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djpurple3 · 4 years

Text

ok making this post for the second time but have an anxceit fantasy AU. @theotherella @broadwaytheanimatedseries @merlybird500 @leiasolo77 idk if you want an au but here’s one.

From left to right:

Logan (she/her): 16

Patton (she/her): 16

Virgil: (he/him): 17

Amadeus/Dee (he/him): 17

Roman (he/him): 15

Remus (they/them): 19

And right off the bat I want to say i got a lot of inspiration from this fic ‘Forge My Heart’ it’s very good

right. so the story.

Deceit (Amadeus) is the prince, and Virgil’s like the royal blacksmith. They’re very good friends (possibly closer, but they don’t quite get the chance). BECAUSE!!! Dee gets kidnapped by a dragon in the middle of a grand festival!! It’s very valiant though, he was fighting to save people but as soon as the dragons realised it was Prince Amadeus, they all turned immediately on him, and Virgil was left to chase after on horseback.

Virgil hears news as he travels. That princes and princesses and nonbinary royalty all over the land have been kidnapped by dragons. Who knows what for? Virgil doesn’t care why. He needs to get Dee back and he’ll go to the end of the earth if he needs to.

He meets a girl on his travels. She introduces herself as Patton and Virgil doesn’t quite get all the way through an introduction before they’re attacked. Virgil’s strong (going with blacksmith) but untrained as a fighter. He picked up a sword or two before he left and he really doesn’t know how to use it but they manage to deal with this small dragon who attacked them. Patton is shaken, it seems she doesn’t really know how to fight either, but she pulls out a book about sword-fighting technique she says her princess gifted her and tells Virgil they’ll figure it out together.

They manage to track down one of the places where people are being kept, and they run into other hopefully-rescuers on the road (some more awful than others), and Virgil and Patton make it to the dragon’s outpost. [and im chucking a readmore in here bc this is long]

---

There’s a bunch of royals in these really makeshift, cobbled-together metal cages. They look like they’re only held together by welding of the dragonfire variety. Patton’s panicking. She can’t see her princess, nor Dee, and she can’t see any doors or anything on these cages. Virgil’s a blacksmith. He recognises shoddy craftsmanship when he sees it. And he knows how to take it apart in less than a minute.

Unfortunately it’s very hard to be sneaky around a bunch of huge dragons, but Virgil and Patton manage to bust a few cages open, telling them all to sneak to the exit as quietly as they can – take your shoes off it’ll be quieter. Virgil’s cracking open this one prince’s cage when he hears a whisper of his name, and his eyes snap up to see Dee.

Virgil freezes, joy and terror shining in his eyes, and he quickly finishes busting this prince out, who had gone to comment but realised what was going on, and shut his mouth. “You’re running out of time,” this prince said to Virgil softly, sternly. “Get your friend and get out.” Patton shakes her head. “There’s so many more we haven’t helped yet!” “We can’t help them if we’re captured or dead,” the prince responds, tone curt but pained. Virgil is making a beeline for Dee’s cage, already working at the weak joins. “Virgil,” Dee gasps. “Hi, your highness,” Virgil murmurs back, grinding down the metal and wincing at the squeak it makes. “I promised I’d find you.” “Not so fast, and not so loud,” Dee advises, though he reaches through the bars to pet Virgil’s hair, like he’s trying to soothe both of them with the action. “Don’t jinx yourself.” Virgil gets the cage open and helps Deceit step through the bars. “Take your shoes off and get to the exit,” Virgil tells him. “I’ll join you, I promise.” Dee glances towards the dragons, who haven’t noticed them yet, and he quickly leans over and kisses Virgil’s cheek. “Be safe, be smart, and be quick,” he whispers, before he yanks off his boots and is padding away across the great stone cave to the exit.

He’s partway through breaking open another cage when there’s a pause in the dragon activity that makes everyone freeze. About ten metres away from him, Patton mouths something at Virgil that Virgil can’t catch. “Do you smell that?” “Smells like outsiders.” “Do you see that?” “Empty cages!” Virgil turns to… the girl, he realises now, the princess in the cage he couldn’t get open in time. “I’m sorry,” he rushes out, hushed and grieving. “It’s okay,” the girl says, eyes full of fear and understanding. “Run.”

---

Run Virgil does. They all scatter into the wilderness, into the forest, and the dragons don’t find them again. After an hour they all give up, though they watch the dragons take their remaining prisoners by the claw-ful, all dangling in their cages by the dragon’s talons, onto wherever the next stop on their kidnapping journey is.

Virgil and Patton escort their freshly rescued royalty to the nearest town, who’s more than happy to house them and begin sending them home, and Virgil is about to go track down Dee when he realises Patton is saddling her horse up again and leading her horse from the stable. “Wait,” he cuts in. “Pat, where are you going?” “I have to save Logan,” she says simply. “And that means I have to follow the dragons.” Virgil is torn. He wants to help Patton. And that girl he couldn’t save. And every other kid in that room. And all the others, there’s hundreds of them. But his duty is to Dee. And he rescued Dee. He did it. That prince from before comes all but storming up to them. He’s so much shorter than Virgil, it’s obvious that even more so than Patton and him, this prince is just a kid. “I’m coming too,” he declares, before he even clarifies if they're going or not. “You’re royalty,” Virgil cuts in, folding his arms. “We can’t risk it.” “I need to rescue my sibling,” the prince shoots back, and there’s a fear there that’s bubbling over as anger. “I need to find Remus!” “Okay,” Patton shrugs. “I need a travelling companion, anyway.” The prince fixes Virgil with a glare. “You’re not going?” Virgil feels sick. He wrings his hands and glances over to Dee, who’s talking with some prince he obviously knows from somewhere and he wasn’t sure when he started to shake. “I just found him,” he whispers, his voice is so hoarse, why is it so hard to say? Why must he justify himself? This is bullshit. This is all bullshit. He should be at home making horseshoes, not fighting dragons. He’s shaking. Patton is saying something to him. He can’t hear. Why is it so loud? “I just got him back,” Virgil gasps out. “I-I can’t lose him again, I can’t. I need to get him home and keep him safe!! I.. I’m a blacksmith, I can’t do this. I’m not made for this. Please I need to…” Has he fallen to his knees? Well, there’s hay under his hands now and that wasn’t there before. Someone has covered his shoulders with a cloak, or maybe a blanket, he can’t tell. Someone has an arm around him and is crooning a lullaby from his hometown in his ear. Someone who smells like Dee. Virgil buries his head in the person’s shoulder and discovers it is Dee. And he’s crying. Oops. Dee is hugging him tight, and Virgil never wants to let him go. “I’m sorry,” he gasps out, the words that have been plaguing him since he first watched that dragon paw close around his prince. “I'm sorry I wasn’t enough to save you.” “You are, and you have,” Dee says smoothly. “Do you want to go home?” “I want you to be safe.” “That isn’t an answer, and you know it.” Virgil swallows hard. “I want to go help Patton.” “Then I’ll come with you.” Virgil goes pale. “I can't ask you to do that.” “I'm not asking,” Dee tells him. “I’m telling you. I’m not going home without you, and…” Dee glances around before lowering his voice. “I'm not convinced the journey home will be any safer than the journey onward,” he murmurs, loud enough for Virgil and Patton and Roman to hear. “So wherever I am… I want to be with you.” Virgil takes De’s hand and presses it to his lips without a thought. “My prince,’ he murmurs. “I won’t let you down, I promise.” “You never could,” De smiles. “Now, get me some gear and we’ll go.”

---

The prince’s name is Roman. He introduces himself properly, explains who he’s looking for, and lists off his knowledge and skills. “Who are you looking for?” Roman asks Patton, who he’s sharing a horse with. “I might’ve seen them.” “Princess Logan,” Patton declares. “She was wearing a navy dress when she was taken. Long, dark, straight hair she was wearing in a series of braids. Glasses with silver, oval frames. No-nonsense, very smart, doesn’t necessarily smile a lot but her eyes are always very bright. Tall. Blue eyes that are nearly purple. Freckles.” Patton cuts herself off, eyes shining with unshed tears. “I’m sorry,” she gasps out. “I shouldn’t be talking about royalty this way. I can’t help but miss her dearly.” Virgil feels Dee’s arms tighten around his waist. Roman pats Patton’s shoulder gently, but his face is scrunched with the effort of remembering. “Blue dress, dark hair, purple eyes, glasses, tall,” he mumbles to himself, like he’s sorting through the memory bank. “Yes… yes I think I remember seeing her.” “Is she okay?!” Roman doesn’t recall her being hurt. Or even particularly outwardly phased. And he recounts this to Patton who giggles and smiles. “That’s my Logan, alright,” she sighs, before the sparkle in her eyes dies a little. “I-I mean-” “You’re allowed to love her,” De cuts in. “And if I know anything about so-called ‘commoners’ worming their way into royals’ hearts, I’d say she loves you too.” Patton cries. Virgil flushes red and also nearly cries at the insinuation of what Amadeus has said. Roman is quiet, before, “We’ll get her back. I swear it.”

---

They camp for the night. Patton and Virgil reach for their swords to spar by the fireside like they’ve gotten in the habit of doing every night, before Virgil freezes, remembering they have company. “What are you doing?” Virgil fiddles with the hilt of his sword. Patton scratches at her throat lightly. “Practicing?” she offers. “Look, neither of us had picked up a sword until like, a week ago,” Virgil shot back. “And Logan gave me this book that I brought with me that we’ve been learning out of,” Patton explains, nodding to the top of her saddlebags, and Roman pulls out of the book, flips through it. “Ah I remember this one,” he hums. “Alright! Show me.” “What.” “Show me!” Roman demands. “I’ve been training to fight since I was a child. Show me what you can do.” “Oh gosh.” “Fuck me,” Virgil grumbles, but they take up their positions and face each other down.

The sparring is short and lacklustre. “We’re better than that,” Patton rushes, eyes wide and watery as Roman stands. “Just not used to an audience,” Virgil spits bitterly, and Roman closes the distance, and is poking and prodding Virgil until he changes his stance. “You don’t get the luxury of a fight in solitude ever, I’m afraid,” Roman hums unsympathetically. “And, well, I can see you both have a very textbook understanding of sparring, but it can use work.” “Like we said,” Virgil elbows the prince to get Roman to take his hands off him. “Haven't touched a sword like this before like a week ago.” “I’m a baker!” Patton cries. “I’m a blacksmith,” Virgil adds, equally as frustrated. “I make swords! I don’t use them!” Roman goes to snap back, but Patton drops her sword and gathers her skirts to bury her face in, trying to hide her tears. “I’m sorry,” she gasps, and she scurries away to sit by the fire, where Dee tries to comfort her quietly. “I’m so useless. I shouldn’t be here. I’m a baker! I can’t save her. A-and I can’t do anything right, I…” Dee hugs her straight away, letting her bury her head in his shoulder, and he glares at Roman, who is staring in horror. “You’ve done so much already,” Dee crows. “You’re so much braver than everyone who didn’t dare set foot outside their city walls. You have fortitude. Courage. And these are the things that will see you through. Not if you can break a cage, or hold a sword. These are skills that can help in specific moments, yes, but you can’t win a war with sword-fighting alone.”

Roman bows his head and walks away from the campfire, into the trees, before he sits on a fallen log just at the edge of the circle of light. Far enough to give Patton her space, but not too far that he wanders off into the forest at night. Virgil and Patton end up comforting each other. The three of them fall asleep huddled up together.

---

When they wake up the next morning, camp has been fully packed up, apart from what they’re sleeping on and some food. Roman has Virgil’s sword in his hand, and his back to his sleeping companions as he runs through some exercises or something. Virgil doesn’t really care. He sits up, and Dee stirs as he moves, and his prince’s soft groan is what alerts Roman that Virgil’s awake. He jolts around, and sees Virgil glaring at him, and he quickly returns the sword to its scabbard and slides it across the packed dirt back to the blacksmith. He doesn’t say anything. Neither does Virgil.

Patton and Roman share a horse again, but Roman keeps as much distance as he can on its back, which looks distinctly uncomfortable for the prince but he doesn’t say a word, and Patton seems glad for it. In fact, Roman doesn’t say a thing all day, which is... concerning. Because they haven’t been around him long but it’s obvious that this guy loves to talk, loves to sing, loves to make sound and have others talk with him and engage with him and he loves to be heard. Virgil’s watched him open his mouth and close it several times over the course of the day. Like he’s not allowing himself to talk.

Over dinner, Patton looks at Roman and sighs. “I’m sorry for snapping at you yesterday,” she says. “I didn’t mean to cry on you or because of you, it just… boiled over. It wasn’t your fault. I know I'm not very good at the sword stuff.” Roman looks surprised. “Uh,” he stumbles, before he winces at his own voice. “…it’s fine. I’m the one who should be sorry.” He rubs his arms and looks away. “I’m told I’m very good at being an insensitive dickhead,” he mumbles. “You have every right to be upset at me.” Virgil regards him strangely. Then, “Hey, Princey,” he calls, and he tosses Patton’s sword in its scabbard over the fire to Roman, who catches it on instinct, frowning in confusion up at Virgil, who stands, drawing his own sword. “Fight me,” Virgil requests. “Please.”

They fight, Roman hands Virgil’s ass to him on a silver platter, (which is a hilarious sight seeing as how much smaller Roman is than Virgil) and Virgil gets what Roman means by ‘being a textbook fighter’. There’s a swiftness, thoughtless, carefulness, and fluidity to Roman’s movements, something he knows but doesn’t have to think about. “I’ll teach you,” Roman offers after they finish. “I will be as polite as I can manage, but you two aren’t as hopeless or hapless as I made it sound. I’m just overdramatic.” Their first lesson goes well. Roman still beats their asses.

---

They travel and travel, following the dragons and everyone is learning how to fight, and everyone is teaching each other stuff and they’re getting along well. Roman seems to have 2 modes – really loud and boisterous and excitable, or absolutely self deprecating to a concerning degree – and he flip flops between them on a dime, it seems. Him and Dee end up talking a lot, and they get along well. It’s around this point where they actually realise that Roman is only fifteen, he really is a kid. It turns out Remus is Roman’s older sibling by a few years, and is sort of Roman’s central support pillar and closest friend. Roman admits he’s a mess without his sibling, but it’s shameful that’ he needs them so bad, isn’t it? Patton is the one to comfort Roman here, and they have a nice heart to heart. (it turns out Patton’s absolutely smitten with Logan, and got her job in the palace kitchens because of the princess’ direct invitation).

They reach the End Of The World soon enough.

It’s only a little melodramatic. The End Of The World is a huge canyon several several several miles wide. No human’s been over the other side, they have no way to get there. {The Humans call it the end of the world. The dragons call it The Divide. There is much that the humans haven't experienced yet). It’s where the dragons live. And as the gang watch cages being ferried away, it’s where the royals are being taken. They need a way across the canyon, stat. An impossible task.

I think they will hide themselves in cages and get themselves ferried across with their gear, and then when they’re on the other side, Virgil busts them out and they start getting their bearings in this weird land. They might meet some friendly dragons, and find out that oh ho? the Dragon Witch is behind this?? she needs all the young royals for Plot Reasons Ive Totally Figured Out. And some of the dragons don’t vibe, but they don’t have much choice. The Lads must go and fight her and end this nonsense.

---

Remus and Logan, it turns out, have met, have been getting along like a house on fire, and have been trying to organise all the kidnapped royalty, trying to keep everyone from panicking. Remus kinda ends up in charge bc they are one of the oldest royals there and has a knack for keeping people calm and also battle tactics. Logan ends up sort of in charge because she is very smart and level-headed. They end up forming an army of sorts from the inside out? And when the Gang show up they have a bunch of reinforcements (whether they know it or not).

Everyone joins in on the Big End Fight. Patton and Virgil’s sword skills are Very Good by this point, and it’s almost enough!! idk who gets the final blow it might be Virgil. At some point in the fight Dee catches a face-full of dragonfire and gets his ass (his face) Zuko’d :(

Sdskdflgjdflnf theres some good good anxceit and sweet sweet logicality. Roman has Big Character Growth and learns to be happy with himself. Give that boy some FULFILLMENT. Him and Remus have a nice reunion :) it’s 100000% familial and beautiful.

---

Also i know not changing any character names for our resident lesbians is weird, but i feel like Patton was … named Patton after like a great grandfather and its inherent not-ladyness was never addressed.

Logan, on the other hand, is trans, and decided that her given name suits her just fine. So she simply goes by Logan, and uses she/her pronouns and uses femme terms and clothes and stuff. (i just think Logan makes a really nice name for a girl too ngl)

---

that’s a long long ramble and maybe i’ll actually write this as a proper fic but hhhhhhhere we go!

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27dragons · 7 years

Note

So if you wanted some prompts I have some for AvAc Winteriron: 1) Bucky is crushing hard on Tony and is irrationally jealous of Misty, whose arm Tony made her. He also wants an arm spesifically made for him by Tony! Even if the one he has is working perfectly fine already!

2) After arriving at the Academy, Bucky is shown around by Tony, and is really drawn to him. He’s so impressed by everything Tony has done for the academy (not that Tony likes to mention it, he only does so in passing as if it isn’t important), and after staying there for a while he is slightly horrified by how some people treat him/take advantage of him all the time.

3) Every new song Bucky writes has subtle hints about how he is in love with Tony, not that Tony ever notices. Janet, however, does, and confronts Bucky about it to be sure he won’t break Tony’s heart, because she knows how Tony feels about Bucky as well.

These were so cute, I combined all three. This is nearly 6k, so ‘ware the readmore! (I’ll put it up on Ao3 as soon as I get a chance, for easier reading/bookmarking…)

—

“Hi,welcome to Avengers Academy!”

Buckyturned toward the voice, wary. When someone said “welcome” atHydra, it usually meant they were planning to humiliate you or getthe drop on you with an ambush.

Well,they could try. The Winter Soldier had carved out a niche of respectat Hydra, and he would make one here, if he had to.

“Usuallyit’s Jan or Pepper doing the welcome tour, but Pep’s offinterviewing some potential recruits and Jan’s right in the middleof planning next month’s parties, so I said I’d do it. So hi,welcome – I said that already, didn’t I? – um, I’m Tony Stark,nice to meet you!”

Buckylooked him over. Tony Stark had armored boots and a gauntlet on hisextended hand, and was wearing a garish red and yellow jacket overskin-tight jeans. Those jeans did not look practical for combat, butthey did an excellent job of showing off Tony’s legs. Tony hadartfully fluffy hair that made Bucky want to mess it up, and ascraggly attempt at facial hair that was kind of cute in its utterfailure. He’d started off with a bright smile, but it was beginningto fade, a crease forming between his eyebrows.

“Uh,okay,” Tony said, dropping the extended hand and rubbing it on hisother arm uncertainly. “So you’re the Winter Soldier, huh? Isthat… what you want us to call you? I mean, most everyone’s got acodename and, you know, a real name, but we’re pretty divided onwhat we want people to call us. I’m Tony and Jan is Jan and Pepperis Pepper unless she’s reallymadat you in which case she’s Ms. Potts. But you should see how madEnchantress gets if you try to call her Amora, and man, do notcallHulk Bruce, he smashes extrahardif you do that. And ‘Spider-Man’ thinks he’s maintaining asecret identity, so we pretty much humor him and call him that ifhe’s got his mask on, you know?”

Buckyconsidered this. “Names are nothing but words / it is the soulwithin that hurts,” he tried. Not the best meter or rhyme, butthere was a theme there worth exploring.

Tonystared at him blankly for a moment. “Um. So you’re… cool withwhatever, I guess. Okay. Well, I’m supposed to show you around thecampus, so come on, I’ll make sure you know where everythingimportant is!”

Tonyled Bucky around the campus in a wide arc. Bucky already knew thecampus layout, of course, having studied it in preparation forattack. But it was very different, seeing things with his own eyes,and Tony’s constant stream of chatter was often amusing.

“Twonightclubs, in fact,” Tony was saying proudly. “There’s theGalaxy club there–” He pointed toward a garish neon building.“–and the Guardians put on a mean death metal show, I gotta say.But a lot of us prefer something a little more homey, and that’sClub A. Pool table, jukebox, great dance floor.” He looked sidelongat Bucky, then shrugged. “Cap spends a lot of time in there, so…”

Buckydidn’t let himself wince, but he wanted to. His feelings about Cap– Steve – were… complicated. But Tony was looking at himhopefully, waiting for some sort of reaction, and Bucky was oddlydisinclined to disappoint him. “The bartender is a robot,” heobserved.

“What?Oh, yeah, I made him.”

“Byyourself?” It took – hadtaken–a team of three Hydra scientists to merely perform maintenance on Bucky’sarm.

“Oh,sure, robots are easy. The challenging bit was upgrading him so itdidn’t cause any long-term damage when his head comes off.”

Buckystared at Tony.

Tonyshrugged. “Crossbones keeps ripping his head off, and I don’tknow how many times I’ve tried to tell him they don’t like that,but he won’t listen, so it seemed easier to just make it so itwouldn’t hurt them too much, you know?” Bucky had no trouble believingthat. Crossbones was… unpleasant. It wasn’t enough for him toaccomplish his missions. He made it personal.

Tonywas still talking about the robot. “… already had someeasy-repair joints for the robots at the blasting range, so I justhad to find a way to–”

Nowthatsoundedlike something Bucky would enjoy. “Blasting range?” He swung hisfavorite rifle off his shoulder. “Show me.”

Tony’ssmile was all teeth. “This way.”

Janfound Tony in the library. She was supposed to be studyingentomology, which was usually one of her favorite subjects, but shecouldn’t help watching Tony. He was listlessly turning page afterpage without even really looking at what was on them. Instead, hisgaze kept drifting out the window toward the food court.

Maybehe was hungry; it wouldn’t be the first time Tony had gottenwrapped up in what he was working on and forgotten to eat. Though hedidn’t look particularly absorbed now, which meant he was brooding.Stewing. Maybe even sulking.

Janbrought up the social media aggregator on her phone and scrolledthrough it with a few flicks of her fingers. There had to be a reasonTony was acting so weird. He hadn’t gotten into a fight with Stevefor weeks; Jan had personally been making sure to take down all ofProfessor Pym’s posts on the message board calling for “volunteers”for his electricity experiments (honestly, Pym was cute but sometimeskind of thoughtless); there weren’t any new selfies from Crossbonesposing with Club A’s headless bartender or from Hulk showing off astolen cheese fridge.

Janscowled at her phone. If social media was failing her, it had to besomething huge. The last time Tony had been this listless was whenhe’d been moping about his dad, but he didn’t have thatguilty/anxious look that always gave him. The only other thing Jancould recall was when he’d been trying to convince Natasha to datehim and Nat had been–

Wait.

Waitwait wait.

Thatwasn’t Tony’s sulkingface.That was pining.

Janclapped both hands over her mouth so he wouldn’t hear her squee ofexcitement and realize she was watching him. This was something shecould help with! She would have to be crafty. Subtle. Tony sometimesobjected to her help.

First,she had to figure out who it was. She couldn’t have someoneunworthyattachedto her best friend.

Subtle,she reminded herself. She shrank down into her Wasp form and flittedthrough the library to land on Tony’s shoulder. “Hi!”

Tonyflinched a little at the buzz of her wings, but relaxed when he sawit was her. “Hey, Jan. Were you going to try to study? I can clearout.”

“Nah,I’ve got some entomology homework, but it’ll wait.” Shecritically examined the stitching on the collar of his jacket. It wasstarting to fray; she’d have to make him a new one soon. Heroeswere so hard on their clothes. “So, who’re we spying on?” Shepeered through the window, trying to see who was in the food courtthat Tony might be watching.

“I’mnot spying on anyone,” Tony said. Jan could heartheeye-roll; she was definitely on the right track.

MariaHill was at the coffee kiosk, but– ew, no. She was far too seriousfor Tony, and didn’t have much in the way of fashion sense, either.Tigra ran past, but she was obviously on her way to a fashion shootor an important nap or something, not someone Tony had been watchingfor the last half hour while pretending to read up on the latestengineering developments. Anyway, Tigra had a huge crush on Cap.Misty Knight was considering her options for lunch, but if Tony had acrush on Misty, Jan would’ve thought she’d have noticed earlier,since Tony had been working on Misty’s artificial arm for months.

Pepperand Kamala were chatting in the line for the shwarma stand, butKamala was basically everyone’s kid sister, and while Tony flirtedendlessly with Pepper, everyone – including Tony and Pepper – knewthere was nothing to that. Natasha was deep in discussion with Union Jackon one of the benches, probably listing all the different ways theycould kill a man with the hot dog she was holding. But Tony waspretty much over Natasha these days, Jan thought.

Ormaybe it was Union Jack? Jan considered that for a moment. Union Jack wasabout as gay as a guy could be without actually skipping everywhereand leaving daisy petals in his wake, and he’d never tried to hidethe way his eyes lingered on Tony sometimes. But Tony had alreadyturned him down (except for the body shots thing, and no one wascounting that),so it wasn’t him, either.

“Jan,”Tony sighed. “Really, it’s nothing.”

“Don’tbe an idiot,” Jan said, patting his ear. “You’re not that goodof an actor. This will go much faster if you just tell me who you’reso obsessed with!” Well, she’d never been that good at subtle, anyway.

Tonygroaned and nearly unseated her by dropping his face into his hands.Jan hovered for a moment and then re-settled on his shoulder,frowning out the window. “Come on,” she wheedled. “Don’t makeme beat it out of you. Is it Misty?”

“No,”Tony groaned.

“Areyou chasing Natasha again?”

“No.”

Janwas running out of options. “God, don’t tell me it’s Maria,”she begged.

Tonylifted his head to give her a disgusted look. “She’s even lessfun than Cap,” he protested. “Why would I even.”

“That’swhat I thought, but– Ooh, did you change your mind about Union Jack?”She could work with that. He was super-cute, and his colors wouldblend acceptably with Tony’s for couple-themed events. “I mean, Iknow you want everyone to think you’re straight, but–”

“Iamstraight,”Tony said firmly.

“Youdated Loki,”Jan pointed out.

“Onlyfor a couple of weeks,” Tony pouted. He dropped his face back intohis hands. “Anyway, Loki’s a girl sometimes.”

“Thatmight make you lessstraight,not more,”Jan mused. “We’ve talkedaboutthis, Tony. It’s good you want to make your dad proud and all, buthiding who you are is not the way to go about it! It’s not like hecan disown you for being bisexual.”

Tonywas quiet for a long minute, but the back of his neck was turningred. “Pansexual,” he corrected in the tiniest voice Jan had everheard from him. “I think.”

“Youdon’t have to know for sure,” she said, and patted his ear again.“I won’t out you, I promise.” He didn’t lift his head though,so Jan went back to looking out the window. “Except I still don’tknow who it is you’re–”

Oh.

OH.

Tonywasn’t looking at anyone in the food court after all. Past the foodcourt was the Quad. And on the Quad was the Winter Soldier, soulfullystrumming his guitar.

“Ohmy god.”

“Jan–”

“Ohmy god.”

“Don’t.”

“You’vegot a crush on BuckyBarnes.”

Tonygroaned, but didn’t deny it, which was confirmation enough for Jan.She was so excited that she couldn’t resist zipping around the rooma few times, trailing a barely-repressed “Eeeeeeee!” ofexcitement behind her like a banner. “Ohmigodohmigodohmigod!”

“Itdoesn’t matter,” Tony said, voice muffled by his hands. “Hebarely even lookedatme the whole time we were on the school tour. And maybe I’m notstraight, but he hastobe.”

“Whydoes he have to be straight?”

Tonygave her a despairing look. “He’s Captain Perfect’s best friendfrom the Stone Ages! Rogers is so straight that even my dad wouldprobably tell him to relax a little.”

Janfolded her arms and gave Tony her best glare. The one she practicedin the mirror to use on Enchantress, and people who mixed plaids.“Anthony Edward Stark, are you suggesting that straight andnot-straight people can’t be friends?”

“No!”Tony backpedaled. “He’s just so…” He trailed off, looking atBucky through the window again. Bucky had put his guitar away and wasplaying catch with a football-throwing device now.

Janwatched with Tony for a moment. “…Dreamy?” she suggested slyly.

“Yeah…”Tony shook himself, then shoved her, playfully. “Stop that! Youknow what I mean.”

Jandid know. There were a handful of students at the Academy who wereout of the closet, but not many. Certainly not as many as,statistically, there should have been. But that didn’t make it anyeasier to ask someone out, not knowing if they even liked whateveryou were. “Lucky for you,” Jan said, “you have me.I’ll find out for you!”

“Youwill?” The look of gratitude on Tony’s face was a testament totheir friendship. Or to his desperation. She wasn’t sure which.

TheQuad was a great place to hang out. It was wide open, not crammedwith buildings and other clutter. There was always a quiet spot forBucky to work on his music or practice throwing and catching.

Sometimes,there would be a new prospective student in the Quad, looking aroundand talking to everyone who passed. New students made the Academystronger, more able to stand against their enemies, so that was okay,even if Bucky didn’t always trust the candidates, especially theones who had recently fought against the Academy. Perhaps that washypocritical. But Bucky knew his own reasons for turning against hisformer institution. He didn’t know theirs.

Therewas frequently a challenger in the Quad as well, daring Academystudents to fight them. Sometimes, they triumphed, but Bucky’sclassmates banded together again and again, relentless and fierce,until the challenger retreated in disgrace. Bucky had not yet beencalled to stand against a challenger, but he took satisfaction inrefusing to allow them to disrupt his routine, in continuing to workout on the Quad, and showing off his arm so that the challengerscould see it and know what they might face.

(Hewasn’t the only one who enjoyed such tactics. The alien woman,Gamora, would sit on one of the benches for hours at a time, honingher sword and flipping it into the air, her cold gaze lockedrelentlessly on the challenger as it fell easily back into her hand.The Wakandan prince often chose the Quad to practice hislightning-quick fighting style, and the Black Widow, who wasintimidating even at her most friendly, had been known to don acostume of eldritch horror and… loom.)

Sothere was every reason for Bucky to spend almost as much time in theQuad as training at the blasting range. It certainly had nothing todo with the fact that Stark Tower overlooked the Quad, or that itsowner could often be seen through the windows, hard at work or evenlounging in the decadent rooftop hot tub.

Still,when a slender, red-clad figure emerged from Stark Tower’s mainentrance, Bucky noticed. He was a sniper; it was his job to noticethings. It was perfectly understandable that his heart rate wouldincrease as he evaluated a possible threat.

Somewhatless understandable was the sense of disappointment he felt when heidentified the figure as Misty Knight, but there was no one nearbywho knew him well enough to know what the subtle shift in hisshoulders or the tip of his head meant. Or to spot the way he tensedagain with the realization that he’d been out here on the Quad fora couple of hours, now, and he hadn’t seen Misty go in,which meant she’d been in Stark Tower that whole time. Perhapseven… overnight?

Helooked down at his guitar, but she had already spotted him watchingand changed the angle of her path.

“Heythere,” she said when she reached him. “You’re Bucky Barnes,right? I’m Misty. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

Wasshe going to warn him off? Her hand was extended as if to shake, butit was her artificial arm. Bucky knew how much damage hisarmcould do. But Steve had been trying to convince him that AvengersAcademy was different. That he could trust – well, maybe not allthestudents here, but mostofthem. He took her hand cautiously.

“It’swarm,” he said, startled.

Mistysmiled, wide and bright and not at all offended. “Yeah, that was acouple of upgrades back. Actually, I thought we could hang out alittle and compare notes, if you want?” She wiggled the fingers ofher prosthetic hand to indicate what she meant.

Thatseemed… good, actually. Talking to someone who knew what it waslike. Still, he hesitated. He’d meant to practice his guitar for awhile longer.

Tonyburst out of Stark Tower, running hell bent for leather. He grinnedand waved at them as he passed, late to Professor Pym’s class yetagain.

“Wecan swing through the food court and go have lunch in the park,”Misty was saying. “Have you tried the new pizza place?”

Therereally wasn’t anything keeping him in the Quad. He could practicelater. “Not yet,” he said, trying to remember how to smile, andgestured for Misty to proceed him down the path.

Thepizza was pretty good, but Bucky was less interested in that than inlearning more about Misty’s arm. It turned out that Tony had builtthat, too, and kept her supplied with upgrades on a regular basis.Much more frequently than Hydra had upgraded Bucky’s arm, which hadbeen whenever he’d managed to get it so damaged that it was easierto replace than repair.

“Oh,all sorts of things,” she answered when he asked. “There’s thetemperature thing – it’s not just cosmetic; the metal used to pullheat from my body in the winter and overheat me in the summer, and mywhole shoulder just achedfromit, you know?”

Buckydid know. He was used to ignoring it, but… he knew.

He wondered if Tony would take over maintenance to his arm, now. Maybe even upgrade it some. He thought about having Tony close enough to touch, warm breath spilling over his shoulder, strong hands delicately caressing Bucky’s innermost circuits... He shivered. He hadn’t allowed anyone so close since Hydra. It was a little terrifying.

Misty was still talking, heedless of Bucky’s wandering thoughts. “Andhe’s always got a new trick for smoother function or faster neuralresponse. Better waterproofing, a filter system to keep out dirt andstuff, power upgrades… All kinds of stuff. Seriously, Tony’s thebest.”

Hercolors were similar to Tony’s, Bucky couldn’t help but noticing– mostly red with black accents, and the arm was gold… Somethingturned over high in Bucky’s gut, oily and uncomfortable. Maybe thepizza wasn’t as good as he’d thought. “Are you and Tony…together?”

Mistysnorted indelicately. “No,” she said shortly. “He’sbrilliant, and he’s funny when he’s not trying too hard, and Iowe him more than I’ll probably ever be able to repay. But no waywould I date a boy who acts like Tony does.”

“Idon’t… understand,” Bucky confessed. Tony seemed like he wouldbe an excellent partner, clever and attentive and generous, eager toplease and adventurous, and handsome–

Oh.Oh no.

Itwasn’t fear, or the pizza. It was something much, much worse:

Acrush.

“Idon’t have anything against the guy,” Steve said as he lined uphis shot, which was utter hooey, because Steve obviously didhavesome kind of beef with Tony. “He’s just kind of… flighty.”

Buckyleaned against Club A’s bar and calculated Steve’s shot in hishead, the geometry of collisions blooming there almost as neatly asthe arc of a clean shot. If there was one thing Steve did well, itwas calculate ricochet. All that work with the shield, Buckysupposed. “He’s not flighty,” Bucky said.

“Maybethat’s the wrong word,” Steve allowed. He paused to take theshot, sending pool balls spinning across the felt. Two of themdropped into the waiting pockets. “He just never takes anythingvery seriously.”

Whateverhis eye for angles, Steve’s eye for people – or at least Tony –was obviously half-blind. “Are you kidding me?” Bucky asked. “Hedoes so much here – he built the blasting range, and he’s upgradedit at least twice! And the sparring ring–”

“Excusesto play with robots,” Steve snorted, walking slowly around thetable. “Just happened to work out for us.”

Buckyrolled his eyes. “Plushestill runs his business.”

“He’sgonna run it right into the ground if he doesn’t buckle down,”Steve said. “The last thing I saw him testing was some kind ofhoverboard toy. And then he comes in here playing big-shot, throwinghis money around.”

“Hey,it’s his money,” Bucky said mildly. He didn’t ask if thehoverboards were a thing he could get for himself, because honestly,that sounded a hell of a lot more fun than playing pool allafternoon. “And staying on top of his classes. He’s got straightA’s, you know, even though I think Pym’s got it out for him.”

“Just‘cause Tony won’t follow the standard safety precautions,”Steve muttered. “That’s not Professor Pym’s fault. Maybe hewouldn’t have such a hard time if he didn’t spend all his librarytime looking for books with pictures of pretty dames, or mockingeverything in the engineering journals.” Steve made another shot,then looked up at Bucky across the pool table. “Look, I’m nottelling you who you can or can’t like–”

“Gee,thanks, pal,” Bucky drawled.

“Ijust don’t want to see you get hurt,” Steve said, all earnestpuppy eyes. “I mean, I know you weren’t back yet when ithappened, but there was that incident a few months back where he wasin here letting Union Jack do bodyshotsoffhim. That’s not relationship material.”

Christ,Rogers was so full of bullshit, Bucky wasn’t sure why hedidn’t stink. If Tony had anything going with Jack, it would’vebeen all over campus. Hell, Bucky’d had lunch with Misty at thepark onceandit had taken three days to quash the immediate rumor that theyweredating. You’d think, between classes and jobs and superheroing,these folks wouldn’t have so much time to gossip. Bucky was aboutto mention that to Steve when the door opened and Steve’s face litup.

Peggy.Of course. The only person on campus who could make Bucky turninvisible. Steve put up his cue and jogged over to join her at thejukebox.

Buckytook another swig of his drink as he watched them dance. At leastSteve had finally learned a couple of moves. But god, it made himache with the desire to pull someone onto the dance floor himself.Someone slender and strong and unafraid of Bucky’s arm. Someonewho’d laugh and rise to the challenge, ready to risk failure forthe possibility of glory…

Buckysighed and finished his drink. He waved off the robot bartender whenit reached for a new can, and slumped out the door.

“Iheard the most interesting thing,” Natasha said in Tony’s ear.

“Gah!”said Tony, because she hadn’t been there just a second ago, andthen, “Why do you do that. Why.”

Natashasmirked. “Because it’s funny.” She stepped out of the cardboardbox she’d used to sneak up on him and dropped into the seat next tohis on the dorm patio. “I heard the most interesting thing,” sherepeated, somewhat more conversationally this time.

“Heard,or overheard?” Tony teased. He pried open the back of the gadget hewas tinkering with and examined the wiring.

“Heard,”Natasha said, faux-wounded. “Are you going to ask me what it was?”

Tonylooked at her sidelong, then fished the multitool out of his pocketand started unscrewing the circuit board. “I don’t know,” hesaid. “If it’s about how Loki and Enchantress got into anotherfight, you can save it. I heard about it already from Jan.”

“No,I got it from Jan already, too,” Natasha said. “Did she tell youthey were fighting about you?”

Tonyrolled his eyes. “Of course she did. I don’t know what she thinksI’m going to do about it. I dated Loki for, like, twoweeksbeforeI got sick of his attitude, and Enchantress only wants me because Idon’twanther.I really wish I hadn’t given her a key to the hot tub.” He heldthe circuit board up, checking the connections and switches. “Howcome the only people on this campus who are interested in me areex-villains?”He did some quick calculations in his head and flipped a couple ofswitches.

“Well,there’s Union Jack,” Natasha offered.

Tonyrolled his eyes. “He’s not actually interested in me, you know.He just spreads that around to make himself look more attractivelyunavailable. He only really wants me for the tech, to be the Q to his Bond.”

Natashadidn’t say anything. Tony finished screwing the circuit board backinto place, then hit the power switch. Well, thatdidn’twork. He turned it back off and reached for the multitool again. Heglanced at Natasha. She was watching him like he was one of themysteries of the universe. “What?”

“Nothing.”She leaned back in her chair. “Ask me what I heard.”

“Fine,whatever, tell me what you heard.”

“Iwas at the Winter Soldier’s open mic last night–”

“Oh,shit, that was last night?” Damn it. He’d been meaning to go tothat. What had he been doing last night? …Oh, right, he’d gottencaught up studying that alien armor down in SHIELD HQ’s basement.He really should start setting alarms for himself when he was downthere.

“Yes,”Natasha said. “And he had some great new lyrics to try out.”

“Well,that’s what open mic night is for, I guess.” Tony fidgetedaimlessly with the gadget, not wanting to telegraph his feelings tooobviously, even though it was Natasha and she probably already kneweverything just from the way he’d combed his hair this morning, orsomething. “I’m sorry I missed it.”

“Youshould be,” she told him smugly. “I think my favorite was the oneabout the ‘stark beauty of winter’ and the ‘red glow of dawn’,myself. Sif really liked the new ‘Snowmelt’ song, but I thoughtthe bit about it dripping into the forge’s fire was a littleoverdone. Also, the rhyme was a bit forced. It could use work.”

Tonylooked up at her. “He’s… really kind of impressed with the IcePalace, I guess?”

Natasha’smouth actually fell open. “You’re being even dumber than usualtoday,” she finally said. “That’s not what they’re about.”

Whatthe hell did that mean? “But the forge at the Ice Palace is theonly one we’ve got,” Tony pointed out.

Natashadropped her head into her hands. “You’re hopeless, Stark.Completely hopeless.”

“Excuseyou, I am fullofhope,” Tony shot back, grinning.

Natashashot him a Look that made him fear for his life, or at least hiskidneys, and stalked off, muttering under her breath.

So,Bucky liked the forge at the Ice Palace, did he? Maybe Tony shouldtry to spend a little more timethere. His blacksmith costume was pretty sexy, if he did say sohimself.

Janfound Bucky at the blasting range. “So, you’ve been here forwhat, a month now?” she said between zaps. “How’re you settlingin?”

“Fine,”Bucky said, absently taking aim. The strange thing was, he actuallymeant it. His memories had been steadily trickling back, and no onehad even hinted at taking them away again. There were people here whowere actually interested in his music, who attended open mic nightand invited him to jam sessions and sought his advice aboutharmonies. The classes were interesting – well, most of them. Thestaff seemed to think of the students’ well-being as people as muchas their value as assets. And while not everyone was friendly –Bucky and Crossbones both still went out of their way to sneer at eachother whenever they crossed paths – the atmosphere was much morerelaxed and easygoing than Hydra had ever been.

Andthere was Tony, of course. Bucky’s mouth curved in a small,unwitting smile.

Heactually likedithere.

“Youknow, Tony and I have been friends forever,”Jan said.

Buckyflinched, just a bit, and his shot went off-center, wide by a whole handspan.Damn it. He made himself take a slow breath and aim again. “I’veheard that,” he said neutrally.

“Soyou know that if you break his heart, I’ll have nomercy,”she said. She shot him a glare, and it should’ve been cute andeasily-dismissed, that stubborn pout and furrowed brow, but Bucky hadseen what her stings had done to the target ‘bots, and her tinyWasp form would be ideal for ambush. It was generally acknowledgedthat despite her fixation on fashion and social media, she was one ofthe more formidable students here. “And I don’t just meancheating,” she said fiercely. “He’s sensitive,you have to be nice to him! Don’t yell at him for working toohard because he tries to act all ‘man of leisure’ but he’sactually superbusyall the time, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll respectthat. And don’t take him for granted because he’s already had todeal with just too many people who only want his money or his tech.And you’d better appreciate his genius, too! He’s the smartestguy on campus!”

Buckyknew better than to show fear. “We’re not dating,” hepointed out when she finally had to pause to draw a breath.

Jandemolished her target and huffed in exasperation as she waited for itto reset. “Well, that’s because he’s also kind of an idiotsometimes. You just need to be a little more obvious.”

Buckyactually lowered his gun to stare at her. “More obvious.”

“Yep!”She shrank and took to wing, and destroyed the target again withthree quick shots.

“Isthere a single student on this campus who hasn’t figured out how Ifeel about him?” Bucky asked.

“Um…”She resumed her human size and thought about it. “Well… Danny canbe a little oblivious sometimes,” she said. “And Rocket doesn’tcare about anyone’s love life.” She sniffed indignantly.

“AndTony, of course,” Bucky added. Just saying the name sent a shiverthrough him, as if it were forbidden. “He came to open mic threedays ago and I sang the song I’ve been saving for him, ‘TheGlowing Heart’. I don’t know how much more obvious I can get.”

Jansmiled and reached up to pat his shoulder. “You’ll figure itout,” she said. Her eyes narrowed. “You’d better.”

“Ug,she’s at it again,” Taskmaster growled as he stomped through thedoor into Club A.

Buckyglanced up, then looked away again. Taskmaster was supposedlyreformed, but Bucky didn’t trust him. He spent too much timehanging out with Loki and Enchantress.

“Who?”Crossbones demanded from the spot he’d commandeered on the dancefloor.

Buckyhad almost turned around and left when he’d spotted Crossbonesalready in the place, but they both came from Hydra. Crossboneswouldn’t see it as Bucky simply wanting peace and quiet; instead,it would read as weakness.

Whatever.He’d only wanted a drink, anyway, before band practice.

“Amora,”Taskmaster snorted. He refused to call her Enchantress, even when shefumed at him. It was one of the few things that Bucky liked abouthim. “She’s trying to hypnotize Stark again. What the hell doeseveryone see in him, anyway?”

Buckycould have answered that, but why would he? If they couldn’tappreciate Tony without being told–

Wait.Hypnotize?

Buckythrew back the rest of his drink and barrelled out of the club,heading for the Quad at not quitehistop speed. He slammed to a halt when he saw them, the Enchantress’magic a sickly green aura that slithered into Tony’s mouth andeyes.

Tonystaggered under it, weak, and stared at Enchantress with wide,adoring eyes that made Bucky’s stomach churn with anger and disgustand fear.

Evenas Bucky watched, however, Tony shook off the effects of the magic,his dopey grin curling into a sneer. He turned his back with a rudegesture and started to walk away, but the Enchantress was alreadysending out her magic again, dragging him back in again.

Bucky’shands curled into fists. Atit again,Taskmaster had said, which meant this wasn’t anything new.The Enchantress tried to drag Tony into her trap often. And despitehaving no protection from magic – certainly not Asgardian magic –Tony had so far managed to resist her.

God,the strength of will that must take… Coulda flightymando that, Steve?Buckymentally challenged.

Butwhy the hell hadn’t anyone put a stop to this? Fury, or even Odin?Did it amuse them to see Tony so weakened? There were students, aswell, fully capable of blocking the Enchantress’ lure.

Buckygrowled, anger rising, and pushed himself into motion, stalkingtoward the tableau. “Leave him alone, witch,” he snarled at theEnchantress. He wrapped his hand around Tony’s arm and tugged himaway, making straight for Stark Tower.

Buckyfelt it, the instant the last tendrils of the Enchantress’ magicsnapped. Tony stumbled a few steps and straightened, then looked atBucky in surprise. “What…?”

“Hadto get you away from her,” Bucky said through clenched teeth. Hedidn’t stop moving until they’d pushed into the lobby of StarkTower.

“Awayfrom…” Tony turned around to look behind them, though he didn’ttwist hard enough to free his arm from Bucky’s grasp. His eyeswidened. “Enchantress? Really? You… rescued me?”

Heatflooded Bucky’s neck and cheeks. “I dunno ‘bout that,” hesaid. “You seemed to be holdin’ your own. I just… couldn’tstand to watch it.”

Tonywas looking at him, now. “No one’s ever done that for me before,”he said, voice soft with wonder.

Buckybit back the first half-dozen comments that sprang to mind. (“Yourstrength does not obligate / you to carry all the weight” wasn’ta bad starting point for a lyric, maybe a song.) Tony didn’tstop looking at him, though, his eyes wide and warm. “Well, I did,”Bucky finally said.

“Yousure did,” Tony said. “Thanks.” He smiled, and it lit up hisface like the sun. Bucky swayed into it like a plant seeking themorning light.

Moreobvious,he thought, and said, “Don’t suppose you’d like to go get adrink?”

“What?Oh, uh, sure, yeah,” Tony stammered. “Victory drink, thatsounds–”

“Imean like a date,” Bucky said, and Tony’s eyes rounded. Wow, Janhad not been kidding atallaboutTony’s level of obliviousness. “I really like you,” he added, just to be sure.It came out a little too loud, verging on panicked. If Natasha was sneaking into Tony’s cheese fridge again, she was going tobust something laughing at them.

Buckydecided he didn’t much care. He let go of Tony’s arm, finally,and instead lightly brushed back the tips of Tony’s hair where theywere drooping toward his face. “I like you a lot,” he said.

Tonyswallowed, but he didn’t back away. He just kept staring at Buckywith those pretty, warm eyes. “You’re not– Really?”

“Yeah,Tony,” Bucky said. He dug deep and dredged up a smile that wasnearly a grin. “Come on, doll, let’s paint the town red.”

“IronMan red?” Tony asked, teasing.

“Youbet,” Bucky agreed.

Tonyslipped his arm through Bucky’s. “You’re on, hot stuff.” Helaughed briefly. “Oh, man, wait’ll I tell Jan she doesn’t haveto stick her nose in it, after all!”

#tony stark #bucky barnes #winteriron #buckytony #avac #jan van dyne #natasha romanov #steve rogers #assorted others #prompt fill #Anonymous

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