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The mission had been relatively uneventful until now, which was surprising. The Avengers had shown up on the scene to find that the supposed threat wasn't one, and the town wasn't being menaced by mutant anteaters the size of busses. Bucky has been pretty relieved that that was the case.Not that he wouldn't have helped take out whatever was causing trouble, but he didn't particularly like killing animals that didn't know any better and were only following their instincts. The whole affair had been entirely anticlimactic, really.The massive sinkhole on the outskirts of town had been the only strange thing about the day. Geologically, it made no sense that it was there, as JARVIS had informed them via Tony. Sinkholes only formed in regions where the bedrock, such as it was, was mostly composed of limestone. Like Florida.But they were in North Dakota in the wilds of bumfuck nowhere. North Dakota was not the kind of place where sinkholes formed naturally.“Hawkeye?” Steve asked, “Can you see what's down there?”“Not from here.” Clint responded.Tony put in, “My scans don't show much either. Whatever's down there, it's probably shielded.”Natasha put in, “So who gets to go down the hole?”Bruce made a sound that might have qualified as a laugh if you squinted and looked at it through a microscope. “I think I'll pass.”Thor looked more thoughtful than Bucky thought the situation warranted but said nothing. “Guess I can do it,” he said. “Just have someone ready to come haul me out.”Steve made that face he used when he thought Bucky was taking too many risks but had no way to object that would be taken seriously.Bucky thought it made him look constipated. “I'm durable enough to play scout and recover from almost anything, and good enough to go unseen if I have to. The rest of you besides the Widow are unenhanced or unsubtle. Most of you are both,” he added, just to see Steve's face twist with the need to object. Overly protective asshole.“Fine,” Steve gritted out after a few seconds, “but you better stay in comms contact.”Bucky grinned at him and holstered his pistol. “Sure. Gonna give me a lift to the middle of the sinkhole, Iron Man?”“That's a ten meter drop,” Tony protested. “Not an issue, as long as there aren't obstructions.”Clint muttered something about overconfidence and super soldiers that made Natasha huff at him. Thor simply clapped a hand to Bucky's shoulder with enough force to make him stagger and said, “If you should find yourself in need of our aid, my friend, we will be but a moment away.”Bruce chimed in with, “Don't make me stitch you back up again, Barnes. I'm not that kind of doctor.”Tony said nothing but stepped up beside him and offered his arm, as though inviting Bucky to a dance, and wasn't that a thought. He'd happily have accepted, or offered if he thought Tony might be amenable, but now was not the time to consider that. Or his unrequited crush on Steve that simply refused to disappear.Taking the offered arm, Bucky allowed Tony to pull him close and send them into the air to hover just over the center of the sinkhole. “Drop is about ten meters, and there's what looks like a small tunnel leading off southwest. Possible heat signature about five meters along it, but I can't confirm, due to all the rock in the way.”“Roger that. I'll be right back,” Bucky acknowledged the information. “Ready for drop.”They'd done this before, but Tony still hesitated. “Something about this feels off,” he said. “Be careful.”And then Bucky was falling. He landed hard but solidly, the impact of his boots and left arm with the rock beneath him echoing through the space.So much for subtle, he thought to himself, a little ruefully. If there was anyone or anything down here, they knew he was around.And it was dark. Even his enhanced eyesight couldn't resolve much of what lay down the tunnel Tony had told him about. The rest of the space was dimly lit by the sunlight filtering down from above, thought that was slowly fading as the sun approached the horizon. “Not much to see yet,” he reported. “Gonna check out that tunnel.”Steve's voice was tight as he replied, “Copy that.”Tony was still hovering over the sinkhole entrance. “Keep your pants on, Cap,” he interjected. “I've still got eyes on him. He's fine. You'll have your bestie back soon.”Bucky kept his amusement to himself and moved carefully toward the tunnel. It was fairly sizable, at an estimated four meters in diameter. And there was a pair of eyes watching him. Bucky hesitated, not sure whether to approach whatever it was, but it was like his legs hadn't gotten that memo. Even stranger, he thought he heard it ask, who are you? in a voice that echoed but went unheard.
... Bucky? What is a Bucky?
Was it reading his mind?
you are uneasy. i will not harm you.
“What do you want?” He asked it, keeping his voice low.“Who are you talking to?” Tony butted in, and Bucky knew Steve would be listening intently, too. “Is someone down there?”The creature in front of him seemed to uncoil, then, and Bucky swallowed. Was that... Jesus. Was that a dragon?Lizard-like scales, intelligent slit pupiled eyes, and a pair of membranous wings. Yup. Sure sounded like a dragon. my kind have lived long on this world, it said, but we are a dying breed. the warm underground spaces, heated by the fires underground, diminish with each century, and we cannot continue like this.Well, okay, and how was he supposed to fix that?“Soldier?” Nat called out to him. “Respond.”“I'm fine,” he answered absently, most of his attention on the dragon seeming to uncoil some more and rise out of the depths of the darkness to loom over him. there is nothing you can do to fix the loss of our ancestral homes, it told him, sounding mournful. so i must beseech you, take these with you and guard them with your life. take them with you and protect my children.What.A foreleg he hadn't seen before that moment reached down into the dark beneath the dragon’s body and pulled out a round object that looked like someone had painted a space photograph on it. Swirls of bright color and slashes of total darkness chased each other around its surface like clouds in the wind. It was gorgeous and smaller than he'd expected, and Bucky found himself reaching out to take it without any further thought to how he would take care of the thing, what it would need, and how the team would react. Wait. It had said children. How many were there?The object in his hand -- presumably an egg -- was almost warm to the touch, even through the palm of his glove, and the surface felt like stone smoothed by water and friction. It filled his hand, about the size and shape of one of his favoured frag grenades, and he swallowed hard. He was the goddamn Winter Soldier and probably the worst possible candidate to care for a bunch of dragon eggs. Hell, he could barely take care of himself, most days.no. i have seen you, the dragon told him, and he jumped. your mind is dark and clouded by pain, but deep underneath you fight to regain the light and kindness of your youth. you will make a good guide and caretaker for my young.The statement, calm and factual, very nearly brought him to tears, and Bucky marveled at that. How long had it been since he'd felt that kind of relief?
you have been treated badly, and i would do what I can to ease that, if you will allow me.
Bucky just nodded. He just knew that if he tried to speak, right now, Steve would come running, drawn by the emotion in his voice, and probably try to attack the dragon. That kind of interruption wasn't going to endear his best friend to this creature.He got the impression of laughter. your friend is another caring courageous soul. hold to him tightly, for you will never again meet his match.Not sure how to interpret that, Bucky nodded again and swallowed hard, and then the world went... weird. It was like everything skewed sideways for about a minute and then snapped back into place.Bucky couldn't stop the strangled gasp from escaping him as his eyes shut and he staggered to lean hard against the wall of the tunnel, making Steve and Tony both demand to know what was going on.
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By the time the dizziness faded enough for him to orient himself properly, the dragon was gone as though it had never been there and all he had to show for the experience by way of proof was a small cluster of what might very well simply be very pretty rocks.“Stop freaking out,” he said into the comm. “I'm still fine. But you might want to avoid this tunnel. I'm not sure what just happened, but there might be some source of hallucinogenic compounds in here.”“What the actual fuck?” Tony responded. “Why didn't you say something sooner?”“Yeah yeah, everyone’s a critic,” Bucky grumbled back, gathering up the pile of pretty rocks with a shrug. “Just come give me a lift back out of here. I'm bringing out what I found.”There were six of the small rocks -- he still hesitated to call them eggs -- and he carefully arranged them in the pouches on his belt that he usually kept his grenades in. The grenades he tossed up to Steve once he was in a position to do so, watching as Tony slowly descended the ten meters to get to him. As Tony grabbed onto his harness firmly and sent them shooting back up into open air, he asked, “So just what did you find in there? And why did you mention hallucinations?”Bucky shrugged as best he could. “Well, I think I met a dragon and it handed me a batch of eggs to raise, but that'd be a bit too weird even for an Avengers mission.”They landed gently on the grass near the rest of the team, who watched them avidly.Thor rushed over to them. “You met one of the Great Serpents?” He demanded. “What did it say?”Feeling oddly reassured by Thor’s reaction, Bucky answered. “That they were running out of places to live here and that it wanted me to take care of these,” he said and pulled one of the brightly colored eggs -- it was undeniable now that Thor had corroborated the story without even hearing it -- out of the pouch on his belt.Thor gaped at him. “That is a high honor, friend Barnes. May it bring you the happiness you deserve.”“But I don't have a goddamn clue how to do this!” Bucky protested.Thor chuckled at him. “No new parent is ever prepared for what they undertake, but fear not. We will assist as we can.”Realisation hit, then, and Bucky couldn't help the strong wash of trepidation that hit him. “How the hell am I gonna feed six of them? What do they even eat? Oh my God. Why did I agree to this?”Thor stared at him for a beat, then grinned. “You are a resourceful man,” he said confidently, “and you have a team that will stand at your back. Come. We should return to New York, now that this mystery has been solved.”Bucky groaned. What was his life coming to?Steve's arm went around his shoulders. “C’mon Buck,” he said with an amused smirk of his own. Taking pleasure in Bucky's despair, the asshole. “Cheer up. You always wanted a big family.”Tony made a strangled sound. “There are far easier ways to achieve that sort of goal than this, Rogers.”Bucky put the egg he was holding back in his belt pouch and decided to sincerely hope that the dragon hadn't been kidding when it had said it would help him with the lingering effects of his time with HYDRA. Whatever it had done, he didn't feel any different right now, but if he was gonna have to spend sleepless nights caring for six flying lizards, he would need all the extra energy he could save by not having the regularly scheduled nightmares.As if in response, he thought he felt one of the eggs shift. God. He would have six babies in his head constantly, if he went through with this. Not that he had a lot of choice in the matter, now that he'd already said he'd do it.He was doomed.With that thought seemingly echoing in his head, he made up his mind to do something else stupid. He'd already jumped into a sinkhole with no intel about what was lurking inside it, and agreed to care for a half dozen dragons with no clue what that would entail. Might as well go all in and make another insane decision, so long as he was on a winning streak. As the rest of the team filed into the quinjet for the flight back to Stark Tower, Bucky got Steve's attention and Tony's. Once the others were out of sight -- he wasn't going to kid himself into thinking they weren't eavesdropping -- Bucky took a breath and just jumped in at the deep end, taking a page out of Steve's playbook.“I don't expect either of you to answer me now,” he said, “but I do want an answer. I've been in love with you for years, Steve, and never got over that,” he said bluntly and saw Steve's jaw drop as his face went pink, “and I've been fighting not to let myself fall for you either, Tony. If you're not interested, I'll deal. If only one of you is, I'll happily accept. But if both of you are, you'll have to talk things out between yourselves before we take this any further.”He was pretty sure Tony was as dumbfounded as Steve behind that mask of his. With a nod, Bucky turned and boarded the jet, forcing himself not to look back.Steve followed him onto the jet a few excruciatingly silent seconds later and then they were off. Everyone was quiet until they reached Tony's landing pad. Clint was the one to voice what Bucky was sure the others were all thinking. “About damned time,” he said, catching Bucky's eyes with a smirk, and disembarked. The rest of the team followed Clint's lead, one by one, until only Bucky and Steve were still on the jet.Their eyes met and Steve swallowed, apparently nervous, then made sure his comm was off. Bucky hastily followed suit.“I never thought I had a chance,” Steve said quietly. “You always had a dame on your arm, and sometimes two, and for a long time I thought Agent Carter and I... But even when we had nothing, we had each other.”“And we always will,” Bucky answered. “Mind wipes notwithstanding.”Steve winced. “To the end of the line,” he promised, the words as full of meaning and feeling as ever. “Come on,” Bucky changed the topic. “We both need a shower. Pronto.”Tony was waiting for them when they descended, leaning as casually as he could manage against the door that led to the tower interior, with a look in his eyes that made Bucky wonder wildly if the universe had decided to grant all his wishes today.“So,” Tony drawled lazily, “do I have to wine and dine one or both of you?”Steve went pink again. “Uhh, so you--?”“Have nothing against a poly exclusive threesome?” Tony finished, voice wry. “No. I've done wilder. It'll make for some headlines but so would any other relationship I ended up in. And besides. Even if it was just Bucky I'd probably have accepted. Both of you? Hell if I'm going to turn that down.”“But what about--” Steve started. Tony cut him off again with a sharp gesture of his hand and a slightly displeased tone to his voice. “What about the way you kept secrets from me and the Winter Soldier killed my parents? Old news. It hurt. A lot. And for a long time. I'm past that now.” He caught and held Steve's eyes with a deadly serious expression. “But if it happens again, I will not hold back. Capische?”That was more generous than Bucky had dared to hope for. He'd thought Tony would find that too difficult to forgive and leave the field to Steve. “Understood,” he said in Steve's place. “But you know already: that wasn't me.”“Maybe not,” Tony agreed. “I know a little something about being coerced and manipulated into killing, albeit indirectly. But a man with your face killed my family, and that was a hard pill to swallow. The man you are now. The man you used to be. They're different. I see it. And neither of them is the man that hurt me.” He paused, hesitating for a moment, then added, “Both are the kind of man I try to be.”Faced with that declaration, Bucky had no idea what to say.And, irritatingly, Steve was no help. He was staring at Tony like he'd had an epiphany. “And this poly exclusive whatever,” Steve asked him, speaking slowly as if he was considering each word before he voiced it, “does that mean you're only interested in Bucky, or both of us?”Tony snorted. “Keep up, Cap. If I wasn't interested in both of you, I'd have said so from the start. Pretty sure I made it clear that that's not the case. It might only be on a physical level at the moment, but there's nothing saying it has to stay that way. Which means that the only person here who hasn't explicitly said what his goals are, is you.”Steve looked briefly uncomfortable, and then his jaw set and his shoulders squared determinedly, as though he was about to rush off into battle. “I've wanted Buck probably since I knew what the word meant but he was always out of my reach. Or I thought he was, anyway. Which amounts to the same thing, doesn't it. When I woke up here, somehow seven decades into the future, you were one of the few people who didn't see the shield. Who saw that I was a person.” Steve swallowed hard. “We got off to the worst possible start, but it took all of ten minutes for you to turn that on its head once that scepter of Loki’s was out of the picture. Which was awkward since I liked you and you thought I didn't.”Tony have him a shrug. “Okay, yeah, but that's also old history. Why are you hung up on that?”Bucky found himself all but holding his breath waiting for Steve's reply. “Because you gave me a home and a purpose,” Steve took up the verbal gauntlet and definitely didn't disappoint. “When I thought I'd lost everything... As far as I knew Bucky was dead and Peggy was fading fast. But it was like you found a way to give me hope again. And after a while I started to wonder.”“Yeah? About what?” Tony prompted him, sounding like he thought he knew what the answer was.Steve gave him a measuring look, seeming to weigh Tony and all his foibles and find him far more suitable than expected. “Whether that reputation of yours was actually deserved.”Tony laughed. “Which?”“Well, there are a lot of people who claim you're good at sex.” Steve smirked at him, the expression slightly edged and with a smoulder in his eyes that Tony clearly hadn't expected judging by the way he stared. “My life is complete now,” Tony said after a few stunned seconds. “I just got hit on by Captain America.”Bucky sputtered and laughed. “Alright, move it. I want my shower.”“Care to try mine out instead?” Tony offered. “Rogers can come, too.”Probably in more than one sense of the word, if Bucky was reading that invitation correctly. Well. In for a penny. “What's yours got that mine doesn't?”“Me,” Tony told him, and turned to make his way towards the penthouse elevator. And, Bucky had to admit, that was a persuasive argument. “Sure,” he agreed, “that's worth a look.”Steve paused, just for a moment, then nodded and followed their lead. “We definitely still have a lot to talk about, Buck; you adopted a bunch of baby dragons, without telling us, and if we go through with this poly exclusive thing, we'll inevitably end up co-parenting. But that shower sounds real nice, right about now.”