Work Text
Bucky set the last box in front of their new doorstep and cleaned the sweat of his brow with the hem of his shirt.“I know there’s no turning back now, but Steve, are you sure we are doing the right thing?”“Yup.” He answered with more confidence than he felt. The truth was, Steve was having doubts of his own, had them since the beginning, he just didn’t want to bother Bucky with them.Bucky’s therapist was the one to suggest a change of lifestyle, and neither of them were against it, so five months later, there they were, on the doorstep of their new home on a remote area of some island near the Bahamas.They were to stay mostly isolated from city noise, but not too isolated they lost track of time, doctor’s orders. And sun, the therapist had said, was a great friend in the healing process, that’s why the caribbean. Not only the island had a nice town about thirty minutes away from their new house, but they also got an amazing view of a small bay near by, which seemed to be mostly untouched by civilization.“I think we are going to do just fine, Buck.” Bucky nodded silently and walked from where he was standing to wrap his arm around Steve.“I’ve never thanked you, you know. For always sticking around.” Steve turned in the embrace and locked his eyes with Bucky’s. “So thank you, and I love you.”“I love you too, sweetheart.” Steve cupped Bucky’s jaw and stroked a thumb over his stubble. “I’m never going anywhere, you know that.” He pulled Bucky closer and kissed him softly on the lips.Bucky gave him a small smile which filled Steve’s heart with love when they broke the kiss.“‘Kay, let’s get these boxes inside.”-It took them two weeks to make their house look somewhat presentable. Some of the kitchen and bathroom utensils were yet to arrive from their old house in New York, but the basics: bed, sinks, TV, sofas, etc., were already in place.The nights, though clearer and prettier, were hotter than the ones spent in Brooklyn, and neither of them quite enjoyed the sticky, wet feeling -aside from when they were having sex- over the bed.“One of these days, I’m going to town just to buy an AC.” Bucky had said one morning, just after he woke up in a pool of his own sweat. Two days later they’d installed one AC in the bedroom and another in the living room downstairs.Steve’s favorite part of moving to an island was, by far, the sea. They would go down the bay everyday right before the sunset, so the water was still warm but the sun not as strong, it was perfect. Plus, Steve thought, there was nothing like watching the sun setting by the sea.The bay closer to their house, they found out, was mostly deserted, which was a bless. They came to the island with the sole purpose of relaxing and right now, the least interaction with people, the best, since the process of healing, his therapist had told him, took time. A few fishers would come by the bay every week or so, but they were mostly focused on their work to interact with Bucky and Steve.So it took Steve by surprise when, one day, he woke up in the middle of the night not because of a nightmare, nor because Bucky was having an attack, but because he could hear a sweet lullaby coming from the general direction of their (he calls it that now) bay. It hadn’t been a hot day so they left the windows open, and, together with the light breeze, he heard the voice again, soft and distant, but it still managed to drawn Steve’s attention.“Hey, Buck, wake up.” he shook Bucky away.“Wassit, Stevie?” Bucky mumbled, opening his eyes slowly.“Listen.”Bucky frowned and opened his mouth to say something but abruptly shut it when he heard the melody. His eyes, still locked with Steve’s, widened in awe, and Steve just raised his eyebrows in a silent I know .“It coming from our bay.” Bucky said after the melody paused briefly.“Yes.”“It’s beautiful .”“I know.”“Wanna go check it out?” he asked tentatively looking up at Steve with excited eyes. Steve stilled, mouth shut close as he read Bucky’s expression. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw that expression on his lover’s face. A long time ago sounded too early. Nothing like a thrilling mystery to get him engaged. His heart skipped a beat and he smiled. Feeling corny, he leaned into Bucky space and kissed him.“Is that an yes?” Bucky asked when they parted.“Yes. Let’s go.”-Tony loved observing the sea in the dark. Most nights, he would find a quiet corner in some island and just sit on a rock, watching the black waves come and go peacefully.Not many things on his life were as constant as those waves, so he enjoyed every second of it.That night, however, feeling a little bold, Tony swam towards a little bay he loved dearly. The island was, unfortunately, crowded with humans, and while he knew the dangers of getting too close to them, he couldn’t give up that spot: the bay was too perfect, plus, he’d never seen humans in that side of the island before.The only thing the bay lacked was good rocks to sit at, so Tony had to drag himself from the waves to the sand. He rested his head against the soft ground and closed his eyes, focusing on the prickling feeling of his tail turning into human legs.Legs, he snorted, made him feel so exposed.He sighed contently and focused on the sounds of the waves breaking and rolling on the sand, occasionally touching his feet. The stars were particularly dazzling, Tony noticed when he opened his eyes.He adored the sea scenery. Who wouldn’t: corals and animals mixing in a messy rainbow of the most unique colors; the vast blueness every way you looked; big and small creatures coexisting perfectly… Tony could go on forever, but even its most amazing features looked dull compared to the sky above him.It shined more than any pearl he’s ever seen, and the moon, gosh the moon. Where to even begin? Tony thrived under the moonlight, it made the blood in his veins buzz with excitement.Maybe that’s why he went to that bay. And why he started singing his heart away.Perhaps that was a bad idea, after all.-Steve shushed him as they made their way to their bay, but he only rolled his eyes. Bucky knew Steve was afraid they would end up scaring away whoever was singing, he felt the same, but he hoped the person wouldn’t be frightened, no matter how bulky they were.He’d put the first clothes he found around the floor before going straight to the door, heart beating with enthusiasm. Steve wasn’t far behind, Bucky was sharply aware of Steve’s flip-flops on the hardwood by his left, but he shook his head and made his way out of their house.Once his feet hit the sand he felt lighter. The sand was cold beneath his feet after he took his flip-flops off and stretched his toes through it. Steve nudged him on his arm and motioned them to continue silently, a move he learned on the war.The war.Bucky’s heartbeat accelerated, and it had nothing to do with the excitement from before. He snapped his eyes shut and tried to break free from the memories Steve motion had provoked from overwhelming him, while blindly searching for Steve with his hand.“Bucky! Buck, I’m here, I got you.” He heard Steve say somewhere nearby, right before he felt tentative touches on his right arm. “Breathe, babe, c’mon breathe for me, ok?”Bucky hadn’t realised he’d stopped breathing until he tried again, coming out shallow and fast. Steve was breathing next to him, steady and slow and Bucky forced himself to match it.With a shaky hand, Bucky grabbed the sleeve of Steve’s shirt and brought him closer to hide against his neck. Moments of the war were playing non-stop in his head and joining it, were the tatatata of guns coming from every side. They aren’t real. It’s over . The far away voice in his head sounded a lot like Steve’s.Steve. His grip hardened on the warm body around him.Suddenly the gunshots morphed into a softer melody, and the images started to bleed away from his mind, leaving it pleasantly blank. The noise, music, he realized, became stronger and took all Bucky’s tension from his body. He let out a long breath and dropped his head in Steve’s shoulder, relaxing completely.-“Buck, you sleeping?” Steve whispered to his lover when he dropped all his weight in his lap.Bucky mumbled something in response and started snoring softly. Steve sighed relieved, happy Bucky was fine and threaded a hand through his hair.Someone cleared their throat behind him and Steve instinctively held Bucky a little closer, looking up at the source of the noise.“Is… Is your friend ok? I couldn’t help but noticed, you guys seemed having a hard time.” the man said, walking closer to Steve with a worried expression on his face.“Yeah, we are fine now, thanks. Just have to take him home.” he nodded to the general direction of their house.“Do you need anything? I can help you carry him.” he said, and Steve nodded, pausing to take a real look at the man.He had brown hair that looked soft at touch, and brown, almost black, captivating eyes, which Steve found he could stare forever. He also noticed the man was almost entirely naked, not that Steve would complain, the man was a sight to be seen, tanned skin and strong physique. Steve shook his head and returned his focus to the present.“Where you swimming at this hour?” Steve pointed at the man’s wet shorts as they carefully lifted a sleepy Bucky together.“Uh, yep.” he laughed nervously, looking away momentarily.A thought crossed Steve’s mind.“Wait, were you the one singing just now?”“...Yes to that too.” he said more carefully.“Oh! That’s- that’s nice, your voice is beautiful.” he blushed, “We uh- were running around the area and uh- got distracted by your voice?” Steve winced internally, hoping the man would fall for his blatantly lies. Before the man could say anything at all, Steve continued, “I’m Steve, by the way. This is Bucky.” he nodded at Bucky.“I’m Tony.” he smiled and Steve couldn’t help but smile back, before Bucky shifted uncomfortably in their arms.“Let’s get him inside.”-“So,” Tony said once they got the dark haired man -Bucky, his mind provided- in the couch, “what really happened to him?”“Oh,” Steve went still before forcing himself to relax. Tony was about to take his question back when he continued, “sometimes, somethings reminds him of bad moments from the past, you know? He doesn’t react pretty well.” Tony watched as Steve squatted next to Bucky and removed locks of hair from Bucky’s face. “PTSD, as his therapist calls it.”Tony frowned. He didn’t know much about humans, he had guessed they weren’t so different from him. He will have to look up what therapist meant later on, though. However, he knew some things about bad memories, so he just let that go.“Excuse me for a second.” Steve said, getting up and leaving Tony to look after Bucky in the living room.-Bucky woke up to a hand in his hair. He let himself enjoy the feeling for a while before he opened his eyes and-Wait.He stiffened, never letting his eyes off the man in front of him, who still had his hand on his hair, oblivious to Bucky’s piercing gaze.Once the man catched on, he extracted his hand from Bucky’s hair -Bucky would never admit he missed it because this man’s fingers were soft and not as calloused as his or Steve’s- and smiled at him.“Your hair is long.” The man said and Bucky frowned.“Thanks…?”“I bet it looks wonderful underwater.” he added, looking at Bucky dreamy, which was kind of creepy, but he didn’t comment on it because Steve came in the room with a glass of water.“Who are you?” he asked instead, sitting up so Steve could sit next to him, and made grabby hand for the water.“I’m Tony, nice to meet you, Bucky.” the man said.“Tony was the one singing.” Steve explained while Bucky chugged the water down. “He helped me bring you home.”“Not gonna lie, you gave me quite a scare there, bud. Glad to see you awake.” Tony smiled relieved.Buck suddenly remembers the events leading him to this moment, the beach, the memories and the voice and feels better with the lighter topic.“You sing really well, Tony. I mean it. Your voice is so melodic we stopped everything we were doing to listen closely.” he chuckled while Tony looked away, embarrassed.“Yeah, well. Genetics.” He laughed bashfully. His gaze fell on the empty glass of water in Bucky’s hand and traced the droplets with his gaze before gulping absentmindedly.“Oh, sorry, I should have asked before- Do you want a glass of water too, Tony?” Steve asked and Bucky realized he wasn’t the only one paying close attention to the half naked man sitting on their rug.Tony blinked, as if breaking from a trance, and stood up “Ah, no need. But thanks.” he said and cleared his throat, looking around uncomfortably and sounding different from the carefree person Bucky’d met a few moments ago. “I should get going. It’s uh, late. And you two look tired.”Bucky could only nod. Now that Tony mentioned it, he could feel his conscious trying to tug him back to sleep, all the emotions from earlier taking its toll on him. Steve nodded, rousing from the sofa, and walked to the door with Tony right behind.Bucky sticked his head over the sofa and watched their goodbyes.“Do you come here often?” Steve asked once he opened the door.“Why, Steve, pick up lines stopped working on me since a long time ago.” he smirked and winked.He would have laughed at the way Steve reddened if he weren’t feeling his own cheeks burning. God , Tony was smooth. Cheesy, but smooth.“No, I mean it. For all the time we’ve been living here, we’ve never heard you singing before. Just got curious.” Steve said once he recomposed.Tony got a pensive look at his face, “It’s been a while since I last put my feet on this island, yes. I’m a, uh, traveler. But I always seem to come back.” he smiled, looking at the ground, “Maybe this island is special.” and added as an afterthought.“So we might see you around, then?” Bucky noticed hope glazing in his boyfriends eyes and couldn’t help but hold his breath, waiting for Tony’s answer.Tony looked at Bucky, expression contemplative, then turned his gaze to Steve. “I shouldn’t…”“C’mon, Tony!” he shouted from the couch, “Let us at least repay you from the help today.”Tony hesitates before sighing. “Just once, ok? At the bay, tomorrow evening.”Steve tried, but failed, to hold back a smile. “Ok, we will see you then.” and waved at Tony before closing the door. He turned to Bucky with a grin.“God, he is hot.” and Bucky agreed wholeheartedly.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The sun was already high in the sky when Steve woke up the next day. He yawned and scratched his stubble, trying to recall the events of the night before with a foggy mind.
Oh yeah.
The singing, the bay, Bucky, hot guy named Tony, a date today.
Steve sat up abruptly. He and Buck had a date with Hot Tony this evening. Oh my god. His heartbeat fastened with excitement and he couldn’t help but smile widely.
It’s right at that moment the smell of eggs and bacon hit his nose, making his stomach grumble as he moaned lewdly at the smell. He jumped off the bed and cleaned himself quickly in the bathroom, not wanting to wait another second before eating Bucky’s delicious food.
He hurried down the stairs and found Bucky with his back to the kitchen door, operating the frying pan with ease. Steve eyes caught the breakfast table and noticed two plates were already arranged with a pile of pancake each.
“I love you so much.” Steve breathed out contently and padded towards Bucky to hug him from behind.
Bucky, who haven’t turned when Steve made his presence known, smiled down at the eggs when Steve dropped kisses on his neck. “Good morning to you too, sleepyhead.”
Steve hummed appreciatively and laid his head on Bucky’s shoulder, swinging their bodies slightly. “What inspired you today for such a marvelous breakfast?”
“I think you know who did.”
“Oh? Does it have anything to do with that sexy guy from yesterday?”
“And what if there was?”
Steve smiled, “Then I would show you how much I appreciate your efforts.”
“So show me.” Bucky demanded, and Steve turned him around, carefully turning the stove off, and got to his knees.
“The pleasure is mine.” He tugged Bucky’s pajama shorts down and went to work.
When they came around, the pancakes and eggs were cold, but they ate it anyways.
-
It was around four in the afternoon when Bucky gave in to the eagerness which was coursing through his body and decided to do something about it. He had spent the afternoon lodging around Steve and trying to watch a movie, but he couldn’t sit still. He lost count of the times Steve had to ask him to stop jiggling his leg, even though Bucky never notice when he started again.
So he gave up trying to lay around and calm himself and decided to make some snacks for their beach outing.
By four thirty, he’d made three different types of sandwich, which resulted in maybe too much sandwich -but what if Tony is allergic to one of the fillings? It’s never bad to be overly prepared, plus, he knew the food wouldn’t go to waste: Steve’s and his appetite were almost bottomless- and poured fresh lemonade into three bottles. He placed all the food together with a blanket into a picnic basket and groaned when he looked at the clock.
“What’s wrong?” Steve asked cheerfully when he sauntered into the kitchen.
“Time is mocking me, Stevie.” he pouted, drawing out the “e”.
Steve chuckled, eyes moving from the picnic basket to Bucky’s sour expression. “Why don’t we go to the beach earlier, sweetheart? We can relax in the water before meeting Tony.”
“Sounds good.”
“Great. Go change and I will take care of the rest.” Steve assured and kissed Bucky on the lips before sending his boyfriend upstairs.
The bay was, as usual, empty when they arrived, so they chose a spot to lay their bearings and ran right into the water. Bucky dove head first into the crystal clear waves and was engulfed by chill water which relaxed his muscles.
“This. Is bliss.” he said, once he came back for air.
“I know.” Steve was floating right next to him and an wicked idea formed in his mind. “Bucky, why are you smiling like that?” Steve asked cautiously, already sensing Bucky was planning something. Damn Steve and his people reading abilities.
So instead of answering, Bucky splashed a considerate amount of water in Steve’s direction so fast, Steve didn’t have time to dodge. He screeched at the chilly water that hit his still dry belly and refuted right away, taking pride at the set of giggles that escaped Bucky.
“Not- fair, Stevie!” Bucky said between giggles and tried to defend himself, “You have twice the number of arms I have. Show me some mercy!”
“Never!” and Steve hauled forward.
Their water fight soon morphed into a wrestling which neither one of them wanted to lose. They calmed down later when Bucky won -though Steve disagreed calling out Bucky’s cheat- and were just appreciating the light breeze in their faces when on the corner of his eyes, Bucky noticed a dark spot emerging from the water not so far away from where they were. When he turned to take a proper look, it was already gone.
“Hey, Steve, let's go eat something, I’m hungry.” he said, still eyeing the water suspiciously. He hoped whatever popped up wasn’t a shark looking for food.
He knew logically that the shark was unlikely to attack them if it was hungry: sharks didn’t like humans, they only ate them when the number of fishes in the area was low, which, in the end, was humans fault, so who was it to blame. And the area they live in was filled with fishes for the shark to diner on, so it should be no problem. But it was better safe than sorry.
They sat on the blanket, sides touching as they devoured some of the sandwiches and observed the sky turning from blue to orange, and from orange to purple. When he finished his sandwich, he asked to Steve tie his hair, which he did carefully as always. Having only one arm didn’t cause him too much trouble, but still, some things were a struggle for him.
And that’s when they heard someone approaching on their right.
“I’m not interrupting, right?” Tony said, fidgeting in place, once Bucky and Steve turned to face him.
“No, of course you aren’t.” Steve said, smiling, “Come sit with us. I’m just finishing his hair.”
Bucky grinned at Tony and shifted closer to Steve so Tony could sit next to him.
“Do you want a sandwich?” Bucky said after Steve finished with his hair.
“Oh no, thank you, I already ate… although…” Tony sniffed the air, “Is that tuna I’m smelling?”
“Yup.” Steve supplied from behind Bucky, “You like it?”
Tony nodded, biting his lips and Bucky chuckled.
“You can take one if you like, they are for you too.” He glanced sideways at Bucky before grabbing one of the tuna sandwiches and taking a bite. Steve and Bucky looked at him expectantly as he chewed on the fish before swallowing and frowning.
“Uh, is there something wrong with the sandwich?” Bucky asked, not being able to hide the nervousness out of his voice.
“Hm?” Tony glanced up confused before Bucky’s words seemed to sink in, “Oh, no. This is really good, Bucky, thank you. It’s just… different from how I normally eat, you know?”
“Oh, I see.” Bucky relaxed visibly against Steve, “And how is it that you normally eat?”
“Without, uh, seasoning? Only salt. I’m a simple man, that’s me.” Steve chuckled behind Bucky.
“Someone who’s never had tuna sandwich doesn’t sound simple to me, Tony.”
“W-well Steve, if you must know, it’s not common from where I come from.” he blushed, “But what about you? You guys don’t seem to be from around here.”
“Nope, we are from New York.” Bucky answered, letting Tony change the subject without much fuss.
“Hm, and where is that?” Tony tilted his head.
“The United States?”
Tony frowned.
“Do you know where the States are?” Steve mused.
Tony shaked his head, “Is it somewhere near here? Another island?”
Bucky blinked at their oblivious friend, “You know, from someone who says travels a lot, you’ve been missing big time.”
Tony scoffed, brows furrowing once again, and mumbled something about how he bet this United States wasn’t even much of a deal.
Bucky felt Steve shrug and grab another piece of bread.
“But really though, we come from far away north. It’s colder, darker, lots of people and buildings… I don’t think you would like it. I mean, you look like someone who enjoys the nature way more than the cities.”
Tony smirked, “Oh? What gave it away?”
Steve raised one of his eyebrows and looked Tony up and down and Tony blushed.
“Yeah, ok, you got me. I prefer staying close to the sea.”
“Hm, I can see that.” Bucky leered at Tony’s naked torso with a smirk of his own.
“Let’s just say I prefer a life of nudity for most days.” Tony sat back on his hands, in an open posture.
“We would very much like to see you on one of those days.” Steve winked and gave Tony a seductive smile. One would never believe, after just meeting Steve, how flirtatious the man was, but who was Bucky to complain.
Tony bursted into a genuinely laugher and changed topics once he recovered, pointedly ignoring the comment.
The rest of the night was just as exhilarating as its start. They kept on talking until Bucky yawned in the middle of a deep conversation.
“Sorry, guys.” he said when two sets of eyes laid on him, “Woke up early this morning.”
He shook his head awake and frowned, trying to maintain focus on their conversation until Tony snickered softly.
“Bucks, you’re cute when tired, but I think you need to sleep.”
He shook his head again, this time in denial, “No, don’ wanna go.”
Steve, who was eyeing him worriedly, softened his expression and smiled down at him.
“I think he doesn’t want to go because that means he will never see you again, Tony.”
“Oh,” Tony looked taken aback, “Maybe, uh, maybe we can meet again, after all. I- I would like that.” he said, eyeing the sand.
Bucky eye’s shone at the notion.
“We would also like that. Very much.” Steve said, his smile not wavering even a little.
Tony smiled back and sat up.
“Right, so I will go now. See you next time?”
“Yes. We will be here, Tony, goodnight.” Steve reassured their friend.
Tony nodded and with a wave of his hand, he walked towards the small forest which marked off the end of the bay.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“C’mon, Tones! Join us.” Steve threw his shirt away and wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulders to guide him towards Bucky.
“Uh, no thanks.” he managed to say, even if a little strangled.
Steve stopped abruptly and looked at his friend’s eyes.
“What’s the matter?” he sounded worried. God, Tony hated when he made Steve worry.
“I’m just not feeling like going in today.” Tony averted his eyes so Steve couldn’t catch his lie.
“That’s what you’ve been telling us since
ever
, Tony. And don’t try telling me you don’t swim, ‘cause I remember seeing you all wet on our first meeting.” Steve rolled his eyes when Tony frowned. “C’mon, it will be fun. I promise the water is not that cold.”
Tony sighed and stayed quiet for awhile, watching as Bucky dove in the water and emerged looking refreshed. What Tony wouldn’t give to be there too. He sighed once more and turned to Steve.
“Alright, I’ll go in.” and Steve beamed happily at him. They entered the sea and Tony walked with Steve till the water hit his knee and then he came to a halt. “But, I’ll stay here where is shallow.”
Steve mock pouted at Tony, but he still had a content glint in his eyes as he nodded. He left Tony and swam towards Bucky for a water fight. Tony smiled warmly at the sight and breathed shakely once he knew they weren’t paying attention to him. The sky was grey today, he noticed, maybe it was going rain soon.
If they found out he was a merman it would be over. Not only would he lose the bay (one of his favorite spots) but also his new friends. Although… Tony may like them a little bit more than only friends. He shook his head. Indulging those feelings were useless since a) they were humans in a solid relationship; b) the chances of them liking Tony back were next to zero.
Leaving those feelings aside, he would really be devastated if he lost their friendship.
After that night in the beach eating sandwiches two months ago, Tony gave up trying to distance himself from them. They were sweet and funny and, frankly, Tony needed someone in his life who didn’t know who he was.
His father was the beloved -Tony laughed every time someone called him that- chief of their clan, which made Tony kind of important. It’s been two years since he last showed his face around his clan and he never felt happier. Pepper and Rhodey would keep him updated every once in a while so he didn’t lose all ties, but aside from those meetings with his friends, he spent a great part of his time alone.
Not that it bothered him, he was used to being alone, anyways. Plus, DUMM-E, his fish, never stops pestering him, so that had to count for something, right?
That’s why he couldn’t bear the thought of losing his new friends. Speaking off…
Tony came back to reality when he noticed a change of vibrations from the air, and he realized Bucky and Steve were steadily coming his way, Bucky biting back a smile while Steve gave up on that and smiled fully at Tony.
Oh no.
“Guys. What do you plan on doing.” He tensed and took a step back. He hoped they weren’t planning on doing what he
thought
they were planning, because
that
would end poorly.
Bucky grabbed him from behind (when did he get there?) and carried him bridelike style to the deeper waters, pass the small waves from the,
oh so safe,
seashore and dropped him.
Tony went down with an embarrassing high pitched scream.
-
The smile from Steve’s face dropped when he took one glance at Tony’s expression of pure horror once he emerged from the waters.
And… it wasn’t just that, he frowned, taking a closer look at Tony’s face. Some details were off. His eyes were slightly more pigmented, his teeth sharper and, were those gills on his neck?
Tony let out an inhuman screech and started backing away.
“Tony… what?” Bucky said, sounding just as confused as Steve felt.
Tony shook his head and turned away, diving into the water. The last thing they saw was a red giant tail flapping water against them.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“What just happened?” Bucky asked, with bewilderment written on his face.
“I don’t know Buck but whatever that was, it was Tony.”
“Oh my God, his face, Steve! He was so scared. Oh God, what have we done.” he felt his heart pumping faster and his breath becoming shallow. He was going to have another panic attack and-
“Bucky, stay with me, breath.” he followed Steve’s calmer voice and matched his breath with some struggle.
A few minutes later, he could breath on his own again and felt a whole lot better, aside from the sour taste in his mouth.
“We have to go after him, Steve. Right now.” his voice was raspy but that didn’t matter. Finding Tony was their top priority.
“Bucky, look at me, look at my face, that’s it.” Bucky turned to look at his boyfriend’s blue pained eyes. He itched to chase that pain away, but stilled himself before doing so. They had to find Tony first. “I want to search for him too, but I don’t think you are fit to search right now.”
Bucky saw red. “Are you kidding me!? Steve, Tony just ran away looking panicked and you are worried about my condition?” he barked.
“Please, Bucky, listen to me. We have to calm down and think about our next move.”
“This isn’t the army, Steve! There’s no enemy we have to destroy. There’s only finding
Tony
!” he flinched internally at his own remark. He knew he went low mentioning the army like that.
When he looked at Steve again, he was red on the face and when he spoke, he raised his voice. “I’m just saying going inside and
thinking
for
once
might be a good idea. What good will it be if we both go searching for him right now? He’s probably hiding -and if he know these waters, we won’t find him.”
Their discussion was cut short when the first few drops of rain fell around them, making Bucky abruptly remember they were still in the sea. Steve closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
“Let’s just get inside, Bucky, please.” he said, sounding resigned.
Once inside, Bucky laid their stuff on top of the kitchen table while Steve went silently to the shower.
Bucky felt bad about fighting with Steve, he always did. But they both needed to cool their heads right now, and, though it pained him to admit, Steve was right, they needed start thinking about what to do next.
So he grabbed his computer and went upstairs to sit on the floor next to their bed. He started his search.
“Do you think Tony is a merman, Steve?” he asked once Steve came out of the bathroom, still a little damp from the shower. He didn’t look up to meet Steve’s eyes, he still couldn’t face him.
“Is, uh, is that possible?” he sat next to him, some centimeters apart, Bucky noticed, as though he didn’t know where they stood.
His mute question was answered when Bucky scooched closer and placed his head on Steve’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry I screamed at you.” his voice was almost imperceptible, he didn’t know if Steve heard him.
“I’m sorry too, sweetheart. I know you are just worried.” Steve kissed the top of his head and relaxed, if only a little, “So. You were saying Tony’s a merman?”
Bucky told Steve his theory and honestly, comparing it to Tony’s behavior from previous encounters, it made complete sense, so it was more of a reality than a theory.
Once they finished discussing, they grabbed something to eat in the kitchen and Bucky couldn’t help but notice through the kitchen window how the rain had become heavier. A chill ran down his spine. He hoped Tony was ok.
No, scratch that.
He had to do something about it.
-
That night, Steve woke up to an empty bed.
“Buck?” he asked, still groggy from sleep.
He frowned when he got no answer. Steve pushed back the fear rising from his chest and tried telling himself that Bucky got up for a late night snack.
Except Bucky wasn’t in the kitchen, nor anywhere in the house. He recoiled when a thunder roared outside making the house tremble at its wake.
Bucky was gone. He left to find Tony. In the middle of a thunderstorm.
If he wasn’t so afraid he would be angry at Bucky for putting his life at risk like that.
Steve left their house in a haste, worried sick while trying to press down the bile rising from his stomach. The rain hit him hard once he got outside, but he didn’t let it distract him from his main task. Yet, he couldn’t see more than five meters in front of him. He grunted exasperated.
Relief washed over him when he spotted two figures on the sand, one lying down while the other seemed to fuss over them.
Bucky and Tony
. It could only be them.
“Tony! Bucky!” he screamed over the rain and for a brief moment he thought they didn’t hear him until the person kneeling down shoot their head up.
“Steve!” Tony screamed back and
oh god
Tony was there and he had Bucky. Steve could cry at that moment.
“What happened?” he asked, kneeling down on Bucky’s other side.
“This
fool
decided to swim in the middle of the storm, and guess what? Almost drowned when a powerful wave… if I wasn’t there-- Steve, if I wasn’t-” he broke down into sobs.
Steve placed a trembling hand on Tony’s shoulder and tried to sound unruffled when he said, “But you
were
there, and that’s what matters. You and Bucky are here and safe.”
Tony frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Bucky interrupted by coughing water out of his lungs. They helped him sit up and Steve almost flinched at the cold of Bucky’s skin. He placed a warm hand on Bucky’s back and waited until he stopped coughing.
“Steve, I’m sorry.” his voice was so weak Steve legs almost gave out.
“Hey, it’s ok, sweetheart.” he hugged him, letting Bucky hide his face between his neck while he shaked. His eyes met with Tony’s, who looked uncomfortably like he was about to bolt from this intimate moment at any second, but before he could, Steve held one of his arms open and Tony stumbled right into it, hugging Steve back with only a little hesitation.
-
“M’fine, Steve.” Bucky gently batted Steve’s hand away from his forehead and snuggled in his fuzzy blanket, watching contentedly as Steve’s worried expression migrated from him to Tony. He always worried too much for the people he cared about.
“I’m gonna make some tea for us. You both need it.” and so, Steve marched determined to the kitchen. Bucky couldn’t help but let a laugh escape his lips at Steve’s withdrawing form. He felt Tony fidgeting next to him and when Bucky turned to look at him, he averted his gaze.
“You’re awfully quiet tonight, did’ya know that?” Bucky said, his voice still hoarse from all the shouting, coughing and crying. Gosh, that had really been a stupid idea.
Tony shrugged but said nothing, finding a piece of loose fabric to play with.
“We thought we were gonna lose you, Tony.” that got Tony to shoot his head up.
“What?” his eyes were wide with disbelief. Their conversation broke when Steve walked back from the kitchen with three steaming hot mugs. The small smile in his face was a huge contrast from his still red rimmed eyes.
“So,” he started, when they all got their respective mugs, -and bless Steve, this was exactly what Bucky needed right now- and sat on the ground in front of them. “I think we should talk.”
Bucky felt Tony tense next to him, so he slided affectionately on the sofa until his shoulder was touching Tony’s.
“Ok.” Tony breathed out.
“You’re a merman.” Bucky said, affirming instead of asking, and it definitely got Tony off guard.
“Uh… I mean, y-yes? How- How you know that?”
“Internet” Bucky simply said.
“Internet?”
“We can talk about that later, now focus.” Steve interjected. He locked eyes with Tony, “Is that why you ran away from us? Because you are a merman?”
Tony nodded once. “I didn’t think you would want to see me again after finding out.” he admitted, “Plus, my people don’t usually interact with humans.”
“Tony, doll, we don’t care about that.” Bucky frowned. Did he really think they would care about that? “True, we got a little confused, yes. But you could be a talking stone and we would still want you.”
“
Want
me?” Tony got that same expression of disbelief from before.
“Oh, yeah…” Steve blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s something we’ve been wanting to discuss with you for a long time now. But it can wait for later, ok? We just want you to know we want you around, Tony.”
“You scared us bad earlier when you disappeared.” Bucky shuddered, remembering that moment.
Tony was the one to blush this time. He hunched into himself and said, with the smallest of voices, “I’m sorry for disappearing like that.”
“No no, wait,” Bucky faced him, expression turning serious, “
we
are sorry for forcing you into the water when you clearly didn't want to. It was a stupid gag and we should have respected your wishes, and for that, we are truly really sorry.” Steve nodded in agreement.
Tony was stunned into silence as his eyes filled with tears. He closed them and breathed deeply, but, Bucky noticed, his expression wasn’t that of sadness, no, Tony looked calm, at peace.
“Thank you. I didn’t know I needed to hear that.”
“Anything for you, honey.” Steve placed a hand to Tony’s faux thigh and squeezed.
Tony smiled and reclined back, looking more relaxed than Bucky’d ever seen him.
“I guess that’s all we have for tonight.” Steve said, eyeing Tony nervously. “And uh, Tony, would you like to spend the night here? Or do you have to stay on water?”
Tony blushed again, “Are you asking me to-”
“No! No,” Steve corrected himself, then mumbling quietly added, “not tonight, anyway.”
Bucky huffed a laugh, “What Stevie here is trying to say is that he doesn’t want you out of his sight right now, and frankly, neither do I. It would be great if you spent the night -our bed is huge-, but we understand if you can’t.”
Tony was silent for a moment, still blushing, but with a pensive look on his face.
“I never tried to stay in human form for more than a few hours, but I think I can manage,” he frowned, “maybe if I have some water nearby.”
Steve face lit up and he stood up energetically, “Let’s get going then! Bucky, go take a shower, sweetheart, I don’t want you getting sick, please.”
Bucky rolled his eyes foundly at Steve’s worries -as if he wasn’t as wet as himself- but got up and went to the shower, not before turning and saying, “When I get out, I hope you two will already be in bed.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Good morning, honey” Steve moved in bed still drowsy and pressed a kiss against Tony’s lips.
Tony freezed, eyes becoming as pig as dinner plates.
“Uhh, I think you’re kissing the wrong person here, bud.” Tony said once he remembered how to speak. His face reddened with the close proximity while his mind was still processing what’d just happened.
Steve kissed him, clearly by mistake, because who he really wanted to kiss was Bucky, his boyfriend. But Tony couldn’t brush off the soft feeling of Steve’s lips against his, just as soft as he’d imagined.
“Tony?” Steve opened his eyes experimentally and focused them on Tony’s probably-wrinkled-with-sleep face.
“That’s me.”
“I didn’t get it wrong then.” Steve shrugged and kissed Tony again.
Yet this time Tony let out an indignant sound and pushed Steve back.
“What’s the matter?” Steve frowned. “Can’t I kiss you?”
“And why would you want that?”
“Because I like you?”
“What about Bucky?”
“What about me?” Bucky asked from behind him, sneaking his arm over his hips and bringing Tony closer to him.
“Uh, hi. Your boyfriend just kissed me.” Tony tried to stay as calm as he could, sandwiched between both his crushes, one who was holding him by the hips and the other who just kissed him. Twice.
Maybe this was just a sick dream. Gosh, he was getting dizzy.
“I know, I saw it. It was beautiful.” Bucky said against Tony’s ear, “Steve, babe, do that again.”
But before Steve could kiss him, Tony turned his head the other way.
“I don’t think I understand what’s going on here.”
Bucky kissed Tony’s neck, “Tony, doll, we like you. As if in like
like
you. We wanna kiss you and cuddle you and spend our days with you. And, uh, we had the feeling you felt the same way? We might have imagined that stuff, so you gotta tell us.”
His brain short circuited the moment Bucky’s words sank in. They liked him? Back? Oh sweet, now he was glad this wasn’t a dream. His mind rebooted just in time Bucky was extracting his hands from his hips.
Oh shit, he hadn’t said anything in return.
“No,” he said, placing the hand back in place, “I mean, yes, I want you guys, so much. I guess I never thought you would want me back. Especially now you know what I am.” he shrugged, not looking at either of them.
“Honey, I don’t know if we made ourselves clear yesterday,” Steve started, propping up on his elbows, sobering up, “but we want you for who you are, either human or merman.”
When Tony just gave them a blank look, Bucky rolled his eyes and smirked.
“I guess we will have to show you just how much we want you.”
He kissed Tony with all he got, which was a lot, Tony discovered, not that he minded.
He opened his mouth and let Bucky explore.
-
They eventually managed to get out of bed to grab some lunch, much to Bucky’s displeasure. Making out with Tony and Steve, he found out, was one of the two things he loved doing the most. First being sex with them, not that they managed to have it that morning, but if anything could top kissing them, would be sex.
They ate calmly in the kitchen and later went to the bay, Tony guiding them.
“Are you sure you wanna do this, doll? You know you don’t have to if you don’t wanna.”
“No, it’s fine, I- I want to show you.” Tony took a deep breath and walked into the water until it hit his waist, “Just stay where you are for a sec. Oh, and, while I’m in merman form, don’t freak out if I don’t answer back with words, ok? I physically can’t.”
They nodded -even though Bucky had a million questions- and watched as Tony dove into the waters gracefully and were caught off guard when he reappeared right right in front of them with a hesitant smile.
Bucky and Steve were sitting on the ground, right where the waves faded into the sand. Tony had hauled himself by his hands and stopped right in front of them.
Bucky took in the changes in his face again, the gills, the teeth. His eyes traveled through his body, catching at all the other differences he hadn’t have time to acknowledge before until he got to the tail.
They’d seen it before, but now, having more time to observe the details, Bucky’s jaw went slack. The tail was a beautiful shade of scarlet, and when Tony shifted, it reflected golden light.
“Tony, you are so beautiful,” Steve said. And he was, breathtakingly so.
“Can I touch it?” Bucky asked, eyes locked with Tony’s in case he reacted poorly. Tony nodded, eyes glowing bright by Bucky and Steve’s interested reaction, which made Bucky realize Tony might have expected a worse feedback from them, and that made something inside Bucky churn badly.
He placed a careful hand over the tail’s side and stroked it, feeling it smooth against his palm. He stroked the other way but found it more difficult, what with the scales going up in disarray. Tony closed his eyes as Steve’s hand joined Bucky’s into fondling with his tail, face growing pink, Bucky noticed. Suddenly, Bucky had the urge to keep on touching Tony anywhere he could.
An almost mute gasp left Tony’s mouth when Steve’s hand got too close to where-would-be his human crotch. The pink in Tony’s face now was traveling lower in his neck as he squeezed his eyes harder, shifting uncomfortably. Tony hid his face against his arm but did nothing to stop their curious fingers.
They kept caressing him, fuelled by Tony’s small whimpers, until Bucky noticed a shy flushed figure sticking out of Tony’s crotch. His cock, Bucky’s mind provided, and his own cock twitched excitedly.
“Can we touch it?” Bucky hadn’t realized his voice had gone hoarse, but by the way Steve shivered and Tony whimpered, no one was complaining.
Tony nodded before Bucky set his fingertips over its wet surface, encouraging the cock to appear in its full length. As Bucky outlined its shape with delicate fingers, all the while taking pleasure of Tony’s little moans, Steve held its base firmly and Tony reacted by letting out a scream and rocking his hips forward.
“Gosh, Tones, you are so fucking hot. I might come in my pants.” Bucky said, and it was true, Bucky didn’t think he could hold much longer, not with Tony moaning and whimpering for them.
He bent down and captured Tony’s lips with his, his tongue doing a quick work at opening Tony’s mouth and letting him drink all the lewd sounds he let out.
A few more strokes from their entwined hands and Tony was coming. He moaned loudly, thrusting one last time before going limp on the sand.
Tony let a strangled noise, a little breathless, chest rising and falling in an addictive rhythm after he came down from his high.
“I’m glad you liked, Hon’.” Steve said while resting his head on Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky looked down, eyes catching the bulge in Steve’s pants, much like his own.
Tony seemed to notice it too, because next thing he’s doing was moving closer, inquisitive look in his face and pointing to their erection.
“No, doll, we are fine for now.” Bucky said at the same time Steve shook his head with a smile.
“Don’t worry about it, Tones, we can do more later. We’ve got a great deal of time for that.” Steve added, taking one of Tony hands in his.
-
That evening over an orange sunset, Tony abruptly sat up, extracting himself from Steve’s arms. Steve looked up with sleepy eyes and watched as Tony opened and closed his mouth as though he only remembered last minute that they wouldn’t understand him. He wrote, then, a quick note on the sand and, with a kiss on both him and Bucky, who was still sleeping, left for the water.
Before the water could wash the message away, Steve read, “I had an idea, be back in a bit.”
‘In a bit’ ended up being two weeks before they saw their boyfriend again. Steve knew he would come back, but it didn’t stop him from feeling anxious about the whole ordeal, mainly because he left with almost no warning.
So when Tony did come back with a knock at their door, they both jumped out of the couch to see their boyfriend.
“Sorry it took so long,” he said once Bucky and Steve let him go from a specially strong hug, “but I have a present for both of you. Come with me.”
They followed him down to their bay and slipped into the water with Tony, who had already transformed back into his merman form. He dove into the water and reemerged holding a bracelet, arms stretched for Steve to take it. It was made from a type of stone he didn’t recognize, a shiny dark amber one, with intricate designs all over its body.
Steve took the bracelet from Tony with a smile and put it on.
Suddenly the world around him changed. Not completely, but some details were different, like the colors were sharper and his hearing improved, for instance, not enough to cause any dizziness, though.
He was looking back at Tony’s expectant face after letting the new sounds and colors pass through him, when it hit him.
“Is this how you see the world?” he asked, surprising himself when he spoke a language he didn’t know priorly.
Tony smile was radiant as he answered in that same language, “Yes, and now you do too.”
Still a little awed with everything, he turned to Bucky and said in english, “Bucks, you gotta try this.” But before he could take off the bracelet, Tony grabbed his wrist.
“Don’t. I have something else for Bucky in mind, just a sec.” and with that, he dove again and emerged with what could only be an arm made of the same material as Steve’s bracelet, with the same polish shine and designs.
Bucky’s mouth fell open as Tony offered him the arm.
“Tony… you didn’t have to.” he blurted, eyes still glued on the arm.
Tony shrugged nonchalante, but still offered Bucky the object, visibly nervous yet determined.
He took the arm with a shaky hand and examined the details with quashed excitement.
“It’s beautiful, thank you.” He breathed out, not being able to speak any louder, and Steve’s heart clenched with love.
Tony smiled freely this time and helped Bucky set the arm into place and, just like magic, it attached to his body. The silence dragged itself as Bucky observed the changes happening around him, but soon it broke when he snapped back his attention to the arm. With eyes glazing hopefully, he closed his hand in a fist successfully and almost collapsed on his knees if Steve wasn’t there to hold him still.
“Oh, God, Tony, Shit. I love you so much.” Bucky said, not in english, but in the same language they spoke earlier. A tear fell from his eyes and he smiled wobbly at Tony, who was smiling back.
“I- I love you too, both of you.” he coughed, blushing, “And, uh, I’m glad you liked it. Took me weeks to perfect it.”
“You made this?” Steve asked incredulously.
“Yeah, I’m kind of an artisan?” the blush on his cheeks deepened, but his grin got more wicked, “The greatest in the area, and, dare I say, the world. At your service.”
“Oh, Bucks, we fell in love with a cocky merman.”
Bucky rolled his eyes good naturally, “Oh, no, Stevie, what a horrible thing.”
Steve laughed loudly and Bucky joined him right after, too happy not to.
“Ok, enough joking around, guys, I haven’t shown you the best part yet.” Tony dove back in the water, beckoning them to follow.
Steve held his breath and submerged.
“Breathe.” Tony said, once Bucky had dived too.
Steve blinked his eyes open, taking a moment to notice how perfect his vision had become underwater, and did what he was told to, trusting Tony.
He left out a gasp the moment his lungs weren’t filled with water once he breathed.
“Tony, you never cease to amaze us.” Bucky said, looking at Tony with longing.
He shrugged, “What can I do, it’s just who I am.”
“And how we love you for that.”
Steve took Tony’s hand, bringing him closer and kissed him like there was no tomorrow.