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It was likely the narcissist in him, but Tony enjoyed his boyfriends bickering over him immensely. It also helped that he knew there was no real malice behind it–Steve and Bucky loved each other like brothers, and therefore squabbling was inevitable. The current argument was one they had frequently–who was going to take Tony on a date Saturday night. This week it was early, as it was Wednesday and they usually had it on Thursday. They must have some big plans.
“You had last Saturday,” Steve half yelled at Bucky, complete with a finger poke to the chest.
“Yeah, and you got to take him for a whole weekend to California two weeks ago,” Bucky grumbled back, swatting Steve’s hand away. “I think I can have another Saturday night.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed, so Tony finally spoke up before things escalated. “Okay, boys, as much as I love you two fighting over me, maybe we can talk this out?”
Both heads swiveled to look at him in surprise.
“I’ve had some breakthroughs with my therapist. I’m trying new things and this seems like the perfect time to practice communication .” Tony scooched over to the middle of the couch and patted the cushions next to him. Once they had both settled in on either side, Tony took a hand from each and laced his fingers with theirs. “Okay. What do both of you have in mind?”
“Well,” Steve said after a moment. “I wanted mine to be a surprise.”
“A new exhibit is opening up at the art museum. It’s metal work and they're doing this big party thing for it Saturday at 9pm,” Bucky said. “I thought it would be fun to see. Since, y’know…” He trailed off, waving his metal arm slightly. “It’d be cool to see art since all this thing does is kill.”
“Bucky–” Steve was cut off, though, as Tony practically barrelled over him with his own comment.
“Hey, that’s not the only thing it does. It does all kinds of good things! Especially after that little upgrade we gave it,” Tony finished, complete with a little saucy eyebrow wiggle. “But, I think that idea is great. I don’t know anything about making art with metal. Just my suits and some other practical things. Steve, can your thing happen earlier in the day?”
“Yeah, sure. It should be easy enough to shift some things around.”
“Perfect!” Tony squeezed their hands. “You can both have me for Date Night.”
xxx
Steve was able to keep Tony in the dark until Steve got off on the exit for Manhattan Beach. Granted, it took a few guesses, but he figured out they were going to the New York Aquarium. Which should be fun–he hadn’t been to an aquarium since he was a kid.
As they pulled into the parking structure, Steve said “I was able to get us 30 minutes before they open to the public. Not that I want us to rush, just wanted you to know we’ve got some time before any crowds start.”
“Cool. I take it this was originally going to be an after hours thing?”
“Yeah, it was. But I’m sure the employees would prefer an early start than getting off later. They were really apologetic for only being able to get us 30 minutes, but I told them it was perfect and not to worry since it was a last minute change.”
“But it wasn’t too much trouble?”
“Nah, it was easy. I hope you and Bucky have fun tonight.”
They were at the doors to the aquarium and Steve knocked. A few seconds later, the door opened a crack.
“Excuse me,” Steve said with a smile. “I’m Steve Rogers. I called about coming in early?”
The door opened wider to reveal the manager. “Ah, you’re right on time, Mr Rogers. Please, come in.” The manager stepped back to invite them in and handed them a map.
Holding hands, the couple walked in together and were immediately greeted by a few large bubble shaped tanks hanging from the ceiling. “Oh, wow,” Steve whispered, eyes on the tanks and the various fish inside swimming around.
Tony would admit it was pretty cool.
They continued through, stopping at various tanks to find the fish living inside. There was a touch tank with sturgeon in it, but Steve was the only one to dunk his arm in the cold water. Tony was feeling off, anxious, and he couldn’t figure out why .
At the 30 minute mark, Tony was on edge.
“Tony?” Steve asked, voice concerned. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You’re lying.”
Tony sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I’m having some anxiety. But I’m okay. We’re almost at the end, right?”
Steve pulled the map out of his back pocket and looked at it for a moment. “Yeah, a couple more exhibits and then the tunnel. There’s an octopus in the next room, though.”
“An octopus?” Tony had lit up and grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and practically dragged him to the next room. He quickly found the tank and scanned it, trying to find the genius animal. Suddenly, a tentacle came down from the top corner, startling him. Which did not help the anxiety. But the octopus was beautiful. She was currently a soft red, complimenting the darker red rock formations behind her. He watched as she settled herself in a little nook. A quick glance at her little plaque showed her name was Tako. “Hey, beautiful,” Tony cooed. “You must have just woken up. You make sure you have a good day, Tako. Don’t let any of these morons annoy you.”
He heard a digital click behind him. He whipped his head around, but it was just Steve holding his phone, and not some dumb ass taking a candid shot of him. Steve was allowed to take such pictures.
“Sorry,” Steve said, pocketing his phone. “You were just so cute.”
Tony glared at him but there wasn’t any heat to it. “Right. Let’s get going, I’m hungry.”
Steve laughed and took his hand as they made their way to the last room before the tunnel. There were seahorse, but they could hear screaming kids so they didn’t stay too long.
In the tunnel with too many gallons of water pressing on every side, Tony’s anxiety finally spiked into an attack. His chest constricted and he felt like he was drowning.
Like he was being waterboarded.
“Steve,” he choked out, gripping his hand. He flailed his free hand at the plexiglass.
“The shark? No. The water? What—oh.” Finally, realization flashed across Steve’s face. “Oh, gosh. I’m so sorry, Tony, I didn’t think—come on, let’s get out of here.” Steve slung an arm across Tony’s shoulder and half carried him out of the tunnel and into the gift shop. He tried to keep them behind racks and fixtures. The public didn’t need to see Tony having a panic attack.
Once outside, Steve helped Tony calm down, making him count and breathe with him. “You’re okay, Tony,” he said after a few minutes. “You’re here with me.”
It took several more minutes for Tony’s heart to slow down to reasonable speeds and for the tightness in his chest to leave. “I’m okay,” he said quietly, gathering himself. “Other than the anxiety, I was enjoying that.” A stab of sadness hit, but he quickly suppressed it. “I’d like to try this again. Maybe all three of us can go?”
“We can make that happen.” Steve leaned in to give Tony a quick kiss. “Are you still okay with getting lunch? I got us reservations at a sushi place on the pier.”
Tony snorted. “You planned an aquarium and sushi date? Steve, you’re so cruel.”
“I don’t—oh. Damn.”
“Language, my love.”
Steve grinned at him. “Okay, so I came up with this last minute and therefore didn’t think everything through.”
Tony shook his head. “Let’s go eat. I’m suddenly starving.”
Steve’s grin softened into a smile and he took Tony’s hand again. “As you wish.”
xxx
The date with Bucky started off with dinner at one of NYC’s fancier steakhouses. Tony ordered a porterhouse, Bucky got a 33oz ribeye chop, plus some roasted brussel sprouts to share. Tony had also slipped a few large bills to their waitress, asking her to do her best to ensure they had some privacy. She told them she could do it, and only she or the owner would be the ones to approach them. Satisfied they wouldn’t need to be celebrities tonight, Tony reached his hands across the table to take both of Bucky’s. He gently rubbed little circles on the backs of Bucky’s hands with his thumb–one warm skin, the other cool metal.
“I could work with a prosthetist to make you a casual arm,” Tony told him quietly.
Bucky shook his head, saying, “No, it’s okay. Maybe after tonight I’ll start to like it.” Then he smiled. “So how was your date with Steve?”
“It was good! He didn’t have too much trouble switching things to this afternoon. We might even do some more lunch dates.” He told Bucky about the aquarium and lunch on the pier. They talked a little longer about various things until their food arrived. Silence fell across the table as both focused on their dinner. As expected, everything was well made, and the pair simply enjoyed dinner.
Once the check was taken care of, they left and took a short walk to the art museum.
“Welcome, Mr Stark and Mr Barnes!” The doorman greeted them with a smile and checked something off on their clipboard. “Please, come in and enjoy the event.”
They both nodded and walked past him inside, taking in the action. Several people, dressed to the nines, were making their way into one of the side wings so they followed.
“Wow.”
Tony glanced at Bucky. Upon seeing the amazement on his face as he got his first look at the sculptures, Tony couldn’t help the soft smile sneaking its way onto his own face. Bucky didn’t notice his partner was watching, though, too entranced by the artwork. They walked past sculptures that were taller than them, some that looked far too delicate and fragile to be made of metal, and some that were smaller than their hands.
Bucky stopped in front of a golden ballerina. One arm was stretched out before her while the other was held up above her, and she was standing on the points of her shoes. The expression on her metallic face was…serene. Her eyes were closed as there was just a hint of a smile to her mouth. She looked like one solid piece–Tony wasn’t able to find any welds. Her clothing looked like it was made out of fabric, but the little information card insisted she was completely made of metal. Tony watched as Bucky held out his own vibranium arm, mimicking how she held hers, complete with flexed fingers.
“You okay?” Tony asked.
Bucky was silent for a long moment, brows furrowed, examining his arm. Light flashed off it, causing tiny spotlights, and Tony winced when one of them was reflected right in his eyeball.
“Would you call my arm beautiful?” Bucky finally asked.
“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his voice.
“Really?”
“Of course. It’s a cybernetic arm with a full metallic casing. My first suit is nothing compared to it. Even the one you had before. I don’t like HYDRA but they make good stuff.”
Bucky pursed his lips, then looked at Tony. “I guess it’s impressive.”
“It’s very impressive.”
“Okay.” He looked back at the ballerina. “I love her.”
“Yeah, she’s gorgeous.”
“Should we look at more?”
“I’d love to.”
And so the couple looked at the rest of the exhibit. Tony continued to compare the art to Bucky’s arm, trying to convince him that he and his arm were more than just a killing machine. Tony did notice that Bucky’s eyes would go back to the ballerina whenever possible. So Tony excused himself, claiming he needed the restroom, and proceeded to find whoever the curator was.
It took him longer than he would have liked before he found them.
“Mr Stark, how can I help you?” the museum curator asked when he approached her.
“Hi, Ms…” his voice trailed off as his eyes flicked to her badge. “Ms Rodchester. I was wondering if we could perhaps negotiate a sale?”
The curator tapped a finger against her chin. “That would depend on what you were looking at? Some of these pieces are on loan from either an estate or the artist themselves.”
“The ballerina.”
“Ah, she is on loan from her artist. I believe she’s even here tonight. Give me a moment to check.”
At Tony’s nod, she pulled a walkie talkie out of her back pocket and contacted someone to ask about a Cera Lopez. A few more sentences were exchanged before she thanked the man on the other side. Then she turned back to Tony. “The artist is here, and if you don’t mind waiting in my office, I can find her and bring her to you if she’s interested in selling.”
“That would be perfect.”
“Lovely. Follow me, please, Mr Stark.” She led him through a side door and up a flight of stairs. Tony found himself in a plain hallway with numbered doors and figured this was where all the offices were. They continued down the hallway to the door at the end and once Tony was inside and settled, and she had left to find the ballerina’s artist, Tony took out his phone and quickly typed out a message.
I’m trying to do something. Shouldn’t take too long.
Everything okay?
Yes. It’s a surprise for you, but if it doesn’t work out, I’ll tell you what it is. 💚
Okay, I’ll trust you 😘
Tony smiled at the emoji and then just took a moment to relax. Hopefully he was able to buy Bucky’s ballerina.
xxx
The day the three of them went to the aquarium was the same day Bucky’s ballerina was delivered. Shortly after they came home from a successful aquarium visit, Friday informed them of a package. Tony went to get it, and when he returned to his men, he had a huge grin on his face. With the assistance of his suit, Tony hauled the large box into the living room and set it down in front of Bucky.
“Open it,” he told him.
Bucky frowned, looking at the box before popping open the top with his cybernetic arm. As soon as he saw the sculpture, his face lit up. “How did you—is she for me?”
“She is for you! When I left you at the museum, I talked to the artist and asked if I could buy her. Took a bit, but we reached an agreement.”
“Tony, this is amazing.”
“I’m glad you’re happy,” Tony said softly as he got out of his suit. Once his face was exposed, Bucky leaned in for a kiss.
“Thank you. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
There was a throat clearing and Tony looked at Steve.
“I love you, too, Steve,” Tony said before moving to kiss him as well.