swallowed back the bile that rose at the way Bucky went suddenly still,
spreading his legs wide and gripping onto the sheets. He was deep into it this
time, completely lost in the memories, the simple nightmare shifting into a
night terror. This had only happened once before and after Steve had gotten him
through it they’d clung to each other and sobbed for an hour.
Steve saw Tony take a step forward and whipped his head around to warn the boy
to be quiet, but before he could speak, Tony had already done so.
“Hey, Bucky, it’s Tony. Come on home, you’re okay.”
“TONY!” Bucky burst out, thrashing once more, one arm thrown out to the
opposite side where everyone stood, reaching for someone who wasn’t there.
“Tony, you got-gotta get outta here. Hurry, Tony, he’ll get you t-too. If he
sees you—if he sees you, I’m a b-bad boy and he’ll call Uncle J-John. Please,
go!” Tony’s face crumpled at the words and Howard reached out, drawing him back
as tears began to streak down his face.
Steve looked at Howard helplessly while his friend still thrashed and writhed,
calling out for him, and his mom, and even for his own grandfather who had
passed right before the abuse had started. Howard squared his shoulders and
took a step forward, bracing himself before speaking in a low, soothing tone
Steve had never heard him use before.
“Hey, Bucky, buddy. Hey, can you hear me?”
Bucky calmed a bit and Steve frantically motioned for Howard to continue.
“Bucky, hey, it’s Howard. You know who I am?”
“H-Howard?”
“Yeah, buddy, that’s right. You know who I am, right? Rich boozehound bastard?”
“Powerful. Can hurt.”
“Yeah, yeah, power can hurt but you know what else power can do? Protect. I can
protect you Buck. Make sure no one ever hurts you again.”
Bucky was fully still by this point, still semi-out-of-it going by the
twitching under his eyelids but he was surfacing quickly with Howard’s steady
even tones. Steve nodded when Howard looked like he was going to step closer,
prompting the man to move until he was barely a foot away from the bed.
“Protect me? Send Daddy away?”
“Oh, yeah, send him away forever. And your uncle too. Make sure they never get
to hurt anyone else again.”
The words seemed to break the spell that had trapped Bucky under and he came
awake with a gasp, jackknifing up in bed. He was panting and covered in sweat
as his eyes wildly bounced from person to person, from Steve to Tony to finally
land and stick on Howard. He reached out with a wrenching sob, grabbing ahold
of Howard’s shirt and yanking him close to bury his head in the fabric like a
child would. Howard started like he’d been hit but rested gentle hands on
Bucky’s shoulders and murmured softly to him until those shoulders stopped
shaking.
“S-Steve?”
Steve looked around to see Tony hugging himself tightly next to him and opened
his arms, letting the boy throw himself into them. He let his tears fall into
Tony’s hair while the kid sobbed against his shirt and for a moment, the misery
and anguish in the room was so thick he was afraid he would choke. Around the
same time Bucky pulled back with a harsh sniff, Tony and Steve were settling as
well, separating slowly as if giving the other the option to latch back on at
any moment. They finally separated for good once Bucky threw himself back on
the bed, reaching for his pack of cigarettes and lighting one with shaking
hands.
Howard nodded sharply at the scene and turned to stride from the room, calling
over his shoulder.
“I’ll order out for breakfast. Give you guys a shout when it’s ready.”
Steve wanted to chase after the man and hug him as more tension seeped from
Bucky’s shoulders. He’d learned early on dwelling on the terror flashbacks
sometimes made them worse, and the best thing Howard could have done in that
moment was exactly what he haddone. However, there was still the matter of
Tony, who was standing clutching himself tightly, watching Bucky with black
eyes. Bucky stabbed out the cigarette before opening his arms in silent
invitation and Steve respectfully turned his head when Tony, after a moment’s
hesitation, threw himself into them, sobbing apologies into Bucky’s chest. Once
Bucky’s quiet shushing’s had silenced the cries, Steve turned back to see that
Tony was curled next to Bucky with his forehead resting against the star on
Bucky’s bicep.
His eyes were drifting shut almost unwillingly, and Bucky, with a quick look at
Steve, dropped a kiss onto his forehead. Bucky gave the quick order to go back
to sleep, which Tony obeyed instantly with one hand curling around something
beneath his sleep shirt to soothe him, before grabbing his things off the
bedside table and ushering Steve into the hallway. He pulled the door shut
behind him and turned to hug Steve tightly, accepting the hard hold Steve
locked onto him with as well.
“That was bad,” Steve whispered brokenly and he felt Bucky nod against his
shoulder. They separated slowly, just as he and Tony had done and neither spoke
again until they were out sitting by the fire pit once again.
“Thanks for trying, Steve. If I know you, you sat there and talked to me even
if it didn’t work.”
“Don’t thank me, we’re friends. I’m just glad Howard was able to pull you outta
it.”
Bucky let loose a rough laugh, the sound scraping over raw vocal cords. Steve
made a note to make him some tea with honey in it for breakfast.
“Right? Who’dda thought that cold bastard could sound so caring.”
Steve smiled mutely while Bucky lit another cigarette, before cautiously
broaching the topic they’d both been dancing around.
“You haven’t had one of those that bad in a while. Not that I know of, at
least.”
“Nope. Last time was that night when we were sixteen, remember? After the Sadie
Hawkins dance?”
Steve nodded and swallowed against the lump in his throat. Bucky had been
shaking and had vomited a couple times after he’d woken up, babbling to Steve
about how he thought it was the fact that he’d had sex and oh, god, what if
that cocksucking motherfucker came back everytime Bucky tried to get laid? That
night had been long and they’d finally passed out around 4 in the morning,
curled in matching fetal positions with their hands tangled and their knees and
foreheads pressed together. Steve’s mom had snapped a picture when she had come
in to wake them for breakfast, choosing to let them sleep instead. It was her
favorite picture of what she called her ‘two sons’ and neither Steve nor Bucky
had the heart to tell her about what had brought the occasion on.
“So why now? Do you know or—“
“Oh, I know. And it’s stupid.”
“Can’t be too stupid.” Steve argued and Bucky shrugged, drawing deeply and
pointedly not looking at him as he spoke, smoke curling out of his mouth while
he shaped his words.
“Tony’s been aggressive with the whole ‘fuck me’ shit. I’m not scared of him, I
can break the kid in half, and it’s not like I’m not crazy attracted to him.
But it’s dredging up shit, y’know? The contrast?”
“He wants it and you didn’t.” Steve whispered and Bucky tapped his nose,
indicating Steve’s correctness.
“Maybe you should talk to Tony?”
“About Maria?”
Steve nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sound of Obadiah’s sudden voice
and whipped around to see the man striding towards them from the shadows of the
house. Bucky quickly reached for his thigh, for a gun that was no longer there,
Steve realized with a jolt, before smiling tightly at the older man. Steve
searched his face desperately, seeing if there was any indication that showed
he’d over-heard something he wasn’t supposed to, but his face was clear, the
picture of innocence.
“Sorry, what?”
Obadiah paused a few feet from them, hands in his pockets.
“I thought you were talking about the Maria situation. Was I wrong?”
“No,” Bucky cut in, giving Steve a look. It was plainly obvious he didn’t trust
the man either and Steve felt a swell of relief that it apparently wasn’t all
in his head. “You’re right. Trying to figure out how to help the kid out.”
The older man nodded and held a hand out, one that Bucky shook without pause.
Steve was proud that Bucky’s hand didn’t shake in the slightest as he held on,
his determination over-riding any unease he may have felt about touching the
man.
“I’m glad to hear he’s got people willing to lend a hand. Obadiah Stane,
Howard’s business partner.”
“Bucky Barnes, nice to meet ya.”
“Ah, yes,” Obadiah murmured, retracting his hand and looking between them.
“Steve mentioned you in passing back at the house. A soldier. Thank you for
your service.”
Bucky shrugged and reached for another cigarette when a cry of Obadiah’s name
had them turning to see Tony sprinting from the house and throwing himself at
the man. Steve was tempted to ask for one of his own from Buck, carefully
watching just how low on Tony’s back Obadiah placed his hands, when Howard
emerging from the house interrupted it.
“Obi! How’d you sneak past me?”
“You were so into that cup of coffee, Howard, interrupting would have been like
walking in on you and Steve. I figured better to not risk coming between your
obvious love affair.” The man remarked, sharing a laugh between the three while
he and Bucky sat silently.
“So,” Tony started, looking up at Obadiah who held up a hand between them.
“No. Not until we get breakfast, Tony. Then you can pick my brain all you want.
Fair?”
Tony nodded and they all trudged inside to where Howard had put everything
that’d been delivered on the island. It was quite a spread and despite the
company, Steve’s stomach gave a hungry howl at the delicious smells emanating
from the boxes. They dug in, Steve and Bucky surrounding Tony so that Obadiah
was forced to the other side of the table. Having him near Howard wasn’t much
better in Steve’s eyes, but the sight of their brushes against one another as
they ate didn’t make him want to throw up. Not as much as it would have had it
been Tony.
Speaking of the boy, Bucky looked about ready to kill him as he kept chatting
animatedly with Obadiah, flinging his fork around as he did and almost nailing
Bucky with it a few times. He chuckled into his coffee cup when Bucky had
enough and they tussled over it for a moment, Bucky trying to pry it away and
Tony doing his best to hang on. Tony won, though Steve was sure it was only
because Bucky allowed it, and he victoriously ran his tongue up the length of
the thing.
“Touch it now, Barnes.” He challenged and Steve almost laughed, before he
caught the look on Obadiah’s face.
The man was staring at them both, like he was trying to figure out a math
problem, but the dilation of his pupils when Tony had pulled his stunt made
Steve want to wrap the boy in a quilt and hide him away somewhere. He seemed to
be the only one who noticed, and went silent for the rest of the meal. Howard
must have sensed the change because he reached over near the end and grasping
his hand, squeezing it with a smile. Steve smiled weakly back before the meal
ended, almost running after Bucky who stepped out immediately for a smoke.
“That guy,” Bucky started hotly, as Steve pulled his own from the pack.
“Right? I don’t like it. I really don’t.”
“We’ve got no grounds. That’s one thing I always fucking heard. No evidence, no
arrest.”
Steve shook his head and drew deeply, pasting on a smile when the other three
strode outside to join them, talking amongst themselves. He was at least happy
to see that having Obadiah around seemed to make Howard and Tony less likely to
snark at each other, though that also could have been because they both seemed
shaken from this morning. They weren’t the only ones, he mused, watching how
Bucky neatly avoided Howard’s eyes, as did the older man. A part of him wanted
to club them both for being so dense, but another part understood that was how
they would both get past it. Fake it until you make it, or something like that.
“So, what’s on the agenda for you all today?” Obadiah asked, settling in a
chair as Howard crossed to sit next to him, linking their hands.
“Talking about my bitch of a mother.” Tony said offhand, causing a silence to
fall over them that was broken by Howard.
“Tony, watch your mouth.”
“Why? It’s not like it matters.”
“It does matter, she’s still your mother and she loves you.”
“Bullshit!”
No, Tony,” Obadiah cut in, looking between the two. “Maria does. She always
did.”
“Then why in the hell is she off with some guy and lying to me about it?!”
“Did Howard tell you he was dating Steve?” Obadiah asked and Steve felt the
irresistible urge to punch the man when Tony turned angry eyes on them.
“No.” He answered shortly, and Steve felt Howard tense next to him at the dirty
look.
“It’s not any of your business who your parents date, Tony. Not until it
becomes serious enough.”
“But it became serious with you two and I still didn’t hear shit.”
“Alright!” Obadiah said, waving his hands in the air. “This topic seems a bit
tense. Howard, why don’t you and the boys go for a walk on the beach? Maybe
Tony and I should discuss this alone for a little bit. Lessen the chance of
fists flying, right?”
No! Steve wanted to shout, looking at Howard desperately, but the man was
already nodding and standing.
“Not a bad idea, Obi. Steve, Bucky, c’mon, there’s a shop on the boardwalk I
need to duck into anyways.” He said, and Bucky and Steve exchanged looks before
climbing to their feet uneasily. As they trudged down the path and towards the
beach, Steve kept shooting looks over his shoulder, stopping dead when he saw
Obi lead Tony into the house, the younger boy chatting animatedly.
Howard paused and looked over his shoulder at them, Bucky having stopped right
along beside Steve.
“Everything alright, you two?” He asked, and Steve nodded tightly, nudging
Bucky to continue on, ignoring the roiling tension in his gut.
They got halfway down the beach before Steve’s throat seized up, a sense of
dread over-taking his common sense and an adrenal rush out of nowhere stopping
him cold. He had to get back to the house, no matter what it took. Something
was wrong. Steve made a half-heartedly choked noise before turning and pounding
back down the beach, heart racing.
Something was wrong.
Something was very, very wrong.
 
Chapter End Notes
     I can't....I...I'm sorry. In advance, I am sorry. Everything got so
     angsty so fast.
***** Trust Broken *****
Chapter Summary
     Tony's trust is broken, as is Howard's.
Chapter Notes
     TRIGGER WARNING: Rape is defined as any act of sexual intercourse
     that is forced upon a person, not specified to what act. Therefore,
     rape is rape, and this is rape. This is non-consensual, this is not
     roleplay, this is not okay.
     ALSO TRIGGER: Victim self-blaming, mentions of suicidal thoughts,
     heavy implications of childhood molestation, explicit violence.
     This chapter is not okay. This chapter is not fun. But this chapter
     is the natural progression of the story. OP I am sorry for what I
     have done, and I owe you any happy cheery story you want in return.
     But remember, this story is about building bridges. And those bridges
     can always be re-built. Not in some cases, but in others. The end is
     not nigh because the darkness has come. Have faith in me, people, I
     will fix this.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Tony threw himself across his bed with a sigh, looking up at Obi who settled on
the edge. The man’s face was as familiar to him as his own, and it was twisted
in concern as he looked down at him.
“So, you found out, huh?” Obi asked, placing a hand on his knee as he curled up
into a sitting position.
“Yeah. I mean, what the hell, Obi? Mom’s a whore, whatever, so what, that’s her
choice. But you didn’t tell me?! You knew and we were together alone how many
times and you never thought to mention it?” He demanded and Obadiah sighed,
rubbing slow circles with his thumb on the outside of Tony’s knee.
“Tony, it wasn’t my place. Howard asked me to keep it a secret and I did.”
“If he asked you to jump off a bridge, would you?”
“If it meant keeping you safe and letting you grow up without knowing your
mother slept around on your dad? Yes.”
“Why didn’t he just divorce her? Why didn’t you tell him to just divorce her
the second he found her cheating the first time?”
“Because you were a baby, Tony. And you needed both your parents. We cared
about you, all of us. Howard and Maria stayed together because of you, and I
kept visiting the woman who was cheating on my best friend because of you.”
“You obviously don’t care about me all that much, if you were so willing to
hide something like that from me.” Tony huffed, crossing his arms across his
chest.
He blinked at the sudden warmth on his cheek before the pain set in and he
cried out, bringing a hand up to the cheek Obadiah had landed the slap on.
“Obi!”
“Shut your mouth, Tony. I cared about you more than your father or mother ever
did. I still do.” Obadiah hissed and Tony let his head fall down, ashamed.
How in the world could he accuse Obi of not caring? The man had taken him so
many places when he was younger, gone through so much with him that his parents
should have. Granted, when Tony tried to remember details they were always
fuzzy, but he could always remember Obi being there with him. An arm slid
around his shoulders and tugged him into the man’s warmth, rubbing up and down
his arm.
“I worry about you, Tony. You should know that. Now, what else would you like
to know about Maria?”
Tony shrugged and rubbed at his cheek absently. At this point he was honestly
so strung out from the morning and finding out the truth he didn’t want to talk
about much. He’d assumed it would take Obi longer than it had to get here and
that he would have a few days to settle, collect his thoughts.
“Alright, then I’ve got a question for you.” He stated and Tony tensed when he
felt Obi’s finger slip under his collar, pulling out the tags slowly, letting
them drop to his chest.
“Who’s tags?”
Tony’s mind raced with lies he could spit out before he mentally shook himself.
This was Obadiah! The same guy who had rented out an entire sea world exhibit
because he’d said he wanted to swim with the whale! He couldn’t lie to him.
Besides, Obi wouldn’t do anything, not if Tony asked him not to.
“They’re Bucky’s.” He mumbled and Obi twisted them between his fingers for a
moment before he spoke again.
“Steve’s soldier friend? Now why in the world do you have his dog tags, Tony?”
“He..ah…that is…he and I…we’re together. Or at least, we will be, once I’m
legal. We fool around and stuff, but he’s waiting to have sex until I’m
seventeen. I really like him Obi, he’s the kind of guy I’d want to marry,
y’know?”
Tony heaved a sigh after his babbling and, inhaling to tell Obi more, uttered a
choked sound when the tags suddenly drew tight around his throat. He gasped and
looked at Obi, who had them wrapped around his fist, pulling them tight against
his Adams apple. The man’s whole face was contorted in rage and as they locked
eyes he brought his other hand up to roughly cup Tony’s jaw, pulling their
faces close.
“What happened to wanting to marry me, Tony?” He asked tauntingly, and Tony
stared dumbfounded before a memory hit him from out of nowhere.
Obi’s hot tub, he was about eight or so, it was closely after his parents had
divorced. Obi had him sitting on his lap, running hands up and down his thighs.
He’d sighed and told Obi he was gonna marry him one day because they wouldn’t
get a divorce because Obi was so nice to him. It’d been a child’s promise,
something foolish, but apparently Obi had taken it seriously?
“Obi,” he choked out, pleading with the man through his eyes. “Obi, it was a
joke. I was a kid. What the hell are you doing?”
The words only seemed to enrage the man further and as he fisted a hand in
Tony’s hair, dragging him off the bed to kneel in front of him, Ton wondered
how in the hell the man had gone so quickly from his trusted god-father to a
violent stranger.
“A joke?” He sneered, gripping tighter at Tony’s whine of pain, slapping one
hand across his face once again. “That’s all I ever am to you Stark’s, isn’t
it? Howard would fuck every hole that would let him but his best friend? Oh,
no, we’re just friends. I couldn’t do anything about him, but you? With you I
can just take what I want.”
Tony had only a moment to realize exactly what Obi had meant by that before the
man was standing, one hand going to the button on his shorts. He thrashed
against his hold, ignoring the fierce pain from his scalp, and had almost
shaken him free when Obadiah tilted his head so far back his spine bowed,
staring into his eyes as he shoved down his pants.
“You realize you can either do this, or I can report your little ‘friend’ to
the cops. You’re underage; it’s illegal even if you’re being the slut that’s
chasing after his cock. Even if he didn’t get arrested for fucking around with
Howard Stark’s heir, he’s a soldier. He’d lose all his credibility so fast;
they’d blacklist him and kick him out on his ass before he could even open his
mouth. So that’s the deal, Tony. You can either be the good little cocksucker I
know you are, or I can ruin your little boyfriend’s life.”
Tony bit his lip and shut his eyes as cold shame washed over him. He had to, he
had to do this. Bucky wasn’t the aggressor, he was. He didn’t deserve to be
punished just because Tony had picked him to shove all his attraction onto. He
opened his eyes once more and nodded, gagging around the thick length that was
shoved almost immediately into his mouth. Obadiah groaned above him and began
to mindlessly fuck his throat, ignoring Tony’s chokes and gags, as well as the
tears that ran down his face. Tony had almost let himself go, almost
disconnected his mind from his body like his pal who was into yoga had taught
him, when Obadiah spoke, tearing him back into reality.
“Knew you’d be amazing at this, Tony. So good. I imagined doing this when you
were younger, sitting on my lap, wiggling around like the slut I knew you were.
Just teasing me and practically begging me to fuck you. I could only get a
small taste then, only a little every so often. This is the real deal.”
Tony sobbed as memories poured in once again, somehow untapped by the
situation. The hot tub, always the fucking hot tub, Obi settling him on his lap
and rocking against him, telling him it was a fucking game. See if Tony could
cut it as a cowboy. God, the bastard had been fucking humping him and he’d just
taken it! Maybe Obadiah was right, maybe he was just a slut, even as a kid.
“The best fucking thing out there, save for maybe fucking Howard. You look so
much like him, you little whore. If the hair were different I could almost
imagine it’s him I’m choking with my cock. Hmm, maybe when I screw that tight,
little ass later, I’ll put you face down, pretend it really is your Daddy I’m
tearing apart with my dick.”
Tony felt his body start to go numb as the reality of the situation sank in. He
was being raped, getting his throat fucked raw, and he still wasn’t good
enough. Someone was still wishing he was someone else. It was like everyone
he’d ever had all over again; I wish you were better at X, or why can’t you do
that tongue thing like Y can, or why would I have sex with you when I can do it
with Z. He let himself go limp, barely choking anymore as Obadiah battered at
the back of his throat. Maybe, if he at least could sit still—Like a good boy,
Tony. Good boys sit still and shut the hell up—maybe he could at least get Obi
off. Maybe he’d be worth something then. Not worth a damn thing, Tony! I told
you a hundred times to stay out of my lab! Look at what you did!
Worthless.
Unwanted.
Pathetic.
Kid.
Slut.
Little shit.
Annoying.
Now run along and go play in your sandbox while the grown-ups talk.
Tony squeezed his eyes shut tightly, feeling his heart crack and shatter in his
chest. Oh, God, he’d been deluding himself. Bucky didn’t really want him, no
matter what he said. He was just playing along with Tony’s fantasy, like an
adult who pretended to answer a toddler’s toy phone. He didn’t care about him,
didn’t want him. Who would?
Broken.
Defective.
Throw-away.
No one could ever love you.
Even your own parents can’t stand you.
WorthlessStupidNoGoodBadIdiotMoronSlutWhoreCumbucketTrampBrokenDefectiveFoolish.
Obadiah yanked back suddenly, bringing Tony out of the spiral and he barely had
time to close eyes before hot spurts were covering his face, dripping thickly
down his cheeks. He resisted the urge to gag and fell to the floor the moment
Obi let go of his hair, curling into a ball, covering his head with his hands.
Tony didn’t even bother to wipe off the cum, sobbing so hard he could barely
breathe, let alone move.
He heard the pounding of footsteps in the hall and figured it was only a
figment of his imagination, blind hope of a rescue creating auditory illusions,
when he heard the door bang open. Tony heard a scream before the heavy crash of
bodies hitting one another sounded and he pushed himself up, adrenaline rushing
from nowhere, gasping at the sight.
Steve. It was Steve!
And he was beating the holy hell out of Obadiah.
He’d pinned him against the bed with a knee on his chest and was wailing on his
face, the arms Obi had raised useless against him as he screamed curses at the
man. More footsteps sounded and Tony turned from sight of Steve’s, now blood
covered, fists flying to see Bucky and his dad slide to a stop outside the
door. They both gasped, Howard rushed to him, shouting at Bucky to pull Steve
off of Obadiah. Bucky complied, straining against his friend’s raging body,
while Howard pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and tilted Tony’s face up,
wiping it off with shaking hands. He didn’t realize the drops on his face
weren’t his own until he looked up to see tears dripping from his father’s
eyes, landing on his cheeks. Once he’d cleared everything off, Howard stood and
stroked a hand over his face, brushing off any wetness before he strode to
where Obadiah had curled on the bed, trying and failing to staunch the massive
amount of blood pouring from his nose and mouth.
“Obadiah. What the fuck did you do to my son.”
Tony had never heard such rage in his father’s voice before, not even when he’d
pulled some of his stupidest stunts. Obadiah looked up at him before shooting
his eyes over to where Bucky was still holding Steve against the wall, the
tension in both men’s bodies suggesting if Bucky loosened his grip even
slightly, Steve was going to be right back at it.
“You have to understand, Howard. I was only trying to teach him a lesson—“
“A lesson?! Teaching him a lesson by rape?! About what; how to not fucking
trust people?” Howard snarled and Obadiah shook his head quickly, pointing a
finger at Bucky.
“No! Howard, they’re fucking! If you should be mad at anyone, be mad at the man
taking advantage of your child.”
The entire room stilled in that very instant, the tension becoming so thick you
could cut it. Howard glanced over at Bucky, the shards of glass that were his
eyes sharpening into ice, before he glanced back at Obadiah.
“Get out, Obadiah. And be glad I’m only going to murder you socially and
financially, not physically like I’m tempted to let Steve do.”
Obadiah scrambled away at his words, running quickly for someone who’d lost as
much blood as he had. Once they heard the front door slam they all sagged, save
for Howard who stayed in place, looking at the massive bloodstain on Tony’s
comforter. Bucky let Steve go slowly, as if he was afraid he would still go
after Obadiah. The tension in Steve’s expression said the concern wasn’t too
far-fetched. They all stood there for a moment, no one willing to break the
heavy silence, until Howard’s flat voice did.
“Are you fucking my son?”
Bucky straightened imperceptibly, looking nowhere else but the strict set of
Howard’s shoulders as he answered.
“Yes.”
“No!” Tony protested, glaring at Bucky as Howard whirled to face him. “Dad, no!
We’re not fucking, Bucky won’t until I’m legal. We’ve kissed but that’s—“
“Phone sex.”
Tony gaped at Bucky, whose words were as flat as Howard’s face when he turned
to lock eyes the man.
“I’m sorry?”
“I made your son cum. With words, not hands or tongue, but nonetheless.”
Howard nodded shortly before delivering a punch straight to Bucky’s jaw,
knocking the man back a few feet. His face never changed, nor did his tone as
he spoke, striding towards the door.
“We’re all going home. Tomorrow morning, first thing. Tony, take the room next
door. Steve, I’ll move my things to the couch.”
Steve nodded at the floor at his words, face flushed with shame and blood-
covered fists still clenched at his sides. Why in the hell was he being
punished? Tony wondered, climbing to his feet and catching his dad’s attention.
“Dad, Steve didn’t do anything—“
The sharp crack of Howard’s fist crashing against the doorframe cut off the
rest of his words and he addressed the hall when he spoke.
“He brought that man into my home, into our home, near you. He did everything.”
With those words, he was gone, his footsteps barely making noise down the hall.
Tony winced at Steve’s choked inhale, opening his mouth to say something,
anything, when Steve held up a hand, shaking his head. He left the room
silently, leaving only Bucky, Tony, and the remnants of a monster.
Tony shuffled his feet and looked down at the floor, only distantly aware Bucky
was moving until a gentle hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up into
Bucky’s dark eyes, half-wild with memories, and lingered on the dark spot on
his jaw that would be one hell of a bruise.
“C’mon, let’s get you into the shower.” He said gruffly, and Tony instantly
became aware of just how filthy he felt. Like he’d somehow gotten the dirt
inside him, and it was slowly spreading, covering everything he was.
He nodded numbly, letting Bucky guide him out of the room and into the one next
door, only momentarily glimpsing the heartbreaking scene of Steve standing
dejectedly just outside the doorway of his room while Howard gathered things up
inside. Tony let out a soft sound, one that Bucky either didn’t hear or chose
to ignore as he guided him into the room he’d be using, leaving him right
outside the bathroom door before grabbing a sheet and entering it. Once he
called for him to come in, Tony saw he’d hung the sheet over the large mirror
above the sink and was instantly grateful. If he’d seen what he looked like
right now, he’d have probably just hung himself from one of the showerheads.
“I’ll stick around until you’re done, make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”
The thought that Bucky was amazingly perceptive crossed his mind before the
cold, hard truth slammed down like a mallet. Bucky wasn’t perceptive, Bucky was
experienced. He knew what it was like to feel filthy, to feel worthless, to
look at a showerhead and take a guess as to whether it would support his
weight. Tony stripped quickly, Bucky’s eyes downcast as he did, and climbed in,
turning the water so hot it instantly turned his skin bright red. By the time
he felt like he was almost normal again, almost not so filthy, every piece of
his body was raw and sensitive from the combination of the hot water and the
fierce scrubbing Tony had done. He stepped out and accepted the towel Bucky
handed him without looking.
“Thank you.”
“Thank me once I don’tmanage to fuck everything up. Sleep, Tony. People think
curling into a ball helps, but spread out. Works better, you feel bigger.”
Tony nodded at the low voice, wincing at the use of his name once Bucky had
strode away. He wasn’t kid anymore, or punk, he was Tony. His best friend’s
husband’s son. No more familiar or close than the barista at the coffee shop
you visited every morning. You’d make small talk, smile politely, but once your
transaction was finished, you had nothing more to do with one another. Tony
trudged to his closet, giving up on getting dressed once bile rose in his
throat for the third time at the caress of the sleep shirt against his
shoulders. He flung himself under the covers nude, pulling the blanket tight
around him before stretching out like Bucky had said, finding he did feel a bit
better.
Tony went to turn over when a sudden pressure at his throat caused him to
freeze dead before his hand scrambled to find the constriction.
The dog tags.
Tony tore them off his neck and went to throw them across the room, hesitating
at the last moment, looking at their glint in the moonlight. These were the
reason he had gotten raped, they’d been the catalyst. But as Tony held the one
piece he’d probably ever see of Bucky again after tomorrow in his hands, he
couldn’t make himself throw them away. A dam broke inside at the knowledge and
he pulled his hands close to his chest, curling around the tags and sobbing
until he passed out.
 
Chapter End Notes
     I'll fix it. I swear. I'm sorry. The next chapter will be Steve's POV
     and it will begin the road to healing.
***** Road To Redemption *****
Chapter Summary
     In the aftermath, Steve and Howard bond over a memory, and Tony and
     Bucky make decisions about the future.
Chapter Notes
     We're on the road to recovery here. I'm going to cover all the
     relationships between the four, since they all took a pretty big hit.
     Let's hope I do the recovery justice, and as always I hope you enjoy!
Steve distantly heard the clock in the living room chime out three in the
morning as he lay where he’d been for the last few hours; curled on Howard’s
side of the bed and watching bruises slowly form on his hands. His chest was an
aching pit of pain and he’d been up five different times to check on Tony,
always finding the boy curled in the same position. He’d passed Bucky twice and
Howard only once, in which he’d avoided the older man’s gaze, striding back to
his room like he was being chased. Steve swallowed hard, wincing at the dry
scratch, remembering the dead tone in Howard’s voice when he’d spoken. He’d
ruined everything with this stupid vacation, and now Steve wasn’t even sure if
he still had a husband.
Shaking his head, he climbed from the bed and padded into the hall, peeking in
to see Tony still curled up, blankets over him rising and falling evenly.
Satisfied that the boy was okay, he closed the door and started towards the
kitchen, intent to get something to soothe the ache in his throat. He stepped
into the kitchen and flipped the light on, freezing at the scene that met him.
Howard looked up from his place at the island, his eyes flat and dull, before
pouring more of the whiskey that sat at his elbow into his tumbler.
“You alright?”
The words made Steve freeze from where he’d crossed to pull open the fridge,
content to let Howard ignore him. He answered the tub of butter in front of him
when he spoke, scared turning to face the man would cut short the moment.
“No. No, I’m not alright.”
He heard Howard sigh and clenched his eyes shut, figuring he’d soon hear the
echo of Howard striding away once again. Instead, to his shock, a hand pushed
the door out of his grip and shut it, before another laid gently on his hip. He
whimpered at the pressure, turning slowly like he could still ruin all of this
with too fast a motion.
Once they stood face to face, Steve was able to get a true look at his lover’s
eyes and was shocked at the sight. They weren’t flat or dull at all. No, they
were rolling like the water during a shark attack, all wild promises and dark
intentions. Howard was still furiously angry, and yet none seemed directed at
him, for the moment.
“I’m sorry,” Steve whispered, blinking at Howard’s harsh laugh and the way he
scrubbed his hands over his face as he stepped back.
“You’re sorry? You didn’t make your child’s rapist his step-father and the
goddamn CFO of your company. I’m going to guess this is why you never liked
being around that bastard.”
“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I could have avoided all of this. And as for
Bucky—“
Howard’s grunt cut him off and the man shook his head, drinking deeply from his
cup, tilting it towards Steve once he was done. He shook his head, as much as
Steve wanted to drink in an attempt to dull the pain, the whiskey burn wouldn’t
feel too swell on his throat.
“You know what’s funny? I’ve been up, and I’ve been thinking. And that army
fuck is just about the only person I’d actually trust with Tony. I’ve passed
him about six times going to check on the kid and each time he looks me in the
eye and lets his arms fall to the sides. It’s like he’s telling me I could
punch him every single time and he wouldn’t stop me.”
“He wouldn’t,” Steve whispered, pulling a water bottle from the fridge and
fidgeting with it. “Bucky would let you hit him again and again and again.”
“Did you know?”
Steve considered playing dumb, it wouldn’t be that hard of a stretch to think
that he wasn’t aware. But enough lies and falsehoods had been thrown around the
past few days. He wasn’t going to add to the ridiculously high number.
“Yes.”
“When you two pulled over on the way to the Jet?”
“Yes.”
Both Howard and Steve turned at the new voice, spotting Bucky standing in the
doorway of the kitchen. He looked like hell, as Steve was sure they all did,
black circles under his eyes, a pale pallor, and a nasty bruise spreading up
his jaw that Steve was sure would only get worse. Howard cursed and threw back
the two fingers worth left in his glass, pouring more. Steve caught Bucky’s eye
as the man crossed to stand next to him, apologizing and accepting an apology
in turn.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why in the hell would you of all people fuck around with an underage kid?”
Howard demanded, anger still present in the lines of his body, but he passed
Bucky the whiskey when he reached a hand for it. Bucky took a swallow straight
from the bottle before answering, swallowing hard.
“Look, Stark, it wasn’t my intention. I didn’t meet the kid and decide I wanted
him. Truth be told, Tony’s been the aggressor. But I don’t mind, I didn’t mind,
so I let it go on which makes it all still my fault because as the adult—“
“You should have stopped him.”
Bucky nodded at the way Howard finished the sentence, fingers rubbing against
one pocket of his shorts like he was itching for a cigarette. Steve felt the
ache in his chest intensify as Howard shook his head, looking between the pair
of them. The same man who had once thought he hung the moon and stars was now
looking at him like he had no idea what to do with him, like a puppy who’d been
dropped on someone’s front step. Howard laughed, a dry sound, and spoke into
his glass.
“I shouldn’t be surprised. Tony’s always been aggressive after he finds
something he wants. Look, Barnes, I’m not going to say I’m not pissed, nor am I
going to tell you I’ll give Tony away at the wedding. But right now, as shitty
as it sounds, he needs someone like you. Someone who’s gone through what he
has, knows how to cope. I’m not throwing you out on your ass, but you listen to
me and you listen well, if I so much as hear you laid a finger on Tony that he
didn’t explicitly ask for before he turns seventeen, Steve’s friend or not, I
will call up the same person who’s going to kill Obadiah and tell him it’s a
two-fer.”
Bucky nodded sharply at Howard’s words, holding out his hand to the older man
and shaking it firmly before setting the whiskey bottle back down, striding out
of the room. The creak of a door down the hall clued Steve in that Bucky was
checking on Tony and he searched Howard’s face for any sign of anger or disgust
at the action.
To his surprise, Howard locked eyes with him, and the only emotion in their
depths was regret. He stepped back at the wave of longing that hit him, wanting
nothing more than to cross and take Howard into his arms. But the man’s spine
was still ramrod straight and Steve wasn’t completely sure he wouldn’t get
socked in the jaw for trying. Instead, he inclined his head to his lover and
walked slowly back down the hall, sticking his head in Tony’s door as he
passed, smiling at the way the boy had finally uncurled and was starfish-ed in
the middle of the bed, hand clutching something tight to his chest.
Steve drank half of the bottle, setting it on his nightstand just as the clock
chimed for the thirty minute mark. Curling up once again with his face buried
in sheets that still smelled like his husband, he was so pre-occupied with
trying not to let the tears that welled up spill down his cheeks, he missed the
opening of the bedroom door completely, only registering a presence when Howard
spoke from next to him.
“That couch isn’t particularly comfortable.”
Steve flipped onto his back to see Howard standing there awkwardly, shifting
his weight and staring down at Steve with a glint of hope in his eyes. He
huffed out a laugh through the ball in his throat and wiped a hand over his
eyes, scooting over in the bed, settling very still when Howard slid in next to
him, like the man was a deer he could startle if he wasn’t careful.
“Well, even the best couch can’t compare to a bed.”
“Especially not when the bed has you.”
His head whipped around and he stared at Howard in disbelief. Was the man
serious? There was no way; he’d walked right past Steve earlier without even a
glance of derision. But Howard met his eyes evenly and, after studying his face
for a moment, slowly uncurled his arms, opening them wide. Steve felt the tears
he’d been desperately holding back slip free from his eyes and latched onto the
man before he could withdraw the offer, knocking Howard flat on his back and
sprawling over him like he’d get up and leave if he didn’t.
“I’m sorry, Howard, I’m so sorry, please don’t leave me. I’m sorry, I was going
to tell you.” He babbled and Howard clutched him tighter, shushing him softly.
“Hey, hey, breathe, darling boy. You’re fine. You’re just fine.”
“Are we fine?”
There was a moment of silence after his question and Steve held his breath
desperately, hoping and praying for something, though he wasn’t sure exactly
what. Howard’s chest expanded and constricted under him as they lay there,
letting the moment stretch between them until Howard broke it.
“Do you remember the first time we ever slept together?”
“Um…in the coat closet at the art gallery? Or—well I suppose that time didn’t
involve actual penetration so you mean--in the limo?”
The chest under his ear moved as Howard laughed low and stroked a soft hand
down his spine.
“No, Steve, the first time we actually just slept, side by side, in the same
bed.”
Steve thought back and warmth spread in his chest at the memory. It was only a
month into their relationship, Steve had moved to crawl out of bed after a
particularly intense love-making that left his back aching with the movement,
when Howard had casually said he could stay, if he wanted. He’d looked at the
billionaire for long enough that Howard had started to fidget under his gaze
before easily sliding back under the blankets and stating he hadn’t wanted to
go out in the snow anyways.
“That night was awful.”
Howard laughed yet again at his petulant tone, and Steve had to admit that
looking back it was a bit amusing. Neither of them had been used to sharing a
bed, Maria and Howard hadn’t slept in the same bed for most of their marriage,
and the only person Steve had ever shared a bed with was Bucky who generally
slept curled into a corner. Therefore, that night was the equivalent of putting
two St. Bernard’s into a kennel meant for a Mastiff. They fit and there was
room, but there were also a lot of knees shoved into hips, elbows digging into
ribs, and during one particularlyembarrassing leg spasm at two in the morning,
Steve actually kicking Howard so hard in the thigh it bruised. At that point,
he’d sat up, so flushed you could cook an egg on his cheeks, and suggested he
just go.
“Do you remember what I said when you flipped out over kicking me?” Howard
asked, and Steve smiled softly at the memory.
“I’d rather sleep a restless night with you than share a bed with anyone else.”
He recited, and Howard shifted under him at the words, sliding down until their
foreheads were pressed together. He brought a hand up and brushed off the tears
before catching Steve’s hand, pulling it up and placing a kiss on the wedding
band.
“For better or for worse. I promised you that. And it’s still true. If you
making my bed a battle ground a month into our relationship didn’t make me
leave, you introducing my son to someone who might actually turn out to be his
biggest help a year into our marriage certainly isn’t going to.” Howard stated
and Steve closed his eyes, sagging under the relief that hit him like a
linebacker.
He let Howard pull him close, settling against the man with a sigh and quickly
drifting off. He was distantly aware of Howard typing on his phone, and the
sounds of something so mundane, so normal, sent him into dreamland.
 ***********************************
Bucky looked over as his phone chimed on the ledge next to him. He had went
straight to his room and out onto the balcony after he’d checked on Tony, the
sight of his hands gripping Bucky’s dog tags cracking something inside him.
Bucky blew out the inhale he’d taken from his cigarette and scooped up the
tech, thumbing it awake. He started at the screen display. Stark had sent him a
text. Hell, it was probably telling him to get his shit and get out. Bucky
mentally ran through any friends he had stationed down here as he opened the
text.
If someone were to take you back to your childhood home, what would you do?
He considered the message, his curiosity over the question over-riding any
sense of astonishment at the lack of expletives and accusations. Bucky drew
deeply on his cigarette as he considered it, flicking a loose ash into the tray
next to him before answering as honestly as he could.
Go sit in my bedroom. A house is just a place, it can hold memories but you
can’t allow yourself to be scared of memories.
Is that a figurative answer or a literal one?
First thing I did post bootcamp was find the same girl who turned me down six
times in HS, get her to agree to go home with a war hero, and fuck her against
the same wall he pinned me against.
Did it help?
In the same way putting a new tattoo over a shitty one does. You know the old
ones there, but it’s covered up by something better, something that’s more
important.
The phone went silent then for a long while, so long that Bucky stuck it back
on the ledge and smoked through another cigarette, figuring Stark had gone to
sleep. When it finally sounded again, Bucky immediately picked it up, opening
the new message.
Should we stay?
You should leave that up to Tony.
I asked. He said to ask you. Said you being comfortable in a house where it
happened was more important.
Bucky resisted the urge to fling his damn phone across the space between him
and the pool, smashing out his cigarette and texting Howard back with one hand
as he quickly made his way from his room to Tony’s.
Let me get back to you.
When he cracked Tony’s door open, for the tenth time that night, he saw that
the boy was sitting up in the middle of his bed, legs crossed and chest rising
and falling with deep breaths, the tags back in place around his neck. The
sound as Bucky pushed it open and slipped inside caused him to crack open one
eye, checking to make sure who it was before shutting it, patting the bed in
front of him with one hand.
Bucky crossed the distance and copied Tony’s pose as best he could, his knee
really didn’t bend as much as the boy’s, nor did the old bullet wound in his
thigh appreciate being tugged in such a way. He ended up with one leg extended
on the far side of Tony and the foot of his opposite leg pressed flat against
the inside of his right thigh. Bucky waited in silence until Tony exhaled hard
and opened both eyes, blinking at him before smiling. A fresh wave of rage
flowed through him at the sight of the split skin on either side of Tony’s
mouth and he had to duck his head and breathe through his nose for a minute
before he could speak.
“How ya holding up, kiddo?” Bucky asked, bringing his head up and searching
Tony’s face as the boy appeared to consider the question.
“I guess as well as could be expected. I don’t feel like I’m gonna hurl any
second anymore, the meditation cleared my head, and my dad said he’s going to
let me decide what happens next, completely.”
“But?”
“But on the other hand in the past couple of days I’ve found out my parents
have lied to me for eight years, discovered my childhood hero is a sick
bastard, and sent the guy I like into a panic attack. So, the scale’s pretty
wild right about now.”
Bucky shook his head, careful to not reach out or stiffen under the words, and
spun his finger in a lazy circle pointing at himself.
“The freak-out? My fault and my damage. It would have happened no matter what,
I’m actually pretty lucky you were there and went to get people.”
Tony went silent at the admission, squeezing his eyes shut tightly and heaving
a breath before quietly speaking.
“Will I get those?”
Bucky’s heart clenched and he wanted so badly to lie, to tell him he’d be just
fine, it was only screw-ups like him that let it bother them. But the kid had
been lied to enough and Stark had asked him to be there for Tony, not lie to
his face about important shit.
“Maybe. I’m not going to lie; you’ll probably get some pretty fucked up
nightmares. But you’ve got people to talk to, rant at, and sit up with you at
night. All the shrinks that say talking it out helps aren’t all wrong. It’s
shit when people try to get you to talk about it, but having someone there
who’s willing to just listen goes a hell of a long way in healing.”
Tony’s shoulders slumped in relief and he opened his eyes, thanking Bucky with
a look before picking at a loose thread on the cuff of his jeans. Bucky
recognized the signals, remembered constantly picking rough fabric over soft
that would rub and send shivers of disgust down his spine. He also remembered
how fabric never mattered when he stole Steve’s clothes, the protection he felt
in clothes that hadn’t been tainted over-riding any preference for a texture,
and made a mental note to say something to Stark about giving the kid one of
his hoodies or something. Maybe he’d see if Steve still had that ratty button
up he used to love wearing, give that to him, plus he’d dig through and find
his old football jersey. Give the kid some options.
“My dad said he’d leave it up to me to whether or not we stayed here.” Tony
mumbled, shooting glances up at him through those long ass eyelashes of his.
Bucky stayed very still and tried to keep his voice and face neutral as he
answered.
“Yeah? That was nice of him.”
“Yeah, I guess. I know he’s trying to make me feel in control again.”
“Is it working?”
“A little bit. What do you think we should do?”
Bucky pulled his lighter from his pocket and twirled it between his fingers,
flicking the top open and closed as he considered the question. He didn’t want
to influence Tony’s decision, but he also knew the kid was sharp enough to see
straight through him if he tried to lie. Bucky decided to just answer as best
he could and hope for the best.
“I think you should do whatever’s going to make you feel comfortable. Whatever
you’re not going to regret.”
“If it had happened to you yesterday, if it had been you, what would you do?”
“Personally, I’d enjoy the rest of my vacation as a final fuck-you-you’re-not-
ruining-my-fun kinda thing. But I’m different than you, kid. I’ve learned to
roll with it.”
Tony straightened and looked hard into his eyes, searching for something in
their depths. Bucky kept everything as neutral as he could, returning the stare
until Tony nodded and smiled slowly.
“You’re right. Fuck him, he doesn’t get to make me run home crying. If women
can point a finger in a courtroom full of people at someone who violated her, I
can stay and enjoy the rest of my vacation.” He proclaimed, shoving his fist
into the air and Bucky laughed, shaking his head at the kid’s enthusiasm.
Yeah, it was gonna be a hard road for the kid, and it was going to suck bad
sitting down at breakfast, but every smile at this point was a step towards
normalcy, towards being able to be a teenager again.
“So…ah…I guess we should talk….about us?” Bucky was shaken from his thoughts at
Tony’s softly uttered words, focusing to see that he was picking at that same
thread once again, head down.
Shit, he thought Tony would wait a while until they had this conversation.
“Tony,” Bucky said gently, rubbing his thumb hypnotically over the lighter.
“There isn’t an us anymore. There can’t be.”
“Why not?!” Tony burst out, his head raising and eyes burning with righteous
indignation.
“Because your dad—“
“What the hell does he have to do with it? He doesn’t get to run my life,
Bucky. I got raped, I didn’t get a lobotomy. I can still think and make my own
decisions.” Tony snapped and Bucky was momentarily proud of the kid for being
able to state what had happened so quickly.
It had taken him six months to own up to his uncle and then another two after
that debacle to tell Steve’s mom. The pride was quickly buried under a wave of
frustration and he resumed flicking the lighter open and closed.
“Regardless, you got taken advantage of by someone older. The last thing you
need is to get into a relationship with someone like me.”
“So, what am I supposed to do? Find some normal kid my age? Yeah, I can imagine
how well that would go. ‘Hi, I’m Tony Stark. I like long walks on the beach and
licorice. I’m also a college graduate and a rape victim. Wanna go see a movie?’
Bucky, get real.”
Bucky actually had to clench his fist around the lighter to stop from clapping
the kid on the back of his head at the mocking tone. Tony stared at him like he
was an idiot before suddenly his expression darkened and his head dropped. He
only had a moment to wonder what the hell had happened when Tony’s low voice
cut through the air between them.
“Look, if you don’t want me because I’m damaged goods and you don’t wanna deal
with it, I’ll understand. But at least do me the respect of saying it outright,
not giving me bullshit reasons instead.”
Bucky inhaled sharply and fought to control the rage that flowed through him at
the statement. He had gone through the same shit Tony was going through, how in
the hell could he judge him or treat him differently? He’d just about settled
himself when Tony shifted awkwardly, looking like he was about to bolt.
“Tony, look, I don’t give a damn what happened in your past. You didn’t judge
me, I’m sure as hell not gonna judge you. But it’s gonna be hard as hell. Being
with me is an emotional death-trap as is, and I don’t want you to feel
obligated to screw around in that minefield when you’re trying to avoid
triggers of your own.”
“It’s not obligation, James. I like you, I like you a whole hell of a lot. More
than I should, apparently according to some. You wanna know what set off Ob—his
freak-out?”
Bucky’s head snapped up at the use of his real name and he flinched at Tony’s
faltering use of Stane’s first name, but he nodded just the same. Whatever Tony
wanted to tell him, he was going to let him. Hell, if the kid wanted him to sit
there while he recited a damn telephone book he would.
He’d smoke his way through a pack and a half, but he’d do it.
“I told him you’re the kind of guy I’d consider marrying. And it’s true.”
Bucky laughed low and scrubbed his free hand through his hair in disbelief.
This kid…this scrawny little spoiled brat was just about the bravest person
he’d ever met, and he’d seen men run into literal minefields before.
“Shit, kid. I…alright, fuckit, fine. You wanna do this, we’re still on. But we
move at a glacial pace, understand? I’m not making any moves—“
“You weren’t anyways.” Tony muttered and Bucky shot him a hard look, rolling
his eyes at the tongue Tony stuck out in response.
“I’m NOT making any moves, and neither are you for a while. Not that I imagine
you’ll want to.”
Tony crossed his arms and quirked his lips, arching a brow at him.
“How do you know? Maybe I’m still that horny little fuck?”
“Yeah, kid, no. Unlikely as hell and the first time you try anything, keep a
trashcan near you.” Bucky snorted and Tony paled, blinking at him.
“Am I gonna hurl?”
“I did. First time I ever tried jerking it, I threw up for about an hour. You
get used to it, you get past it, but it takes a long ass time.”
Tony nodded, suddenly dead serious, and opened his mouth to say something when
the door came open, revealing Howard in the jambs and letting in the scent of
something cooking. His eyes narrowed at the scene and Bucky resolutely refused
to be cowed, meeting his stare head-on.
“Steve’s making breakfast, Bucky you might wanna go see if he needs help.”
Bucky took the suggestion for the order it truly was and, with one last nod to
Tony, stood from the bed and slipped past Howard, who strode into the room,
closing the door behind him. He followed the scent of cinnamon and bacon to see
Steve standing in front of the stove, covering thick slices of bread in a dip
and transferring them to the skillet. Abruptly, as Steve turned when he walked
in and met his eyes, he realized this was the first chance they’d had to talk
alone since it had happened. Bucky strode to the other side of the stove, far
enough away from the popping grease, and hoisted himself up on the counter,
swinging his legs slightly. Steve had turned with him and was prodding at the
French toast with a fork.
“Hey.”
“Hey, Bucky.”
“I guess we should talk about how I almost ruined your marriage.”
“You didn’t almost ruin it. But we do need to talk.”
Bucky gritted his teeth and nodded. ‘Talking’ with Steve was sort of like going
to confession. You were instantly aware of every bad thing you’d done and
suddenly five years old again, incredibly remorseful and willing to do anything
to repent. But it had to happen, and it was best to do it now while Howard and
Tony were hashing their own issues out.
“Alright then, let’s talk.”
 
***** Stark Men Invented Avoidance Coping *****
Chapter Summary
     Howard and Tony bond their relationship by avoiding it almost
     entirely, and the plot for Obadiah's punishment is revealed.
Chapter Notes
     This chapter is a ton of dialogue, because I wanted to showcase that
     save for the few instances when Howard or Tony would pause, they were
     actually having a back and forth conversation without many filters. I
     hope you guys enjoy the bonding and the look into Steve and Howard's
     past! :D
Howard sat on the edge of Tony’s bed, both loving and hating how Tony scooted
to sit next to him, pressing close from shoulder to thigh. He was ecstatic his
son was coming to him for comfort, physical comfort at that, after what had
happened, but at the same time his vision still filled with red at the fact
Tony even needed the comfort. Howard breathed out slowly, pushing the rage back
and remembering the phone call he’d made while sitting on the couch. If that
bastard Stane was incredibly lucky, he’d make it inside NYC lines. If not,
well, that was unfortunate for him.
Very fortunate for the man he’d promised a million extra to if the plane
‘mysteriously’ went down and Stane’s body was never recovered.
“Dad, what’s going to happen now?”
Howard looked down at where Tony was fiddling with the end of his sleep shirt
and patted his son’s back gently.
“He’s going to go way. For good.”
“Do I want to know how you’re going to do that?”
“Diversify your list of friends, Tony. That’s all I’ll say.”
Tony glanced up with a small smile, sitting back so they could look at one
another. He seemed to want to speak and Howard shifted back so their whole
bodies were turned into one another, trying to appear non-threatening. Tony’s
eyes darted around and around the room before he finally seemed to brace
himself, speaking with a low voice.
“Are you going to tell mom?”
Ah, shit.
Howard hadn’t even thought of letting Maria know, and didn’t that say
everything about their post-divorce relationship?
“That’s up to you. If you want to tell her you can, if you want me to I will,
if you never want her to find out, I’ll make that happen too.”
Tony shot him a grateful look, nodding. He went back to picking at a stray
thread on the comforter and Howard knew he had a lot more he wanted to talk
about. This pausing between every question thing would take forever and Howard
would much rather just get it all out in the open so they could hash out
whatever was still wrong.
“Alright, Tony, whatever’s on your mind let me know. I won’t get mad, we won’t
fight over it, but I need to know what’s going on in that head of yours.”
Tony huffed out a breath and looked up at him, quirking a brow as if to say
‘yeah, right’. Howard held up his hands and shrugged.
“Hey, if you never want to talk at all that’s alright too. But I want you to
know that right now this is an open zone. A free-talk space, as Steve calls
it.”
“He’s big on talking, huh?”
“To my never-ending consternation, yes.”
His son laughed, and Howard was relieved at the sound. If Tony could still
laugh, it meant he wasn’t wrecked by the experience. Not that he figured he
would be, his kid was nothing if not strong.
“Alright, I guess I do have a few things I wanna talk about. But, ah, can we
trade?”
“Trade?”
“I’ll ask you something, or tell you something, and you tell me something maybe
similar. I figure if we’re gonna bond we might as well go all-out right?”
Howard considered the suggestion for a moment, rubbing a hand along his jaw. He
knew his son, Tony was devious as hell and even post trauma he’d be smart
enough to ask awkward questions. But at the same time, he really wasn’t going
to pass up an opportunity to bond with his son, especially given the hit Tony’s
trust had just taken.
“Alright, kid, fair enough. But I reserve the right to refuse to answer if it’s
too personal.” He said, and Tony nodded, grinning eagerly.
Oh….he was regretting this already.
“Okay, so…I feel filthy. Still. Like there’s dirt somewhere inside me and I
know it’s there but I can’t reach it. Kinda like when you’ve got an itch inside
your ear?”
“I can understand that. Ah…hell, let’s see. Something similar…Alright, yeah.
One time at MIT I was with this one girl, she kept saying she had to leave at 3
on the nose. So fine, we screwed around and right before it got to the main
event I saw it was 3. But hey, stupid college kid, so I didn’t say anything.
Turns out she needed to leave at 3 to get to her grandmother’s funeral. I felt
like just about the biggest asshole on the planet.”
“Jesus, Dad, what did you do?”
“I might have bought a whole wall off the flower shop and sent it to her grave
anonymously.”
Tony laughed, throwing his head back and clapping his hands.
“Shit! I love this game! Alright, so, that phone sex Bucky brought up?”
Howard resisted the urge to growl and reminded himself this was a massive
opportunity for bonding but if he handled it badly he could also screw up their
relationship even worse than screaming at each other and tearing apart the
dining room did.
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever done that?”
“Ah, hell, isn’t that a bit awkward to ask your dad?”
“Noooo, awkward was having my dad wipe cum off my face. I feel like we’ve
surpassed awkward at this point.”
Howard clenched his fists and gritted his teeth at the reminder. He’d burned
that damn thing as soon as he’d walked away from it all, but the memory still
remained. And as fucked up as it was, all he could think about when he’d seen
Tony was how the boy had looked post-birth, with the slick all babies came out
covered in. He wasn’t too proud to admit he’d gone into shock over that mental
comparison, partly the reason he’d ran away so fast. There had been enough
bodily fluids in that room already, he hadn’t been too eager to add vomit to
the list.
“Alright, yeah, fine, you’ve got a point. Only with one person.”
“Steve?”
“Yes.”
“Alrighty, that tone says that conversation is done. So, next topic. Umm…I told
him before it all happened that Bucky was the type of guy I’d consider
marrying. That’s what set him off, I think. What made you wanna marry Steve?”
Howard worked his jaw for a moment, ignoring the way Tony still stumbled over
mentioning the man. The question was loaded, and Howard had to think of the
best way to answer.
“I’m not sure, exactly. To be honest, and as much as it sounds like something
out of a Lifetime movie, there’s so much about him that I love.”
“No,” Tony shook his head, leaning forward slightly. “There’s gotta be
something that made him different from all the other one night stands.”
“Well, probably because he doesn’t take any of my shit. Even when we first met,
he basically told me to go fuck myself.”
“Seriously?! No freaking way.”
“Yeah, uh, freaking way?”
Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Hey, yeah, no, Dad, don’t try to be cool. So, what happened? I know you guys
met at the art thingy—“
“Thingy? And I dropped thousands for you to go to MIT.”
“Yes, well, that was your mistake. So you guys met and what, he just told you
to screw yourself?”
“Not exactly. Like I said, I had to attend the art gallery and I saw that night
scene. I figured I needed something for the office anyways so I went ahead and
bought it. Steve walked over to thank me, and I hit on him. It worked, well
enough to get us into a coat closet at least. But afterwards, I asked him if he
wanted to come back to the house and get his mind blown even further—“
Howard held up a hand as Tony grinned widely and opened his mouth to speak,
pointing a finger.
“Ah! I am aware it’s a crap line, but I was drunk. So after that fantastic
line, he smiled, thanked me again, and told me to go fuck myself.”
“So, what you decided you were in love with him?”
“No, no, I didn’t figure that out until a little later.”
Tony blinked and started picking at the blanket again, a low flush on his
cheeks. Howard tapped his knee with a finger, bringing his attention back up.
“What?”
“Ah…how do you know you’re in love?”
Howard rubbed his jaw once again, leaning back on the bed and thinking for a
moment. Tony’s question was complicated, but then again when was anything easy
with Tony’s questions? To be honest, it was hard to realize you were in love.
And he wasn’t about to share with Tony when he’d realized it with Steve. The
man had been riding him slowly, they were actually making love as dawn broke,
and as Howard had looked up at him, that powerful body glowing in the low
light, head thrown back as moans of ecstasy tumbled from between those gorgeous
lips, he’d realized losing Steve would rip his very heart out of his chest.
Regardless of the fact it’d been a month in, and the morning after Steve had
slept over for the first time.
“It’s different for everyone. But for me, it was when I realized how much it
would hurt if Steve left. It was me figuring out that even if we argued and
bickered with one another, my first instinct in bed was to wrap my arms around
him. I think maybe love is looking at the person and realizing that if they
leave they’re taking a huge chunk of you with them.”
Tony nodded, still oddly quiet, and Howard could see the gears turning in his
head. He sighed and shook his head, spearing his fingers through his hair and
feeling every single one of his fifty years at that very moment. He hadn’t
expected to have this conversation with Tony until the kid was a lot older,
though he couldn’t say he was completely unhappy that his son thought he’d
found love so young.
“You think it’s Barnes, don’t you?”
Tony’s head snapped up, his eyes wide, and his face pale. He looked around the
room, before nodding slightly, cheeks filling with color that looked bright
against the light pallor. Howard resisted the urge to groan and palm his face.
Shit, not ideal. But at this point, honestly, would anyone else be able to
understand what Tony had gone through? Why he was the way he was?
Be able to put up with all his shit?
“You haven’t known him very long.”
“And in the time I have, he’s comforted me post-rape, chased me down after I
found out about mom, and not put up with any of myshit. I feel like how well
you know someone shouldn’t be measured in minutes and days, Dad.”
Shit, Howard really hated that he had such a smart kid.
He stretched, holding it for longer than he needed as he thought about what to
say next. Damnit, this was why Steve handled thank-you cards and birthday gifts
for people. He was a hell of a lot better with words and sentiment than Howard.
“Alright, look, here’s the deal. You’re still only sixteen Tony, so I don’t
want you two screwing around. But if you want to hang around with him, bring
him with us places, all the shit a twelve year old would do with their quote
unquote boyfriend, that’s fine. However, I’ll tell you what I told him. If he
hurts you, I’ll have him murdered.”
“You could just let Steve at him.” Tony muttered, and the seriousness of the
moment was broken as they both started to chuckle. Howard thought back to
seeing his sensitive artist with his fists covered in blood, rage filling those
normally sparkling blue eyes.
“Shit, he’s something, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, totally. I never would have thought—“
“Me either, and I’ve known him a hell of a lot longer.”
Silence reigned again as they both sat with their thoughts, before Tony spoke
up once more, his voice a bit shaky.
“Are you going to make me go to therapy?”
“Do you feel like you need to?”
“Not…really? I feel like dwelling on it’s the worst thing I could do, and I’ve
got you and Steve and Bucky if I need to talk about it.”
“Alright,” Howard nodded, inwardly extremely pleased that he had made the list
of people Tony felt comfortable talking to. “If you change your mind, let me
know and I’ll set something up.”
Tony nodded and climbed off the bed, stretching before thumbing over his
shoulder towards the door. Howard’s phone went off and Tony spoke over it as he
fished it from his pocket, climbing off the bed.
“Great talk, pops. Thanks for sharing that shit with me. I’m gonna go bother
Steve and Bucky, okay?”
Howard waved a hand at him, following him out the door and making sure Tony had
disappeared into the kitchen before answering the call.
“Stark.”
“Did you want him to go down over the ocean or would you rather he be exposed
for what he is?”
“Let him get on NYC soil. I’ll still front the extra because I know your boy
has him in his sights right now, mid-air and all. But I don’t want the bastard
to die a hero, be remembered fondly. He’ll be hiding out for a while when he
gets back anyways, and Stark Industries security has already been informed he
is to get nowhere near the building. Think your boss can dig me up enough proof
to ruin the bastard?”
“I think we can figure something out. Are you thinking Tony wasn’t the first?”
Howard slumped against the wall and ran a hand over his face, the reality of
his thoughts repeated back to him knocking the wind from his sails for a
moment.
“How often do rapists or child molesters stop at just one?”
“Once they’ve started? Rarely.”
“That’s what I thought. I want justice for them too, so find me everything you
can. If we can expose him as the disgusting fuck he really is, it won’t be very
suspicious at all when he turns up dead.”
“Right. And police don’t tend to look too hard into the murders of people who
are better off gone anyways. I’ll give the stand down order, and make a few
calls to start the digging. You realize he’ll want something in return, right?”
They always did. Especially given the secretive bastard they were talking
about.
“You tell him if he can get me enough to convict him so that no lawyer in the
world could get him off, I’ll make him anything he wants.”
“Fair enough, I’ll pass the message along.”
“Good deal. And Coulson?”
“Hmmm?”
“Thank you. And give my thanks to Clint too.”
“You act like taking down a degenerate is tough on us.”
“Regardless.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be in contact.”
The connection was cut then and Howard couldn’t stop the grin from spreading
across his face. When he’d met Phil Coulson, the guy had stomped into his lab,
ripped the cover off of a vent, and pulled a mud covered young man in fatigues
out of the duct by his ankle, smiling blandly at Howard as he dragged the
whining boy across the ground, never pausing or saying a word the whole time.
He’d made an impression, obviously they both had, and even sweat covered and
tired, Howard knew those two would be good friends to have.
A point that proved true when he found out that mud-covered kid hiding out in
his metal work was the best sniper on the planet.
He slipped the phone into his pocket and strode towards the kitchen, oddly
happy despite the circumstances. Stane was going to get what he deserved, he’d
actually spent time with his son without fighting, and his skin still smelled
like Steve’s cologne from where his lover had curled against him. It wasn’t a
Golden Gate by any means, but Howard was slowly building himself a footbridge
to Copacetic-town, and even if the process was long and arduous, he knew it
would be more than worth it in the end.
***** Looking to The Future *****
Chapter Summary
     In which Steve and Bucky bond over food fights and tears, and Howard
     and Steve re-connect in the oldest way known to man.
Chapter Notes
     Ah, we're getting so very close to the end. But do not despair
     people. Do not. We still have a few chapters to go, though those will
     be no doubt time-jumped a bit. I became aware if I were to write day
     by day by day this story would have over a hundred chapters, and no
     one has time to read all that *laughs*
     As always, I hope you enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Steve poked at the pieces of bacon, flipping a few that looked ready and
transferring one of them onto the plate covered with a paper towel to cool. He
could feel Bucky’s stare on the side of his head and once he’d moved everything
around he could, set the fork down and met his best friend’s gaze. Bucky was
looking at him solidly, though his eyes kept darting to the bruises on Steve’s
knuckles, exposed by the way he’d crossed his arms over his chest.
He shrugged uncomfortably, letting his arms fall to his sides and shifting his
hands so his palms were showing. Bucky grinned in response, shaking his head
and holding out his arms.
“C’mere, you scrappy bastard.”
Steve sighed and let himself fall into Bucky’s warmth, hands gripping the man’s
shirt tightly. It was as if he was ten again, skinny and weak, curling into
Bucky’s body heat to avoid getting a chill. He shuddered and gripped tighter,
burying his face into Bucky’s throat, ignoring the ache in his knuckles from
holding on.
“I was going to kill him.”
“I don’t think anyone would have blamed you, Stevie.”
“Yeah, but…I’m not a killer, Bucky. I don’t lose control like that. I don’t do
spur of the moment things.” He argued, pulling back and transferring more bacon
to the plate, adding a few more strips.
Bucky laughed from behind him and gave Steve an incredulous look, crossing his
arms.
“Oh no, you never do anything impulsive.”
“I don’t! Name the last time I ever did something randomly, Buck.”
“Well, there was the whole giving Stark a handy in the art gallery.”
Steve flushed and planted his hands on his hips, glaring at his oldest friend,
who shrugged unrepentantly, snagging a piece of bacon. He moved the plate to
the other side of the stove, ignoring Bucky’s cry of protest, and spun back to
face him.
“Name something that didn’t have to do with Howard. He…he makes my judgment go
on a vacation.”
“Must be a family trait,” Bucky muttered, before gnawing at his bottom lip and
looking up in thought. After a moment he snapped his fingers and pointed at
Steve.
“Ah! Senior year! Two months after you turned 18.”
“What in the hell did I do then?” Steve honestly couldn’t remember doing
anything back then.
Bucky rolled his eyes and stuck his chest out, bringing his hands up to rub
slow circles over his nipples, licking his lips lasciviously. Steve flushed a
deeper red at the memory and swatted Bucky with the spatula he was using the
move the French toast onto a plate.
“Bucky! I thought we agreed to forget about that!”
“No, no, no. You agreed to forget about that. I still have the pictures.”
Steve groaned and dropped more toast into the pan, shame still filling him at
the memory. It’d been some off-hand comment at graduation, some jerk remarking
that Steve had gone his whole high school life never doing anything exciting.
So, when he’d turned 18, Steve had dragged himself out of bed bright and early,
popped into the nearest piercing parlor, and gotten steel rings shoved into
both his nipples. They looked hot as hell, but he’d regretted them the next
morning. The good news was, with the rapid healing his body under-went, the
holes had closed up within a couple of days of taking them out.
Of course, he’d made the mistake of sending a picture to Bucky once he’d gotten
them. A picture he assumed the man had deleted.
So much for assumptions.
“You should get those again. They were hot.”
“Ah, no. I doubt my husband wants to be married to someone who runs around with
metal hanging from his nipples.”
Bucky went oddly silent, for so long that Steve turned his attention from the
toast back to his friend in concern. He was staring at the floor, almost
unmoving save for the rise and fall of his chest.
“Buck?”
“So you guys are okay?”
Bucky’s voice was quiet, his tone low, and he addressed the floor when he
spoke. Steve reached out and placed a warm palm on his knee, shaking it gently.
“We’ll get there, we’re already on our way. I told you that you didn’t ruin my
marriage.”
“Yeah, but I could have. That’s the worst part. I could have wrecked the
happiness you’ve found.”
“Yes, and by introducing you to Tony, I could have gotten you thrown in prison.
We’re just about even, I think.”
Bucky laughed at that, shaking his head and batting playfully at Steve. It
degenerated from there, throwing playful smacks, until Steve upped the ante by
flicking French toast batter at Bucky. The moment froze as it splattered
against his cheek, stilling his face in its dumbfounded expression before an
evil grin stretched his friend’s mouth. Bucky hopped off the table and dipped
his hand in the batter pointedly, before slowly raising it, pressing it with
all five fingers stretched wide right into the middle of Steve’s chest. Just
like that, all bets were off. Steve turned the stove off before diving for the
counter where’d he’d left the flour, groaning at the slick slide of an egg down
the back of his shirt.
By the time they both collapsed against each other and slid to the floor, they
were covered from head to toe in various condiments and foodstuffs, as well as
having decorated the walls with missed throws. Steve curled around his best
friend, both of them laughing uproariously, clinging to one another. The
laughter grew more and more hysterical until before Steve knew it, they were
both sobbing, clutching onto one another. Steve couldn’t describe the feeling
inside of him. It was as if he was glowing with happiness and sinking in
despair all in the same moment. It was the oddest, worst, and best feeling he’d
ever had.
“I thought—I thought we were going to lose him.” Steve sobbed out, clutching
onto Bucky’s shirt who nodded furiously.
“W-We almost did. You smart bas-bastard, you came back. You saved h-him.”
The reality of how easily they could’ve left Tony alone, to god knows what fate
without intervention, hit them both hard, creating a massive shudder in their
bodies that resonated through them. Steve buried his head in Bucky’s neck once
again, feeling the man curl around him in response. They sat like that for a
good while, letting their sobs die down naturally. One thing Steve’s mom had
taught them both was that true men knew that crying was healthy and necessary,
certainly nothing to be ashamed of. They’d done this a few times before, though
never to the extreme they were at that moment.
Once Steve brought his head up and shakily stood, trying his best not to slip
on the slick, food-covered floor, he hauled Bucky up as well, bracing him.
Shaking his head and picking out bits of egg shell, he turned, freezing when he
saw Tony and Howard standing in the doorway of the kitchen, mouths agape.
“Uhm,” he stuttered, looking around furiously before snatching the bacon plate
off the counter and holding it out towards the two. “Bacon?”
It broke whatever silence had descended upon the four and the two Stark’s
started to laugh, Tony picking his way through the kitchen to help Bucky wipe
off bits of food, Howard crossing to Steve to cup his face, giving him a gentle
kiss and putting the plate back on the counter.
“Let’s get you cleaned off.” Howard murmured against his lips, tugging him
towards the hallway. Once they got to the entrance of the hall, Howard paused
and looked over Steve’s shoulder.
“Order in breakfast, we’ll eat out by the fire pit. And no screwing around.”
Steve could almost see Tony roll his eyes before he responded.
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll be virginal Victorian maidens. Go spend some quality time
together, you two. You need it.”
The serious note on the end had Steve looking back, and smiling in response to
the shy grin Tony gave him. The kid was trying, he really was, and Howard
seemed to know it as well, nodding before dragging Steve down the hall and into
their bedroom. He stripped him carefully of the soiled clothes, pushing him
into the shower and starting the water. Steve immediately started to wash off
the filth, shoving his head under the water and scrubbing hard. A sudden blast
of cold let him know the door had been opened, and he wiped the water from his
face, looking around to see Howard standing there, shifting nervously. Steve
grinned and stepped forward, holding out his arms in welcome.
The older man slipped into them easily, accepting Steve’s kiss, as he sighed at
the feel of their bodies pressed together. It had been too long, and too much
had happened, since they’d last just been with one another. Steve could feel
his body harden in response to the slick press of Howard’s skin, and shifted
his hips away in embarrassment. They were just on their way to being alright
again, the last thing Howard probably wanted was—
A surprised moan tumbled from Steve’s mouth as Howard gripped him firmly,
pulling his hips close with his free hand. Steve blinked away the water and
searched his lover’s face, smiling tentatively when he saw nothing but love and
affection in those dark eyes he adored. Howard smiled softly in return, pulling
him into a soft kiss as he pumped his hand lazily.
“Ah, Howard.” Steve whined, letting Howard guide him until his back pressed
against the far wall, Howard crowded in close to him.
“Shhh, let me love you, darling boy. Steve, my sweet, perfect, fierce little
lover. Just let me love you.” Howard whispered in return, in between gentle
kisses as he kept up an even rhythm.
They stayed like that, pressed together, whispering endearments and
declarations of love into each other’s skin until Steve arched with a cry,
spilling over Howard’s knuckles. He pulled the older man into a kiss, pressing
their foreheads together when they pulled away for breath.
“God, I love you so much, Howard.”
“And I love you darling.”
“So we’re going to be okay?”
“Yeah,” Howard murmured, stealing another gentle kiss. “We’re going to be just
fine.”
Chapter End Notes
     See? I can write softcore porn just as easily. The next chapter will
     take place a little while down the road, but I promise that this
     story will have no loose ends, so all questions and concerns will be
     covered before the final word is written!
***** His Greatest Creation *****
Chapter Summary
     Planning for the future, tying up every loose ends, and good times
     with good company.
Chapter Notes
     Ahhhh, done. This is the first story I've ever completed, the first
     fanfiction I've ever written. Thank you so much to everyone who gave
     kudos and commented, you guys kept me going and I hope I do the
     ending justice.
     And to the wonderful OP who prompted this story to begin with, I
     really hope you enjoyed it and that it was all you were hoping for :D
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Three Months Later
“Howard, hurry up! We’re going to be late!” Steve called up the stairs,
impatiently adjusting his cufflinks as he shot Jarvis an amused look.
“How in the world does a man whose livelihood depends on keeping a tight
schedule always run so late?” He asked exasperatedly, and Jarvis merely
shrugged, adjusting his own coat.
The sounds of pounding footsteps sounded before Howard appeared at the top of
the stairs, hurriedly coming down them, tie still untied around his neck and
coat hanging open.
“Sorry! I’m sorry, darling boy. Had to take a call at the last second.” He
explained, crossing to them.
Steve shook his head at the shining glint in Howard’s eyes, neatly tying his
tie for him before using the silk to pull the older man into a kiss. Howard
immediately took his hands from where he was fastening his coat and cupped
Steve’s face, deepening the kiss. Steve huffed into his lover’s mouth and
pulled away, scowling at Howard’s cheeky grin. He shook a finger in the man’s
face while Jarvis led them outside, sliding into a separate car and waving his
goodbyes before driving off. The older man was going to pick up Marta and take
her out to dinner, Howard having given both of them the night off.
Steve slid into the back of the waiting car, scooting over to make room for
Howard, relaxing back against the seat once the door was shut and they started
on their way. He felt a strong palm slide up his inner thigh and snapped his
legs shut, eyes opening as he shot Howard a glare. In response, his husband
pulled his hand from between Steve’s thighs and trailed it up over the seam of
his pants, applying the barest pressure.
“Will you knock it off? What’s gotten into you, Howie?”
Howard laughed in response, shaking his head and pulling Steve into a kiss that
left him breathless and dizzy. Once they separated, the need for air
outweighing the need for contact, he nuzzled Steve’s cheek, smiling against
him.
“Coulson just called.”
“Phil? Is everything alright with him and Clint? I just talked to Clint
yesterday about our dinner plans later this month! Did something happen?”
“Darling!” Howard chuckled and held up a hand, cutting off Steve’s worried
babbling. “Everything is fine. But the newspapers will have quite the headline
tomorrow.”
Steve felt his eyes widen in response as the meaning of his lover’s words
occurred to him, grasping Howard’s hand tightly.
“Something maybe like ‘Child Molester Found Dead’?” He asked hopefully,
exhaling in a rush of relief when Howard nodded.
A part of him that still held compassion for all human life felt minutely bad
about whooping in joy and pulling Howard into another rough, dirty kiss, but it
was far outweighed by the satisfaction of karma dealt. The past month had been
hell, between exposing Obadiah for what he truly was, dealing with the backlash
of such a person being so involved with Stark Industries, and coaxing Tony
through the healing process. It was still on going and the boy still flinched
or jumped when someone got too close too fast, but he wasn’t bursting into
their room late at night anymore with panicked eyes and a voice hoarse from
screaming.
Steve shuddered at the memory of the first time their door had flung open wide
in the wee hours of the morning, startling both him and Howard out of sound
sleeps. Steve had barely had time to sit up before Tony had crashed into his
chest, knocking him back and sobbing into Steve’s skin that he didn’t want him
near him, that he wished he would go away, oh god, Steve, make him go away.
Steve had laid there and cried with the boy, his heart breaking over Tony’s
shrieking pleas to fix him, to make him better.
They’d found out about a week after they’d got home that the act itself hadn’t
done as much damage as Tony’s dark thought spiral had, coming home from a night
out at dinner to find Tony sitting in the dark of his room, writing words like
‘disgusting’ and ‘slut’ on his skin in huge letters. By the time they’d gotten
there, Tony had covered just about every part of his body with the slurs, and
was tracing them over and over, rocking himself back and forth. But the boy had
gone to a few meetings of victims, still talked to them every so often, and had
come to terms with the fact that he had done nothing to provoke it, despite
what his mind had told him.
Between them and the support system Tony had at home, the boy had recovered
remarkably quickly, though there were still days where he curled up in an old
hoodie of Steve’s or comfortable worn shirt of Howard’s and merely wanted to
just be around people, be it sitting quietly in the sunroom while Steve
painted, or napping on the couch in Howard’s office while he went about his
daily business.
The worst days, though, were always obvious, and while they were further and
further apart, they were still heartbreaking to see. Tony would dress in loose
sweats and Bucky’s beat up football jersey, go wedge himself into the corner of
the couch in the entertainment room, pile blanket after blanket atop him and
sleep most of the day away, with the sounds of old black and white films
playing in the background. On those days, either Steve or Howard, sometimes
even Jarvis or Marta, would call Bucky as soon as they figured out what was
going on. Bucky would roll into the house about an hour or so later, dressed
down in sweats of his own, and go curl around Tony, either pulling the boy to
sprawl atop him under the blankets or spooned behind him, letting Tony hold
their laced hands against his chest, the dog tags clutched between them.
At the thought of those tags, Steve snickered into Howard’s mouth and the man
pulled back, arching a brow at him in question.
“What’s so funny, sweetheart?”
“Ah, I just still can’t believe you made Buck Tony’s bodyguard.”
Howard shrugged, leaning back to his side of the seat and fishing out his phone
from the pocket of his slacks after the small ding of a new message sounded.
“He’s more than qualified, despite his age, given his military background and
he’s certainly more trustworthy than the last one.”
Steve scowled at the mention of the other moron. Howard had insisted on getting
Tony one after a kidnapping attempt gone bad about a month back, stating that
now that Tony was back home and wasn’t on a densely populated college campus,
people were probably going to try more often to get him. The man they’d chosen
appeared quite trustworthy, until he and Tony went to visit Howard at the
office and the man ignored completely that Obadiah had gotten past SI security,
slipping off to sneak a cigarette in, leaving Tony defenseless when the man
found him.
Stane had pinned Tony against the wall of a third floor break room before one
of Howard’s secretaries who’d gone looking for the boy found them and tazed the
son-of-a-bitch, knocking him out before calling the cops. It had been quite the
debacle, at that point news had already gotten out of Obadiah’s past sins and
so when Howard quite publicly had him removed from the building the tabloids
had gone wild.
“Plus,” Howard mused, typing back on the screen distractedly as he glanced at
Steve. “It was perfect timing. Barnes’ contract was up, and the closer and
closer it got to time for him to re-enlist or opt out, Tony was more mopey. I’d
make him CEO if it’d stop the boy from throwing himself across my kitchen
island and sighing like some soap opera star.”
Steve laughed at the memories. It was true, Bucky hadn’t said much about his
decision to re-enlist or not and so every time anyone brought it up, Tony would
dramatically sigh and mention, not so subtly, how he hated the idea of Bucky
going away. After two weeks of it, Howard was at his breaking point, starting
to whap Tony with whatever was nearest the moment he started to act like a
pining virgin.
He’d finally had enough and called Bucky over one day, the two of them
disappearing into the cigar room for over an hour while Tony and Steve waited
not-so-patiently in the kitchen, annoying Marta and wondering what in the world
they were discussing. They’d come out and were soon ambushed, Howard merely
pointing at Bucky and telling Tony he was his new bodyguard before dragging
Steve off.
“Did someone text you?” He asked, the beep of the alert breaking him from his
thoughts.
“Yeah, Tony. I guess he and Barnes are already at the restaurant and are,
according to him, wasting away at the sight of all the food and only being
restrained by manners and decorum to not just order and tell us to screw off.”
Steve laughed, shaking his head as the car suddenly stopped and the engine was
killed. He shot Howard a grin, clamoring out after the man and pausing when a
flash went off to his right. Howard wrapped an arm around him and shot him a
small smile, which Steve returned blindingly, ignoring the flashes as they
strode into the restaurant together.
Their relationship had come to light about a month ago, when paparazzi had
caught Steve and Tony jogging together in Central Park and started wildfire
rumors about him being in a relationship with the younger Stark. Howard had
quickly put those rumors to rest, stating quite plainly that Steve was his. To
be honest, the backlash hadn’t been as bad as Steve had expected. Sure, there
were more than a few gold-digger comments, but overall people seemed happy that
Howard Stark had finally been tamed, and the response from the LGBT community
had been astonishing. Steve still got emails about how their relationship had
urged other’s to reveal their own, be it with someone of the same sex, or
someone much older or younger than themselves.
Steve was pulled from his thoughts when they entered the private back room
where Tony and Bucky sat at the table, pressed close together like thieves. He
grinned at the two, hugging them both before plopping down in the seat Howard
pulled out for him. The man sat down on his right, leaning around to address
Bucky while Tony and Steve leaned together to peruse the menu.
“I certainly hope you behaved yourself last night, Barnes.”
Bucky rolled his eyes and shot Howard the finger, putting his glass of wine
back down onto the table.
“Yeah, yeah, your precious baby’s virginity is still intact, Stark. Don’t have
a cow.”
“Unfortunately.” Tony muttered under his breath, grunting at the elbow Steve
shoved into his side in response.
In a way, Steve was glad that they were still waiting to completely consummate
their relationship, though Bucky did admit that they’d fooled around the night
of Tony’s seventeenth birthday. Both of them had so many issues and triggers
when it came to sex, it was nice to see that they were both respecting each
other’s boundaries.
“Kid, get your damn hand off my leg.”
Well….Bucky was respecting boundaries.
Steve laughed at the way Bucky swatted at Tony who ducked and leaned into him
with puckered lips. He whined at the older man until Bucky sighed and dropped
his head for a quick kiss, brushing their mouths together gently. Howard’s arm
came around him, tugging him back into his husband’s warmth as they watched the
two bicker.
“Do they remind you of anyone?” Howard murmured into his ear, nuzzling into his
throat as Steve chuckled.
In a way, it was true. Bucky and Tony went back and forth just as fiercely as
he and Howard had those first few months they’d dated. Though Steve couldn’t
say it hadn’t worked out very much in their favor.
“Hmmm, no one that I know of.” He whispered in return, their chuckles bringing
around Tony and Bucky’s heads.
“Hey, hey now, none of that. No being all mushy-gushy while at the table. We
have rules for these sorts of things.”
“I thought those rules only applied at the house, and certainly only applied to
don’t screw on the table.”
“Yeah, but you don’t obey that rule either, so give me something here.”
Steve shook his head, flushing at the memories as father and son began to light
heartedly bicker back and forth. Getting used to another person in the house
who didn’t keep the predictable times the staff did had taken some time, and
involved Tony almost walking in, or fully walking in, on Howard and Steve in
various rooms. They’d learned to keep their adventurous night-time escapades to
rooms Tony had no reason to enter, and Tony had learned to knock before opening
doors that were closed.
It had come to a head a few times, Howard getting frustrated with Tony’s
inability to knock, and Tony getting frustrated with seeing his father in
compromising positions. But even if Howard and Tony bickered and argued and
even occasionally shouted, they never got quite as bad as they had those first
few days, and they always made it a point to at least settle down a bit before
it was time for bed.
“So, I asked you guys out to dinner to discuss something with you.”
Tony’s somber tone made Steve sit forward and Howard tangled their fingers
together, giving him something to clutch onto. Tony inhaled before looking over
to Bucky, who took his hand, thumb running over the back of the boy’s knuckles.
It seemed to brace him and he turned back towards them, glancing between them
both as he spoke.
“Bucky and I have done a lot of talking about it, and we think maybe we’re
ready for it. And even if we’re not, it’s not like it’s a horrible idea
anyways, it would actually work out pretty well.”
Steve nodded, feeling Howard tense at his back. He squeezed their hands,
smiling at the man when he glanced over. Whatever Tony was trying to bring up,
it was obviously something important to him, and Steve could see him carefully
picking out his words.
“See, okay, here’s the thing. Bucky’s lease is up at the end of this month, and
his apartment’s nice, but it’s not mansion nice. So I, well we, were wondering,
if you guys would consider—“
“You want Barnes to move in?” Howard interrupted, looking between the two.
Tony nodded, swallowing hard, and Bucky merely met Howard’s stare evenly,
though when his eyes darted to Steve’s they had a glint of apprehension in
them. He tried to suffuse his own gaze with as much warmth as he could,
clenching his hands tightly. Howard’s word was law here, even if Steve argued,
at the end of the day, it was Howard’s home and Howard’s son and what he said
would go.
“Where would he sleep, if he did?”
“Well, that’s up to you. I mean, ideally I’m not gonna lie, I’d like for him to
just sleep in my room with me. But if I can only get him in the same house, not
the same room, I’ll take that too.” Tony responded, and Steve was a bit taken
aback at the mature words coming from the boy who still stomped down to
breakfast some mornings in batman pajamas and slumped against the counter,
moaning like a dying whale until someone brought him chocolate milk.
Howard leveled his stare at Bucky, the man straightened under the force of his
gaze, locking their eyes.
“What do you think about all this?”
“From a professional standpoint, it makes sense. If for some reason you would
need to mobilize quickly and change locations, me being right there with Tony
would be one less worry on your mind.”
“And from a personal one?”
Bucky looked at Tony, his gaze softening as he did, squeezing the younger boy’s
hand before once again meeting Howard’s eyes.
“The fact that my boyfriend still calls me crying some nights because of
nightmares and all I can do is comfort him over the phone drives me up a
fucking wall. Even if I can’t sleep in the same room with him, being able to be
there when he wakes up scared and hold him would make me feel a hell of a lot
better.”
Howard nodded and opened his mouth, but before he could answer, the waiter
popped up at the side of their table, asking if they were ready to order. They
all put their orders in, Tony leaning over to help Bucky decipher the Italian
the menu was written in. Steve let Howard order for them both, like he had
since they’d first started going to the restaurant, trusting his husband’s
tastes. Once the waiter strode off, silence reigned over the table, no one
willing to break it. Howard finally turned to Steve and gestured with an open
palm towards the two.
“What do you think, darling boy?”
Steve bit his lip, his parental instinct that had popped up over the time he’d
spent with Tony warring with his desire to help out his best friend. He finally
decided to be as truthful as he could, while still leaving the decision mainly
up to Howard.
“I think Bucky’s right; it makes sense to have an extra bodyguard at the
mansion at all times. I know you’re worried about them being so close, but I
trust them both to behave themselves. At the same time, though, Howie, Tony’s a
legal adult now and it’s his home as much as it is ours. Asking him to not be
intimate, if they ever decide to be, in his own home with his lover is a bit
insane of a request.”
Howard nodded, mulling it all over, while Tony waited at the edge of his seat
and Bucky held onto the boy’s hand, the tightness in his shoulders at odds with
his relaxed expression. Finally, Howard sighed and turned back to them,
addressing them both, but looking at Tony.
“Fine, you can move in. And Steve’s right, there’s no point in asking you to
stay in different rooms, Tony would just sneak over. It’s not like you can get
him pregnant, so it’s not as huge of a concern, but my threat still stands,
Barnes. Especially under my own roof. And it is still myroof, so I don’t want
to walk in on your two necking in the common areas, understand?”
Tony nodded and whooped with joy loudly thanking Steve for coming down on their
side before planting a smacking kiss on his cheek. He sputtered and then
laughed at Howard’s possessive growl, kissing away the scowl on his face as
Tony started chatting animatedly to Bucky about scheduling the move. Steve
leaned back into Howard’s solid body, looking up at the man while he argued
with Tony about what constituted a ‘common area’.
He grinned at the banter, catching Bucky’s eye and winking at the man who
looked halfway between terrified and excited at the prospect of being near Tony
24/7. As the calm atmosphere of the restaurant met the tones of them all
talking, a warmth spread inside Steve’s chest. Somehow, between meeting a man
who just didn’t give up the chase, a boy who was too smart for his own good,
and mixing those with the one person who had seen past the coughing and
wheezing of his childhood, Steve had created himself an honest-to-god family.
And that was truly his greatest work of art.
Chapter End Notes
     And the end....so not.
     These boys are amazingly fun and there's still so much I want to show
     you all, how Howard and Steve met, their first date, the first
     holiday with these 4 as a family, Bucky and Tony's first time, just
     so so much. So this story is over, but this series is far from it!
     And, as always, if there's something you guys wanna see from these 4
     just let me know! Thank you all again and I hope you enjoyed taking
     this journey with me :D
End Notes
     In this story Howard is 50, Tony is 16, and both Steve and Bucky are
     26.
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